Emma Learns How to Fly

Once there was a ladybug. Her name was Emma, and she loved to fly. Her mom was also a ladybug.

She told her, “Emma, you have to go to classes to learn how to fly!”

“But Mom, I know how to fly! You don’t have to teach me. I can fly by myself!” Emma said.

But her mom still insisted that she must go. But Emma was really scared because she didn’t really like going to different classes.

The day she needed to go, Emma said, “Mom, I don’t want to go! I can fly perfectly!”

“If you don’t want to go, you have to show me that you can fly!” her mom said.

So the next day, her mom said, “Show me how you can fly! Fly for ten minutes in the air and come back.”

“Okay,” Emma said.

She came back in ten minutes, and her mom said, “Wow, Emma! Did you perch on a branch for a minute?”

Emma froze. She said, “Uhh… Sorry, Mom. I didn’t! I’m trying to remember after such a long time. And have you noticed it’s actually been one hour? So you expect me to fly for one hour? I had to fly a little, but I perched on a branch for one minute.”

So her mom said, “Well done, Emma. You don’t need to go to flying school.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

The next day, Emma woke up feeling as fine as she looked.

She asked her mom, “Can I eat breakfast early? I want to go fly!”

“Of course,” her mom said. “I’m so happy that you love flying!

So she went outside and started flying. She was going too fast and hit a branch. Her wing slit a lot, and it started bleeding. She came home with one wing, and her mom said, “What happened? Are you okay?”

She took her to a ladybug hospital, and Emma stayed there for a month.

“The next time you go flying ask me to come, because if you get injured I can help you,” Emma’s mom said.

“Okay,” said Emma.

Then, she got better and came out of the hospital. She had enough courage that she could go flying with her mom.

Then Emma said, “Yay, I’m doing it! I’m not going to get hurt again.”

THE END

 

The End of the World

     

PART ONE

James was lying down in the sand with a big cut on his leg. His brother was trying to put a leaf over his cut to stop him from losing blood.

James yelled, “Stop it, Max!”

Max said, “I was only trying to help.”

Then, his brother said, “It’s your fault that we’re stranded in the first place.”

James remembered when he begged and begged his dad to let him go find spices and gold for his family, but when he set sail, a storm sank his boat, and he and his brother swam to the nearest island. The island was the size of a small building and was covered with huge poisonous spiders. It was very hot on the island. They had to spend most of their time in the water so that they didn’t get bitten. James went into the water, and he felt something stinging his leg. Then, he looked down and saw that the water was filled with millions and millions of jellyfish. He saw something huge and black that was approaching the island. It was magnificent. He ran out of the water to go tell his brother.

Then, he said, “Max! Max! We’re finally going to be rescued!”

Then, Max said, “That’s a pirate ship.”

The pirate ship stopped close to the island, and James ran through the jellyfish water and snuck onto the pirate ship. Max followed him.

Max said, “This is a bad idea, James.”

Then, James said, “The pirates are sailing to the end of the world. The treasure at the end of the world is the only way to fix our boat and go back home.”

James and Max went into the cargo compartment of the ship, and Max said, “You stay here. I’ll go search the captain’s quarters.”

James waited for hours for his brother to return. But he never did. James decided to go searching in the captain’s quarters. He didn’t see Max. He only saw a huge, mysterious metal box. The pirates started sailing, and James couldn’t get back on the island. A huge pirate with two hooks and two peg legs walked through the cargo compartment and took a paper scroll that looks like a map out of a wooden box. James found a place to sleep in the cargo compartment and still waited for his brother to come back. From the captain’s quarters, he heard a loud noise yelling for help out of the huge mysterious metal box. He woke up and realized he was dreaming. There was no one calling for help. He was alone in the cargo compartment. He couldn’t go back to sleep. He lay awake all night. He searched every corner of the ship, but his brother was nowhere to be seen. The huge pirate with two hook and two peg legs spotted him in the captain’s quarters.

The pirate yelled, “What are you doing in here?!”

James ran back into the cargo compartment and hid in a barrel.

James heard a voice say, “Over here.”

A ghost came out of the barrel, and James screamed and ran behind some wooden boxes. “I know where the map is,” said the ghost.

“What map?” asked James.

“The maps of the end of the world,” said the ghost. “I’ll help you get the treasure at the end of the world if you can get the map from the Captain Hank.”

“Who’s Captain Hank?” asked James.

“Captain Hank is the captain with two peg legs and two hooks,” said the ghost. “You’ll need to train first.

James learned sword play, but the ghost was better at it. James had several more wounds by morning. He was bruised on his knee, his arm, and his forehead.

A storm came. The boat rocked back and forth. A huge green sea serpent came out the water. It was as long as the Eiffel Tower. James drew his sword. Cannons fired, but nothing could penetrate the serpent’s skin. James was about to enter the battle when he saw a huge flash of green light, and the sea serpent disappeared. Captain Hank took the huge, mysterious metal box back into the captain’s quarters.

“What was that?” James asked.

“No one knows,” said the ghost.

James wondered all day about where his brother may have been and about the mysterious metal box. They finally reached the gates of the end of the world. There was a huge island behind the gates. The huge island was the size of Texas. There was a giant stone that had writing on it. The stone was as big as a ferris wheel. The writing said that you must sacrifice something valuable before entering the end of the world. Captain Hank threw one of his hooks into the water. The gates flew open. James jumped off the boat onto the island. He grabbed every key in the treasure chest, wondering which one would open the mysterious metal box. He climbed back onto the ship just as the pirates walked onto the island.

They grabbed the chest to get onto the boat. James ran into the captain’s quarters and grabbed the mysterious metal box and stuck every key that he had into the keyhole. He was finally down to the last key: a black rusty key with a green circle at the top of it. He stuck it into the mysterious metal box, and it opened. His brother Max came out of it, but so did a huge sea serpent. It was a huge green sea serpent that was as large as a the Eiffel Tower. The sea serpent destroyed the ship, and the two brothers grabbed the treasure of the end of the world and jumped off the boat. Max and James swam all the way to the island the size of a small building, and they built a boat and sailed back home. Their family was happy to see them, and they were happy to see their family.

 

PART TWO

James and his family were moving from their island to England. When James was packing his suitcase, he saw a letter in his mailbox. It was from the ghost. The letter said:

 

MCDLXVI (aka Roman Numerals for 1466)

Dear James,

I need your help. The sea serpent that you let out of the mysterious metal box last year is attacking sailors and sea creatures in the ocean. You need to stop it.

Sincerely,

Ghost

 

James asked his family if he could go back to sea. “It’s absolutely out of the question!” Max said.

“You know what happened the last time you went to sea.”

No one agreed with him. His father burned the boat that Max and James built the past year. James watched it burn until it was as black as night. The fire was out, and the boat had turned to ash. When everyone was asleep, James went into his parent’s room and grabbed a huge leather pouch of gold. It was as heavy as a bucket of water because it held all the gold his family owned.

Early that morning, James asked, “Can I walk by the dock?”

His father said, “Sure.”

James ran out the door. He looked at all the boats, but there was one that caught his eye. It was as big as three elephants. It had a huge gold mast. A short man was standing by it.

He said, “You can buy my boat with 100,000 gold.”

James handed him the huge leather pouch of gold even though it didn’t have 100,000 gold in it. “You sure you got the money?” said the short man.

“Yes,” James said.

The short man counted the money. While he was counting the money, James ran on the boat that was as big as three elephants and sailed it away from the dock.

“This isn’t 100,000 gold,” said the short man.

But James was gone. The ghost flew onto the boat the size of three elephants.

The ghost said, “If you destroy the sea serpent, I’ll give you 100,000 gold.”

So then James went right to work. He only had his sword and his spy glass with him. He saw something huge, black, and magnificent approaching the ship. He knew that it was the pirates. And Captain Hank. James heard cannons fire when the huge, black, magnificent pirate ship was capsized by a huge green sea serpent the size of the Eiffel Tower. James felt relieved that the pirate ship was capsized but worried about the sea serpent. He went to sleep for a couple of hours, and then the ship started to rock. The huge green sea serpent the size of the Eiffel Tower wrapped itself around the ship. James grabbed a piece of wood and struck his sword against a rock to make a spark. That spark started a small fire on the piece of wood. James threw the piece of wood into the sea serpent’s mouth. The sea serpent spit it out and swam away. James dove into the water. He didn’t see the pirate. All he saw was the mysterious metal box. He picked up the mysterious metal box and put it on the ship. He couldn’t believe that Captain Hank and the pirates were inside the mysterious metal box. He knew that he had to destroy the mysterious metal box before it could cause any more trouble. He found a match in his cabin, lit it with his sword and the rock, and put it through the keyhole of the mysterious metal box. He didn’t know if that would finish off the pirates, but in case not, he stopped at an island the size of a small building covered in huge poisonous spiders. He buried the mysterious metal box there. He still had to find the sea serpent.

The ghost flew over to James. It said, “The only thing that could destroy me is the sea serpent’s fangs.”

James said, “Then you have to stay away from the sea serpent.”

James realized that he had a problem. His boat was stuck in the sand, and huge poisonous spiders were crawling onto his boat the size of three elephants. James went back onto the boat and took out a lifeboat and jumped off. He left his spyglass on the boat, but he didn’t think he’d need it.

The ghost told James to sail to Spain, so he could read a book about the sea serpent and how to destroy it. The ghost showed him how to navigate the stars, so he could get to Spain. When he finally arrived at the bookshop where the book was, he broke into the bookshop and stole the book. Attached to the book there was a small box that had writing that said, Unbearable temptation lies within. James read the book about sea serpents and found out that the only thing powerful enough to destroy it were the gates at the end of the world. James navigated the stars to get to the end of the world, and he made a roaring fire to melt down the gates. With some of the metal from the gates, he made a small dagger, so he could fight the sea serpent. He saw something huge, green, and about the size of the Eiffel Tower approaching his boat. He knew it was the sea serpent. He grabbed the dagger and jumped off the boat onto the sea serpent. The sea serpent’s skin was as rough and as hard as rock. He stabbed the dagger into the sea serpent, and it turned to ash. The only thing that did not turn to ash was the teeth. He opened the box that said, Unbearable temptation lies within. The box was made of gold. He couldn’t stop himself. The second he opened it, millions of evil spirits came out of the box and surrounded the place.

The ghost yelled at James. He said, “You got all the evil spirits out, James!”

James was so angry with the ghost that he dove into the water and grabbed a sea serpent’s tooth. It was as blue as the sky. When he came up for air, he threw the tooth at the ghost, and the ghost faded away. James felt terrible. He could not believe that he destroyed the ghost and let all the evil spirits out. Out of the gold box, where unbearable temptation lied. The evil spirits flew away. He sailed to London, and his family was there. He knew evil was everywhere. He confessed to his family that he ran away, stole all their gold, destroyed his friend, and let all the evil spirits out. But there was still hope.

 

PART THREE

James was in the middle of the ocean. There was a horrible storm. Waves the size of Mount Everest. Thunderclouds as big as France. A small green evil spirit that looked sort of like a dragon approached him. It was a scaly evil spirit of death. It knocked him off his ship. The waves tossed him around like a ball. The small green evil spirit of death came towards him. James screamed.

“Wake up!” yelled Max.

James realized he was not in the middle of the ocean. He was lying in bed. He realized that it must have been a dream… or a warning.

James got out of bed and ate breakfast. He was about to leave the table when a small green dragon-like spirit approached their house. It breathed on the house, and Max disappeared. James’ mom and dad turned into zombie-like creatures. Their skin turned green, and their hair turned white. And they attacked James. James ran out the door and grabbed a sword. He jumped into the lifeboat from his past journey. He sailed away as fast as a cheetah. The small green dragon-like evil spirit of death howled in anger.

James wondered where his brother was. He wished that he did not destroy the ghost. The ghost would know what to do in this situation. James saw something at the bottom of the ocean that caught his eye. It was a blue stone. It was shiney as a sapphire. James wondered what it was. James dove off the boat to grab it. As soon as his hand touched it, he passed out. He woke up, but the blue stone that was shiny as a sapphire was gone. He was lying in the sand underwater. He seemed to be breathing. He snapped his fingers, and the water put him back in the boat, and he was perfectly dry. James felt extremely confused. Was he dead? Was he in the afterlife? James pinched himself and realized he was very much alive. James sailed to an island about the size of a small building covered in huge, poisonous spiders. He used his hands to dig up the mysterious metal box. He wondered if it was strong enough to hold all of the evil spirits. It was worth a shot. He put the mysterious metal box on his boat and sailed away with it.

James had the black rusty key with a green circle at the top of it in the boat. He knew that he couldn’t open the box until it was time to catch the evil spirits. He was sure that the evil spirits were going to the end of the world so he was going to wait for them there.

James sailed to the end of the world and navigated the stars like a map to get there. The island was the size of Texas. The gates were gone. He looked over the huge, empty land. He got off his boat, pulled out his sword, and searched the island. He found a prison made of lightning. It was the size of a small room. Inside there was a ghost who looked like his brother. James ran to the cell.

“Max!” he yelled. James was filled with excitement. His brother was not dead. “How did you turn into a ghost?” James asked. “The letter that the ghost wrote you turned me into a ghost.” James could’ve talked for hours to his brother.

But a small green dragon-like evil spirit of death approached him. James drew his sword. He ran to his boat, grabbed the mysterious metal box, put the key in the key hole, and unlocked the mysterious metal box. A pirate crew came out.

A huge pirate with two hooks and two peg legs pointed at the small green dragon-like evil spirit of death and yelled, “Attack!”

The small green dragon-like evil spirit of death turned all the pirates into zombies. James realized that all the other evil spirits were just temptation. If he could destroy the small green dragon-like evil spirit of death, he could destroy the temptation too. He opened the mysterious metal box and sucked the small green dragon-like evil spirit of death into the mysterious metal box. Then, a figure as golden as a wedding ring came down to the end of the world. James realized who it was immediately. It was the King of the World. James bowed.

“You have saved the world” said the King of the World. “I will give you one wish. It can be anything.”

James thanked the King of the World and wished he had not destroyed the ghost. And just like that, the ghost was right next to him. And the King of the World was gone.The ghost freed Max, and they sailed to England. And James was relieved that his adventures were over… or were they?

 

END OF BOOK ONE

 

Priya: War Hero

My name is Priya Patel. I live in India. I was born in 1954. It is my birthday. My birthday is also the 51st anniversary of when I helped India. I’m a valued figure in my family. I’m going to cut to the chase and tell you why. On my 11th birthday, in 1965, there was a war between India and Pakistan. My father was a general. When I was little, he trained me in Morse code.

“One day it will be useful.” He smiled.

During this war, my father and brother were generals, so they rushed off to the war leaving me and my mother alone. I went to school. My friends’ fathers were also in the war. I couldn’t pay attention in class. I went home and found my mother weeping in the courtyard. I stroked the tears from her face and spoke Hindi to comfort her.

“Maan mat roo.”

Later, we got a letter from my father’s solicitor. He was dead. My brothers were also MIA (missing in action). I cried and cried. I couldn’t do anything else. I shut myself in my room and cried myself to sleep. My father was dead. My brothers were probably dead as well. It was just me and my mother. We were going to have to take care of each other. There was no time to cry. Our country was in need, and three of our generals were dead. The next day, my mother walked out the door to buy vegetables. As soon as she walked out the door, some men fully dressed in black creeped inside. Before I could react, I was drugged. I don’t really remember what happened after that. I just heard the sound of a train moving across the tracks. When I woke up, I was in a dark room.

I heard some mumbling. “Do not react and you will not be hurt. We are holding you for ransom.”

I then knew why I heard a train. I was in Pakistan. I was terrified, but I was also terrified to react. I shut my mouth and curled up into a ball. I was in the country I hated most, but I had one chance to help the country I loved. In my bag, was a small bag of Morse code equipment. There was also a telegraph pole wire outside my window. I could send them a message that I was captive. But if I stayed here, I would be able to learn about Pakistan’s next army operation and sneak attack on India.

“If I am held here for ransom,” I said. “May I please have the newspaper every morning?”

“I don’t see why not,” the voice said.

A small plate of bread was slid in front of me. I was too terrified to eat, but I needed sustenance if I was to live. I could not sleep. The drugs in my body kept me awake. The next morning, I heard the crumpling sound of paper being dropped on the floor of the room. I finally mustered the courage to look at the man’s face. It was scarred. They were all permanent scars. I looked down immediately and started reading the newspaper. There was nothing useful. It just said stuff about the next big cricket match and the new Polaroid camera. I sat for most of the day thinking of other ways to help my country. But right now, this was all I could do.

The next day, I read the newspaper. Once again, nothing. Finally, on the third day, I found something useful. The headline was Pakistan Plans to Infiltrate Indian Airbase. The man would just slide some bread in front of me and then leave. He did his usual. I was left alone for the day. I grabbed the wire outside my window and hooked up my Morse code equipment. .–. / .- / -.- / .. / … / – / .- / -. / -..-. / .. / … / -..-. / .. / -. / ..-. / .. / .-.. / – / .-. / .- / – / .. / -. / –. / -..-. / – / …. / . / -..-. / .. / -. / -.. / .. / .- / -. / -..-. / .- / .. / .-. / -… / .- / … / . spelled Pakistan is infiltrating the Indian Airbase. I waited. A few hours later, I got a message back. -.– / — / ..- / .-. / -..-. / — / . / … / … / .- / –. / . / -..-. / .. / … / -..-. / .-. / . / -.-. / . / .. / …- / . / -.. / -..-. / .– / …. / . / .-. / . / -..-. / .- / .-. / . -..-. / -.– / — / ..- / ..–.. My message was received. They were asking where I was. I wrote back .. / -..-. / .- / — / -..-. / -. / — / – / -..-. / — / -. / . / -..-. / — / ..-. / -..-. / -.– / — / ..- / .-. / -..-. / … / .–. / .. / . / … / -..-. / .. / -..-. / .- / — / -..-. / .- / -..-. / -. / .. / -. / . / -..-. / -.– / . / .- / .-. / -..-. / — / .-.. / -.. / -..-. / –. / .. / .-. / .-.. -..-. / …. / . / .-.. / -.. / -..-. / -.-. / .- / .–. / – / .. / …- / . / -..-. / .. / -. / -..-. / .–. / .- / -.- / .. / … / – / .- / -. .-.-.- It told them that I was a captive in Pakistan. …. / . / .-.. / .–. / -..-. / .– / .. / .-.. / .-.. / -..-. / -… / . / -..-. / … / . / -. / – / -..-. / .-. / .. / –. / …. / – / -..-. / .- / .– / .- / -.– / -..-. / – / …. / .- / -. / -.- / -..-. / -.– / — / ..- / -..-. / ..-. / — / .-. / -..-. / – / …. / . / -..-. / .. / -. / ..-. / — / .-. / — / .- / – / .. / — / -. -..-. They were sending help right away. I waited.

A few days later, when the scarred man was putting the plate of bread on the floor, another man knocked him out. He was wearing the uniform of an informant from the Indian Bureau of Intelligence. We opened the room next to mine and found my two brothers, drugged into a sleep. Now that one Indian general from the Patel family was dead, if the other two were drugged and kidnapped, India would be weaker. I stayed at home and watched the war happen. India won. The information I had given India helped Pakistan suffer a heavy loss. Only 22 out of the 93 soldiers returned to Pakistan. I was proud of what I did.

About 20 years later, I moved to Pakistan. It had become a peaceful country. I listened to the radio. Another radio priest started preaching.

Suddenly, he started shouting, “Women should not be going to school! Women don’t need education to run a house and cook for us!”

The Taliban takeover had started. I heard screams and gunshots from many houses. I went online and saw this blogger named Gul Makai, which meant cornflower. She was a heroine from an old folk story. I started reading her posts every day. She wrote about how terrified she was of this. I knew that I should also be doing something. I started organizing protests, and I paraded through town with other women. There were many times where I was nearly shot. Benazir Bhutto was shot as well. The minute she set her foot on Pakistani soil, she was shot. Later, I learned that Gul Makai was a girl named Malala Yousafzai. She took a bullet to the head. She was now recovering in a hospital in Birmingham, England.

I finally took my case to the government. I went with everyone I protested with. I yelled at the governor for a full half hour. I marched out with everyone else. Soon, the radio preacher was vanquished.

Women are now slightly more equal with men. That’s my story. Women are not fully equal with men, but I’m still working. My life has given me many hardships, but I got a great story to tell my grandchildren!

 

Morse Code Puzzle

.. / ..-. / -..-. / -.– / — / ..- / -..-. / -.-. / .- / -. / -..-. / – / .-. / .- / -. / … / .-.. / .- / – / . / -..-. / – / …. / .. / … / -..-. / -.– / — / ..- / -..-. / .– / .. / .-.. / .-.. / -..-. / -… / . / -..-. / …- / . / .-. / -.– / -..-. / ..- / … / . / ..-. / ..- / .-.. -..-. / – / — / -..-. / – / …. / . / -..-. / .. / -. / -.. / .. / .- / -. / -..-. / .- / .-. / — / -.– -..-.

What does this say? Try to translate the Morse code.

 

Three Worlds

Once upon a time, there were three planets named The Fairytale World, The Otherworld, and Underpanty World. In Underpanty World, everyone wore only underwear. In Underpanty world, there were only two kids, named Dan and Jill, who wore clothes. In the Fairytale World, there were two kids named Jack and Goldie. In the Otherworld, there were two kids called Daniel and Port.

One day, Dan, Jill, Goldie, Jack, Daniel, and Port were in restaurants in each other’s worlds. While they were ordering, a giant beam of light came upon each table, and it started to suck everything up, including all of them, and suddenly in a beam of light, they were gone. Then, they magically appeared inside a river. They walked across it and started to see a road. Suddenly, they all bumped into each other. Dan bumped into Goldie, Jill bumped into Jack, and Daniel bumped into Goldie with Jill, and Port bumped into Jack. They greeted each other with warm welcomes, even though they had no idea where they were. They all said they got sucked into the same portal. They made a team and started trying to figure out how to get to their worlds. They started along the road. As they walked along the road, Jack noticed a little cottage. They noticed that one of the houses was free. They walked inside and looked in the house. It was perfect! They had enough beds for everyone. They started to set their home up.

Just then, a man appeared and said, “This house is free. You do not need to pay.”

They shouted, “Hooray!”

They started out of the house and looked for a way back to their worlds. As they started off, they found another road. They found two Jeeps. It was perfect. They had enough seats for everyone. As they went in the Jeeps, they noticed the trees started to get thicker. They got out of the Jeeps and noticed where they were. They heard of this place before. It was the Evergreen Forest. They started to walk across the misty air. Ground became bumpier. Just then, Goldie noticed a shadow. Just as she looked at it, it dashed away. Then, they got out of the road and into the real forest. As they walked, they noticed a wolf. It came closer. They froze.

Goldie said, “Do not move and stay calm. If you keep like that, it will not try to get you.”

The wolf charged towards Goldie because he noticed her mouth moving. The wolf took Goldie and ran with her. The other guys charged to the wolf. Jack noticed he had a knife in his pocket. He got on the wolf and stabbed him. He did not fall dead, but he fell very injured.

Jack said, “Maybe if we go to another restaurant, it might make another portal into our world.”

They ran into the nearest restaurant. They did exactly what they did in the other restaurant. It didn’t happen. Just then, Jack started floating, then Goldie, then Daniel, then Jill, then Dan.

“Guys, why is this happening,” Dan said.

“I don’t know,” Jack replied.

Then, Jack tried to shoot a portal out of his hand. It worked! It was blue and swirling. Just like the other portal. It sucked them up, and they returned to their own world.

The End

 

Dragon Time

The light was as bright as a couch, which meant the light wasn’t that bright. Maria was in Albany sleeping. It was nighttime. She was on vacation from Florida. It was summertime, and she wanted normal weather instead of really hot and humid weather like in Florida. She got dressed, took a shower, and then she found an egg in her room. It was a blue-green egg. When she saw it, it was starting to get cracks. She was both scared and excited. She was going to have her own pet! She hoped it was a bird. Then, she heard a burst. The egg hatched, and standing there was a little baby dragon. It was blue-green. When she saw it a second later, she didn’t see it anymore. Then, it appeared again. It was using camouflage to change color, and it could understand and speak human language.

Then, she asked, “What do you want for breakfast?”

Then, the dragon said, “Bacon!”

So Maria’s dad made bacon, and then Maria named the dragon Jack. Then, Maria and her dad made waffles.

Then, the dragon said, “I want waffles!

So he got a waffle. And then, the dad made two pancakes, and he ate them.

And then, the dragon said, “I want pancakes!

So the dad made three pancakes, one for Jack and two for himself. And then, the dragon played a prank on the dad. He made his waffles taste like water from a sparkling lake. The dad ate the waffles, and his mouth was as sweet as a sparkling lake.

Then, the dragon said, “I want to go to the lake!

So they took him to the lake, and then he jumped in and started splashing everybody near the lake, and then they realized that he was a water dragon, which meant that he could shoot water out of his mouth.

The family yelled, “Yay! Now we can have free water!” They cheered.

Then, the dragon yelled, “I want to drink!

The dad asked, “What do you want to drink?”

So the dragon said, “Beer!

They asked him, “Why do you want beer?”

The dragon said, “Because, one, I want to be like a grown-up and, two, ‘cause I said so.”

So they gave him a bottle of beer. He drank the beer, and then he breathed out a jet of water into the dad’s face.

So Jack started laughing like mad, and the dad said, “That’s not funny!

Then, Maria went back to her room to play with Jack, and she found an orange-red egg in the doorway… Then she heard another burst, and there stood an orange-red dragon!

Then, he demanded, “I want to go into flames!

Then, Maria said, “Why do you want to do that? Isn’t that dangerous?”

So Maria took him into the fireplace, then lit a fire. Then, he burned the place, and then he shot a jet of fire out of his mouth into her dad’s hair, and his hair caught fire.

So he called, “Jack, put out this fire!” and Jack put out the fire in the fireplace, and then there was an ultimate dragon battle.

So Maria named the fire dragon Mark, and then the battle was Mark vs. Jack. Then, Maria went back to her room, and in the doorway she found a golden egg! Then, the egg hatched, and there stood a golden dragon!

She didn’t know what dragon it was, until the dragon said, “I’m a Dream Dragon!”

Then, she locked her eyes with Maria’s, and Maria immediately fell asleep and started dreaming right away. She dreamed about what would happen when the dragons became big. Maybe she would get the Dream Dragon, her dad would get Mark, and her mom would get Jack. She saw them flying across the skies flying back to Florida, putting out fires as they went, and Mark the prankster making fires. And then, she started playing with the Dream Dragon. Then, she named him Dreamer. Then, Mark and Jack came back into the room, and then they combined the water and fire in the room, and then Jack put it out, and there was a brown egg!

Then, the brown egg hatched, and it was an Earth Dragon. It could move stuff using its mind. So she called him Mind Mover, and then it was an ultimate dragon battle of Mark vs. Jack vs. Dreamer vs. Mind Mover. They were fighting because they were little dragons, and little dragons did crazy stuff. Dreamer put Jack and Mark asleep, so it was Dreamer vs. Mind Mover. Mind Mover used his mind to put Dreamer to sleep. Mind Mover won and then, using his mind, he put the other dragons onto a shelf. Then, he started flying around the room like mad. Then, he got the other dragons awake, so the three other dragons had to learn how to fly. Mind Mover knew how because he thought of himself flying and started flying. The other three dragons learned how to fly because Mind Mover used his mind to change their minds, so they learned how to fly. The fighting was by accident. They just felt like it one moment and felt bad that they did it the next. Then, they apologized to each other.

Then, the three dragons said to Mind Mover, “No, don’t apologize. Because of you, we learned how to fly.”

Then, they wanted to fly outside, so Mind Mover opened a window for them, and they all flew outside. They were flying around the house and, during flight, Mind Mover was planting trees left and right. They were apple trees because he liked apples. Then, Mind Mover planted a few grapes because Dreamer liked them. Then, some strawberries because Mark liked them. Then, some raspberries because Jack liked them.

Then, they came back and made another egg! It was black and white. Then, the egg hatched, and there was a dragon and its twin. It was a Moon Dragon, which was black, and a Sun Dragon, which was white. Then, since it was noon, the Sun Dragon made the sun come up, so the day would last even longer. Then, the Moon Dragon got angry that the moon would last shorter, so he made the moon come up so that it would be nighttime.

Maria was in the kitchen eating lunch, and she was like, “Wait, What?! The moon’s up already?” Then, she came back to her room, and there she saw six dragons planted in front of her. She was like, “Six dragons?! I thought there were only two!”

Then, when she left, the dragons named the Sun Dragon Light and the Moon Dragon Dark. And then, they made another dragon egg, but this time it was neon green, and out of that one rose the biggest dragon of all! He was three feet tall. He was as big as some children, even bigger than some, and he was only a few seconds old. Then, he came up and breathed fire. Then, he breathed water. Then, he put everybody asleep. Then, he made a bag of food fly over to him with his mind. He made the sun rise. Then, he made the moon rise, so that they would crash. Then, he used his own power. He could make things appear out of thin air. He made a luxury car appear outside the door out of thin air. It was a golden Lamborghini.

Then, he made the dragons get into it, and then he got into the driver’s seat and started driving around like a crazy dude. He started crashing everything, and when he crashed something, he immediately repaired the car. For the people inside the buildings and cars and on the street especially, it was really dangerous. Then, he made the car go flying over the city. Then, he made it crash land into the Great Hall to ruin a wedding feast. Then, he wrecked the place. The only place that he didn’t go to was Maria’s house. He made a force field around the house and all the berries and stuff. He didn’t want it to get hurt because that was where his family lived. Then, he came back and parked the car back into its place, and then he repaired the place.

Then, the dragons awakened, and they found themselves in the car, and they were like “What? When did we get this car?”

Then, the new dragon said, “Well, you’re lucky you do, ‘cause do you want me to turn it into powder?”

After years passed, they got older and wiser. Since they were wiser, they knew not to wreck the city and that type of stuff, and that made them nicer. They next made another egg, a white one. (Getting crowded, right?) Then, a white dragon hatched. They named him Wowy. He had all the powers. He could shoot water and fire out of his mouth, and he could put people to sleep and make them appear out of thin air, and he could make things happen only by thinking them. His own power was that he could make bigger things appear out of thin air. The green one could make a car, but this one could make a building.

Then the next year, they flew back to Florida. Then, it was the same as Maria’s dream. Maria got Dreamer, her dad got Mark, and her mom got Jack. When they got home, they were planting trees every now and then. And soon, their house was like a garden, and then they could get free food. Maria and the family and the dragons were happy. Then, Mark made steak.

Then, the family and the dragons ate the steak. The dragon ate most of it. Then, Wowy made a snake, and the dragons ate it. Wowy made a special building for the dragons, and the dragons all lived in it. Maria was allowed in it too.

They hired a special cook who made all their favorite foods and let them eat junk food. Then, Light wanted to make the day last longer, so he put the sun up higher. Then, Dark made the moon go full speed up into the sun, and they crashed!

Then, Mind Mover said, “Oh, you guys! Stop it.”

Then, he repaired the sun and the moon. Then, a mysterious egg appeared. When it hit the floor, it cracked, and it was a Sun and Moon dragon.

Jack said, “Water time!” and got out many bowls and shot a jet of water at all of them.

Then, they flew back to Florida where there were many fires, and Jack couldn’t possibly put out all of them, and the whole state burned. Mark kept making more fires. Everybody needed to evacuate out of Florida. So Maria moved into New York City. Wowy made a luxury car and started wrecking the city, and then he repaired it. Then, they met a unicorn, and Wowy started fighting with it, so he breathed fire, and the unicorn made a jet of water come out of his horn. Then, Wowy made the unicorn do a jig and breathed water at it, and the water made it crash into the wall and fall down. Then, he made the unicorn sprout wings, and they all flew together in a great formation. The unicorn was in the back with Jack. Then, they flew back to Dragon land, and they lived happily ever after.

The End!

 

putovanje kroz vrijeme

A masked figure stood in a dark alley, muttering what seemed like nonsense. Meg, a 12-year-old girl, was walking down the street and stopped when she heard the female’s voice. She was a curious girl, so she stepped quietly into the alley, the masked figure’s back to her. The person sensed her and turned. The woman stared at her with eyes that glowed with anger. Her hands, which were covered with warts, were clenched into fists. She said a few words, then turned and left the alley. All of a sudden, Meg felt a cold chill behind her. She turned, but nobody was there.

She went home and eventually forgot all about the woman and what happened in the alley. Years later, she was walking by the alley, and the memories flooded back into her mind.

She heard a gravelly female voice behind her, saying, “Back again?” Meg turned.

 

Two thousand years later, Anna was lying asleep in her bed. At 6:30, her alarm buzzed, and she got out of bed. Her morning was perfectly normal, but at 2:41, everything changed.

She was sitting in math class, bored out of her mind, looking into the hallway through the little window in the door. She saw a woman wearing all black with a black mask over her entire face, her hand covered in warts. She was muttering to herself. She stopped walking, looked inside the classroom, and fixed her eyes on Mary, Anna’s best friend. As soon as the woman continued walking, Mary fell fast asleep. The students sitting near her tried to wake her up, but she didn’t wake.

 

Standing before Meg was the masked woman who she had met all those years ago, in that same alley.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Meg asked.

“You don’t even recognize your own mother?” the woman asked. “As for what I want,” she continued, “I want to see you before you die.”

 

Anna’s math teacher, Mrs. Smith, decided to continue class even though Mary was still asleep, so Anna continued to look into the hallway, hoping she would see the masked woman again. At the end of the class, Mary still had not woken, her parents were called, and they came and picked her up.

Anna was walking through the halls to her social studies class, when she heard a voice behind her call her name.

 

“You can’t be my mother,” Meg said. “She died years ago when I was four.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

“Then how did she die?”

“In a boat that was at sea during a storm.”

The woman removed her mask, and Meg realized that it was her mother.

“Where have you been for all this time?” Meg asked. “What do you mean about me dying?”

 

Anna turned. Standing in front of her was Mary, fully awake. “How did you get back to school so fast?” Anna asked.

“What do you mean?” Mary asked. “I’ve been here all day.”

At that moment, Anna realized that Mary was wearing different clothes than she was earlier in the day, but it had only been around three minutes since Mary had left the school, and her house was 24 minutes from the school, so she wouldn’t have had time to change clothes at her house.

The first bell rang, and both Anna and Mary ran to their classes. On the way to her class, Anna saw the masked figure standing at John’s locker, pouring green, gooey liquid on the top of it. In class, Anna was about to tell John what happened, when the last bell rang and everybody had to sit down and be quiet.

Class started, and the teacher, Mr. Pace, started talking and teaching. After 13 very boring minutes, John screamed a shrill shriek, fell to the floor, and started twitching uncontrollably.

 

“I will kill you,” Meg’s mother said.

“Why?” Meg asked.

“Because all of the sadness I felt turned to anger, and I used my power to become the greatest villain of all time. You can use your powers to kill me, so I have to kill you first,” the woman answered.

“I don’t have powers,” Meg replied.

“Yes you do,” her mother insisted, “but it doesn’t matter. I’m going to kill you now.”

“Are you going to kill my descendants who also have powers?” Meg asked.

“No,” the woman answered, “they won’t be powerful enough. Only you are, but you will be dead.” Meg’s mother raised her hand. She started chanting umrijet ćeš over and over again.

Meg’s screams echoed through the streets.

 

“Take John to the nurse,” Mr. Pace said to Steve and Paul.

Steve and Paul exited the room with John. After everybody calmed down, Mr. Pace continued the class. The rest of the class was incredibly boring because the entire time, Mr. Pace was lecturing the class. Everybody was glad when the bell finally rang. The school day was finally over.

Anna was happily walking home (her home was only a 20 minute walk from school), when she saw, out of the corner of her eye, the masked woman. She was walking on the other side of the street. When Anna was finally only half a block from her house, the masked woman crossed the street and walked right in front of Anna.

“Who are you?” Anna asked.

“I am known as The,” the woman answered in a gravelly voice.

“What do you want?” Anna asked.

The laughed maniacally and answered, “I want to rule the world.”

“Why are you telling me that?” Anna asked.

“So you will know that whenever something bad happens unexpectedly, you will know it was me,” The answered.

“It was you,” Anna replied. “You made Mary fall asleep and John start twitching.”

“About time you realized,” The said.

“But how does doing that help you take over the world?” Anna asked.

“It doesn’t,” The answered. “I did it to show you that no matter how many powers you have, you can’t do anything to stop me.”

“I don’t have powers,” Anna said.

“Yes, you do,” The said, “but it doesn’t matter. Only one person can stop me.”

“Who?” Anna asked.

“My daughter and one of your ancestors, Meg,” The answered, “but I killed her 2,000 years ago.”

After she said that, The turned around and walked out of the alley. Anna continued walking, and when she got home, she went to her room and thought about the weird and scary conversation she had just had with The.

She decided to read a book to clear her mind. She went to her bookshelf and looked at all of the titles. She saw a title that she didn’t recognize. It was called Beginners Sorcery. She pulled out the book. The cover was purple velvet and was covered in jewels. Anna opened the book. The pages were yellow, cracked, and hard to read. Some of the spells were in languages she didn’t know, but most were in English. She found a levitation spell that was in English and started reading. When she finished reading, she realized that she was hovering one and a half feet above her bed. She stared at the space between her and her bed in amazement. She read the counter spell and fell down slowly and softly. Anna was amazed and started flipping through the book. She remembered that The said that only Meg would have the power to defeat her. Then, she saw a spell that made her sit up straight. It was a spell that allowed the castor to go back in time. Anna knew this was the spell she had to try.

 

Anna said the incantation and found herself in a dark alley with two people in it. She hid behind a garbage can and listened to their conversation.

“ — will be dead,” Anna heard The say.

Then, she saw The raise her hands and start chanting umrijet ćeš in her gravelly voice.

Anna flipped through the sorcery book, trying to find a force field spell she had seen earlier when she was flipping through the spell book (polje sile). She found it, said the spell, and a force field appeared around her and Meg. Before Meg could ask any questions, Anna grabbed her hand and said the counter spell for the time travel spell. She and Meg appeared in her room.

“Who are you?” Meg asked. “What are we?”

Anna explained to Meg how she had used a time travel spell to rescue her. She also asked Meg for help in defeating The.

“I found out that I had powers right before I died,” Meg admitted. “I’ve never used them.”

“I can help you learn,” Anna offered. “Then you can kill The.”

Meg accepted Anna’s offer.

“You can come to school with me during the day,” Anna said.

The next morning, Meg went to school with Anna.

“Who is this?” Mary asked.

“Mary, this is Meg, my friend from sleepaway camp who is considering going to this school,” Anna said. “Meg, this is Mary, my friend from school.”

“Hi,” Meg said.

Meg spent the rest of the day with Anna. After school, Anna and Meg studied many spells. They continued this pattern for a few days after, until Meg knew lots of spells. Among these were moć munje (which summoned lightning), snaga vode (which summoned water), and pobijediti (which summoned wind).

Finally, they decided to challenge The to a duel. What they didn’t know was that The was expecting them. They found her in the same alley that she had been all those years ago, when she had killed Meg.

“Hello, Mother,” Meg said. “You’re looking young.”

“Hello,” The said. Then, the fighting began.

Meg chanted Ja ću pozvati vatru, to summon fire. As soon as the flames touched The, they died down. Meg tried again. The same thing happened.

Then, she tried saying uništit ću to summon a sword. As soon as the sword touched The, it shattered into a dozen pieces.

During all of this, The was laughing maniacally.

“What’s happening?” Anna asked. “You’re supposed to be able to beat her.”

“Why do you think that?” The asked. “Because I told you so,” she said mockingly. “I was lying,” she said. “Nobody is powerful enough to beat me.”

Then, she held out her hand and chanted the same words she had 2,000 years ago in that same alley when she had killed that same girl, but this time, The also killed Anna.

 

The Faded Sword

Eliza had her whole life planned out. She wanted to finish school, go to college then medical school, become a doctor, get married, then have three kids named Delia, Celia, and Ophelia. She should have seen this coming. She had always noticed the weary looks her parents gave her when she talked about how Delia would wear pink, Celia would wear blue, and Ophelia would wear green, as if they knew something she didn’t. She noticed the way they exchanged glances when she talked about applying for college (even though she was only twelve), but she figured it was because they thought she was too young to think about it. She never thought twice about it. She had always envisioned a relatively normal life, the way she liked it. She hated spontaneous spur of the moment actions, but just her luck, her life was about to become one big spontaneous spur of the moment action. The warm summer day Eliza’s parents sat her down and told her what she was, it had not been a normal day from the beginning.

Eliza opened her eyes. Sunlight was streaming through the window. Eliza checked her clock.

“Eight-freaking-thirty?” Why hadn’t her alarm gone off? In all the eight (give or take) years she had used an alarm clock, it never just stopped working. It only got weirder from there.

It was breakfast. Eliza was having what she always had, cereal and a banana. She was in the middle of chewing a bite when an odd feeling came over her. She kept on chewing, but there was something off. Her food seemed to be gathering in her mouth instead of getting chewed. All of a sudden, the piece of banana she had been chewing, now whole, flew out of her mouth as if pulled by a magnetic force and reattached itself back onto her banana.

“Uhhhhh… ” Eliza spluttered. Was this normal? Had it been in that book about body changes her mom had gotten her? Was she just crazy? She decided finally that she should call the doctor. But what the heck would I say? ‘Oh, hey, I regurgitated my banana and then it flew back onto the rest of my banana. Have any meds for that?’ No, she would sound crazy. Then she noticed the note on the counter from her parents. Out shopping! Be back at 9:30! She hadn’t even realized her parents weren’t home. She looked at the kitchen clock.

“How is that even possible!?” Eliza found herself saying. It read 7:32. Eliza made a mad dash for her alarm clock. When she was back in the kitchen, alarm clock in hand, she compared the two. They both read 7:32. Just then, then the door opened and Eliza’s parents walked in. They weren’t supposed to come back until 9:30! She held up the clocks.

“Explain. Now,” she said, her voice unnervingly calm. Her parents’ facial expressions were grim, but not surprised. Her dad took her by the shoulders and steered her to a chair. She sat down.

“You’re an Arbitrium. A Controller,” her mom said.

“And that means?” Eliza said wearily.

“Exactly what it sounds like. You can control something. Time in your case,” her dad said, his voice expressionless.

“Sooo… I still don’t get it. Do I just go on with my life?”

“Should I tell her?” Eliza’s mom asked. Her dad nodded. “When you were very young, we were told that you were chosen to be part of the arbitrium team. They gave us this.” She went to the drawer and took out a battered card, the size of a credit card. She handed it to Eliza. Eliza read it.

 

International Institute of the Arbitrium

Eliza Breanna Frederick King

Controller of Time

Level 0

Arbitrium #275

Room #42 Floor #4

 

“I still don’t get it,” Eliza said. “How does this affect me, besides the whole superpower thingy, I mean.”

“Well,” said her mom. “Your life isn’t necessarily going to be normal from now on.”

“You’re going to go to a special training school for kids like you,” said her dad. “And once you’ve gotten the training you need, you and your team will be sent on missions.”

By now, Eliza was practically in tears. Her life wasn’t going to be normal? That meant no medical school, no getting married, and no Delia, Celia or Ophelia.

“When do I have to go?” she managed to say.

“Don’t be mad at us, Eliza,” her dad said, “This is the only way you’re safe. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t send you away. If you don’t go, they will hunt you down and take you by force.”

“But who is they? And who is the person that came to tell you who I was in the first place?”

“You’ll learn when you get there,” said her mom. “For now, you should go upstairs and pack your bags. We’ll leave now.”

Eliza went to her room and got together some clothes, a toiletry, and other necessities (such as her secret stash of candy and her rock collection). She went back to the kitchen.

Her mom said, “Come outside with us.”

Eliza went outside and spotted her parents standing next to the fenced off area of the backyard that she had been instructed to never go near. The one time she had dared try and pry open the fence had been when she was only about four years old, which had landed her in time-out. That traumatizing experience made her reluctant to go near the fence again, but her parents were there, so she decided it was okay.

“Why are we in this part of the backyard?” Eliza asked.

“Let us show you,” said her dad. He opened the gate using a key, which revealed a large hole with what looked like galaxy colored corn syrup in it.

“They had this installed after they told us what you were. It’s a portal right into the school,” her mom said.

Again with the they, Eliza thought, Why can’t they be more specific?

“Are you ready?” asked her dad.

Eliza wanted to scream, No, I’ll never be ready! Or, Why me, universe? But, against all her better judgement, she said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

She hugged her parents, made them promise to visit, (it was allowed, according to her parents), consoled her mom (and her dad) who were practically in tears, and jumped into the portal.

She thought her day couldn’t get weirder, but jumping into a galaxy colored corn syrup hole might have been the peak point of the weirdness. The sensation was kind of like jumping into a swimming pool, but ten times stickier, and she felt like she was moving in slow motion through the gunk. I really hope that this comes off! Eliza thought. After what seemed like forever (at this point, it really could have been forever) Eliza emerged from the other side into a dimly lit room that looked like some sort of a communal living room, thankfully not covered in goop. A lady with a huge updo spotted her from the other side of the room and hurried over.

“Oh, you must be the new arrival!” she cried. “I’m Patty. I’ll be one of your trainers here. I’ll take you to the orientation desk.” She led Eliza through several rooms, a couple similar living rooms, a couple small kitchens, and a very large dining room, until they got to a big desk with a man behind it.

“Hi! I’m Harold. You must be the new arrival we heard about.”

“How did you know I was coming?” Eliza asked.

“As soon as you jumped into the portal, we got a message about your arrival. We have expected you for a few hours. We’ll check you in, and you can get settled in your room and meet your roomates. What’s your name?”

“Eliza,” she replied.

Full name,” Harold replied.

“Eliza Breanna Frederick King. It’s long, I know.”

“Okay. Card please.” Eliza dug out the info card she had stuck in her pocket after reading it, what felt like so long ago. She handed it to Harold. He looked over it, then typed some things into his computer. When he handed it back, the Level 0 was replaced with Level 1.

“Patty will show you to your room,” Harold said.

Patty ushered Eliza away and led her to a fancy elevator which took them to the fourth floor. As soon as Eliza got off the elevator, she decided this whole arbitrium thing wouldn’t be so bad after all. No one would have guessed that a bunch of kids lived there. It was spotless. She followed Patty to an also immaculately spotless door. She knocked, and a boy about Eliza’s age with light brown hair and dark green eyes answered.

“Hey, Cody! I have a new roommate for you. This is Eliza,” Patty said. “Cody, will you introduce Eliza to your other roommates?” The boy nodded. Eliza went inside, dragging her bags behind her.

“Hi,” she said shyly. “My name’s Eliza. Eliza Breanna Frederick King.”

“I’m Cody Levine,” the boy said. “Hey guys, we have a new roommate!” he called out.

Two girls and two boys emerged from the rooms along the hallway. They took turns introducing themselves. There was black-haired, blue-eyed Bailey Copeland, tan skinned curly-haired Nicolas Rodriguez, blonde and green-eyed Jonathan Riley, and brown-haired hazel-eyed Brooke Holmes. Eliza introduced herself to everyone, and everyone greeted her warmly.

“So, like, what can you do?” asked Brooke.

“What do mean?” Eliza replied.

“She means what are your powers,” Cody explained.

“Oh… I can control time.”

“Coooool!” everyone said in unison.

“I can control fire!” said Nicolas.

“I can control the dead!” Bailey chimed in cheerily.

“I can manipulate people’s emotions. It’s lame, I know,” Brooke said disappointedly.

“It’s not,” said Nicolas. “It’s so cool. You might have the best powers of all of us.” This made Brooke blush.

“Anyway, I can control anything living,” Cody said. “So I’m like a plant and animal magnet. Oh, by the way, Eliza, do you want me to show you to your room?”

Eliza gratefully agreed. She felt like she could use a shower! She followed Cody past a bunch of rooms that looked identical besides the decorations. Cody pointed out his room, which had the most color and was definitely also the messiest. Eliza noticed him watching her cringe.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Do you ever clean up in there?” Eliza asked, appalled.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA no,” he replied. Cody led Eliza the rest of the way to her room and bathroom.

“Great. I’ll leave you alone now, but we’re going to have dinner with everyone else at six o’clock, okay?”

Eliza nodded. Cody left the room and Eliza looked in the mirror. Okay, just-traveled-in-a-galaxy-colored-corn-syrup-portal was not a good look on her. Her normally wavy auburn hair was sticking out in all directions. She might have been allergic to the goop, because her violet blue eyes were red and puffy. There was also a layer of the slimy stuff all over her fair skin. She showered and brushed out her hair and chose out a sky blue dress to wear. When she got out of the bathroom, all of her roommates were sitting on the couch in the living room.

Everyone smiled at her, but Cody just goggled.

“You look nice.” Cody said.

Everyone made their way to the large dining room Eliza had seen on her way to her room, but now it was filled with kids and food. The ages of the kids seemed to range from eight to sixteen, and it looked like they were sitting with other kids their age, probably roommates. Eliza sat with her roommates at a table in the far corner, and they started eating the feast of roast chicken, potatoes, salad, and like twenty other things she couldn’t remember. After a little while of eating, a tall dark-haired man at the front of the room rang a gong to get everyone’s attention. Once everyone was looking at him, he smiled.

“Hi, everyone! Tonight we have a few new arbitriums among us, so for those who don’t know me, my name is Gideon Sullivan, and I run the Institute of the Arbitrium, the IA. I will call the new children up one by one, and test them for their weapon.”

Brooke leaned over and whispered, “He’s the one who chose us all to be controllers, Eliza.”

He then called up a bunch of kids and made a show of looking them over, measuring them, then having light emit from his hands, that, Eliza realized, must be magic. He would then conjure a weapon such as a sword, spear, or a bow and arrow. When it was Eliza’s turn, she walked to the front of the room, feeling everyone’s eyes searing into her. When she got to the front of the room, Gideon did what he done with everyone else. But when it came time for him to conjure a weapon, instead of conjuring a plain steel sword or a wooden bow and arrow, he conjured a bronze sword with a sapphire studded handle that matched Eliza’s eyes with intricate designs on the hilt.

“Well, I never,” muttered Gideon. “It looks like the rightful wielder of Soulblade is standing right in front of us!” Everyone stared at him. “Oh, I forgot I never explained that story. A thousand years ago, a special sword was forged, named Soulblade. It was the most desirable blade to wield, so people would steal it from each other. Then, there was a prophecy that said that only the person who the blade appeared for, the rightful wielder, could hold it. Anyone else would die instantly. The blade appeared for you, making you the rightful wielder.”

Eliza trudged back to her seat. She never wanted this! She sat down, frowning.

“You okay?” asked Cody.

“I hate it here!” Eliza said angrily. “I never planned any of this for myself! Nothing is normal here!”

“Sometimes,” Cody said quietly, “the best things in life are the ones we never planned.”

Right then, there was a big banging noise. Everyone looked up from their food in time to see three giants come lumbering into the dining room. Everyone whipped out their weapons. The biggest one, who Eliza thought looked like a hairy ball of fat and muscle, lumbered to the front of the room.

“We want the Soulblade!” it shouted in a deep, growling voice. “Give it to us now and no one dies!”

Gideon went right up to the giant even though the height difference was at least ten feet.

“You see, Mr. Giant,” he said, not even minding there was a large giant in grabbing distance from him, “you know about that prophecy? Back in the day, the one about the rightful wielder, any other wielder dies instantly, blah-dee-blah-dee-blah. You know the one?”

“Prophecy schmophecy. I am claiming the Soulblade!”

“You can’t really do that… ” Gideon said, but the giant was already scanning the room for the sword.

Eliza didn’t know what to do, but she impulsively willed it to turn into something else, and to her surprise, she found herself holding a stone. She pocketed her new stone-sword and went to Gideon.

“Why can’t those giants have my sword? Won’t that be better than people dying?” she asked him.

“You see, Eliza, this blade is as well as being the most desirable, is also the most destructive and formidable. And if you freely give it away you would not be the rightful wielder anymore, and it would have more of a chance of falling into the wrong hands,” Gideon explained. “In the past, this blade has been bestowed upon bad people, starting conflict, like the War of Ivory, The Battle of Occults, or the Siege of Burning Fields. We have been hoping the rightful wielder would be among us so that we could ensure it wouldn’t get into bad people’s hands. Okay?”

“Okay. But shouldn’t we be focusing on the giants?” Eliza and Gideon looked around, but the giants were still looking for Soulblade.

“Eliza… where’s the sword?” Gideon asked, looking agitatedly at the giants rummaging around. Eliza took out the rock. Gideon smiled. “Good. We have to kill these giants before they find the sword. You can use this so that they don’t find Soulblade.”

He took out a plain steel sword and handed it to Eliza. Eliza thanked him and ran off to the rest of the students. They were all standing with their weapons drawn, waiting for an order.

Someone yelled, “CHARGE!”

And after that it was a blur in Eliza’s memory. Students left and right were running to the giants, who had been in the middle of looking under tables and weren’t physically fit, so they couldn’t stand up fast enough to avoid a bunch of pre-teens and teenagers running at them with swords and spears. Everyone started slashing the giants with swords, driving their spears into them, and shooting their arrows at them. The giants were fighting back also by swinging their clubs and punching in random directions. Every now and then, a student would fly out from the crowd from a club blow or a giant punch. Eliza decided she would attack from the top. She look at the ceiling and noticed what looked like repair on a ledge, with a ladder leading up to a ledge. Eliza ran to the ladder and quickly climbed up. Eliza looked down from the ledge. She saw the battle playing out below her, the two smaller giants dead now, the larger one occasionally swatting a kid out of the way.

Eliza waited until the largest giant was under the ledge. The steel sword won’t do the job, Eliza thought. She pulled out the rock and willed it back to a sword. She jumped from the ledge and onto the giant’s head, and drove her sword right into its skull. The giant shouted, a horrible, ear splitting, sound, and dropped to the ground, dead. Unfortunately, that meant Eliza went down with him. When she hit the ground, she was knocked out, and her mind went completely blank.

Eliza woke up a day later in what she guessed was an infirmary. She took in her surroundings, stark white walls, stiff bed sheets, and wooden shelves with medicines and bandages and such lining the walls. She looked next to her where she saw Cody dozing in a chair. She tried to sit up and all of a sudden Cody’s eyes snapped open.

“Eliza! Thank goodness you’re awake! We were starting to get worried,” Cody said, relief evident in his voice.

“What happened?” Eliza asked.

“You killed the big giant! Even if everyone was working together, we wouldn’t have managed that!”

“Is everyone okay?”

“Yeah. A couple broken bones here and there, but you probably got the worst of it.” Cody gave Eliza a hug. “I have to go now. Things to do. Training and stuff.”

Eliza realized she had learned a few things from this weird and not planned experience. First, she learned that good things in life are not always planned. On a related note, she learned that life often strays from the plan, sometimes for the better. Eliza looked down at the stone-sword she just realized she was still holding. Third, she decided that some things were just fated.

 

Tim, the Mouse

It was a normal day for Tim. He was a normal house mouse, or to be more accurate, a castle mouse. The castle was five floors high, it was made of stone, it was chilly like the air conditioning was always on, there was a big front door, and there were two towers where the king and his children slept. But not anymore. The king welcomed Tim’s family to the castle, but as of an hour ago, the witch known as the queen (to the mouse family) moved in. When she saw Tim’s family, she was disgusted. She stepped on Tim’s brother, Tom. Then, she brought her ugly cat to the castle. It was scratching Tom with its magical nails, but Tim was able to save him before the cat finished. Now they lived in the junkyard. It was a big place. There were broken down cars everywhere. It was dirty. There was trash all around. Sometimes, there were other animals going through the junkyard. It was usually damp and warm in the junkyard. They slept in a car. It was a nice one. The only problem with it was a popped tire as they could see. They lived on the opposite side of the town. Anywhere was better than living with that cruel woman. Life was a bit rough. Tom was in bad shape. If they didn’t get a magic bear’s potion, he would be sick his whole life with the flu! Tim’s mother, Mama Mouse, called him.

“Tim. Tim, I know you can hear me.” Tim grunted.

“Yes, Mother. I hear you,” Tim said. There was a sound of annoyance in his voice.

“Tim, get your ratty butt over here,” yelled Mama Mouse.

“Yes, Mother,” said Tim.

As he was walking to the kitchen, he thought of what they wanted him to do. Probably wanted him to ask the wizard for help. But everyone knew that the wizard didn’t know any potions. Or maybe to write more mail to the magic bear. But everyone knew bears didn’t read mail. Why would a magical one? Especially when he’s busy making potions. The kitchen wasn’t really a kitchen. It was more a toy table that was purple, round, and big enough to fit the whole mouse family.

“Tim, I have a favor to ask of you,” said Mama Mouse.

Tim was hoping it was to cook grilled cheese because he had a big fear of bears.

Can you please go to the bear’s cave and ask him for a potion that cures the flu?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, thought Tim. Nothing but the bear. But everyone was counting on him.

Then out of nowhere, he shouted out, “Alright!” Tim gulped. Why did he say that???

“Good. I asked the wizard if she could mark trees to the bear’s cave.”

“Why didn’t she go ask the bear for the potion?” asked Tim.

“You know she has a grudge against the bear because she can’t make potions.”

“That’s stupid,” said Tim.

“Go now to get it while it’s late.”

Tim was in the magical forest. It was already nighttime, and Tim couldn’t see, so he went to sleep.

Tim was tired. It had been days on his trip toward the magical bear. He lived here somewhere. Wait, where was he? The wizard said she marked trees to the cave, but he didn’t see any marked trees. His hands were up in the air. Where was he?

“Don’t worry. I know where you should go.”

“Who are you,” said Tim, looking around for the creature that said those words, the words that gave him hope.

“Here, right here!” said a big, dirty tree. It looked almost dead.

“No, don’t listen to him. Go west,” said a small tree.

“No. South!” said the first tree.

“No, no. You are all wrong. It’s north. Hey, hey, hey, where are you going!” said a third tree.

Tim was pacing around. Where should he go? North? East? South? If only the trees could agree. Tim was thinking but getting nowhere. What direction should he choose?

“Follow north. It’s the best way you can go,” said the third tree.

“Alright,” said Tim.

While he was going north, he saw a giant tiger.

“Aaaahhhh!” yelled Tim as he ran away from the tiger. “Stupid tree,” mumbled Tim. As he was walking back toward the trees, he saw the third tree smirking.

 

“I told you it was south,” said the the first tree.

When he went south, he found a big, dirty wolf who was, of course, hungry. Luckily, Tim had some leftover bacon. He was able to calm the wolf down, but he did get scratched multiple times by the wolf. Rats aren’t pigs, he thought angrily. When he got back to the trees, he saw the first tree giggling as he looked at Tim’s scratches and cuts. Next, he went east. There was a bear trap!!! He went back to the trees. They were all roaring with laughter.

 

“Stupid rat,” they yelled and went back to laughing. Tim was furious. A rat. A rat? They had the audacity to call him a rat.

I am a mouse for your information,” he squealed. They ignored him.

Tim went west, as it was the only direction he could go. When he was walking, he saw a big cave. It was the bear’s cave! thought Tim.

When he entered, he heard a rough voice say, “Drink the potion.”

Tim looked around. He found a potion. He drank his bottle of water.

“You may pass. What do need,” said a big, hairy bear.

“Oh, that doesn’t matter right now. Do you want water?” said Tim.

“Oh yes, very generous.” Tim slipped the bear’s own potion in his water.

“Ahh ahh!” He was on fire. He left a patch of fur, and it exploded! It burned Tim’s fur off… THE END.

 

Oh wait, there’s more!!!

 

It was December. They were in a cave. It was pretty cold but nice. It smelled like wet fur. They were singing a song. Tim was sitting, singing a song with his family. “Oh Tom is okay, Tom is okay, he has no flu today, yay.” Tim’s hair was all burnt off. He got rest, but he was a bit tired. His family all looked normal. They just looked a bit more joyful. While they were singing, Tim got the biggest problem he faced this whole journey solved! When his family went to sleep, he could rip their fur off and glue it to himself. It was December after all, and if he didn’t have anything to protect himself against the cold, he’d freeze to death. Tim stared at the outside world and waited for his next adventure as the explorer of rats. Finally, the end.

 

Nope, there’s a sequel.

 

The Witch and Isabella

        

The Witch

I’m an Elvish witch and I’m gonna take your soul

But hey I’m a witch so that’s my goal —

I got wind powers and light that makes two,

You gotta admit it’s quite a combination, it’s true —

But dude, you dope, you got no hope

That’s the reason you’re at the end of your rope!

 

You’re at the end of your line

So you can stop being a mime

I’m gonna put you out of your misery

‘Cause dude, you’re history!

 

You weren’t quite a find,

Dude you’re a crime to your time

You’re a zero so stop trying to be a hero.

So now that I’m breathing fire

And I keep going higher and higher

I’m at the top I can’t be stopped

You can’t stop me it’s true

I’m nowhere close to being a loser like you.

 

Isabella

My name is Isabella and I’m gonna tell ya about the finest fella

She got black hair and beads, that describes me

You might be thinking, “That’s not true, how could it be?”

But let me explain my philosophy

I’m good at math, and I got so much wrath

No one can beat me in a fight due to all my might

I’m at language arts and regular arts, too

But I’m really good at martial arts, it’s true

I got a musical core and so much more

So now that I’ve proven my philosophy

I got one more thing that gives me my bling

I got rapping skills that can pay bills

Excuse me, I need to take a pill because my rapping’s so sick, it makes me sick

You may call me weird, young, and bold

But this amateur has skills that are worth gold

 

Raining Frogs

Once upon a time it started raining frogs. Everyone went inside because they thought frogs were slimy and gross. There was a frog named Slimey. He fell right into a pond. All the other frogs got hurt and didn’t go into the pond. And then, toads started to rain! Then, snakes started to rain! It was going crazy for about three days. Slimey was just watching everybody fall outside of the pond. But then, a shark came up and ate Slimey! He went into the shark’s tummy, but then Slimey farted, and the shark spit him out. The shark spit him out into a tree. He was stuck in the tree until a fox hit the tree, shaking the tree, and Slimey fell into somebody’s house.

He felt scared. He wanted to go back into the sky where he came from. Then, the person in the house saw him and trapped him in a garbage can! He threw Slimey into a hole where a groundhog lived. It was really dark and cold. The groundhog saw Slimey, and Slimey was scared, so he farted on the groundhog. The fart was so bad that the groundhog ran away. Slimey was trapped in the hole because it was too dark to find his way out. He ran into the mother groundhog, and she started to bite him. Slimey farted on her too, and she ran away. Through a tube in the groundhog tunnel, he found his way out, but a snake fell on him and pushed him back into the hole. The snake fell into the hole too. It was still raining animals. All the groundhogs started to bite the snake, and Slimey went back through the tube to get out while the groundhogs were distracted.

Slimey climbed into another person’s house and hid behind a can of tuna. Then, a girl lifted up the tuna can and started to open it with a can opener. The girl saw Slimey, picked him up, and put him in the garbage because she thought he was a toy. The garbage got dumped outside, and a whole bunch of animals fell into the garbage, squishing Slimey. Slimey was in the garbage, with all the other animals, for two hours before the garbage collector came and picked up the garbage and brought it to the dump.

Now, Slimey was in the dump with all the other animals that were on him. He was with foxes, snakes, toads, groundhogs, and gophers. Then, the garbage collector saw all the foxes, snakes, toads, groundhogs, and gophers, and he shot all of them. But Slimey didn’t get shot. He ran and hid in a pile of trash. It smelled like poop because there was donkey poop and dog poop and cat poop in there. So, Slimey got all dirty. Then when the garbage was going to be crushed, Slimey ran away and ran away to the pond.

Then, Slimey found a ramp that led to the sky. The ramp looked really purple, and there were other animals going up it.

Slimey talked to a snake and asked, “Where does this ramp lead to?”

And the snake said, “Back to the sky.”

Slimey felt very excited. So now he went in line to go up the ramp.

But then, a pile of garbage fell onto Slimey. He forgot everything. And he was really stinky, so no one wanted to talk to him anymore. He forgot about the ramp.

A snake was rushing away from a toad, because they were playing tag. But then, the toad bumped into Slimey. And when he bumped into Slimey, Slimey got back his memory. And Slimey went up the ramp and was back where he was from. In Slimey’s home, the houses were made out of stars, and the floors were made out of clouds, and the ceiling was sky blue, and Slimey could see all the planets through a telescope in the animal world.

Slimey saw his parents and all his cousins and aunts and grandparents. They looked happy to see him.

They said, “Where were you.”

And Slimey said, “In another world.”

And then Slimey hugged them, and they lived happily ever after.

 

The Booger Who Wanted a Friend

Once upon a time in New York City, there was a booger. The booger was named Buttface. He wanted a friend because he was so lonely. He tried being kind to the other boogers, but the other boogers didn’t like him because he was brown, and they were all yellow. Buttface started to cry. Then one day, he got blown out of his nose into a tissue. Then, he had the whole world to find a friend. He was a little scared because he didn’t know what was outside the nose. Then, he got thrown in the garbage. There were cans, candy wrappers, and other boogers in the garbage can. Buttface tried to talk to the boogers in the garbage, and they talked to him too. They were nice. So he ended up making friends. But then, the garbage got emptied. All the boogers got separated all over the dump.

Buttface tried to look for his friends. He went on a big journey to try to look for them. He started looking for them everywhere. He made a friend named Fartbutts. Fartbutts was a germ who lived in a can of beans. Then, he went on his journey to look for the other booger. Fartbutts went with him. The boogers were located at the other end of the dump. First, they ran into a guard dog. It was mean and big and had big teeth. They tried to go around it, but it didn’t work. They tried sneaking past, and that worked. Next, they ran into a big pile of garbage. It was too big for them to climb. After a while, they found a tunnel to go underneath the garbage pile. They were almost to where the boogers were.

After they came out of the tunnel, some garbage fell on them. They couldn’t get out from underneath the garbage. They had to wait until the garbage got cleared. For a day, they waited. Finally, another booger came and cleared the garbage. Buttface was happy to see the other booger.

“Thank you for saving me!” he said.

The other booger led Buttface and Fartbutts back to where the other boogers were. Buttface felt happy to be reunited with all his friends, and his friends were happy to see him too. They all lived together in the dump for the rest of their lives.

THE END

 

The Girl Who Finally Got A Dog

   

Once there was a girl. It was her birthday. She had just woken up from her sleep. She couldn’t wait for her birthday party to start. She had invited all of her friends. She was so excited! She was having a spa birthday. Her birthday party was going to start at 10AM and end at 12PM. She got all the goody bags ready, and she couldn’t wait. She really wished she knew what kind of cake she was going to have, but her parents wanted to surprise her, and they always succeeded in surprising her with the most delicious cake she had ever had — at least, until the next year, when they got her an even better one. She couldn’t even imagine how good this year’s cake was going to have to be to top last year’s cake. Then, after she got the goody bags ready, she got ready. She had special pancakes for breakfast. The pancakes were special because they were birthday pancakes that were filled with nutella and had a smiley face of fruits with really yummy syrup on top. There was also one little candle on top, so she could make two wishes for her birthday: one with the real cake and one with her pancakes! She made a wish and blew it out. She really hoped that her wish would come true.

Then, she washed her face to make it super shiny. After that, she changed into her special party dress and put on a little bit of lipstick. Since she was just seven years old, she was only allowed to put on lipstick when it was her birthday or a special occasion. Then, she put on her special shoes, which were beautiful blue shoes with sparkles and blue glitter pom-poms on them. Next, she wanted to do her hair. She woke her parents up and asked them if she could use the curler by herself.

Her mom said, “No, sweetie! You’re not old enough, you’re only seven.”

So her mom got out of bed and did it for her. She didn’t really care if she curled her hair by herself or not. She just really cared about having her hair styled and in a pretty hairstyle. So after her mom curled her hair, she put it half up and half down. It looked fabulous and stunning. Now that she was finished getting ready, she went on her iPad and started to watch TV while she waited for her parents to get ready too. Her older sister woke up and also got ready. When her sister was done, she went on her phone and started texting her friends because her sister was 18 and old enough to have a phone. Her sister could also use the curler by herself, but she wanted her hair to be straight, so she used the flat iron instead.

Now that her whole family was ready, they drove to the spa in the dad’s car. They got everything ready. They put up decorations, put the goody bags in place, and put everyone’s names on them so the guests would know which one was theirs. Finally, all of her guests arrived, and the party could start. They danced, did their nails, got facials, played dress-up, and made their own lip balms. When they were done with all the activities, someone yelled out, “Pizza time!” so they all went and ate lunch.

When they were done with the pizza, someone yelled out, “Cake time!” Everyone got really excited, especially the birthday girl because she would finally get to see how good the cake would be and what type it was.

Her mom and dad brought out the cake and put it down on the table right in front of her. The flames from the candle were facing her, so she said, “Whoa!”

Her parents asked, “What, sweetie?”

She told them that the fire was right in front of her face and seemed dangerous, so they moved the cake a bit further away. Now that she was less worried, she took a good look at the cake. It was the most gorgeous thing she had ever seen. It was a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, fondant flowers all around it, and a giant fondant statue of the birthday girl on it. The statue was also holding a small mini chocolate shaped like a cake, just for her. On top of the cake, it also said, in strawberry frosting, Happy birthday. There was a chocolate candle that was shaped like a seven too. She was so happy. Everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to her, and she blew out the candle. She also made her second wish. She wished for the same thing that she had in the morning, just to make sure that the wish would come true. Suddenly, a giant box appeared at her house without her knowing because she was still at the spa.

When she was done with her party, she gave out all the goody bags and said goodbye to her friends. Then, when she got home, she saw the giant box. Her parents were confused because they had never gotten that for her. But there was a note attached and it said, From your wish. She told her parents what she had wished for. She opened the box and saw two adorable little puppies. One was a white Maltese, and one was a black Terrier. They were jumping up, and she let them out of the box. They started to lick her face. She was confused because there were two puppies. She realized that she had wished for the same thing twice and that her wish had come true twice too. She was so happy about the puppies, and her family loved them too. They had fun with the puppies as she opened her other presents. It was the best birthday she had ever had.

THE END

 

Storm

                 

PROLOGUE

It was a pitch black night when Jeremy went to the frozen storage room and picked out the person he would pretend to drive to the factory. He was strolling through the room when he saw a boy that looked perfect for this job. Jeremy looked at the nametag. James Park. He opened the tube of ice and wheeled out a frozen version of him. Jeremy began to cough. The Virus was getting to him. The Virus is too strong, Victoria is crazy, and she’s going to make everybody else pay for it, thought the short man. He looked at his wrist phone and was astonished at what destruction the Virus has caused. Earthquakes and tsunamis everywhere and people dying twice as fast. “We have to stop this.”

 

STORM

I woke up in the trunk of a car. It was pitch black and had a strong smell of gasoline. My stomach rumbled, and I remembered that I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. Then I remembered that I had no clue what time it was. I tried to move my hand to access my watch, and I felt a strong rope keeping my hands tied. I tried wiggling around, and I accidentally broke an object. A thick liquid ran down my hand, and I felt a piece of glass cut my hand. A loud curse came through the thin divider, and the wheels pulled the car over and squealed to a stop. They must have heard the glass break, I thought scaredly. A door slammed shut, and a person wandered to the trunk and opened it. The first thing I felt was the sun burning my eyes like fire was let loose in my retinas.

“Get up,” said the mysterious man.

The man was a stout little man with bushy eyebrows and a bushy mustache. He had almost no hair, and he was wearing a dirty business suit. I groaned and sat up. Immediately, my vision doubled, and I gagged.

“Hope you can walk a couple miles, son,” said the man. “You have ten minutes, and here is your lunch,” the man told me.

Then, he put two slices of bread and a piece of cheese in my hands. As the man walked away, I could hear him grumbling about breaking something. When I began to eat the sandwich, I remembered that my hands were tied, and I would certainly drop it. Then, I remembered the shard of broken glass that cut my hand. So, I reached into the trunk and brought a piece of glass out. I started to very slowly cut the bonds on my wrists. Just then, the man appeared again.

 

“What are you doing?” the man asked.

“Trying to eat my lunch,” I said.

“We have to go now! We are on a tight schedule,” said the man.

Before I was done with cutting through my bonds, he took the food out of my hands and placed four green bottles with a syrup-like liquid inside into my open hands.

“I can’t believe you broke the other bottle!” shouted the angry man. It seemed that his mood changed every minute. “Follow me,” said the man.

I now realized that his name was on a tag right above his heart. Jeremey. He began to walk, and I began to follow him. I now saw that we were in some sort of desert or plain. We began to follow a trail marked by stones that eventually led us to a weathered building. It was small and grey, and when we entered it, Jeremy shoved me towards a man in a pearl white lab coat. The doctor showed me to a room and laid me down on a bed.

“We want all of our patients to feel comfortable when we do our exams.”

I stiffened with terror, readying for the pain. Then, he injected a needle into my vein, and I neither heard nor saw anything more.

 

I awoke to Jeremy and the doctor talking in hushed voices in the back of the room.

“The antidote works!” shouted the doctor.

“Shhhh. Mike, are you sure you want to put him in the testing system?” whispered Jeremy.

“Yes! Seventeen years old when we froze him, six feet tall, muscular, and very healthy,” said Mike the doctor.

“Fine! But, if you fail me, you know what the boss will do,” said Jeremy. “Look at what he did.” Then, the little man pointed to the broken bottle.

“I know. I’ll wake him up, and you two can be on your way.” Then, the doctor took out the needle, and I yelped in pain. Blood was dripping down my arm. Mike put a bandage on my cut and sent me out of the room.

Jeremy beckoned to me outside, and I went to meet him. “See this truck here? Get into the passenger seat and buckle in. It should be about an hour before we get to the factory.”

On that note, we both got into the car, and he started up the engine. Inside the black truck, the upholstery was in ruins and the radio was on the fritz. Once the tire treads caught the rough ground, we were on our way.

 

The hour getting to the factory was the worst hour of my life. It was one hundred degrees outside, and there was no air conditioning, not that that would of helped. There was no breeze, and the ride was super bumpy. Because I didn’t have lunch, I was more starved than ever. When we pulled into the blank concrete parking lot, the smell of food wafted towards me, and I almost fainted from hunger. When I recovered, I opened the door to the truck and bolted out like I was running from a monster. Before I could enter the building, Jeremy grabbed my shoulder and led me towards another building. This next one was in slightly better shape than the last. He led me inside the building and into room 236.

“This is your room. Your uniform is on the bed, your food tray is on the desk, and the bathroom is down the hall. Change, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

When he left, I changed and dug into the food he gave me. Mashed potatoes and steak. I immediately felt better. I heard a knock on the door. I opened it, and Jeremy came in.

“Time to meet your work mates!”

 

I followed Jeremy to a door labeled Work Area.

“Here is the key. You’ll be working here every day until you are ready for the field, like me. I know you have a lot of questions, but they will all be answered soon enough.” Then, Jeremy unlocked the door and gave the key to me. He shut the door and led me to another door. “There is an airborne antidote in here just to make sure you don’t contaminate everything inside.”

I nodded my head, pretending to know what was happening. He opened the second door, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There were people in lab coats everywhere. Big forklifts were carrying hundreds of tiny green bottles. Conveyor belts were dispersing the bottles to little cubes. It was like everybody here was working in harmony.

Jeremy showed me to a cube in the far left corner and said, “Here is where you will work. Go inside and talk to Robert and Charlotte, they are the leaders of this cube.”

So, I went inside the cube and asked where Robert and Charlotte are. A woman named Caroline showed me to a room with many people in it. I opened the door and two thirty-year-old people welcomed me in.

“Hi, I’m Rob, and this is Charlotte. I’ll show you around and tell you all about Storm. Come on!” I followed Rob to what looked like a laboratory. “This is where you will work creating and improving the antidote.”

“Why do we need to have an antidote?” I said.

“The Virus.”

 

“What’s the Virus?” I asked.

“It’s the thing that has been destroying the world. The thing that is making everybody braindead. The thing that is causing the world to collapse.”

Then, Rob brought out a chart and started to teach me about what has happened since I was taken from my home to join Storm. He told me that the bottles in the car were antidotes to the virus, that Storm was founded by people who knew about the Virus, that the Virus is man made and was accidentally let loose, that the virus was for research purposes, and that the Earth is going through many tsunamis and earthquakes, which led to the Virus being released. He told me about the mission the company Storm has, which is to stop these natural disasters and the Virus. Then, before I could process all of this information, Rob led me to a little cubicle with a bunch of tools and empty glass beakers.

“And the reason Jeremy was mean to you, was because he didn’t want to rock the boat. Now, I will show you how to work everything here, and you’ll be on your way to saving the world!”

So, Rob showed me how to inject the antidote and use the subatomic microscope, and how to change the antidote. He led me back to my station and said to pack up, and when I’m done, to go to Jeremy in the office to become certified. Then if I need him, I can reach him in Room 254.

“What does being certified mean?” I asked Rob, but he was already gone.

 

When I was done packing up my limited things, I headed out the door, and I followed the signs to the office. Right. Left. Right. Left. I caught a glimpse of a door that said Office, and I entered it. Jeremy was in there, and I followed him to a quarantine room with people already in it. They laid it down and started to take my temperature. Then, they injected more antidote in me and another substance which missed my vein but, they didn’t seem to notice. They sent me out of the room very quickly, like they had to do something else. I went to the person at the desk, and I gave them my name so I could be in the system. James Park. They sent me to my room, and I thought about what happened. Everything went by so quickly it was hard to recall anything about it. I was so tired that I fell onto my bed and closed my eyes. Before I fell asleep, something crossed my mind. Something was definitely up.

 

The next morning, I went to my cube to do work because I had the morning shift. Work was actually very boring. All you did was slightly change the formula, inject into a test subject, and sit down and analyze the data. Rob and Charlotte were never there, so half the time I didn’t know what I was doing. You would think saving the world would be awesome, but it is very dull, unless you are in the field. When work was over, I went to the first building for lunch. Taco day. Because I was not starved, the food didn’t taste as good. After the tacos in the lunchroom, I went to the breakroom to spend the rest of the day because my shift was over. The break room was filled with air hockey, foosball, cards, and board games. There were no televisions anywhere. Spending five hours here would be a nightmare.

 

The first hour or two was spent doing almost nothing. I don’t know anybody here, so board games and card games were off the table. I also had no experience in foosball and the air hockey table wasn’t working. No television wasn’t the worst of it. There was not one library anywhere in the entire place. In school, I was the bookworm. A pluses in everything, part of the drama club, and not one sport, except for swimming. Once the third hour started, I went back to my room to take a nap. I now realized that the bed was stiff and the room was very cold. It was harder to take a nap than the first night. When I finally fell asleep, I dreamt about my family, out in the world without me. Then something hit me. I had to escape.

 

I decided I would do it during dinner, when everybody would be gone. Then I would sneak into the work area and steal some of the antidote to save my family. Dinner was in thirty minutes. I started to gather my stuff. Clothes, leftover food for the journey, key to the cube, and the family picture I forgot I had. It had me, my older sister, my younger sister, my mom, and my dad. It also reminded me of the reason I was breaking out of here. I knew it was dangerous, but I couldn’t stand the thought of letting my family die. I started to quietly cry. I knew that if I didn’t get to my family in time, I would never see them again.

 

Finally, it was dinner time. Everyone would be gone from work until the night shift. I quietly opened my door and slipped down the hallway. I pulled out the key from my pocket and opened the door. I went in the quarantine room to find that the door was locked. I pushed and pushed on the door. I kicked it and tried to force it open. The antidote was my family’s only hope. Then I remembered something about Rob being in Room 254 and that I could reach him if I needed anything. Right now I need the key to the work area. So, I went back out into the hallway and went into Room 254. Surprisingly, Rob left his door open on his way to dinner. It was almost like he knew I needed to break in. I went straight to his bedside table and grabbed his key. I closed the door to his room and dashed back to the work area. I went back into the quarantine area and opened the door with Rob’s keys. I quickly closed the door and entered the big room. It’s grandeur still surprised me. I went over to the storage cell and grabbed three bottles of regular antidote. Then I went over to my cube and went into my pockets for the keys. When I was pulling out the keys, I suddenly stopped. I realized that I was not only leaving for my family. I was leaving for a better life. I was leaving because there was no pay, because the cheese was horrible, and what I was about to find out, because they were brainwashing minds, and because they were the ones to release the Virus.

 

I now hurried to unlock the door with a newfound urgency. I opened the door and tiptoed in. I could hear voices in the meeting room in the back, very close to my desk. What are Robert and Charlotte doing here? I thought to myself.

“Victoria, are you sure we shouldn’t keep an eye on the new kid? He is not acting like the rest of them. I think he wasn’t brainwashed properly. He is going to be the downfall of the experiment!” yelled Charlotte.

“Charlotte, this has been going on for seven years! One puny little bookworm won’t stop us!” Then, Victoria laughed maniacally, sending shivers down my spine.

I now wanted to get out as fast as possible. I can’t believe that this has been a hoax the whole time. And that I am twenty-four! I completely missed college! I screamed inside me. I snapped out of it and grabbed what I had been working on. I special antidote that will destroy the Virus at its core. “Good thing I made a couple different bottles. I can use some for me and my family, and the extra to shutdown the machine making the Virus. As I tried to pick up all of the bottles, one of them fell and broke. The sound brought out three people I never want to see again.

 

“You are that receptionist at the cube, Caroline!” I suddenly realized.

“Yes, James, yes. Why don’t you come with me, and we can explain everything,” said Victoria softly.

I struggled to refuse the offer. My head began to swim. “No!”

She began to lunge at me, and Robert and Charlotte blocked the exit. I grabbed a syringe and the bottles and slid underneath Victoria. I got up and put the syringe in Charlotte’s arm. She fell to the floor, and Robert went to help her up.

“Thanks,” I said to Robert.

He looked at me confused. I slid out the door and moved some boxes so that they couldn’t get out. I went out both doors and went down the hall and out the door that I came in only a day ago. It seemed like a century. As I went outside, I knew that I would never see this place again. As I went down the road in the rundown truck I came in, I realized that the Virus was still going. So, I turned around and went into the only building I had never gone to. The one all the way to the left. I went down the road and stopped in the parking lot. I got out and started to crouch and sneak around. I opened the door and saw test tubes everywhere and five giant machines and Victoria at the other end.

“You are too late. You can’t shut it down. At first Storm was meant to help the human race, but now, Storm is creating chaos and destroying the world. Everybody is selfish, and they are taking up the world’s resources. The world’s population is going up by the millions.” Then, Victoria laughed maniacally and pressed a button on the side of the wall, and all the doors and windows closed and became locked. The place was on lockdown.

 

I started to run. I ran around the machines and dropped in the special serums. Immediately, they started to shut down and reverse directions.

“No! No! NO! You ruined everything! Now they are realizing the antidote!” yelled Victoria.

Then, Jeremy and Rob busted in through the door in the truck and told me to hop in.

“I owe it to you. Especially since I was so mean to you,” said Jeremy.

“And me, because I was such a bad mentor, and I didn’t support the decision to go bad, but majority rules.” Rob gave me a quick smile.

“Anyway, hop in. Victoria is coming this way. We can hold her off. Good luck! And just so you know, your family lives in San Diego. Right now, we are somewhere in northern New Mexico. Ask for the Park family, in building number 236 in apartment 25A.”

“Thanks for everything,” I said.

Jeremy nodded. Then, he got out of the truck and handed me the keys. I nodded back and sat in the driver seat. I started the engine and went in reverse to the road and went speeding away, with the remains of the Virus behind me.

 

EPILOGUE

As I rounded the corner to my building, I think about the time I spent making my journey getting here. From the desert pirates to the food shortages where I had to sneak inside of stores. When I finally figured out how to use the radio, and especially when I found out that Storm had shut down and were exposed for their horrible crimes. Rob and Jeremy got off on a light sentence, but Charlotte and Victoria were exposed as the leaders of the organization. They were pinned with most of the blame, and their sentence was one hundred percent worse than Jeremy’s and Robert’s. The officers inside discovered a serum that had brainwashing effects that had been used on the whole community of Storm. That’s why everybody was okay with no pay and other things. Then, I realized that that was what being certified meant.

As I went underneath the awning of my building, I saw the destruction that the Virus had caused. There was trash on the street, windows were broken, houses were abandoned, people lost their homes, there was no electricity in most buildings, and what I was about to realize, families taken away. I realized that my family must have moved because I don’t remember this new house. My old house was a two story house in the countryside. As I enter the building, the doorman was staring at me quizzically.

“Who are you? This is private property!”

“I am looking for the Park family, in apartment number 25A.”

He looked at me confused and told me that the Park family is gone, and that Storm took them to help stop everything has been happening. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I ran outside and got into the truck. I turned it on and zoomed out of the city. I will find my family.

 

Definitely Not Evil

Once upon a time, there was a guy who made really good muffins and was definitely not evil. He lived on top of a mountain. There was a construction worker on his lunch break, and he said, “Hey, what should I have for lunch?”

Then, someone threw a phonebook at the construction worker, saying, “Get out of the road, bozo!” Then, the construction worker saw on the phone book, Muffin House (Definitely Not Run By An Evil Guy). It was located on a mountain.

“Oh no!” said the construction worker. “I don’t like mountains, and I really want a muffin!” So, he got a wrecking ball from his work and destroyed the mountain, so he could get his muffins.

Then, the definitely not evil guy (who I didn’t make a name for) said, “Hey! You will pay for that.”

Then, the construction worker, whose name was Bob, said, “How much? $5.99?”

Then, the evil guy who was evil and who I thought of a name for (Evil Guy), said, “You destroyed my house!”

“No,” said Bob, “I destroyed your bakery.”

“House!”

“Bakery!”
“House!”

“Bakery!”

“House!”
“Bakery!”

“Okay,” said Evil Guy. “You destroyed my bakery/house.”

“Fair enough,” said Bob. “Now what?”

One hour later…

“Hmmm,” said Bob and Evil Guy. It had been so long that the narrator got bored and quit, so they had to hire a new one.

“Oh, I was going to make you pay with my monster muffin with ridiculously big eyebrows,” said Evil Guy.

“O-M-G!” said Bob. “Those are ridiculously big eyebrows.”

He was right, said the new narrator. Now the big muffin was trying to eat Bob, and Bob was like, “O-M-G! A gigantic muffin is chasing me!”

Then, he realized it was a muffin that made this mess and that he was hungry. The muffin didn’t last long after that. To make this long story short, chomp chomp, burrp! Bob ate the muffin, got his lunch, and went back to work, when he realized the evil guy was still out there!!!

Bob realized he needed help when someone threw a phone book at him, saying, “Get out of the construction site, bozo!!!”

“Hey, I work here,” said Bob.

“Okay, sorry,” said the guy in the car, but this was a different phone book. On the back it said, Need help? Call this guy (his name is Good Guy)! Definitely not located on a mountain!

Then, Bob realized he should get help, so he went to the place that was definitely not on the mountain, and he asked for help. So he got help, and then he tried to find the evil guy who made the muffin to catch him and put him in jail. So that’s exactly what they did.

Then, they got a truck and rode around, trying to think where the Evil Guy would go. First, they checked a ton of bakeries, then they checked a ton of evil bases that luckily had no one in them, and then they tried looking for bakeries that had secret evil rooms. And they found Evil Guy, but he escaped.

They chased him and chased him, and then they finally caught him, but he escaped again. Then, they caught him. They really, really caught him, and then…

 

THE END

 

The Hat With Hands

Once upon a time there was a hat who did construction work and lived on Mars. He couldn’t do his construction work because he didn’t have any hands, so he started to cry. He got fired, and then he got kicked back to Jupiter. He told his friends and cousins and family that he lost his job.

The hat went to his house and cried and cried until it was the next day, then the next day, then the next day, then the next day, then the next day, until he got really, really hungry. Then, he went into his kitchen, and he looked in there, and he ate a bowl of cereal, and he was so hungry that he ate another one and then another one until the next day and the next day until he was really full.

Then, the hat’s parents said, “What are you doing? You’re eating all the food!”

Then, he remembered that he had no hands and said, “I want hands! Someone give me hands! God, give me hands! I want some hands! I’m going to go on a quest for hands! I’ll find someone who’s dead and chop off their hands and use their hands.”

He knew where dead people came from. The only way to get dead people was from Earth. He had a rocket ship, and he realized that he still didn’t have any hands, so he just had to jump onto a button to blast off and used the little handles on his hands to close the door, and he blasted off into Earth.

When he landed, he landed in the lake, and then he swam out of the lake and spun around and around to get all the water off of him. He looked in the city and looked at a graveyard, and he was like, “I don’t know, this is going to be scary. What if someone sees me? I had to pull my rocket ship all the way here, and if someone sees me, I’ll get in there and just blast off.” He saw a body with hands that could fit him, and then he cut them off.

Then, a police officer saw him and he was like, “Hey, what are you doing, hat? Stay there, I’m coming for you!”

Then, the hat was really scared. He grabbed the hands and ran into the spaceship and took off. He wasn’t even flying the spaceship; he was trying to put on the hands, but he realized that he needed to steer. If he didn’t steer, he would crash. He put the hands down, and then he steered it to his house. When he got there, he put on the hands and tried to fit them on, and then the hands were starting to move, and he realized that he was the one moving them. So he tried to learn how to move the hands, but he just hit himself in the face with one hand, then the other one, then the other one. Then, he said, “Stop,” and the hands stopped. He realized that he knew how to control the hands.

When he went into his house, the parents asked, “What happened to you?”

He said, “I went to Earth and chopped off someone’s hands who was dead and put them on.”

The mom replied, “Honey, why did you do that? You don’t need hands. You’re just like everyone. You can do whatever you want without hands.”

The hat said, “Mom, why can’t I have hands? I just want hands, so I can touch things and I can grab things.”

“You don’t need that,” said the Mom. “You can just jump on everything that you need. You don’t need the hands.”

And the hat said, “You’re right, Mom. I don’t need hands.” But then, he just put the hands back on.

The police, in the graveyard, had asked, “Are you still going to do this?”

And he had just said, “I’m blasting off, baby.”

 

THE END

 

Rumble in the Jungle

There was a person in the deep dark woods, and no one had ever seen him. He used to live on the planet Mars, but he had left five years before. His name was Rumble. He had four of everything: four ears, four arms, four legs, four heads. On each head, he had two eyes. He had six hands. He had four houses. He even had four pencils. Rumble wanted the magic cupcake more than anything. It was supposed to be very yummy, and it was supposed to make you see everything and hear everything.

Five years ago, there were space astronauts that came to Mars. They had the magic cupcake. Rumble had heard about the magic cupcake from a messenger, but no one had ever seen it. But then, one day, he saw the astronauts with the cupcake on Mars. It was rainbow colored and looked really good. But, when he tried to grab it from them, they went back to Earth. So, he got his spaceship and went to Earth. But on Earth, he accidentally crashed in the woods. And now, he lived there.

One day, Rumble decided he wanted to go back to Mars to get the cupcake. But also, he wanted to destroy Mars to get bricks so he could build with them. Mars was made of bricks. He got the bricks from Mars. He had a special power — he knew where the astronauts were. He wore booboo bands that made him have every special power.

He built a path to the astronauts with bricks. They were yellow so he wouldn’t get confused. The brick path took him to the thousand knights. He beat 100 knights, then 200, then 300, then 400, then 500, then 600, then 700, then 800, then 900, then 950, then 960, the 970, then 980, then 990, then 991, then 993, then 996, then 999, then the king of the knights.

Then, Rumble almost got hit by a knife when a ninja hit the king with a sword, so he stepped back because he would have gotten hit with the sword. The ninjas just appeared out of nowhere.

Rumble said, “Thank you.”

But then the ninja tried to hit him with the sword. Just in time, he ducked under the sword.  

“You meany!” cried Rumble.

“I give up,” said the ninja, and he walked away.

Rumble went on another path of bricks. For some reason, he met the ninja again.

“Hi,” said Rumble.  

For some reason, the ninja said hi back. Somehow, they became friends and they went on the path together. Then, they went to the secret tunnel, but one of Rumble’s arms fell off! He didn’t have to care because it would grow back again. Sooner or later there was a split in the tunnel. There were two ways, but it was so dark that they couldn’t see. Good thing that Rumble brought a flashlight so they could see what the sign said!

The left said dead skeletons and the right said pokey leaves. Rumble remembered that he had to go to the pokey leaves to get the cupcake. So, they went that way, but they saw dead skeletons. Then, Rumble noticed a big monster. He looked like a skeleton but alive. So Rumble and the ninja tried to run to an open door at the end of the tunnel. The ninja made it, but Rumble was so slow. He couldn’t come out through the door because then the worst thing in the world happened. I’m not going to tell you what it was.

Fine, I’m going to tell you. THE DOOR CLOSED!!! Rumble was so scared. Rumble kicked the door as hard as he could, but it didn’t budge. Then, he kicked even harder. Then, he kicked it so hard that his face turned red, and then the door opened with a crack! The door magically opened. But it wasn’t Rumble who opened it, it was ninja.

“Thank you!” Rumble said. Then, he realized something. “I think I know who switched the signs! It was the monster!”

  When the monster heard them say its name, he stood up and ran after them. They ran like the wind back to the way that said dead skeletons, because they knew it was the opposite. Even though they got hurt a little, it was at least better than being eaten by a big monster. Then, they finally got out of  the dangerous tunnel and started to go to the mean king.

They saw the mean king and heard him because he was yelling so loud. So they snuck up on him. Rumble was shaking with fear when a knight found them. The knight grabbed Rumble and Ninja and took them to the dungeon. Good thing that Rumble had a mini-gun that could shoot arms. So, he shot the mini-gun at the person who had the key. He got the key to the dungeon. And then, they opened the dungeon. They opened all of the dungeons and let everything out. There was another ninja, so the ninja hugged the other ninja. They went to the other side of the castle and opened the dungeons on the other side. In the middle was a lava pit.

Once the guards saw them, they said, “Come over here, you! Hey, you!” They tried to get more ninjas out, but they were so close to the guards that they just ran.

But, there were guards on the other side! So, they had to push them from behind. Rumble grabbed one of the guards and threw him at one of the other guards, so both of them fell down.

“Yes!!” Rumble screamed.

There were two guards on one side and two on the other side. Ninja grabbed one of the guards and threw him on the other guard. And then, they noticed that two guards were in the corner, so the guards grabbed Rumble and Ninja, both of them. Then, Rumble threw the keys at the other ninja in the dungeon, opened all the cages, and then he made a whole team. The guards chased after Rumble and the ninja and the two guards that got them. But then, they defeated the two guards because the guards were so tired from trying to catch all of them. When one of the ninjas was tired, he could take a rest. And then, he had to go back to running. There were 100 ninjas now.

“Where should we go,” asked a ninja.

“Oh yeah, my sticks,” Rumble remembered.

“Oh yeah, I have my sausage for a snack ‘cause we are going to be here for hours and hours and I might get hungry,” said the second ninja.

“How could you use a sausage to find a cupcake?” asked Rumble.

“You just brought sticks and I don’t think you can use them.”

“Oh yeah! Watch this. Let’s go mega sticks! I felt it! This way, let’s go!”

“Is he feeling okay?”

Then another ninja said, “I don’t know.”  They were worried Rumble was going crazy. They just followed Rumble cause they didn’t want to be separated.

“So, are you still 100% sure it’s this way?” asked a ninja.

“I keep telling you guys I got this,” Rumble said. “I think I see an astronaut!”

They ran to the astronaut because there was one astronaut and one hundred ninjas.

They all said at the same time, “Where is the magic cupcake?”

He didn’t answer for a while. “In a secret room,” he finally said.

“Nobody has ever been inside except the guards.”

“I’m going in,” said Rumble.

“I don’t- ” the astronaut said.

Rumble didn’t hear his full sentence because Rumble already left. He teleported to the secret room where the cupcake was. The ninjas stayed with the astronaut and distracted him. There were fences around the cupcake, so he teleported himself over the 50-foot fence. When he saw the cupcake, he felt double happy! It was the biggest cupcake in the world, and it was rainbow. It had rainbow icing and rainbow icing. When he grabbed it, he noticed on his watch that he didn’t have any more booboo bands to walk or run. Because they gave him every power, Booboo bands made him stronger. Each booboo band had a different power, and he originally had ten. But now he had none!

He couldn’t teleport anymore! He started yelling for help. The astronaut guards heard the yell and tried to look through the hole of the fence.

“How did he get inside there?” the guards wondered out loud. As the guards were looking through the fence, the ninjas sneakily came behind them and poked them with the swords. Since the ninjas knew how to jump and climb, they climbed and jumped to the top of the fence and made a chain with their hands to the top, so someone was able to go to the other side but still hold on.

Rumble was still stuck in the middle with the cupcake, but he couldn’t see the ninjas coming to get him because he was out of booboo bands. Without them, he was so tired that he just fell asleep. Fifty of the ninjas came inside to get him. They made a chain with their hands over the fence and brought him up and over the fence with the cupcake in his hands. On their way out, they passed an astronaut guard. The guard gasped.

“How did you do that?” the guard exclaimed.

The ninjas ignored him and kept walking. They brought Rumble to his house back in the forest and put more booboo bands on him. All one hundred ninjas shared the cupcake with Rumble. It was delicious!

 

THE END

                                                                                                                                      

Five Years of Him

Amie was nine months and two weeks into her pregnancy. Amie was in bed, and she woke up all wet. Her water had broke.

“Jules, my water broke!” Jules was the father and was so nervous to find out the gender of his kid. He just stood up, got the bag ready, gave Amie a new pair of clothes, helped her change, and they left. He desperately wanted a boy.

Amie was rushed to the hospital in their car. They ran three red lights and made a couple of wrong turns. Jules didn’t do well under pressure.

When they got to the hospital, Jules was out of breath and clearly sweating. Amie was rushed into the ER, and Jules waited outside. He didn’t want to make Amie nervous by seeing him nervous. Inside the ER with Amie, all the usual things happened, the breathing strategies and whatnot.

Three hours later, a beautiful baby girl was born in New York State Hospital named Xiomara, born on August 9th, 1987. Jules was told the news by a nurse, stood up, and walked away.

 

Twenty-six years later…

Jules knocked on the door of Xiomara’s house and said, “Hi umm. I believe I am your father. Is your name Xiomara?”

“Yes.”

 

Five years later…

The phone rang. Xiomara went to the phone slowly. She was nervous because it was from the hospital that her dad was staying in with stage four brain cancer.

Xiomara was speechless for a while on the phone. She finally said, “Hello, this is Xiomara.”

“Umm. Hello, this is New York State Hospital. I am so sorry. Your father has just passed away. You will have to come by tomorrow to pick him up, or we will burn him and put the ashes in the Hudson River. Sorry, but that is all we can do. We have already told your mom and your brother. They are here at the hospital.”

Xiomara wanted to cry, but she wanted to sound strong on the phone. “But I can’t. I have to read a poem tomorrow at an award ceremony!” Xiomara tried to explain.

“I am sorry. We can’t keep him here any longer. We don’t have the space,” he said as Xiomara hung up the phone.

“Oh, great. Now I can’t find my poem. I worked on that all week. I need a drink.” So Xiomara went to her local bar and instead of having one drink, she had 12 shots of tequila. Xiomara was wasted! There was no way she could find her poem, pick up her dead father from the hospital, and put him somewhere without getting arrested. With all of this on her mind, while being wasted, she walked into the street without looking, and she got hit by a car.

Xiomara ended up in a coma. Her mom, Amie, and her brother, Derek, stayed in the hospital with her and had been with her ever since she got hit by the car. That was last week. Xiomara’s foot twitched. Her mom stood up and started to cry. Xiomara’s brother started running to the doctor and told her that she had started to move. When they got back, Xiomara was sitting up and talking to her mom about what happened, but Xiomara couldn’t remember exactly.

“Hey, Mom. I know I got hit by a car because I was drunk. But I can’t remember anything else. I’m sorry,” Xiomara said in a soft voice.

“Oh, so don’t be sorry for getting hit by a car. I mean, it was your fault and the driver’s fault, but mostly yours. But don’t apologize to me for that. Apologize to you for that. Apologize to me for getting wasted and making me worry about you.”

 

Two weeks later…

Xiomara was riding her bike to work every day as a poem writer. Even though she didn’t get to read the poem, she still submitted it. Then, the judges got to read it, and they suggested her to a writing company, and Xiomara was offered a job. Now she had a well-paying job. And as for her father, Xiomara’s mom and brother took care of him by burning him and putting the ashes in the Hudson River.

 

Six months later…

Next week was Xiomara’s first family reunion without her dad. Xiomara was thinking about drinking, and she had been sober six months now, and that was one of the only labels that she wanted for herself. So she decided to go to a rehab class.

Xiomara arrived at the rehab class, paid the Uber driver, and got out of the car. She was so nervous to share her story, but listening to other people’s stories, especially if they were worse than hers, made her feel better. Xiomara went inside. The doors closed loudly behind her and class started.

In the class, Xiomara didn’t feel nervous. She felt lucky to be sober for a whole six months, probably because the other people in there had it harder, but they were sober and they were staying that way.

The day had finally come, Xiomara’s family reunion, the first one without her dad. She was pretty much up all night with her mom and her grandma, cooking her favorite mashed potatoes that her mom had taught her and that her grandma had taught her mom. Every year, three people worked together to make a dish. They always made mashed potatoes. Derek, Xiomara’s brother, her uncle, Jamey, and Xiomara’s dad would work together. But this year, it would just be the two of them, making rice and beans.

That afternoon, her whole family came except for her father. They all met at Fort Greene Park because most of her family lived in Brooklyn. They needed four tables to hold all the food and one other table to hold the plates and silverware. They even had to wash rocks to keep everything on the table. It was a windy and sunny Saturday with only a couple of clouds in the sky.

Xiomara’s uncle, Jamey, walked over to Xiomara and put his hand on her shoulder and said, “I’m so sorry you only knew your father for five years. But I will be here if you have any questions about him or just want to talk.”

“Okay, that is good to know. Thanks, Uncle Jamey,” Xiomara said with confidence.

The whole family ate and laughed, sent a prayer to Jules, and enjoyed life while they had it. And in that moment, Xiomara realized she could live a happy, full life without her father, and she had the rest of her giant family. I mean, she already lived 26 years without him. She’d be fine.

 

I Forget

 

Most people live a normal life…

Some people’s lives are more extraordinary and adventurous…

I… for one live an extraordinarily abnormal life.

 

“Ms. Leo Bongores!” Yes, Leo, that’s my name. You don’t need to yell it in my ear. “Ms. Bongores, look up at me young lady.” I put down the book I was reading and looked up at Dr. Joel. “If you look at that book again, then I’ll send you to the office!”

I sighed and looked out the window. “Why did I let Mrs. A make me go to this school,” I whispered. I looked back at Dr. Joel. He was pacing around the room, back and forth, clip clop, clip clop.

“Your teachers just don’t know what do with you, always being a disruption in class, always causing problems.” He shook his head. “Sooner or later, we’ll have to call your mother.”

I burrowed in my arms on the desk. Foster mother,I said. My mother, Jane Bongores, died five years ago in a car accident. I had been living with a foster family since I was 12, and it didn’t help the fact that I was stuck living with two other kids. It was exhausting.

“Yes, foster mother.” He looked me in the eye. “Do you have anything to say to me, Ms. Bongores?” Dr. Joel asked.

“I forget.”

“Then you may be dismissed.” I stood up and grabbed my bag, and silently bid the yellow room goodbye, and cherished the fact that if my plan went well, I’d never have to be in this room again.

Stepping out, I saw the blinding lights of the hallway flash into my eyes and prayed that life would finally calm down for me and just leave me be.

But I could say that nothing went the way I hoped it would.

 

Chapter One: Backspace to hell

“Leo, what took you so long?” Mrs. A asked when I got back to the house. “I was worried sick!” She ran into the yard and started to guide me up the steps.

“I had art club.” I lied. Art club was only on Mondays. It would never be on a Tuesday like today.

Mrs. A frowned, deepening her wrinkles. She was a small, petite woman with a bundle of curly red hair covering her eyes, which were a dark shade of blue. She walked like a model which with the way she looked, made her look like a penguin walking away.

“Well, hurry up. Dinner is here.” She started to walk into the house. “It’s pork and chicken shumei. I ordered some vegetables too.” The door slammed on my face.

“At least it’s not ramen.” I sighed. I hated ramen. The soup part was disgusting.

 

“How was your day, Dave?” Mr. A asked. We were sitting at the dinner table, stuffing our faces with food.

“It was good. I played basketball with Sam and the other guys,” Dave said. Sam nodded in agreement. He was the only real child that was living with Mr. and Mrs. A.

Oh no, I thought, they are going to ask me next. I started to bite my nails, a habit of mine.

“So, Leo.” Sam cracked his knuckles. “Why were you at the office today? Did you get in trouble?” He smirked impishly.

“You little brat!” I stood up and started to chase him around the living room, jumping over seats and the table.

“That is enough, you two!” Mr. A slammed his fists on the table, and we stopped moving, dead silent. “Samuel Arnold Arson, we have raised you better than this young man. Snap out of it! And, Leo.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to do with you anymore. You have been sent to the office five times this week, skipping classes, leaving the school to get lunch.” He sat down. “Why do we even put up with you, you aren’t even our child,” he whispered, so quiet I strained my ears to hear.

I ran to my room and slammed the door. You aren’t even my father, I thought. I guess the feeling is mutual.

I jumped up onto my bed. I had been living here for four years. They hadn’t bothered to decorate my room for me yet. It felt like the house would never be my home.

I rolled on to my back, looking at the glow in the dark stickers I placed on the ceiling when I moved here. They are forty cents per packet, or were. I used to collect them all those long years ago when I lived in San Francisco. On the harbor, there was Mikey’s Drug Store.

Mikey was a good friend of my mother. He would always be saying things like, “Y’all lookin’ fine today, little Leo. Ya look more like your mother each day” and “Where is Jane today, Leo?” And I would always answer, “At work” or “ I forget.” He always would greet me with a warm smile. I missed him. He was the only person that I had left.

 

“Don’t forget to take lunch with you.” Mrs. A waved as we walked to the school bus. “Have a good day.” Dave waved back at her.

“Hurry up, Dave,” I said.

He turned around and scurried after me, probably hoping that the bus would wait for him, or that he’d still have time to play Nintendo before the bell rang. When we got off the bus, he trailed off behind me.

“What are you following me for?” I asked.

“There are these two boys who beat me up, and all the boys are afraid of you, and I thought — ” He stopped in mid-sentence, pushing back his black bangs back from his forehead, which looked exotic against his pale skin.

“Boys, afraid of me?” We finally got to my locker. “Yeah right.”

“Oh.” Dave looked at his watch. “It’s time for class. I gotta go, bye.”

I put away my bag and started to head to class. “See ya.”

 

“So I, like, said, ‘Who do you think you’re talking to.’ And he was like, ‘A random girl?’ so I said… ” Britney, the Barbie girl of the class, chatted away with Harley.

“Carman claimed that they, “are as annoying as a chipmunk pretending to be a baboon,” and I believed her.

“Can you two please stop.” I covered my ears. It was Max talking. He was always the one to tried to stop them.

“Oooh,” Britney teased. “Maxie waxy doesn’t like noise. It wakes him up and scares him.”

Harley laughed. “Do you need a bottle to stop your pouting?” She held her canteen up in the air. “Drink up, boy.” I couldn’t help snickering to that, because as much as I hated them, their jokes cracked me up, and also because otherwise they’d drag me into this.

“I would appreciate it if you stopped teasing me as well,” he said, his face turning red. “It’s very irritating.” He looked at me. “Right, Leo.”

“Does Maxy waxy have a girlfriend?” Harley asked. “Is Maxy waxy’s feelings hurt, so he had to bring in little Leo?”

“Arghh!” I felt my nails digging into my head. “You just had to drag me into this!” Max looked as if he was going to say something, but I spoke first. “Really, Max? Really.”

“Oh, little Leo’s crying, wah wah.” Britney started to rub her eyes. “I’m Leo, and I’m a baby. Wah.” She grinned at Harley.

“Then you must be the first braindead blond to step on the planet!” I stood up and turned to Harley. “And you must be the only redhead to ever catch on fire!” I slammed my fists on my desk and ran to the girls bathroom.

I looked into the mirror and saw a girl. She looked like she was 15 or so, and she had long blond hair that trailed down to her hips, she was wearing a black T-shirt with words written on it saying I don’t go down without a fight, and baggy jeans. That girl in the mirror was me, or the person they saw.

I shut myself in a stall and started to cry, not because I was sick of the bullying, but because I couldn’t stand being here, here in this school, in this place, in this town. There was nowhere that I could go that would leave me be. Every day, it was the same thing over and over and over again. I’m sick of it! I thought. I can’t do this anymore! I’m leaving! That’s when I decided to run away. I couldn’t just stay at this place anymore. I’d stayed there for too long.

I walked out of the bathroom and thought to myself. Give it one day, I thought. One day until I’ll leave this place forever. Just finish today.

 

Chapter Two: Run Away

Clunk! The books fell into my bag one by one. I put in some clothes and put the bag on my back. I quietly opened the window, took a deep breath, and started to climb down. I stepped onto the window ledge and leaped to the nearest tree, which seemed a foot or two away, perfect for climbing. From stepping onto the ground I started to run.

“Goodbye, the Arsons!” I looked back at the yellow house and grinned. When I looked forward again, I smashed face first into something. I felt gravity push me into the ground, like a imposing force that was not to be reckoned with.

“God that hurt,” the person said. Their voice was deep, low just like…

I rubbed my eyes. “Max?” I backed away. “No, no. It can’t be. You have parents, nice parents. Why are you here?” Max didn’t move, and a chunk of his brown hair fell onto his face. “Max, are you okay?” I shook him. “Max!” I felt a hot tear run down my face. “Wake up!” I shook him harder.

“Ow… ” His eyes flickered open. “Leo?”

I sighed in relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were dead.”

He started to laugh. “Why would I be dead?” Then, he saw how serious I was. “Leo, were you crying?” He leaned in, examining the tear on my cheek.

I pushed his face away. “Stop it!”

“Sorry,” he said. “Why are you out here, Leo?”

I sighed. “I ran away from home.”

His eyes widened. “You’re running away?”

I felt a drop of rain fall on me, and I stood up. “Oh, it’s going to start raining soon,” I said, avoiding his comment. I started to walk away, but I felt a tug on my pants. I looked down at Max.

“Leo… ” He let go of my pants to my relief. “So am I.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You, yourself, are going to rain? Who are you, Aquarius? Yeah right.”

“No,” he sighed. “I’m running away, too.”

“What.” My eyes went to the men’s purse he carried with him. “But your parents, they’re so nice, they get along so well. I don’t understand. Why?”

“They are getting a divorce!” He stood up and stared at me, his eyes on fire. “Dad’s cheated on Mom, Mom’s sick, and we are not sure she’ll live.” He started to cry. But I couldn’t feel sympathetic. The same thing had happened to me, and no one was there to say anything to me, to help me, no one to reassure me, no one to say…

“I’m sorry.”

He looked up at me, surprised I said anything. I plopped down beside him, raindrops falling onto the concrete. Drop drip, drop drip.

“We’ve had it pretty bad, haven’t we,” he whispered.

I looked away and nodded.

But I’ve had it much worse. Much, much worse. Don’t you forget.

 

Chapter Three: Out in the Real World

“Nghh.” I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and looked around. Where am I? Was it just a dream? Where is Max? Thoughts rushed through my head, so many questions I thought I wouldn’t be able to bear it! Footsteps, I heard footsteps. I stood up. I was in an… apartment.

“Oh, did I wake you, dearie?” An old woman stepped into the room. She was very small and had a long nose that looked like the spike of the knife. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so loud.” She walked over to me and awkwardly patted my head and said, “Tee hee,” and walked out of the room.

I was flustered. Besides the fact I was in an apartment and why the woman patted my head, where in the world was Max?

Thousands of words swept through my brain as the sea swept the sand off the shore. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t settle on what to ask. Should I just look around or should I ask where Max is.

I heard snoring, and I swirled behind me. I saw Max sleeping on a blow up mattress. I looked down and saw the same mattress under me. It was long, about three meters long. Come to think of it, I was not even sure if it was a mattress at all, more like a long layered yoga mat.

I sighed in relief of finding him and collapsed on my half of the mat. I hadn’t realized before how tired I actually was. It was nerve-racking. I felt my head get drowsy and sleepy and let myself fall into a waterfall of dreams, and how could I forget, some nightmares too.

 

Chapter Four: The Old Dumpling Lady

Max and I were sitting at a small table, aghast, as the woman put a buttload of food on the table. As I looked closer, I realized that all the food was Chinese food, dumplings and rice. It was like we walked into a free restaurant.

It was amazing. She gave us clothes to change into while saying, “I used to have a son and daughter who were once your age. They moved out a while ago. I kept these clothes for their children.” She walked me to the bathroom saying, “Ladies should always get to change first.” I felt like at any moment she was going to lock the door and keep on repeating that line until the day I die. I shivered at the thought.

After we changed, she gave us back our clothes and bags.

Outside the building, she handed us two one hundred dollar bills and two MetroCards.

“Wow, thank you,” I said, breathless. This lady had just given away 200 dollars to two strangers, I thought. Wow.

“Good luck,” she bid us farewell and walked back into the building.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder and turned around in surprise. I kicked Max in the shin. “Stop it, alright!” I yelled. He backed away. “I’m not going to help you. Just because we’ve been in similar situations, doesn’t mean that I’m the person you go to for reassurance!” I kicked down a trash can, feeling as if I was about to burst into flames. “I don’t need help. I’ve escaped from an orphanage before. I don’t need you to help me!” I handed him a MetroCard and a 100 dollar bill, and I start running.

“Where are you going?” he yelled to me.

“The subway!” I yelled.

“To where?” he yelled back.

“To Mission Bay, San Francisco.” I ran down the steps. “Or anywhere besides here!”

I swiped my card through and ran to the first sign saying to San Francisco. The train was there, and I jumped on it and found a seat. I knew that the ride would take all day, so I wasn’t that worried.

I looked out the window as the doors closed and saw Max running to the door, out of breath and panting. I was happy that he didn’t see me looking out the window. It would have broken my heart.

I took my iPad out of my bag and put on some headphones and started to hum a jolly tune. My plan had worked after all. I highly doubted I’d have to see that yellow room again, or the yellow house, or the yellow school bus, or the yellow school that the yellow room resided in. So much yellow in such little time.

 

Chapter Five: San Francisco

I looked outside, the city’s view flashing by my window. I was so excited. It was five minutes until we got there, and I would see my hometown again. It was an amazing feeling, one I hadn’t felt in a long time, not since I was ten. I couldn’t wait to see Mikey again.

 

Chapter Six: Away

I stepped off the train and ran to the harbor. I saw a small shop, and I ran to it, hoping to find the place I loved for the people inside were so nice. I stopped in front of the shop and read the sign. Peter’s Pizza Palace. I stepped back, confused.

“I excuse me, ma’am, are you lost?” a man asked me.

“This shop used to be Mikey’s drugstore, right?” I asked.

“Yessiree. Mikey moved away with his fiance four years ago, why’d ya ask?” the man questioned.

“Just wondering,” I said.

I look at the ground. Mikey moved? No more drug store? Fiance? I was so confused. Since when did Mikey have a romance with anyone.

My mind couldn’t get any sense out of it, so I just sat down on the dirty floor in a big city.

“How could I forget?” I whispered. “Mikey and Mr. Frank were in love. They told me they wanted to adopt a kid last time I was here.” I wanted to run away from this town. It held more bad memories than it did good. I wanted to…

“Leo!” I heard a voice call to me, and it was Max, running toward me, waving the MetroCard in his hand.

I stood up in surprise. “How?”

Before I could finish, he ran up to be and hugged me, but to his disappointment, I pushed him away. He was hopeless.

I spent the day showing him the city and walking around and getting candy. It was a nice day. We jumped onto the train and went back to Tahoe, with posters, merchandise, and anything we could get our hands on.

When we got back, we got grounded for a week, but it was worth it.

And the rest… I forget.

 

Jeff

 

About The Character

My name is Jeff Stanley, and I am 28 years old.

 

Emergency

During the year of 1858, I went to a restaurant called Fallout. I really needed to go use the bathroom and couldn’t hold it anymore! My face turned red as I tried to hold it in. There were at least 20 people on the line as I waited. I decided to wait at my table and eat first. But after I ate my food, there were even more people on the line! When it couldn’t get any worse, hope started to shine. I could use the disgusting porta potties outside, I thought.

 

When I got there, there were five people on the line who probably had the same idea as me. But they took a long time. I wondered why they took so long. I found another porta potty that had two people on the line, which took about a minute until I went inside. It felt so good that I didn’t need to hold it anymore, but it was disgusting! I finally finished, and I felt like a caged bird being freed by its owner. If this happens again…

 

The Angry Man

One hour later…

It did. I had to go to the bathroom at a casino, but they had no bathroom. I finished up the game of poker and won $10 at the casino! I kept it in my pocket and waited to go use the bathroom. Since this was just as long as the line in the restaurant, I went to the porta potties outside. There was no line, so I went in. But inside, there was an angry man.

He was chasing me down the block! I was scared, so I ran and ran. Soon, I went back to the porta potty and locked it shut. I used the bathroom while the man was banging on the door. The porta potties saved my life, twice. When I washed my hands, the door broke, and the angry man chased me into my house, and I turned on my security. He must have got hurt badly from my tasers because he screamed in pain. He tried to break my door, but it was made of metal, so it broke his fingers instead. He ran to the hospital, and I was safe. I then turned my security off. Then, the police came and brought me to the court for breaking the man’s fingers.

 

The Court

Judge Quinn asked a few questions like, “How did you break this man’s fingers?” and “Did you use any weapons?” The big question was the last one though.

“Gerald, [the man’s name] why did you make this such a big deal?”

Gerald said, “I need my privacy.”

Quinn said, “Okay! The case is closed everyone. You will get the results next week.”

At bed, I wondered what will happen if I get fined or the press starts to talk to me. I stayed home because I wondered what will happen. I then decided to make a time machine and uses it to go to the future to next week.

 

Creating a Time Machine

I built the time machine by putting an engine to control time with electricity. After, I got a round platform which can fit up to one person. Later, I put two be with a dog’s heart together to have the fuel and the speed. Then, I put a few live wires and a clocuttons for the past and the future. Finally, I connected everything together with more live wire. Now since I finished the time machine, I could go to the past or the future. I stepped on the platform and pressed the future button and went to the future.

 

The Future

When I got to the future, the results said that I didn’t need to pay a fine. I was relieved, but the press was banging at the door for the news. I then went to the year of 2067 and found a shop for machines. I bought an invisibility cloak and a jetpack because I needed one to get away from the press, but I made another timeline for the present and created an evil person called Geoff.

 

Battle of the Gods

Geoff destroyed the whole city with one attack. The sun was getting blocked by the clouds. I told him to stop this mess, but he ignored me, so I activated my special green suit which allowed me to power my strength and speed by three times and fly. I tried to attack him, but he was so fast that he went behind me before I attacked him. I was just getting warmed up and punched him, but it had no effect on him. He was just too strong. I didn’t know what to do. I thought it was over, but then a power surged through me like never before. A gift from God helped me as I punched him and kicked him. I did severe damage to him as I punched him in the face for the finishing blow. The sun came out again.

People were cheering, “Jeff! Jeff! Jeff!”

I was a hero, and my heroic deeds scared all the criminals out in the world. I became a man for justice and got police equipment from the future for all the policeman out there.

 

Epilogue: 20 Years Later

Jeff is now 48 and has a wife named Stella who is 44. They have twins named Emma and Liam Stanley. They are both 19 years old and fight crime with special red and blue suits. The red one gives five times more speed and three times more strength to the user. The blue one gives three times more speed and five times more strength to the user. Both suits can go to the past or future and grants the user the power to fly. Emma wears the red one, and Liam wears the blue one. They have their names on the suit, and crime happens very rarely in the world now. But maybe one day, there will be someone who will take down the whole Stanley family…

 

Find out more in The Stanley Trio Book Two: The Sequel

 

The Rat

Once there was a rat who lived on the streets. He had black fur and big ears, two big front teeth, a big nose, small hands, a chip in his ear, and a unibrow. He ate cheese every single day. He found the cheese from a trash can.

A human came and tried to kill the rat, but he slipped and fell. His snowsuit came down on the rat, and the rat thought that he could use it as a bed. But it was so soft on the inside that he sunk right in. There was a hole nearby, and he managed to escape. Then, he tried the other side. It was too rough, though.

So, he found some tissues and used them as a bed. He used his jacket to block the entrance, so people wouldn’t get in, because it camouflaged with the colors outside. But the tissues were used, so he found a fresh box of tissues. He tried to get up, but it was too high. His friends came and helped him, and he used a cotton ball as a pillow.

Unfortunately, the snow started to melt, but his friends got all of the sponges in his house and started squeezing them out with the water. The rat was hungry, so he went to the fridge, but there was no cheese in the fridge. Then, he went to the basement door, but he had lost the keys to it. He looked under the couch and found the keys. He opened the basement door and ate some of the cheese inside the basement. He had more left, so he gave the rest to his friend.

The human had caught a flu and had broken his leg. He started charging towards the rat, but then realized he had broken his leg and wasn’t using his crutches, so he fell down. He called his mom, but she was too tired to get out of bed, so she fell back asleep.

The human and the rat started to head back to their homes, but then the rat’s friend told him that he had broken his leg too. The rat made a cast for his friend. Then, it got dark, and he had trouble finding his way home, but he had eleven flashlights with him. So, the rat found his way back home.

THE END

 

Bill and Her Mice

Once upon a time, there was an old lady. Her name was Bill. She had a lot of wrinkles, a very tall and skinny nose with a bump on the end, and a mole right next to her mouth. She was very fat, as fat as the biggest room in your house. Bill was very strict and mean and went poop a lot. This was because she had bathroom issues. She had to get food sent to her room by her servants, Timpson & Timpson. 

Timpson & Timpson delivered her food every day. They also had a tiny little room, because they were mice. They had to work together to push the cart of food because they were so tiny. Bill’s bedroom was also her bathroom. It was bigger than the biggest room in the whole world, except for the room of Earth. You could see Bill’s bed-bathroom from outer space, it was that big. It had a ton of lights and there was a button so Bill could lay down and go to the bathroom at the same time.

Bill would only talk to Timpson & Timpson when she wanted something.

“Get me my food!” yelled Bill.

Timpson & Timpson were scared of Bill.

“Okay, miss,” they said.

“Don’t you call me miss! Call me Bill!”

“Okay, miss,” Timpson & Timpson’s bodies were shaking.

“Bring me food right now, or I will not feed you for ten weeks! And never call me miss again! If you do, I’ll call the mayor and ask for servants that are people!” Bill was so loud that they heard her from outer space.

“Yes, miss.”

Bill picked up the phone and called Mayor Nosey.

“Hello, Mayor. This is Bill. Timpson & Timpson must leave.”

“Timpson & Timpson must stay,” said Mayor Nosey. “Why do you want them to go?”

“I want them to leave! I want a human servant, okay, Mayor Nosey? They call me miss too much! I do not want to be called miss,” screamed Bill.

“Okay, miss. I’ll get you another mouse servant, but you can’t kick Timpson & Timpson out,” said Mayor Nosey. Mayor Nosey knew that no other mouse would sign up for the job, so he had a plan.

“I want to be called Bill! You’re so terrible, you should be my servant!”

“I will not be your servant,” said Mayor Nosey. “I’m the mayor, and I’m famous.” But Mayor Nosey was not as famous as Bill. She didn’t know, but people took pictures of her through her window because of how large she was.

“You better get me new servants, or I’ll come out of my house!” yelled Bill. So many people were taking pictures of her. Keechew!

Mayor Nosey wasn’t the best mayor, even though he had stopped Bill from destroying the city once. Mayor Nosey just didn’t know how to be a good mayor. He walked into meetings with his arms swinging while he yelled, “Howdy doody, partners!” No one at the meetings liked that.

One time, while a news crew was filming a show about a man named Dude Cool who ate a lot of burgers, Mayor Nosey walked up to the camera and asked, “Can I be on TV?”

Dude Cool looked at him and said, “Whatcha doin, bro? Hey, check out my girlfriend.” He pointed to Sexy Lady, a hamburger.

Mayor Nosey was confused but still wanted to be on TV. He looked into the camera and said, “Put me on TV!”

Then, Bill shouted, “Get off TV and speak to me!”  

Mayor Nosey did not hear her. Mayor Nosey did not like talking to Bill. Neither did anyone else on Earth. Bill hung up the phone on Mayor Nosey. Mayor Nosey was so frustrated, he tried calling Bill back to tell her now she wouldn’t get any servants. Bill hung up on him right away.

Mayor Nosey called Timpson & Timpson on their old-fashioned phone.

Timpson & Timpson said, “What? Who is it?”

Mayor Nosey said, “Timpson & Timpson, please come to my office.”

Timpson & Timpson had two robots that looked just like them. They had built them long ago in case they ever needed a replacement. They had only used their robots once before in hide and seek with their parents. Timpson & Timpson left their robots hiding behind the table, and they went to hide in a better spot.

This time, Timpson & Timpson put their robots in the bed-bathroom and went out their tiny door. Timpson & Timpson had built a very tiny car while Bill was sleeping one night. She had no idea. They had kept their car in a secret garage.

It was ten miles to Mayor Nosey’s house. Timpson drove & Timpson rode. They listened to “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic movie the whole way.

Mayor Nosey’s house looked like a statue of Mayor Nosey. It had his beautiful clothes but his ugly face. Mayor Nosey was ugly because he had a lot of bruises and boo-boos because he didn’t sleep well.

Timpson & Timpson had to sign in to the house before Mayor Nosey let them in. Bill didn’t know this, but Timpson & Timpson and Mayor Nosey were best friends. They only saw each other at night. Timpson & Timpson walked to the office.

“Okay, Timpson & Timpson,” said Mayor Nosey, “I have a mission for you. I want you to dress up in other clothes so Bill doesn’t know who you are. You must go and dress up at Bill’s house.” But Timpson and Timpson knew Bill would be able to recognize them.  

“You — Timpson. Please dress up like an elephant in a work suit. You’ll look good. Timpson — you should be a monkey. Dress like one in these pajamas.” He held up blue and white striped pajamas.

“Okay, but I don’t want to be a monkey with striped pajamas. I’ll look weird,” said Timpson.

“You have to,” said Mayor Nosey, “because I’m the mayor. If you don’t, I’m going to send you to jail.”

“Okay… I’ll wear it,” said Timpson.

Timpson laughed at Timpson because he had to wear something he didn’t want to wear.

“Timpson! Stop laughing at me because I’m gonna tell Bill.”

Timpson said, “Well, Bill won’t know you’re Timpson, because you’re a monkey in striped pajamas.”

“Well, when I’m Timpson again. I’m going to tell Bill.”

The Mayor Nosy said, “Stop arguing!”

Timpson said, “I don’t want to do this. I’m nervous.”

Mayor Nosy, “I’m sorry for what Timpson did. Well, I can’t know who is Timpson and who is Timpson.”

“I’m Timpson,” said Timpson.

“And I’m Timpson,” said Timpson.

“We should change your names,” said the Mayor Nosy, and he pointed at one of them.

“Okay, my name is what?”

“Your new name is Magalio!”

“I do not like my new name. I want my new name to be Jack like the guy from the Titanic who froze in the water.”

“What’s my name?” said the other Timpson.

“Your name is Dadolo.”

“I don’t like that name! Why can’t my name be Magalio and Timpson’s name be Dadolo?”

“Okay, my name will be Dadolo,” said Timpson, “And Timpson’s name will be Magalio.”

So, they drove to Bill’s house. When they arrived at her house, they knocked on the front door.

“Who is it?” Bill grumbled. She was very, very grumpy.

“It is I,” said Dadolo and Magolio.

“Come in,” she groaned.

So they both came inside.

“What are you here for?” Bill grumbled.

“We are here for a discussion about your behavior.”

“Blahhhh,” said Bill.

“Should we begin?” asked Timpson & Timpson in disguise.

“Where’s Timpson & Timpson? They must have gone somewhere.”

“We don’t know who’s Timpson and Timpson.”

Hey, you two look a lot like Timpson and Timpson!”

Then, Timpson & Timpson said, “Who’s Timpson & Timpson?” But then they made a big mistake. They used their normal voice.

“You’re Timpson & Timpson!” Bill roared. She started to get out of the bathroom and walked outside.  

“Uh oh,” said Timpson & Timpson. “We did make a big mistake. Now Bill will destroy the world because when Bill gets mad, she sets off to destroy everything.”

Bill started to destroy the world — from Canada to Africa, to Norway, to France, to London, to Egypt, to China, to Japan, and finally she came to the place where we stay now. She came to New York City, and she destroyed all the people. Timpson and Timpson, because of what they had done, decided to save all the people. They took all the weapons and put on some gear, then they went off to save the world.

As Timpson & Timpson walked towards Bill, they started to chop up stuff. But it took an hour to chop up everything because they were super tiny, and their swords were super tiny. Soon, Bill couldn’t walk, talk, or even move her arms. Bill was furious! So, she started rolling towards Timpson & Timpson. But Timpson & Timpson were really high jumpers. So, they both jumped up as high as they could and landed on Bill’s tummy. And then Timpson cut one side of Bill’s tummy, and then Timpson cut the other side of Bill’s tummy. And then, they took Bill’s tummy and threw it away. Then, they took out Bill’s food. Then, they took out Bill’s heart. Then, they took out Bill’s brain and lungs. Then they threw it all out. Then, Bill died, and Timpson & Timpson saved the world!

“You’re our heroes!” everyone cried to Timpson & Timpson. But it wasn’t over yet. Bill had a sister who was growing and growing, and now she was as big as Bill. Her name was actually also Bill. So, Timpson & Timpson did the same thing. They ran up to Bill. They cut off her legs. They cut off her arms. Then, Bill couldn’t walk or move her arms. Then, Bill did the same thing. She rolled towards Timpson & Timpson. So, Timpson & Timpson jumped up towards Bill’s tummy and jumped on it. Timpson cut the side. Timpson cut the other side. Then, they threw Bill’s tummy away. Then, they took her food out and threw it away. And then, they took her heart, and her brain, and were still heros saving the world from Bills.

 

THE END

 

Tacos, Part 1

Once there was a taco named Bill. He was a happy taco until the enchilado army took control of Taco Square Central.

But Bill said, “You can’t just take over Taco Central!”

“I just did,” said Enchilado General 1.

“Move it, Bill,” said Enchilado General 2.

“Fine,” said Bill with a sigh. Bill thought about what just happened. “I know!” said Bill, and he got right to work, and in the morning he had a robot.

Then, he took the robot to the enchilado army, but they killed him. But then, two tacos came out of Bill. Bill just discovered the taco secret.

Then the Enchilado General 1 said, “You’re a freak, so I’ll burn you. Boy you so fat, when you go on an elevator, you have to go down.”

“Don’t you dare say a burn to a taco,” said Bill.

“I just did,” said General 1.

“Robot attack!!” said Bill, and then the robots kicked the enchiladas one by one until only Generals 1 and 2 were left.

And then General 1 said, “That robot’s a freak! Get out of here!”

Then, Bill used the chomp taco secret, and then General 1 got gobbled up by a big chomp of a baby’s mouth. And that shut him up.

General 2 ran away screaming and said, “CHOMP! CHOMP SECRET! TACOS ARE VILLIANS! THEY USED THE CHOMP SECRET.”

Bill walked with his robot back to his house in Taco Central. And when he was walking, some of the enchiladas were running in fear, and some of his best friends were giving him dirty looks. Bill ran straight into his garage, and he dismantled the robot code 1528. Then, he went outside in a disguise. And he went to the enchilada army.

A whole crowd of enchiladas came and said, “I want his skull! Kill him! I got a pitch fork in your head!”

Then, he ran straight back into his house and turned on the robot with the same code he used to turn it off and dismantle it. Bill upgraded it with laser eyes. But he found someone doing a little work on it. He was a baby.

Bill picked up the taco, gave it some milk, and said, “Go inside the machine,” in baby language. “Go inside the robot,” said Bill, and it followed the command.

Then, the robot turned into a baby inside a laser eyes robot.

The baby flew with the robot to the enchilada crowd outside that was getting really angry now and banging up his house. It accidentally used its laser eyes on them, and they turned crisp black into a pile of ashes. And then, the baby cried and wailed because he turned them into a pile of dust. So Bill had to get the baby out of the robot and inside, so he would get him to stop crying in public. His wish came true. The baby taco stopped crying. Bill told the baby everything about what the enchilada army was doing, but then something happened: a portal opened and a donut took him and the baby into the portal and then, in a couple of seconds, they were in Donut Land.

“Where are we?” Bill asked the donut who brought him there.

The donut said, “I live here. This is Donut Land.”

“Can you show me around?” said Bill.

“Okay,” said the donut. Then, they started walking up a hill and into Super Cake Donut Hill.

Bill said, “Can I eat some of it?”

“Only a little bit,” said the donut. “We’re not allowed to eat it.”

“Are you an outcast?” asked Bill.

“Of course,” said the donut. “Some of us are outcasts here. You want to be an outcast? Or be regular?”

“Regular,” said Bill.

 

Reality Toddlers

 

Nothing

Nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing. This story is about Nothing, who is somebody who is nothing. That’s why this story is called Nothing. Let’s get on with it. Can we just cancel this show and put our lives out of immediate danger?

Once there was a kid named Nothing, and she was nothing. She was three years old. One day, she pushed a chair until she moved it. There was a show called Reality Toddlers. Before she started pushing the chair, she had watched it for the first time. On the show, a toddler named Tiny had pushed a chair while his big brother was lying on the floor. He had kept pushing and pushing, but the chair wouldn’t move any further. On the TV it said, “Will there be drama at naptime?” Then, disaster struck: Teddy the dinosaur’s jaw was too small to bite the head off Dr. Mustache. Would someone please cancel this show and put our lives out of immediate danger? Find out on next week’s episode of Reality Toddlers.

Now Nothing wanted to fail super badly, so she tried to make herself fail by playing a game of chess with her dad. She closed her eyes when she moved the pieces, but she won. So, she went to the playground and went on the monkey bars, closing her eyes and trying to fall off on her first try, but she made it to the end without falling off.

“That’s weird,” said her mom and dad. “Why do you want to fail so much?”

“I want to be like the person from the show!” she said.

“Really?” said her dad. “Then I have a way to make you fail: get on a balance beam, close your eyes, and walk on it in different directions.”

Nothing did what he said, but she still didn’t fail. She did it again, and again, and again, until she finally failed. She kept doing things like this on purpose and kept trying to push the chair without moving it. One day, when she was walking up a hill, she slipped, and she didn’t do it on purpose. Then, she kept slipping and slipping and slipping, and she finally failed.

She got a job as an actor on Reality Toddlers. Her parents thought it was weird, but they let her do it so they could become millionaires.

 

Episode 1464: Crocs Apocalypse

This week, on Reality Toddlers… Somebody kicked a croc, and then everybody started crying and throwing crocs at each other. But then, disaster struck: a pacifier fell out of someone’s mouth. It got even worse when somebody threw their baby food up at the ceiling, and hit the light, and everything went black. Everybody thought that they were dead and in heaven, because the walls glowed white, and then somebody jumped out the window to check if it was a dream. Then, everybody jumped out the window, except four people. The daycare was on the 100th floor of the Empire State Building. The only survivors were Nothing, her brothers Chumball and Charlie, and her sister Panais. They just went out the exit and went home. The exit was similar to the window, except it had a ladder.

In real life, everyone was wearing a bungee suit that had a green screen on it so that it looked like their clothes. No one actually died — it was just a stunt. Nothing’s parents told the director that he should be ashamed of himself.

Nothing said, “Don’t say that! Everybody’s okay! We shot it on an actual 100-foot tall building, but we had bungee jumping things, so we wouldn’t die or fall off or make the show too violent.”

Right after everybody watched the episode, the news said, “BREAKING NEWS: The show Reality Toddlers is really violent, so everyone should forbid it and never watch it again.”

But the director said on TV, “But wait! Everybody had bungee jumping suits on, and no one got hurt! Take the L!”

Nothing’s parents said, “You can keep participating in it, but only if you do your chores ten times a week.”

Nothing really liked it, so she kept doing it; she actually lived in the studio. There were lockers, and behind them was a queen-sized locker bed for Nothing. Only Nothing and her family lived there, not the other toddlers. The director told Nothing that you can only get fired if you die. She was happy at first, because she loved it.

 

Seven years later…

Nothing was now ten, because she was three seven years ago. Three plus seven equals ten. The show had been going on for practically forever — for as long as its creator had been alive. There have been 1,464 seasons. Nothing now had to kneel to pretend she was a toddler. Nothing was really bored of the show, and she really wanted to quit, but the only way she could get fired was if she died.

Nothing was going to fake her own death. She got an actual arrow to stab herself with, but quickly switched it with one that was already split through the middle, to make it look like she’d been shot in the head. If that wasn’t enough, she had a back up plan: a knife that fit into her hip to make it look like she’d been stabbed. She succeeded. Her brothers and sister did it too, and it actually worked.

They brought the bodies back to the house, and their parents saw them. When their parents were crying, they sprung to life and said, “Hi” all at the same time. The parents’ jaws dropped to the bottom of the floor. “Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi,” they repeated, sounding like a computer.

“Don’t tell the toddler show that we’re still alive, because we still have millions of dollars.” Their house was actually a mansion now.

The parents carried the coffins to the cemetery without the children inside. Nothing became a normal kid. She didn’t go to school, though, because if people saw her in the public eye, she would have to go back to Reality Toddlers. She and her brothers and sister had to be homeschooled. But their parents were really bad at teaching them, because when they were homeschooled, their dad taught them, “Fried rice plus chicken noodle plus fried chicken equals ten bags of chicken noodle fried rice soup.”

 

The End

 

The Three Portals Book No. 1 The Wizard

 

Chapter One: The First Portal

One night, I heard a whoosh! I quickly opened my eyes to see what was there. Before my eyes, I saw a huge portal.

I looked at my watch. Exactly 3:00 am. I heard a faint voice say to me, “Jump in!” So, I did. A wizard threw me a parachute. We started to fall faster and faster through different colors. I screamed. In a few minutes, the colors were changing so fast that I got lightheaded and passed out.

The wizard yelled, “Quick! Press your parachute button on the top right of your shoulder!” I woke, and I did as he said.

The parachute jerked my shoulders up in a weird position. A seat magically appeared on the parachute, and I got teleported to the seat.

The wizard and I floated to a stone floor. Beside us was a white and black portal. We both stepped into it. After we stepped through the portal, everything was white and black. We were both in a city.

A twig hit my eye. In the distance was a big tornado. The wizard tried to tell me, “Jump in!” But it did not work. After a few more tries to talk, he slowly started to realize sound only came out when he thought something. So we talked to each other through our ached and dizzy heads.

A pig started snorting at us through his head. The wizard said in his head, “We have to take down the tornado!” Every time he thought something, a beam of white light would shoot through the air and powerfully strike the other person right in the skull. If you were that person that got struck in the head, it didn’t hurt that much. It felt like a strong basketball pass that hit you in the head. But since our heads already ached, it hurt a lot by the end.

We ran toward the tornado, and it suddenly vanished. The wizard said, “Reality isn’t really in existence.” For the last time, a beam struck me again.

I said, “I don’t get it. If nothing really exists, then how are you here?”

“You are already dead. Time in the real world has already stopped.” A beam struck me in the head one more time, and then I collapsed to the ground.

Then, I woke in a pitch black world. I couldn’t move. Then, I felt like nothing. I woke in the real world with time frozen. I saw everything. Falling. A few things were floating. Some people too. I gasped. Then, everything around me vanished. Or maybe I did. Since I already did not exist. Some yelling woke me up. I was inside the tornado. I flew out of the tornado and smashed into a brick wall. The tornado pulled me in one more time, and we fell through a blue portal.

 

Chapter Two: The Second Portal

I started to fall really fast. I yelled and kicked and screamed. Thud. I fell on the ground. A fake ground. Then, I fell right through the hologram and fell for a few more minutes. Then, I saw a huge reflection mirror, and I hit it. I rolled off and fell in some snow. In front of me were two giant ice sculptures about the size of the freedom tower.

I said, “Hi! Can you help me?”

Then, one of the two sculptures said, “The wizard is not lying. He has the power to make dead people think big things. You can only save the real world by getting past the red portal and putting the rainbow stone into the empty hole.” Then, the wizard fell through the snow with a thud.

I fell in too. Then, we fell into a red portal.

 

Chapter Three: The Fire Dragon

I almost fell into the lava under us. I balanced on the unsteady planks. Then, we saw a dragon covered in fire. It roared a booming roar. I saw the rainbow stone behind it. A metal sword floated to my hand. I didn’t think I was ready for this. I tried to slice him in half. My sword went right through him. He breathed a fireball. I blocked it with my sword. The wizard flipped a hidden stone switch. The lava disappeared. The fire dragon turned into a dragon with no fire. The dragon couldn’t breathe fire. It had no powers. I sliced it in half and shoved the stone in to the empty hole. Then, the world started to spin, and I fell back into bed. I looked at my watch. Exactly 3:00 am. My mom and dad came rushing into my room.

They said, “What happened? Where were you? Where was I?”

 

The End

 

Truth or Lie

 

One

I have never told a lie in my whole entire life. Not ever. And I don’t plan to. I have been part of a spy agency, Spyglass, my whole life also.

When I was born, I joined the agency. My parents have been in it, and their parents too. So when I came along, I joined it. So did my brother Jame. When I joined, I had to take a solemn vow saying that I always had to tell the truth. That way, whatever I picked up from my spy mission, I would tell them every little detail. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That’s why earlier today, I was in a pickle.

Miss Gloria Cabernette, my neighbor, had asked me to water her plants while she was away. Of course I agreed. Miss Gloria is the best. She is just so nice. Anyway, she just got back today, and when she opened her apartment door, she was not happy.

“For heaven’s sake! What has happened to my plants?”

Unfortunately, I was still there.

“Lindie dear, where have you been? It certainly doesn’t look like you’ve been watering my plants.” Miss Gloria locked eyes with me.

That’s when I knew I shouldn’t tell the truth, but I had to. If I didn’t, you could tell. I’m so bad at lying. I’m just so used to telling the truth. The truth was, I was busy with spy missions and homework. I was thinking of just saying I was doing homework, but then knowing her, she’d go to a Board of Education meeting and try to give kids less homework. Plus, it would be breaking my “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” vow. So I did the only thing there was to do.

“Well, I was doing a little homework. But mostly, I… I was out on missions. Spy missions.”

 

Two

As I walked back to my apartment across the hall, I felt guilty. Not just guilty that Miss Gloria now knew my secret, but more guilty that Miss Gloria would probably keep her distance from my family, now that she knew we were spies. I felt guilty for my family.

Suddenly, I saw Miss Gloria bolt into her apartment, grab a hat and a flag, and run down the stairs. I didn’t know what was going on with her.

“Where are you going?” I called. She didn’t answer.

I walked in the door to my apartment across from Miss Gloria. Ardin, my adorable little Westie, West Highland Terrier, and Gabriela, the cutest Corgi I’ve ever seen were waiting for me. Ardin was pure snow white, and Gabriela was mostly tan with black and white splotches. Gabriela, with her short stubby legs, waddled up to me, and I bent over, so she could lick my face. Ardin followed, with more of a bound than a walk. How it was with them normally, was one would go first, and the other would follow. It kind of seemed like they took turns, like one day Gabriela would go first, the next day, Ardin.

“Hey, you guys! If I get in trouble for what I did, will you guys back me up?” I asked with puppy eyes.

They just jumped up and down and licked me.

“I take that as a yes,” I said.

Just then, Mom walked in.

“Spilling our secret is not okay.” That’s all she said. Then, she walked out.

Okay, I had to give her credit for finding out that quick, I mean, she was a spy after all. Gabriela looked at me confused. Ardin just kept running in circles. That made me laugh. I knew they would cheer me up. Even if they ate my homework, and I got an F in Math, my best subject, it would be hard to stay too mad for long. I trudged over to my room. The apartment was kind of small, but it was feasible.

Basically when you walked in, you would see the kitchen counter on your right. Behind the counter was a large-for-an-apartment kitchen/dining room. We usually ate at the kitchen counter. On your left would be the den, or living room if you please. If you walked a little bit from the front door, you’d hit the hallway. If you turned left down the hallway, you’d go to Mom and Dad’s room and then the bathroom. If you turned right, you’d go to Jame’s room and then mine. In the middle of Mom and Dad’s room and Jame’s room, was the laundry room.

Anyway, I went to my room and got out my homework. It was Saturday, but I had a project due on Monday, and I wasn’t finished yet. It was a book report. Suddenly, Jame bursted into my room.

“Dude, I can’t believe you told Miss Gloria. Mom and Dad are talking about it in the den. Mom sounds really mad,” Jame whispered the last part.

“Shut up! You shouldn’t even know! Get out, I need to finish my project!” Unfortunately, I yelled the first part. Well, I yelled the whole thing, but the first part is what would get me in trouble.

“Lindie! What was that?” Dad called.

“Uh, I said… um, um, what’s up?! Heh heh heh. What’s up, Jame?” I improvised. I sometimes tell little white lies to my parents. But you can still tell I’m lying.

“I hear it again and you’re spending the night in your room, young lady,” said Mom, indeed sounding mad.

Jame got out quick because he knew what was coming. I relaxed a bit, but not a lot.

An hour later, smells of Mom’s famous Italian dressing wafted through the crack under my closed door. Gabriela barked. She could smell it, too.

“Ruff!” said Gabriela.

“Ruff, ruff!” echoed Ardin.

I slightly opened my door. As soon as she could fit through the door, Gabriela bolted. Ardin followed. They both barked the whole way. Ardin and Gabriela love Salad Saturday. Well, they also loved Taco Tuesday. And Make-Your-Own-Monday. And Waffle Wednesday. I guess you could say they loved every night at dinner. Ardin skidded behind Gabriela, both panting. Pieces of cucumber flew out from under the knife, and Gabriela scooped them up with her very long tongue. Ardin whimpered.

“Aww, here Ardin.” I giggled, handing him a piece of cucumber.

He licked my finger. His tongue was rough and thin. Around his neck he wore one of those collars with spikes sticking out. Last Christmas, we thought it would suit him more than his old red one. Ardin pretends to be all tough, but he really is a sweetie. So when he gets all confident, he puffs out his chest with the spike collar. It’s really funny because he’s so small. It’s adorable.

Gabriela on the other hand, was all sweet on the outside, but tough and defensive on the inside, kind of like me, with a pink collar that says, Girl Power. Gabriela was a stray until the Animal Rescue Center brought her to a shelter. She has always been ready to fight. That’s why she’s the one who comes on missions with us. Ardin usually stays back with Miss Gloria. But that might change.

The seat on the counter, farthest away from the front door, is my seat. My favorite seat. So, I sat down. Ardin sat at my feet. Gabriela wandered over to Mom.

“What is everybody waiting for? Serve yourself.” Mom sounded annoyed.

We ate dinner in silence. Except for the chewing and clinking of utensils. It was like all the time on TV when the family would be having dinner, and all they did was clink their forks and spoons. The thought of our family having a TV show made me giggle. Our family was the opposite of those perfect TV families. We were apart of a spy agency, for goodness sakes! Although that would make a good plot for a TV show. I could picture it in my head. It could be called “The Watson Spies.” No, too simple. Maybe “Spyglass Presents: The Watsons.” That sounds like Spyglass is a TV show producing company. Actually, how about “Watch Out World, Here Come The Watsons.” Way too long. Yeah, I’m not too good at naming things. Oooh! How about “The Watsons in New York.”

Like I said, I’m not the best at naming things. On the other hand, I did name Ardin. I named him the day we met him. Gabriela was already named at the shelter. Not to brag or anything, but Ardin is a pretty good name, don’t you think?

 

Three

“Who would come to our door this late in the evening?” Mom muttered after the doorbell rang.

Dad was washing dishes from dinner, Mom was flipping through a magazine on the sofa, Ardin and Gabriela were with me in my room as I was finishing up my essay for my project, and Jame was reading in his room. The ring that echoed through our apartment sent Ardin and Gabriela into loud barks and fast skids.

“Quiet down! We don’t want to wake the neighbors,” I shushed them.

Mom walked over to the door, in no hurry at all, reading her magazine as she walked. Her hand fell onto the doorknob, but before she could turn it, it turned itself. In walked three men in dark suits and shades.

“And who might you be?” the man in the front of the triangle they had arranged themselves in said in a low, and might I add, creepy voice.

“How did you get in here? I’m sure I locked the door.” Mom sounded surprised.

“Well, even if you won’t tell us who you are, are you apart of Spyglass?” the man to Mom’s left asked.

“That is none of your business,” Mom snapped.

“Ma’am, actually it is,” the man to Mom’s right said in a matter-of-factly tone.

“Oh really. Well, I don’t have tell you any of my information if I don’t want to,” Mom served back as if it were a tennis match.

By then, Dad wanted to see this exchange and wandered over from the sink. He took Mom’s hand.

“Lucy,” Dad warned.

But Mom pulled her hand away.

“I don’t know who you are, so why don’t you just leave my apartment. I have kids I have to put to bed. So, toodle-loo.” With her hand moving in a shooing motion, Mom ushered them to the door because by then they had made their way to the counter and sat down on the stools.

“Ma’am. We are part of an agency that shall remain nameless. Now that you know who we are, will you please let us know who you are,” the front man asked.

“Not a chance.”

Just then, I felt an urge. So, I relieved that urge. I started to cry like a baby.

“Waaaahhhh! Moooooomy! I so tired! Mooooomy! Waaaaaahhhhh! Tuck me in! Moooomy! Kissy! Huggy! Wahhhh!” Since we were spies, I knew what to do in these sort of situations. I cry and talk like a baby. The men in our apartment were like Ardin, I could tell. Tough on the outside, soft on the inside. Soft enough to leave a mother to put her children to bed. Even though I hate comparing guys as awful as them to adorable, sweet, hilarious Ardin, I had to explain it somehow.

“Oh, you… you do have little kids to put to bed. I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am. Good night.” With that, the three men got back into their triangle position and marched out.

Once Mom could see them out the window and see that they left the building, she came into my room.

“Thanks, sweetie. You saved us. I know you told Miss Gloria the secret, but if they found out too, that could’ve been bad. It could’ve have been dangerous. I forgive you, though. Those guys kind of freaked me out, anyways. That crying trick you made up is brilliant.” Mom forgave me.

“Works every time.” I smiled.

“Going to bed soon?” Mom asked.

“Yeah, just got to finish up this project,” I answered, and Mom walked out.

As soon as she walked out, I felt tired. You know what? I’ll just finish up my project on Sunday.

 

Four

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to leave my project until today, I thought to myself after Mom told me we had a mission.

“Umm, Mom? This might not be the best time to tell you this but, I have homework,” I kind of mumbled.

“Oh, Lin. What am I going to do with you?” Mom asked.

“Maybe you’ll let me stay home with Ardin and Gabriela and finish my homework?” I cracked.

Mom frowned. “That was a rhetorical question.”

That is how I ended up on the subway to Brooklyn at noon. President Marole Xander, the president of Spyglass, called talking about this other spy agency who was kind of on to us. They were last spotted in Brooklyn. So, that’s where we were headed.

“STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS, PLEASE,” the subway blared as we rushed out into the wintery air of Windsor Terrace.

“So, where to?” I asked.

“President Marole said the other spies headed to Prospect Park. Apparently Spyglass got a threat phone call from this rival spy agency, so Spyglass is now tracking the phone that called them,” Mom answered.

“Cool! How did they do that?” Jame asked.

“Some spy tech they used to track the phone number to the phone and… I don’t really know,” Mom said.

We happened to be a block away from the park, so the walk wasn’t too bad. Then again, we’re New Yorkers. We can handle a long walk. I saw ice cream carts who obviously weren’t getting any customers since it was the middle of winter! There were those horse and buggy things. Pretty normal day at the park, except that it was mostly empty. But then I saw something other than lonely ice cream vendors and old-fashioned carriages.

“Mom, what does that flag mean?” I pointed to the flag that was forced into a bush. The flag had a hand with about 15 fingers. No joke.

“Looks like something we should investigate.”

We headed over to the bush just to see a head with a pointy hat scurry behind a tree.

“That’s definitely got to be something,” I said.

“Follow the figure,” Dad whispered.

We sneakily followed this figure. We followed them all the way to the subway. They got on the subway we took to get home. Coincidentally, the figure got off at the stop that we normally got off at to get home. Even weirder, the figure entered the apartment building where we lived. You had to have a special card to open the door to the lobby, or a visitor needs a tenant’s permission. We followed the figure up the stairs, and when we got to floor three, our floor, the figure went into Miss Gloria’s apartment.

“What is that person doing?” Mom inquired.

“Wait, after leaving Miss Gloria’s, I saw her get a hat similar to the one that figure had on, and a flag, which is probably the one we found in the bushes!” I remembered.

“Good work, Agent Lindie.” My watch popped up with a screen with President Marole’s face on it. “Now just find a way to confront her. Good luck.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” I asked. But President Marole had already hung up.

 

Five

Monday was here, and my project was not done. Great.

“I’ve got to call Violet!”

I went to the den and picked up the landline. I didn’t have my own phone, so yes, I had to use the phone plugged into the wall. I dialed 534-890-1162 and waited for her to pick up.

“Vi? I just realized… my project is not finished! I don’t know what to do! I’m freaking out!”

“Okay, I’m coming over. We still have time. I’ll help you finish,” Violet said.

“You are a lifesaver. Thanks.”

I live a block away from school, so I can be a little late. Five minutes later, Violet rang the doorbell.

“Oh my gosh, Violet! I need your help!”

“Show me.”

I showed her my half finished book report. All I needed was my three reasons why I liked or disliked the book.

“Okay, well, did you like it?” Violet asked.

“Nope. It was horrible. So boring. I almost fell asleep reading chapter eight. No kidding!”

“Reason one, you were bored. Reason two, didn’t like genre Reason three, didn’t like plot. Sound about right?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Violet. Just, don’t consider this cheating.”

“I won’t. Anything for you, Lin.”

“Thanks. You can just stay here until it’s time to go.”

“Yeah sure.”

I finished typing my three reasons and glued them to the poster. Soon, it was time to go.

I got home with no homework and a B+ on my project. Luckily, the project wasn’t in math. I would never forgive myself for getting an B+ in math. Okay, B+ is okay I guess. If it were B- or C, that wouldn’t slide.

“So, what’s the deal with Miss Gloria?” I asked as I was eating some pretzels at the counter. “Like, is this going to be our next mission?”

“We’re waiting to hear back from President Marole.” Right as Dad said that, President Marole was calling us on our TV.

“Hello, President,” Dad said.

“Warner and Lindie. Good afternoon. Gather Jame and Lucy. I need to talk to you guys.”

“Lindie, go get Jame,” Dad told me. Then, he turned to President Marole. “Lucy is out shopping.”

“Then forget it! I’ll call you back later.” The president hung up.

“I’m going to check on Miss Gloria. Okay, Dad?”

“No. Not unless Marole tells you to.”

“But Dad!”

“No, Lindie. Do some homework.”

“Don’t have any.”

“Watch some TV.”

“Don’t want to.”

“Go to Violet’s”

“… Okay fine.” I gave up.

I called Violet on our landline. It’s so annoying. I told her I’m coming over. I went to the coat closet to grab my faux fur coat. It’s really soft. At the store they had real fur, but I like the faux one because it’s… well… faux. I put on my boots and headed out the door just in time to see a strange man in all black enter Miss Gloria’s apartment. I immediately hide behind a coat rack. About two minutes later, Miss Gloria and this strange man came out. They held up a phone and started talking.

Miss Gloria: How did I find out? She was watering my plants and then —

Wait, is Miss Gloria talking about me?

Miss Gloria: Yeah, I’m really close with the family. I always knew something was up with them. Especially the girl… No, I’ve seen her try to lie. It isn’t pretty… I don’t think they know… No one is in the hallway! Stop freaking out.

It was hard not to laugh because I was in the hallway. Unfortunately, I laughed.

“Who was that?” Miss Gloria whipped her head towards the coat rack. She lifted the coats.

Uh oh.

“Lindie dear. What are you doing out here?” Miss Gloria made her voice sound sweet.

“I heard your whole conversation. There’s no use hiding it anymore,” I said.

“Well, if you want to play like that, I can too. Take her, Alfonso.” Miss Gloria’s sidekick, Alfonso grabbed me and dragged me to the stairs.

“Let me go!” I ordered. Alfonso didn’t listen.

We got to the bottom of the stairs, and Mom walked in the lobby with her hands full of groceries. She saw me and immediately dropped everything. Literally.

“Lucy. So we meet again. Wait, this is the first time we met as spies. I mean, I’m not a — ” Miss Gloria started.

“Okay, just stop. Anyway, let her go,” Mom said.

“Ha! You think I’m just going to give her to you? She knows. I can’t just let her tell everybody. So bye, Lucy. Out of my way. Alfonso!” Miss Gloria shoved past Mom.

Mom tried to fight Alfonso. She kicked him to the ground, and I ran away from him to Mom. But Miss Gloria grabbed my hood and pulled me back.

“Uh, uh, uh. Not today. Sorry, Lindie. Actually, I’m not that sorry. That was sarcastic. Well you probably knew that it was s-OOF!” Miss Gloria fell to the floor. Behind her was…

“Violet?! But, but — ” I stammered.

“You never hung up the landline, plus your door was still open I’m guessing, so I heard the whole thing. I panicked and rushed over here. Then I came in, kicked your neighbor in the back, she fell, and now we are here. This is the right neighbor, right?”

“Violet, you are literally the best!” I ran and gave my friend a huge hug.

“Violet, thanks sweetie. Where are your parents? Do they know you’re here?” Mom asked.

“Mom is home. I told her I was coming over here. Didn’t know I would be fighting crime though.” Violet smiled.

“Well, do you want to stay for dinner, or at least for a little while? I’ll drive you home,” Mom suggested.

“Thanks, Mrs. Watson. I appreciate it.”

Violet and I headed upstairs while Mom talked to President Marole about what to do with Miss Gloria and Alfonso.

Mom: Hi, President. I have Miss Gloria, I mean Gloria Cabernette and her sidekick Alfonso. They should be knocked out for a while. Should I bring them to you?

President Marole Xander: Bring them to me. Is everyone okay?

Mom: All good. Also, Lindie’s friend Violet came in, and she actually is the one who defeated Gloria.

President Marole Xander: Who is this Violet, and when can I meet her? Would this weekend work for you?

Mom: I’ll see. But Gloria and Alfonso are coming to you. See you soon.

President Marole Xander: So long, Lucy.

Mom followed us upstairs, and when she came in the kitchen, she asked Violet if she wanted to come to Spyglass to meet President Marole.

“Are you kidding? Me, a real spy?” Violet gasped.

“Well, you would have to take the test first,” Mom said.

“I could train her!” I declared.

“Yeah! Yeah!”

So, it was settled. Violet was to be trained by me to become a real spy. Amazing.

“Training starts next week,” I assured.

 

Six

Finally, it was next week! Violet and I had it all planned out. She slept over for the week, just because it was more convenient. Also, we got to leave school early!

“Okay,” I said, pointing to my white board leaning against my wall. It was one of the ones with every day of the week. “Monday: Try Not To Laugh, for morning YouTube, Master Pools for Netflix Binge. Snack ideas?”

“Oooh, oooh! Caramel corn and chunky cookie vanilla caramel swirl! And pretzels.” Violet just said our all-time favorite snacks.

“Perfect. This sounds like the perfect day, but what are we going to do the rest of the week? We just crammed all our favorite things into one day.”

“What about Try Not To Laugh on Monday, Master Pools Tuesday, Caramel corn Wednesday, chunky cookie vanilla caramel swirl on Thursday, and pretzels Friday!”

“Okay. Now we just have to fill in the blanks. Like what will we watch on Wednesday? What will we eat on Tuesday? Think, Vi, think.”

Soon enough, our whole week of fun had been planned. And nothing would come in our way.

 

Peace

 

The Prophecy

 

When two blades meet

When two arrows split

When all have met their final resting place

There will be peace

And life will start again

 

Chapter One

Long ago, in ancient northwestern Russia, a man came to exist. The man is only known as the father of civilization. He had nine children in his family. His children split into one group of five and one group of four. As time passed, they came across many disagreements, and they decided to settle them. The father had wisdom and asked them not to fight, but they went on. The group of five had crafted their own style of civilization, and the group of four did too. They decided that the feud would be settled in their father’s home.They split up. The group of five went to the Himalaya mountains, and the group of four went to the region of Arabia. The father was depressed that his children had left and they were fighting. So, he repeated the prophecy and hoped that the feud will be settled. Meanwhile, the siblings left their feud to turn to a battle and to a war as time passed. They trained each generation in their own type of civilization and trained them to fight for their civilization and to train the next generation.

 

Chapter Two

The civilization of four called themselves Aintisariuna, which meant victorious in their language. Their main activity was fighting because they trained so much. They were all training to solve the feud that the two civilizations had. There were levels based on skill and diversity of choice of weapons. The most advanced would train with the rayiys or the masters. All they did was train, eat, sleep, pray, and cook. The training academy was called Esubat Alqatala. The rayiys were of the highest level of the previous generation. More generations passed, and they considered the father of the four who created their civilization. He was considered god. They worshipped him as a god and prayed to him every day to get his grace so their civilization would defeat the other one.

 

Chapter Three

The group of five called themselves Huīhuáng, which meant glorious in their language. They didn’t train as much as the Aintisariuna, but they still trained. The Huīhuáng were better cooks. They couldn’t find much to eat in the Himalayas, but they still made it work and taste very good. They cooked with spices found in caves, which made the meat taste more salty but much more flavorful. They used the fat to cook the meat, and they also used the fat to give the people more energy. They did have to practice fighting at their home with their family. Their training academy was called Yǒngshì liánméng, and they had to work incredibly hard on their fighting. The students’ masters were called Zhus. They had belief in mythical creatures, such as the dragon. The dragon was supposed to mean luck, so they worshipped it. They also worshiped the father of the five who created the Huīhuáng. He was also considered sacred. They prayed to him to get luck for their training.

 

Chapter Four

“Wake up!” said Shajaea’s mom.

“Ughh, do I have to wake up now?” groaned Shajaea.

“Yes, today you learn to use your bow and arrow. Wake up.”

Grudgingly, Shajaea slowly rose from his bed and washed his mouth, got changed, and combed his hair. His mom gave him bread with butter and cheese for breakfast. Then, Shajaea made his way to Esubat Alqatala. When he showed up for class, everyone was there, and he was late. At first they made the students just slap water. Apparently it helped them draw a bow. Then, he had to dry fire a bow. That means to shoot the bow without the arrow. Then, they had to teach them how to load the arrow into the bow within half a second! They couldn’t eat until they finished their day at the academy. Then they fired at the targets.

“Bullseye!” exclaimed Shajaea.

They kept shooting until all of them got all of their five arrows in the bullseye. Shajaea was the first to do that! Then, he got to go home. He got home at mid evening, and his mom had his dinner ready.

Over dinner Shajaea said, “Mom, I was the first to finish shooting bullseyes!”

“That’s great! Do the same tomorrow,” his mom instructed.

Then, he said his prayers and went to bed.

 

Chapter Five

Yǒnggǎn woke up to the whistling sound of the wind. He got ready and had his breakfast, which was sweet rice noodles. Then, he took his sword and went. He was really early to practice, so he trained with the Zhǔs in the meantime. Then, his class arrived. They did one on one training with swords. Nobody was allowed to eat until the class had finished. There was a tournament on who was the best sword fighter in the class, and Yǒnggǎn won!

“Yes, I’m so pleased that I won! My mother will be fascinated and so will my father!”

The class was now dismissed. Yǒnggǎn went home. He arrived at late afternoon.

“Mother, Father, I won the sword fighting tournament today. Isn’t that great?” exclaimed Yǒnggǎn.

“That’s excellent!” said his mother.

“Great job, son!” his father remarked.

Yǒnggǎn had his noodles for dinner, and he said his prayers and went to sleep.

 

Chapter Six

Shajaea woke up bright and early because he didn’t want to be late again. He took his bread, butter, and cheese with him, and he made his way to Esubat Alqatala. He arrived as the earlybird of the class. Shajaea started training with the rayiys, and finally, his class arrived. They started teasing him because they thought he cheated yesterday in archery.

“I didn’t cheat!” said Shajaea.

“Yes you did. How did you get four bullseyes on your first round, then you got all five arrows in the bullseye? You cheated, that’s how,” said his classmate.

“Enough!” said the rayiy. “Let’s get on with training.” The rayiy handed everyone a sword. “Today we will do a round robin tournament with swords.”

You could hear the clanging of the swords and the thumps of when you punched or kicked someone. You could hear the clattering of swords dropping to the ground. Each person in the class had to fight everyone else, but not at the same time. There were twelve children, so everyone had to play eleven matches. It took up almost the entire day. The person who won the round robin would advance a group. Eventually, Shajaea won the round robin and joined the new group.

 

Chapter Seven

Yǒnggǎn woke up late. He quickly got dressed and rushed to the kitchen and grabbed his noodles. He slurped them down quickly and rushed to Yǒngshì liánméng.

“Finally, where have you been?” said the Zhǔ. “Whatever, we must start our lesson.”

The Zhǔ handed everyone a bow, arrows, and a small target. They all placed their targets on the wall and fired from across the room.

“The first one to get all bullseyes will advance to the next group,” said the Zhǔ.

Yǒnggǎn and the others shot for what seemed like forever. He could hear the sounds of arrows whizzing past and puncturing the target. He saw the string vibrate after he released the arrow. Yǒnggǎn could hear the low snap of the bow firing the arrow. Yǒnggǎn shot one bullseye, then the next, then two more. If Yǒnggǎn made this shot into the bullseye, he would advance to the next group. The arrow flew at great speed and went in the exact center of the bullseye.

“Yes, I made it up to the next group!”

That was the end of the day, and Yǒnggǎn started to make his way home.

 

Chapter Eight

Shajaea went home and told his mom the news.

“I moved up to the older group! Isn’t that great?”

“Yes, that is fantastic!” said his mom.

“Well done, I’m so proud of you! Always try your hardest,” exclaimed his dad.

“Thanks, dad,” Shajaea said.

Shajaea and his family had dinner and went to bed. The next morning, Shajaea woke up extra early to be able to bathe in the river. He dried himself after the bath, put on his clothes and went to Esubat Alqatala. Shajaea was still the first one there. He was especially excited for that day because he was meeting his new class! He shot some arrows for a while, and then his class came.

“Today we will be focused on fighting with your fists and your legs. You will normally use this strategy when and if your enemy knocks your weapon out of your hands.”

They all learned techniques and moves, and then they had a mini tournament. Throughout the day, Shajaea could hear the crack of a punch and the whip of a kick. Shajaea saw much more determination and energy in his opponent. The scores didn’t matter, but they needed to learn how to fight. They eventually finished the long day of training.

 

Chapter Nine

Yǒnggǎn reached home, and he was in perfect time for dinner. He shared how he aced archery and he moved up to the next group. And his mother and father seemed pleased. Then, he said his prayers and went to bed. The next morning, Yǒnggǎn woke up extra early to be able to take a bath. He got ready and had his breakfast and went to the river. He had his refreshing bath and went to Yǒngshì liánméng. He was perfectly on time. Yǒnggǎn arrived and met his new Zhǔ, and then his new class arrived.

“Today, we shall continue working on with our hands and feet.”

The fact that the Zhǔ said “continue working” intimidated Yǒnggǎn a little bit. He still participated in the training activity. In fact, Yǒnggǎn was doing better than half the other kids! Eventually, everyone had to practice with everyone. By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted.

 

Chapter Ten

Shajaea walked home and got there in great time for dinner. He ate and said his prayers and went to bed. The next morning, Shajaea woke and got ready on perfect time. He got to Esubat Alqatala right on time and so did the rest of class. The rayiy was standing in front of them all, and he had his hands behind his back and a stern face.

“What’s going on?” asked Shajaea.

“The time has come,” said the rayiy.

“What? What does that mean?”

“It means that you are in the right generation.”

“You’re making no sense, what are you talking about.”

“What I’m saying is that you guys are part of the generation that we want to fight the other civilization. I talked with all the other rayiys about your performance yesterday, and they said that their students also did extremely well. So we decided that we will have you as that generation to settle the feud.”

“Oh,” said the entire class at once.

Shajaea was confused as to if he should be happy to help his civilization or sad that he will actually be in a real battle and he might die.

“Today we will spend your training day on getting ready for battle. Each of you grab weapons. We will fight these exact weapons in the war. We will focus on how to use these weapons effectively together.”

Shajaea chose a bow and arrow, a sword, and a dagger. He hated axes. They are too large and big. Shajaea shot at moving targets while moving. He partnered up with someone else and practiced his sword and dagger. He learned to switch between bow and arrow, sword and dagger in a second. Soon the day was over, and the entire academy was prepared for battle. He was partially nervous, but he felt he was ready.

 

Chapter Eleven

Yǒnggǎn went home, and he was tired, so he quickly ate, prayed and went to sleep. The next morning, he woke, got ready, and ate his noodles. He headed to Yǒngshì liánméng. He got perfectly on time with the rest of his class, and his Zhǔ was pacing around the room with a grim expression.

“Ah, my class. I have news for you.”

“What is it.”

“Well, I’m not quite sure how to explain, but the Zhǔs think that, well, you’ve all been chosen.”

“Chosen for what?” questioned the class.

“Chosen to settle a feud.”

“You mean the feud between the ancient siblings that five of created our civilization?”

“Yes,” the Zhǔ blurted out.

“Oh my god.”

Yǒnggǎn was shocked. He was clueless about if he was nervous or proud to serve his civilization. He may die in the war. All Yǒnggǎn could say he was that he was shocked. Nonetheless, he trained for battle. He picked up his bow and arrow, his sword, and his dagger and learned to switch between them in a second, and he shot at moving targets while moving. And he fought with his sword with a partner, and he practiced his dagger. He practiced long and hard. Eventually, the day was over.

 

Chapter Twelve

 

Shajaea walked home slowly. He wanted time to think about his thoughts on the war. Eventually, he found that he wanted to serve his civilization. He got home and ate his dinner.

“Mom, Dad, I’m fighting to settle the feud.”

“I’m happy that you will serve our civilization, but please be safe,” said his parents.

“It’s war. It’s not safe.”

Then, he said his prayers. After his prayers, he sat a little longer and asked the god, “Why am I chosen to be one of the people in the generation to settle your children’s feud?”

Then, he went to bed hoping for an answer. During his dream, the father of civilization sent him a message.

“You have been chosen because you fight, but you also end.”

Shajaea woke in the morning and had his breakfast. He was still wondering about the message god sent him. Then, he got ready, he sheathed his sword, slung his quiver over his shoulder, and sheathed his dagger and left for Esubat Alqatala. When he got there, he left with his group for northwestern Russia. They went on for three weeks. And finally, they got there.

 

Chapter Thirteen

Yǒnggǎn walked home as slowly as possible. He couldn’t move on without an answer. So he thought and felt like he needed to ask god about this. So during dinner, he informed his parents that he was fighting in the war, and he said his prayers.

After, he asked, “Why am I in this generation? What would happen if i wasn’t in this generation?”

Then, he went to bed.

In his dreams, Yǒnggǎn received a message from god.

“You are in this generation to fight and resolve. If you weren’t in this generation, this feud would never be resolved.”

Soon, Yǒnggǎn woke up, and he had his breakfast. Then, he slung his quiver over his shoulder, sheathed his dagger and sword, and left for Yǒngshì liánméng. He arrived with his class, ready to leave for northwestern Russia. Then, they left.

 

Chapter Fourteen

The first thing Shajaea saw were little heads popping over the horizon. He pointed them out to everyone else, and suddenly someone yelled, “Charge!” and everyone was charging straight toward the little heads.

At first, Shajaea was confused, but within seconds he understood and drew his bow and charged ahead. He shot from about one hundred meters away just to clear the area he was in, and he went on. After his shot, many arrows were coming for him, so ran into the fighting space and rolled up to someone and stabbed them with his dagger. This battle was brutal. Once someone knocked his dagger from his hand. He’d lost his stealth, so he leapt up and flew down with his foot out and kicked an enemy straight in the stomach, and then he grabbed his dagger. He switched to his bow and arrow and shot three enemies approaching him. There were only around fifty people on each side.

 

Chapter Fifteen

Yǒnggǎn was luckily still alive. The sun was now directly above them. He fought three enemies at once with his sword and defeated all of them. He saw one other boy also taking on many attackers at once. He was doing the same thing that Yǒnggǎn did. Yǒnggǎn leapt up in the air and kicked someone in the head and stabbed the nearest enemy to him. There were only about ten people left on either side. They all spread out and fought their opponent. He’d helped the people in his civilization, but they all kept dying, and then Yǒnggǎn defeated them. He shot some of the enemies but so did that same boy, and like Yǒnggǎn, that boy seemed to excel in his training.

Eventually, one of his last enemies yelled, “Shajaea, help me!” and one of Yǒnggǎn’s friends yelled, “Yǒnggǎn, help me!” at the same time, and both fired at the enemy, and the arrow went straight into their enemies’ chests.

 

Chapter Sixteen

They both shot at each other, and the arrows split because they hit each other. They both had no more arrows, so both Shajaea and Yǒnggǎn drew their swords. Every place that one of them struck, the other one blocked. The crashing of swords was a constant sound. They kept fighting and fighting. They tried to stealthily stab the other, but they just blocked it. They fought day and night for eighteen days straight. They kept on fighting in the brutal cold of Russia. They each tried to win for their civilization which some of was still at home. They fought through the cold and through the night. On the nineteenth day, they were smashing their swords together, and they were blunt, and they both took out their daggers and stabbed each other at the exact same time. Then, both fell on the ground dead.

 

Chapter Seventeen

In the air was a large cracking sound, and it flowed through the entire universe. Then, a flash of light. Yǒnggǎn and Shajaea opened their eyes. They got up and so did everyone else. People vaguely remembered the war. They didn’t remember why they were fighting though. They all remembered being killed, and they were extremely confused as to why they were still alive. Every living being that had ever known about the feud had forgotten about it. There was now peace. Everyone went back to their home. The two civilizations were now at peace. They all branched out. Some people went to eastern Europe. Some went to Africa. Some went to southern Asia. Some went to western Asia near the Mediterranean Sea. But there was still peace. They all started their own life where they settled. Their families grew, and then they spread. Eventually, the entire continents of Africa, Europe, and most of Asia were inhabited. Then, there wasn’t any war there for a long time. The next war was still between two civilizations.

 

The End

 

Arly and Asher and The Missing Martial Arts Belt

Arly was eight years old. He loved to read, he loved to write, and he loved to do martial arts. He was a purple belt in martial arts. His best friend Asher was also eight years old, and they pretty much had everything in common. They were both in martial arts when Arly’s belt fell off. The instructor picked up Arly’s belt and put it on the side. Then when they were finished with the drill, he tied Arly’s belt onto Arly. After that, when they were finished with martial arts class, they went out to lunch together and Arly left his belt there.

When they reached Arly’s house, Arly said, “Where did my belt go, Asher?!” (You need a belt because it tells you what level you are).

Asher said, “You must have lost it at the restaurant. I don’t know where else it could be.”

So they went back to the restaurant, and Arly said, “It’s not here anymore. Maybe somebody took it.”

Asher said, “It’s a purple belt, so it’s a pretty high belt. They must want to be higher at martial arts. Do you know anyone who would do that?”

“Only one person,” Arly said. “He’s a yellow belt at martial arts, and he really doesn’t like me.”

“Why doesn’t he like you?” asked Asher.

“He thinks I show off too much, but I don’t show off at all.”

“And who is he?” asked Asher.

“His name is Max,” replied Arly.

“Okay, then let’s go find him!” said Asher.

“Where would he be?” Arly asked.

“Let’s look around the restaurant and see if he’s still around there,” said Asher.

“Okay,” Arly said.

After 30 minutes of looking around the restaurant, they came back together, and Arly said, “It’s no use. It took 30 minutes to look for it. It must not be here. Maybe Max took it and took it home with him.”

“Do you know where Max lives?” asked Asher.

“No,” Arly said.

“Oh look, there’s Max out the window. Maybe we can follow him and see where he lives without him knowing,” Asher suggested.

“Okay,” said Arly. “Let’s go!”

So they went and they followed him, and he did not know at all. When he opened the door, they snuck in behind him. They were army crawling, so he wouldn’t hear them. (If you don’t know what army crawling is, it’s when you crawl on your stomach.)

Arly whispered to Asher, “Do you think he has the belt in his mom’s bag or in his pocket?”

“He couldn’t fit the belt in his pocket,” Asher whispered back.

“Then it must be in the bag,” Arly whispered excitedly.

When the mom was in the bathroom and Max was in his bedroom, they snuck to the bag and looked all around in it, but they just couldn’t find the belt. They snuck out of the house and went back to Arly’s house to discuss it.

“I do not think that Max has it,” said Asher. “And also, how do you know that Max was in the diner?”

“He’s always in the diner,” Arly answered.

“Okay,” said Asher.

“How about let’s think about how we got to the diner?”

“Okay,” said Arly.

So they walked and walked and walked until they walked 50 blocks, going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.

“My legs are tired,” Arly said

“How about we get some rest and then get back to the case,” Asher replied.

Asher went back to his house, and Arly went back to his house, so they both took a little nap and then met again at Arly’s house.

“How about we check people to see if they took the belt,” Asher suggested.

Arly said, “They always put our names written down on our belt, so we can look for that too.”

“Okay,” said Asher. “Let’s go!”

After an hour of looking, they couldn’t find anyone with a purple belt that had Arly’s name on it.

“It’s no use,” Arly said. “Nobody has my belt.”

“Let’s look harder. Maybe somebody does have your belt. We just haven’t seen it yet,” Asher said.

After another hour of looking, they finally found a purple belt on the sidewalk, but this belt had zero stripes on it and did not have Arly’s name. Arly’s belt had four stripes and had Arly’s name. After an hour more of looking, they finally found a purple belt with four stripes, and it said Arly’s name on it.

“Excuse me sir,” said Arly. “That’s not your belt.”

“Yes it is,” said the person that stole the belt.

“No it’s not,” said Arly. “It has my name on it and four stripes, and it’s my purple belt.”

“It’s mine now because I took it.”

“It has my name on it, four stripes, and it’s a purple belt. It’s definitely mine.”

The man ran away.

“HEY, COME BACK HERE!!!” Arly screamed.

The friends raced towards the man. The man ran around the block, crossing the street and making a turn to his house. They followed him the whole way. The man slammed the door right when Arly was going to go into the house. Arly banged into the door.

“Ow!” Arly screamed.

“We have to find a way to get into the house.” Arly explained to Asher.

“I know we do,” Asher joked. “Check if it’s locked. He might not have locked it.”

Arly checked if it was locked. He pulled. It didn’t work. He pushed. It didn’t work.

“I think it’s locked. I can’t get in” said Arly.

“Oh look! He has a back corridor. Let’s see if we can get into it through the back corridor,” Asher said.

They ran into the backyard. They walked up the steps to see if the door was opened.

“It’s our lucky day,” Arly said “He didn’t lock it!”

“Yay!” Asher shouted. “What are you waiting for? Open it!” Asher told Arly.

Arly opened it. They army crawled to the belt, so he wouldn’t see them. The belt was on the table. The man saw them.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!” he screamed.

Arly was standing tall with his hands on his hips.

“I’m sorry,” Arly said. “I’m just getting my belt.”

“NO YOU’RE NOT!” screamed the man.

Asher was shaking. He was so scared.

“Let’s get out of here,” Asher said stuttering.

They ran out of the house. They made a mad dash to the street. This time, the man was chasing them. They ran all the way to Arly’s house. The man managed to make it in through the door.

“Give me my belt back!” the man yelled.

“Maybe you should take martial arts classes. You need to earn the purple belt.”

“Why earn it when I can just steal it?” the man asked.

“Because stealing isn’t a good thing to do,” Arly said.

The man fake threw the belt to the table, but Arly thought he actually threw the belt on the table. The man ran away. He was so mad.

“Yay! Now we have our belt!” Arly said. He looked at the table to take the belt, but the belt wasn’t there.

“HE TOOK THE BELT!” Arly screamed. “Let’s chase after him!”

“Let’s go!” Asher said. They ran as fast as they could. They beat the man to his house. This time, they were in the house with the man. The man was very mad that they went to his house and figured out where his house was.

The man threw the belt on the floor and said, “I give up.”

“Thank you,” Arly said as he took the belt.

Arly went back to Arly’s house with Asher, and they had a dance party.

 

The End

 

Godly Mythical War

 

Introduction

Once there was a little boy who lived in Cuba, and a hurricane wiped out his village. He was the only person who survived in his village. He crawled for a couple of hours, but he was a baby, so he couldn’t go that far. Somebody found him and asked what his name was, and he said “James,” and then the person took him to a orphanage. Over the years, he started to hate the caretaker because the caretaker was mean. He made them work day and night! They had to clean toilets and make a TV. James also made some friends, and their names were Adam and Paul.

 

Story

Adam said, “Maybe we should break out of here.”

“Okay,” said James. “But we’ll need a plan.”

So they found some people who didn’t care if they helped, so they told the people the plan, and they did it. So now they got to the bathroom, while the kids asked if they could get more chores. The diversion occupied the caretaker, so then the three boys could go down the big toilet and get outside of the orphanage, and the toilet took them to a forest.

They started walking, and Paul said, “Hallelujah! We got out of that orphanage!”

James said, “I doubt we’ll ever have to go back to that place, we’re in the middle of nowhere. Let’s keep walking.”

But Paul didn’t stop feeling happy, and then the trees started dancing around him.

James and Adam both said, “You are outstanding, Paul.”

Paul said, “I had no idea that I could do that.”

“It’s so cool. Let me try,” said Adam. Adam tried to do what Paul did, but nothing happened.

Then, Paul had a vision of his father, and he saw himself in his father’s arms, and his dad, the earth god, was saying his name, telling him he was his dad and that he was a god.

“You, Paul, are a demigod.”

Then, things went black, and he woke up, and Paul asked James how long he was out.

“You weren’t out at all, Paul,” said James. “Why do you think you were out?”

Paul said, “I had a vision, and it was with my dad, and he said he was a god and I was a demigod.”

“Wo — ” and then an earthquake interrupted Adam. A gigantic chasm opened up in front and in the back, and when you looked into it, it looked like a man laughing.

Then, walls erupted out of the chasm.

Then, a hurricane swept the three kids into the air. It looked like James was standing. Or am I hallucinating? thought Paul.

Then, James used his hands and created another hurricane to fight the other hurricane, and it destroyed the other hurricane, and it also destroyed the wall of rocks.

James, Adam, and Paul ran out of the forest more scared than ever, and they ran and ran until the found a meadow.

Then, they set up camp, and they talked about what just happened.

Paul said, “How did you do it?”

Adam said, “I think I know what’s coming next.” Paul was not correct.

James passed out, and he had a vision. He saw the god that had almost destroyed his dad, and then he felt like he already died because he felt so scared. The god who destroyed his dad identified his dad, identified himself, and said he was the god who destroyed his dad, and he was coming to kill him and his friends.

Then, James woke up, and he asked Adam and Paul if he had been out, and they said yes.

And Paul asked, “What did you see?”

Then James said, “I saw the god who almost destroyed my dad, and he’s coming to kill us! Run!”

Then, with a burst of wind, a man appeared, and he was wearing black robes with a long beard, and his hair as wavy as wind. And he said, “I shall kill you.”

And then, he hurled a hurricane at James, which James stood on, and he did two hurricanes of his own, and they barely did anything to Pumpulus. Then, Pumpulus whipped up an F35 hurricane, and it knocked James a hundred feet away. And then, Paul joined him, helped him up, and then Paul made some trees fall on Pumpulus. And then, Pumpulus made a hurricane barrier around himself to make them bounce off and fly back at Paul. But Paul was quick and dodged both trees, picked up James, and got back to Adam.

And Adam said, “This guy is insanely powerful!”

But then, because of Adam’s anger with Pumpulus, he somehow created a tsunami, and then Adam knew he was a demigod. And then, a tsunami was overflowing the area and racing towards Pumpulus. It got to Pumpulus, got inside his mouth, and he coughed up a bit of water, then he was okay.

James said, “Maybe we should combine what we’re good at.”

And then, they combined hurricane, nature, and a bit of death and tsunamis. And then a humongous wall of all that stuff mixed together was racing towards Pumpulus. And then Pumpulus got hit by it, and he was very badly damaged and hurt. Even his godly healing powers weren’t enough to heal everything.

And then, he retreated back to his home and said, “I’ll be back to kill you, James, Paul, and Adam.”

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

The Dream

I wish I could go on the Empire State Building! I’ve never been on it. I first found out about it when my mom and dad went on it.

They came home one night and said, “Guess what we did? We went on the Empire State Building.”

I was like, “What’s that?”

“It’s the tallest building in New York City.”

And then, I started reading books about the Empire State Building. I thought it was so cool because it glows and it’s so tall. It’s one hundred feet tall. It has different colors every day. When it’s dark, it glows. My favorite color is purple, so I love when it glows purple. My name is Anna. I’m six years old. For two years I’ve wanted to go on the Empire State Building. I live in New York City. If I haven’t already told you, I really want to go on the Empire State Building.

I told my parents that I really wanted to go to the Empire State building. They were like, “You don’t have time. You have school, and we have work.”

“How about on the weekend?”

“Oh yeah, we forgot about the weekends. We could go this weekend if you want to. You can only go if you are six and up, so that’s good that you are six.”

I was so excited, and I couldn’t wait. The next day, I went to school and I told all my friends that I was going to the Empire State building this weekend. My friends all started talking over each other.

“Wow that’s the tallest building in the world!” said my best friend Grace.

“That’s so cool!” said Jennette.

“You could come with me! And then you guys could come to my house and we can play,” I said to Grace and Jennette.

“Yay!” they said. “That will be so fun!”

I felt good because Grace is my first best friend, and Jennette is my second. I’ve known Grace and Jennette since I was in nursery. They have a lot in common. They love talking and playing. Jennette talks the most and Grace likes to play, and I like to play board games. We go to Central park, we have picnics, and we hang out in school. And then, Ruby overheard that we were going to the Empire State Building. Ruby is not that nice. Everyone wants to be friends with her, but she says no. I decided to invite her. It wouldn’t be nice if I just invited Jennette and Grace and not Ruby.

“Ruby, do you want to come?” I said to her.

Ruby was just jealous because she didn’t want to go with Jennette and Grace. “Ehh. It’s just a building,” said Ruby.

“What? It’s just a building! No, it’s the tallest building in the world! And it glows at night!” I felt upset that Ruby would say that, because it was my dream since I was younger. I was just trying to be nice! “Well I like it and I want to go with Grace and Jennette.”

“Thanks for inviting us, we will always come.”

Ruby ignored them and said, “Ugh, I don’t care anyway.”

During school, we played and did projects. I loved making projects. I was making a project about the Empire State Building. I got black paper, lights, scissors, white paper, and a glue stick. I cut papers in the shape of the building. Then, I cut windows. Then, I put lights on it. I made twenty mini Empire State Buildings! I’m going to show the people in the Empire State Building too! I thought. I’m going to show them that it’s my first time going there. I gave a mini Empire State Building to Jennette and to Grace, to my teacher, and to my parents.

Finally, it was Saturday. The day I was going to the Empire State Building! I couldn’t wait! I woke up early and woke up my parents. I got dressed. I wore my favorite hot pink pants and light purple shirt. I put my light milk chocolate brown hair in a bun and put diamond barrettes in. I saw an Empire State Building clip in my drawer. I’ll wear that instead of my diamonds, I said! So my dad and mom woke up and got dressed. We were going to eat breakfast at the Empire State building with Grace and Jennette. We picked them up at their houses. They were really excited! We were all wearing our light purple shirts, and Grace was wearing light pink pants and Jennette was wearing sparkly pink pants. And then we drove back to our house and went to the subway.

On the subway, I was so excited. It was only one stop, so I could wait. I screamed, “EEEEEE.”

“I know you’re excited, but you can’t scream on the train,” said my parents.

There was a train station at the Empire State Building, so we got off at that stop. We got out of the station, and we were in the lobby of the Empire State building.

“We’ll miss you! Have a good time! Don’t talk to strangers! And stick together!” said my parents.

I dropped my mouth. I felt like it was going to hit the floor. “This is amazing!” I said.

We took the elevator to the top floor. On the elevator, I felt like I was about to happy-cry. I started dancing with Jennette and Grace. There was no one else in the elevator except the security guard.

“We’re going to the top floor!” I said to the security guard.

“Okay! I’ll press the button!” he said.

The elevator went really fast, but it felt like it took forever. It was moving as slow as a snail. We finally got to the top.

“Have fun!” said the security guard. “Wait! Where are your parents?”

“They dropped us off because they wanted us to have fun by ourselves.

“Oh, I thought you lost them,” said the security guard.

We stepped out of the elevator, and I saw so many buildings. Good thing I don’t have a fear of heights, and good thing that Grace and Jennette don’t either! We ran over to the telescope, put in the quarters I had brought and looked down. We felt like we were going to fall! I felt like I could see everything. I felt really really happy. It was everything I wanted. I saw people down below really really small like ants. But ants wearing pants! And shirts. Maybe some wearing hats, because it was early June. We stayed there for hours, but it felt like it was only a minute. I bought a snow globe with the building inside it, and I bought two other ones for Grace and Jennette. We went to another area to take some pictures. And then we took the elevator back down. In the lobby, my parents picked us up.

“How was it?” they said.

“Great!” we all said at the same time.

Grace and Jennette were tired, so we went back to my house. We had lunch and then drove my friends home.

“Did you really like it?” my parents asked.

“Yes! Maybe next weekend we can go back!” I said.

“Maybe once a month,” said my parents.

Back home, I put my snow globe on the night table next to my bed. I shook it and it glowed pink, purple, red, and green. I fell asleep, dreaming of going there every single day.

 

THE END!

 

AK-47

One day, there was a 32-year-old man named Mace from the planet NoBoo. He wanted to do target practice one morning to train for school, but he realized that he did not have an AK-47. He did not want to practice with a bow and arrow because it took too much time to load. He set out to find an AK-47. First, he went to the best gun store in NoBoo, The Great Guns.

“I need an AK-47 for target practice,” he said to the man at the counter.

“Sorry, we have horrible AK-47s here. They don’t shoot very well. They have horrible aim.” Mace started to leave, feeling defeated, but the man at the counter stopped him. “If you really want a good AK-47… I know where you can get one.” Mace was curious. “There is a greedy man,” said the man behind the counter. “Take my ship. It is very old, but it still works very well. Go to the Averdado System, that is where he lives.”

Mace smiled at him. He was so excited to finally get an AK-47 for target practice.

It was really important for Mace to learn to shoot at a target. In NoBoo, enemies were frequently trying to attack. Hackers were constantly trying to hack food, dentals, and other life necessities in order to be rich. This put a lot of lives in NoBoo in danger. Mace needed to protect himself and his things from the hackers. It was the most important thing. He reminded himself this as he climbed into the man from the shop’s old ship. The ship was small and it was very clearly used in a war against the Hackers a long time ago. It was covered in dents and the front of the ship, where there was usually a tip, was completely missing. Mace was confident in the ship, though. He climbed in and set off towards the Averdado System to get his AK-47.

Once he arrived in the Averdado System, Mace tried to go to the greedy man on a spaceship. On the spaceship, he went to the ship’s bridge, but he didn’t find him there. What he did find was crumpled weapons, and this made him feel not so good. How did these get here, and why are they so destroyed? Mace thought to himself. He had never fought before, and it was dawning on him that the greedy man may be more powerful than he expected. So what he did was that he went out to the bottom to try and find him, but the greedy man was actually on the bridge hiding.

The greedy man remembered his past and his childhood while he was under the bridge. When he was a child, he was a scaredy cat, because one day when he was five years old he was scared of his uncle. The greedy man couldn’t help it. He was born scared. His uncle didn’t do much to be mean or scary, but the greedy man was just scared. People made fun of the greedy man and said, “He he he he he is a scaredy cat!” This made the greedy man really upset, and it made him want to turn bad. One day, when he got home from a bad day of teasing, he was so upset that he destroyed a plane. It made him feel powerful. He got greedy and began destroying everything after that.

The greedy man was so lost in his memory that he forgot that Mace was his enemy. Mace was his enemy because he wanted the greedy man’s AK-47. The greedy man already had guards called Protocepters. The Protocepters went after Mace because they were robots and didn’t forget that Mace was the greedy man’s enemy. Mace went to the main hangar and found nothing. The guards went after him, but then one of the Protocepters called the greedy man and said, “Mace is your enemy.” The greedy man got so angry that he got the AK-47 and went down to the hangar. The Protocepters told the greedy man where Mace was and then met up with the greedy man. They had to wait for him or else they would’ve been fired, but Mace was escaping!

Mace managed to get off the ship eventually, but he didn’t get what he wanted. He decided to get a bow and arrow instead, but he changed his mind because he thought it would take too much time to load. Then, he thought of a rifle. Then he said, “Too long.” Then he decided to get a pistol. Then he said, “Too small.” This was a problem, a real problem. He decided to get a medium gun. Then he thought about getting the medium gun and figured it was not powerful enough. Then he said, “No.”

Then he went back to the spaceship and found the greedy man. He stared at his welcoming face and almost fell victim to his deception. “He is just in disguise as a nice man,” he reminded himself. The greedy man had guards called Protocepters. They were purple-eyed robot things standing tall and holding spears to defend the greedy man. When Mace got on the ship, he went to the bridge that was on the ship. He found the AK-47. He was so happy. A huge grin spread across his face. Oh! I’m the best! I’m the best! I found it! he thought to himself. He then quickly grabbed the gun and went to evacuate to the hangar. As he entered the hangar, he saw the greedy man and the Protocepters waiting for him.

Mace shot the AK-47 at a nearby Protocepter. It went down, and immediately a war broke out. First, one of the Protocepters grabbed his spear and started attacking Mace. But Mace was skilled. When the Protocepter jumped up as high as he could, Mace ran as fast as he could towards his ship. As he ran, another cruiser came out of space in light speed and got in his way. He was very surprised. Mace thought that there was just one cruiser! He looked into the driver’s seat and saw the greedy man’s brother sitting in the cruiser.

He said, “All cannons fire! Fire! Fire!” Then, a noise began to sound. It was the alarm button. The brother was hit. The cruiser spun out of control and crashed into the greedy man’s cruiser. Kaboom, it sounded. The greedy man said, “Come on! I was so close to winning!” and he died in his cruiser.

Mace looked around. The Protocepters threw their spears down outside of the cruiser and died one by one. Mace picked the spears up one by one. He flew back to his planet called NoBoo. He lived happily ever after!!!

 

Train Lines

 

01

One day, the 7th avenue line was getting ready to wake up. All the 1 trains woke up at the 238th yard. “Yaawn,” all the 1 trains yawned. “It’s time to get to work!” said all the 1 trains.

They had to get to work every single day. Only one of all the 1 trains in the yard didn’t want to get up, and that was 1871-1890. The reason that they didn’t want to get up was because it was Car 1872’s last day on duty. It was his last day because he didn’t have any air conditioning. The car replacing him would be 1872A. They didn’t know him yet because he was still getting built. They didn’t want 1872 to leave. He could just get fixed. All of the 1 trains were really sad. He had been all of the 1 trains’ good friends since the year 1984. 1872 had been a good friend. He helped other cars by being a set of five. 1871-1875 were his best friends. 1872 would now be out of service, but he hoped he would still be in the yard. 1872 had hard times on his motors, so he couldn’t move, and the other trains had to pull him.

The drivers got them ready for their day. The drivers didn’t know the trains could talk. The trains kept it a secret, because they didn’t want their drivers to take them out of service. All of the trains talked, so they had to keep their identities a secret. So the second a driver stepped into the car, they couldn’t make a single sound except rrr and beep. All the trains started the day.

Meanwhile, at the Pitkin Yard, the C train was very delighted by 1872 retiring, because he didn’t like 1872 at all. The C train was very jealous that 1872 got all the attention today. “It’s time for me to get the attention!” said the R32 C train.

At the end of the day, the R62 trains — 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, and 7s — made a cake for 1872, and all the trains that were retired but still alive came to the yard too.

 

02

At the party, the 2 trains coupled to the 1s coupled to the 3s coupled to the 4s coupled to the 5s coupled to the 6s coupled to the 7s coupled to the old trains. They all went down the line, all the way to South Ferry. They came and turned back, but this time, they went past the yard to Van Cortlandt Park! Well, at least the yard was one stop away. So, they went back and ate the cake. The cake was really good, and after that, all of the trains went back to their yards and went to sleep.

The next morning, 1872A was done. 1872 had to stay in the yard, so they uncoupled him and went away for 1872A. 1872A was very shiny and new. They went to to work. 1872A was pushing the train all the way to South Ferry. He did not want to stop at all. He just wanted to have fun. They got all the way to South Ferry, and they crashed through the wall! 1871 did not get hurt, though he was still crashed in the wall on Track 4. 1872A had to get retired. So they retired 1872A, and they fixed 1872 to be another car. 1872 was part of the same train. 1871-1875 and 1876-1890 were really happy that he was back. So they all went slowly and carefully and stopped at all the stops, and then they went back to the yard. They were right on time.

 

THE END.

 

The Space Travelers

This is Gordon, and he is an alien. He lives in an ice cream shaped planet. The name of his planet is Lexicon. One day, he and his friend decided to go to a planet named Pizton. Gordon told his friend, Brain, to fire up the engines and off they went. When they were in the middle of getting to the planet, they found out that their spaceship was running out of gas, so they refilled it. But they didn’t refill it enough so, when they nearly got to the planet, they figured out that they were out of gas.

“Can you fix the engine?” Gordon said to Brain.

“No. We ran out of gas,” Brain said.

“Get the parachutes!” Gordon told Brain.

Gordon and Brain jumped out of the spaceship. They watched their spaceship crash land onto Pizton’s side. They ran over to the spaceship, and Gordon asked Brain, “Can you fix it?”

Brain said, “Yes I can, but I need lots of materials.” So, Brain and Gordon went to the nearest town to ask people for help.

The people said, “You should go ask the king.”

When they reached the palace, they went into the throne room.

The king said, “Yes, we will help you, but we have a lot of giant mutated rats in the caves next to the town, and they are scaring away the town folks.” The king asked, “Can you help us?”

Brain said, “Yes.”

Gordon was just standing there frozen in fear because he was scared of rats. The king got some cold water and put it on Gordon’s face.

“Snap out of it,” he said.

Gordon said, “Sorry, let’s go, Brain,” in a shaking voice.

Gordon and Brain made their way to the cave. When they went in, they heard some squeaking noise. Then, they saw the rats. Gordon got freaked out, so he grabbed a blaster from his pocket.

“Stop! They’re nice rats,” Brain said.

“Yeah, nice rats that eat people!” Gordon screamed. The rats made some very scary noises, and Gordon screamed, “I wanna go home!” and ran out of there.

The rats crept up to Brain, and Brain was frozen with fear, but then he remembered what he learned about rats, and he crept up into his pocket and grabbed some cheese. He threw it into the part of the cave where there was only one way to get out. The rats ran towards the cheese and at that second, Gordon ran into the cave and started shooting blasts all over the cave and a bunch of rocks closed the entrances, so the rats couldn’t get out.

“Why did you trap them in there? They’re not bad,” Brain said.

The rats screamed and tried to hit the rocks down.

Gordon was like, “They’ll never get out of there.”

The rats broke out of the rocks and ran towards Brain, and Brain was about to get attacked by the rats. Brain covered his face with his arms. Gordon threw a bunch of cheese into a part of the cave and the rats stopped running towards Gordon and started running towards the cheese. At that second, the cave started breaking apart.

Gordon said to Brain, “Come on, dude! We gotta get out of here!” Brain and Gordon ran out of the cave.

They got to the palace and told the king that they stopped the rats. The king told the people to give Gordon and Brain the materials. Brain fixed the spaceship, and Gordon and Brain got into the spaceship and waved to the king and people.

“What a day we had, eh Brain?” said Gordon.

“Yes, we did,” said Brain in a tired voice. Brain and Gordon made their way onto Lexicon.

 

THE END

 

Being a Fairy

Once there were three triplets who wanted to be fairies. Their names were Sophia, Chloe, and Stella. They were all identical, but they liked to wear different clothes and had different personalities. Sophia was funny, Stella was shy, and Chloe was a little rude. They all had dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. They had a friend fairy named Sparkly, but they had to keep her a secret from everyone else.

One day when they were nine, they were playing in their backyard, and they heard a scream. Sophia touched something, but she didn’t know what. It felt like a little person! Sparkly covered herself in fairy dust, so they were able to see her. They were amazed! Chloe thought she was fake for a whole day. Eventually, she agreed that Sparkly was a real fairy. Since that day, Sparkly always stayed with them. They had just turned twelve, but their parents still didn’t know about Sparkly. Sparkly had blue hair and a blue dress, but she wasn’t sparkly. She also liked to eat candy. Her favorite was chocolate.

It was summer, and Sophia, Chloe, and Stella went outside to play in the backyard of their townhouse. They brought Sparkly with them, too. They took a bunch of chocolate pieces to give Sparkly. Sophia had an idea.

“We should try to make ourselves fairies,” she said.

“Yeah!” said Chloe and Stella.

“You guys could be fairies,” said Sparkly, “but you will have to pass a test.”

“How long will it take us?” asked Stella.

“The whole journey will take you guys about two weeks.”

“Okay,” said Chloe, “let’s just tell our parents that we’re going to go camping in the woods for two weeks.” Chloe always had good ideas.

So, they went inside and told their parents that they wanted to go camping for two weeks, far away from home and asked if they could.

“Yes,” said their parents, “but look out for each other.”

Their parents weren’t that strict with them.

“So, where are you guys going to go?” their mom and dad asked.

“We won’t go far. We’re just going to go to Central Park.”

“Okay. Be safe.”

“We might be home earlier!” said Sophia, trying to make them a little calmer.

They packed one big blanket, extra clothes, and some gifts just in case. Sparkly had told them that they might need gifts. The gifts they brought were a very, very big trampoline, floaties, and a tiny, tiny blow up pool.

So, Sparkly, Sophia, Stella, and Chloe went to Central Park. Sparkly took them to a magic tree. On the way, they saw a lot of big rocks and a lot of grass. The magic tree looked like a regular tree, but it had a hole in it.

“We’re going to have to go through that hole,” said Sparkly.

Chloe ran up to the tree and tried to fit in the hole, but she couldn’t fit.

“Ahh, I’m stuck!” yelled Chloe.

Sophia and Stella tried to pull her out, and Chloe went flying! She landed on poor Stella, who cried, “Oh man.”

“You can’t fit in the hole. I’m going to shrink you!” Sparkly laughed a little.

She used her fairy magic, sprinkling invisible shrinking fairy dust on them. She made Chloe, Sophia, and Stella as small as she was, or as big as a marker. They were so tiny! A wind blew, and they went crazy! They landed five inches back. None of them were happy, because they wanted to get back to their normal size. Stella was worried and scared, but Chloe felt brave, and Sophia felt confused. Before the next wind blew, Sparkly grabbed Chloe, Sophia, and Stella and pushed them in the hole. Sparkly went too.

Suddenly, they were falling. It felt like they were going to die! It was pitch black. They were going as fast as the Cyclone on Coney Island, and they felt as dizzy as spinning around one hundred times. Thump! They all landed on their feet, except Sophia, who landed on her butt.

“Ow! I hit my butt!” said Sophia.

“Too bad,” responded Chloe.

“Wow! Look around!” exclaimed Stella.

They did. It was like a beautiful dream. There were green vines hanging down, blue and pink leafy trees, tiny peacocks walking and parrots flying, and the floor was carpeted in blue grass. In the distance, they saw a big river. They heard a waterfall falling and the peacocks playing.

“Wow! Look around!” said a high-pitched voice. It was the parrot, standing on the tippy top of a pink tree.

“It’s repeating everything we say!” yelled Chloe.

“It’s repeating everything we say!” repeated the parrot.

“This is a fairy forest under the grass, where fairies live,” explained Sparkly.

“It’s amazing!”

Chloe turned around and saw an old woman. She had very curly leaf green hair and very light blue eyes. There were wrinkles on her face, she was holding a gray three-legged cane, was wearing a black raggy dress, and was barefoot. Chloe was about to go up to her and ask, “Can you point us to a fairy palace,” but Sparkly reached out and pulled Chloe back.

“No, don’t ask her! She’s the witch!” she whispered. That made Chloe feel a little scared.

The witch hobbled up to them and said, “You guys want to go to the fairy palace, don’t you?”

“Yes!” said Stella.

“Do you have any gifts for me?” the witch asked.

“Yes, we have a pool for you.” Sophia said confidently. Stella and Chloe were relieved, because they really liked the trampoline.

“Perfect,” said the witch. “Hand it over.”

Chloe took the tiny pool out of her pocket and handed it to her. The witch jumped up and down out of excitement. The triplets wanted to start laughing, but they held it in because they didn’t want to get her mad. Sparkly would’ve known the way to the palace, but once you leave the fairy castle and go out of the tree, you forget how to get back. The witch pointed the way. They turned left. Everything still looked like the forest, except suddenly they saw a huge castle. It was sparkly pink.

“This is where the fairy queen and king live,” explained Sparkly.

The triplets went inside. They couldn’t even see the walls because there were so many pictures of the past kings and queens! Pictures covered every inch. Kings were on the left side, and queens were on the right. They saw a label, throne room. In the back of the room, there were three thrones. They were all gold. The king and queen were sitting on their thrones, but one was empty. The king and queen didn’t look happy. They didn’t look sad. They just looked normal. They both had brown hair and were tall. Well, tall for a fairy, which meant tiny for a person. They were both the size of three markers. The king and queen saw Sparkly, and their smiles almost covered their eyes.

“My daughter is finally home!” the king cried.

Sophia, Chloe, and Stella were like, whaaaat. Sparkly could see the shock on their faces.

“Yup, it’s true. I’m the princess!” she said. “Dad, these are my three friends who have been taking care of me. Can you make them fairies?”

“Anything you want. But they have to take the test before they become fairies.”

“Yay!” said Sophia. “Wait… a test?”

The test was only one question.

“The big question is,” the king said, “what do you have to do to be a fairy?”

The triplets were confused because they didn’t understand the question. They thought the questions would be fact-based, like, “Where does fairy dust come from?”

“You have thirty minutes to answer the question,” said the king.

Sparkly started playing with her mom and dad while they had to search for their answers.

Stella asked, “Maybe we could all search together?”

“There’s no way I’m searching with you guys!” Chloe yelled.

“I’ll search with you, Stella,” said Sophia.

So, the search began! Sophia, Chloe, and Stella all left the palace. Sophia and Stella decided they were going to ask some people what they did to become fairies. They went to see what fairies did. They ran around until they came to a field. On the grassy field, they saw a lot of fairies playing. They noticed that whenever one got hurt, they all helped each other.

In the meantime, Chloe was just looking around nature. She first looked in the pink and blue leaves. She cut some of the pink leaves, so she could give them to the king. They were so pretty, and she thought that they would appreciate her giving them something. She also looked in the waterfall, but she just got wet. And then, the king rang a bell that meant 30 minutes was up.

The three girls all arrived at the castle at the same time. Chloe ran through the front door holding the leaves. Sparkly had spent the time knitting with her mom and playing a huge game of Candyland, or, Sparklyland, with her dad. Sophia and Stella saw that Chloe had brought the really pretty leaves and were a little worried that they didn’t have anything new to give the king. They all stood in front of the king, and Chloe put the leaves down in front of the thrones.

“I brought these leaves to show what it means to be a fairy.”

Sparkly stepped off her throne and walked over to look at them. Suddenly, she slipped on one of the pink leaves! She went flying! Sophia and Stella instantly ran and helped Sparkly up.

“Are you okay?” they asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you for helping me.”

“We’ll always help you!”

“She’ll be fine,” said Chloe rudely.

Ignoring Chloe, the king turned Sparkly and asked, “What are their names? The two that helped you.”

“Their names are Stella and Sophia.”

“Stella and Sophia can become fairies!” declared the king.

“What!” yelled Chloe. “But I brought leaves!”

“You brought leaves from the trees,” the queen piped up. “Stella and Sophia went and watched the fairies and learned what they did. They showed that they could help other fairies.”

The king took bright pink fairy dust to pour on Sophia and Stella. “They get magic dust, and I don’t?” yelled Chloe.

The king just poured it all over Sophia and Stella.

Suddenly, there was a cloud of glittery fairy dust. When the cloud cleared, Sophia and Stella were flying high with big smiles on their faces. They had beautiful wings! Stella had neon purple wings, and Sophia had dark red wings. They were dancing in the air they were so happy. Chloe just stared into space. Sophia and Stella looked at Chloe, then at each other.

Stella took a deep breath and looked at the king and queen. “Chloe is a little rude sometimes, but at heart she is really nice. She’s a good sister.”

“So please make her a fairy!” added Sophia.

“Okay,” said the king. “I believe that you will teach her to help people, so I will make her a fairy too.”

He poured the fairy dust again, and there was another cloud of glitter. Chloe popped up in the air next to Stella and had turquoise wings.

“Thank you so much!” said Chloe. “I promise I’ll try to be nice. I want to be a good fairy!”

The girls all hugged each other for ten seconds. They flew around the room and did somersaults in the air. After five minutes, they went back to the ground.

“I miss our parents,” said Stella.

“I miss not being the size of a pencil,” said Sophia.

“Do you want to go home?” asked Chloe.

“Yes!” exclaimed Sparkly. They all giggled.

Then, the triplets thanked the king.

“Now that you are fairies, you can come back whenever. Now that you know what it means to be a fairy, I know you will help people who don’t know. I hope I see you soon. Bye to my favorite daughter. Have fun outside the tree.”

They grabbed Sparkly and flew out of the castle, out of the forest, out of the tree, and all the way home. When they finally landed at their front door, they grew to normal size, and their wings became invisible. They felt exhausted, so they went to their room. Sparkly sat on the dresser and watched over them. Now, she would always watch over them. They soon fell asleep, with fairy dust in their eyes.

 

Why Is Everything in NYC So Expensive?

Do you ever wonder why everything in NYC (specifically Manhattan) is so expensive? Food, stuffed animals, rents for houses and apartments are just so overpriced. Well, in my opinion, everything in NYC is so expensive because of rent, there isn’t much space, and it’s so convenient.

One reason why NYC is so expensive is because the rent here is so high. For an example, the average rent of an apartment in Manhattan is $3,667. In New Jersey, the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is $1,366. Big difference, people! The rent is so expensive because there are so many people, and there is limited space. The landlords make the prices go higher, so they can earn more money. Since there are so many people that want it, they rent the apartment. This is what I think. Since so many people want to live in NYC, landlords take advantage of this and raise the rent. People want to make money.

Another reason why everything in NYC is so expensive is because there isn’t that much space. For example, Manhattan is only 22.6 square miles, and New Jersey is 8,722 ml. There’s another huge difference here. Remember, Manhattan has only limited space. So, it’s harder to find space for new buildings. The construction price would be high because of limited space. So owners who spent money on the building want to get the money back since the construction price would be high.

The last reason why everything in NYC is so expensive is because it’s really convenient to live in NYC (specifically Manhattan). For example, you can just walk to go from place to place. Also, you’re usually near bus and train stops. So if you work somewhere outside of your borough, take the train or bus to work. Since it’s so convenient to get from place to place, this is making it more expensive because (I know I already said this example but) since building/house owners want to make a lot of money and people want to live in convenient places, those owners take advantage of these people and raise the rent to make money.

In conclusion, in my opinion, everything in New York City is expensive because the rent is really high, there isn’t a lot of space, and it’s really convenient. I think we can make Manhattan buildings’ rents lower because some people aren’t that rich, but they want convenience. This topic is important to the community because now people will know that Manhattan is so expensive and why it’s so expensive. Duh.

 

Works Cited

https://www.businessinsider.com/manhattan-rent-by-neighborhood-ranked-from-lowest-to-highest-2018-5

https://smartasset.com/mortgage/the-cost-of-living-in-new-jersey

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Manhattan,+New+York,+NY/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c2588f046ee661:0xa0b3281fcecc08c?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwig0fOjh4bdAhVOMd8KHf2PDtsQ8gEwH3oECAYQCw

https://www.google.com/maps/place/New+Jersey/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c0fb959e00409f:0x2cd27b07f83f6d8d?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjqn6Gxh4bdAhXhSt8KHeprCYgQ8gEwFnoECAYQCw

 

I Don’t Know What to Write

 

I don’t know what to write,

I’m going to have a big fight,

All the pages are white,

I have to think of something to write.

This is all the trouble with writing,

This is why I keep fighting.

I don’t know what to write,

Now the pages aren’t all white,

But I still don’t know what to write.

 

The Pirates and the Ninja

 

Chapter One

A ninja is practicing with his sword on a cliff because he is preparing for his fight with the pirates. The ninja takes a step backwards and suddenly falls off the cliff! He tumbles backwards until he grabs a branch, but the branch breaks, so he falls and breaks his leg.

After he lands, the ninja hops to the hospital frowning because he broke his leg. At the hospital, the doctors are surprised to see him. They love ninjas because they fight. They help him and give him a metal leg.

At nine o’clock, it is time for the fight. The ninja goes to an island and swims to the pirate boat. When the ninja is going to flip the captain off of the boat, the other pirates flip the ninja off, but he holds onto the boat.

“Good job,” the pirates say, because they think that they won. But the ninja comes back and flips everyone off the boat. The ninja sails away to Florida, and the pirates swim back to land.

 

Chapter Two

“Hi!” everyone in Florida says to the ninja. He waves back to them.

The pirates are watching TV and see that the ninja is in Florida. The pirates come back and take the ninja to their secret hideout and lock him in a cave that has a bear in it that is hungry. The ninja sees a rock on the ground and moves it, so he can get out of the cave. The ninja locks the bear in the cave.

 

Chapter Three

The ninja goes to find the pirates. They start fighting, and a lot people come to watch. Someone brings a truck with a stadium in it for the pirates and ninjas to fight in. They fight more, and people go get seats. And the ninja wins by cutting off the pirate’s legs with his sword.

At the end of the fight, the ninja feels proud and takes off his mask and reveals that he is a baby.

“You’re a baby?!”

Everyone gasps.

 

Chapter Four

The baby ninja goes back to where he lives on the boat. He sails back to his home in New York, and he goes upstate to where his house is. He retires and stays home.

 

The End

 

The Secret Beneath Hakhito Island (Excerpt)

 

Chapter One: News to Die For

“Jake! Wait up!” yelled Jake’s best friend, a spunky, red-headed girl named Peri.

Jake turned around to see Peri’s big smile pressed right into his face. He didn’t know what she was about to tell him, but from that smile, he knew one thing: whatever she had to say included him, because whenever Peri got that twinkle in her eye, she was ready for adventure. It said she was ready for mischief. But worst of all, it meant that probably both she and Jake would be in a huge amount of trouble.

“And just what might be so important that you must sneak up behind me like a tiger and surprise me so greatly?” asked Jake, smiling goofily. He always loved to tease Peri with a professional attitude just to annoy her.

Peri pulled out a Choco-Nut from her pocket and popped it in her mouth. “Oh, you’re such a party pooper, Jake. Anyway, I have good news.” She offered another Choco-Nut to Jake, who took it gladly. They both loved the candy.

Through layers of melted chocolate, hazelnuts, and caramel, Jake managed to say, “Well, what is this ever so important news?”

“If you’d stop teasing me, maybe I’d tell you.” Peri stuck out her lip and turned her back on Jake. She was teasing him back. Jake and Peri would go through this cycle each day, and they both ended up laughing at the end after one person made the other happy.

Jake knew he wasn’t exactly ready for whatever the news was. On the other hand, Jake was a person who liked to know things. He wanted to know every secret at J. Bemink High School. He wanted to know every secret in England. He wanted to know every secret on Earth. He read the paper. He watched and listened to the news. He did everything he could do to find out every little tidbit of every single person in every single community of the world. He wanted to be a reporter for The London Times and learn about big important pieces of information. But for now, he would have to share only small information for working for the school newspaper. Still, Peri had good news, and any news is information.

“Okay, seriously, what is it?” asked Jake, trying not to tease.

By now, they were almost to school. They knew every little thing on the way to school. The crack in the sidewalk where Peri’s older brother had crashed his motorcycle. They drainpipe where people would splash in the puddles when it rained. And most importantly, the sandbox. A sandbox to anyone else would be just a place for little tots to make unrecognizable shapes of wet sand. For Jake and Peri though, this place was a memory.

When Jake and Peri were only two, Peri moved from Scotland to England. One day, Jake was a playing in the sandbox, making a mound of sand. Peri stomped over in her Wellington boots and kicked over the pile of sand Jake had been working on so lovingly. Jake started crying, but before his mother could even come to scoop him up, Peri was plopping down beside him and rebuilding his precious sculpture. Ever since, Peri and Jake were inseparable, and the sandbox was something of a heavenly monument.

“Jake!” Peri interrupted Jakes reminiscence. “You know, sometimes I don’t get you. You ask me to tell you something and then yo — ” Peri’s eyes widened as she glanced at the front yard of J. Bemink High School. It looked like she had just seen a ghost.

“Peri, what’s wrong? What’s the big d — ” Jake’s words pittered off as he turned to the front lawn. His eyes too, were as big as dinner plates.

On the front lawn, there were three main things. One, the principal was talking to three policeman, sweat beads running down his forehead. Two, there was a crowd of students huddling around an unseen object, some of them crying, some of them frozen in fear. Three, the unseen object was the dead body of Mona Barry, a freshman at the school. On her forehead, there was a note. Watch your back, the note said. Watch your back, or you’ll be next.

 

Chapter Two: A Note, A Call, And a Mission

Jake checked his watch. It was only 9:00 A.M., and he and Peri were walking home from school. They had sent everybody home that day because of the murder. Poor Peri, who usually was so cheerful about everything she did, was still in tears.

“Oh Jake! It was just so awful. Imagine that being me! It could happen to anybody! I mean, the note said anyone could be killed! And the killer’s still out there and it’s not safe and — ” She broke into tears again.

Jake put his arm around her. “It’s going to be okay. The killer isn’t going to choose just anyone. There must have been some reason. You don’t need to be afraid.”

Peri sniffled and finally went quiet. Too quiet. Jake hated seeing Peri upset. It was a heartbreaking sight. He decided that to make Peri feel better, he had to listen to her and keep her going so that she could be distracted from the horrid events that had occurred earlier that morning.

“So… erm, what was the good news you wanted to tell me?” Jake asked carefully, making sure not to startle her too much.

Peri perked up slightly. She looked up at him with damp eyes. “My uncle invited me and one friend to come to his house on Hakhito Island. It’s just south of Plymouth. I was hoping you would come with me.”

Jake agreed to go as long as his mother said yes, and they went to Peri’s house for the day. They walked to the store to get slushee drinks. They went to their special tree, and they watched their favorite show. They were having so much fun together. Peri was forgetting all about the disastrous morning. Jake, however, wasn’t sure about what he had said earlier that day.

Peri’s right, Jake thought. It could be just about anyone. Mona Barry didn’t do anything wrong. At least Jake didn’t think she did. It’s unfair, he thought, that one day, you’re just a good hardworking girl just at the most amazing part of your life, and it all ends to soon.

“Jake? Helloooo! Earth to the Jake-man!” Peri waved a hand in front of his face.

“Oh… sorry, erm… say again?”

“Honestly, Jake, are you alright? You looked like you were feeling ill. Anyways, my mother asked if you would like to stay for dinner.” Peri seemed concerned, and it looked she was about to cry again. It was quiet. Too quiet for Peri’s house in any case.

“Well, let me ask my mother.” Jake wasn’t sure about staying at Peri’s for dinner. He just wanted to go home and mull over this whole day. He felt uncertain, like someone was watching him.

He phoned his mother, who surprisingly wanted him to go back home. She was at work, but had heard of the murder over the radio. “I’m sorry, love, I’m just worried about you. You know I’ll always worry.” Her mother’s voice crackled on Peri’s old house phone.

“It’s alright, Mum. I’ll come home and heat up the casserole. Also, Mum — ”

Jake’s sentence was interrupted by a cough. Not a cough from his mother, but a man’s cough, a deep, low cough.

“Mum, did someone at your work just cough?”

“No, love, why?”

Jake’s eyes popped. Mum, I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.” He hung up so abruptly that the phone almost crashed to the floor. Someone had been listening to their conversation over the phone. Jake could only think that this was linked to the murder. This never happened to him or anyone else he had ever known. He said a quick goodbye to Peri, said thank you to Ms.Lee, and rushed out the door.

Jake was halfway down block when he felt cold, like eyes were covering him.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US?!” Jake shouted out suddenly. He raced home after he didn’t find an answer.

When he got home, there was a note on the door of his flat. Jake didn’t want to even look at the note.

Come on, Jake. Jake mustered up as much courage as possible. It’s just a note. It’ll be fine… Everything’s going to be fine.

Jake fumbled around for his old rusty key, looking around for anyone who might be scoping him out for their next murder. He opened the door, slid inside halfway, ripped the note from the door, and shut the door with such a bang it rattled the flat.

Jake heated up the chicken-eggplant casserole, settled on the couch, unfolded the pink paper containing the note, and started to read.

Watch out, Jake. We know where you are. We know who you are. The note was in cut and paste, the sign of a master criminal. Go to Hakhito Island. Go beneath the island. Retrieve the recording and leave it at the large pine tree at the center of the island. Do this if you want you and everything you know to be safe. You have one week.

 

Chapter Three: The Choice

The rest of the night went like it usually did, except for the brief moments when Jake would glance off toward the piece of pink paper laying on his desk. Jake watched his favorite television show, a show about a boy and a girl who communicated with animals, called Animal Maniacs. He brushed his teeth, got in bed, and shut his eyes. But in a minute, they were open again.

Jake was so overwhelmed and tired from the day, it seemed like he was too tired to fall asleep. He tried to concentrate on his breathing. He ended up staring at the ceiling. He tried listening to music. He just finished with his head down on his desk. He couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened. And he couldn’t stop thinking about the note on the door.

How did they know I was probably going to Hakhito Island? What is this a recording of? Is there something else going on on the island? Should I even be going to Hakhito?

His phone buzzed. It was Peri.

Hey, u still awake? Peri texted. Will ur mom let u go to Hakhito with me?

This was it. Where Jake had to make his decision. Of course his mom would let him go. She was always trying to get him to go on trips that she knows he will look back on. Jake just was worried that he wouldn’t look back on the trip happily if he went. On the other hand, he would have to get this recording, or else Peri, his mother, himself, and many other people would be harmed. This organization had tracked him down. He didn’t doubt the fact that they could harm him and all his loved ones.

“I can’t do this by myself. I just can’t. I’m going to need to tell Peri,” said Jake, all alone in his room. His mother didn’t get home until late that night. She worked late at the hospital doing paperwork and didn’t get home until 11:50. Jake asked her if he could go to Hakhito Island for a week.

“Well, I suppose it would be alright. Will you be going on Monday for spring break?”

It’s Friday now, thought Jake. Tomorrow’s my first day of the time limit. “I guess I could leave on Saturday or Sunday, Mum.”

“Alright, love. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Mum.” Jake slid into his room. He finally was able to sleep, but all night, he could only dream of eyes coming from the shadows, slinking towards him, devouring him, whispering a dark poem. He was finally able to pick up what they were chanting.

 

We’ll rise from underneath,

We have knives beneath our sheaths

We know what we’ll do,

When we rise from the beneath

 

Jake bolted upright in his bed. He checked the clock. It was only three in the morning. He knew he was dreaming, that he would go to Hakhito and everything would be fine. Except it wasn’t. Jake didn’t even know who these people were, or why they wanted this recording, or even what was beneath the island.

Jake suddenly had a new thought. What was on that recording? Was it evidence to get this killer (or killers) in jail? Was it a missile launch key recording to help these killers dominate the world? If it was, Jake could imagine it was. He could get in serious trouble.

Then Jake realized he had made a choice to go. But now, he had another choice. Whose life do you value more? Yours, or the others?

 

Chapter Four: A Departure

“Bye, Mum.” Jake waved goodbye to his mother as he and Peri got on the speedboat towards Hakhito Island. It had been what should be a boring drive with a time of 4 hours 30 minutes, for going to Plymouth from London is a not an easy trek. But two things were keeping Jake from going insane while looking at nothing but what seemed like boring scenery to Jake. The first thing keeping him joyful was Peri, for she was very talkative and would play the part of the entertainer in the friendship, with all her tidbits of funny thoughts. The second thing keeping Jake thoughtful, but not joyful in the least, was the pink letter.

Jake had thought all about that letter, what it meant, what the orders given by it meant, what he should do, what he shouldn’t do, and so much more. He had closed his eyes and wished every time that he could have both ways. A way where the tape wouldn’t possibly get him in trouble when he took it. A way where he and everyone else would be safe. A way where this wasn’t his problem.

They clambered into the speedboat. Jake was uneasy about the whole situation. One, he did not like boats. Two, he wondered, Are they going to the island too, to make sure I get the job done? Have they always been watching me? For how long?

All of Jake’s thoughts made his head swirl, and it didn’t help that Peri was still talking about something, probably rabbits (she had one of her own), the speedboat’s engine was revving up, and there was no driver.

“Who the heck is going to drive this thing?!” asked Jake over the crisp, loud wind.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you?” shouted Peri, for the wind was getting louder. “I’m going to drive the speedboat! I’ve been doing it for two years now!”

“WHAT?!” Jake almost stumbled back on to the dock. It wasn’t that Jake didn’t trust Peri, it was just that Peri seemed just a little too excited.

“Oh come on, Jake. Don’t be a chicken.”

Jake acted like he was shocked and gaped with his mouth unhinged. “Me? Chicken? Oh, how dare you.”

Jake. Let’s go! We’re going to be late.” Peri climbed into the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition. “Buckle up, Jake. We’re going to go hyper-speed!”

Jake buckled up in his seat, wishing there was a seatbelt for every part of his body. He was a chicken. He admitted it. He always had been. Peri was more of a… well, Jake would call here an unpredictable firecracker. You would have never guessed the two were best friends, except for being so opposite that they fit each other perfectly, both filling out the attributes the other didn’t have.

All of a sudden, Jake was drawn from his thought by a jolt, and the boat started across the ocean. It was so extraordinary, the salty ocean spray, the forever blue water, the fog. Fog. Why was there fog? It made no sense. Jake hadn’t seen any fog at the docks.

“Uh… Peri?”

“Mm-hm?”

“Are you sure you can drive through that fog?” Jake felt his uneasiness coming back, for it all seemed very strange and lost to him. He had not been out on the ocean much in his life. Before all of this, he was a normal fifteen-year-old boy. He hung out with his friends. He went to school and did well. He had a nice flat and a nice small family with his mother. It all seemed so… ordinary. Then all of a sudden, his normal lifestyle had been torn to pieces by the murder and the note. He couldn’t do anything but make one choice. To have him get caught and possibly sent to juvenile detention and then to jail, or to have him and his loved ones’ lives in danger. He couldn’t do anything else. He couldn’t call the police. The note-writers would surely kill him. He couldn’t tell anyone else. Well, maybe Peri. He was on his own.

Alone. Jake felt isolated when he realized. He didn’t like knowing that he couldn’t get help, that he would have to do this with his own abilities.

All of a sudden, Jake snapped out of his thoughts and noticed that they had been driving for quite some while. It had been 1 hour 15 minutes, and the boat ride was supposed to take two hours. There was no island in sight.

“Peri… erm, are you sure you know the way?”

“Yes, Jake. It’s just very foggy today.” Peri’s voice was reassuring, but her face was scrunched up, staring straight ahead. Either Peri was concentrating, or she was concerned. Jake was pretty sure she was concentrated, but he thought that Peri might have had something else on her mind. Did she know something he didn’t?

Suddenly, Jake saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked to his right, and his eyes became wide with horror. “Peri,” said Jake, certainly frightened. “Who, or what is that?!”

 

Diaries of the Superdog Lover

 

2/4/19

Dear Old Diary,

Hi, I am Madison, A.K.A, the super dog lover. I really want a dog but, my mean old nanny claims she is allergic to fur even though she has a fluffy cat, which doesn’t make sense. My mom is on vacation, so I have to stay with my mean old nanny for a WHOLE ENTIRE month. NO! My old nanny just told me to clean my room. It’s ALWAYS so messy because of my annoying little brother. He throws Legos all over the place. He has blond hair like me, brown eyes like my mom does, and speaks English like Daddy. UH! I have to go to a fancy dinner in a white dress I have to wear that’s so itchy. I wish I could just watch TV instead. I have to stop writing now.

 

2/5/19

Dear Old Diary,

Where was I? Oh right! My nanny called me, “Go get ready!” So, I had to jump out of bed and zap into my clothes.

I had to go to the restaurant because my old nanny told me that if I didn’t go, then I couldn’t go shopping with Claire. When we got to the restaurant, my old nanny told me something CRAZY. It’s her birthday in TWO days! Isn’t that crazy? By the way, she’s turning… Wait for it… Wait for it… Wait for it… UH… My BFF just rang my doorbell gotta go! See ya soon!

Bye!

 

2/6/19

Dear Old Diary,

Tomorrow is old nanny’s birthday when she gets a year older! My friend Claire just came over. She has blond hair and green eyes. We’re going shopping together at the Golden Ring Shopping Center. But first I have to pick out a present for old nanna (old nanny). Maybe a frying pan would be nice!

Later that day…

So, I just got old nanna a Yankee candle, and I got her a coffee mug with her name on it since she drinks so much coffee everyday, and I had to use almost $30. And I got a leather purse, some lip gloss, an iPhone X, and a pair of puppy earrings.

And only spent…

$1,145

By the way, I got the money from my bank account which my Daddy had made for me.

Flashback…

It’s a sad story how my dad had died.

First, my brother was born, then two years after my dad had gone to work. When he came back, he got knocked off his shoes and fainted. We waited about two hours. He never woke up. My mom and I (my brother was too young for this) brought my dad to the hospital. Then, my mom broke into tears. The answer was obvious that my dad never woke up again, which meant he was dead…

I didn’t talk for about 14 days. My friends were concerned about me, but tears just rolled down my cheeks. I ran.

 

2/7/19

Dear Old Diary,

Today is my old nanny’s birthday. Finally I’m going to tell you how old my nanny is. Wait for it… Wait for it… Wait for it…

176 years old!

By the way, my nanny is going back to her house tomorrow because my really nice mom is coming back! My nanny is packing right now, and I did something really EVIL. I put on her ruby red lipstick. That’s the lipstick she loves. She usually doesn’t let me. Anyhow, I don’t think my wish is going to come true. I don’t think I will ever get a dog. My nanny is the only one who knows I like dogs. My mom can’t get me a dog, but I don’t want to tell her because I want a surprise. My nanny said she is allergic.

 

2/8/19

Dear old diary,

O-M-G!

The craziest thing happened!

My mom got me…

A DOG!

It is SO cute! I’ll show you a picture. I named her Daisy. It turns out that my nanny was not mean after all! Mostly because my nanny was going to get me a dog, but she is allergic, so she couldn’t. So, she told my mom to get me one because she thought that I was having a hard time with her and because she doesn’t want to be a mean nanny.

She is SO CUTE and SO SMALL!

So there is my life. It was first horrible, but now it’s complete. My wish was given and now, when you put it together, I can wrap it up in a perfect bow and finish.

 

The End

 

Mason And The Battle Of The Gorgons (Excerpt)

 

Prologue:

As the rain started to fall harder and harder, my parents called me to dinner. As I climbed down the stairs, I heard a big crack, then a crash. Lightning must have struck a tree. I had always liked those trees. Big shady willows and towering oaks. BAM! Another one gone. I had been so intent on listening to the thunder booming and trees falling that I hadn’t realised I had reached the bottom of the stairs. “Mason!” Mother shouted. “I’m not going to tell you again!”

“Coming Mother!” I called in response and I sped into the dining room. Inside the dining room, there was a pot roast, some brussel sprouts and a salad with lettuce and tomato. For some reason, I had always hated meat so crossing out the pot roast, it was a pretty good dinner. As I sat down, I heard another crack.

“All this lightning will make us have to replant all the trees,” Mother was complaining to Father. Then she looked at me in disgust. “Why are you here?” she asked me.

“You told me to come downstairs for dinner, Mother,” I told her in the same tone.

“How dare you speak to me like that! No dinner for you!” she declared. I sulked back up the stairs in anger. My vision was turning red with hatred and wet from tears. As I looked out the window, I recoiled in shock. Lightning looked like it was aiming for the trees, as most of the trees in our yard were on the ground. And the rest, well they were taking a beating. Lightning was making the leaves sizzle. Suddenly, I heard a big bang.

“What was that?” Mother screeched

“I don’t know!” Father cried. “That was from the attic!”

We have a attic? I thought. My parents never told me we had a attic. They must have tried to keep it a secret. Well, they only kept it for 13 years, I thought bitterly. I thought what might they want to keep from me. I was thinking about this when I heard a series of thumps, and a crash. After I heard the crash, I went downstairs again. As I went around the bend into the kitchen, I saw two green things holding knives at my parent’s throats. Swords were strapped to their sides and quivers of arrows at  their shoulders.

“Run, Mason,” Father yelled

“Never!” I hollered.  “I’m not going to leave you to die!” One of the things threw their knife at me. I dodged and the knife ended up embeded up to the hilt in the wall. The other creature made up for it by stabbing my parents in their hearts.

“NOOOOOO!” I screamed. I ran up the stairs in shock and fear, tears in my eyes. As I climbed the stairs to my room, I could hear laughter.  Those things had killed my parents and LAUGHED! I wanted to kill them, whatever they were, even if my mother treated me this way. Then, I heard a muffled voice speaking in a different language and more thumps. Those things were going to kill me. I assessed my options and thought of a plan. The only plan I had was bad. Really, really bad. Jump out the window. And as I jumped, the door burst open beholding not two but three beasts. Then, I looked down. I’m toast. I thought as lightning struck and my lifeless body hit the ground with a thud.

 

My name is Mason Jones and this is the story of how my life went downhill after I got killed. It may sound like maybe I was rushed to the hospital and miraculously saved. Nope. I died. Trust me, this may sound fun to read about but it’s no picnic. As I said,

trust me. I know.

 

Falling

 

I hear

The birds chirping

Below me

I hear

The laughter

Of children

On the school yard

The wind

Whispering past me

The sun beating

On my back

Sitting on

A pile of white fluff

In the lovely

Blue sky

Zooming above

The big city

I look down

At the school whizzing by

I spot her

Her blue shorts

White top

I look closer

I feel like I had been punched

In the guts

Then I fall

Down

My happy thoughts

Washed away

As I see the sky above

As the laughter and shouts

Of joyful children

Get louder

As I see her cold

Piercing

Blue eyes

Turn towards me

Down I go

And I can’t do anything to stop

Myself

 

It’s Raining Frogs

One day, I was outside watering the plants. Then, I saw a frog hopping along the flowers. Then, it got really close. I was scared, but then out of nowhere, my dog Lucy came and bit the frog.

“Lucy, stop!” Then, she dropped the frog. “Come, Lucy. Hey, Mom. Let’s wash Lucy. She bit a frog.”

“Okay, Tim. Is the frog okay?”

“Yep it’s gone, so I’m guessing yes.” But then, I saw two frogs… wait three frogs… then so many frogs I couldn’t count. Then, it started raining. I couldn’t see it very well, but I saw people outside with frogs running after them. Good thing I came back inside before it started raining frogs like crazy.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Yes.”

“There are more frogs.”

“Huh?”

“How many.”

“A lot more than I can count.”

“Dun dun dun,” my mom said.

“Not joking!” I said.

“Sure.”

Then, the door swung open. It was Dad.

“It’s raining frogs like crazy.”

“Thank you! Mom didn’t believe me.”

“Well, she never believes this stuff.”

“Let’s watch the news.”

“Okay,” said someone on Channel 4. Blah blah blah Goldendoodle blah blah blah Tim.

Then, Dad shut off the TV. “You have to do this. We’ll be rich.”

“I will do it, but I need Lucy.”

“Fine.”

“Okay, let’s wait till after it rains.” After that, we all went to sleep, and my parents were watching their show that they never tell me what it is. The next morning, it stopped raining frogs, so I put Lucy’s harness on and her leash. We went to solve the problem. It took days to find the cause. After five storms of frogs, we got to a freaky cave with a light in a far distance. When I was walking towards the light, I tripped over something.

Then I said, “Hey, what was that for, Lucy.”

She said, “Bark,” but for some reason I understood what she said. She said, “That wasn’t me.”

“Then what was it.” Then, I looked at what I tripped on. It was a chicken. The chicken had an angry look in its eyes. Then, its eyes were gone but not to be found. So we went on. When we got to the crystal, I heard a funny voice that said, “You want crystal? You go through me.”

I looked around, and I saw this joker dude.

“Hahahahahaha.” Then, he threw a smoke bomb at the floor, but before he could go anywhere, Lucy bit him and then barked. I came to the bark and gave Lucy a treat. Then, the joker dude turned into a sledgehammer. I picked up the sledgehammer and smashed the crystal but took a shard. We went back home, and then I went upstairs and made it rain bills with the crystal.

 

Pioneer Sightings (Excerpt)

 

Part 2

 

   The days sweep quickly, like the winds tumbling over the calm sea, or the waves swiftly slamming against the rocky shores of the American Pacific Coast.

   The next years, that is where I would be going: the Good West, where the Pacific is, where I’d seek my fortune. This land, where I’d finally set all this behind me . . .

 

Journal entry from the leather-bound journal kept once by Brennan Hester Jr. Journal entry written July 17, 1825 not to be mistaken with Michael Hester’s older brother Brennan Hester III

 

 

 I came back to the apartment to learn the news about Angela was, in fact, true. The family was up there.

It was clear to me that not all of them were drastically affected by it, though most were. I could clearly see the great changes in people’s behaviors and moods — it was very somber and heavy in the room. When I was walking down the hall to Room 96, the room my family was crammed in, I could already hear the meltdowns — sobbing, groaning, and fits.

 When we got to the room, I knocked softly on the door. I heard the loud noise die down followed by footsteps that I recognized as soft boots due to the gentle padding coming towards us. The door cracked open, and I saw who I recognized after adjusting my anxiety. Katherine. She managed a half-smile, though it quickly faded when the groans briskly began again.

She looked back with a quick look and a worried expression. Then she, quicker than I could think, opened the door wide and said something that sounded like an invitation to come in, and she rushed over to tend to a toddler on the other side of the room. The news about Angela was clearly causing strong anxiety and pressure then.

  I walked into the room. The first thing I saw was Good Ol’ Pa, guffawing so hard it seemed like he couldn’t breathe, slapping my brother who had his brim hat on and a stiff expression of slight worry, sitting on a rocking chair that I recognized as the rocking chair Brennan said was around since the Civil War.  I walked in, not bothering to even think about calming Good Ol’ Pa down like I’d usually do.

  I could see the lot of family members. It was loads of relatives, around forty of them crowded in this two-room apartment. I used to live in that apartment for about a month, but I managed to find a good job and to be able to afford my own house.

  The first room consisted of a kitchen on the right, with a weak stove, pots and pans, cabinets and drawers, silverware and cooking tools, and other things needed to cook breakfast and dinner (unless it was winter, the Hesters would usually get lunch at a restaurant or one of the occasional markets).

 The room to the left consisted of an unpleasant amount of people sleeping that I could easily recall finding uncomfortable to fit them all in. It was overcrowded with weary beds covered in odor and sweat for the old people who were unable to walk, but were respected by the rest of the family who imagined the pain the elders were feeling was due to the many things they saw.

  Of course, I did respect the elders and I imagine it wasn’t just me who had some jealousy for the old Hester men and women sleeping in actual beds. The children sometimes got to sleep in a real bed with the elders, though they’d usually be with their parents on a molding mattress that they’d managed to buy, or on the floor with some kind of blanket laid out on the ground or on the cold wooden floor, with only their clothes supporting their warmth, or only their pants in the summer if they felt the sun battering on their skin.

The second room was smaller, like a combination of an attic and basement. A lot of things (even treasures, such as a thousand-year-old diary from this Israelite Catholic whip, which as you may guess, in the family’s desperate state, an anonymous number of the Hesters wanted to sell it at any place that was likely to accept, such as the small museum in town, or maybe the saloonkeeper in town. We knew he was always interested in such artifacts, or so the rumors said.

As I was saying, the room also consisted of some stored things (whether it was dump-material or not) that the family members kept somewhere, though it was an unorganized cluster of things, so there was no organization and no division between the rubbish and the things managed presently.

A few who were uncomfortable enough around the snoring and all slept in some ancient blanket or lay down in a comfy chair still used. A distant brother that I’ve, not counting the times I saw him in the apartment (which was not as often as the others), only seen once, when I was a child and he was taking a bit of a vacation after his stressful veteranship in the Civil War. It was clear that he wasn’t much liked, for that whilst most of our family fought alongside our nation, he ran away for somewhat mysterious reasons and got deployed to the army, ranked Corporal.

  I can hardly remember his name, though when I occasionally think for one moment about him, I can remember the slight resentment that the rest of our family had toward him, though he doesn’t mind it (more specifically he seemed to have enjoyed it). Well anyway, he simply slept on an exceptionally molded mattress, with a desk on the right, in which he wrote non-fiction books (none have been published so far, but a small pamphlet for the Thom County, which hardly anyone paid notice to).

Well, I’ll get back to what was going on. J quickly rushed in a random direction in which I didn’t see. I quickly went up to my brother, and by that I mean I stood for about a minute in shock and confusion. It simply did not make sense, then Good Old Pa wandered away and stared at the kitchen.

I took the steps, and my brother, still with the same old expression, noticed me and said in a normal voice (or at least an attempt), “Angela.”

He suddenly violently choked. He lost eye contact with me, drumming the fingers on his right hand on the armrest. I stood there, a bit worried for a moment, but then he stopped, closed his eyes tight, and breathed regularly, and said with a calm voice, “Go ask — go ask someone else. Kathy’s over there.” Then he stopped talking and seemed like he was trying (I said trying) to look like an old man, then fell asleep on the rocking chair.

Kathy was still tending to the apparent toddler (my nephew Jack, who was the son of my brother). This time, I didn’t even bother to wait. I needed these answers that I could’ve had, but wasted the small precious moments.

“KATHY!” I shouted over all the fuss in the room.

She nearly fell onto Jack, but she managed to get a hold of the ground. She glared at me, then said in a loud and irritated tone, “What, Michelle?!”

I glared at her. I hated that name since when she first said that name back when I attended preschool in London. I liked it for the remainder, for that I thought she made it up, but then people started teasing me with that name, and I learned it was actually a girl’s name.

 It didn’t bother me that she would do that sometimes. It’s simply that I hated being treated like a child when nearly thirty. I calmed myself down. I looked at her calmly (though she wasn’t calm) and put my hands in front of me, my palms aiming at Jack, who was at Katherine’s feet.

“Katherine,” I said, and she seemed to be listening. For some reason, I forgot that though she enjoys Brennan calling her that, she hates me calling her that. I guess I must’ve been in a hurry. After staring at her for a moment, I opened my mouth and said, “Mrs. Hester,” — looked at my shoes for a moment and went back to eye contact — “Angela… Hester.”

“Oh,” she looked around the room, as if she was scared there were spies hiding in the walls. And so she began…

“I’m surprised, Michael, by how curious you are. Normally, people like you would’ve just went with it. Even some children.

“Well anyhow, it was simply our normal routine, up until the Argument. We couldn’t hear much. All we could hear from this room — they were arguing in the other room, by the way — were shouts. We all agreed… ” — she panted, then stopped.  “Okay, okay, sorry, let me start over. Angela and Brennan were having an argument. All of us were disturbed that night for we couldn’t get any sleep, even the three Noctur — ” She looked around, making sure the Nocturnals didn’t hear this insult. They had the hearing of a bat and they were only so far away. I was the one who made it up when a young adult, and I told Brennan and Katherine about it. Brennan thought it was rude and scolded me, but Katherine loved it. “The three Washington triplets is what I meant, were both annoyed and, like us, worried. What was it about? We wondered.”

“Well, so it was. Angela was the first to come out. We saw her crying, tears slicing down her cheeks and there was a deadened look in her once bright eyes. We wanted to comfort her, but before we could study the situation and stand up, she walked out the room. I’m not done yet.

“Then came Brennan, whom after she left the room for a while, rushed out of the apartment with her, carrying a pack with him, shouting, ‘WAIT! I’M SORRY!’

“Then, to take a look, one of the Washingtons, Stoney Washington, rushed out of the door.

“What happened next? Well, according to what we asked from Stoney. You know how all the Noc — ” She paused, her lips frozen in midair. “Well you know how ‘they’ are most of the time quiet. It seemed like Stoney preferred that, but he said nervously, looking the whole time at Brennan in the corner, that the argument was some ‘ridiculous thing that they disagreed about.’” They forgave each other soon enough. They took a walk, including Stoney.

“Well, Brennan by himself rushed to Stoney with a worried manner. He said ‘I don’t know what happened! It was simply — I — I left her on the stone, having her wait because I needed to get something back at the apartment!’

“And so it was. Angela disappeared just like that. Like smoke.”

This story, though not so detailed and which felt too quick for reality, changed my life.

This panicked the entire town, afraid there might be wild animals or even tramps. After about a month, the case was given up. I had given up along with the police.

Well, since then, my family got richer. At least rich enough to afford their own apartments. Now, only about three immediate families lived in Room 96. I stopped visiting the apartments and focused on my own life.

I heard about the places I’d been missing in the west. I heard that there was a rush for gold in the place they called California, and how the rush was only about thirty years ago. There were many living there.

I discussed these thoughts with J, who in the nine years that passed, was now a grown man. He told me of, after his studies on the Hesters, that not one person set foot on the land. Well, as I said, in between those nine years, we pretty much forgot about Angela. I was one of the few that still felt like it was only a few weeks ago that I’d been delivered the news by J: “Angela has disappeared.”

To these very days, those words echo in my head. I, a long time ago, realized I needed to look to the present and future rather than the once-present.

And so, me and J (I now called him by his actual name, Josef Hester) began to tell others this idea. Most of the Hesters thought it was a good idea to fully restore our family, though we needed to prepare.

We began the journey as we began our preparation.

So now, I must get on to my journey to California. A long trail, being on a slow wagon. It is miles and miles of hardship, but the flesh of the hardship is the most horrific event. It is something that gives me the chills every time I think of the West. Now, I’ll get on with the story.

I was in the same pub I was in nine years ago. I wasn’t sipping ale. I found myself telling a drunk couple made up of a woman Josef recently married named Mary and Josef himself about the trip. Josef already knew, but he’d usually forget things commonly when drunk.

Nowadays, the inn was quiet. Not many people came to the inn. There were rumors the Baby Heifer Inn pub was going out of business and it was becoming a simple motel. I wasn’t so sure about the rumors, but I liked going to the inn anyway, though it wasn’t as big of a symbol as it used to be about two years ago, when, as I’ve already said, the Hesters were able to get their own apartments or even a house like I.

Well anyway, we were the only ones in the pub except for the short, fat bartender and two men, calmly talking to each other.

As I said, I was talking jollilly about our plan.

“… And me and Josef believe that we should depart this town in a few months and catch the next train. By train, I mean the group of wagons travelling together, not those newfangled machines. Well, we’re going to make our family rich! Ain’t we, Josef?” I looked toward Josef, who was staring at me in a pose and had a smile that made it seem like he was flirting with me, though I could tell, due to the fact that his eyes were twitching and looking around, that he wasn’t. When I finished, his eyes shot to me.

“Oh!” he got out of that pose and he almost fell over as he rolled back. Then he grunted and sat up and pointed an index finger at the ceiling. “Indeed!”

Mary laughed so hard at Josef. I laughed a little as well. I didn’t bang my fist on the table though, unlike Mary. It caused Josef’s ale to fly up and spill all over him. The laughing stopped. I saw everybody in the tavern turned to us, looking at the mess. Josef was covered with fizzing, brownish liquid.

For a moment there was silence, then embarrassment, for that the bartender, his head poking over the table and the two men, were laughing hard at us, their heads turned toward us.

I stood up, and in order to not draw attention to myself, I instinctively pretended to check my watch. I looked over at the two men, still wheezing and looking like any moment they could get a heart attack from what I felt was superfluous laughter. I raised my other hand in a silence gesture and then gestured Mary and Josef to follow.

They both stood up almost extraordinarily at the same time and, with a little bit of pushing each other, walked out and behind. I was trying my best to ignore the laughter, thinking of yelling and bruising up the three of those men. I might’ve if I drank when I was talking, but I wasn’t. I still wore that half-embarrassed, half-enraged expression, still having a small feeling to antagonize the men.

“Come out here,” I whispered loudly, pointing to the cracked door. I walked towards the door and they quickly followed. I opened the door and caught the winds scented like the spring pines that are scattered across the forest. I smiled and looked around the town and looked at the setting sun. They were standing there, looking around at the sky. I sighed at the town.

“Look,” I said solemnly, spreading my hands at all directions of the town. They looked around, focusing their eyes.

No one was on the streets, except for a woman silently holding an ass by the reigns. That was it. I could see the lights were still on in people’s homes, but all the other buildings besides the Inn didn’t have any candles lit or so on.

“What? The buildings?” asked Mary after many long moments of silence. I looked toward her, grinning and shaking my head.

“This town, of course!” I exclaimed. “If the family cooperates with me and Josef, we could leave this town of silence. We’d be on the other side of the country, under the sun, getting tubes of chits after chits!” I paused for a moment, my hands raised in the air, then I put them down and continued. “Think about it! We’d be doing what the Hesters been missing out on! We’d go to what they call the Golden State!”

My words echoed there for a moment through the whole town. Through the alleyways, in the pub, to the ass driver, to the children on the other side of town. Then Josef grinned, seeming to recall this was partially credited to him. He pointed his index finger to the sky and leaned over.

“INDEED!” he exclaimed.

Mary looked around, no longer drunk. She said in her stern Southern accented voice, “Well, I’d like to hear a bit more. You must’ve thought it through.

“My,” she looked off to the distance, and nodded. “Two years. You must’ve planned out every detail. Whether we should live in San Francisco, or off in the countryside. Whether we should buy a house or build our own. Never mind, I’ll leave you boys up to it.” She looked back at us. “So, what’s your plan?” I looked at Josef in the eye, his hair got a bit dustier and grayer and sharp blue eyes dulled over the years of growth.

We smiled and we turned to her, and we said in unison in a jolly way, “We did indeed.” I sighed, still smiling. Josef’s smile faded and he turned toward me.

“I’d like to be the one to talk even further into our plans,” he said, then right after turning toward Mary. I nodded at him. He couldn’t see it, but I could tell he somehow sensed my nod. He walked over to Mary, took her hand and walked her into the inn.

I didn’t mind it at all. Despite the fact of being so far the one who mostly wanted to go to California. Even Josef didn’t seem as animated as I was to go to the very town we were planning.

I heard as they (Josef and Mary) walked through the door, Josef started talking fast and saying, “So, there’s this outpost we’d rest at on the first day of travel called Ben’s Goods of the Wild and then we’d travel through some… ” He became too far away.

I relaxed as I sat down, exhaling. I looked at the town in front of me. It was the town of Clauyer, Tennessee. As I’ve said before, I’d be missing this town. I could see all the buildings in front of me. People’s houses. The small fire station. Fancy restaurants open, with couples pecking each other. Part of me thought for some reason, “I’m finally going to leave this town” and another “I’ll miss it though.”

I smiled, relaxing my somewhat tense stomach. I realized I’d actually said those words. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the woman with the ass’s face. She was somewhat the average height for a woman. She was draped in a black cloak and a hood, so I couldn’t see her face completely, but I could see her lower face and her hair, so I could tell she was a woman. But she was walking toward me, with her feet out in in front of her, step by step.

She was walking toward me. My eyes widened. I had this odd feeling in my gut. I assumed I might’ve attracted attention by saying it. She’s just going into the inn, I told myself, but I could see her approaching.

I fidgeted my hand, and looked away from her. She’s just going to the inn, the Baby Heifer Inn. I get that most go to the Gray Chameleon, but not everybody does. I whispered to myself these very words over and over again till I finally convinced myself it was true.

Then suddenly, she stopped. She stood right there. I waited for her to come closer, but she didn’t. I stood up, confused and very unnerved and walked inside the Heifer. In there, things were slightly more filled with pleasantness than I remember. A pleasantness that I personally had a hard time finding pleasant. The room was filled with twelve more people, though they, rather than ten years ago, acted like they were at some family restaurant rather than a pub. They were just sitting, occasionally getting up if they needed to leak or something, and chatting and sometimes laughing.

How I remember it ten years ago is it was a pub filled with laughter. Like the few people, I called the inn this pub once was the Retreat House. People laughed and cried. The Retreat House was a place of warmth, where only there came to be total chaos (such as a man getting drunk and insane enough to kill someone) would there people be uncomfortable in it. Memories started flowing through my brain, from deepest memories from my childhood, to the present. The present.

A warm hand fell across my shoulder. An actual hand. It was from the door, right behind me. I didn’t bother to take it off. It sent waves of comfort through me. I had a sudden memory of me visiting the apartment that almost my entire family was once crammed into. I smiled, and laughed in my head at that memory. Even the rest of the family enjoyed some of the funny memories, despite the discomfort in Room 96. I was talking to Katherine, Brennan, Angela, Good Ol Pa (back when he was more sane, though he muttered some random old folk nonsense under his breath occasionally), the three Nocturnals, and a few others.

I loved ‘em all. Angela! I thought that name.

I’ve never thought about her so clearly and so much in only a bit of a slight lesser of a decade. I could then recall her beautiful face, my mind racing. It wasn’t as if I loved her, but for a long time, I started to think about Angela as if I just visited the apartment, asking Kate about how she disappeared, finally adjusting to her disappearance.

I felt like the hand was that of my imagination for warmth as my mind raced. Then suddenly, my memories all of the sudden halted and I looked at the hand in alert. The engagement ring and the wedding ring, the tenderness of the hand itself, it was so familiar!

In alarm, I turned around, surprised the hand still was on my shoulder. I saw the person’s face. It was the ass woman. Her face was soft and beautiful, with rosy cheeks, and had something that made my jaw drop: brown, sparkling eyes. It was Angela! It was beyond any shock I could’ve ever imagine I’d experience in my life.

I started speaking gibberish, though she was standing as still as a statue, only breathing. I turned around, about to tell the news, but then I heard a cry in the place of Angela. It sounded like that of an old lady. I turned around, and sure enough, there was a woman that looked like she was in her mid-fifties in the place of Angela. She was looking around, perplexed. She had the same robes and the same rings on her finger.

She stared down at the ass next to her, looking with her eyes opened. I approached, saying things like “Who are you? Why — ”

She turned to me with a glare and bellowed, “I DON’T KNOW, YOU — YOU!” I nearly fell over, but then I saw her breathing, pausing from her bellowing. She looked at her shoes, looking terrified. Her hands were pale and she was trembling. She looked at the ass after a while and said “Shoo!” and finished with a gesture as if she were swatting a bug.

The ass nickered and trotted away. I noticed tears started sliding down her eyes. She ran out of the tavern, screaming. I was chilled. No, no, I was scared. Very scared. It was a simple vision. A vision. This thought wasn’t reassuring, but I walked over to the table, knees trembling.

I waited for one of them to notice me and give me permission to sit down, but they were lost in a chat, and it was something horribly unrelated to me and Josef’s plans. I looked at the mugs of ale that were on the table in front of them. It was clear they were drinking again.

“Hey?” I heard the bartender call, directing toward our table. It was either that Josef and Mary were ignoring this while continuing to talk about the subject of “Indian racism,” or they could hardly notice one bit of their surroundings except for the side of the table they were on and themselves. I looked over and saw the bartender was standing on a stool, looking at me.

“What’s the matter? Look’s like you saw a ghost!” he yelled over.

I thought about this. Just a vision. Again! Just a vision… I thought about the vision for at least ten minutes, and, through thoroughly thinking about it, I convinced myself this. The bartender seemed patient for my answer.

“Now that’s the hearty smile I want in the Baby Heifer Inn!” he called over, with me realizing I accidentally smiled. I started to chuckle and the bartender chuckled back.

“It was absolutely nothing!” I said, not in a lying tone, but it really sounded the way I thought of it. I approached the bartender and put my arm on the table, in the sort of position as a vaquero (cowboy) talking to an old friend.

“I’d like one pound of whiskey,” I said jollily. I don’t know why I did at that time. I rarely drink whiskey due to how my family has a history of getting addiction to whiskey. The bartender smiled. He crouched down where I couldn’t see him, despite how short he was. I heard him shuffle around in some cabinet or drawer, I heard him pour something into a cup or mug and then finally, he placed a large mug of whiskey on the counter in front of me.

For the rest of the night, me and the bartender chatted about politics and life. I forgot all about my vision that night, though I couldn’t prepare myself for what was to come.

 

The Water Problem

There once was a dog, cat, and bunny. The dog’s name was Ruff. The cat’s name was Meow. The bunny’s name was Hop. They lived in a forest. They all lived together in a house in the middle of the forest. In the forest, they played dog games, bunny games, and cat games. Ruff liked playing fetch. Hop liked to do hop races to see who could hop the fastest. Meow liked to carve yarn. Meow, Hop, and Ruff liked to see who could make the best figure. They went to a tennis court nearby and played with others who lived in the forest. The only problem was that they couldn’t drink the water from the lake or river because there were coyotes on each side of the lake and river.

They had heard stories about the coyotes not letting animals drink from the lake and river. They said that they looked scary because their eyebrows were firm, and they looked strong. The animals never went into the water unless they lived in the water. The animals felt scared because of the coyotes not letting them get water, and they were scared because they were sick and didn’t want to get more sick.

Ruff, Hop, and Meow looked a little unusual compared to real cats, dogs, and bunnies. They looked ill. Their throats and heads were sore. They were skinny, had problems walking, and had wrinkly faces, and they felt sad because they couldn’t get water and mad that the coyotes wouldn’t give them water. Without water they got grumpy; they firmed their eyebrows and got mad at each other for no reason because their brains were a little mixed up.

“Why don’t you, Ruff, try to get water,” said Hop.

“Because there are goats there!” said Ruff, confused.

“No, goats are not scary,” Meow exclaimed.

“Then what are they?” said Ruff.

“They’re goats! They won’t do any harm to you,” Meow responded.

But the coyotes didn’t know about the bunny, dog, and cat. The one that lived by the lake was named Jack, and the one that lived near the river was named Max. Max and Jack were the only two coyotes in the forest because the coyotes didn’t live in that particular forest, only these two coyotes did. Neither of the coyotes knew about each other. So, Hop and Meow and Ruff looked for help.

All of a sudden, Ruff saw his smart friend Garry.

“Oh look, there’s Garry!” said Ruff.

Hop and Meow didn’t know Garry, so Hop asked, “Can he help us?”

“He can! He’s the smartest turtle in the river and forest. Garry, we need your help!”

“Coming, one second, Ruff,” he said. But actually, it took him twenty minutes to get to Hop, Meow, and Ruff.

“What’s the problem?” he asked.

“We haven’t got water today, and we really need water because we’re sick,” said Ruff.

“Well, Max sleeps near the river, so at night you can drink. Fill your buckets to get as much water as possible. It is easier to get water from the lake even though Jack is the stronger coyote. Since the lake is a lot bigger, it will take a longer time for Jack to reach you guys if he catches you. I know someone who knows Jack. He said that the same way that Max sleeps at night near the river, Jack sleeps at night near the lake.”

Hop asked, “But, what if we want water in the daytime.”

“If you want to get water from the river, you have to ride on Max’s back. When he gets close to the river, you can jump into the river and drink as much as you want, but you have to be fast. Also, you have to be careful when you are on his back because if you move any bit, he will know that something’s fishy. If you want to get water from the lake, you should ask my friend. He’s right near Jack,” replied Garry.

Meow said, “First let’s try Max and do what you said.”

“Let’s tiptoe over,” said Ruff.

They jumped on Max’s back. But Max knew something was fishy and turned around quickly. The animals were scared because they never tried it before. They were too scared to speak. They began to quiver. They thought Max was going to eat them for being on his back. But Max was nice! He smiled at them without showing his sharp teeth to let them know he wasn’t going to eat them.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“We’re Hop, Ruff, Meow, and Garry. We came to the river to get water.”

“I’m a nice coyote. You can have as much water as you want.”

“Wow, Max is nice now?” said Garry, shocked.

Max was a little sad at Garry’s comment and said, “I was never mean.”
“I thought you were mean because a lot of people say that you’re mean and don’t let animals drink water from the river. I look at a coyote and all I think of is that they’re mean. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you for apologizing.”

Ruff, Meow, Hop, and Garry were so happy that they finally got water. They asked Max to take them to the lake. Max asked Garry to guard the river. Garry said, “Yes,” and Max went with Hop, Ruff, and Meow to go to the lake. When they got over there, Max was scared because he didn’t know Jack, and Jack looked a lot stronger than Max.

“Can Ruff, Meow, and Hop get a sip from the river,” Max asked.

“Sure, I’m not a mean coyote. Who do you think I am?” said Jack.

So, Ruff, Hop, and Meow drank the lake’s water, and they said, “We like the water from the lake and river.” They asked, “Can we have your water whenever we want?”

Jack and Max said, “Yes!”

So, they had a party to celebrate that Hop, Ruff, and Meow could finally drink water. They lived happily ever after with the coyotes Jack and Max.

 

Sarina’s Story

Gary is taking a walk and looking at the waterfall. Jenny is doing that too. The waterfall is the biggest waterfall in the world, so they both came to see it. With his dog ears, he hears the waterfall, and Jenny with her cat ears hears the waterfall too.

They bump into each other, and they see something dark. They think it’s a cave.
“Hello. Do you want to go in the cave with me?” Gary says.

Jenny says, “Yes.”

They walk into the cave, and they see a shadow.
“Do you think that’s a monster?” Jenny says.

Gary says, “Yes.”

They turn on the flashlights.

Gary says, “Actually, it’s a dragon.”
Jenny says, “Oh. I didn’t know that.”

The dragon comes out roaring and chases them all the way into the lake.

“We’re both soaking wet,” Gary says.

Jenny says, “What should we do?”

He says, “Do you have any towels?”

She says, “No.”

But then, the dragon comes and scares them, so they come out and run away all the way back to the city. They know the dragon followed them back, so they ask the governor if they can use the biggest weapon that can freeze anything big or small, so they can freeze the dragon.

The governor says, “Sure.”

They freeze the dragon.

They say, “Let’s ice skate.”

They go ice skating on the dragon, and they make really good friends.

 

Outer Space

 

Hi, I am the universe. I am made up of many beautiful things. Stars are one of those things.

My stars glisten in the moonlight, giving my planets light at night. My biggest star is the Sun.

My Sun is made up of hot gas. It shines so brightly you would get blinded at your first sight of it.

Some of my stars make shapes and items, and others make shapes of gods. I have more than billions of stars in my universe. My stars are a very beautiful part of me.

 

Now I will tell you about my planets. Mercury is the closest to my famous star, the Sun.

Mercury is gray with white spots. Since Mercury is the closest to the Sun, it is in the warmest area of all of the planets that orbit the sun. Mercury is often hit by asteroids and is made up of hard solid rock.

 

Venus is made of gas and rock and is extremely hot. Venus is the second closest planet to the sun. Venus looks like an erupting volcano with lava all over it. Venus is very beautiful. On Venus you will see fire and gas, and it is hard to breathe there.

 

Earth is a very beautiful planet. Earth is, for all that humans know, the only life-giving planet in the world. Earth is the third closest planet to the sun. It is 75% water and 25% land. Earth has a lot of nature, such as trees flowers and grass. There are so many different species. There are mammals, humans and lots of different types of living creatures on earth. Earth is brown, green, and blue and has lots of little colors on the planet.

 

The next planet I will tell you about is Mars. So far, humans do not know if there is even life on Mars, but they persist to investigate. Mars is the fourth closest planet to sun. Mars is made of rock, dust, and carbon dioxide. There used to be water on Mars, but now it is just the color of rust.

 

The next planet I will tell you about is Jupiter. Jupiter is the fifth closest planet to the sun. Jupiter is the largest planet out of all the planets that orbit the sun. Jupiter is gray and brown with stripes.

Jupiter is a gas giant, and there is a storm that has been there nonstop for 350 years. Jupiter is made of all gas.

 

Here is another planet that I will tell you about. This planet is Saturn. Saturn is also a gas giant like Jupiter, so Saturn is made of gas too. Saturn is the sixth closest planet to the sun. Saturn has thousands of ringlets and seven rings that are made of rock and ice.

 

This is another planet I want to tell you about. It is the seventh closest planet to the sun, and it is an ice giant. Uranus looks like a normal bright clear sky on a sunny day. Uranus is made up of ice and also gas. It has helium, hydrogen, and methane.

 

This is last planet in the solar system. This planet is Neptune. Neptune is very, very beautiful.

Neptune looks like a clear dark and light sky combined. Neptune is an ice giant. Neptune also has the strongest winds in the solar system. Neptune is also so cold the gases on the planet freeze and turn into crystals.

 

Now I will tell you about Pluto. Pluto used to be a planet, and that is why I am telling you about it. Since Pluto is so small, it is considered a dwarf planet now, not a planet. Pluto is made of rock and ice.


Now since I have told you about my solar system, I will tell you about my galaxies. My galaxies explode with color, giving a beautiful flare of light, color, and life. In every single one of my galaxies, there are different planets with different colors and sizes. But this is me, and I am the universe.

 

A Wizard and His Book of Spells

 

Hi, I’m Jack, a wizard with a book of spells. It’s a gift from my father Ionn. I live in a house by myself. My father died. His body is buried in a coffin in my house. I wanted to revive him, bring him back to life. My father was killed by a dark wizard, his brother. I was only nine. I surely smelled just fine, but I was too young. I wanted to go on a journey to save my father. I researched just the right thing to revive my father, the great wizard. I found out that dark elixir would work.

 

Another year passed. I thought about my trek. I was ready to journey to the planet Knowhere to get the dark elixir. It was hidden in a cave guarded by a dragon that breathed blue fire. I needed to go there… today.

 

Boom! I teleported to Knowhere. It was a small town, with very few apartment buildings, but then up ahead I saw a large cave. I met a lot of rude men there. Most of them were old and wrinkly. Some of them were young and tall. They wore animal cloaks and leather boots. They called me names such as trespasser and mindless.

 

I made the trek to the cave. There in front of me were 100 guards all in armored chest plates. My mind raced. What do I do? My spell book, use it! I started saying a spell. Elimination? Flames? Rise? All the guards started to burn. Flames rose up from the ground, and the guards screamed. They flailed in terror and fell to the ground.

 

And…

 

They died.

 

I entered the cave to the dragon. It was beautiful. It was filled with crystals that glowed like the sun. I saw the elixir, but… there was a dragon. It towered over me like a mountain. It had horrible yellow eyes, scales as green as a lizard, and a tongue as red as blood. I staggered backward out of the cave. I realized this was good. I could sneak back into the dragon’s cave and trap the dragon outside of the cave. It went exactly as I planned. It worked! I snuck past him by going through his legs. Then, I said eruption? Rocks fell and completely covered the entrance. I saw the elixir, took out my flask, and took a big scoop of the dark elixir.

 

On the way out I remembered I had to break the wall of rocks. So I chanted a spell on page 28 that was… cosmic creation? The wall exploded.

 

I walked out of the cave, and I was surprised to see a fallen dragon under a huge pile of rocks. I said to myself, That must have happened in the explosion. Boom! I teleported back to my house. I ran to my father’s coffin, opened it up, and poured the elixir into his mouth.

 

My father climbed out of his coffin and coughed. I hugged my father. Ionn hugged me back.

 

“How did you revive me?” Ionn asked.

 

“I went to Knowhere and defeated a dragon. Then, I retrieved the dark elixir and returned to you. I poured the elixir into your mouth. Then you woke.”

 

“Wow!” Ionn said.

 

“It’s so great to have you back,” I said in a weak voice.

 

“Oh, I must drink a strength potion. I’m very weak.” Ionn staggered to the potion stand where the potion was. Ionn drank the potion.

 

After that they lived happily, but then Ionn wanted to get revenge on his… brother!!!

 

The World of Evil

               

PART ONE

This is a world of evil called “The Underworld.” There are two friends, a black spider as big as a 9-year-old boy, and a creepy ghost. Black Spider and Creepy Ghost won Champion Games in sixth grade for being creepy and tied in the championship. Their parents became friends, and then they eventually became best friends.

They love playing pranks on animals in The Underworld. When someone opens the door, a bucket of smelly slime goes on their head. Black Spider trips people with his sticky webs, and Creepy Ghost takes over their bodies and they do whatever he wants, like stealing Nintendo video games from their shelf under the TV.

They get promoted by everybody for being creepy. All the people think they should be King. Except for the grumpy guards for the King.

King Rotten Fart Strawberry gets jealous of them getting all the promotions, so he separates them.

Black Spider goes to Underworld’s version of America, to Long Island City. He likes it there because he likes taking the ferry to Brooklyn Bridge Park to get cherry ice cream. There are no people in the Underworld. There are only animals.

He meets a white tiger named Whitey, and then Whitey starts saying something like, “According to my calculations, you are — ”

Spidey stops him and kicks him to Manhattan.

Creepy Ghost goes to Underworld’s version of Japan, to Tokyo. He likes it there because he eats sushi and ramen all day. When he would take over the body of the sushi stand person, he would steal all the sushi, like one with salmon on it. Then, he would go to the ramen shop and take over a rich guy’s body and use his wallet to buy amazing things, like a mansion with a big pool. And then he would make the mansion with the pool his.

But he misses Black Spider, so they just FaceTime each other. But they are still bored, so they text each other a plan.

Creepy Ghost takes over the big mansion and then makes the big mansion move and turns it into a rocket and goes to America. It lands right on the Brooklyn Bridge. Spider gets on, and they fly to the castle in the Underworld to plan an attack on King Rotten Fart Strawberry. But it’s like a two-day ride, so they wait in the pool and eat sushi and ramen.

All of a sudden, Whitey comes out from under one of the five king-sized beds. He was hiding in the mansion!

“I don’t know what’s going on,” he says. He thinks the mansion is cool, but now he is crying for Mommy and Daddy.

Spider hears the crying, and then Spider gets out of the pool and puts his clothes on. He thinks, That’s annoying!

He sees Whitey climbing out of the bed and says, “If you want Mom, then go away!” And he kicks him out the window, and Whitey lands in his mom’s new apple pie out of the window in Massachusetts.

“Oh, what a coincidence. You’re already ready for dinner. Do you like my applepie!” says Whitey’s mom.

Black Spider and Creepy Ghost land right next to the Underworld Castle.

So, Black Spider and Creepy Ghost go inside and go pow pow to the bodyguards and then the King. King Fart Strawberry comes in and says, “What the heck is going on?”

Then, Black Spider says, “What’s going on is that we’re going to kick your butt!” And then Black Spider does exactly what he says.

Then, they become king and change all the bad laws, like that you can’t participate in the scaring games until you’re seven years old or that you can’t get married until you’re 100 years old. Then, people are happy because they didn’t like those laws. Then, they have Underworld Christmas, but it’s really the same as earth’s.

 

PART TWO

On one nice, sunny day, all the flowers get squished with Strawberry jam from… King Fart Strawberry’s new robot suit.

Strawberry says, “I’m itching for revenge and that bad mosquito bite I got… Wow it’s really itchy.”

Later, at the castle, Black Spider is relaxing in a nice, hot spring and gets out and has some pancakes with syrup, whipped cream, and blueberries.

Suddenly, King Fart Strawberry breaks off the roof of the castle with his robot suit!

Spider says, “Oh, hi there! What’s your name again? Are you that old man in the village who screams for no reason?”

Strawberry says, “Wait you don’t you remember me? Uh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Now I can brainwash you.”

Black Spider says, “See look, you’re still screaming.”

Strawberry says, “Be quiet, and let me brainwash you”

Black Spider says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you look evil, and it sounds bad, and I’m also going get rid of that big jam shooting robot.”

Then, Strawberry says, “Well, then get ready to get jam’d”

Pow splash pow pow pow pow pow pow bang bling bam bam.

Then, all the citizens come and watch the battle.

Creepy Ghost comes and figures out a new attack that they have been training, where he tries to control Black Spider, and they become a big, red ghost with spider arms, with a cherry ice cream making machine inside.

Strawberry says, “It doesn’t matter how big you are. My robot’s stronger.”

And then, the big, red ghost robot shoots a web covered in cherry ice cream with poison that turns the robot into a statue.

A little kid comes and says, “Is this that new TV show? I want that robot!”

The citizens cheer, “Yay!”

But then, they look inside the statue, and Strawberry is not in it. And then, they see Whitey running away, but with something on his head… He is carrying Strawberry!

Creepy Ghost and Black Spider chase after him, and they get Whitey and say, “Why are you trying to save Strawberry?”

Whitey’s eyes are all green. Then, they see a big cage with a bunch of needles sticking out of Whitey’s head. Creepy Ghost carried both of them and take them to the castle. The guards take Strawberry down to the dungeon.

Black Spider uses his eight arms to take the needles out of Whitey’s head with tweezers and put bandages on him.

When they take the thing off, Whitey’s eyes goes back to normal. He says, “What in the world is going on?”

“You tried to save Strawberry!”

“Strawberry’s my worst enemy. Why would I try to do such a thing?”

Five minutes later, Spidey says, “I guess he was brainwashed.” They look at him, and Whitey has a black belt on and starts destroying all the dummies. He was a servant for Strawberry the whole time, but now, he is doing karate moves.

And then, they say, “How did you do all those moves?”

“I took karate lessons to kick you to Iceland.”

Two minutes later, they decide to let Whitey be their sidekick.

“Whitey, you can be our sidekick.”

Then, Whitey says, “Okay, you can be my helpful sidekick.”

Black Spider and Creepy Ghost say, “Sigh.”

A guard comes running and says, “Boss, I have a very important message: Strawberry has broken out of jail and ran towards Sumo Mountain.”

“DUN DUN DUN!” Whitey says.

“What’s Sumo Mountain?” Black Spider asks.

“It’s the most dangerous mountain ever. They say that if you go hiking on that mountain, Sumo Pandas will come and beat you up and throw you to Mars.”

Then, Creepy Ghost asks, “But why would Strawberry go there?”

Black Spider says, “Well, one way to find out!”

One hour later…

Whitey says, “Now we know that they don’t really throw you to Mars. They just throw you back to the bottom of the mountain.

So then they get some iron weapons and force their way up. Finally, when they are at the top, they see the Sumo Pandas making a super duper big strawberry jam shooting robot!!! So, Creepy Ghost takes over the robot and destroys it.

Then, Strawberry comes and asks, “What am I gonna do now?”

Black Spider says, “Well right now you’re gonna let us turn you into strawberry jam.”

POW POW POW BAM.

 

Five hours later…

 

Everybody is eating strawberry jam sandwiches.

Black Spider says, “I kind of feel sorry for Strawberry… Not.

 

THE END!

 

meditating devil

“Greet the devil, the devil eats you, don’t greet the devil, the devil still eats you.”

 

Hi, I’m Jerry Johnson, and I’m in jail right now. This story is about how I ended up in jail which I like to believe is all my cell mate’s fault. It all started one hot summer morning on the last day of school when…

“Wake up!” called a raspy voice that could only belong to my dear old mother. “Hurry up, or you’ll be late,” she called from the kitchen. You don’t want to be late on the last day of school.

“Okay, okay I’m coming,” I said, and just like that, I was on my way to the last day of Katen Middle School.

When I got to class, I noticed a note taped to my locker. It said… Greet the devil, the devil eats you, don’t greet the, the devil still eats you.

During the rest of my school day, I could only think of one thing. What would happen if someone met the devil in real life? I thought. Well, my wish came true because later that day…

 

I went for a stroll in the park when I noticed something rather peculiar…

There was a person, no an e.t., meditating on one of the rusty park benches three feet to my right. This could only mean one thing, I thought excitedly. THE DEVIL was meditating right next to me.

This is my chance, I thought, so I cleared my throat and bravely walked past while saying hi devil.

He opened his eyes in three seconds flat while roaring, “LEAVE, OR I WILL BE FORCED TO EAT YOU!!!”
“Ahh!” I screamed as I ran away.

I had been running for 10 minutes before realizing I had left my phone right near the devil. It has all my bank accounts. Without that, I can’t go to a private high school. I quickly sprinted back in the other direction till I arrived at the meditating devil then I quickly walked past the devil hoping to not disturb him. But I realized I wasn’t as stealthy as I had imagined when…

I stepped on a twig, waking the devil yet again! If I thought he was really mad the first time around, boy was I wrong. He was black as night with a yellow smile, fire red horns, and bloodshot eyes filled with pure hatred.

“This time I actually really WANT TO EAT YOU!!!”

He lifted me up in an effortless fashion and put his face so close to mine that I could smell his breath in my nostrils, making me gag in disgust. This time I knew I was meeting my end when he opened his mouth and…

 

“Stop right there, mister,” called a policeman a little ways from us. “We have two rules in central park,” he called. “Rule number one, no littering, and rule number two, absolutely no eating each other,” he screamed orderly. “Now I’m afraid I’ll have to take both of you to jail.”

“Me? Why me?” I asked puzzled.

“Because everyone knows that you never ever go near the devil when he’s meditating,” the policeman said as though it was obvious.

“But, but,” I said pleadingly.

“This is out of discussion,” he said cutting me off.

 

Later that horrid day…

 

“Are we there yet?” I asked the police who put us in handcuffs for the 20,000,000 time.

“For crying out loud, when we’re there, we’re there,” he cried impatiently.

I was about to ask again when… “STOP TALKING!” screamed the devil.

Sheesh, I thought to myself. Someone’s got anger issues. But I still stayed quiet for the rest of the walk.

I knew we were there without even asking when I noticed a gray, gloomy building with many stories but surprisingly no windows. It looked foreign and out of place in the colorful and luscious forest.

When we got inside, they gave me and the devil each a gray jumpsuit and assigned us to our cells. I felt so angry and screamed like a baby because they thought it was a good idea to put me and… the devil in the same cell. It just goes to show you that some people don’t have any common sense. Am I right? Or am I right?

When we got into the cell, I saw the devil pull out a phone that could only be mine. It was an iPhone 4 with a red case and a cracked screen. It had all of my bank accounts on it because I need it to pay for school. I was so mad when I saw him on it, especially when I saw him on Facebook.

I thought to myself, He’s going to ruin my social media status before I even have one.

Devil,” I said, “can you please give me my phone back?”

“Fine,” he said, exasperated, “but only if you don’t make any noise when you’re in this cell.”

“Not even a peep?” I asked.

“Not even a peep,” he replied.

“Fine,” I agreed, annoyed, so we both got what we wanted: me, my phone, and the devil, peace and quiet.

 

THE END!

(Have a nice day!)

 

Kiku and Sophia

Once there was a pig name Kiku. Kiku was a baby pig. Kiku was not just a normal pig. She was a talking pig! She lived in a dimension with unicorns and pigs. It was very magical. Kiku didn’t have any friends — she was sad. So, she decided to try and make some. She tried to talk to other pigs and a unicorn, but they wouldn’t talk to her.

She asked them, “Can we be friends?”

But they said, “No, you’re too small”

Then she tried to talk to a baby unicorn; the unicorn’s name was Sophia. They bumped into each other, and they asked what each other’s names were.

Kiku said, “I’m Kiku.”

And Sophia said, “I’m Sophia.”

A sheep came along, and the sheep kicked Kiku. Then, Sophia saved Kiku. She put a magic spell on the sheep. The spell turned the sheep into a mouse, and the mouse/sheep ran away. Sophia asked if Kiku was okay, and they learned more about each other. And Kiku finally had a friend!

Kiku was so happy that she had found a friend that she squealed so loud that the hole universe could hear her. They liked to go to the water park together and also go to different dimensions together. The dimensions were very different from their home world. One dimension is just like a unicorn’s horn, another is a cloud world, and there’s a world made of triangle mirrors all over.

Kiku was jealous of Sophia because she had magic, and she didn’t. Kiku told Sophia that she was jealous, and she wanted magic.

Sophia said, “I don’t want you to be jealous, and I can give you magic.”

Kiku said, “Can you please give me magic. Please please pleeeaase?”

And Sophia gave Kiku wings and a magic horn. Kiku was jumping up and down, flying around in circles, and saying, “Thank you thank you thank you thank you!”

Then, the sheep/mouse came along and was crawling around and saying, “What happened?”

He still sounded like a sheep. Their jaws were dropped down, and they walked away from the mouse/sheep. The mouse climbed up Sophia’s back and tore off her horn.

Sophia was crying, and she said, “It’s never gonna grow back.”

Kiku said, “I can make your horn grow back! Remember you gave me the horn, and now you just have to tell me how to control it.”

Sophia told Kiku how to control it. Kiku tried it, and her horn brought her all the way up into outer space. Luckily, because of Kiku’s wings, she could fly back. It took an hour because she had magic wings.

Sophia said, “Thank God you’re not dead! I was so worried! When you left you went ‘poof!’”

“I’m gonna try again” said Kiku.

She tried the spell again, and instead of whacking her horn forward, she swirled it around. That made her hit the mouse/sheep in the head with her tail. Then, Kiku landed on the mouse/sheep, and the mouse/sheep was gone forever. Kiku felt sad. When Kiku was walking back to Sophia, she was crying.

Sophia asked, “Why are you crying?”

Kiku said “I killed the mouse/sheep”

Sophia said, “How?”

Kiku said, “When I swirled my horn around, it made me fly in to the air, and I fell on the sheep/mouse.”

Sophia said, “That’s so sad.”

“Let’s give a funeral,” said Sophia.

“Let’s go,” said Kiku.

When they got there, they made a coffin.

They put him in the coffin, and they closed it. Suddenly, Sophia and Kiku heard a “baa.” Kiku and Sophia thought that it was the sheep/mouse‘s family, but it was sheep/mouse. But Sophia and Kiku didn’t know, so they dug up hole and pushed the coffin in, and then Sophia and Kiku heard a squeak. They thought it was a field mouse, so they walked away. They went back to try to put back Sophia’s horn, and it finally worked! Sparkles were floating around when Kiku put back Sophia’s horn.

The mouse/sheep came out of its coffin and dug out to the surface, and it took a whole day because it was such a small mouse. He was very excited. He finally got out and started walking around. He was very dizzy and walking around in a circles. It seemed like it was a whole new world. Then, he came to Kiku and Sophia, and he remembered that he tore off Sophia’s horn, but when he saw Sophia, he screamed and ran away.

Sophia yelled, “HE’S ALIVE!”

And then Kiku came and said, “Where is he?”

“He ran away,” Sophia said.

“Why did he run away?” said Kiku.

“I don’t know,” said Sophia.

“Well, let’s go find him,” said Kiku.

And they went off to find him. They walked day and night looking for him. They walked through the forest and had really bad blisters. At night they would make magic tents and camp out to sleep for a few hours, and they made ginormous doughnuts to eat for dinner. And in the morning, they ate from their magic giant neverending cucumber that is constantly growing. They had magic maps to track the mouse/sheep.

It took a month to find him. And when they found him, they took him back to their dimension. They were so tired that after they dropped him off at his house they fell asleep on the clouds. They woke up three days later! They felt great even though they didn’t know they had been asleep for three days. They made the cloud float back down and stepped off. They walked around, and they noticed that mouse/sheep was now a normal sheep.

Sophia said, “The spell must have worn off.”

Kiku said, “Do you think we should turn him back into a mouse so that he can’t make any mischief?”

“I don’t think we should,” said Sophia, “but if he does, then we definitely will.”

One day later, Sophia and Kiku decided to go to the walrus dimension to see their friend Wally. When they got there, they saw Sheep, and he was trying to kill Wally. He was gnawing on Wally’s tail. Wally had almost eaten Sheep, but he decided not to eat Sheep because Wally had already put two little holes in his back, and he felt sorry for Sheep. Sophia and Kiku ran over there and turned Sheep back into a mouse, but by accident they turned him into a human child. Then, they turned him back into a sheep, and then they turned him into a mouse again. Sophia, Kiku, and Wally started playing. The mouse fell into the water and swam away because it was a magical mouse, so it could swim.

After they played with Wally, Sophia and Kiku went to a cat dimension to see Mittens. They played with a bunch of yarn, and then Sophia and Kiku went home, and they told the other sheep that their baby sheep was making too much mischief and that Sophia and Kiku would turn him back into a sheep if the other sheep got him to stop making all the mischief.

“Okay,” the head of the sheep said.

And when sheep/mouse got home, they turned him back into a sheep and brought him to the head of the sheep.

“Stop making mischief!” the head of the sheep said.

“Pundjala dala,” said sheep/mouse.

The head of the sheep said, “Dun dala dun dala dun dala.”

 

“This is boring. Let’s just walk away,” said Sophia, so Sophia and Kiku walked away.

While they were walking they heard a boom noise, so they looked back and saw that all the sheep except for sheep/mouse had tripped and fallen forward. It was like a domino effect.

After they fell, there was an earthquake, and Archery Otter come out of the crack.

The otter said, “I’m here to help. I speak Sheep.” Archery Otter said, “Do Do Da Wa Wa.”

And the sheep said that, “Wa wa dee wa wa,” and Otter told Sophia and Kiku that the only way sheep/mouse is going to stop being mischievous is if everyone starts wearing shoes.

So Sophia and Kiku go to one dimension every day and try to find shoes. None of the dimensions had shoes, but they hadn’t checked two, and Kiku said one of them must have shoes. So the next day, they went to another dimension, but that dimension didn’t have shoes. So now there was only one left.

They went to that dimension, and there were no shoes! But then they noticed that there was another dimension connected to that dimension, so they jumped into space, and they landed on the second dimension, but there were no shoes there either. So they dug underground, and they found a treasure chest. They tried to open the chest, but it didn’t work! They tried to find the key, and then they remembered they were magic, and they both made different keys so that if one doesn’t work, the other should. They tried, and Kiku‘s worked! The chest opened, and there were a bunch of shoes in it, and so they brought the chest back to their home dimension, but it took a year because this dimension was very far away.

They were very tired of walking day and night, so they camped out, and they slept very long, and the next day they woke up, and magic giant cucumber was blocking them! So, Sophia and Kiku had to push the cucumber out of their way, and they ate some of it too. They continued their trip back. Once, giant doughnuts fell from the sky while they were walking. They put their mouths wide open, as big as the doughnuts, and the doughnuts just fell into their mouths to eat. It finally stopped doughnut-raining, and Kiku and Sophia were able to walk again.

A dragon came along and asked them, “Do you know Archery Otter?”

“Yes,” Sophia and Kiku said.

The dragon said, “‘Cause I only give rides to Archery Otter’s friends.”

So, the dragon flew them home. He was flying them home until it started raining doughnuts again, and the dragon caught doughnuts on his scaly back so that Sophia and Kiku could eat them. It stopped raining, and they went back on their journey. They finally got home, and they told the sheep that they had found shoes.

 

THE END.

 

What to Do in a Crowded Elevator

 

  1. Try to get to the door and escape.
  2. Wish that you took the stairs.
  3. Look at all the buttons and wish you could press them all to make a light show.
  4. Listen to the quietness that makes everything uncomfortable.
  5. Flash a smile at everyone who looks at you.
  6. Count the floors until it’s your floor.
  7. Try not to get super squished.
  8. Listen to the dings as the door constantly opens.
  9. Think about the freedom once you’re out.
  10. Remember to have this list.
  11. Finally, after you get out say to yourself, “Always take the stairs.

 

Orcas are Fat

             

Orcas are fat because they eat cats

Orcas are fat because they don’t eat rats

Orcas are fat because they eat at Macs

Orcas are fat because they eat people’s hats

When an orca sat on land, it squished a band

into a pancake and poured maple syrup on it

If an orca jumps,

run away immediately

It will create a tidal wave and suck you in and get fatter

Orcas are FAT

 

Stay out of the Attic

“Mom, no!” Evan was begging his mom not to make him go into the attic. The attic was very creepy and dark.

Evan’s mom said, “Okay, okay, I’ll do the work! I was really expecting more from you. You’re 12 now! I really thought you wouldn’t make me do all the work. You are in time-out. I want you to go to your room and lay on your bed.”

“I don’t want time-out! So, I’ll go to the attic,” Evan said.

He jumped from where he was standing to the top of the stairs. When he got into the attic, he found an old chest. He wanted to see if his mother knew what it was, so he took it downstairs.

His mom said, “What did you bring down?”

“I brought down this chest!” said the Evan.

“I haven’t seen that chest since I was a kid!” said his mom. “But I don’t think you should kid around. I remember it being dangerous.”

Evan would find out the true terrors of the attic the next night.

He crept up to the attic the next night, and a ghostly light fell over him. Then, he saw a shadow reaching out for him. It grabbed his shirt, lifted him off the ground, opened its mouth, and shot fire at the wall of the attic. Some of the wall crumpled away. Evan was very scared. Before him stood a dragon. His body was red, and his wings were yellow and orange. He had razor sharp black claws on his hands and his feet, and he had the tail of a scorpion. The dragon opened his mouth and let a roar. He snapped his mouth closed quickly, trying to bite Evan. Then, Evan wiggled out of his grasp. He ran down the stairs. The dragon was too big to follow him, so he flew out of the window and started to set the neighborhood on fire.

Evan ran outside and saw the damage that the dragon had done. Evan fought the dragon. Evan had a dagger, and he threw the dagger at the dragon. The dragon dodged it, and he jumped up high and burned it with his fire breath. Then, he opened his eyes real wide and shot lasers at Evan. Evan dodged. It hit a tree, and the tree fell on to a house. The house split in two. Evan knew they would think he was responsible. He jumped at the dragon and grabbed at his claw, but the dragon shook him off. Evan went flying across someone’s lawn. He landed in a flower bed. His vision was gone, but he heard the dragon coming for him.

He got closer, and then Evan bit the dragon’s toe. “Aaaaaaaaaahh!” The dragon screamed at the top of his lungs. It hurt Evan’s ears, so he got knocked out again. The dragon saw him, so he lifted his taiil off the ground and shot water at Evan. It missed Evan and hit the flowers. The dragon was very angry. He threw his head in the air, and his spine spikes shot out. The dragon’s spine spikes stuck into a fence, and one spine hit a man.

The man screamed at the dragon and said, “I hate you, dragon!” Then the man ran away because he saw it was a dragon. Then, the dragon turned its gaze back to Evan and breathed fire out of its nose.

Evan was hurt, but he wasn’t dead. Suddenly, Evan had an idea. He had noticed that the dragon had a soft looking glowing spot on his head. Evan was not a good climber, but he had to try. He climbed on the dragon for a few feet. Then, the dragon noticed him and shook him off. He slammed into a tree and felt sick. He got knocked out badly, but this time he knew the dragon was on top of him. It was stomping on him. He was very hurt. Evan began to slip away, and while he did, the dragon tripped and fell. This gave Evan a chance to run to his home. The dragon got up and flew in front of Evan’s home, keeping him from getting in.

The dragon could speak. He said, “Let me be king of your town, and then I’ll let you live. If you don’t, I’ll burn down your town and keep it to myself. Then there will be nobody there to tell me no.”

Evan had another idea. He jumped super high and punched the dragon in the glowing soft spot. The dragon fell over and died.

He ran into the house and burned the chest. He knew if he ever found another chest like that it could be a dragon, so he never opened another chest again.

 

Frenemies

 

Ellie

 

I am an ordinary kid. At least in the inside. I like ice cream like all other kids. I like riding my bike with my other friends. That was when I at least had friends. But last week, everything changed. It started like any normal day when I woke up from the ring of my alarm clock. Then I sprinted down the stairs to a delicious breakfast. But that is where the normal ended. As I ran to catch the bus, I didn’t see the car coming. I didn’t see anything at all except the bus. And the driver of the car didn’t see anything, just the green light in front of him.

 

The next thing I know I feel numb with pain, everything hurts, and I try to sit up. The bus driver’s head is swimming before my eyes. Then I hear the siren of the ambulance. I feel two people lifting me onto a bed that seem much softer than the ground. I hear my mom whisper in my ear that everything will be alright. Then, I black out.

I wake up to the sound of beeping above me. I open my eyes and see my mom peering down at me. I sit up and realize that my body does not hurt as much anymore. In fact, it almost doesn’t. I look down and see that both my legs and my right knee are in a cast of thick, hard white plastic. Then everything comes back to me. The car, the bus, and how normal the day had felt before this big accident. My mom and dad come visit me every day, but my best friend doesn’t. I reassure myself that school is still in session and that is the reason, but deep down I know that really in the small corner of my mind that actually they don’t want to come and visit. But I decide not to care, but I really do. We used to do everything together, but now she does not even want to see me. In my mind, I wish that this was just a dream.

After a few days, I am finally allowed to go home. The sad news though is that my knee and right foot will have to be in a brace for at least a few years. After a few days, I finally get the hang of it, and I can be left alone again without needing someone’s help. I am proud to be able to be left alone again. I just feel empty inside. I decide to call my best friend Annabelle. On the second ring, she picks up.

 

Annabelle

 

Ellie and I have been friends since we were in diapers. Our moms met each other when they both were pregnant at the supermarket. After that, they became fast friends, and when Ellie and I were born, they brought us to the park together, to each other’s houses, and to the baby group they were both a part of. Ellie and I were each other’s company day after day. I am not saying that I didn’t like it. I loved it. Every year when our birthdays rolled around, we always made our wishes together on each birthday cake. Even though we never told each other what we wished for, we always knew that the other person was always wishing that they would stay friends for the year to come. We didn’t have to tell because we always knew that we were Annabelle and Ellie, Ellie and Annabelle. Like two peas in a pod. I remember that we always cried together if one of us was hurt, and we always laughed together if someone said something funny. Always together, Annabelle and Ellie, Ellie and Annabelle.

But that all changed a few days ago. I remember it clearly because I was there. But of course not really. I saw the car coming, and I heard the tires squeal on the pavement. Then, the bus driver hearded the rest of the kids, including me, on the bus and drove to the side. The rest I didn’t see. Nervously, I sat on cool leather bench of the bus chewing my fingernails. After a few minutes, the bus driver came into the bus. He searched all the faces until he saw me and pulled me to the side. He said that Ellie had been hit with a car and that her parents and the ambulance were taking her to the hospital. Then, he patted me on the head and said that everything was going to be fine. But then I knew it was the first time anyone had ever lied to me. He walked up to the driver’s seat and started to engine. The force pushed me into my own seat. And just like that it was over. It was the same normal day that it had been before the accident. But it was not. Everything had changed. Maybe if Ellie didn’t know it yet, I did. I had enough of it, and it had to change. I wanted other friends, not just Ellie. The accident showed me that if you only had one friend, that friend could just be taken away from you in a snap. Then you have no one. The accident was way too hard to still be friends with Ellie.

I knew that some girls just didn’t like Ellie, but those girls were also the popular ones. And after the big accident, Ellie would just get more clingy, and I had really had enough. For example, I had been at her house, and we had been playing Monopoly. I had said that I wanted to go downstairs because I thought I heard my mom call me for something. As soon as I stepped out of the room and was on the top step of the stairs, Ellie had followed me and was waiting for me to go down the stairs. She was always with me anywhere I went. But when I said this to her, she could not get over that. I tried telling her, but it never worked. I think that Ellie does not even realize that she just changes the topic. I think that it just hurts too much to think that I do not want her. But that is not true. I swear that I am not a mean person! I just wanted a change.

A few days after the accident, my phone rings. I answer and hear Ellie’s voice on the phone. We talk for a few minutes, then I hang up. It was then I knew it was the last time Ellie could call me her best friend. Friends? Sure, but best friends never again. Because if I wanted to make it to the popular girls circle at school, I wouldn’t need Ellie or anybody else. Just me without Ellie.

 

Ellie

 

“Hello? Who is this?” Annabelle asked.

“Hi, it’s me, Ellie.”

“What do you want?”

“Well, I was going to tell that I am coming back to school tomorrow!”

“Um, okay.”

“I was also going to ask if you wanted to meet up after school maybe?”

“Uh, sorry but no can do. I am meeting some friends after school. For um, homework.”

“Okay. I guess, see you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

As Ellie hangs up, she replays the conversation in her head. Something was up with Annabelle, and she had no idea what. Maybe something had happened at school when she was not there? Ellie decided that she would give it one more try to find out what was wrong with Annabelle. She would have a sleepover the following night. This sleepover would determine if their friendship was doomed or if she could save it from like coal from a burning fire. In truth, Ellie was really excited for the sleepover.

 

After dinner and playing board games and watching movies and eating popcorn, they were in their pajamas, and they started gossiping. Ellie knew that for every sleepover it was vital to gossip with one another. Tonight the topic was: crushes. As at every sleepover, they talked about who the liked and who they think liked them.

Ellie started by shyly saying, “I think that Henry really likes me.”

“Yes, duh,” Annabelle replied, smiling like a cat.

They always loved getting together like this. If she was even my friend still though, Ellie thought remorsefully while snuggling deeper into her bed. Right before they are both about to doze off, Ellie asks Annabelle if she wants to come home with her after school tomorrow. Annabelle ignores her and pretends to fall asleep. Ellie sighs and rolls over.

 

That night, long after she had heard Annabelle’s breath even out, she still couldn’t sleep. She thought about everything that Annabelle and she had gone through together, as friends. It hurt her so much to think that maybe Annabelle wouldn’t call Ellie her friend anymore. But the more she thought about it, the more it didn’t seem like a possibility anymore. She does not think that Annabelle would unfriend her after having a sleepover with Ellie. With that content thought in mind, she rolled over and fell fast asleep.

The next day was Ellie’s first day of school after so long! She could hardly wait! As she walked down the main hallway, she saw Annabelle whispering to Savannah, one person that they had never even dared to talk to before. She wondered why Annabelle was whispering to her, but she didn’t let her bother her as much. Then during lunch is where the big thing happened.

 

Annabelle

 

I sat at the popular table with my new friends: Savannah, Melanie, and Fiona. As soon as I sat down, the whole table applauded my choice.

“Finally! You decided to sit with us!” Savannah said.

I smiled inwardly, happy that I was being accepted into this new group.

“Hey, guys do you want to know a secret?” I said, doing something that I knew the old Annabelle would never do. “Ellie likes Henry!” I said, suppressing a giggle.

The rest of the table roared with laughter as they looked over at one of the boys tables where Henry sat and to the table where Ellie sat. All alone, eating her lunch quietly. For a second, I felt a little bit of regret as I saw her all alone. Just then, something weird happened. Melanie suddenly stood up on the bench that she had been sitting moments before and yelled out in a voice that carried through the whole lunchroom:

“Ellie and Henry kissing in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in a baby carriage!”

The whole lunchroom went dead silent. You could have heard a hairpin drop. Then, the whole boys table, except for Henry who stood red in the face, erupted with laughter. Then, all the boys started to make the kissing noise with their mouths and wrapping their arms around themselves as if they were kissing another person. Guiltily, I looked over to the table where Ellie was sitting and saw that her face was all red and there were tears starting to form beneath closed eyelids. She opened her eyes and saw me looking at her. She then gave me the dirtiest look she had ever given anyone and stormed out of the lunchroom. Meanwhile, the boys had stopped and were back to their annoying, obnoxious selves. The girls had also gone back to just talking quietly among themselves. It seemed like the teasing that had happened a few minutes before never even existed.

 

I ran from the lunchroom into the nearest girls bathroom and heard quiet sobbing coming from the stall the farthest away from the door. I stood in front of the door and saw Ellie’s feet. On one foot was a green converse shoe and on the other was the brace from her accident. Suddenly a wave of guilt washed over me as I saw the brace. The only thing I wanted right now was to hug Ellie, go back into the lunchroom, and sit at our normal table as if the last 15 minutes never even happened. But I know I can’t. I knock softly on the door.

“Who is it?” Ellie said quietly between sniffles.

“Me, Annabelle,” I say.

“What do you want?” she asks me rudely.

“I want to say that I am really sorry. I wanted to apologize. I don’t know what came over me. I hope you can forgive me,” I said, trying to stop myself from starting to cry.

She opened the door of the stall a little bit and peeked through the gap.

“Why did you do it?” she asked, looking at me questioningly.

“I really don’t know. I am still really sorry,” I whispered, still looking at her.

She opened the door a little more and stepped out.

“Well, I still don’t forgive you,” she said, still quietly.

I nodded and walked out of the bathroom. I walked into the lunchroom, but lunch had already ended and the grade below us was starting to eat their lunch. I walked back into the bathroom to see if Ellie was still there, but she left. I sat down on the floor and sighed. I just wished that the last 45 minutes of the day would just disappear.

 

Ellie

 

After talking to Annabelle, she ran out of the girls bathroom and speed walked into the nurse’s office. She walked in and sat down. The nurse asked what was wrong, and Ellie said that she wanted to go home because she was not feeling well. While Ellie waited to get picked up, she sat in the chair thinking about how just a few nights ago during the sleepover Annabelle seemed like the old Annabelle not like the Annabelle that hurt her by telling her secret to the whole grade. She knew that Annabelle the girl who used to be her best friend but definitely not anymore. She knew that she could never trust her anymore like she and Annabelle used to not trust other girls like Savannah, Fiona, and Melanie and the rest of their clique. But now Annabelle was part of that group as well.

 

Annabelle

 

After school was out, I ran over to my bike and unlocked it. Then, I started to bike to Ellie’s house, determined to make peace between Ellie and I. As I pedaled as fast as I could, I practiced saying to repair our friendship. But deep down I knew that even if she accept my apology I knew that we would never be friends like we were before. But I still wanted to try to repair our friendship. I ring the doorbell and a second later Ellie comes in view. She looks surprised but invites me in.

 

“I know I don’t deserve to be your friend anymore… ”

“I know, you really don’t, but I still can’t call you my friend anymore. I’m sorry.”

Ellie sighed and turned around, making her face her back not her face. I then stood up and gave her a hug.

“I understand,” I said.

I left and walked out to my bike, unlocked it, and slowly started for home.

 

Ellie

 

Ellie sat down on her bed in her room. She had been looking at the wall by her desk that had a bulletin board, and it was filled with pictures of her and Annabelle: at the beach together, at the bowling alley, at school, and many other places. She sighed and looked at her favorite pictures of them together. It was her and Annabelle standing together in front of the school on the first day of sixth grade. She was wearing coincidentally the same shirt that she had worn in that picture, but now the picture of the dolphin had faded and it looked more like a gray blur in the blue background. Will I ever have someone who I can trust? Like the Annabelle used to be? Ellie thought. A breeze fluttered through the room making the shadows of the pictures dance in the sunset. The picture fluttered to the floor. Ellie stood up and pinned it back on the wall.

 

The End

 

Stupendous Sprinkles

 

Prologue

“Hee hee hee!” a young man wearing an evil smile and a Stupendous Sprinkles tee shirt with the name tag Jerry laughed evilly.

He grabbed a dirty, gray bucket on the ground with a food dye-covered hand. With the other, he held his nose because it smelled like rotten salmon with vinegar poured onto it that was left out for a week. Jerry yanked it up and sauntered past a glowing, red clock displaying 3:45 a.m. Anyone watching the scene could tell that his coworkers obviously would not be there for a few hours.

He poured the glowing liquid onto the conveyor belt, covering sprinkles in green goo. Jerry slapped the bottom of the bucket to make more of the toxic-looking slime ooze out.

Jerry frantically looked back and forth for a good hiding place. He decided on a musty, old closet with a Staff Only sign on it. At least, it used to say that. Now it said “S af nlv,” the mark of the sixteen years that it had been untouched, until very recently.
Jerry let the light streak into the room for the first time in sixteen years. He didn’t open the door all the way, though, so the sides of the room were still covered in the blanket of darkness. Jerry tucked the bucket under the folds of a dusty apron that left gray trails on his fingers so that his coworkers couldn’t read the side that said “Radioactive!”

Jerry positioned the apron back to how it had been and closed the door quietly. He turned off the lights and the conveyor belt. But he paused before leaving the factory. First, Jerry laughed maniacally.

 

Chapter One

Don Utshop was the owner of a donut shop. One day, he thought to himself that he should put rainbow sprinkles on his donuts, not just frosting. He had been getting bad reviews for not having sprinkles. People loved sprinkles, so Don decided to go buy some.

Don thought to himself, I’m so lucky! I’m a donut shop owner, and I live right around the corner from a sprinkles shop! Stupendous Sprinkles, here I come!

He grabbed everything he could find to store the sprinkles in. He found a Don Utshop’s Donut Shop tote bag, a Golden State Warriors backpack, and a brown paper Whole Foods bag. He intended to stuff as many sprinkles as he possibly could. “Every single sprinkle matters, right?” he concluded.

As he gathered up all the bags inside the shop, he was brainstorming donut ideas. I’m going to have sprinkles! Think about all the possibilities! So many donut ideas! He smiled.

As he pulled open the brass doorknob, Don’s head was filled with bright colors and flavors. Could he make a donut that was no donut, just sprinkles stuck together? Maybe a plain glazed donut, but covered five inches high in the sprinkles? He almost ran into the street, because he was so excited.

 

Chapter Two

Don halted so abruptly on the curb that he almost skidded backwards. But he just pivoted on the heel of his left foot and kept going towards Stupendous Sprinkles, like it never happened.

Even if he got hit by a car, Don wouldn’t let business slow. He would bake donuts in the hospital and hire his son, Pean Utshop, to sell them. He would have to make sure that Pean wouldn’t put nuts on all the donuts, though, because some customers were allergic. Pean wouldn’t eat anything besides nuts.

The reason that he wouldn’t let business slow wasn’t because he was a loyal shop owner, though. The reason was because Don really loved donuts. If he closed his store, he wouldn’t get free (maybe not free) donuts.

As he approached the big, pink building, Don got a whiff of sugar. He breathed it in and held it for a moment, delighted with the sprinkly goodness. He had forgotten how delicious they were, for he had not had a single one in sixteen years. That was when he had stopped working at Stupendous Sprinkles. (Dramatic foreshadowing!) (Dun-dun-duuun!!!)

 

Superheroes are Finally Becoming Good: The Diversity of Superheroes

Superheroes are getting so much more diverse. Before comics went through changes, most of the superheroes were all white males. Then, it changed to white females, and then all the slightest changes of diversity brought us to our current diverse comic world. When I finished reading “Spiderman,” I started reading “The Ultimate Spiderman.” This version of “Spiderman” was more entertaining than the original. And since the main character, Miles Morales, is young, it makes him funnier. In this comic book, Peter Parker, one of the default white male superheroes, dies. Before that, Miles Morales, a young black child, gets bitten by a spider. He then becomes the new Spiderman because he was bitten by a black widow just like Spiderman was. But he had more abilities, like the ability to become invisible and taze people.

This proves my point that superheroes are getting more diverse. Race, religion, relationships, and so much more are becoming diverse. These changes didn’t just happen in 2018, but they started back in the 1900’s when there was still racism. The slightest changes in diversity brought us to 2018 where the world is diverse. There was this scene before Peter died in the “Ultimate Spiderman,” when Miles just gets his powers. Two firefighters are having a conversation, when Miles is running and can’t stop, so he jumps over the long box like “Spiderman,” and the black firefighter was like, “I told you Spiderman was black.” After that he smiled. Miles Morales is a revolutionary figure in the world of comic books. He is changing the perspectives of superheroes in people’s minds. Perspectives are changing, making a black person one of the default superheroes. Miles Morales is changing the superhero genre and world of comic. Because of him, the genre is expanding, and new characters with different races and religions are joining Marvel and DC. The comic books genre is creating hope and role models for everyone that didn’t have them before.

One of the changes is that superheroes are getting more diverse in religion. Comic books are expanding, and one of the branches of expansion is religion. The typical superhero, the default, used to be a white man with either no religion or Christianity. Now there are many superheroes that have different religions. For example, Ms. Marvel is a Muslim superhero who is like a superwoman but in Marvel. This is big because this is a religious superhero. She is not another race but another religion, creating another branch of diversity. Another superhero that is challenging norms is the Thing (from the Fantastic Four). The Thing turns out to be Jewish. A Christian superhero is Captain Salvation. He may not be one of the big superheroes, but if you search him up on the internet, he’s there. These are revolutionary superheroes because they have religions, and these religions aren’t usually the default. This tells us that comic books are rapidly changing and featuring perspectives and voices they have not before.

Another aspect of comic books that is changing is race. After changes occurred, more diverse races were being represented. A well-known superhero that’s black is Cyborg. Cyborg is a teenager who was a great athlete but had an accident. His scientist dad repaired his body with technology, and after that he became a superhero. Cyborg became one of the most popular superheroes, and he was black. Not only was he African American, but he was also one of the main characters on the Teen Titans. This was a huge change because the default main characters would be white males. Not only are there new superheroes of different races that are male but new ones that are also female. Katana, is an Asian female superhero from Suicide Squad. After her husband dies, she becomes a martial arts expert and samurai and is on a quest to find her husband’s spirit. She is one of the most well-known Asian superheroes, and there are not many Asian superheroes at all. Not to mention, she is also female. The first black superhero was Black Panther, and one of its recent hits was the Black Panther movie in 2018. The movie was extremely popular. This tells us that not only white superheroes will get viewers, but a more diverse set of superheroes will also get just as much and more attention. In fact, people seemed to enjoy Black Panther more than Captain America. People are accepting this new change and not hating the changes.

The last aspect of the change occuring in comic books is gender. Before changes occurred, there weren’t many female superheroes and the ones that did exist didn’t get as much attention as the men. As society changed over the past 20 through 30 years, it evolved and changed and became more diverse, segregation was stopped and equality was made causing massive changes to happen in gender. There were a lot of changes in gender. This wasn’t only for the comic universe but for current events too. For example a well-known female superhero is Black Widow. Black Widow was an orphan saved by Soviet Union officers who then trained her to be a fighting expert. According to CNN Politics, a recent protest was for women’s rights. People from all over the world came to protest about women’s equality. Although DC isn’t as diverse as Marvel, they still have well-known superheroes such as Wonder Woman. However DC Comics isn’t as diverse as Marvel. DC has tried making characters more diverse and sometimes succeeded but other times it couldn’t hold its place in the market. On the other hand, Marvel is successfully making more diverse characters. However, DC has some well-known superheroes like Harley Quinn and Raven. Although there are white women, there aren’t as many different races of women.

Representations of diversity are important because they relate to equality. People look up to superheroes as role models. As superheroes get more diverse, people get a chance to look up to new superheroes of the same race, religion, or gender as them. Then, people become more comfortable looking up to someone more like the person they are. It also makes people feel stronger because superheroes are made to help people and give them hope. Although, this means that society at large won’t be as comfortable receiving hope from people of different races and ethnicities as them. People of different races and ethnicities were new to some in the USA so if you met them in the street, the fact that you were meeting a person totally different from you was unsettling. Even though superheroes of different ethnicities may be uncomfortable for some, the more diverse superheroes that are made, the more people will get comfortable.

Bibliography:

Abad-Santos, Alex. “Marvel Misspoke about Diversity in Comics. Now It Has a Chance to Do Better.” Vox, Vox, 4 Apr. 2017, www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/4/15169572/marvel-diversity-outrage-gabriel.

Allen, Thomas. “Comics Color Outside the Lines, Drawing a Diverse Cast of Heroes.” National Geographic, 18 May 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/06/explore-minorities-in-comics/.

Brown, Jennings. “Superhero Diversity Hasn’t Advanced In A Single Bound.” Vocativ, Vocativ, 4 Oct. 2016, www.vocativ.com/news/206915/a-timeline-of-superhero-diversity/.

Brown, Jennings. “Superhero Diversity Hasn’t Advanced In A Single Bound.” Vocativ, Vocativ, 4 Oct. 2016, www.vocativ.com/news/206915/a-timeline-of-superhero-diversity/.

Doll, Jen. “On the Importance of Having Superheroes.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/05/importance-having-superheroes/328461/.

“How Superheroes Are Changing the Way We Think about Diversity – Bloomberg L.P Diversity & Inclusion.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 31 Jan. 2018, www.bloomberg.com/diversity-inclusion/blog/superheroes-changing-way-think-diversity/.

“Opinion | Diverse Superhero Stories Are Drowned out by the Status Quo.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/superhero-narratives-striving-diversity-are-drowned-out-status-quo-ncna833431

 

I Never Agreed to Go

 

Chapter One

 

The school. I don’t know how to describe it as I arrive. From the outside, it looks like a rectangle floating in space. But on the inside, there are only four types of spaces. The sleeping rooms, the mess halls, the hallways, and the fight room. The mess halls are on the ends of the rectangle, the dorms on the rest of the edges, and the fight rooms are lined up in the center.

The outside of the school is pitch black, to not be seen. When the ship arrives after a month-long journey through space, I don’t notice it at first. I just see the regular endless void of space. Then, the loudspeaker crackles.

“We have arrived at the school of battle tactics. Please wait while the ship docks.”

Finally! I had gotten tired of talking about how are families hated us. They all give a kind (or not) gesture by letting us train at a school in outer space. It is weird. They are all mean to us, but then suddenly do a supposedly kind act.

As I walk out of that annoying ship, there are people. They assign us groups. They hand a device to each person that walks out. There is a beam coming out of it, and they tell us that the beam of light shows where you need to be at that current time. As I settle in my bed, I notice that they grouped us in eights. The hallways are tubes, and I bounded of the “floor” and caught on to the “ceiling.”

 

Chapter Two

 

I wake up with a robotic hand prodding my arm.

“Wake up, Basil. Your presence is required in the mess hall. Get ready and use your device to find the mess hall.”

This startles me. How did I know that robotic hands woke you up each morning?

“I repeat. Your presence in the mess hall is required immediately.”

I start to get dressed behind the curtain that separates my bed and the room’s main space.

The robot keeps on repeating its sentence.

“Could you just stop!” I yell angrily.

“Okay. Be at the mess hall at 007030.”

I pick up my device and follow the beam.

 

***

 

“There is something to know about this place. One, and only one person, will come out of this school with knowledge learned about battle tactics. The rest of you? You did not win.”

The crowd of kids started murmuring, but it quickly stopped as the speaker raised their hand.

“At this school, there is a tournament. You go against everybody in your group, and then the seeding is over. The first place in the group fights the eighth. The second to the seventh and so on. The loser, well the loser… Death.”

So that’s why my parents sent me here. They wanted me to die. They just wanted death.

“The winner will come out of this place with 100,000 credits. During the seeding, you just have to get into the other’s gate to win. But when the knockout stage comes, it’s death. Go on, eat your breakfast!” The speaker puts a huge smile on their face.

Nobody starts eating.

“You only have ten minutes left to eat! Hurry up!” I start eating. Yuck! These dehydrated cereal cubes just taste like mush. I am hungry, so I eat.

 

Chapter Three

 

The person I turned out to be fighting is one of the friends I made on the trip here, Rob. We both wanted to escape this “school.”

“We both want to escape,” I whisper.

“Yes.”

“What happens if we both don’t try to go in the other’s gate?”

I was expecting an answer from a human, but a robot answered instead.

“The battle will go on for 0001051 after the start. Then, it will be a tie, both receiving 1 point instead of the two for the winner.”

“Well, I guess that solves it. Let’s tie!” I exclaim.

“Okay… ” Rob says.

We wait and we wait until the computer says something.

“The time for this match is up, but no action was detected. I will notify the principal of this bad behavior.”

We leave thinking to ourselves, Uh-oh. That was not a good idea.

 

***

 

As usual, that annoying robotic hand started prodding me to wake up. The “your presence is required” thing. I ignore it and continue to get my clothes on.

“Your presence is required in the principal’s office. You must be there by 006020. “

Oh. The principal’s office. Memories flood back to my head. That’s why I feel tired. It’s earlier than yesterday. I get dressed quick and still have some time left to surf the web. I find a simulator for the standard long-distance ship and play it a few times. It is a first-person view with the window having graphical ships and lumpy asteroids to dodge. I randomly mash buttons, and once I accidentally self-destruct the ship. I save the web ID to the computer and then move it to a personal memory stick to prevent the teachers from finding out.

I follow the beam sent out of my device and wait outside the door. Rob arrives close behind me.

The door opens automatically. The principal is sitting by their desk, which is made out of plastic. Wood is very rare these days, and that even includes genetically modified trees. We sit down on the inflatable chairs with thin plastic, to reduce storage space and make this huge rectangle smaller than it would have been.

“I’m sure that you know why you are here.”

Rob and I nod our heads.

“This school was built to have a competition to teach kids about battle tactics. Our strategy motivates kids to learn our curriculum.”

“We are just trying not to die!” I yell.

“I’m giving you a warning. Don’t do that ever again.”

“OUT!”

 

Chapter Four

 

I started to regularly practice on the simulator. Yes! I won level 10! I got the hang of it. Then, I look at the link more closely. They made this simulator. But I remember the cockpit of the ship, peering through the crack of the door. It looked exactly the same! They must have put in a few changes to the simulator to make it different.

I brainstorm ideas for changes. Locks! I needed to hack into the school computer system. I started to regularly find hacking tools and learn from the web.

 

***

 

It had been a few weeks, and there was a ranking battle every now and then, and most days were spent learning and brainstorming what tactics could be used in the battles. I learned, yes, but I mostly went to the hacking website and learned. I looked at the website again. All our information was being filtered. I would have to find a person who learned hacking before coming here. I sent a message over to Rob encrypted. He sent a message back, and we made a conversation:

 

Rob,

I need somebody who can hack. Someone who learned it at home. We need to hack the school computer system.

-Basil

 

Basil,

Why not learn from the web? It would be much easier that way.

-Rob

 

Rob,

Our information is filtered. The only way to learn how to hack the website is with the school’s website. Get my point?

-Basil

 

Basil,

I’ll try to find someone.

-Rob

 

Basil,

I found someone! Their name is Lily. Let’s talk during dinner.

-Rob

 

We meet up in the mess hall and quietly discuss what we all have to do. After dinner, we get to work.

Me? Figure out the escape routes, the time of escape, and so on. Lily? Hack into the system so we can get access to the actual web and access to the ship. Rob? Get more people to know and be ready to escape.

Lily was having a hard time hacking into the server. She almost made it, but the final password was known on another server. When she almost hacked the other server, it asked for a password that was known on the other server. She finally hacked in and could do anything to the school. We were ready do escape.

 

Chapter Five

 

We sneak out of our rooms, and a lot of kids I did not even know came with this escape. Lily has locked all the doors of the teachers and changed the password to the server. The door to the ship is open, and we all pile inside. Just as the last kids start to board, the door to the principal’s office opens. The principal runs after us. The door to the ship closes. I am frantically trying to find the button that turns the ship on, but it is nowhere to be found! I try voice activation.

“SHIP, TURN ON!” I yell.

The ship responds. “Voice not recognized. Please try again.”

I hear outside the ship, “The kids are escaping! They are turning on the ship!”

“Voice recognized. Thrusters… fire.”

“Wo-Ho!” I exclaim.

“Okay. Oxygen level depleting. Oxygen level depleting. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. WARNING!”

“Oops,” Lily murmurs. “Quick! Someone get me a computer!”

She starts rapid-fire hacking.

“WARNING!”

“Oxygen levels restored.”

“WARNING!”

“Oxygen levels restored.”

“WARNING!”

“Oxygen levels restored.”

“Yes!” Lily exclaims. “I booted them out of the server!”

 

Epilogue

We fly to a habitable planet and start the first colony not in the solar system. We all become famous, and the teachers? Jail, of course! I become mayor, and we explore the other life forms living here. We are now known solar system-wide.

 

Jake, David, and the Eiffel Tower Adventure

 

Before

 

Have you read Jake, David and the Adventurous Volcano Adventure (Book 1) and/or Jake, David and the Super Bowl Surprise (Book 2) both by Logan Hunter Thomas? Well, whether you have or haven’t, you are lucky. Either way, you should definitely take a look at this before you read the book. The Jake and David series is a group of chapter books that go on adventures. When Jake and David meet each other, they discover that they both love writing books. So they opened up a bookstore so they could write books and get money. Throughout the Jake and David adventures, this series is ready to embark.

 

Chapter One

 

After what the Jones family had now called the Super Bowl Smash Mistake, ten-year-old Jake and David were finally getting to know each other. They decided to try and stay at home for a while. Jake and David worked in their bookstore for eight hours. They decided they wanted to see all the books that they had made with everyone. So the next day, they threw a big Celebration of Writing and Reading Fair. There were games and pizza and prizes and a ceremony to thank Jake and David for the years of books.

After the party, many children brought books to the boys that they made to show more of their appreciation. The very last kid to come was very shy but couldn’t wait to meet Jake and David. His name was John. He had tan hair and was wearing a tie-dye shirt with blue jeans and red Crocs.

“Hi,” he said quietly. His mom Annie came running over with his book from them, All You Need To Know About The Eiffel Tower. Jake didn’t remember making that book. Neither did David.

But instead of telling Annie and John the truth, they said, “Thank you for coming.”

“You’re welcome,” Annie said for John.

As Jake and David walked back to their house, Jake said to David, “Do you still not remember All You Need To Know About The Eiffel Tower.”

“Still don’t,” David replied.

When they got home, Jake and David ran down to the bookstore. They wanted to see if they still had a copy of the book. Under the fifth bookshelf, they both found a copy at the same time. They were fighting over who got the book, until they both saw another copy and both started fighting for that one, and they kept doing that for one hour until they both stopped fighting and got their own copy to read. They decided to go on a nonstop Amtrak train to Paris so they could maybe remember what inspired them to write the book. They bought two tickets for a Paris trip to the Eiffel Tower or in Spanish, la torre Eiffel. The train left at 5:27 A.M. on July 6 and stopped in Paris on July 10 at 4:18 A.M..

On July 6 at 5:45 A.M., David wanted to go upstairs and explore, but Jake was asleep. So David went up but carried Jake in a stroller. Upstairs was a playground that said, NO STROLLERS ALLOWED. David ran down the ramp and removed Jake from the stroller. He then slapped Jake to wake him up. Jake bit David. Jake also started to open his eyes. David pulled his brother up to the TeddyGround Country Train Park. The park was on every train in the world, so they could always use it. As soon as they arrived at the sign, Jake went wild.

“WOO!” Jake exclaimed.

“Incredible,” they both said as if they were hypnotized. They both skipped over to the moon bounce trampoline zone. Later, David climbed The Spooky Scary Dreadful Climbing Wall Where People Get Killed.

 

Chapter Two

 

David was waiting in line when he smelled the wonderful French toast tatter and croissants for breakfast. He tried one of each. They tasted delicious. Jake then got breakfast, and the boys talked about their next book. After their breakfast and hot tub time, David got in line to climb the wall. The line was short because people were nervous. David was second in line. But he didn’t mind. He was a super amazing climber. He had practiced every month at The School For Climbing. He ended up on the wall in less than 50 seconds. It was definitely an experience that Jake didn’t want to risk, but David on the other hand was proud to be doing it alone. David tried to convince Jake to give the climbing wall a “whirl,” but Jake couldn’t get over his fear.

There was fake lava on the sides, and it was in a room with no lights. The climbing wall was 1,004,580 centimeters with harnesses for ages six and under only. You had to go around the real fire and through the ice tunnel. Then you go through the real volcano quickly and if it erupts fake lava while you are in there, you must stay on the train for all eternity! But if you do better on the next level than the first, you are free to leave the train and get a free train ride home if possible, depending on oceans and seas. But if it erupts real marshmallows in a bag, then you can feel free to eat all you want. David made it to the top and got a wonderful trophy made of gold and an invitation to the Professional Teenager Climb Kickoff!

Jake loved the trophy but didn’t have enough bravery to continue. But he didn’t have the heart to quit. So he got in line for for The Spooky Scary Dreadful Possibly Deadly Climbing Wall Where People Get Killed. But he was so scared, he got right back out. Although, it wasn’t very delightful waiting in the dark. But they had to do it to get to the wall. At least for safety reasons, only one person could be on at a time and there were comfy beds on the floor in case you fell. You got two chances per day. When you get a trophy, you do the wall that is twice as scary as The Spooky Scary Dreadful Possibly Deadly Climbing Wall Where People Get Killed (which by the way is not on the TeddyGround Country Train Park). Jake was about to get in line when the train bell rang. That meant they were in Paris, France or Paris, Francia. At least the TeddyGround Country Train Park was on every train in the world. It was 4:18 A.M., so most people were exhausted. But Jake and David wanted to see the tower. They were wide awake!

 

Chapter Three

 

In Paris, Jake and David decided to first take their luggage to their rental house and spend some time there, then later go take a walk to The Eiffel Tower. Jake and David noticed a big pipe in their wall above their bed that read: DO NOT ENTER! Next to it was a pipe that said ENTER IF YOU WISH. The walk was a good ten minutes, but Jake and David got a lot of exercise on their way. At 8:15 A.M., Jake and David arrived at The Eiffel Tower. The tower was enormous! Jake and David had reached their destination. The boys wanted to explore The Eiffel Tower. It had 1,665 stairs and 1,680 levels. But they were tired. So they took the elevator to the 1,680 level. On that floor there was Gustave Eiffel’s Hidden Apartment.

“Do you think we should go in,” Jake said. “It looks kind of spooky.”

“Are you kidding,” David replied. “It’s the perfect time to start exploring, Wonderful Haunted Eiffel Tower.”

“Eek,” squealed Jake.

“I don’t want to go in,” cried Jake.

But David was finding Jake’s whining, crying, and moaning irritating. He was so furious that he grabbed Jake’s shirt, shoved him in the apartment, and locked them both in. David ran in so fast to stop Jake, that the key to unlock the door fell out of his pocket, and David shut the door before noticing. They were in locked in! They both howled for five straight minutes blaming the other person.

“Why’d you shove me in here,” scolded Jake.

“What are you talking about,” said David in a snotty voice. “It’s your fault that you are such a scaredy-cat!

As they were arguing, up from the chandelier came a ghost! It was like the creepy ghost photos on Halloween that babies were scared of, but somehow, it frightened David. Somehow, Jake had the courage to face the ghost, but David started to whine.

“See what scaredy-cat feels like,” teased Jake.

David had just noticed that the key was no longer in his pocket.

“Run!” David yelled.

“No way!” Jake replied.

The ghost was a nightmare to David. But to Jake, the ghost was one of the best parts of his life. They tried everything to open the locked door. Soon, when the fun for Jake was over, Jake had a great idea to leave. Jake and David both searched for a trap or back door. Finally after ten minutes, Jake and David succeeded in shoving the ghost in a bird cage. David found the secret door. Jake noticed that they had pipes like the ones in their hotel. One said DO NOT ENTER and one said ENTER IF YOU WISH. The boys took the secret door that said ENTER IF YOU WISH. It led to a slide. Jake and David rode down the slide. The slide came out of the room, but it didn’t exactly take them in the direction they wished to go in. When the slide ended, they landed in their hotel room.

“So that was what the pipes were for,” said Jake and David again like they were hypnotized.

“Well,” said Jake admittedly. “It’s been a long day, but I think we both learned a lesson.”

“Me too,” said David. They went out to dinner and went home to Paradise Countryside on August 1 at 1:47 P.M. and arrived on August 4 at 5:43 A.M. But Jake and David didn’t mind the length of the trip. They liked long train rides because they could come back with at least 50 newly printed books.

 

The End!

 

My New Nintendo 2DS XL

My 2DS XL is black and blue (mostly black). It is bigger than a normal 3DS XL, but it doesn’t have 3D. It could play any 3DS game. I would play “Pokémon X” and “Mario and Luigi: Dream Team.” When I play “Pokémon X,” the controls are smooth and easy to use, and they are white. The texture of the outside is smooth and bumpy. The 2DS and 3DS are handheld devices that have two screens. One screen is interactable, and the other isn’t.

 

I got my 2DS XL on January 2, 2018. Before, I asked my parents if I could get it, and they said, “Yes.” I was so happy about that. I was so hyper. So when I was in school on January 2, I had a feeling that the package was there. So when I got home, I rushed to the living room, and I found the package sitting on the table. I opened the package really quickly.

 

I thanked my mom for getting the package a million times. Even though it was a school day, my dad still let me play with it. Every time I hold the 2DS, I think of my mom. I always feel happy when I hold the 2DS if I have bad day. In exactly one month, I beat the game and got bored. Then by accident, my sister lost my charger, and my 2DS died. Then, my sister lost my copy of “Pokémon X.” I kept asking my mom if I could get another copy or the newest Pokémon game, but my mom said, “No, I already spent enough money on the 2DS.”

 

Now, my 2DS is sitting on the table doing nothing. Since I don’t have a charger, I can’t use it. If I get a charger, I would charge it for the night. I’ll get a new game called “Yokai Watch 2: Bony Spirits Fleshy Souls.” Once I get the game and the charger, I will link up with my friend, so we can trade Yokai and battle each other. I’ll wait until my mom has enough money to buy me “Yokai Watch 2,” but I want many other games for the Xbox One. So, I’ll have to make a big decision about what I want.

 

The Roxanne Family is Falling Down

 

Introduction

 

“How much do we have?” my five-year-old brother asked.

“What do you mean?” Dad asked.

“How much money do we have?” he said.

“We have enough,” Mom said, not looking up. Truth was, I knew we had more than enough. While the other kids at school lived in apartments we lived in a townhouse.

“Ee, ee,ee!” my six-month-old adopted sister Evelyn “Evie” screeched from her playpen.

“Yes, but how much?” Tony asked.

That’s not something you need to know,” Mom said.

My name is Harriet “Hattie” Roxanne, age 11, and the money business was just starting.

How much?” Tony screamed. Temper tantrum. I knew the drill.

“Hattie,” Mom whispered. I nodded. Dad stood up. So did I. I walked over to Evie and picked her up. Then, we walked slowly up the stairs. I heard Tony screaming from below. I heard mom soothing him. Suddenly, there was no more of Mom’s voice. I looked at Dad. He looked at me. Oh no, oh no. You see when Tony gets real angry he hurts someone. One time he knocked Mom out. That’s why we created the drill. Dad and I slowly crept down the stairs. Mom had fainted. And Tony, well, Tony was drawing all over Mom’s most precious statues that had been with her family for a long long, time.

 

Evelyn

 

You see, since Evie was adopted, some kids at school assumed she had something wrong with her. But there’s nothing wrong with her. She simply had a mother who died at her birth and a father who died not long after because of heartbreak. When it was time for the Saturday shopping, Dad wasn’t home. Mom had hired a babysitter to take care of Tony and Evie. We drove up to New Jersey.

“Onions, Hattie. Help me find the onions,” Mom said. Just then, Mom’s phone beeped.

“Just a minute, Hattie,” she said. She answered the phone, then she began walking frantically.

“Mom! Watch it!” I shouted. Too late. She slipped on a loose piece of cabbage. She fell backwards. I pursed my lips to hide my laughter. But I couldn’t hold it. I burst out laughing. People stared. Finally, an employee helped her up.

“Young lady! In the car now!” she shouted. People looked at her. She blushed, then stomped out the door. I raced after her.

“Mom! I warned you!”

“Hurry up, Hattie!” she answered. What was she so mad about? I asked.

“We didn’t get the onions or anything else!” I said.

“I don’t care. Evie and Tony are stuck in the bathroom, and the babysitter can’t find the key. They’ve been stuck in that bathroom for hours!” she nearly shouted. I sighed with relief. It wasn’t about slipping on cabbage after all. But I knew my mother didn’t feel relief. She stormed into the house and unlocked the bathroom door. I followed her.

“Ah!!” Mom screamed. She fainted. Right on the spot. I looked inside and burst out laughing. My brother was drawing on my sister — with Sharpie.

“See, see,” he said. “Tiger!”

And that is how we learned never to leave the children with that babysitter.

 

Tony

 

“Down the hatch!” I whispered.

Evie slurped down half of the pea-flavored baby food, then spit out the other half of it. I sighed. Feeding Evie took long. Way too long. Evie would always eat half of the spoon then spit the other half out. Tony walked in.

“Hey, Hatt,” he said.

“Who’s Hatt?” I asked even though I knew who he was talking about.

“You!” he laughed like crazy.

“Ooo!” Evie said spitting half of the half baby food over the side of the highchair, then spitting the other half of the half onto me.

“Cool!” Tony shouted. “Food fight!” he screamed. He began looking through the fridge and finally grabbed Evie’s leftover yucky mucky spinach baby food. He poured some over me and some over Evie. I screamed. Now I was covered with yucky mucky half spinach and half pea baby food. Evie started crying. Satisfied, Tony poured the rest of the spinach baby food onto his own head.

“Stop that, young man! Stop that right now!” I screamed.  

Suddenly, Mom bursted in.

What is going on!” she shouted.

I pointed to Tony.

“TONY!” she screamed. “I am disgusted by you!”

“I tried to stop it,” I said.

Suddenly, Evie vomited all over Mom, who was standing in front of the highchair.

“Who’s disgusted now?” Tony said, shielding his eyes.

“Young man!” Mom screamed. “Time-out now!”

 

Mom (Carrie Roxanne’s POV)

 

“Mom! Come quick!” Hattie shouted.

“It wasn’t my fault, Mom!” Tony shouted back.

“Caroline! You didn’t forget the cabbage, did you?” Oren, my husband shouted.

“Ma… ma,” Evie said softly.

Sometimes, I feel like everything depends on me. I feel like if I wasn’t there, the whole house would fall apart. Sometimes, I feel jealous that Oren does not have to spend time caring for the kids.

First of all, I’m Caroline (Carrie) Becker Roxanne, Harriet, Tony, and Evelyn’s mom. Sometimes I don’t even know if I should have even adopted Evie. In fact, that’s an interesting story…

I was with Oren, visiting my friend Isabel, who was adopting a baby. I overheard the nurses talking about an orphan. I heard this baby was very sweet and intelligent, that was already making noises — noises that sounded like words. I thought, I have got to see this baby. I told Oren my thoughts. And the next thing I know, I’m staring at a baby who’s 6 pounds, 18 inches. Her big blue eyes stare back at me, her hand is curling around my finger. Less than a week old, and in good health and shape, and unnamed, one of the nurses say. Somehow, I know I’m going to see this baby again. The moment I saw her, I fell in love with her. The adoption papers took five months, but I was right. I did see that baby again — and I see her every day. So, who is that baby? That’s right! She’s Evelyn Williams Roxanne, the same baby I saw in that adoption shelter months ago. So every time I’m boiling mad at my family, I try to think of the four happiest days of my life — the day I got married, the day I had Harriet, the day I had Tony, and the day I brought Evelyn home.

I try to keep my temper when — for example — Oren goes on a boy trip with his friends. Why? Because it’s all worth it — adopting and giving birth to my three children, and my wedding.

 

Grandfather Crazy

Harriet Roxanne’s POV

 

Mom invited my favorite Auntie, Isabel, her son Bryan, grandmama and grandfather, and granny and grandpa, and some of Mom and Dad’s friends for a Christmas get together. I loved my new bottle green velvet dress that matched with Mom’s. I wasn’t too happy about Grandmama and grandfather coming though. Grandmama and Grandfather were on Mom’s side of the family. Grandfather cared a lot about manners. And when I say a lot, I mean we have to call him Sir instead of Grandfather. We had to walk properly, sit properly, get excused properly, and many more. He expected all women to be housewives, and all men to serve in the army. Grandfather “the Sir” and Grandmamma arrived first, as always.

“Straighten your back, young lady,” he said.

“Yes sir,” I said quietly.

“Huh?” Grandfather said.

“Yes sir!” I said. Grandfather was hard of hearing and seeing. Auntie Isabel and Bryan arrived next. They dumped presents in our hands and gave us a warm greeting.

“How’s my favorite girl?” she said, hugging me. She always held that soft, perfume smell that only Auntie Isabel had. Granny and Grandpa came. Then other people I didn’t really know. Yum, pie, I thought, as mom unloaded bags of food. Just then,the pie dropped. As Mom bent down to pick it up in, “The sir” came. He spanked Mom hard on the butt, in front of everyone, and her dress flipped up, revealing underwear with a hole in one of the buttcheek parts. The crowd gasped.

“How many times, Hattie, have I told you not to bend down like that?” The sir said to Mom.

What? I thought. I was right here! Wait a minute. Grandfather thought I was Mom!

“Sir, I’m right here!” I said.

Mom screamed. Loud. One by one, the guests left.

 

Oren Roxanne’s POV

 

Sometimes I feel bad for Carrie, staying in the house and caring for the children. I don’t know. Want to know my secret? I’ve been out dating with another woman, Suzanne. I feel like Carrie and I don’t share the same interests anymore. We don’t really talk anymore. There’s been issues. My boss gets mad at me because because I drink and smoke (I didn’t tell my family yet) and, I really love Suzanne. It’s getting serious now. I want her as a spouse instead of Carrie. I want a divorce. No one can stop us. I want a fresh family. The day I said that to Carrie, she fell apart.

 

Mom (Carrie Becker Roxanne’s POV)

 

I felt like a part of me had died when Oren told me he demanded a divorce. I felt like my heart was broken in half when I found out he was marrying another person, and especially Suzanne Marinata. The day I broke the news to Harriet, she sobbed. Sounds came out of her. Groaning. She was clutching her chest. I cried with her.

“Will we still live here?” she asked.

“We’ll figure something out,” I told her.

“Send that woman away!” She sobbed. “It was all her fault!” she screamed. “I hate Suzanne!”

 

Five months later…

 

The divorce wasn’t final yet, but Suzanne moved in, and the children and I moved in with my parents. I worked full time as a nurse. We split the money. I was tired.

“This is not you, you were made to be mine,” I told him desperately. I found out Suzanne was pretty nice, but I knew Oren was supposed to be mine.

 

Harriet’s POV

 

I don’t know how I feel sometimes. Like, one minute I’m washing the dishes, doing nothing, and the next minute I feel like I’m going to melt. Everything’s changed. I feel like my dad doesn’t love me anymore, even though Mom has told me they both still love me, and this has nothing to do with me. Tony’s changed too. He’s more quiet. More serious, too. He’s becoming a shy, hazel-eyed boy. I feel like everyone’s ageing.

 

Caroline Becker Roxanne’s POV

 

One morning, I heard knocking at the door. I looked through the peephole, and that’s when I saw — Oren.

“Go away,” I said.

“Caroline, please,” he said.

“I’m going to shatter to pieces if you argue with me. If I hear one insulting word, I will shatter. Please don’t,” I say. “For the sake of the children.” I turned away.

“I’ve come to say — ” he sputtered.

“No. please don’t talk,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” he said. I opened the door. I sobbed. He hugged me.

“What happened to Suzanne?” I asked.

“She’s not my woman. My woman is in front of me,” he whispers. I sobbed harder.

“Does this mean… ” I started.

“Yes,” he said.

“I’ll only move in you stop drinking and smoking,” I whispered. We laughed together. He hugged me tighter.

“Where’s your ring, Carrie?” I ran upstairs. He placed the ring on my finger. I laughed, then sobbed. We stood there, cuddling for hours.

 

Cow

 

BOOK 1: COW VS. SUN

Once upon a time there was a cow named Cow. She loved flowers, but there was no water. It was so hot that the water evaporated. Plants were dying. Flowers were melting. The cow was moaning, sobbing. She tried to sob over the plants, but it evaporated. Her sobs were the only thing stopping her from melting. The tears evaporated off of her cheeks. She was so sad that she went to her house. She is a cow, so of course she lives in a big house all by herself. She went to the first faucet she found to get tap water for the plants. She filled a Swell water bottle because it keeps things cold. She only needed one. Then, she went outside and this time put the Swell water bottle right over the plant so that it wouldn’t be possible for the water to evaporate.

She took the cap off and shoved it down as fast as she could. The little plants started to grow! Tulips and sunflowers started to grow. Then, all of a sudden, they died. The sun was too hot, so they shriveled up and died. So, Cow tried to build a rocket to put water on the sun. This time she used at least fifteen Swell water bottles because the sun is so big.

She knocked her house down because her house was made out of metal. She started building the rocket. First the base, next the engine which takes a long time. Then the control panel, which was also metal. She named all the buttons: launch, start, release, anti-gravity, and emergency exit. She also needed to build a spacesuit. Cow went back to the dead plants and smashed them all together into a clothing material. She put it all over her body as a spacesuit. For the helmet, she emptied her dead fish’s bowl and put it over her head. She got a knife and cut a little hole through the back for the oxygen. For the oxygen pack, she grabbed a really big soda bottle and breathed into it, blowing it up like a balloon until it was completely full. She quickly put the top back on and quickly put a hole through and fed the tube through.

Now she needed to get fuel. She grabbed soil and squeezed all of the juices out of it. She used another soda bottle to catch all of the juice. Since soil is fuel for plants, Cow hoped that it would also work as fuel for the rocket! Once the bottle was filled with the soil juice fuel, she put it into the rocket. As the final touch, Cow moved her couch into the rocket as the seat.

She said to herself, “Three, two, one… blast off!”

The blast off looked like a giant explosion. Through a cloud of smoke, the rocket shot up into space! Cow was hoping it would work because of the fuel, and now it was! But Cow was worried because she couldn’t get in the rocket. It was too small for a cow! Her butt was sticking out of the front of the ship. She got into space and tried to turn the rocket by moving her legs since she couldn’t reach the control panel. Luckily, her legs worked. She was right on top of the sun. It was hot, and she was sweating. She reached out for the Swells, but she couldn’t reach! Luckily, she threw them in before she got in the rocket, so they were all there.

Out of nowhere, the Milky Way caught them! All of the Swells started rolling towards the Milky Way. The next day, they got right back on top of the sun. Cow grabbed the first Swell water bottle and poured it.

“Where did all of my other water bottles go?” Cow asked herself. “Oh right! I drank them.”

So then, Cow started slapping herself to make herself cry. She cried so much that a big glop of water just went rolling down, slowly because of anti-gravity. It got on the sun and covered the sun whole! It worked!

But the tears turned the sun into not the sun… it turned into a giant glop of water! Cow went back to Earth, barely missing the plants because of her legs. She landed right where her house used to be, next to her garden. For some reason, it wasn’t hot anymore. It was cold and rainy.

“Oh no!” said Cow. “A new problem, for me this time! For me and the plants this time!”

 

BOOK 2: COW VS. WATER

It was raining, pouring all over Cow and her rocket.

“I have to fix this! But the problem is that fire can’t go in space I don’t think!” Cow said to herself. “But maybe I could bring the rocket and not release the rocket until I get to the sun and not light it up as much as it used to be, that way it’s mostly sun, but still water because water is still good for the plants.”

Cow hoped this plan would work. She got right back in the rocket, but first she needed more fuel. She squeezed some more soil into the fuel bottle. She didn’t get any Swell bottles this time, instead she went right to the spaceship, filled the ship and got right into space. The vast cloud of smoke came again, right under the rocket.

Still sticking out of the rocket, but this time with her head, she thought to herself, Maybe I should lose some weight…

But there was no time for losing weight now, though! Cow had to save the planet. So then, once she got back in space, Cow got right up to the sun, well the water sun, and grabbed the light torch. She emptied the water off the the sun and evaporated all of the water that she could see by setting it on fire with the torch.

“Half fire, half water!” Cow went right back down to Earth.

Then, all of a sudden, it started raining again!

“Ah, crud!” Cow said. “Well, I need a new plan.”

Cow spent a few days trying to come up with a new plan while floating in an eight foot pool of water. The Earth was flooding.

“Maybe it would be better if we just didn’t have a sun at all!” Cow swam to the flooded supermarket, and nobody was there. She had her spacesuit on, so she could still breathe under the water. She went to aisle six, where all of the explosives are like fireworks, TNT and grenades, and took the TNT since nobody else was there. She swam back to her rocket (which was now her home) and after all of that wait, she now could kind of fit because what was there to eat in a flood? It had been a few days. She also noticed that she hadn’t dranken in two days too! She drank a big gulp of water. Oh no, now she couldn’t fit again!

Cow went back into the rocket, and luckily she already had fuel ready for the trip back to space. The rocket was now kind of flooded, and she said to herself for the second time, “Three, two one… blast off!!” The big puff of smoke didn’t appear for some reason. It went into the water, and the water started turning gray! It was getting polluted.

“We have to do this quick!” she said to herself.

She got near the sun when one one hundredth of the planet was covered with polluted water. She put the TNT on the big glob of water covering the sun, but right before she could do anything…

“No!” Cow screamed. She had lost her TNT. Right before she could push it down to blow it up, the Milky Way got her!

One day later…

“Finally!” she said. She threw one of her empty Swell water bottles, and it landed directly on the TNT handles, activating the explosion! Cow heard a big boom behind her. All of a sudden, her spaceship blew up too. She was right at the edge of the explosion and was thrown back into Earth’s atmosphere. She was falling but felt like she was flying. Except she didn’t know how to fly! She took off her helmet and fell as fast as a meteor. Cow hit Earth and bounced. Her fat made her bounce. She bounced all the way back to her house!

“Oh no, this is bad,” said Cow to herself.

Now there was no sun or rain. All of the plants were going to die for forever.

 

BOOK 3: COW VS. NOTHING

It was pitch black. Nothing anymore. Cow was out of ideas. No one was here. Everybody left for flode.

“It’s all my fault,” moaned Cow. “I wish I never did anything in the first place!” She was thinking of ideas to help the world. Finally, after an hour or two, she found out the solution! A rock gave her the inspiration. It was a small rock, maybe 3×3 and gray. She thought, Maybe I could get that rock and set it on fire! It could be a new sun.

She got back into her rocket with very little fuel left and blasted off with another cloud of smoke. She couldn’t see outside. It was too dark and cloudy. Luckily she knew where she was going. After the fifth try, she got her torch and let go of the rock in space.

Shhhhhhhh. Nothing happened to the rock.

“Ugh,” said Cow. “New plan, I guess. I can’t light rocks with fire… so how can the sun be on fire?” She immediately found out why. It was because the star had ashes in it. They were all over the sun, but Cow thought that they were bumps before. But then Cow remembered that that bumps weren’t black and peely.

Then, she went straight towards the volcano in Hawaii. There was nobody around her or anywhere on the beach. They were all on the other side of the world. Cow had never been to the ocean before. Cow’s rocket landed beside the base of the volcano, and she had to climb up to the top. Thankfully it was a tourist attraction, so they had special gloves on site in order to hold onto the rock. Of course, Cow’s hands are smaller than people’s hands. While hiking up the volcano, Cow didn’t feel very well. She had heard on the news about the guy who put his hand on top of a volcano, and one of the rocks popped up and went through his hand leaving a giant hole! But Cow was too busy thinking about saving the world to be scared.

Once Cow got to the very top, she had to wait until the rocks went upwards to try to catch them. She got one on her sixth try! She still had her space helmet on, so she didn’t breathe in the poisonous gasses. She grabbed the rock and took it all the way back to her rocket. Once she got there, she grabbed the soil and filled the tank up all the way. Then, she put more oxygen into the tank and blasted off. For the sixth time, she landed where the sun used to be. But this time, no sun. She grabbed the rock and threw it off and ignited it.

Pffffftt. The sun went back, but in a smaller version of itself. It didn’t grow. Cow went back to Earth feeling excited. In a few weeks, everybody was back!

 

BOOK 4: COW VS. CHICKEN

Until, someone got mad at Cow. A chicken, to be more specific because Cow caused everything. The chicken had a perfectly good life before because he had air conditioning. Chicken lived in the a/c apartment building in the city next to where Cow’s house used to be.

When Cow landed, Chicken started saying, “Hey you! You flooded my building!”

Cow heard him and said, “Well, I was trying to save the world from melting!”

“Well, you’re the only one without a/c!” Chicken responded.

“So what?” said Cow. “What if you had to go grocery shopping, it would’ve melted on the way.”

“Fine,” said Chicken, but he didn’t really mean it.

All of a sudden, a big grumble came. The sun was gone. The rock that Cow had put in space was now tumbling into Earth’s atmosphere. It came closer and closer and hit Chicken right on the head! He went on to tell a classic story called “Chicken Little.” Chicken ran away screaming, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”

“Oh no,” said Cow. “I’ll have to find a better rock.”

Cow grabbed the rock where Chicken was once standing, and for some reason it didn’t hurt her. There was no more fire on it.

“Oh no,” said Cow. “The rock isn’t working! It only works for one week, and it’ll never go right. And in three years, all of the soil in the planet will melt and so will planet Earth.”

Cow did not have an idea. She did not know what to do other than run into the leftovers of his house and make a little shed of a room. Cow turned on the only thing to make it through the crash: The TV. Her favorite show was on: Dr. Who.

She watched episode one, and out of nowhere an alien came up. This time machine looks good… Hey! Time machine! That’s it! Cow thought. Without turning off the TV or anything, Cow threw out the remote and ran out of the shed. The moon was up in the sky. Cow started to take apart the shed and the TV and put them into a box-like-shape. She put the TV inside the box like a photobooth. The final touch was the remote: except Cow put the Triple A batteries backwards. Cow took a deep breath before turning on the TV. The screen said: Which one? Forwards or Backwards?

Cow understood that the TV was talking about time. “Phew,” said Cow.

 

BOOK 5: COW VS. SUN AGAIN

Cow pressed “backwards,” and it started spinning. The TV screen said 3… 2… 1…

But then Chicken popped in out of nowhere! “The sky is falling,” said Chicken. “Hey. What’s happening? We’re going back in time, but I don’t want to go back in time.”

“Well, too bad for you. You’re the one that popped in here,” said Cow. They heard another large pop.

And they were at the beginning of that day. “Hey Cow,” said Cow.

She said, “That’s me just before that day.”

They came out of the time machine. “We are here,” said the machine.

They started looking for Cow, well Cow did at least. Chicken was just running around and saying that the sky is going to fall. When Cow finally found her former self, she said, “Whatever you do, don’t try to help the plants from the sun.”

“Why not?” asked former Cow.

“Because everybody will hate you in the future.” Then, Cow went back into the time machine.

He heard a large pop. “Haha,” said Chicken. Cow didn’t notice that Chicken was happy.

“Why are you so happy?” asked Cow.

“Because of your little mistake,” said Chicken.

“Well, how would you’ve known that it was gonna happen?” asked Cow.

“I have this machine that allows me to control the weather. The next step is to buy a bunch of fans and T-shirt companies. I will be the richest man in the world. And then I’ll just drive up the prices of everything. Until I will become the king of the world.”

All of a sudden, Cow kicked Chicken out of the time machine and then heard a pop. After another five seconds, they heard another pop.

And then Cow said, “Don’t listen.” He saw both of the Cows talking to them. One was with Chicken, and the other was with Cow. Then, Cow pushed her former self out of the way. And she said to former former self, “Watch out, Chicken is going to take over the world.”

“Just keep going on with your life, save the plants, do whatever you can to save them.”

Former Cow heard all about Chicken. Then, Cow took Chicken back into the time machine.

They heard a pop and another pop.

Cow gave Chicken to the police. He took him straight to the police, without stopping. He gave Chicken in to the police. They decided to put him in a high security prison. Then, he told the police to take down his company.

They did so. All of a sudden, the weather turned back to normal. From there on forever.

 

The Lovely Lamb (Bugatti)

This toy is beautiful. It’s shiny, big, and expensive. I can ride up to 55 miles per hour!! It even has parking lights, and it’s like a real car but for kids to drive. It even has the lever to push and go on the road or to reverse or to park. People will eat my dust when I pull up in the driver’s seat in my ride. I can drive anybody in the front passenger seat. It has only driver and front passenger seats because it’s one of those expensive cars. I haven’t got it yet, but it’s my dream mini car. It’s so big and real that you could mistake it for a kid driving a real car, but it’s not dangerous. Even adults can comfortably drive it; that’s how big it is. My name is Uniqua, and this car is the best car you’ll ever see.

This is important because I am really wishing for it. It’s something I’ve always wanted. It’s so cool to have, and it goes really fast for a child. And it can help you for driving since it’s basically a real car. It even has a radio and a screen, like for YouTube or GPS, where usually you see the radio. It’s between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat like a regular advanced car. It’s a child’s dream car, this child’s dream car. It’s so good it’s 50,000 dollars, but that’s too much, so on my phone I have a cheaper one.

I see this item on display online. It looks so beautiful. Of course I have never tested it. First off, it’s a car, and second of all, I don’t even have it yet. Also, although I don’t have the car, by it’s looks I can just feel how shiny and smooth it is. It even has scissor doors. Scissor doors! Do you know how awesome that is! I will roam the world with that car. Ahh, now this is just my dream. I want this car… wait hold up, actually not even want, I need this car. Ooooooo look at this beaut. Don’t you just love this. Now I’m going to plead with my mom and persuade her to get this car because I must have it. I go home.

“Good afternoon, Mother. Can I get you anything to drink?”

I think, This car is gonna be mine. Haha. All I have to do is be respectful. I plot as I give my mother water. (Mother looks confused since I am disrespectful to everyone, but I am the youngest in the house.)

I hum, “Mm, hhm, mhmm. Mommy, can I please get this Mini Veyron for kids!”

“Haha,” Mom chuckles. “I will get that for you when you go to college.”

“But Moooom, this is for children. How would you feel if you needed something and then you didn’t get it, but you would rejoice if you did get it, right?” (Mom stays silent.) Grr, of course pathos didn’t work. She is heartless. It is time for logos and ethos. “Mom, don’t you know how well I’ve been doing in school? And you still owe me a trip to Taco Bell.”

“Fine. Since you won’t shut up, I will get it.”

 

Three months later…

 

Ding-dong!!!

“AHHHHHHH!!! THE CAR IS FINALLY HERE!!!”

(I open the door and hug the mailman, then snatch the car keys.) Finally, finally, I open the door to my new car.

Ooooooooo it’s beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I will cherish it forever. (But that’s only what I thought.) I decide to speak to it, and so I go to the road to drive it. Vroom. Wow, it even starts like a real car, but it wasn’t my car. As I get ready to drive, a Mercedes-Benz crushes me and the car together. The driver calls for help. Whoop, whoop go the sirens as I am rushed to the hospital. While at the hospital, I am put on a monitor. I’m not looking too good. I literally looked crushed. I am badly hurt and look horrible.

 

One day later…

 

Uniqua is in a dark and grassy cemetery. She is lifeless, doing nothing with her arms crossed around her chest. Uniqua is thinking about nothing because she is limp and lifeless. She can’t see anything because her eyes are shut completely and forever in a casket. If she could see, which she can’t, she would see a soft and white blanket sewed on the inside of the casket. Unless Uniqua resurrects or reincarnates, she will never see what that casket looks like. Uniqua’s family was able to set up a GoFundMe account that afforded them the ability to give Uniqua a beautiful funeral service.

 

THE END

(LITERALLY)

 

The Best of Friends

As I slept in my comfortable bed, I did not know my life would change forever. I jumped out of bed when I heard a loud rarrr-ing over our small town. And like the other kids in the orphanage, I ran to the window. A dragon shining in the moonlight was asking where a girl was called Liriel. Then, I realized that he was looking for me. I was desperate to save my town, thinking that the dragon would destroy my town in anger, so I had a weird moment when I was super strong and ripped one of the bed posts of my bed off and smashed the double layer window with it.

 

Then I jumped, landing on the hard ground covered in soft, pointy grass. I shook off the pain at the point of crying because of the pain and threw the part of my bed on the swings that were right next to me. I climbed the short three-foot fence and ran across the street to the dragon. He was super big and red and had big, cute light blue eyes. His nose, horn, and tips of his fingers were black as midnight, and in his nose there was a little fire producing a small light.

 

I screamed, “O mighty dragon, my name is Liriel. I am the girl you were looking for. Take me as a sacrifice for my town.”

 

“I’m not going to destroy your town,” he said. “I heard you crying in the morning. I want to know why. I’m going to bring you to my town. Can you please get in my fluffy bag? It has a couch in it, if you wanted to know.”

The dragon held open his bag, and I jumped in. The bag was soft and comfortable and so was the couch. As the dragon took off, he asked me in a very deep voice, “Why were you crying in the morning?”

 

I answered, “In the orphanage… ”

 

“Wait, you lived in an orphanage?” the dragon asked.

 

I responded, “Yes. They beat the kids there, and I was severely beaten this morning for not putting my dish into the sink after I ate. I had put it on the counter next to the sink because the sink was full.”

 

The dragon asked, “Who hit you?”

 

“We call them beaters. All of the bedrooms, the front yard, the backyard, the kitchen — they all have a phone, so someone can call the beaters. When they’re called, they come to beat you. Today, they hit me so hard in the back with a baseball bat that I have a huge bruise.”

 

As I said that, I put my head over the edge of the bag and saw a small town. I asked the dragon, “Why is that town there?”

 

“I save people from horrible places for a living. Then when they are ready for a new family and life, I put them in the village. I save everyone. We are home!!” responded the dragon as I felt the bag softly hit the ground.

 

“Can I please get out?”

 

“Yes. Also, you can go on my shoulder and fly around.”

 

“Thank you,” I said as I jumped on the dragon.

 

Later, we went back to the dragon’s bag and into the dragon’s house. His house was huge, and the walls had big containers on wooden shelves. He carefully put me down on a king-size bed with soft blankets. The pillows were like little, hard clouds.

 

I asked the dragon, “Why do the pillows feel like little, hard clouds? How are the blankets so soft? Where did you get this king-size bed?”

 

The dragon responded with, “Oh, I just made the pillows, got the blankets from Walmart, and got the bed from a bed store.” Then the dragon said, “It’s kinda dark. You should get some sleep.”

 

Soon, I was snuggled into my bed, sound asleep from the comfortable softness of the bed. The next day, the sun was shining through a window right on top. I hadn’t noticed the window the night before because it was so dark outside. The light was shining off the dragon’s scales like it had the first time I saw him. But when I woke up, I felt something different. I had felt normal when I went to sleep, but when I woke up, I felt different — out of the box, not like other people. I didn’t know what had triggered that, but when I woke up, the dragon was calling my name. He made me one piece of toast and two scrambled eggs with cheese and avocado on the side.

 

While I ate, the dragon said, “Today will be the first day of school.”

 

I was so surprised by the news that I almost fell out of my chair! I was speechless. How could he set me up in the school so fast? But I couldn’t find the answer and went to get ready for school. When I got to school, kids started staring at me. I didn’t know why. Then I remembered: my hair wasn’t brushed. I ran back to my house and brushed my hair. The dragon was staring at me weirdly as I brushed my hair quickly and ran out the door. Back at school, kids called me names for some odd reason. They called me “Messy Hair.” That made me feel sad. They were making fun of me for arriving without brushing my hair. People with short hair do that all the time, but people with long hair have to brush it every day. That’s unfair!

 

I went through the day feeling sad and hanging my head down. As I got back into the dragon’s home, I saw the dragon reading some books. “Hey, dragon!” I yelled. Then, I realized that I’d never asked the dragon’s name. I yelled to the other side of the room where the dragon was sitting. “I never asked for your name. What is it?”

 

The dragon responded with, “Cornelius. My name’s Cornelius. Want to come here and tell me how your day went?”

 

So I went over there and told Cornelius about the horrible day I had. I saw that he was sad about my horrible day at school.

 

“Now you are going to be homeschooled, because of the horrible day that you had,” Cornelius said firmly.

 

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, I thought in my head.

 

Days passed with no out of the box stuff. But on the 1st of May I saw a note. It had some weird writing on it.

 

I asked, “Cornelius, what is this note?”

 

“It is a note to a wishing well to give you one wish. P.S., it has old dragon language on it, so give it to me when we leave.”

 

“Can we go now?”

 

“If you are ready for an adventure.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, let’s go,” Cornelius said as we walked out the door of his house.

 

I immediately gave the map to Cornelius, and Cornelius read, “Follow the path of something red till you find something you dread. It is a rhyme on the note. We need to find out what is the answer.”

 

“Hey, there is a path of roses over to the right of us into the wood in the direction of the town! That must be the path. And what we both dread is the orphanage, so let’s go!” I said happily.

 

We followed the rose path for ten minutes before we ended up at the orphanage. We saw a small pond with fish. Like magic, there was a small bottle with a piece of paper in it. Cornelius graved the bottle and lifted the top. There was no note, but only steam. Cornelius yelled, “I can’t see.”

 

“Me either!” I responded.

 

Soon, the thick steam went away. In Cornelius’ hand was the next note. Cornelius said, “Climb the tallest mountain you can find to find your prize. Drop it in a hole to get your next note.”

 

Cornelius and I flew around for ten minutes before we spotted the tallest mountain. It was Mount Camp. We went to the top and saw one plant of sage. Its purple flowers shone bright in the midday light. It was amazing how beautiful it was. I couldn’t believe my eyes. When Cornelius landed, I jumped off Cornelius and grabbed a handful of sage. “This must be enough!” I said. Then, we flew off to find the hole.

 

All the holes we tried throwing sage into never gave us a third clue, but when we went back to Mount Camp, we realized the hole had been next to the sage the whole time! I felt kind of stupid, but I dumped the whole handful of sage into the hole. Then, one small piece of paper popped out. I grabbed it and handed it to Cornelius. Cornelius was so excited that he almost ripped the whole piece of paper in half with his claws. Cornelius immediately started reading, “Dig five feet under the first door of the dragon’s house. You will find the next clue that will leave you dumbfounded about where you’re going.”

 

I immediately jumped on Cornelius’ back and shouted, “Let’s go home! Let’s go home!” He flew to our house. He tried to grab a shovel, but I had already started digging. Still unwilling to dig with his hands, Cornelius grabbed another shovel and started digging, too. I almost got hit a few times, but I didn’t care. I was on my way to get one wish! Five feet down, we saw a note, and Cornelius said, “In the deep forest, there is something to find in the biggest tree.”

 

“Let’s go to the forest,” I said, a little scared for my life.

 

We flew to the forest, and we had to fly past the clouds to find the biggest tree, because the type of tree was Redwood. After we flew down on a platform, and as soon as we landed, the floor fell from under us.

 

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Cornelius and I yelled.

 

Soon, we were sliding down a tube with rainbow lights passing us. Then, we smashed onto something at the end. Then I saw it was a monster, with sharp teeth like a shark. It looked like a house with eyes and a mouth. It roared so loud that it shook the room. “We have to fight it,” I said, and I jumped on Cornelius’ back. Out of thin air, he gave me a steel sword. It was shining in the light of the room.

 

Cornelius flew over the monster, and I stabbed it 10 times. It started bleeding so bad that it died of blood loss in 20 minutes. We got the note that the monster was hiding.

 

Cornelius read, “Closer you are to the well, go into the door in the tree and find the monster of air. Get the note from its palm.”

 

“Let’s go, Cornelius, to the tree with the door. And get the note! Let’s go!” I said, jumping up and down on Cornelius’ back.

 

As we flew around the forest looking for the tree with the door in it, I realized, “Oh, it must be in the trunk, not in the trees!”


After five minutes of walking around the forest, we found the tree with the door in it. It was wide and brown and looked almost exactly like the tree trunk. We went into a super dark room. The only thing I could see was my dragon with his light in his nose. Cornelius had night vision. He saw some torches and lit them with his fire breath. I hadn’t known he had fire breath till now. I stared at him like he’d just done a flip. I was very surprised!

 

Then, I heard something rustling. Something walked in the room, and I felt an eerie presence on the other side of the room, but I did not dare to look there. When I did, I saw the silhouette of the monster of air and a note in his grip. I pulled out my steel sword, getting ready to fight. I jumped on Cornelius’ back, and he blew some fire on the monster of air. I saw the silhouette in flames. I knew this was my best chance to get the monster of air because he was visible in fire. I pulled out my steel sword and tried stabbing the monster of air. He always ducked out of the way, or tried to. I had an idea.

 

Cornelius and I went behind the monster of air to confuse him. First, I stabbed the monster of air. It turned around and saw us, so we had to go back! We went around the monster of air so many times, the monster of air fell down.

 

“This is our chance!” I jumped onto Cornelius’ back, and he flew above the monster of air.

 

I threw my sword, and Cornelius swooped down and grabbed it out of the monster of air where it had stabbed him. We did this so many times that the monster of air had ten puncture marks in his chest and stomach. The monster of air was so weak from all of his blood loss that he just gave me the note.

 

Cornelius read the note, which said, “Follow the rainbow to the pot of gold and grab one nugget.”

 

It started raining almost immediately after Cornelius said that. The rain was cold and coming down very hard. After five minutes, the rain quickly disappeared and left everything wet and soggy. I hated my hair being soggy because it stuck to my clothes and skin, but this was my chance to get one wish. After the rain disappeared, we saw one rainbow, then another and another.

 

Cornelius said, “Oh my gosh! They must be trying to trick us, so we go to the wrong one and something will happen!”

 

Cornelius started flying around the rainbows, seeing which one was the strongest to follow to the end. The first one had a puddle of green slime at the bottom. The second was the same. And the third, the fourth, the fifth!

 

But the sixth rainbow had the gold in a golden pot, so Cornelius immediately yelled, “Here’s the gold!” and flew back to me.

 

I hopped on his back and headed back to get the gold. What we did not know was that there was something in the bushes awaiting our arrival.

We flew around for five minutes trying to go to the end of the rainbow.

 

When we landed and started reaching for the gold, a hard, long stick hit Cornelius and me on our hands. Cornelius said, “Ow, that hurt!” as we both turned around to see one small leprechaun, about two feet tall, standing right next to Cornelius.

 

Cornelius was so mad that he looked like he had fire in his eyes.

 

I was scared as I heard what the leprechaun said. “You keep your dirty hands off my gold! It’s mine, not yours!”

 

I responded, “We need the gold!”

 

The leprechaun replied. “Well, why do you need the gold? It’s my gold, and if you want the gold, you’ll have to fight me.”

 

Cornelius gave me my steel sword as I hopped on his back and prepared to fight. First, the leprechaun moved, pouring hard gold on us, then making it disappear into thin air. Then, after that, Cornelius blew fire at the leprechaun, and Cornelius flew over for the leprechaun, letting me throw my sword down at him, but he blocked it with a light green shield. It started heading for me and Cornelius, but I grabbed my sword before it hit Cornelius and me. The leprechaun tried hitting me off of Cornelius to hurt me and make Cornelius fight him on his own.

 

But he failed and fell into the pot of gold. He gave up because the gold cut and weakened him, making him not be able to move. Cornelius and I pulled him out of the pot of gold and put him on the ground sofly. Cornelius and I put our hand out to grab the pot of gold, but when we touched the pot, the ground fell from under the pot, Cornelius, and me.

 

We fell straight down falling in water. The room was very dark, but the only light was the light of the wishing well. Cornelius and I grabbed the pot of gold and moved it next to the well. Cornelius and I grabbed one piece of gold. I thought of what I wanted for a wish. And something crossed my mind. It was, You are not normal. Wish to be normal. You must be normal to go to normal school!!

 

The voice was right. I wasn’t normal, so I threw in the gold and said, “I wish to be normal.”

 

Then, I heard a small splash, and there was a deep voice that made the room shake.

 

It said, “You can’t be normal. No one can be normal. Everyone is different.”

 

Then, the piece of gold came out of the well.

 

I threw the gold back down and said, “Well, if I can’t be normal, I want to not be bullied in school.”

 

“Your wish is granted,” said the voice.

 

I said to Cornelius, “I can go to normal school!!! YESSS!!!”

 

Cornelius said, “Let’s go home,” sadly, with a tear running down his hard, scaly cheeks.

 

“I must have made him sad by saying, ‘I can go to normal school!!! YESSS!!!’” Then, I had made my mind up. I would stay with Cornelius as my teacher, since he came all this way for me.

 

“I’m sorry that I said, ‘I can go to normal school!!! YESSS!!!’ You’re the best at teaching,” I said as we flew into the sunset.

 

THE END

 

The Magic Apple

 

Hello, my name is John. I was a slave from 1710, I think. So, I’m going to tell you a story about my slave life.

 

When I was six, I got separated from my family. People took me and my parents away from Africa. For the next seven years, we had been working and working, treated like peasants.

 

One day, I heard our guard, Mr. Simpoop, saying that there was a myth that there was an apple in a cave that could cure any sickness. Thousands of people had tried to get it, and no one had come back. I heard they were getting some soldiers to go inside the cave to get the apple. Our guard was cracking up when he heard that.

 

“Ha ha ha ha. Yeah right, there’s some magical apple in a cave. Hahah ha ha ha. Oh my god. Nice joke, but it can’t fool me. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”

 

“Okay, whatever you say, Mr. Simpoop.”

 

Then, the guy left. In my head, I kind of wanted to do it. Get freedom. He would never let me though. I guess I would never try to do it.

 

When I went to bed, I had a dream.

 

I was working, and a voice told me, “Go get it. You are the chosen one. Wake up and leave.”

 

Suddenly I woke up, and I was not sure how, but I knew where to go. I left the house and went into this run down wooden shack. I saw a sword and took it. Suddenly, the ground disappeared, and I fell into a hole. There was a cave. I took out my sword and walked slowly down the cave. I did think that it would be very dark inside the cave, but it was really red, and it kind of had the feeling like it was evil. Suddenly, a rock fell behind me, and I knew I could not leave yet. This would be a big adventure.

 

I continued walking and realized I was being watched, but I didn’t know where. I continued, and I saw light. I felt like I had not seen light in years, even though that was not true. For a moment, I thought that I had found the apple, like I was done with the mission. But I had a feeling that this was only the beginning. Once I got to the light, it had disappeared. And I heard a laugh but not some ordinary laugh — an evil laugh, very evil, and it was coming from on top of me. So I went up the stairs, and it was still laughing, but there was no one there. Then, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around, and there was a man but not some ordinary man. He was not a human. He was like a monster but in a human form. He had an evil smile. I swung my sword at him, and I could not move. I was stuck. I tried to swing at him with my sword, but it would not let me. I felt numb and lost consciousness.

 

Then, I woke up in a large cage filled with white people. They were all staring at me. I thought that these were the people who tried to get the apple but never came back. Most of them were dead. Everyone else was very, very tired. I had to figure out how to escape while I still had the energy. I was feeling sleepy. I looked around to see if the monster guy was there. I didn’t see him, but I felt like he was always watching. I looked around for my sword and realized he had taken it. But I saw one man who was looking at me, smiling, but not an evil smile — a nice smile.

 

Then, he said, “Hello, who are you?”

 

I did not know what to say because, well, I was a slave. And he was not a slave. He looked poor though. So, I told him that I was a slave and my whole story. I tried to hit the metal bars, but nothing happened. I looked in the pockets of the other people and found a penny. I didn’t pick the lock yet because I still had a feeling that he was watching. Suddenly I felt like he had gone. I knew that this was my chance. I picked the lock on the door and left, tip-toeing. I went inside a room with my “friend,” and I found my sword. I called it Byuma, the name of our tribe.

 

Then, I heard footsteps — the same footsteps as the monster. His big and loud footsteps. He was coming! So, I quickly went under a table with my friend. The monster went right past us. I felt like he saw us, but he did not look at us or stay in the room. He left the room, and it sounded like he disappeared. But I knew not to go because he might be at the exit of the room. And I didn’t think that he would be very happy when he saw us out of our cage. I looked up and saw a paper. I was not sure what it said, but I had a feeling that it was important. I wanted to get up from under the table, but I knew that I would have to wait. So, I waited about 30 minutes then finally got up and looked at the paper: You are here to trap the mortals, you cannot leave this area, do not try to leave you will regret it. That gave me an idea! If he wasn’t able to leave, maybe the best idea was to make a run for it. Try to leave the area and run. So I told my friend the idea — I think he nodded.

 

I went and ran towards the exit, and I saw the monster behind, levitating. He was very fast, but we managed to make it out in time. Woah, that was very close. We continued running and saw a blanket with a beam of light coming out. I took the blanket off, and there was the apple. My friend was silent, and I was too. We had found the apple. We turned around and saw the monster — he was not behind us. He was still in the area we had been captured in. Suddenly, he started to levitate towards us, but the second he left the area, he disappeared. And we saw the people in the cage walking out of the cage, and they were all energetic (except for the dead ones — they were really dead).

 

We all poured out of the cave, and everyone ran home. When I showed my owner the apple, I used it to heal his wife who was sick. After that, Mr. Simpoop gave us freedom. So, you would think this would be the end of the story. But you’re wrong. There were still some people that wanted this apple. The story is far from done. So, I’ll continue. So, I did get the apple, but that did not make a difference. I was free, but I had no house, no food, and people still tried to take it from me. I just wished I was still in Africa with my tribe, Byuma. Man, I really wanted to see my grandpa and grandma. Suddenly, five men came up with bats. They were big, tough-looking bullies. I started running and not surprisingly, they followed me. They were very fast. After five minutes of running, they stopped. They were cursing at me like crazy. I continued running and hid inside an alleyway. I thought I was safe. I was, for now.

 

But one day later, I was not. I went to bed inside this alleyway. And I woke up early. I didn’t know the time, but I could tell it was early. There was barely any sun. The wind howled like there were thousands of owls. But no other noises. So, I walked out of the alleyway thinking, What I should do with my life. How would I get back to Africa? Where should I eat? I had no money, no anything. I was so hungry. Suddenly, I realized that I had the apple. It was magic. Maybe it could cure my hunger. So, I had a bite of it, and I had no words. It tasted so good. And I wasn’t hungry at all. Maybe I could live with this apple: it regenerated each bite. I continued walking around the city, looking for anything I could do. Then, I thought about how I could get home. I just needed a boat. The problem was I did not know which way was east and which way was west. Could the magic apple do more than I thought?

 

I tried asking it how to get home, and I heard a voice saying, “Left, my friend. Left.”

 

Did that mean I had to go to the left? Since I didn’t have anything else to do, I went to the left. Was there a boat waiting for me? Was it an even bigger surprise? There was only one way to find out. I continued walking for about 30 minutes until I found a horse with someone on it. At this time, I was surprised someone else was awake. Maybe that was why she was telling me to go to the left. The person told me to get on the horse. So, I went on, and the guy hit me with a bat. And the horse ran off with me. Later, I woke up in a cage. Oh god, not again. The guys looked like bandits. They had tons of money on a table. And there was no one else in this cage. I nothing to do. The apple told me the wrong thing.

 

Then, I heard the a voice saying, “Do not worry. This was planned.”

 

I thought, What? Planned? But I didn’t say anything.

 

“Turn around, and you will be free. I must go now. Good luck.”

 

I turned around, and I saw my friend, the one I met while doing the apple quest. He took off his mask, and he was black. He was a slave undercover to get the apple. It all made sense now. He gave me a drink. So, I had it, and I felt weird.

 

Then he said, “Follow me.”

 

And he walked through the wall. So, I tried to copy him, and I walked right through the wall too. And when I looked, I saw a boat. He told me to go on the boat. And once I went on the boat, I was in Africa next to my tribe: Byuma. I was so happy to see my family.

 

The End

 

The Mad Story

I was on the top of my van, and I was sunbathing. Suddenly, I heard the engine start. I looked down and saw a man, who had stolen my keys with a fishing rod, driving the van! I hung on the van and was so scared! I could die! The man was driving to a place where I saw many cars with water dripping all over them. They had men scrubbing them all over, and there was a place where I saw huge, scrubby soapy things all around with zero degree water. The man headed right there. It was so cold and scary he forced me to go there and give him my wallet and credit card, and he stole my car. I ran to my house and called 911.

I said, “Someone stole my keys with a fishing rod, stole my van, and my wallet, by forcing me in a car wash!”

The police officer just laughed. “Ha ha ha, ya weakling. They stole all of that by making you go into a car wash?! Think I’m gonna fall for that one, no way! Yer under arrest for three days for wasting my time!”

I ran from my house, saw a stranger on the street, and asked him if he saw a man riding in a van holding a fishing rod around here.

He said, “Yeah, I saw him. He told me he was going to Canada. Then, he stole my wallet! I’m going to get my car and chase him!”

I told him about what he did to me and how much I wanted my revenge. I asked the man, whose name was Bob, if he knew about the man.

Bob said, “Yes.” He said that the man was part of a gang. He also said that the man’s name was Olaf. When I asked him Olaf’s last name, he said it was Olaf. The name Olaf Olaf sounded very familiar to me. When I thought back to my dead family, it came to me! Olaf Olaf was the name of the man who had murdered my family! He was sent to jail, and he must have escaped.

When I told this to Bob, he didn’t sound so surprised. He told me he heard the news years back. We came up with a plan to track Olaf down, capture him, then turn him to the police. At that moment, we heard a police siren, and I told Bob to drive away together. We got away, but we were still on a police chase. Unfortunately, we came to a dead end. Bob and I were caught by the police and sentenced two weeks in jail, for running away from the police. I thought about Olaf committing more and more crimes. We were in our cell. It was hopeless. Life was gone. We grew beards, marked our days. For two days, we slept. All we ate was french fries. One day, we heard a blast in the wall.

“Blimey, what happened,” an officer said.

“Let’s get em, bub!” another said.

“CHARGE!!!” all of them said.

All of the officers charged, and criminals who had exploded the wall put down a gas bomb. Boom!!!

All the officers laid down on the floor. The criminals freed all the criminals, including me and Bob. We ran from the hotel, took one of the police cars, and drove to Canada.

“Wow,” I said to Bob.

“That was lucky,” he said to me.

As we drove all the way to Canada, we stopped somewhere to eat. While we were eating, we were watching the news.

Some news reporter said, “A man named Olaf Olaf has robbed the bank, and the police have currently been trying to track him down. There has also been another crime at a jail, too. A bunch o’ robbers broke into a jail and freed all the prisoners. Police have also been trying to track em down.”

“We gotta leave,” I said.

“Yeah,” Bob said.

We got back in the car and continued driving to Canada. We heard that Olaf Olaf was headed to Mount Robson, for no apparent reason. When we were driving, we saw a speeding vehicle ahead of us. When we looked who was inside of it, we saw Olaf driving my van! When we looked behind him, we saw more cars speeding behind him. Those must be the members of his gang, I thought. When we looked behind the gang member’s car’s, we saw the police.

“Hey, those were some of the other people who escaped from jail!”

“Let’s get ‘em too!!!”

“Oh no,” I said to Bob.

“What should we do?” he asked me.

Go!!!” I shouted.

We sped past the police and past the cars in front of us. We went as fast as we would go. I wondered how we would get Olaf in jail, also with proving our innocence. When we lined up with my own van, (which Olaf was driving) he yelled at me.

“Yer never gonna catch me!!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

We directly aligned with the van, then I got my fishing rod and tried to get his/my keys. Unfortunately, I am not an experienced fisher, so when I tried to get his keys, I missed and got some hair. Then when I went for my wallet, I got it! When I got my fishing rod back up to my car, I opened my wallet, and it was empty!!!

I yelled at Olaf and said, “How is it empty!!!”

“I tricked you!!! That was a fake!!! Hahaha!!!” He shouted at me when he pulled out my real wallet. “You are so easy to trick!!!”

I growled at him with anger. I asked Bob if he wanted his revenge, and he told me that he did. If only I could have gotten those keys. I would’ve stopped the van, turned him over, explained our innocence, and gotten our money back. Olaf Olaf would pay for what he did. I thought back and remembered my last moment with my parents. I told them that I would be going to work, and then they died.

Bob and I kept thinking to come up with a plan to steal Olaf’s/my keys. We took a detour, to make the police stop following us and also to discuss our ideas. We stopped in a closed area, where the police would never find us. We made ourselves a sandwich, with some ingredients we found from the mall.

When we discussed our ideas, we finally came up with a plan: Bob would go and somehow distract the gang members of Olaf, while I would go and try to get the keys. I needed the police to keep Olaf distracted. Maybe I could sneak up on the top of the van and somehow steal the keys. I told this to Bob, and he said that it would not work. I told him that we should give it a try. He said okay. So we tried it.

We went on the path to Mount Robson. We drove and drove, until we came across Olaf’s gang. We came next to them, and Bob set out to distract Olaf’s gang. I auto drove my car and put my hands on the van. I thought about how much I needed the keys and the money. If I didn’t get that money, I would be considered a failure. I swung my legs over, put them on the top of the van, and grabbed the top of the van. I was on! I held on the top of the van for life. When the van was driving, it hit a bump. I flew off the top, only holding on with a finger. Bob had stopped his car, so I had to get back on the top of the van. I put my foot on a ledge of the van, grabbed the top, and swung myself over again. I grabbed my fishing rod with my hand and held on the van with one hand. I put the rod on top of the hole on the roof. I pressed the button, and the cord fell. Through the hole, inside the van, and next to the keys. I moved the rod, and it hooked on the keys. I let go of the van, got the keys, and flew completely off the van. I landed surprisingly unhurt on one of the other cars in Olaf’s gang with the keys in my hand! Thankfully, none of the cars had mirrors, so they didn’t notice me. I quickly stopped Olaf’s car and locked his doors.

People in his gang behind him quickly stopped, and the police caught up with them surrounded their car and said, “Yer under arrest, Bub.”

“They stole our car, stole our wallets, killed my family, and tried to get away with it. We are innocent. Don’t arrest us,” said Bob and I.

“Fine, I believe yer junk,” an officer said

“I’m coming for you!!!” Olaf Olaf shouted.

“You will pay for your crimes, Olaf,” I told him.

In the end, Olaf and his gang were arrested, and Bob and I got our money back. We got back to our houses, I got to use my own van. In the end I learned a valuable lesson: never sunbathe on the top of your van.

 

Soccer

Kevin was a nine-year-old soccer player from the USA. His dream was to win the World Cup. Right now, he played on a Little League team called Simply Sports FC. He played striker. He won the State Cup Finals, and he was now in Red Bulls Academy. His best friend, Shane, was also in the Red Bulls Academy. Shane was his strike partner. Shane hung out with him a lot, and they both made the USA U-Thirteen team, and they won under 13 Olympics.

On his 18th birthday, the USA team called him up for the World Cup team.

He screamed, “Best present ever!”

Shane, who also had the same phone, the iPhone X, was called right after that to also be in the World Cup with the USA.

They both went to each other and said, “Guess what just happened?” at the same time.

And both said at the same time, “I’m in the World Cup for USA!”

They said, “That’s what I was gonna say!”

Once they got to training, meeting all these famous players, like Pulisic and Tim Howard, would be hard. But once the real training started, they felt fine. They had all the skills to match the other players. When it came to shooting drills, the only person who could get the ball past Tim Howard was Pulisic. Their best achievement was scoring at least one goal on Howard.

The team was so good that they qualified for the World Cup! They had to play Messi, the great Ronaldo, Pogba, Griezmann, and David de Gea. So far, Kevin and Shane were doing well. They had three goals, and they were feeling great. USA was undefeated because of the “Stonewall,” Tim Howard. When they made it to the semi-finals, their match against Germany would be really hard because they would play against the “Keeper Sweeper,” Manuel Neuer. But they managed to score a few goals and win 3-1. When they made it to the finals, they had to play the hardest opponent, England, and they won. The score was 2-2 USA. Kevin scored once, and Shane did too. It was a really close match. When Kane scored two for England, the US team got nervous.

When it was overtime, both teams scored one goal, Kevin for USA and Sterling scored for England. It went all the way to penalties, and it was down to Kevin to make the winning kick for the USA. He was feeling so nervous. He made his run up short and smashed the ball into the top right corner of the goal. England’s goalie dove to the bottom left. He was so happy that they had won the World Cup finals. When he scored, he screamed, “Yes!” He did it. He finally won the World Cup.

THE END

 

Bob and Bobby the Weirdos

One day Bob woke up and went to the bathroom, so he could brush his teeth. When he finished brushing, his mom called him for breakfast. It was eggs breakfast. When Bob looked at the news, he saw that a bank was robbed. When he finished his breakfast, he went to his friend Bobby’s house to tell him what happened and asked him to help him find the robber.

Bobby said, “Sure.”

So, they took Bobby’s dad’s car and drove it without a driver’s license. They had multiple crashes, but they ended up where they wanted to be, with twenty-seven scratches. They arrived in twenty days because they crashed twenty-seven times, but they were there. The bank was twenty miles away from Bob’s house.

“Where to?” said Bobby. “Are we gonna look for the criminal?”

“No, we’re gonna go to Wolfgang Steakhouse! I just lost my head a little bit over there,” Bob said.

“Now I think we have to head to the bank,” said Bobby.

“Yes,” said Bob. “Time to go back to my house.”

“What?” said Bobby.

“I only came here to have a good thinking spot for the plan,” said Bob.

“This is the loudest place in the town,” Bobby said. “Because there’s a lot of traffic.”

“Time to walk back to the house,” said Bob.

“You’re annoying, Bob!” Bobby told Bob as they walked towards Australia to rent a car there.

They put the car in a plane, and they got arrested because you’re not allowed to put a car in a plane. But luckily, the jail was right next to Bobby’s house. And they were happy. And sad that they wasted tons of money for two cars and a first class plane. But luckily, Bob and Bobby were going to jail next to Bobby’s house.

When Bob and Bobby arrived, they sat in the jail cell. Bobby had an idea. His idea was to steal a police officer’s clothes, and since Bob and Bobby are both nine, Bob got on top of Bobby’s shoulders because Bobby is stronger than Bob. Then, Bobby wore the police’s pants. Then, Bob wore his shirt, and they took the key out of the big police pants. Then they got out of the jail cell and walked one mile an hour out of jail. Next, they went back to Bobby’s parents’ house and stole the other car. Then, Bob asked Bobby if he got the plan.

And then, Bobby said, “Probably.”

Next, Bob said, “Good.”

And then they did as the plan said. When they got out, they went to the car. The first part was perfect, but they forgot to take off their police suit, and then fell at the front door and broke the window. Next, they took off the police suit and got the car. But the garage door closed behind them, so when they got in the car, they started driving and smashed into the garage door and drove through it. The car’s lamps broke severely. And by accident they drove to New Zealand. When they realized that they were in New Zealand, they actually drove to the bank. Then, they saw the robber and a Wolfgang restaurant. But instead they went to the Wolfgang restaurant And Bobby went mad and ran all the way back to his own house. Bob was wishing for that to happen.

Bob was very happy. Now he could have steak without a non stop talker with very bad temper.

“Sir! Sir! Sir!!!” It was the waiter asking for the order, and Bob was daydreaming. Bobby was right next to Bob shaking him to wake him up.

“Cghdyetrpon?” said Bob.

“May I take your order?” said the waiter.

“Huh,” said Bob. “Me want steek.”

“One steek coming up,” said the waiter.

“No!” said Bob. “I want my food to come down, not up!”

“Okay okay okay,” said the waiter.

Thirty minutes later, the food came and the food was soup. But it was supposed to be steak.

Bob was sleeping, so he said, “Steek.” On the menu there was steek soup, so they thought that he wanted soup. Then, Bob sued the waiter immediately and walked out with a one hundred dollar bill.

He tried to be generous to the other tables that sat there and didn’t do anything, so he left the bill there. Then, the waiter took the bill back. Then, Bob and Bobby left and sat inside of the car. Bob turned on the wheel, and they started for home. They got into twenty-five car crashes, and then Bobby called Bob so forgetful because they forgot to stop the robber. Then, they took the same car they crashed and went slower than walking speed. They arrived with zero crashes because they were going so slow. Then when they arrived at the bank, they saw footsteps going one way. It was a fork in the road, so they chose to follow the footsteps. But the robber had put the footsteps there, so they would follow that path.

“This can only mean one thing,” Bob said. “We go the other way.”

They walked the other way, and then they saw a fifty dollar bill on the other road. So they picked it up and walked that way because that was probably where the robber was since he dropped the money.

“At least we got half of the money back!” Bob said and he put it in the bank because the bank never moved and to return some of the money the robber stole.

Then, they continued walking on that road which led into a driveway. They didn’t notice, so they kept walking, and Bobby got hit by a car. He got a concussion and broke his back, so they had to go back home on foot.

Three months later, they arrived bruised and barely breathing. Then, they went to the hospital, and Bobby got a lot of casts and wasn’t allowed to walk for another week, but he wasn’t going to die. Bob was sad, and Bobby was happy. Bob was upset that Bobby didn’t die because Bobby didn’t behave well on their vacation. So, Bob went alone while Bobby couldn’t walk. He walked and walked and walked, but soon he figured out that he wasn’t at the bank, he was in Hawaii.

“At least it’s not as bad as when I was in Australia, but it’s still really bad,” said Bob.

When he came back to New York, he bought a car, but sadly the car shop was right next to the bank, so he wasted all his money, and now he was broke. He didn’t get a receipt, so he couldn’t return the car. At least I got a new car for the family, he thought. But he was daydreaming and crashed the car into the bank. He tried to sue the guy that sold the car, but he couldn’t because it was his own fault. So, he couldn’t sue. So, he walked into the bank through the hole he made in the wall.

He saw the broken money holders inside the bank that the robber broke open. The robbery was over a year ago, so Bob was now ten. He was smarter now, so he followed the old money path which was actually a twenty-six mile loop. So then he followed the highway.

He was going to do anything to find food. At least he found Burger King. He tried to go inside, but it was shut down. So, he had to continue his road to the robber. Bob was exhausted. He wished that he had brought Bobby with him. Then, he saw Bobby right behind him. He looked even more exhausted than him and was wearing a ripped pillow case. He said that he broke out of the hospital, and the hospital dogs attacked him. He managed to outsmart them by making them slam into a wall. But while he was doing this, he was attacked, but he ran away. So. they broke inside the Burger King and ate all their food. Then when Bobby came out, he looked at Bob.

“You’re as big as a balloon,” Bobby said.

Bob agreed and tried to run, but he toppled over. He bruised his arm. Then, Bobby saw something. It was a person in a black ski mask. It was the robber. Bobby tried to catch up to him, but the robber was too fast, and Bobby ate too much, so he toppled over too. Bob and Bobby couldn’t get up, so they had to roll wherever they went.

Finally, they got to the wall and were able to get up. Then, they both threw up and lost all their weight. They ran the way the robber went. They finally saw the robber pickpocketing someone at a five star restaurant. Bob was just about to tackle him, but the robber took the guy he stole the wallet from, so instead Bob tackled the innocent person. Bob asked him what his name was and said sorry, and then ran after the robber with Bobby. Then, they saw the police. The robber pulled Bob to the side and put his ski mask on his head and gave the money to Bob. Then, the police thought that Bob was the robber.

Then, the guy that the robber pickpocketed said, “No, it’s not Bob. It’s someone else.”

They found the robber, and luckily the police were faster than the robber, and they caught him.

“Finally! It was an exhausting year, but we finally caught him,” said Bob.

Finally, Bob got to ride in a car with a good driver, and the police didn’t let him sit in the front seat. Bob and Bobby were put into jail because they broke out last time. They were there for two months and had a great time in jail. There was Wi-Fi, so they got to do everything they wanted to do on their electronics. And the food service was much better than at Wolfgang. They didn’t deserve to be sued.

“This is perfect,” Bob told Bobby.

“Yeah,” said Bobby. “I’ve never had an experience better than this one.”

“I love jail,” said Bob. “We should ask for an extra night.”

“Yeah. But sadly my parents are screaming outside for me, so I don’t think that can happen,” said Bobby.

When the two months were over, they were released, and they both went home with their parents. But when Bob got home, it turned out that his parents were at Wolfgang, and Bob walked all the way there on his bare feet. The moment he got there, his mom spanked him so many times because he crashed their cars and the Lamborghini. They had to sell all their property for more money and gave the money to Bobby’s parents so that they could make fun for all of them. They also built a new part of Bobby’s house to make the house bigger. But sadly, there was no Wi-Fi in Bobby’s house, so they stretched the Wi-Fi closer to their house. Then, Bob and Bobby got their Xboxes and played. After five hours of screen time, they finally left the TV.

Then, they saw the robber’s son outside the door looking for his dad in jail. So, Bob and Bobby picked up the baby and walked all the way to jail and threw him into the cell with a bottle of milk. Then, they bought a toy car for their house to learn how to drive. They were no better than they were in a real car. They bumped into everything and broke a vase and turned over tables in three minutes.

“This isn’t the worst we’ve done. Remember the Lamborghini?” said Bob. “We wasted so much money.”

While they were walking home, Bob saw his new best friend on the street. Because Bobby wasn’t his friend anymore, he was his brother because they lived in the same house. Bobby asked Bob’s mom what was dinner.

Bob’s mom said, “We’re going to Wolfgang restaurant.”

Bob said, “No way, I’m never going there. I sued them.”

“Too bad,” Bob’s mom said. “But this time instead of walking, we’re going in a taxi.”

When they arrived, the same waiter they sued was serving them. Bob and Bobby ran all the way home screaming. They ran into the bathroom and locked the door. The waiter did the same thing. All the parents sued the restaurant and walked home.

Wolfgang and their home were eighteen miles apart. They were exhausted when they got home and asked Bob and Bobby how they walked almost one hundred and fifty miles nonstop.

Bob said, “You just need a person with you who always wears a ripped pillow case for a shirt.” Then, Bobby’s mom glared at him. Bob said, “Sorry.”

Then, Bobby gave him a slap on the back, and they roasted chicken wings with bbq sauce, french fries, and mashed potatoes. They had salad for an appetizer. Bob and Bobby were so hungry that they gobbled everything down at the speed of sound.

Then Bob said, “Do you think we’ll do this again?”

“I don’t know,” Bobby said, and everyone laughed.

 

Italy to New York City

Hi, my name is Sonia. I live in Italy with my mom, dad, two brothers, and sister. My family is very poor. I want to go to New York City. I’m leaving in three days with my sister. We got our passports. We have to wait three more days before we can go on the train to get to the boat. I’m nervous and excited, and I have to pack my bags. I pack bread, clothes, and a special necklace that my mom gave me. The next morning it is time to go to the train. When we got to the train, I lose my sister. I’m so mad at myself for losing my sister in the crowd.

I look outside the window and see trees and water. We are almost at the boat, the SS Norden. The train stops, and I get off the train. All I could think about is my sister. My sister is tall and looks like me. She has a black dress and a white bow. She has very long, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She is carrying a black bag. I miss her so much. I go in the boat, and it is steering. I feel sick and eat some bread. I wish I never lost my sister. I hope I find her soon. The next morning, I go up on the top of the boat, and I sit. It smells weird. I have to sleep, so I go to bed. A month passes, and we still have not gotten there yet.

But then, I see a statue. Someone is screaming, “Statue of Liberty!”

We are almost at Ellis Island. Finally, we get off the boat. We walk into a big building and go into an area that is fenced in. There are people that look over our whole body. I saw other people with marks on their coats, but I did not have one. They tell us to walk down the stairs and take us into a big room and ask us questions. They asked me what my name is, and they change my name to Sofia. I walk out of the room, and we walk into the same room we were in before. People pass ten dollars around, and it comes to me. I am told to use it and then pass it on. We are then herded onto a boat and sit there for four minutes. We depart the boat and are free on the island. We are in New York.

My dad gives me a paper that tells me where I am going to live. The streets are so very crowded. I walk for a long time. Carriages and horses, fruitsellers, all different types of people. The noise and tons of buildings are crazy. I keep walking and am almost there. As I arrive, I see fabric on the walls and metal ceilings, but I have to go up the stairs. I open the door, and I see my sister sitting in the room. I am so happy to see my sister and am very surprised. We talk about our journey and how she got here.

“How did you get here so fast?!” I say.

“I took the boat before you. You missed that one,” Kiara says.

“That’s why my boat took so long.”

“I wish I never lost you,” Kiara tells me.

“Me too,” I cry.

This was a great experience.

 

Jake’s Friends

Jake’s eight friends are at Logan’s house, and Logan is deciding in his room what they should do. Then finally Logan has an idea.

“Let’s watch some TV.” Then he asks Jake, “What should we watch?”

“Teen Titans Go.”

They watch Teen Titans Go, and in the middle of the show, Jake asks for Logan to get him a snack, so Jake pauses the TV while Logan goes off to get him a snack. They have ice cream, noodles, and crackers with only chocolate in them for snack. They only have two crackers at a time. They all have four crackers because they want a double serving of crackers. This is a special day, because they don’t usually stay at Logan’s house for so long. So when they finish their last cracker, and all their food, the show ends and the friends ask:

“Whaaat should we do?”

Jake says, “Let’s go over to my house! And let’s swim in the pool for about half an hour and then play with my dog, then we can come back to Logan’s house and watch more TV!”

While they get ready to go out the door, Logan says,

“I’m going to go to the store to buy a dog, so I’ll meet you at Jake’s house.”

And then Jake says, “Sure, but don’t be late.”

So Logan goes over to the store while Jake and his friends go to Jake’s house on their skateboards. Logan gets a dog and then remembers on his way that there’s a shorter way to Jake’s house. He goes from the store to Jake’s house fifteen minutes after Jake went to the house and started swimming, and then it was fifteen minutes later when Logan went to the house and met them there. Then Jake says,

“That was quite a long time, we only have fifteen more minutes to go and play in the pool.”

So they have fifteen more minutes in the pool; then they go back inside the house and dry off and then Jake says, “Let’s play with my dog and let’s see two songs that I wanted you guys to see.”

And Logan reminds them, “Wait, I brought my dog over here.”

And they say, “Well let’s play with both dogs, and we need a name for your dog.”

And Jake says, “And since you haven’t met my dog, you need to know his name is Joseph.”

So they name Logan’s dog, and they decide for it to start with an ‘L.’ They decide for it to be “Lake.”

Lake is a blond curly haired dog and bigger than Joseph. The dogs start wrestling with each other and Jake and his friends and Logan watch the wrestling of the dogs and then they start to watch these two songs called “Man’s Not Hot” and “Man’s Not Cold.” Then they see how many subscribers they have in Jake’s house and in Logan’s house; then they watch another episode of Teen Titans Go at Logan’s house. Then they see how many people have subscribed to the “It’s Everyday Bro” remix, and then they see how many have subscribed on “Man’s not Hot,” and then they see how many have subscribed on “Man’s not Cold” with Jake’s eight friends.                                                                                         

 

THE END

 

The Animal Shelter

Once upon a time, Amy was walking through the village, when she was thinking of having a bake sale to raise money for the animal shelter that was going out of business. So, as the caring person that she was, she wanted to help the animal shelter. As a use to staff, she wanted to help the shelter, so no animal had to suffer and not have a family. When she looked at the shelter, there was a sign. It said, We will close on July 10 at 8pm, which was today, (goal: $1,000).

After she read the sign, she said to herself, “l can do this.”

So, she quickly went to the bakery and found some items. The first item in her shopping list was a pumpkin pie (the cost: $5.00). The second item on the list was a blueberry muffin (the cost: $2.10). The next item were brownies (the cost:$2.00). The second to last item was a red velvet cake (cost: $7.70). The last item on the list was, of course, lemonade (cost: $2.75). After finishing the list, Amy started building the bake sale stand. When the stand was finished, she started to sell. When she started, she noticed nobody wanted to buy anything, until an old woman came. This old woman was actually a witch with long white hair, long nails, a hunchback, and lots of pimples.

She told Amy, “Why did you make this stand.”

Amy said, “To help the animal shelter.”

When Amy finished serving the old woman, she said, “I would give you luck, my young one.”

Once she said that, a bunch of people were coming to the bake sale. When it was about 7:30, Amy closed up her stand and counted her money. When she finished counting her money, she started sprinting all the way to the animal shelter. When she was there, she started talking to the man next to the animal shelter.

“Wait, wait. I have the money to save the animal shelter.”

“Wait, what? We’re not closing for good. We’re just moving.”

“What about the goal?”

“That’s for moving.”

“What about the closing date?”

“That date was the last day it will be there, but if you don’t need the money, we can use it here.”

“Aggh, just take the money.”

Ever since that day, Amy always asked for more details. Dummy Amy lived happily ever after.

 

The end.

 

Awesome Airplanes: The Escape From The TCOEP

 

The man, the leader of the TCOEP, told Matthew and Michael that he would be coming for them and walked away into the dust and disappeared.

 

“That was strange,” said Matthew after the leader of the TCOEP walked away.

 

“Yeah, he could have just got us right there,” said Michael as they reached their airplanes.

 

When they finally got to the base, it was already dawn. But the brothers didn’t get to rest for long. After they ate breakfast, the enemy alarm blared, startling Matthew and Michael. When Matthew walked over to the enemy detection screen, he saw something that surprised him! He saw that the enemy was in the control room of the base.

 

“What the?” said Matthew.

 

“Let’s go check it out,” said Michael as they went into the control room. In the control room, they heard a bomb, five, four, three, two, one.

 

“Uh-oh,” said Matthew as the bomb exploded.

 

When they woke up, Matthew and Michael found that they were in a jail cell in the TCOEP base. The jail cell was dirty, and there was a rusty bucket in the corner and an old bench and an emergency pack.

 

“Now what should we do?” asked Michael.

 

“I have an idea,” said Matthew, smiling and pulling out a chainsaw and slicing through the steel bars.

 

“Where did that chainsaw come from?” asked Michael.

 

“From the emergency pack over there,” said Matthew. “I bet they never check that emergency pack because all the criminals stuffed all their weapons in the emergency pack.”

 

“Now let’s get out of here!” yelled Michael as they broke out of the jail with weapons.

 

Getting out of the jail was not easy. There was a huge group of troopers guarding the base, so they had to sneak around a lot.

 

When they got outside, they saw that they were on a tall mountain and their base was in the distance.

 

“How are we going to get to our base?” asked Michael.

 

The brothers did not have a lot of time to think, because soon they were surrounded by troopers in black suits pointing rifles at them.

 

“Hands up!” said a trooper.

 

“Never!” Matthew yelled back as he and Michael got out guns from the emergency pack and started shooting.

 

Finally, the troopers surrendered.

 

“Where are the aircraft hangars?” asked Matthew to the troopers.

 

“They are right there,” said one of the troopers, pointing to a tall building.

 

Soon, they were on a helicopter flying back to their base. “Home sweet home!” said Michael as the helicopter landed.

 

Back in the base, the brothers received a message from their boss. The message said, Dear Matthew and Michael, please join the Navy. Sincerely, your boss.

 

Peanut

My name is Peanut. I am a robot. Not one of those robots who takes over the world, or steals all of your jobs and makes you homeless. Instead, I am a helper robot. That means a robot who will help you clean the stinky bathroom, or clean the dusty attic, or wipe your butt. Right now, I am helping Red. I am helping him clean the stinky bathroom, and clean the attic, and wipe his butt.

Every Saturday, he goes out and does not come back until midnight. He wears something called a ski mask and comes back with a buttload of money. One day, I asked him what he was doing on Saturdays.

“None of your beeswax, stupid robot. Now wipe my butt.”

So, I wiped his butt.

 

Red Hood

 

Beep beep beep beep. Did I mention that I am also a portable alarm clock? It was Sunday, and as expected, he came back last night wearing a black ski mask and holding two bags with dollar signs on them. I knew it was weird, but I did not say anything. Today he woke up, and I brushed his teeth, and I dressed him, and he used the bathroom, so I had to wipe his butt. Then, he went downstairs and turned on the TV.

“In the year 3014, we have been having an all time record in crime thanks to the Red Hood who has attacked banks all over Brooklyn. He has stolen over 100 million dollars in one day and in total has stolen 600 million dollars. Watch out, Brooklyn. The Red Hood is a master criminal.”

Red just chuckled.

 

Morning Routine

 

Today I asked him what he doing again because I knew something was happening. I just could not put my robotic finger on it.

All he said was, “Nothing,” and my programming says to agree with Red no matter if I know it is false or not, so I nodded and went upstairs to clean the attic

Today is Tuesday, and we did our morning routine, which is to wake Red up, then brush his teeth, then wipe his butt, which was not even dirty today. There was no poop on that butt at all. Then, I cleaned the attic. Then, I did everything else that a helper robot is programmed to do.

 

Red Hood and Red

 

Today is another Saturday, so I expect Red to leave soon. I asked him again because I am starting to figure out that Red is not going to a bar and getting drunk or something, but he is doing something secret that he really does not want me to know, even though I can help him.

This time, he tells me this, “Okay, if I tell you, then will you stop asking me.” I nodded. “Okay, I’ll tell you.’’ He started to whisper, then he looked around to make sure that no one was around. “I am Red Hood.”

 

When the Police Get Involved

 

“Okay.”

“Wait, that’s it?”

“You’re not gonna say ‘what’ or ‘no way?’”

“Nope.”

“Okay.”

Then, he got up and left to be Red Hood once again. Another part of my programming says that I have to tell the police if something bad may happen or if I find a criminal. So I called the police over to the house.

When they came, they said stuff like, “Who’s Red Hood.”

So I answered, “Red Revata.” (Red’s full name.)

“Where is he?” one cop said.

“Robbing a bank.”

“What??!! Oh dang it, we gotta go!”

“We got a Red Hood to catch!!”

Then, all the police got into the cars and went to the Boop Street Bank. But because I am programmed to help Red no matter what… I went to Boop Street Bank.

 

Red Hood and the Police (and a few sentences about me on the road.)

 

Inside the Boop Street Bank…

 

“I wonder how much I’ll get today ha ha.” Yuop yuop yuop yuop. “Oh come on, not the police.”

(Remember the year is 3014, so the tech is going to be a little bit more advanced.) Then, he pulled out his lazer gun. Then, he aimed at the ceiling and jumped right out onto the roof. Then, he ran and jumped from building to building while the police was still looking for him in the bank.

 

One the street…

 

“Get outta the road!!”

“Go to ya rich owner robots!!”

Then, I spotted Red! Well, it was Red Hood, but Red Hood is also Red, so it was Red Hood and Red. He stopped to breathe, and while he was doing that, I climbed up the building he was standing on. Then just as I got to the top, the police emerged from the hole in the bank roof.

 

We were talking a bunch.

“Peanut??!! What are you doing here??”

“My programming says that I need to help you when you are in potential danger.”

“How did you know that I was going to be chased on rooftops?”

“Because when I called the police on you — ”

“You did WHAT!!!”

“I called the police.”

“Yeah, you told me that.”

“Then I told them that you are Red Hood.”

“Uhhhhh why?”

“Because my — ”

“Right your programming blah blah blah.”

“You may want to run now.”

“Why?”

“Because while we were talking the police caught up to us.”

“Uh oh.”

 

The Escape

 

“Come here, Red Hood!! Your robot exposed you!!” Then he swung his nightstick around in the air like a lasso.

“Run, Peanut, run!!”

“Why?”

“Oh, I don’t have time for this.”

Then, he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me over the rooftops. We jumped from building to building to get to Red’s house. But the police were catching up slowly. So, Red pulled me harder, trying to make me go any faster.

Red is writing now: You don’t know how heavy a pure metal robot is.

Finally, we make it to the area where Red’s house is.

“How do we get down from here Peanut?” Red asked.

“I have plungers,” I said.

Red is writing now: I was confused that Peanut had plungers of all things. I mean plungers! Who has plungers!! But I guess they did help us get down from the building.

Red and I got down from the building thanks to my plungers. (I kiss my plungers in the background.) Once we got inside, Red ran to the kitchen and made a FOR SALE sign. Then, he went outside and hung up the FOR SALE sign. Then when the police came down from the building, somehow they came to the house and thought, I guess they aren’t here.

 

The Last One.

 

“I am so mad at you, Peanut!!”

“I am sorry, but I don’t really have feelings.”

“Then learn!!”

Then, he stormed up the stairs and slammed the bedroom door behind him with a bam!!

I carefully snuck up the stairs to make sure Red didn’t hear me. Then, I slowly knocked on the door. Clack clack clack.

“Get out.”

“My programming says — ”

“I don’t care. Just go.”

“Bu — ”

“Go… I said go!! Your stupid programming almost got me arrested!!” He took a deep breath and said, “For the last time… Go.”

Then, I walked down the stairs. Walked out the doors. And turned myself in to the police.

 

The End

 

The Fairy Who Didn’t Have A Friend

Once upon a time there was a little fairy whose name was Randall. Randall didn’t have any friends. She travelled all over the world to find one. She looked high, and she looked low. There were lots of other fairies in the world. Some fairies were mean, but Randall knew there were lots more fairies in the world, so she kept saying in her head, “I’m going to keep looking until I find a friend.”

So, that’s what she did. She kept looking. She had a little rhyme: just keep looking, just keep looking. Every time she felt like giving up, she kept saying that rhyme, until one day Randall found some friends. There was a boy fairy named Jack, and there was a girl fairy named Galia. They loved living together. Until one day, they had to face a very big task.

They were told to go to a tiki’s cave to kill it because it wrecked their world. So, they packed their food, and then they set off for the tiki’s cave. The tiki was a lava tiki. It was as tall as an adult with big black eyes, and it was speaking a weird kind of language. They had to take a plane and a boat, because the tiki’s cave was on an island. Then, they were right in front of the tiki’s cave. Good thing they had a rope and a cage, and they had packed it with their food.

They wanted to tie the tiki up and put her in the cage. So, while Jack gave the tiki an apple and a bunch of bananas to distract her, Galia tied her up, and then Randall put her in the cage. Then, Jack gave her the food in her cage. They had packed an arrow to kill her. But the tiki had a whole family of tikis!

They only had one cage and one rope. So, they thought and thought, and then they found an idea. Their idea was that they were going to open the tiki’s cage, untie her, and then Jack was going to put so much food in the cage so that all the tikis would go in the cage and eat the food. While they ate the food, Galia would tie them up, and then Randall would close the cage and lock it.

Their idea worked! The tikis fell for the trick! But now they were stranded on the island. They didn’t know what to do. So, they thought, and they thought, and they found an idea. First, they put the tikis in the water, so they would die. They would die because water melts lava, and then the friends would use the cage as a boat. And good thing they packed swimsuits, because in case they were too heavy for the cage, the cage would sink down, and they would have to swim. And they brought their swimming caps. The cage did sink, so they swam and swam until they reached their world. But the tikis did not die.

The tikis were special tikis. They came back to Randall, Jack, and Galia’s world. The tikis were really, really mad that they fell for the trick. They were speaking their weird language, and it sounded really mad. They started throwing lava balls at Jack, Randall, and Galia. Jack, Randall, and Galia dodged out of the way. Then, Jack, Randall, and Galia got mad too. They threw rocks at the tikis. The tikis got even madder. But then, there was some lava from the tikis’ lava balls. And then, Jack, Randall, and Galia realized that the tikis would melt in the lava. But they knew that the tikis wouldn’t fall for the trick again. So, they shoved the tikis into the lava. Then, the tikis melted down. Jack, Randall, and Galia lived happily ever after.

 

The End

 

My Marble

 

My marble is a circle. It is blood red. It looks like there is blood in it.

It is special to me because I found it

at my school. In my classroom.

I was eating my lunch. I took a bite…

The marble popped out. I washed it.

I put it in my backpack. At home I played with it. I like it because it

Sparkles in the light. It is smooth

and shiny. It has no

cracks.

 

Nantucket Adventure

In June, I went to Nantucket with my grandma. In Nantucket, we have our own house and share one wall of the house with another family. It happened to be my birthday when we went to Nantucket, and I had a party where we ate cupcakes with jelly beans on top. I like having my birthday in Nantucket because there are lots of fun things to do there. I went to Children’s Beach, and I saw Moana. I liked that we watched Moana outside with all the nature. There was a playground on the beach and wet, nice grass. I put my chair on the grass and sat in it. My toes felt wet, and I felt peaceful. I saw boys on their bicycles doing crazy tricks and flipping upside down. One of the boy’s bike fell down, and he fell onto the grass. Thankfully, he was not hurt and got back up. After Moana, I took our Jeep home. The next morning, I went to a beach that we could drive on. Then, I went to watch the sunset, but my mom said we had to move because there was a sewage pipe, and there were too many clams. We went to a different beach where you can also drive your car. At the beach, we watched the sunset. The sunset was a pink and orange color, and it was really pretty. I was happy that we were there to watch the sunset.

After the sunset, we went home. I went outside our house, and I saw a bunny. The bunny was chubby and was eating clovers. I chased it, and it went all the way to my neighbor’s house across the street. I crossed the street to chase the bunny, but it ran away from me. Then, I found another bunny, and I chased that bunny too. It went across the street and ran away. Later that night, I had tofu and noodles for dinner. For dessert, I had chocolate chip ice cream. It was my favorite dinner. The next morning, my daddy went to buy Lucky Charms from Costco. Then, I asked my dad when we were leaving Nantucket. He said tomorrow.

I said, “I thought we were going to have more than a couple days in Nantucket.”

My dad said, “Well, we are leaving tomorrow, so we have to pack our things.”

The next day, we packed everything because we had to leave. We took our Jeep to the airport. The airplane got very frustrating because it was delayed. When it finally came, we took an airplane from there to New York City. We took a taxi from the airport to our house. When we got home, we unpacked everything. I was happy to be home because my friends were home. I was also sad because Nantucket had bike riding and beaches. I only have my balance bike at home, not a regular bike. At Nantucket, there were bikes that had training wheels and weren’t balance bikes, so I could ride them and go down a very big hill at the park. I like going down the big hills because I can go very fast without pedaling very hard. Nantucket was really fun, and I cannot wait to go back!

The End

 

My Pencil

 

As my pencil dances the page

It etches words all in gray

I know every letter will stay

Even as the paper frays

 

My pencil feels as light as a feather,

Soon I am in another world

Stories are just as precious

As gigantic, shiny pearls!

 

In the end, words of all kinds

All written by different minds

Will bind people together

And make the world better

 

The Girl Who Was Never Patient

Once, there was a little girl who really wanted to go to the playground. She asked her parents if they would take her, but they said, “No, we can’t take you because your little sister is sick, and we have to watch of her.” So, she went upstairs and tried to sneak out of the window by tying her blankets together to make a rope. Unfortunately, there was a window downstairs, and her parents were drinking tea near it, so they saw her climbing out. They caught her and brought her back to her room. They also locked her window, so she couldn’t get out again.

 

She tried everything to unlock the window, but she couldn’t, so she snuck downstairs to her sister’s room and tried to use those windows. Her sister screamed, and their parents came and saw her trying to sneak out again. They locked her sister’s windows too, then went back downstairs to finish their tea. She asked her sister, “Why did you scream?”

 

Her sister said, “Because you’re not allowed to go the park, and you have to listen to our parents.”

 

“Yeah, but it’s not fair. Because of you, I can’t go to the park.”

 

“Well, it’s not my fault that I’m sick.”

 

“Yes, it is!”

 

“No, it’s not, and besides, our parents said that you can’t go because I’m sick, and they have to take care of me, and also you can’t go by yourself.”

 

“I’m old enough. I’m already eight.”

 

“Yeah, but still. Maybe when you’re 12, you can go by yourself.”

 

“But that’s such a long time!”

 

“It’s not my fault that you’re not patient.”

 

“I am being patient.”

 

“No, you’re not!”

 

“I have to wait four years!

 

“Yeah, but that’s not so long you know.”

 

“Yeah, for you it’s not. Maybe I could wait for four minutes, but four years is way too long.”

 

“No, it’s not. Besides, four minutes is like one second.”

 

“No, it’s not.”

 

“Yes, it is.”

 

“No.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“No.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Yeah, well at least I can wait for four minutes.”

 

“Yeah, but you can’t even wait for one hour. That’s so short.”

 

The older sister angrily walked away because she was frustrated that her sister was being annoying. She kept looking out the window at the park. Then, she went downstairs to the dining room where her parents were finishing their tea, and she made up a lie about how her sister’s fever was all gone and she felt better now. But the parents went upstairs to check for themselves. They came back down and said, “Well, it got a little better, so maybe you can go to the park.”

 

She asked, “So is that a yes?”

 

Then, her dad said, “Okay, it’s a yes. Mom will stay with your sister, and I’ll bring you to the park.” They got ready, and she did end up getting to go to the park after all.

 

The End

 

NATURE

 

The trees are dancing in the breeze and eating the leaves

 

The trees’ arms are reaching for the butterflies but they can’t reach

 

The trees reach for the sky and when they do that they sometimes catch a butterfly

 

The trees like to make a band with the birds and the leaves

 

They love to boogie dance and they love to listen to their own music

 

They love to sway in the breeze

 

They love to talk to people and play lots of games

 

They sometimes even play soccer with the leaves

 

They love to play together

 

They love to play

 

Being a Princess

 

Jelly on my face

Jelly on the table

Jelly on my dog I’ll clean it after I’m done

 

The pony pulls me on my cart

My teddy in my hands

Dog on my side

 

Ding dong another princess comes

It is tea time we eat cupcakes we sing and laugh we all get a big smile

 

Squirrel waits for me I feed her nuts I saw my friend bird

I feed her seed

 

The guard looks at me and gives me a good night smile

I sat on my chair and napped for a while

The guard put me on my bed

Goodnight

THE END…

 

Have an Ice Day

 

Hey, stop reading this. This is private!!!

 

Intro

 

July 1, 2019

 

“Let’s go!” Emily’s mom yelled up the stairs. “Time to get ready for camp!”

 

Blond-haired Emily got on her cat shirt and plain red shorts, then screamed back, “I’m ready. Are you ready?”

 

Then, she rushed down the stairs, snarfed down her breakfast, then got in the gray car with her mom. Emily was off to her first day of camp.

 

When Emily and her mom reached the Starry Sleepaway bus stop, they played would you rather with a few other kids for about 20 minutes until the bus arrived. A bus load of kids then got on, chatting loud as thunder.

 

Okay, now here’s the action part.

 

When Emily and the rest of the camp finally got off the camp bus (after three hours), they rushed into their cabins. After everyone had found their bunks (Emily’s bed was in cardinal cabin, right at the very edge of diamond-shaped Starry Sleepaway) they went to bed and had a good night’s sleep, not knowing what would happen the next day.

 

July 2, 2019

 

Now this is the action part.

 

In the morning, everyone in cardinal cabin woke up to a huge blizzard outside. The rest of the camp didn’t know what was happening in that corner. The rest of the camp was unusually cold, though. Everyone except cardinal cabin was fine. The only thing that could’ve been better was if anyone had something other than thin raincoats. Only the people in that corner cabin ever glanced in that direction. Suddenly, the people in lion cabin started screaming. The blizzard was spreading!!!

 

Right now, I am running out of my cabin, mouse cabin oh no my hands are numb waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt df aehlckhf hcgdfGCSTDXYCdyvu xBVFzhdhfgvcbzfhFfgddtuhcshjfey

 

July 2, 2019

 

Sorry! As I unclearly said, my hands were numb. And, as I didn’t say at all, my pencil went out of control.

 

And guess what? I found a way to duplicate overprotective Emily’s coats.

 

Then, I invented teleportation, and, after breakfast, everyone ran through the portal back to Los Angeles.

 

And I, “dumb” Katie Blake, saved Starry Sleepaway.

 

THE END

 

Memories in My Year Book

My fifth grade yearbook is a book with a picture of the entire fifth grade in the auditorium, and everyone is wearing a black shirt on the cover. Inside are all the memories and photos of all the trips. For example, there is a picture of the time we went to the park. It is a picture of me and my friends near the swings. We are standing near the grass, but we are actually standing on gray tiles. The yearbook’s cover is very smooth and soft. The cover is also bendy and wavy.

 

When the class first got it, we all (including me) screamed and dashed to our desks, and we all flipped through the pages, remembering all the memories in the photos of the book.

 

“Oh, I remember that time we went to the movie theater!” said one of my friends. We were all jumping up and down. I remember when we were walking all around the room asking each other for signatures and writing messages for each other.

 

Some messages I remember in my yearbook are, Stay positive, Good luck in middle school, and Don’t forget about us.

 

I love my yearbook, and it is important to me because it reminds me of all the memories I had with the class in fifth grade. I know that I can never see them again. It makes me sad because I can’t spend time with them anymore. But I could just look at the yearbook, and I see them. And I can remember the memories we had at school, in class parties, and on trips.

 

Right now as I type, I keep it on a shelf, and sometimes I look through it and read the messages that my classmates wrote because the messages help me think I’m special like I think they are special.

 

Christmas is My Favorite Holiday

Christmas is my favorite holiday. This is what we do on Christmas. When my younger brother and I (my older sister sleeps in much later than me and my brother) wake up, the same as we always do, we change our clothes, brush our teeth, and go down to eat breakfast. After we eat breakfast, we wait for our parents. (My dad sometimes is down before me and my brother, but my mom sleeps in late.) After my mom and my sister come down, the hard work begins. My family and I clean, and clean, and clean, and clean, and clean, and clean. After we clean, we all make cookies. After we make cookies, we all take baths. When we are done taking baths, we all put on nice clothes and go downstairs. Then, we wrap our presents that are for the family. After that, we put our presents under the Christmas tree. Then, we do something while we wait. After a little waiting, my sister, my brother, and I have to lock ourselves in a room, while my parents put the kids’ presents under the Christmas tree. They also put the cookies on a table. Then, my older sister, my younger brother, and I can finally come downstairs. Then, we take a lot of pictures. After taking pictures, we… open our presents! Then, we eat chocolate and candy and whatever we want, in front of a fire. We also get to stay up as long as we want. That’s our fantastic Christmas!

 

Feelings

 

Feelings are like waves in your body, going up and then crashing down. The waves can grow like a tsunami and come down, destroying everything. They can be calm sometimes, not able to wash away anything.

 

Feelings are like a rollercoaster of the unexpected. You could start going up and maybe never go down. Maybe it goes down and never stops.

 

Feelings are like a book with a twist at the end. You could be reading it and then feel confused or puzzled after reading the twist ending. Or that could be how someone else feels about it.

 

Feelings are like a bomb. Sometimes, you can detonate it. It can be stressful. Other times, you cut the wrong wire. Or it’s just impossible to detonate. Then, that giant explosion happens. People can get mad because of this. Your brain is like a magnet, while the feelings are the positive and the negative. Sometimes, the negatives somehow get stuck onto the magnet instead of the positives. And when that happens, that’s okay.

Cycle of Life

 

First, comes the baby, it can drive you a little crazy.

Next, comes the toddler, which craves peach cobbler.

Third, is the kid, and you get rid of the crib.

Fourth, is the pre-teen, who wants to be social media queen.

Fifth, comes the teenager, they get to choose their major.

Sixth, is the adult, who locks their possessions in a vault.

Then, come the seniors, they encourage everyone to be dreamers.

Last, comes the end, I’m glad I was your friend.

And that is the Cycle of Life.

 

The Space Travelers 4

 

Part One

 

Gordon and David were sitting on the couch in Gordon’s house.

“Remember the lava people?” Gordon said to David.

“Yeah, those dudes were creepy.”

“Do you think they’re coming to get revenge?”

“Not sure. They don’t even have a spaceship, so how can they get here?”

“Let’s watch the news.”

David and Gordon looked at the news. The news said that a lava spaceship was about to land on Lexicon. David and Gordon freaked out and ran to where the spaceship was going to land. Brain was there.

“What’s going on?” Brain, David, and Gordon said at the same time.

The spaceship landed, and three dozen lava monsters came out and started chasing everyone. Everyone got on spaceships and took off. David, Gordon, and Brain’s families got onto one big spaceship and took off.

 

To be continued…

 

Part Two

 

At Lexicon, many more lava spaceships landed, and the entire population of the lava monsters, 5,000, took over Lexicon. At Pizton, Brain, David, and Gordon were practicing with their blasters. They tried to fight but not destroy lava monsters. Gordon asked the king to give them a few fighters because 3,000 of the 5,000 lava monsters were fighters and the 5,000 person population of Lexicon only had 1000 fighters, including Brain, David, and Gordon.

The mayor of Lexicon asked for 2,000 more fighters because the population of Pizton was 20,000 people. The troops of Lexicon made their way to the planets of Lexicon and started shooting with their tanks at Lexicon.

Pew! Pew!

But their tanks got destroyed by the lava tanks. They jumped at Lexicon and started shooting with their blasters. There was a giant fight. The lava monster captured 2,000 of the Lexicon troops. The Lexicon troops also captured 2,000 of the lava monster troops. Lexicon was winning! There were 2,000 more people left, and there were only 1,000 lava monsters left.

The lava monsters surrendered. Brain, David, and Gordon let the lava monsters free and, the lava monster let the Lexicons free. They combined forces and made a truce that they would never fight again. David, Gordon, and Brain went to bed because of the long fight.

On the lava planet, the red monsters had taken over, and they had 25,000 troops.

 

THE END

 

Monster Hunters

It all started with individuals who were monster hunters, Mike, Kevin, Chelsea, and Ruth.

Mike was by himself. He was in a Dragon Cave. It was damp and cold, and Mike was really scared. There was a big Fountain of Fire below the King Dragon. He was fighting a flying dark red thing. He was fighting the king dragon.

“Ahhhhhh!” said Mike as he got caught on fire. The dark scaled dragon just burned him with his fire breath. Mike ran at the dragon and sliced the dragon in half with his sword. Dragon got really hurt and fell to the ground.

“Did I kill him?” Mike asked. No, the dragon rose up and scratched him with his claws right in the face.

“Agh!” Mike screamed in pain. He was bleeding. Down his face with gushing blood. Mike ran at the King Dragon again and sliced him but instead of slicing him he first he jumped on the dragon’s arm. He jumped on his shoulder and stabbed him in his head. Finally, the dragon died. As he disintegrated into dust, more dragons came at Mike.

“Be ready,” Mike said to himself, and he killed all the dragons. Finally, he got what he wanted — the Sacred Sword, the most powerful weapon in the world. He still couldn’t believe he killed the most powerful dragon ever lived. The Sacred Sword was gold and unbreakable, and it had a diamond embedded in the middle of the handle. He went out and went to fight some more.

Meanwhile… Kevin was in the grasslands fighting thousands of zombies and a two-headed dragon. The grass was almost up to Kevin’s thigh in the middle of nowhere.

“This new planet is dangerous!” Kevin screamed as he was slashing the zombies. “I’m already burning!” he shouted. “Eh, at least I’m immune to fire,” Kevin said.

The two-headed dragon got really mad because Kevin didn’t get hurt. So it sprayed water out of its other head and almost drowned Kevin.

“Mmph!” said Kevin as he tried to breathe. He was drowning until…

Mike suddenly appeared. With his awesome new sword he killed all the zombies plus the two-headed dragon and broke the stone that was guarding the water that made Kevin drown.

“Hi,” said Kevin nervously. “How did you know I was here?”

“I was just wondering around fighting monsters looking for shelter,” replied MIke.

“Oh,” Kevin whispered in fear. Kevin was still scared about what just happened.

“My name is Mike. Do you have a shelter?” asked Mike.

“My name is Kevin. I don’t have a shelter. Want to go find one and team up?” Kevin said.

“Sure,” Mike said happily.

As they were wandering around, they heard something coming from the woods, so they got their weapons out. But instead of a monster, a small girl came out from the woods really really scared. She had brown hair and leaves were stuck to it. She was bleeding a lot and had a dagger in her right hand.

“You’re not monsters, are you?” the little girl asked.

“No,” they replied. “What’s your name?” they asked.

“Chelsea,” she replied. (Just so you know, I forgot to introduce this, but Mike was seventeen, Kevin was fifteen, Chelsea was ten, and Ruth was thirteen.)

“How much have you been fighting?” they asked Chelsea.

“I don’t know, but it’s been a lot of days,” Chelsea said. “Can I join you for fighting and team up?”

“Sure,” Mike and Kevin said.

All three of them were looking for shelter to sleep. They found a little cabin that was abandoned.

“Let’s sleep in there,” said Kevin.

“I’d rather sleep in the dragon’s cave,” Mike murmured.

As they approached, they got their weapons out in case any monsters were in there. When they went in, they heard a noise, but it was just spiders.

Chelsea said, “Should we break the spiderwebs and kill the spiders?”

“No! Well, yes. Break the spiderwebs, but don’t kill the spiders. They’re just harmless bugs.” But then…

Mutant spiders jumped out and attacked them.

“Ahhhhh!” they all screamed. But they all still fought back. After they killed all the mutant spiders, Chelsea found the lights. When the lights were on, they saw skeletons and spiderwebs.

“Looks like a lot of people died here,” said Mike.

“Yup,” Kevin agreed.

“Let’s clean this place up,” Chelsea said nervously.

After they cleaned the place up, they slept there for a night. “At least we have a shelter. We should track our places, so we can find it. Maybe it can be our home,” Kevin said.

They then went off into the woods, looking for other people. (I know what you’re thinking, Why don’t they have parents? Well this was why: their parents died because of the monsters, so the children want revenge.)

As they were searching, they saw a dragon. But immediately, the dragon died. “What just happened?” Chelsea asked.

As the dragon disintegrated, they saw another girl and slowly approached her.

“What’s your name,” Chelsea asked the girl.

“Ruth,” the girl said in pain. She was just caught in fire and was bloody. She was super scared.

“Why are you scared?” Kevin asked.

“How did you know I was scared?” replied Ruth.

“You look frightened,” said Kevin.

“Oh,” she said nervously.

“Want to team up with us?” Mike asked.

“Okay,” she said, feeling safe now.

“Let’s bring her to the shelter,” Chelsea said.

“Okay, let’s choose a leader,” Mike said. “I personally feel like I should be the leader.”

“Why do you think that?” Chelsea asked annoyed.

“Well, I have the strongest weapon, I’m the oldest, and I saved someone named Kevin,” replied Mike.

Noble enough, they all agreed, and Mike was their new leader.

As they were searching for the king of all monsters, Bast, if they killed him they just need to kill all the monsters in the world because Bast keeps on spawning new monsters. If he was dead, Bast wouldn’t be able to spawn new monsters anymore. And so they went off searching for Bast and his portal to bring him to a planet where no one can get to (well, they can get to it if they go in the portal).

As they were searching, they found lots of monsters and killed them. They still got hurt a lot.

They were all gushing blood. Ruth said, “We should really get stuff to stop our bleeding.”

“Yeah, we really should,” said Mike.

“Well, at least we can still fight and heal over time, just really slowly,” said Chelsea.

“You got that right,” said Kevin.

“Maybe we could craft access to chop down wood, and I have the strongest weapon, so we all have weapon, so we can get sheep, take the wool, and make it into little fluffy stuff. We could take the tree and maybe get some sap to make medicine. Then with the fluffy stuff, we could put it over our wounds to make the bleeding stop,” Mike said.

(This was what the characters looked like, if you’re wondering).

Ruth has blonde hair, white skinned, red eyes (not fully red, just the center), she has a light blue shirt green pants, and white shoes. Mike has blue eyes, light brown hair, a white shirt, red pants, and black shoes.

Chelsea has green eyes, blue shirt, white pants, and red shoes. kevin has grey eyes, blue pants, black shirt, and red shoes. Just so you know Mike was son of Poseidon, Ruth son of Hades, Chelsea son of Demeter, and Kevin son of Athena) Back to the story…

“Ruth! Mike! Kevin!” Chelsea screamed in fear.

“What!” Mike screamed.

“A dragon hoard!” Chelsea screamed in fear again.

The dragon heard Chelsea. They started running, but suddenly there was a 200 foot cliff. They couldn’t run anymore, so they fought back. Mike chopped off one of the dragon’s head, but suddenly, it grew back two more.

“I’ve heard of this monster before,” Mike said. “Hydra!” he yelled.

When they could run, they ran right to the shelter.

“We need wood to make a torch. The only way you can defeat a Hydra is by chopping off its head and lighting the neck on fire with the torch,” Mike said as he was hiding.

“I’ve stored some wood,” Ruth said.

“Great,” Mike replied.

Then, they made a torch with rocks and wood. They went out, Mike chopped off all of the Hydra’s heads, and quickly set the necks on fire. Mike got stabbed by one of their claws and was bleeding a lot. He was still alive, but really hurt.

As they got the fluff from the sheep they killed earlier, Mike put it on his stomach to heal.

“We need something better than sheep fluff,” Kevin said. “We need sheeps for beds.”

“How about we make rubber and take a tiny bit of sheep fluff to make bandages and wrappings?” Mike suggested.

“Okay, that will do,” Chelsea said.

“Okay,” Mike said. “We have to make teams. Ruth and I will cut down trees with our swords. Kevin and Chelsea, you kill sheep.”

“Okay,” they all agreed.

Ruth and Mike came back with 162 logs.

“All we need to do is turn the sap in this wood into rubber,” Mike said.

Meanwhile, when Chelsea and Kevin were killing sheep, they were attacked. But this time, not from a monster, but by a grizzly bear.

“This should be easy,” Chelsea said.

But it wasn’t. The grizzly bear was a monster. It transformed into a dragon.

“Actually, this is going to be hard,” Kevin said.

They kept on slashing the dragon until it finally died. They were all bleeding a lot. When they went back to the shelter, they came back with 652 pounds of wool.

“Great, now we just need to find leather,” Mike said.

“Maybe we can use the dragon skin as leather,” Kevin replied.

“Sure,” Mike said happily. At last, they were going to have four beds.

“Now we can sleep and also probably get annoyed, but still sleep!” Chelsea said excitedly.

“We need to make this shelter or bunker monster-proof, so they won’t annoy us at night,” Ruth said.

“Good thinking,” Mike complemented her.
“Thank you,” Ruth said.

Kevin and Chelsea were making beds, and Mike and Ruth were using sap to make rubber. Ruth and Mike finished make rubber. “Now we just need to add the cotton, also known as sheep fluff stuffing, onto the middle of the rubber,” Mike said.

Mike and Ruth finished at the same time as Kevin and Chelsea, and it was great timing. It was midnight.

Each of them went on their new bed and fell asleep immediately. In the morning, they went outside and collected some mint.

Then, all four of them went out and got some wood. They broke the back of shelter and then upgraded the shelter with the wood.

“Can we call the shelter home?” Kevin asked.

“Yes” Mike replied.

Their home was awesome. “Now we just need to go too the underworld!” Mike said.

“I thought you can’t get out once you go in,” Kevin said.

“Only for mortals, not demigods,” Mike said back.

They were searching and searching. “We should really get a car!” Chelsea complained.

“You’re right” Mike agreed.

Then they went and chopped some trees. Got sap, metal, and sand. Finally they had a car. they didn’t know where they going.

“We should really make a computer,” Mike said.

“You really know how to build anything!” Ruth said surprised.

Mike had the pieces to make a computer in his backpack, but he threw out the instructions because he didn’t need them. He was very smart. He removed the motherboard from its packaging, removed the processor from its packaging, inserted the processor into the motherboard, applied the thermal paste to the computer, attached the heatsink, installed the random access memory, and installed the backplate on the back of the case. They turned on the computer and it said, “You’ll find the Underworld in the country Russia, city Kazan.”

As they were driving to the Underworld, Mike asked Siri, “How many hours does it take to get to Kazan?”

“It’ll take two hours to go to the airport, and eighteen hours and thirty minutes to go to Kazan with the airplane,” said Siri.

“Okay, let’s go!” said Ruth happily.

“But we’ll need to stop by a hotel,” said Mike. “Siri, look up hotels.”

“Look, I found The Emerald Hotel,” Siri suggested.

“It looks like it’s really good, and it’s only $62. It has a massage place, a pool, lights for nighttime swimming, large parking lot, beautiful rooms, furnitures, and an awesome kitchen,” Mike said as he was driving to the airport.

“It’s $62 per night,” Ruth said.

“Oh,” Mike said.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter,” said Kevin. “I have like $375.”

“Good,” Chelsea said.

When they were at the airport, it was almost midnight. Finally, they were going to Russia. They were so excited to go to the hotel

When they got to Russia, it was six in the afternoon. They were in their hotel getting unpacked.

Ruth said, “Good thing they didn’t know about our weapons,” as they took their weapons out of their bag.

As they were resting, Ruth asked, “Can just chill out for a couple of days because we’re not timed, and I just want to look around first.”

“Okay,” Mike agreed. “I’ll be in the pool.”

“Right, son of Poseidon,” Kevin remembered. (If you think that the godparents died, well that’s not true. They’re immortal. If you keep on polluting, and there’s no more wilderness, then Pan will fade away. So only their foster parents died.)

Chelsea was exploring the forest. Ruth was looking around, and Kevin was practicing fighting in the forest so no one saw him.

Six days passed. They were finally ready to go into the Underworld. When they found the Underworld, it said on the dirt ground:

 

Αλίμονο σε όλες τις ψυχές που κατεβαίνουν εδώ

 

“Woe to all souls who go down here,” Mike translated.

Suddenly the ground opened.

They went in the hole. How deep was the hole? Chelsea asked herself. Suddenly the stopped falling.

“I think we’re there,” Ruth said nervously.

They opened the doors. Then they saw it, Bast’s throne was right in front of them. All of the ran at him at the same time. Mike stabbed him in the head, Ruth stabbed him in the chest and slice his heart in half, Kevin cut his arms of, and Chelsea sliced his body in half again and again until he finally died.

“Yes, we killed him,” Mike said.

Suddenly, four pearls floated down from where his chest was. Then, Mike passed out.

 

THE END

 

The Mighty Tree

Once upon a time, there was a tree named Tom who was very weak because he had no water and sunlight. No one thought he would make very good wood, so everyone didn’t want to go near him. The tree was sad. He said to himself, “I wish somebody was here to help me grow.” The next day, he had completely forgotten about what he had said yesterday. All he was doing was staring at the dry grass. Suddenly, he saw a mouse walking by. He remembered what he had said about growing. He said to the mouse, “Can you please give me sunlight and water to help me grow.” The mouse agreed. First, he got a ladder and a lightbulb. Then, he climbed up the tree and put the lightbulb on top of the tree. The tree took in all the sunlight. Then, the mouse got a watering can full of water and watered every single bit of the tree. When the tree was feeling much better, he thanked the mouse for helping him.

 

The End

Alien Invasion

Once upon a time on Earth, there was a little town, and a few families lived there. The town was located in Canada. One day, there was an alien invasion. And all the families were scared. The aliens were trying to chase them, but the aliens got tired, so the aliens got into their spaceship and went back to Mars. The family consisted of a mom, a dad, one daughter — Alshia — and two sons — Varaaj and Daniel.

After returning to Mars, the aliens remembered they accidentally left their kid on Earth. So, they went back to Earth and found that one of the human families was taking care of the kid. At first glance, the aliens thought the family took the kid away. So, the aliens started chasing the family. The family gave the kid back, but the aliens still thought the family took the kid. Then, the other families in the town explained to the aliens that the family was taking care of the kid, and the aliens apologized about the whole invasion and promised not to bother Earth.

 

The end.

 

The Kiwi

           

Prologue

The mother ran and ran as far as she could. She had to get food for her young one! She could feel her feet getting laden, but she knew she had to go on. Her creation she had brought into the world had to live on.

She felt her chest screaming for air. Her mind was battling with her body. No grubs in this one. She realized she didn’t recognize the area anymore. Oh, no… If she didn’t recognize the area anymore, that meant… she felt the barrier sucking her in.

 

Chapter One

Kimi fluffed her brown feathers and waited for her mother to come home. She was achingly hungry, but still she waited. Finally, her hunger won over her. She knew she shouldn’t get out of the nest, but she wanted fooooood! She smelled with the nostrils at the end of her beak for grubs and detected one worming its way around the root of her tree, right outside her burrow. Gotcha! But the wriggling grub got out of her grasp. Bad grub!

Suddenly, she spotted a worm and snatched it up. This time, she was successful. Kimi hoped that was enough to sustain her hunger. Then, she sensed footsteps crashing towards her with her bristles on her mouth. Featherless! Kimi froze in terror.

“See, in the night it’s so beautiful here.”

She saw a bigger featherless speak to a smaller featherless, holding their longer wings that didn’t even look like wings. Then, the smaller one let go.

“Umm… you go on Mom. I’ll stay here for a sec,” the smaller one said.

They both had the long feathery strands on top of their heads running down (which indicated that both were female). For both of them, the color of the strands was light yellow. The kiwi wasn’t used to seeing in the dark, so it could see color.

Kimi was frozen now too, not in terror, but in curiosity. The bigger featherless nodded her head and left. The smaller one squatted down.

“Hey, little one. Are you lost?” it said.

Kimi wasn’t sure who the featherless was talking to, but she squawked in return. The featherless smiled.

“I’m Maddie. What’s your name?”

Kimi did not know what to do, so she sat and stared.

“You seem lost.”

Kimi turned around and shook her tushie. Maddie laughed.

“You are one silly little bird,” she said. “My mom would kill me if she saw me taking you… but otherwise you’re going to die… ” She frowned.

Kimi shook her tushie again. It seemed to make her laugh. She did. Then, she scooped Kimi up and into a slit in her thing she wore over her. The slit turned out to be very comfortable. In it was also a green fruit with a brown cover. Kimi was still very hungry, for the worm had not satisfied her hunger. She dug her beak into the green fruit. It was delicious. By the time the featherless was reaching in to scoop her out, she had finished the fruit. “Hey! You finished my kiwi!” Maddie said. Kimi burped.

 

Chapter Two

Kimi was in Maddie’s room. She seemed to be fretting about something. Kimi could not understand what. She couldn’t understand human language (okay, maybe a bit), so when Maddie talked to her she was very confuddled. “How am I going to get you on the plane?” Maddie looked worried. Huh? The pwane sounded weird. But it looked scary to Maddie. “I guess I’ll just have to put you in my pocket,” Maddie said. “In fact, let’s practice now.” Maddie scooped her up into one of her slits in her cover she was wearing. Ohhhh, so the slits were called pokets. Kimi nestled in and slept. An hour later, which seemed like a minute to Kimi, Maddie reached inside her pocket and lifted her out. She had a smile on her face. “That was really good! We might even survive the metal detectors!” She was so happy that she was dancing. Kimi tried to imitate her moves and ended up flat on her back. Maddie laughed and then froze, for she heard a voice calling her.

“Maddie, it’s time to go to bed! You have a flight to New York tomorrow!” Maddie quickly shoved Kimi under a pillow.

Maddie said, “Yes, Mom!” and left the room. Kimi crawled out from under the pillow and found an unused napkin. She nestled in and slept (again).

 

Chapter Three

Kimi woke up in the poket. Maddie felt very tense, and Kimi did not know why. Maddie reached her wing in (which Kimi later learned were called hands) the poket, and Kimi nuzzled against it. Then, she felt some sort of metal probing around Maddie’s clothing. What? Why is Maddie letting herself be probed by metal? This was not right. Kimi went as far as she could next to Maddie’s body to avoid getting probed. She successfully did not get probed. Yay. And she fell asleep. Again.

After she woke up, Kimi realized that she was in the air. She didn’t know how, she just knew. She could feel it, even though she couldn’t see the blue of the sky through her slit. Ahem. Poket. She could see a gray cushion with a bar. Maddie was sitting on most of the gray cushion. She took Kimi out for a little bit though, where no one could see her.

“Wait until you get to New York City,” she said. “You’re going to love it!”

The city? If this was the city, Kimi did not like it. Though it was pretty cool that the city was in the air. Kimi snuggled against Maddie’s shirt. Maddie smiled. Suddenly, a bright

looking featherless came down the aisle rolling a big square stone. Maddie shoved Kimi in her poket. The bright featherless asked Maddie something, and Maddie replied. Soon Maddie had a cup of yellowish, fizzy water in front of her.

“Thanks for the ginger ale.”

Jinjer ail? What were all these new words? Kimi was very tired of these — these words. Or so she thought, until Maddie leaned over and said to the big featherless — who she originally saw when she first met Maddie.

“It’s not so bad to be on the plane after all, Mom.”

There it is again! Pwane! So they were in the pwane, huh? Not so bad, for a pwane! And the big featherless was Maddie’s mother? She hadn’t seen her own mother in quite a while. Her heart ached for her. She had never returned from her food expedition. What if she got snatched by a predator? And she couldn’t fly away from it! Kimi then made up her mind that she was going to learn to fly. It didn’t matter how. And, plus, she was with humans now. Her mother told her they could do almost anything, right? Much more than a kiwi could do. (Her mother also told her to stay away from them, but that wasn’t important… right?)

 

Chapter Four

They were finally off the plane and in the… city. They were on something which Kimi learned was a kar. She was back in Maddie’s slit. The city seemed pretty gray. She squawked to let Maddie know.

“What was that?” Maddie’s mother exclaimed.

“What?” inquired Maddie.

“That squawk!” her mother cried.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Maddie looked utterly confused.

“Oh, well. I must be hearing things.” Kimi was amazed. Maddie was a very good actor! She also resolved not to make any more sounds. Soon they came to a big stone slab that was shaped in a rectangular prism. Maddie’s mother sighed. “Home, again.”

Home??? This slab was not home. In fact, Kimi wondered if she’d ever go home again.

 

Killer X

Killer X knows dark magic from when he was exposed to dark magic by scientists. After a while, he figured out different patterns, and then after that, he figured out how to use it. For example, when he moves his hand around in a certain way, a laser would come shooting down from the sky. Now, he can use it on anyone who gets in his way. He can fly. He has a magic staff which looks like a gold sword. It can shoot lightning out.

Killer X lives in a volcano with his dad and brother in Hawaii. The volcano is a mountain with purple lava. He was possessed. His other scientist “friends” would test magic on him. This one experiment went wrong, and he turned into the Killer X. Before the experiment, he was a normal shop worker. His name was Kevin.

Killer X wants to take over the business that possessed him. In order to do that, he would have to get some help from some people that also know dark magic, so he went online to look for the most known people that know dark magic. He found one that was a criminal living in a beach cave on the island of Hawaii. He sent his contact information over to that guy.

A couple days later, the guy wrote back saying, “Okay, where do you live? I can meet you at your house. Why do you want to see me?”

“I need to see you because I was possessed. My science partners tested this chemical potion called chemical X on me. I want to get revenge on them, and I might need your help because security to get into the lab is really high.”

The other magician with dark magic agreed to break in with him. He added on, “I am only doing it if you pay me.”

Killer X said, “How much money do you want?”

“$1,000, but only if you help me break in,” said the other magician.

The two magicians get to the lab, and once they’ve gotten to the lab, they need to find a way to get in. It looks like a bunker but with less military guns. It’s gray.

The other magician asks, “How do we get inside?”

Killer X says, “Maybe I can use my X-ray vision to see the safest entrance.” He does it, and none of the entrances are safe. It looks like it will be a problem.

When he’s leading the team to break in, he feels powerful because everyone has to listen to him, and he gets to be in charge. They break in, and they are trying to get to the lab where he was tested. Once they find the lab, he’s looking for the potion that turned him into the guy he is now. Once he finds it in the vault in the floor, he punches it open. (That is one of the abilities he has… super strength.) It is black. He puts it into a bottle, and once he puts it in the bottle, he finds an invisibility potion. He drinks it, and then when the people who tested the other potion on him arrive, he has two bottles of the potion they threw at him. He has two bottles of those, and he throws them at the two people. Once he throws it at them, they start turning into evil witches and stuff. Once that happens, they decide to rule the world together.

“I guess I’ll join you because it’s the only thing we have left to do.”

THE END

 

The Thing

              

Chapter One

There I am, Jerald, 11 years old. I live in a small town called Shuster, and it’s haunted. Well, I think it is, but nobody believes me. No one believes me because I am not popular. There have been 150 deaths this month at least, and nobody knows who it is. Only I know who it actually was, but no one bothers to listen to me.

There I am in school with my friends, and we’re called the nerds, and there are bullies whose names are Henry Frederick, Bob Dillion, and Harold McFerstein. Harold has actually killed someone, but he only got suspended. They go up to my friend Will, and they call him four eyes and other names, and they especially bullied Jerry (also my friend), and my last friend Carolina. People called her very bad names because she’s done bad stuff.

I forgot to tell you this thing about my grandma. One day, it was gusting winds from the west and the east, and something took her somewhere, and now everybody says she’s dead. I hate when people say that because I know in my heart that she’s somewhere out there.

My friends and I get ready to go home on our bikes, but guess who we see?! The bullies. Robert Frost, the new kid. It’s his first day here. He left his last school because they called him fat. He always studies in the library after school. He goes in the shed to get another newspaper about all the people who died 37 years ago, but all of the sudden, the lights flash off. This thing with no head appears, and it says, “Come here Robert.” At first, I didn’t believe him, but I went with it. It starts screaming, and the creepy music plays. It runs after me and turns into my grandma.

 

Chapter Two

I outran it somehow and was out of breath. The librarian came down and asked me what I was doing, and she had a bad expression on her face. I ran away from her. I think she knew what happened to me and is behind that thing looking like my grandma. I don’t know actually. I am just traumatized from what happened before.

I bike home, and I hear something coming from the basement. The wood is making a weird noise, and I see her. My grandma is staring right at me. She says, “Do you want some cookies?” She starts screaming and charges at me in a flash, and I run as fast as the wind and get away by a fingernail. I try not to look at my mom because I really want to go to my friend’s house right away to talk about what happened, but of course she pulls me over to talk about my day. I try to tell her it’s not the time, but she loves bothering me, so I have to sit down with her for 20 minutes.

Finally, I am done with the talk, and I get to go to my friend’s house. I ride my bike there, and I see the librarian, but she looks different. She is all dolled up and just different all around. Anyway, I don’t ask questions. I go straight to my friend’s house and talk to them, and the strange thing was that we all got attacked by a monster that turned into my grandma. We are convinced this is what happened to all the dead kids.

We all went to my basement and tried to find this thing, but we needed some weapons and armor. We went in the basement, and after all, it was just my dog Harold. We came back upstairs, and we put our stuff back on a table, and we are all so relieved we don’t have to do this fight right now.

We all go back home, and night comes. I go to the bathroom before I sleep, and I hear a noise, and it’s getting louder. I think it is my grandma!!! I close the door, and then I turn around. It’s right there, and it’s my grandma. I say, “Hell nah,” and run fast as can. I go to my mom, looking like I am going to hyperventilate.

She asks what’s going on, and I say, “This thing. It’s trying to kill me.”

“That’s child’s play. There’s no such thing,”

“We will see about that.”

It’s 11 o’clock. I asked her if I can sleep with her since I was scared of the thing. I woke up and saw my mom in the shower, and I checked her pulse. She was dead. Oh no. My life is ruined. No mom. Only a dad now who’s not really there for me. I mourned for seven days, and I went back to school with my sweatshirt over my hair. I saw my friends and the bullies, and I ignored them the whole rest of the day.

My friends came up to me at the end of the day, and they asked why I was feeling down in the dumps. I said, “My mom died.” They quickly started apologizing, but I didn’t listen to them, so I walked home. The next day, I apologized to my friends about yesterday, and they understood. My friends and I were in the library because we had study hall, and we heard something downstairs, and we all knew what it was.

 

Chapter Three

The thing is here. We must finish it off once and for all. We take all our dictionaries and head downstairs. It’s right there, and it looks like a giant chocolate chip cookie. We start to nibble on it, and suddenly, it turns into my grandma.

She says, “Your cookies are ready,” and she starts attacking us with her big, fat, intimidating teeth and slobber coming from her nose. I strike her with a dictionary, and she dodges it and bites Carolina. She quickly falls on the floor and starts bleeding from her leg, and my grandma starts laughing creepily.

Then, from above, our librarian comes down and whacks my grandma in the head with a history book. She says, “That’s knowledge.”

The End

 

The Siblings of New York

The first morning of January, they all woke up at 11:00 a.m. from their party which was crazy. They were at their friend’s house last night. The firstborn’s name is Sammy, the second-born is Gideon, the third-born is Schultz, and Lisa is the youngest. Sammy is older than Gideon by three minutes and 30 seconds, Gideon is older than Shultz by one minute, and Shultz is older than Lisa by two minutes. They are all pretty competitive about being better at things like sports, knowledge, and other things, but that’s mostly what they fight about.

It was a Saturday, and all of the siblings went to the gym. They went to the same gym, but only Lisa had a trainer because she had to lose a little more weight than everyone else. Gideon’s workout was 15 minutes on the elliptical and two hours on everything else; he stayed at the gym the longest. Sammy played basketball for his workout, and Schultz ran on a treadmill for two hours.

Then, it was lunch time. They skipped breakfast because they woke up too late. At lunch, they had food from Panera Bread, but they couldn’t drink coffee because they were only 16 and were so tired from their basketball game. Then, they all had homework and their mom, Chresna, made them do their homework right when they got home because on Sunday they all had basketball tournaments. They were in very advanced classes except for Sammy, so they all had a lot of homework.

It took them until 7:00 p.m. to finish. After 7:00, Sammy played Fortnite until 11:00, and the only reason he went to sleep was because his basketball tournament was at 8:00 a.m.. He was on the same team as Schultz and Gideon, but Lisa wasn’t on the same team as Sammy, Gideon, and Schultz because she is too young by two minutes, and she is the best on her team. She is the only girl on her team.

In the morning, they all got up at 5:00 because their games were in Baltimore, and they live in New York. When they arrived at their games, they had a tiny sip of coffee, and they were amazing. They got 20 points each and all won their games and were very tired at the end of the day by having a coffee smash (which is when you have coffee when you are too young, and you just crash to sleep). This night, they went to sleep at 7:00 p.m..

The next morning was school, and they were late because none of them wanted to go to school at all after their weekends, but they made it to school at 10:00 a.m. thanks to their mother. Chresna had to bring them because they had already missed the bus by two hours.

At school, they all were in the same classes except for Schultz and Sammy who got kicked out of Spanish class because his teacher thought he was eating a urinal cake, but it was just a big Pop-Tart. Sammy was just bad. When it was time for Spanish class, Schultz always went outside to get his giant Pop-Tart. He could eat it now because he didn’t have his Spanish teacher to kick him out of Spanish class because he was already kicked out of Spanish class.

At the end of school, they all went home to see their mom playing Fortnite with Sammy’s friends. She said, “Am I cool now?”

Sammy responded, “Yes, Mom. As a matter of fact, you are cool now.”

Chresna said, “You can play now, but I got next.”

That night went on until 12:00. Gideon and Lisa walked into the room and were disappointed in them.

The next morning, no one got up until 11:00 a.m.. When they got to school, their teachers yelled at them for being late two days in a row. They felt embarrassed and just went straight to their classes and didn’t say anything. Sammy was the most embarrassed because everyone got there at 11:59, but Sammy got there at 12:00, so it was even worse. Sammy was not allowed into school and was happy because he didn’t have school and mad because he would have to deal with Chresna yelling at him for being late, and he would also get yelled at so much the next day.

When Sammy got home, he was preparing for Chresna to yell at him, but he saw her lying on the sofa playing Fortnite. This time, Sammy was not laughing but was telling his mom to get off the couch, so he could play.

Chresna asked why he wasn’t at school, and Sammy responded, “I was late by one minute, and they couldn’t just let me go in.”

Chresna screamed, “Why couldn’t you have ran a little bit faster? You can score 20 points in a basketball game, so why can’t you run a little bit faster?!”

Sammy responded, “Schultz was blocking my way, and why did you not wake me up earlier?”

Chresna responded, “Well… you should have just gone downstairs and went to sleep.”

Then, without explanation, Sammy went downstairs and took a nap, so he made sure he wasn’t going to be late to school. Four hours later, the siblings come back from school with a pile of homework for Sammy. Sammy did his homework until 12 a.m., so he had to be woken up by Gideon who jumped on him and broke his tooth because Gideon’s breakfast plate was under him.

Chresna didn’t care anymore. She just wanted to get Sammy to school, so she could play Fortnite. She didn’t care about his broken tooth. She cared about Fortnite because she saw Sammy playing it and thought it was awesome.

On their way to school, Sammy (who had one part of his tooth in his pocket) said, “I don’t need that other half of my tooth because that was my dirty side with mud, but this side of my tooth is the clean side where I have toothpaste.”

Just keep in mind, Sammy has the worst teeth of the family, but that was really hard because everyone had terrible teeth, and that was weird because Chresna had amazing teeth.

When they got to school, Sammy’s teacher said, “Ohh, look who we have here?”

Sammy said, “Who? All we have is a pencil and Lisa.”

Lisa said, “Sammy, you are in trouble.”

But, Sammy said, “Wait, I can explain. Look over there.”

Then, Sammy ran away to his class but then realized his class was with that same teacher.

Sammy was told to come out of class when his teacher yelled at him so bad the other class heard him get screamed at by his teacher. Sammy wondered why it had to be loud. The teacher was saying the same thing but louder and made Sammy more embarrassed. He thought, I feel like teachers just want to embarrass their students, and yelling doesn’t change the message. Just talk, please! When Gideon heard, he laughed to himself because he guessed that Sammy would get yelled at, because he was late for school.

The next night, Sammy was wishing he could be someone else for one day because he was in big trouble, and he wanted to see if everyone had as bad of a life as him. Lisa was also wishing she could be someone else for a day because she wanted to change a little bit, and she wanted to see how it would be to be a boy for a day. She was also getting bored and wanted some excitement.

The next day, on Friday, Sammy and Lisa switched bodies. Sammy and Lisa were really confused because they thought it wasn’t possible to switch bodies, but they were also very happy in a weird way because, as you know, they wanted to be someone else one day. Sammy who was Lisa thought it must be freaky friday, like that Chris Brown song, and also thought, Wow I might actually have good grades without cheating. He could feel the knowledge going to his head, and now he didn’t want to play Fortnite for once, and he knew he would have to be with other friends for a day. He was excited to try something new. Lisa was mad because she did want to be someone else for a day but not Sammy. She felt stupid, and she felt like she had the need to play Fortnite, and all she needed was a smart person next to her to cheat because Sammy was in trouble. But, anyone else would have been better, except for Schultz, because all she would do then is run. Even during class, she would run in place. But, she thought, wait, if she was Sammy then that would have to mean that Sammy was her.

“Shoot,” she whispered, because Sammy usually got up early to play Fortnite, and everyone was asleep.

When everyone got to school, Lisa went to Sammy and said, “How did this happen, and why did this happen?”

Sammy responded, “Maybe it was meant to happen, so you could finally feel bad for me.”

Lisa said, “Why do you need me to see how bad your life is? You have to see how bad my life is.”

When Sammy got with Lisa’s friends, he realized how he was definitely not a girl and would never be a girl.

One of Lisa’s friends said, “How was your weekend?”

Sammy said, “I played Fortnite almost the whole time, except when I had my basketball game.”

Then, Lisa’s friends all said that sounds like the most boring weekend ever.

Then, one of them said, “Last weekend, I went to Long Island and rode horses, but my boot broke, so I had to go back to the mall, but I couldn’t find a horse store, so I was looking for a new boot all weekend.”

The other friend said, “Oh my god, that sounds fun because you got to go to a lot of malls, right? And you got new boots, right?”

The horse friend said, “First, we went to almost all of the malls in America, and I did get the boots.”

Sammy said, “Why did you have to go to all the malls in America, and why couldn’t you have just got it on Amazon? I mean, I think that they have drones now.”

The horse friend said, “Umm, because going to malls is fun.”

Sammy asked about basketball because he knew that Lisa liked basketball, so he thought that her friends would also like it. So, he asked, and they were very confused.

Then, one friend remarked, “Lisa, what has gotten into you? You seem like such a different person.”

Then, Sammy ran away and went to Lisa in Sammy’s body and said, “Do you fake being yourself, because your friends are not like you at all.”

Then, Lisa said, “Who were you talking to?”

Sammy responded and pointed to those people.

Lisa said, “Those aren’t my friends. Those are the pretty girls.” Lisa then pointed at the group in the corner and said, “Those are my friends.” Lisa then remarked on Sammy, “Sammy why are you wearing a dress? I never wear a dress. They must have thought you were Lisa Trodstein. Ha.”

When Lisa went back to her class, she felt way too smart for that class and said, “Teacher, can I get a harder paper?”

The teacher said, “Wow, Sammy you are barely in this grade, but you want a harder worksheet? Wow.”

Lisa in Sammy’s body said, “Yes, yes I do.”

The teacher gave Lisa the worksheet, and she aced it and finished in five seconds. The teacher was very impressed and said, “Sammy, you are not Sammy.”

Lisa in Sammy’s body said, “The whole year I was scared to do harder things.”

Lisa of course lied and realized that this wasn’t her life, so she could do whatever she wanted, but she wanted to see how Sammy would do in a different class. Sammy’s teacher said, “Okay, Sammy you shall have a chance in the higher class, but you have to take a test right now.”

Lisa aced the quiz, and school ended, so Lisa went home with Sammy. When they woke up in the morning, they switched back bodies.

When Sammy got to math class, he went to his class, and his teacher said, “Ohh sorry Sammy, but you’re in that class now.”

Sammy said, “What? Okay.”

The first problem on the paper took Sammy the whole class, but then after everyone was done, the teacher explained the problem and the answer to the problem. But, a miracle happened. Sammy actually understood the problem, and he was actually getting math.

Gideon was pretty happy with this week except for when all of his friends started talking about Fortnite, but he never played before, so he saw that Sammy looked happy for solving his first ever math problem. So, Gideon asked Sammy if he would help him learn how to play Fortnite. Sammy, being the changed person he was, said, “Yes.”

He taught Gideon how to play Fortnite, so as usual, Sammy played Fortnite until one o’clock in the morning. But this time, he did it with Gideon. The next day, Gideon felt so much better at Fortnite and knew the general topic of Fortnite, so now he could talk about it with his friends. Schultz was running around the hall as always, but this time he ran into Gideon and said, “I see you are talking with your friends a lot more.” Then, he said, “I want friends.”

So, Gideon felt lucky that Sammy taught him how to play Fortnite. He was going to help Schultz, so he introduced Schultz to the running club. Schultz made friends easily, but Schultz realized that since Gideon helped him, he should help Lisa lose weight because she is not so skinny. Lisa was offended at first but then gave in and lost a lot of weight. So, everyone helped everyone, and they all had a great week.

But, it was also a weird week because to recap this week, they came home from a huge party, they had a great basketball game due to coffee, they came to school late because they were tired, Chresna got into Fortnite, Sammy was yelled at by his teacher because he missed a day and was late to school, Sammy broke his tooth on Gideon’s breakfast plate, Sammy and Lisa switched bodies, and Schultz finally didn’t run for one second for the first time in his life.

THE END

 

Eye of the End

Life is a silly thing but what’s even more silly is the people who go through life. How would you feel if you never saw yourself, could never adjust your hairstyle, or brush your teeth in front of the mirror? It is reality for one certain boy. His name is Poncho Zoori Dover, and he has never seen himself, adjusted his hair, or brushed his teeth in front of the mirror. This story is based on him and only him.

Many people see the world wrong. They never see the bright side of things. In the year 2118, a small boy was born. He was from France but was known globally for his unluckiness. Many may ask what was so special about him. Well, he had an extra eye that was predicted by Vava Banga, the old predictor of life. She was an immortal form of God that was born in the 13th century and is still alive. In the 14th century, she predicted a man of poetry and emotion (Shakespeare), a war based on a duke’s death (World War One), an ugly, grumpy, weirdo ruling the country of USA in the year 2016 (Trump), and of course, the Eye of the End. Now she predicted that the world would end when Poncho looked in the mirror so, after Trump got elected, all countries signed an agreement to take care of their problem. What they didn’t know was that their problem wasn’t the end but a new start.

Poncho went to school with a negative mind everyday, knowing that he would be mocked by every student. Each comment would affect him even more everyday, making him wonder why he was even born. Was it karma from his parents or was it just unluckiness? Was it reasonable or was there no logic to it at all?

“Uffff!” Poncho suddenly bumped into a fellow child.

“Oops, sorry there,” said a mysterious voice.

“You just said sorry?” Poncho was confused. He had never heard that word from anyone else except his parents. “What’s your name?” Poncho asked.

“My name is Lucas Moffer,” Lucas responded. “And what is your name?”

“My name is… Poncho… Poncho Zoori Dover,” Poncho hesitantly replied. Lucas was shocked. He was told that Poncho was a curse, that he was a problem and a mess. Lucas slowly backed off.

***

What did I do. I never went out with friends for a reason. So God could spare me in situations like this. All I did was eat chocolate when I wasn’t allowed to. Today I am gonna break the limits. I am gonna eat as much chocolate as I want. I am gonna go out with my friends and become friends with… Poncho.

***

“So hey,” Lucas stammered. “Wanna grab some lunch?” Poncho’s heart was beating as fast as possible. He looked confused.

He said, “Sure,” with an insecure look and tone.

***

As time and memories passed and the world turned black, sitting in my room and talking with Poncho was the only light of my day. Being mocked along with my best friend made me live my life the way it should have been all along. He would share the grief of his life and I would somehow lighten his day. We had no idea that all of that was about to change.

 

May 26th, 2119

The red bell rang while Poncho and I held hands and ran to the main gate. Suddenly, I took a step outside and saw the fate of his best friend. I quickly covered Poncho’s eyes and ran back in with him.

Poncho was confused, and he asked me, “What is happening?“

I explained everything. “Now listen to me carefully. When you step out into the world of triangular glass mirrors, you are gonna have to block all three of your eyes. No one is alive except you and me. If you look there, you know the consequences…”

Poncho slowly put his fingers on my mouth and he hit his head on the wall while saying, “If this is happening because of me, then what is the point of me?” His head slowly started bleeding and then gradually he fell to the ground and died.

I slowly got up and walked outside. Tears dripped from my face. I opened the door and realised the world was the same. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He had risked his life for the world no matter what the world did to him.

I wrote this book and now it’s done. Now, all about the author. My name is Lucas Moffer.

The End

 

Report

There was some boy named Jeff who got a report card. He was called the funniest kid in the class. He liked to play basketball. The scores he got in school for tests were pretty good, like A’s and B’s. He was waiting day by day for his report card to come. The whole school was talking about it. He was so eager to just ask the principal to see his report card. It comes in June, and school ends in June. It was June 1st. He dashed to the mail, and he saw it, his happiness. He ripped it open and saw…

Math: A+

Writing: A

Reading: A

Social Studies: A

Science: B

Art: B+

He was relieved by what his eyes saw. He ran inside and banged the door so hard he hurt his hand. His mom opened the report card, and he scrambled past her and jumped on the couch. He wanted to go to sleep and wait for the next day. Then, he was learning the capitals of the states for homework. He had to listen to “Tour of the States.” The lyrics were long.

But he listened to it in second grade, so he already knew it. So, he went to sleep and sleepsung. (I don’t know if that’s a real thing.) He sang a song he didn’t even remember. Also, he dreamt about the NBA team Golden State Warriors winning the championships. While he was sleeping, he fell off the bed and didn’t wake up.

He woke up at 12:00 A.M. midnight. He figured out his favorite song. He didn’t like the capital song, so it couldn’t be that. He ate breakfast that early. He didn’t know why. He changed and got ready for school and then slept in a chair, waiting. He went to school that day thinking about the song and completely forgot about the report card, and he didn’t know if anyone was talking about it. He was zoned out. He could barely even finish his work. For homework, he had to type a realistic fiction essay. He was thinking hard of an idea.

He got it! The song! He was thinking about it the whole day. He could write about it! He actually had a big idea about that. He typed three pages until 10:00 P.M. and then fell asleep on the computer. He dreamed of the report card. The same day happened again, except instead of dreaming about the song, he dreamt about the report card. But today, he was chatty. In school, he said to everyone, “What did you get?”, but no one got their report card. He was completely confused.

He finally asked the principal, and the principal said, “There has been a misprint.”

Jeff said, “That means mine isn’t correct?”

“I’m afraid so,” said the principal. Jeff fainted. The principal thought he was dead.

“Oh no!” the principal yelled. “I need to call 911!”

The police arrived, and everyone at school came. The policeman said he is still breathing and then…

“HOLA!!!” said Jeff.

“OOOMMAAYYYGOOODNEEEEES!” said the science teacher.

“Guess you don’t need me no more!” said the policeman like a cowboy. Then, he jumped out of the window.

Then, the mob of people slowly left the room. Jeff got up and asked the principal, “Why was there a misprint?”

The principal replied, “The printer is broken.” One last person hiding behind the printer bolted out of the room.

Jeff asked the principal, “Can I try to fix it?”

“If you think you can,” said the principal.

Suddenly, Jeff started using his black belt karate moves like kicks and karate chops on the printer where the paper comes out. The papers were stuck in a position that they couldn’t come out in, but the karate chop shook it into the regular position. Then, papers started rapidly coming out of the printer. “IT WORKED!!” yelled the principal. Then, the principal said, “Everyone will have their grades by this evening. I need to sort them.”

When Jeff went out of the office, it was already the afternoon, and he had two more classes which were math and language arts. The principal gave an excuse for missing class to the other class teachers. Jeff started carefully running down the hall with joy. He made sure he didn’t get caught. There was a rule against running in the hall at school. Once he was near the class, he started walking, so the teacher wouldn’t see him running. He was two minutes early to class, so he could read. He read the book called Report, and the author was named Jay Tikoo. The moment he opened the book, everyone came in and class started, so he had no chance to read. The word about the report cards easily spread throughout the whole school. Everyone realized what Jeff did, and soon everyone was asking him questions about the printer. When he got home, he was relieved because he had no homework because the teachers heard that he fixed the printer. He wasn’t asked any more questions. He waited the whole evening at the mailbox waiting for the report card to be delivered. He couldn’t wait. He was so eager he was practically jumping up and down. Then, the UPS truck came to their house. The man at the wheel gave the envelope straight to him. He ran inside, threw off his shoes, and ripped it open and saw…

Math: A+

Writing: A

Reading: A

Social Studies: A

Science: B

Art: B+

Then he said, “Whaaaaa?” Just then, he realized that both of the report cards were the exact same. “I am very confuzzled.” He read his book after that and finished it. He realized to never get your hopes too high.

 

When Death Comes Knocking

“Klara! Carl!” my mother screeches. I wake with a start.

“Wha… Oh, hello Mom.”

“Oh, Klara, they are here! Hide with your brother! Quick, hurry! NOW!” I run to the closet where my little brother, Carl, is crouching. I slam the door shut just in time and lean back against some dusty winter coats, my heart pounding against my chest. We are Jews, so maybe they are here to kill us. I am only sixteen! My brother is eleven! Surely they can’t take us away! I press my ear to the door and catch snippets of the conversation.

I hear, “8:00 tomorrow… All Jews… One knapsack… Transported.”

Suddenly, I feel something that I didn’t even know was there, a dawning realization. They want to take us away! To camps! What’re they called? Concentration camps? I don’t want to go! I don’t want to die! What will we do?

***

RING!!! RING!!! My alarm clock wakes me up. I focus my eyes. 5:45. Why did I get up this early? Ach, the call-up notice, I remember, and roll out of bed. “AAARRRGGGHHH!!!” I keep forgetting that I sleep on the top bunk. I rack my brain for something to do, and as I can find nothing, I grab blindly at the air.

My fingers hook onto something. My mattress! I slowly lower myself to the floor. I breathe a sigh of relief and start to get dressed. I wander over to the breakfast table where my mother, looking very pale, shoves a piece of buttered toast into my hand. Wait… buttered toast? We are one of the better-off families in the ghetto, and I have buttered toast for breakfast? “What is this?” I ask.

“It’s buttered toast, can’t you see?” my mother answers. “Klara, do you know where your brother is?”

Ach, the call-up notice, I remember, and find Carl in his bed. “C’mon, sleepyhead! Time to get up! I’m gonna yank the covers off of you… stupidhead!” Carl jumps out of bed.

“Klara, you are the only stupidhead I see at the moment!”

“Get a mirror.”

“Why’d you get me up so early? It’s 6:15! I — mmmph!”

I had cleverly tied my handkerchief tightly around his mouth. I sigh as I haul him into the living room. Mother gets up and sits down on the couch next to us. “I suppose you should know,” she says. Carl and I glance at each other. I take my hankie off of his face. Mother takes a deep breath. “We’re going into hiding.”

My life is changing forever.

Carl and I have very different techniques for handling this statement. He freezes in his position and rolls back onto the couch. I press for details: “Where? When? How? For how long? Who’s helping us? Are we hiding with anyone else? How do we get there? Why are other people helping us? Why are they agreeing to hide and help us? Why is… ”

“Relax,” my mother says. “I’ll tell you all about it when we get there. Pack your knapsacks. Act like you’re going to the cattle cars. Wear lots of clothes. Pack your prized possessions in your knapsack. We have half an hour. Go!”

I run to my bedroom and take my diary into my hands and my carved wooden box that Opapa made for me. I use it as my fountain pen kit. I keep my three fountain pens and my 30 ink cartridges in there. I grab my first aid kit and my favorite books and shove them in. I put in my pillow, but then take it out.

I put in my fountain pen kit and flip through my diary before putting it in. I put in my stuffed bear and stuffed dog that I still sleep with even though I am sixteen. I pull on four more shirts, three more pants, two coats, and a scarf that I use to cover up my yellow star that says that I am Jewish.

***

I put in my pack of cards and a few joke books. I also grab my camera and film. I shove them in with a flashlight, extra batteries, a second pair of shoes, another coat, a pair of pants, a blouse, my spare pair of glasses and the cloth I use to clean them, my hair brush and spare hair ties, and a headband. Miraculously, this all fits, leaving just enough room for my essential toiletries and some underwear and a little bag of… er… private stuff. I zip the knapsack shut. I am ready. I know that we could be leaving… forever.

Will we all survive this?

I swing my sack onto my back. We are trudging through crunchy snow. It is only 0 degrees Celsius, but I am sweating for two reasons. One is that we are sneaking away to go into hiding. The other is that I am wearing way too many clothes.

Suddenly, I feel something in my back. Thinking it is Carl, I say, “Oh, stupidhead, do you speak English? No? Good. I hate — wait… ”

We are loaded into a stuffy box which I later find out is a cattle car. There is a horrible stink, and the heat is unbearable. I see a woman slump to the floor. A baby’s high-pitched wail rings out, and then its whimper, and then… it is quiet. A tear rolls down my cheek as I sit on the dusty floor.

Now we only have 72 people left out of the 90 people that boarded this musty… portmanteau. (I counted.) I shouldn’t have assumed that the Nazi officer was Carl. I shouldn’t have insulted him.

Carl starts to sniffle. Soon, he is sobbing. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to go!”

“Oh, be quiet, crybaby!” I say, even though I feel like crying myself.

“Who’s a crybaby?” Carl asks, wiping at his eyes vigorously. I laugh at his blood red eyes and him trying to be angry while his bottom lip is shaking more than a jitterbug dancer.

Mother raises her eyebrows at me. “Sorry.” I only half mean it. Carl nods, satisfied.

“You should be sorry.” I can tell he only half means it, too. I pull one of my coats off and use it as a pillow. The rocking of the floor soon lulls me to sleep.

I want to go home.

So hungry… where am I… I want to go home… help… my leg hurts… I must have fallen asleep on it…

“Bewege dich schneller!” (Move faster!) cry the guards. I stumble out of the car, not used to the bright daylight and the sudden cold. Ouch. I’m limping. Why am I limping? Oh, right. I fell asleep on my leg. All these people, traipsing outside… oh, it’s so horrible. And to think we could all be dead soon!

“Schneller!” (Faster!) a guard barks at me. I feel the shattering, hot sting of a whip on my back. Oh, the hot pain! It hurts like nothing has ever hurt before. My knees buckle, and I fall over. Tears spring to my eyes, and a few roll down my cheeks.

“Das wird dich lehren, mir nicht zu gehorchen!” (That’ll teach you to disobey me!) the guard cries.

“Klara!” cries my mother, helping me up. The guard silences her.

“Ruhig! Das ist deine erste Warnung.” (Quiet! That’s your first warning.)

Another guard steps up. “Warnungen, Schmarrings. Sei still oder wir werden dich verletzen. So einfach ist das. A-ya!” (Warnings, schmarnings. Be quiet or we will hurt you. It’s that simple. Aya!) With that, he kicks my mother in the shin with his steel-toed boot. I look and with horror see a big bruise blossoming there. She is brave enough not to cry, but I see her lower lip tremble. We are quiet and well behaved after that.

When will we get out of here?

We are brought into a room. I am forced to lie down in a chair while they bring out razors. I watch in horror as they, with a snip, cut off my thick braid. They then shave the rest of my head so I am completely bald. The floor is soon littered with golden-brown bits. Then, they hold my arm down. A needle goes into it again and again, tattooing a number. A-7630. I’m so scared that I don’t feel anything, although I see Carl writhing in pain. We are led manhandled into another room. A guard kindly instructs us to, “Nehmen Sie ihre Kleidung und gib sie zu uns. Oder sterben,” (Take off your clothes and give them to us. Or die), which he punctuates with a menacing smile.

I yank off my blouse and skirt, leaving my bra and underwear on. I reach for the shower tap and I… stop. A guard is pointing his gun at my head. “Es Abnehmen,” (Take it off), he snarls. Then, he walks away, surveying the scene with the same menacing smile that the first guard had. I slowly pull off my underclothes, and I don’t want to go into detail about it. I take a shower, and the guards give us all wooden, hard clogs, burlap underwear, and an itchy gray dress with a yellow star on it. The men are given the same underwear and clogs, but instead of a dress they have a black-and-white striped shirt, pants, and cap. The shirt has a yellow star on it. Then, we are led outside again. Without my coat, the cold hits me like a slap in the face.

“Alle Rechte, Erwachsene, Kinder und alte Leute auf der linken Seite. 16 Und sie sind Kinder, 17 bis 59 Erwachsene und 60 bis sind die alten Leute. Jetzt wechseln! Ich habe mich nicht zu wiederholen,” barks a guard. (All right, adults to the right, kids and old people to the left. 16 and down are kids, 17 to 59 are adults, and 60 and up are the old people. Now move! I’m not repeating myself.)

Carl and I run over to our parents. All four of us are crying. I say goodbye to my father and mother. “Klara, Carl,” says my father, “never forget how much we love you. We will think of you every day and always, always be with you. No matter how far apart we are, your mother and I will always be right beside you, helping you through life. There is a chance we will never see each other again. But we will always be right here beside you.”

My mother musters up a frail, “Goodbye, wonderful ones…” and we part… perhaps forever.

When will we be together again?

Carl, some 50 other kids, 25 elderly people, and I are led to another spot where girls and boys are seperated. Carl and I cry a million tears, and we go off in separate directions.

Suddenly, a guard comes up to our group and says, “Sechzehner sind keine Kinder mehr. Der Kommandant sagt. Alle, die sechzehn sind, heben die Hand.” (Sixteens are not kids anymore. The commandant says. All of you who are sixteen, raise your hand), the other guard says. I raise mine tentatively, and the guard pulls me and a few other girls out of the group. He leads us to another barrack and pushes us in. I look around hopefully for my mother. I knew she wouldn’t be here. I had raised my hand just so I could see her one last time before she died.

Yes, my mother is going to die. I could tell, in the ghetto, that she was weak and waning. She is hanging on to life by a thread, and if she has to do the work I have seen people doing, the thread will snap. I wanted to be with her while she died.

I squeeze into one of the shelves that I’m guessing are used as beds and fall asleep. I’ll have a long day tomorrow. I need my sleep.

I open my eyes. Where am I? Oh right, a… concentration camp. Oh, Lord, help me! Help me, Lord. A shiver runs down my spine, and my blood curdles. After a breakfast of a small chunk of stale bread and an egg-cup-sized-cup of “coffee,” which is actually just polluted water, we are led outside and paired up to haul boulders. I’m with a girl who doesn’t acknowledge me except to nod. We haul the boulders back and forth. I ache all over, and my hands are raw and blistered. I’m glad when we go back to the bunk for supper — and even more glad when I see Carl’s line of boys parading past mine.

But then he makes a vital mistake — he waves at me. My eyes widen with fear. His eyes widen too, after he realizes that the guard was watching. “In dieser Gruppe wird es keine Kontakte geben!” (There will be no socializing in this group!) the guard cries. He raises his gun. What can I do to stop him? Carl died painlessly, and his body was left on the ground.

And I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t move, couldn’t make a sound, couldn’t cry out in grief, or…

Save me!

I laugh, the bubbly feeling rising from my stomach. My skates slip around on the wet ice. Carl snickers at my fail. “I’m going to show you how to really do it!” he cries and leaps onto the ice. His right leg goes out and his left in the opposite direction, and he lands in a split. RRRRRRIP! his pants tear. His face scrunches up. Oh no, I think, here come the waterworks, but to my surprise, the tears that run down his face are not from crying, but from laughing. Once I see that he’s fine, I sink down under the weight of much hilarity. Carl’s head rests on my shoulder, for with his guffaws, his neck no longer has the strength to hold up his head. We both fall down on the ice. I forget about everything in that moment but the happiness of laughing with one of my favorite people in the world. Then we go inside to huddle by the fire with hot cocoa, chocolate chip cookies, hot water bottles, blankets, and books.

Three years later, here I am, huddled under a thin blanket, in a concentration camp, slowly starving. The fire in me has completely gone out. I take out a thick blue book and a pencil.

It’s the only thing.

I had taken my diary with me. I hid it under the chair, under my clothes, and behind the shower nozzle. Now, it’s under my pillow. I pick up my pencil and write.

Dearest Diary,

Carl is dead. I don’t know what to do, Diary. Never again will I see Carl, see his hair as it is rumpled in the mornings, see his messy neatness, even his fist as it flies toward my arm in a fight.

I pause and look out the door at the crematoria. I see smoke rising.

They are probably burning his body right now. Diary, is this what humans were born to do? Kill each other because of race, gender, or ethnicity? I’m not sure what Hitler thinks he’s doing. Because of him, Carl is dead. No, I don’t blame the guard who killed him. Diary, I blame Hitler, because he is the one who started this mess of tears that I am. Mangled bodies are everywhere, usually. I never thought Carl would be one. And, Diary, you know what really riles me up? I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye

Klara F. Schmidt

O Lord, bring Carl to heaven.

The block leader opens the door and another girl walks in — I know many fourteen-year-olds, and I can tell she’s fourteen. Fourteen? She’s tall for her age, but why did she join here? She’s a kid, by their standards. Since there are no more shelves left, the block leader puts her in with me. “Cześć,” she says to me.

“I don’t speak Polish,” I answer. I know it’s Polish because of how it sounds, but that’s really all I know.

“Je parle polonais… et allemande,” another girl, in the next shelf, says. “I said that I speak German and Polish. She said hello,” the French girl says to me.

“Powiedziałem że mówiȩ po niemiecku i po polsku. Powiedziała, że nie mówi po polsku,” she says to the other girl.

“Czy bȩdziesz naszym tłumaczem?” the Polish girl asks.

“She asked if I would be your translator.” The French girl turns to the Polish girl and says, “Tak.” She turns to me and says, “Yes.”

Through the translator, the Polish girl says, “My name is Aleksandra Lisowski.”

I say, “My name is Klara Schmidt.”

The French girl says, “My name is Cadence Laurent.”

Klara, Aleksandra, and Cadence. The Three Musketeers.

Not even the promise of new friends can give Carl back to me.

It feels good to have friends. Through Cadence, Aleksandra and I have many conversations. When Cadence is talking to either one of us, she talks in our language. When she’s talking to both of us, she has to say things twice. One day, I ask her why she knows all three languages.

In Polish, then in German, she says, “Well, my father was German, so he decided that I should learn the German. My mother was Polish, so I learned the Polish, too. And, of course, we lived in France. So I had to do the learning of the French language. I can speak the English, as well. Mother used to teach it to students at the… school in the middle. I know not what the Germans call it.”

“Middle school!” Aleksandra cries, and we all laugh. But that night, all I can think of is how she talked of her parents in the past tense.

The next day, I ask her, “Cadence, why did you talk about your parents in the past tense?” Her eyes well up with tears. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s fine,” she answers. She translated what I said for Aleksandra and says something else to her, too. She widens her eyes and covers her open mouth. Cadence then turns to me, but then the block leader rushes us outside and puts us three together to haul rocks.

She quickly whispers, “My dad was visiting a German Jew’s business on Cristal Huit. He was killed. My mother died in our bunk, next to me.”

“Cristal Huit?”

“What you Germans call Kristallnacht.”

“Oh, Cadence… I’m so sorry.”

“It was bound to happen anyway. You can’t change it now.”

I turn to Aleksandra. Cadence has been teaching me Polish and has been teaching Aleksandra German. I use my newly learned Polish to say, “To jest smutne.” (It is sad.)

Aleksandra answers, “Yes it is.”

Cadence looks at us. “But now I have you two,” she says in both languages. She reaches out and hugs us… and suddenly the block leader is right behind us.

THE END

 

Haunted Teddy Bear

Once there was a dog, a cat, a girl, a boy, a mom, and a dad. The cat and the dog both had a collar that turned their barking and meowing into actual words. One day, the dog and the cat escaped. When they were walking on the sidewalk, they saw a beat down toy store. In the window, they saw a brand new teddy bear. Since the cat was good at stealing things, the cat stole the teddy bear without anyone seeing. Since the dog was good at hiding, the dog hid the teddy bear in his fur, and the dog and the cat went home. At the house, the cat and the dog played with the teddy bear for a few minutes and then put it in the basement.

One year later… the dog and the cat figured out that the teddy bear was haunted!!! But sadly, before the dog and the cat could tell the girl, the boy, the mom, and the dad, they died because they were very old.

Then one night, the girl and the boy could not sleep. They were bored of their old toys, but they remembered stories they have heard about a bunch of cool toys that are in the basement. So, the girl and the boy went to the basement and found a flashlight. They heard a noise behind them. The girl turned on the flashlight, and they both turned around. They saw a teddy bear on the floor. The teddy bear rolled his head around with his head still on his body. Then, the teddy bear said in a kind of high pitched voice, “Hi! I am lonely. Do you want to play?” The girl and the boy were so scared that they ran upstairs so fast that they forgot to close the basement door!

The next night, the boy and the girl heard a creak at their door. The girl went down to the bottom bunk to be with her brother who was super scared. They both looked at the bottom of the door. They saw the teddy bear! The teddy bear said, “Hi! I am lonely. Do you want to play?” giving them one last chance. Since the girl was the oldest, she stood up for her brother. So, she went off the bed, grabbed the teddy bear, and threw it out the window. But, both of them were so tired that they forgot to close the window!

When they were asleep, the teddy bear climbed the trellis. It did not bother the kids. Instead, he went to the parents’ bedroom. The parents heard the creak at the door. The parents looked and saw the teddy bear. The teddy bear said, “Your kids won’t play, so you will die.”

The kids heard a scream from their parents’ bedroom. They went to see what was going on. When they opened the door, they saw the teddy bear covered in blood in the middle of the bed. The teddy bear said in a deep voice, “I gave you guys a chance, but now you die!”

THE END

 

Color Wars: The Ghouls Strike Back

Blue was sleeping in his king size bed. Then, he heard a noise and sat up. He looked around. Suddenly, the Ghoul Eraser materialized in front of him, and he saw darkness. Then, he slumped onto his bed, unconscious, and he dematerialized.

Red had a dream that Blue was kidnapped by the Ghoul Eraser. He woke up, looked around, and then thought, Must be my imagination. He went back to sleep and had the same dream. And again. And again. And again! Then, Red thought, Maybe, it actually happened! Red walked out of his bed and got to the stairs.

“Blue!” Red shouted.

Then, the Ghoul Eraser materialized in front of him also! Then, he slumped down on the stairs, unconscious, and he slithered down the stairs to the bottom. After that, he also dematerialized.

Purple woke up and looked at his hand. 10:01 A.M. appeared on his hand and he said, “Blue should have woken us up already. Maybe something happened to him!”

***

Yellow couldn’t believe his ears when Purple told the Color Clan what his theory was about the disappearance of Blue and Red.

“But that’s impossible!” Yellow said. “We defeated him, remember?”

“Maybe when White died, we missed something. Like maybe we weren’t supposed to shoot him.” Purple said.

“Even so, we have one-of-a-kind defense. How would he break through them?” Yellow said.

“Maybe he can teleport now,” Purple said.

“That would be bad… say, where did you get this theory?” Yellow said.

“Purple! The goo you found is a 100% DNA match to the Ghoul Eraser!” said Silver the scientist.

“Do I really have to answer that?” Purple said.

“Oh, come on! Anyways, how are we going to save Blue and Red?” Yellow said.

***

Blue and Red found themselves in a desolate, gloomy area with no light except for a strange, glowing ball that had the same unknown coloring as the Ghoul Eraser.

“Red! You got teleported also!” Blue exclaimed.

“So, this is where you were taken. It makes me feel… kind of dead,” Red noted.

“YOU ARE CORRECT…” boomed a loud voice.

“Who are you?” Red and Blue asked simultaneously.

“… YOU WILL FEEL KIND OF DEAD,” continued the loud voice.

I said, who are you?” Red rashly exclaimed.

“DON’T YOU DARE ‘I SAID’ ME!” exclaimed the loud voice. Then, a shadowy figure materialized into sight. “IT’S ME… THE GHOUL ERASER! NOW, YOU WILL BOW TO ME!”

“NEVER!” Blue and Red shouted.

 

{1}

Then, electricity passed up both Blue’s and Red’s arms, and they were screaming at the top of their lungs.

“MUAHAHAHAHA!” cackled the Ghoul Eraser. “You are now Indigo and Maroon, dark versions of Blue and Red!”

“Yes, Master,” said Indigo and Maroon. The good had been sucked out of them, but they could still look like Blue and Red.

“Hehehe!” chuckled the Ghoul Eraser.

***

“Listen up,” Purple said. “I have a plan. Orange, you go to the Gorge of Doom and see if you spot anything. Green, go to the frozen lava pit and see if anything is ‘out of nature.’ Yellow and I will go to the resting spot of the Ghoul Eraser. I’ll take the blaster. Let’s go!”

“Aye aye, captain!” said Orange, Yellow, and Green.

So, they split up to look for Blue (Indigo) and Red (Maroon).

***

Eventually, Orange and Green returned to find Purple and Yellow talking with Blue and Red!

“Hey guys!” Blue shouted.

“W — what happened to you guys?” Green asked.

“Nothing! We escaped!” Blue answered.

“I don’t know… something seems fishy here,” said Orange.

“That’s because we aren’t Blue and Red. They are still with the Ghoul Eraser. We are Indigo and Maroon, dark versions of Blue and Red!” Indigo cackled as he and Maroon revealed themselves.

Indigo threw a stone at Orange, and he got knocked unconscious.

“Blue! We are friends,” said Purple. “Remember when you helped me not give up on magic when I discovered it? Look at me now! Thanks to you, I almost figured out how to fly by now! All thanks to you!”

“Red,” said Yellow. “Remember when you saved my life by pulling me out of the blacksmith armory trench during the lava refill? Thanks to you, instead of swimming in lava, I’m swimming in gold! All thanks to you!”

“We are not enemies, we are friends, so let this curse and hatred end! Say it with me, Yellow!” Purple said.

We are not enemies, we are friends, so let this curse and hatred end!” Purple and Yellow said together.

“W — where are we?” Blue asked.

“Someplace safe,” Purple answered with a broad smile.

***

“Δύναμη, δύναμη, Typhon, σας καλώ!” chanted the Ghoul Eraser.

“Why do you summon me?” asked Typhon.

“So I can steal your POWER!!” boomed the Ghoul Eraser. The Ghoul Eraser absorbed Typhon.

 

{2}

“NOW I AM FREE!!” boomed Deathwish. “I AM DEATHWISH!!”

***

Suddenly, the Color Clan saw a giant monster with snakes for hair, blades for teeth, and red-hot rubies for eyes. It drooled and burped lava and cried acid venom.

“W — what… is… that?!” Yellow cried out.

“I am clueless,” Blue calmly said. “RETREAT!!”

Yellow gathered his senses and said, “Listen up. Did we come here to run away? No. We came here to fight for Color World and for ourselves. We will stand our ground and fight to the death! For Color World!!”

Yellow ran towards Deathwish and found a metal pole. He charged toward Deathwish. Suddenly, the metal rod burst with light and he struck Deathwish. Deathwish burst with light.

“NOOO!!” Deathwish screamed. There was nothing left of him.

“Are you okay?” Blue asked Yellow.

“This changes everything,” Yellow said.

 

The End (for now)…

 

Comments:

“With this sequel to COLOR WARS, Elijah has given us not only a fun action-packed tale, but a story about the profound power of friendship.“

-Matthew

More books like this:

Color Wars: The Beginning

Color Wars: The Elements Awaken

 

Lost: Gina’s Story

     

September 21, 1962

I’ve never really wanted to talk about this, but I guess this day has come. I was sitting in a cafe the day after the tornado hit Hamburg. A young journalist asked me if I had been alive during World War II.

The answer is yes. And here is my story.

 

Chapter One

September 21, 1942

As every person in my synagogue was gathered in a small street, I knew what was going on. Though my sister, who was six at the time, did not have a clue. My parents told her we were going on a long vacation, though what they couldn’t say was that we were on a journey to our deaths. The fear rose in every person as people were being loaded into the cattle cars. My parents, crying, my sister and I, not knowing what would happen next.

I could hear a loud boom. I looked towards the loud sound. It was our neighbors. They had been shot by the soldiers. The neighbors I’d known since I was born. They were there when I got stitches and when my Bat Mitzvah came around. Before I could see more, Mother turned my head the other way.

I could see the fear in my mother’s eyes. Her hand holding mine as tight as possible, I could feel her ring leaving an imprint in my hand.

“Nächster,” I could hear the German Soldier shout at us.

I could hear people praying, hoping somehow they could make it out okay. Genny, my sister, was wondering why people were so scared, “After all, we are going on vacation!” How could she still believe this. The soldier tugged my mother and forced our whole ghetto to the train. So many people fought back, hitting and screaming at the soldiers. I knew I would never see them again.

As we boarded the train, I could feel my heart pounding. All these questions flowed in my head, Why would our country do this to us? Where were they taking us to? And the question no one could answer, Why?

When we got on the train, I heard the cries of everyone and felt the pain that filled every single person’s heart. My mother pushed through the stench and sorrow of people. She took us to the window of the car. She and Father started whispering to each other. Not knowing if it was good or bad, I knew it was bad when they started to sob.

This was when Mother did something only the bravest could do. Father held her up, and she started to spread the barbed wire, making it just big enough for a person my size.

“Get on my shoulders,” Mother said to me.

At first, I didn’t want to. Because I knew if I did, I would never see my family again. After I didn’t do it, she said it in a firm way, holding back tears.

I did as she said.

 

Chapter Two

Before I knew it, I was being thrown out of a moving train. I closed my eyes and held my breath, hoping that when I landed, I wouldn’t die.

I was lying on the ground. No family, no clue where I was. I could see my mom pushing me and the pain I was in. I landed on my hip. I turned to my side, my hip all bruised and in excruciating pain. Can pain truly end? As I looked around, no sign of life. Where am I? We were in the train for about an hour, so I say we were somewhere in Poland.

***

I’d been lying on the ground for around three hours, hoping someone would come and take me inside. Finally, some teenagers, who were speaking in Polish, came and started laughing at me. After a few minutes of staring at me, they took off every article of clothing I had, but they didn’t take my necklace. After they did this, I started to sob. Since no one was around, I started to cry really loudly. I didn’t feel embarrassed. No one was around to laugh at me. So I thought.

 

Chapter Three

I thought that I heard someone. Or something. As I tried to crawl away from the tracks, someone told me something. “Do you need help?” As I heard this person ask me, I turned my head. It was a middle-aged white man with some gray hair and glasses standing with food and water.

After he told me about the townspeople contacting him about a young girl lying at the edge of the tracks, he took me to his church. He was a priest. His church was the biggest I’d seen. Big pillars held it up, and a giant clock was right in the middle of the structure. It was a very clean church. The churches in Hamburg were much dirtier. The white they were once had faded into gray.

He told me, “You are in Gdańsk, Poland.”

When we got to the church, every single person was staring at me. Well, I didn’t have any clothes on because the teenagers took my clothes as a joke. The only thing I had on was the Star of David. I’m not sure why they didn’t take my necklace. Maybe they thought they would be sent to where I was going.

A Jew standing in front of a bunch of Christians. Their faces, disgusted. At any time now, they could get me and the priest killed. The priest told me that he’d keep me, but only for a night. Then, he said he would find a family to take me. I didn’t even know why the priest cared that much about a Jew he found on the side of the tracks.

Before I went to bed, the priest gave me some clothes that didn’t fit me. I couldn’t complain because these would probably be my clothes for a long, long time. While I was sleeping, I realized this person was risking their life just to save me.

***

In the morning, I woke up to the smell of a beautiful breakfast with eggs, cheese, milk, and yogurt with granola. Would someone make this for me? He told me that he found a family, well a couple, and that they were waiting for me. (I guess he put it in the church newsletter.)

Before I left, the priest asked me, “What’s your name?”

“Gina.”

 

Chapter Four

When I saw my new “family,” they didn’t say anything to me. They just took me by the arm and put me in the back of their car. The expressions on their faces were blank. They probably didn’t know what to do with a 12-year-old girl.

I tried to talk to them. They just ignored me. I asked them their names. They showed me a piece of paper. Oliver and Lena. Maybe they didn’t speak German. I decided to keep talking to them. They didn’t respond. They then start talking in Polish. It took about 45 minutes to get to their farm. They had everything, pigs, cows, and so much more. I didn’t think I should tell them I was kosher. They probably wouldn’t listen.

When we got into the house, they directed me right into a tiny cupboard under the sink in the basement. It was small. No light. Sad. I figured I’d be spending the next few years of my life here. I was freaking out mentally. How would I eat? What would I eat? Will I go to school? I didn’t understand how people could be so cruel.

I could see their chicken staring at me. There was a leak in the sink. Drip, the sink went. There was mold on the “ceiling.” It was gross.

I opened the doors. I could see Oliver and Lena. They were talking. They looked concerned. I wanted to get to know them. They seemed like nice people, a nice couple. I stepped out of the cupboard. I’d been in the cupboard for like thirty minutes staring at the ceiling, and I already hated my new life. Wait, no. I couldn’t hate this life. I didn’t know if my family was even alive anymore. I walked towards them. They didn’t see me. I tapped on Oliver’s shoulder. He punched me in the face. Ow. I guess that was his immediate instinct. My whole face was in a little pain. I meant a lot of pain (but obviously not as bad as when I was thrown out of a moving train).

“My name is Gina,” I told them. They started talking in Polish. Lena was (or looked like) she was trying to convince Oliver about something.

Lena started walking towards me. She asked me a few questions in Polish. Since German and Polish are very similar, I knew what she was saying. How old are you? Where are you from? Where are your parents? The questions she asked me almost made me cry. Just as I was going to answer Lena’s questions, Oliver started to push me back into the cupboard.

 

Chapter Five

September 2, 1946

It had been exactly one year since the war ended. I was now fifteen years old and didn’t know what to do. I took a boat to America with a friend I made when I went back to Hamburg to find any of my relatives. I didn’t find anyone, but now that I was here, I didn’t know what to do. The last three years of my life weren’t very eventful, but at the same time, I found things to do. I got a lot of sleep and watched the chickens.

I had no idea what was happening outside my cupboard. Oliver and Lena fed me at nights and in the mornings.

The moment the war was over, they kicked me out of their house. They gave me a ticket to Germany and one to America and told me that they were getting paid by the priest to take care of me. After they said that, they closed the door. I thanked them for everything. Even though they did it for money, they still risked their lives. Did I really want to go back to Hamburg? Hamburg became a mental warzone for me. I was battling loneliness.

I walked to the church to see if the priest was still there. Indeed, he was. I walked up to him.

“My name is Gina,” I told him.

“I know,” the priest told me.

He told me about how he was sorry about paying Oliver and Lena. I told him it was okay. He was doing it to protect me. A car pulled up in front of the church. It was there to pick me up and drive me to the the train station, where I’d take a train to Hamburg, Germany. I decided that all the bad events that happened over the past three years would be remembered but would not ruin my life.

I had no one and nothing except two tickets to completely different places. My journey started now.

 

Chapter Six

October 11, 1992

After I got to America, I married that same friend, Aleksander. He has brown hair and green eyes. We decided on the boat that we would become good friends. Once we got to New York City, we bought a house in Brooklyn (as friends). Something happened, and he asked me to marry him. I said yes. Aleksander was in the same situation as me, in Poland as well. He is really sweet and funny, and we lived together for four years before we got married. Together, we had two kids, Mira and Aleksander Jr.. I educate children and adults about the Holocaust and World War II. I live in Brooklyn, New York. I think it is very important for people to know what happened from 1939 to 1945, how 50 to 80 million people died, and about the Nazis and the people who fought against the Axis powers and the Allies.

 

The Story of the Unfortunate 2

Harold was in jail with his bike and had no clue how to escape. He thought for minutes, hours, days, and weeks but couldn’t think of anything.

Then, he got an idea after months of thinking. He stated, “I will make a ram with my bike and bust out of here.” Then, he asked the jail guard for a screwdriver and broke his bike into pieces. Then, he cried, “What have I done?”

After finishing making his ram, Harold tried it on the jail bars, and to his surprise it busted open. The jail guard started chasing him, but to his luck he was able to run away!

Harold got to a weird cave that was full of tanks, when he noticed he was at a military camp. Then, he tried running away, but the military opened fire and gave Harold the only option to hand himself in. Now, he was trapped in a place that you know was the worst… jail! He thought, No! How could this happen to me?

Well, now we know Harold is one of the most unlucky hobbits on earth.

Now, he had to hatch a new escape plan to get out of jail. Now, exactly 27 years had passed, and he was 40 years old, and he still couldn’t get a plan on escaping. He realized that it was a waste of time thinking on how to escape, and it was time to trick the guard into letting him out.

So first he made a disguise by scraping the rock wall and getting powder and covering himself in it, so he looked like a monster. Then, he went up to the guard and moaned, “I am the monster of the jail. Let me out, or I will get you.”

Then, the jail guard got so scared he actually gave him the keys. So, Harold got out of jail and ran away. Then luckily, he found a donkey to ride. Then, the donkey led him to an oasis and Harold got so happy he started crying with joy.

Now, Harold took off his clothes and jumped into the oasis, and it ended up to be a mirage. When he went head first into the sand, he got very angry. He kicked the sand as hard as he could, but he didn’t notice and kicked a snake.

He squealed in horror and ran, forgetting the donkey (O-M-G Harold). But, he didn’t care and just ran. Well, now Harold was stranded in the middle of the desert with no food or water. He had no map or anything to contact someone, so he just started walking. He felt miserable.

Then poof, out of nowhere, a wizard appeared. He was holding a staff and was dressed in blue robes. He said, “I understand that you are not guilty of losing the money, so I will help you.”

Then, he was teleported to his house or at least where it used to be. The house was in ruins. Then, when he saw it he started crying, and the wizard turned him into a rock. The wizard thought no feelings would be better than having to cry forever. Now, he still sits there crying for the loss.

 

Guide for Being EVIL, I Mean Eating a Bunch of Cotton Candy and Being Super Cute.

Step 1. Come up with an EVIL name by eating dead fish and licking lollipops full of WORMS. And then you will get an awesome name like Master Big Booty Evil Skull Face or if you are boring, Temp 1.

Step 2. Get a job at a place that sells fast food, and don’t tell anybody your real name (or I will make you wear clown makeup like Evil Master by bribing you with, I mean, giving you candy).

Step 3. Cause some mischief. (If you don’t, I will stuff your bed with old tuna fish.) Heehee. I mean, give you chocolate with caramel and death. I mean, uhhhhhh, a puppy. Yes, very nice. Oh, I have gotten so good at lying. Uhh, that means telling the truth in Latin!!!

Step 4. Design your supervillain outfit by stealing fabric from a shop. I mean, buying it from a fancy craft store. Then, follow some sort of sewing pattern, or force someone to sew it. I mean, pay someone to sew it for you.

Step 5. Start stealing from shops. I mean, uhhh, buy stuff from shops. Oops, I already used that. I’m running out of lines. I need to delete this document before the police find my computer.

Step 6. Just go away. I’m sick of telling you things.

Step 7. Just go away. I mean it!

Step 8. Why am I still typing? Okay, fine. I’ll actually do something.

Step 9. Publish a story about how you became evil. I mean, how you became an amazing super hero puppy. I first became evil, I mean, a Superhero puppy, in 1876. I mean, 2016. I’m 100. Uhh, I mean, um, 25. Uh, no, no, no. Twenty-five is old for a puppy. Okay, you guys caught me. Call the police. Okay, fine. I just don’t want to tell my story. This is just a fake document, and I’m just a little girl. I mean, middle-aged woman. I don’t want to be me because I don’t want to be allergic to cheese. I mean, avocados. I mean, candy. I mean, what am I saying? I am not evil, but I want to be evil because I can’t buy things myself, and I get 25 minutes of screentime. That’s too little. It’s just against the law. I want to be evil because you can have a super cool fake identity and be an evil, awesome spy. I could be really sneaky. Wait, can’t good people do that too? I should probably think about this.

 

Finding the Keys

           

Chapter One

“Wake up! Wake up!” screamed both of my sisters.

“Okay, okay. I’m awake.”

I am Tracy Diamond. I am nine years old. I have two younger sisters who are twins and two older brothers who are also twins. I am the middle child. Right after I say I’m awake, my brothers run into my room and jump on my bed. I am used to this. It happens every morning in my house. I throw my favorite stuffed toy at my siblings, my fairy. I know fairies aren’t real, but I really wish they were. Anyways, I shoo my brothers and sisters away when my mind drifts over to my dream I had last night. There were some keys and a voice saying I had to find out what they were for. They only told me one thing, “Find the keys, find the clue. Find the clue, use the clue. Use the clue, find the meaning. Find the meaning, your journey adjourns.” I wrote this quote down on a piece of paper, stuck it in a drawer, and went to breakfast.

I thought about the quote as I ate breakfast. I had a million questions. Who was talking to me? How was I going to find the keys? Was I going to find the keys? All of these questions and more kept lingering in my mind the whole day. During math, science, physical education, and the rest of the school day, the keys were all I could think about. It was like I couldn’t focus on anything at school except the keys. I nearly slammed into my best friend while walking in the hall. I was glad when the school day ended. I could go home and think about the keys.

 

Chapter Two

When I got home, I noticed the house was strangely quiet. When you’re me, your house is never quiet. So, it was surprising when there was silence in the house. I searched the whole house but couldn’t find anyone. The only thing I kept seeing in each lock or thing that required a key were the keys from my dream. Everywhere I looked, all I saw were the keys. Finally, after seeing them for about the one millionth time, I grabbed at the keys. But, my hand went straight through. I tried again and again, and each time, my hand went straight through. That’s strange, I thought. Every time I try to grab it, my hand goes straight through. It’s like an illusion. That’s when it hit me. Some of the keys were illusions.

I started going through the house, feeling each key. When a slam came from the front door, I knew I would have to finish later. My brothers were home.

You are probably wondering why I couldn’t keep checking the locks and stuff for the real keys, but if you have a sibling, then you would know that siblings are bound to try and stick their heads in your business. So, I headed back to my room and locked the door. But, when I was locking the door, I ran my hand along the keys, and they scratched me. It was then that I realized that I had found the keys.

 

Chapter Three

I took the keys out of the lock and went inside. I took out the piece of paper that had the quote and read what it said to do after finding the keys. “Find the keys, find the clue. Find the clue, use the clue. Use the clue, find the meaning. Find the meaning, your journey adjourns.” But, I couldn’t think of was how some old keys could help me “find a clue.” After thinking about it for what felt like forever, I went downstairs to have dinner but instead found my whole family staring at me.

“What?” I asked, with a confused look on my face.

“You’re late,” my mother replied. I just stared at her.

“Late for what?”

“For dinner,” both of my sisters squeaked at the same time.

“So?”

“You’re never, I repeat, never late for dinner,” said my brothers and dad at the same time in a very firm voice.

“Again, so?” I asked. “Can’t I be late once in a while?”

“NO!” screamed my whole family at once.

“You guys are going crazy. I’ll eat in my room.”

I walked back to my room and ate quietly. I couldn’t believe my parents and siblings were making such a big deal out of nothing. After dinner, I took my plate downstairs and went to brush my teeth. I was at the bathroom door when I remembered my fork was still upstairs. When I got to my room, next to the keys and under my fork there was a message. A pair of socks was taped to the message.

You found the clue. Now, wear these socks for three days. After those three days, you’ll find the meaning of the keys. And the keys will live with you for the rest of your life. Also, you can take the socks off for only these two reasons: you’re taking a bath, or you need to wash the socks. But other than that, you must keep them on.

So, I put on the socks and went to brush my teeth and sleep.

The next day, I wore my socks to school. They were so itchy. I couldn’t stop itching my feet, but I knew if I took them off, I wouldn’t find the meaning, and I had to find the meaning (for reasons unknown). So, I wore them for the rest of the three days.

Finally, I thought. I can take these stupid, annoying socks off. I took them off and threw them into the trash. And from the trash, a blue slip of paper shot out at me. It said that I was the protector of the keys. The most amazing part was that the keys were the keys to the city of fairies.

The End!

 

Detective Story

One windy day, on Friday, October 13, Detective Angelina J. Fox stepped from the wet doormat into her brownstone house. She yanked off her soaked rain boots and socks. Then, she turned on the TV to Eyewitness News. The broadcaster was saying, “… criminal has robbed the famous Bank of Rockford. So far, no detective has yet to take this daring risk that could completely ruin their reputation. Because this person was seen to have a mask, it is almost impossible to figure out who the criminal is. Who will step up and try to solve the mystery?” Angelina clicked the “off” button on her remote, and the TV suddenly turned pitch black.

“I need to fix this,” Angelina said.

She reached outside, trying not to get any more wet than she already was, and grabbed the drenched newspaper. She then went to the sink and squeezed the newspaper until it was only damp. Most of the words were faded off and unable to be read, but Angelina made out this: Criminal… mask… Bank robbery… James Poundcracker… sleeping on job while bank robbery… fired… wakes up when beeping… calls boss… robbery… who do you think… has a mask… steals from column five… no detective… too risky… who will… to… it.

“If this person is wearing a mask, then there are three people it could be,” she said, trying hard to sound nice. (This is one of the things that she always did.) “One, Zeeky Mosheek, two, Felisha Zevari, or three, the worst of all, Flamingo Joe.” When she said the last name, her hands made fists, and her face started to quiver and get red. “Angelina, snap out of it. This is not who you are,” she said, putting her hands together and forcing a smile. Now, returning to her usual calm, sweet, nice, kind, and pleasant voice, she decided to go to John Roadsboss’ house to say hello.

When she got there, she sat down and said hi. John had someone with him. She tried to look through the black hat that nearly covered his entire face. She looked at him as hard as she could. Her eyes got very thin, to the point where they were smaller than a squint. She tried to guess what this person was like just by looking at him. She saw that he had the Pranganees sacred Dommy on his hand. This meant that he had been to Pranganova. She also saw that there was a mugshot of him in his pocket. He was looking proud of himself when he realized that Angelina noticed the mugshot. The person in the mugshot had a mask on. She was trying to see who it was, but the mask was covering too much of the face. All she could see were the eyes. Who could it be? she pondered.

“What are you doing?” John Roadsboss said to Angelina, surprised. “This is my friend from my old job as a coach. He was the assistant coach, James Poundcracker. He is telling me about the bank robbery at the bank that he works at.”

“Start again!” demanded Angelina.

The next day, Angelina went back into her house to see what the newspaper was saying about the bank robbery. The newspaper said that interviews have been going on with James Poundcracker.

“Mr. Poundcracker, what did you do the night that this happened?”

“I fell asleep and woke up when I heard the siren go off. I rushed over to the criminal and tried to stop him.”

Angelina slammed the newspaper on the floor with all her might. She was full of rage because she hadn’t asked questions about the bank robbery to James Poundcracker while she was there. Her hands were now fists, and her face started to turn red. She was so surprised with herself. She never sounded that way. What could this mean? It was hard to figure out when during the interview, James had only actually answered one question.

Some of these questions were, “What time of day was it when the bank robbery took place?”

“I don’t really remember, but it was at some point in the afternoon.”

“What is your boss’s name?”

“Logan Miller.”

“Do you remember what the criminal was wearing?”

“No.”

She thought for a moment about this. Then, it came to her. She thought about all the quotes that she replaced her words with.

“See the light in others, and pretend that is all you see.”

“If you are not willing to fail, you are not ready to succeed.”

“We can’t change the past or the future. All we can change is the present.”

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Til good is better and better is best.”

“Some days, she has no idea how she will do it, but every single day, it still gets done.”

“No beauty shines brighter than that of a good heart.”

She combined all of these thoughts. She had picked out these thoughts from her favorites on her laptop. This person had light in them but is just hiding it. This person will fail, and while being a criminal, it is hard to have a true success. I can’t stop him from doing this. I can just make the present better. This person is not giving in and neither am I, so I need to be better than best. I don’t know what I am doing, but I will get it done. This man has a good heart inside but just won’t show it.

She put all theses pieces together. She thought as hard as she could. Now, it was starting to make sense.

That night, Angelina and two large officers sprinted over to the Bank of Rockford. Angelina burst through the doors with the officers close behind her. She looked around, being very aware of her body. She knew that this case would be hard to solve. She was starting to doubt herself. She didn’t want the same thing that happened last time, when someone took credit for what she did. Her eyes immediately glanced quickly around the whole of the bank. Her eyes were pulled towards the dummy sitting in a chair. Angelina crept closer towards the desk. On the counter of the desk it said, “James Poundcracker.” Now she knew that this was his desk. She crawled through the small space between the desk and the ground. She got in and saw that there was a trapdoor on the wall behind the desk. She also crawled through the small door here. She saw some spider webs in the small area. She went to the end, only to end up back where she started — behind column five. She realized something. James Poundcracker must have replaced himself with a dummy, set off the alarm, and robbed column five. She went back to John Roadsboss because James Poundcracker was sleeping at his place. John had ran into James on the subway, and James told him about who he thought had robbed the bank.

“In my opinion, I think that Zeeky Mosheek robbed the bank. It’s what she is known for.” And John wanted to hear more about his case. “Can I stay at your house? Maybe I can tell you about the bank some more?”

“Sure,” said John.

Angelina soon got there and rushed through the house, almost forgetting it was 1:00 a.m.. She crept up to John’s room and saw something glowing under his pillow. She tiptoed closer to the bed and saw that this wasn’t just any glowy thing. It was a bomb! She rushed towards the pillow and grabbed the bomb and threw it out the window. It exploded immediately when it hit the hill with a boom. She went back down to where James was sleeping in the living room. She tiptoed to the chair (which he was sleeping on) and slowly rolled the chair out of the house. She saw the police officers and showed them the man. They greeted her and thanked her for what she did. There. Angelina J. Fox, woman detective, had done it.

THE END!

 

A Door Into Time

         

Prologue

11/29/1812

5:30 p.m.

The night she left the kingdom, there was a terrible storm. That night, the whole of the village fell silent, watching the storm all night. Even the king, the mightiest person in the kingdom, stopped and stared at the horrible and sudden storm. Everyone was shocked, frightened, even scared. For the village had never seen a storm this violent, rain plummeting from the sky with the size and speed of bullets.

The next day, knights from the kingdom flooded out of the gates and into the little town to see if anyone was hurt by the storm. They found that nobody had been hurt, but one had left. This particular person was a girl, the age of eight. And this eight-year-old girl was indeed the most interesting girl you would ever meet. This little girl, as small as she might have looked, had a deep secret, a secret that no one but she knew. The secret was that she, the little, innocent eight-year-old, might’ve been the king’s great-great-great-great-grandmother, Serena Servedore.

 

Chapter One

4/23/2018

2:17 pm

This is the second day in the police department, the fourth time I’ve been questioned, and the billionth time I have said no.

“Can you tell us your name?” the detective said, patiently.

“No.” One billion and one.

“Can you tell us what you were up to in the museum the night the painting was stolen?” the detective said, less patient.

“No.” One billion and two.

“Can you tell us why you are here?”

“You know that already,” I replied.

“Okay, I give up. What is it going to take to get you to speak?” The detective was losing his temper now.

“I am speaking, am I not?” I replied, quite tired now.

“You know what?” The detective got up and took his keys out of the back pocket. He placed the key in the lock and turned it. He left the room, slamming the door shut. I heard the click of the lock, and then I slowly turned to the left to take a look at the security camera.

“Had enough? I know you’re watching,” I said, acting calmly. I have to keep going. They’ll be here any second. “I know what you’re thinking. How did that girl get in so much trouble? I am only ten, aren’t I? I paused. “Why can’t she tell us anything? Why is she so smart? Why is she so stubborn?” I mocked. I turned around again in my seat, so the camera could see nothing of my face. I waited. My eyes blinked once, twice, three times, until at last I fell asleep.

***

I woke up to find myself in a chair in a dark room. Much smaller than the one before. This one could fit about two small armchairs from what I could see. A light suddenly clicked on. Its bright, intense light was headed straight to my face.

“What do you want? My name, why I was at the museum the night that painting was stolen, or something different? I am getting rather bored of those questions,” I said, quite bored.

“Boss, can you not even recognize your own first officer?” the voice said.

“Tes?” I asked.

“Who else. Now let’s get out of here before they realize that the hologram of me is a fake,” Tes said, just as we heard a voice.

“Hey, she’s not real!”

“Okay, plan B. Wait, dang it. I forgot to make one! Fine, improvise. Run!”

“I thought I’d told you to always have a plan B!”

“Didn’t I just tell you the plan B?”

“Right now is not the time to argue,” Tes said as she started pushing the doors open and letting the the warm and welcoming spring air into the dusty, thick, dark building.

The light of the sun blinded us so much that she had to cover her eyes with her arm. As the two officers leapt outside, they heard screaming. A few of the kids outside of the police station had started yelling at them to come over.

“At least you brought backup. I thought you hadn’t done anything.”

“I didn’t bring backup. I guess they just tracked me down and came to back me up,” Tes exclaimed.

“So, you’re telling me that you did nothing to support this plan?” I yelled.

“Hey, at least I rescued you from the police. I could have left you there,” Tes argued.

“Point taken,” I stated. “So, are we going to go over there to ‘your backup?’”

“Be quiet,” Tes laughed.

 

Chapter Two

4/23/2018

6:58 p.m.

When I arrived at the main base of the headquarters, everyone celebrated my arrival from the police station. It had been so long since I had been at the base that I barely remembered it. Of course, it would only have seemed like two days to everyone else in the room.

“So, what happened there?” someone finally asked.

“Not much. A bit of rain here, a bit of saving the whole world there. As I said, not very much. I also took a quick peek at my great-great-great-great-grandson, the king. Oh — but something did act weird with the time machine. Nothing that bad. I could work it out,” I explained.

“What went wrong?” the head of engineering asked.

“I was a bit younger than usual — ” I started.

“How young?” the director of engineering asked, sweat starting to drip down his forehead from knowing that his machine had malfunctioned.

“Just eight, no problem. I can manage to be two years younger than now,” I reassured. The head engineer got less tense. “It’s funny how time travel works. If you’re gone for even a whole month, others would have spent only a day or two without you. But anyway, I’m back!”

“You did everything according to plan, right? No, like, messing with the timeline? Has anything changed? Actually, no. Don’t tell me,” the still nervous engineer threw at me.

“No changes in the timeline. No messing up. No changes here,” I replied, happy to have been able to finally calm him down.

 

Chapter Three

4/24/2018

5:30 a.m.

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Tuesdays suck. I review my to-do list in my head: 5:45 German; 6:15 Review the Time Machine with head engineer; 7:15 Watch duty; 8:45 Meeting with the head judges about the rules of time travel; 9:35 Check on engineering; 10:20 Snack and chess; 10:30 Review essays of what happened without me; 11:15 Math and computer class; 12:15 Lunch and recreation; 1:00 Argue with military tactics about the infinity bombs; 2:00 Check in with the minister of locations and languages; 3:00 give team A a mission; 4:00 give team B a mission; 5:00 give team C a mission; 6:00 go on a mission; 7:00 Dinner; 7:45 relax for the rest of the day.

“Big schedule,” I mumbled to myself, all ready to go to my German class. I quickly grabbed my identification and sign-in cards and left the bunker. Frau Hinrichs started us off with some conversation. We were to have a whole five minute conversation with a partner. I chose Tessel, Tes’ sister.

“Hallo wie bist du?” Hi how are you? I started.

“Mir ist alles gut, und sie?” Everything is fine, and you? Tessel continued.

“Gut. Wurden sie einen keks haben?” Good. Do you want a cookie? I giggled.

“Nein, danke.” No, thank you. Tessel replied. There was an awkward silence of nobody knowing who would speak first or at all what to say. A few seconds passed. “Was hast du eigentlich gemacht im zieht?” What did you actually do in the time? Tessel asked.

“Ich habe meinen — ”

“Time’s up. You can speak English,” Frau Hinrichs said in a very heavy European accent.

“Well then. I visited my great-great-great-great-grandson, and I stopped him from discovering the secret of time travel. I also may have caused the rain in that big storm. But that always happens when you time travel. So all in all, I basically saved the world from utter despair,” I answered. “Wow, how do I make that sound like like it’s not a big deal at all?” I asked myself in a funny sort of way.

“That’s not what I meant. What I meant is, why did you end up in a museum department. People usually end up in the same place that they left. Which is always the roof.”

“Something may have gone wrong with the time machine,” I suggested. Tessel and I tensed up. “We should check in with engineering.”

 

Chapter Four

4/24/2018

6:15

Tessel and I ran up the escalator from the third floor to the fifth. Huffing and wheezing, we had finally made it to the engineering and mechanical section of the building.

“Identification card please,” an employee asked, looking down at the sign-in sheet. Tessel took her card out and showed it to the young employee. I shoved my hand into my pocket and took hold of my identification card. Tessel was halfway through the metal detector. I showed the card to the boy and went through the metal detectors.

“So, where is Director Zybi?” I mumbled under my breath.

“Found him!” Tessel exclaimed from the other side of the full room.

Pushing through the crowd of people wasn’t easy, but once on the other side of the room, where it was less full of noisy, working people, I could talk to her.

“Where is Director Zybi?” I asked frantically.

“Right here,” a familiar voice answered. I turned around as fast as I could, luckily avoiding getting whiplash.

“We have to talk somewhere more private,” I suggested. Immediately, Director Zybi knew where to go. His feet led the way as I outlined the problem for him. “So when I left to go to the past, I left on the roof, as always. I went into the time machine and got to November twenty-ninth, eighteen twelve.” I paused.

“Yes, proceed,” the director said, calm so far.

“And I followed all the safety precautions. All of them,” I repeated.

“All of them?” Director Zybi asked.

“All of them,” I answered. “Anyway, when I came back here, I arrived at a museum.”

“A museum? Oh no.”

“What?” Tessel and I shrieked, once we had gotten into Director Zybi’s office.

“Someone must have seen you leave in the time machine. You have to go back now,” Director Zybi yelled. We all headed toward the roof.

***

The time machine was exploding with blue streaks. Director Zybi had told me to go through the time machine at exactly 12:00 p.m.. The time machine started to creak. Will it work? I doubted it. I’m going through time and into a world that I messed up, so I might die, but everyone else will too. I’m so reassuring.

 

Chapter Five

5/8/2018

11:49

It was almost time to go. The blue swirls surrounding the time machine were going higher and higher by the second. There are only eleven minutes left before I can rescue the world. Or possibly destroy the whole universe and live in an eternal nothing. The watch on my wrist felt like it was carving itself into my arm. The time machine started to creak. 11:50. Ten minutes till I go back in time. The time machine got louder. Crrrrreeeeeeeeeaaak.

“Serena,” I heard a faint voice whisper. My reflexes made me turn around instantly. I saw Tessel behind me. She was gesturing me to come over. I looked down at my watch, 11:51, nine minutes to spare. My numb and frozen legs started sloppily running over to her.

“Tessel, what are you doing here? I asked that everyone evacuate the area, so I could fix the timeline.”

“But it won’t work. You know that you shouldn’t mess with the timeline. It’s basically your catchphrase here,” she mocked in a cold, hard, and serious voice, letting absolutely no laughter escape.

“I know, I know, I know. But if I don’t try, the universe will stop working anyways. I have to go through the door,” I added.

“But you ca — what door?” Tessel asked, stopping midway in her sentence.

“The door into time,” Serena answered. “The time machine.”

“Please don’t. I don’t want you to go.”

 

Epilogue

It’s 11/29/1812 5:30 p.m., and I am still stuck in time. I’m still with the king. I’m still in this world. I’m still Serena Servedore. Everyone is still dead. Because of me. I told them. I told them everything. Now they are dead. I can’t believe I told him, and now he’s dead. I am stuck in time. Because I traveled back in time. Because I told the king who I am. Because I did what I wasn’t supposed to do. My friends are dead. Because of what I did. I messed with the timeline.

“I messed with time, and now everyone is dead,” I admit to myself. “I am the only existing being in the world. This is my reward for messing with time.” I look at my clothes. They are dirty, messed up. Ripped. Everything is gone. I see nothing. No colors. Not even black. Not even white. It’s not like anything anyone has seen before. “So this is what time is,” I mumble. This is what nothing is. Nothing is nothing. Everything is nothing except for me. I am the only thing in the universe. To be more precise. I am the only thing in the nonexistent universe. It’s not 11/29/1812 at 5:30 p.m. actually. It’s nothing. Because I betrayed everyone. It is literally the day of nothing. The day after nothing. The day before nothing. Because of me.

 

Can You Survive the Sahara?

You are a researcher of rare plants and animals in the Sahara Desert. There are many dangers that you have to face while you are there. For instance, there are lions that could pop out of the bushes. It is also one of the hottest places on earth. The company that you work for is flying you across the desert in a four-seater plane, including the pilot and copilot. You close your eyes and lie back but, a few moments later, you wake up to a violent shaking and an elderly woman’s screams. It only takes you a few seconds to realize that the plane is going down. Some passengers are trying to get out of their seats, but you make sure that your seatbelt is fastened. Then, you brace for impact. When you hit the ground, you fall unconscious. A few hours later, you wake up, the desert sun beating down on you. You have a big gash on your head. You crawl around and check the plane for survivors, but no one is alive. You then try to stand up, but the moment you do, you fall back down. The sun is too strong, but you know you could still walk if you try to.

Do you stay with the plane and camp for the day? Scroll down to “stay with the plane and camp for the day.”

Do you keep on walking? Scroll down to “keep on walking.”

 

Stay with the plane and camp for the day.

You decide to stay. You will never survive walking all day in the heat, so you climb into the plane and rest your head on the seat pads. You then close your eyes. When you wake up that night, you stand up and don’t fall back down. You search the plane for food. You find a half eaten sandwich, some trail mix, granola bars, and three bottles of water. You put all of the supplies in your bag and then set off into the desert night. As you walk through the night, you see all different wildlife like snakes, spiders, lizards, and scorpions. As you reach a cave, the sun starts to rise. You put your bag down in the cave entrance. You take out your trail mix and all the other rations and divide them into equal piles. Then all of a sudden, you hear a prickling, like the sound of a waterfall. You look up. Out of the hole, you see a huge waterfall. You run to the waterfall immediately. When you reach it, you dive into the waterfall, expecting the nice, cold water. But instead, it is sand. You look around. You see nothing but sand. You curse yourself for falling for the trick. It was a mirage. You choke on the sand that you just swallowed and die.

THE END

 

Keep on walking.

You think that you can make it through the day. At first you start by walking near the trees. Then, as night approaches and the desert cools down, you walk more in the open. You find a spot to camp for the night. The first thing you do is make a tent out of everything that you have and fall asleep. The next morning, you see a group moving. After a while, you figure out that they are nomads. You flail your arms and shout. They see and hear you, and they get you back to safety in a nearby town. You are safe!!!

THE END

 

The Adventures of Leo

           

Chapter One: The Crime

Just as the sun was rising up, Leo the penguin was getting dressed to go hunt for fish at the local beach. Leo waved to the neighbors as he waddled down the snowy path. When he arrived, he waited until the fish swam up to his bait and froze them all to death. He picked up the floating fish with his net and brought them back home for his mom to cook.

“Good morning, Leo,” said Leo’s mom, Olivia.

“Morning, Mom,” responded Leo. He left the five fish on the ice counter and heard the phone ring in his room. He went in his room and picked up his phone. It was Twaben the panther.

He spent the next few minutes trying to find out whatever on earth had happened to Toitel. When he arrived, he parked his submarine and jumped out of the exit. Twaben and the other TOPP members were waiting for him, all except Toitel. The TOPP organization was an organization of animals that had powers and abilities that could help them defeat animal criminals and save lives of their human companions. The members were Twaben, the pink panther, Cory, the octopus with seven legs, Leo, the penguin, and the rogue turtle, Toitel. Their biggest enemy was WDAP, the World Domination Animal Project or Project WDAP. It was a project made by these rogue animals, seeking world domination, and so far the most dangerous project that the TOPP had to terminate. It consisted of over 17 rogue super animals that were spread along the globe, who were trying to hijack human brains using developing tech and force them all to obey the animals. The leader of WDAP was a serpent called Scar who had venom powerful enough to kill 149 humans with a single bite, instantly. Scar had over 28 confirmed murders and only sought more death. The TOPP organization had never been able to even get a speck of information about who or where this serpent called Scar lived. That’s why they feared him so much.

Twaben was doing some research about leaked WDAP info and at the same time, analyzing the newspaper that said that a savage turtle injured three humans. He thought it was Toitel because of the way the turtle looked, and Toitel wasn’t at work this day. This was strange because he was always early. Leo sat down on his desk, opened his hacking application, and started coding the millions of lines of code they needed to get a little speck of information about Project WDAP.

Hours into the coding, Cory shouted, “I got something!” from the other desk. Twaben and Leo huddled around Cory and glued their eyes onto the computer. “Do you guys remember the report papers we got from the news saying that a serpent escaped from the Bronx Zoo up in New York and killed three zookeepers?” asked Cory.

“Yeah?” responded Leo and Twaben.

“Well, read this article right here,” said Cory.

“Snakes have a genetic based venom. That means that some snakes have more powerful venom than others, not such a great amount, though. Some snakes have traces of their parents’ DNA,” the article stated.

“That means that if we got a human to consult the three dead zookeepers’ blood, they could find some venom from Scar. Then, we could study his DNA, match it with another snake, and that snake could give us who he is or at least some idea of who he is,” explained Cory.

“But how are we going to find a human who can do all this?” asked Twaben.

“Well… I have a friend who can help us with that,” said Cory.

 

Chapter Two: The New Friend

The group of animals got into their private jet and flew to the destination that Cory put into the autopilot. “Sooo, where exactly are we going?” asked Twaben.

“To New York City,” said Cory.

“TO THE NEW WHAT CITY?!” yelled Twaben and Leo. “YOU WANT US TO GO IN A CITY WITH 9 MILLION PEOPLE AND NOT GET FOUND?!?!” yelled Leo and Twaben again.

“No, we aren’t going to land in the middle of Times Square, guys. Don’t be ridiculous,” said Cory. “We are going to land in the Bronx Junkyard.”

“Why?” asked Leo and Twaben, confused.

“I already said I have a friend there,” said Cory, losing his patience.

“Okaaaaay… ” said Leo and Twaben, still confused. Once the plane got into view of New York City, they went into invisible mode and landed on top of a pile of junk in a massive junkyard. The doors opened, and the animals put on their spy clothing. Everyone was wearing a black outfit with golden shades. They walked around for a while, aimlessly, until Cory lifted up a can of soda and pressed a button. Suddenly, a big chunk of trash moved to the side and opened a passage into a large corridor.

Suddenly, they heard, “There is someone here!” and footsteps. They jumped into the entrance and ran. However, they forgot to close the door, and soon the humans caught up with them. The TTOP members had a good head start and had already arrived at Cory’s friend’s house, or a restaurant. When the TTOP members arrived, they found out that instead they were going to an animal restaurant.

They looked around until Cory said, “There!” and pointed to a small cat. They walked over to the cat, and while they were introducing themselves, suddenly the humans arrived.

“OH MY GOD!!” yelled the humans, holding guns.

“SAVE YOURSELVES!” yelled a rat, and then the whole restaurant broke into chaos. Humans were shooting guns, animals were throwing things at the humans, one panda jumped on top of a human, and the TTOP members were trying to escape. They crawled on the floor through animals legs and finally, they got out. They ran up the stairs, outside, and into their jet. They saw that some other humans were looking for their friends, and they had just spotted the TTOP jet. Cory pressed the “close door” button, and just before the humans got in, “DING!” the door shut close.

“Phew!” said all the animals together. They started the jet and flew back to their base in Greenland. Once they arrived, they started asking the cat questions about their human. And thanks to him, the next step was complete.

 

Chapter Three: The Sample

The cat told them that he didn’t hire humans to do jobs for him, but he could make a person to do his jobs. “What do you mean?” asked Leo.

“Well, I make robots,” explained the cat.

“Ohhhhh!” said Leo, understanding.

“It’ll take ten days to make a doctor,” said the cat.

Ten days later, the robot was done. The TOPP members went to take a look at the robot, and it was perfect. “This is great! Now we just need to get this to the hospital!” said Leo with excitement. They got into the jet and flew back to New York. “Okay, so I just found the hospital that the victims are staying in. The problem is that for some reason the hospital has lots and lots of cameras. But I can fix that.”

He jumped out of the jet and landed on the hospital roof. He walked up to the vent at the corner, froze a puddle of water, picked up the ice, and smashed through the vent. He opened his GPS map and found the room where the generator was stored. He crawled left and right until he found the room. There were two workers and a guard. They were looking through the cameras, laughing at funny things, and looking at cute dogs that pooped in the hospital garden. Then, the guard went to use the bathroom. Leo jumped into the room and made no sound when he landed. The workers couldn’t even notice that a penguin jumped into the room because they were laughing too hard. Leo threw an ice cube into the “power” button, and suddenly the whole hospital went black. Leo used his grappling hook to get back into the vent and to the roof where he got the robot. He went back into the vent. He followed his map until he found the room that the victim was in. He froze the floor, and one of the doctors slipped. Leo swooped him off the floor and gave him anesthesia and carried him through the vent. He got out of the vents and called Cory, so they could pick him up. Cory arrived, and they left safely.
After they arrived, they started looking at what the robot could see. Everything was going smoothly. No one noticed that it was a robot. The robot made an excuse to go see the venom in the lab. He got the blood sample and went into the bathroom. He jumped into the vents and found its way into the roof. We picked him up and took the venom.

 

Chapter Four: The Final Battle

They brought the blood sample into the lab and found some amazing results. It turned out that the reason that Scar’s venom was so potent was because of a strange mutation. They found that a strain of DNA was rather deformed. It didn’t have a normal ASOP-13 gene or an ASIP-13 gene. Both of them were glowing, and Leo caught something in the corner of his eye. There was a strange color. It was purple and was glowing so brightly it made him blind.

“What in the world is that thing!” Leo yelled. “Nothing in the periodic table! This might be a whole new material that science had never heard of!”

They studied it for a while, until they finally found out what it was. It was an isotope of curium and was the most radioactive material on earth and the rarest. They found the isotope was growing on the DNA strands, responsible for the overpowering venom. They extracted the curium and exposed it to a rat. The rat instantly died.

The venom was understood, but now they needed to find out the parents. They ran some tests, did some research, and finally found a snake that looked like Scar.

They found where they lived, and surprisingly, they lived in a zoo near Chernobyl. “Oh! That explains the curium!” said Leo. They got in their jet and flew over to the Chernobyl area. They looked around until they managed to find a hole in the ground. “This might be a snake hole,” said Leo. “Let’s go in.”

They dropped a rock in to make sure they wouldn’t die if they jumped in, if it wasn’t that deep. They each dropped in one by one until they were all in. They turned on their headlamps and looked around. Shedded snake skin everywhere, bones, and rotten flesh. “Yep! It’s a snake house,” they said, dashing to get away from the rotting flesh. They went deeper into the cave until they got to a wall.

“Wait, what?” asked Twaben, confused like everyone else. “So this whole thing is not actually a snake hole?”

“HMMM! HMMM!” heard Twaben.

He turned around and saw all his friends wrapped up in snakes! The snakes tried to grab him, but he ran up the wall and jumped on top of the snake and sliced it with his blade. He grabbed his friends and ran out.

“Where do you think you are going?” said a random voice.

“Hello? Who are you?” asked Leo.

“Oh, you know who I am. Perhaps in the light you will see.” Suddenly, there was a sound of dead snake skin being ripped apart as something slithered around them. Suddenly, flames erupted from the floor and so did a giant snake with a huge fang and about 20 different animals with maces and swords. “It’s the time for the FINAL BATTLE!” said the snake.

“IT’S SCAR!” yelled Twaben. Scar lunged forward with his fang right in front of him. They all ran to the side and dodged the fang. They pulled out their weapons and started fighting the WDAP group, but soon the situation seemed bad. They were all cornered!

“Jump on Scar,” said Leo, explaining the plan to the other TOPP members.

Scar came over the cornered group. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? A painful agonizing death is what it is!” said Scar, as he lunged his fang 60 miles per hour towards the group.

“JUMP!” yelled Leo, as the fang got close. They jumped up, and Scar’s fang hit the wall, and he got stuck. “Get him!” yelled Leo. He created an ice sword and stabbed Scar right in the head.

“REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” screamed Scar as he fell on the floor, and all his friends got destroyed by Twaben and Leo. They were all pinned down. Every WDAP member was pinned against the wall, including Scar.

“It’s time to end this all!” said Leo. Leo then held up both his hands. Suddenly, a huge earthquake began. Then, ice started to form on the floor. It crawled up their legs. Leo started to chant, “Summon the ice gods!” Suddenly, the WDAP members froze. They all became ice.

“THIS CANNOT BE THE END! I WILL BE BACK!” yelled Scar just before he froze and WDAP was defeated. They headed back to the lair.

Leo called his mom. “Hi, Mom. Can you pick me up? I’m really tired,” said Leo.

“Why, honey?” asked his mom.

“Well, we just defeated WDA — ”

“Really honey! Oh, we are so proud of you! We’ll pick you up soon, okay?”

“Thanks, Mom!” said Leo. He had finally done it, defeated Scar and gotten respect from his family. This was the best day of his life. Then, the world blew up.

The End

 

Mom

              

The road that leads you down to greatness.

The person who picks you up when you fall.

The person who gives up whatever she has so that you can have whatever you want.

The person who you can depend on.

The person who lifts up your family to its highest, even if it means she has to stay at her lowest.

The shoulder you lean on.

The person who shows you your true path when you fall into your friend’s path.

The person who shows you that there is no limit to how great you can be.

The person who cares nothing about her secret struggles, but only focuses on yours.

The one who works endlessly to lift you off your bed of thorns so that you can enjoy your bed of roses, but who cares nothing about getting off her own.

The person who may work you to your limits so that you don’t trail behind her, so that soon, she could be one of the millions trailing behind you.

The person who loves you more than she loves herself.

The person who doesn’t care about how much acknowledgement she gets.

Who wants nothing from you except a bit of love.

 

That person is a mom.

 

Pandacorn

Once upon a time, there was a panda who was also a unicorn and had a dream of becoming a popstar. But, many things got in her way. She had to find a way to get through it.

So one day, she decided that she was going to go to Hollywood. So one night, she hopped on a boat and snuck onto a little boat on the ship and put a cover on herself. Her stomach was hurting her, so she started to sing, so someone found her. She didn’t want to be found, so she flipped over to hide. The boat was black and white, so she blended in. And someone came and pulled the cloth off the boat. But, nobody saw her.

The boat honked and then came to a stop. She found a sign that said “Hollywood.” Then, she got off the boat. A day passed, and she became a popstar. And she lived happily ever after.

THE END

 

Smooshy Boosh

Once upon a time, there was a baby panda in the great, vast bamboo forests of eastern China. This baby had a massive appetite for anything with color, as long as it wasn’t white. He couldn’t stand it because he used to eat lots of rice. Then, he made a mistake of eating a lump of salt, and he gagged and fell face first into water and drank the whole river, and he sucked up half of the bamboo forest. Then, he knew that he would never starve, and he would never die of thirst. Plus, he could eat his way out of anywhere. The downside of his power is that the more he eats, the less time he sleeps. So, for example, everytime he eats something big, he loses a half hour of sleep.

Smooshy Boosh sleeps until John the Octopus finds him rolling around the sidewalk as cars whizz by them. John loves the Brooklyn Bridge since his home is right under it.

“Hi,” he says, waking Smooshy Boosh up.

“Hi,” Smooshy Boosh says. “Who are you?”

“What’s your name?” he asks.

“Smooshy Boosh. What’s yours?”

“That’s not important. You’re coming with me,” he says back.

“Okay,” Smooshy Boosh says, as he follows him off the bridge.

They get to the Natural History Museum and go inside a room cloaked by an invisible spell. No one else is there. They go inside, as Smooshy Boosh eats his strawberry toothpaste, and meet Twabin, the pink panther. They also meet the blue turtle, Toitel, who is drinking a blue liquid. John gives Smooshy Boosh pizza as they sit down to talk. Smooshy Boosh takes a bite with ease as John watches him carefully and amazed. Smooshy Boosh quickly eats John’s off of him. John gets an idea.

“Would you like to join our team?” John asks.

“What team?” Smooshy Boosh replies.

John answers, “A team of supernatural animals trying to save the world.”

Smooshy Boosh responds back, “What’s in it for you guys?”

“Personal gains and whatnot, Smooshy. The gasses, fuels, everything,” John says.

“Why me?” Smooshy Boosh asks.

John says, “You are supernatural. The pizza was metal. We want you to join us, so that we can have another very nice friend.”

“Sure,” Smooshy Boosh says because he is kind of dimwitted. He has an IQ of zero. TOPP has plans to use Smooshy Boosh as a test subject for their inventions and stuff, but Smooshy Boosh is unsuspecting.

TOPP wants to test Scar’s venom on Smooshy Boosh. Scar is a snake who’s wreaking havoc and murdering people. Since Smooshy Boosh can eat anything, they want to give him the venom in a double chocolate frappuccino to test if he is immune to the poison. And if he is, they can develop something to get an edge over Scar, so they can capture him and lead their opposing organization leaderless.

TOPP moves Smooshy Boosh to a test room that they usually use to test their inventions and give him the double chocolate frappuccino. There is a very acrid smell in the chemistry lab.

“For me?” Smooshy Boosh says.

“Yes,” says Leo the Penguin. And then, Smooshy Boosh slurps it right out of Leo’s flipper, and Leo shrieks and runs to the nearest washroom. Smooshy Boosh starts shaking, and then he starts shrinking, and then he grows so big that he makes the room explode. The other animals get smushed against the wall. And just as Leo comes in, he gets smushed into the bathroom. And then, steam starts coming out of Smooshy Boosh’s ears, and he blows up. And then when all of the smoke clears, Smooshy Boosh is normal sized again. Leo comes in and screams shrilly because he tripped on some of the ash on the floor and slipped into the bathroom again. John brings Smooshy Boosh to the examination room, gives him a drug, and Smooshy Boosh falls asleep.

Later, when Smooshy Boosh wakes up, he’s inside a giant tube made of glass. He panics and throws up all over the glass which breaks and shatters over Leo the Penguin, who shrieks and runs to the bathroom again. Smooshy Boosh thinks TOPP is a bit odd, but he still doesn’t suspect anything yet.

“Eureka,” Leo says, as he comes back from the bathroom. And then in the examination room he says, “Smooshy Boosh has an immunity to Scar’s venom because he has a chemical mutation, which allows him to regenerate extremely fast like Wolverine.”

They try to do the same thing on a test rat, but the rat ends up dead. Then, they realize the chemical reaction only works on pandas, and they all groan. At the same moment, Smooshy Boosh is in the room, and then eats the door off the handle, and then gets upset because he heard them talking about using him as a test tube. He eats the room and licks Leo, who shrieks and runs to the restroom again. Smooshy Boosh swarms out of the lab by eating all of the doors. He feels upset, disappointed, and sad.

Smooshy Boosh runs into Toitel, and Toitel says, “Hey, watch it. What are you doing anyway?”

And Smooshy Booosh says, “I’m running away from this organization that wants to use me.”

“Me too,” agrees the blue turtle.

Smooshy Boosh then went back to the zoo and was satisfied ever since then because of all he has been through.

 

The Horror Mustache

Once upon a time, there was a mustache who ruled the mustache world. He was chosen! He said the vomit mustache was going to be the next King Mustache.

“Hey, what about me,” said all the mustaches.

 

Chapter Two: The Mustache Race

“Just do a race,” said King Mustache.

Every mustache lined up to compete for the kingship while King Mustache faded away. They started. Blue mustache was in first, Red was in second, and Orange was in third out of 20 mustaches. Blue started to fade away. Then, Red started to fade away. Orange started to fade away, and then 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. Only last place, which was Black Mustache, made it to the finish. He saw another mustache who appeared there. It was the Horror Mustache. He had 50 scars, a tooth coming out of his nose, and he looked dull and gray.

 

Chapter Three: Horror is the Only One

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” said Black Mustache.

The Horror will take all the hair out of you. Oh no. Black Mustache, the coward, was dead.

Turns out, a man just shaved.

 

A Japanese Poem: Life in Stories

         

Life Is A Story

Little Red Goes To Granny

Muffins Muffins Yum

 

Her Granny Is Sick

She Goes With Lots Of Delight

Off To Her Granny’s

 

But Who Should Appear

Why That Bad And Hungry Wolf

He Sniffs And He Sniffs

 

And Makes A Bad Plan

His Name Was Nothing But Bad

That Is Who He Was

 

Then The Wolf Appears

Where Are You Going My Dear?

The Bad Sly Wolf Asks

 

Little Red Answers

I Am Off To Granny’s House

To Give Her Muffins

 

Then He Ran and Ran

Yes That Is What That Wolf Did

He Ran, Ran, And Ran

 

While Red Keeps Going

Singing Her Song While She Goes

I’m Off To Granny’s

 

I Will See Her Soon

When She Reaches Her Granny’s House

She Opens The Door

 

She Says To Granny

In A Voice That Shakes The Floor

What Big Teeth You Have

 

Granny Replies Back

The Better To Eat You With

Red Knew That Loud Voice

 

Then Raises Her Basket

Boom Boom Blast Kaboom Shazam

Red Was A Ninja

 

Then She Hears A Voice

Then She Hears A Muffled Voice

‘Twas From The Closet

 

She Opens The Door

‘Twas Her Favorite Granny

All Tied Up In Rope

 

She Learned A Lesson

Never To Trust A Stranger

Or A Big Bad Wolf

 

Things I Hate About My Soulmate

        

1. He never listens. Whenever something great happens at work, he doesn’t care. He just lounges around the house doing nothing, as if he expects someone to eagerly attend to his every need. I don’t think anyone would like to do that, so why should he expect it?

2. He always ridicules The System. Ever since I was born, I’ve known what it was like to live in a world where everything is programmed to fit your personality perfectly: your family, your school and job, your health, even what you’ll eat for breakfast the next morning. The select few who program it are called the Givers because they give everyone perfect lives. And he hates them. He thinks that they can’t figure out what’s right for everyone. It makes me silently angry because it’s like he thinks I’m not right for him. I don’t understand why — we’re destined to be together, and I’ve done nothing more than be his servant.

3. He hates dogs. I don’t think I need to explain this one.

4. He tells me to be “more like other girls.” I find this one of the most irritating things he does. When we walk around the streets and see a pretty girl, he asks me — rudely, might I add — why I don’t look like her. It takes all of my strength to not hit him, because the Givers may be watching through their cameras and think I’m insane or have found some sort of loophole through the system. If I show any signs of hatred towards my husband, the Givers will know. They will find me and then probe me because I’m some sort of mistake against the System. They don’t want anyone to know their Mistakes. I’ll be thrown out like week old trash, just like the other Mistakes. Then, I’ll be forgotten. So, whenever he compares me to another girl, I count to ten in my head. Then, if he doesn’t speak in those ten seconds, I remind myself of how much we’re supposed to love each other and that he is my soulmate. He must care. But if he talks in those ten seconds, I’m one inch from losing my mind. I’ll twitch, and he’ll know to stop. Well, if he were really perfect, he would. But, he usually just keeps going. I swear I can see the cameras zoom in on me whenever he does this. Those cameras are the only reason I don’t go mad. It would break my heart if I turned into a Mistake. If my parents would find out, I’m sure they’d question why they’d spent their lives trying to fix someone who was destined to be wrong.

5. He hits me. Whenever I do something wrong, he’ll punch me or kick me or find some way to hurt me. Like if I bring dinner a few minutes late, or I refuse to do his errands for him, or when I get sick. He hates when I get sick. He calls me a “good for nothing, lazy, spoiled piece of — ” I always shriek before he can finish, so I can block out the pain. This makes him even madder. But I don’t like cursing. It breaks my heart when I see him split out of his normal and calm character because of me. At least I hope it’s his normal character.

6. He doesn’t like my family. I’ve read the manual of “The System” multiple times (you know, the one that comes with every house?) because I’ve wanted to see the things that my soulmate actually accomplishes. Chapter 4 – Soulmates pg. 178, rule #256 — your soulmate is especially chosen to like the things and people that you like to assure a perfect match. But if he doesn’t like my family, my friends, or just my life… then how is he perfect for me?

7. He gambles. Every Saturday, Friday, Thursday, and Tuesday night he goes to a new friend’s house from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.. I tell him not to, especially not on the nights when he has work the next day, but that only makes him even madder. He’ll break vases, threaten to harm me (and usually succeeds), and yell until I cry hysterically. Then, he tells me not to get on his bad side again and stomps away. I stay on the ground for hours, crying from the physical and emotional pain. When he comes home, he makes me make him food, but by the time it’s done, he’s fallen asleep on the couch and doesn’t wake up until noon the next day.

8. I’m the only one working. He quit his job. His boss had a meeting with him about the amount of work that he wasn’t doing, and he decided to quit the “stupid job.” Now he lies around the house, and I’m the only one who makes money. He doesn’t even try to get a job. He just expects me to stay home and serve him more but also leave him alone and make more money.

9. He’s an alcoholic and drug addict. Often, I find spilt bottles of vodka, empty bottles of wine, and shattered pieces of Guinness bottles all around the house. He’s always angry and thinks that his life is the worst, but he never seems to think about me. I’m sure that if the cameras were still in houses he wouldn’t do all of these terrible things as often, but ever since 2015, when the cameras were released from homes, he started to make my life even more miserable. And he buys drugs in alleys where the cameras are shot out. I keep wanting to report him as a Mistake, but I know that they would never trust a woman. Chapter 8 – Reporting Mistakes pg. 421, rule #480 — a woman’s word against a man will not be trusted.

10. I am not his soulmate.

I don’t want to be a mistake, though.

 

GOD DIARIES: Diary of the Messenger Boy

         

June 24, 2017

I know people think it must be great being Zeus’s son and messenger, but it’s not what you think it is. I was such a big loser back in middle school compared to all the other gods around the world.

First off, everyone thinks I have it so easy because my dad’s the head of the gods, and secondly, we already live in Greece, so I do not have to commute to school. It’s not my fault. They could have built the school in Egypt or Mexico, but no, they decided to plop the school right where I live. Anyway, I attend Cloud Academy, and there are some hot goddesses who attend. My favorite is Athena, the Goddess of Protection. She is awesome. The problem is, she’s dating my big brother, the hero Hercules, who is the second best known god. He has big muscles and is a famous movie star down below heaven. So, unfortunately, Athena is not going to go out with me. All the other god girls think I am a loser because I am smaller and weaker than Hercules. To make matters worse, my best friend, Apollo, is an amazing singer and jams the lyra with so much skill. All the goddesses love him.

 

June 25, 2017

I have one day before school starts to purchase all my school supplies. I did not want to work as a messenger today, so I begged my dad for the day off. Of course he said no, so I went to my mom, Hera, the Queen of Heaven, and she gave me lots of money and advised me not to mind my dad. I love my mom. She’s the best.

So, I headed off to the market to purchase my school supplies. I wanted sassy new togas, hoping the goddesses would notice me. I decided that I was going to give up on Athena this year and focus on the new goddesses at my school. I decided that I had to visit the top store called Style for Godboys. I decided to purchase something that was not on sale and was limited edition in order to stand out. Okay, there were shoes with gold feather wings and a gold cap with silver wings. Ohhhhhh my god, there was a toga with a gold belt and thunderbolt on it. I placed them in my cart. The total was 100 drachmas which was not so bad because I am rich. I need a new sporty backpack, so I headed to the Nike store. I looked at the shelf, but none of the backpacks were good enough. Then, I saw the backpack of my dreams. It was silver with aquamarine wings made out of blue jay feathers and a solid gold zipper. The coolest part were the magic buttons attached that opened different compartments at my command. For example, if I pushed the lunchbox button, my lunchbox would emerge from the bottom of the backpack. It was a limited edition which means it is the only one available. Even though it was going to cost me an arm and a leg, I happily handed all the money in my possession to the salesgirl. I noticed that she had the same multicolored gemstone necklace that Athena wore, but it wasn’t Athena. She looked a bit older, but no less beautiful.

“Do you know Athena?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’m her big sister. Why?”

“Uhm, just asking,” I quickly replied.

As I was leaving the store, I knew this was my chance at love. Only this time, not with Athena, but with her sister. I was like a little machine, moving as fast as a moving crumb as I left the store.

 

June 26, 2017

Well, today was the first day of school! The second I took my first step entering school, I saw “the one.” I was getting it all wrong. It wasn’t Athena or her big sister. Not even close. From across the hallway, I saw a messenger goddess from Egypt. She wore a golden cloak dress. She was the daughter of Horus, and she was as pretty as her mother Hathor, the Goddess of Love. She wore the bracelet of the 42 stars which her mother must have given her. There was no godboy in sight, so this was my chance, but the bell rang, and we all had to get to class. I was crushed at my lost opportunity.

Then, my luck came back. My first class was math, and to my surprise, she sat right in front of me. I could see the wing clips that were on the side of her hair. I could feel her silky soft hair. She passed papers down and asked what my name was. Part of me wanted to make a run for it because I was so nervous, but once I glanced at her dreamy brown eyes, I knew I couldn’t.

“My name is Hermes,” I said, my voice shaking.

“Wow, what a cool name. I like it,” she said, smiling. “I’m Harmony.”

Before I could respond, our teacher interrupted and requested for us to sit. She had an announcement to make.

“Class,” Mrs. Nut exclaimed. “There is a fall dance coming up in two weeks. Start thinking about who you would like to ask.”

My heart skipped a beat. I knew exactly who I was going to ask.

 

June 27, 2017

My buddy Apollo came over after school today. I told my mom that we were going to do some homework, but actually, we needed to talk about the dance.

“Dude, I’m going to ask Athena to the dance because she just dumped Hercules.”

I could tell by the look on Apollo’s face that he thought he was going to make me mad. But he didn’t. He was not aware that I had somebody else in mind. As we were chatting, I fetched some snacks. I got two soda pops, cheese puffs, cookies, and two giant gummy bears. I asked my mom if Apollo could spend the night. Of course, she said yes. I took him downstairs to my room and gave him a tour. I have a big hot tub in the middle of my room with two cloud beds which are next to each other. One bed used to belong to my big brother, Hercules, but he moved out. There is a desk with a lamp next to the beds, and there is a huge TV with a mini snack bar. My sofa is near the hot tub, and my closet is next to the small library located in the corner of the room. A tower of CDs and DVDs stood next to the sofa. Did I mention I have an awesome, spacious bathroom.

I looked through my silk PJ’s, grabbed a pair of luxurious blue pajamas, and handed them to Apollo with some fluffy sheepskin blue slippers, so he can get ready for bed.

“Woah, your ceiling looks like an observatory! It’s so cool!”

“It is an observatory!” I exclaimed. I grabbed my remote control and switched the setting to seven.

Switch one- on

Switch two- off

Switch three- disco lights

Switch four- heater

Switch five- AC

Switch six- day light

Switch seven- space

The lights went out, and stars lit bright in the sky.

“Want some popcorn, dude?”

“Yeah, totally.”

“Lightning!” I called to my aquamarine parrot. “Go fetch us some popcorn.”

“Your parrot gets popcorn?!” Apollo was shocked.

“Of course,” I said. “My dad made him out of clouds, just for me.”

“Wow. You have the coolest life, Hermes.”

“I know! When my brother was born, my dad made him a horse with wings the size of a fly, also made of clouds.”

 

June 28, 2017

One day until the dance, and there is no way I am attending school. I have to plan how to arrive in style. I told my mom that my back is sore and that Apollo had a headache. Well, that did the trick! The first thing we did was call up the limo rental.

We ordered a diamond express which is the top limo. We called the flower shop and ordered the most expensive corsages and two of the finest boxes of Swiss Belgian chocolate. Then, we visited the tailor shop and decided what we were going to wear.

“We want to see your most expensive tuxedos!” I advised the sales clerk and added, “Money is not an object.”

Apollo and I tried on suit after suit until we decided which one fit the best. I went with the golden silk tuxedo with diamond buttons. Apollo chose a simple suit (but still expensive — because, duh, it’s us).

At 6:00 p.m., Apollo and I pulled up in front of Harmony’s house and walked to the door. “I’m feeling kind of nervous, man. I really like this girl.”

“Just be yourself, and everything will go fine.”

“I don’t know. She seems different than the other girls and more serious.”

I rang the bell and moments later. Harmony’s mom, Hathor, answered it. “Oh hello, boys. You must be Hermes. Harmony will be down in a minute. Such fancy tuxedos for such young men.”

“Our tuxes should be fancy,” I announced. “Only a billionaire could afford them.”

Hathor rolled her eyes, and that’s when Harmony came down the stairs. She glanced at me with a puzzled look and made me nervous. Maybe she didn’t like my tux, or maybe she did not like me? I started to perspire and felt my face turn bright red by the second.

“Hi, Hermes.”

“Hi, Harmony. You look beautiful.”

“Uh, thanks. You look, uhm, overdressed. It’s just a dance, not a wedding.”

I felt embarrassed and awkward during our ride to pick up Apollo’s date.

At 7:00 p.m., we arrived at the dance, and Harmony didn’t say one word about the fancy limo, flowers, or chocolate. She was not rude or anything. She said thank you. I can tell she was not impressed. We entered the room and got a table for dinner.

I went to get soda and pizza for us, and LuLu the baby DJ said, “All of you love birds, come over here, and start dancing.”

I was hoping for a dance. I reached for her hand, and we started dancing.

“I’m having a really nice time,” Harmony said.

“So am I,” I said. “You should be my girlfriend, and I will buy you everything that you ever dreamed of.”

Harmony stopped dancing all of the sudden and stared at me with a puzzled look. “Things do not make me happy, Hermes. It’s what comes from inside. I do not care about the things you bought me tonight. What I like is how much effort you put into trying to make me happy. It’s the thought that matters, not the material things.”

I have never heard anyone say this before. Harmony seemed to just like me for being myself and not for my money. That was the best feeling in the world! I thought to myself, Maybe she’s right. Maybe I do focus too much on material things. “You’re a great guy, Hermes. You should save your money or donate it, but please don’t spend it on me. What matters is your heart.”

I kissed her on the cheek, and she blushed. We held hands and danced until nightfall. I had never been so happy.

 

July 28, 2017

One month later…

I’m getting ready to help Harmony distribute food at the homeless shelter. We have been volunteering every weekend since the dance. Since that magical night, I have become a caring and generous individual. I have not been shopping, and I spend my time helping Harmony with community work. I found this to be fulfilling. I even donated my disco clothes to members of our community who cannot afford sparkly outfits. I have much respect for Harmony, and we have decided to be friends and focus on doing good for the community and in our studies. Secretly, I am hoping that one day she’ll be my girlfriend. But she’s right, there’s plenty of time for that. I’ve never felt better. I kind of secretly wish for big muscles and to be famous like my big jerk brother, Hercules.

The End

 

The Vanishing Stars

The room got dark and I shuddered. The wind fell on my flawless neck, painted of pink roses. The aroma is full of sugar and dark thoughts. I feel evil and want to attack. I look into the mirror, disapproving of what my cat did to my new nose paste. I guess I have to live with a half nose.

Arcoc lifts me off my feet and throws me into the air. The new aroma of blood fills the air. I see a pale figure fall to the floor. Arcoc throws me down to see the new attraction of the pale figure. Blond curls with a floral aroma fill my face as I lean down to see the pale figure.

Storms of people dressed in neon yellow fill my sight. I see men, women, and chimpanzees. I pick up my long dress and run the opposite way, trying to avoid contact with them. They gingerly tiptoe to the pale figure and each kiss her on the nose as a last goodbye. After their kiss, the person looked at the stars, counted to six, and vanished into the starry night.

The following folks and I come to the pale figure with blond curls after the neon yellow people. We crowd around her and look at her. Based on majority, we agree she is dead and bury her in the town graveyard which happened to be in the middle of town, so we can admire our prey.

Here in Yealnbaya, we love to feel satisfied with our work. Just yesterday, I brought a knife into my neighbor’s shower, and just the day past, he died. So proud, huh! Anyways, I continue to dance with Arcoc, and we dance ‘til dawn. When the sun comes out, we all hurry to our houses.

The houses in Yealnbaya are black with broken wood. Outside, they look like a haunted village, but inside they are super modern. They are blood red and glass with lots of windows, yet there are no windows outside.

I return to the Rest-a-roomea and look in my makeup box, taking out my second nose regrowth product. It smells of dogs and takes 97 seconds to harden. The worst part is the only color the medicine shoppe had was green, so once it drys I’ll have to recolor my nose pale peach.

Ninety-seven seconds are up, and the half of my nose that was missing is back. The best part is that it dried white, not green! I grab the pale peach paint from my sister’s Rest-a-roomea and color my nose. Next in my beauty routine, I polish my rosed neck with pink to lighten the color. After this, my routine is over, and I return to my Bed-da-doom and close the door.

Fantasies of the scene with Arcoc and the dead lady haunt me as I try to sleep. As the clock strikes 12:13 p.m., I hear my cuckoo clock chime, my sister’s bell clock chime, and my brother’s howl clock scream.

We arise, dress, and meet in the Grand-a-kitchen-ree where we do our morning routine. We sit on the table and do our dances. Two kicks right, one left, hop down, and freeze for 14 seconds. Then we sit down, awaiting our breakfast. The magic robots come and cook for us. It is delicious, and I love it.

 

Queen Alison and Queen Maia

In a small kingdom called Aliville, people were walking around the marketplace selling and buying goods. The town had small houses and a large school. The people were happy because there had been no wars for seven years since the evil Maia declared war on the crown. Aliville almost lost, but it didn’t because it fought back. Meanwhile in the castle, Queen Alison was hanging out with her best friend, a servant named Ava. Queen Alison wore a crown with a red and yellow dress. The dress had a red base with yellow dots. Queen Alison had ruled for eight years. She had many friends. Her friends were named Kate, Gabi, and Mira. She had more than three friends, though. I just can’t say them all. She was a good queen because she treated everyone nicely and fairly.

Her two knights, named Sir Connor the Great and Lord C, were training in the courtyard. The knights wore silver armor. The castle was huge and had over 60 rooms with high tech TVs. The castle was gray, and it smelled like honey. That’s because the chef was always making something with honey. The castle had servants’ quarters, a room for the queen, and the knights shared a room. The knights practiced in a room with swords, armor, and arrows. After the knights trained, they both went to their room to play video games. If they were tired of video games, they played baseball.

“What’s the news?” Queen Alison asked, as she turned on the TV.

“News today is Evil Queen Maia has been seen shopping at the market,” the news reporter said.

“She’s been seen doing WHAT?!” Queen Alison shouted. Queen Alison was not happy that the evil queen was in her kingdom.

While Queen Maia was shopping, she went in the bathroom. “My plan just needs one more thing, then I will get revenge!” Queen Maia said. Seven years ago, Queen Maia wanted to be queen. Queen Alison said she wanted to be queen. Then, Queen Maia proposed a war because she was older than Alison. Queen Alison won. Now, Queen Maia wanted revenge. She felt angry because she got banished to the woods. Alison had killed all of Maia’s soldiers.

At the castle, Queen Alison was with her servant trying to calm down. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,” Queen Alison counted. Whenever Alison got worked up, she counted to ten.

Then there was a loud boom outside. Next, there was moaning. “ALISON! GET OUT HERE NOW!!!” Queen Maia shouted. Usually, Queen Maia wore a black dress with red dots. Now she wore gold armor. Queen Alison panicked.

“Knights, get out to the lawn!” Queen Alison cried. The knights came out.

“Oh no,” said Sir Connor.

“What?” asked Alison. She was facing the castle.

“That,” Lord C said, as she pointed behind Alison. Alison looked behind herself. Her face turned pale as a sheet when she saw what it was.

Zombies. Green, disgusting zombies.

They looked like humans but green and missing some arms or legs. “ZOMBIES!!!” Queen Alison screamed. Lord C and Sir Connor drew their swords.

At the front of the 1,000 zombie army, there was Queen Maia. “GET THEM!!!” Queen Maia ordered her zombies. It was a nice day, warm and breezy. The grass was green and there were a lot of flowers. Queen Alison hated spending a day like this at war. Plus, the zombies were stinky.

“MAN YOUR STATIONS!!!” shouted Lord C.

Three minutes before the zombies attacked, Ava was washing dishes in the kitchen with her headphones on. When she finished drying the plates and putting them away, she went to look for Queen Alison to tell her she was done. But, Queen Alison wasn’t in the throne room. In fact, nobody was in the throne room. They must be outside in the courtyard, Ava thought to herself. Ava went to the big double doors at the front of the castle, twisted the golden doorknob, and stepped out into a sea of screaming royal guards.

Everywhere she looked, Ava saw green-skinned zombies with missing limbs punching soldiers in the face and soldiers stabbing zombies with their swords. Queen Alison and her knights were fighting alongside the soldiers in the courtyard. The queen was shouting in rage with her eyes and mouth wide open. She lunged and stabbed a zombie through the heart with her royal sword.

As it died, the zombie moaned, “Gadgjhvjhd,mvnkjmvjbnvlkjhv,dmbkjhsgfjhgjhgshjbjhjhgjyhgghggygjhguybhrtwryfrghghgfhhbjhjhjgfhnbghcfdgfjyhghgfdhjmhgfdghhkjfxiufkjfnkjiujfaky!88887u! hfjhhh.375384238!!!” Its voice sounded like a screeching cat stuck in a drain pipe.

Ava understood everything the creature said because she had taken a course in zombie studies during her training. What the zombie said was, “Oh no. Please don’t kill me! As tradition calls, I will recite numbers as I die: 88887u… oh wait, ‘u’ is not a number. 375384238!”

Why are we killing these poor, defenseless monsters? Ava thought. Just then, she heard another zombie calling out from the center of the courtyard. It was an old, male zombie with a long, gray beard that reached to down to his green toes and eyebrows so fluffy they covered his eyes. He was wounded. A soldier had stabbed him in the foot with a sword, and it was shaking and bleeding purple. Ava felt like she had to do something. As the maid, it was her duty to clean up every mess in the castle, including the courtyard. She calmly walked through the battle. Nobody noticed at first as she walked up to the wounded zombie and started talking to him in his language.

“Afh bighyou sfnshjhhdg dacdsgdgsuf?” she asked in a voice that sounded like groans. Are you okay?

The zombie tilted his head in shock. His eyebrows floated up like white, furry hedgehogs. “Zxdchsjhsshjshbgdfjkvgdhjfgdjhgvgdyfgafygiydfsgywgtfuycgdsuydfgsyu,” he moaned. Thank you for asking. I don’t know how you said that, but I think I’m doing better now.

By now, people had noticed. The battle had paused. A few soldiers were still punching zombies, but in slow motion, so they could watch what Ava was doing.

“What do you think you’re doing?” one of the soldiers asked.

Ava rolled her eyes at him. Finally, Ava said, “This zombie’s name is Manon, and he said he wants to be good.”

After Ava said that, Manon made a speech in zombie to the zombies. After 20 minutes, the zombies came toward the castle.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Queen Alison screamed. But instead of attacking, the zombies fought for Queen Alison.

“First, you kill my soldiers. Then, you take my zombies. That means I will have to end you,” said Maia in the meanest of voices. She was saying that while she drew her sword.

“No,” said Alison in a strong voice. Her tone was soft but strong. She was saying that while she crossed her arms.

“What did you just say to your older sibling?” said Maia, while she moved her sword closer to Alison.

“My older what?” asked Alison, as she her eyes widened. She was in awe about how she had a sister. She had always wanted a sister.

“Fine. I’ll tell you the story while you’re here,” said Maia as she rolled her eyes.

“Tell me now,” said Alison, as she clenched her fists.

“I AM!” hollered Maia.

“Yay,” said Alison in a small voice.

“Once upon a time, there lived a queen and king named Hannah and Tony. Shortly after we were born, they divorced. I went to live with Mom, and you lived with Dad. I never got to know you, and you never got to know me. The end,” said Maia with feeling.

“Why are you bad?” asked Alison.

“I wanted more respect. You are the only person who respects me,” said Maia in a sorrowful voice.

“Why don’t you live with me?” said Alison happily. “We can take turns ruling!”

“You know what?!” screamed Maia.

“What?” said Alison, bracing herself for battle.

“Of course I would,” said Maia happily.

They both hugged and went to the castle.

The end!!!

P.S. The made-up Ava took a course in zombie language.

 

Emma and the Cat

Ugh, thought Emma as she put in the seventh answer on her spelling bee. She could never get this test done when the beeping printer kept going off. All of a sudden, there was the sound of Emma’s classmates screaming and something else, but she could not put her finger on it. Emma looked up. There was a tabby cat on the floor, and everyone was screaming and running.

“Aw,” said Emma.

Emma loved cats. Then, Emma remembered a secret campfire she made near a river once. That was the best place to put the cat after school. She forgot to tell her father.

After school, Emma went over to her secret place with the cat, and then she heard a sigh of relief. It was Emma’s dad.

“Thank goodness you’re alright,” he said.

“Sorry,” said Emma.

“I forgive you. This is going to be our pet cat,” said Emma’s father. He scooped up the pet cat.

“Her name is Sprinkles,” said Emma.

Then, Emma noticed the boredom on her father’s face. He was so bored that he was rubbing sticks on a rock. They went home. Emma and Sprinkles lived happily ever after.

The End. Really the end of the story.

 

She’s Dead

        

Long, tangled red hair

Braided with pale purple flowers

A face as pale as death

Makes sense. She’s dead.

 

Braided with pale purple flowers

Petals scattered across a bloody red wound

Makes sense. She’s dead

Wide staring gray eyes, perpetually surprised

 

Petals scattered across a bloody red wound

Pale lavender soaking up the red

Wide staring gray eyes, perpetually surprised

Watching a killer, long gone

 

Pale lavender soaking up the red

Long, tangled red hair

A killer, long gone

A face as pale as death

 

Makes sense.

She’s dead.

 

Mom, Where Are You?

Hey, it is Thomas, and it is nighttime. I am trying to find my mom because she has to give me my medicine because I am sick. I have a cold. I am going to my mom’s room to see her, but she is not there, so I get scared. I tried to think where she could possibly be. And then I saw a letter under her pillow that said, We took your mom. Now, when I read that, I felt very, very scared. I got dressed and went to the police station. I took the bus.

When I got there, they asked me for my name and why I was here. I told them that I needed to take my medicine, and my mom was not there, and that’s why I came. I also told them about the letter, and they said they would have to go to my house.

I said, “Alright.” They would be there at 1:00 sharp, and the time was now 12:00. I said, “Thank you,” and left the police station.

I was at my house when I saw some weird light coming from my closet. I went to go open the door, and I saw a portal. I walked out to get my breath, and then I opened the closet door and jumped in. While I was going through the portal, I remembered when I was in the park when I was one year old and going down the slide, and she was cheering for me. I felt happy.

Alright, I was in the world. I felt so dizzy. At first when I saw the portal, it looked light blue, but when I jumped in, it was yellow. All I saw was a pitch black room. Then, I saw a light in the distance.

I walked closer to the light, and it got bigger as I walked closer. I saw buildings and a whole new world. I felt scared, but I had to find my mom. The town looked really sad. Then, I saw someone running with a jar? I saw a little thing in the jar, but I didn’t care about that now. I was running so fast. He just fell on the floor. This was my chance to get my mom back. I was still wondering what was in that jar, so I was still running, and I was looking into the jar, and I saw something moving in there. I opened the jar, and it looked like my mom but tinier. I felt so scared. I wondered what I should do. I didn’t want to get out of this world, but I did want to know how my mom got tiny. I tried to look around for help, but the only thing I could see was a hardware store. I guess I could go in there and say hi to whoever was in there. I went to the hardware store and when I ran closer, I saw somebody in the window saying hi. I said hi back, and then I opened the door and walked in.

The owner said, “My name is Matthew.”

And I said back, “My name is Thomas. Is there anything that could possibly make something bigger?” I felt like I should say that because this world is already weird.

He said, “Yes. There is something in the back, but there is something guarding the door, and I don’t know what it is.”

I said to Matthew, “Can I try to open the door?”

Matthew said back, “Sure, but I hope you come back alive.”

I told Matthew, “If I die, can you hold the jar with my mom inside.”

Matthew said, “Sure, good luck.”

I asked where the door was, and he pointed to where the door was, and I walked through the hallway. The monster looked like a cat. The cat looked like somebody floating in the air meditating. My mom brought me to the movies to watch Star Wars, and it reminded me of Yoda. So I went up to it, and I said, “You don’t seem that harmful.”

And then, all of a sudden, I felt something shake right under me. Then, I realized it was a big hand picking me up.

The cat said back to me, “Why are you here, and what do you want?” The cat seemed angry, when I didn’t do anything to him.

I said back, “I want to go through that door.”

The cat said back, “You have to give me $50.”

So, I gave the cat $50, and I walked through the door. It was pitch black until I saw a big gun. So, I grabbed the gun and walked back through the door, and then the door locked behind me. The cat was still in the air just like Yoda. And then all of a sudden, the cat became bigger. I felt like because I gave him my $50, we were even.

So, I walked to the door where Matthew was, and the cat reached out his hand and grabbed me. This time he said, “What’s that in your hand?”

I said nothing back. And then, I shot him with the gun. All of a sudden, he became bigger. And he was too fat, so he fell, and I took my $50 and left.

I said, “Thank you for holding the jar, and also thank you for the gun.” I gave him the $50.

Matthew said, “Thank you for the $50, and I hope your mom gets better.”

When I was outside, close to where the portal was, I got my mom out and put her on the floor and shot her with the gun. She didn’t turn bigger, and I thought since she was in a different dimension, it might not work here because it would work in the real world.

So when I got that, all of a sudden, I was in my living room drinking my medicine.

 

Silvermoon’s Song

       

Chapter One: The Death

Sky burst into the grass with a cry of pain. Tom, her mate, cried at all the blood. Then, Honey was born. She was perfect. Then, Silvermoon was born. Tom knew that his mate wouldn’t live, so Silvermoon and Honey would be the light of his life. But, a third kitten was born! Cinnamon! Then, Sky let out a gasp of pain as she breathed in her last breath. And then, she died. Tom wailed. He would give his kits to Ice. She would help.

 

Chapter Two: Hey!!

When I woke up for the first time, I looked around. Only one of my littermates had her eyes open! Cinnamon! I looked at Honey.

“I guess we should get down,” I told Cinnamon.

Cinnamon said that she thought we should wait for Honey. This is the only time when Cinnamon would be brave in our lives.

So we licked and licked and licked until Honey sat up and yelled, “What? What? Where?”

I know she told you that she didn’t make a big thing about it, but she really did. She sat up and yelled at the top of her lungs.

Cinnamon said, “You’re finally awake!”

I said, “Yeah, so? Now we can get down.”

Honey said, “Where’s Ice? Where are we? What? What? What?”

I told her, “Stop asking so many questions. And stop acting like the boss!” She was taking so much of the spotlight.

Honey said, “We can jump down from this box to this box to this box.”

I just wanted to yell at her “why are you such a know-it-all,” but I didn’t want her to get the spotlight, so I jumped down first.

Honey told you she jumped down first? Not true. That little liar.

Then, it was true that we were halfway across the floor when Cinnamon jumped down, and Honey told you she tried to catch her? No. Cinnamon just jumped onto Honey like a pillow, and they flopped together onto the floor. It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen!

I had to keep a straight face as I said, “Come on! Let’s keep going!”

So we ran outside, and Honey said, “What are those? Basketballs?” Oh, did she mention that she was afraid of those basketballs for a really long time?

I said, “Oh, what? Those are just basketballs. Come on!”

Then, a basketball hit Honey in the face.

We scrambled behind the house. Then, we ran back to the garage. In the garage, I slipped, but did Honey tell you I made it? I thought not. She jumped and barely made it. Cinnamon scratched her face, but she was fine. Then when a figure, Ice, our “mother” came in, the look on Honey’s face was priceless. We went to sleep at Ice’s belly.

In the morning, a cat was standing in the doorway.

He said, “Hi. I’m Tom, your father.”

This time when we went outside, there were no basketballs. Honey cowered by the garage entrance. She had said she’d been brave… that little liar! So Cinnamon started sniffing, another thing that Honey lied about. But, we ran into the forest, and Honey followed. Then, we walked down a steep hill with sharp sticks. Did Honey mention that she caught her foot and started whining like a kit? I thought not. Anyway, as we walked I caught a weird smell. I had never smelled it before. Then, an orange creature jumped in front of us. It looked just like a description from the stories that Ice told us. It was a fox. Tom leapt in front of us, and Honey said she was brave? Nuh-uh. She was screaming. So, we ran. And ran. And ran. When we reached the garage, we were tired out. I found the route (put an emphasis on the I!). And then… we slept. It was a good day! Except for the fact that we almost died. We slept that night, the fourth night of my life. And it was peaceful for days after. But will it stay that way? I doubt it.

 

Chapter Three: Hey Ice, Come Back!

When I woke up in the morning, I looked around me. No one else was awake. Hmm, I wonder if I could do something to a certain cat, I thought.

I took Cinnamon’s paw, hoping I wouldn’t wake her up. I succeeded. I unsheathed her claws by pressing on her paw and put it on Honey’s back and made sure it dug into her back. That little know-it-all didn’t tell you? I know why. It would’ve hurt her pride. Anyway, she woke up screaming at the top of her lungs. Funny. Amusing, even. That woke up Cinnamon. She took her claw away really fast. I kind of felt bad but only a little.

Then, I told Honey, “Come on. Get to your feet, troublemaker.”

She said, “No, you’re the troublemaker.”

Then, we realized Ice wasn’t there to scold us. I was about to have a private party, but then I got a bit distracted because Tom came screaming into the garage. He told us to come outside fast. Then, he changed his mind and told us to go inside fast and then to go outside… whatever. Eventually, we went outside. When we were outside, we saw a dog. The dog was big, in other words, annoying. In other words, Honey screamed at the top of her lungs for the second time that day.

That was sorta funny, but then the dog leapt at Ice. I had a split second to think. I leapt forward. You know Honey told you she tried to save Ice? That’s not true. She backed up, whimpering. It would be fine, I told myself, but the dog killed her. There’s no other way to put it. We buried Ice. Sad.

In a hollow tree that night, Tom was trying to think. What would he do now? Tom found himself running over the hillside into the garage and curled around his kits, his family.

 

Chapter Four: Hey! Tom! People Came!

We were three months old!

Tom came rushing into the garage, and he said, “Come look at this.”

A human family was outside. There was a girl who spotted me, closed one eye, and looked at me, me, and lastly, me! She did not look at Honey! We went back to the garage for the last time with Tom in our lives.

The next morning, I looked around me and saw Tom was missing. I’m gonna do another prank, I thought. So, this time I opened Cinnamon’s mouth and put it around Honey’s ear and made it bite. Then, I took her jaw away, and then her ear started bleeding, and I pretended I was asleep. When Honey woke up, she said, “Why is my ear bleeding? Wahahaha Wawawawawawa?”

I told her, “You sound like just as you did when you were first born: a know-it-all and a show-off from the start.”

Honey said, “Hey! I bet this is your doing.”

I said, “How do you know that?”

“Put your fangs in the mark on my ear.”

So I did. They weren’t the same as the cuts! Because everyone knows which teeth I put in there. Then, she asked Cinnamon to do it, and Cinnamon’s teeth fit exactly. She was outraged until Cinnamon was asleep, and then she stared at me again.

“How about this. We duel! If you win the fight, then you get to bite me back. If I win, you owe me a favor, and it can be anything!”

She said, “Deal,” thinking she’d win. Uh-huh…

So, I leapt at her, teeth and claws extended. She raised up on her hind legs, which wasn’t the smartest move, so I scratched her belly, and I landed on her neck, and I flipped her backwards. I heard a crunch, and Cinnamon said, “Pause! Nobody wins. It’s a draw!”

So, she raced over to Honey, and then Tom came in and yelled at both of us for being so careless. Then, he examined her back. He diagnosed her with a bad scratch, and he diagnosed me with a bruised neck, which wasn’t very bad. So, he decided that he would take us on a little trip because he’d seen some cars outside, and the new humans were climbing in them. So, we decided to follow. Honey’s scratched back or not, we had to know where those crazy humans came from. So, we followed them. Honey groaned and groaned until I finally told her unless she wanted me to attack her again, then she should be silent. So, she was silent. I liked having the fear in this family.

Then, I climbed on top of a rock on the road and yelled, “I am the king of everything!”

And then Tom yelled, “Come down! Do you want those humans to spot us?” And then he added, “I’ll attack you myself if you don’t come down.”

I guess Tom held the fear in the family for that, so I got down. I wish I could challenge him, but I didn’t have the nerve to. Then, we followed the car, and Tom told me to forget about the whole attacking thing, and that wasn’t the way cats worked unless they were talking about prey or other things. So, we walked and walked and walked and walked, and I actually know the reason for why the car stopped overnight. We reached a town called, whatamacallit, Rhinebeck. So, we rested that night.

Honey asked Tom, “Can we go back? Can we go back?

I told her, “You sound like a brat. We’ll camp out like proper wild cats.”

She didn’t mention I said that? Figures she’s the best in the family, huh? Well, she’s not. So, we walked the day after and walked and walked and walked, and you get the idea. Finally, the car made a humongous turn and stopped. We were in quite a humongous place with pavement that had been scraping my paws and making them bleed for miles. I saw dogs walk on sticks down the streets. I saw trees that popped up out of nowhere. And I saw huge cars! One almost hit us, so we dodged left, then a dog almost attacked us, so we dodged right. I was not going to like this place. We were outside a big red and white building. I saw the humans get out of their big car and get into the big red building. It’s like it swallowed them. One of those big things opened, and they went inside like it was home… maybe it was. I wasn’t gonna go inside there, but Tom insisted we follow them. Honey didn’t tell you we went inside, because she didn’t. She was too scared. Cinnamon went, but Honey didn’t. That tells you something about how much Honey lies, huh? So, I put one paw up and strained to pull myself up.

I said, “Wow this is hard.”

Tom said, “Yeah, you’ll get used to it.”

Luckily, the humans were not in the lobby when we snuck in. But, we couldn’t get in for some reason. When we tried the second door, it didn’t open. Tom explained something called locks that would keep us out. But then, fortunately for us, a human came in, and there was a very dusty place, so we could hide in one of the corners. And we rolled in the dust so that we would not look so bright and noticeable. The human opened the door, and we scrambled in behind him, and then he shut the door. I didn’t know how we were going to get out, but Tom explained that if we were on the inside we could get out, so that was a relief. And then, the human opened a big flat surface that looked like the one outside except not made of glass. We scrambled inside. I don’t know how he didn’t see us. He was humming, and he had something over his ears, and he was shaking himself in a weird way. I don’t know. Humans are crazy. So, when it stopped, we were on the floor. I think it’s called a floor because that’s what the humans said.

He said, “Now we’re stopping on floor four.”

So, I guess he was talking to himself. Hopefully he wasn’t mad. So, we left the big chamber-like space and went onto the “floor.” We saw a door open and decided to go in just for a peak, and we saw the humans. The woman was about to turn around and look at us, and she caught a glimpse of us as we left. We ran down as fast as we could. Then, we got outside to Honey, and we ran and ran until we came to an alley. I guess “alleycats” fit us that week.

Then one day, the humans came out of their big building and walked to their car.

I cheered, “We can go home!”

Then, the car started moving, so we followed and followed. We were so close, I could smell country air. I was breathing it in. Tom had his eyes closed, and then something made a “vroom” noise behind us. A car! Oh my gosh. I had one second to think. I grabbed Cinnamon’s scruff and yanked her out of the road as far as I could. And Honey ran out of the street by herself. But, Tom was not so fortunate. He died. Again, there’s no other way to put it. But, this was the first time I had been so overwhelmed that I felt grief wash over me. But, the grief hardened into steel. Then, I knew I had to support Honey. She was born first. Even if I did not like her, she was my older sister, and I was the younger brother, and I would step aside so Honey could shine.

 

Chapter Five: Stepping Aside

I feel different. Wow! When I looked at Honey, she was crouched over Cinnamon, who had collapsed. I ran over to them. We wept, but in the end we went home. When we got there, there were three cats outside. One stepped forward. She was black, dark black. “Midnight” is what Honey murmured under her breath.

She said, “Hi, my name is Night. This is my brother Maple.” She pointed her tail towards a ginger Tom.

He said, “Hello.”

Then, Night gestured with her tail to the other ginger Tom who was jumping around with a crazy look on his face.

Night said, “That is Caramel.”

Caramel looked and then jumped around and landed on his face. I did not know what was up there, but I looked away.

“I’m Honey. This is my brother Silvermoon,” she said annoyingly, which I did not like.

I said, “This is Honey, the annoying.”

And Night said, “Who is this?”

“My name is Cinnamon.”

Honey looked behind her again.

Then, she said, “Let me show you to a nice stream up ahead.”

Under her breath she said, “As far away.”

I did not know what was up with her, but she had a problem. Anyway, she led Night off, which means guess who is in control? Me!

So, I told Cinnamon, “Let’s go hunting for some mice.”

When I caught a mouse, I looked at it, and I was thinking about a prank. I took all the meat out of the mouse, quickly ate it, and filled it with water. Then, I put it back together, and I sprinkled some dirt and sprinkles inside. Then, I put one poisonous raspberry from the tree in it.

Then, I took the mouse, put it on Honey’s sleeping place, and said, “Let’s have some food.”

Then, I took a mouse, Cinnamon took another mouse, and Honey took the poisonous mouse. I did not know then, but that would be my last prank. I was cut short by Cinnamon.

“Honey, do not eat that POISONED rat!”

“Who poisoned it?” Honey asked.

“Silvermoon,” Cinnamon said.

I uttered words to Honey I never thought I would say, “I’m sorry”

She stared at me. “Are you feeling alright Silvermoon?”

“Yes,” I said with absolute certainty.

I looked at Honey, she looked at me, and I felt no dislike towards Honey.

 

Chapter Six: Honey? Maple? What?

I woke up. Cinnamon was asleep, but where was Honey? I remember that I made up with her, so I decided to go look for her. I went outside. I couldn’t find her. I looked, and looked, and looked, and I decided to climb a tree and look for her from above. I reached the nearest tree, which they said humans call it, what is it, a weed. I went to the “weed’s” base. Then I looked up, preparing for the climb. I hate climbing down trees. I usually fall down at the end which is annoying because Honey and I usually climb down the tree and see who can reach the bottom first. But then, when I looked up again, I saw the weirdest sight of my life! Honey was snuggling with a stranger. The stranger’s name was Maple. He was the cat that came yesterday with Night. So, I climbed up the tree and yelled at the top of my lungs a silly song that humans love to sing: Honey and Maple… I don’t know why I started singing it, but it ended very fast because Honey stood up, glared at me, and prepared to push me off my branch.

So I said, “What are you doing here? Don’t you know that this guy just got here last night?”

Honey said, “Yeah, but I was taking him to the well, but it was midnight, and I decided to go to sleep, and he decided to join me.” So, I looked around and decided to find the easiest way down the tree and leave Honey to her weird business.

In that month, Honey went on with weird business with Maple. I tried to skirt around them, but then I thought about the other cats there and how Night must be feeling weird as well. Caramel does not think much, so I decided to go to Night’s place. It was a hollow tree by the lake.

I went inside and asked, “Do you think your brother Maple is weird?”

Night looked surprised. She jumped to my surprise and said, “Well, good afternoon.”

I ignored her and said, “Is it good afternoon or is your brother crazy in trying to mate with my sister? Don’t you find that weird?”

Night said, “Well, while we discuss this topic, why don’t we get a mouse?”

So we left the den. I sniffed; nothing. I sniffed again. No mouse. I sniffed a third time. There was not a mouse, but I smelled a vole. That would do. I went towards it. Night went all the away around and jumped on a tree, which I found very impressive. I chased the vole towards her, then she pounced and caught it right away. I was even more impressed. I wondered if we could share the vole, that would be cool. Then, I scolded myself, What am I thinking? Share with a stranger? But, she took the vole, so I followed her. I looked, and she was leading me back to her den. We ate the vole together. I was scolding myself, What are you doing? What are you doing?

Afterwards, I said, “Well, we better get going.”

Night said, “Wait, we didn’t even have our conversation yet.”

I wanted to stay, and after saying that, I know how weird that sounds. So, I stayed. In fact, a little too long. It was midnight. I arose to leave. But, it was time to sleep, so I slept there. And that was the weirdest thing I have ever done.

In the morning, I knew that it was time to leave because I did not want Honey to find me here and give me a payback.

So I stood up, and Night said, “Well, goodbye then.”

I walked out, turned around and went back in. “Hello again,” said Night.

So, I said, “I’m really going to be leaving now, so bye!”

So I left, and I walked and walked and walked. Honey and Cinnamon were glaring at each other in the front of the yard. This did not happen ever. So, I hid and watched.

Cinnamon yelled, “I can move, and you can’t tell me I can’t move to Rhinebeck because I can.”

“Cinnamon, please. I need you.”

Tears rolled down Honey’s face. My heart broke into a million pieces. I ran out of my hiding place now. I knew the feeling I had towards Night, love, and l knew because I was losing some Cinnamon.

 

Chapter Seven: The First Litter

Night and I mated. Feel free to say, “gross.” I would. One day, I went into my new den, the one I shared with Night. She was looking happy. That was good.

She said, “Honey had her first litter! I’m an aunt! You’re an uncle!”

A wave of excitement shot through me. I ran to my old den. A wave of forlornness washed over me. I missed Cinnamon, but she was happy. I entered and saw Honey and five kittens. One was gold like yellow. Another had so many different colors I couldn’t decide what color she was, so I stopped looking at her. Then, there were three brown kittens with blue eyes. Where did the blue eyes come from? Both Maple and Honey had green eyes. But, Night had beautiful blue eyes, so maybe Maple’s kids had inherited some of their aunt Night’s eyes. Then, I looked at the kittens. They were beautiful. I went over to Honey. I woke her up because I still didn’t have too much respect for her. And she snapped at my tail and said, “How dare you!”

I said, “Well, we are almost technically the same age, so I can do what I like.”

The kits were hissing at me for being rude to their mom, but I don’t think they knew what we were talking about. Then, I said, “So, what are the names of your kittens?”

Honey said, testily, “Why don’t you say please first?”

I snapped back, “I can say what I like, thank you very much!”

“So, maybe I won’t tell you,” Honey said. I sighed.

“I thought we’d gotten over this already.” We both apologized, which I rarely do, so Honey better appreciate it.

Then, she pointed to the golden kitten. “This is Golden.”

I said, “That’s very obvious. Can’t you think of something more creative?”

She said, “Do you want to know the names of my kittens or not?”

“I do,” I said with a sigh.

Then, she pointed at the multi-colored kitten. Black, yellow, brown, gold, every natural color I could think of. Her eyes were barely recognizable throughout all the colors.

Honey licked her and said, “This is Tawney.” Tawney was cute, I guess. I’ll give Honey that. Then, she pointed at three gray triplets. She said, “This is Time, Tulip, and Rose.” Really, be more creative. Honey said, “They’re my kits.”

I ran over the hill into my den. Night was beaming.

She said, “I’m going to have kits!”

I was so overjoyed. My heart felt like it would leap out of my chest. I was so happy, I didn’t know what to say.

So, I stuttered, “Ohh, ehh, ehh.”

Great with words, huh? I thought in my head. Let’s try again, Silvermoon.

“Uuhhh, great, yayyy.” Great, now I’m stuttering “yay” and sounding sarcastic. I had to try again. This is so embarrassing, I’m glad Honey’s not here to watch. So, I tried again. She’d laugh at this sentence.
“Grrreat great great!” I sounded like a kit myself. Okay, let’s try a fourth time, Silvermoon. Let’s try and get a complete sentence this time.

“I’m…” waiting, waiting, trying to process another word in my head, “so… ” processing again, “happy.” Wow, saying happy took a while. That’s a big word. Now, let’s try not to space it out so much, and let’s try and put in an exclamation mark, shall we? “I’m… ” processing… “So… processing.” This time I said processing out loud. I said processing out loud! I can say a big word, yay! Let’s try a better sentence. “I’m… spacing it… spacing it… why am I thinking aloud? I’m going crazy. What’s going on.” I’m thinking now. In my head. I’m going to go for a walk. I will tell Night I’m going to calm my thoughts. Nigh — I — ahhh — I, fell and everything went black.

So you know, I fainted from shock. My brain short-circuited. When I woke up, I was stunned and confused. I could not think. I was not feeling great. I could see a blur, then my vision cleared. I stood. Night was looking worried. I was in the same place. I was fine. In a few days, I was helping Night. The day came. I remember vividly Night crying, and then it was over. I went in. There were three beautiful kittens, and they were mine! That fact just made me stop in my tracks. I couldn’t believe it. There was an orange striped kitten that looked nothing like me and nothing like Night. I looked at Night.

“What should we call this one? How about Tiger?”

So, that was what we called him. Then, there was a gray one with green eyes. Leaf, I thought. Then, I looked at the third one. Dawn. That’s what I’ll call her. I said my ideas to Night, and we agreed that those would be their names. Tiger stood up, wobbled, and fell, bonking his head on the grass.

“Ouch, little guy,” I said. “That must have hurt a lot.”

Then, Leaf tried standing and grabbed Night’s ear to pull herself over and suckle. Then, Dawn stood up and made it a few inches before stumbling before Night’s face, and I grabbed her before hitting the ground. Their bones are tiny and breakable. Then, Night started licking her ear as blood poured out. Leaf would be a fierce one!

Then, I put Tiger on a soft bed with Dawn. And then I took Night by the collar like she was a kitten herself.

She wriggled around in my grasp saying, “I’m not a kitten. Let go!”

And then, I took her over to the bed that I called the “Injury Bed.” (I knew we would have a lot of those with kits.) Then, I looked at Leaf, and I was surprised. I saw her eyes starting to open and her ears starting to unseal. But, it would take a few days, and then her eyes and ears would be open. She was an early bloomer. Slowly, everyone fell asleep.

Soon, my kits grew and opened their eyes. One day, the first day of fall and my kits’ first fall, Tiger ran under a tree. A leaf fell on his nose. He sneezed. I went over and brought him down in the backyard. Then, he fell over and bonked his head. I picked him up. Blood poured from his nose. I felt a weird worrying parenting feeling. I rushed him inside and then licked and licked. I was so worried. I felt like I was dying from fear that my son was bleeding. I felt an instinct: save him! Some part of me knows that it was not that bad. Gosh me, Silvermoon, was overreacting! I hate fatherhood! I also hate hoods. They’re the things humans wear, right? The next morning, he was fine.

I loved and hated fall. My kits grew, and Honey already had three litters. And my kits were not kits anymore. One day, I woke and stretched. I left the den. Night and Honey did not join me. Someone ran towards me, Storm. One of Honey’s. Blood poured down her face, and she collapsed. I freaked. What happened? I ran with her in my mouth. Should I go to Night or Honey? Honey. It’s her kit. When I got there, Honey was asleep with Night leaning over her. She looked at me and said, “I have good and bad news. Which first?”

“Good,” I said.

“I’m pregnant.”

“Now bad.”

“Honey is very ill.”

 

Chapter Eight: Second Litter, Another One, Seriously!

I was stunned. How have I been so clueless? I was so confused. What? Honey had never been ill in her life! Night and I decided to bring Honey, who was asleep, to our den because it was more comfortable there. A coughing fit wracked her body. I was absolutely stunned. I never saw Honey like this before. Emotions swirled inside me. I was happy about my new kits, I was upset, and another feeling I couldn’t describe. One morning, Night came out of the den, and Honey was in a coma and probably almost dead. My sister was… she was… she was… almost dead. What?

I was at a loss for words. Then, Honey let out a strangled and tired cough that shook her body. I had to get out! I felt trapped! I ran out for fresh air.

Then, Night told me to check others for signs of sickness. First, I went to Maple, Honey’s mate. The fur around his neck was ragged, his eyes dull, a cough shook him, and I half-carried him to our den. Night’s and my den got full with sick cats.

One day, I was standing by Honey. Now, she was barely breathing. Then, her breathing stopped. I called Night. Night and I were the only two not sick cats in the area now, so we were the cats caring for everyone else. It was scary seeing all these lifeless bodies, especially cats that I found so lively. Night looked like she was catching it, which worried me. The signs were ragged fur, dull eyes, a cough, and trouble breathing. Night ran over. A tear trickled down her cheek. I was too overwhelmed to cry. Did that tear mean Honey was dead? My sister? My only family left? Then, Night picked her up, making sure not to touch her face in any way. We carried her gently to a pile of leaves in the woods, and we buried her there. My heart was shaking. She would never be there again to scold me, to race me, to hate me.

My sister was dead. Wow. I needed to get that out of my system. I was so overwhelmed at the idea that I was alone. No! I had Night! But, a lonely feeling crept over me. I felt my legs shake. I ran. No, no. This could not be. She would come out of the garage and be fine! Tears fell from my eyes. She was not ever going be there again. I — I — I can’t describe the feeling as if my world had been turned upside down. No Honey ever again.

No, no. I would not cry. No tears fell in streams from my eyes. Night looked like she had lost her sister. I crumbled. I wanted Honey to get off that pile shack and say, “what is that look on your face?” She would never be there. Just to hear the sound of her voice would make life worth it again. I wish I could die just to see her. This was worse than any loss before. My world shattered the second Honey died. Nothing could put it back together.

That night, as I went to sleep, I imagined that Honey was just curled up next to me and everything was alright. But, nothing will ever be okay again. My world and all my joy was gone because Honey and Night were my world. And Honey was gone. I lost half my world. That night, I dreamed I was standing in a clearing, and Honey was standing in front of me. That was the best moment of my life. She was there! And she told me, “Silvermoon, you have kits coming, and you’re still groping over me? Listen, I’ll come back for you. I can’t believe that you’re kidding yourself with this. Stop all this. You got this! Come on! And I promise I’ll come back.”

Honey was talking to me! My heart leapt. But then, Honey gestured her tail at a faded figure of Night and three small shapes. “You still have this, and I’ll be there. Come to the leaf pile tomorrow.”

Then I woke up, and I felt like I lost her all over again. I cried. It had just been a dream. She wasn’t really there. That feeling inside me that controlled my every thought, that was grief, but now there was hope like a flower blooming in my chest.

I got there, Honey’s body limp, and then she lifted her tail. And then, a stangled cough. My world was right again. Honey was alive! That alone is the best feeling ever. All my dreams come true.

Honey said shakily, “You look like a stunned cow.”

That meant she was okay! Night came just that moment. Nothing could go wrong again.

Just then, Night collapsed in pain. The kits were coming! Three! There was a pure white one, a golden one, and a gray and white one. The white one was Cloud. The golden one made me remember that I would not name her Golden! Her name would be Sun. Period. Zip. Bananas. Goose eggs.

The gray and white one is Star.

Honey said, “White, Sun, and Gray. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!”

Honey is not creative! Really!

Oooohhh no. There was too much blood! Night’s breathing was short. No, no, nooooooooooooooooooo. She will live, I told myself. But, what if she didn’t? Images raced through my head. A life without Night! No. She will live. She has to. Please. Whatever controls fate, save her, please!

And it was over. But, Night was weak. What was I going to do? If I bring her to my den, she might catch the lingering sickness. But, I had to, so I carried her and the kits back to my den. Sun stood up and wobbled outside. Ooooh noooo!

Outside, Sun fell on the side. I took her back in and then laid her down. She stood and walked towards Night. The other kits followed her. She was a natural leader.

 

Chapter Nine: Our Story Comes to a Close

It’s sad. We are done. Well, almost. My kits grow, and I am happy. Wooh. Honey had another two litters! And little, well not so little, Dawn had a litter of three! I feel so old. My legs are stiff as I walk into the future.

 

Twaben

       

Intro

When Twaben the panther was ten, he loved exploring unknown places. One day, he was wandering in the magical forest of Wandaka, and he (literally) stumbled upon… a tree root! Nothing very special about that was there… however… the magical forest of Wandaka was full of secrets… so like any fantasy story, there was a portal. Twaben didn’t make a decision whether to go in or not to go in… because he already fell in! It seemed like the portal also teleported him through time and space because now he was 22. Twaben had a jacket on which read “TOPPP.” He was very confused and after a lot of thought, he decided that they stood for animals (turtle, octopus, penguin, panda, panther, and he was correct! You’ll find out why later… ) He checked his pockets, and he found a bottle of what looked like his favorite energy drink: Grultimate. He popped off the cap and chugged the entire thing. It tasted strange, and he could feel a very strange substance through his veins. He ignored it and called it a day…

 

Chapter One

Later that week…

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and on days like this… TOPPP was starting work. TOPPP was a group of animals: a turtle named Toitel, an octopus named John, a penguin named Leo, a panda named Smooshy Boosh… and a panther named Twaben! They were all outcasts because of what they looked like. Toitel had a blue shell, John had three legs, Leo had black and white stripes, Smooshy Boosh could eat anything, and Twaben was… well… a pink panther! Many of their plans had been spoiled! Just like Twaben’s milk, although unlike his milk, they had been deliberately sabotaged by a member in the group. They knew this because the saboteur wore a TOPPP cape on the security feed. No one trusted anyone. Many people were suspecting Twaben because “it” moved very fast. But Twaben swore on his life he was innocent.

They all fell behind each other and went into the “detective room,” and their leader, Toitel, kicked Twaben out of TOPPP for one month! A whole month! When Twaben started to walk around, everybody stared at him, and they all whipped out their phones and dialed someone. All the beeps around Twaben seriously irritated him and when he gets angry… stuff happens. After Twaben saw all the animal control vans swarming the block, his ability triggered itself. All threats (including weapons and people) within a 12 foot radius were now controlled by Twaben. He forced them to go as far away as possible. Then, he ran on top of the TOPPP HQ. When he was up there, he decided to spy on the TOPPP to find who really sabotaged their plans. When Twaben followed Smooshy Boosh, he saw him eating some paste, and then he saw Toitel sneaking a speed potion! Twaben immediately recalled all the facts and set off the alarm. Toitel ran away and hid in his turtle hole. Toitel was kicked from the club (and Twaben joined back in), then the OPPP workers voted Twaben as their new leader.

 

Chapter Two

They finally finished their multi-dimensional-alien-chicken-cow-computer-train-sheep-horse-dog-cat-paper-ball-translator. (It’s harder to say than to use, trust Twaben.) They called it the MDACCCTSHDCPBT. They fired it into the infinite possibilities of space. Twaben stayed up all night with 17 gallons of coffee. At about one o’clock, a super loud beep echoed throughout their HQ.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Twaben screamed and woke everybody up.

“SHUT UP!” everybody screamed back.

“OUR MACHINE WORKED!” Twaben screamed once again. Everybody ran into the room, and he said, “We reached planet ORegE, home to brilliant scientists that have created clones of all the strange animals. Even us!”

“How do they know what we look like?” Leo asked.

“I don’t know… Do you want to ask them?” The screen flashed on, and they saw some weird aliens that looked like a mound of slime with bushy hair and glasses on.

“Hello.”

“Hey, LeM. Long time no see, eh?”

“Lemon?” said Leo.

“Incorrect. My name is LeM.”

“Okay… I’m just gonna call you Lemon.”

“Sorry, LeM, but I called you because Toitel the — ”

“Toitel the turtle sabotaged your plans… Yes, that happened to us too.”

“Okay, but he is off and getting his own army to counter our armies!”

“Affirmative.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“We have put trackers on all the Toitel clones. And they are all at… Wait a sec… The Wi-Fi is really slow up here… doo doo dooo… Okay, finally. It appears that the clones are all at… the bottom floor in your lair!”

“Let’s get ready for BATTLE!” Twaben said.

The Toitels came in. Twaben thought, I need to fight back because if I don’t, I’m going to die. (Obviously.) The Toitels had blue shells that they were throwing at pieces of machinery that Twaben had made over the years. Twaben screamed, “I’ll get you for this, Toitel.”

Leo threw fish at the Toitels, and then Smooshy Boosh threw up on all of the Toitels. The fish combined with the barf destroyed most of the Toitels… but then a super Toitel mech burst into the room and threw the roof into the sea to show his strength. Twaben got even angrier because the MDACCCTSHDCPBT was attached to that roof. The humans noticed that there was a giant turtle destroying the building, so they called the police, and then the police came over and tried to shoot, but the bullets bounced right off Toitel. Twaben used his ability (that he got from the strange “energy drink”) to force the Super Toitel to make a rocket out of itself, and they flew to the secret planet of LME (otherwise known as LIME). From there, they watched earth and saw that the big cities were getting smaller and more animals were walking around, not getting attacked. They may not have changed the whole world, but at least something’s changed. And if animals ever got attacked again… OPPP would strike again!

To be continued…

 

The Adventures of Peroni and Stella: Syrup Stopper

Once upon a time, there were two dogs named Peroni and Stella and their owner Nicole. Peroni and Stella were not ordinary dogs. They looked ordinary, but they did not act ordinary. For starters, they were talking dogs. They had a super secret device that can translate from dog to English, but it’s secret so don’t tell anyone, okay? P.S. they choose who will and will not hear it. But, Nicole did not know that. She thought they were ordinary dogs.

One day when she went to work, Peroni and Stella went under their bed, and underneath there was a tube. They went in the tube, and it led them into a lair. The lair had an automatic kibble dispenser and a rocket car in a garage.

It had a huge screen with two seats. They went to the seats and looked at the screen. Then, a person came on the screen.

“Hello, Agent P and Agent S. Bombshell is working on a new plan to take over the world and will use his teleporter to teleport to all the syrup in the world and make it cost a lot of money. Bombshell wants to poison all the maple trees in the area so that there would no longer be real maple syrup. Good maple syrup makes people happy, and Bombshell doesn’t like happiness around him.

Peroni and Stella are on the case. They went to the rocket car and drove to the maple syrup factory. Then, they saw a sign saying No Dogs Allowed! And then, they saw Bombshell, and Bombshell just walked in. Then, a worker saw Bombshell and looked at the dogs and made them leave. Peroni and Stella were kind of upset because the factory allows evil turtles that want world domination but not dogs.

Luckily, Peroni and Stella had a human disguise backpack on the back of the rocket car. They put the disguise on, then went in, and passed by the guy. So then, they see Bombshell using his price bombs and throwing them onto the barcodes, which switches their price by adding two zeros to the dollar area.

They had an anti-scanner which could make it back to the normal price. But they had to hide because Bombshell was about to see them. They hid behind a giant box of maple syrup that Bombshell had already changed.

The factory smelled very sweet, especially because they were right next to a box of maple syrup. And Bombshell had accidentally dropped a real bomb, so syrup was pouring everywhere.

Stella whispered, “That was a waste of battery for the scanner.”

Bombshell was using his bombs to up the price of more boxes, but Peroni and Stella think they actually found out his entire plan. They thought his plan was that he would make the prices really high so that no one could buy syrup from there anymore and they couldn’t pay to have the factory anymore, so they’d have to close down. And that was the only artificial maple syrup factory. Then, there wouldn’t be any more artificial syrup in the world.

Then, Bombshell teleported to the the maple patch, and Peroni and Stella followed and heard Bombshell chuckling because he knew they were there the whole time.

 

Chapter Two: The Maple Wars

Bombshell turned around and then gave kind of a boring speech. Stella just barked at him. Bombshell got scared of the barking, and when he gets scared, his shell panels become bombs. He bumped into one of the maple trees. Then, the tree got poisoned, and then Stella realized those were fake trees. Bombshell thought they were real trees (at least that’s what Stella thought…)

So they scared Bombshell into blowing up a bunch of the fake trees. Every time Bombshell gets scared, he loses a shell panel, and he becomes weaker. Eventually, his shell will just be an outline and then shatter. Then, they found something cool on their scanner. It had a portal gun, which allows them to move places within a certain distance, and it stays on that item even if it moves. The portal keeps going forward until it hits something. It moves if what it lands on moves.

So, they shot Bombshell, kept scaring him, got to the end of his shell, broke his shell, and then he teleported to the regeneration room.

Then, he came out but got teleported into the throne room where he saw his leader. And then, the leader said, “I thought I told you to destroy the syrup.”

Then, Bombshell said, “I tried, but the S.A.O.A. had the two best agents against me. I didn’t stand a chance.”

And then the leader said, “Well, I guess I’ll have to regrade you.”

Then, Bombshell said, “No. Not regrading.”

Then, the leader created a cloud over Bombshell’s head. Then it made some thunder go onto Bombshell. Then, he had golden bombs and golden claws. And it made him stronger, even though it hurt.

THE END

 

The Haunted Typewriter

Darkness seemed to fill every nook and cranny of the dusty attic as I climbed the rickety stairs, feeling my heart beat like a caged bird’s wings. Dust and memories swirled through the air as I neared a jet-black typewriter quietly click clacking my demise. My life was about to change forever. Tentatively, I reached my hand out to steady the mysterious being and felt a jolt of power surge through my body. This was it. My one chance at eternal glory. With more power than imaginable, I could change the world and at last achieve my vengeance.

Smiling coldly, I pushed a tendril of dark hair behind my ear and pulled my black hood up again, obscuring my vision slightly. Gently, I lifted the writhing creature into my hands, caressing its polished surfaces, and placed the powerful instrument of torture in my arms, murmuring soothingly. With a surge of anticipation, I slowly began to type. When looking down at a writing tool, most didn’t see unimaginable power stirring in their soul. Those people weren’t me. With words as my knives, I could litter the earth with corpses. With paragraphs, I could watch my enemies burn in the passion of my undying hatred. Already I could feel the ancient power awakening and beckoning me to write.

Grinning eerily, I wrote my first message.

“Hello,” I typed slowly.

Stifling the urge to giggle girlishly, I watched as the cruel messages and violent death scenes began to vanish and be replaced with one message. “Who are you?”

I snorted bitterly. No one, no one in years had dared talk to me in any way less than reverent. This writing utensil was beyond brave. Still laughing bitterly, I began to type my next message. “Your new master,” I responded.

The typewriter began its next words, lurching slightly in my hands. “Prove yourself.”

I laughed even harder and began to type my dreams of vengeance. Gasping in horror, I watched as, with every word I typed, blood began to pour out of my body, staining the attic floor. “What are you doing?” I typed furiously, trying not to wince as more cuts appeared across my hands and chest.

If an inanimate object could smile, I swear that was what it did. I stared down at it and felt my face flush with rage at its lack of a message. Cursing under my breath, I continued typing and tried not to whimper as more wounds appeared across my body, this time in more uncomfortable places. Gasping for air and cringing, I watched as blood trickled out of my wounds and turned my fingers crimson. At last, my vows of vengeance faded from the typewriter to unveil one simple message. “Good, I think you and I are going to get along very… nicely.” With a scream, I watched as my body dissolved into the one thing that had broken and haunted me forever: words.

 

Stupid

        

They say that I’m stupid to dream

To think that our love would’ve worked out

They say it’s stupid

I loved you, but they said I couldn’t

 

It was stupid, they chide

To think our love would’ve worked out

It was wrong, weird, gross

I loved you, but they said I couldn’t

 

To think our love could’ve worked out

It was ridiculous, childish, insane

I loved you, but they said I couldn’t

A secret kiss, a burning passion, there and gone

 

It was ridiculous, childish, insane

To think our love could’ve worked out

A secret kiss, a burning passion, there and gone

They say it’s stupid…

 

… to love you the way I did.

 

The True Story of the Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon

You’ve heard the story, you’ve told the tale, but do you know the truth?

 

Cow

Dear Fellow Lover of Grass Diary, a.k.a. FLOGD. My name is Mr. Moody Cow. You have probably guessed by now that I’m a cow. Today is the anniversary of my birth. I’m officially 97 years old. My arch nemesis, the moon, probably does not even know cows have birthdays! Cows have birthdays too, you know! He thinks he’s so great, but all he does is sit in the sky like a sack of floating potatoes.

Moon

Dear Honey Love Space Diary, a.k.a. HLSD. My name is Mr. Moon, and whatever my friend the cow said is not true. Actually, I take that back. He is not even my friend! Today is my birthday. I’m officially 97 years old. My arch nemesis, the cow, probably doesn’t even know moons have birthdays! He thinks he’s so great, munching on grass all the time. Well, guess what? He’s not!

Cow

Remember me? Mr. Moody Cow? Ring a bell? Seriously, I’m shaking like bacon trying to get you to hear this bell around my neck! Moon has probably been boring you to death with all his bragging.

Moon

Hello again. It’s me, the moon. I hate the cow, and you know why… Wait, you don’t? Oh, well then I’ll tell you… It was a dark and stormy night when it happened. We were in kindergarten. I was just a moonstone back then, and he was only a calf. We were singing Mary Had a Little Lamb. I wondered when the land would arrive. I looked over at the cow. I could tell he was wondering the same thing. Then, we went back to our seats to draw. I finished drawing the pictures for my new story. I reached for the stapler to finish off my book. My fingers could almost reach it. And all of a sudden, the stapler was missing! I looked up, and the cow was holding it.

Cow

Hello again. I heard the moon was telling you about what happened in kindergarten. Well, forget what he said. I’m going to tell you what really happened… It was a perfect sunny day when it happened. It was almost Moon’s birthday. I had started making him a card. We sang The Itsy Bitsy Spider. I grabbed the stapler, so I could finish his card and suddenly, Moon got up and tattled on me for absolutely no reason! That little snitch! I had to go to the time-out corner for a whole minute! ARRGH!!! I’ll get you someday, Moon!!!

Cow

I have figured out a way to get back at Moon. It is the most amazing plan in the world! I have decided to challenge Moon to see who can get down the hills faster. He thinks he’s going to win, but I have a (clever) plan.

Narrator

Cow then went over to Moon’s house. Cow told Moon that he would like to do a challenge. Cow then told him the challenge, and Moon accepted. They agreed to do it tomorrow at dawn. Then, Moon and Cow shook hands and grinned because they both thought they were going to win.

Moon

I know that I’m going to win. My fast movements beat Cow’s short, stubby legs any day. And I bet when I win, he will want to do a rematch. I can’t wait to see Cow’s chubby, fat face become sad.

I just realized something… you are a great listener! Thank you.

Cow

In one hour and two minutes, I will beat Moon.

(One hour later… )

In two minutes, I will beat Moon.

(Three minutes later… )

I BEAT MOON!!! OH YEAH BABY!!! I just realized that I am actually kind of sneaky and evil for a character in a nursery rhyme.

Moon

I’M SO MAD! I can’t believe Cow beat me! I had a plan!

Step One: Arrive at the field.

Step Two: Wait for Cow.

Step Three: Win.

Step Four: Have a giant dance party!

But Cow ruined my life, again! Now that I think of it, I’m really dramatic for a character in a fairy tale. Now, I have a foolproof plan to get revenge.

Narrator

Knock, knock. Suddenly, Cow heard a knock on his door. Cow walked over to answer the door.

“Oh, it’s you,” Cow said, as he stared at the moon.

“Yes, it’s me, Mr. Moon. That is my name. Do you mind if I come in?”

“Sure, but I was just leaving. Don’t make yourself feel at home, my enemy.”

Moon

Now, my plan is going perfectly! I can’t believe that Cow left his apartment alone and left me. Time for the rest of my plan to take action.

Step One: Before I go down to earth, make myself a cup of sky tea to go relax.

Step Two: Go to Cow’s house and drink my tea.

Step Three: Make myself at home. Gain access into enemy’s secret lair.

Step Four: Read diary.

Step Five: Come up with a challenge that Cow cannot beat.

Cow

Hey, guys! Guess what?! I’m not really just leaving. I’m going to the Sky to read Moon’s diary! He’ll never see it coming! Once again, I came up with the best plan first.

Three… Two… One… Blast off! I’m taking a trip to Moon’s house. I’m going on a trip in my brand new rocket ship, zooming to the sky, to read Moon’s diary!

Ooh, let me float over to his house. This is like swimming, but with no water! I’m drowning! Oh yeah, we’re in space. I finally reached Moon’s house!

“Dear Honey Love Space Diary, a.k.a. HLSD… ”

This is all junk! Oh wait, I found something… ! Nope, still junk. I need to find his weakness! Or maybe, I can find my strength.

Moon

This is all junk! Oh wait, I found something… ! Nope, still junk. I better keep looking just in case. Oh, here’s something.

“Dear Fellow Lover of Grass Diary a.k.a FLOGD,

I haven’t told anybody this. But I’m scared that Moon might challenge me to jump over him.”

That’s what I’ll challenge him to do! I’ve got my plan…

Cow

You know what? I can’t find anything. I’ve only been reading for a few minutes, and I’m so tired of this! Moon is not a very good writer. Well, let me go back to my rocket ship.

I’m going on a trip in my brand new rocket ship, zooming to the earth, so I can go eat!

Moon

Oh no! I hear him coming! I’m going to get stuck in the door! (Thump.) Oh no, I’m stuck! It must have been the tea…

Cow

Three… Two… One… BLAS — landing! … I’m finally back! Trot, clippity clop, trot, clippity clop.

“AH! Why did you make yourself at home! Get out of my house!” I said to Moon.

“I can’t! I’m stuck!” Moon said to me.

“Well then, just break my roof!” I said sarcastically.

“Okay, then,” Moon said, and he broke through my roof!

Narrator

Moon and Cow discuss the challenge. Even though Cow was scared, he agreed. He was a cow, not a chicken.

Cow

As I headed over to meet Moon, I felt butterflies in my stomach. Oh wait, no. They’re not inside my stomach. They’re on me! Shoo, butterflies! Anyway, I’m really nervous. I don’t know if I am able to beat Moon, but I must try. How did he even know my weakness? Oh, I know. He’s a super psychic from outer space! That’s the only possible answer. Unless he read my diary, but that’s not possible.

Moon

When’s Cow going to get here? Is all that fat slowing him down? Oh, here he comes.

“Hi there, Cow! What took you so long?” I yelled. “Let’s start this challenge already, so I can win.”

Cow

Oh my gosh! I’m gonna lose, but I can’t let Moon know.

“I’m ready,” I said in a deep voice to look brave (and keep from crying).

Three… Two… One… Jump!

Narrator

And time seemed to go so slowly, or maybe that’s because I’m talking slowly. And. Then. Time stopped.

Cow looked into the sky. “Ahhhh, I want my mommy!” screamed Cow.

“Help me!” Moon screamed. When he peered into the large river below them, it seemed as if Cow was winning.

Cow

I lost! I didn’t jump over him!

Moon

Wahhh! I really thought I’d win! I don’t know how he did it, but he jumped over me! I know, because I looked in the river. I saw him; he flew over me. Noooo!

Cow

I need to do one more final challenge to beat Moon. I need to go back into his diary and find his weakness. Does he even have a weakness? He must. Last time, I only read one page. This time I need to read more and look deeper. I must understand the true meaning of Moon’s words.

Moon

I don’t know if you know this, but I love elaborate plans. So, I made another one!

Step One: Get to Cow’s house.

Step Two: Do not drink the sky tea.

Step Three: Read Cow’s diary, again.

Step Four: Have a dance party!

Step Five: Get out quickly before Cow gets home.

Step Six: Have another dance party!

Now, I just have to go down to earth.

Cow

Blast off in three… two… one… I’m going on a trip in my gently used rocket ship, zooming to the sky, to read Moon’s diary! For the second time!

I’m floating again! I could get used to this. Anyways, I gotta get to Moon’s house. Then…

(Five minutes later… )

I finally got to Moon’s house. I got Moon’s diary again. He has to try harder to hide this thing.

“Dear HLSD, my name is Mr. Moon and whatever my friend, the cow, said is not true. Actually, I take that back, he is not even my friend! Today is my birthday. I’m officially 97 years old. My arch nemesis, the cow, PROBABLY DOESN’T EVEN KNOW MOONS HAVE BIRTHDAYS! He thinks he’s SO great, munching on grass all the time. Well guess what, he’s not!”

Hey! That’s what I wrote in my diary! It must be a coincidence.

(Ten minutes later… )

Hey! He copied all of mine! Everything from the birthday to the challenges. It’s like we have the same mind! This is not a coincidence. I have to go tell him!

Moon

I’m entering Cow’s house. Oh, look! I found his diary! He’s got to hide this better.

“Dear Fellow Lover of Grass Diary, a.k.a. FLOGD, my name is Mr. Moody Cow. You have probably guessed by now that I’m a cow. Today is my anniversary of my birth. I’m officially 97 years old. My arch nemesis, the moon, probably does not even know cows have birthdays! COWS HAVE BIRTHDAYS TO YOU KNOW! He thinks he SO great, but all he does is sit in the sky like a sack of floating potatoes.”

Hey! That’s what I wrote! He copied me! It must be a coincidence.

(Ten minutes later… )

Hey! This is exactly what I wrote! It’s like we have the same mind! This is not a coincidence… I have to go tell Cow!

Narrator

Cow and Moon rushed to each other to tell each other the strange news. They met in-between the two houses. Half on the sky, half on the ground. It was as if the rocket ship was a hover ship instead.

“Hey! I have something to tell you! We wrote the same things in our diary!” they said at the same time.

“Wait? How do you know what I wrote in my diary?” once again, they said at the same time.

“No, how you do you know?” they exclaimed at the same time.

“Oh, fine! I read your diary,” they said together.

“Wait, what? I read your diary!” they both yelled.

“Okay, fine, you go first,” Cow said (by himself).

“Okay, fine. I’ll go. I read your diary because I really wanted to win the challenges for once. You kept winning, and I don’t know… I just felt kind of maybe jealous. Now, you tell,” Moon said.

“NO, NO, NO! THAT’S THE REASON I READ YOUR DIARY!” Cow yelled.

“Woah! Cool down. You really are moody,” Moon said.

“Wait, so I just said that I felt jealous, and you said the same thing. You felt jealous of me?” they both said.

“Well, sorta,” said Moon.

“Maybe, yes,” sighed Cow. “Why would you ever be jealous of me? You always say that I’m just a lazy cow, munching grass all day.”

“You say I’m just a sack of floating potatoes in the sky.”

“Well, maybe I just said those things cause I was jealous. I’m sorry,” they both said.

Cow and Moon then hugged it out, but it was kind of hard for Cow to hug it out, since he was half in the sky.

Epilogue

In the end, Cow and Moon invited all their friends to celebrate both of their birthdays. Ninety-seven years of disagreeing, and finally, they were friends.

Cow and Moon shouted, “Dance party!”

 

The Life of a Superhero

“Being a superhero is a tough job,” said the man in the suit to the crowd.

“The Guardian, do you consider Crusher your greatest opponent?” shouted one reporter.

“Yes,” The Guardian said thoughtfully to the flashing cameras. “He is powerful, however, I will finally catch him once and for all!” The Guardian replayed the last battle with Crusher in his head. All the flashing lights bothered him, but he put up with the reporters.

The last battle had been close. He remembered how easily Crusher had destroyed those buildings with one sweep of his blocky hands. When The Guardian had shot fire at Crusher’s armor, it had no effect, unlike in the previous battles. The Guardian quickly blocked Crusher’s attack with his shield before it smashed into his head.

“My boss knows all about you and your powers,” Crusher said menacingly. “He improved my armor, so your superpowers won’t affect me at all!”

The Guardian stood powerless before Crusher, who loomed over him. The Guardian quickly leapt out of the way as Crusher brought his hand toward The Guardian’s head. The only way he had won was that when he leapt out of the way, he leapt behind a building which Crusher smashed, bringing all the debris on him. Even though The Guardian always sent Crusher to jail, Crusher always escaped at the end.

The Guardian pondered Crusher’s last words about his boss. He wondered who Crusher’s boss was. He had to be really good at building stuff because the armor he made could withstand even the fire he shot, which melted anything. He didn’t get that much sleep that night.

While The Guardian lay in bed, he remembered the day he decided to become a superhero. He had sworn to protect the city after he saw the famous superhero, the Darrenalexkevinator, protect his parents from a gunman. When he had just started becoming a superhero, he had no superpowers. He saw a robber stealing a woman’s purse, so he ran after him. The robber hid in an old, collapsing factory. When The Guardian caught up to the robber, the robber started shooting at him. Most of the shots missed, but a few hit his legs and body. The bullets that missed hit a few of the supporting pipes, causing the building to start to collapse. Because of the bullets in his legs, he couldn’t escape, while the robber left him to die. It turns out that this factory was used for nuclear energy, and when the building crashed onto him, he survived by a miracle. He got fire powers and some sort of earth magnetism. Basically, he could control the earth and throw fireballs now. Whoever Crusher’s boss was, he knew he had to stop him.

The next day, he read the news looking for the mention of Crusher’s escape. Somehow, no matter how many guards were posted at Crusher’s prison, he always managed to escape the next day. The Guardian was surprised. There was no mention of his escape. The Guardian was relieved. Today he could get a day off from fighting Crusher. While he was watching the TV, suddenly all the power shut off. He got up in confusion and looked out the windows. All around the city, he could see that all the other power in the city was starting to shut off. Since it was so cloudy, there was basically no light.

Unconcerned, The Guardian thought a power line had toppled, causing a blackout. He decided to go to sleep. When he woke up, he had a pounding headache. When he looked around, he found he was in a jail cell. Suddenly, a man stepped out of the shadows. He was wrapped in shadows, like he was controlling them.

“Hello,” he whispered in a creepy way.

“Who are you,” The Guardian demanded. “And why am I here!”

“That doesn’t matter,” he replied. “What matters is that today is the day I will finally take over the world. No one will be able to stop me since I have locked all the powerful superheroes in jail, and all the other superheroes are too weak to stop me!”

Suddenly, the roof broke, and a thousand sandwiches somehow fell from the sky. A woman dropped down. “My name is Alexialalalalasass, and I can control sandwiches, like creating them out of thin air. I have come to save all the superheroes.”

“How did you find us!” The Guardian said.

“I stalked you for your whole life!” Alexialalalalasass said.

“Why?” The Guardian replied.

“Because I had nothing better to do!” replied Alexialalalalasass.

“Did you think you could really destroy me with sandwiches,” the creepy shadow man growled. Shadows came from the man and wrapped around Alexialalalalasass. When the shadows disappeared, Alexialalalalasass wasn’t there.

“What did you do to her!” The Guardian demanded.

“My shadows ate her up because they were hungry,” the shadow man said. “Now, I will invade New York City!” The shadows wrapped around the shadow man, and he disappeared.
How I am going to get out of here, The Guardian thought. When he leaned against the wall, he quickly leaped away. The walls were charged with electricity. As he rubbed his arm, a man in a black police uniform appeared. “Who are you?!” The Guardian asked.

“I’m one of the guards. Here is some food,” he said. He disappeared as quickly as he came. The Guardian inspected his lunch, which consisted of a bottle of water, some extra supa extreme chocolatey milk, and dark chocolate choco double choco triple fudge choco chip cookies. The outside packaging wrapper said they were made by STEVEN co. He tried to eat a cookie but broke his tooth. The Guardian soon got an idea.

The Guardian hid behind a shield made of dark chocolate choco double choco triple fudge choco chip cookies and threw water at the wall. As the electricity came in contact with the wall, the wall exploded. Some debris crashed into the cookie shield. Nothing happened. The Guardian was free! He quickly knocked out the guards and freed the other superheroes.

The Guardian decided to take the cookie with him. The other superheroes had already left without him. He saw smoke rising from the city’s direction. After a few hours, he saw the evil shadow dude. His shadows were eating up people and buildings. The other superheroes were shooting lasers and ice and whatever they had at him, but the shadows were eating them. The Guardian threw some fire and earth balls, but the shadows ate them up.

Many heroes were missing. The shadow man was winning. He suddenly remembered the cookie. As he threw the cookie at the shadow man, it destroyed everything in its path. The shadows tried to destroy it, but when the shadows touched it, they exploded. The cookie smashed into the creepy shadow man guy’s face. The shadow guy fell to the floor. When The Guardian took off the shadow man’s mask, he suddenly realized it was Alexialalalalasass.

“How is this possible!” The Guardian said.

“I used a shadow clone to make the other Alexialalalalasass,” Alexialalalalasass said. The police came and made a dark chocolate choco double choco triple fudge choco chip cookie prison for Alexialalalalasass.

 

Two days later…

The Guardian was walking on the sidewalk when a guy wearing a spy outfit ran up to him.

“The sky will drop a UFO. Bye,” the kid said as he ran off.

The Guardian stood there wondering what just happened. Suddenly, he saw a UFO fall toward him. The Guardian jumped out of the way. A martian guy came out texting on his phone. When the martian looked up and saw the human, he jumped about 90 feet in the air.

“Yowzahs, what are you!” the martian said, as the phone he was holding dropped on the floor. “Now look what you did. I was texting my girlfriend, Alexa, when you made my phone drop. Now I must shoot you with my stasis rifle.”

The Guardian was surprised at how quick the martian was to rage. When a bullet from the stasis rifle hit a pedestrian, it froze her. The Guardian stood with his mouth open, looking at the frozen woman. “You’re next!” the martian said as he ran crazily toward The Guardian, shooting randomly.

Just as a bullet was about to hit The Guardian, he threw a fireball at it. The bullet evaporated. The Guardian decided to spam fireballs at the martian. It turns out he should have done this long ago. Many of the fireballs hit the martian. The Guardian smirked at the martian.

“Hah, that was too easy!” he said to the martian.

A whole army of UFOs appeared out of the sky and began shooting lasers at The Guardian. During that day, Mars declared war with Earth because of The Guardian. Everybody hated him. “It’s because of you that my house was destroyed and we have to live in a nuclear shelter!” a guy screamed at The Guardian, throwing tomatoes at him. The Guardian was sad. He explained to the public that he was just defending himself. Nobody cared. They threw him in a deluxe jail.

Every day, they only gave him patties to eat. A guard named Squidturd visited him every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday to bring his food. Squidturd was the mean, careful guard. Every other day, a guard named Mr. Craps served him food. The Guardian heard from other prisoners that you could actually bribe Mr. Craps to escape. Perfect, the Guardian thought. I just need to find something valuable and bribe Mr. Craps to let me escape in exchange for that, but what could I use. The Guardian looked around, stumped. Suddenly, he noticed something. In the cell next to him was his enemy, Crusher. Crusher noticed him too.

“You’re dead,” he screamed, trying to break his bars. “At lunchtime, I’m going to pound you!”

Just what I need, The Guardian thought gloomily.

At lunchtime, he tried to attract as little attention as possible. It was too late. Crusher noticed him. Crusher barreled toward him. The Guardian looked down and saw his knees shaking at 100 miles per hour. That’s weird, he thought. I fought him before. Why am I scared now? As Crusher ran toward him, The Guardian put his banana peel on the floor and leaped out of the way. Crusher slipped on it and flew into the air, finally crashing into a wall.

“Hah,” he said triumphantly. “You got defeated by a banana peel.”

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!” a voice screeched out. The prisoners parted for a tall, mean looking lady.

“Who’s that old lady?” The Guardian asked a prisoner next to him.

“THAT OLD LADY,” she screamed, spit flying into The Guardian’s face. “How dare you! My name is Sarah! I am the director of this prison, and you two are coming with me for fighting!

What is this, elementary school? The Guardian thought, but he reluctantly followed the Sarah along with Crusher.

In all my years, I have never seen such insolence!” she screeched, pacing back and forth. “You both need a good scolding to learn your lesson!”

The Guardian stopped listening after the first sentence. This is boring, he thought. Suddenly, he noticed something on Sarah’s neck. It was an emerald necklace. AHA, he thought. Just what I need. I can steal it and bribe Mr. Craps into helping me escape.

Over the next few days, he spent his days memorizing the layout of the prison. He realized his best chance was to sneak into Sarah’s bedroom to steal the necklace. He bribed some people by giving them his food to pretend that they were him for a few days and for other jobs. While everybody was at the cafeteria, he snuck under the tables to escape. Dang it, he thought as he saw guards posted at each exit of the cafeteria. Oh well, time for Plan B. He whistled. Some of the people he bribed started to start a humongous food fight throwing clam pies, hot dogs, and ice cream. The guards and Sarah tried to break it up. The Guardian quickly snuck into Sarah’s room and put sleeping powder into his drink. He suddenly heard Sarah walking back. Where could he hide?!

When Sarah walked into the room, she felt something was off. Oh well. She sat down and took a drink. She fell asleep. The Guardian leapt out of the closet and grabbed the necklace. However, it said it needed a passcode to unlock. The Guardian decided to hide in Sarah’s bedroom to steal it when she took it off.

The Guardian hid under Sarah’s bed. After what felt like an eternity, Sarah walked in. “I hate being under the mask all day long.” He grumbled. Wait, The Guardian thought. Sarah pulled off a mask and under was Alexialalalalasass. The Guardian almost gasped in surprise. “That was a close match. The police totally thought they took me away, but it was another shadow clone.” Alexialalalalasass took off her necklace and got into bed. The Guardian didn’t take the necklace. He knew what he had to do to be set free. He would need to expose Alexialalalalasass to the world.

The next day, The Guardian had his plan in action. He started another food fight. This got Alexialalalalasass running in. “WHAT IS GOING — ” She didn’t get to finish the sentence. The Guardian had perfectly aimed cafeteria food at Alexialalalalasass’ mouth. While she was choking, The Guardian ran up to her and ripped off her mask.

“Sarah is not Sarah. It was actually Alexialalalalasass under the mask the whole time!” he told everybody. The police came and put Alexialalalalasass in jail. “Wait, she could be useful,” The Guardian said.

 

Two days later…

The Earth was no longer at war with Mars. With the help of Alexialalalalasass, they destroyed all the UFOs. The Guardian was free and now lived peacefully fighting crime.

 

The End

The Missing Pencil (Part Two)

      

(Haven’t read Part One? Read it here!)

Chapter Eight

All three of us started patting the invisible tower, trying to find a door.

“Ugghhhhh! This is impossible!” Minsy exclaimed.

“Yeah, we’re probably not gonna find a door. Let’s just give up,” said Rina disappointedly.

“No! Don’t you realize? You guys wouldn’t even be going on the journey if I wasn’t because I needed to meet the wizard. You can’t just give up. I’ll be stuck here forever.”

“So?” Minsy asked. “You don’t like it here?”

“Well, no. I mean, yes, um. Well, I just want to go home!” I wailed.

Just then, the invisible castle started to fade into its color. First light purple, then dark purple, then darkest purple spread across the castle, and then a door creaked open.

“We did it! We opened it!” all three of us screamed at the same time.

“Come on. Let’s go,” Minsy said, about to go in.

“Are we allowed to just come in to someone’s house?” I asked.

“Eh,” Minsy shrugged.

“Come on. Let’s go. Chop chop, people,” Rina said, pushing us in.

The door closed behind us. We looked around us. Now we were in a huge room. The walls were a bright shade of purple covered with paintings of these people that looked very similar. I read some of the labels. “Jim Zodar,” “Jim Zodar II,” “Jim Zodar III,” Jim Zodar IV,” “Jim Zodar V,” “Harry Zodar,” “Jim Zodar VI,” “Jim Zodar VII.”

“Wooooow, that is a lot of Jim Zodars,” Minsy said. She was reading along with me. I looked up. There was a giant chandelier that hung down about ten feet from the ceiling.

“So, this is a big house,” Rina said. “How are we supposed to find the wizard?”

“Well, we are in his house, so there’s probably not so many people here,” I explained.

“I guess. But we probably shouldn’t wander around, or he may think we’re robbers.”

And just as I said that, an alarm went off. It was so loud that the three of us had to cover our ears, and even when we covered our ears, it was still very loud. Suddenly, we heard a man scream. And then, right in front of us, we saw a very short man with purple overalls and messy hair standing in front of us.

“What are you doing in my house?” he screamed. I was speechless; all three of us were silent.

And then, I heard Minsy say, “Are you Jim Zodar?”

“No,” said the man.

“Well, are you Harry Zodar?” she asked.

“No!” he said again. “My name is Galfred Zodar.”

“Then how come you’re not on that wall?” Minsy asked, pointing to that wall with all the portraits.

“Well, I didn’t earn it yet. Well, you see, every wizard has one job that they have to complete. And I haven’t completed it yet, so… well, I shouldn’t be giving you too much detail on it. Anyways, you three wanted to see me about something?”

“Yes,” said Minsy.

“Oh, very well then,” said the man, calming down. “Why did you need to see me?”

“Um, well, we have a problem,” Minsy started. “So, my friend Patrick, he’s from the Other Side, and we don’t know how to get him back. My mom said you would know, so we came to you.”

“All by yourself?” the man asked. We nodded. “Impressive.”

“Well then, I guess I should help you.”

“Great, thanks,” said Minsy.

“Now, follow me.” And the three of us followed the man.

 

Chapter Nine

As we followed the wizard down the halls of his house, we saw fancy vases on top of gold tables. We then turned left at the corner of the long hall and into a small, blue room. The walls were blue, the chairs were blue, the floor was blue, the ceiling was blue, everything was the same shade of blue.

“Now,” the wizard said, “all of you take a seat on one of the chairs.”

“What are we going to do?” Rina asked.

“We’re going a take a test,” said the wizard.

Rina smiled. So did I. I was excited to see what kind of test it would be. I looked over at Minsy. She didn’t look too thrilled.

“What kind of test?” she asked nervously.

“You’ll see,” the wizard said, taking three pieces of paper off of a blue table. “Now, take the papers I give you, and put them in front of you. And let go of them. I know it seems like they will just drop on the floor, but trust me, they won’t. Just listen to me.”

He put the papers in our laps, and we did as he said. Sure enough, the papers didn’t drop. Instead, a desk formed in front of us, and the papers just lay in the middle of it.

“So, don’t start the test yet, but when you do start it, do exactly as I say,” the wizard told us. “Now, any questions before I explain the rules?”

I raised my hand. “Yes, Patrick,” the wizard said.

“Are we going to use pencils to take the test?” I asked.

“Of course,” the wizard said.

And with that, he flicked his hand, and a million different pencils dropped on the floor, one by one. I watched them fall. Every single one was completely different. Either a different length or color or eraser color or how sharp it was. I didn’t know which one I was going to pick, or if we were even allowed to pick.

Then, the wizard said, “The three of you come around and choose one of these pencils, but remember to choose very carefully because this is a big part of the test.”

So Minsy, Rina, and I walked around the room to try to find the pencil that we liked best.

“It doesn’t matter the shape of the pencil or the color of the pencil, or even how sharp it is. If you pick a pencil that doesn’t have a tip, don’t worry about it. It will still be good,” the wizard told us.

Then, he waited there while the three of us chose our pencils. Two of them looked really good, and I was choosing between them, but then I remembered what the wizard said and tried to choose ones that didn’t look as good. I saw Minsy doing eeny-meeny-miney-moe with two hot pink pencils with gray erasers. One was short and stubby, and the other was long and thin. She finally chose the short and stubby one and went back to her seat.

Rina was at a little section in the middle, counting a group of green pencils. And I was watching them from the very end of the long trail of pencils, still deciding between one with a broken tip and no eraser and one with an eraser that was as hard as rock. One of them had a weird squiggly design, and the other one looked like a plain pencil (except for its hard eraser). I examined the pencils closely, then from far away. I closed one of my eyes and squinted with the other, trying to find any little markings on the sides of the regular looking pencil.

And then suddenly, as I was rolling the pencil around between my index finger and thumb, I saw the letter “P.” I smiled. I knew I had to pick that one. I mean, come on. It’s not every day you see a pencil with your initial on it. I held it tightly in my hand and walked back to my seat. Then, a few minutes after, I saw Rina finally pick a tall, green pencil without a tip. Once we were all in our seats, the wizard walked in front of us.

Then he yelled, “El guardia sebedosa exconigeck em com skavik kravick embey embey!”

The three of us stared at the wizard for a few seconds after that. We couldn’t move. That spell was so startling.

“Now,” the wizard started, “the first rule of this test is to never use your pencil to write with. You must instead think the answer with your mind and only your mind. Second, there is no second rule. Third, you cannot lose your pencil (hint hint). I repeat, you cannot because I need to keep it so afterwards the next people that come and ask for my help can use it. Now, any questions?”

The three of us all raised our hands.

He sighed and put his hand on his forehead. “They never get it. Rina.”

“Yes, um, didn’t you say that the pencils were a very important part of the test?”

“Yes, I did say that, I think,” the wizard said.

“Well then, how come we can’t use them during the test?”

“Ahh, very good question, Rina, but I can’t answer you! Now, you might be asking why I can’t answer you. Well, I can’t tell you that either. Just, like I said before, do what I say and maybe you’ll learn more later.”

“Okay,” Rina said, nodding.

“You may begin,” the wizard projected.

 

Chapter Ten

I looked down at my paper, and I saw a normal looking test. It looked like math, but when I looked closer I saw that it wasn’t.

The first question said, What is your favorite color? in curly, bubble letters.

Blue, I thought really hard in my mind. I kept thinking it over and over again until it appeared on the paper. Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue.

Then, I moved on to the next question:

Are you wearing pink socks with red polka dots today?

No! I yelled in my head.

Do you have any siblings?

Nooooooo.

Do you have a pet?

Noooooooooooo.

Okay, okay. Don’t gotta yell at me! it said. Stop! You’ve reached the end of your test.

Thank god, I thought in my head. I put my pencil on the table and threw my head back. Then, I just sat there waiting for Minsy and Rina to finish their tests too. I heard their pencils tap the tables a few minutes after.

“Is everyone ready?” the wizard asked.

“Yes,” the three of us said.

“Wonderful. Now, I’m not going to check your tests, but I need you to show me your pencils.”

The three of us stood up with our pencils, and the wizard took out his wand and spun it around in his hand, and the three pencils rose up in the air and glided towards the wizard.
“Let’s see,” he said, holding up a stubby, green pencil. “Rina, you picked this pencil.”

“Yes,” she said.

“Mm hmm,” the wizard said, observing the pencil carefully. “Great job, Rina. You passed the test!”

“Um, thank you?” she said and then sat back down in her seat. Then, he took up a hot pink pencil which I knew was Minsy’s. He then checked Minsy’s pencil the same way he checked Rina’s, turning it over and over again with his fingers.

“Wonderful, Minsy. You passed as well!” he cried.

“Yes!” Minsy said and then sat back down in her seat.

Then, he picked up my pencil. He held the eraser carefully and spun it around between his fingers. As he examined the pencil, he made a weird humming sound that kind of sounded like a groan but also like a laugh. I crossed my fingers under the table. The faces he was making didn’t make me think that I was going to pass, and then started to make me wonder, What happens if I don’t pass? Will I still be able to go home? Why did Rina and Minsy have to take the test if they were going to go home either way, or maybe they wouldn’t go home if they didn’t pass? I started sweating and taking deep breaths. But then my wondering got cut off by —

“Patrick! You passed! You passed! You did more than pass! You helped me complete my job!” the wizard cried.

“Whaaaaaa?” I asked.

“Well, I didn’t tell you guys before because I wasn’t allowed to, but I can tell you now. So, remember before when I said that every wizard has a job that they have to complete in order to get their name on the wall?” We nodded. “Well, that job was to make sure that someone I helped got the magical pencil. And the people that don’t pick the magical pencil are the people that don’t actually need help. They just want to say that they met me. But now, because you picked that magical pencil Patrick, I am going to grant you with your wish of going home. But, before I send you home, there is something else that I need to tell you.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“The rules to your pencil,” the wizard said.

“The rules to my pencil?” I asked.

“The rules to your pencil!”

“The rules to my pencil?”

“The rules to your pencil!”

“Yeah, I still don’t get it,” I said. The wizard slapped his head.
“Ahhh, Patrick. You have a magical pencil here! So I’m going to teach you what magical things it can do!”

“Oh okay,” I said.

“The first thing you need to know about having a magical pencil is that you can’t lose it. Once it is lost, that means it is in someone else’s hands, someone who doesn’t know they are dealing with magic and is. They could write a 20-page essay in the amount of time that it would take someone else to write one word. They’d be able to fly. They’d… they’d… they’d… well, you get the point. So, the trick is, don’t keep it in your normal pencil case because you might accidentally give it to someone.”

“Well, the pencil will do anything you want. You just need to tell it. For example, if I want to turn invisible, then I would just say ‘Make me invisible, make me invisible, make me invisible, make me… INVISIBLE!’” the wizard screamed.

I stared at the wizard, and after he finished his weird spell, he vanished into thin air.

“See? Now I’m over here! Now I’m over there! Hoo hee ha ha!” the wizard yelled.

I could hear him running around even though he was invisible.

“Okay,” I said.

Then, I heard the wizard say, “Turn not invisible, turn not invisible, turn not invisible. Turn not… INVISIBLE!”

He reappeared right in front of us.

“Anyways, that’s how you use it. Now you guys have to get going, so, Patrick I’ll show you how you can get back home,” said the wizard.

“You’re so lucky that you get to keep a magical pencil,” Minsy said.

“Yeah, I can’t believe we didn’t all get those cool pencils,” Rina chimed in.

The wizard led us out of the room, and we walked across the hallway until we got to a new room. We walked inside, and everything was clear.

“Patrick, stand in the middle of that circle,” said the wizard.

“Sure, which circle?” I asked looking around. The tiles on the floor were circle-shaped so I didn’t know which one he was talking about.

“Um… that one,” the wizard said.

He walked over to one of the circles and tapped his foot on it three times. After that, the circle started glowing and then grew five times bigger.

“Okay.” I shrugged, walking over to the circle. “Wait. I want to say bye to my friends first,” I told the wizard.

“Oh alright, but make it quick because you have to get home soon,” he answered.

I nodded and walked up to Rina and Minsy. “Bye, guys. I’m going to miss you. And Ethamopia.”

“We are going to miss you too, but you know that you can use your pencil so you can see us again. Right?” Rina said.

“Yeah.” I nodded and turned to the wizard. “Sir, I will take very good care of your pencil.”

“Group hug!” Minsy shouted.

So, the three of us huddled up and gave each other a short, quick hug.

“Doesn’t this remind you guys at all of The Wizard of Oz?” the wizard asked.

We shrugged.

“I think I’ll miss you most of all,” I said in a high-pitched girl voice. “Well, I do a good Dorothy impression.” Minsy and Rina laughed.

“Well bye,” I said and stood on the circle. I pointed my toes outward and closed my eyes on the circle. “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home,” I whispered in my Dorothy imitation. Minsy and Rina giggled. I clutched my Magic Pencil tight in my hands and waved one last time at my new friends. The wizard took his wand out and mumbled weird words to himself, and soon enough, I was back in my hotel room. The end.

 

Chapter Eleven

“So, that’s the end of your story?” Susan asked.

“Yeah, that didn’t show how you lost the pencil. That just showed how you got it,” Stanley said.

“Woah woah woah. You guys wanted to know why the pencil is so important to me. You never asked how I lost it,” Patrick explained. “But okay, I’ll tell you how I lost the pencil. It’s not a very interesting story though. So one day, when I had the pencil in my room, I was trying to ask it to make me able to fly. So I held it up to my chest, and then it did that glowing thing it does before it casts its spell. So then, to test it, I jumped up into the air, and I wasn’t able to fly. So I asked the pencil again, and it must have heard me wrong because instead of allowing me to be able to fly, the pencil turned itself invisible. But I knew it was still in my hands, so I just asked for it to turn un-invisible. But now I knew that something was really wrong with this pencil since it didn’t hear that right either. Instead, I felt it rise up from my hand and then, well, who knows where it could have gone. It could have left my room because my window was open. It could have flown out the front door, and now it’s out in the world. So basically, I’ll never find it. So, do you have any questions about my story?” Patrick asked.

“I’ve got one,” Marty declared. “How did you remember that whole story in great detail?”

“Funny story. So, before I lost my pencil I asked it to write about my time in Ethamopia, so it did.”

“Follow up question: that whole story fit on your hand?”

“Well no, that’s the beauty of magic. You see, when I want the story to show, then I tell it to,” Patrick explained.

He waved his hand, and the words appeared on his hand. Then he waved his hand again, and they disappeared.

“Also, if I want to scroll down, then I just go like this.” He held up his hand and scrolled down as if he was scrolling on a touch-screen computer.

“Coooool,” his friends said.

“Oh,” Marty said. “Well then how is anybody going to find an invisible pencil?”

“Well, there’s one part I left out of the story. You see, the wizard also gave me this magic sharpener,” Patrick said, taking the velvet pouch with the “Z” on it out of his pocket.

He turned the pouch upside down and dumped a regular looking green sharpener out of it.

“With this sharpener, I can communicate with the pencil when it’s not working correctly. Except this sharpener isn’t working so well either. All I’ve managed to do is get the pencil un-invisible.”

“Well, how do you even know it’s un-invisible if you can’t find it?” Lola asked.

“Well, the ‘Z’ on this pouch glows every time that the pencil follows one of my spells. And that ‘Z’ hasn’t been glowing when I’ve asked the pencil to return home to me.”

“Could I see that sharpener for a second?” Stanley asked.

“Sure.” Patrick handed the sharpener to Stanley.

Stanley held the sharpener up to his face and said, “Return back to Patrick’s house.” The “Z” didn’t glow.

“Oh, sorry, Patrick,” said Stanley.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Patrick said.

“But you’re probably going to find it eventually, right? I mean, everything that involves magic usually turns out alright in the end, right?” asked Lola.

“Eh, I dunno,” Patrick sighed. “It’s going to be pretty hard to find a magic pencil. It could be anywhere in the world right now!”

“True… ” Marty looked down at the ground.

A few minutes later, Patrick’s mom knocked on the door and poked her head into his room.

Smiling, she said, “Hey, Patrick. Your friends have to go home.”

Patrick’s friends started to stand up.

“Okay, bye, Patrick. Thanks for telling us the story!” Susan said, waving. She walked up to Patrick’s mom and said, “And thank you for having me over Mrs. Binny.”

“Oh, you’re welcome, darling.” Patrick’s mom put her hand on Susan’s shoulder.

Lola followed behind Susan. “Bye, Mrs. Binny. Bye, Patrick!” she said quickly and skipped out the door.

“Bye, man.” Stanley smiled. “I hope you find your pencil. Bye Patrick’s mom!” he called back as he ran out of the room.

“Hey, dude, sorry about your pencil. I didn’t understand why it was so important before. I’ll search my whole house when I get home,” Marty said.

“Thanks, dude.” Patrick held up his hand and Marty high-fived it.

Marty walked slowly out the door and said, “Bye, Mrs. Binny,” and walked down the stairs.

“Sorry about your pencil, Patrick. Even though I have no idea what they’re talking about. I’ll buy you a new pencil tomorrow.” Mrs. Binny patted Patrick on the head and messed up his hair.

“Thanks, Mom,” Patrick said. “But I don’t want a new pencil from the store.”

Patrick’s mom shrugged and sighed and made one of those parent faces that they make when their kid gets in trouble at school and then lies about it. With that, she walked out the door and closed it behind her.

 

Chapter Twelve

That night, while Patrick was sleeping, his newly painted walls started to glow. Patrick was in a deep sleep and dreaming about how he would find the pencil and further adventures he would have with it, when suddenly —

CREAK!

Patrick’s eyes went from completely closed to wide open, almost a perfect circle.

“Psssst, Patrick,” a familiar voice whispered.

“Rina?” Patrick exclaimed, sitting up in his bed. “What are you doing here, and how did you get here?”

“I came through that wall,” she said, pointing to Patrick’s wall. “Also, I came to return your pencil to you.”

You had it?” Patrick almost screamed. “I’ve been looking for it for like a whole month!”

“Sorry, but we didn’t take it. It flew over to us!” Rina argued.

“All the way to Ethamopia? Yeah right,” Patrick mumbled.

“I swear. The wizard called me over here and told me that I had to deliver this to you. He didn’t know exactly why it came here, but he figured it must have something to do with the Ethamopian magic glitch.”

“So, you mean no Ethamopian magic was working?” Patrick asked.

“No, and we had to figure out why, so the wizard has been sending me and Minsy all around Ethamopia and to anyone’s house that had magical objects. We had to see if they misused the objects and possibly broke them,” Rina explained. “So I have to look at your magic sharpener.”

“Uh… okay.” Patrick shrugged, taking the pouch with the “Z” on it out of his pocket.

He plucked the green sharpener out of the pouch and laid it in the palm of his hand.

“Thank you,” Rina said formally, taking the sharpener.

She opened up the top of the pencil sharpener, and sure enough, she saw pencil shavings.

“Just as I suspected. Patrick, have you used this pencil sharpener to sharpen a regular pencil?”

“Maybe? Okay, yes, sorry. I didn’t know that it would start a whole commotion and wreck everything magical forever!” Patrick swooned overdramatically.

“Woah, it’s not that big of a deal. You can chill out, man. We just need to find it. I’m going to bring it back to the wizard, so he can fix it, and then return it to you. But remember, you’re going to have to return the pencil back to us in a few months. Because you only get it for a year, and then you have to return it. And if you don’t, then you will be stuck in a portal between Ethamopia and your own world forever!” Rina screamed, her eyes wide and she was breathing heavily.

“Why?” Patrick asked, suddenly scared.

“Oh, pssh, that doesn’t actually happen. I was just trying to make things dramatic,” Rina laughed.

“Phew,” Patrick sighed.

“Anyways, here’s your pencil. I want to give this sharpener back to the wizard to fix. See you back here tomorrow at this exact time,” she said, looking at her watch.

“Okay? But I can’t promise you that I’ll be awake.”

Rina ignored him and stepped through the wall. Patrick sat in his bed for second, blinked a couple times, and then he pushed his covers off his legs and hopped out of his bed.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” he squealed, dancing around his room. “Oh, pencil, I’ve missed you so.”

Patrick hugged and kissed the pencil for a few minutes. His mom knocked on the door.

“Hi, sweetie. Um it’s one o’clock in the morning. Just wondering, are you alright?”

“Never better, baby.”

“… Okay,” Patrick’s mom said, slowly backing out of the room.

“Yes!” Patrick said one last time and leaped onto his bed.

He slept like a baby, knowing that his pencil was safe and sound. And that’s the story of the missing pencil.

 

Friday the 13th with the Johnsons

It was a sunny Friday the 13th morning, and the Johnson family’s car pulled into the driveway of their new house, an enormous mansion. Claire Johnson, the youngest of her family, walked into her new home and took the sights in. It was like a dream come true. The Johnsons were moving into their great-grandparents’ house because they had died. There were beautiful designs on the ceiling and stained glass windows everywhere. There were six floors to the house, not counting the attic or basement. Claire was really excited because their grandma was coming to visit them in their new home!

Jackson Johnson (who goes by JJ for short), her older brother who was 13 and into sports and skateboarding, got out of the car along with her older sister, Diana, who was 16 and extremely bratty and the mall was her second home.

Jackson was surprised by the size of their new home. He almost yelled on his way inside, “OH MY GOD! OUR HOUSE IS GIGANTIC!!!”

Diana, on the other hand, was slowly getting out of the car while closely examining her perfectly polished nails. Diana was saying, “I need to get another nail appointment. Also, I need to return 99 out of the 100 shoes I got yesterday morning!”

Mr. Johnson put his hands into his pocket to reach for his wallet and said, “I am only saying yes because I know if I say no, then you will not let me sleep and bug me with your Justin Bieber pop music.”

He then handed her two one-hundred dollar bills and told her to be back at 7:30.

Mrs. Johnson was trying not to yell at Mr. Johnson while she was talking to him in the corner of the kitchen. Even though she was trying to whisper, it sounded more like a half yell. She was saying, “I can’t believe you just gave Diana $200. We really need to start teaching her that she can’t have everything she wants!”

Mr. Johnson wasn’t saying anything and finally just waited until Mrs. Johnson left to go admire the old Victorian mansion that they had inherited. Mrs. Johnson got everyone together in the kitchen and told them who was getting which floor.

She told them, “Claire, you get the sixth floor because we know you would love the view up there. JJ, you get the fifth floor. Diana, you get the fourth floor. And your father and I will take the third floor. We will find out what to do with the two other floors. The second floor will be the guest room, and the lowest floor will be the family room.”

“Does my floor have a spa?” Diana asked.

“Yes, we knew you wouldn’t survive without it,” Mr. Johnson said. “Although, your mother wasn’t hot on the idea.”

“Mommy’s just jealous that I’m perfectly beautiful, and she’s getting all wrinkly and has gray hair,” Diana said, checking her reflection in one of her many mirrors.

Claire went up to her room. She really liked it. She had a personal ice cream maker there. She took out one of the cones and swirled cotton candy ice cream onto it. Claire was about to take her ice cream out of the machine when a bunch of M&M’s sprinkled on top. She didn’t even press the button for them! But she loved M&M’s, so she ate it anyway. When Claire was eating the ice cream, she tasted something a little bitter. But, she decided to ignore it because one of the M&M’s was pink, and she had never tried that before. Claire sat and ate her ice cream in her room, so she didn’t have to share with her siblings. When she finished her ice cream, she sat down and read a book. The book was called A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning.

A few hours later, after Diana had been to the mall, she got into the elevator and looked through the song selection. She was confused when she saw the button that said, “Scary I’m going to kill you music.” She hit the one that said, “Justin Bieber pop music.”

“I have a secret,” said Justin Bieber. “I have been keeping it for a very long time. It’s actually not much of a secret. It’s that I am really, really, really… annoying! Honestly, everyone hates me. I am the worst singer in the history of the world. I will never, ever, ever be famous for being loved. The only thing I will be famous for is being the most hated singer ever. And now, I’m going to go to my bed to cry, because I’m sad because everyone hates me, and also I’m resigning.”

Diana wailed and wailed, “No! Justin! You’re, like, my everything and celebrity crush, and why is my mascara smudged? I just applied it two seconds ago?!”

When she got to her floor, she started making a shrine to send to Justin Bieber to convince him to go into a musical career again.

Claire’s parents were sitting in their giant room. It was 2:50 A.M., and they were waiting for the noises from the other floors to stop.

They heard a faint voice singing, “Blackbox, blackbox, coming to the parents’ room.”

They knew something was wrong. They then remembered that they were sharing a house with Diana and JJ, so they thought it was just Diana complaining about how the spa was terrible… even though it was a high class spa (that cost over a million dollars), and Jackson trying to pull pranks on Diana. Then, they finally heard the faint voices stop. Diana and Jackson had finally shut up.

Mrs. Johnson said to Mr. Johnson, “We haven’t had a moment alone for a very long time. The kids already had dinner. Would you like some pasta?”

“Yes, yes I would,” replied Mr. Johnson.

They were setting up the plates, forks, and knives, while waiting for the pasta to finish boiling. They finally started eating the creamy and dense pasta. Mr. Johnson was looking at his plate. Then, he heard a thud. There was Mrs. Johnson lying on the floor with a knife in her chest. He tried to get up, but he couldn’t move! In two seconds flat, there was a knife in his chest. He saw the cold, dark eyes of a plastic doll leaving the room abruptly.

 

“Ahhh, this is so relaxing!” Diana said, as she soaked in her hot tub at 3:01 A.M..

Just then, she heard a noise that sang, “Blackbox, blackbox, coming to the spaaaaaaaaaaaa.”

“Stop it, Jackson!” she said, annoyed. Jackson was always playing pranks on her. She turned on the jacuzzi. The noise came closer and closer, and suddenly she felt a hand that felt like… plastic? The hand forced her head underwater, and she couldn’t breathe. She thought that if she would die, she should die hugging diamonds. So, she clung onto her jewel studded bathing suit with the words, “Diana Johnson,” written on it with diamonds. Eventually, she couldn’t hold her breath anymore, and at 3:02 A.M., she was at the bottom of the hot tub, hugging her bathing suit, dead.

 

It was late at night or early in the morning, and JJ was up playing his favorite video game on his personal 70-inch TV. JJ loved his new house. Anyway, the game JJ was playing was called Call of Duty. He was on the last level, and he was about to beat the game when his friend texted him. The text said, “Dude I just beat Fortnite!!” JJ was so pissed off because he was trying to beat his friend at beating the game. He kept playing because he still had other friends to beat! Suddenly, the clock chimed 3:00 A.M..

Jackson heard someone singing, “Blackbox, blackbox, coming to the gaming room.”

Jackson said to himself,Oh, whatever, I’m probably dreaming.”

JJ was so close to beating the game, but he was super drowsy, and the clock said that it was 3:02.

Suddenly, a doll appeared with a gun in its hand on the screen, and JJ laughed. “Are you gonna kill me little baby?” he said, mockingly.

Suddenly, the doll stared at him. “I do intend to kill you, Jackson,” whispered the doll. Then, a bullet was shot, and the last thing JJ heard was a boom, and then everything went black.

 

Claire woke up in the middle of the night. She rolled over in her bed, very uncomfortable and feeling nauseous. She decided that a breath of fresh air would help. She slowly got up and walked downstairs to open the front door. She put on her jacket and stepped outside and took a deep breath.

Claire had taken a nice, long walk. When she decided to head back home, she saw a black cat. It was so cute that Claire could not resist petting it. Claire decided to go back to the house because she felt very uneasy. She felt even worse outside than she did inside her home, and she didn’t want to be known as the kid who threw up on the street.

She ran down to her sister’s spa and found her dead in her hot tub. Then, she heard the singing. Before the singing had even finished, she was already down at her parents’ room to find them dead at the table.

She started running back home, and when she got back home, she went straight to her room. She heard a voice that dripped with false sweetness singing, “Blackbox, blackbox coming to your room.”

She ran to her brother’s room and found him dead. She heard the singing again, “Blackbox, blackbox coming to your brother’s room.”

“Blackbox, blackbox coming to your parents’ room.”

She had nowhere to run, so she held the door down and didn’t hear anything else. She opened the door and heard eerie creaking of the door. Within a minute, she collapsed with pain and nausea. The last thing she saw was a figure of a doll with a bloody knife and a familiar voice screaming, “Claire!” Then, everything went black.

Mrs. Johnson, the grandmother of Claire, Jackson, and Diana Johnson, had just arrived at the old family mansion. She was just unloading her bags from her car when she thought she heard a commotion inside the house. Was that Claire’s voice? She dropped her luggage and ran towards the sound. She saw a doll with a knife on her granddaughter’s chest, and Claire’s face was clouded with pain. Just as the doll took aim for Claire’s chest, she fearfully screamed, “Claire!”

She saw her granddaughter dead on the floor, and she screamed. She froze with fear. She didn’t know what do. Her grandchildren always looked up to her as this brave hero, but this time she was not that brave hero that her grandchildren saw in her. She was scared and paralyzed. She had never been in a situation like this, so the only logical thing to do was call the police. The next day, she immediately told the people who work for the newspaper. When the police looked at the videotape from the security cameras, it showed the grandmother of Claire, Jackson, and Diana killing them all. The police had no other choice but to arrest their grandmother. This was a sad ending for everyone. She couldn’t even see the funeral for her family. Besides, the video footage all the police found was of Claire holding a seven fingered doll. This was the last we ever heard from the Johnson family.

 

This is what the news article looked like:

 

Breaking News!!!

Yesterday, we were informed that a family of three children, one mother, and one father were killed in the safety of their home. The police found the corpses and a seven fingered doll at the scene of the crime. The police have found no evidence of who killed the family. If anyone finds any evidence, please call the police, and let them know. The youngest child in the family, Claire, who was a girl, had no wounds on her body, so the CSI thought she was poisoned. Jackson, the middle child who was a boy, had a single bullet wound in his chest. Diana, who was the oldest child and a girl, also had no wounds, but her lungs were filled the water. We were told that her lungs were filled with water and that she was drowned. Finally, the parents both had stab wounds on them. We are very sorry for the death of this family. The police are doing everything to find the cause of this family’s death.

 

The Missing Pencil (Part One)

     

Chapter One

It was 7:30 in Brucebury Town. Twelve-year-old Patrick Binny was putting up signs. He wanted the whole town to see his sign, so he circled the town and made sure there were at least four signs on every lamppost and tree trunk. His sign was one of those “missing” signs, and he really needed what was lost. Now, you would probably guess he lost his cat or his dog or his guinea pig. Maybe he lost a backpack or a jacket. Nope. Patrick’s sign read:

 

MISSING PENCIL

If found, call Patrick Binny at 262-593-7068

I’d really appreciate it!!!

:):) 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

REWARD:$700

 

I know. Crazy, right? $700 for a pencil? All the kids in Brucebury dug up their pencil cases and desperately brought all the pencils over to Patrick’s house.

“That’s not my pencil,” he would always say.

And they’d mumble things back like, “How would you know?” or “What a waste.”

One day, Patrick’s best friend Marty came over with a bucket full of pencils. After ten minutes, every single pencil was on the ground, but none of them were Patrick’s.

“Come on,” Marty whined. “Just take the pencils, and give me the money.”

“Sorry, dude. No pencil, no money,” Patrick answered.

“How can you even tell the difference?” Marty snapped.

“Oh, trust me. I’ll know when I see my magic pencil,” Patrick assured him.

“What ‘magic pencil’?” Marty asked, confused.

“It’s my pencil,” Patrick yelled.

“Look, if you really want this… ‘magic pencil,’ why don’t you tell us why it’s important to you… Tell us its story,” Marty suggested.

“Fine,” Patrick said.

 

Chapter Two

The next morning, Patrick woke up and ran across the hall where his mom was cooking breakfast. His dad was sitting on the couch reading.

“Hey, Mom. Can I invite some friends over later?” Patrick asked.

“Of course, sweetie. I just need to know who,” his mom said.

“Umm, let’s see. Marty, Stanley, Lola, and uhhh… Susan.”

“Sounds reasonable. I’ll call their parents.”

“Great! Thanks, Mom! Love you!” Patrick called to his mom as he ran back to his bedroom.

He went over to a cardboard treasure chest labeled PATRICK’S BOX OF THINGS. Patrick opened the box and slipped his hand into a secret compartment. He took out a velvet pouch from it. The pouch had the letter “Z” on it. He peeked inside and then stuffed it in his sweater pocket.

DING DONG!

The doorbell rang. Patrick ran down the hall as fast as he could.

He opened the door and said, “What’s up, man?”

“Hey, dude.” Marty patted him on the back.

Next to come was Susan. She only lived a block away.

“Hi, guys,” she said.

“Hey,” they answered.

All three of them went into the kitchen to get a snack. Stanley and Lola came a little later. After they played two rounds of Monopoly, Marty finally tapped Patrick and whispered in his ear.

“What about the… you-know-what?”

“Ohhh right!” Patrick whispered back. “Hey, guys! Come to my room.”

They all ran upstairs, following Patrick.

“Okay,” Patrick sighed, plopping down on a bean bag chair. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and felt the velvet pouch. “So everyone knows why you’re here, right?” started Patrick. Everyone nodded in agreement. “Well, now I’m going to tell you that story.” Everyone leaned forward in their seats. “Okay.” Patrick took a deep breath and then began.

 

Chapter Three

Two months ago, my mom planned a trip to New York City. The first thing we did when we got there was check into the hotel. Then, we went to our rooms and unpacked. Mom and Dad slept in the same bedroom, and I had a bedroom all to myself.

After I unpacked, I started decorating my bedroom with some of my stuff. My pictures, my book, and my clay statue from kindergarten. Then, as I was taping one of my pictures to the wall, something happened. And when I turned around again, I wasn’t in my bedroom… I was in Ethamopia.

“Wait, what’s Ethamopia?” asked Marty.

“Well, you’ll see if you let me tell the story. Now, let’s get back to it,” said Patrick.

As I was walking through the town, I felt like something was different about it. It wasn’t that the squirrels were purple and pink or that the whole town smelled like cotton candy. It was that everyone was two feet tall. And they had pointy ears!

While I was walking, since I was too busy staring at the people in the town, I bumped into someone else.

“Oh, sorry,” I said.

But when I looked up, I saw a girl that was my height. She had dark brown hair, and she was wearing a green beanie hat that was covering her ears.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” she yelled, and then she pushed me behind a bush. She hid with me. “What are you doing here?” she said again, this time whispering.

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

She folded her arms. “I know you’re not from Ethamopia,” she responded.

“Well, you’re not two feet tall either,” I said, annoyed.

“Yeah, but I have the ears.”

The girl pulled off her beanie hat, and I saw her pointy ears.

“Okay… ” I started. “That doesn’t mean anything. Plus, that doesn’t explain why you’re two feet taller than everyone else in the town.”

“Come with me,” she said, pulling me up.

“Where are you taking me, and are you going to tell me why you’re taller than everyone else?”

“Yes,” she said. “By the way, my name’s Rina.”

“I’m Patrick,” I said. “Now, Rina, tell me why you’re like a giant to the rest of the town!”

“Fine,” groaned Rina. “Once, a thousand years ago, there was a man named Gilbert Tallson. He’s actually my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle. He lived in Ethamopia in the year 19. Everyone in the town was short at that time, except he wanted to be taller. Since he was very wealthy, he was able to pay for a shot that made him grow faster. He grew to five feet at the age of fifteen. But that shot stayed in his blood, and since I’m blood-related to him, that went through to me, so now everyone in my family is also tall.”

“Okay, so now will you tell me where we’re going?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, we’re going to my aunt’s house… well, my house. I live with my aunt. My aunt is really nice, and she always loves visitors,” Rina told me.

“But… ?” I asked.

She had a look on her face like she wasn’t telling me everything. “But I have a cousin that’s pure evil. Her name’s Minsy, and she’s twelve.”

“Well, I hope we don’t run into her considering we’re going into her HOUSE,” I screamed. We were walking on a brick path. The bricks were painted pink, yellow, and green. We walked into a big, white apartment.

“Here we are,” Rina said.


Chapter Four

Rina opened the big glass door of the building. We walked in. There were two big, red velvet chairs standing in the long hallway. Under us, there was a long, fuzzy, gray rug that covered the whole floor. Across from the chairs, there was a big, brown wooden desk. Behind the desk was a short man sitting in a blue desk chair. He was wearing a green shirt with the word “Joe” embroidered on it.

“Hey, Joe,” Rina said.

“Hey, Rina,” boomed Joe, spinning around in the chair so he could see her.

He did a little wave to me, too. I nodded back.

“So, um, not to be rude or anything, but about your cousin. What do we do so we don’t run into her?” I whispered, sweating.

I was really nervous because I don’t like meeting mean people.

“Easy peasy.” Rina smiled.

She pressed a dull, gray button for the elevator with her thumb. The elevator door opened.

“Woah,” I kind of yelled.

“Shhhhhhhhhhhh,” shushed Rina.

We stepped into the elevator. The walls were painted bright yellow, and there was a purple line that went horizontally around the elevator. The mirror wasn’t crusty. Instead, it was so clean that I could actually see my face in it, unlike other elevators.

“So how come this is what will drive your cousin away? It’s such a cool elevator,” I asked.

“Well, you see, before I came along and fixed this elevator up, it was the dirtiest elevator of all. It had dark gray walls, and the paint was chipped off. So basically, the walls were brown, there were scratches on the door, and the elevator was covered in guck,” Rina explained.

“Woah, so basically everyone tries to get away from it because they don’t know that it’s so awesome?” I asked.

Rina nodded.

“Wait, but one question, what happens if someone does come in?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” said Rina. “You know how I pressed the button with my thumb? Well, the elevator has a fingerprint detector now, so if it’s not my fingerprint, then gray wallpaper will cover the elevator, and fake slime will cover the mirror.”

She pressed a button, and we felt the elevator going up.

Ding. The elevator door opened. “Oops, I accidentally pressed for the wrong floor,” said Rina.

“Don’t worry,” she said, pressing the door close button quickly. But before the door closed, a girl that looked about our age walked into the elevator. She had short, blonde hair and pale skin. She almost looked like a blonde vampire without fangs.

“Hi Rina,” she said, waving. Rina tried to ignore her.

“Who is that?” I whispered to Rina.

“That’s Minsy,” Rina replied.
“Who is your friend, Rina?” asked Minsy rudely.

“This is Patrick. And we have to go,” Rina said, pulling me out of the elevator.

As we were walking, I said, “Are you just going to leave her in your elevator?”

“Nope. I always have backup in case of that.” She took a small remote out of her pocket and pressed a red button on it. We heard a scream. I think it came from Minsy.

“What did you do?” I asked her.

“Well, I pressed the button that made the elevator look really ugly. There is no way to reverse it unless you have the remote,” she said, waving the remote in the air.

“Cool,” I said. We kept walking, and the scene changed. Now, there was different wallpaper. We walked up to a blue door.

“This is my aunt’s room,” Rina said. We walked inside the room over to a woman sitting in a chair. The woman had brown hair and light green eyes. She looked nothing like Minsy.

“Hi, Aunt Mary,” Rina said, walking over to the woman. “This is my friend, Patrick,” she said, pointing to me.

“Well, hello there, Patrick,” Aunt Mary said. “I am Rina’s Aunt, but you can call me Mary.”

“Hi,” I said shyly.

“So, where are you from?” Mary asked me. “Not to be rude or anything, but are you from Ethilopia, by any chance?”

“Well, no, ummmm. What’s Ethilopia?” I asked.

“The east side of Ethamopia,” Rina answered.

“I’m not from around here, actually. I’m from uhhhhhh… ”

“He’s from the Other Side,” Rina whispered.

“Oh, you are!” Mary exclaimed. “Well, um, do you know how to get back home?”

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” I said. “I don’t. Plus, I think my parents are waiting for me back at home, so do you know how to get back?”

“No, unfortunately not. But I’ve really been wanting to visit the Other Side. It seems as if it would have a lot of interesting things there. Well, there actually is one person that knows how, but I’ve never gotten to speak to them.”

“Well, who is it?” I asked desperately.

“He is a wizard. No one knows him by name, though. He lives at the top of Ethamopia, in a tall tower. The problem is, to get in you have to pass a test and no one has ever, ever gotten into his tower.”

“Well, no one has yet,” Rina said.

“What are you saying?” I asked nervously.

“I’m saying that we can try to go to the wizard’s tower. He will probably help you because he has been studying humans from the Other Side.”

“Well, that’s a great idea!” Mary said.
“What’s a great idea?” Minsy asked, walking in.

“Oh, um, nothing,” Rina said.
“Oh, it would be actually wonderful if all three of you went out together on this adventure,” Mary suggested.

“Go where?” Minsy asked annoyingly.

“Why, dear, they’re going to try to go to the wizard’s tower. Rina wants to get her friend Patrick here back home.”

“Why can’t he just walk?” Minsy teased.

“Well, he’s not from around here at all,” Mary explained. “He’s from the Other Side.”

“Ohhh! No wonder he didn’t look like he was from around here. He looked as if he was Ethilopia, but I guess he could be from the Other Side too,” Minsy said.

“Okay,” I said, and all three of us headed out.

 

Chapter Five

“So,” I started as we were walking, “how are we going to find this wizard?”

“Well, I know someone that could help us,” Rina said.

“Hey, are we going in your secret elevator, Rina?”

“Yes, we’re taking that elevator.” Rina rolled her eyes.

Minsy held her palms up defensively. As we turned the corner, the wallpaper changed. Rina walked up to the elevator and pressed the button. All three of us walked into the elevator in silence, and no one said anything until we got to the first floor.

We stepped out of the elevator, and Minsy said, “So what are we doing on the first floor?”

“Well,” Rina said sternly, “we’re going to see Joe.”

“Oh, that doorman?” Minsy groaned.

“Oh,” I said. “Is that the doorman that said hi to you on the way in?”

“Yeah,” Rina said, annoyed.

She ran up to him and said, “Hi, Joe.”

“Hey there, Rina,” he said loudly, then turned to Minsy. “How ya doing?” he said in a small voice.

Minsy didn’t answer.

“Hey, Joe. Do you know anything about the wizard?”

“Oh, you bet I do,” said Joe, jumping up into the air and turning around.

We followed him to a bookcase behind his desk.

“Hmmmmm… the wizard… ” he said, running his finger across the spines of the books on the shelf. “Oh, here it is!”

Instead of pulling the book out, he pushed it into the bookcase. When he did that, the floor we were standing on started going under.

“Woah!” we all shouted.

Then, the floor stopped moving, and we were down in a big room. Each wall was painted a different color. In the center of the room was a big, round table with buttons all over it. There was a bed in one corner and a huge bookshelf in another. And in the back of the room, there were a few video games.

“Wow,” I whispered to myself.

“I know, right?” Joe said. “Welcome to my study-slash-house.”

“You live here?” Minsy asked, eyes wide.

“Yup! And over in that bookshelf, I have a whole collection of books about this wizard.”

He jumped over to where the bookshelf was and scooped a big purple book into his hand.

“Ah, Wizards, my favorite book. Here you go!” he said, throwing the book to me. “Open up to page nineteen, and you’ll see everything you need to know about him. But may I ask, what do you need to know about him and why?”

“Well,” Rina started, “Patrick here is from the Other Side. We’re trying to get him back, and we heard from Aunt Mary the only way to get him back is if we ask the wizard.”

“Oh, then this book will be very helpful, because it will tell you exactly where the wizard is,” Joe said.

He took the book from my hands and opened up to page nineteen.

“See here’s the map that will lead you to the wizard’s castle. It’ll also help you with other stuff.”

“Wait, but this page is empty,” I told him.

“Hmm, maybe it is,” said Joe, smirking.

He handed the book to Rina, and she said, “Great. Thanks, Joe! Now, how do we get out of here?”

“Oh, here. I’ll show you,” Joe said, and he walked up to a red “X” marked with tape and pressed a button. “Come on guys, stand next to me!” We all ran over, and the floor moved up back to where we were in the lobby.

“Okay, bye guys!” Joe said, waving to the three of us as we headed toward the door.

We waved back to him, and Rina said, “Hey, Joe. Do you want to come with us? You seem to know a lot about the wizard. You could really help us.”

“No, I have to stay here, though I would like to come. Tell me how it goes,” Joe said quickly, sitting back in his chair.

“Okay,” Rina said, and we walked out.

Once the door was closed, Minsy said to us, “He was just scared that he was going to get hurt on the journey. He probably did want to go.”
“That’s not true!” Rina said. “I know for a fact that he wants to come! He can’t though, because he works here, duh!”

Minsy crossed her arms and walked ahead of us.

“So, where are we going exactly?” I asked.

 

Chapter Six

“We have to follow the map,” Rina said, annoyed. She opened the map and pointed to a red dot on the map.
“We’re here,” she said. “Creepy. How did it know where we are?”

“No idea,” I said, shivering.
“Well, it’s probably magic,” Minsy said.

“You mean, like, real magic?” I asked.

“Sure, I mean it is a wizard we’re trying to find, right?” Minsy said. I shrugged.

Rina rolled her eyes. “Come on guys, we have to go. The map said this way,” she said, pointing to the map. When I looked over her shoulder, I literally saw the words THIS WAY on the map.

“Well, how do you know it really means the way that we’re facing now?” Minsy asked.

“Well, like you just said. Magic, right? I’m sure it’s this way,” Rina yelled, marching in front of us. Everyone was quiet for a little while Minsy and I followed Rina, who was still marching. Rina stopped. Minsy ran and I up to her. Suddenly, the map changed again. It had an arrow pointing right.

“So does that mean we have to go right?” I asked.

“No, it means we have to go to left… Of course it means we have to go right!” Rina said.

“Sheesh,” I said.

So, we turned right, and we kept walking until Minsy said, “Wait!” She pointed to the map. It seemed to change again. Now, it had an up arrow on it.

“So, does it mean we can go up or forward?” I said. “Because it can mean either,” I added quickly.

“Actually, I don’t know,” Rina said. “That’s a good point.”

“What if we split up?” Minsy suggested.

“That probably wouldn’t work, since we’re trying to get Patrick to the wizard. So if we split up, and the person who finds it isn’t Patrick, then how will they tell the others?” Rina said.

“Okay,” Minsy sighed.

I looked up and then looked straight forward, and then I looked back up. Now, there was a plane — or at least I thought it was a plane — flying through the air. I blinked, and it was gone, almost like magic.

“Woah!” I started.

“What is it?” Rina asked, nervously.

“I think I know what direction we’re supposed to go.” I pointed up to the sky.

Sure enough, in skywriting it said, Go up, then go straight. Sheesh. Why do I have to spell it out for ya? Thought you were smarter than that.

“How are we supposed to go up?” Minsy asked.

We looked back up at the sky, hoping for an answer.

Ay Dios Mio! Ya fly, duh. I thought that was clear in the other message?

Minsy shivered.

“How is that even possible?” I asked curiously.

“Magic,” Minsy declared.

“Seriously,” Rina muttered, folding her arms.

“Yes, seriously,” Minsy said. “And there’s no time for negativity. We have to learn how to fly!”

As she said this, Minsy jumped up into the air and made a Superman pose, but instead of falling back down (which, of course, would happen because, y’know, gravity) she just stood there. Literally hovering in midair right where she jumped up, Minsy was flying. And I’m not exaggerating!

“Wheeee!” she yelled as she went higher into the air. “I’m flying, yippee!”

Now she was pretty high. She was giggling like crazy. Then, I turned around to see how Rina was reacting to this. One corner of her mouth was kind of up, but when I looked over at her, she quickly straightened it.

“It’s awesome, right?” I asked Rina.

Rina shrugged like she’d seen it a billion times before.

“Do you wanna try it?” I asked, and she did that tiny smile again. “Okay, guess not. Bye!”

After I said this, I ran forward and then did a huge jump into the air. Soon enough, I was flying just as high as Minsy. I felt like I was in a mix between a rollercoaster and the Tower of Terror ride. It felt awesome! Soon, Minsy and I were flying over all the buildings. We flew down a little so Rina could hear us.

“Come on, Rina,” we yelled as loud as we could.

“Yeah, to get to the wizard we all have to fly up here,” I explained, still yelling.

“Fine,” Rina yelled back.

Then, she jumped into the air as high as she could, and soon enough, she was flying with us. We all started laughing. Minsy and Rina stared at each other and then turned their backs.

“Now, come on. We have to get to the tower. Chop chop,” Rina called, now flying higher than all of us.

“How are we able to fly like this?” I asked. “You know, other than magic.”

“Well, we learned about this in Mr. Galfrid’s magic mechanics class,” Rina started. “In the last lesson, we learned — ”

“That if you’re searching for the wizard you get ultimate power!” Minsy finished.

“Exactly, and one of the ‘ultimate powers’ is invisibility, so no one can see us flying and all that. It just makes the mission more secret,” Rina said.

My jaw dropped. I thought she was going to say something rude back, but instead she just said, “Exactly?” Looks like I brought these two together.

“What?” Minsy asked, looking at me.

I quickly shut my jaw. “Nothing! Hey guys,” I yelled, floating up ahead. “I think I see the tower!”

“Let me see,” Rina said, gliding to where I was with Minsy floating behind her.

She took out the map and saw a purple tower. She held it up to the tower that I saw in front of us.

“Yup, that’s it!” Minsy said excitedly, clapping her hands.

“Great,” I said.

Then, I flew down from above, down to the ground. I turned to them.

“Since we can see the building now, we can just walk to it,” I explained.

“Okay.” They shrugged, gliding down to me.

But as we were walking, I realized we couldn’t see the tower anymore.

“Wait, what’s happening,” Minsy said, angrily.

“Oh I know what’s happening,” Rina mumbled. “You know how everyone says the tower is on the tip of Ethamopia? Well, it’s actually on the tip. We can only see it if we’re flying high enough, and then we have to go through the door that is in the air.”

“Ohhhhhh. My bad. Come on. Let’s go back up,” I said, getting a head start.

I flew up into the air, and Minsy and Rina followed me.

As we were flying forward toward the tower I said, “What are we even gonna do when we get to the wizard’s castle?”

“I’m pretty sure we have to take some kind of test,” Rina told me.

“What do you mean ‘test?’” Minsy asked nervously.

“Like a test,” Rina explained. “It could be any type of test actually. No one knows. It could be a math test, the state test, a skill test — like running or something. It could be any kind of test! We’ll just have to find out.”

I nodded.

After a little while, Minsy stopped. “WAIT.”

“What? What is it?” Rina said.

“Well, have you noticed that every time we fly closer to the tower, the tower seems to be going, oh I don’t know, farther away,” Minsy explained.

“Oh yeah. She’s right,” I chimed in. “But how is that working?”

“Hm, I’m not sure,” said Rina, quickly thumbing through the pages of the book that Joe lent us.

I thought back to what Joe had said when we were in his study. “Open up to page nineteen, and you’ll see everything you need to know about him.”

“Wait! Rina, go back to page nineteen. Trust me,” I exclaimed.

“But that’s where the map is,” Rina said.

“Well, since it’s been changing this whole time, I think it’ll just tell us what we need to know, and right now we don’t need to know where we are.”

“Okay.” Rina shrugged and opened to page nineteen.

 

Chapter Seven

Minsy and I looked over Rina’s shoulder. Instead of there being a map, which there used to be, now there was a picture of the wizard’s castle, and in front of it was another picture of the same castle. Then, in front of the first castle, there was a dotted line leading to a red dot that said, YOU ARE HERE.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” said Rina.

We all were quiet for a little bit, thinking of what the two castles could mean.

“Wait!” shouted Minsy. “I think I might know what they mean!”

“What?” I asked desperately. “What is it?”

“Welllll,” started Minsy, “since when we walk, it looks like the castle is getting farther away, maybe the picture means that the first castle is a fake castle, meaning it’s just air, but it looks like it’s real.”

“Ohh, you’re right! So does that mean we’re getting closer to the real castle, but we just can’t see that we are?” Rina asked. Minsy nodded. “That’s actually… a really good idea!”

“Thanks!” said Minsy. “So let’s test it now.”

Then, the three of us started flying towards the mock tower. Eventually, the tower disappeared, but we kept flying. We knew from the picture that the real tower was straight ahead. We were getting really close to the real tower.

I was so excited. I flew ahead a lot and then looked back and said, “Come on guys!” to Rina and Minsy.

They flew up to me, and suddenly, Minsy screamed, “Owwww!”

“What happened?” Rina and I yelled, flying up to her.

“I have no idea!” Minsy said. “I was just flying, and then my head hurt, as if it got hit on a brick wall!”

“That’s weird,” Rina said, thinking. “Wait,” Rina said suddenly. She put her hand up as if she was feeling something. “That’s it! We made it to the tower. We just can’t see it!”

 

Read Part Two here!

 

Rusty

A puppy named Rusty was the runt of the litter at the doggy daycare. The other dogs had a white spot by their eye, a brown spot on their tail, and they were mostly blonde and bigger. But Rusty was a tiny, tiny golden retriever with a periwinkle collar that was only as big as a shoe with big, black eyes which made him extra cute. Well, he was cute to me. He was named Rusty for his reddish brown and blonde fur. His ears and tail were white with gold spots which made him very unique.  

Rusty was always getting into accidents like spilling the water or throwing a ball into someone’s face. A lot of the people and other dogs didn’t like him because he was so small and messy. He was also shy. He really hated when people weren’t loving him but he didn’t know how to ask. Even the adults at the doggie daycare didn’t pay enough attention to him. He dreamed of dog biscuits, human food like steak, sleeping on clouds, and not being the runt of the litter anymore but having a family to adopt him. He hoped it was a brother and sister because he could get the play from the brothers and hugs and kisses from the sister. He liked the doggy daycare because he always got the same towel bed and it felt like his own. But, he knew it could be better and he could have a pillow. He was really sad because he had no friends other than a goldfish cracker. He wanted to eat the cracker but he was so lonely he decided to let it just be his friend. But, it wouldn’t do anything so it was boring. He decided to keep it until he found a new friend. Still, nobody in the whole doggy daycare liked him. There was another runt there that was even treated a bit better!

One day, Rusty had noticed a couple was there looking at dogs. They looked at Rusty and shook their head and said, “No, definitely not.” They turned to another dog and said, “Oh, such a cute Shih Tzu! Maybe that one.” Then they walked over to an Australian Shepard puppy and thought, “Ooh, maybe that one. Definitely that one!” The dogs didn’t even notice the people because they knew they’d get adopted someday. They just showed off and had fun. But, Rusty knew he wasn’t going to get adopted. He just sat to the side, sadly.

There was a time where they let the dogs run around. During that time, they had to share toys like a squeaker, a rope, and a plastic tube. Rusty tried to get a bone or a squeaky toy but the other dogs were rude. They tried to pull away the bone. He then tried for the squeaky toy but they did the same thing. In the end, he couldn’t get any toys, and he laid his head on his paws.

On Rusty’s birthday, they only really celebrated by giving him a bone. But, finally, it was his own bone. He wrote his name on it so the other dogs couldn’t just take it and say it was theirs. On that same day, a family came to pick out a dog and a little girl named Mia saw Rusty.

Mia said, “You’re the cutest thing ever!”

She took Rusty in her arms and he wiggled, showering her face with kisses.

“Mommy, Daddy, can we get him?” she asked.

“I don’t know. You ask your mom,” said her dad.

“Can we get this dog named Rusty?” Mia asked her mom with pleading eyes that rivalled Rusty’s eyes.

“If that’s what you really want then sure,” her mom said and smiled.

Rusty heard these words and his ears perked up then his tail wagged.

Mia said, “Look, he’s so happy!”

Mia picked Rusty and held him close to her chest. She twirled around. The other dogs saw this and made crying, angry sounds.

In the car, he was very still because he loved how Mia hugged him. After, they went to the pet store and bought Rusty all the things he needed: dog food, good treats, a water and food bowl, and almost every single toy in the store. And, he didn’t get just a pillow, but a whole doggie bed. He tried out every single one before jumping and deciding on the fuzzy, warm bed that was last. Mia then knew that was the perfect dog bed for him. Rusty got two new collars, a red one with metal dots and an orange one that faded to red. Rusty was so happy after they bought everything. He sat in the back of the car on his new doggy bed playing with all his toys. When Rusty and Mia got home, Mia set the dog bed by her own bed. But, Rusty slept with her that night.

When they woke up, Rusty went on a walk with Mia. They saw another dog that was a German Shepherd. Both of the dogs were enthusiastic and started to play and play and play. Then, another came. It was a humongous dog, a Great Dane! Mia and Rusty were scared and then it turned out the Great Dane wasn’t even friendly. It had mean team that snapped at them. They decided to run home. Mia chased after Rusty because he was running so super fast.

When Rusty and Mia got home, they ran inside. Rusty went straight to his dog bed and whimpered. Mia pet Rusty and gave him a treat. That cheered him up a little bit. He was still afraid of the Great Dane. Luckily, the Great Dane didn’t come to the neighborhood ever again. Mia cuddled Rusty with every hug she had and they fell asleep on her bed. Rusty laid there, warm against Mia, and he realized he hadn’t made a mess since Mia adopted him. He was so happy to feel love.

 

Vacation Blackberry Crumble

   

Blackberry Filling:

4 cups blackberries from a gate in Italy

1/4 cup granulated sugar from a Mexico sugar cane truck

2 teaspoons cornstarch from when I first opened my eyes in Israel

1 tablespoon of water from Malibu beach

 

Crumble Topping:

1 cup oats from a horse ranch

1/2 cup brown sugar from the shore

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon from a national park in Sri Lanka

1/2 cup flour from the Washington snow

1/2 cup butter from a Montana dairy farm

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put a skillet on the stovetop and set the burner to medium high.

 

Grease the skillet with melted butter and remove from the heat. Pour in the blackberry filling. Then, using your hands, drop the crumbles all over the top. Think about all the places I’ve been.

 

When covered, place in the oven for 45 minutes. When it’s done, let it cool. Then, have a spoonful, and enjoy my memories.

 

Melissa and the First Day of School

  

7:00

“Me-li-ssa.”

“Wh-a-t,” she moaned. She dug herself face first into the covers. The covers smelled like lemonade, which she spilled yesterday afternoon. It was the most terrible, horrible, gross first day of school. Melissa is eight. Melissa is frightened because it is third grade, and third grade is a lot of work.

Her mom said, “Get out here! Your breakfast is ready, it’s your favorite breakfast — scrambled eggs and chocolate chip pancakes.”

As Melissa got out of bed, she got the idea that she should get under the bed. But her mom saw her and told her, “Haven’t I told you to not get under the bed? So now you are grounded for a day!”

Melissa stumbled to her dining room and crawled into her chair. Melissa ate her food as slow as a sloth. As she ate, the only thing she could think of was how terrible school would be. She felt like there were ants crawling up her leg. When she finished eating, she begged her mom to stay home, but she had to go to school. She asked before she brushed her teeth and got dressed so that she did not wear her uniform if she did not have to go to school.

“The only time you skip school is if you have a sort of disease,” said Isabel.

“Okay,” said Melissa, slinking out of her chair. “I hate life {zoe in Greek},” said Melissa.

“Stop cursing,” said Isabel.

“I’m not,” said Melissa.

“Oh yes you are,” said Isabel.

No!yelled Melissa.

“Yes too,” said Isabel.

Then Melissa walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Melissa was so unhappy that she brushed her teeth too long! Then Melissa stumbled to her room, so she could get dressed. Melissa did not like her school uniform because it’s the most unfit and uncomfortable thing Melissa had ever worn! The school uniform is a shirt, a dress shirt, and a sweater. But she had to wear it to go to school, and Melissa had to go to school. So, Melissa had to wear her school uniform. Melissa was so unhappy. Melissa started to get dressed.

“Why does it have to be me?” asked Melissa.

“Your life is not hard at all,” said Isabel.

“How do you know,” said Melissa.

Melissa was put into a stage of rage. “R-o-a-r!” screamed Melissa.

“What are you doing?” asked Isabel.

“Nothing,” said Melissa.

Melissa’s heart was pounding. She was as frustrated as a squirrel that had no food! Melissa just wanted to stay home. She did not know what school was going be like.

Melissa just went with what she had.

 

8:20

“It’s worse than I thought,” said Melissa. “I will not do school next year.”

The classroom was so tiny that Melissa could not stand it! The classroom also smelled like deodorant. But the desk pattern, that’s what did it, because Melissa hated checkers. Melissa got the idea to act sick and lay on her desk acting sick. This was hard. Too hard! Melissa could not do this for much longer.

“I hate this,” said Melissa. Melissa had to stop! “Ouh-hoo,” breathed Melissa.

 

9:07

“I hate math!” exclaimed Melissa. She had flunked the whole math class! Melissa had said, “2+2=22” and “1+1=11!” Melissa would never go to school ever again!

“Melissa,” her teacher would say.

“Oh g-d,” Melissa would say.

School was very hard for Melissa. Very hard.

 

9:45

It turned out Melissa could not write more than a half a page! Melissa had never written a book before! Why did I even go to school? Melissa would think.

 

10:20

Melissa did not know any history about her ancestors, and that is what she is learning about in social studies.

“What am I going to do?” Melissa would say. Melissa was so frustrated that she was the only one in the class who had no history about her ancestors. Melissa could not do any work for the whole rest of her unit, because her ancestors were from so long ago. Melissa’s social studies was bad for the whole unit, because she could not do any work about her ancestors, because she had no information about her ancestors. But worst of all, she was sad, not that she couldn’t do any social studies in the unit, but because she didn’t know anything about her family years ago.

 

10:58

Melissa was only level A, which was the lowest, lowest level for reading. Melissa did not want to read, because she was embarrassed that most of the time, she couldn’t even read the word “mistake.”

“What am I going to do about this?” exclaimed Melissa.

“Shut your mouth, and get to work,” said the teacher.

“What’s wrong with talking?” asked Melissa. Melissa was so unhappy.

 

11:48

Melissa was beat up at recess. She had a scar on the right side of her face. There was a bully named Tryler in third grade, who was the worst bully ever known in the school. That is why she had a scar on the right side of her face. Tryler beat Melissa up because Melissa had stolen his ball not knowing that it belonged to him. Tryler was so stealthy that he would never get caught doing anything bad unless he wanted to get caught.

Melissa felt like she had a bloody right cheek.

She felt like she was in The Walking Dead. Melissa was terrified to go back to school.

“Why does it always have to be me? What am I going to do?” asked Melissa.

 

4:44

“Worst day ever,” exclaimed Melissa. “It’s getting super late. I hate the world. The grade hates me. Everyone hates me! No one likes me, nothing likes me, the world hates me!”

She was in her room, sitting on her bed trying to get the juice stain out of her bed.

“That means I hate the world,” exclaimed Melissa. “I like no one.” Her goal was to have a successful year, and the first day was not a successful day. Melissa would have to stand up for herself next time she goes to recess. But Melissa had a fear of standing up for herself, because she thought that the bully would tell on her to the teacher.

 

Next morning…

Melissa woke up at 5:00 in the morning. She was as ready to go to school as she was to play a card game, and she loves card games. She felt excited to go to school, so she could stand up for herself. But it turned out they had to go on vacation that day because of work. So she could not stand up for herself against the bully.

Melissa did not like the location because it was boring, colder, and was bombed a long time ago and was rebuilt.

“Poop to hell,” exclaimed Melissa. “And pee to hell. It’s poopostris!” This was the worst day ever for Melissa. The worst!!!

 

Two weeks later…

“Worst vaykay ever,” exclaimed Melissa. Melissa wrote in her journal:

1/29/2010

Worst vacation in what I had been through. – Melissa Korik

 

 

 

Back at school…

Melissa was feeling as happy as a newborn baby turtle. She was feeling happy because now Melissa could stand up for herself. When she got to school, she said to the bully, “You’re not going to do any bullying today Mr. Bully.”

The bully growled at her. His face looked like he’d been running for two hours in the Olympics, but he just found out he was not even in the Olympics.

“Yes, I am,” said the bully.

Melissa said, “No, no, no, Mr. Bully.”

The bully sighed. “Okay,” said the bully. The bully does not have a lot of friends.

When Melissa got back to her desk, she whispered, “Success!”

Then it was math class. Melissa took out her math book, her dry erase board, and her marker. There was a problem. It was “___ + 10 = 187.” She doesn’t know how to solve that problem! It equals 177.

 

Finally…

It was recess. Melissa saw the bully walking up to her. She told him, “No bullying today,” and walked away with her arms crossed. But when she walked away, she let her arms go and felt great. So she went and grabbed a hula hoop. She can hula hoop seventy-five times in a row.

She…

Stood up

For

Herself!

Before she knew it, there was a big circle, three rows thick, cheering and screaming and clapping their hands before her.

Lesson:

Always stand up for yourself.

 

Zeef: Fart Detective

One day at home, Zeef’s family was farting because they ate so many beans. Zeef’s brother, Veef, was six, and he was eight. His sister, Keef, was fourteen.

They were all sitting at the dinner table eating beans, but Zeef hates beans. Really, it was breakfast. And next thing you know, there was a gigantic fart, and then Zeef decided to try to become the fart detective.

Zeef thought, It stinks! It stinks! It stinks! It smells like rotten eggs, poop, rotten tomatoes, and dead rat bodies.

He went around the whole table to sniff everyone’s booties. Keef thought it was a fly and smacked her butt, which was Zeef’s head on her butt. And then she farted again. He fainted.

Zeef said, “Never, ever, ever fart again, and I’m talking to everyone in here.” He wanted to find out who farted and give them the biggest spanking ever, even though they were his family, and he would probably get in trouble.

“If you’re going to be a fart detective, just don’t go around sniffing everyone’s butts,” Keef said.

“Well, that’s the only way I can do it, so you just better get used to it.”

Zeef’s dad said, “You can’t go around sniffing everyone’s butts, so I suggest you either go in the room or eat your beans and start farting like everyone else.” Zeef’s dad was looking really stern, with his legs crossed and arms folded.

Zeef’s mom said, “Exactly.”

Zeef ate some beans and let out a huge stinker. He thought it smelled like roses, but he was kind of embarrassed. He just stayed where he was and tried to hide it.

Then, Veef let out the biggest stinker you’d ever smelled, and it stunk really bad. It was the worst one that you’d ever smelled since the last time your mother farted, which was yesterday.

Veef said, “I’m not going to say excuse me anymore because I think it’s fine to fart at the table and not say excuse me.”

Zeef said, “Well that’s obvious. No one said excuse me, not even me.”

Veef was pulling his hair because he was getting a little tired of the booty talk.

Zeef said, “I’m going to go play with your Legos, Keef.”

“But I thought you were afraid of Legos because they hurt your feet when you step on them,” said Keef.

Zeef didn’t even remember that he was scared of Legos. So Keef reminded him. Zeef couldn’t take it and hide his embarrassment anymore, so he just left, went to his room, and went to sleep.

 

The End… for now…

 

January

    

The cool breeze washing the leaves away

Kids running past piles of snow

And wind pushes against their faces

Wailing to get away from the cold

The ice chipping skates split it

And little pieces of ice scattered against the ground

Snow melting off the tops of houses

And dripping onto the frozen ground

And when night comes the wind washes away the leaves again.

 

Audio Recordings

This is a series of audio recordings that were uncovered by the FBI while investigating the scene of a crime at Emmie’s house. They subsequently listened to them when they were supposed to be looking for evidence.

 

Audio recording I

DAD: So, since little Emmie is only three and really wanted to keep a diary like her big sister Rachel, we decided to record this conversation as her diary!

EMMIE: I’m not wittle! I’m big!

DAD: My mistake, Em! Now, start recording your diary!

EMMIE: So, so, so… I don’t know what to say, Dada!

DAD: Maybe you want to start off with what you did today!

EMMIE: Well, I woke up, and Wobby was playing woud music.

DAD: Just for the record, Robert, called Robby by Emmie, is Rachel’s twin and Em’s teenage brother.

EMMIE: Stop talking, Dada. I am talking now! Anyway the music was wots of scweaming. I couldn’t sleep! Then I ate ceweal. Then I went to kidagarten!

DAD: Emmie, you don’t go to kindergarten just yet. You go to Carol Day Care!

EMMIE: I go to KIDAGARTEN!

DAD: Carol Day Care is really fun! You have lots of friends, like Ashley!

EMMIE: WHAAA! KIDAGARTEN!

(click)

 

Audio Recording II

MOM: Well, since Martin has completely shied away from this task, I took on the job of supervising Emmie while she does her audio recording diary. So, Emmie, mic to you.

EMMIE: What’s mic to you?

MOM: (sighs) Emmie, me saying mic to you is a way of letting you talk.

EMMIE: Oh.

MOM: (exasperatedly) So, mic to you.

EMMIE: What’s mic to you?

MOM: (largest sigh yet) Just talk!

EMMIE: Why?

MOM: (sighs larger than the boundaries of the universe) I am losing it right now! Emmie, we are recording your diary, as I hope you remember! Although, if you keep pushing my patience, we won’t be recording for much longer!

EMMIE: Why?

MOM: OH MY GOD, I AM LEAVING.

(footsteps fade)

EMMIE: I’m Cookie Monster! Cookie Monster wants cookies!

(running footsteps fade, then a long period of silence)

(footsteps approach)

ROBERT: Why is this dumb thing blinking green at me? Does that mean it’s on? This is like medieval technology. I dunno how to work this stuff. Why is it here?

(pause)

ROBERT: Oh yeah, didn’t Mom mention something about Em doing her diary as an audio recording? Must have not gone very well if both Mom and Em left the room, not bothering to turn off this odd contraption. Anyway, I should probably quit this recording… maybe I should turn this switch to “off” instead of “on”? So confusing, this pathetic excuse for tech…

(click)

 

Audio Recording III

RACHEL: Look, I’m only in this for the money. Mom said she would give me five bucks if I did this. (smacks gum) So, like, do your thing, Em.

EMMIE: Wachie, what should I say!

RACHEL: Do whatever you want. Sing your ABC’s if you want to. But make it snappy. I’m due at Allie’s in fifteen minutes. (smacks gum)

EMMIE: A, B, C, E, E, F, E. A, A, A… What comes next, Wachie?

RACHEL: Where are you in the alphabet? You got like five letters wrong.

EMMIE: I don’t know my ABC’s.

RACHEL: Then sing freaking “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Or whatever you want! I don’t have time for this. (smacks gum)

EMMIE: Wachie, you don’t like me!

RACHEL: Yeah, nope. I really don’t.

EMMIE: But, but, but you are not a pwetty, pwetty pwincess anymore!

RACHEL: I do not care whether I am a pretty, pretty princess or the Devil. All I know is that this is dragging on longer than I wanted it to. (smacks gum) I’d better phone Allie to tell her I’ll be late.

EMMIE: (suddenly happy) Could I come to Allie’s?

RACHEL: You know Allie hates you, right?

EMMIE: (sniffles) She does?

RACHEL: (smacks gum) Yup, she does. (tone softens) But, come along anyway.

EMMIE: What? You are so mean to me, like Cora at kidagarten.

RACHEL: (sighs) I’m not going to say anything. (pause) Who is Cora?

EMMIE: Cora always says she has the best Wegos. I only have Duplex Wegos. She has regular Wegos! I want Mommy to get me regular Wegos, but she says no.

RACHEL: She’s right, only Duplo is safe for kids three years old and under. There’s a choking hazard. I wonder if Cora’s mom knows about that?

EMMIE: Could I go to Allie’s house with you, could I? Could I? Could I?

RACHEL: Sure, whatever. Are we done recording this dumb diary thing?

EMMIE: Yay! We’re done! Let’s go!

RACHEL: Now if I can just figure out how to turn this off…

(click)

 

Audio Recording IV

ROBERT: Dad doesn’t want to do it, Mom doesn’t want to do it, Rachel’s at Allie’s house again, so who gets the job? Me, of course!

EMMIE: Hmph. Wachie was nice at least. She took me to Allie’s house.

ROBERT: She should have taken you this time, too.

EMMIE: Wobby! Tell me what to talk about!

ROBERT: Talk about what you did today at Carol Day Care.

EMMIE: No! Kidagarten!

ROBERT: Fine, talk about that.

EMMIE: Say it.

ROBERT: Say what?

EMMIE: Say “talk about what you did today at kidagarten.”

ROBERT: No, that’s ridiculous. You’re not even in kindergarten!

EMMIE: SAY IT!

ROBERT: NO!

DAD: (calling from upstairs) What’s all the fuss about?

ROBERT: She wants me to acknowledge that she’s in kindergarten, but she’s not!

DAD: Just say she is if you want to avoid a ton of drama.

ROBERT: Absolutely not. I refuse, goodbye.

EMMIE: But Wobby, we didn’t get to finish my diary!

(silence)

EMMIE: Don’t go!

(silence)

EMMIE: (calling out) Dada, will you do it?

DAD: (replying from upstairs) No, no, no, absolutely not, and if you didn’t catch the hint, over my dead body!

EMMIE: (whining) But, but, but I want to finish my diary!

DAD: (frantically, still from upstairs) Shh, shh, don’t cry. We’ll call Aunt Jojo and have her come visit from her home in California to help you finish your diary, okay?

EMMIE: Yay! Auntie Jojo!

DAD: Wait, are we still being recorded? Let me come downstairs to turn off the audio recording.

(footsteps growing louder as they come down a set of stairs and approach)

(click)

 

Audio Recording V

AUNT JOJO: I can’t believe this is so easy! It’s a perfect excuse to pull off my evil schemes – sorry, I meant spend time with my lovely niece.

EMMIE: What is skeems?

AUNT JOJO: (in a sickeningly sweet tone) Nothing, honeypie, nothing at all. Now why don’t you talk about, let’s see here, your friends at Carol Day Care? Last time I was here, I met Ashley, a sweet child but much too interested in princesses. Anyway, start talking, Emmie, okay?

EMMIE: (incredulously, or as incredulous as a three-year-old can be) I not go to day care! I go to kidagarten! Everybody make that mistake!

AUNT JOJO: Whatever, kindergarten. Now, honeypie, you keep talking. Auntie Jojo is going to go do some work.

(footsteps fading)

EMMIE: Ashley is friends with Cora now. She doesn’t like me now. They’re cwiquey. Ashley’s mommy is gonna buy her regular Wegos for her birthday. Ashley won’t share with me, and Miss Marsha says sharing is caring!

(footsteps approaching)

AUNT JOJO: Isn’t it sad your friend won’t share with you? How about I take you to a nice place where everybody knows about sharing?

EMMIE: Okay, Auntie Jojo. But can I do my diary there?

AUNT JOJO: (sighing) Fine. Now all you have to do is let me throw this sack over your head and carry you to my stolen car.

(rustling of sack)

EMMIE: (muffled) It’s dark in here. What if there are monsters?

AUNT JOJO: (sighing again) Honeypie, monsters don’t exist. Now let me just turn off this audio recording, and we’ll be off to sunny California!

(click)

 

Chapter One

After hearing these audio recordings, new FBI recruit Stanley Harding was very confused. He thought that they were funny sometimes, but were completely unrelated to the kidnapping crime he was solving. He went back to looking for evidence.

At five PM, he went back to the FBI base with bad news. “Sorry, guys. No evidence today,” he sighed. “I listened to some funny audio recordings I found in the basement though.”

“That could be evidence!” Laura Raskin shouted.

Laura Raskin was a very high-level member of the FBI who had been on the team for much longer than Stanley.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Stanley said. “All they featured was a little girl doing her diary as an audio recording because she couldn’t write yet. She kept changing supervisors until they finally brought in her Californian aunt. It was hilarious. The end was a bit confusing because the aunt took the girl on a vacation to California without asking the girl’s parents.”

“Stanley, don’t you see?” Laura asked. “The little girl is the one that was kidnapped! Her aunt took her to California! I’m starting to seriously doubt whether you should even be on the FBI with the way you dismiss evidence right in front of your face!”

Stanley Harding was even more confused, but he understood that Laura thought the audio recordings were evidence. So, he took her to Emmie’s house two blocks away, although he got lost on the way, which delayed the process.

Finally, they arrived. Laura quickly said, “Okay, which audio recording is it?”

Stanley counted on his fingers. “Five?” he said questioningly.

Laura listened to the fifth audio recording. Once she finished, she jumped up, sighing at Stanley.

“How did you not get that this was evidence?” Laura said. “Well, no harm done. We just have to fly to California and find Emmeline.”

(Emmeline was Emmie’s full name.)

But when they asked permission from their FBI base leader, Kingsley Maxwell, he said, “Which one of you found this evidence? You see, I am getting old and ready to retire. I’ll promote the person who solves this case to base leader.”

Stanley Harding was not an intelligent man, as you have probably already seen. How he got on the FBI in the first place will forever remain a mystery. But he knew that if he took credit, he would get promoted to base leader.

“I found the evidence,” he said, not exactly lying.

“Okay, then. Stanley. If you solve this case, I’ll promote you,” Kingsley said, a little nervously.

This new recruit hadn’t proven himself very well in the past. He seemed to have difficulty solving even the simplest of cases. But if Stanley had found the

evidence… he must not be as hopeless as Kingsley had thought.

It was nearly night, so Stanley, Laura, and Kingsley retired to their tents. They had set up a temporary camp near Emmie’s house. Stanley and Kingsley went to sleep immediately, but Laura tossed and turned in the women’s tent. Was Stanley even competent enough to help her search for Emmeline in California? When an FBI partnership is working together, each partner has to completely trust the other. Laura knew that Stanley would want to help her, but she didn’t know if he would be able to. She thought she might end up doing all the work, and he would just be a useless tag-along. That would be through no fault of his own, just because of the painful fact that Laura was simply better at investigating, and connecting the dots without any numbers. Stanley wasn’t even aware of that fact, and suddenly Laura felt bad for him.

There was so much going on in Laura’s brain that it tired her out. Suddenly, her eyelids felt heavy, and she soon fell asleep.

 

Chapter Two

The next morning, Kingsley was shouting, “HARDING! RASKIN! You’re going to California today! Wake up!”

Laura jumped out of bed. Despite her lack of sleep overnight, she was energized and ready for the day. On previous cases, she had had to deal with little sleep (even all-nighters) and still stay focused on her case during the day. She was used to it. She showered, dressed, brushed her teeth, and appeared from behind the tent flap, her naturally frizzy red hair slicked back into a ponytail. Not one hair escaped. A few minutes later, Stanley Harding emerged from the men’s tent in a stained bathrobe, clutching a cup of lukewarm coffee. He rubbed his eyes and mumbled a few curses.

“Get dressed, Harding. Your flight is in three hours!” Kingsley barked.

Stanley disappeared back into the tent, still mumbling curses. Laura drummed her nails on her thigh, then winced. She had forgotten that she had just had an acrylic manicure done. Nail treatments were her one vice. She’d never told anyone about it because it wasn’t very professional for a high-level FBI member.

Kingsley and Laura waited for Stanley, and they waited, and they waited. They waited for a very long time. Finally Kingsley rose.

“I’m going to see what is going on in that tent,” he said, a little angrily.

After all, Stanley was holding up the solving of a case. But Kingsley didn’t need to check in on him, because at that moment, Stanley came out of the tent, dressed but still red-eyed.

“It took you long enough,” Laura called out.

“No matter,” Kingsley said. “Walk five blocks away and call an Uber to JFK from there.”

Laura nodded sharply.

“Why?” Stanley whined. “We can call an Uber from here, you know!”

“To maintain your cover. Just in case.”

Kingsley sent them off. The walk was mostly uneventful. Stanley plodded along, complaining. Laura briskly walked ahead. The Uber was cramped, with ripped seat covers that sent yellow stuffing spilling out and broken seat belts. Laura was anxious to get out. Stanley didn’t seem to notice the poor condition of the car. He was too busy falling asleep on Laura’s shoulder and waking up with a jolt whenever the car went over a bump.

A long time later, they got on the plane. Describing the airport ordeal would be meaningless and time-consuming. You have gone through meaningless, time-consuming processes before. I do not need to describe another one for you.

Both Laura and Stanley fell asleep on the plane. Laura woke briefly only to blurrily see a perky blonde flight attendant whose pin said “Hello! My name is Stefanie!”

Stefanie was holding a basket full of packets of beet chips and almond cookies. Laura fell asleep again while Stefanie was talking to the people across from them.

Laura woke again about forty-five minutes before touchdown, well rested now, and woke Stanley too. Once he had rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he was awake.

When they got off the plane, Stefanie said goodbye to them.

Laura and Stanley got their luggage from the baggage claim. You might think that they wouldn’t have much luggage, but both of them had packed for two weeks. If this case took longer, they could go to a laundromat and wash their clothes.

“Where are we staying?” asked Stanley.

“At the Marriott Inn. Kingsley has arranged it all for us,” Laura replied.

There was a little confusion in the taxi because the driver thought that they were going to the Maltese Inn, which was a spa, salon, and boarding facility for small dogs. But, eventually, Laura straightened it out.

Their room at the Marriott Inn had only one double bed. Laura phoned the front desk and asked for a rollaway bed for herself. She knew that if Stanley had the rollaway, he would complain all night about the bad springs. They unpacked, and didn’t leave their hotel room for the rest of the day.

The next morning, Laura and Stanley got up, got dressed, and went to start investigating the case.

“On the recording, Emmeline’s father said that the aunt lived in California, so I’ll call the family to ask where the aunt lives,” Laura said.

“Okay,” Stanley said.

Laura phoned the house. “Hello, where does Emmeline’s aunt live?” she asked.

“Who is this?” replied Martin, Emmie’s dad.

“Laura Raskin, FBI, investigating your daughter’s kidnapping.”

“1 Peachy Beachy Road, Sunnytown, California.”

“Okay, thank you,” Laura said sarcastically.

She slammed the phone down with more force than necessary. Peachy Beachy Road? Sunnytown? Martin was either an idiot about where his sister lived or a bad liar, and Laura couldn’t find any reason for him to lie. Didn’t he want to find his daughter faster?

“Stanley, bad news. Emmeline’s father is no help at all. According to him, the aunt lives on 1 Peachy Beachy Road, Sunnytown, California. Seriously?” Laura fumed.

“Well then, let’s go, and look for Peachy Beachy Road in Sunnytown!” Stanley said excitedly. “We have a lead on our case!”

“Stanley. Harding. Do you really think anyone in the world would be lucky enough to have their house number 1, to live in a place called Sunnytown, in California, and to have their road be named Peachy Beachy Road? That sounds like something Emmeline, the three-year-old, would make up. Honestly, Stanley. Wake up.”

“Well, I’m going to look up 1 Peachy Beachy Road on the computer. See if you can stop me,” Stanley replied. “It’s possible. Anything is possible!”

“Fine,” Laura replied. “But I promise you, nothing is going to come out of it.”

A few minutes later, Stanley shouted, “Look!” He turned the computer to face Laura. The Google Maps result read, “1 Peachy Beachy Road, Sunnytown, California.” Most of the results below were Reddit links to users making fun of the road’s name.

Laura sighed. “Okay, let’s go.”

She knew that Emmeline probably wouldn’t be there, but they could search the house for clues as to where she and her aunt were.

 

Chapter Three

They went out of the hotel. On the way, Laura had to pull Stanley away from three separate people who he was about to blow their cover to – the front desk receptionist with too much hairspray and too much makeup, the tall French waiter with a gelled mustache, and the random brown haired, brown eyed, freckled short woman they passed who looked slightly intimidated by Stanley. But Laura was getting used to Stanley’s mindless, unprofessional slip-ups, and how to deal with them.

Laura caught another Uber to a location five blocks away from 1 Peachy Beachy Road, another walk that Stanley complained about. Emmeline’s aunt’s house was small and nondescript. It looked just like all the others on the block. Laura took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on the door, but Stanley snatched her hand away.

“I want to do it!” he whined, like a two-year-old.

“Okay, Stanley,” Laura sighed. “You can do it.”

“Yay!” Stanley knocked on the door.

The door opened, and a woman came out. She had a toothpaste-commercial smile, bright blue eyes, and perfectly applied makeup.

“What could this be?” the woman asked kindly.

“Hello. We are FBI members. We have reason to believe that you are hiding a three-year-old child in this house,” Laura said.

“Go away!” the woman said fiercely, her kind demeanor gone.

Laura and Stanley shoved themselves into the house and began searching for Emmeline. It didn’t take long. There was a girl that looked exactly like the photos Emmeline’s parents had given them sitting on a shag rug in the living room, happily sucking on a lollipop and playing a fantasy football video game.

“Hello, Emmeline,” Laura said quietly. “We have come to take you from this horrible house and back to your parents, who love you and miss you very much.”

Emmeline stubbornly popped the lollipop out of her mouth. “But Auntie Jojo gives me wollipops!” she whined. “And I’ve discovered a new passion – funzee football!”

“Fantasy football, dear,” the woman said, looking lovingly at Emmeline.

Laura was dumbstruck. She had never been in a kidnapping situation before where the child being kidnapped was being treated better with the kidnapper than in the child’s normal home. This wasn’t a case crime more than it was a moral dilemma.

“Well?” the woman asked, looking utterly sad and broken. “Go on. Take her away back to her family, whom she hates. She would rather be with me.”

“Laura,” Stanley said seriously. “It doesn’t seem right to take this child away. She seems happier here. From the information we got for this case, and from how she’s being treated here, I think this is a better upbringing environment.”

“I want to stay with Auntie Jojo!” Emmeline cried out.

Laura felt like she was overwhelmed. She had to solve this case because she was an FBI member, but she also had moral difficulties with doing this to Emmeline. And, also, WHEN THE HECK DID STANLEY START TALKING LIKE THAT?!

Laura took a deep breath and left the room.

When she was in the other room, she thought about everything. Being a member of the FBI was about collecting all the knowledge you know and using it to fill in the things you don’t know. So she thought and thought.

Finally, a metaphorical light bulb turned on inside her head, and she had a plan.

“Okay.” Laura came back into the room. “Josefina, you love Emmeline and want to keep her. That’s why you kidnapped her. Correct?”

“Correct,” the woman replied.

“And you seriously doubt the legitimacy of her parents’ guardianship of her. Correct?” Laura waited expectantly.

“Correct,” the woman repeated.

“Did you get to see her all that much before the kidnapping?” Laura asked.

“No, actually, the audio recording session was the first time I’d seen her in about two years,” the woman replied. “Actually, that’s one of the reasons I… you know.”

“Okay, then. Why not move a little closer to the area Emmeline lives in? And have a schedule or something, like her parents have primary guardianship but you get her on weekends, if her parents agree to it. Does that work for you?” Laura asked.

“Actually, yes. Perfect,” The woman brightened.

“You will have to work this all out with a lawyer of course, and if you kidnap any of the children again, you will not be allowed to see them, you know…”

“Yes. I know. If it’s possible, could I also see the older children, Rachel and Robert from time to time?” Emmeline’s aunt asked.

“You’re going to need to work that out with their parents and a lawyer. I’m not the person to ask on this one. And you know that this is all conditional, and it’s only if Emmeline’s parents agree.”

But Laura could see that Josefina’s hopes were up. Boy, she hoped the parents would agree.

 

Chapter Four

Laura, Stanley, Emmeline and her aunt arrived at the door of Emmeline’s immediate family’s house. Laura rang the doorbell. A woman opened it, and immediately embraced Emmeline.

“Emmie,” the woman cried, sobbing from joy. “Martin! Robert! Rachel! Emmie’s home!”

A man and a teenage girl ran down the stairs. A teenage boy reluctantly followed behind. The man and the teenage girl, who Laura knew as Martin and Rachel respectively, both sobbed over Emmeline. Even the teenage boy, Robert, tousled Emmeline’s wispy blonde hair and admitted, “I’ve missed you, squirt.”

It was a precious moment, and Laura hated to break it up, but professionalism had almost completely replaced her sentimentality. “Excuse me,” she said. “Josefina here, Emmeline’s aunt, has been found as the culprit of your daughter’s kidnapping.”

“You…” Emmeline’s mother, Abigail, straightened up, then turned to Laura. “Look, I know all in-laws suck, but this is the worst case I have ever heard of!”

“Hear me out,” Laura said. “Josefina loves Emmeline. She truly does. She never gets to see her. She just wants to be able to love her. She wants to move closer to you and your family so she can see Emmeline more often. She would really appreciate it if you would allow her to see Emmeline as a part of a schedule. I know this might take time, and you would need to work it out with a lawyer, but -”

“No.” The word from Abigail was sharp.

“What?” Laura was not used to being interrupted. “Just hear me out!”

“I don’t need to hear you out. I know what you want to say.” Abigail crossed her arms. “You’re going to play the whole repentant-sinner shtick, and you expect me to give in. Well, I wasn’t born yesterday. This is my daughter, and I’m not about to willingly place her into the hands of a known kidnapper.”

“Oh.” Laura was speechless.

“Please,” Josefina choked out, teary.

“Oh, Jojo!” Abigail dropped her stern demeanor and ran into Josefina’s arms, which sounded a lot like giving into the repentant-sinner shtick to Laura.

But she didn’t say anything, because she didn’t want to do away with one of the rare times Abigail showed her humanity.

“You are going to have to work this out with a lawyer, so it’s not final…” Laura warned.

But she knew, somehow, that it would turn out right. She usually had a feeling of satisfaction when she solved a case, but this feeling was different. The feeling she had now was that she’d done the right thing.

 

Chapter Five

A few weeks later, everything was resolved. Josefina, Abigail, and Martin had worked out everything with a lawyer. Josefina had found a house for sale near Emmeline’s family’s house and was planning to move there soon. And Stanley – sigh – was replacing Kingsley Maxwell as FBI base leader.

Laura had forgotten this particular aspect of their case agreement, so it came as a surprise. She had been walking around the FBI base with Stanley, totally content and happy. Then Stanley grinned and said, “Do you remember how Kingsley said I could be base leader if we solved the case? Well, we did!”

Oh, boy, Laura thought automatically. This is not going to be good. Then she reconsidered. Stanley had been acting so much more mature since the day that they had found Emmie. He was more confident, and thought ahead more. Like, when Stanley wanted to invite his college buddies over to the FBI base for beer, an action Laura would not have put past him in the past, he decided not to because he knew they should probably stay inconspicuous. He then excitedly described the whole thought process in detail to Laura, even using the word “inconspicuous,” which was really the game changer for Laura. Small, she knew, but small things like that really prove a person’s maturity. She thought, Maybe he’s ready for this. He’s matured considerably since this case. I think he’s ready.

He was ready. Kingsley thought so, Laura thought so, even Emmeline, who had taken to calling him “Uncle Stanee” thought so. Laura was “Auntie Lauwa.” Well, actually, she was “Scawy Auntie Lauwa,” because of her stern demeanor. But even that was going away. It wasn’t only Stanley who had changed since the case. Laura was more playful and imaginative, and she adored Emmeline. Stanley did too.

Stanley and Laura started out as polar opposites. But through the process of the case, they had grown closer together in personality. Laura and Stanley both had a thing for each other, but it was unsaid until one groundbreaking moment…

 

Epilogue

It happened on a case. A very important case, one that Stanley and Laura were working on together. A Brazilian cruise company was smuggling endangered animals from the Amazon rainforest, and selling them to Americans for millions. Stanley and Laura were hiding out in a crate on the cruise ship with the extremely rare tulip macaw, who was perched on Laura’s arm and was dirty, wet, and scared. Laura was trying to soothe it.

They were hunched over in this tiny crate, and Stanley whispered, “Laura.”

“Shhh!” Laura hissed angrily.

“Laura,” Stanley repeated.

“Shhh! Do you want us to get caught?” Laura whispered furiously.

“Laura!” Stanley was loud, and Laura’s heart thumped wildly in her chest.

We’re going to get caught, we’re going to get caught, was all she could think. Nothing happened, and her heart rate slowed to normal.

“Will you marry me?” Stanley said.

“Oh. Um. Sure.”

And Stanley kissed Laura. Laura was shocked, but Stanley kept on. Eventually, he released her, both of them embarrassed. There was a moment of silence, and then Laura kissed him back.

“Whuh?” Stanley said.

“I just thought, what the heck,” Laura replied.

They eventually left the FBI and got married. They settled in the same neighborhood as Josefina, Martin, Abigail, Rachel, Robert, and Emmie. They got to watch Emmie grow up, and Josefina, Abigail, and Laura became best friends. Laura and Stanley eventually had two children, Kaia and Ezekiel, but that’s another story.

And they all lived happily ever after.

P.S.: If you want to know, Ashley, Emmie’s former best friend, and Cora, the girl whose mother bought her Legos, never became friends with Emmie again. However, Emmie eventually came to her senses, and became best friends with Kaia, Laura’s daughter.

 

The End

 

Mittens the Hero

One sunny day, a cat and her kits went out for a walk with their owners. The mom’s name was Clover, and her three kits were named Fuzzy, Mittens, and Tiger. But as they crossed the bridge over the river, Fuzzy fell into the water.

The kit wailed, “Help!”

“I’m coming!” Clover exclaimed.

Their mom leaped into the water and swam to the kit, but Fuzzy floated farther and farther away.

Tiger was the strongest kit in the family, so he raced to his littermate. “I’m coming to save you!”

Mittens thought that she should also try to save Fuzzy. She thought about this because she was the smart one in the family and always fixed problems. But she had to figure it out, and Tiger was trying his best. She wanted to help since Fuzzy was her best friend. She wanted to be the one to save him.

Tiger swam with his mother, and he was faster than his mother, but the waves still pushed the kit out into the river. The owners went to help, but they couldn’t reach Fuzzy. Mittens saw her mother and Tiger swimming near Fuzzy, so she thought she could use them as if they were rocks. She went running down the shore and was able to keep up with her mother. So then Mittens pounced from the ground onto her mother and then Tiger.

“Sorry! I’m trying to reach Fuzzy as fast as I can by leaping onto you guys!”  

“Okay!” said Tiger and her mom.

Tiger swam as fast as he could and reached Fuzzy’s fur, but he wasn’t able to catch him. Clover swam so fast that she couldn’t take it anymore, so she went back onto shore. Mittens pounced over Tiger and was able to reach Fuzzy. She grasped Fuzzy’s paw, and Tiger was able to catch up with her. So, Tiger swam with all of them holding onto his tail.

“Let’s go under the water and walk on the ground!” ordered Mittens.

They took a deep breath and went under the water. Every one minute they had to take another breath of air. Once they reached the shore, they scampered up to their mother. When their mother saw them, she noticed they were very soggy. Clover gasped with joy to see Fuzzy back! The owners jumped with joy!

Mittens was very happy.

“Thank you, Mittens, for saving me,” Fuzzy said.

“You’re welcome.” She learned that she could save members of the family.

So then they continued the walk with their owners and were much more careful. Right before noon, they went back to their home.

 

The End!

 

Gifted

I woke up at 5 o’clock to begin my training. I was very nervous, but at the same time, too excited for my own good. I am Adam Owl. I am a unique who, like many others, has spent my entire life at Crescent Academy. I am one of not that many gifted people, and my gifts are super speed, flight, energy projection, and I can teleport people and things, but not myself alone. Today is 11th year exams, and I am up second vs. Miele Males, who is in my training sector. I was nervous because she could manipulate air, and she is a level x unique.

I was in the chamber, and she was just let in, and she immediately flew at me, ready to punch, and I froze up. The punch was about to hit me, and I extended my hand and teleported her away and into the floor where, even though her face was above ground, she could not move. I had won! I had passed! Those who did not pass shall be granted a second chance in the final round against the challenger! Holton Sparrow! The crowd cheered loudly, and I felt a gust of wind blow at my face. I did not turn, because I knew where it was coming from.

I slow-walked away from the stadium, as the guard stopped me and said, “Where are you going? You’re up next!” to which I said nothing. I extended my wings, as I turned to face my new opponent, Gregory Osprey.

I created a sonic boom and a circular hole in the wall that I pushed off of, and slammed Osprey into the wall as I was shocked by his electric gift. But I pushed through the sharp pain, and he pushed me onto the floor as I retracted my wings and started to run in circles, creating a tornado. I launched it off in his direction, but he turned into an Osprey and flew away. He flapped his wings and electricity sparked my way, and I teleported it into the floor.

The principal bellowed, “That’s enough!”

We stopped, and he sent us to our training rooms. I showered, and as the cold water ran down my back, I thought, why did the principal wear that mask with the weird eye? Then I remembered that we were not supposed to question anything he says or does, which I then realized makes him kind of an idiot, because he will definitely make us want to do just that! Then I had a fleeting thought. Maybe there is something he did not want us to see… I wanted to find it out. I stepped out of the shower, put on my suit, and marked it for stealth, which means I cannot make noise and my suit’s normal blue and black coloring is consumed by black.

I stepped out of the room as Gregory said, “Where you goin’? I heard you and I’m coming too. I can read minds you know. Lucky I’m curious.”

We snuck into the principal’s office silently and took his access card. We swiped it to disable the sound lock on his door and left it closed, but we could still hear. He was reciting some kind of mantra, and we saw a flash of light, and I touched him and teleported into our room, and with that, went to sleep. The next morning, we went to intelligence training, and after, went onto the arena. I was against Maximillian Zyper, who had the power to shapeshift into anything. He was a teacher’s pet, and I was waiting to punish him for all those kids he sent to detention, including me of course. I advanced slowly, and so did he. I took two cautious steps to the side, and then he transformed into a dragon. I extracted my wings and powered up my fists with energy, fired them off, and narrowly dodged his fire blast by falling to the floor and flying around in a circle to make a solid ring. Then I launched myself into him, and he was knocked out of his dragon form. I immediately started shooting at him and knocked him out. I won this session. After these four hour long sessions (with breaks every hour in between) I went to my room for a free rest of the day to relax.

While in bed, the principal yelled over the loudspeaker, “Owl, Adam, Blaise, Kaylee, Osprey, Gregory, Holting, Aaron! To my office.”

“Oohs” and “aahs” surrounded me as I got up, put on my training suit, and prepared to fight the figurative dragon. The people who were called started to pool around the cold, dark area surrounding the office.

The principal’s stony voice echoed in the hall, “Owl, come in!”

I grimly stepped forward, looking at my feet. The door creaked open, and I stepped inside, taking care to do it as slowly as possible, so I took up as much time as possible. He spoke and whispered an enchantment “imperium semper.” I could no longer move or see.

When I came to, I saw Aaron, Kaylee, and Greg all fighting the principal. I got up, picked up the principal’s axe, and threw it at him. He exploded in a rush of purple fire.

It was over, and I took a seat in my new chair. I crossed out his name on the label and wrote mine in. When I looked back, his name was gone.

 

Sperm Whale 2: Sperm VS. Squid

 

Chapter One

Once upon a time, a sperm whale named Jake lived in an ocean village with his friend orca. The orca’s name was Jack. Jake and Jack’s enemy was King Giant Squid.

“How can we defeat King Giant Squid?” said Jack.

“I have a plan,” said Jake. “The plan is we will throw a potion of invisibility on ourselves. We will sneak into the palace and throw a potion of harming on King Giant Squid. We will free all the prisoners.”

King Giant Squid had visited their town and robbed and captured animals. They were Jake’s friends and his parents. It had been one month since he had captured a lot of animals. There were some of the animals left.

Jake wanted to save his parents, and Jack wanted to save his friends. They started their adventure. They were swimming by the ocean temple. The ceiling was made out of glass and bricks. The floor was made out of sand, and the color was bright blue. They went inside and saw a guard. The guard looked like a great white shark.

Jake used water bomb, and Jack used dark bite. Jake created a ball of water with his fin, and he threw it at the guard. The guard blocked it with his fin. Jack bit the guard, and the bite made a dark spot. The guard had a confusion. The guard wiggled and crashed into the wall.

They entered the temple. They found the treasure room, and they got diamonds, gold, and rubies. They needed this stuff to craft powerful weapons. When they were swimming out, they saw three giant squids. The purple one used ink ball. He created a ball of ink with his tentacle. He threw it at Jack. It missed Jack, but it hit Jake. Jack used a bite and tail whip. The purple giant squid was destroyed. Jake was still recovering. One giant squid ran away. A green giant squid used suction cups and stuck them on Jack!!! Another giant squid came. The blue giant squid used ink defense. Ink defense is like ink forming around the giant squid. Jake used water tornado. It washed away all of the giant squids. He opened his mouth and formed a tornado.

“Nice job!” said Jack.

“Thank you! That was cool!”

They got out of the temple and continued their trip. They had to go to the other ocean temple. They ran into five puffer fish. Two puffer fish used puffed up, and Jake used water bomb. He threw it with his fin and destroyed all five puffer fish. When they were swimming, they couldn’t believe who was standing there.

 

Chapter Two

It was King Giant Squid.

“Well, well, well, well, well, and well,” said King Giant Squid.

“Stop terrorizing our town,” said Jake.

“Never!” yelled King Giant Squid.

Jack used dark bomb, and it hit King Giant Squid. King Giant Squid used ink ball. Jack used fin block. King Giant Squid ran away.

“How are we ever going to catch him,” said Jake.

“Let’s do your plan,” said Jack.

They got to the ocean temple. They saw ten giant squids. Jake used water tornado. And it hit and destroyed six giant squids. They threw in a potion which was made out of liquid in a glass bottle. And when it landed on Jake and Jack, they became invisible.

“CHARGE!!!” yelled Jack.

“DOUBLE CHARGE!!!” yelled Jack again.

“TRIPLE CHARGE!!!” yelled Jack another time.

Jack was charging into the wall. The wall did break. Jake swam into the ocean temple. Jack followed him inside. Jake threw a potion of invisibility on Jack and himself again. Jake did that because he was planning a sneak attack.

He saw King Giant Squid. He threw a potion of harming on King Giant Squid.

“Who threw that?” asked King Giant Squid. He couldn’t see invisible people throwing potions at him.

King Giant Squid used ink ball, and it struck Jack. Jack was destroyed.

“Oh no,” said Jake.

Jack respawned in Jake’s house. Jake’s potion of invisibility wore off, and now King Giant Squid could see Jake.
“Army, capture Jake! Now!”

Jake was trapped in a bedrock room. Meanwhile, Jack was waking up from his bed.

“What happened?” asked Jack.

No one was there to answer him. Jack went to the ocean temple and saw Jake trapped in the bedrock room.

“Help!” yelled Jake.

“I will bust you out,” said Jack.

“Thanks,” said Jake.

Jack busted him out.

“I’m free!” said Jake.

“Thanks, bud,” said Jake.

“No problem,” said Jack.

“Why are the giant squids different colors?” asked Jake.
“I can tell you,” said Jack. “Pink and purple giant squids build, and green and orange giant squids fix things. Yellow and blue giant squids learn to fight. And red and indigo also fix things. And bronze, silver, and gold giant squids are really important to the giant squid army.”

Jack knew this because his great grandpa told him.

An army of giant squids advanced towards Jake and Jack. One of the giant squids used ink ball. It hit Jack. One gold, one silver, and one bronze giant squid used ink ball on both of them. Jake and Jack were destroyed.

“What happened?” asked Jack again.

Now someone was here to answer.

“We got destroyed by King Giant Squid’s army, duh,” said Jake.

“What can we do?” asked Jack.

“We could eat something because we got destroyed. We need to fill up,” Jake said.

King Giant Squid was at the door.

 

Chapter Three: Battle to the End

Jake and Jack went out the door. King Giant Squid was there, and so was his co-leader Fred. Fred used ink ball. It missed Jake and Jack, but it hit the library.
“Oh no! The librarian is destroyed!” yelled one of the townspeople.

King Giant Squid and Fred left for no reason.
“Why did they leave?” asked Jack.

“I don’t know!” said Jake.

Jake, Jack, and the townspeople battled the giant squids.

“Stop!” yelled Jack. “You think King Giant Squid is the most powerful king in the ocean? We have to live in a peaceful world, not where someone is terrorizing our town. Change your skins.”

The giant squids changed their skins to orcas, great white sharks, and whales. When everybody changed their skins, they lived peacefully for a short time.

 

The End

 

Otto and Max’s Adventure

Once upon a time, a dragon was on a field trip with his class. His name was Otto. He was so excited to be on the field trip that he got distracted by the biggest tree he ever saw. He couldn’t see the top, so he walked backwards to try and see the top. But then, he slipped on a trench, and then he tried climbing up and when he got up, he noticed he was on the other side. He tried to find the end of it. So, he started walking across the trench. But then, he just came upon a volcano. Then, at that moment, the volcano erupted, so then he hid behind a boulder. When the eruption was over, he fell asleep. He finally noticed that he was lost. He didn’t see his class, and he tried to find them by climbing on the volcano to see if he could see them. But, he just ended up falling inside.

“Uh-oh,” he murmured to himself.

He tried climbing up, but he kept sliding down. Then, he tried to dig under and back up to his class, which didn’t work. The floor was made of solid stone. But the walls were made of dirt, so he thought he could dig through that. He tried to fly, but then he remembered he couldn’t. He was too young. His wings were the size of a stick. So, obviously they couldn’t carry him. He tried to dig through. He managed to get out of the volcano, but he was still on the other side of the trench. When he looked over, he saw there was kind of a ramp over the trench. But then, at the end of the ramp, there was still a little gap, but he thought he could jump over it. So, that’s what he did. He got over. But he still remembered it was morning again, so his class must have been in the school. It was a whole day since he got lost. He tried to remember which way he came. He saw the stop sign that the bus stopped at, and he knew he was going the right way. Otto didn’t know how long the ride was because he was sleeping the whole time. He saw the stop sign when he woke up. He started walking in that direction. So, he walked down that way, but then he saw his friend walking the same way, too.

And then he said, “Max, what are you doing here?”

And then his friend said, “What are you doing here?”

“You’re supposed to be with the class.”

“I got lost!”

Then Otto said, “I did too!”

They worked together to try to find a way back. But Max said it was too long to walk.

“That’s all we can do, so just do it,” said Otto.

“We can try to build something,” said Max.

Max and Otto tried to build a hot air balloon, but it popped. They tried it again, and this time they used wood to make the basket instead of grass. It would be stronger if they used the palm leaves for the balloon instead of normal leaves. This time it worked, and they went up.

“Do you even know how to steer a hot air balloon,” Otto said.

Max pulled a rope, and they were going the right way, so he pulled it again and then pulled the left rope. But then, a seagull popped the air balloon with its beak. They fell crashing down at full speed, but they were lucky because they landed on a pile of grass. That was where they slept for the night. In the morning, Otto and Max woke up. Otto went to get food.

Five minutes later, Otto saw a bear and screamed, “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”

Then, Max noticed a tree shaped like a bear. So he climbed up the tree and found berries. He looked back to the pile of grass, and they kept trying to make the hot air balloon, but it kept popping. So they tried something different. They were next to a stream. Max and Otto tried to build a boat because they thought it was easier. They built the boat and got it on their first try and sailed across the stream but not long after the stream ended. Otto saw a beaver dam, which clogged the river, so they couldn’t go any longer. They saw a beaver walking out from under the water with a stick in its mouth, and he put it on the dam. They decided to ask the beaver which was the way back to the school.

“Do you know the way back to the school?” asked Otto.

“Yes,” the beaver said with boredom.

Otto got all excited and shouted, “What’s the way?! What’s the way?!”

The beaver pointed to the left. They waved to the beaver and started walking that way. It got dark, so they slept under a tree. When Otto was sleeping, he had a dream that he got back home, but then his parents were really mad at him.

In the morning, he thought about it.

Max was awake, and Otto told Max, “So, I have this rule with my parents that I can’t be out of the house for three days straight, or I’ll get in big trouble and not be able to go to my friend’s house for a year. We have to get back today.”

Max was worried too because he wanted to be able to go to Otto’s house and Otto to be able to go to his. At that moment, Max noticed they were sleeping in a monkey tree. And then they asked the monkeys for help to get back to their neighborhood. The monkeys were very nice because they offered them help too, and they said they would trade a banana for a ride to the town. And that’s what they did. They got on the monkeys, and they started climbing. About ten minutes later, a monkey slipped and fell. Max was on the monkey that fell. The monkey was okay, but Max wasn’t. Max hurt his knee, and Otto came down to help him.

“Ouch,” said Max.

He could not get up, even with Otto’s help. The monkeys helped him and asked for another banana. Otto gave them a banana, and they came down to help Max. They went another mile and came to a wall. The monkeys couldn’t climb up, so Max and Otto thanked the monkeys and started climbing the wall. It started to get dark, but they managed to climb the wall. They noticed they were on top of their village dragon town, so they went down the wall and went home.

 

THE END!

 

Winter

Frosty flakes fall from the sky and build up on my windowsill. There’s fog on the window, where the chilly fog has not reached the warmth in my house and the chill outside. So I fly down the stairs in my PJs and have some toast. I bundle up and go to the swing. I brush off magic, white powder and pump my legs. I see the brown trees and pine cones and see the green pine trees. I pump my legs to the snowy, white sky. I jump off the swing and run home to cuddle up with my mom and read a Christmas book. We have Christmas cookies and sip a warm, chocolatey drink. We sip our cocoa while small flakes fall.

 

snow falls

Snow falls.

Snow, white as the dove’s gentle wing. Snow, like the soft fields of cotton. The cold wonder that proves always to be beautiful as it floats to the ground. It travels down lightly, in slow, poetic movements. Landing, it melts slightly, bright white against the gravel trail it falls upon.

Feel it. The white snow, a soft powder. Feel the slight sting of cold it gives you as it falls on your legs, arms, and face.

Now listen: do you hear that? The faraway clanking that becomes louder with every second. The sound of the hooves against wet, hard gravel. The squelch of the slipping snow underneath running feet.

Cup your ear. Alert your senses. There’s more.

The running feet click on the gravel, quickening every time a snap is heard. There’s a voice, too. A deep, aged voice calls out and lets out short yelps. There is another sound behind the shouting voice and the jangling feet. It’s a low sound, coming from the ground. Becomes louder with the noises of the feet. Wheels.

Stop.

Now look: four horses appear on the trail. Their pelts are various shades of chocolate and the night sky. They’re running quick, leather straps holding them to a large carriage. An elderly man with grayed hair sits outside the carriage on a wooden seat, holding the leather, shouting at the galloping horses. He holds a long, menacing whip, urging the horses to go their fastest. The carriage they haul is a light blue, almost hiding in the snow.

Look closer. Look inside that carriage. Do you see her? The woman? The young adult, sitting peacefully with her long hair drawn up into a braid? Look at her. Don’t take your eyes off her for a second, for something is about to happen.

Now stop. Breath. Take a long, deep breath.

Think. Feel the trail. Feel the horses running, the snow falling. Feel the man shouting and the woman sitting. Be in it.

You think you know all that’s happening this quiet Sunday, as the woman is pulled along the path. You know the snow falls, the horses run, the man shouts, and the woman sits. That is the story. That’s all. Everything, is just the beautiful, snowy trail.

But there is one thing in this story you didn’t get to hear, you didn’t get to see. You don’t know the one thing in this story that changes everything. Do you want to know?

The woman dies. She always dies in this story. No matter what you do, the woman in this snowy scene will die.

But how, is up to you.

Maybe you see the bandits with crimson red bandanas chasing after the carriage, holding menacing daggers, ganging up to the horse. You see them swiftly abandon their horses as they jump onto the carriage’s roof and walls. They sneak their way into it, where the beautiful woman sits, and stab her away.

Maybe you see the sudden slope that appears in the path ahead, though you know it’s too late for the old driver to turn back. The horses’ hooves slip on the icy fault, dragging the carriage dangerously down with them. The woman screams, trying to escape, but it’s too late, for she’s crushed under the toppling carriage.

Maybe you see the gentle snow suddenly attack, growing in speed until it’s impossible to see, for all the white blinds you. The woman gets stuck in the horrible blizzard, unable to run, unable to move. She’s trapped there in the cold, until she no longer feels anything.

Or maybe you see something else entirely, something that’s hidden in the snow, come out for the woman.

 

Angel Wings

            

Jack

Life at home was a mess. Pete was always crying.

Mom was always away, and I hadn’t seen Dad in months.

The day he left isn’t an open subject, and neither was “Him.”

 

“Him” is the driver of the mysterious car that mom climbs out of some nights. It’s not a taxi; trust me. It’s a blue Mercedes. I’m good with cars. Credit goes to Dad.

 

School is my escape from all that. And I don’t mean that.

With my friends I can escape. No, no, no. It’s my teacher. My math teacher, to be exact. Ms. Linson.

 

She’s cheery and bright, and actually makes learning, well, fun. I’m not a straight-A student. I mean I don’t fail, but my grades range from the occasional A to the super rare C, so my grades are mostly B’s.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I have good friends. Nico and Rick and Kyle and I are all cool, but we’re not all buddy-buddy, like girls. I started skipping to class, only to halt abruptly and question my mental mind. I’m lucky no one saw me. I dribbled my basketball the rest of the way to class, careful to keep myself from skipping again.

 

Harper

Why are people so mean?

Is it a virus?

A chemical in our brains?

Or the result of bad parenting?

 

Also, why don’t they tease me? People have told me, “You’re pretty and nice; that’s why.”

But then I always say, “Olivia is nice, and she gets bullied.”

After that, people just shake their heads at me. I don’t care; they also do that when I help Olivia up.

 

I like school. Especially music and math. I play three instruments. Piano, flute, and violin.

Flute’s my favorite, though. My dad calls me Madame Mozart because I love music so much.

 

But I love math too. I mean, with a teacher like Ms. Linson, it’s impossible to not like math. She’s so nice!

I mean, when I forgot my homework at home last week, she was really nice about it and let it go after I promised to bring it next week.

 

When I arrived at school, I was happy and excited.

Did you realize I said “was?”

 

Olivia

I walked down the hall quickly, head down, hoodie up.

I prayed they wouldn’t see me.

 

“Hey look, it’s cowgirl!”

Too late, I thought.

 

Niko and Yanic cornered me.

 

“What’s wrong? Show your face, come on, don’t be shy,” jeered Yanic.

I had to. If I didn’t, lord knows what would happen to me.

Slowly, I revealed my face. Yanic and Nico showed mock faces of disgust.

“I think she’s gotten uglier since we last saw her!”

“Why do they let cows in school?”

“People, look out! Cow without a bell! Cow on the loose!”

Stop it, stop it, stop it, I thought.

Okay, I know you’re wondering. Let me clear up the mystery. My caramel skin is covered in white blotches. Only on my face though. Unfortunate, isn’t it? Imagine, in all the places it could be, it’s the face. Really, God, why are you punishing me?? Tell me!! I shut my eyes and thought of butterflies. I rehearsed the song my little sister, Layla, taught me. “Butterfly, butterfly, ooh a butter-butter.” A scream erupted my song. Until then, I hadn’t realized the math room had been oddly still. There was a crowd surrounding the now open door. I hurried to get a better look.

 

I gasped as people said, “Somebody get the nurse!!”; “Is she dead?!”; “Unconscious?”; and “Why are her eyes open??”

 

Ms. Linson, my favorite teacher, was lying on the ground.

Eyes open.

Face white.

A look of terror plastered on her face.

 

Unmoving.

 

Jack

I was the one who had gotten Mrs. N, the school nurse. As soon as I saw what happened, I ran to get her. I told her what happened. She looked at my face to see if I was kidding, then jumped out of her chair when she realized I wasn’t. She ran down the hall surprisingly fast for a seventy-something year old. When she came to the classroom door, she froze. Then she bent down.

She checked Ms. Linson’s pulse.

She checked it again.

And again.

And again.

“Courtney?”

“Courtney?”

Ms. Linson’s first name.

She turned around, face ashen.

She looked at a girl in my class.

“Harper, get the principal.”

“I’m calling 911.”

 

Harper

I sprinted down the hallway to the principal’s office. A few other teachers were in there, and the rest had already come to the scene.

Mr. Thompson, the principal, said, “What’s wrong?!”

I was tired from sprinting down four flights of stairs, so my response was a little delayed.

“Ms. Linson… lying down… not… breathing… Nurse — ”

Before I could finish, the principal was out of the door and racing down the hallway. I ran to catch up with him.

 

When we came to the scene, he gasped. Several teachers who had already arrived were crying and pale.

Then, the ambulance came.

A tension had been clogging up the room, like a thick, black smoke, and it had been getting really hard to breathe.

All of that disappeared when the ambulance came. Well, almost all of it.

Mr. Thompson rode in the ambulance, and his secretary, Janine (last name unknown) sent out a message to our parents. My dad and my mom picked me up. I could tell my mom had been had been crying, and my dad had been comforting her. Nobody said anything on the way home. We watched a silly movie, Welcome To My World. But as soon as the TV switched on, we started crying.

You wanna know why?

The first thing that appeared on the screen was an animated sun who said, “Don’t worry, and all your worries will go away!!”

 

Part Two: What a Day!

 

Olivia

My grandmother, Hedi, picked me up. On the way home, she didn’t speak, and neither did I. As soon as I got to my room, I turned on the movie I always watch when I feel sad: Welcome To My World. But I turned it off after I heard the opening monologue. \

I flopped down onto my bed and cried. I cried for myself.

I cried for Ms. Linson.

But I cried for myself, mostly.

I heard Hedi come up the stairs and into my room.

“Tell me,” she said in her thick, Russian accent. “Tell me about those… ” (She doesn’t know much English.) “Boihs.”

I laughed a little. Then I told her the story I’ve never told anyone, the one I’m ashamed to speak of, afraid people will call me what they always have: Freak. Weak. But when I finished, my grandmother smiled and said simply, “Strong.”

I knew exactly what she meant.

 

Jack

I rode home on my bicycle. This was Mom’s day to pick up Peter. I put the frozen lasagna in the oven and plopped down on the bean bag chair in my room. I had so many emotions running through me, and it hit me, the reality.

There was no way Ms. Linson was alive. I know I didn’t mention it, but up until then, I had been telling myself, Okay, it’s okay Jack. She probably just fainted or something. That happens, right??

Just then, Mom burst through the door.

“Mom? Where’s Pete?”

“I dropped him off at his friend’s house. I told his parents I needed to spend some time with you for a change.” She smiled.

Mom never smiled anymore. I mean, there have been half smiles, but this was a full-out smile. She hugged me, then burst into tears. I hugged her, And she told me everything. About him, about Dad, about me and Peter. Him was a man she knew from work. His name was Tyson Brown. After Dad disappeared, Tyson had gone out of his way to make sure Mom didn’t get fired for missing so much work. Later, when Mom had kinda, sorta recovered, he started taking her to dinner on a weekly basis. She told him about me and Pete, and he didn’t seem to care… at all. Mom said she was thinking about having him meet Pete and me. But then she realized he wasn’t a good person and dumped him (even though they were never really together). She said she should have known better. When she was done, Pete got dropped off, and we watched Welcome To My World together… as a family. I cried a lot, but it was nice to be together for once.

 

Harper

The next morning, I woke up with my head spinning. I went downstairs for breakfast, though I wasn’t in the mood for talking. I was starving. I once read that hunger will make you do anything for a meal. I guess it’s true. Downstairs, my mom was flipping French toast on the grill, and my dad was reading the paper.

“Good morning, sweetie,” said my mom.

“Mornin’ Madame Mozart,” said Dad. He ruffled my hair.

Mom put down a plate of French toast with strawberries and maple syrup, my favorite. Mom sat down with her cup of coffee, and by the look my parents shared, I knew they were about to tell me something bad. I just stared down at my plate.

“Harper — ”

Maybe I misread their looks, maybe they’re going to tell me something good, like she just fell asleep on the floor?

Oh, who am I kidding??

“Is she alive?? Unconscious??” I asked frantically.

“Harper, princess… ” my dad began.

“Sweetie, she didn’t make it. We’re really sorry, honey,” my mom finished quickly, like ripping off a band-aid.

I lay my head down on the table. It was too much to bear. I cried. I don’t like sad stuff, I like happy stuff!! This definitely would qualify as a sad stuff thing!!

Then, a thought came to me.

“Will… she g-get…” I sniffled, “… a f-funeral?”

“Mozart, she doesn’t have any family left alive, and the PTA is generous enough to raise money to pay for one for her. It’s next Sunday.”

Mom cut in then. “Sweetie, you don’t have to g — ”

“I’ll go!! I need to go there, Mom, Dad.”

They nodded, and we had an agreement.

 

Olivia

All weekend I stayed active. Babushka made sure of that. She took me to parks, museums, and a free Shakespearean play that was playing in Oaks Park. She did this to distract me from my sadness. Every time she saw some variation of a frown on me, she would slap me on the face lightly and tell me to snap out of it or she’d slap me on the face harder. That made me laugh. I knew this was to make me forget about Ms. Linson’s death. Regardless, I almost felt better. But, of course, on Monday I had to go back to school. Back to teasing, back to homework, back to bad memories. Actually… maybe not. Babushka had reported to the principal about the teasing (she called it harassment), but I was not sure if I was actually worth being reported. I mean if Nico and Yanic had decided that I was worth teasing through most of sixth grade, there must be something wrong with me… right?

 

On Monday, half of the kids who attend our school (Oak Academy) did not even show up. Information about how Ms. Linson died had not been released yet, and some parents feared foul play. I could sympathize with the terrified parents. I mean if this were to happen in my child’s school, I would immediately assume the worst as well. Mom and Dad had called and said they would make it home for the funeral, but I highly doubted that. They almost missed their own wedding because of work. Anyway, back to Monday. The whole school seemed gray and empty. I ran to class, literally, hoping to outrun Nico and Yanic, if they were even here.

“Hey!” someone yelled.

I stopped and turned. It was Harper, the girl who helped me up when I fell over my clumsy feet. She looked sad, but did her best to smile. “Nico and Yanic aren’t here today.”

“Oh.”

“C’mon, let’s get to class.”

Her friends were frowning at her, and some actually started walking away.

“Why?” It was a stupid question, but I was curious. She was popular, not me.

“Because I want some nice friends for a change.”

I smiled. She smiled.

And we started walking to class.

 

Jack

I think every kid on earth can agree that Mondays suck. But this one in particular really sucked. I mean, I found out my teacher died! But Mom said I had to go to school. I guess it beats watching Pete fail at Mario Kart all day though. I walked into school as usual, but I realized that a lot of kids weren’t even at school! It was kind of creepy. I looked around and saw that Harper was here… walking with Olivia? I knew that Harper was always nice to her, but… then I had a pretty genius idea.

 

I walked up to them and said, “Hi Harper, Olivia. Can I walk with you guys to class?”

Olivia smiled. Score!

Harper smiled. Double score!!

“Sure,” they said at exactly the same time.

We cracked up at the look of surprise they shared, and then walked to our class.

 

Harper, Jack, and Olivia

This is what happened the morning before the funeral:

I put on one of my favorite dresses (chosen by me, Olivia, for her to wear) with black lillies (which we figured was appropriate because it was a funeral) and ate oatmeal (yuck) before we left.

 

I wore my dark, purple skirt and one of Harper’s shirts she lent me (which, by the way, is so pretty). Aw… thanks Liv! Welcome. I had cereal before we left.

 

Ugh. My mom made me wear these painfully tight jeans and a tie that really itches. Hey, I think they look cool! Do you guys have crushes or something on each other?! Change of subject, please! Okay fine… for now… mwa ha ha!!

 

Anyway, the funeral was really sad. R.I.P Ms. Linson!! Apparently she died from some sort of really rare bacteria that infests the bodies of people who get sick a lot. And you can’t get medicine for it because there is no medicine for it!! Sad…

 

Oh, we almost forgot something!!

Eh, people can read it in the author’s note. Wait what?!

 

THE END

 

Author’s note:

So, you’re probably wondering why I left you off like that, and I’m sorry for that because I absolutely hate it when authors leave me on a cliffhanger at the end of the book. It’s the worst kind of surprise. But I realize that the end of the book should probably be told by the most important character in this story: Ms. Linson.

 

Enjoy.

 

Courtney Linson

I should have gone to the doctor when I started feeling off-center. I really should have. But I didn’t. I didn’t want to end up sick and alone in a hospital bed like my mother, with no one willing or able to take care of her after she ran off without me at age eight. I didn’t want to leave my students, the children I found my only joy in (through teaching them). So I didn’t. And each day, slowly, I got worse. I could feel it in my bones. Each day, the cramps were worse, the pain was worse. I regret it, I regret it, I regret it.

One morning, I felt particularly awful, and I decided that day after school, I would go to the doctor. But as I was preparing the morning lesson, I fell out of my chair. I felt lightheaded, and I couldn’t get back up. I saw a ray of light poke through the roof of my classroom, and the sky opened up. I felt myself lift up into the air, leaving my body behind. I felt a rush of… alive, that I hadn’t felt in a while. I ascended into the clouds and settled down to watch over my students I knew needed a little extra help. Harper, Olivia, and Jack were three students I had that were a perfect friend match, but they just happened to be in the wrong positions. I pulled a few strings, got them together, and on they day of my funeral I decided to make one final appearance before I would permanently move myself, forever. Destination: Oaks Park. I swooped in, on paper thin angel wings and settled down on my grave. The only people who saw me were my three students, Jack, Olivia, and Harper, who stared at me in awe.

Before I disappeared into the earth forever, I whispered one last sentence, “Remember: You are never alone, you always have your angel wings.”

 

Auggie the Awkward Spy

I am a twenty-one-year-old guy named Auggie. And I am a spy on a mission. Something you need to know about me is that I am very clumsy.

I climb into a vent filled with rats that keep chasing me. I am horrified, so I start running and screaming. I am not paying close attention to a hole ahead of me, so I fall into it. There is a dance party going on there, and the funny thing about that is that I fall on the dance floor. I get really humiliated, so I do a dance. I even tell them that I meant to fall down. I hear some people laughing, so I start laughing along even though I am really hurt. I am so embarrassed, so I dance to the door.

I walk down the hall and take the elevator to the first floor.

The guy at the front desk asks me, “What do you need, sir?”

He has curly, light brown hair. He is wearing a tuxedo. He has hazel, brown eyes and an earring on one side of his ear.

“I would like a key for a room at this wonderful hotel,” I respond.

“Oh, I have one question before you leave, why are you wearing all black and a mask on your face?” he says curiously.

“I am just getting ready for Halloween.”

“But it is only May.”

“I’ll just be heading upstairs if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all, don’t worry.”

I take the elevator to my room, and I feel shocked because the room is big, and it even has an indoor pool. When I walk into the bathroom, I almost scream because it is the size of a bedroom, and the bedroom is the size of two pools combined. My kitchen isn’t that big, and the living room is a good size, and the dining room is pretty big. Even though this is not vacation, this feels like paradise to me. I have never been in a hotel before because I can’t afford one. That’s why the organization, S.A.S.O. (Super Awesome Spy Organization), let me be in the spy group. I used to live in a beautiful house with my mother and my father until my dad left us two years ago, and I couldn’t pay taxes, so I had to find a job. If I joined cooking, I would have burned the whole restaurant because I’m not good with fire. Fire and I don’t get along because when I was younger, I was sitting by the fireplace, and my feet were really cold, so I put my feet by it, and my baby toe caught on fire. Since that day, I have been scared of fire. Water and I get along well because when I was two months old, my mom and my dad took me to the pool to learn how to swim. When I was floating on the water perfectly, the swimming coach told me I was the best in the class. At least that’s what my parents told me.

I’m at this hotel, so I can take a test to prove that I’m good enough to join the S.A.S.O. The owner of the S.A.S.O., Dylan, sent me here on a mission. I do not really know what I’ll be doing on the mission.

I hear a knock at my door. I ask, “Who is it?”

Somebody responds, “It’s the mailman for the hotel.”

“Come on in.”

The mailman opens the door. He has hair on the sides, and the middle of his head is bald. He puts his glasses on and says with an English accent, “This letter is from Dylan.”

“Thank you very much,” I say in an English accent back to the mailman. The mailman looks at me for a while, and I just say, “Have a good day, sir!”

After the mailman leaves, I start to laugh. I think I’m so funny. Most people say I’m awkward, but I think I’m funny.

I open the mail and say, “Huh, I guess this is important mail from Dylan. Very important. And very serious, because Dylan is a serious man. I can’t wait to open and see this serious stuff.” When I open the envelope I see pictures. All I see is white on the picture. I say, “Hmm, that’s strange.” Then I realize that I have to flip the photo over. When I flip it over, I actually see the picture, and I start cracking up. “Is this seriously a picture of Dylan as a kid wearing underwear on his head?” I call Dylan on my phone and tell him, “Seriously, Dylan? This is important?”

He says, “Yes, it’s very important!”

“How is this important?”

“It’s important because whoever this suspect is might post this picture on the Internet. It’s going to be really embarrassing, and it will stop us from being spies. They’re even going to find out we’re spies!”

Then Dylan starts screaming at me on the phone, and all I can hear is, “Hey you something, something, something, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, so embarrassing!”

“Chill, Dylan! Come on! You don’t have to yell at me.”

“No, I’m not yelling at you. I’m yelling at my nextdoor neighbor. He’s being so loud! He always puts on music in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night. It’s so annoying. I’m so rich that I can probably call the cops and pay them to kick him out!”

Rrrriiiinnnngggg!!” I hear a voice say somewhere in the room.

“Dylan, I’ll call you back later,” I say.

“Guess who’s here,” a familiar voice says.

“Seriously, Ignacio?” I say.

“I am definitely not Ignacio,” he says.

“Oh no, do I see Aunty Agatha?” I say, to scare Ignacio.

“Where?” he says, in a scared voice.

Aunt Agatha is our scary aunt.

Ignacio jumps out from behind the couch and lands in my arms. Ignacio is my annoying twin brother.

“So, I heard you say something about spies,” Ignacio says.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t say anything about spies,” I say.

“When you’re nervous your cheeks turn red, and your ears start to move up a bit. That’s how I know you’re lying to me.”

I start to hold my ears down and put my hands over my cheeks and say, “Nothing’s going on, what are you talking about? I’m not a spy, and I’m definitely not nervous.”

“Sure. Now I’m going to keep my eye on you while I stay here with you for a few weeks.”

“Who said you’re staying with me?”

“I have to. Mom kicked me out of the house!”

“But why did Mom kick you out of the house?”

“Well, let’s just say while Mom was cleaning everything up, I was eating popcorn, and there was popcorn all over the couch. So Mom got mad and told me to clean it up. I said, ‘I’m going to do it later,’ but I never did it later. Instead, I was busy playing my video game. And Mom was all like, ‘Fine, if you don’t want to clean, then I’m going to kick you out of my house!’ So then I was all like ‘Mom, you need to chill out, seriously.’ Then Mom was all like ‘I am going to show you you what “seriously” means with my fist in your face, unless you want to leave my house.’ Then I was all like ‘This is technically Auggie’s house because he pays for the rent,’ then Mom pointed her finger at the door, so I just walked out. Ok, that is the end of my story,” Ignacio says.

“Wow, wow. That is all I have to say.”

“And when I try to sneak into the house, Mom always calls Oreo to bite my skin off, and man is Oreo scary. He has red eyes now. You don’t know because you haven’t seen Oreo for eight years.”

“I don’t think this is the right time Ignacio, but Oreo loves me and hates you.”

“Why does Oreo hate me?”

“Oh yeah, you definitely never used to pull on his whiskers, pull on his tail, and put him in the toilet, and you used never, ever, ever, eve — ”

“Okay, okay I get it.”

Knock! Knock!

“Go away Fred! You know today I don’t have cookies for you!” I shout at the door.

“Excuse me, Auggie. Who do you think you’re yelling at. I’m your mother,” my mother says in an angry voice.

My mom pulls on the doorknob slowly and then slams the door open, breaking one of my paintings. She wobbles in slowly with her cane. I pinched Ignacio on his back for a warning that Mom was here. He ran quickly but quietly to hide into the bathroom. My mom didn’t see him, because at that time she took off her glasses and couldn’t see a thing.

“So Mom, why are you here?” I ask.

“I’m here to ask you if you know where Ignacio is,” my mom asks me.

“No, I talked to him on the phone earlier, but he didn’t tell me where he was,” I reply.

“Oh, okay, tell me if you find him because when I find him, he’s gonna get it,” my mom says.

“Okay Mom, goodbye,” I say.

I hear something fall in the bathroom.

My mom asks, “What is that noise?”

I say, “Oh, it’s just me stomping my feet.” And then I start stomping my feet.

She says, “I smell something fishy in this room.”

“Oh, it’s probably because I made fish earlier for me and Ig — Iguana! My cat.”

“I never knew you had a cat.”

“I just got him yesterday, and you cannot see him right now because he is asleep.”

“Oh, really,” she says.

“Yes, really,” I reply.

Then my mom starts walking towards the door until she turns around and says, “Auggie, may I please stay over with you for a little.”

“No, you cannot. Sorry, Mom,” I reply.

“Why can’t I?” she questions.

“Because Ignaci — I mean, Iguana is having a lot of diarrhea, and it will not go away until she dies,” I say to my mother.

“Okay, but before I leave, can I use the bathroom?” my mom asks.

“I am sorry, but you cannot,” I say to my mother.

“You have been a piece of junk lately,” my mother says to me.

“Jeez, Sara, stop being so rude,” I say.

“Excuse me, who do you think you’re calling Sara? You call me Mother, you hear me,” my mom says.

“Yes, Mom,” I reply.

“Okay, good” my mother says.

“Bye, Mother,” I say, waving at her.

“Excuse me, I leave any time I want!” my mom shouts.

“But this my house,” I say.

“I brought you into this world. I can take you right out,” my mother says angrily.

“How mamasita, how?” I ask.

Then, I see my mother walk into the kitchen and walk out with a knife in her hand.

“Who were you calling mamasita? I think I forgot,” she says.

“Okay Mom, I have an idea. If you leave my house, I will buy you an iPhone X,” I say, taking a few steps back with my hands up.

“Okay, fine,” my mom says, while she walks out the door and shuts it closed.

Just to be sure my mom left, I open the door. I see my mom getting into the elevator, and I look out the window to see if she left.

“Ignacio, you can come out now. Mom left,” I call out to Ignacio.

Ignacio quickly hops out of the bathtub and looks left and right to see if his mother is still there.

“Phew, that witch is gone,” says Ignacio.

“I know, right,” I reply.

“But we all know that you are and always will be Mom’s favorite,” Ignacio says, as a tear rolls down his cheek.

“Well you know that Dad likes you the best and always has,” I say, to make Ignacio feel better.

Ignacio reaches over to hug me. We hug, but then suddenly the door swings open and there Dad walks in.

“Dad, is that you?” Ignacio and I say at the same.

I am so surprised. I haven’t seen Dad ever since he divorced and left when I was eight.

“Yes, it is,” our dad says as he gives us a hug.

I am so happy, I could jump on the ceiling, break it through, and bite his head off. I am excited to see my father again. I was trying to keep in contact in with him for years through emails and phone calls.

“Is it okay if I stay for a while?” our dad asks us. “I just got kicked out of my apartment because I couldn’t afford to pay for it, and your mother wouldn’t let me live with her… so… can I?”

“Sure,” we say, simultaneously.

Then, the door swings open again.

“So you let him stay,” our mom says.

“Goodbye, Mom,” I say.

“I just want to be back in the picture,” my dad says to me and Ignacio.

“Speaking of pictures, I have to call my boss and tell him I’m not doing the mission anymore. I want to spend more time with you, Dad,” I say.

“What mission?”

“Nothing.”

“Hey boss, can I tell you something? I’m quitting being a spy!”

“What?!” my boss says.

“Yeah, you heard me! I’m spending time with my family now!”

“What?! You can’t quit right now! You… you… awkward spy!”

“Actually, it’s Auggie the Awkward Spy!”

 

The Land of Four Elements

                 

Chapter 1

Amber

The long summer break lies in front of me. I have so many things I want to do, but I don’t know which one I should do first. Go bowling, go ice skating, go to the movies… But I have to choose one for tomorrow. The choice lies in front of me like a shadow of doom. I gulp, not knowing what to do the next day, but I want to sleep well and not have all these thoughts dwelling inside my head for now. I push all my thoughts away and go to bed with a clear head. So I get into my coziest pajamas to celebrate the last day of school before the break.

“Night!” I call to my mom.

She still thinks I am like five years old, so she walks into my room every night and gives me a little kiss on my forehead. I sigh a little. It really is annoying and embarrassing for a mom to say good night to a sixth grader.

“Uh,” I sigh to myself, quiet enough so that my mom won’t hear me.

I look up at the ceiling. Mom keeps forgetting to take the glow in the dark stars off my ceiling. She says that they look pretty and that I should keep them there.

I wake up, hearing a rustle from downstairs. Daddy’s home! I jump out of bed and run down the stairs with my puffy, red hair bouncing against my shoulders and my milky, brown eyes sparkling with excitement. I don’t care what time it is. I jump into my dad’s arms. He lifts me up above him. All his bags lie on the floor.

“How are you, sweetie?” he asks me.

“I feel so much better since you’re finally home,” I say.

“It feels like this year has been so long without you,” he tells me.

He always goes on long business trips, but when he is here, he is the best dad ever.

“You should go to bed now,” he instructs me.

“Can I sleep with you, Daddy? Please?!” I ask him, pleadingly.

“No,” he says. “We can play and talk in the morning if you want.”

“Of course,” I say.

Why wouldn’t I want to do that? As I go to bed, I think of all the fun things I will do with my dad tomorrow, not caring about the list of things I had wanted to do. It will be the best day ever. The second my head hits the pillow, I drift off into dreams. Dreams of tomorrow.

 

Chapter 2

Ocean

I wake up looking up at my ceiling. The boring, white ceiling stares down at me. What would my playdate bring today? Would it bring a better life or my same, lonely life without a best friend to live with? My friend moved to California last year. I look at the clock. I have never slept this late. It is already 9:00. My “friends” are coming at 9:30. I have half an hour. Wait! I only have ten minutes, I realize as I look at my clock. I jump out of bed. My snowflake pajama pants trail by my feet. I slump over to my dresser. I don’t care about what I want to wear, so I slip into some jeans and a button down, red and black, plaid shirt. I look in the mirror. My hair is in a messy bun since I had never taken it out yesterday. My light, blue eyes stare back at me. I smile. Bring, bring, bring!!! The doorbell rings from downstairs. I rush out the door. I quickly untie my hair and put the rubber band back on my wrist. I open the door. My mom stands next to me now. The first one to come is Grace. I give her a little wave. No response. This is not going well, I think to myself.

“Come in!” I tell her excitedly.

She walks in while rolling her eyes. I gulp. I don’t think this is going to go well, I think to myself.

“You can take off your shoes if you want,” I tell her.

“I don’t feel like getting my feet dirty right now,” she tells me.

A butterfly enters my stomach. We walk into the living room. Dumpling sniffs around her legs.

“Uh, a dog. Do you really like dogs?” she asks me in a sassy voice.

I don’t know what to answer. What should I say? I think to myself. Finally, something saves me. The doorbell rings. I walk over to the door. The first thing I see is her hair. It’s all puffy and red. She’s dressed the opposite of Grace. Her pants are ripped, with holes spread throughout them. Her shirt is a red and white, striped shirt. She smiles at me. I wave back at her. She walks into the kitchen. Kicking off her shoes, they hit a chair.

“Sorry,” she quickly tells me.

I take a deep breath. This won’t go that bad. I hope. I also believe it, though. Amber walks into the living room. She ignores Dumpling sniffing around her feet.

“Amber!” Grace says while at the same time Amber says, “Grace!”

She goes to sit down on the opposite side of the room. I can hear Grace snarling. Why does this playdate keep changing? From bad to good and now back to bad again. The doorbell rings. That means this is the last person on this playdate. Ava. She’s dressed the same as Grace. She has a jean jacket on, a sparkly shirt under that, and her pants are jeans with a flower design going down the side of them. She’s wearing high heels. They are shiny and bright red. This time, I don’t ask if she wants to take them off.

“These people are so lame,” I hear Grace whisper to Ava.

“I know right. My mom made me come here. I didn’t want to go though,” Ava responds.

“We are not lame!” Amber says angrily. Her face turns red.

 

Chapter 3

Amber

I feel like bursting up in flames and throwing fire at Ava and Grace.

“This playdate isn’t even fun. At least not like the ones I go to,” Grace says.

“Well, what do you do then?” I ask her angrily.

“Well, uh. We…” she thinks for a moment. I am about to smile because I won this talk, but she quickly blurts out, “Truth or dare!” Grace smiles. “Want to play with us?”

“Yes. Ocean and I can be on a team and you and Ava can be on one.” I wanted to win this game. I needed to win this. “You can go first,” I tell them. “Try not to make it too easy.”

They whisper amongst themselves. “Okay, we got something,” they say.

I look at Ocean, and she gives me a little smile of worry.

“You have to go to the old warehouse.”

There are rumors about this place… that somebody went in there and never came out, that it is haunted, or something crazy like that.

 

We walk outside. We had lied to Ocean’s mother that we were just going to the park.

“I still don’t think we should do this,” I hear Ocean mumble.

I ignore her. I need victory between me, Ava, and Grace.

Finally, it’s in front of us. The old warehouse. It is covered in dust and has cracks in some spots of it. They wave their hands in the way of the warehouse. I walk over. There is nothing in the warehouse. Some furniture once in a while.

Ocean whispers to me, “Do you think we can go back now?”

“No!” I tell her a little loudly. “We have to make it to the end. Than we can go back.”

She nods. I want to tell her to toughen up, but I’m not that mean, so I keep quiet. We keep walking. I start to get bored. Then I don’t know what is happening, but it seems like around me is turning blue and the ground is turning green. Ocean also looks confused, but I don’t pay attention. We both keep walking. As we go farther along, we leave the warehouse behind and the world is different. In the distance, there are buildings. Red, blue, green, and I don’t know if I’m hallucinating, but I see houses in the sky. Where are we? I ask myself.

People are in front of me. They have armor all over their body. It reminds me of one you would see in a castle. On their armor, on their helmet, and chest there is a circle split into four parts. In each part a different color: red, blue, green, and white. Above that, it says, “The City of Four Elements.”

 

Chapter 4

Ocean

I’m excited now. What is this new place? I walk up to one of the guards.

“Show us your identity,” he tells me, pushing me through a thing that looks like a doorframe.

I feel power surge through me the second I get under the frame. My hands start getting cold, and I am surprised when I see a bolt of water spray to a part of the floor in front of me. The guard nods at me. I walk ahead. That surge of power is still with me. I look at Amber to see what will happen to her. I can see her face and see that she wants some of my power. Then out of nowhere, just to my right, a bolt of fire explodes from her hand. I jump back. Now I am surprised. What is happening to us? Do Grace and Ava also have powers, or is it just us? I now have so many questions bubbling up inside me. Amber’s looking at her hand. For some reason, I am not surprised they’re not burned or something. She’s pushing her hand in front of her like she wants more fire to come out of it. I stare at my hand, too. I push it in front of me. A bubble of water forms in my hand. I want to throw it. And I do. It shoots like lightning in front of me. It lands not too far from me. I smile in amazement. Amber’s face starts getting red. I gulp. Now I am even more scared of her. Now I think that this power is too much for her. I love what I can do, though. I go a little bit aways from the entrance to explore what I just learned about myself.

After I have been exploring a bit, I realize if I focus enough, I can make icicles come out of my hand instead of water. Amber comes up to me. Her face is not as red now, but replaced by that, is a big smile.

“This is so — ” I know she’s going to say something like awesome, but instead I hear something I never thought I would hear from her before. “This is so annoying!”

I never thought she would give up like this. I thought she would be the one to never give up until she reached her expectation but not now. Now she is the one to give up. I am passing a water ball from one hand to the other, while I listen to Amber’s speech of how she wants to be able to make fire appear from her hands any time she wants like I can.

 

Chapter 5

Amber

I am now aggravated that I can’t control my powers, but the second we get to the city, people crowd around us, and the guards that we saw at the entrance are pushing us forward towards a tall building. On it, there is a poster that says, “The Element Tower.” We get pushed into the building and up stairs to the tallest room in the building. I try to fight against the guards, but they are stronger than I expect. We sit down into chairs. I am about to jump up and run, but the chairs are too comfy, and I want to stay for as long as possible. A man walks into the room and sits down across from us. He is dressed in a suit, and his hair is slicked back. On his shirt, it has the same symbol as before and under it, it says, “Name: President James.” His face looks strict and serious. I sit taller, wanting to look stronger.

“We have been waiting for you. Our land is falling apart by the second, and they are coming,” the man says.

Now, I don’t feel strong anymore, and I don’t feel brave anymore, and for the first time in my life, I feel scared.

“You will be leaving in,” he looks at his watch, “around 10 minutes.”

“We don’t know how to use our powers, though.” I mumble, but before he can answer, we get pulled away, again, by guards.

They hand us each a backpack and push us outside into the streets of the city. I look to one side of it. It is blue, and all the houses are floating on water. I turn to one more side. It is red, and the houses are made out of fire. That’s the part that interests me. I walk over to it.

I ask the first person I see, “Do you know a family with the last name, Flame?”

“They died in the collapse two years ago. Don’t you remember?”

I don’t know why, but I start getting emotional. My parents are dead. This world is not where I want to be. I run to where the guards left us. I sit down and wish I could have seen my parents. I wonder, at the same time, what the collapse was.

 

Chapter 6

Ocean

I walk over to a land with houses that are floating on water. The houses are collapsing a little. It seems like this land is falling apart. Amber is still in the same spot she was when we got pushed outside. A couple guards follow a few feet behind me. I look around. But two people catch my eyes. The lady looks strong. Her eyes are my blue, and her smile is beautiful. The man looks brave, and his hair is the same color as mine. He looks into my eyes, and I look into his deep, brown eyes.

“Ocean?” they say.

That’s when I know they are my parents. Without thinking about it, I run to them. Water spraying behind me, I’m slipping on the clear sea, and then I feel their arms grasp around me. We stay there for a couple minutes. And then the guards take me away from them. Suddenly I feel the urge to save this world and come back to my family when I’m done. He brings me to the edge of the city. Amber comes a couple minutes after I get there. Her eyes are red, and a tear falls onto the the ground. The guards push us past the edge of the city. Now, darkness surrounds me. But it starts to turn into water, and now I’m in the ocean. In the distance, I see a cave. I can tell that’s where they want us to go, but to get what? I start to walk towards the cave. I don’t know why I feel like I should walk towards a spooky, dark cave, but I know I should do it to help The Land of Four Elements.

After I take a couple more steps, I realize I’m underwater. Why have I not drowned or stopped being able to breathe? That’s when I remember my powers. Wait, Amber! I think. I look across from me. Amber is looking ahead of us, right at the cave. But suddenly, a wave of what seems like nervousness hits her. I look where she is looking. Then it hits me, too. A giant monster is standing in front of us. Two, actually. In their hands are spears with a tip of crystal.

“You take this one,” Amber says, pointing to the one in front of me, “and I’ll take the other.”

I nod in agreement.

 

Chapter 7

Amber

The second I see the monsters, I know that we will fight them. Ocean is next to me, and I wonder how she feels walking on lava. I am fine with it because I have the powers of fire. But her, she has the opposite. The monsters look part-lizard, part-bird. Their eyes are red and filled with anger. Their wings are glinted with silver. Their bodies are silver and blue. I let fire light in my hand. Flames glitter before my eyes, red, yellow, and orange, but mostly blue. For a little test, I throw it at the ground, to show my opponent’s what I can do. Lightning shoots down in front of me, making the lava in front of me sizzle. The monsters’ hands are raised to the sky. They’re ready to fight, too. Ocean’s passing a water ball from one hand to the other.

One moment, we’re standing there, and the next, we’re fighting monsters. Water and fire shoot in every direction. Glints of crystal pass in front me. I have scrapes and bruises all along my body. Then, I don’t think I can take it any longer, so with one last blast of blue fire, the monster explodes.

Not explodes. More like disappears in a wisp of silver smoke. I see Ocean getting ready for her last hit, too. I am about to help her, when a blast of water shoots right at the monster. He whisps away into purple smoke too. I imagine telling my mom, “Mom, I killed my first monster!” We continue walking towards the cave once more, ready to save a world.

 

Chapter 8

Ocean

I just killed something, I say to myself, surprised.

Amber’s ahead of me, walking towards the cave. I run up to her.

“That was intense, wasn’t it,” I tell her.

“That was cool,” she says back. “Not scary.”

We walk into the cave. It is pitch black. But I see a light in front of me. It’s bright, or at least brighter than darkness. We both walk forwards, slowly. It is in a case without a top. The bright light is coming from a gem. It’s blue and has silver specks throughout it. Amber takes the gem out of the box. The gem illuminates her hands.

“Let’s take it back to the city,” I tell her.

We walk up the stairs to the office of President James.

“You found it!” he says to us, taking the stone from Amber.

He walks to the back of the room and opens a closet. He takes out a staff and places the stone on the top. A wave of light expands throughout the city bringing it together once more.

Once again, I’m back with my parents in their arms. We have the opportunity to go back to our real life, but I am staying here, and Amber is going home. They say they would erase all memories from everybody in my life. Amber says she would rather go back. Our lives will be happier now.

 

My Demon Friend

Dear my dearest diary,

 

Today I had a very weird day. Here’s the story of what happened yesterday.

 

I was walking with my friend Julian, and I was going to sleep. He likes to pretend that he’s a fortune teller. He’s also my best friend. When I woke up, I was going to say “hi” to Julian, but then I chose to brush my teeth instead. I was thinking about Julian’s prediction: “I am going to turn into a demon, and it’s going to be for one day.” I’d bet him, and I told him that. But then, when I was going to wake him up, I saw a demon instead of my best friend.

Julian?! What has happened to you?!”

Then I saw it all. A demon. I hit him with my dad’s baseball bat when I got a chance. Turns out he always followed me around.

I hit him with the bat at least thirty-four times until he got the confidence to say, “I AM JULIAN, SO STOP HITTING ME WITH THE BAT, OKAY JONAH?!”

Then, I stopped. It did sound like Julian. I trusted he was Julian. But then I remembered, school!! He’s going to fail if he goes to school! He’s going to make the kids pee in their pants just by looking at him with his ruby-colored eyes. I told him to get dressed. But his shirt wasn’t his size. His horn was too thick too to even go in the hole for his head! His armpit hair was too long to stick out. Since I got the responsibility of him, I was the one who had to cut his armpit hair. When I tried to cut his armpit hair, it was as hard as stone. I guess I had to have a hammer and a nail to sculpt his armpit hair into George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. But I still had to cut the hair.

“JOONAHHHH! Your brother’s coming down to go see you!”

Dun… Dun… Duuuuuuun.

“WE ARE GOING TO GET KILLED!!!” screamed Julian.

“No we are not,” I whispered, but I knew that he wasn’t listening.

“Nicholas…” Julian murmured.

I turned around slowly. My brother, Nicholas, was standing right in the middle of the staircase.

“WAY COOL!!!” my brother screamed.

I told him that this was just his dream. I carried my brother away from Julian and locked him in his room. I didn’t care if I got in trouble, but all I had to do was hide Julian until I found something that would cure him. Growl. Growl. Growl. It came from downstairs. Julian was hungry? He ate half of the soup that my mom made, and that’s when he made his — oh my goodness. His prediction was right. I had to pay him $13?! But I had a bigger problem. He’s going to eat my soul!!! But then I heard it.

“I want blood!!”

Huh??? Then I gave him some of the blood that came out of me when my brother bit me when I took him out of my room. Julian slurped it in one second. I at least got his armpit hair nicer. Even though now it looked like Alexander Hamilton and the Statue of Liberty. I didn’t really like George Washington in the first place. I got him dressed, and now I thought the demon thing was wearing off! Well now his armpit hair looked weird. Nicholas came out of his room and left a note.

 

Dear Jonah,

I’ll help you cover Julian until tomorrow. I heard Julian’s prediction, and he also added that the demon thing is going to wear off by tomorrow. That’s why.

Love your worst brother,

Nicholas.

(P.S. Give me $20 in return.)

 

I hate my brother because it’s always a trade with him. Julian read the note and said it was quite nice. He said that he pretended to get sick and stay at home, and since Nicholas and Julian are the exact same size, and they have the exact same hairstyle, Julian could be Nicholas, and Nicholas could be Julian. It was a terrific plan! So I had to get used to calling Nicholas, Julian and make sure I told Nicholas Julian’s schedule.

“So first, Julian has band, and he plays the guitar…” I started speaking.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Julian plays the guitar? You know that I’m horrible at the guitar. Just one strum, and I sound like a cow. Moo! Moo!” Nicholas started whining.

“Do you want to help Julian or not?” I started saying.

I continued to say Julian’s schedule. It took a while, but I finished. When we got to school, we got in the homeroom. We were in the same class then. After a while, we finished school. We walked home together, and we got dressed again. We went to Nicholas’s room, and we saw Julian! The non-devil Julian!

“I missed you!!” I started stuffing my face into Julian’s stomach.

For some reason, Julian’s always the calm one in the house or out.

“Well the happy time’s over. Give me the you-know-what-now.”

He always gets his things.

But then, Julian pulled me and told me this, “Here.”

And I saw $20 in his hand. He wasn’t thinking of giving me his money. Hehe. Did he? But he was! He gave the money to me, and I handed it to Julian. He put it in his collection, and he looked at me.

“You! Why did you steal my $20 bill? You’ll be very, very sorry.”

And I noticed he wasn’t talking to me. He was talking to Julian! That’s the $20 bill that he gave me! He’s always sneaky. The rest was a little inappropriate, so I won’t tell you. See you soon, diary!

 

Love your owner,

Jonah

 

(P.S. I don’t want to run into any of those demon predictions again!)

(P.P.S. I am sooo impressed that he would notice such a thing!)

 

I closed my diary and looked out the window. It’s always so calming to do that.

“Jonah! Your dinner’s ready!”

And that’s when the moment disappeared.

“COMING!!!” I shouted.

Then I looked out the window again, and I started my way down the stairs. Then I enjoyed my dinner. I went to sleep until something grabbed my foot. I looked down.

“I can’t get up,” my grandpa said in a croaky voice.

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!” I screamed.

Then when I turned my head back to my grandpa from my brother. Grandpa was sleeping.

I slapped my head. “Are you kidding me?”

And now, this is the time I sleep. Good night to the people who are reading this at this very moment. Hope Julian’s prediction isn’t right this time! It’s that we will grow a tail.

 

The next day…

AHH!!!

To be continued…

 

The Story of the Unfortunate

Once upon a time, there lived a hobbit named Harold Bipins. He was twelve years old and was 2 feet, 4 inches. His dad’s name was Gale Bipins, and he was 4 feet, 3 inches, and his mom’s name was Marisa Bipins, and she was 3 feet, 6 inches. They lived in a hut with four rooms: one bedroom, one kitchen, one bathroom, and one living room. The family was surrounded by a thick, gloomy forest. When it was Harold’s thirteenth birthday, and he was 3 feet, 1 inch, he decided that he was going to get a bike because he really wanted one. So he told his parents that he was setting out on a journey to get a bike. So he packed some cheese and some bread and set off on the journey to get a bike.

First, he went to the village on the mountain top and went to the bank for a loan.

Then, the bank said, “Under one circumstance. You must complete an obstacle course.”

So without a choice, Harold answered, “Fine.”

So the obstacle course started. The first obstacle was an obstacle called the jumper. In the jumper, you had to jump over three things, a roaring fire that is 3 feet high and then a chainsaw that is 3 feet wide and 4 feet high, but for that you get to use a trampoline. Finally, you had to jump over a 200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 foot high elephant. But luckily, the banker made a mistake and got a super trampoline that you could jump up to 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 feet high, so Harold got past all his obstacles in a flash. Did I mention he is pretty athletic? The next obstacle was called the dragon. This obstacle has a humongous lake full of salmon, so if you fall down, you get sucked into a whirlpool with a bunch of salmons into the underworld. So Harold jumped with all his might and made it across. Then the banker gave Harold a million dollars. Then Harold continued on a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long journey.

Next, he went to a bicycle shop that ran out of bicycles. This surprised Harold so much he fainted for ten hours!

When Harold woke up, he screamed, “Where am I?!”

Then he ran out of the bicycle shop, not knowing that the bicycles were delivered a few seconds ago. (Well too bad for him because he missed his first chance of getting a bicycle.) Well let’s get on with the rest of the story. When Harold left the bike store, he just realized he lost a chance to buy a bike and that the person at the bike store had stole all his money. Well I guess Harold was one of the most unlucky hobbits in the whole universe.

Harold had been guessing that the banker was going to going to come after him, so he went into hiding. He knew that the banker was going to put up flyers to get Harold. So poor Harold had to stay in a small hole feeding on earthworms. (That is disgusting.) Almost a year later, Harold got out of his hole. Then he realized that he was still wanted, so he got back into the hole and stayed there for twenty more years!

P.S. The only reason why he knew he was wanted was because there was a wanted poster right next to him.

He cried and cried until he filled up the hole, so he had to find a hole again.

He found the hole and said, “Yes, I found the hole.”

He lived there, and then he said, “I am done hiding. I’d rather get caught and escape from jail.” So he went to the outside world and said, “Bring me to jail.”

So he was sent to a high security prison in the middle of the desert.

“What have I done?” moaned Harold, as he slumped down onto the chair.

Then he realized what he most wanted was to get out of jail. Then he realized it was his birthday.

He asked the jail guard if he could get a birthday present, and the jail guard said, “Yes.”

Then the jail guard asked what it was, and Harold said, “Bike.”

He missed a chance to escape jail. (He could have said “my present is to get out of jail.”) He started riding the bike up and down and side to side and did a flip. Then, he started to think of a plan to escape the jail.

To be continued…

 

The Wand

Hi, I am Zax, and I am an enormous, brown, furry teddy bear with one eyeball. Why am I a teddy bear with one eyeball? Well, I’m going to tell you now.

Twenty years ago, my friends, Thomas, James, Jane, and I started going on an adventure to get the Enchanted Wand. We traveled the world together. We explored the deepest depths and the highest heights. We experienced the deadliest deaths and a midlife crisis. It was amazing, well, until they fell asleep in a dragon’s mouth. Yikes! But, before they died, we made a promise that no matter what happened to one another, we would continue to get the Enchanted Wand, so I continued to make my way to the wand. So there I was on a quest to find the Enchanted Wand. The last place I looked in the world (don’t be surprised) was an abandoned castle, and in the last room I looked in, the throne room, I saw that there was a button on the Queen’s throne. As I touched it, a wall started turning. Wow, I thought, I just could not believe that the Queen had this much power. As I looked around, I saw a room with piles and piles of gold. And there it was, in a glass container, the most beautiful thing I ever saw in my life, the Enchanted Wand. (It was even shinier than the pictures in the books of the wand.) I started slowly tiptoeing towards it, but then I remember thinking no one was here because it was an abandoned castle. So instead of tiptoeing, I started walking towards it. Unfortunately, my steps were too loud for this quiet castle, then one of the giant chandeliers broke and almost fell on the wand. As the pieces shattered everywhere, I hid behind a giant shield. When everything stopped moving, a man came out of the dust, and he started scanning the room. As I came closer, he took out a magnet gun. Weyyooooooooo, the magnet gun roared. I had no idea what he was going to do, so I started thinking. I was thinking of all of the metal things or magnetized things on my body, thinking, Sword on my back, my belt, and my helmet. At the last second, when he pulled the trigger, I figured out what he was going to do. He was going to rip my head off. At least I got the wand, and fortunately, the doctors could use the wand to take my soul and put it into an enormous teddy bear with one eyeball. And that’s how I became this pretty terrifying creature.

 

Dreams

 

What are dreams?

Are they signals?

Are they foretellings of the future?

 

Do dreams have a meaning or purpose?

Do they do anything for you

or do they just exist?

 

Are they a world that you can enter where all your troubles

are erased?

Are they glimpses of another life where you can be anyone,

and anything is possible?

 

Who comes up with the wonderful stories of dreams?

Of the creatures and castles and magic?

Of all the strange and wonderful horrors and delights?

Is it we or someone more powerful?

 

When you have a nightmare,

Is it a lesson that someone wants you to learn?

Do dreams even have a purpose?

Are they of one mind, of one idea?

 

Is it a way to forget about your troubles that

You find so many of?

Do many people have the same dreams?

Are dreams ways that we comfort ourselves when we are troubled?

 

Can dreams have limits?

Or can anything happen?

Is what happens in dreams limited to only what we can understand?

Though, I think that when you dream, there are no boundaries.

 

Color Wars: The Beginning

Once, there was a land named Color World.

There was:

  1. A leader
  2. A blacksmith
  3. A treasurer
  4. A designer
  5. An enchanter
  6. A gardener

 

And much more!

 

Blue, the leader, wanted Color World to be safe from the Ghoul Eraser.

The Ghoul Eraser is a giant, black eraser that can wipe colors off the face of Color World.

There is only one color who knows the weakness of the great Ghoul Eraser… White.

Long ago, White set off to destroy the Ghoul Eraser.

He used the biggest sword ever, but the sword was too dull.

White failed, but… White found out the weakness of the Ghoul Eraser.

White heard him say it in his dreams.

He was sneaking into the eraser’s lair to make a sneak attack, but the eraser was taking a nap.

 

Blue: The leader

Red: The blacksmith

Yellow: The treasurer

Orange: The designer

Purple: The enchanter

and Green: The gardener.

Together, they set off to White’s hut, even though he lived on the other side of Color World.

 

“Well,” said Blue. “All of our supplies are packed and ready. Purple! Gray!”

Gray, the engineer, who was eating his snack (a sandwich with his favorite drink, gray dye), and Purple, who was meditating, both came to the garage.

“Yes, Blue?” said Gray and Purple.

“Gray, can you build a seven-seat car?” asked Blue.

“Make that eight-seat,” said Gray.

“Why?” asked Blue.

“I can lead you to White. I’m… I’m his brother,” said Gray.

“WHAT?!” said Blue.

 

{1}

“I was one year old. I had just memorized White when he left. It was so sad for me. I cried for a whole year,” said Gray.

“So, you know the Ghoul Eraser’s weakness?” asked Blue.

“No, frankly,” said Gray.

“Aw. It would have saved us a huge amount of ti — ” said Blue.

“I know. I know,” said Gray.

“… ” said Blue.

“The car?” said Gray.

“I almost forgot! You can start. Purple, help him get the pieces, and enchant the car after it’s finished,” said Blue.

 

“Done!” said Purple and Gray.

“Okay,” said Blue. “Color Clan!” Color Clan! echoed Blue’s voice.

Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green came into the garage.

“Ready?” asked Blue.

“Yes!” said Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Purple, and Gray.

And so, they started the journey of their lifetime.

 

“Oh no!” said Orange. “It’s the Gorge of Doom!”

“We can build a bridge,” said Blue.

“But how will we get the pieces to the other side?” asked Orange.

“… ” said Blue.

“I know!” said Red. “Purple can use his flying spell!”

And so, they built a bridge and continued their journey.

 

“A sign!” said Green.

The person who knows the missing quote will help you move ahead. Find Note and have him help you or you’ll lose a head. -Discord,” read Blue.

“Note? Discord? They’re my cousins!” said Gray.

So, Gray led them to Note’s house. Note uses vibrations to speak, and he changes color with his emotions. Gray figured out what Note was saying, and Note joined the crew.

“{({|})},” said Note. Welcome.

Note has his own car, so all was good. And so, they moved on.

 

“A bridge!” said Blue.

“Note, can you use your vibrations to see if the bridge is stable?” asked Gray.

“{|},” said Note. Yes. Note did his job. “[|] {|||} () {{|}},” said Note. The bridge is stable.

They crossed the bridge, and so, they continued their journey.

 

“Hot-hot-hot-hot!!” said Red. “A-hot-lava-hot-pit-hot!”

“Ouch,” said Blue. “That looks like it hurts. Purple! Can you freeze the pit?”

“Yes,” said Purple.

Purple froze the pit and so, they continued.

 

{2}

“I see the hut!!” said Green.

Yes! thought Blue. We made it! But… maybe… we should turn back. I mean, someone… could get hurt. Maybe even… He gulped. … Die. Blue’s face twisted into a face of doubt. No. We have to move on. Even if we die, we will die an honorable death. We can’t turn back. Not now. Blue regained his confidence.

And so, they continued.

 

“We made it!” said Purple.

“Let’s go in!” said Blue.

 

White couldn’t talk. He was too weak. White gave the weapon and died. Then they set off for the Ghoul Eraser.

 

“We made it,” said Blue.

“ROOOOAAAAAR!!!” roared the Ghoul Eraser.

“Color Clan! Distract him!” shouted Blue.

Purple froze the Ghoul Eraser, and Blue shot him. The Ghoul Eraser was destroyed.

 

The Color Clan came back, and there was tons of celebrating. Right after, there was a funeral for White. But, far away, a loud noise was heard. “ROOOOOOAAAAAAAR!!”

 

The End (for now… )

 

Elijah Fingerman is eight and a half. He lives in New York, NY.

His hobbies are playing with his baby sister, playing video games, reading, playing with his legos, and watching TV. “Color Wars: The Beginning” is the first book in the Color Wars trilogy.

 

Comments:

 

“I love the content. Very inventive. Reminds me of a story I read in Russian when I was little — Lev Kassi, ‘My dear boys’ (‘Dorogie moi malchishki’).”

-Eugenia Fingerman

 

“I think it’s very cool.”

-Alexander Fingerman

 

“Wonderful, imaginative story. I love the obstacles they come up against.”

-Matthew

 

More Books Like This:

 

Color Wars: The Ghouls Strike Back

Color Wars: The Elements Awaken

 

Arresting Criminals

I am a policewoman in New York City. My job is to protect the people of NYC.

Today, I was on patrol outside of the richest bank in Manhattan. That’s when I saw the weirdest man I’d ever seen. He had a suit, jeans, and a top hat on. But that wasn’t the weirdest part. The weirdest part was that he was singing a song that only one person in the USA knew…

He was the criminal that was wanted in fifteen states, Jerry Wooder. I stood at my post knowing that he wanted to rob the bank, and I reached for my walkie talkie, but before I could grab it, Jerry Wooder took out his gun and pointed it at me.

I quickly took out my gun and walkie talkie and called for backup. “This is Officer Lane. I need backup at 43rd Green Street. I have Jerry Wooder.”

I was able to hold him off until backup came, by making him drop his gun and holding him in place. My partner arrived just as I ran out of strength. My partner got him in handcuffs and drove to the police station. We were heroes (well, mostly me), and that is how I ended up arresting a criminal wanted in fifteen states.

 

The next day…

I arrested a criminal wanted in fifteen states. I became famous. I bought a house near the beach, where I would be patrolling.

Right now, I am running across the beach, trying to catch another criminal. This time, he’s wanted in every state in the USA. Even though I am rich and famous, I am still a police officer, so I am wearing my uniform. The only different thing about my appearance is my hair. I straightened my curly, blond hair.

I am trying to make a plan in my head to catch this criminal. I see him now, getting into his car. I’m going after him. Got him! Calling my partner… going to the police station… and he’s in jail! Just another day for a busy police officer like me.

Some things about me are:

– I love to swim

– I love kittens

– My favorite color is yellow

– My best friend is the mayor of NYC

I’ve got to stop recording this. Mom and Dad are coming to stay tomorrow, and everything needs to be perfect. One more thing about my family, we are part dragon…

Read more about this in Arresting Criminals 2!

 

SOMETHING

(An amazing story written by Mbene with a lot of help from Abby Coleman, Danielle Sheeler, Sara Bernstein, and last but not least, all the people in my workshop. Thanks so much!)

 

Introduction

Hi, my name is Stephanie Jessica Anderson, and I am twelve. I live in California with my mom and little brother. My mom’s name is Jessica, and my little bro’s name is Luke, and if you are asking, I have a dad, but he died a long time ago. And I was being nosey, and I am embracing it out there so you don’t think I am lying. I think I heard the door shut. Maybe it was my mom. Wait, hold on.

 

Chapter One: Taken by Surprise

Hi, I am back. My mom just left. I looked all around the house, and I was alone. My little bro went to sleep at his friend’s house, so it was just me. I was going to get a snack.

There I was, standing in front of a guy. He picked me up, and then he put me in his or someone’s car, but I didn’t get to see the license plate. I looked around. I saw so many stolen things, or so I thought. But no people. I guess that there was no one home, but of course I was. Then I started to wonder where my mom was, but I had no idea because I thought today was her day off. I guess not? Then we started to move. I was so scared. Where was I going? What was he going to do to me? Will I ever see my family again? All of these things were all jumbled in my head. I did not feel so good. Then the car stopped. He opened the door. That was all I remember.

I woke up in this weird place, and I must have passed out from nausea. I didn’t know what to do or where I was, but I just knew that he was not in the room. I think I heard his footsteps. I didn’t know what to do. I just tried to get under the bed, but I was chained. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. I was so scared. Then for some reason he gave me the key to unlock me. I did not know what was going to happen, but I just listened to him because I was not trying to make anything worse. Then the weirdest thing happened. He brought me to a really cool room and it had, like, all these swords and things. Then he made me sit down. Then we talked for a little, and then I couldn’t believe I… I… I… I was sitting in front of my… my… my dad.

 

Chapter Two: The Surprise

I could not believe it. He could not be my dad, could he? No, didn’t my dad die? At least that’s what my mom told me. Then he said my name just the way my dad used to, and we hugged. Next thing I knew, we were going to my house. Then the door opened, and my mom screamed.

 

Chapter Three: The Big News

“Stephanie!”

“Mom!”

“Jessica!”

“Mark!”

After that, my mom said, “Sweetie, before we have this talk, I think I should get Luke. This is too important.”

All of us in one car was so weird. When we picked up my little bro, he asked who the man in the car was, and Mom said we would talk about it went we got home.

We were all in the living room, sitting on the chairs, and I heard my dad mumble, “I remember this place.”

Then Mom started to talk. We all looked around in silence. And as usual, I broke it.

First, I asked Mom, “Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

She said, “What is happening? How did you find him? I didn’t really know how to explain it or tell you before that things were so hard. You were so young.”

I thought in my head that I couldn’t tell her. I didn’t want to get my dad in trouble.

Then Mom said, “Kids, go to sleep. Your dad and I have some things to talk about.”

I said, “Mom? If something goes on, please just wake me up, okay?”

Then Mom said, “Okay sweetie, I will.”

I said, “Good night, Mom.”

But after she looked at me, I knew she thought that I was going to spy on her, but this time I just did not want to. I just didn’t know what would happen or what to do, and then as I got up to leave, I fell. The last thing I remember was my mom screaming.

 

Chapter Four: Hospital

I did not know what was happening when I awoke, but all I heard was Mom and Dad yelling. And if you wanted to know, yes, it did feel different saying “dad” in a sentence. I looked around, and I was in the hospital, and then my mom said, “Shh, honey are you okay?”

I said, “I’m fine, but where is Luke?”

Then Dad said, “He went to his friend’s house because he did not want to see you hurt, so he said he didn’t want to see you. Sorry.”

I said, “Why am I here again?”

Then my parents looked at each other, and then the doctor came in and said, “Can I talk to you?” and she pointed to my mom. They stepped out for a little, and when they came back, my doctor told me that I have… have…

 

Chapter Five: The Stay

… have cancer.

 

Chapter Six: The Wonder

I just came out of the hospital. We took Dad’s car, and my mom told me that Dad was moving in with us.

“It’s been two years, so I’m finally happy Dad’s moving in.”

That night I was reading, and then I just felt the urge to fall asleep and never wake up again. I went to bed. I fell asleep like I had planned and never woke up. In my dreams, I saw my brother getting married and my mom and dad living together happily, and I knew that I would never get to see it. But I just knew it would happen. Like I said before, my name is Stephanie Jessica Anderson, and I am twelve. I live in California with my mom and dad and little bro. This is the story of how I die happily.

 

The Pebble

   

I don’t know what to think

I don’t know if I should cringe

I don’t know if I should cry

I don’t know if I should be afraid.

I don’t know.

I don’t know

who

what

where

and why.

All I know is that it happened

and it left people

devastated.

And that’s that.

Death is like a pebble dropping in a lake.

It’s a small pebble, but it leaves multiple ripples in the water.

Death spreads like ripples in a lake.

One single death can cause so many people to cringe

so many people to cry

so many people to be afraid.

One death can spread like a wildfire.

A wildfire

of tears.

I don’t know whether to laugh

to wonder

to talk

to worry

to be confused

to

feel.

I just know two people died

and

that’s that.

But the thing about death

is that just like a pebble

it causes ripples in a lake

but eventually the ripples will subside

and the pebble

will sink to the bottom

of the

water and

bury itself beneath the sand and

leaves.

 

The 100 Awesome Rules of How Not to Be Stupid

     

THESE ARE THE 100 AWESOME RULES OF HOW NOT TO BE STUPID

 

  1. Don’t die on purpose!

 

  1. Don’t throw knives!

 

  1. Don’t juggle more than zero knives!

 

  1. Don’t look into a hose if the water suddenly turns off!

 

  1. Don’t throw around money!

 

  1. Don’t hug a famous guy or girl if they have bodyguards!

 

  1. Don’t bleed!

 

  1. Don’t peel off your scabs!

 

  1. Don’t play tag on a bridge!

 

  1. Don’t pass a ball to a stranger who is not looking at you!

 

  1. Don’t punch someone for no reason!

 

  1. Don’t punch someone that you have never seen before and have never talked to!

 

  1. Don’t tell a kidnapper that has kidnapped you that you’re gonna run away if you can!

 

  1. Don’t kick a TV!

 

  1. Don’t kick an iPad!

 

  1. Don’t kick a computer!

 

  1. Don’t punch a TV!

 

  1. Don’t punch an iPad!

 

  1. Don’t punch a computer!

 

  1. Don’t kick a cat!

 

  1. Don’t rob a bank if you already have a lot of money!

 

  1. Don’t rob a bank at all!

 

  1. Don’t think you will get good grades without studying!

 

  1. Don’t walk into the president’s bathroom!

 

  1. Don’t use the president’s bathroom!

 

  1. Don’t call this book stupid.

 

  1. Don’t call the awesome guy who wrote this book stupid!

 

  1. Don’t drink all the liquids at someone’s house if you’re visiting!

 

  1. Don’t eat all the food at someone’s house if you’re visiting!

 

  1. Don’t sell a car that has three wheels!

 

  1. Don’t sell a car that has two wheels!

 

  1. Don’t sell a car that has one wheel!

 

  1. Don’t sell a car that has zero wheels!

 

  1. Don’t drive a car under age!

 

  1. Don’t drive a car that has zero wheels!

 

  1. Don’t drive a car that has one wheel!

 

  1. Don’t drive a car that has two wheels!

 

  1. Don’t drive a car that has three wheels!

 

  1. Don’t trick or treat when it’s not Halloween!

 

  1. Don’t shake your booty in public!

 

  1. Don’t give away your money!

 

  1. Don’t change your name to “Butt.”

 

  1. Don’t change your name to “Fart!”

 

  1. Don’t change your name to “Stupid Guy!”

 

  1. Don’t take off your clothes in public!

 

  1. Don’t change your name to “Better-than-you” just so that when you introduce yourself, you can say “Hi, I’m ‘Better-than-you’”!

 

  1. Don’t name your kid “Butt!”

 

  1. Don’t name your kid “Fart!”

 

  1. Don’t name your kid “Stupid Guy!”

 

  1. Don’t be stupid!

 

  1. Never say, “I’m a potato, a Kawaii Potato!”

 

  1. Don’t say everything backwards on Backwards Day!

 

  1. Don’t poop on the side of the toilet!

 

  1. Don’t poop on the floor!

 

  1. Don’t eat stuff you find inside a toilet!

 

  1. Don’t eat stuff you find on the side of a toilet!

 

  1. Don’t eat stuff you find in a bathroom!

 

  1. Don’t step on a snake!

 

  1. Don’t feed your finger to a bunny!

 

  1. Don’t feed your finger to a squirrel!

 

  1. Don’t throw a pencil!

 

  1. Don’t look up at birds when they are making turds!

 

  1. Don’t juggle more than zero sticks of dynamite!

 

  1. Don’t throw dynamite at your pets!

 

  1. Don’t vote for You-Know-Who!

 

  1. Don’t throw sharp stuff at strangers!

 

  1. Don’t throw stuff at strangers!

 

  1. Don’t throw sharp stuff at people for no reason!

 

  1. Don’t jump out of an airplane thinking you can walk on clouds!

 

  1. Don’t walk around in your underpants!

 

  1. Don’t throw underpants at people!

 

  1. Don’t throw toilet paper at people!

 

  1. Don’t break everything in sight!

 

  1. Don’t make promises you can’t keep!   

 

  1. Don’t jump into wet cement!

 

  1. Don’t jump into cement!

 

  1. Don’t jump out of the window!
  2. Don’t jump out of window onto a person!

 

  1. Don’t pick your nose while you’re making a sandwich!

 

  1. Don’t throw full diapers at people!

 

  1. Don’t throw diapers at people!

 

  1. Don’t lie to a cop!

 

  1. Don’t go to school sick!

 

  1. Don’t tell cheesy jokes!

 

  1. Don’t go to work sick!

 

  1. Don’t say the exact thing that someone just said to you if you’re trying to make a comeback!

 

  1. Don’t say this book only has 100 rules because 100 rules is a lot!

 

  1. Don’t keep a light on in a house when he don’t need it!

 

  1. Don’t not buy this book!

 

  1. Don’t throw scissors!

 

  1. Don’t run with scissors!

 

  1. Don’t not call this book awesome!

 

  1. Don’t not dare your friends to do some of these rules!

 

  1. Don’t say to a liar that his/her nose is growing like Pinocchio’s!

 

  1. Don’t break something on purpose if it’s expensive!

 

  1. Don’t pour water on someone when they’re sleeping!

 

  1. Don’t play a prank on someone if the prank will make that her/him really mad!

 

  1. Don’t be stupid!

 

  1. Don’t pull the trigger of a gun without looking at where you’re pointing the gun!

 

  1. Don’t go places screaming and making weird noises!!!

 

The Jungle Is in Danger, and We Should Help Save It

The jungle in the Central Region of Africa has many problems. One problem is that wood is being taken from the trees, and trees are vital to the world. We can stop these wood shortages and other horrible problems. It is important that we save the jungle because of the reasons on this essay and a few more. One reason that we should save the jungle is that there are many cool and interesting animals in Africa, and they are in danger. Another reason is that many natural resources come from the jungle. The final reason that we should stop destroying the jungle is that the jungle is a really interesting place to study and gives zoologists lots of things to study and grow smarter.

We should save the animals in the jungle because there are many interesting animals in the jungle, and they are losing their homes. Monkeys and elephants, for example — we probably all love those animals or at least do not want them to die — so if you help preserve the jungle, the monkeys and elephants will not die as fast. The next reason that we should save the jungle is that most of the cool items (leaves, berries, and animals) come from the jungle. Some of the cool animals that come from the jungle are every species of ape, which evolved into us humans, elephants, and many reptiles, and now we are taking their homes. This is only one reason that we should save the jungle. I personally like these animals because they are cute and friendly.

We should also save the jungle because the jungle holds a lot of knowledge for zoologists and other people who are just interested in the jungle. The jungle is one of the most interesting places in the world. The jungle is interesting because the animals are exotic and only can be found in the jungle, (or the specific breed lives in the jungle). Additionally, the trees are interesting because of the way they layer, and no other environment works that way. Additionally, if there is a problem in the jungle, then if the zoologists know enough about the jungle (by studying the safe and endangered jungle) then they can stop the problem. If we help preserve the jungle, then these scientists can have their fair share of knowledge, just like you need to have.

We should save the natural resources in the jungle because the jungle provides many different and potentially important natural resources. The first example of a natural resource is the carbon dioxide that the trees freshen into oxygen. Also, the natural fruits, vegetables, and other foods that people can make medicines with. These medicines can cure a viper bite, which could really save a life. The jungle provides many resources, and we can use them (just not the wood!). The fruits and vegetables or natural resources are not good to just take in order to exterminate the jungle.

The jungle is in real danger, and we have the power to save it. The first reason is that there are many animals in the jungle, and they are dying. Also, the jungle can give a lot of knowledge to zoologists. Finally, the jungle provides many different natural and vital resources to planet earth. If you live near or have the ability to, save the jungle (do not cut down trees or kill animals, but you should join an organization that donates to save the jungle). I do believe that saving the jungle can help the world, because we know that jungles are vital to our lives and our economy. My school is very much involved in this topic, so they can help with my plan. I for one believe that the jungle is extremely important, so that is why we should save the jungle. Saving the jungle is vital to the human race and the world.

 

The Life of a Totally Average Person

 

Chapter One

I am a totally average person. I was standing at a cleaning station, watching cars getting cleaned. It was raining outside.

“Hey kid! Whatcha doing out there?”

I jumped. I jumped again. I am very good at jumping. I turned my back and scurried out of the car whatchamacallit and onto the wet pavement.

I did not have an umbrella, but I didn’t mind getting wet. I am wet almost all the time.

 

Chapter Two

I gingerly removed my sopping, wet sweatshirt and then dumped it in one of those clear garbage bags people use for recycling, along with all of my other clothes. I looked in the mirror. My dark, straight hair was matted with rain water, and my pale, blue eye glared and my green eye twinkled. Freckles dotted my cheeks and smeared against my nose until they had formed one big birthmark. I also had a black mole right at the tip of my nose. It didn’t help that my dad called me “Mouse.”

“Honey, I’m home!”

That must have been my mom. I sighed and ran downstairs.

“Hi, Mom!” I screeched. I ran to give her a big hug.

“Hi, sweetie!” she said and hugged me back. “Why is your hair wet?” she asked me quizzically.

“Oh, I just took a shower.”

I didn’t want to tell her about the car wash because if she found out that I was spending my weekend time doing that, she would probably sign me up for something lame like swimming.

 

Chapter Three

“I’m going to take a soak in the hot tub. If you need anything, just ask Bertram.”

So I ran upstairs and jumped on my bed (king-sized) until I got dizzy. Then the doorbell rang.

“Honey, I’m home!” called my father. I ran downstairs and leapt into his arms. “Whoa slow down, Mouse!” Just then, my mother came galloping down the stairs. “Hi, honey!” he exclaimed.

“Hi, dear!” my mother cooed.

I ran back upstairs before anything mushy happened.

 

Chapter Four

Today was the worst day ever! Before I tell you about it, here’s what you need to know. We are rich, and I am not ashamed to say so. Because I am rich, I go to Lady Sandford’s Private School for Girls. My uniform is made up out of a plaid skirt, a white blouse, gray knee high socks, a tie, a sweater or sweater vest, black dress shoes, and a gray coat. Also, I am eleven years old, and my name is Annabeth. At school, there are horrible people, bad people, okay people, and super bad people. The horrible people are Rebeca, Melissa, and Jessie. The bad people are Jane, Suzy, and Magie. The okay people are Molly. That is all. The super bad people are Katie and Phoebe. Anyways, I went to school, and Rebecca, Melissa, and Jessie were waiting for me when I got there.

“Hey!” barked Melissa.

I jumped. They laughed. Long story short, they teased me about a headband that Mommy had given me last night.

“Sorry, I was just trying to fit in,” I mumbled.

“Well guess what!” she bellowed “You never will!”

My parents think that having a journal is stupid. They think I should talk things out with my therapist. So this is my last entry.

 

FIN

 

From the Diary of Dinah Arena

     

Chapter One

The magic beetle is a sacred stone. I know it has a really funny name, but it’s sacred to our town. If the magic beetle is stolen, a ghastly magic will cover our town and everything in it. Once Minna Ginna stole it, everyone started doing bad things. My parents were murdered by their best friends. They regret it, but I hate them. They made me and my family go to an orphanage. Minna Ginna returned the beetle. She got arrested for that. Our priest said no one would do it again. Our Rabbi said what everybody would do and everything that would happen would be bad. The sacred beetle is guarded by four towers. It is said one is there to watch over you, and two are there to pray, and one is there to chase bad things away. I don’t believe that. I mean, how could a tower pray? Or chase bad things away? What the heck? If you don’t know this, my name is Dinah Arena. I think it’s a pretty bad name, you see. We live in the town of Burina in Aspin. Don’t ask me why everybody has weird names. I mean, it’s not my fault. If I have a child, I’ll name them Finnley or Harold. Not Finna Gagina. Or Hinna Bugina. I think I’ll leave the town.

One day, I get great news. Mr. Binna, the head of the orphanage, is letting me stay with a woman named Sarah!!! She is sooooo cool! She has a convertible car, and her last name is Smith!!! Not O’Harra or Marra. She is adopting me and letting me stay in her house until I’m thirteen!!! And I’m only eleven. I am very happy about being adopted. Sarah says she used to have a dog called Beenie. Sarah says she’ll do the best she can to take care of me. Except one thing. She won’t protect me from the beetle’s curse. We are still living in Aspen, in a town called Uttertown near Burina. I won’t be protected from the curse. I thought we would move to, like, Bayridge or Ridgetown. Sarah would be happy to sacrifice herself for me. At least she says so. I told her about the magic beetle. She said she would never kill anybody. Inside my head I thought, When she’s not under the beetle’s curse, no.

I sleep in the bed in the attic. Sarah lives in a four story house. Every morning I wake up, go downstairs, and Sarah teaches me math and to read and write. Then, if I complete my work in an hour’s time, I may discuss the newspaper with Sarah. It only has stupid stuff in it. Like sometimes the headline is, “Former Officer found in front yard naked and is arrested” or “Mayor Sicsalinni of Jasonville found dead in bed, Wife as suspect!!!” Sometimes, under it, it says they had a medical issue. Also sometimes, there is a picture of it under the headline. Today it said, “Former Mayor Diggalier attempts to steal ‘Magic Beetle’ from ‘Four towers.’”

This gets me excited.

“Sarah!” I shout.

Sarah looks up from the second page of the Wednesday newspaper and says, “Dinah, I am working,” which she obviously isn’t because she was just reading the Wednesday newspaper.

“You have to see this, though!” I say.

Sarah gives me a glance and says, “Dinah, you can tell me on Sunday.”

Sarah believes that Sunday is the day to let your feelings and emotions out. I think it is a no work, no post church day. I think Sunday is a stupid day. I know I say “stupid” a lot. It’s because I feel it is a good way to express your feelings. Not on Sunday. On every day. I am used to being Jewish. I sometimes say, “Add Chanukkah to the calendar!” or “We’ll ask the rabbi.”

Sarah corrects me and says, “No, we’ll add Christmas to the calendar” or “No, we’ll ask the priest.”

You see, Sarah is Catholic, and I am Jewish. It is a little strange living with her and celebrating different holidays, but I don’t mind her correcting me. I know Sarah is a good person. She loves me, and I love her. Now, I eat papaya as my main course. I hate papaya. Momma used to let me eat bread and cheese as my main course. Sarah says papaya is better for your lungs and heart. You see, her father died from a lung and heart disease.

I say, “Momma says bread and cheese makes you live longer.”

Sarah says you can eat a host and get that covered. I say that holy water is dirty. Sarah says that is because it is old. I say the bible is all lies. Sarah says you can believe different things. That is how our arguments usually end. But I add one last thing to my journal: How can Jesus be special if we are all sons and daughters of god? Then I erase that and fall asleep.

 

Chapter Two

The next day is Friday. When I go downstairs and push away my papaya, Sarah says, “Eat.” I gape at her. She never forces me to eat. Sarah says, “You have a long journey ahead, and you will need all of your energy.”

I take a small nibble.

“Does this mean missing church?” I ask.

“No,” Sarah says.

I take another nibble.

“Does this mean I can tell you what I found in the Wednesday newspaper?” I ask.

“I already know,” says Sarah.

I am shocked. She had said just a few days ago she would never make me go on a dangerous journey, especially to save the magic beetle.

Sarah ushers me to her convertible. We drive and drive and drive and drive and drive, until we get to Sarah’s momma’s place for shelter. It is a rickety house in the middle of the woods.

“She divorced my dad and never wanted to see him again,” says Sarah.

“I see,” I say.

Sarah knocks on the door.

“Oww!” she says. “I forgot about this. Mom put splinters on the door so if Dad ever knocked to try to make up, he would get so many splinters he would want to run away. But Dad never came back.”

She seems somber. I decide to make her laugh.

“Your mom sounds crazy.”

Sarah half smiles, but I can tell that that has made her feel worse.

“I secretly think deep inside she wanted him to come. She wanted him to knock on that door, and she would open it. If he wasn’t there, then, well at least she would know that somebody remembered her.”

Sarah knocks on the door and a little softer this time, but the door knocks over. I jump a little. “Doesn’t seem like anyone lives here,” I mumble.

“She keeps herself secret,” says Sarah, hopefully.

Sarah opens a door. It doesn’t fall over like the front one, but I can see it hanging on one hinge. I see an abandoned kitchen with a ton of moldy fruits. I open a fridge. It is warm inside, and it smells ghastly. Sarah opens another door. It has a dusty bed and a dusty nightstand. I worry. What if Sarah’s momma left a long time ago? I hear sobbing. Sarah is not sobbing. She is facing me, and she is searching. I can tell because her eyes are closed, and she’s walking towards the sound. She opens another door. In it is an old woman sobbing.

Malani?” says Sarah.

The old woman looks up.

“Sarah Smith? Is that really you?” Malani says.

“Yes, Malani,” says Sarah.

“Where is my mother?”

“Your mother?” says Malani. “She died back in 1969!”

 

Chapter Three

Sarah and I have been helping Malani around the house. We dusted the bed and the nightstand, scrubbed the bathroom, fixed the lights and the pipes, painted, refurbished, plastered, and while that all happened, Malani tells stories about Sarah’s momma.

“I helped her around the house,” Malani would say. “I was her maid, but she treated me like a friend.”

When it’s time to go, we are all sad. We fix the hinges on the doors and leave, but when we go outside, we see that the front of the house is very bad and needs care, so we fix that and leave. We are sad to leave Malani, but Malani gives us both a hug and says, “They’re each for luck.”

We get back into the convertible. We drive so much, and I am so hungry I could eat a whole, rotten papaya plus it’s rind. Luckily, Sarah brought a papaya (I thought I’d never say that), and I eat the whole thing right up. Then Sarah gives me bread and butter and host (where did she get that?), and I drink lots of water.

“Is this holy water?” I ask.

“Yes,” Sarah jokes and winks at me.

I spit it out all over her.

“Whoa! I was just joking!”

Then, I drink a whole bottle.

“Tell me about your mother,” I say.

Sarah hesitates and says, “Later, Dinah.”

I am pretty happy when we get to Burina. I shriek with joy when I see my little brothers. “Kiene, Reene, and Geine! I’m here!”

My three brothers turn around, and I bear hug them.

They all shriek, “Dinah!”

And I say, “I have to go.”

That is the last time I see them until I am thirteen. I walk into Sarah’s convertible, and we go to the four towers. When we get there, I see one with eyes, two with mouths, and one with legs. So they do pray, watch over you, and chase bad things away. We knock on a tower door.

“Pick a door,” booms a voice.

I scream. Yikes! I am really scared. I tug on Sarah’s shirtsleeve to indicate that I want to go. Sarah is brave, so she doesn’t budge. I am scared.

“What tower is this?!” Sarah shouts.

“I am the heaven tower!” says the tower

Sarah knocks on the door of the other tower.

The tower stomps, “.– …. — / -.. .- .-. . … / -.-. — — . / …. . .-. . # / .. / .- — / – …. . / – — .– . .-. / — ..-. / …. . .-.. .-..”

Sarah counts her fingers and translates.

“Wrong tower,” says Sarah.

How does she know that stuff? She knocks on the next tower.

It blinks, “.– …. — / -.. .- .-. . … / -.-. — — . / …. . .-. . # / .. / .- — / – …. . / – — .– . .-. / — ..-. / .- .-.. .-.. / … .–. .. .-. .. – …”

Sarah counts again and translates.

“Let us in!” shouts Sarah.

“.–. .- … … .– — .-. -..”

“More Codes.”

The door swings open. Sarah and I walk in.

“Do you know this place?” I ask.

“My mom gave me this info in case I ever needed her, and she wasn’t there,” says Sarah.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I don’t know, but it seems creepy.”

It does seem creepy, and I am scared when I see an angel looking at me.

“Hello,” says the angel.

She is dressed in all white, and she has wrinkles on her face. She has big, round glasses and a bun with two knitting needles in it.

“Hello,” Sarah and I say.

“I am the ghost of Christmas past,” the angel says.

I frown and look at the bookshelf near the angel. It has a book I recognize.

“You’re from a Christmas carol,” Sarah and I say at the same time.

“Yes,” says the ghost of Christmas past. “But today I could be the ghost who will refresh your past.”

“Yes, please,” I say, because I want to see my parents again.

“No,” says the ghost of Christmas past. “I’m talking to her.” Pointing at Sarah, the angel begins to dissolve.

“Wait!” I say, and Sarah begins to dissolve too.

Then I look at my hand and shout. It is not there! I begin to dissolve. It is a strange feeling. Like being sucked into a black hole, except when you get to the other side, you cannot move. It is a horrible experience. Finally, I fall out of nowhere and land on my butt on a piece of land that is next to a mansion. The angel ushers us inside the mansion. We go through a door in the backyard. Inside the mansion is amazing. Sarah seems to know this place. We see a child walk into the room. Sarah and I run to hide behind a barrel. Sarah has a look of horror on her face. The ghost of Christmas past stays where the little girl can see her.

“No person can see us, feel us, hear us, smell us, or taste us,” she says. “Now Sarah, do you recognize this girl?”

“Y-yes,” says Sarah.

I hear a dog barking.

“Run!” says the angel.

We run and run until we reach a garden shack. There is a woman in there. She hears the door slam and turns around but sees nothing. She starts humming. The little girl comes into the garden shack.

“Beenie!” the girl calls.

I figure out at once that that woman is Sarah’s momma. That means that little girl is Sarah.

 

Chapter Four

After a week of drinking tea and eating pretzels, I start to get sick. The ghost of Christmas past gives us company and tea. Sarah bakes pretzels with bread dough, and they burn to a crisp. I don’t know why the ghost brought us back in time. I’m starting to feel homesick. One night, I’m going to bed, and I hear a noise. Suddenly, a siren goes off.

“Someone is stealing the magic beetle!” shouts the ghost of Christmas past.

We scurry out to protect it. It is Minna Ginna! She laughs when she sees us. She stands still.

“Put your hands up at once!” shouts Sarah. “We’re calling the police,” she whispers to me.

I am scared of the police and the curse. The police come, and they arrest Minna Ginna again. We talk to her at prison.

The way to her cell is a dark hallway. I shield my eyes when we pass by a blazing phoenix. When we get to her cell, there is one single flaming candle.

“Explain yourself,” Sarah says, holding the candlestick as a weapon.

“I will arrest your partners.”

“Never!” shouts Minna Ginna, and she flinches at the chains holding her.

“Sarah,” I whisper, and Sarah says it softer this time.

“Let me start from the beginning,” says Minna.

Sarah nods.

Minna Ginna’s starts telling the story, “I was part of an organization called the yellow bandits. The head was Mayor Diggalier. We were trying to save Burina from eternal doom. In order to do that, we had to steal the magic beetle.”

“But the curse!” I say.

“I’ll get to that,” says Minna Ginna. “The curse was a legend. Only. Sure, the beetle was a sacred stone, but it is set to do something. When it was made, about 350 years ago, it was set to destroy the land in 315 years. I stole it 315 years later, and it is thirty years later now. In five years, it will destroy the land of Burina.”

“The curse,” I reminded Minna.

“The red bandits organization is the opposite of the yellow bandits organization. When I ‘stole’ the beetle, the red bandits pretended they were under a curse. Dinah, you must understand this. Your parents were killed by the heads of the red bandit organization.”

 

Epilogue

We were now part of the yellow bandits organization. We were having a celebration. There was cake and drinks. We were going to steal the beetle. I wonder how many lives we would save.

 

The End

 

The Strawberry Adventure

 

Chapter One

My name is Grace. I am a miniature girl who lives in a strawberry. I live in a strawberry town with my mom, my dad, my Grandpapa, and my older brother Richie. He calls me Gracie. I don’t like it. He says we both have to have names that end in -ie. I don’t think so. Our strawberry bush is in Portland, Maine. I have a best friend named Rose. She lives in the strawberry next door. One day, something happened. You could call it exciting, but I thought it was a bit scary at first. We felt our house being pulled downwards.

“What is this?” I called.

Richie thought it was a storm. I didn’t think so. We were being pulled downwards. During storms, we were swung side to side.

“We’re being picked,” said old, wise Grandpapa.

Then he went to his room to meditate. I looked out the window. Instead of seeing the usual leaves and part of Rose’s house, I saw the inside of a tan wicker basket. We had been picked! If I looked out of the very top of the window, I could see disappearing strawberry bushes. I would never see them again. On the other side, I could see a house! A real, human house! All strawberry girls and boys had learned what human houses looked like. Our house was moved around some more. Now we were in a see-through crate. Well, I don’t know if you would have been, but I was pretty freaked out. Imagine if your house had been picked off the ground and moved to a different place!

“Richie, what are we going to do?!” I asked.

“We’re going to stay calm,” he said. “We’ll find a way not to get eaten.”

He said it like it’s something that happens every day.

“All right,” I said.

As annoying as he is, Richie is usually right.

 

Chapter Two

The new crate was moved onto a truck. The truck started to move. Richie and I called a family meeting.

“We have to find a way to get out of here,” I said.

Grandpapa said, “When I got captured, I built a contraption that made my strawberry blow up.”

“Let’s do that!” said Richie.

Of course. Richie likes anything that blows up.

“All right,” my mom said.

“But how, Grandpapa, how?” I asked.

“Oh, you’ll be surprised what supplies are in the store,” replied Grandpapa, mysteriously.

The truck stopped.

“Oh, what now?” my dad complained.

Well, that was weird. My dad never complains. Well, I guess he just did. Our box got picked up and set down again in a colder place. We were outside. More crates and boxes filled with strawberries got piled on top of us. It grew dark. All night we were left out in the cold. This place was a lot colder than our home in Maine. In the morning, we were put into a large store room. Around us we saw lots of different foods. Cans, boxes, tins, and packets were filled with fruits, crackers, cheeses, and sausages. We were put onto a cart with other fruits. Then we were put in the way back of a shelf.

“Good,” said Grandpapa.

“Why is being at the back of the shelf good?” I asked. “It’s dark, and we have to walk farther to get to the front, so we can get supplies!”

“It is good because we will have longer to work out our plan,” said Grandpapa. “No one is going to reach all the way into the back of the shelf just to get strawberries.”

“So what’s the exploding plan?” asked Richie, excitedly.

“Well,” said Grandpapa. “We’ll need something to make some sort of catapult.”

“Cool!” said Richie.

“I’m sorry, my dear Richie,” said Grandpapa. “But it won’t really actually blow up. It will be a lot like that though.”

Richie nodded, sadly.

“So Gracie,” he said.

I growled at the name.

“You wanna go out together and find ourselves some spoons or other things we could use for catapults?”

I nodded, but my mom said, “Wait! You guys can’t just go out there by yourselves! It’s too dangerous!”

“Oh yes they can,” said Grandpapa and my dad together.

“We’ll be careful,” said Richie, earnestly.

“Oh, all right,” my mom said.

Richie and I climbed out of our door, which was slanted sideways, and then went through a hole in the box.

 

Chapter Three

We made our way to the front of the shelf.

“Look!” said Richie, when we got there. “We’re organic!”

We jumped down from the shelf, which was quite easy. Then we started to walk around. I stayed close to Richie. I was maybe, sort of, kind of, possibly, just a little, tiny bit scared. I didn’t want to get stepped on.

This is what we brought back to our strawberry:

Two plastic bags

At least fifteen pieces of dried and rotten food

Half of and the top of a spoon (what we were looking for so yay!)

Lots of dust (we didn’t actually pick up that much of it because my dad’s allergic)

A few pieces of non-rotten food

We took all the stuff back to our strawberry. But it took a long time. First, we had to find where all the strawberry cartons were. That took a while because Richie kept thinking that we should go to where the rice was. I finally directed him in the right direction. Then, we had to get up to the strawberries. It turns out, going down is a lot easier than going up. We ended up climbing on blueberries, which were right below the strawberries. Then, we had to walk all the way to the back of the shelf. When we got to the right carton, we had to find our strawberry. That wasn’t too hard, because it was the only one with a door and windows. We climbed in through the slanted door and showed our family the things we had found.

“Great!” exclaimed Grandpapa, with the energy of someone much younger.

We started to build. We used some string from our house to tie the spoons to the legs of our table. We decided to use the food as the things we were going to launch. We worked for about one or two days. As we worked, I noticed that it was getting lighter.

“Why is it getting so much lighter?” I asked.

“Strawberry boxes are being pulled from the shelf,” said my mom. “It won’t be long before we’re taken.”

She was right. That afternoon, we were pulled from the shelves. It was perfect timing! We had just finished!

“Quick, get the launchers!” I called to Richie.

We loaded every single one of them onto the spoon top. We heard a beeping noise. We were being scanned! We put our plan into action.

 

Chapter Four

The box ripped open.

The human lady screamed and called, “Store manager! My strawberry box has exploded!”

I tried not to laugh, as did the rest of my family.

“Now run!” yelled my dad.

As we were running, I thought of something. Why hadn’t we just run away in the first place?

I asked Grandpapa that and he said,”You are a smart little girl, you know that Grace.”

I smiled.

Richie heard us talking and asked, “But why?”

Grandpapa just smiled.

Finally, he said, “I don’t think that would have been as exciting, do you?”

We understood.

“So we could have done that, and you knew it all along, but you didn’t say it?” asked Richie.

Grandpapa nodded. I laughed.

“So where are we going?” I questioned.

“Oh, you’ll see,” said my dad, mysteriously.

He was in the lead, and he seemed to know where he was going. Once we got into the country, we slowed to a walk. We came to some sort of orchard.

“Welcome to the pear orchard!” said my dad, triumphantly.

We shimmied our way up the tree, using little bumps and lumps in the tree to use as grips. When we got fairly high up, my dad cut a hole into a pear for the door and cut smaller holes for windows. Then, he hollowed out the inside. He wouldn’t let anyone use his hollower, which was what he used for hollowing. My mom took the pear bits and threw them down the tree. When it was all ready, we climbed in. There wasn’t any furniture, but there soon would be.

That night, I fell asleep on the soft, fruity ground, thinking about my adventure and all that might happen next.

 

Epilogue

Six months had come and gone since we had moved in. The pear house was looking a lot like our strawberry house except for one thing — the color. No one really minded though, and life was just as good. One day though, we were pulled downwards.

“We’re being picked!!!”

 

From Wolf to Dog

How has “the dog” become “man’s best friend”? Today, we see dogs as a very important part of most people’s lives. They are treated like other humans, almost as equals, and sometimes even better than most humans in the world. People used to think that animals were just for guarding and hunting, and they treated them like regular animals. However, this change of public opinion about dogs was caused when people started having them as pets.

Dogs are the oldest pets. People and wolves became close, and humans bred the different types and created dogs. People are so close to dogs because they have been so close for such a long time. They were domesticated at least 30,000 years ago, but it could have been earlier. The species of dogs are estimated to be around 15,000-20,000 years old. Later pets would be sheep and goats, 11,000 years ago, and cats around 10,000 years ago. Humans first began taking in wolf pups, which tamed the wolves because they had taken them in when they were puppies. They first started domesticating them for hunting. Humans gave the wolves food, and the wolves told the humans when strangers or predators approached. When wolves became dogs, they evolved to have smaller skulls, brains, teeth, and paws. They like having a job to do, like herding. The evolutionary advantages of wolves was that they got smaller teeth, paws, etc. Dogs have evolved to eat other stuff besides raw meat. They are omnivores now. There are different kinds of dogs in different cultures. For example, in Alaska, dog sleds are pulled by Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes. Afghan hounds are from Afghanistan. There are also many breeds of English dogs. When you take a dog and breed it in a certain place, it may evolve to fit the environment, creating a new breed of dog.

The historical and cultural evolution of the dog in public opinion has changed how people like and view dogs. There have been many famous dogs throughout history that have changed people’s views about dogs. For example, many presidents had dogs like Fala, Franklin Roosevelt’s dog, Bo, Obama’s dog, and Buddy, Bill Clinton’s dog. Fala even has a statue at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. There are also dogs from TV and comics like Snoopy, Scooby Doo, and Pluto.

People have seen dogs as pets for a long time. In different parts of the world, humans have created 339 different dog breeds, not including mixed breeds. Even if someone does not like dogs, there is practically a dog breed for everyone. Short ones, tall ones, big ones, little ones. The 339 breeds are sorted into seven groups, Terrier, Working, Toy, Sporting, Hound, Herding and Non-Sporting. The breeds in the Herding group, for example, are bred to herd. If someone is looking for a certain dog to be a gift, they might pick a Toy dog like a Pug or Pomeranian. When people first started domesticating dogs, it was usually for hunting or as guard dogs. Nowadays, a lot of dogs are for pets and police dogs and for herding on farms. People have dogs as pets today because it makes them happier, and some people just really like dogs. They think that dogs are cute, cool, and most dogs have very good personalities. Most dogs follow their owner around everywhere, and having a dog prevents loneliness. In the past, people may have just thought of dogs as working animals, like they might think about farm animals like horses. People use dogs for other domestic things like therapy and guiding the blind. People started treating dogs better because they were helping them more. They started treating them better and better, until they began to think of them as man’s best friend.

Dogs are arguably the most popular pet. However, in the past, dogs weren’t the most popular pet; they were just working animals. Public opinion has changed because there have become even more types of dogs, and they now are celebrated in pop culture. Now, we love dogs more because they have done more stuff for us, like protecting us, helping us, and just making us feel better. We celebrate them because we have had them for such a long time, and they have been very useful.

 

Appendix

List of oldest dogs

  • Saluki
  • Pekingese
  • Lhasa Apso
  • Chow Chow
  • Basenji
  • Alaskan Malamute
  • Akita Inu
  • Afghan Hound

 

Works Cited

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/03/mans_first_friend.html

https://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/pet-myths-are-dogs-really-mans-best-friend

https://www.babble.com/pets/15-most-famous-dogs-in-history-from-bo-to-lassie/

http://nds.nationaldogshow.com/event-info-groups.php

 

The Five Amulets

My name is Tyler. I am thirteen. I am in seventh grade with my friends Jay, Lace, and Liz. We live in the big city of New York. My friends told me about these five amulets that are from China that give people the power to do things. They each have their own special power. One gives you shapeshifting abilities, one gives you invisibility, one gives you strength, and one gives you the power to reach to any length. The one my friends and I are going after allows people to run at incredible speed, and if someone wears them all, they will have unspeakable power. My friends and I are trying not to let that happen, so we are going to get all the amulets and make sure that no one dangerous gets them. We are going to try to get them tonight at 10:00 p.m.. Liz told me to go to a sewage on Third Avenue and Union Street. I wondered how she knew the amulets were there, but then she showed me a map that she had and told me she saw it in the garbage can and took it and that’s how we are pretty sure that there are the amulets like it says on the map. In the meantime, I have to go to school. My friends and I will discuss there. Finally, school is over, and I have to go home to get ready for tonight. Okay, I need a flashlight, my wooden sword, my water bottle, and a plastic cup from the sink.

“Everyone ready?”

“Yeah,” all three of them said.

They went over to the bar-like fence and went over it and went closer to the lake-like sewage and split up. Looking around for the amulet, we were surprised that no one was there.

We started feeling suspicious about it, and then Liz yelled, “Look!”

We all ran over to her, and she showed us what she found.

“The amulets, they actually exist, but do they have the powers like the map says,” said Tyler.

“Let’s find out,” said Lace, grabbing it from Liz.

She tried to put it on, but I stopped her and told her we should not put it on. We do not know how powerful it is.

Then, these older kids said, “Give it to us or else.”

They had weapons. I told Jay to get the wooden sword from my bag.

But one of the older guys said, “Where are you going?”

Then Jay stopped and turned around. Three other older boys took Lace’s arm, Jay’s arm, and Liz’s arm. Lace threw the amulet to Liz.

Then, the other, older boy said, “Give me the amulet” to Liz.

Then, she threw it to me and said, “Use it!”

And then, I said, “I don’t know how to use it.”

All three of them said, “Put it on!”

And then, I put it on and thought of saving my friends. Then, I put the amulet on and suddenly my eyes went like lightning, and then I ran at the boys, and in seconds the older boys were down on the floor. They were knocked out. My friends were surprised to see the kids knocked out so fast.

“Is that you?” asked Tyler.

“Yes,” I said.

Jay asked, “How did you do that?”

I shrugged. I pushed the amulet on my chest, and in a flash, my speed was gone, and the amulet was in my hand.

“Guess the amulet does have power,” said Jay.

“That also means we need to get all of them. We should study on this,” said Lace.

“And the other five,” said Liz.

“Okay, we will talk about this tomorrow,” said Tyler.

“We should go back to our homes before anyone finds out we’re out at 11:00 at night. Who should keep the amulet?”

“Tyler should. He knows how to control it, right Tyler?” I said.

“I kind of know how to control it.”

“That’s fair,” said Lace and Jay.

“See you tomorrow,” said Lace.

“See you,” said Liz.

“There is a lot we need to learn about these amulets. We will learn eventually. Till then, I should probably get some rest. I got school tomorrow.”

 

Why Paintball Wars Should Be a National Sport

Dear horrible President Donald Trump,

I, Jasper S. Hirt, student of P.S. 58, think that the sport paintball wars should be a national sport or a sport that you can tune into when you’re watching TV. If it were up to me, paintball would have a chance to be in the Olympics. Imagine tuning into a paintball channel, then liking the sport, so you would want to watch more of it, but you can’t because paintball is not a national sport. People who like action stuff, like me and some of my friends, would also like paintball. A couple examples for why paintball fighting should be a national sport are that it can have lots of action, it can be very interesting, and can be very good exercise for you if you want to join.

Paintball fighting has lots of action which is good because action is one of the most watched type of movies. That is important because football, for example, has lots of action and violence just like paintball fighting, so that means that it might get the same amount of attention just as football. My second reason for why paintball should be a national sport is that a lot of people like to see and do action, like me and a couple of my friends. Action movies have a lot of shooting, jumping, running, and hiding, and paintball has all of those things. Last but not least, I have my third reason. Not many sports include action like paintball fighting, so that means that there would be more sports that include action, so people who like action sports have more to watch.

My second reason on why paintball should be a national sport is that it can be very interesting. Paintball can be very interesting because your kids could join, and you really want to see your kid become a champion, don’t you? Plus, you want to vote for your country’s or state’s paintball team. Paintball could represent a country like the U.S., and then you can have it in the Olympics. It could be interesting to watch country fight country, instead of city vs. city or state vs. state. Another reason paintball can be interesting is that if your husband or wife likes to play paintball and gets really good and decides to join the country’s or state’s national team. Paintball fighting is also basically war. Here is the fact that for me, personally, is most important, and it’s that you use weapons. You don’t use weapons in any sport except fencing and archery, but you use practically guns! Well, they’re not real guns. They’re like guns that shoot balls of paint. The paintball guns are actually safer than a compound bow or a recurve bow because paintball guns are not lethal.

My third and last reason on why paintball should be a national sport is that it can be super healthy for you. My first reason why paintball fighting can be good exercise is that if you imagine that your life depends on it, because wouldn’t you do anything for your life, because I totally would. Plus, you have to do a ton of running, and we all know that running is good exercise. Plus, in paintball you can get really stressed and sometimes when you’re stressed out you sweat, and my opinion is that whenever you sweat it’s good for you.

Before the conclusion, I would like to say that my very strong reason on why paintball should be a national sport is that that no other sports include trying to shoot someone. Don’t get me wrong or anything, because that could be positive because shooting and war is one of the most watched type of movie genres so why won’t it be a game. If you don’t get it, what I am trying to say is that people would want to feel like they’re in danger, but they really aren’t. Like seriously, name one sport where you try and shoot someone. Because in archery you shoot at a target and same with BB gun shooting you also shoot a target, but in paintball you are actually trying to shoot someone and try to not get shot yourself. That is my ultimate reason on why paintball should be a national sport, because it would be the only very aggressive sport.

In conclusion, that was why paintball should be a national sport, because it can have lots of action, it can be very interesting, and can be very good exercise for you if you want to join. Plus, like I said earlier, it could be very interesting to watch and tune into on a Sunday morning or something like that. If you don’t like action, then you could think of paintball as a suspenseful game, not as an action sport, and see if that will fit you better.

 

The reader should read…

I’m writing this because I believe that paintball fighting should be a national sport. Imagine tuning into a paintball channel, then liking the sport you would want to see more of, but you can’t because paintball is not a national sport. Since it’s not a national sport, you can only see it once a year which is not a lot of times in your life. Paintball could represent a country like the U.S., and then you can have it in the Olympics. It could be interesting to watch country fight country instead of city vs. city or state vs. state. Paintball is also very good exercise because you are running around with a fake gun in your hand trying not to get shot or trying to shoot another person, but that person could be better than you. Let’s not forget that running around, hiding, and jumping up and down takes a lot of energy. Can we not forget that paintball fighting has a lot of action. Action is one of the most watched movie genres out of sci-fi, drama, and horror (comedy is first). Action movies have a lot of shooting, jumping, running, and hiding, and paintball has all of those things. Am I right, because paintball is kind of fake war.

P.S. When you finish reading this, I want you to say to yourself and friends, do you like action and want good exercise or even want paintball on TV. Write your own essay, and send it to the president, saying that paintball should be a national sport. Because I think it’s a great idea, and I hope that other people think so too, just like me.

 

The Life that No One Wants

If you are reading this, then you have to be aware of something.

I am not a normal kid. Normal kids don’t wake up in the middle of the night, they don’t start screaming, and they totally don’t hear your thoughts, do they? My point exactly. This is the story of my horrible life, and I hope after you read this you will see that you have a lucky life compared to mine. Now, let’s start with the story.

Let’s start off with my home. I live in England, and at this time, there are many wars going on that this place is part of. My house is in the center of the country. My school is around the block, so I can get there in two minutes. My parents divorced when I was four years old, and then when I was six my mom died, followed by Dad a month later. That put me in the care of my aunt and uncle. My aunt says I’m way too dark, and my uncle says I’m way too skinny.

In school, I’m “the one that has no parents.” People make names for each other, so since I don’t have parents, I’m stuck with that name.

If you don’t have any parents, and people that have parents say they know how you feel, please note that if they have not lost someone important to them, then they have no idea of what the pain feels like. Trust me, I know. A person told me that they know exactly how I feel because they lost their pet fish. It’s not the same to lose a pet unless they have been there for your whole life since they were a small pup and you were a baby. But if the person had only had their pet for a week, that doesn’t really do anything for connections. Anyway, enough with the tour of my home and on with my life!

As any usual morning, my aunt woke me up before my alarm clock could ring. So when I heard a really high-pitched screaming for me to wake up, I knew to get up now or get a bucket of ice cold water dumped on your head, and if you don’t get up, then prepare for a metal bucket to fall on your head! So I got up after feeling the cold water on my head. My aunt is very impatient, so since I didn’t get up in one second, she rushed upstairs to my bedroom and dumped the bucket of cold water on my head.

“Okay!” I said, as I rolled out of bed. “I’m up! You really didn’t have to dump the water on my head!”

“One more word, and then I’ll throw the bucket. I won’t miss this time!” she said, picking up the metal bucket. “Now go down stairs, and go to school.”

“Can I dress up first?” I asked, trying hard not to laugh. “Or do I go in shorts and a t-shirt?”

She slapped me across the face. That’s something that she does when she thinks that I’m annoying.

Don’t play dumb with me!” she said. “Dress up, and go to school!”

That’s what happens every morning. That’s why I tried to put my alarm clock to 5:00 a.m. to see when will she wake me up, and she woke me up at 4:00 a.m. and started screaming at me why I didn’t set my alarm clock to the usual time.

So when I dressed up and put an ice cube that was on my bed to my cheek, I heard a terrible scream.

“What was that?” I asked. “Aunt Mary? Uncle Jose?”

I started to go down the stairs very slowly.

“Is anything wrong?” I asked. “Did I do something?”

My aunt and uncle were sitting at a table and drinking tea. They didn’t notice that I was there. I was about to say something when my uncle began to talk.

“Mary, do you really think that she’s one of them?”

Oh, no. They’ve discovered my secret. Remember how I said that I’m not a normal kid? Well, this is why I’m not normal. Since September 1, 1939 (or the beginning of World War II) people started to see that most kids had become different than other kids. Well those things are sort of like super powers, if that’s how you want to call it. Well, I can do all of those things when I want to, but sometimes you can’t control it, and they just burst out. Like one time, (thank goodness I was alone) I lost control, and I shot out a burst of fire from my eyes.

“Yes, I’m sure I remember seeing a burst of fire out of her mouth, and when I cooked her least favorite food, I was thinking about it. When I came up to get her for dinner, she looked at me with her never blinking eyes, and she said she wasn’t in the mood for her least favorite foods. She was reading my mind!”

I guess I thought I was alone when I did that.

“What should we do?” asked Jose. “Kill her?”

“No,” my aunt said and pointed at the newspaper. “It says here that if you know a person that’s not normal, then you should bring them to this place! Tomorrow, we’ll take her to this place.”

“What happens if she finds out we’re taking her there?”
“Well, we won’t tell her.”
“She can read our minds!”

“We’ll just think of meetings or something, and if she does, then all she will get is who we’re meeting.”

“What happens if her deformation could go even further than what we think?”

“WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME?” yelled my aunt, making me jump. “WE ARE TAKING HER THERE, AND THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!”

I ran to my bed. I didn’t want to hear anymore. My parents left me with my aunt and uncle to be safe, not to be killed!

I had so many questions, but I had to run away first, and then I could think of the questions.

I grabbed all the things I might need, but then I looked outside. I saw that it was almost morning, so I didn’t have time to pack. I had to leave now. I dropped my pack and ran out the door. I saw my friend Jack waiting for me.

“Jack!” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I’m here for you of course,” he said. “You’re trying to escape just like I am.”

“Escape from what?” I didn’t want to give in right away but first check that we were on the same side.

“From the place that your aunt and uncle were going to try to take you to of course. Why didn’t you read my mind?”

“Okay,” I said. “Now where do I go?”
“With me of course.”
“Number one, stop saying ‘of course.’ Number two, where am I supposed to go with you?”

“Where all of the other kids that escaped go. Of co — ”

“Don’t say it!” I said, feeling fire come in my eyes.

“Wow!” said Jack staring at me. “I never saw anyone have that before.”

“Yes, I have my own power.”

“You can control the weather?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“That’s what I can do. Anyway let’s get going. It’s almost morning, and your aunt and uncle will be looking for you soon.”

Jack started walking. What could I do? I can’t just stay here and hope that my aunt and uncle won’t find me. And Jack is my closest friend, so I guess I can trust him. I decided that I should follow.

“What exactly is the place that they were going to take me?” I asked, as I caught up to Jack. “What do they do there to you?”

“No one who is alive knows,” Jack said coldly. “They took many mutants in, and we never saw them again. We’re trying to stop this thing, but anyone who found out who we were would run away screaming!”

“Last question,” I said. “How did you know that my aunt and uncle were going to take me there?”

“The mutant that can read minds found you,” said Jack, smiling. “Another mutant made this thing of names of every single mutant in the world. But the mutant can read only the most powerful minds because it’s easy. So we could only reach you. Here we are.”

We stopped at a broken-down building.

“Now watch your step because there are many sharp things that you can step on.”

“If they’re pieces of metal, then I can move them,” I said, moving a chunk of metal. “Is the person who can do that here?”

“Yes,” Jack said. “And he does that all the time. But he forgets to put them ba — ”

“I get it,” I said. “I’ll put it back once we move past this place.”

Once we passed the metal thing, I heard people talking. It sounded like only two voices.

“We only found two people that would fight with us. The other ones didn’t think that a war is starting.”

“Well those people are dead,” said a voice. “And now we have to fight for them.”

“Come on Lev, it’s not that bad,” said another voice. “We can just talk to the humans.”

I heard the first voice laugh. “Those are Lev and Bobbi. They don’t get along,” explained Jack. “You’ll see them soon.”

We came to a clearing where many tents were set up.

“Who’s there?” yelled a male voice. “Oh hello, Jack, you found Will? What can she do?”

The boy was about one year older than me. He had black hair, his eyes were dark brown, and he wore similar clothes that I wore: black pants and a black shirt.

“Wow!” said Jack. “Now I can see you fully! You two look so much alike!”

Jack was right. Now the sun was starting to rise, and I could see how Jack looked like. He didn’t look anything like me. He had white pants and a white t-shirt.

“Who came?” asked the second voice I heard. “Oh hello, Jack. Person I don’t know.”

A short and fat girl came out of tent number four.

She had really ugly, brown hair, ugly, brown eyes, and what she wore made me want to run away: she had a really bright pink dress as long as a wedding gown.

“Do we really need her?” she asked. “You have me, and I have the most powerful mind in the universe.”

“Bobbi,” said Jack. “We’ve been over this. She has a more powerful mind than you!”

“What can miss one earring tell us?” she asked. “Probably how unfashionable it is to have one earring!”

“I have one earring!” said Lev, pointing at his left ear.

“You two are like twins!” said Jack. “Both of you like the same things.”

What can she do?” screamed Bobbi. “I want to know now!”

“Okay!” said Jack. “Will, can you please show Bobbi what you can do?”

“Sure,” I said, with a shrug. “What can you do?”

“I can move metal,” said Lev.

“Give me a piece of metal.”

Lev picked up a piece of metal without touching it and set it on the ground.

I focused my eyes on the piece of metal and sent it a secret message through my brain to pick it up. And the piece of metal lifted in the air. Once I put it down, I saw Bobbi, Jack, and Lev staring at me.

“Do you have your own power?” asked Lev.

“Stand back,” I said and again focused on the piece of metal. l felt the fire coming into my eyes. I let out the fire. The metal began to shrivel up.

“Cool!” said Jack. “Can you do anything else?”

“Name it.”

“Put a thought into my head. Make me do something,” said Bobbi.

“Deal.”

I focused my eyes on Bobbi and told her mind to go and get another piece of metal. Right away, Bobbi walked to a metal dump and brought it to me.

“Cool!” said Jack,

“That’s not fair!” said Bobbi, as she came back from la-la land. “I’m the only one that’s supposed to have that power!”

“Can we go eat?” asked Lev. “I’m starving!”

“Okay,” said Bobbi and stomped away to where the tables were.

“Lev, can you give Will a tour while I deal with this thing?” asked Jack.

“Sure,” said Lev, shrugging. “I’m not dealing with her.”

“Thought you would say that,” said Jack with a sigh. “She’s never happy!”

Without saying another word, he ran off to find Bobbi.

“Okay,” said Lev. “Let’s start off with where you sleep. Jack sleeps in tent number one, I sleep in tent number two, and Bobbi sleeps in ten number four. You’ll sleep in tent number three because Jack said we all have to be together! Pretty dumb rule if you think about it.”

“Why does Bobbi sleep in tent number four if no one sleeps in tent number three?”

“You know the three main gods in greek myths?” asked Lev. “Well Jack said that we should have that.”

“So because Jack controls the sky, he gets cabin number one and you control metal, you get cabin two? I don’t get it.”

“Jack says it’s just the three most powerful minds. But Bobbi can only control the most powerful minds. You can control any mind. And you can sort of, like, go underground. Which is where Hades lives.”

I put some power into my hands and made the ground tremble.

“Like that,” said Lev. “Next up we have the training place. Here, I made a bunch of dummies, so you can practice on them.”
“Okay,” I said. “Anything else?”

“The kitchen is more of just a fireplace since we don’t have a lot of food. It’s not a really big place, but you can live here. But there are no happy moments here.”

“ATTACK!” I heard a voice yell.

A bullet almost hit Lev, but he turned it around and sent it back where it came from. I sent a huge wave of dust to block us from view.

“WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?” I yelled over the sound of the wind that I was causing.

“SOMEONE TOLD THE HUMANS WHERE WE ARE!” yelled Lev. “WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE. JACK CAN TAKE CARE OF HIM AND BOBBI!”

We ran as fast as we could to the dinner place.

“TURN THE WIND DOWN!” Lev yelled.

I made the wind calm down but kept the big cloud of dust behind us. I saw some figures and another cloud of dust behind them.

“I’m guessing that’s Jack,” I said “Jack!”
The two figures started to run faster.

“A war is coming,” said Jack. “I called many mutants to come here and help.”

“I can try to make the mutants that are trapped get out,” I said, thinking.

“How?” asked Bobbi. “You can only control minds that are powerful like me, not human minds.”

“You’re forgetting something,” I said closing my eyes. “I have all powers ten times stronger.”

I thought of the prison gates and saw where they were kept. I saw only three people standing outside the cells, no weapons, just standing. I tried to get into their minds, but it didn’t work. I thought of the war and how many people will die if no one will come to an agreement. Then I felt myself feel like I was another person, and I could finally control the person.

“Go and unlock the cells. Every single last one,” I said out loud, as I told it to the person.

I felt as if I was walking, and then I started unlocking every cell.

“Go to where Jack lives. A war is coming, and we need your help to win it!”

I saw some mutants stare at me, but then they all started running away. The people standing there still stood there, and then I saw that the they were mannequins. I let myself drift back to earth.

“Well?” asked Jack. “How did it go?”

“Good,” I said. I felt overwound by what I just did. I don’t really like having all the powers. Sometimes, I can’t control one of the powers. They get loose, and I have to take away the memory of the person that saw it.

“Are they coming?” asked Jack, jumping up and down.

“Yes,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Just as I said that, we heard shouting.

“What was that?” asked Bobbi.

“Mutants,” I said, smiling.

“You’re here!” said Jack, running toward them. “She brought you here!”

But as we were saying our hellos, we heard gunshots.

“Why do they bring metal things if they now I can bring it back?” asked Lev.

Then an arrow came. I stopped it just before it hit Lev. Jack sent a wave of dust to where the arrow came from.

“The arrow is really sharp plastic!” I said, as I looked at the arrow. “They know that you can’t control plastic.”

“You can?” said Jack, amazed.

I nodded and said “We have to go and fight.”

Jack sent the cloud of dust down. “You and Lev stay here, and then in about five minutes, then follow. CHARGE!”

I watched how the mutants ran and killed if any person was in their way. Then I saw that all the mutants were kids and all the humans were grown up men. Then I heard a sound of an arrow going into someone.

“Will,” I heard a dying voice.

I turned around and saw Lev laying down with an arrow in his heart.

“Lev!” I screamed. “What happened?”
“I turned around, and then I got hit.”

“You’re going to be okay.”

“No,” he said. “Don’t say that if we both know it’s not true.”

I looked at him. I sat down and put his head in my lap.

“Win the war,” said Lev. “To show me that I didn’t die for nothing.”

He took one last breath, and then he exhaled sharply. I looked at him and felt hatred come into my heart.

“Times out!” I screamed.

I let all my powers out. I felt that even if I try really hard, it still won’t work.

I killed every human.

Then I cried. The first time in my life.

I saw Jack laying down not breathing.

All the mutants were dead.

I looked around and started to cry harder.

 

The Boy That Was So Jealous

There was this kid named John, and he was super strong and he’s going to a dance program that I’m going to. By the way, my name is Greg. I am eleven. I am a nerd. I like to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I want to be his friend because he is cool, but I tried, and he didn’t really listen to me, so I want to see if I can do it again. By the way, John is really good at dancing. I want to go and talk to John, but he is next to the bully. I will try to talk to him tomorrow.

 

The next day…

I thought I found John. So let’s go, I mumbled to myself.

I walked over and said, “Hi.”

He said, “Hi” back.

I didn’t know what to say back, so I just walked away slowly.

But John said, “Hey Greg, you want to be my friend?”

I turned around and said, “Sure,” and in my head I said yes!!!

And when school ended, I told my mom how my day was.

 

Theater program…

I went to the program. I saw John, and I walked up to him, and I said, “Do you remember me from school?”

He said, “You do look familiar. What’s your name?”

“My name is Greg,” I said. “And your name is John, right?”

“Yes, okay so I guess you are from school after all,” John said.

There was a stage and a professional actor who is famous talking about how it is to act in theater.

The lights turned off. A whole bunch of people came in. I could see the figures walking and I heard feet walking. And the lights came back on. When we looked at the stage, there was a whole bunch of actors about to dance. And then they started dancing.

This program is cool, I thought. One of the dancers was break dancing. Then the program was over.

John said, “It’s cool being in the same program with you, Greg. I hope I see you next Friday.”

 

The weekend…

My mom and I were watching a movie, and it was called Jumanji 2. We were walking over to the movie theater right now, and I couldn’t wait to watch the movie. I was also thinking on the other side of my brain, What is John doing right now?

So when Jumanji 2 was over, my mom and I were talking about it all the way until we walked to our house. By the way, we went to the movie theater, AMC. That popcorn really messed up my stomach. When I went home, I really needed to go use to bathroom, so I stayed in the bathroom for at least ten minutes. I came out and my stomach felt better. My dad came home.

He said, “How was the movie?”

I said, “It was good. Mom, what’s your opinion?”

Mom said, “It was really good, but I liked the first one better.”

One hour passed. It was bedtime. I really loved my pajamas. They had a whole bunch of penguins on it, and I really loved penguins. I was dreaming a whole bunch about school, and I almost had a nightmare. My nightmare was that one of the teachers was banning recess and all the kids had to fight to get it back.

 

Sunday…

Today was a chilling day for me. I stayed home and play video games all day. My favorite game was Call of Duty: WWII.

Mom stopped me from playing video games, and she said, “You should go outside and play.”

I said, “Fine, but when I come back, I want to go straight to my video games.”

I think I’m going to go play basketball.

 

An hour later…

I came back to our house, and I said to Mom, “I made so many three pointers.”

She said, “Great, I have a surprise for you.”

I said, “Really? What is it?

“I’m not telling you.”

Once dinner is ready, we ate dinner. I faked went to go to the bathroom, but I went into my room. I found my present!!! It was a PS4, and I screamed!! So now I could play Call of Duty: WWII on the TV then on the iPad. I gave my mom a big hug. I finished my mashed potatoes and steak and ran into my room and opened the PS4.

 

Monday…

The first day of the week. The weekend was so short I felt like Friday should be a weekend day. John and I were in the cafeteria standing next to a garbage can.

I went to John and said, “I got the new PS4.”

John said, “Cool.”

“What kind of games do you have?” I said.

“I have Call of Duty,” John said.

“That’s it?” I said. “I have Call of Duty: WWII, I have NBA 2K, and I have NBA Live. I have Minecraft, Marvel 2, the newest one. And that’s it.”

“Dang, you have a lot.”

The bell rang. John and I left.

“See you at recess.”

 

A week later…

One day, when I was playing Call of Duty, my mom said to me, “Want to have a playdate with John?”

“Is this the John I go to school with?”

“Hm-hmm,” said my mom. “Did you know that John is your brother?”

I stopped playing Call of Duty.

“Really? Is this true?” I said. My mouth was open, and my eyes were wide.

“How is that possible?” I said.

My mom said, “John is in your grandma’s house. He has been there since you have been three.”

“Well, why haven’t I seen him?” Greg said.

“You guys have not gotten along. For example, when it was Thanksgiving eight years ago, remember the visitor you had, that was John.”

“I remember that, but I didn’t know that I wasn’t getting along with him,” I said.

“You guys were not getting along because you guys were fighting,” Mom said.

“Really?” I said

“Yep it was crazy,” Mom said.

I started to cry.

 

The next day…

“We wanted to surprise you and also John with a playdate. He will be coming home in a hour with all of his luggage.”

I am cleaning up my room, getting ready for John.

 

THE END

 

Chats

Ryan: Ugh, the school play is tomorrow. What do we have to wear again?

Lydia: You’re not even in the school play. What’s the big rush?

Ryan: I was the understudy for Jason, the main character. Melania, the person playing Jason, got sick and is in the hospital right now.

Lydia: O-M-G! Gosh, so I think Jason is supposed to wear a purple skirt with sparkly necklaces.

Ryan: Sure.

Lydia: No, not kidding.

Ryan: Isn’t Jason a boy?

Lydia: Have you read the script? Jason is a girl!

Ryan: … Darn it, I would have never signed up for this if I knew it.

<End of chat>

 

Yep. Welcome to my life. Lydia is being annoying right now, so I’m going to call Melania.

 

<301-635-2642>

<Dial tone>

Melania: Hello?

Ryan: Oh, hey Melania. I was just wondering if you know what Jason’s supposed to wear for the school play.

Melania: She’s supposed to wear a purple skirt with sparkly wristbands.

Ryan: That’s not what I heard from Lydia.

Melania: Lydia? She’s playing the little boy.

Ryan: Hmph, haha. Ok, bye!

Melania: See ya.

<End of call>

 

I’m so going to kill Lydia for this.

 

<Connecting to FaceTime with Lydia>

<Ring, ring>

Lydia: Hello? I hope this call is important because I’m applying my makeup right now.

Ryan: So, I heard you’re playing the little boy.

Lydia: Hey, who’s playing Jason, a girl?

Ryan: Ha. What a funny joke.

Lydia: <Screams of despair since she dropped some makeup on her phone>

Ryan: Um?

Lydia: Okay, okay. <Accidently swipes tab and realizes Melania is calling her>

<301-635-2642>

<Dial tone>

Melania: LYDIA, WOULD I PLEASE REMIND YOU OF WHAT YOU ARE WEARING ON STAGE?

Lydia: Yeah, yeah. Buttoned down, blue shirt, jeans, supposed to comb my hair and stuff.

Melania: They changed the plans. You’re supposed to be wearing a mohawk. Bad news, they don’t have wigs.

Ryan: O-M-G, how was I not informed of this?!

Lydia: … Keep out of it, Ryan!

Melania: Well, you better get down to the barber shop.

<Hangs up>

Lydia: Oh, dang it.

Ryan: <Moans while looking at email sent from Ms. Carol, teacher for drama>

This is what it said:

 

To: Ryan2018@mail.com

From: Me, Natasha Carol@school.org

Hello Ryan,

I just wanted to tell you that we have changed the script. Jason is supposed to have blond, long hair in pigtails, but we don’t have a wig. eBay is selling one for $200! Outrageous, right? Thanks, I knew you would understand. Go down to the barbershop, I attached a coupon.

Ms. Carol

 

***

 

Hanks’ Barber Shop

Best hairstyles, the best trends!

$20 off!

Valid 2/22/18-3/10/18

 

***

 

Ryan: I didn’t even read the script!!!

 

I mean, I guess I do have sort of long hair. I’ve been keeping it in short tufts, but they always fall into my eyes. Ugh. Hair makeover.

When I get back from the play, I’m destroying whatever I get, even if it ends up getting me to be bald.

 

Hank: Welcome to Hank’s Barber Shop! What can I do for you?

Ryan: <Holds out coupon>

Hank: Oh, great, what hair style?

Ryan: Pigtails.

<FaceTime with Lydia>

Lydia: Oh, hey… haha. What did you do to your hair?

Ryan: Ugh, don’t ask. Just look at the message Ms. Carol sent me.

<Forwards message>

Lydia: It’s weird all the teachers in our school always have an account in school.org. No specific stuff needed.

Ryan: Bah.

Lydia: Illuminati confirmed!!! Do-do-do-do-do-do!

Ryan: ???

Lydia: Whoops, Melania’s here. I’ll add her in the FaceTime.

<Connects Melania to FaceTime>

Melania: Hey… guys. Or should I say… girls?

Ryan: DUDE!!!

Melania: I’m a dudette.

Lydia: L-O-L.

Christmas Carol: You should start doing some last review for the school play. The English spelling bee is tomorrow.

Lydia: Um, who are you?

Christmas Carol: I do not have the information you seek.

Ryan: Your tagline… ‘Somewhere out there?’

Melania: With a world emoji?

Lydia: Yeah…

<Blocks user from FaceTime>

There. Done!

Melania: Whoops, guys, I gotta get back. See you guys later. I gotta get some shots. Tears of despair!

<Disconnects>

Lydia: By the way, I love your hair.

Ryan: Stick a sock in it, cabbage head.

Lydia: You do know that the play is at 7:00, right? You’ll have to wear that crazy hair style to school!

Ryan: What?

Lydia: Here.

<Forwards message from Ms. Carol>

 

***

 

To: Group Chat.Band@school.org

From: NatashaCarol@school.org

 

Hello class,

I wanted to inform you that the school play will be at 7:00 on Wednesday. Please keep your costumes, scripts, and other play materials inside your backpacks and change into them before the play starts.

 

Have fun!

Ms. Carol

 

***

 

Ryan: Another reason you should read the play material BEFORE you sign up.

<Disconnects from FaceTime>

Lydia: No one in the FaceTime. Hello darkness, my old friend!

<Ends FaceTime>

 

Ms. Carol scolded me so bad for wearing my “wig” to school. I got so bored, so I just started texting Lydia:

 

Ryan: Boi, Ms. Carol’s trying to roast me here.

Lydia: Serves you right.

Ryan: Argh. What about your hair?

Lydia: Doing it after school, so nobody sees me in my crazy, ugly, disgusting, boyish mohawk.

Ryan: What nice adjectives.

Lydia: I think your hair looks amazing. I would describe it as beautiful, amazing, girlish, fake, rich, ugly, and worth farting for.

Ryan: Wow, love your vocab.

Lydia: I know right? I’m going to rock the spelling bee!!!

Ryan: There’s a spelling bee?

Lydia: Yes. Did you not read Ms. Carol’s email? She’s subbing for English, and there’s a spelling bee today.

Ryan: ANOTHER reason why you should read the play’s email’s before you do stuff.

Lydia: Here.

<Forwards message>

 

***

 

To:Group Chat.Sixth Grade 2018@school.org

From:NatashaCarol@school.org

 

Hello class,

The English teacher is out today because she is sick. She asked me to remind you that we have a spelling bee today. The vocabulary words are in your notebooks.

 

Thank you!

Happy studying!

Ms. Carol

 

***

 

Ryan: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Lydia: What is happening right now?

 

“Ryan?” Huh? Uh-oh. I quickly look up from my phone and at the board. It says ‘Fractions’ in big lettering. Darn it.

“Uhh…”

“You weren’t listening. Please, Ryan, listen next time.” I nod, face burning. Suddenly Lydia sends a message. I look down. I explode in laughter. It’s a pitbull sucking a lemon, but on the top it says, “The power of lemons!!!” Lydia tries to look serious, but her face looks like she’s sucking on a lemon combined with laughing because someone farted in her face.

We both explode into giggles. Bad news. After class, the math teacher both sends a note home to our parents. This is what it read:

 

Hello parents,

Your kids, Lydia and Ryan, were fooling around during math class with their phones. They had apparently sent a funny meme to each other via texting, and therefore did not pay attention in class. Please talk to them to get things straight. In the meantime, we would like both of them to join Office Hours for math class.

 

I can’t help it. I start laughing, so hard, that I have to cough. Lydia looks at me like, “Who farted in your face?” And we both laugh so hard that we have to take a break. Ugh, it’s time for the spelling bee.

 

Name: Ryan

Spelling Bee

 

  • Frustrating
  • Ugly
  • Annoying
  • Cwazy
  • Princeippale
  • Loony
  • abseerd

 

Grade: F-

 

Later that afternoon, I decide to search up “Christmas Carol” online, just to clarify who the mysterious person is. As I type in the last letter, I click search. A few hundred results pop up. Mostly, it is about the holiday Christmas and the Christmas carol song. Discouraged, I decide to do something more specific.

I type in “Christmas Carol profile” and search. Only a few items pop up. One is linked to “school.org.” That’s weird. I click into it. It says:

Christmas Carol

 

Gender: Male

Tagline: Somewhere out there…

Birthday: Dec. 18, 1990

Circles: School.org

 

Later…

 

Ryan: Boi, look at what the principal sent to our parents:

<Attaches picture>

Lydia: That wasn’t even the meme that we sent to each other.

Melania: Haha, what was it?

Lydia: <Attaches meme>

Melania: How do you express laughing in text?

Ryan: Uh, add a poop emoji and a ‘whoops I pooped in my pants.’

Melania: Whoops I pooped in my pants.

Lydia: Did you know that the poop emoji was originally the emoji for chocolate ice cream?

Melania: Really???

Ryan: Poop flavored chocolate ice cream!!!

Lydia: KABOOM

Melania: LOL

Lydia: Whoops guys.

Melania: Dudettes

Ryan: MELANIA!!!

Lydia: Ha. I gotta go to the barber shop to get my disgusting, boyish, ugly, puky mohawk thing.

Ryan: Can’t wait!!!

Lydia: Dude. Whoops, I forgot, you’re a dudette.

<Disconnects from chat>

Ryan: O-M-G.

Melania: Can’t wait! Call me with FaceTime to see her hair, okay?

Ryan: Yeah, yeah.

<Disconnects from chat>

<Ends chat>

 

An hour later…

 

Lydia: Hey guys.

Ryan: Oh, here’s Melania. I’ll set up a FaceTime!

<Melania joins FaceTime>

Melania: Three words: Ha Ha Ha.

Lydia: Are those even words?

Ryan: Love your hair.

Lydia: Argh, and the price was forty dollars!

<Ding>

Melania: Oh, look, Ms. Carol is requesting to join the FaceTime!

<Connects Ms. Carol to Facetime>

Ms. Carol: Hi everybody! Ready for the play? Oh, by the way I love your hair, guys.

Melania: Ahem, dudettes.

Ryan: Boiii!!!

Ms. Carol: I’m not a boy.

Melania: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ms. Carol: Oh, hello Melania. Nice to see that you are feeling better!

Melania: Oh, thank you! I’m still in the hospital, they say they won’t let me out until next week!

Ryan: Sucks for you.

Melania: …

Ms. Carol: Oh! It’s time for the play! See you guys!

<Disconnects from FaceTime>

Melania: DUDETTES!!!

<Disconnects from FaceTime>

Ryan: We’ve been over this…

<Disconnects from FaceTime>

Lydia: Oh no, my mohawk is getting soiled!!!

<Ends FaceTime>

 

I quickly change into the purple skirt and sparkly wristbands and jump up onto the backstage. Lydia is there, wearing a buttoned down blue shirt and a really weird mohawk. Here is the play: I gulp, and I hear Ms. Carol come out and introduce the play:

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the play ‘A Christmas Carol’!”

A narrator walks out. “Long ago, in the town of Butterfield, there lived two families: the Haymans and the Candlemans. They were rivals, but one day in a Christmas church, the long history was forever changed.”

It’s time for my first act. I walk out. “Oh, John, I wish our family could get together. Christmas is supposed to be a happy time!”

Lydia, playing John the little boy, comes out. “I brought you a present!” She holds out a tissue box wrapped in present paper. I’m supposed to look inside. There’s a fake figurine of Santa and the sleigh inside.

“Oh, what a nice present, John! Thank you!” John nods. Then the scene changes.

Lydia is off stage, and I’m lying on a fake bed. I put the Santa sleigh figurine on the table, and I pretend to sleep on the bed. Then I feel the staff pull away the bed, and the scene changes again.

The people in the back are waving a large poster with Santa and the sleigh, and it is “flying.” People on the balcony drop presents down, and then I feel myself being pulled back on stage. I wake up. Santa and the sleigh are not on the table anymore.

I say, “Where’s the figurine?” in a fake, tired voice. Then the scene ends, and Lydia comes out.

She is holding the figurine. “Oh, Santa, give us all good presents!” And suddenly, people on the balcony activate the confetti sprayers, but instead of confetti, papers fly out. On them say, “Christmas Carol on Sunday! Free admission!” I pick one up on stage.

The next act is here. We are seated on fake chairs. Then the choir of boys comes out and starts singing the Christmas Carol. The people on the balcony drop presents. Then the curtain is pulled back, and the play ends with both families coming out and rejoicing.

 

I sigh in relief.

Back at home, Ms. Carol is with me and picking me up to go home. She smiles at me. “You did great, Ryan,” she says. I thank her. Then she says, “I tried to encourage you, but you didn’t need any encouraging. I made a new account called Christmas Carol and went into your FaceTime to try to help you.” I look up. She continues, “It was on auto reply, so it was a robot replying. But look at you now!” I smile. The play has ended, and I am happy.

The car slowly drives away, leaving one paper on the ground: “Christmas Carol Sunday! Free admission!” A boy picks it up, smiles, and heads towards the church.

 

His name is John Candleman. At the church, someone else is there: Jason Hayman. Wink, wink.

 

The Soccer Game

One time, it was PSG against Monaco. A person named Jeff had never seen a soccer game in his life before. He didn’t want to miss the soccer game; he didn’t go to any soccer game because he couldn’t afford it. He was very poor; he only had 200 dollars, and that was the exact price of the game, but then he couldn’t afford his taxes. Since he is a farmer, he could sell potatoes, tomatoes, salad, blueberries, and raspberries. That will make have enough money to survive, but first he had to work!!!

He started working; he had never worked as hard as that before. At the end of the day, his fields were out of food. He just had to put them in barrels and then lock the barrels in a room. What he feared the most was that he didn’t know if people will buy things from his market. But he had more chances to sell things because the next day was Sunday. The next day he had a plan: when people go to the market and buy a lot of things, he will wake up at five in the morning, so he could sell the most things he can. He put his alarm for five in the morning. He got to bed at 6:00 p.m. to wake up earlier. At 5:00 a.m., he woke up and went to the village. He went with bags full of food. When he was at the village, about nobody was there. Three hours later, the whole village was there. He had about no more food. He gave everything he had, and he had no more food in his bags. He got 1,000 dollars. He was happy to sell the food he had.

When he went back, he could not go in his house. Mice were everywhere. He started thinking about what to do. He came up with an idea. He’ll go to a market and get three packs of products to kill the mice. When he came back, he put all the products in the house. It killed about all the mice. Three were left. He went in his house, and he smashed the mice with a hammer. He had nothing to do, so he headed to his friend’s house. His friend is the richest man in the world. They became friends when they were little kids. The farmer asked the richest man in the world to go to the soccer game. He made him go to the soccer game.

Today was the soccer game. He went to the soccer game, and he gave the 200 dollars. There even were free T-shirts of PSG. He was for PSG, so he took the T-shirts. The tickets said he was on the second floor. He went to the second floor and gave the tickets to the lady. When he arrived to his seat, someone took it. The farmer said it was his seat, but he said it was his. So he went back to the lady and said someone took his seat. The lady went to the boy and kicked him out of the stadium. Now it was perfect. He was impatient. Twenty minutes left. Just before the game, people from the audience went in the stadium and messed up the field and put glass on the field. They did that because they hate soccer.

They had to make the whole stadium go back to their houses and come back tomorrow to watch the game. The farmer was angrier than ever. He had always wanted to watch a soccer game. He was ready for tomorrow. For the whole day, he was dreaming of being a soccer player and that he scored goals and that he sold his T-shirt and that everyone bought it and also that he won a World Cup. It was 10:00 p.m.. He went to sleep dreaming of the next day.

At 7:00 p.m., he went to the soccer stadium. The places were free because of what happened yesterday. Even popcorn, pizza, soda, and all kind of things. He took about every single food, it was a feast. He was ready to see the wonderful, great PSG against Monaco. The game started with PSG!!! Cavani passed to Neymar, who dribbled three persons, and passed to Rabiot. Rabiot tried to pass to Verratti, but Monaco caught it back. Monaco ran the ball up the field, but Silvia caught it and passed to Kurzawa. Kurzawa ran up the field, and just before Monaco stole the ball from him, he passed to Lucas and passed to Neymar who ran up the ball. He passed to Mbappe who passed to Cavani and passed it to Neymar, and he scored a beautiful goal. He shot so hard the goalie ran away from the ball to not get hit. The crowds were yelling with happiness. It was starting great for PSG with a start of 1-0. Monaco got the ball, and they ran up the ball, passed to Falcao, ran with the ball, and dribbled Meunier and Kurzawa. When Silvia was about to get the ball from him, Falcao passed to his teammate and dribbled around the defenders and passed back to Falcao. Falcao shot in the corner and hard, and it went in the goal just before the goalie caught it. The farmer didn’t like this because what Monaco did was really strong. He didn’t know if PSG could keep up for that attack PSG again, and it was 1-1.

Cavani dribbled Falcao and passed to Mbappe. Lemar was on the way to Mbappe but passed to Lucas, who shot but missed the wonderful goal. Lemar started and passed to someone, and he went up the field and passed to Falcao who passed to Lemar and tried to shoot, but he missed. Trapp passed to Silvia and did a wonderful pass up high in the air, but Monaco caught it and passed directly to his teammate. Monaco got to pass the half line and tried to shoot, but Meunier caught it back. He dribbled Sidibe. He did a pass in the air, but Monaco caught it and did a wonderful pass in the air. Just when Kurzawa was going to do a header, he put his hands in the air and touched the ball with his hands. What a sad thing he did, because it was a penalty for Monaco. Monaco was laughing so much that they might miss the penalty. They chose their best player, and he was the wonderful Falcao. Falcao got ready to shoot, and Trapp did not want to do the penalty, so he got out of the field. Areola went on the field, and he prayed to god to catch the penalty. Okay, it was time to shoot, and Falcao shoots a ball that nobody has ever caught. Areola dived and caught it. What a wonderful catch for PSG and what a wonderful shot and what a miss. PSG gathered around Areola and thanked him. They were so happy that PSG won, and Areola was crying of happiness because he saved his first penalty. They knew they needed to get off the field because it was halftime, so they went to their lockers.

The farmer was so happy with the catch that he wanted to get to the PSG’s locker to say how that catch was wonderful, the whole crowd is happy, and they could hear the noise from twenty miles away. But the farmer was more excited than everybody because this was his first soccer game, so he was going crazy. Monaco was saying to Falcao, “How did you miss the shot?” Falcao was not playing well now, so the coach took him out of the field for someone else. Monaco just lost their best player, so everybody thought the coach was crazy. PSG had a plan. Since Falcao was not in the game, they were going to do the passing skill. The reason why they didn’t do the passing skill was because Falcao was the best at intercepting the passes. Okay, the ball was for Monaco. The Monaco goalie passed to Lemar who tried to pass to Sidibe, but Mbappe intercepted the pass and dribbled Lemar. But Sidibe was running on Mbappe, so he just passed to Cavani who did a rainbow on Lemar and then passed to Mbappe who passed to Lemar by accident. But Neymar stole the ball as soon as he got it, and then Neymar passed to Cavani who did a pass to Neymar in the air. Neymar did a bicycle kick in the air, and he scored!!! What a beautiful goal. Monaco was so bad right now. So their coach decided to put Falcao back in the game. Falcao, full with rage, ran the ball and faked everybody, and then when he got to the half line he just stopped, and everybody ran on him. So he did the easiest thing in the history of soccer. He just passed and since everybody was running on him, he passed to Sidibe, and the whole field was to him. Sidibe ran the ball up the field. When he was faced to the goal he stopped, and the goal ran on him. So he just dribbled him out, and then he shot in the goal, and it was a goal!!! The Monaco fans yelled so loud that the PSG coach couldn’t talk to his players. The coach told to PSG that Monaco’s coach did not want Monaco to lose, so the players were doing the best they could. So he told to PSG to annoy them by doing the best they could and make them run around so that they were too tired to run. They got on the field, and they did what their coach said, but there was not enough time because it was halftime. The players got off the field and into their lockers. Their coach told them to make them run until the end of the game. The people got out of their seats, and then they went to take other food. They came back, and there was still thirty-five minutes to wait. The farmer just waited in his seat until the minutes passed.

The game was 2-1 for Monaco, but PSG had a strategy. They were going to put all the players in front of the goal and have some stay in defense and pass to them. The farmer did not feel good. He did not like the idea because there were more players in attack than in defense, so Monaco could easily pass the PSG defense. The farmer was wrong. PSG’s defense dribbled Monaco and got to pass to the attack, and Rabiot reserved the ball. The goalie jumped on him, but Rabiot passed to Neymar, and he scored. Monaco had the ball, and they passed the ball around just when Meunier intercepted it and then passed to Rabiot. Rabiot ran up the field, but he was in front of Sidibe who was in defense for the whole time if someone got the ball. Jeff felt like Rabiot was going to score, but Sidibe got the ball and then passed to Falcao who tried to score, but Kurzawa intercepted it. Thomas Meunier got it, and then Cavani got the pass. Then Mbappe got it who dribbled everybody, and he scored. 2-2! And there were only ten more minutes for the game. And it was only 2-2!!! Monaco and PSG wanted to score, but they knew it is impossible. Monaco had the ball, but PSG easily took it away from them, and they were close to the goal. It was Neymar’s ball, and he shot his most powerful shot, and he scored. There were only two more minutes left. Monaco tried to score, but PSG’S defense was too good. The game was done, and the farmer yelled, and tears of joy streamed down his face. As the farmer was going to talk to his friend, he saw that he was not there. Two days after the game, the farmer went to his best friend’s house.

His best friend said, “Stop talking to me about the soccer game.”

They ate lunch together while the farmer asked his best friend if he liked soccer or not.

The richest man in the world answered, “I never liked soccer.”

The farmer was too sad to hear more of what his best friend said, so he left his best friend’s house, and he went to his house. Three days later, he learned that his best friend was injured, and he had to go to the hospital. The farmer went with him to the hospital. The hospital keepers unfortunately said that he will die in three days, except if they ask Swiss to bring the medicine because they are the only people with the medecine. They called the Swiss. The Swiss were on their way when they got their engine on fire, and they crashed in the woods. Three days passed, and his best friend died. It wasn’t so bad because the farmer took all the money of the richest man in the world.

THE END

 

The Forbidden Sisters

Two girls, one story. One girl has no powers and lives with normal people until she finds out her secret. The other girl lives in luxury because she has powers, but then she goes on a journey to find out her past and why she is so unique.

 

Chapter One:

5/12/2347Monday

Sarah

One normal day, I go to a poorly funded school early in the morning. My school has brown paint peeling off the walls, stains like everywhere, and teachers who only make like $2 per hour. The elites want us to be poor to level up their social status. I don’t like walking to school because people always make fun of me even though I’m just like them. They shout stuff like “Poor girl” or “We can’t have someone who is adopted around here.” The worst thing they have said to me is “This girl cannot be from here. Look at her hair.” I wish I was like the elites, the ones who have powers like mind control, water, lighting, and even super strength. But I’m just stuck here, no powers, barely any friends, and always being picked on. At least I have one thing people like about me, but sometimes it’s also my downfall, my hair. It’s kind of hard to explain. Well I’m gonna try. My hair is like a cinnamon red with a hint of super dark brown. My parents say I’m lucky because I have this hair. I don’t care about my hair. I just want to be cool like the elites.

 

5/12/2347: The Second Monday in May

Lark

I walk to school in my itchy uniform. I wish my school provided comfy uniforms, but they just had to give girls itchy leggings. My school is really expensive because it’s one of the best schools in Devorah and the world. Well, the whole world is pretty much a wasteland outside of Devorah, the “last protected city in the world.” Normal day at school, still the same marble walls and white paint. I wish my school changed for just one day. Like how about we celebrate some of the old holidays before the world was sucked of almost all of its materials like water or trees. We don’t even have any real, natural trees. We only have moss and some species of flower. One of the only flowers we have left is a lilac, and that’s why my hairs tips are lilac-colored. Just in case the lilac flower dies out, I still have a faint memory of the lilac through my hair. Well, I guess I have to stay in school or else I won’t learn.

 

Chapter Two:

5/13/2347: Tuesday

Sarah

Today, in my school, I don’t know if I can even call it a school, we learned about why our city was called Devorah. Apparently, it was the last name of the couple who created Devorah, Jake and Marie Devorah. I think that’s a weird last name, Devorah, ugh. I feel like the elites, a.k.a. gods is what we call them here, used to be nice to people without powers before the world turned into a wasteland. I think the gods turned greedy, selfish, and mean when the world “failed.”

 

5/13/2347: The Second Tuesday in May

Lark

Today, we practiced our powers. Like everyday, people crowd around me because I have a very unique power, fire. After we practiced, we went to class, and I learned that the thing that sets us elites apart from humans is that humans have red blood, while elites have aqua blood. That’s why when a baby is born, just to make sure, the doctors do a blood test to see if the baby has red or aqua blood. The teacher wanted us to find our puncture scar. Most people’s scars were on their palm, but mine was on my ankle. I thought, Hmm how weird. I guess it doesn’t matter that much.

 

Chapter Three:

5/14/2347Wednesday

Sarah

No fair, my brother got to go to the inner part of Devorah a.k.a “where the elites live.” He got to meet the queen, Jessica, because he makes spices for the royals. I still have to wait until I’m fifteen to start a job, and right now I’m only thirteen. When someone turns fifteen, the royals choose what job that person “deserves.” Usually, they pick bad jobs for people like wasteland adventurer where they can possibly die. But that was a different case for my brother. Since my mom is a really good cook, she taught us how to cook for ourselves. So the royals wanted my brother to make spices and crush them down for the royal cooks. Sadly for him, only girls can be a royal cook which means I have a chance! Well, at least the parade is this Thursday. I love the parade because we get to skip school.

 

5/14/2347: The Second Wednesday of May

Lark

This week, we get to set up for the parade because it’s this Thursday. There are seven groups of four because there are twenty-eight kids in my class. My group is making desserts! I’m making chocolate ice cream. Sadly, the ice cream is made with artificial dairy because we don’t have cows. My friend Kallie is making snow cones with my other friend Bloom. Lastly, my friend Kassie is making popsicles. I am so excited for the parade!

 

Chapter Four:

Day of the parade… (before the parade started)

Sarah

Yay! Finally, today is the day of the parade. I have been waiting all week for this. From 12:00-7:00 p.m. we have a giant parade to celebrate the creation of Devorah in 2047. That was three hundred years ago. We celebrate this holiday every year. This day is the only day people who are “humans” get to live kind of like the elites. Thinking about it makes me fidget in my chair.

 

Lark

Today is the day of the parade! We have to take a thirty minute drive to the parade area to set up. After we set up, we get to party at the parade! While we were in the car, I got to eat a snowcone. So good. We finally got here, and we have all the materials to make our stand, and we are building it right now. Yay! We finished building our stand and putting our tasty treats in. Now, we have to wait for a bit until we get to party!

 

Chapter Five:

During the parade…

Sarah

Yay! The parade has started! When the parade was announced by the teachers, all the kids came flushing through the entrance. The parade has speakers and music and a dance floor. It feels like luxury! They have really good food like spaghetti, ice cream, snow cones, and tomato basil soup with meatballs. I love the tomato basil soup with meatballs that they serve because of its creamy goodness! Sadly, we have to use veggies to make meatballs because meat is so expensive. Ugh! I just got into a fight for the last piece of bread with my classmate Ferdinand. Ow, my cheek hurts. Ferdinand slapped it. Ugh!

I scream at Ferdinand, “I will hurt you so much you will regret that you ever messed with me.”

Ferdinand says in a confident voice, “Yeah right, you’re a girl!”

Then I get super angry.

I shout to Ferdinand, “Ughhhh! You will regret messing with… O-M-G I’m flying!”

Yay! I am getting noticed! Everyone is crowding around me. Ow, my hands are burning hot. I feel like they are on fire. Wait, wait, wait, am I an elite? My hands are sprouting fire! HELP!!! My head is super dizzy, what’s happening…

 

Lark

Party time! Woo hoo! Right now is slow dance time. With boys. There was always this guy I have always wanted to ask to the dance, but I never had the nerve to. His name is Giovanni. Ohh, Giovanni! His black hair is so wavy, and his eyes are so dreamy and a blue-grey color. He’s also really smart. I’m gonna ask him to the dance!

I ask Giovanni in a sweet voice, “Do you want to go to the dance Giovanni? I would love to go with you!”

Then I blink a lot.

Giovanni says, “I will never want to date someone like you. You’re so annoying. Also, I already have a girlfriend, so LEAVE me and my sweet girlfriend Sakura ALONE!”

Sakura says, “Yeah, what he said.”

Then, I run to the bathroom, and I sob my heart out for an hour. Tears are everywhere on the floor, on my dress, everywhere. Everyone is crowding around me and laughing except for my closest friends Kallie, Bloom, and Kassie. They are so nice. After that incidence, everyone will think I’m a dork, especially Giovanni and Sakura, the most popular kids in the school! When I come out of the bathroom, I see everyone crowding around someone. I overhear people saying it is a human. Why would people, even elites, be crowding around a human? I walk over to the crowd and see a human girl with a name tag that says “Sarah,” and she is floating! Only elites can do that! How is that possible? Is she an elite taking away from her family? How??? O-M-G her hands are shouting sparks of fire or ember! If she is not an elite, then how does she have a power? More specifically, how does she have the power that only I have in all of the elites?

 

Chapter Six:

Day after parade…

Sarah

I just woke up on a hospital bed in one of our makeshift hospitals in my village, The Forgotten Ones. The reason why our village is called that is because it used to be an elite town that was the center of peace, trading, and bonds between the humans and the elites that prosper there. My town used to be funded by the elites at the start of the whole world turning into a wasteland. It used to be a place where humans and elites lived side by side. The humans were the people making stuff for sale and trade, and the elites would fund us humans in return for our precious goods. But all that changed some 150 years ago, when more resources started disappearing and less trades started coming. The elites cut off our funding. And that’s why we are called The Forgotten Ones. I wish I lived and died in the good era of my village because I could have had a good life, but I guess the people in the sky decided something else for me. The hospital has ripped curtains, stained beds, unsanitary gloves, and no place to rinse your hands. If I led a hospital, I would at least wash my hands with our fake water, so the doctors wouldn’t spread bacteria from patient to patient. But this is a poorly funded, makeshift hospital, so of course it won’t have that kind of stuff. The doctors said that I have powers and that I fainted because I never learned to control them, and I did a “Power Overload.” They just need to figure out what causes it, so they can give me treatment.

 

Lark

So let’s talk about last night. First, Giovanni breaks my heart. Wait, also Sakura. Secondly, I missed out on the slow dance. Lastly, I saw a HUMAN flying and sparks of ember or fire. If I told people about any of this, they would believe everything (sadly). EXCEPT A HUMAN FLYING WITH STUFF COMING OUT OF HER HANDS! Even more attention got drawn to her because it was a shadowy, dark night. Her hands showed up as a glimmer of light from a far. It was only a glimmer because so many people were crowding around her, and you could only see the light through the cracks between people’s bodies.

 

Chapter Seven:

Earlier that day…

5/17/2347Saturday

Sarah

I have to get to the bottom of this. How was I able to use powers? I’m a human, not an elite. I think I have an idea to solve this, whenever I bleed, my eyes get blurry, and I go unconscious. That means I have never seen my blood. I’m gonna give myself a paper cut. I’ll make the blood drip onto the paper and then hide the paper so no one knows. Then that will be the true way of knowing if I am an elite or human. If my blood is aqua, then I am an elite. If my blood is red, then I’m a human. I learned this fact because I saw this girl’s journal in the trash during the parade. The next day, it wasn’t in the trash. I guess before the girl left, she got her journal from the trash. When I was reading through, it she seemed like an elite girl, and I think her name is Lark. I got the paper, and I have my finger. I just cut my fi… Okay, I’m awake, now let’s see the paper. It’s under the bed. OH MY GOSH! MY BLOOD IS AQUA! I need to ask my mom if I’m adopted. THIS is life changing! I am an elite. I would never think in a million years I would have powers!

 

5/17/2347The Third Saturday of May

Lark

I can’t deal with these lies anymore! I can’t handle this! I’m going to figure out what happened to me, my origin. I know my blood is aqua. I’ve seen it before, and I have powers. So that rules out being a human. I’m going to the central government office. That place has all the documents about all the people who live in Devorah. The documents start when that person is born and end when that person dies. That’s why each family in Devorah has a document writer who writes documents about all of their family members and themselves, then sends them to the central office. They also have document writers for people who work at any workplace. Like schools, restaurants, and even the office buildings. Then, the editor looks over the documents and edits them. They even have the founding couples documents in there. All I have to do is sneak in there and look at my document, or since today is volunteer work day, I think I’ll just volunteer as an editor. Yeah, that’s a better idea. I don’t wanna go to jail.

 

Chapter Eight:

Later that day…

5/17/2347Saturday

Sarah

I’m gonna ask my mom. I’m walking to the kitchen right now.

I ask my mom, “Mom, am I adopted?”

My mom, Chesa, asks, “Why would you ever say that, Sarah Mahalia Chrysanthemum?!”

Because I am! Look at this piece of paper! It shows the color of my blood!” I say.

Shocked, Chesa looks at the paper, and she sees the paper has aqua blood on it. “You, you were never supposed to find out, honey. How did you know that your blood would mean elite or not, honey?” says Chesa.

“During the party, a girl named Lark threw her journal in the trash. I got interested, so I looked at the journal. There I learned a lot of information, including how elite people’s blood is aqua, and human blood is red. I also think Lark is an elite. But the day after, when I was in the hospital, while you and the doctor were talking, I snuck outside to check if the journal was still in the trash, so I could keep it. But it wasn’t in the trash, so I snuck back into the hospital and made it look like I never moved,” I say.

“Wow okay! Well, let me tell you how you are adopted and the story. So you know your brother, right?” says Chesa.

“Yeah, so?” I say.

“Well, I gave birth to your brother. I didn’t adopt him,” says Chesa.

“Wait, then how am I adopted?” I say.

“Well, I’m about to get there, so can you not talk till I’m done with the story?” says Chesa.

“Okay,” I say.

“Okay, well after I gave birth to your brother, the doctors told me I used all my energy to give birth to your brother, so I couldn’t give birth anymore. So when I heard that an elite couple was having twins and that in the elite world you can’t have twins, they said on a secret telegram ‘I am letting one human family adopt my baby girl because twins are forbidden in the elite world. So can you meet at the alleyway between the elite and human world if you want her. But you cannot tell her she has powers.’ And since I’ve always wanted a daughter, I went there. It was the one of the happiest times of my life,” says Chesa.

One of the happiest times! You don’t love me the most!” I say.

“No, honey, it’s not like that. I love you and your brother equally, but having your brother was also one of my favorite times. Also, I said no interrupting. Anywho, back to the story. We changed your name right when you came home. Your name used to be Lilac, but to protect you, I renamed you Sarah. I thought you were never going to find out till that party where you did a ‘Power Overload.’ I knew you were going to find out. Oh, and your sister is Lark. Just in case, if you wanted to know why they wanted to put you up for adoption, they said they did a game to see who stayed with the couple, and in the end Lark was chosen to stay,” says Chesa.

“Wait, that girl’s journal I found was my sister’s!” I say.

“Yes, Sarah, yes,” says Chesa.

Then we hugged.

 

3/17/2347The Third Saturday of May

Lark

Okay, I was chosen to go help being editor. We are lining up in front of the office. Right now, they’re telling us all the rules. They’ve assigned me to the group where we throw junk mail. They seperate us into partners. One group goes to families, one to work offices, one ‘other stuff,’ and one for illegal. Only the two oldest get to do illegal. I am the second oldest, so I can do illegal. This is where I can see my illegal family documents, if we have any. They are categorized by first name, and since my dad is a document writer, it must be under his first name. “A” where are you? Found you! Now all I have to do is find Andrew Mendoza. Found him! Let’s see the documents. Twin birth! What’s this? Let’s check. This is what the document says: “My wife has just given birth to twins. Names Lilac and Lark. Since twins are forbidden, I must release one of them. Lilac has gone to a nice, human family while Lark stays with us. I wish I could keep both daughters.” Who could be Lilac? Lilac is my sister? I can’t deal with this. I’m going to the human side next week. I need to find my sister.

 

The End

The story of Lark and Sarah will continue in Forbidden Sisters: The Journey

 

Just Our Secret

Chapter One

Three minutes before I died, I was eating a hamburger. It was quite good, if you were wondering. Lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and onions. No pickles, obviously. Who do you think I am? I had a side of fries. Did you know fries are actually really good if they’re dipped in a mixture of ketchup and mayo?

Don’t look at me like that! It’s good!

My mom taught me that combination. We were on vacation in Guadalupe. It’s a little French territory in the Caribbean. Just the two of us. And we had gone out to eat at this “authentic” takeout place. I had been mooching off my mom’s weird shrimp dish, as my chicken salad was pretty terrible. She reached down into the bottom of the plastic bag we had gotten our takeout in, and she pulled out a styrofoam container full of fries.

She opened the plastic lid with a crack and, to my horror, there was a packet of mayonnaise in there. But I tried it out, and it was pretty good. Mom said it was more of a European thing to do. Ever since then, whenever I asked for mayonnaise with my fries, people looked at me like I had just shot a man. But I could handle it.

I could handle a lot of things. Like bullies.

I mean, I never was bullied that much. Let’s be real, Bruce Nightcon picked on everyone. Being 5’8” helped him out in that regard too. No one dared challenge the tall kid. That was just something you did not do. Ever. Kids who did that ended up with bloody noses if Bruce was in a good mood.

The only person Bruce never picked on was his sister, Amelie Nightcon, and his “friend,” Nick Whaner. Nick just didn’t want to get beat up, so he pretended to like Bruce.

Neither of them were very smart. It didn’t help their reputation that every time they got a math question wrong, someone got a bloody nose. He beat up the school counselor once.

What am I even saying? I should introduce myself. My name is Tempest Jyrs. And I am dead.

Pretty dramatic, huh? It took me a while to think that up. Y’know, just start with some useless information, then hit them with a boom! Guess what, baby?! You’re talking to a dead man!

I guess I shouldn’t be so happy to share this about me, but it’s like opening up. Like I relieved a great weight, a boulder, nesting on my shoulder blades. (Hear that metaphor? I should do this writing thing more often.)

Anyway, maybe you should learn a bit about me. My name is Tempest Jyrs, as you know, and I would’ve been starting 10th grade next year had I not, of course, died. I was born in a town in Illinois, called Bloomington, but I moved to Oklahoma City in 1st grade. I was young enough not to care at the time, since you don’t make real friends until 3rd grade.

My mom and dad divorced just after I was born, and my dad got all the rights to me, so I never really knew my mom. I only know my cousins, aunt, uncle, and grandparents on my dad’s side. I’m also an only child, but I’m kind of glad about that part. My friend, Rodney, has three other siblings, and he hates all of them.

“Imagine a pet, except they’re not cute, can speak English, and can never be fully house trained. Then, you’ll have half an idea of what it’s like to have a little sibling,” he had said once.

I had laughed, thinking he was kidding. Then I slept over at his house, and I realized I so wrong.

I was always a pretty good student, too. I mean, I always got A’s and B’s. I did well in Phys-Ed. I was on a soccer team, too. Not because I was good, but because I was fast. I played right striker ‘cause of it. And when I say “fast,” I mean fast. Really fast. Like, “how-is-he-all-the-way-over-there-he-was-just-right-here” fast. I also enjoyed hockey. I played goalie, ‘cause I wasn’t good enough to play anything else. I could hardly stand on two blades. The only reason I played was because my dad had played in college and loved the sport since he was a child.

And because I enjoyed playing. That, too. There was nothing quite like the thrill of making a save to me. Your team patting you on the back, the crowd cheering.

And I had a girlfriend. I mean, Genesis and I liked each other. We kissed a couple of times, but it was still a new relationship. We could have probably stayed together if I hadn’t, of course, died.

Now that I think about it, you’re probably dying to know how I died. I mean, if I truly am dead, then how am I writing this? Do they maybe have computers in Heaven? Is my spirit writing this? Or am I still alive? So many questions that I don’t want to answer. Don’t know how to answer. But I’ll try to explain this the best I can.

First of all, yes, I am really dead. This is not a hoax. This is not a prank. Secondly, no, I am not writing this from Heaven. At least, I assume Heaven wouldn’t have such a loud ceiling fan. Really distracting. I’m writing from… well, I’m not quite sure. I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough, though. I mean, someone’s coming out of the office door and into the lobby. He’s coming towards me and smiling at me right now.

“Hi there,” he said cheerily, extending a hand.

His nails were perfectly manicured. I took it hesitantly.

“I’m Murphy,” he continued, “but you can call M-Dawg, Murph, or Dr. M.”

“Okay, Murphy,” I said, making sure I didn’t use any of his nicknames. “I’m Tempest.”

Murphy let out a hearty laugh. “Oh, I know,” he said, his black eyes twinkling. “So, how’s Genesis?” he inquired.

That right there stopped me dead.

“Excuse me?” I said, turning to him slowly.

“Genesis?” the man said, confused. “Oh, did you not meet her yet?”

“Yes, I’ve met her,” I spat. “She’s my girlfriend. But how do you know her?”

“Listen, buddy. I know things about you that you don’t even know about you,” he said, his dead eyes sparkling. “I know who you’ll marry, when you’ll die, how you’ll die. Call me your guardian angel, if you will. Now, come with me,” he said abruptly, beckoning over his shoulder.

By now, I was utterly confused to say the least. I wasn’t sure if I was alive or not, and I just found my “guardian angel,” I guess. He seemed a bit too intense to be an angel, though. I always assumed they would be so calm and peaceful, and floating around in togas.

As if reading my thoughts, which at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if Murphy could, he let out a long sigh.

“Not what you expected, right?” he said.

“What?” I responded, shaken out of my thoughts.

“Me! Whenever you think ‘guardian angel,’ you think two things. Cinderella, and a fat baby playing the harp and wearing a toga.”

“What? No! That’s not what I imagined at all!” I said, though that happened to be exactly what I had imagined.

He turned around as we stopped our march in a short, white-walled hallway in front of a small, white door. In faded brass, the number 441 was stamped across the front.

“This will be your room,” Murphy said as he fitted a small, plastic card into a slot by the handle. Testing the knob, the door glided inwards on soundless hinges.

As I peeked my head into the room, it was rather bland. Let’s just say I was disappointed but not surprised. Directly to the right of me was a small, carpeted bathroom, and to the left was a cramped walk-in closet. As I walked farther into the apartment, the hallway abruptly spread out into a larger room. In the far right corner was a neatly made bed that looked decently comfortable. Spread across the left wall was a mini-kitchen, containing a cutting board, shelves stacked to the ceiling, a fridge, a sink, an oven, multiple pots and pans, and what looked like a small dish of spices. Finally, in the closest left corner was a small desk with a lamp, computer, and a few stacks of pen and paper. There was plush, white, stain-free, wall-to-wall carpeting about an inch thick covering every corner of the room.

“Well,” said Murphy, his wide smile unfading, “I’ll leave you to it.”

And there I was. Confused, lost, and utterly speechless.

My first order of business was the computer I had noticed when I entered. I searched all around the internet, searching for answers to my endless questions. I was even looking at posts such as “What To Do If You’re Kidnapped,” or “Do Aliens Exist.” Even, “Are You A Victim Of Amnesia?” Which, at this point, I wouldn’t be too quick to deny.

What had happened? Was I stabbed after eating that burger? Oh, that reminds me of something! You don’t actually know how I died, do you? Well, I’m going to be honest. I don’t quite know. I was just reaching for a napkin after finishing my burger. Then suddenly, there was a lot of noise behind me. I was about to spin around, and then everything went blank. And by blank, I don’t mean all I saw was dark, or my vision went white, I mean I fell asleep there, and I woke up here. There is simply is no memory in between. Nothing. And then I decided to fill you guys in.

Well, I think I’ll go catch some sleep now. This has been a long day.

 

Chapter Two

So I just woke up and, judging by the clock hanging up on the wall above my bed, I got at least eleven hours of sleep, so that’s good. I don’t really know what to do now. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to leave my room, or if I even can (I haven’t tried yet.) I heard voices outside my door earlier, so that might mean something. I’m just really confused.

I found eggs and bacon in the fridge, so I put an omelet on the pan and waited. While it was cooking, I continued my endless goose chase to try and find out where I was. That’s when an epiphany hit me. Two words, friends: Google Maps! With desperate fingers, I quickly searched it up, begging for answers. But I was greeted only with a blank, white screen. So I waited for it to load. And I waited. I waited so long, my omelet started to burn. I waited so long that soon, thin black smoke was pouring off the pan and into the windowless room that was my apartment. Only then did I shut off the oven, my eyes never leaving the white screen.

I would’ve sat there all day and all night if I weren’t interrupted by three sharp knocks on my door. With heartbreaking clarity, I realized that Google Maps would never load. I could have sat there for a million lifetimes to no avail. So I pulled myself out of the wooden desk chair, turned off the computer, and walked to the door. It had been unlocked, as a matter of fact, or at least it now opened easily to reveal a smiling Murphy.

“Go on and get dressed. Today’s the big day,” he said cheerily.

“These are the only clothes I got,” I barked, unusually grouchy.

“Oh, there’s a suit in the closet for you. I’ll wait outside.”

I slammed the door on his smiling face and dragged myself over to the closet. In it was a perfectly tailored suit, which I was sure hadn’t been there yesterday. I pulled it on. It was more comfortable then I’d like to admit.

“I’m ready,” I said as I opened the door once again, now fashioned in a clean, white suit.

“Come right this way, then,” Murphy said, waving as I followed glumly.

“Where are we even going?” I inquired.

“To your hearing,” he responded.

I already did not like this. “Hearing” made it sound like I was about to be placed in front of a judge and jury. I voiced this to him, though maybe a little less politely than I did to you.

“Oh, everyone has those concerns. And rightly so,” he said. “But what it really is, is we review your near-death experience, then decide whether you deserve to die.”

He said all this like he was discussing what to have for lunch or how the weather was. I, on the other hand, stared at him in horror.

“So you decide whether or not I will die? I spat, enunciating every word clearly.

“That’s right,” he said, grinning.

I was still recovering from that truth bomb when we walked into the courtroom. It looked exactly like a courtroom should. Or, at least, what I assumed a courtroom should look like. I had never been in one before, but it looked just like those ones in Law and Order.

Murphy gently tapped me once to get my attention, and pointed towards a large, uncomfortable-looking chair next to the black-robed judge. There was already a whole jury full of other Murphy-looking men and women, all wearing a collection of black, white, and grey suits. I walked towards the chair hesitantly. I could feel every eye in the room on me.

Once I was seated, the black-robed judge nodded once ominously. A large screen then lowered down from the ceiling, and it flickered once, before revealing a frozen image of, well, me. I was casually hunched over a burger.

“We will now review Tempest Swartinhien Jyrs’ near-death experience,” the judge said, his loud voice echoing scarily in the dead silent room.

Suddenly, the frozen picture jumped to life. I wished that I had paid more attention to my table manners that day, as my chewing and munching sounds were amplified awkwardly throughout the room. I coughed once into my elbow. Then, I wiped my hands, thankfully, on a napkin. I reached for a fry and ate it slowly. I remembered this bit now. I had been imagining what it would be like to breathe under water. I smiled a little. Then, I reached over and took another bite of my burger.

Just looking at the burger now made my mouth water, as I remembered that I hadn’t eaten breakfast.

The scene seemed so innocent now. No one would’ve expected I might die in the same three minutes.

Then, the shouting started. As I heard it on tape, it seemed much clearer than in person. I heard the shouts.

“Help!”

“Oh my God!”

Then, I had gotten up and spun around. I knew all this, but I needed to see how I died.

I had spun around and…

The video freeze-framed right as the bullet entered my skull. The area around my head was an explosion of red.

“He was shot,” a voice said, dragging my eyes away from the projector and back to the real world.

That voice turned out to be Murphy. “Never did anything wrong in his life, and he was shot. Wrong place, wrong time. A tragedy that we can change. There is no reason in any universe for this man, this child, to die.”

As much as I despised being called “child,” it was heartwarming to see Murphy doing this for me.

“Furthermore,” Murphy continued, “If we did vote to kill this man, then we would be breaking the hearts of even more people who never did a thing to deserve that. A father, a girlfriend. A dog, for God’s sake!”

There was scattered clapping from the jury.

“Never has there been less of a reason for his man to die.”

There were more claps and murmurs of agreement.

“I,” said a new voice, “disagree.”

I turned to the man who apparently thought that I should die. He was wearing a deep black suit and a blood-red tie.

“Don’t we all deserve to die?” he said. “I mean, really. This child is a waste of air. A polluter, a mistake, and a useless human. I would say the same thing for his guardian, too!”

There were shouts of shock, and the jury seemed flabbergasted. Murphy, on the other hand, looked like he didn’t care about the insult.

“Give me one example why this child deserves to die,” Murphy said calmly, inspecting his nails, confidence and cockiness plain in his voice.

The opponent looked a little confused, before he shook himself and said, “Well, when he was thirteen, he littered.”

There was utter silence. Not one person was swayed by his extremely convincing argument.

“Not guilty!” the judge roared abruptly.

There was quite a lot of clapping now, and Murphy took a single bow. I had never been more relieved in my nearly-ended life.

I stood up slowly, not sure if I was even allowed to. But Murphy smiled at me from across the room and beckoned me over. I walked to him.

“Thank you!” I gasped. “Oh my God, thank you so, so, so much.”

Ach, as soon as I get them to like me, they have to forget me,” he said playfully.

“Um, what?” I said.

“Oh, you see. Before you leave, you’ll have to do a quick memory wipe. This ensures that we don’t have a bunch of our visitors rambling about us,” he responded.

“So I won’t remember any of this?” I asked.

“That’s right,” Murphy said, his smile back on his face.

“When will the wipe happen?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

I nodded slowly. We walked in silence for a little while walking back towards my room.

“Is it a needle?” I asked abruptly. Murphy laughed.

“No, it’s just a little drink. Tastes like strawberries.”

“How do you know? Have you tried it?”

“Oh no. It just says that on the label,” he laughed.

So did I. It was a nice moment. I was going to be sad to not remember this place. Then, it struck me. This story. I tried not to let Murphy notice my realization.

Instead, I quickly asked, “Is it like one of those things like amnesia, where if you see something, it might trigger a memory?”

“Well,” Murphy pondered, “it would be possible. But for that to happen, you would basically have to hear a full recount of what happened here. And even that might not be enough.”

I tried to suppress my smile.

When we got back to my apartment, I smiled and tried my best to act casual. I imagined myself as a calm and collected guy, leaning against the doorframe waiting for Murphy to leave, thanking him for walking me back to my room, and still managing to seem a little sad to forget this place. And I would’ve been sad, that is, if I was actually planning on forgetting it.

As quickly and accurately as I could, I wrote all of this down on my computer and finally headed off to bed.

The next morning, I was woken by the sound of three harsh knocks on my door. I quickly got dressed, looked longingly at the small, nearly unused kitchen, and opened the door. Murphy waited outside in a crisp, black suit, which brought out the color of his completely dead eyes.

Without a word, he turned and started walking, clearly expecting me to follow him. I sighed and trudged along after him.

“Did we have to do this so early?” I groaned to Murphy.

“We were lucky to have gotten a wipe the day after the trial. The DBMMR has a very busy schedule,” Murphy said.

I felt oddly scolded.

“DBMMR?” I questioned.

“You’ll see,” Murphy smiled.

I was starting to regret saying that I liked him. We walked all the way down another, slightly more colorful, blue-walled corridor. Murphy rapped on the last door on the left’s white paint three times.

Praap.

Praap.

Praap.

Just like he had done for me. I wondered quite randomly if everyone here had their own specific knock so people would know who they were opening the door to. But that would be stupid. This place couldn’t be that organized. Nowhere could be that organized. Could it?

When the door swung open on soundless hinges, I was completely unsurprised that there was no one who was close enough to have opened it themselves.

Murphy gestured forward.

“Patients first!” he said, without a hint of sarcasm.

I stepped into the room hesitantly. When no one said I couldn’t be there, I walked farther into the completely barren room. The only thing in there was a man, his back turned from us. He was hunched over a clipboard. I coughed once to get his attention. He spun around, startled.

“Oh, it’s just you. Well come in!” he said. “I’m Prescoff, Director of the Board of Mandatory Memory Removals here.”

I quickly worked out in my head that this guys must be the DBMMR.

“So your dosage today is 39 mL of strawberry flavored wipe. Am I correct on that?” he asked.

Before I had a chance to answer, Murphy cut in, “Yes, that is correct.”

“Okay, that is just fine,” Prescoff responded, nodding and muttering to himself.

He waddled over to a small keypad by the door that I hadn’t noticed before. He gingerly pressed a button with a small microphone on it. “39 mL, strawberry,” he said.

A few seconds passed. Then, there was a small chime. A previously invisible wall slot opened up, and a small tupperware container was offered forward. In it was a light pink goo that didn’t look too bad.

Prescoff picked it up, nodding to himself as he went.

“So,” he started, “bottoms up!”

I took it from his hand cautiously, as if it might explode any second. It looked normal enough. I opened up the lid with a satisfying crack. I sniffed it once. I’ll be honest, it smelled damn good.

Murphy smiled encouragingly while Prescoff seemed to have lost interest already. I took a deep breath and drained it all in one mouthful. It tasted just as good as it smelled. So good it made me feel weak. My limbs felt heavy. And what the goo wanted me to do was fall asleep.

No, that wasn’t the goo. That was Murphy.

Wait, who’s Murphy? I like his name though. Murr-fee. Murr-feee. Haha!

I’m gonna sleep now.

And just like that, my whole world went blank.

 

Chapter Three

I woke up in the hospital bed sore, groggy, and with no clue of where I was. Even though I was conscious, I kept my eyes closed. I had no idea how long I’d slept, but I felt like I could sleep another week at least. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fall asleep again, so I grudgingly opened my eyes.

I immediately wished I hadn’t. There were people surrounding me, and the moment I opened my eyes, they all started making noise. So much noise. I immediately shut my eyes again, hoping it would make the noise stop. But it didn’t. When the noise subsided into a tense silence, I once again peeked through squinted eyes. This time, I had more time to take in what I was seeing.

I was in a hospital bed, I was sure of that. I was also surrounded by people. I recognized my father, my cousins, my uncle and aunt, Genesis, my grandpa and grandma, and my dog sitting patiently off to the side. In the very corner I saw someone who I didn’t recognize. She had her hood up, and there was a clear separation between her and everyone else. It wasn’t until I saw that her and my dad where in the positions as possibly far away from each other, that I realized she must be my mom.

I opened my eyes again fully, and there was absolute silence. You could’ve heard a pin drop. Then, all of the sudden, everyone burst out talking. My father was crying in a corner. My grandpa and grandma lunged towards me and held onto me so tight, I was sure I was going to nearly die again. I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew I was shot. Maybe that’s just something you know after you nearly die. Like a sixth sense.

My dog was freaking out and nearly snapping his leash trying to get to me. When my grandparents finally cleared away, my German shepard, Mochi, was already on my lap, licking my face. The whole time, I couldn’t tear the smile of my face.

I stayed at the hospital for only a couple more days after that. The doctors said I was recovering “remarkably fast.” I hoped a little that Murphy had something to do with it. Yes, I still got headaches, and light and sound wasn’t easy on me, but I was alright.

I only found this document again a few days after leaving the hospital, when I was looking for something to do, since I couldn’t go outside and was barely allowed to move. That’s when it all came rushing back to me.

And now you know. You know everything. Not quite as much as I do, but a lot. I wonder if Murphy is watching me right now, cursing himself that they never thought about that. I assume they’ll be removing the computers from the rooms after this.

But it’ll be fine. Just our little secret, you and me. I know even if I told the whole world, no one would believe me.  People would just assume that I had some brain trauma. I don’t really blame them.

Only a month ago, if someone told me this, I’d assume they were insane. But maybe you’ll believe. Maybe. You don’t have to. If you do believe me, though, maybe don’t spread the word. We don’t want the whole world thinking you’re crazy, too. Or maybe the whole world will believe us. That would be pretty nice. But it’s just fantasy to hope that.

So this is our little secret. Just between the two of us. No one else.

Oh, and by the way.

My name is Tempest Jyrs. And I am not dead. Not yet.

 

The Purple Thing

Chapter One

“If magic exists, I’ll eat my underwear,” Ash scoffed at me as he shoved me away.

He spit out the gum he had in his mouth and started on a new stick of gum as he and his cronies walked away.

“I know what I saw. That guy just disappeared into that portal thingy!” I told Reggie, my best friend.

Reggie shrugged. “Ash is just a jerk. I mean, I don’t exactly believe you either, but I don’t not, if that makes any sense.”

“It makes no sense. But, I don’t blame you,” I replied.

“I just don’t understand what the heck you even thought you saw.”

“I was walking to school, and I see this guy. He looks around to see if anyone is there. Then he does some weird thing with his hands and says some word I couldn’t understand. Then this big, swirly, purple thing opens in front of him. He steps through it, and then he’s gone. The purple thing goes away after that too.”

“No, I understood that. I just don’t understand that.”

I shook my head at him and walked to art. All I could think of during art was what in the world it could have been. So while the teacher was talking about whatever we were supposed to be drawing, I just kept sketching drafts of the purple thing, and the guy walking through it. From what I could remember he was bald and short, wearing a sweatshirt rolled up to his elbows. He was wearing jeans and cheap sneakers.

“Let’s see what some of you have drawn,” said Mrs. Relcke. “Aiden?” She walked up to me.

I turned around my sketchpad to show the class the sketch of the man walking into the purple thing.

“Very good, Aiden. But we were supposed to be drawing sugar skulls.”

She slapped the sketch pad out of my hand and stomped on it. She pointed to my seat.

***

I went to math next and got stuck on problem eight, and when I asked the teacher for help, he told me to shut up and sit down.

The rest of the day went the same, with the teachers being jerks. Even the lunch lady gave me less slop than usual.

“I feel like all the teachers are being jerks to me today,” I told Reggie.

“C’mon, Aiden. Maybe they all are having cruddy days?”

Mr. Costin walked into the lunchroom.

“Let’s see if it’s just all the teachers having a bad day,” I said.

Mr. Costin is the nicest teacher in school. If he’s having a cruddy day, he’ll just try harder to make sure no one else does.

“Mr. Costin! Hi,” I said as I walked up to him.

“Shut up and eat your lunch,” he snapped at me.

“Yeah, no, something’s going on,” Reggie said.

I nodded in agreement. By the end of the day, I made a list of all the teachers that I talked too, and because of that, all the teachers that had been jerks. I put Ash on the list too, but only after a few other kids. Nancy and Julia were mean too, but they’re usually nice, so you can see why I put them on the list as well.

“Okay, so now the nicest kids in school are being jerks… you don’t think it could have something to do with the purple thing you saw?” Reggie asked.

“I don’t really think that, but maybe — wait!” I grinned. “You acknowledged it! You believe me!”

“That’s not important right now. Back to the topic on hand. I don’t know what it could’ve done, but I don’t know, maybe you weren’t supposed to see it, and it, like, cursed you?”

“Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be true. Sherlock Holmes.”

“So, some messed up magic thing cursed you. What do we do to fix it?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed.

***

As the day ended, I went home, and after about an hour or so, Reggie came over.

We started a couple rounds of Splatoon 2, when Reggie put down his control and yelled, “I’ve got it!”

“Might as well yell ‘Eureka,’” I laughed.

“If you do whatever that guy did to allow him to see the portal without being cursed, maybe you can reverse your curse!”

My older sister, Hannah, poked her head out of the kitchen. “What are you talking about?” she asked us.

“Nothing,” Reggie and I said in unison.

She shrugged and walked back into the kitchen.

“Okay… that’s a good plan. If we can find that guy again, at least. We could follow him and see if he goes to some magic place or something.”

“But first, let’s finish this round. Our team is losing,” Reggie said as he picked his controller back up.

***

Later, I sketched the man and showed it to Reggie. “He looks almost like Joe from the Wooden Dime, maybe?”

“I don’t go in there much. Grab your bike.”

The Wooden Dime is the sandwich place in town.

Reggie and I put our bikes into the nearest bike lock to the Wooden Dime, which was down the street at the train station.

“Joe’s the owner, right?”

“Yeah. He’s pretty nice, but maybe you should stay outside because, well, you know.”

Someone threw a candy wrapper at my head. I sat down on a bench and waited for Reggie. I don’t exactly know what happened inside, but he came out and told me that once he held the drawing up to Joe, he noticed how thin Joe was compared to the plump, little guy I had drawn.

“But, he did say that guy came in one time, and when Joe asked for his name, he said it was Herbert,” Reggie noted.

“Okay, so now we know that he’s been to the Wooden Dime, and that his name is Herbert. Whether or not we know where he is, we still know more than we did before,” I added.

“And I know that you two are nerds,” Ash said from behind me.
Ash punched me in the back hard enough to send me stumbling, and then I tripped on a rock and fell on my face. Reggie helped me up, before Ash punched me in the face again and gave me a bloody nose. I wiped the blood away and tried to grab a napkin from Reggie’s pocket. Did I mention he bought a sandwich while he was in there? I stuck it up my nose (the napkin, not the sandwich) to stop the bleeding, and I started running towards my bike. Some invisible force stopped me from running up the street; it was almost like I was on a treadmill. Then, everything around me was encased in a big, purple bubble. Around the edges, gravity seemed to go away. A trash can floated up and released a volley of trash onto Ash.

“Karma!” Reggie yelled.

Then suddenly, in the middle of all of it, a purple vortex like the one Herbert stepped into appeared.

Herbert stepped out. “Oh crud,” he muttered.

“Ash, time to eat your underwear,” I said.

Herbert stepped back through it as he said, “Pitet elling lor eps,” and just like that, every thing fell back to the ground, and the portal collapsed.

Ash sighed. “I’m a man of my word.”

He walked into the Wooden Dime, and came back out a second later with a pair of boxer shorts sticking out of his mouth.

“Okay, but what in the world was that?” (I’ve taken the liberty of translating the noises he made because he could not speak with a pair of underwear in his mouth.)

“Magic,” said Reggie.

One of Ash’s cronies walked out of the Wooden Dime. He looked at Ash, then said, “Now that I think about it, I can’t remember any reason why I ever thought you were cool.”

He shoved Ash, and took a bite of a BLT.

“He was my best minion, why is he trying to trash talk me?”

“Because you saw that,” I told him.

“Yeah, we think it curses whoever sees it with bad luck,” Reggie chimed in.

“Well then, I don’t think my luck could get any worse.”

A girl with black hair, wearing a ratty old sweatshirt walked out of the alleyway.

“Who are you?” Ash asked.

“The name’s Violet.”

There was one thing I had noticed that was bothering me about the whole situation. No one outside the bubble seemed to have noticed the bubble. Everyone continued walking down the street or sitting on a bench.

“So we all saw that, but no one else did… I wonder, is my luck better?” I walked up to someone sitting at a bench. “Hello.”

The person frowned, before smiling, and saying, “Hello. You seem nice. Buy yourself something.” They handed me a folded five-dollar bill.

I walked back towards Reggie. “My luck’s better. Now what?”

Reggie turned to Violet and Ash. “Whether or not we like each other, we should probably stick together and try to work out a way to break our curses. After all, four heads are better than one.”

Ash scoffed, “Hang out with you dweebs? No way.” He started walking away, but the crossing guard stopped him.

“I’m not letting you pass.” He looked at me, and smiled. He looked back at Ash, and shoved him away.

Ash sighed. “I guess I am sticking with you dweebs.”

 

Chapter Two

“Where are your cronies, loser?” Damon shoved Ash.

“Leave him alone,” I told him.

“Okay.” He smiled and walked back to his table. He did an “I’m watching you” gesture to Ash and went back to his burrito.

“I guess we should keep tracking down Herbert,” Reggie said.

“Who?” Violet asked as she sat down.

“The guy who stepped out of the portal,” Reggie told her.

“Okay, what do we have so far?” she asked.

“Well, we know his name is Herbert, and he was at the Wooden Dime once.”

“That’s all you guys have? You really don’t know how to track someone down,” Violet sighed.

“What are we even gonna do when we find him?” Ash asked. “Blackmail?” he asked hopefully.

“No,” said Reggie. “We’ll just ask him.”

“You mean I’ll ask him. If you guys ask, he’ll probably just punch you or something,” I said.

“He has a point,” Violet said through a mouthful of pizza.

“I wish I didn’t have to have that point…” I stared down at my taco.

After lunch, I had gym with Ash and Reggie. There was a point where I had to actually tell the teacher to bug off when he was threatening Ash with a frisbee to the head.

“You know, at this point, I wouldn’t really call it bad luck, just, like, a jerk magnet.” I paused. “Your luck hasn’t changed, only the amount of people being jerks to you,” I said as I threw the dive ball into the other team’s goal.

“You’re right,” panted Reggie as he ran across the field.

A quick reminder, dive ball is a simple game: each team has four goals, the smallest being the most points, the largest the least, and they are allowed to spread them out on the field. Everyone is required to wear gloves because the ball is very rough, so it will stick to the rim of the goals, and sometimes your gloves. After seven minutes and eighteen seconds, whoever has more points wins.

“Thirty seconds!” yelled Coach Hafinburg.

Ash smacked the ball out of Damon’s hands and sprinted to the other end of the field. He passed it to Reggie, who passed it to me. I threw it back to Ash who scored us four points at the last second, winning us the game.

Ash sighed as he took a sip from his water bottle. “I may hate you, but you played well,” he told me and Reggie.

“And I may have just gotten us a lead,” Violet walked towards us on the bench. “I saw Herbert drop this.”

She held up a small bit of some odd material.

“It fell out of his pocket. I tricked Lionel into analysing the material, and it is thinking putty.”

“And the only place in town that sells thinking putty must have sold it to him!” Reggie grabbed his baseball cap off the bench.

“Exactly,” said Violet.

“Well, I have tryouts for the town dive ball team after school, so I can’t do it, and if any of you do it, well you know,” I told them.

“I don’t think it matters anyway. POP is closed on Wednesdays.”

“I didn’t think you had it in you to score one goal, nonetheless four.”

Damon slapped Ash with his glove.

“And I don’t like losing.”

He slapped him again, harder this time, and Ash hit him in the stomach, crouching him over on his knees. Ash slapped him across the face, grabbed his bag, and left.

“I’m gonna get you back, Musro!” he yelled to Ash.

“What was that? All I heard was FAILURE,” Ash scoffed and went back into the building.

Every year at tryouts, they split us up into three-person teams, and have a Dive Ball tournament, the top four teams make the team.

I was going up against Jake, Andrew, and Declan, three kids that I knew, but barely. I was with Reggie and Blake, and it was our third match. If we won, we went on to go up against Drake, Charlie, and Phil, and the winner of that was the winner of the tournament. So, at the moment, we had a spot confirmed, but we all wanted to be team captain, so we wanted to win.

Jake’s team was up three, and there was one minute left on the clock. It was our ball, and Blake was running down the field. He threw it to Reggie, who dodged a grab from Andrew. Declan stole the ball, but I got it from him quick enough. I start running down the field, and I looked into the stands. I saw Herbert, and I dropped the ball in surprise. Jake swept the ball up, and scored on our large goal from mid field.

With ten seconds left, Jake was playing keep away, and just stalling until the end, when they won.

“What happened?” Reggie and Blake asked.

“He did,” I pointed to Herbert.

“Who’s he?” Blake asked.

“Not important,” I said as Reggie began jogging towards him. I stopped him. “No, the curse, remember?”

Reggie sighed. “I guess it’s all you man.”

I gathered my courage and walked to the stands. It was like Herbert disappeared. When I turned around, I came face to face with him. “You are dealing with powerful forces you cannot attempt to comprehend. I’ll cure your friend’s curse, but after that, you forget about me.”
“I have three friends that are cursed.”

“Choose which you like most and give him this.”

He handed me a small bracelet.

“And you could have gotten the ball from number 14 when he was playing. Keep away by simply getting the guy on your team with the cap to get it.”

He dissolved into the air.

“Get Violet and Ash,” I told Reggie as I walked down to the field. “Put this on.”

I tossed him the bracelet. I looked to Blake. “If anything interesting happens, tell us tomorrow.”

I walked to the edge of the field, and unlocked my bike.

I rode home and pulled a half-whiteboard, half-bulletin board from the garage and hung it up in my room. I put down everything I knew about Herbert on it.

When Reggie, Ash, and Violet walked into my room, they all said, “Whoa!” When they spotted the board.

In the center of the bulletin board was the best sketch I had of him.  

“This is everything we know,” I paused. “And this is what he told me.”

I repeated what he had told me, although I didn’t tell them about the bracelet. Well, I told them that I didn’t know that it would dissolve when it touched Reggie, and I thought they could all use it.

“It’s not all we know,” Violet stuck a ziploc bag with the chunk of putty inside of it to the bulletin board.

“And a few minutes ago, I realized he was there at the seventy-fifth-year celebration of our school with the alumni,” Reggie added as he jotted it down on a sticky note and stuck it up there.

“And he’s my uncle who went missing twenty years ago.”

We all stared at Ash.

“It’s true. When I saw him, I thought maybe. When I heard his name was Herbert, I knew it.”

“Well then, we just need to find him again, and he’ll probably un-curse you because you’re his family,” Reggie said.

“Yeah, and you can ask him to un-curse me,” Violet noted.

“That’s the problem. There’s a reason he went missing. He hates my entire family.” Ash paused. “If anything, it’d be a reason that he’d curse us more. My crazy, old grandma always said he’d dabbled in the dark arts, but we all just thought she was weird.”

“Okay… that changes a lot,” I said.

“First of all, we actually know who he is,” Reggie noted.

“Aiden, I think I know where he is…” Violet looked at the board again. “Follow me, there’s no time to lose.”

She walked out of the room, with all of us following.

***

Violet stopped at a old warehouse down by the junkyard. “Ash, I think it might be best if you stay out here, and maybe even hide.”

Ash nodded.

We entered the warehouse. At the center of the first room was a half-destroyed reception desk, and chairs were all over the room, on their sides, even a few split in half.

We entered the second room slowly, and it was almost completely empty. In the corner was a bunch of soda cans, and some plastic take-out food shells. And, off to the side a bit, the thinking putty.

Stuck to the top of one of the take-out containers was a note that read: I warned you. Turn back now if you want a chance.

Then suddenly, we heard Herbert. “Heed my warning in three, two, on-”

Reggie shoved him aside as we sprinted out.

“One.”

 

Chapter Three

At the end of the hallway was a raging, purple fire, creeping towards us. At the other end was an insane man.

My mind was racing, thinking of any way we could get out alive.

“Pitet elling lor eps!” I yelled as the fire reached us.

We dropped a few feet into the front of the warehouse.

“Where’d you guys come from?” Ash asked.

“I don’t know how you did that kid, but you’re going down!” Herbert sprinted out of the building, holding a crowbar as a weapon.

I braced myself for impact. Just before the crowbar hit me, Herbert dropped to the ground, and I saw Ash standing where he had been.

“We need to get out of here,” he said as he ran to his bike.

***

“Well, we’re screwed.”

Ash looked at the crossing guard that had stopped him the other day.

“No we’re not… look! He’s beckoning us!” Reggie exclaimed.

“Our curses our gone!” Violet smiled ear to ear.

“But Herbet isn’t, and there’s no jail that could hold him if he knows those magic teleporting words, so either we have to find a way to hold him, or we live the rest of our lives scared out of our minds that he’ll come and kill us,” Ash paused. “Unless we kill him?”

“No,” I told him. “We’re not killing him. But I think I know what we can do.”

Ever since I said those magic words, I’d felt a sort of energy flowing through me. And at that moment, I understood what it was. I could use magic! To an extent…

“The teleporting words were gibberish, so I’d bet ones to take powers away from somebody would be gibberish too, so we can’t find it that way. What else could we do?” Violet asked.

“I’d say try gibberish, but we’d probably just end up casting some other spell,” I said.

“Well, how’d he get the gibberish to teleport then?” asked Ash.

“What if we just write it down, and scramble the letters? I mean I know it won’t work, but it’s the best idea we’ve got,” Reggie shrugged.

I wrote down: ‘Power Removing Spell.’ The letters rearranged themselves into: ‘Wemp elrol ros piving.’

“I guess it worked,” said Violet as she peered over my shoulder.

“Wemp elrol ro-” I began as I felt a hand over my mouth.

“Do you really want to wipe out electricity on this whole block?” I heard Ash say as he pulled his hand away.

“He has a point,” Reggie said as he picked up a video camera.

We all looked at him.

“What? A magic battle will be awesome on YouTube.”

“Oh, you reminded me. I should probably make some sort of temporary paralysis spell in case this one doesn’t work for some reason,” I said.

Once I had a small arsenal of spells that could slow him down if need be, we hopped on our bikes to head to the warehouse.

Our plan was to have Reggie distract him, while I snuck up and cast the power removing spell. Ash and Violet would be backup in case of an emergency.

All of that, of course, was thinking he’d be conscious again. He wasn’t. He was still lying in the yard of the warehouse, with the crowbar lying next to him. I approached cautiously.

“Wemp elrol ros piving,” I read out.

A flash of light struck Herbert, and he disappeared. An arm wrapped around my neck, choking me. I fought and kicked whoever was holding me, until I hit them in the stomach, and they dropped me just as I was beginning to gasp for air.

I whirled around and saw Herbert.

“Haedtlelps!”  

He screamed as I dodged a bolt of white lightning.

“Death spell!” Reggie yelled at me. “He’s casting a death spell!”

“Ash!” I screamed as I grabbed a garbage can top as a shield.

I deflected another bolt into the ground.

I saw Ash round the corner.

“Haedtlelps!” Herbert yelled as Ash started running towards me.

“Get down!” I yelled as I fumbled around with the paper. “Wemp elrol ros piving!”

A bolt flashed towards Herbert, but narrowly missed. I tried again and again, all missing.

Ash snuck around to the crowbar. He hefted it up, and ran towards Herbert.

“Ash! Move!” I yelled as he swung at Herbert.

Herbert bent over, dodging the blow, and Ash took off like a track runner once Herbert saw him. He ran around the yard and hid behind a dumpster, still hefting the crowbar.

“Wemp elrol ros piving!”

The bolt struck Herbert down, crumpling him onto his knees. The magical powers flew out of him, a purple bolt flying into the sky.

“Where am I?” he asked me. “You. Where am I?” he pointed to me. “Who am I?”

“You’re my uncle. Let me take you home. You hit your head.” Ash dropped the crowbar and helped Herbert up. “Your name is Herbert.”

I walked out from behind my garbage can. I glared at Herbert. “Get out.” I growled as I pointed to the exit.

Violet ran out from behind her dumpster. “He doesn’t have any memory. Be nice to him. He has no grudge against you.”

I thought for a second and simply walked away towards Reggie.

Violet grabbed me. “Be nice to him. He might end up liking you.”

“I don’t want that monster to like me! He nearly killed me!” I snapped.

Herbert stood and walked to me. “I… I did what?”

He stared down at his feet.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.” He paused. “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

“I accept your apology… I guess.”

 

KIDNAPPED

Could This Get Any Worse?

Ring ring. I slowly open my eyes at the sound of the alarm clock going off. I check the time: 8:30. Oh no, I’m going to be late! I must have set my alarm clock to 8:30 instead of 7:30! I  jump out of bed as quick as possible, grab a random dress, and pull it on. I get to the coffee shop in about five minutes. My boss is giving me a dirty look.

“I can explain-”

“No, just get in the back and start on the orders.”

I take a deep breath and rush to the back. I instantly see a small post-it on the counter. A sunny-side up with a side of bacon. Yes! I’m the best at this one! I quickly pull my gloves over my pale skin, carefully push my dirty blonde hair into the hair net, and put on my white apron. I’m ready to go. I crack the egg onto the pan. I wait two minutes until I flip the egg over. At the same time I’m making the bacon, ding, I ring the “food is ready” bell. About five seconds later, Tommy, the waiter for the table I am cooking for, rushes over,  grabs the food, and rushes back to the table. I get two more orders.

How much worse can this get?! I think. My boss, Tonio, (If you don’t know him, he has a light beard, dark skin, and is half Italian. Now you know what he looks like, try to avoid him.) speed walks angrily over to me.

“Gina, you have been working here for two years… ” Oh no, I think I know what is coming. “… and I have really noticed you as a co-worker… ”

Here it comes…  I quickly shut my eyes tight and hope that it will end soon.

“Gina, will you be my girlfriend?”

WHAT!!!

“Okay, okay, I know that it’s a lot to handle, but I think that we would be happy together!” Tonio says.  

I’m guessing he saw my surprised face.

“But I have a boyfriend!”  

We both stop and stare at the floor awkwardly.

“Oh… ” He starts walking away.

“Wait!”  

Maybe because he’s my boss, I can get a raise!

“I might break up with my boyfriend soon,” I say.

He smiles. As we awkwardly walked away from each other, I trip over a customer’s foot.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going! Loser… ” the customer says.

Well that was rude! First, I get asked out on a date by my boss, then get mad at by a customer! Can this day get any worse? Oh yeah… I have to tell my boyfriend that I am going to break up with him. Oh god… I have to get out of here! I run so fast, I almost burn myself to death. I think that I might have actually started a small fire on my pale back. Well, I just spent about ten minutes thinking about that and realize that I just went the opposite way that I’m supposed to go. And I end up at the pier where (just my luck) my boyfriend is, or soon to be my ex-boyfriend who I still love.

 

It’s Not You, It’s Me

Oh great, now I am going to go over there, break up with him, and be like, “It’s not you it’s me,” and all that garbage like all the other relationships did to me… Okay, okay. TMI (too much information.)

“Hey!” says Carman.

Oh thank God. Carman is my best friend and is also an excuse for not talking to Cameron, my “ex” boyfriend. I just realized that almost all of the people in my life are boys… why is that?

Anyway, “So what are you doing later? I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner later. I feel like we haven’t seen each other in such a long time.”

That’s cause we haven’t! I think.

“So are we hanging out tonight?”

“What?!” I quickly lift my head from looking at my feet.  

Carman starts laughing. “I said, are we hanging out tonight?”

“Oh… uh, sure!” I say, wondering what he meant because I didn’t hear a word he said…

“Well, okay. I will see you later.”

As he walks away, I think of how I will walk down the pier’s gray, cobblestone floors to my boyfriend. Oh my God!! He’s coming over! He’s COMING OVER!!! I guess I don’t have to go over to him anymore! What am I going to do? Okay, Gina, think fast!

“Hey, Gina,” he says.

Not fast enough, Gina, I think.

“I’m breaking up with you,” I say as I quickly run away.

I really have to start running faster because soon enough, Cameron catches up with me.

“WHAT?” he screams.

“Okay, okay, it’s not you, it’s me.”

As I say this, his pale skin turns red. I start to run away again. But this time, he did not follow. By the time that I get home, I’m terrified. I feel like he’s going to do something to me… But what? I think as I slowly put on my blue and white pajamas and get into bed. Wait! What if he kidnaps me? Hahahahahaaa!!! He would never! But even though I know that he would never kidnap me, I keep thinking about it in my dreams and when I wake up in the morning. As I get ready for work, I think about Tonio and what’s going to happen when he sees me.  Maybe he’ll gives me flowers, or completely ignore me. Maybe he’ll ask me if I can go out with him (hopefully not this one!)

As I walk into the cafe that I work in, Tonio comes and asks me if I can go out with him. (Oh, come on!) So I nervously say yes. His pale face lights up with joy!  

“Yes! I mean good to know…” he says as I laugh.

Of course he blushes… “ Well, I will let you get back to work now.”

He starts walking away as I get back to work.

 

Wait! What If He Kidnaps Me!!!

Even as I am working, I think about how Cameron’s face went from white to red in a snap of a finger. I accidentally knock into a waiter as I think about Cameron.

“Second time you bumped into someone while you were thinking about boys?” Jessica says.

“H-How did you know?!” I stutter.

“When you think, you also say it out loud… ” says Jessica.

Jessica is a fellow waiter that works with me, but I don’t know why she is talking to me. We haven’t spoken to each other since… well, ever.

“Well, now I’m talking to you…” I lift my head when she says this.

“Oh yeah, that thinking out loud thing,” I say.

We both laugh. We shake hands and start talking to each other. Hey! I think I just made a friend that’s a girl! (I make sure that I don’t say that out loud. That would be embarrassing… ) After work, I am walking with my new friend, and I trip on someone’s foot again. What is my problem with tripping on people’s feet? But this foot is not just a random person’s foot. It is Cameron’s foot! I freeze when I see his face. I feel like I am about to regurgitate my lunch. I try to run away. But he blocks me. I smack into his chest as he steps in front of me. Of course he is, like, three feet taller than me… Ow! I think as he grabs my pale wrist. He pulls me off into the darkness of the alley. Jessica follows behind us. I try to tell her not to come, that he will kill her, but she doesn’t understand why I am shaking my head. She just keeps walking. I slowly start to close my eyes. I am guessing that it is because Cameron is holding my arm too tight.

 

When I Die

I never see the light again. All I see is Cameron letting go of me and walking over to Jessica with a rusty, old knife. I can hear her scream, a scream that not even a devil can make. A scream that can shatter a bullet-proof window. The scream suddenly stops. I know what happened. Cameron killed her, a innocent woman, a friend. A person is killed because of me… By the second she dies, I know what’s going to happen. I’m next.  

 

The Awesome Story of Tommy

“Seriously? The Awesome Story of Tommy? That is the worst title ever.”

Leave it to my cat to criticize me six seconds into writing this.

“I like it!” I protest.

“Really, Tommy. No one would want to read a story called The Awesome Story of Tommy. Try this.”

My cat, Ariana, hops up on the table and picks up the pencil. She writes next to the title, in slightly wobbly handwriting, and Ariana.

“Of course this story has to involve you in the title,” I say.

In fact, The Awesome Story of Tommy and Ariana actually sounds a lot better, but I decide not to mention that.

“You tried to give the impression you dislike it,” Ariana meows. “But your expression suggests otherwise.”

Oh well.

“We can go with that for now, but we should see where the story goes before we decide on the official title,” I say.

“Sure,” Ariana agrees.

If you’re asking why I have a talking cat, Ariana was a lab experiment. They were attempting to make her live longer. Instead, she ended up as the only cat in the world with the ability to talk. She escaped from the lab, and we adopted her. Ariana has brown and white fur, and green eyes. She looks pretty cute, but don’t be fooled. She’s almost certainly the sassiest person I know, if cats count as people.

“Okay. So now what do I write?” I ask Ariana.

“You said you started this because you wanted to write an adventure featuring yourself. And me,” Ariana quickly adds. “So write it. Someone is trying to sleep here.”

She then plops down on the table and begins fake snoring.

“Thanks for the help,” I say, and start thinking of something to write for the story.

About half an hour later, I still have no idea what to write. You’d think writing an adventure story about yourself (and, possibly, your cat) would be easier.

I’ve always wanted to have an adventure like something out of a book: journeying across mountain ranges, finding out I have powers, defeating an evil supervillain, etc. Problem: Mom would never let anything like that happen. It’s not that she’s overprotective. She’s just a normal mom, and a normal mom would probably never, ever let her kid quest across another dimension. So I’ve settled for writing a story about something of the sort.

But I have no ideas for a story.

I start banging my head into the table. A few seconds later, I hear Ariana meow.

“Hey! Hey! Whatcha doin’? Tommy! Stop that!”

I look up and see her sitting on my piece of paper.

“No ideas yet?” she asks.

I shake my head.

“After at least a half hour of sitting here thinking of an idea for a story?”

“Yep.”

Ariana’s eyes flick over to the wall.

“There is a fly on the wall. Stand back, Tommy! I will protect you.”

She then launches herself off the table at the wall, misses, and falls onto the rug. Paper goes flying everywhere. I sigh. Cats don’t exactly make the best writing assistants.

***

By the time dinner is ready, I’ve officially given up for the day. I have no ideas at all. And besides, I could think of something to write tomorrow.

Dinner is pizza. Mom ordered the generic tomato and cheese. The pizza dude drops it off, and Mom brings it into the kitchen. I love pizza.

“I don’t understand why you humans like this strange, gooey substance so much,” Ariana comments. She usually sits on the table when I eat. Don’t ask me why. “It smells horrendous.”

“Ariana, it’s pizza. Everyone likes it,” I tell her.

“Actually, I know a bunch of people in town that hate it. I was walking down the road past Mina’s house and heard her saying, ‘Pizza? That stuff is disgusting,’” Ariana counters.

Well, that’s… controversial.

“You should try it,” I suggest. “You’d like it.”

I take off a small piece of the pizza. Ariana puts it in her mouth and chews on it. Then, she kind of choke-coughs, the kind of sound people make when they really hate the taste of something. Ariana leaps onto the counter and spits out the pizza into the trash.

“That was so gross!” Ariana sticks out her tongue. “It tasted like squished ladybugs mixed with slime!”

She then jumps back onto the table. “What other repulsive things do you humans eat?”

“Vegetables?”

***

Mornings. When you picture mornings, what do you see? The alarm beeping, you slamming your hand down on it, all that? Those are pretty much what my mornings are like. Except I have a cat instead of an alarm clock. You wake up to the alarm. I wake up to Ariana meowing her head off from my nightstand.

“Tommy! Get up! I don’t have all day, you know! Hello? Hellooo? Anybody home?”

“Yes, Ariana, I get it. You can stop meowing now.”

Ariana starts licking one paw. The morning from there is pretty normal. Breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth. Done. Now, I have the whole day to myself.

Little did I know what would happen in the next hour or so.

***

Ooh, suspense!

So, in the next hour or so, I go outside to see if I can think of anything to write about. Sometimes, I do that when I write short stories. I’ll be sitting on the porch when I see a lady walking her dog, and I’ll think, Hey, that dog could be evil and break off its leash and terrorize the neighborhood. Then the Super Cats can step in. And yes, I am writing a short story series called “The Super Cats.” There. I’ve said it. Sue me.

Getting back to the story, I walk to the door. Ariana pads along with me, sticking close to my left foot. I sit down and put on my sneakers. While I do that, Ariana sniffs one of my Nikes.

“Why on earth do you humans put these odd shells on your paws? They just slow you down!”

“We use them so we don’t get, say, thorns stuck in our paws-er, feet,” I respond.

Pfft. Everyone gets thorns stuck in their paws every once in awhile. It’s part of life. Get used to it.”

I keep trying to convince Ariana that things like clothes are necessary, or pizza tastes good. But each time, I end up feeling less convinced. I am slowly turning into a cat.

When I open the door, the first thing I see is my front yard. The second thing I see is that the sky was rapidly darkening.

“What the-” I start, but I am interrupted by a thunderclap, plus a lightning bolt thrown in for good measure.

Ariana comes out and leaps onto the railing. “What in the name of Fancy Feast is- Oh my god.”

I look up and see that the lightning is turning-

Green lightning?! That’s not normal, right?” I yell.

“Well, if it were, I think I’d know!” Ariana yowls above the wind.

Soon, the wind is so loud, I can’t tell what Ariana is yowling to me.

Just as I figure out that she’s saying, an enormous, green lightning bolt strikes right in the middle of the front yard. For a fraction of a second, everything is green.

Then we both die. The end.

***

Just kidding.

About one eighth of a second later, I am sitting in a random tree. Why am I sitting in a random tree?

That’s when I hear Ariana frantically meowing from somewhere off to my right. “Tommy? Where are you? Are you alive?”

“I’m alive! And as for where I am… I have no idea.”

Ariana’s head pops out of the leaves of a neighboring tree.

“So, you lived through the kamikaze green-lightning strike.”

“Don’t sound so surprised!” I say. “Do you have any idea where we are?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Ariana meows in an irritated tone. “We’re in a different **%^$#@ dimension!”

I look around. Hmm, let’s see… blue sky, clouds, sun, green grass, normal looking trees…

“Is it just me, or does this look a lot like Central Park?”

“Well, it’s not Central Park,” Ariana furrows her brow, if cats have brows. “Why would a freak green lightning bolt magically teleport us to Central Park?”

“Good point,” I say as I  jump off the tree.

Ariana leaps off her branch and onto my head.

“Okay, first of all,” I tell her, “Don’t do that. Second of all, let’s find out where we are and hope we get back home in time for lunch.”

***

We aren’t in Kansas anymore, that’s for sure.

I have been walking for awhile, and I’m now in an evergreen forest. I don’t know what else to say.

It is getting dark now, the kind of dark with no moon or stars. As a bonus, I hear weird noises. Yay!

Then, I bump into someone in the dark.

Yipe!” I leap backwards.

Was it a monster or something? I look around for the nearest weapon and settle for a stick.

A female voice says, “Hi, random person. Before you threaten me with your terrifying stick, here’s a flashlight.”

Out of reflex, I catch the flashlight and shine it at whoever is talking to me. Standing in front of me is a girl. She looks to be about thirteen. I am eleven, so she is a good several inches taller. The girl has black hair, and her eyes are a shade of blue that scream: Try me and you die.

I glance down at her feet and see three cats. One is black, with three purple stripes on her back, and has green eyes. Another is gray and has blue eyes. The third one is white with eyes the color of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!

“Uh… hi, I’m Tommy. I’m from a different dimension. Oh, and my cat can talk.”

The girl grins, “I’m Shaye. These are my cats, who can also talk. The black-and-purple one is Chara, the gray one is Debbie, and the white one is Allie.”

“You’re serious about the talking?” I ask. “Because I am.”

“I am completely serious about the talking. I am also completely serious about that.”

Shaye gestures to Chara, who immediately whips out two slender, wickedly sharp, black blades.

“Your cats have katanas?!” I exclaim.

“Well, I do.” Chara replies. “Debbie has nunchucks, and Allie has throwing stars.”

Debbie and Allie show off their weapons, which flash even in the pitch-black woods.

“Your cats can talk, and they are ninjas,” I say. “Anything else?”

***

Ten minutes later, Ariana and I are following Shaye and her trio of ninja cats.

“Where, exactly, are we going?” I ask.

“Uh, duh? To my treehouse?” Shaye says.

“Why?”

“I am walking through a dark, evergreen forest in the middle of the night with a kid and a talking cat from a different dimension. Where else would I be going?”

Ariana rolls her eyes, “Tommy, you are clueless.” She then adds, to Shaye, “There are rare moments in life when Tommy says or does something sensible. But mostly, they happen at home.”

“Ariana,” I say.

“What? It’s true!” meows Ariana.

I sigh.

The rest of the walk to Shaye’s treehouse is mostly Ariana chatting with Chara, Debbie, and Allie. Shaye occasionally interjects a comment. I don’t say anything at all. Judging from the fact that her cats are laughing, Ariana is probably telling them more embarrassing stuff about me. Like the elevator incident.

No. I am not telling you what happened. I refuse. And anyway, it wasn’t my fault when the hotel elevator stopped. I was panicking and screaming for help the entire hour we were stuck in there. I was nine!

Wait. I just told you. Darn it.

Soon, we’ve arrived. I look up. In the highest branches is the dark shape of a treehouse.

“You live there?!”

“Yup,” Shaye nods.

“Just one question.”

“Yeah?”

“How am I supposed to get up there? There’s no ladder.”

“Did it not occur to you to climb the tree?” Shaye asks.

We’re climbing up the tree, and her head is a good couple inches higher than mine. The cats have gone ahead and are already in the treehouse.

Frankly, it didn’t occur to me to climb up the tree. But then again, it’s at least thirty feet tall and, therefore, towers above the rest of the forest. I decide not to tell her that, but instead ask her how she’d built the treehouse.

“I didn’t build it. Someone lived here before me. I was walking through here, I saw it, and I decided to live in it,” Shaye explains.

That explanation needs an explanation,” I say.

Without clarifying, Shaye pulls herself up the final branch and disappears onto the balcony of her treehouse. Or should I say porch? Do treehouses have porches? I pull myself up onto the balcony. It’s just wooden boards, and I am wondering if this is safe when Shaye opens the door of her treehouse and waves me in.

I walk in and look around. It looks pretty normal. A bed, a desk with a journal and pencil, and a cat bed in the corner. In the other corner, there are basic survival gear: a flashlight, a knife, a bottle of water, three pairs of identical camouflage shirts, and tan shorts, because apparently Shaye does not approve of shopping at the mall. Outside the window, which is really just a square hole in the side wall, I can see more of the same outfit hanging on a line.

Shaye removes her shoes and put them in the corner.

“Well, you can hang here until we find a way to get you back to your dimension.”

“Okay, then.”

I walk over to the corner, where Ariana is presently napping.

“Night, person. Wait, what was your name again?”

“Tommy, okay?”

***

I’ve never been a morning person. But when I wake up to Debbie banging a gong right next to my ear and yelling “Get up, you lazy human!” at four thirty in the morning… well, yeah.

I have to drag myself out of the treehouse, but I forget where I am and end up falling thirty feet out of the air. Ariana has to catch me. It is extremely embarrassing, especially since all the cats are watching. But Shaye isn’t, so I guess I’m lucky.

The first thing we do is get some food. While Shaye goes out to hunt and sends her cats and Ariana in a hunting group, I am supposed to gather berries and stuff. Why couldn’t I hunt?

Ariana says I’m not allowed to hunt the first day because I can be a bit of a mouse. That’s apparently cat slang for a baby. But she adds that I’m not nearly as bad as some people, so that’s a real relief.

I may not be an expert hunter, but I do know a little about plants. I pick some plants like blueberries (who knew blueberries grow in forests?) and leave the rest alone.

I know this is completely unrelated, but what’s in Caesar salad?

Ariana is shouting, “Beware the Ides of March!”

Yes, Ariana, I know. Can you please stick a sock in it?

And then I come across some kind of plant I’d never seen before. It looks like poison ivy. In that case, I’d better not step in it.

Then I think, It might come in handy later on. So I start looking around for a good stick. I find one right by my foot and carefully pick up the poison ivy or whatever it is.

Just as I do that, I see Allie bursting through the trees. Shaye said earlier that she’d send a cat to find me when she wanted me to return to the treehouse. I start after Allie through the woods.

We arrive back at the treehouse before Shaye and the other cats. I manage to get a little ways up the tree before they get here. Shaye walks over and is somehow right next to me before I can even move up another branch. How does she do it?!

I pull myself up another branch. Shaye climbs up another two. It turns into a sort of weird competition to see who can reach the treehouse first. Of course, Shaye wins.

When I finally get onto the porch, Shaye is sitting there with a couple of dead rabbits and a squirrel. When she sees my expression, she shrugs.

“I would’ve gotten a deer,” she says, “except I only hunt those when I’m really hungry. It’s difficult to climb a tree with a dead deer.”

I am too shocked, amazed, and impressed right now to reply. Is there a word for that?

“So, what’d you get?” she asks.

I take out the blueberries and drop them on the porch. They roll around like small, blue marbles. And then, hesitantly, I take out the poison ivy or whatever it is, with a stick, of course.

“Mint?” Shaye raises her eyebrows.

“Oh, this is mint? I thought it was poison ivy, and I figured it might be useful if I ever needed to get away from something, so…”

Shaye looks interested, and (could it be?) a tiny bit impressed.

“That’s actually a decent idea. And mint is edible. You’ve never seen mint before?”

“Well, I’ve only ever seen them on the fronts of hygiene products, and even then, they look kinda different.”

“Well,” Shaye responds, “It is edible, and that is all that matters. Now grab the blueberries, and let’s go in.”

“Does the five-second rule apply in this case?” I ask.

“What is this ‘five-second rule’ that you speak of?”

“Never mind.”

***

Inside, Shaye grabs a piece of wood, a little table thing, and a stick that looks like a match. She then runs outside. I run out after her, and watch as she climbs down and then jumps the remaining few feet. I just climb down.

Shaye comes over with a lot of dried leaves and strikes the match stick on the wood. Both immediately set on fire. She drops both into the pile of leaves and puts the table thing over it. I watch as Shaye puts the rabbits on it and hacks the squirrel into fourths with her knife, then tosses them over to where the cats are.

While we sit and wait for breakfast to be ready, I try to make small talk.

“So… uh… do you have any idea what to talk about?”

“No,” Shaye glances over at the cats, who are busy eating their little squirrel bites, then back at me.

The rabbits are ready then. Shaye takes them off and hands one to me. I cautiously take a small bite.

This is so good!

I then take a huge bite. Oh, this is delicious. Who knew that I, the kid who tried to convince his cat to eat pizza, am now eating a roasted rabbit as quickly as humanly possible?

I finish. Shaye is staring at me and cracks a grin.

And then I hiccup. Loudly. So loudly that the cats, who are now finished with their squirrel, run yowling into the forest with fat tails. So loudly that Shaye gives a start.

Oh no. I cover my mouth with one hand. This is so embarrassing. Ariana will tease me about it for the next decade of my life. And what will Shaye do? I don’t know, but…

Shaye bursts out laughing. I realize this is the first time I’ve ever heard her laugh. But it’s a good laugh. I start laughing too. And I notice, out of the corner of my eye, that the cats are back, and trying to steal Shaye’s rabbit.

***

After lots of laughing, chatting, and reprimanding the cats about trying to steal the rabbit, it’s about 8:30 at night. If I were back in my house, I’d be in bed by now. This did not go over well with Shaye.

“8:30? That’s so early! Who would be insane enough to go to bed that early? I stay up until 10:30 at the earliest.”

My jaw drops. 10:30 at the earliest?! I’d be willing to bet she almost never actually goes to bed that early.

I start considering staying up for another half hour or so. And yes, it’s a little bit because of the pressure thing. But for most of my life, I’ve followed the rules. This is my chance to finally break some. And I’ll gladly take it.

I end up staying up till approximately 9:35. Shaye is hunting to stock up for winter because as she said, “You can never stock up too early.” I eventually get into the corner and try to ignore the fact that Ariana is busy chatting with the other cats several branches down.

To help, I start thinking about how we first got Ariana. I was walking down the road when I saw a little cat crossing the street. She was bordering on underweight by then, but she wasn’t so bad. I went over as quietly as possible so as not to scare her, but when I tried to pick her up, she gave a start.

“Sweet mother of Garfield! Don’t do that! Jeez.”

My eyebrows shot up so high they almost went off my face. “What the heck?”

“Oh, yeah, I can talk. Believe it, buddy,” Ariana swished her tail across the ground.

“Why are you a talking cat?”

“Well, I was an ordinary stray cat before these scientist people picked me up and put me in this cage in their building thing. Then they came in with a needle and gave me some kind of shot. Then I could talk in their language and called them some very unflattering names. They started talking about not working and living longer and stuff. I was stuck in there for a couple weeks until they came in with another needle and opened the cage door.”

“For dramatic effect,” she continued, “I’ll go into detail. I was like, ‘Here comes the needle…’ and then I jumped out of the cage and started running for the door like, ‘Go, go, go, go, go!!!’ And yeah, I got out of there, and now here I am.”

I nodded, “Oookay. Any chance I could adopt you?”

“Definitely.”

When I brought her home, I admit to having been like, “Can we keep her?” Mom said yes, and I named her Ariana because why not? It’s a good name.

***

At 4:30 the next morning, Debbie wakes me up with the gong again. I’m beginning to wonder how Shaye functions on six hours of sleep at the most.

This time, I don’t fall out of the tree. Instead, I climb down really carefully for the first twenty feet, then I go down a lot faster. Today, Shaye meets up with me down there and gives me her spare dagger, which is smaller but lighter.

“You can find some plants, but if you see any small animals, go after them,” she says.

I take it, and we split up. I head for the spot where I collected the blueberries yesterday. Sure enough, there’s more there. I pick them so as not to accidentally burst one, although I do burst some a couple times and my hand gets covered in berry juice.

And then, I see a flash of brown out of the corner of my eye. A squirrel! I’m after it immediately. This will make the cats happy, and you’ll want three talking ninja cats on your side in an unfamiliar dimension.

The squirrel is headed right for a tree. If it reaches the tree, there’s no way I’ll get it. I pull the dagger out of my pocket and throw it as hard as I can.

Luckily, I have a fairly good aim.

I walk over to the dead squirrel and hesitate for a minute. I’m not sure about picking this thing up. So I first remove the dagger, then pick it up by the tail and hold it out at arm’s length while I go back to retrieve the blueberries.

I realize there’s a couple fewer than I had picked. Some animal must have eaten them while I was chasing the squirrel. With a sigh, I pick them up and put them in my pocket just as Allie runs up to me.

“Shaye wants you back at the — oh, wow,” she says.

I know she’s seen the squirrel.

I shake my head and smile, “Let’s get back, then.”

***

When I get back, Shaye’s waiting for me with the fire going.

“A squirrel? Nice. Just know, Chara really likes squirrels, so be careful of-”

Chara zooms right up to me and starts meowing excitedly. “Squirrel!”

Shaye snorts, “Okay, Chara. Yes, you’ll get it soon. Wait five minutes.”

Shaye takes the squirrel and the several crows she’s gotten this morning and puts them on the fire.

Then she says, “The dagger?”

I hand it to her. Shaye takes it over to a stream behind the treehouse I’ve never even noticed.

“I clean them back here,” she explains. “Otherwise, they get all sticky and don’t do as good of a job.”

I nod. Why do I find this so easy to understand?

While the cats enjoy their breakfast of a small mammal, we eat a couple crows. They’re not rabbits, but they’re still pretty good.

“You know, I should try this at home,” I say.

“I’d highly suggest you do. But do it for five minutes for the best results,” Shaye replies.

Then, I have a thought.

“Remember how you said you ‘came here”? Why did you say that?”

Shaye doesn’t say anything for a minute.

“I can’t lie on that one,” she finally says. “Not that I’d have any reason to. I really don’t know how I was born or anything, but I do know that when I was… six, maybe? I discovered the treehouse, and there was already all that stuff in there. Someone lived here before me. And now I live here with my cats.”

To be honest, this doesn’t surprise me. In books, people like Shaye always have a very shady backstory. The more strange they are, the more shady the backstory. And Shaye isn’t really that odd.

When I point this out, Shaye seems to think this over for a minute.

“I guess that makes sense. Maybe — oh my god.”

I turn to look and see the same thing happening from a couple days ago. The sky is darkening really fast, and the lightning is turning green. Ariana runs over. I stand up as quickly as possible.

“Get in the treehouse! Fast!” I yell to Shaye.

She gives a nod and climbs up the tree as quickly as possible with the cats behind her. Then, she looks down at me.

“I’ll see you around!” she yells, and runs inside the treehouse just as the lightning strikes right in front of us and everything is suddenly green.

Again.

***

When I finally find the way home, I really did not plan on falling three feet and face planting on the front deck. I stand up and notice Ariana on the railing.

“Well, that was awesome,” she says.

“Yeah,” I say. “And I just had an idea.”

I run inside and see my paper on the table. I sit down and grab the pencil, erasing the title. I then write at the top of the page in big letters: Untitled Adventure.

I begin to write a several page story about me and Ariana and our adventures in another dimension. Ariana takes a pencil and doodles funny pictures in the margins, like right next to the lightning strike that takes us to Shaye’s dimension, where she draws us as X-rays. It really adds something.

And just as I’m almost done, Ariana runs to the window.

“Look!” she exclaims.

I look out the window and see a girl and three cats in the backyard. The girl has black hair, and her eyes are a shade of blue that scream: ‘Try me and you die.’ One is black with three purple stripes on her back and has green eyes. Another is gray and has blue eyes. The third one is white with eyes the color of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!

Shaye waves and yells, “Hi, Tommy!”

Before I go to the back door, I write on the paper just under the last sentence: The End.

 

Peculiar Foods

I ran like the wind. It was Sunday afternoon, and my sister’s flock of parrots, rabbits, turtles, guinea pigs, lizards, and goats had somehow escaped from their cage that had ten tight locks on it. I was boiling mad at Daria because she knew that her animals were always attacking me whenever I didn’t give them a potato, ham, egg, and yarn sandwich. I locked myself inside my animal-proof room and plopped onto the bed. Daria’s animals could not stand garlic, so I just sprinkled a bunch of garlic pepper.

It was a pretty good idea because I liked the smell of garlic pepper. I looked out the window and watched as the animals chased each other around in a circle. Suddenly, Adeline, one of the lizards, vanished into thin air! I yanked the door open and ran down the stairs.

Daria was calling “Adeline!” over and over, but there was no response.

I knew that Adeline was Daria’s favorite lizard, so I put my arm around her and said, “She’ll come back.”

I assured her even though I wasn’t so sure. I screamed. Daria had just vanished out of thin air, just like Adeline.

“Daria! Where are you?” I cried as loud as I could.

I was really nervous because if my parents found out, they’d think she was kidnapped and that would make everything worse.

“I’m still here, you fool,” came a voice behind me.
I spun around, but there was nobody there. Did she turn into a ghost or something? I wondered.

“I’m just invisible,” the voice (I assumed it was Daria) said.

“How?” I asked curiously.

“Do you see invisible stuff?” I asked, curiouser.

“Is it fun being invisible?” I asked, now very curious.

I began to shower her with questions.

“Eleanore, stop asking so much questions. First, I am holding Adeline. Second, it’s really boring to be invisible.”

Daria’s answers were so boring. I thought they would be really cool like those mystery books I was reading. I decided to get some snacks because I hadn’t eaten lunch yet. I ate the cookies my mom made yesterday. She had said that she put a “very special” recipe in it. After I finished, I looked at my pants to see if there were any crumbs on them. I gasped as my pants turned invisible, and I saw Daria and Adeline reading Charlotte’s Web near the window.

“Why didn’t you tell me those cookies turned you invisible?” I asked her.

“Mom wanted you to appreciate her cooking more, so she baked the cookies and hoped you would eat them and not complain about her whipped cream lasagna,” she answered casually.

“It’s disgusting!” I protested.

“I agree,” she said.

“You didn’t tell me how to get back to normal yet,” I reminded her.

“Well, you are not going to like it. Eat a potato, ham, egg, and yarn sandwich,” she grinned.

I forgot to think about how disgusting it was until I took a bite of it. I immediately threw up and chugged down some water.

“I kept telling you that I had a bottle of potato, ham, egg, and yarn sandwich smoothie.” Daria said.

I wanted to throw up again, so I drank some more water.

“That is so gross!” I commented.

Our mom came downstairs and saw the empty cookie plate.

“Did you like the cookies?” she smiled slyly.

“Let’s just say no. Actually, it is kind of cool because we could stop criminals from robbing stores and banks! And we could scare people on Halloween!” I cheered.

“Don’t get your hopes too high. Those cookies take a long time to make because it’s hard to get the ingredients. And if you are going to ask how I made them, I’ll tell you when it’s time.”

“Awww, why?” I asked while my shoulders slumped.

“Because if I tell you, then you will make it every day, and I’ll have to spend about three hours looking for you!” she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well, I guess I would,” I admitted, giggling a bit.

“Just go outside and do your daily exercise,” she sighed.

I leaped out the door and got out my jump rope. I hopped like a kangaroo for about two minutes. I checked the jump rope’s handle. It read 149. I hopped some more, but this time I wasn’t thinking about how many jumps left until I got to 250.

I was thinking about how to make the cookies. Why can’t Mom tell me how to make them? I wondered. Doesn’t she want me to be successful and famous for being clever? Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I stumbled over the jump rope and fell on my face (by accident.) I rushed into the house and began to get out my ingredients for my idea.

“What are you doing?” Daria asked, coming over to me, stroking Mittens (her kitten.)

I just smiled slyly and returned to planning out my idea.

“Oh no! You can’t be!” she cried, realizing what I was doing.

She rubbed her head and strutted away feeling confused.

“What are you doing?” my mom asked curiously.

“I’m baking a cake,” I lied.

“Oh,” she said, feeling disappointed, “I thought you were making dinner,” she replied.

I stared into the pot as purple smoke came steaming out. This is going to be fun, I thought.

 

The Truly True Story of Legentious

Introduction to the Full Story of Legentious

People say that once (in a time and place not even the smartest of beings could recall) there was a time, a time when there was no such thing as war, not even conflict. That would have been an amazing time to live in. After that period of time, which people called the “Golden Age,” there was a time when only war and hate existed. There was no peace. The Golden Age came crashing down when three brothers were born. Their parents were disgusted by their looks, and they gave them up. There were no fingers on their hands. What I mean is that they had paws. Their bodies were made up of a combination of fur and skin, quite unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.

Why did they look like that? you may ask. It was only a reflection of how they looked on the inside. You see, in that world, people were on the outside as they were on the inside. If a person was nasty on the inside, they would look nasty on the outside in return. Anyways, nobody wanted such an ugly baby, so these three were left on the streets with nobody to look after them. An old widow found them weeping on the streets and took them in. She did not know that these three looked like that for a reason. They were the first evil to ever be born. Being abandoned only helped them to show their true colors. Once they had grown up, they banded an army together and battled the royal family. This age was called the Years of Despair. The war ended when good prevailed over evil, like it always did, and people settled into another period of time, the Modern Era.

You live in a world, quite different from mine. Your world is riddled with all types of terrible things. Famine, disease, war, Donald Trump. Whoops, didn’t mean to say that last one out loud, or did I? Anyways, my world is a place where none of that exists. It’s a kind of dream-like world. Or at least it used to be that way. Now there is peace in some parts of the land and conflict in others. Things are better than they are in your world, but not nearly as incredible as they used to be in the Golden Age. Enough about that, back to why we’re even here in the first place: to tell the story of how we got to this time. One of normality, one in which it is not strangely peaceful, and not one in which there is nonstop war and hate. Or at least that is what is believed of that time.

There is, however, one thing, one part of the Golden Age that people do not talk about. That is because this was an extremely terrible time, something dreadful that someone whose heart was full of hate did. But forget about that for know. Just close your eyes and imagine a place where everything is perfect. There’s plenty of food, plenty of water, everyone is absolutely beautiful, and no one has ever even known the meaning of war. The story you’re about to hear is the story of the inventor’s race, the hidden race that very few know about, and their experience in the Golden Age… which brings us to our story.

 

The Inventor’s Headquarters

The green grass is an indication to the people of any land that winter is melting away into spring and bringing warmth to the land once more. I may tell you now where the kingdom in which the story takes place. It goes by an odd name, Legentious.

“People of Legentious, listen up. The prince has decided to host a ball for all to attend. Whether thou is man or animal, all are invited. We hope to see you all at the ball on Tuesday night. Happy spring!!!” boomed the hefty king, Theodore.

He was a kindhearted man with a son as strong as steel, who was, in fact, quite handsome. So when the ladies of the town heard he was throwing a ball, the dress shops were filled with eager women looking for the perfect dress to woo the prince with. There was, however, one maiden who was not interested in the prince. Her family encouraged her to go to the ball, for she was the fairest, most kind maiden in the entire realm. The prince would surely fall in love with her immediately, but she was stubborn and thought of the prince as a royal pain, in her mind, a snob only concerned with only his looks. She did not know that in this world, outer beauty was reflected by inner beauty. The prince was actually a very thoughtful and kind man, with a heart as good as gold, who didn’t care at all about looks and just wanted an honest, kind, caring woman. In the end, her parents won the fight, and she ended up going to the ball. This next piece will be from the prince’s perspective, just so you can understand a little better what he was thinking.

***

I knew right from the moment I saw her that she was the one. She looked as though she didn’t want to be here, and I could tell she thought I was only a self-obsessed maniac, which I’m totally not. I had a sudden urge to greet her and make her realize that I’m a very kind, caring human being. I wanted to know her like I know the back of my hand. I wanted to know everything about her, everything there was to know. My feet reluctantly carried my body right over to her.

“I’m Prince Alexander. What’s your name?”

She was obviously not interested, and very reluctantly she began to respond.

“My name is Delilah. I want you to know that I’m not like the other girls here. I don’t want to marry you like all the other girls. I can see just how truly self-obsessed you really are. You don’t even want a girl who is actually smart and caring. You only care about looks. You wouldn’t care if she didn’t even know how to spell orange.”

I was shocked. She had honestly just described the very opposite of who I was.

“I’m not any of the things you just described me as. In fact, I’m quite the opposite. I came over to you, not because you were beautiful, which of course you are, but because I could sense by the way you walked in that you were only as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. If you feel that way about me so strongly, you may walk away, but I’d like to get to know you.”

***

Before things get any further, I’m going to take over. Delilah realized that the prince was nothing of the sort that she thought he was. He was a very genuinely kind person. She had never realized that a prince could appreciate a person not for their looks, but because of a feeling that they were destined to meet. After relaxing a little bit, the two began to talk. They started bonding over pretty much everything, their favorite foods, their favorite hobbies. Everything!!! They both loved astronomy, pasta (which was still new back then), and shockingly enough, they both loved to invent. Normally in the Golden Age, not many people wanted anything new. No one wanted to discover. They thought they had everything, but really, they were missing out on so many amazing things, like water bottles or plastic. They only had paper and quills, not even a typewriter, no technology. That was good back then. They didn’t need anything fancy. They needed only what they already had. Inventors silently worked. Hidden from the rest of humanity, they worked alone on inventions. It was so uncommon to meet an inventor, let alone a prince and a fair maiden who wanted to invent and be different from the regular person. They were truly special. Before the prince, no one in the royal family had ever even considered the fact that inventing might improve people’s lives. Do you remember me saying how in this world, outer beauty is reflected by inner beauty? Well, I forgot to say, the people in that world have no idea about that rule. They are exactly like your world. They have no idea of the rules of their world. The only people that know the rules are the people of my planet, the all-seeing ones, the ones who know about everything. No one but us knows about this kind of stuff. Let’s just get back into the story.

Eventually, Alexander and Delilah fell madly in love and decided to get married. They invited practically everyone in the land. The wedding was spectacular. Gifts scattered around the crowded palace ballroom. The whole palace was filled with almost the entire kingdom. Every nook and cranny was filled with more than ten people. Prince Alexander and Princess Delilah were completely overwhelmed with guests so excited to meet them. They were dying to escape the crowd and finally begin their honeymoon in the outreaches of Legentious. One moment of quiet was almost impossible, so how were they going to get one week alone? They had no idea that they were about to get their wish granted…

 

Washed Away

Normal

Together, we ran, her strawberry blonde hair whipping behind her as her laughter echoed. Together, we ran to the rushing river. Together, we arrived, her freckled face covered in sweat. Then, together we laughed. We stepped into the icy water, the place where we first met. The place where we first found where we belonged. Then we swam. I heard her screams before I saw her. I looked around.

“Becca!” I screamed.

Then I saw her being swept away. The current was sweeping her into rapids. Her head went under, and the water took her away. Suddenly, I remembered the cliff. I swam faster than I ever had. I needed to find Rebecca before it was too late, before the wolf cliff had its second taste of blood. I was too slow, and it was my fault my best friend died. I hauled her up onto the shore. Her hair was soaked with blood. The moon was now high up in the sky. She would never smile her beautiful smile again. Never laugh her sing-song laugh. Never be there by my side. There I sat on the top of wolf cliff, crying over the death of my everything as the moon sparkled in the sky.

“Goodbye, Rebecca Amelia Jones,” I whispered as I stroked her hair. “I will never forget you.”

Then, I carried her home. Home, such an odd thing that some people think of it as a roof above their heads. To me, it was where you felt welcomed, wanted, loved. My home was Rebecca. Where I lived was just temporary. That night, her parents cried tears, but they were not broken, at least not as broken as me. As I lay in bed, I thought of her. Suddenly, all the memories came rushing back.

***

I was sitting on a rock at the side of the river, reading a good book, when she came out behind me. She had tears streaming down her face. She looked me dead in the eye and then sat down. She just sat there, looking at the river, crying.

“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?” I asked.

She turned around to face me. “Why should I?”

“Because it’s normal.”

“I’m not.”

“What?”

“What?”

“You’re not what?”

“Normal.”

Then, I laughed. She laughed too. There we sat, laughing by the side of the river.

For many days, we met by the riverside, but it wasn’t till the eighth day that we became true friends. It started like any other day. We talked and laughed. Then, out of the blue, Rebecca jumped into the rushing water fully clothed. Of course. I followed. When the water engulfed me, I was scared, but when I looked over and saw Rebecca swimming, I felt fearless. She reached over and held my hand. That was the day I became we.

***

I woke up with a jolt, reminding myself that I was here and she was gone. I looked around. Amy was asleep, and so was Aubrey, who was 12 and came here last year after her brother died and her mom went bankrupt. Ember, who was 16, had been here forever, and there was Clover, a small eight-year-old. I walked over to the dusty vanity and looked at myself. I was the girl whose parents didn’t care enough to keep her. I was the girl who picked fights with the biggest kid and lost. I was the girl who faded into the background. I was the girl with chestnut skin, raven hair, and star-speckled eyes. I was Rory. I was me.

Clover woke with a start, her screams drowning out my thoughts. I rushed to her side. Her nightmares had been getting worse ever since they found her a home.

“Rory, I’m scared. What if they don’t like me?” she whispered.

“They will.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

She drifted off to sleep. Then at 9:00 a.m., her new family took her home.

 

Phoenix

It was late on Sunday when she arrived. Her long, brown hair was swaying in the wind. There was a grim look on her face. A lady in a tattered dress pushed her forward. Then, she turned around and left her. The girl collapsed and tears streamed down her perfect face. Ms. Morton scooped her up and brought her to the washrooms. Meanwhile, up in the attic bedroom, the girls talked.  

“She will probably take Clover’s spot.”

“Yep.”

“Did you see her just collapse?”

“Ha!”

“But, like, her hair…”

She came in with some hand-me-down sweatpants and a large t-shirt. She just fell onto the bed and fell asleep in Clover’s spot. I drifted off to sleep again, going back to a world where she still existed.  

***

June 18th, we were on our way to the river, walking hand in hand, but when we got there, the police department was standing on the shore. Our shore. A woman stood there, tears in her eyes. In her arms was a boy eight years of age, just like us. He was covered in blood. His name was Jason.

Later, we found out what had happened. He had run away. Later that day, the police found him, washed up on the shore, dead. He had hit the cliff, Wolf Cliff. Little did I know, four years later, my friend would befall the same fate.

I woke up covered in sweat, drowning in my sheets. I needed to get out. I walked over to the window and hopped up to the roof. There she sat. Alone in the dark. I went up to her and sat down by her side.

“Was she nice?” I asked.

“Who?”

“The woman who dropped you off.”

“Oh… yes.”

“Tell me about her.”

“Well, she made the best cookies. The type that bring a smile to your face even when you think that you can never smile again. Her hugs… they fill you with warmth even in the coldest part of the night.”

“She sounds wonderful.”

“She was… but…”

“But what?”

“Her sweet voice turned icy and cold, and she disappeared for hours.”

“Still, you miss her.”

“Still, I miss her.”

“My name is Rory.”

“Phoenix.”

“Good night.”

“Night.”

I got up to leave, looking over my shoulder before going back inside. Still, she stayed. I got back into bed. Then, before I fell asleep, a dreadful thought came over me. Tomorrow, I had to go to school.

***

I got dressed in ripped jeans and a t-shirt. On my way out the door, I grabbed a piece of toast. Then, the bus came. As I walked to the back, I heard the other kids’ conversations.

“Rebecca…”

“Dead…”

“Rapids…”

“Cliff…”

“Blood…”

I sat down. Phoenix joined me.  

“Perfect, such a horrible word. They all say ‘Oh, she’s so perfect. Oh, she must think she is better than us.’ Well I’m not, and I don’t,” she muttered.  

“Only someone perfect would say that.”

“If I were perfect… things would be different.”

“Look in the damn mirror.”

“I thought you were different.”

“Look at your hair.”

“I will.”

Then, she walked to a different seat with her head held high, her perfect hair swaying behind her.

All throughout school, I thought of her. The way she walked perfect. The way she talked perfect. Her hair. PERFECT.

Then, finally, school was over. I told Amy to tell Ms. Morton I was going for a hike. Then, I started on the path to the river. Slowly, the buildings turned into trees, and the cars melted away. After five minutes of walking, I reached the shore. Our shore. I slipped off my sneakers and felt the sand beneath my toes. The water was warmer than it was on the day she departed. It is calmer too. Almost welcoming. I collapsed onto the sand. Tears streaked my cheeks. I picked a marsh marigold flower on my way out. With each step I took, I threw down a petal.

When I finally arrived back “home,” all the girls were in the kitchen. All but Phoenix. I went upstairs to look for her. The light was on in the washroom. When I walked in, there was a pair of scissors on the sink.  

“Phoenix?” I called.

She came out of a stall. Her hair was in a pixie cut.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Why?”

“I need your help.”

She took out a tube of bright pink hair dye and bleach. By the time dinner was ready, she was fully transformed. Together we walked down to dinner. All the girls gasped when they saw Phoenix’s new look. We ate chicken and mashed potatoes. There was a smile on my face for the first time in a long while.

 

Amanda

Once again, my dreams were haunted by my memories.

On the day of my 12th birthday, we raced out to the river. She handed me a cupcake and a present. We ate and sung, then I opened up the present. It was a necklace with a moon charm. She had one too, but hers had a star. Then we ran into the water.

Phoenix shook me awake. We got ready for school. When we walked onto the bus, the only seats left were right in front of Amanda and her group. Three minutes after we sat down, she tapped my back. I ignored her. She kept on tapping. I finally turned around.

“What the hell do you want?” I asked.

She giggled her girly giggle. Words couldn’t describe how much I hated this girl.

“I want to give you and your little friend a warning.”

Phoenix turned around too. “It’s you who should be warned,” she muttered.

“Stay out of my way, Pinky, or you will wish you were dead like Rory’s other friend.”

Then, she went back to talking with her friends. My hands curled into fists but I turned around. I would have to wait to punch her in her makeup covered face.

“About my other friend,” I started to explain to Phoenix.

“I know.”

“What?”

“They told me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“About what?”

“I should’ve told you.”

“We all have our secrets.”

The bus stopped. We walked into school. I decided whatever happened in Phoenix’s past didn’t matter. We took our seats. Math blurred into history. Then we had science. Phoenix and I were lab partners. We were studying oceanography. The day moved slowly, but eventually school ended, and the weekend began. The weekends were supposed to be fun, but not for me, at least not any more. I guess being abandoned at age seven and losing your best and only friend at 12 affected your view towards life. Well, anyway, this weekend was really bad because it was my birthday. I would be 13. She would stay 12 forever and never age. I walked home alone. On Fridays, I usually walked home. Music was drifting through my headphones. I told Pheonix I would meet her back in our room. I saw the orphanage. It loomed over me. Some might say it looked beautiful, welcoming. Not me. That house was like a chain holding me to my past. I opened the gate and walked towards the building. I took out my headphones and walked through the door.  Everyone was arguing over what movie to watch. I joined the crowd.

“I have something to tell you,” Phoenix whispered.

She grabbed my hand and led me to the roof. I looked out at the moon. Whatever she wanted to tell me was not good.

“I got adopted,” she said.

“That’s great.”   

“No, it’s not.”  

“Come on.”

I get up and led her out the door. I led her through the streets, then through the thorny path ways. I stopped. Did I really want to go back? I pushed past the final branches, revealing the shore. Phoenix gasped.

“It’s beautiful,” she said.     

I looked back at the water. It was like my eyes had been covered the whole time.

“It is.”

And she smiled. And then tears started to streak down her face.

“I’ll miss you,” she said.

“Me too.”

We sat there crying by the side of the river.  At least I got to say goodbye.

 

The Truth

I woke up at 7:00. When I looked next to me, Phoenix was gone. In her place was a letter. I start to read.

 

My name is Phoenix Rose.

I was born on the total solar eclipse, at the exact moment the moon blocked the sun. I am not normal. When I was two, my parents put me in foster care. By the time I was eight, I had been in 24 different homes. My 25th home was with the same people who were coming to pick me up today. They were nice at first, welcoming even. That lady who dropped me off was a stranger. I described that family. The only thing is, I don’t miss them. I can’t even spend a hour in the same room with them. When I was nine, I ran away. I have kept running ever since. I am thirteen. I will not let them take me now. If you want to find me, look near the river. Sorry I didn’t tell you before. I just couldn’t say the words.

Phoenix

 

Of course. Phoenix ran away. I was once again left with nothing. No one. Ember woke up. She saw me reading the note and crying. I tried to cover my face. I won’t be weak. She moved towards me slowly. I closed my eyes… She wrapped her arms around me. As each of the girls woke up, they joined the hug. I was not alone. I had never been. I had a family. One that would never leave me behind. We didn’t let go. Each of us took some of the others’ pain. We all got to the river. We found her…

She sighed. “I didn’t want you to find me,” she said.

“Why?”

“That would mean I would really have to say goodbye.”

She reached out and held my hands.

“Goodbye,” she whispered.

“Goodbye.”

She hugged me. Then she ran away. Into the forest. She left me. I crumpled to the ground, memories of her playing in my head. We walked home filled with sorrow.

I fell asleep close to Ember. This time I dreamed of my parents. I was five. It was Christmas. My father danced around the room holding me in his arms. My mother sung loud, laughing. She joined the dance. We spun, and we laughed until we fell. Still laughing, my parents carried me to bed. That morning, I woke up to the smell of cinnamon. My parents sat with smiles on their faces. Snow floated down outside. Presents lined the bottom of the tree. That morning was a big blur of smiles and laughs. I remember one gift: a golden locket. Inside of it were two pictures. One was of all of us smiling and holding each other tight. The other of just the two of them. Mom was pregnant, and they both looked like they had won the lottery.

When I woke up, the dream was clear in my mind. I wondered where the locket was.  A horrifying thought popped into my head. I didn’t know where my parents were. I didn’t know why they left me here. That thought was still in my mind as I got on the bus. Once again, the only seat was in front of Amanda. She tapped my back.

“Where’s Pinky?”

I didn’t respond.

“Did she finally realize how weird you are?”

I smirked.  “You think I’m weird?” I said.

She glared at me.

“You’re the one making fun of someone because they remind you of yourself.”

She looked me dead in the eyes. “Pick your battles,” she said.

I turned around. Beneath all that makeup she was just as scared of the world as me. Just a small child screaming for help. I shook my head.

Today was the last day of school. The bell rang for the last time. I was not sad to be leaving this dump. I would be going to the Oakwood public high school next year. It seemed as though I would never leave this town. As kids ran through the hallways, I realized all the painful memories this town held.

I went to the records room under the library. I used to come here every day. I searched for Rory Lupus like I had done many times. I found it next to Brook Lupus and Matt Kingsley. I picked up all three files. I looked at my dad’s first. There was a picture of him smiling. A big dopey smile. His black hair covered most of his forehead. His dark brown skin reflected the light above him. He was beautiful. I wondered why he left me.

Next was mom. In her picture she was smiling too. Her brown hair was below her shoulders. Her pale skin showed every shadow. She, too, was beautiful. Why? Why? Why? What did I do?

Finally, me. The picture was from this year. My smile was forced. My hair was pulled back into a ponytail. My chestnut skin only reflected my pain.

Tears streaked my face. Why? I dried my eyes and walked upstairs. Then I walked out the door. I kept walking until I was at the orphanage. I went up to my room. I wiped the tears from my eyes. I walked over to the vanity. It was chipped and dusty, the soft blue paint peeling away to reveal wood. I looked at myself in the dusty mirror. Tears of anger swelled in my eyes. I gripped the sides hard. Why? Why would they leave me? Was I like this vanity, broken and old? Did they want something shiny and new? Did they just leave me here to collect dust and be forgotten? Then I let go. Paint fell, fluttering like snow flakes. I went downstairs, forcing up a smile.

***

Fast forward four years…

 

To The Moon

March 20th, one week before graduation. I got my letters.

“COLUMBIA!!!”

I got a scholarship to Columbia University.  The girls came rushing down, or at least what was left of them. With Ember gone, it was just me, Amy, and Aubrey. There were no new orphans in this town.  

“I knew you would get in,” Amy said with a smile on her face.

Ms. Morton smiled and rubbed my back. That night, we ate steak and mashed potatoes, my favorite. That night, we all smiled. I looked at the vanity. Suddenly, it looked less broken. I fell asleep with a thought shredding up my mind… What will I say at graduation?  

A week later, I was ready. A speech was drilled into my mind. It passed by so fast. I couldn’t believe it was over. When it ended, I went home and got ready for the party Amanda was throwing. Even I was invited. I wore a royal blue skirt that went up to my knees, a matching crop top, and simple black heels. I bought it with my own money. It was a major change from my usual jeans and a t shirt. I wasn’t sure I liked it. I walked to Amanda’s house. She was at the door wearing a pale pink skirt, a little shorter than mine, a crop top, a little shorter, and much more expensive shoes. Instead of pouting, we laughed. It seemed like such a childish problem. I walked to the snack table. There was so much music and dancing. I had never been invited to a party like this, but I’d never been invited to a party before. Amanda appeared next to me.

“Sorry I was such a jerk,” she said.

“It’s fine.”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is… it was nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“Come on, let’s dance.”

We danced to the top songs of the 2000’s, belting out the lyrics. Too bad Amanda’s going to UCLA. We could’ve been friends (I don’t do letters.) That night, as I walked home, I hummed the tune of “Who let the dogs out.” When I arrived home, I got into bed. I decided a skirt once in awhile wasn’t the worst. Once in awhile! I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

When I woke up, my hair was a mess. I went to the mirror and started to brush. Then I went downstairs. Ms. Morton was waiting for me at the table. She smiled. A shoe box was in front of her. I sat down.

“What is that?” I asked.

“This is yours,” she replied, a sad smile on her face.

She slid it across the table to me. I opened it. Inside were three things: two letters and a golden locket.

“Where did you get this?”   

“It arrived with you.”

One letter just contained a few things.

 

This is Rory Lupus. Her father died, and I am barely able to write this. I beg you to look after her. I wish I could look after her, but I can’t. Please surround her with love.

-Brook Lupus

 

They did love me. They did want me. My dad was dead. I didn’t know where my mom was. I didn’t want to read the other note, but I did.

 

Rory,

I love you. So did your father. He loved you very much. He lost his life in a car crash. I want you to know he would never abandon you. Neither would I. I am in the hospital with lung cancer. I know I don’t have much time left. Just know I love you to the moon and back. I love you.

-Mom

 

Tears streaked down my face as I looked at the locket. Why had my life turned out like this? Who kept making things worse each time they got better?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked

“It would’ve been too hard on you.”

I leaned on her shoulder and cried. I cried and cried. I wouldn’t give up. I would go to college. I would get my degree.  I would make a difference.

 

A Fresh Start

I walked into my dorm room. My roommate was standing there with a nervous look on her face. She looked like she was made by a beach. Her wavy, blond hair looked like sand, and her blue eyes looked like the sea.

“Hi, I’m Irvetta.”

“Hi, my name is Rory.”

“Do you know where the other roommate is?”

Right as she said that, the door opened. A girl walked in carrying a suitcase. Her hair faded from black to blue, and she was wearing a beanie.

“Hi, I’m Irvetta,” she started again.

“My name is Rory,” I said.

“My name is Brea.”

She carried her suitcase over to a bed and unpacked. We did the same. All I had were some clothes, sheets, a blanket, a pillow, and a pillow case. As I was walking through the halls, I realized I could be anything. No one here knew my past.

***

My favorite classes were photography and science. One day, when I got back to the dorm room, Irvetta was going through my bag.

“We need to go shopping,” she said.

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have enough money.”

“I do.”

Irvetta, Brea, and I went shopping. I came back with four new t-shirts and three new pairs of pants. I had been working as a waitress at a coffee shop nearby. I finally got enough money to buy my own camera. I took a picture of Brea standing with her arms spread out as the snow was falling. The other picture was of Irvetta holding the first flower of spring. They both didn’t know I was taking them. I showed the two pictures to them. They loved it. Then I submitted them to a contest with an amazing camera for the prize. I waited for a month to find out if I won. I did! I went and got the camera. I submitted more pictures into more contests. Some I won, some I didn’t. I found myself through photos. Irvetta and Brea were super supportive.  

 

Job

I sat outside in the waiting room. Nervous thoughts filled my mind. I held my portfolio close.  

“Rory Lupus,”  a woman called.

“Yes?”

“Rachel is ready for you.”

I stood up and followed her.  She led me to an office. I opened the door. Rachel was sitting at her desk. I sat across from her.
“Let’s have a look,” she said as I passed my portfolio to her.

She flipped through my photos. Sometimes, she nodded. Then, she handed it back to me.

“You know National Geographic photography is no joke,” she said.

My face turned white.

“Your first assignment will be next week. You will be with Cole Anderson, photographing the deep blue sea. Marcy, the girl out front, will give you your wetsuit and your camera.”  

I smiled. “Thank you,” I said as I walked out the door.

Two weeks later, I was in the water. Suddenly, I saw something move beneath me. I swam deeper. A beautiful sea turtle swam beneath me. I followed it, taking pictures as I swam.

A year later, I was walking up the aisle, well kind of. I was on a beach. Irvette, Brea, and my husband-to-be’s family sat on the sand. Cole Anderson stood in front of the waves. I looked into his eyes.

“You may kiss the bride.”

We kissed. Then, we jumped into the water. I swear I saw Phoenix smile from wherever she was.

One of my assignments landed me right back in Oakwood. I was taking pictures when I saw it, old and cracked, the vanity sat on the side of the road. A sign said, “Take what you want.” Someone had moved into my old home. I picked it up and brought it home. I wouldn’t leave an old friend behind.

 

Epilogue

My name is Rebecca Phoenix Lupus. I am the daughter of Rory and Cole Lupus. My mom is 83 and in the nursing home. My father passed in his sleep two years ago. I walk into my mom’s room.  She grabs my hand.

“Take me to the river,” she whispers.

I put her in the wheelchair and take her to where she asked. I stop on the shore. It is so beautiful. My mom gets up and walks to the water. She plunges in and never resurfaces. Tears streak my face.

“Good bye,” I whisper.

 

The Case of the Mysterious Singing Voice

It was a long, October weekday. I was coming back from a long, tiring day of school. I was the smartest kid in school, so the work wasn’t very hard for me, but I was still excited to go home after the long day. I was walking home from school on a crisp, peaceful, fall day, when I stopped in my tracks to listen to a beautiful singing voice.

It sang, ”Come to me, come to me.”

I felt hypnotized for a second, before I looked behind me to find the mysterious voice, but there was no one there. I was completely bewildered about what I heard and continued to walk home.

I walked through my front door and quickly acknowledged my family, still hypnotized and confused about my walk home. I went upstairs to my room to relax, watch TV, and forget about the singing and the long, hard day at school.

However, the TV seemed to be saying, “Come to me, come to me,” just like on the walk home. Instead of just sitting there hypnotized, I couldn’t control any part of my body. I uncontrollably stood up and started walking to the window. Luckily, I snapped out of this weird trance and jumped onto my bed.

At first, this didn’t seem like a big problem. Now, it was a terrible problem, and it was about to get even worse. When I turned around, there was a green, wrinkly ghost-lady right next to my ear. She was a ghost just floating around my ear, staring at me blankly. I jumped up in terror.

That was the person who was singing.

But it was too late now because she started singing again. I fell under the spell, but this time, the spell was inescapable.

I could see and feel my skin turning wrinkly and green like hers through the mirror on my dressing table. I also lost control of my body, just like before, and I knew that the creepy lady spirit was controlling it.

Then, she started singing the song, ”Come to me, come to me. You’re my spirit apprentice, so come to me.”

I felt my body start floating. I was her apprentice now. I bet she needed me because I was so smart and knew so much about the way people acted. She was not very smart with people’s behavior because she was a ghost. However, with a little help from me, she could rule the world. That was always what evil people did in movies after they took over someone, and that someone was me.

Meanwhile, she had all control of me. In my body, I could feel a slight tingle in my brain. Was she planning to take over my brain too?! I would not be able to think or function or do anything! This was a disaster! And this was truly the end!!!

 

Lessons from Harry Potter

Introduction

Harry Potter is one of the most inspiring series in recent history, written by J.K. Rowling, and first published in 1997. This series is significant because it has a lot of life lessons. The life lessons I chose influenced me and the world. This series teaches everyone to not judge a book by its cover, and to never be afraid.

 

Lesson One

My first lesson is to not judge a book by its cover. I learned this lesson when Snape, the dark, bitter, potions professor, turns out to be protecting Harry Potter. When Harry looks into Snape’s memories, he sees that Snape loved Harry’s mother, Lily, and would do anything to regain Lily’s trust. This shows that Harry shouldn’t have judged Snape by who he appears to be. This lesson is important to me because I have a friend in my class. The first time I saw her, she was shy and quiet. But as I got to know her, I learned that she gets into fights with her parents and siblings. Not only does this lesson affect me, but it also affects the world.  This lesson influenced the world because, in American history, everyone thought that Aaron Burr (the third U.S. Vice President) was great and all. However, he got into a fight with Alexander Hamilton, and unfortunately killed him. Instead of being honest and telling the current President, he fled to a different colony. This shows that even though someone appears to be kind and helpful, they could still do the wrong thing.

 

Lesson Two

My second lesson is to never be afraid. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow, Harry Potter finds courage to face Voldemort and die for his friends. This lesson influences me because, in fourth grade, I was really shy at school. I never spoke or answered questions, but when I started to read the Harry Potter series, I started to realize that if you don’t have courage, you won’t be able to accomplish things. Also, in real life, if you don’t speak up, you won’t get your thoughts through. However, this doesn’t just affect me. It also affects the world. If Martin Luther King Jr. was afraid to protest and make a speech about human rights, the United States would still have black and white segregation today. This shows that you can only make a change if you speak up and say your opinion about things like Martin Luther King Jr. and other powerful leaders did.

 

Conclusion

To sum up, I think the Harry Potter series is an influence to me and the world in different ways, and it helped me become more mature. The Harry Potter series is great for kids and teens who are into fantasy and adventure. In fact, this series is for everyone. In July 21 2007, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released, one month before my birthday.

 

Buckingham Puck and the Light Figure

There was a performing circus cat whose name was Buckingham Puck and had a swollen foot but could not tell a joke, and he really wanted to learn how to tell a joke. Buckingham Puck had grey hair with orange stripes, and he was the fattest of all the cats because he ate his favorite food, buffalo wings, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. His eyes were pink, but every other circus cat’s eyes were brown. All the other circus cats could tell jokes, and he couldn’t because he had pink eyes. The other circus cats told him he should learn to tell a joke so he could become part of the joke show.

Buckingham Puck wanted to be part of the show because whichever cat told the funniest joke would win a ticket to the midnight fairy cruise in Alaska, where they could fish for fresh salmon all night long. He made his way to the Dark Figure’s house so that the Dark Figure would put a spell on him so he could tell jokes. But when Buckingham Puck went inside of the home, the Dark Figure was not there. Buckingham Puck knew the the Dark Figure liked parties because last time, when a little girl had a party, the Dark Figure wasn’t even invited, but he still showed up.

Buckingham Puck invited everyone he knew, including the Dark Figure, to his party. When the Dark Figure heard the news that there was a party, he started to go to the party. When he showed up at the party, Buckingham Puck hopped over to where the Dark Figure was standing and asked him to put a spell to tell jokes. The Dark Figure was angry that Buckingham Puck would host a party just so the Dark Figure could cast a spell on him. Instead of casting a spell that Buckingham Puck could tell jokes, he cast a spell that Buckingham Puck would have purple eyes, which made him tell horrible jokes.

After the party, he left and went to the Light Figure, so she could make him have brown eyes, which would make him tell really funny jokes just like the other cats. He made his way down to the Light figure’s cave. When he walked into the cave, the Light Figure was sitting there, sipping her coffee. He asked her to give him brown eyes so that he could say really funny jokes. Just when she was about to cast the spell, the Dark Figure walked in. Both were very surprised to see each other. The Dark Figure was at the Light Figure’s home because he was warning her not to cast a spell on Buckingham Puck. This was because he was still angry that Buckingham Puck invited him to a party just because he wanted to tell very funny jokes.

When Buckingham Puck saw the Dark Figure, he started to apologize and say that he didn’t mean it. He just wanted to tell jokes and be part of the joke show. The Dark Figure did not forgive him. Buckingham Puck really wanted to be a part of the joke show so he kept giving more reasons for the Dark Figure to forgive him.

“You could come to every party of mine if you let me tell jokes. And also, I would like to treat you to buffalo wings tonight.”

The Dark Figure really loved buffalo wings and agreed to forgive him. The Light Figure was listening to all this and asked to also come to the buffalo wings dinner. Buckingham Puck said that she could absolutely come to the buffalo wings dinner. So Buckingham Puck took the Dark Figure and the Light Figure to his dinner room and asked them to sit down while he grilled the buffalo wings. When the wings were ready, he put them on the table, and everyone started to eat it.

Buckingham Puck and the Light Figure loved it, but the Dark Figure did not. Since he didn’t like the food, he just cast a spell that would give Buckingham Puck dark purple eyes, which made him tell even more horrible jokes. After he cast the spell, he left to go to his own house to eat his dinner.

After the Dark Figure shut the door, the Light Figure felt bad for Buckingham Puck. She wanted to give him brown eyes, but since the Dark Figure’s magic was more powerful than hers, she could not undo the spell. So the Light Figure went home and stayed up all night, thinking of a plan.

The next day, the Light Figure rose bright and early to get to Buckingham Puck’s house. She put her shoes on to walk to his house. When she got there, Buckingham Puck was waiting on his porch for her. The buffalo dinner from the night before was so big that he had some leftovers. He had wrapped the wings up and gave it to her as a gift.

The Light Figure started to tell Buckingham Puck all about her plan. Her plan was that they would work together as a team to reach the magical mountain. On that magical mountain was a magical cave, which contained a magic stone that could give her much more power than the Dark Figure.

They began to pack their stuff for the long and dangerous journey up the mountain. First, they packed the leftover buffalo wings. Then, they packed some rope and a stick in case they need to climb something like a hill. Next, they packed some lollipops in case they met some crocodiles. If the crocodiles smelled the Light Figure and Buckingham Puck, they would throw the lollipops so that the crocodiles wouldn’t want to eat them. They packed some blankets so that they could sleep on the way. The rope was also used to tie the blankets onto trees with high branches. This is because after the crocodiles ate all the lollipops, they might still be hungry, so they would try to eat Buckingham Puck later. They also brought band-aids in case they got scraped by thorns. They also kept a few for themselves. Last of all, they packed toothbrushes and toothpaste.

After that, Buckingham Puck put hiking shoes on all four of his feet to protect his paws. They grabbed a map to go to the magic mountain. The map said that they had to go on Sockwood street. After they walked onto Sockwood street, the map said that there was a tiny, little bunny hole that they had to squeeze into. They looked behind some bushes and found the secret bunny hole. Buckingham Puck had to shimmy himself in because he was so fat. Since the Light Figure was human-sized, Buckingham Puck had to pull her down.

After they finally got down the small, tight hole, they crawled through the dirt. After crawling for about three hours, they found worms, maggots, and ants, but not a single bunny, The Light Figure always carried a bottle of bug spray. She sprayed it all around her. After that, she kept on spraying, but there were no more bugs that they found. They crawled for two more hours, but after that, sunlight came through the hole.

They climbed out of the hole and looked all around them. Suddenly, a whole pack of wolves sprang out of nowhere. The wolves did not like lollipops, so Buckingham Puck reached into their knapsack and took out half of the buffalo wings. He threw it where the wolves were. The moment he threw it, all of the wolves lunged at the wings. When the wolves started to rip off pieces of the wings, Buckingham Puck and the Light Figure started running. The wolves saw them running, but they just kept eating the wings.

After the leader of the wolves ate the last wing, Buckingham Puck and the Light Figure climbed up a tree. They stayed in a tree for an hour, sucking lollipops and eating a bit of the buffalo wings. The wolves were waiting at the bottom of the tree with their jaws wide open and their necks leaning back. Buckingham Puck and the Light Figure could see the drool dripping from the wolves’ jaws. The wolves were getting bored waiting for Buckingham Puck and the Light Figure. One of the wolves ran home and brought back a basket filled with a few Monopoly boards, a game of chess, and a few packets of UNO cards. The wolves played and played until the leader of the wolf pack had ordered for them to bring back a nice, juicy deer from the hill.

The wolves knew that the Light Figure and Buckingham Puck would not come down for a while, so they ran to catch a deer. Buckingham Puck and the Light Figure knew that the wolves would come back for them as soon as they caught a deer, so they ran away. When they got tired, the Light Figure used some of her magic to bring them thirty miles closer to the mountain. Buckingham Puck and the Light Figure could not find a tree to sleep in, so the Light Figure had to use some of her magic to grow a tree. They got out their ropes and blankets to tie the blankets to the tree.

The next morning, they woke up and got out their toothbrushes.  They jumped out the tree and went to the lake. They squeezed a little toothpaste on their toothbrushes and started brushing because they hadn’t brushed for two nights. After they brushed their teeth, they smelled something disgusting. They realized that it was their toothbrushes which had been in their really smelly mouths. Luckily, they had brought an extra pair.  Since it was the morning, and they were hungry, they looked into the bag and saw only lollipops and buffalo wings. The buffalo wings were not for the morning and lollipops were not really filling.  So, they had to look for some apples and oranges in the forest. Since Light Figure used magic to grow the tree they slept in, she had to use a little bit of her magic to make some apples and oranges. After their stomachs were full, they started their dangerous mission.

As they were walking, Buckingham Puck said, “Do you want me to tell you about my favorite moment?”

The Light Figure nodded and said, “I would love to.”

Buckingham Puck said, “On Halloween, two boys dressed up as buffalo wings, and I ate them. And that is why I’m so fat. Those two boys tasted very disgusting. Their hairs were like leaves. Their costumes were leather. And their costumes tasted the worst. Even though it tasted so bad, I was so hungry so I ate it.”  

The Light Figure looked surprised and said, “That explains it.”

They walked along for thirty more minutes when it turned dark in one second, right before their eyes. It was only 8:30 a.m., but it turned to 10:30 p.m. When the darkness cleared, they saw the Dark Figure.  

He turned to Buckingham Puck and said, “I will give you brown eyes, but you need to give me eight of your lives.”

“I can’t give you eight lives because when I jumped off a high pole, my foot got swollen and that was one of my lives. So, I only have seven lives to give you.”

The Dark Figure was furious that he could only have seven lives. So he said, “Now I will never give you brown eyes, and I will give you a rough trip to the magic mountain. I will order my ghouls and monsters to stop you from getting closer to the magic mountain.”

After the Dark Figure said this, he took out his magical wand and started to chant very lowly. He chanted so lowly that Buckingham Puck and the Light Figure could not hear him. Even though the Light Figure had magic, the Dark Figure had magic too, so he could whisper so lowly that even she could not hear. Then, he waved his wand in the air and zapped it. Tiny ghouls and goblins came shooting out of it and went in every direction that Buckingham Puck and Light figure would travel. They grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of Buckingham Puck’s favorite story-book giant, the BFG.

“No!” the Light Figure shouted. “Oh no!”

“Ha! Too bad, I win! You lose!” screamed the Dark Figure.

Buckingham Puck was furious with rage and started throwing sticks with his tail. One of the sticks hit the Dark Figure on his head, and then the stick cracked in two.

The Dark Figure gave out a yelp and said, “Owie.”

“That’s it. You asked for it, Mr. Buckingham Puck.”

“No. You asked for it, Mr. Dark Figure,” said the Light Figure who had made herself invisible.

The Light Figure had already told Buckingham Puck that she would go invisible so that he would not be surprised. The Dark Figure was startled and didn’t realize that the Light Figure was strong enough to go invisible, so he said, “Who said that?”

“I said that, knucklehead.”

“Whoever said that, I am not a knucklehead,” said the Dark Figure, looking around nervously.

The Light Figure made herself visible again and gave him a hard, little tap on the head.

“Light Figure? I thought you were on my side. You have betrayed me. You do not want to help Buckingham Puck. He is evil.”

She said, “He is not evil. You are. He is my best friend, and you are not.”

After the Light Figure said this, she waved her wand wildly, and she jumped up to the heavens, taking Buckingham Puck with her.  

“Where in the world are you two going?” the Dark Figure said, jumping up as well. He tried to jump up and follow them, but the heavens pushed him down and said, “YOU ARE BAD! GO AWAY!”

Safe up in the heavens, the Light Figure was greeted by all other goddesses, but when they saw Buckingham Puck, all of their enthusiasm flowed right out of them.

“Is this a mortal cat? Or an immortal cat?” one of the goddesses said.

“I am immortal. I have been alive since the beginning of time, and I will be here till the end,” said Buckingham Puck.

“Come here, you little softy,” a voice said. It was one of the goddesses’ children. Just then, she skipped towards him and said, “My name is Pinky Winky Pickle. You can call me Pinky.”

She tried to put her arms under him, but he was so fat that she could not pick them up.

“You are a fat bunny,” said Pinky. “You need to go on a diet, Bunny.”

“First of all, I am the skinniest cat in the world.  And second of all, I am a cat,” Buckingham Puck said.

Pinky said, “If you are a cat, you can give me a horseback ride.”  

And with those words, she hopped on Buckingham Puck’s back. Buckingham Puck let out a yelp and tried to buck her off, but everytime he tried to buck her off, she would slap him and say, “Go faster.”

“Pinky Winky Pickle, get off that filthy cat at once,” Pinky’s parents said.

The Light Figure came to Buckingham Puck’s rescue and said, “He’s a very clean cat. I just gave him a bath.”

When Buckingham Puck heard the word “bath,” he fainted. Buckingham Puck hated baths. There had once been an incident when he was young, when someone had tried to give him a bath. When he came out, his fur was all curly, and he hated curly fur. All the girls thought he was cute and tried to kiss him, but he didn’t like the kissing. Ever since that day, he swore to himself that he would never take a bath.

Buckingham Puck looked around for a clock. When he finally found a clock, the clock said that it was 11:53 p.m. That meant they had wasted their whole day up in the heavens. Buckingham Puck knew that he had to leave but without Pinky, so he thought about how to get rid of Pinky. He had an idea. The Light Figure would sprinkle some powder on his head, and they would hold hands and run off the clouds. Then they would float in the air. And when the magic died down, and they started to drift down, the Light Figure would wave her wand for a plane, and they would start flying. He didn’t think that Pinky could fly too. He whispered this to the Light Figure when no one was watching.  Pinky had great hearing since she was the youngest one in the room. When the Light Figure had sprinkled some powder on Buckingham Puck, they ran up the cloud and jumped. Pinky saw what was going on. She also dashed off the clouds and flung herself onto Buckingham Puck’s plump back. Since he had a lot of fat stored in his back, it was as soft as a pillow. His back felt so soft that Pinky immediately fell asleep. When she woke up, she started to tickle Buckingham Puck’s back. She kept on tickling harder and harder. After a while, Buckingham Puck said his back was itchy, so he asked the Light Figure to scratch it. The Light Figure swam in the air over to Buckingham Puck’s back.  When she got over his back, she saw Pinky right there trying tickle Buckingham Puck.  The Light Figure was Pinky’s older sister, so she was allowed to get cross with Pinky.

“Pinky Winky Pickle, why did you follow us? You will get into a lot of mischief.  When we get back to the heavens, I can see a little girl who needs a good spanking on her heiny.” The Light Figure didn’t stop there. She said, “What do you think you’re doing, miss?”

Pinky was a brave little girl and said, “I think I’m resting on the back of the fattest cat in the world and having a really good time, and you?”

“Me, what?” the Light Figure said, kind of confused.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Pinky said, laughing.  
Pinky was now rolling on Buckingham Puck’s back. She was getting too close to the edge of his back. If she rolled a little bit more, she would fall straight down. They were flying right on top of Lake Only For Fat People, Skinny People Will Be Sent To The Police At Once. This lake had the longest name in the world, and it was also the biggest lake in the world. Pinky did not know how to swim. She only knew how to fly and jump.

The Light Figure did not notice that Buckingham Puck could not see that Pinky was even on his back. Pinky rolled just a little bit more and started to fall.

“Pinky!” the Light Figure yelled.  

She quickly made a collar and a leash. She clipped them together and fastened it on Buckingham Puck’s neck. Since she was a fairy, she could undo what happened five seconds ago. She took hold of the leash, which was one hundred sizes too small for Buckingham Puck because he was fat.

Pinky was getting way too close to the lake, but the Light Figure had gathered all of her strength and grabbed Pinky right before Pinky fell into the lake. After one more hour of floating, Buckingham Puck spotted the magical island. As they floated closer, the Light Figure spotted the magical cave.

“Hey! There it is!”

The Light figure used her magic to bring them to where the magical cave was.  When they landed, Pinky ran off and climbed the tree that was closest to them. The Light Figure climbed up after Pinky, grabbed her hand, and jumped down to where Buckingham Puck was standing.  As all three of them entered the cave, the cave entrance closed. There was no turning back now.

“Who turned out the lights?” Buckingham Puck yelled.  “I demand to know.”  

There was a silence and then a deep low voice spoke.

“You are a prisoner inside my cave now, Buckingham Puck. Prisoners cannot make demands.”

“Whoever said that, show yourself right now or else I will eat you,” said Buckingham Puck.

“If you eat me, you will become too fat, and you will blow up.”  

This is what startled Buckingham Puck. He began to tremble, and then he fainted. The moment that he fainted, the Dark Figure showed himself. He burst into a horrible peal of laughter.

“You should not be laughing, you little, bad meanie head,” the Light Figure said.  “Now leave us in peace so we can get our magical stone.”

The Dark Figure was not used to being spoken to like this. Thousands of years ago, before Buckingham Puck was born, and before anyone in the world had been living, the Dark Figure was the only person on Earth. Once the human civilization came to Earth, he wanted the world back to himself. So he put a curse on everyone. The curse would only be broken if someone could get the magical stone and become more powerful than him. Then he would turn to dust. The Light Figure knew that because she knew what he had done in the past. Buckingham Puck did not know it, and Pinky was too young to know it. The Light Figure knew that she had to turn him into dust. She quickly made cold, icy water with ice cubes in it and threw it on Buckingham Puck.  Buckingham Puck sat up, dripping. The Dark Figure was now scared, but he did not show it. It was about time that he turned to dust.  A small, purple light glowed in the darkness. It was the magical stone. There were thousands of magical stones, but the purple one was the most powerful of all. The least powerful stone was the one that was grey. It only gave a little bit of magic. The purple one gave tons and tons of magic.

The Dark Figure had been eager to get it for ten million years.  He was still desperate to get it, but so was Buckingham Puck, Light Figure, and Pinky. The Light Figure couldn’t wait any longer. She simply jumped up and ran. She knew where she was going because the purple light kept on shining. But when she finally got there, the hallway that was supposed to lead to the stone had fallen into a dark hole underneath it.  She could still see the stone, but only a tiny piece of the hallway. There were big torches that she could hold onto while she put half of her foot on the edge of the hallway that was still there. She used her hands to hold onto the bottom part of the torches and used her feet to grip onto the piece of the hallway that was still there. Buckingham Puck watched as she grabbed onto the first torch and swung herself from left to right like a monkey.

The Dark Figure wasn’t born bad. When he was young, he had been a good person. But one day, when he wanted a cat, he could not get one because his parents were allergic. Ever since that day, he became mean and bad. So he decided that he would take Buckingham Puck instead. He quickly created a big, fat cat tractor which he could drive, and this tractor would pick up Buckingham Puck. He quickly tiptoed into the tractor and turned on the on button. The tractor rumbled to life.  

“What in the world is that sound?” Buckingham Puck said curiously.  

The tractor had hid itself behind some stones. The tractor had let out a smell of buffalo wings, so it lured Buckingham Puck. As he got closer, that tractor picked him up, put him in the back seat, and sprayed some baby powder, which made him go to sleep so he would not cause a ruckus that would alert the Light Figure. Pinky was paying attention to everything. She secretly crept into the backseat with Buckingham Puck. The Dark Figure had forgotten to put in the gas for the tractor. He kept pushing the on button, but there was no gas. The Dark Figure kept on getting more frustrated and began to fade.

“NO!” the Dark Figure screamed. “NO!”

The Light Figure had just finished getting the magical stone.

“YES!” Buckingham Puck yelled. “Light Figure, can we get married?”

“Yes,” the Light Figure said modestly. “Yes.”

 

Before the Apocalypse

Rebecca, 26, NYC; BGA Science Center

I look off the roof of the building, staring down at humanity going insane. Something like this has never happened before. And there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

I have three minutes before the world ends.

***

I hear the screams from the Earth below. They’re running away from the virus that is ruining their days. The thought that someone’s birthday is ruined today makes me feel uneasy. I look to see some people jumping off tall buildings as green figures follow them. I feel like I might faint.

I look down at the green goop on the floor of the scientist’s lab. There’s nothing I can do but stare at the shattered vial, and its insides spread around me like quicksand pulling me into the ground. There’s nothing I can do but cry.

I just let out the zombie apocalypse.

The world around me is tossing and turning. I feel dizzy, and nothing is in focus. Everything is blurry and muffled. I feel like I’m slipping out of consciousness. Is this what it feels like to go insane?

The best scientist in the world, Dr. Martin Corazin, trusted me with this vial of the virus, the very first time he’s trusted me with anything, and I’ve betrayed him.

I hear his voice echoing in my head, one of the very few words he’s ever said to me. The world is resting on you. If you can carry this vial up to the top of the building and wait for the drone to take it to NASA headquarters, you will save everyone’s life. If you drop it or open it just the tiniest bit, it will affect the air in nanoseconds, turning everyone who breathes enough of it into a zombie with an uncontrollable addiction to infecting. If you do drop it, we’ll have three minutes before the air gets completely infected.

I fall to the floor and sob until I can’t sob anymore. I look at my electronic watch. Just before it powers off, I see the time. It’s been nearly two minutes.

Suddenly, fear rushes through my body. I realize that I’ve been outside for too long, and I panic, twitching on the floor like I truly am insane. I need to go to a safe zone. I remember the emergency airlock on the fifth floor, fifteen floors down from where I am right now. I run to the door, skipping the elevator and going by stairs, because in the elevator, there’s no way to escape.

I run as fast as I’ve ever ran in my life. I can hear screaming, sobbing, everything you wouldn’t want to hear when you’re causing their pain. I feel a wave of guilt fall over me, but I keep going, trying to breathe only little snippets of air. I run until my feet are sore, until I see that marvelous number painted on the door by Dr. Corazin himself. I push it open, running to the airlock at the end of the hall. Written in large red letters I see Emergency Airlock. I look down at the keyboard. What’s the password? I realize that I’ve never heard the password. I panic, and trying not to breathe in too much air, I knock restlessly on the door. No reply. I know there are people inside, but why would they open the door during a zombie apocalypse? I start to put in random numbers and letters. I know that it’s only seven characters long, but what are they? My crying fit comes again, but I try not to tear up this time because I always gasp in air when I do. I hit my fist on the keyboard repeatedly until I hear a ding. The screen turns green, and the door unlocks. I sigh with relief, wiping my eyes and turning the knob of the door. I hear whimpers and screams as I open the door, and I realize that they all think I’m a zombie. Then I hear a rush of ease sweeping through the cramped room of people, and I try to find an empty spot where I can have just a little bit of space.

I hear someone ask when we can leave, and someone else replies with, “In a couple of minutes, the air isn’t contaminated anymore, and all of the zombies will die. But only less than one percent of humanity will stay alive.”

“That’s us,” I say.

I finally realize that we are the lucky ones — we are one of the few that survived. I feel strong now, knowing that I can and will survive the zombie apocalypse. I look down at my hands in power. I notice a very faint green undertone in my skin, and I finally grasp that I did not survive.

I am a zombie.

And everyone around me will have to be, too.

 

I’m Not a Murderer!

“I’m not a murderer!” my friend Reda yells a bit too loudly in front of our school, Lincoln High School.

We get weird looks, and I shush her suspiciously. “You can’t just yell stupid things at the top of your lungs at school!”

“Yeah, but it just proves my point even further. If I’m willing to yell it in a public area, then I’m right.”


I scowl. I hate Reda’s stubbornness. But, even if I leave her, what friend will I have? We’re both alone in high school, and it would just make us miserable if we left each other. I stop feeling bad for her and toughen up again.

“I had two twin baby brothers. Now I have one. And I have reason to believe it was you who killed Zach!”

“No you don’t! For the last time, how do you know if it was my hair?” she asks, skeptically touching her hair.

I know that it’s gotten shorter because she told me that a chunk of her hair fell off before I could question her. But it just makes me question her more. I walk away and don’t look back. Even when the tears sting my eyes. Though I didn’t get too attached to Zach or Henry in the five months since they’ve been born, because I’ve been so busy with school and popularity statuses, I’m still so sad that one of them is dead. It puts me in danger, and it puts my trust in the world in danger — not to mention my best friend!

***

My house looks like a crime scene on one of those felony shows. Blood stains the crib that Zach used to sleep in. There’s police everywhere. My parents are heard crying in the kitchen, and it hurts me. I know that a kid shouldn’t have to hear their parents cry, and it hurts me that I do. I don’t dare go near the kitchen door. I just go upstairs to my room.

I’m so lucky that Henry was sleeping with mom and dad in their bed because he had a bit of a fever. I’m so lucky to at least have one brother left. My parents don’t have anybody to send me or Henry to for safety because Mom’s an orphan and Dad’s family lives in Arizona. So Henry’s sleeping in my bed for the night.

Since I got home late from the therapist my parents send me to, who I hate, I get right into my pajamas and skip dinner. Downstairs, with the police, is Henry. There’s one police officer that’s holding him as he talks to Mom about putting him up for adoption. Naturally, she refuses and wipes her eyes with her shirt sleeve. She turns away and looks at me. This is the first time I’ve seen her in days.

Bags heaving down below her eye.

Red eyes above those bags.

Wrinkles as far as the eye can see.

It kills me to say this, but she looks like a disappointment of a mother. Before we both burst into tears, I take Henry from the police officer without a word. I take Henry upstairs, even though it’s way before either of our bedtimes.

***

It’s the middle of the night, and my stomach is rumbling vigorously. I regret skipping dinner and hop out of bed before remembering what the police officers told me.

Don’t let him out of your sight.

So I bring him with me.

As I’m walking down the hall, I realize that Mom and Dad’s room is empty. They’re probably at the police station working out what to do with Henry and me. It makes me tear up a little bit, but I stay strong.

I keep going down, slowly and carefully, and think about how much my parents trust me enough to leave me alone at home. I am sixteen, and there are multiple police cars outside, but still.

I make it to the kitchen, and I carefully put Henry down on the counter. I make myself a glass of milk and help myself to the treats from the many gift baskets that we got. I make my way to the living room, first bringing Henry and making sure that he’s okay in his baby seat, and then bring my treats.

I sit down and just stare at the ceiling. Once I’m done with my milk and cookies, I go back upstairs to my room, only to find someone there already.

That is the moment I stop believing my friend.

 

Miraculous

Miraculous is a unique show. It is an animated show. The show is exciting because it shows a normal girl’s life and a normal boy’s life as normal middle school students, but at the same time, they are superheroes protecting all of Paris. The main characters, Ladybug and Cat Noir, each have powers. Ladybug can create things, and Cat Noir can destroy things. Both superheroes help people even if they don’t like that person. Miraculous is both entertaining and can teach you to help others.

A character that Ladybug really hates is named Chloe. She was attacked by one of the supervillains, and even though Ladybug didn’t like her, she still was there to protect Chloe. This shows that it doesn’t matter if you like someone or not, you still have to help others. No matter what happens, there may be someone who can’t do what you can and needs help to do it. Helping others is the right thing to do. Chloe acts like a bully and makes fun of Ladybug when she is just a normal girl in middle school. Chloe says mean things and is always annoying Ladybug, but Ladybug just ignores her and still helps her.

When I was at my friend’s Halloween party, we were having a pillow fight, and my friend broke a lamp. I didn’t want to help him by covering for him or coming up with a way to hide the broken lamp. When he covered the broken lightbulb, I saw sparks flying out. I realized, then, that it was too dangerous for him to fix by himself, so I helped him. I made sure that he didn’t do anything unsafe, like touch the glass or accidently burn down the whole house until I got his parents, and then they figured out what to do. I helped my friend when I didn’t want to, but I still did it because he needed help. I felt good because more unsafe things could have happened. Ladybug didn’t want to help Chloe because Chloe was always mean to her. I had a different reason why, but it’s similar because at the end, we still helped and everything ended up right.

The two superheroes help people correct their bad choices. The superheroes have to destroy the source that made a character the villain. Normally, characters become supervillains after being really angry at someone. For example, Ladybug’s best friend, Alya, became a villain when she took a photo of Chloe’s locker. Chloe’s dad is the mayor, and so she convinced the principal to expel Alya. Alya got mad, and she was turned into a supervillain named Lady Wifi. In order for Alya to become good again, Ladybug and Cat Noir had to break Alya’s phone because that was the source that made Alya the villain.

Ladybug and Cat Noir show us that you have to help others no matter what, even if we don’t like the person who needs help.

 

Mr. Macaroonvoh and the Dog

Once upon a time there lived Mr. MacaroonVoh. He used to walk in lots of snow.

One Year Later…

Mr. MacaroonVoh was back with his family, and he always used to see his family talking about a dog. He and his cousin, Virey Moon, and his friend, Lighty Light, wondered why they were talking about a dog. One day, he and his cousin and friend listened so carefully, and guess what they heard? That they were getting a dog! One week later, Mr. MacaroonVoh’s family went to the ASPCA and adopted a dog. The dog was a seven-month-old French Mastiff who they named Simba. He was so adorable! He was a brown dog with a cutie, cutie face. His legs were very chubby. Mr. MacaroonVoh, Lighty Light, Virey Moon, and Mr. MaracroonVoh’s mom and dad went to Trader Joe’s to buy Simba food and treats.

The next day, Simba bit Mr. MacaroonVoh. He was so angry that he didn’t talk to Simba all day. The next morning, he woke up, and Simba was kissing him and jumping on him. Mr. MacaroonVoh was so happy that he said sorry to Simba. Simba trusted him. That night, Mr. MacaroonVoh slept with Simba, but Lighty Light was getting very itchy because all of the dog hair was on her. Virey Moon was sneezing all night because Simba was sneezing on her! The next morning, Mr. MacaroonVoh fed Simba and walked him. Simba was being a good boy. Whenever Mr. MacaroonVoh said stop jumping, Simba would stop and never do it again.

But one day, when Mr. MacaroonVoh was walking Simba, the leash got untied, and Simba ran away. When he reached the crossing light, Mr. MacaroonVoh threw treats up in the air, and Simba came back.

One day, the entire family wanted to take Simba out for a walk at dinner time. After, they let him drink a lot of water, but then they put him back in his crate. He peed in the crate. Then, the family realized they weren’t supposed to give him water after dinner time.

Simba was a very good puppy. When the family got him, he was trained, and he is still trained. One day, his family put on music, and Simba started dancing and doing gymnastics. Simba’s parents forgot what food to give him. They accidently gave him cat food. Simba liked the cat food. Then, Mr. MacaroonVoh realized that wasn’t Simba’s food. Then, Mr. MacaroonVoh gave Simba fruits because he was allowed to have those.  Simba started talking because he had a different type of food.

Mr. MacaroonVoh started to talking to Lighty Light and told her, “Hey, do you know something? How is Simba talking?”

Lighty Light said, “It’s because we gave him the wrong food!”

Simba became a good dancer and a gymnast. Simba started going to competitions and won a lot of trophies, beating other good gymnasts. In the first competition, he got second place, but he got first place in another competition.

One day, Mr. MacaroonVoh got a phone call from the Olympics.

Mr. MacaroonVoh asked, “What is your name?”

“My name is Lilly. What is yours?”

“My name is Mr. MacaroonVoh.”

Lilly asked, “Can Simba be in the Olympics?”

Mr. MacaroonVoh said, “Say that full sentence again?”

“Can Simba be in the Olympics?”

“Where is this Olympics taking place?” asked Mr. MacaroonVoh.

“It is in Mondon.”

“What event would Simba do?”

“Simba would do gymnastics.”

“Yes! I would let Simba be in the Olympics.”

Mr. MacaroonVoh hung up.

***

Mr. MacaroonVoh was surprised and curious to see if Simba could beat Simone Biles and many others from the United States. Simba was going to be with the Zwimbadolians from Zwimbadola. Mr. MacaroonVoh made a station where Simba could practice gymnastics. Simba went there five times a day. Mr. MacaroonVoh realized he needed to get Olympics dog’s clothes. He would wear a headband saying “Olympics.” He would have wristbands saying “Go dog!” He would wear a shirt saying “Go zwimbadola” and shorts that say “Proud Zwimbadolians.” Simba was going to be the first dog in the Olympics!

Mr. MacaroonVoh asked his friends if they could come to the competition. Tulip, Romina, Charlit, Rarity, Lina, Charlie, Rosie, Rasly, Laurie, and Jordan, LightyLight, and Virey Moon said, “Yes!”

Simba used to practice day and night, and in no time, the day came! All of Mr. MacaroonVoh’s friend’s were there. Simba was very excited. His clothes were a little itchy for him. His turn came up. He did the best he could, and at the end, the judges said who did the best.

First place — Simba!

Second place — Simone Biles.

Third — Aly Raisman.

Mr. Macaroon Voh was so happy! Simba was so proud! Simba got so many presents. He got so many treats, balls, and toys!

THE END

 

Will You Take The Chance?

Hi, I’m Savannah, and I’m twelve years old. Right now, I am at my friend’s house eating salad while my friends eat brownies. Why do I let them eat brownies while I eat salad, you may ask? Because I’m going on a diet. Everyone says I don’t need it. They say I’m too skinny. And don’t get me wrong, brownies are my favorite desserts, but when I look at my belly, well, it kind of blows up. I know that my friends still have one for me, but since I’m on a diet, I think I’ll pass.

***

As I turned the corner on my block, going to my house, I realized that looks don’t matter. I WANT THAT BROWNIE! So I turned around and ran back towards my friend’s house as fast I could. I wasn’t paying attention to the street lights, so I was dodging cars. At the last crosswalk, I went full speed ahead, not looking where I was going, and screech! I turned around and…

“AHHHHH!!”

(That was me screaming.)

Everything started going in slow motion. It was a blurry, blue car coming at me. I was about to die. As I started to run, I realized there’s no way to escape this. So, I closed my eyes, and I counted down from 10. Surprisingly I didn’t feel anything.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a small, teal colored room with a wooden table that had a single brownie on it.  

What? I thought as I looked at a mirror that was on the wall in front of me. I looked faded, like looking through a glass window. I thought I was dead. Maybe I was a ghost. Well, I’m dead. I’m in a room with no doors, no windows, a mirror, a singular light above my head, and a brownie on the table. What do I have to lose? I thought as I reached my hand out to grab the brownie.   

I am a ghost, I can’t eat this brownie!! I realized as my hand went through the brownie.

I started to cry. I’m really hungry, I’m probably going to starve to death. Oh, but I am dead. I closed my eyes, hoping something would happen. And I think God heard my prayers or something, because I heard someone from up above saying, “Savannah! Savannah!”

I could barely make out the words.

“Savannah, wake up!”  

That, I could hear clearly. I opened my eyes, and all my friends were looking at me weirdly. I had fallen asleep.

Phew. I let out a sigh of relief. I wasn’t dead, I thought as I grabbed for the last brownie. This time I had it in my hand. I took an enormous bite and swallowed. It was sooo good. My friends kept staring at me weirdly, but eventually they shrugged and looked away.

I’m not dead, I said to myself again. I never took a chance like that again.

 

THE END

 

Nausea

I’d been wondering when my best friend, Lila, would come back from her vacation. It’d been a month and three weeks. She said it would be two weeks. Five weeks had passed since her cruise to Oceania was supposed to end. I tried to text her, email her, and nothing happened. She said that she would keep in touch with me. Did she? No.

My mom said that she would tell me if Lila’s mother told her anything, but she didn’t. Now I was getting worried.

“She’ll be back,” my mom kept telling me. I know it’s a bit weird to think about this that deeply in thought, but I care about Lila and her family.

This problem about Lila mysteriously disappearing was getting in my way, so I decided to let it slide. Although, I really couldn’t. It was three and a half days until it started to bother me again. Where is Lila? Why wasn’t she writing me back? When will she be back? All these questions flowed through my head. I was thinking about this during Period Three, math class. All of a sudden, I felt nauseous.

“May I go to the bathroom?” I asked the teacher.

“Quickly.”

I could feel my heart beating. Why did I feel like I was going to throw up after thinking about Lila? That’s a question I can’t answer.

I got to the bathroom on time before I threw up. I splashed my face with cold water, took deep breaths. Then and there, I threw up in the sink. Why? I wondered. Why did I throw up?

I thought about mine and Lila’s back story: met when we were two, neighbors, went to the the same elementary school and middle school, in the same class mostly every time. I decided to go to the nurse.

“Hi. How can I help you?” the nurse asked me.

“Um, I just threw up.”

“Why do you think you threw up?”
“Um, I guess nausea and maybe-” I got interrupted.

“Nausea, really?”

I decided to leave the nurse’s office. If she didn’t believe me, there was nothing I could do. On my way out, I got yelled at.

“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?” she said rudely. “Come sit down. You can call your mom.”

After yelling at me, the sentence she said after that was like she was begging for my forgiveness. Wow.

“Sure.”

I picked up the phone, I dialed my mom’s number, and I started to talk to her.

“May you please pick me up? I just threw up,” I asked.

“Sure. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

I hung up the phone. Twenty minutes passed, and just as my mom said she would be here, she was. As we were in the car, my mom asked me a question I didn’t want to answer.

“Why did you throw up?”

I was hoping that if I didn’t answer, she would forget. But no.

“I asked you a question.”

“Because I felt nauseous.”

I hoped that would satisfy her.

“Tell me why you felt nauseous.”

“Fine,” I said stubbornly. “Because I was thinking of Lila.” (I mumbled that.)

“What did you say?”

My mom was getting on my last nerve.

“BECAUSE I WAS THINKING ABOUT LILA, AND WHERE SHE WENT! THERE!” I yelled.

“Excuse me.”

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

We didn’t talk the rest of the car ride. When we got home, my mom told me that Lila’s mom had contacted her.

“What did she say?!” I was so excited to hear the news.

My mom’s eyes started tearing up. I wondered if it was good news or bad news.

That’s when I realized my best friend was dead.

 

Animals Talk

One hot day… a little girl wanted to play outside near the woods. But she was locked in, so she made a rope ladder and climbed down. When Violet went in the forest, she saw an old apple tree. Between two other trees, and under it, was a dog. Just then, an apple fell on the dog’s head.

Then, the dog said, “Ow!”

Violet could not believe her eyes and ears! A dog that could speak. Amazing! Violet ran home to her cottage. And then she heard something behind her saying, “Oops, I didn’t say anything!”

Violet ran back to the apple tree. The dog was still there, bouncing on the apple tree. Just then… the dog turned to face Violet and gave all his attention to her. Violet felt a lump go down her throat!

When she was about to run, a silence fell over both of them and the dog said, “Please! Do not tell anyone I can talk.”

Violet promised she wouldn’t. The next day, Violet got out of her mom’s car, and she saw a cat! The cat was striped and really cute! And then the cat went behind a shrub, and Violet followed because it felt like a message to her.

Suddenly, the cat said, “I can see you have met my friend, Tom.”

Shaking with surprise, Violet said, “Yes.”

“Okay then,” said the cat, whose name was Cindy. Cindy said, “Don’t be afraid, but meet me in the woods tomorrow.”

So Violet did. The next day, Violet dressed early to not to miss school and then went into the woods. She went to the old apple tree, and there she met Cindy and Tom.

Cindy and Tom said, “I see we have a believer!”

“What?” said Violet with confusion.

She was hoping it meant something good! And it kind of did because… what Tom and Cindy were trying to explain was… that she was one of the only people who could understand Tom and Cindy. After that, Cindy and Tom explained to Violet that they needed her help to get other people to understand them, so Violet promised to help.

Inside Violet’s head, Cindy the cat seemed to be very loyal, and Tom the dog was very lazy, so all Violet did about it was take a breath, “haahaa,” and slowly trudge to her cottage and go to sleep.

Buzz, buzz went her alarm clock. Buzz. It took three buzzes to wake Violet up and then… she was awake. And then she got up and skipped to school. Remembering Cindy and Tom made her so happy. I wonder if I’ll meet Tom and Cindy again, thought Violet.

At school, Violet’s friend said, “Sorry, but I’m playing with someone else.”

Too bad, thought Violet, but it wasn’t any good. Violet felt like a falling bird. After school, Violet went into the woods to meet Cindy and Tom. When Violet got to the apple tree, she saw … a different cat! She said her name was Lillian. Violet explained to Lillian her whole adventure. Then, when Tom and Cindy came, they decided to all be friends.

And that’s the end of this story. For now!

 

The Visitors

On the news, a lot of people had been saying that there were strange, flying shapes in the sky. I was very scared that maybe it was aliens, and that they would come down and wipe out the entire human race. My mom said that it was just plain lies and that the photos were photoshopped.

Five years later, people started forgetting that there had been UFOs seen in the sky, but then one normal day, something completely unexpected happened.

I was playing video games at seven p.m. and I suddenly noticed strange lights, from out of the window, that got lower and lower until I couldn’t see the lights any more. Then I remembered, five years ago, people had been seeing UFOs in the sky, and I thought it might be the aliens coming down to invade!

I went outside and got my flashlight. There was a cold breeze in the air. I tried to remember where I saw the lights land, so I walked and walked until I finally saw a large object covered in branches. I shined my flashlight at the large object, and it was the alien spacecraft!

I wonder if the aliens might see me. If they do find me, they’ll probably kill me!

I crawled, as slowly and as carefully as I could, to the spacecraft. I heard some strange sound, and the closer I got to the spacecraft, the louder the sound got.

What are those aliens doing?

But then out of the blue, the door of the spacecraft opened, and there it was. A strange humanoid creature stepped out into the open. The alien was as white as paper. Its eyes were as black as the night sky. Another humanoid came out of the spacecraft. The aliens looked kind of puzzled, as if they had heard something.

Oh my god! Did they just hear me?!

The humanoids said something to each other. It sounded like complete gibberish. I looked at my watch. It read 9:53. It was getting late. Soon my mom would be worried. I didn’t know what to do, so I did the most random thing I could ever think of.

I ran as fast as I could, right past the alien and right to my house. I rushed in the door. My mom saw me rush in.

“Wow. What’s going on, Jim?” my mom asked.                                                                                                                 

“Mom, I know this sounds crazy, but I literally saw freaking aliens!” I said in a loud voice.

My mom looked at me as if I were the craziest person she had ever met. We just stared at each other for a moment.

“Jim, are you sure you saw aliens somewhere in town? You do look pretty scared though.”

My mom was right. My heart was pounding so much, it felt like it was about to explode right out of my chest.

“I did see aliens, Mom. I swear to God, they were so, uh… ” I paused for a second, “weird!

“Whatever you say, Jim,” said my mom, quite awkwardly.

I ran up the stairs, got my GoPro, and decided to prove that I saw real life aliens! I ran out of the house. I ran in the direction the alien went, but then I realized I had a drivers licence. I was seventeen, so I went to my mom’s Toyota Corolla, which was parked in front of my house. I opened the door and got in. Then, I twisted the key and the car came to life. I drove off, and in five minutes, I saw the alien walking along the street. Luckily, it didn’t see me, even though I drove past him at forty miles per hour. I braked, turned off the car, and got out. I got my GoPro out and started recording. I got out my flashlight and turned it on. I heard noises. I didn’t know what they sounded like. I walked in the direction of the sound. Then, it suddenly stopped. I saw it! The humanoid creature. I flashed my flashlight at it and got a good image of it on my GoPro. Bad idea. The alien turned around and saw me! Then it started chasing me.

I ran as fast as I possibly could. This alien was really fast. I finally reached the end of the woods and quickly got into my mom’s car. The humanoid started banging on the window. I quickly started the car and drove off. I felt relieved. I looked behind me. Oh my gosh. The alien was running super fast and was still chasing me! Soon I was going sixty miles per hour. The alien was still chasing me at about fifty-five miles per hour. These aliens were unbelievable. They could run so fast! Soon, I was going eighty miles per hour! I was almost at my house. I slammed the brakes. I saw the alien in the distance still running at me. I got out of the car and quickly ran into the house. I slammed the door shut. I ran into the kitchen.

“Mom, you need to see this. I recorded aliens. I have proof okay, and now that I have this, you will not think I’m crazy!”

“Okay, then show me it, Jim,” said my mom.

I uploaded the video to my mom’s MacBook and clicked play. The video showed me getting out of the car and walking into the woods, then that strange sound was heard. Then, in the video, it showed the alien running up to me, and soon it was just a blur of me running to the car. You could hear me breathing quickly. Then, the video ended.

“No, you really saw that? This is insane!” said my mom.

“I’m going to bring this footage to the cops okay?” I said.

“Yeah, you really should because if nobody knows about this except for us, it’s not going to end well,” said my mom.

Suddenly, something smashed through the window.

“Oh my god, what is that!” said my mom.

Then out of the blue, there was a giant explosion. All I saw was white. My eyes adjusted from the brightness. There was fire everywhere. The house was destroyed.

“Are you okay, Jim?” said my mom.

“Yeah I’m fine. But, Mom, I think the aliens are here!”

“Okay, let’s go!”  

We ran into the backyard to get away from the fire.

“Let’s climb over the fence,” I said.

“Are you sure?” asked my mom.

“It’s the only way to get away from the aliens without being seen,” I answered.

“Okay,” said my mom, sighing.

So I lifted myself above the fence and landed in somebody’s random back yard. My mom climbed over after me.

“Let’s go away farther,” I said.

So we climbed over more fences until we were on the other side of the block. I was panting a lot. My mom was even more tired because she never did workouts like this.

“Do you have your phone?” I asked.

“Jim, you know I always carry my phone with me, okay?” my mom answered. “What do you want me to do with it?”

“Obviously call 911!” I said.

“Okay, okay,” my mom said.

She pulled out her phone from her pocket and tapped emergency.

“Hello, what is your emergency?” came a voice from the phone.

“Our house has been destroyed by aliens,” my mom said.

“What are you talking about ma’am?” asked the voice.

“No, I know this sounds crazy, but it’s true! This is urgent!”

“I think I’m going to call an ambulance,” said the voice.

“Oh my gosh! How rude of you to think I have mental issues!” said my mom angrily.

“Okay, sorry. I believe you,” said the voice awkwardly.

“Get the police and a fire truck. This is serious!” said my mom.

“Okay, I’ll get them right away,” said the voice.

She hung up. My mom and I waited and waited. Suddenly, we heard very loud sirens and also heard the engines of cars rushing to the scene. Then a police car, followed with fifteen other police cars braked right in front of us. Then, a police officer got out of his car and slammed the door closed.

“Hello, I am Officer Mike. I believe you said that there were some ‘aliens’ attacking your neighborhood,” said the police officer.

“No, it is true, okay? Aliens are really standing this very moment on the other side of this block!” I said.

I pointed to the flames and smoke in the distance.

“They exploded our house,” said my mom.

“Good thing the firemen are here on time,” said Officer Mike.

He was right. A big fire truck came rushing down the corner, almost hitting parked cars on the side of the road, and came to a big stop.

Fifteen men came out of the fire truck. They saw our house and started getting the hose ready. Then they started spraying water one hundred feet away. It took ten minutes of watching the firemen spraying a hose.

“So where are those aliens you called about?” said Officer Mike

“They’re on the other side of the block, near where our house was destroyed,” said my mom.

“Okay,” said Officer Mike, “I’ll send in all of our officers to go deal with the problem.”

So then Officer Mike and about fifty other officers went with him.

I heard banging and gunfire and loud shouts. More and more gunfire was heard from the other side of the block. I looked at my mom. She looked back at me.

“Do you think they got them?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” answered my mom.

“Can we go check it out?” I  asked.

“No!” said my mom. “It’s too dangerous, okay?”

“Sorry, Mom, but I’m very worried,” I said.

And with that, I ran around the block and came to see madness. There were some dead police lying several places around the road. I saw a puddle of blood that came from a dead officer’s head.

Then I quickly remembered about the aliens, and right at that moment, an alien fired at me. I quickly ducked and decided to run away and regret this for the rest of my life.

“Save yourself!” shouted an officer, who then just got hit in the head.

“Thanks, I was just thinking that,” I said.

So I ran back around the block to see my mom standing there with her face as red as a tomato.

“What were you doing?” said my mom.

“Sorry, but I was just seeing what was happening because it sounded chaotic, and I just wanted to know if we were winning. But, Mom, it turns out that all of them are dead!” I said.

“Really? Okay, Jim, we should really go, now!” said my mom.

Just as we were going to run, a large tank and about two thousand army soldiers approached the street.

A man jumped out of the tank and walked toward us, making a very serious face. He was wearing completely green clothes and a metal helmet. It looked like he was carrying a million pounds with his big backpack on.

“Ma’am, we’re sending in an a thousand foot cargo plane for everybody in this town and state to get into and evacuate,” said the soldier.

“Why do we have to evacuate? The army is here,” said my mom.

“No, we have to evacuate because we are going to drop a nuclear bomb on this area to wipe out the humanoids,” answered the soldier.

“Do we have to go to the state airport to get onto the plane?” asked my mom.

“Yes, it’s the only place where we can land it,” answered the soldier.

“Yes sir,” said my mom.

She turned to me.

“Okay, let’s get into the car and get to the airport, okay?”

“Yes,” I said.

So my mom and I ran to her Toyota. We both quickly got in and buckled our seatbelts. My mom started the car and drove off.

Halfway through the drive, we got caught in a massive traffic jam all headed to the airport. It must’ve been people going to evacuate. Half an hour later, we got to the parking lot at the airport. We found a parking spot and quickly got out and ran to the runway where everybody was getting onto the plane.

Soon, we were in the line. The plane was huge! It was completely black, and the wings were as long as ten olympic-sized swimming pools.

After about two hours of waiting, we were inside, and so was everybody else. There were about ten floors, and on each floor was about two thousand seats. Actually, no, there was about ten thousand seats on each floor, which meant that this plane was carrying one hundred thousand people!

My mom and I was on the third floor. The seats were very comfortable. We buckled our seatbelts and waited about forty minutes for the plane to take off.

When the plane was rushing down the runway, it wasn’t shaking at all because of how big it was. I looked out of my window to witness this: a huge flash of light that was so bright that I had to shield my eyes, and after twenty minutes, there was a giant mushroom cloud with a ring around the top.

That must’ve been the nuke. It was incredible. The radiation clouds spread about ten thousand miles. At least this plane was faster than the radiation.

The flight was ten hours. We landed in England. We got off the flight and went through the airport.

“What are we going to do now, Mom?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but at least we survived this mess,” answered my mom.

We booked a hotel that night.

The next day, my mom and I were walking around London to eat lunch, when we saw a man giving out newspapers. My mom bought one. She looked at it for about five minutes. She made a grim face.

“What happened, Mom?” I asked.

She looked up from her newspaper.

“It says that the UN has been getting strange signals from an unknown planet far from Earth. It might mean another bigger invasion,” she answered.

“Oh no,” I said.

 

The Chicken Savior

Book One: Weird Happenings and Weird People                                         

Once upon a time, there was a little chick that was super cute and so adorbs. His name was Billy Bob Joe (BBJ for short). As he grew older, he grew really cool. But he also (I’m trying to put this as nicely as possible) wasn’t so cute any more. This was because he saw some weird happenings in the other coops. These happenngs had turned BBJ into a creepy skeptic. He had three suspects of the happenings: mice with rabies, other chickens, and aliens. He really wanted to know what it was. So he decided to find out.

But, he thought, how do I get out of this cage I’m in?

Suddenly, it came to him that he was able to transform into anything. He never knew why! Then, he fell asleep.

***

Once he awoke, he transformed into a tiny fly, flew out of his cage, and transformed back to a chicken. When he looked into the other cages, all the chickens were gone! Then, he decided to go outside to look for them. When he stepped outside, he looked around and saw all the chickens. There were also a bunch of houses down a street. He noticed, though, that they weren’t in the usual, grassy area around the hen house. They were on a planet very far away from Earth! He started to panic because he thought the aliens were going to kill them all for food like the farmer did back on Earth! And he was right. The aliens went running after the chickens with what looked like the average butchering axe, just with electricity running through the metal part. After one of the aliens got a helpless chick called Albert, he screamed “Zoloop!!!” This kept on going until BBJ was the only chicken left there. All the aliens went straight after him. BBJ jumped, spun, and ran.

As BBJ ran further and further from the hen house, he also ran deeper and deeper into the alien village. He heard the aliens call out words like “Goodlac” and “Gozork,” which probably meant “Get him” or “Come on, join the run.” BBJ didn’t stop until he reached a long alleyway, which was blocked off except a small hole that BBJ could just barely slip through, even when he turned himself into a ladybug!

Once BBJ turned back into a chicken, he turned right back into a ladybug because an alien in a golden robe had nearly grabbed BBJ! He had many men around him and BBJ thought, This alien is a very important alien. He also thought that this alien was a very good chickener, like how a cat can be a very good mouser.

Once BBJ got into the castle, where he thought the alien emperor lived, he turned into a pillar and rolled to the top of the castle. He did this because he thought that it wouldn’t have been weird on an alien planet.

Once BBJ got up the stairs (which took a long time due to the unusual shape of the pillar), he ended up in a hallway with many doors that were encased in gold. He did see a door at the end of the hallway, which looked like it was made out of pure diamond. The door was enchanted to have a moving painting of people decapitating chickens! But then, under that, there was a sign that said in big italics: Viewer discrimination advised. And boy, was that sign correct.

After BBJ turned into an alien and opened the door, he saw a very weird sight. The person who was sitting in the throne at the front of the room was not an alien at all!

 

To be continued…

 

The Ghost Boy

A strange sound was coming from my basement…

My heart gripped with fear. I slowly opened the door, holding a broom handle in my hand so tightly that my knuckles were white. I pulled the chain, and a dim light bulb flickered to life.

I slowly, oh so slowly, tiptoed down the steep stairs. I fumbled for the flashlight on the only piece of furniture down there, a wooden side table. I turned the flashlight on and shone it in the basement to find…

A boy was standing there, facing the wall, apparently staring at… nothing.

“Uh… what are you doing in my house?” I asked.

Slowly, the boy turned around, and all at once, I realized I could see the wall behind him. Not just behind him. Through him.

“G-g-g-g-ghost!” I shouted and turned toward the stairs that led out of the basement. The door at the top slammed closed, then everything went black…

***

“What just happened?” I asked as my surroundings slowly blinked into sight.

“You passed out,” a doctor told me, peering over my hospital bed…

Wait, the hospital?

“When?” I asked.

“We’re not sure. You were found on the steps to the basement.”

I gasped as everything came flooding back to me.

“T-t-there was a ghost in the basement!” I cried.

“Oh, honey,” the doctor said in a sugar-coated voice, “I think you’re suffering from shock. Don’t worry. It’ll be okay.”

I knew what I had seen, and I knew it wasn’t shock. There was a ghost in the basement.  

 

My Butt is on Fire

There was a butt walking around, going to an audition. He opened the door, and there were 5,000 cherries and butts waiting. (Spoiler alert! The butt can resist fire!) He was last. But then, ten butts came behind him. Then, five cherries. Then, no more cherries and butts came. He was 16th to last. Finally, he got a turn.

His line was, “My butt is on fire!”

He got the role of the butt who catches on fire and sings “My butt is on fire!” while doing it. He was the only butt among the 5,015 cherries and butts to get the role. He had the biggest party at home, and they all did their booty shakes.

The next day, he had his first practice. He walked onto the practice stage. He did the best job out of all of the crew! He did the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth practice.

It was the big night. All the butts and cherries sat down on the butts’ and cherries’ seats. The cherries sang “La la la!” Then, he came on.

They threw fire on him and then he sang, “My butt is on fire!! La la la!!!” He had done the best job in his first ever show!

He did the second, third, fourth, fifth shows, and then he was all over the news. He was a professional. He had entered the sixth show, and he was already a professional. But he wanted to do the biggest show in Butt and Cherry Land. He walked in. There were ten contestants. He was the eleventh.

He sang, “Lalalala-eee!

He left the place.

He said, “I totally messed that up. I totally messed that up. I totally messed that up!”

The next day, he got the callback. Dun dun dun. He did not get the part. He was crying with his face on top of his buttcrack, too sad to look up, too sad to make a smile. He felt like he was nothing. He went home and plopped on his bed. Even though it was the middle of the day, he took his blankie and went to bed.

He snored. It sounded like pigs snorting and then “pupupupu.

The next day, he tried to get into the same show, but someone had already gotten his part. There were no parts left. Poor him! He was a very sad butt, cooking with his cherry best friend. He never looked happy again. But one day, he was the first person to hear that the person who got his old part singing, “My butt is on fire!” had been fired. For real.

He had gotten the job for once in a long time.

 

Detective James Slute and the Murder on L Street

Introduction

There was a man walking on L Street. It was a dark night, and as cold as regular winter. It was a pretty quiet night, and he thought he was alone until he saw two men in clown masks, holding knives and looking at him. The man was holding a suitcase. It was full of money.

The man started to turn away, but then one of the men in the clown mask ran behind him and stabbed the man in the neck. Then, all two men in clown masks ran away.

***

A kid woke up. His name was James. His alarm ringed, and he read the newspaper. He saw there was a murder. He ran to the police station. James was a detective. He solved many mysteries. His dad worked at the police station, and his mom was a doctor.

James got to the police station and asked his dad, “Where should I start working on the case?”

His dad said, “The murder was on L Street. The body is still on L Street. I need you to work on it to see if there are any fingerprints.”

James said, “Okay.”

James drove to L Street and got off. He saw the body. He was working on the body. He didn’t see any dust. No fingerprints. He didn’t have a clue. He didn’t have any suspects. He was clueless at the moment. He was thinking, who would want to kill an innocent man? He drove back to the police station, and told his dad he didn’t have anything.

James was still thinking. What suspects would kill a man? What could he have done to someone?

***

James was taking the case still. He thought it could’ve been someone who robbed a bank recently, or someone who had done a lot of crimes, but no one had escaped jail yet. It was weird. Maybe it could’ve been someone else. Maybe it could’ve been no one, maybe it could have been an accident, maybe he tripped and died.

I am stumped. I don’t know who would do this crime.

James got out of the police station and went to his house.

Hi, I am Hendrix. I am going to tell you the murder–

–Then a bullet shot right in the ground, right near James. James ran, and ran, and ran, and forgot that he had a baton, but the person who shot him was almost gone. James suspected that it could have been the person who killed the man on L Street. But then, James saw a man with a gun, wearing a ski mask. He chased him, but then the man took a fast car and drove off. James couldn’t see where the masked man drove, because he took a lot of turns and lost James. James was on his tail, but it didn’t last long. James ran back into the police station and told his dad he saw the murderer’s mask.

“He had a ski mask and a gun. I chased him, but then he drove away.”

His dad said, “Did you see the car’s plate number?”
“I only saw a six. It was so fast, but I know it was a Tesla.”

Then his dad said, “Take my car, and see if he comes again. Get him and catch him. Then call me, and I’ll come. We have a trap for him.”

James said, “But how do you know where he’ll strike next?”

His dad said, “There’ll be chaos in a spot, and then you’ll just have to drive there.”

James said, “Good point. I guess I’ll just get in a car. Wait,” he asked his dad, “What car do I get?”

“A police car.”

James was walking toward the police car and saw a six on a license plate on a Tesla. He almost saw the man’s face, but he was wearing a ski mask again, and shot James in the ankle. James fell down and passed out.

***

He woke up five hours later. He was in the hospital.

James woke up and said, “Where am I? Ow, ow, ow. What is that?”

The doctor said, “You got shot in the ankle. Don’t you remember?”

“I kinda do remember. I saw the man’s second number on his car plate. It started with six-two. That’s all I saw. I still know it’s a Tesla, it’s gotta be. That’s all I remember… and getting shot. Well, I guess I’m not gonna stop chasing him.”

“We haven’t even fixed you up. It’s not good. Not yet,” said the doctor.

They stopped and brought him to the doctor’s room.

***

James woke up in two boring, deadly boring, hurtful hours. He got up, but he couldn’t walk. He had to use crutches. He was using them for four months. It was getting really, really boring. His leg got fixed fully. He still had his police car nice and good. That was the good news. The bad news was he got shot. He got up, got in the police car, and drove. He saw the car again, but this time, he kept a gun in his hand. He took the man out of the car and arrested him. He took him to the police station and took off the mask. It was a dummy with a bomb on it. James threw it on the street, and it exploded.

James said, “I almost got him, but I got his car.”

He took the car now, but the bad news was that the guy was going to be looking for cars.

“We have to track every place that sells cars in this city.”

All the police cars took off, and James took the Tesla and took off. James went to five Tesla places. The robber wasn’t there. Well, he didn’t know how his face looked, but then he saw a Tesla store. The robber was in there. He had a ski mask. The man with the ski mask was holding a gun in front of someone’s face. He shot him. There was a big hole through his head. It was like a river of blood. There was blood everywhere.

James jumped out of the car, crashed through the glass, and went in. He forgot he didn’t have his gun. He took a baton, and almost knocked out the robber, but then the robber almost shot James. But then James took his car and hit the robber. The robber was wearing body armor. He got up, ran away, and took a Tesla. James got in his Tesla and chased him, and shot him in the car about seven times. He couldn’t get a good aim, he was going too fast, and then James hit a random  pole. Stupid car, shit!

His car flipped over on the wrong side. James got out and didn’t call 911. He was okay-ish… not really. He kept on shooting the robber, shooting him in the head. The robber let go of the gas and fell down. James was really, really angry. He took the guy’s head. It was another dummy. James was so angry, he shot the dummy in the head. But then he took off the mask. It was a real person. An innocent man.

James went back to the police station. He checked the cameras to see if he had any suspects, but he didn’t have any yet. But then he searched. He had cameras on L Street. He searched all the cameras. He saw four people, right near the man who died. He had some suspects now. He knew where the first suspect was. He lived in Brooklyn. James got out of the police station, into his car, and drove to Brooklyn.    

He went to Brooklyn and found the house. There were flower pots right near the door. The top was made out of gold. I think he probably did it. He robbed the man and killed him, but why?

James rang the doorbell. A man opened the door.

James said, “Hi, I am James.”

The man said, “Who the hell are you?”

“I am a detective. I have been on a case. There has been a murder, a man got shot.”

The man said, “Why did you come to me?”

James said, “What’s your name?”

The man said, “My name is Tragic Tragic.”

James said, “That’s a very bad name.”

The man said, “I take that offensively.”

James said, “I don’t care. I’m a detective, it’s my job. Okay, I’m done here. You’re on my suspect list for killing a man who had a suitcase with $585,000.”

James left and went to Greenwich. James saw a house. It was the house of a different suspect. James rang the doorbell again, and again, and again. Then, finally, the doorknob opened. It was a person. He was just like the other guy, except his house was made out of gold. The man looked at James.

James said, “Hi, I’m James. Who are you?”

“My name is Tech Gold.”

James said, “Okay, I’ve been on a very important case. I see you are a part of the case, because you are a suspect of mine.”

The man said, “What do you think I did?”

“I think you shot a man, in the head, who had $585,000.”

Tech said, “That’s mega crazy. I would never do anything like this! I already have a gold house, and I’m rich already. So, it doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t know about this.”

“How do you not know about this? It’s on every newspaper in the world.”

The man said, “I don’t read newspapers.”

“Oh, sure, you don’t read newspapers. Then why is the newspaper on your stairs?”

“Oh, I didn’t even see that.”

“But you said you don’t read any newspapers.”

“I lied.”

“Why?”

“Get out of my house!”

The man slammed the door right on James’s foot. He could not close the door, James’s foot was stuck. Then James pulled out a gun and pointed it at him.

James said, “Open the door right now.”

The man opened the door and put his hands up. James got his handcuffs and put them around Tech’s hands, because James thought he probably did it. But he still had to check one more suspect. First, James headed to the police station and dropped him off.

James said, “He’s a very, very close suspect of the crime. It makes sense why his house is made of gold. He needed the $585,000. But I still can’t accuse him. I have to see my last suspect.”

James drove to Stanford. He rang on the person’s doorbell.

The person opened the door and said, “Hi, my name is Shadow Tragic.”

James was surprised. “Are you by any chance related to Tragic Tragic?”

”Man, I really wanna kill that guy.”

James said, “Why?”

“Because he ripped me off. He took all my money.”

“That is a crime.”

James went with Shadow to Tragic Tragic’s house. James got out of the car and rang the doorbell 58 times. He still didn’t answer. James took a big metal thing out of his car and hit the door again and again, and then it fell off and broke. James put the thing back in there. He took his flashlight, turned it on, and got his gun. Tragic was right there, and he was sitting. James punched him. Tragic got up.

James yelled, “You stole Shadow’s money! Why did you take his money? He needed that money to buy a house!”

“‘Cause I was broke!” cried Tragic. “I just like stealing ‘cause it’s my hobby.”

Tragic took a gun, put it right near his head, and shot himself. There was blood everywhere.

“He kinda deserved to do that to himself,” said James.  “Okay, I guess the mystery is solved. I guess we’re done.”

***

James searched the house, breaking everything in search of the money. But James found nothing. He was stunned. Tragic killed himself, so he must have done it. But the money was nowhere to be found. Then a thing-a-ma-jiggy flew out of his pocket. It looked like a mini helicopter. It was a drone that could scan for any hidden objects.

James said to the drone, “Search for money.”

It scanned no money. James saw a car. Someone threw a note. It said this: Your case is not over.

James got into his car and chased the man who threw the note. James hit him. He took off the mask. It was not a dummy. It was a police officer.

James said, “That is really weird. I’m twisted. So is the book that you’re reading. Stop reading this! You’re the worst readers ever. It’s not funny! What’s your problem, Hendrix? What is your problem?”

You’re a book character, it doesn’t matter.

James said, “Anyway, I really hate that kid. I wish I could murder him. Well, that’s still a crime, so let’s get back to the book.”

James got into his car, drove to the police station, went to his dad, and told him the information that Tragic killed himself, and that he ran over a police officer who tried to kill him. James got out of the police station, went home, ate dinner, and slept.

***

He woke up with his timer ringing. He shot it and got out of his bed. He ate breakfast, got in his car, and drove to the police station. But then, at that moment, James hit a car. His car flipped over.

James said, “That damn car! Damn. The car got messed up. That really hurt.”

James got out of his car. He went to the guy’s car who crashed into him and said, “Did you do that on purpose?”

“I’m not telling.”

James took him in the police station and put him in a chair. The chief of police sat and took out a lie detector.

He did something and said, “Did you do it on purpose?”

He still didn’t tell. The chief left. James was right behind the criminal. He took his head and slammed it on the table. James took the man’s hand, and hit his elbow on it. The man’s hand broke.

The criminal said, “Ah! What the hell is your problem?”

“You.”

“It wasn’t really a question,” the criminal said.

“Well, I took it as a question. Tell me, did you do it on purpose?”

He still wouldn’t tell. James hit the man’s back on the chair. His back broke. James took him and threw him on the ground, and he kept on punching him.

And, again, James said, “Did you do it on purpose?”

He said, “I’m not telling.”

James took a knife and put it in his mouth. James sliced his mouth. He died.

James said, “I didn’t really care about that guy,” to the chief, “but I think he did it on purpose. His car is pretty good, so I’ll take it since he messed up mine.”

James went on the rooftop of the police headquarters, put a thing-a-ma-jiggy on his back, and jumped off. He fell and gilded. He fell on a car, alive because he had a glider thing-a-ma-jiggy. James got off, took that criminal guy’s car, and hot-wired it. Oh wait, but then he saw the keys.

He drove to the ramen place to eat. James ate. He went to his car and drove to his home. James slept, and then he woke up. He ate breakfast. He drove to the police station.

James said to his dad, “I’m going to see for more clues because I still think there is a mystery. When Tragic killed himself, there was a note saying, ‘Your case is not over.’”

“That is really weird,” said James’ dad.

James went outside, got in his car, and went to L street.

James said, “This is really weird. There has to be more than one person responsible for this. Probably Tragic and someone else did it.”

James thought that it was probably someone he knew. And then the entire story paused. And then, someone else was talking. His name is Hendrix. And this is what the writer said:

This is a very hard mystery, but here is a clue. He was running out of money.

And then the story unpaused.

James said, “Hendrix just gave me a clue.”

 

15 hours later…

James was still thinking, I am stunned.

“Wait, I’ll first go to my house to see if anyone is running out of money.”

James went home and asked all of his neighbors if they were running out of money. None of them were. James went to his home and ate lunch. James went to sleep and woke up.

James ate breakfast and drove to the police station.

The story paused and someone else was talking. His name is Hendrix, the writer. I think you saw that about twelve sentences ago.

So, I’m Hendrix. By the way, James’s dad’s name is Vortex. James checked the cameras on L Street again and saw three more people he didn’t know about.

One lived in Long Island, another lived in Brooklyn, and one lived in Jamaica, Queens. James went to Long Island first. He drove there with his car, it only took about an hour, or two, or three, or four. Anyway, back to the story!

James got there. He rang the doorbell, and the door opened.

The man who opened the door said, “Who the heck are you? What do you want? Get away.”

James said, “I’m a detective.”

“Okay, yeah, what do you have to say, weirdo?”

“That’s actually pretty mean.”

James took a gun from his pocket and aimed it at his head.

The guy said, “Okay, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

First James said, “What’s your name?”

“V.”

“And your last name?”

V said, “V.”

“I’m guessing your middle name is V?”

“You’re psychic!” the man said.

“I’m a detective, it’s what I do. Obviously. Second, were you on L street recently?”

V said, “Yes.”

“Okay, let’s get more information. Do you know anything about the man who died on L street?”

“It’s on every single newspaper, you weir-”

The story paused again, and someone else is talking. Hendrix, again, the writer.

Oh, by the way, it is 1895.

Anyways, going back to the story.

“-do. Oh, huh? What happened?” V said.

“The entire story paused. Hendrix is writing us. It sucks when he does that.”

“Yeah, it kinda does.”

James took his gun, put it in his pocket, got in the car, and drove to Jamaica, Queens. James got there and rang the doorbell. The door did not open. James checked if anyone was there, and someone was, but then he came and opened the door.

The man stepped out and said, “Who are you? What do you want? Get away.”

“Man, a lot of people say that,” said James.

James took a gun, pointed it at the guy’s head, and said, “Okay, I’m a detective. Question number one: what’s your name?”

The man said, “I am Vengeance.”

“That sounds pretty mean.”

“It is,” Vengeance said.

“Question number two: were you on L street recently?”

“Yeah, a few days ago,” said Vengeance.

“Okay,” James said, “that’s enough information, I think. Wait. What were you doing on L Street?”

The man said, “There was a restaurant on L Street, and I was meeting my friend there.”

James took his gun and put it in his pocket, got in the car, and went to Brooklyn. James rang the doorbell, and the door opened.

The guy said, “Get the heck out of my house. Get away, weirdo.”

“Man, I am psychic,” James said.

James took his gun and pointed it at the guy’s head.

The guy said, “Okay I’ll tell you all of the information you need. Who are you?”

“I’m a detective, my name is James. What’s your name?”

“Victor.”

“Were you recently on L Street?”

Victor said, “Yes.”

James said, “Why?”

The guy said, “Um, my friend Vengeance was going to dinner, and I went.”

“Vengeance?” James said, “I just checked him from my suspect list. Hm, okay, that’s all the information I need.”

James got in his car and drove to the police station. It took five hours to get there.

James went to his dad and said, “I know the first letter of the killer’s name. It is V.”

James got handcuffs and put them on his dad.

“You are under arrest,” said James.

Why did he do it? He wanted to be rich.

 

The Odd Rock

        

Scene 1

A house in a farmland. It is the year of 2017. MOM is in a big farmhouse kitchen. She

pours smoothies from a blender into a glass on the kitchen table.

 

MOM yells towards the stairs.

 

MOM

Kelly, come on down. You’re going to miss the bus.

 

KELLY’S voice comes from upstairs

 

KELLY

Coming.

 

MOM

I made you a smoothie.

 

KELLY

Thanks.

 

KELLY

Mom, have you seen my backpack?

 

MOM

I brought it down here so I could pack it.

 

KELLY

Thanks.

 

MOM walks upstairs.

 

MOM

Kelly, get out of bed!

 

DAD walks in.

 

DAD

Kelly, what are you doing? The bus is honking outside!!!

 

KELLY

Ughh, again?

 

DAD

Kelly, I can’t drive you to school every day because you miss the bus.

 

KELLY

Please, just one more time.

 

DAD

No, I have a meeting today, and I can’t be late.

 

KELLY

Mom, can you drive me please?

 

MOM

This is the last time. Tomorrow, you have to get up on time.

 

KELLY

Fine.

 

Scene 2

They’re outside. It is 8:00 in the morning, and they’re walking to car.

 

MOM

Get in.

 

KELLY

What time will we be there?

 

MOM

8:30. Why?

 

KELLY

Shoot, my teacher said that if I was late one more time, I would get detention.

 

MOM

But you have been taking the bus for a while.

 

KELLY

Yes, but you give me breakfast, and I am not allowed to eat in the bus, so I hide in the bathroom and eat for an hour.

 

MOM

Why would you do that?

 

KELLY

I don’t want to choke.  

 

MOM

Well, we are here, and you have ate your breakfast. Go straight to your class and give her this note.

 

KELLY

What does it say?

 

MOM

You will see. Now go.

 

KELLY

Kay, bye.

 

MOM

Bye, sweety.

 

KELLY

Mom, you’re embarrassing me. All you have to say is bye.

 

MOM

Sorry.

 

KELLY

Bye.

 

MOM drives away. KELLY walks over to her best friend, ALLY.

 

ALLY

Kelly, you are so lucky. There was a fire drill, and class is starting late today.

 

KELLY

Yes, but I bought a donut, so I need to hide and eat it.

 

ALLY

Can you ever not bring food?!

 

KELLY

NO.

 

ALLY

Kelly, Kelly, Kelly.

 

KELLY

Ally, Ally, Ally.

 

ALLY

What!

 

KELLY

Do you want to ride my horses after school?

 

ALLY

Sure.

 

All the kids go to class, and KELLY goes to the bathroom.

 

TEACHER

Ally, do you know where Kelly went?

 

ALLY

Umm, she is using the bathroom.

 

TEACHER

Really using the bathroom?

 

ALLY

Not really.

 

TEACHER

Then what is she doing?

 

ALLY

She is eating a donut.

 

TEACHER

Thank you for telling the truth, Ally.

 

ALLY

You are welcome.

 

TEACHER

I am going to go get her. Everyone stay put.

 

TEACHER leaves.

 

ALLY

Let’s PARTY!!!

 

TEACHER walks into bathroom.

 

TEACHER

Go to the principal.

 

KELLY tries to talk with a donut in her mouth.

 

KELLY

Mojciusrfbvwgifvgsuvgfukvgfuseagsugybusbgfkusgbfjsdgfkjdsgfkh.

 

TEACHER points, and KELLY runs out.

 

After school in the barn.

 

KELLY

Let’s go to my house.

 

They walk out of the barn, and there are two very shiny rocks in front of the door. They

pick them up, and they are zapped to a backwards place.

 

KELLY

Where are we?

 

GUY walks up to them.

 

GUY

Ereh evil uoy od?

 

KELLY

What in the name of horses did you just say?

 

GUY
Ereh evil uoy od?

 

ALLY

I think he is talking backwards.   

 

KELLY

Good thing I have these.

 

KELLY holds up a thing that goes in your ear so you can tell what GUY is saying. The

gadget translates backwards talk into regular talk. It also translates what KELLY and

ALLY say to the backwards man.

 

ALLY

Where on Earth did you get those?

 

KELLY

In the teacher’s lounge?

 

KELLY

Don’t even ask.

 

They put them in.

 

GUY

I said do you live here?

 

KELLY

No, but can you help us go back to the real world?

 

GUY

Come to dinner with me.  

 

They go to a restaurant, and the waitress ask them what they want backwards. KELLY

holds a menu. It’s backwards. They start with dessert.

 

KELLY

What on Earth does this say?

 

ALLY

Just order something you like.

 

They can’t read the menu.

 

GIRL

Can I get you something?

 

KELLY

Can I have a grill cheese?

 

GIRL

(Through the translation device)

Ugh, we don’t serve grilled cheese. We serve roasted worm, slug, elephant tusks, raw fish heads, and lions’ heads with mane.

 

KELLY

I think I’ll just have a water then.

 

GIRL

We don’t serve water. We have elephant blood, lion’s blood, and worm juice.

 

KELLY

Well, then, I’m okay. I’ll just sit here.

 

GUY raises his hand.

 

GUY

I’ll have all the items and drinks, please.

 

GIRL

Coming right up!

 

KELLY

Ew.

 

GUY

What is so gross?

 

KELLY

You eat this stuff.

 

GUY

Yes, this is what everyone eats.

 

ALLY

Well I think we have to go home now. Right, Kelly?

 

KELLY

But where are we going to sleep?

 

GUY

You can stay at my house.

 

KELLY

Ugh.

 

GUY

Come on. Let’s go to my house. I am finished.

 

KELLY

Really? You ate all that in two minutes?

 

GUY

Yes.

 

GUY

Well, come on. Eating makes me sleepy.

 

KELLY

Where is your house?

 

GUY

Right there.

 

KELLY

Which one?

 

GUY

That big mansion right there.

 

ALLY

Wow, that is a really big house.

 

GUY

Yes, you guys will sleep on the 10th floor. Good night.

 

KELLy and ALLY

Good night.

 

GUY

Good night. Sleep tight.

 

ALLY

See you in the morning.  

 

The next morning.

 

GUY

Good morning, Kelly. Where’s Ally?

 

ALLY

Right behind her. Are you blind or something?

 

GUY
Actually, yes.

 

KELLY

Wait, really?

 

GUY

No, of course not. If I was blind, I would not know where the man you need to see to get to your old world is.

 

KELLY

Really? Where is he?

 

GUY

Right in front of you.

 

To be continued…

 

Grandma’s Garden

Prologue

The Garden of Willows was a verdant, abundant garden. Colorful, glistening fruits grew from the swaying trees. Willow trees shedded their mint-green leaves, speckling the grassy ground. You could smell the scent of lavender, rosemary, and marigold, all leaving their sweet traces in the spring air. You could hear robins chirping, bees buzzing, lily pads creating ripples in the crystal clear waters of the tiny pond.

You could taste the humid air melting onto your tongue like a ray of golden sunshine. When you touched the plants, you would feel a tingle in your fingertips, almost like you were floating on thin air. The luscious, yellow honey that dripped from the beehives gave you a certain hunger as if you had to taste it at that very moment. If you pricked your finger against the thorns of a rose, a sudden pain would be inflicted on your body like a nail digging into your flesh. The sun bestowed warmth upon everything below it, warming your body like wildfire as it spread across your heart in the Garden of Willows.

 

Chapter One

Grace, flimsily, timidly ensconced herself on the colossal, charcoal gray stone, glaring towards the hazy, tangerine-orange horizon as she waited for her grandma.

The Garden of Willows lurched in the honeyed spring breeze, frolicking as if to whisper peaceful words into Grace’s ears. The ferns glimmered with a juniper green sheen.

Grace’s grandma was the finest gardener in all of Everspring. Everyday, villagers would line the timeworn picket fence, woven baskets clasped in their clammy palms, anticipating to clog their baskets ample with the ripest fruits, freshest leaves, tangiest stalks of wheat, most sugared jams, jellies, preserves, and honeys.

Grandma produced medicines, too. She could cure any cough with the blossom of a cucumber plant, fix any rash with a sprinkle of marigold. Her garden, the Garden of Willows, was an enchanted garden. Everything gleamed in the daylight, but midnight bore something much more miraculous — faeries.

The garden faeries crept out of their petals at nighttime when they were sure that no humans were around to frighten them. The garden faeries would sprinkle pixie dust on every crop, and soon all of the wilting plants would rejuvenate. Grace liked to watch the faeries in the happening, from her bedroom window, secretly wishing that she could be like them, with their glimmering wings and ability to flutter across the luminous breeze.

Grandma welcomed Grace to her cottage after Grace’s parents died. Life almost seemed better living with Grandma. Fresh breakfast every morning; homemade orange juice with marmalade and stacks of buttery toast.

Grace couldn’t help but wonder if Grandma knew about the garden faeries. Perhaps not. After all, Grandma went to bed quite early every evening due to her hard work during the daytime.

When Grandma finally hobbled over to Grace on the commodious stone, she beamed and settled beside her but didn’t utter a single word.

“How are you feeling this morning, Grandma?” Grace inquired compassionately, collapsing her delicate hand onto the merlot red hem of her Grandma’s frock.

“As tired as the wings of a bird,” Grandma wheezed drowsily, slumping her head down low. “Grace, you know, there will come a time when I am no longer around. You will have to tend to my garden on your own, my dear.”

“Grandma, I’m afraid that I just don’t know how.” Grace gazed up at her grandmother with weary, caramel-brown eyes. “I’m not roughly as skilled as you are with your garden.”

Grandma chuckled, affectionately lifting up her granddaughter’s chin. “Nobody lives forever, sweetheart. You’ll always be in my heart on heaven and earth. But you don’t worry about that now.”

Grace pondered her grandmother’s words for a moment. She was now certain that Grandma was unaware of the garden faeries. If Grace took over the garden, she would only have to let the faeries do the gardening. But she couldn’t help but worry about her grandmother.

“What about your remedies, Grandma? Can’t you use them to heal yourself?” Grace pleaded apprehensively.

“I wish I could,” Grandma croaked in a melancholy voice, almost as faint and sorrowful as the sound of the wind. “But I don’t have the answers to everything.”

Grandma let out a cough, her voice raspy and tired.

“Grandma, you’ll only get worse staying out here in the cold. Go to bed, okay? I’ll bring up some warm broth and tea,” Grace calmed, tenderly placing her hand on her grandmother’s back to help her rise to her feet.

“Thank you, Grace.” Grandma smiled at her granddaughter with loving eyes. “I know that you’ll make a lovely gardener one day if you care about the plants as much as you care about me.”

Grace observed as her grandmother stumbled inside and couldn’t help but let out a couple of sobs in utter fear. She couldn’t let her grandmother down.

On the opposite side of the garden, Grace traipsed towards the marketplace where several villagers were lined up for their goods.

“I don’t have all day,” one woman was grumbling, miffed, to another man and shaking her head. “I wonder if that old woman is too elderly to garden anymore.”

Grace grinded her teeth, fingers trembling, resisting her sudden urge to scream. Grandma wasn’t too old to garden. She was the best gardener in Everspring.

“How can I help you?” Grace greeted the woman using a synthetically pleasant voice.

The woman sat her basket on the booth table, reciting the goods.

“Certainly,” replied Grace in the same voice. “Grandma is always so delighted when people purchase her strawberry jam,” she continued, tallying up the goods.

“How heartbreaking,” the woman whispered, turning to the man behind her again. “Ethel is hardly nimble enough to sell her own goods anymore. Her poor granddaughter has to do it all.”

Grace pretended not to hear the woman’s hurtful words. It wasn’t Grandma’s fault that she was sick. Couldn’t the woman realize that this transition, from a spirited Grandma to an ill and weary one, was even harder for Grace?

Grace strolled to the storeroom, peeling the door ajar. She clasped a stalk of the earliest harvested celery and planted a bundle of lengthy carrots into her arms. Gazing towards the usually ample crate of eggplants, she scooped up a couple and tossed them into her pile.

The strawberry jams, preserves, jellies, and marmalades were positioned on the second shelf, last row. Grace slid three jams into her skirt, using the fabric as a carrier. Following this action, Grace grasped a bottle of cough elixir, making sure to differentiate it from the rash remedy. She had made that mistake countless times.

“Here you are,” chirped Grace, emptying the woman’s goods into her basket. “Will that be all for today?”

“Indeed.”

The woman grudgingly and reluctantly placed three silver coins on the counter, locking her basket’s handle beneath her arm, then strutted away.

“Have a nice afternoon,” Grace offered, but didn’t receive an answer in return.

She placed each coin into Grandma’s jar, which sat alone on the verge of the booth. The man standing behind the previous customer had fled home due to the long wait, so Grace miserably headed to the garden to begin her chores.

Grandma’s hickory brown shovel was perched sluggishly against the fence of the beautiful garden. Grace clasped it and dug it into a dry patch of the ground.

Grace hoisted her arms upwards to clasp the branches of the eldest willow tree and then swung down to her feet, unaware of the struggles yet to come.

 

Chapter Two

Grace peeped through a miniature crevice in Grandma’s decrepit limestone bookcase, extending her arms to slither some trivial books away. The scent of cinders wafted through her nose as the hearth blazed little ways farther. With torrents of care, Grace hoisted the misplaced book over her shoulder, holding her breath.

The rain was trickling relentlessly outside, promptly speckling each window with a balanced amount of raindrops. Grace remembered the days when she and Grandma would spurt outside in their galoshes when it rained, splashing in puddles like volcanoes beginning to erupt.

How the two of them would splash until their galoshes were ample with muddy water, and then they would strip off their galoshes and splash in their lukewarm socks instead. And when their socks grew wet, they would peel them off and splash with their bare feet. Then, the two of them would gather their belongings and ramble inside for fresh cookies and sweet milk.

How Grace missed those jubilant days. Lost in her thoughts, she delicately planted the book on the old birch table, prodding open the cover.

“Ethel Camelia,” the spine of the book read in inky pen that bled through the unwrinkled fabric. Grace’s grandmother’s name. Grace liked the way it sounded on her tongue.

As Grace flitted through the never-ending pages, she detected a subtitle that caught her eye. “Garden Faeries,” read the page. “Spirits of the deceased. Prone to congregate in gardens and rural areas. Carry magical dust used to revive old plants/dry areas.”

Grace scrutinized the illustration of the garden faeries, enthrallingly analyzing their every detail.

Eyes as fern-green as the meadows encircling mountains. Barefoot, but gentle feet, padding onto petals speckled with dew. Their frocks consisted of silky, pale flower blossoms. Flawless skin was dotted with freckles and fresh morning dewdrops. Transparent wings as graceful as a thousand clouds beckoned you to caress them.

Grace advanced in reading the passage, hunting for a cure for Grandma.

“Immortal. Seasonal appearances, seemingly kind and gentle,” the passage continued on. “Can create healings, remedies, and such. Unable to breathe underwater. If a child becomes a garden faerie, the effect will be temporary and the child will become a human again within a day.”

Grace thought for a moment, gnawing on her tongue. But then it came to her. What if Grace became a garden faerie? She would find a cure for Grandma if she asked the other faeries. She was a child and would become a human again after a day or so, she thought. But if garden faeries were the spirits of the deceased, wouldn’t death be the only way to become a garden faerie?

Grace continued to read until her eyes broadened. “It is possible for creatures in a garden to take on new forms and even to transform into other creatures. If a human wishes to become a garden faerie, these magical abilities may be activated through this chant, ‘to be a faerie is what I desire, so gardening abilities I may acquire. I say these words to be set free, and serve the garden, I shall not flee.’ Once these words have been uttered a single time, the human shall be transformed.”

Grace exhaled, placing her hand on her heart. It was indeed a risk that must be cautiously taken. But she had to save her grandmother, her sun when it rained. The pencil to her paper. Her nutrient and blanket of hope. Grandma was sick and slowly dying.

“To be a faerie is what I desire,” began Grace, stifling sobs. She began to choke up, but wiped her eyes before Grandma heard her. “So gardening abilities I may acquire…”

Grace read the remainder of the chant, murmuring, “I say these words to be set free, and serve the garden, I shall not flee.”

***

Grace’s perception was comprehensively black — obsidian. She could sense sunlight bleaching her complexion, sprinkling her face with rays of happiness. Adapting to the temperature, Grace languidly sprang up, kneading her cedar brown eyes.

Everything was colossal, substantial. The shovel that Grace used for her duties was now hundreds of times larger than she was.  Grace thrusted her arm into the breeze, aware of its puny size. Grace couldn’t help but gasp in bewilderment. So this was what it was like to be small.

“Flora!” cried a voice, evolving into a blaring, shrill sound as the garden faerie grew closer to Grace. “Flora!”

Grace found herself unanticipatedly face-to-face with an alluring, aesthetic garden faerie that bore a gingerbread-tan complexion, with coiled cider tresses and a radiant beam, parallel to her wispy, orange wings and gleaming pearls.

“My name is not Flora,” Grace informed the garden faerie of her name. “My name is Grace.”

The opposing garden faerie giggled breezily, her chuckles like windchimes. “Of course your name is Flora. That’s your name now.”

Before Grace could bafflingly oppose, the vivacious, lively garden faerie clasped her by the palm of her puny hand.

“My name is Maple,” the garden faerie yawped enthusiastically to Grace, dragging her through the leafy, mossy canopy. “Lord Wren commanded me to welcome you to the Garden of Willows.”

“Actually, I’ve lived here all of my life,” Grace replied, a sort of sadness in her voice. “My grandmother owns the Garden of Willows. And she is very, very sick. I transformed into a garden faerie so that you could help me.”

Maple swayed her arm around Grace. “Flora, us garden faeries have remedies for a multitude of illnesses. I’m not sure that we can cure your grandmother, but we can try our best.”

Grace beamed at her new cohort, traipsing behind Maple.

Maple fluttered in advancement towards the overhanging trail of intertwined vines. She angled her knees as she drifted through the woodland.

Garden faeries, male and female, flittered around vigorously, lilting from elongated vines, garnering twigs and such that they identified strewn on the terrain. There had to be thousands.

“Maple,” began Grace graciously, acknowledging her friend, “Would you teach me to fly?”

Before Maple could react, a male garden faerie with lustrous eyes fluttered by Maple, whispering words into her ears.

“What did he say?” Grace inquired, unable to flutter like Maple.

“That was Foxtail,” Maple familiarized the faerie. “He’s very concerned. Your grandmother has not watered the garden for days. The water is the way that we grow. We aren’t very lively these days.”

“This is all my fault.” Grace hung her head remorsefully. “I’ve been so centered on Grandma that I have neglected the garden.”

“Now, now,” soothed Maple, jerking her head blissfully to twist herself downwards. “It isn’t your fault. Why don’t we go train you to use those pretty wings of yours?”

 

Chapter Three

This was the moment when Grace considered her appearance. Boysenberry violet frock with a paisley pattern. A mulberry flower tiara encircling her honey gold locks. Her wings had a glossy, mauve sheen.

“I’d love to,” Grace crooned, following at Maple’s heels.

***

“Maple, are you certain? This seems to be quite an elevated hill.”

What had used to be an anthole now seemed like the rim of a bluff.

“Of course. This is where every faerie determines the use of their wings. Now, I will be right here in case of any crisis, Flora.”

Grace dipped her head in approval, taking a deep breath in apprehension. “I’m ready.”

“Alright. Now, straighten your posture, but bend your knees to an angle perpendicular to that vine,” Maple gestured towards a vine nearby, “and feel free.”

Grace tried her very best to do what she was told. She smiled when Maple told her that she was doing the action well.

“Now, we’ll try a flutter,” Maple tranquilly advised, circling around Grace watchfully. “Would you be able to shift your wings?”

“Perhaps,” Grace returned, attempting to maneuver her wings, orbiting the meager vine.

Unhurriedly, her dainty sandals began to hover above the rich, lukewarm soil.

“You’re doing it!” cried Maple, lingering on her minuscule feet. “You’re fluttering.”

Maple’s tangerine irises twinkled in elation. Grace had never felt so unwithdrawn to the nature surrounding her. She could journey anywhere. Oh, how she wished that Grandma could see her at the very moment, applauding her with jubilation and optimism. This gave her strong reminiscence of what she was supposed to be doing — discovering a cure for Grandma.

“Maple, I’m afraid we must cut this lesson short. I didn’t realize the time. We must find a cure for my grandmother.”

Maple sighed in sorrow, mumbling, “I’m sorry. It was all my fault; I got distracted. Let’s go and find that cure.”

Maple twisted around, thrashing her wings against each other to flutter over a small pond. As the two friends tore through the faerie centre, Maple hesitated when she reached a small cottage.

The classic roof consisted of a fawn-brown acorn, smooth and gentle, atop a lovely door adorned with unfamiliar carvings. Maple leaves dotted the dewed, emerald grass.

“This is my cottage,” Maple whispered sheepishly, shrugging her arms. “It isn’t much, but my task in our land is to find remedies for illnesses. I have many cures.”

“It’s perfect, Maple.” Grace felt a parade of warmth cheering towards her as she ambled inside. “Where shall we begin?”

“Hmm. Is your grandmother ill from weather? Labor?”

Grace pondered this for a moment. “Everyday, she has to garden outside to please the people of the village. It is so tiring for her, I can tell. Through rain, storm, snow, and drought, she has to tend to her garden. Lately, though, I believe that these conditions have been taking negative effect on her.”

Maple nodded, ensconcing herself on a hassock that was placed behind her cluttered desk. “Would you pass me the fern leaves?”

Grace examined the chaotic desk until she found a flask of fern leaves, presenting it to Maple. “Here you go.”

Maple, engrossed in her task, snatched the flask and sprinkled some blossoms into a wooden vial. “Tree sap, please.”

Grace clasped a bottle of syrupy tree sap, placing it beside Maple on her desk. Maple poured a quarter of the bottle into the mixture, stirring it with a twig. This time, she reached for a wisp of squirrel fur herself, plunking it in with the rest of the ingredients.

“Tomato seeds.”

Grace tossed a cluster of tomato seeds into Maple’s palm. “Is that all?”

“Final ingredient,” gritted Maple, feeling everything cluttering her desk to search for pixie dust. She used tweezers to gather one particle.

“One particle?” Grace cried in wonder. “You only need one?”

“Pixie dust is quite valuable in our land, as it is very limited. Some years, we receive three bundles of pixie dust, and on others, we receive none. The amount is spontaneous.”

Grace bowed her head in understanding and awareness. “So that is all? If I give the vial to my grandmother to drink, she will be cured?”

“No,” Maple warned her. “You have to sneak it into her tea or coffee. Otherwise, she will know that you’ve obtained the cure from supernaturals like us; the garden faeries will be revealed.”

“Why are the faeries so secretive? Why are you so frightened of us humans?”

Before Maple could reply, she keeled over, plunging to the wooden floors, letting out a groan in agony and irritation.

“Maple!” Grace wailed, rushing to the floor to haul her friend upwards. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

Fear and angst spread over her body like wildfire.

“Water,” gasped Maple, her voice dry, her mind almost unconscious. “I need water. . .”

Petrified, Grace lugged Maple outdoors, wondering how she hadn’t noticed before. All of the faeries seemed sluggish, due to the lack of water. How could Grace be so careless?

“Faeries!” Grace shrieked in agony. “Maple has collapsed. We have to find water. For her and for the rest of you!”

Faeries began to whisper to one another, voices abuzz in the outdoors. Lord Wren stepped up to a large rock, seeming almost like a podium. “Of my days in the garden, I have seen a human gardening outside. I’ve seen the human curving a faucet from the side of her house. Water cascaded from the faucet, and she used it to fill her watering can. If all of us work together to curve the faucet, we can fill up a container and absorb the water.”

“Good idea!” a faerie named Lilac exclaimed, whispering the plan to her fellow friends.

Grace’s hazel brown eyes hardened with determination. Maple had helped her to save her grandmother. Now Grace had to save Maple.

“Quickly, quickly!” Foxtail screeched, flailing his arms to guide the faeries towards the faucet. “Humans could come out any time now. Come on!”

Grace, still cradling Maple in her arms, zipped towards the faucet, following the other garden faeries.

She grasped hold of the metal faucet, the hotness irritating her fingertips. She now had to hold Maple on her back. Maple’s arms laced around the nape of her neck.

Lord Wren urged the garden faeries, “Pull harder!”

Grace, feeling strangled from the pressure of Maple’s arms around her neck, took a deep breath and pulled harder, hands slightly trembling. As the faucet began to turn to the right, Grace had to try harder not to fall into the grass. Her wings fluttered more laborious than ever before.

All of the garden faeries gasped as a trickle of water poured from the spout. Lord Wren commanded, “Keep going, my faeries. The task is soon to be done!”

More water trickled from the spout. Soon, torrents of water filled the container than Foxtail, Sunlight, and Moonbeam had placed beneath.

“Hooray!” chorused the garden faeries, loosening their cling on the faucet to keel into the water.

Radiant beams of what seemed like happiness glowed from all of the faeries. Grace instantly but calmly placed Maple into the water, allowing her to absorb the freshness.

Maple’s eyes slowly opened, a smile painting itself on her bright face. “Thank you, Grace.”

Grace smiled, suddenly thinking about her grandmother. “Maple, thank you for everything. I’ve never had a best friend before, and,” Grace began to sob, “you’ve been amazing to me. I wouldn’t be able to save Grandma if it weren’t for you.”

Grace unclipped the violet flower from her hair, releasing her tresses to her shoulders. She placed it in Maple’s hand. “To remember me.”

Maple smiled. She pulled a bundle a pixie dust from her pocket. “I grabbed this before I fell. It’s for you. To remember me and your ability to fly.”

“Thank you,” Grace mouthed to her friend, throwing her arms around her for a quick embrace. “I will miss you so much.”

Then, Grace wiped away her tears and began to fly away.

 

Chapter Four

Grace had flown through the wind to the spot where Maple had found her, to the very place where she had left her book.

Flipping through the pages, she once again found the page about garden faeries. Although she knew that her time as a faerie would only last a day, she also knew that she wouldn’t be able to wait so incredibly long.

“Garden Faerie Reverting Spell,” the page read. “To become human once again, one must chant these very words, ‘To be a garden faerie I no longer desire, for I was before in moments prior. Now I wish to be rid of my wings and to see what being human again will bring.”

Grace opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, she heard a voice that sounded quite familiar to her.

“What are you doing, dear?”

Grace whipped around, spotting a faerie that she vaguely recognized. She looked a lot like Grandma, but so much younger. This is crazy, Grace thought to herself. Was she imagining things?

“I’m becoming a human once again,” Grace replied, squinting her eyes to look deeply at the woman. Could it be?

“Grandma, is that you?” Grace asked, placing her hand on the female faerie’s face.

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be,” the garden faerie said soothingly.

Could Grandma have died and become a garden faerie while Grace was away?

“Grandma, please. Is that you?” Grace smiled at the garden faerie, recognizing her.

Grace clasped the garden faerie’s lukewarm hand, their touch seeming to revive every wilting plant in Grandma’s garden.

 

Nina: An Awesome Trip to Auckland

Introduction

Dear diary,

My name is Nina, and I’m eight years old. I was so excited to get you! Tonight is the second night of Chanukah. I can’t wait until sundown for us to celebrate.

My house is in Madison, Wisconsin. It has two floors, counting the basement. My room is small, and it has a little desk, a big dolly bin, and a small bunk bed. My dog, Tissues, who is a King Charles Spaniel, sleeps on the bottom, and I sleep on the top, but sometimes my parents move Tissues to the top. I also sometimes sleep in the guest room, where the walls are painted green.

I want a lot of things, but what I want most is a little sister. But my mom says one child is enough.

Tissues just came in. My mom is calling me for Chanukah. For Chanukah, my present is to go to Auckland for vacation.

I woke up early today, and ran to my tree house. I don’t have my new red pen because today I have school. Ugh, because I’m in a rush, I had time to write in you. My mom is calling me for breakfast.

***

On the Plane

Finally, we got on the plane. At school, I feel lonely because I have no friends, and right now, I feel lonely because I do not have anyone to talk to. Now we are on the runway.

“Whaaa,” cried a baby, because we were going fast now that we took off.

“Why did the duck cross the road?” I asked.

“Why?” asked my mom.

“To see what the chicken was doing,” I answered.

My mom laughed.  

“What kind of pants do clouds wear?” I asked.

“What kind?” my mom asked.

“Thunderpants,” I answered.

My mom cracked up. I did too. I told a bunch more jokes, and then I looked down at the clouds, and fell asleep for an hour.

***

My Dream

I dreamed that chipmunks were talking to me. I said, “Can you stop stealing food from my family?”

“Yes,” the chipmunks said.

“Thanks,” I said. “I never thought I’d talk to a chipmunk.”

“Well, we never thought we’d talk to a human.”

And we all were friends.

***

Auckland

Auckland is beautiful. When we got to our hotel and took out Tissues, he ran around like crazy, so we brought him outside. Tissues pulled me along. Suddenly, I tripped over a tree root, and he started chasing a squirrel and running farther from me. I could just run toward the hotel… I felt scared, and wondered if I should run up to get my mom and dad, or if I should start running after Tissues. I wasn’t sure what to do. I wanted to get Tissues so badly. He had stood up for me when I was made fun of, calmed me down when I was sad, and played with me on rainy days when no one else wanted to play. I was dying to chase him, but I didn’t want to get lost, because then my parents would have to find me and Tissues. I just didn’t want to make the wrong move. But, maybe my parents could find him if I told them. But what if I got in trouble? Tissues had been my responsibility. And, my parents had always said to never run into the street.

I decided to run up to the hotel room to tell my mom and dad. I decided to not run after Tissues, because I might get lost.

“Mom… Dad… um… I sort of… um… lost… um… Tissues,” I said, nervously wringing my hands. “I’m r-really sorry,” I added.

“I know, sweetie, but it’s okay, we’ll find him.”

I saw tears in her eyes.

“But what if we don’t?” I asked.

“We’ll talk about that if we get to that point,” said my dad.

Twelve minutes later, after arguing with the hotel manager about printing posters from his computer and using the hotel printer, we flew down the stairs to find Tissues. We brought posters and pictures to hang up on trees. There was a $100 reward if someone found Tissues.

I envisioned myself carelessly tossing my clothes into my suitcase as we packed to leave. But something was different. I wasn’t tossing crumpled up clothes for Tissues to chase. I was just tossing them into a suitcase. I would do anything to have that day never happen. I started to cry. My dad said maybe I should stay behind with her, Miriam. Miriam is my mom’s name.

I said, “No, I want to help find him and help you hang up the posters.”

“Alright, but are you sure?” my dad said.

“I’m sure,” I sobbed.

“Alright,” Dad said again. “But we can always bring you back.”

“I know,” I said.

We saw a tree and hung one of the posters of Tissues on it. I was starting to get hungry. I was worried about Tissues. In my mind, I pictured Tissues getting petnapped.

“Can you take me back for a snack?” I asked my dad.

“Sure,” he said. “A lot of people will probably find Tissues in Auckland.”

“But some people might not bring Tissues back to us. Instead, they might petnap him,” I said.

“Most people won’t want to petnap him, so a person who will bring him back will probably find him first,” my dad said comfortingly.

“But what if a petnapper surprisingly finds him first?” I asked, while sobbing.

“Then we will call the police,” my dad said.

“But we might not figure out that he got petnapped,” I said.

***

My Dream

I decided to change to my red pen, because I was tired of plain old black.

“It will be fine. Now, what do you want for snack?” my dad said.

I had cheddar bunnies. When I finished, I took a nap. Soon, I was in dreamland. But it wasn’t all good.

Someone in all black and grey was walking and found Tissues next to a poster we had hung up. He picked Tissues up and brought him to a little hut that was filled with animals in cages. He put Tissues in a cage with a rattlesnake.

I screamed, “Tissues!!!” in my dream, and out loud. My mom ran into my room. I was sleeping, and she rubbed my back. I opened my eyes and started crying.

“What’s wrong?” my mom said.

“I had a nightmare,” I said, and then told her my dream.

“I think we need to do something to get you to forget about Tissues for a little while.”

***

Exploring Auckland

“Okay, what should we do?” I said.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should look in the magazine of fun things to do in Auckland that you and Daddy got,” my mom said.

“Great idea,” I said.

We walked to the living room and got the magazine.

“Do you want to go on a sailboat?” my mom asked.

“Sure,” I said.               

“Alright, let me try to reserve a sailboat,” my mom said.

After a little while, my mom said that we needed to reserve a sailboat the day before, so we were going to do it tomorrow and go fishing.

“Can we just go for a walk?” I asked.

“Of course, honey,” my mom said.

“Do you wanna come with us, Paul?” my mom said.

Paul is my dad’s name.  

“Yes, but before we go, I want to get the map,” my dad said.

“Alright,” my mom said, and my dad left to get the map.

We walked around silently and looked at flowers. They were beautiful. I even forgot that Tissues was lost, but then I started to daydream, and I daydreamed the same dream as before.  Then, I started to cry, for the millionth time in the day.  I opened my eyes and noticed that I had fell onto a bench.

“What’s wrong?” my mom asked.

“I had the same dream,” I sobbed.

Just then a lady in a striped dress and jeans, with blue eyes, asked me if I was hurt.

I blushed. “No, but I lost my dog,” I said.

“Oh, poor you.”

I blushed again.

“Wait a second, is your dog the one who has a picture of him eating tissues on a poster?”

“Yes, did you find him?” I asked her hopefully.

“No, but I saw the poster. Anyway, I have to go.”

I was  disappointed that she hadn’t found Tissues, but I would be surprised if someone already found him.

“We should go to the hotel to order room service.”

“Alright,” I said, starting to cry for the millionth and first time today.

But then I ran out of tears, and my throat started to hurt.

“My throat hurts, and I’m tired,” I said.

“You probably are tired because we had a long day, and your throat hurts from crying. I’ll give you Advil when we get back to the hotel.”

When we got to the hotel, I had my yucky Advil and ordered pasta and butter.

***

The First Night

My mom and dad cuddled with me like always. But instead of cuddling with me for one minute, like what we do at home, they snuggled with me for ten whole minutes, which was nice of them. Their reason was that we were far away from home and that Tissues got lost. That night, I hardly slept at all, because I had the same nightmare and a bunch of other nightmares. I didn’t tell my parents because I didn’t want to wake them up. I told them when it was breakfast.

They said, “I’m sorry, but I think that’s how it’s going to be for a little while.”

I had cereal for breakfast. The cereal was from a grocery store my mom went to on the way back from looking for Tissues. I was happy it wasn’t from the hotel, because it probably would have been bad cereal.

***

The First Day   

We had relaxing time. I started to write. It was called “Hair Tease.” The main character had two moms. One mom he called “Mom One,” and the other mom “Mom Two.” He was born by one, and the other one was just a mom. It was about a boy who had long hair. There was a bully in his school named Ollie. He teased him about his hair. He tried going to get a haircut but the barbershop was closed. He asked Mom Two to bring him to the barbershop the next day, but she said, “I like your hair. Plus, I am too busy.”

On the way to school, he learned to be himself and to ignore Ollie and his friends. Next, I looked in my secret code book and found the code I had been looking for. It was one I had been stuck on for a while. The word looked like this: yllp. Finally I guessed it was book because y = b, o = l. The next “o” is still l, and p = k.

“Nina, come here,” my dad said.

“What?” I said.

“Your great grandma’s on FaceTime.”

“Hi,” she said.  

I said hi back, and then we talked about Tissues for a while. Then we hung up. We left. We left to go hiking.

“It’s a beautiful day to go hiking,” my mom said.

“Sure is,” my dad and I said, almost at the same time.

When we got there, we saw the person we saw before, when I had my daydream. She was with her son. I could tell he was Hispanic, and now that I thought of it, his mom was too. He had short black hair and blue eyes like his mom. He looked excited to hike.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” my mom and dad and I said.

Then we started to hike. We were together the whole time. During the hike, my mom and dad talked to the person who saw me when I had the daydream. She said her name was April. I talked to her son a little bit. We said our names. His was Nicholas. He also said he was from Auckland, but his family was going to move to Madison, Wisconsin, the same town as mine. He didn’t know what school he was going to.

When we got to the top, we saw a hotel. It was a great view. Then we walked down silently, probably because it was a hard hike and we were tired. Then we went to the grocery store to have lunch there. April and Nicholas went to eat at their house.

“Is Nicholas nice?” my mom said.

“Yes, and he is going to move to our town,” I said.

“That’s what April said,” my mom said.

Lunch was fine. I had a cheeseburger. Then we went fishing. It was great. I caught a salmon and two trout. My mom caught two trout, and my dad caught three minnows. Then we went home for dinner. We ate the some of the salmon. Then, suddenly, I thought about Tissues and instantly started crying. It’s weird that I didn’t start crying while we FaceTimed with my great grandma.

“What’s wrong, kiddo?” my dad asked.                                                                                        

“I just thought about Tissues,” I sobbed.                                                                                                   

“Oh, honey, I’ll get a visualization for when you go to bed,” my mom said.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said, still sobbing.

***

Crybaby

I got into my pajamas and brushed my teeth. Then I asked my mom for the visualization. I picked one called “The Magical Playground,” but I still had nightmares. I still did not want to wake up my parents. In the morning, I told my parents I still had nightmares.

“Did you have less?” my dad asked.

I nodded.

“Well, that’s good,” my dad said.

Right after breakfast, we had to leave to go sailboating. It was great weather for sailboating. The weather app on my mom and dad’s phone said it was going to be seventy-seven. I suddenly thought about Tissues and started crying like last night. Just then, a boy about my age came by. He stuck out his tongue and screamed, “Town crybaby!” really loudly. His mom, dad, and friends roared with laughter.

“Ignore them,” my mom said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

“I tried to,” I remember saying. “But their laughing was too loud.”

“But why are you crying?” asked my dad, comfortingly resting his hand on my back.

I thought about Tissues again, and more tears came out.

“I know it is hard to ignore people that yell, but at least try,” my dad said.

Suddenly, I heard a loud laugh. I glanced back and saw the boy, his family, and his friends behind us.

“Dad, I think the boy who called me crybaby is following us, and I did try to ignore him,” I said, still sobbing.

“This is a busy street, and I’m glad you tried to ignore him.” my dad said.

I still thought he might be following us, but I was less sure because it did look like a busy street.

“It is weird that the boy followed us here and whe –”

“The crybaby is running away on a rented sailboat,” the boy interrupted and screamed.

Luckily no one heard because it was loud, and we were too far away. If they heard us, we would most likely get in trouble. After a while, we left and went to a restaurant for lunch. On the way there, I heard the mean boy say, “Come on, let’s go follow them.”

Then I heard his dad say, “No, Herb, let’s tease that boy who is scared to go on a boat because he thinks he’ll drown.”

“Oh, yeah,” Herb said.

I didn’t know what to do because it would be weird if some random person stood up for you, but it would be a nice thing to do, and I might even make friends with him. But before I could do anything, we changed streets. I felt so bad for him. Lunch was great. I had a caesar salad.

***

Relaxing Time

We went home to relax for the rest of the day, because our plan for tomorrow is to have breakfast, go sightseeing, have lunch, and then go to a museum. I don’t know what to do right now, so I’ll just write in you. I’m going to check how much pages you have left. You have about one and a half pages left. Now I don‘t know what to do. Wait a second, my dad looks bored. He and I like Scrabble, and I had seen Scrabble in the closet that was in my hotel bedroom. I asked him if he wanted to play.

“Yes,” he said.

I won and got a bingo. The word was ‘powerful,’ and it was right over a triple word score, so the total score of that one word was forty-two. It felt like a long game, because we took a lot of water and snack breaks. Then it was time for dinner. I ate leftover caesar salad. Then I got ready for bed. I slept worse than the first or second night because it was our last day in Auckland, and if I didn’t find Tissues, I think we would go home without him.

***

After Breakfast

After breakfast, we left right away to go sightseeing. On our way there, I wished Tissues was walking right beside me. I envisioned it very clearly. I couldn’t stand thinking about it, so I bursted into tears.

“What’s wrong?” my mom said.

“I thought about Tissues,” I said.

“Oh,” my mom said.

***

Sightseeing

We went to the the aquarium. It was great. Then we went to the Auckland botanical gardens, which was better until I got to a flowerbed that reminded me of one that was in our backyard. When Tissues would be tired in our backyard, he would lay down there and fall asleep. I told my mom and dad that, but before I finished, I started sobbing. I was tired of crying almost all of the trip, but I couldn’t help it.

Then it was time for lunch. I still was sobbing. When our waitress came, I recognized her. I ordered a cheese sandwich. While I ordered it, she said “crybaby” really loudly. I ignored her. She roared with laughter. I recognized the laughter. It sounded like Herb’s mom. The cheese sandwich was terrible. My mom and dad said their food was terrible.

“Do you think that our waiter is Herb’s mom?” I said.

“Yes,” my mom and dad said at the same time.

“I think I even saw his dad,” my mom said.

“Really?” my dad and I gasped.

“Really,” my mom said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Well, I think I saw him coming out of the kitchen?” my mom said.

“Oh,” I said.

***

After a busy day…

After spending the day around Auckland, suddenly my dad’s phone rang. I couldn’t hear what he was saying. The thing I heard was “great” then my dad hung up.

“Guess what?” he said. “Nicholas found Tissues!!!”

“Really?” I said, jumping up into the air.

“Really. April said for us to meet on 231 Centeraph road, which is the road we’re turning on,” he said.

“I can’t wait to see Tissues,” my mom said.

When we turned onto it, I saw Tissues and started running. Tissues saw me too, and started running towards me.

“Tissues!” I said, pretty loudly.

He started galloping towards me, barking like crazy.

“Thank you!” I said, while hugging Tissues tightly, but not too tightly.

“You’re welcome. I always wanted to save a dog that is by themself, because I love dogs,” Nicholas said.

“Yeah, dogs are awesome,” I agreed.

***

A Good Time

We talked to each other for about five minutes. Nicholas was really nice.

Then, April said that they had to eat dinner.

“We need to eat dinner too,” my dad said.

“You can eat dinner with us,” April said.

“Are you sure you’re okay with that?” my mom said.

“Of course,” April said.

So we went inside to Nicholas’s house. I was surprised how big it was. We had pasta with butter. Their pasta was much better than the room service. Tissues curled up next to my chair. I petted him. When I was done, since my parents weren’t done yet, I sat down on the couch and petted Tissues, and he fell asleep. Nicholas sat down on the couch on the other side of Tissues and petted him. Nicholas and I talked. Then we had to go.

“I feel like I could be friends with Nicholas,” I said to my mom and dad.

“That’s great!” they said.

I wish I could become friends with Nicholas before I got back to Madison, Wisconsin. I dreamed of Nicholas and I being friends. We were running around playing, and we even had a sleepover, and Tissues slept in the middle of us as we slept on the ground.

The next morning, at breakfast my dad said, “Your mom found two tickets with no name on them. April said that they were all ready to move, but they didn’t have tickets yet. They still had to buy them. So we’ve decided to use them for April and Nicholas.”

“Great!” I said.

After breakfast, my mom called April.

April said, “It would be great to be on the same plane.”

“Maybe you and Nicholas can become friends,” my mom said.

***

On the Plane

On the plane, Nicholas and I talked.

“Do you like jokes?” I asked Nicholas.

“Yes,” he said, and smiled.

“I love them,” I said. “Why did the duck cross the road?”

“Why?” Nicholas asked.

“To see what the chicken was doing!” I said, and Nicholas laughed.

Then he told me a joke. “Knock. Knock,” he said.

“Who’s there?” I asked.

“Noah,” he said.

“Noah who?”

“Noah good place to eat?” he said.

I laughed. I hadn’t heard that one before.

“Knock. Knock,” he said again.

“Who’s there?” I answered.

“Canoe,” he said.  

“Canoe who?” I asked.

“Canoe help me with my homework?” he said.

Nicholas and I cracked up on that.

“Where did the sheep get a haircut?” I asked.

“Where?” Nicholas said.

“At the baa-ba shop,” I replied.

Nicholas cracked up. Just then, the plane took off.

“Nicholas?”

“What?” he asked, smiling.

“Would you call us friends?”
“Yes,” he said.

“Then you’re the only friend I have,” I said.

“You are too,” he said, smiling big.

“I have a question. Do you have a dad?” I asked.

“Uhhh…” Nicholas’s smile leaked off of his face. “No…” he took a deep breath. “He died when I was five.”

“I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. I’m sorry I ask–” I said, but Nicholas cut me off.

“It’s okay,” he wiped a tear off his face. “I just haven’t talked about it in a while. My mom doesn’t like talking about it.”

“I understand,” I said quietly.

***

Our First Playdate

As April unpacked, Nicholas and I had playdates and sleepovers. On the first playdate, Nicholas and I decided to play outside with Tissues.

“You got a new friend?” someone behind me said. “Because you won’t have him for long.”

I turned around and saw Walter, a bully at my school.

“Oh, really?” I said.

“Nicholas is strong. But not as strong as me,” he declared, and he dived at Nicholas.

Tissues threatened to bite Walter. Walter jumped up at Tissues then, but Tissues was too fast, so he fell down on the snow. Then he got up.

“I don’t wanna get in trouble for being late, but I’ll get you another time,” he said, smiling.

I was kind of worried that Tissues wouldn’t be there.

“Tissues was the hero,” I said.

“Yeah,” agreed Nicholas, “Let’s write a story called Tissues to the Rescue.”

“Great idea,” I said. “But I’m kind of worried that Walter will bully us when we are not with Tissues.”

“Who’s Walter?” Nicholas asked.

“The person who was mean to us,” I responded.

“Oh, I agree,” Nicholas said.

Then we went inside and wrote the story. Nicholas mostly drew, and I mostly wrote it. After, we made a copy for my dad, mom, and Nicholas’s mom. Then, my mom made the best hot chocolate ever. When we finished, Nicholas’s mom came to pick him up. The next day, after a lot of begging, Nicholas and I had a sleepover.

***

Sleepover

First we decided to write another story about Tissues, but this time it would be fake, not something that actually happened.

“So, what should it be about?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but maybe in the end he will get a big award.”

“Good idea,” I said, while jotting it down. “Now, what are some of the things that he will save?”

“Maybe people, and stuff that people really like, but they lost.”

“Sounds good,” I said, jotting that down too. “We might not be able to do this, but do you know any problems that could happen in the story?”

“How about Tissues gets lost like he did before?” Nicholas said.

“Wow, great idea,” I said.

Here is how it went:

 

One time, there was a dog named Tissues, and he saved and scared away people who were being mean. Everyone loved him. He even stood up for people who were usually mean to him. One day, he heard a loud yell. He galloped towards it. He kept on galloping towards it, but he never got there. Then, he fell asleep. And then a bad person put thorns on him, and took him away in a big truck. Tissues knew he was lost, but he knew the best thing to do was to get out, so he climbed on a wall and jumped at the door. He sailed to the door, and it crashed open. As he jumped out, he heard someone chuckle and say,

“You will never get out.”

Tissues ran onto the sidewalk, and saw someone getting bullied. He ran over to him and growled, and threatened to bite the bully, and the bully ran away.

“Thanks,” the girl who got bullied said.

Tissues ran towards the town he lived in. He ran for a while, but suddenly it started snowing, and Tissues’s feet were getting cold.

 

“Nicholas, Nina, it’s time for dinner,” my mom called.

After we ate and got ready for bed, and we were in bed, Nicholas and I had talking time. We talked about how Tissues would find a home, and we decided Tissues had no owner. Then, it was time for bed.

I don’t remember what I dreamed. After breakfast, we went outside with Tissues, and we saw Walter again.

He said, “Do you have a boyfriend? Eww, go kiss.”

Tissues ran over to Walter, and almost bit him. He jumped away and screamed. After awhile, we went inside and worked on our story.

Here’s the rest of the story:

 

Tissues heard loud footsteps and saw the girl he stood up for.

“Do you have a home?” she asked.

Tissues shook his head.

“Well, my family has always wanted a dog. So you are mine.”

Tissues rescued people in the new town. The end.

 

Then Nicholas had to leave.

***

School

When I got to school, and was walking to my classroom, I saw someone that looked like Nicholas. I speed walked over to whoever looked like Nicholas to see if it was him. I looked, and sure enough, it was him.

“Nicholas,” I remember calling.

“What? Oh, hi! This is a total coincidence,” he said.

“Yeah,” I said.

When I got to class, Nicholas wasn’t there. For the first time, I wanted to go to recess. At recess, Nicholas and I acted out the fake Tissues to the rescue story. A girl named Izzy pretended to be the audience. She was really nice.  

***

Our Second Playdate

A few days later, Nicholas and I had another playdate, but it was at Nicholas’s house. Nicholas’s house wasn’t much different from mine, but it had one more floor and had a smaller backyard. In total they had three floors, counting the basement. And, like I said, we only have two floors, counting the basement.

Nicholas and I practicit practiced the play of Tissues to the rescue.

“Let’s throw confetti at the end.”

“No, let’s not. It might get too messy, and it doesn’t make sense for our play.”

“But my mom wouldn’t mind, and we can pretend it was winter, and use white confetti as snow.”

“Oh, fine,’’ I said.

“Yay!” Nicholas said.

I was happy it made him happy, so I made a little smile.

“Why are you smiling? I thought you didn’t want to do confetti.”

“I’m smiling because I’m happy you’re happy,” I said.

“Thank you,” I remember Nicholas saying.

Then, we started practicing Tissues to the Rescue. Three hours later, my mom and dad came, and we acted it out. It went how we had planned. Then we went home.

***

Goodbye Diary

You’re running out of pages for me to write in. I’m sorry. I hope you liked the story I wrote. In this story, I told you about the best times in my life: finding Tissues and making friends with Nicholas, and kind of with Izzy, and the saddest time in my life when Tissues got lost.

Love,

Nina

 

Susan Roger

Prologue

“I got a text from Susy!” said Brooke, who started jumping around the cabin, her black hair bouncing around her and her leather skirt flying up to reveal her leather shorts.

By “a text,” she meant that Susy had sent a pigeon over with a message taped around it. This was the 13th century.

Susy was taking a voyage to Europe to bring back gold, beads, and other things that they could trade with. Back then, they didn’t have money. Brooke and Susy lived in the western part of South America where Ecuador is right now. Ecuador wasn’t a thing back then. Everyone lived in cabins made of prickly, pointy wood. If you dragged your finger on a wall, you would get hundreds of splinters.

Susy’s real name was Susan. Since Brooke was her best friend, though, she got to call her Susy. You know how the capital of Ecuador is Quito? Well, now, let me tell you a story.

***

Two days later…

“That was a long trip,” Susan said to Brooke as she went to get the foot massager to massage her feet. “I brought back tons of gold, though.”

“Did you write in your diary?” asked Brooke.

“Yeah. You could barely read the handwriting.”

Susan and Brooke started massaging their feet, and soon they fell asleep on their wool beds.

 

Chapter One: iPhone L

(Eight centuries later. 2073. New York, NYC)

Avery Mulligan and Tracy Winsnap were in line to get the new iPhone L (50). Yup, it had been that long. The iPhone L (50) is the size of a mini TV. You could personalize your own Siri to match your voice. It is completely waterproof, so the next time you drop your phone in a pool, you don’t have to get it fixed. They come in every color you could imagine.

I would go on, but neither you nor I have that kind of time. So, what does this have to do with Susan Roger? Well, this is the story of how Roger became the new name of the capital of Ecuador in 2073.

 

Chapter Two: The New Kind Of Texting

(Through text)

Avery: It’s so easy to text on this thing!

Tracy: LOL Ikr!

Avery: I used $7,000 from my dad’s credit card. Whoops!

Tracy: Gr8. When your dad finds out, he’s gonna flip. Literally.

Avery: LOL my dad is not that flexible. Especially as the mayor, all he does is sit in a chair and make phone calls and sign contracts so he can receive a paycheck.

Tracy: True. You know I am in the mood for something rainbow. You know, because that’s my favorite color.

Avery: Haha! Do you know when you will see your parents again?

Tracy: God knows where they are in the world. Probably a year from now. I dunno.

Avery: Are u taking care of your pets right now?

Tracy: You mean my three dogs, two cats, and one hamster?

Avery: Yup.

Tracy: Yes. I am in real need for some energy, so lucky water has caffeine in it. What would life be without it?

Avery: Ikr! I have to teleport home but tell me how things go at your Girl Scouts. T2UL8ER

Tracy: I will.

 

Chapter Three: A Very Serious Argument

“We need to change Quito’s name by March 3rd!” said the president of Ecuador.  

“Okay, calm down,” said Avery’s dad, who was named Smith. He is the mayor of New York.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that since the war with Israel, we haven’t been able to think of a new name. We are still recovering from dead and injured people. That’s all people are talking about.”

Jack, who is the president of Ecuador, leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “I have been getting a lot of suggestions for names, but they’re all stupid. Some guy named Richard Thompson wanted to name the capital Sweetbaby. He is 23 years old, and I am not psychic, but he does not have being a president or a mayor in his future.”

“Not even a prime minister?” Avery’s dad joked.

“Of course not,” Jack said in a cracked voice.

Meanwhile…

“Okay, girls, so today we will be looking for lost or stolen items that are in these woods. The boundaries are the beach that goes to the river. Don’t cross that. Good luck!”

Tracy was at Girl Scouts, and now she had to find some lost or stolen things. Tracy looked under rocks and branches, in between bushes and twigs. She found nothing. She was about to sit on a hollow log when she saw something white inside of a crack. She stood up and looked inside of the log. There was a dirty, wrinkled piece of paper bunched up in there. Tracy pulled her chocolate brown hair into a ponytail and crawled inside. She snatched the piece of paper and crawled out.

 

Chapter Four: What The Heck?!

Tracy smoothed out the piece of paper. It had a lot of writing on it. She could only make out some of the words. It said something like this:

(1247)

Dear …..’s Diary, 

I live in a colony. The colony is named after my grandfather, who died. It is a tradition that the colony’s name changes every year when a person, 13 or over, throws an origami over the ocean. That person’s last name becomes the new name. Hopefully I will have my last name named after something.  

Just three more days left in Europe!

Love,

    Susan Roger

 

“Who is Susan Roger?” Tracy asked herself.

She decided to keep it since she didn’t have anything else. Tracy skipped back to her Girl Scouts leader and showed her the paper.

“This was written eight centuries ago!” said Tracy’s Girl Scouts leader, who was named Drew.

Tracy wanted to be a Girl Scouts leader when she grows up.

“By someone named Susan Roger,” said Tracy. “I like that name.”

“This was written in Europe, but this girl lived where Ecuador is now!” Drew said with an amazed voice. “This really is a shocker. You earn today’s badge for finding the most interesting, historical, and significant item. Congratulations!”

“Can I keep the paper?” asked Tracy.

“Uh,” Drew said, kind of uncertain. “Normally, I keep the item and put it on the Girl Scouts Hall Of Fame Wall, but if you really want to keep it, I could pull a few strings.”

“Thank you, Drew, thank you! My history teacher is gonna love this!!”

History teachers, or any teachers for that matter, are now robots who are programmed to work with kids at a certain grade and age. There is no such thing as a “boring teacher.”

 

Chapter Five: The Paper That Changed Everything

The next day, Tracy walked to Avery’s house and showed the paper to Avery.

“This is so strange,” said Avery.

“I know,” said Tracy, who was busy ordering a mocha at the Starbucks in Avery’s private food court.

“I really like the name Roger,” said Avery.

“Same!!” said Tracy.

Hmm, Avery thought. I know my dad is helping the president of Ecuador find a name for its capital, and Roger is a good name for it, but I want to find out more about this Susan Roger first. Imma look her up.

“What are you looking up?” asked Tracy.

“I want to find out more about this Susan Roger,” said Avery as she typed furiously on her iPad, which was twice the size of her face.

Finally, Avery found a somewhat reliable article and started reading.

“It seems as if Susan was thirteen when she went to Europe. She had orange-red hair and was the oldest kid in her colony. She always wrote in her diary. This must have been one of her diary entries! We’re like detectives!” Avery was squinting at her iPad, because the words were so tiny on something so huge. “She loved making origami, which her mom taught her. One day, when she was bored, she turned a diary entry into an origami bird, and threw it far across the ocean in our direction. This must have been the diary entry! It says no one has been able to find the diary entry. You could be famous, Tracy!!”

“Oh. My. God! You’re right, because in the diary entry, it said something about throwing origami and wanting something to be named after her,” said Tracy.

“You know what else is good? Since we both like the name Roger, we could suggest it to my dad, and then he could tell the president of Ecuador. If the president of Ecuador likes it, it could become the new name of the capital! We could be famous! We could be excellent role models! This Susan girl will also get her dream of being named after, even though she is dead!” Avery said, out of breath.

“You really like the idea of being famous all of the sudden,” laughed Tracy.

Chapter Six: This is Getting Good

“Should we suggest the name to my dad?” asked Avery.

“Why not?” said Tracy.

Later that day, Tracy and Avery walked into the mayor’s office. They knocked on the door and walked in. Smith was on his computer, typing furiously.   

“What do you want, girls? I am very busy.”

“We have a suggestion for a name of the capital of Ecuador,” said Avery confidently.

“I’m sorry, Avery, but the law says that anyone under the age of 18 can’t name capitals.”

“Just hear me out, Dad,” said Avery. “Tracy and I like the name Roger.”

Smith started stroking his beard.

“Roger, Ecuador…” Smith said to himself. “I like it. How did you get the name Roger, girls?” he asked.

Tracy explained the whole story of Susan Roger.

“I’ll talk with the president of Ecuador, but I think we have a name, girls! Congratulations!”

 

Chapter Seven: The Typical Happy Ending

(Quito, Ecuador, 2073)

“I think we’ve found a name, Jack,” said Smith. J

ack was the president of Ecuador.

“Hit me,” said Jack.

“Roger, Ecuador,” said Smith. “My daughter and her friend came up with it.”

“It has a good ring to it,” said Jack. “I think we found a name!”

One week later…

“I hereby announce that the new name for Quito, Ecuador is Roger, Ecuador! This name was made up by two girls named Avery Mulligan and Tracy Winsnap,” announced Jack in front of a crowd of people.

Everyone cheered and clapped. Later that evening, Jack signed a contract to make it official and leaned back in his chair.

“The pressure is off,” he said.

 

Epilogue

Tracy and Avery became internet sensations and reality sensations. Their story on how they came up with the name was told on almost every news station (except for Fox News, which didn’t believe that those girls came up with the name.) It was like walking down the red carpet for them.

“You were right, Avery,” said Tracy.

“About what?” asked Avery, as they hopped in a limo to go home.

Normally they would have teleported, but they wanted to keep the fame while it lasted.

“We are famous, but also we are now role models for other girls,” said Tracy.

“You are most definitely right, bestie,” said Avery.

The two of them rode off with a feeling of accomplishment in their veins.

“I wonder when they’re going to change their name again,” said Avery.

The two of them just laughed and laughed and laughed.

The End!

 

The Totally Normal Average Family

Jack 

“Yeah right, Dad. Of course there were teleporter machines in 2017,” I said to my dad.

“No, seriously,” my dad told me.

“Did I tell you about the first Mars mission?” Dad asked.

“Yes Dad, you’ve told me a million times.” I told him. “Why do you have to be so old school, Dad? It embarrasses me in front of my friends. It’s 2039, not 2000.”

Just then, Mom and Taylor walked into the living room and asked, “Guys, what are you doing? Jack, you’re going to miss the school bus. John-”

“Natasha, you know I don’t get to spend enough time with my son.”

“But when you decided you were going to follow this career path, you said you knew you weren’t going to get to spend as much time with the kids as you used to be able to.”

Great. Welcome to my world. My parents are always arguing. I’ve heard them talking about divorce when they think I’m not listening. I really don’t care as long as I get to keep my Playstation 4 VR.

 

Taylor

I hate my ten-year-old brother. He’s so annoying. He makes so many stupid jokes. It’s like he doesn’t care that Mom and Dad might get divorced. All he does is play stupid games on his VL thing or whatever. I don’t want Mom and Dad to get divorced! I’m twelve. If they wanted to get divorced, they should have done it earlier. On the other hand, I might get to live with my grandma and my mom. The only reason I don’t get everything I want is because of Dad. My grandma was the one that got me an iPhone last year. My dad would never allow it. Thankfully, he was on a business trip. My dad goes on a lot of business trips. He has this job that Mom always gives hints about, but she’s never actually told me and my BFUSSB(Big Fat Ugly Stupid Smelly Brother) what the job is. Dad used to be a professor, but he quit. Don’t ask me why.

 

Dad

I am a spy for the KGB. The Russian spy agency. They were brought back in 2030. I used to be a professor of mechanics at the University of Illinois. It was convenient because we live right next to it. But then I missed a very important deadline, and I got fired. I knew I should have accepted tenure. I concealed it from my wife and kids, by saying I just resigned because I found a better job opportunity. Right then, the KGB asked me to be a professional assassin. I’ve had many important missions. Just last week, we used a transmitting device inside of a heel to track down a businessman, and then, I shot him with a poison dart-shooting umbrella. Successful mission.  

 

Mom

Why the $#@! did my @#$%^& husband resign? He had a great job. He was makin’ 150 grand a year! He was a master electrician at the University of Illinois. It’s a great college. And after he resigned, he started getting all violent like a murderer or something. The only reason I haven’t told the kids about it is because I don’t even know what the “amazing job opportunity” actually is!

I couldn’t be around my family anymore. I started going insane. One day, I was cooking, and I pulled out a knife and wielded it at my kids. That was when I realized I needed serious psychological help. But nothing worked. I started having flashbacks of when my father was fighting in WW III. It was the worst war in the history of the world. Of course, it was started by that stupid imbecile Donald Trump. I dropped off the kids in an orphanage and drove off. Then, I started swerving. I didn’t mean to, but I felt like I just didn’t have control of the car. I hit a red Lamborghini and crashed. Then, a rock fell and smashed me, and I almost died.

 

Jack

I can’t believe Mom would just drop us off at the orphanage like that! I thought she loved us! When she dropped us off at the orphanage, my whole life changed. I didn’t have any parents anymore. I was a… a… an… orphan!

 

Taylor

I know what we should do! We should totally escape. Like in movies. We could go to grandma’s house and seek refuge. Whatever that means.

 

Jack

I guess we’ll just wait for a new family to come and adopt us.

 

Taylor

To: Marjorie Smith

From: Taylor Smith

Sub: Locked UP!

Grams, u gotta come and bust us out of this dump! Mom dropped us off here when she went insane. Maybe we could go live undercover at your place. Quick, before some weirdo adopts us.

 

Jack

To: Mom

From: Jack

Sub:Whyyyy?

Mom, why? Why would you leave us at the orphanage? Please come and take us back!

 

Mom

My iPhone buzzed. I looked on it and saw an email from Jack. That was when I realized that I had made a big mistake.

 

 Jack

“Yes! I knew you were going to come back,” I told my mom.

“Yep,” she said.

 

Taylor

Well, I guess I spoke too soon. But don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that Mom is back.

I think we all are.

 

Dad

Wow, did you guys actually think I was dead? I was just at a sleepover with my bud, and my wife went insane. I’m at the orphanage with a SWAT team. We’re tracking down Natasha and the kids.

 

Mom

What the… why is there a swat team trailing us? Is that John?!! We turn around. I really think it’s John. It is! Um… what is going on here?! They pull up to us.

“Hey Natasha,” he said. “I know you want to know everything. And I’ll tell you. When we get home.”

“We’ve had a lot of adventures too,” I told him.

And we all walk off into the sunset together.

 

Jack

And that is our totally normal average family. Everybody explained everything, and our family lived exactly like that for a long, long time.

 

Sapphire Lake

Chapter One

In the beginning, all I remember was revenge.

Well, I remember the fight with King Hail. I was only one. I remember the purple cloth I was wrapped in to be carried by my mother. I remember how the people decided on getting back at King Hail for having innocent children work by the hour for him. People whose children were servants. My mother supported her sister and helped attempt to poison the King. And ever since they were caught, everyone who was part of the poisoning, even babies like I was, were pushed in Sapphire Lake and were forced to tread. King Hails guards would watch you 24/7. Some people have been treading for as long as I have. I have been treading for nine years, since the attempted poisoning. They would throw sardines and disgusting food at us out of buckets as if we were seals. When we ask to drink water, well we have water everywhere. Due to education laws, they would sometimes make us tread in a different section to teach us kids basic skills. The only good thing is that once a year, a whistle would be blown. A whistle of freedom. A name would be drawn from a bottle that washed up. If your name was drawn, you could swim to the ladder and get out… forever. Ultimate freedom. But once your name is drawn, you have to get out. No options. But again, I have only known one person who has not reached for the ladder. My mother was let out seven years ago. She didn’t want to leave her daughter. The guards forced her out. If my name is picked tomorrow, my first job is to find her.

 

Chapter Two

TWEET!!! “Listen up!” One of the guards blew the whistle.

His name was Carter. I knew it because he would always sprinkle glitter on his jacket. And on his shoulder pads were some emerald green sparkles.

“You know the rules. We pick the name out of the bottle as usual, and then if you hear your name, you get out of the water. You will be supplied with a meal at the King’s house, and you will get further directions from there. Also, this is our ninth year doing this. Nobody who is not called has permission to come out,” Carter continued on. “If you are let out and run away… let’s just say the consequences are severe.” The sly smile on his face told me that he was not kidding. “Alright, please remain calm and most importantly, don’t get me wet!”

The other guard handed him a bottle. I looked around at the people whose lives were in danger. I looked at my pruny hands. Carter cleared his voice as he read the tiny script name on the slip of paper.  

“Felicity Downhall.”

My heart sunk as all eyes turned on the spot Felicity had been in for the past eight years. Nothing was there that you could see except for a bobbing head. She was sleeping on the job. If you sleep during the name picking, even if you get chosen, you can’t leave.

“Well, guess we have to pick again.” He drew another name from the bottle and squinted at the paper.

“Hey, Aberjay,” Aunt Docia whispered to me. She was my mom’s sister so my family is extremely close to hers. “If this is your lucky day, find your mother for me. Don’t work for the King. Promise me.”

I almost laughed. “The chances of that happening are as rare as if we were all let out,” I whispered back.

Carter told me to be quiet.

“The lucky fellow of the year 5036 is… just Aberjay?”

 

Chapter Three

“That’s me!” I yelled. “I don’t know or have a last name, but I promise I am real! My mother, Coco, was let out seven years ago. I promise, I promise, I’m Aberjay!”

The guards eyed each other. “We remember her, little girl. Just be quiet and get out.”

He pointed at the ladder. As I lunged for the ladder, I saw Aunt Docia’s eyes tear up. I swam back to her.

“Promise me,” she said, giving me her necklace that had been passed down.

“No, you don’t have to give this to me. It was passed down from all of the women in the family. I’ll wait for my turn,” I said, tearing up as well.

“It wasn’t, Aberjay. It wasn’t,” she said, tears streaming down her face.

“Let’s move, Eberjane!” The other, non-glitterified guard looked at me.

“It’s Aberjay,” I said stiffly.

“Aberjay,” said Aunt Docia. “It was stolen,” she whispered. “From the King’s daughter. When we snuck in to poison him, Zero gave this to me and said, ‘Mama I got this for you!’” Zero was Aunt Docia’s two-year-old son who was one of the King’s servants. “I took it, not knowing what to do. They wanted Zero punished. He ran away at two. He is thirteen now. If you find him, tell him your name. He will remember you. Show him the necklace but nobody that works for Hail. Go… use this for the greater good.” She gave me a hug.

“Are you coming or not?” the guards said, not amused.

They rolled their eyes. I doggy paddled to the ladder. As I climbed out, I felt the breeze in my soaking tee-shirt and shorts, and I put on the necklace. The main guard walked me down the pier to where a trolley car waited for me. I looked at Aunt Docia who was smiling at me through her, hopefully, happy tears.

“Hello, Miss Aberjay,” the coachmen said as we started to move away from Sapphire Lake and towards the woods.

The man was about in his mid-60’s and had salt-and-pepper colored hair. It looked like a wig.

“So it’s my job to explain how your life is going to be once you are in the King’s palace. This is my ninth time doing this, so you can trust me.”

I wasn’t sure I could trust anybody working for Hail, but I listened anyway. I wrung out my shirt out the window, which the coachmen did not appreciate very much.

“First off, you will be greeted by servants and important rulers. Then, a feast will be set up with the King, and you will be provided with hospitality for a week. Don’t get used to it, kid, ‘cause most that do… don’t end up so well. After that, girl, you’re on your own. The woods have plenty to give, and if you meet someone from, ya know, someone you knew, don’t interact. We don’t want alliances or whatnot so it’s more of an every man… or woman for themselves.” He started whistling as we made a right turn down a paved road, the only one you could see.

Pshh, I could care less about what this coachmen said. I looked at the necklace. It was a penny-sized, circular pendant made of gold. And a normal chain. I bet thousands of people had that necklace. I kept looking, wondering what made it so special, but then I saw it on the back. It said Duchess. (For Duchess Ice). But I guessed I was going to have to hide it. It could be my little secret.

“We are here, miss.”

The coachmen opened the door. The palace was stunning. The whole palace was white and engravings of griffins were on the door. The windows were red, and ivory colored curtains were visible too. I was led over the moat by the coachmen, and the water from it was the only thing that made me feel at home.

“Hello,” bowed one of the servants.

“How do you do,”  a cook said.

I couldn’t make it through the door because everyone was rushing to meet me. A guard dressed in the same uniform as the one guarding the lake led me up a massive spiral staircase. On the top step were three people, the first being King Hail. I knew by the white hair, grey eyes, white lips, pale skin, and white suit. I had heard the legends. To his right stood a woman to not be mistaken as the First Lady, Cristina. She had curly, white hair that sat on top of her head. A white dress and white shoes matched the First Lady’s white hair. And next to her stood a ten-year-old Duchess. She had her mother’s metallic blonde hair that also sat on her head. She had her dad’s gray eyes and a white outfit.

“Criminal!” spat Duchess Ice, pointing at me like a baby.

 

Chapter Four

“Ice,” the King’s voice said sternly.  “This girl was one when the ‘incident’ happened.  Though she did not take part in the ‘incident,’ her mother was part of it.”  

How did the King know so much about my past? I took mental notes about how I could get out information about my mother as Ice stared at me.  

“Mother, does she talk?”

“I do,” I said, shocked at how raspy my voice was compared to the silk-like voice of the  Duchess’s.

We were both ten, yet I seemed so much more mature.

“How about you show Aberjay her room and then take her to her closet,” the First Lady said, looking back and forth between Ice and me.

“Alright, Eberjane,” Ice said, once we walked in the room.  “Here is where you will be staying.”

“It’s Aberjay, actually.”

“Whatever, I don’t really care,” she said, rolling her snowy eyes.

I examined the room. The walls were all white, and the floor and ceiling and everything else in the room was white except for the red bed and a vase of roses on the cabinet.  

“Whoa,” I looked around.

“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite rooms in the castle.”

She opened the curtains and I gasped. The view was amazing. Beyond the rolling hills, I saw Lake Sapphire, not the area where people were treading, but I saw… boats, motor boats, sailboats docked, canoes and ones I couldn’t name. Even though Sapphire Lake was an important part of my life, it was a cruel area, a painful period of time.

“Do you know how to sail?” Duchess Ice asked me, breaking the silence.

“What do you think?” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Sorry, I forgot,” she squeezed her two hands together.

I hate when people ask stupid questions.

“I hate when spoiled children forget!” I yelled. “You are just some brat who doesn’t know what it’s like. I swam when I was one! I was one! I was pushed into a lake and was forced to literally sink or swim, Ice. I love how you spend your days sailing around, while people who were innocent like me are pushed against their own survival, and you ask me if I can sail?”

A tear rolled down both of our faces as I realized what I did. Oops! I had to push out the last words I could be executed for saying.  

“And when I first came in here, you called me a criminal!”

“I am sorry for that… I am,” she quivered.

Here I go.  “But just remember, Duchess Ice, that while here you might be royalty, you and your perfect family are loathed by those 256 people down there threading for their lives right now.”

She was sobbing at this point, and not a bit of me felt any sympathy.

 

Chapter Five

“Where’s my bathroom?” I said, feeling dominant.  

She sniffled, crumpled on the ground as she limply pointed her hand towards the back of the room.

“Thank you,” I said.

I took a towel and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door, leaving the sobbing Duchess to herself. I was afraid to shower because I wasn’t used to warm water. I think my skin is sensitive because even lukewarm water made my back turn red. So I did what I was hoping not to do. Take a cold shower.

After I left the bathroom, I was shocked to see my hair dry. Exiting the bathroom and entering back into the bedroom, I saw an all red ballgown on my bed with a red bow.  All of a sudden, two women wearing white maid gowns and white jewelry ran to me — one was short and one was tall, both squealing.  

“Oh darling, we are going to make you look gorgeous,” the short one said.

“Sit down, deary, won’t you?” The tall one pushed me onto the stool she had put down moments before.

She took out what they called a “curling iron” and wrapped my hair around it.  Half of my hair was up, held by the red bow — the rest of my hair were big ringlet curls falling down to my shoulders. I finally looked at myself, and I laughed. My black hair was half the length, and my fingernails were red. Great.

“Is this permanent?” I asked, pointing at my nails.

“Yep,” the short one said laughing.

“If you try to break into the city, people need to know who you are,” the tall one said.

“What does everyone else get?” I ask.  

“White,” they both said in unison, showing me their white.

I was frustrated. I was never going to have a fresh start. I didn’t even commit a crime.

“Why do I not get a fresh start?” I asked the maids.

“It’s not that, deary. You just carry a piece of your past with you,” the tall maid said, stroking my new hair.

A moment of silence passed, two moments… three…

“My, oh my! How time flies when you’re having fun! Aberjay, cupcake, go downstairs and join the King and First Lady and Duchess for their feast!” the small one said.

“Okay. Bye and thank you!” I said running down the spiral staircase.

I ran through the tons of hallways and down thousands of stairs, my map being the scent of food. Finally, getting to the dining hall, my mouth dropped open. Roasted chickens with currants and curry filled every plate. In the center table was garlic butter-filled rolls, caviar and crème fresh, snails – eww – and some artichoke dish.  

“Welcome Aberjay. So glad you could make it,” the First Lady said, motioning for me to sit.

The feast began. The food was delicious! As I was eating the curried chicken, a question popped in my head and came out too quickly.  

“Please don’t take this offensively, but why is everything in the castle white or red?” I asked.  

The King jumped to respond, “Aberjay, white is to represent the angels like citizens of the city, Halo. And the red is to represent the devilish people of Sapphire Lake, and that is how our country was named Lophire.”

Ouch! I felt like I was being framed.  

“Is that why my bed is red, my nails are red, my dress is red, and my bow is red?! Am I the devil?” I said, a tear rolling down my cheek. I made eye contact with Ice.

She was next to me and rubbed my back. That is when I made the connection. Her life was unfair too. Nobody, not even me, had any right to dislike her. Well, almost no right to dislike her. Just like me, she was one when the incident happened. She didn’t throw anyone into the lake, or ask to use children and turn them into servants. She was as innocent as I was. She rested her hand on mine. And that’s when I saw it. Her Nails. Not just white, but red too.

 

Dan and Dan’s Friends: Adventures of Friendship

                                               

Act One

 

DAN is in the restaurant talking to MANAGER. DAN is really angry at him.

 

DAN

What do you mean I’m fired?

 

MANAGER

You made tacos with poison inside!

 

DAN

Well, I don’t care.

 

MANAGER

Oh, you shut up.

 

DAN

It’s no fair!

 

MANAGER

Well, you always make awful stuff!

 

DAN

Wahhh!

 

MANAGER

Bye.

 

One day later, DAN comes back to try to persuade MANAGER to give him his job back.

 

DAN

I’m back.

 

MANAGER

Leave.

 

DAN

No!

 

MANAGER

Leave!

 

DAN

Stop.

 

MANAGER

Well, I forgot to tell you we hired a new chef. He is Chef Curry.

 

DAN

Is he the best three point shooter ever?

 

MANAGER

I don’t know, and I don’t care.

 

DAN

Okay, but is he?

 

MANAGER

Just shut up and leave!

 

DAN

Fine!

 

DAN sadly walks home.

 

DAN

Ummm, everyone, I got fired from my-

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Did you get fired from your job?!

 

DAN

Maybe.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

I hate you. Get back and ask them again. Plus, where have you been? I haven’t seen you in one day.

 

DAN

Well, I tried earlier today, and it failed again. I stayed over at somebody’s house last night because I knew you would kill me.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Well, I won’t kill you, but I will help you try again.

 

DAN

Okay.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Let’s go.

 

DAN

Hold up. can we eat dinner first, and what is it?

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Maybe… sushi.

 

DAN

Okay.

 

Act Two

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Okay, let’s get going.

 

DAN

But it is so early in the morning!

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Do you want your job back?

 

DAN

Fine.

 

DAN and his friend walk to the restaurant to ask MANAGER one more time.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Where is the location again?

 

DAN

I always look at my phone for directions, and, as you guess, they took the link off.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Well, why don’t we look at Google Maps?

 

DAN

Oh yeah. You are a genius.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

I know.

 

Five minutes later they reach the restaurant and try again to ask MANAGER to get his job back.

 

DAN

Okay, I’ll talk to the manager.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

No you’re not.

 

DAN

Why?

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Because you failed twice.

 

DAN

Fine.                                                             

 

DAN’S FRIEND talks to MANAGER.

 

MANAGER

Hey, what on Earth do you want from me?

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Ummm-

 

MANAGER

Well, shut up and leave.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Hey, don’t say “shut up” to me, and I need to get my friend’s job back!

 

MANAGER

Ohh, wait a minute. Do you want that dumb wimp’s job back? What a jerk.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

I will hurt you!

 

MANAGER

Say that all you want.

 

MANAGER gets kicked in the butt and is moaning in pain.

 

MANAGER

Ouch!!!

 

DAN’S FRIEND

It’s your fault!

 

MANAGER

Fine, let him back, but arrest this dummy!

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Ahh!!! HELP ME!!!

 

MANAGER

Get her!

 

DAN

Oh no you won’t!

 

Boing! DAN crashes into MANAGER, and they both get hurt.

 

MANAGER

Ouch!

Act Three

 

DAN’S FRIEND is talking to the restaurant workers about not getting arrested.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Stop it now, guys. He was taunting me! Plus, Dan put poison in somebody’s food!

 

RESTAURANT WORKER

Well, you kicked the manager, and now we know that you’re a mean person.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

But-

 

RESTAURANT WORKER

No buts. Now let’s take you away.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

NOOO. Please don’t arrest m-

 

RESTAURANT WORKER

Oh stop, just shut up and let’s go to jail!

 

DAN’S FRIEND

You dummy! When you get arrested, you don’t always go to jail!

 

RESTAURANT WORKER

Well, in this case, you will!

 

DAN’S FRIEND’S face turns red and is so, so, so, so mad.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Fine!

 

RESTAURANT WORKER

Let’s take him to jail.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Can you guys forgive me?

 

RESTAURANT WORKER

We will arrest Dan for you.

 

DAN

Wait a minute, what did you say?

 

RESTAURANT WORKER

Umm, I mean you might get arrested because you put did poison in somebody’s food.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Wait, did he actually do that? Because, Dan, you are now busted. I tried hard to get your job back, and you never told me about this.

 

DAN

Nooo!! You’re my best friend!

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Well, now you’re not!

 

Act Four

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Dan, I need to talk to you!!!

 

DAN

Why?

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Because you put poison in somebody’s food and didn’t tell me about it! We are not friends. Now I will leave, okay? I want an apology. I was trying to get your job back and almost got arrested!

 

DAN

I’m sorr-

 

DAN’S FRIEND

No, I want a nice letter from you, and until then, bye!

 

DAN

Are you saying I have to mail a letter to you?

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Yes, and I want you to sit down and write for two hours straight.

 

DAN

Since when are you the boss of me?

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Since, I don’t care about this, just write me a letter.

 

DAN

Nooo!!!

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Wait, so you’re saying you don’t want to be friends with me? Byeee.

 

DAN

Wait!

 

DAN’S FRIEND

I said bye.

Act Five

 

DAN

Dang it. She ditched me, and now I’m lonely. This is horrible! I basically killed somebody! This is awful, and my friend is gone. I suck, and now she hates me. I do hate the manager, and it’s a good thing she helped me, but I never told her why I did it and what I did. All I said was I lost my job, and she still got mad! This is horribly horrible. I won’t send an apology, and I won’t ever, ever, ever talk to her again!

 

Act Six

 

DAN’S FRIEND is hanging out with her friends at lunch.

 

DAN’S FRIEND FRIEND

Hey, we heard you broke up with your friend.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

What do you mean?

 

DAN’S FRIEND FRIEND

Your friend told me. He said you were really mean to him, and he doesn’t want to talk to you. We never knew you were mean. Guys, let’s move to a new table!

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Wahhh!

Act Seven

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Nooo!!! He got rid of my friend, but now I want to actually be his friend! I have no friends, and he has no job! I’m really sad. I bet you a million bucks that he is also sitting on his bed, sad, thinking about me like I’m thinking about him. Tomorrow I will go to him, and eat dinner with him, and talk about being friends with him.

 

Act Eight

 

DAN’S FRIEND walks over to DAN’S house to eat dinner unexpectedly.

 

Knock, knock!

 

DAN

Who is it?

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Somebody.

 

DAN

Just tell me!

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Fine, it’s your old best friend.

 

DAN

What do you want from me?

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Can I be your best friend again?

 

DAN

Come in.

 

DAN’S FRIEND walks into the house.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Hey, I’m sorry.

 

DAN

I’m sorry, too.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

Okay, now we have that over with, so we can eat dinner. I’m sorry that you lost your job, and I owe you for this. I will pay for dinner.

 

DAN

It’s okay, and thanks for paying for dinner.

 

DAN’S FRIEND

No problemo.

 

They walk to the restaurant and talk, and when they get there, they have a great dinner.

 

The End

 

Ten Roads

Today, my mom picked me up from school. We were going to my grandma’s house. Before we went, our teacher, Mr. Miller, gave us some homework to do on summer vacation. Our whole class was so frustrated. After we got our homework, I stomped out of class. Mom was there to pick me up from school.

“Katie, your grandmother actually decided to come to our house with your cousin.”

I just nodded, and we went in the car. When we got home, Grandma and Peter were waiting outside.

“Katie, Grandma says we can go on a little adventure before dinner. We can go in the forest,” Peter said.

So, Peter and I went to a little secret passageway that Peter found already.

“Peter, are you sure this is the right way?” I asked.

Peter said he was sure, so I believed him. We were passing strange houses and gardens. I think Peter didn’t even notice.

“Didn’t you notice those strange houses?” I asked.

“I noticed,” he said.

I felt better.

***

8:00 p.m.

It was getting late, and I was getting tired. I think Peter was also getting tired.

“Katie, we’re almost there.”

By now, it was really dark. I was getting worried that Mom and Grandma would worry that we (Peter and I) weren’t coming back home before dinner.

***

One hour later…

Now, I was really getting worried. I do not think Peter was that worried. We soon found a road. Next to the road was a sign that said,

 

Beware, witch ahead! Whoever kills witch can get $100!  

 

Peter and I just walked away like nothing happened, because we didn’t want to meet the witch. Soon, we came to another one of those signs. This time it said nothing. So, Peter and I went to the little road that didn’t say anything.

“Peter, what if we end up on a place with weird, scary stuff?” I asked.

When I was walking home, back in February, a fortune teller told me to be careful, and she told me about a bottle with an invisibility potion and a secret room inside a creepy place. Maybe this was the weird, scary stuff?

Peter said not to worry, so I didn’t. But, deep inside, I worried. Peter was only four years older than me.

***

15 minutes later…

Fifteen minutes later came the weirdest smell I ever smelled before. It was a throw-up and dog poop smell. I’m sure Peter smelled it.

 

Chapter Two: A Good Plan

“See, I told you, Peter! It’s no good going to this place!” I said.

It looked like a graveyard without the tombstones, and there was a big, creepy palace next to it.

“But pl-”

Just then, a creepy sound came. It was the creepiest sound I ever heard. When I was about to say, “Let’s go,” a weird shadow appeared in the graveyard. Peter and I screamed. All I wanted to do was go home, but I knew Peter wanted to stay, so I let him take the lead even if I was younger.

“So, I see two little children came to see me… that’ll be a nice, little dinner,” said the shadow.

At school, they say that goblins only come out on July 5th. The scary thing is, today’s July 5th. I never really believed that, but now I do.

“Peter!”

***                     

Meanwhile, at Katie’s house…

“Where are Katie and Peter?”

“Mom, don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll come back home soon. It’s ten p.m. I know my daughter well. Each time she gets lost, she always comes back.”

***

Back at the goblin’s palace…

Two minutes later, Peter was running back and forth like a crazy person. I wondered why he was doing that, but that thought only lasted a minute, or maybe a second. Sooner or later, I was also running like a crazy person. Why were we running like that?

The shadow started turning more solid, a little bit at a time. It was a little taller than a man. It had a blue, bird body and an old woman’s face. It had yellow around its eyes, and purple surrounding the yellow. It had long, black hair, and really sharp claws. The goblin was turning into more and more goblins. Each time there was an entrance to go out, a goblin appeared out of nowhere.

“Katie, what should we do?” asked Peter.

“Peter, I think we should let them capture us.”

“Are you crazy?!” asked Peter.

I said I was sure. I told him my plan. He said it was risky but good. This was the plan: Let the goblin take us, get inside the palace and find the secret room, find a bottle that says: drink & become invisible for 30 minutes.

“Peter, we should stand still so they can take us.”

“Okay, I’m ready.”

***

One minute later…

The goblins took us. Now I knew where the horrible smell was coming from. It was the old, stinky goblin. Peter and I could die in this horrible smell! To our luck, we didn’t die.

“Katie! I think that goblin on the left side is the boss. He has white hair, and all the other ones have black hair!”

“Peter, be quiet!” I didn’t want the goblins to hear us.

***

One minute later…

By now, we were in the palace. The palace was actually very small, but clean. The goblin who was holding us went into a room that was very far away from the secret room. (I knew about the secret place because that fortune teller in the town told me. I don’t know why, but when old people tell me things, I believe it.) The room that we were in was hot and steamy. Peter and I couldn’t stand it. While the goblin was doing his or her stuff, Peter and I quietly went outside.  

 

Chapter Three:  The Secret Room

“I’m so glad I, or we, have fresh air,” I said.

“I was not bothered in there that much,” said Peter.

“I’m surprised that no goblins heard us walking down the smelly, red hallway,” I said.

“I agree, Katie.”

We were almost at the end of the hallway.

“The room’s at the end of the hallway,” I told Peter.

I was right. The room was at the end of the hallway. To our luck, the door was open. First, I was a bit nervous, but after, Peter went inside to check. When he came back out, he said it was fine.

“I couldn’t see anything else, though. I wanted to come out,” said Peter.

“Do you think it will be pretty in there?” I asked.

“How should I know? As I told you, I didn’t look around!”

“Okay, Peter, you don’t have to shout at me.”  

“Sorry…”

“Anyway, let’s get inside the room,” I said.

So Peter and I went inside.

“Peter, this room is so beautiful!”  

“A little bit smelly, though.”   

“That’s okay. I think this room is cool.”  

It was a bad thing that there were a lot of bottles. It was hard to choose the right one we needed.

***

27 minutes later…

“Katie! Found it!”  

“Oh, good!”  

“Now we can go past the goblin soldiers!”

Just before I was going to drink the potion, a sign appeared. It said: Go to all ten roads and find one potion in each adventure.

“Peter, what do you think that sign means?”

“I think it means we have to go on ten adventures, and then find one potion on each trip.”   

  “Okay.”

Peter and I drank the potion in the bottle. We were dizzy.

“We should be careful,” he said nervously.

We knew we were invisible because we looked in a mirror that was in the secret room.

***

Meanwhile, at Katie’s house…

“Mom, don’t cry.”

“Why don’t you worry?!”

“Well, I’ll go outside and look for them, and you can just stay inside the house and wait. I’ll be back at twelve a.m.”

***

Back at the goblin’s palace…

Peter and I were almost at the end of the hallway. The guards were watching if any strangers were passing by, and I felt excited and nervous.

“It’s lucky we drank the invisible potion, because the guards would have noticed us passing by,” said Peter.

One of the fat guards puffed out his bird chest and yelled, “Who’s talking?”  

His voice boomed in the hallway. Peter and I were really scared.

Another one of the guards shouted to the other fat guard, “Find out who was talking, and bring the prisoner back to me! When the prisoner comes back, put him in the underground dungeon!”

“Yes, sir!” said another one of those fat guards.

***

30 minutes later…

“Sir, I have not found the prisoner, but I have noticed our invisibility potions are gone!”

What?”  

Peter and I heard all of this because they were all so loud. I thought they sounded like bad kids when they don’t get their way, or maybe my math teacher yelling at us when we didn’t listen.

“Katie, don’t bother with them. Let’s get out of this place.”  

“No, Peter, wait, I think they’re saying something important.”

“Yeah right, as if you’re right about that.”

I really hate when Peter does that. Peter can be really annoying sometimes. I get tears when he yells at me. Peter and I decided to set up camp in the forest.

 

Chapter Four: The Farmer

When Peter and I woke up, we smelled bacon and pancakes.

“Peter! Wake up!” I said, sitting straight up.

I could hear the pancakes sizzling on the pan. It smelled really good.

“Where are we?” Peter just woke up.

“I don’t exactly know, but I think we’re in a farm.”

The farmer was whistling a jolly melody. He was a small, old man. He looked really dirty, and in his hair there was lots of knots.

“Slept well?” asked the farmer.

The farmer had one goat in his house, two dogs, two horses, and three chickens. The goat’s name was Patty. One of the dog’s names was Wolf, and the other dog’s name was Biscuit. The farmer didn’t name the horses or the chickens.

***

Nine minutes later…

While eating breakfast, I told the farmer what happened.

“… And that’s what happened!”

“Would you like me, my goat, two dogs, and one chicken to help y’all?” asked the farmer.

“Sure, why not? It would be better with more helping hands!” I said, with good feeling.

“I guess so… it would be better…”  said Peter’s not-sure voice.  

Peter can be a little bit shy sometimes, so I told the farmer he was sure.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Henry.”

“My name is Katie, and this is Peter, my cousin,” I said.

“Back to the story!” said the farmer. “I can bring my wagon if y’all would like.”

“That would be so nice! We can all leave at one o’clock,” I said.

***

1:00 

“Is everything ready, Henry and Peter?”

“Yes, ma’am!” said Henry and Peter.

“We have six loaves of bread, three tin cups, sweet potato seeds, as well as sweet potatoes, five pieces of steak, one butter stick, two big carrots, three blankets, one gun, one axe, and one knife,” I said.

“Then let’s go!”

And off we went… off we went to the deep forest.

 

Chapter Five: Crossing The River

The farmer and I were in the front. Peter was in the back, watching if something was chasing us. Now we were out of New York City. It was really quiet and peaceful. I was still worrying about Mom and Grandma. What if they were looking for us in the secret road? While I was talking to myself, Henry stopped the horses. I wondered why, but when I looked, I saw a huge, stormy river blocking our way. My long, brown hair blew in the summer wind.

“What should we do? The river is too strong for the horses, and no human can get across that river!” I told Henry.

“Well, if y’all want to get across that mad, stormy river, I can’t do nothing,” said Henry.

“If you can’t think of anything, let’s all get out and think. If anyone finds an idea, please tell me.”

“Get a good idea, I’m your boss!” I told Henry and Peter.

When they heard that, they scrambled out of their seats and went right under a willow tree to think.

“Henry, why are your eyebrows moving up and down?”

“That’s the way I think.”

I know for sure Peter claps his hands when he thinks hard and serious.

For now, I was the boss. I hope Peter does not become the boss. I want Henry or me to be the boss.       

  ***

15 minutes later…

“Henry, you can go first.”

“Thank you. My thought was that we could make a raft and then push the wagon on top of it. We could also go on the raft.”

 

A Soccer Dream

One early morning, during breakfast, Olivia and her family were talking about signing up for soccer.  Olivia had always wanted to play soccer ever since she moved from Chicago.  

When she lived in Chicago, the school kids would never let Olivia play soccer or almost anything with them.

The girl’s soccer team was very expensive. Olivia’s parents didn’t think it was worth it to pay a lot of money just for soccer. Her parents were still thinking about taking her to soccer.  

One day, after school, she got good news from her dad about soccer.

He said, “Olivia, I’ve got great news for you. I talked to your coach right after I left work, and I told him that you really wanted to sign up.  I said that the amount of money was a problem, so he said he would gladly give you a free session.”  

Olivia got very very excited. On the weekend, her parents took her to the sports store called “Sporting Goods.” The day she’d been waiting for was finally here! When Olivia got to the soccer field, her dad told her to meet her coach because he said it was polite. So she met her coach.

“Olivia, welcome to the team!” Olivia’s coach said, greeting her.

Suddenly, she heard her coach shout, “Practice is starting.”  

Her dad kissed her cheek and said goodbye. Olivia grabbed her ball and joined the group.   

Her coach said, “We’re going to start with 50 laps across the field.”

“50 laps?” Olivia asked, puzzled.

A girl asked, “Don’t you know what 50 laps are?”  

Olivia said, “I’m new, remember?”

But the girl just ignored her.

***

The next day at school, she found out that the girl that went to her soccer practice went to her school! Her name was Maddie. But Maddie was not doing anything very nice.  

She was looking straight at her and talking and talking. Olivia totally knew, but Maddie didn’t realize Olivia was overhearing her gossip.  

Olivia was very hurt. She rushed to the bathroom in tears. When she went on the bus, she noticed everybody starting to laugh at her.

In her head, she was asking, Why are the kids laughing at me? Then she remembered Maddie talking about her. Olivia immediately went to a seat and didn’t notice that another person was sitting there. She was in tears. Olivia felt very bad for that girl.

She asked, “Do you mind if I sit here?”

The girl sniffed. “No,” she said, upset. Then, she said, “Why would you even bother sitting next to me anyways? I’m just a big baby. Like what they call me.”

Olivia answered, ”Because I’ve been in the same situation as you a few minutes ago.”

Then, it came to Olivia’s stop.

Olivia said goodbye and asked, ”What is your name?”

The girl said, ”My name is Zoe.”

Then, Olivia left. When she got home, she told her mom she met a new friend named Zoe.

“Wonderful. Would you like to invite her over sometime?” her mom asked.  

“Really? You’d let me do that?” Olivia asked with excitement.  

Her mom nodded her head.

***

The next morning, Olivia sprang out of her bed to get breakfast. When she got to the table, she noticed the food was set up neatly for her to enjoy.

“Good morning, sweetie. Today, I have to leave early because of an appointment at 8:00 am, so you are going to have to take the bus,” her mom said in a hurry.

She boarded the bus and saw Zoe waving at her to sit with her. When Olivia sat down, she asked Zoe for her number so they could spend time together. So Zoe gave her the number.  The girls didn’t notice Maddie and her friends overhearing their personal things to each other! Maddie immediately told her friends what she was saying. They kept giggling until Olivia found out that they were laughing at them.

She stood up to Maddie and said, “What are you laughing about?”

“Uh… I’m…” Maddie said, trembling.  

Her friends were too shy to stand up for Maddie. So Maddie had to face Olivia and Zoe herself. But she got silent and moved to the front when the bus stopped. For the first time, Olivia saw a smile cross Zoe’s face. Olivia was glad to see that smile.

That was the story of a true friend and a nice teammate.

 

The War That Saved My Life

On a cool breeze in the fall of 6784, on 1204 Winston Churchill Street, America, Steve asked his mom, “Mom, do you wonder how you would feel if you were locked up in a cage like an animal in the zoo?”

Steve’s mother replied, “I would not feel whole hearted because your father was like that in World War One.”

Suddenly a big kaboom came up. Then the police were at the door, pounding with fear. Steve’s baby brother came in and started to wail.

“WAHHH!”

Knock, knock went the door. Steve went to the door and opened it. The police were there holding a sheet of paper.

“Have you seen this man?”

It was a wanted sheet of paper.

“This man has bombed this place,” said the police.

“The bombs were carefully aimed at the stores. All the the stores have been demolished, so you can enter a race to win a truckload of food, a frog, a bone, and back scratcher. So good luck.”

Soon after the police left, Steve told his mother, “Mother, I believe it is a great idea!”

“Certainly not, I can not let you race in the race.”

“Fine,” said Steve.

***

12 years later…

They gave out plenty of food, but the country was under attack. Steve grew into a strong, healthy 15-year-old teenager.

Steve asked his mother, “May I join the Air Force?

His mother said, “You can, but be safe.”

Steve wanted to join the Air Force because he wanted revenge on the Russians that captured his father.

***

At the Air Force

“Sir, can I join the Air Force?” said Steve, to the president of the Air Force.

“Yes, you can, but you need to learn how to fly a plane,” replied the president of the Air Force.

Suddenly a fighter plane came out of the ground, and there was a person in the copilot seat.

***

In the air…

Steve was practicing how to fly a plane when the copilot said, “Steve, fire some bombs… Now!”

Steve pounded the fire button. Then, the bombs went soaring into the sunset.

The copilot said,“Steve, let’s get back to base and get some rest.”

After landing, the president came in with two bags over his shoulder.

“Thank you for joining, and here is $10,000,000 each. You can put it in your bank account,” said the president.

“I’ll put it in my bank,” said Steve.

After, when the sun came down, they were in their bunkers, sound asleep. Suddenly the walls went shaking, and the people went up as fast as a zebra chasing a zebra. The president came in and was pushing a cart full of all sorts of war things.

“Let’s go! We are under attack!”

Steve went running up and grabbed a combat rifle and a combat vest. His copilot, Frank, grabbed the same things.

“Go grab shovels and dig trenches!” yelled the president.

They all grabbed the shovels and headed outside. They started digging. After only two minutes, the trench was finished. They all hopped in and saw the people who were attacking, Russians. There were 1,000,000 Russians in total holding large combat rifles.  

“Fire!” yelled Steve.

In the split second Steve said that, the whole Air Force, quicker than a blink of an eye, fired.

“I’ve been hit!” yelled Frank.

In the split second Frank yelled that, booming was heard from 100 miles away.

“Frank! Can you hear me? Please tell me!” said Steve.

“Go on, you can move on without me!” Frank said weakly.

After 20 seconds, Frank passed away. Steve was determined to get revenge on the Russians, so he took out his sword and his gun. Then, he ran out of the trench and started to slice randomly. Steve was lucky to survive the Russians. Steve was now in the woods, all alone, with no food and no water. Steve was helpless. Steve started to run north with all his energy.

***

After 20 minutes of running…

Steve was exhausted and wanted water. Suddenly he found a large crowd of people that were running from the Russians that were 100 meters away.

“Please help me!” said Steve, but nobody helped him.

So he went against the tide (the crowd), and it took him several days.

***

After three days of walking…

Steve was somehow back home, at his old home, 1204 Winston Churchill Street. He knocked on the door, and a 12-year-old kid open the door.

“Brother?” said Steve.

“Mom!” said the 12-year-old kid.

Steve’s mom came and suddenly said, “Steve!”

“This is your brother, Frank,” said Steve’s mom again.

Tears went into Steve’s eyes like if onions were in your eyes.

“Mom, I had a friend named Frank. He died from an attack,” said Steve.

“The great, big battle of trenches?” said his mom.

“Whatever you called it,” said Steve.

“Anyway, all the stores have been destroyed again from the same man. The race has been called once again, so I will allow you to go in the race,” said Steve’s mother.

Steve burst into happiness. He ran out the door and ran to the bank.

***

At the bank…

“Oh, kind sir, may I take $10,000,000 from my bank?” said Steve.

“Um, sir, you have no money in your bank,” said the banker.

“What? For real?! Can I see my account?” yelled Steve.

Steve went down the hall, and the banker opened a large vault. All that was in there were cobwebs and spiders. Suddenly the alarm went off.

“What was that?” said Steve.

“That is the alarm for people who steal money,” said the banker.

“Arg,” said Steve and went running towards the entrance.

He saw a robber carrying a big, droopy bag.

“Drop the bag!” yelled Steve.

Hearing that, the robber dropped the bag and ran off. Steve went and looked in the bag. It had thousands of dollars!

Steve yelled, “Can you check this bag to see if it’s mine?”

Once he said that, the banker ran over with some device and scanned the bag.

The banker finally said, “It’s yours.”

Steve gave out a sigh.

***

At home…

Steve bought a LFWSSHFLSM (Land, fly, water, space, snow, hover, fighting light speed machine) and waited for 20 hours.

 

20 hours later…

The LWSSHFLSM got to Steve, and once he got it, he turned it to fly mode. The LWSSHFLSM turned into a robot griffin as fast as a blink of the eye and roared with proudness. Steve hopped on, and the robot griffin flew away. The controls were so easy that a fourth grader could fly it! He remembered that the race was on Mount Everest, so he went flying to Mount Everest. On Steve’s way, he met some other competitors, but they were in a large plane lagging behind because he was going too fast. After the trip, he went diving and landed perfectly and saw the hard obstacles in the way. They were land, water, snow, and the sign said: 2,000,000 miles in total. Steve saw the starting position and turned the LWSSHFLSM to land mode, and the LWSSHFLSM turned into a large unicorn! Steve hopped on the unicorn and went walking to the start line.

“Welcome to the race!” said a robot next to him.

“Now, know that you can fight while racing, so be prepared,” said the robot.

“Thanks,” said Steve.

Once he said that, 11 planes arrived and each were the same ones that Steve saw. All of them came out with strange machines.

“Know that you can fight while racing, so everyone be prepared,” said the robot.

All of the others were saying, “yes!” and cheering.

“Take your marks…”

While the robot was saying that, Steve turned it into light speed mode. It didn’t change anything, but on the screen, it said, “Beware: super fast.”

“Go!” said the robot, and all blasted away.

Steve looked behind and saw all of the racers firing at the LWSSHFLSM. Steve pounded the fighting mode button, and then two rapid fire cannons came out of the unicorn’s belly! Once the cannons came out, the cannons started to fire. All of the other racers stopped firing, but Steve didn’t look ahead.

There was the giant sea. When Steve saw that, his fist went on the water mode button and the machine turned into a big, fat orca! The orca was so fast that he finished the water obstacle in 10 seconds. At the time the LWSSHFLSM was at the snow area, Steve pounded the snow mode, and the LWSSHFSLM turned into a white deer! But this mode was slow, so the other racers caught up and started firing and yelling, “Get him!”

All started firing, but the cannons started to fire and once again the firing stopped. Steve turned to icy mode for two hours. After the snow obstacle, he saw the finish line about 100 miles away. He also saw a small boy with an old dog. The dog was pulling the boy on a sled swiftly in the snow. Steve halted to a stop, and the young boy saw him and simply said in a gentle voice, “Hi.”

The split second he said that, one of the racer’s robots ran over the old dog, and the robot halted to a stop.

“Searchlight!” sighed the boy, and had tears on his eyes.

Filled with sadness, Steve grabbed a sword and made a straight line through the snow. When he was doing that, the other racers came and stopped.

Steve gently said, “If you cross this line…”

“What will happen?” asked one of the racers.

“You do not want to know,” said Steve.

Steve said to the young boy, “Go cross the finish line and go back home with all the food, and ride on this.”

Steve pulled out a pen and pushed the button, and the pen turned into a robot dog!

“Keep it,” said Steve.

And the young boy crossed the line with tears in his eyes.

Steve thought, Love is your strength, not fighting. Fighting is your weakness.

 

Krispy Kreme

One day, Tristan was eating his morning donut. He went to Krispy Kreme. There was someone who worked at Krispy Kreme named Joe, who was his friend. Joe was not fully trained, so he made the donut wrong. Then he put it in the toilet. He wasn’t fully trained, so he didn’t know where the trash can was (it was right behind him.) He put it in the toilet, and the donut came alive.

The donut ate a customer. When he did, he became big. Tristan had to kill Joe, because he thought his friend did it. He saw a beautiful woman. He fell in love with her, so he asked her out. They ate at his house, but Tristan had a donut in his house because he did not eat it for breakfast.

All of the donuts at his house came alive. Then he got a broom to smack the donuts in the oven so they could die. When they died, he ran for his life because there was the biggest donut in world. It smacked his house, so he had to go in the store to get food. Then, the donut splashed chocolate on him. He got sick, so he passed out, but then there was a big war with a army of donuts versus the S.W.A.T. team and army. The war was for the donuts to die.

***

One of the soldiers jumped because the donut almost shot him.

The donuts combined to make a big, giant beast. When the donut beast came, the beast smacked an army man in the sky. Then, the army man fell in the beast’s mouth. Someone shot the beast, so it came and chopped the army man’s head off! Then, a soldier came and jumped onto the beast, and the beast took the soldier and threw him through ten thousand buildings, which broke his back.

Someone else came to the soldier to pick him up and take him to the hospital. But then, the beast broke the hospital. There were no other hospitals near them, unless they wanted to go to the hospital and die.

The soldiers then threw the biggest bomb in the world at the beast, but they accidently threw it to the whole battlefield. The two soldiers became the only survivors left on the planet.

There were still more donuts. Only one soldier could shoot the donuts because the other guy broke his back. And then, the donuts made another beast. Then, the beast broke down the soldiers’ truck, and then the beast grabbed the truck and added it to its face armor.

The soldiers forgot that there were people in outer space that were in the army. There were 567 people in space. And then, there were the donuts that found a spaceship and went into space. The army men shot the donuts, and the donuts blew up like a big explosion, except for the five-donut beast. Then, the soldiers made five robots that transformed. They had a weapon.

***

It was a battle of robots versus the donut beast. Tristan was on a vacation. Then, he came back because he heard it on the news. Tristan and the robots had to fight the donut beast, and the donut beast smacked the robot in the face. Another robot punched the beast donut out of the world.

After the war was done, the soldier that broke his back went to Florida to go to the hospital.

 

The Land of Atlasai, Book One: Catnapped! (Part Two)

Chapter Ten: Calicon Territory

Pierre tried to put his fur down, but it was no use. There was no trying to deny it. To pass into “Calicon” territory, he bribed the guards with his traveling money. (Tuber told him to carry money.) Almost 2,000,000 cafasas! That was the average six-month salary!

“Calicon” territory (Pierre refused to accept that they had taken it over) looked slightly different now. Before, it had been a lush, green neighborhood, filled with big human-speeders and tall oak trees. The area had smelled of happiness — and money.

Now, the area was less cheerful. The humans seemed the same, but whenever Pierre saw a cat, they had the same haunted eyes, as if they had fought in a terrible war. They were the same eyes that Pierre had had when he returned from service, the horrors of Denvava still shrouded over him.

The area was also crawling with guards, each one with a gun and hawkish eyes. They robotically screened the area, looking for even the slightest bit of resistance.

Pierre ducked behind a wall. This pace would never get him to Salem. He sprinted, taking a shortcut.

***

Some people might have thought it was a game. Pierre thought it was torture.

Finding an area where Salem would logically be kept was impossible! It seemed like there was that infuriating ward leader saying ‘Better find me! Oh, by the way, I can turn invisible.’

Just as he was about to sprint from the old, run-down wall to some other hiding place, he saw it. Eight dogs entered a little, nearly invisible sod hut. They were carrying guns.

Pierre slunk his way to the entrance. He would have to be creative to get into this one. It had one well guarded entrance, with eight trained and armed dogs, and Salem was under lock and key.

Plus, some deafening noise seemed to get closer and closer. It sounds like an army. But why would an army be here?

Although there had been border clashes and fighting, there was no way an army could get this far.

The time was running out. One of the sentries was soon to see him. Pierre struggled. One idea. He needed one idea.

A guard saw him! On top of a rooftop, the guard was about to shout out.

Pierre’s brain raced, looking, looking for anything. The guard was still in shock. Pierre was still in shock. His eyes… They looked like a defector!

AHA!

“DEFECTOR!” Pierre screamed. “DON’T DENY IT, YOU UP THERE, YOU JUST TOOK A POTSHOT AT THE DOG GUARDS! HOW DARE YOU DEFY THE CALICONS!”

Guards surged out of the area! The supposed defector had no chance. And Pierre… had one!

 

Chapter Eleven: Victory Or Death

The tunnel didn’t seem to end. Harrowing and steep, it curled around, lighted by the dreadful torches. Pierre tumbled through, finally reaching a large room.

Salem’s prison.

“There you are,” Pierre breathed.

Salem was still in his cage, with no cat for a guard.

“I’m going to break you out.”

His brain churned with determination. No matter how hard this thing was, no matter how challenging, Salem would go free. He began working on the lock.

Salem’s reply was thin, weak.

“Go fast. I need to be out soon.”

Blood was pounding. The thing that Salem had been dreaming of might just come true. Pierre might get him out, leaping the final hurdle of an impossible journey.

The lock fought, straining the feline’s muscles. An effort from Pierre and the frail Salem made no progress. Then Salem spoke.

“If I survive this, I have something big to tell you.”

But something was happening. The cage was moving, defying laws of physics. Pierre followed it. Its pace picked up. Pierre started to run. His face was showing. He was frightened. Pierre hopped on and began to flip out. He was sweating. The cell accelerated. They were coming to the end of the tunnel.

The cart flew! Careening out of the damp underground, Pierre witnessed a different scene.  A line of soldiers, armed with guns, locked and loaded.

And a ward leader.

 

Chapter Twelve: Final Breaths

Pleasantly surprised, the evil genius strode over to him.

“You see, I told you!” he exclaimed to the crowd. “Poor Pierre! The dimwitted fool had to come after his poor, troubled brother. But now, both can be executed!” He continued on, “Of course I knew the loving idiot would try and rescue him. Why not? But, now we have both of you for execution!”

The rumbling noise grew louder still. Pierre stood calmly. He knew what to do. He started whispering to Salem.

“When the firing squad opens fire, I’ll jump in front of you. But you have to act like you’re already hit so they think you’re dead.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll probably die.”

Pierre turned his attention back to the ward leader, who was still bragging.

“…And now, let it begin! Five… four… what?”

The air was punctured by shouts now. A few cats, far off in the distance, were visible.

Cantercats.

Stunned, the leader of the Calicons turned to one of his deputies.

I thought you said we held the invaders off!

The she-cat shifted her paws.

“Well, not exactly. They swarmed our right flank, and-”

The time was now! Pierre scattered to the ever-enclosing Cantercats, Salem on his heels. A cheer went up! Pierre and Salem were back!

The execution squad and guards formed an army, well-trained and vicious. But the Cantercats had spirit.

The ward leader was ready to kill.

“NO MERCY! AIM FOR PIERRE!”

Pierre took the head. The command on the other side went up.

“Ready… aim…”

Salem was hyperventilating. Why?

“Don’t do this, Pierre. They aren’t all bad-”

“WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR! FIRE!”

Shots rang out, and the battle began.

 

To be continued…

 

The Land of Atlasai, Book One: Catnapped!

Prologue

The small black cat padded down the alley. His coal black fur was indistinguishable from the charcoal sky. This cat held his head high as he walked, showing slight bits of snobbiness. This cat obviously was higher class.

But something was worrying him. He turned his head around a corner. Not a soul in sight.

That was worrisome. Even late at night, some cat should’ve been in this narrow alley of teetering, brick buildings and looming trees. He padded down the street. The next corner was why he was here. To see if the rumors were true.

The cat walked faster. Might as well get this over with, he thought.

He was there now. A rally seemed to be held around the next corner. The noises of shouting were faint, but there. If it was there, it was around that corner. Another twisting corner.

His black-furred head shone with fear. He looked around the corner and gasped with wild panic. The cats were rallying, doing the distinctive Rivercat salute. The bent paw in the air. The dark night muffled it, but there were definitely brown gloves on their paws. The symbol of hate. And finally, the claws going through them… that was new, but more terrifying.    

The snobbiness was gone now. This was pure terror.

He bolted away, leaving dust trails in his wake. He saw something he had been terrified of for seven awful years. He saw a gathering of cats who riled up hate, who tried to destroy and spread rumors. They were shouting and yelling curses, sending all cats running. Something was there. Even though Salem didn’t know it at the time, but the new Rivercats… the Calicons… had risen.

 

Chapter One: Pierre

Pierre yawned and stretched. The rabbit-fur mat twisted with his weight.

Pierre was a dark brown cat with black and gray fur. He also happened to be the mayor. His assistant, Tuber, a tom, walked across the log and stick floor. The work had started for the day. For this term, the Cantercats were in power.

“Good morning, Pierre.”

“Whatever, Tuber. Get on with the search for the foxes.”

Pierre was not in a good mood. The troublemaking Ultra-plant wannabe farmers were protesting again. They wanted Ultra-plants to be legal for spraying on their crops as fertilizer as if Ultra-plants were not being sold and farmed illegally by some of the biggest street gangs in the city-state! As if they weren’t a danger to public health! As if they would actually get their stupid Ultra-plants by kidnapping dangerous foxes and setting them loose!

Ultra-plants caused respiratory problems, possibly even causing lung destruction (cancer to us humans) and there was no way to stop it. The reasons for having Ultra-plants was that they made crops grow like crazy. And the foxes. They were kidnapped, brutally and inhumanly, (violating to the point of destroying the 1956 Fox Sympathy Act, Pierre thought bitterly), and released on the street, leaving cats in critical condition or dead. In Pierre’s and many other cat’s opinions, the farmers that wanted Ultra-plants were terrorists with no moral standards. In the farmer’s opinion, it was a freedom struggle.

However, if one crossed over, he would hear him or her out. Pierre might be an angry fireball, but he wasn’t biased.

Tuber stepped out of the way and let Pierre mentally vent. Pierre headed to the next room and pulled aside Tanters, the head security she-cat.

“Salem has security… right?”

The “right” in that was not a question. It was a snarl. It would be just like Ultra-plant farmers to do something to Salem.

“Your brother is all right.” Tanters looked him calmly in the eye. “He will be fine.”

“Good. I really hope that’s true.” Pierre clearly needed some catnip.

Salem was a black cat and a diplomat. He was traveling into “Ultra-plant farmer” territory to make a speech against Ultra-plants in three days. And that used to be Rivercat territory…

The Rivercats were evil cats who absolutely hated solid gray cats. They loved attacking and killing them. They had ruled just seven years ago.

He pushed that away. He kept walking. He downed a Stick Nut (restricted) and heavily sugared catnip. Breakfast really was the most important meal of the day.

But he couldn’t push one thing away. He had a feeling something would happen, and his gut was never wrong.

 

Chapter Two: What Is This?

Three days later…

Pierre spit his catnip out as he walked into the room of public relations. There was chaos! Cats were running everywhere, some even using the new fangled “telephone.” Things were crashing, and stick pads were flying. Some cats were relaying information to others, and others were frantically running and shouting in and out of the room, seemingly to get new information. Pierre’s eyes widened. What could have happened to cause this?

An official spotted Pierre. “I know what you’re thinking: What is going on? Well, guess what? Some type of… some type of… some type of Ultra-plant rights terrorist group marched in what the humans call ‘the mall.’ Cats are terrified. This hasn’t happened since… (he gulped) the Rivercats were around!”

Pierre forgot about his spilled catnip. He rushed and raced, getting the details as the news cats came in. Tools flew, and cats stumbled. The story slowly pieced together. Somebody had collected known criminals and Ultra-plant wannabes and marched together. But it wasn’t the remaining fragments of the Rivercats. It was something… new. But similar. This group wanted to destroy… democracy? Pierre stared at the news cats. Who would willingly impose dictatorship besides the dictator(s)? Pierre found the answer. They would kill anybody who resisted. Tom, she-cat, or child. They were ruthless.

“Calm down!” Pierre yelled. The room quieted down almost immediately. “Security, I need four of you!”

Four cats scurried into the room. One, the leader, came with a gun. Pierre looked at them thankfully.

“I’m going to the mall.”

Pierre wanted that to be a dramatic line. It didn’t work. When the entire room plunged into chaos again, he left the room.

The bright light stunned Pierre. He was pleasantly surprised by the falling leaves. He turned to one of his guards and said, “Nice leaves, huh? I didn’t know they fell in August.”

“It’s September.”

Pierre continued on, making sure to put his back to the offending guard. The trail was winding and slippery and dotted with human homes. Of course, Pierre could walk through the streets. There had long been a treaty for that with the humans.

Pierre reached the mall. Square and expansive, there was a reason it was called the “heart of Atlasai.” Tall metal buildings soared into the sky, some as old as 2027.

But the buildings didn’t matter. Pierre saw a… ward leader? (Atlasai was split into different sections, called wards.) He was saying something to a crowd. The five cats listened in.

“FEAR THE CALICONS! THEY WILL TAKE YOUR KITTENS AND BURN YOUR HOMES IF YOU OPPOSE THEM!”

The cats listening started walking away. The ward leader scowled and started to dismount from his podium. A few other ward leaders appeared and started to stalk away with the first.

“Hold on,” Pierre told his protectors. “I’m going to follow them. Alone.”

The guards tried to protest, but Pierre silenced them.

What was this?

***

He needed to hurry up or he’d miss this odd meeting of the ward leaders. What were they doing?

Were they trying to help the extremists? How dare they. Or were the mysterious “Calicons” a new political party… one they belonged to? Pierre clawed an imaginary ward leader. He’d literally ran on the platform. I won’t lie to you or exploit your fear.

Pierre found the place where they were going. Tall oak trees dominated the sky, as if they were humongous brown towers. Stone walls surrounded the area. No one can hear us here, he thought. That’s not a good sign.

The ward leaders came into view, all of them old and most of them marmalade orange.

“Hello,” the first one said. His smile was not friendly.

“Let’s get to the point. What is this about?” Pierre replied. His fur began to itch.

“Through some research, we found out that this group that marched into the mall are called the Calicons. They are powerful cats that are extremely ruthless. We (he gestured to his cronies) believe that we should tell the public about them.”

Was this a set up?

“Look, I caught you advocating for the Calicons. You want me to threaten the public! You know how I feel about manipulation.” Pierre was now talking in a low and gravelly tone. He was threatening now.

The leader was undeterred. “So you want to play it the hard way. Fine, we can do that. I, as the leader of the Calicons, demand that you recognize them as a separate state and cede us some territory.”

Pierre practically shot out his last words. “I will never do it, even if my life is at stake!”

At the same time, Tuber broke into the gathering. He was practically sweating his fur off.

“Something’s wrong. We’ve lost contact with Salem.”

“What!” Pierre spun around, shocked. “But how could anything have gone wrong?”

The leader just smiled, rolling in his genius of timing. “You idiots are so easy to manipulate. Of course you would have to go to the mall! Of course you would have to follow me! This was all planned, foxian. Anyway, you have ten days to hand over Atlasai. After that, I invade.” He smirked. “If your life doesn’t concern you, perhaps your brother’s does?”

He pranced away, leaving Pierre stunned in his wake.

 

Chapter Three: Salem

Salem pushed through the crowd. He couldn’t sleep ever since he saw the gathering, and the speech was today.

Another cat ran up to him. “Get away, you little demonizing arsonist!” she snarled.

“Have you seen yourself lately?” Salem swatted the she-cat with his paw.

Who knows how much trouble that would get him in.

Salem kept his head down. I am the brother of the mayor, he repeated over and over. I am the brother of the mayor.

He cleared his throat and walked to the podium. He looked at his bodyguard, with one last check on security.

“Is everything okay?” he projected evidently.

“Don’t worry, sir,” she said. “Everything is alright.”

Salem took a sigh of relief and walked forward to finally begin the speech.

“The idea of using Ultra-plants as conductive fertilizer is preposterous,” he began, “the issues with public safety are terrifying. Statistics from municipalities that do allow this monstrous plant to grow show there is a 9% increase in deaths and severe injuries that have been appropriately linked back to the respiratory problems Ultra-plants cause, not even mentioning unrecorded… what the?”

Who knows how many more ten-dollar words Salem would have thrown around if it weren’t for the whooshing noise made by something rushing past his throat. That something, Salem realized in horror, was an attack on him. Not meant to kill him, but kidnap him. He jumped off the podium and ran, an oddly organized mob chasing him. This is the start of a war, he realized a few minutes before his brother did.

Salem looked back. His heart pulsed. The monster was chasing him, its teeth of human “rifles” firing, pulling ahead.

He kept running. The gap was closing. The monster behind him was closing in, drooling and slobbering and shooting its “rifles” after him. Salem tried to pull out of its reach. He succeeded. He ran free and the monster gave up its chase.

Salem kept going. He bolted, and after an eternity, a familiar wire fence, twisted, barbed and ugly, came into sight. He sighed and rounded the corner.

The monster popped out again. Salem gasped, his fur flying straight up. The animal, albeit smaller, was definitely there. He rounded the corner, a dart sizzling through his fur.

He gasped, another drooling beast in front of him. He was trapped. How could this be? He was the brother of the mayor. He was upper class. How could Salem get out? He pawed at the ground. Asphalt. The droolers advanced, waving nets. No windowsill on the brick wall. He tried a jump. Nothing. This was panic. Terror. A dart sizzled through a muscle. He felt his will drain. A net trapped him. This was it.

His captors were ruthless. He was gone.

 

Chapter Four: Whatever It Takes

Pierre swiveled back to his secretary. “The backstabbing little traitor! The little foxian! Pardon my language.”

The ward leader (Pierre never could remember his name) had never been on chummy-buddy terms with Pierre before (in fact, Pierre mistrusted him slightly) but he had never been an active traitor. He was another addition to the enemy list now, though, not someone you slightly dislike.

Something sank in. This was brother. This cat… he loved him. This was the cat he romped and played with when he was little. This cat was the one who brought him back from the brink when he was broken down, determined he was worthless. When others pushed him, ran him off, denounced him as a foxian… when he was nothing more than a shadow, the lone fighter against the Rivercats… he tried to stop it, but it wasn’t possible… tears spilled out. Everything he was, he owed to Salem, the one who filled the shadow, the one who took his side. He ignored Tuber, choked out everything that he’d worked half his life to confine to the depths of unknown, a secret kept to the grave.

No chance of that now. Pierre kept going. His heart melted, then cooled into hate.

Hate. He felt something surge through him, white, hot, and powerful. It lifted him up, striking a foe. Hate. Hate that pumped through him, causing everything to die or strengthen.

And then he changed again. The hate still lingered, but something new had arrived, just as he thought the hate would never end. Determination. He would do anything. Not a single rock would go unturned.

Pierre faced the sky. The heavens glared down at him, watching with a hawk’s eye. Pierre defied them.

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” he vowed. Whatever it takes.

 

Chapter Five: A Friend Is Precious

The prison was a miserable place. Spiders scurried around the earthen walls, and light was provided from intimidating torches. The sod dripped water, and no one seemed to care. A single, crude cell was in the very center of the room, with maybe enough room to keep a rabbit in. Salem was not going to have a nice stay at Hotel Calicon.

His captor prodded him. “Go on, now,” he said.

Salem obliged. He entered the cage, head spinning. Was this a dream?

A lot had happened in the past few hours. As Salem was knocked out, his captors dragged him through the neighborhood, which Salem would have noticed was now Calicon territory. Nobody even gave them a second glance.

Two other cats entered the room. One of them, obviously a follower of some sort, glanced at Salem.

“Do I have to guard him?” he whined. It was almost comical.

The other snorted. “Of course not, sweetie,” he mimicked. “Of course you do, you dolt! What are you going to whine about next, humans not stopping and stroking you?”

The first cat rose modestly. “Actually, I was planning on guarding him myself. I don’t want the prisoner dying of annoyance because our friend here is complaining about whatever the heck enters his head. That okay?”

The leader-cat snorted. “If you actually want to be here, I’ll let ya do that, but none of your little games, mister. Don’t get drunk and let him out.”

Salem perked his ears. If his guard had drinking issues, then he wanted to know.

“Yes, yes, I know, I know. And I’ve promised my loyalty to the Calicons, I’ll be careful.”

The leader finally relaxed. “Good,” he mumbled, then walked out, the other cat following him.

The other cat actually seemed to stiffen. “Bunch a worrywarts,” he grumbled. He laid back and stretched. “I think I’ll go to sleep.”

“Hold on,” Salem said, his fur returning to its normal position. “Um, why am I here?”

The other cat did something odd. He perked his ears up and looked around, scanning for danger. Nothing in the gloom. He kept his eyes on Salem, the faint torchlight glowing. He took a deep breath.

“We kidnapped you because you are the mayor’s brother,” he began, “and by holding you prisoner will force Pierre to give us control of the city. But there’s one more thing. We want to kill all of the gray cats. They are inferior and deserve to be wiped out. Call us the Rivercat’s successor, call us evil. We will take your city,” he shrugged. “That’s basically what all the big leaders say. Also, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, so don’t tell anyone!”

Salem gulped. This was what the Rivercats dreamed of.

“But I’m not one of them. I’m part of their other side. The side that wants Ultra-plants for everyone. There is another side, you know.”

He turned around, ready to retire for the night.

“One last thing,” Salem called.

He turned around. “What?”

“What’s your name?”

“Branson. Just Branson. Now go to sleep, will you?”

And with that, he emitted a large yawn and fart that Salem would have preferred not happen.

 

Chapter Six: A Quest Begins

Pierre faced Tuber. “Now what?” It wasn’t a question.

Tuber shook slightly. “Well, we probably should make this known to the press. And the town criers.”

Pierre shook his head. “They probably already know. They know everything from those damn town criers.”

Tuber shook ever so slightly. “Sir, why don’t you send out an official search party? That could help.”

The mayor considered this. “Yes. Please do that. But I will never forgive myself if I don’t go look. Alone.”

Tuber didn’t waver this time. “Pierre, that is an awful idea. I will not let you go.”

Pierre seemed to consider this. Then he looked off in the distance, thinking about something.

“Tuber, have you ever had someone you like, or love, die?” Pierre said quietly.

“No.”

“Well, I have. In Denvava, they would drop like flies, and there was nothing you could do to save them. And I swore to myself after that I would never let a cat die if there was something I could do about it. And I would break that promise if I didn’t go.”

Pierre was lost in the awful memories of unnecessary deaths and cruelty now.

“Now will you let me?”

Tuber said it unhesitatingly. “Yes, and I can do more than that. I know a fox. His name is Ivor, or Ivor Jr. He knows everything about everything, so he might have some dirt on Salem. He’ll, at the very least, give you good information about something.  

Tuber told Pierre the directions, and after a quick thank you, Pierre bounded off.

***

Pierre shivered. It was cold in this part of town. It was also a bit bleak, with soaring metal towers and parked human-transport machines all over the place. Humans scurried and raced all over the place, some talking to floating metal devices. Pierre looked around, but he couldn’t see a single bit of grass. Definitely bleak.

Pierre turned right at the alley Tuber told him to go to. At least there was green in this alley, Pierre thought. It was everything the big street was, just with a trickle of greenish liquid running through the middle of it.

Gingerly stepping on the asphalt, Pierre made his way to the end of the alley, where Ivor, the fox, lived. But here, there was an abundance of trees and grass. The uncharted forest. And right in the middle was a large, log and stick house.

Pierre went right up to it and bravely asked, “Is Ivor home?”

“Did someone call me?” Ivor poked his head out. “Who are you?” He looked quizzically at Pierre. “Are you a peddler or something?”

Pierre got a good look at Ivor. He had darker red fur, almost brown. He had a more masculine face, with a pointed snout and brown eyes. His fur was neatly cleaned, but not immaculate. His eyes showed slight annoyance at being interrupted, but he didn’t look like a cat-hater. Pierre wouldn’t have cared. He’d get it out of him, anyway.

But he also looked like an idiot and a coward. Good, Pierre thought. They normally have the best information because they stick their paws where they don’t belong.

Ivor glanced at him, his eyebrows furrowing. “I think I know you… maybe from the Truce meeting?” (All of the leaders of the animals gathered once every 2 months under a truce to discuss problems of Atlasai.)

Pierre cut him off and got straight to the point. “I don’t know if you know or care, but the Calicons, these ridiculous Rivercat loving dictator-wannabes have staged a coup on almost half of Atlasai, and it succeeded. And my brother has been kidnapped. I have nine days to get him back by giving the Calicons control over Atlasai, which I’ll do when hell freezes over. Please, my friend, Tuber, said you could help. Please!”

Pierre… was begging! Ivor drew back.

“Are you Pierre? Pierre? As in the cat’s mayor of Atlasai?”

His face contorted into puzzlement and awe, then changed into suspicion. “Prove it. I don’t want this falling into the wrong paws.”

He acted like he was being all honorable, but Pierre knew the truth. His eyes said it. He doesn’t want to lose his gossip monopoly, and he knows that politicians have better things to do.

Pierre drew a deep breath. Not everyone knew him on sight, he reminded himself.

“Look at this photo,” he said, shouldering past Ivor to get a random newspaper.

He showed him a photo with the caption: Mayor Pierre appears at opening of completed “telephone” wire.

“Does it look like me?”

Ivor frowned slightly. “I don’t need sarcasm. You need to come inside. I don’t want anyone else to hear.”

“Thank you! A grateful Atlasai gives its thanks to you.”

Ivor peered around the door before ushering the mayor inside. “First of all, I’m sorry to say I don’t know much. Who I do know is someone who has the dirt on anything humans know. He can read and speak man-talk. I’d sooner think dogs would be friendly to cats than him having anything. And you know how we foxes, and now that I think of it, you cats, think of dogs. Anyway, he’s a chicken, and his name is Gold-”

“I wouldn’t bad-mouth dogs if I were you,” said a gravelly voice outside the door.

Ivor jerked his head up and ran for a weapon, but it was hopeless. Ten dogs bursted into the room with guns and their paws on the trigger.

“In fact, I wouldn’t even say anything at all.”

 

Chapter Seven: Captured!

“What?” Ivor sputtered. “What is this?’

The leader grinned. “Lookie here, Ronan. His greatness majesty, Pierre or whatever, and a high ranking fox. The Calicons will like this. Ten thousand bucks for us!”

Then the leader frowned. “Separate them,” he ordered.

Instantly, four dogs surrounded Pierre and escorted him to a cart. Pierre tried to think of a plan. Was this what happened to Salem? He grew desperate as the distant cart grew nearer. Closer. Closer. What would happen if he got there? He decided to run. He prepared. The guards watched him with the eyes of a hawk. Now, Pierre thought. But something hit him in the leg. It was a paper flying machine.

Ivor was barely visible now, but it was obvious that he was saying, read this. Pierre looked down. What he saw lifted his spirits.

Dear Pierre, it said. Make sure you remember this.

The chicken’s name is Goldy. He looks like any other chicken, but you’ll be able to tell it’s him, for sure. Anyway, he is bound to be on the route the dogs are traveling. And yes, I know what you’re thinking. He is the fabled Golden Chicken, the one that lays priceless golden eggs.

He doesn’t know this, however. So this is what you should do. When you see him, run away from the dogs and shout, “I know why they call you the Golden Chicken!” He’ll almost certainly follow you. Good luck!

P.S. He strongly dislikes cats, so you have to be as non-threatening and friendly as possible. Also, DESTROY THIS NOTE!

Best regards, Ivor

 

Pierre sighed. Finally, a way out. Salem would be found and rescued.

But would it work?

 

Chapter Eight: Goldy or Bust

The cart went a long way. As it traveled, the hit dogs talked and laughed. Pierre did neither. He was thinking.

What would happen if this long shot paid off? Would he even get to Goldy?

Pierre suddenly realized how far-fetched this plan was. Goldy might not be there! One of the dogs might shoot him! Goldy might not follow him! But, as Pierre reminded himself bitterly, this was the only plan he had now.

The scenery started to change as the cart traveled into the city. A sunset appeared. This is the eighth day left, Pierre told himself glumly.

The cart slowed. One of the dogs called back, “You’re in our territory now. And in a few feet, you’ll be in our prison.”

Pierre looked at the note from Ivor again. Anyway, he is bound to be on the route the dogs are traveling. So where was he?

Pierre’s eyes scanned the area. Searching. Searching. Soon, a chicken came into view, chatting with a dog. Goldy, he realized. But why was he with a dog? That wasn’t in the plan.

The cart stopped. The dogs ordered him off. Now or never.

Pierre tensed up, feeling his heart rattle like a drum. He had worked this hard, he wasn’t going to get stopped now. He breathed. Salem.

One of the dogs realized something was wrong. “Guys…”

Sucker! Pierre bounded off, feeling the wind in his fur. He veered towards Goldy when a command came out. “Shoot him!”

Pierre had been shot at before. But nothing like this.

Bullets soared through the air. Goldy and the other dog leaped for cover.

“WHO THE HECK ARE THEY SHOOTING AT?” he demanded.

Pierre leaped for joy! He had a chance.

“I KNOW WHY THEY CALL YOU THE GOLDEN CHICKEN!”

Goldy turned to him. He could see his ideas in his eyes. He liked this dog, he mistrusted Pierre… and something else. A… master that betrayed him?

Then something changed. Goldy somehow saw it. He saw the intention.

His eyes softened. But were still kind of… hawkish.

“I’ll go with you… if you do something for me.”

Pierre rejoiced! The world faded away as he connected with Goldy, officially with him now. Dogs screamed and bullets whistled, but he and Goldy were together.

Pierre dusted himself off. He rose up, eyeing Goldy. “What are we waiting for? Let’s do this.”

 

Chapter Nine: Secrets

Pierre shivered. The place that Goldy picked, high in the Rocky Mountains, was cold.

And although he would never admit it, his fur was also crawling with bugs for another reason: Goldy’s demands. His “requests” (yeah, right, Pierre snorted) made him want to curl up and die. He shifted for the millionth time.

Goldy, on the other hand, looked quite comfortable. “Tell me this first. Why am I called the ‘Golden Chicken’?”

He looked so smug, demanding the truth, that Pierre silently cussed. Cheating little foxian, power hungry fool, who calls himself the impossibly infuriating cutesy name Goldy!

He took it back. What on Earth was he thinking, insulting the chicken who was going to get his brother back?

“Well, there’s no real good way to say this. You are the…”

Pierre choked up. He felt as if memories, ancient memories, were drowning him. Goldy began to blur. A cat came to mind.

Ughh…”

***

He awoke to Goldy leaning over him, his face one of concern. His eyes were haunted.

“You were just trying to use me,” Pierre realized. “You were just trying to get what you wanted.”

Goldy didn’t even try to deny it.

“I was determined to get your information,” he said. “I was told that you were evil. I tried to use you.”

Tears bubbled up.

“I was told you were wrong. I was told you were immoral. I was told that you were corrupt. But when you passed out, I saw how helpless you are. Alone in this world, with nobody but Salem.”

Then something remarkable happened. Pierre began to speak.

“I just was determined to get Salem back. No matter the cost, no matter how many lives were trashed or taken.”

“You’re the Golden Chicken.”

“Salem’s at Massachusetts Avenue. Watch out.”

Pierre began to go off, but turned around.

“Thank you, Goldy.”

A couple magical words.

 

Read Part Two here!

 

Princess Sadie and the Time Machine

One day, Princess Sadie the dog was walking through her garden with her servant. Sadie had a bow and a pearl necklace, and her fur streamed down her cheeks. She stopped to smell something in the ground.

“I smell something weird!” she said.

She started to pull it out of the ground. It was very heavy.

“May I help you?” asked the servant.

So, the servant pulled it out. It was big and made of metal. It was shaped like a round door with glowing, purple goo inside with diamond patterns! It had a spinning panel on the side that had random numbers.

“It’s a time machine!” said Sadie.

What?!” yelled the servant.

“That’s right!” said Sadie happily.  

When she went into the castle, the servant stayed outside.

“I want to be king, not Sadie’s servant!” he whispered to himself.

“You coming?” asked Sadie.

“In a moment, Your Highness!” yelled the servant from the garden.

They both went inside. Sadie went to take a nap while the servant went to his room.

“I, Charles Edward Farbio the Fifth, will be king if I use the time machine, and Sadie will  be my servant! Muahaha!” yelled the servant excitedly.

The next morning, at 3 am, the servant snuck out to where the time machine was. Creek! The servant had stepped on a wiggly floor board.

What was that?!” yelled Sadie.

She went downstairs. She stopped at the servant’s room, but he was not there. But, what Sadie did see was the servant’s plan to be king!

“What the… oh no!” Sadie realized what the servant was planning.

She ran downstairs to the garden. The servant stepped inside the time machine when, unexpectedly, Sadie jumped in a second later!!

Sadie?!” screamed the servant.

“I saw your plans, and you are not getting away with it!” said Sadie.

They arrived at the day Sadie’s mom was born. She was in the old hospital. The castle looked new and shiny. The bed was covered in blankets with roses on them. There was a doctor, nineteen servants, and a chef standing around the bed. Sadie’s grandma was beautiful. She had a crown, a nice dress, and jewelry. Her belly was big because she had lots of brothers and sisters.

Charles was around the corner with a bag, waiting for the right moment to spring out and snatch Sadie’s mom. Sadie put her paws on the servant’s shoulders.

“You were going to kidnap my mother to stop her from being queen?!” shouted Sadie angrily.

“Well yes… no… fine. Yes,” said the servant.

“Oh! That’s why you were happy when we pulled the time machine out!” Sadie shouted.

She wanted to go back home. She thought, I need that servant to get us back home! Then, Sadie had a sneaky idea.

“Well, I guess I will get new servants,” said Sadie.

That got the servant’s attention.

“N-new servants?” asked the servant.

“That’s right! New servants!” said Sadie.   

“Why would you do that?” asked the servant.

“Because you’re hard working, and you never get a rest!” said Sadie.

“What can I do to make you hire new servants?” said Charles.

“Well…” said Sadie.

And they were back in the present in the castle with new servants.

 

Jim

Newton the newt was a strange newt. For instance, he lived in a hole by a roadside lake next to a farm, and his best friend was a cow named Jim.

Newton also got the leftovers of Jim’s grass. It was delicious. One morning, he was drinking his coffee, and a bit of his dirt ceiling fell in it.

“Bad luck,” Newton muttered.

Five minutes later, Newton romped over the road to visit Jim.

“Jim! Dude! Where are you?”

Usually Jim answered with a friendly moo. Maybe he was still asleep? No, he never slept over six. It was kind of crazy, really. Still, maybe he was scared the farmer would let the other cows start grazing without him.

Newton looked everywhere. Jim was not there. When he was about to give up, he found one of the other cows.

“Hey, Jacob!”

“Mooo!”

“Have you seen Jim?”

“Moo. Moooo, moo moo moo.”

“Alright, thanks.”

This was troubling. Newton searched all over the area but did not find Jim. He was crying in his hole when a wise old gila monster clomped over to him.

The gila monster said, “What is your sadness?”

Newton replied, “I cannot find my only friend, Jim the cow.”

The gila monster said, “Ah, yes, I see him. Brown, is he not?

Newton nodded.

“I see him in the depths of the concrete jungle, eating through the goliath red fruit.”

Then, the gila monster disappeared in a poof of smoke. Newton stopped crying. He was puzzled by the words of the gila monster. To try to learn more about what the concrete jungle and the goliath red fruit were, he started reading human magazines.

After around a month, he finally found an ad that said, “Come see the big apple! Train tickets to see the concrete jungle on sale!” It was displaying a picture of New York City.

A day later, Newton stole some money from the farmer’s house and then took a ride on the train. Since he didn’t want the conductor to see him, he just put the money in his pocket. He slept his way into Grand Central Terminal. Then he scurried his way outside.

Before we go on, you should know that Newton was born with a strange phobia of loud or echoing places.

Now, when Newton entered Grand Central, he immediately and completely freaked out. He screamed so loud, and said some things that should not be said in Newtish, and made enough noise for even a human to spot a three inch long, camouflaged amphibian. These people did when Newton was rushing between people’s legs to get out of the train station.

As soon as he got out, Newton almost fainted in relief. He tried to thumb a taxi, which did not go very well, so he sat on the side of the sidewalk, trying to think of a place Jim would go.

Just then, a truck labeled “BOB’S GRASS AND OTHER GREENERIES” passed. Newton thought, grass! Jim loves grass! and then did a daredevil leap to the top of the truck, where he proceeded to take a nap.

The truck had stopped in Bob’s parking lot. Newton woke up, jumped off, and then stalked up to the garden. He had arrived just in time to see animal control drive off with Jim! Newton rushed to jump on the back of the truck, where he used his own head as a keyhole, opened the door, and rescued Jim. They ran off together and when they had gotten far enough, Newton asked, “Jim, how’d you get here?!”

Jim replied, “Oh, I don’t know, just took the 2:56 and went from there.”

Newton sighed. Jim never had an explanation for anything. They walked one more block until Jim moaned, “Oh, no.”

Newton looked to the other side of the block. There sat a loud diner, where a bunch of drunk men were staring at Jim. Suddenly, Newton understood.

The red-faced chef hunkered over to Jim, inspected him, and walked back to the diner. He came back out shortly with a bloody cleaver and a strange look on his face.

Jim was horrified and bolted down the block with Newton on his back, both of them screaming at the top of their lungs. The chef chased them until he had to stop for another sip of whisky. Jim and Newton finally lost the chef by using the time he was wasting.

Jim panted, “Where are we?”

Newton replied, “Atlantic, and it’s 11:00.”

It was great at night when no one was around, until the pair remembered that they had to somehow sneak onto a train in Grand Central. Just then, they heard a rustle. Jim looked down. Newton looked up.

“Put your hands up!”

“Where did you come from?”

“Wait… Jim?”

It was George, the long lost cow that had escaped from the farm years ago! He seemed to be leading an animal sewer gang.

George said to his friends, “Lower the harpoons.”

Newton asked, “Where did you get harpoon guns? Why are you here?”

He replied, “We, uh, found them. Also, Farmer Bob wasn’t giving me enough pasture time.”

“According to street pirate rules, you are our hostages. I guess, do you want to be taken to our lair, or do you want to be brutally killed?”

Newton said, “I think we would prefer option A.”

When they had arrived, they almost puked from the uncleanliness.

George said royally, “Welcome to my kingdom!”

Newton said, “Hey, George? We should probably leave. You know, back to the farm.”

George grinned wickedly. “Oh, no. The fun has just begun! Begun!”

Jim said, “Uh, you just said begun two times.”

“Yes! That is because I am calling the name of my giant, poisonous snake pet to eat you!”

Jim and Newton raced to the exit. Begun chased them through the sewer drain, out of the pothole, to the bus, after the bus, into an office building, out of the office building, back on the bus, and all over town.

The next morning, Jim and Newton had lost the snake, hiding in a garbage bin in front of a store with a newspaper in the window. The newspaper headline said, “GIANT SNAKE WREAKS HAVOC DOWNTOWN.”

After checking both ways, the pair sprinted all the way to Grand Central, where they caught the 12:36 train. It was a fairly uneventful trip, except for the time when a man reached under the seat, inches away from Jim’s face.

They arrived at the station, walked by the side of the road, took a grass break, and safely arrived in the barn.

Jim said,“Goodnight, Mooton.”

This was Jim’s nickname for Newton.

Newton replied, “Goodnight, Jim.”

 

An Animal War in Heaven: Master’s Secret

Prologue

“Come boy.”

Master shook some bread crumbs in front of me. I followed the trail of bread into the chicken coop.

“Good boy,” Master said as he closed the door shut. “My golden chicken,” he said.

I smiled at Master. He always says this.  

“My golden chicken.”

I didn’t get why he always does. Every time Master said it, I would look at my feathers. I looked just like the others: a brown and red body, and a yellow beak and legs.

Yes, my legs and beak were yellowish, but all the other chickens had yellow legs. That night, I thought about what he said.

“My golden chicken.”

Little did I know what I would encounter…

 

Chapter One: Extra

Night came, and Master came to us and gave all the chickens a pile of bread crumbs. He looked at me and smiled.

“You need to get big,” he said.

He took two handfuls of breadcrumbs and placed them in front of me. What was weird is that he’d always give me an extra pile of breadcrumbs and say, “You have to get bigger,” even though I was as big as all the other chickens.

“Stupid chicken,” Bobby Chicken said to me.

“You don’t even lay any eggs, why does Master give you more food?” Joey Chicken was glaring at me.

“He is special to the master,” Mickey Chicken said. “He is the golden chicken, you owe him your allegiance.”

“Stupid,” said Bobby Chicken under his breath.

I stared at my food, and after a ton of seconds, I kicked one of the piles in front of Mickey Chicken.

“You take it,” I said.

“No,” Mickey said. “These crumbs are for you.”

I stared at him.

He looked at me and said, “You’re the special chicken!”

I ate my food and felt bad for the other chickens.

Why am I getting this, I thought, I don’t even lay eggs. Bobby Chicken is right. I am a stupid chicken.

 

Chapter Two: The Landlord

Bang bang bang. Gunfire rang around as village houses got blown to bits by single bullets. Two kid chicks took a look at their parents, hugged them, and ran. They went past the forest, crossing over miles of plains, hills, and mountains. Chased by the man…

One of the kid chicks was small and was crying on the back of his much older brother. At the town, that was nearing destruction, all the adult chickens gathered together with their hunting bows. The kids’ parents were there too. The bows only caused wounds to the man. The chickens were all killed.

Meanwhile, the two chicks found a big cottage. They hid in it.

Thump. Thump. There was a man at the door…

“Good Morning!” Master yelled. “Time to get up!”

I woke up, relieved. I didn’t want to know what was going to happen next in that nightmare. As usual, Master handed me an extra pile of chicken food.

At noon, I watched as Master put his briefcase into the tractor and walked back into the house.

How weird, I thought. It’s not harvesting time yet.

“Let’s go follow him,” said Bobby Chicken.

“Bad idea, what happens when we get caught?!” yelled Mickey Chicken.

But Bobby Chicken was already gone. I stared at Bobby Chicken, then at Mickey Chicken. I took one last look at Bobby Chicken and couldn’t stand it. I ran into the tractor and hid under the hay. Master returned, whistling. He got in the tractor and drove off.

***

“Where do you think he’s going?” Bobby whispered.

“Don’t know,” I hissed back.

An hour passed, and we were driven into town. Master parked the tractor and walked into a door that had a sign that said “The Landlord of Lakon.”

Master saw another man. They started to talk to each other. Bobby could not understand the man talk. But I could.

“Mr. Canato,” the other man said. “Why have you not turned in your money?!”

“My crops got destroyed in a storm, sir,” Master said.

“That is no excuse, the other farmers have turned in their money!” the other man yelled.

“Just give me three months, and you’ll have your money,” said Master.

“But if you don’t, you will give me the gold.”

“Yes, sir,” said Master.

“I am not so easily convinced!” said the other man.

“I promise. I have to go sir, so I thank you for your kindness. Goodbye,” said Master, and he walked back to the tractor.

***

Master’s expression did not look good. He took off his hat and then started walking back to the house. He stopped and twitched as Bobby Chicken and I hid quickly under the hay.

“I think we can go now,” said Bobby Chicken.

“I don’t think it’s safe,” I said.

“We got into this tractor, we can get out of it too,” Bobby Chicken replied.

Without thinking, Bobby Chicken ran out. The hay fell back on my head, and there was darkness again.
Listen to Mickey Chicken, I thought. He’s the smartest. But Bobby didn’t do what he was supposed to, and he still got into this tractor. No, listen to Mickey, he’s the one to trust. Don’t be a guilty one. Well, how am I supposed to get to the chicken coop without sneaking there?

That was it, I was going.

I prepared myself to jump. You got this, I thought. The sooner, the bet-

“Goldy Chicken!” Master yelled, picking me up. “What mischief have you and Bobby been doing in my tractor?”

He put me in the coop and didn’t give me any food. All the other chickens got two piles, even Bobby Chicken. Master had never been this angry.

Once I came into the house and broke a bunch of plates. Master picked me up and scolded me. But you could obviously see that he wasn’t that angry.  Why would he get angry about this when he didn’t get angry about the dishes?

Maybe it was because I now know about the money? It couldn’t be… why would he care about me doing these things? Does he even know I can understand man talk? How come Bobby is not in trouble? The questions swirl in my mind, and I hid my head as Bobby and Joey teased me continuously. Was it the gold?

 

Chapter Three: The Secret Diary

Master came in with his basket to get the eggs. Of course, some random scientist found a way to make male chickens lay eggs. Bobby had eggs, Joey had eggs, so did Mickey, and I just sat here, stumped.

Weeks slowly passed. For some reason, Master got more and more depressed. I was tired of being this special chicken. It was probably my brother. Yeah, that’s all he cares about, it ain’t me. If it weren’t for him, I bet Master would have me eaten in no time. What happened to my brother? He died of old age, but now I am 10 years older than my brother was when he died. Am I wrong? Is there actually something special about me?

Night came, and I was determined to find out why I was special compared to the other chickens. Master went to sleep in no time. I was ready. I waited for seven hours, and then I went to the house.

Creak! The door slowly opened, and I walked inside. I jumped on the table, and looked at the bookshelf, and walked back and forth, looking for it.

The Fellowship of the Ring

Killer Angels

Little Women

Pride and Prejudice

Harry Potter

To Kill a MockingBird

Then I saw it. The little notebook stuck out from the shelf just a tiny bit. I looked at it. It said “Charles’s Diary.”

I peered into it. There were tons of Master’s writing. The first date was 11/12/2023.

That makes no sense, I thought. It’s the year 2155. Even so, I continued reading. It said:

 

 It’s my 10th birthday! This is my first time writing in this diary that aunt Rebecca just gave me. I’m so glad to have this. Today I got cake and ice cream. It was very fun. All my friends came over, and we played tons of fun games.

 

I got it. This was all of his entries about his life since his tenth birthday. Quickly, I scrolled through the pages and saw an entry that I stopped at.

 

This is my 15th birthday. Mom has given me my first pet: a chicken. I named him Goldy Chicken because he’s very cute. Mom says so, and he is my favorite chicken. We found Goldy and his brother in the barn. They were very afraid of us. When they looked at us, Goldy was crying. Mom said to name him Goldy. When I asked her why, she just said, “It’s Magic.”

 

Magic? I thought, I’m not magic at all! Is it magic that makes me the weak chicken? Is it magic that makes me lay no eggs! IS IT!-

Ring. Ring. Master’s alarm clock buzzed as I heard him yawn very loudly. I hopped off of the desk.

Whump! I quickly ran out of the house and back into the coop. The chickens were still sleeping in the coop when I quickly hopped in and pretended to snooze.

In no time, Master came out and started feeding us.

 

Chapter Four: Tears

It had been three months since I saw Master’s diary. Today Master got into his car and zoomed off. There was no time to get into the car.

“Where do you think Master is going?” said Bobby.

“Dunno,” I said.

When Master came back, he jumped off the car.

“F@#$,” he yelled. “That stupid landlord.”

He kicked the dust and walked into the house.

“What did he say?” asked Bobby.

“Blofer, that stupid landlord,” I said.

“Why would you say that?!” says Bobby.

Night came, and Master came to feed us very late.

Everybody got their pile of food, but Master took me out to the woods and put the sack of chicken food in front of me.

“Whenever you see a man,” Master said, “RUN!”

Tears rolled down Master’s eyes as he started to walk away.

“I always will love you. You’re my golden chicken,” he said as he walked away.

My head started to swirl with thoughts. Tears started to roll down my eyes. Everything in sight turned into an unending blur.

I didn’t eat this night, all I did was sit and think. The trees rustled in the wind. Animals walked through the forest.

My fear was cats. The cats were large predators for us. They would always want birds as their meat. How do I know?

I witnessed it myself. When I was a little kid,  my grandpa was my greatest pal, after, of course, my brother and dad. He took care of my brother and me for a whole year! He did it while my parents were gone. I didn’t know where they went actually. Anyways, one day, a cat came to our village. Grandpa told everyone to hide in the woods. He was the chief. Some legends said that he laid a golden egg once, giving every kid he fathered the ability to lay them too. But, of course, that was all fake. The cat attacked him and killed him before he could negotiate peace.

We attacked. Other chickens got killed. Five chickens were killed before the cat got tired and walked off.

Then I thought, Why did Master free me?

 

Chapter Five: Trapped in Terror

I satt in the forest for two days, not eating a single piece of chicken food. Finally, I felt like it was time. I was going back to Master. It was very hard to decide to, but I knew that there was some predator that wanted to eat me out there.

Late night came, and I was going to walk into the chicken coop and sleep when nobody else saw me. I started walking, imagining the lovely time I spent on the farm. But then I saw a little red glow in the side of the farm.

Fwoom! All of a sudden, the barn was set on fire, burning in a big, red glow. The crops were set on fire as soldiers walked into the house and looted everything. I stared at the terrifying sight, and my beak dropped open.

I heard screaming in the house. I felt the terror fall over me. I couldn’t bear it, and bit my wing, hoping it was just a dream..

It wasn’t. I closed my eyes until the sight was over. By that time, I was asleep.

***

Morning came, and rain came down on the still burning farm. Soldiers stood guard, playing cards. I knew soon I would need to run. The soldiers would soon find me and kill me.

Noon came, and the soldiers walked off. I had to see Master. I had to see if he was alive. I went into the house, hoping Master was still alive. The ashes were still very hot, burning my feet.

I went into the almost gone house, nothing was left. Tears slowly dripped down my face. I navigated myself to the almost gone chicken coop. It was the worst sight I had ever seen.

“Blofer!” I yeledl.

The hot ashes of the other chickens burned my eyes. I walked back into the house.

“I know there is a good man in this world besides Master,” I said. “Show them to me, brother. Show them to me!”

Thump! Thump! Thump! I heard the soldiers as they came back, carrying long sticks that threw iron projectiles.

Should I run? I thought, No, it’s too risky. But how am I ever supposed to get out of here before they search the place and find me?

The men were just turning into the house before I ran upstairs and into the dining room. It was empty too…

 

Chapter Six: Captured

Nights passed, and the soldiers still kept guard, chatting day after day. One night, something I heard made my ear twitch…

“Say, Luke, have you found that gold Sarge wanted?” one soldier said.

“Nope, we’re never going to find that,” another said.

“Sarge said we would get $100,000 if we found that gold,” a third one cut in. “He says each missing day, it’s $10,000 off! We got two days before he gonna start counting. We better find that dumb gold.”

“Your stupid little money isn’t my problem!” the second one said.

The three soldiers started fist fighting, knocking each other with their long, iron projectile throwing sticks. Now was my chance to escape.

I ran down the stairs and climbed up the table, spotted a broken window, and jumped out. I snuck to the edge of the house and looked to see if the way was clear. I ran off, back towards the woods. Suddenly the soldiers stopped fist fighting.

“Hey, look,” one said, “it’s one of the farm animals that we didn’t capture.”

“Yeah, like you ‘accidentally’ burned down all the other chickens,” the third one said.

“Well, we might as well take one of the chickens captive,” the second one said. “Let’s get it!”

Soon the soldiers started chasing after me. I started sprinting so fast, I thought that my legs would fall off. They were almost on top of me. I didn’t think I could run any faster. I ran even faster, but I didn’t think I could for much longer.

Just before my legs fell off, one of the soldiers picked me up. They put me in a jeep and we drove off.  

You’re going to be killed, I thought. It might be worse. You could be tortured till they are done with you and kill you.

Then I stopped. Why think about any of this? There is no use to think about how they’re going to kill you. You might as well spend a good time in the last few hours of your life in the world.

A newspaper was sitting in the Jeep. I was very bored, so I started reading it. The front page was missing from the paper. I looked at the sports section, which was boring. I read an animal page:

 

There has been a cat, named Salem, that has gone missing. It is the brother of Pierre, the mayor of Atlasai. What we do know is that his brother is being held by the Calicons. However, we have not informed Pierre of any of this. The President does not allow it. We will not let you tell. Salem was making a speech on “Ultra Plant territory” when he was shot by a poison dart. He is being held in a underground room in the Rocky Mountains near the Lemhi Pass. The Calicons have paid us $1,000,000 so we don’t tell any cat about the case. Punishment if caught is death without trial.

President: Military Secret Service

 

This sounded good. It looks like a cat’s life is at risk. Then I thought about how the soldiers were probably going to torture me again. I then thought about how they had killed Master, and all the animals.

I tried to get the flash of the barn setting on fire and the soldiers out of my head, but I couldn’t. It just played over and over again. I felt like I was going berserk when the jeep came to a stop.

I looked out. It was the same place that Master had gone. The town of Lakon. I watched the sign that I recognized, it said, “Landlord of Lakon.” I glared at the sight of the same person that met with Master.

He lied to Master, I thought. Reca Milatoo. (A Chicken Boy word… you don’t want to know what it means.)

The soldiers picked me up and brought me into the building, and the landlord stood there, hitting his fingers on a board that had letters drawn on it.

“Mr. Smith,” one of the soldiers said,“we took one of the chickens.”

“Very well, here is your $5,000 bucks,” said the landlord. “Go put him with the others.”

 

Chapter Seven: Langston

The soldiers took me into a room. There were cages and murder machines. I saw a pig missing his tail and one of his legs. The soldiers threw me in a cage.

Days passed, and I felt terror as more and more animals got tortured. I always thought of when I was going to get tortured, but there was a dog that cheered me up. His first name was Langston, but he never told me his last name. He was very smart and kind. The first thing he ever said to me was, “I’ve been looking for you.”

After three days I remembered that there was a rivalry between dogs and cats. So I decided to ask him something I would have never asked…

“Do you know about Pierre?” I asked. “The Mayor of Atlasai?”

Langston looked at me with a frown. “That cat from Atlasai?”

I nodded.

“Yes,” he said. “That was back in the 1900’s. My great-great-great grandfather was there.”

I was puzzled but kept listening.

“We were at war with the cats. They were and still are outlaws. The war once came to his village, and they murdered him when he had his paws up.”

I stared in awe.

On the sixth day, my name was up on the board. So was Langston’s…

Chicken #3: Legs cut off, beak slit, right wing cut off.

Dog #5: Tail cut off, front legs cut off.

I looked at the machines of torture, so did Langston.

“What should we do?” I asked Langston.

“We’re gonna run…” he said.

***

The clock ticked towards 11:00. One hour till my punishment. Now was the time.

Langston and another dog had dug a tunnel from under his cell to mine. The cells connected to the sewer. As the clock hit 11:30, we started. Another dog named Nick was also in the plot. When the guy came in to feed everyone, Nick started to bark as loud as possible. This caused a distraction for the guard. As the guard walked over to Nick, Langston and I made for the tunnels. But then the guard turned around and saw us.

“HEY YOU!!! GET BACK HERE!” he yelled.

He came to Langston’s cage, which had the biggest tunnel. Nick dove into his tunnel and climbed down.

“Over by cell for dog number five,” I heard the guard saying into his walkie talkie.

Langston scratched at the guard and continued down the tunnel. Suddenly more guards came in, carrying the iron throwing sticks. They shot at the cages and rushed down Nick’s and Langston’s tunnel, shooting as they went.  

I ran down my tunnel, iron projectiles whizzing around me. I splashed into the water as the tunnel entered the sewer that was flowing with water. I saw Langston as I peered into the sewer line and followed him to the right.

“Where’s Nick?!” I asked.

“He’s probably way in front of us,” Langston said as we trudged through the water.

Splash! Splosh! Water sprayed all over my face as bullets hit the water and clattered on the iron surface.

“This way!” yelled Langston, and we trudged into a different tunnel.

A ladder stood at the dead end of the sewer. We started to climb. I heard yelling behind us. The guards were on our tail. I got up the ladder and opened the sewage latch. Nothing was in sight of any danger.

“Coast clear,” I whispered. “Go! Go!”

Langston and I jumped out of the sewer system and went into the alley.

“We got to get out of Lakon,” I said, panting.

“I know,” said Langston. “But first, we got to find Nick!”

We took to the streets, chased by the guards. We found ourselves going the wrong direction, towards the center of town. Another sewage system was there. Langston thought that Nick came from that system. We opened the hatch, hoping to see Nick. There was no sign of him. But there was a patch of foot prints that led off from to the sewer.

“Follow them!” yelled Langston, and we followed the footprints, chased by the guards…

 

Chapter Eight: Nick

We got into an open alley, which was completely empty. We reached the end of the alley and turned right. There Nick stood, hiding behind a garbage can.

“The guards are not far behind us,” said Langston. “We’ll all be way past dead if we don’t leave now! You go with Goldy to the left, Nick. I will lead them the other way.”

“You can’t do that! You’ll get killed!” said Nick.

“Well if we stay together, we all ought to die!” yelled Langston.

Whiz! Crack! A bullet flew at the trash.

The guards were back on us. This time they had a huge car with a huge iron projectile throwing stick on it.

Before I could even say, “Run!” I was sprinting off with Nick.

“Down!” yelled Nick.

My feathers blew as a huge, giant iron projectile flew overhead and exploded behind us.

Before us sat a trash can with a button to push, causing all the wheels to move automatically.

“Get in the can!” yelled Nick, and I ran for the can.

Not a second later, Nick dove in, and we started driving off. The bullets only dented the can. The can smelled disgusting, but it provided great cover, and I had only a right to laugh at the guards. Soon we reached the rendezvous point outside of town, west of the Lapondenakomaka Mountains.

“They stopped following us,” Nick said, as we ran into the woods. “Take some rest. We got to wait for Langston.”

Then we stopped. Where was Langston?

***

Nightfall came, and Langston still hadn’t appeared. We gave him directions to the woods at the exact rendezvous point, which had a clearing. Worry spread between Nick and me. He had taken the shorter route and was a faster runner than Nick.

“We need to find him!” said Nick.

“I would not do such a thing,” I said. “If we get caught, we will have an even more severe punishment.”

“I can’t bear this, he could have been captured, and then I don’t know what the guards are going to do to him,” said Nick.

“Nor can I,” I said. “But I know he will make it out. He’s a smart and fast dog.”

Then at that moment, Langston came out. It was not a very good sight to see him. An iron projectile had entered his back.

“Langston, what happened to you?” I asked.

“No time for questions,” said Langston. “We have to get to the City of Snow to meet the chief of Dogs.”

“Where’s that?” I asked.

“Near the Lemhi Pass where the men, Lewis and Clark, passed by,” said Nick.

“That’s a very high elevation. The trip could take months, especially with your wound,” I said. “Let’s get that bandaged up.”

Nick grabbed some pliers out of the trash can and ripped the bullet out. I grabbed a trash bag and tied it to the hole. Then we would continued on our journey through the cold, high mountains…

 

Chapter Nine: The Mountain

Langston and I traveled in the now emptied trash can, while Nick walked on the side to speed up the trip. The mountains were not just any mountains. We were going to a place where the elevation was over 12,000 feet high. We vomited a lot on the trip. The little air that we could breathe was freezing. The mountains were windy and tiring. We had no food.  All we had was each other. Many times we would tell stories to each other. Other times we stayed silent, always on our toes. Sometimes stories made me feel worse about the trip.

“Why me?” I asked on the end of the second day of traveling. “You have shared the little bit of meat you have killed, helped me escape, even though I am slower, and put your lives more at risk.”

“That’s what friends are for,” said Langston, who was cured and back on his feet.

I looked at him, confused. He was only a prison companion, and I am only a chicken.

***

The journey continued for over three days. I heard stories about the Cantercats (a organization that fights against the dogs and the few good cats) and humans, growing my hatred for them.

“Farmers use drugs that make you lay more eggs. But they make you have a shorter life,” said Nick. “You haven’t heard of them?”

I shook my head, looking down, now assuming drugs were why my friends laid so many eggs, and why I did not.

It was the fifth day when I asked them something that I would have never asked before.

“You tell me about the Ultra-Plants. How come I can’t lay eggs?” I asked.

Nick and Langston’s smile turned to a straight, serious face.

“We must bring you to the Great Alpha Dog of the Dog Calicons.” said Langston.

So it was true: The Calicons were real. The brave dog kingdom that fought the Cantercats. They were the Calicons.

***

As the seventh day came to a close, I saw a shiny castle in sight. It was in hot red and glowing through the snow. It looked like it stood as tall as the mountain. Langston, Nick, and I walked to the gate. I was very amazed, but for some reason, Nick and Langston were not. We went up to the gate, and there stood many guards carrying the iron throwing projectiles that Langston called “guns.”

“Name and rank!” one guard said.

I looked at Langston. He took a card out of his pocket that he quickly showed to the guard and shoved it back into his pocket.

“What makes you think that you can break into these walls without your boss?!” yelled the guard.

“I have a guest here. He is of utmost importance to the Alpha Dog,” I overheard Langston whisper to the guard.

Something seemed very wrong. Is there something that makes me special? I thought,  Does nobody like me? They just want me for some reason that I am special? But that was not of much concern to me.

“They are going to take you to your room,” Langston whispered into my ear.

“Where are you going to sleep?” I asked.

“I have my own matters to attend to,” Langston said.

The guards led me to one room as Nick and Langston went the other. I said goodbye while staring at the Tower in the Rockies…

 

Chapter Ten: The Calicons

I looked at the room that I was given. It stood in many colored designs. It had pictures painted all over, a private bathroom, books, and a king sized bed. I stayed for ten days. I had to see Langston again.

“He has his own business to attend to,” the guard said when I asked.

This wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I had heard that one million times already. I wanted to see him. Three months passed, and I was very bored.

“I am tired of this place,” I said. “Nothing has been going on,” I complained to the keeper.

“What do you seek?” he asked. “Your friend, I cannot give to you. But you can get an  adventure.”

“What adventure do you mean?” I asked.

He smiled. “You have much to learn,” he said.

***

The fourth month came. I had been training in the Calicon Brute Force. Being in the Calicon Brute Force was no mere adventure, it was torture. I would have to run 10 miles starting at 3 am on a hilly course with 50 pound equipment. Others had 200 pound packs. There were many other things that were impossible. We had to swim two miles and army crawl through the mud, under barbed wire, with gunfire over us.  

But it was better than sitting in my bed. I knew that one day I might be a hero, slaughtering cats one day. But still, why did the Calicons take me in. Why am I called “Goldy?”

One day, after a long day of work, I was asked to go back into the tower without any arms. I was led into the tower by the Calicon infantry. I expected nothing of any importance. They led me up the stairs. Soon I was higher up than ever. I twitched, something was up my nerve. I had to keep moving.

I went and turned into a large hall. There were many beautiful paintings on the wall: battles fought by the Calicons since the Middle Ages. The very ground I walked on was pure gold.

The soldiers took me to General Murkla, leader of the Calicon infantry.

“We have him,” said one of the soldiers.

I looked at the soldiers, confused.

“Your work is done here,” said General Murkla. “I will take it from here.”

The soldiers walked away. I looked at the general. I was ready for whatever was to come.

***

The general took me to a great hall. There I saw what I would have never seen. The Great Alpha dog leader of the Calicons. I bowed to him and stood up.

“Welcome, Goldy!” said the Alpha Dog. “I am very happy to see you.”

“Your majesty,” I said. “For what reason do you call me to you?”

“Many questions must wait to be answered,” said the Alpha Dog. “Come.”

“Do you know who you are?” he asked.

I stared at him, puzzled. I simply answered him.

“I am Goldy, a chicken. I am now in the Calicon Brute Force and will fight to the death for the Calicons,” I said.

“You still have much to learn,” he said.

“Why did you request for me to be in your kingdom?” I asked.

“You shall figure over time,” he said. “Do you have parents?”

“No,” I said.

“What happened to them?” he asked.

The flashback came to me. A dream that had been haunting me since I had it. The horrible memories played over and over: The Man.

“I don’t know!” I yelled.

“Then who named you!” he said.

“I don’t know,” I said.

Then it came back. The memories of my parents.

“My parents died,” I said. “But I do not know why. I was last with my master on the farm. He got killed. I was captured by the Humans, and Langston and Nick helped me escape here!”

He looked at me and smiled. “If you stay here, you will learn all there is to know, and all the secrets.”

Secrets, I thought. What about Master’s secret? What about My Golden Chicken?

 

The Ultimate Handbook of Greek Gods

Chapter One: Zeus

Okay, so, hi! This is Zeus here. But you’re probably wondering why Zeus is being so nice to you. Yeah, because Zeus is usually a big jerk… (Psst.. That’s because this is not Zeus speaking!!) Because his voice is usually —

Hey! Narrator! Stop this craziness!!! I am not a jerk!!!”

Okay, so, to make this chapter a little bit more interesting, let’s play a game of correcting Zeus’s mistakes in his sentences for him.

“Hi! I’m Zeus and I am very nice!” (Fibber.) “I am a very nice person…” (Actually, it’s the other way around: Gimme a J, an E, a R, and a K! What does that spell? JERK!)

 

Chapter Two: Hera

Yeah… I can’t say much different about Zeus’s wife… Hera… She is also a huge jerk. I mean, like, she doesn’t like demigods, and, yeah. Oh. Scroll down.

Blah, blah, blah.

Blah, blah, blah.

Blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, what I’m saying about Hera is that the only reason Zeus and Hera are married… is because they are both total jerks. So, here’s this story about how they met. It is probably dependable? (Notice the question mark there.)

“Hi! I’m Hera!”

“Hi! I’m Zeus!”

“Are you a jerk? Like, do you hate demigods?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay then! I’ve got a perfect wedding gift for you! Chopped up hamburger with demigod bite-sized pieces in them! Yum!” (Oh. Didn’t know that Hera was also a cannibal?!)

 

Chapter Three: Poseidon

Well! Finally! At least we’ve gotten to a good god. Well, actually, not really… Literally, he never communicates with his demigod son. What a jerk. Poseidon is like, “Hi! I’m Poseidon!”

“Hi Poseidon, I’m your son.”

“Oh, okay then… since you’re my son, but I don’t really care about demigods… call me a hundred years later…”

Wait… I think at this rate, the story should be called the Ultimate Handbook Criticizing The Greek Gods… and Poseidon is fuming at me writing this, which is happening right now… Wait! No!!! Poseidon!!! I’m not done reporting how you guys are jerks!!!  –static

 

Chapter Four: Hades

Personally, I don’t really like Hades, because Hades is the god of the underworld. He’s just like, “Hi! I am Hades! I am a god, but I don’t care about being one of the big three!” (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades.) “I only talk to the dead that come to the Underworld, and I like to torture them!”

But, again, I’m going to say that he is a total jerk. Like, I mean… how does he not care for his demigod sons?!

 

Chapter Five: Ares

So… Ares is actually a total jerk. (Now I’m finding it hard to say “jerk” so many times. Like, I mean, my tongue is stuck on that word!)

Ares is like, “I am Ares, and I love to fight! Wanna fight? I love fights! Wah! That was not fair! Rematch! I wanna fight again!”

“You’re just a sore loser,” says the demigod who won. Wooo! Go demigod! Boo Ares!

“Nuh-uh! I just… blah, blah, blah, blah…”

But seriously… –staticstatic– my connection is not good with you… probably because Ares’s glowing, fire eyes are burning my wifi box down… I think the story now should be the Ultimate Handbook of Stories That End With –static-static– because… I don’t know… –static-static-

Oh! Wait! I know why the stories end with static! It’s because of Ares’s fire spreading all over my house, and it is destroying the connection with you!

AHHH!!! FIRE! Fire! Somebody call the Ares extermination service!

Okay, I’ll meet you later after I go to Best Buy to get a new wifi box.

 

Chapter Six: Apollo

Apollo? Okay… seriously, I can’t think of anything bad to do with Apollo. Well, actually,  he’s just like, “Hi Artemis! I don’t care about you! All I care about is being cool-looking in my chariot, and driving around all day, and complaining.”

Seriously, that is how he talks.

“Waiter? Can I get a lemonade with a lime slice on the side of the cup, with extra sugar, and bubbles, and some coke added into it, and extra ice, and iced tea in it, to make it an Arnold Palmer?”

Sigh. Apollo, Apollo, Apollo.

 

Chapter Seven: Hermes

Hermes? Yeah… being the god of thieves and all those… messages… he’s probably like, to the thieves, “Yeah! Now go steal the planet Mars! Perfect! Wooo!!! Now, go hijack one of the NASA spaceships!”

“You are not helping, Hermes,” says a NASA security officer.

And Ares is like, “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!!!”

Aphrodite’s going, “Ares, my love, did you forget to wear your red makeup to make it look like your face is about to explode?”

Zeus is firing thunderbolts everywhere, and Hades is riding in his black chariot and killing people.

Seriously, now this book is just so out of order. Like, yes, Ares, I’m talking to Y-O-U. (And some other people.) Like, Ares (and some other people) are butting in while it’s Herme’s turn under the spotlight. Really, Ares, (and some other people) I’m telling you, Hermes doesn’t even get any positive feedback anyway! Just like you! Hurray! (Sarcasm.)

Ares: Wahhh!

Me: You deserved it.      

 

Chapter Eight: Artemis

Artemis? More of a, “Ah! Boys have cooties!” kind of person than a goddess. Seriously?

Besides, when I first read Artemis’s name, I thought she was the god of art. You know why? Because her name starts with A-R-T. Wow. Depressing. Her parents must have not known that loophole there. Artemis should really be the goddess of art. Seriously, this is just downright DEPRESSING.

 

Chapter Nine: Athena

Athena? Okay, honestly, I have nothing against her but, a god that is against demigods is just, yeah. The exact same, like a clone. But, again, Athena is the goddess of wisdom. Yeah, Athena, I’m telling you to quit doing your I-HATE-DEMIGODS rally, and listen to me for once. Yeah, I’m expecting you to start saying random wisdom words like, “Hi! I’m Einstein! E=MC2 !”

(Yep, and don’t tell me you invented that, cause you didn’t! Einstein did.)

 

Chapter Ten: Aphrodite

Aphrodite, okay?

“Hi! I love romance and a lot of love!!!” Like that. And, “I love beauty!”

Okay, seriously, Aphrodite, quit doing your makeup and get under the spotlight! I think you know that you’re being interviewed right now, right?

“Ohhh! Don’t I look beautiful? Add some more makeup on my ears!” says Aphrodite.

What?! Has Aphrodite gone crazy! Makeup on ears?!

“Mm-hmm!” says Aphrodite. “Oh, was I supposed to do something other than just put my makeup on?”

Duh. Or, maybe not. If she was in her world, it would be LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, and more LOVE, LOVE, LOVE… okay, you get it.

But, seriously: let’s face the truth, did Aphrodite not know that she was being interviewed?!

 

Chapter Eleven: Demeter

Demeter? Fine. Hello? Demeter? I would like to interview you today. What would you like to say?

“Harvest is going terrible! That titan, stupid Cronos, is ruining my harvest by getting the big, fat, giant Hyperion to stomp on my beautiful crops!!! And, I’m going cray cray, as usual!”

(Yes, we know, Demeter.)

 

Chapter twelve: Hypnos

So… honestly, my sister will love this chapter because she loves sleep!!! So, again, I’m going to interview him. Hypnos. Hypnos? What do you have to say about the world?

“Rrr… snore, snore, snore. The world -snore- needs –snore- more –snore- sleep –snore. By –snore- the end –snore- of this –snore- story.”

Oh, well. I guess Hypnos isn’t in a good mood right now.

Hello! ARE YOU AWAAAAKE???” Ares yells.

“Hey, hey, hey! ” says Zeus, and pushes Ares out of the spotlight.

“Ares! Do you need your death hammer to smash him to death?” Aphrodite says.

 

Chapter Thirteen: Dionysus

Oh! I’m the wine god!

Splash. He spilled it on my camera. Great. That’s a thousand dollars down the drain. Okay, I’m going to ask a seriously tempting question.

“Which wine do you like?”

Dionysus finally looks at me.

“Ohh! Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! Pick-”

“LET ME GET A McPICK TWO!!!!” Hermes yells.

Seriously! Hermes, not your turn under the spotlight! Stop stealing McPick Twos! Leave McDonald’s alone!

“Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!”

 

Chapter Fourteen: Hephaestus

No offense, but I had to spell that name a thousand times before I got it right. Okay. Hello. I would like to interview you. What would you like to say?

“Oh my God! I am totally going to smash Cronos on his fat butt!”

Okay. I’ll move out of hammer range for that. Smash! Oh, ow. That felt like a nuclear bomb.

“Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!”

Stop, Dionysus! Seriously! Smash!

Okay, there goes the wine god! Thanks, Hephaestus!

“Pick me! Pick me! Pick-” Kaboom, smash. Oh, ouch.

 

The Diary of a Cat with a Crazy Owner

Dear Diary,

Today, Ernie only gave me tuna. I hate tuna. And he made me play with a pink feather. I hate pink. Yeah, you guessed. Today was horrible! Why is Ernie the president? Oh, yeah, you can’t talk. You’re a mere diary. Sorry. Wait, can you talk? I really hope you can! But that’s going off subject. Anyways, Ernie also spilled chocolate on the floor. I thought he would pick me up and put me in his room (chocolate is poisonous) but he didn’t!

At least Cookie picked me up. I like Cookie. She’s really nice, and she plays with me. A lot. I really think Elmo should have given me to Cookie as a birthday present, not Ernie! Ernie is crazy. Period. He already was in five fights with Congress about him getting impeached, and he was elected last friday! Oops, gotta go. He’s calling me for dinner! I hope it’s salmon! Wait, it smells like socks. That can’t be good.

-Sunshine

***

Dear Diary,

Sorry I haven’t written in the last seventy-two hours. Ernie locked me in the bathroom after I went to use the litter box. At least I had a book called “Lego Friends,” and, of course, tap water to drink. But, it was really weird that in three days, he only used the servant bathroom, which is basically a tiny airplane bathroom, and that’s the only free bathroom. (I know what an airplane bathroom looks like because I went to Florida once.) All the dogs were hogging the other bathrooms. Thirty-three dogs, thirty-five bathrooms. For three days!

Ernie really is crazy, and all I could eat was face cream. Does Ernie really use that? It doesn’t seem to help. And, it was his bathroom, not his sister’s or anything. Anyways, enough about lotion. I’ve discovered that Ernie’s child, Cookie, rides in a stinky, yellow box on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I’ve heard Cookie complain to Ernie about the sanitation system at… what was it? Skool. Of course, Ernie assured her that if anyone had “the bug” at skool then he would sue the skool.

Then Cookie said, “But, Daddy, there is a nasty bug going around, and the teachers say everyone has it except for me. They say that I shouldn’t hug my friends, and do you know why? Because we wouldn’t want President Ernie getting sick! Ha! Is this we-”

Then Ernie interrupted and said that she had to go to skool, and, of course, Cookie complied. And then Ernie gave me green beans and rice for dinner, and he gave Cookie my canned chicken. He always mixed up dinner. That happened four thousand, two hundred and eighty-three times in my entire life, and I’m only five years old. Annoying, actually. Even though Cookie said that the skool’s sanitation system was horrible, I’d do anything to get out of this dump! And Cookie said the skool was co-ed, so, cats are welcome, I suppose! I always trust Cookie. Anyways, it’s time for breakfast. I actually want Ernie to mix up the food again. I love scrambled eggs.

-Sunshine

***

Dear Diary,

I finally found a way to go to school! I’m going to slip into Cookie’s backpack, and then stay there until the actual school day! I can’t wait for Cookie to get home, so I can show her the plan I wrote on her computer. I made two copies, and I attached one here…

 

Cookie!

I want to go to school with you! Can you call the principal and tell him or her that I want to apply? Thank you!

Sunshine

 

I actually found out that there is this cool thing called “AutoCorrect.” It tells you if you spelled something wrong. I finally found out that skool is spelled school! Cool, right? Although it seems like it’s pronounced “shool,” so I don’t know what to think. Anyways, I hope Cookie lets me go to school!

-Sunshine

***

Dear Diary,

Cookie was shocked to get the note, but she said I couldn’t go to school because cats don’t go to school. But I’m going anyway! I’m going to slip into her bag tonight, and the next day, she’ll take me to school! I have to go in the backpack, so, goodnight!

-Sunshine

***

Dear Diary,

Today was my first day of school! I love it. Everyone was surprised, but the janitor loves cats, so I posed as his cat! Awesome, huh? Anyways, my favorite subjects are humanities and math. I think science is okay, but it’s sorta scary. I’m afraid that a beaker will fall on me. Spanish is fun as well, but you have to speak. I’m excited for my next day!

-Sunshine

***

Dear Diary,

Today was my second day of school. I found out that there was something called homework. Super cool, right? Homework is basically when the teachers give you an assignment for you to do at home. Miss Clarks, our teacher, always puts the assignment on the desks. Today a student was at the bathroom at homework time so I stole his homework from the desk. Miss Clarks checked another time so she put homework on that kid’s desk! Ha! Sorry, gotta go. I want to finish my assignment before its due date. Can’t wait for tomorrow!  

-Sunshine

***

Dear Diary,

Why am I writing so early? Well, Cookie’s best friend, Ellie, found out that I was going to school, because she had every class with me. Then she told Cookie, and Cookie told me that I couldn’t go. After seeing how upset I was, Cookie told me that she would bring homework and teach me what she learned. The only bad thing is that Cookie is a very bad teacher. When I was reading, Cookie was teaching Ernie about butterflies. And then Ernie said he didn’t understand why butterflies had wings. Then Cookie threw the TV at Ernie. He had to go to the hospital. Cookie was grounded.

Anyways, I hope there’s nothing about actually talking in my Spanish homework, because I can only meow.

-Sunshine

***

Dear Diary,

Today, Ernie prepared dinner. He gave a burger to me, and raw shrimp to Cookie. I quickly munched up the burger while Cookie poked at her shrimp. Then, she asked me if she could have the burger. I jumped on the table and threw up on her plate. She excused herself and probably went to throw up herself.

-Sunshine

***

Dear Diary,

This is my last page, so I’m going to use it wisely. This is how I’m going to use it: My math homework!

 

Name: Sunshine                                                                                                                                             Date: 03/06/17

Addition Reflection         

Sammy had 35 cookies and 67 cupcakes. He gave Anna equal amounts of each sweet. Anna used to have 123  cookies and cupcakes. Now she has 147. How many cookies and cupcakes did Sammy give her?

Sammy gave Anna 12 cupcakes and 12 cookies.

34 + 89 = 123

97 + 23 = 120

45 + 56 = 101

37 + 68 = 105

71 + 89 =160

46 + 35 = 81

Make your own problem!

Cookie had one cat and 33 dogs. Cookie gave away ALL her dogs. How many pets does she have left?

P.S. If you’re stumped, the answer is one cat.

 

The 1919 World Series: the Chicago White Sox vs. the Cincinnati Reds

The 1919 World Series: the Chicago White Sox vs. the Cincinnati Reds. This is a very interesting topic I know a lot about. People should know more about this event and how it impacted the world. This changed the world when the player Shoeless Joe Jackson was banned from baseball because he was in on the World Series fix when he could have been in the Hall of Fame. This mostly had a big impact on him and all the other players who were banned and could have been Hall of Famers. A few players were to be paid a total of $100,000 dollars for throwing the game. Jackson made a really bad decision for himself because he bet his career on money. This changed every team’s opinions today about cheating. Soon after, they thought they could get past the MLB with cheating. This event had an impact on the 1919 World Series and baseball in general.

In the first game of the series, the White Sox were mixing up mistakes with good plays  to kick off the Series. They made it seem like they were still playing, but just not very well, like they were sick. They lost game one, 9 – 1, and everyone was shocked. Also, it was like they were actors. They lost the game two,  4 – 2. In the third game, the White Sox won 3 – 0 because Dickey Kerr threw a three-hit shutout that stopped the Reds from winning. In the fourth game, the Reds didn’t have a hit until the fifth inning. They went on to win 2 – 0 and took a 3 – 1 series lead.The Reds won the next game and took a 4-1 lead. Then, the Sox won the next two games, and then the Reds won the whole thing with game eight.

The game has changed since the Series. In 2017, they noticed that the Red Sox cheated by using Apple Watches and telling the batter or runner what the Yankees’ pitches were by their signs. In training season and during the play offs, they check the players for steroids. In the middle of a game, if they see the pitcher hitting the target too accurately, they might check him for an illegal substance. Back then, they didn’t check for drugs or illegal substances. That tells me how much the rules and guidelines have changed over the years. Also, they probably wouldn’t get to gamble because they have security cameras and special investigators. That’s how much the game has changed.  

One thing that the White Sox should have done is think before they accepted the gamblers’ offer and money to blow the series because if you don’t think first, you’ll have very bad consequences. The White Sox did something first, and then they thought about what they had done after it was over. Like I said earlier, they could have been Hall of Famers, but they didn’t think before they did it. That’s why they didn’t become future Hall of Famers. If they had thought what about they were doing before they did it, they probably would have been Hall of Famers. If only they had maybe thought hard on the gamble, but instead they just went right into the fix.

Shoeless Joe was mad at himself for taking the money to kick the Series. If I were Joe, I would have not been in the fix and played better than I’ve ever played before to try and win the Series single-handedly. Even before the Series, they were the favorite to win. If they would have actually tried, they probably would have won. I think it’s bad to cheat if it’s in the World Series. If it’s on a test in school, it’s different. In school, you can learn from your mistakes and not have heavy consequences. In the World Series, it’s different because you have bigger consequences like getting thrown out of baseball forever. You can’t go back unless you have a time machine. Also, if you cheat in life, you can’t go back. Once you cheat, you can’t undo it. You’ll be out of a job, or your life as you know it, for good. What would I do if someone tried to bribe me to kick a game? I would probably say “no” and try my best to not cheat in life.

 

A Sticky Situation

The race started. I started running.

“Go faster!” someone yelled.

“He’s too slow!” another voice said.

“He is slower than a turtle!” someone else shouted.

“He is a turtle!”

By the time I was halfway done, everyone else was finished. I cost the Millbury Dragons the win.

My name is Tobias. Most people call me “Turtle.” Not only because a turtle could probably beat me in a race, but also, I love turtles. I live in Millbury, and the track team is the most popular team in the town.

One day, I came home and started my homework. I got bored, so I cut a face into my glue stick with scissors. My parents called me in for dinner.

My mischievous little brother, Billy, did not come for dinner. My mom told me to check on him.

I looked all around the house for him, and there was one room left. Mine. I pushed open the door. I could not believe what I saw…

The little devil had fed my glue stick to my beloved turtle, Rob! I rushed down the stairs, nearly falling down. I told my parents. My dad took me and Rob to the vet.

I hated all of it. The smell of cats and anchovies was terrible. The only thing to do was read the magazines they had there. All of them were four-year-old Sports Illustrateds. Everyone there looked like they were 900 years old. They were staring at me like I had three heads. Maybe it was because I was crying like my mom had just died. My dad pretended like he did not know me.

The vet slowly walked into the dark waiting room. He slumped in my direction. Here it comes, I thought. Suddenly, he lurched to the left and told an old lady her cat had diabetes.

She yelled at him, “My cat is fine,”  snatched the cat, and stormed out of the room.

A different vet walked the same walk, and this time, she came to me. She asked me ice breaker questions until I asked if Rob was okay.

She sighed and said, “Sadly, I do not — ’’

She was interrupted by me bursting into tears.

My dad said, “Shut up, Tobias, this is not how sixth graders act in public,” and “It’s just an animal.”

I said, “You’re just an animal too,” and stormed out of the building.

I got Rob when I was two years old. I looked at all the animals in the shop. He was the only one who looked back at me with his sparkling blue eyes. In third grade, I brought him to school and everyone loved him. I instantly became the coolest kid in school for a week. He would make jokes like hiding in his shell and scaring me when I picked him up. In fifth grade, I needed to get one question right to pass. The options were right and left. I asked him, and he moved to the right. He got it right! No pun intended.

I thought about all these things as I walked down Lincoln Drive. It was pitch black and pouring rain. An old man with a Milbury Dragons flag opened his window and started to yell at me. He told me to quit the team. That was it.

I yelled at him, “What is wrong with you!” and took off running. I made it about three feet before I slipped and fell on the concrete, and the old man laughed his head off. I started to cry. I was very wet.

I walked a slow walk home. I took out my phone and saw that it had cracked. My parents are going to be so mad, I thought. I looked at the viral videos. I saw that the old man had taken a video of me running and falling. Oh no, I thought. All the kids at school would see it and make fun of me.

The moment I got home, I fell asleep on the couch. I was awakened by Billy.

“Tobias tutle die?” he asked.

I said, “Yes, Billy, because you’re an idiot.” Then, he started to cry.

The next day I moped through what felt like the longest day of my life. In the morning, my mom and dad talked to me to cheer me up and lecture me. My mom made pancakes in the shape of turtles. I pretended to appreciate their thoughts, even though they made me feel worse. School was not any better.

The whole school had seen the video. It had more likes than “Beep Beep I’m a Sheep,” which had 54,000. Every time I walked into a room, people were holding their laughs. But most people weren’t able to, including Everett, and he was the most popular kid in school. He was also the fastest. I was late for homeroom and was “running’’ to get there. He and his gang tripped me, and I tumbled down the stairs, and they got a video. When the bell rang and school was over, I saw Mr. Munchkin and Principal Noe Boddy watching and laughing at part two.

I walked home instead of taking the bus. How would I survive that? The bus driver had probably seen it. My backpack had started shaking. Probably just my phone, I thought and kept walking.

By the time I was home, it was six o’clock. I started my homework. I had almost finished. There was one thing left. It was a stupid worksheet where we had to glue words onto a sheet. I slowly cracked opened my pencil box. I was about to take out my glue stick when I remembered what had happened to it. Somehow, it was still there. I was a little hesitant to unscrew the cap. I almost passed out when I did.

Standing in front of me was a five-inch-tall glue stick with arms, legs, and a face. I could not believe what was right in front of me.

“Who are you, and what are you?!?!”

“I am Mr. Glue Stickers. I am a magic glue stick. Yes, I am a talking glue stick, and this is not a dream,” it said.

I asked him, “Why are you here?”

And he said, “To help you with your life! Why do think I am here?’’ To be honest, I thought I might need this kind of a miracle to get my life back together.

Mr. Glue Stickers already knew what was happening to me. The next day, which was Saturday, I woke up and was glued into my running clothes and my shoes.

“What, how?” I asked him.

“I have my ways. Didn’t I tell you I was magical? Plus, no magician ever reveals his secrets.’’

I was exhausted when I was done. To make things worse, he made me jog the distance of the neighborhood three times!  I guess hard work pays off, because, in four weeks, I could actually beat a first grader in a race!

I still had one thing that still bothered me more than anything else: my turtle. The empty tank on my desk was very depressing.

“I’m a qualified therapist, you know. “

“There is no way that is possible.”

“Check the wrapper.”

There it was. It said, “Qualified Therapist.” Wait a minute! It looked like he wrote it in sharpie!

I doubted that he was telling the truth, but it felt good to finally tell someone how I felt. I might have no more problems! Boy, was I wrong.

The next day at track practice, Coach Caramel Cookie had something to say to me.

“Tobias Trinckleton, you’re off the team.”

“What!?!” I said with disbelief in my voice.

“You’re off the team.”

“What!!!” I said again, about to burst into tears.

“Do you need hearing aids? You’re off the team. Bye-bye! Adios! See you never!”

“Why?!!”

“Because you are bad at running. Now leave!”

Who knew a cookie could be so mean?

***

One week later, I was at the tryouts for the Running Cabbages. They had never won a race in their entire existence. I had brought Mr. Glue Stickers with me.

“Are you ready for this?“

“No.’’

“Just relax. Use what we have learned. Okay?”

“All I have learned is running sucks.”

“Really? Wow. Just quit, then.”

“No.”

“Try your best.”

“Okay.”

“We are going to crush that cookie. We are going to dip him in milk and shove him in our mouth.”

He was talking about how the Cabbages race the Dragons once a year.

“Okay.”

The tryouts were easy, even for me. Everyone there was horrible at running, though. One kid even tripped on his laces and still made the team. Everyone did. At the end, the coach, Coach Cucumber, had a talk with us.

“You guys are the best! Cabbages on three. Ready? One, two, three.”

No one said a word.

We lost every race. Only parents came to the races, but even they would rather sit in their cars. With every race, I was getting better. Mr. Glue Stickers and I still practiced every day. On the other hand, the Dragons had won every race. It was time for the big race, and we were not ready.

I was the the best runner on the team now. With practice, I could run more and more. The Cabbages never beat the Dragons. If we were going to win, I would have to run the best I had ever run in my whole life.

We arrived at the big race. As soon as we got off of the bus, we could hear the Dragons gossiping about our team. They were talking about our record, our team name, but most importantly, they were talking about me.

“They have the turtle on their team,” said Everett. Everyone laughed at that one, even Coach Cookie.

It was time for my final race, the 100 meters. We needed to win this one to win the competition. My heart was beating faster than ever before. I felt like I had to throw up. We lined up at the start.

Bang! They fired the starting gun. I ran as fast as I could. I was in the back. I almost gave up. That is when Mr. Glue Stickers poked his head out of my pocket.

“Take the glue out of my container and squeeze it,’’ he said. “It will kill me but you will win the race.”

“No!!! I do not want you to die!”

“It is fine, you do not need me any more.”

“It is more than that. You are my best friend. First, my turtle and now you! No way!”

I thought for a second. He really reminded me of my turtle.

“That really touches my heart, but I will have to leave soon anyway. So you leave me with no choice.’’

He jumped out of his container.

“No!!!” I yelled. Everyone stared at me.

I did what he asked. I squeezed him. I instantly started running faster. I passed every one. Now, I was only behind Everett. He did not see me though. He started to slow down and celebrate. That is when I passed him.

“I win, I win, I win!” he yelled.

I was about to pass him.

“Nope, you are wrong. I win!” I yelled, as I passed the finish line.

“What!?! Noooooooo!!!” Everett whined.

My teammates lifted me up with cheers.

“Hip hip hooray!” yelled Coach Cucumber. Everyone stared at him. He is very weird. I started to cry tears of joy and sadness. My dad and brother walked over to me.

“I am sorry for not understanding what that turtle meant to you,” Dad said.

“I’m sorry for killing it,” said Billy.

“Don’t be. I forgive you.”

“Let’s get ice cream,” said Dad.

“Yeah!!!” shouted Billy.

 

EPILOGUE

News of the race quickly spread around town. The video of me running was now the new big deal. The old man even bought a Running Cabbages shirt! I was in the newspaper. That still was not the biggest surprise.

“Tobias,” Coach Cookie said to me after school, “I want you on my team next year.”

“No way.’’

“Why not?” He sounded surprised and disappointed at the same time.

“You and your team are so rude! You kicked me off the team and were not nice about it. Plus, I like my new team. They actually care about having fun instead of winning!”

“I am sorry, turtle,” he chuckled.

“I am now proud to be a turtle!” I said and walked away.

 

THE END

 

Take Care of Me

       

Prologue

 

Her heart was beating really fast. Her stomach had butterflies in it. She wanted to know who her new owner would be. You must be wondering how she came to know, right? Well, Lucy is a smart cockapoo puppy, and believe it or not, she can read. I know, it’s a bit unusual, right?

Lucy’s breeder taped a paper to her cage that said, “Lucy is officially bought.”

Lucy really hoped that she would get a wonderful family as owners, and she did. A family walked into the house and made themselves comfortable on the couch. It was a family of four. Lucy played with them for a while. But as the Johnson family played with her, they were talking to the breeder, and Lucy heard and understood everything they said. The father’s name was Bob, the mother’s name was Emma, the oldest child was David, who was seventeen at the time, and there was Alexandra, who was nine.

Alexandra was going to be taking care of Lucy the most.

***

It has been three years since Lucy moved into the Johnson’s house. The parents work full-time and have to take care of Sara, (who is one and a half), the newest addition to the family. David is busy at college and only comes home on the weekends. Last but not least, there is Alexandra. Well, lots have changed between her and Lucy since the day Lucy was bought. Lots.

 

Part 1: LUCY

I was taking a walk with Alexandra. Her family really needs to get a new leash for me. This one keeps scratching me on my neck. A short while after, there was an adorable puppy walking towards us with her mother, and their owner Stephanie, who was Alexandra’s best friend. So, we all stopped to say hi. While Alexandra and Stephanie began to talk about school,  the puppy and her mother walked up to me. That was when I realized that the puppy’s mom was a good friend of mine. We used to play in the garden together. But that was only a year ago. I am three years old, and so is she. The only difference is that she has a mate and a five-week puppy, and I don’t. For me, finding a male is very hard considering that the Johnson family only wants me to mate with a pure bred.  

The puppy’s mom’s name is Feila, and her daughter’s name is Chloe. When Feila saw me, she said, “Oh my! Is that really you, Lucy? You look as if you haven’t taken a bath in a year.”

Poodles are so annoying these days. I, on the other hand, am a mix of a poodle, but I’m not as rude.

I just said, “Yes, it is really me. And my grooming schedule is none of your business.” Okay, maybe I went too rough on her that time.

All I was trying to do was change the subject. “Chloe is an adorable puppy!” I was trying to tell Feila.

But she pushed me away and said, “Stay away from my daughter! I do not want her to be around people who do not have a mate.” Unfortunately, Alexandra didn’t notice.

Then Feila chased me across the street. She is really threatening! I just wish Alexandra would stop talking to her friend for just one minute. She and her friend both let go of all the leashes! Chloe stayed behind, as her mother chased me. Once we got to the other side of the road, Feila toppled me over, and scratched me on my back, leaving a big scar.

The brat left me there to try and get up myself. I was in major pain! Then, to come and “save” me, three men lifted me from the pavement. Then, they took a garbage bag and wrapped it around me as if it were a blanket. I just thought that they were poor people trying to help me. I was wrong!

Those people carried me to a car. That was when they began to torture me. First, they took this weird, black liquid which was in a tiny little bottle, and they forcefully opened my mouth and poured it in. It tasted horrible! Then I felt really dizzy and my whole body became really weak. All of a sudden, I fell. I didn’t just fall after standing on the floor, I fell after standing on a six-foot-tall platform. I felt like I just died.

When I woke up, I found myself in a tiny cage with no water or food. I was starving, in pain, and I was weak.

Then, this young woman walked up to me, and she sat down with a baby bottle full of greenish-black liquid. “Hi there… let me see… oh hi there Lucy. My name is Mary, and I am 19-years-old and a volunteer at this rescue shelter. I know you have no idea what I am saying, but I don’t care because I am a loner,” she said.

That was when it hit me. I was brought to a rescue shelter!

But why? I was fine and healthy. I thought for a moment. Oh yeah! I was resting my body, so it didn’t hurt as much. I didn’t think Alexandra was going to be very happy, and neither were her parents.

Mary then took me out of my cage, and she made a baby face at me.

In my head, I said, “Um…hello? I am 3 and a half years old. Show me some respect!”

Then she put me on her lap and stuck the bottle in my mouth. It was very uncomfortable. I just wish that Alexandra included my age along with my name and phone number on my collar.

I have no idea what that liquid was, but I just couldn’t drink that everyday! I needed to get out of there! There were two tiny rooms. I have seen the first room before, and it was filled with about 15 dogs, all squirming. Those poor dogs had no place to breathe. The second room was the room I was in. This room had five other dogs. They all looked old, weak, and ugly. No offense.

The only good thing about being away from home was that I didn’t have to lie around the house all day doing nothing except playing with Alexandra for about five to ten minutes, and taking a walk around the block three times a week. Sara was only about to turn two, so I couldn’t blame her. David was busy with his college applications. Their parents weren’t the best at all. They gave me the most un-free life! I couldn’t go outside to do my business when I had to, and I was always locked in a tiny room with little food and water for about three hours whenever they had guests. That was almost everyday.

The Johnson family is nice and all, but it was almost as if they were tired of me. I had lived with them for three years, and the amount of eagerness they had to play and spend time with me had decreased, while I cared about them the same as I always did, which is a lot. Now, they all just said hi, good morning, good night, they wished a happy holidays, and all of them gave me a hug once in awhile. The hardest part is that I am a sensitive dog, and these things really bug me.

 

Part 2: ALEXANDRA

After a one-hour conversation with Stephanie, we both found out that we would soon be in big trouble. We were so deep into our conversation that we had let go of the dog leashes. Feila and Chloe had sat down beside Stephanie, wagging their tails happily. The problem was that Lucy was nowhere to be seen!

I think she ran away. Why would Lucy do such a thing? She usually cares about me and my family so much! After looking everywhere for another hour, I went back home, ready to face my parents.

On my way back home, I began to think back to when I had a lot of homework, and I pushed Lucy away when she wanted to play. I got it! Lucy ran away because she wanted to go somewhere where she would get more attention. I was annoyed at Lucy for running away, but at the same time, I just wish that I had spent more time with her. At this point, I was a block away from my house, and I had one minute to think of what I was going to say to them.

As I walked through the door, I saw David on the couch watching TV, and Sara crawling in circles. Then I said, “David, where’s mom and dad?”

He stared at me for a while and then replied, “They haven’t come home from New York yet. Why are you so eager?” Then his jaw dropped when he saw an empty leash in my hand. “Where is Lucy?! I knew you would lose her! You’re so untrustworthy! Keep your shoes on. We are going to look for her until we find her. And go call mom and dad!” He was furious.

This was the total opposite of what I thought his reaction would be. He never cares about Lucy! I know that sounds weird coming from me, but it’s true! When he yelled at me, I said sorry, and then I began to cry. I knew that this was mostly all my fault, but I still missed her. I took the phone and dialed my parents’ number, still having a million tears coming down my face at a time.

“Hello?” I said into the phone.

“Yes, Alexandra, what’s wrong?”

That was when I told them the whole story. I could tell that my parents were going to blow up.

“Alexandra Rose Johnson! When we got Lucy, you promised us that you would take care of her 100%! We are coming there right now!”

“Fine,” I said. “Bye.”

When they came home, we had a long discussion about responsibility. As my parents were deciding on my punishment, I felt a surge of anger at them.

“You guys think I’m untrustworthy, but you are terrible owners! All you care about is if her mate is a pure bred! Why don’t you ever think of her health, her needs, or her feelings!” I suddenly yelled. I waited for them to say something, but since they were so surprised that words actually came out of my mouth in that tone, I stormed out of my house to go look for my dog.

                                            

Part 3: LUCY

Yuck! That milk tasted like puke! I was forced to finish it, but I don’t even think it was white! Dogs are color-blind, but that milk was more on the dark gray side. Mary picked me up and mumbled something to me. I couldn’t understand her very well, but I just heard, “Lucy,” “Take,” and “Home.” Yay! From what I understood, Mary was going to take me home with her! I’m no longer going to have to stay in this stupid dumpster-like shelter… Turns out, I was 100% correct about what Mary was telling me. I’m going home with her this exact afternoon!

Finally, after a 30 minute car ride, we were finally home! Wow. I just found out that Mary is still in college. That’s probably why she always brought  homework with her. Mary lived in a small house with her two friends, Bella and Riley, who were very nice to me. They had a big yard with dog toys scattered around, a big dog house, and a huge fenced wall. I guess they have had other dogs come over. Good. Then maybe they’ll be different from the Johnsons,and know that dogs have feelings too.

***

One night later, everything changed. I feel like I might still have a part in my heart for Alexandra, but it’s a small part. I have now moved on to Mary. Yesterday, all four of us went to a dog park. There, I could run around playing with other dogs, but I still was not allowed out of Mary’s, Bella’s, or Riley’s sight. They wanted me to be happy. I could tell. But, I could also tell that they had fear in their eyes that my owners would come soon. When I first arrived at the shelter, a lady called the number on my leash about 10 times. Then, the shelter’s boss called and left a voicemail saying that I am going to be taken to Mary’s house. Mary and her friends didn’t call, because they didn’t want me to leave.

I think Mary is a much better owner than Alexandra. When we take a walk, she never starts a conversation with anyone in our way. She always wants to keep me in her sight. I just wish Alexandra would be more like her. I used to have a bond with Alex, but that wore off as she got older. My bond with Mary just keeps getting stronger. I don’t know if I really want Alexandra to come back for me.

Part 4: ALEXANDRA

I have knocked on doors, which didn’t work, and I have called several shelters. Now, here I am, looking down at the very last shelter that we are going to call for today. I am so nervous that I’m sweating! Why do phones have to take such a long time to ring?… Yes! They finally picked up!

“Hello?” said a young woman.

“Hi! I’m Alexandra Johnson, and I was wondering if you have my dog, Lucy, in your shelter.”

“Um, hold on one sec. I’m gonna have to check the files.”

“Okay,” I said, sounding hopeful. That lady took five minutes — that felt like five hours — finding those files!

“You’re in some sort of luck. Your dog was brought to our shelter, but was taken home by one of our volunteers.”

“Oh… what is this volunteer’s name, and where does she live?” I sounded like I was in a hurry.

“Well, her name is Mary Burke.” As the lady told me her address, I wrote it down.

Then, the whole family jumped in the car, and Dad drove over the speed limit. All of us wanted to make sure that Lucy was okay. Even Sara was whining and kept screaming the word “doggy.”

After a ten minute drive, we reached a small house with a huge yard. Then, we all got out and walked to the front door like a pack. I rang the doorbell, and out came a young, pretty woman holding my dog. My mom explained why we were there to her. Then, Mary put Lucy down and let me hug my dog. She then let us in, apologizing for taking our dog home, not knowing Lucy had owners.

A short while later, I put the leash on Lucy, and said goodbye and thank you to Mary and her friend. As we were walking out the door, Lucy barked loudly and ran back to Mary. That was a big back-stabbing moment.

Mary crouched down to Lucy and whispered, “I promise that I will come and visit you.” After that, she looked up at us, and we nodded. Then she hugged Lucy real tight.

 

***

“You guys can drive home. I think I’m gonna walk Lucy. I’ll see you there.”

“Okay. But stay safe and please don’t lose her again.” I kept calm when they said that.

I let them drive away. Then the talking began.

“I am so sorry Lucy! I know I should have never taken my eyes off of you! Now, I understand that you have feelings too! Please forgive me! I promise that from now on, I will play with you whenever you want to, and I will give you more attention.”

At that point, Stephanie was walking towards me with Feila. Then, I suddenly remembered that this was when Lucy was taken! So, I decided to do an experiment with my best friend and her dog. I started conversation with Stephanie, still keeping Feila and Lucy in the corner of my eye. Then Feila picked up her paw and was about to scratch Lucy, but I screamed to scare Feila. After my scream, she put her hand down.

“I knew it!” I yelled. “Last time you and I were talking, Feila must have scratched Lucy, making the people from the rescue shelter think that Lucy needed to be rescued.”

Stephanie just looked at me in disbelief. “How dare you accuse my sweet little Feila for doing such a thing! Your little, puny dog probably tripped over your big feet without you noticing, and fell onto the street.” I just looked at her with anger and tears in my eyes. “And if you want my dog to stay away from your disgusting dog, then I don’t want to be your friend at all!”

“Fine! That would be great!” I paused, waiting for her to say something, and she did.

“Luckily, I am moving out of the state for good!”

“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes, “I don’t want to see you ever again anyway. Bye Stephanie.” Then, I quickly walked past her and started sobbing.

“Lucy, I did that for you! I did that to prove to you that you are the best pet anyone could ever have. And you can mate with a mixed breed if you want.” I don’t think I have ever cried that much. “Bark three times if you forgive me.” Lucy barked three times and then I gave her a big hug and let her lick my face.

 

Part 5

When Alexandra and Lucy walked into the house, the whole family was waiting in an awkward circle formation.

“Alex, take Lucy’s leash off, and sit down. We have some talking to do.” Alex’s mom sounded a bit regretful. Alexandra let Lucy free and sat comfortably on the couch. As Lucy was freed from the leash, she ran to Sara, making sure she didn’t fall while attempting to stand up.

“I owe you all an apology,” Alex said. “I may have overreacted before, but that was only because I wanted to protect her and be a better owner. But, can you all please promise Lucy that she can mate with any dog she wants? Well, that is if she wants to mate at all.” Lucy shook her head trying to say no.

“Alex, we accept your apology. And Lucy, you don’t have to mate if you don’t want to.”

Suddenly, Sara shouted, “Yucy! Yucy! Yucy, come! Mommy! Doggy gone!” Sara’s lower lip stuck out, and she was about to cry. Lucy was out of sight.

“Wait, what? Did we lose Lucy again?” Alexandra panicked. “Sara, were you playing hide and seek?”

“Yeth.”

 

Alex sighed in relief. “Lucy, come out!” A tiny head poked out from under the couch. “Good girl!”

Then, the Johnsons laughed together as a family.

 

Epilogue

A few weeks after the reunion, the Johnson family was not expecting anyone. But, at 10 a.m. the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” shouted David. When he opened the door, he said, “Oh, hey Mary. Come in. What’s up?” Then he shouted into the house, “Hey, Mom, come downstairs! It’s your only chance to meet my girlfriend! You too, Alexandra!” David’s mom came racing down the stairs with Alexandra beside her.

Alex and her mom’s mouths dropped. “This is your girlfriend? She’s the one that took Lucy home!” Their mom hugged Mary tightly.

After a couple of hours, Alex and Mary took Lucy for a walk. During the walk, Mary and Alexandra got to know each other.

“Mary, I don’t think I ever said thank you. So, thank you for taking good care of Lucy while she was gone.”

“No problem.” Then Mary gave Alexandra a big hug. At that exact moment, Stephanie, Feila, and Chloe drove by with their heads sticking out of the car.

“Say bye forever, Lucy.”

Then, Lucy, with a smirk on her face, barked.

 

Behind My Back

 

People can act like I’m deaf

It’s like I am

They even know I’m not

That’s when the annoyed and frustrated feeling

Naturally takes over

I’m so tempted

To show them I exist

When I do

They always turn their head with a shocked stare

They can’t believe

That I’d worked up the nerve

To stand up for myself

They look back on moments

Like the present situation

Their stares are a whole new language

That everyone can speak

No matter if you’re

Blind

Deaf

Or both

It really doesn’t matter

To me

Everyone is to be certified

Equality with no exceptions

Not even one

No matter what they’ve overcome

No matter what they look like

But that language through stares

Can be against you

Ear to mouth stares

Whispering stares

Stares you can not bear to see

It will almost always be behind your back

And that’s what is the most painful

People can act like you’re deaf

It’s like you are

They even know you’re not

Have you felt this?

I have

Everyone feels it at some point in life

Someone will always not like you

Each character plays a different part in a musical

In the same way

Each and every one of us matters

We play a role in life

Some of us big

Some of us small

But that can change

It requires work though

Only if you’re willing to

Put in time and effort

You can make it happen

Believe in yourself

And it will happen

And now believe me

Anyone

Yes, anyone

Can make it happen

But one thing to not forget

Is to stand up

To those stares

Behind your back.

 

Un-Normal Life

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Emily and her younger brother named Henry. They were the children of Mrs. and Mr. Gorr. Mrs. and Mr. Gorr were the most evil of the most evil of them all. Emily and her brother went to a normal school, but lived an abnormal life.

Dear Diary,

Today was a lot like yesterday. I went to school, got an A+ on my test, and when I came home, my parents didn’t care, like always. I live an abnormal life because, well, my parents get a lot of calls from the agent about something or somewhere they have to be, and it feels like they don’t even care. Instead of calling the cable company to talk about how our T.V.is broken, that is what a normal family would do.

Good night, Diary.

Ding-Dong!

“We are home!” yelled Mr.Gorr.

“Mom and Dad, errr… I mean, Mrs. Gorr and Mr. Gorr, I got an A+ on my test…” Emily said. I am kind of worried about what they will say, she thought.

“That’s great.” Mr. Gorr said calmly.

“So you don’t care. Good night, thanks for talking,” Emily said.

“Honey, I mean Emily, did you finish the chores?” Mrs. Gorr said.

“Yes, I did. I cleaned up the kitchen, the bathroom, and the all the rooms,” said Emily.

The next morning, Emily woke up to the sound of her parents practicing their welcome speech for the agents. Emily walked downstairs to get herself a banana. In this house, there was barely any food, so fruit was the way to go.

Bring Bring.

“Ms. and Mr. Gorr, the school bus is here. Come on, Henry. We don’t have all day!!” Emily yelled.

On the bus, Emily flipped to a blank page of her diary. She stared at her diary and wrote…

Dear Diary,

I am on the bus. What should I do? I really hate how my parents are evil. You might think that is cool, but no, it gets annoying. Here is a secret that I have not told anyone, but I will tell you… my parents are evil, right? I am scared that if my parents get caught and end up in jail, that I would then have to take care of Henry, and I would have to try and save them. Also, today Mr. Burk is giving us a piece of paper, and we have to write about our main goals in life. Since we are in sixth grade, we need to know our lifetime goals.

Thanks for listening, Diary!

“We are at school,” yelled the bus driver.

“Today, class, I want you to write down what is your goal in life. I know this is a strong question, but I know you can do it!” said Mr. Burk. “Here is your piece of paper, and here is your piece of paper, Emily. You can start, class.”

Okay, Emily, what do you want most? I don’t want people to know my parents are evil, but I really want to tell the class. I have an idea.

“Okay class, time to share. First up… Emily!” said Mr. Burk.

“Okay, uhm… so… my goal is to make my parents not be on their… um… phones?!” Emily said.

She ran back to her seat and sat and slumped down.

That night, Emily did her usual diary entry:

Dear Diary,

Okay, so today at school was the worst day at school: 1. We did what we always do. 2. Then it happened. I had to tell the class about what my main goal in life is. That is when bad things happened. I just don’t want to talk about it, okay!

Good night, Diary.

“Emily!” yelled Mrs. Gorr.

“Yes?” Emily yelled back.

“We have a family meeting. Henry, come on. Let’s go. Family meeting,” said Mrs. Gorr.

“Okay, so me and Mr. Gorr have been getting phone calls from the… um… the agent?” spoke Mrs. Gorr.

Uggggghhh, Emily thought to herself.

“Um… well… there is a mission in New York.” muttered Mrs. Gorr.

WE ARE MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY!!!” yelled Mr. Gorr.

***

“Flight 19675 leaving San Francisco, the beautiful great bay and going to New York,” said the pilot. When they got on the plane, Emily sat with her brother. Mr. and Mrs. Gorr sat behind them. A couple hours later, the flight attendant came by and said the food was coming. The plane had a weird smell, a mixture of new chair smell and fresh sandwiches. When they got their food, Emily got a Coke and a bag of chips, and Henry had a ginger ale and pretzels.

“Hello everyone. We are about to land in New York City. If you’re coming home, welcome home, but if you’re just staying here, then enjoy your trip!” yelled the pilot.

When they got to the new house, it was so much better then the house they used to have. The house was brownstone, had marble countertops and brown cupboards, and in the living room ,there were light gray chairs with a gray couch, and big windows to let in the sunlight. In Emily’s bedroom, there were blue walls to match the baby blue bed covers. She had a white desk with pens, pencils, and paper on it. Emily was a neat person, so everything on the desk was neat. In the backyard, there was a grill for Mr. Gorr and a garden for Mrs. Gorr.

“Mrs. Gorr can I take a walk around the neighborhood?”

“Sure, but grab your phone just in case of emergency.”

On her walk, Emily was listening to her favorite song: Classic by MKTO. While she was walking, she saw a girl on her house steps. She took out her earbuds and walked over to her, and said:

“Hi, my name is Emily and I just moved here.”

“Nice to meet you, Emily. My name is Katie. I just moved here too, from California.”

“Wow, I just moved here too, from California. Do you know where you lived?”

“Los Angeles.”

“Oh, do you know what school you’re going to?”

“Well, I’m going to St. Mark’s Elementary and I’m going into seventh grade.”

“Oh same, I’m going into seventh grade at St. Mark’s Elementary too! Do you know what class you’re in?”

“I’m in Mrs. Patterson’s class.”

“Oh, so am I!”

Katie’s mom came out of the house. “It’s time for dinner, honey! Oh hi, and who are you?”

“I’m Emily and I just moved here from San Francisco.”

“Wow, we just moved here from LA!”

“Mom, she knows!

“Well it was nice to meet you, Emily.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“EMILY, IT’S TIME FOR DINNER!” Emily heard her mom shout from down the block.

“I’m sorry, I have to go. My mom’s calling me for dinner.” Emily ran back home.

“Honey, who were you talking to?” Emily’s mom said.

“Oh, a girl named Katie. She’s going to the same school as me and we’ll be in the same class.”

At school the next day, they gave her her locker number, number 23. 25… 24… 23.

“Oh, found it!” Emily saw Katie in the distance, who was panting.

“Finally, I caught up to you! Guess what? I’m locker 22.”

“I’m locker 23!”

The bell rang. It was time for class. Emily went to science class and so did Katie. They sat next to each other, not really listening to the teacher that well. “Remember class, we have a science fair coming up. The theme is outer space! Remember, it is on May 23rd from twelve o’clock till two,” the teacher said.

After science class, it was time for assembly. They all gathered up in the gym. While everyone was walking in, the gym was crowded and hot. Everyone was packed in the gym like sardines. All of a sudden, there was a big noise. It was the principal, Ms. James. Ms. James said through the loudspeaker:

“More information about the science fair! It’s going to be on a Friday so you should probably pack a lunch because the cafeteria won’t be open. You guys should be there at 11:30 to set up. You can invite parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and friends. The judges will decide who has the best outer space themed science project and will win the first place prize: a blue ribbon.”

On the bus ride home, Emily felt kind of nervous asking her parents to come to the science fair. Would they be available or would they be on a mission?

“Emily Gorr, Emily Gorr, this is your stop!” the bus driver shouted.

At home, she decided right then and there to ask her parents.

“Hey Mrs. Gorr and Mr. Gorr, our school is having a science fair and parents are allowed to come. Will you guys be able to come? It’s on May 23rd from twelve o’clock until two.”

“Well, let me go check my calendar. I’ll be right back. Start your homework,” Mrs. Gorr said.

When Mrs. Gorr came back downstairs, she sounded suspicious. “Well sweetheart, we can’t make it. That’s the day of our mission and that’s why me moved to New York.”

“Well, do you know if Uncle Sharron and Aunt Mia can come?”

“I’m sorry sweetheart, but they can’t come either. They are about to move to California. Maybe Katie’s parents can come to your station.”

“Sure, but it won’t be as nice.”

Emily went upstairs and started working on her science project. She decided to do a model of the Big Bang. Emily felt disappointed, so she decided to write in her diary.

Dear Diary,

Today Ms. James announced that the science fair would be on May 23rd, and of course my parents can’t come. I’m not surprised. Why can’t they come to any of my projects? I guess the missions are much more important. I remember when I was younger, when my parents did not have the mission job. We went to movies a lot, they hung out with me, and I got to call them mom and dad. I guess my parents’ job is just like the big bang because before the earth happened, there was just a galaxy and before my parents got the job, it was just us. Thanks for listening, Diary. Goodnight.

The next couple of days were not as bad as I thought they would be. The night before the science fair was a hard night. Emily was working really hard. On the morning of the science fair, her parents started putting on all of their gear to go to the mission. They loaded up the car and drove away without saying goodbye or “Have a good day” or “Wish you luck”. She waited for Katie’s parents to come down the block and take Henry and Emily. In the car, Katie, Henry, and Emily were talking about our summer plans. Katie was going to sleepaway camp and Emily was staying home like usual.

At the science fair, the judges were coming around and looking at all of their projects. When the judges spoke into the microphone about who won first, second and third place, Emily started listening.

“In third place is… Madeline Star. In second place is… Chelsea Super. And we have a tie for first place! In first place is… Emily Gorr and Katie Blue!”

“Yay! We both won and got a blue ribbon!” They screamed.

At dinner, Emily’s parents were not really congratulating her on the big win. They were more focused on their mission.

“So Mr. Gorr and Mrs. Gorr, I won first place on my science project!”

“We aced the mission! Everything went smoothly and gracefully.”

“Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Gorr, I can show you some pictures!”

“Before we go into those pictures, let me tell you some stuff about the mission. The new agent is terrible! We need to fire her.”

“Emily and Henry, go straight upstairs and go to bed!”

“But it’s only 7:45 and I want to talk about my science fair.”

“No! I know you want to talk about the science fair but there’s always morning. End of discussion.”

At the next day of school, Principal James started talking about the art fair. Emily had an idea, a really good one. She decided to take a canvas, balloons, paints, and darts. She would fill the balloons up with paint and blow them up, then attach them to the canvas and when she hung up the canvas, you could throw darts at the balloons and paint would come out and splatter everywhere! It was on June 2nd from twelve o’clock to two o’clock. On the bus ride home, she thought about the art fair. She knew her parents would not come. She didn’t even bother to ask but her parents knew all about it from an e-mail.

“Hey Emily, there’s a new art fair coming up, but I’m sorry we can’t make it. We have a meeting with her new agent.”

“Great, again two times in a row you can’t make it. You probably think the missions are more important than me.” She stormed upstairs, slammed her door, and locked it.

“Emily!” shouted Mrs. Gorr. Emily didn’t respond.

“Emily please, I know we haven’t been to any of your school things but we’ll make it up to you in the summer time. I’m really sorry, honey.”

Then Mr. Gorr came in. “Where’s Emily?”

“She’s upstairs pouting in her room.”

“How come?”

“Because we’re not coming to her art fair, and we didn’t go to her science fair.”

The day of the art fair, Emily won first place, no ties. But that night at dinner, when her parents asked her how the art fair was, she didn’t respond. She just went up to her room and said, “I’m going to finish my homework.”

The next morning when Emily came downstairs her parents yelled “SURPRISE!!!”

“But is is not my birthday!?” Emily said, very confused.

“We felt very bad that we didn’t come to your art and science fair and these two things hopefully will make it up: 1. You can call us mom and dad and 2. We are quitting our jobs and now will be high school teachers at the Chapin School!” said Emily’s mom. “We love you so much, Emily.”

 

THE END

 

Bionic Girl

BOOM!

The starting gun was fired, and we started the race. We ran across the track, jumping over hurdles. As I sped over the finish line, I smiled. I may not have been first, but I did my best, and that’s what matters. I am Lily, and this is my story.

***

Eight years ago, when I was four, my family and I were struck by a truck on the highway. The truck driver seemed drunk and didn’t notice our car when he was changing lanes. We tumbled off of the hill we were driving on. As we did, the window by me shattered. After that, everything went black.

I think I woke up in the hospital. I couldn’t see anything, but I sensed it all. The beeping of the machines, the groans of the other people in the hospital. I sat up in my bed. I heard a nurse say something to the doctor, who must have stayed with me.

“Can you see?” he asked me. I shook my head.

“The window broke when you fell down that hill. The particles of glass fell into your eyes. They blinded you. You are blind.” He sounded very sorry to say it.

“Where’s my mom and dad?” I asked. You see, I wasn’t that worried about my eyes as I was about my parents.

“Your mother is all right. We just need her to spend the night at the hospital for inspection, just like we need to do with you. As for your father… ” His voice trailed off in such a way that made me very squirmy inside.

“What happened to my dad?” I asked.

“He died right after the accident after jumping in front of your mother to save her.”

“I need my mom!” I cried.

So the hospital sent my mom in a room with me. We talked and cried into the night because both my vision and my dad were gone.

I was homeschooled because of my vision. My mother taught me everything I need, not just math and science, but other things too. She told me to be strong, and not to let anything get to me. She said that people who cry and complain are weak. To be strong, I needed to be willing to accept change. Though this seemed harsh at first, I understood, and her advice helped me a lot.

One fine summer day, when I was twelve, my mother told me to get ready quickly, and that we had to go somewhere. When I asked where, she said I was going to school. I thought she was kidding, so I laughed. Then my mom dropped the bomb: “I have enrolled you in the St. George’s School, a private school. So, I have set up a meeting with the principal, Mr. Ryland. He’s super nice, hopefully, and he will give you a tour of the school. Don’t worry, it’s only July, so if you don’t like the school, I could always cancel.”

“Why? I like staying with you,” I said. Did she want to get rid of me? I don’t want to be alone!

“Well, you’re an only child. I think that staying with other normal children can help you, and you can experience real life.”

“Just in case you didn’t notice, I can barely get through the house by myself! You expect me to get through a school!” I never lash out at my mom. I don’t know what came across me, but I was mad.

“Just take the tour, please,” she said.

“Fine,” I grumbled. So my mom helped me get upstairs and get ready, and then helped me come down and eat. She handed me something. It was long and smooth, and the top of it felt kind of squishy.

“This is a cane,” she said. You don’t need to use it like an old person, just every now and then, gently stick it out in front of you to see if there is anything in front of you. Just don’t hit anyone with it,” she laughed.

Hand in hand, we went into the car, and drove to the St. George’s School. We walked together to the main office, where a female voice greeted us, and told us where to go to get to the principal’s office.

“You ready?” I nodded. She opened the door. Inside was a man with a loud booming voice.

“Hey, Lily! I’ve been expecting ya! Are ya ready for the tour?” he yelled. He must have looked kind of strange too, because I felt my mom stifle a laugh. “So, yer mom’s told me all about ya! She said yer smart, and really good at mental math. First, I’m gonna take ya to the gym, then to yer homeroom, then to the other classes. After that, the performing arts center, also known as the stage, and then we’ll loop back to my office! You good with that?” Without waiting for me to answer, he led us out the office, and I felt a cool breeze come upon us that gave me goosebumps. His strong grip led my mother and me down the hall, down the stairs, into someplace that felt warm, sticky, and smelled like sweat.

“This is the gym,” he boomed. The gym’s emptiness made his voice even louder and echo a bit. “The track’s outside, and the pool’s by the locker rooms, but we ain’t goin there today. We’re focusin’ on the gym. Hey, you might even want to start runnin’. Ya never know.”

Why did he think I could run? Even if I wanted to, the coach would probably just keep me on the sides anyway. I would crash into the walls and other people. My dad was the family runner. Not me.

Mr. Ryland led us back upstairs into a room.

“This is Mrs. Olanski, yer homeroom teacher. She teaches math.” A much gentler, slender hand, which must have Mrs. Olanski’s, held mine and led me to my desk.

“I put your desk close to the door, so that you won’t have any problems with getting into your seat. Whenever we have a test, I will read you the questions, and write them down for you. Otherwise, you won’t be treated like a little kid.”

Mrs. Olanski is awesome, I thought. Usually, people like me are treated like babies and adults use that singy-songy voice. Mrs. Olanski, on the other hand, treated me like a human. A normal one.

“Come on, you! We don’t have all day to tour the school! Let’s go to the science room!” boomed Mr. Ryland. We said bye to Mrs. Olanski, and went to the next room.

“Hi, I’m Mr. Daren. This year, you’ll be learning about all sorts of cool stuff.”

His voice was smiling. It was deep, but not as deep and Mr. Ryland’s, and I liked it. It was also much quieter.

“It’s my first year here, too, so I’m just about as nervous as you are,” he whispered, probably to me. After that, Mr. Ryland led my mom and I across the hall to the English room. A fragile, wrinkly hand led me to my desk.

“I am Miss Bonnie. The English language is the most important thing to understand, for talking with the improper grammar can lead to many more mistakes in life, Ryan Ryland.” Her voice sounded dangerous.

I stifled a laugh. Miss Bonnie started talking to me back in her sweet old lady voice again.

“I love to teach. Children are the best things, next to the proper use of English, aren’t they, dearie?”

“Uh, I guess so,” I said. We went to history after that. Mr. Jenkins, the teacher, told me it was his retiring year. Then “the stage.” And then we left. School’s gonna be easy, I thought, before I went to sleep that night. I was so wrong.

***

Two months later, I found myself in the car, with my mom driving me to school.

“Stop biting your nails,” my mom said. “You’re going to bite your fingers off!”

I couldn’t help it. I was so nervous. I stopped biting my nails, but started again no more than three minutes later. My mom sighed.

“It’s going to be okay. You don’t need to worry.” But how could I not worry? So I stayed very worried.

I felt the car make a large turn and then stop. My mom helped me out of the car, and we walked to the school. She opened the door, and we walked down the hallway. Then, she let go of me.

“I need you to get used to walking without me, okay? Remember, I can’t always hold your hand now, honey. I’ll be right next to you for now.” Now, I was really annoyed. Couldn’t we have practiced this at home?

So I stumbled around until I found room 301, Mrs. Olanski’s room. I heard my mom whisper, “Bye,” and leave. Great. Now I was all alone too. I found my desk and sat down. The room was quiet. So I was.

Mrs. Olanski took attendance, and started teaching us. When we were supposed to take notes, she walked right over and whispered to me, “You don’t need to, until Miss Bonnie can help you start writing. For now, your mind is your notebook.”

Next, we had history with Mr. Jenkins, a man whose voice sounded so squeaky he was comparable to a mouse. He didn’t really care.

Then we had Art. I stunk. I mean, how does the teacher expect me to do stuff if I can’t even see my work and supplies?

When we had lunch, I found a table that was empty and sat down. As I ate my sandwich, I ignored the snickers of some students behind me until I realized I was sitting on something very cold and squishy. I immediately stood up and inspected what I had been sitting on, which only made the laughs behind me louder. It was an ice cream sandwich. One of the kids behind me said, “Are you blind?”

Without waiting for my answer, he shouted, “Hey, Alex! This kid’s blind!” I mumbled something in reply and tried to sit somewhere else, but they kept on following me. I ended up stumbling my way into the girl’s bathroom, where I locked myself into a stall and ate there. I cried a little too.

I sat in the back of the room in Science. Mr. Daren may have noticed, but didn’t say anything.

I sat out in gym. There wasn’t much to do.

In English, I again took the seat at the very back of the room. Miss Bonnie noticed and asked me if anything was wrong, but I denied.

Every day went on like this until the beginning of November. That’s when things changed. At lunch that day, something weird happened. Someone sat down on my table. I felt the table shake as they pulled their chair in. By now, the boys weren’t doing the ice cream sandwich thing anymore because I always felt the chair before I sat down. But they were still doing rude things to me. I figured it was one of them, so I stayed silent.

Finally, the silence was unbearable, so I said, “Okay, what do you want to do to me now?” The voice that came back to me was innocent, and not at all snarky, like the boys.

“Uh, hi, I’m Sophia,” the girl said. Oops. I apologized.

“Those boys behind me like to make fun of me, so I figured you were one of them,” I said.

“No problem.” She seemed nice enough, but I just didn’t understand why she wanted to be with me. She also wasn’t in any of my classes, so I figured she was new. “Are you new?”

“Yeah, I just started coming here last month. I used to go to a public school but as my mom said, the teachers were ‘horrendous.’” Sophia laughed.

“But why did you start coming here?” I’ve been kinda alone this whole time, so I was surprised anyone would want to sit with me.

“Well, I used to sit alone this whole month, then I noticed you were all alone too. I get how it feels too, so I came and sat. No biggie. So, why do you sit alone? There are lots of new kids here.”

I just casually said, “I’m blind.” She, for some strange reason, started laughing.

“Oh, god. The two disabled children meet. This is hilarious.”

I must have had a weird look on my face. I couldn’t tell.

“Huh?” That’s all I said. Huh?

She stopped laughing and whispered,”I’m dyslexic. I have dyslexia, a disorder that makes words seem to dance and flip and shake and move in any other possible way. So don’t worry, I get you.”

And that was the start of our friendship. Whenever those boys ever did anything to me, she stuck up for me. She was the best thing I ever could have gotten. Plus, I helped her with mental math.

***

One day, once we had sat down for English, Mrs. Bonnie walked up to me. I could hear heels clacking against the ground closer and closer to me until they stopped.

“I am going to teach you how to write. You won’t be able to read, but you can always write.”

Was she crazy?  As if I could write. But oh man, she told me to stay an extra hour of school every day. When everybody left the room, I stayed in my seat. I was kind of grateful for that because I never walked, I kind of stumbled around until I felt the door. But she taught me. She told me that she put a stack of blank paper in my desk instead of the lined ones everyone got. Probably because I couldn’t find the line to write on. But by the next month, I knew how to write my letters neatly, print and cursive. And by the month after that, I could write. She also taught me to feel for the edges of the paper so I wouldn’t have crooked writing. That was really helpful. So now, whenever she asks us to write an answer in our notebooks, I can. At least on blank paper.

And whenever those kids bullied me, Mr. Daren somehow always noticed. Like, last week, that kid Alex had a cut, so he took off his bloody bandaid and was going to stick it on my food, but Mr. Daren noticed and took them to have a long talk with Mr. Ryland, who can be downright monstrous when he’s mad, apparently. All that happened when I was in the bathroom. Sophia told me.

Once I told Mrs. Olanski I could write, she said that was great and that I could start taking notes now. So I did. That wasn’t a problem anymore, because I didn’t have to worry about forgetting what I learned.

Mr. Daren sounded glad too, when I told him.

“Notes are important to write. The world of science is far too complex for a single brain to hold. We need reminders.”

Not bad. But it was true.

Once I went to Mrs. Bonnie’s room, she pulled me aside and gave me an iPad.

“Feel for the edges of the iPad so you know where it is. Tap on the left and it will repeat a word for you to write on the paper in front of you. Tap on the right and it will give you the next word to spell.”

So I worked on spelling for the next two hours. (I still stayed for the extra hour.)

Mrs. Bonnie gave one look at it, and sighed. “Spelling again tomorrow! Goodbye!”

Okay. So I apparently suck at spelling. Oh well.

The next day, Sophia told me at lunch that Mr. Jenkins had been looking at me all history.

“He was like, look at the board, glance at Lily, back to teaching, stare at Lily, teach a bit, look at Lily! He’s looking at you right now,” she whisper-yelled. “Did you do anything?”

“No, what would I do?” I was getting really nervous, and I could feel my palms starting to sweat. What did I do today? I walked into class, sat down, took notes, listened, and did everything I was supposed to, even though I couldn’t bear that squeaky voice of his.

“He’s literally staring at you while eating!” On an awkward scale from one to ten, I’d think this would be an eleven. A teacher is watching me shovel every mouthful of mashed potatoes into my mouth, I don’t know what to do, and Sophia’s whisper-yelling pretty audibly. I went into my best table manners, and pretend not to know that a creepy, old man was stalking me.

When I sat down for my extra hour of English, Mr. Jenkins walked in. I could hear his shoes squeaking and the sound of his cane hitting the ground as he walked. He was unmistakable.

“Hi, Miss Bonnie. Can I please have Lily for the extra hour today?”

Miss Bonnie hesitated. “But she is learning to spell!

“I know, but this is extremely important. Please?’’

“Fine. Just today.”

Mr. Jenkins led me to his room and asked me to sit down. The second my bottom hit that chair, “Am I in trouble? I didn’t do anything wrong, I listened, took notes, and did everything I was supposed to, but why am I-”

“Whoa there! No, you are not in trouble. Just listen to me read this article.”

_____________________________________________________

 

Current Medicine Today: Bionic Eye Helps Blind Teenager Regain Eyesight

 

Rose Decker, a girl living in South Carolina, had cataracts as a child, fully losing eyesight by the time she was ten. SCECA (South Carolina Eye Care Association) had developed a microchip to place in the eye that enables people suffering from blindness to see well enough to navigate around their surroundings. “I wanted to try it. Even if the operation fails, there won’t be any making my eyes any worse, because I’m already blind,” says Rose Decker, now nearing the age of eighteen. The operation was tested, and it worked. Rose Decker can now see, though she wears glasses. “I am really proud of all these scientists that helped my daughter to see, this will really help the blind people across America,” says Amanda, or “Mandie” Decker, Rose’s mother.

________________________________________________________________

 

Mr. Jenkins finished reading. There was a long silence until my mom spoke up, who, unbeknownst to me, was in the room the whole time.

“So, what do you mean she can get this operation? It isn’t even affordable!”

Mr. Jenkins shocked us by saying, “No worries. Us teachers got together and set up a website which people can read and donate money for the operation. We raised $11,000, enough for the operation.”

I didn’t know what to feel. Hopeful that it would would work? Scared that it would hurt? Excited that I would see? Mixed emotions swirled around me like ghosts.

 

***

The doctors, Dr. Russell and Dr. Marshall, wheeled me into the operating room and put me on the operating table. They stuck a huge needle into me, saying it wouldn’t hurt. Liars. They drugged me with anesthesia and told me to count to ten. “One, two, threee, ffffoourrr…” Boom. And like that, I was asleep.  

I came to about five hours later. I still couldn’t see, and I was about to start crying because the operation “didn’t work” when I realised there were bandages covering both of my eyes. Stupid anesthesia! I was still super sleepy, so I went back to sleep.

This time when I woke up, I heard my mom saying, “She’s up!” and hugging me as tight as hugs can be. She whispered in my ear, “Sophia is here.”

“How are you feeling?” asked Sophia.

“Sleepy,” I replied.

“When do you get those bandages off?” Sophia’s voice sounded cautious, like she didn’t want to harm me even though she was just talking.

“’Bout two weeks,” I replied. Then she left. Well, I just couldn’t wait.

***

I was staying in the hospital until my eyes healed. (They made a bajillion cuts in there.) Every morning, a nurse changed my bandages, but never gave me any time to actually see anything. But the day came. After what seemed like forever, Dr. Russell walked into the room, his shoes squeaking as he did so.

“Tomorrow, your bandages are coming off. I will contact your parents.”

The word parents just made me sad. It’s been awhile since Dad died, but I still haven’t gotten over it yet.

The next day, my mom was next to me, holding what smelled like a cake. My mouth watered. The doctor slowly removed the bandages. Color flooded my eyes. It felt like I was opening my eyes after a long sleep and that I was now awake. My mom was so much prettier than I thought.

***

I came back to school with a happy heart. There were rumors everywhere.

“Lily had to get her eyeball taken out!”

“Yeah, cuz she poked em with a fork while eating!”

“No, the doctor made her eyeball exposed to radioactive stuff so that healed her!”

“Come on, that only happens in Superman comics!”

“It’s true!’’

But I didn’t let all this get to me. I sat down, and scanned the room, and the people in it. Instantly, I noticed Sophia, staring at me intently. I gave her a wave, beaming. She grinned back. She was real pretty too. Long, wavy, blond hair, and green eyes. Peter and Alex were both ugly. I’m pretty sure they were twins. Because they were equally ugly.

Mrs. Olanski took attendance, looked at me and smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

Mr. Jenkins did the exact same thing as before — look at the board, glance at Lily, back to teaching, stare at Lily, teach a bit, look at Lily. I didn’t mind. He was now my favorite teacher.

Ms. Turner, the art teacher just gave me a look, like she was challenging me to draw something good. I failed. Who cares?

Lunch was revenge time. I grabbed an ice cream sandwich, and broke it in half. I put it, ice cream side up, on Peter and Alex’s chairs. Squish. They sat down. Instantly, they looked back at me and scowled.

At gym, for the first time, I participated. I got so good at my sprinting that, after watching me for a few days, Coach James wanted me on the track team. Eventually, through months of practice, I became the best runner on the team. So, in late May, Coach James wanted me to run the annual race, representing the St. George’s School.

There were lots of people there, all different sizes, warming up on the dewy grass. I joined them. I remembered how good of a runner my dad once was. Now, I had to do well. Not for me, but for my father. Soon, we were all gathered at the starting line. The starting gun was fired. We all started sprinting, but I was a little surprised by how slow they were.

 

Epilogue

I looked around, feeling tired, but proud. I had just run 26.2 miles in three and a half hours. I crossed the finish line and looked back. There were a few people way behind me, but no one ahead. My cheeks were rosy red, and my face was covered in sweat. I imagined myself shaking hands with the president, and then him giving me a medal. There was a crowd of people at the end, screaming that I was first. But I didn’t see them. I saw my mom, standing there with tears of pride in her eyes. I realized, for the first time, that I was truly happy.

 

The End

 

The Wall

“Wake up!  Wake up!”

My eyes flutter open inside my dark and dismal bedroom. I glance at my clock, one of the last possessions I have left.  We sold the rest. It’s only 3:30 am.

“Get up!” yells my older brother, Jim, who never loves me. “Get up, or by the time we get to the store, the shelves will be empty.”

Oh right, I say in my mind. Ever since Trump’s wall was built, my life has been split in half. I put on my dark, gray coat and get ready to leave. Even though curfew doesn’t end for another hour, we still wait in silence in the sketchy alley behind the store. While we wait behind an oil barrier, I catch a glimpse of the wall. An eyesore, a barren stretch of barbed wire, the wall that keeps me separated from my parents.

It’s been five months since my parents crossed the wall in search of work. They left when you could still cross the border freely. They left in search of food. They left in order to give us a better life. They were in search of the real American dream. I can remember that day; my mom was wearing a khaki coat, my dad was in patched jeans. Even nature knew that was a sad day. That morning, the birds didn’t sing their happy song. Instead, they sang a sad, low song.

Before they left, they gave us 250 dollars, enough to buy one hundred pounds of food. Enough to last until the day that they would return. My parents warned us to save and not splurge. That was the last amount of cash left in the bank. The wall just doesn’t flow between the U.S. and Mexico, it also cuts through the states of the Northwest. To the north there’s Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. To the south, there’s Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada. Leaving my home state of California divided, the wall cuts through my hometown of San Francisco.

As I daydream on, my annoying brother pinches me.

“Ouch!” I squeak. Jim must never have loved me.

“Shhh!” My brother hisses at me. “Stay focused,” he snaps.

Just to annoy Jim, I ask, “Why do we have to wait so early?”

Then he really gets ticked off. Then he says in an annoyed, angered, and mocking tone, “You know why, buster. Because of Trump’s policy, only American goods are allowed for purchase, making a shortage of food.”

As he speaks, I can detect sadness in his voice. I know he’s depressed, not because his parents are gone and not because his life is forever scared, but because his girlfriend, Anne, who he loved more than me, fled across to the North a few months ago. He was planning on proposing to her, but he was waiting on me, who was waiting on my dad, who was waiting on his sister, who was waiting on a baby, who was waiting to come out. But that night, Anne fled with her family across the border with only the clothes on their backs in the tar-black night and only, with the light of the faded stars, to fall and to be shot.

“C’mon, curfew is over. Let’s go line up at the store,” he says.

As I glimpse over at the bleak and life-threatening wall, with the patrols that are ordered to shoot on sight, I ask Jim, “If you had the chance, would you go to Canada?”

Then the slightest bit of happiness is drained from his face. Then he said, “Don’t think about that. Those who get too curious about the divider end up crossing it.”

We walk inside the lifeless store. Up above, I see a faded supermarket ad with a smiling mom with her kids saying, “So many choices, for such a small price!”

I think, Yeah right, the only choice is between white cabbage and napa cabbage. I dump a sack of rice, some napa cabbage, and a can of soda into the shopping cart. As I wait in line at the checkout counter, I see some smuggled mangoes, carefully buried beneath a carton of pasta. But as soon as I look away, the cart is gone. I wonder, if only I could afford some of the juicy, tangy, and sweet mangoes that I crave so much. Then I remember that if I were to buy a mango, that would cost all of the cash we had left. As my brother and I arrive at our apartment, we see the cars that belong to the dreaded secret police.

“Stay calm,” Jim says, in a hushed tone. We were the reason they were here. They were here for two reasons:

  1. Our parents’ daring escape to the North.
  2. They believed that we were associated with Anne’s escape.

The moment we step into our apartment, we realize that we are correct. There are two officers in the room. The officer with the nametag that says “Ted” asks us, “You two know that we only want some answers that’s all, right?

Before we could respond, he says, “Very well, shall we begin? First question, when did your parents escape to the North?”

Then Jim answers, as clear as a bell, “February  3rd, 2018.”

Then, the second officer, Ben, says, “Have you had any contact with your parents?”

After that, I say, “No…”

But then Ben cuts me off and says, “Shut up squirt and let the older one talk! I didn’t sweat through training to deal with stubborn teens.”

Then, Jim finishes for me by saying, “No, not since the cell phone signals have been cut off.”

“Final question,” says Ted. “Were you involved in Anne’s escape?”

Jim freezes. I try to say something, but I can’t. Finally, Jim manages to choke out the words, “No, I never knew she escaped until a week later.”

The officers look like they don’t believe a word Jim is saying.   

I brace for arrest. I brace for jail. I brace for my life to be over. As soon as Jim says those words, Ted tackles him to the ground, but Jim slides out of the way. Then Ben grabs a lamp and bashes Jim’s head. Blood spews out of his head like water flowing out of the tap. Glass shards stick out of Jim’s head like teepees. The fight continues into the kitchen where Jim is thrown against a glass case of fine plates and cutlery. The glass case and plates explode into a million pieces. Jim grabs a knife and stabs Ben in the chest. Ben falls down and crumbles like a plastic bag on the kitchen floor. Blood seeps onto the floor, full of Ben’s blood. The floor looks like it was washed in blood. After noticing his colleague’s death, Ted gets a burst of energy, takes a frying pan, and whacks Jim in the head. Jim drops to the ground dramatically and gets becomes knocked out. Ted then takes a knife and says in a cold voice, “Come with me or you will end up like your brother.”

I follow Ted into his patrol car while he drags Jim by the legs against the hard concrete. He bangs up and down. I hope he just has a concussion. A few minutes later, Jim wakes up inside the speeding patrol car. When the car zooms by a bleak, dismal, and dark neighborhood that’s near the wall, my eyes meet Jim’s. Could this be the time he would sincerely tell me that he loved me, before we would be separated in jail? I begin to plan out what I will say to him.

But before I can speak, he whispers, “Don’t look back, no matter what.” Before I can respond, he pulls the car door handle and shoves me out of the car.  

At first, I thought he wanted to hurt me, but then I realize he just sacrificed his life for me and saved me.

I don’t know what happened next, but I envisioned this, a man yelling, “Well if I can’t get him, then I guess I have to take you,” and then there was a crack of gunfire. Next, I hear car wheels squeaking and a car coming in my direction. After this, I begin to run toward the wall. I knew that my life here was over, and my only chance was to cross it. I had nothing to lose. My brother was dead, and I had no future here. As I climbed up above the wall, just about to hit the barbed wire, I could see sirens squeaking, speeding patrol cars, and wild dogs swarming me. As I climb over the spiky, barbed wire, I feel something tugging on my leg. Then the tugging gets harder and I look down. It was a mutt, a sniffer, a police dog! I yanked myself free, but while I was dealing with the dog, I was was not paying attention and got tangled in the barbed wire. I then wiggled free of the sharp, barbed wire and land on the floor with sharpened particles in my arm and leg. Unable to walk, I begin to helplessly crawl on the dusty ground, toward the second wall that separates the South and the North. But as I tug myself forward, I hear dogs barking, and sirens wailing after me. All I feel inside me is a desperate need to survive. As I trudge closer and closer to the Northern Wall, a dog starts to grab my leg. I groan in pain. A few seconds later, his owner arrests me. After that, three more guards surround me. One points his gun, and says, “Any last words, traitor?”

Then in a whimpering voice I say, “Is it a crime to act free in your own country? Is it a crime for your own brother to sacrifice his life so you can live freely in another state? Is it a crime to live happily and in tranquility? Are you considered a traitor in your own country because you are going to another state for a better life and to find your parents?”

I’m not scared of the guards, I’m only scared of the fact that I won’t see my parents again. My final thought is that although I did not make it out alive, I am grateful for my brother and I only know this: yes, my brother did love me, he really did. All I can remember happening next was bang! My name is Dominic, and this is my story.

 

The War that Came to Peace

Chapter One: Meeting Extinct Reptiles

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Ben. He never had a good life, and all he wished was to have a better life than this. His parents had adopted him. All they ever said was, “You don’t deserve dinner tonight. You don’t deserve ice cream. You don’t deserve chocolate. You don’t deserve anything, but us.”

One night, they got so angry that they got a ladder and told him to stand right in front of it and to give them a white board. When he realized what happened, he was too afraid, and he had already given it to them, so now he couldn’t take it back because it was too tall.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh! Help me!” he screamed with terror.

He closed his eyes, hoping, no praying not to get hurt. Then he felt as if a magical hoop was going around him. So he opened one eye; he was in a different dimension! He found himself in the middle of a velociraptor home. They had fresh meat in the corner and raw meat in another corner. It was neater than his parents’ house!

“They sort stuff?” he said confused. “Amazing!”

They even made beds out of straw they found in the woods. He suddenly noticed two velociraptors were staring at him. He knew they were velociraptors because it matched all the features of a velociraptor he had read about in the library. They had piercing eyes and gleaming sharp claws. They surrounded Ben. It’s the end, thought Ben. Instead they just sniffed at first, then walked away!

“Maybe it’s because I smell like their home!?” said Ben. Then he remembered something. He dug in his pocket until he dug out a big book. The cover said, The Language of Velociraptors. His real parents had put it his pocket before they died. “Yes!” he said. “I knew I had it somewhere! You know, I should treasure this.”

In Velociraptor language, he asked if he could live with them because his parents were evil to him.

“Of course!” the velociraptors said. “Just let us warn you about something.”

“I’m listening,” said Ben.

“If you see a cheetah, they are against us, so you better run for your life!”

“Got it! It’ll be a piece of cake, I’m a great climber,” Ben said.

“How do you know there’s woods out there?” said the velociraptor.

“It’s a legend in my world,” said Ben.

“Got it,” said the velociraptor.

“Wait, do you have a leader?” said Ben.

“You’ll know the difference. He has wicked patterns on his back.”

“Let us introduce ourselves,” said one velociraptor. “My name is James. And this one right here is my brother, Michael.”

“I want to help hunting,” said Ben. “What do you hunt?”

“Rats and bugs. Also raw meat we find lying around from the cheetahs.”

“I know how to catch the rats,” said Ben.

“How?” asked James.

“You make a contraption that rats can crawl in, but can’t crawl out.”

“Amazing!” said Michael.

“Wait, is there more of you?” Ben asked.

“You’ll meet the others later,” Michael and James said together.

‘‘Can you teach me how to talk at the same time?”

“Sure,” said Michael.

“So let’s go hunting!” said Ben.

***

When they got there, Ben realized that it was more than just the woods. It was an enchanted woods, actually — He could feel it.

“But wait,” thought Ben. “The legend didn’t say it was enchanted.”

That got Ben thinking, Maybe that’s why there are so little live animals. No wonder it’s so gloomy. I wonder how we’re going to find other animals to eat.

“Do you have a stream?” asked Ben.

“Yes, we do,” said James.

“Okay, great! Because I think I’ll only be eating fish.”

“We’ll help you hunt the fish,” said the two velociraptors together.

“If you know how to fish,” said Ben smirking.

“What do you mean?” said James. “First, are you done hunting?”

“Yeah, we are,” said Michael.

“Great! Time to make some fishing rods,” said Ben grinning broadly. “First, can be you get me to a bamboo forest?”

“Definitely!” said James. “It’s the next forest down.”

***

On the way there, they didn’t get bored because they were chatting about how fun it would be to defeat those cheetahs. When they were about halfway to the bamboo forest, James said, “Hey look! There’s the rest of the clan. I knew they were hunting!”

“Uh oh,” exclaimed Michael. “I just realized we were supposed to take care of the baby velociraptors. We’re in big trouble.”

“Hide,” Ben whispered while shouting.

***

They scrambled up trees while the others came. James and Michael were shivering like icicles just about to fall off a porch. “What if they find us!” said James.

“If we stay quiet, they won’t find us. So quit it!” said Michael.

Ben suddenly worried about something. “What if I lost the smell I got from their house? The velociraptors won’t trust me, and they’ll eat me!”

Now Ben knew he had to scramble up the tree. “No!” He knew he had to distract them. He had to save James and Michael. He slowly came down… slow as a sloth. Finally, he got down right in front of Clan Espyon. (He found out what clan it was from the legend.) The clan went to him and sniffed him like James and Michael did. The clan backed away and circled Ben. I can tell. I think it’s best to talk to them now, Ben thought shaking.

“Hello?” said Ben. “I met James and Michael, so please don’t hurt me.” They stopped circling and stared at him. Then said, “Follow us.”

“I’m sorry, but I need to go to a bamboo forest to make myself fishing rods,” said Ben.

***

“We’ll take you there,” the chief said.

“No that’s okay. Michael’s taking care of the babies and James is with me.”

“Oh, got it,” said the clan chief as he left.

***

“See you soon,” said Ben, making sure they were completely gone. “James, Michael, you guys can come down now!”

Both of them peeked from each of their branches and came down.

“Quick! Michael go to the cave before the rest of the clan does, and be safe!”

Michael speeded like a jet towards to clan’s cave. “I hope he makes it in time,” said James.

“Me too,” said Ben.

“We should go to the bamboo forest now,” James said after a while.

“You are right, let’s go.” Soon enough they reached the bamboo forest. The first thing Ben noticed in the distance was a panda chewing on a bamboo stick.

“How many animals are supposed to be in this legendary world?” Ben asked.

“Four,” said James. “They were hunted down by cheetahs in case you were wondering.”

“And what would these two more animals be?”

“Dodo birds, which have their own island so they don’t get hunted down by cheetahs, and red kangaroos.”

“We also found another species… ”

“Wait… really?! What species? Where?”

“Introducing, the panda,” Ben said, showing where the panda was. When Ben looked at James he saw he was speechless. James could only say one thing: “Incredible.”

SSSHHHHHHH went the bushes, rustling as if there were wild bees fighting in there.

“What was that?” said James. “I think they’re here,” said Ben. “The cheetahs are here.”

Chapter Two: The Impossible War

Slowly, eyes popped out from every bush; soon, they were surrounded.

“I’ll climb up the tree and you run. They’ll be distracted by me and you’ll be able to run away,” said Ben.

“On the count of three: one, two, three!” Ben jetted up the tree and then for the split second, back to back to a tree.

The cheetah army looked up at him, and James had time to escape.

“Get theeeeem!” yelled the cheetah general in fury. Ben gracefully went from vine to vine in the trees, and the cheetahs followed but weren’t as lucky, as ten clumsily fell from the trees. There were ten left chasing James on the ground, but the rest of the army went to help the ten that fell from the trees. As the other ten who were chasing James hit trees, James quickly dodged the trees. Ben then slid from a vine to the ground and ran with James.

Ben suddenly said, “We should tell the other velociraptors about this.”

“You’re right,” said James. Five minutes later they got to the cave where Michael was, and immediately the velociraptors said, “Hey James and Ben!”

“Hi, but can we talk to chief?”

“What is it?” the chief asked, walking through the crowd.

“First, follow us.”

James and Ben went to the back of the cave with the velociraptor chief. “The cheetahs are coming!  We need to get the rest of our army, quick,” said the Chief.  “Everyone, get into your hiding spots, and the army can come with me!”

 

Chapter Three: The War Begins

The minute they got out of the cave, they saw the army waiting for the victorious yell of the leader, hopefully within the minute.  “ATTACK!” yelled both generals.

Ben decided to distract some cheetahs so he went into the trees, and the general yelled, “GET THAT BOY!!!”

James and Michael saw Ben’s plan so they followed the cheetahs that followed Ben   Slowly, one by one, the cheetahs chasing Ben disappeared because of James and Michael.  Soon there were none left, and Ben went back to get some more.  

“There he is!” said the general.  “Get him!  More this time!  Put twenty of you to get that boy!”

Still he went back, so he put more and more.  Soon there were only ten left against the velociraptors.

“WE GIVE UP!  We’ll do whatever you want!”

“Whatever?” said the general, looking at James, Michael, and Ben.  

“From now on, work for us!” said James, Michael, Ben and the general.

And they all lived happily ever after

 

THE END                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Cleo’s Escape Plan

For a while, there was nothing. But then I could feel my brothers and sisters and my mom licking me. I loved the taste of my mother’s sweet milk. Then, as quick as there was darkness, there was light. I saw my beautiful mother, and my pink and squirming sisters and brothers. In my house, there were two people. They came in every day to give my mother great-smelling food. They would not give it to us though. I wanted the food badly. My brothers and sisters were very playful. I learned my mother was called Buttercup and my brothers were Max, Bobby, and Cubby. My sisters were Samantha (who I loved the most), Coco, and Rose.

They called me Cassie, and my female owner always said, “Cassie Cassie Cassie! Come!” I learned that that meant to go to her. After playing with Samantha everyday, my owners started to give me my mother’s food. I liked it, but it wasn’t as good as milk.

Then one day, my owner said, “Cassie! You are going to be adopted! Your new owners will call you Cleo!”

She said it with such joy and happiness, I wagged my tail and barked.

After I woke up the next day, two playful boys came in to see me. They radiated their love for me! I didn’t know why, but I immediately got attached to them and their mother called “Mom.” They then brought me into a big, metal thing called a car, and they stuck me in a smaller metal thing called a crate. I sniffed it, but I was tired so I drifted off into a cozy sleep.

When I woke up, I smelled a whole new place. My boy took me out of the car. I was still in my metal crate. He carried me up these bumpy pieces of wood to my new house as I soon realized. Once Mom opened the door, the boys rushed in and put down my crate. The door opened to my crate. This place had tasty air, but I missed my family. I missed Samantha. I was thirsty. The boys let me lick their hands and they tasted good. I wanted to play with them, but I didn’t know how to get out over the metal bar that was in front of me. When I finally got over the bar, I was so happy.

Two minutes later, I was curiously sniffing my water bowl and licking the boy’s face. This boy was called Nico, and Mom called the other boy Jacob. A few minutes later Mom left with an old man. It was just me and Jacob because Nico went upstairs. Jacob stayed with me, and I felt calm when he cuddled me. I fell asleep in his bed. I woke up a few minutes after Nico came downstairs.

He said, “Hi Cleo!” and he took Jacob’s position by cuddling me. I fell asleep for the rest of the night.

In the morning, Mom woke me up and put me on a mat. I relieved myself, and Nico praised me by saying, “Good girl!”

I wagged my tail because I was so excited! Then I realized I was hungry.

Then Mom said, “Let’s get you some food, puppy wuppy.”

I curiously sniffed the air as I smelled the food they gave my mother, Buttercup. I ate all of the delicious food. Then I went on the porch. I loved it so much. I smelled the birds and plants. As soon as Jacob brought me in, I had a huge desire to go out again.

I tried to get out in every way. I jumped at the door, I sat by the door, I pushed the door. None of them worked. I even barked at it.

I’m never going to get out, I thought.

I decided to devise a plan to escape.

I decided to make a Rube Goldberg machine to open the front door.

I hope this will work, I thought.

I knocked over a line of treats that went directly to my water bowl and nudged it a little. The stick in the water bowl fell over to knock the leash that was tied to the cabinet. The cabinet swung open and hit a (very squeaky) orange and green tennis ball. The tennis ball rolled all the way into the living room and bounced off a table leg. The tennis ball rolled to a vertical shoe, which fell on a seesaw made out of a bed resting on a toy. The doggy shampoo, which was on the bed, flew up and started rolling to the stick with a fork at the top, which I hoped would turn the key when the shampoo hit it…

The doorbell rang. I started barking and yelling in my mind, Who is it, who is it!?

I ran to the door just as the shampoo was about to hit the stick… You won’t believe me when I tell you that I accidently knocked over the stick!!!

NOOOOOOOO!!! I thought angrily. My plans are ruined! I will never be able to go out! I am trapped!

Then Nico came downstairs and opened the door. I rushed out joyously. I was free!!!

The person asked, “Can you sign for this package?”

“Sure.” Nico said, cheerfully.

I will never be trapped again! I thought gleefully.

 

From then on, I always got to go out onto the porch, and Mom and Nico took me to the park very often. When I went there, I always got to play with my friends. I decided I was sure about one thing; I loved the great outdoors.

 

Blackout Poetry

     

Things like that could hide out in the back,

Things like that asking me out.

Lucky stars divided,

Keeping out the breeze,

I wasn’t,

when the move called I could tell.

***

I glance at the thick trees,

Stargazing flutters.

Then I realized something froze.

I answer swiftly between,

Then I commanded her to answer.

 

I met her,

Seventeen and wispy.

She was breathing,

I waited.

Then I took her palm,

She took a step.

I realized she was hiding,

I whispered “Why,”

She cried.

Then I whispered; “hide!”

 

America

           

Pretend

We pretend the storms have come early

We pretend we can’t hear the bombs in the distance

We pretend that everything is normal

June 27


Market

As I zoom downtown on my orange vespa,

Unaware of the fact that war is drawing closer to home

Unaware of the of the refugees that arrive everyday

Unaware of everything

As I arrive in the bustling  market,

sights and sounds enter the atmosphere

Oranges are stacked high in pyramids

Colorful cloth and fabric of every color, hang high above, forming a canopy

Bronze frying pans hang above, clanging in the windy mist

I set up my stall, after many others, hawking baby blankets, textiles, and cloth accessories

People look, but don’t buy

People can barely afford food

June 29

 

Dinner

At dinner, my friend, James, comes home with an odd idea

“We should go to America, to escape the war.” He says.

“No!” I snap. “America is too far away, and anyways this is our home.”

After a night of fighting, I say, ”Fine, you can go to America, and I will stay here!” I yell.

I wish he was dead.

The next morning, he leaves before dawn, to the circuit factory where he works.

July 1

 

Explosion

The smoky blast coats the city in a dark, choking dust

The blast came from one of the factories in the city

People zoom over on their  mopeds, in search of where the blast came from

Ambulances clog the way, while fire trucks race past

When I arrive at the factory with others,

I realize that it was the factory where James works.

I yell his name again and again. “James! James!” I cry over and over again.

Finally, after waiting for many nerve wracking hours, two men emerge from the lifeless and dusty rubble.

I run over to the stretcher where James is fighting for his life, and he manages to whisper to me, ”Go to America.”

July 2

 

Death

James is dead 

My only friend in this world was him and he left me.

I should have never argued with him.

July 3

 

Takeover

Today, the Communist Party marched in the city

Sleek tanks roared all day.

People knew this was going to happen, but nobody knew when it would happen.

July 5

 

Protest

Ever since the circuit factory explosion, many widows banded together and held a protest demanding compensation.

We held posters with the victims’ faces.

We marched through downtown

We march on a road when all of a sudden, tanks block our way from the front.

Then, tanks block our way from behind and soldiers appear.

They open fire.

People run and scream.

We all run in circles, afraid to stop.

The soldiers shout, “This is what you get for protesting!”

Then, something pierced my ankle.

Blood gushed out.

Someone stepped on me. Then another.

I then thought about James and that I would meet him in heaven.

Then, I closed my eyes for the last time.

July 12

 

Flashback Killer

In the year of 2007, there was a mass murderer somewhere in the state of Michigan. Alban McCluskey was on a journey with the orphanage, visiting the Great Lakes in Michigan.

One night, Alban, a.k.a. “Al,” woke up in the middle of the night looking for something to eat or drink. He saw a shadow with a crooked, sleek, body zip across the door. Al had a quick response to duck down under the counter. He heard a very faint metallic scrape of a rope. Almost like the sound you hear while going on a zip-line from the rope. Then he heard a faint slice and a disgusting sounding squish.

Then Al remembered! He had seen it on TV that morning. In the state he was in, there was a person killing children! He immediately remembered that he was in the same state. He knew he didn’t know how to fistfight or defend himself (assuming the intruder was holding a weapon and was dangerous).

Two of his friends abruptly screamed, and ran down the stairs, and behind them was a creepy, sleek woman in a black jumpsuit. She came down and swiftly, with what looked like with no hesitation, stabbed both boys at the same time. She took scissors out and snipped all four ears off the boys.

Al was scared to death. Then from behind him, he saw one of his friends opening the freezer behind her, and Al, knowing this was life or death, pushed her in and slammed the freezer door. They held the door very tightly until the slamming and crashing against the door had stopped. When the police arrived, they all agreed it was unsafe to let her out of the containing box which was the freezer. They took the whole freezer out of the house that the orphans were staying in. They all were overjoyed they had defeated the woman, but at the same time, they had lost three lives.

 

Ten Years Later…

One morning, Alban McCluskey was waking up to a rainy, overcast, and stormy morning. He slowly climbed out of bed, craving the warm covers but knew he had to get to work. He worked at a magazine company. He pulled up his tie and set off for work at the magazine. He had left his car he liked in the garage and forgot to tell the people to take it out so he took a taxi.

In the taxi, he took out his iPhone and looked at his Facebook feed. He thought he was hallucinating. He saw on his emergency alerts that Kassandra had broken out of jail and was on the run. He immediately clicked on the article and saw that for the past two years in her jail cell, she had been screaming and yelling about “Mojo” and “PureChi.” Then one day, she just screamed as if she were being tortured and just bent the bars of her jail cell. She ran off, screaming the name McCluskey. When she broke out she said, “Al will die.”

He went to work and was scared to death, as if he were a child. He didn’t go anywhere by himself. During the night, he went to his “colleague’s” house to see the atmosphere while he was working at home. Really, he just didn’t want to be in the dark by himself. Al didn’t remember much from his childhood, but the one thing he remembered, like it was the day before, was the night where his two best friends were stabbed right in front of him by this horrible woman.

Then he saw a message in his inbox on Facebook. It was horrible. He remembered that night the woman cut off the boys’ ears! Then, there they were. Those ears. In his inbox. He knew what he had to do. He had to face her. That night, he ran home, stretching and stressing himself out. Then he had dinner fast. He went in the mirror, but he screamed when he saw that it looked like a dark shadow of Kassandra was right behind him. He twisted his body, thrusting all of his weight into his face to crush Kassandra’s ribs, but he swung right through her. He knew it! It was his reflection…

He was having another flashback. His story wasn’t over yet.

 

The Smartest Gingerbread Man

I remember it like it was yesterday…

 

The Great Escape

You’ve heard the other stories, I bet. Somebody makes a gingerbread man, he runs away, and he eventually gets eaten. Well, my story isn’t like that. Maybe it’s the dough I’m made of, or maybe it’s my raisin brain, but I survived.

 

Chapter One

The first thing I can remember is entering the oven. I couldn’t move, and it was getting hotter by the second. I braced myself for incineration. Why must my life end before it has truly begun? But just before the baking heat took me, I was lifted away. My savior was a large woman (she seemed large to me, at least). But before I could thank her, her voice boomed:

“Marigold! Dessert’s ready!” I froze. Surely she didn’t mean…

Before I could make a decision, a hand reached out towards me. Had I been a second later, it would have been crumbs for me. I leapt off the table and came down hard on the floor. I could have been hurt badly, but the plush carpet cushioned my fall. Then I ran. A huge oak door loomed up in front of me. I stopped. Behind me, the monster was getting closer and closer. I turned around and slid under the door. I stood up and looked around.

Over by the wall, in a little nook, I saw another gingerbread man. I gasped and walked towards him. He was cinnamon brown, with raisin eyes and an icing mouth and coat. I reached out to touch him, but pulled back, because it seemed rude. He did the same.

“Hello?”

He didn’t respond. Then, I saw the monster coming up behind him.

“Look out!” I yelled, and jumped out of the way. I looked behind me — and there was the monster. It was then I realized that the other gingerbread man was only my reflection. But there was no time to mourn my friend that had never existed. I dashed between the monster’s legs and out under another door.

But in front of me was my greatest challenge yet: the steps. I hoisted myself down a few, my breaded muscles straining. But then I had an idea. I pulled myself up to the railing, just as the door opened and down I slid, holding on for dear life.

Ah!!!” I screamed.

After a terrifying descent, I finally reached the bottom. Squeezing my eyes shut, I slid down on the end of the rail. The door creaked open. Shoes clacked through the hallway. I slipped through the door just before it closed. The sights and sounds of the outside world greeted me. Dogs barked, people yelled, and commotion was everywhere in the big city. I timidly crept into the street and was immediately knocked over. I crawled behind a plant and dusted myself off.          

                                                                                                    

Chapter Two

I didn’t know what else to do, so I ran. Dodging huge shoes left and right, I darted through the crowd of feet. I was infinitely relieved when I burst out into the sunlight. Grass and trees surrounded me, bigger than I ever thought anything could be. I wandered around aimlessly, staring up at the beauty that surrounded me. There weren’t many people around; it seemed like paradise. But just then I saw a flash of orange in the bushes. I looked in the bushes, but saw nothing, and decided to ignore it.

I came to a river. The roaring floods frightened me, but I went up to the water and dipped in my toe. It stung worse than any pain I had ever felt before. I quickly pulled it out and looked around for a mode of transportation across the river. But I saw nothing. Just then, I felt hot breath on the back of my neck.

I turned around. There stood a fox, with an evil gleam in his eye.

He said to me, “I can carry you across this river on my back, if you would like.”

But I knew his true intentions. “Not on your life, mister!”

Then I ran. Away from the fox, away from the river. I heard his paws pounding on the ground behind me. But I didn’t look back. A moment’s slowness could mean death. I dived between two large roots of a tree and dug frantically with my hands. Just as the fox reached me, I had dug a hole deep enough so his snout could not reach me. Plastered against the end of the hole, I waited. I don’t know for how long. But when I finally stepped outside, it was dark and the fox was asleep. I carefully tiptoed past him. Then I ran, again.

I looked around for any sign of life, but I saw nothing. I would have to brave the streets again.

 

 The End

 

A Book About Space

              

Table of Contents

Solar System………………………….1

Greek Forms…………………………..2

The Milky Way Galaxy……………….3

NASA…………………………………..4

Earth’s History……………….………..5

Interesting Facts………………………6

The Solar System

Our Solar System has:

  • One star
  • Eight planets
  • Five dwarf planets
  • 181 moons
  • 566,000 asteroids
  • 3,100 comets

The one star in our solar system is called the sun. It’s a big ball of fire, and if you come too close, it can burn you. It is very hot because there is a gas in it which makes it burn. 1.3 million Earths can fit in it! Woah! That’s a lot.

The eight planets in our solar system include Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The temperature of Mercury is 800 degrees Fahrenheit or 430 degrees Celsius. The temperature of Venus is 864 degrees Fahrenheit or  462 degrees Celsius. The temperature of Earth is about 61 degrees Fahrenheit or 16 degrees Celsius. The temperature of Mars is -67 degrees Fahrenheit or -55 degrees Celsius. The temperature of Jupiter is -234 degrees Fahrenheit or -145 degrees Celsius. The temperature of Saturn is -288 degrees Fahrenheit or -178 degrees Celsius. The temperature of Uranus is -357 degrees Fahrenheit or -216 degrees Celsius. The temperature of Neptune is -353 degrees Fahrenheit or -214 degrees Celsius.

There are five dwarf planets in our solar system known to us. A dwarf planet is a space object which looks like a small planet but doesn’t have all the requirements. The five dwarf planets that we know today include Haumea, Makemake, Eris, Pluto, and Ceres.

Pluto used to be a planet, but then astronauts thought that it was too small and that it did not have all the requirements of a planet. It does not “clear the neighborhood” of its orbit, which means it bumps into things while it’s orbiting, and the rule is that a planet cannot bump into anything while it’s orbiting.

Mercury and Venus don’t have any moons. Earth has one, and Mars has two. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have many moons. The Earth’s moon is 2,158 miles. The Earth’s moon affects Earth, because the moon’s gravity pulls up water from the ocean, causing tides to form. Some planets have moons because huge rocks bumped into them, which caused a little part of them to come out and make a moon. But some planets don’t have a moon, because it didn’t happen to them.

Asteroids are basically big rocks that float all around space and sometimes come crashing into planets and stars. Asteroids are formed when two planets bump into each other. The parts that come out become asteroids. They look like huge rocks floating in the air. They go from floating to crashing when they bump into planets. About once a year, a huge asteroid hits Earth. When an asteroid comes crashing into Earth, it crashes above the sky called the atmosphere. We don’t notice it, because it’s so far above us, and it doesn’t have time to hit us.

A comet is basically a big, ball of fire in the front with a tail following behind it like a plane. It’s very colorful. When comets come crashing into Earth, they set on fire. This causes it to become a shooting star. It’s always moving. It looks sparkly and tie-dye.

 

Greek Forms

  • The Greek form of Mercury is Hermes.
  • The Greek form of Venus is Aphrodite.
  • Earth is the only planet in our solar system which does not have a Greek form.
  • The Greek form of Mars is Ares.
  • The Greek form of Jupiter is Zeus.
  • The Greek form of Saturn is Kronos.
  • Uranus is already named by a Greek.
  • The Greek form of Neptune is Poseidon.

A Greek form is, in this case, a planet but in another language. The planets we have, when they’re in their Roman form, is the name that we usually call them. Planets were given their names thousands of years ago. The Roman people who discovered them are the ones who named them. The Roman forms and Greek forms are alike, because Jupiter is Zeus, and Zeus is the head of all the gods and goddesses, and Jupiter is the biggest planet. So, Jupiter is basically the head of all the planets.

The Milky Way Galaxy

It travels at approximately 515,000 miles per hour — that’s really fast! It is made up of gas and dust called nebula, planets, stars, asteroids, comets, and meteors. It was made around 14 billion years ago. It looks sort of like a spiral with lots of sparkles on it. New stars are pretty much always forming inside the galaxy. In the center of the MIlky Way, there is something called a black hole, which is pretty much a black hole that can suck you in, even if you are far away. There are many black holes. This might be hard to believe, but it is a lot bigger than our sun. This black hole started off really small, but then, by the amount of gas that came into it, it became huge, and now it’s like a giant! It swallows up all of the stars it can get.

The measurements recently taken say that it is 400 billion to 780 billion times the sun’s mass. That is so much! The Milky Way is 100,000 light years wide (1 light year is 600 trillion miles). The Milky Way has many temperatures, since the Sun is really hot and Neptune is really cold. Since they’re both in it, that means that it has different temperatures. The Milky Way orbits super, super, super fast, so even the fastest thing in the world can’t keep up! In the city, you wouldn’t really see as many stars in the sky, but if you go to some places like the mountains or the country, you would see part of the Milky Way. We are in it, so you would see other parts. At the center of the Milky Way is a huge bulge. The Milky Way is filled with gas, stars, dust, other planets, and dwarf planets. The bulge is why you can only see small parts of the galaxy. Dust and gas inside are too thick, so you cannot even see the bulge.

Scientists think that 90% of our Milky Way’s weight has dark matter, which we can’t even see. The Milky Way is so big that it has over 200 billion stars! But it’s not exactly 200 billion, because like humans, stars form every second and die every second. The galaxy has grown so big, because it’s taking in other galaxies to grow to its formal size, and it’s doing so right now. All the pictures that you’ve seen of the Milky Way on the internet aren’t really the Milky Way. It’s either a photograph of another galaxy or a painting. We can’t take a picture of our own galaxy, because we’re already in it.

 

NASA

NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is a company which launches rocketships into space to get information about space. The head of NASA is named Charles Bolden. NASA works for America and has launched a total of 166 rockets, and has gotten a lot, a lot, a lot of information. Two of the names of rockets that NASA have launched recently include Falcon 9 and Antares. The first rocket that NASA ever launched to the moon was Apollo 11. The people in the rocket were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. They took a trip to the moon to get some material from it and bring it back to Earth. It took about three days to get there. They stayed on the moon for about two hours and 15 minutes outside of the rocket.

On the moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin ate fruit strips, corn chowder, ham-salad sandwiches, tuna salad, and all of this food was dry dehydrated. The lunar spacesuits were made to make the astronauts be safe and healthy. They could wear it for about 115 hours.

 

Earth’s History

Before the Solar System was created, it was just a bunch of rocks, gas, air, and dust. Then, it started to rotate really fast and started to come together and form comets and asteroids. The asteroids and comets started to spin more and more and turned into eight planets and a sun. Then, a part broke off of the Earth and became our moon. All of the lighter stuff came to the outside of Earth, and all the heavier stuff came to the inside of Earth. When two rocks banged together, it formed a mountain. Volcanoes happened because lava came through the mountains.

When Earth was just created, any plants, animals, or people were not able to survive. When Earth was still young, instead of having seven little continents (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica), there was one big continent called Pangea. One hundred eighty million years ago, Pangea broke up into the seven continents that we have today. If we lived back then, we wouldn’t be able to feel it moving or see it, because it was happening so slowly. Then, when little pieces of bacteria and chemicals formed, they helped plants stay alive, which helped plants and animals live.

The first dinosaurs were born 225 million years ago. Sixty-five million years ago, dinosaurs went extinct.

Many years after that, humans came. They’re the smartest species to exist, even now. They didn’t have all the stuff back then that we have now, such as chairs, tables, phones, electricity, paper, pens, and other things like that. Early humans lived at the same time as mammoths and other things like that.

 

Interesting Facts

  • If you were out in space, and no one was talking and you didn’t have a speaker, everything would be silent, which means you wouldn’t hear anything!
  • No one can possibly know how many stars are in the universe. There are over billions, and billions, and billions, and billions (which means there are a lot).
  • The footprints of the Apollo astronauts will probably stay on the moon for 100 million years.
  • 99% of our solar system is made out of the sun. That means the sun is really, really big.
  • When two pieces of the same kind of metal touch in space, they will be stuck together forever.
  • A day on Venus is a year on Earth. That means that Venus’s days are really long.
  • You become taller when you’re in space, because of microgravity. Microgravity means a very small amount of gravity, and that’s what stretches people’s spines out.
  • Neptune’s wind moves the fastest than any other planet. It moves 1600 mph!
  • The hottest planet isn’t the closest one to the sun. Even though Mercury is the closest to the sun, Venus is the hottest planet. This is because Venus has a lot of gases in its atmosphere, which causes the “Greenhouse Effect”.
  • The word “astronaut” comes from the Greek word “astron” which means “star” and “nautes” which means “sailor”. So, the word “astronaut” actually means “star sailor”.
  • You can’t cry in space, because the tears won’t come out.
  • Nebula is a cloud where stars are created. It can come in all shapes and sizes.
  • If a star comes too close to a black hole, it will be broken apart.
  • The Solar System has been here for about 4.6 billion years Scientists think that it going to last another five billion years.
  • Enceladus is one of Saturn’s smallest moons. It reflects about 90% of sunlight, making it more reflective than snow.
  • NASA’s Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) have found evidence that there is water on Earth’s moon.
  • The sun makes a full rotation every 25 – 35 days.

 

Ornette’s Adventure

Chapter One

Hi, my name is Ornette. I am 11 years old. I have 17-year-old twin sisters, named Chelsea and Sarah, and 8-year-old twin sisters, named Violet and Maya. My parents are journalists, and we keep moving from place to place. My parents keep going to different places for work, so we come with them. Right now, we just moved into our new home in Hawaii. I didn’t want to, but I had to. I just wanted to stay in California.

My mom just called us for dinner, and we went to eat. My mom cooked chicken and rice, and we ate it. Everything felt different, and I wanted to go home. New house, new food, new neighborhood, new school. It was much busier here.

“We might move to a new place. We just want to tell you so that you know. If the conference call tells us to go somewhere else, we have to. Be prepared,” said mom.

I shrugged.

“Already?” asked Violet.

“I want to go to bed,” I whispered as I quietly walked to my room.

I felt the wind blow through the new house and the floor creak as I walked up the stairs. As I lay on my bed, I remembered all the friends I had at my old school, before I left. I wish I could’ve spent more time with them. It made me feel upset. I really missed them. I remembered my first day of school was tomorrow. I felt very scared, but I had moved from place to place before, so I knew how to make new friends. As I told myself this, I fell asleep.

 

Chapter Two

The next morning, I woke up and I walked down the stairs again. They were still creaking. The sun was out today, and it was very hot. At breakfast, my mom showed me pictures of the school and all the classrooms. They looked a little like my old school! I got really excited and started to eat faster. I accidentally spilled cereal on myself because I was eating so fast.

“Brush your hair and teeth, and then it is time to go to school!” said mom.

I brushed my hair and teeth very fast. I was still very excited. My mom took me and my sisters to school. As we walked, I saw lots of children, and I felt more excited than ever. I was so excited to make new friends! When I saw the school, I froze. It was full of lots of children. I had never seen a school this big before, or this many children in one building. I was so scared I was going to get lost. My mom said goodbye to all of us, and my big sisters walked me to my classroom before going to theirs. The teacher met me at the door.

“Welcome to the class. My name is Ms. Fish. What is your name?” she asked.

“My name is Ornette,” I said.

The teacher led me to my desk and winked at me. The girl next to me turned.

“Are you new here?” she asked.

“Yes” I responded.

I felt like she was going to be my new best friend.

“I moved here from Kansas last year, and I had a really good experience,” she said, “My name is Isabel!”

“My name is Ornette” I said, “I moved from California, and I keep moving from place to place.”

“Oh, do you think you’re going to move again soon?” asked Isabel.

“Maybe, I don’t know,” I replied.

Then, the lesson started. As the lesson began, I looked at the schedule. I saw it was time for math.

“Math at this school is really fun, you should be really excited,” Isabel whispered to me.

We got into partners, and we got to pick them. I picked Isabel. We played math games that we were assigned to play.

After math, it was time for reading. We started reading picture books, and the teacher assigned levels for us to read at. The levels went from one to eight. I got level seven. I was really proud! Isabel got level seven too.

At recess, we went up to the rooftop. I saw a really big jungle gym there. It was really tall. It had hundreds of slides on it and lots of things to climb on. There was a twisty slide, and I ran to try it out. It made me very dizzy. Then I saw Isabel playing with a few other girls. I went over to play with them. The other girls’ names were Sadie and Rose. We decided that we wanted to play tag. I had so much fun!

After school, Rose asked me, Sadie, and Isabel to come over to her house. I said yes, and we left together on the school bus. I found out that we lived next door to each other. When I got out of the school bus, I told them I had to ask my mom first. I went back home, and I asked my mom. She said sure. I went back to Rose’s house. When I came in, I saw there were hot cookies on the table and glasses of milk. Rose, Isabel, and Sadie were all eating the cookies. I started eating the cookies too. They were chocolate chunk cookies. They were really good.

After we ate the cookies, we started to play Monopoly. It went surprisingly fast. Sadie had played Monopoly a lot and was very good at it. She won!

“How do you like school?” Sadie asked.

“It’s fun,” I said.

“What would you do at school if you could?” asked Isabel.

“I would want to take a field trip to California and stay there for two months,” I said.

“That would be cool!” said Rose

“What would you do?” I asked

“I would write a thousand books!” said Rose. “Sadie?”

“I would eat cupcakes for lunch.” said Sadie. “Isabel?”

“I would make a medical class,” said Isabel.

“By the way, I am having a karaoke birthday party. And you are all invited!” said Rose. She gave us invitations with pink bows on them. After that, I went home.

 

Chapter Three

A week later, on Saturday, I went to Rose’s birthday party at a karaoke place in our town. My mom drove me and my two big sisters. They both had another birthday party to go to on the way.

When my mom dropped me off, I saw the building. It was super tall. My mom parked the car and brought me to the 10th floor. I said goodbye to my mom, and I saw Isabel. She was eating a chocolate dipped strawberry. Then I saw the giant stage that Rose was singing on. She was singing a song that I did not know. Isabel came over to me and offered me a chocolate strawberry. I ate it, and it was the best chocolate strawberry I had ever had in my life. After Rose finished her song, we had pizza and cake. The cake was a chocolate ice cream cake. Then, I took a picture in a photo booth with Rose, Isabel, and Sadie. After that, the party ended.

 

Chapter Four

When I was driving home from the birthday party, I saw many signs that said “MISSING” on it, with a picture of a girl. Her name was Scarlett Rover. The girl had glasses, short black hair, and lots of freckles. It said she was about my age, and she was last seen at the airport. When I got home, I started to sketch the girl on the posters. When I finished sketching, I called Isabel and told her to meet me at the park in half an hour.

When she met me, I started to tell her about the girl on the posters. I stared at one of the posters in the park. Then I went and grabbed it.

“Why do you want to find this girl?” asked Isabel.

“I’ve wanted to find something big for a long time,” I responded.

Isabel nodded, even though I don’t think she knew what I meant. My mom drove me and Isabel to where she was last seen, the airport. I told my mom there was a historical plane we wanted to look at. My mom really likes history, so she agreed to take us. It took 45 minutes. When we got there, I took out the poster and asked the flight attendant about the girl.

“Yes, she was here about two hours ago. I was on her flight when it took off but when I went back to check on her, she was not there,” said the flight attendant.

“Do you know anything about the girl?” I asked.

“Yes, I do. I am her grandfather, and she comes here a lot” he frowned. “I really miss her, and I would really appreciate if someone could find her.”

I nudged Isabel.

“This is our chance!” I said. I turned to the flight attendant.

“We are here to help!” I said. “Do you know where she lives?”

“Yes, she lives 45 minutes away, on 81st Street. It’s a brick house with three windows on top and nine in front. There is a big staircase that leads up to the door. You can’t miss it!”

“Thank you!” I said.

We left to find the house.

 

Chapter Five

We found a house that matched the description that the attendant gave us. We walked up the big staircase. Then we knocked on the door. It did not open right away, but a woman came out a few minutes later. She looked really dizzy and almost sick.

“What are you here for?” she asked.

“I would like to figure out what happened to your daughter,” I said.

The mom waited for a few seconds before speaking.

“I’m not her mom. I am her aunt. Her mom disappeared along with her, and her dad is on a long trip. He won’t be back for a couple of months. My name is Lora. I came here because I was supposed to watch over their house while they went to visit her dad,” I thought for a second.

I thought about how that wouldn’t make sense, because she went to the bakery.

“Thank you,” I said, and then I left.

Rose looked embarrassed and upset. We went back to the park.

“What do you think, Rose?” I asked.

Rose pulled me to the side.

“My cousin is missing too!” she whispered. “She has been missing for two months!”

I started to listen closely.

“I last saw my cousin going to the airport, and she was going far across the country. She sent me a letter every day, until I heard from someone else. He had messy handwriting, and didn’t spell things correctly. He signed the letter “the man,” and he said that I would never see my cousin again. On the back of the letter, there was a little spiral.”

“Maybe that is the same man who captured Scarlett Rover!” I suggested.

It was getting dark, and I had to go home.

 

Chapter Six

On Sunday, I went down for breakfast and ate all of it. I asked my mom to go back to the airport, and we drove back. We saw Scarlet’s grandfather.

“Can you show me the plane your granddaughter was on?” we asked.

He nodded.

“We will have to wait, because it is coming back from Scarlet’s destination,” he said.

We waited 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and then the place came in. He led me and my mom onto the plane. He showed me where Scarlett Rover was sitting. I started to look over and under the seat. There was a little carpet on one side that said “plane” and had a picture of a plane. I heard banging under it, so I took off the carpet to reveal a little door. It was small and narrow but it looked like at least two people could fit through. While my mom was looking around, I decided to look at what was in the trap door. I went through lots of twists and turns, and I finally came to a little door at the end. I opened the door and found a rope. There was a messy knot, it even sort of looked like how Rose described the man’s handwriting. The rope looked like it had been cut with something sharp. On the rope, there was another poster that said “MISSING” with a picture of the same girl on it. I heard my mom calling for me, so I went back up.

 

Chapter Seven

My mom was sitting in the seat across from the secret passageway. She looked very curious. Of course I had to tell her about the trap door. After I finished, we said thank you and drove back home. I asked my mom to stop at Isabel’s house for a minute.

When I arrived, I knocked on the door. Isabel answered.

“I need to talk to you with Rose and Sadie!” I said.

I took her by the hand and took her to Sadie’s house. I said the same thing to Sadie. I took both of them by the hands over to Rose’s house. I just gave Rose a wink. I took them all to the park.

We sat on a bench, and I told them about what happened on the plane. I told them about the trap door, the messy knot, and the sign on the door. I told Sadie and Isabel about the man, and I told them everything. After I finished, I started to talk with them about what could happen next, what the man could do, and where he could have taken the girls. Sadie and Isabel looked confused. There was a silence.

“Can I help with this mystery?” asked Sadie.

I nodded. Then I looked at Isabel, and she nodded.

“I would like to help too!”

We all winked at each other and agreed to meet at the park the next morning, before school started.

Early the next morning, I set my alarm clock for 6 AM. We would spend about an hour to plane before the bus came. I left a letter for my parents:

 

Dear family,

I left early to go talk with my friends about something that is happening. We would like to talk privately. I will get to school safely on the school bus. I do not want you to worry about me.

Signed, Ornette.

 

As we walked to the park, I spotted more and more signs of Scarlett Rover missing.

“What are we going to do?” asked Sadie.

“I don’t know,” I replied.

“Isn’t it really quiet?” asked Rose.

I gave her a dirty look. I thought for a second. I realized – it was really quiet! The town was usually really busy. Even at 6 AM, you could usually see at least 50 people and 30 cars on the street. But today, we only saw 20 people and 10 cars.

“Maybe everyone in the town knows about the man and that’s what scared them away to another town!” I said.

Sadie, Isabel, and Rose nodded. Suddenly, there was a loud thump. I looked for Rose, but she was not there. I was scared! Then I heard two more loud thumps, and I saw that Isabel and Sadie weren’t there. Then, I heard the biggest thump of all. I was unconscious.

 

Chapter Eight

The next thing that I remembered was that I woke up in a big, dark garage. I saw lights flash. I couldn’t see so well from being in the dark for so long. I tried to get up, but I found out I was tied to the ground. When I could see well enough, I saw a shadow creeping around, in front of me.

“WHAT IS GOING ON?” Isabel screamed.

I looked at Sadie. She was awake. Rose looked like she couldn’t see well.

“Did Isabel wake you up?” I asked.

They both nodded and yawned. Then a man came into the light. I knew it, it was the shadow that was swinging around before I saw the light.

“I am the man, also known as Killer!” he said, “I am trying to take over the town, and I want you to help me.”

Rose screamed and froze in her spot. Killer glared at her with an evil look, and she fainted.

“You started to get onto me, and it got in my way. It became a danger to my plan. I want all six of you to help me take over the town!”

“But there are only four of us,” I said, “Who are the other two?”

“Scarlett Rover,” he declared as a light turned on from the ceiling.

There was Scarlett, tied down the same as us, trying to escape.

“How long have you had her?” asked Sadie.

“Four days and 12 hours exactly,” Killer replied. “I need Scarlett because she can trick her parents and give me access to the ink industry. I’ll be rich!”

Just then, Rose woke up again. Rose saw Scarlett.

“We found Scarlett! We did it!” she said.

We all frowned at her. Then, Rose spotted a dark figure in the opposite corner.

“Who is that, in the opposite corner?” asked Rose.

“So glad you asked. It’s Chantel Brook!” said Killer as another light turned on.

Chantel was tied up too, sitting on the floor. Chantel had short blonde hair, looked very tall, and was wearing a fancy white dress. Rose gasped. Chantel looked up and saw Rose.

“ROSE! Why are you here?” Chantel asked, surprised.

“Long story,” said Rose.

Chantel nodded.

“SILENCE! Chantel’s mom is the mayor, so if she wants to move, they will move. If there is no mayor, I can take over!”

All of the girls were very scared.

“I will give you one hour to decide if you want to be on my team and take over the town with me, or you will be locked up in here forever!” Killer said as he left.

Rose took her arm out of the rope and pulled out a pair of scissors.

“If I’m going to be here, I should maybe cut my hair while I can!” she said.

I looked at Rose.

“You’re a genius!” I say.

“Where did you get those scissors?” asked Scarlett.

“Oh! Scarlett!” I said.

“I just kind of took them from my house” said Rose.

“Okay, you can use the scissors to cut your ropes,” I said, “And then cut our ropes too! And then…”

“Guys! Look at that bird over there!” said Isabel.

I looked at the window.

“Great! I forgot what I was saying!” I said.

Chantel looked at me, and then Rose, and then at the walls.

“Oh wow! A window!” said Chantel, “I’ve never seen that before!”

“Why don’t we try and climb out through the window?” asked Scarlett.

“How?” asked Sadie, “It’s too tall for us to reach!”

Then, we all noticed a big pile of wood, and Rose had an idea. She looked for her backpack, and she found glue. She picked up the wood, and started to glue pieces together so it looked like a ladder. She pushed the ladder to the window so she could climb up and get out. Then, she spotted a small, brown rock.

 

Chapter Eight

Rose picked the small, brown rock up and took it up the ladder. When she got to the top, she used it to break the window. She dropped the rock to see how far it would be. It was very far down. She did not know how to get that far down without hurting herself.

“What’s the matter?” asked Scarlet.

“It’s too far down for us to jump, and there is no way to climb down!”

“YOU HAVE HALF AN HOUR LEFT UNTIL YOU DECIDE!” said a speaker on the wall.

We all jumped a little. Scarlett picked up the rope from the floor.

“The ropes Killer tied us with are long enough to use to climb down. We can tie it to something up there and use it to get down!” she said.

Sadie was very quiet.

“I’m not gonna do that!” said Sadie.

“Just try it,” I said.

“How are we going to keep the ropes steady?” asked Chantel.

Sadie looked crazy.

“Maybe we could glue the wood to the window frame and tie the rope to it!” suggested Isabel.

“Great idea!” I said.

Everyone else nodded.

“Fine.” Sadie said, though she looked like she was going to cry.

I went first. I thought it went well. Then Isabel, Chantel, Rose, Scarlett. We were all safe. Then Sadie. When Sadie got halfway down the rope, it started to break a little. As she went down, it broke a little more. We were all calling her to jump. Sadie started to sweat. The rope broke fully, and she had no choice but to jump. As she hit the ground, she looked very excited. She was still holding most of the rope.

“I just faced my biggest fear!” she said.

We looked around. We saw lots of grass and some cows. In the distance, there was a little town. We looked back and saw that we just escaped from a white box. Chantel motioned for us to follow her, and so we did. Chantel lead us to the front of the box. There was a garage door and a mat in front.

“I remember that when I was first here, I saw Killer put keys under this mat,” Chantel said.

She started to look under the mat and found the keys to the garage.

“If we lock the garage, there is no way he can get out!”

Chantel locked the garage door and put the keys in her pocket. Scarlet saw a car, and they all went to it. We all got in it, and Scarlett started to look for the key.

“Where do you think the key is?” asked Rose.

We looked everywhere in the car, but we could not find it. Chantel decided to look on the keychain she found under the mat.

“Guys! The key was here the whole time!” she said as she held up a key labeled “car key.”

“Does the car have GPS?” I asked.

My mom’s car has GPS, and I know it can tell us where we are. Scarlett put the key in, and a GPS system turned on with the car.

“There we go!” said Scarlet.

She put her address in, and it said we were 5,000 miles away. We were so surprised! We drove for 5 hours, until the car ran out of gas.

“Okay, what are we going to do now?” I asked.

“There’s nothing for us to do but walk!” said Scarlett.

We started to walk. It started to get dark. We saw the town in the distance, but it was very far. We found a pond with some blackberry bushes. We settled down and made a fire.

“I’m hungry and tired!” said Sadie and Isabel.

We went over to the blackberry bush, and we all picked berries. We sat next to the fire. I yawned. Isabel blew out the fire, and we all went to sleep.

We woke up and got right to walking. Day after day, the same thing happened. On the fifth day, we reached the town. The first thing I saw was that there were more signs than ever. I also saw signs for us! People who were walking by saw Scarlett, and went over to ask her questions. Scarlet was overwhelmed. After Scarlett answered all the questions, we walked back to her house. Her aunt was really pleased to see her. She pulled Scarlet in for a really tight hug and did not let her go. When she did, we went to the police office to tell them about what happened. After that, we all went home. When I got home, my mom was cleaning the pots and pans.

“Ornette, is that you?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

She ran to the door to hug me. Then, I went back to my room and laid on my bed. I thought about how all my other friends’ moms reacted, and that made me fall asleep.

 

Alien Plant

One day, centuries before the Earth was as green as grass, there were very stubborn aliens that looked like plants. The plants used to live on a planet made of lava and they loved eating lava. Their planet froze and all the lava was gone. One day all the aliens were ready to land on earth with their UFO. Their UFO crashed into a volcano, but they all survived. When they inhabited Earth they were peaceful, eating lava with their mouthparts that had sharp teeth.

Centuries went by and the aliens lived in peace. Then came the time of humans. There was not a lot of lava. One day humans became very intelligent and started to make fire. The aliens were scared that the humans would use them for fire because they saw other plants being set on fire. The humans used a few aliens but the aliens weren’t good for making fire. Luckily the humans stopped using aliens to make fire. The aliens kept eating lava from volcanos.

One morning winter came. It was very cold and everything turned to ice but the aliens and the humans. The aliens stored lava in their mouthparts and ate it little by little. The winter lasted for decades. The aliens started starving to death, turning brown, and drying up. All the aliens were worried but they were stubborn.

All of a sudden winter ended. The aliens were happy that winter was over, but there was no more lava. It had turned to rocks. The aliens were scared that the humans would set them on fire again, since everything but the humans and them was dead.

When a human named Mr. Billy found those aliens, he wanted to help them. They didn’t have choice but to give the human’s idea a try. If they were stubborn, they would die. Mr. Billy decided to give them water but the plants drowned. Of course he gave them dirt but the aliens didn’t like getting dirty. Years passed until he fed them some bugs. The plants loved the bugs. They continued eating bugs. They ate all kinds of bugs like ants and bees, but they especially liked flies. They continued eating flies and moved into all the places around the world where there were the most flies. They ate and ate for decades until they were healthy again.

And those aliens are what we know as the Venus Flytrap.

 

Man in the Shadows

One dark night, a boy, whose name was unknown, was living on a farm that was dark, had many dead trees, a tool shed in the backyard, and was near a graveyard, when he heard someone talking to him. He tried answering, but no one answered. All of a sudden, he heard a loud noise that went like this… Boom! The boy ran into his house to find cobwebs and his dad gone. When he went to bed, he saw images of a guy that had no shape and no face, in the shadows haunting people.

The Man in the Shadows said, “I will find you.”

He said that while haunting the boy in the real world. The boy woke up and gasped for air, not able to sleep.

The next day, the boy did his normal chores. He went to the police station and told them about the Man in the Shadows, but they all thought he was crazy.

He went to go back to his farm, but it was all gray with shadows. He knew what had come: The Man in the Shadows. He knew he would have to face this monster, but he was too scared.

When the night came, he went to his room. It was old and dusty, and when he walked, he heard a CREEAK. All of a sudden, he saw a light coming from the graveyard. He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. He was being mind controlled. When the light stopped, he looked behind him and found the Man in the Shadows haunting him. He was extremely scared, so scared that he fell backwards, crashed through the window, and landed straight on the ground. Luckily, he landed in some mud.

He ran as fast as he could and ran into a tool shed. He heard footsteps and, slowly and carefully, the Man in the Shadows walked by. He was safe. He forgot there was a back door to the tool shed, and, when he looked back, there was nothing there. He surely was safe. Suddenly, he heard the door make a sound kind of like this: CREEAK. Then, he looked back and saw the Man in the Shadows! He ran out of the tool shed and ran to the graveyard. His heart was pumping so fast, it felt like his entire chest was moving. He was so scared that he forgot that there had been a light over there.

When he was there, he hid behind a tree. He stayed there for a while. Luckily, the Man in the Shadows did not come, but he heard a loud sound. He looked at the graves and saw a bloody hand coming out of the ground. He just remembered that there was a light. He knew the Zombies would come to him.

He waited for about an hour. Suddenly, the Zombies came out holding bloody knives and had blood dripping from there face and arms. They started charging towards him. He started running for his life. The Zombies were catching up. The boy knew he would have to hide, but where would he?

He sprinted to the old Mansion of Ghosts. He obviously knew it was haunted, but it was the closest place. He locked the doors and went to the kitchen. It was really bright for this place to be haunted. He gathered some apples and bananas.

When the moon was high in the sky, he heard a loud howl. He looked outside and saw a werewolf. He wanted to hide in the attic, so nobody would find him, but when he moved, he noticed that the werewolf was looking at him. He ran so fast, he was a blurry blob. He went into the attic and heard a crash in the kitchen. The attic was the creepiest place of all. There were skeletons and cobwebs. He heard loud and slow footsteps. He went to check, but saw nothing but darkness. Not even the light from the kitchen was bright enough to shine in the darkness. He looked behind him and saw the werewolf, the Zombies, and his dad. His dad changed into the Man in the Shadows. The boy was so frightened that he fainted, landing on the floor with a crash.

When he woke up, he saw darkness and saw giant teeth. He was being eaten by the Man in the Shadows! The Man in the Shadows had some really bad breath. He tried escaping the Man’s mouth by slapping him in the face, but he couldn’t. The boy didn’t know what was happening when his hand went straight through the Man in the Shadows’ face. Suddenly, the boy realized he was out of all that darkness, but he had no face and was see-through! The boy was shocked that he had survived and that he was a ghost.

The Man in the Shadows whispered, “If you don’t haunt people, I will come and get you and swallow you, and you won’t even be a ghost anymore.”

The boy did not know what to reply. He did not want to die, completely, so all of the ghosts, including the boy, haunted everyone and everything with the help of the Zombies and the werewolf.

 

The End

 

Messy May

Hi! I’m May or maybe… Messy May. I’m eight years old and my birthday is on June 10th, so don’t mind my writing. But… let’s just get to the point. I’m going to tell you a little about my life before I turned eight.

When I was a toddler, or maybe three to be exact, I was always biting, drooling, and rolling in mud with the pigs. Oh! And I almost forgot! I lived on a farm. But, now I live in a big city in a little apartment. But let’s get back to the story.

When I turned four, I finally got to go to preschool! And that’s when I met my very first friend. Well… not including my brother Horus, but her name was Samantha, Sammy for short. She was very, very clean and perfect.

On the other hand, I was messy, so that’s why people started calling me Messy May. Since I was so messy, when i had my first play date with Sammy and we were doing a project, I squeezed the glue all over Sammy and Sammy screamed. After a while, Sammy got cleaned up. Sammy then had to leave.

One year later, I was five and at a school called Marquez Charter School, and my friend Samantha actually was in Marquez Charter too! Since I was five, I was in kindergarten. I was in Mrs. Newman’s class. Sadly, I wasn’t in the same class as Sammy, but at least I made new friends. When I made another friend named Malia, I got in a big fight with her. I promised I would play with her because she wanted to tell me something in secret, but I forgot! Because I slipped and got a scrape on my knee. So she got really mad at me, but then we made up a week later.

And when I was in first grade I was six and Sammy and I were finally in a class together! So uh… YAY! But when I was in first grade, I met a new friend named Harper! And I started playing more with Harper. We had some fights. And one of the fights was when Harper and I fought over a toy.  And I screamed at her because it kept on going on and on. But we made up in the end.

Then I turned seven and I was in second grade and Harper, Sammy, and I were all in the same class. And I thought it was great when I started playing with Harper, but I had told Sammy I would play with her. I actually promised Harper I would play with her too, so I played with Harper instead! And Sammy felt left out. Also, Sammy and I were not friends for a while.

The next day I felt very sad because I lost a friend. When I went up to Sammy, I said, “Sorry that I didn’t play with you when I promised, so uh… can we play?”

Sammy said, “Yes” and I felt so happy that we were friends again that I almost bursted into joyful tears and screamed!

Now I’m eight, but next year I’m going to be in third grade. I hope it turns out great. But my friend Harper is moving, and it won’t be the same without her. But all next year will still be great because I might make new friends and having the same friends could get a little boring. Also in all of those years, I noticed that being a good friend is when you like them for who they are, and when you don’t lie or yell at them. And that is my life before I turned eight.

 

THE END

 

Josh’s Samsung Phone and Computer

Josh Ricky, brown hair, five years old, brown eyes. His nose was small.

Josh Ricky woke up from his bed one morning, and it was his birthday. His mom gave him a Samsung phone. She threw it at his face, and he caught it right in time. Josh Ricky was so excited, he burst from his bed, got dressed, brushed his teeth, and all the other things he had to do. He sent some messages on his phone, took pictures, and listened to music. He was crying the whole time.

In the afternoon, in the middle of cleaning his car, his dad gave Josh a computer from the Samsung company. He tossed it in the air, and Josh got it by sliding under and catching it.

Josh was so excited that he almost fainted. Everybody else gave him other stuff from Samsung company. Then his cake came. It was a chocolate cake frosted with vanilla frosting and S’s for the Samsung company made out of cookies on top.

In his bedroom, he had the computer and phone from the Samsung Company. One day, he was using his phone and his computer. His desk was very close to the window. He rolled a big marble on his desk towards his computer and phone. The marble was gigantic, as big as your garbage can at home, and it rolled onto the computer and phone. They dropped outside from the 40th floor (which was the highest floor) and crashed onto the hard, hard floor. He saw tiny little pieces of metal and glass. He made a terrible face. He was crying because his mom and dad gave him that computer and phone, and now they were gone and broken. He tried to tell his mom and dad to force them to get a new one. He tried to tell his mom and dad, but he was too scared. But Josh’s computer and phone were broken, and he talked to them.

His mom and dad were mad at him. Very mad. They kicked him out of their family for one whole night. He snuck through the house and grabbed the sleeping bag from his room. He slept in the sleeping bag in the backyard. He felt scared. He was scared of darkness by himself. He just put his covers on and just fell asleep.

In the morning, he went back in his house. His mom and dad were crying. They felt bad to leave their little Josh alone all night. In the morning, Josh’s mom bought a Samsung phone! And his dad got Josh a Samsung computer!

Then his grandmother forgot to give Josh a present, so she gave him a Samsung TV. She was a strong grandma. She was fat, and she exercised a lot. She tossed the TV in the air. Josh caught it with his right foot by balancing on his left foot with his hands out in front.

Then he decided to watch the TV. He got the remote. Then, some TV show came on. He did not like it. He switched the channel to 888. He did not like it. He switched the channel to 718. He did not like it. He switched the channel to 248. He did not like it. He switched the channel to 249. He loved it. It was Tom and Jerry. It was about a cat and mouse. The cat did not like the mouse. The mouse did not like the cat.

He watched TV for ten hours. His mom came in and got the remote and shut it off. She screamed with anger. Her little Josh watched over ten hours. He was sick. His eyes were red. She had to take him to the doctor. The doctor told him he would need surgery on his eyes, and an x-ray, and two teaspoons of medicine every day. After the doctor, he was kicked out of the family for one night again.

Josh felt worse. He was in trouble so many times. He thought it was his fault. He was scared in the dark, alone again. He just forgot about the night and put his covers on and went to sleep.

The next morning, he and his camping mat went into the house, and Josh put his mat away in his room and got some cereal for breakfast. His mom and dad got up from bed. His parents felt okay about kicking Josh out of the family.

His uncle also forgot to give him a present, so he got a couch. It said Samsung on it because it was a Samsung couch. His uncle was very weak, so he slid it over really slowly, and Josh sat on it.

His mom took Josh to get his ears pierced at Claire’s. Josh’s earrings had a Cinderella princess on them. He went back home, he told his dad, and his dad loved them. Josh loved them too. He was happy to hear that his dad loved his earrings. His mom was happy too. She loved her son’s earrings.

 

The Flying Pig

Once there was a pig named Bob Ben Bangtem. He wanted to fly. He wanted to fly because pigs do not fly and he wanted to be different. Bob wanted to be different because he felt that being different was cool.

Bob lived in a place with a lot of animals. There was also one wizard named Jonah. Bob was really good friends with Jonah.

The first time Bob tried to fly, he went to a cliff that was bumpy, curvy, and weird looking. He jumped off. He fell on his face. He was upset, but he wanted to try again.

The second time he tried, he jumped up and down. That did not work! He screamed like a monkey with messed up vocal cords. He gave up. He was so tired because he tried to fly so many times and all the things he tried did not work.

So he fell asleep under a tree. The tree was an apple tree with 100 apples. Jonah the wizard snuck up on Bob, but Bob did not know that.

The next morning, Bob felt really weird. It felt like there were two knives stuck in his back. Then, Bob noticed what happened. He could fly!!!

He was so happy! Then he noticed, “How can I fly now, but I could not fly before?” Then he said, “Jonah must have done this! Jonah must have done this because he knows I want to fly. Thank you Jonah!”

“You’re welcome!” Jonah screamed back!

 

The Snow Adventure

One time in a faraway land, a young boy named Bob was playing in the snow. He wanted to have a snowball of his own that never melted. He really liked snowball fights, and he wanted to have them every day. After he was done playing in the snow, he went inside his house, took off his cozy sweater, and had some hot chocolate because he was cold. He asked his mother if he could have a snowball of his own. She said no. He whined all night, but he still didn’t get his way.

Four hours later, Bob decided to go find the snowball that never melted. He ran down his street and bumped into an old man who only had five teeth.

“Sorry,” he said. Bob was so excited that he didn’t care that the man looked creepy. Bob just blurted out, “I’m looking for a snowball that never melts.”

The old man told him he could find the snowball in a castle, and gave him the directions to the castle.

Bob went through the farm lands and found a wild cat to help him get to the castle. Bob finally found the blue, striped castle, and the wild cat went back to the farm lands. The inside of the castle was cold and it had a lot of cobwebs. Bob looked for hours in the castle for the snowball, but he just couldn’t find it. Then he thought to himself that the old man had tricked him. He ran to the door and tried to get out, but the doors were locked. The ceiling was plastic, but there was no ladder to get to the top. He was trapped!!!

Bob kicked the door as hard as he could. He punched the door as hard as he could, and he slammed the door as hard as he could!

“Help!” he screamed, but then he saw a spark of light in the sky through the ceiling. He thought it was a magic fairy, and it was!

The fairy floated down and said, “Are you trapped in this dark castle?”

“Yes,” Bob said. He trusted the fairy because she looked nice and was brightly colored.

The happy rainbow fairy said, “Let’s have a happy ending to this story and let’s get you out of this dark castle.”

In a second, the rainbow fairy threw her magic purple goo on Bob, and it transported Bob out of the castle and to his house. He felt so dizzy and weird, but he was so happy that he was back with his family.

In the end, Bob didn’t really care about if he had the snowball or not.

 

Invisible

Once there was a boy who was eleven years old. His name was Jack Rutinburg. He wanted to be invisible because he thought being invisible was cool. He wanted to be cool because he felt like he was not cool. Jack’s home was old and very dirty. That is why he felt like he was not cool. The only good thing about that home was that Jack’s dad was a wizard.

He went up to his dad and said, “Make me invisible!!!”

His dad said, “No!”

Jack thought, Maybe dad is in a bad mood today.

So the next day, Jack went up to his dad and said, “Make me invisible!!!”

His dad said, “No!’’

Jack thought again, How could dad be in a bad mood yesterday and today?

The next day, Jack went to find a different wizard to get the invisibility power. He was really excited to be invisible. Along the way, he bumped into his only friend/next door neighbor on the street. His name was Bob Goldman. Jack asked Bob, “Do you know where The Castle Filled With Magic is?”

“Why do you want to go there?” said Bob.

“I want to be invisible,” said Jack.

“Can I come with you?” said Bob.

“Sure!” said Jack.

“Thanks!” said Bob. So Jack and Bob went to The Castle Filled With Magic.

Then they noticed that they could go right or left. They decided to go left. Since they went left, they noticed they went the wrong way. They were trapped! They ran to the door. They barely missed it! They ran to the window. They barely missed. They had know idea how they would get out.

Back at Jack’s house, Jack’s dad was telling Jack’s mom how bad Jack was treating him. Jack’s mom was really upset. She said once Jack came back to them — where was Jack? They looked all over the house but they could not find him. They were so worried that Jack was lost. Just at that moment, Jack’s dad remembered that Jack asked if he could be invisible. So he must be at The Castle Filled With Magic. Jack’s mom and dad ran to The Castle Filled With Magic.

Okay, back to Jack and Bob. Jack and Bob were so scared. They thought they would be in there for their whole lives, and then die in there. Just at that moment, the door opened. The window opened. They ran to the door. The door closed. They ran to the window. The window closed. Then they noticed why the doors and windows kept opening and closing. It was a person magnet. The person magnet looked like a regular magnet except it was huge. It was as big as two TVs combined. It was very light. It was as light as a pencil. They saw the person magnet near the door. They picked it up and threw it away from the door. The door opened. They ran to the door. It stayed open! They did a victory dance. The victory dance looked like Jack and Bob were dying. They were so happy.

They ran out of the trap as fast as they could. They tried to run home. They went the wrong way. They were trapped again. This trap was different. There were claws trapping them inside. The trap was sooo big! They were so upset. They screamed like a horse with messed up hearing aids. They thought there might be another person magnet. They were right!

So they did the same thing as last time. They threw the person magnet away from the door. They ran out of the trap. When they did that, they saw Jack’s mom and dad running toward the trap that Jack and Bob were just in. Jack and Bob screamed at Jack’s parents because they did not want Jack’s parents to be trapped. Jack’s parents heard them, and his parents ran to them.

When they got home, Jack remembered that when he asked to be invisible, he did not ask politely. Jack asked if he could be invisible politely.

His dad said… “Yes!”

Jack said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!”

 

The End

 

The Strong Genie

So this is where it all began. It was cold and rainy in the forest, and Mr. Fire, the fire genie, was burned down. He couldn’t hold anything heavier than a small rock.

“I’m going to go find the super strong potion that can make me strong again,” he said.

But what if he didn’t find the potion? He would never be able to help people everywhere lift up heavy items, and he really liked helping people. He floated through the forests and farmlands to the Potion Temple.

But on his way, he saw a candy witch in her candy house. He stopped flying. He watched her stir up her skeleton bat stew that smelled like dead skunk, and then, she got her broom.

“I’m going to get the super strong potion,” he heard her say as she flew to the temple.

Mr. Fire said, “I’m going to get that potion first,” and he ran as fast as he could, which wasn’t very fast because he was so weak, to go find the potion.

He knew he had to get there first because if the witch got the potion, she would use it to kill people because she was evil.

Mr. Fire ran so fast that he bumped into an old man. The old man had seen the genie looking in the window of the witch’s house, and he didn’t like the way the genie looked because he was burned up.

“Looking for something?”

The old man didn’t care that he was talking to a genie, but he did care that the genie seemed to be doing something suspicious.

Mr. Fire said, “I’m looking for the super strong potion. I have to get it before the witch, and I don’t have time to talk to you!”

The old man knew that the witch was sneaky and mean, so he decided to help the genie. He handed the genie some sausage and bacon from his bag.

“If you put this meat on the ground, there’s a lion that can help you get to the Potion Temple. I hope you get the potion!”

Then, the old man walked away. Mr. Fire put the meat on the ground and went up in a tree. Just like the old man had said, after ten minutes, a lion came to eat the meat, and Mr. Fire jumped onto the lion. The lion started to run in the direction of the temple. When they got to the temple, Mr. Fire jumped up so that the lion would not eat him, and the lion ran away.

On the top of the temple, there was a pyramid with the potion on it. Mr. Fire saw the potion, but he also saw the candy witch on her candy broom! They were about the same distance away from the potion. The genie flew to the top as fast as he could. The witch was coming too! Crash! They both went flying, and Mr. Fire landed on an elephant. It went crazy because it thought there was a tiger on its back. The elephant used its trunk to grab the potion. The elephant heard about the witch and knew that she was mean. The elephant gave Mr. Fire the potion. Mr. Fire drank the potion, and he got strong again. His muscles got fatter and flames struck out of him.

“Thank you!” Mr. Fire said.

Meanwhile, the witch had flown into a palm tree. She fell out of it, and there was a tiger waiting to eat her because she smelled like her skeleton bat stew, which he thought was delicious.

Mr. Fire flew home to live happily ever after, and it wasn’t even raining when he got back.

 

The End

 

The War That I Fought For

Meet Julia

Reader, this is just the beginning. Now, this is only Julia’s perspective of war, and this is just Julia’s side of the story. She is just a normal, young ten-year-old schoolgirl, but a grade ahead of where she is supposed to be. She is so very smart. She loves art and math. She was left at an orphanage at age six and picked up two years later at age eight.

***

Hi, I am Julia Berkens. You now will know where my story takes place. I grew up in a safe place. I was adopted, but I loved and needed my adopted family, and you have to understand that. We didn’t have too much money, so we moved to a place that we could earn money, but it was so very dry there. I did not feel like I was home. There was no rain ever. It was not a safe place. A war was going on, and my family knew it was not safe at all for me to be there. My parents discussed with the orphanage, and the orphanage came and picked me up. With a knock at the door, my family was gone, and I was alone. I would never see my family again.

And just like that, I was back at the orphanage. But soon, I was adopted by a lady, named Ms. Guis, who said we were moving from England to America. We got in something that made us fly. It was huge and had a lot of people on it. Ms. Guis said it was an airplane, but I was not quite sure if I could trust her just so soon. Though, I have to say, I truly thanked her for getting me out of that terrible orphanage. I could not even do anything there at that terrible orphanage. It was just- well like I said, TERRIBLE, and you who have been in an orphanage: you know what I mean. You see, I wasn’t the child with the most fun, but there is always some fun as you get a little older. Right?

In the airplane, I told Ms. Guis my story.

“I was eight when I was first adopted. And I really grew to know my family after two years. So, as I got older, my family and I painted our house. It was awesome, but then we moved, and I was not safe, so I went back to the orphanage. I was sad, but, you see, if you go to an orphanage, you meet people. Friends, of course. There was me and Mandy, the teacher. There also was Jacqueline, Alina, and my orphanage bestie, Annabelle Refnes, a little girl. She was a year older than me, but she did not mind. We were best friends until she moved to Italy, Europe. When she left, I wondered what I was supposed to do. Just keep on holding on? I guess I had to. Then, you picked me up. I was so happy, Ms. Guis. Thanks,” I said and did a little grin.

But Ms. Guis said, “Where we’re moving, there is also a war, but it’s a safer war. And no one will make you leave me and go back to the orphanage. But, Julia, here is what needs to happen. You are going to fight in this war. You need practice, so get ready. This is going to be fun!”

I was terrified. What should I do?! Fight in a war at age ten!!! Or go back to the orphanage?! I guessed I would have to fight in the war. But, no, I was about to faint or puke. What was I supposed to do? I was freaking out about what I was supposed to do. A complete stranger–my new mother–had just told me terrible information. I literally screamed. The whole plane (as Ms. Guis says) looked at me, and I ran to the bathroom for about 30 minutes and screamed in there about 30 times, walked out, got my bag, sat down, stood still, and did not talk the rest of the ride.

I got home. Ms. Guis told me where my room was, and I stayed in there ‘til supper. At supper, she said sorry, but I was still mad. I was upset that my choices were the orphanage or the war. I guess I had to do the war. Not like I wanted to be in a war, but it was really my only choice. So, lucky me, I was fighting in a war. At supper, I was talking again. I was still upset, but I made my decision and I guess I could blame it on Ms. Guis, but my choice was my decision. Plus, I was pretty sure Ms. Guis actually liked me.

The next day, I started training and got a green uniform. It was scratchy and had a big gold badge. I could not believe it. I literally was about to faint. I saw someone from the military, and they gave me all my information. Where was everyone? Where was my team? What was I going to do? He told me everything. I now knew what my mission was and why it was important. I needed to shoot up my gun since I was special (at least, that is what they said when they saw what I did at the entering test. I was blindfolded, so I was unable to see what happened).

They said the war would stop, and I would kill the whole other team. I was not happy. I was still very nervous, though I knew everything. I do not want to kill people. The man pulled me, and I saw his face. He had a giant scar I wanted to ask what happened, but I did not want to be rude. He even ended up getting the whole military together coaching me! They said I was a special kid, so I was needed. I thought that they just wanted someone else, but they actually weren’t lying. The next day was war. But who did they think I was? I was not ready. I was shooting guns, kicking, and learning how to be a ninja. I was learning a team bomb. It was very confusing. What would I do? I was terrified.

I left Ms. Guis the next day and went to the field. It was dark, and I felt like I was blind, but it got lighter. When it got light, I saw bombs and guns for us. Everyone got armed and stood in our positions. I was nervous, but I knew what I needed to do. Not that I wanted to. I was only ten. This, though, could be one of the best things ever. I could be better. I could be a hero. I could be famous. People might actually know me.

I started to fight in the war. Everyone was getting hurt. There were bombs everywhere. Here and there. I had no idea what to do. Should I shoot, hide, or help? I lifted up my gun, but, then, put it back down. I was very nervous. I started to cry. I was the only kid there, but I needed to help Ms. Guis and do it for my new mother, but how could I do it? I wanted to shoot, but I couldn’t. I tried to hide, but it looked like a dungeon, and in all places, it smelled like dead fish. I hesitated. I could barely move. I fell to the floor, gasped for air, then, stood back up again. With the terrible smell, I wanted to faint so badly, but I could not let down my new country. I lifted my gun again, shot, and the war was over. There was finally peace. I was so scared. I was… I was a murderer. What had I done? I hurt someone. NO!      

My whole team was celebrating. I guess I was special. I was so happy that I just saved my whole country. How? I was scared, but excited. It was the weirdest feeling. Everyone was celebrating me. Not like I wanted to kill everyone on that team, but I made it, so that kids could have a good childhood with their families even though I could not. And now I kind of thanked Ms. Guis. She made me a true hero. They had a big party and everyone was so happy, including me, I guess. I felt I was finally at my real home where I would regret things, but still be happy because I felt safe.

 

The End

 

The Grandfather Clock

Once upon a time, there was a mother dragon with a daughter named Luna. Luna is twelve years old with a big heart, and blue scales, and stars on her back. She has a long tail with a star on the end that glows in the dark. Luna lived in a cave, and there was a mountain to her west.

One day, when Luna was taking a stroll up the mountain, she found a big cave. When she stepped inside, there was a big clock. In fact, it was a grandfather clock. When she touched it, her hand went in, and then she stepped inside, and there was a whole new world. There were apple trees, blueberry trees, and other berry trees. There were thousands of mountains and a big stream. There was a spring area where spring animals roamed. There was an autumn area where autumn animals roamed, and there was a winter area where winter animals roamed. There was a summer area where summer animals roamed. But her favorite part was the summer part with the hawk and the sound it made. It sounded like Mozart playing the piano. And it came down, down to her and asked what her name was.

Luna said, “My name is Luna.”

Luna asked,  “What is your name?”

The hawk said, “My name is Chrissa.”

Luna went over to the spring area. There was a little monarch butterfly and it said, “Welcome to the spring area!”

There was also another butterfly beside Luna that said, “Come help!”

Its name was Rose. The dragon followed her to the butterfly home.

Rose said to Luna, “Can you go get that vine, and can you also get a pinecone? Then can you get the glue out of the pinecone and attach it to the top of the vine, some on the bottom, and attach the vine in the two places so the nest will hold?”

Luna did it. And then when she did that Rose said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”  And it gave her a rose that she really liked. It was a red rose, and she put it in her bag that she brought along with her.

Then they went to the winter area. There was a polar bear that said, “You must come help!” Then the polar bear led them to a penguin that was under a branch.

The other penguin said, “You really, really must help because you must be so strong with that tail of yours. You can lift up the branch!”  When she did, she saw no wing on the penguin.

They said, “Oh no! There’s only one person that can help.”

Luna asked, “Who?”

“Ember will,” they replied.

”Can you fly this penguin to Ember?” asked another penguin.

”Why yes!” Luna said.

Another penguin said, “Her cave is in the autumn area, and two big trees are next to the cave.”

When they arrived, Ember was sitting down and she was meditating. Ember was a white wolf, and she was over a thousand years old. She said, “I know you, Luna, we’ll talk about this later. But for now, I’ll take care of the penguin. ”

Ember put a robotic wing on the penguin.

Luna asked, astounded, “How did you make it?”

Ember said, “Magic. You may leave the penguin. There’s a problem. There’s a bad guy taking over the world, and his name is Siro. You must get the red crystal to save the world and Siro will become a good guy again. We’re still trying to find out how he became a bad guy. Pegasus will help you on your quest, and Chrissa, you may go with Luna. Now go. Pegasus is in the summer area.”

When Luna and Chrissa arrived to the summer area, Pegasus was nowhere to be found.

“She must have gone all the way to the spring area!” said Chrissa.

So they went to the spring area, and there she was. Pegasus was walking around sniffing flowers. Luna said to Pegasus, “We need your help!”

Pegasus said, “Oh, shut your mouth! I’m coming.”

They all walked over to a dark, dark corner of the spring area that nobody knew existed except Ember and Pegasus. There, Pegasus said, “There’s going to be a lot of booby traps! So step where I step.”

“Well,” said Luna, “why can’t we just fly?”

“Because then arrows will shoot at you and you might die!” said Pegasus. “There are evil archers hidden in the rocks!”

“Oh, you could have told me that in the first place!”

“I’m sorry, but you have to step where I step.”

“Oh alright!”

They all followed Pegasus. When Chrissa stepped forward, she almost fell into a hole, but she didn’t fall: she flew up, and there were a lot of arrows! Then there was a big, big hole in front of them, and they couldn’t walk! But there was a cabinet right next to them, and written in blood on the front of it were the words: “Please come in.”

It was better than flying and almost dying so they stepped in. There were dead rats on the ground, and inside the cabinet, the walls had more words written in blood: “You must answer the riddle to reach the other side.” The riddle said:

“Our dinner guests howl that we’re evil,

When they notice their place in the meal,

But it’s no big deal why,

We’re just one big happy tribe

And we get really fed up with people!

What are we?”

Chrissa cried, “Cannibals!”

And out of nowhere on the walls another blood sign appeared, saying:

“Yes, you are right!”

The wall then turned into a passageway. When they stepped inside it, they saw three red crystals laid out on a cushion on a tablet.

Above them, there was a fairy. It said, “If you choose the wrong crystal, you will fall into the deep depths of the cave.”

So they chose carefully. They all thought it was the middle one. But the middle one was the wrong one, and the floor disappeared, and they fell into the depths of the cave. Inside the depths of the cave there was a blanket on the floor and a tunnel. Above them, the floors shut. The cave was very narrow, and they were forced to stand in a single line. At the front was Pegasus, then Luna, then Chrissa.

Chrissa looked down at her feet and said, “Look!”

Stitched into the blanket, it said:

“Choose where you step carefully.”

“Where are the guards?” Luna asked.

“That doesn’t matter right now!” Pegasus said. “We have to focus on where we step.”

Then a huge red troll  appeared directly behind Chrissa. It had an ugly hooked nose with tusks for teeth and spiky red hair.

“Guys… th-th-there’s a-” Chrissa said.

“It doesn’t matter right now!” Pegasus interrupted. “We have keep going.”

“But there is a troll…”

“I-I see it too, w-w-we sh-sh-should run,” Luna said.

“What are you talking about? You’re right! There’s a troll!!!”

They ran through the whole maze, and somehow they got out. They were in a deeper part of the cave, and there were dead bodies. Corpses of rats, raccoons, and even a unicorn laid on the floor.

“How did that happen?” Luna said.

“Ugh!” Chrissa said. “I wanna barf because of the smell!”

Chrissa pulled her wings over her beak.

“Guys, we should leave. The troll is coming.” Pegasus said.

A flame bursts out from the walls behind them.

“I think that’s a sign!” Chrissa said.

Then the troll appeared. With a hiss, like a snake with a sore throat, the troll said, “Rise.”

The dead bodies came to life. The newly reanimated corpses’ bones began to assemble, and their various skins and furs began to grow back. Chrissa, Luna, and Pegasus stood, gaping.

“Uhh… what just happened?” Chrissa said.

“I think we should run!” Luna screamed.

A zombie unicorn marched forward, its arms raised, trying to grab them.

“Run!” Pegasus cried.

They began running. Luna turned to the zombie unicorn and said, “Why are you doing this?”

“Siro ordered me to do this!” The troll yelled. “He wants to rule the world forever and the only way he can do that is by killing you! You are the prophecy!”

“Thanks!” Luna yelled back and ran.  

The zombies chased after them, but before they could catch up, a large chunk of the ceiling crashed down and separated them. There was a medium sized hole in the ceiling where the chunk had been. All three girls flew through the hole and into a massive cavernous room. It stunk like rotten fish and even though Chrissa, as a hawk, ate fish, she wanted to barf. Siro sat on a rock hanging off the wall of the cave. Siro was a big tiger with glowing blue eyes and a coarse white mane.

Standing next to him were two henchmen. The first was a black unicorn. Her eyes were blood red, and her horn was a very shiny white.

“I can’t believe it! A dark unicorn? Unicorns are meant to be bright and good!” said Pegasus.  

The second henchmen was an ugly water troll with very sharp teeth wearing a seaweed loincloth.

Siro said in a dark voice, “Looking for this?”

He lifted his paw and revealed the red crystal floating in his palm.

“Wait! You mean none of the crystals back there are the crystal?” Luna said.

“Ha!” Siro laughed maniacally. “It was all a trick!”

Pegasus leapt into the air and launched herself at Siro. Luna wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes were on the crystal which seemed to be staring back at her. The crystal floated out of Siro’s grasp and towards Luna. Suddenly, a big, blue, hypnotizing vortex opened right in front of Luna. Ember stepped out of it, her face impatient.

“Say the magic words, Luna!”

“But what are they?!” Luna yelled back.

“HOLD THE CRYSTAL NICE AND FIRM, KEEP THE CRYSTAL CLOSE WHEREVER YOU ARE,” Ember replied.

“HOLD THE CRYSTAL NICE AND FIRM,” Luna said, “KEEP THE CRYSTAL CLOSE WHEREVER YOU ARE.”

The crystal began to glow red and released a red light that lit up the cave completely. Then it stopped, and the crystal vanished. Siro’s eyes, which had once glowed, were now regular blue. The black unicorn’s fur became pearly white, and her eyes faded to a normal red. The water troll’s teeth shrank back to normal size, and the seaweed loincloth turned into a suit. They all suddenly became good, and his henchmen suddenly became good.

“How did you become evil?” Ember asked.

“Snape is the real bad guy. I have been controlled by him but was saved by the red crystal,” Siro replied.

“Where is he?” Luna asked.

“He’s deep inside the cave,” Siro said.

“UGH! We have to go back in there?” Pegasus groaned.

“Yes,” Ember said. “Yes you do.”

“I will lead you there,” Siro said.

“I’ll come with you.” Ember said.

“Troll, unicorn, come with me,” Siro said.

“Okay,” The troll said in his groaning voice.

“Yay! Another adventure!” The unicorn said, jumping up and down with happiness. They began walking back to the maze.

Chrissa said, “Oh no, that maze! Not those dead bodies again!”

When they reached the fire troll, he said he wanted to come too. They got out of the maze, and there were the fake crystals still sitting on the cushion. And they went out of the cabinet and the hole was mended. Inside the cabinet, the blood signs were still there. When they went outside of the cabinet the hole was mended. As they walked deeper and deeper into the cave, a sword appeared from the cave ceiling. The sword said,

“Use me to kill Snape only. He’s in the door over there!”

The sword floated down to them, and they turned in the direction where he had said there was a door. But when they opened the door, there was another maze. Chrissa groaned. They all went into the cave. Of course, Siro knew where to go because he had been there before. They walked behind Siro who took them to the left, the right, diagonally, vertically, straight and then right again, left again, left again and, then diagonally again, and so on and so on.

When they reached the other side, there was Snape, sitting on the ground surrounded by zombies. Snape was a griffin with white eyes and huge wings bigger than Chrissa’s (and Chrissa’s wings were really big).

Snape had horns and their tail looked like a hand. Ember had never seen anything like Snape. She’d never seen something so scary. Maybe to you it’s not scary, but for them, right in front of them, it was death.

***

The zombies surrounding Snape were all green: one was a pig, a big dark death thing, one was a polar bear, one was a king cobra, and the other-the-the-other was Luna’s friend, the butterfly Rose!

“He’s going to pay for this!” Ember said. She was angry, very angry.

“Ha! You’ll all be turned into bad guys!” Snape said.

“How could you kill someone like that?!” Chrissa said.

I just want to kill him!  The fire troll thought.

But in fact, Snape was a girl. Snape brought out her sword and she said, “Battle! You’ll become a bad guy if I stab you, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

The good sword said, “Luna! You must fight with me!”

“Okay!” Luna said.

She grabbed the sword with her blue tail. Luna ran up to where Snape was standing. When Luna reached her, they clashed their swords. And the battle began.

Five hours later, they were tired. Snape fainted, exhausted. And that was Luna’s chance. She raised the sword high and stabbed it through Snape’s back and into her heart. Suddenly, the sword floated out of Snape’s heart, out of Luna’s tail, and floated away through the ceiling.

Snape woke up. She looked the same but her expression looked like she had better feelings. No one was scared anymore. All the zombies transformed from green back to normal.

Rose was pink again and squealed, “I’m free!”

Luna and Ember were very confused.

“What happened?” Snape said, like she was waking up from a dream.

“What do you mean? You just made people into zombies! One of my friends, too!” Pegasus screamed.

“Yeah!” Rose said.

“That was just a dream!” Snape said.

But before Pegasus could say anything, Luna said, “Calm down Pegasus, she’s a good guy now.”

Then the cave around them, which was old and chipped, vanished and was replaced with trees, some with snowy parts, some with summer parts. And the summer sun rose in the sky. The ground shifted and moved them to the top of the world where all the animals could see. Every single animal in the world was gaping at such a marvelous sight.

Ember opened a vortex and went home. Chrissa, Pegasus, Rose, Siro, Water troll, Fire troll, the White Unicorn and Snape hunted through the grass, looking for what was left of the crystal. Luna turned to help them. Then saw her mother in the summer area.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” Luna said.

Luna’s mom looked just like Luna but way bigger.

“I also came through the grandfather clock to look for you,” Luna’s mom said. “Where were you?”

“I was here, just having a great adventure.”

“Like what?”

“Well… it’s a long story.”

 

THE END

 

Life’s End

As I ran and ran, with the wind blowing in my hair and the sand sticking to my wet feet, I was thinking of all the people and fights that I was leaving behind. A comfortable life where I didn’t have to go to school, or be tutored at home, would all be thrown away. This was going to be a new start to my life, and I had no idea where I was going. All I knew was straight. I could smell the salt stinging my nose and the ocean stretching miles long. The waves crashed right next to my feet, sometimes soaking them in the sand. I looked back at the faint wedding. My dad hadn’t noticed that I left yet. As soon as I turned the bend, I stopped for a rest and took off my shoes. My feet were in so much pain. I ran almost a mile in high heel shoes. Never will I do that again. I threw my shoes in the ocean and kept on running.

When I got to the road, I called my friend who was sixteen and told her I needed a runaway car. She knew that I had planned to run away from one of my father’s weddings and told me she would be my car. I couldn’t bring myself to do it during the first seven, but the eighth? A year after my mother died, my dad remarried for the first time to someone he didn’t love. They divorced within a month. This happened six more times, but my father still hadn’t learned his lesson. My friend drove me to the airport, and we said goodbye for a long time.

The airplane was cold, and I was barefoot in a wet and sand-covered, ripped flower girl’s dress. The people on the plane probably thought I was crazy. I looked out the window. The idea that kept coming into my mind was, how am I going to make a livelihood? I had no profession or special talents, and I was only twelve. I pushed my problems to the back of my head and tried to fall asleep.

When I woke up, the flight attendant was saying that we might be coming in for a rough sea landing. I freaked out. I shouted and screamed. The flight attendant came running towards me and over my screams I could hear another flight attendant call on the loud speaker for a doctor. A woman in her mid-twenties slid into the seat next to me. The person who once sat there had slid out of the seat when the doctor came. The doctor tried to calm me down by telling me her name, and a little bit about herself, but I didn’t register that information. The only thing going through my mind at the moment was a picture of me drowning in the ocean.

The doctor repeated her name again, and this time, it registered. Her name was Catherine. A beautiful name. She really knew what she was doing. I could tell because it worked. I stopped screaming and looked up just in time to see the flight attendant leading the lady who was once sitting next to me into Catherine’s old seat. The lady kept looking back at me, and as I looked around the plane, I thought to myself, Oh my, of course everyone would be looking at me. I had had a panic attack.

The same flight attendant that had called for the doctor told everyone over the loudspeaker to get in position for a crash. I opened my mouth to scream as I spotted a girl about three years old who was in position. She didn’t look scared, just calm. At that moment, I realized how stupid being scared of a crash in 2017 was, when no one else was. Everyone was calm, and I just had a panic attack. I got in position, and the doctor rubbed my back and told me to stay calm. Over the loud speaker, I heard a count down.

“Ten, nine, eight — ”

I hugged the doctor, and she hugged me back.

“Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.”

I closed my eyes waiting for the impact but none came.

The flight attendant told everyone to stay in position and that the countdown was a bit early. She started another. At around four, the crash came and the impact was harder than anyone could have expected. My head hit the seat in front of me, crushing the doctor’s hand who was protecting my head. Her fingers were bleeding and so was my head. Many other people on the plane had injuries, and they were all very serious.

Water was now to the top of the plane, and no one could breathe. Everyone stayed in their seat for another minute. By that time, we should have been straining for breath and turning blue, but we all seemed to be able to breathe. Was this a miracle, or the after life? The water was as clear as air and it felt like we were breathing air.

The flight attendant called over the loudspeaker. That still worked too. “I will go out of the plane and explore, does anyone want to come?”

Nobody did so she went alone. About thirty seconds later, we heard a muffled scream through the water. The pilot went out to check on the flight attendant, and when he popped his head back into the plane, he told everyone to take their luggage and file out. I had no luggage, but I saw that it wasn’t easy to swim with soaked luggage. When we got outside the plane, there were an escort of sharks, all different kinds, waiting for us. They looked scary and imposing, but the leader was talking in a friendly way to the pilot like they were old friends. Nobody seemed to think that this was odd. They all just went with the flow.

All of the people who could were trying to pop open the bottom of the plane to get all of their checked bags. I had a feeling we were going to need them.

The sharks took us to an underwater city that was lit up, like in the movies. They took us around the back of the city, like they didn’t want us be seen. We went through a tunnel to the back of a shop. It smelled like seaweed. The water was thinner and cleaner around the city. It was also more easy to breathe in. It looked more bluish, and we couldn’t hear the waves as much.

A woman with a tail entered the shop from the front. The sharks dived down and so did the rest of the passengers from the plane. The woman was dressed in a sky blue tail with jewels hung around, like lights on a Christmas tree. She had on a blue bikini top, which was the same color as the tail. Her hair hung behind her. It was long, brown, and straight. She swam up to the cashier’s desk.  The woman demanded a fancy tail for the mer-prom. The mermaid behind the cashier’s desk swam to a rack of bejeweled tails. There were rainbow ones, plain ones, and ones in all different combinations of colors. When the mermaid finished paying for the tail cover, we came out of our hiding spot. The cashier took out what looked like a phone and called two mer-people.

Around fifteen minutes later, two mermaids entered the shop and the sharks didn’t dive down, so neither did we. One of the mermaids had blonde hair. It was wavy and it had a pink streak in it. Her tail was the same color as the pink in her hair. The other mermaid looked just like my mom. It couldn’t be, I told myself. Her hair was jet black and her tail looked like it wasn’t connected to her.

My mother had died in a plane crash, so it was impossible for it to be her. They locked the door behind them and put the “Closed” sign out. I got scared. Were they going to hurt us? Was this a trap? While they were doing this, they looked scared, like they were worried they were going to be caught in the middle. They looked around.

“Hello guys! My name is Molly and I died in a plane crash just like you!” the girl, who looked liked my mom, said.

When she spotted me, her mouth dropped wide, and her eyes blew up to the size of tennis balls. She swam towards me and gave me an embracing hug. At that moment, I couldn’t think of anything except for what was going on that second. The last few hours of my life flashed right in front of my eyes. I saw myself running away from the wedding, the plane crash, and the sharks. I couldn’t believe that I was hugging my mom. This never happens, I think?

We stood in that hug for what felt like hours, with everyone else looking at us, but those hours were spent well. I could tell my mom was happy that I was with her, and that the after life wasn’t how we used to imagine it.

When the hug was over, my mom introduced me to every one of her friends. They told me they had heard a lot about me. My mom told everyone, including me, about the mer-people. They hate humans, and every time there is a plane crash in these waters, the sharks come and save them. Then, they bring them here and put fake tails on them so they can fit in. The only rule in this world is that no one is allowed to go to the surface, and if a human is near, hide. If Mom and I go up to the surface and find Dad, this could be my only chance to ever get them reunited. I needed to tell Mom.

“Now I would like an update of what is going on in the human world,” my mom said.

Other people told her about what was on the news and everything, but I told her about Dad and his marriages. She was furious and kept mumbling to herself. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but it wasn’t something nice.

We put fake tails on and dyed parts of our hair. I looked so different and I liked it. Mom and I went back to her house, and we talked and caught up. I told her everything about running away and she told me we would have to go notify Dad to tell him I was okay. I agreed, but asked her how we would if we were not allowed to the surface, and she said it would be alright. We just needed to take our tails off. Just then, a huge and loud bugle rang.

My mom rushed me out and into the crowds of mer-people. A big jeweled carriage arrived.  My mom told me it was the queen and we had to do what everyone else did. She told me the queen was vain and selfish. She always has a wig on and wears so much mer-makeup. I had heard about queens like this in stories, and they scared me. Now, I was witnessing it for real.

“Honey, tighten your tail quick. If the queen sees it loose, you’re dead and so am I.”

The queen looked around and all the mer-people seemed so uptight and scared just like in stories.

When the ceremony was over, Mom and I went back to her house and got ready to go up to the surface. We pretended to go shopping in the tail store but really went through the tunnel that I came through. We swam as fast as our tails would let us. When we got to the surface and stuck our heads out of the water, we couldn’t breathe. Our mouths or noses wouldn’t take the air in. My mother led me away from the surface and she showed me to a dark cave. We entered and my mother had a nervous look on her face. When Something moved in the back of the cave, my mother squeezed my hand and I realized that she wasn’t an expert at this like I thought she was at everything. Have you ever felt like someone knew everything, and was always a leader to you, but then one action that that person does changes everything? It was, all of a sudden, and I was scared.

A weird looking mermaid came out from the shadows. He looked ghostly and faint. There were no vibrant colors in him. He seemed mean and when he talked, he did so in a strict manner. His tail was black and plain. My mother spoke quietly when she said,

“We were hoping you would help us and make us human again.”

The guy teased us for a bit and kept tricking us by being nice, and when we said “Really?” he would shout “No!”

But finally, he agreed. When he did, he said we would have to pay a price. We asked what that was, and he said we needed to work for him for five days. The next couple of days were torture. He made us work so hard. When his friends came over to his cave on the fifth day, he had more help with demanding things for us to do, and my mother kept reminding me that it was the last day.

I kept reminding myself that this may be my only chance to get my parents reunited. It used to just be one or the other, and this may be my only chance. The next day we went and told the man that it had been five days, and he said he would make us human again. He said okay in a sad tone and looked at us with a soul-piercing stare. The next second, I couldn’t breathe and neither could my mom. We swam as fast as we could and the last thing I knew, I blacked out.

When I came to, I was on the sand and my mom was on top of me with a worried look on on her face. She hugged me when she saw my eyes open and started to cry. I shook her off, but her crying didn’t stop.

“Mom, let’s go,” I said, but she didn’t move.

All she did was sit in a shaking puddle.

“Mom, come on,” I said, kind of in an annoyed voice.

She wouldn’t move, so I sat down next to her and embraced her in a tight, loving hug. Her shaking stopped, and her crying did, too. We let go of the hug slowly and I looked straight into her eyes. Then I whispered, “It’s okay, I’m alright. Now let’s move on.”

She nodded her head slowly, sniffled, and got up. I held her hand, and we walked to the end of the beach.

We were already in the Caribbean since the plane crashed less than halfway through the plane ride. We drove to Dad’s house just in time to see him in his first fight with his new wife. Mom sighed when she saw this.

“Just like you said,” she told me.

“I know,” I muttered.

She parked the car and got out. When we knocked on the door, my dad fainted. I guess he knew I was on the plane ride that crashed. When he came to, the questions were too overwhelming so we told him to quiet down so we could tell him our story. Then he could ask questions. He agreed and it took about an hour to finish our story and questions.

Mom, Dad, and I sat down with each of our books and read for the rest of the day. By five o’clock, I finished my book. That is one of the most comforting things to me. My dad and mom hadn’t finished their books. I told them I was going to find Kayla. Kayla is my best friend and I’ve known her since I was in preschool. My dad told me that he had told her that I was dead, so she might faint.

I ran to her house which was only down the block. When I got to her house, she didn’t faint. So I told her what happened. We had a great time together. When I got back for dinner, my dad’s new wife was over, and I guess he told her that he wanted a divorce. She didn’t take it well, but I didn’t care. My dad had a cut on his forehead. It was deep from where the ring hit him when the eighth wife stormed out of the house. My mom fixed up his cut and put a bandaid on it when she was done. My dad went down on one knee and took the ring off my mom, then put it back on her and asked if she would marry him. She said of course, and they kissed on the lips.

We decided not to have the wedding by the beach because now, that is my biggest fear. I went with my mom to get the dress and with my dad to get the suit. I helped them plan the wedding, and the process was very fun.

On the wedding day, I couldn’t stop crying. This was the only thing I had been hoping for my whole life. When my parents kissed, I had a flashback of when I was younger. It was when my dad took me for the first time to Coney Island. That was my fifth birthday present. He had gotten out of his third marriage just a week before. We had so much fun, and we went on most of the rides that I could go on three or four times. He threw up because I kept making him go on the curvy rides. Then I thought about my fondest memory of my mom but none came. When they opened up from their kiss, they pulled me in with them.

This was the best feeling ever. There was nothing else to say about that.

 

The Friend Fight

I walk to my classroom slowly. I don’t mind being late because I almost always am. Let me tell you something about me. I am Emily Johnson. My best friend is named Annie. I met her in kindergarten, and she’s the best friend I could ever have. She’s funny, generous, and determined. Now, we’re in third grade. I walk into my classroom and take a seat at my desk. My teacher assigns partners for an art assignment that we’re doing. I cross my fingers, hoping that I get partnered with Annie.

“Emily Johnson! And Lydia Green!” calls the teacher.

Annie gets partnered with Lyla. Lyla and Lydia are best friends. Me and Lydia start working on the project. I hear giggling from Annie’s table.

“What’s going on?”

Annie says, “We were just talking about the playdate we had last night. We’re going to play together at recess.”

“What?” I say. “But you always play with me!”

“Sorry, I wanna play with Lyla!”

“Ugh,” I say.

And I finish the project with Lydia. After lunch, it is time for recess. I walk over to Annie. Annie senses what I’m going to say.

She says, “Sorry, I already asked Lyla if I could play fairies with her. Maybe next time?”

“Can I play too?” I say.

“Sorry, only two people can play!” Lyla says.

And then, she goes and asks Sarah and Amy to play fairies with them too! After school, I grab Annie by the arm.

“Come over to my house!”

“Sorry,” Annie says. “I’m going to Lyla’s house.”

And then, she asks Lyla, so I know that Lyla didn’t tell her before!  

And then I yell, “Hey! At recess, you said that only two people could play! But then you asked Sarah and Amy to play too! And then, you said that you were going to Lyla’s house, but asked her after! What’s up with you?”

“Uh, sorry. I just wanted to play with Lyla.”

“Alright,” I say.

And then I go home.

My mom asks me, “Want to bake cookies?”
“No, thank you,” I say.

“Hey? What’s up?” She asks.

“Nothing,” I say.

“Well, then, look at your English homework. It’s preposterous! And I found it in the trash can!”

“Uh…” I say, and then run up to my room and close the door.

I feel my cheeks burn. I had thrown it in the trash can, because it was not good.

The next day, I’m by my neighbor Mrs. Shelton’s house. I see Annie and Lyla walking to school together. Me and Annie ALWAYS walk to school together.

I say, “Hey Annie! We always walk to school together! Why can’t you walk with me today!”

“Because…” Annie starts to say, but Lyla cuts her short.

“Annie’s always telling me about how clingy you are, Emily,” Lyla said, turning her gaze to Lydia. “And Lydia, you always wait for me to do this, me to do that, me to choose. Gimme a break.”

Then she and Annie walk off. Then we reach school. It was a terrible day. At lunch, Annie sat at Lyla’s table and didn’t even come near me. And whenever we had a free period, she would always play with Lyla. And then I look and see Lydia. She looks sad. Maybe it’s because Lyla is her best friend.

I go up to her, and I say, “Look at Annie and Lyla, it’s like THEY’RE best friends, not even looking at us!”

She nods her head. And then she says, “Why don’t we form a team? It’ll be like a friend-fight!”

“Too dramatic,” I say. “But alright.”

So, when school is over, Annie, of course, goes to Lyla’s house. I don’t object. Me and Lydia have a plan. They walk home, and we follow behind them.

Lyla’s mom sayd, “Before you can play with your friend, you have to tidy up the yard. It’s a disaster!”

“I’ll help too,” Annie says.

After they’re almost done, Annie goes to the bathroom. So Lyla follows her to show her the way. While they’re gone, I make the mess even untidier than before, then run back just in time.

When Annie and Lyla come back, they say, “What?! We almost finished it! It looks even worse than it was before!”

Balls were everywhere. A jump rope and bicycle were tied together and on the ground. Coats, and hats, and scarves, and bits of snow were scattered around. And then, the minute they turn back, Lydia makes snowballs and throws it at them. And then we leave, giggling happily.

The next day, at school, I tell Annie, “I have to talk to you in private.”

“Finally,” she says.

“What?” I say.

“Just come on.”

Then we go to the janitor’s closet.

I say, “Why are you doing this? Why do you always want to be with Lyla, and why doesn’t she want to be with Lydia?”
“Because you’re always so CLINGY and want to be with me all the time! It’s so annoying, and that’s what it looks like with Lyla on me!”

“I am NOT!” I say.

“Yes, you are!” She yells.

We don’t realize how loud we are. The art teacher comes and gets us in trouble. I glare at Annie and walk away.

The next day, Annie comes smiling. I take a seat.

And then yell, “Ouch!”

There is a needle that was sticking up on the chair. I look at Annie, and she is still smiling. I guessed it. She had put it there. She guessed that we had thrown the snow and messed up the yard. We lock eyes. She grins. I don’t.

When Lydia and I walk home from school, I say, “Okay, what’s plan B?”

“I dunno,” said Lydia. “Maybe we could… no, that won’t work.”

And then I say, “They’re going to Annie’s house.”

Both Lydia and I have been to Annie’s house. When Annie and Lyla get to Annie’s house, Lydia and I follow them in, through a back entrance. Annie’s mom is in the bathroom. They’re eating cookies. I sneak up the stairs and grab Annie’s diary. I run back down and sprint outside just before Annie’s mom gets out of the bathroom.

The next day is Saturday. I ask Mom, “Can we go to the mall? I have my tooth fairy money.”

And I get the exact same diary as Annie has. That way, I have the key. Just as soon as we get home, and I’m about to open the diary, I don’t. I realize I shouldn’t. But I was going to keep it. I grab it, and hide it deep, deep, deep in my closet. And then, I make pancakes.

The next day is Sunday. My dad is coming home from a business trip.

“Daddy, Daddy!” I say, as he opens the door.

“Hi!” He says. “I brought presents!”

“Yay!” I say.

“Oh, and I met Annie on the way here. She says that she wants you to come to her house.”

“Annie?” I ask.

“Yes, Annie. What about that? That’s not surprising, is it? She says to come now.”

So I run out the door.

Annie says, “Hey. Did you take my diary?”

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”

We both know that counts as a yes. She scowls and stalks off. I stare at her. That’s what she wanted? Well, I was not going to give it to her.

Everyday at school, we change jobs. Annie was the plant waterer.

Lydia says, “When she’s done filling the vase, I’m going to drain it out!”

And she does. When our teacher walks in, she says, glaring, “Annie! You’re the plant waterer, I don’t see a SINGLE drop of water in the vase. You always remember, what has gotten into you?”

Annie gives me a questioning look. I just smile. Lyla whispers something into Annie’s ear. Then they both giggle. My smile turns into a frown. And then, I focus on the work. But I think. Let me tell you something. Lyla is NOT nice. She doesn’t like anybody, or anything. So, I think basically she just wants to pick on me and Lydia. During break, Lydia and I sit down. It’s time for Plan C: Ignoring. We won’t listen to them. Anything they say, anything they do, we’ll pretend they’re not there.
Lydia says, “Sounds good.”

And then we play jump rope. When Annie purposefully says, “BYE, EMILY! I’M GOING TO LYLA’S HOUSE.”

I walk right past her, pretending she’s not there. Lydia does the same. Then we high five.

I say, “Let’s go to my house and bake sugar cookies.”

And the rest of the day was great. That night, I dreamt of Lyla and Annie. They were saying sorry. And Lydia, Lyla, Annie, and I became friends again. When I woke up, I realized, it was not the simple. But deep down, I knew it actually was. I know what I needed to do. I need to go to someone who understands. I need to go to Mom.

I tell Mom, “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it, sweetie,” she says.

“It’s Annie, Lyla, and Lydia. Well, Annie and Lyla stopped playing with me and Lydia. And they were playing mean tricks on us.”

“Who started playing tricks?” says mom.

“Us…” I say guiltily.

“And do you know why Annie was not playing with you?”
“Yes. She said that I was being too clingy. And I wasn’t! So we both got mad.”

“And so let me get this straight,” says Mom. “Annie was not hanging out with you or playing with you, because she thought you were being to clingy. And then you both got mad at each other. And then you started playing tricks on them?”

“Yes,” I say.

“Well, here’s what you’ve got to do: you’ve got to go up to Annie, and tell her it’s not nice what she’s doing and that you’re sorry that you were playing pranks, and that you were being a little clingy.”

“Can you come with me?” I ask her.

She says, “Alright.”

And that’s exactly what we do.

Annie says, “Well… um, I’m sorry too, that I was playing pranks, and um… not hanging out with you.”

“Friends?” I say.

“Friends.” She says.

Mom smiles, and then goes to work.

The next day at school, I go up to Lydia and say, “Here’s what you have to do.”

And then I pour out all the stuff that Mom said. She listens. And then does it.

Lyla just stares, as if saying, “what are you? An earthworm?”

Well, that might change their friendship, but that’s not gonna change Lyla. But anyway, that’s Lydia’s problem.

And then we all play together. Lyla and all.

The next day Annie walks over to me.

“Here,” she says. “I made this  for you.”

She hands me a bracelet that says best friends forever. I see she made one for herself.

“Thanks” I say.

We both smile and walk to school together.

 

Spare Parts

OSCAR

I am a boy named Oscar, an undocumented teenager, and my family is also not documented. And as I entered home after a “great” day at Cayden Bay Community High School, I saw a flyer about a URV competition, also known as an underwater robot contest, that could give you a scholarship at a technology college. So the next day, when I went to school, I went to the computer printers, and I printed out flyers.

And while I was handing out flyers, I saw the substitute science teacher, Mr. Hamilton, and said, “Can I make a club to go to this competition? But we have to consult with the principal to make sure.”

 

FRED

I am a boy named Fred, with the same story, but I don’t need a competition. I am one of the kids who knows how to code, and I am good with technology. I went to a computer and was doing homework, but got shoved off by a bully.

He went to play video games on it, and I said, “I can hack it so you will be invincible in the game.”

Wow, he is actually going to fall for this, I thought.

I hacked it, and I shut down the game and the computer, so the bully couldn’t play his game anymore. And then, as I ran up the stairs to safety, I saw a teenager like me handing out waivers. I received one, and I thought for a second and said to myself, “I can be a part of this, and I could get into a great college!”

So I decided to go to the meeting. When I got there, I saw another teenager named Lorenzo. I was just a bit shocked because I never thought that this many people wanted to come. These people all looked Mexican, and so was I. I asked them why they wanted to come, including my friend and another teenager I didn’t know.

 

OSCAR

“So we have to build a robot,” the boy named Fred said. “We need PVC pipes and motors, cameras, and more.”

“Dang. That’s a lot of money we are talking about to get those motors.”  

I really didn’t think that we were going to be number one, but at least we were going to beat some colleges. All the other colleges were huge, and they had a lot of money.

“Well, guess what? If you guys want to win, you have to raise money,” the teacher said. ”We will get disqualified if I fund you with money so…”

So I went with them to a store to see what we needed to get. We got the four motors, camera, a lot of PVC pipes, claws, and a liquid extractor, according to the competition.

”You are still $403 dollars and 95 cents short. What do you want to do?” said the store clerk.

“We don’t need an underwater camera. I have a plan,” said the group leader, which was the teacher.

“You are still $195 short.”

“We don’t need a professional camera. We should get a bit of a cheaper one.”

“Yep, that cuts it. You are now free to buy with nothing to owe.”

YES, WE GET ALL THE STUFF WE NEEDED!!!

So now I went with them on a bus, back to the school, and in an empty classroom to try to build part of it.

 

The Next Day..

OSCAR

So after the rest of the team and I went to sleep, and went along with the school day, we saw what we had to build with and what to do.

“So I still have to manage the battery box and program the motors to a controller,” Fred said.

“The other teenager we finally know the name of,” Alex said. ”I will build the frame of the robot and make sure it’s waterproof.”

The substitute teacher, George Hamilton, said, “I will plan and figure out how many days we have until we have to travel from Arizona to California.”

Lorenzo said, “I will go and organize our place in the competition, and help Alex with the battery box and the motors.”

“My plan with the camera is to make an underwater seal, so that we fit the camera between the PVC all around it,” said George.

“How are we going to see though?” I asked.

“That’s what I was trying to say, Oscar. We put a glass, and seal it on the side the camera is facing!”

At the end of the day, we found each other, made another meeting, and then called it a day.  

Wow, we actually beat an obstacle that other colleges probably would not beat with the money.

 

The Next Day…

Lorenzo announced, ”CONGRATULATIONS! WE GOT A PLACE IN THE COMPETITION!!!”

Alex, Fred, George and I all cheered and continued to work on the battery box and constructed it all together.

Fred realized something and said, “Where will our power for the battery box come from? We need to calculate the length of the wires, and we have to make it waterproof.”

Fred said, “I’m on it, but I need money to buy it!”

George said, ”We need to make it a bit quick, because we only have a week, and we need to get the wire and test it all.”

So, after a day of waiting for Fred to get the wire, we got the wire working. So, we had five days to get there and test it.

 

The Next Day..

Now, we were a bit stressed out. We needed the school’s van, and we needed permission to test it, but there was a problem. Water leaked into the battery box!

“We need something to absorb the water.”

“Ummm…”

“Sponges!”

So, they finally got it working and celebrated because we could get scholarships for colleges, since I am still in high school. So later, the gang and I went to the principal and asked for a van, and after a bit of a painful conversation, debating whether or not she would give it to us, she finally said… “Yes!

“YESSSS!” We all yelled in celebration.

We had three days until the competition, so we immediately got into the van.

 

In the Van…

We were finally on our way. We slept in the van and looked out the window, all surprised and excited. We knew we were not going to beat or even get close to first place. We all looked out for the signs of the college and California as George drove. We went to a sponsored hotel with free rooms and food. I was especially happy because I come from a poor family. So, I ate all I could have.

 

At the Preparation Area…

We stood under our tent as we watched all the other colleges’ awesome UR’s, comparing it to our ugly robot named Stinky, because it smelled a lot. After the robot test was an oral test. But we had a problem. Alex was one of the kids who did not really know the material. He just came to help and to be in the competition, so we looked at him.

Alex was a problem. All of us needed to teach him. So after the preparation day, we brought our robot back to test it in the private pool the hotel offered. We then realized that the sponges helped a lot. We did an absorbing test, found out that it absorbed a lot of water and barely got wet. Fred came to us and exclaimed this, and was in a rush to put it in the battery box sitting on top of the robot.

 

At the Hotel Room…

We started teaching Alex what density was, what we did, how we did it, how much money we needed, and how much was funded. According to George, our group leader and teacher, he couldn’t fund the group so we just kept on teaching him and making sure he knew everything. For the competition, we needed uniform t-shirts, so we all got “AWESOME” t-shirts. My friend, who supported me and worked at a fashion store, customized them. We later went back to our party tent to store our robot and we saw all the other robots walking past. All the other people just looked at our ugly robot Stinky, boo, and showed looks of disgust.

 

At the Competition…

We walked into the pool, to our tent, with our robot. Then, the loudspeaker went off with the judge’s voice:

“WELCOME TO THE URV COMPETITION!!! THERE IS AN OBSTACLE WITH TASKS YOU HAVE TO PASS! YOU MAY SKIP EACH TASK BUT WILL HAVE TO GO AFTER IT AT THE END!! THERE ARE 5 TASKS YOU HAVE TO PASS AND THERE WILL BE A TIMER FOR EACH TASK!”

Virginia Tech went up to the judges to show off their robot. “VIRGINIA TECH WILL GO FIRST!”

Virginia Tech did not complete all the tasks but ended up getting 80 points.

WOW we so far need to beat that.

“But remember guys, we still have the oral test. If we all succeed, we will get 30 points!” said Fred.

MIT walked up and disassembled part of the robot which looked so professional.

”Damn, that looks so good.”

They ended up with 85 points. Then, Cornell went up, showed their robot and ended up with 85 points ALSO. All the rest of the major colleges averaged about 70 points, but one other one got 80 points. None of them got the last task done to give them 40 points.

But then, the loudspeaker announced, ”NOW IT IS TIME FOR CAYDEN BAY.”

BOOOOOOOOOOO,” the crowd said.

We showed the robot and the judges, kind of, got disgusted. We walked back with our controller and made sure everybody was ready.

“Five… Four… Three…. Two… One… GO!”

“ALEX, PUT STINKY IN THE WATER!”

We activated the robot and went down into the water.  Alright, everybody, engage motors! Check. Press the red button engage claw. Alright, come on, come on. Fourteen seconds left for the task! Fail. Minus five points for Cayden Bay! The diver will open it. Now, identify the sub, I write down 1944 U-BOAT.

“DING”

Ten points for Cayden Bay!

We moved on to the “move and replace,” and we had to take away the bell and replace it.

“Alright, team! Engage, claw, and close!” We successfully took it, but it dropped to the floor. But we still got half credit for picking it up, so we earned 15 points. We tried again, and then it fell again.

“Alright, move on to the next task, and navigate through currents.” We successfully did that. It gave us 30 points, which meant 45 points total.

“Forty-five points guys, doing good! We have to disarm the torpedo.”

“There are different colors! We should of gotten a color monitor!” Fred exclaimed.

We disarmed the wrong one, minus one point. We went to the last task, to extract the liquid, but we had some trouble. Our camera was knocked out and barely showed where we were. We barely had enough room to do it. But, luckily, we were a bit aligned, and we successfully filled the balloon holding the liquid. We came back and we earned 35 points. Eighty points. Fourth place, but we had the oral test.

“Aw man,” we all said.

But George told us that we beat around six colleges, and we were in high school. So, we cheered up. We went back to our hotel room, and we then put our robot away and reviewed the components. We told Alex to repeat all the answers. We walked up to the college, and then walked to the waiting room while I went first. They asked how much money we used. They asked about density, and mass, and propulsion. Alex told us the answers. Him, Fred, Lorenzo, and I all got happy, and we walked back to our hotel all excited for tomorrow. We got back and celebrated that we beat about 6 colleges, a bit, which was awesome.

“YES!” I yelled. We jumped up and down as we celebrated.

 

The Next Day…

In the morning, the rest of the group and I put on our shirts and George, no surprise there, woke up last, sleeping on a matress on the floor because there was no space for him to sleep on our bed.

We put on our nicest clothes and walked down the road into the college, and we entered the party room. There was a huge party where the awards and winners would be announced. We went to eat the cake, and then met all the teams and talked to them. Then, the judges start talking about how surprised they were about the winner and that they did not expect it. They started the awards.

“The winner for the cheapest robot in price isss… CAYDEN BAY!”

We stood up and celebrated. I went up first to hold the award first, and I jumped up and down. Then, the other awards went to MIT and other colleges. Then, after a couple of hours, they started announcing the winners. Fourth place gets a medal. Third, second, and first place gets a trophy.

“For fourth place is Virginia Tech!”

“For third place is Cornell!”

“For second place is… M….I….T!!!”

Louder cheers went for this college, and one thing caught my mind. Every time you earned a trophy, you had to announce how much money you used for the robot. And I thought, That robot they build ain’t no poop. It had like a crap ton of technology, and coding, and wires, and all that awesome stuff.

 

ALEX

One of the team members repeated the same thing they said to the oral test judges: $18,563 dollars.

$18,563 used just to get second place?

“Now, it is time to announce the most historic moments in robot history. These people took their genius brains to beat the number one college, MIT. For first place, give it up for… C…A…Y…D…E…N BAAY!!!”

Omgod is this actually happening?

We all looked at each other in amazement, and then slowly rose from our seats and jumped up into a group hug.

“Oh My Goddd! We actually did it! The Oral Test!

THE ORAL TEST! THE ORAL TEST!

We all walked up. I jumped up, pumped my fist in the air happily, and then we all raised the trophy. A judge questioned me about the money funded. After everything, I broke away from the group, walked up to the judge, and said, ”Thanks for not disqualifying us from the competition. Why did you not disqualify us? We can’t be funded!”

“Who said you cannot do that? Of course you can do that!”

“My coach said you couldn’t.”

“Well, maybe he was just being cheap!”

“Well, thanks.”

I laughed for a second, and I felt a bit sad that he lied to us and made it into a joke. I stayed in place and looked at him until he looked at me, and I nodded my head left to right multiple times and he cracked up. He lifted his piece of cake, as in asking if I wanted some, and walked and joined them to take photos. We walked back to the hotel room carrying George in our arms, as well as some scholarships to MIT and the trophy, and we celebrated all night long. That’s the end of the true story that actually happened with kids who actually beat MIT.

 

Nick and The Championship Soccer Game

Chapter One: Nick and Anderson

“Good job, Nick. We made the playoffs!”

Nick was eight years old, and he loved to play soccer and was excited about the playoffs. He knew how to play his hardest because he was playing the stars. To win, Nick and his team had to practice a lot, so they were ready for the big game. Their team name was the Crushers. Nick was lucky because he was not playing Anderson. Anderson was a great soccer player and started way before Nick, at the age of five. So, it was possible that he was better than Nick. Anderson’s team name was the Spartans. Nick had played Anderson’s team before and had lost.

In that game, Anderson’s team scored six goals, and Nick’s team had scored three. Nick was not able to defeat Anderson because Anderson was very good with his moves. He did lots of moves like putting the ball inside and outside of his legs. Nick couldn’t do that. Nick was trying to do that. He was still trying to figure out how to put the ball inside and outside of his legs. But Nick knew that a hard team was coming, Uteam. He went to lots of soccer camps and tried his hardest so he could get better and be like Anderson. One day, Nick was asking his dad if his team could someday beat the Spap.

Nick was not scared of the playoffs, but he was scared of the championship because of Anderson’s team. But his dad said kept saying, “try your hardest.’’

’’But Anderson is way too hard!” said Nick.

***

It was one day before the big game, and, lucky crushers, they were ready! The day was here, and the Crushers and the Stars were playing.

‘’Run, Nick!’’ the crowd shouted.

The score was 2 – 2. Ten seconds were remaining. Nick was on the breakaway. He shot  and scored!

’’We made the semi-finals against the Dragons!’’ the coach cheered.  

Seconds were counting… 2… 1… 0… Fans were cheering, hats were flying towards the ground, fans were screaming. The screaming could be heard outside the grounds.

“Nick, nice goal,” said Bryce.

“Thank you,” said Nick.

***

At home, Nick practiced a lot of his shots. His dad burst into the room door.

‘’Nick. Great job. Are you nervous about the semi-finals?’’

“A little bit,” Nick said. “It’s getting harder in levels. I don’t know if I’m up to the level of Anderson. His team has made it to the finals, and they said, ‘we do not care who our opponent is.’’’

“Nick, time for bed,’’ said his mom.

“I thought Dad says it is time for bed,” said Nick.  

“He is very busy,” said his mom.

Nick had been telling his dad, “you don’t have to be millionaire, in the hundreds are fine.” He was on a call, and they could not disturb his dad. Then, Nick went to bed and dreamed about winning the finals.

 

Chapter Two: The Big Game

The semi-finals were three days away, and they did not know how good their opponents were because they had not played them in the regular season, but they saw in the standings that the opponents were in second place. Nick’s team was in third. If the Crushers did not play well, they would lose and not make the finals. That was why Nick and his teammates were practicing a lot. And Nick was trying to do better on his shots. He practiced three hours a day with his teammates and two hours alone.

At the end of three days, his dad said, “Slow down so that you get your shots better. Even if you lose, try your hardest. And make sure to get to sleep early tonight, since your game is tomorrow.”

The big game was here, and the score was 2 – 1. Dragons were winning. Twenty seconds were remaining, and Nick was sweating. Nick dribbled into the Dragon’s zone and shot top shelf. Fans were quiet and watched the ball fly, and Nick scored! The score was tied, and fans were cheering so loudly.

Buzz.

The game had gone to overtime! Teams huddle, and then they started to play. Nick shot from the side and scored! Fans were louder than the city!

“We made the finals!” said the coach.

Nick went home with a shock. He was dripping with sweat, and he could feel his heart pounding at the speed of light.

‘’Nick, I saw you play today. You played awesome,’’ said his dad in an excited mood. ’’Go practice more so you are ready for the finals, and remember, there are three games, and your team has to win two, and you are playing the Spartans,’’ said his dad.

‘’What?!” Nick said.

He was dazed.

 

Chapter Three: What Happened To Nick

Nick was playing soccer in his backyard and shot a goal. Something must have happened because he felt harsh pain in his ankle. Nick screamed a little bit, and then hopped to his mom who was watering the flowers.

“I shot a goal, and I twisted my ankle, and it hurts badly,” Nick said.

His mom took a look at his ankle. The ankle had a blue bruise and was swollen.

“Try moving your foot, and if it hurts, we’ll put an ice pack.”

Nick was trying to move his foot, but it hurt very badly.

Nick said, “It hurts badly. I need the ice pack.”

And Nick hopped to the house and quickly went to the kitchen and got an ice pack from the freezer.  Then he went to the sofa, sat there, and put the ice pack to his foot.

Then his mom said, “How are you going to play in the finals on Saturday? That’s two days from now!”

Later, when Nick was eating his dinner, he asked his mom, “If I don’t play on Saturday, how is my team going to win? I can’t sit at home and just relax while they play!”

“We’ll see if your leg is good on Saturday. But if it’s not, we’ll see if you can play. But I don’t think it’ll be good for your ankle. And your shots won’t be good either.”

When Nick went to bed, he slept with ice pack, and dreamed about losing the finals.

 

Chapter 4: The Finals of Three

The next day, Nick woke up very early so he could practice before the game.

“But what about your ankle?” his mom asked.

“My ankle is fine,” he said, even though it still hurt him.

The swelling had gone down.  

So his mom asked, “Are you sure?”

And Nick said, “I’m sure.”  

Later, the finals were here, and nobody knew who is going to win.The teams were going onto the field, and the Spartans were playing Nick’s team, the Crushers. Just at the ten second mark, Anderson scored for the Spartans! By the middle of the game, the Spartans were leading 2 – 0. Then, the Crusher’s scored when Nick passed to Bryce, and he took a shot from the corner and scored! The rest of the game didn’t go so well because Nick’s ankle was still hurting badly. He couldn’t play that well. It was almost the end of the first game, and the Spartans were leading 3 – 1. Seventeen seconds were remaining, and Nick knew that they were going to lose the first game. The buzzer went off, and the Spartans had won. The team was cheering as loudly as the fans. Anderson tackled the goalie, and they both fell to the ground, screaming with excitement. Nick went home, sad and exhausted. The next game was tomorrow.

The next day, the teams took the field. Nick’s team, the Crushers, were pumped up. Then, the game had started, and the Crusher’s were going hard out. Nick was dribbling into the Spartan’s zone and just shot it from the corner — a top shelf! He scored. The Spartans were surprised when they saw the goal. Then, in the middle of the game, Nick’s team was so happy that they were winning. Then, the Spartans took the ball and shot it very far, almost half field, and it went inside the goal. Thirty seconds remaining, and Anderson and the Spartans were driving it into the Crusher’s zone, and Leo passed it to Anderson, but Nick defended it by kicking it high. The ball flew over the players and landed above the goalie’s hands, into the net. The Crusher’s had scored the final goal of the game! The buzzer blew. This time, the Crusher’s tackled each other, hugging each other.

The coach said, “Great game! We only need one more game to win the series. Get ready for the finals tomorrow.’’

***

The game was here. It was the middle of the game, and the score was 0 – 0.There were nine seconds remaining, and the Crushers were drenched with sweat.The buzzer blew. The game had gone to overtime. The teams huddled. Then they went back on the field. Nick dribbled into the Spartan’s zone. Anderson blocked Nick’s path. Nick shot from the corner and scored! The fans were louder than the city, and the Crusher’s jumped onto the goalie. The fans were screaming so loudly!

‘’Awesome!” said Coach.

“Nick rocks!” the fans shouted.

“Nick, you did awesome,” his parents said. “You won the finals!”

“You put pressure on the Spartans, and then you’ll win it!” said Nick.

“That’s what I was telling you,” his dad said. “Put in your practice, and you’ll get better.”

That night, Nick and his team had a small party that had lot of food and a lot of games, because they deserved it.

 

The  End

 

Trouble Doubles

Once, in the house of Huncars, there were two identical twins named Emma and Sophia. One was interested in music, drawing, and relaxing, and the other was interested in soccer, basketball, and swimming. Emma was interested in the school band named Rock Music & Jazz. She really wanted to play in the band and had been preparing for auditions all summer. Sophia spent the rest of the summer trying to figure out how to dribble a basketball on her head, which Emma didn’t understand, since you’re supposed to dribble a soccer ball on your head — not a basketball.

One day, before middle school began, Sophia convinced Emma to play soccer with her in the park. Sophia scored so many times because Emma was too busy reading her book in the goal.

“That’s 52 – 0,” Sophia sighed.

“Yeah, but who’s counting?” Emma responded, still reading her book.

“Did you know that we’re going to Wetland Middle School?” Sophia asked her.

“I know we’re going to Wetland Middle School. You told me ten times already,” Emma said.

After the score was 100 – 0, Sophia and Emma finally stopped their game. Their friend from 5th grade, Olive Wrights, welcomed Sophia to go to her house for a last minute game.

After Olive and Sophia left, the doorbell of the Huncars’ house rang. Their mom, Elers, decided to answer it and found Emma’s friend, Maddie, at the door. Emma hurried back home and said, “I am finishing War and Peace.”

“Just to tell you,” Maddie started to say. “Auditions are starting next week.”

Emma looked at a flyer on their fridge.

“Does it last two weeks?” she asked Maddie.

“No, it lasts three weeks!” Maddie answered.

Then, Sophia appeared with her friend, Olive. Both were covered head to toe in dirt and mud.

Maddie asked Olive, “Have you been wrestling with Sophia??”

“We did not wrestle, we went splashing through the mud near the park,” Olive said, right as Sophia splashed into the room.

Miss Elers looked at Sophia and said, “You better take a bath!”

“But we haven’t played the pogo-stick jumping game yet!” Sophia whined.

“Well, you can play it tomorrow. Now, get in the bath right now young lady!!!” Elers yelled.

Sophia stomped her feet all the way to the bathroom.

***

The next day, after they took the big, shiny bus, Sophia and Emma arrived at Wetland Middle School. There was a very tall lady waiting for them at the door. She was wearing blue sandals and had brown hair dyed pink on her bangs.

“Emma, you are in room 3B,” she said. “And Sophia, you are in room 1B.”

“Emma!” Maddie squealed, hugging her while their friends, Ivy and Lily, walked toward them.

Lily had brown hair and a bright red t-shirt paired with a brand new necklace from Costco. She was also wearing red flower earrings to match her shirt. Ivy was wearing a green shirt with a fake ivy vine crossing in front like a sash. On the bottom, she wore green and white jeans and sneakers on her feet. Maddie had just dyed her hair yellow for their first day of school. She also had blue eyes and was wearing a pink shirt, with the heart emoji on it, blue flip flops, and giant hoop earrings. Emma was wearing hot pink with a long, white dress over it with pink flip-flops that had diamonds on them. She also wore large, stud earrings and was finishing her books for period one at her locker.

“See you soon!” Emma called, as the first period bell rang.

They trampled over to the staircase leading to the second floor. After Emma left, Sophia caught up with her friends, Olive and Caitlin.

“Ready for period one?” Sophia asked, gathering her music books.

Sophia had nine periods in school. School ended at 6PM, even though they got there at 8 in the morning. Sophia had music for first period, social studies for second period, reading for third, math for fourth, then lunch and recess, then gym, health, safety, and all topped off with a movie at the end of the period. Finally, she was able to relax a little in the school’s indoor swimming pool before taking a bus back home. Emma took a taxi home because she needed to watch a musical to find some songs and record the songs on her phone.

Emma was planning to audition for America’s Got Talent. She wanted to use half her winnings to get a Yorkshire puppy and the other half to buy a ton of books and a TV for her room. This way her neighbor, Andie, wouldn’t drool on her shirt.

Just then, a girl named Mackenzie popped out of the doorway and asked Emma, “Hey, are you coming to first period or not?”

But Emma wasn’t listening. She was too busy daydreaming about getting a Yorkshire puppy named Cupcake. She was so deep in thought, they had to shout to her in order for her to pay attention. Emma was thinking about what she would do with the puppy: she would watch the puppy become a mother and have five puppies of her own, then she would sell one of them for $100 and spend the money on an awesome loft bed, a matching green dress and hat, and tickets to a fair where she would be the center of attention. She loved attention.

Emma finally left for first period music, but she was not performing jazz today. She performed jazz every Sunday, and she had Saturday to relax and maybe meet Maddie for playdates. Her mom was planning to adopt a puppy, but she switched to thinking of adopting a goldfish after their father, whom Elers was divorced from, did not approve since he would have an allergic reaction every Sunday, when he visited. Emma pleaded with her mom, saying she would keep the puppy only in her room, keeping her dad from having an allergic reaction. Elers agreed that if Emma got an A in music, she would be allowed to get a puppy and a kitten all to herself. If she got an A+ , she would get a supercomputer, that could do almost anything, a  storage for snacks under her pillows, her own bathroom in her room, and a lock for her room. Sophia was not interested in these treats because she just wanted to go outside every weekend.

When they finally arrived at music class first period, they discovered they had a new Rock Music teacher named Mr. Dude. His real name was hard to pronounce: Mr. Dudeshivaki. So he went by Mr. Dude for short. They wrote a book called Mr. Dan Dilbert.

After music class was over, Emma asked, “Why do we always have to make comics? Why can’t we just do books without pictures?”

“I don’t know,” Maddie replied, crunching on some leftover fried rice from home.

Ivy opened one of her fortune cookies and took a bite. Lily opened her celery wrapper and took a crunch of the celery.

“My mom says I can’t have celery, but I eat it anyway,” she said, stuffing some in her mouth with cabbage.

Emma took an edible gumball out of her bag and put some sugar on it. She stuffed it in her mouth and started chewing, then took out some Lifesavers and Cheetos. The group of friends sat down together by the snack bar.

“I wonder what Sophia is doing,” Emma wondered.

Just then, Sophia ran over to the snack bar, looking very embarrassed.

“What’s the matter? Didn’t you love jazz?” Emma asked.

Sophia shook her head.

“No, no, no, no, no!!! It was horrible. I was totally embarrassed. When I was writing the jazz cartoon, I accidentally slipped over a stick and landed on the radio, switching the station to rock. The radio broke, the computers broke, bubblegum wrappers were flying in the air, crackers were shaking, tables were breaking, windows cracked… then everyone fell down. The lamp broke and fell on the table, which shattered.”

Caitlin said, “It was a total disaster.”

“How did you trip over a stick?? How did a stick get in the room?” Emma asked.

Sophia answered, “The stick came in through an open window.”

RRRRING! The first five-minute bell rang.

“See you at lunch!” Emma called as she walked away down the hallway. Emma gathered her books back at her locker. She was going to gym.

Maddie took one glance at Emma’s face and whispered slowly, “Repeat after me… gym rocks.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “I can’t say that, I would be lying.”

Maddy giggled, “I know, but you might like gym!”

Emma crossed her arms and explained, “Last summer, when I was playing soccer, I fell down five times and got a bruise on my knee. Is that reason enough for you??”

“You might want to try it one more time,” Maddie replied.

“Fine, one more try,” Emma agreed. “But I’m still taking Rock Music & Jazz.”

The two girls headed for recess. Normally, when it was sunny outside, they would’ve had gym outside.

“Alright, line up,” Coach Tangara ordered. “Today we are going to play soccer.”

Emma’s stomach lurched.

“Soccer??” she gulped.

“Take a deep breath,” Maddie soothed, as Coach Tangara took attendance.

When Coach Tangara shouted, ‘Emma Huncar!!!’ Emma tried to take a deep breath, but she swallowed some saliva and ended up choking instead. Emma glanced at the soccer ball.

“Oh boy, looks like it’s going to be a looong period,” she sighed.

“Three laps around the field!” Coach Tangara yelled. “Now!”

Everyone took off running, but Emma just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights. Laps? Field? She thought to herself. Running???

“I’ll never make it,” she said to Maddie.

Maddie caught her as she made it to one lap.

“Come on, Emma, it’s just laps! We’re only jogging, not running,” she encouraged.

“I guess I’ll try,” Emma said as she took off jogging.

The first two laps went well, but when she was almost done, she tripped over her feet and landed near the bleachers. A face popped up — it was Mackenzie.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Mackenzie sang sarcastically.

But Emma could tell, when she looked into Mackenzie’s beady eyes, that she was lying. After the class completed their laps, Coach Tangara spent the rest of the time thinking about how they could improve. She finally sighed and shook her head.

“It’s time for plan B,” she said to Coach Robert.

She gathered all the students and declared, “We will have an assessment here next Tuesday. Whoever doesn’t score seven or more out of those tests will have to enroll in a Healthy Ever After program every single afternoon. ”

All the students groaned.

“You are dismissed,” Coach Robert said finally.

As Emma was leaving, she gulped. I have a bad feeling that I’m doomed, she thought. Suddenly, she heard a group of kids laughing. She turned to see Mackenzie with her group of sassy kids.

“Hey Emma! I just wanted to say that I can’t wait to see your face when you get a six or a zero out of those tests,” Mackenzie teased. “You’re stuck up. I, on the other hand, will be perfectly fine. I can’t wait to make the L-sign at you from the bleachers.”

“That means loser, loser,” one of Mackenzie’s friends added.

Mackenzie walked up to Brandon, another boy in the class, and started to say, “I just wanted to tell you that Emma copied my moves in the field, and I think you shouldn’t be friends with her. If I can beat her and go to Rock Music & Jazz, you can’t talk to her ever, and you have to sit with us at lunch. And do whatever I say. Tell that to the rest of Wetland Middle School — post what I said on wetland.com.”

With a toss of her hair, Mackenzie looked at Emma and said, “And I’ll make sure that the rest of the school makes you eat alone, including your snobby best friend, Maddie. They would not talk to you if you lose, trust me. I’ll be typing all of this on wetland.com. Not Brandon, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

And with that, she sashayed away.

Emma ran straight to the bathroom and cried for the rest of third period. She missed her second favorite subject, Arts & Crafts. She sat with nobody at lunch because she was so upset.

Then, Mackenzie strutted up to her once more.

“I already posted the notice online and started a Stop Emma club. It already has ten followers — make that fifteen, including my friends.”

Just then, Mackenzie’s best friend, Jessica, approached.

So half of the cafeteria could hear, she yelled, “Mackenzie, I just wanted to let you know that I would like to sign up for the Stop Emma club. It’s going to be suuuuper fun,” she taunted Emma.

“Yeah, we’re going to taunt Emma because of all the bad things she does,” Mackenzie added.

Sophia heard this, but was so far away, she couldn’t comfort her sister. Emma doesn’t deserve this, she thought.

After school was over, Sophia saw her sister. She looked pale and frightened, like she’d just seen a ghost.

“What’s the matter?” Sophia asked. “Is it Mackenzie?”

Emma just nodded her head and turned the other way. Before joining Maddie, she looked back at Sophia, wiped a tear away with her sleeve, and walked away.

Before Maddie could say anything, Emma said, “Let’s move away from Sophia, she’s not much help.”

But before Emma could drag Maddie away, Maddie said, “I got this designer iPhone for you. I also got you a iTracker so you could always track down where Mackenzie is.”

Emma looked down at her gifts and said, “Maddie, you are my best friend. So are Ivy and Lily. You guys are my only friends. Also, Chloe is coming over to my house tomorrow. You should come over too. I have a surprise idea in my room, but it has to be private.”

“Why not Sophia?” Maddie wondered.

Emma glanced at her sister and shot her a mean look. She then whispered something to Maddie, and Maddie gasped. Maddie stepped back in shock and pulled Emma into the bathroom. Before Sophia could stop herself, she rolled her eyes.Then she stuck a note on  Emma.

When they were in the bathroom, Maddie asked, “She was teasing you?”

Suddenly, Mackenzie appeared in the doorway.

“Just to tell you, Sophia will tell you why she was bullying you,” Mackenzie sneered, and disappeared just like that.

After Emma got home, she was pretty upset, so she went into her room without even washing her hands. Ew. She slumped on her bed when she heard a knock on her door.

“Emma, I need to tell you something,” Sophia called through the door.

“Go away,” Emma replied.

But Sophia ignored her sister and opened the door anyway.

“Emma, Mackenzie bullied me into ignoring you today.She convinced me to be mean to my own sister,” Sophia explained.

Emma looked up.

“This is about Mackenzie and something else,” she said. “I can’t go to Rock Music & Jazz because I am definitely going to fail the gym test.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Sophia comforted, “we have a lot to discuss.”

Then, Emma said, “Why were you following Mackenzie’s orders? You didn’t have to be mean to me. You didn’t follow her orders like back when we were in preschool.”

An image appeared in Emma’s mind. Years ago, Mackenzie ordered Sophia to not follow her sister to the fluffy, bouncy castle when they visited the carnival, but Sophia didn’t listen. But flash forward to now, and Sophia seemed much easier to convince.

Finally answering Emma, Sophia said, “Um, Emma, I was so interested in sports, and Mackenzie is too terrific at sports. I really wanted her to teach me so I can improve. So I couldn’t help it, I became a follower of Mackenzie. I couldn’t stop doing whatever she said.”

Slumping further on her bed, Emma replied, “But why didn’t you help me out? You always gave me lies about sports so I could fail. Why did you do that?”

Sophia responded quietly, ashamed of herself, “Because Mackenzie ordered me to.”

“Ok,” Emma said forgivingly. “But next time, you can’t be a follower of Mackenzie.”

Sophia wrapped Emma up in a big hug with a big smile on her face.

“I just figured out a solution to your problem,” Sophia told her sister.

“Really…?” Emma asked, unsure of Sophia’s intentions, since she was 99% sure there was no solution to her problem.

“I can be you for gym tomorrow!” Sophia said simply.

“But what if we get caught, like last time?” Emma cringed, recalling a memory from Olive’s birthday party last year.

They traded identities for fun, and everyone was completely fooled, until their mom arrived and ruined their little joke right before Olive’s karaoke debut.

Sophia rolled her eyes.

“Do you want to do Rock Music & Jazz or not?” she asked.

“More than anything!” Emma cried.

“That’s what’s important to you, Emma!” Sophia said, suddenly gripping tightly onto her sister’s arm. “The Olive incident was a party prank. This is serious!”

Suddenly, Emma remembered how passionate she was about Rock Music & Jazz. She also wanted to tell Sophia a little secret, but knew she couldn’t yet, as it related to Rock Music & Jazz. If she didn’t pass the gym test, she would never get to tell Sophia.

Finally, she gave in to Sophia and said, “Fine. Just this once.”

“Yay!!! That means I have no math tomorrow!” Sophia cheered.

“Why don’t you want to do math??” Emma wondered.

“Because,” Sophia started, “Mr. Mosely is so strict, and I can hardly remember any of the concepts. He didn’t even describe how to solve the problem 197+128!!”

Emma was in shock. “

You don’t even know what that problem is?! You should’ve remembered it from second grade! Do you even know how to convert a decimal to a fraction?”

“No… I don’t,” Sophia cried.

And since she drank too much apple juice with dinner, her tears were made from apple juice.

Suddenly, their little brother and sister, Theo and Brianna, opened the door and said, “Mmmmm, tasty!” They opened their mouths and put their face below Sophia’s chin so the apple juice tears could fall into their mouths.

“Ewwww, disgusting!” Emma yelled, “Those have eye tears!”

But the twins kept drinking the juice-tears.

“Try it!” They urged, trying not to gag.

But the truth was, it was super disgusting. Brianna couldn’t help herself, so she vomited all over the floor, which Theo then slipped on and fell. Sophia tried to catch Theo, but accidentally kicked Emma in the process. Screaming in pain, Emma knocked down a huge portrait of a panda they saw on a family vacation to China… and it fell with a clang. CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG. Portraits kept falling from the wall.

“Look what you’ve done, you little brat!!” Emma screamed at her sister.

She dodged her way through more falling portraits and eventually caught an entirely glass portrait of their great-great-grandmother. She finally caught one of Brianna’s pigtails and pulled it tight.

“That’s what you get for detention, missy!” Emma yelled.

Holding back tears, Brianna yelled back, “Let go of me! I’m sorry! I’ll give you all of my money!”

She handed Emma a small pink purse with $30 in it. Emma pocketed the money and gave Brianna’s hair one last tug as hard as she could.

“OWWWWWW!!!!” Brianna screamed.

Emma finally let go, but she wasn’t done yet. She grabbed a huge pair of scissors and cut a tiny diamond from Brianna’s pink purse.

“That’s what you get, missy!!!” Emma screamed at the top of her lungs, running to go tell their mom what happened.

Luckily for Emma, their mother was on her side and grounded Brianna for three weeks. Emma and Sophia began the cleanup process, starting with putting the portraits that fell in a big box, both hoping there would never be a portrait incident ever again. The twins then began cleaning Brianna’s vomit, transferring it from the floor to a plastic bag, which they threw in the trash.

“Let’s get back to serious business,” Emma said, as she put Theo in the bath.

Theo needed to borrow Emma’s bath, as he and Brianna’s bathroom was covered in sticky, slimy gum Brianna chewed and left on the walls. She even drew on the gum, making them look like pictures. Then suddenly, Emma’s focus returned to the gym test.

“Wait, you can’t just look like me. You have to act like me too!” she whined to Sophia.

“I got it!” Sophia said with a grin.

She grabbed a tube of toothpaste and started blowing in it, imitating how Emma plays her flute, although she was humming off-key.

“Hold on, I need to play my piano,” Emma said. “Otherwise I will fail my audition for Rock Music & Jazz. I need to concentrate on my audition and the gym test.”

“First,” Sophia said. “You do me.”

With a thoughtful expression, Emma waved to Sophia’s invisible schoolmates.

“Hey! Did you check out the game today? Man, you totally rocked it.”

Ending her impression of her sister, Emma said to Sophia, “Pretty good, huh?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Sophia answered happily. “Now we must get to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”

Emma made a face.

“It doesn’t sound very healthy to go to sleep without brushing your teeth all day. You didn’t even brush your teeth in the morning or after you finished three Pez holders. Even after you had three fruit snacks or the giant lollipop! What is wrong with you? I brushed my teeth about four times today, very carefully,” Emma replied, disgusted.

“I can’t stop eating candy!” Sophia insisted.

“Well, you should go to sleep,” Emma replied. “Your breath smells disgusting. Did you smoke today? Principal Wilkins found a cigarette under your lunch table between you and Caitlin’s seats.”

“No, of course not!” Sophia responded, insulted. “William, the 8th grader, must have dropped it.”

Now Emma was tired.

“Alright, alright. Enough talk. Let’s go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

SLAM. The door closed quickly, and Sophia walked downstairs to her room. Sophia’s room was the same size as Emma’s, but it was much more empty. All it had in it was her bed, a table, and a plastic chair. She also had bookcases filled with books about sports, plus tennis rackets, basketballs, soccer balls, and baseballs. Sophia walked over to her bed to find a little message written under her pillow. Huh? She wondered.

The message read: Tmrwyulmetm.oooyuilee.Totally confused, she went back upstairs and showed it to Emma. Emma wrote it on her iPad, which helped decode the message.

It said, “Tomorrow you guys will meet me in the abandoned junkyard where you put your little sister’s vomit. You don’t know me now, but you will later. Signed, TGF.”

“We’re not going there. TGF is a stranger, and it might be another one of Mackenzie’s pranks.” Sophia reacted.

“How do you know that?” Emma asked.

But just then, she looked out the window of her room to see Mackenzie’s long, red hair standing at the junkyard across the street. She was telling a group of people something strange.

“Not getting involved sounds good to me,” Emma finally agreed, not wanting to get involved with Mackenzie’s tricks.

So the twins finally went to sleep.

***

The next day, the twins kept giggling between bites of cereal.

“I’m glad someone is feeling better this morning,” Elers remarked as she glanced at the girls.

Emma was wearing a long, fashionable shirt and a little skirt with roses popping out of it. She wore her blue flip flops from Bloomingdale’s on her feet. Sophia wore her usual outfit: jeans and a t-shirt, but with sneakers instead of boots. She realized today wasn’t the best day for boots, so she wore her Sketchers. After finishing their cereal, the twins rushed out the door, not even leaving time to brush their teeth — some surprise, huh?

Emma suddenly took a deep breath at lunch.

“What is wrong with you?” Maddie asked.

But Emma was too busy rushing, spilling her soup, and leaving before eating her dessert. Suddenly, she crossed her fingers and ran into a bathroom stall.

 

To read what happens next, you will have to listen to Emma’s recorded journal.

EMMA:

I crossed my fingers and ran into a bathroom stall. I waited and waited for my sister, Sophia, but she never arrived. I peeked under the stall and saw Mackenzie giggling.

Sophia walked in and said, “What are you doing, Mackenzie? Shouldn’t you be at your table?”

Mackenzie disappeared as she said, “As you follow me, you will have to sign into the Stop Emma club.”

Then she snickered and ran to her best friend, Jessica. Ignoring Mackenzie, Sophia ducked under the stall I was in and asked, “Ready or not?”

“Here we come,” I replied.

So we started to switch clothes at a fast pace. Sophia gave me her jeans. I gave her my designer shirt. Sophia gave me her t-shirt. I gave her my skirt. We changed outfits completely until we looked like each other. I buried my watch inside Sophia’s bookbag. Sophia groaned when she put my bookbag on her shoulders.

“What do you have in here, a whole library??” she asked sarcastically.

“Maybe,” I replied. “I do have a lot of stuff in here, and it weighs almost 50 pounds.”

Sophia groaned, “Well, you might have some magical power to carry such a heavy bookbag.”

“See you after 5th period,” I said, giggling slightly.

 

After the twins switched places, you might have assumed, Oh no! They’re going to get caught! Well, in fact, the twins were very careful and avoided getting caught by the principal or any other mysterious staff member. Emma walked down the hall. She was careful to avoid Mackenzie, especially when she was going to taunt Emma. But Emma realized she probably wouldn’t taunt her today, as she was disguised as Sophia. She was walking the whole way, not letting Mackenzie and her sassy friends, the Fashion Police, catch her alone.

Then, suddenly, it was 5th period. RING RING RING RING RING. The bell sounded, and Emma raced to math. As soon as she sat down at her desk, she heard a voice say, “Excuse me!” in a British accent. Emma looked up to see Will, the 8th grader, staring at her in a not so friendly way.

“Hey,” Emma said, laying back casually on her chair, even though she was feeling the opposite of relaxed.

It took Emma a second to realize what was wrong. She was sitting in her usual seat for advanced math instead of Sophia’s. Apparently, that was Will’s seat this period, not where her sister sits. Emma mumbled an apology and quickly got up, to see Olive sitting in the back row. Whew, she thought.

Olive hissed, “Where have you been??”

“Uh… bathroom,” Emma replied, which was thankfully the truth because she was a horrible liar.

Suddenly, Mr. Mosely asked the class, “Can anyone tell me how to convert a fraction to a decimal?”

Olive’s hand immediately shot up.

“Olive, please come up and whisper the answer in my ear,” he said.

Olive whispered something, but Mr. Mosely shook his head.

“Nice try, Olive.”

Olive slumped back to her seat — she hated being wrong.

Suddenly, Mackenzie raised her hand.

“I know exactly the right answer,” she grinned, giving Emma the evil eye.

She whispered something into Mr. Mosely’s ear, and he looked shocked.

Snapping his fingers, he exclaimed, “Not even close! Detention for you, Mackenzie.”

Mackenzie looked grumpy and asked innocently, “What did I do?”

“You said you were the greatest at math. You said you were in group C for math — the advanced math. But on your chart, you’re not even close! You are in group A, the lowest group.” Mr. Mosely continued, “And you get at least three questions wrong every day, but you’re bragging. Will is actually the greatest at math in this class. Now go to the principal’s office. Ms. Lata, will you take her?” he asked the assistant teacher.

Ms. Lata nodded. She was a very tall woman with long blonde hair she kept tied up in a ponytail.

She took Mackenzie’s hand tightly and said sternly, “Come with me.”

They walked to the principal’s office, which was on the cafeteria floor. Back in the classroom, Mr. Mosely was getting frustrated.

“Does anyone know how to convert a fraction to a decimal??” he practically begged.

Finally, turning to Emma, still pretending to be Sophia, he asked her.

As Emma whispered her answer, Mr. Mosely’s face lit up as he exclaimed, “You got it!! One point to the back row.” Moving into a new topic, he continued, “Now this is the easiest question: does anyone know the pattern between 5, 14, and 23?”

Immediately Emma shot up her hand and called out, “Nine!”

“Correct!” Mr. Mosely cried. “Another point to the back row!”

Meanwhile, the back row was in the lead, even though there were only a few people sitting there. Emma answered most of the questions, getting seven right in a row because she was quick and thought first before raising her hand.

 

Ghost Town

Chapter One: Noises

Teddy got into his car and slammed the door super hard. It was only 8:30 AM, and so many things had already gone wrong. First of all, he got fired from his law firm. His boss was very unfair. At least, to Teddy, he was. But Teddy didn’t care. He just wanted to go home.

Finally, he got to the parking garage of his apartment. He went inside and into the elevator. Up, up, up. He went to floor twelve. He stepped out of the elevator and into the corridor. But there was a big sign hung up on the wall. As he read the sign, he heard a loud machine coming from his apartment. He jammed his keys into the lock and slowly opened the door.

He saw three construction workers with drills, taking down his pictures and breaking walls.

“What do you think you are doing on my property?” shouted Teddy over the loud noise of the drill.

“We’re cleaning out this unit,” screamed the construction worker, even though he wasn’t using the drill anymore.

“And why would you be doing that??” questioned Teddy.

“Didn’t you read the sign in the hallway?”

“Well, I was about to when I heard a loud noise coming from my unit!!!” shouted Teddy, frustrated. “Also, stop shouting? You’re about to burst my eardrums!”

“Fine. We’re cleaning out this unit because on this floor, we’re gonna have a restaurant,” said the construction worker.

“A restaurant?! Wouldn’t it be a bit more useful if you gave me a sign?!” said Teddy.

“We did,” the construction worker replied.

“I mean a real sign. Like maybe a letter. Ever heard of that?” said Teddy, literally screeching at this point.

“If you have more complaints, you can take them to your landlord. It’s not my fault that you didn’t know about this.”

“Fine,” said Teddy.

So, he walked to the end of the corridor and rapped on the door.

“Come in,” said the landlord.

“Hi,” said Teddy. “I am here because your construction workers are cleaning out my apartment.”

“Of course they are!” said the landlord. “I told them to.”

“Well, I didn’t know. And looking back at the contract, it says that you can’t make any changes without notifying me personally.”

 

Chapter Two: Landlord

“Fine, fine. How about you have a cup of tea. We can talk about this. Here, I already have some tea ready,” she said as she poured the tea into a cup.

“Here.” she said, placing the cup in front of Teddy.

“No! I don’t want tea!!” Teddy screamed. “I want my property back!”

He flicked the cup off the desk and watched it smash into smithereens.

“That was my great grandmother’s!! Get out!!!” said the landlord. “And don’t come back. Take your things from your apartment and leave the building. Otherwise, I’m going to have to call the authorities…”

Teddy jolted out of the room and back to his unit. He packed everything in a box and carried it out confidently.

“Fine. If she wants me to leave, I will leave. I don’t care,” said Teddy.

He sounded very confident, but he really wasn’t. He was nervous. Where was he going to go? Would he even go anywhere?

 

Chapter Three: Cars

He got into his car and started driving. He didn’t know where he was going, but to him, anywhere was better than the city. Now he had been driving for hours, and he felt like he was going nowhere, but that’s when his car jolted to a stop.

“Ugggh,” he said, slamming on the ignition peddle.

He looked over at the dashboard.

“Oh man!!! I’m out of gas,” said Teddy. “It seems like everything’s going badly today.”

He took his box of stuff out of his trunk and started walking on the side of the road.

 

Chapter Four: Houses

Soon he had passed an abandoned house. He took a long glance at the house. I guess I have no choice. I guess something is better than nothing… He walked to the house.

Creaaak, said the door as Teddy opened it. He walked into the house. Every step he took, the old, dusty  wood creaked, as if it was trying to tell him something. He looked around and hung his coat on the hook. It was late July, and it was raining. That was weird. This strange place had no name. For he was the only person here.

Finally, Teddy made a decision. He would live here from now on. It was perfect. Or so he thought…

 

Chapter Five: Places

No other person dared to live here. It was so cold that your fingers would burn. The houses were so old and dusty, and most of all, the rumors were the thing that made most folks not live there.  For many, many centuries, people had been spreading rumors about the mysterious “ghost town.” Teddy had heard many things about this place. It was always cold, and there was no happiness in the air. But Teddy just thought this was rubbish.

Teddy walked into the kitchen and placed his box on a rickety little table. The table immediately broke into the small wooden pieces it was made up of. Finally, Teddy started to unpack. He took out his welcome mat and unraveled it. He laid it out on the porch. Then he unpacked everything else. Not like there was much else. An old book, a mug, some clothing, and an old alarm clock. After he gathered everything and put it where it belonged, he started making his way upstairs.

 

Chapter Six: Journals

He walked inside one of the rooms. It was small and cozy. He saw an old bed made out of wood, and an old blanket was on top. There was also one big, fat pillow on top. He walked out of the room and into another room. For this room was much bigger and had a bigger bed as well. He looked around. This room had a big, purple blanket covering the bed. Teddy saw a small hump under the blanket. He took off the blanket and found a journal. He opened it. He heard a screeching scream.

“BEWARE… I WILL COME FOR YOU… I WILL HUNT DOWN YOUR SOUL UNTIL YOU ARE NOTHING…” the horrible voice said.

Teddy felt scared. Teddy closed it. He pushed the journals out the window and into the snow.

Thump. The journal fell. Teddy looked at his watch.

“It’s already 10:30!” he said. “I better get to bed now.”

He fell into the bed and fell asleep.

 

Chapter Seven: Alarms

Beep beep beep, said the alarm clock. Teddy slammed his hand on the snooze button.

“Neeed moooore sleeeeep…” he said sleepily.

Finally, he woke up. He made his way downstairs and to the basement. In the basement, the floor creaked even more than the other levels of the house. There were no windows in the basement. It made it feel dark and lonely. Teddy shivered. I think it’s better if I stay upstairs…

Another day went by… and another… and another… then came August… and then September… Teddy put on his worn out shoes, and put on his ripped gloves, and slowly went outside. He heard a loud, screechy sound. He walked around the corner and bumped into a lady in a dark leather winter coat, pushing a baby in an old baby carriage. The baby was bundled up in a blue blanket.

 

Chapter Eight: Mrs.

“Hi!” said the lady. “My name is Marley Keith. Call me Mrs. Keith, honeybun. You must be new around here!” said Mrs. Keith, pinching Teddy’s cheeks.

“Ouch!” said Teddy.

“Yay! Finally. A new neighbor!!!” said Mrs. Keith. “Now, you won’t last a day in this snow with that kind of clothing! Come on, let’s get you warm and toasty!”

“Umm… where are we going?” asked Teddy.

“To my house, of course! Where else?!” said Mrs. Keith.

They walked down to a small, red brick house and walked in. Teddy saw some weird metal machines on the floor.

“What’s that?” said Teddy.

“Oh, nothing,” said Mrs. Keith.

That’s creepy… thought Teddy. They walked into the living room. Mrs. Keith took out a warm batch of cookies from the oven. She placed them on the table, in front of Teddy.

“Now, you stay here while I get my sewing supplies,” said Mrs. Keith.

“Now, might I ask why?” Teddy asked.

“To sew you a new coat of course! Winter’s coming! You won’t stand a single day with that coat!” Mrs. Keith said.

Teddy walked home with his new coat in his hands. By the time he got home, it was already 10:30. He went to bed, like usual. Teddy woke up, sweating. He checked what time it was. It was midnight. Well, that’s if you count 12:01 being midnight… Teddy had a nightmare.

 

Chapter Nine: Dreams

A ghost had taken over his mind, and he had done horrible things. So horrible that he didn’t even want to think about it. Luckily it was only a dream. Teddy got up and went to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face and went back to sleep. It’s just a dream… It’s just a dream… It’s just a dream… It’s just a –

“I WILL COME FOR YOU AND HUNT YOU DOWN!!! I WILL HUNT DOWN YOUR SOUL UNTIL YOU ARE NOTHING!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Teddy jolted his head up. He saw a silhouette, that looked a lot like Mrs. Keith, jump out the window. I’m just imagining things… Teddy said to himself. Mrs. Keith would never do such a thing. Teddy gasped. Maybe it’s not just a dream. I think it’s time to pay a visit to old Mrs. Keith. She might be able to help.

 

Chapter Ten: Late Nights

Teddy carefully walked in the pitch dark night, towards Mrs. Keith’s house. He knocked on the door. Maybe she’s sleeping. I think it’s best if I don’t wake her… Teddy started walking back to his house when Mrs. Keith opened the door.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Keith.

“Hi, Mrs. Keith. Could I come in?” said Teddy.

“Well… might as well since you’re already here…” said Mrs. Keith.

They both sat down in the living room.

“I’m sorry if I woke you up,”  Teddy said.

“No problem…” said Mrs. Keith. “I was just doing some late night gardening…”

It’s obvious that she’s trying to hide something… thought Teddy.

“I don’t exactly know how to explain this, but…” said Teddy.

But Mrs. Keith butted into his sentence.

“The ghosts! Why, yes, I know. Now that machinery you saw the other day, that is ghost gear. Handmade, why I know all sorts of things about ghosts. Where they hunt… where they lurk… and what they do…” said Mrs. Keith.

“Hunt? Lurk?” said Teddy.

“Why yes… I think you should know something, Teddy… Your house is haun….” Mrs. Keith stopped in her own words and started changing the subject. “Go back home. It’s quite late anyway. You must just be imagining things. GO!!!”

Teddy walked home. This just kept getting weirder by the second. She was helping me, then she wasn’t. There’s something’s strange about her. I’m not going back there again…

 

Chapter Eleven: Neighbors

The next day, Teddy felt like taking a walk outside. But this time, he went the opposite way from where Mrs. Keith lived. After a couple of minutes of walking, he saw someone watching a television through a window. Teddy knocked on the door.

“Yes…” the man said weakly. “Come in…”

Teddy turned the knob and went in.

“Hi,” said Teddy.

“Why, hello!” said the old man. “Are you new in town?”

“Well…” said Teddy. “I’ve been here for about two months. So, I’d say that I’m fairly new.”

“Oh,” said the man. “Well it’s nice to meet you. My name is Robert Feldman, but you can call me Bob.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you too. My name is Teddy Rodger.”

 

Chapter Twelve: Grandfather

“Make yourself at home… I’m not used to having neighbors. Oh! And meet Sparkie,” Bob said, pointing to the cocker spaniel that was prancing around the rug.

Teddy looked at up at the wall covered with pictures. He saw a polaroid picture that had old, cursive handwriting on the bottom.

“What does that say?” Teddy asked Bob.

“Oh that?  It says Jimmy Rodger,” Bob said.

“HEY! Jimmy Rodger was my grandfather’s name. Did you happen to know him?” said Teddy, surprised.

“Darn right I knew him! He was my best friend. Up until a couple of years ago when he… passed…. “ said Bob. “An’ I haven’t seen another human being until you show up at my place.”

“Wow,” said Teddy.

“Yup,” said Bob.

“Do you know Mrs. Keith?” asked Teddy.

“You mean Marley Keith?” Bob said.

“Yeah.”

“Oh yes. We went to high school together. Personally, I think she’s quite an odd lady. Always up an’ about. Pushing a baby carriage… I reckon it’s a fake baby. She’s always wanted a baby. But she never found a man. She never has time. She’s always lurking in the shadows. Don’t talk to her. She just might twist your mind,” Bob said sternly. “Here.”

Bob gave Teddy a glass of orange juice. After drinking the juice, Teddy left, remembering what Bob said. But Teddy still couldn’t believe that Bob knew his grandfather! But Bob was like a grandfather to him.

On the way back home, Teddy bumped into Mrs. Keith.

“Hi, honeybun! Long time no see??” she said.

“Yeah. I have to go,” said Teddy.

And without another word, Teddy scurried back home.

 

Chapter Thirteen: News

The next day, Teddy woke up to the sound of chirping birds. He heard the bell ring of the newspaper boy’s bike.

“Good morning…”

The newspaper boy stopped.

“What’s your name?” the boy asked.

“Teddy Rodgers. Call me Teddy.”

“Cool,” he said.

“What’s your name?” Teddy asked.

“My name is Bill Huff,” he said.

“I didn’t know that there was a newspaper boy here. Hardly any people live here. Only three. Unless you count Sparkie,” said Teddy.

“There isn’t one. I’m from the town that neighbors this town. It’s called Canyon Island. Even though it’s not an island, that’s what it was named. I come here just because they need to get their news too. Anyway… Bye!” Bill said, throwing Teddy the newspaper.

Teddy went back inside. He unraveled the newspaper, reading the latest. There was nothing much going on. Just politics, politics, and more politics.

 

Chapter Fourteen: Ghosts

Suddenly, Teddy woke up. He had heard a shriek. He sat up on his bed and looked around. He saw a hooded figure opening drawers and closets, trying to look for something.

“What are you doing?!” screamed Teddy.

“Oh nothing, honeybun. Just go back to bed,” said a voice that Teddy was sure was Mrs. Keith’s voice.

Teddy got out of bed and carefully picked up an old lamp that didn’t work. Teddy held it up over his head as if he was going to hit Mrs. Keith. Mrs. Keith looked back. Now Teddy could see her face.

“I will hit you if you don’t leave. And don’t come back!!!” Teddy raged, his face bright red.

 

Chapter Fifteen: Sickness

Teddy was restless and couldn’t sleep. He went outside and got the journal that he threw down a couple of months back. This time, when he opened it to the first page, it didn’t scream. Teddy read the title page. He read “Ghosts.” Page one said, “How to destroy a ghost.”

What a bunch of baloney… he thought. He flipped to the next page. He read, “How to distract a ghost.” He read the first two pages. This sounds like it could be real. Hmmmmmmm… He closed the book. It was 6:00 in the morning. I’ll show Bob this. He walked in the bright, beautiful, pink sky, to Bob’s place.

He knocked on the door. Nobody answered. He knocked again. Nobody answered. He kept knocking, even though nobody answered. Finally, he slowly opened the door and went inside, trying not to make any noise.

“Hello?” said Teddy.

“I’m upstairs Teddy!” said Bob.

Teddy slipped his shoes off and walked up the stairs. He went inside the room that Bob was in. He was in bed. He looked very sick and weak.

“She-she poisoned me…” said Bob, barely able to speak.

 

Chapter Sixteen: Talks

“Who??” said Teddy, crying light tears.

“M-m-m-marley,” Bob said, stuttering again.

“No!! No!!” screamed Teddy. “Please don’t… Please don’t leave me. No!!!!”

Bob closed his eyes lightly.

“A-all your information you need is in that book. On-only use it in the night. Oth-otherwise it will…” Bob stopped.

He started breathing heavily, and then for a second, he breathed. Then it stopped.

“No!!” screamed Teddy.
He picked up Bob and went to his backyard. He took a rusted, muddy shovel and started digging. He pushed Bob into the large hole. Then he covered it. He walked home, crying, with the book in his hand.

***

Suddenly, he heard a bark. It was Sparkie. She must have followed him back home the day that Bob… It was now 8:30 in the morning, and Bill threw the paper at the door. Teddy opened the door quickly.

“Have a good day, Bill!” said Teddy.

“You too!!” said Bill as the breeze blew in his hair.

Teddy read the latest news. His mouth fell open. It said that the new president made the choice to break down the houses in the Ghost town. It said that, by the end of this month, all the houses would be taken down. He needed to find a new shelter. He would do that tomorrow though. He had an important mission. He needed to destroy the ghosts. And he needed to do it fast.

***

Now the sun had started to set, and the sky was getting darker by the minute. Teddy opened the book to page three. Now he was ready.

 

Chapter Seventeen: Plans

Teddy decided he would go to the basement. He was sure that he would find ghosts there. In the journal, it said that ghosts lurk in large undergrounds and dark, unused spaces. That was a clear definition of the basement. The journal also said that the best way to kill a ghost is by light. And the most important thing is that, once you kill one ghost, it destroys all other ghosts that are active. Nobody has ever killed one, but Teddy was determined to be the first and only. Well, not so much about the only part. He didn’t care about that stuff and the glory. He just wanted to get it over with. He hid in a closet in the basement. Sure enough, he saw a white figure fly down. Suddenly, everything was cold. About 30 more ghosts flew in. And then there was a pause. All the wind, and movement of the ghosts stopped. Then Mrs. Keith walked in. She sat down on an old, wooden chair, but she acted like it was a throne. Teddy quietly opened the closet door and reached for the light switch. Right before Teddy was able to pull up the switch Mrs. Keith screamed, “Capture him!!!!!”

The ghosts carried Teddy and placed him in front of Mrs. Keith.

“Now, now… what shall we do with you?? How about we let you watch our play??” said Mrs. Keith, evilly.

She pulled over a pot and started stirring the potion inside it.

“Now this is a strand of Robert’s hair.” she said, dropping the piece of hair into the potion. “Now, if I stir this for 10 minutes straight, when I drink one glass of this potion, I can become a ghost, and return to my human life whenever I desire. It’s called trickle trop potion.”

 

Chapter Eighteen: Potions

Teddy had read about this potion in the journal. When Mrs. Keith drank the potion and became a ghost, Teddy jumped up and got a flashlight from the closet. He quickly switched it on and shined it on all of them. They all shrieked so loud that Teddy had to cover his ears. He shined it on them once more, but longer this time, and all of them deflated like balloons. Phew, that’s over. He walked back upstairs.

 

Afterword

Teddy packed all of his things back in his box. He walked out the door, holding Sparkie’s leash. They walked to the apartment building, where Teddy used to live. He used his old keys to get in. When he knocked on the landlords office, this time he went in and found a new landlord.

“Hi.” Teddy said. “I was wondering if I could have a new apartment here? I used to live here, but I moved, and now I came back because I realize this is home for me.”

 

Presents! Presents! Presents!

A sassy five-year-old girl walked into preschool on a cool winter day. It was the first day of December, and Sandy Mcgriffin was feeling confident. After all, she was perfect. Her pigtails were always done perfectly and rested on her back perfectly, she got anything she wanted, and she was the Queen Bee of the class.

Sandy was super happy because December was Christmas, and Christmas meant she got all the presents she wanted from Santa. And Santa always got her presents. In art class, Ms. Daisy told the class to paint something about Christmas. Sandy drew herself standing on a pile of presents, wearing Santa’s cap. Molly, Sandy’s friend, was drawing a gingerbread man.

“All you get for Christmas presents are gingerbread men?” Sandy asked mockingly.

Molly furrowed her brow. “No. I bake them with Mama.”

Ms. Daisy came over to where the two girls were.

“Excellent picture, Molly,” she said.

“What about mine? What about mine? Isn’t mine BEAUTIFUL?” Sandy piped up, jumping up and down.

“Um, Sandy, you draw the same picture every day in art. Is there anything else you can think of about Christmas?”

“NO!” Sandy shouted. ”Presents! Presents! Presents! Presents! All for me!”

Ms. Daisy looked taken aback and the rest of the class turned. Sandy crossed her arms and grumbled. Then, she continued to add more lopsided boxes to her pile.

Ms. Daisy blinked and then said, “Okay class, it’s time to show our spectacular drawings!”

Molly eyed Sandy nervously as if she would explode with the thought of all her presents. ”Sandy… drawing time is up you know. Sandy?” Molly peeped, but Sandy still continued, and Molly just sighed and turned to the front of the class.

After art, the class was supposed to sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” for the preschool’s assembly. All the parents came but ended up having their kids’ voices drowned out by Sandy’s high-pitched babbling song of “Santa Gives Me All the Presents!” Embarrassed, Mr. and Ms. Mcgriffin quietly excused themselves from the crowd.

Finally, it was the day before winter break, and there was going to be a class party for the whole day. Sandy couldn’t keep herself in her seat. Christmas was around the corner and that was when she got the most presents.

“For the party, we will have some relatives coming over to help out; so, everyone, I want you to be extra polite, and we’ll give the families a big thank you at the end, okay?” Ms. Daisy exclaimed to the class when guests started to file in.

“Yes, Ms. Daisy,” the class replied, as Sandy nearly toppled over her seat.

“Sandy!” Ms. Daisy said aghast.

A lot of relatives came for the party, including Sandy’s older brother, Rick, who looked beside himself with boredom and grumbled the whole way. At the end of the party, each of the students got a leaflet that said how Christmas is also about giving and not just taking and left a space for this question: What would you give to someone needy?

Sandy scribbled in lopsided handwriting: PRESENTS.  

On the night of Christmas Eve, Sandy decided to go on an important mission: to track down Santa that night and see him for herself. Sandy crept quietly downstairs, excitement bubbling inside her. She walked to the living room, where a cheerful Christmas tree was set up, with blinking red and green lights. But what she saw, she had not expected: her parents were wrapping up presents to put under the tree. Where was Santa?! Sandy only thought of one reason why Santa was missing.

“You ambushed Santa! You ambushed Santa! What did you do to him? MOMMY!!!” Sandy screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Sandy! Behave yourself! You’re not supposed to be awake right now anyway!” Sandy’s mom said sharply.

“But Santa…” Sandy’s voice broke off. ”Did you kill him?”  

“No, no! Sweetie, darling, we would never do that. No, Santa is fine. We were just… um… helping him… ‘cause he is so busy tonight!” Sandy’s mom said tenderly, and her dad nodded along. Rick, who was staying up late and was listening at the door, broke into hysterical laughter.

Sandy’s bottom lip trembled, and then — “WAAAAAA!!! Santa’s gone!”  

“No, dearest, Santa’s not… Sandy! Please! You’re going to wake the neighbors! Rick! Help us here would you? Comfort your sister before she wakes the whole neighborhood!”

Rick groaned and opened the door. Sandy stopped crying when she saw him. “Where’s Santa?” she shouted.

Rick opened his mouth to speak and then closed it. “Look, Sandy, what is the most important thing to you about Christmas?”  

“Presents!”

“Right, well either way on Christmas, Santa doesn’t guarantee you will always get presents, right? Besides, it was never proven that he is um…”

Rick…” Sandy’s mom warned.

“But she’s got to know!” Rick protested.

“KNOW WHAT?!” Sandy shouted.

“Look, Sandy, Santa doesn’t make up Christmas or presents on Christmas Eve — family does.”

“Really?” Sandy asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Yeah,” Rick continued, “but you see, Christmas is about family more than Santa, ‘cause well, you see, sis…” Rick took a deep breath. “Santa isn’t real.”

For a few moments of solidifying silence, Sandy just blinked, and then… she fainted.

Well, Sandy sure did learn the hard way, but in the end, she was able to find out about the true wonders of Christmas. What she learned actually helped her enjoy the holiday more with family and friends. (Just don’t tell her that we wrote this story about her experience.)

 

THE END

P.S. from Rick: Well, that was a pretty amusing day!

 

Dreams

Chapter 1

Smash! It was a Saturday night, and I was going back home with my family. It was raining, and the road was slick when a big semi truck came around the bend, out of control! We slipped and hydroplaned as the truck was getting closer and closer to us. The truck was coming at a blazing speed. Then… smash. It all happened right then and there. Now, life is not so great: bullies, chores, and dreams. I’m trying to figure out which ones are shattered and which ones are not.

My name is Dom. I am 11 years old, and I am into hockey even though I’ve got two prosthetic legs from the accident. Sure, you can skip to the end to see if I make it to the Olympics, or you can read the story of my life, but it’s your decision. I also have a very annoying sister named Kelley. She is 13. Hey! That reminds me. The Olympics playoff games are on TV. Round one is tonight! It’s Canada versus Sweden. They’re both very good teams, but I think I will go with Sweden.

“Dom, time for school. You’re going to miss the bus!”

That is my mom. Don’t mind her, she is an engineer. But she is very cool. Also my dad’s a novel writer. Every night, he has a magnificent story to tell me.

School is terrible. There is one kid whose name is Chester, and he is the worst bully ever! He wedgies me, then as if it can’t get any worse, he hangs me on the fence until a teacher comes and finds me, and he trips my best friend, Kim, and I on the bus, then embarasses Kim and I about how Kim hangs out with a kid with prosthetic legs! Then comes the laughs and humiliation. And worst of all, he says I can’t be a hockey player at all.

 

Chapter 2

I have been stuck in a dump with Chester and my classmates for five hours! The last  bell will ring in three… two… one… ! RIIING! I sprint out of the school in less than five seconds! Record time! Yes! Dad’s home, and Mom’s home, too! That never happens, only on special occasions! I walk in.

“Hi, son!” My dad booms. “We are going to Tim Tim’s Pizza!”

“We are?” I say in disbelief.

“Yup. To celebrate my new novel I wrote. I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”

We arrive at our destination, and my mouth already waters. But that changes as soon as I see Chester. Incredibly, he’s at Tim Tim’s with his family too. I ask to use the restroom. Chester must have seen me because when I walk in the restroom, I see fat o’ Chester. I try to sneak past him. He catches me on the spot!

“Hey, lard ball!” He says. “Get over here!”

Faster than you can say lard ball, he shoves me in the stall. I’ve had enough of Chester, so I punch him square the face! I run out of the restroom with Chester on my heels. I run back to the safe zone. The food is waiting in for me, and when I sit down on the table, my heart is beating out of my chest.

 

Chapter 3   

“I‘m stuffed,” I say as we pile in the car.

“Make room for dessert!” says my mom, excitedly.

“What is for dessert?” Kelly asks.

“I hope it’s not Bomb Bombs!” I say in disgust.

“You have no taste, Dom!” Kelly mocks.

“Stop you guys!” explains my mom, sounding a little ticked off.

“Home sweet home!” my dad says as we pull in driveway.

We walk in the door. It smells d-lish. Must be cupcakes. Cupcakes are my favorite dessert ever! I see tons of cupcakes on the table, and we eat them all up. After cupcakes, we all  go to bed. I am so tired after a long day. I can’t believe what I did. A cupcake never tasted sweeter.

The next day, on the bus, Chester is not acting like himself. He’s not mean or nice. He’s acting different. But he picks on little kids. So, I go up to him and… Blam! My vision goes black. Next, I wake up, and kids are circled around me, and Chester is being taken away by a teacher. No more Chester! When I get home, Mom and I talk about being a hockey player, and she thinks I should be a novel writer like my dad.

“But I don’t want to be a novel writer!” I say. “Let me try out for the team at least. Please!”

“Fine!” she says at last.  

 

Chapter 4

Slap! That is the sound of a top shelf snipe slap shot. By me! I thought I did very well in tryouts. The next day, I found out!

“Mom, what team did I make?” I said excitedly.

“Checking now! The A team!” said my mom in response.

“Whooh!” I yelled with great pride.

“Practice is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

“And dinner time!”

“Coming!”

Kelly, of course, is there first, so she gets dibs on the chair, plate, food, and dessert!

The next day on the bus, my hockey teammates gather around for a talk. Not like a team welcoming thing and stuff like that, but a talk about the rules of being on the team and what to do and what not to do, like being a snitch. It is an easy talk. The dump is in eye range.

After school Kim and I walk home together because Kim is coming over to my house to play on my Xbox 360 490s. Not to brag, but it is the best kind, and it costs a lots of money. And I’ve got lots and lots of games. I have a big den room with a small trampoline and a soft landing spot: beanbags! And outside, I’ve got another trampoline, but it is much larger than the other trampoline. We also have a spa, pool, and pool room to hang out.

 

Chapter 5

On the bus ride to school, it is the same but not with Chester, and not like the past days. I am sitting with Kim and talking about the Xbox 360 490s and about how excellent it was.

Then a kid from my hockey team named Walker says, ”Give up hockey, dweeb!”

“No! I will not! Don’t change me!”

“Fine! Deal with the consequences!”

“Leave!”

“No Leg!”

“Stop!” says Kim.

“Sidekick!”

“We will settle this at practice . No Leg!”

“We’re here!” says Dad.

“Bye.” I say as I get out of the car.

As I walk in, Walker is there, the guy from the argument this morning. I try to avoid him but can’t.

“Hey! No Leg! Come here, No Leg!”

“Ha Ha! No Leg!” says another teammate.

And practice was exactly the same.

***

As I get in the car, I am thinking I should quit hockey. And maybe Walker is right: having no legs is bad.

But right then, my mom asks, “How was practice, honey?”  

“Not good.” I say in response. “Mom, I think I should quit hockey.”

“Quitting is for losers, and are you a loser?”

“No.”

“So don’t quit.”

“Okay.”

 

Chapter 6

Sunday morning is my first hockey game ever! When I get there, people are everywhere, and there is a large deck with all the parents of our hockey team. On the other side of the rink, is the other team’s locker room and deck.

And the game begins with me on the third line aka last, of course! And when I go on, it is  0 – 0. I thought our team was good, but so is this the other team, so I need to step up my game. As I step on, the thoughts raced through my brain. Quitting is for losers, and are you a loser?  

Because of the long shifts, we have one minute left, make that 50 seconds left. I’ve got the puck on a two on one break away. I make the defender fall with 10 seconds left, short right! So now, it’s a one on one with the goalie. I take my best shot. It goes top shelf! The goalie gets very mad and shoves me over, and I don’t care. My teammates are teammates now because they are hugging me and calling me champ! I have scored a perfect first goal! I think I will be an excellent hockey player!

 

Chapter 7 – Nineteen years later.

“Dom Nikson scores the winning goal for USA!”

That is the announcer. I’ve got camera people all around me! This is amazing. I made it, from worst to first! Yup, I made it to the Olympics after all the years of being an underdog. I did it!

 

The End!

 

Finding the Lost

It was midnight and pitch dark. We had done many things before, but we had never done this. We went into the woods seeking adventure. Everyone said we were a bunch of punks. Even our parents. Me, Evan, Chris, and Mike loved hanging out. Even when we got in trouble. And we got in trouble a lot.

“Boys, bring in the toilet paper rolls,” I said.

Mike, Chris, and Evan jumped over the fence, carrying ten rolls each. My mom, lay in our house, still sleeping. Soon, she would find her beloved woods trashed. We had woods in our backyard, huge woods that my parents would go to all the time. I used to get lost in there, but now, I knew it like the back of my hand. I was mad at them. I was mad at them for fighting all the time and ignoring me. So now, I was trashing their beloved woods.

“Great,” I said with an evil smirk.

In total, we had thirty rolls. Each of the boys had ten rolls, and I couldn’t manage to get any because my parents would notice. Not like they would notice me otherwise. All they cared about was each other, the house, and the woods.

We started to throw the rolls on the trees, kicking dirt as we went. All of a sudden, we heard a long, piercing scream. We jumped, all dropping the rolls. We walked backward. We saw the black outline of a stocky figure coming toward us. We all froze.

“Run!” I yelled.

We skidded over the fence, running at full sprint to my house. By the time we got to the front door, we were all panting and out of breath.

“WWWhat wwwas that?” asked Mike with a quivering voice.

The other boys were too scared to talk, so we just stood there for about a minute in silence.

Finally, Chris said, “Chase. Let’s just go back to our bed in our home.”

I nodded my head, and all the boys departed. I stood there, watching them for a moment. Then I too went up the steps to my house. On my way to my room, I passed my dad who was sleeping on the couch because my mom kicked him out of their room. I went up the stairs, trying to be quiet, so I wouldn’t wake my mom or dad.

As I went to my room, I passed my mom’s room with her door open. I peered inside, leaning my head so I could see the big, old bed with its dusty, dark wood. I didn’t see my mom though. Strange, I thought. I walked into my room and jumped into my bed, with my clothes still on, and stared up at the peeling ceiling.

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of burning food. I went down the stairs to see my mom was in the kitchen, trying to cook, and my dad was still sleeping on the couch.

“Mom,” I said.

She didn’t give any acknowledgment of me being there.

“Can I go play?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said, still not looking up from her black pancakes.

I awkwardly and slowly walked outside, and the door swung on its rusty hinges behind me. I walked all the way to Evan’s house and told him that I wanted to go back to the woods tonight and explore. I told him to meet me at midnight and bring a flashlight.

“I’ll be there,” he said. “And I wasn’t scared of that stupid ghost thing anyway!”

He made ghost noises and moved his arms like a dying octopus’s tentacles. I smiled and laughed. I felt really good. It was the first time I laughed since my parents started fighting. Then I went to Mike and Chris’s house. On the way, I passed the grass field with the old trees that we used to sit on to throw rocks at passing cars. Then midnight came. When I thought that my parents had gone to sleep, I snuck downstairs and out the back door to the woods. As planned, they all met me there with flashlights and their own scare-away items. Evan had his mother’s cross, Chris had garlic, and Mike had an anti-ghost spray bottle. It was one of those stupid things that companies get a lot of money on, even though they never work. I just came with an old flashlight I found in my room. We all smiled and exchanged silly expressions.

“We should all spread out to cover land faster,” Mike suggested.

“No way,” said Chris. “We should stick together. In horror movies, if you spread out ,they pick you off one at a time.”

“So, we should stick together then.”

“I agree,” I said.

So we set off into the woods in a line. I was first, followed by Evan, Mike, then Chris. We had been walking through the woods for about a half hour, and we were getting tired. Just when I was about to tell them that we could go home, we heard a loud moan coming from a parting in the woods. It sent a shiver down my spine. I remember that part of the woods. It was where my mom used to go when she needed space from my dad. I looked at it now, in the darkness of midnight, wondering what horrid creature awaited.

“We sh-should go,” I said.

“No way,” Evan said, “I came to see something cool.”

I smiled at his joking stupidity.

“Fine,” said Mike, “Let’s do this thing.”

Chris just nodded. I could tell he was too scared to speak. We slowly stepped forward, every step making my heart explode out of my chest. The moaning was getting quieter now, but you could hear stifled sobs. What kind of creature cries? We all looked at each other and exchanged questionable looks. I was less scared now. As we got closer, the sobs turned into soft cries of pity and sorrow. I remember those cires. I’ve heard them all my life. I knew who was there. It all made sense now. My mom being so distant. Her loving the woods. My dad getting home so late. Them fighting all the time. I stepped into the shadows of the thick trees.

“Hi, Mom,” I said.

Mike, Evan, and Chris gasped. Mom looked at me and wiped a tear from her eye.

“Chase,” my mom said.

“Well, I’m here now, Mom,” I said.

I hugged Mom, embracing her as tight as I could.

“Things with me and your dad are complicated, sweetie,” she said. “Sometimes things just don’t work out.”

“I know, Mom. I know.”

“Honey, I am so sorry I didn’t pay attention to you, I just-just-just love you, and I don’t want you to turn out like your father because you are a wonderful boy. My little boy.”

“I love you no matter what.” I said, tears now streaming down my face. “Let’s go home,” I finally whispered, after a long minute of silence.

She nodded and stood up, holding my hand. The boys parted, letting us go first, then followed behind. I could tell they to were holding back tears. I was thankful for them always being there for me. We headed back to my house and ate a little food. Even though it was midnight, we were surprisingly hungry. My dad still hadn’t gotten home yet.

After food, drinks, and a lot of silence, my mom finally said, “I’m going to call your parents. You should be heading home,” she said.

After Evan’s, Chris’s, and Mike’s parents came to pick them up, me and my mom went upstairs. I slept in her bed that night. It smelled of dirt and moldy food, but I didn’t care. Things were going to be different now. I knew it.

My mom woke me up in the morning, and we went downstairs. I noticed that for the first time in a while, she changed out of her slippers and put on sneakers. When my dad woke up, my mom sent me upstairs so her and dad could talk. Even though the door was closed, I could hear them yelling at each other. When they stopped yelling, I went downstairs. When I got to the living room, I found my mom staring out the window at the front of the house.

“Things are going to be different now. Different but better,” she said.

I watched Dad get into his old car with all of its dents and dirt.

“I know, Mom,” I said, “but I love you.”

I watched Dad’s car putter off in the distance. Mom gripped my hand and squeezed it very tightly.

“I love you too, sweetie,” she said.  

 

Ignored

Rain pounded on the windows. Lightening flashed. Kara sat by the windowsill. Tears slid down her face. Her heart raced. Where was her dad? Then, she felt her phone buzz in her denim pocket. Kara took her phone out only to find her dad calling. Of course. Never here.

She answered.

“Darling, are you okay? I’ve been held up at the police station; there was a robbery,” said her dad.

Kara stifled a sigh. He was never there. She knew ever since her mother died he had been trying his best, but of course there was a problem. Money.  

“Yes, don’t worry. I’m fine,” Kara replied.

“Great. If there are any problems, call me. Also, stay away from the windows. This storm has just turned into a hurricane. Be careful. I love you. Bye.”

“Bye,” she muttered.

There was a problem. They both knew it. The one thing Kara wanted most. Her dad home. His comforting voice and reassuring comments. However, Kara ignored his warning and still sat near the window.

New York City was lovely at night. The view was stunning.

No sirens.

No shouting.

Only peace.

Suddenly, Kara heard a crack. She looked around the room to see if there was a leak. With her back turned, the window broke, shattering sharp, jagged pieces of glass all over Kara. She fell to the floor in pain.

“Help,” hollered Kara, “Someone, help me. Please.”

 

The Next Day – 11:00 pm

“Vanilla or chocolate pudding?”

“Chocolate, please.”

“Coming right up. If there is any way for me to be of more assistance, let me know. The doctor, Dr. Perkins, will come in again to check on you. For now, just relax,” said the red-haired nurse.

Kara lay in an uncomfortable bed. Tubes were in her arms, full of blood. Her hand and leg were in a cast. She absolutely hated the hospital. Ever since her mother died from trusting her life in a doctor’s hand, she’s been terrified. Her mother had had a heart attack, and the doctors tried everything but couldn’t save her. How she missed her mother. Someone she could always rely on to be there for her.   

From last night, the only thing Kara remembered was sitting near the window, and then, all of a sudden, she ended up in the hospital.

Suddenly, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she started shaking uncontrollably.

“Stabilize her!” someone yelled.

“Check her heart beat.”

“Dr. Perkins. Her heart beat-”

BEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPP.

BEEP. BEEEEP. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPP.

“NO! We lost her,” said Dr. Perkins. “Does she have any family members?”

“Yes, Doctor, but he has recently been taken hostage with a couple of other police men.”

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.    

“This is a miracle!” Dr. Perkins cried out.

“Dad. Dad.” Kara muttered. “Where is he?”

“Honey, please just rest.” Dr. Perkins said.

Kara felt a needle go into her skin. Then, the world went black.

 

2:00 am

Everything hurt. The pain was unbearable. Kara attempted to stand up but fell to her knees.

“Have to find Dad,” she groaned

Clutching her stomach, Kara crawled over to the metal door. She stretched her hand up and grabbed the handle.

Click.

As soon as the door was the slightest bit open, alarms sounded. People flooded into the hall. Eyes stared at her.

“Umm… hi.” Kara said.

Think Kara. Make up an excuse.

Then it hit her.

“I have to umm… use the restroom.” She said.

“Oh,” said the red-haired nurse she had seen earlier. “Get in the wheelchair.”

“Okay.”

While she was being escorted to the restroom, thoughts stirred in her head.

Think of a plan. What if there is a window? No. Maybe I could escape by–? No. Not good enough. Uggh!!! What to do. Wait, what if I just asked the nurse where he is? I should have thought of this earlier. So simple.

“Excuse me. I never caught your name,” said Kara.

“It’s Jenelle,” said the red-haired nurse.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kara.”

“I know,” Jenelle said coldly. “I also know your dad, Officer Zamora.”

“Oh. Speaking of my father, do you know where he is?

“Ha. Don’t worry, honey. He couldn’t make it. Held up at work.”

Jenelle definitely hit a sore spot. Kara scowled at the mention of the fact that her dad couldn’t come.

“Nevermind,” Kara uttered.

“Now, hurry up,” snapped Jenelle.

Ring ring.

Jenelle took out her phone and glared at Kara. It was a glare that meant: Com’n. I don’t have all day. Don’t you think I have better things to do?

Kara stood up and swung open the bathroom door. When she was inside, she pressed her ear against the flimsy door.  

“She doesn’t suspect a thing about her dad,” said Jenelle into phone.

“Good, we don’t want her to find out that her dad has gone missing. We don’t need more problems. A missing father and angry daughter,” sneered a muffled voice.

“I know. However, there is a problem: I don’t know how to talk to the daughter of the man I dated in college. It’s really awkward. She is a spitting image of her mother, and it only brings back bad memories,” said Jenelle.

“Don’t worry. By the end of the day, everything will be figured out, I hope.”

Kara started to bubble with anger. She threw open the door and yelled, “What about my dad? Tell me. Now.”

“Were you eavesdropping? How much did you hear?” Jenelle questioned as her cheeks turned a vibrant red.  

“Who cares?”

“I do or I wouldn’t be asking.”

“Ugh. Don’t lie. What happened to my dad? I want the whole story. Also about you and my da — Never mind. Also, if you lie I will know because… YES, I was eavesdropping.”

“Okay, okay. Your dad was at the police station, and then the power went out. In a few minutes the lights came back on; however, your dad and two other policemen had gone missing. They searched everywhere, but with still no luck. Later that night, they found a note. It said:

If you wish your officers alive, deliver 10,000 dollars at the south end of the pier by thursday at 10 pm.

Okay, now you are all caught up.”

“Thank you. When did they receive this note?”

“Two days ago.”

“So on Monday. The day of the hurricane. My dad warned me to –. Never mind. That gives us until tomorrow,” said Kara, flustered by all the information.

“What do you mean by us? I gave you the information, I’m done,” responded Jenelle.

“Oh. Well, then I need one more favor.”

“What?” groaned Jenelle.

“I need you to come down with me to the pier and watch while I give them the money.”

“Say what? First of all, you don’t have that money. Second of all, it’s super dangerous. Third of all, you’re injured. Fourth of all, you have to be released by the hospital. In other words, you can’t leave. Would you like me to go on?”

“No thanks. I know it sounds silly, but trust me. Don’t worry about my injury. With a little Advil, I’ll be fine. But you have a point about the whole hospital thing.”

“I know. So forget the whole thing. Now, just let the adults handle the problem,” replied Jenelle with a worried expression.

“Yeah… no. I need you to lie for me and make sure the doctor releases me from the hospital,” responded Kara

“Say what? No. Just forget it.”

“Please… with a cherry on top.”

“Okay. Fine.”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

“Whatever. Just hide in a stall in the bathroom. I should be back in five to ten minutes.”

Jenelle left the hallway and then entered a room.

She approached Dr. Perkins and said, “Hi. Sorry to interrupt. I was talking to Kara. The girl with the injured hand and leg. She almost died.”

“Oh yeah. I remember. What about her?” Dr. Perkins asked.

“She has requested to leave the hospital and go home. I know that’s not normally allowed, but she’s probably really homesick and worried about her dad, Officer Zamora, a policeman. I will happily volunteer to take care of her.”

“Okay. You are the top nurse. I will send you with some supplies. Give me a second.”

“I hate policemen,” muttered Dr. Perkins as he dove behind the marble counter and reappeared with a large black bag.

“What?” Asked Jenelle.

“Nothing. Inside this bag are the supplies you need to take care of her. Also, her phone and clothes are in here,” said Dr. Perkins.

“Thank you. She will appreciate it.”

Jenelle left the room and made her way into the restroom.

“Kara? It’s done. You can come out now. I’m taking you home. I’m going to take of you.”

A stall door creaked open and Kara came out.

“Thank you so much Jenelle.”

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

As they walked home, Kara asked, “Are you in?”

“In what?”

“The plan to rescue my father and the other policemen. All you have to do is watch.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but fine. I’ll go with you,” Jenelle said with a slight smile, as a memory came back to her. She, Mark (Kara’s dad), and Violet (Kara’s mom) succuried back to their dorm rooms. They had snuck out past curfew to get an actually decent meal because the cafeteria food was awful and disgusting.

“Great. We will leave the house at 6:00 pm,” interrupted Kara.

“Okay,” muttered Jenelle

Kara grinned as a plan began to unfold in her head.

 

Thursday – 5:00 pm

Today was the day that Kara’s dad could be saved or killed. First, she had to tell Jenelle the plan.

“Okay, I filled this bag with junk.” Kara said holding a up a small black duffle bag. “No money at all inside. I have a kitchen knife and a pair of handcuffs in my backpack just incase. Also here are some binoculars for you to keep watch. Now let’s get going. Wait, I need food for the hostages. Okay, now we can go.”

“Thank you. We can do this, Kara,” smiled Jenelle for the first time. “I know you can.”

They walked through Central Park. It was beautiful, surrounded by so much green. Some people walked their dogs. Others exercised. Kara took this time to think.

What would she do when they arrived at the pier? Would the hostages even be released at all? What if her dad was already dead. Stop thinking negative Kara. What if I fail?

“Kara. Kara. KARA!!!” screamed Jenelle.

“Umm… yes,” she said coming out of her trance and almost walking into a trash can.

“We’re here.”

“Oh, great. Okay. See that bush over there,” Kara pointed out, “I need you to hide there. I’ll leave the bag of money and stay there waiting until this mysterious person shows up. If anything bad happens and I get caught, alert the authorities. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Let’s go.”

Jenelle headed toward a bush and crouched down. Thoughts swirled in her head.

Why was she even doing this? She got nothing out of it. Her life could be at stake right now.   

Kara headed towards a wooden bench and dropped the bag of “money” on the bench. She waited. Then, a hand covered her mouth and dragged Kara away. Jenelle was in shock for a second, and then, she immediately called 911. Suddenly, Jenelle felt like she had to follow the person who kidnapped Kara. She creeped out of the bush she was hiding behind and began down the pier in the direction where the person carried Kara off. Jenelle approached a broken down shack where she heard muffled cries  

She knocked on the wooden door and said, “Excuse me. I’m umm… lost.”

“What?” someone said inside.

“Um. Can I come in, please?”

“No. Go away,” grumbled someone.

“Open up,” Jenelle growled, “Now.”

“Got to go.”

“Fine, I’ll leave.”

Jenelle counted to three. 1… 2… 3. She kicked the door open and grinned.

“I’m coming Kara,” whispered Jenelle.

She tiptoed downstairs and found Kara with her dad and the other policemen. Blood dripped down Mark’s (Kara’s dad) face. Rope bound their hands and feet. She spotted Kara’s backpack, which she grabbed. Then Jenelle took out the kitchen knife and began cutting at the rope. First, she freed Kara but was then attacked. She wrestled herself away from the person. Kara jumped up, and kicked, and punched as Jenelle freed her dad. He stood up shakily and joined the fight. Soon, the other policemen were free. The person was out numbered. Then, they unmasked him. It was Dr. Perkins.

“It was you all along. Why did you do this?” said Jenelle.

“I wanted revenge,” Dr. Perkins sneered.

“Why?”

“I hate policemen. That’s why my father is in jail,” said Dr. Perkins.

“But, he did a bad thing,”

“He was my father and my only family. My mother died right after giving birth to me. My father had to steal for us just to survive. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. Whatever.”

“Dad,” Kara cried, “I missed you. Also, there is a pair of handcuffs in my bag. Could you get them please?”

“That’s my prepared girl.”

He grabbed the handcuffs and put them on Dr. Perkins.

“You are under arrest,” Mark announced.

“Are you even a real doctor?” Jenelle asked.

“No.” said Dr. Perkins.

“Arggh,” responded Jenelle.

“Hi Jenelle. How are you?” Mark asked, surprised.

“Good. I haven’t seen you in a long time Mark.”

They smiled at each other as if the past didn’t matter anymore.

Kara wrapped her arms around her dad.

“I thought you were gone,” Kara said.

“It’s okay. Now don’t worry,” her dad replied. “Everything is alright now.”

Kara knew she would have to sort things out with her dad, but for now… everything was perfect.

 

The End

 

Haikus

   

U.S.A

It’s red, white and blue

These are the colors of us

Colors of our flag

 

The colors of us

They will always stand by me

It is unity

 

You united us

I stand with the U.S.A.

You have made us one

 

Spring

Love and flowers bloom

Big tall trees and babies cry

Luscious grass grows high

 

Beauty from within

Babies to elders live long

This poem has gone

 

Music

Singing melodies

Beautiful notes and good songs

Let me hear them sing

 

Beautiful music

Notes and singing in the air

Sneaking through the song

 

Let the music flow

Flowing like a river runs

Let them hear the beat

 

A Conversation

Once upon a time, ther–

“Hey! Stop narrating. I can hear you.”

As I was sayi–

“I said STOP!”

Onceuponatime,therewasashee–

“No one knows what you are saying.”

I am trying to narrate here.

“And I’m trying to stop you.”

Just igno–

“Don’t ignore me!”

It’s impossible to ignore yo–

“Good!”

Can I narrate now?

“Obviously….”

Good!

“Not. :)”

What!!!

“It’s true. At least, you can’t narrate on your own.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

“I’m going to narrate with you. Duh.”

Do you even know how?

“Of course I do. I just need to check the handbook…”

Let’s just start already.

“Yay!”

Once upon a time, there was a sheep —

“His name was Bob!”

No! That’s not in the script!

“Bleh. Who cares about a script and its lines?”

I do!

“La, la, la. I can’t hear you.”

Yes, you can!

“Let’s just get on with the story already.”

Bob the sheep loved to eat grass.

“This is boring.”

No! You just don’t appreciate the finer arts of storytelling and narrating.

“I quit!!!”

Finally!

Bob ate and at-

“And you don’t get to narrate anymore! HA HA HA HA HA!”

Why?!?!

“I’m not telling you!!”

What?

“No. This story is over. No, complaints.”

Bu–

“No, buts. This story is done.”

 

The Prophecy

Introduction:

Once, in the harsh, sandy Gobi Desert, there lived a ten-year-old girl named Caterina. She was very adventurous and reckless. She lived in a bamboo house with her mother, father, and five older sisters, who were doctors and who got perfect scores on their SAT’s. Caterina’s hobby was digging for gold. The Chinese currency was Bao-Bao, which is shells, so the gold didn’t have any use. Caterina’s mother Priscilla complained that she didn’t put enough effort towards her school work and would go to a community college, which is the worst college to go to. But Caterina knew she was just plain ungifted at schoolwork, and she would have to do something excellent, such as being first chair at All China Band and Orchestra, so that a good college would accept her.

 

Caterina

I awoke to the sounds of screeching, hollering, and cries of pain. For a second, I thought the cruel Lord Mao, the so-called Devil, had come to punish us. But when I looked out the window, I saw barbarians. Thousands of them were on the horizon! I had to warn the village before it was too late! I hopped on my horse, Meadow, put my tabby cat, Mr. Furry-Paws, in a basket, and told my family to hide in the underground shelter.

Then, I hit the temple gong, hollering, “The barbarians are coming! Hide, run, or die!” I sped back to my house and hid just in time, as I heard barbarians storm into our house. I also heard the sound of lighting torches and the crackling of the fire. Normally, I would be comfortable with the reassuring fire, but now, all it did was make me feel like getting revenge on the cold-hearted barbarians.

 

Mr. Furry-Paws

I do not like this moment. Not. One. Single. Bit. First of all, Caterina is covering my mouth because she thinks I will start meowing and the barbarians will discover us. Honestly, I am not so absent-minded as to meow right now. Also, I can’t imagine how the barbarians would hear my meows with all this commotion going on anyway. We hide silently for about two hours. Then, when we don’t hear anything, we take a peek out. There is nothing but destroyed furniture and fire. We get out of the underground shelter, stretch ourselves, and gather bamboo to make a new house. By the time we finish the house, the sky is dark. Caterina’s father catches a fish, fries it for ten minutes over a fire, and we eat a quick dinner. We say our prayers and fall asleep.

 

Caterina

I hate those cursed barbarians even more. All I dream of are barbarians riding on short, speedy horses. But all of a sudden, I hear a mysterious voice ringing in my head.

Five shall go out in the night,

And give those barbarians a mighty fright,

Torch their sheepskin yurts,

And make sure they get some hurts.

I can’t sleep for the rest of the night.

 

Mr. Furry-Paws

I don’t know what is up with Caterina. It seems like something is troubling her.

Out of the blue, I ask her, “What is troubling you?”

I have no idea how I just talked, but anyway, Caterina, a little surprised, replies, “It was last night. A mysterious voice in my head was telling me that five should ambush the Mongolians at night, with torches to set their yurts on fire. I guess you are coming with me, now that you can talk.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s think; who else should come with us?’’ I wonder aloud.

“Definitely my best friends, Lux and Nandini. Also, I think we need a boy. How about the general’s son, Takumi? Yep, that’s it. Come on, let’s get started!” Caterina replies.

We ride on Meadow to Lux’s house. It is made of slate. I like it. Caterina tells Lux about the mysterious voice. Then, Lux gets her horse, Amber, and we ride to the Military Academy where Takumi probably is training. This time, before anyone else can open their mouths, I do the talking. I explain the mysterious voice to Takumi. Everyone in the room looks at me in awe. But Takumi seems to realize. He gets his sword; gets some sticks, flint, and steel for torches; gets on his charcoal-colored horse, Ming-Li, which means “swift ashes” and we go to our last stop: Nandini’s house.

 

Lux

Honestly, I am actually nervous. I know that if we succeed on our mission, we will be famous, but still, if we fail, we won’t be famous, and my parents will mourn me! We dismount our horses and explain the mysterious voice in Caterina’s head to Nandini. Nandini looks a bit concerned, but she gets her horse, Daylight, out of her family’s stall. She goes in her house to get something. It looks like a clock.

“Don’t forget a compass!” She says. Then, when looking at our confused faces she explained, “A compass is a tool used for finding the right direction. We should head in the direction pointing to the N because Mongolia is north of China.” Then, we speed to the direction of Mongolia, following Nandini because she has the compass.

 

Takumi

As we are riding, I see a light a few acres away.

I yell, “Stop!” I tell everyone in our group that the Mongolian camps are getting near. We have to be very quiet so we don’t get caught. We carefully set the yurts on fire. Then, we slip away. Apparently, we aren’t so quiet because five Mongolians are chasing us, right on our tail! I grab my metal spikes and throw them on the ground. The Mongolian horses cry in pain and throw the Mongolians off their backs into the Yellow River. Just as we think we are done with the Mongolians, there is one Mongolian left: Genghis Khan himself!

Mr. Furry-Paws says, “Guys! Don’t let him chase us! Surround him!” Mr. Furry-Paws is speaking Chinese, so not only do we have an advantage — that Genghis Khan is stunned because he saw a strange thing with pointy ears and whiskers for the first time in his life — but Mr. Furry-Paws is speaking Chinese so Genghis Khan doesn’t have a clue of what he is saying. We all make a circle around Genghis Khan and point our swords at his neck. Before we can do anything, he disappears in a flash of green light. We are very stunned. How can somebody, even a general, disappear like that? I guess if a cat can talk, a general can disappear in green light!

“I think we should go back home,” I say.  Everyone else nods in agreement. We speed like the wind back to our village.

 

Nandini

In the morning, we go to the temple and hit the gong. When everybody comes, we explain what happened. Fortunately, they believe us. They even celebrate our success with a feast! There are gold and red dragons flying and even the Emperor of China comes!

“Caterina, I am so proud of you. The Beijing College is interested in you,” says Caterina’s mother. Even Mr. Furry-Paws gets a Nobel Prize for the wittiest cat! We are famous, and the writers are writing stories about us because someday, we will be in history! We have no clue where Genghis Khan is right now, but the Emperor has sent military troops to Mongolia to find him. Also, military troops are guarding the borders of China so that these catastrophes don’t happen again. So far, we are pretty safe from those runty barbarians!

 

Friends Forever

       

CHARACTERS:

  1. SUN
  2. WIND
  3. RAIN
  4. LIGHTNING
  5. KING

 

Scene 1

In the Writopia Lab, in the little room with couches.

 

SUN

Hey, Wind!

 

WIND

(Rolling his eyes at SUN)

What, Sun!

 

SUN

I hear Rain’s gonna flood the area!

(SUN nudging WIND)

Think you can stop it?

 

WIND

Any time, Sun!

 

RAIN

(laughing and bragging)

Ha! Beat me!? My floods wreck the world! I might even start it right now!

 

WIND

What! This very instant! I’ve not prepared anything yet!

 

SUN

OOOoooo! Is wind… scared!

 

WIND

No.

(WIND shivering and trembling)

Just a little cold.

 

SUN

Really? Then, I’m the Sun! I’ll warm you! Or you should have been warm right next to me… Unless you were… no, Wind, scared!?

 

WIND

STOP IT!!!

 

WIND’S face is red, and he is breathing hard.

 

RAIN

(bragging)

Oooooo! The Great Wind! Can’t you fight me?

 

WIND

(comes up with idea)

No, I can’t.

(RAIN and SUN laughing)

But Sun, can you?

 

 

Scene 2

 

SUN

(SUN is frozen. SUN pauses)

Sure I can.

(SUN gets calmer)

Better than you, scaredy Wind!

 

WIND

(WIND frowns)

I’ll be working while you two have your great Sun vs. Rain battle.

 

WIND starts push ups. RAIN and SUN are making loud noises when they fight.

 

SUN

AAHHHHH!!!

(SUN gets struck by RAIN)

 

LIGHTNING

BOOM!!!

(LIGHTNING strikes away)

 

SUN

Hey!

(SUN pushes through the clouds)

I’m going to shine my way through your nasty storm!

 

WIND  

Need some help? I’ve been practicing!

 

SUN

(breathing hard)

No, thank you, but I got it under control!

(LIGHTNING strikes SUN)

Whooo!

 

WIND

Oh really?

 

WIND saves SUN from LIGHTNING

 

SUN

Well…

 

 

Scene 3

 

RAIN

(mockingly)

What, you now want to fight to protect poor, little Sun?

 

SUN

(face burning up)

NOOOOO!!!

 

LIGHTNING

Yea! We will crush you!!!

 

RAIN

Hey, Wind, shouldn’t  you be on our side?

 

LIGHTNING

Yea. Winds are in storms!

 

RAIN

Unless… you want to help your poor Sun?

 

WIND

Well…

(pauses)

why should I help you destroy Earth?

 

RAIN

No, no. We will take over Earth, ruling Earth and its subjects together forever!

 

LIGHTNING

But then wouldn’t Earth’s subjects be dead already from the damage we did?

 

RAIN

Shush, Lightning. You work for me now, remember?

(RAIN’S face burns.)

 

WIND

Yes, Lightning does work for you, I suppose… But on the other hand, she does make a point. Who exactly would we be ruling over?

 

RAIN

(furious)

THE WORLD, DUMMY!

 

LIGHTNING

(curious)

Who on the world?

 

RAIN

Who cares! The world is great!

(burning up)

 

SUN

(whispering to LIGHTNING)

Is she always like this?

 

LIGHTNING

Sometimes.

(pauses)

Only when she’s angered like right now.

 

WIND

(whispering to SUN and LIGHTNING)

I think we know  her secret!

 

 

Scene 4

 

SUN

Really? What!

 

LIGHTNING

You seem really eager.

 

SUN

I’ll get that Rain for what she did to me!

 

LIGHTNING

Oh, right.

(LIGHTNING looking down)

I’m sorry if I hurt you badly.

 

SUN

Oh, it’s fine. I’m okay, by the way.

 

WIND

Alright, guys, we need a plan! Lightning? Any info on this?

 

LIGHTNING

Umm? You basically got it.

 

SUN

Are you sure there is nothing else?

 

WIND

Okay, let’s not scare Lightning! He could strike at us at any moment!

 

SUN

Yea, but —

 

LIGHTNING

We should hurry before Rain turns into a mega storm!

 

SUN

So you do know something!

(SUN raises an eyebrow)

 

WIND

Yea, but what’s a storm without Wind and Lightning?

 

LIGHTNING

Gives a worried glance to WIND and then to SUN

You have not seen the worst of Rain, have you!?

 

SUN

(gulping)

NO!

 

RAIN

(WHOOSH!)

I will destroy Earth and everyone on it! And rule over EARTH once and for all!!!

 

WIND

But again, who is it you will be ruling over?

 

RAIN

Ugh!!! You again! Why won’t you just let me go on with my plans!

(RAIN gets idea)

Or you could just join me.

 

WIND

Uh, yea, no thanks. I work my own way.

 

RAIN

Oh really! We could be best buds, and I really need some help right about now. So? What do you say?

 

LIGHTNING whispers to WIND.

 

LIGHTNING

She is trying to trick you!

 

RAIN

Oh, don’t listen to her. Besides, why would I do that, hmm?

 

WIND

(WIND shakes her head)

I’m not falling for your trap!

 

SUN

Yea, Wind, don’t fall into any of her silly traps! You can beat them anyway!

 

RAIN

Eerr! I was so close! Come on!!

 

LIGHTNING

You’re not getting away with us that easily!

 

 

Scene 5

 

RAIN

How will you destroy me? You’re just a worthless gang of nothingness!!! Ha!

 

WIND

No, we’re not! Sun fought you!

 

SUN shrinks down.

 

RAIN

(mockingly)

Oh, are you gonna “shine your way through me?”

 

LIGHTNING

Hey!

(stepping in front of SUN)

Stop that!

 

SUN

(shivering)

Don’t worry.

(trembling)

I’m fine.

 

RAIN

OOOooooo! Sun’s feeling strong again! Come and fight me!

 

SUN

I would… but…

 

LIGHTNING

But you hurt him!

 

SUN

Hey! I feel as good as ever!

(mumbling)

I’ll get you when I have the chance!

 

WIND

This is getting us nowhere!

 

RAIN

Yea! Where’s the real fight?

 

WIND

I think we’re waiting for those to chatterboxes!

(pointing to SUN and LIGHTNING)

 

SUN

Hey! I can be quiet!

 

RAIN

(snapping)

Then do it, you dum dum!

 

LIGHTNING

(frowning)
Well shouldn’t we have sides?

Everyone has blank expressions on their faces.

 

Sides! You know, teams!

 

Everyone says, “Ohhh.”

 

WIND

But are we not already on teams? Were we not just planning on attacking Rain?

 

LIGHTNING

I think I’m doing this if anyone has mind changes.

 

SUN

Like you?

 

LIGHTNING

NO! I’m on your side now, okay!

 

RAIN

I can defeat all of you!

 

SUN

(mockingly)

What, with your storm? Where’s your Wind and Lightning!

 

LIGHTNING

You’re angering her!

 

SUN

(whispering to LIGHTNING)

I know. It’s all a trap, though!

 

WIND

(fighting SUN)

WHOOSH!

 

RAIN falls on her back.

 

Lightning! NOW!

 

Nodding, LIGHTNING strikes RAIN hard.

 

RAIN

AAAWWWWW!!!

 

LIGHTNING

Oh no, did I kill her!

 

LIGHTNING Looks at RAIN lying on floor. RAIN flings her body at LIGHTNING, and he pushes her away.

 

SUN

Hey!

(pausing)

I really was looking forward to Rain’s death!

 

WIND

Watch out!

 

RAIN jumps on SUN.

 

SUN

Ouch!

 

RAIN

That’s right!

 

RAIN storms closer to SUN’s flames.

 

Feel the pain I felt once!

 

LIGHTNING

(just getting back up)

What do you mean, “feel the pain I felt once?”

 

RAIN

Don’t you know?

 

Everyone shakes their head.

 

Well… an old friend of mine turned against me once… and we fought hard… but I lost… and it was so painful. So now, I will show my anger by my storms that will destroy Earth and take over!

 

RAIN extends her storm.

 

 

Scene 6

 

WIND

But you won’t be ruling over anything!

 

LIGHTNING

And why show your anger like this?

 

SUN

Yea, make up with your friend!

 

RAIN

I can’t. He sent me away and said he would only forgive me if I did this!

 

SUN

Your friend is CRAZY!

 

WIND

Well, your friend would be dead by the time you would be done with your work. Did you tell him that?

 

RAIN

Well…

 

WIND

Now, we will take you to your friend, and you can explain it, right?

 

RAIN

I guess…

 

SUN

(pushing RAIN)

Come on, let’s go!

 

Thirty minutes later.

 

WIND

We’re here!

 

LIGHTNING

WOW!

 

SUN:

(nudging RAIN)

Your friend’s got quite a place here!

 

RAIN

I know.

 

The walls were shining, and the floors sparkled, and RAIN’s friend was treated like a king.

 

WIND

Excuse me, sir, my friend would like to speak with you.

 

KING

(his voice is booming)

Who comes to my feet?

 

RAIN

Hello, my name is Rain.

 

KING

Rain!? Ha! You have returned, but you are NOT the ruler of the world, so bye!

 

RAIN

But, I must say something. If I took over the world with a storm, you would be dead! So I wouldn’t get my end of the bargain! Hmm?

 

KING

(bewildered)

Well… Umm… Guards!

 

SUN

Hey! What’d we do?

 

KING disappears.

 

LIGHTNING

(whispers to RAIN)

Does he always do that?

 

RAIN

(shrugging)

I suppose.

 

WIND

There are too many guards! What do we do?

 

SUN

We run, Dummy!

 

WIND

(looking at RAIN)

Where is King?

 

RAIN

I don’t know! He Just disappeared! Right there, then out of sight! Poof! Gone! I DON’T KNOW, OKAY!

 

SUN

Geez, she just wanted to know.

 

LIGHTNING

Guys, let’s just find King, alright!

 

KING whizzes past them.

 

RAIN

He’s there!

 

SUN

(flinging her head to RAIN)

Where!?

 

RAIN

You just missed him, he was right-

 

WIND

There!

 

LIGHTNING

I’ve got him cornered!

 

SUN

(pushing through)

Really? Where?

 

WIND

Okay, what are you hiding?

 

KING

Look, Rain, I’m sorry for what I did. I was just mocking you about it. I knew I would be dead. Please, forgive me.

 

RAIN

Of course I’ll forgive you.

 

Sun, Wind, Rain, Lightning, and King lived together. Happily together.

 

The Mysterious Tree

CHAPTER ONE: The Tree

Lilly and Anthony were twins who slept in the same room, and every night, their father would tell them a special story about the mysterious tree before they went to sleep. This is how it went:

One summer day in New York City, one boy and his neighbor were practicing for a baseball game they had tomorrow. They were both 12 years old and were best friends for all of their lives. One boy named Daniel, who was the pitcher on his baseball team, was playing with Nathan, who was the first baseman on the team. There were dogs and cats playing, cars honking, and everyone was having a great time. Daniel threw a curveball at Nathan, who then blasted a home-run.

Daniel yelled at Nathan, “Nice hit!”

The baseball rolled and rolled until it hit this small golden rock. This rock rolled down the hill until it reached a tree. There was a small hole at the bottom of the tree, and the rock rolled in. The boys crawled into the inside of the tree, never to be seen again. Some say the tree is just fake, and there is just a hole under the tree where victims fall in, but some say the boys are still in the tree today. Personally, I think the tree is magical. Many daring people have tried to go in the tree, but none of them have returned. Today, there are security guards stopping people from going into the tree.

“Good night, Lilly. Good night, Anthony.”

Lilly and Anthony both were fake sleeping but right when their father stepped out of the door, they got up and planned and planned all night. They always wanted to go inside the tree, but now they were old enough. They planned to get inside the tree and see what was actually in the tree.

 

CHAPTER TWO: The Portal

The next morning, Lilly and Anthony heard their father coming upstairs, and they raced to their beds to pretend like they were sleeping all night.

“Good morning, Lilly. Good morning, Anthony.”

“Good morning, Dad.”

“Wake up. You have to go to school. Make your own breakfast because I have to go. I have a meeting in an hour, and it is in New Jersey. Walk to school by yourself today.”

Lilly and Anthony’s dad told his children that he was a busy, but successful, businessman who had little time with his children because he was so busy.

As soon as their dad went out the door, Anthony and Lilly wolfed down their breakfast and set off for their journey to the tree. There was no way they were going to school today because they needed to see this tree.

They arrived at the park, and they could see the tree and all the security guards in the distance. Since they planned overnight, they knew exactly what they were going to do. They were to climb the tree next to it and jump into the tree from above, since there was an opening at the top.

They were climbing and climbing, and, suddenly, a big chunk of the tree fell and made a loud boom. Luckily, none of the guards heard, except for one who turned around and saw nothing. The guard looked somewhat familiar.

Anthony whispered to Lilly, “Phew, that was close!” They jumped all the way to the tree and saw a glowing portal. Anthony and Lilly jumped in and…

 

CHAPTER THREE: No Going Back

Anthony and Lilly both said at the same time, “Where are we?”

They looked around and saw a rainbow, and waterfalls, and fruit trees. and flowers, and everything looked beautiful. But they looked around and saw people. However, there were two kids that first caught their eye. One was holding a ball, and one was holding a baseball bat. They were the boys that their father told them about. The boys that played baseball and hit the golden rock!

They looked around and saw some other random people. There were some old and clumsy people who must’ve fallen in the hole on accident. There were also some adventurous looking people. Lilly told Anthony about how their father said some other people also went into the tree and never returned. But the more they looked around, they realized that all of the people had frowns on their faces, and they were all looking down. They all looked so sad. Lilly and Anthony wondered why because this island looked wonderful to live on. They decided to go home and tell their father about this place and how it isn’t as bad as everyone thought. But there was one problem. They couldn’t. They looked around all over the island and asked everyone how to leave.

Everyone they asked said as if it were obvious, “We are all stuck. There is no possible way to leave.” They couldn’t find another portal to lead them back. They were stuck there forever! That’s why all of the people there were so sad.

“Dad where are you?” Lilly shouted, nervously. There was no answer.

Anthony then said, “I guess we’re stuck here for…”

Then, they heard something from a fruit tree behind them.

“I am mumble, mumble, here!” As they got closer to the tree, they could hear it more and more clear. “Anthony and Lilly, right here!”

 

CHAPTER FOUR: Thank You, Dad!

“I’ll explain,” their dad said. “I was the security guard who turned around when the bark fell when you guys were climbing the tree.” Anthony and Lilly were speechless.

“I thought you were a businessman!”

Their dad explained how he told them that so they wouldn’t be worried about him. “I saw you when I turned. However, I was curious to see what you guys were going to do. When I saw you jump in the tree, I was so surprised. But I care about you children, and I jumped in and tried to save you.”

Anthony and Lilly were so confused.

“Enough with that, let’s go home,” Lilly responded.

“We can’t!”

“What do you mean?” Anthony answered.

“Ummmm, there is no portal or door to lead us out.”

“Surely, we could make one.” So, they gathered all the sticks and fruit and flowers on the island, and they worked all day, and finally they made it.

Anthony yelled, “One, two, three, jump!” And they did.

 

CHAPTER FIVE : The Secret

The next thing they knew, they were back home. Lilly was so happy, and suddenly she had an idea.

“We could tell everyone and make millions. Also, we could save everyone who’s stuck.”

“NOOOO!” Anthony and his dad both yelled.

“Why not?”

“Because no one would ever believe us, and if you look out the window, the park added more guards covering the whole tree. There is no way to go back,” Anthony explained.

Then, their dad said, “It could be our family secret, and we will never ever tell anybody.” And they never did.

 

The Pumpkin Stories

STORY ONE

PROLOGUE  

Once upon a time, there was a hill. Through summer, winter, and spring, it was an ordinary hill, but in the fall, pumpkins dug themselves out of the dirt and lived on the sides. When they did this, it was called Pumpkin City. A sport played by the pumpkins was to roll down the hill. However, the pumpkins could not roll from the top of the hill because there stood a great, big willow tree.

The willow tree loved to squeeze pumpkins to their deaths. So it was natural that the pumpkins would not go to the top of the hill. Until…

 

CHAPTER ONE

One fine morning, Joe Bob was looking at the top of the hill, longingly.

“I wish I could go up there and roll down that hill,” he whispered to Stan Fluff, his best friend.

“You can wish all you want,” replied Stan, “but that tree is not going anywhere.”

“IT IS SO INCONVENIENT!” yelled Joe. “Why does he have to guard the top of the hill 24/7 and whenever… ”

He did not have time to finish. For, at that moment:

“LEAVE THE HILL NOW, AND NO HARM WILL COME TO YOU!”

“What?” asked Joe.

He saw at the bottom of the hill stood millions of trees. The trees were assembled in straight lines. Each one of the trees had a shovel.

“I wonder what they are doing.” said Stan.

“I have no idea.”

“If you do not leave in five hours, we will plant ourselves”.

 

CHAPTER TWO

Joe and Stan ran to the bottom, where their friend, Twig, was planted. Twig was a sapling that had befriended Joe and Stan.

After they had explained their position to Twig, he talked to the trees.

“Fellow trees, this hill is no place to plant yourselves. No sunlight gets through here, and you will not grow.”

Finally, they agreed to go. However, the holes they had made remained. Joe and Stan argued with the leader of the trees, but they refused to put the dirt back in the hole. So, the two pumpkins were forced to do it.

 

CHAPTER THREE

As Joe and Stan finished putting the dirt back in the hole, a strange figure appeared.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” he said, fake purring. “My name is Evil Mister Fox, but some call me E.M.F. Now where is my house?”

“What house?” asked Joe.

“Look, I bought this city for a bag of gold,” he snickered. “And so now, I demand that you hand over your house and everyone else’s.”

“Ah, but have you seen the top of the hill?” asked Joe, coming up with a plan.

“No, I have never seen the top. Why?”

“It is beautiful up there. I’ll show you. Follow me.”

As they climbed up the hill, Joe said, “Phew, I need a rest. Why don’t you go on without me?”

“Er, okay.”

A few minutes later, Mister Fox was in the air, flying the exact same way he came.

“He will not come back in a hurry,” murmured Stan. “Once you’ve been hit by willow, you have had it.”

“Speaking of Mister Willow…”

 

CHAPTER FOUR

The two friends climbed up the hill. Joe was shaking as they approached the tree. Finally Joe spoke.

“Mister Willow, will you be our friend?”

Mister Willow looked down on them. At that minute, they heard a loud chop, and the tree gave a yowl of surprise. Out came Evil Mister Fox with an axe in his hand.

“You tried to kill me, and now it is time for revenge!” he cried as he ran for Pumpkin City.

Joe Bob looked at where the tree was but, to his surprise, he did not see a thing. Then he looked down the hill, and there was the old tree rolling down the hill.

“He will run over Mister Fox!” yowled Stan Fluff. “Then let us achieve your goal by rolling down the hill to watch.”

So they rolled down the hill, but to their surprise, the fox was rolling behind them.

“Thought you could fool me, eh?” he sneered, but it was the pumpkins who got the last laugh.

The next minute, the tree came crashing into him.

“Ouch!” he cried.

And for a little bit, all was well.

 

STORY TWO

PROLOGUE

Joe Bob was bored. It had been weeks since there had been any action in Pumpkin City.

“Good gravy!” shouted Stan Fluff from his house. “You did what?”

“What’s the matter?” asked Joe as Stan ran by.

“My mother sold my encyclopedia to a traveling merchant for FIVE gold coins.”

“What is so important about an encyclopedia?”

“It had twenty gold coins in it… and I had been saving up to buy a ticket to the rolling championship game!”    

 

CHAPTER ONE

Joe had been away from home for a day now. It was his first night on his mission to reclaim Stan’s encyclopedia.

“Should I go to sleep or just keep walking?” He wondered.

He decided to just keep walking.

“Why did I volunteer?” he wondered. “Because I am his friend, and Stan would have came if he hadn’t gotten sick.”

“Hullo.”

Joe spun around.

“Are you a tree?” He asked cautiously.

“Why, yers, I am.”

“Have you seen a traveling merchant?”

“Uh nope! Just a guy with an encyclopedia.”

“Which way did he go?”

“That way.”

“Thank you. I will be going now.”

As Joe ran along the forest, he saw a big house. He ran toward it, but as he got close, he heard a noise.

“Okay, Sam, ready to cut the pumpkin?”

Joe’s heart jumped. He was at the cutter man’s cottage!   

 

CHAPTER TWO

As Joe approached the cutter man’s cottage, he saw a boy who was leaning over a table with a long knife. Joe did not need to see what was on the table. He already had heard stories about this house. Story had it that these cutters carved pumpkins’ faces with knives. So, obviously, he was very fearful of being caught, but he had to search for the traveling merchant.

At that moment, suddenly, he saw a tail. However, it went out of sight before he could speak to it, but he did get a glimpse of an encyclopedia.

“The merchant has evacuated.”

He ran, hoping that the cutters wouldn’t spot him. As he got out, he felt relief flow over him, but he kept running.

 

CHAPTER THREE

Joe walked up the stream. He spotted Evil Mister Fox’s lair. Maybe he would know the traveling merchant.

“Who is there?” asked Mister Fox when Joe knocked on the door. “Oh, it is you. Come in.”

As they walked through Mister Fox’s collection of books, Joe noticed that there was one book that didn’t belong. It looked just like… Joe couldn’t place it. All of a sudden it hit him: STAN’S ENCYCLOPEDIA.

“Did you buy that from the traveling merchant?”

“Oh no, I did not,” Mister Fox snickered. “I bought it from Stan’s mother.”

Joe gasped. “So you are the traveling merchant?”

“How right you are,” growled Mister Fox, pulling out a sword. “But you will never get to tell Stan.”

Joe grabbed a book from the shelf and whacked Mister Fox on the head. Mister Fox dropped the sword in his hand. Joe grabbed the sword, closed his eyes, and swung.     

He opened his eyes just in time to see Mister Fox’s arm hit the floor. Mister Fox screamed in pain.

“You ruined my arm!” he yelled as he ran.

Joe took the encyclopedia off the shelf and headed home. Half of him was happy, for he had completed his quest, yet part of him knew that he had not killed Mister Fox and that he would be back for his revenge.

When Joe reached the hill, where Pumpkin City laid, he saw Stan running toward him.

“You are back with my encyclopedia. I’ve always believed in you.”

Joe gave the encyclopedia back to Stan, and the two pumpkins rolled down the hill over and over again.            

 

The Squish

Chapter 1

Hi, I’m Rockstripe! I think that you shouldn’t be here because you don’t want to get into this battle, and because it’s very confusing, and you don’t want to know. But forget that, just listen to the story.

It was a cold night, and everybody was snuggled in their moss dens, and suddenly, the ocean made a loud CLANG! Cries of surprise filled the camp, then suddenly, the ocean pack came to war.

I jumped on the high rock and yelled, “Graysky, help!”

The ocean pack rolled into the clearing, and then I saw my friend, Skycloud, falling from a cliff while engaged in battle with an ocean pack. Skycloud was falling toward the rapid clang of the ocean.

I yelled, “Nofurs are gonna kill us with that spiky thing! Watch out, mouse brain!”

My friend caught a branch, but he slipped toward the green, oozing liquid. I jumped after him. I landed on the tree. The other warrior, I realized, was another apprentice because it was too tiny. I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. I jumped on the cliff, and I yelled down from where I was standing on top, “I’ll get help from the helping dog!”

Then, a ginormous warrior slammed into me. I kicked upward and sent him off the cliff, but I fell over too. I didn’t want to touch that green stuff. My friend rolled into the ocean. I didn’t want to touch that green stuff even more now. I caught a branch between my teeth. It snapped. But luckily, a wave came and slapped me upwards, and I managed to grab onto a cliff. I didn’t know where I was… I was in cave pack territory! I was gonna get killed. I had to move it so I could get back. I ran as fast as I could, and woah! I was hurdling toward the ocean. I skimmed the waves and sank. I swam furiously, and I was on a sandy beach.

Uh-oh! I was on the ocean pack camp. That was gonna get me in the most trouble! Foxdun! I thought, hmm I can jump on that cliff, and I’ll be back in my territory. But if I miss, I’ll die. I jumped, and I caught a cliff two feet above the one I meant to jump on, but I caught it with my ear instead of something that I could grab it with. I fell but onto the right ledge. I managed to jump up into the middle of the battle. Uh-oh! I jumped on top of… Oooops… extra oops! I jumped on top of Oceansky, the ocean packleader. She looked so startled that she jumped. She fell over the side, knocking me to the ground.

Then the battle was over. I couldn’t see anything. Then I thought, wait, Oceansky left… what’s this? It was green… the liquid. Uh-oh, I know what this is. It was the two-legged Whatchamacallit. Oh, I remember. They called it cereal milk? I knew this wasn’t good. If it was green, it must be rotten… A lot. I didn’t know what to do, so I decided to bring it to the leader, Raysky. She would know what to do, but she didn’t know what patrols to send out to the camp. She really needed someone to tell her that she needs to protect us.

Wow, my ear hurts. And my foreleg. Then, I saw the impossible.

In front of me, I heard the helping dog, Cloudedsun, say, “You need spider webs.”

I thought, wait, what? We don’t have spider webs around here. Then, I realized the helping dog had green liquid in her ears. She probably didn’t know what was going on. I was freaking out. This green liquid was doing weird things to dogs. We needed to get rid of it, now! Then, Raysky came stumbling out of her rock den with green liquid in her eyes.

She stumbled into a rock and said, “I can’t see! I can’t see!”

I didn’t know what to do. Our helping dog was deaf, our leader was blind, what do we do?! I looked around and saw more dead dogs than there should’ve been. I realized we needed to get this out fast. How were we going to do this? If we didn’t know of anything to do, what would we do? I didn’t even know what I was saying. Then, I saw a sprawled body at the bottom of the cliff. I raced to the bottom of the cliff and saw… My friend, Sunmoon! He was covered in the green liquid, and it was dripping from his mouth. I looked to see if he was breathing. He wasn’t. He was dead. I didn’t want to touch him and get that green liquid on me. I decided to call the deputy and the three senior warriors because they would know what to do. I was only a new warrior. I couldn’t do anything major. Then, I saw a two-legged trap. I didn’t know what it was though. I didn’t know what to do. I stepped in, and when I opened my eyes again, I was in a cage. Next to me, I saw my apprentice.

I yelled, “Circlepaw!”

 

Chapter 2

Then, I saw a huge hand. It had no fur or no pads. It had two-legged hands! I squirmed to the back of my cage and hissed. The two-legged quickly brought back their hand, and there was a small, white thing where the two-legged had their hand. I was suspicious. I saw my apprentice licking it, and then he fell. I didn’t know what was happening, so I did the natural thing. I bit the cage. It was made out of rope, and that was what the two-legged called it. It looked like a butterfly cage, like a cocoon. When I bit the cage, it easily gave way. I sprung out into the air. I was falling into an open air. It was all black around me. I saw a small shape. It was creepy, I didn’t see anything familiar. I thought, wait… this isn’t good. Then I saw a tree. I landed with half of my head sticking out of the tree and my body splayed over the tree. I hobbled to the bottom and ran up some cliffs and found my camp, surprisingly, untouched.

Except, there was only one dog there other than me. This dog was an ocean pack dog. This dog was called Linebug. I jumped and rolled and bit until the dog left. Then I looked around for everybody. I smelled a scent. I followed the scent of my pack to a sheltered cage in the middle of an island, in a little stream.

I yelled, “Well, you can come back now! I drove the scary dog out. What are you all so afraid of?”

I knew the senior warrior, Ladydog. I didn’t think Ladydog would stop, then I saw an unmoving body, and I froze. It wasn’t Ladydog, if that’s what you think. It was an unfamiliar dog, and Ladydog was crouching over it. I didn’t think it was gonna harm us, but then, its nose knocked Ladydog backwards. It roared, and I realized it wasn’t a dog. It was a lion!

We ran.

And I yelled, “Avoid traps and green bottles!”

When we got back to the camp, there were only three dogs left. This was not good, and I did not know what to do.

Narrator talking now! On that happy note, we’ll transfer to the ocean pack and see what’s happening there!

 

Chapter 3

Hi! I’m Oceanfly. Now, so you know, we were having a tiny bit of trouble with fishing. Particularly, one apprentice’s fish. In particular, my apprentice’s fish, so it was my fault. Well it all started when my apprentice came running over to me saying, “I caught six fish!”

“Let’s add them to the fresh kill pile,” I said.

And I knew that something was wrong also, but I didn’t think so. I was happy for apprentice. Then, it came time for meals. I picked a squirrel, not wanting to test my apprentice’s fish. The elders came rolling into the clearing with green eyes. I knew they’d had four of the six fish. Then, two more dogs. I saw the leader and the deputy came rolling into the clearing with green eyes. I knew that our pack had problems. I needed help from our helping dog, Butterdog, who started life as dogy dog. I needed to! Because I was senior warrior, and I didn’t want to lead the clan. It was too big of a responsibility for a dog with only ten moons. One moon is one month. I knew I had to do something. I was scared. Then came the attack from cliff pack, who could jump down cliffs, land on their backs, and not break any bones- and jump up thirty feet cliffs and land at the top! That was good for them, but bad for us. The biggest tabby warrior, I realized, the deputy, I side-stepped and jumped. He kicked over, and I couldn’t see! I was covered by fur. The next thing I saw was that I was lying in a mossy nest, next to an empty place that smelled like sickness. The elders’ den. It was usually the medicine dog’s den, but it was used as the elders’ den when there wasn’t a medicine dog. Where was the medicine dog? Where was Darkenedmoon?

“We need help! We got attacked by cliff clan!” I yelled.

Then Lightpaw came running into the den.

“I’m an apprentice medicine dog! Maybe I can help.”

Then Blackear said, “You can’t help us! My ear is torn, and you can’t fix that!”

Then Whiteear said, “My brother’s right! You can’t fix my twisted ears!”

Blackface yelled, “My jaw is broken, you can’t fix that!”

By then, Lightpaw had hurried out the door and came back with a bundle of herbs. Lightpaw ran into the den and walked over to Blackear. She carefully put daffodil for soreness and spider webs for bleeding into a bracken nest and carried them to her den.

“Do you need help, Whiteear?” she asked.

I said, “I need a little help! I got thrown, and my eyes aren’t working!”

My eyes stung. Quickly, I got a poppyseed and fell asleep. When I woke, I didn’t know where I was. Then I thought I saw a shimmering image. Then a dog appeared in front of me. This dog had a white face with black fur all around their face.

I didn’t know who she was until she said, “I’m Whiteface, the founder of Ocean clan. I bring a warning. The green bottle is your biggest problem, but you want to watch out for other things too. I can’t tell you because you’ll have to find out for yourself. I’m pushing it by telling you that much.”
I said, “But what green bottle? I didn’t see a green bottle in our territory, but I did see a green liquid oozing into the ocean yesterday when I was on rock pack patrol. It didn’t do anything. In fact, an apprentice licked it, and she was perfectly fine.”

The warrior ran through this weird forest with branches so low to the ground that they were lower than my feet. I chased after Whiteface. A branch snapped me upward. I couldn’t feel anything. I was flying through the air, and then I woke with a start. Suddenly at my feet, I saw branches, and I saw Lightpaw. Lightpaw was quivering. I ran over to her.

Lightpaw said, “I got a prophecy from sky pack.”

“What is it?” I said.

Before peace, green will ooze, and silver will gleam in a bad place, not a dream,” Lightpaw said.

“We have to double the patrols! I’ll go on one on the cliff pack territory to make sure they stay in their territory.”

A few minutes later, I was running on the side of the cliff pack border, when a dog came plummeting down. It was cliff pack.

“It will kill you,” said Blackeye.

I leapt off the ground, and the dog hit the floor. I didn’t recognize this dog. It was black and white with a brown face. It was thin with thin, straw like fur. It looked very old. But still, when it jumped at me, I fell to the ground, and the world went black.

 

Chapter 4

Hi, I’m Clifffall! When our hostage came into camp, I examined her. I guessed she could make a good warrior if we taught her properly, although maybe she would kill herself while learning. I heard the crunching of leaves, and I thought it was intruders. I was going to jump. I was just flying through mid-air, off a 30-foot cliff, and it was perfectly normal. Ahhhhh! Squish. This was squishy. It was sticky, too. And my paws were dirty– what’s this? Ahh, I can’t get this thing off me! It’s annoying!

“Help!”

I didn’t know what this sticky thing was, but it was really getting on my nerves. I mean, really. I was just gonna jump up this 30-foot cliff, and it was perfectly normal. Oh, what about that hostage? I wondered if she summoned help by now. Oops, I better go make sure I’m on guard. What was this sticky thing? It was so annoying. Mmmm, it tastes good. Squishy? Tasty? Hmmm… food? I shot up through the air and landed on top, and it was perfectly normal, except for one problem. I landed on my head.

I got up and said, “That’s perfectly normal.”

Then, Oceanfly came bolting out of the camp and jumped on me. We fell off the cliff. That was NOT perfectly normal!

Then, we fell on something new. It was water! And a plastic thing… what was this? My paws were wet. This was NOT perfectly normal! We rolled and rolled and rolled and rolled and rolled until we– “mooooooo!”

“It’s a cow!”

“What’s a cow?”

We were arguing about what a cow was until– “oink!”

“It’s a pig!” I said.

Oceanfly said, “What’s a pig?”

Then, squish!

“It’s a sandwich!” Oceanfly said.

I said, “Ahhh! Scary! It’s a witch made out of sand!”

I ran across the plain. I was being very smart. Yeah, right. That’s my friendly enemy that decided to invade our camp, Oceanfly. Gotta go! See you next time!

 

Chapter 5

“Hi, I’m Caverock! Don’t call me Cavey, I’m not going to deal with you right now.”

Sorry about that, that was Caverock. He’s a little mean when he’s on guard duty. Once he nipped my ear because he didn’t know I was coming. Why does Cavesky put him on guard duty? It’s annoying.

I’m Cavefinder. I got the name because I found our place here. So, let me tell you what happened when our problems started. They happened about cows. One day I was out on patrol on the Rock Pack border. Then, I heard– “mooooooooooooooo!”

“The Cows!” Nocave screamed and ran.

That was very helpful…

 

The Mysteries of Clara

Once, there was this fairy, and her name was Clara. She lived in a hollow tree, and she made her own house. She lived there with her brother, Jim. Clara and Jim lost their parents in a fairy train crash, and now, they had nobody to take care of them. They had nobody to fly them to fairy school, and nobody to tuck them into their bed made of plastic bags, and broken markers, and tin cans, and other garbage at night. They had no one to take them to the library under the bush, the one where the librarian made books from tiny pieces of paper. The library was where Clara wished she could go most. Her parents were supposed to take her, but they died the day before.

One day, Clara was playing tag, with a magical ball of light, with her friends, Alicia, Grace, and Ava. Then her friends stopped flying around.

“Who is this picture of?” Grace asked, pointing to a flipped over photo in a frame.

Clara’s eyes started to water.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said as she secretly wiped her tears.

Clara ran to the bathroom to wash her face, and the girls flipped the picture over.

When Clara came back, she cried, “What are you guys doing?”

“Nothing,” they replied at once.

But Clara knew that the picture had said, “R.I.P. Clara’s mom, Sophia, and dad, John, to be remembered.”

“I have to go get my mom a present to get her a little happy,” lied Grace.

But this was an excuse. She really wanted to go gossip about Clara’s family to everyone.

“My mom and I have to do some homework,” said Alicia. “I have to go.”

But she didn’t really have to do homework. It was just an excuse.

“I feel so sorry that your parents died,” whispered Ava.

Clara felt a tad better that Ava said that because Ava didn’t usually speak very much.

“You should tell Alicia and Grace’s moms what they did. I know that they will gossip to everyone.”

As Clara flew Ava home, she felt sad and left out. But she also felt a little happy not to talk to them because her friends were being bullies to her and looking at her secret, private stuff. She wasn’t sad when they had left.

Ava said to Clara, “It would be okay if you and Jim stayed over at my house for a while, until you go to an orphanage.”

Clara felt happy and got all of the stuff out of her mind. She felt brave and ready to stand up for herself.

They picked up Clara’s brother, Jim, and left the hollow tree that was their old home and went to an apartment in Ava’s magic tree, which was on the fifth floor. The wallpaper was sparkling like a silver diamond in the sky. The bathroom was shiny purple. There were shimmering, blue shells hanging from the ceiling. It was like walking into a rainbow. Clara loved it. Ava’s mom said they could live there and not go to the orphanage. Ava’s mom, Carina, was so nice, and she gave them fairy delicious ice cream with fairy dust sprinkles for dinner.

Then, right after she ate the ice cream with the fairy dust, she got a little tired. When she woke up, she was back outside of her treehouse. Maybe I went to the wrong house, thought Clara. Clara heard people talking inside the house. It sounded like her mom and dad. She looked in the window, and she saw them. It felt like her stomach was on a really, really fun roller coaster. All she wanted to do was open the door, but it was locked and her key didn’t work.

She tried knocking, but they didn’t hear her. Clara was confused.

“Mom! Dad!” she yelled through the crack of the door. “I’m over here!”

But they still didn’t hear her. She tried climbing through the window, but that didn’t work, either. Wait, she thought. Those are my parents, but they aren’t answering me. Why can’t they hear me? Clara started to cry. She shed big, star-shaped fairy tears and let out long wailing squeaks.

When Clara woke up in the morning, she was one year younger, eating breakfast with her parents. She was so surprised. This must be a dream, she thought. Are these fake people, or are these real people? Clara wondered.

She ran up to them and hugged them, and they hugged back! They weren’t holograms. She was so excited, she wanted to scream. Her mom smelled like pretty perfume.

“Oh my god!” Clara screamed. “I never even knew that.”

“Why are you hugging us?” asked her mother.

“We’ve been here the whole time,” laughed her father.

Clara kept pinching herself to see if this was just a dream.

“Ow!” she cried.

Clara knew that this was real because the pinches really hurt. Clara wanted to tell Ava that she saw her parents, but it was one year earlier, and she didn’t know Ava then. She couldn’t tell her because she ate the magic fairy dust that was in the fairy delicious ice cream that made her go back in time.

Finally, her wish came true to go to the library. She held on to her parents hands tightly, not ever wanting to let go.

 

THE END

 

The Mighty Warrior

Chapter 1

There were three weapons that were forged by the king of dragon warriors. He was invincible with the sword. He was so powerful that he was able to destroy a whole army with one strike on the ground. Two strikes, he destroyed 60 armies. And with nine strikes, he could destroy 90,007 armies.

One day, he was battling when someone stabbed him in the back with his darkness sword. Sixteen years later, his son took his father’s sword and went to the darkness land of destruction. It was a big fight but Drago won.

A hundred thousand years later, a lady and her husband had a baby. They had no idea that the dad was related to Drago. But the mom agreed that the dad should name the baby. The father named the baby Dragano. When he was fifteen, he was walking in the woods with his friends, Marthur and Druth. They both were princes. They were all walking but got split apart. They were all upset, but at the exact same time, they all found special weapons forged from their ancestors. And then, they went to their mothers to tell them all about it. And then the mothers told their sons to go to the temple, where they could get trained and nobody would hurt them.

 

Chapter 2: Training Begins

Their fathers found out, and they thought that their fathers wouldn’t find them. And then their fathers were all so mad, that the light power became dark power. The fathers exploded and turned into devils. The sons were right about to enter the temple. They got into the temple, but then they heard a voice.

And the voice said, “If you want to be the master of the sword, pass these three tests and you will become so powerful, not even the darkness will be able to beat you.”

Meanwhile, robot devils were in a maze. The sons were upset, so Dragano got so frustrated, he let out a big, energy surge that destroyed all the robots and the boss robot.

 

Chapter 3: The Devil’s Revenge

They finished the first and second challenge. And now the third challenge: the teleporter. The teleporter brought them to a robotic general. There were three generals. Dragano and his friends could help each other with their matches. If only one finished, he could help the other two. So now came the test: Go fight!

A big bang, a big boom! So much power was coming out of the generals. Dragano was the warrior of Dragons, the Dragon Sword. He would win. And he was winning. Special attack! Fifty hammer power strike! Then the devils wanted to destroy the boys.

 

Chapter 4: The Hidden Power

When they were finished, the devils were extremely upset! After defeating all the challenges, the boys were walking back home, but the devils said, “Fight us, and we will destroy you and win for what you’ve done to us! Let the battle begin.”

It was a fierce battle. But it was a scary battle for them. Then the light was shining bright from the weapons. And then a big boom. And it was big!                                                                           

 

Chapter 5: Aaaaaahhhh!

The boys ran to their village, and no harm was done, but out of nowhere, a bunch of villagers were running after them, and they knew them.

Then the boys yelled, “Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!”

Then more people came, but a lot of them had crushes on them. So they just wanted to say, “Aaaaaahhhhhh!!” but they just went into their homes. Then they all came out with their weapons and scared them.

 

Chapter 6: The Scariest Terror Story

On Halloween, there were spirits walking around the village. Dragano was wondering why there were so many spirits around. And this was why. They were all people that lived, but one of them had a horror story.

“One hundred years ago, your father was destructive. Your father was a devil.”

 

The Cats, the Battle, and the Secret British Spies

Chapter 1: The First Battle

Once upon a time, there was a world of animals with no pollution, and everyone lived in peace. But as people got more advanced, we started polluting. There was a world that people could not see, but all the animals could. And a giant war between the animals started. There were four sides: the cows, the horses, cats, and dogs. They all wanted this land because it was untouched by humans. But they feared if they all lived there, there wouldn’t be enough space for them to live in peace again. There were lots of trees on the island, there was grass and flowers, there was no pollution, and there was lots of food. And so far, there were only rodents on the island.

The cats did not clip their nails, the dogs sharpened their teeth, the horses took fitness training, and the cows tried to be faster because they usually wanted to eat. The first cats, the bravest, took one of the two-legged boats and started to row to this land. The dogs, since they were great swimmers, started to swim to this land. The horses started to board cars that were going across this bridge that was going over the land and they jumped off, and the cows, since they were so heavy, took giant trees. They started to bonk into them so they would fall over to make a giant bridge. And once the cats and dogs reached the land, they started to fight. The cats climbed to the tallest trees, the dogs ran to the lowest hills, and the cats jumped down to the lowest hills, and the dogs got out of the way, so they would just fall. Then the dogs climbed up to the top of the hills and jumped down, and the cats got out of the way, so the dogs just fell down.

And then there was a cow driving a silent electric car across the bridge, and then the cow reached the land, and then he started driving all over the place. And then one of the cats looked down the bridge to see an army of cows marching up. Then a dog looked up on the higher bridge, that the two-leggeds made, to see a bunch of horses trotting on the cars. When they looked a little closer, they saw one of the horses is jumping down from the bridge. Then they noticed the horses and cows have been fighting, too. When the first horse came down, they noticed it had a big bruise on its forehead. And when the cow noticed he wasn’t that good at driving and got out, it had a big cut right above his hoof. Then the cows started to charge toward everybody, because they had been working on speed. But then a cow caught up with one of the cats and bonked into it, and the cat went flying out into the water. But the cat would never give up…
The cat rose and lifted its claw and said, “My name is Skydiver! You killed my sister! Prepare to die!”

And then it scratched the cow in the face. This cow had been bonking down a tree for fun and he didn’t notice, but Skydiver’s sister, Seaswimmer, was resting there, and the tree fell down on her. The cow started running around like crazy. And then he didn’t notice he had just jumped into the water and swam down to the very bottom. He was gone forever.

Skydiver said, “Farewell, old cow!”

Then Skydiver ran to his base. There was a newborn cat. They named the cat Snowjumper. The cat started to crawl around. The cat started to climb a tree. The cat started to sit down. The cat started to look around. The cat started to ask for milk. The cat started to climb down.

The cat said, “Meow! Meowww! MEOWWWW!”

The cat started to scratch the tree. The cat started to grow over time, until the cat was a big, strong cat. And then Skydiver went up to him one day. Skydiver was very old now.

He said, “You are the cat that will save all cats.”

“Really? Me? Are you sure it’s not that one? And are you sure that we’re gonna win?” said Snowjumper.

“Yes. I’m sure,” said Skydiver.

 

Chapter 2: Snowjumper Saves the Cats

Snowjumper was sitting at Seaswimmer and Skydiver’s graves. He looked at Skydiver’s grave and said, “I will try.” Then Snowjumper set off to fight. He was sad. Then he set off to the battle. When he went there, a horse had decided to drive the electric car. The horse laid down on the tops of the seats and drove on a dog. A couple of dogs brought the dog off to their home to make a grave.The cows were evil, the cats were good, the dogs were bad, and the horses just wanted to fight.

The cats got there first, and then the cows wanted it, and then the dogs decided they wanted it too, and the horses wanted to fight. One of the horses put on armor. One of the dogs picked up a spear. One of the cows picked up an orange, and Snowjumper picked up a poisonous mouse. The horse started galloping. The dog started charging. The cow threw the orange. It landed on a dog. And Snowjumper ordered the poisonous mouse to bite the horse. It bit the horse, and the horse got very sick. The horse jumped in the water to help its wound because there was no medicine anywhere, but it couldn’t swim, so it drowned.

When the sun shone, a prophecy was heard.

“Skydiver’s angel from the dead will help Snowjumper before the sun goes red.”

And when the sun went away again, a ghost appeared from Skydiver’s grave, and the ghost gave the cats a secret weapon: a bomb! All of the cats were ordered to take shelter, and Snowjumper sent the bomb up to the sky above the fields and was held by the ghost. And just when every animal jumped and noticed it was there, he dropped it.

It blew up, and almost all the animals died. But there were two from each animal except for the cats. Every one of them was there (except for 10, which died in battle) and they were all very determined animals. Both dogs barked like a wolf, the horses started to squeal, and the cows started jumping like crazy. And all the cats went out for battle, picking up other poisonous mice. They ordered four of them to the dogs. One of them died and the other one surrendered. And once he surrendered, all the other dogs came back to life and surrendered. They sent five to the horses. One of them died and the other one surrendered, and then all the horses came back to life and surrendered. Five of the cows came back to life. They all jumped in the water, and then they saw the cow from the beginning who was still alive trying to come out. The reason all these animals were coming back to life was part of the cats’ magic.

A giant sailboat that was driven by a pig came, and pigs were all over the ship. The pigs claimed that this was their land. But then the horses and dogs jumped aboard and drove the ship out of the way. The pigs didn’t know where the island was because they were turned around, so they went to another island.

Every animal surrendered — except for the cows. And all the cows that were in the water climbed out, and they all in unison screamed, “MOOOOOOOO!”

And Snowjumper looked in the cow’s eyes and said, “Bye-bye, cowies” and went in the electric car. And then he started driving, and the cow didn’t see. The cow ran right into the car. He didn’t know that the car was about to run into him. And then the rest of the cows surrendered, but they stayed on the island. The cats threw a bomb at them. Once the cow that killed Seaswimmer died, Seaswimmer came back to life. Snowjumper asked, “Who are you?”

“Well,” said Seaswimmer, “I was born in the sea. Swimming is my best talent. But I didn’t pass the test to be in this tribe. So I was sent to another tribe for foster. Then when I was ready, I took the test again and succeeded.”

 

Chapter 3: As Time Passed

Over time, all the cats lived in peace again. And Snowjumper and Seaswimmer got married and had a little kitten, and they named it Skydiver. They started to befriend the squirrels, and they planted a magical tree with magical fruits and leaves and animals and vegetables. This became their life supply. And they became vegetarians. The poisonous mice did not bite them. The poisonous mice were loyal to the cats.

The horses found Chincoteague Island where horses ran wild and ran free. And the dogs found excellent owners. And the cows had fun ruining clown shows. And at the Museum of Natural History, there was a statue with all five animals: pigs, horses, cows, dogs, and cats. And there was a little box that said, “These animals were fighting for a beautiful world, and they all found a happy spot, but only the cats got the island.”

 

Chapter 4: The Pigs

Did you wonder what the pigs were up to? The pigs wanted peanut butter sandwiches, but the person at the peanut butter sandwich store wouldn’t give them sandwiches! Now this person could speak pig, and said,

“If you spy on the animal war in New York City, then you will have peanut butter sandwiches.”

So, the pigs set off to New York City on a pig ship. If you can’t imagine this boat, imagine ten pigs on a sailboat going to New York City. When they got to America, they decided to jump into the water for a bath, and two of them swam to the very bottom to get a mud bath. Then, they got very dirty and came to the top, but when they got to the top they were clean because they were in the water. When they got to the Hudson River, they sailed up to Mount Marcy and then sailed down to the George Washington Bridge. Then, they started to swim to the nice green island. Then, they started to pop their heads up to look at the war. When they looked up, they saw a horse driving a car, blue nails on cats, poisonous mice scampering everywhere, dogs running around and barking, and barking more, and scratching, and scratching more, and cows squirting grape juice everywhere. They also saw a cow jumping into the water and swimming to the bottom, cows throwing oranges, horses wearing armor, dogs riding bicycles, and cats jumping down from trees. But what really caught their eyes were the amazing apples, even though they weren’t peanut butter sandwiches. When a pig got out of the water, a cat saw it. This cat was see-through and was flying. This cat had wings, and this cat looked like it was just a reflection from the sun. The pigs wanted to tell the peanut butter sandwich person everything in order to get their peanut butter sandwiches. They rode a pig plane this time! They told the peanut butter sandwich person everything! But, he said,

“Not enough information! We need to know who wins. What weapons are they using other than spears?”

The pigs were determined to get the peanut butter sandwiches, so they went back on another pig plane. Then, they went to LaGuardia and took a pig uber. They went to look at the war some more. They didn’t see any other weapons, but they saw other tactics. So they went back to the peanut butter sandwich person and told them everything, but the peanut butter sandwich person still wasn’t happy. He still wondered who won. It was obvious that the horses were gonna win, but the pigs went back. They were so tired of pig planes, but they took one. They watched the war a little more. They saw the angel-like cat drop a bomb, and everybody died, and everybody came back to life and went to get a sailboat. They went there because the cats won, and they couldn’t allow that. They sailed towards the island on the boat, and they made a big speech.

“We are the pigs of Britain, and we demand this land. If this land isn’t ours in thirty minutes, everyone shall die! The horses and dogs couldn’t allow this, so they jumped on the boat and turned it around. The pigs couldn’t find the island, so they went to Manhattan and everybody lived happily ever after, except for the pigs who didn’t get their peanut butter sandwiches. They went to the person and told him the cats had won, and finally, after what felt like a thousand years of spying, they got their peanut butter sandwiches!

 

THE END   

 

TFTFTSTCML (The For the Friendless Texting Service That Changed My Life)

My name is Maddison. People don’t usually think about names that often. People think names are not important. That is the biggest piece of green booger juice I have ever seen. Well, come to think of it, green booger juice does not come in pieces, because it is a liquid, not a solid. But, as Grandmother says, it is an expression, which means, “it is not a literal saying.”

My name is the same name as my mother’s. My name is the one and only gift my mother gave me. Grandmother says I am living memory of my mother, and I am mostly proud to be that. But there is no denying she wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world. We share the same red, curly, frizzy hair, the same too-sharp nose, the same brown eyes that look like the poop emoji and that are too close together, and a forehead that is too big to be humanly possible. Like I said, I don’t mind being the living memory of my mother, but if I could be the living memory of a cross between my mother and Christina Aguilera, I wouldn’t mind.

Then, there is my father. I don’t speak of him much because Grandmother says he is a “two-faced jerk, but your mother didn’t know it yet.” There is no denying, though, he is a right Hugh Jackman. I know this because of one very torn, ripped, folded, and bent picture of him. It was hidden in Grandmother’s underwear drawer, so I’ve only seen it once, because an old lady’s underwear is nothing like looking at Heidi Klum’s lingerie line. Maybe I could have gotten some of my father’s genes, besides the ones that make him a two-faced jerk.

Once my father left my mother, though, you would think she would “pull it together” which, by the way, is another expression, otherwise known as “a not literal thing that has a hidden meaning besides the meaning that is written in the script.” In this context, I mean by “didn’t pull it together” as to have left me in a box at Grandmother’s door, like Harry Potter minus the Dursley’s because Grandmother is quite nice.

I don’t know much about the rest, except my mother ended up as a corpse in “The Pine Ridge Resting Place.” It is a pet cemetery. It was also the only cemetery close enough for Grandmother to visit her weekendly.

The old guy who slumps on the graves everyday says it “is the perfect place for people to waste their money and have their pets go to hell.”

On the brochure it says: The perfect place for the ones who crossed your heart to cross the rainbow bridge.

That is called contrasting ideas.

Friendless is an adjective. More precisely, it is the adjective best used to describe me. I can count my friends on one hand. By friends, I mean friend, because I only have one friend. My one friend is Grandmother, if you count her, but of course you count her. My other friend is Siri, but since she is just a “smart piece of technology,” I am pretty sure she doesn’t count. I have a stuffed horse who is my friend, but she has no heart, so she doesn’t count. I do have one more sort-of friend who does have a heart. She is my older sister Maya, and she is more of an enemy than a friend, which would make her a temporary friend, so I prefer not to count her. Plus, it is useful to have something to retort. That way, when she says something mean, I can just say, “Well, technically you’re just my temporary friend.” It is so satisfying to retort back though, I must admit it, does not have that much of an effect.

Today is my thirteenth birthday, and I don’t have a party because you can’t have a party without friends, as in plural. Grandmother shows me my presents. There are a lot of them. That is called making up for no friends, as in plural. Maya is there, but she is texting her friends, as in plural, under the table. Her lips move while we sing “Happy Birthday,” but not to the right rhythm. If I play close enough attention, I can read what she’s saying. Stupid things, or maybe I’m reading her lips wrong, which is the most probable, as in possible, possibility. Then, she is the Hailey Dunphy, and I’m the Alex.

If I ever had someone to text, I think I would be very smart at it. For instance, I know all the abbreviations used in texting. I have a chart printed out under my bed. Grandmother hands me my first present. It is wrapped in gummy bear wrapping paper with neat edges, which means Maya did it. Speaking of Maya, she is staring at me with laser eyes.

“Open it, Maddison, NOW!” I have never seen Maya so worked up, except when Grandmother caught her kissing a rebel boy, named Rocky, in CHURCH. Strictly disobeying Grandmother, IN CHURCH!

Slowly I open the present. Maya is texting. Under the wrapping, it is a phone. A real live phone, except for the fact that a phone is not living because it has no heart, except for the fact that it is an expression, which means it means something if you read between the lines. In the case of phones, it would be read between the texts. I try to smile, but what good is a phone if you have no one to text? Speaking of texts, I start to cry. Speaking of crying, I run to my room. Speaking of my room, now that I’m thirteen, it is my right to redo it. Or maybe it’s my right to redo myself.

 

Swimming

Olivia went to the pool next to her house, saw how much fun everyone was having, and she jumped in.

“Cannon ball!’’ she shouted as she jumped into the pool.

But as soon as she touched the water, she couldn’t figure out what to do. She’d seen how much fun everyone else was having and wasn’t thinking about what she was doing when she jumped in. Luckily, she jumped in the shallow end of the pool, so she didn’t drown. But she got so embarrassed that she ran all the way back to her home.

‘’Why don’t I know how swim?’’ she complained to her mom. “I mean, all my friends know how to, how come I don’t?’’

‘’Well,’’ her mother said, ‘’you didn’t learn how to when you were young because you hated water.’’

“Well, why did I hate water?’’

“Your father used to put pictures of sharks on the television. Your older brother, Noah, loved sharks, so he had a 3D picture of a shark in his room, and it was right next to your bed. So I guess the poster scared you because whenever we went to the beach, you would always stay at least five feet away from the ocean.”

I can’t believe that I was scared of water, Oliva thought.

After a few minutes, she ran up to her room and sat on her bed, just thinking about what she just heard. She stayed like that until the next day, which was Thursday, her favorite day, because she got to hang out with her old friends. But she didn’t want to go. She wanted to learn, but who could she learn from? Then she recalled her mom saying there was a sports sleep-away camp for 10 year olds. It was called something like The Sporting Camp.

So Olivia started packing, but then she recalled something else. She had never been to a sleepaway camp before. So she felt really nervous. She was thinking about what it was going to be like without her parents. She always relied on her parents. But now she was going to be on her own, and she had to be independent. So she went on a walk, and then she blurted out to a random stranger, an older kid who looked like she was in high school, about how she was feeling all emotional. Then, the older girl with dyed black hair and black clothing, started laughing at Olivia because she hadn’t been to a sleepaway camp, and she didn’t know how to swim. Then, she started crying and ran back to her home.

Her mom found her sitting on the bed, crying. Her mom tried to console her by saying, “Who cares what  that person says?”

Olivia replied, “But I still don’t know how to swim!”

Her mom said, “Who cares if you don’t know how to swim?”

Her mom went back to the kitchen, and Olivia felt a little bit better. She kept thinking about what her mom said to her, and then she finally thought that she was too self conscious and needed to be more confident. She went to the camp anyway because she wanted to learn how to swim. Not because other people thought she was weird, but because she wanted to know how to swim.

***

Olivia got off the bus. Then she saw the scenery in the camp. It was really nice because it was in the countryside. Behind the camp, there was a forest. If you stood really high, you could see the mountains. So she got her luggage, and she waited to find out which cabin she would be going to. When she heard her name, she went to the cabin and was feeling a little homesick already. She saw some new kids, and she tried to say “hi” to them, but she was too shy. Fortunately, the kids were not that mean to her, and she made some new friends: four nice girls who were all in her cabin, except for one. It was all of their first times at sleepaway camp, and they lived around the same area as her. Even though she was a really bad swimmer, her friends still liked her.  She learned that day that she could rely on her friends.  

The next day, Olivia went to the lake. When no one was looking, she tried to swim. But then the lifeguard spotted her, thought she was drowning, and he dived into the lake. He brought her out onto the grass. Now everyone knew that she couldn’t swim. As soon as she got onto the grass, she ran back to her cabin because she was so embarrassed. Then she hid under her bed and cried until lunchtime. By then, she felt less emotional, and by then, everybody forgot about the incident.

So she went to her friends, hoping that they would still hang out with her. When she got to the table, her friends didn’t laugh or point, in fact, they even told her to go their table and eat with them.

“You still want to be my friend?”

“Of course!” they said. “Why wouldn’t we?”

“Well,” Olivia replied. “Because of what happened today. When I almost drowned in the water.”

“We would always want to be your friend. Unless you betray us,” said one of the girls from the other table.

“Yeah right, like I’ll ever betray my friends.”

After that, it was time for some other sports. First she played some soccer, then some archery, then basketball, then baseball, then kickball, until she got tired. By then it was bedtime. She was too tired to even eat dinner, so she just went to bed, planning to go swimming the next day.

When she woke up, she was in a good mood, but the moment she looked outside the window, her smile turned upside down. They closed the pool because it started raining.

“WHY DOES IT HAVE TO RAIN TODAY!!!” she screamed and shouted.

Then she started screaming into her pillow so no one would hear her. For the rest of the day, she was so miserable that she didn’t want to play kickball or baseball or soccer or volleyball or football or hockey or any other sport. In fact, she didn’t even want to get out of her cabin at one point. All I wanted to do was swim, but it had to rain, she thought. When it was time for bed, she hoped she would feel a little bit better, but the next day didn’t get any better. Because of the rain from the day before, the pool flooded, and no one was allowed to swim.

“AGAIN!!!” Olivia shouted with anger. “When will I ever learn how to swim?! If I don’t learn how to swim tomorrow, I am going back home to Connecticut!”

Then she started looking at a picture of her and her dad. Olivia was holding a fish, and her dad was holding the rod, and in the background, there was a canoe in the water. And she thought, when are you going to come back, Dad?

After that, she went to the cafeteria to have some breakfast. Maybe my friends might help me calm down, like my old therapist. Wait! she thought, I recall bringing my diary to camp. I can just write in that! But first, I will talk to my friends, she thought.

Then she quickly ran, without spilling any of her food, to the table that her friends were eating at. And then blurted out, “Why can’t I swim?! Yesterday I couldn’t swim because it rained. Today I couldn’t swim because the pool flooded. WHEN WILL I SWIM?!!!”

All her friends just stared at her, and so did everyone else. And then Olivia started crying and ran back to her cabin. Her friends followed her. One of her friends, named Samantha, tried to calm Olivia down.

“Take deep breaths,” Samantha said to Olivia.

“Thanks,” Olivia replied.

Then Olivia told her friends everything, about why she wanted to swim and why she was feeling all emotional. That night, when she went to bed, she thought about her dad. That same night, it started to rain even more, so when Olivia woke up, the whole camp was flooded. But when she woke up, everybody had evacuated and were on buses. She was stuck in a flood, by herself, not knowing how to swim.

Luckily, Samantha spotted her in the cabin while she was on the bus. “Look everyone! Olivia is trapped in her cabin. We’ve got to help her!” Samantha shouted. “Olivia! Try to swim!”  

“I can’t,” Olivia said. “I don’t know how to!”

“Here! I will help you!” Samantha shouted.

So Olivia tried to swim.

“I am doing it!” Olivia shouted.

“Good job!” Samantha cheered.

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I’m drowning!” Olivia screamed.

“Don’t worry I will save you!” Samantha shouted.

So Samantha jumped into the water and rescued Olivia.

“Thank you so much! Not only am I saved, but I am even more encouraged to learn how to swim. And I don’t care what people think about me. I want to do what I want.”

When Olivia got back to her home, she told her mom about what happened at camp. Her mom told her that someone new was moving next to her house. It was Samantha. Olivia and Samantha became best friends, and Samantha taught Olivia how to swim.

 

The End

 

Cop and Bob

Once upon a time, there was a three-star cop teaching safety lessons to a school. The kids didn’t listen to the cop because it was boring, and all he did was talk for two hours.

The cop said,  “What do you do when a stranger grabs you?”

No one answered, because everybody was on their phones and not paying attention, and Cop felt sad.

The cop said to himself, “It doesn’t matter, nobody listens.”

The next day, when the kids were at school, they didn’t see Cop. He quit his job because no one would listen. After math, the kids were dismissed and went home. But Bob, one of the kids, got snatched by a stranger, and was pushed into a sack! Bob was very scared and nervous. Bob didn’t know what to do, because he didn’t listen to Cop. The stranger pulled him into a cave! When the stranger wasn’t listening, he called Cop. Cop came right away with his crew! The cop defeated the stranger and put him in jail. Cop saw the bag moving and looked inside and found Bob. Bob was nervous when cop found him because he thought Cop would yell at him.

Cop said to Bob, “You’ve learned your lesson. You have to twist your arm if a stranger grabs you by the arm.”

Cop earned a star for saving Bob, so he was a four-star cop. So, for the rest of the day, Cop and Bob had ice cream. The next day, Bob told all his friends what happened, and when Cop got his job back, everybody listened to him, and no one got hurt. Bob and Cop became friends.

 

Dinosaurs Come Back

Once upon a time, on a very sunny day, a pigeon named Beirdo was going golfing.

On his first try, he got a hole-in-four! Beirdo was so happy. He couldn’t believe he did so well on his first try!

Suddenly, he heard a loud roar! Beirdo then used his good hearing to find out what made that noise!

What he found was an adult dinosaur in the field.

It was also a very smart dinosaur, because it knew how to talk!

Beirdo was very surprised and asked the dinosaur, “How did you get here?!”

The dinosaur said, “Five million years ago, when I was a baby, I wasn’t as smart as I am now. I would eat smaller animals. But, one day, when I was just about to eat another animal, a ship came to take me away, and I was so scared! Then, they put me in a machine, and it made me talk! After that, they pushed me to another part of the ship, and I saw four other baby dinosaurs! They could talk too! And then, ten guards pushed us out the windows, and we landed here. Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” said Beirdo.

“You’ll see!” the dinosaur answered.

The dinosaur led Beirdo to another part of the field and found the four other dinosaurs!

The bird said, “So, these are your friends that were pushed out the window with you?”

The dinosaur said, “Yes; one’s a t-rex, two are triceratops, and the last one’s an allosaurus.”

So Beirdo said, “I think I’ve made a new friend. See you tomorrow!”

 

Sam

One day, there was a cat named Sam who was black with white stripes. He could speak English and was not too dumb, but not too smart. Sam had a brother named Bob, and Sam wanted to get their favorite fish, flounder,  for dinner for the both of them.

Bob said, “Can I go fishing with you?”

But Sam said, “No, you’re too young. You might get caught by the fisherman or you might drown!”

Bob felt a little disappointed but was happy he would get fish for dinner. So, Sam went down to the sea and, because he had seen fisherman do it before, he remembered he needed a fishing pole. So, he went to find a huge stick and string and tied them together. He found worms to use as bait. Then, he got a bucket to put the fish inside. There was no fisherman there, so he quietly crept to the place where he could fish. It was near the sea where it smelled of salt.

He tried putting the worm on the string, but couldn’t because he forgot to use a hook. He had to run back home and grab a hook to put on the string. He felt a little bit silly for forgetting. He was a little scared of being near the sea, in case he fell into the water, but was looking forward to fish for fish. After he put the hook on the string, he put the worm on the hook, which wiggled a lot and felt slimy. Sam put it in the water, waited for a few minutes, but nothing came.

A fisherman came, but didn’t notice Sam at first. His footsteps sounded like thunder. When the fisherman sat down, Sam saw him, and his fishing pole started wobbling, and his teeth kept on chattering.

He said to himself, “Oh no, I might get caught! I better move to another place.”

So, he quickly packed up all his things and started to move. But suddenly, he slipped and fell, and the fisherman saw him.

The fisherman shouted, “Look, there’s a cat! I’m going to catch him!”

The fisherman did not want the cat to get all the fish. Sam quickly got up and ran away, but the fisherman was right at his heels. Sam jumped up and climbed a tree. The fisherman couldn’t catch him any further. Sam waited for a few minutes, then looked down, and the fisherman was gone.

He waited for another few minutes before he went down. He looked for another spot to stay and fish. Then, he saw a beach. He would go near the beach and fish. Sam sat to fish, and then tried to pull the string up and found that the worm was gone, but no fish was on the hook. He was very disappointed. He decided to catch the fish himself. So, he bent down into the water and tried to grab a fish, but he fell into the sea, and he didn’t know how to swim. So, he dived under the water because he kind of knew how to move under the water and went to the shore. Sam had nearly drowned. He dragged himself back up and slammed the door when he got back home.

His brother tried to comfort him, saying, “It’s okay, we could maybe get fish another time.”

But Sam was so disappointed that he wouldn’t eat.

The next morning, his brother Bob woke him up and said, “I’ve got a surprise for you!”

Sam went to the dining room and saw a big plate with two fish on it. Bob had taken the heads off of them, but they were raw. The fish were big and fat; it barely fit on one plate. Sam jumped up and down and screamed for joy. He was so happy, he immediately ate a fish. The fish tasted soft, and it was easy to chew.

Sam asked, “Where did you get this fish?”

Bob said, “I got it at the market.”

“Sam said, “I never thought about doing that!”

Sam told Bob that they should celebrate this, so they invited all their cat friends to their house and bought more fish.

They called them on the phone and said, “Be at our house soon!”

Their house smelled like raw fish, which smelled really good, and the cats all wanted to eat it. They played lots of games, like pin the tail on the donkey and ate the fish.

Sam and Bob said, “You can go to the market to get fish.”

“Thanks for the advice!”

 

Jane

Jane lit the fire as she looked up at the mountain. Her family had been trying for years to get into the village. After they left their old village, they needed to find a new village. The village they were trying to live in had a list of people trying to get in. Her family had been living in a special village outside the real village. The houses were small and made out of logs. The king gave the houses to them to live in while they waited. It may have sounded okay to live there, but you had to make your own food, your own clothes, and everything that you might need. Jane was really happy that her family was next on the list to live in the real village!

“Jane!” her mom came running out of the house.

Jane couldn’t identify her tone of voice. It sounded mad, but sad and happy?

“What?” Jane said as she threw more logs into the fire.

“There is a new family, a rich one, who was too rich for their village and wants to to live here, in this village, and the king of this village wants them to live here. So they are getting boosted to the top of the list,” her mom sighed.

“Oh no! We will never get to live in the village!” Jane complained.

“Now, Jane, you can’t complain. Now, that fire is getting big. You don’t want it to get too big, so put that chicken in the heat!”

Jane did as she was told, and soon, the chicken was ready. Jane put it on a plate and gave it to her mom. Her mom put it on a table, and soon, they were ready to eat. But something was missing.

“Dad! Kiki! Dinner!” Jane called.

Her dad and her two-year-old sister, Kiki, came walking in.

“You don’t have to yell. This is a three-room house. When they built it, he had to make it a small three room house,” Kiki said, falling in her seat.

Kiki was bossy like that.

Jane was tired from her job. But it wasn’t that hard because, like Kiki just said, it was a three room house: the kitchen/dining room, the bathroom, and the bedroom. As their mom told them the bad news, Jane snuck out of the conversation. She did not like hearing it. Besides, she had more important things to do. Namely, talking to the king. She went to her part of the bedroom and got a bandanna and a stick. She gathered some things, like some clothes, then snuck some candy, then snuck back out to the kitchen to gather some food. She tied it all up in the bandanna, then put the stick over her back, and went out to face her family.

“Guys, I have made plans for myself. I shall climb up to the village and talk to the king myself! I will tell him he is no match for my family and that they will have to put that rich family at the bottom of the list!” Jane proudly announced.

And Jane walked right out of that house, but was quickly stopped by Kiki and her parents.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kiki asked.

Her mom took the bag from her, and her dad sat her down.

“You go up there, and you will be lucky if you get back down. Our whole family will suffer! We would get put at the bottom of the list!” Her dad said, as his face got redder and redder at the thought.

“Well, you won’t stop me!” Jane yelled and walked inside the house.    

That night, Jane took a piece of paper and wrote a note that said, “I will see you in a little bit!”

Jane grabbed her bag and ran out the door. She didn’t think about what her dad said because she hadn’t really been listening.

Jane walked out of the the garden and looked up. She saw the village high up on the mountain. She would have to climb up that high mountain. Jane started to walk up the mountain, but soon realized she couldn’t do it. No one has ever walked up the mountain before.There was a lift, and it was like a ski lift, but it was locked for the night. But maybe she could unlock the lift! No, it was at the top of the mountain.

“Hello?” a young girl’s voice said.

Jane instantly turned around. A little girl, about her age, was standing there.

“Oh, hi. Um, Who are you exactly? Where did you come from?” Jane asked.

“Oh, me? I’m Emily. And, like you asked, I came from my house because I couldn’t sleep with all the snoring,” Emily said. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m trying to get up to the village,” Jane said.

“I’m trying to get into the village too. Because for some reason, they boosted my family to the top of the village list. The thing is, that’s not fair!” Emily said.

Wait, Jane thought, she lives in the rich family! There is no way I can tell her that I’m trying to get the their family back to the bottom of the list, but then, she said it was not fair!

“Yeah, um, I was, or my family, was at the top of the list, and I thought it was not fair, too. So now I thought I would go and tell the king it wasn’t fair, but there is no way I can climb this mountain,” Jane said quickly, hoping Emily would miss a lot of it.

But Emily was silent.

“I’ll come with you up the mountain because I am the seventh child, so there is nothing to do anyway,” Emily said.”It will be interesting,” she continued.

So they headed up the mountain, but it was only five minutes before they got tired.

“Wait,” Emily said, reaching in her pocket,”I think I have some rope.”

Emily tied the rope around her and Jane. And then, she tied a little knot, making a circle, in the rope. She found a ledge and threw the rope up, up, onto the ledge.

“Now, climbing will be easier,” Emily said and started climbing.

Jane started, too, but found it was harder.

“So you said you are the seventh child in your family?” Jane asked.

“Seventh and youngest,” Emily said and kept climbing.

Jane wanted to share about her family, but decided to keep it to herself. Finally, the mountain was in view!

“Almost there!” Jane said, with barely enough breath.

“Yes!” Emily said, and sounded the same, with barely enough breath, too.

The climb was hard. Jane almost slipped on the steep and rocky mountainside, but the rope caught her. Emily got stuck in between two rocks, and then Jane had to pull her up.

When they got to the top, Jane looked out across the village, but it was hard to see.

“What time is it?” Jane asked.

Emily put down the rope that she was now untying.

“2:53,” Emily sighed.

“What?” Jane asked, surprised.

“Yeah, it’s late,” Emily said.

“My parents would have told me to go to bed, let’s see, a few hours ago,” Jane said.

“Come on, let’s go explore the village, and see why in the world we can’t live here,”

Emily started walking without Jane.

“Probably because the village is really small,” Jane said softly.

“Are you kidding me? Look at this!” Emily announced.

“Shhhhhh!” Jane shushed her as she pushed past Emily to look.

The village was huge! Big houses lined the streets. The road seemed to go on forever. The yards were the size of her house, but three times bigger.

“Those look like empty houses,” Emily said, sounding annoyed.

Jane ran over.

“You’re right,” Jane whispered, just in case Emily was wrong.

But it did not look like she was wrong. Cobwebs lined the windows. Ivy ran down the house, out of control. Everything  was dark. Dust was everywhere.

“I’m hungry,” Emily said, out of the blue.

“Here, I got something,” Jane reached into her bag and pulled out a strawberry. “Fresh from our garden.”

The two girls walked through the village. Finally, they reached to castle.

“Knock, Jane,” Emily whispered.

Jane lifted up her hand, and almost knocked.

“Should we wait till morning?” Jane asked.

“Maybe to talk to the king. But we can get a room till morning,” Emily answered.

Emily knocked instead. The sound echoed throughout the castle. Suddenly, the door opened. A tall man was standing in the doorway. His hands looked different. And where were his shoes? Jane realized that his hands were where his feet should be, and his feet were where his hands should be. Emily seemed to notice too.

“What do you want?” He asked.

“Um, we want to talk to the king,” Emily answered shyly.

“Well, go home and come back in the morning, Emily!” he said as he shut the door.

Jane was confused. How did he know Emily’s name?

“No, wait! Jim!” Emily yelled.

Jane couldn’t take it anymore.

“How do you guys know each other?” she yelled.

Emily turned around.

“We met each other when we got a tour of the village,” She calmly explained.

“You got a tour of the village?” Jane asked.

“Yeah. Anyways, please let us stay and talk with the king?” Emily turned back to Jim.

“Well, okay. Come on in. I will get you a room to stay in,” Jim said.

“Thanks!”

“Thanks,” Jane said.

They followed Jim into the place. Marble floors glistened under them.  

“Wow!” Emily exclaimed.

Jane almost slipped as she tried to maneuver past furniture that looked like it came straight from Paris.

“Here are the guest rooms,” Jim said and motioned to some rooms.

“Jane! Did you even realize that we walked up three flights of stairs and down one?” Emily asked.

“No, and I thought that was the whole village!” Jane answered.

A few hours later, Jane woke up. She got out of bed and walked over to Emily’s room.

“Wake up!” she yelled.

Today was the big day. Everything had to be perfect.

“Alright now!” Emily jumped out of bed and ran out the door, leaving Jane to quickly follow.

An hour later, the girls had gotten breakfast and were all dressed. Emily seemed more excited than Jane, even though what it meant for her and her family.

“So, I can do the talking” Emily said.

“But why?” Jane asked.

“Because, he will listen to me more than you, since I come from the Jones family,” Emily answered proudly.

“True, but your last name is Jones?” Jane asked, startled.

“Yes, as in Emily Jones,” Emily answered.

A little while later, they were escorted to see the king.

“Hello!” said a raspy voice.

Emily walked in first.

“Hello, King Palmer Tudor,” Emily said as she curtseyed.

“Oh, hello, Emily Jones! What brings you by?” he asked.

Emily took a deep breath as she said, “So, here is Jane, well, I don’t know her last name, but — ”

“I don’t know mine,” Jane whispered.

“Wh-what do you mean you don’t know you last name?” Emily asked.

“No one knows. We left our last village because our family was accused of a crime we didn’t commit. When we left, or before we did, the leader banned our last name. So no one can say it. Now we don’t have a last name,” Jane explained.

“Go on, Emily.” It was obvious the king did not want to hear Jane speak.

“So Jane was at the top of the list, and then we came along, and well, we are at the top. She is mad, and I am mad,” Emily said.

“What? You are mad? But why? You are the next to come in.” the king asked.

“Because it’s not fair!” Emily yelled.

“Well, if you are mad, I will put you at the bottom of the list.”

The king put down his head.

“Yes!”

“Thanks so much, Emily!”

The girls walked out of the castle. Jane was smiling, but Emily was frowning for some reason.

“What’s wrong?” Jane asked.

“Nothing. I’m happy for you, but after I realized how much you wanted to live in the village, well, I’m going to have to experience it,” Emily said.

“Why don’t you want to live in the village?” Jane asked.

“Because I have a big house, and I don’t really care,” Emily answered.

“Oh. Anyways, I think that’s my mom over there,” Jane frowned, surprised to see her mom in the village.

“And there’s Sadie, and there’s Sarah, and there is Sam, and Sasha and Samantha and Saige,” Emily said.

“Wait, do all of your siblings names start with the letter’S’?” Jane asked.

“Yes, besides being the youngest, I am also the only one with my name with the letter ‘E’,” Emily said.

“Emily!”

“I think that was Sadie,” Emily whispered.

“Jane!”

“And that was Kiki!” Jane whispered.

Jane saw Kiki, her mom, and her dad running to her.

“Where did you go? Why did you go? What happened?” Kiki asked.

“Well I got us back to the top of the list, and I figured out why people get into the village slowly. Everybody here is weird! And the king just wants different people!” Jane said.

“You got us to the top of the list?” Kiki asked.  

“Yes I did,”Jane said.

“Emily! Are we at the bottom of the list?” Emily’s mom asked, pushing through her family.

“Maybe,” Emily said.

“Emily Jones!” her mom yelled.

“Well I could move you back if you want.”

Everyone turned around. The king was there!

“No thanks,” Emily said.

“But Emily! Now we are going to have to wait until everyone in front of us to live in the village!” Sadie complained.

“Well, maybe I could let both you live in the village right now! Together. We have some empty houses!” the king said.

“Well, you obviously have magic. Why don’t you use it to make the village bigger so that everyone, up here and down there, can live here,” Emily suggested.

“Actually, that’s a great idea!” the king said, and everyone agreed.

***

A few years later, the king made an announcement saying, “We have so many poor and not magic people, so we are kicking those people out and preparing for rich and magic people!”

“No! That king! He can never get anything right!” Kiki said.

“We might have to leave,” a worried Jane said.

“Well to be honest, I kind of wanted to leave. The king was acting so weird, I wanted to leave,” her mom said.

“Let’s leave soon!” her dad said.

“But why is he really kicking people out?” Jane asked.

“Well, Emily and Sarah are probably going to stay, and we are going to have to leave. So with Emily and Sarah’s family, we are going to travel and find a new village,” her mom said.

“Are we going to live with Sarah?” Kiki asked.

(She had become friends with Sarah.)

“Maybe. We will be grateful for anything we get, girls, so don’t complain,” her mom said.

“We sure will be grateful,” Kiki murmured.

“What was that, Kiki?”

“Nothing, Mom.”

***

A little while later, four lifts had been filled up. The two families were leaving. The king was sad that the Jones family was leaving, but reminded himself that it was only a matter of time before new rich families would be walking down the street.

“So, are you excited?” Jane asked Emily.

“No, but yes. No because it will be scary, but yes because I can get out of this crazy town!” Emily said.

“Why is it crazy?” Jane asked.

“You don’t know why? Well, the people, the way they act, and well, the king!” Emily said.

When they arrived at the bottom of the mountain, Jane and Emily hopped out.

“Move,” Emily’s sister, Samantha, said as she pushed by them.

“The mean and crude one of the family,” Emily said.

At first, they started walking through the desert, which was outside of the waiting village.

“It’s sooooo hot,” Jane said.

“I know! Mom! How much longer until we leave the desert?” Emily asked.

“I don’t know, honey!” she called back.

Next, they walked through a very snowy and cold area.

“It’s sooooo cold,” Jane said.

“I know! Mom! How much longer until we leave this area?” Emily asked.

“I don’t know, honey!” she called back.

Finally, they left the area, and they wandered onto a place like the desert.

“Let’s turn this way,” Emily said, and pointed to a place that, to Jane, did not look like the right place.

“No, let’s go that way,” Jane said and pointed.

“No, my way is right even though I didn’t study a map. And we always do it your way!” Emily said, frustrated.

The parents let the kids do the finding, but that was a bad idea.

“Always do it my way? Please, Emily. You talked to the king. You made me see the house, and that’s only part of it!” Jane said.

“I asked you if you wanted to look. And, if you had said it, you would still be living in the waiting village,” Emily said.

“Well, yeah, but to be honest, I liked the waiting village better,” Jane said.

“Okay, but still, I am actually smart!” Emily said.

“You’re saying I’m dumb?” Jane asked.

“I’m not, but, it’s just that, well, let’s just go my way,” Emily said.

“You know what? I never should have even worked with you,” Jane said.

“Well, you’re too stubborn,”Emily said.

“No, I’m too brave,” Jane said.

“Well fine, if you’re not too stubborn, let’s go my way,” Emily said.

“Fine. Whatever.”  Jane said.

And it turned out that Emily’s way was right!

“See, I told you!” Emily said.

“Well, we don’t even know where we’re going!” Jane said.

They started walking through the area, which had palm trees and green grass. It was so beautiful, that Emily’s sister, Sadie, thought it was a village.

“But it might just be a village!” she announced.

Since it was getting late, they decided to spend the night there.

“I don’t like this! Emily complained.

“Don’t complain. My family had to do this for years!” Jane said as she frowned.

In the morning, they got up, ate food, and continued walking. Jane didn’t notice Emily emerging from where her family were walking together in a big clump.

“Look, Jane, I’m truly sorry about yesterday. It’s just that-”

“I see what you’re saying,” Jane interrupted.

“Okay. I don’t mean to sound all mushy and stuff, but I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?” Emily asked.

“Sure,” Jane replied.

Finally, they came to something that looked like a village. There were houses and shops.

“Let’s get some help,” Emily’s mom said.

They walked into a restaurant. It was really loud. People were talking, and plates were crashing down on the table.

“Wow,” Jane said.

“Excuse me?” Emily’s mom asked.

“Yes?” somebody said, and turned around.

It was Jim!

“Jim? Why are you here?” Emily’s mom asked.

“I moved here because I couldn’t take it anymore in the village. But please, don’t tell the king. I snuck out with another family,” Jim said.

“Oh. Okay. We left the village too, and we don’t know how to live here,” Emily’s mom said.

“Well, all you have to do is talk to the leader, Mr. Grape,” Jim said.

“Grape?” Emily and Jane asked and burst out laughing.

“How do we get there?” Emily’s mom asked, giving Jane and Emily a dirty look.

“You go to, let’s see, down Pickle road, then turn left on Fig lane. His house is hard to miss,” Jim told them.

“Okay, thanks, Jim!” Emily’s mom thanked him.

They set off, walking down Pickle Road, and Jane and Emily couldn’t help but make fun of Mr. Grape’s name.

“What if Grape was actually his first name, and his last name was juice?” Jane said.

“Hello! I’m Mr. Grape Juice! But since you are my friend, you can call me Grape Juice!” Emily said in a funny voice.

The girls couldn’t stop laughing, and their moms had to come over to hold them still. Jane saw Kiki giving her a dirty look, but that only gave Jane an idea.

Once the moms walked away, Jane said,”What if Kiki’s name was Kiwi?”

Jane and Emily started laughing again.

“And what if Sam’s name was Wham?” Emily said.

Once they started laughing, that was it for Kiki. She was about to grab Jane to tell her to stop, but then Mrs. Jones high pitched voice interrupted that drama.

“We’re here!” she chirped.

Kiki groaned and walked back to Sarah.

“Yes! We’re here!” Emily said and threw her arm in the air.

Jane laughed and looked at the palace. It was purple and looked like a grape. It was hard to miss.

“Okay, guys, we’re going to be quiet when we walk in,” Mrs. Jones said.

“You sound like a teacher!” Samantha shouted out.

“And if I were, you would be in big trouble, missy!” Mrs. Jones said and opened the door.

As they walked inside, Jane was reminded, by the marble floors, that this felt exactly like walking through the king’s palace.

“Hello! Hello! Hello!” a friendly voice called from inside a room. “Who’s there, there, there!” it repeated.

“Is this how they speak? Because I’m pretty sure that’s not an echo,” Jane said as she leaned close to Emily.

“I’m not sure,” she replied.

As they walked into the room that the leader was in, Jane looked around again. It looked exactly like the king’s palace.

“Oh, hello, hello, hello. Why are you here, here, here?” Mr. Grape asked.

“We want to live in the village,” Emily’s mom told him.

“Well, of course you can, can, can. I will give you a house, house, house. But first, you must know our language, language, language. Always say the last word three times, times, times,” he explained.

“But Jim didn’t!”

It came flying out of Jane’s mouth before she could stop it.

Mr. Grape sat up and said, “Well, okay, okay, okay. What do we have here, here, here? A tattletale, that’s what, what, what. Jim’s new, and you can’t expect him to be perfect, perfect, perfect. In fact, you didn’t also, also, also.”

Mr. Grape smirked.

Let’s go, go, go,”  Mrs. Jones said as she tried to push everyone out.

Once they were out, Mrs. Jones stated the obvious.

“We can’t live here.”

Everyone agreed, and they walked off.

A little while later, they came to a new village. This one seemed simple. At the entrance, there was a castle.

“I think that’s where the leader lives,” Jane’s mom said.

Once they had walked inside, Mrs. Jones took the lead.

“Let’s turn here,” she would say, and they would follow her.

Finally, they found the leader. He was inside a game room, and before anyone could get inside the three boys, Sam, Mr. Jones, and Jane’s dad, rushed  through the glass doors.

Everyone quickly followed, but not before the leader had gotten up.

“What is going on in here?” he yelled, but then sucked in his breath to keep from yelling more.

Mrs. Jones smiled, and Jane could tell she liked him better than the king and Mr. Grape.

“Hello, I am Mrs. Bethany Jones,” she said and then shook his hand.

“And I am Helen,” Jane’s mom said.

“Oh, hello. Did you say your last name was ‘Jones’?” he asked.

“Yes,” Mrs. Jones said, her eyes twinkling.

“Well, I did not know you lived in the village. But anyways, I love what your family makes! The deciding-beanbag was my favorite beanbag. It helps me decide things,” the leader said.

“Thank you. Anyways, we don’t live in the village, but we want to. Will you let us in?” Mrs. Jones asked, getting distracted by the gaming in the background.  

“Live in my village? Of course you can! By the way, I’m Mr. Woman,” Mr. Woman, the leader, said.

Jane and Emily laughed, and Kiki shot them a dirty look.

“Thank you very much,” Jane’s mom said.

“Could you show us where we will live?” Mrs. Jones asked.

“Of course. Follow me,” Mr. Woman said and went out the door.

After they had pulled Sam and the dads away from the games, they left the castle and walked down a long road.

“It’s the Jones family!” Jane heard someone yell.

Screams of delight came next, and everyone had to run to get away from it.

“So, Jane, now you know how my life is like,” Emily said as she sighed.

Finally, they reached a row of houses.

“Here you go,” Mr. Woman said.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Jones said.

“Thank you,” Jane’s mom thanked him.

Mr. Woman walked away, which left the family to go in the houses.

“Jane!” her mom called.

Jane snapped out of her thought, which was where would they go to school.

As Jane walked in the house, she was amazed. She had never lived in a house this big before!

“So, Jane. I will sleep in the basement because I am awesome. You will have to sleep upstairs!” Kiki said, and then laughed.

Kiki had never been like this before.

“The stress,” Jane said to herself. “That’s what’s making her like this.”

“What?” Kiki asked.

“Nothing,” Jane responded and started going up the stairs.

When she found her room, she threw herself across the bed.

“Finally,” she whispered to herself. “Our own actual house.”

 

The End

 

The Girl Who Rode The Stuck Elevator

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived with her mother and her father. They lived in New York City. The father worked in the Empire State Building.

So, one day, her mother sent the little girl to the Empire State Building to give her father his lunch. From the little girl’s house to the Empire State Building was ten minutes by walking so, for the little girl, that was very little.

Once she got there, she told her name to the security guard who was standing right in front of her. Her name was Grace, and they let her in to go see her dad. She went into the elevator by herself. The elevator stopped in the middle of two floors and was stuck. She called for emergency services, but no one answered.

Finally, she tried again, and the lobby answered and said, “What’s the matter?”

Grace said, “The elevator is stuck between the third floor and the fourth floor.”

The lobby said, “I’ll get you out of there in five minutes.”

After five minutes, nothing happened. Grace called the lobby, and they said they were riding the other elevator to the fourth floor. She started to think that she would never get out of the elevator, but then she started to think of her dad. She said to herself, daddy will save me. I know he will.

While Grace was on the elevator, she heard a boom and crash. She felt herself falling down. The button on the top said level three. The elevator stopped. The doors opened, and she saw her father.

She ran out of the elevator and hugged her father. He said that he was the one who made all the noise.

Today, he was wearing blue jeans and a yellow shirt. His eyes were blue, and he went to work everyday, even on the weekends. He was six feet tall. And his name was Greg.  

While Grace was walking down the stairs, she bumped into a man. This man said that her mother was sick. But he looked suspicious. His watch was spinning the opposite way non-stop.

After Grace left, she headed to the library, but she found nothing about this sickness.

After Grace left the library, she headed back to her house.

When she got there, Grace entered the house, and there was no one there. She ran all the way back to the Empire State Building. Grace found her father and said that Mom was not at the house.

They raced out of the building and went home in the car. When they got home, they unlocked the door and went in the house. Nobody was there.

The father said to Grace, “I have to tell you something. The person you met on the stairway ate your mother. He could turn into a wolf whenever he wants to.”

So, they went to the Empire State Building, and they found the wolfman.

Grace said, “Where is my mother?!?”

Suddenly, the wolfman burped, and the mother came out of his throat. The wolf man ran down the stairs and left the building and never came back again. He ran away, because he thought that Mom would tell the police.

The mother hugged Grace and the father. Since it was the end of the day, they went home in the car.

When they got home, they had dinner. Grace told her mother about the elevator. And her mother told her about the travel in the wolfman’s stomach. It was very slimy and squishy.

The mother said, “I thought I would never get out, but then I did.”

And dad told them about his day at work. After dinner, they went to bed.

 

The End

 

Bee’s Best Desire

One day, a while ago, there was a small, small bee. That bee had one wish, to become the most beautiful bee in the history of living things. However, he needed to obtain a flower so divine that even humans wished they could have it too. On a silent November day, the bee set out for an adventure.

He packed his things into one massive, purple, shiny backpack and said, “Watch out world ‘cause here I come!”

After flying a mile or two, he spotted a person riding a skateboard right past him. The strong winds caused the small little bee to freak out and land in a pile of garbage.

“Seriously, not even the window. Frankly, I would’ve prefered the window,” he said, glaring at the cafe window nearby. A human was holding a small bee by a leash, as a pet, and they both laughed at the small bee. The bee slithered its way out of the stinky garbage pile, plugging its nose. “That was more gross than my father’s socks after five months of no-washing!”

The bee carried on his mission with only slight regret of his choice to find the flower. He hiked up a treacherous mountain, then stared at the long way down. “Yikes…”

Suddenly, BAM! A person by the name of Ben slid backwards down the mountain and plucked off a small strip of vine. The bee couldn’t just let Ben take his one goal in life! So he flew as fast as he could down that mountain and pleaded for the specimen.

“Please let me have it! I only want to make my mom proud of me! Ever since I was a little baby bee, she wanted me to be a model just like her,” he said. “When she was smacked by a fly swatter, I knew I had to make her dream come true! Please!” Ben flashed a minimal smile, while the little bee trembled in anxiety.

“Well, do you really need it?” Ben asked smugly. The small bee swiftly nodded his head yes and zipped up to eye level with Ben.

“But I really need it,” Ben said, “Would you do anything for it?”

The bee replied, “Yes! Yes, I would!” Ben revealed another sly smirk.

“Would you, say, race me for it?” Ben asked. The bee thought for a minute or two, then decided that he a had dedication to this dream and would do anything to achieve it.

“Yes! Here and now!” The bee exclaimed. They both lined up near a huge rock, whoever got to a tree over the bend first won.

“Three… Two… One… GO!” they said in unison. Ben started in the lead, but the bee tried hard.

“I’m not giving up on my mother!” he yelled. He forced his wings to fly fast as he could and zipped around the bend. He closed his eyes and expected the worst, but it turned out, he won! He happily marched over to the flower and picked it up. “Sorry, amigo, but rules are rules, and races are won!” The bee said.

In the end, the bee became the best known model in the history of bees, making his mother proud. He wore the flower in many ways and in many photoshoots. He was like a celebrity amongst humans and bees.  He was even scouted by a famous manager who managed his mom. The bee lived happily ever after, for right now!

 

Pollution Stoppers

Pollution does not look pretty, if you do know what I am talking about, because it looks like a bunch of garbage and chemicals mixed together. It builds up with a smell of raw fish, chemicals, and the worst smell you could ever imagine. So, I think that people should be more mindful of where they throw their garbage. People most often think that some other person will pick it up. However, I know that this is not so true. For example, when people throw garbage on the floor, the garbage builds up higher and higher. This creates pollution. And I know pollution is not good at all. When people cause pollution, it gets worse and worse instead of better and better. So, now just imagine: if you can help out, it will make a big difference, and you can be rewarded, because it will be a cleaner place around you. Finally, you can help by picking up after yourself,  recycling and composting, and getting only what you need, not what you want.

Pollution is harmful to humans and nature (everything, really). One of the main reasons for pollution is when people don’t pick up after themselves, like when people drop their cigarettes on the floor. I do not like this, because then other people will have to pick up for other people, and it still just does not make the people mindful. You can always help out, and it is never too late to help the world become a better place. And if others clean up for you, then that means that you will never learn. You have to remember this, or at least try. So be mindful, and clean up for yourself. What if no one picked up your garbage today? It would become litter, and then an animal might come to eat it, and then the animal would get sick, and maybe even die. Now, imagine if you are barefoot. You could get super hurt and your cut could be deep and infected. That is why you should not throw your garbage on the floor. In Germany, two whales were found dead with plastic inside their stomachs instead of fish and krill. It already happened, and you do not want to make a repeat of it again. So you can help out to make your world a better place!

You can always help out by recycling. When you help out, you make the world a better place. You can help and start out in your own garden. You can start by composting. When you compost, it makes your place less dirty, and more clean. As you help out, you save oceans and lakes, because that is where most of the garbage ends up. And water is a precious thing, because you do not want your water to become dirty. Or, you do not want the fish to be sick, because when fishermen do actually catch them, garbage could end up in their tummies. No one would be able to eat them, because if they do then they would probably end up getting poisoned, and then that would not be good. So, you can recycle everything that is reusable, so you can reuse it over and over again. You can start out plain and simple. You can help save the world. There are some recycling centers that do have recycling programs. So now you can start  one of your own. Just taking a step further makes it better.

Factories also are dangerous and harmful to the environment. You can always help out by only getting things you need, and not things you want that are made from factories. If you only get things you need, factories will close down, and then you will find less garbage in the landfills than before. Not only will it be cleaner, but it will be a safer place for animals and you. Like, from my experiences at the beach, I can see glass bottles sticking out of the sand. A few years ago, in China, there happened to be a smog. This was because the chemicals mixed in the air to make the smog in the first place. And I don’t think that anyone wants that in New York. That is why we have to take care of our city.

As you can see, you know that pollution is very bad for you, because you are destroying these precious resources, and you can help fix pollution. And this is how you can help: by recycling, and by composting. These are easy steps that can lead the world to a better place (and it will make you become a better person.) So you can start it right in your own house. And spread the word! The more people we have in this, the more ways the world can become a better place! Calling your friends or relatives could help, so you can get everyone in this!

 

The Baby Panda Bear and Me

First, there was a baby panda bear and me. I was at the Bronx Zoo on July 8th  and saw a baby panda bear on the day of its adoption. The panda bear was a black and white yummy shish kabob, but I did not want to eat it. I wanted it as my pet.

My mom said, “No, because we already had a lot of pets.”

I was very mad and hit the book hard. I have six dogs, four cats, two little fish, and one big fish. I also have 5 baby elephants on my parent’s farm. Each and every animal had their own space and bed. Since I lived on a farm, the elephants had their own cages, the dogs had their own dog houses, the cats lived in spaces in the barn, and the fishes lived in a huge tank in my room.

I touched the cage because I wanted the panda so badly. I smelled a juicy hot dog that a man was selling across the street. But I didn’t care because I wanted the baby panda because it was cute, and it looked chubby. I begged my mom.

“Can I get that panda bear? It is my last pet, I promise.”

So, then my mom finally said, “Okay, Lucas,” and even my dad, brother, and sister said ‘okay.’ I named my baby panda Tom.

My brother said, “Lucas, I love the panda bear. It is very cute and chubby.”

Two zoo keepers walked towards me and asked me what I wanted and I said, “I want  another panda bear!”

But it was $100.00, so I punched the sign saying that off the cage.

My mom yelled “No!” and my dad and brother this time said “No.” I told my brother a secret, but my mom and dad knew I told him a secret.

“Why don’t you like the panda bear? It looks cute and chubby,” I whispered.

But someone already bought it so than we left the zoo. I was so mad all the way home at the end of the car trip.

I went to my bed and slept for an hour. Then, my dad and my brother woke me up, and the baby panda bear was sitting on my lap. I named my second panda bear Bob. Now, I was happy and the happiest I had ever been in my life, and so was the panda bear.

The next day, I told all my friends at school. They were jealous because my friend Nicholas only has one panda bear. Now, there are no more pets in the zoo at all because they were all adopted, so the zoo closed. Now, there are no more animals in the whole world, except some in my house and in Nicholas’ house.

 

THE END

 

Silent Dance

   

Characters:

SHYLA, 13

JOYCE, 10

ROSA, 9

 

Setting: Dance studio

SHYLA points for JOYCE to go left and ROSA to go right.

JOYCE and ROSA do so.

SHYLA steps back, shakes her head, and walks over to ROSA.

ROSA looks scared.

SHYLA puts her hands on ROSA’s shoulders and walks her over to JOYCE.

SHYLA puts her hands on JOYCE’s shoulders and walks her over to where ROSA used to be standing.

SHYLA steps back and nods.

JOYCE and ROSA open their mouths, about to break into song.

SHYLA stomps her foot and forms a T with both hands, the Time Out sign.

JOYCE and ROSA close their mouths, looking scared.

SHYLA walks over to the wall to a calendar that has all of the days crossed out until Saturday, May 13.

SHYLA points at a circled date, May 27, that has “8-10-year-old Fairstein Dance Company performance” written on it.

SHYLA measures with her fingers the distance between May 13 and May 27 and looks angrily at JOYCE and ROSA.

JOYCE and ROSA, who have been watching her, nod.

SHYLA motions her hands for JOYCE and ROSA to begin dancing.

JOYCE and ROSA run towards each other and try to leap but fall into a pile on the floor.

SHYLA rolls her eyes and stomps offstage.

 

The End

Quest for the Leaf

Once there lived a beetle named Walter who was frustrated that he was ordinary. Every other beetle had different markings, like spots or stars, but all he had was plain, boring, white stripes. He wanted to make himself unique.

One afternoon, Walter was resting on a leaf in the thick shrubbery, watching the other beetles that were all better than him — more beautiful than him — go by, when he saw a glimmer in the distance, shimmering red. Curious, he peeked out beyond the leaves.

The glimmer was gone. He sighed.

“I guess no ordinary beetle like me will ever see anything exciting.”

He headed back to his leaf.

The next day, Walter saw a group of beetles, that he’d known for a long time, flying around and buzzing to each other. He flew over, expecting to be welcomed into the conversation.

When he came near the other beetles, he noticed that they flew away, ignoring him.

“Hey, it’s me, Walter. Remember?”

No reply came. Confused, he flew over to them, and before they could fly away again, he stopped them.

“We don’t want to hang out with boring, ugly beetles like you anymore,” one of them said.

The words hit him with the force of a brick wall. All he could do was hover in silence as his “friends” snickered and flew off.

With a heavy heart, Walter flew back to his leaf and decided he would never get off it again. He didn’t belong — all the other beetles were beautiful, and he was ugly!

His promise to himself was broken after a few days when he saw the glimmer again. Like a mystical force, it lured him off his leaf and into the sunshine. This time, the glimmer didn’t disappear. It seemed as if the shimmer was persisting, pulling him forward.

Dazed, Walter followed. Suddenly, he flew into a leaf and nearly fell off. He gripped the smooth, flat object with his legs and scrambled on.

Then he realized where he was.

He was in the human’s garden.

Every beetle, since they hatched from their egg, was taught to fear humans. Their folktales told of horrific things. Humans, ever since the beginning of time, had been tormenting beetles. They squashed them, stuck them with pins to be on display, and even roasted and ate them in some parts of the world.

Beetles in this area had been taught to never go near the garden, which was part of the nearest human’s territory. When Walter realized that he’d gone in, he gulped. How could he have let himself fly out of the shrubbery?

How could I let that stupid glimmer lead me to the human’s garden? He thought.

Then he saw it. A cool breeze blew the tree that Walter was resting on. There was a red flash, and a beautiful maple leaf fluttered down from above. It was perfectly shaped, and the edges of it were tinted orange. He stood there, dazed, and he forgot all about going into the human’s garden.

Determination filled his mind. He had to get the leaf to make himself better. He had to show the other beetles that he was just as beautiful as them.

Slowly and carefully, he crawled down the tree and reached his leg out to touch the leaf.

Suddenly, he heard a slam. He turned around quickly, just in time to see a human open the garden gate.

He stood there, unable to move, until he realized the danger that would befall him if he did not move away. Quickly, with a thudding heart, he flew back to a branch on the maple tree.

Phew, I’m safe. And then, as the human skipped over, he thought, Oh no — the maple leaf!

He nearly cried as the human bent down and picked up the leaf. It seemed to have as much admiration for the leaf as Walter did. But instead of using it to decorate itself, the human slipped the leaf into its pocket.

A sense of dread came over him. I’ll never be able to get the leaf back now… Unless…

Was he willing to take the risk of being killed for one leaf?

Without thinking, Walter flew into the human’s pocket, and again, felt the smoothness of the leaf. Walter grabbed the leaf in his pincers and pulled with all his might. Seeing the light coming in from the opening in the pocket, he beat his wings as hard as he could and flew to the light, but fell back when he heard a voice that belonged to a human.

“Isabella, it’s time for dinner!”

“I’ll be there in the second!” the human, Isabella, called back.

Oh, great! Walter knew that he was heading into the human’s territory. There was no escaping now, and if anyone found him, he would be killed.

Something big and warm reached into the pocket. It felt around for a second, nearly touching Walter. Then it grabbed the stem of the leaf and with almost no effort at all, took the leaf out. At the last second Walter grabbed on.

In that moment, Walter talked to himself. What are you doing? Do you want to get yourself killed?

Isabella moved, and for a second, he thought that she saw him. But Isabella was too rushed to notice a small beetle. She gently set the leaf down on the table and walked out of the room.

Walter was more relieved than he’d ever been when Isabella left the room. Now’s my chance to escape with the leaf, he thought.

He flew and crawled around the room for some time. Finally, he found a perfect escape path. The window above her bed was open a crack, just enough for Walter to crawl under with the leaf. Now the only problem was getting there.

Just crawling a few inches with the leaf tired Walter out, and flying was nearly impossible. Soon he felt just as helpless as he’d been in the tree, watching Isabella take the leaf.

The only thing that kept him moving was the thought of how the the other day his “friends” had said that they were done being friends with a boring, ugly beetle like him.

I have to do this, he thought, and dragged the leaf a couple more inches across the desk.  After using every bit of his might to drag the leaf to the edge of the desk, he heard the door knob turn.

Walter was sorry that he had to leave the leaf behind, but he had enough sense to fly to a corner of the room where the human would never find him.

Walter could see Isabella take what looked like big, colorful, human-shaped leaves and slipped into them. Then she spotted the leaf and asked herself, “How did that leaf get to the edge of my desk?” Then she saw that the window was open a crack and said, “Oh, it was just the wind.”

She let out a yawn and turned a white stick near the door down. The lights went off, and Walter couldn’t see anything. He would have to wait until tomorrow to get the leaf.

The next morning, Walter was awakened by the loud sound of a human’s voice. He looked up and saw that he was on the palm of a human hand. It took him a minute to realize what was going on — Isabella had found him. But he was shocked that the she hadn’t killed him already.

A cold feeling arose in his stomach. He closed his eyes and prepared to die, or worse.

Moments passed, and nothing happened. He saw that Isabella was moving him over to a clear box with dirt in it. Panicking, Walter flew away.

“Hey!” Isabella exclaimed.

But Walter couldn’t escape from the human. Quicker than a cheetah, she placed a cup on top of him and slid a paper board underneath the cup. With ease, she picked up the cup and again started to move toward the large glass box. Now all he could do was sit and wait.

The human came to the glass box and opened the lid. She dropped Walter, the cup, and the paper into it. The lid slammed shut.

This can’t be happening. Desperately, he flew around the box, looking for a hole or even a crack that he might be able to escape through. But no, there was no way to escape.

He didn’t even know what was going on, or what he should think. Why had Isabella put him in here? Should he feel grateful that she didn’t squash him, or angry that she had trapped him in this weird contraption?

The lid of the box screeched open, and for a second, Walter thought he could escape. But then the lid slammed shut again. Something drifted down from above. The leaf! It looked exactly the same, just as perfect as it had been before.

A loud, deep, slow voice vibrated the box.

“Eat the leaf,” the human seemed to bellow.

So this is what the human is doing to me? Making me eat that perfect, beautiful leaf? Walter backed away. No way was he going to eat it! He knew that it was the only thing that would make himself more beautiful.

Isabella’s face pressed against the side of the box. Her mouth turned down when she saw that Walter wasn’t eating the leaf. She looked unhappy, even worried.

“Maybe the leaf is too big,” The voice echoed again.

The lid screeched open again and Isabella reached in and took the leaf by its stem. She put it down by her desk on the side of the tank, and in front of Walter’s wide eyes, began to tear it into pieces. His heart shattered. How could that evil human destroy the only thing he wanted? How could it bear to destroy that beautiful leaf?

His life without the leaf flashed before his eyes. The other beetles snickered around him and called him ugly. He saw himself growing up all alone, nobody liking him. And then he saw himself slowly fade away as he died as an old beetle.

Walter trembled. He couldn’t live a life like that– he didn’t deserve to live a life like that. But nothing would ever change his life. He would just have to grit his teeth and live with it. His only thought now was to get back to the shrubbery. The leaf, his beautiful leaf, was gone, but at least he wouldn’t have to spend his life in a tiny box.

Somehow, he had to convince Isabella that he didn’t belong in the box. What did she think he was, a pet? He had to think of something. Obviously, he couldn’t just break through the wire mesh lid. He wasn’t that strong. Could he just try to annoy Isabella? No, there was no way she would be affected by him.

This wouldn’t do. Walter had to think of what he had, not what was out of his reach. So what was in the box? Dirt, leaves, twigs- Wait, maybe I could use something to break the wire mesh!

He grabbed the twig with his pincers and tried to punch a hole through the mesh. He couldn’t even make a dent. There had to be another way.

I have to trick Isabella. But how?  He racked his brain for ideas, but he couldn’t think of anything. I guess I’ll be stuck here forever, as an ugly, stupid beetle that nobody likes. But I’ll die if I’m stuck here forever!

In that moment of despair he thought of something. A common trick for beetles when they were facing predators was to pretend that they were dead. Most predators were birds, so he hadn’t thought of that earlier. Birds didn’t like eating beetles that looked as if they had been dead for a long time, so usually they left the beetles alone.

Maybe Isabella would feel the same, he thought. A burst of determination filled him. Despite the risk of being killed, he decided that he was going to do it.

As the minutes of anxiousness passed, Walter began to think about the terrible possibilities if the plan failed. Isabella could squash him, throw him in the huge, towering bin that unwanted things disappeared into, or even worse, pin him to a board for a display! But Isabella walked into the room, and there was no time to come up with another plan — he had to act!

As Isabella walked over to the box, Walter immediately flipped over on his back, closed his eyes, and made himself go limp. Fear of the plan going wrong nearly overcame him, but he forced himself to stay still.

He heard a loud gasp and the words that were music to his ears: “Eww, the beetle’s dead!” Isabella scooped him up in the cup and started to move. His heart dropped as they walked past the room with the bin. He could tell by the sizzling sounds of a human heating meat up or, as they called it, “cooking”. But Isabella walked right past it.

He felt victorious as the human opened the huge wooden block, he had learned the humans called “the door”, and walked into the cool air of the outside. He felt the cup drop to the ground, and the vibrations of Isabella’s footsteps getting weaker and weaker, until they were all gone.

He couldn’t believe how clever he was. Maybe he wasn’t so stupid and ugly after all. He actually had managed to escape from a human! Maybe it doesn’t matter how beautiful a beetle is on the outside — that doesn’t help with anything. Maybe I’m lucky. My beauty is on the inside, where I’m clever and compassionate. He couldn’t believe that he had risked his life just for a leaf to make himself more beautiful, when he was already beautiful in the way that mattered most. For a second, he thought of the other beetles taunting him, but he pushed that thought from his mind. As long as I like myself, I’ll be happy.

Filled with newfound confidence, he ventured home to the shrubbery, a place he knew he was never going to leave for anything again.

Soon, Walter’s life was almost back to normal again. He was back at the shrubbery, crawling and flying around leaves. Lots of leaves had already been half-eaten by other insects, and he was looking for fresh uneaten ones. Walter looked weary and tired. He hadn’t gotten any sleep when Isabella trapped him. And when he had gotten back to the shrubbery, the beetles had taunted him just as he expected. But he ignored them, and they left him alone. He’d finally gotten some peace and quiet. Then, as he gazed at the shimmering maple tree in the distance, it looked just as beautiful as it had been before. But Walter no longer wanted any of its leaves. He had realized that he already belonged.

 

The Kangaroo

Prologue

Hello, my name is John Scott. Today we will be filming and studying one of Australia’s most famous animals, the kangaroos, with world famous nature and animal researcher, Noah Norris.

We will also have an interview with Noah Norris in a segment we call, “Talking with the Nature’s Wildest.” But back to the search.

***

We’re traveling in a car… It’s extremely hot! As we pass some mildly wild koalas, we turn to Noah for information:

“Noah, what can you tell us about these koalas?”

“Well, John, these male koalas are all fighting on the ground to impress the female koala in the tree so one of them can be her mate.”

“Well, Noah, one seems to be ripping apart the two others. Do you think that he is going to win? You must see this all the time.”

“Yes, all the time. One thing for sure, John, is that only the most fit and the most cruel rule the animal kingdom.”

We travel to a waterhole to await the kangaroos…

“Near this waterhole is where we’re going to rest. Keep your eyes peeled for any magnificent kangaroos.”

Two kangaroos approach and scout for any predators. It is nighttime.

“John, John, JOHN!”

“What, what, wuuh?”

John awakens from sleep.

“Observe as two scouts from a troop of kangaroos scout the area for any sneaky predators that might jump or scare them while drinking water.”

“CRIKEY,” says one of the camera crew.

“Quiet down! You might scare one of the scouts.”

One of the scouts perk up its ears but doesn’t locate the crew. They go away.

The next day, the troop of kangaroos approach, but it does not look like they are okay. They are bruised and bloody.

“Noah, why are the kangaroos so hurt?”

“I don’t know, John. This is rare and different. Maybe a predator attack.”

“Noah, on those kangaroos, there are bruises and blood. It does not look like they got bit or scratched or shot by humans or predators.”

“This is so weird. Never in all of my years of study have I seen a troop of kangaroos that were hurt. Not with scratches, shots, or bites.”

The kangaroos hear a rustle in the bushes and scream out, “Get out of those bushes, mate! Our scouts have seen you. No need to hide any more.”

The crew comes out of the bushes and show themselves. Noah comes up to the kangaroo who called them and says, “WHAT? I didn’t know that kangaroos could talk!”

“Well, mate, the whole animal kingdom can talk depending on which country and which accent. We just don’t talk because we’re afraid of humans like you hunting us down to sell us to a circus and get paid some money. I heard that it can be very unpleasant. OH, and my name is Nick.”

“Why do you have bruises and blood?”

“I’ll tell you a story: Once upon a time, we kangaroos were all united to protect each other from you guys, but something terrible happened. One day, the northern kangaroos acquired a lollipop. They made it sacred, and protected it 24/7, but one day, it just simply disappeared!

The northern side declared war on the eastern, western, and southern sides. The northern side has already smashed and crushed the east and west. We have just lost a battle. I fear the worst if we lose this war. Humanity can come to an end!!!”

“I feel your pain. In World War II, a man called Hitler destroyed our forces, but with hope and help, we smashed him and won!”

“This Hitler character may not be as cruel as the leader, Bob!”

Weird and intense music and sound effects start to play.

“He is the one that started the massacre. The evil animal was ignored and hated by his parents. He learned to be tough. He said he looked up to Hitler. Now that you mention him, I heard Hitler was evil, so now I know why he is so cruel.”

“We have to stop him, and with your human technology, we can destroy Bob!”

They ride off to the east, where it is more comfortable and where the Bob is going to live. It is night, and it is nippy. They are at a valley.

“Got the eggs, TP, paintball guns, feathers, flour, goo and fake chickens, Noah.”

“Indubitably.”

“Just say yes.”

“Okay, you got your kangaroos ready to fight, Nick?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re ready.”

At night, our heroes spot Bob and his crew going to their new home.

Nick screams, “ATTACK!”

Kangaroos fight each other. Paintballs hit kangaroos. Fake chickens, TP, and eggs are being thrown.

“No, not pranks. Why can’t you play fairly?” Bob said. “All this over a sacred lollipop relic!!!”

Blood is on the ground…

“Nick, we can do this.”

He jumps on the battlefield with a sword.

“NO, NOAH. DON’T!!!”
Noah gets into a fight with a kangaroo while John, on a helicopter, films it all. Then Bob pushes away the other kangaroo and defeats/kills Noah. Nick sees Noah fall and starts to cry and scream, “NOOO, NOAH. WHYYYY!!!”

Nick, with all his power, smashes Bob’s face into a cactus. Bob does not move, and the northern kangaroos surrender and apologize for their behavior and give the east and west their lands back. All the kangaroos meet up and give the most memorable funeral with Nick, John, the crew, all the kangaroos, and people from all around the world. As a little boat with Noah on it sails away, they shoot a fiery arrow onto the boat.

Nick bursts in tears and whispers, “It didn’t have to end like this.”

P.S. Nick makes a united kangaroo democracy and becomes a fair leader all in name of Noah.

 

 The End

 

Sleeping Beauty (by the Evil Fairy)

Once upon a time, there were a king and a queen. The queen was about to have a daughter, the princess. After a while, they had an ugly, spoiled daughter. They decided to have a christening for the princess, hoping that the fairies could change her. Since they only had six gold plates, they only invited six fairies. Obviously, the court could have easily afforded to buy one more set of golden silverware and plates, for the seventh fairy, but the king and queen were too lazy.

After having a delicious dinner it was time for the princess to receive her gifts. The first fairy gave her beauty, so on the outside, she would be a beautiful maiden, but on the inside, she wouldn’t. Of course, the princess, being as horrible as she was, became super vain.

The second gift was wit. The princess misinterpreted it and became so witty, that she knew everything that was going on and if the maids were following her every order.

The third gift was grace, and it made her so dainty that she couldn’t do anything for herself.

Then she received dance. Being an amazing dancer, she could fool any prince to love her and then break his heart.

Then she got the gift of song. She was like the sirens and drew everyone in.

The last fairy gave her goodness, but she did the spell wrong, so the king and queen’s wish wasn’t fulfilled.

The seventh fairy felt horrible for being left out, but being the good fairy she was, she came to give the princess a gift. Since she more powerful than the sixth fairy, she thought she could do the trick to make the princess good.

When she entered, everyone looked at her in awe. She took long strides toward the crib. It rocked back and forth, lulling the baby to sleep. The princess looked beautiful, with one cute tuft of jet black hair. As she peeked over the crib, the baby opened her gray eyes and slapped the good fairy. Then she grabbed the wand from the fairy’s hand. She gripped the wand viciously and cursed herself. The spell she performed made her prick her finger at the age of 16 and fall asleep for 100 years. Of course, no one ever suspected the princess. They all blamed it on the fairy.

The king and queen were very worried about their daughter because of the curse. They sent their daughter to live with three fairy godmothers until a week after she was 16. They also collected all the spinning wheels in the kingdom and burned them until all that was left were ashes. That way, they destroyed the forest that the seventh fairy had created for them to apologize for bringing the wand and letting the princess get cursed. The poor fairy got so angry that it made her  bitter, angry, sad and lonely, and she became an evil fairy with horns, a scepter, and dark robes.

The young princess grew to be a beautiful girl, though she was the most spoiled brat that had ever existed. One day, she met a young prince riding through the woods. She tried to impress him, but the prince had been there at her christening and knew how spoiled she was. In the end, the princess, now named Briar Rose, was almost able to charm him, but he had to ride off to go hunting. That day, the princess was returned to the castle. She wandered around and explored all but one tower. She left that tower for the next day when her parents had to go to do some royal business.

The princess went up to the top of the tower, her dress draping behind her. Sitting in the circular room, there was a woman with a wooden spinning wheel. She motioned for Rose to try. When Rose tried, she pricked her finger and fell asleep. The whole court fell asleep with her, and when the king and queen entered, they also fell asleep.

You may have heard that the seventh fairy kept the prince away from the princess because she was jealous. Actually, the fairy did not let the prince reach the princess because that way, he didn’t have to suffer the fate of marrying the horrible princess. Sadly, she failed.

Of course, the prince didn’t want marry the princess anyway, so he died of depression, died some other way, or murdered himself. But, I know that you readers wouldn’t like that, so I will just say that “THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.”

(Even though I was hated for the rest of eternity.)

 

The End

 

Ninja Fight

Three hundred years ago, two ninjas got in a fight, one very dumb ninja and a smart and skilled ninja. The dumb ninja, who was named Mighty Sword, challenged the smart and skilled ninja, Legend Speed. The dumb ninja wanted to show Legend Speed that he was better. The dumb ninja thought that weapons were better than skill.

The skilled ninja was trained by the best ninja in the world, and the dumb ninja was trained by the richest and one of the worst ninjas in the world. Mighty Sword’s teacher was from an evil world. The evil teacher taught Mighty Sword an evil power. They were from the same village. The dumb ninja got his diamond sword and practiced his evil power, the power would turn the smart ninja into a frog. The smart ninja got his stone and iron sword. While the ninjas were walking to the arena, the villagers whispered to each other. Most of them thought the dumb ninja would win.

The two doors opened. Both ninjas entered the arena. They looked fiercely at each other. The referee blew the whistle, and the two ninjas charged at each other. Legend Speed obviously got there first and hit him on the arm. The dumb ninja twirled around.

After about three seconds, the dumb ninja stopped spinning and threw his sword at Legend Speed. Legend Speed did a backflip and dodged the sword. Legend Speed got the dumb ninja’s sword and threw it at the dumb ninja. Mighty Sword luckily caught the sword. Mighty Sword put the sword down and got ready to use his evil power.

After a few seconds, Mighty Sword shot a dark purple blast of evil electricity and turned the crowd into frogs so they couldn’t stop him. Then, he shot at Legend Speed, who walked away and then somehow teleported behind Mighty Sword and kicked him onto the arena wall. The reason Legend Speed has powers is because he has hidden powers.

Mighty Sword turned around and saw a fireball coming at his face. He saw the fireball and he jumped to the side. When he got up, he saw the edge of a sword right in front of him.

Mighty Sword slowly stood up and surrendered. Legend Speed told Mighty Sword to turn the crowd back to human. Mighty Sword turned the crowd back and turned himself into a mouse and ran away.

 

The End

 

The Ninth Tree

Bert the bee was a very happy bee. Most bees would always worry about the honey needing to be made, and the conditions of the queen bee. Bert decided there was more to life than that.

There was a huge yard, and there were nine trees. There were nine hives. Eight of the hives had about 30,000 bees. The ninth hive had only a hundred. The ninth hive held different types of bees than the ones that worshipped the queen. Those bees started a new civilization in the ninth tree. Most bees in the first tree followed all the others in worshipping the queen, but there were some, like Bert, who wanted to follow another path to the ninth tree.

Those other bees wouldn’t sting people for coming near the hive. They wanted to join the ninth tree civilization. There was one problem to get to the ninth tree though. Kira. A human guard. If a bee attempted to enter and join the ninth tree, they would be killed. Instantly. Somehow, the queen had a connection or a controlling device on Kira. Some bees figured that out and tried to help Kira. Basically the queen bee was getting control of Kira’s mind and controlling it in ways unknown to bee kind. The queen was too fat to move, so she needed someone else to take care of the bees escaping to the ninth tree

Bert had been coming up with a plan to not only save Kira, but to also escape and happily live in the ninth tree. The only way to shut down the queen bee’s abnormal device was to manually access it. Bert needed to face the queen bee and stop her in a bee-to-bee showdown. The problem with Bert’s plan was that he didn’t know how the queen bee’s mind control device worked. And he would have to take down the guards before getting to the actual queen. He would take down the guards with a distraction.

Currently, Bert was a respected bee and would be able to have a bit more luck getting to the guards. There were eight bee ranks: (1) Queen Bee (2) Guard Bee (3) Servant Bee (4) Respected Bee (5) Respected Bee helper (6) Male Worker Bee (7) Female Worker Bee (8) Cleaner Bee. The higher rank you were, the nicer your room was, and the more respected you were.

The way the other bees got to the ninth tree was by temporarily disabling the mind control device. Bert just had to access it. Bert knew that all bees were attracted to light. So he could use it to distract the five guards. He created a mini light source from gathering things around the hive.

He would use a couple of things around the tree, like some of the bark from the tree as a protection layer, and an electric wire, and honey. Bert found the wire near the bottom of the tree. The honey was a conductor, and the wire let the energy flow through to the cracked bulb he found in the storage room. Bert also knew the guards would try to attack if they figured out his plan.

Bert was very, very smart and had a defense mechanism. A bee taser. He used an extra piece of the electric wire and, after a while, managed to produce some volts. It didn’t need to charge because there was a separate tube for honey storage that self charged the taser.

In the most powerful taser, there were 50,000 volts. This would instantly knock out a human and disintegrate a bee. Now, Bert would never be able to get his little bee hands on 50,000 volts. But 10 volts would stun a bee. Bert needed to test it. And since Bert couldn’t tell ANYONE about this, he had to test it on himself. ZAP! Wow, that hurt. But he kept telling himself that it was for a good reason. The right reason.

Bert also believed that the queen bee had mind controlled some of the other bees to get them to do what she wanted. Bert also thought that the queen bee wasn’t really her massive size. Her size was just a protecting layer that could be taken, or forced, off. Here was Bert’s plan. First, head over towards the guards and try to use the mini flash light to attract the guards. Now, the only reason that would work was because it was very dark in the hive. Hopefully they would go over and stay attracted to it. If that didn’t work, then Bert would use his taser, which would be a surprise to the guards. Hopefully that wouldn’t happen though. Once Bert got past the guards, he would advance through the series of locked doors with electronic keypads. None of the bees should have any electric power, so they would have to manually open the door.

The main reason Bert made the taser was to fry the keypads so the door would open, but, if he had to, he could also use it for defense. Bert didn’t have the next part of the plan because he didn’t know what the queen would do. Bert had been in his room for more time than usual, working on his plan, but he didn’t want anyone getting suspicious, so he decided to go out of his room and talk with some of the other bees in the hive. He went over to his best friend, who was also Rank 4, a respected bee.

“Hey, Bert!” Ken said. (Ken was Bert’s friend.)

“What up, Ken! How’ve you been doin’?”

“Pretty good. I just finished my shift of serving food to the bees,” Ken stated.

“I got up bright and early for my shift, but now I have the rest of the day to myself!” Bert said with a smile.

“Bert, I’ve been wondering how the queen bee is controlling the worker bees,” Ken said, with a lowered voice. “Well, she has to, because none of them would actually do what she says because they all hate her.”

Bert was thinking about telling Ken about his plan, so maybe it wouldn’t be as hard.

“Ken, can we go up to your room for a minute?”

“Yeaaah… why?”

“You’ll see. Just hurry please.”

In Ken’s room, Bert revealed his plan.

“Okay, Ken, so I have been working on a plan to save Kira and take down the queen bee. Just let me finish, and I know it sounds crazy. But I have devised a plan, and some weapons, AND some distractions to get past the guards and face the queen bee.”

“Hold up, you know we all hate the queen bee, but do you really think you could pull off something that crazy?” Ken asked.

“Yes. Of course. Like I said, I have a plan I have been working on for months. Are you in or out?” Bert asked.

“Oh, fine, but hey, I need a weapon or someth-”

“I’ve got you covered, Ken. I made a backup sword. You can use it,” Bert interrupted. Ken slung it around his abdomen.

“I trust you, so let’s go.”

The two bees stealthily went down the long corridor towards the area of guards. They approached and were greeted by the guards.

“You shouldn’t be here, Bert. Ken. What do you need? And make it quick,” the first guard said.

Bert didn’t answer, but flicked his homemade flashlight on and threw it. The guards didn’t move.

“You guys don’t wanna go to the light?” Bert quizzingly asked.

“In our goggles, we have UV ray protection, so right now we see everything mostly blue. We aren’t attracted to that light because the goggles block it. Now why? Is that a distraction to stop the queen bee or what? Bert, we aren’t stupid,” the guard finished.

“Well, neither am I,” Bert said, advancing towards the guards.

“Bert, what do we do?!” Ken yelled.

“The backup plan,” Bert whispered back.

Five versus two wasn’t the best matchup, however, the guards had no weapons. Bert had his taser, and Ken had a sword. This evened the playing field. The two weapons were drawn out and held forward.

“Let us through. We won’t cause any commotion,” Bert bargained.

“No, can’t do that. FORWARD!” the main guard yelled.

Three guards advanced towards Bert and two towards Ken.

“You can do this, Ken!” Bert supported him.

Bert dodged a punch from one guard and electrified him to the floor. The other two faced Bert and one tackled him. The taser fell, and Bert was down.

“BERT!”

Ken tried to help, but his sword was used against him, and he got jabbed hard in the back. Ken fell. Bert struggled, pushing over the guard and punching him back to the ground, then giving him one last punch to keep him down. Two guards remained. One was the stronger, and the other was the weaker. Bert picked up the weaker guard, which took him by surprise, and flung him over his shoulder. Bert had been practicing to fight. The final guard stood tall, facing Bert.

“I took out your friend, and now you.”

Bert looked at the taser on the floor. The honey had spilled out so the power was gone. And the sword had snapped from being smashed too hard. Fist fight. Bert flew into the air and zipped towards the guard. At the last second, he hopped out of the way. Bert once again laid on the floor. The guard came over and took a big swing at Bert’s face. He rolled over just in time, so the guard yelped in pain. He hit the floor hard and fell over. Bert tossed him over to the side. None of the guards were dead, but Bert felt like he was after that battle. He sank to the floor in exhaustion. He had actually gotten by the first area. He felt pain and blood. He quickly took off his shirt and tightly wrapped it around the wound. Then Bert remembered Ken.

“Ken, no, no, are you good?” Bert pleaded.

“Bert, go… g-get past… the queen, finish… her. Bert, we need you…” Ken’s eyes closed, and his hand dropped.

“NOOOOOOOO!” Bert screamed.

He ran over to the guard he knocked out and found what he was looking for. The passkey. He could open the doors with it because he couldn’t fry the keypads now that the taser was broken. He was going to attack the queen bee for Ken. Then Bert realised something. There was a possibility he could still save Ken. He thought he could save Ken by using the power source of the mind control device.  It was only a matter of time. He threw Ken over his shoulder and ran towards the first door. As he raced through the hive, the queen figured out what was happening and told the guards. She expected only Bert to come and be knocked out by the five guards. But it happened the other way.

“Ah, Bert, I’ve been waiting. It’s about time. I believe you are after the power source to shut down my strength? Well, there is more to it than you think. This device, the mind control device, can give you powers. Or it could kill you if done incorrectly.”

“JUST LET THE HUMAN GO!” (Kira the human was being mind controlled by the Queen, and Bert wanted to let her go) Bert yelled, rushing at the Queen.

Before he could reach the queen, she exploded out of her armor. Bert was smashed back into the top of the wall. The queen zipped forwards to Bert and picked him up by his feet and held him up to the wall. Bert was right, she wasn’t actually her huge size.

“Bert, I AM THE HUMAN. I can be the queen bee AND Kira at the same time. You are finished Bert!” The queen bee yelled.

“No, I’m not,” Bert said confidently, surprising the queen.

Bert figured out that without the power source, the queen bee and Kira would both die. Bert needed a distraction to get the power source, though. Bert had no time, and he saw it in the corner. And he ran for it. The queen, still shocked, wasn’t fast enough to catch him. Bert rammed into the source which made the queen fly back. She lay there drained, but not dead. Bert then ran to Ken and tried to jump start him with what remained of the power source. But he was too slow, and Ken was gone. Bert couldn’t believe it. Ken was really gone.

***

Bert was in the first tree, the first hive. Bert was King Bee, in charge of all the others.  There had to be a leader, so Bert was there. Bert still had scars and marks from his battle with the queen bee. He thought about what he’d went through and all the hard times. The secrecy and pain. The queen was doing what she had to do and what needed to be done. Now, it was Bert who took her place. Bert looked out on all the bees and knew they needed a strong leader. It was his time.

 

Gem World

Once upon a time, there was another planet called Gem World. There were three cities: Sapphire City (the capital, where Chapter One takes place), Ruby City, and Heaven City.

 

Chapter One

In Sapphire City, there were only women, but they could still have babies. In the city, there was a mine called Saphria Mine. In Saphria Mine, you mined for sapphires. The sapphires weren’t out in the open, so you still had to mine for them. But the evil queen named Jewelia wanted all the sapphires for herself. If you mined a sapphire and kept it, then you would be killed. The Gem takers (a.k.a Jewelia’s guards) would come and personally take your sapphire. She locked away (in the same cell) her four other sisters: their names were Emerald, Opal, Amethyst, and Ruby. They had to get an emerald, opal, ruby, amethyst, and a sacred piece of sapphire that only the queen had. Once they hatched their plan, they sat there like nothing happened. Then the princess (named Delilah, the queen’s daughter) came in. She had the keys to their cell.

 “Come close,” she said, then whispered, “You know your plan, I will betray my mother and set you free. You must leave immediately.”

“Okay,” said the four sisters together.

Delilah whispered, “You know your strengths. Like Auntie Opal, you are powerful with opals.”

The four women left the castle and Delilah ran to her mother, “Oh Mother! Oh Mother! Someone has released the four girls! I was just going to give them dinner when I saw the cage was open!” She said.

Jewelia replied, “Send out the guards!”

 

Chapter Two

The four girls ran further and further away from the palace. Emerald stopped and panted.

“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go first to the Majesty Mountains, where we know the opals are, because that is Opal’s special place.”

Each one of them had been born in a different place, and that was the place they loved most. So it stood to reason that when the queen asked the magical gems to scatter themselves around Gem World, the gems had gone to their special places.

Opal knew where the Majesty Mountains were, so she led the trek. The trek lasted five days, but there was a boiling, hot, day-sun and freezing, cold, night-wind. Finally, they came to the Majesty Mountains.

“Wow,” Amethyst breathed.

And she was right. The Majesty Mountains were… well… majestic. They towered over the four girls like Queen Jewelia had always done. But instead of Queen Jewelia’s evil aura, these mountains, the snow caps purple and red with the setting sun, had a kind aura.

“I’ve got an idea of where my opal is,” Opal said. “The dragon, Flame, finds all the jewels in the Majesty Mountains and hides them in his lair. He won’t let anyone take them. But don’t worry, I’ve got my bow and arrow.”

“Are you crazy, Opal? It’s a dragon!” Ruby cried.

The others nodded.

“It’s our only chance,” Opal replied softly. “Do you want to overthrow Jewelia or not?” She led them into a dark, damp cave. Emerald lit a lantern.

“Um, guys?” she said, seeing the charred stone walls. “I think the dragon is over there.” As if on cue, the girls heard an earth-shattering roar! Flames shot out of the tunnel. The girls ran into the tunnel. Emerald’s lantern flickered out, and as their eyes adjusted to the darkness, the four girls began to make out a gigantic winged shape.

ROAR!”

The flame that the dragon shot out lit Emerald’s lantern again. They saw human skulls on the floor and jumped back in fright. Opal tried to shoot the dragon with her bow and arrow, but it just bounced off the tough, green scales. She had an idea. She ran towards the dragon.

“Opal, stop!” Amethyst called, but Opal was on a roll.

She aimed at the dragon’s unprotected eye and shot. A perfect shot. The dragon fell, howling in pain. Opal sprinted towards the dragon’s body, used the sharp tip of an arrow to rip the scales away from the dragon’s chest, and dug the arrow into the thrashing dragon’s heart. Flame fell, dead. The other girls ran to Opal. Opal saw four glowing gems.

“My opals!” she cried and grabbed the jewels.

The girls walked out of the cave, victorious.

“Next, we have to find my amethyst,” Amethyst said.

 

Chapter Three

The girls had travelled for about four hours until they reached a gemtroll bridge.

“Answer my riddle, and you may pass into the Quartz Forest,” the gemtroll grumbled in a gravelly voice.

Amethyst, the logical one, stepped forward.

“Bring it on, troll!”

“Many years ago, a wealthy man was near death. He wished to leave his fortune to the wisest of his children. The man proclaimed that his estate would be left to the child who would sing him half as many songs as days he had left to live. Both of the man’s sons said that they did not know how many days their father had left to live. The man ended up leaving the money to his daughter. What did she do?”

“Wow, troll, I didn’t think you could think up a riddle like that. But my answer is that the daughter sang to him every second day.”

“Curses! You may pass,” the troll said, with just a hint of admiration.

As Amethyst and her sisters trekked into the Quartz forest, she started hearing voices. The trees were made completely of quartz.

“Hey, Amethyst, did you know you’re only a variation of quartz? You’re not as important. Opal is the national stone of Australasia. Emeralds are much more valuable. And Ruby.. .well, she thinks you’re a joke.”

“Stop that!” Amethyst yelled.

“Ami, are you alright?” Ruby said in a soft voice.

“No. I’m. Not. I know you think I’m a joke. Don’t talk to me!”

“Ami, this forest is messing with you. Push it out of your head. Remember all the great times we had together? The real goal is defeating Jewelia.”

“Thanks, Ruby. I’m sorry for lashing out like that. Let’s find the amethysts!”

As the squad walked, they noticed that the air had a slight purple tinge. They followed the path, until they reached a grove. There was a slight depression in the ground. Emerald studied the ground.

“There seems to be a message here. It says, ‘Quartz Temple, 7:30pm!’ Apparently, Jewelia needs a reminder of where she put the jewels.”

They waited until 7:30. Suddenly, a loud rumbling noise commenced. A huge building came out of the ground. “Whoa!” they exclaimed together. Inside the temple, there was a maze. The four soon got lost, but Amethyst knew a trick.

“Put your hand on one wall, and keep going and keep going.”

Soon, they arrived in the center. There was nothing except for a scroll.

“How can I find the amethysts?” she wrote.

“You must find the key.” The words appeared on the scroll in deep purple ink. “To find the key, you must answer my question.”

“Another? Alright then,” Amethyst replied.

“I have a name, but it isn’t my name. My face shows signs of age. I always mean the same thing, no matter what I say. I’m born in the morning but last until the end of days. Men plant me, but I never grow. They run from me, but I never move. They look at me and see their future, rotting in the fields where I bloom. What am I?”

“Oh, this sounds hard, Ami,” Opal mused. “Do you think you can handle it?”

“Well, of course I can,” Amethyst replied softly.

“A tombstone,” she wrote.

The scroll disappeared, and the quill turned into a key.

“Over here, Ami. I see a chest!” Emerald cried.

Amethyst fit the key in. The chest popped open. Inside were four beautiful, purple amethysts.

“We did it!” they chorused.

“It’s time now to find the rubies!” Ruby said.

Amethyst smiled. She now had her confidence back.

 

Chapter Four

After they found the Amethysts, Ruby cried out, “Let’s go find the rubies! To the Ruby River!”

It was a very long journey down from the Quartz Forest. They had to pass five forests, day and night, before reaching the forest that hides Ruby River. Amethyst was so excited that she just ran in. But there was a force field around the forest that propelled them back. “Oh Amethyst,” Ruby laughed. “Of course there’s a riddle like everything else.” Ruby touched the force field with her hand. She went up, down, left, right, left, right.

Suddenly, the force field started talking and said, “I have a riddle for you. If you pass, you will make way to the Ruby River.”

“I’ll answer it,” said Ruby.

“Okay,” said the force field. “Here we go: a thief enters a shop and threatens the clerk, forcing him to open the safe. The clerk says, ‘The code for the safe is different every day, and if you hurt me, you’ll never get the code.’ But the thief manages to guess the code on his own. How did he do it?” The force field starts laughing, “No one has ever guessed this one.”

“Well, force field,” said Ruby. “It’s fairly simple. The code is ‘different.’ The clerk told him so!”

“No one has managed to answer this riddle, yet you are the smartest of them all! You have passed!”

The force field broke to reveal a path.

“Come on, guys!” shouted Ruby, “To the Ruby River!”

As they were walking, they heard a strange noise.

“What is that?” asked Emerald.

“Don’t worry,” replied Ruby. “It’s just the wind on the flowers. They make it scary to get people out.”

After a five minute walk, they made it to Ruby River! How are we going to find the rubies? Ruby dived, head first, into the river.

“Ruby!” said Opal.

But it was no use, Ruby was gone. Ruby was swimming down the river, when she saw a door. She touched the door and realized she had to answer another riddle. She took her finger and touched the door twice. The door opened to reveal a scroll and a quill. She went to the scroll, and the quill, and read the riddle. It said, “A woman is sitting in her hotel room when there is a knock at the door. She opens the door to see a man whom she has never seen before. He says, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I have made a mistake, I thought this was my room.’ He then goes down to the corridor and into the elevator. The woman goes back into her room and phones security. What made the woman so suspicious of the man?”

Ruby thought for a while. It did not take long for Ruby to figure out why.

“You don’t knock on your own hotel door, and the man did,” she replied.

After she wrote it, the scroll disappeared, the door shut, and rocks piled in from of the door, and four bright, red rubies flew down from the ceiling. She took them and tried to open the door. The door was locked! She looked around and found a knife and a box cutter. She took the box cutter, and a rock, and carved an arrowhead. She took the arrowhead and threw it at the door. The door opened, and she went through it. Holding out the rubies, she jumped out of the water and gave the rubies to each of them, and they inserted them in their crowns.

“Okay,” said Emerald. “Time to find the emeralds!”

“Wait, we still have to get out from the force field, so we will have to solve another riddle.” She tapped the force field as she did earlier.

It said, “A man wants to enter an exclusive club, but he doesn’t know the password. Another man walks to the door and the doorman says, ‘Twelve.’ The man says, ‘Six,’ and is let in. Another man walks up and the doorman says, ‘Six.’ The man says, ‘Three,’ and is let in. Thinking he had heard enough, he walks up to the door and the doorman says, ‘Ten.’ He says, ‘Five,’ and isn’t let in. What should he have said?”

Amethyst interrupted Ruby and said, “He said it correctly!”

Everyone but Ruby agreed.

“Fine,” said Opal. “Go solve it, Ruby.”

Ruby stepped up and said, “Three. He should have said how many letters were in the number he said.”

The force field opened, and Emerald stepped forward and said, “Come on! Let’s go find the emeralds!”

 

Chapter Five

Emerald was the type of girl who was kind and loving but was very, very sad. Emerald was always so sad because after her sisters decided on this quest, she knew where the Emeralds were, and she did not want to go back there. She wished that she could heal that sadness, but she never really knew how. Until she got the emeralds, the emeralds held the ancient power of healing the feelings of sadness. Emerald knew she had the most difficult quest of all. She had to get through the windy sand dunes. The windy sand dunes were the most windy place in all of Gem World. Anyone who dared enter the windy sand dunes would be blown away, except for them, the Gem Sisters (which is what Emerald and her sisters were called.) She had to get through the forcefield, and the riddle, and the sand, and wind itself. Then, the other riddle and forcefield to get back. This was horrible. Opal, Ruby, and Amethyst had already gotten their gems. She did not know if she was up for it. After so many hours of convincing, she finally agreed to go.

It took four whole weeks (aka, a month) when they finally got to the sand dunes. They got to the forcefield, and this was the riddle: What word has 26 letters, but only three syllables?

Emerald knew this answer by heart. She had been practicing it for days. Confidently, she replied, “The alphabet.”

The guardian, something much like a sphinx, angrily let them pass. The wind in the sand spread apart, making a clear path to the cave. Walking there took one hour. Inside, the biggest, ugliest, most horrifying (to anybody, in fact) mixture of a troll, giant, and an eagle appeared. It had a beak like an eagle, wings like an eagle, a face like a troll, and the size and feet of a giant. But Emerald had made friends with this giant.

Just as it was getting ready to give the most horrifying shrill, Emerald had said, “Quirky, Quirky! Remember me, I’m Emerald!”

The green aura of her hair shined. Quirky remembered and closed his mouth immediately.

Then, he replied, “Who are these girls?”

“My sisters! We were separated. Do you have gems? The ones I asked you to protect before I came to get them with three other girls?” asked Emerald.

“Yes, I have it, here you go,” replied Quirky.

The riddle on the way back was much, much easier: I’m tall when I’m young, and short when I’m old. Who am I?

“Oh, this one’s easy!” Emerald replied. “A candlestick,” she proudly announced.

“Darnit, you smart Emerald girl!” replied the Sphinx-like thing. T

hey made it back home in time to hide their jewels and crowns from the guards.

 

Chapter Six

Back home (in the jail cell), they had to hatch a new plan.

Jewelia said, “Ha! Ha! HA! You could never outsmart me, you four, puny, little sisters!”

“Hello?” Opal said bravely. “We just did.”

The girls took out their gems and showed them to Jewelia. Jewelia made a wild grab for them but missed. The gems were just out of Jewelia’s reach.

Cautiously, Ruby grabbed the gems and put them back in the girls’ crowns, so Jewelia couldn’t take them.

“I see that your idiotic little minds were ‘smart’ enough to steal the gems. But you still need the sacred sapphire if you want to overthrow me — and I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.”

Jewelia showed the girls one flash of the sapphire, then locked it back in its chest.

“If you want the sapphire, you have to go through the obstacle room in the palace. The chest with the sapphire will be on the other side. But I highly doubt that you will be smart enough to make it through the obstacle room.”

“I highly doubt that you’re right,” Emerald muttered under her breath. Then said louder, “Bring it on.”

Two Gem Takers took the four girls to the entrance of the obstacle room. The door was made of pure sapphire and rolled up when the smaller one of the Gem Takers used their fingerprints to unlock it.

“This obstacle course was made personally by the smartest inventor in the land,” the larger Gem Taker said.

“Since you’re not smart enough to make it yourselves!” Amethyst retorted.

“I don’t think you four girls are even smart enough to make it through the obstacle room, let alone create it,” the smaller one said.

“Oh, I disagree,” Ruby said. “You’ll see the level of our intelligence very soon.”

“If you girls are so great, then go.”

The larger Gem Taker pushed the girls into the obstacle room. Inside, they saw their mother’s ghost.

Emerald stepped forward.

“MOM!!!” She ran to hug the ghost. Unfortunately, she passed right through her.  A few giggled about that. But they knew how she felt. Emerald was always so emotional about their mother’s death. They all took turns talking with their mom. When it was time to leave, Emerald was crying. The rest of the sisters took turns comforting her.

When they got to a door, it spoke.

“You have passed the first challenge,” Jewelia’s voice said.

The sisters stepped over the threshold to find a lone mirror on the wall. Amethyst stepped forward. She saw herself as a slave in the house of her sisters. Ruby, Opal, and Emerald were commanding her to, “Solve this, solve that!” She knew she was less important. Does this mirror show the future? she thought. Amethyst stumbled backward, too afraid to tell her sisters.

Suddenly, Amethyst noticed that the mirror was made of quartz, just like in the forest. Now she knew what her weakness was. Quartz was poisoning her thoughts, all in the name of Jewelia. She fought back, going into the Pensieve of her mind, searching for good memories.

“Ami… the mirror is disappearing!” Opal cried.

“Good,” Amethyst said.

As the mirror melted away, overpowered by happiness, they could see a door.

“You have passed the second challenge,” Jewelia droned on, with an air of contempt.

Through the door, Opal could see a scroll unrolling on the wall. She rushed toward it. On the scroll, it was written:

Think before you speak,

Or else your future will be bleak.

This is for Opal to solve

And nobody else.

OR ELSE.

Opal sighed. She knew that she wasn’t good at thinking ahead. When she got an idea, she ran for it, not thinking about anything else. Sometimes that led to a fantastic stroke of luck, and a saving grace, but more often it led to a whole mess of trouble. But she knew that if she wanted to overthrow Jewelia, she had to solve the riddle.

“Show us the riddle,” Opal told the scroll.

What do you girls have

That Jewelia needs?

Opal had heard of this riddle before, except slightly changed: “What does a poor man have that a rich man needs, and you die if you eat it?” The answer was nothing.

Opal thought nothing of the difference, and was about to say, “Nothing,” but then thought of what the scroll had said before: “Think before you speak, or else your future will be bleak.” So she held her tongue and thought of what else the girls had and Jewelia needed.

She couldn’t think of anything else, until kind Emerald hugged her and whispered in her ear, “I know you can do it, Opallie. We all support you.”

Suddenly, it came to her.

“Love,” Opal said out loud. “Jewelia’s only daughter betrayed her, and her people hate her because she puts everyone over sixteen in the sapphire mines for no pay, and if you keep just one gem to yourself, you are killed. So she has no one to love her. But even though our mother died, and our sister hates us, we love each other. So we have love, and Jewelia has none.”

“This is a terrible obstacle course,” they heard Jewelia say. “Lying scroll. I have people to love me. But yes, you have passed the third challenge.”

Within seconds, a fourth and final door appeared. The girls took a deep breath, cautiously stepped forward, and opened it. Opal was the first to enter. She signaled for Amethyst, Ruby, and Emerald to follow.

“Come on, come on! There’s no obstacle in this room,” she exclaimed, motioning to the empty, black environment behind her. But, Opal had spoken too soon. The moment all four sisters followed Opal in, a rush of fog clouded the room, devouring them whole.

“Where am I? I can’t see anything,” Amethyst shouted.

“I’ve lost my sight!” cried Emerald.

While Amethyst, Emerald, and Opal blindly ran amiss, they were unable to hear Ruby’s quiet whimpering. Ruby had always been afraid of the unknown, wanting to be in constant control of her life. Not knowing where she was, or what her next steps were, frightened Ruby and froze her right in her tracks. Emerald was the first to hear her moans for help and quickly searched for Ruby’s hand.

She called out for her sisters, “Amethyst! Opal! Ruby needs our help!”

The girls stopped their frantic search for a door and walked towards their sister’s voice. Finally finding each other, the girls joined hands, comforting Ruby, and together walked forward. Suddenly, a flash of light illuminated a path and the girls immediately followed it. At the end of the path, a blue, sapphire door appeared with a hammer lying on the floor beneath it. Ruby, having gained back her courage, picked up the hammer. She broke four slivers out of the sapphire door and handed one to each of her sisters. They had finally achieved their mission, and defeated the evil Jewelia. Amethyst, Opal, Ruby and Emerald smiled at each other one last time.

 

Epilogue

Jewelia  was always teased at Royal School, and so, her anger was bolted up inside, and she took it out on her sisters. The sisters were quadruplets, so they had each other, but Jewelia  didn’t have anyone at all. Since her mom, the queen, was always so busy, she didn’t have anyone to go to and hug when she was sad. Once she was overthrown she realized her mistake and said, “Sorry everyone.”

Her sisters forgave her, and they all hugged it out in the sunset.

The End

 

The Book of Man Bun

       

Man Bun Goes to Hawaii

One day in Washington, D.C., Mr. Man Bun, the man with eight sideways (∞) money, wanted to spend money, so he thought I’ll go buy useless items. But he already did that, so he said, “I’ll go to a tourist trap.” But nope, he did that already too.

I’ll go to Hawaii, Man Bun thought, so he bought tickets, and bam, 5K gone. He wanted to waste more, so he got a massage. Not enough wasted. He got surf lessons, and everyone knows that surf lessons don’t help you learn. So now finally that he had lost enough money to be happy, so he went back home happily.

 

Man Bun Goes to Best Buy

One day in Washington, D.C., Man Bun wanted to play video games, but he only had the Nintendo Switch, the PS4, the Xbox One S, a Game Boy, a Game Boy Color, and the Nintendo 64 and every single game ever released on every one of those consoles. So Man Bun went to Best Buy, where he first bought the biggest flat screen TV on the market! Next he thought that was such a good dealonly five trillion dollars for one TV. Okay, now Man Bun bought every single game he already had, so he had two of each. Then he bought the whole store, and it took five years, but he owned Best Buy, so he went home and never ever played any video games even though he owned Best Buy.

 

Man Bun in London

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and wanted to spend money again. He thought and thought and found a place: London. So he went in a first class Fly Emirates jumbo jet and lost about 35,000 dollars. Next, he ordered a meet and greet with the Queen and tackled the Queen and took a Bobby’s laser gun and suit and blasted Big Ben, and next he blasted every pod in the London Eye then got tackled and fined ninety-nine trillion dollars. He then bought the Big Ben and the Eye and ordered them to be rebuilt.

 

Man Bun in New York

Man Bun was making profit in Washington with Best Buy, but he wanted to be seen. So he went to New York. First, he went to Times Square. He bought five of the screens and used them to put up pictures of his face, but it was not enough. So he went to the owner of a taxi company and offered 100 quadrillion dollars, and he bought twenty taxis.

 

Man Bun Saves Antarctica

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and wanted to spend money. For 20,000 dollars, he took a first class plane to Antarctica. On this plane, there was no menu. You could just tell them what you wanted and they’d make it.

“Could you make me a burger plain with five burgers in it?” Man Bun said.

“Okay,” the chef replied, and made him a burger.

In Antarctica, Man Bun saw the global warming problem. So he contacted all his friends that were scientists and hired about 20,000 more scientists (actually just random people hired and trained to be scientists). Then Man Bun told them to freeze all of Antarctica in one huge cooler, which would cost three million to make because of all the plastic.

Then he built a mountain out of ice and called it “Man Bun Mountain.” It was shaped like his head, Man Bun and all. Underneath Antarctica, Man Bun had an ice mansion built. It had 28,000 ice skating rinks and double the number of fridges (that’s 56,000 fridges). Afterward, he flew back home in the same plane, spending two million dollars along the way. But not before he bought eleventy-seven planes and filled them with polar bears and sent them to a giant replica of the North Pole (in a giant cooler). It was a polar bear wonderlandcopied and pasted from Antarctica. People loved the idea and started donating money to him, and he became even more rich!

 

Man Bun Goes to the Amazon

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and wanted to spend money. After thinking about Antarctica, Man Bun wanted to do more to save the environment, so he flew to the Amazon. He asked a tree if he could enter the Amazon. It said nothing. So Man Bun went in and immediately got attacked by a tiger, and then sued the tree because it didn’t protect him or warn him of tigers.

 

Man Bun Goes to Writopia Sleepaway Camp

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and wanted to spend money. It was the summer and he wasn’t doing anything, so he figured he’d go to a sleepaway camp. He had gone to Writopia last year. He remembered the picture on the wall of a bunch of people who had gone to the sleepaway camp. They looked happy, so he decided that he’d join them. He helped Writopia by buying them a bigger lake, more canoes, more cabins, and more counselors. People heard about these big improvements. It spread like crazy. Because he contributed so much, Man Bun became the owner of Writopia Sleepaway camp, and people saw this, and he earned large amounts of money because he was so successful.

 

Man Bun Goes to Vegas

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and wanted to spend money.

“What about the casinos out west?” a friend said to him.

He drove out there immediately. First, he tried the slot machines. He kept losing money. In two hours, he was down 10,000 dollars. Next, he almost lost two million, but somehow won the jackpot playing poker. The prize: “Two-thousand-million-trillion dollars!”

So Man Bun went up to the prize counter and said, “Give me my thousand million trillion dollars or I’ll blow up the casino with the laser I stole from the Bobby’s in chapter four.”

“We don’t actually have that money,” the clerk-lady said.

“Well, then I’ll do it.”

“Fine, we’ll give you the casino for free.”

So Man Bun then went home to tell his friend that he owned a casino. His friend asked, “What are you going to do with it?”

“I’m going to have Miley Cyrus destroy it with her wrecking ball.”

 

Man Bun Makes an App

Man Bun was bored one day and decided to make an app to give away money. Customers would buy the app for ninety-nine cents. They’d just press the amount of money they wanted (it would go up to two trillion), and the app would forward money to their credit card.

 

Man Bun vs. Bill Gates

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and wanted to meet another rich man and thought of Bill Gates, so he called Bill Gates on speed dial. They met up and Man Bun wanted to spend money so he said, “Money battlefirst one to run out of money loses.”

So Bill Gates bought a gold plane, boat, car, and train. Man Bun bought twenty billion planets, including one starthe Sun. Bill Gates bought a diamond planet. Man Bun bought twenty diamond planets. Bill Gates was out of money and that is why Bill Gates has no more money. Bill was like, “haaaaaaah.” Man Bun was fine.

 

Man Bun Goes to Paris

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and wanted to spend money, so he took a magic sub to Paris. First, he went to the secret room in the Eiffel Tower, next he got a billion croissants, next Arc de Triomphe, and last he went to the Louvre but that’s normal, so he parachuted from the room in the Eiffel Tower.

 

Route 66

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and was bored, so he took a road tripbut to where? Oh, a water park. He started the road trip and immediately got bored, so he played the license plate game. When he got there, he jumped into the pool with no bathing suit and no clothes so he was naked and fined lots of money. Next he went in the waterslide and did not let anyone through the end of the slide.

 

The Happiest Place on Earth

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and was bored, so he took his private jet to Disney World. Man Bun is afraid of roller coasters, so he wanted to overcome his fear and went on Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. He screamed and at the end of Space Mountain was pale, but he loved Thunder Mountain. It was relaxing because it was so black and he was now okay with roller coasters. To make himself feel better, he had to sing to himself a lullaby, “Hush little Man Bun, don’t you cry. Momma’s gonna buy you a hundred bucks.”

 

Man Bun: The Movie

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and wanted to spend money, so he took a train to Hollywood. In Hollywood, he went on the set of Percy Jackson to stand there and look at a set. Next, he watched Hamilton for 6000 dollars and later bought a mansion to do nothing with. Man Bun was still in Hollywood and decided to make a movie. It was going to be like La La Land, but about Man Bun’s life. It’d have two perspectives. It’d have Emma Watson, Skylar Astin, Daniel Radcliffe, Anna Kendrick, and Rebel Wilson. Daniel would play Man Bun. Skylar would play the Bobby from when Man Bun went to London and Man Bun’s friend. Anna would play a scientist from Antarctica. Rebel would play Bill Gates. With all the actors and props and shots, the movie cost twenty million to make. Man Bun made all his money back from the people who saw it in theatres, plus two trillion more!

 

Man Bun and the Final Frontier

Man Bun was in Washington, D.C. and wanted to waste money in a big way. To spaaace! So Man Bun got people to make him a rocket ship and it cost about twenty dodecahedrillion. Next he got in and went to space! He owned every star ever, so he was on his property when he got to Neptune. He took his Man Bun hair to protect him, and he liked it there. He stayed for many days watching The Martian and doing the same as Matt Damon. He ate potatoes, and on the last day, when he got in and went back home, he saw Earth destroyed and went back to start a new species on Neptune. The species had Man Buns and were resistant to the cold. They had eight sideways (∞) money and loved animals, and Man Bun was the leader and lived happily ever after.

 

King of the World

“Wake up, George. It’s your first day of school!” screamed George’s mom.

“But I don’t want to go to school. I’m too tired,” George moaned. “Wake me up later.”

“But you have to go to school, George! You can’t be late for your first day!” George’s mom yelled, “Now come down here and get ready!”

“Awww…” moaned George. “I don’t want to go to school.”

“You better come down here this instant!” yelled George’s mom. “Or else I’m going to come up there!”

“Do I have to?” George asked.

“Yes, you have to!” said George’s mom. “If you don’t get to school today, then you’re grounded, and you’ll have to do homework all day!”

So George stomped down the stairs and sat down for breakfast. By the time George was ready for school, it was almost nine.

“Come on!” said George’s mom. “You’re really late today! School started at eight. What are you doing?”

When George got to school, he saw something that he had never seen before. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. It was a girl. The most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. She had blonde, wavy hair and eyes that twinkled like the stars. She just walked past him.

“I’ve gotta get that girl!” George grunted.

Then, he had an idea. He snuck into the costume room and put on a cape and crown. When he was done, he stomped out of the room and walked to class.

“George!” yelled his teacher. “You’re one hour late! Get in your seat. And what are you wearing? Where’d you get that costume?”

“I don’t know,” said George.

“You missed five lessons, and it’s the first day of school. I thought you’d come earlier.”

George sat down and started doing his work, thinking about what he would do. When the school bell rang, he walked out of class. He was very tired of all of the planning of what he was going to do.

When he got home, his mom asked, “How was school?”

“Great,” moaned George.

“It doesn’t sound like it was very good,” said his mom. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” George moaned.

“Okay,” said George’s mom.

So, George walked up to his room and slammed the door and thought about what he would do.

“It’s time for dinner!” yelled George’s mom.

“Just a minute,” yelled George back.

“Okay,” said his mom.

When George got downstairs, dinner was ready.

His dad said, “How’s school, George?”

George moaned, “Awesome.”

“It doesn’t sound like it was good,” said George’s dad.

“That’s just what happened to me,” said George’s mom.

“What’s wrong?” asked George’s dad.

“Nothing,” whined George.

So, George stomped upstairs.

“George Matthew Parker,” yelled George’s mom. “Come down here this instant and finish your dinner!” 

“I don’t feel like eating,” said George.

“If you don’t eat dinner, then you don’t get dessert.”

“I don’t want dessert,” said George.

“But if you don’t eat dinner, then you don’t get to go to the movies tomorrow.”

“I don’t care,” said George.

“Okay,” said George’s mom.

The next morning, George got ready for school. It was much easier. When George got to school, the same thing happened, but this time, George thought maybe he could talk to this girl.

So, he walked up to the girl and said, “Hello, young lady. I’m king of the world.”

“What?” she said.

George repeated, “I said I’m the king of the world!”

“The king of the world isn’t real,” she said.

“The king of the world is real because I’m the king of the world!” repeated George.

“I already said that the king of the world isn’t real.”

“He is,” said George. “Because the king of the world is me.”

“There’s no king of the world,” said the girl.

Then George said, “Well, would you like to go, like, y’know, watch a movie on Friday with me, the king of the world?”

“Stop saying king of the world. And no, I’m not going to watch a movie with you,” yelled the girl.

And she walked away.

“Oh man,” said George, “I’ll never get that girl.”

As he walked to class, he thought of how happy he would be if he and the girl were together. So then he had an idea.

The next day, he dressed even more like a king. He even had a suit. And he had an even bigger crown. When he got to school he walked up to the girl and said, “Hello! I’m the king of the world!”

“Um, are you the same guy? Because the king of the world isn’t real. I already told you like ten times.”

“No, the king of the world is real,” said George.

“No, he’s not, and a kid can’t be the king of the world, and there’s also no queen of the world. I already told you there’s no king of the world! You’re so annoying!”

“Uh, yeah, there’s a king of the wooooorld,” said George.

“Oh yeah, I remember there’s a king of the world,” said the girl very sarcastically.

“Oh, I know that’s sarcasm,” said George. “But there is a king of the world. ‘Cause it’s me! Cause I’m king of the world. Cause whoever says, I’m the king of the world is the king of the world. Like this: I’m the king of the world!”

“Seriously, get away from me, and don’t talk to me again. You’re annoying me with that king of the world thing. Stop it. I’m never going to like you.”

That girl is never going to be mine, even though I’m the king of the woooorld! Maybe if I don’t tell her I’m the king of the world, I can tell my friends. So he told his friends, and they agreed that he could be the king of the world, so he was happy for about two months. On the third month, he walked up to the girl and said, “Hey, wanna hang out with me?”

And she said, “Hey, what’s your name?”

So, George had to think of another name.

He said, “Uhhhhhhhhhh, Jake. You can call me Jack if you want to.”

“Okay,” said the girl. “I’ll meet you there at eight.”

“Okay,” said George.

So the girl left.

“Yesss,” said George.

And he walked home happily, and he thought about how fun it was going to be. The next morning, George woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and went to school.

“George, you seem very happy today,” said George’s mom.

“I am,” said George, “I’m gonna have the best day of my life.”

“That’s great,” said George’s mom.

So George walked to school, and when he got to school, he saw the girl and said, “Oh, hey, are you ready for the movie tonight?”

“Uuuhh,” said the girl. “I don’t think I can make it to the movies because Greg asked me if I could go out with him tonight. I’m sorry.”

When George got to class, he looked at Greg in a very mean way. When he got home from school, he was very upset, and he went straight to bed.

“George, honey, come down and eat.” George’s mom said.

“No, I’m not that hungry.” George grumbled.

“Come on, you haven’t eaten in four months.” George’s mom said.

The next morning, George asked,  “Can I have some food? I just feel a little hungry because I haven’t eaten in awhile.”

“Suuuure!” said his mom.

Then, George walked to school, and asked the girl, “Do you want to go out with me?”

“Sure,” said the girl. “But I’ll ask Greg if he’s okay with it.”

So, the girl walked up to Greg and said, “Sorry I can’t go out tonight. George asked me out tonight, and I said yes.”

“No! I asked first. You have to go on a date with me!”

Greg was furious because the girl couldn’t go out with him, so he decided to go with them and make it the worst day of their lives. When they got to the movies, Greg was still behind them.

“Greg, I really think you should leave, so we can have our date.” said the girl.

“No no no. Your date will be so much better with me in it.” Greg said.

“No, I really think you should leave.” said George.

“Ohhhh, really? George, I know your secret, though. You’re the guy that screamed ‘I’m king of the world!!’” Greg snapped.

“Really?” said the girl. “You’re the guy who said I’m King of the World? You’re George. You lied to me.”

And then the girl walked away.

“Wait!” said George. “I’m sorry! I just wanted you to like me.”

“Too bad,” said the girl.

“Ha ha,” said Greg.

The next day, George walked up to the girl and said, “Sorry about last night.”

“It’s fine,” said the girl. “Greg was just an idiot last night. He did ruin our night. So wanna go out for a movie tonight?”

“Sure!” said George.

Greg was furious when he found out that the girl was on a date with him.

The girl said, “My name is Alice, just so you know.”

“Oh okay,” said George. “That’s a pretty name.”

And then they walked home happily.

 

THE END

 

Too Much Missing

Chapter One: Kayak Trip

It was the kayaking trip that ruined everything.

It had started out fine — together me and my best friend, June, eased into our life jackets, splashing each other playfully.

After everyone in our group was settled and ready, our counselor, Kirstin, led us to the icy water. Even though it was summer, the water was still cold, because Maine, where this camp was located, had a very cold spring, and the lake was just starting to melt.

I dipped my fingers in the lake and quickly yanked them out again, my fingers feeling frozen.

Kirstin laughed, “Don’t want to fall in!”

June, two other girls I hardly knew, and I piled into one kayak, and the others kids clambered into theirs. Kirstin pushed the six kayaks off the sandy shore, and I smiled as we glided into the water. I tried to make eye contact with June, but my friend looked away, wiping her cheeks. Something was off about her, but I couldn’t figure out what.

So why was I so scared? Why were my hands sweaty and my heart pounding inside my ribcage? Why did it seem like my stomach was having a butterfly fiesta in there?

June and I had signed up together for Camp Skyglow, the four-week sleepaway camp, and we were going to stay together, as a team.

So why was I worried?

A lot of times, when June was with me, it seemed like she didn’t want to be. She was distant, like her body was here, but her mind was a million miles away.

We were both eleven years old, and I was practically a mirror of her with the same shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

I looked over at June and saw she was happily chatting with those two girls, entirely oblivious to my silence.

“The skirt… yeah… I asked… and she said no…”

“My mom… yeah. So I was like… c’mon..and she was like… no you already have a million skirts… she turned… I stole a couple bucks from her purse…”

“You… jeez… did she get mad… my mom… have…”

They kept babbling on, but I had tuned them out. Skirts and makeovers and all that were no interest to me. I kept my mind hungry with sports, and schoolwork, and poetry sparks that I wanted to write.

June and I had very different interests in life. Yet, for more than six years, we had been closer than close.

Now… I’m not so sure.

Playfully, I scooped my paddle into the water and splashed a little water on June to get her to laugh and, maybe, to notice that I was still there on the kayak with them.

June whirled around, her eyes ablaze. “Just leave me alone, Adeline! Do I have to be with you every second?! I have a life too, you know!”

I nervously leaned back, as if an invisible hand had pushed me. June had never gotten mad at me before — not like this. Before camp, we’d always hung out, and it was really fun and relaxed. Now it seemed like I was trying to have fun and not succeeding. I felt like I had to earn her laughter and her trust all over again. Now it was the middle of camp, and June was basically pretending I wasn’t there.

She ignored me in our bunk room, and in the Mess Hall, she pretended I was gone. I had tried once more on the kayaking trip, but this was the result. I hated myself for not knowing how to fix it, and I hated June for acting like this.

“Sorry.” I said softly, tears pooling into my eyes. June rolled her eyes and turned back to the other two girls and resumed her babbling.

I turned away from the girls so they wouldn’t see the tears begin to stream down my face.

 

Chapter Two: Coral

As we paddled back to shore, my heart felt like it would drop to my feet. Every couple seconds, I would look at June, hoping to catch her eye and give her a small smile. No such luck. When she talked to those girls, it was like she was in a private nebula tuning out any background noise and, in this setting, me.

Once we got to shore, I climbed quickly out so I could try to sort out the screaming thoughts that whipped around my head like a blender set on full-speed.

Kirstin smiled at me. “You okay, Adeline?” she asked.“Did anything happen on the kayak?”

“No.” I forced a smile that felt like it would run off my face at any second. “I had fun. Promise.”

“You look like you’ve been crying…” Kirstin’s voice trailed off.

“It’s just my seasonal allergies,” I said, my voice cracking, “You know, summer and all.”

Kirstin touched my shoulder. “I think we should talk about thi-”

Before she could finish, I yanked myself out of her grip and started to run to my bunk. Without turning around, I could see everyone’s eyes lasering in on me, probably asking  themselves, Does that freak girl have mental issues?

I practically heard June say, “Immature.”

But I wasn’t trying to be. I wasn’t trying to get all the attention. I wasn’t trying to be a spoiled brat. I wasn’t trying to be dramatic. I just missed June so, so much.

Running always helps me cool down when I’m mad or figuring out how to calm my anger, especially when it’s hot like today with June.

But today, it didn’t help. I choked up on my tears, and a cramp jabbed me in the side. My head throbbed, and my legs felt like noodles.

I suddenly wished my older brother was here with me. He’d calm me down, guide me to breathe deeply, and help me sort out my feelings. But he wasn’t here, and I was alone, and no one was on my side, and everyone was on June’s.

It was unfair. Full of sadness, anger, and who knows what, I opened the door and stepped in. I closed the door, and sank down to the floor, relieved to be alone and able to turn my thoughts over on my own.

Just then, I saw a head poke out of a bed. So much for that. I quietly crept up the ladder, hoping she didn’t see me, and I fiddled with my thoughts alone.

I climbed up to the top bunk that I shared with June. I laid down silently on the pillow and closed my eyes. Gee… that felt good.

“You’re here?” A voice came from below. Uggghhhh. I just wanted time alone. Today was like watching a line of dominoes fall. First, June ignored me in the Mess Hall, then June snapped at me in the kayak and now, right when I wanted to be alone, a girl who might be the biggest chatterbox in the world, wanted to talk. Amazing.

I didn’t answer, hoping the girl would get the hint and shut up. No such luck.

“I know you’re awake,” the girl said, her head poking above the railing. She was standing on the lower bunk, her hands on the railing.

I fought the urge to scream at her, but then I didn’t because I knew it would hurt the girl’s feelings just as much as June had hurt mine.

I sighed. “I am trying to rest, okay? Please leave me alone.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be at kayaking?” The girl rose her eyebrows like I was in court, and she was the judge.

“No. Aren’t you supposed to be at an activity?” I gently nudged her off the bottom bunk, and the girl slid down to the floor.

“I left the camp,” the girl stated.

“Huh?” I wanted to ignore her, but curiosity took over.

“I left the camp. I quit. I would’ve gone home, but my parents are on a trip in Alaska and I have to stay here. But I quit.”

“So what do you do every day? Sleep?”

“Of course not. I write in my journal.” The girl acted like that was the most obvious answer in the world. Maybe I should have known that, but my mind was full of sadness, and it was hard to think straight.

“About what?” I asked. “Your family?”

“Of course not. My family is so boring.”

“So what do you write about?” I asked, climbing down from my bunk.

“Cool facts. You know, about the world, and the atmosphere we live in.” The girl smiled.

“Can I read it?” I asked, forgetting about June for a moment. She seemed very smart.

“Yeah, sure.” The girl fished around a blue and gold duffel bag and then produced a red notebook with white lining. She handed it to me.

“Thanks.”

“I hope you like it.” The girl twisted her shirt in her fingers.

“Bet I will.” I said, opening it.

“Wait!” The girl put her hand up “Before you start to read it, and if we’re going to be friends, I need to know your name.”

All at once I had a flash of memories before my eyes. June and I were friends for so long, and then suddenly not. Her hanging out with others was the pain I felt when I saw that. But I loved June so much that I wouldn’t give up on our friendship yet. Our bond was so strong it should be able to push past this. I felt the lense of heat and anger behind my eyes again, and I narrowed my eyes.

“We are not friends,” I said, in the iciest voice I could manage. I thrust her journal at her chest. “I don’t need your stupid journal, either!” I snapped coldly. “Only nerds write about stuff like that!”

I stormed out as the girl called out, “My name is Coral, by the way!”

 

Chapter Three: A Nasty Prank

I didn’t know how bad this friendship problem was until June did a nasty prank when I was sleeping. When I woke up, I didn’t see anything.

But when I went to comb my hair in the mirror, I saw it was dyed.

“Ahhh!” I yelled, my fingers grazing my sticky, red hair. I screamed and ran to the bathroom. It wasn’t all colored, but I didn’t have my brown, silky hair. Instead, I had hair sprayed an ugly red. I looked like a cherry head. I sucked in a deep breath, forcing myself to be calm.

I didn’t know what to do, so I headed over to Coral’s bunk, leaned over, and shook her body

“Wake up, Coral! Wake up!”

Coral opened one eye. “Go away, I’m tryi — ahh!” Coral sat up so fast that I thought she was sitting on a hot pan.

“Your hair!” Coral gasped.

“I know,” I whined “Does it look that bad?”

“Yup.” Coral replied honestly, as she climbed out of bed. She added hastily, “But I think we can fix it!”

“Who do you think did it?” I asked. “I want revenge!”

Coral was thinking a bit more logically. “Well… to dye your hair, they’d have to have a crayon sort of dye. So maybe we should look for a dye packet or something and, whoever it’s closest to, we could add as a suspicion.” Coral headed to her golden blue duffel and pulled out her notebook.

“What do you need that for?” I asked.

“To write down suspicions and narrow it down until we find the victim.”

“That’s a good idea. You’re a good detective.” I said, trying to make up for the unkindness I had acted toward her yesterday.

If she remembered, she decided to ignore it. “Thanks. My dad is Sherlock Holmes. It runs in the family.”

I laughed for maybe the first time in days. “You’re really funny.”

“Oh, forgot to tell you, my uncle is Adam Sandler. It’s in my genes.” Coral said, with no hint of a smile. I grinned.

Coral opened her journal, flipped to the first open page, took a pencil from the spiral bound wire, and wrote at the top: SUSPICIONS For The Hair dyEing cULPRIT?

Coral and I scanned the room, looking for red hair dye packets. After a few minutes, Coral stopped short. “Adeline! Look! A red packet!” She pointed her finger toward June’s bunk. I followed her gaze and, sure enough, a ripped open red packet, stuck out of the blue and white starred sleeping bag.

I sucked in a breath and raced over to June’s bed. I slapped June hard on the back, and her eyes immediately opened.

She burst out laughing. “Your hair!”

My face was contorted with fury. “I can’t believe you did it!”

“Well… duh! You are so annoying and mean!” June rolled her eyes. I was still stunned that the same girl who was my best friend just three weeks ago could now be my worst enemy.

Coral stormed up to June. “You’re the mean one!” she yelled.

June smirked. “I beg your pardon, Squeaky. I can’t hear your pathetic voice.”

Coral looked at me “Were you seriously friends with this girl?”

I nodded weakly.

“Geez, you’ve got bad taste. She is such a jerk!” Coral said loudly. June didn’t reply.

I stared coldly at June. “She wasn’t a jerk three weeks ago. But Coral, I agree, now she is.”

“I’m not being a jerk!” June protested. “I was just hanging out with new friends!”

“Puh. Excuses, excuses. Only pathetic people make those.” Coral sounded amused.

I climbed up on my bed and that’s when I saw a piece of green paper poking out of my pillow. I picked it up and read it:

Get the hint.

We are not friends.   

                        -June

I sighed and handed the note down to Coral. She read it, paused, then stared icily at June.

“Where’s the trash can?” She asked.

I laid back and smiled slightly.

“You’re looking right at it.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw June flinch. That felt good.

“I’m gonna go see Skye,” June said, backing away. “Adios, dorks.” June walked out the door then turned. “Wait… you won’t tell a counselor, right?”

Coral looked smug. “Try me.”

“Please?” June looked desperate.

“Nope.”

“Adeline?” June asked hopefully.

“Fine.”

“Thank — ” June began.

“Bye,” I said, pointing to the door and June hurried out.

“She wishes,” I said. Coral and I exploded into giggles.

“Now, let’s get down to business.” Coral clapped her hands “Let’s wash that ugly red out of your hair. June has a really bad taste of color.”

“No kidding,” I said. We walked to the sink, and turned on the faucet, and I dipped my head under the cool stream of water.

“Is it coming off?” I asked.

“Hardly,” Coral said, her fingers pressing against my sticky, strands of hair. Her voice grew urgent. “It’s not coming… never mind! It’s rubbing off. Slowly, but it is!”

I breathed a sigh of relief. A question nagged at me: Would June be cruel enough to use permanent dye? And did June know she would do this prank before she came to camp, because who would give her the dye?

Before I left for Maine, Dad said this camp would be awesome. So far, I couldn’t really describe Camp Skyglow as awesome, but meeting Coral was definitely a plus. I smiled to myself. I had certainly learned a lot about June and myself, and I had made a friend along the way.

Maybe I just had to take the good with the bad and be okay with that.

And as I thought about Coral, and the fun activities I loved, and all I learned about myself, it was.

 

Chapter Four: Campfire Night

As I walked up to the campfire, I overheard June talking to one of the kayaking girls that I think was named Skye.

I stopped to listen. I didn’t feel bad about it; June would have done the same thing to me.

“I can’t believe Adeline is so annoying. And babyish,” I heard a voice say.

A lump formed in my throat as I hoped beyond hope that was what Skye said, not June. But no.

“I can’t believe you were ever friends. She is so weird,” Skye said, her voice full of disgust. I sucked in my breath, trying to channel my anger and sadness.

“I know. I don’t know how I ever could be friends with her in the first place. She’s so clingy and strange.” June’s voice. They kept talking, but my mind was stuck on those words just spoken from June’s mouth.

I don’t know how I could ever be friends her in the first place. She’s so clingy and strange.

The words echoed in my ears over and over like I was in a tunnel and couldn’t get out.

After the Camp Skyglow chant, we had to play a game called Two Truths and a Lie. As I sat down on the stone hedge around the fire, I rested my hand on the spot next to me to save it for Coral.

As Coral passed by, I tugged her hand.

“Here,” I said, forcing a smile. “I saved you a spot.”

Coral smiled so big that I thought her face would burst. “Thanks.”

“I should be thanking you,” I told her. “You really helped me with the prank drama.”

“I’m sorry about what’s happening to you and your friend.” Coral’s voice was soft.

“I can’t believe she did that prank.” I paused. “Well, actually I can. She’s been a real jerk, lately.”

“Oh.” Coral seemed at a loss for words.

I looked at her and gave her a hug. “You’re a better friend then June will ever be. I’m glad you didn’t leave; I needed you.”

Kirstin came over and sat down next to me. “Can I sit with you?”  

I shrugged. “Sure”

Another counselor, Michael, clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Now we’ll play Two Truths and a Lie. Everyone knows how to play, right?” Everyone nodded.

Michael smiled. “Who would like to start?”

I had an idea. I shot my hand up with many others, but Michael spotted me first. “How about you start, Adeline?”

I didn’t even need to think about mine. “Number one… June Windstyle is a jerk and she is such a traitor.” I snuck a look at June. Her mouth was open wide, and her eyes were pleading. Perfect. Who cares if I’m being mean? She did the exact same thing to me. “Number two… she is scared of the dark and has to sleep with a night light which is so babyish…” People laughed. I was enjoying this. “And number three… she — ”

“Adeline!!!” Kirstin cut in sharply “That is inappropriate camp behavior. What has gotten into you?”

I shrugged.

“If you and June are in an argument, you can privately talk about it later. Not at a campfire game. Apologize to June right now.” Kirstin’s voice was stern.

Mine was colder. “I’m not sorry.”

The campers all sucked in their breaths. I was going to get it now. I tried to hide my fear of what would happen, but I was really scared.

“Okay, enough with the attitude! Let’s go to the office,” Michael said.

I didn’t move. I couldn’t move. I was frozen in my spot.

“C’mon,” Kirstin urged. “All behavior has its consequences. Now go follow Michael.”

“No, don’t make her go!” A voice called out. Confused, I spun around. At first, I thought it was Coral. But… no. I knew that voice way too well.

“June?” I looked at her through the flames, and she smiled sheepishly at me.

“She has to leave, June,” Michael said.

“She has very unkind behavior that is not acceptable at this camp.” Kirstin added.

I was the one with unkind behavior!” June cut in. “It’s not her fault; it’s mine!”

I was shocked. Was this the same June who had ignored me constantly, who had snapped at me many times, who had played a nasty trick on me? This same June was trying stand up to me. Was this the same June who had done all those things?

“June…” I started, but I didn’t know what to say so I didn’t finish.

“I was being so mean to her at the kayaking trip — ” June began to say but was interrupted by Kirstin. “Campers, keep on playing. June, Adeline, come with me.” As June and I walked away with the counselor, I cast a look at Coral. She gave me a thumbs up and I smiled back at her.

Kirstin walked further from the campfire area, then knelt down and gazed into me and June’s eyes. “What is up with you two? I thought you two were friends.”

“We used to be,” I said, looking icily into June’s eyes. She looked away.

“What’s changed?” Kirstin asked quietly.

“Let’s see,” I said sarcastically. “Nothing much, only June has now officially blocked me out of her life.” I shrugged.

“That’s not true.” June spoke up.

“Oh, yeah?” I challenged “Can you explain the kayaking trip, or the Mess Hall, or the prank?!”

“What prank?” Kirstin asked, her eyes narrowing.

“I think June should explain.” I crossed my arms and glared at her.

June didn’t reply, just kept staring at the same spot on the ground.

“June, what prank?” Kirstin’s voice got louder.

June still didn’t answer.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Oh, for heaven sake, we don’t have all day! Kirstin, June dyed my hair. When I was asleep. In the middle of the night. With a red dye packet.”

Kirstin was stunned. “June? You seriously did that?”

June nodded meekly.

“A punishment is going to be needed. Maybe even you leaving the camp.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” I said loudly. “June, all behavior has it’s consequences.”

“Are you and Coral friends?” June asked.

“Yeah.” I paused “So?”

“Just asking.” June shifted uncomfortably.

“I’ll leave,” Kirstin stood up. “You two talk.”

“Why do you hate me?” June asked, once Kirstin and walked away.

“Huh?” I was confused.

“I overheard you speaking with Coral about me.”

“I overheard you speaking with Skye about me,” I shot back.

“Sorry,” June said. I didn’t reply.

June continued “I thought that when you spoke with Coral, you were saying mean things about me, and I kind of flared. I was actually going to use the red hair dye for me, but when I heard you and Coral talking, I used it for you instead.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Really.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, I wasn’t sure what to say. There was an awkward silence, but then I thought of something.

“Wait, but even before I met Coral, you were mad at me in the kayak.” I said “How come?”

“I was homesick and — ”

“Wait, what?” I was surprised. “You never get homesick.”

“Well, I did. I was homesick and I missed my family, and then in the morning that day, I got a letter from my mom, and she said that Jack had gotten severely hurt.”

“Wait, what? How? Is he okay?” I was shocked, then scared. Her thirteen-year-old brother was awesome. I had been to her house enough times to know it. He was fun to play with and laughed a lot. He was pretty much the dream sibling. Him and June were closer than close. I knew it must have been a big blow to June and her parents.

June sniffled. “He was riding his bike with a friend, and a big truck turned, and he didn’t see it, and it hit him. His friend didn’t get hurt, but he did and now he’s in the hospital and I don’t know if he’s okay… ” June’s face crumpled, and tears started to stream down her face. I wanted to hug her, but I wasn’t sure how and I knew it would be awkward, so I just patted her on the back.

June wiped her eyes. “I wrote six letters back asking if he was okay, but she hasn’t responded. And when we went to the kayak, I wanted to be alone, but then when Skye and Annabelle started talking to me, I thought it would take my mind off of things, but it didn’t. I’m really sorry and please forgive me.”

“I want to forgive you, June,” I said. “I really do. But why didn’t you tell about your brother before so I’d know why you were being all mean and cold toward me?”

“I was just really sad.”

“We can be friends, but maybe not close, okay? We are friends, but not like before. I think our relationship has changed.”

“Okay,” June nodded, her face hopeful. I could tell June was thinking we would just patch up this fight and move on. I wish I could tell her it wouldn’t happen, but I didn’t want to push it.

June stuck out her hand “Friends?”

I nodded and shook it. “Friends.” We both knew that neither of us was ready for a hug.

It will never be like before, I thought, a bit wistful.

We glanced at each other for a long moment, and then, together, we headed to the fire.

 

Georgia’s Big Day

Once there was a girl named Georgia. She was twelve years old and had a dog named Snowball. She also had a little sister, who was nine, named Lia. Georgia’s dad was the mayor of Washington D.C., and her mom was the president of the United States. They lived in the White House together. Everyday, her dad and mom spoiled her with jewelry and taught her to be very ladylike. Her mother spent all her time on Georgia, teaching her ladylike manners.

“Georgia, you shouldn’t be spending all your time just exploring in the wild! Just for that, I’ve asked Miss Divine to come over and teach you tea party manners! We’re going to a fancy party tonight, and you have to know all your tea party manners, and other manners as well.”

“But, Mom, I don’t want to go to a party tonight! I’m not ready to learn all these dumb manners!”

“Well, young lady! Don’t talk to me like this! Where are your manners? There will be some major consequences to this! You know what, go into your room right now and start thinking how you’re going to act at the party tonight. And pick your party clothes while you’re at it!”

“Fine!”

“Honey,” her dad said as she stormed off.

“Well, what has gotten into Georgia?” asked her mother.

“I don’t know,” said her dad, carelessly.

Meanwhile, up in Georgia’s room, she was thinking, If Miss Divine comes and teaches me manners, that would be as boring as my mother teaching other manners at school. What should I do? I could just go with the flow, but I also want to explore and not be stuck inside all day doing stupid, dainty, lady stuff. I’m clueless!

“What is wrong with me?!” Georgia yelled furiously.

“Georgia, is everything okay?” Georgia’s mother asked while flicking her fingers.

“Y-y-y-y-yesssss.” Georgia said, stuttering, afraid her mother would come and see her stuffing her dresses in the back of her closet, even the beautiful jewelry her father gave her.

“I don’t want to go to the party!” Georgia finally blurted out.

Georgia was trying to fit her biggest, and most beautiful dress, in the closet when her mother walked in and spotted her.

“Missy, I am very disappointed in you! I’m sorry to say this, but you’re grounded!” Snowball barked twice at Georgia’s mom. “And as for you, Snowball, don’t go against me too, mister!”

“What’s happening up there?” said Georgia’s dad.

“Georgia stuffed all her beautiful dresses you gave her into the back of her rusty, old closet!”

“Say what now?!” her dad said, storming up the stairs like an angry giant. Georgia’s dad rushed into her room and said, “What did you stuff into the back of your closet, miss!”

“U-u-u-u-u-ummmm,” Georgia stuttered. “I-I-I-I-I-I just had some dusty rags, and I didn’t want to spoil my beautiful dresses!” she said nervously.

“Then where are your beautiful dresses?” Georgia’s parents said furiously.

“I must have misplaced them,” Georgia said shaking with fright.

“Well, well,” her parents said. “What is that black, shimmering, rag, in the back then?”

“It’s-It’s-It’s.” she started. “Ummm, what is that dress doing there?!”

Her parents said, “You’ll pass this time, but we better see that dress properly hung up in her closet, or you will not go to the party!”

Not go to the party?  Georgia thought.

“Okay!” she said cheerfully.

“Okay then, come and get some pumpkin pie with us.” her parents said. “And by the way, Miss Divine will be coming over very soon.”

“Ugh, whatever.” Georgia said, shrugging

“Excuse me, what did you just say, girly?” her mother said.

“I-I-I mean yayyy!” Georgia said sarcastically.

***

Ding-dong.

“Miss Divine is here!” Georgia’s mother said.

“Yaaay, so awesome,” Georgia said, lumping her back into a stone-like arch.

“Come greet Miss Divine like a lady would,” Georgia’s mother called.

Georgia came down with her pretend smile and slowly opened the door.

“Oh, Miss Divine, I’m so glad you came over,” Georgia said politely. “To teach me all these dumb manners.” she mumbled.

“Excuse me, what did you say, dear?” she said in a posh-like British accent.

“I-I-I-I-I just said how great you are at teaching young ladies manners,” she said. “Noooottt,” she mumbled quietly.

“Okay then, dear, how about I start teaching you right now?” Miss Divine replied.

“Oh that’s just great. Here, I’ll show you the way to my room!” Georgia said, annoyed. “Before you mess anything up,” she whispered, angrily.

Now that Miss Divine was up in Georgia’s room, she asked her, “What is that shiny, glittering ‘thing’ doing there?!”

“It’s just, uh, you know, a rag!” Georgia answered quickly.

“Okay, then what is that glittering, shiny, rag doing there?”

“Will you excuse me for a second?” she paused. “MOOOM!!!”

Georgia ran downstairs, and Miss Divine questioned,  “What in heaven’s has gotten into that girl?”

Georgia’s mother, Mrs. Lucia, was picking out a beautiful gown for the party when Georgia rushed in.

“What is wrong with that Miss Divine??”

“Good heavens, Georgia, mind your manners. This is not what true ladies do. Go back up and apologize to Miss Divine, and don’t run into my room again. I was picking the most beautiful, black dress, and I suggest you wear yours too.”

“But, Mooooom,” Georgia shrugged.

“I don’t want to hear, MOOOOOM,” Georgia’s mom said louder.

***

After Georgia left, Lia came storming in Georgia’s room saying, “GEORGIA!!! Mom said she’s taking us to a party tonight! You better pick your party clothes, or Mom will not be happy! Plus, she’s the President, so she can ground you. Ha, ha, ha!”

“LIAAAA!!! Stop it right now! Mom could ground you too, you know! Tell mom I’m not going to the party!!!”

“Okay,’’ said Lia. “MMOOMMM!”

“Shut up!!” yelled Georgia.

“Blegh,” said Lia, as she fell head-first on the floor, quivered up her body, put her hands on her face, and stuck out her tongue.

Georgia said, “Grow up, Lia,” and walked over her, leaving the door shut. “And get out of my room, by the way.”

“Girls! Dinner time!” Georgia and Lia’s mom said.

Now, the White House chef said, “Potato fries for everyone!”

“Yum!” Lia and Georgia said at the same time.

“I said it first,” said Georgia.

“Did not,” said Lia.

“Did to,” said Georgia.

“Okay, okay. Break it up, girls,” said Mr. Lucia.

“I bet I can eat more potato fries than you can!!” yelled Georgia.

“Girls, stop fighting over a little thing!” said Mrs. Lucia. “And Georgia, I canceled the party for next week.”

“Great!” said Georgia sarcastically.

“And by the way, it’s her fault,” said Georgia and Lia as they pointed at each other.

Mr. and Mrs. Lucia looked at each other and slapped their foreheads, as if they were aching.

“Okay, girls, it’s time for bed,” said Mr. Lucia.

“But we didn’t even eat dinner, and it’s not even our bedtime!” yelled Georgia.

“Fine. Just go relax on the sofa and turn on the TV.” said Mr. Lucia.

Georgia and Lia sat on the big, white, fluffy couch, facing away from each other. They felt like they were sitting on a cloud. They’ve had many fun times on the couch, but this time, they were angry with each other. Then Georgia spotted the remote. She stretched her arm out to get the remote and fell off the couch, face first.

“Ouch!” she yelled, not realizing she fell on her ultra soft carpet.

Lia giggled.

“LIA, IT’S NOT FUNNY!!!”

“Heaven sakes, girls, is everything okay?” said Mrs. Lucia, coming down the stairs.

“LIA WAS MAKING FUN OF ME. LIA WAS MAKING FUN OF ME. LIA WAS MAKING FUN OF ME.,” Georgia chanted.

Lia tried to squeeze herself behind the cushion of the couch, to hide from her mom, but she was too big.

Georgia threw herself on the couch, pulled away the cushion, and said, “You can’t hide from me. I’m three years older than you.”  

“So what?” said Lia as she jumped off the couch, sticking her tongue out at Georgia saying, “Na-na-na boo-boo, you can’t catch me.”

Then she ran off.

“Oh, I can play that game,” said Georgia.

Georgia jumped off the couch and ran twice as fast as Lia, tackling her.

“Boo yeah, in your face, Lia-patia!”

“Hey, that’s my baby name,” said Lia.

“Well, you’re a baby to me,” said Georgia, laughing, with happy tears running down her cheeks.

“Hahaha, who’s the baby now,” said Lia.

“You crying,” Lia teased.

“Shut your mouth,” said Georgia.

Their mom just stared at them, shaking her head, saying, “They’re dead.”

The two sisters had fought until it was time for bed.

“Moooom,” Lia groaned. “We don’t want to go to bed yet.”

“Shut it,” Georgia said again, dragging Lia into Lia’s room, locking the door behind her.

Before Lia could make another peep, Georgia sprinted to her room and locked her own door. She wasn’t actually tired. She just wanted Lia to go way.

Georgia’s room was incredibly big. In the corner of the room, she had a bunk bed where the bottom was a desk. She kept her stuffed animals on the desk chair, and a plate of warm cookies were resting on the table. No one was allowed in, especially Lia. In the center of the table was Georgia’s favorite journal. It was bought by her parents when she was born, and it’s been her most prized possession since.

Georgia grabbed the most beautiful gold pen and wrote in her journal:

Dear Journal,

Today my mom spent all her time teaching me lady like manners. Doesn’t she know I don’t want to learn those manners! I want to be wild and explore new places. That’s who I am, and she can’t change that. Don’t you believe me, journal?

Love,

Georgia

Georgia sighed. “If only someone believed me.”

Georgia looked at the clock, and it was way past her bedtime. She brushed her teeth, put her PJ’s on, read some of her book, turned off the light, and slowly closed her eyes until she was fast asleep.

When she woke up, she could hear birds tweeting out her window. She got up and brushed her teeth, changed her clothes, brushed her beautiful, brown hair, put on her beautiful, silver sandals, and left her room, taking Snowball with her. Snowball had been sleeping next to her, snuggled up together in bed.

“Breakfast time, kids!” Mr. Lucia yelled down the halls.

“Coming!” cried Georgia.

“Ruff ruff,” barked Snowball.

“Wha- what time is it?” Lia mumbled.

Georgia ate all her pancakes as Lia stumbled down to the gigantic dining room.

“Lia Walker Lucia, what are you wearing?!” said Lia’s mom. “Go back to your room and change.”

Mrs. Lucia was not happy and wanted Lia to do it faster.

“Ugh, okay.” Lia said to the floor, eyes still closed.

When Georgia had finished her breakfast, she opened the door to allow fresh air in.

“Hello,” a voice said politely.

It was Jeanette, Georgia’s friend.

“I heard you last night, you seemed sad.” Jeanette said. “I believe you. My mom tries to teach me manners too. I don’t listen though. No one can change that. It’s who I am. That’s why I’m asking you to sneak out of the house with me at noon. I’m going to show you something very special.”

***

Ding-dong.!

“Jeanette’s here, Mom,” Georgia said. “We’re going to go for a walk. Is that okay?”

“Go ahead,” said the mom. “Just be back before sunset, please.”

“Okay, bye,” Georgia said, hurriedly, and she ran out the door with Jeanette.

“Can you climb?” Jeanette asked Georgia.

“Of course, but why?” said Georgia, curiously.

Then, Georgia looked up and saw a great stone wall. She was not supposed to go over.

“Is this the wall to the woods?” Georgia asked.

“Rrruufff,” Snowball barked.

“Where did you come from, Snowball?”

“Yeah, you were supposed to stay home,” Jeanette added.

Snowball just stared at them and wagged his tail.  

“Snowball, you’re so silly. You can’t climb,” said Georgia.

Snowball saw a small tree nearby. He jumped on a twig, shot over the wall, landed on the other side, and let out a satisfied “Ruuuff.”

“Well, how do you explain that? You obviously have a very talented dog,” Jeanette told Georgia as the two started climbing.

As soon as they made it over the wall, Jeanette covered Georgia’s eyes.

“One, two, three, open,” Jeanette said, releasing her grip.

“HHUUUGHHH! It’s beautiful!” Georgia let out. “Look at that beautiful deer!”

“SURPRISE,” said Jeanette.

“What should we name it?” Georgia asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jeanette said. “We don’t name wild animals… until now!”

“How about Bushy?!” Georgia said excitedly.

“Perfect,” said Jeanette.

“Ruff,” said Snowball.

“Okay, little guy. Let’s go explore some more. Our moms won’t even know we’re here!” said Jeanette.

Both friends giggled.

“Ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff,” Snowball added.

Sunset came faster than they would have liked, and the two friends climbed back over the wall and went back to their houses.

“See you tomorrow afternoon,” Georgia said, smiling.

“See ya,” Jeanette said.

 

The End

 

The Portal Under the Couch

Chapter One: Not Going to Camp

“We’re going to the beach all summer this year!” said Mom. “Isn’t that exciting?”

“NO!!!” I screamed. “There is an awesome summer camp that I’m finally old enough to go to this year!  Me and Leah and Nick have been waiting to be old enough to go there since we heard about it when we were seven!! We promised each other that when we were finally eleven, which seemed sooooo far away back then, we would go there, and the next summer we would go there again, and we would go again the next summer. We decided we would go every summer until the summer we turn seventeen, when we’re too old to be campers, but the summer we’re nineteen, we’ll be old enough to become C.I.T.s, which stands counselors in training, and we will be C.I.T.s and eventually we’ll become counselors. Now, we have a chance to go, and I have to wait! Nick and I are going to Leah’s house this afternoon so that we can sign up together! What am I going to tell them? As good friends as they are, we’ve all been waiting to go for so long, and I don’t think they’ll be able to wait another year! And neither can I!”

I ran into my room and collapsed on my bed, crying. After a couple hours, I checked my watch and realized that it was time to go to Leah’s house. In fact, I was five minutes late. I wiped my tears off my face with my hand and dashed out the door without telling my mom, which proved I was really mad at her because Mom was very strict about me telling her when I was going out by myself. But this was just Leah’s house. My best friends, Leah, and Nick, and I hang out there all the time. My little sisters, Millie and Mara, are cute, but whenever Leah and Nick come over to my house, they always bother us. Ever since Leah gave them her new markers to get them out of our way, I apologized for having such annoying siblings, promised to get Leah new markers, and never invited them to my house again. Nick has a super annoying and mean older sister named Skyler, which is why we never go to his house. But Leah doesn’t have any siblings. I wouldn’t say she is lucky because, most of the time, I love my little sisters, but with Skyler as his sister, Nick definitely thinks she’s lucky, and I have to admit, I don’t blame him.

I knocked on the door using the special rhythm that let Leah know it was either me or Nick at the door. But, instead of going inside, I yelled through the door in my super loud voice, using the secret code me, Leah, and Nick use.

“I’m not going to camp!” I told them everything. “And I don’t care!” I screamed. “It’s a dumb camp anyway.”

Leah and Nick were my best friends. They know me better than anyone else. That’s how they knew that I was going to run away. I ignored the fact that Leah yelled, “Ally, wait!” in our secret language. It didn’t matter. She knew I would ignore her.

 

Chapter Two: Hiding

Today was the day camp started. Today, Leah and Nick were going to go off to camp without me. Today, my family was also going to the beach. For the WHOLE. ENTIRE. SUMMER.

I liked the beach. But not for the whole summer. Especially when I could be going to camp. Especially when the camp I could be going to is the most awesome camp in the world. Especially when I had waited four long years to go to that camp, and now I have to wait at least another year.

Which was why I hiding under the couch. There was not much room here, but my parents would never suspect I was here. This is the plan I wrote last night when I was supposed to be asleep:

Plan so I can go to camp

Step 1: Hide under the couch until Mom and Dad give up looking for me and go to the beach without me.

Step 2: Go to Leah’s house and show her my plan.

Step 3: Go to the Otter Lake camp and tell them I signed up and it’s weird that they didn’t know I was coming.

Step 4: Tell Nick my plan once I know the counselors won’t hear.

Step 5: Have fun, go swimming, and play soccer, and baseball, and basketball, and roast s’mores at the campfire every night, and see fireworks, and use sparklers (even though that only happened once) at Otter Lake camp!!! And make video games, and tell ghost stories at night, and hang out with Leah and Nick, and go hiking, and go down really cool waterslides, and dive from really high up, and go ghost hunting, and jump, and do flips on a mega trampoline, and partner with Leah and Nick to make our own version of monopoly and clue and twister, and see if any of ours wins the board game contest!!!

But as I waited for my parents and sisters to give up on their Ally-Hunt, my flashlight that I had been using to see (since under the couch could get dark) ran out. I sighed because I had been reading to help pass the time, and you can’t read when it’s dark. Then I saw something glowing in the distance. I reached out my hand to touch it. It felt cool and weird. Then, I realized that it felt weird because it was slowly pulling me into whatever was causing the glowing. I screamed for help, but it was too late. I was almost fully in some weird place that the glowing thing was pulling me into. And then, suddenly, I fell!

 

Chapter Three: The Portal

I landed on something hard and cool with a man staring down at me. He wasn’t exactly what you would call a normal-looking man. He had long, tangled, brown hair. His skin was gray, like it was made of stone. He had crooked, yellow teeth that looked as if he had never brushed his teeth in his life, and some of them were missing. His fingernails were short and stubby, but you could tell they would have been claws if they were in better shape. He was wearing a short, baggy tunic that was slightly ripped in some places. Oh, and his height was not at all ordinary. He was eleven feet tall.

“Another one of those people! Hate to do it but I gotta frow you into the dungeon like all the other people. King’s orders. Don’t wanna get frowed inta the dungeon ya know,” he said in a loud, slightly grumpy voice.

He picked me up.

“You seem nice enough. I don’t want you to get thrown in the dungeon, either. But I don’t want to get thrown in the dungeon. There has to be some way  for me to not get thrown in the dungeon and for you to not get thrown in the dungeon either. We can make a plan. I’m good at making plans. I’m Ally. What’s your name? And can I know where I am and how I got here? That thing is a portal, right? I bet it’s a portal. If it’s a portal, can’t I just go back through it and pretend I was never here?”

I just wanted to know everything!

“Ally, it’s not that simple. I’m Esgardon. Welcome to Garlios. Yeah, that thing that brought ya here is a portal, but it’s only a one way portal,” said Esgardon.

He put me down.

“You mean that you can go to Garlios through the portal, but not back to Earth?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

Esgardon gently put me into a dark place I assumed was the dungeon. Then he left and locked the door.

 

Chapter Four: Hannah

I turned around, and I saw the glowing light of a fire.

“Hey,” said a voice next to me.

I saw a girl with curly, brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She also wore a headband completely covered with pink glitter. She was wearing a white shirt with sleeves that went down to her elbows. Over her shirt was a navy blue vest with some patches on it. On the left side of the zipper, she had a patch that looked like a jewel. Next to the jewel, she had a pink patch in the the shape of the letter H. Under the H patch, she had a rainbow poop emoji patch. She had on a black skirt and glittery black fashion ankle boots. She had sparkly, lavender colored jewel earrings. She was also wearing a flower mood necklace. Although she may not seem like someone who would look weird, there was something about her that seemed weird. Then, I realized that I thought she looked weird because I felt like I’d seen her before.

“Do I know you?” I asked.

“Now you do.”

“No, I mean do I know you before now?”

“No. Why would we know each other? I’ve never seen you in my life.”

“I’m Ally. Is your name Hannah?”

“How did you know?” Hannah was obviously very surprised.

“I don’t know.”

I realized I hadn’t thought about how I knew that Hannah’s name was Hannah. Or why I recognized her when she had obviously never seen me in her life. I had been spending my time thinking where I recognized her from.

“How did you get here? You’re obviously from Earth. You’re not one of those people,” I pointed at the the jail cell next to ours. In it, there were people like Esgardon, but in much worse shape.

“Obviously. It’s sort of insulting that you would even consider that.” said Hannah. “I got here when I was twelve. I’ve been here for six years, even though I look like I’m still twelve. I’m actually eighteen. This is how it happened: My family, my mom, my dad, and my cat, Smoky, and I were moving. I didn’t want to move. I hid under the couch. I decided to sneak out to use the bathroom. I had brought my phone so I would be able to text all my friends about the plan, because my best friends, Miley and Rachel, had been devastated when they found out I was going to move. They would want to know about my plan, and so would my other friends, Sienna, Taylor, Maddie, and Liana. I would’ve also texted them just to pass the time. I had brought a couple of fashion magazines, and my sketchbook, my pencil case, and a flashlight. To eat, I had brought a milk box, some fruit salad, some leftover egg salad from last night’s dinner, a couple slices of bread, some cheese, a big package of fruit snacks, and a big bottle of lemonade. My parents wouldn’t just leave without me. I knew they wouldn’t. Eventually, I would come out when the new family gave up waiting to move in and decided to find some other house to move to. I figured that all that would prove that I really didn’t want to move and my parents would decide not to move. But then, before I could even turn on my flashlight I noticed something glowing in the distance. It scared me, but it was so close that my body accidentally brushed against it, and it pulled me through to Garlios.”

“That’s where I know you from!!!” I screamed. “My family was the new family that was going to move to your house. Your parents told us about you. They showed us a picture of you. And told us your name. They said the we were supposed to move in the day you

disappeared, but your disappearance postponed the move. After a month and a half of looking, they decided that you were gone forever.”

“I wish I could get back home.” Hannah sighed.

“You can,” said Esgardon as he walked in.

 

Chapter Five: Yaderragos Fighting

“I talked to the king just now. He said ya can go on a quest to kill the Yaderragos, which are these monsters and find the keys that they guard. The keys will let you go home. Hannah, you will go home to your new house and start college this fall. Your parents will never remember you were ever gone. No one will. You will start looking like you are eighteen. You will know what everyone thinks happened to you while you were actually in the dungeon, but you will also remember that you were actually in the dungeon. Ally, you were here for so short that when you get home, it’ll be last night again even though you’ll remember today. This time, don’t hide. Y’all have ta except what happens. And I promise, next summer you can go to Otter Lake camp.”

I was so happy, I forgot to ask how Esgardon knew all that. Then he continued, “I will take you to the place where the Yadarragos guard the keys, and then I will have to leave. You will most likely die — ”

“Wow, that really makes me want to do it,” Hannah grumbled sarcastically.

“As I was saying, you can chose armor, shields, and weapons. You can each have a private room to change into your armor and choose your weapons and shields.”

He lead us into small rooms, slightly bigger than bathroom stalls. I looked at the armor on the wall, and soon I was wearing a full suit of silver armor. I chose a sword as my weapon and clipped it to my belt. I looked at the sheilds. The king sounded like a pretty mean guy, so if he decided I was worthy of killing the Yadarragos, a shield would probably only be something extra to lug around. I left the little room and waited until Hannah was done. After around ten minutes, Hannah came out. She was wearing white tights and tall, black laced boots. She was also wearing her skirt, and the boots went up high enough to almost touch the skirt. On her top, she was wearing gold armor. Her hair was down, and she was wearing a pink helmet. She had a quiver filled with arrows, and clipped to the quiver was a bow. She was holding a red shield with two crossed swords in the center.

“Y’all ready?” asked Esgardon.

“Yup,” I said.

At the same time, Hannah said, “Yes.”

“Then hop on aboard!” said Esgardon, gesturing to a worn-out brown tractor.

While I hopped on right away, since I had always wanted to ride in a tractor, Hannah hung back.

“Are you sure that thing is safe?” asked Hannah.

“Of course!” said Esgardon sitting down in the driver’s seat.

Reluctantly, Hannah climbed in. I was really tired since I had been up half the night last night preparing for being under the the couch. After five minutes of being in the tractor, I was fast asleep.

“Wake up, you sleepyhead!” Hannah was shaking me awake. “You’re like the leader on this quest. Esgardon told me that the king didn’t agree for me to go on the quest when he asked the king when I got here six years. But he decided that since I figured I was allowed to come, I could come, and he wouldn’t tell the king.”

“Okay. Are we here?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Time to fight. Stay here. Only fight when I really need help, and I’ll tell you when I do. Since I’m the quest leader, you have to listen to me. And if you want to know why, it’s because you’re obviously not prepared for battle. You’re wearing a skirt. Who wears a skirt to battle?  I don’t get who would ever want to wear a skirt in the first place!”

“Fine. But trust me, you’re going to regret thinking I’m useless.”

Ignoring her, I looked at the four Yaderragos. They were covered in green scales. They had fangs. They had four long legs with claws at the end of them. I took my sword off my belt and snuck up behind one of the Yaderragos. Then, I chopped his head off before he could notice anything. But before I could kill any more Yaderragos, one of them noticed me and spit some poison at me. Then, everything went black.

 

Chapter One: Home

I woke up with Hannah staring at me.

“I told you you would regret thinking I was useless. I shot all the Yaderragos, got the keys, and I cured you from the Yaderragos poison. And I got changed. So ha!”

“Sorry, Hannah. I didn’t mean it. Really.” I said.

“I know. I was just really mad.” said Hannah. “How about you get changed, and then we can go home.”

Hannah held up some keys.

“Esgardon had to go back to report to the king about our success. But he’ll be waiting at the portal so we can say goodbye to him before we leave. Because it probably won’t be that often that we get a chance to visit Garlios, especially for me. You can change in the tractor. I won’t look.”

After I got changed, Hannah and I said bye to Esgardon, and went back through the portal, and even though the second I went through the portal, I was asleep, I could sense it. I was home.

 

The End

 

Epilogue

I guess Esgardon was telling the truth about me going back in time; when I woke up this morning, the date was June 30, the day Otter Lake Camp started, the day my family was going to the beach, and the day I went on my adventure in Garlios. I got dressed and was about to make myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast when the doorbell rang. It was the mailman.

“Are you Ally Halerson?” he asked.

“How did you know?”

Mail men didn’t go around asking me if I was Ally Halerson.

“Well my friend, Hannah Arper, gave me the address of this house. She said to knock on the door, ask for Ally Halerson and if she was there, give her this letter. Do you know Hannah?”

“Yeah. Thanks. Bye.”  

“See you later.”

I brought the letter to my room and locked the door (I earned the lock on my door the time Leah had to give Millie and Mara her new markers) so that no one could see the letter because before I left Garlios, Esgardon told me and Hannah not to tell anyone about Garlios, and the king had wanted our minds to be wiped of the knowledge of Garlios.

 

Dear Ally,

 

If you’re wondering how I knew your address, remember, I used to live in your house, and I still remember my old address. I wrote this letter because I feel like I need to talk to someone about our adventure, and it’s too risky to say it was a dream or to write a book about it. It’s our responsibility to keep Garlios’s secret, so you’re the only one I can talk to about it. No one else would believe me, anyway. Call me to tell me you got this letter. Here’s my phone number: 564-728-****

 

Love,

Hannah

 

Bailey, Harley, and the Dead Bear

      

BAILEY

Do you want to play outside?

 

HARLEY

Sure.

 

BAILEY

What do you want to play?

 

HARLEY

We could play basketball.

 

BAILEY

Okay.

 

HARLEY

The first person to get 18 points wins.

 

BAILEY

Did you see that?

 

HARLEY

WHAT?

 

BAILEY

HA, I win! Let’s go to the park and play on the monkey bars.

 

HARLEY

Okay, that sounds really fun, and we can go on the swings.

 

BAILEY

Mom, can we go to the park?

 

MOM

Okay. Be back by three.

 

HARLEY

Okay, bye!

 

BAILEY

Last one to the swings is a rotten egg!

 

HARLEY

I win!

 

BAILEY

Did you see that in the woods?

 

HARLEY

What?

 

BAILEY

Something moved in the bushes!

 

HARLEY

Let’s go follow it.

 

BAILEY

But what if it’s dangerous?

 

HARLEY

But what if it’s not?

 

BAILEY

I guess we can go.

 

HARLEY

Let’s bring our phones so we have a flashlight just in case it is dark.

 

BAILEY

AHAHAHAHAH, there’s a bear!

 

HARLEY

RRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNN!

 

BAILEY

AH! The bear grabbed us! He’s gonna eat us!

 

HARLEY

Goodbye, Bailey.

 

BAILEY

Goodbye, Harley.

 

BEAR

(Swallows)

 

HARLEY

I think I have a paper clip. What if we cut open the bear?

 

BAILEY

Okay, hand me it. I’m almost done… got it!

 

HARLEY

I think we killed it.

 

BAILEY’S MOM

Harley, Bailey, want me to give you a ride home?

 

BAILEY

Let’s go. My mom is here.

 

HARLEY

We should go play more basketball at my house.

 

Buttercup

Hi, I am Buttercup the pig. I live on a farm, and I’m the only pig. I am so lonely, and I need some friends. All the other animals are cows and horses and chickens. They don’t want to be friends with me, because they’re friends with their own species.

It was feeding time, and I went to the stable to receive my food.  I went up to eat next to the cows, and they walked away, laughing.  So I went over to the horses, and they started whispering and looking at me. Finally, I went to the chickens, and they just walked away.

Considering no one liked me, I decided to run away from home after my owner fell asleep.

I climbed over the gate because I am athletic. I ran into a pole while running away. My owner found me and took me back. I felt defeated. I had failed my mission. The next day, I ran out again. This time, I went to the next available farm and met another pig. But the pig was already hanging out with his other friends.  

“Can we be friends?” I asked.

“I already have friends,” the pig said.

“Why can’t I still be your friend?”

“Because you’re not pretty.”

I walked away because I was annoyed.

So next time, instead of running, I decided to make other pigs come to me. So I snorted, and then the other pigs came to me, but all of them with their friends. So I went out again and went to the farthest farm away that couldn’t hear the snort, and there was one lonely pig. So I met this pig, but this pig was a meany! He laughed at me, ignored me, then walked away. This pig obviously needed help because he was not friendly.  Then, I decided to turn that pig into a nicey pig by teaching him to help his owners.  If you teach someone to be kind to someone else, they will be kind to you.

“To start your training, I will teach you the importance of helping your owner. If you help your owner, then they give you treats, and you get days off.”

“Fine. I’ll help! But that hasn’t made me change my mind about being mean.”

“First, go and collect hay from the hay barn. Then, eat all your food so he doesn’t have to throw it out. Finally, you need to clean the barn to show him you will do jobs.”

The pig agreed to do what I told him to do. The owner gave him three days off to do whatever he wanted. He came  to play with me during my three days off!

 

Today I Feel…

  

Sad

Today is a rainy day and I feel sad

Tears like the rain fall from my eyes

More rain falls and more tears fall from my eyes

Rain falls from the sky and land on the ground

Tears from my eyes fall on the floor

Today I feel very sad

 

Happy

Today the sun is out and I feel happy

The rain is gone and the sun is shining

A big rainbow with bright colors is in the clear blue sky

Pink fluffy unicorns are dancing on the rainbow

The ocean is sparkly like diamonds

The sand is yellow and pink

Today I feel very happy

 

Scared

It’s dark in my room and I’m scared

It’s pitch black in my room

There’s no light to see

There’s no power in my house

There’s no fire to make me warm

Thunder rumbles and lightning crashes

The howling wind comes in through my open window

I hide under my covers and close my eyes

I’m hoping this is just a dream

Because I’m scared

 

Bored

I am very bored right now

I sit on the couch and look out the window

It is a misty and foggy day

It is a drizzling day too

There’s nothing fun to do

Reading books are no fun to me

Today I feel bored

 

Emotion Poems

       

Angry

I feel very angry

Red’s the color of my face

I slam my door

I stomp my feet

Like a stubborn flea

Anger is trash bad

Sometimes I am angry

Because I am hungry

My stomach roars like a lyin’ lion

And sometimes I just am mad

Today I am feelin’ angry

 

Shy

I am shy

My name is fluttershy

I try to cover my face

I want the sky

To be dark

And this will be all done

I do not speak loud

And proud

I speak shyly

And softly

I never get happy or mad

I usually am shy or sad

I am very shy

 

Sad

Today I am sad

I feel like rain is dripping

From my eye

I am not glad

I am sad

I want to cry

In my pillow

With my fiddle

I’ll play sad music

While I droop on my bed

So like I said

Today I am sad

 

HAPPY!

The sun is out

And I am happy

I am glad

Not sad

Or mad

I’ll smile big and wide

And play outside

With friends and family

And dance happily

Today I feel happy             

 

Silly

I am silly

I tell a joke

I go crazy

I pretend I’m a goat

I’m very lazy

After I go crazy

That’s why I am silly

 

In love!!

I’m in love

When I see my love

I blush

And I feel like a chump

I wish I can hug him so much

I want to be a chipmunk

With my honey bun

I am very in love

With the beautiful dove!

Heaven is above

And so is my love!

Love is in the air

Like you just don’t care!!!

 

Jealously!

I am jealous

 Sometimes l’m

Jealous

Because my friend

Has bread

That I want

But remember

Be grateful for what you got!

Then you will be happier

Amen glory be!

 

Giggly!!!

I am very giggly

And jiggly

I laugh

And laugh

Loud like a lion’s roar

Till I start to

Gasp

When my friend

Makes a joke

l start to choke

I am giggly

 

Sleepy!

I am sleepy

My eyes are drooping

I will die on my bed

I’ll dream

Dreams

My body is gooping

I’ll fall asleep

And not open my eyes a peep

Now good night!

 

Grateful!

I am grateful for…

Love,

Family,

Friends,

The grinch,

Doves,

Gambilin’,

Tents,

A pinch,

That’s what i am grateful for!

 

SCARY!

I am scared

Like a bear

Who stepped on his tail

In the air

Like you just don’t care!!

I am scary

Like a berry

that is scary!!!

I am scared

 

Cooking is Hard!

“Stop changing the TV channel! I’m trying to watch Chopped!” said Maggie, shaking her head.

Her brother, Michael, said, “Why? I want to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.”

“That show is boring,” Maggie said.

Their mom entered the room and said, “Maggie, no more TV. You have to go and do your homework!”

“Aw man,” Maggie said sadly.

“Na-na-na boo-boo I get to watch TV, but you don’t!” Michael chanted.

“No more TV for you either, Michael,” their mom said.

Maggie stuck her tongue out at Michael and mouthed, “Na-na-na boo-boo to you.”

“Mommm!” Michael cried.

“Maggie, go to your room,” their mom said.

Michael grinned, satisfied.

“Michael, go to your room,” their mom said.

Michael slumped and stomped up to his room. Maggie went up to her room, but instead of doing her homework, she wrote and doodled about being a famous chef. She imagined being a big star. A meat chef, not a pastry chef. She doodled about being really famous and winning a lot of awards and getting to meet the president.

Soon, her step-dad called, “Time for dinner!”

Maggie glanced up at the clock. It was already 6 o’clock!

She said, “Just a minute!” and quickly locked up her diary that she was writing in. (She kept all her secret stuff in it.)

For dinner, her step-dad made hamburgers, but Maggie got a cheeseburger, as always. He was a chef at The Meat Place, where they cooked the food in front of you. Maggie smelled the hamburgers and licked her lips.

Then, after dinner, when her step-dad was cleaning the kitchen, Maggie went into his room and saw the trophy he won when he was one of those great, famous chefs. He decided that he didn’t want to be famous and got a job at a small restaurant in the Upper West Side. He and Maggie’s mom married when she was six years old, and then he retired.

Maggie took the trophy off the big shelf. She looked at it and touched it. It was a big, cool silver trophy. Then, she looked at a letter President John wrote to him: “Do you want to be one of the chefs who cooks for me in The White House and is on TV a lot?” and more stuff that Maggie didn’t understand.

But her step-dad wrote back that he didn’t want to be one of those big chefs and just wanted to work at those little restaurants in town. Maggie was proud of her step-dad. Then, she heard him walking down the hallway.

“Uh-oh!” Maggie knew he would be mad if he knew she was touching his prized stuff, so she quickly left the room.

Then, she heard her mother call her.

“Maggie, it’s time to go to bed!”

Maggie looked at the clock and pouted.

“But Mom, it’s only 8:30!”

“I know, Maggie. But your dad is taking you to his work tomorrow.”

“Really? Okay!” Maggie said, excitedly.

That night, she dreamed of what her father’s work would be like. She dreamed that it would be a big place with tons of customers, and everybody would love the place, and that it would be so fun!

The next morning, her mom called, “Maggie! Maggie! Wake up!”

Maggie sat up, tired and grudgingly, and looked up at the clock.

“Mom, it’s only 6:00 clock.”

“I know! But your father has to get to work on time!”

Then Maggie remembered that she was going to her father’s restaurant today.

“Okay, Mom!” she said, jumping out of bed.

She put on her best dress and combed her hair. She wanted to look nice today. She saw Michael in the living room, pouting.

“But I want to go to Dad’s work too,” he was saying.

She met her dad outside their house. He was wearing a tie and a suit.

“Why are you wearing a tie and a suit? I thought you were going to be cooking today,” said Maggie.

“Well, I’m not going to be cooking today, Maggie. I don’t cook everyday. Today, I’m going to be looking around and helping and making sure the restaurant is perfect.”

Maggie was a little bit disappointed. But then she said to herself, It’s going to be okay. Then, she walked with her step-dad to the subway.

Maggie lived in Hoboken, so she took the NJ transit bus to get to Manhattan. When they got to Manhattan, they took the subway to the Upper West Side. They got off at 61st Street and, the restaurant was on 65th Street. Maggie saw lots of cars, a lot of people running around, and a lot of cool restaurants.

Then Maggie’s dad said, “Close your eyes, Maggie.”

”Okay,” Maggie said.

Then, her dad said, “Readyyy. Okay, open!”

Maggie opened her eyes, and she saw a really tiny place that didn’t have any fun stuff on the outside.

“Is this the store?” Maggie asked her dad, confused.

“Uh-uh,” Maggie’s dad said. “Do you like it?”

I don’t really like it, Maggie thought, but maybe inside’s better.

“Uhm, it’s cool, Dad,” she said, hoping that the inside would be cool.

“Okay. Wanna go inside?”

“Okay,” Maggie said.

They walked inside, and Maggie looked around, and it was empty. It was really empty.

“So how do you like it?”

“Where are the people?” Maggie asked.

“Well it is a meat place,” her dad said. “What would people be doing here at 9 in the morning?”

“Where is the staff?” Maggie asked.

“They are all in the kitchen.”

Then a customer walked in.

Her father said, “Yes, ma’am. What would you like?”

“Is this the book place?” the women asked.

“No, wrong address. This is the meat place. Now would you like to sit down and order something to eat?”

“Oh no, I’m sorry,” said the women and left the shop.

“What was all that about?” Maggie asked her dad. 

“I have no idea. A lot of people do that at our shop… We barely have any customers.”

“Can we go and take a walk?”

“Sure, Maggie. Why?”

“I will explain while we walk.”

“Okay.”

They walked  out of the store and into the park.

“You see, Dad, well…

“Yes, Maggie.”

“Well… Dadiwanttobeafamous-”

“Slow down.”

“Dad… I want to be a famous chef. Everything you weren’t. I want to learn how to cook. I want to meet the president. But I can’t do it all. Can you help me?”

“Well… I do have a friend who has a cousin whose father owns a cooking show called, The Next Big Kid Chef.”

“Oh, Dad.”

“We have to check with Mom first.”

Maggie groaned.

***

“No way! Uh-uh. Maggie is so not doing a cooking show! She could get hurt. She’s too young. John, what are you thinking?” her mom said.

“But, Mom…”

“But nothing!” her mom said angrily. “Go to your room!”

“Ugh,” said Maggie, but she trudged upstairs.

“But, Ariana, it’s what she wants.”                               

Later at dinner, her dad said, “Maggie, guess what?”

“What?” Maggie said grimly.

Her mom, Ariana said, “I’ve agreed, Maggie.”

“To what?” Maggie said again.

Her parents were confusing her.

“To let you try out at the cooking show, hunny,” said Ariana.   

“Really?!” Maggie responded.

“Really,” her mom said back.

Maggie jumped out of her chair and put her hands up in the air.

“Wow, thanks so much, Mom and Dad.”

Then she ran over and hugged them both.

“But first you have to learn how to cook,” her mom said.

“Maggie doesn’t know how to cook. Maggie doesn’t know how to cook,” her brother chanted.

“I’m going to learn,” Maggie said, crossing her arms.

“It’s okay with me if you get a little messy, and stop messing around, Michael,” said her mom.

“Okay, when can we start,” Maggie said excitedly.

Her mom and dad responded at the same time, “Tomorrow.”   

“Yay!” said Maggie. “I can’t wait.”

“Toast to Maggie,” her dad said, raising his wine glass.

“To Maggie,” her mom said.

“What about me, Maggie?” said her brother.

“To me!” Maggie said joyfully.

 

The Complicated Way

Prologue

I don’t know how to begin this action story, but I do know that it began in a strange place: Yale Law School. There was a strange man and an annoying, young girl. They were both 20 years old, and they somehow got mixed up with each other and found that nothing was going to be normal. Then Tanya, the young girl, solved the mystery. Then you will discover who your narrator is. So sit back and enjoy!

 

Chapter One

It was a long day, and Tanya was sitting at the edge of her seat, tapping her pencil loudly so the whole floor of Yale Law School could hear it. It was rather annoying, so everyone put in earbuds to buckle down to work. So much time had been used for writing a book of law. Now some annoying person deleted it. It was very obnoxious. So super frustrating. All of the hard work was erased.

She got out a computer and started to work. Busily typing away, she spotted Max standing up and asking to be excused from class for the second time today. Tanya wanted peace. And for the first time this term, she felt homesick. It was an awful, sick feeling of a strong desire for home. The smell of fresh bread.

Oh, and reader, this Max boy might interest you. He was the first person in the history of Yale Law to be such a trouble maker. A boy of that age, tsk, tsk. It was a shame.

Then there was Pierre, another boy, who always was the teacher’s pet. He was very mysterious too. He scared all the new kids half to death. He always acted odd. Tanya thought that she was annoying, but a good student. That was what she thought about herself. One time, Pierre was found by a teacher doing some sort of paperwork, and he ran and hid.

Tanya was nice, and she helped the instructors after school, and she was a great friend. But annoying. At the end of the next day, Tanya finished the law book. It took two days and a night. She was so tired. She felt like she just changed a time zone. She collapsed in her room and slept for an hour. Luckily, it was not a school day that day.

Now let’s talk about the other boy who was always smart and creepy – Pierre was his name. He was up to all the crazy things. It was even hard for the teachers to tell what was going on. He never was friends with Tanya. They were not that crazy about each other.

One day, an instructor told them they had to hang out with each other more than normal. That was the funny thing. That professor was weird. At first, they were super mad about the assignment. Then they realized that it was not that bad. They could just talk about their grades. Pierre got all A+ on his tests. That really stank for Tanya, she was hoping to make him look stupid. She got all A+ as well. Pierre was mad too, though. He wanted to make her look stupid. They both realized it was pointless to do anything together, even if it meant disobeying the instructor. They were angry. They did not have anything else in common.

 

Chapter Two

A couple years later, Tanya graduated from Yale and became a well experienced lawyer. She was hired by a judge in New Haven, Connecticut, right near the school. Eventually it was Tanya’s birthday. She was 20 after three years of law school. Rather boring to her. It was the life she chose though.  

She was getting closer to her parents’ house for her birthday party. It was an odd sensation to be on her own again, zipping around on a train. Back to her home when she was a kid. To her parents. Well, not really, but they were her grandmother and grandfather. Her mother had gone missing for a long time. Tanya was raised by her grandparents. It was hard to believe that she was living like that since she was a baby. She never had a father.

As the train approached the station, she wondered why the teacher had forced her and Pierre to be with each other that day in law school. She felt a little perplexed about that. Why did she have that sudden feeling to give up being with him back then? She was afraid of him. It was almost like they fought with each other and never wanted to end the fight. It felt like she hadn’t seen him in a century.

She got out a phone and called her grandparents.

“I’ll be home soon, don’t think something has happened to me,” said Tanya happily into the phone.

The train approached the station. The doors opened, and Tanya got off as soon as she could. She walked onto the dirt road. It was a lovely rural area, and all the flowers were glinting in the sunshine. The trees were all over the pathway, making a tunnel. She loved this area when she was a kid and was often found playing with her friends.

She was surrounded by memories. This is the best birthday she had in a while, the only birthday party in a couple years. She forgot the sensation.     

She arrived at the house and walked right in, a funny feeling of a really great home. It was a big, scarlet cottage with white shutters.  

 

Chapter Three

“Hi, honey, you arrived just in time for the start of the festivities. I invited a few more people, aside from you,” said her grandma.

In the room was her father, thought to be dead and, if you can believe it, me. The narrator. But I’m also another important person to Tanya. Her mother. So reader, you are correct that narrators can be characters. Tanya recognized us from the photos I told my mom to show her.

“How did you get here?” screamed Tanya at the top of her lungs.

Before I could answer, she noticed a classmate of hers. In the corner of the room, standing in the dark was… Pierre. Tanya was running into him, unplanned, all over again. His pale grey eyes were looking straight at Tanya.

“Why is he here?” asked Tanya.  

“An instructor at your school told me to invite him. Professor Clarkson was his name,” I said. “Could you and I have a private talk together?” I added.

We walked into the bedroom that used to be Tanya’s old bedroom. An old place with a red bed and posters that she drew supporting the president of that time. It was sort of humiliating because all of the things she liked then, she hated now. I thought her room was cute.

“Now, honey, the reason Mr. Clarkson wants you to find out what Pierre is hiding is because he wants you to find out what he is up to. He is acting more secretive. But in order to make this happen, I want you to be more sneaky. The reason I’ve been missing is because the president wants to promote you to a Supreme Court justice, and he wants me to talk about it with him. The first part of your life I was living in Europe as Secret Service for America.”

Tanya was very amazed to hear the news. It was also sorta scary. She was a good lawyer, but a Supreme Court justice was a big deal. The part I felt guilty not telling her about was that Pierre was also becoming a Supreme Court justice. It didn’t seem polite to tell her. She already had enough on her shoulders. It was a big thing to her that someone cared enough to throw her a birthday party. To me, it wasn’t fair to her that all this was happening on the same day. It was a lot to handle. In a couple days, she would go to Washington, DC! Where all the big stuff happened. Politics, cases, and large choices.

 

Chapter Four

The following day, and the day after that, passed. All of the fun passed too. A couple days later, Tanya boarded an Amtrak to Washington DC. An hour passed, and she walked out of the train and into the highest court in America: the Supreme Court. She went to an office to get the job. She got an interview and got the job. She went out of the office, feeling worried about if she had done the right thing or not. Was being a justice a good thing for the country? Was she going to mess up?

She buckled down to work and started looking for a case of some sort. Then when she looked around her office, she saw Pierre at the back of the room. He smirked. Tanya gasped as she dodged a firm slap.

“What are you doing? Nobody told me you were going to be a justice?” Pierre yelled.

It was scary that Pierre was cornering her like that. She was always a good student, so why did everybody want her to face this crack-pot! It was even more frustrating, she thought. All those people. They seemed scared, too. Of Pierre. She remembered when he once got in trouble and an instructor called him a filthy traitor. A traitor! He was a spy!  She’d better tell Newlin, the FBI head. She dialed the number: 322-122-655-9999. It picked up.

“Hello? Who is it?” asked Newlin.

“It is Tanya Ivanov. I want to report Pierre Gutwilling. He has conducted violence as a justice. I find it inappropriate that a justice should try to slap another one,” said Tanya in disbelief.

She was gobsmacked. Then Newlin came back on.

“We have delivered him to a jail, and his trial will be set in a couple days. You will be our eye-witness. Be there by dawn. I want you there also as a justice.”

Newlin hung up. Tanya heard a bit of heavy breathing after Newlin hung up. Tanya put away the phone book. She sat back in her chair, breathing heavily as well. It was a long day. She looked at the clock, which read midnight. She picked up her paperwork, put it in her bag, and headed out of the court. At last, she was free of Pierre, almost. She set her alarm clock to 5 o’clock. She instantly fell asleep.

The next day, Tanya got dressed, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair. She grabbed her bag and picked up a muffin on the way to the trial. Once she got there, she took out her papers and was determined to win the trial. She wouldn’t be rid of him temporarily, she would be rid of him forever. She sat down in a seat. She would be serving justice for herself. Tanya waited for the trial to begin. Finally, the judges and the lawyers and all the other people came into the large court. She was so happy until she realized that Pierre’s lawyer was amazing at court. She began trembling.

The judge started yelling, “THIS YOUNG JUSTICE CLAIMS THAT ANOTHER JUSTICE ATTEMPTED VIOLENCE.”

Then the real trial began. They all argued a lot, and then at last, they came to an end. Tanya had won the trial! She quit being a justice, it was all too much to handle, and then she began family life. In a couple years, she was a part of a family of four, and I was the grandma. The years after, Tanya was married and found that Pierre was a traitor. She also had kids. They were six years apart. One’s name was Ava, and the other one was Oscar. They both lived together in Washington, DC. The reason I can tell you is because out of all the fuss, the easiest person she could tell was me.

 

 

The End

 

Emotions

Jazzy stormed into the rap studio angrily, waiting for her crew. She suddenly noticed a note sitting on her beat-up, full-of-pencil-marks desk.

It said:

Dear Jazzy,

We’re at Rihanna’s party having the time of our lives. We’ll be back in time for rehearsal at 12:30 PM. See you later!

– Your crew.

Jazzy felt vulnerable and depressed that her crew wasn’t here to practice for the finals on America’s Got Talent. What if they got disqualified?! What if they forgot the lyrics, and what if they forgot the choreography? Aah, this was not going to be good!

***

Five minutes later…

Where were they? Where were they?? Her legs were shaking, her head was hurting, and she had butterflies in her stomach. Jazzy started turning and turning around, waiting for her crew to barge into the room.

Finally, she heard something, something squeaking or squealing or maybe it was the door?

“Hey, Jazzy!”

“Hey, Fred!”

“Sorry, Jazzy, that we bailed on you. It’s just we wanted to have some fun before the big day!”

“Then why didn’t you ask me if I wanted to come?”

“It’s because Rihanna invited only us, because she doesn’t know you, and she just knows us.”

“Well, you could’ve just said, ‘Hey, I’m going to blank’s party. I don’t think she or he will mind?!’”

“Anyway, we have to practice. So let’s get started!”

And so Jazzy and her crew ended up in New York and got accepted to the finals and world tour!

 

Mason’s Escape

Prologue

Jul 16, 1969

The Moon

“One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

As soon as those words were uttered, generations were inspired to ask themselves one question: Is there life on other planets? The people were half right.

 

To: XXXXXX XXXXX

Chairman Of The Board

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Should we tell the public? About what we really XXXXXXXXXX XX XX? It’s good we cut out half the transmission, right? I have so many questions. The XXXXXX would panic if they knew what we really saw! It’s amazing, isn’t it? Anyway, we’ll have to tell them at some point, right? But not right now, for I have a feeling we can keep it a secret.

Yours truly, XXXX XXXXXXXXX

 

Chapter One: The Lonely World

December 6, 2087 – 10:00 AM

Asphodel Space Station

They knew by now. They did. They knew what cataclysmic event doomed the human race to a miserable future of living on a space station. Even Mason Dell did, didn’t he? Mason was only ten, maybe eleven, because it was hard to tell your age in a place where the sun never set. The future wasn’t purely bleak, however. Humans had invented many devices, such as the SenseSet, a virtual reality device that was compatible with all five senses. Mason spent some time there, battling dragons or racing hovercars. Then there was the BioSim, a holographic device that could make you feel like you were on Earth, the Earth that existed before the “Event,” as the scientists called it. But Mason’s true favorite was the SpeedBike, a hundred-mile-per-hour bike that could take him anywhere, or on this occasion, school.

 

Chapter Two: Interrogation       

December 6, 2087 – 2:00 PM

The Institute Of Educational Facilities

“A caterpillar evolves into a cocoon, and that cocoon evolves into a butterfly,” the teacher said, eager to share his facts about Earth with everyone in the class.

Why share this with us if we could learn about this in the BioSim? thought Mason as he copied it down in his notebook. Tyler flicked a spitball at him, for he could not find a straw with which to do it. Tyler was the “mentally challenged” boy in Mason’s class. He was a boy who tended to explore the BioSim for days at a time, without even seeing real humans until he took it off.

At recess, Mason heard a familiar voice behind him.

“That spitball was only the warning shot, twerp,” Tyler said, grinning. “Now I’m locked and loaded, ready to finish you off!”

Mason ducked as Tyler shot his spitball gun at him rapidly until he couldn’t take it anymore. Tyler aimed for his ear when suddenly he heard a voice he had heard many times before.

“Put the gun down,” said the PC-467 automated law enforcement officer. “Want me to take you to Wilson, you criminal?”

The PC-467 grabbed Tyler by the shirt and began to walk away, still holding Tyler.

Mason stepped in front of the PC-467 and said, “You aren’t taking him to Wilson, you robotic freak!”

“Why not, if I may ask?” it replied.

“Because Tyler is my brother,” he replied. “And he isn’t going anywhere.”

 

Chapter Three: Wilson

December 6, 2087 – 4:00 PM

Location Unknown

There were two chairs in the room. Mason looked around cautiously. He peered and saw someone hiding in the shadows, watching him.

“Show yourself!” he said.

The man stepped out of the shadows and sat in the chair. He wore a blue pinstriped suit and an elegant bow tie. Wilson, thought Mason. Wilson was a robot created to be the “president” of the space station. He was created to make decisions, help solve problems, and most importantly, be the perfect leader so people would not consider overthrowing him. His voice was made to sound like a real human’s.

“I heard there was an ‘incident’ involving a patrol-bot,” he said.

“Do you know the real reason your brother stays in the BioSim for days at a time? It’s because he wants to go back to Earth. He hates it here. That’s the reason he bullies you all the time, you know. I wish I could help you, but he’s your brother, which means he’s your problem. Now step in the Transporter and head home. Bet your mother’s waiting for you.”

“You’re letting me off this easy?” said Mason as he stepped in the Transporter and punched in the coordinates.

“Your mother’s a personal friend of mine, remember?” Wilson replied.

“Thanks,” muttered Mason.  

My mother isn’t a personal friend of Wilson’s, she’s his secretary, he thought bitterly.

“Wait,” said Wilson. “I have one question for you. Do you also want to go back to Earth?”

Mason ignored him and teleported away.

 

Chapter Four: Home

December 6, 2087 – 6:00 PM

Mason’s House

Mason flopped onto the couch. Tyler was fiddling with some sort of strange gaming console.

“What’s that?” asked Mason.

“Found it in the space junk dump. People said it could be around 70 years old. Doesn’t even have a virtual reality aspect to it. The label says ‘XBOX 360.’”

Mason watched as Tyler tried to plug it into their VRVD (Virtual Reality Viewing Device) and a buzzing sound came on, and the words XBOX 360 flashed on the screen.

“Yes!” yelled Tyler.

He walked away and headed to the SenseSet.

“I thought you were going to play on it,” said Mason.

“Nah,” said Tyler. “I was just setting it up.”

He walked away and put on the SenseSet.

“Can I play?” asked Mason.

“Wait a minute,” said a familiar voice. It was Mason’s mother, Liz. “You boys should get something to eat.”

“But we want to play on the SenseSet!” they both said in unison.

“Okay, boys, but only for a short while.”

Mom winked at them, and he put the headset on.

 

Chapter  Five: Decisions

December 6, 2087 – 7:30 PM

Somewhere In Cyberspace

Mason heard a buzzing sound as he was transported to an unfamiliar world. Where am I? he wondered. He stared around, unsure of his surroundings. There was a waterfall, a grove of trees up ahead, and a knight in crystalline black armor next to him. Tyler’s character, he thought. He looked down and saw that he was wearing simple leather gear and carried a metal sword made of some sort of strange iron. Out of nowhere, aliens burst out of the grove, holding some sort of futuristic sword. Tyler grabbed a obsidian black bow, to match his armor, and started to pick off the aliens one by one.

“I thought this was medieval!” yelled Mason as Tyler speared an alien through the head, and it exploded into green goop.

“Hey, Tyler,” screamed Mason over the vicious roar of the aliens. “Do you really want to leave the space station?”

And just like that, everything stopped. Mason remembered many things about the space station he didn’t like, such as the ever-growing Tropic Zone, a place where humans could experience a man-made rainforest, or the Greenfield, a gigantic farm where most of Asphodel’s food came from. But his saddest memory was at the Lunar Aeronautics Facility, the place where his father used to work.

 

Chapter Five and a Half: A Dark Memory

July 29, 2081 – 1:30

Lunar Aeronautics Facility

Mason was six when it happened. His father was a pilot, a man who drove the rocket ships back and forth from Asphodel, either carrying cargo or passengers. One day, Mason’s father was assigned to a cargo flight where he carried something of utmost importance: moondust, the main building material in Asphodel. During the flight, a bag of moondust burst open, slid towards the window, and fogged up his windows, which caused a collision that killed everyone onboard both rockets. It is time, thought Mason. Time to leave the space station.

 

Chapter Six: Preparations

December 7, 2087 – 7:30 AM

Mason’s House

“Time to draw out the plan,” said Tyler as he began to draw on the board.

Tyler’s plan

  • Step One: Recruit a team
  • Step Two: Get weapons
  • Step Three: Sneak to the Hangar Bay
  • Step Four: Destroy The Defenses
  • Step Five: Steal an Escape pod
  • Step Six: Try not to get killed
  • Step Seven: Escape to Earth and live happily ever after

 

“You call this a plan?” asked Mason, as he read Tyler’s steps carefully. “And who would we recruit?”                         

***

They knew where to go first, of course. They opened the door, slowly and surely, and were flooded by light.                  

“Hey guys!” Joan sighed in relief.

“What’s all that code for?” asked Tyler.

“Just fixing the microwave. Anyhoo, what do you want me to hack?”

Tyler showed Joan his plan, and she said, “The Defenses, huh? I can hack those, probably even from here! And I’ve got the weapons covered too.”

She walked over to her MatterPrinter and pulled out a trove of futuristic weapons.

“Printed out weapons straight from the SenseSet. Tyler, you get the PlasmaBlade, I’ll take the PhotonBlaster, and Mason, you get the StarBow.”

“Cool!” yelled Mason excitedly.

“Yup! I’ve finished hacking,” reported Joan, and they set out for the hangar bay.

***

“Looks like the defenses are down,” exclaimed Tyler. “This is too easy.”

They ran towards the escape pod, but suddenly they heard a familiar voice behind them.
“And where do you think you’re going, children?”

    

Chapter Seven: Battle

December 7, 2087 – 12:30 PM

Asphodel Hangar Bay

The first bullet grazed Mason’s ear. Wilson stood there with a group of many police-bots.

“There will be no leaving Asphodel!” screamed Wilson, and the robot army surged forward.

A robot aimed for Tyler, but before he could fire, Mason’s arrow pierced its head. The robot promptly crumpled to the ground. Tyler gave Mason a thumbs-up, and they continued to battle. Mason’s arrows took down many robots, but there was just too many of them.

“Cover me!” yelled Joan, and she ran towards the Main Robotic System Control Room.

When Mason thought he just couldn’t take it anymore, he saw a flood of Asphodelians run to the battle. They were using anything to destroy the robots, even chairs. Suddenly, a robot ran up to Mason, but before it could get to him, it fell. What just happened? thought Mason. He looked around and saw all the robots falling onto the ground.

“Emergency… Shutdown…” shrieked one of them, and its eyes blinked out.

Joan stepped out of the control room.

“It’s amazing what you can do with a little hacking,” she said triumphantly.

Everyone cheered happily, but when Mason turned around, he saw a horrifying sight: Wilson was still alive, and he was holding a gun to Tyler’s head!

“Do you really want to leave, Mason? Do you want to go back to the planet the aliens overtook?” he said.

Mason remembered the story, of course. There was extraterrestrial life on the moon, and it had been on the moon for millions of years. One day, in 2036, it dropped a small capsule that carried an extremely lethal virus into the ocean. The virus spread fast, and anyone who drank the water was dead within a minute. Millions died every day, until every country in the world put all their money together to create Asphodel. Asphodel, thought Mason, the last place where the human race is safe. He looked over at Wilson.

“Say goodbye to your – ” Wilson fell to the ground, and standing behind him was Mom, holding a laser gun.

She looked at Wilson and said, “You aren’t touching my kids you little – ”

The next parts she said were not appropriate for younger readers. The crowd cheered louder this time, for their victory in the Battle of Asphodel!

 

Chapter Eight: Departure

December 7, 2087-2:30 PM

Asphodel Hangar Bay

It was time to leave, time to take the escape pods back to Earth.

“Raise your hand if you wish to leave Asphodel,” yelled Mason.

Everyone raised their hand, of course.

“Okay, we are gonna need a lot of escape pods,” he chuckled.

He saw Joan boarding her pod. He ran up to her and promptly kissed her on the cheek.

“Um, thanks for what you did back there,” he said.
He looked her in the eye, blushed quickly, and ran back to his escape pod.

“Come on!” said Mom excitedly, and he boarded the pod.

Time to put on one of my favorites, thought Mason as he plugged the headphone jack into into his PortaTune, the device he listened to music on.

Imagine there’s no heaven,

It’s easy if you try

Mason’s mother revved the engine, and the escape pod began to float into the air.

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today… Aha-ha…

Their escape pod slowly headed out of Asphodel, and Mason looked back at what used to be his home.

Imagine there’s no countries

It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion, too

Earth quickly came into view, and the pod headed towards it.

Imagine all the people,

Living life in peace… you…

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one  

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

Mason stared straight into the eyes of the planet Earth, the planet he would soon call home.

 

The End?

 

Special Thanks:

Thank you to everyone in Writopia, especially my instructors, for providing me with a comfortable and exciting place where I could share my ideas with new people.

Thanks to my parents, for providing me with help every step of the way, and thanks to everyone in my Writopia class for providing me with great ideas.                                                                                                                            

“Imagine” written and sung by John Lennon, 1979        

 

The Class Election

Chapter One: Class Election

Eight-year-old Sam sat in class listening to his teacher, Phillip, who said, “We are going to have a class election.”

The second that Phillip said that, Sam knew that he wanted to be elected. He thought of a speech and a reason to be elected.

Then at lunch, Harry the bully said, “I’m going to win,” and he kicked Sam, but Sam stayed strong.

Sam really thought he could win. Sam told his friends what he could do to help the school if he was elected. He could help get better food, stop arguments, and make safer rules. He wanted to win because he knew that if Harry won, Harry could make the class change in a very bad way.

“He can’t win,” said Sam to his friends, Paulo and Max. Max suggested that they could make signs to say why Sam should be elected.

After school was over and they went home, they told their moms and dads about the election. Sam stayed up all night working on his class election, making signs and speeches, and practicing them.

The next day in class, Phillip said that they were going to have the election tomorrow. Sam was excited. He already had ten votes, but Harry had sixteen! Sam was scared. Paulo tried to cheer him up, and he did. Then at snack time, Sam made promises to kids about how he could help the school, and later, he had seventeen votes!! Sam was very excited.

 

Chapter Two: The Encounter

But there was still a kid named Joe, who was running for president too! He had twenty-seven votes!

At lunch, Sam said to Paulo and Max, “We can do this!” Later they had thirty votes! But Joe had forty-six, so they continued to promise what they could do to help.

Max looked at the chart in the bathroom on his iPhone, and Joe had six more votes.

Sam said, “We…” but he was interrupted by the new kid, Molly. She was sad because Harry had broken her arm! As Sam was talking to Molly, Harry came up from behind and punched Max in the face!!! Next, Harry punched Sam and Paulo. Harry was mad that Sam was winning!

                 

Chapter Three: The Election

After school was over, Sam and Max went to Paulo’s house and tried to think of a strategy to win the election! They stayed up all night, thinking of ways to win the election. They thought of ways like promises and helpful things like hiring someone to clean the bathrooms.

                            

Chapter Four: The Surprise

The next day, when they went to school, Phillip said that the class election was in two weeks!

Sam clenched his fists when a kid named Jimmy wanted to be elected as well!

Then Jimmy, Harry, and Sam all wanted to be class president!

Harry wanted to get rid of Sam so much, he hit him with a baseball bat in the bathroom and knocked Sam out. Later, Max and Paulo found Sam in the bathroom after lunch. Max was mad and clutching his fists and punched the wall. Max felt like killing Harry the bully. And Sam said that they should go to the classroom and tell teacher Phillip about Harry and what he did, but then it was lunch. After lunch, they forgot to tell on Harry. Two hours later… school was over.

 

Chapter Five: Real Election

Two weeks later… Sam woke up, and he was so excited that the election was today!! He ate breakfast like the speed of light, and then, clutching his backpack, he zoomed to school on his skateboard. When he came to school, he was beyond excited. He went inside, and then Phillip said that the class election was today!!!

Up first was Sam. He read his speech, and the crowd cheered like mad!! Sam was excited. Next up was Harry. He read his speech, and Sam thought it was stupid. Then came up Joe, and Sam thought that it was pretty good, and that he and Joe were tied. Last, but not least, came Jimmy. Sam and Joe both thought that Jimmy’s speech was pretty dumb. Then Phillip announced that they could have snacks.

At snack time, Harry said, “Lil punk, I’m gonna win,” and kicked him in the face. After snack, Phillip said that in one hour they would say who was winning, and one hour after that, they would say who won. Then they had math, and Max looked at the chart on his iPhone. Joe was winning by eleven votes!!

Then they had P.E., and Joe said, “Lil punk, I’m better,” and he pulled out a rubber band gun and shot Sam in the face. Then Sam told the coach, and Joe got in trouble. After that, Jimmy and Harry were tied, and Sam was second place. Sam was scared. Then Harry aimed a crossbow at Joe, and then he had to go to the hospital. Joe had to have a heart surgery!

Sam was scared that Harry was going to hurt him next!! Then Phillip caught Harry shooting Joe, and Harry got expelled!!! Then they went inside, and then Phillip announced that the winner was… Sam!!!

And then Sam thought that he was the happiest kid in the world!

Sam said, “Yes!!!”

 

The End

 

The Book With No Title

Once upon a time, I was sleeping on a shelf. I would tell you my title, but I do not have one because the humans are lazy. That’s how the humans ruined my life. Other books made fun of me because I didn’t have a title.

Every year I grew a new page. It happens when when it’s your birthday. Each page counted as a year. I was eight pages long. That meant I was eight years old. I was a plain book with no words.

“I wish I had a title. There is no story without a title.” I said as I woke up and looked at the other books with titles. I decided to find a title right after I ate breakfast made of pencil shavings. I hopped onto the table where I met a pencil. It was a tall pencil without an eraser. He told me he would write me a title.

“But in return, I want a eraser,” he said.

I walked over to the cupholder. Inside the cupholder, there was a pen.

He said to me, “I will give you an eraser if you give me some ink.”

I searched all day for ink until it was night time. I entered my shelf, tired and exhausted. I told my mom all about my day. I told her I did not  find a title. My mom was a bible book. Bibles were old and wise like my mom. But my mom was not that old.

She told me, “It does not matter if you don’t have a title. That’s what makes you special.”

I felt much better. I was proud of who I was. I did not have a title, but I decided everyone else could call me Jimmy as my name, not as my title.

That night, my dad came home from the airport. He was on a work vacation. He was a dictionary at the school, and all the children looked at my dad to look up words. I was proud of my dad.

Now it was summer vacation, so my dad was coming home. I didn’t see him for nine months. The school year was really long.

I saw my dad coming up on the shelf. My mom told him my new name. I hugged him, and then I went to sleep. There wasn’t much to a dad, so you just hug them and go to sleep.

The next morning, I saw my dad in the kitchen. He was with our neighbor. Our neighbor was a cookbook! They were baking pen ink for breakfast. My dad brought pen ink home from the school! I felt so angry. I was looking for pen ink for hours, maybe even decade! (It felt like a decade since I was a kid.) But then, I didn’t care anymore. I remembered I was proud of who I was.

I said good morning to my dad, and my dad said, “Good morning, Jimmy.”

Breakfast was a bowl of pen ink. Books ate pen ink so the words inside us didn’t fade away, but I had no words. I just realized that if I didn’t have a story, then pen ink wouldn’t work. I started to frown.

I told my dad, “I’m going on a voyage to find a story, so that I can eat pen ink and the story won’t fade away.”

“I thought you said you don’t want a title.”

I gasped. “I don’t want a title. I want a story because I can use my story to help people. You teach kids words. Mom’s a bible. I don’t know what she teaches. Our neighbor teaches cooking. And I want to help people too.”

I packed a sleeping bag, lots and lots of pen ink, pencil shavings, and a tent.

My mom came downstairs, and I told my mom I was going on a voyage to find a story. She wasn’t worried.

She said, “How far could a book go? Am I right, or am I right? Really.”

Then I started my voyage. I went to the front lawn, where I started my voyage for a title. I walked on until it was night time. It was morning, and I checked my pages. I saw pictures of myself, the pen, and the pencil, and words.

“I have a story!!!” I yelled.

I ran back to the house and jumped on the desk. I traded my ink for an eraser and traded the eraser for a title. The pencil wrote a title for me, and I decided it would be “The Book With No Title.” My story was about my journey I went on to find a title.

I climbed onto the shelf, and I told my parents all about my new story and title. My dad and my mom were very happy when they heard this news. I decided I would be a picture book.

I learned to go see other books with titles. I made friends with a book. His title was “Captain Hailey Sails Across the World!” He was a comic book, and his name was Jake. From that day on, I always played with my friend, Jake, and made new friends with a fantasy book. His title was “The Land of Dragons” and his name was Leo. I played with Leo and Jake every day, and I was never lonely again. No one ever made fun of me again because now I had a title. And we lived happily ever after.

 

The End!!!

 

Joe the Bird

PROLOGUE

There was once a bird named Joe. He was living with his parents. He was just a little baby and was looking up at his mother. He was crying.

“There, there, there,” said his mom. “Your father is going to come home, and then you’re going to have some worms.”

“Yay!”

“That’s your first word! Yippee!”

“Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!”

“Okay, you can stop saying it now.”

“Yay!”

“Oh look, here he comes!” said his mom, trying to change the subject.

“Yay!”

“Oh dear.”

Soon, Joe’s dad came flying in.

“I brought you some worms.”

“Yay!”

“That’s his first word, honey!” said Joe’s dad.

“But he won’t stop saying it,” said his mom.

“This worm’s name is Wormy,” said his dad.

“How can you tell?” asked his mom.

“Well, he has a name tag saying Wormy. Here you go, honey.”

But Joe wouldn’t eat it. He thought that it was special.

“If you won’t eat it, then I will,” said his dad. “I’ll teach you how to eat a worm.”

“No! No! Please, no!” said Wormy. “I’ll do anything! Don’t feed me to you!”

“Okay, me and Suali were considering enlisting in the bird army. We’re fighting against those horrid humans in Germany that are trying to make birds extinct. Could you take care of our dear Joe?”

“Yes.”

“Yay!” yelled Joe. “Best worm!”

“His first three words,” said his mom. “Yay, best, and worm!”

“I have tons of friends, Joe,” said Wormy.

“Are they worms?” asked his mom.

“Yes.”

“Well then, teach him not to eat worms and just to eat fruits. If I had to choose, I would choose berries.”

 

Part I

Joe was happy, but he wanted something very badly. He wanted the crown of the king of England. One day, he tried to sneak into England, but was stopped by his caretaker, Wormy. Wormy blocked the entrance, and when Joe tried to fly over him, Wormy’s friends came over and piled on top of him until they were so high that Joe could not fly over them.

“You’re not going to get past us, Joe.” said Wormy and his friends in unison.

Joe stalked back to his tree angrily.

“Why can’t they see that it’s just going to be a short trip? It’s just there and back, just stopping once to grab/steal the crown.”

“I heard that!” yelled Wormy.

Feeling hungry, Joe flew up to his nest. He ate some strawberries (since his caretaker was a worm, he couldn’t eat them) and started to feel better.

“I’ll come up with a plan, sooner or later.”

It turned out to be sooner.That night, when Wormy’s friend, Gill, was taking the night shift, Joe put his plan into action. First he ate some of his strawberries that he had been saving and threw up over the side of the nest.

“Joe is throwing up!” Gill yelled. “Wake up, Wormy!”

Wormy leaped out of his microscopic bed and ran to the scene.

“Ha ha ha! Now you can’t go to England! Na na na boo boo!”

Then Gill said, “I think I’m gonna go inside with Wormy cause you’re too sick, you can’t leave for England.”

Then Gill accompanied Wormy inside the house. As soon as they were out of his sight, Joe ate anti-throw up medicine and grabbed a couple of strawberries. Then he flew off towards England.

In England, Joe had a hard time finding his way around. Pretty soon, he came to the exhibit where they were showing the king and queen’s castle. Then, when no one was looking, he found a place where there was a rope across it, and it said “Restricted.” When no one was looking, he flew inside.

Once he was inside, a bunch of guards came. But his blue feathers blended in perfectly with the wall.

One of the guards said, “This must be someone’s idea of a cruel joke. Let’s go back.”

Then when the coast was clear, Joe flew in. And there it was. The crown.

There was a blind man who said, “It is I, the keeper of the crown. You will not get past me.”

But he was looking in the wrong direction since he was blind. Joe was on the left, flying towards the crown, and the man was shaking his cane at air on the right. Joe grabbed the crown and tried to lift it, but he couldn’t.

So he called out for his friends.

“Tweet tweet tweet!”

Soon, fifty more birds came, and they lifted the crown and flew off towards Joe’s house. It was a long journey, and Joe only had one strawberry left. They all split it, but it was hardly anything. Luckily, one of his friends, whose name was Grace, had blueberries. They all devoured them.

Soon they got home. It was nighttime. The trip had only taken him a few hours. When he got back, he flew inside his nest and ate some strawberries. Then he went to Wormy.

“I got the crown! You kept thinking it was impossible! But it wasn’t! I got it!” Wormy looked really scared. “What’s wrong?”

“You should have never brought the crown.”
“Why?”

“Now they will be sending guards after us. They will capture you, and me, and all my friends, and all your friends, and steal the crown back. We need to go. Now.”

Soon, Wormy was ready, so Joe called “tweet tweet tweet” again to bring his friends. Now fifty more birds came, so in total, there were one hundred and one birds, including Joe. All of them picked up two worms and flew off. Soon it was just Wormy, Retcher, Gill, and Joe left. Wormy, Retcher, and Gill hopped on Joe’s back and flew just as one of the king’s guards was about to grab Joe’s tail feather. They flew all the way until they got to Greece, but it turned out word had got out there that the king’s crown was stolen, and they had to move to Spain.
Soon they made a new house, and Wormy, Joe, and all their friends lived happily ever after.

 

Part II

Joe was very adventurous. He had already gone to England, stolen the king’s crown, went to Greece, was chased to Spain, and was now living there. He had already learned about 75% of Spanish, but he usually used English at his house. Right now, he was lying in his bed/nest, and he was bugging Wormy so much.

He was saying, “Why can’t I go on another adventure? Why can’t I go on another adventure?”

“You can’t. It’s too dangerous,” Wormy said.

“I’ve already been to England! I’ve already been to Greece! I’ve already been in America, and right now I’m in Spain! Why can’t I go on another adventure? It’s not dangerous. Well, even if it is dangerous, I’m not gonna get hurt!”

“You nearly broke your tail feather last time you went on an adventure!”

“But they grow back!”

“No they don’t!”

“Okay, maybe they don’t, but I won’t break my tail feather!”

“Fine, you can go on another adventure, but I get to choose where you go.”

“Yippee!”

“You get to go to… drumroll please, Gill.”

“Where?”

“To… India!”

“Where in India?”

“I did not say India, I said Indiana,”

“Sorry, I could have sworn I heard India.”

“Well, when you’re in Indiana, you get to go and… another drumroll please, Gill.”

“Just tell me where already!”

“You get to go to… Times Square!”

“I don’t think there is a Times Square in Indiana. Yeah, that’s in New York.”

“No, you know where I mean! I mean, you get to go to the middle of Indiana! That’s the best place!”

“Wormy, you know what I’ve been telling you. If you say Times Square, everyone’s gonna think you mean Times Square in New York.”

“Okay, okay, I get it, Joe. I’m an old worm, you can’t blame me.”

“Wormy, you’re twenty years old.”

“You know what I mean!”

“What did I say about literal translations?” As soon as Joe said those words, Wormy walked/wriggled away. Then, feeling rather hungry, Joe picked some strawberries and ate them. He then picked a few blueberries and saved them for dinner. After that, he flew down from his nest, and said “hi” to Gill and then said “tweet tweet tweet” which was his way of saying, “I want you, friends.” Then twenty of his friends came, and they all played tag until dinner. Then all the birds went home, and Joe ate his blueberries that he had been saving. When Wormy climbed up the tree and told him that he should rest up for his trip tomorrow, he fell asleep.

In the morning, Joe brushed his feathers, and then he flew off outside his house and left a present on someone’s head. Then he grabbed a stick that was perfectly round that he kept as a toothbrush and put some mint on it, and then he brushed his teeth. After that, he ate some blackberries, packed some raspberries for lunch, some strawberries for snack, and blueberries for dinner and then he practiced flying, and then he said bye to Gill, Wormy, and the rest of the worms, and then flew off towards America. He had to stop for lunch in Germany, which he did not like. It was too busy, and everyone was so demanding. He stopped in the tree, but he didn’t have time to make a nest, so he just put a few twigs down. And then he sat down and had lunch, which was raspberries. As soon as he finished lunch and took a half an hour nap, he practiced flying for ten minutes, and then he went for America. It was a very long flight, so he had to stop for a snack in New Jersey. He went to a place where his old owners were, and they still liked him, so they let him stay and fed him the strawberries. Then he napped for ten minutes, practiced flying for two minutes, and left for Indiana.

When he got to Indiana, he was recognized by many people because they had all heard that he knew the people who lived in New Jersey. They were very rich. He was welcomed with open arms. Then, he went to the middle of Indiana where he was expected by the Sawyer family. They took him to their house, which was very nice, and fed him full with blueberries and even got him some water. Then they went around their place, showing him all of the nice things where they lived, and then Mr. Sawyer promised to take him on a sightseeing trip in the morning. Then, Joe went to bed.

In the morning, just like he had promised, Mr. Sawyer took him around Indiana on a sightseeing trip. They had seen all the nice places in Indiana and were in a church when Mr. Sawyer got a call on his phone from Wormy. Wormy had been asking when he was going to get home and said that all the worms had missed him.

Joe said, “I’m coming back, Wormy, I just want to finish looking at this church. Then I promise I’ll fly back.”

Then he finished looking at the church, and they walked/flew back to Mr. Sawyer’s house. There, he had some raspberries, packed some blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries, then flew all the way to Canada. There, he had his lunch. After that, he flew to Germany and had strawberries as a snack. Then he napped for an hour, flew around the tree where he was three times, then flew all the way back to Spain. When he got there, he was greeted by worms singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” even though it was the middle of spring, and Joe pointed out that it was spring so they should be singing “We Wish You a Merry Easter”, and so they sang “We Wish You a Merry Easter.”

Then Wormy said, “Where were you? We thought you were going to come at lunch time. Why are you coming so late?”

“Well, it’s not an easy flight from here to America, so I had to stop both ways two to three times.”

“Well, next time you go on an adventure, you come earlier.”

“I promise I will, Wormy. But most of the birds who go on adventures usually go for a few weeks, and then their parents and caretakers say that they go for too short a time.”

“Well, okay. But next time you can’t go any more than a week, okay?”

“Well, of course, when have I ever been known not to listen to you?” Wormy stared at him. “Okay, maybe I haven’t listened to you a few times.”

“And one of those times, you nearly got you, me, the rest of the birds, and the rest of the worms killed!”

“Okay.”

 

Part III

Joe had already been to England, stolen the crown, went to Greece, been chased to Spain, where he was right now, and went to New Jersey, Germany, Indiana, and Canada. He now lived in Spain. He used to live in New York. Right now, he was in his nest, planning for another trip. He had to go because all the worms were running out of food, and there was surprisingly no food growing. Joe himself had to live on apples, which he hated, because the bushes were not growing any berries. Apples for lunch, apples for dinner, apples for breakfast, and apples for snack. He was getting bored of it, and he had to eat it every day, which made it worse.

One day, he found a little blackberry on the tree and kindly shared it with all of the worms. It filled up the worms, but it didn’t fill him up. Gill came up to him.

He was too weak to climb the tree, so he stayed on the ground and called up to him, “If you want to get us food, you should go to Canada. There, me and Wormy’s friend, Bob, lives. When we were running from the guards, when you got the crown, his bird got injured so they had to take a pit stop in Canada, but that pit stop turned out to be where they lived. If you go to Bob, then you should ask for the berries so we can all have them. Here’s a pouch.” He then gave him the stick where he had tied a bunch of leaves together and then tied them to the stick so it created a pouch. “Put the berries in there and come back home. We’re all starving here. We have to live off that one little blackberry, and our mouths are so small that they can’t bite through apples.”

“I thought worms always bite through apples.”

“Well, most of us worms here are very old, so we can’t bite through.”

“But you’re only thirty-seven.”

“It’s still hard to. Those apples are really hard.”

That left Joe very puzzled, because when he looked at apples right outside their house/tree, he saw a lot of worms biting in apples with their heads sticking out of apples, and they all had many wrinkles on them and looked old.

Joe went to bed. In the morning, Joe packed a load of apples. He found another raspberry growing and gave it to his friends, the worms. Then, he flew towards Canada. He had to stop in Australia for lunch. He had two apples because he had skipped breakfast. He took a half an hour nap and flew around the tree where he was for ten minutes to practice. Then, he kept flying. Soon, he found himself in Germany. Surprisingly, he found his mom and dad!

“Oh, look at you! You’ve grown up so much,” said his mom, crying and hugging and covering him with kisses.

“Look at you! You’re practically as tall as your father,” said his dad.

They went through this for five minutes.

“Well, Mom and Dad, I have to go and get some food. Everyone at Wormy’s house is starving, and I’ve been put in charge of getting them food. Bye.”

“Bye,” said his mom and dad at the same time.

Then, Joe took a ten minute nap, flew around the tree for five minutes to practice, and

then went off again. He had to stop again, right on a shore next to the water. He flew on a coconut tree, drank some coconut water, ate some apples, took a five minute nap, practiced flying for two minutes, and went off again towards Bob’s house.

When he got to Bob’s house, he practically collapsed. Bob tried to push him, but couldn’t, so called his friend, Red the Bird, which was also Joe’s friend, to help him. They soon got him inside the birdhouse where they fed him some blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Then they gave him all the food, and he went back.

He flew the same course and stopped the same stops, and then went back to his house. Then he gave all the birds their berries and stored his berries inside the pouch that Gill had given him. Then, he took a wonderful dinner of apples.

 

A Mermaid’s Home

Once upon a time, there was a half-mermaid named Linna. She desperately wanted to go see her parents in the ocean. But she was an orphan and lived on land with her adopted parents. She was born in a bubble with half-air, half-water, and when she breathed in, she became a half-mermaid and half-human. When a half-mermaid is born, there’s a law. If the sign in the bubble says “Yes,” then the half-mermaid needs to be given away. Half-mermaids sometimes are born with a little too much mermaid in them, and then they can’t transform really easily. So they need to go to the human world to get more balanced.

She had about a hundred half-mermaid siblings in the ocean with her parents. They were equally half and half. Her adopted parents and siblings wanted her to go see her family in the ocean. But she was 100 miles away from the ocean, and her parents didn’t have a car.

Every time Linna saw a river, stream, or a pond, she’d just jump in, and once she touched water, she would turn into a mermaid. She swam gracefully with her green tail. Her skin also turned slightly green. Then once she was dry, she was human again. One day, she jumped into a river and swam across the river instead of going on the bridge with her adoptive parents.

Then she told them, “It looks like a portal. Come on in.”

Her adoptive parents always wore swimsuits under their clothes, so they can swim with Linna anytime. They went in the river and swam towards the portal. They went in it and ended up in the middle of the ocean. Then they swam back through the portal, and her parents said, “Well, I guess this is goodbye.”

Then Linna swam to her real parents’ door underwater and she asked, “Do you know anyone who has ever had to give away a child?”

Her parents said, “We have.”

Linna said, “Mom… Dad?”

Her parents responded, “Linna?”

As soon as she got into the house, everything dried.

“Woah,” said Linna, and she turned back into a human.

Her dad asked, “Do you want some blueberry pancakes?”

It tasted so amazing and tasted like a thousand blueberries with maple syrup and pancakes. But they smelled like strawberries. That was the most confusing part.

Then she said to her parents, “How can it taste like blueberries but smell like strawberries?”

They told her it smelled very wonderful because they got it from Blueberry Hill. Blueberry Hill was just a rock, but underwater, it looked like a hill. To get there, all you had to do was take a different portal.

Then all of a sudden, her hundred mermaid siblings rushed in. Her parents said their names, and she thought, This is going to take a while, but she automatically remembered them. Then they all went to Blueberry Hill together. They had to tap the big rock, and when it opened, they picked the blueberries. After, she went to every mermaid’s door and introduced herself. She met a girl that was just like her, Raquel. They told each other their stories. They both had to be given away. Raquel went home to her mermaid parents faster than Linna because she lived closer to the ocean. When she was two years old, she got the courage to go into the ocean. She went in and found her parents. Linna and Raquel became friends and made invitations for a welcome home party for Linna.

***

The party was in her mermaid parents’ house. The house was full of yellow ribbons and balloons, and a big welcome sign. There were also stone cookies and a seaweed cake on a table. There was a sign that said, “If you are full mermaid, go to the little shed”, pointing to a little shed for full mermaids that was full of water. Linna entered the party, jumping off the rail, her beautiful rainbow dress flying up and down around her. Her parents controlled the water with their mermaid powers and allowed water into the house, just enough for Linna to land on. After, the water left through a tiny crack in the floor. Linna and everyone played a game called water swinging that only half-mermaids could play because they needed to have legs. They had to say “human” a hundred times in their head because then the human body would stick.

Meanwhile in the shed, the full mermaids were dancing, moving their hands side to side, and singing “Oh mermaid party, oh mermaid party.” Some mermaids moved their tails up and down to the music while sitting on the couch. But then Linna decided that she needed to spend time with the full mermaids too, so she went into the shed and joined them. The full mermaids made a bubble of water that they could be in so they could go into the house too. At the house, all the mermaids got to enjoy all the seaweed cake and the rock cookies.

Later, three mermen, who called themselves the Bully Boys, cut the big, yellow ribbon holding up the chandelier, and the chandelier came crashing down to the floor, causing a tiny fire. They tried to wreck her party because they didn’t like the pictures on the ceiling of Linna and all of her siblings. The ambulance, the police, and the fire department of mermaids came in. The firefighters took out the fire by spraying the special, secret cream. The police got the bully boys in trouble. The ambulance tried to rescue everybody. The glass could really hurt them, but luckily they rescued everybody.  

***

Linna woke up in her room on a beautiful day in the ocean. She went downstairs to eat breakfast, and her parents told her that she had to go to school today. She didn’t say anything but when the seaweed bus came, she said goodbye to her parents and left with her hundred siblings. They sat in the back of the bus on the hundred row seat. The bus went through the portal to half-mermaid school underwater.

On the first day of school, they learned about the ocean. She learned a lot of things about mermaids that she didn’t know about before. She learned that mermaids were the smartest people in the world. She thought, No wonder I passed all my tests back in the human world.

Linna sat with some of her siblings at lunch. They talked about how they were all nerds, but they were okay with it. One of the boy bullies from the party came up to her and said,  “Hello, poop butt stink.”

Linna responded with, “Hello, bully boy.”

Linna walked away and signed up for the Good Girls Club because she wanted to be a good girl, and her siblings were in the club too. When she went home, she told her parents about the club, and she gave the permission slip to her parents, and they signed it because all her siblings were already in the club.

The next day, Linna went to the Good Girls Club, and they made a plan to destroy the Bully Boys. The girls knew where the Bully Boys base was, so she went and spied on the Bully Boys. The base was a shed house with a dark blue bee on the top of the shed. It was not hidden so the new members could find them, but the Good Girls base was hidden, so the Bully Boys couldn’t find them. The Good Girls base was hidden at Forever Green park that full of kids, about four thousand. Forever Green park was full of shady trees. The trees had a beautiful canopy of flowers over them. Mermaids and humans could fit through there easily. A beautiful stony path with shiny stones on the side. The stony path was surrounded by two little rivers. The good girls used magic so the bully boys couldn’t see the path, but regular humans could see it. The path led to more bases that looked like the Good Girls Club. The Good Girls Club was made of sticks. It looked small on the outside, but with a little mermaid magic, the inside was huge.

Linna reported back to the Good Girls that the Bully Boys were planning to attack the Good Girls base with balls to destroy it. But the base was super stable, and after throwing six balls, they couldn’t destroy it and gave up.

Linna felt super duper happy that she beat the Bully Boys and the Bully Boys were out of her life. They played music in the Good Girls Base and started dancing.

***

Two Months Later

“It’s summer, summer party! It’s summer, summer party, summer party!” chanted all the students from school while dancing.

They waved their arms and swished their tails. To celebrate the start of summer, Linna went to the Fun Park with her siblings. At Fun Park, there was a huge rollercoaster and so many different rides. There was a tent with a fortune teller ride that Linna went to. She lay down on a seaweed mat that went in circles really slowly. After that, the fortune teller told Linna her fortune. The fortune teller was a young mermaid with black hair and blonde tips.

The fortune teller told Linna that her adventure would end when she got off the last ride. Then Linna went on the Underwater Slithering Snake. That ride was very long and fast. She heard her parents call out, “Linna, it’s time to go home.”

Linna felt okay. She said, “My name is Linna. I am fifteen, and this adventure must end now.”

 

THE END

 

Josh and the Bully

There was a boy named Josh. He was nine. He liked video games. He woke up to find that a new one came out! He was watching his favorite show when a commercial came up that said a new video game had come out called The Assault on Mars. He wanted it bad. He was jumping off his seat!

He zoomed to the store on his skateboard. But it was sold out already! He asked one of the workers if there were any left, but there was no more! He was beyond mad. He walked out, stomping and growling. He went to the next store. It was still sold out. He rode from store to store, but there were none left! He was tired, hot, and sad.

At that moment, he realized he was lost! He started to shiver in fear. He sprinted quickly to the snack store because it was near his house. Then he ran down the street because it was in the direction of his house. Then he finally found his house, sitting on the corner of the street. He walked inside. Then he pulled out his laptop and saw they had one left on Amazon! He dashed down stairs and snuck to a note that showed what his mom’s password was. He needed it to buy the video game off Amazon! He ran upstairs and hit “insert password.” He put in the password. It would come in three days! He started dancing around in circles!

 

Three days later…

Nothing had come!

He was bored. There was nothing to do. He was spinning his fidget spinner and sitting in a chair. He looked on the internet and saw it was a total scam! He was so mad. It was a scam to steal money from people. Josh stomped his feet and clenched his fists. He stole his mom’s wallet and ran to the one store he had not checked. He zoomed in. There it was. It was sitting on the counter. Josh and another kid spotted it. They raced to the counter. Unfortunately, the other kid got there first!

The kid said, “Heh, lil punk,” as he blew a bubble with his bubble gum and leaned on the counter. The kid pulled out a metal baseball bat. Then he threatened the person behind the counter, “Gimme this for free, or get hit with this!” as he shoved the baseball bat at the man behind the counter.

“Y-y-yes,” shuddered the man. “Here you go.”

The man handed over the video game. The kid walked out, sticking out his tongue at Josh.

“What a jerk!” mumbled Josh.

Josh walked out mad, annoyed, and sad. He walked home. He was happy to be home. He sat in his room, feeling terrible.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Josh opened the door, and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor, knocked out. He woke up to hear the noisy sound of sirens. He realized he was in an ambulance. There was a bed. He felt dizzy, nauseous, and his head hurt. He fell back asleep.

Josh woke up in the hospital. He heard the sound of his mom saying, “Josh, are you ok?!”

“What happened?” moaned Josh.

“I saw you on the floor, the door open, and a metal baseball bat on the floor!” said Josh’s mom. “You have a concussion!”

Josh went home after a little while at the hospital. As they were going home, Josh thought, I think I know who did this… the bully!

Josh’s mom said, “Once we get home, you have to stay in bed for two weeks.”

“Noooo!!!” shouted Josh.

“Yes,” said his mom.

They went home. Josh was sitting in bed, sad that he could not go outside. Josh was crying in sadness about how everything was going downhill. He could not fall asleep.

In the morning, he had enough of this. He ran outside and found a homemade crossbow aimed at his head…

“Don’t move!” screamed the bully. “I made this by tying pencils together in a crossbow

shape and using a rubber band for the string! This uses needles for ammo!”

The bully shot the crossbow at a house, and the brick shattered. Then the bully turned around and shot at Josh’s head, but he missed. The bully pulled a knife and slashed it towards Josh. Josh dodged the knife. Josh picked up the lid of a garbage can to use as a shield. The bully shot the crossbow, and it bounced off the garbage can lid.

Josh was shaking in fear. His head hurt badly. The bully kicked Josh in the stomach and pushed him to the floor. The bully then sat on him and pointed the knife to Josh’s throat. His mom came in at the last second and screamed, “Hey!!!” The bully chucked the knife into the bushes before the mom could see.

“You boys were just playing play fight? Huh,” said the mom.

She went inside, and Josh was up by now. The bully lunged at Josh.

“Come’ere!” scowled the bully.

Josh dodged a knife whirling towards him and caught it midair by the handle. Then, he chucked the knife to the floor so it would break and the bully couldn’t use it. The bully shot his crossbow and missed by an inch. Josh ran inside and told his mom before the bully got there.

His mom put Josh in bed to fully heal his concussion and dealt with the bully. His mom told the bully’s mom. The bully gave the video game back to Josh. Josh felt relieved from that madness.

(P.S. Josh loved the new video game.)

 

THE END

 

Mushrooms

Once there was a boy named Mike who lived in a house near a forest. He was ten years old, and he lived with his mom and dad. His mom worked at a bakery and delivered deserts to the people in the town. Mike’s dad was a policeman who worked alone driving through the town waiting to help it. Sometimes, he played in the forest and looked for mushrooms to collect, but he heard that there was a kidnapper in the forest. He collected the mushrooms for no reason with his friend Bob, who just liked going to the forest. There were only squirrels in the forest, or at least that’s what he thought…

One day, Mike went to the forest alone, and he went really far in and got lost. He saw brown mushrooms, and he read in a book he found in the library what mushrooms you can eat, and what mushrooms you can’t eat. In the book, it said that you could eat them, so he did. It tasted like the mushrooms his mom made at home. It was a very good taste that he enjoyed. When he saw the mushrooms they reminded him of his home and gave him hope that he would soon be home. As he walked in the forest, he just kept walking until he saw a bear. This bear was a big bear with a very angry look. His eyes were very big and he began to run towards Mike. Once Mike saw the bear, he turned around and ran for his life. But the bear was so much faster than him. However, Mike began throwing sticks at the bear causing him to slow down. As he ran and threw the sticks, he yelled for help. He was so loud and sounded so scared he grabbed a helicopter’s attention. As the helicopter came down, the bear turned around in fear and ran away.

Once the helicopter reached the ground, Mike was so excited that help had finally come. A tall and nice-looking guy stepped out of the helicopter and reached for Mike to help him out. Mike was in the helicopter and told the nice guy where his house was in hope of the guy taking him home. However, he realized that the guy was going in the wrong direction.

Then Mike said, “Ummm… Mister, you are going the wrong way… ”

The guy just stared at Mike and didn’t respond. Mike was so scared and preferred to be lost in the forest alone than with a stranger. Then the helicopter guy landed in a random place Mike had never seen before. Once Mike stepped out of the helicopter, he saw a brick house surrounded by trees and flowers. But the weirdest thing of all was that it was very silent and he wasn’t even able to hear the birds. The guy forced Mike inside the house.

Inside the house, Mike saw a very clean house with very weird paintings hung up on the wall. There was a TV with a table on the side that had a computer on it. Everything seemed to match the white wall, including the big blue and white couch. Before Mike could say anything, the guy walked Mike into a room where the guy locked him inside. Although Mike was scared, he tried to calm himself down. Mike wandered around the room and found a key, but didn’t know what it opened. He tried to open the locked door with this key, but it didn’t work. The room was lit up, so Mike could see another door that the key could possibly unlock. He put the key in the lock and opened the door. The key worked!

When he opened the door, he was outside and saw tall trees and a clear blue sky. There was grass on the ground with rocks and roses growing from the ground. Mike spotted a path and decided to follow it. The path took a left and lead Mike to find the man who kidnapped him. The man began to run after him and chased Mike through the forest. While running, Mike saw a big rock and hid behind it. Mike saw the man run towards the rock and ran past it, thinking that Mike was still running from him. Mike came out from his hiding place and could not find the path. Mike was scared and tired. He decided to rest on the ground next to the big rock. While laying down, Mike looked up at the blue sky and wished he could find a way home. Mike came up with a plan to find his way home. He decided to try to find the mushrooms he found when he first got lost. If he found these mushrooms, it would be a sign that he was close to home. The mushrooms grew in fives and were small, two to three inches tall, bumpy, and brown with big dark brown spots. He would not mix up the mushrooms because they were very recognizable to him and other people who spotted them.

Mike got up and walked forward to find a tiny house made of red brick. Mike went towards the house and knocked on the front door. Mike knew someone was home because he saw that a light was turned on in the house. Mike waited outside for a little bit and the door slowly opened. A short old man with medium size glasses looked at Mike and asked, “Are you lost?”

“Yes, I am trying to find my parents.”

“Come inside, I have a map. Maybe it can help you find where you live.”

Mike entered the clean house and the old man opened a closet and got the map. The map was old and dusty with faded writing. Mike tried to find where he lived, but found it difficult because the map was too hard to read. Mike gave up and was upset that he couldn’t find where he lived.

Mike decided to leave the old man’s house and began to walk through the forest. Mike walked for so long and noticed that the sun had begun to set. The forest got dark at night and Mike began to get scared. Mike found a dark, silent cave and slept there.

Mike woke up in the morning and walked out of the cave. When walking out of the cave, Mike found the mushrooms he had been looking for. Because he found the mushrooms, he remembered that he walked past the mushrooms that tasted like the way his mom cooked mushrooms. Mike retraced his steps, remembering more and more. Then suddenly, Mike bumped into Bob! Bob was so happy to see Mike.

“I’ve been looking for you! But when trying to find you, I got lost as well!” said Bob.

“I have been trying to find a way home, but I have had no luck! Let’s team up to find a way home,” responded Mike.

“How about we go to the big rock over there. We can get some high ground to see if we can spot the town,” Bob suggested.

“Okay, let’s go!” Mike said with hope.

They began to walk towards the rock, and when they got there, they noticed that although the rock was big, it was still easy to climb. Once they reached the top of the rock, they saw their town! They began to climb down and luckily, the climb down was easy like the climb up. They began to walk right and suddenly they saw the guy who kidnapped Mike! They started running away. Then Mike found poison ivy, used two sticks to get the poison ivy, and threw it at the kidnapper. The kidnapper ran away.

Mike and Bob found the big rock again, and they climbed up and went back home. But when they got home, all of the people in the town were gone and the town was silent. Where were the people in the town? Mike and Bob searched every house and every room, but they couldn’t find even a whisper. They were about to leave, but then Bob found a person hiding under a car. It was an old man who looked very scared. He said that there was a bear that chased the people to a different town but the old man did not know where the new town was.

“But I know which direction they went,” he said. “My name is Bill.”

Then, Mike and Bob and Bill went in the direction that Bill said. They followed a road that went to a mountain. The mountain was big and green. It took a long time, and then they saw a town, but the town wasn’t like their town. They saw smaller buildings and lots of people, but they didn’t know anyone there. Their town hadn’t moved to this town.

Then, Mike, Bob, and Bill asked where their town was, but none of the people knew.

“I know where your town is! I saw your townspeople going on a stone path that’s near here!” said a little boy.

Mike, Bill, and Bob went to the stone path and they walked for a minute and saw people building houses. They felt excited. Mike saw his mom and dad on the street in front of the home that was being built.

His mom said, “I’m so happy to see you!”

The bear never went to that town because he never knew where it was.

 

The End

 

The Adventures of a Young Girl

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Riley, and she went for a walk in the woods on her way home from school. After about ten minutes, she walked into a wire fence, stretching between two gigantic trees. At first, she thought, That’s funny, last time I was here, those trees were tiny! But then, she realized she hadn’t been there since she was two, and she was already twelve. At first, she ran to the right, but found that there were four even bigger trees blocking her way. She looked to the left, past the fence and found that, again, there were four jumbo trees. She walked back to the fence and realized she could just climb over. Riley climbed over and went running off towards a clearing.

Riley knew that the clearing led straight onto a horse farm. What she did not know was that there was a horse coming her way, and she put her right foot out before she saw the horse and immediately stepped back, her heart racing. After a few minutes, Riley realized that she could no longer get out onto the horse farm, at least not from the clearing because she would get kicked. She chose to walk out into the more wooded area, and a huge frog jumped out in front of her. Riley looked past the frog and realized it had jumped in front of a fallen tree. The tree was so big that she could not get around it! She walked back to the clearing and kept going the other direction. She turned towards the farm and found more gigantic trees, too close to get through. She walked back to the clearing and sat down on a rock and looked out onto the farm. Wait! I can see the farm! That means the horse isn’t there! That also means I can get out, she thought. She checked that the coast was clear and ran onto the farm.

Riley kept running until she got to the gate and started to unlock it, but a really cute, orange kitten climbed on top, and she felt the need to pet it. The kitten jumped off of the fence and started rubbing against her legs. She could not stop petting the kitten! The kitten walked toward the farm’s owner, and Riley still could not stop!

She assumed the cat was the farm’s (there was no collar) and told the farmer, “I love the kitten! It is so friendly! I wish I could keep it!”

“Why can’t you keep it?” the farmer asked her.

“What do you mean? Isn’t it yours?” Riley replied.

“No, it is a stray,” the farmer said.

“Really?!” Riley said, “AWESOME! I’m going to name it Alphie!”

Riley picked up Alphie and left to go home.

To get home, Riley went through a park three blocks from her house. She stopped for water, and Alphie jumped out of her arms and ran up a tree. She slowly followed and got to the top of the tree and realized she couldn’t get down with Alphie. She climbed back down without Alphie. She grabbed her grocery bag and brought it up on her arm. Once she got up, she put Alphie in and climbed back down. She ran back home.

Riley reached for the door handle and, as she did so, it thundered. Luckily, I’m about to go inside, she thought. She turned the handle, but the door didn’t budge. She looked in her bag and realized she didn’t have her key. Her heart started racing. She was so scared that she couldn’t think of when her parents said they would get back, much less that her neighbors had a key to get in.

“Slow down, Riley, think,” she told herself. “Slow down. Wait, I have a bell in my bag, and I learned a mindfulness strategy at school today, so now I can use the strategy!” She pulled out the bell and rung it. She kept a steady breath until the sound seemed to disappear.

Suddenly, she remembered her parents would be back at 5:30 p.m., and her brother would be with them, but she knew the storm would have ended by then. Riley walked over to her neighbor’s house, knowing that they would let her in until the storm ended. When she got to their house, she sat down and explained to them how she couldn’t get into her house.

“We have your key,” the neighbor said, “so if you want, you can use it. But you can also stay if you want.”

“Can I please use the key?”

“Sure. Let me go get it for you.”

Riley’s neighbor left the room. While she was getting the key, Riley realized she didn’t know where Alphie was. Hopefully she’s okay, Riley worried. After a few minutes, her neighbor came back with the key.

“Thank you so much!” Riley exclaimed gratefully. She took the key and ran back home. When she got home, she found Alphie sitting just outside of the door. She unlocked the door and ran inside with Alphie.

***

Riley’s parents came home at 5:30, and Riley told them the story of getting home.

“Aww, I am so glad you got home safe!” her mom replied.

Her brother kept commenting, “Fun!” at the scary parts, until the end where he said, “I love this kitten!” and her dad said one word at the end.

“Cool!”

“Well, if we’re going to keep the kitten, we should probably get some food, toys, and treats,” Riley’s mom said, “Who’s coming with me?”

“I am!” Riley’s brother replied.

“Me too!” Riley said.

“Okay, let’s go.”

The three left to go to the pet store near them.

***

When the three got to the store, they explained that they were taking care of a cat for the first time, and the store worker told them what they would need.

“You’ll need toys, dry food, canned food, cat food dishes, catnip, a cat scratching post, which you can get with a cat tree if you want, but you don’t need it, and you’ll also need kitty litter.” The store worker told them. “Now, I’ll get a cart and, if you can follow me to aisle four, we can get toys.” The store worker walked to aisle four, and Riley’s family followed. “This whole wall is filled with cat toys. Choose what you want and put it in the cart. When you’re ready, I will show you where to get food.” The family chose two toy mice, and one feather wand.

“Okay, we’re ready,” Riley’s mom told the store worker.

“Okay, food and dishes are in aisle six. Follow me!” Riley’s family followed the worker to aisle six. “Canned food is on the right and dry food on the left. I recommend Friskies for canned food. After you put the food in the cart, let me know.”

The family picked up a bag of dry cat food and a box of twenty cans of food.

“We’re ready!” Riley called to the store worker.

“Great! Now, do you want a cat tree or only a scratching post?”

“We’ll take a tree,” Riley’s mom replied.

“Great, we’ll find cat trees and catnip in aisle eleven. Choose which one you want and take a box from the pile to the right of it; you will build it at home. Then, you can get some catnip from the left. Again, when you’re ready let me know, and I will take you to the treats.”

The family picked out a cat tree, the store worker led them to aisle thirteen, and they picked out some treats.

“Now, I will take you to aisle one so we can get some kitty litter.” They got some kitty litter and went to checkout. The family checked out and took the cart to the car. They unloaded the cart and drove back home.

***

As soon as Riley, her mom, and her brother got inside the house, Alphie started digging through the bag.

“It is probably the catnip she is looking for. Let’s build the cat tree and put some in it!”

The family all chipped in while building the cat tree. In the end, they put catnip in the cat tree and put catnip on all three toys, and Alphie immediately ran up and started rubbing it.

“Awww,” they said, “Alphie loves it!

 

The End

 

The Pencils’ First Weekend

2B, 3B, and 4B were all related. They came from the same mother. 2B was the youngest out of the three. 4B was the oldest, leaving 3B to be the middle pencil. 4B was a party pencil that liked to do things that weren’t supposed to be done. She was the tallest pencil. 2B was the shortest pencil, since she was the youngest, and 3B wasn’t too tall or too short. She was just right. Their biggest fear was getting their butt tips cut off in a sharpener or by the stupid chef. They didn’t like to be used since they were alive and felt pain whenever they were used or sharpened. So they asked Lucy if she could not use them. Especially 3B. 3B hated to be used.

“Weekend! We don’t have school tomorrow,” said 2B.

“How about we go dance and nibble on donuts?” said 4B.

“No way, that’s against the rules. Plus donuts aren’t at school,” exclaimed 3B.

“Hey, maybe we can break a few rules. No one will ever know,” said 4B.

“What if our butt tips fall off because of our guilt? I don’t want to risk that happening,” said 3B.

“True, but that’s completely impossible,” said 4B.

“3B does have a point. What if the chef sees us, gets really mad, and chops our butt tips off?” said 2B.

“Exactly! That’s what I meant,” exclaimed 3B.

The lights in the school turned on. It was their first weekend at school.

“Everyone be quite! Someone is cleaning in here,” commanded 3B.

“Back to the box, pencils,” yelled 4B.

“Shhhhhhh. Not so loud,” whispered 2B.

“Thank you, 2B,” said 3B.

The light turned off, and the cleaner left.

“Phew,” said 4B, climbing out of the pencil box. “That was creepy.”

“Hey, why don’t we go to the cafeteria, hang out, nibble on some food, and have a disco party maybe?” said 2B to 3B.

“No way. If you want to go get your butt tips chopped off by the chefs, then suit yourself, but I’m not going,” said 3B.

“Don’t be so sensitive,” said 2B to 3B.

“Alright, fine. I’ll go. Just this once,” said 3B.

2B found some leftover sprinkles at the cafeteria.

“Hey, this is actually better than I thought. I found some doughnut crumbs and this milkshake puddle.” said 3B.

“Now she’s getting a sense of humor and being happy,” said 4B.

“Hey, I was always happy. I just wasn’t a party pencil,” argued 3B.

“Oh, don’t be such a kidder,” said 4B.

“No, seriously,” said 3B. “I actually was happy.”

“When was the last time you were happy?” asked 4B.

“When I helped Lucy get an A+ on her homework, even if I was a little mad at the fact that she used me,” said 3B.

“That is amazing!” said 4B.

“See, I told you,” said 3B.

“Sorry,” said 4B.

“Sorry to interupt your fight, guys, but I found a huge abandoned box of doughnuts. So come over if you want to have some or else there will be none for you!” said 2B.

“Okay, we’re coming,” said 4B.

When 4B and 3B got to the doughnut box, they ran into a problem. The chef was packing away the doughnuts. He hated these pencils so much for always making a mess and eating his food. But he didn’t really know where they came from and thought they belonged to a troublemaker. 4B found some french fries, and they started to dig in.

”Mmmm… french fries. Not as good as doughnuts but still really good,” said 3B.

”You bet,” exclaimed 4B.

”Couldn’t agree more,” agreed 2B.

All of a sudden, a huge broom swept up all the french fries.

”Awww man,” moaned 2B.

“Oh well, I guess we should just go back to our pencil box since there’s nothing good left,” said 3B.

4B had an idea.

She said, “How about we go party?”

“You know, I saw that chef with a huge knife, and I’m seriously afraid we’re gonna get our butt tips cut off. So I might just go back to the pencil box with 3B.” said 2B.

“Hey, come on guys. He’s not gonna notice us. So come on! You guys should lighten up,” said 4B.

All of a sudden, the chef came running at them with the big knife and said, “YOU GUYS BETTER GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN BEFORE I CHOP YOUR BUTTS OFF!”

“Or not! Let’s just go back to the pencil box!” 4B screamed.

“I like your choice,” said 3B. “Now, should we start running or what?” said 3B.

“Run for your life. He’s coming. He’s coming to chop off our butt tips!” yelled 4B.

They ran by writing but only with their head, so the chef didn’t see them. Of course, it was painful, but they didn’t want to leave a track for the chef to know they were Lucy’s pencils.

When they were all safely back in the classroom, the pencils scrambled back into their pencil boxes, all out of breath. They caught their breath, and 4B noticed that it was lunch time, so she went out by herself to find some food.

“4B, Come back here! Don’t you think you’ve had enough of the chef with the knife?” yelled 3B.

“I’ll be fine,” said 4B.

“You’re going to turn into an eraser! You could split into two different pencils. And, plus, you’re only fifteen, and you’re not going to have a baby like Mom did,” screamed 3B.

“But it’s pencil world right here. Not like Lucy’s house, since she’s going to get a dog!” Everybody gasped. “I told her not to, but it was too late. She already adopted one, and that’s why she didn’t want to bring us home last night. Because she has a dog.” They gasped again. “But she’ll bring us home one day, and she’ll have to get rid of her dog,” said 4B.

“That won’t be anytime soon,” said 3B.

“Yeah, that won’t be anytime soon,” repeated 2B.

“Oh my gosh. Can you stop repeating me, little sis?” 3B said to 2B.

“Well, whatever. We’d better go find some food, and I’m starving. It’s almost dinner time.” said 4B.

“And it’s getting a little bit late,” said 2B.

“But first, can we have a dance party?” said 4B.

“No,” said 3B.

“I’ll be right back with some french fries,” said 4B.

Five minutes later, 4B came running back with a lot of scratches.

“Okay, maybe I have had enough of that chef.” said 4B.

2B started walking up and found some crumbs on Lucy’s desk from her snacks. So she took some to the other pencils, and they had a delicious lunch.

“Yum! Apple bits. I would’ve preferred banana bits,” said 3B. “But whatever.”

“Do not moan about your food, silly,” said 4B.

“I’m not. I didn’t even moan. I just said whatever,” said 3B.

“Well, let’s not get into a fight. Let’s go to bed and relax,” said 2B.

“Bed? Why bed? It’s like four in the afternoon,” said 3B.

“It was just an idea,” said 2B.

“You know what? I’m just not gonna get involved in this,” said 4B.

“Good idea!” said 3B.

“Me too,” said 2B.

“Okay, let’s just go into bed and relax. If you guys won’t, I will,” said 2B. “Bye, bye!”

 

The End! Or so they thought. Little did they know, there was something else to come…