The Lost Mom of the 3 Worlds

Chapter 1: BREATH

“Are you excited for our family reunion?” my dad had asked. Excited? How could I be excited? Mom left when I was three and I haven’t seen her since. Family reunion, more like no mom reunion.

With all these thoughts going through my head, I could barely take the one breath I desperately needed. The one breath that could have given me security about this family that I hadn’t seen in years. The last family reunion that we had was when I was three. To get you more caught up, I am now seventeen. That means I haven’t seen them in fourteen years. All except for my dad, at least. I wasn’t ready for this. I was scared of meeting my family again. The only thing I could do right now was go to sleep.

RING, RING, RING! Yawwnnn. The bright sun shone on my face like a warm tornado. I breathed in and then out. Finally a breath of relief. I did it again and I felt calmer. More relaxed.

When my eyes slowly opened, I could see my aesthetic, blue room. I could see blue clouds above my bed, all my blue stuffed animals, my blue blanket, and my blue open doors with light shining in from the deck. I could also see my dad hovering over me and my blue blanket with his scary statue-like glare and body position. Although, I knew he wasn’t mad. He had that same facial expression since Mom left. It was almost like a curse.

Chapter 2: CURSE

Oops. Did I say it? The C-word. Yep, that’s right. My family is cursed. Ever since my mom left, our family has been cursed. My dad has the curse of that glare, but I got the worst curse. I can’t talk. Not a single word. Sure, I’m smart, kind, and strong. Those were my blessings when I was born. My family used to be the blessing kind of family. We all had our own blessings, and those blessings made us special in our own kind of way. Except for my mom.

Well, now we’re talking about my mom. She was the curse to our family. She was the one who was cursed by an evil witch who took away her blessings and claimed them for herself. Now she is a wreck living somewhere unknown. Although I know, deep down inside, she is still the kind woman she used to be. When I close my eyes, I imagine her loving heart still inside my mind.

Chapter 3: BACK TO MY DAD

Like I said, my dad was standing over me in his statue-like position. 

“Get dressed,” he said, “I’m going to take you for breakfast.” So I got up, went to my closet, and took out a pair of denim shorts and a peach crop top. I went over to my dad, and we started walking in the direction of Jouns, a sweet, little cafe. It sucked that I couldn’t say anything to my dad. I couldn’t even tell him that I loved him. All I could do was nod my head.

When we got to Jouns, I pointed at a seat that I wanted to sit at, but he didn’t see my finger, and he took me to eat inside. I hated sitting inside. The loud noises haunted my ears. But what could I do? I couldn’t talk and I only knew the slightest bit of sign language. I couldn’t even tell my dad that I wanted to learn sign language.

We took a seat at a small table with two, little, white chairs. A nice waiter greeted us.

“Should we start with some drinks?” she asked. 

“That shall be lovely,” my Dad said. “What will you be wanting today?” the waiter asked.

“One small latte and one large orange juice,” my dad told the waitress. Orange juice was my least favorite juice, and now I had to drink a large. But how was I supposed to tell my dad that? I needed to go somewhere alone. And I didn’t just mean outside. I wanted to go on a trip. Not to Hawaii or California. I wanted to find my mom.

Chapter 4: STORY

I was in my blue bed with my donut pajamas and my dad beside me. I know, I know. I’m seventeen, and my dad shouldn’t be tucking me in, but it felt good. I had no one else to love. No friends, no brother, no sister, no mom. Who else was I supposed to trust?

I blinked really hard at my dad. This was my way of telling him I wanted to hear a story.

“Okay, okay,” my dad started, “I think you’re old enough to know this. Remember how the evil witch crashed our family reunion when you were three and took away your mom and her blessings? You know how the witch was unknown? Well, the witch is not unknown. She is your mom’s evil sister. She was jealous of your mom, so she cursed her and the rest of her family. Not just you and me. Pops is blind. Gram Gram is always grumpy. Grandma and Grandpa are poor and homeless. Julie can’t fall asleep, and Aunt Harmonica is so unsmart. Uncle Jerry has it the worst, though. He is so greedy and always wants more.”

“Anything more?” I say in sign language.

“Well, there is one more thing. It is the mother’s daughter’s job to travel to all of the three worlds in which your mom could have been banished, find her, and heal her of her curse. When you do, our family will be the blessing kind of family once again. You will take this bag. In this bag is the cure to give your mom and a tool for each world you go to. You will leave first thing in the morning. Don’t come to me to say goodbye, just knock on your closet door three times.” He kissed me on my forehead and then left. I guess you could say I was happy. I got to make my decisions. I hadn’t done that in fourteen years.

Chapter 5 – April 24, 1976: THE JOURNEY HAS BEGUN

RING, RING, RING! sounded my alarm clock. I had set it to 5:00. I got in my closet and changed into blue-ribbed leggings and a pink crop top. I tied a sweater around my waist.

Before knocking on my closet, I grabbed the bag my dad had said to take and, at the last second, I grabbed a fresh journal from my shelf and shoved it in the bag along with a pen. I went into my closet and closed the door. I knocked once, twice, three times.

Chapter 6: TIME

It didn’t happen suddenly. It took time. Maybe five or ten minutes. I took that time to write.

Dear Diary,

Finally, I get to defend myself in the world. I guess I’m happy. Finally, no Dad ordering me a large orange juice at a restaurant. I can order a large apple juice! Not that there will be juice or restaurants in the three worlds. No one to tell me, “Time for bed, Pearl,” or “You love orange juice, don’t you, Pearl?” I’m free for the first time in fourteen years. But part of me worries. What if I can’t help our cursed family before the reunion? Or what if I can’t help my family at all? Will I die? Will my family die? Will my mom die? Will my family stay the same? Will my mom stay the same? Thanks for understanding, Diary. Just arrived. Talk to you later.

Chapter 7: JOY

I stepped out of my closet and onto a rainbow floor. I saw a girl with her head in her hands, crying. I went over to her. I couldn’t even ask her what was wrong. Maybe she knew sign language.

“What’s wrong?” I said in sign language.

“This is the planet of joy,” she said. I let her continue. “You’re supposed to be joyful! But what if I’m not?” A shiver I had never seen before ran through her body. I laid my head on hers. I couldn’t even ask her what was wrong. I couldn’t even tell her about my life to make her feel better. But what if I could?

I put out a finger to represent one second and I went into my closet to grab the bag my dad had given me. Inside was a speaker. Not like a microphone, but a fancy speaker. This fancy speaker’s magnifier was not supposed to be around in 1976. I felt like I was in the future. This wasn’t a regular speaker. I could talk with this speaker! I put this fancy speaker on and I tried to mouth the word “Test.” I could hear my voice going through my body. I was speaking for the first time in fourteen years. A note on the microphone said you have ten sentences. This meant that I had used one and had nine left.

I went over to the girl a second time. Her makeup was messed up, and her tears were now dried up. “I have nine sentences on this speaker,” I told the girl. “What’s wrong?”

“My mom wants me to marry this man,” she said, “He will make me happy and joyful. But he doesn’t make me happy. He makes me upset. He swears and gets mad at me for the tiniest things. For heaven’s sake, this is the planet of joy!”

Now I knew, this was the planet of joy. I had eight sentences left. “Why can’t you tell your parents that you don’t want to marry him?”

“They will be disappointed in me. They just want to make me happy. Besides, who else will I marry? Do I even have to marry if I don’t want to?” I shook my head, meaning no.

“Take me to your parents,” I said.

“Okay,” she responded. I followed her through rainbow trees, crowds of joyful people with bright clothes, and finally a rainbow cobblestone step leading to a bright, orange, two-story house with a nice, red deck. I thought about ringing the doorbell, but then the girl stepped right through. Inside, I could see a rainbow couch, a bright blue TV blaring many colors, and two moms watching the TV in matching, green dresses. They weren’t staring at the TV, though. They were staring at each other. Here it comes, I thought. I was right. Smooch smooch smooch. I hadn’t seen that in fourteen years.

“Mom, moma! I told you not to do that infront of me.” One mom blushed.

“Sorry hon, didn’t know you were there.”

“Today’s their honeymoon,” the girl explained.

“Your daughter has something to tell you.” I got right to the point. I had five sentences left. I gestured towards the girl.

She took a deep breath and then blurted it all out. “I don’t want to marry Tom! He swears and gets mad at me!” She turns her voice into a whisper. “He-he doesn’t make me joyful.” 

“Oh honey,” The other mom said, “Marry who you want.” 

“Really?” said the girl.

“Of course,” both of the moms said. They go over to hug the girl. As soon as that happened, my speaker dropped to the floor, I went right back to my closet, and it took off.

Chapter 8: DEAR DIARY ENTRY #2

Dear Diary,

I just helped a girl (I don’t know her name) be joyful. I talked for the first time in fourteen years and I saw true love for the first time in what seems like forever. Longer than fourteen years, I’m sure, because my parents didn’t kiss or even show they loved each other during or even before the reunion. I do know one thing, though.  I have to save my mom before the family reunion. I have to make sure my parents fall in love once again. Or, I don’t know what will happen. Probably something unknown and so very frightful. I wonder if the witch is still alive? If she is, will I have to face her? If I do, will I win? I am starting to doubt myself. Thanks for listening, Diary. I have just landed and have to go, bye.

I know what you’re thinking. You treat your diary like a friend! You make the D in “diary” uppercase! Remember, I don’t have any friends. Besides my dad, I can only talk to this Diary.

Chapter 9: THE PLANET OF LOVE

I stepped out of my closet. I saw a pink heart. No, but seriously big. It covered a whole room. And yes, I had landed inside, inside a small room. I knew that because I saw a wall about ten feet away from the ground. I heard a conversation coming from another room only a few feet away from where I was standing. I walked closer and peeked my head through the door. I could see a boy trying to kiss a girl, but the girl refused.

“Get away from me Jeff!” the girl said. Then she spotted me. I tried to quickly but quietly move away and act like I was never there, but she beat me to it. “Who are you?” she said in a snobby voice.

No turning back now. I stepped in a little bit and said in sign language, “I can’t talk.” She didn’t understand. I could also see that Jeff was confused as well. He was staring at the woman (maybe twenty-five or thirty) with loving eyes. I was going to have to do this the hard way. I pointed at myself. I pointed at my mouth. Then I made an X with my fingers. The woman finally understood. 

“You can’t talk,” the girl said in a surprised voice, “My name is Hannah. This is Jeff,” she said in an exasperated voice. Well, the Jeff part.

I once again put a finger out to represent one second and ran to my closet. Inside the closet was my bag. Inside my bag was a note. This is what it said:

Dear my dear Pearl,

This couple is like a broken heart. You need to help this couple get back together before the sun sets on this day. Your estimated time is seven hours. If you do not help this couple in time, the world of love will turn to darkness, and you will get sent back home without saving your mom and your family.

– Good luck, DAD

If I didn’t help this poor couple, I would be dead. Dead meat. I couldn’t go home without saving my mom. What would my dad think of me? What would my family think of me? I couldn’t do this. I went to a dark corner in the room, rolled up into a ball, and started to cry. Tears ran down my face like big puddles. 

After a few minutes of sulking, I could hear something. Something in my head. It was saying: “We’ll always love you. No matter what. Amen.” I could remember this place. It was the day of the reunion. My family all next to me, smiling. In my little high chair I felt so proud. Next I saw pictures flying in my head. I could see the witch’s wart. Big, on the side of her nose, liquid oozing out of it. The green was a pop of color compared to her plain, peachy-white skin. Next, I saw her wand zapping and making a big firework-like show that caused a boom and made a hole in our wall that my dad had to fix later. Then I saw me and I heard the last word I ever said which was AHHH! I saw my mom get picked up by the evil witch’s wand and leave with the evil witch. 

I woke up in the same darkened corner of the room. My eyes darted around. I could see the shape of the heart, the door leading to the next room, my closet, and my pile of tears around me. I felt sweat, warm and sticky all over my body. I saw Hannah standing above me, Jeff beside her. I handed Hannah the note.

“This note was probably not made by your dad. First of all, Jeff and I were just in a fight, but we’re still together. She went over and kissed Jeff on the lips. I sighed a sigh of relief. “Second of all, this looks a lot like the evil witch’s handwriting. Every planet knows the evil witch. She’s infamous everywhere.” I gulped. “She lives on the planet of dismay along with a mom she kidnapped. I can take you there, but it’s a pretty long journey.”

I stopped her. I pointed at myself. Then in the air I spelled out: M-O-M. Before she could be surprised, I took her hand and pulled her into my closet. I knocked three times on the door.

Chapter 10: DEAR DIARY ENTRY #3

Dear Diary,

I met this woman named Hannah. She looks around twenty or thirty, and she told me the most surprising fact. Guess what! My Dad didn’t send me that note, the evil witch did. I don’t understand. He said he sent me something for each world. But he didn’t. Do you know what could have happened? The other thing is, I should have known my mom is in the world of dismay. Why would the evil witch send her to a world of joy or a world of love? Well, I guess I can’t continue unless I solve the problem that’s going on in the planet. But on the love planet Hannah and Jeff solved the problem. I guess I was my problem for that world. Maybe the planet of Love and the planet of Joy were obstacles to get to the planet of Dismay? We’ve just landed. Have to go, Bye Diary!

Chapter 11: THE PLANET OF DISMAY

I stepped out of my closet and I got goosebumps from a cold rush of wind. I took my sweater and put it on. Hannah put on a sweater as well. I grabbed my bag and put it on like it’s a purse. When I was done with all of this, I took a moment to look at my surroundings. First thing I saw was that Hannah was in shock, her mouth was wide open and she couldn’t even mumble out one word. Welcome to the club. I saw Darkness, lots of black and no happiness, and big black pieces of dust. I saw huge pictures of the witch and flashbacks from the reunion building of huge monsters towering over me.

But in the middle of it all, I saw my mom. She looked older. Brown curly hair like mine and brownish-tan skin like mine. But her face was more wrinkled. Not too wrinkled but the slightest bit wrinkled. I did some quick math and realized she was in her late fifties. 

I slowly walked over to her, and Hannah did too, trailing behind me. I walked over to my mom and laid my head on her shoulder, and she laid her head on my head and started sulking. Hannah sat beside me feeling sorry for me in the best possible way. I took out a bottle, and gave it to my Mom. I imitated drinking something, and Mom knew what to do. When she drank the bottle, her tears ran dry and the dust went away and turned into a beautiful sun. Then I saw the Witch cackling.

“Think you can get away!” The witch said, her wart still looking the same. I grabbed my mom’s hand and we ran. We ran past the evaporating dust, and the big rocks, and the long, tall grass. We ran even though the witch was above us, cackling like she was mad. We ran fast, until we realized that Hannah was gone. We turned back through the long grass and the big rocks, and the evaporating dust. We saw Hannah had tripped over a rock, and blood was all around her neck. We have to think fast, but I couldn’t stand looking at blood, and the witch was an inch away from us! With no hesitation, my mom grabbed Hannah and held her above her head like a fireman saving someone from a fire. Next, we ran past the evaporating dust, the big rocks and the tall grass. We quickly ran to the closet with the witch behind us, her cackling loud and clear. My mom didn’t hesitate and she ran fast, even though Hannah was on her back and there was a witch behind her. The witch got close, too close, and I could feel her breath. It smelled like human flesh. She reached out her wand, but just in time I slammed the closet door and knocked on it three times. 

Chapter 12: DEAR DIARY, LAST ENTRY

Dear Diary,

I finally found Mom. She is now forgetful of what just happened and is asleep. She won’t wake up until we get home. She won’t have a single memory of this whole adventure. I found that note in my bag. Another thing is that we dropped Hannah off at the world of love. I wanted to stay and make sure she was ok. I wasn’t able to say goodbye and I feel bad. When I had to leave Hannah I cried up some tears. But at least we left her in the right hands. This is my last diary entry of this journey, so goodbye forever dear Diary. Just landed.

Chapter 13: APRIL 27, 1976 – THE JOURNEY HAS ENDED

I stepped out of my closet into my aesthetic, blue room. Mom acted like this was a normal day and nothing happened. “Change out of that outfit, Pearl honey. It’s filled with dust.” I smirked. 

“Wonder where that dust came from,” I said. Huh, I said. I said!

“Me too,” said Mom.

I changed into a plain white shirt and skinny jeans with 3 buttons on the top. I walked downstairs and over to my dad. “Why didn’t you send me any material for the world of love?” I asked.

“I didn’t send anything for any world. You knew what you needed, you thought about it, and you got what you wanted. As for the world of love, well, you were your obstacle. If you didn’t break down, you would’ve gotten past that world in a matter of seconds.”

“You were watchin-” I started.

“No more talk about this nonsense dream you had,” he said and winked at me. I smiled.

The End

The Picture

Chapter 1

SHOOM! BLAM!

I looked on as my torpedo exploded a wooden boat, exactly on the middle point. I could see the broken parts of the ship floating away into the Pacific ocean. I glanced to see the surface of the water just in time to pull up my Mitsubishi Ki-30 up to a high altitude. I could feel the air push up against my face. I couldn’t help but wish that the exact same fate would be what would happen in the upcoming battles, to the American warships, instead of me. 

Turning on the afterburn of the thrusters, I zoomed past to the aircraft carrier ahead, the Chiyoda. I dove down and pushed down my landing gear as I put my thrusters to 30 percent, landing perfectly on the carrier. At that exact moment I wondered if I would live to see the carrier again. 

As the plane already landed, I opened the cockpit and stepped, looking out into the horizon. I never knew it could be as peaceful as this even in a time of war. But no, tomorrow the horizon would be filled with smoke and the smell of full chaos, and the screams of death.

“Hey Mitsuwa! How was the practice run?”

I turned around to see my best friend, Takehiko Ena.

“Not much, perfect as usual.”

Before Takehiko could respond, a voice called out from behind.

“Maybe if you weren’t gossiping all the time you would be able to do perfect test runs like Col. Nagoki, Lt. Ena!”

I turned to see General Yamamoto behind me. He was the commander of the aircraft fleet. It was an honor to see him as he was the leader of the military all together. In his lavish uniform and confident gaze he looked extremely intimidating.

“Yes sir, sorry sir!” replied Takehiko, very scared.

“Good now, get out of my sight. I have to talk to Mitsuwa, in private.”

“Yes, sir!” said Takehiko, walking out of sight.

“Hmmm. Good,” he said, his tone turning even more serious. “You have been invited to join the Divine Wind, the bravest of all in the world, ready to sacrifice their lives to destroy the evil Americans.”

I was suddenly taken back. The kamikazes? I would never think of getting the honor of joining the core. They were the bravest of the Japanese Air Force. But I couldn’t do it. I had sworn to destroy America for as long and as much as I could. Dying would mean my dream would never happen. I would never meet my dad in America. I would never be able to hug and laugh with my father as he had done before the war.

“I am truly sorry General Yamamoto, but I cannot. I have swore to find my father and finish the American navy, and all who support its victory. Therefore, I must refuse the offer with great respect, sir,” I replied.

“I am very sad to hear this, but I hope you all the best, and a valiant day ahead. I will tell you, you can always join, and my offer will always be on the table,” he answered. 

I watched as he left, turning to go to the main port office.

Chapter 2

2 years ago, when I was 18 years old, I received news of my fathers imprisonment in America. I was enraged. I couldn’t believe that the American government was arresting innocent Japanese citizens who had nothing to do with the war. The next day I swore to kill every American I saw, soldier or not. Soon, I found myself at a recruiting station ready to join the Air Force. 

But today was the day I would be finally ready to fulfill that wish. Today we were ready for battle.

I left my bunk, putting on my uniform and my pilot’s cap. I adjusted my goggles, opening my plane’s cockpit. At that moment, I knew what I had to do. Kamikaze or not, today was the day I was going to die. 

Chapter 3

As I began to get the thrusters to life, I heard an explosion. 

SHOOM! KABLAM!

I glanced in front of me, and I saw the hull of the ship cut off and severed. The Americans were here earlier than we thought. I put the thrusters to full, as my plane ran through the runway, as wind pushed against my face, I went up the sky with my body filled with rage. 

The American fleet was going to die today. 

Chapter 4

As I zoomed into the sky, and glanced forward I could see a fleet. I could see about five ships. Going forward, I saw even more. Instead of five, there were 45. This was going to be the biggest battle I had ever been in.

Gaining speed, I looked at my speed semi-parameter. 488 km. That was enough to make the dive. Pushing my control-nozzles down, I dived right towards the ship, firing my machine guns hoping to hit the steam compartments to ground it. 

As I aimed my shots, I could see that my machine guns were losing ammunition. Now it was time for the torpedo. I aimed right at the middle, just like in practice. 

SHOOM! BLAM!

I looked down to see the torpedo cut the ship in two hitting right in the middle. I could hear the screams of sailors as I fired my machine guns to kill any sailors that were jumping off. 

Ready to turn, I put my control-nozzles into a northeast direction turning right up to see more ships. Diving in at another destroyer, I fired my torpedoes and bombs, damaging it badly. 

PKOW! PKOW! PKOW! PKOW!

I maneuvered through, narrowly dodging the machine gun fire from a nearby F4U Corsair. I turned full up, trying to lose him in the sky. But the bullets kept coming, quickly getting closer.

BBKRAW! 

I looked at my wing to see it fully turned off. I tried to eject myself, but it was too late, as my plane headed straight down for the water, crashing below.

Chapter 5

SHOOM!

My plane dived into the water, as saltwater splashed into my eyes. Pain burned in my eyes. I couldn’t see. Worst of all, I was drowning. Trying to resurface, I moved my hands around the plane to see if I could feel the cockpit opener. 

I could feel it, a bumpy handle! I pushed up with all my strength. Soon, I could feel the water crashing down in the cockpit. Swimming to the surface, I cleared my eyes of saltwater, and glanced up. I could see the Japanese fleet being pummeled by the F4U Corsair’s circling above. 

We were losing. 

I glanced around to see anything that could help me escape being in the middle of a naval war ground. 

PKAW! PKAW! PKAW!

I could hear gunshots in the distance. I looked at the direction they were coming from, seeing a nearby island with soldiers boarding the islands from amphibious cars. Judging from their uniforms they were American. 

Consumed by rage, I swam to the island with a feeling for murder in my heart.

Chapter 6

On the shore, waiting for the American soldiers to get far away, I looked around for anything I could use to ambush the unsuspecting American soldiers. After looking around for a while, I suddenly heard a loud sound in the distance.

BLANG! BLAM!

Turning into the direction of the sound, I could see a Japanese Type 97 tank firing shells on the American soldiers from above a small hill. The American soldiers scattered behind nearby trees and bushes, trying to return fire and survive the massive barrage of shells. 

PKOW! PKOW! PKOW! PKOW! 

Their bullets ringed in the air, but the tank was too well protected, as the bullets barely hit the foot of the hill. The soldiers quickly began to drop like flies, as the tank retreated to other skirmishes in the distance. Only a few soldiers remained as they regrouped tending to the injured while some looked on, to see any other unforeseen dangers. 

Taking my chance, I ran to a dead body that was not too far from my spot on the shore. I looked at the body. It was a young American man with pale skin and blue eyes. From looking at the wounds, shards from a shell had impaled him in the stomach. 

“Poor kid,” I muttered. 

Looking for weapons I looked at the body quickly finding a picture of him and a man. The man was a sailor, and the caption looked as if it said he had died during Operation AI, or Pearl Harbor. He looked happy, and the death had obviously caused him to join their Army. 

Searching the body more,  I found a rifle, along with two grenades, and a pocket knife. Loading the rifle I aimed at the clutter of Americans and fired. Loading and firing, I could hear the screams of confusion and death as the soldiers scattered for cover. 

Quickly reacting, I threw both grenades in their area killing all of them. Sprinting, I ran through the path looting all of the bodies ready for battle.

Chapter 7

Going across the path, I looked at the map one of the soldiers had. It had English, and was hard to read with the messy handwriting, but I understood the landing point. As I looked at the drawn compass, I saw a Japanese airfield to the northwest of where I was.

Turning in that direction I began to sprint trying to get back to the battle, and my promise to kill. 

Chapter 8

Arriving at the airfield, I could see the ensuing battle. Japanese tanks and soldiers fired at the F4U Corsair circling above. American soldiers were also charged at the airfield trying to take it over and stop any aircrafts arriving to attack their fleet. Trying to help, I ran over the American line, with a newfound courage in my heart.

“BANZAI! Amerikahito o korose! Kazoku no tame ni tatakaimashou! Kōtei no tame ni tatakae! Kodomo-tachi no tame ni tatakaimashou! Sokoku no tame ni tatakae!” I yelled, charging at the Americans.

Firing at the line I threw all the 12 grenades I had on me. As I heard the explosion, a stray shard stabbed me in the shoulder. Pain filled my heart, as blood began to cover my shoulder.

Using my other shoulder to fire and load my gun, I glanced around. Other soldiers and tanks began to charge along with me as we destroyed the struggling and outmatched Americans.

I looked around looking for any aircrafts I could use to advance forward. I saw a Kawasaki Ki-10 in the distance as I opened the cockpit and climbed in, quickly turning on the thrusters as I zoomed into the sky.

To tend to my shoulder wound, I ripped off some of the leather covering the control nozzles, and wrapped it around my shoulder after ripping the shard out.

As my altitude climbed I glanced around to see if any ships were near. I saw a P-38 Lightning circling around a troop of Japanese soldiers, firing its machine guns. 

Trying to surprise the plane, I got behind its tail, and aimed right at the cockpit, firing away my machine guns. Glancing back I saw the dead body of the pilot as it crashed down into the water. 

Looking around for more targets I circled back seeing a destroyer in the distance. I knew what I had to do. Turning on my afterburn, I dived into the ship, ramming it as the plane broke down into pieces, making me black out. 

Chapter 9

“He geut uhp, yau Japp!” a voice yelled.

I suddenly woke up. My mouth was salty and my body was soaked. My eyes burned from the amount of salt that was around my body. My left arm looked really banged and teared up. 

I looked around to see a pistol aimed right at my head. A group of American soldiers were surrounding me, and they looked scared, as if this was the first time they had ever seen a Japanese soldier.

“Heu’s awakened,” one of them said. 

Even though I had learned some English from my father it clearly wasn’t enough to actually fully understand what they were saying.

From their expression they wanted me to surrender, and they looked as if they didn’t really want to hurt me, they looked as if they wanted to help me, and get me out of this mess.

“He looks really banged up,” another one of them said.

“We should bring him back to base,” a taller one said. 

Trying to signal my surrender I tore a piece of white cloth from my uniform waving it around, to try to give a bit of a thought of surrender. 

Seeing this one of the soldiers behind them stepped up to see me. He looked Japanese, and looked older than the rest, and had an old wooden pair of glasses. 

“Sorry if you can’t understand these soldiers, but they are trying to help. Please surrender,” he said.

He had the exact same voice. I knew who he was. He was my father. I suddenly realized this, getting up to give him a hug. Other Americans stepped out of the way, as I finally hugged my father.

Today was the day the sky was at peace. Today the lesson the picture had taught me from that soldier was now emitted in my heart. Sometimes revenge isn’t really the best thing.

More Information

The battle of Leyte Gulf was the biggest naval confrontation in history , with over 200,000 sailors dead, and more than 20 ships sunk during the battle. The battle was the first time that kamikaze pilots were ever deployed in battle. Many kamikaze pilots died.

Takehiko

Takehiko is a real person, who was a real person and kamikaze pilot during WW2. He fought as a kamikaze pilot, and later crashed during a battle into a naval ship but luckily survived. He wrote a book about his experiences of being a kamikaze.

His book showed that most kamikazes weren’t actually radical, and hated Americans to the core, but were forced to sacrifice their lives for the Japanese cause.

He was in the movie, Wings of Defeat. 

Kamikaze

Many people have seen kamikazes as radical and staunch supporters of Imperialist Japan. However, many of these kamikazes were forced by the government and army to sacrifice their lives for the desperate hope of winning.

Kamikazes were first used in 1944 as a demonstration of bravery, to try to gain morale for the war. 

However, kamikazes usually came dead, leaving most families in support for the American side. 

End of War

WW2 ended with the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many people believe that the bombing created a new era of arming of bombs and military weapons. But one thing’s for sure, the era of kamikazes is very done. 

A Teacher’s Worst Day EVER!

PROLOGUE

Have you ever woken up thinking It’s going to be a great day, but as soon as you get out of bed, bad things start happening? Well, I know exactly what it feels like. My bad luck began on what I thought was going to be a lovely Monday morning….

CHAPTER ONE 

Sorry. I was so focused on my bad day yesterday that I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Isabell Hogginshwarts, but my students call me Ms. Hogginshwarts. I know, it’s hard to pronounce. 

I am a 4th grade teacher, and I take running the classroom very seriously. Even Matthew listens to me, and he is a real troublemaker. Last week he put fake poop by my desk! I got so mad that I had him in detention for a whole hour. That’s not the first time he’s done something like that. So far Matthew has not caused any more trouble. So not to brag, but I am one of the best 4th grade teachers in the school. Well, normally one of the best teachers. Yesterday I had a very bad day. Let me tell you….

CHAPTER TWO

I woke up on Monday morning with the Sun streaming through the window. I thought to myself, It’s going to be a great day. Boy, was I wrong. As soon as I got out of bed my bad luck began. I took one step and then BANG my head hit the floor.

“Is everything okay?” my husband called from my son’s room.

“I’m FINE!” I called back. I twisted myself around and saw my son’s toy by my feet. “Aarrg!” I said while heaving myself up. “How many times do I have to tell him to clean up after himself?” I said through gritted teeth. Luckily nobody was around to hear.

 I was still dizzy from falling flat on my face so I accidentally put cocoa powder into the coffee maker instead of coffee grinds! Blech! 

Finally, finally, I got out the door but unfortunately, my bus left at 8:00 and it was already 8:15! And the next bus doesn’t arrive for another 20 minutes, so now I have to walk 18 blocks to get to work! 

“Uggg!” I said, exasperated. I was so frustrated. “Why can’t this happen to my husband? Oh, wait, he works at home!” By now it was 8:20 and I ideally want to get to the school by 8:25, which is 10 minutes before school starts so I can set up the classroom. Well, no way that’s going to happen, I thought grimly to myself. I’ll just have to hope for the best.

CHAPTER THREE

Meanwhile, in the classroom…

 Music is blaring, chaos is everywhere. 

“This is the best day EVER!”

“Yeah, but I wonder where Ms. Hogginshwarts is”

“I don’t care! This is awesome!”

“Mathew, get off the table!”

“Jeez, Jessica, calm down, I thought you were Ms. Hogginshwarts,” Mathew yelled over the music. 

“Maybe I am!” Jessica laughed but still looked worried.

“Oh, shut up,” 

“I agree with Jessica.”

“Oh, shut up, Elise,” Mathew said as Elise looked around the room. The chairs were all knocked over and desks askew. Music was blasting and there was no order. Jessica followed Elise’s gaze across the room at the people cracking jokes. To the girls’ relief, Mathew left to join them. 

“This doesn’t feel right,” Jessica said. “ Ms. Hogginshwarts is almost never late and NEVER this late.” Just as Elise opened her mouth to respond, The door burst open.

CHAPTER FOUR

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?” Everything stopped. The music stopped, the jokes stopped, the laughter, singing, and dancing stopped. Time itself seemed to stop. 

“Well?”

“Well, what?” A stupid kid named Jacob asked.

“WHO? Who ever told you that it is okay to do this?!” I practically screamed. I was so mad that I could feel my face turning as red as a tomato.

“Do what?” Jacob asked, almost innocently. A small nervous chuckle went around the room.

“This!” I swept my hand around the room. “Who told you it was okay to knock over chairs, blast music, tell jokes, and worst of all, laugh?” I strode into the room, but I was only five steps in when BANG I tripped over a chair and landed on my arm.

 “Aaaarrg!” I was momentarily blinded by the pain. I could faintly hear voices. I finally had the strength to heave myself up. My left arm was trembling with pain. I hobbled over to the other side of the room to call for a substitute. I am so dizzy and I collapse into the nearest chair. I faintly hear someone call an ambulance right before I pass out. 

Next thing I know, I am lying on a hospital bed, dressed in a white hospital gown. I consider pulling myself out of bed to find my husband, but I’m so tired and sore and soon, the softness of my pillow pulls me back into another dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER FIVE

“Hello? Ms Hogginshwarts?” A soft voice murmurs in my ear.

I open my eyes and heave myself into a sitting position. 

“Who-who are you?” I stammer. It takes a lot of effort to speak.

“Oh, good, you’re awake. I am your doctor, Emily. You had quite the fall.” Emily hands me a cup of water. I take a shaky sip. 

Then I ask, “What happened?”

“When you banged your head, you got a minor concussion,” Emily explains. 

“Oh.” Now I feel sick. I reach up to my head with my good arm and wince. There is a huge bump on the side of my head. “What about my arm?” I ask. I try to raise my left arm, but that is met by a sharp pain near my wrist. 

“We don’t know yet,” Emily says. “We needed you awake to take the X-rays.” 

Ten minutes later the X-rays are done and my arm is in a cast. The X-rays showed that I had a hairline fracture in the radius, which is one of the two bones connecting the wrist to the elbow. 

As Emily and I made our way back to my room, a thought struck me. 

“Where’s my son and husband?” I must have accidentally shouted because Emily looked startled and quite taken aback. I quickly covered my mouth, embarrassed. 

“They are in the waiting room. We don’t like to have visitors around the patient if they are asleep,” Emily said. “But you can go see them now,” She added quickly. 

“Thank you,” I said as kindly as possible, hoping to make up accidentally shouting at Emily. 

I walked out to the waiting room and was greeted by happy smiles and hugs. For the first time today, I was happy.

CHAPTER SIX

The next day. I wake up to a sharp pain in my left arm. I must have accidentally rolled onto my broken arm in the middle of the night. I carefully roll over to my other side and doing so, I see my son’s toy truck lying by the foot of my bed, almost in the exact same spot as it was yesterday. Oh, no you don’t, I thought to myself as I fell back into my pillows, letting sleep carry me away once more.

EPILOGUE

The sun felt warm on my face, the waves cold on my ankles. My arm had not pained me all day. And best of all, in my opinion, my students have all behaved well since The Accident. They didn’t play loud music, turn over desks, and there was no fake poop on my desk. All was well.

“Mommy, Mommy!” My son’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. 

“Yes, honey?”

“Daddy’s gonna swim with me!” I looked over at my husband and we exchanged a knowing smile. 

“Okay, have fun.” I turned away and walked back to our blanket and layed down on my back. The sun beat down on me with a blazing smile and the waves of the ocean washed away all worries. 

Eleanor Pitchal was born in Boston and now lives in Park Slope. She is in 6th grade. She loves to read and write realistic fiction, but also loves fantasy. Eleanor also loves to draw, and is a softball pitcher.

Green

Green, the color of the trees, pine, ashwood, and mahogany

The scent of its endless leaves

The wind rustling the branches of the big ol’ oak

The leaves, so soft and safe 

Bring the warmth and safety of napping under the tree

The sweet, sweet sap from the maple trees an ample 

Supply of the syrup we enjoy every day of our lives!

Short Horror Stories About Random Stuff

AFTER

Leah Charlic was perfectly happy in her old life. She was best friends with Samantha Charles, she had a cat named Ripple, and she even had a butler! But then, Samantha went missing and Ripple disappeared along with her. They had put up missing posters for her cat, but Samantha was really all anybody in Mulberry Commons, California cared about. Leah had heard the adults talking, telling the police that Samantha was last seen in a red dress near the pond, that she was 11 years old with freckles. But that didn’t seem to be helping Samantha, or Ripple. She had heard that they were sending out a search party tonight, and she was determined to go. Leah looked out the window. Strangely enough, she saw her butler, Martin, walking toward the bus station, with a bunch of cats following behind him. She recognized a fluffy white cat as Mittens, who used to play with Ripple. She also saw a short haired, dark, tortoiseshell tom-cat… Ripple! She shook her head and blinked. When she opened her eyes again, all of them were gone. The sun must be playing tricks on my eyes, she thought.

Soon, it was 5:00 at night and after a lot of begging, her mom had allowed her to join the search party. The police weren’t that talkative, so it was a little awkward. They searched the street, but they found nothing. Suddenly, an officer cried out. They rushed to the sound of the voice, but all they found was a trail of blood. The chief of police said if they followed the trail, it might lead them to the officer, and Samantha. So Leah got in one of the police cars and they drove away. The blood led to a dark alleyway, deep in the city. She saw something up ahead. Leah had a sickening feeling that she knew what it was. Sure enough, it was the dead bodies of the officer and Samantha.  

“We’re not too late, we can still catch the culprit,” said the chief. 

“Are you?” said a chillingly familiar voice.

Martin stepped out from behind some boxes. There was a kitten on his shoulder. It said “mew” and started sharpening it’s extremely long claws. Cats flooded from the shadows. Leah realized that Mittens and Ripple were among the crowd.  

“Y-you won’t get away with this!” She shouted, even though it sounded super cliche.

 “Won’t I?” he asked. 

She turned around and saw that there were cats behind her, and they had killed the rest of the party.

 “Say nighty-night!” Martin held up a gun. 

Leah Charlic was never heard from again, but some say if you go into that alley and listen hard you can still hear the meow of cats and the echoes of her scream.

Before

Samantha Charles feels like the most normal kid. And that was scary enough by itself. But when she went to bed last night, something happened. Something terrible. She was just falling asleep around midnight, when she heard something coming from her closet. She would be very stupid to open it, so she squeezed her eyes shut. The sound came again, but this time louder and closer. She opened one of her eyes, just a bit. A figure was moving around in the darkness.

“Mom?” she whispered hopefully. 

“Guess again.” came the reply. 

Samantha recognized the voice as her best friend’s butler, Martin. 

“Wha-” she tried to say, before sharp claws scratched her arm and she fainted from the pain.

When she woke up, she was in the back of a van, her hands were tied and her legs felt like they were paralyzed. They probably were. The van jolted to a stop. The trunk doors opened. Martin picked her up and carried her down to an alleyway. 

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY LEGS?!?” Samantha screamed.

“I had them injected with a special concoction in the lab.” He responded. 

Despite the situation, she said, “Concoction? Don’t you think that’s a bit cliche?”

“Oh shut your soup hole!!!” he roared. 

Martin laid her down on the ground. Somehow, he had gotten a hold of a chainsaw.

  “Say nighty-night! Hey that’s pretty good, I should use that as an evil catchphrase!”

Then he brought the chainsaw down. She was then ended.

Dolls

One day, a group of innocent little kids were playing on a beautiful day. Near the spot that they were playing was the old Katter house. They used to collect antique and creepy dolls. But one night, on a red moon, a bright red light flashed through the house and knives flashed. They were never seen again. But that was 13 years ago. Anyway, a little girl named Lucy decided to go inside the Katter house to show that there was nothing to be afraid of. The kids watched as she opened the front door and walked in.

 A couple minutes later she came back out and said,“See nothing to be afraid of!” 

Suddenly, pale gray hands grabbed her and dragged her into the house. The kids convinced themselves she was just playing a prank on them, but they ran away, just in case. The next day, the kids went back to play. Then they saw a little girl. She had pale gray skin, and long, stringy hair, put into braids. Her eyes were all black and seemed to have sunk into her face. Instead of a nose she had 2 holes in the middle of her face. She wore a ripped, old fashioned black dress. She looked a lot like Lucy. Then she started to sing,

 “Do you want to play with me? We’re as happy as can be! You will never hear me lie, because I will make you die.” 

Then she said, “Do you wanna play dollies?” 

The kids ran away in terror. The next day, they came back to play again. The girl was still there. She sang the same song but this time said,

 “Do you wanna play dollies? We’ll play over your dead body.” 

Again, the kids ran away in terror. The day after, the kids came back to the spot. They felt something drawing them back, time and time again. Once again, the doll was there. She sang the same song and said, 

“Do you wanna play dollies? We’ll play over your dead body. Your dolly can have a special accessory.” 

The kids ran away again. The kids were pulled to the spot for the last time. 

The thing that used to be Lucy started her ritual, “Do you want to play with me? We’re as happy as can be! You will never hear me lie, because I will make you DIE! Do you wanna play dollies? We’ll play over your dead body. Your dolly can have a special accessory, it’s called a bloody dagger.” 

Then she attacked. Only two kids got out of there alive. They were named Julie and Marcus. They eventually got married, but they never forgot Lucy. Then one night, on a red moon, they heard a knock on the front door. When they opened it up, they saw…Lucy. “Do you wanna play dollies?” She said, and this time, the couple didn’t make it. 

06-79: A Story of An Experiment and Her Great Escape

PART ONE   

I looked around my cage. I could tell by the tag on the front, even though I couldn’t read, that it said ‘FAILED EXPERIMENT!’ How was I a fail? Well, for example, I had bunny ears that were only pink. They wouldn’t change color like the rest of my fluffy body. Plus, I was also a wolf, with bunny ears! Then the meerkat came back from being experimented on and yelled,

“It’s me! Mario!” 

He had a meerkat body, but now he had a Mario overalls pattern on his fur and a super Mario hat. 

“I bet they’ll get a new meerkat and make it Luigi,” a meerkat (Bartholomew) with a bunch of spikes out its back muttered, looking angry that the scientists made his best friend act like a sicko. 

“Stop whining,” I muttered. 

“Easy for you to say, 06-79! You don’t have any friends!”  Bartholomew squeaked. 

Ugh, I thought as my fur turned blood red with anger, I don’t have any friends because nobody  wants to be friends with a failed experiment. I felt extremely tired of everything. Then a scientist started talking. Another power of mine, to understand human language.

 “Are we going to get more paranormal animals to test on, in that forest that has a hole leading to a whole new forest, by the way?” the female one asked. 

“I’m pretty sure we will,” said the other.  

My ears perked up in hope. Maybe I could go there, I thought happily. All the creatures I could meet. All the fun I could have. I fell asleep that night dreaming of life there and having LOTS of friends. 

The next morning, a scientist pulled me out of my cage with a collar and held an electric whip in the other hand. Probably to make me feel intimidated by him. Then the tests began.
The scientist chained me to the floor.

“Bro! No need to get all aggressive!” I shouted in my best Kevin Hart voice. What? Scientists turned on the TV for us sometimes if we were being impatient. I’m the only one who knows what they’re saying, of course. They say a lot of curse words sometimes. Also, scientists can’t understand what I’m saying. 

The first test for me was beginning. They wanted to see my color reaction to things they do to me. 

First, they dropped my favorite treats in front of me. I turned a bright pink as I feasted. I can’t resist, okay?! Then, one of them zapped me with one of the things called “testing guns.” Humans are rude! They test it on experiments! My color first turned red (for anger) and then a bruise colored purple. Yes, it looked disgusting. 

Then they did nothing and stood there. My fur turned teal. It meant I was feeling normal. I was sorta happy but not. Then they showed a big image of a wolf being chased by a hunter. I turned orange. I was emotional now. Then it showed the wolf dead. I turned a somber blue.

“Ok, 06-79, your first test is over! Time for the second one,” one of the scientists shouted.

For my second one, they put me in a wind thing. They wanted to see how long I could stay up there. The wind would die down by the second.  The scientists were trying to see how much wind could support me if they gave me wings. Yeah, people can do that! 

“Y’all stupidos! I wanna get wings now! So I can soar above your heads and escape!” I shouted at them, as one person gave me a thing I had to wear for it. Wait… why wasn’t I wearing a head-protector? Then, I got pushed off the thing, and I never thought I’d say this, but the scientists have never made me feel so happy in my whole life. I turned a bright, bright pink. The brightest I ever had. My bunny ears didn’t match the rest of my body even though I was pink. I felt the wind getting lower, but I didn’t pay any attention. I had been flying! I had so much joy inside that I could explode! Like explode!!! Then the wind couldn’t support me anymore, so I fell. There were these words in my mind. 

                Falling…..

                          Falling……..

                                    Falling…….. 

PART TWO         

I woke up. In my cage. Bleh. My bowl had slimy stuff inside it. I ate it because I was hungry. Then I saw a scientist pointing at my cage.  

“Mr. Gorista said that 06-79 would be placed in the machine that kills failed experiments tomorrow.”

What?! They were gonna kill me? This was bad! Like really bad!

Then the other one said,  “Me and the team are going to get more paranormal animals from the forest tomorrow. Other people who don’t work in Future Labs will have to deal with a bunch of security.” 

“Where exactly is this forest?” the first guy said. I have been asking that same exact question!

“You dumbo! It’s literally on the other side of the river F. Labs are on!” 

That was all the info I needed. I started chewing on my cage super hard. I kept going. I felt the wire hitting against my teeth. It hurt, but my life depended on it. After a while, the wire broke and I could get out. Then a loud noise broke out. It was a siren. Then a bunch of scientists burst into the room. They were all shouting all at once, and I couldn’t understand. Then I charged through them and went down a bunch of things that I’m pretty sure are called stairs. 

Finally, I went out the door and I was outside. Oh, there were so many things to smell! But I had to concentrate. I ran fast. Quicker than I have ever run. Pretty soon, I got to the river. My only problem: I didn’t know how to swim!

 PART THREE

I tried to remember how to swim, but it was a very long time ago when I had to figure that out. I remembered two things. #1: if you’re going to put your head underwater, hold your breath! #2: Kick with your legs. 

Okay, that was actually helpful. Thank you, memories. Then I leaped into the water. My head plunged down for a second, then I raised it back up. I kicked and kicked hard, fighting the currents. I was almost to the other side! 

“Ya—” 

I began, but a large current swept me down the river. I saw a drop at the end of the river. Waterfall! I clung onto a rock and pulled myself up there. Then I made a far leap. I still landed in water, but I was close enough to get onto shore. Oh, that was close! I panted and rested for a moment, but on the other side of the river, I saw some scientists. 

No breaks yet! I told myself. First get to the forest, then nap! 

Turns out that guy near my cage wasn’t lying. There were a bunch of human guards stationed in the area. I turned black and snuck into where there were less guards. I blended into the shadows. 

        At last! I was in the forest. I just didn’t know I’d feel so lonely. Then a voice came out, “You’re not from around here, are you? I’m Uniko.” 

PART FOUR                                                                                                                                                                 “These are my other siblings: Rose, Thora, Koman, and Gonga.”  Uniko showed me a bunch of wolves who looked like they would give me a serious beating.

They looked exactly like their sister. Except Rose had a pink pearl on her head and Thora had a purple one. Uniko had a blue one. Koman and Gonga were identical, black with no pearls. All of them snarled.

“What is she!?” Rose growled. 

“A science experiment, that’s what!” Koman howled.

“Stop it, guys!” Uniko snarled. “She’s my friend.” 

  The siblings exchanged glances.

“Fine, she can live with us. As long as she causes no trouble.” Thora muttered. 

Uniko gave me a happy smile. When nobody was looking, I turned a happy bright pink and walked right behind them.  

Ish’s spy Adventure

Ish is a normal kid. He does normal things like what all normal kids do. He plays basketball, eats ice cream, and also drinks a lot of water! But worse of all is, he doesn’t have any friends! But, something that you don’t know about Ish is that he is a spy. He finds anything that is missing. But today in this story, he is going to find the hidden golden hook. This is the most dangerous mission he has ever had before. He needs to dive in the deepest forest and dive into the ocean’s deep floor, get in a volcano, and quickly dig up the sand. Lastly, he needs to find the hidden house in the volcano, get past the guards and the laser beams, and get the missing stolen golden hook to give it back to the museum. But, be aware, Ish, there will also be pirates searching for it too! Most of all, if the golden hook touches anything, it will turn to gold. This is a top secret mission, so no one can know this is happening. 

This is the day. Ish is ready, he is wearing a dark shirt so that he can quickly blend in with the dark forest without anyone noticing. Also, he packed up a bright blue swimsuit so that he can camouflage with the water so that the pirates won’t notice he is diving in the water and he could secretly get the golden hook. He is in the entrance towards the deep forest. But he needs to be ready, because when he gets in, he can’t come out. So he better be quick and smart because the dark forest was like a maze. On his first step in, he gets sucked into the forest. I wonder what kind of magic that was? 

When he turns his body, he wants to step out of the forest. The place he entered disappears, and all he can see is the deep, dark, creepy forest. 

He steps out the second step, he moves around slowly and follows the map to move around. Suddenly, in the forest, he sees a giant monster that has an enormous mouth filled with sharp teeth. I can’t get eaten when the mission just got started, he thinks. 

So he quietly moves along the way. He opens his bag and finds his electric net gun and walks past the monster. But then, at his most nervous point, he accidentally steps on a branch. The sound is loud enough to make the monster wake up. Craaack!!!

Then, with the sound of the monster yawn, “Roar!!!” (Because his mouth is huge, his roar made it louder, so the whole forest could hear it.) 

Ish feels that he is on the edge dying. The monster starts slowly getting closer to him, Ish slowly walks backwards. But then he finds out that he’s almost on the edge of the cliff! The monster slowly walks towards him. Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!!! He waves the fist to Ish as if to let Ish lose balance and fall. 

But at this moment, Ish presses the button on the electric gun. Fwoosh! Then the sound, Bzzt! The monster painfully falls down. Bump!

“Phew! And thanks to the gun, ha ha,” Ish thinks. 

But another problem appears to arise. A good one and another bad one. The good one: Down the cliff is the dark sea. The bad one: But how can he get down?

An idea appears. He changes into his swimsuit and puts on his parachute that can turn directions, and he jumps off the cliff, opens his parachute, and gets into the water. But then suddenly, Boom!

Oh! It’s just thunder! But after the fog clears out, a pirate ship appears. “Uh oh, that’s not thunder, that’s cannon fire from the nearby pirate ship,” Ish whispers frighteningly to himself.  

“I’m doomed!” he yells. 

Worse of all, if the pirates catch him, they would force him to give them the map to the golden hook (they know that the only map is in the hand of a spy, so they decide to find Ish on the way to their trail to find the hook), and after they would force him to walk off the deck and drown in the dark, deep, blue sea!!! He formulates a plan.

Meanwhile, at about midnight, everyone is asleep, except for Ish (you shouldn’t copy Ish, he’s a spy not like you. You need sleep to help for the next day) — even the pirates are sleeping, dreaming, and snoring! Ish quietly heads towards the pirate ship, tiptoes through all the pirate’s food and blankets, and gets to the controlling wheel. 

“Hahaha!” A creepy voice comes from the cabin. “I knew it, I knew it!!!” 

Ish finds where the voice was coming from. 

“Ah! It’s Captain One Eye!” 

It’s great that he is just giving a video call. Ish eavesdrops on the door. “HAHA! My plan succeeds, we made it, we made it! We almost actually, because our diver is already about to find the volcano, haha!” The captain cheers. 

Ish whispers to himself, “I better be fast!” He opens his bag and gets out an electric net. On three, two, one! He measures and presses the button. Bzzt! And the captain falls down.

 Quickly, Ish jumps into the water, but first, he builds up a motor on his backpack, and zooms — he’s ten times faster than he was before. 

On the map, it says that the third volcano from the left, or from the fourth volcano from the right. (It means that the total amount of the volcanoes is seven.) He finds the correct volcano, but soon, he sees the guy who works for the pirate ship also there searching for the correct volcano. You know, because when you search something you don’t know, you might need to dig all of it out and search for it. So does the pirate, but he’s now searching for the correct volcano. Ish needs to stop him before he finds the real volcano first! 

First, he wants to use his electric net he used before, but he finds out that he is underwater, so his net is not useful. Instead, he might even electric himself! He has an idea. Ish gets up to the seaside. He quickly changes to a pirate and wears his diving suit. 

Ish dives in the water, reaches the volcano, and finds the pirate. The pirate thinks that the captain let him come here to help him. So Ish helps him dig up the sand and find the hidden house. 

Ish gets in first, followed by the pirate. Then they feel there is no water because they are in a house! Because it is dry, Ish gets out his electric net and shoots at the pirate. 

“Oof!” The pirate touches the ground. 

Ish gets out of his diving suit and puts it in his bag, continuing to put the bag in his pocket. (He can even put a piano in his pocket because it’s high-tech.) 

Only two last shots left in his gun, he could definitely use it on the guards. Soon, the guards hear the sound of Ish fighting pirates, so they come to check. They see someone that had fainted on the ground. It was Ish; he puts the pirate’s body on the seaside and plays dead. The guards are about to pick Ish up, but Ish gets out his gun and electrocutes the guards. Two sounds of falling to the ground, and no more sounds are heard. But then: Bzzt! It’s the real laser beam security! It’s not an ordinary lazer; it’s a real laser that can cut things in half immediately. 

But Ish is a spy — he was trained to do it, right? So Ish confidently gets through it quickly, neat and clean; nothing happens to him. In front of his sight is the famous golden hook. Ish takes the golden hook away, gets out of the laser beams again, and uses the hook to touch the two guards, the two of them immediately turning into golden statues. 

Now, all he needs to do is to turn this whole thing into gold; so then, he uses the hook to touch the ground, and immediately the whole house turns to gold.

Ish goes up shore, goes to the museum, and gives it to the museum. What a day. But then, Bweep! 

Another mission, Ish thought. 

“Ish the spy, the famous Egyption case of the king Tutu got stolen!” 

“Ok, coming right to it. Guys, care to join?”

Magical Life, Chapter One: Seeking Back Story

I am all sitting at a tall countertop with very tall chairs as the wind blows past from the open windows. I reach back behind my chair and grab my jacket behind me. It smells like coffee with a lot of sugar and almond milk in the cafe. As I put on my jacket, the waitress walks past with my coffee, a double espresso and two sugars. As I am sipping my coffee, I hear someone mention him. Beck, he was the first one here, on this afterlife interpretation.

Sadly, not the last. As he and his adventures grew, more people came to this place. Which was quite a problem for Beck here, so he trained more and more people to assist him in his job. But we don’t know how or why, or anything about this journey that has changed everything, to have a safe journey, a sanctuary for everyone who has found the want to be a part of what he created. I am not here to learn about what he created because I live in this beautiful place that now so many people know and feel comfortable with everyone. What I am here for, though, is to find out how he created this place that I can’t stop thinking about. There is just no place that I would rather be than in this safe space for all who make it in, but now I need to finally tell you what I need to learn about. I need to learn about how he made this all happen and how he created this world that I have committed to being perfect for. I am doing this to inform the world, to be satisfied with myself, and satisfied with everything I know. 

So my quest is to learn and I am starting here in this cozy little cafe by asking around to see if people have a part of the story that I am trying to piece together.

“Does anyone here know anything about Beck?” I ask.

At first, not a person wants to help me. They are all eating their pastries and drinking their coffees. But eventually I hear an answer.

“Yes. I was one of the first here.” They start to walk over to my table and I shift slightly around to look a bit more at their seventh caramel pumpkin spice frappuccino and them behind me.

“Hi, I’m Ray, I asked if anyone knows about Beck,” I say.

“Yes, that would be me, so what do you know about Beck?” they say.

“Well, I have a book about it,” they say, while turning around to reach into their backpack and pulling out what looks like it could be up to five hundred pages, with a leather bound cover and lock. Then they put on their tiny, little reading glasses and open to the first page. I start to get ready for a super story…

________________________________________________________________

I was with Beck when there were only eleven thousand and five hundred people. Keep in mind that this was before he had trained thousands of people to assist in this process, so we had quite a lot of time to hear some stories.

The first story that he shared was what his life was like before he, you know, died. He said that he grew up in Park Slope, always going to this one special ice cream place that he loved to keep going to so that he could have the wonderful flavors that kept rotating. One day, it would be chocolate, and then the next, it would be pineapple. He loved being able to give other people who were sad a gift card and to go there with them if they were glum because he loved seeing their perfectly unsad smiles.

________________________________________________________________

Bump

Bump! My wheel got stuck on a rock. I click the brakes and move my bike around the rock. I wipe the sweat off my forehead and continue following my dad up the trail. The hot sun was beaming down on me, making sweat roll down my face and back. I am Stella Cubster, I am currently just out of San Diego, California. I live in Estonia in Europe, but I am visiting here for my mom’s work. She works as a doctor and has to travel a lot! I am riding my bike on a mountain with my dad. He loves mountain biking. I think it’s fun, but still, I’d prefer to be painting in my room with my friend, Beth. We spend almost every afternoon together. We usually paint, but sometimes we draw. Today reminds me of a hot day a few years ago. Me and my mom were walking on a path in the desert. The sun was blazing down on us. I watched dust kick up as my mom, in front of me, exclaimed to me, “Stella! I see the top!” I was so relieved. That was the hottest walk ever, and I knew there would be shade up there, unlike down where we were– you could only see rocks and sand for miles and miles. I looked around at the dry landscape. I was looking at a cute mouse when I missed a step and fell down on the rocky path. I remember getting lots of cuts and scrapes from that fall, but I also remember getting to the top and sitting in the shade. Oh, that felt so nice! I try not to think of getting all of the cuts and scrapes as I continue pedaling up the mountain.

“Stella, there is a roller up here.” My dad calls to me from up ahead. “Do you want to try it?” He asks, already riding down it.

“No,” I reply immediately, seeing that it was big. My dad asks me this almost every time there is a rock to roll up or down. Usually I say no, because I am too worried about falling off and breaking a bone. I roll down beside the side of the rock, careful to not scrape my pedal on it. 

“Stella, we are almost to the top of the mountain, when we reach the top let’s have a water break.” My dad calls from in front of me. 

“Definitely,” I reply, short of breath. I am happy to know I could drink clear, cool liquid soon. After this huge climb I didn’t even think I could make it two pedals further. 

After 10 more minutes of riding, I turn a corner and exclaim excitedly, 

“We’re at the top!!!” 

Right as I reach the top, feeling renewed from my excitement and going at an incredibly fast speed, my bike crashes hard against a nearby rock. The next thing I know I go head over heels and hear a huge crack. At first, I don’t know if the crack was from me or the bike.

“Stella!!” My dad cries and runs over to me. “Are you ok?!” It takes me a minute to register his question considering my shock. But when I do, I reply,

“Yes, I am totally fine, I am not quite sure about my bike though.” I am so thankful that it was my bike not me! My legs are still shaking from being scared as I get up to check my bike. I lay it on its side in the dirt. We start examining the parts. It looks like the bike hit near the frame of my bike. There is a little dent but nothing major. 

“It looks fine.” I observe, taking one last look over the bike. “What do you think, Dad?”

“Stella, get back,” Dad says suddenly. I look to where he is looking. A big snake was at least 30 feet away. But Dad has a big thing with snakes. He is terrified of them. 

“It looks okay…” he says, looking back at the bike and slowly rubbing his hand over the dent mark. “But take it slow going down the mountain, we don’t want you to get hurt today. And let’s definitely get going.” He eyed the snake that had never even looked at us.

“Dad! It’s fine!” I say reassuringly. Even I am not afraid of snakes.

After we eat a quick snack, I take a big gulp of water. Water had never tasted so good! We hop on our bikes and we start down the mountain. I feel the wind flow through my hair, pushing it back. That is my favorite feeling. It almost feels like silk running across my face. I feel so free! I tried to take it slow like my dad said to, but when I click my brakes to slow down, I don’t slow down. I try again, this time I hold my brakes harder. Sometimes my brakes are hard to push. But not this hard. I feel panic bubbling up in my core like soup bubbling in a pot waiting for the heat to be turned off. I attempt to scream but my mouth is clamped shut, no matter how much I try, I can’t get it to open. I steer my bike around a corner, going at an incredible speed. I try to scream to my dad, but like before, my screams and words got caught in my throat, unwilling to come out. As I continue down the trail I spy a big rock ahead. I try to put my foot down to stop the bike but an odd dizzy feeling in my brain takes over. I can’t move. I try and try to get off the bike, but I get dizzier by the second. My eyes show a blurry picture of the rock getting closer and closer. I close my eyes, preparing for the fall, but there is no way to prepare myself for what was about to happen. I get to the rock way too fast, my bike wobbles and…

***

“Ahhhhhhh!” I hear someone scream. They keep screaming. Then I realize it was me. I try to stop but the screams keep coming out. I can’t feel anything. I can’t see anything. Where am I?

“Stella?!” I hear my dad yell out to me. That stops my screaming. Dad? Then it all floods back to me. Speeding down the mountain toward a giant rock unable to stop. My bike wobbled then… I can’t remember. I see Dad peddling so hard, I thought for sure his pedals were going to snap off. 

“Stella!” He jumps off his bike, letting it crash to the ground. Dad never ever let his bike fall down. He always put it down slowly, carefully to make sure his bike would not scratch. 

“Dad, I’m fine,” I croak out. I sound like a frog with a sore throat. I push off the rock to try and get myself up. A shot of pain bolts through my leg. I let out an ear-piercing scream and tumble back to the ground. I close my eyes and clench my teeth. There is no way I can describe the pain that I am feeling now. I can’t see. I can’t think. I can’t… The last thing I hear is Dad scream, “Stella!”

***

“Dad? Dad? Dad, where are you?” I look around searching for Dad. He just called my name. Where did he go? “Dad?!”

“Stella? Stella, wake up!” Someone shakes me. “Stella!” I feel someone squeeze my arm. I open one eye then the other.

“Mom?” I ask. She smiles then hugs me. It felt good to be near her. I look down. The top of my hand has a hot pink band aid stuck on. I look at my leg. It was covered by a big pink cast. “What hap…” I start then I remember. Bike. Rock. Falling. Screaming. Pain. Oh the pain. 

“Where’s Dad?” I ask, scanning the room. Right as I say that Dad comes in. “Stella!”

***

6 months later

Dad and I are driving to a new mountain biking spot. Dad got me a new bike as a get well present. It was kind of funny, because I couldn’t exactly use it with a broken leg. But the color is a lavender purple with pink lettering that says “STRONG STELLA” on the frame. I love it! 

We figured that when I hit the rock when I was coming up the mountain, we didn’t check my bike carefully enough and missed that the brakes were broken. Dad had said sorry so many times. He said the snake made him not as focused on the bike and more focused on getting away.

I had forgiven Dad a long time ago, though I’m not sure he’ll ever forgive himself. 

“Oh look,” Dad said pointing to the mountain that the tragedy had happened on. 

“Dad, I’ve been thinking. I want to ride that mountain to the top and down,” I say determinedly. “Today.” I add.

“Stella. Did I hear you right? You want to ride that mountain even after what happened?”

“Yup,” I responded, “even after what happened.”

Dead Hollow Grave

It was October 31st. All of the trick-or-treaters bustled throughout Old Hollow Town, demanding sugary treats. That all ended when they saw the dim outline of a figure next to the woods. It slowly shambled towards the children, lurching and limping. All of the people began to shriek as they realized that the zombie was real.

Unfortunately, one straggler was caught. The zombie bit deep into her flesh, snapping tendons and muscles. She let out one strangled, gurgling gasp then slowly sank to the ground. A few seconds later she rose back up, complexion mottled and green, skin torn and ripped.

All of the stragglers were picked off in that way, and soon, about twelve zombies were lurching through the town. They groaned and clawed at locked doors, knocking a few down. By midnight, thirty zombies were limping out of the town and back into the forest. What had once been a happy procession was now the remains of a grim spectacle.

Red liquid splattered the ground, and the village began rebuilding.

Every year after that, all the zombies would return at that specific time, pick off a few people, and go back to the woods. Visitors stopped coming, and the population dwindled. Soon, everybody died and the town became a horror.

Zombies walked everywhere, hungry for new human flesh. They only had dim flashes of memory from their last life.

What once was Old Hollow Town became known as Dead Hollow Grave.

GLaDOS Might Not Be the “Bad Guy”

In Valve’s two-part video game, Portal, GLaDOS certainly seems like a villain at first. The premise of the video game is that you are a “tester” in a science lab called Aperture Science, progressing through more and more difficult and dangerous test chambers. GLaDOS is the game’s villain, but her bad behavior is not her fault. In the course of gameplay, we learn that GLaDOS, who we meet as a big robot, was once a human before her power-heavy transformation into a robot drove her insane. First, this essay will establish evidence of GLaDOS the big robot’s evil deeds. Then, it will prove the central claim that it is not possible for a being transforming into a giant robot in the world of Portal to retain sanity. Finally, it will prove that it is the scientists, not GLaDOS, who are the true villains of the videogame.

There are many good reasons why you’d think GLaDOS is the central villain when you first start playing. In Portal, you have to go through many tests with only the false hope of cake. Right before you reach her chamber, you have to think quickly and use your teleportation device (the portal gun) to get out of a conveyor leading into a pit of fire. Along with the fire chamber, she tries to kill you with neurotoxin in a timed battle, eventually leading to her explosion. But the picture becomes more complicated in Portal 2. After you accidentally awaken GLaDOS again, she tells you why she was so unhappy when she woke up. She had to relive the moment of her death when you exploded her over and over and over again, thinking of what she could have done better. 

Still, we learn something else about transforming into a “super bot” that excuses Glados’s behavior even further. When the player puts Wheatley, your original friend at the start of Portal 2, into the big robot, you learn that when you become a robot, you become insane with power. This same fate befalls Glados when it happens to her. In the official Portal comic, LAB RAT, soon after Glados becomes the super robot, we see an example of how power-mad her transformation makes her.

As we walk through the details of this example, the Neurotoxin Incident, we will see that  it is actually the fault of the scientists that Glados found herself armed with such a dangerous substance. The scientists allowed her to be equipped with neurotoxin before she was stable. They failed to even check that she was partially stable before they gave her access to said neurotoxin—a very dangerous gas. 

Here’s how the sequence unfolds in gameplay. Right before you are let out of the lab, you actually fall into Old Aperture. Here, you learn about two new characters, the second of whom is important to the central storyline. These characters are Cave Johnson, and Cave Johnson’s assistant, Caroline. Since Cave Johnson got sick, Caroline was made into a robot to keep Aperture Science running and uphold the place for many more years than she would as a human, but the robot version of Caroline went crazy, killing almost all the workers. Another thing you learn is that you feel the need to “test” when you are in the GLaDOS robot body. Wheatley talks about how he feels this “itch” to test – as though he would not be able to live happily without testing. Essentially, he has to conduct tests even if he doesn’t want to, because it would otherwise result in major discomfort. This helps GLaDOS’s weird forceful testing that we saw back in the comic: another major reason why it’s not GLaDOS’s fault for seeming crazy. 

“Do you know what doesn’t rhyme with compliance? Neurotoxin,” GLaDOS says in the panel. Arguably, the fact that she is forcing the workers to do what she wants by threat of death is such an extreme course of action that it is a sign of her going power-mad in and of itself. But more importantly, this extreme behavior is a departure from the way GLaDOS acts prior to her transformation. Before, she was a seemingly average woman working as Cave Johnson’s assistant. We see this when GLaDOS repeats the phrases in one of the prerecorded messages before they were actually said, shown in chapter 7 of Portal 2, titled “The Reunion”, to be perfectly normal statements like “yes, sir.” One YouTuber describes the way the next sequence unfolds: GLaDOS hears Cave’s and Caroline’s voices for the first time in her life. She repeats ‘Yes sir, Mr. Johnson,’ and is terrified. In other words, we see GLaDOS awaken again after a panic, and when Mr. Johnson asks a question, GLaDOS repeats after Caroline before even hearing the voice line, sending her back into a panic. Her dialogue matches exactly with her former self, Caroline, revealing: GLaDOS used to be Caroline. The transformation was responsible for the change in her attitude.

The evidence is clear that GLaDOS, the video game character from Portal, is not the villain of her game. This is an important thing for the Portal community because it would give a very different view of the story, one where we find that the scientists were the bad guys. This topic is important to the world because we should first look at what makes people the way they are, instead of just judging them by how they are now. It also gives a more reasonable view of people in a grumpy mood. Someone might generally be happy and kind, but just be having a bad day. If we judge them based on their background, they are a good person, but if we only looked at how they act, then they would look like a very mean person who never is kind to people.

Bibliography

“Lab Rat.” Lab Rat, Valve, 2011, https://www.thinkwithportals.com/comic/#20. 

(youtuber), oliviacat01. “Portal 2: Glados Finds out She’s Caroline.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 July 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZWe1rYKZpY. 

“Caroline Voice Lines.” Caroline Voice Lines – Portal Wiki, Wikimedia Commons, 24 Jan. 2021, https://theportalwiki.com/wiki/Caroline_voice_lines. 

          Portal. Windows PC, Mac, and Linux, 2007.

          Portal 2. Windows PC, Mac, and Linux, 2011.

Boogaloo

The Boogaloo is hungry for thou,

with stealing eyes of flame,

thou wont want to learn its name.

Living in the foogly woods,

there in the middle he stood.

 Born from Buzzpin flies,

 you will be blind from one look in its eyes. 

Scrailing screams, biggest roar,

you might as well just come and stay,

because the Boogaloo is on its way. 

So come here child and have some tea,

and the Boogaloo will bring a treat,

but in return he will have your…MEAT!

Time for Turkey

A man by the name of Martin Stevens decided to cook a Thanksgiving turkey on a Tuesday evening for no special event, but he didn’t know how, and neither do I. So he got a turkey from the grocery store and put it in the oven. The turkey did not come out well. It was so burnt that it was blacker than the abyss.

The man, a stranger to cooking, decided it looked delicious. He took a bite and he loved it. He invited his neighbors to try the turkey. They loved it as much as he did. He decided to give them the recipe: Place the turkey in the oven and set the temperature to nine hundred and ninety-nine degrees. It was chaos. With this amazing new turkey recipe, everybody was rushing to the grocery store for a turkey. People told their friends about the turkey, so now hundreds of people were rushing to the grocery store before it closed. The store ran out of turkeys and the crazed turkey shoppers started a riot. The employees had to steal turkeys from the local zoo and start butchering them.

At last, after the employees illegally stole turkeys from the zoo and chopped them up, there were enough of the birds for everyone! Everybody got a nine hundred and ninety-nine degree burnt turkey! But the employees from the local zoo realized what had happened and started wrecking the grocery store for stealing their precious turkeys. They destroyed all the fresh produce and stomped on all the bread, once the zoo employees had finished their rampage they left, leaving the grocery store employees baffled. The end. 

Ditched

Chapter 1- The Beginning of it All 

I felt a burst of cold air when someone took the warm, loving covers off me. “Stop!” I yelled, trying to pull the covers back from whomever took them from me. “Hannah banana, it’s hiking day!” I heard my dad say, as hiking was his favored passion. “Why today? I had the best dream, I was jumping on cotton candy clouds and there were waterfalls of gatorade.” Gatorade was my favorite drink on the entire earth. “We’ve had this planned for three  months! Why couldn’t you have saved that dream for another night?” he said as he was sitting down. “Daaaad, you can’t have or not have a dream, silly!” My dad replied, “ Yeah right. We have to get a move on if we want to get to our hiking site by 10:00! Start packing your hiking bag Hannah! Chop chop!” 

As I was packing, I was wondering what to bring, but I didn’t want Dad to get mad at me for not knowing what to bring, so I brought: a six pack of Gatorade, some Band-Aids, and a couple of granola bars. As I was about to exit the front door to wait for Dad at the car, I felt someone stop me. I turned around to look at who it was and it was my older brother, Lucas. He is a total caution freak, so he handed me a keychain with flint and steel and a Swiss Army knife starter set with scissors, a variety of mini knives, a mini saw, and tweezers. Then I hugged him and walked to the car, as I saw Dad was in the car, ready to leave. 

While I was in the car looking out the window, I saw car after car race by; it looked like they would never end. As I felt the car slow to a stop, I readied my things; for the adventure awaits, I thought. I opened the car door not wanting to feel the cold air, as it was the middle of fall. I got out of the car, and Dad was already next to the entrance path, to the hike. I didn’t know then, but this hike was going to change my life. 

We walked through the path slowly, taking in all that was around us, breathing in all the floral, outsidey scents. We looked at all the plants, gawking at animals. Hearing birds *Chirp Chirp* every step of the way. We were walking for quite a while, an hour or so. Then, we came across this little area with what looked like never-ending berries. There were so many berries, heaps and buckets worth. I took a couple of blackberry-looking berries and stuck them in my mouth. “Dad! These are delicious! You should really try some!” I said. Dad replied with a, “No thanks, I’m not very hungry,” answer. “Well, more for me!” I said enthusiastically while shoving some more in my mouth. 

 We walked a bit more until I felt my stomach was not feeling up to shape, so I told Dad, and I sat down on a log. I drank some water and exhaled.

Chapter 2- The Hike

I hear birds sing. I smell all the same outdoor smells. I open my eyes. I put my hands out in front of myself. I see them. I sit up. I am still on a log. Everything seems normal. Until I notice. Dad. Where is he? How long was I out for? I say my thoughts out loud. I get up. I am stressed. I get stressed easily. Calm down. I walk around the log for a couple minutes. Wait. I see something. What is it? I bend down. I grab it. It’s a note. It says Hi Hannah, I am very worried about you when you passed out. So I am going to find some help. I won’t take long. Probably only around 30 minutes. I will be back soon, don’t worry…  Then at the bottom of the letter was Dad’s signature. I read the note carefully, making sure not to skip any words, on accident even. Once I finished reading the note, I placed it in my pocket, making sure not to crumple it. 

I looked around again, focusing on my surroundings, seeing what I would have to deal with for only about half an hour. I saw the sun get dimmer, and I looked up and saw that the sky was gray, filled with clouds. I thought about how not prepared I was. I sat back down on the log, in silence for about four minutes until I realized; I was hungry. I grabbed my backpack, it was leaning against the side of the log. I unzipped it gingerly, how the one of worst things to happen was the zipper to get stuck. I pulled out a chocolate chip granola bar, and with the backpack on my lap, I ripped open the granola bar as I took in a big whiff of the chocolaty, not-very-healthy granola bar scent. I took a big bite of it. Mmmmmmmm. I closed my eyes for a second to take in the granola bar’s glorious taste. I did really miss my dad though, I’m almost never without him, except for school of course. I also started to worry a bit, it had been four hours since I passed out. I didn’t know how time had passed so fast, then I thought he might be in trouble! Oh no! Maybe I should go venture for him! I grabbed my coat,backpack, and Dad’s note and set off to find him! 

I went up a hill, a very, very, very, very, very, very, VERY tall hill that completely exhausted me, but I kept going forward. I also came across this raging river, there was no way around it, so I found this big, long tree that must have fallen over, so I walked right across it.  Then I got, now fully exhausted and I saw this big cave that was kind of hidden. It did look very welcoming though, and it was starting to drizzle, so I went inside. I didn’t want to get wet. 

I walked through the cave, although it wasn’t really that big, and found a little nook, so I put my backpack down and laid on it. It had been a very long day and I was completely exhausted. I didn’t have a mirror, but I knew I didn’t look my best. I could feel the bags under my eyes. I closed my eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Chapter 3-  BATS

I saw my dad, in a meadow with daisies and dandelions with his arms open, waiting for me to run into them. I skipped across the meadow until I reached him, but when I did, he melted into nothing. I awoke with a start, I looked around, nothing had changed, no Dad and still in a cave. 

But then something caught my attention, something had moved quickly. It had darted across the cave. It was a small cave but whatever this thing was, it was fast. Around three minutes later, I had lost interest in whatever it was, so I put my head down on my bag again, but I didn’t close my eyes this time, I still was a teensy bit curious to see what it was that had disturbed me. Then I saw it again and again, like there were 50 of them! I got up and stood in the middle of the cave to see what would happen, and then I saw it. Out of all things of what it could have been, this was what I least expected. A bat. I was no expert on bats, but this one looked poisonous. It had white foam coming out of its mouth, and its eyes were bright red and yellow. I had to get out of there. Then it came at me, it was chasing me! I tried to swat it off with my backpack, but it wouldn’t go away!!! But then I got one really clean shot at it and after I hit the bat, it fell to the floor. But what I didn’t know was that there were a bunch more of them staring at me, they looked like they wanted revenge, wanted to avenge their bat friend (or family, I don’t really know.) Then, one darted at me and bit me! “Ouch!” It didn’t hurt too much but if all of them bit me once, I would be in excruciating pain. I scurried out of the cave, bats attacking me, adrenaline pumping. But thankfully, one by one they started to lay off on me though. I safely (sort of) got out of the cave and sat down on a nearby rock. I started to look at my wounds, they were nothing bad, just a couple of scratches and bruises. I went onward, to look for Dad.  

Chapter 4: The Ditch

I was doing great, just walking and drinking Gatorade, when suddenly, I felt really lightheaded, I also felt I could throw up at any moment. I was really dizzy, faint, and unsteady. I felt terrible. I didn’t know why this was happening right then or there, it was all so out of the blue. I mean, I did also end up alone, in a forest, seemingly all by myself. I sat down on the nearest log, but I was so out of balance that I fell off and blacked out. 

I awoke with a start, my head still spinning, but I wasn’t near the log anymore, I was somewhere else. Then I heard a voice. I thought I was going crazy. How could there be someone here? I’m alone. (Or so I thought.) Maybe it’s an angel telling me I can finally rest. But no. I heard it again, like it was getting closer and closer until…I saw him. It was Dad! I found him! “Oh my gosh, Hannah! Are you okay? I’m so glad you are okay!” I looked at Dad, we talked, he was definitely a bit beat up, but other than that, he’s a tough guy. After a while, I finally came to the end of answering all of his questions about EVERYTHING, but now I had a couple of questions that I wanted the answers for. 

“ OK Dad, a couple questions. Where are we, how did you get here, how did I get here, and how long have you been here.” He answered with, “We are in a big ditch in the ground. How I got here, I was looking for help for you and then I twisted my ankle on an oddly shaped rock and fell in. How you got here, I didn’t see much from inside this ditch but all I saw was you rolling and falling into here.” I cut him off, “Oh and by the way, I think why I rolled in here was because some really scary bats bit me when I was in a cave that I found and I think that they were poisonous and I fell off a log I was sitting on and then I fell off because I came unconscious.” “Awwww, my tough little girl!” He said while giving me a big bear hug. “OK, last answer, I have been here for maybe about like,” He stopped for a moment to think, like his memory of outside of this ditch was blurry. He squinted his eyes so hard I thought they could pop right out!!! “I really don’t know Hannah banana, I’m sorry.” He said it very sincerely. “It’s OK Dad, but now here comes the biggest question of them all…how do we get out of here?”

             Chapter 5: The Plan

Me and Dad talk and talk for hours, thinking of the plan, until we figure it out. I get my backpack and eat the last granola bar without thinking of Dad, although I do offer him water. Then we are ready for the plan. I get onto Dad’s shoulders, then awkwardly he lifts me up onto the edge of the ditch. Then, my hand scrapes on something. “OUCH!” I lose my balance while trying to go one-handed because my other hand was bleeding. I then fell back down, though luckily, landed in Dad’s arms. “Ow.” I say. “You okay? Want to wash it off with some water?” Dad says sympathetically. “Not a bad idea.” I say back to him. I then go to find my water bottle and then realize, I only packed Gatorade. Although I know it might hurt a bit, I take a bit of Gatorade and use it to wash some of the blood off. It stung…a lot, but it did wash all of the blood away. “Ready for take two?” Dad asks, in position for me to get onto his back. “Sure.” Then I get onto his back again, and heave myself up and over the edge of the ditch. “I did it Dad! I’m up!” I shouted happily. “Alright, now tie a vine or something to a rock, I think I saw a big sturdy rock right up front.” I walked around a bit looking for a vine and then I found one on a tree. I rip it off and hold it up to admire it. A perfect length vine. I tie it as tight as I can to a big rock that I found and threw it down to Dad. “Heads up!” I yelled. “Got it! Can you help pull me up? You won’t be doing all the work though, I will mostly pull myself up.” Dad says. “Yup.” I get my hands on the vine and feel Dad pulling me down. But then, I get a burst of energy and I pull as hard as I can, and next thing I know, he’s out of the ditch! “Wow Hannah, have you been working out?” He says, mocking me. “Whatever.” I say sarcastically. “So, what do we do now, Hannah?” “Let’s get out of this place!!!” 

                                                              Aftermath

Hannah and her dad make it out of the woods safe and reunite with their family. Hannah and Lucas become closer than ever. The bats that Hannah came into contact with were vampire bats. They aren’t real vampires but in real life they do bite. Hannah’s dad gets help for his ankle and it heals fast. Even though that whole catastrophe was over, Hannah was scarred forever. She does go to some therapy to help with all of her deep thoughts. 

Dimension 96: Chapter 1

I was sitting on my bed. I was in Gloop dimension 96. It was a very normal dimension compared to other dimensions. I went to school like any normal dimension, 5 days a week. I had just gotten off from school, where I was learning mathematics.

I had nothing to do, so I just stared at the wall. For a second, I felt like I was in a trance. But then, a voice snapped me out of it.

“HAVE YOU DONE YOUR HOMEWORK YET?” It was my mom. She was very strict about homework. But, the bad thing was, in Gloop dimension 96, kids had tons of homework. I took out his homework from my bag. I held it up and looked at the thickness of his homework. It looked like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I sighed, but slowly, but surely, I finished it.

When I was done, I looked at the time. In the Gloop dimension 96, there were 32 hours a day, so it was 13 o’ clock. He normally went to bed at 12 o’ clock but whatever. I walked over to my huge bed and belly flopped into it. I made myself comfortable and fell asleep easily. I woke up with a start at 4 o’ clock in the morning. I usually got up at 9 o’ clock so I  could get on my Pc and start playing Fortnite.

 I didn’t realize how much Fortnite he was playing until my little sister, Sophia, smacked him in the face.  Sophia was 4 years old, while I was 14. I took off his headphone angrily and said bitterly,” what do you want?”

“Where are my colored pencils?” She asked, pouting. SHE HAD INTERRUPTED MY PLAYTIME FOR SOME COLORED PENCILS? I was in disbelief.

“Why couldn’t you have asked me later?” I said, putting back on my headphones.

“Because I need them for my school-” I didn’t hear the rest though. I jumped off the battle bus and then I felt another slap on my face. I didn’t even hear her. I took off my headphones, picked my sister up, and threw her out of my room. Now, that may have been a little bit violent, but sometimes she just annoyed me so much I  just wanted to kill her. I walked back to my seat and put my headphones back on. I was in the Fortnite lobby because someone had killed me.  I sighed. I turned my PC off  and looked at the time. It was still only 8 o’ clock. I layed on the carpet of my bedroom, staring at the ceiling. Not before long I blacked out. I woke up to the sound of sizzling. I put on my shorts and t- shirt because it was summer. I forgot to mention that in Gloop dimension 96 we also have school in the Summer. This was one of the cruelest dimensions ever. I walked into the kitchen and looked at what his dad was cooking. It was a mango raspberry waffle. You’d think it sounds good, but it tastes horrible! I sat down at the brown table and grabbed my phone. I looked at the news that was on last night. Before I could get onto the News page, which was a news page called Brain Freeze, my dad took my phone. He patted me on my head, before setting down a plate of mango raspberry waffles. I reluctantly took a bite then my head exploded. Not literally, but, like it. It tasted delicious!  I gulped down the rest of my waffles, then went to my dad, who was working on his computer. In the Gloop dimension 96, you have to work for 28 hours a day when you work. He had 4 hours to sleep, have fun and cook. I walked up to him and asked, “what did you put in the waffles that made them so good?” No response. I grabbed his dad’s arm on the mouse and shook it. No response again. I shook harder. Nothing happened. Dad’s eyes were glued to the screen.

I gave up after a while of punching and kicking, and packed my bag and went to my friend’s house. His name was Cameron. Cam for short. I waited outside for 2 minutes when the front door burst open and out came Cam.

“Whasup bro,” he said, coming up to me. “ Not much,” I said. We did our handshake then went to school. On the way I said, “Did you know that my dad’s mango raspberry waffles tasted actually good today?” He looked at me like I was crazy. He had tried them when he had slept over and he threw up. 4 times. It was disgusting seeing all the thrown up pieces of waffles on the floor mixed in with the apple juice Cameron was drinking.  Dad hadn’t done anything about it because of work, and mom didn’t do it because she was doing laundry. Mom usually did most of the work around the house. She was very useful actually. She cleaned up all the messes that I made and made our beds, and everything. She was a very neat person, so everyday she’d clean every millimeter of the house. Even the ceiling. Sometimes she’d even interrupt my fortnite playtime for cleaning. I prioritize my fortnite playtime. 2 days ago, I thought about starting a youtube channel. I was definitely good enough to be one. Cameron snapped him out of it when he asked, “ did you study for the test?” I stopped walking. “What test?” I asked back.

“Don’t you remember, yesterday Mr. Gulch said he was gonna give us a ELA test today.” I was stunned for a few seconds then ran toward the grass on my left. “ What’re you doing?” asked Cameron as he frantically ran after me. I threw my backpack on the grass and opened my bag. I pulled out my ELA notebook and started reading it. I took out 3 pieces of paper, a folder, and a pen to study with. “What are you doing? There’s no way you can study for the test in”- Cam looked at his watch-“Ten minutes.”

“Thanks for the encouragement.” I grumbled. I studied my notes once more, then tossed my notebook aside. I put one of my sheets of paper on top of my folder then wrote down everything I remembered from my notes. This was my method. I basically just studied my notes then wrote down everything I remembered from my notes until I could remember everything from notes. “Sorry dude,” Cam said, walking away, “I don’t wanna be late. Good luck.” I watched him slowly disappear toward the direction of the school. I ignored him then studied for 5 more minutes. I packed up my bag then ran as fast I could toward the school. I walked into the school building. I went to my locker, then opened it and put my stuff into it. Just as I closed my locker, I heard a cheerful voice.

“ HI Benny.” It was Jack. Jack was a nerd who stood 4 feet tall in 9th grade, with braces and trousers on every day.

“What do you want?” I said, looking in both directions for potential bullies who could target me for talking to Jack. “ Nothing. Just saying hi,” he said as enthusiastically as he could.

“Scram,” I said, pushing him away. I walked into the opposite direction that he did, when someone yanked me back and grabbed me.

“Hi Benny. Why are you talking to Jack? Did you guys study last night?” It was of course one of the bullies I was talking about. His name was Mike, and he stood only 2 inches taller than me, yet had so much power.

“Why do you care?” I said, wrestling out of his grip. “Because you shouldn’t be talking to losers who have no life.” He responded. A crowd was forming quickly, so I ran toward my class, as light as I could on my feet, and slowed down at the end of the hall where my science class was. I walked into my class, where Cameron waved me over to his table. The others at the table were Zoe and Dan. Zoe was my friend from 2nd grade, and Dan was Cameron’s friend. Dan was pretty annoying though. I didn’t understand why Cam liked him.  

My teacher, Ms. Brewster, was a tan lady who was nice most of the time. In class today we would be making something out of legos which was a robot that would help us with something.

“I think we should make a robot that shoots sharp legos,” said Zoe, laughing maniacally. Zoe has something called war syndrome, which is a case of always wanting war.”I think we should make something that helps us move stuff,” said Dan.

“Can’t we do that with our backpacks?” I said, skeptically. 

“Well yeah, but maybe we could make something teleport,” Dan said.

“That’s not scientifically possible,” Cam said, shaking his head. 

“What if we made a time machine, so we could go back to the Civil War so I could beat the Confederacy up.” Zoe said, her voice deep and evil. Dan took a step back and made  a straight face.

“There’s no beating up anyone.” I said in a calm voice. Suddenly, Ms.Brewster came over to our table and asked, “Having a bit of trouble?”

“Yeah,” said Cam in a sad voice, looking down. “ Well, think about things you can make out of legos, that a robot can do, that is something you all want.” She said, walking away.

“I know what we all want,” Dan said.

  “What,” I said, annoyed. “WAR!!!!!!” Screamed Zoe, startling the whole class.

“Nope, no, not war. Not war,” I said, embarrassed

I was so happy when science was over. Not because of Zoe, but because we had gym next. In this lesson we were supposed to be playing basketball. I shoved the door to the gym, where people were gathered below the basketball net, talking. The gym teacher, Mr. Mack blew his whistle very loud, killing my ears. Some of the sensitive people dropped to the floor and started screaming. “You burst my eardrums.”

“Aw shut up,” he said. Did I mention that Mr.Mack is jacked? He has 6 packs that bulge out of shirt. Everyone’s scared of him.

“ I’ve called off the basketball, slackers,” he said. “ Now go do 100 laps out in the yard before I make it 200.” Everyone was shocked. Mario, who was really good at basketball, started crying. I felt kinda bad for him.

I was walking toward the yard, when I heard a group of people whispering. I could slightly make out what they were saying.

“I hate him.” I could hear one of them saying. “Yeah he’s so trash.” Another one said,” we should prank him.” Another said. “Yeah.” 

I continued walking, pretending like I didn’t hear anything. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hit the sidewalk diagonal of me.

“ FLIP.” I screamed, jumping 10 feet back. There was a rumble in the sky and a crack followed by it. 

“GOT IT ON CAMERA!!!!!!!” screamed Ruby, who was a girl who gossiped everywhere.

“You did?” said a bunch of people (including me).

“Yeah, I was gonna take a  selfie of myself on Instagram, but I turned my camera around accidentally and took a photo of the lightning.” She squealed in delight. She went to the photo app on her phone and showed us  the picture. It was a bit blurry, but showed me shielding my face, with my body in a weird position.”Why do I look like that?” I asked.

“How should I know?” said Ruby, in a sassy voice. I shrugged. “ HUP HUP LET’S GO!!!!” screamed Mr. Mack, clapping his hands. I immediately ran toward the yard as fast as fast as my legs could take me.

Quantum Computing Pros: Power, Medical, and Cybersecurity

Some people hearing about the development of quantum computers might question the need for them: aren’t computers powerful enough already? I disagree. Quantum computers are a whole different type of computing device than the run-of-the-mill computers that we are familiar with. Quantum computers use electrons or photons, which are called qubits (quantum bits. Qubits can exist in multiple states simultaneously based on a specific set of solutions, subjected to incompatible measurements, and even be entangled with other quantum bits. Essentially, instead of just representing 0 or 1, it can represent a value in between, intertwine with other quantum bits, and be able to become measurements that don’t work with other measurements. 

This brings me to why quantum computers are worth making. 1) Quantum computers are more powerful than our current computers. 2) Quantum computers can help advance the medical world. 3) Cybersecurity on quantum computers will be easier than before.

It bears establishing that quantum computers are far more powerful than our current computers. According to Aiswarya PM’s article on Analytics Insight, “Scientists predict that Quantum computing is better than supercomputers as it performs tasks a million times faster.” If Quantum computing is already estimated to be a million times faster than supercomputers, then they must be must faster than current “consumer computers” with the power that is available to non-company buyers. 

To put that into perspective, we can look at IBM’s post on ‘What is supercomputing,’ which states that “Supercomputers can be one million times more processing power than the fastest laptop.” That would mean that you would need 1 trillion of the most powerful laptops (10^12 laptops!) just to make the power of one quantum computer, not accounting for all the cables you would need to make them work together. That’s crazy! With all this power, you might be wondering what you should do with it. The answer is not to get infinite money or whatever else you might really want. The answer lies in many areas upon which we can innovate as a species, two of them being medical advancements and cybersecurity.

Quantum computers can help to create much-needed advancements in the medical world. A New Scientist video titled ‘How quantum computers work: Explaining qubits to quantum superposition’ states:

“principles of quantum mechanics will be able to in the box, in the computer, design new kinds of materials, new chemicals, new drugs, in a way which is much, much faster than having to go through laboratory trial and effort, so we think it could be transformative to attacking… in the future even areas like personalized medicine.” 

This means that we’ll be able to make more effective medicine faster than we could before, benefiting both patients and doctors. The patient will get more effective medicine, and the doctor will be able to provide better services. Whereas if the future didn’t have quantum computers, we might have very complicated viruses that will take a long time to create a cure for. Using supercomputers, we can have quicker, more effective cures for different patients.

Cybersecurity on quantum computers will also be easier than before. In an article on the Interesting Engineering website it says, “[quantum key distribution] has shown us that quantum physics provides us with new tools and recipes to truly safeguard our secrets. … hackers will have a much more difficult time, as they will have to face both complex computational problems and quantum phenomena.” This means that we’ll be able to make more secure and trustworthy ways to store passwords, so we won’t have to worry about things like server breaches, social media hacking, posting fake content, and malware/viruses which lock you out of your computer.  

In my essay, I covered the pros of quantum computing and how it will benefit us in the future. This topic matters to me because I personally have been, and still am, very invested in technology ever since I got my Nintendo Switch as a birthday present. It matters to computer scientists because they’ll be able to run more in-depth experiments. It matters to the world because they will be able to have a more reliable experience when using computers. We should care because it will lead to more powerful, medically advanced, and safer use of computers.


Sources Cited:

PM, Aiswarya. “Quantum Computing: Why Is It Better than Supercomputers?” Analytics Insight, 13 Feb. 2023, www.analyticsinsight.net/quantum-computing-why-is-it-better-than-supercomputers/#:~:text=Scientists%20predict%20that%20Quantum%20computing,that%20go%20beyond%20classical%20physics. 

“What Is Supercomputing?” IBM, www.ibm.com/topics/supercomputing#:~:text=Petaflops%20are%20a%20measure%20of,power%20than%20the%20fastest%20laptop. Accessed 12 June 2023. 

New Scientist. “How Quantum Computers Work: Explaining Qubits to Quantum Superposition.” YouTube, 23 Feb. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW7DKcrQ-7E&t=4s. 

The Conversation. “Quantum Computers: How Scientists Can Shield against Cyber Attacks.” Interesting Engineering, 14 Jan. 2023, interestingengineering.com/innovation/quantum-computers-shield-against-cyber-attacks.

Cryptography Through The Ages

A lot of people don’t know what cryptography is or what ciphers are; do you? As a brief overview, cryptography is encoding messages, whether in the form of pictures, online messages, or paper messages. It can take the form of symbols translating for letters or scrambling up words, as one might sometimes do without thinking, like children constructing a made-up language. In this essay I will show you how, contrary to some people’s opinions, cryptography was important in ancient society and continues to be helpful in modern society. I will mainly talk about two ideas: how cryptography was used in “ancient times” like in World War II and how common script uses cryptography in its base as coding for privacy.

Imagine you are a war leader. Whether you lead an army of men in 44 BC, or sneak attacks and bombs on enemy territories in 1940, your tactics must be kept secret from prying eyes. One way that secrecy was protected was with encoding messages or cryptography. Viewers of an informational video by the World Science Fair channel on YouTube can hear a detailed explanation of World War II’s Enigma Machine, a cryptography machine that made and decoded code. The video demonstrates how vital cryptography was to both sides of the war effort. If a message was leaked, a whole attack could be jeopardized, or saved. When the opposing side found the code, it would mean the end of a whole branch of communication. Since radios allowed messages to be sent over great distances, using cryptography to send messages became a crucial means for sharing coded information. In the video, Simon Singh states, “Encryptions are important because if you’re going to send messages you need to make sure those messages aren’t necessarily going to be intercepted and stolen.” Radio became that missing piece of the puzzle for securing the messages. Soldiers no longer had to worry about messenger pigeons being physically intercepted; now you worried about the enemy finding your radio signal and hearing it in broad electromagnetic wave light. The Enigma Machine was made in Germany. The Germans would have someone send what the setting or “key” would be, then the machine would scramble the typed letters into different letters; it is a simple enough process but very confusing without the machine. The letters to send would light up, and for the process in reverse, you could decode the messages through the same setting in the machine. Errors were possible, but it was a much safer way to send messages than the alternative, and therefore the Germans’ best shot.

Speaking of best shots, technology has advanced to become more calculated, but more at risk. Encryption has originally been used to make codes, but also for privacy. While this is very advanced and secure with technology and an understanding of code, one could break through the encryption, which is why it must be secure and top secret. The code is so random that no one knows it; only a randomly generated string of numbers holds your latest browser search from being blackmailed. Not every company does this, nor should you be concerned. There is actually comfort in this random string. The possibilities are endless, practically, so unless one stumbles upon your set of code, it is most likely it is a dead person’s code or invalid. Even then, that is only one step of many towards good encryption. As Khan Academy’s video on cryptography mentions, it is generally safe, but there are ways to interfere, and “the more steps and parts there are, the more complicated it is.” As a rough rule highlighting how cryptography has impacted technology, more complex code usually results in fewer errors smoother computers.

While this essay might be short, there’s more to sort. In the sources list you will find the videos mentioned, to continue your cryptography search, sadly this is no verse. Past and old, present and current, future and new all have you. I leave you with the same question I started with; a lot of people don’t know what cryptography is or cyphers are. Do you?

Sources:

  1. Polyalphabetic cipher | Journey into cryptography | Computer Science | Khan Academy. April 11, 2012, YouTube: Khan Academy
  2. The Enigma Machine Explained. May 14, 2013, YouTube: World Science Fair

The Person in the Well

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Valentina who went to her grandma’s house on summer vacation. One night, she was walking her grandma’s dog and stumbled upon a well. She looked down the well and she found nothing. Two seconds later, when she was walking back home, she heard a buzz. She looked at her phone, and it read: Come help me. She texted back: Who are you? The person didn’t answer, and the phone just read: Come help me.

She walked past her home and down to the well, down to her grandma’s house. She asked her grandma, “What’s inside that well?” 

And her grandma said, “Oh, nothing, just an old well. They’re going to clear it out tomorrow. They’re going to put cement over it.” 

The next day, Valentina ran over to the well and looked down inside of it. She texted again: Who are you? Please stop texting me. And this time, the person sent a picture. It was of her, looking down inside the well, like someone was actually inside of the well and took a picture of her. She ran home and she asked her grandma again. 

Her grandma said, “The people are about to come and clog up the well.” 

Valentina ran over to the well, and it was too late. They already clogged it up with concrete, but then she heard a ringing. But it wasn’t from the well. It was from under her, underneath the ground. 

She took her phone out and she heard that the ringing was probably because someone was calling her from underneath the ground. She picked up her phone and called them, and all she heard was, “Come help me. How could you? How could you do this?” And she ran home. 

No one knows if that person was real, or if they just needed some help. And that girl, she never went to her grandma’s house again. Never in her entire life.

The end… or is it? We will never know…

The Wrong Mom

Today at 12:17pm, I woke up from my nap. Daddy was making sandwiches for lunch. I could tell from the smell of the sizzling bacon that we were going to have BLT sandwiches. Daddy always made mine on white bread with bits of bacon, lettuce, and tomato slices without the peel so I could eat it. We were going outside afterward to see Mommy finally arriving from her job in the military. I missed her very much. 

Daddy picked me up and kissed me on the forehead. We saw our lunches on the table, mine on a baby shark plate served with orange juice with foam on the top and his that said ‘Dad’ with rainbow dots, and served with iced tea. We ate our sandwiches and got dressed. 

It was a sunny day, but halfway to the airport, it started to rain harder and harder. By the time we got there, there was a lot of traffic and we were almost late! Our mom was getting out of the plane and a streak of thunder flashed over someone’s head. A lady came running to us. 

A lady that was supposed to be our mom. 

But it wasn’t.

One and One Blackbirds

The teacher, Mr. Sermon, was beginning his sermon, who Peter believed was named perfectly for what he always did. Peter Handle was a young boy, he had dark brown locks, green eyes and always wore a mischievous smile. He spent his time getting himself into mischief and scrapes. He was an average student. He didn’t pay attention, he stared at the floor, or he mostly started at Annabelle. 


Annabelle was a young girl with black hair and blue eyes. She was the living opposite of Peter. She was calm and he was loud. He was a prankster where she was a reader. But it made sense that Peter liked her. She was beautiful, kind and smart. She was everything to Peter, as well as other boys. 

Annabelle wasn’t sure about Peter. He was kind and gentle when they were together. It was like he melted at her face. Annabelle didn’t know what she felt towards him. It couldn’t be love? Could it?

At this particular moment Mr. Sermon was beginning to speak about the history of the Civil and Revolutionary Wars, and Peter, like most days, was looking past him. At Annabelle. Annabelle knew he was looking but for some reason she didn’t mind. For some reason she liked it. Like always she listened intently to the professor, taking notes theatrically. The boys behind her laughed at her. Mr. Sermon glared their way and that shut them up. Annabelle sat high in her seat, pretending those boys didn’t exist. 

“Peter, I believe that I am teaching the lesson. Not Annabelle’s back.” said Mr. Sermon, stopping his lesson. The boys sniggered. He rounded on them. “And what is so funny?” The boys shut up. 

Annabelle had remained silent through this ordeal and she continued for the lesson after Mr. Sermon began again. She still didn’t know she felt about him, even after being with him his whole life.

Annabelle sat by herself at lunch that day. She squinted at her food forcing herself not to look around at the empty seats surrounding her. On the other side of the room, as far as they could get from her were the boys. They lifted up Peter and smiled smugly at him. They threw him up in the air. They threw him on the table. No one stopped them. The last thing she saw before she ran was him, a black eye, a red face, looking at her, pleading. 

Annabelle ran. She just needed to not see Peter like that again. She ran, throwing her box and bag away from her as she ran towards a corner. She ran and ran and ran and she tried to slow down. She tried as hard as she could. The wall was closing in. Her feet wouldn’t obey her mind. She ran and ran and — her head snapped against the wall. Her eyes closed. And she sunk down and began to weep. She hated those boys even more now. She had run because of them, had — she turned and looked in the mirror. Her face was black and bloody and her eye was black and swollen like Peters. Her nose was red and her mouth was blue. 

And then she saw Peter running. And then he saw her. He stopped. He swallowed and he whispered to her “You’re still beautiful…. You’re still Annabelle… You still have me.”

Annabelle looked up at him. Maybe he wasn’t like the other boys. It wasn’t love, but at that moment she liked Peter Handle. She felt she owed him something. Peter slid down the wall to sit next to her, and took her hand. Annabelle looked at him, and smiled. She smiled for the first time in ages. She smiled because she had a friend. One friend was enough, if they were anything like Peter.


Peter knew that everyone knew that he liked Annabelle. He knew he let it show. He knew that, that was why he was laughed at: She hates you, scum, and, You’ll never beat me you little brat. He knew his life was in jeopardy because he liked her. But nothing could stop him from liking her. At that moment, the two of them hand in hand, bleeding and swollen he could have never felt better. 

As Annabelle smiled it was as if a bird cawed in his chest. As she squeezed his hand it was as if a fire had been lit in his heart. Hurt as he was, he wished this moment would last forever.

“Friends?” she asked, smiling.

“Forever,” he replied looking into her eyes solemnly, “Forever and ever.”

The two could be called inseparable. Maybe after certain things you can’t not be friends. Suddenly their lives were filled with warmth. Suddenly Peter had someone to talk to, someone to live for, someone to be with, someone to love. Maybe it wasn’t love. Not just yet, but that feeling of his stomach cawing and a fire burning… It was close to love, he knew that. 

They now both had something new. A friend. Neither had felt something quite like that. They had both been shunned their whole lives and they finally could show who they were. To each other. Peter hoped they would keep their promise. Friends Forever. 

That day, one hundred and sixty days since the beginning of school and twenty-six days since their friendship began, they began a ritual. Both Peter and Annabelle lived at the city orphanage. Peter’s mother had died and his father gave him up, not being able to feed two mouths. Annabelle had told him that her mother and father had thought she was a disgrace to humankind and had sent her away. The orphanage master said that they would never have to see her filthy face again. The master had stayed true to his word. Their ritual began at the orphanage. They would walk hand in hand toward the meadow. There they would each pick up the smallest pebble they could find. They would each touch their stones together and throw them up into the air. It became a game after a while. They tried to catch their stones or find them on the ground. And then they would walk to school again. It was just a little thing but they both took great joy in it and they began to do it each day for the rest of their lives.

Three talons of the stars: The start of the adventure

CHAPTER 1

Flame was a 10 year old orange, yellow, and red fire dragon that wanted to go indoor skydiving. He planned to go to the “Joy of Flying” skydiving center. There were a couple problems though. First of all, Flame wouldn’t fit through the door of the skydiving center, and second, how would these two-legged creatures feel if there was a dragon indoor skydiving in a tube? You might be thinking, well, why would a dragon want to go skydiving when he could fly? Flame wanted to see what It was like to fly without wings.

One day, Flame was sitting under a tree thinking, my life isn’t very exciting. What’s something that I can do that’s not a part of my daily life? All of a sudden, Flame saw a bird flying up at a very high speed, and then plummeting towards the lake. It’s too bad that I can’t do that. 

“Wait!” Flame said, his eyes shining in excitement. “I can go skydiving!” 

Flame decided that he would go indoor skydiving, because the sound of hurtling down at the earth from 10,000 feet was horrifying to him. He realized that there were problems though. Flame got on the computer and searched ‘Skydiving centers for dragons.’ He found one that was called ‘Sky Dragons’. Flame was going to fly to the ‘Sky Dragons’ center. It was about a five day journey. He grabbed a bag, and shoved a few simple things in his bag. He put a flashlight, five boots, four bottles of water, some nuts, honey, and a book. 

“I’m ready to start my adventure!” He shouted. 

He really was about to start an adventure.  

CHAPTER 2

It was starting to get dark, and the night was cold and the clouds were thick. There was no sign of the moon that night. Flame decided to settle down for the night in a small patch of trees. He made himself a mossy nest, had a few nuts, and went to bed. 

It was early in the morning and all of a sudden, a gigantic wasp flew over to Flame and started buzzing in his ear. Flame was annoyed and then worried. What if the wasp sucked all of his blood out and he turned into a raisin? Quickly, he mixed some honey with water, and threw it on the wasp. The wasp flew away, and Flame was left unharmed. 

Flame was fully awake now, and decided to go to the lake to catch some breakfast. Flame sat at the edge of the lake patiently with one claw raised. He made sure that the fish couldn’t see his shadow. Slash! Flame swiped the fish right out of the water with his claw. He walked back to where he put his stuff and went to look for sticks. Flame found two sticks that he could use as stakes and one pointy stick to put the fish on. He also found some dead leaves and twigs. The dragon broke the sharp twig in two and put one end in the fish’s mouth, and one end in the tail. He breathed fire onto the pile of dead leaves and twigs. After 10 minutes the fish was cooked. The meal was eaten, and Flame was on his way. Flame flew a little way, then something caught his eye. It was Mistyclaw! The dragon that he had met from school. 

“Hey Mistyclaw! It’s me, Flame! Want to join me on my trip to go indoor skydiving?!” 

“I’m free, so I’ll come!” Mistyclaw replied.

Mistyclaw and Flame flew together and talked about the journey ahead, and the current news, until it was dark.”

All right. We should settle here for the night. I’ll grab dinner, while you get some moss for beds.” Flame said. They had their meal and settled down to rest.

CHAPTER 3

The next day, Flame and Mistyclaw found a black dragon named Nightstar that wanted to go indoor skydiving with them. All of a sudden, the three came to a huge creek, filled with lava and a volcano erupting behind it. 

“Oh everything will be fine. What could possibly go wrong?” Flame asked. 

“Uhhh, that?” Nightstar said, followed by a “Lookout!” The volcano decided to erupt and spewed lava everywhere. Flame and Nightstar flew out of the way, but Mistyclaw was too late and the lava dragged her into the boiling lava lake. 

“Mistyclaw!” Flame screeched, just as he heard an agonized scream. Flame and Nightstar flew over to the lava lake and saw Mistyclaw pull herself out of the lava lake. 

“I…I’m okay,” Mistyclaw mumbled, and all of a sudden she burst into laughter, showing  no signs of tiredness or pain. 

“You dum dums,” she choked out, “our scales are fireproof, remember?” 

“You scared the claws off us Mistyclaw! Never, I mean never do that again.”

They stopped for the night, ate some nuts and drank some water, and then went to bed.

“Tomorrow is going to be a very hard journey!” Flame warned. They had no idea.

CHAPTER 4: NIGHTSTAR

The sun was scorching hot and I was thirsty. I knew my friends needed that water though, so I kept my mouth shut. All of a sudden, everything started spinning and my legs gave way. My friends had reduced to smudgy blobs and my head was throbbing. My consciousness was swept away like a shell on the beach, and I blacked out. 

CHAPTER 5

“Nightstar! NIGHTSTAR!” Flame called. 

He was horrified. Flame quickly unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and walked over to Nightstar. He tipped the bottle so the water came out and he poured it into Nightstar’s jaws. 

“Huh? Is that you, Flame?” Nightstar said. 

“Nightstar’s too weak to journey on,” Mistyclaw said. “Let’s rest here for the night.” They found a coconut tree and settled down. That night, they ate coconut flesh and drank coconut water. Soon they were all fast asleep. 

CHAPTER 6: MISTYCLAW

I woke up at 3AM. My friends were fast asleep. I didn’t know that soon, everyone would be wide awake with fear, and that I’d be in so much pain. I heard snuffling noises and I reached for Flame’s flashlight. All of a sudden, a huge shadow appeared in front of me and when I shone the flashlight on it, I screamed. It was a gigantic cheetah.

The beast lunged for me. My friends were now wide awake. We knew that a cheetah’s claws and teeth could pierce our scales. I swerved to the right and sank my talons into the cheetah’s skin. The black-spotted beast howled and swung its head around so it faced me. My friends were too late to help me 

The cheetah sunk its teeth into my shoulder and pulled. It tore out the top layer of my skin. I fell into a heap and watched a sea of blood run from my shoulder as my friends fought the cheetah. I felt like my blood was on fire, and I was losing my grip on my consciousness. The last thing that I remember is my friends hovering over me as the cheetah lay limp in the distance.

CHAPTER 7:  

“Please wake up, please wake up!” Flame begged. He had used a coconut leaf and some cobwebs to stem Mistyclaw’s bleeding, but she still wouldn’t wake up. All of a sudden, Mistyclaw’s eyes opened a little bit and she took in one ragged breath. They helped her move into the shade of the coconut tree. Soon, they all fell asleep again. 

“So, we have one more day of hard traveling and then we get to go indoor skydiving!” Flame said. Mistyclaw was feeling well enough to travel, and had taken off the coconut leaf bandage.

They left the desert and came to a place that was frosty, cold, and full of ice. Wham! A ball of snow hit Flame in the face. He looked around to see if there was any danger, but all he saw was Nightstar trying to hold in his laughter. Flame smiled. If Nightstar wanted to have a snowball fight, he would have it. Flame carefully sculpted a snowball and rolled it in the snow until it was as big as half of his body. 

“NIGHTSTAR! MISTYCLAW! LOOK… OUT!” Flame flung the snowball at Nightstar and Mistyclaw who were conveniently standing together to save heat. The snowball broke apart and sent huge chunks of snow flying everywhere. Mistyclaw and Nightstar were completely buried! After the two climbed out of the snow, they were going to start walking  again. All of a sudden, a low growling noise came from inside one of the caves behind Flame.

 “Oh no…”   

CHAPTER 8: MISTYCLAW

I knew it. They were wolves. They could tear our scales, just like cheetahs. I don’t know what I was thinking. I slowly approached the wolves. All of a sudden, they leapt. I jumped over some of them. One of them was just begging to be bitten. I sunk my teeth into that piece of fox dung. He dropped to the ground. Dead. The other wolves of the pack reared on me. My friends lept on them, holding them back. I knew they wanted to protect me. Suddenly, a huge wolf stomped out of the cave. The other wolves ran back into the cave. It leapt on my friends. 

I couldn’t do anything. I had to watch my friends get tortured. I felt so heartbroken, seeing them get beaten, while I had to lay there, watching the whole story unfold. After what seemed like hours, the wolf left my friends alone. They were battered, bloody, and scarred for life. I took them to the nearest hospital, which was 45 minutes away. By then they were barely breathing. I didn’t know if they’d survive.

CHAPTER 9:

Mistyclaw was sitting by the lake. The water was cool and refreshing. She dipped her talons in and out of the water. Every now and then, she licked up a couple drops of lake water. Her shoulder hurt, and she was very tired. On her shoulder, there was a layer of pink, fresh skin, where new scales had not grown yet. 

 I wish that my friends were here. I feel so bad about what happened, and even worse, it’s all my fault! Mistyclaw thought. A few tears fell from her eyes. Mistyclaw closed her eyes, and soon she was asleep. The sun was setting, and the glow of the setting sun shone on the lake, making it sparkle.

CHAPTER 10:

Mistyclaw went to visit her friends at the dragon hospital. She went to Flame and Nightstar’s room.

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” she asked them.

They both said that they were fine, and that they were getting better. Soon, my friends were out of the hospital and they were healthy dragons again

 “Hey, we still need to go skydiving! I’m well enough! How about you, Nightstar?” Flame said.

 “Yup! I’m alright!” Nightstar said. 

The skydiving center was only thirty minutes away now. They three friends managed to make it to the center without getting into more trouble. 

“We’re finally here!” Flame shouted. 

CHAPTER 11: 

The dragons put their gear on and listened to instructions. Then they stepped into the tube and went flying. 

“Woohoo!” Flame shouted. Nightstar and Mistyclaw just smiled. Sure, this was really fun, but the adventure that they had together was even better. 

LEARN ABOUT THE CHARACTERS:

The Heist

The dark clothed figure walked up to the steel gate. The two guards standing in front of the gate, bathed in moonlight, crossed their large rifles in front of the figure. 

“Hold it right there mister,” one of the guards said. They didn’t notice Chase hiding in the bush on the side of the pathway, stealthily pointing his stun gun at the left guard. 

“In position?” Rana said into the coms in Chase’s ear. 

“Yes. Are you ready?” Chase replied, glancing over to the small dark haired, Asian girl in the branches of a tree across the path, also pointing a stun gun. 

“Yes,” Rana replied. Kane, the boy at the gate, produced a small yellow card, handing it to the guards.

“They’re about to notice the fake,” Chase whispered. 

“Shh,” Kane whispered into the coms, “Three, two, one, fire.” The sound of both Rana and Chase’s stun guns going off sounded through the pathway up to the gate. Both of the guards went down. Rana and Chase rose from their hiding places and started towards the gate of the Vault. 

Kane grabbed the real card off of the guards kevlar vests and inserted it into the lock at the gate. The gate opened and all stood to the side of the gate raising their stun guns and waiting to see or hear if they had tripped the alarm. Helen, a taller, red haired girl slunk towards the wall at the side of the gate. Helen scaled the wall and towards the camera, she opened the information card in the camera and inserted a new one, loaded with viruses. 

One by one, they walked stealthily through the gate, into the Vault. 

“You’ve got an hour to pull off the heist or we’re taking the stealth chopper out of here,” Rider said through the coms. “I’m still trying to convince the pilot that this is a good idea.”

“You said it yourself,” Kane replied. “You were the one who tried to convince us that this was a good idea.”

“You still want revenge, don’t you Kane,” Rider said back. Kane didn’t have a reply for that.

“We all want something out of this,” Chase said, ending the conversation. They headed to the side entrance that they had found through their inside person. 

“Is the loop for the camera feed ready,” Helen asked quietly. 

“Yeah,” Rider replied from inside the helicopter. They headed inside and worked their way through the complex. The maze of hallways confused all of them, but Rider managed to keep their team steady as they worked their way through the complex. 

* * *

Dylan Hart was having a bad day. He was the head security manager of the Vault, a place where the authorities stored the worlds hardest to find blueprints, prisons, banks, you name it, the blueprint of it was here. It had some of the world’s best cameras, guards, and maybe not the best security manager. On the way to work, he tripped and hit his head on the concrete. Of course, his boss, X, leader of the Empire, had forced him to continue on with work. His headache was incessant from his fall, as well as watching nothing happen on the security cameras. Nothing ever happened. Ever. 

But, Dylan wasn’t complaining. He was paid very handsomely for doing nothing. But, he always had to keep looking at the security cameras. The last security manager was blown to bits by landmines in the doorway of his house for failing X. X was very harsh and if you messed up around him, you paid the price. 

His eyes fluttered closed as he reached extensive boredom, and sleep found its way into his tired and sore mind.

* * *

As the different team members of the heist went their separate ways, Chase made his way to the actual vault part of the Vault. Helen had gone into the security room and hooked up more bad footage. Rider had stolen electronic versions of as many files as possible. Rana was in the server room and working on the servers, and Kane had gone ahead to scout the way for Chase.

“Everybody in position?” Chase asked through the coms. “Is it clear for me to grab the blueprints?”

“Yes,” the team all chorused quietly in unison. Chase quickly made his way up the long hallway, avoiding the lasers and cameras and got to the titanium double doors leading into the Vault.

“Do you have the code, Rider?” Chase asked.

“Yes. It is 3417-A49D-CV21. Do you have that?” Rider replied.

“Yes, on it,” Chase said, putting the long string of digits and letters into the machine. It made a beeping noise and slid open. Chase slid inside and looked slowly around the room, awe spreading throughout him that the rumors of the Vault’s reputation were true.

“Whoa,” Chase said. 

“Stick to it, Chase,” Kane said, “We don’t have all day.”

Chase looked around before grabbing the blueprint they needed: the safest bank in the world. He also snagged as many other blueprints as could fit in his arms and satchel.

Chase almost dropped all of the blueprints as Helen, in the security room said something into the coms. 

“What did you say, Helen?” Chase asked.

“I said, ‘I think we might have a problem’,” Helen replied.

* * *

As Dylan Hart’s eyes fluttered open, he looked up to see a tall, red haired girl hacking his security monitor.

“What the hell,” Dylan said. Helen turned around, her face paled before she said, “I think we might have a problem.” 

Dylan reached into his back pocket and pulled out a Glock 17 handgun and pointed it at Helen. 

“What are you doing here and give me a reason why I shouldn’t gun you down.” Dylan said menacingly. Helen raised her arms, while saying, “I said, ‘I think we might have a problem’.”

“Who are you talking to, miss?” Dylan asked.

“I –” Helen started to say, before dropping to the ground in a defensive position. Dylan fired his gun at the place Helen had been, but Helen had already risen up and punched Dylan in the stomach. Dylan fired one more shot, blindly, before clutching his stomach in pain. The bullet seemed to travel in slow motion, to Helen, before burying itself in her shoulder.

Helen screamed in pain before launching forward and trying to grab the Glock 17 Dylan had dropped. Dylan also tried to grasp the handgun and they both got their hands around the gun.

“We have caught a heist team in the act,” Dylan said into his coms, alerting the rest of the security team that there was a heist going on. 

Alarms blared throughout the building and Helen kicked Dylan in the chest, before snatching the Glock 17 away from him. Dylan staggered back as Helen cocked the weapon and aimed it at Dylan’s head.

Dylan held his hands up in surrender, realizing that there was no way out of this. Well, maybe there was.

Two security guards rushed up the stairs to the security office, right before hearing a bang. They readied their rifles and got ready to blow open the office door.

Helen readied the Glock 17 and then the door blew open off its hinges.

The two security guards rushed inside to find a tall, red haired, American girl pointing a pistol at the head security manager’s head. The walls of the office were scorched from the blast and the two guards pointed their AK-47s at the girl.

“Stand down, both of you,” the first guard said.

“Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air,” the second guard said, quickly after the first. “You’re under arrest.”

The first guard moved toward Helen with handcuffs, while the second maintained his AK-47 on Helen.

The handcuffs bit into Helen’s skin as they clamped around her wrist. Things kept getting worse and worse.

* * *

Chase was getting worried. Helen had not responded to his couple of tries to see what was going on and he had heard the gunshots. Then, finally, Chase got a response from Helen.

“Code 9,” Helen said into the mike. “Co-.”

Helen was cut short when Chase heard the microphone being taken away and smashed. 

“Guy’s,” Kane said, “Helen’s been captured. We need to go. NOW.”

Chase grabbed the blueprints and started to run out of the complex.

“What about Helen,” Chase asked.

“She’s not coming back, Chase,” Rana said. “They’re going to interrogate her.”

As the remaining members of the heist team made their way out of the building and to the stealth helicopter, Helen was struggling as she was forced into the back of a military vehicle.

As Helen pressed her face against bars of the cage she was in, she saw, through the barred window at the back of the vehicle, the team rising into the sky in the stealth chopper.

“Don’t let them break you,” Chase said through the back of the helicopter. Helen wished she could respond, but the gag in her mouth prevented her.

Don’t let them break you.

A year earlier:

Chase walked down the hallway of the science building of his high school. The Empire had taken a lot from him when he was young. His father. His mother’s money. Their home. It had been rough, so when an adult asked him if he wanted to join a group of rebels against the Empire, he was ready to accept.

Chase went to the rebel’s hideout to find a bunch of other teenagers. They said that they had been trying to find someone who could steal and they also knew that Chase could steal. And he did it a lot. 

The reason that they needed someone who could steal was because they needed a lot of money to take down the Empire. They were going to steal the money from the most secure bank in the world to show them that the rebels had teeth.

Chase was the last person for the heist. Rana, Kane, Rider, and Helen were the others that Chase quickly got to know. Helen was the climber and the camera person. Rana had the guns. Kane was the scout and the decoy, and Rider was the control, pilot and computer person. The last piece of the puzzle was Chase, the thief. The one who actually stole the thing.

Chase was tasked with stealing the blueprints from the Vault, one of the most secure places in the world. It housed the blueprints to the most secure bank in the world so that Chase and the rest of the gang could steal it.

They practiced working together on fake banks and real ones.

Rana and Chase shot the dummies with their guns. They had been practicing for a week now, getting a feel for the gun. The bullets rammed into the dummy’s heart and head. They practiced on moving and stationary targets to get used to the guns they would be carrying for the heist. After two hours of work on the firing range they got ready to practice on a real bank. After taking out the guards and hacking bad feed into the cameras, they were easily able to unlock the locks and take the money. Hopefully their good luck would hold up against a thief’s nightmare: the Vault.

 As he worked more and more with the group, he found that they were becoming the family he had never really had. They became his closest friends, so when it came the time where they were going to steal the blueprints, he was ready.

Now:

Helen was being driven in the back of a military vehicle. The vehicle bumped and jostled around with Helen in a cage in the back. She was repeatedly thrown against the walls of the cage as she tried to keep track of where they had gone. After a while, she gave up trying to escape and tried to fall asleep, but Chase’s words continued to echo through her head denying her the opportunity.

Don’t let them break you.

* * *

Chase awoke with a start. He had fallen asleep in the helicopter and had been shocked awake by nightmares of what might have happened to Helen. She was probably enduring torture to keep the information of the rebels out of the Empire’s hands.

“We’re landing,” Rider informed them as the chopper touched down in the rebel’s base. The remaining members of the team got out of the helicopter and walked down the ramp, onto rebel soil.

“Where’s Helen,” Commander Sloane asked, his dark colored hair, and blue eyes piercing the area as he walked up to the heist crew.

“She didn’t make it out,” Rana replied grimly.

“She wasn’t killed though, only captured,” Kane said.

“We need to get her back. The Empire will torture her trying to find us,” Chase said.

“Chase, how would we find her?” Commander Sloane asked.

“We would search all the files to find the prison she is in. We have to,” Chase said desperately. 

“We all know you want Helen back, but it would be too risky,” Commander Sloane said. Chase threw his hands in the air and stormed off to his room, slamming the door behind him.

“Uhgg!,” Chase said. Chase ran his hands through his hair angrily. He sulked on his bed frustrated with how the heist went. After an hour sulking in his room, he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Chase said. It was the rest of the crew.

“Hey,” Rider said. “We all know you like Helen, so we’re going to help you break her out.” 

“I like her, but I don’t like her like her,” Chase said, his face turning pink.

“Whatever you say,” Kane said.

“Well, anyway,” Rana said, glaring at Rider and Kane, “We’re going to help you break her out.”

“Really?” Chase asked.

“Yes,” Rider said.

“Let’s do this,” Chase said. “Do you have the location of the prison Helen is being held at?” 

“No, but we do have the files that might get us the coordinates.”

* * *

Several hours, and a lot of research later, Rider had found some coordinates that might lead to the prison. On the maps, it didn’t show anything, more proof that the Empire was hiding a prison there. They planned to covertly steal a stealth chopper, then fly out to investigate. Commander Sloane, a fatherly figure to the heist crew would say it was impulsive. Probably because it was.

They snuck out at 10pm together, and loaded up the helicopter. They all got in and started the engines. The helicopter took off into the sky, with furious guards yelling threats from below.

While they were in the air, they realized that they had left the blueprints from the Vault in the helicopter. As Chase was sifting through them, he found a prison blueprint. It might not be the one we need, Chase thought, but at least it was a prison layout.

“You’ll want to get some shut eye,” Kane said. “It’s almost 1am.”

“I’d say the same to you, Kane,” Chase replied, slowly closing his eyes.

* * *

A long time had passed since Helen had seen the sky. After being taken out of the vehicle, she had been forced into a small prison cell. They had left her there with nothing for almost a day now. 

Helen screamed at the walls. She heard a noise coming from the door. She whipped around, the dark shadows under her eyes becoming apparent to her captors.

“Come here,” someone said outside the door. Helen immediately walked away from the door. 

“I said ‘come here’,” the person said, more forcefully this time. The shadow of a gun crossed the floor. Helen, raising her hands, walked to the door, fear, smothering her features. A bag went over her head as soon as she came in reach of the person outside the door. 

Helen was dragged out of the cell and ushered down the hall struggling with her captors. She was pushed into another room and she heard the sound of a lock being put into place. She was forced into a chair and felt her arms being bound around the back of the chair. The bag was lifted off her head and her eyes protested as the massive lights in the room blinded her. She could make out through her squinting eyes, a person standing in front of her. As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she could also see a bucket of water, and a cloth.

Dammit, Helen thought. A torture chamber. 

The man in front of her said, “Are you a rebel? Answer correctly and we won’t torture you. Answer wrong, and we will.”

“No,” Helen replied, doing her best to sound convincing.

“Wrong answer,” the man said. The man standing in front of her dipped the cloth into the bucket of water and pressed it against her nose and mouth. Helen fought for oxygen trying to get the cloth off her face. 

She coughed, but the cloth trapped the cough in her lungs, preventing her. Her lungs, face, and body burned, and just as the world started to black out, the cloth tore away from her face.

Helen hacked and coughed, before breathing in air. Sweet, sweet, air.

“Answer wrong again, it’ll happen again,” the man threatened. “Where are the rebels hiding?”

“Somewhere near the coast of the north eastern part of the continent that was originally called Africa,” Helen lied. The man punched her in the jaw, sending pain shooting through her head. 

“Don’t lie to me. It will get worse every time.” The cloth went over her face again, and Helen fought again to breathe. Water entered her lungs and Helen struggled, the world turning dim. Helen gasped as the cloth came away from her face.

“She’s not talking,” the man said to someone that Helen couldn’t see. The man nodded before punching her in the face again. Blood streamed down Helen’s face as she fought through the extreme pain. 

“Where are the rebels hiding!” the man screamed at Helen.

“I said ‘Somewhere near the coast of the north eastern part of the continent that was originally called Africa’,” Helen said. The man looked ready to kill her, but stopped, before saying, “Okay. I’ll do just that.”

“I’ll let you go back to your room. Forever,” the man said menacingly. She was forced down the hall and shoved into her room. She heard the lock clicking, then silence.

* * *

The helicopter touched down silently on the grassy plain. Up ahead, a massive structure loomed in the night. Chase, Rana, and Kane slowly moved toward the prison. Rider stayed back at the helicopter, ready to fly at a moment’s notice. The crew made their way to the prison gate. Kane scaled the brick wall and barbed wire, before signaling the all clear sign. Rana and Chase scaled the wall, holding the barbed wire back for each other. With scraped pants, and determined minds, they made their way into the prison.

The hallways were lit with large lights. Kane shot out the cameras with his gun. With no Helen, they had to shoot out the cameras. Chase heard a noise.

Footsteps. Coming from down the hall. Chase motioned for Kane to hide as he and Rana readied their guns. Two guards rounded the corner. Three gunshots went off. One met its mark with Kane being hit in the knee. As he fell Rana shot a bullet at the ceiling light wire, sending it crashing onto the guards.

Sparks flew, with Chase being thrown back by an explosion. Glass littered the floor of the battle. The two guards were motionless, with glass shards sticking out of them everywhere. Rana knelt beside Kane, before picking him up.

“Go,” Chase said. “I’ll get Helen out of here. Kane needs medical attention. He’s losing blood. Fast.”

Rana nodded grimly, before taking Kane and running towards the exit. Chase walked down the hallway, looking at everything down the barrel of his gun. He passed cell after cell. Most of them empty. The ones that weren’t held bodies. He saw people with ragged limbs and hollow expressions. They glanced pleadingly at him. He wished he could help them, but he needed to find Helen. 

He ran past security cameras and alarms blared. He ran and ran looking and needing to find Helen. He heard it before he saw it. The screaming. Helen’s screaming. He went to the door the screaming was coming from. It didn’t have bars, just a steel plated door. He grabbed a lock pick and began working away at it. 

The lock held up, much to his dismay as he continued to work at it. He heard a click and the door swung open. Helen sat on the floor of a bare room. Metal plates covered the cell from head to toe. Chase rushed inside as Helen got up off the floor. She wasn’t screaming anymore. She hugged Chase, crying. 

“We have to go, Helen,” Chase said.

“Yes. Let’s go,” Helen said, regaining her composure. Chase and Helen ran back through the hallways. A patrol of four guards stopped them before they could make it to the exit. The lead guard raised his gun. Before the guard could shoot, Chase shot him, a bullet embedding in his chest. The other guards raised their weapons. Four bullets fired. A guard went down to Chase’s bullet. Chase went down to the three other bullets. 

Pain rocketed through his body as the bullets tore through him. Helen swept Chase up in her arms and ran for the exit, bullets whipping around her. 

She dashed to the helicopter and rolled into the helicopter as it rose into the night sky.

* * *

X looked through the window of the top floor of the building. X heard a knock at the door. 

“Come in,” X said through the face mask covering his face, a synthesizer masking the real sound of his voice. His lieutenant, Hunter, walked into the room, bowing as he entered.

“Sir, a heist crew raided the Vault,” Hunter said quietly.

“What!” X said, outraged. “I thought the place had the best security.”

“We found a culprit. His name is Dylan Hart. He fell asleep watching the security monitors.”

X’s features twisted in anger.

“Send for him now.” X said. “I will have a talk with him.”

“Yes, my lord.”

As Dylan walked into X’s office, he felt a sense of dread wash over him. He had fallen asleep on the job. He knocked on the door.

“Come in,” X’s synthetic voice said. Dylan entered the room.

“You did an amazing job,” X said.

“Really?” Dylan asked, relieved.

“Yes. I will up your pay by 20%.”

“Thank you so much,” Dylan said.

“You’re welcome,” X said, smiling grimly behind his mask.

After Dylan left, X sent for Hunter. Hunter entered. 

“Hunter,” X said, “Can you have the Phantom go after the heist crew?”

“I don’t mean to say that you are incorrect, but Phantom is incredibly expensive as assassins go.” 

“Send for him anyway.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Dylan Hart was smiling. He had not immediately died after the conversation with X so he counted that as a win. He was still smiling when he got gas for the tank. He was still smiling when he got off the freeway. He was still smiling when his car blew up, killing him instantly.  

The Hawk and the Clover

Milton was a hawk who lived in a nest with his family. He had three brothers, three sisters, and his mom and dad. He was different from the others because he had a white underbelly, and he loved humans. The nest where he lived was on the edge of a swamp. Not a lot of humans came to the swamp where he lived, so Milton had to go into the city to see them. In the city, he would go to the windows and spy on the humans. He wished he could talk to the humans.

Deep in the swamp, there was a human. The human had green skin and a wart on her long nose. Milton was flying home one day when he saw this witch. She had a bow and arrow and a dead hawk slung on her back. Milton was horrified and flew away. He didn’t want to get caught by this ugly human. 

One day, while Milton was flying to the city, he saw the witch picking mushrooms. He followed her. He wanted to know why she was still hunting for hawks. He was curious about her because she was not like the other humans. He was scared that the witch would notice him, since she kept turning back to make sure no one was following her. Whenever the witch looked back, Milton would tilt upward so that his white underbelly blended into the sky. 

Milton followed her deep into the swamp, all the way to her hut. She quickly passed through the door. Milton went to the window. He watched the witch put the mushrooms among a collection of items—human ears, frog legs, snake scales, lizard tongues, hawk toes and feathers. Milton thought some of them looked delicious, but others were plain disgusting. While Milton watched, the witch took some mushrooms, hawk toes and lizard tongues, and threw them into the cauldron bubbling in the fireplace. 

The witch looked toward the window and Milton ducked, falling to the ground. He started shivering in fear. He realized that he was in a garden with glowing worms. They looked so delicious. Milton loved shiny things and worms. He immediately got up and started eating every one of them. The worms were so delicious that Milton didn’t realize that he was making so much noise. The witch heard him eating and came out the door and screamed. 

“May the gods curse you for 100,000 years!” the witch cried, pointing at MIlton with an evil glare.

Scared, and not sure of what was happening, Milton tries to fly back home. But he forgot everything that he knew before he was cursed. So he doesn’t know where home is so he couldn’t fly home. All he knew is that he liked humans. He didn’t know what to do after being cursed. So he went back to the city to spy on humans like he always does.

While he is flying to the city he caught a glimpse of his nest near the edge of the swamp, but he doesn’t care about his family anymore. He hates them now. He wants to be near his friends, the humans. 

So he sat on a window sill. Inside there was a girl crying. “Are you okay? Milton asked her. 

The girl turns her head to the window. “Am I hallucinating?”

Milton was shocked as well. How did I do that, he thought.

“Why was today the worst birthday ever?” The girl asked herself. “Now I’m hallucinating. I have no luck at all. I need a four-leafed clover. That would change everything.”

Milton felt very sad for this girl. “Sorry you had the worst birthday ever.”

The girl’s jaw drops. “Are you real?” she asked.

Milton said, “Yes, I am real.”

“Who are you? Why are you here? Why are you a hawk? And why can you talk!?”

Milton replied, “I am a hawk named Milton. I don’t know why I can talk!”

The girl came to the window and reached toward him. Shocked, Milton fell off the window sill right toward the street. Milton had never fallen before. With 0.05 seconds before he hit the ground, he spread his wings and started to glide up. He flies back up to the window sill. He wanted to talk to the girl more. But the girl’s father was there. He suddenly tried to catch Milton. He threw a bean-bag pillow at Milton. 

This time Milton dropped purposely, to miss the bean bag. 

“Who are you?” Milton asked. 

“I’m a scientist. I want to trap you for a DNA test.”

“Sounds not fun.” Milton flew away.

After this encounter Milton realized the two curses. Unluckiness and talking. 

To solve the unluckiness he will need a four-leaf clover. He learned that from listening to the girl. Nothing could solve the talking problem. So he started to head in the direction of a field he knew from his childhood that was very lucky. He had always found shiny things and worms there. He started searching for the clover. 

He searched the whole field. He was unsuccessful. But he needed somewhere to sleep for the night. He searches everywhere and cannot find anywhere to sleep. Luckily he remembers the old swamp. He slept there for the night. He began the search the next day. Then he searched deeper into the swamp. Milton finally found the witch’s hut. The witch was outside her hut. And right on the witch’s doorstep was the clover. 

Milton realized that he would have to fight the witch to get the clover. He took his chances and few at the witch. The witch saw him. She took out her wand and started using it as a weapon, shooting blasts of magic. Milton dodged. 

When Milton was a baby, his mother would tell him stories about their great grandfather who saw a village crowding around a witch who was about to be burned at the stake. Milton knew he needed fire to defeat the witch. He flew away to get a match. 

He found the match in the city and flew back. 

The witch was back in her hut when he returned with the match. This was going better than Milton had planned. He flew up to the roof of the house and lit it on fire. Then he quickly grabbed the clover, lit the rest of the house on fire, and escaped. 

Milton then flew home to reunite with his family. The clover worked. 

When he arrived, he saw the hawks crowding around two graves. He soon realized who the graves were for. His parents had died, looking for him. They got killed by the witch. Milton lived in sadness for the rest of his life. 

The End.

A Crack in the Walls

Chapter 1

You know the feeling that something bad is going to happen? Like you’re dreading every moment of the day, waiting for something to go terribly wrong? Well, that’s what happened to me on August 27.

I didn’t realize something was wrong between me and my friends. We had hung out all summer, having slumber parties and skyping off our computers. We even got matching phone cases. And on the first day, we did our annual 6:00 AM Facetime. That was the moment when they seemed uncomfortable. I was pulling my hair back in an alligator clip, and I saw that both Ella and Emily had hung up on me. I convinced myself that their parents forced them to get off screen, and kept getting ready. 

.         .         . 

“Morning! Are you excited for your first day of school?” my mom asked, balancing a big platter of waffles and a pitcher of orange juice in each hand.

“I guess.” The video call had really thrown me off, and I could tell that today was going to be a horrible day.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” asked my dad, striding into the room with three plates and cups. 

“Nothing, I’m just hungry,” I replied. There are some things I’m too proud to admit, like being a third wheel. 

“Then, let’s eat! Long day ahead,” Mom said. 

I poured syrup over the buttermilk waffles and took a bite. No surprise, they were delicious. Mom and dad made small talk the entire time, but I was zoning out, thinking about what went wrong with my friendship with Emily and Ella. We’ve been friends since preschool, when a kid thought we were triplets, since our names all started with the letter e. We cried for an hour, then hugged, and then said we were triplets. In elementary school, we gained the title “The Three E’s”. Emily, Ella, and Eva. 

And last year, in 6th grade, they came up to me and said, “Eva, we just came to tell you that we’ll always be friends. Some people want to act funny and ditch people, but we know that you’ll always be our person.” And then they gave me a giant hug.

So I didn’t get why they were being weird now. It would’ve been better for them to not show up on my porch with a sign last year. Then I could’ve accepted it. But I just reminded myself that they probably needed to take a device break, as their parents always say. 

I snapped back to reality as mom checked her phone and said, “Shoot. I have to be at work early today. Honey, put on your shoes, I’ll drop you off.”

I went to the front door and put on my shoes, then grabbed my backpack and ran out the door, chasing after mom.

Chapter 2

Mom unlocked the door of her silver minivan, and I plopped down onto the front seat. 

“Hold on young lady, who said you could sit here?” Mom asked, a stern look on her face.

I groaned. “Come on, mom! I’m twelve!”

“Correct. You can’t sit up front until you’re thirteen,” she replied smugly.

I climbed into the backseat and looked at my phone. As soon as I saw my notifications, I frowned. Emily just posted a screenshot of her and Ella on facetime. I sent her a quick text, asking why she hung up on me, and she didn’t respond. Usually, as soon as I sent her a text, she would send me three to reply. 

Mom tilted her mirror to face me, and seeing the look on my face, she said: “You know you can tell me anything, right?” 

“Yes mom,” I replied. She said this every day. 

“Then why do I feel like you’re keeping something from me?” She asked as she raised her eyebrows.

“I’m not, mom. It’s just– Oh look, we’re here!” 

Before she said anything, I dashed out of the car, only to bump into… Emily. 

“I’m really sorry!” I said.

“Why were you running out of the car like a baby?” she asked as she wrinkled her nose.

“Um, no reason,” I replied, looking at my feet. 

Emily squinted her eyes. “It looked like you were avoiding a conversation.”

“If you must know, I had to use the bathroom. I still do, so catch you later,” I mumbled quickly.  

Great. Now my best friend thinks I’m a chicken. I headed to my first class, where, unfortunately, my seat was next to Ella. She was acting the same way as Emily, very judgemental. I thought that was it, that they had just dumped me for good. But then, Ella passed me a note. It said:

Eva–

Meet at the gate at 11 AM if you value our friendship.

This was typical Ella fashion, except I noticed she’d called the gate simply a gate, instead of the ‘Narnia Portal.’ When we were in first grade, we’d found an overgrown brown gate at the back of the school, and because Narnia was our class reading book, we immediately thought that was the way to get there. Even though we knew better, the name stuck, and we vowed to call it that for the rest of our lives.  History class had flown by, and before I knew it, I was standing at the gate with my two best friends.

“So, what’s up?” I asked.

“Look, Eva. We feel like we don’t have much in common with you anymore,” Emily said

“What are you saying?” I asked. 

“If you’ll stop being dumb, we’re saying that we don’t feel close anymore,” Ella rephrased. 

“So…”

“So, our long-lived friendship is over.”

Chapter 3

  As soon as I heard those words, I turned my back on the two girls. I didn’t care what they said next. I didn’t look back at them. If they didn’t want me to be part of their life, so be it. I groaned as I remembered that I shared my second class with both of them. The last thing I wanted to do was be in a class with them, having to watch them take selfies and talk about the things we used to talk about, all three of us. So, I took the long way, going through the stairwells and hallways no seventh grader went to. When I was almost at class, I saw that Emily and Ella had cornered a girl in a wheelchair, and were teasing her.

“What’s wrong? Can’t run away?” Emily sneered, giggling.

“Em, don’t be mean!” Ella said. Hope swelled in my chest. Would she– “She obviously wants to be with us! Here, come on a walk!”

I took my phone out and began recording the whole thing. 

I watched as Ella and Emily wheeled the girl to the stairwell. Then I watched them place her at the edge of a flight of stairs. But when they were about to push her, I screamed.

“STOP! YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN DO THAT TO A PERSON? SHE COULD HAVE DIED!” My voice cracked. “YOU SHOULD BE SO THANKFUL YOU DON’T HAVE TO RELY ON SOMEONE TO PUSH YOU ON THE STREET! OR CARRY YOU DOWN THE STAIRS! YOU’RE LUCKY! BUT SHE CAN’T SAY THE SAME!” I pointed to the girl. She looked at me, her eyes shining.

Emily and Ella looked at me, then ran off in another direction. The girl, Lisa, looked up at me. 

“Why did you do that? I thought you hated me.” Lisa asked.

“I wouldn’t let you get hurt.” I said

And I pushed her right where she belonged.

August 27th.

The day where things went wrong.

See, school actually started on September 3rd. August 27th was the day when I got separated from my sister. Our parents had died when we were two, and we were both in the orphanage for 3 years. On August 27th, a man and woman came in, looking for someone ‘exceptional’. Then, their eyes fell on Lisa. She was in a wheelchair, but she easily moved around, climbed ladders, and slid down slides. I’ll never forget when they told her she was coming home with them. My own sister giggled. She smiled at them. She didn’t turn back. She didn’t wave goodbye. And that’s how I lost my sister.

I would never forget, but I could forgive. 

Fin. 

My Life With Tourette’s 

Hey, my name is Lester. One thing you should know about me is that I have Tourette’s Syndrome. If you are oblivious to the term then let me explain. Quite frequently I have the urge to move my elbows back. Not all people have that specific tic but mainly everyone’s Tourette’s are unique. I also have Heterochromia. It’s not exactly an obstacle but it teams up with my Tourette’s to make me miserable. If you don’t know, Heterochromia is the condition in which you have two different colored eyes. It may seem like a cool thing but when you have a little social anxiety, it’s a bit smothering with all the attention.

I’m moving to a new school on Wednesday and of course I’m going to be nervous. Who wouldn’t be? I’m afraid of what the new kids will think of me. My sisters say that middle school can be difficult if you have no friends. Well, nothing like a good old fashion entree of atrocious sleep with a side of nightmares. Do you want to know how the nightmare went? Well of course you do if you read this far.

I was running through the forest as a ninja (don’t judge, ninjas are cool and you can’t deny it), when we approached a large lake with a wicked looking axolotl/octopus in it. You know when people usually look at an axolotl they think: Awww, It’s so ugly it’s cute!

Except today it wasn’t cute. Just plain unbearable ugliness. No offense, of course. “It looks like my mom when I forget to clean my room,” joked my dream friend, who of course is also a ninja.

“Ha, good one,” I laughed. I wish I had friends like this in the real world. So you may be thinking: Wait, isn’t this story from your POV? Why did you say real world? Do you know this is a dream? Well, yes, yes, and yes. I know this is a dream. The reason I stay here is because, A. I like being a ninja, and B. I have friends here. I know it seems incredibly sad but, who cares. The other ninjas and I surrounded the creature and took turns throwing shurikens at it. After scratching and chipping away at the monster’s body and patience, it left.

We all sighed in relief, but our victory was cut short by a guttural shriek. I looked back at the lake to see a giant octopus with eyes the size of trampolines rise out of the water. Oh, dear, I thought. That’s not an octopus. That’s the head of a mythical beast! I think incredulously. Oh I know this thing! Oh what’s its name? Kachulu? No, that’s not it. Uthulu? No, it has the letter c in it. Cthulhu! Yes, that’s it! Darn, I’m probably reading too many fantasy stories.

Well, in the book Cthulhu is an immortal being that is a tribrid between an octopus, man, and a dragon. You know what, I’m going to bail before things get ugly. I pinch myself for eight seconds, and surprise, surprise, I woke up.

It was seven A.M. on Wednesday, The day of dread. Yay. Darn, I should’ve convinced mom to let me stay homeschooled this year, I thought. Well, there’s no award for the most regret in thirty seconds, so I should probably get dressed and eat breakfast. Luckily, my mother laid my outfit out last night for me to wear. I got on my clothes and headed downstairs. When I got to the kitchen, I saw no evidence that someone was here so I guessed I was the only person up. I knew my father would come down soon so I just started making a fried egg with toast. I got a pan and put it on the stove. I sprayed cooking oil on the pan, then proceeded to try to crack the egg. It was a bit difficult to crack the egg on the pan as I kept ticing and dropping the egg. Luckily after three eggs, I finally got it in the pan. I then grabbed a slice of toast and lodged it in the toaster oven. After five minutes of waiting for both to finish, I put my meal on a plate and headed to the table to eat. The meal was delicious but it was all the more better knowing that I made it.

As predicted, my father appeared through the doorway wearing a button-up shirt with a tie and some nice brown pants with a belt. He was also carrying a briefcase that he briefly set on the table to get breakfast. He was on a call so I knew not to bother him. I ate my breakfast in silence as he scoured the fridge, phone wedged between his head and his shoulder. He found some leftover pasta from last night’s meal and ran to the door. He opened the door and walked through but before he could close the door, he peeked his head through the doorway and said, “Good morning, Lester! I’ll see you after school!”

Just like that, my dad’s car whisked out of the driveway and headed towards the street. That’s going to be me soon, I think gloomily. As I finish up my breakfast, I take a glimpse of the clock. Half past seven, I thought. I should probably get packed and ready for school. I put my plate and utensils in the dishwasher and headed back upstairs to brush my teeth.

After a firm and steady two minutes of brushing, I washed my face and headed back downstairs to go to school. I packed my school bag with all the necessary supplies with my water bottle and lunch money. I grab a helmet and get my bike. My school was only a quarter of a mile away from my house, so it wasn’t a hassle getting there. As I rode my bike all the way to school, I saw a lot of people talking and socializing in the school courtyard. I saw a few students glance at me, then whisper to their friends. I could already tell what they were saying, Oh my gosh, look at that freak riding his bike!

I try to ignore the looks, yet a part of my brain is already contemplating how much I’m going to be laughed at. Well, no point in attempting to see the future if you live in the present. Fortunately there was a biking rack where I could simply set my bike down. Unfortunately my tourettes were making it extremely difficult to set it down because I would always move my elbows back and drop the bike. I could already imagine what I look like right now, flailing my elbows while others laughed and mocked me.

After an agonizing ten minutes of embarrassment, I finally got the bike locked in the rack. I made my way to the courtyard where all the other kids were. I had a few people walk up to me. “Woah dude, cool eyes,” they’d say. I’d mutter a “thanks,” and then walk away. I found a nice cozy corner where I could just mind my own business. Ring! Ring! Ring! The noise was a little obnoxious but at least it caught everyone’s attention. We all clustered together to get through the door. This is where my Tourette’s became an issue. Every two minutes I’d hear a “Hey, who elbowed me?” 

Oh shoot, that was me! I’d think. After squeezing through the doorway, (with little casualties) I got a first glimpse of the monotonous school. The principal’s office was just to the right, with pictures of every teacher. Everything here was out of a picture show, the walls were white and the floor was marble black. The only thing with color here was probably my beige school bag.

I saw all the students head towards a stairwell with, you would not believe your eyes,  navy blue stairs! As the other students and I headed up the stairs a girl with rich brown hair approached me. “Hey, I really like your eyes,” she said.

“Thanks,” I muttered. “I’m Lester by the way,” I introduced myself. 

“I’m Stacy, pleasure to meet you,” she replied formally. We walked in awkward silence for a bit.

“You know,” Stacy started, “a lot of kids here would purposely make a big deal if they had Heterochromia. They’re all attention seeking brats. It’s a nice change of pace to see that you just keep quiet about your condition.”

I soaked her statement in while remaining silent. We were approaching our class now and Stacy and I would have to go our separate ways.

“Alright, well I’ll see you in writing,” I said. She simply waved her hand goodbye, and then went across the hall. Wow, that was the quickest friend I’ve ever made, I thought. For now I have math, and I’m pretty strong in this subject. This should be a breeze, I thought. Although I’m in honors math, and this should’ve been difficult, it was in fact a breeze. I flew through the lesson like a soaring falcon. The lesson mainly consisted of easy algebraic equations, in word problems. Although the other students in my class were having some trouble keeping up. Weird, I thought. Their minds are probably a little rusty from summer break.

After completing the lesson and being assigned homework, I headed onto my next class, writing. I was excited about this class mainly because I love writing, as it’s one of my biggest hobbies. The walk to writing class was a bit long, as it was all the way down the four hundred foot hallway, but at least it gave me enough time to catch up with Stacy.

 I started my walk down the hallway, frantically looking for Stacy. My search ended when I felt a tap on my shoulder. 

“Oh, there you are!” I exclaimed. “I’ve been trying to find you for like, eight minutes!”

“Oh please,” Stacy rolled her eyes. “You were only looking for two minutes.” 

We walked down the hallway discussing how our classes went. I told her about how literally nobody could keep up in math class, and she told me that no one had the slightest idea what they were doing in geography class. By now we were approaching the doorway to writing class so we stopped talking. When Stacy and I walked into the classroom there was a U formation of the desks. 

The seats had our name on it, and unfortunately, Stacy was across the classroom. We began our first unit, poetry. Now, I didn’t exactly hate the subject but I didn’t love it either. Judging by the looks of my fellow classmates, including Stacy, they didn’t like it either. The lesson consisted of writing any type of poem, and then submitting it to the teacher to get checked. Let me take this time to tell you that the teachers here were brutally honest. They didn’t hesitate to tell you that your work was trash.

This made me all the more determined to have a good poem. The poem I’ll be doing is a haiku. I wrote for around ten minutes just figuring out how my words would correlate with the  strict five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables. Here’s how it goes:

Summer Haiku

I jump in the pool

Summer vacation is great

I love the summer

I know, I know. A tad bit lazy but it’s still pretty good. At least I think so. Now time to face judgment. I walk up to where the teacher is sitting. When the teacher saw me she said, “Hello, what do you have for me?” Her tone was firm yet a hint of malevolence was there. I gave the poem to my passive aggressive teacher. Her eyes scanned over the paper most definitely looking for mistakes.

When she turned back to me she said, “Hmph, that’s the best one all day.” I had a feeling that she said that in a bad way. As if everyone else’s paper were so bad that when a half-decent poem is submitted, It was the best one yet. I ignored the feeling and sat down back at my desk. For the remainder of the class I just wrote a story. The story was about my dream and how I was a ninja.

When I looked up from my notebook I glanced at the clock to see that the class was over, and everyone was packing up. Our next subject was art. Our lesson was about painting modern art. I drew a picture of Cthulhu, the beast I saw in my dream. I painted the lake and the octopus head rising from the water.

When our teacher came over and examined all of our paintings, She gaped at mine. “Oh wow,” she praised. “That’s fantastic!”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

When I finished my painting, I thought that it looked pretty good. I captured the reflection of the stars on the water pretty well. I went out into the hall to put my painting on the drying rack. When I walked back into the classroom, I saw that everyone once again was packing up. I knew that our next period was lunch so I began making my way towards the cafeteria.

I had my lunch money in hand right now so I could get a salad, or something else nutritious. I saw Stacy waiting at a table. I walked over to my new friend and sat down.

“That line is crazy,” Stacy stated. “A bit obnoxious, don’t you think?”

“A little bit,” I agreed. “I’ll wait for the line to die down before I get lunch.”

Stacy and I waited while chatting about classes, strict teachers, and ridiculous classmates. When the line died down Stacy and I got up to go get lunch to be stopped by a tall kid. I swear to the grass below my feet, if this guy seriously asks to take my darn money I will-

“Give me your lunch money nerds,” he says in a cocky voice. Stacy looked him up and down before bursting out laughing.

“Lunch money! Oh my gosh James, do you not read any books?” She laughs. “Because that’s the most cliche line I’ve ever heard. You’re so yesterday, kid. Get a better line!”

I feel a bit uncomfortable as Stacy brushes past him gracefully, takes my arm, and yanks me over to the food area. Stacy was still hysterically laughing, so I took the chance to get a Caesar salad with croutons, carrot strips, and cucumbers with Italian dressing on top. Stacy got chicken tenders and fries.

We headed back to the table and enjoyed our lunch talking about weird dreams. I told her about my dream about Cthulhu, and she explained that once in her weird dream she was talking to salmon about sushi. 

We finished up our lunch just as the teachers told us to go back up to class. For the last period, I had science. We began talking about chemistry and chemical reactions. It was also cool because I got to use beakers and different elements! I mean, who knew that if you added potassium iodine, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap you’ll get an awesome foamy reaction!

I kept adding elements until the stereotypical science explosion blew up in my face. Who knew that if you added potassium permanganate with alcohol you’ll get an explosion! It was a tad bit embarrassing but mainly everyone wanted to know what combination I used to get the explosion. I finished that class in a hurry with a lot of homework. I only then realized that the school day was complete. I stuffed all of my homework into my large bag. And when I put my bag on, It was the actual equivalent of fifty pounds! As I took out my bike from the rack, dropping it frequently because of my tourettes, I got on it and peddled home. As I approached my house I thought to myself,

Maybe this school won’t be so bad after all.

Jeremiah’s Musical

Jeremiah had decided to not audition.

“Oh, c’mon, Jerry. Why not? I bet that you would be great at that owl part. I would be so proud of you, and your girlfriend and your mom would be too,” Gully protested as they satin Jeremiah’s owl hole drinking tea.

“Owls in musicals are silly. There’s no time for me to be in one,” Jeremiah grumbled.

“Who told you that?” Gully demanded.

There was a pause.

“The co-director,” Jeremiah muttered in a tiny voice.

“What?” Gully squawked. 

Jeremiah averted his yellow eyes pointedly. Gully marched angrily out of the hole.

“Wait!!! Where are you going?” Jeremiah yelled after Gully.

“The co-director’s house.”

Jeremiah shook his head so hard his feathers flew around the owl hole. “W-wait, don’t you want to finish your tea?”

Gully had already gone in a flash of gray and white feathers.

Jeremiah flew after him frantically, knocking over both cups of tea. He caught a glimpse of his bird friend flying over to the co-director’s nest.

“Uh, hi, director. To what do I owe to the pleasure?” The co-director, a light brown sparrow, asked. His name was Sparsmethius.

“You are dismissed,” Gully said firmly.

“Wh-what? I do not understand.”

“You told Jeremiah that-mmfff!”

Jeremiah flapped his wings over Gully’s bill.

“Um–” The co-director looked at Jeremiah for an explanation.

“Uh, sorry,” Jeremiah said awkwardly. 

“Hey, Jerry, let go! I need to tell him that you are a great owl!”

“No! Come! You need to drink your tea!” Jeremiah wrapped his wings around Gully’s, which was hard because Gully was a large seagull.

Gully and Jeremiah landed back in Jeremiah’s hole. 

“You would be great at that owl part. Really. The co-director is wrong. I mean it. I am the director and I am telling you that you are talented,” Gully said seriously, plucking feathers from his bill.

“No.” Jeremiah shook his head stubbornly. “Sparsmethius had a good point. What type of a bird musical needs a clumsy owl in it?”

“This one, Jeremiah. You are talented.”

Jeremiah shook his head again and pressed a new teacup into Gully’s wing. His yellow eyes filled with tears. “You can go. Don’t worry about me. It’s not like I’m actually good at singing,” he said dejectedly.

“But Jerry . . . “

Jeremiah sat on the couch with a humph.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow at the set, right?”

No reply.

It was the next day. Sparsmethius had been dismissed. There would be no co-director, which made things extra hard for Gully.

“Hey – where’s Jeremiah?” A swan asked as she scanned the stage.

“The bathroom?” A parakeet suggested.

“No, don’t all birds just . . . go in the air?” A pigeon asked.

“Not in the set!” A hummingbird exclaimed. 

Within a second, Gully had flown away.

“Jerry?”

“Mmmm! I’m sleeping! Go away,” Jeremiah protested.

“You are not sleeping.”

“I am.”

“Then how come you’re talking?”

There was a pause.

“Hey, you’re supposed to knock before coming in.” Jeremiah reprimanded.

Gully ignored this. “You gotta come. You didn’t seriously believe Sparsemethius, did you?”

Cough-cough-cough.

“Huh? You okay?” Gully asked, concerned.

“Um. I think I’m sick,” Jeremiah mumbled.

“No. You’re not. You are totally not. Stop faking Jerry, we need you!” Gully said firmly.

“No, actually-sneeze!-I am!” Jeremiah cried.

Gully thrust the thermometer into Jeremiah’s beak. “Oh no – indeed, you are sick! No, no, no. You can’t be! Today’s rehearsal!” Gully yelled, pacing around the hole as if the faster he walked, the faster the fever would be reversed.

“Tell Sparsemethius that he can take the part,” Jeremiah sighed, even though he did not actually want the judgy sparrow to take the part.

“No,” Gully shook his head. “He already migrated to Zimbabwe. I wouldn’t even want him to take the part anyway.”

Gully pressed on the receiver that was lying on the tea-table. “Hello, this is Gully Sea, the director of High School Musical, Bird Edition. Our actor has a fever so… Wait, what? You can’t come? No, no… you are in Africa? What?… You have to!” Gully screamed into the receiver. 

There was a click on the other line.

“The understudy is also in Zimbabwe! He can’t come!” Gully shrieked. He was panicking. “Please, Jerry, please. Please! You have to come!” Gully pulled Jeremiah out of the bed of grass.

“Nooooo…  Jeremiah whined.

Somehow, Gully managed to deliver Jeremiah to the set. All the actors cheered when they saw the snowy owl, but only before they saw his unhappy face, with his wings hanging limply at his sides.

“Are you okay?” A pheasant felt Jeremiah’s forehead. It was hot.

“He has a fever, but he came anyway.” Gully puffed out his chest proudly, not adding in the detail that he had lugged the pessimistic owl to the set completely against Jeremiah’s will.

Another cheer went over the actors as they resumed rehearsal.

Jeremiah choked out the songs, coughs in every beat. Every time he sneezed, all of the singers glanced at him, so he just mouthed the words. Gully could not tell and clapped his wings.

“You are really improving, Jerry!” Gully exclaimed in happy shock.

Jerry did not tell his best friend that he was not actually singing. He did not want Gully to convince him into singing, messing up the whole play as result. He shaped his beak into the memorable songs, flapping his wings. Once in a while he would cough. Then there was a terrible thought. What would he do at his solo?

“Um, can I go to the bathroom?” Jeremiah asked, hoping that the rehearsal would skip over his solo. His plan backfired.

“Okay! We’ll pause for you,” Gully said, skimming through scripts. Jeremiah tried to think of another reason to skip his solo. When he got out of the bathroom, he pretended to faint. 

“Oh no!” Gully cried. “We will try to continue rehearsal tomorrow.”

Jeremiah stifled a groan.

The next day, Jeremiah’s fever was no better. He came to rehearsal anyway, though, and coughed through his solo.

“Oh dear, you were doing so good yesterday!” A red-winged blackbird cried.

“Again. Sing it again,” Gully commanded. A woodpecker slowly backed away, not wanting the sneeze to land on him. All of the other birds were too afraid to do this seemingly rude act, because Gully was in a particularly bad mood. 

“No. I can’t sing it again!” Jeremiah begged. 

Gully sighed and gave in, moving onto a bald eagle. 

“This whole thing is stupid.” Jeremiah exploded. “Birds don’t even go to high school! The human version looked much better.”

“Oh, Jerry. We are trying, and we really want you to get better.” Gully sighed.

Jeremiah launched himself out of his set, flew to his hole and curled there, on his bed, crying angrily. 

The next day there was no Gully to urge him out of bed, no encouragement or kind words. The owl overslept, grabbed a cup of weak tea, and looked out of his hole. For once he longed for his best friend to yank him out of the warm hole. 

Without thinking about the embarrassment and the “I told you so’s,” he snatched up the receiver. Again and again he dialed with no avail. Gully was angry at him, he must’ve been! Jeremiah burst out of his hole and careened to Gully’s nest, the one near the lake. There was a telescope and a fishing net, but no Gully on the balcony. Jeremiah waited with a cup of tea. No Gully.

How stupid I am, Jeremiah thought. Gully must be at the set, directing! 

Jeremiah took off and soared to the set. No Gully! Leaving the anxious bird actors, Jeremiah flew to his hole. Where was Gully! Had he migrated? Or was he wounded and at the hospital?

Oh. There was the seagull, holding a cup of tea.

“Where were you!?” The two birds squawked at the same time.

“You are going to the set.” Gully pulled at Jeremiah. For once he agreed.

“We are selling so many tickets!” A crow announced happily, throwing birdseed in the air. Birdseed was the bird currency.

Jeremiah shook his head. What if he was not recovered by the time of the performance?

“Your understudy has come back,” Gully reassured Jeremiah, “but I bet you’ll be well by then. The understudy will not have to move a feather.” Jeremiah felt like the last comment was a lie. He knew that Gully only wanted to make things better, but he was slightly annoyed that his friend had been faking.

And what about the audience of the musical? He would not get to perform in front of them. Jeremiah found undeserved hate for his understudy in himself. He felt as if he had lost a game of pool. The balls did not roll into the right place at the right time.

“Who is the understudy?” Jeremiah suddenly found suspicion. 

“A sparrow. He had migrated to Zimbabwe, but then came back,” Gully explained.

“Have you ever seen him?” Jeremiah pressed.

“No. I can ask him to come,” Gully said, suddenly feeling rather suspicious himself. Zimbabwe? Who else had been migrating to Zimbabwe?

“Sparsmethius!” Jeremiah yelled. 

“Oh no. No. It has to be a coincidence,” Gully muttered, pacing back and forth. Now that he thought of it, the voice on the other end of the receiver had been familiar! 

“No, I am sure. It’s Sparsmethius, getting revenge!” Jeremiah exclaimed, taking out his lunch box and swallowing a mouse. 

Gully shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense. Why would he apply for understudy? That means he is helping you!”

Jeremiah nodded. “He wants to seem like that, so you can make him co-director again! Or he just wants to take my part. Oh, Gully, I know! He wants to pretend he is the understudy, but he will not actually go if I am still sick. He will let the play down!” Jeremiah yelled. All the pieces were fitting together. 

“It doesn’t matter.” Gully sighed, pulling out a file of scripts from under his director’s chair. “You just need to not be sick and do your part.”

Jeremiah felt angry. The insulting previous co-director was coming back! And Gully did not even care!

Gully was already too overwhelmed to care about a supervillain understudy. The costumes didn’t fit! The scripts didn’t match! He absentmindedly clapped the clapboard. He took a sip of coffee out of his thermos and ate a fish taco. The stage was a few inches too low, the curtain was a foot too high! A supervillain? Pooh. Who cares? 

So Jeremiah practiced his part and made it better, but his cough was still bad. 

“Hachoo! Hachoo!” Loud sneezes escaped Jeremiah’s beak. He was curled on his bed. Scripts were spewed on the floor. The thermometer had unusually high temperatures on the screen, tissues were balled up around the bed. Tea was over-brewing in the kettle, but Jeremiah was too frustrated and sick to go up and get it. He longed for someone to talk to and get his tea for him, so he called Gully. Gully came over and got his tea for him. 

“You’re running late for rehearsal. We need the owl. The talented owl. The owl who you play, Jeremiah,” Gully said solemnly.

“Golly, Gully. Maybe tomorrow,” Jeremiah whispered hoarsely. 

“Why not today?” Gully asked.

Jeremiah glanced over the wads of tissues on his bed. Gully swept them up into the wastebasket, sympathy for his friend.

“Thanks,” Jeremiah whispered. Gully handed him a cup of tea. Jeremiah took it and screwed his eyes shut. It was way over brewed and very bitter.

“Hey. I can bring the tea for you if you come,” Gully tried to help. He only succeeded in doing the opposite.

Jeremiah choked over the gross liquid. “No thanks,” He mumbled.

Gully put the thermometer on the tea-table next to the picture of Jeremiah’s elf owl girlfriend and piled up the scripts that had been under the teacup Jeremiah had thrown. Jeremiah nodded over the tea cup. “You can have the rest,” He coughed.

“It can’t be that bad.” Gully sipped the tea and promptly spit it across the room. Jeremiah pushed the mop towards Gully.

Gully looked out of the hole.

“Jerry! Look, snow! It never snowed in space!” Gully exclaimed.

“Hmm? What’s snow?” Jeremiah asked drowsily.

“Snow!” Gully squawked. “Jerry, you have to see this! I’ve only heard about it.”

Jeremiah glanced outside.

“Wow, Gulls. What is that?” Jeremiah asked.

“Snow!” Gully repeated.

Jeremiah’s energy was replenished with the pretty white powder.

“Could you please come to the set for this rehearsal? You are coughing much less.” Gully pleaded.

“Fine.” Jeremiah was secretly relieved as they flew over to the set.

The birds cheered and threw up their scripts. “Go Jeremiah! Yippee!” A group of cardinals and blue jays chirped.

“Thanks.” Jeremiah tipped the microphone towards him and went through his solo. He had indeed improved.

The bird clapped their wings, clearly impressed. Jeremiah smiled. Some other birds flocked onto the stage. 

“I think I will be better by the time of the musical!” Jeremiah told Gully.

“Uh, good.” Gully fiddled with his feathers. “Um, can I tell you something?”

“Sure,” Jeremiah said.

“Uh, the musical, Jerry, it got… well, moved,” Gully whispered.

“To when?” Jeremiah was suddenly alarmed.

“Well, to… tomorrow.” Gully looked away.

“WHAT!?” Jeremiah screeched. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“No,” Gully whispered. “I’m sorry, Jeremiah.”

“How? Why?” Jeremiah shook Gully’s wings, his yellow eyes widened.

“Th-the day we requested was reserved for the human high school musical,” Gully said, fidgeting with his feathers.

“Why? They think humans are more important than birds? Huh?” Jeremiah demanded. 

“They kind of are. Humans invented the lightbulb. That’s what the theater manager said. Besides, humans don’t like birdseed,” Gully told Jeremiah.

“That’s not true. Dicey Hopskins invented the lightbulb. Did the theater manager even go to college?” Jeremiah inquired angrily.

“Uh, you know birds don’t go to college, either,” Gully whispered.

Jeremiah shook his head, feathers flying on Gully. “You’re lying. You’re joking. No, that’s not possible. I-I’m not ready!” Jeremiah screamed. Many birds looked at him.

“We are ready,” Gully assured him. “The costumes aren’t.”

“Why don’t we just buy costumes?” An exhausted red-breasted robin with pins in her beak asked.

“That’s human stuff. Humans buy everything. Besides, we won’t be allowed in department stores.” Gully responded, shaking his head.

The robin groaned. Jeremiah understood how she felt.

Gully took out a smoked-salmon sandwich and handed Jeremiah a packet of dried mice. “A thank-you present, for doing the musical even though you are sick. Those sunflower seed snack packets here are too small for your huge talent.” 

Gully took a bite of smoked-salmon. Jeremiah wolfed down a mouse. He coughed up a pellet and tossed it into the wastebasket. A blue jay nibbling on sunflower seeds looked insulted.

“It will all be for nothing. What if I forget my lines? What will I do?” Jeremiah moaned in distress, stuffing mice in his mouth.

“You can do it, Jerry!” Gully cried.

“I… am speaking to the manager,” Jeremiah announced.

“Okay,” Gully said distractedly, helping sort the costumes.

Jeremiah thought that Gully should have begged him to not go, to stay and to face his fears. A little part of Jeremiah thought that Gully was not spending enough attention on him. But he left reluctantly to speak with the manager because he said he would. He was afraid, though.

“Hey mister!” Jeremiah called up to the manager.

“Well, hello. What do we have here?” The manager chuckled.

“I have come to ask: why did you switch the performing time?” Jeremiah demanded. He tried to sound intimidating, but that is hard for any bird, even snowy owls. “Besides, humans didn’t invent the lightbulb. A MOUCE did!” Jeremiah yelled.

“Uh, sorry Owl, sir. High school musical is paying more than you bird guys. Besides, many people, even one bird, like the human version better,” The manager told Jeremiah. 

The owl felt embarrassed and stepped out of the manager’s office. 

“Well?” Gully greeted Jeremiah.

Jeremiah did not reply and therefore was even more embarrassed. He decided to talk to the cast of Human High School Musical.

“Hey,” Zac Efron greeted Jeremiah.

“Hey,” Jeremiah greeted back.

“So, um… why are you here?” Zac asked gently.

“I want to ask: why did you take our time spot in the theater?”

“Uh, we needed more time.” Zac looked away and waved his arms, squiggled his fingers at the rest of the cast. Jeremiah was filled with envy. Why couldn’t his feathers do that? Then he glanced at the rest of the cast. They looked ten times readier than the bird cast!

“It’s not fair.” Jeremiah told Zac Efron calmly.

“I-I’m sorry? Why is it not fair?” The confused actor asked.

“Because we are not ready but we have to perform tomorrow!” Jeremiah screamed, annoyed. Zac looked taken aback and perhaps a bit amused.

“I’m sorry, but we, er, have lots of tickets. We have so much pressure,” Zac told Jeremiah.

“How much pressure do you have, huh? How many tickets?” Jeremiah demanded, determined to prove the human wrong.

“Uh, so, we have, like, two thousand tickets,” Another actress said.

“TWO THOUSAND?!” Jeremiah squawked.

Zac smiled awkwardly and ushered Jeremiah out of the set room.

“They have two thousand tickets,” Jeremiah coolly informed Gully.

“What? Who has two thousand tickets?” Gully looked up from his clipboard.

“Human High School Musical.” Jeremiah stayed calm. Gully jumped out of his feathers and looked as if his fish had come down wrong.

“Two thousand!” Gully confirmed with Jeremiah loudly. “Two thousand tickets!”

“Yes,” Jeremiah said. He knew he could never sell that many tickets.

Gully shook his head in amazement and took out some mahi-mahi jerky. Jeremiah smiled, triumphant that he managed to surprise his friend, but perhaps a bit sullen that Gully had paid more attention to some tickets than him. He chewed on a dried mouse. Then he watched a duet sung by a pelican and an ostrich. A Kakapo banged his wings on a piano. A raven slammed her talons on a drum set. 

“The costumes are finished!” The red-breasted robin and a mourning dove cried happily. Many birds whooped as they changed into their costumes. Fluffy, red, off-the-wing gowns, baggy talon jeans, rhinestone belts, winglets and talon sneakers. Jeremiah looked around in a miniature baseball cap. 

Then they did the rehearsal and Jeremiah flew home, grabbing some mice on the way and brewing more tea. He was still coughing, but less. Slowly, he was recovering!

Jeremiah took a fly around the forest for exercise. He did this because he always felt refreshed when he got back; the cool, dewy leaves were calming. He spotted Sparsmethius, playing poker and drinking beer with his friends. Jeremiah peeked over with hate. He knew, he just knew, that Sparsmethius was the understudy! Jeremiah suddenly had the urge to go to the bathroom. But he wanted to continue to spy! So he decided to poop on Sparsemethius for revenge. Unfortunately, Sparsmaethius saw him. Jeremiah flew back to his hole. In the middle of the night, he snuck back to Sparsmethius’s nest. There was a deck of cards, a stove, some crumpled paper, and a long piece of paper. Jeremiah picked it up. It read:

Operation get rid of Jeremiah 

Turn the forest against him. Get the birds to hate him. Get the set to hate him. Get Gully to hate him.

Convince the manager to let the Human High School Musical take the spot the set wants. It worked!

Be Jeremiah’s understudy.

‘Besides, people, even one bird, like the human version more.’  

Jeremiah thought of what the manager said. Then he felt tired and flew back. He passed Gully’s house. There was a letter at the door. Jeremiah started to read it.

Dear Mr. Gully Sea,

I do not mean to concern you, but I have heard rumors of your friend Jeremiah wanting to sabotage the set. I understand that you have complete faith in your friend, but we all know how destructive snowy owls could be.

Sincerely, a friend. Leave a response by the hollowed tree trunk next to the lake.

Jeremiah glanced in the house. Gully was sleeping. Jeremiah ripped the letter in half and tossed the two pieces in the lake. He knew that Spersemethius had written it, because of the handwriting.

Dear A Friend,

I have complete trust in Jeremiah. Thank you for your concern.

Sincerely, Gully

Jeremiah left the note by the hollowed tree. He had a fleet of thoughts about what Gully would think, however Jeremiah felt it was correct.

There was another note in the tree, an hour later.

Dear Gully,

I am amazed and touched by your loyalty to Jeremiah. Could you please think it over, though? I think that the set is really important.

Sincerely, A Friend.

Dear A Friend, I am very happy that you care so much about the play. But Jeremiah is a truly special owl and this concern is not very realistic. I hope you renew your trust for him.

-Gully Sea

After he wrote the note, Jeremiah set down the letter by the hollowed tree. It let off a perplexing bad smell. The owl flew back to his hole.

The receiver rang.

“Jeremiah. Come to my house. Now.” It was Gully. His voice sounded tense with anger.

Jeremiah flew over, afraid of what might happen.

“What is this, Jeremiah!?” Gully roared, holding up the letters.

Jeremiah gulped. “Uh, I can explain . . .” he started.

“No! No, who is A Friend? Are you really going to destroy the set? What?” Gully yelped angrily.

“It’s Sparsmethius.” Jeremiah told his friend solemnly.

“That doesn’t matter. Why did you respond for me?” Gully yelled.

“I was trying to protect myself!” Now Jeremiah was also yelling.

“Why couldn’t you trust me to say that I trusted you?!” Gully demanded. “I was just trying to get my fermented fish that I keep in the hollowed tree trunk and I see… this!” 

“I-I was afraid.” Jeremiah whispered.

“Okay. Well, the performance is tomorrow. You better catch some more sleep,” Gully said. He still looked angry but he wanted to be more responsible as a director. Jeremiah opened his mouth to argue but a yawn came out instead. He sighed and flew back to his hole.

The next day, the set was a flurry of feathers and noise. The robin and penguin buttoned and hooked as all the other birds wriggled into their costumes. 

“Presenting High School Musical, Bird Edition!” Gully cried. The curtain went up and a few pigeons started belting out lyrics. The Kakapo joined in. An hour of singing and high school, and it was time for Jeremiah’s solo.

He looked at the audience but none of his voice came out. He had forgotten his lines in the stress. He was supposed to sing about how owls were good at singing, but he felt the opposite.

‘Owls are great at articulation and stuff like that,’ The penguin mouthed.

“Uh, towels have crates of pickled relations with tufts of rat,” Jeremiah sang meekly. A laugh came up from the hundreds of beaks in the audience. Jeremiah shifted uncomfortably. The penguin mouthed more lines, glancing at Jeremiah’s script.

‘The lyrics just go with their beaks,’ The penguin mouthed.

“The licks just know the beats.” Jeremiah choked out. More laughter.

“Adhesive world we know and eat, but I can tote bag the hue cycle. When my ear the rustic, I fold to trance. Towels we far, and towels we ring, Towels are the tars of the hue cycle! I chart the heat in the grill, I give a like phone, I ring, ring, ring! Towels in my gold just dove drew ring!” Jeremiah whispered, glancing at the penguin for lines. Tears filled his eyes. Gully glared at Jeremiah. The audience roared… with laughter.

Then the play ended. Many people wanted Jeremiah’s autograph, including a famous TikDucker. But Gully pulled him away.

“How could you mess up my play?” Gully asked.

“It isn’t just your play. It’s my play, too,” Jeremiah said, almost tearfully.

“No! How could you ruin your lines? It’s like you did it on purpose! That’s what your ‘paparazzi’ thought,” Gully poured out. He put bitter emphasis on the word paparazzi, almost as if he was jealous.

“It’s not my fault! If you are really my friend, you would forgive me,” Jeremiah defended himself.

“If you were really my friend, you wouldn’t have disgraced me!” Gully cried.

“You’re disgracing yourself right here,” Jeremiah pointed out rudely.

“I get most of the pressure because I’m the director! The paparazzi will come at you.The bad reviews will come at me!” Gully explained impatiently. Soon the birds were arguing.

“Gully, my paparazzi – and everybody else – liked my accidental twist!” Jeremiah was getting very angry. So was Gully.

“Not everybody!” Gully told Jeremiah.

“Well, most people. Because they thought I did it on purpose.”

“You sounded pretty bad,” Gully told Jeremiah angrily.

“Very touching comment from a friend. Or are you still?” Jeremiah asked.

Gully stormed away. Well, that sure answered the question.

Suddenly all Jeremiah wanted to do was curl in his hole, sipping tea and listening to classical music on the radio. Gully was putting away the microphones and costumes. Jeremiah signed the last autograph and flew home.

He brewed tea and cried. Then he flew in the forest and sang out the correct lines. He had known them all along, but had felt stage fright. He sobbed. 

Gully heard him and felt bad. Jeremiah fell asleep in his bed. 

The next day he went in front of Gully’s house, thrust open the door, and sang his solo. Gully grabbed his wing and whispered an apology. Jeremiah looked into the seagull’s earnest brown eyes and fled. An apology! Gully said sorry!

Jeremiah flapped his wings and soared around. Sparsmethius stopped him. Jeremiah expected him to say something bad, but instead he simply said: “You did a good job.”

Jeremiah was shocked.

The sparrow solemnly searched in Jeremiah’s face. Then he flew away.

Jeremiah sipped tea. Then he hunted a bit and practiced his solo for no reason. He felt… good. He thought about everyone. Sparsmethius, Gully, the cast, his mom, his girlfriend. He was proud of himself. He had visited his mom who was at the play and loved it. He had called Juniper, his girlfriend, and she laughed so hard about the messed-up lines that Jeremiah could hear her feathers flying across the room.

I am Jeremiah. An owl. And I am talented, Jeremiah reminded himself, and launched himself into the sky.

The end.

Epilogue

“Three cheers for Jeremiah! Woohoo!” The birds chorused. Penelope the penguin winked at him. Gully smiled.

They were at the cast party.

“Hey Jeremiah. I really liked the play after all. I think you made it better,” A few birds congratulated Jeremiah as he ate fish in a blanket. 

“Wow. Did you know the fourth most viewed and liked TikDucker has your autograph, Jeremiah?” A swan asked. Jeremiah grinned.

“Let’s have a toast to Jeremiah!” Gully exclaimed. Various birds raised their glasses of berry and nut smoothies.

Jeremiah thought back to the play. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. He wished he could do it all over again. 

Perhaps he would get his wish.

Family, Books, Life

There’s only 3 things in life that actually matter: family, books, and life. In short, I have just managed to keep all of them. Oh. You don’t know. Okay, let’s start from the beginning.

It had been a long day. I, Luna, had gone to school, gotten made fun of with my best friend, Maya, had a swim meet, and belly flopped off the diving board. So naturally, I went home, took a looooong hot shower, read some books (I love reading), and drank some hot cocoa. As I snuggled up tightly in my pajamas, I saw something racing past outside the window. I figured it was probably nothing. I had no idea how wrong I was. That night, I had a really weird dream. Someone was mumbling-no, saying-something. 

I think they were saying, “Go to the pond of scum. Go to the pond of scum. Go to the pond of scum. Go to the pond of scum. Go to the pond of scum.” By that time, I was already awake. My body was aching for some reason, and even though I slept a long time, I was impossibly tired. Even though I was awake, I could still hear the repeating voice in my head. After school, I went to Maya and told her about the dream. With a hint of laughter, she said,

  “Maybe, they are referring to an actual pond? Or a lake!” With a jolt, I realized that the “pond of scum” is the Pond Scum Lake nearby! I quickly texted my mom and dad, then jumped on my bike and rode toward the lake, wondering what awaited me at the “pond of scum.” I should’ve known it was not good. When I got there, I immediately looked around, trying to find someone to tell me what to do. 

I suddenly heard, “she’s here,” in a raspy voice. I did not manage to find the attacker but then, I got kidnapped. When I woke up, I found myself in front of a large red throne with a masked, hooded figure. 

“Ah, good. You’re awake. I want to talk to you at dinner. 9:00 tonight,” they said, laughing, in the same raspy voice I heard at the lake. 

Before I could interrupt, they called, “Soldiers,” suddenly serious. Some guards appeared and took me by the arms. Soon, I found myself in a cell. It was completely closed off except for a food slot. I sat on the bed, quietly wondering what he wanted to talk to me about. 

At exactly 8:47 (I have a clock in my cell), the guards slowly opened the door just a crack, and said, “Dinner time!”

They then put a sack on my head, and dragged me out. When they finally stopped, I tried to take the sack off my head. Didn’t work. They plopped me on the gold seat, and took the sack off my head. I was amazed at the beautiful, lavish spread of food that I saw. As I looked around me, I saw a beautiful gold table with the man from before. This time, they were wearing a red cloak, a red and green mask, and pitch black shoes. I considered escaping, but there were guards on either side of me. I smelled food. I was starving! 

While I was shoveling food down my mouth, they said, “I need your help. The people are in danger!” They slowly took off his red and green mask. 

“Maya,” I exclaimed, with my mouth full, scared. “What on earth are you doing here?”

A New Generation Of Skulls

Jack Birkenhead Jr. was on his dad’s pirate ship. He heard drunken yelling blasted into his ears. His dad came and shut them all up. His dad went down to him. 

“Are you okay?” Captain Jack Birkenhead asked.

“I don’t know if I can be a captain like you. I don’t know if I can command people like you can. I don’t know what I can do,” he said.

“You know that I will stop being their captain in a few days, son.”

“I know… I just don’t know what will happen. Maybe they will hate me.”

“Are you scared?”

“No, I’m not scared, just—” As he was talking, an enemy ship came up to them.

“Fire the cannons!” the captain said.

“Yes sir!” they replied.

Jack stood there, mesmerized at how his dad commanded respect.

“C’mon,” said a fellow pirate.

Jack ran up to the firing area. He grabbed a cannonball and slowly walked over to the cannons. The cannonball was so heavy he didn’t know if he could hold it. He felt it slowly loosening from his grip. He put the cannonball in the cannon and it blasted him back. He felt like every step was him being tied down on an anchor. He had a headache and stumbled back. He felt like thousands of thoughts were racing through his head all asking him for attention. He felt like his throat was closing up. He barely stumbled back to the safe area. 

“Where is my son?” the captain announced. 

“Back at the rooms below deck!” the pirates replied. Jack thought that if he was a captain, he could never have this power.

“NO!” he heard the pirates screaming. He ran above deck (he wanted to think it was dramatic running, but it was really just a slow limp). When he finally got above deck, he saw his dad, the thing he loved most in the world, captured by the enemies.

“Give us the ship and destroy it or we will keep your captain hostage.”

“No, don’t do it-” yelled the captain, but he was cut off when they knocked him unconscious.

“If he dies at their hands then we will fulfill his last wish. Never surrender!” the pirates screamed. The enemy ship sailed away. 

“You are the captain now,” the pirates said to Jack. “I will get him back no matter what.” Jack said. “Let’s do this!”

Jack felt guilty his dad was captured because of him and he was going to get revenge.

“Can we track my dad?” Jack asked his fellow pirates in their meeting room. 

“Yes and no,” answered their chief tracker. “We can track the ship but we can’t track your dad. We just have to hope that they keep him on the ship.”

“Where are they?” Jack asked.

“They are probably in the crystal cavern.”

“Where is that?”

“That’s where they sacrifice.”

“Bring us there NOW!”
They journeyed to the crystal cavern, but while they were adventuring they encountered the pirates again.

“Blood!” the enemy pirates screamed.

“Give me a sword,” Jack said to his fellow pirates. One of them handed him a sword. (Jack was excellent in the art of sword fighting.) Jack then jumped onto the ship.

“Where is my father?” Jack asked the pirates.

“Why would we tell you? You only have a sword. We have 24 people and we can just capture you?” the pirates responded.

“You have left me no choice,” Jack said. He jumped forward and started to attack the pirates one by one. Jack sliced and diced. He didn’t kill anyone, he just cut their weapons in half and knocked them unconscious. When he had defeated everyone except for the captain of this ship, he put his sword blade to the enemy captain’s throat and asked, “Where is my father?” 

“Below dec—” The pirate was cut off when he saw Jack’s pirates on deck.

“WHERE?” Jack yelled.

“Below deck.”

“Thank you,” Jack said as he threw him off board. Jack and his crew went below deck to find one room locked. He sliced the door in half with his sword. He smelled the fragrance of lavender showing that the most important people on the ship lived in this cabin. He saw a painting of a man and a woman together. On the side of the room, he saw two well made beds and two pillows with a lace trim on the side. The roof of the room was a brownish-green and some parts of the roof were broken. The floor was a sage color. At the front of the room was a mantle piece flooded with different trophies and spoils of war. At the very top of the mantle, he found a golden crown which had a different gem on each spike. 

Jack snapped back into reality. He looked in front of him and saw his dad tied up and heavily gagged. Two men with shotguns were standing near him. Jack instinctively threw his sword at the first man. The man reacted, but not fast enough. The sword pierced him and he fell to the ground. The second man, in an instant, aimed his gun at Jack. Jack started to run but before he could do anything, he got shot and fell to the ground. The second man tried to reload, but Jack’s crew brought him away and back to their ship.

Jack’s eyes fluttered open and saw that he was back in his bed in his room on the ship. He couldn’t believe that he was a captain now. 

“Tsk, tsk,” said the doctor. Jack looked up to see their doctor cutting open his leg. He tried to stay calm.

What would my dad do? Jack thought. He would keep calm because he was a captain and ask what was happening.

“What is going on here?” Jack asked.

“Do you not remember? You went on their ship and defeated all their pirates, but when you went to the room, your dad was in it and you froze and got shot.” 

“We need to go back and save him!” Jack screamed. “Because it is my fault that he got captured,” he said quietly.

“You cannot do anything now,” the doctor said. 

“I need to do something—”

“YOU GOT SHOT! You cannot do anything now unless you want to get killed. You need to heal,” the doctor commanded.

Jack waited there and fell asleep. He slept for 16 hours. When he woke up he still had a wound, but they had finished the surgery and he could move. Jack left the operating table and went to the battle meeting room. 

“Where are they now?” Jack asked as he limped into the room. 

“They are in the delta stream and moving to the cavern,” Brokeon, their tracker, said before he saw Jack coming into the room. “You can’t fight them,” Brokeon said to Jack. “You will just get killed. We have lost one captain today and we won’t lose another.”

“How are they already at the delta stream?” Jack asked.

“You have been out for 16 hours,” Brokeon replied.

I can’t be the captain, but I will have to keep this crew alive until I can get the real captain back. I am a temporary replacement for the real thing. I cannot lead them, Jack thought.

“We need to go to the cavern. Take the beta stream, then switch to the Iota, and after 31 km go to the alpha stream.”

“It seems we have a captain after all,” Brokeon said.

After 8 hours, both of the ships were at the mouth of the cave. They started to fire at each other. Jack and Brokeon jumped off and landed into a pool of water. They quickly ran from the water to the entrance of the cavern. Jack looked into the cavern to see his dad tied up at the back of it. He ran forward even though his leg was injured. The cavern looked unreal. On the floor there were brilliant shining blue crystals. There were potholes and in the middle there was a stream with steaming blue water.

“Leave him alone!” Jack screamed at the top of his lungs. Brokeon tried to calm him down, but he couldn’t do anything. He was carrying a long and bent wooden pole from the ship.

“Use it to hop over the boiling water with it and free your dad!” Brokeon said while giving Jack a sword. Jack used it and jumped over. As he flung himself over he heard a crack and snap. Brokeon then used it. 

“So they can’t get back,” he said. Brokeon knew it would crack. He started to jump over, but he thought he would jump over and be safe. As he was jumping over, it snapped. As he was falling instead of saving himself he took out the last piece of it and handed it to Jack. Brokeon fell into the steaming water. Jack fell to his knees, screaming. He then started to run over to the two men and his dad. To any normal person with an injured leg, after being splashed by boiling water and running on crystal they would fall over and die, but not Jack. Jack was fueled by anger and sadness. He was faster than he had ever been, even with a shot leg, and he crossed the 100 meter gap in a matter of a few seconds. Jack was only armed with a sword and piece of wood, but he was going to save his father. The two men next to his father were the same two men that had shotguns before. Behind the two men was a massive chasm and a drop so deep that no one could see the bottom.

“I see you are the person that stabbed me with a sword,” the first man said to Jack. He had a massive patch on his chest that was bandaged up and blood was seeping through. Both of the men were in fancy clothes. 

“I see you are the person who shot me,” Jack said to the second man. As the man was looking at Jack’s leg, Jack swung the piece of wood and got the gun stuck in it. Jack immediately pulled it back and grabbed the gun. He then smacked the first man in the wound with the piece of wood and backed away. The first man fell into the chasm and now Jack had a shotgun and sword. 

“Your shotgun isn’t even loaded,” the second man cackled. “I knew he was going to die.”

Jack looked at the gun and realized it wasn’t just a shotgun, it was a bayonet. With the bayonet, he cut his dad free while keeping his sword pointed at the second man.

“Why haven’t you just shot me?” Jack asked the second man. 

“Because you remind me of my son.” The second man snapped back into reality and aimed his gun at Jack. By this time the captain was free and had the bayonet in his hand. Jack lunged at the man and pushed his gun downwards with Jack’s sword. The captain stabbed the man’s arm with his bayonet. The man screamed and shot the captain, who fell to the ground. Jack rushed to his side. Jack felt that his dad was alive and before he could get up he felt a cold metal circle placed on the side of his head. The gun.

“It’s over, little boy,” the man said. He was about to shoot when Jack stabbed him in the chest. The man fell backwards but he was still alive. Now, Jack had lost his immediate adrenaline and his leg wound was starting to hurt again. With every step forward, he felt a jolting pain in his leg that stretched up to his chest. The man was also in pain, but was able to shoot Jack’s hand. Jack dropped the sword in the chasm and fell down to his dad.

“Now it’s over,” the man said. Before he could shoot Jack, Jack took the bayonet from his dad and stabbed the man who fell into the chasm. Jack carried his dad and they limped back to the river. Jack saw a bridge made by his fellow pirates over the boiling river. All of them were singing in celebration that their captain was saved and mourning that Brokeon had died.They walked across the bridge and the captain muttered something. Both of them dropped a gold coin in the water to commemorate Brokeon, and got back on the boat. As they were on the bow of the ship the captain said, “Remember you were going to take my place? Well now you did, captain.” Jack Senior and his son, the new captain, both smiled.

From Earth to Mars

On the planet Arth everyone speaks Onglish. This story has been translated to English from Onglish…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAA,” screamed Ethan. It was another one of those coffee floods that happened about once in about six months. I had only lived for six months, but I was getting tired of it. I asked a coffee company, Coffee Mate, if  their coffee contains any harmful ingredients. The bitterness that came from the coffee was really bad. 

I asked my friends, Ethan and Evan if they wanted to come along too and we all agreed. We had to prepare many things such as taking the lizard’s cage out of its place, building a spaceship, having 9,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of oil and having to find a person with an IQ of 194 or higher. We decided to work together on one thing at a time. But after trying to take the lizard’s cage off, we basically gave up on that step until we did all of it.

We found a really good fuel source with 1,000,000,000,000,000 gallons for just a dollar. So we carried out 9,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of fuel with the help of Eddie Hall and Brian Shaw who are the strongest men in the world to help us. So we only spent $9. We bought it in Delaware so there aren’t taxes. We went around the world to find someone with about 300,000 IQ. After about 10 years we found one person with that. Most people would say their IQ is very high but when they got tested the IQ was usually 2 and rarely 3. When we found the right person, we asked him if I knew the basics and principles of building a spaceship. He said that the only metal that could hold together in this cold space is titanium. But in the world, titanium was expensive. So we went to the nearest bank and pleaded for money. After 7 hours of that, we got our first $1000 dollars. We asked Ictor, a smart guy who lived nearby, what to do, and we came up with a very simple solution: steal money from a bank. We got paint guns and wore all black and covered everything but our eyes. This way we don’t need to go to court.

We had brown eyes and I was sure there were at least 7.9 billion other people with brown eyes. I got him some weapons such as axes and swords for protection and getting into the vault. “Where is the big vault with tI $1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (one billion trillion thousand.)?” “Oh, we just need to break everything in the bank down until we find it! Easy!” When we broke everything down we finally found the vault. We tried opening with their weapons but that didn’t work. “Our weapons are too not sharpened!” I told Ethan and Evan. “Good thing I brought my sharpener!” said Evan.

After we sharpened all of our weapons we tried again. The metal easily got ripped by the sword blade. And after almost no effort, the metal was completely open. And then, before his eyes, there was so much money. He loved it.  He got some bags and filled it with money. When they were done, they carried it to the car which was a huge pain. So they found a trolley borrowing center and they took that. They didn’t spend any money on it because the manager let them just take it because they had so much money. So when they brought it to the titanium store, they used all of it. They had the exact money. So they brought the titanium to the smart person and he started building right away. When he was at the last piece the whole thing broke down. 

“NOOOOOO,”  we were doomed.

Suddenly the water fountain beside them exploded and the whole town exploded with water again. Thankfully titanium is coffee resistant, but not thankfully, they had to build the whole ship again. The spaceship took so long to build but now, all of that work for nothing. Later, he realized that only one of the pieces of titanium was too sharp and that is how the thing collapsed. 

“Ten months of working and no progress made,” said Ethan. 

After they figured out the problem and finished the spaceship, they started to put the oil in the spaceship.

“Dum dee doo de da,” sang Ethan. When they finally put all of the oil in the spaceship, they started trying to pull the lizard’s cage off the ground. They called Eddie Hall and Brian Shaw to come over and help. They had to use all their strength to just lift the cage off the ground. After they did so, they went on the spaceship and took off.

9 MONTHS LATER: ON MARS

Evan and Ethan and Ethan were at the beach on Mars and were really relaxed. The calm sea and the red martian soil/sand was really soothing and he never wanted to leave the beach named Red Beach. They were looking at the sea and trying to burn their skin but it was very impossible on the beach because on Mars it was really cold. He was a lot taller than before. After all, he was 6 months old and now he is 25. Also, he got glasses. While he was building the spaceship, something went wrong and now without his glasses, he needs to go very close to see something clearly. They all thought ‘I wonder how it is on Earth. Should we have stayed on Earth, or should we have left?’ The sun was slowly going down and down, and they all slowly packed up and went home and never lived on Earth again.

THE END

The Weeping Willow

Trees are our lungs. That’s what Willow would tell me as we’d lie under the big oak tree out front. Hand in hand, we’d watch the clouds pass and the leaves blow. Occasionally one of us would point to a cloud, calling out what it looked like. The other would squint her eyes and try to see it. I could never see what Willow saw in the clouds. Hi, my name is Grace. Although I was never that graceful; that was Willow’s job. If we were animals she’d be a gazelle, prancing around majestically. Anyways, I’m 11 years old, and I think that if I were an animal I’d be a turtle. “You just need to come out of your shell!” She would say enthusiastically. 

“It’s not that easy. You don’t even have a shell to come out of!” I’d respond. 

Then she’d do a backflip or a front handspring or something, as if to say “Obviously”. She and I had this discussion many times.

This started on a spring day in late May. I woke up early, got dressed, and left for school. I didn’t bother having breakfast. I decided I’d buy a granola bar at the newsstand on the way to school. Of course, I forgot that they closed down the stand that weekend. After a breakfast of disgusting lime flavored yogurt from the cafeteria, I put my bag in my locker and made my way to homeroom. My teacher was droning on and on, and I was so tired I fell asleep right there on my desk. She had to wake me up, and by the time I realized what had happened the whole class was laughing at me. I hate being the center of attention. To make matters worse, Alyssa, my arch-enemy, started telling everyone. 

After English, Math, and Spanish, I made my way to gym class. I was crossing my fingers that we’d play dodgeball, because there’d be so much chaos I could waltz over to the girls bathroom when Ms. Jones wasn’t looking and spend the period reading instead. Instead, we played soccer, and she made me the goalie! Lunch, which followed P.E., wasn’t much of an improvement. I spilled a sloppy joe all over the front of my shirt, and by the time I had walked through the door of my bedroom I was exhausted, not to mention I had stains on my shirt and my hair was a mess. I changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, then collapsed onto my bed.

I stayed in bed until my mom called me for dinner. I trudged over to the table and sat down. I started eating my pasta and my parents exchanged a glance. “Um–is there something wrong?” I asked, hesitantly. 

My mother sighed. “Sweetie, we know that you’ve been having a hard time at school this year.” 

Of course I have! I thought, but instead I just nodded. 

My dad cleared his throat and continued. “We think it would be a good idea to give you a fresh start.” I didn’t say anything, but I started fantasizing about what it would be like to go to school away from my tormentors, Alyssa and her group of followers.

I took a deep breath and said, “I’ll think about it, but I think it would be nice to go to a different school next year.” 

My parents exchanged another glance, and my dad spoke up. “Gracie, it wouldn’t be for the next school year, it would be for the summer. And, it’s not a choice. You’ll leave the Sunday after school ends.”

I looked up from my food. “Wait, what?? I’m spending the summer away?? Who am I even going with??” 

My mother said “that’s the other thing we want to talk to you about. You’ll spend the summer with my sister, Esme.” I scrunched up my face, trying to remember her from the family gatherings. My mom, reading my expression, said “Oh come on, you know Aunt Esme! She was at Thanksgiving last year!” Finally I nodded, vaguely remembering a  middle aged woman who sat across from me, who asked me to pass the cranberry sauce, and scolded Willow when she spit out her sparkling apple juice laughing. This was not who I wanted to spend the summer with. 

“Well-well- I won’t go! You can’t make me!” 

My dad stood up. “Oh yes you will.” He said, in his most stern voice. “You will have a great time, and you will learn new things.” Without a word, I stormed out of the room.

I ran into my room and flopped onto my bed with a satisfying flop. If Willow was here, she’d sit on the foot of my bed, give me a big hug, and tell me everything was okay. I got up and put my ear to the door. I could hear my parents muffled voices, but I could tell that no one was coming. Trying to be as silent as possible, I walked over to my bookshelf. I pulled over a chair and felt around on the top shelf until I found it. I got down, moved the chair back, and sat down on my bed. Then I started drawing. I had never been the creative one, that was Willow. She’d put on plays, write stories, and sew clothing, while I’d be the stage manager, check her grammar, or let her dress me up like a mannequin. I had always been the one who never spoke, who sat quietly in a corner reading. But when I drew, those pieces of imagination that I thought I had lacked came flowing out. Worlds of color and beauty right there on the page.

                 I could never tell anyone this, though. Like I said, this was Willow’s sort of thing. They’d probably all laugh at me, I thought. I kept sketching in that old composition book until I heard a knock on the door. Quickly, I stuffed the notebook in my pillowcase, right as my dad walked through the door to my bedroom. 

“Hey, kiddo.” He said, ruffling my hair. Immediately I got up and combed it back into place. My dad continued, “I just want to let you know that your mom and I are doing this for your own good.” I rolled my eyes at that. My dad took a deep breath. “Your mom and I have an idea. You can  spend 3 weeks there, and then we’ll come up and if you still want to leave you can, but if you want to stay, that’s also fine. No judgment.” 

“Ok, sure. Well goodnight.” I said, without making eye contact. 

He smiled. “Goodnight, Gracie.”  He said. After that I drifted off to sleep.

The next two weeks of school were a rush of standardized tests, assemblies, field days, and popsicles. Finally, the Sunday after the last day of school came. I sat on our porch, taking in the smell of the freshly mowed grass, the sound of honeybees pollinating, the feeling of the sun on my face. Summer I thought. At precisely 9:33 a.m, a black car pulled into the driveway. 

 A middle aged woman wearing jeans, a black blouse, and fancy ankle boots stepped out, with her hair neatly pulled into a bun perched on the top of her head. 

My own mom was wearing a striped shirt and shorts that went to her knees, complete with dirty sneakers from working in the garden. She wore a sun hat and her hair sat on her shoulders. At first I couldn’t see any resemblance. 

My mom had dark brown hair like me, while Aunt Esme had dirty blonde hair. My mom had tan skin, freckles, and callused hands, while Aunt Esme had pale, perfect skin and perfectly manicured nails. But after they had a tight hug, I could see their identical smiles. 

Finally, Aunt Esme walked over to me and smiled. “Hi, Aunt Esme.” I said hesitantly. 

She laughed, but it sounded forced. “Hi, Grace. Do you need any help with your luggage?” 

I looked at my duffel bag and backpack loaded with clothes and books. “No, that’s ok.” I said. 

After a moment of silence, my mom swooped in and said “Esme, why don’t you come in for a cup of coffee?” I followed my mom and Aunt Esme into the house and sat with them, sipping lemonade as they had their coffee. 

About 15 minutes later, Aunt Esme stood up, brushed herself off and turned to my mom. “It’s been lovely, Rachel, but we should go if we want to get back to my house before noon.” My mom stood up too and walked us outside. I hauled my duffel bag into the trunk of Aunt Esme’s car and tossed my backpack in the back seat. After a series of tight hugs from my mom and dad and reassurance from Aunt Esme, we got in the car and pulled out of the driveway.

The whole drive Aunt Esme and I didn’t talk much, except for “I’m stopping for gas, do you want anything from the convenience store?” 

To which I replied “No, thanks.” Finally, at 12:47 pm (we had in fact been caught in traffic), we turned right and drove up to a two story house that overlooked a lake. I thought about Aunt Esme, all shiny and fancy, living in an old house in the middle of nowhere. I would have thought that she lived in a luxury apartment! 

As if reading my mind, Aunt Esme just shrugged and said “It’s my summer home. Would you like to come see your room?” The guest bedroom, which was where I would be staying, had a big canopy bed with soft pillows and a pale blue bedspread. The walls had white wallpaper with little blue flowers, and there was a white vanity, a white dresser, a white desk, and hardwood floors covered by a pale blue carpet that matched the bedspread. What really got my attention though, was a window seat overlooking the lake. 

“It’s perfect.” I marveled. 

Aunt Esme looked at me and smiled, and was about to open her mouth to say something, but she snapped back into reality.  “Grace, would you like some lunch? I need to go shopping, we can do that this afternoon, but I have sandwich things.” I put a hand on my growling stomach and followed her downstairs. Over a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches, Aunt Esme told her that they would go to town today to pick up some groceries, and for an “orientation” as she put it. After lunch I got a tour of the house, and then we went back in the car and went to town. 

Millstone (I learned that was the name of the town) was so bright and vibrant. It had cute little shops, and everyone knew each other.  I was once again surprised about where Aunt Esme lived.  After shopping we got dinner and ice cream. We arrived back at the house around 9:00 p.m. 

Aunt Esme worked on an article she was writing while I watched TV and ate candy I had bought from a store in the center of town. 

A little while later I climbed up the stairs. I had unpacked earlier, and I got my sketchbook out of the drawer in the wardrobe that I had hidden it in. I sat down on the window seat and started drawing. I drew the lake, I drew the birds, I drew the trees, and I drew the moon. As soon as I picked up a pencil a calm washed over me. 

The next morning I woke up in the window seat with my sketchbook in my lap and my pencil behind my ear. I was still in my clothes from the day before. walked over to the wardrobe, got dressed, and put my notebook back in its hiding place. I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, where I found Aunt Esme sitting at the kitchen table typing away on her computer. When she saw me she looked up, closed her computer, walked over to the stove, and put a plate of eggs, bacon, sausages, mini muffins, and even a doughnut in front of me. My eyes widened. I looked up at Aunt Esme who blushed and said “I wasn’t sure what you liked.”

After devouring breakfast, Aunt Esme told me that her friend who lived nearby was going to come over around 11:00 for brunch. “I want you to be on your best behavior.” she warned. Ah yes, the Thanksgiving “Get Some Towels To Clean Up The Mess You Made Young Lady” Aunt Esme was back. I went up to my room to make my bed. After that was done, I walked outside with my new book to look for good reading spaces. After making three loops around the house I decided on a little lawn chair next to the lake. Enough sun that I wouldn’t get cold on the chillier days, and enough shade so I wouldn’t come back to the house sunburned all over. 

I stared up at the trees. Willow would have loved this place, just sitting here writing or doing cartwheels or splashing me, even if I specifically said “Don’t splash me!” I must have gotten lost in my thoughts, or fallen asleep, but before I knew it it was 11:07 and Aunt Esme was calling out “Grace! Come meet Ms. Smith!” Ms. Smith was a tall woman who looked a lot like Aunt Esme. She was the editor for the Millstone Gazette. 

After introducing myself and bringing them some iced tea (“What a polite little girl!” Ms. Smith remarked), I headed back to the chair for my book. I was just about to sit down when I saw a flash of red. 

I whirled around, looking for animals, when I heard an unmistakable crunch of dead leaves. I grabbed my book and suspiciously followed the sound. I came to a patch in the woods, and realizing that there was nothing or no one there I sighed and turned around, when a girl with auburn hair popped her head out from behind a tree. “Hi!” she exclaimed.  I screamed. Obviously not noticing that, she said “I’m Maggie!” 

“H-hi.” I whispered. “Um- I’m Grace.”  

“Cool! Do you live here?” Maggie replied. 

“N-no. I’m spending the summer up here, with my Aunt Esme.” 

Maggie’s big smile decreased a little, but she nodded. “Ok. Do you want to come over and have popsicles?” 

I nodded and said “I’ll go ask my aunt.” 

On the walk over to Maggie’s house, I learned that Maggie was going into 6th grade just like me, Maggie had been the lead in the musical for the last two years, and that Maggie had  two older sisters and one older brother. As they got their popsicles out of the freezer, Maggie asked “Do you have any siblings?” 

I hesitated but said “No, I’m an only child.”

 Maggie nodded. “My oldest sister Sophie, she’s 17, and a perfect dancer, and right now she’s boarding at some fancy ballet school in New York City. She’ll be home in a week though! My brother Sam is 15, and QB on the highschool football team. He thinks he’s so awesome. Really, he just stinks up the house,” she said, elbowing a teenage boy walking past us. She licked her popsicle and said “Wanna go out back?”

I followed Maggie to the backyard. After Maggie took another lick of her popsicle and said “Then you have my 14 year old sister Olivia. She’s Miss. Popularity, cheer captain, she’s been the class president since 6th grade, and she’ll never let anyone forget it. She may seem sweet, but she’s the devil in disguise. Then you have me, Maggie. I have absolutely no athletic ability, but I sing and act and play piano. Last year I got a solo for the school-wide concert! I think that’s why my sister Sophie and I get along so well. We’re both performers. She got into Wellesley, and is going to continue dancing at the Boston School of Ballet.”

 Once I finished processing this information, I asked “Hey, what time is it?” 

Maggie checked her watch and said “11:53 am.” 

I jumped up. “Aunt Esme said I have to be home by noon!” 

Maggie just shrugged and said “Relax, we’ll get there on time! Come on!” Us two girlsjogged back to Aunt Esme’s house. We arrived at 11:58. I waved to Aunt Esme. 

“Bye, Grace!” Maggie called out. I gave a sort of wave and rushed inside. 

Once inside Aunt Esme started asking questions. “How was it? Did you have fun? What’s that girl’s name again…”  After Aunt Esme was satisfied with the answers I had provided, she handed me a bowl of mac n’ cheese. I picked up a spoonful of the cheesy, gloopy pasta, and tears came to my eyes. Aunt Esme turned around and said “What’s wrong? Is it burned? Or should I have not made it al dente?” 

I wiped the tears off her cheek and said “No, it’s fine, it looks delicious, it’s just…” I took a deep breath. “This was Willow’s favorite food. I haven’t eaten it since-” 

Without a word Aunt Esme whisked it away and put it in the fridge. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I had no idea. I’ll tell you what, what if I eat it for dinner?” 

I nodded and said in a quiet voice. “Ok.” 

Aunt Esme asked, “Would you like a quesadilla?” 

I shook my head and stood up “I’m actually not hungry anymore.”  

I trudged upstairs and sat at my window seat with my sketchbook. Even though it was only noon, I felt exhausted. Everytime my eyelids dropped I snapped myself out of it, but I finally fell into a deep sleep. 

I woke up around 2:00 am. I went downstairs to get a snack. Finally settling on some chocolate chip cookies, I sat down, nibbling around the edges. 

After I finished, I went back upstairs and tucked myself in. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t sleep. After 3 hours of light sleep on and off, I pulled on a hoodie andgrabbed my sketchbook. As quietly as possible, I opened the door and stepped outside into the crisp morning air. The sun was just rising, and I watched the light bounce off the lake and the leaves.

I walked over to my little spot near the woods, I opened my notebook, and grabbed my pencil. I tried to think of things to draw, but the vibrant colors didn’t spill out like they did the other day. I closed my eyes and turned my head up. When I opened my eyes, I saw the leaves. I managed to sketch every one with veins and details. When I finally finished, I slammed my notebook shut and looked around. And standing right next to me was Aunt Esme. 

As soon as I made eye contact with her I stuffed my notebook under my hoodie. “Oh, um, Aunt Esme!” I said as cheerfully as possible. I continued.“Um, what are you doing? Did you see-” 

Aunt Esme put her hand up. “Grace, I saw you drawing, and you’re really good!” 

I looked down and blushed. “I never meant for anyone to see that.” I said quietly. “Willow was always the creative one. People would laugh at me if I showed them.” 

Aunt Esme looked me straight in the eye. “Grace, am I laughing? No, I’m observing this beautiful piece of art that you made. I bet if we showed this to your parents when they come in two weeks they wouldn’t laugh. They would be taken back by your beautiful art skills. I bet if we showed this to Maggie she wouldn’t laugh. She’d probably call it a work of fine art and put on a play based on it.” I smiled at that last one. Yep, that sounded like Maggie.

“The world needs artists like you, Grace! They need artists like you to show them beauty and affection. They need artists like you to sew the world back together when it’s broken in pieces. So what if Willow was also creative. I think that your parents would be pretty proud to say that they had two smart, creative, adventurous daughters. Now get dressed! I’m taking you out for breakfast at the diner in town.” 

At the thought of breakfast I leapt to my feet, but before I ran back into the house I looked at Aunt Esme. “Thank you.” I whispered. 

Aunt Esme pulled me into a tight hug. “Anytime.” She said, smiling. After a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and sausages, Aunt Esme took me to a crafting store in town and gave me $25. “I’ll be in the visitor’s center across the street, since I want to pick up the newspaper. Wait outside when you’re done, ok?” I nodded and ran into the cool, air conditioned store.

I marveled at all of the supplies. It took 15 minutes, but I finally decided to buy a 100 page sketchbook, a pack of charcoal pencils, regular drawing pencils, and even fancy watercolors! I paid and was walking down the street with Aunt Esme when I ran into Maggie. “Hi!” She exclaimed and said “hey, do you want to come over later to swim? It’s supposed to be REALLY hot today!” I looked at Aunt Esme who nodded in approval. 

Around 3:00 I headed over to Maggie’s house and rang the doorbell. A teenage girl wearing a cheer uniform answered the door. “H-hi. I’m Grace, Maggie invited me?”

The girl (who I assumed was Olivia) rolled her eyes, said “she’s out back,” and left, staring at her phone. I walked through the house to the backyard, where I found Maggie running through the sprinklers with a girl who looked like a college student. 

When Maggie saw me she jumped up and said “Sophie came back a day early!” She gestured towards the girl. Sophie walked towards me and introduced herself. After I changed into my bathing suit, all three of us cannon-balled into their part of the lake and swam to the floating dock, taking turns pushing each other off and going down the water slide. It was the most fun I’d had in a while. After 2 hours of swimming,  we raced back to the shore and dried off. 

“So, Grace.” Sophie said “Do you have any siblings?” 

Before I could open my mouth Maggie said “She’s an only child.” 

“Lucky!” said Sophie, elbowing Maggie. I smiled at the two sisters. 

“I should probably go home now,” I said, “It’s getting late.”. 

Sophie smiled at me and gave me a hug. “Sure! Do you want us to walk you there?” 

“No, that’s ok.” I replied simply. “I’m ok.” 

I arrived at home and found Aunt Esme standing outside the door with her hands on her hips. “Where were you?” she asked. 

“At Maggie’s house!” I exclaimed. 

“It’s 6:02! I told you to be back by 5:45! I was scared to death! I thought you had been mauled by a bear!” 

“Well, I’m here now,” I said. “God, Grace,” I thought, “when did you get so bold!”

Aunt Esme rolled her eyes and said “Don’t scare me like that again. But come inside, you must be starving.”

While I ate my spaghetti and meatballs, I told Aunt Esme all about Sophie and Maggie. Aunt Esme smiled. “Seems like you’re having fun up here!” she commented. 

I slid off the chair. “Oh, no. I’m definitely not having fun.”

I wasn’t having fun, but everyday I went swimming with Maggie and Sophie and walked downtown to get ice cream. I wasn’t having fun, but every night I made drawings and showed them to Aunt Esme. I wasn’t having fun, but every night I stared up at the stars, counting every one I could see. 

About a week after Aunt Esme caught me drawing, she had a guest come over for tea. She said that her name was Ms. Martins, and that she was a bit uptight. Aunt Esme also asked that I was on my best behavior. But at least Maggie could come over! Ms. Martins looked a lot older than Aunt Esme, like she could be a grandmother. I served the ladies tea, and then went down to the lake with Maggie. It was too cold to swim, so we were just hanging out.  Suddenly, I started hearing snippets of their conversation. Yes, Grace. What was her twin’s name? I held up a finger, signally for Maggie to be quiet. 

“Ah yes, Willow,” I heard  Ms. Martins say. “Yes, I met that girl once, didn’t I? Never liked her.” I stood up and dusted myself off and slowly walked towards Ms. Martins and Aunt Esme, Maggie following me. I could hear Ms. Martins talking. “Honestly, Esme, she was too rowdy. Too loud. Back in my day girls were quiet and nice. Willow is… not that. And she had absolutely no manners. Honestly that girl looked like a pig, shoveling food down her mouth.”

That was the last straw. I stood up, grabbed Ms. Martin’s teacup, and threw it on the ground. I felt my ears get hot, and I felt a burst of energy that I never had before. And then I screamed.

 “HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT! YOU DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL WILLOW A PIG, WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE ONE YOURSELF! YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, IF YOU PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG IT’S STILL A PIG! YOU’RE THE EXAMPLE OF THAT!” 

By the time I finished, my throat hurt and there were tears streaming down my face. Ms. Martins looked like she was about to faint. Maggie looked like she was holding back a laugh. After a few seconds we all came to our senses. Ms. Martins grabbed her purse, whacked me in the arm with it, yelled “Good day!” and walked to her car. Before Aunt Esme could say anything, I ran into the woods, Maggie running after me, and I curled into a ball on the forest ground. I cried and cried and cried. I curled myself into a ball so tight I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It felt like the walls were caving in on me. It felt like my lungs had exploded. 

Finally, Maggie caught up to me. “Are you okay?” She asked. “What’s wrong?” And right then, the words just came tumbling out. 

Willow and I were not twins. I was born at 11:55 pm on December 28th. She was born at  12:03 am on December 29th. We were both preemies. Three pound Grace and three and a half pound Willow. I needed a machine to breathe for me. Willow got to go home three weeks before me, and apparantly she was never happy until I came home.  We were inseparable. But then came 5th grade. 

Alyssa got worse and worse, and Willow wasn’t able to stand up for me. Around October Willow was diagnosed with leukemia. She fought so hard. After all the injections, she rubbed her arm and brushed it off. After losing her hair to chemo, she laughed. After all the pain, she managed to put a smile on her face. We thought she would make it, but mid-February she passed away. I had always been shy, but I would barely talk. It felt like there was a hole in my heart. Willow had taught me about everything from trees and nature to fashion design and gymnastics. 

After talking about all of this, I realized something. Until I had come up  to this tiny little town of Millstone, I had been sad and lonely all of the time. But up here I was happy. I made new friends. And although Willow would always be a part of my life, and I would always love her, the gap in my heart was starting to be filled. With Maggie. With Sophie. With Aunt Esme. 

A week later my parents came up to Millstone. After ice-cream, it was decision time. “So, Gracie, do you want to come home?” My dad said. 

I took a deep breath. “I want to stay here for the summer. I’m away from Alyssa. I’ve made friends. I have Aunt Esme. And I’m happy.”

After getting over their surprise, my parents gave me a tight hug and drove away. “I have something for you!” Aunt Esme said. She pulled out of her purse a copy of the Millstone Gazette, with a drawing on the front page. I looked closely and I noticed that it was my drawing of the tree! “The world needs to see your art, Grace!” Aunt Esme said. I hugged the newspaper close to my chest. I loved Millstone. Up here, I had the memory of Willow surrounding me. Up here I could finally breathe. 

Because trees are our lungs. Don’t chop us down.

Things of the Lost River

Shards of glass bottles

fragments of old toys

float and flow

alongside the broken hearts 

discarded dreams 

thoughts and ideas   

cast aside.

The lost river

is made of loss, grief, sorrow

and the image

that the unfixable

is truly unfixable

Alas 

the unfixable is fixable

If only you spark hope

you can bring the dead things 

of the river

back alive

If you can spark the hope

The Lost River

can be found once more

Breakaway

1


My father’s long, pale, fingers slide across the keyboard, creating a familiar melody. Her song.  My hands slip on the long knife, fingers wet with tears. 

“Papa?” 

My father turns. His eyes are bloodshot.

“Papa?” I repeat. 

His voice is barely audible, raspy and weak.

“She’s gone.”

“To where?” I whisper. “Where has she gone?”

“I don’t know,” he says, “but she’s never coming back.”

****

The house feels quiet without her. Her long gowns, and those eyes that have countless untold secrets behind them. I open the door to her room, which is neatly organized into sections. 

My father’s side of the room houses framed sheet music and stacked clothes. Tissues covered in blood litter the floor, and the rancid smell of vomit wafted from the adjoining bathroom.

The other half of the large room is my mother’s. Each piece of antique furniture is spotless, each dress in her polished closet is unharmed, and frankly, looks like it was barely worn. Her bathroom radiates cleanliness and the distinct smell of lavender. 

In the center of the room is a large, king sized bed, with two little tables flanking each side. A small book lies on the pale sheets. I take it cautiously, eyes roving across the floral cover. There’s no protection on it – no lock, no password. It opens at my touch.

Hurriedly, I snap it shut and run across the hall to my room. I know it’s irrational, but somehow, it feels like she’s still here, watching me. Like her body – her spirit – has inhabited this house long enough to make a lasting impression. 

I rush across the hall to my bedroom and punch in the combination for the small safe next to my bed. I quickly shove the book in and slam the door. I can hear the sound of my father heaving on the bottom floor, and turn my head to check the time. 18:27. Dinner. 

The sound of my feet clomping down the stairs startles Freddie, my chubby orange cat who enjoys napping on the banister. I think that he senses that something is wrong in this house – though that may be because my mother usually feeds him. His eyes narrow, and he lets out a small hiss before falling back asleep. 

I can see my father lying on the floor, eyelids flickering. 

I run towards him, picking up his limp body and placing it on the couch. 

I check his pulse. Still breathing. 

“Matilda?” he whispers.

“Yes, Papa?”

“I’m tired.” 

I smile weakly. 

“Get some sleep,” I say. “I’ll make some food.”

As I begin to walk towards the kitchen, I realize something. 

“Jamie?” I yell. 

I forgot about my brother.

I sprint past my father, who is passed out on the couch, back up the stairs, and into my little brother’s room. 

“Hey, Jamie… are you ok? I’m making dinner, it’ll be ready soon…”

Silence.

“Jamie?”

I hear quiet sobs coming from the closet.

Jamie is curled in the fetal position, resting on a pile of clothes. 

“Hey, J…” 

I wrap my arms around his shivering body. 

“I’m making mac and cheese – your favorite!”

He sniffles and wipes his nose. 

“Tilda? Where – where is she?”

I close my eyes, trying to hold back tears.

“I don’t know.”

“But you always know! You always know!” he rasps.

“This time, I don’t. Now come with me. You can have dessert before and after dinner.”

My brother picks at his food. His tongue is bright blue from the lollipop he had while I was cooking. 

I smile and pat him gently on the head.

“Eat,” I scold.  “You don’t want a stomachache, do you?” 

He scowls, but starts to spoon his mouth full of pasta. 

“Petra?” My father opens his eyes and looks around. 

“No, Papa. It’s only me,” I say. “Would you like me to make you a plate?” 

He nods, and I bustle around the kitchen to get him his dinner. 

“Wait!” exclaims my brother as I start to head over to my dad. 

I turn. 

“It could be contagious. You haven’t been hugging him or anything, have you?”

Sometimes, even though I’d never tell him, I think my 9-year-old brother might be smarter than me. 

I pull the collar of my green sweater over my nose and mouth, and proceed to give my father the food. 

“Now, be careful there,” I say to Papa. “Eat as much as you like. If you feel nauseous, take a break. Ok?”

He gives me a small, forced, smile as he grabs his fork and digs in. 

***

I tuck Jamie into bed and extinguish the candle by his bedside table. My father’s digestive system and the macaroni clearly didn’t get along – the heaving in the downstairs bathroom is louder than ever. But I leave him alone. At this point, I can’t do much more than feed him and clean his vomit off the floor. I need to focus on getting out of this godforsaken place – and finding her. 

Later that night, I sit on my bed, running my fingers across the cover of the book. The door to my room is locked, and I finally feel like her ever-present eyes have closed for the night, and she can’t see what I’m about to do.

I open the book and begin to read.

            2 – The Diary


04.09.93 23:47 am

The stars are gorgeous tonight. It’s just the right temperature.

I could see Jeb through the glass. He’s bent over, working in the field. I haven’t spoken to him since graduation. 

I look up at the ceiling as if it holds all the answers.  

I can hear my parents arguing through the thin walls of our flat. 

There was a knock on my window. 

“Jeb?” I asked.

He taped a note to the window, winked, and climbed downwards, out of sight.

The note was a love song. I can feel the tears threatening to spill over as I tear it into small pieces. I can’t be distracted by a silly serenade.

Do I love him? I’m not sure. 

But even if I did, I couldn’t. 

Shouldn’t.

David Foster. 

That’s his name. 

From what I’ve heard, he seems like a stand-up guy. Plays piano. Likes animals. Rich. That’s good enough for my parents – and I guess it should be good enough for me.

Dearest Diary, you feel like the only thing that will listen to me these days. I haven’t even talked to Imani in weeks. 

As much as I miss Jeb, I miss her more. She’d be able to talk me out of being my usual stupid self. 

Yesterday, I tried to send her a letter. My parents found it. I don’t know what the sudden change in heart is all about. Up until recently, I was allowed to hang out with Imani whenever I wanted. 

Between her big brother being in the army, and the security systems on the house, safety was certainly never an issue. 

I feel like I’m going mad without them. 

You know what?

I don’t care what my parents say. They marry me off to some nerdy loner for the extra cash.

If I ever have kids, I’ll NEVER  treat them the way my parents treat me.

I’m better than that.

I’m better than them.

And, tomorrow, darling Diary,

I’m going to find my friends.

3


I look up, eyes wide. 

I feel like I violated her trust – and David Foster?
That’s my dad.

I never knew that they had an arranged marriage – but it explains a lot. The long silences, the cold stares.  

But something that I never thought would happen just did. 

I feel like I can relate to my mother.

That determination. Knowing something’s up, 

Even though I may not be as close to her as I am to my father, I’ve  idolized her.

Thought she was perfect.

It’s funny, really. How she complains about her parents. How she says she’ll never be like them. But she is them. Almost an exact carbon copy. 

The materialistic hunger. The tight leash she holds her children on. 

But somehow, I admire her even more than before.

At least I understand her motives, her spirit.

I feel a sudden rush of anger.

Even if she didn’t love my dad, that gives her no right to leave him – us – in the time that we need her most. 

Through my anger, a sudden idea flashes in my mind. It’s odd that I didn’t see this immediately. 

My mom didn’t grow up here. She was born in the town of Milesea. And it sounds like this man that my mom liked, Jeb, grew up there too. 

So I’m going to get there. 

***

I stand in front of the van shop. Billy stares back at me defiantly.

“How many times do I have to say this? I want to rent a van.

“Kid, how many times do I have to say this? You’re a minor. You can’t rent.”

I sigh. This is my last resort.

I slap a large wad of bills on the table. 

It’s now Billy’s turn to sigh.

“Do you want it furnished?” 

An hour later, I leave the store in a large camper van. The inside had been renovated a few months earlier and now holds a small kitchenette, a little couch, a bunk bed, and a small chamber pot hidden in the corner.  

Luckily, I got my driver’s license last month, a few weeks before my mom left. It was one of the few times in my entire life that I had actually left the palatial grounds of my house, 

The van’s big wheels scrape on the rough rocks of my thin driveway.  

Jamie stands on the porch, waving at me. I hop out of the van and ruffle his hair.

“Go pack,” I say. “We leave at 10:00.”

***

I brush my hair out of my eyes and pull it back into a slick ponytail. I put on a pair of fraying jeans and a black hoodie over a green polo shirt. It’s the clothes I usually wear to help Mrs. Lynn in the garden – but I guess it’s good for driving. I turn and start to zip up my bag – and stop. The little stuffed rhino that I’ve had since I was born stares at me pleadingly. I’m 16, but I still sleep with it. So I grab it and shove it in my bag before Jamie can see. He teases me about it – even though he has one himself. But he’s 9. 

I only packed one suitcase for myself. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone.  But I packed two for my dad. One filled with clothes, the other with medicine and towels that we can soak in water when his fever gets too high.

In the living room, Jamie sits atop a suitcase in a t-shirt and baggy jeans. His curly hair looks like someone tried tame it back and failed miserably, resulting in a worse frizz than ever.

My father sits on the couch, dark circles that are always under his eyes more apparent than ever.

Supporting him, we head over to the car, and I help Papa into the bottom bunk. 

We’re resigned to protecting ourselves from whatever disease he has – because if it’s contagious, we probably already have it.

Before starting the van, I help Jamie get situated in the top bunk, where he soon gets comfy with his book.

As I climb down the ladder, I see my father murmuring in his sleep, and I don’t really think anything of it – but I check his forehead. Hot. 

So I make use of those towels. After covering it in icy water, I place it on his head, hoping to give him some relief.

I don’t know how much it did, but I start up the car. If we want to get to Milesea in the next few days, then we better get going soon.

I’m driving well into the night. My eyelids flutter as I try to stay awake. 

Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn my head around. 

My father is standing behind me, a crazed look in his eyes. 

“Papa, go back to sleep. At Milesea, we’ll find a doctor for you, and you’ll feel all better.”

He gives me a big grin, but in one swift motion, shoves me off the seat and gets in himself.

“Papa!” I shout. “You’re sick! You shouldn’t be driving!”

His eyes are bright and shining with an almost demonic happiness, but tears run like waterfalls down his sunken cheeks.

“Petra. Petra. Petra. For Petra.”

I know what’s about to happen. 

I rush up the old wooden ladder and wrap my arms around my brother’s sleeping form.

“I love you,” I whisper into his ear. “Always.”

Then everything goes black.

Epilogue (Six Months Later)


I open my eyes. My bedroom is dimly lit and small, but it’s what we can afford.

We both work, and our jobs don’t pay very well – but we get by. Three months ago, we made enough to buy our own house.

Two bedrooms. Two bathrooms. Big backyard.

It’s beautiful, but not nearly what I’m used to. And I’ve tried to be fine with that, but I find myself missing the riches my old life came with.

“Petra?” Jeb’s head peeks through the door frame. “Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling?”
I muster a small smile. 

“Better than yesterday, but I don’t want to jinx it.”

I walk up to Jeb and give him a small kiss on the cheek. 

He pulls away, smiles, and bends down.

“Morning kiddo!”

And then he plants a kiss on my belly.

For the first time in forever, I finally feel at peace. 

I walk into the bathroom and stare at myself in front of the mirror. My floral dress sweeps on the wet bathroom tiles. 

My hair is braided loosely down my back, a sharp contrast to the harsh bun I wore when I lived at the mansion. I feel so free these days. Yesterday, I spent hours curled up on the couch under a blanket, drinking hot tea, face buried in a book. And the day before, I decorated the nursery in hues of pink and blue. The bedroom for my new baby girl. 

I hated my life before, but I didn’t hate my children. I couldn’t bear to tell them about how I grew up. How I met their father. How I never loved him. So I stayed silent. 

I’m sending them a letter today explaining everything. I’m hoping that they’ll come to meet their little half-sister when she’s born.

But for now, I’m going to focus on what I have, not what I left behind.

Three Fingers

In an old cottage on Bugsberry Lane lived the Janes. The youngest Jane was Issa. Issa’s seventh year of age was right around the corner. All little Issa Jane wanted was a doll. Any doll: wood or glass, thin or plump, hairy or bald, bonnet or a straw head-dress. But Issa knew that her parents wouldn’t be able to afford a lavish doll. Emporiums and antique shops were too high-priced. In Mum and Pop’s point of view, dolls were just costly rubbish that lasted less than a week. 

But Issa Jane single-mindedly wanted to be gifted any doll there was. So all she could do was to ask her mother one last time. 

“Mum, I would like to be gifted a doll from you and Pop for my natal day present.”

“Issa, I’m sorry but you know that Pop and I are not in a great stage in life, and we will not be able to afford this doll.” 

Issa would try again. “Pop, I would love a doll, any doll… from you and Mum.”

“Dear, Mum and I can not keep spending such money on this rubbish you say you are bound to have.” Little Issa Jane was disappointed once again, but was still determined to receive any lavish doll. Then Issa thought of a quick-witted idea. If Mum and Pop thought that the dolls from emporiums were overly expensively priced, then why couldn’t Pop just craft Issa a doll. All Pop would need would be wood for the doll’s head and body, and old clothing scraps for the bonet and the gown.

Aunt Ethel had gifted Issa a few steelies to fiddle with in her free-time. Steelies would make the perfect replacement for the doll’s eyes. Pop would have to carve the steelies into the wood, then somehow he would attach the body onto the head. Pop should have the things he’d need in the shed. All Issa needed was her steelies. Issa slid the dusty cup-boad open and yanked out her bag of shiny glass steelies. She pulled out two of the shiniest steelies, and rolled them around in her palm.

They were small, smooth, and cold. Perfect for a doll’s eyes. Issa ran to her Pop’s shed, excited to ask her father for her request.

“Pop, because you and Mum won’t be able to buy a doll, would you have time to craft me a doll? Out of wood?”

“Well, do we have everything I’ll need to craft you a doll?”

“Oh yes, Pop! You just need wood, old clothing scraps, and steelies which I have right here.” Issa opened her hand to show Pop her shiny steelies. He nodded and examined the steelies.

“First of all, where would we find wood, and clothing scraps?”

“Hmmm…I know!”  Issa ran to her Mum for clothing scraps. Mum was sewing together an embroidered nightgown for Issa. The velvet fabric had red roses printed on it, perfect for a doll’s bonet and clothes.

  “Mum, may I have the extra velvet fabric you’re holding?”  Mum handed Issa the fabric. It was soft and fluffy.

“Use it wisely, we don’t have much of it.” Issa nodded happily and thanked her mother. And then ran back to the shed to give the velvet fabric to her Father.

“Pop! Look at this. Now you just need wood!”

“Now where do we find wood?”

“Look outside Pop! You could also shave down a tree.” Issa and her Pop found some perfectly smooth wood outside. Now Pop just needed to carve it into a wooden doll. Pop pulled out his chisel and the materials beside him.

“Now Issa Jane, I only have one set of bi-telephones, so you’re just going to have to wait till your doll is finished to come into the shed.”

“Okay Pop, thank you.” In the meantime Issa helped her mother cook and clean. Issa Jane was very eager to meet her new doll. Issa already had started thinking of names for her doll. Barbara Ann, Mary Lee, and Hilda Lynn were her top choices. Pop spent eight days in the shed working. The longer it took the prettier it must be. Finally Pop called Issa out to the shed to meet her new doll.

“Issa Jane, before I show you I thought you should know beforehand that there was not enough wood for five fingers on each hand, so instead of five fingers there are three. So that’ll mean six fingers in total instead of ten.”

“Oh, that’s okay! I’m just so excited to see it!” Pop stood in front of Issa then slowly pulled out her doll. It was beautiful. The velvet fabric was now a bonnet and a gown. The steelies looked perfect as the eyes. Pop had even found water based paint, and painted the doll a soft peach color. The cheeks were rosy pink and the lips also looked perfect. Issa was shocked, for the doll was even prettier than she expected. The fingers were strangely a bit crooked but it’s not like Issa would be staring at the doll’s fingers the whole time.

Issa thanked her dad again, and then realized that none of her planned names suited her doll well. So she decided to call her new doll “Three Fingers” because of the doll’s fingers. Issa Jane took Three Fingers everywhere she went, to the market, to the lake, and even to her day school. This was the best natal day present Issa had ever received. Issa decided that Three Fingers was her new best friend.

“Three Fingers, I’m going to go visit the loo. You stay right here on the sewing table. I’ll only be gone for a couple of minutes.” Issa went to the restroom then skipped out to see Three Fingers. But there was nothing on the sewing table. Issa looked under the table in case Three fingers had fallen. But her doll was not there. Issa’s parents were on a trip to the market for a few ripe potatoes, so Issa knew that one of her parents would not have moved her. Issa started to panic.

“Three Fingers, where are you?! I know I placed you here.” Issa Jane headed to her room where she did her best brainstorming. When Issa walked into her room she saw Three Fingers placed on her bed. The steelies looked especially shiny.

“Th-thr-three F-fingers i did not place you here.” Issa heard the door open.

“Issa, we have arrived.” Issa ran to the door to tell Pop about Three Fingers. But all he said was,

“You must have just forgotten where you placed the doll. Issa Jane, Three Fingers can not move by herself. Why don’t you go to sleep, it is already ten past nine.”

“Okay fine, Pop.” Issa headed up to her room to sleep. Issa laid in her bed with Three Fingers below her bed. Mum and Pop said that Issa shouldn’t put Three Fingers in the bed because the wood could rust the mattress. Issa had decided that she probably went insane this afternoon, because Pop was right, a doll can’t walk, talk, fly or move.

Then Issa’s lamp turned on and the light shone in her eyes. But Issa didn’t turn her lamp on. She was the only person in the room other than Three Fingers. But Issa suspected that the electricity in her cottage was not working well. So she got up, turned off the light and went back to bed.

“Good night, Three Fingers. Sleep well.”  Then Issa’s lamp flickered again. Issa was starting to get annoyed.

“A real ding dong must have set up our electricity.” Then Issa heard a scream coming from the kitchen. Issa ran downstairs to see what the trouble was. Mum was at the counter staring at the cutting knife in front of her.

“Mum, what is the problem?”

“Oh… um… nothing Issa Jane, head back to bed.”  Issa knew that there must be something going wrong. So she hid behind a small bookshelf to spy.

“Arthur, I’m telling you! I placed the knife at the kitchen table then went to clean my hands. And when I returned the knife was back at the cutting board.”

“Margaret, that is impossible! You must be going crazy like Issa was. A knife can not walk, talk, fly or move.”

“I am going to go lie down.”  Issa was confused, since it was just like what had happened to her. She crept back to her bedroom before any of her parents could notice. When Issa walked in, Three Fingers was laying down on Issa’s shaker chair. She started to freak out.

“My eyes must be ill. Surely Three Fingers could not have teleported.” Issa put her doll back under the bed, and tried to get to sleep. Issa turned towards the wall and tried to fall asleep. Then Issa turned to face the door in a more comfortable position. When Issa turned around, Three Fingers was standing up on the edge of the bed. The steelies stared at her.

“A brainless nincompoop must be playing a joke on me.”  Issa shoved Three Fingers deep under her bed and tried to fall asleep. Issa looked at her rusty clock tilted on the wall. twenty five past eleven. 

“Gosh I better get some sleep, hopefully this fool does not wake me up again.” Issa heard arguing from the kitchen. 

“Arthur, why are the lights flickering? Didn’t the electricity man come yestermonth?”   

“The storm this past week must have messed up the electricity. That is the only explanation.”  

“Tomorrow morning I’ll head out to town to fetch the electricity man.” All the cottage lights were turning wonky. There must have been something wrong with the cottage. Issa was halfway asleep when she heard her name being whispered 

“Issa. Issa.” She froze. 

“H-hello?! Who are you?” Then everything went quiet again. It could not have been Mum or Pop, they would not have played such an evil joke on their own daughter. Issa layed back down, covered her ears, and stuck her face in her pillow so she would not hear or see anything. Issa finally fell asleep but only for a couple of hours. 

Issa woke up again and heard a frightening unfamiliar voice that repeated:“Three Fingers, Three Fingers, in this room I linger.” Issa screamed and jumped out of her bed. One solution fell into her head, to tell Pop. Issa ran to the kitchen as fast as she could run. 

   “Mum, Pop!” But no one was in the kitchen. The lights were all off. Issa suspected that her parents must be in their room. So she ran to their room and shoved the door open. But no one was in the room and the lights were all off. Where could they be? It was way too late for them to be in town, and they wouldn’t have left without telling Issa. 

“Mum! Pop! Where have you gone?” But the whole cottage was silent. All Issa could hear was her own voice echoing through the walls. Issa decided to check outside for them. When Issa opened the door Three Fingers was placed lying down on the cottage doorstep. The steelies had a stranger glow to them than usual. The steelies made the doll look alive. The doll’s head slowly tilted to the right then to the left. Three Fingers was haunted.

Then Issa found herself in a dark room. There stood a mirror in the middle of the room,  the only light. Issa looked in the mirror. She was wearing a velvet rose printed bonnet and gown. Her hair was gone and her eyes were all black. Issa looked at her hands, and she only had three fingers. Issa was Three Fingers.

BREAKING FREE

Chapter 1

“Come onnnn!” I yell. 

“I’m coming! Just wait one minute,” my mom calls back. Tonight is the Night of Freeness, and Queen Sleeping Beauty and King Charming are hosting a ball. The Night of Freeness is when famous creatures and, well, not-famous creatures, hang out together. It’s my favorite night because I don’t need to work. You see famous creatures like Humpty Dumpty, Cinderella and The Beast, who are supposed to have a great luxurious life because yeah, they are famous. Unfamous creatures need to work for famous creatures to make the famous creatures’ lives better. I am an unfamous creature. 

Back to the ball. Queen Snow White, of course, helps with that. Queen Snow White is the leader of all the balls and, in my opinion, the leader of  the world. Oh, the glorious Queen Snow White, this. Oh the glorious Queen Snow White, that. So annoying! I wish I could be a famous creature. And hey, I was there when Humpty Dumpty fell! But of course, the boring Ella never got mentioned. Of course not. She’s nothing important. Hmph! 

“Ok, I’m ready. Let’s go,” my mom says as she comes out of the dressing room. I twirl around the room. My long black hair swings around me. I have always thought my mom was way prettier than me, but I never tell her. She is wearing a long and poofy yellow dress with white swirls. 

“Are we going to take a carriage, or walk?” I asked. I knew the answer. 

“We wouldn’t want to ruin our pretty dresses,” She says. We walk down the stairs that lead to the outside. It’s spring. There is a light breeze, but it is also warm out. Butler Mother Toppkins opens the carriage door for us. 

“Thank you,” Mother says. “Oh, Mother Toppkins! Are you going to the ball too? It is the Night of Freeness, and you don’t need to work for us until tomorrow,” she adds. 

Mother Toppkins smiles.  “I will go, thank you,” she says. Then she shuts the door. 

“Now, you need to be very well mannered and kind. Queen Snow will be up in her room. She doesn’t like too much attention,” Mother says. 

I nod my head. The carriage starts moving. Queen Snow has a room at every castle, even ours. It’s required. Oh my gosh! I just got the greatest idea in the history of great ideas! I don’t want to ruin the fun of the Night of Freeness, but I don’t think any of this is fair. I want to be free.

 Usually on normal days mother and I go over to Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk’s house and Clean! ‘Cause he’s all famous and we need to respect him and all. I’m going to change this. I’m going to talk to Queen Snow.

Chapter 2

Mother gets out of the carriage and lifts up her dress. I get out of the carriage and trip. I fall on my knees. Ow. That’s ok. No harm done. I see Mother smothering a laugh.

 “Please don’t insult me,” I say as I get up. Mother nods. Here’s my plan. Queen Snow will be up in her room, and I will be down at the ball. I can tell the guards that I need to go to the bathroom, and the other bathroom has been locked forever! I’m a kid, so they cannot expect too much from me. Then, I go up and talk to Queen Snow. I will talk to her about how I think I and some of the other creatures should be free. She probably will not listen. But I can bribe her. Queen Snow basically gets everything she wants. She wants our Castle of Light badly, and she would do anything to get it. Three years ago she offered her son’s life for it. There is some history through the Kingdom of Light and Queen Snow’s son. Queen Snow has one son, Sammy, and one daughter, June. Sammy is 15, and June is 12. Sammy, when he was about my age, 10, wanted to have a fairy cake for his birthday. If you blow out the candle of a fairy cake and make a wish, that wish comes true no matter what. The Light Kingdom is the only kingdom that sells fairy cakes besides the Sea Kingdom, where the cake gets soggy. Sammy didn’t have any money, but he came over to the Light Kingdom. The fairy didn’t know it was Sammy at the time, and told him he needed to pay double for his rudeness. Sammy got upset and grabbed a knife from the butcher’s stand, threatening to kill the poor fairy. He didn’t, but the Light Kingdom has feared Sammy ever since. We have also heard that Sammy has gotten even more dangerous. At that thought, I shivered. 

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go inside,” Mother says

We start walking toward the castle. It is giant, with two long pillars on the side. It has a moat, but one so small you could just step over it. It’s gray, and has a drawbridge. At the very top of it, you can see Queen Snow’s room. Her room is always at the top left. In every castle. I have no idea why. Mother and I step onto the open drawbridge and go inside the castle. 

Woah. Double woah. There is a big chandelier hanging on the high ceiling. There are rows and rows of snacks and in the very back of the room there are three thrones, one big and two smaller. Queen Sleeping Beauty, King Charming and the bigger one for Queen Snow. And, greatest of all, there are twisting stairs that lead all the way up to Queen Snow. Two guards are patrolling the stairs. I guess Queen Snow put them there. 

“You can go find some other kids to play with, I want to greet Queen Sleeping Beauty and King Charming,” Mother says, and with that she pats my back and leaves. In other cases I would grumble and say something like Fine, leave me stranded, I’m sure I’ll find somebody else to raise me. Then, Mother would  chuckle and walk away. But now I am high-energy, ready for anything. 

I take a look around. Hmmm. I need to find a way to lock the bathroom door, but still be able to get out. I’ve got it! I run to the bathroom and say a lot of “ excuse mes” and “sorries”. I look at the bathroom. Ah, a window. I lock the door, then get a white stool with pink and green polka dots. It is not very pretty in my opinion. I prop the stool under the windowsill and open the window. Oh! This is a bad idea. I might ruin my dress! Then I think about all the times I’ve needed to clean those golden eggs and trim weeds. This will be worth it. I climb out the window. My silky blue dress snags on the window, and I stumble. I can’t rip it, or Mother will know something is up. I carefully lift my dress off the windowsill edge. Phew. I close the window and turn around the corner. Now I can see the entrance. I see a carriage with a lady getting out. She has beautiful blonde hair that is in a long braid. Rapunzel.  I step over the moat and get on the drawbridge. Yay! I’ve made it. I walk through the entrance into the reception room and try not to look like I just climbed out of a bathroom window. Then I put on a very sad face. I wobble over to the stairs. A guard looks at me. 

“Hello. Queen Snow’s personal service. How may I help you?” the guard says. I try not to laugh, keeping the sad look pasted on my face. 

“I need to use the potty!” I say.

“ Oh! Uh…There is a bathroom to the left of the royal thrones,” The guard says. He looks kind of surprised. Maybe he expected me to be more mature.

 “No! I need to go potty and the other bathroom is not opening! I want to go!” I say.

 The guard looks at me up and down. Then he closes his eyes and sighs

. “Right. Go on up. If I hear any disturbance at all from Queen Snow you are going to jail. Do you understand?” he asks.

 I try to look worried and nod. Then I rush upstairs. “Bathroom 23 is locked. Repeat, Bathroom 23 is locked,” I hear the guard say. Yay! I made it. Now for the hard part.

Chapter 3

I crawl up the stairs. Oh my gosh! How does Queen Snow get all the way up here? While I’m walking up the stairs I should probably plan what to say. Should it be babyish, like with the guard, or more mature? I think it should be more mature. Here goes nothing. I get up to the highest floor. There are 3 rooms. Queen Snow is known for being kind and generous, so this should be pretty easy. Hopefully. Which room should I check first? The first door is closed fully, and there’s a strangely awesome smell coming from that room. The second is closed, and it smells really bad. The third is closed too, and no sound or smell comes from it. I know the one on the left with the good smell is Queen Snow’s room, but she could be in any of the others. I want to get it over with, so I will check the smelly one first. 

“That’s enough!” I hear. I can’t tell what room it comes from. I open the door to the first and smelly one. Pee U! It’s a bathroom. Ewwwwwwww! Let me check the next one. Which one should I pick? How about her room?

“NO! I want it!” I hear. It’s coming from room one: her bedroom, the one with the nice smell. I quickly take a peek into the third room. The walls are red and the room is really messy. Dirty socks and wet paint brushes are on the bed. I quickly shut the door. I need to talk to Queen Snow. I open the door and hope for the very best. 

“It has BAD grammar, and my kids need to be good rulers!” Queen Snow shouts. The room is very small, smaller than the messy room. The walls are a hot pink. There is a made bed with a book on it. Queen Snow is sitting in a fluffy looking chair, and I desperately want to push her off it so I can take a seat. She is sitting in front of a dresser and mirror. A tall, skinny kid is pulling a book from Queen Snow’s hand. A second ago, she said “My kids need to be good rulers”. Who would dare pull anything out of Queen Snow’s hand? Suddenly everything fit together. I stumble back and grip onto the railing. I’m standing in front of the most dangerous person in the kingdom. And that person is, unfortunately, Sammy White. 

Queen Snow looks at me like she doesn’t know what to make of this. “What is THIS?” she exclaims. Sammy looks at me. I have two options. I can run down the stairs at full speed, or stay. I need to do this.

  “Um…My na-” I start to say.

 “Oh! I recognize her. She is some princess of light, or something,” Sammy interrupts. His eyes scream ‘Come at me, I dare you’. I take a deep breath. 

“Yes, thank you Sammy,” I say and try to look calm.

 “Ah. Ok. Um… Your name is?” Queen Snow says.

 “E-Ella, your majesty,” I say, curtsying.

 “That is more like it. Why did you come up here, Ella princess of light? Because I don’t have much time. You seem to stutter way too much for this to be proper, but please go on,” Queen Snow says. I’m taken aback by her rudeness.

 “I’m sorry…your majesty” I say. She sighs. “I wanted to come to talk to you about famous and unfamous creatures,” I say.

 “My mother doesn’t talk about that,” Sammy says. I try to ignore him. I need to face my fears.

 “No darling, let her talk,” Queen Snow says.
“Thanks. I want you to change this. I am treated unfairly, and I don’t like that. I am a maid for Jack’s house,” I say.

 “Honey, please. I don’t change stuff like that.” Queen Snow responds. She examines her nails while I talk.

 “Stop worrying about how pretty you are, and listen to me!” I demand. 

Queen Snow looks up, surprised.  “Do not talk back to me!” she yells, getting up from her chair.

 “We are all the same! We are all equal!” I yell.

 “Leave!” She yells.

 “I will talk to my mom and see if you can get our castle in exchange for you letting every single unfamous creature go,” I say. I try to stay calm. I’ve suddenly realized that I’m not only scared of Sammy, I’m afraid of Queen Snow.  Queen Snow sits back down.

“Sammy darling, please go into your room. I need to talk to Ella, alone,” Queen Snow says, in a dangerously calm voice. Sammy nods. He leaves the room and pushes me out of his way. He goes into the dirty third room.

“You are embarrassing!” Queen Snow immediately says. 

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“You are embarrassing!” She shouts, even though I didn’t mean excuse me like please repeat that, I meant it like how rude can you get! “You think I would give away my power and fame for some lame castle that I wanted three years ago? You think?” Queen Snow cries. I feel my face turning red. “Go back from where you came from and stop disturbing me!” Queen Snow yells. 

Am I actually going to let some snobby Queen treat me this way? No, I will not! 

“You- You are the worst queen ever! And for your information, I will go back to where I came from!” I shout. I storm down the stairs.

“You know there is an elevator!” Queen Snow yells, slamming her door.

UGH!

Chapter 4

“Can we go home now?” I ask my mother. The chandelier and thrones don’t look pretty anymore. 

“Are you feeling Ok?” Mother asks me. 

“Fine, I’m feeling fine,” I grumble.

“Okay, we can leave soon,” Mother says, then she turns her back on me. 

Why was Queen Snow so rude? What was her problem? “Mother, aren’t you tired of being treated badly by the famous cr-” I start to say.

 “Honey, we don’t talk about that here.” Mother interrupts.

 “Then let’s go home so we can talk about it,” I say. My mother looks at me for a long time.

 “Fine then” Mother says. She takes me by the arm and we start walking out of the castle.

“Have you ever met Queen Snow?” I ask her in the carriage. 

“Ah, yes. Once when I was very tiny. She came over and wanted to take a look at me. She wants to every time there is a new baby. I don’t remember much. I do remember my mother talking to her and bowing. But no more, Why?” Mother says. I decide not to answer the question. Mother is looking out of the window. 

“Mother, I want to start a protest against Queen Snow,” I say. 

Mother looks up from the window. “Really? And why is that?” she asks. 

I sigh. “Aren’t you ever going to realize that cleaning Jack’s house is not the most productive thing to do?” I ask her. She chuckles. When will she notice? Why hasn’t anybody done anything? 

“No, it is not such a productive thing, is it.”Mother says. I can’t believe she is agreeing. 

“I want to do a protest, a parade!” I yell as the carriage stops. Mother looks at me and I expect her to say something like No, darling, that is a bad idea. But she smiles.

 “Okay” She says. 

That was… easy. I get out of the carriage and finally lift my dress up correctly! 

“Mother, I saw Sammy today.” I say. I don’t know why I do it or if I shouldn’t have. Mother stops dead in her tracks.  

“A-And where was this?” she asks, cautiously and slowly.

“I went up to Snow White’s room today. I saw Sammy there. I went up to talk to her about the fairness of creatures.” I say, trying to seem pretty chill about it.

“Go up to your room NOW!” Mother yells.

“What about the parade?” I ask. I immediately knew I shouldn’t have.

“Later! I need to think now! I have done so much for you and you respond like THIS!” my mother yells. My eyes tear up. I dash into the castle and run up the stairs. I don’t bother taking my heels off. I have done a lot in return too. I am a good daughter! 

Chapter 5

Rap rap rap. 

“Oh come on. I am sorry. Please let me in ” I hear Mother’s voice say.
“Fine,” I grumble, and I open the door. I know that Mother is sorry, but the parade meant a lot to me. She just shut that idea out.

“I am really sorry. Let’s do the parade. We only have a day to convince people anyways, because today is the Day of Freeness. If we wait till tomorrow, Queen Snow will put us in jail. So get out here so we can spread the word about this parade,” Mother says. I nod. She is right. We only have today. 

“So, I was thinking, we work for them, right? What if part of the protest was not working for them. Because they need us,” Mother says. I nod again. “Come on, let’s go,” she says. 

“ Should we make posters?” I ask. 

This time, mother nods. “You go around telling people, and I will put up posters, Ok?” Mother asks. 

“Sure” I agree. 

The door knob is cold to my fingers. I walk down the two flights of stairs.  I think I forgive Mother. I ran across the wet grass. Our neighbor is also an unfamous creature. His name is Ferm chicken. He is a chicken.  He is one of the happiest, talkiest chickens I ever have known. I knock on his door, and I spot Mother coming out of our castle holding some flyers. His house is unstable and made of hay. I would not be surprised if  the whole house collapsed over my hand. The door opens. 

“What? Oh my! Princess of light!” says Ferm chicken, bowing three times.

“Yeah”  I say. “I wanted to tell you that the unfamous creatures are going to stop working for the famous creatures in protest.”

“Oh my gosh, that is great! Do you want to come inside? It is such an awesome day out, isn’t it?” Ferm chicken asks.

“Oh, no thank you! But how is Mrs. Frem chicken?” I ask.

“Ok, thank you for asking.” Ferm chicken replies. He stares at me for a couple of seconds.

“Do you know any good places to find unfamous creatures?” I ask. 

“Yeah, try house 54.” Ferm chicken says.

“Thanks.” I say. He shuts the door with a big slam. The hay house trembles. House 54. House 54. Ah. Here. On the door it has a sign that says:

BEWARE OF THE PIG. 

THAT’S MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I gulp. But if Ferm chicken trusts this dude, I bet I should, too. I slowly knock on the door. 

“Hullo. My name Loin the lion,” says the lion who answers the door.

“Hello, Loin the lion-” I say, before getting cut off.

“NOOOOOO! My name Loin! Not Loin the lion!” He interrupts. 

“Sorry, Loin.” I say.

“Sure.” Loin says.

“So, me and some other folks are going to stop working for famous creatures in protest. Will you?” I ask him.

“Sure,” he says. I can’t tell if that is a yes, but that’s ok.

“Loin, do you know any other places where there are other unfamous creatures’ houses?” I ask.

“23 house DOGGY.” Loin says. Then he breaks out in giggles, whispering “doggy hee hummy hee doggy dum dog dutch hee hum le lum doggy hee hummy hee doggy dum dog dutch he hum le lum doggy hee hummy!”

Suddenly, he shuts the door in my face. Ok…

“Bye!” I call.

“Bye bye doggy!” Loin cries. 

This goes on for three to four hours, and I get every single unfamous creature in the whole Kingdom of Light to join the parade. Mother does a good job with the posters. I see a few. They say:

Have you ever felt like you had more

potential than cleaning a house? 

Stop working and cleaning for 

Them then! They need us and will have

to learn how to do it on their own! 

Lots of people agree! Don’t be embarrassed!

And stuff like:

We are stopping working! We can do more

 than just cleaning! Lots of creatures are 

doing it! Don’t be embarrassed! We are all

equal, and some people can’t see that! They 

need us now! But they need to learn how to 

do this on their own! 

As I walk home I think about how Queen Snow would’ve reacted to this. She would probably have said something like “Darling! This is such a horrid idea! Don’t do this to your friends!” Ha ha. I hope I never have to see her or Sammy again! I probably will, though.  My feet hit the ground. It’s hot out. This morning it was pretty cool, but now the cobblestones are melting. Boy. In the distance, I see our castle. It’s funny; there are high people, low people and really low people. I still live in a castle, but I am a maid. Queen Snow is at the very top. The people in my kingdom are at the bottom. Everybody would be famous! Or rather, everybody would be unfamous. I look up and see the castle. I’ve been walking for a long time and my legs are sore. 

When I get home I see Mother on the couch, reading a book. I sit on the couch next to her and grab a random book. I could read anything now. The ways of her majesty Queen Snow White. Nevermind. Not anything. I put that book down and pick up another book. I start reading, and the words swirl in my brain. Hopefully this will end ok.

Chapter 6

I turn in my bed. I can’t be late or I will be scolded by Jack. 

“Ughhh” I say. Suddenly, I remember about the not working thing. I can go back to sleep! Yay! I cuddle my covers. Just as I’m falling back asleep I hear a knock on the door. “NOOOOO!” I half mumble, half shout. Mother comes in and sits on the end of my bed. I turn my back to her by flopping around. 

Mother chuckles. “Darling, you need to get up. Queen Snow is at the door,” she says, calmly. 

I bolt straight up.

 “Woah! Deep breaths. Deep breaths. She wants to talk to you about the absence of  some maids,” Mother says. 

“What should I say?” I ask. What if she puts Mother and me in jail? 

“Be honest. She may have witnesses, but she can not physically prove anything,” Mother says. 

I push my sheets back. I know I am in my PJ’s, and I know I didn’t brush my hair. But at this point I don’t care what she or Sammy thinks of me. 

I go downstairs and Mother follows me. My hand brushes against the railing, for maybe the last time. I open the door, the cool door knob against my hand. 

As Mother said, Queen Snow stands by the door. Two guards are standing next to her with absolutely no expression. 

“Hi Queen Snow,” I say, my hand on the side of the door. 

“What on earth are you wearing? This is infuriating! You have no respect for your elders!” Queen Snow shouts.

 I glance behind me and I see Mother smiling at me. “Sorry” I say. I’m pretty sure we both know that I’m not really sorry.

“Whatever, Ella. I came to complain about the absence of my maids and workers!” Queen Snow yells. 

“Don’t call them that!” I shout. Then I take a breath. “Do you have a guess why they didn’t show up?” I ask. 

Queen Snow rolls her eyes. “Oh, Sure!” she says. One of her guards holds up one of the posters that Mother printed. “Because they don’t deserve to be treated like this or whatever,” she grumbles. I smile as I see her blush a bit. 

“Yeah, exactly. So we will not even acknowledge your presence until you change the rules,” I say. I put on one of my ‘I told you I would win’ smiles that I have been practicing in my mirror.

I can’t tell what Queen Snow’s look is. Somewhat disgusted. 

“Well..” Queen Snow starts to say, but her voice trails off.

“So, Goodbye Queen Snow,” I say, and slowly shut the door.

“Wait! No! Guards, Do something! A– what? No! No!” I hear Queen Snow shout.

I look at Mother straight into her eyes. 

“Wanna make some celebration cupcakes?” Mother asks. I nod. I am proud, happy and scared. Queen Snow still has a lot of power. She can use her power. But for now it will be ok.

Chapter 7

THE FAIRYTALE NEWSPAPER.

Queen Snow has lost power to a 10 year old girl named Ella. Everybody is shocked and Queen Snow is infuriated! Ella was saying to Queen Snow that the not-famous creatures should not work until Queen Snow changes the rules. People have had parades and stopped working. This is crazy! Queen Snow hasn’t shown herself in public for 3 weeks, and nobody knows what decision she will make. On Saturday there was attempted murder. A whole gang of people tried to break into Queen Snow’s house and murder her! They are in jail now. Nobody knows where that came from, or if Ella started it. The construction workers are very busy: people have hired them to smash Queen Snow’s rooms in their castles. Some people have tried to smash them themselves, and their castles look absolutely ruined. They don’t care. People are worried, though. What if Queen Snow decides not to get rid of the rule? Would everyone who tried to stop her go to jail? If she does get rid of the castle, would people lose their homes to give the money to less rich people? What about all the money they earned? If Queen Snow is not in charge of making the rules, who will be? Is this a bad thing? Some people say that Ella should be the leader, but this is a big problem. Now we will leave you with that question. Thank you for reading  THE FAIRYTALE NEWSPAPER, and goodbye. 

Chapter 8

I am everywhere! In the newspaper, and radio! It’s crazy and in some way I love it! But I also really am annoyed, because sometimes the newspaper talks total trash about me! Mother is very proud, though. Some people also think I should take Queen Snow’s place. Honestly I would be ok with that. But I don’t want this whole thing to start over again. And that would be even worse, because I would be the new Queen Snow! Except Queen Ella. Right now I am sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper and eating cookies. I flip the page and Mother walks into the room. 

“Queen Snow has decided to have a ball at her palace, and at the end she will make her decision,” Mother says.

 I have been waiting for this news for 3 whole weeks! I am kind of done with this. “That’s awesome!” I say, though. It is pretty good. But why a ball? What is she planning? “When is it happening?” I ask. 

“Now. Well, Tonight,” Mother says. 

I almost choke on a cookie. “So soon?!” I yell. Mother nods. I have so many thoughts I don’t know what to think. “Do I need to go?” I ask, and I know it is a horrible question.

“Um.. Yes! Duh, Ella! She is announcing the most important thing in your life!” Mother cries. 

“Ok,” I say. Why am I not excited? 

Mother frowns and sits down next to me. “Are you ok, Ella?” she asks. I burst into tears. “Why are you crying?” Mother asks. I don’t know. Why am I crying? 

“I don’t want to become queen.” I say. 

She stares at me for a minute. “Ok. That’s Fine.” Mother says.

“Who will be in charge, then?” I shout.

“ I will.” Mother says. 

I start laughing. And laughing. And laughing. My stomach hurts. “You can’t be Queen!” I say. 

“Why can’t I be Queen?” Mother asks.

 I think for a moment. “You’re too old?” I say. But it comes out more like a question.

“Queen Snow is older than me!” Mother says. 

I think about that. I believe her, but Queen Snow looks great for her age.

“Let’s go to the store to buy some dresses.” Mother says. 

Chapter 9

My mother and I are walking to the ball.  We don’t care if we get our dresses dirty, and nobody would stop a carriage for us. 

I break the silence. “What do you think she will pick?” I ask. 

“Well, it’s no use being famous if nobody likes you and you have no maids,”  Mother says. 

I nodded, but she hasn’t answered my question. I am worried now. Really, really worried. We see a crowd of people coming to the castle. Monsters, Orges, humans. I think I see a sheep! I get inside and inhale. I try not to seem amazed, but this is even better than Queen Sleeping Beauty’s place. A bunch of candles are hanging from a rich purple ceiling. There are a bunch of soft and cushiony chairs on the ground. The ball room is tremendous! Gigantic! 

Queen Snow stands on the stage. Seeing her gives me the chills. Everybody sits down. Queen Snow puts on a totally fake smile.

 “Hi everybody!” Queen Snow shouts. 

Nobody says anything, but I hear some disappointed muttering. 

 “Great. Yup. I get it. I have made a decision. This is one of my biggest decisions. And honestly, I am not so satisfied with my choice. But… Please bow down to Queen Ella.” 

My heart beats fast. Mother nudges me.

“Go up there. Show them you are brave.” Mother whispers in my ear. 

I get up and walk down the aisle. Creatures howl and cheer. Queen Snow smiles. I step up the stairs. Queen Snow goes down the stairs, and when she passes me she whispers:“See what it is like, Ella.” 

I ignore her. I squeeze my long pink dress. 

“Thank you, everybody.” I say. I don’t know what to say. Do I want to give this big opportunity to my mom? There is a big pause. “Ahem. Sorry. I actually have some disappointing news.” I said. People whispered some more. “I don’t actually want to be queen very much. So I want to give this place to my mom.” I say. I see tears glistening in her eyes and she gets up. She walks down the aisle and gets on the stage. I hug her, and then awkwardly get off the stage. 

“Thank you, Ella. I look forward to seeing the awesome progress we will have together. You do not need to give away anything, and I will not make you or force you to do anything.” 

I look over at Que- I mean just Snow. She is scowling. This is okay. Everything went okay. 

Katie and Her Pillow Adventure

Deep deep down in the Pacific Ocean, on the sandy ground of the bottom of the ocean floor, Katie the Octopus has a house made out of coral and rocks. The house is behind an enormous rock in a coral reef. There is a lot of kelp and seaweed which Katie uses to cook. The water is pretty cold, but Katie doesn’t mind. Because she’s down pretty deep, it’s really dark, and not much sunlight reaches so far down. 

Katie is a bright orange octopus. She is very nice, especially to her squid friends. She has eight arms, as a normal octopus does. One thing that stands out on her is her calm, periwinkle eyes. Katie’s base color is orange, but she has burnt round orange spots. She lives alone, but her squid friends live right next door to her, and they hang out all the time. Katie also goes to school. Her school is called Academy for Young Marine Animals, and Katie loves school.

 A few years before, Katie’s parents gave her a super super soft pillow made out of sand and coral. It was pretty small, green and with pictures of waves on it. 

But then one day, her mom and dad were in a shark attack. The shark ripped her parents apart and she lost them. She cherishes the pillow so much because it’s the only part she has left of them. It lies on her bed day and night. Another reason she loves the pillow so much is because it smells like her parents. It smelled like fried kelp and seaweed which her mom used to make for her when she was little, like the bedtime stories her dad would tell her, and it smelled like the love her parents had for her. Katie adores this pillow and if something happened to it, she would be devastated.

Then one morning, she woke up and the pillow wasn’t resting under her head like always. It was gone! She suspected that someone had stolen it. One of her top suspects was this squid in her class named Anne. Katie used to be friends with Anne, but since the shark attack she’s been Katies enemy. Anne was probably still upset because her mom also was killed in a shark attack. Then a week later she started being mean to Katie. For instance, the other day in history class, Anne got a question wrong and everyone laughed at her. “Katie was the one who laughed first,” Anne said. 

“I wasn’t the one who started laughing,” Katie said.

Anne could have easily wanted to get revenge from the day in history class. She could have gotten into Katie’s house because when they were friends she would come over to her house all the time. Katie even gave her a key. 

I bet she still has it! Katie thought to herself.

So Katie goes to Anne’s house to make her give the pillow back. On the way, she saw a big school of fish swimming really fast. Something is probably chasing them, Katie thought. A great white shark was chasing the school of fish. It saw Katie and started chasing her! 

Katie swam into a cave only to find a bunch of sea snakes hissing at her. So she swam and swam and swam. Finally, she saw a bunch of orange coral. She used her amazing octopus camouflaging skills to hide from the shark, and the shark swam away.

A few minutes later Katie was at Anne’s house. She heard something that sounded like crying. Oh no! She thought. Katie knocked on the door. 

“Go away!” Anne cried. 

“Please just let me in,” Katie said. 

Anne didn’t reply. 

Katie remembered she had a key, so she started digging through her coat pockets. Katie loved her coat. One time, she was in the mall. She went into the octopus clothing store and saw the most beautiful coat. It was bright orange, just like her. It had eight arm and leg holes. The body of the coat was quite small, but the arm and leg holes were long and glittery. 

She unlocked the door and went to Anne’s room. It looked like Anne was hugging the pillow so tight the stuffing might come out. 

“Why would you take my pillow?!” Katie asked.

 “I’m sorry. It smelled so yummy, like the fried kelp my mom made me before the shark attack,” Anne sobbed back. 

“But why would you break into my house to get it?” Katie asked, confused

Anne replied “ Because I knew you wouldn’t give it to me. It’s the only thing that’s brought me closer to my mom. She didn’t leave anything for me.” 

Katie was cross with Anne, but she couldn’t stand to see Anne like this. Katie didn’t say anything so Anne kept on talking. 

“I’m also really lonely. I dont have friends or a father. You never noticed that I had no people to play with during recess at school.” 

Katie realized that Anne wasn’t mean, just misunderstood. 

“Are you sure you NEED the pillow?” Katie asked. Katie really wanted to get her special pillow back, but Anne is making it difficult.   

Anne said, “If I knew how to cook or sew, maybe I could have things for myself.”

            Katie wanted to find a solution for Anne, and wanted to get her pillow back. Katie’s mom taught her how to cook when she was little. Maybe she could teach Anne! 

“What if I teach you how to cook?”

“I don’t know if that will be enough.” Anne said.

Then Katie got another idea. “My friend Scarlet knows how to sew, she can teach you how to make a special blanket.”

“Ok, that could work maybe,” Anne muttered.

  “Alright, first I need you to give me my pillow back,” says Katie.

“Fine,” Anne says, aggressively.

“Ok, I need to go to the store and get ingredients.” And so Katie left with her pillow and was off to the store.

A few minutes later, she saw the shark coming again. She tried to hide behind a rock but it was too late! So she swam as fast as she could. Just before the shark caught her, one of her friends, Carlos sprayed the shark with his squid ink.

“Thanks Carlos,” Katie said.

“No problem!” he said.

Katie got to the store and went to the kelp aisle. She would just pick some kelp out of her garden, but unfortunately her plants were not looking so well. A fish had been chewing on her plants. She picked up a pound of kelp and headed to the oil aisle. The oil under water is different from the kind on land. This special oil is made out of a crushed up clam and its juice. That’s all she needs for the fried kelp. She has salt at home. She paid for the food and it was only two sand dollars.

Back at home, she put the food down and went to her bedroom. She placed the pillow on her bed, and felt proud of herself for convincing Anne to give her pillow back. Then Katie remembered that she needed salt. 

She went to the kitchen and did this special trick that her dad taught her. Since she’s in the salty ocean all she has to do is grab some water with two tentacles and use them to suck the water into her body keeping the salt on top of her tentacles. She brushed the salt off of her tentacles. Vóila, salt. 

Next, she needed to call Anne so that she could come over to start the cooking lesson. Katie picked up her seashell phone and called Anne. “Alright Anne, you can come over. I got the cooking ingredients,” Katie said.

“I was watching a movie and you interrupted it, but fine, whatever, I’ll come over,” Anne said.

About ten minutes later Anne arrived at Katies coral house.

“This place looks worse than the last time I was here,” Anne said, walking through the hard rock door.

“You’re not here to criticize my house, you’re here for a cooking lesson,” Katie replied. Katie was getting frustrated by Annes mean comments, but managed to calm herself.

Katie started boiling the oil. “First you have to put the kelp in the oil and…” Katie paused. “Are you even listening to me?” 

Anne was not, she was too busy watching some fish video on her phone.

“You know I don’t have to teach you,” Katie said, frustrated. “I thought you wanted to learn how to cook!”

“I said I wanted to learn how to cook, not have you be my teacher. But fine, I’ll pay attention.”

“So next you have to add the kelp, but don’t throw it in or else the hot oil will burn you,” Katie instructed. 

But Anne threw it in anyway. The oil splashed. “OW! This is all your fault,”Anne screamed. “Just give me the kelp.” 

Katie used rock tongs to scoop some kelp up and gave it to Anne.

The next day Katie went to school. After math class, the teacher, Mrs. Squid said, “Katie, Anne, I need to talk to you.”

Katie wondered if she was in trouble.

“Katie, Anne has told me that you hurt her.”

“Yes, she did” Anne replied, pointing out her oil burnt tentacle

Mrs. Squid said, “Katie, detention.”

“But – ”

“No buts, Katie, detention for one week.”

Anne swam out, giving a mean wave goodbye.

The next day at school, Katie went to detention. In her school, you spend the whole week in detention and whoever’s the detention teacher that week gives work for you to do. She walked in the detention room and saw an octopus and a squid, both the color black, they looked creepy. 

The octopus said in a creepy voice, “Hi, Im Banshee, ”and that squid over there is named Bloody. What did you get detention for? We stole kids’ lunch money to buy black coats.” 

Katie didn’t reply to that, she was very angry at Anne for getting her in detention for something she didn’t do.

Two days later, Katie went into the detention classroom and saw her friend Scarlet.

Katie was surprised. “Scarlet, what are you doing here?” 

“Well, let me tell you the story. I saw Anne and she looked upset, so I asked her what was wrong and she told me about the cooking class you did with her, and I offered to teach her how to sew, and she said that’s what you said, so I tried to get her to agree to do a sewing class with me, but she told the math teacher that I was forcing Anne to learn how to sew, but I wasn’t, and of course the teacher wouldn’t believe me, so here I am.”

“ Wow, that’s a lot. We need to do something so that Anne won’t keep bullying us,” Katie said.

Scarlet had an idea, “All she wanted was some delicious fried kelp and a special blanket right?”

“Yeah, what are you thinking?” Katie asked

“What if you make some fried Kelp and I sew her a blanket so she will leave us alone.”

“That could work. I have some extra fried kelp from the other day,” Katie said.

“I’ll start working on the blanket tonight.”

At home, Katie went to the fridge to find the kelp. She saw some salt, sea worms and at the back of the fridge she found the bowl of kelp. She went to her room to find some fabric to tie a bow on the bowl of kelp to give to Anne. Her room is quite small. All that’s in it is her bed with her pillow lying on it, her desk where she does her homework and her closet where she keeps her cool octopus coats. Katie opened her closet and found a bit of fabric that would work perfectly. 

The next day, Anne, Scarlet and Katie were in science class. Katie brought her kelp bowl and Scarlet brought her blanket. It was purple and had indigo polka-dots. It looked just like Anne. They planned to give the items to Anne after class.

“Ok, class dismissed,” the science teacher said.

“Hey Anne, me and Scarlet made something for you,” Katie told Anne.

“What did you get me?”

“Well, Katie made some fried kelp with the instructions stuck on top, and I sewed a blanket for you. It’s purple with indigo polka dots. It looks just like you,” Scarlet replied. 

Anne gave Scarlet a slight smile. “Thanks, but don’t think just because you did this now we are suddenly friends.” Anne was still slightly smiling as she swam away.

“Some things never change,” Katie said.

But their gifts worked, and Anne never bothers Scarlet or Katie ever again.

The End.

ESSAY ON NATURE

Nature is a very important part of living. Once, I was at the beach with my friends. It was a nice sunny day. My friends and I had just gotten out of the water and put on our coveralls when my best friend Mila said, “Look, it’s a balloon in the ocean!” I saw a Happy Birthday balloon in the ocean. “Let’s go get it before it goes too far!” I said, taking off my dress from over my bathing suit. We ran into the ocean and got the balloon, then threw it into the trash.
A few days ago I learned that it takes 450 years for a balloon to decompose. I was happy that I had saved the balloon from the ocean, where it might have killed marine wildlife.
Nature helps us in many ways. It was how we sustained ourselves when we were cave people. Nature is a part of life and some people don’t pay much attention to how it’s being treated. In this essay, I will be going over how the earth is being affected by humans including ocean pollution, air pollution, animal extinction, and climate change.

                                   Ocean Pollution

Every day more and more trash is disposed of into the ocean. Every 60 seconds a whole truckload of plastic goes into the ocean. The ocean is holding 5.25 trillion pieces of trash. Of that trash, 15% goes to beaches, 15% floats, and 70% sinks to the depths of the ocean, killing and strangling marine wildlife.
This needs to stop. Can you believe that on some beaches the shores are covered in trash? You are lucky to be at a beach where trash isn’t flooding every nook and cranny. You might think “why aren’t we just preserving the ocean then?” Well, we are, but only less than 8% of the ocean is actually preserved. On the other hand, there are many people, like Oceana, Sea Legacy, and Ocean Conservancy, that are in the ocean right now picking up trash!

                                    Air Pollution

We breathe oxygen every day, right? Well, only 21% of the air is actually oxygen. Everything else is Co2, nitrogen, neon, and hydrogen. If we don’t stop air pollution, then humans will die of polluted air. We need clean air to survive, and only 21% of our air is clean. If we keep pumping carbon dioxide into the air, the air will be full of Co2. However, in places like Las Vegas, you can see a whole dark cloud of Co2 and dirty air on top of it.
People breathe O2 and let out Co2. Trees produce O2 and take in Co2. We are cutting down 2,400 trees per second worldwide! There might be no trees left in the future, which means no clean air. But there are many organizations like Team Trees that plant thousands of trees every year.

                                  Animal Extinction

Have you heard of a panda farm or a tiger farm? Probably not, but not because they don’t exist! That is a huge issue because these are endangered species, about to go extinct. People think their fur looks nice, or they think it would make a nice mantel, so they kill these species for a coat that they will outgrow in six months. They need a farm that doesn’t kill them, but just preserves them. We keep slaughtering these animals for fun, not thinking about the devastation that we are causing. We need to preserve these creatures! Some scientists are collecting DNA for these endangered creatures so when they are extinct they can try to recreate the creature. But they wouldn’t need to do this if the creature wasn’t going extinct in the first place. We need to save these peace-loving creatures! At least some zoos are trying to preserve and tend to these animals that are going extinct.

                                   Climate Change

The climate is changing the world. In some places, it is hotter or cooler than normal. That is all because of climate change. In New York, it normally snows around 12 days per year, but in 2019 it only snowed eight times, and in 2020 it only snowed ten! During the summer, New York normally tops 85 degrees, but one day this year it was almost 100 degrees. In parts of Africa, it is so hot, elephants have to walk miles just for a drink of water. Climate change is also affecting crop growth. There are low supplies worldwide because climate change affects plants. Plants can’t grow properly, so they die, leaving nothing to harvest and send to supermarkets. In hot areas, the water loss is making people that already have little to drink walk miles and miles for just a few buckets of dirty water. Climate change is changing the weather patterns, making it hard to decide if it’s going to rain, snow, or be sunny.
Climate change is mainly because of air pollution, which changes how clouds move so places that need water get a smaller amount. There are scientists that are helping people in Africa by giving them filters, so that when they get the water they can make it clean and drinkable.

                                     Conclusion

In conclusion, nature is very important, but we are not taking good care of it. It’s so important for us to fix the environment. We would be lost without nature, or dead. This topic is important to me, because every day I walk around seeing over-flooded trash cans and people throwing out plastic bags, not caring where it’s going to land, and I think it’s disgusting. This topic is important to the community, because it will open the eyes of people who don’t care if one day trash will flood the streets, or if one day we need to wear oxygen tanks and masks because of polluted air. This topic is important to the world, because if you looked at the earth in outer space, where it would be green, lush, blue, and vibrant, it would be brown or light blue. You should care, because soon when you look at the earth from space it will be dry and dirty from trash. This is serious, not a small issue that can be blown over!

Grimm Getaway

Chapter 1

“OWW! Why did you slap me! I despise you Lihn!” 

“You slapped yourself and you know it Amy!” Well, meet my psychotic sister! When my little sister was born, I wasn’t jealous. I didn’t try to demand attention. I just helped my parents set up her nursery. I fed her and changed her diaper and took care of her while my parents were at work. She was the most talkative toddler I had ever met and used large words for her age . . . especially when we were alone. I was fourteen by the time she was two and my parents were starting to worry about her. I overheard them talking about her and from what I heard they were concerned why she didn’t talk yet.

 “Mom! Umm sorry for interrupting. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but when you guys are at work she talks a lot . . . she started talking last year and she uses surprisingly big words for her age!” I said in the most gentle way possible. 

My parents exchanged a look and ran to my sister with huge smiles on their faces. “Amy! Lihn says you can talk, can you say ‘mama’?” my mother asked. 

“Moomoo?” My sister asked. 

“Lihn why did you lie to us! I can’t believe you!” My father said with a look of disappointment spreading across his face.

 “I- I’m sorry I thought . . . nevermind ” I said. I didn’t sleep that night, Am I going insane? Is Amy going insane? Are my parents going insane? Is this all a dream? Do I need a therapist? Is my sister a psychotic maniac? DO I EVEN WANT TO KNOW!??!

Nope! I don’t need to know. That lasted about a month…

One night I woke up to get a glass of water and I heard noises that sounded like metal on rock. I decided to ignore it and ask Dad if he was up late sharpening knives for the butcher shop again, but when I asked he just looked me dead in the eye and said “No! And I thought I told you not to talk about knives in front of your sister.” 

I dropped it and decided I was just hearing things, but when I went up to take a shower before dinner, and my sister was sitting on my bed with my dad’s lucky butcher knife (the extra sharp one) in her hand, it was freshly sharpened. 

“Hello. Pitiful sister, I would like to welcome you graciously into my Grimm Getaway or as you like to call it the void! So just let me slit your throat ,and we will be on our way. Those imbeciles you call Mom and Dad will join you soon, and you can sit down for tea. My demons will serve you,” Amy said in the most annoyingly cheerful voice I have ever heard. 

When I didn’t respond she simply said, “I’ll let you gather your things.” She cut a deep cut in her thumb, smeared it on the door and disappeared.

 I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and ran to clean my door. That night I didn’t sleep. I just squeezed my stuffed giraffe wearing the Hawaiian shirt that I couldn’t sleep without and told myself it was all just a dream, it was all just a dream. I was starting to convince myself when I heard more sharpening noises, and it took all of my willpower not to hide on the inside of my window seat. Eventually I gave in. I brought a blanket, a pillow and my giraffe, Wynn, into the window seat and slept in there. It was cramped but I decided I would take a cramped space over my sister with a knife anyday. 

Chapter 2

When I woke up the next morning, I went downstairs and couldn’t believe my eyes. There were red drops and splatters leading up to the kitchen. I was terrified of what my sister had done, but I decided I needed to see for myself. MY SISTER WAS EATING SPAGHETTI-OS IN THE KITCHEN!!! My sister was making a huge mess with the spaghetti-os, and my mom was sitting there watching! 

“What is going on? Why is Amy eating spaghetti-os at 8:03 AM?” I asked. 

“She crawled into my room with a can of spaghetti-os, and I said, ‘why not?” my mother replied. 

“Umm because it is way too early in the morning to be eating spaghetti-os,” I said. My mom just stared at me and shrugged. I went back upstairs, after 367 seconds of silence in the kitchen I couldn’t take it anymore (yes I counted). When I went upstairs I took a shower and got ready for the day. 

One month later, I went up to my room to grab something, and my sister was sitting on my bed with the sharpest butcher knife in the house. Freshly. Sharpened.  

“Hello, sister! I gave you 37 days to pack. I hope you’re ready,” my sister said.

She just stared at me waiting.

 I ran downstairs. I heard my sister say something but it was drowned out by my pumping heart. I couldn’t breathe by the time I got to the backyard and locked the door. I collapsed on the floor, and everything went black.  

I woke up in the living room with the fan blowing on me and my mother sitting there staring at me. 

“You’re awake! What happened!?” my mother asked. 

“Where is Amy? What happened?” I asked. 

“Oh honey. It’s good to see you’re worried about your sister, but she was crying in your room when we went looking for you. You fainted and were out for 42 minutes and 53 seconds. I was counting.” I looked at my mother for so long I didn’t know what to say at that point. My mom just sat there for another minute and then walked away. I heard noises in the kitchen and just assumed she was cooking something. 

About an hour later, she came into the living room with a tray. On the tray was chilly with melted cheese and sour cream, a ceasar salad and some assorted cookies. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until my mom plopped it on my lap and said, “Eat up. You didn’t even have breakfast today!” 

That night, I stayed up way too late and decided to take my sister and myself to see if we were hallucinating. I felt strange in that sitting room with a 2 year old. Not to mention I’m only 14.

 I decided to only take my sister for an appointment, since she was talking about demons serving tea. They wouldn’t let me go in with her so I just waited hoping this would all be a misunderstanding. 

“Your sister does see many hallucinations but she is an interesting case. She uses large words for her age and is very smart. But anyway, she is very interesting because some of her hallucinations are based on real events. You will have to investigate that but…good luck,” the doctor informed me. 

Chapter 3

I spent all night trying to figure out what the doctor meant. When I went through my memories my brain stuck on one thing. She called it her Grimm Getaway or the Void. I remembered that one night her babysitter took her for a walk in the woods. The next morning, she told me she saw an abandoned house with a sign that said, “My name is Rachel Grimm and this is my getaway. If you have any demons, I will get rid of them if you sit down for tea in my void room!” I remember telling her how stupid that sounded, but maybe this is what the doctor meant by the hallucinations being based on real events. By then I was definitely spooked. So I decided I will forever sleep in the window seat…well at least until I figured this out. 

When I woke up the next morning I decided to take my sister to the abandoned house and see what’s going on.

 On the walk through the woods to find the house I asked who Rachel Grimm was. “She is my master. She created my Grimm Getaway. She commands the Demons…” My 2 year old sister is starting to seriously scare me. Her master? Seriously? 2 months to go and she will still only be 3!

 I asked her what her Grimm Getaway was and all she said was, “Your microscopic brain can’t even begin to imagine the wonderful things it contains, so let me make this easy for you. It is a big black luxurious abode in the deep dark void. All I need to get in is some of my blood, but for someone as pathetically normal as you, we will need blood from the neck!” AND I THOUGHT I WAS CONCERNED BEFORE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY SISTER!? The house was farther than I thought, and my phone battery was decreasing rapidly, not that I had service out there anyway.

And for some reason it smelled like rotting tangerines. 

After about twenty more minutes, we found the house.

It was old and definitely abandoned. It was kind of grayish purple, and there were so many splotches of peeled paint on the house it almost looked like polka dots. 

I tried to find the sign but instead I found an address,  

143 Raven Road

U.S  Massachusetts 

6663

“Do you think this is the new address of the person who lived here?” I asked my sister. 

“Yes.” 

Now I just have to find this address…Good thing I live in Massachusetts!

When I got home, I immediately asked my mom where Raven road is, “Oh! I can take you there, but first I need to know why.”  

“Umm…on our walk I saw a package that was addressed to ‘143 Raven Road’. And Amy wants to come too. She said her friend lives on Raven Road, and she wants to visit,” I lied. My mom agreed and said she would take us, but she had a dentist appointment, so I would have to take us home. 

My sister and I got out of the car the next day to knock on the door of the person who may or may not have corrupted my sister. This new house didn’t look much better than the old one, but instead of purplish gray paint it was bright green paint with what looked like pitch black paint underneath where the green was peeling. It smelled like artificial bananas and was sickeningly sweet.  

I went up to the house and rapped on the door 3 times. 

Chapter 4

The wood was old and frayed. I made a mental note to check for splinters later. I heard a grunt coming from inside the house, and the part of my brain that associates old, decrepit houses with ugly, old, witch- looking ladies was very surprised when I saw an eye so beautifully hazel it almost looked golden peeking through the peephole. 

“Oh, she is one of my little victims down there. She is the youngest victim, and the only one still alive…Well come in, come in.” The woman said walking towards a table showing off her gorgeous auburn ringlets. She looked kind of old school with her red corseted gown. It did look like she hadn’t changed or showered or anything hygienic in the past 50 years (and smelled like it too), but somehow she was still breathtakingly beautiful. Her house was as cluttered as the littered streets on the way here.

 I decided I should just jump right in. 

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?” I screamed. 

“Awwww. Is that the only reason you visited? Why don’t you sit down for tea?” the woman said. 

Her face started twisting and stretching in ways that couldn’t be normal. Her beautiful eyes slowly melted into her face and left behind empty sockets. Her skin slowly started turning purple and melting into a contorted body. The only thing that stayed the same was her hair. Even her dress was melting. The only thing left of her after another minute of horrifying melting was her corset, her mouth, and her hair. Her mouth was dripping with blood and when she opened it her tongue was wrapped around an ax that was slowly coming out of her mouth. Her tongue was very long. The ax was a very large ax and her tongue was wrapped all the way around it. Her corset wasn’t naturally red. It was bloodstained and slowly melting away with her hand. Her hair was the only thing left normal. The tips were drenched in blood and with auburn the hair, it looked a lot like fire.  Her mouth still had an ax in it, but somehow still had great control. 

She went over to my sister and her hair went on top of my sisters like a perfectly fitted wig. My sister started mouthing words I couldn’t understand, so fast I couldn’t even try to lipread them. My sister went into the other room. When I followed her in, I saw at least 53 mannequins. My sister went over and cut the head off one of the mannequins. Then the woman (or what was left of her at least) went over to the freshly decapitated mannequin and placed herself over the nonexistent head and immediately the mannequin started to transform into the same woman that answered the door. Only, her dress was white. There was blood coming from her mouth, even with the ax gone, and it was staining the dress and making it the same blood red color as her dress was before. Soon the whole dress was transformed to blood red. 

Chapter 5

“Everytime I do this to one of my victims, it knocks them out for a few hours. Now she won’t hear what she is a victim of!” the creepy lady said. I guess I should be calling her Rachel. I mean it is her name.

 “So…your name is Rachel?” 

“Yes,” Rachel said. 

“Rachel, what is going on with my sister?” I asked.

“Ugh I guess this is the part where you pretend to be a hero and I have to give up my master plan because I think I can kill you so you won’t ruin it, then you ruin my plan and get everyone away safely. So the authorities can deal with me?” Rachel asked, sounding almost as bored as she looked. 

I nodded hoping I would get the easy win. I always hated the stupid heroes in the story who risk their lives for other people. Yeah, I’m not cut out for that kind of thing. “Yes, very well then. It was a dark and stormy night-.” 

“I don’t need your backstory, just tell me what you did to my sister!” 

“Fine jeez I thought that was how this works. I tell you the whole long story, you get caught in one sentence, and then you figure out how to thwart me!” I rolled my eyes.

“Basically I’m possessing a bunch of kids to kill as many people as possible. Your sister here is the youngest, and she is failing her job. She only killed one person, and he wasn’t even on the list. Oh, and if you’re wondering why she’s so bright for her age, I only choose kids like that because they can be more scary whilst holding a knife. So there you have it! I’m gonna let your sister go anyway because I was already planning to, but just so you know I don’t have a reason for killing everyone. Yes I knew you were going to ask that. I just want to-.” 

OK, THIS LADY IS MESSED UP! I should just grab my sister and run shouldn’t I? Or do I kill this lady? Or do I get the authorities the address so they can kill this lady? Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll get the authorities.

So…yeah I grabbed my sister, and I ran for my life!

But then I was lost, so I called my mom. She was at a restaurant, and I was a bit concerned she might be cheating on my dad. But I was gonna figure that out later. (A story for another time.) My mom said she would ask my dad to come get us. (When I asked who she was with, she just said it wasn’t my business.) When she hung up, my brain seemed to catch up with the situation and decided that that creepy lady could be following me. So I ran, and ran, and ran. 

And then I realized that my dad didn’t know where I was. So I called him, with the little battery I had left and told him where we were. I sat down to see if I could wake up my sister. I remembered I had a backpack with me, I brought two water bottles and a flashlight just in case, (But not a map? How dumb am I?) I poured some water on a random pack of tissues on the road. Yes I know it’s unsanitary, but that was a dire situation. I slapped my sister to see if that would wake her up, it didn’t but to be perfectly honest . . . she deserved a slap in the face. Although . . . she didn’t do it on purpose. I rubbed the wet tissue over her face to try and wake her up. It worked! 

“Hey, Lihn . . . Wh-wh-what happened. Are you okay?” She sounded so innocent I just had to know, “Do you remember a creepy lady named Rachel Grimm?” I asked. 

“No. Why?” Amy asked.

 “No reason!” I replied, trying to make the most genuine smile possible. I decided I wasn’t going to question why or how she forgot everything. I was just happy to have my sister back!

Epilogue

My dad picked us up and drove us home after that. When we got home Amy started talking around my parents. She has never done anything creepy since that day. I have never had to sleep in the window seat ever again (except when the neighbors are shooting fireworks). 

So, remember when I said my mom might be cheating on my dad? Well, she was. My parents got divorced. My dad is dating a woman named Emily, and my mom got married to the same guy she was in the restaurant with that day. His name is David. 

My sister is in 2nd grade, and I am in high school. Yes, I do still sleep with my stuffed giraffe, Wynn, and now he has a bucket hat AND a Hawaiian shirt, thanks to my sister.

I also now have a half-brother on my mom’s side named Dexter, and I still haven’t met him because my mom moved to California! I saw him when I was Facetime with my mom but never in person. I am going to meet him next month. I can’t wait! I am going to visit my aunt as well (she also lives in california). I can’t wait to see everyone! I never told Amy about her being possessed because I don’t want to bring it back. 

I watch Amy’s brown hair glint in the golden sun as she goes to greet her friends. 

“Dad! You Invited Charlotte AND Elizabeth!! They are so loud!!!” 

“Lihn, that’s no way to talk about your sister’s friends!” 

“Whatever.” 

So, as you can see, things are pretty normal. At least for our family. 

Sometimes even after all these years I still wonder how the world can be so peaceful, and yet, life is so scary…

Chapter 5, The Vanishing City

The reporters tried to swim but it was like their feet were bolted to the floor. Minutes later the city came back up with nothing on it. Not even the dead bodies. All the buildings and statues appeared exactly the same. I stepped on it and the dead bodies appeared for only me to see. 

“Do you see that?” I asked Carrot. 

“See what?” He said. 

“The dead bodies. They’re there again,” I said. 

“No, they’re not,” Carrot said, frustrated. 

I took one more step. “Now they’re back,” he said. 

I started to walk in the city, hoping I would not end up like the reporters. I didn’t. Soon the statue came to life. It told us that we were the chosen ones that were meant to save Atlantis from the spirits of the people who had died there. So Carrot and Topher geared up so they could touch the ghosts and defeat them. The first ghost they found was Topher’s mom. Topher started to cry. Then Topher hugged his mom and she became a dog again. 

Then the statue came over and said: “I forgot to tell you that if you hug your loved ones, they come to life again.” 

“Little late,” I said.

The Adventures of the Super Team #1

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there were four super boys, two super girls, and a wicked witch. A volcano had just erupted in the city, and the people had to be safe and had to stay in their homes. The super boys and super girls had to save the day…

All the characters have different powers. 

They all have super cool powers and they are going to battle the wicked witch. 

Well, first, the Super Team had to make a plan to capture the wicked witch. The Super Team already knew where the wicked witch was because, at the scene of the volcano, Super Team put a tracking device on the wicked witch. Right now the wicked witch was in the forest. 

So the Super Team put their powers in place and they all successfully got to the forest. Then they met up and went around the rainforest. They decided to split up and then meet when one of them found her. But each of them saw the wicked witch in different places, but at different times, so they ended up seeing each other and cornering the wicked witch. But the wicked witch did not know they were there, so they spied on her from three sides then they all leaped and captured her. 

First, they tied her up. Then they put her in a locked cage. Finally, they took her to jail and locked her up in a jail cell. That was one job done for the Super Team for the day. 

Then the Super Team went home and enjoyed the afternoon with some hot cocoa and pizza. The Super Team played a board game together, and then, since they were all tired, they went to bed early. They had very sweet dreams also. Also, they were ready for tomorrow’s patrol around the city… 

The Super Team is a team where they work together and save the day even when the bad guy is tough. Here are the names of the Super Team from oldest to youngest: the first one said that their name was Invisible Kid, The second one said their name was Teleport Kid, the third name was Freeze Kid. the fourth kid’s name was Flying Kid, the fifth kid’s name was Animal Kid, and the sixth kid’s name was Unicorn Kid. 

Chapter 2 

There was a house and living in that house was a queen of witches and two thousand ghosts. In the house next to it, there was a Super Team. Every day, one house battled the other house. But in the end, no one won. The house with two thousand ghosts and the queen of witches was a very old house. The house that the Super Team lived in was a very nice house to live in.

One day, they battled for eight days, and after that eight days they were so tired, so they went back to their house. The next day, the queen of witches said, “How about we be friends and never fight ever again?” The queen said that because she did not really like fighting. 

Then another person moved into the house next to the Super Team house and two houses away from two thousand ghosts and the queen of witches. And twenty days later, they found out that the person that moved in was a bad guy. They found out by seeing all of his trinkets that were bad things. Only bad guys use that stuff.

The next day, they knocked on the door of the person that moved in and they were ready to battle with all their magic. He opened the door and was not ready and got poisoned and had to stay in bed for one year. He said, “I’ll get you next time!”

Well, the Super Team and Whist (which was the ghosts and the witches’ team name) decided that they needed to become friends and have another friend. So in two months, they made a magical potion to heal the bad guy who lived right next to them. Then when the potion was ready, they knocked on the bad guy’s house. When he opened the door he was surprised by what he saw. 

Super Team said, “We want to be friends with you so we brought you a potion. It can undo your wound. We also need help sometimes and sometimes we could help you.”

The bad guy had a huge smile and was grinning from ear to ear. He said, “I would love to be a helper for all of you, and thank you. Also, my name is Thomas and I am a wizard.” Thomas drank the potion and was great again.

From that day on, when the Super Team called for help, Thomas the wizard came to help them. The super team almost every day had a bad guy come, but not once did the super team fail. They always captured the bad guy.

Sometimes, if the bad guy is really bad, the Super Team has to take them to jail.

But the Super Team usually doesn’t do that because they teach the bad guy how to be good and nice. They also don’t like being mean and putting people in jail.

Chapter 3

There was a house and 2,007 people living in the house. All of them were good guys. Six of the 2,007 people were on a team. As you know, their team was called Super Team. They were brave and always saved the day (as you guys know). There were also 2,000 ghosts, and the one other person was the queen of witches. She was a bad guy before, but now she was a good guy. 

“We will betray the Super Team,” said the queen of witches. “We will battle them!” 

“Okay!” said the ghosts.

The plan Whist (Queen of witches and ghosts) made was this: in the morning, when the Super Team woke up for breakfast, they would secretly cover all four sides of the room. Then they would pop out and fight and the Super Team wouldn’t even have their powers. Whist predicted after that, they would win and take Super Team to prison…

A day later, when the Super Team woke up, they did their normal routine. They woke up, brushed their teeth, and changed. Then they went to have breakfast. They walked in normally with no sound in the kitchen. When each of them was getting their breakfast, one of the ghosts made an ooh sound. That’s when all six of them stopped and started looking. The queen of witches told that ghost “shh,” but she said it very quietly. 

After breakfast when all six Super Team kids were going to get changed in their clothes, none of them could get out because the ghosts were blocking them. But the Super Team couldn’t see the ghosts. 

Then out of nowhere, the queen of witches came out and scared all six of them. She said, “Booooo Super Team!!!” 

All the ghosts came out of nowhere and attacked the Super Team, and forced them into a corner. 

The Super Team had to think fast. So they ducked the ghosts, went to their room, got their powers, and fought Whist. The Super Team went to all on different sides of the room. They ducked and slid and could not lose this big battle. To make sure none of the stuff in the house got damaged, the Super Team took Whist outside to fight. The Super Team always had emergency powers if needed, and they needed to use them now.

The emergency powers are the same as the normal powers the Super Team has but they have more power, so when they used the emergency powers it powered Whist very very very far away. They blew away. It powered them so hard that they were in New Jersey and went all the way to Canada. After that, the Super Team was so tired that they went back home and took a long nap.

Chapter 4

Once there was a house where there was a mom, dad, and boy. The boy’s name was Thomas. It was three o’clock in the afternoon and the boy wanted to get a toy but his mom and dad said, “No!” 

So the boy said to his mom and dad, “Can I play a game with you?” 

His parents said, “We’re busy,” so the boy broke their trash can and the chairs. He was mad and grounded for one week. He did not go to school that week. In the room that the boy was in, there was a shelf of food, so his mom and dad did not have to make the food every day.

He finally got out of being grounded. The boy was so sad and even more angry. But he was happy that he got to play with his friends again. His friends were finally happy to play with Thomas.

“Ring, ring, ring,” went the alarm clock the Super Team had. It woke the Super Team. The Super Team woke up with excitement because they were ready to start the day. The evil wizard was only one hour away from the Super Team’s house. The evil wizard was going to attack the Super Team. At one o’clock in the morning, he put a trap in the Super Team’s house. A booby trap that only one spell could work to undo. You could only find the spell in the Amazon Forest.

The Super Team woke up and saw that they were locked in their house. They knew that there was only one spell that would undo the trap. But the evil wizard didn’t realize the Super Team’s powers. The spells are magical spells so you need magic. Then, the Teleport Kid tried to teleport out of the house. It didn’t work and he just hit the wall with a boom! And he hurt his arm. He said, “Ouch!” 

***

They had to find the medical kit to fix his arm with a BandAid and then he’ll get much better. Animal Kid said, ”I am going to make sure Teleport Kid is okay.”

Freeze Kid said, “Oh my god! I want to see who’s out there!”

Flying Kid said, “I want to fly out the roof!” 

Unicorn Kid said, “I’m gonna push this thing!” 

Teleport Kid said, “I’m a little bit okay, but not all better.” 

There he was, the bad wizard, out the door. The wizard was laughing, “Hahahaaa.” 

Unicorn Kid hit the house with all her might and the house broke and then hit the wizard. The wizard tried to fight the Super Team. Freeze Kid froze the wizard. Flying Kid flew around the wizard. Then Invisible Kid pushed the wizard and the wizard fell.

***

But then the wizard said, “I’m still good.” Then Thomas came out of nowhere and did his karate to the wizard. Then the Super Team thanked Thomas and gave him a medal for helping them. 

Chapter 5

The Super Team cast a spell on the evil wizard so he would be dizzy. So when the evil wizard went to the streets, he would bump into people, so when the evil wizard went to the streets he bumped into people and he got bumped back because they didn’t like getting bumped. 

One person that was walking by got bumped by the evil wizard. The evil wizard was covered in lemonade because he kept bumping into people. The person said, “You need to have better manners!” 

“It’s not my fault! It’s your fault!”

“What did I do?” the other person said. 

“You pushed me,” said the evil wizard.

“No, you pushed me first,” said the other person. Then all the people there made faces at the evil wizard.

The evil wizard stayed there for 20 days. He was still alive because he was a wizard, but Invisible Kid was spying on the evil wizard so he did no funny business. 

After that, he saw a sign. It said: “find a treasure chest and you will get your own secret lair.” Invisible Kid wanted to get that lair for his team so he started looking for it.

Invisible Kid was going back to his home. He was looking and looking and looking for the chest. He couldn’t find it. He was so busy looking that he got lost. He knew the chest was in the sand. He knew that because the sign told him. 

***

A little while later…

The man in front saw the pretend money and ran after the evil wizard as fast as he could run, but the evil wizard ran faster.

Invisible Kid was still looking and looking, but in the forest, he wasn’t giving up even if he was lost. He kept looking and finally bumped into a tree. But he got up and then he saw sand, so he decided to dig. He couldn’t find anything. He dug for at least three days and he was determined he was going to use all his might. He was very, very, very hungry though. He finally found it on the fifth day he was digging. He found it. He knew he would find it. He opened it and it pushed him back three miles! 

“Aaaaahhhhh! Where am I?” said Invisible Kid slowly. He saw close by there were a lot of maps across the street. Invisible Kid ran and got a map and saw he was by a beach. He luckily had his bathing suit. Invisible Kid swam all the way to the end of the ocean because that is where the treasure chest could be. It took him two minutes to swim to the other side of the ocean. He knew it was on this beach but still could not find the treasure chest. 

Invisible Kid saw a potion in the water. It was really big and the can was purple. The potion said, “There is a chest inside this potion.” But another person swam and took the potion. So Invisible Kid went invisible and swam as fast as he could to get the potion. But the other guy was too fast! 

So Invisible Kid went to a store and got his favorite food. His favorite food was pizza and so he ate a whole pie of pizza in one bite and he was ready to run as fast as he could. ‘Cause with pizza, he can run super fast. 

So he ran and took the potion ‘cause he was super fast. He saw that that person was the evil wizard. But the evil wizard was too slow to catch Invisible Kid. Then Invisible Kid looked in the potion and saw the chest. It was mesmerizing. He took the chest and evil wizard and went home. The Super Team put a spell on the evil wizard so he would always be good.

***

One month later…

The evil witch was spying on the Super Team. she had the power to freeze. The evil witch has a magic stick and when she points it at somebody for five seconds the other person will freeze. The evil witch grew up to be evil. All her family were evil. The evil witch lived in the town. She grew up in the town. She was mean so nobody wanted to be her friend. So she wanted to be a bad guy…

“And yes, I will be a bad guy,” the evil witch said when she was five. The evil witch was a real bad guy… after that moment, the evil witch was EVIL! That was the time she became evil! 

Then, to be evil, she started pushing and shoving the children, but the teachers were too scared to talk to the evil witch. The teachers told the police and they came right away. When the five year old evil witch saw the police she was really ready to run. She was a really fast runner. So she ran as fast as she could when the police tried to catch her they wouldn’t. She was just running farther from the police. She was on her own, and then found a stick. She kept it if a police would come then. The stick had magic powers and the powers went into her body. Then she put her hand on a tree and the tree was frozen. Then she knew her power was that she could freeze. She knew her power was amazing.

***

After the Super Team made the evil wizard good they returned the chest, but they didn’t take the lair. They didn’t take it because there was someone else who really really badly wanted it, so they wanted to be nice. 

A day later, the Super Team was reading the news and they heard an evil witch robbed a bank. The Super Team wanted to research to find out more about the evil witch. They found out the evil witch liked collecting chests, so they wanted to take all of them so she didn’t rule the world. They split up to get all the chests. They would communicate by talking through their walkie-talkies.

Then when all of them were finding the chests, they saw there was one more chest, so they decided to let Invisible Kid do it. Invisible Kid had been searching and searching and finally found the chest. Unfortunately, the evil witch found the chest at the same time as Invisible Kid did, so then they had to fight for it. 

First Invisible Kid turned invisible and stepped closer and closer to the chest. Since the evil witch didn’t know where Invisible Kid was, she just protected herself and the chest. But out of nowhere, Invisible Kid snatched the chest and ran as fast as he could. When the evil witch tried to chase him, out of nowhere, Teleport Kid came, got Invisible Kid, and brought them both home. After they were both home, Super Team went back and fought the evil witch. Since the evil witch was outnumbered, she lost.

***

After that, the super team turned the evil witch good. They also decided to return the chests since the evil witch and wizard were good now.

THE END.

The Elf Story

Once upon a time, there lived an elf. His name was Elfy. He was a good elf and was helpful. One day, Elfy remembered when he was sick and thought about when he was in the elf  hospital. So, today, Elfy wanted to see the hospital because it helped him heal. 

Elfy had wings so he flew there; it was only a five-minute flight. When he got there, he was confused because it looked like a big, abandoned building. Elfy thought it was the wrong place, but on the side of the building, there was a ripped and torn sign that said, Elf Hospital. Elfy was really sad the hospital was abandoned. But, to cheer himself up, he decided to look through the things there and see if there were any cool memories.

When Elfy started looking, there was a little crackling sound: crackle crackle. But Elfy was brave and kept looking for memories. Then, all of a sudden, the electricity went out, and it was pitch black. 

Elfy took the memories he could and went back home. When Elfy was home, he looked through the memories and thought about the hospital. 

THE END.

A Man of Dreams

I am a man

Just a simple man

With microscopic dreams

Smaller than they seem

I don’t look up too much

Don’t really beam

But like those stars

You wish upon at night

My microscopic dreams

Are wishes as much as they are bright

I’m out of sight

Most of the day

Hiding indoors

From November to May

Night and day

Day and night

But when I sleep

I dream of dreams

More you can wish for

More than it seems

I am a man

Just the simple kind

But I have dreams

Bold and lined

Hopefully you too

Can dream a dream

Better than

How it might seem

I give you this knowledge

To dream a dream

To be yourself

And be redeemed

A rival nor foe

You dream a dream

Better than

It could seem

Escaping from Alcatraz

A kid should not read this book. Bad dreams. Of being stuck in Alcatraz.

In San Francisco, there was a prison called Alcatraz. It was a place for people who did something really bad. In 1948, Alcatraz was still open for prisoners. But nobody knew that there was one convict who was trying to escape from that island. He was looking for a way out of that filthy place. His plan was like this: he would trick the guard into his cell, and then he would pull the bomb out of his hand and throw it into the hallway. And that would make his cell blow up. Using the dust in the air, nobody would be able to see him. Then he would pull out the bomb from some guards. And a rifle.

“It’s lunch time, Number 3984!!” one of the guards said. 

Ah, I thought, it’s time to get out of this filthy prison. So I pretended to be dead. Anxious, the guard came to my bed. When he got closer, I got up as fast as I could and punched the guard as hard as I could. The guard fainted the instant I hit him, with no sounds. I looked at the guard to see if he had a key. During the time I tried to find the key, I really thought I was silly because Alcatraz has a door that’s electronic. So no one could escape in a stupid way. Like unlocking the door with a key. 

Desperate to get out from that prison, I threw the bomb into the hallway. The guards yelled, “What the – ” but it was too late for them to stop the bomb. After ten seconds, the cell blew up, and the hallway was filled with dust. Nobody saw me approaching the guard. And nobody saw me taking off a few more bombs and a rifle. I ran to the door of the prison and finally escaped from the prison. But it was my mistake that it might be the end of my prison escape.

Two more guards were waiting outside as a surprise. They were armed with lots of new weapons. Like machine guns and some more things. I simply said, “I will surrender.” 

They actually did believe a liar. When they tried to put on a handcuff, I punched them with my elbow in their stomachs. They threw up and just fell into the ground. Pretty easy to fight a guard. 

But the real problem to escape from there was crossing the ocean to go back to San Francisco. No one could swim through that gap in this cold weather. So the only way to escape from there was to take the boat that was heavily guarded by guards who were armed with the U.S. Army’s newest weapon.

To fight them, I picked up every single weapon from the two guards. Bombs, M16s, and M16s with mini rockets. It was really heavy with the guns all over my body, but I still had the power to carry it. After a minute, there were ordinary guards only armed with a rifle. But there were still 18 guards, so I threw the bomb with gas on it to the guards, and when all of them were coughing, I escaped.

I went up to the tower and saw 489 guards guarding the boat. So I thought, The only way to the boat is to make the other prisoners jail break and make them fight with the guards. So I went back to the filthy prison where people were locked up in the filthy prison and the guards fainted. So I pushed the button and made the door open. 

Many people went out. They went through the door by kicking the guards as payback. I followed them out, passing them weapons and things. There were 153 prisoners. Enough to fight the guards who had never had a fight. Two guards approached, and the gangster beat that guy up. They went to the shore and fought with the guards who were armed with only guns. I gave them M16s and some bombs, so the guards were no match for them. Also, some of them were people who were trained at the finest academy in the U.S and the U.K. So that made the guards fall off from the land to the shore. I already cut off almost every single thing that could connect to the outside world. So nobody could connect with the government and bring some more work like the FBI or the CIA. 

And, finally, when the deck was clear, I used the boat to escape to San Francisco. I found a lot of money in the boat. I went to the airport and bought a first class ticket that goes to Hawaii. No one will find me again.

To be continued… 

Sail

I am drawn

Drawn to sail away

In my tiny boat

From night to day

The waves that rocked gently

Have now grown fierce 

But I have no remorse 

For these monstrous waves

I shall ride them

Even if it means I won’t be saved

Now a calm ocean

Under the spotlight

The water has grown tame

After the last night

Lying on my boat

With the sail flying everywhere

But I am still tired

And don’t seem to care

Then I stand up

And brush away my sweat

And ride the ocean once more

As if it were my pet!

Child Writing Concerns

Essays are difficult for kids, but we can conquer them. I am a ten-year-old student, and whenever I try, I always have a hard time getting an idea. I will think for hours upon hours, but nothing comes to mind. Even if I try again the next day, sometimes, nothing still happens. My brain is like a computer with an error not being able to run a program. I always thought of it as writer’s block, but it really should be known as “essay block”! I don’t have it when I write my stories or at school. But when it comes to essays, I am stumped about what to do.

However, I have found a solution for myself. It’s called a partner. They help you through the day. My partner changes all the time. I can have a little stuffy or even my brother as my guide. I had to come up with my own solution for my own essay block, so as not to take the advice of an adult who is not in a position to remember what writing as a kid is like. 

Adults sometimes can have an “illness” per se, called Grown-Ideas. They have a more fixed mindset and less imagination than when they were a kid because they grow a more danger-mind. This is where they can’t imagine anything, only the bluntness. When you are a child your mindscape is endless so you truly understand the problems grownups don’t. 

This brings me to something I found to further suggest this, an article by Kim Kautzer called “How to Help a Child with Writer’s Block.” Kautzer, who wrote the article, simply doesn’t understand children at all. She kept referring to the learner as “he,” and not “she” or “they.”  As an example, she would write “Later, he can ask,” or “[f]or example, he can” or even “gives him,” but never use other pronouns. It’s as though only boys can learn and use this advice. I feel a little as though this sexist wording is from the past.

It’s probably careless wording that accounts for most mistakes, but her other overgeneralization is more serious. It concerns age and expectations of what kids should achieve at certain ages. She kept saying that a person has a duty to meet certain standards by a set birthdate. For example, she says that “Younger children shouldn’t labor over a revision. It’s enough to add a few details, substitute stronger words, and polish up spelling and punctuation.” So, in other words, she is suggesting that the minute the kid turns a new age, they are somehow supposed to be wonderful with no whatsoever real preparation. Just because that is true for some people, it’s not like you can magically blow out your birthday candles and then write cleanly and perfectly. Everyone is different, therefore, it is an unrealistic standard to change so quickly from easy to hard expectations in one day. For example, in the article Kautzer says, “Teens, however, should expect to rewrite a draft several times before it passes muster, beefing up arguments, supporting with additional facts, embellishing with description, and improving both word choice and mechanics.” This quote is the opposite of the claim that writing is hard since it is saying that you have to be like this at one age or another. Making these claims can be pressuring, and create shame since she makes seeming to fall short of “age-appropriate” goals a stressful situation. 

You can decide for yourself with the link at the end. If you are an adult, you probably won’t understand. So, I feel you should listen to kids like me, the people who are affected by these bad pedagogical choices, first.

Why Standardized Testing Is Unfair

I always knew that standardized testing wasn’t fair to people who did not have as much knowledge as me from doing after-school activities. I recently turned ten, and when we did the state tests in school, I was already doing sets and operations on sets, which is a sixth-grade level. But I did not realize how super unfair it was until I did my math test. It was too easy for me, but I saw people around me struggling with the questions. I think that standardized testing should be abolished. It is stressful, helps only certain types of students, and there are much fairer ways to measure teacher effectiveness and student achievement.

First of all, testing puts kids through a lot of unnecessary stress. Every time we have a test in our ELA class, everyone gets upset. Some might say that this test-related stress is a necessary evil, but that isn’t true. Sure, tests are important: Testing shows what you know. According to Scientific American, it is the case at every grade level that frequent tests boost learning. If you don’t, you won’t show what you know, and the next grade would be too hard. But there are other ways that we could measure a teacher’s performance with students other than tests, or in other words, how students have improved since they started school. For example, there could be an art project reflecting on what they learned in math, or a science project about physics-related math.

Secondly, standardized tests only help certain types of students, which means that they can be biased. Multiple academic papers and analyses have found that standardized tests reinforce racism and classism. According to op-ed writer Jamie Palladino, who cites a finding from Inside Higher Ed that on the reading section of the SAT, “[s]tudents in families making less than $20,000 averaged a score of 433 while students from families making $200,000 had an average score of 570.” This shows that standardized tests are not fair to students who don’t have rich families. To be clear, even if you know this, there is not a high chance for a student to be born into a rich family. But not everyone agrees that this is a cause for concern. 

Sean-Michael Pigeon, a student who claims that tests elevated his opportunities even though he lacked the wealth of his classmates, rejects the idea that they are classist, writing “Testing and academic performance were the best way for someone like me to succeed.” Even though he says that testing was his way to get to the Ivy League, and receive its financial aid, there is not a way to know if his admission was really based on his test scores, because there are too many other factors in the decision of admitting or not admitting someone into the school. Furthermore, the financial aid would have come if he got admitted, regardless of his test scores.

Even though testing is measured, it is not always fair. There are different ways we could measure a student’s academic score. As the website Otus shows, there are at least four ways to measure a student’s performance. Sampling, Stealth or Game-based assessments, Multiple Measures, or Portfolio-based assessments. Sampling is a semi-alternative to standardized testing. Sampling is taking a smaller part of the population, making a test for that group, and sending it to them. It isn’t completely perfect, but it is better than a test for everyone. Stealth or Game-based assessments are when a test is like a game, making it more fun. Portfolio-based assessments are when you measure student progress based on projects, presentations, reports, and papers collected over time. Multiple Measures is basically all of the above.

So what? You might be thinking. Well if you are thinking, What about kids who do know the material but they are anxious testers? Well, if we get rid of standardized testing, they might not be as stressed, but as long as standardized tests exist, there isn’t much you can do about it other than say some supporting words. You might also be thinking, Standardized tests are said to be “standard,” but this also means that they can be biased toward people who learned specific topics in specific ways, which is going to be more beneficial to kids of some backgrounds than others. Is this fair? And really the sad answer is no, no it is not fair for people who don’t have the same background as others. You can try to do extracurricular material out of or in school, but for now, it is just not fair. With all these possible better alternatives, abolishing standardized testing makes the most sense.

Works Cited:

Pigeon, Sean-Michael. “Standardized tests help poor students like me.”

<https://www.goerie.com/story/opinion/2021/04/05/op-ed-getting-rid-standardized-testing-punishes-poor-students/4851745001/>

Palladino, Jamie. “Op-Ed: Abolish standardized testing.” <https://friendsinsight.org/611/opinion/op-ed-abolish-standardized-testing/>

Walker, Jordan. “How to Measure Student Progress Without Standardized Tests.”

<https://otus.com/measure-student-progress-without-standardized-testing/>

Minli’s Special Ingredient

Grand-mama stirred the big black pot, Mama cut the pork, and Papa made the dough. The smell, the taste! 

“It looks good, Grand-mama!” Minli said, standing on her tippy-toes to peek higher over the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Grand-mama smiled and scooped her up. “Yes, Baby, it will be ready when I add the special ingredient.”

Minli’s black pigtails waved up and down as Grand-mama cradled her. Minli pushed her bangs out of her face so she could peer with her wide eyes up at Grand-mama.

“Special ingredients?” Minli asked, curious.

“Mm-hmm,” Grand-mama said, setting Minli down back on the step stool.

Minli climbed up to watch Papa fold the dumplings. “But Grand-mama, what’s your special ingredient?”

Grand-mama smiled. “It’s a special spice.”

Minli wrinkled her nose, then asked, “Do I have a special ingredient?”

Grand-mama smiled and said, “What do you think?” 

“I have to be a big girl to have it, right?” she said, crossing her arms and pouting. She was only three.

Grand-mama looked at her with a mischievous smile, “But Minli, you don’t have to be big, you just have to have the right tongue.”

Minli was confused, “What do you mean ‘right tongue’?”

Grand-mama was now more focused on the pot, stirring and stirring until finally, she spoke. “I mean you have to be brave and try things that may not look tasty.” She held the wooden spoon to Minli’s lips and Minli licked the homemade sauce. “But you can always try,” Grand-mama finished triumphantly as Minli licked the sauce off her lips.

“What’s it called, Grand-mama?”

“Soy sauce,” Grand-mama said simply, continuing to stir.

Mama came over to Minli and scooped her up, tickling her belly. Minli giggled and asked, “Mama, do YOU have a special ingredient?”

“Why yes I do, baby girl!” Mama said. “Grand-mama taught me, just as she taught you.” Minli smiled at this thought. When the table was set Minli dipped her dumpling in the soy sauce.

Mama smiled when she saw Minli. She slid over a white bowl with a sauce in it. Minli tried the sauce and loved it.

A few years later…

Minli stood in front of Grand-mama’s grave and put a letter to her at the edge of the cold stone.

Dear Grand-mama,

I’m not sure if this is allowed. The Lin family has done this tradition for generations, and I am not sure what my ingredient is.

The problem is, I can’t find just one. I love you and I love this family, but what happens if you love everything too much?

I think my special ingredient is Love. 

The Glowing Snow

I look outside and see the white snow,

Then I get curious and I want to know,

What happens if snow could glow?

So I wait until dusk throughout the day,

I was think to maybe go outside and play,

But it’s too late to do that so I will find out the way. 

I rush to the lights because its time now,

Then I see it all happen as I hear a snow plow, 

I was filled with emotion because I wanted to know.

I put on my materials and run outside,

The snow starts to glitter as I slide, 

I go back inside as I stand feeling happy and with pride.

Spring Has Sprung

Sunshine falls gently like bubbles of golden bliss

Like a beautiful bright light in a pitch black abyss

Sparkling through the budded trees

While a warm breeze blows gently with ease

Flowers bloom in the morning dew

Animals, birds, and rainbows, too

Winter long gone, cast aside your fear 

For now Spring has sprung

To begin the new year

After cold and snow and wind

After huddling up close to live

A new day has begun

Just like the beautiful rising sun

Let all your worries float away

Because for now the sunshine is here to stay

No more coats and masks and fear

Forever Spring will spring

To dawn a new year

McLaren Team

Chapter 1: The Beginning of Their Adventure

One day, the boys were walking home from school. They saw a guy in a McLaren. They heard there was a McLaren race going on. They went to watch the race in the capital of California. It was on the race track, and someone used a farting boost that he installed himself to speed up. The guy they saw with a McLaren won. He got $100 trillion because there were a thousand people. Then the boys worked so hard to get money for their McLaren. Jimjim was betting money on football games. He was always lucky and got $10,000. His other friends were playing a mystery claw machine game where, if you get something in the claw, you can find the special item in it. Sometimes it’s a phone or AirPods or money. 

Jake, William, Dillion, Chris, JJ, and DJD  are all 18. They’ve been friends since forever. They were born in the same hospital, at the same time, on the same day. 

Jake is athletic and plays soccer and basketball. 

William is stubborn and always wants to win. 

Dillion is calm and shy. 

Chris gets all the girls. 

JJ is boring with personality. 

And DJD is determined and jealous of Chris. 

Jimjim is their president and leader. He has a girlfriend named Jemina, and they’re getting married in one year if he wins the race, but if he loses, they break up. All the members are from California. One day, Jimjim and his crew were walking to the McLaren dealership. They had to cross the dog park. One of the dogs was chasing the whole team until they got to the other side where the dog could not reach them. The reason the dog was chasing them was because the team had Goldfish in their hands. When they were finished with their Goldfish, Chris and William raced to the trash can, and when William stepped on something, he saw that the trash can could open, so he didn’t have to put his foot on the trash can handle. 

When they got their McLarens, Jimjim had the most expensive one, and William, Dillion, Chris, and Jake had all the second-best McLarens, and DJD and JJ had the third-best. At the dealership, they saw five people with metal bars come in. The chief said, “Give me five of your McLarens’ keys now!” 

The car dealership man said, “Okay, okay, okay, I’m sorry!” 

One of the guys on the chief’s team said, “Hurry up, I don’t have all day!” 

Jimjim’s group got into their Teslas (which weren’t very good because they were really old). They started their cars, and they actually smashed through the glass of the dealership and smashed the McLarens. Before they started racing, they were actually junior cops, and they arrested all five of the crooks, and then they radioed for police. Then the dealership owner said, “Oh my God, thank you! Here, take five free cars. Jimjim, you get the most expensive one. William, Dillion, Chris, and Jake get the second-best ones, and DJD and JJ get the third-best.”

The dealership man also gave the boys the whole dealership. This was the happiest day of their lives. They got all the money in the dealership’s vault. To access it, you had to start a McLaren and drive without going anywhere. Then a secret passageway would appear. The boys had so much money, and they bought a whole race track so they could test their cars. They also bought a trailer. On the day of the race, they all were so confident they would win. If only one teammate crosses the line first – wins for the whole team. When the race started, they were off. All the boys were lined up. Part of the race had jumpscares in it, so the racers can get distracted and crash, but before they could get that far, Jimjim talked through the mic. 

“Guys, be careful. You don’t have to get scared. You can just look forward and win by focusing.”

Everyone said, “You got it!”

“And if anyone tries to get in our way – delete them!”

“Yes, siree!” said the boys. 

When they reached the scary part, Chris got a little distracted because he saw a girl right next to him, and instead of Chris pushing her and knocking her out, she knocked him off balance! Chris was okay, though. 

Dillion was right in front of Chris, so he said into the mic, “We got a man down!”

Jimjim was like, “Ah, shucks! Why did Chris have to be in the back where the girls are? He’s, of course, going to lose his control!” 

When the race was almost finished, only William and Jimjim remained. Some other person in the race passed Jimjim. William said, “I will take him out!”

“Okay, do it now! I believe in you, bro,” said Jimjim. 

After William smashed the person that was in front of Jimjim, Jimjim crossed the finish line and won the race. The person who got smashed by William asked if she could join their team. Then, out of nowhere, everyone heard an explosion. DJD’s car got blown up, and there was no trace of DJD. 

Jimjim said, “Yeah, you can join our team.”

The girl said, “I also can tell the future if you want me to help you find your friend.”

Jimjim said, “What do you mean? He exploded.” 

The girl said, “No, that’s not true. If you look closely at the ground, you can see his footsteps.” 

Dillion said, “If you want to be a part of our squad, what’s your name?”

“That’s need-to-know information. We can do that later,” said the girl. “Now let’s just focus on finding your friend.”

As they were walking for a couple of minutes, they saw DJD with a broken arm! 

“Are you okay?” said everyone.

“No, I was badly injured in the race! Ahhh!” he shrieked in pain, and then his arm fell off!

“Ewww!” everyone said. “Will you be okay, DJD?”

“Yeah, I will be – ” He fell to the ground.

The girl said, “He has died.” 

Everyone started crying. The girl tried reviving him, but there was no cure. He was dead. 

The girl finally told the boys the need-to-know information, and said her name was JDD. 

After they took their sad moment away, they went to the dealership (that they own!) and got JDD a new car. It had the best engine ever, and if someone smashed into it, it could keep going. 

“This car was going to be DJD’s birthday present because his birthday would’ve been in two days. This is your present from us for joining our team, and it’s a reminder of DJD.”  

Then when Jimjim got home, he realized his girlfriend had left him a note saying, I’m sorry, but I’ve moved on with a richer, cooler, more expensive guy. When he went to his room, he realized that his girlfriend still had on her bracelet that he had given her so that, if she ever left him, he would know where to look for her. 

Chapter 2: Newest Member Joins The Pack

In the morning, Jimjim met up with the boys and their new member, JDD, at the dealership. Jimjim told them what happened with his girlfriend. JDD suggested that they should search the area for her. Everyone liked that, but Jimjim said, “That would be nice, but I installed a tracker on her bracelet that I gave her. Let me see here. Oh, man, she must have found it. I guess I should listen to you, JDD.” 

After all the boys and JDD had left the dealership, they scattered around the city. Jimjim’s girlfriend snuck into the dealership. She tried to steal a McLaren, but not everyone left. William stayed. Then he contacted everyone. When everyone came back, they saw William on the floor, and they were shocked. 

Dillion said, “How couldn’t you tie her up?” 

William said, “I did, but someone came with her secretly. It went so fast.” 

Dillion said, “You mean, secretly. Hahaha!” 

Everyone said, “That’s why you’re not funny.” 

Jimjim said, “That’s enough! You really think this is the time to make a joke, huh?” 

Chris said, “Chill out, bro.” 

JDD said, “Just stop! I will get crazy.” 

“Uhhh, fine, geez. You’re so high maintenance,” Jimjim said with an attitude. 

Jake said, “Wait, William, you said that someone was with her?” 

“Yeah,” said William. 

Dillion said, “Oh, that is true. So we have to find out who it was.” 

Jimjim suggested, “Racing at the field, but JDD, JJ, William, and Chris all stay here.” 

“That’s a good idea,” said JDD. 

“Then when they come in, we can be in the secret cloak that I invented,” Jake informed them. 

As everyone left, JDD, JJ, William, and Chris all stayed behind. As they suspected, Jimjim’s girlfriend appeared with none other than – “DJD!” 

Everyone was shocked, except Jimjim and Jake because they were at the racetrack. Dillion was so annoyed that DJD had to lie about his death. Then William and Chris decided enough was enough, so they stood up from their hiding spot, got their handcuffs, and very secretly, when both their hands were on their backs, arrested them! 

Chapter 3: The Plan Has Collapsed

After Jimjim and Jake came back, Jimjim was the calmest, but Jake, on the other hand, fainted when he saw DJD. 

Jimjim said, “I thought you died!” 

“Not exactly. I was practicing how to hold my breath at home, and I might say that it worked.” 

Jimjim now looked at his ex-girlfriend. 

“Why are you trying to steal our McLaren, huh? I am waiting for an exclamation now!” shouted Jimjim. 

Jemina replied, “I heard from a little birdie that you have a dealership.” 

“Who might be that birdie? I am listening!” 

“That would be me,” exclaimed DJD. 

“Please don’t send me to jail! I am too pretty to be in there,” said Jemina in a sus voice. 

“Oh, don’t worry, you’re not going to jail,” said Jimjim. 

“Oh, that’s so good. I – ” 

“You’re going to solitary,” exclaimed Jimjim. 

“What? No way! I will not set foot in solitary,” huffed Jemina. 

“We are leaving now,” yelled William. 

When they got to the station, they threw them in there. Jemina was starting to beg the guard to let her go. The guard started to fall in love with her. Then, out of nowhere, the guard let her out.

Chapter 4: The Intense Snow

The group came back from the Museum of Cars, and when they got to solitary, they saw that the guard was knocked out and he was unconscious. They ran out and went in their McLarens and raced all the way back to the dealership, seeing that two of the cars were missing. The Slashers went out, but before they could, Dillion said, “Why don’t we just wait until the next race?” (Which was only in five months.)

Five months later… 

In January, the race was held, but there was a slight, little problem. Those weren’t regular cars! They were sled-McLarens. They were so ready to beat everyone and claim the title. When the person told the racers to go, they were off, and Jimjim told everyone the same routine that he told everyone in the last race. DJD wasn’t in the group, so he knew what they were doing, so he decided to go really fast with Jemina, who was, surprisingly, in the race! When William, Dillion, Chris, and Jimjim were all in first, DJD crashed into Chris and William. Jemina flew past Jimjim. Then, out of nowhere, he saw a vision. He remembered how JDD did that in the last race, but instead of Jimjim crashing into Jemina, she smashed him. Then DJD dashed straight to the finish line, but JDD came out of nowhere and smashed right into DJD and crossed that finish line, and they were champions once again! But then, when DJD and Jemina crossed the line, they got handcuffed and got sent to a solitary underground prison. 

Chapter 5: Two New Stars Are Born Anew

Two years passed, and Jemina and DJD were out of the prison, and they lived a happy life, and they actually got married. They had two children, Jinx and Sphinx, who were twins. It was the same day that the whole group had been born, and the same time! A year later, they found the group, and they asked if they could join, but then Jimjim was a little sus, but he let them in anyway. 

The next race was here, but William told the group, “I don’t think I can race this time because I hurt my leg.” 

Jimjim then told Sphinx he could substitute for William. Sphinx replied, “I’m really nervous!” 

“Don’t be,” said Dillion. 

Sphinx’s twin brother said, “Good luck. You got this!” 

Chapter 6: The Odds Get Harder

In this race, there was a slight twist. Only one of your group members could race, so Jimjim was counting on Sphinx to beat it. Even though this was Sphinx’s first race, he was really nervous, but he took three deep breaths and went to the starting line. When the race was about to start, he heard his parents cheering, and when Jimjim heard that, he was really in shock. When he was about to run towards Sphinx, he got exploded by an apple. Then he saw the same robbers who tried to steal cars from the dealership. He was about to call his police buddies, but before he could, the robbers came and threw his phone so far that he couldn’t call them. After that, he was really upset and got his whole team together, but before he could, the race had already started. Sphinx was off! The problem was, it was just a trick. All of the racers that were on the line were robots, and they were meant to be bad drivers so Sphinx could win because, at the end of the race, they were going to spray Sphinx with some hypnosis gas so he would crash. JDD used her psychic powers to throw the robbers off balance, but what she didn’t know was that they had marbles that could deflect magic and psychic powers. When Jimjim saw Sphinx nearing the end, a strange man walked on the racetrack. Sphinx saw him and stopped, and then the man was actually Dillion in disguise, and then he was saved. But then William walked on the finish line and took the gas himself to show Sphinx that it was a trap. But what they didn’t know was that he wouldn’t wake up for 10 hours.

Chapter 7: The Depression of the Century

When William finally woke up, he told the whole group that DJD and Jemina were planning this and trying to sabotage their own son! 

Jimjim had an idea. “I think we can set up a race and we can force those robbers out and see what they would do not to Sphinx, but to Jinx.” 

“I don’t think that will work,” said Jinx. 

“Why not?” William asked.  

“I will be down in the vault because I’m a little scared and I don’t want to get knocked out for 10 hours like William.” 

But then they heard a little, “Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun!” 

William was in the corner playing Clash Royale. 

Everyone was like, “Really? Now is not the time. This is serious business right now. If we do this, we will be legends and everyone will know our names.” 

“Doesn’t everyone already know our names?” asked William. 

“That is true, but we have to get even more trophies, not just one trophy.” 

JJ said, “I’m not sure we – ” 

“You’re not going to be able to do this!” an anonymous voice said. 

“Who was that? Imma give you some martial arts moves if you don’t behave,” said Dillion. But then Dillion switched his words right away and said, “I mean, I’ll give you some mac ’n’ cheese arts! Hahaha.” 

“You’re done. You’re really done,” said the anonymous voice again, but a little louder. 

Chapter 8: The Hunt Begins

Jimjim replied, “I know where the secret, legendary car is.” 

“Oh, we know,” answered the anonymous voice in a laughing voice.  

“Jimjim, why would you tell them where the secret car is?” answered Jake. 

“If you don’t stop talking right now, I’m going to call you Jake from State Farm!” said the anonymous voice. 

“Why do you keep saying that? I’m not Jake from State Farm. You’re Jake from State Farm, and also, you’re Barney from the song,” said Jake. 

When the voice stopped talking, the team was in shock, and they quickly got into their McLarens and rode all the way to the exhibition. But then they realized that the anonymous voices were not there! But then they heard a SCRRRT. Then the car was so fast that they just saw a flick of wind. There was sleeping gas inside the building, and when they passed by, all the teammates fainted except one, and that was… 

Chapter 9: The Stress Has Begun

As the anonymous voices thought they were safe from the team, Jake came out of nowhere and crashed right into them. Then Jake jumped out of the car and got into the legendary car. When the rest of the group got to his location, they went back to the dealership and put it into the vault. Jimjim was thinking to himself, Isn’t this too easy? Then he saw that Jake was acting a little weird. Jake was turning into a ghost! The anonymous voices threw something at him so he could pixelate into a ghost. 

Jimjim yelled, “What is the cure for this craziness?” 

“We have the cure!!” someone replied. “But if you don’t give us the legendary car, he will be turned into a ghost forever! You have exactly seventy-two hours until he pixelates into a full ghost.”

William said, “We can’t do it because then we’re gonna lose the car and never find it again.” 

Jimjim said, “We have to do it.” 

Everyone was like, “What are you doing? We cannot give them the car because we’ll never find it again and it will disappear.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” said Jimjim. “But I have a slight plan to get them confused, and we can still have it.”

Chapter 10: An Extraordinary End of the First Adventure 

Jimjim told everyone the plan, and they all liked it. They spray-painted the same exact design of the car so they could give them that car and they could still have the legendary car. When they got to the same place where they got the car, they saw three people coming out from the anonymous place. It looked like DJD and Jemina were coming with the antidote in their hands. First, they told them to bring the antidote to them, and then after that, they tossed over the antidote. They brought Jake with them, and Jake drank the potion, and he started turning back into a regular human. And then they had to use a special cannon that was invented by Quint Dinkleberry that can evaporate those people from the planet. So, quickly, before they saw that the legendary car was fake, they went to Quint Dinkleberry and got the special weapon, and after that, they won, and they got sent to Planet Dinkleberry. They actually sent a spy in case they got transported to Planet Dinkleberry. After that, the spy was following them, and then William heard a crack behind them, and then he used the same weapon that they used to transport DJD and Jemina to Planet Dinkleberry. A black car drove up to them and asked if they were willing to join their team of secret spy agents. The man was named Sherlock, and he said, “I have a spot for all of you to steal as spies to get the legendary cars.” 

Everyone asked Jimjim if they were going to go and work with him. Jimjim said, “Yes. We are honored to work with you.” 

Sherlock answered, “Your next adventure will be in the deep jungle.” 

To be continued…

Acornburg

A dark cloud filled the sky with gloom, and spread an uneasy shadow over the town of Acornburg like a chilling blanket of blackness. The usually sweet and scented air that would fill the surrounding areas with cherry blossom petals and fireflies at night seemed to be all but gone, and left in its place a thick and chilled atmosphere, that sent all the animals scurrying back into their various homes and holes. The cherry blossom leaves crumpled up, their vibrant coloring turning to a sickly brownish black as they slowly withered and fell from their trees. It was as though all life had suddenly abandoned Acornburg, leaving its former glory to lay to rest among the ashes. Not a sound could be heard from anywhere in the ghostly town, all the houses silent, waiting for some sign of the Acornburg they used to know. The fountains stopped churning water, the plants stopped growing, the businesses stopped their sales, all at once everything had come to a halt and nobody would ever know why. The usually bustling streets of Acornburg had practically fallen to rubble overnight. 

Driving Blind

Nothing. Just gray. Panic took control of me. Why did we have to drive at night? What if we were driving off a cliff? I was close to tears on the high mountain. My mom tried to put on a reassuring smile, but it was clearly fake. I squeezed her hand so tightly, it hurt for me as well. My sister was the navigator, and my dad was the driver. Endless gray consumed us. The lights of the cars behind us shone, but there were none ahead to guide us. We had to brake several times before the cars behind us got impatient. They weaved left and right, then passed us. They cruised ahead, then halted as they became blind. I felt like I was in a horror show and there was no exit, no escape to leave. As the other cars regained their speed by turning on “fog lights” that we didn’t have, we almost lost the cars. That was when the arguing began.

My sister thought it was best to increase speed so that we didn’t lose our guiding light. I agreed with my mom, though, who thought it was risky to increase speed driving when we couldn’t see anything. My dad agreed with my sister, so he started speeding to catch up. I squeezed my mom’s hand and started to hyperventilate. I couldn’t calm down. With my free hand, I put my hand on my heart and uneasily listened to the rapid beating. 

As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, my sister announced, “There’s a sharp turn coming up.”

The large yellow signs with the midnight-colored left arrows were the only help for us. Again, questions invaded my mind. How will we escape this? Will we lose the cars ahead? Just then, the car in front of us disappeared. A new question formed inside my stressed head. Was it condensed in the fog or lost to something else ahead?

Sadly, my dad didn’t share my same worries, so we continued. But we soon found the car again in front of us. As we silently drove, I continued to hyperventilate until at one point, it let us go. Clear from up ahead. This didn’t comfort me though. There could be more of those areas. I was tired and wanted to close my eyes, but the fear overtook me. Squeezing my mom’s hand while listening to my heartbeat, I continued to look up ahead. But I didn’t see anything but roads, jungle, and no fog!

Hanukkah Joys

Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, 

Asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’hadlik 

Ner shel Hanukkah. 

I say the blessing and take the shamash.

I light from right to left until all the candles glow.

I breathe in the soothing aroma as I pick through

The packaging of my gift, the suspense radiating

Through me all crazy-like. I see the gift!

It is exactly what I hoped for!

Then I hand my gift, bouncing on my toes

As my gift is unwrapped slowly…

Will they like it? Will they?

Finally, they see it.

I smile at the grin spreading on their face.

It is Hanukkah.

Demon Killer

Editor’s Note: Content Warning — This psychological thriller contains Violence and Murder. It may be scary for some younger readers.

“George,” Mom said. Mom had black hair. She was always smiling. She only wore purple and yellow dresses. Today, she was wearing a purple and yellow dress because that was the only thing she wore. 

 “Why do we have to go to the stupid hotel?” George asked. 

“You know, your father wants to go to this hotel really badly,” Mom said. 

George was the type of kid who really was into Minecraft and Pokemon Go.  He only wore orange shorts and purple t-shirts. His dad worked in the industry and got these tickets for this very fancy hotel. When they got there, there were four other people at the Hotel of Fanciness. When they got to their room, there were cookies for everyone. Then, in a flash, the dining room was ready to have dinner. There was one gigantic straight table. There was a selection of McDonald’s and every single color of Jell-O that existed in the name of Jell-O history. EVERYONE enjoyed their food… 

15 MINUTES LATER

KRCCC!

Suddenly, the lights went out and everyone saw blood on the ground. The light came back on, and they could see Dr. Frankenstein was dead. 

DUN DUN DUNNN! 

George started crying. Then, George noticed that there was a bloody knife in his mom’s pocket. Coincidentally, his mom was sitting right next to Dr. Frankenstein. 

“It isn’t what it looks like… promise.” 

No one talked to George’s mom for the rest of the two days. When everyone was having breakfast, they all went up to put their plates in the sink. Suddenly, there was another strike. The lights went out and….

 KRCCC!

 Mrs. Frankenstein was dead!   

This time, there was a hook in Mrs. Frankenstein’s throat with a purple piece of leather stuck to the end of the hook. The waiter thought this had gone on way too long.

“This has gone on long enough!!! Tonight, George will sleep alone and all the other people will sleep together,” said the waiter. No one was killed that night. That morning, George’s mom knew something was up. 

“George, is there anything you want to tell me?” 

“Nope. I have to tell Dad how appreciative I am that he let us all come here to this lovely hotel!” George’s mom now knew that something was up. 

That night, at dinner, Mom yelled, “I know who the demon killer is!!! I was very surprised when I figured it out… THE DEMON KILLER IS GEORGE!!!”

George replied, “Honestly, it’s Dad. He gave me a needle every night and forced me to put it in my skin. He forced me using a gun! He is in a bet with someone. He has to kill everyone living in this hotel, and if he does, he gets a large amount of money!! He was controlling me.” Tears appeared out of George’s eyes. George’s dad walked in.

“This guuuy’s name is actually Dr. Lawrence Payne!”

KRCCC!

The lights went out, and a few moments later, the lights went on and George’s dad was DEAD!!!

Mr. Puppy Face Goes to School

Book #2 of the Mr. Puppy Face Series

One day, Mr. Puppy Face gets a letter in the mail saying that he is invited to teach puppies in Grade 1 about being a Professional Puppy Scout. (Read Book One, A Job for Mr. Puppy Face.) He decides to go because he wants an opportunity to teach little puppies. 

Soon, he is on a school bus with other puppies, driving to a building with a giant sign that reads, “Puppy Academy: Where Slobbery Dreams Come True.” He walks into the building, checking with kids so he knows where to go. He walks into the classroom, and he looks around. The walls are covered with scribbles on construction paper that were supposedly called drawings, and the floors had colorful fuzzy rugs with the ABC’s on them. He thought it was all wonderful. It reminded him of when he was a kid. He sat down on a chair marked, “Teacher Puppy Face.” It was obviously referring to him. 

 He sat down in front of a white board, and the principal entered. She looked very professional. She introduced Mr. Puppy Face to the class that had entered so quietly, they seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. 

After, he wrote important stuff on the whiteboard, and he stuffed blank paper into a thick blue file folder so that he would seem professional.

While he was doing this, the kids just thought his presentation already started, so they were clueless. Then, Mr. Puppy Face remembered that he did not plan out his presentation or what he was going to say. Then he looked around. He saw many other parents! It was Job Day!!! He would have time to plan out what he was going to say while the other parents went. 

He thought something up while a fire dog, a police officer, and a librarian went. He gave an important speech. At least, he thought it was important… 

The End

Thief

It was Halloween, and Amelia was running from house to house, trick-or-treating. She was a normal kid living a normal life. She had annoying siblings, she did after-school activities, and she texted her friends. She listened to music and chewed gum as she did her homework. And, of course, she ate candy, too. Lollipops were her favorite, and usually, she got a sack of lollipops out of the three sacks of candy she got. Her parents didn’t allow her to have candy because they were healthy moms and dads, but she snuck the candy into her closet. 

Amelia’s mother, Sandy, and her father, Jake, didn’t permit Amelia to stay up later than 10:30 PM, but Amelia had her ways. She would read by her night light and suck on her leftover candy. On that particular day, she took out a big grape lollipop, her favorite flavor, and opened her book. Her book was very interesting, but it was very late, and so she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, she sighed and took a piece of candy out of the first sack and went downstairs. Never had she thought that her parents were going to be so cheerful that morning. She expected to see angry faces staring at her, but they were bustling around. Amelia sighed again, very confused. Hoping her parents didn’t see her worried face, she quickly gulped down her food, brushed her teeth, and ran out the door. 

On most days, Amelia was a very good student and often teased for being the teacher’s pet. Amelia never minded the bullies, but this worrying made her more sensitive, and she almost yelled at the boys teasing her. If she had actually yelled at them, she would have gone straight to the principal’s office. That made the boys tease her even more, but at that exact moment, the lunch bell rang and Amelia rushed into the cafeteria. 

In one corner of the cafeteria, she stayed low for a while, and when everyone was busy eating, she felt brave enough to go buy her lunch. Then, when she searched through her backpack, her money was gone. So was her candy. And so she was lunchless. Her stomach rumbled, but what was there to do? When Amelia was young, she always wanted to solve a mystery. Now, there was one right in front of her eyes. 

The next day, Amelia still wasn’t sure if she had just dropped her things or if they went missing, so she went to school with her lunch money and more candy. Once again, the same thing happened. Her parents were becoming suspicious because, when she came home, her stomach was always rumbling like a car motor. 

Finally, she decided to go to the principal. But first, she had to talk to her mother. 

“Mom? Can I bike to school?” Amelia asked, though she knew the answer would be no.

After a moment of pause, Amelia’s mother said, “Well, you are in middle school, so I suppose so.” 

Trying hard not to run up to her mother and hug her, Amelia simply walked into her room. Her mother and father went on a stroll, and Amelia took the chance to make some pizza to cook in the morning. When her parents came back, she lied, “We have pizza-making competition in cooking class, so I made some.” 

It was a really bad lie, but they still went along with her. Since her parents didn’t want her to know that she was going to be in big trouble for lying, they hid their suspicion. 

“That looks like a great pizza. Freeze it, and I will heat it up in the morning,” her mother said. Amelia was secretly taking it, just in case the thief was back again, so she would have something to eat. Her plan that she hoped was going to fix this mystery was to go to the principal’s office and see if he would allow her to check the security cameras.

Amelia hardly slept that night, worrying about the next day. In the morning, she didn’t even bother to hide her unusualness. Quickly, she dressed, showered, ate, and brushed her teeth. One second she was in the garage grabbing her bike, the next she was outside heading towards school. Her aim was to get there early, so she could go in first. 

Soon, the bell rang, and Amelia rushed into the building and headed to the principal’s office. Her principal was a reasonably kind one and understood her well. Though it was strange, her principal mostly hid his suspicion when Amelia bustled into the office. Mostly, he was cool with her situation, but Amelia could tell he was quite suspicious of her. Although she had never gone to see the security cameras before, it felt weird that a security man was there supervising her. 

Mr. Crasper, the security man, showed her the video and she spotted her locker. The thief approached her locker and dug through her backpack, taking out a small object, then another, and then some paper (the money). 

“Yes, that is the thief that kept stealing my things!” Amelia exclaimed.

The principal came in and said, “Found the thief? Lemme see who it is!” 

Amelia did so and the principal sighed.

“Ahh, that’s the bully of the school. We have had many kids come to complain about him. I think he is such a menace, we might have to report him. Don’t worry, we will catch him,” the principal said.

“Oh, thank you so much!” Amelia exclaimed.

“You’re welcome,” the principal said, and they shook hands. “Now, don’t be late, the second bell will ring soon.” And Amelia skipped off to class. 

Fire – A Poem Collection

#1

The screech of violins

The singing of the cello

The deep ringing of flutes

The beat of drums

The thrum of grand pianos

All created a fire

#2

The writers’ place

It’s in outer space

Aliens like to sleep there

The dragons roar crazily

The writers wake up and eat phones

They taste weird and bitter

Then they write about floors that burned

And human-eating cows (moo)

Then they have writer’s block (aw)

And they start to sing with sadness

#3

Huzzah! We shout as we dive into the sofa

It tastes very sweet but smells like someone farted.

Then we take the pillows and start hitting each other in the eyes.

Then the pillows erupt and we eat the fluff

Then lick our lips with joy.

The Very Mysterious Story

CAUTION: THIS STORY IS A REAL STORY, SO BEWARE IF YOU DON’T LIKE STORIES.

A package appeared in front of Lillie’s door in the middle of the night. She was very confused. Why would someone send me a package at 12:00? She opened the package and there was a stuffed puppy. Lillie took the puppy and went back up to bed, although she could not fall asleep. Who sent it? Why in the middle of the night? Why a puppy? 

In the morning, her mom asked if she had come downstairs. Lillie said, “Yep. I came down to have a glass of water, but I came right back up and fell asleep right away.”  

Lillie said that because she didn’t want her to worry. Her mom had a lot of things to deal with now that her mom and dad were divorced. Lillie lived with her mom. 

When Lillie got to school, her mom had to be VERY annoying. She yelled in front of the whole school, “WHERE’S MY SMOOCHY, SWEETIE?” 

Lillie did not smooch her and ran to her best friend, Caroline. Lillie was her friend starting in pre-K. They had always been inseparable. They were always in the same classes. It was kind of magical.

 At lunch, Lillie told her everything. She came over to Lillie’s house and Lillie showed her the puppy. It was gone. 

“Seriously? I have dance class and you wanted to show me a puppy that doesn’t exist!”

 That night, when Lillie came back for dinner, in the corner of the room, she found the puppy. Dinner was terrible. When she went back to bed, she put the puppy behind a locked door and left it for the night. 

In the morning, he was still there. She took him out and put him on the bed. The puppy was white with some black spots. She named him Spots. 

On the way home from school, Lille found a dog with the exact same design as Spots walking across the road with no collar – just like Spots. She picked him up and took him home. He had no identification. 

When Lillie got home, she looked for the puppy, but he wasn’t there. She got takeout that night, so it was very good. Lillie locked the dog in her room and fell asleep. 

In the morning, he was not there. There was a stuffed animal. Lillie put the stuffed animal in her backpack and went to school. 

She showed Caroline the stuffed dog. Then, she told her what happened last night. She was very freaked out!!!

That night, Lillie and the dog went to her house to have a sleepover. As you might have known, today was Friday!!!

They stayed up all night and watched the puppy transform into the real dog.

The next day, Lillie started trying to train him, but that didn’t take very long because he already knew how to sit, roll over, play dead, speak, and paw. He also knew the basics, like flying and going on fire. You might be wondering if that was just me joking, but he really could fly and set himself on fire. 

Lillie started going shopping to get him some dog food and a bed. She kept on wondering who sent her this dog. Then, Lillie realized that on the doll, there was a tag and that tag probably had some identification. When the real dog turned into the doll, it said, “SOMEBODY.” She was very confused and decided to give up for the day.

Then, a couple of days later, Caroline said that she was walking down the road and she overheard some people saying, “What a stupid gal she is. I don’t even know her name.”  

“She is a nice lady. Did you know I randomly live on Seventh Ave and Eighth Street? I also went to college with SOMEBODY.”

Then, right away, Lillie knew that she, the doll, and Caroline had to sneak out of their houses and go to SOMEBODY’s house. 

That evening, they snuck out. When they got to the house, it was very dark. It was like a little bit of space just filled with clouds and rain. It was 3:39, so it was bright outside, but in that little area, it was very dark, like it was midnight. They knocked on the door and the door creaked open. A slim man walked out. They asked to come in and it looked like he didn’t have a lot of visitors, so he looked nice. They came inside but there was only one couch and a lamp. Lillie asked him if he knew about SOMEBODY. He said that he went to college with him and that they were best friends, but they grew apart. He also told them that he lived right next door. Like, literally right next door. They rang the doorbell and there was a woman at the door. She slammed the door and opened the little peephole and screamed, “NAMES???” 

“My name is Lillie Frankenstein.”

The lady gasped. It was kind of like she was choking, but she wasn’t. Lillie repeated her name to her. She immediately let Lillie in with the others. When she let Lillie and Caroline in, she told them that the dog could also talk, and he ordered her to send him to them. She thought it was just random. He would kill her if she told him no, so she chickened out and listened to him. 

“SORRY.” She began to cry. “I am so sorry.”

Later that day, they all chucked the dog out of the bag they were keeping him in. He started licking them and they pushed him away. The dog started talking. “I don’t want any trouble, but you should have never trusted her. She hates dogs. She really, really, really HATES DOGS.” 

(Roll the backstory!) 

“SOMEBODY was born on October 20th and she loved dogs when she was two years old, although the dogs always barked at her and bit her and made her get rabies. When she went to the dog store, she went with her mom and got a dog. The dog loved SOMEBODY. But the only dog in the whole entire universe who loved SOMEBODY just had to despise her mom. It was a dark and stormy night when SOMEBODY’s mom was doing the laundry. The dog walked up to her and scratched her body in half. Blood was gushing out. So the house was filling up with blood. And poor SOMEBODY had to live on the streets, alone. When she turned twenty one, she bought her own house and she made enough money to go to college. SOMEBODY met Mark, the neighbor right next door.”

(Back to the present.)

“WOW!!!” Lillie kept repeating. “I had absolutely no idea that was why!”

“Remember this: she can be really persuasive for you to change your mind. And, most of all, I love the name Spots.” And, just like that, the puppy turned back into a doll. 

The next day, it was a holiday, so they did not have school. Caroline and Lillie were wondering how they were going to save the world. Then Lillie started thinking… Maybe if she said “dog” fourteen times, she would get an idea. 

“Dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog.” Then, BOOM!!! It worked. She was going to have to go to SOMEBODY’s house and… 

(I DON’T MEAN TO INTERRUPT THE STORY, BUT THIS IS WHEN THE STORY STARTS TO GET DARK, SO IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE, THEN YOU SHOULD COVER YOUR EARS!! BACK TO THE STORY WHEN LILLIE WAS TALKING ABOUT HER MASTER PLAN.)

Lillie was going to have to go to SOMEBODY’s house and kill her. When she told Caroline, she totally lost all control, but it had to be done. The next morning, they went up to SOMEBODY’s house and tried to kill her, but she was waiting for Lillie with a sword. 

“What did that evil dog say to you?”

“NO!!! I know you are lying!!!” 

“Fine. I am not lying, but please don’t kill me. I will do no harm.” 

“You fool… I know your plan and I will never allow it!!” Lillie started throwing knives at her and she started to get scared. She dropped her weapon and surrendered and, just like that, the knife was through SOMEBODY’s heart and there was no one in the room. Lillie ran home and started crying.  

Spots crawled on the bed and under the sheets and said in a small voice, “Thank you. Every dog in the world will know your name.”

No one ever stepped into that room again. Even the police officers… and that is LITERALLY their job.

The Opposite of The Little Mermaid

Editor’s note: This story is inspired by and responding to “The Little Mermaid.”

About 5 million years ago, a mermaid lived in a cool town filled with short buildings with fancy carvings and beautiful mosaics. She swam through the fake blue water until she got to her father, the King.
He told her, “I strongly believe that you should go to The Surface of the Water.”
She said to the short, bearded, well-dressed man, “I HATE The Surface and I like The Water.”
Her father looked at her in a discouraging way, “Go now. Also, be back by 5:31 on the dot for dinner.”
She started to swim away.
“Oh, and don’t forget to do your homework!”
The mermaid, Ariel, did the breaststroke to her house, picked up her chorus homework, and went up to The Surface. Ariel practiced singing her scales. Then she felt the faintest drop of rain. 0.01 seconds later, a thunderstorm emerged from the not-so-puffy clouds. A man fell off the cracking ship. He plunged into the water. Eventually, his head emerged from the crashing water. He grabbed onto the rock right next to Ariel. She paid no attention to the struggling man and kept on with her chorus homework. The stranger’s eyes flickered open but Ariel had already left.
Later that week, Ariel went to school like any other day, but in science class, Miss Ursula had a new lesson in mind.
“Children! Last night I had a dream where mermaids could walk on Land. So, I want one of you ladies and gents to volunteer to be teleported to Land!”
No one wanted to explore Land. Miss Ursula walked around the room questioning every student to see if they truly did not want to go to Land.
She stopped by Ariel, stared at her, and finally said, “You shall go up! You’re the King’s daughter, so surely you should go…”
She slowly bent down and came close to Ariel’s face and then booped her on the nose and smiled a deranged smile.
The next day, Ariel was teleported to the Land. She went exploring and found the man she had seen drowning. He was in a very fancy house on the shore of the water. She wanted to go investigate, so she peered around the tall, three-story house. It was decorated with vines and wisteria, near the front door there were all types of different flowers, including chrysanthemums, red and white roses, and jasmine flowers framing the doorway.
She crept to the back and peered into the second-floor window, which was open, where the man now was being tailored into a very fancy suit. A posh man, with a long mustache, was serving him grapes and cheese on tiny toothpicks. The man being tailored saw her and yelled out the open window, “You look familiar! Come up here right now!”
Ariel did what the man ordered and went in the front door that led to a winding staircase, up to the room where the mysterious man was. She peeked her head in and the man ushered her in.
The man, who claimed his name was Prince Eric, asked her, “I saw you somewhere, but where?”
Prince Eric pondered for a bit then came back to reality. “Oh! I saw you when I fell off that ship 2 days ago. You were singing so beautifully, what were you singing?”
“I was practicing my chorus homework. I was just singing ‘He’s a Jolly Good Fellow’.”
Then some time passed and Ariel and Prince Eric married and lived not very happily-ever-after.

Roster the Puppy

Editor’s Note: Content warning — Murder/Violence

Chapter One: The Dog Catcher

Roster lived in New York City, and he loved it there. He had black fur and blue eyes. His best friends were a hamster named Peanut, a cat named Charlie, and the leader of the pack, who was called Rex. Peanut was all light brown with light brown eyes, and Charlie was black and white with blue eyes. Rex was black, white, and brown, and he had dark black eyes. He brought everybody food. They did not have someone who took care of them and fed them. Then, one day, while they were eating a pizza with STUFFED CRUST, a dog catcher came and scooped up Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex with his net, hurting a couple of them. When they woke up in their cells, they saw how high-tech the security was, and they knew that they were not getting out of there anytime soon.   

Chapter Two: The Escaping Plan

After a while, the dog catchers brought cat food for everyone to eat. Everyone thought it was horrible. That night, they planned their attack. The plan was when the dog catchers brought their food, they would all jump out. The next day, early before breakfast, a little boy and his mother chose to adopt Rex and took him home. Then, a crowd of people came rushing in, and the doors almost fell off their hinges. When all of the people left, Rex saw that Peanut and Charlie were gone, along with other pets he did not know.

Roster, Peanut, and Charlie opened their eyes. They were in a big dark place with other pets they didn’t really know. Then, a person in a yellow suit with a yellow mask put every pet back to sleep, and he did it by spraying sleeping gas on them. He was wearing a mask, so he was not affected by the sleeping gas. While Roster was getting his food, he jumped out and made a run for it. Now the person in the yellow suit was on the hunt for Roster, Peanut, and Charlie. When Roster, Peanut, and Charlie woke up, they were behind bars. When the person in the yellow suit and yellow mask came, they pretended they were asleep, so the person did not put them to sleep again. Peanut, Roster, and Charlie wondered if it would ever be the same, while Rex got a ninja suit and rope to save them.

Chapter Three: Owen 

The next day, a person with a name tag that had “Steve” written on it came in holding first class food, not some stinky cat food. Even Charlie hated that food, and he was a CAT! Then, Steve dropped the food and ran away because something crashed through the window. It was Rex in a ninja suit holding a kitchen knife with blood on it. Rex told them that it was chicken blood. Rex used the knife as a key to save them, but when he tried to, a man picked him up and took the knife and ninja costume away from Rex. He put Rex in a cage and picked up Roster, Peanut, and Charlie, shoving them into the same cage as Rex. They had trouble breathing, and when they thought they were going to suffocate, a little boy named Owen opened the cage and gave them all treats.

Later, Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex had dinner. Roster and Rex had dog food with gravy. Charlie had cat food with milk, and Peanut had sunflower seeds and water with a hint of carrot juice. Owen and his mother, Liz, had Chinese food. Roster, Peanut, and Charlie did not care because they loved their food anyway, but Rex really wanted some Chinese food. He whimpered and jumped up on their laps, begging for food. It worked! Rex got eight pieces of chicken, and he got some of the sauce with it. When it was time for bed, Owen brushed his teeth, and he also brushed Roster’s, Peanut’s, Charlie’s, and Rex’s teeth for them. Then the boy went to his bed, and Charlie slept on one of the pillows. Rex and Roster were curled up on the side of the bed near Owen’s head, and Peanut was between his hands.                           

Chapter Four: Rex’s Gone

In the middle of the night, Rex got up and crept out of bed and crept out of the room and then ran out the door, and as soon as he left, yellow eyes appeared out of the darkness holding a dagger and then followed Rex outside. When Roster, Peanut, and Charlie woke up, Rex was gone — he was nowhere to be found, and Owen’s mother was gone, too! And when they looked at Owen, there was a dagger stabbed in his chest. Owen was dead.

Roster, Peanut, and Charlie left the house and looked for Rex and Owen’s mother, Liz. After a while, they hit a dead end. They turned around to find Rex and Liz, but in the darkness in front of them there was a person with yellow eyes who then fell on the sidewalk. Rex was holding a dagger that was in that person’s chest. After that, they walked on the sidewalk and they saw the pizza with stuffed crust that started it all.

Rex picked it up with his mouth and said, “Let’s go somewhere the dog catcher will not find us.”

They found a nice spot, and when they were about to take a bite, dogs appeared out of nowhere and dragged Rex, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster into a cold dungeon, slamming the door behind them. Now Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex were trapped in a dungeon with no food or water. They all realized they were not alone in the dungeon. Something was in there with them.

Chapter Five: Kicking Away

Rex, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster all huddled together, and in a blink of an eye, Peanut was gone. Then, Charlie and Roster were gone too. Rex ran and kicked and kicked at the door, but it would not open. Then, Rex saw something in the distance. It was a black dog. Rex kicked the dog so hard that he split it in half. After he kicked the black dogs in half, he saw the leader, and he knew it was the leader because it was wearing a gold crowd. Rex punched the lights out of the leader, and then kicked the door open with a mega-kick.

Meanwhile, Peanut, Roster, and Charlie were dumped on the sidewalk and trapped in a metal cage. Rex ran to a costume store and got ninja costumes for all of them. Then, Rex found Charlie, Peanut, and Roster. THEN, REX SUPER-MEGA-ULTRA-KICKED THE METAL CAGE OPEN LIKE IT WAS NOTHING!!!

Rex, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster ran and ran and ran until they stopped in front of a garbage can. Rex jumped up to see what was in the garbage can and saw a chicken, so he took that. Peanut picked up a carrot, Charlie picked up a fish, and Roster picked up a full can of baloney. They followed Rex to a rope, and Rex climbed it, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster following behind him. It led to a treehouse, where Rex took a bite of his chicken, Peanut nibbled his carrot, Roster opened his can and took a small bite of baloney, and Charlie took a big bite of fish. Then, they all realized something was climbing up the rope to them.

Chapter Six: Charlie’s Past

It was a skeleton wearing black robes and holding an ax. Peanut, Charlie, Rex, and Roster jumped out of the treehouse and onto the sidewalk. They were cornered against a door. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Rex and Peanut. Charlie and Roster made a run for it, and Rex threw a bone at the skeleton that made it fall apart. The bone turned around and picked up the ax. It flew back to Rex.

“Boomerang bone,” Charlie whispered to Roster.

They walked and walked until a net picked them up. They were back in a cage.

Roster turned around to look at Charlie. “Charlie, what are you doing?”

“Getting out of here,” whispered Charlie.

“Using your claws?”

“Yes, what else am I supposed to use?!”

That was when Roster noticed a scar on Charlie’s arm. 

“What is that scar on your arm?” Roster asked.

“Like you care.”

“I do care.” 

“You do?”

“Of course I do,” said Roster.

“Well, when I was young, my father wanted to kill me because he hated me, but when he tried to hit me with his sword, my mother jumped in the way and hit my arm. The sword flew and killed my mother and father, so I was on my own from then on.”    

Chapter Seven: Cats Everywhere 

Before Roster could say anything, Charlie’s cage opened and Charlie fell on the floor with a bang.

“Are you okay?” Roster asked, but Charlie did not answer. Roster tried to get out, but he could not. Roster did not know what to do. He sat in the corner of his cage, curled up.

Then, a wet, cold hand reached into the cage. It was a person in a yellow suit. The person told Roster that the place was closing, and if they did not get out in time, they would be trapped in there, and metal would surround the place they were in. Roster walked up to Charlie and tapped him. Roster saw the metal appearing from the roof, put Charlie on his back, and ran out of the store just in time.

Roster ran back to the treehouse. He was surprised to see Rex and Peanut there. All three  of them poked Charlie at the same time. Roster put his paw on Charlie’s stomach.

“Charlie’s still breathing,” said Roster.

“So, Charlie’s not dead?” asked Peanut.

“Nope, not dead,” said Roster. Then, he whispered under his breath, “Not yet, at least.” 

“What did you just say?” asked Peanut.

“Nothing!”

Then they heard rustling in the bushes. Rex, Peanut, and Roster turned around at the same time and saw a cat.

“Is that cat coming closer?” asked Peanut.

“One hundred percent, yes,” whispered Roster. 

Then they saw another one and another one.

“What do they want?” asked Peanut.

“It’s a trap. They’re surrounding us, and there is nowhere to go,” whispered Roster.

Chapter Eight: Leaving Earth

Then, the cats started to climb up the treehouse. Suddenly, Charlie got up, and a cat jumped on Charlie. Then, a cat jumped on Peanut.

“THE CAT IS TEN TIMES BIGGER THAN ME! IT’S GOING TO SQUASH ME!” screamed Peanut. 

Then a cat jumped on Roster, and a cat with a crown made of the most expensive fish jumped on Rex. When the cat got off Rex, another cat jumped on Rex. 

“I am the leader of the club of cats, and they treat me like I am their queen,” said the cat with the crown.

“You look like the opposite of a queen!” shouted Charlie.

The cat with the crown told the club, “Get them out of my sight, now.”

The cats put Peanut, Roster, Rex, and Charlie into a small rocket ship and blasted them off into space. When they blasted off, the Earth exploded behind them. Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex started to float in the rocket ship until they crashed into another planet. Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex opened their eyes and saw that they were in a hospital.

“They are finally awake. I have been waiting,” said a voice in the room.

Rex, Roster, Charlie, and Peanut stared at each other, and nobody moved a muscle.

Chapter Nine: News People

A few seconds later, Roster looked where Charlie had been, but Charlie was not there. Then, Roster turned to look at the window, and Charlie was there, whacking the window. Someone suddenly grabbed Charlie — it was the news people.

The news people said that they had been following them because of what they were doing. One of the news people grabbed Roster, Peanut, and Rex. The news people took them to another rocket ship. When they were all inside, the news people said, “The Earth did not blow up. It just looked like it blew up, and the cats that put you into the rocket ship died.”

Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex just looked at each other and they knew what to do. They shoved the news people out of the window. Peanut saw parachutes in the back of the rocket ship and jumped out and parachuted to the ground. Then, they ran to a dumpster.

“Why are we at the dumpster again?” asked Charlie.

“Yeah, why are we here?” asked Peanut.

“Maybe we are gonna build something?” said Roster.

“We are going to build something: a robot dog. And we are going to turn this dumpster into a house for us,” said Rex.

Rex, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster got to work. They built a robot and an amazing house. When they took a step inside, it was amazing.

“It’s going to be a lot easier living in New York City with a house,” said Peanut.

“This house is amazing,” said Charlie.

“It is huge,” said Roster.

“That means more room to roam around,” said Peanut.

“Let’s check out the robot dog!” said Roster.

“CHICKEN, COME HERE!” shouted Rex.

The robot dog came, and a red light appeared in the dog’s eyes. KA-BLAM!

“The robot dog blew up… You know what? Let’s go inside the house.”

“Sounds good,” said Charlie. So, they went inside.

Chapter Ten: The Amazing House 

When they walked in, they saw more toys than they could count. In the corner, food bowls were filling up with the best food they could dream of.

“This house is the best,” said Charlie.

“Agreed,” said Roster with a mouth full of food.

“What should we do?” said Peanut.

“Play with all of these toys,” said Charlie.

They all played with the toys for about two hours. Then, they ate the food that they loved so much.

“I am tired,” said Peanut.

“Me, too,” said Roster.

“Me, three,” said Rex.

“Me, four,” said Charlie.

They opened the door to the bedroom, and it was amazing. There was a big bed, and Roster, Charlie, Peanut, and Rex slept on the bed like kings and queens. Peanut was snoring like this: “ZZZZZ!”

Roster, Charlie, and Rex were able to sleep at least. Finally, they could rest and enjoy themselves for once in New York City.

001

Driver

The girl is silent. This is unusual. The driver should know. He picks hitchhikers up wherever he can, and there’s always a, “Thanks,” or a, “Where to?” or at least a, “Hey, can I ride shotgun?”
Not so with this one.
And that’s not the only reason she’s strange either. She has the height and slightly rebellious posture of an eleven-year-old but wearing a trench coat made for a 50-year-old brooding detective with a high collar she’s keeping tightly wrapped around her neck, so it’s totally concealed. Though her position exposes her wrists–which are completely covered with bruises and tiny cuts. She’s also barefoot.
The driver knows the look of an escaped prisoner. He’s picked them up a few times, as this area is notorious for its prisons and other secure facilities.. He knows the bruises on the wrists that indicate having worn handcuffs for a long time, the frantic look of their eyes, the tense, twitching way they hold themselves — as if they might have to bolt any second. Of course, the first three times he picked up escapees, he brought them to the nearest police station immediately. But there’s something about this girl…
Normally he would respect a hitchhiker’s privacy, but now he decides he needs to probe.
“So… ah, what’s your name, young lady?” He glances at her in the rearview mirror. A patch of something red is starting to spread over the collar of her coat. Her eyes flit nervously to him.
“Ahh… Ah… ” she stutters. Her voice is hoarse as if she hasn’t used it in a while. This worries him.
“Amelia? He prompts after hesitating. “Anna?”
“Ah…. ” her mouth presses into a firm line. “Aaaaa….. mnesia.”
“You… have amnesia?” Now he is truly worried.
“Amnesia.”
He thinks for a moment. “So… you can’t remember?”
“Can’t remember,” she repeats triumphantly.
“Ah… do you have any idea… why you can’t remember?”
Her mouth goes into that line again. He realizes that’s all he’s going to get out of her on the matter. “Well, should I call your parents? Your guardians?”
No answer.
“Do you…have any family?”
Nothing.
“Well… I have to call someone.” Keeping one hand on the wheel, the driver reaches for his phone, lying next to him, with his other hand. He is about to dial 911 when he catches the strange girl’s eye in the mirror. He suddenly finds he can’t look away. Then, it happens. Her pupils constrict– just a little. Then the feeling– as if something in his mind, just a bit off for years, has finally clunked into place.
His hand slowly moves away from his phone and comes to rest at two o’clock on the wheel.
“No family… that’s all right. I don’t have any either. They’re all gone, you see.” At that word, something seems to click in her mind as well.
“Gone… ” she says. “Gone… my family is gone.”

Officer

The girl scares him. She shouldn’t.
Granted, she is scary. But so was the 17-year-old with the blood-red mohawk who was dealing drugs. So was the bald 14-year-old girl with obscenities tattooed up and down both arms, twirling a pistol in her hand. And so was the teen before that, and the one before that, and the hundreds he’s seen over the years. Being stationed at one of New City’s busiest subway stations, you get freaks like that. All. The. Time.
But this freak is different. Usually they strut around looking for trouble or flaunting their disturbing tattoos. She keeps to herself, huddling in a corner formed by a dumpster and the wall. And the officer isn’t exactly up-to-date with the fashion scene at the moment, but he is pretty sure that a sweaty old ripped undershirt, long pink gloves, tight white shorts that barely cover her bottom, and a vibrant orange scarf are unusual even for a subway freak. Her undyed, shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair sticks out everywhere in a very undignified way.
Then it strikes him that she’s not wearing any shoes. Something is very wrong here. He decides to move in. In this line of work, you learn to follow every lead.
She smiles pleasantly at him when he approaches. “Hello,” she says. Her voice is smooth — too smooth. Her tone is flawless.
“Hello,” he says, slowly and cautiously. Then he tells himself to man up. This scrawny 11-year-old shouldn’t scare him. He’s 42, in prime shape for his age, and has a gun. He needs to assert himself. “Ma’am,” he begins sternly, “I’m afraid shoes are mandatory in this station.”
“Is that so?” she asks sweetly.
“Yes, it is. Rule 307 of the Customer Service Policy states clearly on the New City Public Transportation website.”
“Oh.” She makes a little squeal. “Well, I didn’t know that – ” And then, it happens. The slight constricting of the pupils — and the strangest feeling, as though something in his mind, sunken to the bottom after years of forgetfulness, is sifted to the top.
“Officer Davis Davidson,” she finishes.
“I — I’m sorry.” Davis Davidson is stunned. Because that’s not his name.
She smiles again. Her full lips look red in the dim light. He doesn’t fully register it, because she takes one step sideways away from him.
Through his shock, he can hear dimly the roar that signals the arrival of a train. The girl cocks her head to one side playfully. “Well, I need to get going,” she grins, flashing yellow teeth. Then she is gone.
The officer stands there, frozen, for 15 more minutes before one of his co-workers finds him.
When he climbs into bed that night, he can’t stop thinking about what the girl called him.
The badge reads Officer McShirley — that’s the surname he took when he was married. And well before that, when he was 20, he had changed his last name to Johnson. All the records show either McShirley or Johnson. There’s no way she could have known.
But he was born Davis Davidson.

Cashier

The girl is ugly. Normally, the cashier isn’t a judgmental person, but this is simply a fact. Her hopelessly tangled and muddy hair reaches down to the floor, her face is covered in nettles and scratches, and he’s pretty sure those are real cockroaches on her arms. To say nothing of her fashion sense. She looks like she just escaped from a jail — a low-budget jail. She’s wearing a ripped white undershirt and tight, white shorts that barely cover three inches, and no shoes. There are scars and bruises covering her wrists and neck. The cashier isn’t the brightest (it’s not part of the job description) so he doesn’t stop to think how she might have gotten them. He simply checks her items.
Bread, carrots, apples, frozen peas, frozen French Fries, a pint of mint ice cream, and two six-packs of water bottles. Not exactly typical shopping for a 12-year-old girl — they usually come in giggling with Haribos and sodas and lip gloss. This girl looks wise beyond her years, like a crazed sage living on a mountain eating worms. There’s a breathless expression on her face like she’s been through something horrible, and is simply glad to be alive. It troubles the cashier.
“Your total is $29.99,” he tells her. “Paper or plastic?”
“Nothing reusable?” Her voice is hoarse, but kind.
“No,” he tells her, looking at her defiantly.
She makes a tsking noise and makes eye contact with him. She looks almost regretful. Then it happens.
Her pupils constrict, and the cashier gets the strangest feeling — as though out of his clogged and overstuffed brain, off his burdened shoulders, something has been taken.
And then it’s as if he’s closed his eyes — just darkness and darkness and darkness. He tries to open his eyes, but they are open. He can hear the clamor of the supermarket, smell the cleaning products, taste the stale gum in the back of his mouth, feel the coarse fabric of his uniform against his hands — but he cannot see. He hears the girl giggle, hears the rustling and clunking of objects being dropped into a bag, and the pad of her feet running away.
The cashier slumps to his knees. His head droops and a few salty tears seep out of his blind eyes.

Reporter

The girl shouldn’t be here. But the reporter seems to be the only one who’s noticed, as usual. She’s come to realize that, even though she’s only an intern at LINN (Leg International News Network), she’s really the only competent member of her team. Which is unfortunate, because they’ve been assigned the war-spurred chaos in B’leg.
The girl really shouldn’t be here, for her own safety. There are crazed gangs and resistance fighters with machine guns and hand grenades everywhere. Even wearing a bulletproof vest, the reporter doesn’t feel safe. And this girl looks only ten, wearing a shirt that says My Grandma went to Seaside States and all I got was this stupid T-Shirt, a ridiculous flamingo scarf, and jean shorts that clash horribly.
She is about to stride over to the girl to tell her to clear out when their team leader grabs her by the arm.
“Avery!” he says sharply. “We need you on set! We’re live in 30 seconds! Where have you been?” Five feet away, she thinks as he drags her away.
The camera is pointed at a dramatic landscape of burning buildings and half-naked, starving people running around and shrieking. It seems like something straight out of the pages of a dystopian novel.
The team leader shoves a microphone into Avery’s hands and gestures impatiently at the cameraman. He nods, and Avery puts on her professional face.
“Hello, Leg,” the leader announces pompously. “This is Alex Alexander, everyone’s favorite re – ”
“We are live from war-torn B’leg!” Avery shouts into her mic. It lets out a squeal of feedback in protest. Alex Alexander gives her a look, but she’s already decided to take matters into her own hands. “The half-starved screams of innocent citizens caught in the crossfire fill the air, and the sharp tang of gunpowder is inescapable. Mud, fire, and death pollute these streets. And after the merciless attack of the resistance fighters, it is sadly proven once again that innocence never lasts forever… ” She pulls a six-year-old boy clutching a teddy bear that’s half ashes into the camera frame. “Young man! What was your life like before the attack?”
“Uh… my name is Humphrey and I guess I liked watching cartoons. You know that one with the rabbit and the roach? That was my favorite. But then… I mean… ”
Avery makes a roll the clip motion with her hand. Across Leg, their viewers will see a recording of yesterday’s attack. Avery waits thirty seconds, then continues talking. “After this ruthless rampage of ruination – ” (audiences adore alliteration) “ – everyone in B’leg is changed. Now, Humphrey is lucky when the news turns on! I – ”
“True,” comes a loud voice.
Avery whirls around. A girl — the girl is standing there. In their frame. “Excuse me?”
The girl’s face, framed by hair that’s black at the top and white at the bottom, with only the barest shade of gray in between, twists into an expression of horror. “I — I’m so sorry – ”
“Hey!” shouts Alex Alexander stupidly. “That’s the girl I saw you with!”
Then the strangest thing happens — a flash of events in the space of a few seconds. The girl’s eyes constrict and something flashes in them — a truth, ancient and mystical and powerful. Then they glaze over, and she speaks.
“True,” she says.
“Wait, what?” Alexander asks slowly, befuddled.
Avery sighs. “She – ” then she stops, because she realizes she doesn’t actually know what the girl did. Or what she said.
“Ha!” Humphrey cries. “Polly, ya did it again!”
The girl –- Polly? — looks uncomfortable. “Humph.”
But the boy is suddenly talking animatedly to Avery. “I found ‘er a few weeks ago. Hid her in my basement. At first, I was just doing a good deed, but then I found out she has powers.”
Another member of the team, Julia, who used to work in the tabloids, jumps in. “Is this boy crazed? In shock? Who is the Girl from B’leg?! Some may call these questions mere conspiracy theories, but the truth-seekers among you should check your newsstands.” She stops, realizing she’s live on national television. “Sorry, old habits.”
Then it happens again. The constricting of the girl’s eyes, and she speaks, “True.”
“Told ya!” Humphrey practically shrieks. “Powers! See, she can tell the truth from a lie!”
“True.”
“Watch: My name is Humphrey.”
“True.”
“My name is Alex Alexander.”
“False. Humphrey, I really don’t want to do this, not on television.”
“Actually, we’re not rolling,” interrupts the cameraman. “Not since she – you appeared.”
“True. Oh. But still – ”
“The camera’s not rolling!”
“True – Humphrey, please – ”
“You sleep in my basement.”
“True.” Her face has the pained look of someone about to do something they know they’ll regret. “Humphrey, I’m sorry… ”
And before Avery can say “wait,” she has vanished into the burning city.

Hiker

The girl is not there.
The girl must be a figment of the hiker’s imagination.
The girl cannot be real.
The girl is not there.
Besides, no girl is that strange. She’s a child — she looked 12 or 13. She was also completely bald, and had no eyebrows, eyelashes, or hair of any kind. She was dressed in a ripped white undershirt stained with red and green juices, tight white pants that stand out against her dark brown skin, and no shoes.
Besides, if she was real, how could she have gotten there? Sure, there was a hiking trail nearby, but nobody with half a brain went hiking barefoot. And there are no roads or highways within ten miles. If her car had broken down and she’d wandered into the woods, she wouldn’t have wandered this far.
Which only leaves the possibility that she’s completely insane. The hiker refuses that one. She doesn’t want to admit it, but insane people scare her.
So, the girl is not there.
But then she is.
She is there.
Behind a tree! A pine tree. The hiker knows, somehow, that this moment will be fixed in her memory till the end of her days — the moment when all her dreams and imaginings became real.
This time, the hiker doesn’t hesitate. She plunges through a bush and starts toward the bald girl.
The girl’s eyes widen, her mouth parts in shock, and she darts away.
The hiker chases after, determined now. She tumbles through dense patches, rushes through the brief clearing where the sun streaks through the ceiling of twisting branches. She never knew the woods could be like this — crowded, thorny, dark, mysterious. Like a fairy tale. Years of hiking have only taught her cleared, dusty paths. It’s a wonder to see the forest like this. But she doesn’t let it distract her. She stays focused on the prize — the girl.
She races through the forest, following the flashes of the girl she glimpses through the maze of trees for a good fifteen minutes, until they reach a clearing carpeted with pine needles painted gold by the setting sun. There, in that little alcove of the wild, she is surprised to find a small log cabin. There are no windows, but there is a smoking little chimney. The hiker grabs the knob of the door, but it’s locked.
“Hey… ” she calls apprehensively. Silence. “I – I know you’re in there. Please, just come out. I’m not going to hurt you. Unless you’re insane. Sorry. I didn’t mean that. But — unlock the door, please.”
Nothing.
“Look…. I don’t want to break this door down… ” Nothing. “I could if I wanted to… ” That is true. The door is made of rotting wood planks that look like they might decompose on the spot with one good kick. And the hiker’s legs are pretty strong from years of climbing mountains.
She waits another few seconds, debating. There is something wrong with this girl — that much was clear from the start. But what if she’s in danger? What if she thought the hiker was someone else? What if there was someone so horrible she felt the need to run barefoot through a forest and hide in a crumbling log cabin to get away from?
The door comes down on the third kick.
The cabin is damp and moldy inside. There is a smoking fireplace, a decaying table, and a single chair. The floor is leaves and dirt — one area is scuffed up where the girl might have been sleeping.
And huddling, knees to chest, her face to the wall, shaking, sobbing in a corner is the girl.
“Hey… ” the hiker says softly. “I’m not going to hurt you. Please… ”
Slowly, the girl gets to her feet, still facing the corner. The sobbing slows until it is mere sniffling.
Then she speaks in a low, shaking, tear-stained voice.
“I need you to leave,” she says slowly. Then she sniffles loudly. “I need you to leave… right now. Leave, and you can’t tell anyone what you saw… ” She puts her head in her hands and starts wailing again.
“I — I don’t understand – ”
“LEAVE!” she roars. “I don’t — I can’t – ” Then more sobbing.
“Look,” the hiker says hesitantly. “I’m sure that whatever it is – ”
“You need to go,” she repeats, controlling the shaking in her voice. There’s an unexpected fierceness. “Please. Now. I can’t – ”
“Look – ”
“You should have left.”
The girl keeps her head down, but drops her hands to her sides. Then she turns around.
There is a tense pause.
Then she picks up her head and their eyes meet —
And it happens — the constricting of those midnight-black pupils — the feeling — the emptiness — yawning before her —
The hiker collapses with a thump.
And when she is dead, when the girl is alone in the woods, no one can hear her scream.

The Cursed Coin

PROLOGUE

Josie Anderson was running away from something unimaginable. She was running away in the Smith Forest, North of Elf Creek. She was running and running and then… splash! She fell into the river. She swam and swam for days. She didn’t know where she was going. She was hungry and cold… but she did not care at all. All she felt was the rumbling of it coming. She felt it stop, so she came out of the lake — a creek now, a creek that was labeled on all the maps.

“Elf Creek,” she whispered, and sure enough, as she turned around, she saw little people with sharp, small teeth in sky blue and plum purple dresses and shirts. “Something is wrong here,” she told herself. The faces, well… They, well, when I say this none of you will believe me, but they did not look real… 

As she looked around, the elves evaporated into little pieces of dust. The thing that she was running from — it was back. She had no feeling in her legs, but she ran into the dark woods anyway. The thing she was running from — it gave her a toothy grin with its fangs exposed.

The witch walked into the sunlight and pushed Josie to the ground. As she bent down to take Josie’s soul, Josie slipped out of her daze and kicked the witch in the face. Scarlet red blood slithered down her face.

“Not just yet will I leave this world,” Josie whispered to herself. The witch glared at her with so much loathing that it could boil a soup. Josie took one step closer to the witch. “Why are you doing this, Mother?”

The witch looked at her. “So you recognize me, Josie. I knew my girl was smart but not this smart.”

Josie wanted to see her mother the way she had been when she was normal, before she ran away, before the incident. And then the memories flooded back. Her parents were fighting. Her mother was very violent. Well, for a long time it was just that, and then something changed. It happened when Mother was studying her little animals and one bit her. She stayed cooped up in her room. When she came out, it was only to eat and drink water. When she came out, she barely spoke to them.

Then Father stood up at dinner. “What is happening, Izzy? You have been like this for one month, and you haven’t told us anything about what is happening.” Worry struck Father’s face. Father was always mad, and his face never changed, but this look that Father gave Mother was something different, different from anything else. He was worried and something else… Something I can’t put into words, but the look was still something.

“Nothing,” Mother mumbled. Her voice was different — it was gruff and raspy, and Josie did not like it. Then, flash! She saw Mother and Father fighting, and Mother had a trunk and a bag. She was about to leave when father found out, and then it struck Josie.

“What if… I go into Mother’s room? Then I would find out what happened, right?” she asked herself. Josie gasped! She had a good idea… I know this does not seem like a lot, but for Josie, it was something new. What was happening to Mother had taken a toll on the entire family, so just thinking straight was a challenge. Josie darted into Mother’s room. It was… well… dark. The stained glass windows were completely covered by vines, the walls were covered with vines, and there were maps with animals, but something stood out: a shining silver coin. Josie turned the lights on and off, and the coin was still shining.

“What in the — “

Mother’s glare was unmistakable, Josie felt it from a mile away.

“I see that you are poking around in my room, Josie.’’

Josie, for the first time, was scared of her family — no, her mother — but instead of walking to her, she walked right to the coin, which turned red. Instead of running away, she inched closer, but when she looked at mother, her skin turned white, and then Josie ran.  

CHAPTER ONE

Ann was having a nice dream, but when Aunt Josie was making breakfast, nothing was quiet. So, Ann woke up early just so she did not have to wake up to the sound of banging pots and pans. Ann opened her eyes to the hot, sticky summer air. Aunt Josie was making her bed. Ann heard that only because of one thing: Aunt Josie was singing. Ann decided to make some oatmeal.

“Aunt Josie?” Ann asked. “Do we have anything other than oatmeal?”

“Well,” Aunt Josie said, “We have eggs from your grandmother’s recipe. I always liked it when I was a — ” Aunt Josie was interrupted by a loud mouse. Aunt Josie hated animals. Something had happened to her when she was a kid, but Ann was not sure what it was…

Aunt Josie took a broom and smashed the mouse. Ann flinched in her chair. She was an animal lover. Aunt Josie was panting — she never successfully killed anything. Ann was still standing there in shock, and then an idea hit her. What if she went looking for Grandmother? Surely, she knew why Aunt Josie hated animals so much?

Aunt Josie was still thinking back on that one day — the image of a cursed wolf’s insides was stuck in her mind. The only thing that kept her distracted from it was thinking about Ann, but Josie remembered that night like it was yesterday.

She had been carrying a basket of apples down the road to the expecting mother of a girl. The mother had just learned that her husband had died in the war of the goblins. Josie entered the house. It was odd. She closed the door… It was also odd. The room was a circle with paintings of fish and water. There were photos of the mother and her husband. Josie went into the only room with a rectangular door frame, and there the mother was, lying in her bed.

“Trudy?” Josie called down to the low bed.

The woman woke up with a start. “Is he home?” She jumped out of bed. When she remembered that her late husband wasn’t coming home, her eyes swarmed with tears. She sat back down and cried, “How will I take care of my baby?” she sobbed. 

Josie had an idea, “I can take care of her, Trudy!”

Trudy gasped. “Really? THANK YOU SO MUCH!” 

The next week, out came Ann. Josie moved away from Trudy’s house and Trudy, just for Ann, so she could have a better life. That was all that Trudy wanted, so Josie did it.

CHAPTER TWO

Ann always wanted a friend, but the town was all the way on the other side of Wispy Hollows. Lova was what the town was called. The Mayor was called Mina. They called her that because her eyes sparkled like gems, but she was the most bossiest person in the WORLD! But her adviser, Jacob, was always wearing black. He had a hunchback; his hair was long, greasy, and black; and his skin was white like a ghost. The only thing that stood out were his bloodshot, red eyes. He was very sinister, but the only thing that paid off for that was that he opened an orphanage!… Next to a power plant… How about helping the poor people by giving all of them money?… But the money was stolen from people’s bank accounts… Welp, now you can understand that this guy was a BAD one. Everything that he tried to do was ruined. But the only way to get to the shops was by going into the town, so…

“PLEASE, can I go to the farmers’ market? I just want to see what is going on… and make some friends?” Ann’s voice broke. The tears dribbled down her face. Her brown eyes were attacked with emotion.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table: “I said no! There are adults there that take kids, and, and, and, well… ” Josie was about to confess her deepest secret. Her voice broke. “Well, you are all I have left.” Josie ran over to Ann and held her tight. “I am keeping you safe.”

Suddenly, Ann understood why Aunt Josie was so strict all the time — she was making sure that Ann lived a happy and safe life. But Josie was flexible, so the next day, Aunt Josie took Ann to the market. But when they looked around, it was crowded with people.

“What is happening?” Josie asked a shopper right next to her.

“Well, today is the freedom parade,” he answered like it was obvious.

“Are the shops still open today?” Josie asked.

“Of course! They are in Westwind! Just take the train to Redmaw, then walk to the Map seller, and he will take it from there.”

Aunt Josie was so perplexed that she almost fainted. “Um, WHAT?”

Ann was also bewildered. What were all these towns?

“Here, let me take you to the train station, okay? Then you will get what I am talking about.”

Ann glared at him. How was she supposed to trust him if he didn’t tell them his name? 

Aunt Josie was reading her mind. “What is your name?”

“Max. My name is Max.”

Ann gave him a dirty look. “Why didn’t you tell us?” she scowled at his weak figure.

“I do not trust all people…”

Of course, because Aunt Josie was Aunt Josie, she stared daggers at him and asked him for proof. While he was rustling around in his battered pocket, she slapped him across the face, and a trickle of blood went down his cheek. She pulled out a flask that she carried around. The things I live with, being the niece of a scientist, Ann thought. Josie put his blood in the flask, and it turned black. Ann rolled her eyes, and sighed. Not this again.

“Who are you?” Max asked.

But Josie muttered under her breath. “I’ve never seen this before…” She quickly smirked. “Okay, fine, you can take us to… what, Westmaw?”

Yes, thought Josie, the capital, where the Red Tavern is, where that mayor lives, where I can take the beacon to get home

Little did Josie and Ann know, the market was not in Westmaw. It was in the stronghold.

So, they got on the train. The train conductor was going to stop at Redmaw last. Finally, after a long time, he announced, “Next stop, Redmaw.”

Even though Ann was expecting the voice to come, it never failed to make her jump. When she looked around, she saw Aunt Josie sleeping. When she shook Aunt Josie, she woke up with a start.

“Huh? Where am I?”

Meanwhile, in the backseat of the train, Max was very quiet reading a book. Aunt Josie nudged him to follow them, so by the time they were at the map seller, it was dusk, and the stars were as bright as the sun against the navy blue sky. Ann was immersed in her thoughts — the ones that bothered her the most, about her parents. Aunt Josie never told me about them, who are they? I call her my aunt, but I don’t even know if we are related. I mean, she is old enough to be my aunt… I have to find out. Oh! I remember Aunt Josie never talks about Grandma Izzy… Maybe I can talk to her?

Aunt Josie was fighting with Max for, like, the fifth time this hour.

“I told you, the map seller was closed! What do you have? Oh I know, a bad memory.” Max smirked. He enjoyed making people feel bad. That Josie woman only has a suspicion of who I am and what I am capable of…

Aunt Josie was still mad at him, and when she was mad, nothing good came after. “Listen here you toad sack. You just let me get some food, and then leave me and my family alone… okay?”

Toad sack! Max thought. She drew the line right there.

This was where Ann decided to speak up. “Stop, Aunt Josie! He is trying to help us and get us food.”

Ann did not even understand why they were even going with Max. Or why this was important to Ann or Aunt Josie, or why they were taking this so far. She just was getting sucked into the abyss of obedience.  

***

Josie was determined to find out who Max was and what he wanted. While Max and Ann were sleeping, Josie went into the woods near the campsite. They were sleeping next to the road. They were at an old camping site and were renting a rickety cabin that swayed with the slightest movement and creaked with the smallest breeze. They were not allowed to use anything that had anything to do with fire because the cabin was made out of old oak wood and bark. It had been left behind a long time ago. Now, time to get to the exciting part…

CHAPTER THREE

When Josie was walking in the forest, she heard whispers. She turned her head. No one there. Pull yourself together, Josie. Who would be awake this late? She hesitated. Someone that’s not me. She went deeper into the woods. The second she went to the woods and saw the trees turn a darker shade of green, she saw a clearing. In the middle of it was a little gold coin. She picked it up, and it had the same markings of the coin from her mother’s room. When she saw it, some memories flashed in her mind, and then she heard howling in the wind. She rushed back to the rickety cabin where she found everyone lying and sleeping silently on the dusty ground. 

When Ann woke up, the sun peeked into the window. Ann walked to the plain of daisies and saw Aunt Josie fighting with Max on the riverside, so she stepped closer to hear what they were saying. They were just talking about what to have for breakfast. When she inched closer, she saw a little glint in Aunt Josie’s pocket — a coin. When Ann went to touch it, Aunt Josie tried to slap her hand against Ann’s… But it was too late.

TO BE CONTINUED…

I Die Again

Chapter 1

The wind whistled by my face as the waves trashed the ship around. From the bars of my cell and the small window I could see through, we seemed to be in the open sea — no one around to hear my cries for help. The ship jerked to the left, knocking me off the tiny chair that sat in the cell.

A male pirate rushed past. “Lower the sails!” he screeched as his fat, drunk body thumped up the stairs onto deck.

A blast rocked the ship around as the fire spread to my cell. The heat was overwhelming. My eyes stung, and my blood boiled as it rushed to my head. The room turned upside down and began to spin. My head felt hot, and a moan escaped my lips as another shot rang through the air, punching a hole in the cell two away from my own. Three pirates ran down and began to open my cell. I reached out a desperate hand as my legs began to shake, and my head collapsed on the ground. As the hole in the wall grew, my back fell through the opening. I had my last glare at the dark black sky before my body hit the water with a splash, and I saw the blurry images of the three men yelling from the hole, watching me, yelling commands. My mind pushed against the forever sleep, my body fought as I sank, the feeling of death crept over me, the warmth spread through my veins, my life was over, I was going back to him.

“Come,” his voice whispered in my head. 

Chapter 2

The sand felt like thousands of needles poking through my skin. I pressed my eyes against the pain, counting the seconds until he came to torture me again. Seventy-two seconds passed till I realized that nobody was there, I was alone. Everything was pitch-black, apart from the blood red sand. My mind zoomed back to the blood dripping down the dark cave walls as my brother and sisters sat cramped up, trying to stay in the shadows, desperate to survive. My mind hurt from thinking of the past of a different girl. I was past that, and nothing was going to bring me back to it.

I knelt on my knee and stood, trying to get a better glimpse of my surroundings. I had nothing to do but walk forward and try to figure anything out. I picked up a rock to chuck it into the darkness, see if it would fall anywhere, but when I bent to pick up the rock, my hands slipped right through it. I tried again and again, desperate for anything. It made no sense as to why I couldn’t pick up a simple rock! The only reason I could think of was if I was a ghost, but that was not possible — I mean, how would that happen?

The memory of the sun’s rays shining through the water came back to me.

Chapter 3

But if I was dead, then how was I alive? It was not possible for me to be here. I would be in the underworld if I were dead. This wasn’t possible, unless some sort of magic had brought me here. Or maybe… this was the path to him. No, that was not possible! That could not be possible! I was NEVER going to go back to him, ever. I would rather die a billion painful deaths than go back to him. He had destroyed everything I loved, and if getting back at him was the last thing I did, then so be it!

I kicked the sand with frustration, thinking that the sand deserved it just for being there. The bits of sand flew in my eyes and mouth, and I spit it out bitterly. I was not going to stay here forever, and if I was going to stay here, I was going to do something! I started pacing around the whatever-it-was until I realized I had circled back to my footprints. I had been walking in circles for hours, with no end! 

Chapter 4

Walking in circles with no end was going to do me no good. I was going to have to branch out if I was ever going to get out of this dungeon-dark place. I started walking forward cautiously, feeling where I was going before stepping, but after a little while, everything was the same. There was no point in being cautious.

I took a big step forward, then a couple others. It felt good to not be so cautious for a little while. I took another… I was sinking through open air! My arms flailed as I tried to scream, but no sound came out, and besides, if I wasn’t already dead, then surely I would be now. My hip hit the the ground and I rolled over in surprise and pain, grabbing my hip as I rolled down the hill. And splashed straight into a pond. I glared around as a body walked through me like I wasn’t there. The body — a girl — turned around. It was a younger me, the me from the day that my life changed, and the war struck. 

     Part 1 is over.

Part 2 is coming soon.

Champion Island

“Then, the roof of the house flew off because of the tornado, and that’s how I got here. What is this place called?” I asked. 

He replied, “Oh, this place is Champion Island, where there are masters of different games, and there are teams that are trying to beat them.” 

I asked again, “Champion Island? Games? Masters? Teams? You are going way too quickly. I don’t even know your name.”

 He yelled, “My name is Kappa Kappa! Kappa Kappa Kappa!!!”

I replied, “Thank you. Now, please chill.”

Kappa told me that if I went straight, I would find the team selection area. There were four teams that were all colored coded. There was blue, red, green, and, lastly, yellow. So, I went and joined the red team because they were in the lead, and I wanted to win. They said that the skate championship would be first. They said that I would have to compete to see if I was worth it. The only clue we had was a riddle: I can be active but also asleep. When I am asleep, I don’t bother anyone, but when I am active, I cause destruction. What am I?

I yelled, “I know, it’s a volcano! I think we should go to the volcano.”

Two hours later, we saw a huge volcano with lava pooling down, oozing all over the floor. Just around it was a huge field with rocky spikes on it. Giants were warming up with a rugby ball.

“Wow, wait, this isn’t skating. This is RUGBY!” I said. 

“You’re here for the rugby championship,” said Kappa and the cats. “Ok, you go here.”

“Wait, what? Ugh, fine, ok, whaaat?!” I said. We were against the Giants. I didn’t sign up for this.

The game began. Wait, so I can’t pass to a teammate that’s in front of me. When the Giants came, they crashed into the floor, and it rumbled. I was feeling uneasy. I quickly realized there were two kinds of Giants: the kind that ran really slowly and the kind that ran really quickly. Ok, this one is slow, so let me juke this boy. Wait, he started gaining speed. Oh no, he’s fast! Just then, I stepped on something sharp, and I started sprinting. I looked down and saw a lightning bolt sticking out of my foot. Ow ow ow. Wait, I’m so fast! Wooooosh! Yay!

We won! Wait a minute, OMG! Yay, we got a scroll, let’s give it to Kappa boy. “Kappa boy, here’s a scroll,” I said. 

He replied with: “Kappa kappa kappa kappa kappa.”

Then I ran away, and I went to the second game. It was the skateboarding championship.  3… 2… 1… GO!

Hmm… A tea kettle. Five thousand points. FIVE THOUSAND! Okay, I’ll keep on finding the tea kettles. Ten, thirty, one-hundred, a thousand. It broke the record, and now, I was the champion of skateboarding! Even though I won this one, there were many others to come. I thought this one was the easiest, but I didn’t think the others would be that easy. I was so excited. I was ready to get off this island. 

END OF PART I

The Normal Elf

I haven’t been what I pictured for as long as I lived. I always pictured myself talking to people and being perfect. “Miss Lily, are you able to tell us what the square root of 19 is?” Mr. Mad says. I tremble for a second, then my mind starts its work. I see stars and numbers, glances of memories. I go up to the board and write 4.35889894354. Mr. Mad sighs and says, “Very good, but would you please explain.” He knows I hate writing because I can’t speak, and when I try, my head hurts. I write sentences and sentences until I finish. He reads them aloud and says, “Very well, you may go back to your seat.” 

After the heavy ring of the bell, everyone stands up and says, “Thank you, Mr. Mad.” 

Then the other kids rush out at the speed of light. The day ends, and I walk home slowly. Suddenly, I see a girl. I glance again and she disappears. “You know that we, elves, don’t stare.” I turn around and see that girl again. I think in my mind,

What elves, crazy girl? 

“Hey, that is so rude,” she says.

Wait, you can read my mind!?!? I think in my MIND!!

“Yes, all elves speak through their minds,” she sighs.

“Wait, wait, wait, what elf stuff?” I ask.

“I am here to take you to the world of time and life,” she explains.  

“How do you read my mind? I want to think for myself,” I inquire.

“Just look in your brain and say, ‘Time is life.’ Also, my name is Theiry,” she says.

“Neat name! So where are we going in this so-called elf world?”  I ask.

“Follow me, and just do what I say,” Theiry commands.

She takes out a shining necklace and says, “Life has turned, change is made.” A blasting blue light shines in front of us. Theiry takes my hand and squeezes it. I close my eyes and pray. 

I suddenly see trees, fairies, flowers that change colors every minute, and elves. I thought they would have pointy ears, but most of them don’t. I see a bunch of elves. Then I see one that has leaves and vines for hair and tree bark for skin. There is one elf with pointy ears and strands of white hair.  I look all around my hair. I don’t have the strands of white hair. 

A bold voice says in my mind, “Who is this uhh, human?” 

I flash behind me, but I don’t see anyone. I look around and see a gust of wind swarming around Theiry. Somehow, Theiry is talking to the wind. How crazy can this get? Then I hear something that I remember from when I was little. This song called Little Elf. It sings like an angel.

“Little elf, ride and lie

Take the time to stay in your prime

Little elf, hide and guide

Make a choice of left or right

Little elf, kind and fine

Take a chance to stay all the time

Little elf, ride and lie

Take the time to stay in your prime.”

The song strikes me hard in the gut. I follow the music and start singing it in my mind. Then, I feel a person place a hand over my shoulder.  I turn and see Theiry. Amazed, she asks, “How do you know this song?” 

“I heard it sung by someone,” I reply.

“Who are your parents?” Theiry questions me.

“My parents abandoned me as a child,” I snap back.

“Okay, c’mon, we need to get to my house,” Theiry says. 

Theiry and I walk on a path and see a HUGE mansion. I see three people waiting for us. Theiry walks up to a man and whispers to him. The two other people are stunned. I slowly walk toward everyone. I hear, “We will try.” Then a blast of fire shoots at me. I somehow feel all of the power in my body turn into light, go to the fire, and turn it into ash. Everyone stares at me with amazement. 

Then I hear, “All hail princess Lily.” Everyone drops to their knees. I think, 

What the heck is going on??!!!!????

“What happened is that you are the princess who was stolen by humans. They stole you as a child because they wanted us to be even. We kinda killed their president. By accident!” Theiry explains. 

“How do you know I am this ‘missing princess?’” I question her.

“Only the bloodline of rulers can be connected to the sunlight,” Theiry says. 

“Your parents are the rulers of the eleven races,” a deep voice says.

“Lily, this is my dad, Trix,” Theiry says. 

Trix is a tall, brown-haired elf.

“This is Jakknas, and this is Amar.” Theiry introduces me to the other two elves. 

“Hello, this is the arrow and bow from the elven race.” Amar, a blond girl with long hair, slowly pulls out a silver arrow and a bow with trees and flowers.

“Thank you,” I answer. 

“I am sad to say, but the king and queen were assassinated last night,” Trix says in despair. 

“You will have to become the ruler of the elven kingdom.” Amar declares.

I take the bow and arrow and say confidently, “I am ready.”

“When the king and queen died, a poison gas went into the eleven worlds. Only someone from the royal bloodline can go to Nexis and go into the light. Because the poison gas started from the royals, it has to end by a royal death,” Theiry says.

“The assassin knew that; it was their plan all along,” Trix says and puts his fist in the air. 

“I am going to go there,” I say with determination.

“You will have to go to the other side of the world,” Trix says, after calming down.

“I am going to Nexis, whatever happens,” I say bravely.

I walk for weeks and months until I get to Nexis. I find out Theiry, Amar, and Jakkanas followed me; that is just too annoying. Elves do not need to eat food and drink water for years, but I still do.   

Months Later:

I am at the grounds of Nexis. The place where anyone who goes into the light fades into ash. I am looking to Theiry, to Amar, and to Jakkanas. I stare into the light. I am thinking, Should I die and save millions or live and kill millions? I look at my arrow and bow. I give them to Theiry and say, “Take this to my parents’ grave.” I think I am who I pictured. I am who I want to be. I step into the light, I feel a teardrop go down my cheek. I say, “Goodbye.” Then I slowly feel my body turn into ash. I am gone.

Epilogue:

What, where am I? I stand up and see broken cities and dust. I see gray clouds with a beast’s face.

The Dark Spirit of the Enchanted Trampoline Park, Book 1: Captured!

Chapter 1

As I walked along the trail, I could hear the crunch of leaves and the singing of birds. I had always loved hiking and went hiking whenever I could. Snap! I tripped on a twig and fell face-forward into the leaf litter. Phew, at least the leaves saved me, I thought, and then I was jerked upward. I tried to scream for help, but no sound came out.

Suddenly, the pulling stopped and I was dangling in the air, about 400 feet above the ground. Then I was pulled sideways. I screamed, but again, no sound came out. After what seemed like 30 minutes of watching the ground speed below me, I felt myself plummet down toward the ground. This time I felt no urge to scream, only a strange urge to sing that got stronger as the ground grew nearer. 100 feet from the ground now, I saw a clearing dotted with trampolines. 75 feet and I could see the shapes of people jumping up and down on the trampolines. 50 feet, and I could hear singing. Finally, there were only 5 feet between me and the floor, and I stopped falling. I felt something around my waist loosen, and I landed on the ground with a thud.

I stood up, but then collapsed to the ground again as something gained control of me. In a panic, I fought at it, trying to shove it out of my mind, but nothing worked. I tried to move, but I couldn’t. A rasping voice in my head said, Ahhh welcome, Lily. Another puppet for my collection. I could imagine the voice smirking as the presence controlling me picked my body up and walked me to the nearest trampoline. The urge to sing was as strong as ever, along with a new urge to bounce on the trampoline. I was pushed by an invisible force onto the trampoline, and started to sing in time with all the other people, in the same weird, slurred voice. 

Chapter 2

I could still think. All I could do was think. My mouth moved on its own. Words of all languages spilled out of my mouth and added to the swirling torrent of sound. I was tired, hungry, and thirsty, but no matter how hard I tried to gain control of myself, I couldn’t do anything. I went on like this in an endless loop, tracking the days and nights and growing hungrier and thirstier as the days wore on. Every 2 days, water was delivered by the same invisible force that had brought me here. After 5 days, everyone stopped again. 

Suddenly, all noise stopped as the rasping voice entered my mind again. Well I can’t let you die can I? I know most of you have done this before, but my new recruits need to know the rules. 

What rules? I thought, and as if reading my mind, the rasping voice continued.

The rules are to stay in place until your food is delivered, AND EAT ALL OF IT AND NO MORE!!! If you don’t follow these rules then I will give you something disgusting, and you will have to eat it all.

A large picnic blanket flew down from the sky, laden with large bowls of slightly cold and overcooked vegetable stew. It looked delicious after 5 days with no food, and staggering with fatigue, I grabbed the bowl nearest to me. There was a spoon lying next to it, and I picked it up as well. I thought back to the safety lessons I had learned as a child and remembered that after not having food for a long time, you could only eat small bites of food at a time. As much as I wanted to gulp down the food, I forced myself to eat slowly. I saw some people shoveling food into their mouths as fast as they could — the newer people, I realized, the ones that came here after me. They obviously didn’t know that they needed to slow down. I wished I could tell them, but I couldn’t talk. After the meal was finished, everyone’s minds were taken over again, forcing everyone’s bodies back onto the trampolines, to begin the endless loop again.

Chapter 3

The days wore on. I could see the fatigue that I felt reflected on people’s faces as we jumped and sang without stopping. Yet they couldn’t do anything about it, and neither could I. 

Days passed, and the world started going hazy. I lost track of the days. The only thing that kept me from collapsing was the need to obey the rasping voice. New people came, and the park expanded to accommodate them, but nobody left. I had seen people try to escape, but the bond was always too strong. I could see the hiking trails that wound around the trampoline park, and I could see the people walking along them that never even showed the slightest sign of noticing the trampoline park.

More days passed as I watched the trickle of people, and then one day, a tall lady with a long dress and some shiny things poking out of her back — were those wings?! — walked up. Nobody on the trail noticed… Wait a second, I thought, and I realized that she more like flew up to the fence of the trampoline park. A fairy! I realized. A real fairy! I thought they were only mythical creatures!

We are mythical creatures, said a calm, gentle voice in my head. I knew immediately that this voice belonged to the fairy, because it was so unlike the rasping voice that I heard so often. 

Wait a second, I thought. Can you mindread? Can you see my thoughts?

Yes, I can, replied the fairy.

Can you help me get out of here? I thought at her, and I saw her lips curve into a small smile.

Remember, you still have your imagination. You always will. It is the key, she said. 

What is your name? I thought.

I am Annika, she said, right before disintegrating into a puff of rainbow sparkles.

Chapter 4

I was always thinking of Annika’s words now. They were stuck in my head, and I could hear them clearly through the eerie singing. They repeated in my head over and over again. 

Remember, you still have your imagination. You always will. It is the key.

Key to what? My escape? How could imagination be the key? The thoughts that followed were always pessimistic. I didn’t know what to do, and so I thought about it. It seemed familiar…. Oh! It’s that riddle that goes: imagine you are in a box, there is nothing around you, and the box is steel. How do you get out? And the answer is stop imagining! I guess I can try to imagine myself out of here.

I imagined as hard as I could, thinking of the hiking trail I had been on, thinking of home. Nothing. I nearly gave up on myself when another idea struck me. Songs have meaning right? So maybe I can imagine I understand the language, and I will find a way out. I tried that. I listened closely to the music, thinking, I know this language, over and over again in my mind. Slowly the words started to gain some meaning, and finally I could understand the words clearly. The song went like this: Remember to hold on to hope, It will help you cope with dangers, use hope to save yourself… 

Well, I haven’t been doing much but giving up on hope, I thought, but if it will save me, I will not give up hope.

Chapter 5

I wasn’t thinking of anything but how I would get home. I was very hopeful and optimistic about the future. I knew I would get home if I was hopeful. Suddenly, just like the day when I got dropped into this miserable place, I got jerked upward, but there was no invisible force doing this. There was a golden harness latched around my waist, and it seemed to be pulling the dark creature that had controlled me for so long outside of my mind. I realized I could speak again, and I shouted down to the people below, “Don’t give up! Be hopeful!” They seemed to hear me because they tilted their heads up into the sky to look at me. I repeated my message until the people became no more than specks in the distance. I grinned to myself. I was on my way home.

Into the Fairy Realm

Moonlight streamed through the open curtains and spilled into the room, penetrating its darkness and washing it with silver. The night had grown warmer in the past couple of hours, and the window was thrown wide open in an attempt to draw any kind of breeze in, but there was none. The scent of the roses from the courtyard below was heavy and sweet, drifting up from the gardens to sit sluggishly in the room.

Emily was sitting on her bed with her pajamas backward, and the cotton was sticking onto her because of the heat. She was wide awake, though this had less to do with the heat and more to do with her anxiety. In just a couple more hours, her grandmother was going to wake her up. The problem wasn’t that she needed more sleep, but that her hair had been magically grown by fairies and she couldn’t cut it off.

You see, fairies aren’t like you would think. Yes, some fairies are cool, but most fairies are evil to the bone. You see, unlike other people, Emily has the ability to see magical creatures. Regular, normal people see beetles for the bad fairies and butterflies for the good fairies. 

For months, the fairies have been bothering Emily to no end. At one point, they had found her secret diary which included her notes about fairies, most of which were mean, so it was no surprise when fairies had her hair grow this long. She looked like Rapunzel, there was no way her grandmother wouldn’t notice. Just last night her hair was only up to her shoulders, now it was dragging along the floor! If her grandmother saw her hair, she would cut it off and then discover that the hair couldn’t be cut off, which would later make her grandmother suspicious. No, she couldn’t go to eat breakfast this morning, NO WAY. 

“I’ll just have to read my diary,” she thought, “Then I’ll be distracted.” So she did and found an interesting piece of information that she hadn’t written:

“Your hair has grown as a punishment for the insults you wrote in this diary, but we can give you a clue as to what you need to cut off your hair. First, you must find something that is sharp, a type of metal that rhymes with peel.” 

This was easy, it was obviously steel. There probably wasn’t another metal that rhymes with peel. But did her grandmother even own a knife? Maybe for cooking, but surely none of them were steel. There might be a steel knife in the kitchens where they served the cafe, but going to the cafe would mean getting out of her room. This was hopeless. 

Under the bed she saw something shiny! She looked and found a steel knife. Emily immediately started chopping off her hair. It was uneven, but she could always fix it later.  She tied it into a ponytail so it wouldn’t seem so uneven. 

She got out of her room and, “Whoosh!” She wasn’t in her room anymore. There were butterflies and fairies and glitter everywhere! Emily was in the realm of fairies.

The Magical Orb of Shaddowtown

 Chapter 1: BEWARE!!!!

It was just another snowy morning in Minnesota. Anna woke up. She immediately turned on the radio. “The schools that have snow days today are West Bridge school, Martin Luther King School of fine art, Lakeside Middle school, Riverview Middle school, and Oakland Elementary school! “ 

“Yes!” Anna screamed.

 “Darling, can you go to the library to fetch the three books that I ordered the other day?” her mom asked.

 “Can I do it later in the afternoon?” Anna asked.

“Oh fine, but I need them for tomorrow,” her mom said.

Anna immediately pulled out her iPad and started to watch a movie. It was about a monkey trying to escape the jungle.

Later, it was lunchtime and her dad made a yummy PB & J sandwich. “Are you going to get the books?” her mom asked. 

“Yeah, I will now.” She put on her puffiest sweater, thickest pants, longest shirt, warmest scarf, coziest sweater, and best snow boots. She opened up the door just a bit and she felt like her entire body was an ice cube. “It is freezing and I barely even put my foot outside. I think that I will go later before it closes and when it is less cold,” she said. She took off all of her thick and puffy layers and went back to her bedroom.

 “Mom, what are the names of the books you ordered?” Anna asked.

Fry an Egg on the Sidewalk, A Trip to the Moon, and uh…. I think it was called Beware. “ Right after she said the word beware, the door creaked open on its own.

“Mom! I have heard of this. It used to be the diary of a powerful king that ruled the world. When he passed away, his soul was kept inside the book. People say that the book is cursed.”

Anna heard it from lots of people and they also said that when the king comes from the dead, he will seek revenge on whomever kept his ancient diary. “You really believe that, honey? People lie… a lot. Let me show you. BEWARE. Did anything happen?” Nothing happened. A moment later, the window shattered into pieces, though nothing broke it, it just happened on its own.

“Now do you believe me?” Anna asked her mom.

“Yeah, fine,” she said with a worried look on her face.

Chapter 2: Finding of the magical orb of Shaddowtown

After about an hour and a half, it stopped snowing and Anna went to the library to get the three books. Right when she was about to pick up the book, she thought out loud, “Maybe before the king died, he cursed the book so whoever touched it would be cursed.” She quickly ran to the CVS store and bought protective gloves. Then, she ran back to the library and picked up the books with the gloves. She decided to read the book to see if there was any way she could return it to where the king was buried. Maybe there was some kind of portal to take her there. She opened the book to a random page and kept on flipping through it until she reached a page that said The magical Orb of Shaddowtown. It said that you need to say a special secret code to get to the magical world of Shadowtown, a place so frightening, people die from being there. It gave Anna the shivers. Only the most powerful leaders are buried there. “Maybe he isn’t who people think he is. Maybe he is still alive. All I have to do is find the orb, find the code, talk to the king, make him decurse this book, and it won’t be cursed again!” She said it so casually, like she has dealt with this before. She tried looking for clues in the book as to where the orb must be. It did say one clue. “Your passcode is in plain sight, mix up the letters to make them right.” The day was almost over and all Anna could think about was the clue. She was upset that she used her time and couldn’t find anything. She went to bed on a bad note.

She woke up the next morning and had school again. Right when she was brushing her teeth, she understood the riddle. In every diary, you write your name. Maybe it is spelled backwards! She opened the book and on it was a little tag that said XAM GNIK. She spelled it backwards and it spelled King Max. That was the password! Now, all she needed to do was to find the orb. It could be anywhere! Maybe there was a hint inside the book for the orb just like the hint for the passcode. 

Chapter 3: A trip to Shaddowtown

Anna was looking for more clues in the book, but she didn’t find anything that was much help. Finally, after a lot of searching, Anna found a clue. It said, “The place that has helped you all this time, is the place that will solve what you call a crime. “ Anna was confused. “The place that has helped you all this time. “ Anna paused for a while until she thought…

The library! Of course! The library was what helped Anna find the book, so that was also the place that was hiding the orb. “That explains why the library is called King Maxwell library.” Anna rushed to the library. Anna got reminded of the movies she had watched before, like the ones that had books that acted as levers that opened some kind of passageway. Maybe that “lever” was a book about King Max’s history. Anna looked in the history section, and without realizing, she bumped into the wall and the wall flipped completely. I think that she found the secret room! In the middle of the big room was a crystal orb. Anna was about to take a step when, “Wait! Maybe this room is filled with booby traps?” She picked up a stone that she found on the floor and threw it on the floor. It immediately burned into ashes. There was a sturdy old vine that Anna could use as a rope to get across the floor. She got the orb and left home.

She was confused on how to get back, if there even was a way back, so she had to keep the orb until she could find out how to use it and get to Shaddowtown. Then she would return it because she didn’t want to look suspicious. She reviewed the page in the book and held the orb in her hand. On the side was a button. She pressed it and the orb started speaking. “Hello. What is the passcode?” the device asked.

“King Max,“ Anna said. Suddenly, the orb, a sphere kind of shape, flattened out and created a portal. “Orb, how will I come back home?” Anna asked. 

“All you have to say is: Portal, take me home. Then you will jump inside it and fall in your bedroom. ” Anna nodded her head. Anna remembered to take the book with her. She was not sure she would find him. Would he actually be dead? Would he be hiding in his casket? Would he be living on the streets? Were there even streets in Shaddowtown? “I promise, you will be alright,“ the orb said.

Anna hopped inside the portal and came to the scariest place she had ever been in her entire life. The sky was black and everything she could see was grey. There was not a single human being on the street except her. There was a dust ball rolling beside her left leg. It was not like she imagined. There were streets like she thought there would be. She was looking for the Shaddowtown cemetery to find King Max.

Finally, she gave up and sat down under a tree. Droplets of water came down her cheeks. “First time at Shaddowtown” a voice said in the shadows. 

“Who said that?“ Anna asked, frightened. 

“Look behind you.“ the voice said. Anna turned around and saw that she was talking to a tree. She opened the book to a page titled The creatures of Shaddowtown. It said that there were secretive squirrels that live in the mysterious shadow-filled forest. There were also terrifying talking shadow trees, the one that Anna was talking to. There were also the mysterious shadow monkeys living in the jumpy joyless jungle. “Most of my kind are terrifying. It’s in the name, but you, little girl, sat on the right tree.” the tree said in a nice voice. “What brings you here?” the tree asked. 

“Well I am trying to find King Max to decurse this book. I want to safely restore this in the library,” Anna said.

“You are in grave danger, little girl,” the tree said. “He is still alive, but 10 times more powerful. He can curse you with any possible spell. Good thing you are wearing gloves,“ the tree said. “The cemetery is on Shadow stone drive, which is passed that dumpster and to the next left. You’ll see the cemetery on the right,” the tree said. “Good luck. Know that whenever you need help, find the tree that has a big brown splotch of bark on the bottom roots. We trees can look invisible, like shadows. So if someone is after you, just hug me and we’ll both turn invisible,” he said. 

Chapter 4: The Cemetery on Shadow Stone Drive

Anna walked past the dumpster, turned left, and then made a right and saw a sign that said Shadow stone cemetery. She walked straight on the path down the middle and found the stone that said King Maxwell the 1st. She found a shovel on the ground. She picked it up and dug for a while until she made a hole. She peeked her head and saw King Max, all alone, sitting by himself on a stool he put for decoration because he was going to spend his entire life there, so he needed to be comfortable. “Um, excuse me? King Max?” Anna said. 

“Who has entered my home? I mean uh… I’m dead,“ King Max said. 

“I know that you’re not dead. I am Anna and got here through the magical orb of Shaddowtown. I found the passageway in the library, and I have our diary called Beware. Can you please decurse it or something? We humans don’t deserve to be cursed just because you are a bad person,” Anna said.

“That’s not what happened. I used to be a ruler, a powerful ruler, and everyone loved me. Everybody promised that they would care for me forever and ever. Until one day a new ruler came and everyone betrayed me. They broke my promise. Anyway, so the other ruler cursed my diary. He meant it to curse me, but when I lost it, it got free to the world so others could be cursed and everyone blamed me. The ruler was called Richard Dixeon.”

“He is that suspicious guy that owns the library near my house! I knew something was fishy about him.,“ Anna said. 

“I have been trying all my life to get out of Shaddowtown, but I am not as powerful as people say I am,” King Max said.

“I have a portal that can take us both out of here. Only one one condition. Can you decurse this book?” Anna said. 

“I wish I could, but I don’t know the spell. Though I do know someone who does. His name is Sorcerer Goblin. He owns what people think is a flower shop, but is secretly his potion lab. It is on Maple drive,“ he said. 

“Hey, I know that flower shop! It is two minutes away from my house. If you want, I can take you with me home and get the right potions do decurse this book, and while we’re at it, we can turn Richard Dixeon into a frog. That guy deserves to be taught a lesson,” Anna said. “Why did he want to curse you anyways?” Anna was interested in the topic. 

“He didn’t want me to be a better ruler,” King Max said. 

“If we want to go home, we need to dress you up in some better looking clothes, hundreds of humans will be seeing you. You can’t go looking like a dumpster threw up on you, no offense. Also, this is winter time, in Minnesota. You better be wearing your fluffiest outfit. Are there any clothing shops? Do you get everything here free because there are no humans around?” Anna asked.

“Pretty much,“ King Max said. He climbed out of his “home“ and they were off to Shadow Up my Outfit. When they got there, there were lots of options. Anna pulled out a fluffy blue shirt, Khaki long pants, a snow coat, boots, and earmuffs. “I didn’t know that Shaddowtown had a good sense of style,” Anna said.

“Now where is the portal?” Max asked. 

“Um, all I have to say is, uh…. portal…. uh… “ Anna totally forgot what to say!

It had now been two whole hours and Anna was worried. “I bet that Mom and Dad are worried sick!” She was crying because she didn’t know what to do. She and King Max walked a while. Anna spotted a tree that had a brown splotch of bark on its roots. Anna hugged the tree. “Is someone chasing you?” the tree asked.

“Nope, I just forgot how to get home through the portal. I forgot what to say to make it appear,” Anna said softly.

“Portal, take me home,” the tree said.

“That’s right! How do you know?” Anna asked. 

“I once met a human girl about 11 years old, like your age, and we were the best of friends, until she left Shaddowtown forever without telling me. Right before I never saw her again, I heard her saying, “Portal, take me home,’ and since I still think about her, I remembered what she said,” the tree said. 

“Portal, take me home,” Anna said. The portal appeared. King Max and Anna hopped inside.

Chapter 5: A trip to the Human World

Anna and King Max landed in Anna’s bedroom with a loud thump. “Anna, is everything alright in there?” Ana heard her mom’s voice.

“Yep, my big stack of books just fell.” Anna felt her stomach flip when she lied to her mom. “I will open the window, you will go to the front door, and knock, of course. Tell my parents that you are my theater teacher and talk to my parents about how good a student I am. Then you are going to wait outside, I will tell my parents that I am going for a long walk and then we will go to meet the Sorcerer Goblin.” Anna chuckled a bit because of his name. After the plan worked, Anna and King Max walked to the flower shop.

“Sorcerer Goblin,” King Max said.

“Who comes to seek my secret?” a voice said.

“Your old pal, King Max, and a friend,” King Max said.

“What would you like today? Roses, daisies, lilacs, lavender, buttercups?” Goblin said.

“Um well, we were looking for potions,” Anna said.

“What kind of potion? I have a different section for that,” Goblin said.

“A decursing spell. A cursed diary. Can you decurse it?” King Max asked.

“Yes, of course, follow me,” Goblin said. He flipped the wall, sort of like the secret passage that helped Anna find the orb. There were thousands upon thousands upon thousands of potions, with crazy names like bulbrin, clantese, sordum, cansue, fulprit, and more funny names like that. After a while, Goblin found two potions and mixed them together (cansue, and prentalid). He put a droplet of the potion on the diary and it wasn’t cursed!

“Thank you so much, Sorcerer Goblin!” Anna said.

“Can we ask you for one more thing? Can you turn someone into a frog? ” they asked Sorcerer Goblin.

“Sure! Can you please get me flour, eggs, baking cocoa, milk, sugar, salt, a spoon, a bowl, cansue, artene, and sordum.” One minute later, they had everything they needed.

“Why all of this baking stuff?” Anna asked in a surprised voice. 

“Well, do you think that this person will just agree to be turned into a frog? I will put the spell inside the brownie so he will want to eat it. He might think it would be suspicious, so we need to show them that we can eat them too. One will have a potion inside and one will not.”

Finally, the brownies were done. They all walked to the library. Goblin and King Max were hiding outside because they looked suspicious. (Don’t worry, Goblin isn’t an actual Goblin.) Anna walked in and said to Richard

“Hey, I really enjoy reading the books from this library, and I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work so I baked brownies for you. Mmm,” she said while taking a bite of the brownie labeled not potioned, safe to eat. Richard suddenly turned into a frog.

“And that is revenge for cursing my friend’s diary, King Max.” Anna was holding Richard. She threw him onto a tree five minutes away from the library. Anna headed back to the library to return the orb and Beware. She also stuck a sign on Richard’s desk that said: On vacation forever. Never coming back! 🙂 

“Now that this adventure has come to an end, I think that we should celebrate. Milkshakes on me,” Anna said. The milkshakes tasted like victory.

But what they didn’t realize was that they were on an enemy list of a very grumpy frog that was waiting for his revenge

DUN DUN DUN!!!

The End

Make sure to read book 2!

Tails Be Lost

Dear editor and readers:

Tails be lost is about a water dragon that has to go across a spongeing desert and raid a village. Will he succeed? Stay tuned to find out! Dun Dun Dunn! It’s for the readers that read adventure. It’s a story where you read the back cover so yeah you’re gonna have to read it, and if you already read it then read it again, so that if you missed anything then that’s why read it again.

NARRATOR:

Once upon a time in the 1500s, there is Gus. Gus is a water dragon, and there are other dragons, but there’s also the sunlight god, Tarima. If you see him in your village, then you’re a goner. It’s like playing with the Grim Reaper. Get a mile away from him. And he wants to feed on people, but there is a desert that separates him and other water and fire dragons so he will have to leave his cozy home and set off. But first, he would first have to pack. He will have to gather lots of water and more water, because of course water dragons need water, that’s why he needs it, DUH! He needs food. He has some leftovers after a day’s business lunch. He last did a hunt like this a month ago. So, Gus sets off. Gus is so hot and sweaty from a minute of walking in the desert that he is hopeless, but he sees an illusion of the water, an illusion, but he doesn’t know that, so he goes on and on trying to chase the water that is endless and hopeless. He knows that he can’t last long, but he decides to push on. Then he sees the city. It will be spectacular if a far traveler Gus is just bored because he has seen it before, but the difficulty is that the dragon has a weak spot and it is the tail. 

GUS: 

How the humans got this piece of information, I don`t know, but there are these the first time I encountered the holos were when I was 25. I was only just a child. Just so you know, a dragon lives up to 700 years, so anyways, it was my first time hunting a village. My dad got struck down by the holos. Holos are people that have a giant axe and they would patrol a block. Every holo has a block to guard, and they cut off the dragon’s tail.

NARRATOR: 

Gus grabbed a hold of some peasants and a knight. On some nights, rarely, he would eat a king’s bodyguard. The knights are expensive tastes, but they try to put up a fight but Gus thought, I’m just too good and then I can trade it to the dragon market. Oh yeah, I’ll tell you all about that in a second. A big meal is a catapult or a siege tower, but he usually gets hobos and other sorts. Gus stays away from old ladies and grandpas. There is a market where dragons sell humans for dricki. Dricki are the coins that dragons use. And the nearest ones are two miles away. Take it away, narrator! Narrator? Narrator, we need you to come on. We’re waiting for you. 

NARRATOR: 

Okay. Fine, ahem, ahem. So, Gus had a problem. He was not able to cross the desert, so Gus had searched and searched but he had no idea how to cross it. He was about to give up when he spotted something. It was a catapult. Gus had an idea to go back home. First he would gather the fishing nets and wrap it around his feet. It was no hard task to take the people, because the dragon’s feet are the strongest bones in the dragon’s body.

GUS: 

Aahhhhhhhhhh! I want it back, wait a minute that’s actually true, give it! Hey! Ripp!

NARRATOR:

Sorry readers, Gus is having a tantrum. Technical difficulties. Beep!

GUS:

Wahhhhhhhhhhh! I want it back! 

NARRATOR:

Well, whatever, okay.  

WRITER: 

Can you please stop saying stuff, we only have like two pages left and I’m not going to waste it on you two quarreling! Okay! 

BOTH: 

Fine! 

NARRATOR: 

The grill was smoking. Gus invited some friends to his home with a gurg. A gurg is a phone. That is how Bill Gates invented the iPhone. His friends came over and had a great meal. Also, side note, you hear the booms of lightning? It’s actually the dragons bowling, and you know how the air shakes stuff, it’s the rain cloud, yeah, the dragons bowl loudly and fast. The end! 

Epilogue  

NARRATOR: 

Two weeks later, when Gus was walking to the village to get some people, he saw something. He stepped closer to it and it was Tarima, the king of all dragons, otherwise known as the sunlight god. If you see him in your village, then you’re a goner. It’s like playing with the Grim Reaper. Even a mile away from him will do you no good. Once he saved a present life for a secret, and that secret is that the god of sunlight is a human that’s in a robotic costume.

Elena & Hercules

If there was such a thing as the most lonely yet serene moment, this would be it. The glowing signs of stores and restaurants, the wind flowing through her curly, blonde hair, the memories of what was once a bustling city. How could so much destruction occur in so little time? The only answer lies in a newspaper that someone had left on the ground — an unidentified terrestrial being with the power to wipe out approximately 90,000 people. A being of so much size and strength, even the government’s most powerful resources couldn’t defeat it. This being was officially classified as “???” — creative. Although, that didn’t end up mattering as the whole city was wiped out. Only one human was left in this desolate place. A human who, at the time, was unconscious in a coma, and had been for years.

Her name was Elena. But her name didn’t really matter, as there was no longer anybody to refer to her by it. Starvation wasn’t an issue, as there were grocery stores and markets of enough food to last over a lifetime. If you were in this girl’s position, there would be multiple options for what she would do first. Some would say to hunt, to look for water, to look for shelter. Elena, however, did none of this. Food and water was accessible to her, and she could easily go into any of the skyscrapers or apartment buildings that were once full of residents. As she walked around, she held onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, there was at least one other human left. As Elena ran frantically around the city, she came to the harsh realization that what used to be her city, her home, was crumbling down to nothing at all. And in the future, if that even existed, some wealthy human would rebuild the city, and not a single soul would recall what used to be. Or possibly it would never be rebuilt, left to hide away in the dust. Only time would tell.

Over months of living in the city’s poor conditions, Elena grew used to the environment. However, the isolation was making a gradual impact on her sanity. She heard whispers behind her as she left each room and saw shadows behind her whenever she looked in the mirror. In terms of shelter, she had chosen to live in what used to be someone’s small house, a fair distance from the other buildings in the city. The house was old, and not in great condition. But it held the one thing Elena had left: her hope. So far, the first room- the kitchen- was definitely old. Dust bunnies hid under the furniture, moss grew in the corners, and yet, she felt drawn to this house. Possibly, it was because, although she was all by herself, her surroundings kept Elena company. The night sky, each star holding hope and determination, the plants, keeping their heads up despite the times, the dusty stacks of books on the floor, every one containing a story of its own, waiting to be unraveled. 

As she walked around the house, Elena found another room. When she pushed the wooden door open, it produced a loud creak. Elena turned the light on, and she saw that inside was a washing machine. However, the machine held unwashed clothes, so she scooped up the damp clothes and hung them on the drying rack. She let out a weary breath as she left the room, slamming the door behind her. As a furious cloud of dust rose from the ground, Elena hurried away, searching for a washroom of some kind. Elena heard the sound of a door opening, followed by a voice: I’m home! But after rushing to the main door, she found that nobody was there. Had the voice really been in her head? It sounded too realistic to be merely a product of imagination. Elena shrugged it off as she came across another door. She then spotted one ant, then another, before realizing each ant was following the other. After staring down the trail of ants with hopes to intimidate them, Elena slowly twisted the doorknob. Unexpectedly, the door swung open before she could push it. She felt a cool breeze hit her, and she realized how much she had been sweating. The air pressure must have opened the door on its own. Regardless, the air conditioning felt good after being in the heat. She walked around the bathroom. It was pretty much just a standard bathroom, a toilet, a sink faucet, a shower, a mirror. Seeing herself in the mirror, Elena realized how much of a mess her hair had become. Hastily, she grabbed a hairbrush and began brushing out the thick knots. 

After Elena finished brushing her hair, she saw another door right across from the bathroom. This wooden door was the gateway to a bedroom. To her surprise, the bedroom was clean. It had no moss growing in the corners, no bugs either… just a bit dusty. This was suspicious, so Elena looked around the room. She found bug traps on the floor, and some sort of spray on the desk, probably to prevent moss. Whoever lived in this house before must have paid heavy attention to their sleeping conditions. Suddenly, Elena heard a scratching noise. She whipped her head around. The scratching continued. It was coming from her left. She left the bedroom and started to the left, and the sound got louder. She followed it into another room that seemed to be the last room inside. The house sure was bigger than it looked. Inside the room, there was a pet bed, a cat tower, a litter box and a cat that had been scratching at the wall. Elena saw the cat, and started to tear up. She had thought she was completely alone, but she wasn’t. The cat walked over to her and rested in her lap, while her tears dotted its orange fur. 

Elena checked inside the closet, and discovered three huge bags of cat food. She poured it into the cat’s bowl and left the room. She felt the empty dryness under her eyes where her tears had fallen. Do you feel alright, Elena? Are you lonely? Elena stopped dead in her tracks. Was she talking to herself, was someone else talking to her? Or was she just hearing things? She was deep in thought when she felt something licking her leg. She looked down, and saw the same orange cat. “I should give it a name,” Elena mumbled to herself. The cat felt like a hero to her. From that, the cat’s name was decided: Hercules. And so, from then on, it was Elena and Hercules against whatever was out there, and whatever, or whoever, had destroyed their city.

Night had fallen, so Elena started over to her bed. And as she had always done, she buried herself in the blanket and closed her eyes. But, this time, it felt different. She noticed that she was shaking slightly, and the whispers she heard grew louder, to the point where she had to pull the blanket over her head to feel safe. Although, she was exhausted, so she soon fell unconscious. Elena slept well that night. 

When Elena woke up in the morning, her vision was blurred. But even what she could make out, her body, didn’t feel like her own. Her green eyes, her pale arms, her blonde curls, felt as if they belonged to someone else. But technically, one’s body is just a way to express their mind. So does one’s physical appearance belong to nobody? She pondered as she wandered around her room, deep in thought. She realized that she could no longer wait around. It would be a miracle for anyone to come and save her, and she had to figure out how to make that miracle happen. Elena threw the door open and ran through the hallway, out the house, to the grocery store or what was once a grocery store. She gathered food and bottled water in her drawstring bag along with an emergency poncho. Elena then had an idea, and she hurried to the convenience store. She was thrilled to find a satellite phone, a map of the closest cities on land, and an old-fashioned watch. The city was on an island, so it would be practically impossible to look for nearby cities. However, if she could call for help via satellite phone, she would have a chance at leaving the city. There was one last matter to worry about: Hercules the cat. 

Back in the house, she poured some catnip into a small plastic bag, scooped up the cat. With that, Elena walked outside. She was aware that she had no chance of swimming across half of an ocean, but maybe she could find a boat. The biggest concern was whether or not she could drive, as the tide was usually low and storms occurred rarely. Down at the beach, there was a boat in decent condition. She climbed on and sprinted to the captain’s area. Elena gripped the wheel with determination. Her father had taught her how to use a boat when she was young, but whether she had held onto that knowledge was unknown. She started up the boat, but it wouldn’t budge. Possibly a piece of seaweed had clogged the motor? Or was the boat falling apart? She stared at the water. By now, the sun had set and stars had started to paint the sky. But one star shone so brightly, and it was moving horizontally… it wasn’t a star. It was a shooting star, a comet. Elena’s parents told her to always wish on a shooting star, so she closed her eyes as she wished for help in leaving the city, and for help in finding answers. She suddenly felt her boat ascending, lifting off the ground. Out of instinct, she tried to grab the water, as if it would hold her down. But she had stopped rising upward. The water was carrying her boat across the water using a wave. The wind sang a lullaby, and somehow, Elena fell asleep on that very boat.

When Elena opened her eyes, she blinked multiple times to confirm what she was seeing. The figure of a person, shaped of… water? Surely she was just lucid dreaming. Or, at least, that was what she told herself. The person, who seemed to be some sort of water spirit, also had something cradled in their arms. It was a cat, an orange cat. Elena stared at it with disbelief. Her cat. Or so she thought. The spirit spoke. 

“Thank you for returning my cat to me, Elena.”

Elena nodded, but was still full of unanswered questions. Who was this person? What was this person? How was Hercules related to them in any way? How did they control water? Who destroyed her city? What destroyed her city?

“May I ask a question?” Elena began.

“Go ahead.”

“What destroyed my city?”

The water spirit was silent for a moment, and the silence grew loud. Elena waited anxiously for a response.

“It was a creature from the largest galaxy in existence, the Crowned Galaxy.”

“How big is our galaxy in comparison?”

“The Milky Way is the smallest galaxy in the universe.”

Thinking of her galaxy as “small” made Elena’s head hurt. The human mind could never comprehend such colossal sizes. It can barely comprehend dinosaurs, much less a galaxy multiple times bigger than ours.

The spirit continued. “The species was classified as “Accidentals.” It was created by alien scientists who were experimenting with genetics. They had unpurposefully created a heavily destructive and massive species. An Accidental could destroy your whole city with one footstep. And so it did.”

“What happened after that?”

“It left. The species was so large, it could hop galaxies. As a result, it had hopped into the Milky Way, presumably found that it was boring, and hurried back to its home galaxy. Or perhaps it ran to a larger one to cause destruction in a more ‘interesting’ galaxy.”

Incomprehensive tornadoes swirled around Elena’s mind. Who knew the truth could be so heavy? But after this, she had one more simple question.

“What’s your name?”

“Call me Hydro.”

Hydro then descended gracefully back into the ocean, as their figure slowly melted into the water. Elena’s skin started to glow, and she felt energy rush through her body. A voice in her head, Hydro’s voice, told her that she had received the power of water preservation. Elena then knew what Hydro wanted her to do. If too many humans learned about the other galaxies, the future of humanity would never be the same. However, if humans never found out, there would be no future. Elena found that her boat’s motor had seemed to be working. Perhaps Hydro had fixed it. Regardless, she started up the motor, turned the boat around, and drove it right back to the city’s beach.

Back in her house once again, Elena took out a book and began to write. She wrote about the other galaxies, about the Accidentals, about Hydro, about everything she had learned. She knew that she would spend the rest of her years writing this book. Suddenly, she saw Hercules sitting next to her. Isn’t he with Hydro? She thought. 

Hydro isn’t with me right now, she heard Hercules’ voice say. The old Elena would question this, but she already found a water spirit, so this was expected. I can’t believe you wouldn’t even care to put me in the book, said Hercules’ voice. 

Are you even magical? Elena wondered. 

Of course I am! Elena laughed and started writing about Hercules and Hydro’s connection.

Did you know I’m actually a fire spirit? Elena stared at him as if he were joking. 

I’m serious!He transformed into a similar shape as Hydro, but in red. 

You were serious, Elena realized. It felt odd to see her cat in such a form, although it was his original form.

Elena continued to write in that book for her last years. But eventually, those last years turned into last months, and those last months turned into last days, until the day she dragged her pen through the last letter of her book. She scattered water across the cover, and the droplets began to glow bright blue. The glowing water encased the book, and Elena left it out on her desk. She laid down in her bed. For the last time, she buried herself in the covers. And for the last time, the stars watched her tired eyes shut closed. Elena, the forgotten girl in a forgotten city, never opened her eyes ever again. Someday, her knowledge would be discovered, rekindled. And her body, her rested mind, would always be watched over by the friends she had made. 

That is the tale of Elena and Hercules.

Sunshine and Shadows

I was lost. I mean, you can’t blame me. The streets of D.C. are more like a maze than a couple of roads. If you hadn’t guessed, I’m an alley cat. I don’t have a name, but I’ve been called a scoundrel and the like. I have no idea why. I wouldn’t be upset if a needy kitten was digging through my garbage! Ok, are you creeped out yet? No? I thought you would have realized it by now, but I guess I have to spell it out for you: CATS DON’T WRITE JOURNALS! Yeah, you really should have at least put some thought to that fact. Well, the truth is, this story is being written down after the story you are about to read has happened. Also, I’m not the one writing this. I’m just telling my friend Olivia what to put in here. Surprised? No? Maybe, just in case, I should spell it out again: CATS DON’T TALK! You know what? Maybe it would be easier if I just told the story.

Ok, back to the beginning: I was lost. Suddenly, I remembered where I was. Or at least, where I should be. Wendy’s is near here! I thought. I tumbled over to where I knew some half-eaten, half-rotten cheeseburgers would await me: the Wendy’s trash cans, any alley cat’s dream! There were four trash cans out there, and three smelled like fast food. The other one, though… I couldn’t put a finger on it! Or a paw, for that matter. It didn’t smell like magically good food, it smelled like actual, pure magic! I jumped inside to find out if there was anything to eat. There wasn’t, but I felt weird all of a sudden. I saw sparkles, and spun around and around. Maybe the trash can was empty, and I had hurt my head on the metal bottom. Then, the whirling stopped. I still saw sparkles, though. And pink trees. And flying cows. I had a feeling that I was not in D.C. anymore.

I didn’t know it yet, but I had fallen through a portal in the bottom of the trash can into a town called Misty Hill. It was set apart from the outside world, and for good reason: the people of Misty Hill knew magic, and used it on a daily basis! However, they needed some way to get to the “normals”, so they put up a portal. It was a bit unfortunate that they put it on the bottom of a trash can, since those half-eaten, half-rotten cheeseburgers I was drooling about earlier kept falling through, but even their wisest elders couldn’t figure out the principles of closing a portal. 

Anyways, the cheeseburgers turned out to be a good thing because they cushioned the fall. At the time, the townspeople were inside. Except for one little girl jumping rope, that is. She was also eating a cookie, which sounds unsafe while turning a jump rope, but the rope was turning on its own! I walked up to her, and rubbed against her legs. My golden fur gleamed in the sun, and I made my big eyes even bigger. 

“Meeeeooooow.” 

“Hi little kitty! Like my trick?” She asked. I thought, yes! As hard as I could. I guess it worked because she said, “It’s only practice. My parents are teaching me how to do magic! It really helps when I’m hungry, as you can see!” Then she looked at me. “My parents are teaching me all about magic gems. My favorite is opal. It’s soooooo pretty! I have an idea…” She went inside a house, and stayed in there for a bit. Then, she came out holding something. I couldn’t tell what it was, just that it was glowing. It was also covered in bright, shiny, multicolored stones. She skipped up to me. “An opal collar,” she said. “For you! It has so many magical properties! It could make you able to fly, immortal, or even…” She paused for dramatic effect. “IT COULD MAKE YOU ABLE TO TALK!” she blurted out. My tiny jaw dropped. Put it on, put it on, PUT IT ON! I thought.  “Here, let me get it on you,” she said. I resisted from scratching her. Suddenly, I felt like the shine from the opal was inside of me!

“Thanks! It’s pretty!” I said. Wait a moment… I SAID STUFF?! I guess the collar worked. Hmm… it was supposed to have other powers… maybe I could fly, too! I focused on being light, and floating on a cloud. Suddenly, everything around me started to shrink. Wait, no… I was just going higher and higher! I tried to go left — success! To go right — nailed it! To go down — I was home again! I didn’t want to try out immortality, though, because if I wasn’t immortal, I would die! Besides, I think immortality is one of those things you just have to depend on. 

“I don’t have a name, because I was an alley cat before I came, but I want to know yours,” I said. 

“Oh! Sorry, I still haven’t gotten used to, well, a talking cat. My name is Olivia. And do you know what? I’d like you to be my pet! Hmm… I think I’ll call you Pixie!” She said. I was overjoyed! Suddenly, a storm cloud appeared. It settled down on the hill that gave the town its name. Then, it turned into a person! A witch, in fact. She wore all black, and looked… well, evil! 

“Who is she?” I whispered to Olivia, terrified.

“She calls herself the Shadow Witch. She thinks she rules the town, and I guess she kinda does, with all her evil magic.”

“Greetings, lowly peasants! I would just like to inform you that anyone who disobeys the following rules will be personally punished by yours truly:

  1. Do not attempt to stop my reign.
  2. Do not assist those who I hold captive.
  3. Report anybody who disobeys the first two rules directly to me.

Remember, I am your ruler forever, and I CAN FIND YOU!” The shadow witch glared at the town one last time, then turned back into the black cloud and floated away.

“She was scary! But what did she mean by ‘I am your ruler forever’?” I asked Olivia.

“She’s immortal. That’s why nobody dares challenge her. She’s impossible to defeat! But you know what? I bet we could do it! We could save Misty Hill!” she replied. It was a good idea, but there was one flaw. 

“If we manage to kill her, which is already a huge difficulty, how would that make us any less evil than her?” I said with a worried look on my face. Then, it hit me.

“I have an idea! What if we just try to turn her good? Also, um, do you know the particularly handsome black cat that was next to her?”

“Some kitty has a cruuuuuuuuush!” Olivia teased. “But good plan!” She quickly added. I blushed, if cats can blush.

“I do not have a crush! Anyway, what’s his name?” I asked.

“His name is Vampire. And I’m sure you do like him on some level. Maybe if the Shadow Witch turns good, he will too. Anyway, we really should start our quest. But, before we go, I need to tell you something. You are a helpless little kitten without that collar, okay? You need to keep it safe in order to keep yourself safe.”

“I am not helpless without it! I can do all the stuff cats can usually do!” I retorted.

“Listen, I really don’t want to start an argument with you. Just keep the collar safe, ok?”

“Ok,” I agreed. I’ll prove you wrong. You’ll see, I thought. Then, I realized there was something very important we needed to know.

“Where does the Shadow Witch live?” I asked.

“I have no idea, actually. You know what, though? My parents will!” she exclaimed. So, we set off to her house.

Two minutes later, we arrived at the house she had gone into to make my collar. Thinking about that made me think about our argument. I felt bad for disagreeing with her. After all, she was my only friend, even if she was wrong about me. I remembered a phrase I had heard long ago that seemed quite literal now. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, I thought to myself. We walked inside, only to have a terrible smell blasted into our nostrils.

“Ugh! Is mom trying her hand at cooking again? Daddy, I thought you promised not to let her do that anymore!” Olivia said. Her voice sounded funny, probably because she was pinching her nose.

“I’m truly sorry, honey. She read about a recipe that she thought would be simple, and I couldn’t stop her!” her dad replied.

“By the way, do you by any chance know where the Shadow Witch lives? Pixie and I want to make her good!” Olivia said casually.

“Well, um, are you sure you want to face her? I mean, I know you’re a brave girl, and your cat has that magic collar,” her father replied, flabbergasted. There it was again! Did underestimating me without my collar run in their family? I decided not to mention it. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, dumdum! I reminded myself over and over again.

“Daddy, I’m serious. Pixie and I really want to do this! It could save us all!” Olivia whined.

“Um, if it’s any help, I also really want to do this. She’s telling the truth!” I mumbled.

“Alright then, girls, she lives on Craggy Cliff,” her dad told us. Olivia’s eyes widened with recognition. 

“You mean the Craggy Cliff, the main eyesore of Misty Hill? No way! Nobody could live there and not be evil!”

“True,” her dad said.

“I think you girls should go ahead. Be careful, though. Ok?” her dad said.

“Promise, Daddy.” With that, we started concocting a genius plan.

We agreed that first, I would fly out there to see if she was home. Craggy Cliff was at the edge of the town, but thankfully, the town was not very large, so the edge of it was only a ten minute flight. If the Shadow Witch was home, I would carry Olivia back to the lair with me. Then, we would talk to her (I would actually be talking more to Vampire, because he doesn’t speak human but I do speak cat, also because he is gorgeous). After the Shadow Witch turned good, we would become a foursome, working together to keep Misty Hill safe. Now, we just had to hope that everything would go according to plan.

Like we had agreed, I flew across the town to Craggy Cliff, where I saw a pitch-black castle shrouded in fog. I went over to one of the windows, and peered in, hoping I would not get caught. The Shadow Witch was even scarier up close. Not wanting to spend any more time on that horrible cliff, I flew back to where Olivia was waiting.

“She’s home, and she’s terrifying!” I whimpered to Olivia. Now, it was time for step two: I would fly back to the castle carrying Olivia. That seemed risky, seeing as she was a lot bigger than I was, but we tried anyway. We never got off the ground. 

“It’s hopeless! We’ll never be able to save anyone!” Olivia wailed. Then, I had an idea.

“Olivia! I can’t carry you, but you can carry me!”

“Yeah, but I don’t see how that would help. You’re the one who can fly,” she said sadly.

“I can only fly because of the collar! But if you let me take it off, just this once, then you could wear it as a bracelet! And if you did that, then you could fly there carrying me, instead of the other way around!” I said excitedly.

“Pixie, you’re a genius! Just promise me that you’ll put it back on once we get there.”

“I promise! Come on, let’s try it!” I exclaimed. She took off my collar. Without it, I felt like I was an alley cat again. She slipped it onto her wrist. It fit her perfectly! She scooped me up under her arm, and flew away. She was unsteady at first, but then she got the hang of it. In what felt like the blink of an eye, we were there! As bravely as we could muster, we walked up to the front door… and knocked.

The door opened. The Shadow Witch stood in front of us, and I could practically see the evil oozing out from her ears. She shooed us inside, and gestured for us to sit on rickety stools. Then, she spoke.

“I have a feeling you aren’t here to help me. However, if you are, I will accept the gift that you should have brought. Oooooooooh, is this it?” She was looking at my MY OPAL COLLAR!

“Opal always was a favorite of mine. Thank you!” Just like that, the plan was shattered. She had taken away my opal collar, and with it, my ability to talk. I had expected that, though, so I had another plan. One that, along with saving Misty Hill, would also make people stop underestimating me. I walked up to the Shadow Witch and rubbed against her legs, just like I had this morning with Olivia. Now, that was a distant memory. I don’t mean in the ‘it feels like so much time has passed’ way, just that I have a bad memory and, as you are noticing right now, a very short attention span. Anyway, back to the story.

I rubbed against the Shadow Witch’s legs and purred like a motorboat.

“Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.” I made my eyes extra large, especially for her. 

“Meeeooooooooooow!” I could pinpoint the moment that her hard heart melted, and the moment Olivia realized she had misjudged me. My collar was not who I was. I was who I was. And I was adorable.

“Oh, I’ve been so mean to the people of Misty Hill! I wanted respect, but I got it the wrong way. I owe everyone a huge apology!” the Shadow Witch confessed.

“Yeah, ya really do. But don’t worry, it’ll be ok. Pixie, I owe you an apology. I underestimated you and overestimated your collar. Friends, everyone?” Olivia asked.

“FRIENDS!” everyone shouted together. Except for Vampire. He meowed.

The next day, the Shadow Witch came once again to Misty Hill. she declared peace, and apologized, as promised.

“I know that I did a terrible thing, forcing you to do as I said through dark magic. I apologize for that, and hope that you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. Also, I have appointed a new ruler, since I was so bad at it. Everyone, please give a round of applause for the Sunshine Witch and her cat, Pixie!”

Olivia and I stood up from our picnic blanket in the audience, and got up onto the stage. She was smiling from ear to ear, and so was I. Then, she spoke.

“Hi everyone. Um, my name is Olivia, but you can call me the Sunshine Witch. I am happy to stand in front of you today, and start to spread joy around Misty Hill. However, I couldn’t have done it without my cat, Pixie. Pixie, would you like to say a few words?”

“Hi. I am also happy that Olivia is your new leader. She is a great leader, if a bit stubborn. So, yeah. That’s all.” Everyone applauded. I walked over to Vampire.

“Hi! You were great up there,” he said. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: he has an opal collar now! Olivia made a matching one for him!

“Thanks,” I said, blushing. Olivia walked over to us.

“Pixie, come with me. I have to take you somewhere!” I followed her to the portal.

“Do I have to go back to the outside world? Is this goodbye?” I said, a bit overdramatically.

“No! I would never part with you! You’re my pet, remember? Just jump in! Trust me!” I jumped through the portal. 

I tumbled out inside a Wendy’s trash can. I hopped out so that Olivia wouldn’t fall on top of me. A few seconds later, I heard a clunk, and Olivia clambered out of the trash can. We walked up to the front of the Wendy’s.

“Wait here,” Olivia said. I sat down next to the door, and Olivia went inside. She came out with a bag. It smelled like Wendy’s, but not rotten!

“I thought you deserved to try some Wendy’s that wasn’t from a trash can,” she said. She reached into the bag and produced a cheeseburger.

“Is it all for me?” I asked, mouth watering.

“Yup!” was Olivia’s excited reply. I stuck my nose into the soft bun. It smelled like butter. I savored the smell until I couldn’t wait any longer, then bit in. it was the best thing I had ever tasted! In about a millisecond, I had sucked down the whole thing. When Olivia had finished hers, we went back through the portal. The Shadow Witch and Vampire were waiting for us. It was good to be home.

As predicted by yours truly, Olivia was a great ruler. The Shadow Witch, Vampire, Olivia, and I became a foursome. We practiced magic, had sleepovers, and did karaoke. The opal collars also made it so that Vampire and I didn’t grow up, and stayed cute little kittens forever. The Shadow Witch enchanted Olivia with the same spell that made her immortal, so we literally had forever to keep being awesome. So, yeah. We went all over Misty Hill, solving problems and making people happy. (With, of course, very frequent trips through the portal to get Wendy’s!)

So, basically, that’s my life story. Except, y’know, it doesn’t end there. It keeps going, because I am still alive! I will be forever! Olivia went home for the day. Her fingers got tired, so she taught me how to type. So, yes, you now have a talking, flying, immortal, and typing cat. I think next, I might learn how to jump rope or play hopscotch, so that I can play more with Olivia. The Shadow Witch and Vampire are out getting me some cheeseburgers. Wait! Did I just hear my magic kitty-phone ring? I did! It’s Vampire… oh no! Maybe the cheeseburgers sold out! No, not that. Vampire says – he says the Shadow Witch sensed dark magic! She said it wasn’t coming from Misty Hill, though! She said… the dark magic is coming from the outside world!

Penguin

My mom was making me walk through the streets of South Africa. My dad had gotten a new job so we moved from New York to South Africa and now I didn’t have any friends. Suddenly, as I was about to turn back and head home, I saw something that made me jump. It was a baby penguin being attacked by a seagull. Before I knew it, I was running at the seagull and screaming, and then the seagull flew away. I saw that this baby’s parents were dead, so I decided to keep the chick and raise her until she was old enough to leave my house.  

Two weeks later, the penguin chick, who I named Joanne (after Johannesburg street, where she was found), was almost ready to leave the nest (or house). I was feeding her raw fish that I had blended into a chunky smoothie. I made a nest for her in my room under a heat lamp out of leaves, sticks, and petals. Also, I let her swim in my kiddie pool. Finally, she was almost ready and I gave her the first whole fish to celebrate. 

After all these months, it was time for Joanne to leave and go into the sea. I was going to be all alone again, and I might never see her again, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I led the first (and only) feathered friend I had to the beach. There, I watched as she jumped into the waves of the South African ocean. 

One Year Later… 

My family and I had moved into a house and I had made friends. When it was penguin breeding time, and a penguin made a nest, I recognized the penguin. It was Joanne! I knew she would always be with me no matter what. 

Window to the Future

This was made purely from random words people gave me.

PIZZA

Warm, mouth-watering pizza.

With cheese and tomatoes and all the good stuff.

Pizza, with its smell, its taste… 

The soft parts are the best. Warm and fluffy.

Who doesn’t like pizza?

It’s the best, anyway.

TORNADO

Swirl of black, brown, gray.

It eats everything — from the smallest speck of dirt… 

To a whole roof. Moving for miles… 

It swallows and breaks everything in its path.

Trashcans whizz. Plants’ roots are ripped from the ground.

It’s a tornado.

ICE-CREAM

Sweet, dribbly.

The ice cream runs down my chin.

I suck it off my fingers.

BOOK

The smell of the pages,

The excitement of the tale —

Together, it makes a good book.

STAR

Twinkling above, the stars watch me.

They serve under the moon.

BIRTHDAY

Every year, on that special day,

I get presents and eat cake.

I love my birthday.

Covid-19

It came out of nowhere and changed many lives. 

We were all living within a lie.

With cases climbing higher and higher.

Masks became most people’s new attire.

We walked outside less and less.

This whole thing was and still is a mess.

The hope still flickered like a weak candle.

Making Covid much easier to handle.

Through thick and thin Humanity made it still.

Humanity has trudged through forest fires and scaled this large hill.

Growing Up

Chapter 1

I sat, watching the sunset with Beetle. 

Two hours earlier I’d read her a story that I’d written, where a girl’s mom dies and she’s found by the queen and becomes a princess, but then the queen almost gets assasinated, but they flee and live happily ever after. When I’d said, “The End,” and asked if she liked it, she’d squirmed.

“What?” I asked her.

“Well, don’t you think… that we’re — well, too old for stories about princesses, talking animals, and happy endings? Maybe we should read about more grown-up things, like kidnappings, or murder mysteries,” Beetle said. 

I didn’t think so. I liked to write about princesses and talking animals. I liked knowing there would be a happily ever after. But I didn’t want to lose Beetle as a friend. I noticed that she’d been growing up faster. She told me to drop that nickname and just call her Beatrice, like her real name was. But she was lodged in my mind as Beetle. 

“I guess,” I responded. “I’ll revise it so the queen dies because the mom turns into a zombie.”

Beetle smiled. “Now that’s a good ending.”

I studied her face to see if she was joking. She was wearing the usual: blush, lip gloss, pink eyeliner. She’d brought her quilt, but I knew underneath she was wearing something maturer than me. I just had on a wool sweater over a t-shirt and some jeans, along with no makeup. My unbrushed hair whipped into my face.

“It’s getting late. And windy. And I need to revise this story,” I said, getting up. 

Beetle waved goodbye as we got to the fork in the road that separated our houses. As I walked in my house, which was a quiet lavender with a yellow door and trim, I alerted my mom that I was there, and then ate my very cold meatloaf. After I finished, I went to my room, got out a piece of paper, and wrote the incredibly morbid, apparently ‘mature’ story I promised Beetle. After an hour or two of writing, my eyelids started to droop. I slowly changed into some pajamas, brushed my teeth, and pulled the black ringlets of my hair into a bun. 

“Eira! Bedtime!” My mom called out. But I didn’t answer. I was already in a deep sleep.

Home Poem

I would come home from school

And my mother would smile at me in her best smile

I miss that smile

I miss it very much

At night I would crash into my pillow

I would dream of fluffy clouds and elves

I miss those dreams

I miss them very much

On weekends, when my father didn’t come home late

We would cook special dinners of vegetables and spices

I miss those dinners

I miss them very much

And that place called home

I lived there

I miss home

I miss it very much

Interesting Topics

Table of Contents:

  1. Ortho-K Lenses
  2. Gardening Tips
  3. Michael Phelps Facts

Ortho-K Lenses  

What are Ortho-K lenses? They are lenses that you wear at night. Every night, the lenses correct your eyesight, and in the morning you have the best eyesight possible. Although they’re expensive (about $2,000 – $4,000 dollars, plus the cost of equipment), kids should definitely wear these lenses. If your eyesight is growing worse, you should immediately wear these lenses. If you have good eyesight, you should still prepare to wear these lenses, because your eyesight will grow worse in the future. Plus, wearing Ortho-K lenses can help remove your eye problems. 

So when should kids wear the lenses? Ortho-K is recommended for kids and teenagers, because that’s when people’s eyesight grows the most. By the time you are 22, your eyesight slowly stops growing, and you can decide if you want to continue wearing lenses, wear glasses, wear contact lenses, or have laser surgery. When you turn 24, the age when your eyesight stops growing, you can do what you decided to do.

Let’s learn some science behind Ortho-K lenses. Part of your eyeball is your cornea. If your cornea is attached to your eyeball, then you have great eyesight. If it’s far away from you eyeball, then it will be hard for you to see. During the night, when you are sleeping, the lens pushes your cornea closer to your eyeball. In conclusion, the lenses improve your eyesight. Remember, it will take a few days, about 3, before it will be completely good.

Author’s note: If you are planning to wear Ortho-K lenses, you can go to two places. One is in the Golden Horseshoe in Scarsdale. Although the place is less expensive than the other one (it’s around $2,000 dollars), it isn’t customized, making it not as safe. Ortho-K Specialty in Bayside, Flushing is more expensive ($4,000 dollars), since it has customized lenses. My doctor, Dr. Cho, told me the information in the first section. 

Gardening Tips

Are your garden plants being eaten by bunnies? One way to get rid of them is to put powder, such as red pepper powder, around the plants or anywhere you feel like will be most effective. For more complicated experiments, check the resources at the end of this article. 

Birds can eat some of your plants, too. Shiny objects scare them away. You can place DVDs, aluminum foil, or any other shiny objects around the plants. It can be dangling from a string, or just lying around. Getting a scarecrow might be another good idea. 

Sources:

https://www.callnorthwest.com/2020/01/5-home-remedies-to-keep-birds-away/ (Gardening tips to keep birds away)

https://www.almanac.com/pest/rabbits (Gardening tips to keep bunnies away)

Things You Might Want To See:

https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/keep-animals-out-of-your-garden/5426.html (More information about keeping animals away from you garden)

Michael Phelps Facts

Michael Phelps has won 28 medals in his life: 23 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals. 13 of the gold medals he won individually, and the other 10 were relays. During his career, Michael Phelps also set 39 world records — more than any other person.

Does anyone know what Michael Phelps’ best strokes are? Butterfly and freestyle. Although Micheal is very good at butterfly, he first learned how to do backstroke because, when he was young, he didn’t like putting his head in the water, so he just floated on his back.

Want to hear a really surprising fact? Michael Phelps can do 34 pullups!

You can also check out the video I put at the bottom of this article.

Sources:

https://www.biography.com/athlete/michael-phelps (Biography of Michael Phelps)

Things You Might Want To See:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o7I0FxFNeQ (MIchael Phelps 8 gold medals in Beijing, 2008)

The Three Adventurers and the Big Monster

Chapter 1

One day, a girl named Giselle came along and found a secret door in the woods. It was locked, so she looked in the bushes and she saw the key. She unlocked the door before she went in, and she looked around and saw her sister, Sydney. She said, “Sydney, come quick!” and ran as fast as she could. They saw someone outside and they shut the door super fast. “Where were you, I texted you?” Giselle whispered.

Sydney said, ”My phone was dead, I couldn’t text you back.”

They heard a loud THUMP, BOOM, BAM! Sydney quietly opened the door a tiny bit… it was big and scary… IT WAS A MONSTER!

The monster was green and yellowish. Giselle shut the door and Giselle was very scared. She screamed very loudly.

“Shhh! We don’t want anyone knowing where we are,” Sydney said. There was a big bug. Giselle hated bugs. She stepped on the bug — but she had her new Vans on, and they were rose gold. She was trying not to cry but she was really upset. Sydney was just on her phone paying no attention to her. Giselle quietly went out of the room. Sydney heard the door and she looked out and saw Giselle. Sydney ran to Giselle. The monster was trying to come for her but it walked too slowly. It had two legs like a human but it was big and walked super slow. Sydney was running as fast as possible.

Giselle said, “Sydney you were just on your phone the whole time!” Sydney and Giselle were scared, but she tried to stay calm because the monster was right behind them. They finally escaped, but the monster kept following them, but they weren’t scared because they got used to it, though they still didn’t like it.

“OMG, runnnn, ahhh! It’s coming for us!” Sydney said.

“Shhh, mom is probably worried! Hurry, hope we don’t get lost!” Giselle said.

“Quickly, someone’s calling me,” Sydney said. “It’s probably mom, but keep running.”

“I see something weird farther up! Oh, it’s a book, I’m gonna pick it up,” Giselle said.

“No, just keep running. Ahhh! Help, the monster got me!” Sydney yelled.

“Sydney, I’m gonna dump water on it so it lets go of you. 1, 2, 3, splash!”

“Okay, keep running faster this time. I see rainbow!” Sydney said.

“Just pay attention! You don’t want to get caught by the monster again, right?”

“Just keep going! Don’t pay attention to anything else for the last time!”

“Okay, Giselle, now focus and keep running faster” said Sydney.                                                                                                                        

Sydney said, “Stop bossing me around all the time, Giselle!”

They both yelled,  “Ahhhhhh! The monster runs as fast as possible! Faster!”

Giselle and Sydney were both scared. They ran as fast as they could, trying to get away from the monster, but it was too slippery. The monster picked both of them up off of the ground, but the two girls slipped right out of the monster’s hands. The monster was about to eat them, they were out in time! He put his hands right to his mouth but they weren’t there; they were running farther from the monster.                                                                                                                                                        

Chapter 2

They were hungry because they hadn’t eaten anything in 24 hours, they were starving! They had camp the next day but they missed it because they didn’t make it home in time. They needed to have a snack or something, they could be like a human that never got full, that was how hungry they were. They were trying to find food but they were still running as the monster came along. They were trying to get back home but they didn’t know where it was.                                                                                                                 

“Oh no, Mom’s calling me. I think she’s worried. I’m gonna answer… “

Mom asked where they were. Sydney said Isabella had asked for a sleepover for 9 days, and she also said they were playing a game of checkers so that she actually believed it because she didn’t want her mom to know that they were lost. They tried to call Isabella and tell her if her mom calls and asks if they’re there or having a good time say, just say YES.

Mom didn’t know that they were lost in the woods. They knew where Isabella’s house was, so they decided to go come so their mom thought they were there the whole time.

“Giselle we’re going to Isabella’s house, turn around,” Sydney said. They did not walk too far but the monster showed up! “You can walk because it can’t jump,” Sydney said, and the branches and bushes they were walking through were poisonous to them and the monster because the monster was walking through it and it got small purple bumps on its slimy and gooey skin.

Their mom said that she was going to pick them up from Isabella’s house tomorrow because Isabella had dance, but she told her that she would go to dance with her so she was picking them up on the last day of this week. “We better hurry there, fast, run!” Giselle said. “We can stay for a while. We’ve never had a sleepover for this long. We are pretty far from her house. We have to run as fast as possible.”

“Giselle? Oh, come on, hurry, why are you behind me? You need to be next to me or in front of me or be behind me.”

“I don’t care anymore! Blah blah blah, whatever, I don’t care. We’re almost at Isabella’s house but it’s hot, we should get ice cream or an icy.”

“It’s very hot and I’m starving! When we get to Isabella’s house, I’m gonna ask for something to eat, maybe even two whole watermelons. Welp, I’m starving, so why not, I’ll eat the whole watermelon, except the skin.”

This ice cream was super good and creamy and cold. Since they were close to her house, they decided they should bike.

“Let’s go to the bike store! It’s right there. It’ll take like ten minutes,” Giselle said.

Gisella had gone here the other day. Her mom had called asking if Isabella could take them to school because they went to the same school and Mom was always so tired in the morning, and she said yes.

“I see Isabella’s house! It’s on the next block. We’re here! I’m gonna ring the doorbell,” Giselle said.

She opened the door, and Giselle said, “Hi.”

Isabella said “hi” back. She had two dogs, their names were Elinore and Frank. Frank was a pug and Elinore was a teacup. They went inside and washed their hands because they had been outside all day. Since they were so hungry, they had lunch and dinner at the same time. Since they were having a sleepover, they could stay up as long as they wanted, so they could play on their phones or maybe play Roblox or pottery life or pottery life HD. They could stay up all night! It would be so fun on their phones because remember, when they were at Isabella’s house, they could stay up all night.

“Where is Isabella?” Giselle asked.

“Oh, she is in the kitchen doing I don’t know what, I’m gonna go check. Hey, Isabella, what are you doing?” Sydney asked.

“I’m about to go to b — oh, right, we are staying up all night. But don’t you think it’s a little late to stay up? I’m a little tired.”

“Yeah, I guess I am a little tired, I’ll go let Giselle know,” Sydney said.

Chapter 3

Sydney asked Giselle if she thought they should tell Isabella about the — you know, monster. GIselle said she’d be scared or something like that. Sydney didn’t think she’d be scared. So she told Isabella and she obviously didn’t believe Sydney, but luckily she took a quick picture of the monster. Now she believed Sydney.

She was very scared and Sydney knew she was gonna scream so she covered Isabella’s mouth and told her to be quiet because no one could know about it except for them three. She asked why no one could know about it and Sydney told her,

“Because if anyone else knows about it, they will get attacked too, but don’t worry, you’re safe.” Then she whispered, “I think.”

Then Sydney told Giselle that she’d told Isabella and Giselle freaked out because she may get attacked but Sydney told her probably not because the monster could only hear things that are a regular tone but if it was a whisper, it could not hear what they were saying.

So if someone said something about the monster in a regular tone, it could hear and attack the people that knew about the monster. Since the monster was huge, it had huge body parts. The monster’s biggest body part was its ears, so it could listen to everything that was about it regularly.

Isabella was just putting her dishes in the sink. “I’ll be right there, I’m coming,” she said. She was putting her dishes in the sink.

“She’s coming and she’s getting water with ice in it,” Sydney told Giselle. “She has dance tomorrow, we’re doing it with her. She takes hip hop, the song she does is Tootsie Slide. It’s a good song. When Isabella comes in the room, she’s gonna teach us the dance. The dance has more moves than you think, oh, here she comes. Hi, Isabella, do you want me to play the song on my — “

 “Yes, please, because my mom hid my phone, ok…  “

“Now I’m hot from all that dancing, can I get some water?” Giselle asked.

“Yes, of course, mi casa es tu casa, right!” exclaimed Isabella. “Sydney, do you want anything?”

“Yes, please, can I have some iced tea?”

“Isabella said, “Perfect.” 

Once it was bedtime, they ate dinner, took a shower, put on their pajamas, brushed their teeth, then went to bed. In the morning, they ate pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Then they watched Netflix. They watched To All The Boys: Always and Forever.

Sydney didn’t like that show so she was doing gymnastics in the living room. When they were done watching their little show, they decided to go to the movie theater to see A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place II, and before you say anything, Giselle is 17 and Isabella and Sydney were 16, so don’t come for them.

They took out their three-person bike, it was super cool. Giselle kept spilling the popcorn so Sydney held the popcorn. Then we went to the second movie and made it just in time for the movie.

She had a 1-person bike and a passenger bike. Once they got to the movie theaters, their mom called just to check in on them. They told her where they were and she told them to enjoy, then they all turned their phones off and took their seats. Sydney got the snacks, Giselle saved the seats and Isabella — well, Isabella ate all the snacks.

Sydney wasn’t scared the tiniest bit but Giselle was — the one screaming and spilling the popcorn, so Sydney held the popcorn instead, then Isabella said she had to go to the bathroom. 30 minutes later, she still wasn’t back, so Giselle went to check the bathroom and she wasn’t there. Sooner or later, Sydney got a text saying, “HELP!”

Sydney ran to the bathroom to tell Giselle and they ran outside and saw the monster about to put Isabella in i’s eye (which is where it eats from). They ran to punch the monster and it dropped Isabella out of its gross and slimy wet hands. When the monster dropped her, she was all wet and her white shirt was tinted a bright green and yellow. Once she was on the ground, a piece of the monster’s slimy skin fell onto Isabella and then grew back. They all were grossed out.

Chapter 4

They made a secret name for the monster, its name was Doug. From now on, if they were to even think about that monster, they would find a way to try to stop it, but if you did think about it, you had to tell the rest of the group because they all do most things together.

Giselle went to go write more of her book called Strikers, Author: Giselle McCraw, Illustrator: Chastity Hampton. She made her first book in 2018-2019. Now, she was working on her second book. The monster got a new power which was reading minds no matter where you were. So now they couldn’t think about the monster or else he would come to get them and eat them.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the day they got picked up but they still had the monster probl — Sydney gasped, then yelled for Isabella and Giselle. “ISABELLA, GISELLE! I SAID THE WORD THAT DOUG IS!” Sydney said.

“The m word,” Isabella said.

Sydney yelled, “YES, THAT ONE!”

“In the show I watched, I think we have to clap, clap, stomp, stomp, and say, ‘Keep the thing away!’ for it not to come.”

“Uhhhhh, Isabella, it may or may not be right behind you.”

She slowly turned around and screamed. Giselle, Isabella, and Sydney all yelled and clapped twice, stomped twice, and yelled, “Keep the thing away!” It roared and moved away as quickly as it could, but it was still super slow.

Today was the day they were going to picked up but they were gonna ask their mom if they could stay for two more weeks. She said, “Fine, but we have to be home by 9:30.”

Sydney said, “Fine,” but she didn’t tell Giselle until Giselle said,

“Sydney, we have to leave now.”

Sydney told her she was staying and she said, “Then I am too because won’t want to get hurt by the monster.”

The next couple of days, they went out for dinner. On their way back home, they encountered the monster.

Can you guess what happened next?

They unfortunately got eaten. There were so many more people in there. Isabella got lost and couldn’t find her mother when she was 12 but now they know where she was, in the monster’s stomach. Isabella gave her mom a huge hug but then realized it was the wrong person. They tried to climb out of its left eye but that didn’t work. They tried climbing out of its right eye and that kind of worked but they slid right back in and ZAP! They got zapped. Isabella got them free by sticking her shoe through its eye and put her sweater where they slipped. Then once they were all through, they grabbed all of their belongings and went home to get them all squeaky clean, but Isabella was on Giselle’s back because one of her shoes wasn’t clean. Giselle said, “Phew we’re home!” as she dropped Isabella off at her stop, which was her bed.

Chapter 5

                                         

 Giselle wanted to watch some YouTube, but as usual, she ended up watching Netflix instead. Then Isabella got a call from her friend Mari (Short for Mariana) who moved to Miami with her mom. Her sister stayed in New York because she has a job and so did her dad. Mari surprised Isabella by FaceTiming her right in front of her door and just showing up by surprise. They were all now having a three-person sleepover together. Isabella was sleeping in her bed, Giselle was sleeping on Isabella’s Mom’s bed, and Mari was sleeping on the couch. Mari was sleeping over until Saturday and so were they (probably).

“We are leaving for dinner in 15 minutes” Isabella exclaimed. “We are going to Panera Bread, their food is sooooo good.”

They left to go to Panera Bread at 4:00 PM. They ended up leaving at 6:00 PM and got home around 6:30. They decided to have doughnuts for dessert and tomorrow, they were going to have ice cream. At 10:00 PM, they decided to go to bed because they had a long day. But also fun!

“Good night everyone, see you tomorrow!”

“Good morning, who wants pancakes!” Giselle, Isabella, and Sydney all woke up and thought,

Who is that? We have no one else in the house besides — Mari!

They got out of bed and went to the kitchen. “You’re making breakfast!”

Mari said, “Yep,” as the oven went ding! Mari said “Oh, the pão de queijo is ready.” Pão de queijo is brazilian cheese bread. Sydney then said,

“Como você está?” That meant, “How are you.”

And Mari said, “Eu estou bem.” That meant, “I’m fine,” and she said, “E você?” That meant, “And you.” 

Sydney said the same thing that Mari said. Mari was Brazilian and Sydney learned a lot from her three friends, Gabriella, Beatrice, and Clara. They all went to her school. Giselle, Isabella, Mari, and Sydney all went to the same school, that was how they met each other. BOOM, THUMP, THUMP! Isabella and Sydney saw the monster outside. Isabella showed Mari around to get her away while Sydney tried to get the monster away. She clapped her hands twice, stomped twice, and said, “Get the thing away!” but the monster didn’t go away this time. The monster started banging on the roof for the 4th time and Mari asked what the sound was, but Isabella ignored her and said,

“Get on my back, I am going to give you a small rollercoaster ride.”

Mari said, “No!” and went to the living room to look out the window and see what it was. Sydney pulled her away from the window as the monster shrank and went underneath the door and grew back when it was on the other side of the door. Mari slowly turned around and screamed. The monster had now put Mari in its stomach.

 To Be Continued…

   

Biomes Out of the Box

Chapter 1

I lie in the grass. I do not remember a single thing. A figure walks up to me. I shut my eyes. I wake up in a bed. 20 people are looking at me. A strong, bald guy helps me out of bed and then asks how I got here. 

I say, “I don’t know.” 

He says, “I am Jake, leader of the crystal world.” He has big pointy ears. 

I ask, “Are you an elf?”

He says, “Yes, we all are. You are the only human.” 

He takes me outside and we end up in a stone box. The walls are 100 feet high. 

I ask, “Where am I?” 

He says, “The crystal world, I already told you.” 

I say, “Can we go to the desert biome?”

“No we can’t. They are all locked,” Jake says.

“Why not? How are they all locked?”

“You’ll catch up on everything, Newbie.”

“Who’s Newbie?”

“You’re Newbie. That’s what we call the new people,” says Jake. 

Next, I meet a guy named Oliver. 

He says, “Aren’t you the new Newbie everyone’s talking about?” 

“That’s not my name,” I say. 

“Why? What is your name then?” 

“That’s weird. I can’t remember.” 

“Yep, we think we get brainwashed when we come here.” 

“What do you mean, come here?” 

“The Over People bring us here. Also, tomorrow is your lucky day. You get to become an elf and learn how to fly!” 

We hear a loud horn. 

I ask, “What is that?” 

“It’s Jake calling a ceremony to see what your name is going to be.” 

“But I already have a name,” I say. 

“Remember? You got brainwashed!” Oliver says. 

“Come on, we gotta go, or else we’ll lose points” 

“What are points?” I ask. 

“You ask a lot of questions,” he says. “You have five points when you come into the box. When you lose all of your points by doing bad things, they’ll burn you at the stake. Six people have already been burned.”

 When we get there, the Jake guy says to us, “Hey Oliver, looks like you’ve already made friends with the Newbie.” 

“That’s not my name,” I say. “Oh wait, it is my name.” 

They ask me to light a bonfire. Since I am going to be in the Orange Elf Cabin, they are going to name me Josh. 

“Hurray, you’re going to be with me,” says Oliver. 

“Oh, thank God,” I say. 

While we’re walking back to the Orange Cabin, everyone starts high fiving me, elf-smacking me on the back, and congratulating me. 

“What’s the difference between the Blue Elf Cabin, the Pink Elf Cabin, and the Orange Elf Cabin?” I ask. 

“Well, the Blue Elf Cabin can teleport anywhere inside the box, the Pink Elf Cabin can run more than 120 miles an hour, and the Orange Elf Cabin can fly up to 50 feet in the air. Tomorrow when you wake up, you will be an Orange Elf. Then you’ll have flying training. Good night.” 

The next morning, I wake up and find myself levitating in bed. Then, everyone else wakes up. 

“Hey, you’ve already got the hang of it!” Oliver says. 

I go outside after breakfast and start to walk around. I look at each biome three times and meet Rick. 

I ask, “Who are you? I think I recognize you.” 

“Well, you should, because I am the leader of the Orange Elf Cabin,” Rick says. 

A Pink Elf walks up to me and starts cracking jokes about me being a Newbie. Then this Rick guy gets fed up and a laser gun appears in his hand. 

“Back off, or there will be a hole right through you in three seconds.” 

“Don’t you remember? I can outrun that lazer. I’m a Pink Elf. I can run more than 120 miles an hour.” 

“Well, if I tell Jake, your last point will be gone, and you will be burned at the stake.” 

The Pink Elf backs off. 

“That’s how you deal with bad guys here,” Rick says. 

“I have one question for you. Who am I?” 

“Nobody knows.”

“Not even I know who I am?” I ask.

“Not even you,” Rick says. 

“Wow, this place is weird,” I say. 

“Yup, sure is,” Rick says. 

I ask him, “How long have you been here?”

 Rick says it’s hard to tell because time moves differently in the crystal world. 

I ask, “Have you opened any of the biomes yet?”

“Nope, we still can’t find the password or figure out how more and more people get here.”

Then, we turn into elves. I remember that I am an elf and sigh.

Oliver comes to tell Rick and me that it’s time for dinner. 

The next morning, I go to my flying lesson. I am surprised to see that Rick and Oliver are the teachers. It goes on for what feels like a year, and then we get called in for lunch. I am starting to get used to the schedule. When I look at the board, I still have 5 points, not that I thought I lost any. 

After lunch, a girl elf comes up to me and tells me her name. I was going to tell her mine, but she was at the bonfire. We chat like normal people or elves, and then I see that she has blue eyes. It is odd because everyone else has green eyes. I ask, and she says she doesn’t know why. She says that they had tried to figure it out, but it never worked. I ask how we unlock the biomes, and she says that we need a password. We try to find out the password but can’t. 

At dinner, there is a food fight with the Blue Elves and the Pink Elves. I sit next to Oliver, Rick, and Mia the girl elf. We talk and try to ignore the fight. Then, I have a headache, and the numbers 2-4-1-9 pop into my head. I go to the forest biome. I put in the numbers and it opens.

Chapter 2: Biomes in the Open

Everyone is in shock. I stumble into the forest, and there I fall. 

The next day, they have a meeting to see if it is safe to escape. They tell me that I now have 305 points for opening a biome. In the afternoon, ten elves go searching for the biome: three Pinks, one Orange, and six Blues. The Orange Elf flies up but bumps into a tree branch. The Pink Elves start running and trip over some tree roots. The Blue Elves try to teleport, but they can only teleport to places inside the box. The Blue Elves carry the rest of the injured elves to the Red Cross Elves. 

After dinner, I am really curious to see what is inside, so Oliver, Mia, Rick, this guy named Chris, and I go out. We explore for a few hours until we hear a rumbling noise. Then, it starts getting closer and sounds like growling. When we all sprint back to the box, it has stopped following us. When we look to see if everyone is sleeping, they aren’t. The Pink Elf that was picking on me for being a Newbie is being burned. 

“Well there goes number seven,” Oliver says.

We join the bonfire. That’s when it gets out of hand. The grass starts to burn and there is a massive fire. It burns down the Blue Elf Cabin. Then, everyone hears a loud boom. A normal human with a megaphone with a bunch of guys wearing backward helmets appears and says “We are the Over People and we are here to put the fire out!”

They start spraying water at the fire. “I think they’re called fire fighters,” Oliver says.

But the elves do not want them to fight the fire. They want answers. All the elves go into the chamber of weapons. Orange Elves take laser blasters, Blue Elves take nunchucks, and the Pink Elves take swords. First, Pink Elves run towards the Over People, distracting them so the Blue Elves can teleport behind them. The Orange Elves fly up above and start shooting at them. 

“Enough! We are going to call a meeting, and after that, maybe, just maybe, we’ll let you go. Only if you can unlock all the biomes,” say the Over People.

Everyone looks at me. Suddenly, the Over People disappear. 

Chapter 3: The Struggle to Escape

For the next two weeks, everyone is getting ready to escape, and they are all counting on me. We all start to pack our things. The Blue Elves are getting ready to say goodbye to their teleportation providers. Only Jake isn’t packing. Everyone is very confused. He is going to stay.

We all set off to the forest that I unlocked. That’s when I get another headache. The numbers 1-8-6-3 pop into my head, and I fly to the desert biome. I put in the numbers, and my headache stops. It unlocks. Everybody looks at me and the biome. Jake is smiling.

“Blue and Orange go into the desert, Pink go into the forest biome. But be careful, Pinks, there are a lot of roots,” Jake says. 

As we are walking, I hear a weird noise in front of me. 

“Rattlesnake! Josh, look out!” Mia yells.

I take off flying. But in three seconds, while I am 40 feet in the air, I fall back onto the rattlesnakes and feel something wet. 

“Eeewww, you have rattlesnake blood all over your back,” Mia says.

“Good thing I have a change of shirts.”

I put on my second shirt out of five. Then, we see something shiny. It looks like 78 motorcycles, one for each of us. Mia has to ride on the back of Oliver’s since her’s broke. Oliver, as usual, complains. 

“She’s your friend.”

My motorcycle breaks and I fall off. I land on Rick’s motorcycle. I backflip over him, grab onto the back of the seat, and get in position. I leave my motorcycle behind. We crash, sending us over the invisible barrier. That’s when we see the Over People. I see the guy that was holding the megaphone earlier and punch him in the face. We get in line and take turns punching him in the face, 78 times in total. 

“Alright, you already broke my nose!” he screams. “Ok, just stop punching me, and I will give you your freedom!”

The rest of the elves keep on punching him until he is knocked out. We leave the building and enter a strange world. A sign reads New York City.

“Wait, I think I got my memory back!” we all say.

“I think my name is Ravi. I have an older brother named Neel who looks exactly like Rick.” 

“I think my name is Neel and my brother is Ravi. We live near the cathedral school in Apartment—wait, that’s classified,” Rick says. 

Just then, Mia turns into a kitten. Oliver and a Blue Elf turn into my mom and dad.

Chapter 4: Back to Normal

“Why is everyone wearing masks?” Oliver asks.

“Meow meow meow,” says Mia.

We call a taxi and say goodbye to everyone we’ve met. 

“So, are you guys new here?” the taxi driver asks.

“No, we live here.”

“Aren’t you guys from that TV show, Biomes Out of the Box?” 

“Wait, what?!”

We walk into our home and start watching the TV show. 

“How did you get that laser gun in your hands?” I ask Neel.

“I don’t know,” he says.

We fell asleep later that night. Suddenly, the police barge into our house and take us to a different movie set. 

“Not this again,” we all say.  They don’t erase our memories this time or turn us into different people. They just interview us. 

“Where’s that Mia fella?” 

“Oh I’ll get her,” I say.

They put us into a James Bond movie. Then we get put in a maze and turn back to our other-selves. We learn that the name of my mom’s elf persona is Michelle. 

Suddenly, we all fall asleep and I wake up back in my cabin. It turns out none of that happened. I try to go back to the biome that I thought I unlocked, but I guess I never actually knew how to. 

A plane crashes into the box. That’s when we realize this is how the Over People bring people into this place. 

Rick was brought in by a car crash that made him lose his memory, and I was brought in by crashing my motorcycle. Then I go to the desert biome and put in a passcode to try and open it: Car Crash, Motorcycle Crash, Plane Crash. Surprisingly, it opens. I check to see if I’m dreaming. 

Everyone sprints out, leaving everything behind. I realize Oliver is actually not my dad, Mia is just an elf, Rick is a friend, and Michelle isn’t even real. 

Oliver catches up to me. 

“Nice job, dude,” he says.

For the first twenty minutes, everything is normal. Then, the sun starts beaming on us. Since the Pink Elves run way too fast, they run into quicksand. Then, there’s a sandstorm, and in the middle of it, Jake realizes that we will have to stop for the night. 

At night, we hear something that sounds like laughter. When we go outside, there is a pack of hyenas trying to eat our sandwiches. Then, we set off in the middle of the night. Jake knows that it would be more dangerous and tough to get through this. When it gets really dark, we still keep moving. Then, we meet different elves. They look exactly like us. 

Jake asks their leader, “Who are you?” 

“We came from a box with ten biomes,” they say.

“Wait, but we’re coming from a box too,” Jake replies. 

“So there’s two boxes?” everyone says. 

“Our elves can fly, can run more than 120 miles an hour, and the elves used to be able to teleport,” the leader says.

“No way! Same for us.”

Then we realize that if we keep on walking straight, each group will end up in each other’s boxes. So we turn the other way. We see something in the distance. We get closer and find a third box. 

“There must be a million boxes!” I say.

Then, we hear a voice that sounds like the Over People. The voice says, “Yes, this is the Over People. We have come here to trap you elves because you have all caught a virus. It is called ‘Elfatopia.’ It makes you turn into an elf so we trapped you. If you were in the real world, you would have lived with humans and a war would have started between you.”

Chapter 5

We walk for what feels like a trillion years. Then, we think we see something. We aren’t very surprised because we’ve already seen, like, fifty boxes. This is different. It is a shiny black building that looks like a lab. 

We slam on the door three times and yell, “FBI, open up!!!”

The door opens and we all barge through, breaking every single thing they have. We go out the front door. 

“Looks like we’re here,” Jake says. 

“Well, I guess we’re elves forever,” Mia says.

THE END                    

The Grain

It felt like a nightmare. Maybe it was. Or maybe it never happened at all. By the time you finish reading, you’ll know what I mean. 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2031, 1:15 PM

EMERYVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL, EMERYVILLE, MONTANA, ROOM 201

“Jennifer, would you like to share your report next?” 

I smiled as Ms. Bragenstien acknowledged my raised and wriggling hand. 

“Of course.” I strode to the front of the room and grabbed the Grain Projection Chip (PC) connected to the Smartboard from her desk. Ms. Bragenstein said nothing, only smiled silently and expectantly as I plugged the PC into the Grain slot in my head and murmured, “Saturday, October 3, 2031, 5:00 PM.” My Grain presentations were already almost legendary at Emeryville Middle School. 

The Grain was invented in 2027 as a security device to monitor released prisoners. Their Grain recordings would be reviewed to make sure that they weren’t participating in any illegal activity. Thanks to the Grain and its memory recording power, crime rates plummeted phenomenally. But over the years, people started to implant it voluntarily, so they could relive the best moments of their lives. These days it was common, with babies getting it as young as 2 months old. There was even talk of making it legally mandatory. And if you didn’t get it, you were deemed suspicious — people assumed you had something to hide. 

I grinned at Ms. Bragenstien as the recording began to play on the Smartboard at the front of the room. 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2031, 5:00 PM

22 WEMBLY ROAD, EMERYVILLE, MONTANA, JENNIFER’S BEDROOM

I smiled in the mirror, made sure my hair was neat, glanced at my notes, and began. 

“This report is on a very serious topic: The Cha — ”

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 5:01 PM

1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, WASHINGTON DC, OVAL OFFICE

The door burst open and I stepped into the Oval Office. The door slammed shut behind me. President Jackson looked up from the letter he was skimming and stared at me. 

“Marshal Jackson,” I growled. My voice didn’t sound like my own. “It’s time to pay for your crimes.”

Before he could stop me, my knife was hurtling toward his heart. It found its mark. Jackson collapsed with a thunk

Almost immediately, two men in black suits with guns jumped out at me from behind blue drapes on both sides of the room. I ran. 

The window exploded in a shower of glass behind me, the grass outside rushing up to meet my feet before me. 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1:17 PM

EMERYVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL, EMERYVILLE, MONTANA, ROOM 201

Everyone in the room was speechless. 

For a minute. 

Two.

Three.

My chest heaved up and down, beads of sweat starting to form around the hole in my head where I had yanked the PC out. I took a deep breath, tried to compose myself. Tried to look less panicked than I really was. 

“Ms. Bragenstein,” I began. “This is all a big mi — ”

“Jennifer,” Ms. Bragenstein interrupted. Her voice was oddly stiff. “Did you assassinate President Jackson?”

I was shocked. “I — what — no! Ms. Bragenstein, I have no idea how that recording got in my Grain!”

“You — you’re lying,” she said coldly. It nearly broke my heart. “No one can alter their Grain.” 

“Please!” I cried. “I can give you my report now! The Challenger — ” The other kids were staring. I didn’t care. All that mattered was Ms. Bragenstein and if she believed me, but she was unmoved. I panicked. Tears started to wet my cheeks. 

“I didn’t know you had this in you, Jennifer.”

“Please! You know where my house is — where I was recording! Wembly road! That’s nowhere near the Oval Office! How could I — ”

“That could have been any mirror. I didn’t see your surroundings, murderer,” she spat. “I suppose that was a confession. Rather odd way of doing it, but — never mind. The police will be here soon.” She picked up her phone to dial 911. 

I ran for the door.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2031, 1:40 PM

22 WEMBLY ROAD, EMERYVILLE, MONTANA, KITCHEN

“A half-day,” I told my mom, out of breath. “I’m going to my room.” I raced up the stairs of our small suburban house before she could object. 

I slammed the door of my room and collapsed into my desk chair, staring into the mirror. How was this my life? I lied to my mom. I ran out of school. And I was about to become a fugitive from the law. I couldn’t believe it. 

Sighing, I opened my computer and grabbed the PC connected to it. I plugged it into my Grain slot and said clearly, “Saturday, October 3, 2031, 5 PM.” On the screen, I watched the recording of me — no, of someone — assassinating the president. I paused as they threw the knife. Then I took a screenshot. Their hands were darker than mine. It wasn’t me, but I couldn’t very well go back to Ms. Bragenstein and show her the evidence. She wouldn’t believe me. It still hurt how quickly she had shunned me. 

But there was no time to dwell on this. I took off my backpack and dumped out all the schoolbooks. I took the purse containing $327 from various birthdays and gifts from my desk and put it inside the backpack. Then I emptied my state quarter collections into my backpack as well (for use in laundromats). I also put in some outfits, jackets and coats, books, my computer and PC, and an empty notebook and pen. I hesitated, then tore the first sheet from it, wrote a quick note, and left it on my desk. 

Dear Mom and Dad:

By the time you read this, I bet you’ll have seen the news. It looks bad, I know. But I swear I didn’t do it. You have to believe me. I had to leave. I’m going to try to find out what really happened. 

I’m so sorry.

Jennifer

I put on my backpack, grabbed my sleeping bag, and headed downstairs. 

“It’s, um, actually, we’re supposed to go back because we’re going to watch a movie in the gym. With sleeping bags.” I told my mom quickly. 

She gave me a suspicious look. “And… why didn’t I get an email about this?”

“Ms. Bragenstein told us she forgot to send it.”

“Okay, but I’m going to check your Grain later.”

“Sure, mom,” I said, trying to keep my voice from quavering. If I ever saw her again, I knew what she would find if she checked. I grabbed an umbrella and opened the door.

“Umbrella?”

“It… might rain.”

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2031, 5:09 PM

DELI & BEER, EMERYVILLE, MONTANA

“Oh… and a butter roll, please.” I added. 

The man at the counter of the small, grubby, cramped deli gave me a strange look as I asked for the breakfast special at 5 in the afternoon. I glanced outside to avoid meeting his eyes. The ugly Deli & Beer was topped by a faded awning in a particularly ugly shade of green. It smelled of rat droppings and hastily applied cleaning supplies. I waited patiently. 

I took out one of the books I had brought, an atlas of the United States. It had maps of the whole country, each of the states, highway and landscape maps, etc. I opened it to the general map of the country. I took a pen and made a line from Emeryville, Montana (usually Emeryville would be too small to be featured on a map, but there were so few towns in Montana that it had to be there) to Washington DC. It looked far. I probably couldn’t get on a train or plane because I was a minor, so I would have to walk. I couldn’t think of any other option. Then, just as I was thinking it couldn’t be any worse, I heard:

“We interrupt this broadcast for some breaking news. Live from the Oval Office in Washington DC, I hand it over to Josephine Merson…”

I swiveled in my red, cracked leather stool, turning my attention from the atlas to the television almost hidden in a corner of the wall. The blond woman on-screen was standing in the Oval Office in front of the president’s desk… but it looked more like a crime scene. The window behind the desk was shattered, there was caution tape everywhere, and police officers and investigators were poking around with flashlights and magnifying glasses everywhere. 

“Thanks, Paul,” said Josephine. I could tell she was distressed, though she was trying not to show it. “We’re sorry to pull you from your soap operas” — she seemed to wait for laughter — “but something much more dramatic and entirely real has happened here. We’ve just received word from the police department in Emeryville, a small town in Montana — ” At the mention of his hometown, the man, carrying my plate out from the kitchen, stopped and stared at the screen. “ — That in the local middle school, a child has just played a Grain recording of herself assassinating President Marshal Jackson.” 

I froze. This was my worst nightmare, and it was already happening. It was revealed. 

They cut to a recording of Ms. Bragenstein in our classroom with a microphone held up to her mouth. 

“Angela Bragenstein, this student — Jennifer — was under your care,” said a voice on-screen. “Did you ever get any notion that she might have done something like this? Was this expected?”

“No,” she replied breathlessly. “Jennifer was a good student. The best. But now I can see it was all a ruse.”

They cut back to Paul at his blue desk in the newsroom. Flashes of the crime scene played on a screen behind him. “The student, Jennifer Hudson, allegedly fled the classroom after abruptly tearing out the PC that played the recording, and has not yet been found.” Then my school photo played on the screen. I gasped. The man with the plates looked at me. I looked away. 

“Wait a second,” he said. I hastily pulled my hood up, but it was too late. He’d seen my face. 

“If you have any information, call 1-800-706-2948.” 

The man reached for his phone. 

I slammed the atlas shut and shoved it in my backpack. I put it on and grabbed my sleeping bag from the floor. 

The man dialed the number. He noticed me sneaking toward the door. “No you don’t,” he growled. “That reward money’s gonna fix this place up… buy me a new pair o’ shoes. I’mma finally make me momma proud.”

“Sorry!” I cried, and dashed out the door. 

“WAIT!” He yelled, squeezing himself around the counter. “WAI — ”

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2031, 8:47 PM

ONEOTA PARK, SPENCER, IOWA

I stretched out my legs in my sleeping bag and tried not to cry. I’d been away from home for almost ten days. I missed my bed and my home and my family. I was lying in the dirt in my sleeping bag, leaning against a tree. Chipmunks skittered across the ground a few feet away. Owls hooted high up in the treetops. Even the animals were keeping their distance. I needed privacy. Other humans could recognize and capture me, but it was driving me slowly mad. There was only me to keep me company… 

Or maybe not, I realized suddenly. 

I remembered the person in the recording. They must have altered my Grain to put the recording there. Maybe they had left other recordings. I opened my backpack and took out my computer. I opened the Grain app, plugging in my PC. I browsed through my recordings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary — me going to school, reading, hanging out in my room. Then I noticed something. While scrolling through the automatically taken screenshots from every hour, I saw one of a tall, white building from 6 PM on October 5. This was from just after the assassination. There were no buildings like that in Emeryville — just little delis and suburban houses. This had to be something from the secret assassin. I clicked the screenshot. A recording began to play on the screen. 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2031, 6:00 PM

CLIVE’S, BETHESDA, MARYLAND

I glanced up at the skyscraper, then crossed the street to the park, ignoring the honking cars. I sat down on the stone wall of the park and looked down at my jeans. 

“So, you found me. Maybe by accident. Or maybe you knew what you were looking for. If you have no idea who I am, close this recording now, Jennifer. You’ll know soon enough.”

I waited. Then continued.

“You’re still watching, which means that you now know I assassinated the president about an hour ago, and altered your Grain to frame you. You’re not going to believe me, but I didn’t mean to. I know who you are, Jennifer Hudson. You do well in school. I’ve seen your Grain recordings. You’re a total goody-two-shoes. I know this must have ruined your life. And I’m really sorry. Putting my recording in your Grain was a mistake.

“After I killed Jackson and crashed through that window — ” I let out a soft chuckle. “I took a taxi to the Rocket Pharmacy in Bethesda, Maryland. I have a… well, it’s where I’ve been living. I had been looking through people’s recordings. There was a list — well, hard to explain. I found you. You were perfect for what I needed. I know that sounds horrible, but — ” I tried to keep my voice even. “Just — try to understand. I only meant to take some of your innocent recordings, and copy them into my recordings, over when I killed the president. I didn’t know it would replace yours with mine. I didn’t know it would… switch us. I never meant for this to happen. Never. So I want to help you make this right. Go to the pharmacy. At least — at least give me a chance to apologize.”

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2031, 12:05 PM

ROCKET PHARMACY, BETHESDA, MARYLAND

I stopped to catch my breath behind a massive shelf of band-aids, hidden from a girl a few years older than me sitting behind the counter. The sunglasses started to slide down my sweaty nose. I briefly took them off, wiped my face with the scarf I was wearing, and put them back on quickly. I couldn’t risk anyone seeing me. I picked out a pack of brown band-aids, some disposable latex gloves, and two packs of tissues. I brought them to the counter, trying to listen to the radio while still concentrating on the girl to make sure she wasn’t studying me too closely. An 11-year-old on her own with a sleeping bag and backpack wearing sunglasses and a scarf could arouse suspicion, I had learned. 

“Your total is $9.72,” she said slowly and carefully. I put a $10 bill on the counter. 

On the radio, someone was saying, “Jennifer Hudson, who has still not been apprehended, is described as eleven years old, white, five feet tall, and with medium-length light brown hair. She was last seen on October 5, wearing a yellow collared shirt, blue jeans, and a cream-colored sweater.” I frowned and self-consciously tucked the yellow shirt I was wearing into my jeans. The owner of the shop frowned at me. I took the items, not bothering with the change, and quickly made for the door. 

“Wait a second,” I heard the girl say to me. “Get back here!”

“The reward for information leading to Jennifer’s capture is $500,” droned the man on the radio. “Her capture will warrant a reward of five million dollars. If you have information or believe you have sighted this young fugitive, simply call 1-800-706-2948.”

It still hurt being called a fugitive, even though it was kind of true. You’d think that after nearly four weeks of living on the edge and running from the law, I’d have gotten used to it. But the teacher’s pet in me could not adapt. That part of me felt like salt being rubbed on an open and infected wound every time someone mentioned the reward for my capture or how I was a dangerous fugitive. Sometimes I wasn’t sure how I could stand it.

And the worst part was, I didn’t know anything. I couldn’t learn anything. Going inside public places had led to too many close calls. I’d only gone inside this almost deserted pharmacy because I had a cut on my elbow that was probably going to get infected if I didn’t put a band-aid on it. And just my luck that this tiny place (that sort of resembled a hospital) didn’t carry newspapers. Well, it might have, but they were all already bought. That was how it was with all the free newspaper boxes on the streets, too. I couldn’t read the news, and I couldn’t watch TV. Instead, anything I picked up, I picked up by listening to people talk on the street. People wondered where I was. They talked about my “poor parents.” Sometimes how “ruthless” I was. But the most puzzling thing was this:

A few days ago I had passed an elderly couple on the street. One of them had said: “That dastardly Jennifer. So lucky that her plot was foiled. And how are you, young lady? Wait…” 

Then I had had to hide in a bush, so I didn’t hear the rest of their conversation. I’d spent the time since trying to figure out what they had meant. 

My “plot” was obviously the assassination of the President. So how had it been “foiled”? Maybe they were talking about how I had been caught. But somehow that just didn’t feel right to me. My plot had still been executed (definitely no pun intended), even if I had been caught. 

What if…

My plot was to kill the president. But what if he hadn’t been killed? 

No, that was impossible. The knife had hit him right in the heart. But still… 

However, there were more pressing problems at hand. I couldn’t get caught here. This was where the assassin had led me. It couldn’t end here. 

Summoning all my courage, I turned to face the girl, who was slowly walking toward me. “It’s all right,” she said to me unconvincingly. “I’m not going to hurt you. Just tell me…”

I took a step backward, reaching to pull up my scarf. 

She lunged, surprisingly fast, missing my arm but grabbing my hand and pulling it and the scarf down. I gasped. She’d seen my face on the news, like everyone in the country, I was exposed — she knew, she knew, she knew. 

What did I do in that moment?

In my old life, I would have tried to talk it out. I would have tried to explain, to gain approval. I would have tried to make things right. But maybe this life of crime was rubbing off on me. Maybe I was developing new habits, or maybe I was simply becoming a new person, because I ran. 

I wasn’t even thinking. I just dove to the wall, then bounced off and darted behind a shelf, sticking out a hand, sending boxes of Tylenol tumbling to the ground, blocking the girl’s path. I didn’t even feel bad about it. I wove my way through the aisles to the back of the shop, where a shelf of cleaning products stood in the center of the back wall. I looked around. I had assessed the entrances and exits of the pharmacy before I went in. The only way in or out was the door. There were locks on the windows. I could smash them with my backpack. Maybe I could get to the door and flee into the street. But everyone would see me. I had only one choice: hide.

Thankfully, the shelf didn’t make any of those horrible screeching noises when I moved it a few feet away from the wall. I squeezed in behind it, taking off my backpack and putting it on the floor. Then I pulled the shelf back as far as I could and hoped the owner wouldn’t think to look behind the shelf.

A few seconds later, I heard the girl’s footsteps. I peered through the gap between two boxes of Miracle Clean Powder. She examined the shelf. I held my breath. Then she turned around and walked back to the counter. I let out my breath in relief. I slowly, awkwardly, turned around in the small space between the shelf and the wall. Then I noticed something odd. The walls of the pharmacy were tiled, but this section of wall in front of me looked wrong. It was a little dim, but I realized that this part of the wall wasn’t a wall at all — it was a 5 foot square of wallpaper. 

It looked like a sample, the kind you might buy at a store and stick on your wall to see how it looked. I tugged at the bottom-right corner. It peeled. I peeled the whole thing off. There was a white door in the wall behind it. This was a secret door.

I felt a rush of excitement. I couldn’t believe it. Secret doors were the stuff of stories and books, but here was a real one. It was thrilling — moving — to be trusted with a real one. And even more than that — I remembered what the assassin had said. I have a… well, it’s where I’ve been living. This was their hideout. This was where I would meet them and get all my answers. 

The door looked a bit dirty but used. This was it. I picked up my backpack and, holding its handle with one hand, I turned the rusted knob of the door with the other. 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2031, 12:07 PM

ROCKET PHARMACY, BETHESDA, MARYLAND, BACK ROOM

The back room of the pharmacy looked like it might once have been used for storing goods. There were dusty piles of boxes with long-faded labels in one corner. It was small, around the size of my kitchen at 22 Wembly Road: about 15 by 15 feet. There were no windows, but I felt along the wall until I hit a switch and flipped it, turning on a dim bulb hanging from the ceiling. There was a desk pushed to one wall, with a spinning-type professional chair next to it and a computer, mouse, speakers, and headset on it. There was a shelf on another wall with a microwave and a package of instant noodles. Under the shelf was a sink and — what? — a toilet. I edged away from the toilet and noticed a few potted plants on the floor. They looked like someone was watering them daily. There was a dresser next to a bed on the wall opposite the toilet. I dropped my backpack onto the small bed that was very slept in (this assassin sure was messy) and sunk into a battered armchair near the entrance. Then I remembered to close the door behind me.

I tried to relax. Papers, notebooks, and books were piled up in a corner next to the desk. The room felt like a home, but it felt wrong. Something was missing. No, someone was missing. The assassin wasn’t here. And I was getting impatient. I had come here, on his orders. So why couldn’t he be bothered to show up? 

Then I realized what some of the papers were. Newspapers. I grabbed the one on the top. It was dated October 4. The day before I “revealed my plot”.  Too early. I wasn’t going to get any news about the assassination from that. 

I kept searching. I noticed a mint-green three-ring binder with pink polka dots with tape over where a title might be written on the cover. That intrigued me. I opened the cover. It looked like it had been a photo book. But all the photos were torn out, leaving only tape and cheerful messages written in marker. It looked like a family scrapbook. Someone nicknamed “Win” and his mom. Win played soccer and a wide variety of video games. His mom worked somewhere that had a “take your child to work” day and a vending machine. 

This all felt strange and wrong. 

Tucked into the back was a copy of American News from October 11. Suddenly, the strange history of this scrapbook didn’t matter anymore. 

The headline read:

ASSASSINATION PLOT BY 11-YEAR-OLD REVEALED, THEN FOILED

There was that word again — foiled. Heart racing, I stumbled back into the armchair and read on.

To be continued…

Flee From the Fur

Once, there was a girl named Izumi, and she was an orphan. She missed her parents a lot, and she had only one thing left of them: an emerald ring. Her parents had told her that it would lead her to her freedom, but for the past four years, she had been living on the side of the road, and nothing good ever happened to her.

Chapter 1

It was another day on the side of the road, and Izumi was sitting there practicing her guitar so she could earn money to at least eat some food. She was trying to perfect a song when a cat came and sat down right next to her. She didn’t notice it until she came back from getting food.

“Meoow.”

Izumi looked down and saw the cat. It mewed again. It must be hungry! Izumi thought. She sat down and gave it some ham from her sandwich. It ate like it hadn’t had food in months! It does look very skinny, she thought. She went back to practicing her guitar.

The cat came to visit every day, and then, one day when Izumi had enough money, she bought a little float and a blanket to sleep on. That night, she let her cat sleep on the float with her. The cat—which she had named Jiji—went to sleep right away, but Izumi stayed up for a while thinking about if anything good would happen to her or if the cat could help her. She decided to think about that in the morning and sleep for now.

Chapter 2

Izumi woke up to the sound of loud car engines—they were louder than usual, and the cars were bigger than usual too!

“Wait, maybe it’s not the cars or their engines, maybe it’s…” She looked at her hands, but instead of hands, they were paws! Jet black paws! She looked in a little mirror that she had bought and saw that she had a cat’s face. She stepped back a little to see her full body, and when she looked she nearly fainted! She was a jet-black cat with bright blue eyes! She looked to her left and saw Jiji. She ran over to Jiji and asked why she was a cat.

“When you slept with me, the emerald ring was touching you and me. That emerald ring is not an ordinary ring, it’s a special ring that can turn you into a cat when it’s touching both you and another cat,” Jiji replied. 

“Yeah, but is there a way to change me back into a human?” Izumi asked. 

“You have to go to the Lord of the Cats, and there she will give you the answer to change back into a human. I do not know the answer to that, but I will help you reach her,” said Jiji. 

“Ok, but can we please go now? The cars are loud!” Izumi said.

“Well if you want to get away from the noise follow me!” Jiji yelled. She ran toward some bushes, waiting for Izumi to follow her. Izumi caught up to her and followed her through the bushes. 

Chapter 3

“How much longer?” Izumi complained.

“We’re almost there! Now chill out!” Jiji said impatiently. When they finally reached their destination, Izumi was shocked. Right in front of her, there was the biggest tree she has ever seen, and right in the middle of it was a big glowing stone. 

Jiji caught her looking at it and said, “That’s where the Lord of the Cats lives. It looks easy to get to, but trust me it’s hard.” 

“Why’s it hard?” Izumi asked. 

“Because, one: there are a ton of vines. And two: there are a bunch of bodyguards inside the stone and outside,” Jiji explained. 

“But I don’t see anyone,” Izumi said, confused. 

“That’s because they’re invisible.”

“WHAT?! How are we supposed to get past them!?”

“We’ll have to figure out a plan, dummy!”

“Riiight. So what’s the plan?” 

“I can’t think of a plan that quickly!” Jiji said angrily.

“Ok, so can we think of a plan?!”

“I thought you were nice!”

“I am just freaked out because I’m a cat!” While they were arguing a tall, big, gray, poofy cat stood there watching them fight. They clearly didn’t see him. 

“Ahem.” 

“Ahhhhh!!!” Jiji and Izumi screamed together.

“Oh, it’s just you,” said Jiji.

“Who’s he?” whispered Izumi.

“He’s my friend HairBall,” Jiji responded.

“Ok.”

“Can you help us?” Jiji pleaded, “Pleeease?”

The gray cat finally spoke. “Ok, ok, what do you want?”

“My friend here,” Jiji nudged Izumi, “got turned into a cat accidentally and needs to get turned back, but the only person that knows how to do that is The Lord of the Cats.” 

“So you want to sneak into the stone?” HairBall questioned.

“It’s for a good reason!” Jiji said.

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Ok but pleease??”

“FINE!”

“Uh, helloo, I exist,” Izumi said. 

“Sorry, I forgot about you,” Jiji said in a guilty voice.

“Yeah, no kidding.”

“Ok, let’s just make the plan,” Jiji said.

Chapter 4

It took a while for them to make a plan, but they finally did it. They planned to get some invisibility potion just in case. Then, they got some friends to distract the guards, and Hairball, Izumi, and Jiji snuck into the stone. What they didn’t know was that there was a narrow cliff that they had to go on to get to the stone. Their plan worked to get past the guards, but then when they came upon the cliff, they didn’t know what to do! They decided to hold onto the wall going in a single file line with Izumi in front. Izumi accidentally stepped a little too close to the edge where there was a loose rock. She slipped, but luckily she caught onto one of the rocks on the edge and pulled herself up. From then on, they stayed as close as they could to the wall.

Chapter 5

“Shhh!”

“No, you shh!”

The three cats had successfully snuck into the stone. 

“WOW!” they all said together. It glowed not too bright, but it was amazing. 

“What are you doing here?!” boomed a voice behind them.

They turned around to see the Lord of the Cats towering above them. She looked like a humongous calico cat. 

“We just wanted to know how to change me back into a human,” Izumi squeaked. 

“Ohh yeah, about that…” the Lord of the Cats said. 

“What, you know how to change me back?” Izumi asked hopefully.

“Umm, you can’t,” the Lord of the Cats said slowly.

“What do you mean?” Izumi asked in a scared voice.

“You can’t change back into a human.”

Izumi started shaking, then couldn’t hold it in and just let it out. She started crying so hard. Jiji and Hairball tried to comfort her, but she knew she couldn’t change back into a human and that was the end of her human life.

The Spoiled Rich Brat

May 27

Dear diary,

My name is Chloe. My dad is REALLY rich. I can get ANYTHING I want. I bet my friends are so jealous!!! I used to have a lot of friends, but now I only have 6 because they said I was too sassy and boastful. But I don’t really care anyway because the friends I have now are WAYYY better. One day at school, there was a new girl. She looked poor, so I decided to tease her. So I told my friends, “We have to make a list of things to tease her with.”

We did, but we had to buy some things that were pretty expensive. So, of course, I asked my dad for some money! He said, “Of course,” and handed me 2,000 dollars. And that was the exact amount we needed! I said thanks and headed out the door.

We went to the local shopping market to buy the stuff we needed, like trash cans, tripwire, and a lot more. My dad was friends with the manager, Bob, so once he saw my friends and me he said, “What would you like today ma’am?” 

I said all the things we needed, and he said those things were out of stock. So I screamed, “Get me those things right now, before I have to call my dad!”

He said, “Ok, ok, ma’am,” and went to the warehouse to search for the things. He came back 10 minutes later and said, “I am so sorry but there is nothing I can do.”

So I screamed again and said, “You know that this is the WORST  market I have ever been to, and I am going to give this store the WORST review!!” 

I think he got mad too, so he screamed back, “Well, I’m gonna call your dad and tell him about you!”

My friends tried to calm me down, so I screamed one last time, “I DON’T CARE!” and stomped out the door.

xx

Chloe

May 27

Dear diary,

“Chloe, I need to have a talk with you!” my dad called.

So I said, “Yes,” in my very best daughter’s voice.

Then he opened the door. I wondered what he would talk about, like would I get some extra allowance, or would I get another dog to go with my other 2 Pomeranians? But then he said, “Chloe, I am very disappointed in you. Yesterday I got a call from Bob, and he said you were very rude.”

I thought, “Oh no!” Not this AGAIN!

And then he continued, “Bob told me you said his market was the worst store you had been to, is that right?”

“Uhhh…”

He started to yell, “CHLOE, YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE!”

And I decided that from that day, I would never talk to him ever again.

xx

Chloe

Dear diary,

Now I have to make a different plan since, you know… So I called my friends over to hang out and make a new plan. We decided to trip that poor girl from school and push her when there weren’t any teachers around. So we tried our plan and it worked. But summer break came quickly. So I said bye to my friends and walked out of school.

xx

Chloe

Dear diary,          

This summer break was the best break ever! We stayed at a resort in Hawaii and went and saw volcanoes erupting. Then we went to Colorado to a ski resort, and I thought that was even better. We went skiing on the Black Diamond, and I fell and twisted my ankle so I said, “I quit,”  and went back to the stupid lodge. When I got back to school, some kid pointed at me with my crutches. He also started laughing. So I said back to them, “Your families are probably poor as  dirt!” The truth is, basically money is all I care about. (Me in my head yelling, MONEY$$$$ 4 LIFE!)

I had to wear those AWFUL crutches for 8 weeks!!! Almost every person I walked past turned their head and looked at me. Another fact about me is that I like attention, but not this kind. Those 8 weeks were so painful and embarrassing, but at least I made it through. When I got to return those crutches I was so happy!! I yelled and screamed and shouted. My dad told me to calm down. I was about to say something, but then I remembered that I wouldn’t talk to him.

xx

Chloe

June 2

Dear diary,

Ok, so today I went to our attic to look for cool things to play with. While I was looking through some boxes, I found a diary. It looked really old and had the prettiest lace covering the edges. But this is the part I can’t believe. It said Sophie on it, and that was my mother’s name (at least I’m pretty sure). I spent the rest of the day thinking about the diary I  found and if I should ask Dad because I still am not talking to him. I finally made up my mind and went up to him. This is how it went:

“Dad? I wanted to ask if Mom wrote in diaries.” 

His answer was, “Yeah, she did, but let’s not talk about that.” He sounded sad when he said that.

So I walked back to my room. In my brain, I thought, “Wait, where is my mom? Where did she go? Did she leave us?”

That day I had so many thoughts swirling in my head. I was so tired so I went to bed.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Death, Love, Magic

Editor’s note: Content Warning: This story explores violent themes and discusses self-harm.

King’s footsteps slowly getting louder.

King: Our sons are married and my daughter must marry the king from the nearby kingdom but she refuses; she says she wants to marry a wizard! (King slams on table as he says wizard.)

Queen: A princess has one job, marry a prince. Marrying a wizard is absurd!

Together: How HORRIBLE!!!

Meanwhile, princess Penelope is sneaking off to the wizard’s hut.

Wizard: Ah Penelope you have come at last!

Penelope: I must marry a king against my father’s wishes so I came to say goodbye, my love.

Wizard: Well, what if your father is dead?

Penelope: Well, then my step-mother would rule.

Wizard: Well, what if your step-mother is dead?

Penelope: Well, my step-brothers will rule and make me a slave! 

Wizard: What if your step-brothers are dead?

Penelope: Weellll… I guess I will rule then and get to make my own choices.

The Wizard gets an evil gleam in his eye. He only loved Penelope to get the kingdom and then he would kill her.

Wizard: Well, I guess you should leave, my love, your father must be wondering where you are darling. 

Penelope leaves and closes the door.

Wizard: Now I’ll do what I do best: kill. 

The next day, Penelope hears a scream as she wakes up and runs to the noise to find her poor step-mother crying over her step-brother’s dead bodies.

Queen: OH NO! WHAT SHALL I EVER DO….?

Penelope: Step-mother… What happened to my step-brothers… ?

Queen: They were killed in their sleep! Killer is unknown.

King: WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR SONS!?

Penelope: They were murdered, father…

Everyone is silent except for the queen’s cries of heartbreak.

Queen: If I can not live with my sons, I will die, so I will kill myself to join them.

Before anyone could stop her the Queen brings out the king’s sword and stabs herself and collapses onto her four sons’ bodies and dies.

King: I will die too. I am a horrible king to let my sons die.

He takes the sword, pulls off his armor and stabs himself and dies.

That night, there is a funeral for the king, queen, and princes and a crowning for Penelope.

Penelope: I know who did this and I must kill him before he kills anyone else. GUARDS, find the wizard and bring him to me.

Guards come back with a struggling wizard. 

Wizard: My love, how could you do this to me! 

Penelope: How could you do this to ME? I tell my father I want to marry you and in the end, you kill my family! I will marry another man who was my second love. I was going to pick you as my husband but you killed my family. You shall be burned at the stake tonight!

Guards take the wizard away.

That night, Penelope stays in her room but hears the fire burning the wizard away and his cries of pain. When she comes out, the wizard is dead.

Two days later, a wedding is happening for Penelope and the prince of a nearby kingdom. 

Two years later 

Penelope has a family and a life but one of her daughters is magical. 

Ann: Mother, why do I have magic?

Penelope: You must have inherited it from a wizard I used to know and love until he killed my family.

Ann: Wizard? Love? Murder?!

Penelope: It is a long story…

  THE END

Adapting to Life

The autumn leaves are twirling in the air from nearby trees. I walk to a bench with a book tucked under my arm. The breeze swirls in the air, blending in with the laughter of children. On the bench, I observe everything around me. Children are playing tag, adults are supervising, and there is the smell of coffee from the teacher’s lounge.

I set my book on my lap. The cover has images of foxes chasing after each other, insects hanging to leaves, monkeys and exotic animals staring back at me. In the center of the cover, it says: On The Origin Of Species in big, blocky letters. Underneath it says: by Charles Darwin, adapted by Rebecca Steffof. Flipping through the pages, I reach my favorite one. The one with Darwin’s thoughts on survival of the fittest.

My mom borrowed it from the library because of my interest in science. I continued reading it because of my thirst for knowledge. Even though it wasn’t a school assignment, I used my spare recess time to reach the end of it. I wanted to know how everything started, who Charles Darwin was, and what he had to say in this book. Before I even started reading it, I knew it was a discovery of a hidden want for science.

I’ve never really dug very deep into science, I used to be confused on what my job would be as I grew up. In the end, I narrowed my interests. With new goals, I decided to find out even more about my passions and had my mom borrow any science-related books. However, my school doesn’t teach many science lessons or explain the math or people behind these ideas. As a result, I haven’t figured out what field of science I would like to study. There are many topics that I need to be introduced to.

It made me feel more knowledgeable to learn more about past scientists and their theories. It showed me that many things have adapted to new things, just like me. I adapted to my new interest in science. My passions were like species, just as Darwin said, survival of the fittest. There was only that much space for life on Earth. Either they went extinct, were endangered, or brought new strategies to their lives. Piano, in my world for passions, was an extinct species, replaced by a better descendant, drumming. Science was a new species that had been unearthed. Shading was a species merely surviving. Just like mammals during the Triassic period. It taught me that our own lives held fields of competition whether visible or not, humans were always adapting.

I have learned that the world around us is constantly changing. It may take a long time to realize, but we’ll still recognize it at some point. We can start by noticing how we change, on the outside and on the inside. Then, like Charles Darwin, we look to the world, animals, and others. Survival of the fittest has appeared many times in history, from cells to dinosaurs to humans. We are always adapting.

Found But Forgotten

Part 1

The way my life turned upside down all started with donuts. Yup, donuts. That delicious, puffy, glazed, chocolaty treat with sprinkles. It all started when I was seven years old at my soccer championship. It was intense. The goalie on the other team was staring me down. She spit on the ground and kicked the ground hard. 

“Ewwwwww!” I shouted in her face, splattering my spit on her face. It then temporarily blinded her as she screamed,

“Get it off!!!”

 I dashed around the spluttering goalie and kicked the ball into the net. I had scored the final point, and I won the Star Girls Soccer Championship. I ran with joy into my mom and dad and gave them a huge hug. Little did I know that would be the last hug I gave in a long time. I then ran around and gave my whole team high fives.

“Yay, great job out there, Abbigail,” my soccer coach bellowed as I did my victory lap. 

“You are totally the most amazing, splendid person ever!!!” yelled Taylor as I ran by. Taylor was my best friend in the entire world. 

My parents then called out and said, ”We’re going to go get donuts for your whole team because we are so proud of you guys.”

“That would be awesome!!! Thanks, Mom and Dad,” I yelled right before they left for the donut shop. I was all pumped and decided to take a break and sit down and talk to my friends. I talked and played hand games for half an hour or so. I was wondering why they hadn’t come back. The donut shop had only been a 15 minute drive. But there may have been traffic or a long line. I didn’t know so I just got out my iPad and played games with my friend. 

I didn’t know how long it had been until my friend’s mom said, “It’s been an hour and a half. Please stop playing.” 

Wait, but if it had been an hour and a half, why hadn’t my parents been back yet? I started to get worried and started to panic.

 “Where are my mom and dad?” I asked frantically. All the parents looked at each other and shared the same confused look. It was silent.

 “I don’t know,” a parent spoke up and said. 

There was a murmur of whispers by the parents going around. I could make out things like, “I always knew Tom and Sussie would be bad parents at some point,” “Oh the poor girl,” and, “Are they out at a club or something?” 

Then, sirens came blaring down the street. There was a big official car that said “Child Protective Services” on the front of it. 

A tall man in a black suit came out of the car and said, “We heard a child has been abandoned. We are here to take her to a good place.” 

What? My brain was racing. How were they here? Did someone tell them to come? Why? Who had done it if someone did? 

The big man came up to me and said, “Come with me.” I tried to escape but he was too strong.

 “Please, sir, this is a misunderstanding. My parents just went to get donuts, they will be back,” I yelled, trying to convince him and myself that that was true. But by then, I was in a truck driving away with nothing but my tablet.   

Part 2 

Ten years later, on a rocking ship, in a small bed. 

“Did you think they ever intended to come back, Abbs?” said Jaden, a fellow kid who was taken by Child Protective Services.

 “No,” I said, looking down at my feet. 

Jaden then tried to reassure me. “It’s going to be okay,” he said.

 “Are you 100% sure about that?” I said sarcastically.

 “No, I am 36.44897403890563891249% sure about it,” Jaden said sarcastically back. “But really, Abbs. No one can ever be really sure about anything, can they?” Jaden said, looking right at me.

 “No… ”  I said, giving in. 

“See? Life can’t be certain, especially if it’s someone else’s life,” Jaden said with a sad smile. “If I could predict life, I would have told my parents not to go on a trip in Miami and not to crash their car.” Jaden looked at his hands solemnly.

 “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up anything that may have brought back bad memories,” I said, patting Jaden on the back.

 “Oh no, don’t apologize. I practically find a way to bring them up into the conversation no matter what,” Jaden said, laughing slightly.

 “If we just keep looking to the future, it will end up better. And who knows? Maybe life will end up back as normal,” I said, looking out our small cramped bedroom window. Little did I know that that wouldn’t be the answer and that life would never be normal again.

Treasure Map

 One night, there was a big comet coming down at Earth at unknown speeds. It landed on some sort of large patch of grass. That comet wasn’t any kind of comet, it was a home to someone. The comet landed in a house’s backyard, which was located in Rome, Italy. At the beginning of that night, there were four people living in the house. At the end of the night, there were two people alive, plus a murderer on the loose. Little did two kids know, they survived the deadliest poison in the world.

13 years later

Kyle and Jennifer had been living in an orphanage for years now. They did not know why their parents were not alive, but they did know that they were murdered. They thought they were staying at their aunt and uncle’s house in Berlin, Germany when their parents were murdered. Now, they were treated poorly at the orphanage and had slight memories of either their aunt or uncle, who both shortly passed away later. And most of all, they wanted to see the world and they also hated where they lived…

One night in Berlin, Germany, At the Orphanage

“Hey,” whispered Jennifer. “Wanna escape?”
“I don’t know. I mean, the janitor is always there. It’s kind of creepy,” Kyle muttered.
“I’ve got an escape plan. Come on,” said Jennifer. They reviewed the escape plan and followed the plan step by step. They sneaked through the vents and eventually got to the fancy lobby of a giant skyscraper. They saw the lobby people, and one of them was their friend, Aaron. Aaron had been working there for as long as who knows when. He was the man with a long, shaggy beard and white hair. He wore red robes and knew almost everything. Seriously, if you asked him a question, he would not only answer questions, but would also tell you the answer or how to solve it. They rushed to him and asked him if he could give them disguises.
“I’ll give you the disguises on one circumstance,” said the old man. “And that’s if you don’t tell one single soul that I’m giving you disguises.”
Kyle and Jennifer looked at Aaron with a puzzled expression.
“Why?” Kyle asked.
”Here. Follow me,” said Aaron. Aaron escorted them into his office and said, “The reason I’m not letting you tell anyone is because the owner of this orphanage was a hater of a lot of people, including your parents.”
The twins looked at each other in the oddest way imaginable. “Tell us more,” said Jennifer in a barking tone.
“I mean, the owner of your orphanage and this building killed every single kids’ parents at the orphanage,” said Aaron.
”WHAT!” they barked at the same time.
“I suggest you help those four kids at that orphanage and escape immediately,” said Aaron.
”We will save those children immediately, but first you need to tell us why he wanted our parents,” said Jennifer.
“Well, first off, I wanted to tell you this when you got older and I figured now would be the right time. It all started when your parents and the kids at the orphanage’s parents were in a secret group. The group was called S.S.L.T. It stood for Secret Society of Lost Treasures. The owner of the orphanage was in that group. One day, they found a treasure map that would supposedly lead to heaven and you would be able to visit all of your ancestors. Of course, they were all teens when they were in this group. The owner of this orphanage’s name is Prince Alizai. He likes calling himself that, but no one really knows why. Anyway, the group rules were for every treasure to stay with one person for the week, and when it was Alizai’s turn, he never brought it back.”
“So why did he kill our parents?” asked Jennifer.
“Well I think it was because he thought your parents knew how precious this treasure map is. This is the way to save your parents and all of your orphanage-mate’s parents… ”
“Wait, so you’re telling us if we find this treasure map, we might be able to bring our parents back to Earth?” asked Jennifer. The two of them looked at Aaron like they were listening to God.
“Where can we find this precious treasure?” asked Kyle.
“Well, for all we know, it could be across the world,” whispered Aaron.
“I searched for it for decades and found nothing,” said Aaron.
”Are there any clues?” asked Kyle.
”Well, yes. You first must look in the Amazon Rainforest. There you will find a civilization that has amazing books and treasures. Remember to tell them that you are Aaron Cunningham’s godson.”
“Wait a minute. If we’re your godchildren, that means you’re our godfather?” asked Kyle suspiciously.
”Your parents and I were best of friends until that dreadful day. Now go and save those children, and if you are lucky, you will never have to live in an orphanage again,” said Aaron delightfully.
“Will you come with us?” asked Jennifer.
“Well, unfortunately, no,” muttered Aaron. “I can give you all the things you will need for you and your friends from the orphanage, and I’ll be able to take you to the airport, but that’s it because I’ve had my turn and now it’s your turn,” said Aaron proudly.
“Well okay, but can you at least help us get those kids out of the orphanage? I mean, they don’t talk,” said Kyle.
“Yeah, he’s right. We don’t even know their names,” said Jennifer.
“Don’t worry, I even talked to those kids before I talked to you guys. It’s no biggie,” said Aaron.
“Wait, so we’ve been living with these kids practically our whole lives and we didn’t know their names but you did?” grumbled Jennifer.
“That’s honestly sad,” said Kyle.
“Well, if you need to know, their names are: Chase, Chloe, Jack, and Katherine,” said Aaron. “I think you’ll get along with all of them. They even said you guys hardly talk,” said Aaron.
”Well what are we waiting for?” asked Jennifer.
The two of them snuck upstairs to tell their soon-to-be-friends that it was escape time. When they got into their room, they packed everything up and woke all of their friends. First, they woke up Jack, who was reading a book and looked like he knew that they were coming. Jack was a tall kid for his age. He was a very sporty kid who liked playing baseball. He had brown hair with a tiny bit of freckles and was already rushing out of the room quickly.
“Let’s go, guys,” said Jack.
All of them rushed to wake everyone up and they quietly went to the lobby. ”Where’s Aaron?” asked Katherine.
“Dunno,” said Chase.
“I see him,” said Kyle, running to the entrance of the huge skyscraper.
Aaron called out to them to get outside. The six of them charged outside to the large parking lot and saw Aaron next to a large limousine. The children got in the limousine and off they went to the airport. The car ride took 15 minutes until they got to the rather large airport. The airport was huge. The children forgot that Aaron wasn’t going on the trip to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. The flight would take 20 hours. On the plane, Kyle sat next to Jennifer, Chase sat next to Chloe (who were also siblings), and Jack sat next to Katherine, who were twins. For breakfast, they had strawberry oatmeal which was pretty decent for plane food. For lunch, they had Chicken Fingers and Fries. And for dinner, they had a choice of either Fish or Rotisserie chicken. The flight was long. Chase got seasick so Chloe made herself move to Jack’s lap.
“UGH!” said Jack. “GET OFF ME!” he screamed.
Chloe would not move so Jack casually pushed Chloe off him.
“Hey!” said Chloe. “What was that for!?”
“I had no choice, I mean, Chase got seasick so what did you expect?”
“FINE. But can you at least make Chase go use the bathroom so you don’t have to sit on my lap?” said Jack.
The two of them ended their fight and went to sleep. Six hours later, they arrived in beautiful Brazil. Aaron gave them instructions to ask a person for a large taxi. They got one, but the man who drove them did not speak.
“Is this a little weird?” said Jennifer.
“Yeah, this guy’s not speaking.”
“Wait a minute, this guy does not look Brazilian at all. Look at his suitcase,” whispered Kyle.
The suitcase read, “Flight from Berlin, Germany to Fortaleza, Brazil.”
“Guys, I think we might have a follower,” said Chase.
“I’m gonna agree with you there,” said a voice.
The man looked behind so the kids could see his face. It was Aaron, but Aaron did not have a beard. He looked a lot younger than he did in the past. His hair was black, not grey.
“You’re Prince Alizai, aren’t you?” said Kyle.
“A+,” said Prince.
“WHERE’S AARON!” screamed Katherine.
“There was no Aaron. I was Aaron in disguise.”
At that moment, Jack had just realized something. There was a piece of parchment in Prince’s pocket. Immediately, Jack whispered to Jennifer, “Look at his pocket.”
Jennifer elbowed Kyle and pointed at his pocket. Chase and Chloe went to sneak up at Prince and he looked back.
“AHHHHHHH!” screamed Chase and Chloe in unison.
They had the map. The children opened the car door and all of them ran as fast as they could back to the airport. Once they got the map, they looked at it, and it said the treasure was in a place called Cairo, Egypt. But it looked like it was in the water. “I think we found our flight,” said Kyle.
“We’re gonna have to sneak on a flight,” said Chloe.
“What are we waiting for, let’s go!” said Chase.
The six of them snuck past the boarding area and were now waiting for the flight.
“We don’t have any tickets, guys,” said Jack.
“I’ve got a plan. All we have to do is get outside of this airport,” said Jennifer.
They all eventually got on the plane. 19 hours later, they arrived at the airport in Cairo. It was 8:00 in the morning and they were near the treasure.
“Hello, hello, hello,” said a voice.
“It’s you again. You treacherous murderer,” said Jack.
“You really thought I was gonna let you flee away to find that treasure?” said Prince.
All of them ran as fast as they could to escape and they found snorkeling suits on the beach. They stole the suits and ran to the river. They swam and swam deep into the sea and they saw a huge white portal right in front of them.
“This must be it!” said Jennifer.
They jumped in the portal, and sure enough, they were in this huge place with clouds. They saw six people locked up in chains.
“MOM, DAD!” they screamed in unison.
They had not seen their parents in 13 years, each of them. They talked to them and realized the portal was shrinking.
“We’ve got to get back. Or we’re all dead,” said Katherine.
They just made it in the portal and were standing on the beach.
“Where are we?” said the parents together.
“We’re in Egypt!” said Katherine.

All of them went to a restaurant for lunch and each of the kids got chocolate milkshakes and had so much fun the rest of the day. It was evening now and the kids were playing on the beach. When their parents had died, all of them had their wallets in their pockets, so they were able to buy swimsuits so they got in the water.
“Well, well, well,” said a voice.
“AGAIN!” said Kyle.
“I see you have found my treasure map.”
“MOM, DAD!” They all screamed for their parents and they rushed over to the children and Prince.
“Prince has magical powers,” said the parents.
BAM.
There was a giant flash of light heading towards the parents and the kids. They ducked and the flash of light went the other way. They now saw one thing on the beach and that was Prince Alizai’s fallen body.
The spell had redirected onto Prince. “WE’RE ALIVE. THE BEACH IS STILL HERE!” they screamed in unison.
They had the time of their lives, and Chloe and Chase’s family, Katherine and Jack’s family, and Jennifer and Kyle’s family moved to Cairo. They would remember this moment forever.

Epilogue

20 years later, all of the children had jobs. Chase was a banker. Chloe was a painter. Katherine was an actor. Jack was a professional baseball player. Jennifer was an archeologist. Kyle was a pilot.
Their lives from that moment were, some people said, just a dream. But no, this was reality. They lived happily ever after.

The End

Kenzie’s Failing School

~

Traveling Chapter

1

Now, before we begin, I think that you need to know some things about Kenzie. For one, she’s an A – A+ student. For two, her full name is Kenzie Marian Brian Albus Margerete Renaya Roberts. It’s quite a mouthful, we can all agree on that. For three, she goes to Wolf Creek High. Her homeroom teacher is Mr. Amnesee, a kind-looking man with a very wide smile. His hair is shabby brown, and there’s a long scar running down the side of his cheek, making him look like he had been attacked by a tiger or something. Even though Mr. Amnesee has a very kind face, it makes his appearance very eerie, or at least uncomfortable. Kenzie has seen Mrs. Sapphire (the school’s vice-principal) shiver when he was present. And the final thing that you should know about Kenzie is that her parents are divorced (she lives with her dad because her mom left her when she was only 1 month old), and that she has a very annoying brother who’s in the last year of high school, whereas she’s still a sophomore. But the most important thing for you to know is that Kenzie’s a demigod (an offspring who is born from a god and mortal). Though she doesn’t know it. Her mom is Aphrodite. 

Kenzie has a story to share with you, a story that she couldn’t bear to admit, but it was simply the truth. HER GRADES WERE DROPPING! I hope that you, my dear reader, will pick out an important message, no matter what land this train is bringing you across. Now let’s get started! 

I couldn’t think straight. The creaking of the train’s wheel’s sounds was so irritating. I was on a train off to a nightclub place with her best friend, Peyton Alora Fleur Aisling Bexley Emerson Garcia. She had never told her her real name until I had forced her to, threatening to make a bee sting her if she didn’t tell. Something touched my ear. Oh. Just Peyton’s long, blonde hair. I went back to trying to concentrate. In the midst of the super annoying train — wheel — creaking — sounds, I remembered what my dad had once said:

“Life unfolds in chapters, whether you like it or not. They come in varieties, meaning that they can be all kinds of wicked and mean. But some are nice. So just take the time to enjoy that particular (nice) chapter when you can, and absorb all the happiness that you can while it’s still there. Remember: this happiness can really keep you enthusiastic sometimes, even in the bad and horrid chapters.”

“Kenzie.” Maybe I didn’t hear anything because I was so engrossed in my thoughts. “Kenzie!” The sound was like a whip to my skin.
“What?”

“We’re almost there!” Peyton exclaimed. Her eyes were glistening, like the sun itself was inside each of them. As bright as the sun, I thought. Strange. Literally just as bright as the sun. The exact same gold, blaring light. Beaming outwards, from her eyes. 

She snapped loudly right in front of my eyes, making me have to cross-eye to see her blue-gradient painted nails. “KENZIE!”

I looked up, to meet those sunny eyes again. 

~

Understand Chapter

2       

I reluctantly looked up. The building was vast, making me look as if I were an ant compared to an elephant. The windows were all made of glass and clear. I put her hand to the doorknob, which, I noticed, had the word “ON” carved in. With a deep breath, I pushed it open, to be greeted with a strangely warm gush of wind. Looking around, I sucked in the view. There was a DJ with a load of gears set up on a table. There was a stage in the very front of the room, with a microphone set there. I wondered why they still needed one if the music was already played by the DJ.  Platters of a variety of assorted fruits were all fanned out around the room. The room was strangely hot, but it all made sense since a tinge of excitement hung in the air. 

“Hey, I’m going to the bathroom,” Peyton said. I nodded.

While I waited, I sucked in all of the people, some looking as if they had hoped their whole life to be here, some looking as if some had been forced to come. Someone walked right into me. I toppled off-balance, trying to find somewhere that I could hold to steady myself, but instead felt my skin meet contact with a sharp edge. 

“Ouch!” I could feel my finger bleeding freely. 

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you!” A middle-aged woman with albino skin exclaimed. 

“It’s okay,” I murmured. “Hey, do you have any idea why there’s a microphone up there? Isn’t the music already played by the DJ?”

“Oh, you’re new to this as well, aren’t you? My daughter’s also plenty confused. She still doesn’t know that her dad’s Apollo,” she replied.

“What? You mean Apollo, god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the sun and light, and poetry?” My brain was filling with thoughts. “How could  somebody be an offspring of Apollo?”

“Oh, silly, you don’t know, either? Well then, you’re a half-blood; half-god, half-human! Well, I guess that today’s your lucky day! I’ll give you a history lesson, if you don’t mind. I used to be a history teacher as well, you know. Now, long before the Greek Gods came to power, millennials before, the world was ruled by titans, led by the evilest of all, the titan Kronos. He was evil enough to devour his own children, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus with a single gulp. Yet the three who were later to become the big three and ruler of the gods found a way out. They sliced Kronos to pieces and banished his remains to the depths of Tartarus. Kronos has been waiting all of these years to get revenge and be brought back to power. Yet only one demigod can defeat him — ”

“Hold your horses, what’s a demigod?”

“A demigod is the offspring of a god and mortal.”

“Oh, so that’s why my parents are divorced. My mom must be the god, then!”

“Yes, indeed.”

I was shocked, “Thank you very much. I have learned so much!” 

     ~

Mysterious Chapter

3           

I pushed past her without waiting for her reply. I needed to find Peyton. I needed to find her and tell her everything. Just as I was outside the girls’ bathroom, someone stepped out — an old hag with rotted black teeth with a hood over her head, but there were loose pieces of deathly white hair atop the black hood. She pushed past me without a glance. Weird. I opened the door, and called Peyton’s name.

“Peyton?”

No response. 

“Peyton, are you there? This is no time to play games!”

Still no reply.

“PEYTON?”

I knew that Peyton would have responded. She must not be here! But my eyes were pinned to this door while I was talking to the lady! The only way that Peyton could have gone out was through the pipes, which was a ridiculous idea. She had never been great at climbing, especially squeezing through tight, black places. 

But that’s when I spotted the old hag. I didn’t know why, but I decided to follow her. She wasn’t too far away, anyways. I dove behind, sliding between people, tailing the old hag. That’s when I noticed that she’d sat down at a table with the person I least expected to be here. I moved closer to eavesdrop, having a feeling that this would be good. The hag leaned closer.

“I’ve called her,” she whispered. Her voice was low, husky… and beautiful. 

“Thank you,” said Mr. Amnesee, nodding as he spoke. I slid under the nearest vacant table so that they wouldn’t spot me, though it didn’t seem to matter because they both seemed so sophisticated. 

“She will be very relieved once she hears,” the old had said. Rosmerta quickly opened her bag, revealing a photo of a woman with kind eyes, smiling, an aurora of power floating around. Thinking that I’d seen enough, I quickly moved between adjacent tables, making sure that I didn’t hit any of anybody’s feet. But only did I stop mid-pace when the old hag moved toward an abandoned hallway, near the entrance to what looked like a cellar. Looking behind herself, she scurried away, moving like death itself. I quickly debated with myself, wondering what I should do. I decided to follow the hag, maybe I could squeeze some information out of her.  I frantically looked back, making sure one last time that Peyton wasn’t here, or at least near, and tailed Rosmerta. I just noticed that, for an old lady, she scampered quite quickly. I was breathing heavily when I finally reached my destination, feeling as if I had already ran a mile.

I could feel something was going to happen. I looked around, searching for Rosmerta, but she was nowhere to be seen. Weird. My breaths grew ragged, my breathing frantic. Then I started to get nervous. WHAT IF ROSMERTA KNEW THAT I WAS HERE? WAS SHE JUST TRYING TO LURE ME INTO A TRAP? DID SHE KNOW THAT I WAS HERE AND WAS PLANNING SOMETHING? WAIT, WHAT IF SHE SAW ME THE WHOLE TIME? AHHHHH!          

Thinking about the possibilities, I shuddered. That’s when I spotted Rosmerta in the deepest part, cowering. That’s when she took out something. This something was very surprising indeed. It was a roll of tape. What could she possibly do with that? I wondered. But that’s when I heard a soft click. I saw the old hag take hold of a piece of tape, and stick it to a bare wall. I didn’t know exactly what she was doing, so I just watched. 

She was breathing heavily when she finally finished, so that the tape framed a small door big enough for her (and me) to fit in. I crouched behind a loose piece of wood, sweating for the unsureness. That’s when I noticed the tape had disappeared, so had the block of wall on where Rosmerta had framed the tape. I blinked several times, making sure that what I was seeing was correct. It was. I watched tentatively as the old hag stepped inside, took one deep breath, and changed right into Peyton. Wait, was I seeing right? Yup, I was. I WAS! I was so shell-shocked that I almost fell right out of my hiding place! I couldn’t believe my eyes!!      

I stayed still, listening. Then, with the whoosh of wind, a woman identical to the woman in the photograph appeared, looking around, eyes hard. Then, she stared at the exact spot that I was, eyes softening. 

Noticing my confusion, she said, “I’m your mother.” Her voice sounded soprano. I could’ve sworn that she would be a great female singer. “And you can come out now, Apollo. ”

A middle-aged white man appeared from the doorway. He waved his hand and left, hands in his pockets. 

~

Explanation Chapter

4

Aphrodite led me into the room where Apollo had transformed. 

“Why did you and dad divorce?” I blurted out. 

“It’s complicated.” Aphrodite fidgeted with her hands, which seemed very ungodly to me. 

It’s always been a sensitive subject for me, and I knew that, compared to being part of the chaos herself, Aphrodite may have a more specific reason. 

“Well, the simple explanation is that it didn’t work out. After I explained everything to him, you know, the fact that I’m not normal, and he freaked out.” Her eyes were like a portal to the past. I could almost see dad’s freaked face. 

“Anyways,” she took a breath and shook her head, the portal unwinded. 

I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Aphrodite was. She wore a long robe, woven with exquisite silver fabric. Whenever she moved, it was as if the whole world bowed down to her. Every step she took, there was an era of power flowing around. Sometimes, there was an angry flash in her eyes whenever she was irritated. This warned the surrounding people now to deal with her. Not that any fool would want to without her signal. 

Her skin was a light shade of peach, not too dark, but not too pale. Her blonde hair, tied back into a perfect knot, was placed right splat at the back of her head. Her eyes were ocean blue, warm and kind, but also very stricken. Her lips were coated with sparkly red lip gloss, everything about her was so gentle, calm, yet at the same time powerful and forceful. You could tell that she wasn’t someone to mess around with, even if you didn’t know she was a Greek god. 

I looked up to meet those ocean blue eyes, sad.

“I have some questions to ask you,” I barreled on. Aphrodite immediately sat up straight, composing herself. 

“Anything.” Her face was warm, sadness long forgotten. “But, if these somehow reach out of my authority line, I cannot do anything to help you. Hera will be extremely angry with me. And when she’s mad, she’s MAD,” she said, her face suddenly serious. Shaking her head, she peeked at me. I couldn’t hold her gaze. 

“So… ” I stuttered for words. I didn’t know what to say. I mean, this is the first time that I’ve even spoken to someone with authority, let alone a goddess. 

“I want to know why you left daddy,” I settled with something straightforward. 

I knew nothing about being a god. That was probably pretty off since I was the daughter of Aphrodite, the god of love and beauty. But I still wasn’t her. AT ALL. Literally. 

“Oh.. ” She spoke as if she knew what was coming, yet she feared it. I couldn’t bear to admit it, but I liked the look on her face. It was a mixture of annoyance and overwhelmingness. It was quite unusual for a god to look like that. Yet there is a difference between reality and fantasy. And if you took a look at my mom’s face then, you would’ve guessed that she just got stabbed in the back with a dagger. 

“Well, I need you to know that we, well, separated because of the rules passed on through generations. I loved him very much. I wouldn’t have made the choice to divorce if I were a regular mortal. In fact, I love him with all my life. I might even die for him. But you need to know that things are the way they are, even if you wish that they weren’t. I always thought of playing with the thought of being normal. To be a typical mortal with a happy family, living a normal life. But when you’re, well, me, that would be a dream come true if it actually happened.”

A single tear slipped down her cheek. 

“Rules are rules, aren’t they?” She forced a sad smile, her voice trembling.

“Oh,” I said again. What can I say? I was preparing myself to hear my own mother tell me the real reason, but a wave of nausea still wrapped around my gut. I felt my nails bite into my hand. Then a strange thing happened. A smell of smoke. Then a flash of light. And before my eyes, Aphrodite was gone. 

“So, class, the answer to this problem is π^2. Any questions?!” Mr. Amnesee announced to the class. I looked up, deciding to stop picking my nails. The polish was peeling off, anyway. I was going to make mom proud. I was going to become an A+ student again. 

Axe

Prologue 

The car hummed as we drove through the bridge. We were visiting Dad, who was sent to the war. I was bored of the long drive so I clicked the first station on the radio. “Small storms are coming and rain. Stay safe on slick roads and watch out for black ice.” Thunder claps. The water beneath us was rising and dropping as if having a seizure. Before I had time to process my thinking, another thunderclap struck a pole on the bridge and it fell behind us. “HURRICANE!” my mother shouted! The bridge started to lean in and out like a needle and patchwork. It gave way and the car landed in the choppy waters. The beautiful summer day quickly turned into a disaster.

Chapter 1: The Ride

I pulled on my jeans and red sweater over my white shirt. I went down to eat breakfast.

“Hello, Anne.” 

“Hi, Mom.” I walked toward the pancakes and grabbed my cell phone. 

“Hmmph. No phones at the table, Anne” 

“Sorry, Mom, I’m just texting Janess about meeting Dad.” 

Mom smiled. As alway,  her smile was warm and it made her brown hair pop out against the pink pale of her lips. My mom always looked glamorous no matter what, wearing brown, yellow (like she was), blue, and even green! 

“I can make an exception.” 

“Coming, Mom!” I yelled. Mom was in the car fussing with the seat belt. “Can we go now, Mom?” I smiled at Mom as if she were the one holding us up. 

“Haha. Very funny” I buckled my seatbelt and sat back. The trees we had passed by were fluffy and green, and I hadn’t paid attention to the time and it was soon that I fell asleep.

I woke up with a sickening feeling in my stomach for no reason. Not the sick type but the type that made you feel nervous or that something bad was going to happen. Do you know what I mean? The car hummed as we drove through the bridge. We were visiting Dad, who was sent to the war. I was bored of the long drive, so I clicked the first station on the radio. 

“Small storms are coming and rain. Stay safe on slick roads and watch out for black ice.” Thunderclaps. The water beneath us was rising and dropping as if having a seizure. Before I had time to process my thinking, another thunderclap struck a pole on the bridge and it fell behind us.

“HURRICANE!” my mother shouted! The bridge started to lean in and out like a needle and patchwork. It gave way and the car landed in the choppy waters. The beautiful summer day quickly turned into a disaster.

Chapter 2: Random Axe

The car was sinking and the doors were jammed. Then I got an idea. But I had to tell Mom, but how? I would be underwater! I swam to the back, to my bag. My eyes were already getting blurry and Mom wasn’t moving. I got an axe from the emergency trunk and smashed at the glass. Mom’s fingers were at her throat, gasping for air. I grabbed her, took my bag and axe, and swam to the surface. The hurricane had just ended 30 seconds ago. My body was shivering, Mom came back to life, and I forgot something. The rest of the emergency bag! It had floated out of the car and got stuck on the last remaining base pole of the bridge. The rest was gone. All of it could have fallen on top of us. I swam to a small nearby island. Ignoring the pains in my leg from the seat that fell back on top of it. Mom was awake and was helping paddle. Now, my only resource was that axe. I touched the sand and — black.

Chapter 3

I woke up and my mom had a bewildered look in her eyes. Her arms were filled with sticks. I knew that if I complained then we would most likely have many threats so I started to help. Ignoring everything. Fire was done by mom and I attempted to fish for fish but I couldn’t catch anything. Oh! The water bent the light which meant I had to plunge deeper into the water. But, first I needed a weapon. I grabbed a nearby stick, beckoned for the axe from Mom, and sharpened my spear. I found some berries that birds were eating and I thought, We are having a feast tonight. Mom continued chopping at a tree. 

My throat was roasted, gasping for water. I looked uncertainly at the water. Nobody would find us. The bridge was so long it crossed from one state to another. We were in the middle, no reach from either place. I plopped some berries in my mouth, mother didn’t want any. Yuck! No juice in them! I went over to the water. I started to cry. How did I land myself here! I scooped some water and — WHAM. My mother hit me lightly with a log. 

“No unclean water! We weave together a basket to separate some of the water and heat it to make it fresh!” 

“Mom, how did you make a fire?” 

“Simple. I got wet bark, obviously, everything is drenched, a tsunami passed OVER us. Then I hit the axe on another piece of wood so the sparks would land on it, and I blew it gently to give it oxygen, then boom!” Mom always got to work in a situation and ignored her own feelings. I sometimes felt bad for her…

Sneak peek on Part Two:

I woke up in the night screaming! “HELP! MY INSIDES ARE BURNING!” My chest was bursting and I fell into an uneasy sleep. “Of course! Those berries were bird berries! They’re poisonous to humans!”

Let It Out

Kuqa was a young girl. Her mother had died last year when she was five So Kuqa only had her father. Most people couldn’t pronounce her name and she never had any friends. Kuqa in Albanian meant red. Kuqa’s mother was Albanian. Kuqa had not said a word ever since Roze (her mother) died. 

“Kuqa, it’s time for breakfast,” David (her father) said. Kuqa went to take her plate. It was Llakuma me eurocream. That was Kuqa’s favorite. Kuqa was homeschooled.

“Are you excited for school?” David asked. Kuqa nodded. She quite liked homeschooling. Kuqa gobbled up her Llakuma and then went to play with her dolls. Her dolls were from her mother. Kuqa named them Lulu and Nina. They were her favorite toys. She made them have a tea party with tiny plastic teacups. Kuqa had nothing to do most of the time. Before Roze died, they would go outside and play on the swings. But now Kuqa was an introvert and going outside just made her sad. 

           Kuqa walked up to the living room and pointed at a book. She knew how to read but not well so her father picked up the book and read to her. 

          “Once upon a time, there was a prince named Ocelius, he was a rude person who would judge everyone. One day, an old woman walked up to him, she said she wanted to give him some chocolates. The prince laughed and laughed then the woman turned him into a fly and stole all of his gold,” David read. Kuqa giggled, she loved that story. David kissed her good night and Kuqa went to sleep. 

Kuqa woke up at 6:00. She had a bad dream. She saw David sitting on the couch wide awake. 

“Come here,” David said. Kuqa walked toward the couch. 

“Do you like the idea of going to school?” David asked. Kuqa looked at David like he was crazy. 

“It’s just that you’d be so much smarter if you go, and I want you to learn in the best way possible,” David said. Kuqa didn’t want to go to school but she nodded yes because she knew if she said no, it wouldn’t work anyway. 

“And besides, you’ll have all your old friends there,” David explained. Kuqa thought for a moment. Her old friends, Lilly and Charlie, probably forgot her. Kuqa went back to her room to sleep for another hour. She had a nightmare. In the nightmare, she was in school. Everybody judged her because she didn’t talk.

David woke Kuqa up at 7:00. Kuqa was confused.

“Come on, get ready for school!” David said. Kuqa put on the backpack and ran to the bus. She was terrified. She saw Lilly. 

“Kuqa?” someone asked. It was Lilly. Lilly remembered her? Lilly ran to hug her. 

“How are you doing?” Lilly asked. Kuqa tried to respond but she couldn’t. She was too sad to talk. Then Charlie came. 

“Oh my god! It’s really you!” Charlie yelled with excitement. Kuqa hugged him. Lilly was confused by Kuqa not responding. She used to talk all day. Charlie seemed to expect a “hi” as well, but Kuqa just couldn’t say anything. Kuqa started crying. She was thinking about her mother. Kuqa cried very often. Lilly and Charlie were now SUPER confused. They gave Kuqa some space.  

She sat with Lilly on the bus ride. Lilly gave Kuqa a piece of paper and a pen.

“You’re not talking so maybe you can write why you’re so upset?” Lilly said. Kuqa wrote about Roze dying. This made Lilly stop talking to Kuqa. Lilly realized how sad Kuqa was. Lilly whispered something to Charlie. Kuqa knew what she said, it was that her mother died because Charlie looked at Kuqa with a sad look. 

Kuqa finally got to school where she saw her new teacher, Mrs. Lockerton. Mrs. Lockerton looked like a ghost with a very pale face, red cheeks, and a bunch of mascara. Kuqa tried to stay away from her. Kuqa saw the other teachers bring the new kids and make them introduce themselves. Kuqa had a piece of paper and a pen. She thought that Mrs. Lockerton would introduce Kuqa to the class.

“Class, bring out your books. It’s time to read,” Mrs. Lockerton explained. A boy was wearing a shirt with a stain on it. 

“Harold, didn’t I tell you that people in this class should wear good clothing!” Mrs. Lockerton yelled. 

“Sorry, Mrs. Lockerton!” Harold said with a scared look on his face. Mrs. Lockerton slapped the boy across the face. Kuqa did not like her teacher. 

It was time for lunch. Kuqa had a PB & J for lunch. She ate it fast. After lunch, it was time for recess. Kuqa hung out with Lilly. They talked to each other on a piece of paper. Kuqa wrote about her teacher and how crazy she was. Lilly laughed. 

“I heard she is a witch and that she kills children. Is that true?” Lilly asked. Mrs. Lockerton obviously wasn’t a witch so Kuqa started laughing. Lilly laughed with her. Kuqa realized that this was the first time she’d laughed since her mom died. Kuqa started to get a little sadder from thinking about her mom. Lilly noticed that she was sad.

“Do you think you need therapy?” Lilly asked. Kuqa wrote, maybe. Kuqa actually never thought about therapy. She thought of trying it. 

Dismissal came and Kuqa ran to the car. Kuqa wrote a note to her dad about trying therapy. David looked at her. 

“You want to try it?” David asked. Kuqa nodded yes. David smiled. Kuqa went home pretty happy. She almost talked but she still couldn’t do it. After trying and trying to talk, Kuqa got frustrated. She cried in the middle of the night. David woke up extremely tired. 

“What is it, honey?” David asked. Kuqa just didn’t know how to respond. She kept crying. She wasn’t mute, so why couldn’t she talk? 

“Red, red, you’ll be okay, you’ll talk one day,” David said. Red was David’s nickname for Kuqa. Of course, that was what Kuqa meant in Albanian. Kuqa hugged David hard. Harder than ever before. He always made her feel so much better. 

“Why don’t you sleep with Nina tonight?” David asked playfully. David picked up the doll. Kuqa grabbed it tight from his hands. She slept with the doll all night. 

She woke up at 6:00 am. She had time to eat her breakfast and brush her teeth (unlike last time). She was going to start therapy the next day. David told her it was culture day. Kuqa had to wear something in her culture. She looked through the closet. She saw the Albanian dress that Roze gave her. She stared at it. It had the Albanian eagle and some little flowers on it. Kuqa didn’t wear that dress since Roze died. Then she saw another thing in the closet — Roze’s scarf. It had the Kosovo flag on it. It was a little big for Kuqa but she decided to wear the scarf along with the dress. She went to the school bus. Lilly and Charlie saved a seat for her. 

“Nice dress, where is it from?” Charlie asked. Kuqa thought about it being from her mom. She shed a tear and ran to a different seat. Lilly punched Charlie in the stomach. She sat with Kuqa. Kuqa didn’t scream like usual but she was shedding tears so much. 

“I’m sorry about Charlie. He didn’t mean to make you sad,” Lilly explained. Kuqa nodded. “I think I know why you’re not talking. You want to keep in the feelings of your mom dying but you can’t. Some advice — let things out, you’ll feel better,” Lilly said. Kuqa wanted to know if this was true but she couldn’t just scream in class. She was going to see if that was true when she saw the therapist. The therapist knew best. Kuqa hugged Lilly. After a couple of minutes, they arrived at the school. Mrs. Lockerton was wearing a shirt with a Catalan flag. Mrs. Lockerton also had snakes on her pants so Kuqa was confused if she was Catalan or from somewhere else. 

“Bye, Kuqa!” Lilly waved. Kuqa waved back. Kuqa walked to her classroom. There was a kid with an Italian leather jacket. There was a kid with a scarf that said FRANCE, three other kids, and of course, there was Mrs. Lockerton. Kuqa guessed the other kids were sick or something.

“You might be wondering why barely anyone is here. It’s because the people that are gone wore better clothes. You guys didn’t. Your punishment is this,” Mrs. Lockerton said. 

“Mrs. Lockerton, where are you from?” Harold asked.

“I’m from Belarus, it shows the flag. Stupid child,” Mrs. Lockerton answered rudely. 

“No, that’s the flag of Catalonia,” Harold said. Mrs. Lockerton walked toward him and brought out a stick. She hit him. Harold started crying and then she hit him again. Then Mrs. Lockerton walked to Kuqa.

“What’s the two-headed eagle on the dress?” Mrs. Lockerton asked. Kuqa still couldn’t answer.

“What is it!?” Mrs. Lockerton screamed. Mrs. Lockerton was about to hit Kuqa with the stick but then…

“Stop!” Kuqa yelled. That was the first time in a year that she’d talked. A couple of the kids stared at Kuqa so surprised.

“It’s the Albanian eagle, my family is from Kosovo,” Kuqa explained. Mrs. Lockerton didn’t care. She hit Kuqa and sent her home. David picked her up. Kuqa got into the smelly car where David was probably gonna yell at her. 

“I heard you talked,” David said. 

“Yeah,” Kuqa responded. David smiled. He didn’t yell at Kuqa, surprisingly.

“How did you do it?” David asked. 

“I let my sadness out,” Kuqa explained while smiling.

“I love you,” David said. He kissed Kuqa’s forehead. 

                                                            THE END.

                                                               Afterward-

I want people to learn that you should always let your sad feelings out because it would make you feel so much better. So I wrote this story so people would do that and because I wanted to show Albanian culture to people. Kuqa was so sad she couldn’t talk, and when she let her feelings out, she talked, and I know you can do the same.

Wolf Quest — A Breeze Acoming – Book 1 –Wind’s Crossing

YOU ARE A 2-YEAR-OLD FEMALE WOLF IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. YOU ARE QUESTED TO FIND A MATE, BUT FIRST YOU MUST BECOME AN EXPERIENCED ELK HUNTER.

Stats:

Name: Wind

Color: Black

Gender: Female

I howled, establishing my territory, space, and possibly attracting a potential mate. My mother-wolf, father-wolf, and pack got killed in a wildfire and I had to go on my own. I trotted along the way, scenting the ground looking for an elk carcass, as I did not feel confident enough to hunt on my own. There! I found an elk carcass, and oh, it smelled wonderful! But a troublesome bear kept me from the standing prey. I trotted back and forth, hoping the bear was full. He was not. I tried a growl, but the hungry bear hardly took notice, so I left, knowing that one day, when I had a pack, no bear would keep me from prey again.

I kept scenting the ground, and kept looking. Freeze. Pause. A hare. I licked my lips and stalked my prey, telling myself I would kill it. Pounce! The rabbit got caught by surprise and started to run, but a puny hare was no match for a wolf. I killed it with a crunch on the spine. It was hardly two mouthfuls. Unsatisfied with my catch, I moved on. 

It was getting dark so I decided to go to sleep. 

DAWN: I yawned as I woke, stretching my limbs, and cleaning my fur. Howls. Other wolves. I sniffed the air. It was the LunaNova Pack, 12 strong. I decided it was finally time to hunt some elk. Running and scenting as fast as I could, I finally scented out the elk herd. 

Trotting upon them, scenting them, to see who the weakest elk were. Weak. Very weak. Careful to avoid the bull elk, I bit the female elk’s chest. She kicked, she ran. So did I. It was a chase, and I was biting every chance I got. She finally had to rest, which left her vulnerable. I went in for the final blow. Snap. She stumbled down to the ground. I sniffed. Dead. The crows immediately came to eat the carcass, as I looked around, seeing who would dare challenge me for this.

A coyote. I growled. He was intimidated, but confident. I pretended to walk away. As I did so, I limped, to attract other coyotes. Once I saw about two others, I quickly turned tail. Yelp. Then the coyote fell limp. Giving me a look before his final breath. After the encounter, I headed for Pine, Pine Mountain to be exact.

I was ready. I was ready for the hardest part of a she-wolf’s life. As I trotted along the forest towards the large mountain, I used my sniffer to determine the whereabouts of this place. Though I had never been there before I knew exactly where to go by instinct, as every Yellowstone wolf knew. One time, my mother-wolf got shot with what looked like a green stick thing, by a creature known as a No-Fur. She quickly fell asleep, and I did not see her for some time. A day later, she came back to me, with a strange thing on her neck. Father-wolf did not think much of it at first until a group of no-furs came and took their Flashy-Captures, and spooked the pack. After that, Father-wolf chewed the thing off her neck and carried it to the river where it sank deep, deep below. After that, the No-Furs never bothered us again. I sighed longingly from the memory, but that was the past. Creatures stay in the present. Yapping of which, I arrived in the Pine Mountain pack territory. My destination. My Crossing for the first time.

I was headed down-wind, as I could scent things better, than upwind. Wolf. From here. Male, was what I got from my trusty snout. As I headed straight for it, my eyes gleamed with excitement. There he was. A possible mate. Something was wrong — he wasn’t a dispersal, like me. He was an alpha male! I felt my tail lowering behind my legs. Before he could speak, I quickly turned tail and ran. Very ashamed of myself, I headed out of their territory. Wait. Something caught my eye. A he-wolf! This time a dispersal like me! He nervously trotted towards me, tail behind his legs. In my wolf point of view it seemed like he was submitting to me, and we had not even said hello! As he approached me, head down, I kept my tail and head high, as I wanted to be the dominant one. 

“Hello,” he communicated. 

Speechless, I slowly said, “Hello, who are you?” 

“I am Arrow of Pine Mountain. I left the pack to create one of my own.” 

“I have traveled a long way. What is your name, young wolf?” 

“Arrow,” he said. 

Still cautious, I said, “Wind. My name is wind.”

***

ARROW BECOMES WIND’S MATE

As they ran through the snow, Wind felt extra happy as she was no longer alone. They were heading towards Slough Creek, as that was where den sites and hunting grounds were. Wind and Arrow knew they had to get there quickly and start prepping for the soon-coming pups. They soon arrived at Slough Creek, scenting for a decent den. 

“Here.” Arrow had scented something. Wind gave him an “okay” glance as she followed him into the woods. Arrow had found a suitable den! Close to hunting grounds along with the summer ones too! They whined in delight as Wind settled into the comfy tree den. 

***

THE END OF WINTER (Almost Spring)

Arrow could hear squeaks, yips, and little howls. He had been waiting all winter for this. He whined to Wind asking to come see his pups. Wind gave a whine of approval back as she cleaned her pups. “Wander, Amethyst, and Achilles,” Wind said. “Those are their names.” 

Leaving Arrow, he quickly said, “When should we leave?” 

Still caring for her pups, Wind quietly said, “We leave tomorrow, they are already 6 weeks, and are ready for the Crossing.”

***

THE NEXT DAY

Yawning, all of the pups and adults awoke, stretching every limb.“We have a big journey ahead of us, my pups,” Arrow announced. Wind and Arrow carried the pups to the nearest carcass for a quick meal. Wind’s ears twitched at the sound of a bear; however, it was far enough away that she was not worried. As she and Arrow approached the carcass, they were not aware the pups were facing the predator’s wind direction, and it made them oblivious to the bear stalking Amethyst. Yelp. Whine. Silence. 

Arrow and Wind quickly turned around to see that Amethyst had been killed by a male grizzly. Arrow and Wind quickly grabbed their remaining pups and quickly ran away from the grizzly in grief. At the sand crossing, they crossed and carried the pups towards the summer hunting grounds, hoping they could make it. It was almost sundown as they settled in for the night. 

THE NEXT DAY

Closer to the hunting grounds than they thought, they picked up the pups and ran as quickly as possible. As they approached the forest, they were overjoyed that they had made it. Setting the pups down, they took a rest, completely oblivious to the stalking cougar. As it closed in on them, its target was Wander. Pounce. Yellllllp. Wander… was gone. Wind and Arrow launched in on the attack, nearly killing the cougar. Wind gave a fatal bite to the cougar’s neck. The cougar fell. Wind and Arrow had gotten their revenge. Wind carried Achilles to the hunting grounds and they stayed there until Achilles was ready to move on.

Friends

Characters: 

BIYU (10): A kid who always annoys his older sister yet deeply cares about her and LOVES broccoli (weird, I know)

RIKU (15): A teen who just wants her space from others and wants friends

AIMI (15): Riku’s supposed best friend

RIKU and BIYU are in the field a bit away from their house. A few minutes later, RIKU starts walking to the house. As she walks off she says to BIYU:

RIKU

I’ll see you there. 

BIYU

(Staring off into the curtains) Hm, what’s that, Mom? You want Riku to get the heck out of my room? Oh, alright, I’ll tell her that. 

BIYU turns around, looks at RIKU, and smiles. 

RIKU

MoM sAiD tO gEt ThE hEcK oUtTa My RoOm!  

RIKU copies BIYU’s movements. 

BIYU

(Stares into the curtain again) What’s that, Mom? Tell Riku to stop bothering me? 

BIYU smiles. 

RIKU

But I —

RIKU

                                                      [Aside] Mother is always on Biyu’s side and it’s really annoying.

RIKU

Okay, mother . . . Sorry. . . Not sorry, Biyu. (She sniffs)

BIYU

                    [Aside] I never wanted Riku to be sad. Riku, wait!

RIKU

                                       [Aside] Time to call Aimi. 

Sighing, RIKU takes her phone out from her back pocket and scrolls through her contacts and finally comes across “BestFriend.”

917-397-2675.

Heyy, Aimi… My day hasn’t been the best. 

AIMI

Hey… Aw why. Was it your good for nothing brother? I never liked him anyways. [Aside] It’s not like I really care anyway

RIKU

You what…

She shakes her head and starts tearing up.

AIMI

[Aside] You weren’t supposed to hear that

Oh I was talking to my… 

[Aside] Nonexistent 

Brother. 

RIKU

Why are you lying to my face?

AIMI

HAHAHA don’t comment on me. (AIMI scoffs)

RIKU

I  didn’t, I’m — 

AIMI cuts the phone

AIMI

Annoying brat. (AIMI rolls her eyes) 

RIKU sighs, sits on her bed, and drenches her pillow, twirls her hair, then gets up and starts pacing around. 

RIKU

[Aside] Why did Aimi do that?

I’m worried about Aimi. She doesn’t act like this. 

BIYU walks into RIKU’s room and leans on the door frame.

BIYU

What did Aimi do? 

RIKU

Ugh nothing. Get out of my room… (RIKU shakes her head and turns away)

BIYU

You can’t lie to me, your face gives out what you’re feeling right away. (BIYU sighs) C’mon, don’t lie to me… I’ll try to help.

RIKU

Aimi snapped at me.

BIYU

I never liked her but… (BIYU sighs) If you really wanna repair your relationship… be the bigger person and go to her house.

AIMI

I hope she doesn’t bother me for forgiveness, it’s gonna be annoying… Although hurting her was nice it also hurt. She’s the only real friend I ever had.

AIMI shakes her head to get the thoughts out of her head. RIKU puts her jacket and shoes on and goes out of the house

RIKU

Ah, the wind feels so nice.

The fall breeze hits RIKU’s face. Her hair flows in the air and a tear streams down her face. All the people who are near RIKU freeze as she walks by. RIKU to the audience:

RIKU

I’ve been friends with Aimi my whole life. We have been best friends, we have gone through everything together. Was it my fault? Did I build this pressure between us up? Even if it was me being the bigger person. Does that make it right? No it doesn’t, saying sorry doesn’t repair your actions. It doesn’t actually show you’re sorry. You’re just asking for pity. But this always happens.. I always ask for pity even when it’s not my fault. Everyone thinks I’m a fool, but I (RIKU sighs). I understand that Aimi is using me. But I need someone to lean on even if they are using a fake persona.

Everyone on the stage starts moving again as RIKU wipes a tear off her face and arrives at AIMI’s.  Then shakily she rings the doorbell.

AIMI

Who could that be? (AIMI makes an annoyed face)

RIKU

I really hope she can forgive me…

AIMI

[Aside] Ugh is it RIKU?

RIKU keeps ringing the bell

AIMI

Coming, coming. 

AIMI stares at the door and makes an annoyed face, then proceeds to open it. AIMI tries to open the door but can’t.

RIKU

(As AIMI opens the door, RIKU tries to hide) I don’t wanna do this anymore..

AIMI

(AIMI proceeds to open the door). I know why you’re here. Come and sit on my couch. I’ll bring some tea out. 

RIKU

Stop this. Stop acting like you’re my friend. STOP, I KNOW YOU NEVER LIKED ME. NO ONE EVER DID.

AIMI

Well, why do you think no one liked you? Because you follow them around, make them feel guilty. HOW DO YOU THINK IT FEELS LETTING PEOPLE DOWN? 

RIKU

YOU NEVER LIKED ME. I DONT MATTER RIGHT, THIS FRIENDSHIP WAS NEVER REAL. I NEVER HAD FRIENDS BEFORE… AND EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY BE FAKE… I still care. (RIKU is on the floor covering her face, sobbing)

AIMI

Why…

The doorbell rings. AIMI proceeds to open it as RIKU is on the floor crying.

BIYU

Hey, Aimi I came to see… WHAT DID YOU DO TO RIKU?

AIMI

I didn’t do anything….

AIMI sighs. BIYU runs to RIKU and starts comforting her by hugging her.

BIYU

Look. I knew this was going to happen. That’s why I told you to come here. I knew all about her but..

RIKU

Even if  I won’t be your friend anymore…

BIYU

… Please don’t be her enemy…

AIMI goes up to RIKU and embraces RIKU softly…

CURTIN 

——————————————————————————————————————————-

THE ACTORS COME OUT AND BOW. 

Why We Shouldn’t Have Borders

See any borders? You don’t and it’s still our world

“All the borders in the world are man-made. There are no borders, we are all hooked together. Everything is connected. There is no line of demarcation. We are hooked together like the colors of a rainbow, our problem is ignorance, we don’t understand that.”-Bob Proctor. Borders can spark wars and cause deaths, borders can make nationality which can pinpoint people against other people and make people say and do mean things to other people.

According to Wikipedia, 56 wars from 1846-2020 have been partially if not 100% caused by borders. From the start of time, wars, battles, and deaths have been caused by borders. Over 100,000,000 deaths have happened because of borders. Without borders, the number of deaths would have fallen and wars would fade. WW1 was started because of borders and WW2 happened because of WW1. World War 1 was caused by the Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina which caused Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, to shoot the Austrian Archduke and his wife. This caused WW1 and eventually caused WW2, plus a total of 63,000,000 deaths. Without borders, this never would have happened. Also, with Covid, the U.S is still working on evaluating their testing, but countries like Rwanda have testing ready in up to three days. Without borders and nationality, countries could share their testing and it would save many lives. 

Borders also translate large feelings of nationality. This was another cause of World War I. And nationality is caused by borders! Nationality also causes problems with immigration. Also, without borders, immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers would be able to travel through countries freely without being pursued and assaulted by the local police, military, and regular passersby. Nationality also causes the people in these countries to do what they do. And without borders there would be no nationality and then nobody would do any of these horrible things. 

Thirdly, if you have no borders, countries wouldn’t need such powerful militaries. For example, the U.S. spent 718.69 billion dollars on the military in 2019. This is a drastic amount of money spent on the military when the country could be using this money for other things like healthcare and helping the homeless, both of which would help the population. Without borders, the U.S. would lower its military budget because there’d be no U.S., just the Earth as we know it. If this happened, millions of people’s lives would be saved. For example, Belgium, which is part of the EU, spends only 4614 million in U.S dollars for their military. The EU uses the same currency, and if you’re a French citizen and have a passport, you can easily travel to any country that is part of the EU. As a summary, the EU makes some parts of Europe borderless, and see how countries are able to cut down on military spending?

Finally, the world should have no borders because many wars have been caused by borders, borders give people a feeling of nationality which can make them hate other people from other countries, and without borders, countries wouldn’t have to spend so much money on the military. It could be used for other things like healthcare which can save millions of lives. This is why we should have no borders. 

“I am a Citizen of the World, and my Nationality is Goodwill.” –Socrates

The Blue Bunny

Statistics:

The Blue Bunny(halloween)

My name is Thomas Marshall. I’m afraid it is not entirely safe to display any part of my identification because of the Interceptors. 

The following is a complement of stories from the perspectives of people who witnessed The Blue Bunny, because it would be hard to capture a full story from only one person. At the end, I will present the one and only journal of The Blue Bunny itself. However, I have read neither of these, because I think that the stories told there would not be worth reading, because the Blue Bunny would be more mad if I actually read it.

I have been running away from the Interceptors for a very long time. They can do so much damage to one’s self, you truly can never be safe from them. I am constantly forced to move away from the Interceptors because they can breed so quickly, and send their DNA through the air and reform in another place. The shielding from some of them is beyond nowadays’ tech, so I must stay at least twenty meters away from them if I want anything other than cancer. It also is not amazing for you if you have COVID-19. Yes, coronavirus still exists. It has been about 30 very long years of Covid, because scientists are more concerned with the blue Bunny. There are so many Interceptors that it is nearly impossible to list all of them. Before, there was only one type. Then, another came, and made more of itself. Then the two species bred, and added in more complexity. Another species got stuffed into the mix when some were exposed to radiation. The others were combined, mutated, and gene-spliced to make the rest. It started mixing in with almost all the other species in the world to create an enormous band of animals ranging from strange bunny clowns, to pirate rabbits, to bears that do surgery. Some of them are so fast that a mile radius is the point to start expecting death in the next few seconds. Some are large enough to smush you under their feet. Some can hack into any device, and make them blow you up. But the Interceptors all have a natural skill for hacking, reading data, and bombing the internet with virus websites. That is why it is unsafe to give any info about me, because the Interceptors would be on me in a heartbeat. They have such a large database of all their victims, so if any name matches, they will immediately track me down. They have made the internet almost impossible to use for fear of getting a virus downloaded. They are exceptionally good at coding viruses, so merely opening Google could download an app, and send them an email giving them my exact latitude and longitude, my name, in which direction I might be going, and in no time I would be injected. The injections are not normal. They are meant to turn you into one of them, and they can come from any one of the Interceptors. They could give you it by simply biting you like a vampire, throwing carrots, or even the surgery bear could give you a full scale “inspection” with no anesthesia. The surgery bear is highly unqualified, and is very incompetent in the medical buisness. The only reason the bear will pay you a visit is to try and see how necessary lungs really are. And for some reason, he never remembers.

Now, for the first story, about me. I am Thomas Marshall.

Thomas Marshall, 8:00-8:30 A.M., 13/5/2013:

I believe, to my understanding, that the moment when it all started was when I looked up from my laptop because of the small shadow of a rabbit on the lobby security cam. That was the moment when I was aware that something was wrong. After the outlet exploded, I started to shuffle towards the door. When the door unscrewed its hinges, I started to jog. And after a 3-inch face to face encounter with a humanoid rabbit, standing up like a human, I ran away and located the nearest elevator. The elevator took so long that by the time it got up to the top floor I was positive that that weird rabbit would come to “meet and greet” me. But when it did, there wasn’t a bunny in sight. I cautiously walked out of the elevator, but quickly faced a rabbit leaping nearly five feet to tackle me.

“What? Stop it! Get off of me,” I said.

“Hey, mind if I borrow some of your feet? That should sum up my collection to about seventy-seven, and boy, I’ll be lucky then!” I started to run down the stairs as I came up with the conclusion that that rabbit thought human feet were lucky as humans thought rabbit feet were lucky. I had randomly heard somewhere that rabbits didn’t really like water, so I took some blue paint from the storage closet. Pretty much the same, seeing as I didn’t have time to go to the sink. So when the bunny was on the ground floor of the building, I dropped the paint. That may have been one of my biggest mistakes. The rabbit was definitely scarier being blue than a regular white or pink or grey bunny. After I ran down to warn the others, they quickly ran into the elevator. I noticed that one of them had a hang glider, which might be useful for getting away. Unfortunately, there was only room for one. When we got to the top of the elevator, the Blue Bunny was standing in front of us.

James is a nine year old boy who lives in an apartment building with his mom, Charlie; his dad, Otto; and his sister, Fiddle. He and his family were going camping. His uncle is named D.J. Dunce.

James Nick, 8:30-8:32 A.M. 13/5/2013:

“Hey! There is a Blue Bunny! Come with me into the elevator! It’s perfectly safe! But I warn you, I think it is evil!” After that guy told us that, my sister lost it.

“Ah! We’re going to die! The Blue Bunny! Ah! Nooo!” Wow, that was a big reaction. This is James Nick here, speaking from the elevator, hopefully not going to get killed. Oh wait, I already was killed (almost) by my sister. At the top, the Blue Bunny was there.

“Hey guys, I need some feet ‘cause one guy didn’t want to give me his feet,” said the bunny. Oops, I got caught. It kind of scared me. I mean, he really could have done a better job, but still, the idea of stealing feet is a little freaky. Anyway, we decided to go back down the elevator to the lobby, because the rabbit had other plans, clearly. So it was a little creepy, but another scare would probably cross the line.

Fiddle is a twelve year old girl, who is James’ sister.

Fiddler Abacus, 8:30-8:32 A.M. 13/5/2013

“Hey! There is a Blue Bunny! Come with me into the elevator! It’s perfectly safe! But I warn you, I think it is evil!” James nearly fainted and started hyperventilating. His reaction was so dramatic that I was sure he was faking it.

“Oh, no, the end has come, and this is most likely the last second of my life!”

“Um, it’s just a bunny. Oh, stop it. We aren’t going to die. Besides, I thought you like rabbits.” He continued screaming, saying some things so dramatic and cliché that I would prefer not to put them here. I am Fiddle, here in the elevator, slowly inching away from James to try and get to the corner of the elevator. However, I have found this difficult with James possibly having symptoms of a sugar rush; running around, banging on the walls, and randomly punching elevator buttons. When we got to the top I had decided what I would do with this rabbit, assuming it really was evil. So when the rabbit sprang onto us, I tried to walk it to the edge of the building. Of course, it didn’t work out. Everyone else was pulling me back towards the elevator. James punched the down button on the elevator, and the last thing I saw was a rabbit jumping on somebody.

D.J. Dunce is a disk jockey who lives in Canada. He is the uncle of James and Fiddle, and took a trip to their apartment to go camping with them.

D.J. Dunce, 8:30-8:32 A.M., 13/5/2013:

“Hey! There’s a Blue Bunny! Come with me into the elevator! It’s perfectly safe! But I warn you, I think it is evil!” Well, that sounds boring! Waiting in an elevator, hoping some rabbit  doesn’t get you! As it turned out I was absolutely right! Boring! If only I had a bambox, a jukebox, or a CD player, I could brighten this place up! Me and four discs! But sadly, I left my bambox, CD player, DvD player, Blu-ray player, full desk set, and my two double-speaker radios, not including all of my 60 discs. Even a phone could do the trick. Whoa! Cool rabbit! Boom! Kind of creepy, but wow! Cool photoshop! Wait no, that’s not photoshop. Guess I’ll go along with the rest of the gang, on their camping trip. Oh, wait! I should get my Bambox.

Thomas Marshall, 8:32-8:36 A.M., 13/5/2013

I ran with the paraglider to the edge of the building, and jumped off. I had, of course, forgotten the superior ability of leaping when it comes to hares and rabbits. And so, after a little unwilling glug from a bottle the bunny was holding, I let go. From my perspective, the next thing that happened was me falling into a pit. When I reached the bottom, I felt something crawl up my back and land sitting on my head. After that, for some weird reason, I could jump a lot higher.

D.J. Dunce, 8:32-10:00 A.M., 13/5/2013:

Alright, I got my bambox! Time to get my discs! I got way too many discs to stuff into my backpack. So I took forty to my backpack, five to my left pocket, five to my right pocket, and ten to hold in my hands. I didn’t know where the others were, so I assumed they were at the top. They weren’t, so I went back down. Rabbit jumpscare! Ha ha ha! They were in the lobby, walking out the door. I ran after them (which wasn’t super easy with all my sixty discs and players) and just made it through before they closed the door.

“Where were you?” they asked.

“I had to get my discs, yo,” I replied. “To play about sixty discs on our trip!”

“Whoopie. What’s the first one called again?”

“The bookworms song?”

“Great.”

“Seriously! Let’s listen to some in the car!” We got into the car, and drove away.

***

When we got out of the car, we were in the forest. I set up all the music equipment behind a tree, and the others set up the tent. The moment the others stepped into the tent, I pressed the play button. However, I never got to hear the music.

James Nick, 8:32-10:00 A.M.13/5/2013

“Where is D.J. Dunce??? We need him ASAP!” said my mother.

“I don’t know! He just ran away to get something,” said Fiddle.

“Let me guess. To get his bambox,” I said.

“Let’s just go, he doesn’t even want to come!”

“Fine, fine. Get in the car, everyone!”

“Wait, he’s over there!”

“Where were you?”

“I had to get my discs, yo,” he said. “To play sixty discs on our trip!”

“Whoopie. What’s the first one called again?”

“The bookworms song?”

“Great.”

“Seriously! Let’s listen to some in the car!”

“Alright, everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

 ***

I realized it was lightly raining when we got out. It took us over an hour to set up the tent. I had no idea where D.J. Dunce was, and we really needed his help. The tent was really a basic structure, but with a rain collector on the top of it.

“Oh, where are you, D.J. Dunce? This thing is going to collapse,” said my mother. I struggled to hold up the top, but with the rain collector on it, it was nearly impossible.

“D.J. Dunce! Please! We need you now!”  The tent started to sag with the weight of the rain. The collector overflowed. It became too heavy for us to lift and we dropped it. The collector spilled water over all of us, soaking us from head to toe. It was a little hard to believe that so much water was contained inside that pot. I finally spotted D.J. Dunce and glared at him. I saw him push a button on his D.J. Deck, and music started blaring at us.

“AND THEN THEY READ!”

Fiddler Abacus, 8:32-10:00 A.M.13/5/2013

“Where is D.J. Dunce? We need him now!” said my mother.

“I don’t know! He just ran away to get something!” I said.

“Let me guess. To get his Bambox,” said James.

“Let’s just go, he doesn’t even want to come.”

“Fine, fine. Get in the car everyone!”

“Wait, he’s over there!”

“Where were you?”

“I had to get my discs, yo, ” he said. “To play sixty discs on our trip!”

“Whoopie. What’s the first one called again?”

“The bookworms song?”

“Great.”

“Seriously! Let’s listen to some in the car!”

“Alright, everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

***

I took the big pot out of the trunk when we got out. It was raining, so we decided to have a rain collector. The tent was a small green one, but flat at the top for the rain collector. A thick pole went through the middle of it to support the collector. However, the pole was basically a tree trunk. It could not support the full weight of the pot. D.J. Dunce said that he would go out and find something stronger, but he didn’t come back. The tree trunk cracked, and we had to hold the pot up with our bare hands. The pot was going to fall on top of us if D.J. Dunce didn’t come immediately. I saw him behind a tree, setting up a D.J. deck. I glared at him. The pot was just too heavy, and we dropped it, spilling water all over us. D.J. Dunce pressed a green button and music started shooting out of his speakers. But as I called him over one final time, he disappeared. He left the music still playing, and I ran over to his deck. The buttons had no labels on them, and none of them worked. I thought there would be a normal power button, but I was wrong. All the buttons were the same size, and all green. D.J. Dunce was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, the rain stopped. And as crazy as it sounds, the surrounding area was completely dry. Even our clothes. But the weirdest part was that a weird campfire suddenly sprang to life, and a tree fell on top of it.

James Nick, 10:00-10:05 A.M. 13/5/2013

The music kept on playing. Fiddle went over to try and turn it off, but it didn’t work. She called for D.J. Dunce, and as soon as she did, the rain stopped, and everything dried up. A campfire that we never made burst into flame, and a nearby tree fell on it.

“Forest fire!” cried Fiddle. We noticed another tent suddenly sprang up beside us and we all ran into it. As it turned out, D.J. Dunce was with us.

“D.J. Dunce! Where were you?” D.J. Dunce froze, not moving, not looking at any of us. “Well? The rain collector soaked us all!”

“You are not wet,” said D.J. Dunce.

“Still, the tent collapsed!”

“Um, I don’t think so.” He gestured to the ceiling of the tent.

“How do you operate your bambox?” asked Fiddle.

“What’s a bambox?”

“I thought you knew!”

“Why are you calling me a D.J.?”

“Because you are D.J. Dunce!”

“Think again!” And he stood up. He looked down at us, grinned, and fell flat on his back. Fiddle touched his face and said she felt plastic. A very long, blue ear shot out of the top of his head and wrapped around Fiddle’s arm. It curled down his face and pulled his mask off, revealing his blue face.

“Haha, you got me. Mind if I borrow a few limbs?” 

That was just too much for everyone. We ran out the tent door, and got in the car. It wasn’t until we got back to the building that we realized the bunny was in the trunk.

Fiddler Abacus, 10:00-10:05 A.M. 13/5/2013

“Forest fire!” I yelled. A tent appeared out of nowhere beside us. I had no time to think about who was doing this. I just ran to the tent and jumped in, and everyone else followed. D.J. Dunce was among them.

“D.J. Dunce! Where were you?” I asked. D.J. Dunce stopped moving completely. It looked as though he had been turned to stone. “Well? The rain collector soaked us all!”

“You are not wet, ” said D.J. Dunce.

“Still, the tent collapsed!”

“Um, I don’t think so.” He gestured to the ceiling of the tent.

“How do you operate your bambox?” I asked.

“What’s a bambox?”

“I thought you knew!”

“Why are you calling me a D.J.?”

“Because you are D.J. Dunce!”

“Think again!” He rose, grinning creepily. He fell over onto his back. I reached my hand out and touched his face.

“It’s plastic,” I said. Suddenly, a blue ear shot out from the top of his head and curled around my wrist. The other ear reached down and grabbed at his chin, and pulled a plastic mask off. It had a blue face, with wide, scary eyes, and a mouth that was smiling weirdly. It was the blue bunny.

“Okay, you got me. Could I just borrow some body parts for my bulletin board?” 

Nobody could handle that. We all bolted to the car and started it up. When we got out, the bunny was inside.

And finally, the Blue Bunny itself. I copied this story from a page in his journal. I will never read this, because he would be very angry if he knew I read this.

The Blue Bunny, 8:00-10:00 A.M. 13/5/2013

Ooh, the feet! Just a few watchy thingies to dodge, and the footies will be mine! A few extra outlet explosions wouldn’t hurt. Here we go! Here is the short circuit. BOOM! The outlet fizzled, then crackled, then every light, computer, and every device plugged into the outlet exploded, then went dark. Bits of white hot metal flew out from the outlets. Next, I jumped up the stairs, and stood outside the door of a room. I pulled out a screwdriver and unscrewed the door hinges. The door fell to the ground with a crash. I quickly ran out of the way before the guy inside saw me. I jumped down to the bottom of the stairs. The guy followed behind me, but delayed by about half a minute. I waited under the staircase, and stuck some explosive under it. The explosive would go off ten seconds after it was lit, so I had to time it perfectly. I lit the explosive twenty steps under the person, and in exactly ten seconds, the stair the person was on suddenly blew up, and the guy fell to the ground. When he got up, I made sure to get up close to him. He sat up and screamed. He ran to the elevator, and pressed the up button. I slowly ran towards him to scare him as much as possible. He got in just in time. I ran to the spot where there were no stairs above me, and jumped. I crashed through the roof and landed outside the elevator door. I stepped back, so that I was behind the elevator door, and jumped on to the elevator station. When the door finally opened, and the guy walked out, I jumped on top of him. Now, for the routine…

“Hello, good sir, may I borrow a foot or two?”

“Get off!” 

“Oops, sorry, I just would like to sum my collection up to seventy-seven, that’s all.”

“You collect feet?”

“Of course! Don’t you?” He ran into the elevator, and went to the bottom floor. I waited patiently at the top of the elevator, and when the doors opened, I stepped right up so that my nose was pressed against the door.

“Oh, thank you! You brought more feet!” One of the guys, the one I was chasing earlier, took a hang glider out of another person’s hands, and ran off the side of the building. I compared the distance between me and the glider, and my speed and the glider’s speed. I worked it out, and figured I should jump as hard as I could if I wanted to make it in three seconds. I leaped off the side and landed on top of the glider. The glider took a small dive, then straightened. I pulled a small bottle out of my utility belt, and stuffed it into the person’s mouth. He fell asleep instantly. I caught him before he fell, and we glided along far away, to an island. My first idea was to just leave him there and get his feet, but then I remembered the bunny ears Captain VunnIe had given me. The ears were almost like a headband, but with real bunny ears on them. I landed on the sand, but not very well. I tossed the guy in the pit as soon as he woke up, and threw the ears on his head. His skin started to turn blue, and his shoes started to fall off. His feet grew twice their original size, and he jumped up to meet me.

“Hello, Bunny.”

“Go away! What have you done to me? How did you do this? Why?”

“I thought it would be handy to have a couple extra bunnies. You know, to help me around, and stuff.”

“And why would I?”

“You are about to become a Blue Bunny, but I first will need to do some extra things.”

“No, don’t. I will run away if I have to.”

“How? You have no boat, and bunnies can’t swim.” He really did look puzzled, and he thought for a moment.

“How did you get here?” 

Even though I knew I shouldn’t say anything, I just had to tell him.

“A plane. Right over there.” I pointed to a plane behind a tree. He ran to it and fumbled with the controls. I ran after him, but before I got to him, he had already started the engine, and risen high enough that I couldn’t jump up to him (not to brag, but almost twenty meters). I called up to him, and shouted to come back, but he wouldn’t turn the plane around. I was trapped on the island, with little chance of getting off. Suddenly, I saw the plane turn around back, and I realized the person had been kind enough to bring me the plane back. I quickly jumped to it, and turned around, before the plane made a landing. The plane hit an air pocket, and jolted suddenly. I realized that getting Thomas wouldn’t benefit me much at all. I did see the other people with him though. I could get them. So I lowered the plane beneath the clouds, so I could see the ground below me. I was flying over the city already, which meant if I was going to catch them, I needed to turn sharply, by about 270°. I swooped towards the lobby entrance, when near there I saw a blue car with five passengers inside, passengers I recognized. I followed the car, and pulled out another device Captain VunnIe  had given me. It was a long range microphone that could pick up on talking from a mile away. I pointed it at the car and listened for something that could tell me where they were going, but I could hardly hear anything over the music. 

“D.J. Dunce, that music is getting to be a little annoying,” said one person.

“Okay, okay.” The music got quieter, and stopped. I could hear them much better now.

“So, plans for the camping trip?” That was all I needed. I knew there was one and only one camping site, so I followed the car towards the site. I landed  in the camping site, in an open area, but away from the people in the car. The area was a circle of  grass without trees. All around it, there were trees. I got there ten minutes before them, and by the time they got there, it was raining. The people in the car set up a tent, with a rain collector on the top. However, not everyone was there. One person was in the trees on the edge of the circle, with a table set up. I snuck towards him, and pulled out the last gift Captain VunnIe had given me. It was a strange cube, with one button on each side of the cube.  Each button had an image on it, one with a rain cloud on it, another with a sun on it, another with a symbol of snow on it. I quickly tripped him and fed him a drug that would make him fall asleep. The drug worked very well, he fell asleep almost instantly. I pressed the button on the weather cube, the sun icon. The clouds seemed to dissipate. The rain instantly stopped. Everything was perfectly dry. I pulled out a plastic mask I had made myself, and pulled it over my face. I ran into the trees, where the other people were, and built up a small campfire. I chopped down a tree with a laser, and it fell onto the campfire. I used the laser to burn the tree further, and a full forest fire sprang up. I built up a tent as fast as I could, and told the others to go into the tent. As the others came in, I went back. I did some quick scaring, which I will not show here. I ran out of the tent when I was done, and went into the trunk of the car. After that, I got back to the island. 

If you are thinking about sharing this information, don’t. If the Blue Bunny sees you with this, he will kill you. If you think Google Drive is safe, it isn’t. In fact, he owns the website. But as far as Google knows, they have total control. But enough spoilers. You’ll read about that in the next book. This info is for just you, just so that you’ll know about the Blue Bunny.

Tuck’s Grand Adventure

Once upon a time, there was a dog called Tuck. There was also a villain named Mr. Stupido. Mr. Stupido was, as you can guess, stupid. He wanted a magical snake that attracted dogs because he thought that dogs were cows and he tried to milk the dogs. Naturally, as dogs aren’t cows, there wasn’t any milk, and Mr. Stupido went on a search for the snake dog toy. One day, he got it. The magical dog toy was Tuck’s before Mr. Stupido stole it, so Tuck went on a quest to find his dog toy and to save all dogs from being milked. (He didn’t know that part yet.) 

There was only one thing on his side. Tuck was adorable! He used his charm to get lots and lots of food. Tuck began his quest by walking through his backyard. He got a little ways out when he thought, Oh boy, I want to chew something! 

He sniffed around his backyard until he found a really good stick. Then, he picked it up and started chewing. He kept walking. Soon, Tuck got hungry. He chased a few mice but they all ran away. Soon, he found an even better squirrel! He caught it. Tuck kept walking by the side of the stream where he had gotten the scent of Mr. Stupido and his toy. (Being stupid, Mr. Stupido left a really obvious trail.) 

Tuck saw a house nearby. It wasn’t Mr. Stupido’s, but Tuck was getting hungry so he begged for food and got some. The next house was Mr. Stupido’s, and it had a big sign on the front that said, “The home of Mr. Stupido,” so he walked in and got the toy. (Mr. Stupido didn’t have any security system.) When Mr. Stupido saw Tuck, he waved and said, “Hi, cowie!”

Tuck let all the dogs out and then went back home with all of the dogs (because he had the dog toy) and took a nice, long nap.

The Afterthen

Chapter 1 – Surprised

It was a Wednesday. Alexis was procrastinating on her math homework, as usual. The sunflowers were bending upward and soaking in the sunshine. As it got warmer out, they seemed to be moving further and further from their wintertime weakness. Their petals glowed with raw magic and their hay green centers swirled like whirlpool water into the tall, thick stems. Then, she heard a rumbling behind her. She whipped her head around. So maybe, although Alexis would kill me if she found out I said this, it was just her pet poodle, Daffodil, growling at this toy she had that looked just like her. Alexis was just so bored in this beautifully magical town that she was combing through her almost-but-not-quite perfect days, searching for something even remotely spooky or dangerous. But eventually, she’d have to get back to her math homework or Mrs. LaNeil would kill her. She flopped back down in her chair, and, while tapping her pencil repeatedly between problems, she struggled through the remaining six sheets. That’s right, six sheets. Oh, teachers back then…

I don’t know exactly why Alexis had to procrastinate so much, since, to my dismay, I could not get that out of her. But my theory, which is probably right, (I consider myself to be very well acquainted with her), is that her pride simply would not allow her to be a good little girl and finish it early like everyone else at her school.

Once she finished, she flopped down on her boring pink bed and wished and wondered. She wished she didn’t have such a dull life. She wondered why she stuck out, why no one was like her, why she had to be alone.

The next afternoon was Friday, thank the sunflowers. She relaxed and read. Her ridiculous school uniform was on the floor. It included a pink hair bow, a white dress, pink tights, white ruffly socks, and shiny pink Mary Janes.

After a few weeks of dull routines, Alexis received a pristine white envelope with her name and address stamped on it in shiny gold leaf. She was not impressed. Probably some letter from a stupid teacher complaining about stupid grades. When she opened it, she collapsed on her plush white rug. Every year for every eleven year old in the village, there was an official tournament. Not for sewing, or spelling, or math. This was a tournament of magic.

And you may not know, but Alexis was special when it came to magic. She was easily the most powerful in her grade. Alexis could fly, make her hair burn or turn into red-hot, dripping lava, and so many other amazing things. But her specialty was earth. She could pick up pebbles and spin them into gold. She could pick up gold and spin it into pebbles. She could crush you in a second with a grain of sand. No one else was completely aware of it, but she was probably more powerful than many of the masters.

So she jumped and flew off her balcony, down into the fields of emerald grass. The trees were perfect; scarlet, golden, and deep blue. Her high, silver combat boots dug into the fertile soil. Then she practiced. She spun rocks above her fingers. She mined diamonds out of the ground by using all the effort in her body, and turned them into a tall tower. Next, she spiraled around the tower, all the way up. Then she shattered it to pieces, and did backflips and frontflips in the air as she came down.

After hours and hours, she worked out a routine. She was proud of herself. She knew she could win the tournament, but there was a few months before this would happen. It was an agonizingly long amount of time to wait. She leapt back up onto her balcony and went back inside. Besides, the sun was beginning to set. She had one of her usual late dinners alone in the dining room before heading to bed. That night, she tossed and turned. She didn’t think she would be able to wait. Her parents had better be ready for another drop in her grades. She didn’t care about that, though. Her worry, besides the long wait for the tournament, was that competition for the Sapphire Crown (the prize of winning the tournament) coming up, with the long amount of time for practice and improvement. This might wreck Alexis’s chance and the Sapphire Crown, which was the key to the most exciting opportunities in Sunflower. It was a secret, but it was what Alexis craved the most. The crown also brought respect to its champions. This adventure might come with a friend. After all these years of loneliness, someone might finally just walk up and invite her over for mango smoothies one day. Well, banana shakes would be preferable; after all, the mangos in Sunflower were awfully sour. But really, Alexis wouldn’t mind if it was rotten sunflower stems. Which some adults liked. Not that she understood why. 

Now there is really something I have to tell you. Alexis was not acknowledging the second part of the Sapphire Crown contest. Nobody knew what happened in the dark and shadowed second stage. Only one person made it past the first stage, which was the routine Alexis was making. Once the winner had completed the unknown second stage, they were forbidden to speak of it. That is, if they survived. 

Chapter 2 – The Contest

A few months was far too long for Alexis to wait. She had her routine completed, including all the finishing touches, and even a stunning outfit. (In my opinion, there was no need for her routine, despite its glory, because I am positive that she could have won the tournament with just that outfit. But she didn’t ask me). However, a few months is not forever, and the day came. It was conveniently over a break so all the teachers and students were free, as well as the stay-at-home parents and the town leaders and every other person in the village. Even the animals were free that week. Even the sunflowers, naturally. Moving on.

Alexis walked a short distance to the field where the competition was held. There were chairs set up in neat rows in the grass. She sat next to her mother, since she had no friends to sit with. She watched the other children perform their talents. She clapped politely after each one, but really she was terrified. The talents were just getting better and better and it seemed that every one of them would be that tiny bit better than her. That meant everything in a competition like this. She performed her routine as #56. 20 remained. It was rather uneventful. Now, I don’t mean that the crowd wasn’t impressed. Just that they weren’t really surprised at what she’d done.

At the end of the competition, the leaders walked onto the stage. They took folded yellow papers and passed them out to students. Before Alexis could open hers, some black-haired girl who could fly opened her paper and petals came out. This signaled that she had won the competition. Alexis’s expression was completely blank at first, and she worked hard to keep it that way. Her emotions and mind still felt frozen, unable to process the information overload. Alexis had been a close second. Very good, but not what she’d been hoping for. You see, she had been hoping to win. She dipped her head to her parents and left, only allowing the tears to stream down her cheeks when she was out of sight.

. . .

She hid in her room and cried. She didn’t know what was going to happen to her now. Her life was surely over. Everything was over. She could never…

“Alexis,” her brother Lincoln said, the door slowly opening.

“Go away.”

“Alexis, listen. The girl who won chose not to accept. That means you won.”

Alexis’s whole world brightened. Then she remembered the second task. She was nervous, but any place it sent her would be better than here. So she got up, wiped her eyes as best she could and walked to the field.

It was all a blur, really. Flashes of do you accept and I do and very well and things like that. But everything slowed down when they read out the second task.

“Your second task is to go into the Afterthen and save it. You must survive and come home to win the Sapphire Crown.”

“Wha-What is the Afterthen?” Alexis asked nervously. 

“The Afterthen is a land very near here that is stuck in a time warp. It is under the rule of tyrannical people who use time all wrong.” This was interesting. She was supposed to save a whole land from evil rulers and time itself? Great. A portal appeared next to the stage. “Are you ready to go now? Simply step through the portal and then you will be in the Afterthen.”

Alexis stepped through the portal before she had time to think better of it.

Chapter 3 – The Beach of Shoes

The first thing she saw in the Afterthen was a beach covered in shoes. Something in the sand was pulling her shoes off, and she felt a strange urge to be barefoot. But she resisted. She liked her shoes. Besides, there was no point in going into a dangerous land without shoes on her feet. Once she pulled away, the sand moved in another direction. Since she had nowhere else to go, she followed the wave of wet sand. As she walked further and further down the beach, she saw a figure moving in place. Closer now. It was a girl. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was running or at least was trying to. Her body repeated the same motions again and again, but didn’t move forward or backward.

Alexis inspected her closely. The air around her was purplish and moved around slowly, like fog. Alexis stuck her hand in the fog. It suddenly moved very slowly, but she was able to grab the girl’s hand and pull her out so she collapsed, breathless, on the ground.

“Who are you?” Alexis asked.

“I’m Hailee. Sunflower sent me to the Afterthen on a quest to save it, but I got stuck in this time warp.”

“I didn’t know anyone from Sunflower who has been sent to the Afterthen.” Alexis said. But maybe…

“I heard a girl fifty years ago got sent to another place in her second stage and never came back. Maybe that’s what’ll happen to you once you get to your second stage,” her brother had once joked to her.

“Hailee. Listen, I think you are from fifty years ago.”

“That’s possible.” Hailee said.
“Do you know anything about the Afterthen?”

“Well, I don’t know a lot, but this is what I do know. A long time ago, Sunflower was part of the Afterthen. Sunflower, which hasn’t changed much since then, acted as a safe refuge to lost travelers and anyone who happened to be in the extension of the time warp, really. Now, the leaders of the Afterthen didn’t like this, because they want as much time as they need while the rest of the land gets nothing. So they stole the time from Sunflower. They threatened to fast forward everyone in the town to their deaths if Sunflower did not break away. Sunflower, of course, agreed, so a powerful magician turned the town into an island and sent it away, and, well, that’s how we ended up where we are.”

“Wow. I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…” Alexis began, but then gasped as if the air was sucked out of her when really it was the time and felt herself slipping into a time warp.

“GO! RUN! QUICKLY!” Hailee screamed.

They ran as fast as they could during the breaks in the time warp, but had to go slowly during the moments that it was in effect.  Now, you will be noticing this more and more in the story, so let me explain what is actually happening to these girls. You see, the time was moving from the area where they were to some other poor place where everyone would find themselves with too much time. It would pile up all around the people, and when they hit the piles time would slow down or speed up. People would be constantly teleporting from time period to time period, but I’m getting off topic. I think I know this story too well.

Moving on. With no other place to go, Alexis and Hailee dove into the ocean. Then the surface disappeared, and suddenly Alexis was drowning, but what did she feel beneath her feet, that grainy substance. Sand.

“What just happened?” Alexis panted.

“Well, that was the Ocean of Time. It just tried to rob us. We’re out now though, but we better get out fast, because it’s sure to be furious at us.”

“But why would it try to rob us?” Alexis was forced to scream this because the tide was loud and angry.

“Because the Afterthen used time frivolously and wasted it all somehow. However, that was a long, long time ago. These days, they rob it from whoever is around.” The ocean started pulling at Alexis’ feet and she felt so relaxed like she had all the time in the world. Some part of her knew this was bad, but the ocean seemed so kind and welcoming.  She snapped out of her trance soon enough, though, most likely because Hailee pulled her away, and the world around them morphed into a field of flowers and field mice.

“This is the Field of Mice,” Hailee observed from a small leather notebook she took out of her frilly skirt pocket.

Chapter 4 – Eye of the Hurricane

Alexis raised her eyebrows at the name. Hailee gave her a look.

“The people in the Afterthen are too busy wasting time to be creative about names. Besides, it’s not like it matters, as long as we will be relatively safe here, which we will be,” she reminded Alexis. Alexis had to agree. They kept walking.

After a few hours, they became hungry and tired so they stopped for a break. Alexis crafted bowls and cups out of earth. Hailee snapped her fingers, and suddenly rain came pouring down, filling the dishes with cold, clean water. 

“Impressive,” Alexis remarked.

“Yeah, I can control the weather,” Hailee said with a proud look on her face that she was having a terrible time hiding. Alexis dumped the water out of the bowls and grabbed Hailee’s hand. 

“Come on,” she said, grinning, “I know some edible flowers that make a delicious salad.” The girls hunted for daylilies for about half an hour. When they came back, their hands and pockets were stuffed with enough petals to give each girl several helpings of salad (not to mention what they had eaten while walking). They filled their bowls with pale pink and yellow blossoms and had a good meal, leaving them refreshed and ready to continue the journey ahead of them. Alexis buried the dishes, so no one would know the girls had been there.

The Field of Mice went on for what seemed like forever. When the sun began to set, the pair slept under the stars, the soft grass and daisies cushioning them, the traces of the daylilies still in their mouths.

They slept until 11:00 the next morning, and they were still so tired they would have slept for longer, but Alexis spotted the end of the Field of Mice a mile away. Normally, this would be hard to notice since it was so far, but as you know, this field is very colorful and very green, and what came after it looked black and burnt, so the contrast made it easy to see. She tapped Hailee’s shoulder to wake her up.

“I guess we’ve reached the end of the Field of Mice,” Hailee said.

“Do you know what that black place is?” Alexis asked.

“No, not yet.”

“What do you mean, not yet?”

“Here, I’ll show you,” Hailee responded, taking the rough leather notebook out of her pocket again. “This is how the notebook works. It is an enchanted item that Sunflower handed out to visitors before they left the Afterthen. They gave me one before my quest. I imagine they’re all gone now, after fifty years. Anyway. Basically, when I am in a certain place in the Afterthen, the notebook will show me the name of where I am, along with a short description and the appropriate warnings for wherever I am. So I can’t see what that place is until we are actually there.”

“Useful. But we should keep moving,” Alexis observed.

And that is what they did. Hailee put the notebook back into her skirt pocket, which was so frilly and poofy that no one would notice if you put an elephant into it. That mile was a boring mile, well, as boring as something could be when there was so much dread in the air. Because of this dread, Alexis was looking for something to distract her. Her wandering eyes stopped on Hailee’s bare feet.

“Was the reason you got stuck in the time warp the fact that you have no shoes?” Alexis asked. “After all, I didn’t get stuck in one, and I have shoes.”

“Well, it was probably just luck,” Hailee contradicted her. “Time in the Afterthen is random. You can’t expect it to have any kind of rhyme or reason. On the other hand, you might be partly right. People who fall for tricks are more likely to end up in dilemmas.”

“So?” Alexis said skeptically, not getting the point.

So, it’s partly my bad luck and partly my idiocy.”

“Interesting conclusion.”

The girls kept walking, forgetting the strange conversation in their dread. As they drew closer to the black place, the flowers became less common and the grass thinned out, until they were on a near-scorched field.

You may have guessed by now. They had reached the black place.

Chapter 5 – STAY AWAY

Hailee opened her notebook, but it was empty. She gasped. However, in a few seconds, words slowly appeared across the page. They were large and hastily written, as if scrawled by someone in a hurry. It wasn’t difficult to read though. Alexis could clearly see the message:

STAY AWAY

“This isn’t a good sign,” Hailee whispered in her shock. A shady figure stepped out from behind a cliff. He wore old timey detective clothes and was evidently from a time portal somewhere nearby. He took a small dagger from his pocket. And threw it directly at Alexis.

. . .

Luckily, Alexis blocked it with a wall of sparkling emeralds.

“You’ve got taste,” Hailee observed.

Alexis viewed her work with satisfaction. She peeked out. She noticed that the man was gone. She also noticed that instead of one dagger stuck in the wall of emeralds, there were at least a dozen. Whoever that man was, he was someone to watch out for. Despite the safety of expensive and glittery shields.

They stayed cautious as they walked through the almost never ending black place. They didn’t encounter many dangers, which was suspicious. It didn’t last forever, though. Within a few hours, they spotted an army of redcoats marching towards them, wielding muskets and bayonets. Eventually the tense march turned into an all-out battle, with Alexis tossing men into the air and Hailee striking down entire regiments with lightning bolts. More kept appearing. It was an impossible fight.

The girls ducked into an alley. They had a minute or so before there was the sound of footsteps behind them. But not thousands of footsteps. Just one person. It was a medieval knight. Then suddenly it transformed into a boy. His eyes constantly changed color and his clothes seemed to change styles every second.

“My name is Jack. I can get you out of here.” The boy promptly transformed into a redcoat.

“How did you do that?” Alexis asked suspiciously.

“There isn’t time to explain. Now, come on. You’ll have no trouble at all getting through them now.” With that, Jack tapped both of the girls and transformed them into soldiers. They would have protested, but an officer’s fancy shoes were heading toward the alley.

They blended in easily with the redcoats. Eventually, the army turned and started heading back in the direction of the Field of Mice. Alexis assumed that they were continuing the patrol. The trio broke off from patrol and transformed back into themselves again.

“I’ve been traveling around the Afterthen since I was little. I’ve never gotten this far. How did you do it?” Jack said.

“I guess we just got lucky,” Hailee said, shrugging.

“What’s that in the distance?” Alexis asked.

There was a field similar to the Field of Mice. It had no time portals and looked safe. Except for one thing. There was a golden palace, guarded by tiny camo dots.

“The palace of the rulers. Once you get inside, they’re quite vulnerable. And we can deal with the guards.”

Alexis simply could not believe it. She was nearing the end of her quest. All they needed to do was get past the guards and lock the rulers in some remote dungeon. Everything suddenly came together. The rulers used time wrong. If they were stripped of their power the armies from history would disappear. Perhaps one of the Sunflower rulers could take the throne. 

Despite the excitement, the journey took weeks of hard traveling. They ate dried petals that were leftover from before the black place. Eventually though, they reached the golden palace – and its army.

Chapter 6 – The False Victory

Jack had been right, the camo troops were easy to fight. They weren’t endless, like the redcoats. They easily broke into the palace. The halls were lined with paintings of the various “attractions” of the nearby areas. Gold suits of armor made loud noises as they walked past.

The palace seemed endless. Alexis’s feet ached terribly from the long journey they were so close to finishing. Hailee, who was barefoot, had to walk on the fancy red carpet to keep her feet from unbearable pain. After half an hour, a set of double doors labeled “THRONE ROOM” came into sight. They were so close!!!

. . .

Ten minutes later they opened the door. The rulers were eating lunch at a table to the left of the three intricately carved thrones. They didn’t notice the trio.

Alexis readied chains of hard earth. Hailee had a lightning bolt in each hand. They were about to throw them when suddenly they were blasted into the air.

Alexis couldn’t move. Couldn’t move at all. An endless void opened up beneath her. Couldn’t hear much either, except for a laugh. She searched desperately for the source of the laugh. She knew whoever laughed had thwarted their plans somehow, and stopped two powerful enchanters. Then she found the face. Jack’s.

“You really thought you could stop us?” Jack asked in that same tone he had used before the redcoats. “The rulers were notified by that detective that you were trying to stop us. He never misses anything. They sent me to stop you two from ruining our time warp here. Since I have proven satisfactory, I will become the new ruler of the Afterthen. And you? Well, you had better enjoy living in the void.”

THE END

Aunt Marge’s dream

I blew up 

I flew by 

My body felt like it was slowly getting lighter as I floated into the sky 

I felt myself getting higher as I screamed and shouted 

I decided to enjoy this moment when I looked into the sky 

I felt birds in their world spreading their wings flying by

It was a VIP room rented just for me 

In a world I saw, only something I could see 

But what if I deflated?

What if I burst?

It would feel never-ending and a worse discovery than the first 

My heart would fall never-ending 

The weight upon my shoulders 

As I heaved myself off the couch it would still feel like the same boulders 

A Day of Inspiration

A normal day, a nature hike

I grab those shoes I really like

And stroll on down the wooded trail

But then I hear a child yell

I look and see a big old fight

He stomps, the noise echoes through the night

I kick a pinecone, ignoring them

And look at the leaves, the flowers, the berries, but then

Somehow they reach a compromise

That parent must be really wise

I head back home, play with some slime

But oh my gosh! Look at the time!

I have to do my online work

Though I really just want to read a book

I turn on my lamp, head to my desk

And find some room among the mess

Then type and type, think and think

My patience finally reaching its brink

I shut the computer, text the guys

And think about that compromise

The child wanted to follow their dreams

At first the parent thought that seemed 

Silly, but eventually agreed

Everyone should voice what they need

I want to do something else

Not put my dreams up on a shelf!

I open my computer and type

And though it takes much grim and gripe

I’m now a published author, yes

And though I may not be the best

I’m doing what I love to do

It worked for me, and it will for you.

Ultraviolet & Infrared

Ultraviolet 

Ultraviolet,

Is so violent,

That I well can see,

Why it’s meant to be:

To burn and harm,

And scorch my arm,

In its bright, bright, light.

Infrared

Infrared,

Is a dread,

Because it’s invisible,

And I wish it were visible,

But there are reasons,

Like the seasons,

Why it shouldn’t be seen,

Because its gleam (A bright red beam),

Is too bright for us to handle.

The Moon

Chapter 1: Spell of the Moon

I was walking at night next to the lake, like every night, but this time, something caught my eye. I just could not stop looking at the reflection of the moon in the lake. I slowly looked up and there it was. The moon was just too beautiful. It was calling to me. It caught me by surprise. I have heard this before, the moon, the beautiful, full moon is dangerous. I wanted to run away, but the other part of me was caught with the spell of the moon.

The spell of the moon was impossible to get out of. Looked like I was stuck forever. I could not call because I could not speak. I could not run because I could not move, and everything I tried to do would just give my energy to the moon. All I could do was glare at the reflection that was sucking me in, better yet, sucking my soul.

I glared and glared until I had no choice but to walk inside that very lake my great-grandmother stepped into, never to be seen again. The only thing passed on from her was her story, the story that was told to my grandmother, my mother, and me. I was supposed to tell it to my kids when I got older (since I was only 11), but now it was too late. I stepped into the lake and did not look back. I looked to the moon, and the moon looked back at me. Straight from my heart was my soul, up into the sky. Flying and laughing, right into the moon. What was done, was done, and what was taken, was taken. My soul was taken, and there was nothing I could do about it. Except that there was something wrong. My soul had too much passion than it was supposed to when taken from the moon. Instead of disappearing like my great-grandmother, I stayed staring at the moon. My mother came outside, and she knew what was happening. Before she could say anything, my body felt weird. After a few seconds, I had realized I was now a part of it, I had turned into water. My brown short hair floated until it perished into the wind.

Chapter 2: 1860

I opened my eyes and I was in a house.

“Are you okay?” said a lady.

“Ahhh! How am I alive!”

“Excuse me? I am sorry to startle you, my name is Mary Wilieson, what is yours?”

“Uhh, Luisa Wilson. Hahaha, My great great great grandmother was named Mary Wilieson.”

“Really? Dear, I think you hurt your head. There is only one Willieson in the 1860s.” She smiled.

“Yeah…  wait, 1860s!!!”

“You should get some rest, we will call you for supper,” she suggested. The nice, sweet lady stepped out of the room. Then it hit me. That was my great-great-great-grandmother! Back then, we were called the Wiliesons because it was “cool.” My great-grandmother changed it so it could be easy to say. I wanted to let her know what happened, but I could not let her know that she was my great great great grandmother. 

I stayed up in the room, making up a plan to escape (also wondering why I had 1860 clothes on). After a little while, I felt at home in that room. Even though it was dusty and old, the shape, size, and placement of things felt so familiar, but nothing could distract me. 

“It’s supper!!” 

Except for that. I was starving. I ran downstairs. 

“Sorry if my husband woke you.” She smiled

“No, it’s alright, I was already waking up anyway.” 

All the faces of their kids looked familiar from photos and albums.

“Try this, dear,” Mary said, putting food on my plate

“Mhhhhh, cheesy mashed potatoes with secret olives and a hint of paprika, old family recipe.” They all looked at me funny.

“What are you talking about? I just made this up.” 

“This present and past stuff is confusing.” That was what I wanted to say, but instead, I said, “That’s what I see, at least. Hee hee.” 

“You have a good eye, dear.” 

We ate and ate, and while we were eating, it felt like my family was with me. They were! We were in my house! That was why it looked familiar. Without making a mistake with my manners, I told them. “What a nice house you have, really feels like home.” 

“I am glad you like it, dear, we built it a few years ago to raise our family.” She smiled. She was also right, and after that, the Wilsons or Wiliesons were raised in the same house. I smiled back at her.

“Hey, you want to ride around with me and my horse?” said my great-great-uncle. 

“Nuh-uh, Pablo. She’s playing dolls with me,”  said my great-great-grandmother, Mila. What should I do? Play with Grandma Mila, or ride with Uncle Pablo?

“Don’t worry, Tio Pablo, we can go later, let the little ones first.” I smiled. 

“Tio Pablo?” he asked me.

“Pablo, sorry, going a little bonkers.” 

“Bonkers?” he asked again. Isn’t anything I say right!?

“Uh, meet you around 2:30, okay?” I said, pushing my grandma Mila to her room.

“How did you know this is my room?” she asked when we got there.

“You carved your initials right here,” I said, moving and pointing behind the bed. The only thing was it was not there yet!

“I don’t see anything, but good idea.” 

So close!  I knew she had initials carved because her room is my and my little brother’s room in the future. When my sister, Carmen, went to college, I upgraded to Carmen’s room, and now Grandma Mila’s room is my little brother’s room. I know, it’s confusing.

After a while, Pablo showed up with his horse (Pablo Junior) from the window. I hopped on the horse’s beautiful, light brown back, and we went through the town. Our house was pretty far away from the town but it was beautiful. 

“You know, Luisa, you are really pretty, and I am impressed by what you did at the dinner table.”

“Uh, thank you. Hey, that really looks like Time Square! I mean, look at those billboards.” I pointed.

“Where? That’s a cafe, You alright?”

“Yeah, just… ”

“Um, okay, well, I am reading these cowboy books that are cool.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek for being so charming. 

“Uhhh, well you wanna… wanna see the park?”

“Sure.” Then I snapped out of it, I can’t “like” my great-great-uncle! The worst thing happened next, Pablo galloped his horse in front of a beautiful sunset. He gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Weird, it’s like, kissing my little sister.”

“I am sorry, Tio Pablo!” I hugged him, got off the horse, and ran. Ran like the wind. I ran so fast that my leg disappeared. Then arm!

“What’s happening?!” I tried dragging myself across the floor before Pablo looked for me. Suddenly, my other arm disappeared. Trying to get up with one leg, I saw I had none. I had no head, no spine, no anything. I sank into the ground. 

Chapter 3: Great Grandma’s Soul

When I opened my eyes, I was flying in the air. There she was. My great-grandmother, under the moon spell. Stepping into the lake. I was still invisible and could not feel myself. Before she stepped into the lake, she managed to say,

“I know you’re there, Luisa, but you can’t change the past. This was meant to be. The moon sucking souls is destiny.” She turned her head to look at me, straightly opening her mouth and showing her devil teeth and creepy face that was turning around and around.

“Hahahahaha! Cackle cackle! Hee hee hee!” She turned around and entered the lake. That was not my grandmother.

“You are really smart, Luisa.”

“Ahhh!” It was the little devil that was making the creepy faces.

“Let’s see how powerful and smart you are after this.” He moved his tiny hands around. There was the picture of my grandmother, looking at great-grandma disappearing in the air. 

“Mommy!” she yelled. 

A tear came down my face. After, there was Grandma telling the story to my mom. Now, it was Tio Pablo and me. Playing dolls with Grandma Mila. Eating with my family, past and present. My family looking up at the moon. Rain falling, houses on fire. Creating the lake, the same lake that helped the moon take my soul from me. A garden that children played in. Grandma Mila’s soul was being taken, little by little. Until falling in love. It was all so confusing and painful. 

Then there was me. Me under the spell, the horrible spell. I touched my face like a porcelain doll. 

“Cold,” Past Me whispered softly, trying to put her hand on her cheek. Terrified, I removed my hand from Past Me’s cheek. All these moments, horrible, beautiful, loving, painful moments.

“ENOUGH!!!” I screamed, wiping out my tears. “I get it, I have had sad moments, happy moments, any moment, and will never have them again. Just do what you have to do. You can’t make me travel back in time  and make me suffer, I will ruin the timeline and… I don’t know, I like it how it is.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, who said anything about that? There was something out of control with your soul but now it is back in our order. It would be fun to mess around with you but that was not the moon’s order.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Look, we can’t talk here, let’s deal with it in the moooooooon… ” the little devil said, kicking me to the moon.

Chapter 4: A Trip to the Moon

“Ahhhhhh!!” Ouch, I am still sore from that bump. The kick was so hard, I passed right through some guards and right into the hall. Say what you want about the nasty moon, he was beautiful. Before the guards chased me, I quickly went deeper inside. The moon was like a type of castle. All the paintings of relatives and flags of moons. It looked so magical. Most of it was blue, my favorite color! It was like a museum! I adored museums. I kept walking through the shiny patterned hallways. I found a pen under the big, long, blue carpet, that had a pattern like the carpet from my favorite movie, Aladin. I drew a mustache on a painting nearby. I suddenly heard some voices and quickly hid behind a pole, putting the pen in my pocket.

“She does not deserve to be here!” 

“I was just doing my nightly stroll, that’s all.” 

“Silence! If your mother told you the story, you should not have been walking around me at night.”

“What-cha-doing?” I looked slowly next to me. It was that creepy little devil! He smiled at me, showing his not surprisingly sharp teeth.

“Ahhhhhh!!!!” My scream made silence for everyone around me. The little devil’s smile grew bigger and grabbed me by the arm. His hand burned me, like friction between 

ice and lava. He pushed me forward and left a rash on my arm. It was the only thing I could feel. Then I realized who was talking. It was my real great grandmother’s soul. She was arguing with the moon himself! There was this other girl there, she looked a lot like me. I think that’s because she is me. That’s my soul the moon stole! My grandma and I turned around. 

“Oh no,” whispered my grandma. The moon had a smirk on his face.

“Bow to me!” he laughed.

“I’m good,” I replied. The little devil, great Grandma Stephi, and the moon were shocked by my answer. 

“Up top,” said my soul, putting her hand up. I was about to high-five her but great Grandma Stephi interrupted. 

“NO! You may not touch.” 

“Why not?” we both asked. 

“You don’t want to know.” 

“Silence! Let’s not talk about that, what I do want to know is who you think you are for responding in a horrible way!?!” said the moon.

“I think I know, and I am Luisa Wilson. You took my soul, and you thought you took my power and passion, but they are still in me. I am not afraid of you, I am not afraid of your little devils, and however many guards you put up in front of me, I will not be afraid. These slaves of yours deserve much more. These souls should not be here. You can scare and overpower anyone you want, but you won’t be able to do that to me. So you better be careful.” 

There was a silence until…

“You go girl! I just realized how smart I am, how smart we are.”

“Haha.”

“She is right! I will not be afraid of you anymore!” said the little devil.

“Leroy, do you know how I know how your father died? Do you know who poured lion blood and covered him in tiger skin? Do you know who has leftover blood and skin? Do you know who can kill you as well? Do you know who killed your father?” I heard all that and felt so bad for the little devil.

“Sorry, Luisa, I have no choice.” He bowed to the moon. 

“Little devil,” I whispered. 

“Come on, I believe in you, you were awesome on the tellie with great-great-great-Grandma Mary. You were awesome just now, do something to that moon,” said my soul, she hugged me. I hugged her back. We let go and touched hands. 

“I believe in you.” She faded away. Was that the last of my soul? Would I be without one forever?

Then I started to feel queasy. I blacked out, but from the story, I believe this is what happened. I turned half-human, but one half of me was missing, and now with my soul, I can’t breathe on the moon. My great grandmother’s soul carried me down to the lake, where I believe I turned into water. When I woke up, I got out of the lake full human. I saw Grandma’s soul go up to the moon.

“Grandma!” 

She quickly flew to me.

“Where is it I need to go!” I touched her. So her soul combined with me.

“No! It’s to… ”

Now I was full Human plus my grandma’s soul. I was able to fly and breathe on the moon. I felt a little weird but it would be worth it. I went up to the moon. I sneaked up to his lair, which I realized was there secretly behind his throne. I took all his materials and poured them on him.

Chapter 5: Cheese Moon

“What are you doing?!” he asked. Nothing had happened to him. Suddenly, everyone was chasing me. I hid behind a painting for a while, thinking what to do next. Suddenly, a flash of light came behind the painting. Someone discovered me! 

“Little devil, Leroy! I am so sorry what happened to your father but please don’t hurt me!”

“Don’t worry, I am here to help you, quick, before they see you.”

“Leroy, do you know what the moon’s weakness is?”

“I don’t know, he gets feisty when people say he is made out of cheese.”

“That will have to do. How do you get cheese around here?” 

“Urgh, there is this special pen, you have to draw and it will come to life. They are so rare, there are only two in the castle, one’s with the moon and the other was lost. Everyone looked but… ” Before he finished his sentence, I took that pen from my pocket and looked at it.

“That’s the one! How did you find it?!” His voice echoed through the hallways. Everyone rushed over to see what was happening. I quickly drew a man with a rare collectible card that my little brother had and hid behind the painting.

“What is it? Did you find the girl?!” yelled the moon from across the hall. 

“No, but I did find this card! It is a… ” 

“Rare collectible,” I whispered to him.

“Rare collectible!” he repeated. 

“I am a… ” 

“Trying to trade it,” I whispered again.

“Trying to trade it! With this guard.” Leroy smiled

“Okay, do your… thing quickly, we need to find that girl!” he said, waving his arms around. Then I remembered a TV show I would watch when I was little. Cheese moon! I drew the cheese moon character with his long legs, pink cheeks, cheesy holes, and cute little blue hat on top. We looked for the moon everywhere. The kitchen, his room, the lab, everywhere he might be looking for me. How ironic, we were both looking for each other. The evil soul-stealing moon, and the innocent little girl who wanted her soul back. We kept looking.

“Did you ask us to split up?” Leroy asked. 

“No, why?” 

“I think cheese moon had his own opinion,” Leroy said, pointing where cheese moon was standing.

“Oh great, now we are looking for two moons!”

“Cheese moon!” we called. We entered the throne room and finally found him talking to the moon.

“What is the meaning of this? Who are you?” said the real moon. 

“My name is cheese moon, nice to meet you, friend!” 

“Cheese moon?! Hey, little girl, do you have something to do with this?” the moon asked, as he saw me approach.

“Don’t be mad, little friend, I see you are wearing my costume, you must be a fan! Let me sing the cheese moon song to cheer you up. 

Guess who’s made out of cheese, the moon’s made out of cheese! You want a piece of cheese? All you have to do is say please. To get a bit of cheeeeese, all you gotta do is take a piece of me! Cheese moon cheese moon! Hope you like my tune! Hey!” 

The moon squinted a lot with one eye. He was not okay. He turned as red as a shiny apple and as hot as a jalapeno. He looked like he was going to explode. 

“Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I want to rip your hair apart and break every bone in your body until people stuff fish inside your ears and bury you alive!” Yep, he was totally not okay.

“Whoa, whoa, friend, here, have a piece of cheese,” said cheese moon, breaking a part of himself. The moon squinted some more until slapped the piece of cheese out of cheese moon’s hand. Cheese moon looked disappointed and disappeared into the wind. 

“You! You did this, haha, it did not work. I will finish you off, and Leroy! You were helping her? I got someth… ” He could not finish his sentence. His mouth was as shut as a clamshell.

“Mr. moon?” I asked. He looked at his hands that were wobbling. After a few seconds, the real moon disintegrated.  Leroy looked at me with a stare.

Chapter 6: Dreaming?

I woke up in my bed and wondered if it was all a dream. I walked around my room and it was all normal. Grandma Mila’s initials were behind the bed. 

I guess it was just a weird dream, I thought. Then there was a weird glow coming from out of my window. When I opened my eyes, there was an angel in my room! 

“Aaaahhh!” 

“Why the scream?” the angel asked. It was a familiar voice, but much lighter and softer. “Don’t you remember? It’s me, Leroy.” 

“Leroy?” I could not believe what he was telling me. I looked at him with my mouth opened wide.

“Yep, that’s me! After defeating the moon, they turned me into an angel.” He smiled with his perfect, normal, shiny, non-devil teeth.

“Leroy! It is you!” I hugged him.

“Wait, did you say, ‘Defeat the moon?’” I said, surprised. 

“Of course, do you not remember anything?” he asked me. 

“Not really, so it was not a dream?” 

“What?” 

“How about great-Grandma?”

“I suggest you go downstairs.”

I rushed downstairs. There she was! 

“Great-Grandma!!” 

“Hi, Luisa!” Leroy came downstairs and smiled. 

“Well, I better get going.”

“No, Leroy, stay here, join us for breakfast.” 

“Um, okay.”

“Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Felix (my little brother), this is Leroy.”

“We know who Leroy is. Don’t you remember the dinner we had with him yesterday?” said my mother. 

“Huh?”

“It’s alright, you have been through a lot. Let’s eat.” 

We ate breakfast, and my big sister Carmen visited from college. We all had a good time. I am still curious to know what happened after the moon was defeated. Half of me is scared that during my time of being water, I worked for the moon. What scares me the most about that, I could still be under his power.     

To be continued…

Masks

As I look out the window

The tall buildings and green trees 

I see people walking by, talking on the phone

And some smiling

So I smile Back

Even if they can’t see me 

I know that they know, someone will smile back

And that makes me smile

And when I smile under the mask

I know that someone in the world, someone 

By their window 

Smiling

Maybe they are smiling because they got a gift

Or because they get to spend time with people

Whatever the reason is that they are smiling 

It will make me smile

Even if they are across the world

Most of the time when people are smiling under their mask

Their eyes slightly squint

And if you are walking down the street

Or look into the window 

Smile back

You can smile in many different ways

Some people say that you can’t smile with the mask on

But 

You can smile by saying hi

Or waving

Or doing something kind

Yes

Smiling is with your mouth

But it also has other definitions

The First Place Winner

Hi, my name is Fluffly and I am pug. I am also the most fashionable thing that has ever walked on earth. Scarlet red is the most fashionable color. I live in New York City. I have lived here for so long. I need to see the world. I plan to go to London. The capital of… hmm, I don’t know. If you have not heard, in London, there is a fashion competition and the winner gets a tour of the world. Now all I have to do is get on a plane. 

You are probably wondering who is your owner or do you live in an adoption center. Well, I live with no one. I kind of just do my own thing. I start to get ready. I put on my trench coat and black sunglasses to try to blend in with the crowd. I walk into the airport and there are so many people there, but of course, none as fashionable as me. I start to run to where it says “London,” then I wait to get on the plane.

 I go under a seat and look at people’s outfits. They are not flattering, especially their socks. Their socks are tan colored and have ugly, blue spots. I just can’t. After I tell you what I did, you have to promise not to hate me.

 I bit the sock off. I know, I know, but the sock is so ugly. I run to a different seat. Of course, I am looking fabulous like always. Then I hear someone say the plane to London is taking off in ten minutes! I run to the plane. Do you know when you are going on the plane and you look down and there is a small gap? I look down. I am so scared that I’ll chip a nail. I run quickly to first class. There is no one there because it is way too expensive. It’s perfect because none of the flight attendants will come and ruin my plan. 

There is a whole cart of food just for me. It has candy, cake, and all sorts of sweets. I am loving life until someone or something comes in. It’s a pug! I am holding back my tears. This pug is more fashionable than me!! One thing about me is I always tell the truth. She comes up to me and says, “Hi, I am Talyor and I am sneaking on this plane to London.”

I say, “I am, too.” Then I move away from her. She is weird. I start to stuff my mouth with chocolate cake with strawberries. I am raging with jealousy. She is so fashionable. I look at her and she is fixing her hair and smirks at me. Arg, I hate her. She is the WORST!! Her fur is like silk. I cannot believe my eyes. It’s crazy. 

Finally, the plane lands and I can get away from her. I start to walk to my hotel. My hotel is amazing. It has a huge hot tub. Then there is a huge TV and couch. My bed is just unexplainable. I lie down and watch some TV. Then someone comes up and gives me a massage. It is an amazing experience. I never want to leave. 

Then I go to get breakfast. I have fruit loops. I walk to the hotel and I look inside. It has so many clothes. Then I walk to the runway and start to stretch. I do my best fur flip. Of course, it’s perfect. Then I get dressed for the runway. I am wearing a red dress, the best color ever. It has a small trail and triangle cut-outs in the front. I am not really nervous. They announce my new arch-enemy, Taylor. She walks the runway with such confidence. Then they announce my name. I start to walk down the runway. I kill it. My fur looks great. Then they announce the winners. Taylor gets 2nd and I get first! I shoot a funny look at her, like saying, “I won.”

I get to go on the world trip. 

Hi, it is a day after my world trip. I have decided to stay in Rome! It is amazing, there is so much to do and see. Right now, I am at a restaurant eating pasta and pizza. I am starting to learn about their style. It is pretty good but it could be better. Believe it or not, right in front of me is Stella Jean. Ahhh! She has such a good sense of style. 

B-day Celebrations

Why do people think that the double-digit birthday is such a big deal?

You know, I’ve always wondered why people make such a big deal on the double-digit birthday. It’s just something I’ve known as a child, a thing I’ve known since I was born. Yeah. It’s like common knowledge for Americans. I think that everyone just knows it. Every child I’ve been friends with basically knows. Is it just an American thing? Honestly, for Asians, it’s more seven and 60. I mean, it is like a whole new lifeline, since you become more mature, or at least you feel more mature. As you probably know, I’m Chinese-American. My parents are Chinese, whereas I’m American. 

The Chinese way to celebrate birthdays: the first birthday party of a Chinese child takes place when he/she turns two years old. Parents celebrate a birthday by surrounding a child with symbolic items such as a toy airplane, an abacus, a flute, etc. And these items are the attempt to predict the future of the child. Likewise, seven has both positive and negative connotations in Chinese culture. For the positive side, 七 (seven) sounds like both 起 (qǐ), which means “start” or “rise,” and also 气 (qì), which means “vital energy.” Seven is also seen as a lucky number for relationships. Honestly, Americans take a liking to the birthday leading to the double-digit.

An amazingly surprising thing about Chinese birthdays is that they DON’T eat cake as we do. I know right, WHAT? But here’s the reason why: different cultures eat differently. In the Chinese way, they prefer to eat healthier things. 

Chinese people don’t really make such a big deal on their birthdays. While nowadays, young people in China celebrate their birthdays every year like in the West, traditionally, not much importance was attached to your birthday in China. After celebrating three birthdays – 30 days, one year, and six years, no birthday was given any special attention until you were 60. It’s fascinating, isn’t it?

For Chinese people, they zoom in more on the year of whichever animal, rather than the value of the year. But for Americans, they prefer to focus on the value, and what age one is turning.

Now, let’s focus on the types of Chinese years. There are many, 12, actually, based on the year that one is born. There’s the rabbit year, the tiger year, the lamb year, the monkey year, the mouse year, the horse year, the dragon year, the snake year, the dog year, the chicken year, and the pig year. I’m born in the tiger year, and so is my mom, but unfortunately, my dad’s born in the lamb (ram) year. I’ve already mentioned that I’m born in the tiger year (as is my mom), and, well, my mom has a tendency to be obstinate, as do I. So, some people carry on the traits that their animal year has captivity.  

This essay explores different ways that different cultures celebrate their birthdays, as well as how they differ from each other in each and every way. I want to make it clear that every culture has a different way of celebrating birthdays. I was hoping that this essay can give ideas on how people do things differently.

Stolen

FADE IN:

INT. HOUSE- 3 PM

JACINDA is sitting at her desk with a pencil in her hair and paperwork in front of her. Unable to focus, she turns around, and her eyes dart across the room and focus on ASHLEY. She stands up and picks up Ashley, then puts her on the desk next to her, and using a remote, turns Ashley on.

JACINDA

I have a secret. Can I trust you? No, I can’t. I mean, how do I know you won’t be hacked or… or something else. Maybe your programming’s bad and you’ll betray me. 

ASHLEY 

(crackly voice)

Oh, Jacinda. You built me so I can act as a friend. A friend has feelings, as do I. This means I can detect feelings as well. I am detecting guilt. You know you can tell me anything.

JACINDA

Thanks. I know I can talk to you, Ashley. Now if anybody finds out about this, they’ll probably die, so if I tell you, your robot life is in danger.

ASHLEY

I understand, J, but it is alright as long as your life won’t be in danger. I can protect you though, if I have to, with the lasers you made me with. 

JACINDA

No, Ashley. I don’t care if I’m dying. Under no circumstances do you use those lasers. Ok?

ASHLEY

Understood. Now, I am dying to know: What’s the secret?

JACINDA

The secret is connected to you. The way I created you was with materials. Stolen materials.

ASHLEY

What do you mean, stolen?

JACINDA

I mean stolen. As in, I took and used something that didn’t belong to me and they are probably going to hang me for it!

ASHLEY

I still don’t understand. Why would you steal? 

JACINDA

The thing is, I didn’t technically steal. More like, somebody knew that I was a scientist and dropped your parts next to my door. I used them, and a day after I built you, there was a note that got slipped under my door. It said that the parts I used to build you were stolen from the place I work in: Lab Home. After I read the letter, I checked you and your parts carefully, remember?

ASHLEY

Yes, I do.

JACINDA

Well, while I was checking you, I found a sticker with Lab Home’s initials on it and the background of us launching a rocket into space. After that, when I went to Lab Home for my regular work routine, the boss announced that parts had been stolen from the big project most of us had been conducting: a way to make a robot like you and turn them into humans.

ASHLEY

Are you sure? 

JACINDA

Positive, I was a worker on that project which means I’m one of their suspects, so sooner or later they’re going to come to my house and find you. Then I’m going to get hanged, or maybe not hanged, but seriously in trouble. 

ASHLEY

Stop with the negative attitude. Go to the boss and tell him what you just told me. If you come clean, he’ll know you didn’t do it.

JACINDA

It’s not that simple, Ashley. The person who gave me these parts is blackmailing me to not tell anybody or they’ll get hurt. That can’t happen.

ASHLEY

Well, what are you going to do about it?

JACINDA

So now I’m going to have to run. That’s the only way to guarantee everybody’s safety. Don’t you agree, Ashley?

ASHLEY

Honestly, J, I’m not sure. I mean, do you have to go? Right now, the person blackmailing you doesn’t want you to contact others. This way you’re not as strong, but it’s different when you’re with others. You, in a way, have a team.

Jacinda shakes her head and sighs, reaching for Ashley’s remote to turn her off. She then places Ashley back in the place she found her. 

INT. LAB HOME- 6 PM

VLAD, who is in charge of the human-robot project, is having a meeting with all of the members. Jacinda is staring at the floor, not wanting him to see the fear in her eyes.

VLAD

Attention, please. This is very serious. I need you to confess to stealing the parts of the human- robot project. If nobody has anything to say to me, then fine. I’m asking the security team tomorrow to go to all of your houses and search. You have nothing to hide so that’ll be fine unless… somebody might want to say something. Dismissed!

The members start murmuring amongst themselves, but none say anything to Vlad. They all start splitting up and return to their normal work.

JACINDA(V/O)

(thinking)

What am I going to do? I can’t confess, right? Yeah, I shouldn’t. Ashley’s wrong, I’m right. Ok, I need to get out of the house today. I can do that. I need to tell Vlad that I’m sick. Simple.

Jacinda stands up from her desk and approaches Vlad at his. She waits until he gets off the phone and he looks up at her.

VLAD 

(annoyed)

What do you want? I’m under enough stress with this robot-human program that I don’t need any more distractions.

Jacinda takes a tissue from his desk and blows into it. She then does a fake cough and sneezes.

JACINDA 

(whispering)

I’m sick.

VLAD

(annoyed)

Ok, fine. Go, but remember we’re going to your house tomorrow.

EXT. JACINDA’S PORCH 10 AM

Security guards are knocking at Jacinda’s door but she’s not answering. They finally decide to use a master key to open the door. There’s no latch on the door so they conclude she isn’t home.

SECURITY GUARD #1

Check this whole place and make sure she’s not hiding anything, ok?

They search her apartment but find nothing. One of the security guards, though, carefully checks the floor and finds a tile that is unlike the others. 

SECURITY GUARD #2

Hey, guys, look what I found.

He lifts it up to show a trapdoor with a basement. There is a box of Lab Home parts which are supposed to be used for the robot-human program.

SECURITY GUARD #1

Call the boss and tell him that Jacinda took the stuff. Oh also, the rest of you check for other secret compartments. We don’t want to miss anything.

SECURITY GUARD #2

Um, boss, we found out that Jacinda stole the parts, sir. Looking for more now.

VLAD

Excellent. Also, you’re getting a promotion.

Vlad sets down the phone and laughs evilly.

VLAD

Oh, my plan worked. I love it when that happens.

INT. TRUCK 12 PM

Jacinda and Ashley are sitting in the back of a truck that’s driving them to New Jersey. Suddenly though, they come to a halting stop. Jacinda hears talking and suddenly, the back door is pulled open and a police officer is standing there along with the diver who has a helpless look on his face.

POLICE OFFICER

You’re under arrest.

JACINDA

(fake shock)

Me? Why, I didn’t do anything.

POLICE OFFICER

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that. Your job, Lab Home, begs to differ. Come on, let’s go.

ASHLEY

Hello, Jacinda.

JACINDA

(Actual shock)

What? Ashley, how are you up? I didn’t turn you on.

Ashley holograms a figure in front of her. 

ASHLEY

(Vlad’s voice)

Hello, Jacinda. I see you’re in a bit of a twist now. Is this a bad time? Anyway, I just wanted to let you know who was behind the brilliant plan that got you in this mess. Any guesses?

JACINDA

Vlad? Why and how did you hack Ashely?

ASHLEY

(Vlad’s Voice)

Well, you didn’t put a strong firewall and I guess I know how to hack. For your why question, meet me at Lab Home and we can discuss it over coffee. Huh? Oh, let me take care of this police officer for you. Ashley, launch lasers.

JACINDA

No!

Jacinda hurriedly rushes to Ashley’s remote and tries to turn Ashley off. When this doesn’t work, Ashley aims her lasers toward Jacinda and fires, obliterating the remote. Ashley then turns toward the officer and fires. Barely missing him, the officer ducks and runs to the other side of the truck and takes out his walkie- talkie.

POLICE OFFICER

Help! I repeat, mayday! I’m being attacked by a robot here. All units, I repeat: help!

While this is occurring, Ashley suddenly becomes 5 times bigger and starts flying off with Jacinda. She bangs against the metal hands, only hurting herself.

JACINDA

Let me guess, hacked?

ASHLEY

(Vlad’s voice)

You are smart, now aren’t you? This means I’m going to have to take you out but I do want you to see my plan.

INT. LAB HOME 12:45 PM

Jacinda is in Vlad’s office and Big Ashley is guarding the office. Vlad approaches Big Ashley and waits as the robot steps aside. He then sits down across from Jacinda.

JACINDA

So, the reason you brought me here was to explain why you concocted this grand plan. Will you please explain?

VLAD

With pleasure. I felt you were hogging all the spotlight with your brilliant ideas. It was the only chance I got to lead the human- robot program. I then thought of a way for you to get fired from Lab Home: steal something valuable. Now I was certain of 2 things in this plan: it would work, and you would run away, leaving me with respect and applause. The part I was confused about is you didn’t run away the way I thought. I wanted you to be full of anxiety, vulnerable. Instead, you had a plan. That’s what worries me about you. Now, any questions?

JACINDA

Yeah, one. Why do you talk so much?

Vlad stands up and, not responding, approaches Big Ashley. 

VLAD

Do me a favor and take care of Jacinda, permanently!

Big Ashley nods and then roughly takes Jacinda by her arm and drags her to the Lab Home basement. When they get down there, Big Ashley pins Jacinda against the wall and warms up her lasers. 

JACINDA

Please, Ashley, don’t do this.

ASHLEY

I only take orders from Vlad. He is superior. Exterminate!

JACINDA

I’m sorry, Ashley, but I can’t let you do that. Start self destruct sequence: Password – Handles. My first name for you until I came up with a better name. Goodbye, Ashley.

ASHLEY

No, what are you- self destruct 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

ASHLEY

(Regular Ashley)

Goodbye, Jacinda.

A huge explosion sends metal flying everywhere. Jacinda covers her head to protect her from the flying debris. When the aftershock hits Jacinda, she tumbles to the ground. Picking herself up, she goes back to the floor where Vlad was and sneaks up behind him. Accidentally, she steps on a creaky floorboard.

VLAD

Is that you, Ashley? I heard an explosion and I thought it might’ve been you blowing Jacinda up.

JACINDA

Think again!

Jacinda, taking Vlad by surprise, is able to tie Vlad up and call the police to hand him over.

POLICE OFFICER

Well, would you look at that? Same people. Now then, you’re being charged for quite a few things, including attempted murder, theft, and blackmailing. 

VLAD

(Yelling)

I demand to speak with my lawyer! There’s no evidence!

JACINDA

I beg to differ, Vlad. Oh, by the way, I thought you’d like to know I’m the boss now since you’re going to prison.

VLAD

I’ll get you!

JACINDA

If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that. 

INT. JAIL CELL 7 PM

Vlad is wearing the regular orange prison suit as he lies down on his dusty bed. Wiping off the dirt, he hears a cling as the jail cell swings open with a click of the key. Not facing the person, Vlad returns to wiping his bed. A hand rests on his shoulder, making Vlad stop uneasily. Cautiously turning, he faces something hidden by the shadows. 

ASHLEY

Hello Vlad, let’s finish this. 

FADE OUT

The Isolation Experiment

Chapter I – The Isolation Experiment

The Isolation Experiment was a famous scientific test in which 5 humans were placed in large, white boxes with a chair, a bed, and a slot in which they would receive food. The goal was to test what happened if a person didn’t see anyone or anything but the room they were in for a month. To make sure that the subjects could stay active(ish), they would get to walk down the hall and back again.

Out of coincidence, or so they thought, they all met in the same place, at the same time.

Eliza and Maxwell were a mere wall away, yet never saw each other. Both began to lose their minds after a week (“People need people,” Eliza would mutter constantly).

Ally was in the next room from Maxwell, who took an approach to imagine that there were people in the room with her. She would have conversations with air that she was imagining was a person that she created. It was found that she stayed more mentally stable than the rest. Her room was next to Arianna’s, who was just surprisingly good at being alone. She would find a new way to entertain herself in a different way each day. She was the youngest of the group, being 19 at the time.

Anthony was in the first room to the right (next to Arianna), and from the first day, he tried to find a way that he could find a loophole in the experiment so that he could get some new scenery, see another person, or something else like that to maintain his sanity. Thinking about how to do one of these things was actually what kept him from going crazy, until he found out how to do it.

Chapter II – Into the Unknown

Eliza was in the farthest room on the left. Her sister, Lilian, had signed her up without consulting her first, therefore, she didn’t know until three days before the experiment had begun. Without being prepared and by being a “people person,” she fell victim to being alone immediately and began begging through the camera that she forfeit the experiment. After nobody came for a week, she lost hope and sat on her bed all day, every day, except for when she got her meals through the slot in the door and walked down the hall and back every day. She felt as if this would be her life forever, and that she would never see a face again.

That changed when the subjects met.

Maxwell signed himself up, thinking he’d be fine while being isolated from all of humanity, and, like Eliza, let loneliness get the best of him. His room was to the right of Eliza’s. He decided that it was best to just wait for the experiment to end.

Ally decided that she would sign up. She thought that if being put alone in a room would mess with her mind, she would just imagine that she wasn’t alone or that she was somewhere else. The experiment found that she was almost as mentally stable as before the experiment.

Arianna was just bored, and decided that the experiment would help her pass the time. She knew that the experiment would limit what she had to do, so she decided to keep herself busy every day with something else to do in the room.

Anthony was tricked into the experiment as a prank and just accepted to enter it, but he knew that he would do anything he could to escape or find a loophole. That’s exactly what he did. How it went down was that he used his hallway walk to change the experiment’s participants’ walk schedule so that they would all meet in the hallway at the same time. He took an alternate (and half improvised) route to the dry-erase calendar that depicted the subjects’ time in and out of the room, meal times, notes about each participant, etc. He had to find a way to not be seen by any of the lab’s cameras or anyone in the building. He erased the calendar so that everyone would be out of their rooms at the same time. He hurried back to his room and waited for the next day to come when his plan would be put into action.

Anthony’s plan would succeed and all of the experiment participants would meet at the same time, in the same place, and the experiment would be ruined.

Chapter III – Meetup in Hallway 9

The day had started like any other, and every experiment subject woke up at the same moment from a loud alarm through a speaker connected to the camera in each room. At 1:00 p.m. sharp, all of the participants began their walk. Anthony, being closest to the end of the hallway, arrived first to where all of the subjects would meet. He was quickly followed by Arianna, who gasped upon seeing him. “Another human!” she said, delighted.

Ally turned up next and froze before Anthony and Arianna, before slowly approaching them and saying, “… am I hallucinating?… !”

Maxwell was coming next, but Eliza came running from behind them, stopping abruptly when she saw other people. “The hallways are long and I’m the farthest from here… might as well run,” she said when she saw Arianna’s face.

When Maxwell made it to the end of the hall and lifted his head, his eyes widened and he said, “Hello there… ” slowly.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, loud alarms sounded from every direction. A voice echoed through the hallway. “MEETUP IN HALLWAY 9!” it screamed continuously.

“Run. My room’s the closest,” said Anthony. Everyone ran to Anthony’s room, went in, and locked the door.

“I guess we’re waiting here, then,” said Ally calmly.

“Guess so,” said Maxwell.

“We have to escape next,” said Anthony.

Chapter IV – The Tile

There were now 5 people in 1 small room with laboratory guards pounding on its locked door. The room didn’t have any openings other than the door, and for obvious reasons, it wouldn’t be the brightest idea to unlock it. There wasn’t anything to break a wall with in the room, so breaking a wall wasn’t possible. Eliza’s description fit perfectly. “Dead end,” she said.

“There must be something that people use to get out of these rooms… other than the door… ” said Eliza before her voice trailed off.

For thirty minutes, the five test subjects searched the room relentlessly for an exit. Maxwell pushed on the walls, Arianna kicked them.

“The floor… ” said Anthony slowly. “There’s a tile in the floor that’s loose. There could be something under it.”

Anthony headed to the corner of the room in which one of the floor tiles was significantly looser than the rest, being easy to pick up. Anthony did so, revealing a gaping hole. The tiles around the one that had been removed fell instantly. The hole seemed bottomless from where Anthony, Ally, Arianna, Eliza, and Maxwell were standing.

“Maybe we should drop something down fir — ” Ally began, but Arianna had already hopped down the hole.

“Is it safe?” bellowed Anthony, but by then, everyone else had stepped off the edge of the hole and was descending into the floor except for him and Eliza.

“Well then, see you at the bottom,” said Eliza before going after the others.

Anthony decided that if everyone else had gone and the guards were nearly through the door, he might as well take the only way out. “Here goes nothing.”

Chapter V – Welcome to Michigan

Anthony fell with a bang in a dark, sewage-like black tunnel. The other four were walking down the hallway it led into (well, Eliza was pretty much running again). Once everyone had made their way to the end of the hall, there was a large door. It took all five of them to open it. There was a large staircase that led to a busy highway. “What now?” asked Arianna.

“We find out where we are,” said Ally steadily. There was a sign about 200 feet away from where Ally was standing so she started walking towards it. The sign read, ‘Welcome to Michigan!’ and that there was a welcome center close by.

“Then let’s head to that welcome center,” said Anthony when he had caught up.

Arianna, Maxwell, Eliza, and Anthony trailed behind Ally to the welcome center in the distance. When they arrived, the people in the welcome center didn’t move. Probably because they were in disheveled, dirty laboratory clothing.

“Welcome to Michigan… ” squeaked a small man behind a large oak desk. Ally stepped forward.

“Look. We need a hotel. Where can we find one?” Ally said.

“The next exit on the highway,” said the man behind the desk nervously.

“Well then, farewell,” said Ally before walking out the door.

Everyone arrived at the hotel an hour later. To the five’s shock, there were a group of reporters eagerly waiting. There was a wave of  shouting from the reporters saying things like, ‘Why did you decide to escape?’ and, ‘How did you get past the laboratory’s guards?’ and, ‘Do you regret your escape?’ and with that, Ally said, “Now we face the media.”

Chapter VI – The Media

When Eliza, Maxwell, Ally, Arianna, and Anthony had been brought to the Michigan Today news tower and offered clean clothing, the questioning began. There were sleek, grey cameras everywhere, and a woman with blonde hair sitting across from the five of them.

“This is Michigan Today News and I’m Olivia Murphy with the five escaped subjects of The Isolation Experiment,” the woman said. “First question,” she said, turning to Anthony. “The Worldwide Laboratory’s cameras saw that the way you escaped was through a hole in your room’s floor. How did you think of checking under a loose tile?”

“Uh — what else were we gonna do?” Anthony responded.

“Next question is for you, Arianna,” said the newscaster carelessly.

Arianna jerked her head upwards upon hearing her name.

“You jumped into the hole first. Why did you do that before even testing it?”

“I guess if there’s a giant hole that seems to have purposely been put there, it must be safe to go down it… ” responded Arianna.

“Next question is for Eliza. Why did you decide to escape with the others?”

“If there are angry guards pounding at my door and an opportunity to get out of an experiment that is torturing me, I’m going to take it, of course,” responded Eliza angrily.

“We have to take a quick commercial break, but we’ll be back with the Isolation Experiment escapees afterwards,” said the newscaster.

Chapter VII – The Isolation Experiment (?)

The Isolation Experiment was a famous scientific test in which 5 humans were placed  in large white boxes with a chair, a bed, and a slot in which they would receive food. The goal was to put the experiment’s subjects into a psychopathic state of mind by isolating them from all other people. Either the scientists would watch them lose their minds… or they’d be a small percentage of the population that would find a way out of the experiment… through a tunnel, a welcome center, a hotel, and a news tower.

But surely, they wouldn’t figure that out.

And even if they did, how could they know it had all been planned? How would they guess that it wasn’t just good luck?

The Lab also had an extraordinary reputation. Nobody would believe that they would set up a fake experiment and have five participants agree to that while actually just mentally torturing them, it was scientists from around the world’s word versus the word of five people with no proof. This “Isolation Experiment” was going to go just as planned. They couldn’t escape.

But could they?

Chapter VIII – About the Lab…

Everything went wrong for the scientists at The Worldwide Laboratory. Their 5 test subjects were informed about the criminal plan and that there were phone calls, secret letters, and camera records proving it. They were told by an investigator that had become involved in the case. It had been in the airport that they were all set to depart back to their homes from.

“About the Lab… ” the investigator started. “… it was all a plan. They wanted to watch you all lose your minds.”

Arianna gasped slightly, but in a way, that suggested that she knew that what was said was true all along.

“They made the hole purposely… but tried to make it look like it just so happened to be there… ” Eliza said softly, apparently deep in thought, eyes staring blankly ahead.

“I could tell that it was all fake a bit… ” Maxwell began. “… but I told myself that it couldn’t be… at least it couldn’t be happening to me.”

There was an uncomfortable silence, with no sounds but the bustling of the airport in the background.

“When we all found each other at the end of that hallway, they must’ve known that we might have the wit to escape,” said Ally blankly.

“Or perhaps they made the hole for themselves to escape in case they were found out and if the lab was raided,” added Maxwell. “Anyone’s guess, honestly.”

The people in charge of The Isolation Experiment were all arrested on the spot. It was one of the most shocking scandals the world had seen at that time.

Chapter IX – The Farewell

All five of them rushed to their planes to return home, but not one of them thought that it would be the last time, because who knew what would happen next to The Isolation Experiment Escapees. They were now considered as celebrities all around the world. Their story would be told over and over, the wondrous story of The Isolation Experiment.

The Little Mushroom

One day, there was a little mushroom. This mushroom wasn’t like any other mushroom. At night, on every full moon, it would turn into a person that was neither black nor white, it was neither a boy nor a girl. If the mushroom wore a dress, it would be identified as a girl, if the mushroom wore basketball shorts with a shirt, it would be identified as a boy. The mushroom would also be granted unexplainable powers. These powers had the power to control anything it wished. It also had the power to read minds. There was only one rule to these powers. That rule was: never look at the moon. If the mushroom were to look at the moon, then the whole human race would be doomed. The mushroom would turn into a giant that wasn’t a human, but at the same time, it wasn’t a monster. It would just be a big giant that wouldn’t harm the human race but, because most of the human race is scared of what they don’t understand, they would try to kill the mushroom. That would make the mushroom mad, which would then lead to the destruction of Earth.

Hair to Fire, Fire to Hair

Hair to fire, fire to hair,

Is that truly, really fair?

Look at those fancy candles at the restaurant,

I better bend over, ‘cause I think I see a croissant.

Now it’s hair to fire, fire to hair,

Is that truly, really fair?

Now lets pretend its not even there,

‘Cause it’s hair to fire, fire to hair.

Look at that fancy tablecloth,

Bend over to slurp up, with your mouth, some broth.

Mama is screaming,

“I’m sorry, I know that’s not polite.”

And then I realize that the tablecloth is alight.

‘Cause it’s hair to tablecloth, tablecloth to hair.

Is that truly, really fair?

City of the Forgotten People

Introduction: Katherine Smith

I’m in a forest, a canopy of trees covers me from the pelting rain. The wind whistles in my ears and tousles my hair. I feel calm and free, yet there’s something unsettling about this place.

To my left is a hill rising up to about 40 ft. It is covered in cruncy, brown grass and wilting flowers. At the top of the hill is a lone tree. It is being pulled in a tug of war between falling & staying upright. 

To my right is a vast extent of forest & greenery. Behind me, there is more forest. 

Ahead of me is a large building with a tower on one side. I take a small step forward. Suddenly, the wind picks up & it somehow rains even harder. The small tree on the hill snaps as an unexpected bolt of lightning hits it on the trunk. Slowly, a figure silhouetted against the horizon comes into view from over the hill. He or she, I can’t tell, walks hurriedly towards me.

“Go,” a deep voice bellows from the darkness. “Go & run, it’s coming for you. Go, hurry.” This time, the voice is higher. I recognize it, it’s my mom’s.

Chapter 1: Katherine Smith                                                                    

I wake up when I fall out of my bed. It hurts, but it at least wakes me from my nightmare. I look around. I’m in my bed, or at least next to it. There is no wind blowing & I can’t see that creepy person anymore. Although, I can still hear that voice.       

“Go, hurry, it’s coming for you.” Suddenly, Mom bursts in through the door. “Go, hurry, the school bus, you’ll be late.” 

 I jump up from the uncomfortable wood floor of my room and, as my mom leaves, close the door behind her.

 I fling open my closet door and grab the first thing I see; jeans, an old, faded t-shirt that used to be my older sister’s, & some tennis shoes. I get dressed and then head to the bathroom.

 I look at myself in the mirror. I’m a relatively short girl with bronze eyes and perfect, gleaming, white teeth. Most people say I’m pretty but some people say I’m special. Grandma says it’s my eyes. “There’s something about them, sugar plum,” she always says. My dad says it’s my hair. He says my mom’s special, too. 

I run down the hall & into the kitchen. There, Mom has laid out my breakfast & is now in as much of a hurry as me. “Bye, Mom,” I call as I grab two blueberry scones (one for someone special), and race out the door.

“Wait!” Mom calls after me. “Don’t forget this.” I turn around just in time to catch the backpack hurdling at me. 

“Bye!” I call. (Hopefully for the last time.)

I see the bus starting to pull away from the curb & in one last attempt not to miss it, throw a book at it. I miss it completely. I guess extra P.E. isn’t paying off. 

Well, I might as well ask Mom to drive me… again. As I walk back towards my blue & black two-story house, I take one last look at the school bus pulling away into oncoming traffic & freeze in mid-step. 

The bus driver must have seen me because she stops the bus stops & pulls it back to the curb. She rolls down the driver side window & calls, “You’re lucky I’m used to this, Ms. Smith, otherwise you would have been late”. 

“Thank you, Mrs. T,” I reply gratefully. I hand her one of the scones. 

“No one is quite like you, Katherine.” She sighs. The bus pulls away from the curb for the last time with me safely aboard. Not with my book, though.

I head towards the back of the bus, looking for a specific person. “Kat!” calls a familiar voice. 

“Peyton!” I feel like shouting, instead, I just walk calmly towards her & sit in the seat next to her. 

Peyton is an average height twelve-year-old. She has shoulder-length blonde hair, muscular body, & a dazzling smile. Peyton Bell is my best friend & has been since third grade even though we are total opposites. She is outgoing, I’m a little shy. I’m very smart, she is… well… she focuses on things like sports. 

We only have one thing in common; we have a nemesis, Arthur Morris. Peyton has a nickname for him, Slime Ball. Peyton is incredibly athletic & could beat Arthur in a fight any day. Not that she would, she follows rules. 

When we are about halfway to school, we feel a kick on the back of our seats. I groan in frustration & Peyton spins around, holding my book high over her head. “Hey, where did you get that”? I ask. 

“Oh, this?” asks Peyton, holding out the book. “When you threw it, you didn’t miss completely, it just didn’t hit the bus. Instead, it kind of went by my window that happened to be open. I caught it. You can have it, if you want.” 

“Please!” I reply, grabbing the book.

 There is another kick on our seats. An annoying voice says, “Hey, girls.” Arthur says the word like it tastes bad on his tongue. “I bet Kat over here will miss the bus tomorrow.” 

“Be quiet, Slime Ball,” says Peyton. “Or I’ll punch your teeth out.” 

“No, you won’t.” He shakes his head disapprovingly, as if daring her to. He’s right, Peyton would never touch him, let alone hurt him. 

Arthur returns his attention to whatever he was doing before he annoyed us. Peyton turns to me. “The nerve of him!” 

At least we won’t get bothered for the rest of the ride. I think.

Chapter 2: Katherine Smith

I groan as our math teacher drones on & on about division. “… opposite of multiplication… 124 divided by 4… ”               

It’s not that I hate math, it’s just that this teacher, Mr. Jones, makes it hard to like. Not only is it boring, but we learned division in fourth grade. This is why we call Mr. Jones, Mr. Drones.

My desk is next to the window. This window is all that keeps me from falling asleep. It’s too bright. Peyton sits behind me. It’s easier to pass notes without getting caught. In front of me is an empty desk. Next to me is a girl named Louissa Keene. She is one of those people who is always in everyone’s business.  

Louissa is nice enough, even if she’s a smart aleck. She seems to know most of the people in our big school. I wonder if she knows who Peyton & I are. Even though we sit less than 10 feet away from her, she has never once looked our way. 

I’m drifting off when the bell rings! Free, free, free! I think. Then I realize it’s the lunch bell. I groan & look at Peyton. She also groans & has a defeated look on her face. 

Peyton, my fellow classmates, & I walk out of the classroom in what is probably supposed to be a line but that looks more like a blob. We sixth graders are too cool for lines.

Today, Peyton brings her usual lunch, a ham & cheese sandwich with a caesar salad from the school salad bar. I have a blueberry smoothie and a hard-boiled egg. Peyton calls her lunch, “The usual.” I call my lunch… well, actually, I don’t call my lunch anything. Peyton is weird. 

As we settle down & start eating, I decide to tell Peyton about my dream. She may be a little weird, but she is a very loyal best friend. 

“Hey, Peyton, can I tell you something?” I ask. 

“It better not be about Natalie cracking your phone again,” she smiles, “because you know I’m not beating her up for you. She scares me, you know.” Natalie is my 16-year-old sister. She looks exactly like me, except she has three ear piercings. 

“No,” I say flatly. “This is not about Natalie, it’s about me.” 

“Really? That’s a first.”

“Look,” I say, wanting to get to the point, “last night, I had a dream… ” I tell her the whole story, and when I’m done, Peyton is not laughing, she is not even smiling. 

I look at her. “Well?” I ask. She looks like she just saw a ghost. 

“Ummm, Kat, what will you say if… ” 

“What!” I urge. 

“What will you say if I tell you that I also had that dream last night.” 

“I’d say you’re yanking my chain.” 

“And what if I’m not yanking your chain.” My mouth hangs open. I can tell, Peyton isn’t lying.

Chapter 3: Peyton Bell

It’s 4:00 PM & Kat & I are at my house. Mom drove us over here when school let out. Kat & I barely talked all day but now we are determined to get this whole “dream thing” sorted out. We go to the living room & throw ourselves on the couch; me lying on it belly up & Kat dangling over the edge. 

Even though it’s my house, Kat comes here so often that it’s practically like she has two houses. My house is considerably larger than Kat’s house, even if Kat has more people living in her house than I do. I have more siblings than her. They are in college right now, two twins, Allie & Monica, who just started, & Justin, who would be done but wants to become a doctor.  

“So, Peyton, what’s the deal with this?” asks Kat.

My first instinct is to say: “I’m sure there is an explanation for this.” Instead, I say, “Kat, there is something really weird going on, I know it’s not normal. I researched it on my phone on the bus & nothing came up explaining it.” 

“Okay, we just need to think. Was what I told you the exact same as what you experienced?”

“Exact, word for word, the same,” I tell her. 

“Wait.” She speaks so suddenly that she falls off the couch, her backpack hitting her on the head. When she climbs back on the couch, she has an excited look on her face. “We could ask around the school to see if anyone also had that dream.” I wanted to say that it was too risky, but when Katherine Smith has an idea, she will rarely back down. 

“It might be too risky, but maybe if we ask the right people… ” At that moment, the doorbell rings. 

Mom yells, “Can you get that, honey”? 

“Sure,” I yell back. “I wonder who it is,” I say, 

“Maybe the mailman,” Kat says. 

“No,” I reply. “He only comes in the morning, & even if he did, he wouldn’t ring the doorbell.” 

“Well, do you have a better idea?” Kat says, annoyed. 

“It could be a vampire,” I offer.

“Oh please,” Kat says. I run past her & open the door. 

“Who is it?” Kat asks, 

“A vampire,” I say, just to get on her nerves. 

Actually, it’s Arthur. He is standing awkwardly on the porch, the wind is blowing his hair into his eyes. He’s carrying a tray with cookies. “Hi, Slime Ball, what’s with the cookies?” I ask, trying not to look surprised. Never in my life would I expect to find Arthur Morris on my porch. 

“My mom made me bring them.” He looks more miserable than the time he forgot all his lines in the school play. He was considered a loser by all his friends for a week. “She found out I was coming here & made me do it. I really need to talk to you guys, though.” 

“And why would you come here in the first place?” asks Kat. She has recovered from her annoyance & is standing next to me. 

“Trust me, it’s important.” 

I am wary of him, I don’t want to make a fool of myself in my own house. The cookies make me think twice, though, & I let him in.

“So,” I say. “What do you need to tell us?” I sit down in my dad’s favorite chair & Kat sits next to me, on the beanbag chair. My dog, Cinnamon, jumps on her lap. 

Cinnamon & Kat have always had a special relationship. Of course, he loves me too, after all, he is my dog, but they are just really good friends. 

Arthur stands awkwardly in the middle of the living room, looking like when I had first seen him on the porch.

 “Sit,” I say. He does, setting the tray of cookies on his lap. Cinnamon bounds over & sniffs the tray curiously. “Don’t let him get those,” I warn. 

Once we are settled, (and once Cinnamon leaves the room), I cut to the chase. “Now can you please tell us what’s going on here?” 

He does. “I overheard you in the cafeteria, talking about that dream, well, I had that dream, too.” I expected something weird, but this… 

“Oh my gosh,” breathes Kat.

We all sit there in silence, I can hear everyone’s hearts beating. Even Cinnamon, who has poked his head back into the room, has enough sense to know that something strange is going on. He walks into the room, pausing just long enough to sniff the tray of cookies, & plops down on the floor by my feet. 

I decide to break the silence but have no idea what to say. Suddenly, I remember something from my dream. It’s not very vivid, but I know it happened.

 “Did you happen to see a bird in your dream?” I ask them. 

“Not that I remember,” says Kat. 

“Actually, yes,” says Arthur, “A big bird, flying right above me.” 

“Yeah, that’s right. Kat, you really didn’t see it?” 

“Nope.” 

“Interesting,” I respond.

We think for several tense minutes, searching our minds for anything else we can remember. Finally, Kat can’t take it anymore. 

“Are we positive we’re even forgetting anything?” 

“No, nothing,” replies Arthur. 

“Same, I remember everything,” I say. 

“I didn’t say are we positive we aren’t forgetting anything, I said are we positive we are even forgetting anything. We could know everything & we are just not able to connect the dots,” Kat said.

“I suppose — ” I’m interrupted by Arthur. 

“We are all such big idiots. While we’ve been wasting our time trying to figure out all this junk, it’s been right under our noses.” 

I sigh. “What’s been right under our noses, Arthur?” 

“The answer!” He’s really excited now. “I think we are being controlled by Aliens.” 

Chapter 4: Arthur Morris

Katherine & Peyton stare at me like I’m crazy. “… umm,” says Peyton, “you know Aliens aren’t real. Right?” 

“That’s what everyone thinks, but they’re out there alright. I know it.” 

“I think people are secretly testing on us at night,” says Katherine. 

“And you think my idea is stupid,” I mutter. 

“Actually, it’s totally possible,” replies Kat. “It’s just not as likely as my theory.” 

I roll my eyes. There isn’t much I can say to that

Peyton clears her throat. “Do you want to hear my theory?” Before either of us respond, she says, “I think Vampires have something to do with this”. 

“Vampires!?!” I say, alarmed. At the same time, Kat says, 

“What is with all this Vampire stuff!?!” Peyton laughs. 

“Relax. I’m just messing with you guys. Why so on edge?” 

“Maybe because there is supernatural activity going on in our brains. If you had a brain, maybe you wouldn’t have made such a stupid joke.”

With most people, saying that sentence would be like wearing red while a bull was around, but it just made Peyton laugh harder. “I was just trying to get on Kat’s nerves.”

All of a sudden, Cinnamon jumps up. He goes over to a certain area by the wall and starts sniffing vigorously. His tail isn’t wagging. Instead, it is sticking straight out, and his ears are too.

“Is he ok?” Kat looks worried. She and I look at Peyton expectantly. Peyton doesn’t respond. She looks even more worried than Kat, but she tries to hide it.

Finally, she whispers, “Shhh.” We stay there, listening. All we can hear is our own ragged breathing and Cinnamon’s soft whines. Then, all together, we take a sharp breath in. 

I can hear something. It’s faint, but it’s there all right. A soft hum, no louder than a bee’s buzzing. It gets louder and louder until finally, we don’t have to concentrate to be able to hear it. Suddenly, a bright blue light shines from where Cinnamon is standing. 

He gets knocked over, but hops right back up and is alright. He comes over to Peyton. She grabs him and holds him tight. When we look back at the spot the light had been, a blue and green oval has opened up. 

“What is that, a portal?” asks Kat. 

“I-I think so,” I respond. I’m not really paying attention to the portal itself, though, but what is through it. I can’t see much, but from what I can tell, there is a building, about 15 stories high, with a lot of windows. There are a few shapes moving around, but they are hard to make out. 

I get a very brief look at a tree-like object before Peyton and Kat start screaming. Soon, I start screaming too because I can feel myself getting sucked inside the portal. 

To be continued…   

City in the Sky

Ch. 1

Dale and Artemis walked through the entrance. They were here in Steam City for Dale and Art’s work as journalists. A quote from one of his co-workers rang in his head: “Once they go to Steam City… well, they either don’t come back, or they come back almost, brainwashed. It’s almost like they encode their brains or something. Good luck, mate.” 

“When we get some information on The City, we can leave. Hopefully, what Steve said was a lie,” Dale said cheerfully.

A hand tapped on his back. Instinctively, Artemis ducked down and swung her leg to swipe the attacker off their feet. 

“Whoa!” The guard fell down to the ground. “Jeez!” The helmet rolled off his head to show a young man, about 30 years old. On his armor was a small tag that said #56.

“You’re new here. Don’t stay here too long! They’ll get to you. Don’t let them get to your brain. I’ve grown up seeing everyone like this. It’s not what you think. They don’t let us out of The City. I haven’t even seen the sky in my life! My name is Clyde.”

“Whoa, buddy! Maybe try saying that a little slower.” 

“They encode the citizens’ brains. I’m resistant to mind control. You need to run. They can’t find me talking to you.”

“How do you know we can trust him?” Artemis said accusingly. 

“You might want to hide the baby, too,” Clyde said. 

“It is our job to report things, even if we don’t have any concrete evidence. We have to do this,” Dale reminded. 

“Welcome to Steam City. Here in The City, we strive to make each and every one of our citizen’s happy. We have specifically designed every detail for our citizens’ benefit, and they are helping us, too. We hope you have a great time in our industrial utopia!” the speaker boomed in an automated voice all across the steel-plexiglass streets. Some children all of the same size were air biking, the exact same speed, in the exact same line. The baker walked through the street. A platinum-laced aerotrain showed up beside him. 

“You have been walking so, so long, sir. Are you sure you don’t want to ride on our aerotrain?” a person who you couldn’t tell was a man or woman with a blue and silver mask, symbolising that they were a train conductor, asked. 

“Yes, Conductor. I am thankful you came.” 

“It is fine, kind sir. This job pays very well.” The conductor held up a small graphite-gold coin. “I get paid 1 graphite piece every day! I love this job.” 

“I see we have some tourists. Welcome!” 

“Dale, I’m starting to think that guard guy was right,” Artemis muttered under her breath. 

“I don’t trust this, either,” Dale replied back.  

“I wouldn’t recommend being unhappy here. Things will start to go wrong.” The train veered off track and into a donut shop on the left side of the street. 

“Take Nathan and run!” The man ran across the street and almost to the wall. A single tear dropped down his cheek. 

“I’m sorry, Nate. I can’t take you with me. Try to survive.” He left the baby on the doorstep of a silver pod-house near the wall, saying a final goodbye. He quietly slipped under the silver wall. 

[Camera #21, broadcasting to Guard #56]

Now that Dale had left the child in his hands, he promised he would not let it down. Clyde decided he should have started what Dale and Art hadn’t finished, and began investigating what went on in the chamber hall where the counsellor decided what to do with the city.

[Camera #21, broadcasting to Guard #56]

“What is this corruption?!” a sharp and icy voice called from the chamber hall. 

“I’m sorry, sir, the prisoners escaped! The child and mother died in the crash. The man escaped.” 

“Impossible,” the white haired counselor sneered. “No one can escape this place.” 

“It’s assumed that he had help. From a guard named Clyde.” 

The counselor opened a digi-book, and skimmed through the pages. 

“Clyde… hmm… found it! Men, find Guard 56 and bring him to me! Remember, if it isn’t in order, it doesn’t belong. Unite through submission!”

Upon hearing this, the guard who had been spying on the meeting hastily ripped his number tag radar off and hid it in a spot far away. Now they would never be able to find him.

He would begin a new life, assume a new identity, and play by new rules.

Ch. 2

“Get back here!” The wind rushed in Nathan’s spiky hair as he raced through the plexiglass streets of Steam City, which used to be known as Vancouver. His beaten navy blue jacket and black and white edge corp games t-shirt billowed like a sail in the wind. The Chrometanium plated guards had their eyes locked on a shiny plastic object in Nathan’s hand. Nate hooked his hands on the hard exoskeleton guard mech suits, and hooked his jacket like a zipline along the power cords above the city. The guards clenched their fists and cables shot out of their wrists. The cables caught his jacket, and he lurched forward onto the ground. Nate was cornered. 

“Hand over the treats, kid! You got nowhere to run now.” 

“Who said anything about running?” He stomped on the left side of the storm drain, shifting its weight, and ultimately causing it to open. He landed with a splash in the drains of Steam City. 

“Ten steps forward… eight steps right… three steps forward. Five steps left. Ten steps forward… here!” He scrambled up a ladder right above a pod house, of which he was sure to be his. He carefully untwisted the hatch that would lead to the food storage area in his tiny apartment.

When he opened the hatch, he was blinded by bright yellow walls and an electroplate. An old lady snored on a massage chair in the corner of the room. He carefully backed down the ladder and retraced his steps. 

“Stupid! Hmm, what was it. Oh! It was ten steps left and five steps forward!” He slowly made his way to the correct hatch, and into his home. 

“I brought snacks!” he called from the food cellar. Nate’s house consisted of five main parts. The food cellar was underground, or, technically speaking, under-pod-floating-over-ground. The kitchen was the fanciest room, consisting of a marble floor and an oven. On the countertop on the side, there was a microwave with a heat and cool setting. Clyde, Nate’s adoptive guardian, was sitting at the countertop on an old computer he had salvaged from a construction site. He greeted Nate with the usual refrain when he came back from getting food.

“Jeez, Nate! Please at least try to fit in! If we get found out then — ” 

“The chancellor will find us and brainwash us to be zombies that he can control to his pleasure and ultimately our old selves will be erased from history, yada, yada, yada. I know!” Nate said quickly. Clyde’s mood lightened. 

“But… I guess it’s worth it. You really know how to run! What’d you get this time?” He looked at the box.  

“Jones box with rice and extra tamarind sauce? You know me, kid! What did you get yourself?” 

Nate replied, “Chicken Curry,” he said. They walked to the counter and began to indulge in a feast.

***

Midnight… a knock sounded at the door… Nate got up from his makeshift bed and creeped down the stairs. They found me. He quietly opened the door, making sure they didn’t see him. He hid on the underside of the door. 

“Tell us where the child is and we’ll leave you in peace. The chancellor will make you happy. He will make you both happy.” 

“Never! You’ll never get Nate. I believe that he can liberate this city. He can liberate all the cities.” Liberate the cities?! I can’t do that. I’m just a kid! There isn’t anyone like me… is there? 

“Wait, I sense something. There! Behind the door!” Clyde blinked a message in their secret language that they would use in case of an emergency. He said, 

“Run. Don’t worry about me. I’ll handle this. Go.” Nate jumped up on top of the guards and soared onto the bed which suspended from the ceiling. He quickly hefted the plexi-glass frame off the window next to the bed and leaped out. He felt like he was flying — until he landed on top of an electrical pole next to a tall building. All those years of training has prepared me for this moment.  He clenched his fists and a shock came through his gloves. Luckily, almost everything in the city was made of metal, so it wasn’t a problem leaping from building to building and climbing walls. What was a problem, though, was the huge jump in front of him. 

“You’re cornered.”

Nate panicked, not knowing what to do. 

***

“The chancellor will see you soon.” Oh no… this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have been so reckless. Stupid Nathan! Focus on getting out of here! He scanned the area for an opening. I still have my magnet gloves in my pocket, but they’re out of battery. Well, it’s worth a shot. A warden came to deliver food. The gruel on the plate looked disgusting, and Nathan did not want to eat it. He pulled his gloves out of his pocket and slipped them on. When the warden put his metal mech-suit glove into the food slip, Nate quickly reached for his hand and pulled hard. The warden’s suit helmet clanged across the bars, making him fall to the ground. They say the suits can custom change the interior to fit whatever size… it’s worth a shot. He struggled to get the suit on, with so many complex parts, but when he managed to fit it on, nobody knew it was him. He clenched his fist, trying the suit’s mechanics out. A cable shot out and wrapped around the warden. He picked the person up and locked him in the cell where he’d recently been.

“Oh no! That boy just escaped! Get him!” 

Nathan tried his best to impersonate the steel-faced warden. Almost immediately, the guards flocked out of the door. He strode down the streets of Steam City, knowing he couldn’t get caught. Once he reached the wall, he tried to get through, but the guards stopped him.

“ID card, please?” they asked in unison. 

“I can arrest you if I wanted to — ” Nate was cut off by the guards. 

“Rule number 85 page 56 paragraph two clearly states that guards can not be arrested. Impostor.” Oh no. RUN! He clenched his fist, and a sign that said, “No More Cable,” appeared on the screen attached to his left arm. I don’t still have that glove, do I? What if I did the magnetic boom with the metal hand… 

“Huh!” He slammed his glove upon the interior of the suit. The suit started to give out a small magnetic signal. It may have not been strong enough, but it was enough to scale the high wall. 

“Get him!” they called in unison. They shot cables out of their fists and grappled up to his height. Nate tried everything, but nothing came as a solution. He even activated a peanut dispenser in the helmet! He clenched his fingers, hoping for something to happen. This suit has CLAWS?! A pair of retractable claws shot out of the fingertips of the arm. I wonder… 

He sliced at the cables aimed straight towards him. It sliced through them like butter. 

“Yah!” He pulled himself over the wall. “I’m free-aaah!” Free. Free but tumbling. Is this the end? His life flashed before his eyes. “Oof!” He landed in a junk pile next to a run down old store, which what was left of the sign said “Mac / onalds”.  

A creature that he couldn’t tell was Fox, Squirrel, or Seal trotted up to him. 

“Hey there, buddy… you must’ve become like this from the radiation, huh? These suits can block the poisonous air, so…” He picked up a helmet that had fallen down from the wall, and it fit right on the “furreal,” which sounded a lot like Surreal. “Hey, Surreal… do you want to come with me?” The Furreal wagged its bushy flipper tail and nuzzled his suit. “Come on… we have some cities to liberate.” They walked hours and hours through the wasteland, and they were both getting tired. The water and food supply stored in both of their helmets had run out and you could hear their stomachs growling from a mile away. “So… tired…” Nate moaned. “Wish there were people… ah!” He let out a weak groan as he and Surreal were hoisted into the air by some kind of trap. It was made of a metal cage that seemed to shock them every few second. By the second shock, they passed out.

***

Nate opened his eyes. Where am I? Surreal?! He scanned around for his pet and found him on the other side of the room. There was a cool breeze, and a flickering light hung above a sort of scrap lab. In a makeshift door next to him, he heard voices saying, 

“The suit looks as if it was from the Steam City Unit.” A girl’s voice that sounded like it was Australian came from the other room. 

“What would a Steam City Guard be doing out here in Parallel City scraps?” a male voice said.  Parallel city?! Surely they couldn’t have walked that far! It seemed as if they were children, but he couldn’t be sure.

“What should we do with him?” a high-pitched voice asked.

“Leave him be, once he wakes up, we can interrogate him.”

“Help! Anyone!” Nate screamed at the top of his lungs, dehydrated. Four people shot out of the other room. The girl had long, raven hair with highlights of magenta that shot out only in the back, and piercing, steel eyes that could cut through diamonds. A boy with dark skin, and hair that looked like fields of chocolate shaved on one side stood behind his chair. He had two big round glasses on his head and wore a knitted, wooly sweater. Two children, a boy and girl, who looked as if they were of East Asian descent, stood on his right side. They looked like they were twins, but he couldn’t be sure. 

“Stop screaming like a baby. What even is a Steam City unit guard doing out in the scraps? Why are you also harboring a mutant?” Diamond Eyes said fiercely. 

“I swear, I’m not a guard! I’m just a kid!”

“Oh no, no, no, no no. We might catch his mind control virus!” Field Hair headed for the door.

“The control isn’t contagious.” The girl twin squeaked. 

“He could mind control us through the suit.” The boy piped. 

“Wait! No! This is complicated… I’m not affected, can’t you see?!” Diamond eyes shot a disbelieving glance at him. “Let’s do a test… the mind controlled always does what they’re told.” She picked up a matchbox, and struck a match. She handed it to Nate. “Go light that trash pile on fire.” Nate knew the obvious decision, but he decided to have fun with it. He slowly walked to the trash pile, and said, 

“Yes, master,” in a robotic voice. Right as he was about to drop it, he turned around, and said 

“Nope. I got you, didn’t I?”

Diamond rolled her eyes. “Fine… you’re like us, and now you’re one of us,” she quickly muttered, 

“Oh, this is going to be a pain.”

Black Magic

Hi, my name is Anthea. I’m also a furry. I’ve always wanted to go to school, but because of my powers, I cannot. My parents say my powers are dangerous. My powers are teleportation, invisibility, and I can make explosions. I want to go to school to find something to control my powers so they won’t be dangerous anymore. I live in a poor village, so I cannot find school in the village around my town. I’m thinking of changing my name so that I can go to school. I would have my cousin take my place. By the way, my cousin’s name is Athena. I need to talk to my parents. If I can go to my friend Jamie’s house, she’s the only one in our village who has a computer, I could find a magic school. That would be great. There are a lot of stories of me destroying things.

One time, I tried helping people fix their house but I ended up breaking it. I don’t want to get rid of my powers, I just want to make them useful. My cousin and I have our own unique qualities. But in singing, we are both good. My cousin and I have always been wanting to go to school, so she wouldn’t mind taking my place. I would have to be escaping at nighttime. Jamie and my cousin are going to help me escape. I’ll be taking the bus to Athens, Georgia. 

Jamie is helping me pack my things to go. 

“Anthea, are you sure you want to do this?” asks Jamie.

“Anthea, you can always stay here with us,” Athena says. 

“It was our dream, Athena, I want to go,” I say. 

We are saying our goodbyes. I know my cousin is sad but she is also happy that our dream is coming true. I know I’m making the right choice. What scares me is when we get there I won’t know anybody. But luckily, Jamie got me some tickets for a hotel. Dark Side and I have been saving up money since we were little to go to school. So I’ve got my college fund money. Sadly, I do not know what my parents are thinking. Dark Side does have an open mouth, so she’ll probably tell my parents that I left. Tomorrow will be a new day and I will register myself for power school. 

I’m going to my hotel and it looks gorgeous. Now I have to go to bed and make sure my next day will be awesome. 

I wake up this morning and I’m getting dressed to register myself for school. I can’t believe my dream is coming true. I’m going to prepare myself a bagel and cream cheese. Going out and seeing Georgia is beautiful. I’m taking the bus to the school cause it’s a mile away from my hotel. Seeing the school is amazing. It’s big and pretty. Looks like the school is very old. When I go inside the school, it is really big. It looks more like a ballroom. The principal of the school asks me what I’m doing here. I tell him I’ve come here to register myself. He’s glad and gives me a tour. After that, he asks me if I have powers. I agree and tell him I have powers. I’ve come on the weekend, so there is no one really there, except himself. I notice he is fixing the place. And I ask him if I can help. So the principal and I mop the floor, fix the chairs, and fix his office. 

After fixing his office, he tells me to come on Monday, and that I will make some really good friends.

Jamie has always taught me to be confident in myself with my dreams. So after getting out of the school, I go shopping for school supplies. Dark Side recently told me from Jamie’s computer that she’s going to school in New York, which is not that far by car from where we live. I’m really happy for her; she’ll be sending me a photo or an anime drawing. Jamie gave me money for school supplies before I left. I thanked her.

It’s Monday now, now I’m going to school. I’ve already made a friend. I bet Jamie would like her as well. Dark Side would be happy as well. Her name is the opposite of ours, Sunshine. And her sister is Light Side. I recently met a girl who worked in a pet shop, and she showed me a picture of a bunny.

The bunny was really cute and fluffy. She said she would give it to me for free and I was really glad to hear the news, because the bunny was really cute. I would have it in a cage, get a phone, and send a picture to Dark Side. I would name the bunny Fluffy. 

But getting back to school, it’s really hard. Today we are going to see what extra powers we have, are they legendary or common? I hope my powers are legendary. But this bully named Chloe and her assistant Lila always bother me and think that my powers will be common. My cousin thinks I’m gonna find a boy and get married. But I told her to stop telling me that, but she did tell me that my parents were happy but sad. At least I’m calmer now that she’s told me this because I know how my parents think. But there is a cute boy named Alexander. But I won’t focus on him — I have to focus on my studies.

Now we’re going outside to a field to see what our powers will be. First, it’s Sunshine. She gets a legendary– a guardian angel. And her sister is a nature fairy. While Chloe and Lila are common demon bunnies. When I hear the news that I’m the legendary person in my class, I am so happy. My powers are a griffin that can read minds. Even though Chloe knows I can read her mind, she still intends to do bad tricks on me. But I really don’t care.

I’ll describe Chloe for you. Blonde hair, blue eyes, yellow jacket, and a striped shirt. And she always tries to act like she’s the boss of everyone. She, too, likes Alexander. Whenever she sees him, she always acts so crazy. But I just ignore her. Though I do have a friend who’s a boy, as well. His name is William. He is a really kind friend; he is also legendary. His powers are a fire guardian. Just the opposite of Sunshine.

All four of us are going to have a sleepover, over at Sunshine’s house. It’s going to be really fun, I will bring some chips and Doritos. She says we are going to watch the movie Deadpool. But William disagrees. Soon enough, it’s going to be half of the year. Cause I entered in half of the year. But since there are three more years to go, I’m really happy. Tomorrow’s lesson is going to be about: can you fly or not? I think I can fly, cause griffins fly. Sunshine and Light Side can definitely fly. I don’t know about William, though. There’s this new boy going into school with us. His name is Felix. But I feel something suspicious about him. My cousin is enjoying her time there. I didn’t know that Jamie’s there, as well. 

The sleepover turns out really fun. Her mom is really fun and her house is beautiful. William tells us at night that he likes Sunshine. But luckily she is not there when he says it. We both tell him to tell her so it won’t be too late. Later that night, we do Truth or Dare, and I ask William truth or dare. And not wanting to do a dare, he says truth. So I ask him: who does he like? And he says that he likes Sunshine. But this time, she is there. She is surprised but happy. She doesn’t know what to say, so we continue on. Then they do a truth or dare on me. And I say dare. And they make me sing my least favorite song, Kiki, and play my least favorite video game, Fortnite! I don’t know why, but I do it. But I’m fine. So I do a truth or dare on Sunshine. Sunshine says dare. So I make her do something embarrassing: act like she’s a grandma and help her sister burp. And Light Side ends up burping. It’s really funny. But we keep on. Then, it’s Light Side’s turn. William asks Light Side truth or dare, and she picks truth. So William asks her. But he knows that she already does this.

“Is it true that you used your poo as hair gel?” says William. Embarrassed, Light Side says yes.

***

It’s been three years now since the sleepover. We’ve had many since then. It’s almost prom and I’m really happy. But I don’t know what to wear and who to go with. Alexander recently asked me out, but I didn’t respond. I don’t know what to say. But today I’m saying yes. 

It’s later. So now we’re going together. My only fear is my dress. So Sunshine and Light Side are taking me out to buy a dress. And after that I am going to send a picture to Dark Side. Dark Side has actually agreed to meet me at the airport, cause I asked her where she’s going to live for the rest of her life. And she said here, where we live. I was sad but told her the honest truth: I was going to stay in Georgia. She was really sad, but still, everything came with benefit.

Prom is fun, they have cake, a chocolate fountain, and Alexander and I are prom king and queen. This year has gone by so fast, it’s already graduation time. During the year, I have earned money so that I can bring my family over. I buy tickets so that my friend, my cousin, and my parents can come over. They all start new lives here. My cousin gets a good-paying job. And my parents have enough money for retiring. I start a family. My kids get powers like me, but they get a better future ahead of them and they have a better hold of their powers. We’re just a big family and we’re happy in our lives right now.

A Kid Can Face War

The Holocaust was a war that broke out, and at that time, our mother found out that children were going to be taken. She was told by one of her closest friends, whose name was Maria, and she told my mother,

“I heard from my husband that kids five and up will be fighting.”

Our mother was very shocked and scared. She was acting very nervous because she knew what was going to happen. At that time, my mom told Maria she didn’t think it was true. Maria also had a son who was one year older than me and we were best friends. That was before war, though soldiers had later taken his life, and when I found out about his death. I was sad and upset because I couldn’t help him.

I still remember the date of the war starting, it was September 1st, 1939. My friend died in October. I’ve forgotten the date, though. I remember I was scared for my life when I was holding my first gun. I didn’t even know how to use a gun at the time. It felt like I was holding 100 iron bars to me because I was young and weak, now a gun to me is light like a feather. The leather on my gun was the only thing comfortable for me at the time. Seeing how old the other kids were, I thought that maybe I should just be bait for them, but I was also terrified of getting killed. I helped around more, though, because we would find abandoned war houses and I healed the men there even if I was only six at the time. I did experience a lot of things, and we had to be careful because there could be German soldiers there. 

When I treated my first soldiers I was horrified and I asked myself, Am I being punished? Why did you send me here, mother? I was traumatized, but I knew that I had a job. When I healed men, I would have to either use water and medicine or kill them if they couldn’t make it. Killing them was the hardest option for me because I wanted people to live, but it was war so I couldn’t do anything. I remember wishing I was older so that I could be like the rest of the kids and that I could be able to do more.

I think I did get hurt about two times. The first time, I was kicked and punched by a soldier, it was painful because it was my face and my stomach and I remember feeling the hardness of the shoe. The second time was when I was shot for the first time. I thought I was going to die right there. I was crying from all the pain and that I couldn’t say bye to my mom. I saw light. I thought I was done but I was lucky and got saved by one of my fellow soldiers. I remember asking him,

“Can I say bye?”

He stood quietly. I love telling this story and will keep telling it until I’m old. I wish that this world could be a more peaceful place and that wars could end.

Being a Gumball

CELIA

Hello, my name is Celia Ballington… and I am a gum ball. But I am not any gum ball; I was 2 when I fell out of the gumball dispenser onto the floor. However, I was caught in a bucket of toxic left under the dispenser because they hired people to clean the mall; there was a strange toxic disease in the pipes, but it made me immortal.

Scene 1

Present Day, 10 years Later in the Dispenser

CAMERON

Come on, help me push Connor to the door!

CELIA

Wait, what? He’s going to be stepped on out there!

CONNOR 

(waking up

What’s going on?

CAMERON 

(pushing Connor out the door)

Uhh… nothing… have a good trip!

CONNOR

(falling)

I thought I was awake!

CELIA

Why did you do that, aren’t you my best friend?

CAMERON

Ooh, good idea! Wanna be my partner in crime?

CELIA

No way—

CAMERON

Oh well, down you go then.

CELIA starts also falling. She blows frantically, stretching to make a bubblegum parachute, and catches CONNER. As they float down, a baby nearby stares at them and grabs them.

They are squished between its grasp and they head to the baby’s house.

Scene 2

An Hour Later, at the House, During Lunchtime

CONNER and CELIA roll toward the bed to hide from the mom when she picks the baby, DARWIN, up for lunch. They then decide to explore the baby’s room.

CELIA rolls up the crib, and CONNER sneakily pushes her down to land on a xylophone and rolls under the next door, leaving CELIA to be seen as MOM rushes in.

MOM

I bet it’s that rat!

The baby grabs CELIA and drools over her. 

CELIA

Gross! 

 CELIA rolls away before DARWIN can wipe her on the wall. 

CONNER

Help, I’m stuck!

There was a puddle of water on the bathroom floor and CONNER got sticky and stuck to the floor. CELIA now leaves CONNER behind as she rolls out the door, around the block to be stepped on by TEENAGER. 

TEENAGER

Ew dude, I got some gum on my cool new sneakers.

TEENAGER throws CELIA into the trash, along with the shoe. She slowly crawls into the shoe and fall asleep.

Scene 3

The Next Morning, Before Sunrise

CELIA is woken up by a chitter. 

CELIA

Ugh, I bet it’s just Cameron teasing me for being a scaredy-ball for being scared of Conner falling out. 

Instead, she wakes up to see the face of a rat. CELIA attempts to roll out of a rusty hole in the trash, but she isn’t dry, and instead patches it up. After a while, the trash and the bin are lifted up into a dump truck. 

CELIA

Conner, I’m flying! Oh, yeah he’s not here.

The rat responds, chittering happily to CELIA’s surprise.

CELIA

I must be hallucinating.

CONNER

(the rat)

You know, I am not just a rat. I was crawling through the sewers when I found some green goo. I was incredibly thirsty, so I drank it. Now I can talk!

They become friends, and sneak into restaurants, schools, and factories, picking up knowledge and resources.

Scene 4

Two Years Later

Ring! Ring! 

Celia

(in the tissue hut)

Who could it be? 

(she forgets she has her Chew5 Phone)

The contacts said it was Cameron?!

CONNER THE RAT

Answer it.

CAMERON 

(over the phone)

Hey… Celia?

CELIA

(berry annoyed)

Yeah, I’m still alive, in a home, with a best friend, doing better than I had been with you.

CAMERON

Look, I’m in chew-vie, and I got to phone someone. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.

CELIA

(hanging up)

Nice try, but I don’t want to see your round face again.

CONNER THE RAT

Don’t you have a round face, too?

CELIA

I said it from the top of my head, okay?

Scene 5

Two Years Later

CONNER THE RAT

Hello, my name is Conner and I am a rat.

MAN 1

(chuckling) 

Is this some kind of joke?

CELIA

No. My name is Celia and I am a gumball.

MAN 2

So, you scheduled a meeting.

CELIA

Yes, we are the owners of Big Toxi Curing Co.

MAN 1

Oh, I’m so sorry. Hey, do you need us?

CONNER THE RAT

We were looking for testers for our medicine, but you seem to be a good one.

MAN 1

(drinking green liquid) 

No, no, I only have the symptoms.

Everyone stares at him as MAN 1 then throws up black vomit under the table in a casual way, and then comes back to the meeting like nothing happened.

Scene 6

At the Lab

CONNER THE RAT: 

Darwin, this is Steve.

(points to MAN 1)

Steve, this is Darwin, one of our best scientists.

DARWIN

Pleasure to meet you, come hop into this tub.

Steve 

(walking in)

Ooh, a hot tub?

DARWIN closes the clear curtains, and they observe as a pink fluid sprays him.

STEVE

Cherry flavor!

STEVE’S skin turns vibrant again and he unswells.

STEVE

I feel like a new man. So am I famous now for being the first person cured? Am I super strong, or super fast?

DARWIN/CELIA/CONNER THE RAT

That will be two hundred fifty bucks.

The world is saved and our main character, CELIA, lives happily ever after forever because she is immortal… and what is a story without a happy ending?

The End.

About Conner the gum ball, he was Darwin’s pet until Darwin started working for Celia and Conner the rat, he decided to bring Conner the gum ball to the company as a tester, and Celia still had no mercy on him.

Cameron stayed in chew-vie and then in gum ball adults’ jail for the rest of her sticky life, contemplating how her phone call trick with Celia didn’t work, and just being evil.

Wait, But Before You Go, Read the Bubblegum Glossary:

Scaredy-ball: Basically scaredy-cat but when talking about gumballs

Bubblegum Parachute: Just bubbles you blow with bubblegum, but what bubblegum uses them for

Chew5: iPhone type, like iPhone 12, but when talking about gumball products

Berry: Very

Chew-vie: Juvie

Why School Should be Shorter

Ever since Covid-19, this is what my online school day looks like. We have a few online classes, and then we work on a couple of assignments. This ends up being only three to five hours. Right now, teachers mostly grade students based on participation instead of assignments. If teachers think that this is enough to grade students, then when we go back to school, we should just do the same thing in person. I believe that school should be four hours a day.

One reason why schools should only be four hours a day is because students can get tired. If students get tired, then they can’t focus on their work. Here’s a story. One day, I got really tired at school. My teacher gave me an assignment and I forgot how to do the work. It took a couple of minutes to remember how to do it. That proves that if students are tired they cannot complete assignments as well as they normally would. If students can’t focus on their work, then they will not be able to complete assignments. If school was shorter, students would be able to focus and get better grades. Also, if students got home earlier every day, then they would be able to get some more sleep. Finally, students would have more time to do homework and to study a little bit more as well.

 Something related to students getting tired is students being stressed. The way that tiredness affects students is different than the way stress affects students. Tiredness affects students mentally, while stress affects students physically. Students could get stressed out because of all the time they have to spend in school. If school were shorter, students would have more time to relax and to find out what relieves their stress. I have asthma. Ever since I have been home from school, I have been having fewer asthma attacks. I don’t know if this is because of less stress, but there is definitely some relation. According to err.ersjournals.com, “Chronic stress in early life is associated with an increased risk of asthma onset.” This proves that if you are stressed at a young age, then you have a risk of developing asthma. Stress also weakens your immune system. According to simplypsychology.org, “When we’re stressed, the immune system’s ability to fight off antigens is reduced. That is why we are more susceptible to infections.” This proves that if you are stressed out, then you are more prone to diseases. This also proves that when we go back to school in September, schools should let students go home early. If they let students go home early, then students have a lower chance of getting the coronavirus because they will be less stressed. If the students are less stressed, then their immune system will not be as weak as it would be if they were stressed. There are many things that students could do to relieve stress, and they would have more time to do these things if school were shorter. One of those things is coloring/painting. Another option would be extracurricular activities.

Finally, school should only be four hours because students will have more time to socialize and/or do extracurricular activities. If students get more time to do these things, then they 

will become more social instead of sitting around studying all day. Students will also be able to learn during extracurricular activities. According to crimsoneducation.org, “Some students worry that participating in extracurriculars may take away too much time from their schoolwork, thus hurting their grades; however, extracurricular activities can actually improve your grades and your outlook on school in general.” According to this, extracurricular activities also improve the way students feel about school. Ever since I’ve started extracurricular activities, such as swimming, I feel like school is interesting because I have a larger variety of activities now.

In conclusion, school should be shorter because it is important for students to get time to enjoy themselves, as well as being good students. It is important because this all impacts the future lives of students all around the world. Students also get to spend more time with their parents, which impacts their future by showing them what life will be like when they get older. This topic is very important, but now this topic is especially important because of Covd-19. Maybe Covid-19 will also show us that adults’ work days should be shorter as well.

Don’t Take the Best of Me

Once upon a time, there were these three best friends named Abby, Amy, and Abigail. They were the best of friends and did everything together. But what two of the friends didn’t know was that Abby had a very big secret, a secret that she had been keeping ever since she met them in 1st grade until now, in 6th grade. Her secret was she had type 1 diabetes and felt ashamed of it because she felt that all she was to people was a sick girl who couldn’t take care of herself. That’s why, ever since she moved here to this small town in Colorado, she felt she didn’t have to be a sick girl near people, that was, of course, if no one found out.

But she still had to follow a certain number of rules for herself, so no one had to suspect anything. For example, everywhere she went, she needed to carry apple juice with her at all times to maintain her blood sugar and so it didn’t go too low or too high — because blood sugar was her main source of energy and came from the food she ate, if it went way too high, then it could cause severe heart conditions. So she needed to have and maintain a certain diet. And her mom to her felt like just another person who reminded her that she was sick because of all the importance she gave her. Sometimes, it even made her feel like her own mother was ashamed of her but she knew she was just helping her hide the fact that she had diabetes like by hiding her continuous glucose monitor under her clothes.

Ever since what had happened at her last school, when one of her closest friends recorded a video of her in a hospital having a seizure and showed everyone in her old school, she had lost all her friends. The thought of her having an illness was such a big deal that they stopped talking to her and stopped hanging out. That was until she moved here and she felt like she had the chance to begin a fresh start and to have no one who knew what had happened to her before she had moved here. That was until today, when some 3rd grader was getting bullied by some 8th grader and she wanted to tell the teacher but didn’t want to be a tattle teller. But she felt like she had to, so she did.

“Hey, you over there, don’t you know what happens to bullies when they pick on kids, they get reported to the principal’s office.” As she was about to go to the principal’s office.

But little did she know she was in for a surprise when the 8th grader said, “You will regret this.” 

And sure enough, she would.

The next day, when she was walking to school, she heard whispering and laughing, she didn’t think anything of it until she saw people staring at her when she walked inside the school. Suddenly, she felt someone pull her into the girls’ bathroom. It was Amy and Abigail. And just as she was about to scream,

“Why the heck did you pull me in here for?”

Amy put her hand against her mouth, closed the door, and pulled out her phone to show her the video that everybody was talking about. It was a video of her having a seizure in a hospital.

“What is this?” said Abigail. 

As Abby started seeing the video, she stared at them both and started having shivering lips as if she was about to cry.

“I can ex… pla… in,” she said as she was shivering.

“If you don’t tell us right now, we’re leaving,” said Abigail.

And just as they were about to leave, Abby built up all of her emotions and said, she said what she never thought she would say, ever,

“… I have… DIABETES!” 

Just there and then, Amy and Abigail stood there looking at Abby in a state of shock as Abby dropped down on the floor and started crying. But just as suddenly, she felt two arms touch her back as she looked over at both shoulders and smiled when she saw Amy and Abigail.

“We didn’t know you had diabetes, Abby, we are so, so very sorry, but what I don’t understand is why you never told us,” Abigail said with a calm voice.

“I guess I was just scared of what you and Amy might think about me.”

“You don’t have to be ashamed of who you are or what you are, we both accept you for being you, so who cares what everybody else thinks, you have us,” said Amy as all three of them hugged on the ground, crying and laughing.

The very next day, Abby decided to hold an assembly in her school and explain all about her illness to people and really open up something that she’d been trying to avoid for years. Some people supported her and some people didn’t, but at the end of the day, it didn’t even matter. Who cared what people’s opinions were of her? She should just be happy for who she was and not ashamed of that. She had people who actually cared about her, what more did she need?

From the U.S. to Japan

Chapter 1

 “What time is it?” is the question I have been asking myself as I sit in the backseat of a Tesla. I bet you are wondering how I got into this situation, right? Well, it started right after school let out, when my friend, Sheila, was kidnapped. I don’t know how, or if I will see her again. 

Now it is three days later, I’m in Tokyo, and I am riding in the backseat of a Tesla, marveling at all the fancy controls and other gimmicks that the Tesla has. You see, the US government also wants to know where Sheila is, and has supplied me with an unlimited expense account. 

“Drive faster!” I yell at my chauffeur, Jack. 

“We are already going as fast as we can!” he yells back in his clipped British accent.

We are now in hot pursuit of the people who we think have kidnapped Sheila. I believe that the leader of their organization’s wife recently died and he wants company. Apparently, Sheila was one of his wife’s long lost cousins?

His name is Dr. Ren, and we are chasing his second, #2, who gets down to business! (Hahaha.) We speed down the crowded marketplace, knocking over vendor’s stalls and not stopping at red lights or stop signs. We are not going to let them get away!

I hope that Sheila is okay. She has never handled stressful situations very well. One time, in third grade, we saw a bird fall out of its nest and she didn’t stop crying. Eventually, her mom came to pick her up, and she spent the rest of the day watching movies, so it turned out okay.

Oh! By the way, I’m Amy. Amy Sullivan, and I am 16 years old. My dad is the president of the United States. 

I didn’t realize that I was looking sad. I guess I really, really miss Sheila.

#2 makes a sharp turn down a dead-end alley, but when we turn into it, he is nowhere to be seen. 

“Dang it!” I scream.

“We were very close, Miss Amy.”

I get out of the car to investigate. I check for loose bricks, doorways, anything that could give us a clue as to where Sheila went. I find nothing. Jack also looks around, but it doesn’t look like he is having much luck, either. 

“Amy! I think I found something!” Jack says.

Or not. I walk over to him and see him holding a license plate taped to the wall, behind some boxes. Like somebody wanted us to find it. 

           356 * 1449

As soon as we get back to our hotel, I go on my computer and look up the license plate number. Nothing comes up. It figures — this guy is a major villain. Of course he doesn’t put his license plate on the internet. Or, at least not the license plate that really matters. So I text my dad to see if they have it on any records, even though we are in Japan.

It has been hours since I sent the email and I still have not gotten a response. Suddenly, I hear a ding. I rush over to check my iPhone, and sure enough, there is a text there from dad. It says that the car with that license plate was last seen at Ueno Park. I run down the hall to the room where Jack is staying.

I knock very loudly, not caring if he is asleep or not. It doesn’t matter. He stumbles out bleary-eyed, looking as though he had just gone on a high-speed chase through a Japanese marketplace, which, technically, he had.                                                                                                             

“I have to sleep. We’ll talk in the morning,” he says.

He then (rudely) slams the door in my face, and I trudge back to my room for another night of no sleep and thinking about Sheila.

Chapter 2

The next morning, I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go to Ueno Park. Maybe I can sleep after all, even though my dreams were filled with worry and regret that I could not stop Dr. Ren from kidnapping Sheila.

We drive over there in the (still very cool) Tesla. The drive is an hour and a half long so I have time to think about what I am going to do when I get there. Another thing that has been on my mind is why Dr. Ren chose Sheila over millions of other kids, even if she is somehow related to him.

I decide to ask Jack.

“Jack, why do you think that Dr. Ren chose Sheila?” I ask.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean!”

“Okay, maybe I do, but I think that you’ll feel better if you figure it out yourself.”

“I’ll feel better if you tell me what you think and then let me grab all the credit for your idea!”

We sit in silence for a few moments. Why does Jack have to be so darn nice? It’s throwing off my style and I don’t like it. Then, after what seems like an eternity, he responds.

“I think that maybe Dr. Ren is using Sheila to get to you. Having the president’s daughter could be used for ransom, trade, slack the next time he gets in trouble with the US. And it was just too convenient that you are friends with somebody who is related to him.”

Wow. I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but now that I am thinking about it, he may be right. I mean, that might just be the last piece of the puzzle. I guess we’ll find out. (Or we might not, based on how things are going so far.)                                                                                           

I guess I just don’t want to fail. When I was a little kid, I always thought it would be so cool to be in a high-stakes mystery like in the movies, but now that I’m living it out for real, it’s scary. 

If Dr. Ren hurts her, it’s going to be my fault, if Jack’s theory is right. Which it probably is, based on how smart he is. I don’t know much about his background but I know that he used to work for the CIA. He is around 25 years old, but has been training with the CIA his whole life. Why, you ask? Because his parents were also with the CIA.

He could have been the leader of the CIA, but he chose not to because he hates meetings and things like that. Even though he would have gotten paid a lot. I guess he thinks that if he wants that job, he can always come back to it. I would definitely want to be head of the CIA. You get to go on cool missions, order people around, and basically just have a good time, fighting animals, people, and ninjas. 

I bet that Dr. Ren is going to have ninjas that I am going to have to fight. I have never fought a real ninja before. I know what you’re thinking. Why am I, the president’s daughter, the girl protected by dozens of secret service agents, going on a dangerous mission mostly by myself? I’ve got two answers for you. 

One, Dad wants me to be able to take care of myself and not become too used to being protected all the time. After all, Dad is not going to be president forever. Before he was president, I used to get picked on by school bullies all the time. He just sees this mission as a learning experience.

Two, because of that, three times a week I go to karate, chemistry, and meditation with the CIA. Karate, so I know how to fight back. Chemistry, so I understand the principles of science and can understand formulas and things like that. And meditation so I can learn to go deep within myself to find the energy I need to fight. It also helps me memorize complex equations and pretty much everything else. 

I have completed all of the training necessary for a normal CIA agent. Right now, as we are driving, I am using my meditation to gather all of my thoughts. This will help me to be more focused later on, when I really need to be. I wish that I could meditate forever and not have to deal with everything that is going on right now. But I know that Sheila needs me, and that is what keeps me going.

I know that she may be hurt or worse, but if I save her, she will probably never be in danger again. I travel even deeper into my thoughts, passing through the good, the bad, and the crazy. It’s like a hurricane in there, everything is swirling around, mixing together. I just wish that everything would make sense. I see swirls of light and Japanese and American flags flying around. I see my dad, and my secret service guard, including my maids and the chef who makes the most amazing lasagna. 

I never thought I would say this, but I think I miss home. The marble floors and hallways of the White House make me feel cozy and safe. I haven’t felt that way since the mission started. My giant room with the pink walls and bed that I hate but still love, because I love it there. Especially all of the stuffed animals from when I was a little kid in their crate next to my bed.

When I’m at home, I always am treated like a little girl, but on this mission, I get to be mostly by myself and take down bad guys. But I think it’s too much. The pressure is getting to me.

Either way, I hope this mission doesn’t take too long, even though I would do almost anything for Sheila. She’s my best friend, and I care about her. Even if I fail this mission, I’m sure there are more trained professionals who will be able to rescue her. I know that if I fail, she won’t be mad at me because I tried.

“Try your best.” That’s what adults always say. 

“You tried your best, and that’s what matters.”

Well, what if my best isn’t good enough? What if nobody can save Sheila? I hope that’s not the case.

“Amy, we’ve arrived,” I hear from the front.

I look out the window and there it is: Ueno Park. Even in the face of everything else, it’s so beautiful. Japan really is a special place. There are red maple trees everywhere, and golden arches and mini waterfalls. This place has everything! I wish I could have come here under happier circumstances.

“So, do you see anything?” Jack asks. 

“No, not yet. But I will,” I respond.

“I think I see something,” Jack says.

I look where he is looking and see a shadowy figure. I can’t really make out the shape, but it does look like a person. Not like it would be an animal. I mean, I guess it’s possible. With a guy like Dr. Ren, you never know.

“Snap out of it, Amy!” Jack yells.

Right. I have to focus on finding whoever the person is. I don’t like that he knew that we would come here. I start creeping towards him, trying my best to hide behind red maples, but they are so small that it probably isn’t working. 

Darn it! I lost him, and now he could be almost anywhere. I’m usually pretty good at hide and seek, but that is in places that I know. I’ve never been here before.

Oh! I see him again. He’s heading towards a huge bonsai. There are a million things that could be going on with that tree. It might even be a secret hideout.

Nope. He keeps walking, seemingly with a purpose, but you never know. Maybe he’s just a random guy. Nope! He looks too much like #2, and with these things, you can’t be too careful. I wish I knew for certain if it was him or not. Then I would have a real lead. 

Well he’s not getting away from me just yet. I break into a sprint, heading in his direction. The thought of Sheila keeps me going. He sees me and starts trying to find a hiding place. He knows I see him. He knew I would, but he would never let me get close to him. I pass the bonsai tree from earlier, and a couple of golden arches with cool writing on them. 

I see him duck down a side path littered with rocks, twigs, and all kinds of other things. It’s practically a minefield, just a very beautiful mindfield. 

There’s a little stream that he tries to jump over but he stumbles a little. Oh! I think I have it. Yup. I do. I know his weakness.           

Chapter 3

It’s been four days since I was flown to Japan by my distant cousin, Ren Tanaka. Ever since, it’s been nothing but fun nonstop. Uncle Ren lives in a huge mansion, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. And it’s like OMG! I love it! LOL. 

You may be like, “Who are you?” Well, I’m Sheila Jones. Best friend of Amy Miller, daughter of President Miller. Yeah that’s right, my best friend is the first, umm… daughter? 

I’m the class flirt and school gossip, and proud of it. There are like, so many cute servants that work for Uncle. I’m so glad that my parents agreed to let me take a few weeks off to relax in peace with Uncle Ren in Japan. It’s like, so pretty.

Today I’m meeting him for lunch in the huge cafeteria.

Lucy the Teacup

Lucy is sitting on the table, just waiting to be filled with tea. She sees the maid walking towards her with a steaming hot kettle in one hand and a bowl of little sugar cubes on the other. Lucy’s best friend, Angela, who is a candle, is sitting next to her. 

Yes, Lucy thinks.

But all of a sudden, the maid trips and spills all the tea!!

“There goes my warmth, down the drain,” Lucy says quietly.

“It’s okay, we will both get what we want, I know we will,” Angela says.

Both Angela and Lucy mope until they spot the dining table.

“The dining table!!” They both say. “Our goal is the dining table, if we get to the dining table, we can be filled and lit every day!!”

“Wait, but what if I melt on the way there?!”

“You are not going to melt, you are a hard candle!!”

So the teacup and the candle jump on the nearest chair, which sneezes. The teacup and candle say bless you, and walk on with their day. Now they’re on the floor. Or how they say it, “The Danger Zone.”

“Okay, Lucy, we are in the Danger Zone. Try to tip toe, and don’t make any sudden movements. Okay?” Angela says.

“Okay,” Lucy says.

So the girls tiptoe to the middle of the floor and see a maid so they stop.

“What are you doing here?? You are quite dirty, let me go clean you up.”

2 Minutes Later

“There you go with your little friend,” says the maid, giggling at the end.

“Like I said, down there is The Danger Zone.”

“The only noise was the chair that sneezed,” Lucy says.

“This time we have to try to get there another way,” says Angela.

“Ohh, we have to go a way that the maid will not find us. We can jump on the fireplace…”

“I AM A CANDLE!! For goodness sakes!!!”

“I’m sorry,” Lucy says.

“Why do you live in this house anyway!!”

“Do you think I am the headstate teacup master!!! I give out the place that every teacup under the age of 60 goes??? Do you think I am my Dad?? I miss my dad so much, and Karen and Maya.”

“I thought you hated your sisters,” says Angela.

“Yea, but I can still miss them.”

“Okay let’s just try to get down there, on the fireplace,” Angela says with a nervous smile on her face.

Angela sighs hard and jumps with Lucy onto the fireplace. She can feel the heat on her candle body. But she keeps running, holding her best friend’s hand, and never letting go. Angela is running record speed with Lucy, only a foot to go, and Angela’s feet are burning. She can feel the melted candle dripping on her forehead. Both see a wood slide, that connects the end of the fireplace and The Danger Zone together.

“One, Two, Three… Jump!!!”

They jump off the fireplace and slide on the wooden slide they saw. Melted candle is smeared on the wood slide, and Angela’s legs are still burning.

“Are you okay?” Lucy asks.

“I think I’m fine, my legs just hurt,”Angela responds.

They slowly walk behind a standing vacuum cleaner and sit down.

“I think I just need water and a little break,” Angela says.

“That’s okay,” Lucy says.

They both spot a dog feeder and it has a bit of water in it. Lucy pushes the vacuum to the side of the dog feeder and they both hide behind it. But they both see a maid walking by. So they freeze. No one can hear, but both Lucy and Angela’s hearts are pounding out of their chests. They both think the maid is going to find them. But the maid just walks right past them.

“Okay, now let’s go to the dining table,“ says Angela.

“Wait, but what if I fall off the chair or the table? I will mess up the whole plan.”

“No you won’t, stop doubting yourself,” Angela says.

“Okay,” Lucy says.

So they tiptoe to the side of the wall and stop. Then they look around and keep moving. They get to the dining room table and are about to jump to the chair, until they hear a crack. They wait for something to happen but nothing does. So they proceed to jump on the chair. They look around once more and jump on the table. Luckily, all the teacups and candles are the same. But Lucy and Angela are extras, and get placed on the side table. Lucy gets into where the other teacup was and pushes the teacup off the table. The teacup doesn’t break, but the maid puts it on the side table. Then Angela does the same, with a candle instead. The same thing happens. The maid picks it up and puts it on the side table. Mission completed.

“Ohh yeah!!” Lucy says.

The Creature

There used to be a woman, and she worked late nights. While coming home, her car fuel ran out. She was stuck in this atrocious place. It was dark, and it had lots of trees. There was no street sign. However, she saw this building so she decided to go inside it as it was dark outside. She went inside and saw a man with a white coat panting and hiding in a corner. 

“Are you okay?” the woman asked.

“You need to hide, I cannot say anything right now as I’ve just met you.” 

The woman was shocked, and feeling scared. The woman quickly hid with the man, who was a scientist. Soon, before their eyes, a large jet black creature came upon them. Next second, they screamed. The woman and scientist were never to be seen again.

The scientist had created this creature by accident. Nobody was supposed to go to this place, but a group of teens went, and let’s just say we shouldn’t talk about what was found of them but that they were never seen alive again. 

The creature was now in town. It had seen all the people and was ready for them. People were scared to death. 

Everybody was staying inside hiding. Some people HAD to go out for work. And those were the people who never came back home. Some people died because the creature had found them hiding, and some people died out of starvation or thirst because they forgot to bring food when they were hiding and didn’t have enough courage to go get it. In total, 150 people died because of these reasons. The creature decided to give up since he couldn’t find any more people and left. 

There was this brave person who checked every day if the creature had left and that day when the creature had left, he cried tears of joy. However, it was never sure when the creature could come back.

14 Years Later

“Hope they don’t come after us, hahaha.” 

“Don’t worry, Dylan, they don’t even know who we are, hahaha.” 

“I have to go, bye.” 

“Bye!”

Dylan was a 13 year old boy who lives in a big village. He was the only child. He was born a year after the incident (you know, that creature coming to the village). His parents told him to always be careful of the creature, but he didn’t care. He didn’t believe that the creature was real, although sometimes he did believe that the creature might be real because of him remembering his mother and father running with him. There was something behind them that they were running away from. But sometimes he just thought it was a dream.

“Mom! It’s not real. Now stop bugging me.”

His mom sighed. She wanted to convince Dylan that the creature was real so he could be more careful. But he just wouldn’t listen. 

“Mom always talks about this nonsense!”

“Yeah, same. This stupid dangerous creature rubbish.”

“Anyway, let’s prank Mrs. Robins today!”

Dylan actually planned to go to the place that the creature used to stay to prove everyone wrong.

“Wanna have some Fuchka?”

“You bet I do!”

Fuchka was a common food in their village.

“I have to go finish homework, bye, Liam!”

“Please say you haven’t eaten Fuchka, you always eat it!” said Dylan’s mom.

“Sorry… I ate it,” said Dylan.

“Haven’t you heard about our neighbor who ate too much fuchka and then threw up for one WHOLE day and wasn’t able to digest anything?!”

“Mom, you know she threw up for a whole day, and wasn’t able to digest anything due to eating it for the first time. Her stomach didn’t recognize it.” 

“Go to your room now!”

Dylan went to his room and started his homework, thankful he wasn’t grounded.

Dylan was a smart student, and he was also clever. His cleverness would help him for something big that was going to happen.

In the morning, Dylan went to Liam’s house. There was no school and he figured Liam would be awake.

“Hi, is Liam awake?” asked Dylan.

“Yes, he is,” said Liam’s mom.

“May I go inside to meet him?”

“Sure, come in.”

“Hey Liam, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Okay? What do you want to talk about?”

“Could we go outside?”

“Okay?” Dylan said, confused.

They stepped outside. 

“You know that ‘creature,’ well, I was wondering if we could go secretly to the spot that it was hiding so we can prove everyone wrong.”

“Great idea, but when do you plan on going?” said Liam with a smirk on his face.

Liam also wanted everybody to stop talking about the creature.

“Around 7:00 PM?” said Dylan, answering Liam’s question with a stern face.

“Okay, let’s meet at your house though.”

“Okay, see you. Bye!”

At 7:00 PM, Liam came to Dylan’s house. Coincidentally, a young boy stabbed a young girl with scissors by accident. Everybody was helping the girl and trying to find the boy who ran away. This gave Dylan and Liam a better chance of not being caught. When they went, Dylan told Liam to go inside and yell his name if something was wrong while Dylan would see if there was anything outside the hideout.

Dylan realized that the place was dark and had lots of trees. That’s it. Next thing you know, Liam screamed. Dylan ran to Liam, and whatever Liam saw was gone. Dylan kept on asking Liam what he had seen, but Liam was shaking and not able to say anything.

“Liam! Are you okay?”

Liam shook.

“Sit down!”

Dylan sat Liam down.

“You seem traumatized! Let’s go home!”

They went home. Dylan took Liam home and told his mom that he had found him like this. He then whispered to his ear, “Don’t tell anyone.”

After going home that night, Dylan thought about the creature. Could it actually be real? Are we in danger? Thinking and thinking, he fell asleep. 

For a week, he checked up on Liam every day, hoping he would get better, and if he could tell Dylan what he saw. One of the village people came running to Dylan’s house one day to tell him Liam had started talking. Dylan felt happy that his best friend was speaking, but also felt worried about whether he had told anybody what had happened. If Liam told anyone, then they would be in trouble and not be able to investigate.

He ran to Liam’s house and asked him if he was okay. Liam was stuttering and said he was okay. 

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes.”

Dylan went to Liam’s house in the afternoon to talk to him about what he saw because there weren’t going to be many people around him at that time. 

“Hey, Liam. What did you see? Is the creature real?”

Liam had stopped stuttering.

“I don’t know what I saw! It was jet black with no arms and white eyes.”

Dylan realized that was the description of the creature. He sat/fell down with his mouth wide open thinking about so many things. Liam gave Dylan a glass of water. Dylan drank the glass of water and said, “What are we going to do now?” 

“I don’t know, we have to think of something,” said Liam.

They found out that the boy who stabbed the girl by “accident” came back. So to get their minds off of this for a while, they decided to go to the boy and ask him why he did this. The boy said, “I don’t know, I just blacked out and then next second, I realized I had stabbed someone.”

Dylan thought that when they went to see if the creature was real, it was there when the boy ran away. 

“Wait, can it possess people?!?!” Dylan said out loud. 

Liam then kicked Dylan in the leg.

The boy said, “Huh?”

“Nothing! We were working on a play and we are planning what the monster does in it.”

“Oh, okay,” said the boy.

Dylan and Liam then left and Dylan told Liam, “I think the creature can possess people!”

Since it was the evening, which was a perfect time to do something, Dylan and Liam went to the hideout, Liam put some bright flashlights inside the hideout. His mom told him that the creature only struck at evening or night because the light blinded it. A couple minutes later, they heard screeching and screaming. They ran away from the hideout, hoping and praying that everything would be all right.

17 Years Later

“Remember when we hurt the creature?” said Liam.

“I’m pretty sure we killed it. It would have no chance for those hot flashlights.” 

“It hasn’t attacked anyone from that day. Let’s forget about this situation. It’s been 17 years since it happened,” said Dylan.

Dylan had learned that he should have trusted the people. He became stronger and more sensible after that situation.

The creature had died because, even eternities later, the creature did not strike.

LOST

Here I was. The last place ANYBODY would ever imagine. Here, I’ll give you 1,000,000 dollars if you can guess it. See, I told you so. I was here floating on my bed in the middle of the huge Atlantic Ocean. 234th day, the last millimeter of bread eaten, and, according to my clock that broke 103 days ago, it was 3:01 AM. My last relationship that I ever had was also… the final food I would ever eat (yes, it’s depressing, but I’ve only had relationships with food so far. It’s not ok).

“I hate you,” I said. That was all I could mutter. All I could say for the last 234 days of misery. Cause of course your ‘BEST FRIEND’ will go ahead and say,

“I dare you to go sail across the world! Without a sailboat.” That’s what friends say when they realize you are the most evil, horrible person on earth. And see, I could have just said no. But I hated my life. If I were to describe my personality to you, you would think I was the most horrid, evil, hideous person to step on the planet. And I am. I AM the most awful person to touch the earth. So I ran away from my own home. I was happy to get that dare. At the time. Now all I want is to survive. But I think I have proven that’s impossible.

235th day, already resorted to sea water, and possibly 1:010 AM (my clock is bad). Last relationship was yesterday at 2:59 AM. The last water was two days ago.

Ok, I think I’ve learned NOT to drink sea water. I’m in AGONY… my throat is even DRIER and I think I swallowed a seahorse. Not pleasant. Like at all. I have lost almost half of my body weight and I have probably already lost most of the water in my body. The mattress is soggy and I’m kinda sinking in it. I saw a cruise boat pass by, but they saw I was absolutely covered with cuts and dirt. They thought about rescuing me, but instead tried to run me over. This is an everyday problem. Don’t worry about me. Actually… is that a shark? Ok, maybe help me.

236th day, NO MORE SEA WATER, time is 1:12.988787:80 AM (yes, that was a forehead slap moment), last words spoken were, “I hate you,” two days ago. Supposedly, I’m supposed to die today because of LITERALLY NO WATER FOR THREE DAYS.

Ok, are you kidding me. That way, that way, that way, that way, that way, that way, that way, that way, that way, and that way. Nothingness. Empty space EVERYWHERE.

I thought that there would be no water for three days and you die. This is my third day. And bread does not have water in it.
Ok, does bread have water in it? I ain’t got any water and I’m alive? Maybe this is Heaven and I just don’t know. Do you realize when you’re in Heaven? I have too many questions and no answers

237th day, I’m alive? Time is unreadable to my eyes, and I feel like I am going to die… finally.

Just die already. Everything is extremely blurry and my stomach feels like an ocean in a hurricane. I’m begging to die.
Even IF bread had water, that was three days ago. I should be dead by sundown.

237th day (continued), it’s sundown. I can feel death. It’s like a snake. Coiling around you until you die. Squeezing you tighter and tighter. Then once it’s bored, it finishes you off. I know, it doesn’t sound very pleasant. Right now, the snake of death is at my neck. Trying to kill me. I refuse. But it always wins. I can scream, yell, shout, but nothing will help me. What should my final words be?

“I hate you.”

The waves engulf my almost dead body. What will people think… when they see a dead 11-year-old girl in the ocean.

238th day, I’m dead. No sense of time.

I actually can’t tell if I’m dead or not. I’ve lost all feeling. And I can’t open my eyes. But my mind feels refreshed. And my throat… can’t feel it. I can still hear. The waves crashing against… wait. Crashing against what?

“Are you alive?”
“Are you disrespecting me?”
“Talk to me!” This was painful to hear. But I had to get used to it. I had already learned three things: I’m not dead
Whoever these people are gave me water. I like them.
I’m on a sailboat trapped under the bench, tied up.
At least I couldn’t feel the slaps I was given. I was slightly disappointed. I don’t deserve to be alive. I had tried to say help for about two hours. Hejiuwp was the closest I got. At least I could make noises?

239th day, I’ve given up on trying to live. Finally a working clock– midnight.

They are lost, too. When you start in, Japan I don’t think you can make it to the Bermuda Triangle. These guys too dumb to find the the back of their hands.
“Ahem,” one of them said to the other.
“What? Did you finally realize that we actually are in California?”
I heard a sigh, then he said, “Ummm, North is actually that way!!”
“What! That’s impossible! The S on the compass means North!” It was my turn to sigh this time.
“Dif ya kna daf the n mans norf?” I stated. They stared at me and I realized I still could NOT talk.
“I think you need more water.” And without hesitating they threw me overboard, this time without a bed to keep me up (oo, I realized they thought I said something else that was very mean).

240th day, no clock whatsoever, no food, no water, should I even try to survive?

Nope. I’m not even gonna try to survive. Why do humans have to float? If we did not float, I would be deader than TWO doornails, let alone one. Those weird poor sailors couldn’t even take care of themselves, let alone another poor girl. I might have destroyed their lives. As soon as I find anything to float on, I will immediately eat it? Will that kill me? How about just hanging off and sticking my head in the water until I die? I have already tried that. Your mind won’t let you. On my 200th try, I gave up and kept swimming. Nothing EVER works.

241st day, yummy driftwood, I FOUND MY CLOCK! (12:2334 PM… my clock is comforting, but not useful).

I don’t think driftwood is poisonous. I ate it and I probably feel better to be honest. I’m probably gonna get hypothermia soon. I found half of my mattress floating around. It was soggy and gross. Needless to say, I left it behind. It’s currently a storm and I’m just hoping lightning won’t hit.
LIGHTNING HIT. HUGE WAVE COMING. HEL —

242nd day, my clock is finally broken. So is my right leg. Last water three days ago. Why is it raining FROGS?

“Ow. Ow. Ow.” Weird frozen frogs are falling from the sky. My leg is broken. I almost drowned yesterday when a huge wave came. Why is this happening to me? I’ve heard of this strange occurrence happening before. When a tornado hits a lake. BOOM! Frozen frogs falling from the sky. None have hit my head yet (I would absolutely die if it did). Only about 10 in a 15 foot range each minute. That means about… 18328.6666667 falling every minute in the whole Atlantic Ocean (as you might have figured out, I’m a math prodigy).

243rd day, no idea what time it is. My right leg is still broken (duh) and bleeding (saltwater is not fun for the cuts).

This is agony. Wait wha– is that– MY BED?! I swim to the bed and crawl on. It feels like… HOME. I might never get back to my real home but this is just as good. I might be bleeding to death, but for the moment, it does not hurt. This is Heaven. This is all I need.

The Escapists

SAMIRAH

Chapter 1

I LOOK OUT AT THE CITY from my prison window, sighing unhappily. Yes, I did mean prison. I am currently stuck in the basement of my Uncle’s Dad’s wife’s brother’s son’s mansion, along with a dozen girls. I should probably tell you why I am here in the first place. It’s all my own parent’s fault. I mean, who gets their own child into this so-called “girls’ school”? (As the adults call it.)

Anyway, in this world, we women and girls aren’t allowed to do anything except look pretty. This has been going on for many centuries. So I decided to rebel and run away, which, of course, was against the law. This made my parents call the police, who then ran after me, caught me, and now, here I am. In my prison thing, I want to run, to feel the air whipping my face again. 

In the darkness of night, I lie in my bed, eyes closed, and I try to think of something, anything to let me escape. I do this each and every night, but by midnight, I always think up nothing. 

It’s dinner. I sit down at my usual table with the usual DISGUSTING food to cry silently. Before I start eating, another girl who looks about my age sits down next to me. 

“Hi!” she says with a warm smile.

Before I get a chance to respond, an alarm wails. We look at each other. 

“Fire alarm. Follow me,” I whisper. 

I jog ahead of her and hear the “teachers” (I’ll just call them guards) yell at other inmates to go to their cells, and suddenly, I start sprinting. “HURRY UP!” I call from the end of the hall. When she finally catches up, I find that the door is locked. I curse silently. She takes an ID card from her pocket and stuffs it into the slot in the door. How did she get that?

“Whoa,” we say at the same time. 

The door opens up to a huge dining room with a ceiling so high it could house two medium sized elephants, easy. Above the mahogany table, a crystal chandelier hangs, casting mini rainbows across the room.

LILY

Chapter 2

I’M THAT GIRL SHE’S RUNNING WITH.  This isn’t exactly a new chapter, but whatever. 

Right. We’re in the dining hall. Suddenly, I hear footsteps that sound like they are coming from the room right next to us. “COME ON!” I whisper-shout to the girl I am escaping with. I duck underneath the table. Fortunately, a fancy embroidered tablecloth hangs over the table so we are hidden, for now…

The door creaks open just as she makes it under the table.

I press my face to the ground, and I can make out a dozen fancy heels and loafers coming toward our hiding place. The chairs squeak as they’re pulled back to be sat in. The people’s feet move under the table, and now we barely have any space. I can hear my breath, louder than I want it to be. My heart pounds. They’re just people, I think, trying to calm myself down. They have ugly, expensive shoes. They can’t chase us that fast. I still tremble.  

The fancy people start talking. 

“I have heard there’s been a fire,” says one lady in a crisp accent.

“Yes, and I think that a few girls have even escaped! I am astounded. We need to make catching them our top priority,” a man adds.

There is much gasping to this statement. Fancy people. Psh.

Back to the story.

Another man states in a cold voice, “Luckily, they won’t get far. As they are mere girls.” He spits out the word. “They won’t be able to run much.” The men laugh evilly, but the women sniff, being girls themselves.

 We stay still there for an hour. Two hours. Finally, the adults scoot back the chairs and stand up. 

“Thank you so much, Mr. Deague, I’ve had the most wonderful of times here,” a lady says graciously.

“Ah, but we are not done! Let’s go out to the yard, and finish this party there!”

The fancy adults cheer like children at a carnival. They walk through the door on my left side, leaving the huge door open behind them. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t go that way,” I suggest.

“Yeah… but before we go, what’s your name?”

“Lily,” I tell her. “What’s yours?”

“Samirah. Or Sam. Let’s go!” 

***

We race to the opposite door to the one the party guests went through, and it leads into a GIANT kitchen. On the walls, pots and pans hang from copper hooks. There are two stoves — one big one and one the same size a regular person has. Another door is on the other side of the room from where we came from. But then I stop in my tracks. A woman, wearing a cook’s uniform, faces the wall. Surely she heard us opening the door.

But she just says, “Ah, that would be Mr. Bonrab. Could you please tell the master that their drinks will be ready in five minutes?”

We look at each other.

“Um… yes. Yes, I can!” I squeak.

We wouldn’t be able to carry that message. Oops. 

Together, Sam and I turn to the other door and run out as fast as we can.

SAMIRAH

Chapter 3

THE DOOR TAKES US TO ANOTHER HUGE ROOM. This time, it’s the front hall. Well, probably more like one of the twenty front halls. That’s how big this place is. A big oak staircase climbs up to the second floor. A dozen doors lead out to different rooms, and right ahead of us is the front door. But I hold my breath. It can’t be that easy. There has to be some security. It’s a mansion! 

Turns out, I’m right. A man in a navy blue guard’s uniform comes out of one of the many doors. His face glistens, like he has been just exercising.

“And just what are you doing here?” the man asks. 

“Oh… we’re just friends of the kids here!” Lily jumps in.

“The master has no children, and no children are currently staying here.” 

“… ah.” Lily looks guiltily at me. I try to send her It’s okay with my eyes.

“Oh, sorry! She got mixed up. Um, she means that, uh… ”

“I don’t think you are meant to be here. You seem to be… trespassing. I’m going to take you to a room upstairs, where you will wait for me to come back.”

“Ok,” I sigh.

Goodbye freedom.

***

So now, we’re stuck in a room that’s locked and we have NO IDEA how to get out. This is FUN. Why me? I think angrily. I just want to be free.

I survey my surroundings.

There are two wooden chairs in front of a big mahogany desk, and behind it, a swivel chair. On the desk was a desktop computer, and pens. The walls were bare except for a small painting and a vent, which is directly behind the desk. No windows, no doors except for the one we came through. They must really not want us to get out. I sit on one of the two chairs facing the desk, and Lily sits in the other chair. We have nothing to do but wait. I can hear my heart, fast as a racehorse.

And wait.

THUMP

And wait.

THUMP

And finally, after what seems like forever, I hear beeping from the hallway. The door slowly opens, and in comes the guard from before. 

“Hello again. I am a guard here, as you know, and my name is Mr Berdis.” He sits down in the swivel chair. “Could you please tell me your names? Your real names?”

“I — I am… Joel,” I fake, my voice shaky. 

He studies me for a few seconds. I don’t breathe.

“I’m deciding to believe you,” he announces.

WHEW. That went better than I thought it would. “And… um… will you let us go?” I ask hopefully.

“I might, after you — ” He points to Lily. “After you tell me your name, and both of you explain what the heck you were doing in this place.”

Lily says her name is Matilda, but then the guard warns us, “You young ladies look like you’re eleven, so I hope you won’t lie. But, however, if I do figure out you are not telling me the truth, things will not go well for you.”

“Okay,” is all I can say, when something amazing happens.

LILY

Chapter 4

YOU KNOW HOW THERE’S A VENT RIGHT BEHIND THE DESK?  That vent is our savior. Wait. Actually, our savior is a red-head teenager who looks like she’s around fifteen. That’s all I have time to register before I’m knocked out. (Disrespectful, frowny face.) Well, I also see the guard get knocked cold too. Anyways.

***

When I finally come to, my vision’s blocked by a black and white checkered blindfold. I want to take it off, but something tells me if I do that, I’ll get knocked out again. I decide against it. I can feel the bounce of someone walking and the two warm, strong arms that are carrying me. The blindfold is ripped off my face, and I see that we are in a new room. A door of each wall leads into other rooms. 

A face looms above me as I sit, propped against the wall, on the floor. I stifle a yelp. 

“It’s fine. We jus’ wanna see if you two are worth the rescue,” the girl assures me. I realize she’s the same red-head that rescued (or captured) us. “Um… h-hi?” I stutter. 

She chuckles. “Heh. It’s fine. I just knocked you out ‘cause we can’t have other people knowin’ how to get ‘ere.”

“Okay, but could you tell me anything? Like how you knew we were in the room?” I need some information before telling them about me. “Alright. We will, but I’m gonna wait for our leader to tell you, when she gets back from her mission,” Red-Head decides. “And my name is Rainda,” she adds, and exits the room. I watch people streaming in and out of the four doors.

Okay. Recap. We escaped from prison (ugh, “girls’ school”) because of a fire, ran around the mansion a bit, got captured, got rescued, knocked out, and now here I am, in what seems like a colony of people that — no. Too much is happening. My head spins. 

I look at the desk and chair in the middle of the room.

“Uuhnwah?” I hear from beside me. I look over, and see Sam stirring. “Wait-what-where-are-we? Lily?”

“Yeah? I’m here.” I take her hand.

“Good.” She exhales with a big whoosh, her dark complexion turns red. I put my hand back in my lap. “Where are we?” she asks, so I explain everything Rainda told me.

“So now… we just wait for their leader to come,” I finish.

A few minutes later, Rainda comes back. “She’ll come pretty soon, ‘K?” 

“Got it,” Sam and I say, jinxing. 

Just as Red-Head said, the leader comes a little later. She wears a black bodysuit, with twin knives strapped where jean pockets usually go. “You’re not gonna stab us with those, are you?” Samirah eyes the knives nervously. I’m worrying about the same thing.

“Oh no, I won’t,” the woman laughs, laying the knives on the desk. “So,” she starts. “You were rescued, or captured if you want, by Miss Rainda here.” She nods at Rainda approvingly. “And now you probably want to know why we did that, and who we are?” 

“Yeah, pretty much,” I add. “But no blindfolds next time, please.”

“I’m afraid I can’t grant you that wish, but will tell you about us. Oh, and by the way, my name is Sona. Anyway, we call ourselves the ‘Escapists.’ Others call us… never mind. It is away from what I was about to say.”

Never mind? They call themselves Never mind? Oh. She doesn’t want us to know.

She doesn’t trust you… my mind whispers. You should grab those knives and run. 

“Be quiet.” I accidentally say aloud.

“What?” asks the leader. 

“Uh… sorry, never mind.” I bite my lip.

SAMIRAH

Chapter 5

HOW COME SHE GOT TO BE CONSCIOUS FIRST? Oh, well. We don’t all get what we want. 

“So,” Sona continues, “we’re always recruiting new people to help us. We’re alway watching, writing down the people who we think will help us. We’ve been watching you two for a while, and now I’m sure that you can help us. We just had to break you out.”

“Um… what skills do we have?” I wonder.

“Well, you, Samirah, are pretty fast. You can run away from people trying to capture you.” She draws out the word pretty. “I hear you’ve already tried to run away?”

“Well, yes… but — ” I try to protest, but Sona reminds me,

“Those men are four times your leg size, Samirah. And you almost got away!”

Fine. It’s true. I am much smaller than the men, and I did almost get away, but I don’t know if I can really trust the Escapists. 

“And you, Lily, taught yourself to pickpocket,” she says.

Lily and I stare at each other. How did she possibly know this much about us?

  “How do you — ” Lily starts.

“Know so much about you?” 

“Yeah.”

“I can’t tell you, unless you join us.”

***

Rainda leads us to another room, where she tells us we’ll be sharing it. Instead of a desk and chairs, it’s a bedroom, and actually cozy! There’s a bunk bed with non-pink sheets (finally!), on the right side of the room, and a dresser with some new clothes that don’t include dresses for tomorrow. It’s kind of small, but I like it. Since I don’t really have any belongings, I claim the top bunk with the jacket I had on. There isn’t a window, but there is a whole bookshelf, and I LOVE reading. 

As I sift through the bookshelf for a good book, Lily asks me, taking a break from another book she found, “Do you think they made the alarm go off?”

“Who is ‘they’?” I ask her.

“The Escapists, stupid!” she responds, acting like a little sister. 

“Maybe…” I trail off. “Do you think we should join them? I don’t really have a nice place to return to.”

“I’m thinking about it. I also don’t really have a safe home, either.”

“So that’s a yes?” I ask, my voice hopeful.

“Not yet.”

LILY

Chapter 6

I’M MAD. I DON’T KNOW WHY. I JUST AM. It’s probably just because I’m tired (and hungry). I’ve had a long day, escaping from the prison thing, running around a mansion for a while, then getting captured for the second time that day, (the first is when I met Sam), then getting rescued and given an impossible choice: should I stay or should I go?

Hey, that kinda reminds me of that song by… what was it? Oh, whatever. I need sleep. I look down at my watch, given to me by my dead mother. (Long story… one that I don’t like.) It’s 10 o’clock! “Alright, bye. Imma crash,” I tell Sam, who looks surprised. I haven’t really talked for the past hour. I clamber onto the bottom bunk, staring up at Sam’s mattress above me. I lie like this a while, thinking about if I should join the Escapists. Long past when Samirah starts quietly, almost politely, snoring, I finally fall asleep.

***

My eyelids flutter open. For a count of three, I don’t move. Then I get up, making my bunk creak. 

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Sam jokes from the top bunk. “I’ve been awake for an hour already.”

“Samirah — ” I protest.

“Yeah, I know. Come on! Get dressed and have some breakfast.” She seems to be in a good mood, making my spirits rise a little. 

We walk back to the intersection, once again bustling with people. Where we had met Sona, the Escapists’ leader, the day before. Rainda comes bounding towards us. “You want some breakfast?”  

“Yeah,” I respond.

“Alrigh’. This way!” She gestures for us to follow her, then jogs into the door on our right. We walk down a long corridor with long light fixtures, turn left, down another shorter corridor, which then opens up into a smallish restaurant. 

“You have a restaurant here?”

“Yup! Our entrance is… Oops.” 

***

After a nice breakfast of a syrup lake with a side of pancakes, sausage, and chocolate milk, I feel fully refreshed. 

Rainda then takes us back to the intersection, where we meet up with Sona, who is at her desk. Again. 

“Have you come to a conclusion yet?” she asks us.

“No…” I say at the same time Sam says,

“Yeah!” 

“Okay then… Samirah, are you going to stay with us?” Wait for it… wait for it… 

“Well, I wanna stay with you guys. But… I also want to be with Lily.”

Huh. I thought she was going to leave me. So, now I have an easier choice. “Now I’m leaning towards staying too.” I inform Sona. “But I still don’t really know.” 

“Okay. That’s fine.” She doesn’t look mad at me, which I appreciate. With a warm smile, she turns to Sam. “But I’m glad you want to help us!” 

My insides seem to melt. Sona is being so nice to me, yet I still don’t really want to be with her. My own friend is joining, and I still don’t want to. Why do I still think I can find my father? I won’t! Ever! 

When my mom died of a pandemic virus called Repoat two years ago (another pandemic centuries ago that you might have heard of is Coronavirus. That one was famous), my dad left me in the care of one of his friends, who I really don’t like. Blah blah blah. 

 Me and Sam walk back to our room. When we get there, she asks, “Why don’t you want to join?” I guess I should break the news. I tell her everything I just told you, pouring my troubles out. When I finish, I feel so much better, I want to jump around. She doesn’t even say ‘I’m sorry’ and move on. Instead, she mutters, “And I thought I had the worst problems.”

“Like what?”

“Well, getting captured. Having the worst parent in the world,” she answers.

“But I had no idea you were dealing with that.”

Now that I think about it, my dad probably didn’t want me. Not that I was bad (well, I do pickpocket… ) but that he just wasn’t a good dad. 

“Sam,” I announce, “I have something to tell Sona.”

SAMIRAH

Chapter 7

WELL, THAT WAS SOME NEWS. But at least Lily joined! I walk with her to Sona’s desk. When she hears the news, she exclaims, “Great! You two have to do one quick thing before you’re officially with us. DEVIN?” she calls. “LEAD THESE TWO TO THE JOINING ROOM, PLEASE!”

A girl who tells us nervously, “Hi! I’m — uh… I’m Devin! And I’m um… twelve.” Then, she scurries like a mouse through the same room we went through to get to breakfast. 

***

It takes a while to get there, but eventually we arrive at the room. The “joining room” is a metal-walled room with two dozen big bubbling vats filled with molten metal of all different colors. One vat has pink (ugh), another has turquoise, and yet another with red liquid metal. There are a ton of other colors, but it would take me a while to go to all of them. On a table that leans against the back wall sits smallish-medium cement squares, carved deep with small to medium C’s, next to a various assortment of tools and other things. The room is so hot, I can feel the hairs of my arms rising.

“Um.. I’m going to stay with you until another person comes who will — uhh, help you,” Devin informs us. 

“Okay!” I whimper, my voice squeakier that I like. Those vats of lava-like metal make me feel small and tender. 

***

Finally, a young woman with a brown leather tool belt and a long ponytail comes in and tells us her name is Henrya. “What’re your guy’s favorite colors?” 

“Turquoise,” I tell her.

“Ooh! That’ll go nice with your dark skin,” Henrya exclaims. 

“I like red,” Lily says.

“Nice! Red will look great on you too!” Henrya tells us as she takes out a flexible measuring tape. “I need to measure your wrists.” 

She wraps the measuring tape around my wrist and mutters, “Size five,” then measures Lily’s wrist. “Size four.”

Henrya takes a big ladle with a mouth from the table and dips it in the vat of turquoise molten metal, then pours it into the carved C of one of the cement squares.

She then dips the ladle in the vat filled to the brim with red liquid metal, and pours that into another deeply carved C a little smaller than mine.

“Now we just have to wait,” she tells Lily and me, as the metal liquid steams.

***

Around half an hour later, after some tries at break-the-ice chats, the metal C’s are getting cool. “Alright,” Henrya stands up and walks over to the table where the metal C’s are cooling. “The metal bracelets are getting cool now!”

She takes a tool from the table, and uses it to pry the two metal C’s out of the squares. 

“Ooh! Hot!” Henrya recoils her arm when she tries to pick up one of the bracelet things.

“I thought they were cooling?” I frown. “What are they, anyway?” 

“Well, they were cooling. But they just aren’t super cool yet.”

“Oh.” 

“And I’ll get back to you later about your second question.”

Henrya takes out another two cement squares, this time carved with small holes. There is already silver cooled metal in the holes, which she also takes out of its mold. On my bracelet, she attaches the one of little silver dots into a slot I didn’t notice before. 

“You don’t have to watch me the whole time. It’s gonna take a while.” Henrya glances at us. I was getting pretty bored.

“M’kay.” I look at Lily. “Do you wanna leave?” 

“Sure.” She turns to Henrya. “We’re going to leave. See ya!” She hightails it out of the room, clearly as bored as I am. I follow her out. 

LILY

Chapter 8

WE WALK BACK to the dorm room, and a thought occurs suddenly to me. I’ve never seen anyone male with the Escapists.

“Hey… Sam? Have you ever seen a man here?”

“Yeah! Of course I have! You’ve met your dad, right? He’s a man!”

I slap my face. “No, stupid! Here! With the Escapists!”

“Ohhhhh. Here? I’ve never seen a man here.”

“Then I guess this is an all-girls community.” 

So maybe they rescue only girls? Or they rescued boys, too, but don’t allow them to join? Now I’m just confusing myself.

I walk to the bookshelf to get out the book I was reading before. I only finish a page or two before there’s a knock on my door. “Come in?” 

The door opens a little, and Devin peeks through the crack. She opens the door fully, making it creak in annoyance. “The bracelet things Henrya was making are ready!” she announces.

I groan. “Can we just, like, relax a little?”

“Well… no. Sorry. Come on!” Devin bounces out of the doorway. 

Ugh. fine. We followed her into the intersection with Sona’s desk. Henrya waited next to the desk, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Ah! Finally,” she exclaims when we get there. “I just finished the things I was making! So, here they are!” She holds out the two metal C’s for us to see.

“So… what are those?” I ask. 

“They’re bracelets.” Henrya tells me, as if I don’t know.

“I know that, but — ”

“Yeah, yeah. So. these three buttons here? This silver one calls for help if you get caught, and this black one here means you’ve found a possible recruit, and it’ll take a picture of  the possible recruit. This white one deploys a glider!”

“Wow.”

We take a moment to admire it.

“How do you do this? This is like, top rank technology, from the future!” Sam’s eyes widen.

“Once you’re with us for a while, I’ll show you!” Henrya beams. “Who wants me to put it on first?”

“Uh.. me?” I say.

“Is that a question?”

“Me. Me first, please,” I correct myself.

She clamps it around my wrist, and I black out. 

SAMIRAH

Chapter 9 

I’M NERVOUS. REAL NERVOUS. When Lily blacks out, I’m cornered by Devin and Henrya. “It’s your turn.” Henrya grins evilly.

I struggle, trying to resist them putting on the blackout bracelet (as I call it), but it does no good. My vision turns black as I think, once again, goodbye, freedom. 

***

My eyelids flutter open. I yelp as I see a face looming over me, but then I settle back down when I realize it’s just Lily.

“Where are we?” I wonder. 

“Just take a look.” she says miserably.

I do. We’re in a metal box, not tiny, but not big. That’s it. Just a bare, metal walled box. 

Chhhhhhhhick! A panel I didn’t notice before slides open. A new woman with blond hair pops into the new opening. 

“Hah! Still there. You’ll need some food, huh?”

The woman ducks out of the opening, and returns a few seconds later with two trays. “Here ya go!” she says, and hands over the two trays. Plopped onto the tray was some oatmeal. Was it morning? 

“Lily, you have a watch right? What time is it?”

“7 A.M.” 

“Was I out for a while?

“I dunno. I was conscious just before you,” she tells me.

We stay in the small metal room for a week (according to Lily’s watch). I’m bored, hungry and scared most of the time. We get food two times a day, instead of three. 

“We need to find a way out of here,” I say, then notice a camera filming us and listening to us. 

“There’s a security camera,” I whisper, as if it will make a difference to how the camera hears us. 

“Well, shoot. I guess we can make a secret language?” Lily suggests.

“Yeah, but we’ll have to face the opposite direction from the camera.” 

I turn the other way, but I find another camera on that side, too. “Well, that’s great,” I mutter.

No one talks for a few minutes.

Lily speaks up. “Um… could we do the child’s position from yoga, and make up the moves under ourselves?”

“Yeah! Great idea. They’ll hear us, but they won’t understand!”

So this is what we do. After maybe another few days, our sign language thing is done!

Now we need to think up a plan, I say, using our secret code.

LILY

Chapter 10

 OUR PLAN IS PRETTY SIMPLE. We will wait until the woman who gives us food comes, and me and Sam will pull her in. Then, I will pickpocket her and climb out of the hole. Then we will lock the woman in so she can’t follow us. (We made the plan through our code.)

We wait until dinner, which we think will be the best time because all the guards will be tired. The panel on the ceiling slides open. “Here’s your dinner!” Dinner-Woman tells us. Her coat hangs down through the hole, and I grab it and pull with all my weight. Sam takes a hold too. The woman topples into the room. Before she knows what happens, I take a keycard from her pants pocket. I clamber out of the room, Sam right behind me. With the keycard I took from her, and seal the room. 

I’m out of the room, on the run again. I run around, trying to find a map so we can get out. 

I hear footsteps echoing through the hallway behind us. 

“We need to go faster!” I whisper at Samirah, too rushed to use our code. The footsteps are closer now. I can hear the pounding of feet loud and clear, instead of echoey. My shirt snags on something. I turn around to free my shirt but instead, a woman in a guard’s uniform stares at me. I kick her shins, freeing myself from her grasp. She falls over with a big WHUMP.

Ahead of me, Sam pushes open a door. The room is deserted except for an asleep woman behind a wooden table. The grey painted walls peel at the edges. Then I see our goal: a door behind the woman at the table, labeled with a glowing, blinking orange “exit” sign. 

Not wanting to wake up the woman, I tell Sam in our sign language, go to the door!

“Ok.” 

I see a small black slot in the door. 

Use the card to open the door, I say using the code. I hold out the card. She grabs it for my hand and steps quietly to the door. She inserts the card into the slot.

Click! The door unlocks! We’re freeeeeeeee

“Not so fast.” The woman we thought was asleep turns out to just be faking. With a start I realize the woman is Sona. We’re so close to freedom, and we get caught! The fourth time this week! 

“I’m not capturing you,” she says, surprising me. “I may be the leader, but another person is trying to take my spot.”

“So — ”

“So what I’m saying is what happened was a test, though they did it way too harshly,” she cuts in. “Go to Sederburg Street. Look for the dumpster. There’s a slot. Put the card in. You’ll be in the real headquarters.”

“Gotcha.”

Together, me and Sam jump through the doorway, into the world.

To be continued…

Grades

They say the more you practice, the better you get,

But my grades are getting worse.

I always practice doodling on my desk.

Is there some kind of sketching curse?

In math, Madame says there’s an answer to everything.

So, after work, when everyone else is done, 

I kindly ask her in my high pitched voice:

“I forgot. Is there an answer to 2 + 1?”

He said that hard work translates to good grades,

But I don’t think he really understood.

For I’m working hard at recess time, 

And my grades have not yet changed for good.

Mr. Smith says that good spelling makes good writing.

Now, at least I know how to spell.

I’m still at the kindergarten spelling level.

I’m sure he thinks I really excel.

Tech teacher says to stay safe on the computer,

So I email a hacker my real password.

I figured he’d help me keep my account safe.

Lily thinks that’s absolutely absurd.

Music teacher said to play nice and loud.

I told her there were no songs called loud nor nice.

Apparently, that was my third strike

Teacher says, “You’ll have to pay the price.”

Everyone says that library class is bad. 

I think it is super super boring.

So when we are picking books to check out,

I spend time sleeping and snoring.

In cooking class, teacher tells me to drain the pasta.

So I put my pasta down the drain.

In choir, the teacher tells me to sing from the start,

So I decide to skip to the refrain.

Spanish teacher says that Spanish is useful in trade,

But I really don’t think that that is true.

Everyone doesn’t know any trade words

And I only know just one and two.

Tom says reading’s always the hardest subject.

I really really really agree with that too.

The book of letters is so super hard to read.

Teacher always says “It’s x, not u!”

Gym teacher says a pull-up is really great.

But I get splinters from the bar of wood.

I get 0 almost every time I try.

I assume one below great is good?

She said concentrating gives you higher grades.

I intensely concentrate on my need to pee.

Everyone says I’m the dumbest kid in grade 4, 

Is there something wrong with me?

Bob

May something, 2075

Dear Diary,

This is the most stupid thing I did in my life. I mean who writes in a diary these days? My stupid wife told me to write in one so I can get my thoughts on paper. Do you think I care about that? If you said no, then congratulations, you’re right. I’m Bob. I have a few things that I need to tell you about me. First, I have eight sons. Second, I’m drunk and, instead of water, I drink vodka. But really think about it. Who drinks water anymore? It’s either beer or vodka. Third, I am 50 years old. Also I’ve had five wives and I’m obese. Oh and lastly, I smoke a lot.

My wife tells me to eat healthier so I don’t get sick. I don’t get sick so I guess I eat healthy. I eat McDonald’s and Burger King. If my wife makes me eat healthy then I eat corn with a lot of salt (otherwise it’s not OK) or I eat a rainbow bagel with loads of nutella (no lots of nutella, not good).

May something, 2075

Dear Diary,

It’s morning and my wife gave me some yogurt with honey. I was like, “Who eats that?” So instead, I took fruit loops and chocolate milk. Unfortunately, she caught me and threw it away. I started screaming like a maniac because that was the last bowl of fruit loops left. I took the honnynut cereal off the shelf and poured it into the salad bowl which is used for cereal not salad because salad is unhealthy, I think. Please tell me I’m right.

Anyway, my wife said we have to go outside to breath some “fresh” air. Ugh. So, I decided that I’d go to the deli and buy myself some airheads. At least I’m walking a bit. I got there and guess what happened. They were sold out. You’re asking why. Well, I bought them all yesterday. But then I looked to the side and guess what I saw. Cheetos. My friend Jimmy loves them so I’m gonna try it. BRB.

June something, 2075

Dear Diary,  

I’m back at home watching tv and writing in this stupid thing, and guess what’s for dinner. My favorite, not. A burger with lettuce and tomato. Why eat that when you could get a Big Mac at McDonalds for a buck or a really juicy burger from Burger King. That would be much better than whatever burger that cost $18.99.

In case you were wondering, I work at the worst place ever. A buffet with, you guessed it, salads and omelets and, the worst of all, salads. Wait, did I already say that? I think I did. Right. Or did I just think it? You know that feeling when you think you say something and you’re not sure if you actually did? Or did you? Because you could have just thought it or said it. Y’know.

Anyway, so about my job. Well, it sucks. I could’ve gotten a better job and I’d rather get assassinated. I stand at the register being like, “Hey, want to sit at this buffet that is so disgusting you will get food poisining.” It’s more than a nightmare.

June something, 2075

Dear Diary,

I’m going to the gym to get some exercise. And I think that what I’m doing right now is really smart because I always see these ads on youtube that are explaining that to stay healthy, you need to exercise. So I’m gonna try it. My wife was proud and I don’t care. I’m there and I see all these weird things that somehow help you stay healthy. There is the conveyer belt thingy that I see a lot in the buffet stocking area. It brings the food and tins to the kitchen to wash. I wonder what you do with it. I’m going to the info desk to check what it’s for.

So I asked this man what the stuff is for and he started out like this:“I see you’re new here.”

How does he know that I’m new? I never even met him before. He was the skinniest person I ever saw in my life and he is a stalker. I’m gonna call him Stalker Dude. Why not? I mean, he is a stalker. I wonder what being a stalker is like. You get to spy on people. Oh, and in case you’re wondering I’m writing in a really uncomfortable position. I’m on the treadmill (I figured out what it was called) rolling off over and over again. It’s annoying.

Next, I went to the peloton (I only know what that is called from youtube). That stalker dude came and told me how to use it. So I’m sitting on it and it was supposed to help me burn calories, but I don’t think that it’s working really well. Lastly, I went to the dumbbells and I have no idea how those stick men lift them. Stalker Dude came and told me how to use it like I have no idea how. Ill need to put this diary down and lift some stuff.

So, now I’m in an ambulance. You’re asking why. Well, I dropped the dumbbell on my ribcage and I broke it. It was 50 lbs. I have to rest now so I’m gonna write tomorrow.

June something, 2075

Dear Diary, 

I forgot to tell my boss that I’m in the hospital so he called me and threatened that if I don’t come to work then he will rob me and take away Youtube premium. I was raging. No, he is not taking away Youtube premium from me. Youtube is also a part of my life. I cannot live without Youtube and especially not Youtube premium. My rage though. I was just furious. Even all the people that needed surgery who got put to sleep woke up. I was also supposed to be sleeping, but who cares. The doctor said I’ll have to be in the hospital for another month or so, until my rib cage heals, but they said that I have to rest if I want it healed. I guess I do. I mean, who wants to spend a year in bed doing nothing, but sleeping with a bunch of almost dead people?

June something, 2075

Dear Diary, 

So the doctor checked in with me and said my treatment wasn’t working. That sucks. And you know why it didn’t work? Because I was watching youtube to spend my last hours of happiness on Youtube premium. I told my doctor what my boss said and you know what he said? Good for you. Who says that? He’s lame. I’m gonna call him Lame Dude. So, Lame Dude came in and told me to breathe deeply. I don’t know why though. He said it was because he needs to see if my heart is working properly. I was thinking about that and it came to me that what he said meant I could die. And when you die, no Youtube premium! So, I guess this is my life now (that is soon ending).

I don’t know what to do now because, unfortunately, Lame Dude took away all devices and said, “If you keep watching Youtube or playing video games then you might die.” That made me scared so it was the first time in my life that I let someone take away my devices. But still, I’m not so sure I can trust lame dude because he’s lame!! Lol.

June 6, 2075

Dear Diary, 

Lame dude came in and told me that he will start the surgery. I was surprised. He never told me about a surgery. Just then, he pushed something into my leg and I fell asleep. No idea how it happened, but it did. So guess what. Now I need surgery and Lame Dude put me to sleep in like a second. Sounds weird, don’t you think? Ok, now I’m struggling and suffering. I will end now. I will not be writing until, like, next month. Going to the gym was a very bad idea. Very bad idea.

Dear Diary,

I am out of the hospital! In case you want to know, it’s been a month since I wrote here. I actually thought of giving up, but nope. My wife forced me to keep going and this time, no exceptions. Ugh. Why does my life suck?

June 27, 2075

Dear Diary, 

It’s the next day and now I’m getting really frustrated. I forgot to give my boss a note about why I was away and he didn’t believe me when I said my story. He said I was a liar and by liar I mean big fat liar. That’s supposed to be quoted but who has time for quotation marks and grammar? Grammar is stupid. It just takes up a lot of time and even if you don’t use it everyone can understand you. For example, if you text someone R U OK, they will understand it. Anyway, I am going to work now and I have to stop, bye!

 June something, 2075

Dear Diary, 

When I came in, I noticed that the register was covered in tomato sauce. I checked inside and there was no money! Just then, my boss came in and noticed me with the register open and then he barked, What are you doing with our money!!! This is unexceptable!!! Again I do not care about quotes.

So, if you are reading this, which you shouldn’t, don’t comment on any mistakes I make. It’s already a pain in the butt to just write this.

I told my boss that I was just waiting for the first customer to come when I realized that the money was gone. He didn’t believe me so he told me he would go to my house and search all of it for the money. One thing I can say is he’s a dum dum.

In the meantime, I will just serve the customers that come and pretend like nothing happened. I feel bad for them. The only problem for my boss is that he doesn’t know where I live and I live all the way in the Bronx and the buffet is in Brighton beach. I really don’t know how I get here every week day.

Anyway, the buffet isn’t so popular so I had to wait a whole hour for the first customer of the day to come. It was already 12 pm. We open at 10. Something that is really weird about this buffet is that we pre-set everything the night before so we won’t have to do it in the morning And because it also is supposed to save time. Heh, like we need to save time.

June something, 2075

Dear Diary,

So the first customer came and I gave them a table to sit at. They were mad because I gave them the table near the bathroom when everything else was free. I can see that on their faces that they were mad. We don’t have enough money to buy a janitor so the bathrooms stink. I’d rather go to McDonalds to go to the bathroom.

So anyway, the customers went up to get their plates and to get the food. We have a chef that makes custom food and everyone goes up to him. The customers noticed that and quickly ran up to him and asked for something. Don’t ask me what because I don’t know what they asked for. So the chef started working and gave me a wink. You are asking why. Well, you shouldn’t even be asking this question because you shouldn’t be even looking at this diary! I mean I don’t even care. Not like my personal stuff is in here, but still close this right now. Or, if you are snoopy, don’t and keep reading. If you are still reading this then it is obvious that means that you are snoopy and guess what? I don’t care.

Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh right! The chef giving me a wink and you asking why. Well, we were childhood friends and we were trouble. What I mean by trouble is big trouble. We were pranksters. I remember when we were 5 (or was it 6? Or 10? I don’t know) we put dead rats in the jars of candy at his grandmother’s house. It was a great experience to see her faint. I know what you are thinking. Why is there so much dark humor? Well, again, you shouldn’t be thinking that because you shouldn’t have read what I wrote before. Again, not like I wrote anything personal here but still! So I’m guessing that he is pulling another one of his chef pranks like putting sugar instead of salt on sushi. The customers are heading to their seats to wait for the food when the second customer comes in. I give them the table closest to the second bathroom. The second bathroom is even more stinky because everyone forgets about it. About two people enter it each day. The other bathroom however, I don’t even know.

I started spying on the first customers again. The first bite of the meal and the ladies tongue stuck out. The food was gross. I quickly went over to the chef to see what he did.

What did you do?

Again I have no time for quotes. Anyway, he said that the woman of the couple ordered bread. Turns out that the chef had used his last batch of ground up cricket flour and made it into cricket bread. Then the man of the couple ordered chocolate chip cookies and the chef made chocolate chirp cookies which have crickets in them. He made the crickets not visible in the cookie so when you took a bite there were crickets inside. Their butts were sticking out and eventually into your mouth. Unless you aren’t respectful to bugs and don’t get how nutritious they are and decide that you are not eating them.

Anyway, I see that the second set of customers are going up to get cole slaw. I mean, why cole slaw? Why? It is like the most expensive item on the menu. The coleslaw is supposed to have fresh grown cabbage that is not organic. We have a garden, but nobody ever goes in because it is filled with clouds of pesticides. Ya, the gardener quit his job. Hm, that gets me thinking. I can quit this job, but then what if I don’t get another job and I’ll be homeless? And I won’t be able to pay for… Youtube Premium!!! You know what? I’m better with sticking to this job before deciding to quit. Especially because I’m getting a dog soon. It will be the biggest moment in my life. Only maybe after when I divorced my least favorite wife, which is my fourth! She was the meanest person on Earth!!! She made me eat salad! Like, why salad?! I can’t even hear the word salad, it sounds so gross!!! OK let’s change the subject. Nevermind, next customer.

I gave these customers a seat right next to the corner where everyone pukes because our food is so gross. It always stinks there and there are stains on the floor. I had to go to the bathroom so I went across the street to McDonald’s. Such a disappointment when you work in the worst restaurant and then across the street you look over and you see the best restaurant. The fourth customer came in and this time they were single. It was a woman that had long black hair. She had a dog at her side. I ran up and started petting it. I think it was a siberian husky puppy. It was jumping on me just like any playful puppy would, when I noticed that the puppy was in here because the person wanted to eat, not because the puppy wanted to see me. Again, I feel like I’m starting to go through a phase of depression. I’m going to start looking for a better job. The job I’m looking for is a job that I will get tons of money from. I want to get a job that is not torture like this one. Hopefully, one day that will happen. Anyway, I need to give the customer a seat. I gave her the seat next to the custom food chef. Lol. I don’t feel like writing anymore so I’m going to just end it here. See you tomorrow, Diary. Or should I say stupid Diary. 

July something 4th, 2026

Dear Diary,

It is another day of work and I am not happy. It is Tuesday, which is my least favorite day of the week. That is the day when the restaurant is empty and I don’t get paid as much. So I guess I can come a bit late. I am right now getting off the stop on the train and now walking down the block. I see a group of people standing behind a couple and then they are standing behind someone. The only problem was that they were angry. Their eyebrows were pointed down and according to a Youtube video I watched, scrunched eyebrows meant anger. I didn’t know why, so I went up to the entrance of the restaurant when I saw the customers waiting in line to go in. Uuuh. This was strange. Whatever. I opened the restaurant up and all the tables were filled.

That is when the last customer told me in an angry voice, “Great way to start off a holiday.” I guess he was being sarcastic but wait, what holiday? I asked him and he told me and said that it was the 4th of July. I almost started crying. 4th of July is my favorite holiday of the year and I missed it all. I didn’t even check the date.

Like I even ever check the date. About twenty people everyday ask me the date and I’m like, “How would I know?” It’s very annoying. I can’t even imagine those poor kids having to put the date on every little thing of school work. Now, I’m too scared that the customers are going to leave because of the bad service and writing isn’t really going to help with this so ya, bye.

July something, 2075

Dear Diary, 

So it is the next day and I am taking a day off from work. Work has been really tiring the last few days, so I’m staying home and relaxing, aka watching Youtube and eating Pringles on the couch. I always take a day off of work because once a week my boss goes to a place with no reception so he can’t tell me to go to work or whatever. That day is usually on Wednesdays, like today. But what is funny is that he pays me the same amount as the workers that work there for six days a week. Lol. Wait, I have a call from someone, just a sec. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I am dead!

The call was from my boss. He had called telling me that he was mad that I wasn’t at work! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I thought that he was in a place with no reception. He wasn’t! He was in the building where the restaurant is and he noticed that I wasn’t there. I am doomed. He knows where I was all these weeks because he secretly installed an app on my phone that let him see where I was the whole time. I know this because I was looking frantically on my phone for something and I came across a calculator app. Um, why is there a calculator app on my phone? I thought I got rid of math from my life. I opened the app and it wasn’t a calculator (thank god), but as I guessed it was a tracker. My boss was tracking me since the hospital. How did he download it though? I’m not even going to answer that. I’m just going to delete the app and he won’t be able to download it again because my phone is going to be on me the whole time. I’m still not going to work. I’m just going to pretend that I’m sick and tell my boss that. One second. I don’t want to write anymore. I’m depressed again. Maybe I can get away with not writing anymore for a bit. I want to go to the hospital again so I won’t have to go to work or write in this diary again. But the only problem is that I won’t have any Youtube videos to watch because of what my doctor said last time I broke my rib cage. I really want some type of excuse so I can get out of the stupid Earth and into my world, which is a place where everyone agrees with me and there is only the food I like to eat. A world where I can do whatever and won’t have to pay for anything. I will have Youtube Premium for free!!!! That would be great. Ok, so this is getting boring to write now so ya, bye. 

July something, 2075

Dear Diary, 

Now Thursday. I really don’t like Thursdays. Well, to be honest, I don’t like any days of the week except Saturdays and Sundays. All the days at work are boring. It really is time to get a better job. Well, not necessarily a more money job, but a job that is more fun than the trash place where I work at. It literally smells like animal poop. Well, at least I think it does. I don’t really know how animal poop smells. Like, I just think that it smells like someone’s poop that ate beans in their last meal. Hopefully, my prediction is correct. Well, I don’t want it to be correct because if animal poop smells like that then that is just disgusting. This topic is very disturbing and makes me cringe just thinking about it. I’m just really tired of this job now. I’m going across the street to use the bathroom and eat some lunch. If you are wondering, across the street means McDonald’s. I’m going to ask if they have any free spots to work there. Be right back.

Ok, so I’m back and good news! Finally something good! I am going to work at McDonald’s now! I am really happy because I actually get to work in a place where life would be good. I get good food and a clean bathroom. I really hope that I will get enough money from this. I will go to my boss and quit now. I hope that my friend won’t care that I have left him at hell. I will text my boss saying that I quit and I will start working at my second favorite restaurant ever. In case you were wondering, my favorite is Burger King and my third favorite is Dunkin Donuts. Is Dunkin Donuts even a restaurant? If not, then KFC is my third favorite. I’m really tired now so I’m going to stop writing. 

July something, 2075

Dear Diary,

I am now writing this because I am going to try the gym again. My wife is proud of me that I tried again. My goal this time is to get a concussion.

So, I am on the way there. I am hoping that the stalker dude won’t be there. Ok, so I am entering the doors to the gym and there is a different person at the help center. He asks if I need any help. I ask him why would I need any help and he says because I look new. I tell him that I am not new. Then, I start to get annoyed because both help people thought I was new at the gym. Ok, maybe the first was right, but still! I am going to lift a one-pound weight and hope that that won’t break my rib cage. Ok, that was pretty light and now I don’t know how that helps with losing your weight. Now I’m going to the peloton. The peloton is actually pretty fun. I was on it for about twenty minutes. Then I went to the treadmill. I put it on one mile an hour. It isn’t really going so fast but I like it. It reminds me of one of those slides that I used to use when I was a boy. I still don’t get how this lets you lose weight. I am just sliding off the platform. This is boring. Anyway, I’m going to come back here later to go on the peloton more. I’m going to go get some lunch at Burger King and then go to my favorite candy shop, Candytopia, to get some Nerds. I am on the walk there and at a crosswalk, so I should stop writing for now.

Okay, so that was a successful cross. Anyway, I am almost at Burger King so now I am thinking of what to get. I do want a big burger with cheese, bacon, and french fries. That is my usual order though. Then, I will take a large Fanta out of the fridge. I went to my usual table right near the kitchen so I can smell all the good stuff being cooked. The cashier called my name and I went up to get my food. I sat down at the table and began to eat. I don’t want to keep writing while I eat, so I will come back later.

I had my usual order and it was delicious. It was all juicy and chewy, my favorite consistency of a burger. The drink was really fizzy and sweet. I love when my soda tastes like that. I mean, it kind of always tastes like that, so there is nothing special about it. But you know, whatever. I am heading out to go back to the gym. I want to go on the peloton more. It feels relaxing. I don’t really remember where the gym is though. Is it to the right or left? Maybe it’s to the front? I don’t know, but I’m going to figure it out. I might have gone into the subway before and I think that that is right, but you know, it could not be. I am around 70% sure that I went to the subway to the gym. I am going to take the 7 train and hope that the train will take me there. I am not going to write in the subway because it is embarrassing, so I will come back later.

I am out of the train and looking around. I have never been here before. I don’t think that this is where the gym is because apparently this place I am in now is called Williamsburg. That is a strange name for a neighborhood. Is it named after a person named William that ate a burger here? I don’t know and I don’t care. I am going back to the subway to go back to where I was. Let’s see, I went in the L train and got off at the last stop which was… I don’t know. Somehow, from there I need to get back to Burger King and from Burger King somehow get to the gym. I am going to stop writing because I am going to be in the subway now. When I come out, I will write again.

Okay, so now I am out of the subway and writing again. I am so confused now. I don’t see any Burger King or gym. This is really weird. I thought that I got off at the right stop. I know I did. I remember this station and I know for sure that I got off here. Did I go straight to here? I think I did, so let’s try to get there. Ok, so now I am walking to who knows where and hopefully getting to Burger Ling. Now that I think about it, saying and writing Burger Ling so many times makes me hungry again. I need my order. I’m craving it right now. I need my large fries and double burger with bacon and cheese. Wait, I just remembered! I wanted to go to Candytopia! How did I not remember this? I am going to get another order from Burger King and then go to Candytopia to get some Nerds. Why are they called Nerds? You know what? I do not care what they are called and I never will. But something I do care about is how good Nerds are. They are really good and come in many different flavours. I can write you a ten page essay on why they are good, but guess what? Yay! You are correct! I will not write an essay because I need to get my food. I am dying from hunger and nobody can stop me. I need to get to Burger King and eat my usual order!!! It is the only thing that will make me live a good life, even though my life is already bad. Wait, is this what I’m seeing? It’s the gym! Why haven’t I seen this before? I am really pissed off right now. I walked right past it on the way to the subway! You know? I really don’t care about anything right now. I want to go eat!!! Has anyone died from being hungry? I think so. So, where is Burger King?! I thought that it was supposed to be right here. Why is there a sign on the door? You know what? I’m not even gonna try to read it. The lettering is too small, anyway. I am going into Burger King and getting my usual order. The door is locked!!! What is wrong with this place? How can they be closed at a time like this? It is literally 7pm! Oh, um. That took me a long time to get back. Well, looks like I am going home!

July something, 2075

Dear Diary,

So I am back! Yay! No! Hmph. I am going to try to go to the gym and actually get on the peloton again. Hopefully, it’s not very crowded. Pelatons are usually everyone’s favorite thing, which kinda sucks. I am headed to the gym and a second ago I realized I can use Google Maps to help me get there. I am so dumb. Actually, I am the smartest. Only that incident was dumb. I mean, that incident was not dumb. It was just incorrect. Whatever. I am following the GPS and it says that I should be at the gym in a minute, which I am partially happy about. I am happy that I will get in the peloton, but I am not happy about being at the gym in general. I’d rather go get nerds. Wait, I just forgot, I was gonna go to the candy shop. I’m going to go there now and go to the gym later. I search up the candy shop on Google Maps and start walking. It isn’t too far away. It took me a half an hour to get there! Whatever. OK, I will go to the 5th aisle. Wait no, 1st aisle, no, 3rd aisle. Wait no, the Nerds are in the 6th aisle. Ok, I’m starting to get dizzy from all that walking and looking at candy.

I’m breathing hard. I don’t think I have asthma. Or do I? Whatever. I’m walking through the aisles to see if there are any new flavours of Nerds. Everything is the same. I am just walking, getting five packs of each flavour, but still no new OMG, there is a new flavour!! Not of Nerds though. It’s a new flavour of Hershey chocolate. Hershey chocolate is my 3rd favorite candy. After Nerds and Airheads. Anyway. Is it annoying I keep saying anyway? If it is I‘m sorry, but I don’t care so, ya know, deal with it. I don’t even want to write in this so don’t give me a hard time. Anyway, I bought my stuff and went to the gym. On the way there, I was eating my candy. It was a great taste. I got all the flavours of Nerds, all flavours of Airheads, wait—I didn’t even eat the Airheads I bought at the deli before. Whatever. Now for the new flavour of Hershey. Why is there no taste? I thought it was supposed to be a really good flavour. Let me guess, they made so many flavours they decided to make it flavourless. I hope not. Ok, what!? The packaging says extra sweet with enriched flavour!!! Those pathological liars!! I’ll eat the Airheads now because the Hershey bar ruined my day. Finally something actually good!

Wait a second, this has no taste too!!! What is up with this candy? I am going home!!! I got home faster than I thought I would, probably because I was running. It is hard for me to breathe and my wife is concerned. I don’t see why though. We are on the way to the hospital now. Ugh, it’s taking so long and I don’t even need to go there. I am fine. Anyway, I will stop writing because I am literally raging again.

Ok so, we just got to the doctors in the hospital and now I am being tested for this disease that apparently killed a lot of people in 2020. It was a global pandemic. Now, don’t ask me what that means because I don’t know. Anyway I feel weaker right now so I will stop writing and update you tomorrow.

August 2nd, 2075

Dear Diary,

Anyway, now I am in the hospital diagnosed with something called corona. My doctor said there is a low chance that I will survive. Well, it’s not like I care. At least my eight sons will think the same. My wife took pity on me and said that this could be my last diary entry and I should spend my last few months well. I am surprisingly not sad because I do get to spend my last few months of life watching Youtube and stuff. They tried to give me medicine, but it didn’t work. Anyway, I guess all I can say is bye. So, bye, hope you all are not like me and make sure to not get uh, what’s it called? Something with a c. Co, co—oh ya, Corona.

The Crazy Meatball Incident

This has been translated from Marshmallowian by The Institute of Marshmallow and English. Except from some parts with a * on either side of it.

One day, on Meatball Land, there was a big enormous explosion from the meatball volcano. On Meatball Land, everyone is a marshmallow and they only eat meatballs. On the day when the explosion happened, all of the tiny marsh-villages got covered completely in meatballs and tomato sauce. The marshmallows had to evacuate before all of the land got covered!!! They had to think of a way out. Maybe they could dig a tunnel to the unknown Cow Land. That’s how it all started.

Chapter Numero Uno

My name is Bart, Bart DeFulletgrominu van Grickenshpein. I am a Jumbo Marshmallow. I am the richest on all of Meatball Land! Right now, my loyal servants are digging a tunnel to Cow Land where only the greatest explorers have been. But now it’s different. It is an emergency for all of Marshmallowanity to evacuate the surface and go underground to where the cows live. It is a hard time for us marshmallows.

“Servants, dig dig dig. It’s going to blow soon. I don’t want to die. Do you? No – so get digging.”

Then suddenly I heard a big boom!! Could that be the volcano? I looked in the direction of where it came from. It was not the volcano! It was TNT. That gave me a good idea. Maybe we could use TNT!

“Servants, get the TNT. We’re gonna blow it!!!”

This turned out to be a bad idea. You will see why later.

My servants piled all of the TNT into the hole they made. From that hole they set a long piece of flammable rope with fire. When it exploded, something very bad happened: the volcano exploded too!! Just then I had forgotten about violation code #45627, which says that if you’re less than a mile away from the volcano, you can not use TNT. This is because it will explode into the meat caverns and will make the volcano erupt! I thought through this. After a little while, I realized that I was the one who made the Meatball Volcano explode!!!

I was astounded! I could not believe I had forgotten about violation code #45627 It was is the most important code in our area! 

*What will happen next in The Crazy Meatball Incident?!*

Chapter 2

Two days later…

I just escaped going to jail because of that TNT incident. I ran away from Meatball Land on a train, a car, my own feet, and a roller-coaster (the roller-coaster was actually kind of fun). Now I am pretending to be a poor marshmallow in the streets of the dreaded Beyond Meatball Land, which is 300 miles away from any real meat. But I am safe here. No real marshmallow would ever come here. That would be disgusting! Well, there are no more things to talk about. I will just go and beg for more moolah. 

Chapter 3

Twenty-four hours later…

Hello. 

I just saw a silver and white airplane fly over.  It had something that said “NASA” on it and it had an alien in a white jumper as the driver. I think it might be trying tooh no I am floating through a green tunnel going to the NASA thing!

They greet me with a taser in my leg, but too bad for them, marshmallows can not be electrocuted.

They try to talk to me: “Hello, we have come to extract you.”

But I cannot understand what they are saying. I try to talk to them, but they cannot understand me! I have only heard of real aliens in fairy tales. But these aliens are much different. You see, they have fluff on the top of their heads and five sausages at the end of their hands.

Wait, I think, these are Humans!!! OMG, are they going to bring me to earth?

Ever since I first read about Humans, I have always wanted to go to Earth. It’s my dream planet! 

Chapter 4

Three days later… 

I am on Earth.

I am so excited.

I want to live here.

This is awesome!

I love this place. I wonder why they brought me here.

I don’t think I’ve said this yet but: this is awesome!

Have I said this is awesome?!

Wow, I really like this place as you can tell. I think I am becoming famous here! There are reporters everywhere and they are asking me questions I do not understand. Everyone is taking pictures of me and one of the kids is eating a marshmallow! Holy moley! They do that here?! I hate Earth now! But I guess that is just one kid, so I love Earth now, again!

Well, that’s all I am going to share of my life (the rest is private), But it was a fun experience sharing it with you. So until then, adios!!!

What are you looking at? The story is over!

You’re still looking at this! 

You are still looking, now go and drink your coffee or go finish your life.

The Value of a Trophy

I stare up at the mountain, my legs ready to give out beneath me.

My ski coach announces, “I know this is challenging, but we’re going to try to ski down this easy green.” So far, my beginner ski group has only skied down the Magic Carpet. 

Glancing down at my feet, seemingly permanently stuck in a pizza shape, I tell my coach, “I think maybe I will be injured on that super steep trail.” 

My coach laughs. “It’s basically flat. You’ll be fine.” The basically flat trail looks like it is 90 degrees steep. My coach calmly skis to the lift, completely parallel and with poles in his hands. I keep peeking up at the mountain as I slide over to him and my group. Distracted, I trip over my own skis and sprawl on the ice. My face burns, and I jump up as fast as I can and jump on the lift. Soon, I regret doing that. I just hurried up the process of getting to the steep trail. Under my new, soft, warm mittens my hands tremble, and I am glad I don’t have ski poles, for I would have dropped them. The wind stings my face like evil grains of sand. I lean back on the ski lift, my heart pounding. But I soon realize that in doing that, I am making the lift go a mile a minute. It seems like a couple seconds when we come off the lift. 

As I look down the rugged terrain of the easy green, I wish I never came. As soon as I had turned 12, I should have given up hope of skiing. But no. I persisted and begged my parents to take me. My tired, busy parents. They had work, but they did bring me, and for what? I was in the little kids group, and I saw other kids my age, even younger, skiing down the mountain in a blur of color, their manageable skis skidding against the icy ground with a loud crunch. But…really, I’m still a kid, and it’s never too late to start stuff when you’re a kid.

I know I’m a kid, I think confidently. After all, I can still order from the kid’s menu at restaurants. So I can always improve! Even if I am three times the age of the other kids in my group and still not better than them, so what?

“We’re going down now.” My coach yells. 

I blurt out, more to myself than him, “I’m not afraid!” 

My coach gives me a weird look. “That’s – that’s great, Olivia!” Then he starts down the mountain. I clutch my legs, steadying them. I close my eyes and the pounding in my head stops.

 “I will get good – great – at this sport,” I whisper. I force my skis to turn parallel, and I fly down the mountain. “Yeahhh!” I cry. “I’m so fast!” But after scanning my surroundings, I realize that I’m the slowest person on the trail. Before I know it, I fall head over heels. My skis are teared off and my poles are wrested from my hands. I scream, then I realize that I am still, for I am on a flat part of the trail, called a catwalk. 

My coach bends down to help me. “Whoa, that was a big yard sale fall for a catwalk!” I’m so embarrassed. I will never get good at skiing. I trail behind as we ski to lunch.

A month ago

I hurried down our stairs, wriggling into my scratchy school sweater. I heard sounds of enthusiastic and loud talking in the dining room. “Mom, Dad-” They weren’t even at breakfast. Mom was in her office, writing, and Dad was probably at his lab in the middle of the city. The only people that were there were my younger brother and sister. They were six and twins, and had brown hair. Sadly, six is when kids start to annoy you and stop being quiet and obedient. 

George whispered loudly to Lily, “Olib looks sad.” 

I scowled at them. “Don’t call me Olib.” George and Lily giggled and threw stale cereal at me. I stomped into my mom’s office, wrenching the cold, silver door handle open and immediately I got hit by a stuffy smell. It seemed like my mom’s office didn’t have any oxygen in it. It looked like a common, messy office. Mom was sitting at her desk with her back to me, typing furiously on her laptop. Her trash bin was overflowing with crumpled pieces of paper, but random pieces floated through the room, and my mom was forced to look up and snatch at the air once in a while. “Mom, I really want to go skiing for spring break,” I say, choking on the musty air.

My mom turned around, bags under her eyes. “Olivia, for the last time, NO! How many times do I have to tell you?” 

“But, we’ve never gone for my whole life! All my friends have gone since they were small, and everyone except for me knows how to ski. Besides, it would be good for me, don’t you think?”

“Your father and I have jobs. What about George and Lily? We can’t bring them. You never want them to come anywhere with you.”

“Ugh, don’t other people have families too? They take time off for trips. We’ll bring George and Lily. Mom, it’ll be good for you and Dad’s health too.” 

My mom smiled and said, “Alright, we’ll go for a week and a half for spring break. Lucky for you, your dad’s boss is expecting a baby, and I just completed a piece of writing so I get a break. Your father or I will bring you tomorrow after school to buy ski gear for the whole family. Now get ready for school, the bus is coming soon.”

“Thank you, Mom!” I cried, hugging her. Then I hurried out of her office.

Back to the mountain.

I stomp into the crowded lunchroom with barely enough space to move, and the scent of french fries and chicken nuggets hit me. I am glad that we stopped skiing for now. I am also glad that George and Lily are not in my group. Imagine, my own siblings, in the same ski group as me. I sit down, yanking my ski helmet off. Suddenly, a group of kids come clamoring into the cafeteria. I hear an animated voice. “Nuh-uh, Scooby Doo! Barbie sucks!” I immediately recognize it as Lily. That meant George must be with her. I see his bright green ski helmet bobbing above the helmets of the four year olds in the group, and he seems to be ordering them around somehow. My siblings must be young enough to fit in, but old enough to have authority to be the leaders of this group. Lucky them. I scuttle to the lunch line, avoiding my siblings. But oh, I had to buy a neon rainbow ski helmet. George and Lily see me, and they cry out, “There’s our sister, Olib! She is on the same level  as us!” The whole cafeteria looks at me, every person turning in their black metal chairs to see. The food on the round, ugly table is forgotten, and as my siblings’ group erupts in raucous laughter, I erupt in fury.

I turn away, not wanting to show my bad side in front of so many people. My eyes well up, so I widen them to keep tears from spilling out. I grab the nuggets and fries from the lunch lady and hurry back to my seat. When I pick up the food, I squeeze it forcefully in my rage. In a moment, my hand starts to throb painfully. I release the soggy, wretched, and deformed chicken nugget, and I see that it has burned my palm and left my hand oily and shiny. I pick the nugget  up, and with no mercy, I shove it in my mouth. My favorite food has always been chicken nuggets, but it doesn’t taste so good anymore. The mood at lunch guarantees my mood for the rest of the day, and I decide to ask my parents to go home when I get back to the hotel.

“Can we go home?” I ask my parents at the hotel when my siblings are sleeping. They look at me in disbelief.

“But, didn’t you beg us to come here?” My dad asks, glancing at my mom to confirm.

“Yes, but it’s horrible. I came here too late, and now I’m so much older than all the other kids in my group. George and Lily are on the same level as me, and the kids my age are skiing like, double blacks and blacks!” I cry.

“Honey, you’ll improve,” my mom says. “If you try harder than everyone, you’ll improve faster. Soon, you’ll be rushing down the mountain like wind!” My mom pushes her hand in front of her as fast as it would go and makes a whoosh noise with her mouth. She thinks it sounds like the wind, but she is wrong.

“Sure,” I mutter. “But how much more of this do I have to endure? George and Lily taunting my every move?”

My parents look at each other, and my dad ruffles my hair. “You can do it, kiddo.” They climb into their bed, and sighing, I walk over to me and my brother and sister’s bed, shove them over, and climb in. I’m sure that I cannot sleep.

A year ago, at school

I walk into middle school. It is crowded by ugly and dented maroon lockers that are overflowing and people hurrying around to get to class. The lumpy gray walls are stained with who knows what, and the doors required full effort to be opened and the hallways smelled like rotten eggs. Hurrying to my locker, I open it and grab out my mini fluffy pink carpet. It feels so soft! I need it for school, because of the rotten egg smell. I press the carpet to my nose and inhale the smell of detergent. Without warning, I hear a crackling sound of the static of the speaker. The principal’s voice blares, “Class time,” and everyone rushes to their different rooms. I slam my locker closed and suddenly, a shadow falls over me.

Jessica, Britney, Hawke, and Ace stand over me. They are the Mean Machines. Ace and Hawke are famous for being loyal accomplices, Jessica is famous for being the heir to Britney, and Britney is famous for her hundred different expressions and being able to tell whether someone was lying or not.  I tremble all over. Hawke and Ace block my route to safety and Jessica and Britney advance toward me. “You don’t have any fashion style, do you?” Britney asks with the first of her one hundred different expressions, and I looks down at my purple sweater, green pants, and yellow sneakers. It hits me that she was right. “And, uh, what level did you say you were at skiing?” she asks.

“I never said anything about that,” I answer defiantly, regretting that I had discussed that topic so loud, so close to the Mean Machines during homeroom. “Now why don’t you get to class, it’s getting late.” Britney rolls her eyes and acts like she didn’t hear me. 

Jessica adds, “Britney and I go skiing every spring break. We’re skiing hard trails.” I didn’t say anything. She continues. “And I just can’t accept your fashion choices. Also, you’re not good at anything. You can’t play any sports, and skiing is easy. So why don’t you give it a try? I’d love to see you tumbling down an easy Magic Carpet trail.” The Mean Machines turn and walk away, Hawke and Ace flashing evil smiles at me.

I cry. There is nothing else to do but feel sticky tears run down my cheeks. When I walk into class, my nose is runny, my eyes puffy and red, tear streaks on my face, everybody stares at me. The teacher murmurs lazily, “Sit in your seat. You’re late.” He turns back to the chalkboard. I am staring at my desk the whole class.

Morning at the mountain

I wake up from the dream. The Mean Machines’ faces swim in front of my eyes, and I grit my teeth. But there is nothing I can do. They have continued tormenting me all the way up till now. I eat breakfast with my family, then I go to ski school.

Going there, I get a nasty surprise. Jessica and Britney are there with their parents, in matching pink skin tight ski suits. “Oh…hi, Olivia,” Jessica says. “Remember how Britney and I skied hard trails a long time ago? Well, now we’re racers, and very fast and good.” I look at her. She looks at me. 

Without warning, Britney interrupts in her sickly sweet voice, “Olivia, are you going to be here next week Tuesday?”

I think about it, then I say, “Yes, that’s my last day before I go back.”

“Well,” Britney says, “There’s a skiing competition at the back of the mountain. We would love it if you’d join.” She smiled, and the real meaning was clear: We would love to watch you make a fool of yourself. But that wasn’t going to happen. 

“Sure,” I said. “Do I need a skin tight suit?”

“No, you can wear that ski suit of yours. But be warned, you’ll be slowed down by the bulkiness.”

“Thanks for the tip!” I smile. Jessica and Britney walk past and their parents follow.

As Jessica walks past, she whispers, “It’ll cost money. You might want to rethink your choice, because it is pretty expensive.” She flips her hair and continues walking. 

“Where’s Ace and Hawke?” I call after them. 

Jessica glances at me and shrugs. “They’re back at home, gaming together. Why would you care anyways?” She doesn’t wait for an answer, but links arms with Britney and skips away, which is a feat I do not know how she manages with the awkward ski boots.

I practice as much as I can, and even after class ends I ski down trails by myself.

At night, I beg my parents for something again. But this time, it is the money to participate in the ski competition. But they say, “We don’t want to waste the money, there’s no point. It’s not even going to help you, and it’s not fun anyways. You’re probably not going to win anyways.”

“Please!” I implore. “Just this one competition.”

My parents look at each other, and my mom says, “I saw it on the ski map. It’s way back behind the mountain, and two hundred dollars. Olivia, do you really think we’re going to spend that money just so you can not even have fun?”

“I will have fun!” I cry out. “I have to beat Jessica and Britney!”

“What?” My parents ask, and I tell them what happened. 

My mom grinds her teeth in anger, and she says, her brown eyes flaming, “Olivia. You’re entering that ski competition, and you’re winning it.”

I ski hard. Every day, I stay out late, practicing. I work harder than anyone in my group. I level up quickly. And finally, I’m ready for the ski competition.

Jessica and Britney stand close to each other as my parents grudgingly hand over the money that is crumpled from them clutching it so hard. Jessica and Britney see me, but I cannot see their expressions under their ski helmets, but I’m pretty sure it’s not pleasant. A man in a ski cap talks into a gold microphone that says SKI on it. “Welcome to the Annual Kids Ski Race! All participants get on the ski lift to the trail.” I look back at my parents, who give me encouraging nods and thumbs up. I follow the other participants. My legs tremble a little bit, and the butterflies in my stomach start fluttering again. I almost regret my choice of joining, but not quite. 

After we’re on top of the icy trail, we get into a line. I’m nearly the last one because my last name starts with an X. I stop and inhale. I’ve come to love the cool and fresh smell of the mountain. When Jessica goes, it’s perfect. She’s like a bullet, whizzing around the obstacles. Britney isn’t so successful. She teeters for a moment in the middle, but regains her balance very fast. But one second in skiing is enough. It’s for sure, she can’t win. At the bottom, Britney screams and throws her poles on the ice, making a weird aaaaahhhh And boing sound. I smirk a little bit.

When it’s my turn, I crouch and lean forward. As soon as the buzzer sounds, I’m off, skiing like mad. I can’t believe how much I’ve improved since the first day I arrived at this ski resort. I forget everything when I ski, with the wind whipping around me. Jessica and Britney stare at me, and I can see Britney tremble in anger. I focus on turning my feet parallel. I’m skiing so fast that I can feel a shudder run through my legs as I ski over the bumpy ice. I stop at the bottom, and my mom and dad erupt in cheering. They aren’t the only ones. Most of the people there are clapping and nodding at me. I hardly notice the last couple of racers coming down the mountain.

The man in the ski cap talks into the microphone again. “It was very close, there were some ties. But third place goes to…Goyle Fredericks!” A burly boy takes the tiny trophy made of bronze and  snorts in disgust as he walks away. “Second place goes to…Jessica Hall!” The Ski Cap man says. Jessica looks so happy when she takes the medium sized trophy made of silver. I cross my fingers. “And,” the Ski Cap man yells, “The winner is…Olivia Xu!!” He holds out the huge gold trophy to me. My parents are screaming. I feel like I’m in a trance as I walk over to the man and take the trophy. My mom snaps a few pictures, and we start to walk back to the hotel.

On the way back, Britney catches up with us. Her parents, Jessica, and Jessica’s parents are way behind talking. Britney looks nervously at my parents. “Cengrejulshins,” she mutters without moving her mouth. 

“Sorry?” I ask. 

“Cengrejulshins.”

“Oh. Would it be any easier for you to spell it out?”

“I just wanted to say congratulations, okay?” she says.

“Thank you, Britney. Remind me why you hate me again?” I ask. She frowns and stalks away, but my spirits are too high to be quelled by her annoying manner, so I skip in front of my parents to the hotel. I realize that if your spirits are soaring, they can lift up your feet in those clunky ski boots.

My mom opens the door with the room card and I run inside. I’m upset when my parents don’t look happy. “Why are you guys looking sad?” I demand.

My dad glances at my mom. He seems to need confirmation for every word he says. “Well, uh, there’s this, um, problem with our jobs, er, we left, so, ah-”

“That’s enough,” My mom says. “I will explain it without hesitation. Do you remember when, in my office, I told you your dad’s boss was expecting a baby and I just finished a piece of work? Those were all lies. Our bosses don’t let us off, for some reason. That is why we haven’t brang you and the twins on vacation, ever. But we did, because your dad and I decided that you guys deserved it.”

It takes a moment for me to realize. “YOU LOST YOUR JOBS?” I scream. “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME? WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU DO THAT? THAT IS THE LEAST WORTHIEST SACRIFICE EVER!”

My dad winces. “Olivia, you waited so long to go skiing, and look, you got a gold trophy! We didn’t want to worry you.”

I glare. “THAT WAS NOT WORTH IT! YOU GUYS BOTH GAVE UP YOUR JOBS SO I COULD GO SKIING????!!!! AAAAAAAAAH! WE COULD’VE NOT GONE!” I remember when my mom and dad had locked eyes when they were paying at a ski shop, and how they so grudgingly handed over the money for the ski race. “THAT’S WHY YOU DIDN’T WANT TO PAY FOR ANYTHING! DID YOU GET A NEW JOB?”

The foolish humans peek at me and my dad says, “Uh, I got a job as a trash guy, because nobody else wanted it. Your mom, nah.” I groan and roll my eyes— in classic Britney-style. Britney! Britney’s family has billions of dollars and they live in a mansion. Now, they are residents in the most chic hotel in the mountain. How badly does Britney want this trophy? Would she pay money for it? But those thoughts would have to wait for later. I have to get a good night’s sleep, because tomorrow I will be going back home.

I shove my backpack into the car and squish into the backseat with George and Lily. It is very early in the morning, so thank god, the twins had fallen asleep as soon as they got into the car. My dad drives a tall car rolling on huge wheels. He starts the monster, and I lean my head on the window and stare out. Suddenly, I see a crazily flat car, looking like it got bashed with a hammer but stayed sleek and cool. I recognize it as Britney’s family’s car, and it’s driving right next to us. She looks despondent, so I sit up tall in my seat to look at her phone. Britney is watching a replay of herself skiing. Their car rushes past us, and I stare after it, pondering, for a long time.

When we get home, I throw my bag on my bed and collapse. The trip had been so long! It is already evening, so I decide that I need to do some research on Britney and her family, and then I would sleep for 11 hours.

Morning, I jump out of my soft and warm bed. The air is alive with the yells of George and Lily – and my mom and dad! Then I remember why I am hearing them. Because they are not at their jobs! It is the last day of spring break, so I take the chance to wear my fluffy sweater and sweatpants. Grabbing a handful of Fruity Cheerios and my gold-plastic trophy, I hurry out the door. I don’t even bother yelling at my siblings when stale cereal hits me on the back of my head, but I do bother yelling a good morning to my parents.

I run all the way across town to Billionaire’s Row. The biggest house looms in front of me. It is similar to the White House, just smaller. Still, it is very intimidating, with its white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. I stare up and I see a window decorated with pink window stickers. I can just see the ceiling, which is pink. I know it is Britney’s room. I ring the doorbell, with much coaxing from the brave half of me. A narrow face flashes in front of Britney’s window and disappears. A couple of seconds later, the huge door creaks open.

Britney is standing at the door. “What?” she snaps, then spots the trophy and her eyes narrow. She probably thinks that I’ve come to brag in her face. “Fine, you won. I don’t care,” she growls.

“Did you want to win or did you want the trophy?” I ask. Some people like to just have trophies shining on their shelf. I hope Britney is like that. Her eyes widen, and I know that she’s deciding whether to lie or tell the truth.

“Just the trophy.” She lowers her head, miserable, like she just revealed her life’s biggest secret.

“Would you like to buy it?” I ask.

Britney’s head jerks up and she stares at me suspiciously. “Why would you want to sell it? It’s first place, and plastic mixed with gold.”

“I know.” I say, nodding.

Now that it is confirmed, Britney’s eyes light up with greed. She reaches into her pocket and extracts a pink purse. Then she freezes, and says, narrowing her eyes, “Why? What is the reason you would want to sell it? I am not buying it until you tell me.”

I try to coax her. With difficulty and with both arms, I lift the trophy up and wave it in front of her face. Then I tilt the trophy so it catches the glare of the sun. Britney does not move a muscle. I groan and say, “I want money to buy my favorite thingamajig from a store, alright?”

“Lie,” Britney says simply. She waits. I wait. She waits. I wait.

“I’m sure there are plenty of other people who would want this trophy and don’t want the reason.” I snap, but I don’t walk away. 

Britney smirks and starts to giggle. Then she starts to snort, then laughs full time. Suddenly her face becomes expressionless, and she looks at me and says, “Enough. Just tell me.”

So I do. It spills out of my mouth like a waterfall. It seems to me that I wanted to tell it before, but I didn’t want to at the same time. It is a relief to get it all out. Britney stands like a statue, her eyes fixed on me. When I’m done, Britney looks at me with a weird expression on her face. Then I realize that it is concern. I remember that her family used to be very poor. “Britney,” I say seriously. “I think you’ve just gotten your number one hundred and first expression.”

“Come with me,” Britney says. I’m pretty confused, but she leads me to an ATM machine and she inserts her credit card inside. Then Britney turns to me and frowns. “Don’t look, Olivia, I’m entering my passcode.” I turn away and look around. We appear to be inside a bank, and it is pretty empty. An old woman with white hair and glasses is slowly moving around behind a desk, doing stuff to papers from time to time. 

She looks up at me, takes around thirty seconds to process that I’m there, and says, “Oh, hello, may I help you?” Without waiting for an answer she turns and walks to the other end of the desk. 

Then Britney calls, “Okay, come here, Olivia.” I turn around and I see cash flowing out of the ATM machine as fast as words had flown out of my mouth. Then it jerks to a stop. “This is, I’m guessing, 500 dollars or so?”

“Oh my gosh, that’s so much, thank you!” I gasp.

She gives me a weird look. “That’s not enough! I’m giving you like, 200 million dollars. It’s just that the machine won’t give me anymore. ” I nearly DIED right then and there. 

“NOOOOOOOOO! Just pay the amount the trophy is worth!” The fact that I can take SO MUCH of someone’s money without doing anything will be enough to to make me guilty for the rest of my life.

“Okay, okay, 100 million dollars!” she cries.Without waiting for an answer, Britney marches up to the old bank lady. “Helga. 99 million, 999 thousand, 500, please.” She holds out her ATM card.

Helga smiles. “Hellllooooo, Britney.”

“Hello, Helga. 99 million, 999 thousand, 500.”

“How may IIIIII help you?”

“I would like you to take 99 million, 999 thousand, 500 out of my bank account.”

“Sooooooo. We are taking money out of a bank account.”

“Yes. 99 million, 999 thousand, 500, please.”

“Nooooooo. IIIIIIII cannot. You are underaged, Britney.”

Britney sighs in exasperation. “Okay, fine then. My parents will let me anyway.” She calls her parents. She glares angrily at Helga for being difficult. Helga blinks back at her slowly. Something similar to a staring contest happens between them, except Helga blinks constantly while Britney does not.

There’s a whirring sound outside the bank door and the flat car pulls out. Britney’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, walk arm in arm. “Yes, Britney? If you called us here for nothing, I shall be extremely upset,” Mrs. Tucker snaps.

I’m pretty sure Britney shrank a little. “Can Olivia get…100 million dollars?” She asks in a small voice.

“NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY?” Mrs. Tucker roars. The sudden movement nearly jerks Mr. Tucker off his feet. Mrs. Tucker is furious. A hundred daggers shoot out of her eyes, ten at Britney and ninety at me. “DON’T YOU DARE TAKE MONEY FROM US, YOU UNSCRUPULOUS RASCAL!” She yells at me. Now she turns to Helga. “WHY DID YOU LET THEM DO THIS?” Mrs. Tucker screams.

Helga blinks. “Wellllllll, Mrs. Tucker, what is your question?”

“WHY DID YOU LET THEM DO THIS?”

“Because they-”

“TOO SLOW! WHATEVER!” Mrs. Tucker turns her angry gaze on everyone. This had never occured to me, but right now, Mrs. Tucker seemed 50 feet tall, while everyone else is as tall as an ant. At any second, she can stomp on us and crush us. 

Britney says, “Your motto is, ‘No act of kindness no matter how small is ever wasted.’ So…?”

“BRITNEY! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU MY MOTTO! I MEANT FOR THAT MOTTO TO MEAN THAT EVERYONE SHOULD BE NICE TO ME! I ONLY SAID THAT ON MOTHER’S DAY! AND YOU GUYS WERE LOUNGING AROUND, AND PROBABLY FORGOT THAT IT WAS MOTHER’S DAY!” Mrs. Tucker howls in frustration.

“Mother, you don’t want to be hypocritical, do you? And Dad and I did remember, it was SUPPOSED to be a surprise at night!”

Mrs. Tucker looks like a volcano, ready to explode. Her feet are shaking in their 7-inch thick heels. “Why didn’t you give me the surprise? Also, an act of kindness that I was referring to is like, giving a beggar a crumb!”

“No, your motto says any act of kindness, no matter how small. We didn’t want to because you were being mean to us.”

“YOU ARE BEING PLAIN HORRIBLE!” Mrs. Tucker stamps her foot, screeching like a howler monkey. She takes a deep breath. “Well then, isn’t it our choice how much to give?”

“Yes, OUR. Now I think we should give $100 million. Also, she is not taking money. I’m paying for this trophy.”

“Okay, pretend the trophy is an act of kindness from that human and let’s get out of here.”

“NO. I AM NOT DOING THAT.” Suddenly Britney stops, a smile on her face. “I’m sure that my followers on Instagram and Snapchat would love to hear about EVERYTHING my hypocrite of a mom did.”

Mrs. Tucker blanches. “You wouldn’t. I forbid you. Give me your phone RIGHT NOW.” 

Britney takes out her phone, takes a few steps backwards, and says, “I can send it immediately, but I’m not. Are you giving Olivia money or not?”

Mrs. Tucker hesitates. “Fine. Just don’t send it.”

But I didn’t want the money! I racked my mind to think of an excuse. “Guys, NOPE. I can’t bring it home anyway.” 

There is a triumphant look on Mrs. Tucker’s face as she looks smugly at Britney.

But Britney asks me, “What’s one of your parent’s phone numbers?”

“Uh, 4975935676.” 

“No it’s not.” Britney is using her crazy power again.

“9368036854.”

“Stop lying to me.”

“9175694589.”

“That’s better.” Britney dials the number and my mom picks it up. “This is Britney. Hi Mrs. Xu, you have to come to Bank of America. It’s an emergency. Bring Mr. Xu if possible. Olivia and I are on the third bank on Billionaire’s Row.” Then Britney hung up. “They’re coming,” she said, smiling widely. 

I know that my parents will be here any minute, because our once-happy house is right next to Billionaire’s Row, so I plead for Helga to help me, to hide me behind her desk. Britney forces me away. I start hyperventilating. Britney grabs my shoulders. “Stop it, Olivia. $100 million dollars is only a small portion of Dad’s money. It will not make a dent in it. So stop hyperventilating and take it!” 

Suddenly my mom and dad burst into the bank, panting. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?” they cry. 

I glower at Britney, and she grins at my parents. “May I talk to you guys privately?” My parents shoot me worried looks as they follow Britney to the other side of the bank, glancing at the pile of cash at the feet of the ATM. I am in a trance as I watch them talk.  I groan and cover my eyes. 

“Mr. or Mrs. Xu, do one of you guys have PayPal? The money I have here is…” Britney checks the ATM. “$500, so you guys are going to get $99,999,500.” 

My dad nods slowly, almost as slow as the woman behind the desk. He takes out his phone. My hands take over. I run over to him and snatch the phone from him, clutching it tightly. “We are NOT receiving 100 million dollars. This trophy is more plastic than gold. It is worth less than 100 million.”

“Oh. Kay. Fine. Then. One. Mil. Lee. Un. Dol. Ar. S,” Britney says in something close to a growl, and I know that she isn’t going to take no for an answer. “But…….that’s x200 less than what I was going to give you, so how about-”

My dad and I speak at the same time with me saying: “No no no no no, that’s okay” but with him saying with a shrug: “Um, sure.” There is a tiny gleam in his eye.

My mom just frowns. Finally she says, “Don’t pity us. We can get on fine.”

Britney turns to me and my dad. “So I’ll give you $1 million. And there’s an extra $500.” I regretfully hand my dad his phone and turn away. He’s going to take the money. 

 I decide I should constantly be giving Britney’s family stuff, but there probably isn’t anything I can give her that her dad can’t get or doesn’t have. “Britney,” I say, “What is your biggest desire, your need, your want?” I want to know so I can get her something.

But she shrugs and answers, “I don’t have one. I don’t need anything.” 

“What is your biggest secret?”

“My secrets aren’t big, they’re barely even secrets.” Wow. This is getting to be way harder than I thought it would be.

“Well then, tell me your biggest.”

“The biggest…why do you want to know?”

“AAAAAAAAH, WE ARE NOT DOING THIS AGAIN!” I scream.

“Okay, okay, the biggest is Jessica does my reading homework for me.”

“Why?”

“Um, I kind of am bad at reading.”

“Oh my. Okay,” I say thoughtfully. “Do you have any books at home?”

“No. And don’t push it.” Britney’s face is as red as a tomato. I don’t. Mrs. Tucker grabs Britney and marches out the door, growling like a starved animal the whole time. Tomorrow, over to Britney’s I go.

When I wake up, I don’t want to get up because my bed is soft, but then I remember why I even woke up, and I jump out of bed. My dad has to leave now because of his job as a trash guy, so he is wearing his old and faded Snoopy T-shirt, cargo pants, and a cap. He waves as I grab some cereal from the box. We walk out together, but I turn right and he turns left at the crossroad. We did not speak for the whole time, not even a “bye” when we split. It was a good kind of silence though.

I go into Barnes & Nobles with some money and buy the best books I can think of, the Harry Potter series. The line is long, and the cashier is about as slow as the lady in the bank. Finally, carrying the bag of books, I step out of Barnes & Nobles and continue on to Billionaire’s Row.

Once again I knock on the tall wooden door, and once again the door is opened by Britney. “It’s so early….” she yawns. “Whaddya got in that bag?” 

I hold it out to her. “It’s yours. I got it for you.”

“What’s in it?”

“Books.”

“Oh. That’s nice.”

“They’re Harry Potter.”

“Uh, the problem is, I can’t read Harry Potter.”

“Oh man. I’ll teach you!”

“Haha.” Britney smiles, then she gasps. “Wait. You’re not joking?”

“No, of course not.”

“Okay…”

“This time every morning, on your doorstep?”

“Sure…”

“You’ll try hard, right?”

“Yes. Duh! I am the queen of trying hard! Come to think of it, I am the queen of everything!”

I leave Britney, who is flipping through the first book with doubt. True to her word, Britney works crazy hard, as hard as I did on skiing. Every day we struggle through a chapter or so, and finally, one day, we finish Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone.

“I’m going-to have a lot of fun…with Dudley this sum-mer.” Britney stutters through the last sentence. She flips the page, but the only thing there is the About the Author. Britney looks up at me in shock. “I finished the book?” she asks in disbelief. I nod, grinning a little bit, and she starts to laugh. It is crazy. She throws back her head and shrieks, which I assume is manic laughter. Then she stands up, still shaking with laughter, and says, “Thirty minutes are up. I’m getting back inside.”

We speed through the rest of the books and finish all seven. It is nearly summer already. When we finish Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Britney turns to me. “I will ask my repetitive question. Why?”

“It’s a long story…” I say.

“I have time. And tell everything, and what you thought of it, and how you processed it.” So I tell her. Fun fact: when she is interested, Britney is very good at listening. Once I finish, Britney is looking very, very sad. “I’m moving away this summer,” she says quietly. 

I gasp. “On the first day?” 

“Yes.”

“That’s in a week!”

“I know.” We sit side by side. Britney’s head is lowered, the success of finishing all the books forgotten. I don’t know how long we sat there. Finally, Britney stands. “What are you doing?” she asks.

“Just thinking,” I answer.

I left Billionaire’s Row that summer. My dad decided that “we should move to somewhere richer and fancier”. I wanted to stay, but I couldn’t. So on the first day of summer, I stood in front of our fancy car, clutching a book and the plastic/gold trophy. Olivia and her family were there to wave us off. “In the car,” my dad said, and I did, waving to Olivia. My dad started the car, and I looked out the window, waving until the Xu family was out of sight. That was the last time I ever saw Olivia, but she had given me something my dad couldn’t, and I remembered her. I still have the trophy. It sits on my counter, higher and separate than the other trophies. I learned how to write better, in a class in the city, and I wrote down in a journal, my first entry, everything that Olivia told me on the day we finished Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, and I created this. The trophy is a souvenir of my old life in Billionaire’s Row.

Britney

Where Have All The Goslings Gone?

Today the mayor of the town has gone out and stated that the entire pond has been dumped and taken away by an unknown villain. The mayor stated that there would be a $500 dollar gift for anyone who caught the person who stole it. The most important thing is that all the goslings are gone! The police are investigating and so far they have found some clues and suspects. One of them is named Jacob Hendreson. If you see him with a big truck that has animals quacking in it, tell the police immediately. We have seen him at the time of the stealing, but there were a few others there so we don’t know for sure. The other thing is that if you see someone by the pond, you should try to interrogate them. We also know that another suspect is Jimmy, who works at the doughnut store. He was seen close to when the crime happened as well. If you see him with a big trailer or a pond in his backyard then tell the police immediately.

It was early and I was going to get a doughnut from my friend Jimmy. I decided to go to the pond and sit for a bit, since I was tired. I saw a guy pull up in a big red truck and rip out the entire pond!!! I ran over, got into his truck and pushed him out. I drove the truck back to my house. I knew that someone was going to notice so I put the pond in the basement, and the goslings in the pond into my rabbit cage (they were so small that they all fit). A few hours later the police came in. They wanted to know if I had a pond. I knew what they meant and I was really scared.

I fake laughed and said, “No pond here!”

They left and I knew that I had to hide or destroy the pond. But I really did not want to because the pond was the town’s pride! But then I thought, what about the goslings? Where would they live? So I hid the pond in a better place. I put it in my closet. It didn’t fit too well but I didn’t think that people would go searching closets for ponds. I remembered the doughnuts and went and got some.

My friend Jimmy said, “The mayor went out and listed you as a suspect and said that if you saw anything suspicious tell him.”

Jimmy was nice so I was sure that he was not lying to me because he was nice and he was my friend. I was scared about that warning so I went back to my house and didn’t come out for the rest of the day.

I wanted to put the pond back but I would probably go to jail. I had an idea to put the pond back at night when no one was watching. I woke up that night and drove my truck with the pond in the back to the area where the pond used to be. I was about to put the pond down into the hole where it was when all of the sudden a police car went down the road. It was odd because there was no one else out. Then I remembered that it was take your duck to work day and that the police were taking their ducks to the pond to see if people were there. It was the only day of the year luckily. It took so long to remember that by the time I looked up I saw the policeman with handcuffs. Then I was being escorted away to jail.

I was in jail and I had to think of a way out. I saw a few keys that looked like they fit in the lock on a bench across the hall. I picked them up. The hall was very tiny. I opened the jail cell and looked for my car. I found my car with the pond still attached to it. I got in, got my keys, and drove away. I was ready to put the pond back when I realized that it was morning and my friend jimmy would be going to work at the doughnut shop, so I went back to my home. I felt really mad so I didn’t sleep too much so I went to my friend Jimmy’s store. I thought it would be nice to buy a doughnut from him, so I did. After that I looked and found out that there was nothing tonight and that nobody would be out so I could put the pond back. I got up at around 2 am and I got into my car and drove to the old pond area. I was about to put it back again when all of a sudden a bunch of people in birthday hats started singing the happy birthday song. This was the second time this happened! I was wondering what were the odds that this would happen two times? I was really mad so I went back to my house. I ate my doughnut in silence because everyone else was at the party. I then went to sleep. After that I had another normal day and I hoped that that night I would finally put the pond back into the hole that it was once in. I woke up that night and I got in the truck and drove over. I then put the pond in finally and drove back home. I really hoped that nobody would notice the pond back or they would trace it back to me. I was wrong.

The next day police came to my house and put me in court. The judge was Mr. Duck. A duck. He sentenced me to two years in jail. That’s when I saw the bad guy, the man in the truck. He looked super happy, like he was enjoying the fact that he wasn’t going to jail. He looked like a big guy that had too many doughnuts and he had a big scar across his face. Then I knew who it was: it was Jimmy all along! I had him come up and he said that he did it. Finally it was over. And I had ended this craziness. I went back home and got into bed. I saw on the news that the bad guy had gone to jail. I was so happy that I just went to sleep and stayed in bed for a day. Mostly because I was super tired though. I looked in the mirror and was shocked that I was so tired (well not really) and that I looked like I was really hungry. So I got some food and got back into bed. I was just so tired.

UFO Universe

A UFO was spotted yesterday on June 7th over Brooklyn NY.

Meanwhile, mysterios MIBs (men in black) have been popping up all over Brooklyn.

Nobody knows where they have come from. On a side note, local pigeons have gone missing.

Here are some precautions to keep in mind: 

1: Try to have nothing to do with MIBs (men in black).

2: If you see a UFO, STAY AWAY, and call 911.

3: If anyone you know, their pets, or their children disappear, call 911.

4: If you notice a family member acting strangely, call 911.

5: If you see anything weird JUST CALL 911!

Here, Mrs Jane Landrish, 46, tells us about a UFO she spotted; she was one of the first to see them:

“It was 8:00 at night, and I was out for a walk. I was on 11th street and 6th avenue. I saw a shape in the sky. At first I thought it was an airplane, but then it lit up with a blinding white light. I closed my eyes, and felt it whoosh past. I opened my eyes. It was a strange, saucer shaped object, and it was hovering over a stray cat. I watched, as some sort of tractor beam pulled the cat into the ship. (I’ll just call that thing a ship.) I ran, terrified, back home, and locked the door.”

The interview ended there, with Mrs Landrish breaking into a cold sweat.

That’s what the newspaper said this morning. Yes, I read the newspaper, but only because my grandfather leaves it lying around. Anyways, I found that pretty intriguing. UFOs in Brooklyn! I put down the newspaper and turned to lie on my back. Ahhhh, Saturdays. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. No school. As I lie in bed and I stare up at the ceiling, I wonder if there really are UFOs in Brooklyn, or if it’s just a hoax.

I heard my door open. I look towards it. My dad’s standing in the doorway.

“You okay, kiddo?” He asked. 

“Yup.” I replied.

“Phew,” he said. “I was starting to think that you would never wake up!”

With that, he closed the door. I rested my arm on my night stand and knocked over my glass of water. I screamed. The water was still freezing. I heard footsteps. My door burst open. My grandpa was standing there. He took in the scene and then closed the door.

“False alarm!” I heard him yell to my mom and dad. I heard them run back down the stairs.

I sighed. It wasn’t enough that I was unpopular, I had to be clumsy. Plus I lost my favorite manga yesterday. And I was pretty sure I was coming down with a cold. AND a dog bit me yesterday. Thankfully, it was not a stray, it had been spayed. Yay, I didn’t have rabies. Still, stuff was pretty bad for me. I grabbed my phone. It was time to text my best friend, Amelia.

Hey!  Amelia!

What?

U free for laser tag at 1?

Of course, it’s Saturday!

I don’t have any other  plans! 

Oh yeah, how could I forget? LOL

See ya at 1!

I will so beat u today!

That’s what u think!

I turned off my phone. Well, at least now I had something to do. To be honest, just lying here in bed on my back was pretty boring. I got up, went to my closet, and pulled out some clothes: a turquoise size 12 t-shirt, a midnight blue hoodie, and some jeans. Then I checked my apple watch. It was 10:07. I had exactly one hour and fifty three minutes before I had to be at Lighting Lasers, the laser tag place. I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a blueberry muffin. I ate it, then poured some orange juice into a cup, and took a swig. Nice and refreshing. Then I pulled on my turquoise converse high tops, and tied them. Then I grabbed my turquoise water bottle. Okay, you can say it. I like turquoise. Nearly everything I own is turquoise or blue. I ran outside and started my morning run.

I stepped outside and felt a warm, fresh breeze. It was a warm, sunny spring day. As I went to close the door, my pomeranian puppy, Emory, came through the open door, running, and jumped on me.

“Whoa!” I shouted, my arms flailing as I tried to regain my balance. Then I fell on my butt. “Ow!” I yelped. I stood up, trying to act as though that hadn’t just happened.

I heard someone say, “That looked painful.” 

I whirled around, trying to find the person who had spoken. It was my brother, who was standing in the doorway. He was fifteen, three years older than I am. He smirked at me, and I could see that he had his phone in his hand, which was replaying a video of what had just happened.

“You *censored* *censored* *censored* *censored* *censored*!” I screamed. “You’d better not post that!” 

“Okay, okay, I won’t post it.” he said.

“Good.” I said, turning away.

“Oops!” I heard him exclaim. I turned around, and he was smiling at me. “Posted it!” 

“Aaghhh!” I yelled. I ran at him, my fists clenched, and punched him in the face. 

“Ouch!” he yelled. It didn’t stop with one punch, though. I had been taking taekwondo lessons, and I was a black belt. I punched him again, hit him with roundhouse and snap kicks, hit him with a neck chop, and punched him some more. By the time I was done, he was sporting a bloody nose and lip, a black eye, several bruises, and a broken arm.

He lay on the ground, curled into a fetal position. He had no idea that I had been taking taekwondo, and he had no idea how good I was.

“You know what?” I said. “I think that’s enough exercise for now. I’m going inside.”

I stepped over his trembling body, and into the house. I set down my water bottle, and picked up my phone. 

At that very moment, my phone rang. It was Amelia. Funny, I was just about to call her. I answered the call and heard her voice on the other line.

“Maia! Come quick! We’ve got a situation at laser tag.”

My dad drove me to laser tag. When I stepped inside, I saw Amelia arguing with two boys. The owner of Lightning Lasers, Josh, was sitting in the corner, reading a book.

“You can’t be here right now!” I heard Amelia saying. “We made a reservation!”

“We?” One of the boys said. “I don’t see anyone else with you. Who are you talking about, your imaginary friend?”

I could see Amelia getting angry. I decided that now would be a good time to step in.

“Oh, hi Amelia. Want to tell me what this is?” I asked, gesturing at the two boys.

“Maia! Thank goodness you’re here! I’ve been trying to tell these two that they can’t be here, because we made a reservation, but they won’t listen to me, and Josh has not done us a whit of good!”

“Huh?” Josh asked, looking up from his book.

“Don’t just sit there like it’s tea time, help us out!” Amelia screamed.

Okay, I should probably explain all the British-y stuff. See, Amelia’s mom is from England, and whenever Amelia gets angry, she starts talking like she’s British. Including a British accent. But the accent is only when she’s really mad, so it probably won’t come up now, over a thing like laser t-oh, the accent has kicked in.

“Listen, we were here first, so just leave and nobody get’s hurt.” She said, now with a British accent. To show that it wasn’t an idle threat, she punched one of the boys in the stomach.

“Hey!” he exclaimed. That’s when a full fledged fight broke out. Fists and feet flying everywhere. 

That’s when I heard a voice.

“Ahem.” I looked toward the sound of the voice. It was Josh. He had finally looked up from his book. “If it helps, we have a new version of laser tag. It’s a four person game.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?” I demanded.

“I was occupied.” He held up his book and pointed at it.

“Ugh. You are SO annoying,” I said. “But yes, we will play the four person game, IF we get to be against them.” I pointed at the two boys. 

“Sure, whatever you want,” he said. “I don’t care.” 

I turned to look at the boys. It was payback time!

As I stepped into the huge, darkened room, designed for laser tag, I noticed that it had changed a bit. The walls were taller, and there were a few more power ups on the walls. I strapped on my gear and grabbed my laser tag gun. Then I was ready to go. 

The five minute timer started, and it was time to play. I hid in my favorite spot, in the corner behind the wall with a hole for a window. I saw the boys sneaking around, staying close to the walls. I jumped out from behind the wall.

“Payback time!” I yelled. Then I noticed the laser tag guns in their hands. They looked like something you would see in a sci-fi movie.

“Whoa.” I said. “Where did you get those? Did you bribe Josh?”

“No, foolish human.” One of the boys laughed. “These are ours. And they are real.”

“Wait, I’m sorry, what? A, you’re not allowed to have real guns in here. B, you’re not allowed to scare your opponents on purpose. And C, we’re all humans.”

“Those rules do not apply to us,” he said. Now he and his friend were walking towards me. The lighting was making their skin look grayish.

“Um, yes they do. They apply to everybody.” I said.

  “But not to us.” he replied. Now it looked like his hair was shrinking back into his head, and his teeth were growing sharper. It also looked like his eyes were turning completely white. That’s when I realized that everything that I thought was happening was actually happening!

“Y-you’re aliens!” I stammered.

“Yes. We knew that you would make that connection eventually. You, of all people, believe that we might be real. And we are. However, we are planning to conquer Earth, and if you had figured out that we were real, then you would have been a serious threat to our plan. So, we must stop you from figuring out that we are real. And there is only one way to do that.”

I started backing up. “W-what are you t-talking about?” I asked, fearing that I already knew the answer. I kept backing up, and then tripped and fell on my butt. I kept backing up, using my hands to pull and my feet to push. I felt my back hit the wall. 

The aliens were still walking towards me. I covered my face with my arms. The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was one of the aliens pointing their gun at me. 

The Doll

1865. Adelaide Mason was a well-behaved 9-year-old girl. Her parents were very rich, and Adelaide got everything she could ever want. The Mason family lived in a mansion on Grandiose Drive, in Indianapolis. Adelaide had one older brother named Charles, who was 15 years old. 

Mrs. and Mr. Mason never believed that their daughter would ever run away. How could she? She got everything she could possibly want, and a huge house. But they thought wrong. 

On October 2nd, Adelaide Mason ran away at night. Mrs. Mason was the first to notice. The front door had slammed shut, and it woke her up. 

“What is that?” she screamed

“Probably your imagination,” replied Mr. Mason

The next morning, Mrs. Mason called Adelaide to breakfast. There was no answer. 

“Dorota, go fetch Adelaide from her room. She’s probably not awake yet,” Mrs. Mason said to one of the maids. 

Dorota came down to tell Mrs. Mason what had happened. 

“Adelaide is not in her bedroom,” Dorota told Mrs. Mason.

Everyone searched everywhere, but there was no sign of Adelaide. They searched all the nooks and crannies, and all around the Masons’ property. 

Then, Mr. Mason called the police. The police looked all around town and asked everyone on the street if they had seen a short girl with black curls and fancy clothes on. No one had seen Adelaide.

That night at dinner time, a creepy doll appeared in Adelaide’s chair. The doll looked exactly like her. Tight black curls and a pretty white lace dress on just like the one that Adelaide had. Except that the doll was not as big as her, and really creepy. The doll had a bloody face and blood all over the white lace dress. 

“What is that doll doing here?!” yelled Mrs. Mason

It seemed like the doll was trying to say something to Mrs. Mason, but it was so hard to hear, and she couldn’t make out the words. 

“Ah! Charles, did you take one of Adelaide’s dolls and put red paint on it?” asked Mr. Mason

“I didn’t do anything, I swear,” replied Charles

“Ok, get that thing out of here Dorota!” yelled Mrs. Mason again

Mrs. Mason was very upset. Someone was trying to replace her own daughter with a creepy doll. 

The next morning, everyone walked to the table feeling really tired. At first, they didn’t even realize that the doll was also walking into the kitchen. She even sat at the table. 

“Oh my goodness! What is with that doll!” screamed Mrs. Mason 

The doll was wearing a white dress with puffed-up shoulders, and a green shawl. It was the same dress and shawl that Adelaide had. That sure woke up the Mason family. 

“Dorota, go throw that thing in the garbage. It is disturbing us, and creeping us out,” said Mr. Mason

Dorota went and threw the doll in the garbage can. 

“That doll is concerning me,” said Mrs. Mason, worried.

“Yes, I don’t know what to do with it. It seems to be a doll version of Adelaide,” replied Mr. Mason

“But, but that is not possible!” stuttered Mrs. Mason

“I know it’s not, but what else could it be? It looks exactly like our daughter, and acts like her also,” said Mr. Mason, again making a point. 

“Did Adelaide have any dolls that looked like her?” asked Mr. Mason

“No, I do not believe so,” replied Mrs. Mason.

When the Mason family was done with their breakfast, Mrs. Mason decided to go up to Adelaide’s bedroom to remind herself of her daughter who she would never see again. When she walked into the bedroom, she saw the same doll Dorota had thrown away on Adelaide’s bed. 

“Where in the name of heavens did this doll come from?” screamed Mrs. Mason acting really startled. 

She decided to take the doll out to the garbage bin and hoped to never see it again. 

The same day repeated over and over again. Dorota taking the doll to the garbage, and it coming back every single day. As the same day happened over and over again, Mrs. and Mr. Mason became more aware of it. After over two weeks of the doll coming back, the Mason family agreed to not take it to the garbage anymore because it would do nothing.

The doll began to be the new Adelaide and started to do the same actions as she would take. The Mason family was getting more and more scared and creeped out.

After one week, Mrs. Mason had an idea to kill the doll. She was going to cut up her hair, and just destroy the doll. 

The next day, Mrs. and Mr. Mason got to work. They first cut off some of her hair and made it all frizzy. Then, they ripped up her dress and drew shapes all over her face. Finally, they put her in a garbage bag, tied it up, and brought it to the dump. 

After that, the doll never came back, but neither did their daughter. 

The Mason family never ever believed that they could kill their own daughter, but they just did, not realizing it. 

That night, when Mrs. Mason was in Adelaide’s room, there was a note on her bed. The note read:

You have killed your own daughter. I am the one who turned her into the doll. She was tired of being rich.

Sincerely, 

The witch Beatrix

“Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Mason weeped

She called everyone else into Adelaide’s bedroom. It was a sorrowful night. Everyone cried and had nightmares about the doll that was actually their family member. 

The next morning, Mrs. Mason went on an adventure. She went out into the woods and looked for Witch Beatrix. 

She walked about a mile, and a tall slender woman with a cloak came to her. 

“You must be Elizabeth Mason,” said Witch Beatrix.

Witch Beatrix had a deep voice and never showed her face. She always hid her face under the hood of her cloak. 

“Yes, and you are Witch Beatrix, the one who turned my daughter into that horrible doll,” replied Mrs. Mason. “But, who exactly are you, and why did you turn my poor little daughter into a dol?,”

“I did that because that is what she asked of me. She was tired of being made fun of at school because she was so rich. If I turned her into a doll, she wouldn’t have to go to school and experience it anymore,” Witch Beatrix told Mrs. Mason, “And I am witch Beatrix. I grant people wishes whenever they need me,” 

“It doesn’t seem as though you grant people their real wish,” added Mrs. Mason.

“I grant people what is needed for them,” argued Witch Beatrix. “Now go.” 

“Wait. Adelaide could have just told me. She loves me and would tell me anything,” said Mrs. Mason.

“Ahh, you thought you were a good mother giving your child everything she wants, but actually that is the wrong choice to make,” responded Witch Beatrix

Mrs. Mason went back to her home and thought about what she had done. She had killed her own daughter and didn’t even know it. 

After that, the Mason family learned their lesson. To discipline their children, and to get more information before taking action.

The 2 Cat and 1 Monkey Friend

BUTTERCUP

Hi my name is Buttercup, and one of my best friends is named George. He is a brown, white, and black cat, and one eye is green and the other is blue. I am the color peach and white. One of my eyes is bleached. I was put in the laundry machine, and one day my mom put bleach on my eye by accident. When I looked everywhere, I had x-ray vision. My other best friend is Mr. Monkey. He is dark brown and peachy color. Both of his eyes are black. He loves bananas. He can dance. I went to Peru with George. Mr Monkey didn’t want to go. We came back from the trip, and George was gone. Six months passed, and we didn’t find him, until my aunt said that she found him. When I saw him, I burst into tears. Stuffing was coming out of my eyes. I slept good all the time everytime George was here.

GEORGE

Hi my name is George, and I am going to tell you about what I have been doing during those six months. I have traveled to the kitchen. DUH DUH DUUUN! It was such a journey. There were mountains. The humans were so strong that they picked up the mountains. One of them said they were books, but I think they were mountains. I had to run over the humans. It was so difficult. I started to jump, and a person looked at me and called someone and said, ’’I found him.’’ In my head, I said, “Yeah right.’’ I met my best friend/my brother. I was so happy I hugged him so tight. I went back home and slept right away, knowing my brother is always going to be with me side by side.

MR. MONKEY

Hi, my name is Mr. Monkey. What I did during the six months is sleep, eat, sleep, eat, and so on. I was relaxing until I wanted to get a banana. I had to face the DOG. DUN DUN DUUUUN. I ran as fast as I could, and the dog was chasing me. I jumped on the dog and jumped to the bananas. I did! I ate one and quickly ran back to my room. I am named Mr. Monkey because I am also elegant. I always put a towel around my neck to be clean. I also am a teacher. I teach Buttercup and George. I am in Monkey University. I learn how to use bananas to make different chemicals.

My Journal

Chili was in a closet. The police are outside. He was panicking. He didn’t know what to do except run. He heard the footsteps and the calling of the stalker. He’s crying, but he couldn’t make any noise OR HE’S DEAD.

1 week before all of this happened

He was at home doing his homework before he heard a noise in the wall, and next to Chili’s wall was just cement that’s all. The noise was louder and louder just like his heart beat. He went closer to the wall and his sweat was running through his skin. He couldn’t breathe. 

Was this normal? 

Like a flash, he ran to his mom so hard the tiles on the floor broke like pencils. Chili told his mom what he had heard, but his mom told him, “Do you have a fever?” 

Chili went back into his room and heard the same voice. He ran to his mom again, and his mom said she heard a voice too. They called the popo and they came in 10 minutes.

When they were about to go outside, someone pulled them in…

What happened

They got pulled in and they started to scream, yell, kick, punch. The door closed and got locked.  Tears ran down their throats. Their voices were cranky and painful. While they were screaming, the person was getting more angry. 

Chili said to his mom,”I TOLD YOU SO NOW WE ARE GOING TO GET KILLED.YAY”

“IT’S NOT MY FAULT!” Chili’s mom said. While they were getting dragged, Chili was playing on his phone. His mom was like ಠ_ಠ. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU ARE CRAZY!!!! ¿(❦﹏❦)?HIDE THE PHONE!!” 

“My phone died.”chill said. “Wahhhh!  I NEED A CHARGER.”

  (╥﹏╥)LET ME JUST DIE “JUST KILL ME’’ 

Far away, they saw a glowing silver sparkle. It was a knife! They started to scream and scream and scream. 

Chili’s mom kicked the stalker in the leg, and the stalker fell on his face, and they started to run.ヽ(゚Д゚)ノ.

They ran to Chili’s  mom’s room since there were more hiding places than Chili’s room.They hid in the closet  (∩︵∩). While he was in the closet, he felt excruciating pain. He saw he made a big cut on his leg when he ran, since he dropped glass and fell on it. He had covered his cut with his sweater. He must have been so focused on saving his life he didn’t really focus on the cut. He kept on losing a lot of blood. He had a fever and his face had turned green and yellow.(´~ヾ ).His mom was helping him as much as she could. Chili was about to scream because of the pain. Chili’s mom covered his mouth. Chili’s mom peeked through the closet and she saw the stalker distracted. Chili’s mom told him to try to stand up but he couldn’t. Chili’s mom took the risk, put Chili on her back, and ran. But then they heard police with the sound of the guns ready for anything that comes in their way. They heard punching, tasers, and other things. At the end, they caught him. Chili and his mom got out of the house and they saw his face. 

It couldn’t be. Is this real? There he was. Chili’s 5th grade teacher. With a smirk on his face. Chili was happy that he and his mom were safe and sound, but that night haunts him every night. It is a mystery why Chili’s teacher did that.

THE END

(ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧ ✧゚・: *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ)

Granny

Beep! Blop! Beep! The annoying sound of my alarm clock wakes me up. I am about to go back to sleep when I remember it is the birthday of my grandma, Granny Mary, and what I don’t know is what she wants. I creep down the stairs into her bedroom and open her trunk of memories. That is when I stumble across a ripped-off page of her diary from when she was younger. Here is what it says:

Dear Diary,

Today was my 10th birthday and it was all going perfectly until my brother Tommy “accidentally” threw out all my presents (video games) and birthday treats (Oreos, sprinkles, Chips Ahoy, various other cookies, and ice cream in a wide range of favors). I am so mad and upset at him. I wanted the video games so badly, but I remembered that I am a girl, and a girl is not allowed to have video games or even like them, so I guess that I will get another doll to add to my huge collection of dolls and not have any video games. I really want to have equal rights and be able to get video games. Hopefully next year will be better.

-Mary Blob

That is when I realize what to get Granny for her birthday. I will give her the birthday that she never had. I grab the diary entry and rush to my parents’ room.

“Mom, Dad, wake up!” I say in a rush.

“What is it?” answers my half-awake mom.

“I know what to get Granny for her birthday,” I say.

“Great, what is it?”

“First, you have to get out of bed and get dressed,” I say.

With that, my mom jumps out of bed, gets dressed, and heads downstairs. I go down the stairs and get a bite to eat. We meet in the car.

“So where are we going?” says my mom, still unsure of what we are doing.

“We are going to the Toolfast Shopping Center. There we will see Mathew’s Marvelous Market where you will get…” I take the diary entry out of my pocket and read, “Oreos, sprinkles, Chips Ahoy, various other cookies, and ice cream in a wide range of flavors. I will also get all video game related things in stock at Violet’s Video Game Hut.”

My mom says, “But you will…”

“…not get all the video games in stock—only a few.” I say, completing my mother’s sentence.

“Okay,” she says.

We arrive at the Toolfast Shopping Center. I hand my mom the diary entry. We know what to do. We jump out of the car and head our separate ways. When I arrive at Violet’s Video Game Hut, I notice that all the games are sold out except for Super Mario Brothers, a game from when she was a kid. I guess that is the only game I could get her. I wish I could give her more video games because she really wanted them. Whether or not my mom gets the other stuff right, video games were the main thing she wanted.

 I meet my mom back in the car.

“The supermarket went well,” my mom says in her cheery tone, “I got everything on the list!”

“The video game store was a disaster,” I say. “They were sold out of everything except for Super Mario Brothers, so I got that but not any one of the games she wanted.”

“That is exactly what she wanted. She always told me that she wanted Super Mario Brothers. That is the perfect gift!”

“So what are we waiting for? We have a party to throw!” I say, containing my excitement for the party.

With that, we jump into the car and rush home. One we get there, we wake up everyone, except Granny. We set everything up. We just finish setting up when my sister hears Granny coming down the hallway, so we hide. When Granny arrives in the kitchen, we all jump out and say, “Surprise!”

Granny is very surprised! We all gather around and sing, “Happy Birthday” to her. After that, we play party games and have all the treats on her list. She is flattered. At the end of the party, we give Granny her presents. Mine is the last one to be given. My mom hands her the gift.

“Super Mario Brothers!” Granny says. Her face is full of joy. “I have always wanted this. Mia, thank you for the best birthday ever!” Granny says.

“How did you know it was me?” I reply back.

“Your mother told me. Thank you.”

Granny gives me a big hug. I hug her back. We go back to partying. It is clear that it is the best birthday ever.

Scary and Short Stories

THE COUPLE AND THE RIVER

A couple, Tom and Julia, were walking on a bridge over a river. 

Tom said, “I love y–” 

Then Julia fell into the river. Tom couldn’t save her. Later, he went home and never went outside, even for her funeral.

“I can’t take it anymore.” He threw himself in the river and drowned.

THE BOY IN THE TRAIN

His name was Sam. He was my love, my sweet, my everything. Then something tragic happened.

When we were walking to the train, he fell on the train tracks. I was on my phone, I didn’t notice, so when I heard the train coming I was looking for him, I called out:

“Sam! Sami!!! Where are you?”

Then he said, “Right here, mommy.”

I screamed, “Help, please!” But it was too late, the train had run him down. It was the saddest time for me, really sad.

Every night now, I scream “Sami.” I can still hear his voice echoing in my head saying, “I’m right here, mommy…”

Love you, Sami.

THE BOOGEYMAN

One century ago, there was a man whose name was Boogey.

When Boogey was a child, he would go to school and the other students would make fun of him for his name. So one day, in high school, he never showed up to class. His parents searched their house and never found him. His fellow students, of course, didn’t care. People say he went into the woods and starved to death, but two weeks later, somebody found his body in his basement. SUICIDE.

Some people say that they’ve seen his ghost in their basements or in the closets. One boy, Jimmy, named him the Boog Monster, but he is well known as the BOOGEYMAN. 

THE TWO GIRLS IN THE LAKE

One day, there was a family, they had two daughters, Helen and Sofia, and a son, Jimmy. They lived in Maine, close to a lake.

One day, when it was very cold, Jimmy wanted to go ice skating. So Helen and Sofia took him outside and helped put his ice skates on. Then he went ice skating, and the ice started breaking under Jimmy’s feet. Then Helen and Sofia pushed him out of the way in time. But then Helen started to feel the ice breaking under her feet and so did Sofia. Then the ice broke. The two girls had drowned. Jimmy ran home crying… 

Two weeks went by and Jimmy wouldn’t get out of his bed. That night he saw two shadows walking on the lake holding hands. It was his sisters. He got so scared that he locked the door to his house. Then the sisters barged into the house, took Jimmy, ran to the lake, and drowned him.  

THE DEAD HAUNTING

One day, there was a town called Death’s Peak. It was actually the happiest town in the world, but that changed one day when it started raining, it rained everyday for years and the town grew sad.

The rain was overwatering the plants and there were many floods, and people grew sick and died. Four years later, the whole town died, but the ghosts of the people still remained in the town and were abandoned for about a century…

Then some people came to the town and built over it. The ghosts grew mad and started to burn and kill each one of the people that had tried to build a town over theirs. Twenty years went by and they had killed over a thousand people. The town still remains and is known as Doodletown or ghost town.

DEJA VU 

One day, there was a girl named Sophie. She had a bunch of problems (mentally) so nobody would believe whatever was about to happen.

When Sophie was walking to school alone because her parents were sick and needed rest, so while Sophie was walking, she saw a big dog, so she took it home without telling her parents.

That night she heard a scream coming from her parents’ room. Then she saw what the dog really was. It was a tall man holding a knife. Because of her mental illnesses, she had seen a dog, not a man, then he stabbed her…

THE MAN IN THE MIRROR

There was once a girl named Melissa, and she had no friends. One day, she was walking on the street and she came across a beautiful mirror in an antique shop that was closing up. So she bought it for four dollars.

When she got home, she put the mirror in her room. Then in the night she heard a whisper. There wasn’t anyone in her room so she went back to sleep.

An hour later, she heard another whisper. Then she got up and looked at the mirror. Then a dark figure appeared in the mirror. 

Melissa looked behind her and saw nothing. But in the mirror, there was a man. 

He said, “I’ve been thinking a lot, and I wanted to ask, will you be my friend?”

“Yes,” Melissa said without giving it one thought. They spent the whole night talking and then it was time for school.

Melissa was happy that she had a friend. But that day in school, some girl, Hannah, asked Melissa to be her friend. So she did.

The next day, she couldn’t find Hannah anywhere. She asked the teachers about it, but all they said was that she was probably just sick… They were wrong.

A week later, they found out that Hannah had been murdered. 

So here was the crime scene. She was standing in her room. Her room had a bed, a small couch, a dresser and a mirror… Melissa froze, and then asked her friend if he was anywhere else than in her room. 

He said, “No? I just stayed here and—how was your day?”

“Fine,” Melissa said.

Then he started talking about his life. He said he was never loved by anyone, not even his family. Then his big eyes started to turn black. Then he said his name was Jereld, and that he just always wanted a friend. He also said that when he was three, his classmates made fun of him because of his big eyes, then he said, “You have big eyes.”

Melissa ran as fast as she could outside of her house…

Melissa woke up in her room and checked the mirror. Jereld wasn’t there. But a little later, she found out he changed his name and his gender. Now he is known as BLOODY MARY.

THE ICEBOX MURDER

In 1921, Charles Rogers was born.

When Charles was a young boy, he was physically and mentally abused. Later on in life he was very stressed after a couple of years he went psycho and only stayed in his room, the way he communicated was putting notes under his door. One day, the police came to his house and knocked on the door loudly. They had knocked for five minutes before kicking the door open… They searched the house. 

When they got to the basement, they found a refrigerator, and then they opened the refrigerator and found what looked like hog meat. But, later on, they found out that it was actually his parents’ disassembled bodies. The police looked in Charles Rogers’ room and saw that the doorknob had blood on it. So they left the house because Charles wasn’t there.

One day, in 1975, they declared that Charles had died…

But did he really?

Dragon Story

Once upon a time, there was a dragon whose name was Oliver. He was known as a myth, but not the hero. The hero is still alive, but in hiding because he knows that he is the real bad one.

One day, a girl named Stacey wandered in the woods because she heard a dragon roar. She went farther in the woods. She went even farther in the forest. She heard even more dragon roars. After all the trees she walked past, she saw two caves directly across from each other. Then she saw Oliver who had red eyes. Stacey was scared. She pinched herself to see if it was a dream. It was definitely not a dream.

She stepped closer to the caves. She stood right in the middle of the caves. Then fire came out of one cave and went straight to the other one. Then she heard a groan. It sounded like a lion’s roar. The roar was louder and longer.

The fake hero’s name was Cornelius, but Oliver called him Cornie. She started to climb the cave with Oliver after Cornie flew away. She finally made it to the top. Slowly, she walked in the cave. She saw a tree stump and Oliver was sitting on it. She felt so bad for him. She was determined to cheer him up.

She walked next to him and asked what was the matter?

He said, “Life is just not fair.”

“I know,” said Stacey. “My grandfather is a dragon expert, but he has a different opinion from everyone.”

Oliver said, “That’s why you look like him. Your grandfather and I were best buddies until people took him away because they thought I was the bad guy.”

“Oliver, please tell me!”

“Okay, once upon a time there was a dragon whose name was Oliver. He was known as a myth, but not the hero.The hero is still alive, but in hiding because he knows that he is the real bad one.”

“Wow! I had no idea, I’m so sorry,” said Stacey. “I probably should’ve told you before you told me the story that I can’t keep a secret.”

“You can’t tell anyone, they won’t believe you. You need proof,” said Oliver.

“Oh, I have proof. When I was a baby I put video cameras before that happened,” said Stacey. “Give me a ride down. Everybody needs to know!” she said.

Oliver said, “Why not? You can’t keep a secret and you have proof.”

She hopped. After 13 times of showing the video, they were convinced. Oliver was finally free, but Cornie was punished.

“Thank you Stacey for everything.”

The Unicorns and One Pony

Chapter 1

Once there was a pony. Her name was Emma. Emma wished she was a unicorn. All the unicorns in town did not allow Emma in their group, so every day after school she cried to her mom. Her mom was a unicorn. One day she went to school with a fake unicorn horn and rainbow mane. 

One day she went to the doctor to get plastic surgery. The doctor thought she might die. Emma wanted to die, but her mom said not to do the surgery. Emma was depressed. Then her mom told the principal that all of the unicorns were making fun of her, but the principal was a unicorn so he said, “Well, your daughter has mental issues.” The pony had to move from California to New York because her mom had a job there

They moved. The school that she went to was very welcoming. They even had a surprise. She loved it and on the bright side, it was a private only pony school. And for Halloween, they were all unicorns. When they went trick or treating, she saw a friend from California! 

Chapter 2

Apparently the other unicorn that was from the other school moved to the same place the next day. Emma was relieved that the other unicorn went to a different school. That night, Emma had a nightmare about her old school moving to New York and all the other unicorns were living in her building. 

Chapter 3

When Emma woke up, her mom said that her school moved to New York. 

“Ahhhhhhh!” said Emma. 

Obsessions

Nature is one of the things that stayed with me as I got older. When I was little, I would spend hours outside looking for cicada shells that I collected in my pocket. I would climb trees and admire the beautiful plants I could see when I went hiking in the forest. I loved to feel the cool spring breeze brush against my arm and go through my body filling my heart with happiness.

The four elements are fire, water, air, and earth. When I was asked to choose the one I felt most attached to, I chose earth, but now I don’t know if that is true. When I think of the four elements, I think of Magic, sorcery, and mystery. I think that those elements are all a part of earth, but just different parts of it. 

I love to think of different worlds that have magic in them. Magic is something that I wish this world had. Not the kind of magic we see every day in nature and people, but magic that goes against science and our beliefs. If I ever saw magic I don’t know if I would know that it’s there. The magic on TV and in books is just one type that it could be. Some people think that magic has to do with witches and witchcraft. Witches are known by some people to communicate with the devil, which is interesting and kind of creepy.

I remember when I went on a hike one time. I went into a concrete passageway that was used during the war. The passageways were all over and very old. It was dark and filled with garbage. I thought I could see the end of it. When I was already about halfway in, I started getting disgusted by the crickets on the ceiling. But I knew that I was almost to the end, and if I kept going, it wouldn’t be any slower than going back. So I decided to walk to the end where I could see the light. When I got there, I saw that that wasn’t actually the end of the passage, but the rest was closed off by erosion. There was a hole in the ceiling, and I pulled myself back up and took a deep breath.

Straws Are Bad

Introduction

In this story, you will learn a lot about what damage plastic does to the earth. Did you know that by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans? In this story, you will learn what kinds of straws are bad, why they are bad for land animals, sea creatures, and humans, and also my experience with straws.

What are straws?/Why are they bad?

Straws are long pieces of plastic, bamboo, or wood that are used to be able to drink a liquid from a tall glass without having to tip your cup. Straws are bad because they kill animals and humans.              

Land animals

 Straws are bad because they kill animals, plants, and humans too. The reason why plastic kills living animals is when people drop or throw their straws in the trash cans, streets, and woods where they just go to landfills or get eaten by bugs or bears.

Sea creatures and Humans

The way that plastic kills sea life is like how it kills forest animals. It just gets eaten by sea creatures, which is even worse than when a land dweller/animals that lives on land do. The reason why it is worse is because we humans don’t eat land animals that are available to plastic, while we eat almost every type of fish that is discovered to humans. And when fishermen catch the fish to sell to companies, the fish caught sometimes have small pieces of plastic in it. The way that it kills humans is when humans eat the fish, they can choke on the small pieces of plastic.

My experience with straws.

My experience with straws is that when I traveled throughout Southeast Asia  for six months I saw a lot of plastic straws and other types of plastic like plastic bags and plastic bottles all over like in the streets or in the ocean. Another sad story is that when I was snorkeling, I saw a bunch of small fish chasing a single piece of plastic!!!

How we can fix it

The reason we can fix this problem is whenever you have the chance to turn down a straw, do it and dont be scared to say no to a waiter or waitress. Another way you can fix it is that whenever you see a piece of garbage, pick it up. Here’s one of my favorite sayings: “The little things are what counts.”

CATS

Chapter 1

Have you ever been in a family where you can talk to cats but everyone else hates them? Funny how that happens… Well anyway, maybe that’s part of the reason why I have a nasty habit of running away. There was an argument… It had started out simple. We were picking wallpaper and furniture for my room. I had wanted to get cat stuff, and a cat. Maybe obvious. But it got real bad, real fast. I had wanted Mom to let me be me. But noooooo! I had to be her! Not me, her! The non-cat loving, awful dinner cooker of a mom.

Well anyway, to take a break from my parents or ‘cool down’ as they put it, I had run out into the woods where I usually wandered when I ran. Then a cat appeared. I wasn’t expecting her but who cares?

“Scram!” I aimed a kick at her.

“Hey,” she recoiled. “I was just trying to comfort you!” she said defensively, before she slunk off.  

“Wait,” I called. ”You can talk?” I was so surprised!

“Of course I can talk,” she said in her refined manner, and I noticed that she was a ragdoll cat. The fur around her neck was all—how do you say it? A bit like a boa? “All animals can talk,” she continued. “But only one person every one thousand years can talk to cats.” She thought for a minute. “I’m not quite sure what the other animals’ numbers are, and they rarely collide.”

“Rarely?” I asked. “Am I-”

“No,” she said almost rudely. “That’s too cliche.”

“Okay,” I said slightly let down, for some reason.

“Come on, we have work to do,” she started walking briskly with her tail held high.

“Wait, what work?” I asked while trying to catch up.

“Your training, of course,” she replied vaguely.

“What?”

“Do you know nothing?” she seemed upset for a reason I couldn’t guess. “Hurry up.” And I realized that her eyes were filled with tears.

“Why-” I started but before I could finish she interrupted.

“We’re here.” she stopped suddenly. She stopped in front of, wait for it… a pile of rocks. I know right! Out of all the places for this ‘training’ thing, it had to be rocks! Rocks!

“Um,” I started.

“What?” she asked, clearly unaware that we were standing in the middle of nowhere.

“This is it?”

“What do you think?”

“I think that it’s gonna turn into something, but I think that you’re gonna say that that’s so cliche and this is actually where the training is.”

“No.”

“Wait what?”

“N-O, no. That clear enough for you?”

“So what is going to happen?” but in my head I added ‘little miss sassy pants.’ Suddenly there was a loud rumbling sound. “What?” I muttered as a cave formed before my eyes.

“Come on,” my companion called. “Don’t worry. It’s safe, you know.” Then she turned back to the cave, started walking, and laughed.

Chapter 2

There were three words to describe the cave: boring, boring and boring. You’re thinking: a creepy cave, cool. Trust me. It’s not! Okay, fine. It’s dark, slightly chilly, but other than that nothing. A soft sunset colored light was coming from the depths of the cave. Then I saw something that totally surprised me. Cat flaps. That might sound a bit random but who knows.

“Do you live here?” I asked.

“Not just me,” she said with a twisted smile. Suddenly I heard loud rock music coming from one of the cat flaps. And I mean loud!

“Ugh, might as well get this over with.” The cat sighed.

“Get what over with?” I started to say, but before I could finish, three incredibly fat cats stepped out singing:

The three fat cats

We like to eat rats

Wherever the bed is that’s where we’re at!

“Ugh,” she sighed again.

“Oh,” I remarked. “That’s what you meant.”

“Meet Steve, Joe and Bob.” She didn’t sound very enthusiastic about the introductions.

“Hi, I’m Layana,” I told them.

“Hey, I’m Joe, but as you probably know, I’m 62,” said one of them. I recognized him as a scottish fold. He was rubbing his belly like he had just eaten an exceptionally large meal.

“None of them are too bright,” the ragdoll whispered, which reminded me, I was tired of calling her a bunch of different words.

“What’s your name?” I asked curiously.

“Not now, the stink’s coming in,” she replied. I held my nose as a foul scent drifted through the room. But later I wondered, once I knew her better, if she had changed the subject on purpose. As we were leaving the ‘Cat flaps’ room, I decided not to mention the subject of the name in case she lashed out at me. We were approaching a chamber filled with lanterns.

“Well that explains the sunset light,” I remarked.

“Don’t get used to it,” she told me. “We’re not staying in here for long.” 

“Then, where are we going?” I asked her, slightly puzzled.

“We’re going to my favorite place in all of Cat Land,” she purred, like cats do, but it was soothing, sort of.

“Wait, Cat Land?” I realized how weird it was. “Out of all things, you guys could name this place you go with Cat Land!”

“What?” she said. “Cat Land, where did you get that from?”

“You!” I cried.

“No.” She was grinning now. “I never said Cat Land. It must be shock or something.”  I fell silent because I knew she had said Cat Land, which meant one thing. The ragdoll was hiding something!

Chapter 3

“Come on,” the cat’s voice echoed through the passage we were in.

“Ugh.” I was getting a bit fed up with my companion’s behavior. Just then I heard a sigh. At first I thought it was my sigh echoing back, but then I realized it wasn’t me. I sped up.

“Layana! Get up here!”

“Coming!” I called.

“Meet Silky,” she said once I caught up, completely out of breath.

“Layana is a lovely name,” said Silky in a sweet delicate voice.

“Uh, thanks.”

“Well,” the ragdoll cut in. “We were about to go outside so-”

“But I haven’t shown her my song yet!”

“Fine, might as well get this over with,” she said with another sigh.

I am siamese 

Give me treats please!

If not then just let me through

If you please

If you please!

“In case you haven’t noticed, songs are kind of a thing in here.”

“You’re turning into a tour guide, Andromeda,” said Silky before slinking off.

“Your name’s Andromeda?” I was so startled that I had forgotten to be cautious. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Come on we have lots of things to see.” She completely ignored me. Outside was quiet except for the chirping from the crickets. I looked up.

“Wait, I need to be home by now, it’s night!”

“Why, do you really want to go back after this!” She lowered her voice. “After that?” 

“You know about the fight?” Surprisingly I wasn’t mad.

“Of course I know about the fight. I know everything about you.” Okay now I was mad!

“What!” I shouted. “Who died and made you in charge? Why should you get to know everything about me! It’s just plain wrong.”

“Oh, we’re doing this thing,” she sighed. “Well if you must know, you are not going home anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Because, you have to start your cat whisperer training.” 

“No, you can’t make me and I refuse.”

“Actually I can make you.”

“How?”

“Ask ‘the teach’.”

“Who’s ‘the teach’?”

“You’ll see.”

“No I won’t, I’m leaving.” I took off down the passageway.

“That’s a dead end, you can’t leave!” Andromeda called after me. I realized she was right.

“Now what?” I asked when she had caught up.

“Come on, I’ll take you to see The Teach.”

Chapter 4

“So, where is this ‘teach’ guy?” I asked after setting down the passageway. “‘Cause I’m starting to think he is kinda shifty.” 

The Teach isn’t shifty,” Andromeda told me. “Besides, he’s one of only humans here besides you. So show some respect.”

“You know, I’m only doing this because I have nowhere else to go.”

“Yes, that is the 59th time you said that.”

“You’re keeping track?”

“Yeah, what else could I do?” Although our voices were pleasant, our faces were tense. The passageway was widening. Incredibly slowly, I almost didn’t notice it.

“Wait,” I said slowly “‘One of the only humans’ here! What do you mean ‘one of’?

“You’ll see,” she told me in total darkness.

“Why is this taking so long?” I complained and asked at the same time.

“We’re here!” she interrupted. A handsome oak door stood in front of us. Suddenly, it swung open, revealing a tall middle aged man.

“Thank you, Andromeda,” he said. 

“Can’t I stick around?” she asked hopefully.

“No,” he said firmly.

“Fine.” She left silently. The man gestured for me to go inside. I did, only to enter a room with no taste in decor! For some reason, I’ve always been picky about things like this. There were odd things like rusty pipes, plastic bottles and garbage bags that were squirming! But the strangest thing above all, was a girl around my age with a rather large nose that ruined the rest of the face. She had sharp, almost purple eyes and was wearing a ripped leather jacket that had silver spikes even though some had fallen out, over a white t-shirt and navy blue jeans, also ripped. But her hair was really cool! It was dark brown hair that she seemed to have tried to dye pale pink but she hadn’t bleached it first so it was barely visible. It stuck up in odd angles at the top, but stuck to her face in the middle. I rubbed the deep blue streak in my bronze hair. For some reason the girl looked familiar.

“Now, girls, you are both on the same page here. I’m The Teach. So something strange happened twelve years ago, when you were born. See, you girls have two things in common. For one, you can both talk to cats, and second you are both twins.” 

“What!” we both said.

“Calm down,” said The Teach. “So usually, when something like this happens the power goes to one twin, but for you, the power got distributed between you.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“You can each talk to different kinds of cats,” he explained.

“How come we have different parents?” the other girl asked. Her voice had a slightly harsh edge to it.

“Those people aren’t your real parents Tina. Your real parents are dead.”

“What happened to them?”

His face froze. “We don’t know.”

Blue’s Story : A Novel By Mae Benne

Chapter 1

Blue noisily walked down the creaking stairs and into the kitchen. Her short brown hair was a mess, but her hazel eyes were glistening in the morning sunshine. Her body was covered in an oversized soft t-shirt and grey shorts. She had been drawn downstairs by the familiar scent of pancakes that had wafted up to her room. She walked right into the scene of her father dressed in a t-shirt he had received from his college and a pair of Nike basketball shorts. He was dancing to the country music on the black radio, sitting on the shelf and setting the wooden oak table that Blue and her dad had just bought. Blue chuckled to herself as her father, Phil, had started to sing along to the song. Phil turned around to see his daughter laughing at the spectacle of him jamming out to the country. 

“You should see yourself when you’re dancing to music.” Phil said, grinning with his soft hazel eyes at his daughter. “So, I was thinking,” said Blue’s father, “We could head over to the park to shoot some hoops after breakfast. How does that sound?”

“Wonderful!” replied Blue, yawning sleepily as she sat down at the table and placed her napkin on her lap and put her elbows on the table. 

“When do you expect the pancakes to be ready?” asked Blue.

“Pretty soon,” said Phil.

“Will there be enough time for me to change before the food is ready?” asked Blue.

“I think so, if you hurry,” replied Blue’s father. 

Blue raced up the stairs into her bedroom. She looked around and peered at the paintings on her wall. She had made a special trip to the local art store, although it had taken her a little while to find it, as she was new in town, just to find decoration for her previously bare, beige walls. Blue walked up to her black dresser and pulled out her drawer to see the faded photograph of her mother in her teen years, and a tattered photo album. She picked the photograph up and studied it and thought of the little memories she had of her mother. She thought about her soft angelic features and long wavy brown hair that she always kept in a tight, beautiful braid. She recalled the sound of her mother’s carefree laugh. Then she would remember the night she left, as she always did when she thought of her mother. She remembered being bunched up in a ball covering her ears, under her forget-me-not blue covers, hearing her father plead with her mother to stay. She remembered hearing her mother say how boring the town was and how miserable she was, and how she felt limited and held back by the lack of resources in the area. Blue remembered hearing the front door slam and running down the stairs in an attempt to get her mother to stay and she remembered her father wrapping his robust arms around her. She remembered trying to break free from her father’s comforting grip, through tears and sobs and finally getting out of his arms to chase after her mother. But by the time she had run out the door her mother had disappeared into the grey, dreary night. 

“Are we going to talk about it?” thought Blue, as she snapped back to reality. That day was the 7 year anniversary of her mother slamming the front door and leaving for good. Blue wiped away a small tear that had fallen on her cheek and gently placed the photograph of her mother back into the drawer. She had found the photograph the day they moved in, as she was rummaging through the brown, cardboard boxes of things she had stumbled on a photo album that contained an old photograph of her mother. She had pulled it out and hid it in her dresser. Blue took a deep breath and picked out a flowy summer dress with flowers embroidered on it from her closet and put it on. She slipped her opal ring on her finger and put on her favorite earrings and necklaces. She picked up her hair brush and combed out the knots that she had developed in her hair as she slept. Blue then walked to her door and down the stairs to the kitchen.

 Chapter 2

Blue dribbled the ball twice, took a deep breath and shot a free throw. She always did the exact same routine before she shot a free throw, during spring break she had made this routine with her coach. He had said this routine would help her with muscle memory and that when she did her routine with pressure weighing on her shoulders in a game it would calm her nerves and let her focus on the goal of making the basket. She shot and watched as the ball swished through the orange net.

Phil cheered her on then said, “But you need to work on keeping your elbow in, form really does matter. If you stand in front of the mirror and pretend you’re shooting a free throw and see what your form looks like and try to improve it just ten times a day, you can make a huge difference in your form.”

“You say that every time I practice.” Blue said, rolling her eyes.

“Ok, ten right hand lay-ups. I will pass you the ball once you get to the basket.” said Phil.

Later that day Blue called her father into the living room. 

“Dad, come here.” Blue yelled across the house to her father.

“Be right there.” called Phil. He then proceeded to walk in. He was wearing a pair of baby blue denim jeans and a grey button up shirt. He had just taken a shower and his hair was dripping wet.

“I found a great summer writing program. Wanna see?” said Blue. Turning her computer in his direction. 

“Sure, honey.” said Phil, as he sat down next to Blue on their leather couch. 

“So, this writing program is in Soho. It focuses on all the genres I love, and Grace is going to the camp as well. Grace and I want to spend as much time with each other as possible since she is moving to Japan. I was also thinking, since it starts at 10, we can grab breakfast before I start.” Explained Blue.

“Sounds like a plan.” said Phil. “Maybe Grace could come with us to breakfast.”

“I would love that. I will go to text her right now.” Blue said while getting up from the black, leather couch and grabbing her rose-gold phone.

Chapter 3

The gravel crunched under Blue and Phil’s feet as they walked on the driveway to the car. Phil climbed into the front seat and buckles his seatbelt and placed his hands on the wheel. Blue opened the backseat door and climbed on to the grey, plush seat and set her bag on the floor. It contained her laptop, notebook, lunch, and her phone. She buckled her seatbelt and yawned.  

Phil turned his head toward Blue and said, “All set?” 

“Yea, love you.” Replied Blue, smiling sweetly at her father. 

“Love you too.” said Phil. “Are you nervous about getting started at this writing camp?”

“A bit, but I am really excited.” Replied Blue.

Phil then drove out into the cobble hill street, and across the 

Brooklyn bridge into Soho.

Chapter 4

Phil drove through a green light. He turned the radio up and hummed to the melody of the music. Then he turned right onto Spring Street. They drove past Becky’s bakery and An Artist’s Heaven art store on the way up to the location where the writing program was occurring. 

“We are almost there.” Said Phil turning on to the right lane and putting his right turn signal on. 

“Ok.” Replied Blue.

A rusty, pale blue car came speeding in with Evan Monatela at the wheel. Phil attempted to swerve out of it’s path but it was too late and the car crashed into Blue and Phil’s car. The car flipped over and bursts into flames. 

A few moments later

“The Dad is D.o.a, but I think there is hope for the girl. Have we ID’d the body, yet?” said an E.R worker that had arrived when the call about a car accident had come in. 

“No, we haven’t yet.” said the E.R worker’s coworker, helping the E.R worker with placing Blue in the ambulance. 

“The girl definitely has a concussion and possibly some internal bleeding. Although she is in critical condition,  it looks like she will make it.” the E.R worker explained. “I feel bad for her she is going to have to wake up with her world turned upside down. One minute she is enjoying a car ride with her father and next moment she’s in a hospital and her father is dead. I hope her mother is around to support her.” 

“Yea, I can’t even imagine that happening to me.” said the coworker peering at the girl lying unconscious in the ambulance.

Blue was flown in a helicopter to the hospital in Philadelphia. She arrived and her doctors performed surgery on her injured head, and the shattered bone in her leg. Blue remained in a coma for three days.

Chapter 5

Blue woke up and groaned from the pain of her pounding headache and a broken leg. A nurse walked in, with a blue hospital uniform on. Her raven black hair was pulled up in a tight bun. On her feet were small black slip on shoes, that made small tapping sounds as she walked around the room. She was carrying a clipboard and she flipped through it and wrote something down with a blue pen that had the Hospital of Connecticut written on it in silver lettering. The nurse looked down at Blue, realized she was awake and said,

“Good to see you awake, Blue.” 

“What happened?” asked Blue, her voice meek and dry. She was croaking like a frog.         

The nurse sighed and looked at Muracke with poignant eyes and said, “There was an awful accident. A drunk man named Evan Monatela crashed into your car. That man killed your poor father and nearly killed you. You are lucky to be alive, Blue. Evan is currently being prosecuted for his crimes.  I hear he will be charged with vehicular manslaughter and drinking while driving and other things.” 

“You’re lying. It’s not true, go away!” screamed Blue through tears.  

The nurse walked over to the side of the bed and peered at the small fragile girl. She wrapped her long, delicate arms around Blue and held her in her arms, as she wept. The nurse explains what had happened and what injuries Blue had. 

“Your father was sprung from the car and was dead on arrival, someone called 911 and paramedics rushed to the accident and saved you. You were flown over here in a helicopter and you had surgery for your injuries. Your leg was shattered and your head was pretty banged up, but other than that you’re doing well. This is a lot to handle and I know it was a very traumatic experience, so we have a psychiatrist on hand that you can talk to whenever necessary,” said the nurse.

Finally the nurse had to leave and attend to other patients in the recovery ward. Blue was left broken by the news that the nurse had just delivered to her. She wept and wept herself into a restless slumber. She dreamt of wonderful days spent with her father, curled up in his welcoming lap. She dreamt of reading books like Owl Moon and The Lonely Book in bed, snuggled next to her father. Then her dream turned into a nightmare and flashes of her father drenched in blood, dying at the scene of the accident appeared in her mind. She tossed and turned during the night until dawn broke across the grey sky, that was mimicking the feeling Blue had felt inside ever since she found out about the death of her late father. All she felt was emptiness and pure anger at the man who had killed her loving, innocent father. The only person she felt really knew her and loved her. She had friends like Grace, her best friend but after Grace would leave for Japan their friendship would fade away and they would never see each other again. She felt alone in the world without him. Evan Monatela, the man who killed her father, when that name crossed her mind she imagined strangling him. Wrapping her arms around his throat and squeezing as hard as she could but then reminded herself that it would be a terrible thing to do. It would be almost as bad as what he did to her father. 

Chapter 6

The nurse who had told Blue what happened to her parents walked into the room with a tray of food. It consisted of packaged pancakes, hashbrowns and 1% milk. The nurse placed the tray on the hospital’s glossy, wooden side table and hugged Blue tightly and whispered into her ear, 

“It will be ok.”

The nurse pulled up a small tray table in front of Blue and placed the tray on the table. She propped a pillow up behind Blue’s back and helped her sit up. She then said to Blue,

”Eat up”

Blue looked up at the nurse with tears in her glossy green eyes and said, 

“What am I supposed to do? I’m completely alone. My mother left me and my father when I was only five years old and now my Dad is dead. I don’t know what to do. I have Aunts and Uncles but I don’t know, they probably don’t even want me.” It was the first thing Blue had said in a few days.

The nurse’s face softened and showed empathy for Blue, she sat down at the end of the bed and said, “When I was about your age, my parents died in a terrible plane crash. I felt exactly the same as you feel now. I felt alone and even abandoned by my parents, but I pulled through. I pursued my dream of becoming a nurse. You are strong, and you will persevere. I know you will, Blue whitener.”

“I don’t know if I can.” whispered Blue through sobs and incessant tears. Her previously warm, olive complexion was now pale and almost grey. Her long, brown, baby hair now seemed to be faded and aged. Her blanket and cast covered her bony figure. 

“There’s someone here to see you. Her name is Bridgit Tate, she is going to be your foster mother. She’s also a nurse at this hospital, she will take great care of you.” said the nurse as a middle aged woman with sharp, icy blue eyes walked in the door and smiled sweetly at Blue.

Chapter 7

“Hello Blue,” said Bridget.

“Hi.” replied Blue, wiping her tears.

“How are you?” asked Bridget. 

“Okay, I guess. I mean I got in a car accident.” replied Blue, weakly.

“Yea, you did. The doctors say you will be up and running in about a week. Then you can come to my house, I’m sure you will love it there. I would love to paint your room hot pink,” said Bridget. She then walked over to the side of Blue’s bed and turned her head towards the nurse, “How much do I get for taking care of her?”

“500 dollars a month, but that shouldn’t matter should it? Blue is an admirable, magnificent human being, and I would be honored to have her in my home even without paychecks every month.” said the nurse, who was quite skeptical of this woman who was supposed to take care of Blue. 

“Yes, I completely agree, but I was just wondering what the amount of money I will get to support Blue is. I would like to know what I should set my budget for her room so that I can get started right away,” said Bridget. Bridget then said, “Well it looks like you are eating breakfast so I will leave you to it. It was very nice to meet you. I am very excited to have you in my home and hope that overtime it will become your home as well. Goodbye, Blue.” Bridget said as she left the room. 

Blue could hear the clicking of Bridget’s heels as she walked down the brightly lit hallway. Then Blue said to the nurse,

”Did you really mean the things you said?” 

“Every single word.” said the nurse, as she flashed a quick smile to Blue. 

“When you go and live with this Bridget woman, keep me posted on how she treats you.” the nurse said. 

“Ok, why?” asked Blue, frowning.

“This woman just doesn’t seem trustworthy. I have learned to trust my gut when it tells me something. I think she should be focused on you rather than the money she gets for taking care of you,” replied the nurse. 

“Ok,” said Blue. She had liked Bridget but thought there was something a little off about her. But she was still not ready for this woman to replace her deceased father, she was barely even ready for her to become Blue Tate.

Chapter 8

The nurse walked into Blue’s hospital room, lit by fluorescent lighting, and brought with her a tray of food. 

“Today is your final day here at the hospital. I am really going to miss you, Blue. It has been phenomenal to get to know you.” said the nurse.

“I’m going to miss you too,” said Blue.

Briget walked in with a purple polka dotted dress, a black shawl and cream colored high heels. She smiled at Blue and the nurse. 

“Nice to see you guys again. Are you almost ready to head home?” asked Bridget, with a smile. 

“I will be ready once I finish with my breakfast. I also have to wait for them to give me my crutches, and I will have to practice walking with my cast and crutches a bit in the waiting room, if that’s ok with you of course,” replied Blue.

“That’s totally fine. I will be in the waiting room if you need me, and let me know when you are ready to leave so I can help you practice and we can go to my car. I parked it right up front so that you would not have to walk far.” said Bridget.                                                                                                                                                     

“Alright.” said Blue as she ate her breakfast of cereal, milk and orange juice. She was dressed in a white hospital gown and on her wrist was a shiny, plastic bracelet that had the hospital’s name written on it. 

Briget left the room and sat down in the waiting room. The nurse then said to Blue,

“Are you sure you are ready to go. I’m sure I can get you permission to stay a bit longer.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Even though Bridget is not that motherly and will never, ever, ever replace my Dad, I think we will be able to form a strong bond. I know you are a bit skeptical of her. I’m sure she is great.” said Blue, hopefully. 

“Alright. If you say so.” said the nurse, sighing. 

Chapter 9

Blue walked with her crutches up to Bridget. They continued practicing and Blue slowly started to get comfortable with her crutches.

“I think I am getting the hang of this,” said Blue.

“Yea, I think you are.” replied Bridget. 

“Ready to go. I really think I am going to love it there.” Bridget said, her eyes bright with excitement.

“Yes, I’m sure I will.” said Blue.

They walked to the elevator and down into the parking lot. Bridget pressed the button on her car keys and a small, white toyota camry beeped nearby.

“There it is.” said Bridget.

Blue and Bridget walked up to the car and got in. Bridget buckled her seatbelt and turned the key and the engine started to hum, she looked back at Blue and saw her struggling.

“Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I entirely forgot you need help getting in the car. Here, I’m going to go over there.” said Bridget while she unbuckled her seat belt and opened the car door to get out. Bridget assisted Blue into the car and placed her crutches in the trunk. Bridget got into the car and said, “Prepare for the two and a half hour drive to connecticut.” chuckling.

Chapter 10

Finally, Blue and Bridget pulled up to a small brownstone house in the center of a block on Kane Street. 

“This is it. Your new home.” said Bridget, happily as she climbed out of the car.

“It looks wonderful.” said Blue, getting out of the car with Bridget’s comforting help.  Bridget locked the car and opened the house door and led Blue into the house. Blue’s crutches made noises across the wooden floor. Bridget turned on the light to show a brown leather couch and a wooden coffee table with five beer bottles and two wine bottles, thrown on their sides, on it.

“Oh god I am so sorry about that, I did not get to clean up after last night, just please don’t tell anyone about this. I was really nervous about you coming and I should not have had so much alcohol. It won’t happen again.” said Bridget, her face tinted red from embarrassment.

“That was all just from last night.” thought Blue, frowning. 

“Here I will show you your new room.” said Bridget walking towards the back of the house. She opened the door to a small room, which was empty except for a small cot with brown flannel sheets and a small grey dresser, with an alarm clock on it. 

“It’s not much, but it’s something and we will decorate it soon. I wanted you to have complete say in everything, so I only got a small amount of things. You need a bed of course.” said Bridget.

“Thank you so much.” said Blue, as she walked into the room and sat down on the bed. 

Chapter 11

Blue woke up and walked out of bed and out the door. She walked into the kitchen and found Bridget cooking asparagus and BLTs. She was humming and spreading the mayo onto the pieces of brown, toasted bread. She looked up at Blue and said,

“You’re up. That’s wonderful, I’m just making lunch; roasted asparagus and BLTs. I hope you like them.” 

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate what you are doing for me. I honestly don’t know where I would be without you, foster care probably. Just, thank you.” said Blue. 

“Your welcome, I was just so lonely in this house. I don’t have many friends and no significant other and I wanted to help someone so I decided to adopt and sure enough you came along.” replied Bridget. 

They both sat down at the table and ate the BLTs and asparagus. Blue picked up her fork and cut her asparagus and placed it in her mouth. 

“Do you have any hobbies that you enjoy, sports or other things?” asked Bridget.

“I really enjoy playing basketball all actually, I was on my school’s basketball team, along with my best friend Grace. I was even a point guard.” said Blue. “I guess I can’t go to the Blue school. Are there any schools around here with basketball teams?” 

“I am not sure but we can look although I have a niece who went to school around here who loves basketball. We can ask her where she went and if there was a basketball team at her school.” added Bridget. “How is your food?”

“It is delicious. Thank you for making it.” replied Blue. 

Blue put her last bite of food into her mouth and placed her fork and knife on the plate. She wiped her mouth and said, “May I be excused?”

“Of course, Blue.” replied Bridget. 

Blue picked up her plate, rinsed it out in the sink and placed it in the dishwasher. With the napkin in her hand she looked around, looking for a trash can. 

“Where is the trash can?” asked Blue.

“Right behind you actually.” directed Bridget.

Blue turned around and threw her napkin away. Then she walked back into her new room. 

Chapter 12

Bridget walked into Blue’s room and asked, “What would you like to do today?” 

“We could get some clothes.”

“Ok. Before I went to pick you up at the hospital I went to the store and chose some clothes for you. I hope that they will fit you.” Bridget said while she handed Blue a Marshalls shopping bag with three outfits stuffed inside.

“Thank you so much.” Blue said while taking the clothes out of the bag and laying them on the bed. 

“Sorry I did not know what your style was. I tried to pick out something you would like.” said Blue. Blue and Bridget drove to her house.

Chapter 13

Blue climbed into bed and yawned as she drifted off into a deep sleep. She woke up in the middle of the night and looked around at her new room. The walls were cream colored and on the ceiling was a small chandelier, off to the side of the room was a built-in closet with two bronze handles. It was dark and the curtains were drawn but a small amount of moon light was coming. Blue pulled off her covers and walked over to the window and opened the curtains to see a bright full moon in the sky. She remembered her father telling her marvelous stories about the moon. She remembered him pointing up at the moon and his soft, familiar voice seemed to fill her head. Tears fell from her eyes and she wiped them away, but her shirt was now wet and tear stained. She could see a light coming from behind her closed door and could hear the faint sound of the TV in the living room. 

She decided to get up and get a glass of water from the new kitchen. She tiptoed out of the room and peered out the door to see Bridget watching the television and swigging some beer. Blue just walked up to the fridge and opened it to see an abundance of alcohol strewn about the fridge. 

Blue grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with tap water from the sink. She had started walking back to her room when she heard the jumbled words,

“What are you doing?”  

“Just getting a glass of water,” said Blue. 

“Whatever. You know your pathetic. That’s why your mother left you and Dad crashed that car on purpose just get away from you.” said Bridget, walking up to Blue and hitting her. The side of Blue’s was red and stung where Bridget had hit her. “Not one of your aunts and uncles even wanted you.”

“Ok.” Blue said, confused as she looked up at Bridget, scared.

Chapter 14

Blue woke up the next day tired and still scared of Bridget. She got out of bed and squinted at the bright morning sun that was shining in her face. She walked up to the drawer to find it filled with clothing all from the gap. In through the partially closed door came an orange cat that was meowing. She knelt down on her knees and let the cat lick her hand. She sat down with her legs crossed and played with the cat, she even smiled a small smile, for the first time in a while. Finally when the cat lost interest and went to venture off into the rest of the house, Blue went back into the drawer and picked out a yellow romper. She stepped out of the room and endured misery and abuse from Bridget.

***

Blue laid awake in bed devising a plan to escape her misery. She made a checklist of things she would need in her mind. Food, a water bottle, backpack and some clothes, and Bridget’s macbook air. 

“Where will I go? Should I try and find my mother?” thought Blue. “I am going to find my mother.” she finally decided. 

The next day Blue looked up her mother’s name. Immediately, she found a phone number and address. She packed a bag full of the things she needed.

While Bridget was going to the bathroom Blue snuck out of the house and took a train three hours away and then took a bus into her mother’s neighborhood, and then walked until she found her mother’s house. A yellow brick house with blossoming cherry trees in the front yard. She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Her mother answered the door with a little baby in her arms.

Blue’s mother stared in shock at Blue and said,

“Hello Blue.” 

“Hello.” said Blue.


Sylvia and the Wishing Tree


Wishing Day

It was Wishing Day again. Every year, thousands of people gathered at the Wishing Creek. Due to the storm, the creek was flooding, so most of the people gathered at the pond or stream. Not me and my family.

The Wishus and Their Ways

My parents were very religious to the ways of the Wishus. Me and my five siblings (including baby Hazel) loved to eat the delicious Wishu food, and my parents didn’t even mind making it 7 days a week! 

Father Gives Me Some Advice

That fateful day, we gathered at the creek, which was now waist-deep if we went to the original candle floating spot. Which we did. My Papa always said, “Now, Sylvia Lorali Hollyblade, the Natives didn’t leave because there were storms, did they?” So we finished lighting and sending away our wishing candles.

Introducing….Maria!

Since it was the year 2357, we had a maid-robot (maid bot) to help with the chores. Her name was Maria, because that had been the name of my robo-cat before it short-circuited and wandered into the acid stove.

Maria Scolds Me About (Yawn) Weather

We had just gotten the new type (Clovebot 3000) and at the moment, she was telling us the weather. “More rain to come and you should expect thunder, with a hurricane chance of 0.0356, Sylvia. Really, with Hurricane Lila and Leo on the loose, you should pay more attention,” Maria scolded me, due to the fact that I was rolling my eyes. I groaned. I never should have suggested to Mother that we install the personality chip.

The Wave of Ultimate Doom

As I turned to grab my warm towel, a sense of foreboding rushed through me. I remembered my Papa’s words: “Never turn your back to the water.” I turned around quickly, but not quick enough. A wave roughly the size of a large horse swelled up and came crashing down on us, knocking me off my feet and causing me to cut my hand on the edge of a sharp rock.

Fingers and Babies 

My eyes watering in pain, I could hear Hazel crying. Grabbing her hand, another hand slipped into my fingers. Metal, I thought dimly. Then I was pulled out of the water. 

Land…Finally!

Feeling the fresh air in my lungs, I knew I was secure. I reached for Mama’s hand to know everything was alright, only to find nothing. I sat up cautiously, knowing that my surroundings may not be safe. But when I looked around, everything seemed perfectly fine, except for the fact that I was on the other side of the creek. No one was with me, no one to grab me, say that everything would be alright. My only choice was to climb the huge, sharp cliffs that screamed: I’m dangerous! But I had to go there. It was the only way. Elders had told of a tree that could grant you wishes, even bring back the dead, only for a small fee of 1 ancient penny. I had a penny that people had used back in the 2100s, a copper coin with markings of ancient rulers like Abraham Lincoln. My social studies class had each received one, and then we had played a weird game called “chess.” Ancient people were weird. I had a plan to climb up there and demand the gem return my family.

Mountains, Rivers, and… Maria?

Fog rolled in from the jagged rocks, and from that fog there would be more rain. Everyone knew that if the river flooded, your only option would be to climb to higher ground. I looked around for Hazel or anyone else, hoping everyone had made it safely. I found Maria caring for the baby, and we began climbing up the mountain in hopes that we could reach the top in at least two days.

Why Climbing a Mountain is Actually Very Boring

 Every few minutes, a wave would come crashing up, and we would have to hide in a crevice and wait for about 10 minutes so that the ground wouldn’t be too slippery. One time, the wave was so big, we had to wait an hour. Soon the sun was starting to set, and me and Maria began to build a small tent on one of the large crevices we had found while Hazel slept on my back.

Cleaning Cuts and OH, IT’S DINNERTIME!!

 Thinking back, I realized that my mission was probably impossible. Finally, I finished building the hut and Maria started cooking dinner. Looking into my purse, I searched for a first aid kit to heal some of the cuts we had. I managed to pull out a dusty bottle filled with purple liquid. I applied some to me and Hazel before going to dinner. 

Lavender-Raspberry-Lettuce Salad With a Side of My Siblings

On the ground were two napkins with food on them. I fed the gooey food to Hazel and took a bite of the lavender-raspberry-lettuce salad that Maria had made. I had never tasted it myself, usually eating my mother’s salad, but as I bit into it, I realized why my two older brothers, Noah and Lucas, had loved it. My older sister Lilah liked it too, but like me, she enjoyed Mother’s salad more. 

Eating Yummy Food

The salad was sweet, then sour, until settling into something more that relaxed my very bones. I was about to shovel it into my mouth when Maria cleared her throat and eyed the honey-colored liquid on my right. I took a tiny sip and basically exploded. The liquid started as a warm, sweet juice, but quickly turned boiling hot, then freezing cold, before melting into a sour lemonade, and finally turning into a sweet goo that disappeared, leaving behind a marshmallow taste.

More Food and… Chickens?

Finally, slightly worried, I bit into the last one, tiny round balls that bounced around in my mouth before plopping into my throat and leaving behind the taste of something meaty. Of course, the only meat I had ever had was beef, but this meat tasted of the chickens the elders described, fatter birds than the eagles that flew above our village, but tasty. They were extinct now, of course, but apparently delicious. 

Phones are Addictive

As soon as I finished dinner, I got out my phone. My home screen was a tiger, the extinct “striped fury,” and today I wasted no time deciding if I should change it to a robot. Instead, I texted my friend Olivia.

Hi Olivia guess where i am?

SylviaTheAmazing

Where?

OutstandingOlivia

On the other side of the river in the mountains!

SylviaTheAmazing

OMG no way! Want a rescue search?

OutstandingOlivia 

Nah, we’re pretty safe up here. Where are you right now?

SylviaTheAmazing

The hills on the far end of the village. The storm reached pretty far

OutstandingOlivia

Wow! Well, I gotta go. You know how Maria doesn’t like phones.

SylviaTheAmazing

Yeah, she calls them DoomDevices. Bye! 

OutstandingOlivia

Byeee!!!!:)

SylviaTheAmazing

Snow

I logged off, feeling sleepy. I stepped outside of our makeshift hut to find twinkling white specks falling from the sky, bright and cold, like a soft blanket. The only thing that had ever fallen from the sky was rain. The photos of the hail that fell on the northern hemisphere could never be like the real thing. The world was warming up, and people weren’t exactly helping. This snow was the real thing. 

It sure is pretty, isn’t it? Someone behind me asked.

I Meet a Really Creepy Kid

I spun around to see a young boy (14ish) in pale grey pants (sooo last year) and a brown jacket over a shimmering opal shirt, faded because of the thin layer of dust that covered it. His bleached whitish blond hair was swept to one side, with his dark bangs almost covering his eyes, like he had dyed them. His eyes were a super pale blue, like ice on a cold winter night, making my green eyes seem dull in comparison. 

“Who are you?” I asked, but I wasn’t afraid. The police were seconds away, able to fly at 240 mph with their new wingsuit.

The Wolves

 My name is Devin. I am a Wolf. His voice spoke in my mind, a hidden whisper that only I could hear. I shivered, thinking of the stories others had told, of sneaky men and women who hid in the mountains, without any form of modern technology. Apparently, they could communicate with their minds, as Devin was doing right now. But this kid didn’t seem like much, just a boy who needed to rethink his clothing style. He stared hungrily at my phone, which hung at my side, its galaxy phone case glimmering in the shine of the setting sun. 

I can help you reach the top of the mountain and get back to your family, but I will do it only for a price. His voice sounded like the mist on a cold night, creeping around, yet silent to everyone’s ears. 

I shivered. “Take me there,” I whispered, the cold mountain air stinging my cheeks. 

We Pack Our Stuff

“Come on, we’re leaving,” I told Maria as I ducked into the hut. The warm air smelled like cinnamon, and it was toasty and dry. Robots truly were magic. We packed our things, and began to close the tent. As I grabbed my mirror/iPod, I gasped.


 I Fix My Hair

My hair was a mess. My long auburn hair was a straggly mess, and the sparkly ribbons that had held it in place had fallen off. My lacy, emerald green dress was wrinkled in places, and the navy slip-ons I had decided to wear had a small tear on the tip. My white socks were even showing through! I quickly combed my hair into a glamorous braid and straightened my dress. I put on new athletic indigo sneakers and tied green and purple ribbons to my new double waterfall braided hair. My new ‘Scarlet Kiss’ lip gloss worked perfectly with my green dress, and I added a smoky black touch with hints of gold to my eyes, so that I could really bring out my soft green eyes. I even added a soft coral to my cheeks so that I could get that natural beauty look. As I closed my mirror and started to close my suitcase, I was sure I looked amazing. 


I Climb the Mountain

“Are you ready?” asked Maria, her black wiry hair blowing in the wind. She always seemed so… unreal, with her humanoid, heart-shaped face and pale features. Her peach-colored cheeks and pale pink lips seemed pretty yet distant, like she hadn’t fully mastered the art of looking human. Her cornflower-blue eyes seemed to pierce your soul, always searching for something they would never find. 

“Yes,” I agreed, smiling even though I could feel my lips cracking. We began to climb, with Maria carrying Hazel and Devin in the lead. I thought about how good it would be to hug my mom and tease my younger brother Adrian again. I was filled with guilt that I hadn’t thought of them in the past few hours.


We Discuss Payment

 We are almost there, called Devin. Let us discuss my payment for leading you here. I twitched slightly because I had forgotten about payment. Of course he would want payment, I was foolish to think that he had been willing to do it for free. I tugged off my silver ring with an opal set in the middle, which was probably worth a lot, but Devin shook his head. We find lots of that here in the mountains. Plus, it might be a fake. I want tech-nology. He said the word “technology” carefully, like this was the first time he had said the word. As I scrambled over a rock, I pulled out my spare holograph glove. 


I Give Devin My Holographic Glove

I raced to catch up with Devin and showed him how to use it. “You just stretch your hand, and you have a variety of choices! You can order food via drones, watch your favorite TV show, or research anything! And, if you want to shop/order food while remaining anonymous, as long as you register for the Buy One, Get A Million Free coupon, which I did, then it appears right next to you out of the FSV! (Free Shipping Void) Also, if you want to turn it off, just curl your hand into a fist!” As I said these things, Devin stared at the glove in wonder. As I finished explaining, he nodded. I will have it. He whispered. I handed it to him, not telling him that this model was from 8 years ago, so I didn’t really care about it. 


We Reach The Top! Yay!

We reached the top and saw a weeping willow tree with an old face carved into the trunk. Purple blossoms with twinkling white centers blossomed on wavy, elegant, and smooth branches and the dusty ground was littered with the petals. The leaves…well, they were beautiful. Pearly pink, light magenta, deep indigo, dark mauve, and glimmering jade leaves, all in a feathery shape. Iridescent, turquoise, heart-shaped leaves were nestled in between the petals of the soothing flowers.


A Tree Talks To Us

 The twisted bark swirled together to form the face, which spoke to us in a melodious, deep voice. “Hello! Would you like to have your deepest wish come true, only for a small price?” It asked. “Yes!” I replied. “I would like to have my family back!” I tossed it the penny, and one of the branches grabbed it swiftly, curling the leaves around the copper coin. 

“Hmmm… a true copper coin…haven’t seen one of these in a long time. Unfortunately, you still have to go through the cave. But thanks for the coin!” It said, and one of the branches seemed to point towards a dark cave that I hadn’t noticed before. Shadows curled around the edges of the gray cavern and stalactites dripped from the ceiling. I shivered just looking at it. 

“I have to go through that?” I blurted out, cold terror coursing through my veins. The cave radiated fear, and I wanted to run far, far, away from it, till I could never see it again. At the same time, a part of me just wanted to get it over with. 

“It’s the only way to see your family,” The tree told me gently, like silk in the breeze. I decided to get it over with, so I ran towards the cave, one leg after the other, my feet climbing the rest of the hill, my mind racing with the million possibilities that this could go wrong. My feet slowed down, into a steady jog, then a speedy walk, until finally, my steps brought me to the entrance of the cave.


I Walk Inside A Creepy Cave

I stroked the outer wall of the cave, and the freezing fear that I felt made me shiver. The cave glimmered with a thousand jewels, yet they all seemed muted, black. I realized that the cave was actually made of onyx and grey moonstone. I stepped inside, my feet lingering in the air as the shadows enveloped me. I broke into a fearful sprint, running away, yet also towards, my fear. I soon discovered the cavern was a maze, and the center emitted a faint purple glow. I realized this cave fed off my fears, so I closed my eyes and willed the cave to obey me. I imagined the thousands of hands that must have worked to build this cave, and I imagined them working for me. I imagined them carving a new path, straight to my family, and I ran, completely trusting those hands. And as I crashed into someone, a human, I realized it was my mom and my family. As we laughed and I wove a path towards the tree, I realized, I knew, we could fix this, we could be fine. And as Maria’s face lit up as she saw us, baby Hazel started to smile, and Devin grinned at me, I knew I was keeping this family, no matter what. I would risk my life to help these people who were so important in my life get down this mountain. 

How To Get Down A Mountain Without Getting Killed

The whole ‘getting down the cave’ part turned out to be surprisingly easy. Apparently the tree (it told us to call him Joeblossom) could “lend us a branch,”  as he put it. So we spent the most terrifying 5 minutes of my life hanging on to a floating branch and trying not to throw up. Fun! As we stumbled to the ground I hugged my family, high-fived Maria, and awkwardly did a handshake with Devin.


2 Years Later…

“So, Devin,” My mom asks, her blond hair draped over her shoulders, “How are you liking Lakebrown High School?” 

I keep on eating my noodles, trying to control the burning sensation in my cheeks. 

“Good, Mrs. Hollyblade,” says Devin quietly. He has finally learned to speak, but he is still very shy. 

“And are you meeting…anyone interesting?” She asks, side-eying me. 

“MOM!” I yell, now supremely embarrassed. I am sure my cheeks are tomato red. 

Devin looks embarrassed, too, and he quietly mutters, “I have to get back to my adoptive family’s house.” He leaves, and I rush to my room, softly smiling. I remembered the first time I’d seen Devin, his pale blue eyes sparkling. I decide to write about my experiences on that mountain in my diary. I get out my laptop, and begin to type,

It was Wishing Day again.


Handcuffs

PART 1

“But⁠—” 

“Gwen. It’ll be ok.”

“NO!” 

“Sweetie…”

“Please?”

“No. No is no. Now⁠—”

The lady gets cut off. She’s the secretary. 

“Honey…”

“FINE! I don’t care anyway,”

I storm off.

Dad calls after me.

I leave to my room.


:3

Let me explain. I was just calling the military phone and my dad and I just got word that my mom, now the MIA soldier, had gone MIA and⁠—sorry. I can’t stop crying.

My dad told me, when I was around 6, when mom left, he told me that he loves me but if mom goes MIA, I have to go live with Great Aunt Mia, which is ironic. I have never seen her, and I don’t wanna. I just DON’T. I mean, I get that dad can’t manage, but why can’t I go to a freaking foster home?! That has to be better than a relative, that, in dad’s words, is a ‘Gloomy Crabface.’ I know I haven’t met her, but I hate her for an odd reason. Mostly because she is taking me away tomorrow. I don’t get how she’s related to dad, but… I don’t know. It’s just that I’m so sad not only for myself, but for my mom. Questions lingered in my mind, like Where is she? Is she hurt? Is she DEAD?! If she’s alive, is she thinking about me and Dad??? How did she disappear?

I don’t know the answers, but I assume the worst. Mom’s probably dead, lost somewhere. 

All I know is, I just really want her to come home.


:3

A gray Cadilliac pulls up. A woman with about 3 MILLION wrinkles comes out. Jeez, I think, She is OLD! Her bleach-blonde hair is like a shining star compared to her clothing and face. Her eyes are literally gray. Not light blue, gray. She is wearing a white collared shirt and gray leggings. Why though?! It’s summer! This lady already sucks. 

Dad doesn’t cry. He holds it in, but I feel tears in my eyes like they’re burning. Dad pulls me in and hugs me for what seems like forever. When he lets go, I grab my 2 duffel bags, one for clothes, and the other for my things. I walk quickly down the steps thinking that if I get out fast enough, the sadness and pain will stop. From the car window I wave, just long enough for Mia to drive off. 

“So,” She begins. Her voice is like gravel, and it’s eerie how judgmental she seems. 

“What? Just drive. I don’t wanna talk,” I say, frustrated.

“Well, it’s not what you want. It’s what you have to do,” she says, tensing.

“I don’t have to talk!” I say, my own words cutting me. 

I see her eyebrows furrow, thinking. She has tiny pencil eyebrows. “Well, Gwen, you have to live with me,” she says thoughtfully.

“I don’t need you to take care of me. I don’t even need mom!”

“Ah, Kristina. She’s a good woman, strong-hearted. What a shame that she got lost.” 

I go silent. The mention of her makes me full of love and sadness. 

“I’m sorry if that offended you,” she says, faking it. I can tell.

“I’m fine, okay?! Just leave me alone,” I say gloomily.

She stops.

So do I.

:3

We pull up to a, wait for it, green house in a block of yellow ones. It’s like mold. It’s huge, over ten rooms, I think. Whatever. It’s just stuff, not people. I trudge inside. There is a pretty girl with a perfect bun sitting down, watching TV. She looks my age, 12. She stands up when I come through the door.

“Hi, I’m Juniper,” she says cheerfully. 

“I’m⁠—” I start.

“Gwendoline Ruby Jones. I know,” she says creepily.

“How⁠—”

“Grammy told me what happened. I’m sorry,” she says, for the first time, not cheerfully.

“Where are your mom and dad?” Mia interjects. I still hate Mia.

“Work,” Juniper responds.

“Ok.”

“Well, um, nice to meet you, Juniper?” I say awkwardly. It feels strange to talk since she’s done all the talking.

She lets out a giggle.

“Nice to meet you, too! BTdubbs, call me Juni.”

“Cool,” I say, and for the first time, a bit happy.

“Glad to cheer you up! I can tell you’re a bit happy,”

“How⁠—”

“Mom taught me how.”

I stand there, baffled.

She giggles again.

“Well, I better lead you to our room!”

“Our?” I ask.

“No, Gwen, me and the lion’s. Of course ours!” she laughs.

“Um, ok,” I say, smiling a bit.

She leads me up two spiral staircases.

She goes into the room.


:3

It has yellow wallpaper with black polka dots, like a bee. One bed is dark purple and has see-through drapes. Then there is a blue bed, next to the purple one with identical features.

There is a closet with all the clothes moved to the side and room for way more. Her closet is the size of my old room that I shared with dad, which isn’t big. There are two bins of toys, both full. If the room wasn’t crazy enough, it has its own bathroom and shower. I stand there in awe. This one room is the size of my condo. I stand there, mouth wide open. Juni collapses into giggles and I realize what I’m doing and I giggle too. As much as I like this, I miss home. There is no place like home, where we could get messy and laugh. Mom used to help me and dad bake. We always screwed up, no matter what. My mom has/had a free spirit and didn’t care about messes. Her long brown curls always fell in the bowl. And sometimes, her brown eyes would get so wide with laughter. I was only with her for 6 years, half my life. God, I miss her. 

I stop laughing and so does Juni. My laughter turns into tears while I fall on the bed. Everything is blurry. I hear footsteps of Juni walking over as I curl up in a ball and just fall apart. Juni keeps whispering stuff, but I can’t hear over my own thoughts. Eventually, I stop. Everything stops. I sit up straight like nothing happened. 

“I’m hungry,” I say.

Juni looks at me like I’m crazy.

“Um, ok?” she says. 

We walk down to the kitchen. 

 :3

One thing I notice about Juni is that she is super happy, unlike me. 

It’s really annoying.

:3

About 3 weeks later, the day before school appears. Juni is currently telling me who to avoid and who to like:

“Ok, so not Josh, most DEFINITELY not Trista, hang with Ella, she’s awesome. Avoid Fatima. She is so fricking annoying!” She talks on and on. 

This seems like I have about 5 people I can be friends with. She drones on and on forever while I stare at our backpacks. Juni’s is white with little flowers on it. Mine? Juni wanted to pick mine, but I said no. I took a black one with a galaxy on it. I’m really geeky, if I didn’t tell you, and I loved it. It showed me how a person can go on in the galaxy. Juni wanted me to pick a black one with white polka dots, but… I just didn’t like it. So while hers is super happy and fun, mine, to her, was nerdy. When she said that, I said thanks. She made a face at that.


:3

We are sitting at the counter while Mia makes breakfast. She insists on waffles. I don’t feel like food today. Clatter! Juni’s plate drops down, almost broken. She doesn’t care and eats it all. I push mine away.

“Gwen, you need to eat,” Mia says, tensely.

“No. Ok?” I snap. 

She goes quiet and picks up my plate. I walk upstairs to get ready. Juni eats quickly and follows. We walk in our room. I go to the bathroom while Juni stares at her closet. Yeesh. Fancy much, Juni? I brush my hair and pick it up in a ponytail while Juni is STILL at our closet.

Now it’s getting out of hand. Staring at clothes? Who does that? I just grab my overalls and a shirt. I tie my jacket around my waist. It’s black and red plaid. When I walk out, Juni raises an eyebrow and asks, “Are you sure you want to wear that?” 

“Yeah. I don’t care how I look,” I respond flatly.

“Um, ok.” She giggles. We only have 10 minutes ‘til eight, when we have to leave. Juni spends about 2 minutes in there and comes out with her super long hair in a perfect ponytail dressed in leggings and a black and white tee shirt with the word Believe. 

God. She’s really pretty. There is no feature out of shape. Her tiny nose, perfect brown eyes…

Middle school is gonna suck. FIGHT ME IF YOU DISAGREE! COME AT ME BRO! 


:3

We walk into a school with pearly white outer walls and rows and rows of silver lockers. REALLY nice school. My old school was sucky compared to this. My old school was brick and had rows and rows of dusty lockers. At least I had friends back there. 

“You coming?” Juni asks.

“Nah. Gotta get everything from the principal.” I respond.

Juni walks away to a group of girls. There is this one girl in the middle, talking, and everybody is staring at her like she’s a god. I mean, the girl in the middle has locks of gold hair and freckles dotting her skin. She is… shallow from what it looks like. The principal hands me a paper and walks away without a sound.

Rude.

I find my locker, locker number 8. WOWWWW. Juni’s is locker 6 and Shallow Girl’s is 7. My favorite number. 7. Seven was also my mom’s favorite number, too. 


:3

I walk over to Juni during recess. She waves and introduces me. “Girls, this is my cousin Gwen. She just moved here,” she says. 

I did not move here, I think. I give a half a second smile then go back to a stare. 

“Cool! I’m Ivy,” says the girl with her dark hair down and her blue eyes gleaming. I like her.

“Hey, I’m Ana.” This girl has red hair and baby blue eyes, like Ivy’s, just lighter.

“Um, hi. I’m Ella,” Shallow Girl says. This one has golden locks and freckles dotting her nose and face. She has her hair up, like Ariana Grande up, but it still reaches down her back. They start talking.

“Omygosh, did you see what Fatima was wearing?! It’s like, a white shirt and overalls. So cringe!” Ella says. Ana agrees while Ivy stares off and gives a slight nod. 

“I know, right?!” Ana says with a smile. My eyebrows crease and my eyes are wild. 

“Dude, that isn’t ok. People can wear what they want! So don’t judge or you will be judged, by everybody you looked down to,” I spit out. Ana stares with a mouth open while Ella gives me a disgusted look. But the worst is Juni. She furiously stares at me and then looks at me like I’m a different person. The expression I like the most is Ivy’s half smile.

“Well, then go run off with your BFF, Fatima. Go along, Gwenny!” Ella says mockingly.

“OMG! The weirdos are BFFS!” Ana laughs.

Juni looks at me and takes a breath.

“Yeah. They’re perfect.” Juni says, laughing with the others.

“What about you, Ivy? Cat’s got your tongue?” Ella giggles. Ivy opens her mouth and mumbles something like I gotta go to the bathroom. The other girls laugh. Jerks, all of them. I think.

“You should be ashamed, all of you, for treating other people like they don’t have feelings,” I say angrily and I rush to the bathroom. I think about how horrible they are, how mean they are. Even Juni. 

I hear Juni say, “I can’t believe that we are related.”

 I run faster when a teacher chases me. I run in and a stall is closed, and muffled cries come out.

“Ivy, open up. It’s me, Gwen,” I say. The door opens with a creak. I look at her. There is red around her eyes and she says, “Gwen, how do I get them to stop?”

“Say stop. And firmly. Like you mean business. Or even try to make your voice say, Do it or I will actually hurt you.

She giggles. I help her up and we walk out together. When we are near the door, she stops and goes out the other door. “Sorry. Too complicated,” she says. I get it. She walks back to the group while I stay by the cold stone steps. I sit. It’s the most serene I’ve been in ages. I stand up and walk over to a tree. I touch a leaf and it reminds me of Mom. She loved leaves and always went outside. The smoothness of the leaf feels like the touch of Mom’s fingers against mine.

PART 2

A few weeks later, I’m on my bed and see my stuffed penguin.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving, Mommy!” I yelled.

“It’s for the best, honey. Why don’t we go to the store and get you a present to remember me by?” she asked sadly.

“Ok, Mommy, but I’ll always remember you!” I grumbled. I didn’t want some stupid present. I wanted Mom. We loaded into her black car. Dad was doing something at home in the attic. I didn’t know what it was. We went to Bullseye Shop. Mom held my hand while we walked. I was only six, just remember that. Mom led me to the toy aisle and she let go of my hand. I grabbed back on for dear life and she sighed and picked me up. I liked playing with her curls. I looked around while she held me and all I saw were princess dolls or army figures or even glittery toys. (EW! Who’d want THAT? Not comfy at ALL!) The army figures upset me. Mom pointed to a teddy bear with a pink lace bow.

“What about that one, sweetie?” she asked.

“It’s gross, Mommy!” I said, complaining.

Then she saw the army figures.

She rushed me past those and found what was soon to be my most prized possession.

I know this may sound weird, but I will tell you this to explain: I LOVE penguins. I don’t know why. I just like that they are cool birds. Even though they can’t fly, they fly in some way.

It was a giant stuffed penguin with soft blue eyes and a pastel yellow beak. It wasn’t rainbow, or glittery, just… .a penguin, I guess. I smiled and Mom picked it up.

“Oh, this is so cute! Why didn’t I see that, smart girl?” I laughed while she gave it to me. I held onto two things: My mother and my penguin. I didn’t want to let go of the penguin or my mom, so the cashier had to scan it in my arms. 

Once we got home, Dad came out with two presents. The big one was for me and the small one was for Mom. I unwrapped mine quickly and saw one of those kiddie computers. In Mom’s was a sculpture of our family. We all hugged tightly and we all cried a bit. We spent the rest of our day sad-happy. Then it turned out to be the worst day of my life. 

Later, Mom got called to leave. When we heard that, we all got sad and we all cried really, REALLY hard. Mom gave me and dad a kiss and when she hugged me, she whispered, “I’ll never leave you guys.”

I didn’t understand then, but I do now. When she left, I crawled to Dad and reached over for my penguin. 

Back in my room, I’m close to tears. I decide to reach over to my phone, the old little iPhone 6 while Juni has iPhone 11 Pro. Jeez. Great Aunt Mia probably shops at Yucci. RICH. I pull up my texts and find 321. I turned off my alerts on all texts so I missed a lot. All Dad’s texts were like I’m sorry, I just can’t take care of you, I love you, Missing you, Give me a call. I decided to take up the offer on that last one. 

I dial: 555-907-8070. His number. I hold my breath for a second when Dad’s voice comes on. 

“Gwen? Oh my gosh, I have big news! Wait, is this even you?” He sounds like he’s aged in like 4 weeks.

“Yeah, Dad. What’s the news?”

“Well, I know I’m a bit upset but mostly happy. You know that day I gave your mother the sculpture of us?” 

I get excited. “Yeah?!”

“Well, they found it shattered on a trail which sounds bad, but if you think about it, Mom could be alive!!” He excitedly says.

“Oh. OH!! Dad! This is great!! Also, can you visit me soon? I miss you. I’m holding The Penguin right now. I got sad,” I say.

He goes silent.

“Honey, I don’t think I’m ready. Only calls for now, right? Is that ok?” he asks.

“Oh- o-of course Dad, take your time.” I fake happiness in my voice.

“Glad you understand. Gotta run, love you!” he says. He hangs up when I hear footsteps. I shove The Penguin in my bag under my bed. Then I hear giggles.

Oh Lord. 

I think I only hear one when I hear 3. 

Oh Lord double.

I see Juni, Ana, and Ella, and in the back is Ivy. She shoots me a half smile. 

“OK, Gwen. Juni, very dorkily, convinced me that you’re ok. You aren’t weird,” Ella says, not even saying hi, no trace of sarcasm. Ana giggles and nods. Juni goes red while Ivy looks down.

“Well, what if I wanna be weird? Who said being weird was bad, Ella? Aren’t we all weird in our own way, Miss I-like-making-people-feel-bad?” I say, frustrated. 

“Well, I said that being weird is bad,” said Ella, bratty, know it all. Ana giggles and agrees. Ugh. 

“Get out. This is Juni’s room, and we’re using it,” Ana says matter of factly.

“Sorry, the room says that it doesn’t want two, not Juni and Ivy, mean girls infecting its area. The room says nope, ” I say with a grin.

Ivy gives me a tiny smile and Juni’s mouth twists in a weird way. Ella and Ana both give me a mad glare, the stare burning in my scalp. “Let’s go, girls,” Ella says. 

Ali and Juni follow while Ivy calls, “Be right there! I dropped my ponytail holder that was on my arm!” A lie. It makes me feel good that somebody would lie just to talk to me, in a strange way. 

“If you don’t want to be friends with them, you should tell them,” I say as Ivy is done calling. She is still facing the door. She stands quietly and then turns around to talk.

“Gwen, what if I want to be friends with them?” she asks. Now, that makes me quiet. She spent all this time complaining to me about how horrible they are. Now she wants to be friends with them? “They are nice when you are friends with them. Sure, they talk about other people and make jokes, but they don’t try to be rude,” Ivy says.

I sense something is off about the words rolling out of her mouth and into my face. “Who told you that?” I ask, like stone. 

“Ana,” she says quietly.

“Well then you sho⁠—” I start. We hear Ella call for Ivy. Ivy speed walks away to them. I am left, sitting in my room. I feel stupid. 

Of course! I figured it out. Ella and Ana are an unstoppable team of bullies. And it’s not just Ivy they bully. And they means Juni, Ella, and Ana. Girls like Fatima, and Trista, and many others. They don’t say it to their faces, but everybody knows they talk about people. Everybody just knows. Ivy stands quietly, but they are labeled popular, even though everybody doesn’t really like them. So if nobody actually likes them but still wants to be friends with them, what’s the point?


:3

The next day, Juni says matter-of-factly that she’s going to walk to school with Ella and Ana. She doesn’t mention Ivy, which I find weird. 

“What about Ivy?” I ask. 

Juni tilts her head. “Ok, can you keep a secret and like, not tell Ivy? TBH, we’re thinking of cutting her from the group. She seems to like you better than us, anyway. Ella and Ana are sad. Ivy was cool before you came. She fit in.” 

And with that, Juni walks out the door to find Ana and Ella waiting. 

I never really thought of it like that, me stealing Ivy. I guess I did. Maybe I should leave them alone. I grab my backpack, heavy with homework, and head out. Instead of seeing Ana, Ella, and Juni walking, I find Ivy laughing nervously when Ella says that we are best friends. 

“What is that supposed to mean, Ivy?” I ask coldly.

“Gwen! I didn’t mean it. I try so hard to fit in and I⁠—” Ivy pleads.

“That’s enough. I’m done,” I say, and I speed off toward school. My head hurts and I want to cry but I don’t allow myself. They would get satisfaction from my tears. I reach up to the school steps and run up. I speed through the hallway and push down three people. I don’t really care. I mean, my mom is gone, my cousin is horrible, my only friend left, and now my dad doesn’t even want to see me. How much can one twelve-year-old girl take? I know people have much more horrid lives, but right now it’s the worst. Something in me tells me that I have to do something big. Something so people will know my sadness and pain. I know it’s bad, but everybody has to know the feeling inside your gut that makes you want to puke or cry or run away. I decide to hatch a plan. One that will not fail. One that will make them understand. One that will stay with them forever and ever. 


:3

After I get out of school, I race “home” and don’t do my homework like Mia says and I don’t do my chores, because Mia has to give the kid with no mom chores. I run up the stairs when I hear Juni, Ivy, Ana, and Ella. I slam the door and whip out my notebook. Here’s what I write:

  1. Take something important from them and hide it. Let them know how bad losing something important is.
  2. Adjust the words on the huge board, the one with plastic letters on the school and call Juni and her friends out. 
  3. ….. No idea……
  4. OOH! Got it!

I don’t write my plan out because Juni might flip through my notebook. But it’s great. It’s dangerous. It’s perfect.


:3

I pack my bag with food, water, and clothes because they might kick me out. I remember The Penguin and pack it too. I decide to strike at twelve a.m. Nobody will know I’m gone. I’m so determined that I’ve forgotten to be scared. This is probably the most important thing I will ever do. After I’m done, I go downstairs for water. Then I see Ivy’s shoulders shaking. She must feel bad, I think. But then I hear her.

“G-Gwen hit me and⁠—and then she said I’m a stupid brat. I thought she was my friend…” she wails. I didn’t do that. I didn’t. I should just walk away. But I don’t even wonder why she’s lying, I just wonder what I should do. Because I’m this close to hitting her for real.

“I did not, Ivy. Now stop the act before I hit you for real, not in the magical fairyland in which I hit you,” I yell. Ivy stops and the other girls just stare back and forth between us. That is when I decide I’m doing this now. But first I hiss, “I will teach you, very, very soon.”


:3

I take the seven cans of spray paint I bought and head to the school. I took seven because I know that with that number, I will be lucky. I stop at their lockers and I think that I should do them each with their own message. In bright pink, I write: I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND on Ivy’s locker, and on Ella’s and Ana’s I write, STOP MAKING PEOPLE FEEL BAD. 

And on Juni’s… I write I THOUGHT YOU WERE ON MY SIDE. That’s when the lights come on.

“POLICE! STOP AND PUT YOUR HANDS UP!


:3

I sit in my cell. I’m sentenced to a month and 3 days here. In juvie. Thing is, they made me apologize, but I’m not sorry. The only thing I am sorry about is that I couldn’t see their faces. But Juni visited me. That was one of the worst. We talked a bit like this: 

“I can’t believe you. How could you?” Juni says angrily. 

“How could you? You were the one who called me weird. You were the one who took Ella’s side and you know she was wrong,” I say sternly.

“Well, Ella was just trying to help you fit in,” she says defensively.

“What about Ivy? Why did she lie, huh? You know I didn’t⁠—” 

I get cut off.

“I know you didn’t. I know now. But I can’t just abandon Ivy like that. She was jealous that you were stronger than her. Braver,” Juni whispers that last part. “Truth? So was Ana and Ella. And me. You just yelled what you thought, while none of us could do that. We have to fit in,” she says. Most she’s said in one sitting.

“Thanks, but I’m not forgiving anybody,” I say.

“Neither am I,” she says. And with that, she strides out. 

What was really painful was when Dad visited. 

I didn’t know what to expect. He might yell or scream. But he didn’t. He was so mad but, also, happy, like he was hiding something. I hate it when Dad hides stuff. He’s still here. Good thing is that I’m sent to live with Dad after all this. Then he walks over to me. The prison guard lets me out to see dad.

“Why?” he asks.

“They betrayed me. I couldn’t sit around and let them,” I say.

“Oh,” he says calmly. “I’m so sorry. I should have stayed with you. You got so angry. I feel like it’s reflecting off of me leaving,” 

“It’s not your fault. I just⁠—I guess all the anger of Mom leaving and my friends leaving just came out of me,” I say, almost in tears.

“Oh, and I have something else I need to tell you,” he says.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Gwen, your mom is coming home after this month, when you are out of here,” he says, his voice breaking.

I don’t say anything. I just cry. My heart fills up and I feel like a bomb ready to explode with happiness. I already know that the next month will take a long time.


:3

This is the day I go home. Nothing is resolved with Juni and Co. I told Dad what happened. Then a car pulls up and Mom runs out with bruises and cuts and love. I hear some pain in Mom’s voice, like she had been so terribly hurt that she couldn’t talk. 

“Hi, my little penguin,” she says in tears.

“Hi, Mom,” I say cracking up. Dad just stays quiet.

“Hi, Rob,” she says to Dad. Before, I talked to mom over the phone and told her what happened. She was sorta mad but not too much. By the way, I asked mom what had happened to her, but she won’t say. I guess it’s too painful.

Then me, Mom, and Dad sort of clump on the couch and stay there. Me and mom are hugging The Penguin, too. 

For some reason, I think that I left Juni and Friends in a good way, a way where they probably are sorry right this minute. A way where they know what they did, and now they know why I was hurt. I don’t care that I didn’t make up with them, I just care that I’m home. 

With the only people I need.


December 19th

We were sitting in the classroom talking about how we wanted to do the athletic ability class, but my mom said no. We wanted to do it because Grace isn’t that good at running, and I enjoy it. It would be a win win! After that, we just talked about our weekend plans.

 I then started to smell smoke. I glared over at my best friend Grace. She has been my best friend for over 10 years. Grace stared back with her eyes WIDE. 

She said to me, “Chloe, the smell is getting really really strong. Should we say something?” 

The smell was getting really strong. I said back to her, “No, let’s wait here until further notice.” Little did I know that I had just made the biggest mistake of my life.

 Just then the fire alarm rang. Everyone in the school rushed out of the building just like we practiced in our fire drills, except this time it was much more chaotic, like our lives depended on it, because they did. I heard a scream and automatically recognized that the scream was Grace’s. 

I ran back into the building, even though my life could have ended right there. I saw Grace surrounded by fire as she let out her final screech. 

I yelled to her, “Never forget that I love you!” 

I ran out of the building screaming for help. Once I was outside, I watched the school burn from a distance. Many were crying. The teacher called attendance to make sure everyone was here and safe. She called:

“Henry?”

“Here.”

“Ben?”

“Here.”

“Chloe?”

“Here.”

“Dan?”

“Here.”

“Kate?”

“Here.”

“Rina?”

“Here.” 

“Zachary?”

“Here.”

“Grace? Grace! GRACE!!! WHERE IS GRACE?”

I knew. Tears were in my eyes. The firefighters came with an announcement. I could hear my heartbeat echoing through the pure pressure of myself understanding what was about to happen. They stated that they found a dead body inside of the treacherous fire. They described the body and asked if anyone knew the person they described so they could call her parents. I told them what I saw and the firefighters tried to calm me down as I sobbed. Grace’s parents arrived at the school bawling. 

“If only I just agreed to leave with Grace earlier.” I said to myself, trying to hold back tears.

Every day felt so empty without her by my side. All the hours were unexciting and lonely. All the minutes were filled with grief. I could never replace her. EVER. The world needed her. I needed her.

TWO YEARS LATER

  My life was surrounded by that day. The day of the fire. December 19th.  Every time someone said Grace’s name, my heart skipped a beat. Today is Grace’s second yahrzeit. I’ve gone to therapy every other week preparing for this day, so I wouldn’t have breakdowns or asthma attacks. Therapy was working fine although it was hard not to cry on December 19th. This year, I prepared a list of inside jokes, handshakes, ideas, art projects, dreams, and most importantly, our talks. I passed around the list for everyone at the gathering to see. Only me, my parents, Grace’s parents, and Grace’s siblings were at the gathering.

I made it out of the gathering without any asthma attacks or breakdowns. I was really proud of myself for being strong. I teared up, although not too badly.

When I got home, I heard some strange sounds. I peeked out of my bedroom door and noticed my mom talking on the phone. She was talking discreetly. She had no idea I could see her. She then said the words into the phone that changed my life. “I did it ok! I did it! I set the fire!”

I yelled at my mom so hard while wailing! She immediately got off the phone. She explained everything to me. She told me that Grace was always doing better than me in school. 

“SO YOU KILLED HER!?!?” I screamed. I was confused, how did my mom know she would die?

The words spiraled around in my brain. My mom told me, “When I first had the idea two years ago, I immediately started planning. I know that Grace is a slow runner. So I didn’t support your athletic ability classes. If I did, Grace would become faster and would have survived the fire. You recognized the huge scream of Grace and ran for her.”

 It all made sense now. I called the police and they took my mom away while I cried. I have no one. No one.

  In school the next month, I was completely productive. I was trying to be more available and open since I noticed I really hadn’t been. I realized that I am grieving however, that can’t take over my entire life. I still need to live it and fulfill the dreams both Grace and I forever wished would come true.

 And they did.

THE END.         


Unicorn

Hi I’m sally. I am 8 years old. One afternoon, I was walking home from camp like I do every day and I passed by a forest I had never seen before. I started walking in the forest. Then I stopped. I saw a big unicorn, so I hid behind a bush. 

The unicorn started coming closer to me. Then I realized that the bush had food on it. I tried to run away but she had already swallowed me whole. Inside the unicorn’s stomach, I was sitting in a swarm of rainbow wet stuff. It smelled like cotton candy. 

So I had been in there for a few hours. I got hungry so I tried the rainbow stuff… it tasted amazing! My cell phone rang. It was my mom. I picked it up. My mom said, “Sally where are you!!???” 

“I’m stuck inside a unicorn!” I said.

My mom laughed. “There is no such thing. GET HOME!!!

I said, “I’m in a forest. Come and get me!!!”

“Ok.”

Mom walked in the forest and stood there. The unicorn came close to mom. She just stood there and she got eaten by the unicorn. Splash. Mom fell in the unicorn’s rainbow stuff.

I told Mom to try it. Mom hated it. She said it tasted like barf… Mom’s phone rang, it was dad.

He said “Where are you??? I made dinner!!!” 

“We’re in a unicorn!” said mom. “Come and help us!”

Dad said, “Where are you?” 

But mom already hung up. So dad just used his tracking device. So he got to the forest and looked around. Mom and I climbed up the unicorn’s mouth. We saw Dad so we pulled him in. We fell and splash! 

Dad said, “Why did you pull me in you could have got out!!” 

“Well it is too late now.” 

Dad said, “I can’t believe I had made dinner!! It’s probably cold now!!! 

“Well it’s your fault you made dinner for the first time!”

“I’m hungry,” said Dad.

I said, “Have some rainbow stuff.”

“I love it!!” said Dad. Dad called his brother Uncle. 

Dad and Uncle never had a great relationship. They are always bickering. Uncle picked up his phone. He said, “WHAT DO YOU WANT???”

Dad said, “Sally, Mom, and I are stuck in a unicorn.”

“I don’t believe that,” said Uncle. 

Dad said, “Do you want me to send you pictures?”

“A swirl that is rainbow and the unicorn is cute,” Uncle said. “Ok I believe you. I’m coming to get you.” 

He went into the forest and saw the unicorn. The unicorn saw him and walked away. Uncle was mad. So he climbed on the unicorn and the unicorn yawned so he went in its mouth. Uncle was in the rainbow stuff.

Dad said, “Did the unicorn eat you?” 

“No,” said Uncle.

 I went in its mouth. “Seriously. You could have got us OUT!!!!” 

“Ok,” said Mom. “Don’t be rude.”

“I’m hungry. My wife didn’t make dinner.” 

Sally said, “Have some rainbow stuff.” 

Uncle had some. He absolutely hated it, but not bad. Aunt likes old fashion things. She didn’t have an iPhone. She was 50 years old and I thought that was very old. So Uncle called her. 

“.futreukiutrce5ujy6usa6wedtfc64esdfbtrycbetrtgh itduiykdv6tj??” said aunt.

“Go put your dentures on,” said Uncle.

Aunt kinda ran to get them. She screamed she realized that a tooth was missing. For some reason, she got tired and just sat on the couch and watched the news. The people in the unicorn got fat because they ate too much rainbow.

THE UNICORN EXPLODED!!!


The Adventures of Julia and Lucia

Chapter !

Julia and Lucia are sisters. They live on a couch. They have one maid to bring them food, clothes, and a potty. 

Julia said, “Bring me some chips!”

Then the maid said nicely, “I’d rather not because I brought you food 20 minutes ago.”

Lucia needed a pencil so she yelled at the maid, “BRING ME A PENCIL!!!” 

Then the maid said, “You need some exercise, so your mom and dad are going on a business trip and I am going to ask if I can get off haha. They are going to be gone for 8 months, and I will be off 8 months.” 

Julia said, “I will make a stove on the couch.”

The maid yelled, “Who is going to get the stove?”

 Then Julia said, “Oooooooooooo!!!!”

 So their parents got on the plane and the maid went to Paris, so they lived for 3 months so far, then they got really hungry!!! So Lucia gave up. She had to get up because she was starving and thirsty.

Julia would not get up. She said, “I will stay here until I die.”

Lucia said, “But I do not want you to die. Remember we are immortal.”

“WHAT! We are immortal?” 

Lucia yelled, “Ooooopppppppppssssssss! I was not supposed to tell you that.”

Julia got so so so so upset that they were immortal. They were immortal, but they still aged. It was a little weird. They still got taller and got fat. 

The maid did not know that they were immortal, so when the maid was back from her vacation she did not believe that Julia stayed on the couch for so so so so so so so so so so LONG. So the maid was like thinking in her head if she actually stayed on the couch for that long, and plus she didn’t switch positions. She thought and thought, but she could not figure it out, but she longed to know what was going on. Julia was still shocked about the immortal thing. 

But then Julia screamed out, “I do not want to be immortal!”

Then the maid heard everything.

Lucia said, “Noooooooo! The maid heard!”

That day they wondered where their parents were, then they saw the news on tv that there was a plane crash, but they did not survive. The girls were devastated because their parents died and they had to live with a rude maid for their lives.

The maid said, “I quit.”

“YES!” said the girls. They were really happy. 

While Lucia was jumping up and down on her bed, Julia was still sitting on the couch. The maid was going to leave the next morning because the maid was like their mom. The maid rushed to the airport, then Lucia ran outside and screamed, “Do not go!”

Then she broke into a random car [the keys were in the car]. She had good driving skills and she got the maid in time. The maid agreed to stay. They went back to Lucia. They lived a nice life then dun dun dun.

Lucia mentioned that their parents were immortal, so they did not die. Julia thought that they were on a fancy island. The sisters did not care as much now because they know that their parents are safe, and that is the story of the couch girls [Julia is still sitting on a couch]. 

Chapter !!

Remember us? The sisters Lucia and Julia. We used to live on a couch, but we quit it. So we are going on a quest to find our parents, with our maid obviously.

“We gotta find them!” Julia thought that they were at a secret island. “We are going to search the world just for them. We are leaving tomorrow. The maid told us that she used to be a flight attendant.” 

The pilot sold the plane to her for very cheap, like 1000 bucks. Then the maid took a flight lesson, then she was a pilot. She thought it was too much, so she went on the Internet, found a job that said maid, and that is the story of most of her life.

The sisters got packed and ready to fly. They were a bit scared because she had not controlled a plane in 10 years. She was nervous too, but nothing could stop them from finding their parents, so they set off on their 10-hour trip. They got on the plane. They kept asking each other how much longer, but at least there were movies on the back of the seat.

“Ahh!” they screamed. 

“There is a bit of turbulence!” the captain/maid said. 

Then crash! The plane fell in the water, but thank god they were close to an island. They swam until they reached the island. Finally, they reached it. 

They were so happy they were immortal, however the maid was not, so she drowned. 

The girls did not like that they were on their own. The island was like a big forest. There were berries that they could eat and the salt water they could drink. They did not really want to drink the salt water, but then they remembered that they were IMMORTAL!!! YAY!!! 

So they still starved, but did not die. There was a coconut tree on the island. They cracked it open and water came spilling out. The sisters saw two people on the island across from them. They headed over there, but they were two bandits so they took a run for it then they ended up on a different island. 

Then they saw their mom but no dad. They hugged each other. 

They asked, “Where is dad?” 

Mom said, “He passed on the plane crash.” 

“I thought dad was immortal?” 

“No. He was not.” She asked Julia, “How did you know that we are immortal?”

“Ummmmm.” Then she pointed to Lucia. 

Lucia put her hands up. Mom was not disappointed because she had to find a way to tell Julia because she always wanted to live but not be immortal. Then they started crying. They really missed Dad. They thought he was immortal, but he was not, so it was very devastating.

They got on a pirate boat and got to the house. There was a lot of seasickness that I do not want to explain. It took a week to get home, but they made it.

They walked through the door and Dad was a ZOMBIE!!!!!!!

 Chapter !!!

Julia and Lucia were terrified!! Their father died! Ok, they got over that eventually, but they would never get over that their father was a ZOMBIE!!!!!

Zombies usually look like they have been beaten up, but he was dressed in a nicely tailored  suit. Mom shouted how much money. Dad was not normal. He was see-through and he had mental issues now sadly. We are lucky to even have him here right now.

“Dad!!!” Julia said, sitting on the couch but not forever anymore.

Dad was going to the park and killing the kids there. He has super strength now, so he suffocates the kids with his hands. Then parents started calling the police.

“Ooooh nooo.” Julia called Mom and Lucia. They came as fast as they could, but they did not make it in time. 

He was already handcuffed and in the police car.

They went to the police station the next day and tried to explain that Dad has issues and he is a robot. They lied about the robot because they wanted to take him out of jail, but it did not work, but it was reasonable.

Then the officer said, “If he is a robot, why do you need him?”

“Umm BECAUSE HE IS MY DAD.”

The officer said, “You lied. You said he is a robot and that is illegal.” 

Yay they were in the same jail cell as Dad. 

So they were trying to escape out of the window with Dad’s super strength. They were secretly going out, but then lunch came early. 

Then they had no lunch and no food for the rest of their lives, but they were immortal so they will live. Then they tried a different way to escape. Then Dad unlocked the lock on the door, but there was someone at the front desk, so that did not work .

The third time, they went on a trip outside for fresh air. But the police was guarding them, but he was dumb and he was on his phone, then he started sleeping. Yay! That policeman took their wallet and used all their money, then revenge! 

They took his wallet then went to the most fancy restaurant ever. After that, they went on a luxury vacation. They flew first class each 8,000 dollars. So all in all, it was 32,000 dollars. The vacation was to the Carribean. They were sitting for 5 hours when they got the food from the stewardess. It was pasta with tomato sauce on it with a side of cheese. The dessert was lemon pudding with chocolate sprinkles. Lucia and Julia went around the plane asking for second lemon puddings, then the flight attendant said to sit down if there is turbulence. The first time they ignored her, but then the plane was shaking, then they were scared. They went to their parents, but they took Dramamine to make them fall asleep. Then a flight attendant walked by.

It was the maid.

They started yelling, “Maid maid!” 

The maid fainted. The girls were shocked about the maid. They thought she was dead. Then she woke up and she passed them. The pilot on the plane fell asleep, and the plane rushed down to the ground.

The pilot woke up when it fell on the ground. It was a long way from the airport, and it was a lot of nausea. The sisters threw up a few times.

And that is the end of my story. They learned that they should always listen to the maid. 


Roman Story

Oceanus attended a school for training to fight in the Roman army. Oceanus was born in Rome. He was 18 years old, in Rome his father was a bladesmith. The Roman army had drafted because since his father was a bladesmith. Oceanus was good with a sword. He had to join the army. The year was 206 BC and Oceanus was training at the school with his friend, Maximus. He wasn’t sad because he wanted to become a centurion. The general himself was going to graduate them.

Oceanus woke up in the middle of the night because the alarm bell was ringing.

“What is going on?!!” asked Oceanus.

“It’s just a drill, keep your hair on,” said his commanding officer. 

“A drill in the middle of the night?” The officer shrugged. 

The next morning Oceanus got dressed and went down to the mess.

“Hey! Oceanus over here!” yelled a very excited Maximus.

“Hi,” Oceanus said as he got to his table. “Did you hear the drill last night?”

“I slept right through it!”

Oceanus rolled his eyes. Maximus could sleep through a fire and he gladly would.

“I figured as much,” mumbled Oceanus.

Fifteen minutes later he was practicing on top of the shallow river. He and Maximus were practicing with their swords.

“Aren’t you excited we’re going to graduate in two days! And then we can-”  Oceanus stopped the sentence by knocking him with the handle of his sword which knocked him on his back in the mud.

The next class was archery.

“So when we graduate will you join with me?” asked Maximus.

“I just want to go home,” answered Oceanus.

“Excuse me, but will Maximus and Oceanus please shut up!” said the teacher with a glare so cold Oceanus felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees celsius.

“Sorry, sir we’ll be quiet,” Oceanus said and gave Maximus a dirty look. The next class was advanced weaponry which was where you learned how to fire a large crossbow, at least Maximus wasn’t in this class. During lunch Maximus kept trying to convince him to join. Finally after the twentieth time Oceanus gave in.

“Fine I’ll join!!!” yelled Oceanus. 

“Jeez, okay, I’ll stop.”  

The next day was a blur, packing and walking around the campus for the last day. The next day they graduated but there was a surprise.

“You are all joining the army,” said the general, “your instructions are on your bunks.” He turned around and left the whole grade in complete confusion. 

Then five months later he and his group were scouting the approaching army. They had been sent very close to a very large lake which led to the ocean.

“Are you sure that that’s the army? The other scouts said that there were about one thousand others?” asked one of the other scouts.

“I guess that they were off,” said the leader with a shrug.

“Off by one thousand?” asked another scout.

Their leader just shrugged again. “I don’t know.”

“Hey, I think that I see the general!” said another scout.

“No you don’t, he’s over there,” said the leader pointing to the far side of camp. 

When they got back to the camp they filled out a report and wrote how the army was smaller than expected. That night, as Oceanus slept he thought and he felt lonely yet he was in the middle of a heavily guarded fort manned by thousands of soldiers, but they were deep in enemy territory hundreds of miles from the closest border of the Roman empire. Oceanus drifted to sleep.

DONG DONG DONG DONG!!! Oceanus woke with a start as the alarm bell rang.

“We are under attack, this is not a drill!!” His commanding officer’s voice cut threw the words of panic coming from Oceanus’s tent. “Get your gear and get out there you will receive further instructions there!”

Oceanus grabbed his sword and armor and ran towards the nearest exit. He put on his armor and ran towards the gate.

“You there get over to the catapults!” A rough hand grabbed his shoulder “NOW!!”

Oceanus didn’t have time to argue. He left and went to the catapult crew. They told him to release the trigger so he did. The machine fired onto the approaching army but the enemy archeries open fired on them killing all of the crew but sparing Oceanus and one more, six were dead. The camp was burning and the gates were being rammed down, arrows flew and injured soldiers called for medics who they might never see. Just when it looked like they were winning, loud war cries that sounded like a tiger about to pounce on and kill  his prey sounded from the hills from the left and right. They were surrounded. 

In Front, there was the main body of the army to the left, there were about 500 enemies to the right, there were 500 and behind them was the river. Oceanus was thinking about how quick he could run maybe he could run just fast enough to the lake and get on one of the ships and hide. A loud command cut threw his thoughts.

“You go fire the catapults,” said a centurion who had blood on his uniform.

Oceanus went to the catapults and loaded the large heavy rock on the hull of the catapult with six others. Then the commander aimed the catapult at the gates towards the approaching army but the shot would take some of their own soldiers.

“Wait that will take some of our own men!” said a very concerned Oceanus.

“Some people are made to be sacrificed,” was his reply. And he fired the machine. The sound of the rock hitting the ground followed by the sound of crunching bones was enough to drive someone crazy. Oceanus was running. The Centurion mistook it as an act of desertion so did the other five.

“Hey, you traitor-” His words were cut off and so was his head. Oceanus ran. There were five enemies on his tail and he ran faster. 

They chased him, he ducked inside the armory. It was mostly empty because of the battle going on. He grabbed a crossbow off the shelf and aimed it for the door. The door opened and the enemy got a greeting. Three arrows in his chest he collapsed. Oceanus reloaded the crossbow and shot the next enemy. Then an enemy spear came and hit a rack of shields, they came falling down onto Oceanus. Oceanus ducked and protected his head as they came falling down on him. Somehow he wasn’t crushed, he was hiding under the shields and an enemy entered shield raised he lowered his shield and looked around. Oceanus leapt from his hiding place and cut the ropes that held a door. The door shut as the enemy dove for the other side the gate slammed shut. Oceanus was left in the cold dark room. He looked around the room and took the nearest torche off the wall and looked around the room. Where the rack used to be was a hole.

“What was that?” thought Oceanus. He went down the corridor. He took five steps and then he saw two paths left or right.

“It’s a trap don’t go either way go back it’s a trap,” said a voice in his head. He went left. He crept down the hall. He walked down the hall for about 10 minutes before he came to an end. There was dirt completely around him except for behind him. A dead end. Oceanus stood up and smacked his head on the roof.

“OOOOW!!” He suddenly realised that he had hit his head on wood not cold soft mush dirt, hardwood. He pushed upward and a trap door sprung open and a ladder dropped down. Oceanus pulled out the crossbow that was strapped to his back and fired up into the hole that had just opened. No answer. He climbed the ladder and pulled out his sword. Someone attacked him. Oceanus grabbed his attacker’s sword hilt and smashed the sword onto the other person’s face. 

“Oceanus?” said his attacker. 

“Maximus?” 

“Yeah, follow me.”

Oceanus followed Maximus to a stable. There were seven other soldiers there, the highest rank was a captain which was three ranks below centurion.

“Let’s go,” said one of the soldiers.

They all hopped on a horse and rode away from the battle towards the nearest fort to get reinforcements. The soldiers had told Oceanus that the rider sent reinforcements was captured so they had been sent.

Five months later 

Oceanus strolled down the wooden stairs of the fort. He was thinking about what had happened five months ago as they had ridden to the fort. They had been riding when one of the riders grunted and fell off his horse with an arrow in his side. Oceanus pulled the crossbow from his back and steadied it. Twelve enemies had come running through the woods with spears and swords. Oceanus fired his crossbow at one of the enemies. 

Dead. The captain had told him and Maximus to go ahead. They had rode ahead and had gotten reinforcements. They had arrived in time and had won the battle but the death toll had been high for their side. The other riders had never been found. Him and Maximus had been promoted to centurion. Oceanus hadn’t been as excited as he thought he would be. He was just regularly happy, not as happy as he had been when he had realised that Maximus was not dead. Seeing a battle can do that to someone. 


Chalk

Sketching a picture of her.

48 colors I could make her

Orange, blue, pink, red, brown the color of her skin.

Finally, I am done.

I press my right hand on it and hold my left hand in the air looking

for a shadow

Then it comes.

A short girl who in my world would be about 10.

She jumps into me then I get a feeling that washes right through me

and then she’s alive.

She runs down the block and out of sight.


RANDOM (Ridiculously Awesome Neatly Done Ominus Man)

I Am Angered

  When I Lose

  In Fortnite I Threw My Controller Out the window 

     I Nick Nack patty wack The controller 

then pick it up and punch it in the tv 

then kick it down the drain 

then i was jolly 

 just a tad bit jolly 

                                                                                        then i destroyed every one’s ankle  

                                          I’m Just like ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh exposed dddddd !!

                    BAM! Where’s your ankles?  

        In the refrigerator  

          There goes your ankles

                               THAT’S COLD!


Jamie and the Swallow Nest

Chapter 1

Swallows are special birds. They build their nests on the sides of old buildings, in the gaps between the roof and the exterior walls. The foundation is made mostly out of little bits of mud. The inside is lined with grass and old feathers. The entire painful process may take months, even whole seasons.

The Thompsons were an ordinary family living in a very, very old house. There was Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, their three children, and Mrs. Thompson’s mother, the kids’ grandmother. Victoria was the oldest child at the age of thirteen. Gregory, who was about to turn eleven, was the perfect example of an aggressive, obnoxious, video-game-obsessed middle child. Then there was Jamie, the youngest, who had just turned nine. Jamie was quiet and thoughtful, and was therefore a big disappointment to Gregory, who had always wanted a rowdy, competitive little brother to play rough with.

The children’s grandmother had lived with the Thompsons for as long as anyone could remember. Her husband had died of cancer right before Victoria was born. She was a strong and energetic woman for her age, and usually the peacemaker of the family.

 The older members of the family were glad Jamie hadn’t turned out like Gregory—with two Gregorys in the house, it would be a miracle if the roof didn’t come crashing down on the family.

Mr. Thompson worked in a small town nearby, where the kids also went to school and did their shopping. Their father drove them to school every morning, and their mother picked them up in her car at the end of the day.

It was a regular Tuesday afternoon. Victoria was clothes shopping at the mall with her girlfriends, and Gregory had gone to a classmate’s house to check out their birthday loot, which included the latest Mario Kart and a virtual reality set.

Jamie was the only one going straight home. As usual, he went straight up to his bedroom to do his homework.

Some time passed. He heard the screen door slam, a sure sign that Gregory was home.

There was a faint chirping noise outside. Jamie looked up. It was an old barn swallow gathering mud for its nest. Fascinated, he observed it for a while, then went back to work on his math problems.

The nest was finally ready. It had taken so long.

The female swallow, after careful consideration, had decided to build hers right outside a dusty brick house on the outskirts of a small town near a huge lake. The lake was a perfect water source for making mud pellets. The nest was hidden under the roof directly above a second-story window.

After gathering materials for the final touches, the swallow returned to the nest. Her mate was already there. He was painstakingly lining the edge of the nest with grass and old feathers. He had to be very careful—there were four tiny white speckled eggs sitting in the center, due to hatch in one week.

The female added the last bits of mud to the nest corners. Being careful not to move any of them around, she sat on the eggs. Until they hatched, she wouldn’t be able to leave again. Abandoning the nest for those last ten minutes had been extremely risky. 

It was going to be a long week for the two swallows.

Chapter 2 – one week later

The female swallow and her mate silently watched their babies push their way out of their eggs. The nearest one already had its beak sticking out of the shell.

The new parents bent forward to help crack the eggs. It was hard work.

Twenty minutes later, it was done. Four tiny baby swallows were resting in the nest with their eyes closed. They had all survived.

Jamie was doing what he did every afternoon—homework.

He heard cracking sounds and glanced around. Nothing. He looked behind him, in front of him, above him, and even went downstairs to make sure it wasn’t just Gregory breaking something. It wasn’t. He went back upstairs.

More cracking sounds.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t pinpoint the source of the sound. Eventually it stopped and he decided he had imagined it.

His mother called him down for dinner—spaghetti and meatballs. Jamie sat across from Victoria, who was staring at her food like it was an alien from another planet, and next to Gregory, who was busy violently stabbing his meatballs for no apparent reason.

“Vicky, eat,” Jamie’s mother prodded.

What’s new? thought Jamie.

Victoria took a deep breath, as if she was about to say something very important, and cleared her throat. “Mom, I’m… I’m going vegan.”

Mrs. Thompson groaned. “I spent so much time on these meatballs. How long will you be doing this?” 

“As long as I can..?” Victoria trailed off, seeing the look on her mother’s face.

Jamie’s grandmother spoke up, turning to her daughter. “ Samantha, let Victoria do what she wants to. She’s old enough to know what’s good for herself.”

Victoria gave her grandmother a grateful look.

Mrs. Thompson looked lost for a second. She glanced back and forth between her daughter and her mother. Even Gregory, sensing the tension, had stopped stabbing his meatballs.

“Fine,” Mrs. Thompson relented.

“I’ll eat your meatballs,” Gregory volunteered.

Victoria transferred her meatballs to Gregory’s plate one by one. “As long as you eat them instead of pretending they’re your enemies in a video game, go ahead.”

“Wrong. They’re my opponents on the race car track. You’re allowed to knock out your opponents.”

“Whatever. Same thing.”

“Whaddaya mean same thing?” Gregory stabbed his meatball so hard, Jamie jumped in his seat. “They’re completely different, Vicky!”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me Vicky.”

“Mom does.”

“Well, she shouldn’t either.”

“Stop arguing, you two,” Mrs. Thompson ordered. 

“But Moooom, he’s the one being annoying…”

“Yeah, well, I’m allowed to talk about video games, Mom…”

Jamie listened to his siblings bicker uselessly. He wolfed down his food, excused himself, and sat on the sofa to read a book. It wasn’t enjoyable to be the youngest child. In fact, ever since he had started fourth grade, his life seemed to be a cycle of school, homework, eat, sleep, repeat. He couldn’t remember the last time he had experienced anything really exciting. He wanted something interesting to happen for once.

Chapter 3

Two weeks had passed. Being in charge of four baby chicks wasn’t an easy job. The swallow and her mate had to take turns finding food and bringing it back to the nest every half hour.

At the moment, she was staying with the chicks and her mate was looking for food. They had opened their eyes only a few days ago and were now hopping about. The new parents had taken careful precautions to build up the sides of the nest so the chicks wouldn’t walk off the edge.

Suddenly a crash resounded from inside the house and the wall shuddered. The nest lurched sideways. The mother swallow let out an alarmed chirp, followed by her chicks. The world tilted.

Bit by bit, the nest was crumbling away from the exterior wall.

It took some time for the swallow to realize what was happening. In a flurrying panic, the mother swallow flew out of the nest. She had no way to save her chicks. She let out one more distressed chirp.

The nest, her beautiful nest that she had worked so hard on, broke apart from the wall and fell, her precious chicks along with it. The nest landed on the ground with a thump.

The mother fluttered down to the broken remains of the nest, fearing the worst, and almost collapsed with relief. All four of her chicks were frightened but alive.

The nest, on the other hand, was a problem. It had shattered into tiny pieces.

The swallow stared at the rubble in shock. What was she supposed to do now?

It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. Jamie, Victoria, and their grandmother were playing cards in the den. Gregory, who wasn’t blessed with the ability to sit still and pay attention, let alone “stare at numbered pieces of paper,” as he put it, was swinging his plastic club and pretending to be a ninja. Their mother’s china vase sat on the window.

Victoria scanned her cards. “It’s my turn. Jamie, Give me your Jacks,” she said. 

“Don’t have any. Go fish.”

Victoria took a card from the deck. “Gram, what’s Mom making for dinner tonight?”

“I have no idea. It’s my turn… Vicky, give me your sevens—”

CRASH.

The whole house shook. The three card players glanced up to see a guilty Gregory leaning on his club with shards of china littered all over the carpet.

Gregory frowned. “Oops…”

The children’s grandmother stood up. “Jamie, Victoria, clear out,” she said slowly. Her voice was low and dangerous.

Jamie scrambled out of the den after his sister, shut the door, and ran up to his bedroom, which was directly above the den. He would be able to hear the conversation below with no problems.

He closed the door and then pressed his ear to the carpet. His grandmother was busy chewing Gregory out. She was on a roll. 

“…don’t you realize how expensive that vase is? You just wait until your mother finds out, Gregory! You have to be more careful! This was nobody’s fault but yours…”

Just then there was a faint thump. Jamie felt it more than he heard it. It seemed to come from outside. Jamie heaved himself up, opened his window, looked down, and drew in a sharp breath. He didn’t believe his eyes.

Chapter 4

Mr. Thompson was enjoying a peaceful afternoon snack all to himself when his youngest son barreled down the stairs three at a time, yelling at the top of his lungs. “Dad! Dad, oh my God, you wouldn’t believe what just happened – it’s crazy, you have to see this—”

“Is everything alright? I heard a crash in the den,” Mr. Thompson said worriedly.

“Yes, Gregory broke Mom’s vase—”

What?”

“-but that’s not important- Grandma has it under control—what you really need to know is that there’s a fallen swallow nest outside, Dad, come see, c’mon…”

Mr. Thompson followed his son out of the house with one last anxious glance at the den door. Jamie led him around to the back, below his bedroom window. “C’mon, Dad… right here, look…” 

Mr. Thompson looked over his son’s shoulder, awestruck. There were scattered pieces of a swallow nest in the dirt, and huddled together in the middle of it all were two swallows and four baby chicks.

“What do we do, Dad?”

Mr. Thompson bent down to observe the chicks. “I don’t know.”

“Hey, Dad…” Jamie thought for a minute. “What if we make them another nest?”

Jamie’s dad frowned. “How? We can’t piece these mud pellets back together.”

“Like… we could use a box. Or… something.” Jamie realized he hadn’t really thought it through.

“Actually, Jamie, that could work! I could nail it below your window.”

“Below? The old nest was above. That’s why I couldn’t see it until it fell down.”

“You’ll see. Jamie, I’ll be right back…” Mr. Thompson re-entered the house.

He returned a few moments later lugging a tool kit and a small cardboard box in one hand and a long maintenance ladder in the other.

“Dad, I didn’t know we’ve always had a giant ladder in the house!”

Mr. Thompson grinned. “Well, I finally have an opportunity to use it. It’s been in the downstairs closet all this time.”

They got to work. Jamie picked out the strands of grass and feathers that had lined the old nest and set them in the new one. Then, with some difficulty, he and his father placed the baby swallows in what would be their new nest. The swallow parents instinctively flew in too to stay with their chicks.

Mr. Thompson unfolded the ladder, set it up under Jamie’s window, and climbed onto the top step. Hands shaking, Jamie lifted the cardboard box and handed it to his father. He fingered the hem of his shirt anxiously and watched Mr. Thompson nail the box to the wall. He hoped the new nest would hold up better than the old one. 

The hammering stopped. It was done. The nest was now firmly attached to the wall. Jamie suddenly realized why his father was putting the new nest under his window instead of above—he would be able to see it from his bedroom without any difficulty, and he could keep an eye on the swallows.

Mr. Thompson made his way down the ladder. Jamie helped his father bring the tool kit inside and put the ladder back in the closet. As soon as they were finished, he ran up to his bedroom, opened the shades, and looked out his window. The swallows were safe and happy. Jamie smiled to himself.

That night at dinner, Jamie recited the entire story to the family. They listened without interrupting him and seemed impressed—except for Gregory, who couldn’t care less, despite having caused the crash that was the most likely reason the nest had fallen in the first place—but Jamie didn’t mind. He was happy and content. With Mr. Thompson’s help, he had saved a family of swallows. He felt very proud of himself.


Bad Guys Never Win

So you know how there is the super mean and snobby super popular girl with 2 best friends in all the movies and books and shows? Well, that’s Jessica Martinez, Abbigail Streffer, and Flora Nightingale. And you know how there is that super cute and popular boy that every girl has a crush on? Well, that’s Rafa Abascal. He has been my best friend since the first day of first grade. I don’t have a crush on him but Jessica does. And she wants to spend every second that she can with him.

My name is Theora Frincey and I love basketball. I’ve played it all my life and was trained by Stephen Curry because my mom knows him. Anyway, I’m going to tell you about one time at school.

I was at basketball practice when Rafa came up to me.

“Hey, your three-pointer is on point! Could you teach me how to get better at mine?” he said.

“Sure,” I replied. “I’m always happy to help a friend out.”

We both laughed at that because he has been asking me that since third grade. And we’re in eighth grade now.

Right then, Jessica, the leader of the J.A.F. crew came up and interrupted our conversation.

“Why not I teach you, I’m much better anyway.” She said snobbily.

So I got really mad because she always steals the people I want to teach how to shoot. So I did something I wanted to do for five years and threw the ball I was holding straight into her stomach. Really hard. Like as hard as I would throw if I was shooting from the other side of the court hard. She fell to the ground and slid all the way from the hoop, to the half court line. She looked stunned for a second. Then she started bawling.

“Coach Jenkins! Theora threw a ball at me!” she yelled.

Coach Jenkins came over and looked back and forth between me and Jessica with no expression on her face. Then, she smiled and gave me a high five. I was shocked. But not even close to as much as Jessica.

“COACH JENKINS! THEORA THREW A BALL AT ME! WHY ARE YOU GIVING HER A HIGH FIVE?!” she yelled, still crying.

“You are a snobby, annoying, GIGANTIC-egoed, BRAT. I PRAISE Theora for throwing that ball at you. I would do that if I could. Nobody likes you, you know that, right? Not even your friends. They hate you! They are only your friends because if they weren’t, you would get SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO mad and your parents would probably sue their parents.”  

I looked around and everyone was shook. Nobody knew that Coach Jenkins could be so honest to a student. Some boys were shouting, “Whoo!” “Yes!” “You tell her!” and other stuff like that. 

“I also don’t even understand how you could think that you are better at shooting than Theora. You know for a gosh darn FACT that that is a straight up LIEEEEEE!”

“Oh. My. Gosh. I couldn’t say it better myself, Coach Jenkins. There’s nothing left to say except…” I gestured to my friends a gesture that we made up so we could all know to say… “YOU. BETTER. BACK. OFF. HATER!!!” we all said simultaneously.

That was the story of how Coach Jenkins was the best teacher ever. In conclusion, Jessica became popular for being roasted by a teacher so she left the school, and the J.A.F. crew was over.

The End


The Unfortunate Tale of Mr. Dirk Chepe

PART 1:

Dirk at birth…

What a strange baby he was. Even though he was seconds old back then, he had already sprouted his infamous Trump-like orange hair. And he already had a beard, of all things! The doctors decided to examine him for study briefly. Since the parents did not especially care for him, after what he looked like and how many problems he had caused for his poor mother during the pregnancy, they said okay.

It turned out that Dirk (pronounced like “Dirt”, except with a k at the end, then Chepe pronounced like “chape”) had off the charts testosterone levels, and he needed to be treated immediately. So every single day of his life, he would have to inject a part of his lifetime supply of fluids that the doctors gave him in the first weeks of his life.

Enough of that testosterone stuff. Let’s talk about Dirk’s emotions as a baby. Even then, when he was born, he had severe anger management problems. (Now, he isn’t as mad all the time, since he kills and/or severely injures at least 10 kids a week in his toddler skiing “lessons,” or “massacres,” you can pick which you’d like to call them.) Back then, whenever his parents put broccoli on his plate, or anything he didn’t love, or basically anything that wasn’t applesauce, he would throw a temper tantrum that only his mom could calm down, and even that took at least four hours. But it certainly wasn’t just food. There are too many things that he hated to list here, but here are some of the major things:

  1. Food, of course.
  2. Any moment that his parents weren’t holding him.
  3. When he was trying to sleep without his mama.
  4. When he was trying to say his name but it came out like Dirt! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
  5. When everyone else in the world seemed to be holding back laughter if they weren’t already laughing when they said or saw his name.

There shouldn’t even be military school for two-year olds, but there was. And Dirk was such a bad boy, that tearfully, his parents had to send him there.

 PART 2:

Military School

It was very hard for Dirk to adjust to military school, since he missed his parents so much. But it toughened him up, once he finally acclimatized. However, his parents would have never believed this when they sent their darling Dirk to military school, but military school probably impacted their son to kill young skiers…

At the age of eight, Dirk was a skilled fighter, one of the best in his class. When he was fifteen, he was a tall, lanky, muscular boy who could have been an American Ninja Warrior. He never attended a college of any kind. When he was twenty, he joined the military.

In his teenage years, he was quite popular with the girls. Bethany even married him. Except eventually, she would get into a lethal skiing accident.

A year after joining the military, he made a drastic career change and decided to become a professional skier. He thought this was the best decision he had made in his entire lifetime. Others, especially his future students, some dead, probably didn’t…

 PART 3:

Dirk Chepe, Professional Skier

Dirk made a pretty decent pro skier, at least for the skiing part. He preferred it over other contact sports like football or wrestling, because on a flat ground, his opponent would just fall down. But on a steep, icy, snow-covered black diamond, the opponent(s) would bump down the hill, screaming and falling head over heels. It was even better on moguls! Since he did so much contact, he was sometimes disqualified from competitions for life. He didn’t care unless it was the Olympics, that he cared about. By the end of his skiing career, on much more than one occasion, he pushed many people into the trees, mostly in hit and runs. He loved doing that on moguls especially. It was so delightful to see people bumping and crashing, especially when no one on the course, or anywhere except him knew that it was him, except for him.

Then, he was even more handsome (at least according to the girls he dated) than in his teens. Eventually he had eight wives, excluding Bethany. Here they are.

  1.   Emily married him when he was 21. One day, they were skiing out together. The previous morning, they had a fight about Dirk’s aggressive skiing and Dirk pushed her on the moguls. Emily snapped her neck as Dirk said:
    1. “So now you know what competitive skiing is like now, huh? Hahahaha!”And for the rest of the day, the snow there was stained pink.
  2.   Amelia married him when he was 22. Somehow, the ski lift that she was on didn’t meet current safety standards (it was very old). She fell off the lift and broke all of her ribs, one patella, one humerus, her skull, her lower lumbar, two wrists, two ankles, one radius, seven metatarsals, and 30% of what was still not broken in her body. As you could guess, she died.
  3.   Wendy married him when he was 24. They went to the same mountain where Amelia died. Wendy’s chair lift didn’t meet safety standards either, and when she was supposed to get off at the top of the mountain, the lift sped up to 20 mph. When Wendy tried to get off, she broke all of her ribs. During emergency surgery, she died.
  4.   Audrey married him when he was 25. She needed to tighten her ski boots, but Dirk pushed her down the triple black diamond and she died.
  5.   Margaret married him when he was 26. She said, “I love you Dirk.” Dirk said, “YoU CaLlEd Me DiRt?! HoW DaRe YoU!!!!!!” Dirk punched her in the forehead and Margaret immediately died of brain injury.
  6.   Sophia married him when he was 29. Dirk had no idea she was a terrible skier, so he put Sophia on a slalom course. Sophia went too fast and died.
  7.   Sally married him when he was 33. She was a daredevil, and eventually she did a ski course too difficult…
  8.   Winona married him when he was 34. She was a very cautious skier prone to psyching herself out, however with good skill. But then one day, Dirk forced her to do a double diamond, and she had a panic attack and died.

(Please know that no one wanted to anger a professional skier like Dirk, so not even the owner of whatever mountain the death happened on dared to anger the possibly honorable skier Dirk Chepe. Everyone in the skiing world knew of his aggression, and knew that if they tried to report him, they would be a victim of Dirk’s homicide as well.)

PART 4:

Ski Instructor, Dirk Chepe

At age 42, Dirk retired from being a pro, and sought a job in teaching toddlers how to ski, thinking that maybe, just maybe, toddler screams would be even more appealing to him than grown people’s screams. He easily found a job at Whiteface Mountain, NY. After all, he was over half of his life; he might as well enjoy it every winter day on the mountain. And every summer day? He spends his time at Cerro Chapelco, a ski mountain in Argentina, where summers in the US are winters there, and winters in the US are summers. Sometimes, down in South America, when he feels like it, he plucks llamas off of the hills, strangles them to death, takes them home, butchers them, and eats them for dinner. My ski sketch is a good example of what a ski lesson with Instructor Dirk is like. (Also known as torture and/or a massacre). Dirk’s grand total of injured and/or dead skiers right now is 127,489. (I will update the casualty count every time I visit this doc).

In 2018, Dirk started a ski resort on Annapurna, Nepal in the Himalayas (also known as the deadliest mountain in the world), just so that when he had the time to visit, he would always see people looking like idiots trying to ski down the 26,550 summit and slip on the vertical rock face. Luckily or not, Dirk’s resort still made enough money to pay all of the death expenses, though the brochure that advertised his resort did say that skiers would ski at their own risk, and pay all of the medical bills if necessary (which, if you could not assume, was always necessary). After all, paying the bills WAS why Dirk started his resort. Shh!

So, it looks like we have reached the end of this biography. I’m pretty sure that me and the reader can conclude that the skier Dirk Chepe is a terrible person, and unfortunately, that will not change. Oh well. Not all stories have to have happy endings. And neither does this man.

The End.

Poems

Halloween

Great orange pumpkins all alight.

Groups and groups of kids in to the night!

Haunting props and designs,

Sending screams and delights!

Bags full of candy and spooking sights.

Each plop in the bag excites,

Every doorway has an unseen fright!

Can you guess this holiday night?


Candy

Sugary sweets that fill your mouth.

Parents’ plans and ideas that go south.

Greedy children wanting more.

Begging at every store.

Finally the parents find a way.

They hide it in closets to keep it away,

from the candy crazed kids.

At every store those sugary delights.

Can somebody keep candy

away for a day?


Christmas

 Snow

White flakes are falling

Children are playing

Angels in the floor

White creatures with kinds galore 

Three balls on top of another 

ascending things are smaller

A carrot nose on the top 

Three coal buttons. Pop!

Pitter patter school is out

Outside no one will pout

What is this form of water? Can you figure it out?


Santa Claus

Who’s that guy who lives up north?

What things does he give forth?

Elves are all awork.

To make this jolly night quirk.

Many dreams come true.

So nobody is blue,

Except for the ones who get,

Black dank lumps. What a threat!

How do you get what you want?

So be nice, nicer than your aunt,

But don’t be nice for a day. 

you have to stay that way, 

For a year to avoid that lump,

So don’t slip up and leave a bump.

at midnight near the end of the year.

The bells on his sleigh spear, 

the air. Animals with horns carry him away,

who’s this guy anyway?


Presents

On a wonderful night,

What’s under your tree that wasn’t in sight?

It’s got gold yellow laces on top.

Wrapped in different colors that always pop. 

The first thing you see on December five seconds.

The thing you go for on that morning that’s what it’s always.

Normally you would tiptoe down the stairs but now you don’t care about bumps and thumps,

because all you want are those wonderful things

and by the way, can you guess this wonderful thing?


The Thought Trilogy


1

Secrets


I have a secret

It is mine, only mine

Fine, I will tell you

But

      Only

  If

    You

Do

    Something

For

      Me

Here is what you need to do:

Tell me a secret

A tale for a tale

Something

      That

  Drips

Down

Your

Soul

Just a little secret 

A tiny tale

A cookie crumb

An apple seed

It’s good to share secrets

Shavings of the heart

Sometimes those secrets

Can  t e a r    y o u a p a r t

Oh, my secret?

Come, come over here

Bend down over

Let me whisper in your ear

Maybe

My

    Secret

    Is

        That…

Maybe I don’t have a secret

Don’t be silly, everyone does

Without secrets,

Life would be like static fuzz!

Well…

What if your secret changes?

Then mine will too. 

You’ll have to find a new one.

It’s

Up

To

You

Can a secret be big? 

Can a secret be small?

Yes, they can!

They encompass them all. 

Shhhhhh!

Did you hear that?

The slip

Slippery

Slip?

It’s just like the drip

Drippity

Drip

It brings us back in a circle. 

Maybe that’s all that a secret is. 

A circle, going

Near to Far

And

Far to Near

Oh, but what about about my secret?

I guess you’ll never know. 

And if you’ll excuse me,

It’s

     Time

To

    Go

2

Lies

I have told a lie

Have you?

Mine was very small

Was yours?

Or was it very big

Was it?

A lie can be a blizzard

Or a tiny little flake

A boulder 

A pebble

A dragon

A snake

One lie leads to another. From two, to three. Three, to four. On, and on, and on, and on. Around and around and around. Music playing, in my mind. Drowns out the truth. What if you replace one with two? Is that a lie? Or is it true? Could it be? One, two, three? Is everything connected? Or will it fall apart? Am I a lie? Am I true? Are you a lie? Are you?

Lies are false. But… wait! Are they true? It’s up to me, and it’s up to you. 

If 

   I 

     Tell

You

      A

Lie,

Will

      You

Tell

      Me

One

Too?

If you write down a lie, it becomes material,

Dripping

  Down

The

      Page.

But, no, it doesn’t become true. It stays as

False

As 

If

It

Were

Unsaid. 

Left behind,

Far away,

You will soon,

Soon say,

“What was I thinking, telling that lie?

It couldn’t have gone worse. 

Truth always brings forth light.”

And the truth of this matter, 

It’s time to say,

Goodbye!

3

Dreams


Wait! Did you see that? 

Deep inside your mind?

It’s buried very deep. 

Truly hard to find.

A dream is a whole entire world, buried inside your head. 

It is an animal and, coming awake at night, it sneaks through your thoughts, 

leaving behind telltale traces. 

To find one you must delve

Down

And

Down

And 

Down

I cannot

 I

M

A

G

I

N

E

Having no dreams. 

Life would be boring,

Falling apart at the seams. 

Dreams are real.

But then, they are not.

Hot is cold

And cold is hot. 

Hidden away 

behind the beams

There you will find

The source of dreams

A wisp of mist

A curl of smoke

A wave of water

Ready to soak. 

But… 

Could the source of dreams be us?

The human soul?

But no, dreams control us

They control

Why are there dreams?

I’ll tell you why. 

For 

When

You

Want

To

Linger

When you don’t want to wake up to the world

But eventually you have to

You have to say goodbye to this sweet, sweet, dreamland.

But now, it’s time to leave. 

Wake up!

?

Epilogue


We’ve shown you secrets and lies and dreams. But those were ours, not yours. You have many as well. Bring them out to the surface. 

F

 A

  R

   E

    W

     E

      L

       L

2063

Two middle-aged people ran down a camp, optimistic to reach the big metal gate that is the only exit or entrance to, or from, the camp. Their names were Jem and Billy. Pursuing them were a set of men dressed in blue futuristic armor. As Jem and Billy reached the gate, Billy said:

“Climb, I’ll run around the camp to stop them from following you!” 

Jem began to climb and bounce around on her back. In a baby cradle was baby Peter. 

One of the blue, armored men followed Billy and the other aimed its guns at Jem’s head. 

A loud bang echoed through the camp followed by the scream of Jem. Then the sound of a lifeless body hitting the ground. 

“Jem!” Billy’s voice could be heard from camp 29. Billy sprinted at the body of his once beautiful wife. 

“Billy,” Jem’s hand trembled as it clasped his. “Take care of Peter for me, for us.”

“I will,” Billy said, tears streaming down his face. “Don’t leave me, please!”

Jem’s arm went limp as the last of her life was drained from her. Billy stooped down in a puddle of blood and picked up baby Peter. Even Peter could sense the sorrow in his father’s face for he began to cry.

The two men shot Billy from behind and tried to tug the baby cradle from his weak hands. He clutched with all the strength left in him, for he did not want to lose another person he loved. As he finally died and they managed to tug the cradle away, the baby began a chorus of crying and wailing at the men. Nevertheless, they held the baby cradle and walked into the dark night.

Peter snapped awake, he was tired of reliving his parents’ deaths the night they had tried to escape the misery of the camp in hopes of raising him in a new life. Unfortunately, that plan didn’t quite work, for both his parents were shot and killed before they could get over the wall. Somehow, the enforcers had known they were going to attempt their escape that night. Who told them, not even the oldest people in the camp know. If Peter were to find out though, he would kill the person who snitched on his parents even if he had to take the death penalty. 

Lucy was Peter’s adopted younger sister. They had adopted her from the orphanage when Peter had his 13th birthday because her parents had been killed by the enforcers. Even though she was adopted, Peter loved her as much as he would’ve loved his parents. He sacrificed his rations that they gave them when she was five and still growing. Now she was nine, and he was 15, and they were both living with Peter’s aunt.

Long ago, in the country once known as the US, a violent dictator built an army of enforcers, soldiers to do his bidding, and built 60 camps and a shining capitol. He had views that only “certain individuals” were worthy to live in the capitol. The rest were forced into camps where they would have to harvest resources used to build and power the capitol. And to remind the camps they were an inferior force compared to the capitol, they set up the Reamble.

Peter walked out of their small hut and ran down to the old abandoned warehouse where he and his friends used to meet. Now it was used as a meeting place for the gang of thieves that Peter was part of, the deadlock. When Peter was seven, and him and his family were starving, they had offered him a place in the gang, and from then on that’s how he fed his family. Today when he walked in, they were already crowded around a small map on table.

“Where are we robbing today?” Peter asked them.

“The barracks,” one of them responded, uninterested in his appearance.

Whoa, thought Peter. This is where the soldiers kept their guns, armor and belongings. They also slept there so this would be super dangerous.

“Are you insane?!” Peter said.

“It’s final. We’ve agreed on it,” the same man said.

That night, Peter prepared for the robbery. He ran down to the barracks but no one was there. Suddenly, a spotlight shone down on him and two men tackled and cuffed him from behind. He saw the boss of the gang getting paid by a policeman then he ran off into the darkness. The two men brought him onto a hovercraft that in the direction of the capital of Eros. 

“Where are you taking me?” he asked the enforcers.

“To the arena,” they responded in an unsympathetic tone.

They arrived at a big arena, and the guard said, “You have one day of training to prepare for the Reamble.”

Peter knew well that the Reamble is the way the capitalists built their elite army.  One hundred criminals are put in a ring with knives and weapons hidden around the map. They have to kill each other until there is only one left. Then the wall opens and you can run at the small pile of weapons and supplies. The winner gets a million dollars and a lifetime supply of food. 

 Peter went straight to knife throwing in the arena until his arm couldn’t throw anymore. Luckily, he had used a knife in his lifetime of robbery. By then, he had mastered it and was prepared for the next day.

Peter went back to his room looking at the capitol on the way. There were huge glinting buildings. Food would never be scarce here. The room he was given was huge with a diamond table and glass chairs. A large TV sat on a wall across from a large fluffy beige sofa. A bowl of fruit sat on the diamond table. Peter walked over to the bowl and picked up a plum. As his teeth punctured the smooth sweet surface of the plum, the sweet juice exploded in his mouth. He turned around and saw a white marble counter with three chairs hovering above the ground.

He walked into his bedroom and saw a large king’s bed with fluffed up pillows placed along the bed back. There were two closets on either side of the doorway filled with clothes that you could choose. He went over and collapsed on the bed. Thoughts of tomorrow swirled around his head.

Peter woke up and got dressed in a black shirt and jeans and took another plum as he walked down to the arena. He entered to a roar of fans and people watching the fight. He got into position and waited for the door to open.

Part Two: The Reamble

The doors swung open and Peter sprinted toward the pile of weapons and supplies. He grabbed a dozen knives and spun around. A large man swung a big iron spiked mace. It landed right to the left of Peter. Peter stabbed him and blood began to flow from his chest. He crumpled to the ground holding his hand to the wound to attempt to stop the blood flow. Peter felt terrible. Then there was a sharp pain in his left shoulder. Blood soaked his shirt where the arrow had hit. He snapped the shaft and threw a knife at the man dressed in the same outfit as him. It hit the man in the leg as he tried to run away from the pile and he started to limp away from the pile as the blood stained the grass he walked on. Peter picked up a large rock and hit the man on the head. His eyes closed as the puddle of blood around his head began to form. He looked down and crumpled by the side of the man and tears began to stream down his face, the bloody body reminded him of his parents. He would have to push through it so he could get back home to Lucy. 

He looked around and saw people hacking away at each other with knives and swords. Now he faced the choice, should he stay and help continue the blood bath. Well, he thought, the less opponents the better. He picked up a mace and ran back into the slaughter. 

He swung the mace at a small boy’s head and heard the crack as the mace hit his skull. By now Peter’s shirt was covered in blood. He gasped as he saw there were only 5 people left at the pile. About 60 had run at the pile and there were now 6 left counting himself.

“Stop!” Peter yelled.

“Why?!”  one girl with a spear asked.

“We could alliance!” Peter yelled.

Peter knew he couldn’t win all on his own. Plus these were the strongest players so they would be good allies. Also when there were very few people left he could kill them. 

“Okay!” they all said. 

They gathered all the weapons and supplies that were in the pile and set up a camp by the pile. Off in the distance he saw smoke coming from what he assumed was someone’s campfire. 

“What’s your name?” Peter asked a girl with blond hair, blue eyes, ripped jeans and a black leather jacket.

“Heather.” She responded in a high voice.

“Guys do you see that?” Peter asked seeing the smoke drifting up about 60 yards away from the entrance of the woods.

“Let’s go kill that idiot who started the fire.” A boy in a leather jacket named John said.

Peter noticed he was holding a knife behind his back as he said it.

They tread off through the forest toward the smoke coming from the campfire of a competitor. As they were about to reach the camp John tried to stab them in the back. He only was able to stab a boy from camp 4. I spun around and impaled him with a knife. He collapsed on the forest floor and another boy from camp 3 tried to stab Heather but she was to quick for him. She grabbed his arm and impaled it with her knife. He screamed as the blood ran down his arm and stained the grass below him. A big boy from camp 2 grabbed his head in his arms and violently jerked them in different directions. There was a loud crack and the boys body fell to the grass.

John turned to the others,

“Why are we even keeping Peter alive what use is he to us?” he asked

They all turned on him and started stabbing him and punching him. 

He tumbled down a hill into the woods and blacked out. 

Peter woke up and noticed there was no one left. He was getting up off of the forest floor when a voice said “Final 2, fight!” So Peter ran through the woods and found John. I threw a knife at him and it hit him in the arm. John shot an arrow at Peter and it hit him in the leg. Peter charged John and stabbed him in the chest. He fell bleeding to death at Peter’s feet. Then a voice came on, 

“Congratulations Peter from camp 25!”

The End


Lost in Time

Once upon a time, there was a genius inventor named Steve who created a time machine that could go backwards and forwards in time. He would use this time machine to improve his research and hopefully bring back an extinct creature.

When he invited a few friends to see the machine, they were fascinated. They were also inventors and scientists, so they studied the machine so much that they were there for hours. Unfortunately, one of them accidentally activated the time machine and zapped them all back in time into the Paleozoic Era. 

When they landed, the time machine had gone with them, but the power was drained, so they had to find a new power source. The problem was that they were at the age before dinosaurs! 

The scientists were panicking and didn’t know what to do. When Steve studied the time machine and found out that the energy was completely drained, he told the others that they needed to find a new power source. Since the scientists were in the middle of nowhere, they didn’t know where they could find a new source to power up the time machine so they could go back to their time.

As the scientists were searching, the time machine glitched and teleported them to the Ice Age. It was freezing cold, so the scientists found a cave to shelter from the snow. Steve knew that he would have to get back to the present, so the scientists started to search again, and they found a metal that could be melted into a power source for the time machine. The only problem was that they couldn’t melt it because they were in the Ice Age. Then, Steve had an idea of making a fire to melt the metal. 

He started to search for stuff that could ignite, and instead he discovered a frozen woolly mammoth in the snow. Steve got really excited and took it back to the cave to show the other scientists. He told them to keep it safe while he went to find something that would burn. When Steve came back empty-handed, he took some fur from the frozen specimen to study, if they could ever get back to the lab.

Suddenly, the time machine glitched again, and they were thrown back into the start of humanity. Steve didn’t panic — he figured that the early humans could lend them materials to create fire to melt the metal so they could get back home.

At the same time, Steve and the scientists were really starting to get hungry. They would have to share food with the early humans. The scientists and the early humans worked together. The scientists would make a fire to cook meat, and the early humans would hunt for food. The early humans hadn’t invented fire yet, so the scientists taught them how to make a fire and how to use it. 

Once the scientists were full, they found out that they had forgotten to take the metal that could get the time machine to work properly and running again. Now Steve and the scientists needed to find a new power source, but had no idea where to start. 

While Steve and the others were scattered all over the place trying to find a power source, the time machine glitched again, and now they were in the Jurassic time period. Steve and the scientists didn’t hesitate to keep searching for a power source to bring them back to their time, but because they were in the Jurassic time period, they had to be on the lookout for carnivorous dinosaurs such as the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Velociraptor. 

When Steve and the scientists were searching for an energy source for the time machine to work, they were greeted by a pack of Utahraptors that were looking for a nice little appetizer. The scientists froze trying, just as they were attacked the time machine glitched yet again because of the heat, and teleported them just in time. Steve and the others found themselves back in the Ice Age again.

This is great! Steve thought. Now he could find the metal that he lost here. He also needed to bury the time machine in the snow to protect it from being trampled. Unfortunately, it got too cold and glitched again before they found the metal that could get them back. Once the scientists found the metal, they were ready to go back to the early humans to melt the metal so they could then go back to the present. However, they now needed to force the time machine to glitch again so they could get back to the early humans. 

Steve guessed that a dramatic and quick change in temperature would trigger it. He dug the time machine out from the snow, and it worked; the time machine glitched again. Once they were back in the time of the early humans, they melted the metal and headed home.

Upon their return, they were going to celebrate by eating ice cream, and Steve was going to present the time machine to the government. He and the scientists walked outside the minute they got back to the present, but they were shocked to see that the world was so much more advanced than it was when they left. To their surprise, time machines had already been invented! They eventually realized that the present time got altered because they changed the past — they introduced fire to the Neanderthals too early, and everything changed slightly after that. 

Steve got really angry, so he started to think of a solution that would make him famous anyway. Steve thought, What if I made a forgetting machine to wipe the memory of fire from the Neaderthals… That was a story for another day.


Cookie the Bear

Hi I’m Cookie the bear or you can just call me Cookie. I live in a cave and I’m 3 years old. My mom and dad left me in this dark cave when I was really young… I was alone in this cave for the next 3 years of my life. But I made some friends. I have Rocky (he’s a rock) and I have Sophia the squirrel. I think she’s alive. She doesn’t like to move around much. For food, I eat these berries in a bush around my cave. Sometimes these moving objects come toward my cave and a living thing comes out and starts staring at me. It’s creepy. At night I look up at the shiny things in the sky and count how many there are, but there’s just way to many… Then I just go to sleep. I wake up and I go to the lake and get some fish for breakfast, then I go back to my cave. That’s my daily routine until one afternoon… I woke up from my nap and I see a piece of fish on the ground. “Oh free fish! At least I don’t have to go all the way to the lake for lunch.’’ I reach for the fish but it moves back. I reach again but it goes back. Then I started chasing after the fish until a tall living thing put me in a net! I tried getting out but I was stuck! Don’t forget me, Rocky And Sophia! I’ll come back I promise!” Then they shot something at me and I fell asleep.

***

*Yawwwnnnn* I opened my eyes and saw a cave, trees and bushes. “The living things (humans) probably felt bad and let me go back to my home!’’ I ran to my cave until I hit my head when I tried to go in it. “What!? I can’t go into my own cave?”  It was a flat surface, no place for a home. It was like a wall. I started scratching it until little pieces of paper fell off. “This isn’t my cave! It’s not even a cave!” Something wasn’t right.

 “Well if my cave isn’t a cave, then that must mean the trees are fake and the bushes are fake!” “Dun Dun Dun!”(Dramatic effect) “I have to get out of here! I need to survive! How am I gonna eat or sleep or most importantly PLAY!!!” * Ting ting ting* “What’s that noise?” Then when I turned around I saw a round flat thing (a plate) that had berries on it. “Food!” I was sooo hungry. I ran to the berries and ate all of them in three seconds. “Yumm that was good. But I have to focus on getting out of here. Hmmmmm let’s see, there are 3 see through squares (windows), a tall wooden rectangular board (a door), and a hole where they drop off the food…. Wait! A hole! I can go through the hole where they drop off the food so I can escape! Wow I’m so smart.” So I made my way into the hole and I actually got through! “Wow I never knew it would be this easy!” Then as soon as I stepped out of that hole, there was this noise that went sort of like *beep beep beep beep BEEP!* It was so loud! I turned to make a run for it while the living creatures (humans) were making it out of a rectangular opening (a door) So I was running and running until I looked back and saw 2 living creatures (humans) catching up to my speed with huge nets. I knew that if I didn’t try hard to make it out I would be stuck here, in this place, alone, forever. So I ran and ran and ran and “FREEDOM” I was so happy I made it out. But I had to hide so I made a quick turn to a dark narrow space (alleyway) filled with metal cylinders with stinky food in it (garbage cans). “Ok at least the living things are not chasing me anymore.” I was walking toward the end of the narrow space (alleyway)  until a small round animal with pink long tail (rat) jumped in front of me. 

“AH! Who are you!?” 

“Oh the name’s Ruby and I’m a rat! Tada!” said Ruby.    

“Ummmmm okay, well are the tall living things (humans) chasing you too?” 

“ What tall living things? You mean humans?”  

“Humans, what are those?” I asked.  

“The tall living things!” Ruby told me. 

“Ohhhhhhh that makes sense.” I said. 

“So what is a bear like you doing in the big city?” Ruby asked. 

“Well you see I live in the woods and I’ve been bearnapped by humans and I need to get back home so I can be with my friends Rocky and Sophia. Without them I’m just a bear with no friends.”  

“Well I’ll help you find your home,” Ruby said.     

“Really? You would do that?” 

“Of course, everyone deserves to have friends.” Ruby said.  

“Yay thank you so much!”              

 ***

“Ughhhhh we’ve been walking for hours! Where are we?” 

“We are in the big city!” 

“Ummmmm reality check, but we’ve been in the big city the whole time! All this time we’ve been walking in circles!” “ 

“Oh uh whoops.”  

*sigh* “I’ll never get back home.” 

“Don’t think like that. I’ll get you home but which woods?” 

 “What do you mean?” 

 “There are many woods in the world but which one do you live in?” 

“Oh, I live in the Canadian woods.” 

“WHAT!!!??? Wow that’s very far, that’s like north. Well we’re going to have to take a little trip up north but we’re never gonna make it by foot. So we’re gonna have to get on a plane and go to Canada.” 

“How are we gonna have to get on a plane? I don’t think that they even allow animals on planes not even bears.”

 “Well they allow PETS like birds, cats and dogs. So all we have to do is dress up like one of them.” Ruby said enthusiastically..

“Yeah! They will never notice that its a bear or a rat!” I said happily.

“Okay here’s the plan. First, we go to a shop and steal some kitty ears and dog ears the whole animal fake stuff. Next, we run to the airport and make our way into one of those pet cages. Then, the people at the airport will assume that we’re just ordinary pets, so they’re going to put us in the plane where all the pets are. Lastly, when the plane lands we are gonna land in Canada and we’re going to get out of our cages and make a run to the woods and boom your home.” 

“Yay! But what about you where are you gonna live?” I asked.

“Umm save the questions for last let’s go buy some animal stuff. We have a plane to catch!” Ruby said happily.

“Hey what are those other animals behind the trees they kind of like you-”

“Ummm it’s probably nothing, maybe it’s from all that walking we did you must be very tired.” Ruby said suspiciously..

“Yeah you’re right” I said believing her.       

So we walked all the way to the closest store and bought-technically stole some kitty ears, dog ears and stuff like that.


***

“Wow you really look like a cat, a small one though.” I said.

“Yeah you look just like a dog we are gonna nail this” Ruby said.

“So now since we’re all ready we should be heading to that airport” I said.

“Yeah” Ruby said.


***

We were on our way to the airport but we were still kind of far so we were talking about our past and what we do.

“So where are your parents?” Ruby asked.

“Well they left me when I was very little so I can take care of myself in my cave. I was lonely at first but I met some friends I met Rocky and Sophia and they’re my best friends, like you, your my friend too because you helping me get home.” 

“Well you know what they say you gotta help a friend in need.” she said kind of guiltily.

“Well how big is your cave? You think it’s big enough to fill 100 rats.”

“Probably more it’s really big. Why?” I said.

“No just asking,” Ruby said.

“Okay. Look there is is the airport!” I pointed 

“We made it yay! So now all we have to do is sneak in through the door when someone’s coming out and not get caught. But when we get in we have to sneak in one of those pet cages.” Ruby said.

“But will we fit in the cage?’’ I asked.

“Yeah they’re big. But in order to get in the cage the owner must be distracted so we can open it and get in.” Ruby said confidently.

I turned around and saw the rats again.

“Ruby?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Ruby replied.

“I think those pack of rats behind the trash can are following us,” I said suspiciously.

“Ummmm probably from all that walking. Now come on no fooling around we have a plane to catch!”

***

Now we just have to wait until a person comes out of the door so we can sneak back in.

20 minutes later… 

“The perfect moment… And… 2 more minutes… ” Ruby said.

“By now we probably missed our plane. Why not we go through the back door when someone comes out, like now!”

We ran and ran and ran and we finally made it inside. We quickly found a cage to get into until Ruby had to go to the bathroom.

“I have to go to the bathroom ill be right back,” Ruby said in a hurry.

“You’re a rat! Just use it somewhere else!” I replied.

 But she already left.

10 minutes later…

“What took you so long! I’ve been waiting for ten minutes come on!” 

We quickly got into a cage and waited for the owner to drop us off we’re the suitcases go. Although it was kind of hard because Ruby and i got into two separate cages with some rude cats that tried to scratch us, we just dealt with it until they got tired out.

*Bang* The people that worked at the airport threw us inside the bottom part of the plane where all the pets go.

Ruby and I quickly got out of our cages so when we land we jump out of the plane and run to the woods. But we were gonna land in the next 5 hours.  So we decided to wait and talk it out. But then Ruby and I got really hungry and we didn’t have anything to eat before we got on the plane. So we tried looking in seperate directions of the plane for food. But the only place where they had food was where all the people where, and it would take a miracle for us to sneak up there.  

*grrbrrgle* “Soooo hungry yyy,” Ruby said.

“Me too but just 4 more hours,” I said sadly… 

“Ya know what I’m going up there, and I have a plan.” Ruby said. 

 ***

“ Okay, so now we have to sneak in the snack bar and bring down some food where the animals are so we don’t get caught!” Ruby said excitedly.

“Ok so let’s go now since no one’s looking.” I said.

We were going to get a little bit of the food and bring it down to eat but, I saw that Ruby was getting a lot of food for like an entire pack of animals but I just ignored it. She was hungry…  Right? But as soon as we were gonna turn around to go down, a flight attendant caught us and held us both from the tails. We were gonna run but she was just too fast.

 “Ah, AH let go of me!” Ruby and I said.

Then we struggled so much that we got loose and ran all the way to the bathroom and locked ourselves in until we had a plan. 

 “What are we gonna do?’’ I asked. 

“I don’t know” Ruby said worryful.

 We were so nervous that we thought this was the end of finding my home until the Pilot said, “Welcome to Canada!” We were so happy that we finally got to Canada but the flight attendants and co-pilots we’re trying to knock down the door so we thought fast and there was an emergency escape pod on the top of the bathroom with paraschoots hooked to it. So we put on the parachutes and jumped off the plane. We landed on a small building and slowly went down. 

“Okay well at least we made it out.” I said.

“Yeah but now we just need to look for the woods and then your home!” Ruby told me.

“Yes!” I said

 “Wait the woods!” I said enthusiastically.

“Yeah. What about it?” Ruby asked.

“The woods I can see it! We just got to run a couple more blocks and we’re there. But Ruby I think those pack of rats are following us! I see their tails behind those trees.” I told Ruby.

“Ummm your probably sick from all that running Cookie that’s why we should get you to your cave.” Ruby told me.

“But I don’t get sick,” I told Ruby.

“C’mon let’s get to your home, aren’t you excited?” Ruby asked me.

“Yeah I really am but where are you going to live?” I asked Ruby.

“Ummm i’ll tell you later okay?” Ruby said.

“Okay,” I replied.

***

*Pant, pant, pant, pant, pant* 

“We’re here! We’re finally here! My home!” I said happily.

“Yeah your home” Ruby said weirdly

Then I turned around to look at my cave and I saw the pack of rats that were following us and I think they knocked me out cause everything after was a blur.

 ***

I opened my eyes and I looked around. I was home. But when I wanted to move, I couldn’t. I looked at my paws and feet and they were tied with thorny flexible branches tied to a tree. I couldn’t move.

“Ruby help! Ruby help!” I yelled for help.

“Well, Well, Well,” Ruby said in an evil voice. Well not really she sounded like a baby hahah.

As she turned around sitting on a throne of rats in MY CAVE! Not even helping me!

  “Hey what are YOU doing in MY CAVE, and why’d you tie me up!? Are some kind of crazy psycho rat!?” I yelled at her.

    “*chuckle, chuckle, chuckle* You are so gullible and naive Cookie. I can’t believe you never noticed.” Ruby said.

“Notice what?” I asked.

“See what I mean? This is what i’ve been trying to do the entire time! I wanted to take your cave in the first place when you asked for help. You think you could actually trust a rat? Why live on the streets if I can just take your home all to myself and rats,” Ruby said. 

“Well I don’t know. I never knew a rat or saw one before. I don’t know most things because I’ve never went anywhere else except here. But what I do know is that you’re not my friend and you’re crazy!But why would you do this? To me?” I asked sadly.

“Because living on the streets is for other animals but not me. I always wanted a home so now since I have this cave I am never going to let it go, not even to a nice, gullible, nieve bear!” Ruby said.

“So this was the plan. The question of how big my cave is, the rats following us everywhere, the long bathroom break, and all the food you we’re taking to the animal section on the plane? Why not we share the cave?” I asked persuading.

“What?! Never this is my cave, my food, my home!” Ruby said angrily. 

“But you have a choice. You either become one of my slaves along with the rats, or you’re banned from this cave forever!”

“I’d rather live on the streets, because I never ever want to see you again in my life!” I yelled.

“Well then your loss. No wonder your parents left you. You don’t know anything. But thank you for giving me this cave.” Ruby said evilly.

“Hey it not your cave it’s my cave!” I yelled.

But it was too late. I had lost everything. They threw me on the side of the road, with no home. And I have no one not even my parents. But when I turn my head I see these two big bears. I feel like I’ve seen them before. Mom? Dad? I ran to them so happy.

“Mom, Dad, I missed you so much.” I said tearing up.

“Why did you leave me?” I asked.

“Well we were caught by zookeepers or the humans and we finally escaped looking for you. We missed you so much Cookie. Now let’s go to your cave.” My mom said.

“Well a mean rat took my cave and 100 of her rat friends and they banned me from my cave.” I said sadly.

“Well no one steals our cave!” My dad said.

So we all went in and kicked some Ruby—i mean rat, butt! Then I said to Ruby, “Who’s the gullible one now?”

“Rocky! Sophia!” I said.

“I would like to introduce you to my parents. Mom this is Rocky and Sophia and dad this is Rocky and Sophia. They’re my best friends.”

“Well it’s good to be home.” Dad said.

“Yeah I’m never being friends with a rat.”

Then after that we lived happily with no rats.

THE END


Agent Puppy

Hello, my name is Agent Puppy. I’m actually an agent. I am a puppy which explains my name.

I’m really small, which is why The Puppy Organization hired me. Tomorrow I will be given my first mission. I’m so excited. Usually I would be squealing with joy, but I am a very serious puppy in a very serious puppy organization. I am the most amazing… spy. Of course they choose small puppies because the smaller the puppies, the smaller places they can hide. On top of that, we are very light. Oh, and my breed of course is Chihuahuas, but we aren’t as fancy as a Poodle or as strong as a German Shepherd, but we all love our puppy powers! 

We have so many cool gadgets. Like the Puppy Puller, which is a grappling hook, and Puppy Levitation, which is my jetpack, and of course my favorite is… the almighty, all powerful puppytastic… Boneifide! It shoots bones from my front paws! So amazing, right? Of course the Slipified is chewed slippers being shot from your back paws, but they aren’t that bad. And making them is lit, mostly because we all love chewing slippers! It satisfies our teeth.

Well, enough about me. But I hear that my first mission is going to be… going and stealing the Kitty Organization of Advanced Kitties, but they call themselves BTD for Better Than Dogs. Frowny face! Cats are never better than dogs! But I am kind of just saying that because I am a dog. I have to defend my species! Well, I just received an email on my PC, Puppy Communicator. Well the plan is they are going to launch a spell on fireworks which will make everyone in love with kitties and hate puppies! That’s so low, kitties! Well, what I have to do is dress like a cat and go into the Le Cats Hotel, for cats only. That’s where the kitty boss is staying for the night and with him the secret code to all their security, the code to disable the fireworks, and the secret information to all their field kitty agents! We could win over the humans with all of this, and our field spies have learned that the kitties have been told that all the codes are one word! It could be anything! It could be kitties, or cake, or cats are better than dogs! Wait, that’s not one word… CABTD as in Cats Are Better Than Dogs. Not true! At least we don’t spit hairballs! Sure, we chew shoes and drink from the toilet and use the bathroom outside in public… Wow, dogs are strange. Well, anyway my flight leaves soon… 

In Las Vegas… 

Okay I’m in Las Vegas, and I am dressed like a cat. Luckily cats are pretty dumb, so they won’t notice if I still look a bit like a dog. Hey, they didn’t say what kind of cat! This was what I wore last Halloween for a cat party. I had to blend in! Otherwise how would I have been able to find out that Carl was a double agent! But luckily this time I’ll be able to save our entire organization! If the BTD launches that cat spell, then puppies are done for it! No chewing slippers! No drinking from toilets! Nobody scooping up what I did on the sidewalk and even worse, no one to love me! Pouty face. Anyway, back to the mission. I got them to think I’m a cat, and my room number is 864. Right next to the kitty boss’s room, 865. That’s great! That’s bad! If I’m next to him, who says once I get it he won’t disable a bomb through the wall and get into my hotel room! I know if he tries to do that, I can use my PG (Puppy Glider) to be able to fly off my porch with the important files on my PF  (Puptastic Flash Drive). Okay, I just saw the kitty boss leave his hotel room. I’m going in. Weird, he left his door open. Eh, easier for me. Wait, this could be a trap. I have to use my PP. I know it sounds silly, but it was either that or number two cause. Number one was puppy oil! PP stands for Puppy Powder. I was right! There are lasers spread out across the room. These are state of the art lasers! Yikes. I threw a pebble, and it got split in half. Then Marshmallow comes behind me. Oh, I forgot to tell you that I have a sister. Her name is Marshmallow. She is pretty young. She is two years old. 

“Go back, Marshmallow! I don’t want you to get hurt!” I say.

Fine! But I’m going because I want to not because you told me too!” She says with her baby voice, and she tries to storm away, but she falls a lot, so she hit the floor a couple times to be able to get to our hotel room right next door!

I go under the lasers and do a couple backflips, then I see Marshmallow at the other side of the room.

Woah, that was super cool. I’m going to try!” she said, trying to do a backflip. 

Marshmallow, if you go through the lasers, then no chocolate pudding for dessert! I’m warning you, Marshmallow Belle Summer!” I said with my I-am-in-control-voice, and boy, did she jump. 

No pudding!!! You monster!” she says astonished. “Oh, say bye bye to the puddin — ”

 “Okay okay okay, bye, I’ll go to the hotel room!” she interrupts. 

Finally, I can go and get the flash drive. I hope she doesn’t cause any problems. Okay, I’m typing and hacking all the documents into the flash drive, including their future plans. Oh, if this doesn’t get me a promotion, then I don’t know what will! Okay, it’s all in my flash drive. I’m ready to go. I am disabling… the lasers… okay done!

 “Marshmallow! Come on, we have to go!” I yell.

But Marshmallow isn’t coming. I know what will make her come. 

“Marshmallow, if you don’t come, then I won’t let you have chocolate pudding!” I yell at the top of my lungs. She isn’t coming. Okay if this doesn’t work, then I think something is seriously wrong. “I’ll give you ice cream!” I yell even louder!

But she isn’t coming. I go out of the room and find our hotel room open. I go in and find the most terrifying thing I could ever imagine. I find her collar, where I put a tracking device (because believe me, she can get lost) and I find it on the floor with a post it attached.

It read, If you want your little mutt back, then come to the pool in five minutes, and don’t bring any of your little *gadgets* or else you can forget about seeing your little dog ever again, and if you do find her, you’ll find her at the bottom of the pool. See you then, Agent Puppy.

Signed,

Kitty Boss. 

I grinned and put a straight face on. I left the flash drive in my pocket but first emailed everything to the Puppy Boss, in case I don’t make it out with Marshmallow or alive. Okay, I am at the pool. Maybe they hid her somewhere near the pool. I’m looking behind the vases. I don’t see her. Wait, yes I do, but I see her reflection. 

She’s right on top of — “Oh hi, Kitty Boss,” I say with distaste.

“Hello, Agent Mutt. I see you have come to find your little sister. Too bad you won’t be able to get her back! Unless you want a little negotiation,” said the Kitty Boss. 

“It’s actually Agent Puppy, and I will get her back. I will trade her for all the fish you want,” I say. 

“What I want Agent, is the flash drive. You think I’ll give my power up that quickly. I have the upperhand against you. I want your flash drive with my information on it. You can’t slip out of this dilemma, now can you?” said Kitty Boss. 

“How do I know this isn’t a set-up? Show me Marshmallow,” I say.

 I know what you’re thinking, But the flash drive! Well she is my sister, and I knew this was a set-up of course. So I took out the flash drive from out of my sleeve and showed him the flash drive. 

“There it is. I’ll bring down Marshmallow, after you give me the flash drive,” said Kitty Boss with a grin on his face.

I wasn’t going to give up that quickly. Marshmallow was tied to the bottom of the high diving board, with duct tape on her mouth. She was right on top of the pool. I had my plan already set out since I read that note. I wasn’t giving him his flash drive.

 “I’ll give you your flash drive, but first let Marshmallow go,” I say.

“Oh you want me to let her go. I hope she can swim!” He says as his kitty henchman unties the rope.

No!” I scream, and she goes falling.

Suddenly everything is in slow motion. I see Marshmallow’s tears dripping into the pool. I see her slowly falling, I throw the flash drive towards the pool and leap, I catch Marshmallow and we fall onto the side of the pool just making it as me, Marshmallow, Kitty Boss, and the kitty Boss’ henchman watch the flash drive fall into the pool and sink to the bottom of the pool. 

“You idiot!” he screams. “Not only do I not have my information, but neither do you! And your lives shall end!”

 “Ugh, cats. So dramatic. You definitely didn’t get it from dogs, I must say. But you are fierce. I’ll give you that, Well I’d love to chat, but S’more and I here have to leave! Adios, gatos!” I yell, and I hold Marshmallow tight and jump out the window.

Then I say, “Hold on tight, S’more!” and I equip my secret Puppy Puller and swing back to Puppy Org. Hey, if I told you guys that I had a secret Puppy Puller, then it wouldn’t be a secret now would it. 

“Woah! Never call me S’more ever again! And what about the flash drive? Aren’t you going to get fired???” asked Marshmallow.

“First of all okay, I’ll never call you S’more ever again, and I broke his flash drive, the one in my sleeve not the real important one in my pocket with cat pics on it, not the one with the information on it, and I saved you. I call it less of a negotiation and more of a win win for me,” I say.

And I got my promotion and became a field agent. But there have been some fishy things as in fish being found in the Puppy Boss’ desk. Everyone was happy and perfect, so it seemed, or was it?

The End, or is it

                 Clue #1 

                 T he

                 B oss

                 I s

                 A

                 C at


Sins and Crimes

Chapter I                      

As the mannequin holds me to the ground, blood pours out of my chest through my shirt. I never thought I’d be here.  As I lay helpless on the floor, I think about my life. My misery. My anger. 

I think back to the night my life changed forever. I was fourteen years old at the time. My mother left  me when I was four years old, so as long as I could remember it was just me and my dad. Ever since I was born, my dad strived to give me the best life possible. To him, this just meant getting rich. He thought the most logical way to do this would be to invent something. Every day I returned home from school, my father had decided that he was “onto something” but by the next day he had abandoned the idea. 

 Some of his ideas like a mechanical dish sponge were practical but other things like disposable rain boots were completely ridiculous and stupid. When I was fourteen years old, my dad came up with an idea that he thought he could actually sell. His idea was a self-charging cell phone and I personally thought anybody would benefit from that. He began pitching his idea to many companies. One of the employees named Daniel Ozark from a company called TechToday was developing a similar product and thought my father was trying to sabotage this.

Two nights after my father’s pitch, Ozark knocked on my father’s apartment door claiming  that he had a deal to propose about my father’s product and needed to talk to him about it in the hall. My father and I were overjoyed that TechToday was actually interested in my father’s product. I was about to go out into the hallway to see why the conversation was taking so long, but just as I approached the door I heard a gunshot and saw blood beginning to poor through the crack under the door. I instantly fell to the floor sobbing. Amidst sobbing I heard Ozark’s footsteps as he sprinted away from the scene of the crime. I couldn’t believe it. Daniel Ozark, a seemingly innocent man, had stolen my father’s entire fortune and killed him.  

It’s Ozark’s fault that I’m going to be killed by a mannequin. I never would’ve resorted to crime if it hadn’t been for my father’s death. But I don’t have time to think about this now.  I’m losing blood rapidly and I can feel the life draining out of me. The long elegant diamonds around the mannequin’s neck have punctured deep wounds in my skin allowing for blood to pour out. I try to wiggle my way out from under the mannequin but I feel more stabs from the diamonds pin me down to the ground so all I can do is lie helplessly and hope that I am taken out of my misery. 

I consider calling out for help but if I’m caught robbing the largest jeweler in New York City I’ll spend the rest of my life in prison and odds are it’s too late for me at this point. Then suddenly I feel I sharp stabbing in my chest. I gasp for air and then my vision goes black and I fall completely lifeless.  

Chapter II 

I groggily open my eyes to find myself lying in a warm, neatly made bed, in a small room that looks much like a hotel. I sit up to examine my wounds on my chest from the mannequin but find them to be completely healed. The skin is now shiny and smooth rather than rough and torn apart.  I sit up and examine my surroundings. There is a night table on either side of my bed and each of them are decorated with dazzling and elegant bouquets of flowers. On the walls there are gilded picture frames which have exquisite photos of underwater seascapes and of grand looking waterfalls. There is a large television on the wall directly across from the bed and underneath is a gorgeous honey colored bureau. On top of the bureau there is a wicker basket full of candies, fruits and are two leather backed books. I stand up and bring the basket to my bed. I flop down onto the bed and toss the books out of the basket and begin munching on the sweet delicacies. I may not know where I am but I would never turn down free food.

When my father was shot I was furious that he never gave me the life and the wealth he promised me and so I resorted to crime. It served me well. I had a few close calls but I was never caught and from every casino, bank and jeweler I ever robbed I finally had the life my father meant for me. 

All of a sudden I feel a surge of rage. Why didn’t my father give me a better life? Why did my mother leave me? Why at the age of 38 do I still live alone? I’m too angry to eat any more candies. I grab the first book that I had tossed aside and thrust myself into a pillow. I can feel my hands shaking. I don’t know where I am, or why I’m here.  How come I, Travis Hunter, a criminal, am being granted free food? If I don’t remember finishing the robbery I must have been caught! How did I not see this before? I’m trapped! In an attempt to calm myself, I once again pick up the book. I think the title The Afterlife for Dummies sounds like a great novel and so I open the book and continue reading. 

After flipping through introductions and copyrights I finally reach chapter one. I begin to read: If you are reading this you have reached the land of the dead. Welcome. Please report to the front desk immediately to discuss your housing-Thank You! Me? Dead? This can’t be! I am very much living and breathing. Or am I? Being in the land of the dead simultaneously makes all the sense in the world and no sense at all. 

Of course, just waking up in a completely new location with no wounds does partially justify the fact that I may be in the land of the dead. That being said, there’s no such thing as the afterlife- there just isn’t. If there really was an afterlife my father would’ve come back to Earth. To me. But he didn’t. This all could just be a big prank, so I decide against going down to the front desk. Instead, I turn on the TV, but the TV doesn’t work. I keep pressing buttons but the only thing that shows up is a flashing notification that says, “Please report to the front desk!” So I do. I stand up and walk downstairs to where I assume the desk is. I can’t believe that I had actually given in. I didn’t want to believe that I was in the afterlife. I couldn’t be dead. There was more I needed to do. I needed to finish robbing the jeweler, to find love.  But deep down inside it seemed to be the only logical explanation. 

Chapter III 

“Here you go. Fill these out and bring them back when you are down,” says the receptionist standing at the front desk as she slams a pile of forms as thick as a dictionary onto the desk. I look at her wide eyed. Does she really expect me to do all of this?! 

“Come on, it’s really not that much-now go!” I pick up the stack, using my forearms to support all of the weight. The receptionist was right. It’s really not that much. The first page looks like this: 

Welcome to the Afterlife! 

You, Travis Hunter, died of blood loss yesterday while robbing a jeweler. We want to make your stay in the afterlife, which will last for the rest of eternity, as comfortable as possible. Therefore, you may pick one of the following three choices for the rest of eternity: 

Choice Number One: 

Heaven or Hell

This is the standard choice. Good people will go to Heaven and not so good people will go to Hell. We will inform you if you belong in Heaven or Hell before you make your choice. Please understand that very few people actually go to Hell (criminals,serial killers, etc.) and even if you do we will still try to provide an experience appropriate to your behavior on Earth.

Choice Number Two: 

Community Service on Earth 

Since you are now dead you are technically a ghost and may return to Earth invisibly to help make a positive impact. This choice is our most advised. Here in the afterlife we like to do everything we can to help our neighbors on Earth. 

Choice Number Three: 

Haunting 

This is a very ill advised choice. Choosing to haunt humans can put you in immense danger and possibly throw off or ruin the rest of your time in the afterlife–which is eternity. 

Please contemplate your options and pick a path.

For Choice number 1, go to page 1; for choice number  2, go to page 47; and for choice number 3, go to page 113. 

I know what I’ll do. If I really am dead I’ll make the best of it, and that means making it worse for everyone else.  Choice number three had my name written all over it. I could destroy the life of Daniel Ozark and his family. I could finish robbing the jewelry store I died robbing. I will finish that robbery. I must–I will destroy the lives of everyone who destroyed mine. 

Chapter IV 

 “Sir–you did read this, choice three is a very ill advised choice,” says the receptionist after I turn in my forms. 

“I’ve made my decision, and it is final!” I shout, really losing my cool.

“All right sir,” says the receptionist, shaking her head. “Here are the rest of the forms and information you’ll need.” She says, placing a packet down on the desk. 

“Thanks,” I say sarcastically, and walk away with the forms. They read: 

If you are reading this you have chosen to go back to earth to haunt and complete your “unfinished business.” Please understand that this is a very dangerous choice and may result in many consequences. 

 You will be transported back to Earth 36 hours from now. Before you leave please fill out the following form: 

Name____________  Date of Death________________ 

Date of Transport____________ 

Where on Earth would you like to be transported?_____________

I understand that I will be invisible to all humans and that choice #3 is a very dangerous choice. 

_______________________(your signature) Thank you! Please enjoy your stay in the afterlife! 

After I finish the form I bring it to the receptionist’s desk. 

“New York City, huh?” says the receptionist, her eyebrows jumping up and down. 

“Oh, yeah,” I respond.

“Alright–we’ll call for you in 36 hours.” 

“Thanks,” I say and walk back up to my room. 

Chapter V 

I’m still asleep when I hear a booming voice in my room calling, “Travis Hunter! Our teleportation to Earth leaves in 35 minutes. Please report to the front desk immediately.” 

I look around, baffled, trying to see where the voice is coming from but I don’t see anyone so I decided there must be some hidden speaker. I hurriedly freshen up and head down to the desk for my transport. 

“Hello, Travis,” says a receptionist. 

“Please step into this capsule,” she says, motioning towards a small cabinet next to her desk. I raise my eyebrows at her questioningly. Does she really expect me to fit into that cabinet?                                                                                                                            

“Go on,” she says.

 So I do, and it really isn’t that small. Just as I’m about to open my mouth to ask what she’s going to do I begin to feel myself swirling around in all sorts of crazy loops like a sock in the washing machine. As I begin to feel nauseous, the swirling stops and the capsule opens. I step out to find myself on a dirty New York City amidst many tourists and vendors. I start pacing down the street, noticing how dirty the city has become–so crowded and full of shouting people. 

A large pack of students on a trip begin walking down the block straight towards me–their stares are dark and devious. They’re really out to get me. I run as fast as I can but they’re still tailing me. Just as they’re about to slam into me I shut my eyes, hoping it will somehow help reduce the pain I’ll feel–but then no pain comes. The pack of students seems to walk straight through me. 

Chapter VI 

 Before I knew what a terrible and vile man Daniel Ozark was I was so excited for my father’s pitch with TechToday. Before his pitch he told me all about the company and its employees–including Daniel Ozark. I was able to salvage very few of my father’s belongings but I was able to save an information packet from the convention where he pitched his cell phone to TechToday. The packet included the personal information of many participants in the convention. Including Ozark. In the years following my father’s death I constantly studied the packet, memorizing the addresses and phone numbers of Ozark and his family. This information was all I needed to begin my haunting.

I walk into the first apartment building on the street, bolt up to the front desk, pick up the phone and dial Ozark’s number. 

“Hello?” He answers in a hoarse voice. 

“Daniel Ozark!” I shout with rage. “I’m coming for you!” 

“Hello?” he says again with no emotion. I continue shouting but he can’t hear me and he hangs up. I pick up a pot of plants on the desk and smash it on the floor. I don’t understand–why can’t he hear me? And then it dawns on me: I was dead. I couldn’t be seen, heard, or felt. I felt so much animosity towards Ozark, towards the afterlife, but mostly myself. I felt so senseless and naive. And now I’m stuck attempting to haunt people for the rest of eternity!  If I can’t be seen, heard, or felt the only basic function I can perform and have it noticed is to pick up items, and give the illusion that they’re floating. I’m so angry. There’s only one thing left to do–so I walk up to Daniel Ozarks apartment. 

Chapter VII 

When I enter Ozark’s apartment he is sitting on his couch smoking a cigar and watching TV.  I slam the door and he looks up in alarm. 

“Who’s there?” He shouts with panic. “I know you’re in here! Show yourself!”

 While Daniel continues shouting into space, I creep into the kitchen and grab two butcher’s knives. I hold them up high to create the illusion that they are flying through the air. 

I slowly walk into the living room where Daniel is panicking and begin to approach him with the knives. He cries out so terrified I feel I have already succeeded. He pulls out his phone to call 911. His hands are so shaky he can hardly hold it. I knock the phone out of his hand and throw it out a window across the room and watch as it falls 13 stories and smashes on top of a garbage truck. I throw the first butcher knife across the room so it lands right in the middle of a photo of Daniel hanging on the wall. I expect him to scream out in terror, but rather he just stands in the middle of the room petrified. It’s the perfect opportunity for me–so I strike. I throw the second butcher knife straight into Ozark’s chest, piercing his heart. 

I watch in elation as Ozark begins losing blood. He breathes so heavily–gasping for all the air he can get, and then one second he’s done. He stops breathing. I did it. I killed Daniel Ozark. 

Chapter VIII 

I sit down on Ozark’s couch to review what I’ve just done. I’ve really done it. All for my father. I am so proud and I just sit back on the couch to relax. Just as I am dozing off to sleep I feel a strong burst of air come from above and begin sucking me up like a vacuum machine. I fight and flail to stay on the couch but I can’t control it. I am thrown in crazy loops and turns and when it stops I am back in the hotel where my afterlife experience began. I storm up to the desk–enraged. 

“Excuse me!” I shout. “Why on Earth am I here?” 

“Please follow me, sir,” the receptionist responds. 

“No! I will not follow you until you tell me why I am here!” I respond, still yelling. 

“Sir, your recent actions on Earth have resulted in a dangerous and severe phenomenon and we need you to help reverse your actions. Now please come with me.” 

“No!” I yell back. Before I can continue protesting two guards walk in and drag me away from the desk. They drag me down a long corridor that smells like mildew and into a small dark enclosed room with a table and chairs on each side. The men thrust me into a chair and chain me to it. The taller of the two men exits and the other stays with me. Before long, a tall, intense looking woman wearing a navy blue blazer enters and sits in the chair across from me and motions for the other guard to leave. The guard exits and now I am alone with this mysterious looking woman. 

Chapter IX 

“You, Travis Hunter, murdered a Mr. Daniel Ozark this morning on Earth,” says the woman. I nod and she continues talking. “Every time a dead person or ghost murders a living human, there is a different and dangerous outcome. And I fear that you have created something we may never be able to undo.” 

“What do you mean?” I respond, now very nervous. 

“Travis, when you died, you reached the afterlife and were given 3 choices–correct?” 

I nod. 

“It seems that when you killed Mr. Ozark you disturbed this balance. Ever since your murder, when people die they just rest silently in their coffins.” 

“So what?” I respond.

“So what?!” She exclaims, obviously beginning to lose patience. “Mr. Hunter, you do realize that you’ve just destroyed the afterlife forever!” 

“Well, why is this even a choice if it’s so dangerous?!” I respond. 

“You see, when setting up choices for the afterlife, an angel got to make two decisions and a demon got to make two decisions. The angel chose Heaven and community service and the demon chose Hell and haunting. Understand?” 

I nod. “But I still don’t understand why you need me! What am I supposed to do?” I shout. 

“We have two options as to how to approach this. We can (a) send you directly to sector 13 of Hell which is the most violent and tortuous sector and allow my team and I to try to figure this out. Or you may (b) go back to earth for community service, which may help balance out the bad and evil you recently put into the world and resolve this issue.  And if you do a good amount of community service we may be able to let you into Heaven. What is your pick?” 

I contemplate it for a minute and then respond. “B.” 

“That is your final decision?” asks the woman. I nod. 

“We’ll give you your community service assignment tomorrow morning at 7:00 am sharp and we will send you to Earth directly afterwards. Understand?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Please return to the room where you slept the day you died. I will see you at the desk tomorrow at 7. Goodbye, Mr. Hunter.” 

Chapter X 

I arrive back in New York at 7:45 with a community service assignment that reads: 

Travis Hunter

Temporary Community Service Assignment: 

You will be stationed in a NYC subway station and your job will be to (a) pick up any litter and throw it away and (b) help return and find stolen items. There will be serious consequences if you disobey this. Thank You for your service and devotion to the afterlife. 

~Marleen Murphy 

Head of Afterlife Operations

I can’t believe it. Community service in a subway! Not only is it boring, it’s vile. But I have to do it–to get into Heaven. I can’t be doomed in Hell forever! I can’t be tortured for the rest of eternity!

Instead of walking to the nearest subway station, I walk five blocks further in order to reach a cleaner one. I sit down on a bench and just watch as people walk by and talk and yell. I find it astounding how much trash people drop and how random the stuff is. One guy drops his license and now I have to chase him through the station to slip it back into his pocket. I pick up so much gross trash, from cigarette butts to food rinds and at the end of the day my hands are completely covered in dirt. I am not coming back to this station tomorrow. It is an absolute waste of time. Besides I bet I’ve already done enough community service to fit into Heaven. I’ll tend to some of my unfinished business instead. 

Chapter XI 

 At 11:30 pm I arrive at the jeweler. I pick the lock and sneak inside with a sack that I hope to fill with diamonds. When I enter, I walk on the opposite side of the store than I did on my first attempted robbery, just to ensure I don’t trip over the mannequin again.  I take out a mallet and begin smashing cases and pulling out pounds of jewelry and throwing it in my sack. I take a small elevator down to a large vault in the basement. The vault is beautiful–full of beautiful diamond sculptures. I pick one up to admire it. It’s carved in the shape of a heart and is absolutely stunning. 

I can’t believe it. I’ve actually done it. I’ve robbed the jeweler. I have my revenge! I start running on my way out, out of pure joy, but then I trip over a piece of shattered glass, fall backwards, and drop the diamond sculpture. It lands on my foot, holding it down to the ground–disabling me from standing up. 

I can’t believe myself. I’ve done it again. I’m stuck. I pull and yank my foot as much as I can but it’s just stuck. I’m not in pain; I just can’t move. But then it strikes me! If I’m a ghost, I can’t feel pain, I can’t die again–so I reach as far as I can and grab my mallet. I heave the mallet back and smash it against my ankle, watching as that gorgeous diamond sculpture shatters into tiny bits and pieces. But I’m free! I watch in awe as the scratches the glass had cut in my skin seal up. I jump up, run back to the vault, grab another sculpture, and race out of the jeweler as fast as I can with my sack of riches. I’m so proud! I’d done it! My father would be so proud. But then a scary thought hits my head. 

What will I do now? I’m dead, what’s the point of money anymore? Where will I keep the riches? I have nowhere to live. 

Chapter XII

I don’t know what I should do with all the riches. They’re worth so much but I have nowhere to hide them. For the moment I decide to take the riches back with me to my old apartment building and hide them in the secret cabinet where my father used to store his inventions. When I get back to my apartment, it’s still completely the same. I look back through old photos and my bedroom. Practically everything I own was stolen. I had never questioned this. Until now. I just completed a masterful heist and yet all the riches seem to be causing more trouble for me than helping me. Maybe if I hadn’t been a criminal I might’ve had a family or might’ve been able to lead a normal life. I probably wouldn’t even be dead. I can’t believe myself. I should’ve seen this before. I sit down on my couch and turn on the TV. Just then I once again feel the vacuum sensation. I restrain as much as I can but once again it just sucks me up and drops me back in the afterlife hotel. 

Chapter XIII 

“Travis Hunter!” I hear a voice scream as the woman in the blue blazer enters the lobby. I look up at her questioningly. 

“Why do you think you are here?” She asks with malice in her eyes. 

“I don’t know, ma’am,” I respond, my voice very nervous and unsteady. 

“Follow me, Travis,” she says in a suddenly calm voice. I begin following her and she leads me back to the room where she had explained the phenomenon I had created. 

“Sit down,” she says–in a very intense voice. I obey. She chains me to the chair and sits across from me on the other side of the table. 

“You, Travis Hunter, have directly disobeyed my instructions and you have jeopardized the function of the afterlife forever!” She shouts. She stands up and opens the door and a middle aged man being held by two guards staggers in. The man reaches towards me and I towards him. I know this man. I love this man. This man is my father. I hadn’t seen him in so long. I had forgotten what happiness felt like. The wonderful sensation of happiness makes me I feel like I’m flying. But then in a matter of seconds it’s taken away from me.  

“Not only did you disappoint me,” says the woman, “you let down your father. You really think your father, who gave everything for you, wanted you to become a criminal?” 

I don’t know what she’s talking about. My father didn’t give me anything. Everything he promised me he lost.  

“No. Your father didn’t want you to become a criminal,” she continues. “You robbed a jeweler when you were supposed to be doing community service! Your father belongs in Heaven where there is no place for you. We are moving you to sector 13 of Hell.” 

I can’t believe it. I let my head fall to the table in distress. I’d destroyed my life. Forever. 

“Effective immediately,” she says. She claps her hands twice and two guards enter. They each pick me up by one arm and begin dragging me away. I flail and fight but they’re too strong for me. I beg for mercy. I just want forgiveness, and my father. I’d waited so long to see him. But it’s too late. The guards drag me out of the room and just before I’m pushed through the dark portal to Hell I get one final glimpse of my father’s tears. 

The End


The House

The house is haunted, and someone is there with you, looking at you right now. 

You hear a sorrow cry coming from downstairs, then you hear footsteps coming. 

It starts to get louder and louder, until you see a shadowy figure. You run, knowing you are being chased. As you run, you hear screaming, and it’s making you more desperate to leave. 

As soon as you run down the stairs, one zombie randomly starts to walk to you. When you look, you see there are people in the building and scream in horror. 

All the people in the building are zombies. 

When you run, one zombie blocks your path out. When you run the other way, you see the shadowy figure. You think this is all over so you start to sweat, but you have an idea. You run towards a zombie and knock it down and run to the door. 

The finger grabs you and chops your head off. 

 The end, literally 


Short story made after a lot of begging

Once there was a billionaire named Billy Bob Bob Bob Joe and his last name was Joe Bob Bob Bob Billy. He could swallow anything and gain the properties of said material if wanted. If he swallowed a machine, then he could do what that machine could do. He had swallowed a jet so he could fly really fast. He flew over to Area 51 because he wanted to break in. The U.S. Air Force saw him coming and said, “No trespassing.”  

“Sure,” he replied

Then he swallowed the gate and the Air Force had no choice but to shoot him. He swallowed a stealth machine and turned it on and then he turned the top layer of his skin to be bulletproof Kevlar. Then he snuck into Area 51. He searched everywhere but he could only find a bunch of test tech like new stealth planes and he could not find a single alien.

He thought, Boring. I’m getting out of here. He went back to his company building in L.A.

“Mr Joe Bob Bob Bob Billy, where were you?” his manager asked.

“Nowhere you need to know and please call me Billy Bob Bob Bob Joe.”

“Of course,” the man replied.

“How is business going?”

“We are churning out more technology by the second. And our sales for our computers are doing especially well.”

     “Can you get my game designers for me?”

“Of course, sir.” The manager got them and they started designing games. After a month he left the rest of the games to his game designers.

I’m all set for life. That was my game plan, I always wanted to know what was in there, I guess. Break into Area 51 and then I’m all set. Area 51 was always so interesting. Government secrets are cool. I just wanna live peacefully. Oh and lemme tell everyone that in  area 51 there is probably nothing there except for a bunch of military test tech, he thought. I don’t want anyone on my back trying to kill me or nothing. And life won’t get boring, I guess. Everything will go downhill pretty fast for me because bad people won’t like me for sticking my nose into things and everyone will try to kill me. Because of this, I can’t focus on my work. A big bounty would be on my head. So no thanks for me. Uh uh. I’m good. Then he continued working because he realized he liked designing games and technology stuff and he didn’t want to coast on his billions. He had a decent life.


Mermaid…Unicorn…Cat

Once in a pretty blue ocean was a mermaid… unicorn… cat. Yes, a mermaid unicorn cat. With long pink, blue, and purple ears, a scaly mermaid tale, and a long unicorn horn.

“I love my life,” she told her friend, Maria, who has short black hair, and doesn’t have a unicorn horn or cat ears. She’s just a mermaid.

Maria said, “Unicaid, you never know what could happen. Your life could turn into cloudy dark skies here in the ocean.”

“But it’s so nice here! How could anything bad ever happen here?”

“You never know.”

Just then, skies did turn cloudy and dark. The water felt less welcoming and more closed. All the rainbows started to collapse and turn into Skittles. Towering over the water was a big fat man in a scientist coat, holding an open bottle, pouring it in the water.

“What- what is that?” asked Unicaid.

“Now that, my friend, is just what I was talking about what could happen.”

“Who- who are you?” asked Unicaid.

“I am the Toxicky Water Scientist named Doctor Unsmartypants.”

“What are you pouring in the water?” asked Maria.

“Toxicky water, because I’m the Toxicky Water Scientist! Duh!”

“We have to stop this!” said someone.

“I know!” said others.

Unicaid asked, “But how?”

“Oh, I know,” said Maria. “We can get a filter from the outside world with clean water and help our world!”

“I have some friends from the outside world,” said Unicaid, “and I know where they live! They all have filters! And I bet they could lend one to us.”

“Okay. It’s kind of creepy that you know where they live, but all right,” said Maria. “Good idea.”

They slipped out of the water and started slithering down the road.

“So… I know the street, but not exactly the house—”

“Wait, what?” asked Maria.

“I’m sorry! But don’t worry. We can knock on all the doors and ask what door Alena Smith is on!”

“Everyone will just scream!” exclaimed Maria.

“Why?” asked Unicaid.

“Ya know. We’re not the same species!”

“Oh… yeah. But I bet it will be alright.”

“Fine!!!” Maria seemed to be getting mad. “Let’s do this.”

They knocked on one door. No answer.

At the second door there was an answer! But it was: “Ahhhhhhhhhh!” The lady screamed.

“Told you!” Maria said selfishly.

“Ayayayay!” Unicaid exclaimed, “Braggy braggy!”

They slithered down to the next door and knocked on the third door. “Whoah!” was the reply, “Who are you?”

“I’m Unicaid! And this is my friend, Maria,” Unicaid said proudly.

“Ahh! Yes! Unicaid!” The lady said, “Alana has told me so much about you! I’m Lea. Nice to meet you!”

Lea had long, brown, curly hair, and skin the color of chocolate.

“You too!” Maria seemed relieved.

“So where does she live?”

“Oh, Alana? Why do you need to talk to her? Is anything wrong?”

“Well,” Maria started, “This toxicy water scientist came and—”

“Toxicated up the water?

“Umm, yeah, basically.”

“So why do you need Alana for that?”

“We wanted to get a filter from her house so we could help save our ocean,” said Unicaid.

“Oh, I have a filter,” Lea said. “You can use it if you want.”

“That would be great! Thank you!” Maria said, seeming even more relieved.

Lea went inside and gave them the filter. Then Unicaid and Maria thanked her as they slithered back into the ocean.

“We got a filter!” They said as they plopped it in the water. It sounded like when you put a penny into a fountain. Dr. Unsmartypants tried to stop them, but it was too late. It was already in. Everyone cheered for them, except for the scientist. 

“Why? Why? Why?” Dr. Unsmartypants said, seeming very, very, very frustrated. He towered over the water and walked away.

“Yay! Hooray for Unicaid and Maria!” And suddenly the water felt more welcoming, less closed, and the dark skies went away. All the Skittles turned back into rainbows, and everything was okay.

The End!


HE. MAY. GO. ALL. THE. WAY!

“Welcome to Super Bowl 100 The Seattle Seahawks vs. The New England Patriots,” said the commentator. “This is going to be a great match. At the half, it is 28 to 27 Seattle. At three quarters, it is tied at 35 with a safety given up by Seattle. Now there are five minutes left in the game, and we are tied at 49. Seattle has the ball on the 50-yard line. Wilson throws to Baldwin, and that’s a first down. Baldwin is still going! Touchdown! Seattle up by seven at 56. Seattle returned! He gets past the defence, touchdown! We are tied at 56 now. Patriots kickoff. Seahawks get five yards on the return. Wilson takes the snap. Fakes the run, Wilson runs past the linemen, he is in the clear. HE. MAY. GO. ALL. THE. WAY! Russel Wilson 80-yard touchdown run to put Seattle ahead by seven. With the touchdown, we are at the two-minute warning. Pats return the kickoff five yards. Brady hail mary to Edelman, he gets to the 20. Brady hands off to Michelle. He is taken down at the one. Brady gets a QB sneak past the line. Conflict on the Pats’ sideline. Brady decides that they will try for a two-point conversion. Brady snaps. Brady runs to the corner, Bobby Wagner chasing him. Wagner strip-sacks Brady. Wagner has the ball; he is running. Wagner goes all the way! Two points for Seattle! Pats try an onside kick. Seattle recovers. Pats use first time out. 30 seconds on the clock. Wilson takes the snap. He runs in the backfield and is just running around. 15 seconds left. Wilson being chased. 10 seconds. Wilson throws the ball as far as he can. Ball is in the air for five seconds. Pats time out. Five seconds left. Wilson takes the snap. He runs to the sideline. Time is up! Seattle wins the 100th Super Bowl. They have done it! No losses in the season and a Super Bowl title. Brady made the biggest mistake in the Super Bowl. Wilson has the longest QB run in Super Bowl history! Let’s hear what Wilson has to say.” 

Wilson says, “I cannot believe this. We played great. This is great.” ______________________________________________________________________________

After the game, the commentator got in his car and started to drive home. It was really late at night, so he was very tired. Then, all of a sudden, he couldn’t see any people or any cars and saw complete darkness. Then his mind blanked. CRASH! He found his car smashed into another car. He had dozed off and didn’t have control. The two cars he crashed into were the Seattle Seahawks’ car and the Patriots’ car. He was hurt, but he got out of the car immediately to see if the teams were hurt. The police were already at the site of the crash, and there was a huge fire. The police called the firefighters, and the firefighters put out the fire and took him to the hospital.  Nobody on the Seahawks or the Patriots got injured. The commentator just got really injured, but he got better really soon. He had broken his collarbone, his neck bone, his backbone, and his arm.  

The Patriots filed a lawsuit because they didn’t like his commentating, and he crashed into them. The Seahawks, though, were okay with it, and they were fine with it.  

His lawyer was really bad because no one wanted to be his lawyer in the case, because they’re afraid he’s going to lose. His lawyer was not that good, so the commentator had to try and deal with that and be his own lawyer.

His lawyer kept telling him, “It’s okay if we lose, it’s okay if we lose.” But the commentator kept a positive attitude the whole time.

The lawyer said, “Man, we’re gonna lose.  I can’t believe you’re even trying. You shouldn’t be trying against the Patriots. They’re gonna have the better lawyer. They’re gonna beat us. Even though I am a lawyer, I have to admit they’re gonna beat us. So it’s okay if we lose.”

The commentator replied, “It’s not okay if we lose because I didn’t do anything wrong in that scenario. They crashed into me. They shouldn’t file a lawsuit on me just because the car ended up in the crash.”

The commentator felt guilty because he knew he fell asleep in the car. The first person to find out he was sleeping was the lawyer, who kept it a secret until his death.

He made a statement where he accused the Patriots’ bus driver that he fell asleep, dozed off, and crashed. That was a lie, because the Patriots’ driver wasn’t sleeping; the commentator was sleeping himself. The Patriots argued that they saw the commentator not paying attention, and they saw him drift off into the lane, and then they saw the crash. The jury thought that the Patriots were wrong because the Patriots had lost the Super Bowl, and the commentator had been speaking about them for everyone in the audience to hear, so the judge had thought that the Patriots were just mad because they lost the Super Bowl and the commentator was saying bad things about them.  This could be revenge.

The commentator went to court the next year and they didn’t know what decision to give, so eventually they went to the Supreme Court.  He won in the Supreme Court with a new argument saying, “The Patriots aren’t admitting that their bus driver fell asleep, and I’m admitting that I wasn’t not paying attention, because I have all a perfect concentration, but you guys never said that you have anything that prevented you from having a doze-off.”

He also said, “They’re trying to get revenge on me, when all I did was comment on the Super Bowl.”    

The Patriots said, “We’re not trying to get any revenge. You almost killed us, and if anyone got harmed, you would have to say that you have to do something about it. If it’s just about the Super Bowl, it’s not gonna be this severe. If I just say something on Twitter, not in court, so basically if someone gets harmed, you should come to justice and say that you did it.”

The judges thought that the Patriots didn’t defend themselves, and just brought up new arguments, so the Patriots would lose.

He won in the court, and he filed a lawsuit on the Patriots for crashing into him, because the Seahawks showed him a camera where the Patriots changed lanes. The Seahawks had hated the Patriots for a really long time, so every time if something went wrong, they would have to get back at the Patriots for the last-second Patriots win during the Super Bowl before. The Seahawks always had a camera in their car, and they happened to be staying at the same hotel as the Patriots, so they were driving on the same road. The Seahawks had the video of the bus driver going into a different lane, which was true, but just because it was earlier in a crash, and they didn’t have film of the crashing, so they only showed him changing lanes. But he did change lanes, which was a factor of the crash. The Patriots lost in court and were fined 1,000,000 dollars. The Patriots were really mad about it, and the bus driver had to go to jail, because falling asleep in a car is illegal, so he went to jail really mad, knowing he didn’t fall asleep and remembering every detail of the crash.

The commentator was relieved that he got away with it, and surprised the Patriots with filing a lawsuit, but was happy that the Patriots’ bus driver had to go to jail. The commentator forever lived hidden because he knew that people didn’t like him because all the Patriots fans didn’t like him because making the Patriots lose in court is a big thing.

Ten years after his death, they found the camera showing that he actually was sleeping in the car, and shouldn’t have won in court because he actually fell asleep in the car. 

The end.


Life of a Boy with Powers

Part One: Ordinary to extraordinary

Place: Annapolis, Maryland

Dimension: Hearth-not-Earth

Once upon a time, there was a fourteen-year-old boy named Leo. He didn’t know it at the time, but he was about to become more than your average boy. On his way home from his best friend Misha’s house (who lived across the bridge), he was hit by lightning. He was walking on the bridge with an Anti-monopoly board game when a thick bolt of lightning struck him. He passed out and his mind went completely blank, and his eyes went white in an instant. Someone found him a couple of minutes later and took him to the hospital.

His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Parker, learned in the hospital that Leo’s eyeballs were great conductors of electricity so the lightning went straight for him while he was crossing the bridge. He was put into a deep sleep until he was sixteen years old without realizing it. He woke up in the hospital, and found out that he had lost his eye. So they left the hospital with an eye patch covering Leo’s eye.

What Leo didn’t know was that he could accidentally control electricity, or that he could do things related to electricity that no one else could do, without realizing it was himself doing it. One time, he was playing Temple Surfers (a combination of Temple Run and Subway Surfers) on his iPhone when suddenly it died. 

“Oh, come on!” He ran out of his room and shouted, “Mom! Can I borrow your charger?”  

“Sorry, but I’m using it because my phone is five plus,” his mom replied (plus is percent).

“Porca miseria!” Leo carelessly said in Italian as he stomped into his bedroom and plopped onto the bed. He was so furious that his bedroom light flickered off and his phone turned on. He looked at his phone screen to check the percentage, and guess what it was? Full charge, or 100%.

“What happened?” he said as he turned the light back on. But then, he remembered the lightning strike two years ago. “Wait, what?!” he exclaimed, and ran out of the house, but with superspeed, like Hercules.

Later on, after doing some thinking, Leo concluded that when he was so mad sparks of electricity probably went into the phone, charging it instantly, and more sparks turned off the light. He didn’t know how that happened, but he was excited because he never found out about it. So he tried testing it out by going home and trying to turn off and on the lights, and so that happened and worked. Then he tried to travel at the speed of light and so he ran as fast as he could, and he could actually see light by his side because, of course, he was running as fast as the speed of light.   

Next he tried flying, but he knew he was really short and the knowledge came to him suddenly that, since he was really short, he could not fly. You have to be really tall to fly. He didn’t know how. He went to Misha’s house and looked inside, and overheard him telling his little sister a story about this magic potion that can make you taller in less than 3 hours, and an evil scarecrow was guarding it.  It was actually a mixture of a robot and an actual scarecrow. You can’t see him because when you get really close, he’ll attack you. Leo knocked on the door and Misha answered it.

“Well you’re back, and that’s awesome!” said Misha, and they did their ‘secret handshake.’ 

“I need to find out where the magic potion is,” Leo said. They went in the house.

“Really? Ok. It’s somewhere in the middle of Romania, Europe,” Misha said. He knew this because he actually, once, tried to get the potion, and he was told that it was in Romania, but he never found it.

“Thanks!” Leo ran with the superspeed he was given.

“Good luck!” Misha yelled. “Man, how does he do that?”

Part Two: The Scarecrow

Place: Somewhere in Romania

Dimension: Hearth-not-Earth

Leo had already told and explained his plan to his parents, and surprisingly, they accepted it. Since he had powers, they knew that he could protect himself.

“Just make sure you don’t die, honey,” Mrs. Parker told him.

“I won’t,” Leo responded.

“Be careful,” she said.

“I will, I will.” And Leo ran to the Annapolis dock, and dove into the warm Chesapeake bay, for what was a long journey ahead of him.

On the way, he found a map to the potion in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He found it because of a storm that drowned him. He floated up because there was a lot of air in his lungs already, and that’s how he found out he could breathe in water.

After finding the location on the map, Leo found that the place was surrounded by fire, and he figured out that the scarecrow might have fire powers. He found the magic potion on a tree stump, but when he was about to touch it, there was something that grabbed his shoulder. He looked around and there was the robot scarecrow, including at least one million other tiny robots.

“Do not touch my potion! I know why you have come for it, and I will put an end to your task!” the scarecrow bellowed in his robotic voice. 

Leo ran away from the scarecrow, surprisingly not touching him at all.  So he ran away from the robot with superspeed, but he didn’t have the potion. So Leon found this little pond and he heard a whisper that is saying, “Clone yourself to get it!”

Leo said, “How?”  But there was no reply.

He figured out that the lake was magic. And then there was some rumbling, and there was someone else that was standing there, and he took a closer look and saw it was himself, and so the clone multiplied and then multiplied again and again and again. Soon, there were at least ten thousand Leos surrounding the pond. It was the lake that had done this, he thought. And so he went back to the robot, his clones following him, but he couldn’t find him anywhere, and figured out that it could be a decoy, or they were hiding behind them. So he went the other way, and found the robot trying to attack them.

The million tiny robots were reduced to one robot, and it was so tall, as tall as Kevin Durant in the Golden State Warriors. 

“This robot used the potion, so if you fight me then you will fight him,” the scarecrow explained in monotone.

So the ten thousand Leos fought the robot first, but failed. 

Then came a thunderstorm, controlled by all of the Leos, and so it was pouring and it dried out all the fire, and a huge lightning bolt struck the tall robot and he was dead. 

“Curse you!” the scarecrow yelled. And then Leo himself jumped up and killed the cruel scarecrow by striking a sudden bolt of lightning, and he was dead too.

“I guess you didn’t put an end to my task.” Leo took the potion, drank a little bit, and he started feeling that the bushes were shrinking, and so when it stopped shrinking he looked down and it looked as though he was 7 feet tall. In fact, he was.

“Hey clones this is aweso—what happened?” All of the clones were gone. Disappeared. 

So Leo tested his flying and he flew all the way on top of Romania and then to Italy, and found out that he was able to fly since he was so tall. He was super happy. So he flew back across the Atlantic Ocean. He didn’t really feel bad about leaving them behind because he had himself.

Part Three: Fight in Dubai

Place: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dimension: Earth

Leo wanted to fly up Mount Everest on Earth, so he took the Dimension Teleporter to Earth, and flew to Asia and Nepal because he was already in China, to fly above the Great Wall. He was 20,000 feet above sea level when he felt that he couldn’t breathe. So he went back down 2,000 feet to get an oxygen mask, and then flew all the way up and saw the view.  It looked like he was in space, since he was so high up. He could see literally all of Nepal. It was snowing constantly, and everything looked snowy. He felt very satisfied. He wanted to fly up the tallest building in Dubai, called the Burj Khalifa.

Meanwhile, there was someone who liked to be called Nikyl to “seal his secret identity” as he said, who was pulled into a whirlpool, and got water powers, and could manipulate other people into giving him their powers.

Leo heard on TV that Nikyl wanted Leo to be Nikyl’s next target, so Leo decided to fight him. He thought about Dubai and closed his eyes, and after a moment he opened his eyes, but he wasn’t in Nepal. He was somewhere else.

“Where am I?” he asked someone who was passing by him.

“Dubai,” a man replied in a forgein language that Leo didn’t know.

“What?” Leo asked, but the man was already gone.

“He said you are in Dubai.” Leo turned around and there was a kid behind him. He was about Leo’s age, had brown hair, and his face reminded Leo of someone familiar.

“Misha! What are you doing here?”

It wasn’t long when Leo found out that he could teleport. He was thinking a lot about Dubai, so he teleported. This was too much for Leo already! Misha and Leo were at the entrance of the Burj Khalifa.

“You’re going to fly that high?” Misha looked at the top of the tower. 

“Yeah, I flew on top of Mount Everest, too. No biggie,” Leo said confidently.

Misha’s eyes almost popped out of his face. “Okkayyy…”

So Leo was halfway up the tower when he saw the water make bigger waves than before.  He stopped flying and there was someone that appeared from the water. He heard people screaming and saw people running. It was Nikyl. He had blue eyes and black hair. His face was blank. He had a poker face. And then there was this water strike coming from Nikyl, aiming at him. It was blue and foaming with bubbles. It was about to touch him when it immediately turned into ice and fell down.  Leo looked down and saw Misha, smiling.

“Did you do that?” Leo asked.

Misha nodded, still smiling.  

Leo looked up at Nikyl and saw that he was manipulating a water monster, so Leo flew to Nikyl, but stopped because he looked familiar, too, like when he met Misha.

“Sabino?” Leo asked, confused. Nikyl looked a lot like Sabino, who Leo was friends with also. In fact, Misha, Leo, and Sabino made up a trio.

“Who are you, how do you know me, and why are you here?” Nikyl or, as Leo suspected, Sabino asked.

“Oh, let me introduce myself.” Leo struck a huge bolt of lightning that pierced through the sky like Achilles’ sword, and Sabino stumbled, surprised.

“Convenient, Leo, that you’re back.” Leo and Sabino did the same ‘secret handshake’ that Misha and Leo did when Leo went to Misha’s house to ask where the potion is.

“Umm… guys?” Misha shouted from way below, “Could you come down here? I don’t think I can get up there.”

“Be proactive,” Sabino said.

“And you can easily build an ice staircase,” Leo added.

“Nah. I think it’s a little weird that we are up there. Just really, you know,” Misha pointed at the spectators who were mostly taking pictures with their phones, even a newscast.

So Sabino and Leo came down to meet Misha when about a thousand of people came to meet them to interview them. They reminded Leo of his clones. But worse.

A lot worse.

Part Four: Ending

Place: Annapolis, Maryland

Dimension: Hearth-not-Earth

Dum-tek-a-dum

Sabino’s drum gave a unique rhythm that banged through his house like the drum was summoning something. Everyone in the house was doing some movements, from nodding the head, to dancing. At least everyone was having a great time. Misha was playing the clarinet, and Leo, the trumpet. It was a year after the three had met in Dubai. All of them were very blown away that each of them had powers.

The song ended and everyone was cheering, “Happy birthday Sabino!”

It was Sabino’s eighteenth birthday.

They were done with higher school, (or high school) and since it was Sabino’s birthday on the last day of school, the moms of the trio decided to throw a party. A big one. All of the students were invited. 

Leo felt like the happiest person in the world. And so he knew, there were a lot more possibilities than a flash of lightning.

THE END

Or is it…

Yes it is…or maybe not…or maybe…you don’t know…only I do…dun dun dun!


A New Kind of Freedom

Hi. My name is Ellie-Mae. I am moving from freezing Minnesota to boiling Florida. I am not ready. The whole reason I have to move is because of my mom’s stupid new job. At the moment, I am throwing out out all my pants, long sleeved shirts, and coats. Now I have to buy a ton of shorts and sun hats and sunscreen and popsicles and flip flops and I think I’m losing my mind. I am putting everything into giant garbage bags and in half an hour, we’re taking it to goodwill.

“EM? Where are you?” yells my mom. Sometimes she calls me EM just to save time.

“Right here mom,” I yell back.

“Ellie, we’re leaving in half an hour!” she says, entering my room. “Ellie, stop dawdling, we have to leave!!”

“I know, Mom. You’ve only told me, like, a million times,” I say back. “Also, I’m not dawdling.” I can’t believe she is doing this. She is making me move away from everything I’ve ever known, and now, she is lecturing me for dawdling. Really, mom?

I hear a cry from the next room. “Momma, Holly took my toy again!!” Oh great. It’s the littlies. Holly and Joy are six year old twins, and they are identical in looks, but in nothing else. Joy is a spunky, adventurous daredevil, while Holly is forever cautious, except about stealing everything of Joy’s. They are so annoying. I however, am 12, nowhere near six. I just don’t get them. They act like everything is such a big deal.

Hey, wait a minute. I run into their room. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be packing up your toys?”

Joy puts on her cute face and cute voice. “I sowwy, Ewwie. I didn’t mean too. They just looked like,” she sniffs, “so much fun.”

“OK, fiiine,” I say. Even though the twins are annoying, they are still so cute. They both have streaky blonde hair, like I used to. (Now I have brown) They also have these beautiful blue eyes. Mine are just hazel.

A few hours later…

All my stuff is gone. Everything. Everything for weather under 50 degrees. No more hoodies, or sweatpants. No more winter boots, or winter hats. No more fuzzy fleeces, or heaters. We will need about a kajillion ACs and fans. I’m actually kind of sad. Before I know it, tears are streaming down my cheeks. I know it sounds silly, crying over giving away some old pants, but, for some reason, it’s making me really emotional. Oh well. I guess I’ll just try to get some sleep. After all, it is 11pm and I have to get up early to pack more.

“Ellie-Mae Rose Davis!!! Get up!!!” That’s what I woke up to this morning.

“Yeah, Mom, I overslept. What’s the big deal?!” I responded, because she oversleeps all the time.

“Ellie, it’s 1 o’clock!!!” she said. So now I am rushing to pack up all my books before the van comes at 1:45.

Finally, I’m done. Now I’m gonna go check on the twins juuuuust in case. I open up my door, and march into the twins room. Sure enough, they are sitting on their beds not packing at all. 

“Hey guys, come on, you know what—Joy?” Joy is crying. That’s not like her at all.

I sit on her bed. “Joy, what happened?” I say in my most gentle voice possible. It’s not gentle enough. She grouches.

“Why do you want to know?” Man. I thought I was being gentle.

“Hmmph,” I hmmph and walk away. I go over to Holly. “Holly, what happened to Joy?” I say to her.

“I don’t know!! She just started crying out of nowhere!!” Holly responds. Oh well, I think. I’ll get to this later. We’re moving tomorrow. That’s what I should worry about. I go back into my room, and keep packing up my books. 

OK, so it’s four am and moving day. The twenty six hour drive is straight ahead. Luckily, nobody in our family gets carsick, so we won’t have to do a barf stop an hour in. We are leaving at four so we can get as much driving time as possible. We get in the car. It’s a seven seater, even though we only have four people in our family. My mom in the front, me in the middle row, and the twins in the back. That means I get a big comfy seat to myself. That’s good because it’s such a long car ride. I have my snack bag, with cheetos, chex mix, string cheese, oreos, goldfish, bunny grahams, and more. I get hungry fast. That is why I have so much food. I also have my phone with Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen on it. It’s really all I listen to. If you haven’t listened to those musicals, you really should. They are great for car rides. OK, onward. We buckle in, and zoom off. 

Not five minutes into the ride, Holly says, “Mommy?”

“Yes Holly?”

“Um, I forgot to use the bathroom,” she responds.

My mom pulls over into a gas station. “Go quickly,” she says.

And Holly does not. It’s been seven minutes now. My mom tells us to go in with her. We go in, and Holly is standing in front of the bathroom door.

She says, “I’ve been waiting for them to come out!!”

“Oh Holly!” my mom says. “You’re supposed to ask the employee for the key!! I thought you knew! Come on, let’s go.” My mom goes and asks the cashier for the key. He gives it to her and my mom unlocks the door. Holly goes and comes out.

“Okay, let’s go now,” I yell. We get back in the car and start driving again. I eat my cheez-its. I listen to Dear Evan Hansen. I listen to Hamilton. I listen to Dear Evan Hansen. It gets stuck in my head. Joy hits Holly. Holly hits Joy. Holly cries while Joy hits her again. Ugh. I turn my music up louder. I fall asleep. I wake up and it is 3pm. Wow, I slept a lot. Hamilton is still blasting in my ears. It’s hard to believe how I fell asleep listening to that. I look back and the twins are sleeping. Aww, how cute. Holly is sleeping on Joy’s shoulder. Ooh, Sincerely Me is coming on. (If you didn’t already know, it’s a song from Dear Evan Hansen that’s really funny.) 

One week later…

I am starting school tomorrow!!! Aah!! I have all my stuff. Composition notebooks. Graph paper. A calculator. I think I will be ready. The twins start school too. 1st grade. I know Joy is excited, but I’m not sure about Holly. She’s much more sensitive. I hope to make some friends. So, let’s go!!

Today’s the big day. School! I jump in the car, with my new striped backpack and buckle in. We’re off! It is a short drive, only about 10 minutes. I step out, and the new school is huge! Four stories, and a big grass lawn. It looks very modern, mostly made of blue glass. I cannot believe how big it is. Okay, breathe, Ellie, breathe. I walk in and the hallways are filled with people.

Someone pushes me from behind and says, “Newbie.”

I walk into my classroom and every single person is tan. Tan, tan, tan. Some may be spray tans, but for the most part, natural. While I look like an albino polar bear in the snow. The teacher takes attendance. Emma? Noah? Sophia? Ellie Mae?

“Here,” I say. Everyone starts looking at me.

“Thank you Ellie Mae,” the teacher says, “but next time, you can just raise your hand.” 

Oh no. I’ve already messed up, and it’s not even lunch yet. I hear snickering in the background. Oh, good. It’s time for lunch. No wait. Not good. Not good at all. I won’t have anyone to sit with. Shoot. Maybe I’ll eat in the bathroom like in movies. That’ll really boost my social confidence. The girl who eats in the bathroom. Great. Perfect for my resume. The bell rings. Everyone runs out of the room. Everyone but me. I walk slowly out of the room.

As I’m walking around the school, I see a poster for one free sailing class. Hm. That actually sounds really fun. In Minnesota, nobody sailed at all. I haven’t even seen an ocean yet.

I text my mom and say, “Free sailing class 2 go 2. Can I go? It’s on Sep 12.”

She almost immediately texts back, “Sure. Also numbers are not words.” Yes! I might find something I actually like here in muggy Florida. 

It’s time. September 12th. My first ever sailing class. I’m in my new glittery bikini that I bought just for this. I walk towards the boat dock and I see a girl in the exact same swimsuit!! We both laugh and point at each other. I can’t believe we bought the same thing!! This is hilarious. We start talking and I figured out that her name is Juniper, and she’s lived in Florida her entire life. She told me that she could show me around. Oh my god, this is great!! I think I made a friend. I’m not sure yet, but I think I did. There are three other girls there, all in matching swimsuits with polka dots. I decide to call them the polka dot girls. There are also two boys who are in swim trunks. The instructor comes out, and she looks like she is about eighteen. 

She says, “Okay guys, I am your instructor, Jaylee, and I will teach you the basics of sailing. The number one thing is don’t get hit with the boom! The boom is the bottom part of the sail and it is strong enough to knock you off the boat, which we don’t want happening. The water is cold. So, let’s get started, shall we? First up we have, uh, Nicholas.” One of the boys stands up and goes over to Jaylee. I can see that she is telling him how to control the boat, but I can’t hear what she is saying. He goes out on his own after about 15 minutes, and slowly navigates the boat in a small circle. 

“Umm, Kacy?” Jaylee says. One of the polka dots gets up. She falls in while trying to dance on the boat. “Maisie?” Another polka dot. Maisie doesn’t fall in, but she decides that she doesn’t want to go out alone and Jaylee basically does it for her. “John?” 

“Can you call me Jack?” he asks. 

“Ok, Jack, it’s your turn,” says Jaylee. He navigates the boat very well. It’s Juniper’s turn now. 

“Good luck,” I whisper. She does okay. Jaylee has to yell out a couple instructions. Now it’s Chelsea, the last polka dottie. She also falls in. Finally, it’s my turn.

Jaylee whispers, “I’ve got a good feeling about you.” She explains everything to me, and then, I do it. I turn the rudder, I avoid the boom. I think I did everything almost perfect. I steer the boat back to shore and Jaylee hugs me.

“You did so well!!” she cries, “I knew it.” I am just in awe. It was really fun. I can’t believe I had done so well. I now know what I want to do. I want to sail.


World of Women

1/23/19

Running for Change

I was running. Who knew I would be running for my life while I was trying to change the world? My heart was pounding as an angry mob of kids chased me. They threw the flyers that I gave them at me. It was a terrible sight. This was not the day I was planning. I started walking home.

2/6/19

College

I found a place to hide as the mob rush past. I don’t have much time to explain, but I am Violet. I don’t know parents. When I was little, probably five, my parents died. I was left in my brother’s dorm room. Finally I ran away. College classes were so boring. They were not hard. They were just so boring. Even though I’m only eleven, I studied since I was five and a half. I got As on all my tests. I’m even better then my brother, Benjamin.

¨Mom and Dad would be proud,” Ben always said. I never believed him. He is seven years older than me, but I’m much smarter. This is why I ran away once I got better then my brother (that took a year and a half). But now I’́m changing the world, one girl at a time.

2/19/19 

Changing the World

I have a job, a house and a family. I have a job at the Women’s Rights Society. I change women’s lives across the globe. I have a small house in Cape Cod. I live with my cousins Lilian and Nicholas. Lilian works at the Women’s Rights Society with me. Nicholas is a soccer teacher. 

Our house has two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and two bathrooms. Lilian, Nicholas, and I all sleep in one room. Lilian and I sleep on the top bunk and Nicholas sleeps on the bottom bunk. The other bedroom they use for a reading room. 

In the Women’s Rights Society we get groups of people or schools to focus on human rights. People usually thought it was unfair we focus only on women’s rights. They think it’s a problem. They’re the problem! They are the ones who are being so unfair! Since I’m 12 now and already finished college my goal is to save 7,300 more lives in the next ten years.

That means I would save two to four people a day. That’s Lilian’s and my dream: change the world and save it. Lilian just got a new job at the Save The World Society. Her boss and the President of the society is her friend, Brigid. Lilian’s friend, Lily, is the vice president of the society. Brigid and Lily want to save the world, one plastic bag at a time.

3/2/19

Saving the World Society

Lilian works in two societies. Two days at The Women’s Rights Society and three days at Saving The World Society. On Lilian’s second week at her new job, Lilian takes me to her new job. Everyone is so nice. They are all women and they all love The Women’s Society. Today, Lilian has a test to make sure she can do the job. We always have to take a test because we’re kids. People! We graduated college already and we were eleven!! Give us a break!!!

3/12/19

Lilian

When Lilian comes home today, something happened. Lilian walked up to the door. Her brown hair was in a long braid. She walked to the door slowly. She opened the door.

“How did you do?” I asked. She looked so sad I shouldn’t have asked.

4/5/19

The Test

“I did it!!! I passed!!!” Lilian screamed. I was so happy for her. Now she can change the world and save it!

“Lily even said I did better than most of the adults!”

“That is so great!” I said. I was so happy for her.

5/27/19

The Women’s Rights Society

I walked to work the next day. Work was only 1 stop on the F train. I opened the door.

“Violet,” Rio said, “Sam would like to see you.” Rio works at the front desk. She tells people what the company is about. It’s been a few months since I started my goal. I saved 90 people each month. In other words I saved 270 people in three months that means I saved 2-3 people a day. I thought of all this as I walked to Sam’s office. I knock on her office door.

“Come in,” Sam said. It didn’t really think it sounded like Sam. I went in any way. I really regret that. It was dark in the room something jumped on me…

 6/9/19

The Evil President

When I woke up it was dark, but I sensed Sam. She always wore a lot of perfume. I snuck to the door. I opened it. I ran. I really wish I got just a promotion. I ran and ran down 8 flights of stairs. Everyone asked me what was going on. Sam had gone mad. I called the police.

“Hello,” the person on the other line said. 

“Yes,” I said. “Someone’s gone mad.” 

“We will be over in 10 minutes,” they said.

“Bye,” I said. I locked Sam in the worker’s lounge room.

“I guess we need a new president,” someone said.

“Let’s make Violet the President of the society,” another person said.

1/23/29

Women’s Rights Society President

After Sam was put in jail, I became president of the society. It’s been 10 years since I started my goal. I’ve done it! Saved 7,300 lives in ten years! I’m still changing the world, one girl at a time.


Secrets in the Shadows

Carol

My name is Carol Mystic. I am twelve years old and I died. Dying is not that bad. It doesn’t hurt. It just feels like falling asleep. I don’t remember what happened. All I remember is that it happened at the playground and I don’t know who did it. I know what I have said so far doesn’t sound bad but I am so mad at whoever pulled me from my family forever. My story is trying to find life again. Everyone who dies wants something and I want to come back. 

Jase

I don’t feel dead, but I know I am. I am not some angel with feathery wings. I just wander around the site of my death. I don’t leave it and that’s because if I leave, a part of me will stay (it is hard to explain). This rule applies to all spirits.  I am fourteen and I died in my garden. My physical body stays, but my personality watches as my family holds a small ceremony in our yard and as my body is carried away forever.

Shy

My name is Shy Ash and I am still alive. I can see the two dead children. I am thirteen, but I am powerful. I can see the dead. Carol and Jase want to come back and I will try to help them, even if it kills me. After Carol died, the playground closed and Jase’s parents have high security now. But I will bring them back permanently.

Carol

My parents moved after I died, moved to New York from New Jersey. I was going to get to New York by boat. As I stepped outside the playground, I felt half of my personality torn from my body. As I walked, I saw my reflection in a window. My shoulder-length deep brown hair, my extremely rare deep red eyes, and my albino skin, just the way it had been when I face planted in the dirt when I died a year ago. And then I felt it. I crumpled in pain as the aftershock of leaving half of me behind came, but I kept going.

Jase 

“Oh dear,” I said when I realized my perfect brown hair was covered in dirt. At least my brown skin was okay.

“Okay,” I sighed, “here goes,” and I climbed over the garden wall. The pain hit me like a tidal wave and I shut my green eyes and fell to the ground.

“Time to go,” I said and ran looking for the other dead who might be able to help me. And that is when I met the beautiful Shy Ash.

Shy

The way he looked at me was amazing. It was the way my mom looked at me before she died. Too stunned to say much,, I managed to utter one word.

“Carol,” I said.

“You can see me?” he gasped.

“Yes,” I said, “and I bring you back so everyone can see you.”

“But who is carol?” he asked me.

“Another kid who died,” I said. I grabbed his hand and together walked.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“To the harbour,” I said. “Carol will be there.”

We walked for a long time and then we found the boat and the gorgeous red-eyed spirit I was looking for.

Carol

One of the two figures was alive and she could see me, but the boy was dead.

“Listen,” said the girl, “I might be able to bring you back, but will have to listen to me.” I nodded. Any chance to be brought back is a blessing. The girl beckoned for me to follow her and I did. We end up stowing away on the boat. I am full of fear, not for myself because no one can see me, but I am scared for the girl who is visible to everyone.

Jase 

After we make proper introductions, Carol asks a question: “What will we say to our families if this works?”

Everyone is silent about this until I smartly say, “If you have magic to bring us back then can you just wipe everyone’s memories about our deaths?”

“No, you idiot!” says shy. “It’s called the spirit paradox and it is nearly impossible to use.”

Then we hear a stomping noise and the lid of the box we are hiding in is raised. A handsome blonde haired spirit is revealed.

“There are rules in death too,” he says but Shy leaps at him and drags him up to the deck. The rest is so awesome. 

Shy

I wrestled the blonde to the ground and held him there until he said, “Fine you can ride free,” but that did not satisfy me. I held him over the edge of the boat and dropped. He emerged, treading water and yelling at us. I giggled and we spent the rest of the rest of the ride in peace. We met more spirits, but I pretended she could not see them so they were all nice. When we reached the shore, Jase asked Carol a question: “Why were you trying to go to New York anyway?” 

Carol

“I just wanted to see my family one last time before they moved to Mexico. They were planning to stay in New York and move to Mexico,” I said.

Shy put her hand on my shoulder and said, “We need to go to find a spot to wait for the paradox to start.” We ended up staying at Shy’s aunt’s house. The building was a sweet pink color, unlike the woman inside.

“Shy. That’s you, I reckon, and I don’t reckon you’re wise to come back here,” she said. 

Jase

There are some things wrong with being a spirit: 1. You can’t fly. 2. You can’t see or walk through walls. 3. You can’t haunt dreams (well, not really). What I would want to do is haunt this woman’s dreams until she was nicer to shy. All through dinner she yelled at Shy about all the ways Shy’s mom’s (her sister’s) death was Shy’s fault.

Shy 

My name is Shy and I have a secret. I love Carol and I think she loves me back. But being in love with her would be weird. What I mean is that we can’t go of being girlfriend and girlfriend because she is dead. But I also have to tell Jase that I do not like him. In fact, I would have liked it better if we had needed a different spirit for the life ritual. I would have been a lot happier. Sometimes I will need to go up to Carol and say that I love her, but what if she doesn’t like me. What if she doesn’t like all the weird things about me, like how I could not bring my mom back or how I ran away and stole from people just so I would not have to stay with my dad or that I hate boys. I just hope she loves me.  

Carol

Once we leave the house I begin to worry. I want to ask where we are going and why we can’t do this at home. All these thoughts are starting to drive me crazy when I see Shy looking at a note:

“←↑→↓↤↔↕→→↓↔→↕↑↔↓→↔↑↓↓←→↕↔←↕↑↓↦↔↝↜↔↕↑←↖”

“These are the steps to use the paradox,” she says, “and I have to memorize them.” That night we stay at a crappy motel. Shy has the room above me and I can hear her thumping around doing the steps on the note.

Jase

I have to share a room with carol, the girl who says that she knows why Shy gets her own room, but won’t tell me why. The next morning we meet in the parking lot and Shy says “we meet at the graveyard at midnight,” and then she leaves to go get the ritual ready. We meet her at the graveyard. Carol holds my hand. Shy stands it front of an altar made of sticks and she has also drawn a circle with shapes inside of it. Shy looks at me and starts to chant.

Shy

Carol and Jase are standing back to back inside the circle (perfect). I begin to dance around the circle. The steps imprinted in my brain: ←↑→↓↤↔↕→→↓↔→↕↑↔↓→↔↑↓↓←→↕↔←↕↑↓↦↔↝↜↔↕↑←↖

“Come on, come on,” I mutter. I dance and dance until the circle starts to glow.

“Wait,” cries Carol, “I don’t want to go back.”

“But I do,” says Jase.

“Step out of the circle if you want to live,” I yell. Jase steps out, but for some reason I step in. Then a bright light comes and illuminates the sky.

“Goodbye, Jase,” I say and I take Carol’s hand and say, “sorry, Jase,” and together the two of us walk into the sky.

Sky (Epilogue)

Carol and I are happy as we are dead and we check on Jase once a month. I know he misses me but I would never be happy in the living world. Carol and I went to find the blonde I tossed off that boat twelve years ago. Carol and I have been married for two years and Jase has been doing fine. One day, Carol and I take a walk when I see a spirit that looks exactly like m, every feature pure white.

“Mom,” I say.

Two years later we adopt a child. We name her Angel and that is how we spend forever.


Lost in the Forest

One day, I started a backpacking trip with my sister and two of her friends. I was stuck with them for the rest of the week. I’m fine with my sister’s friends, but my sister? No thank you. She takes any chance she gets to insult my brown hair and tall appearance. The date was July 23, 2019. It was 7:15, and I could see only the last speck of sun. I found a perfect spot to set up the tent because it was already getting dark, but my sister wanted to keep hiking and find the site that we had planned to set camp at.

“You are so stupid!” I exclaimed, “I am not hiking in the dark, Allison!”

She snapped back. “It won’t be my fault if you die all alone, Amilia.” Although I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

I stayed where I was and set up my tent, but my sister and her friends kept going. I felt unsure about staying where I was alone, not knowing how far my sister would be, but I felt more unsure about hiking through the forest in the dark. All I needed to do was to wake up early and find my sister before she left the site, but what if she goes off trail or leaves before I get there? Or what if I’m farther than I thought? As you can tell, I tossed and turned the whole night. In fact, I could only sleep for about 3 hours. 

I woke up a couple minutes ago, and I was already regretting my sleep. It started raining just now, and if I woke up earlier, I would have probably gotten to the site before the rain. I am so stupid. Without another hesitation, I grabbed my poncho and started speed walking along the trail, soaking in my regret and self pity. 

All of a sudden, I stopped in my tracks. There was a fork in the trail. That’s when I realized I didn’t have the map. Though I had held it for the entirety of our first day on the trail, I didn’t remember which way to go. I went with my instinct and went to the path on the left. I was walking for what felt like hours, though it could have just been minutes since I chose the path. I just kept on walking until I was half starved, but I couldn’t stop there, I had to keep walking. I walked and walked until I reached an empty campground, and thought, I must have reached the campground. Allison must have left, but I can eat here!

 I knew which path to take from the campsite. I wasn’t that unfamiliar with the path. I sat down and took out a bar from my backpack and started eating. It tasted so good because I had been walking for 4 hours according to my watch, and I started at 9. After the bar, I took out my trail mix because Allison had all of our real food. After eating, I stood up and started to walk again, this time, faster, because I knew that I didn’t have much farther to walk. 

I walked with intensity, no matter how tired I felt for another two hours before another thought came into mind, what if that was the wrong campsite, and I had really gone the wrong way? I still walked for another three hours until the sun started to set. I had truly given up now. The rain was dripping off of every tree in sight. Everything was soaked. I was terrified, and I realized that I had gone the wrong way. I turned around and walked and walked. There was no space on the trail to set up a tent now, so I had to walk the dark with my flashlight in hand doing exactly what I told my sister I wouldn’t do.

“Hello?!” I screamed, “Anyone there!?”

I was only answered by the sound of rain hitting the leaves and insects living their lives. I walked for another four or so hours before realizing the sun was rising, and I still probably had a long walk to go before even reaching the campsite. My legs felt like if I took another step they would snap, my stomach felt emptier than Hawkins lab, and my giant purple water bottle was emptier that my stomach! Despite how I felt, I kept walking, 

“Allison?” I yelled, “Help me! Help!”

I walked for what felt like weeks before I reached the campsite. By then, my lightheadedness reached a maximum, so I got out my sleeping bag and went to sleep. When I woke up, my lightheadedness had gotten better, but I was dehydrated to a point when I thought my body couldn’t take it anymore. I had one day left before my body would die of dehydration. I needed water. I sat there feeling the rain on my head… the rain! 

It’s water, so I can drink it… Right? It was my only option, so I had to try it. I sat there watching the rain drizzling into the bottle. One fifth of the way full, one fourth, one half, my throat was hurting more and more to a point where I couldn’t take it. At one point, I gave up waiting, snatched up the water bottle and drank. I knew I couldn’t waste time anymore, so I stood up and kept walking.

My legs hurt at every step even though I had rested, but I needed to get home. I walked and walked for another 2 hours until I couldn’t take the pain anymore. I sat down on the trail, drinking the last bit of water out of my water bottle. My eyelids felt like they were 20 pounds, and I sat there for another five minutes going between being awake and asleep. All of a sudden, I couldn’t take it anymore and just took out my sleeping bag and fell asleep. 

I woke up in my bedroom feeling better than ever and I just stood up and went on with my normal life until I felt dripping on my forehead. 

“Mom, the roof is leaking!” I yelled

That’s when I really opened my eyes, and I was still stuck in the forest with water dripping down on me. I sat up and my back ached with pain, and I cried, I cried for hours. I then realized that I couldn’t just sit there. I had to go. My water bottle was still empty, but I kept walking and walking for hours and hours. It was six o’clock when I finally sat down to eat for the first time in two days. The food tasted better than heaven. I ate and I ate until the bag of beef jerky was all gone. After I had eaten the jerky, I was still not ready to walk, but I needed to. My pace going back to the fork in the road was way slower than my pace a few days ago. I was walking much slower than before. Despite everything, I kept walking. 

I walked until 4 in the morning, and I collapsed. I was next to a stream and filled my water bottle, made a fire, and boiled the water. I took out my sleeping bag and went to sleep. My brown hair looked like pom poms stuck on my head. I slept for hours and hours until I woke to the sound of chirping birds. When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital bed and the birds chirping were actually the beeping of machines. I heard voices. It was the sound of my mother telling the doctors that Allison found me by a stream. What? 

“Oh you’re finally awake, I thought you wouldn’t…” She couldn’t say more.

This is a dream, this is a dream, “This is a dream, this is a dream, THIS IS A DREAM!”

I fought my mother as she tried to hold me on the hospital bed, so I couldn’t get up.

“NO! THIS ISN’T REAL!” I screamed. “WHERE AM I? HOW DID I GET HERE? WHERE IS ALLISON?”

“Wait a second, I’m going to call dad.”

“Hello?” says my dad’s voice, I can see him on my mom’s phone screen. I can also hear a noise in the background, a crying sound.

“She woke up, Burt.”

“Great! Alison and I were just having a chat.”

“What chat?” I asked, trying to sit up

“Lie down Teresa, it’s nothing,” replied my mom.

I watched her screen turn black as she hung up, then my eyes closed, and I fell into a deep sleep.


A Bad Month to be a Turkey

It is generally accepted, not as a problem, but as a fact, that mankind is willing to harm others, who are less powerful than they are for their own selfish desires. Hans the Turkey learned this the hard way when November rolled around. Hans was the son of Peter, a very old turkey who spent nearly all of his time hidden from the farmer, napping, and Barbara, an old, but feisty turkey. 

He and his friends had been living on Fred Ballnaz’s farm for several months before Thanksgiving preparation began.

The fat man must really love animals. After all, he lets us live on his farm without doing any work, Hans thought one day.

Just like the other turkeys, Hans had been feeling festive and truly thankful that he lived on Farmer Ballnaz’s farm, without a care in the world. Then, through the open window, he heard Farmer Ballnaz’s wife, Vivian, having a conversation with her friend Ethel on the telephone. She was sitting in her kitchen, chatting merrilly. The window was open, because Vivian wanted to get some fresh air, so Hans heard every word she said.

“Yes, Ethel, I have very little work to do for Thanksgiving dinner now. The mashed potatoes are all ready, and the stuffing is too. I have prepared the gravy and the corn and cranberry sauce and I’m sure it will all taste wonderful!”

A pause.

“Yes, Ethel, of course we’ll have turkey!” 

Hans gasped. Had he heard wrong? Surely he would not be eaten. He would not. He could not. He was not food, food that would be served on a plate, food that would be eaten. He ate food. How could you eat food, yet also be food?

“Fred will kill the turkeys tomorrow, and he must kill all of them, because we are having so many guests.”

All of them. All of his friends. His sister. His brothers. His parents. Everyone. Everyone he cared about, served on a plate.

Hans needed to hear no more. He silently walked back to a sunny area on the farm where lots of turkeys were talking about how thankful they were that Farmer Ballnaz was so generous.

Hans decided not to spoil their happiness. He sank to the ground and buried his face in his feathers. He could save them, he knew, if only he worked hard enough.

And suddenly, he got a brilliant idea.

***

When Farmer Ballnaz sat down for dinner that evening, he was very hungry, and very tired. It had been a long, hard day. He had chopped wood, milked the cow, picked apples, plowed the field, fed and watered all of the animals, and shoveled manure. The next day would not be any easier. He would have to milk the cow, kill the turkeys, feed and water the animals, pick beans, shovel manure, and help Vivian cook. He sank into his chair.

Hans had his plan ready. He would pull out the farmer’s chair just before he sat on it. Farmer Ballnaz would wind up on the floor. Hans would then call out, “This man is a fool. A fool. A foolish fool,” in human language. While doing this, he would be recording a video of what was happening to the farmer. He would release it to social media, and by morning, Farmer Ballnaz would be ashamed to step out of his house. Hans was all ready. He had even stolen the farmer’s camera.

This is what actually happened: 

Hans took out the camera and, not knowing how to operate a camera, or how to take a video, took a picture. He dropped the camera, smashing the lens, and, not knowing that the camera was broken, that he had taken a picture and not a video, and that Farmer Ballnaz had already sat down, he pulled on the chair. Of course, a turkey is not strong enough to move a large chair with the weight of a human on it, so Hans was groaning and wheezing as he tried to pull the chair. As he did this, Hans tried to cry, “This man is a fool. A fool! A foolish fool!” But Hans had forgotten something very important while making his plan: He could not speak human language. So it sounded more like this: “Bok bok bok bok! Bok bok bok! Bok bok bok bok!”

Farmer Ballnaz looked down at Hans. Hans was large for a turkey, and Farmer Ballnaz was short and fat, but his eyes made Hans feel like he was steadily shrinking. 

“Damn turkey!” bellowed Farmer Ballnaz. He took off his belt. Before Hans knew what was happening, the harsh leather of the belt was cutting through his feathers and stinging his skin.  Hans’s squawk of agony never left his body. He was too shocked. He knew that Farmer Ballnaz was going to kill him, but he had never been hurt like this. He limped out of the house and out to the field. It was already dark out, but some turkeys were still there. Turkeys who would not survive a holiday that was meant for giving thanks. 

Hans lay down and wept.

                                                                            ***

Farmer Ballnaz could not believe what had just happened. Never before in the farm’s 54 – year history had one of his turkeys gotten a whipping from him. His turkeys had never gone in his house, handled (or broken) his camera, or attempted to drag a chair. Could he have imagined this? No, that was not possible. He was not wearing his belt. If he had imagined whipping Hans, he would still be wearing it. Farmer Ballnaz could not manage to feel remorse, though. For when he was just a little boy, he had been taught that animals were inferior to humans, and therefore still believed it. Eating was what the turkeys were for, wasn’t it? It wasn’t his fault that animals were for eating. He should eat them. If he didn’t, he would be ignoring the fact that humans should eat animals. He should do whatever was necessary in order to acknowledge that animals are for eating. Even it meant spanking a turkey.

Vivian sat on a comfortable armchair, reading a book. She couldn’t concentrate on the book, though, not after what had just happened. She didn’t know how to think about what just happened. A turkey being spanked by her husband was a lot to think about. She was slightly less dazed than her husband was, but what she really thinking about was that her husband had cursed. He hardly ever said God’s name in vain, and him swearing about a turkey’s bad behavior was so unlike him. She couldn’t imagine how he was feeling now, but she decided that she could ask him later.

Maybe never.

Hans himself was in misery too deep to describe. I certainly hope that you never feel as miserable as Hans was at that moment, but being a living creature, you probably will. (Unless, of course, you’re a vegetable or mineral, in which case you will probably never feel Hans’s misery. Of course, if you actually are a vegetable or mineral, you probably aren’t reading this story right now, but that’s beyond the point.) Hans needed to save the turkeys from a terrible fate. He needed to save his friends from being murdered when they were supposed to give thanks. He needed to. He needed to. 

And suddenly, Hans got another great idea.

***

It looked as if someone had painted the world black, but Hans the turkey just kept going. He couldn’t stop now; he couldn’t get scared. The farmer was asleep. It sounded as if the whole world was asleep, and Hans was very sleepy himself, but he did not want to sleep forever, and that is what would happen if his plan did not work.

He approached Farmer Ballnaz’s house. After taking a spanking from the farmer, the house seemed larger and more intimidating, but Hans could not stop now. Not if he didn’t want to spend Thanksgiving on a silver platter.

Hans looked at a window. Well, he didn’t really look at the window. He looked through the window. Turkeys cannot see glass, so he didn’t know that there even was a window.

I’ll just run through the hole in the house, he thought.

Hans gave a mighty leap and propelled himself towards the window. He crashed through the window. Shards of glass attached themselves to his body. Hans felt agony wrapping itself around his body, like a python suffocating its prey. His blood poured all over the violet carpet. He tried not to faint. His pain was so strong that he almost forgot why he had leaped through the window in the first place. Then he remembered: He needed to save himself and his fellow turkeys. He needed to execute his plan. 

Hans crept silently across the hall, opening and closing doors. He stomped out of each room, however, bitterly disappointed.  At last, he came to a room that he walked into, grinning despite his pain. 

At last, I have found it, he thought. The fat man’s gun rack.

The gun rack of Fred Ballnaz had very few residents. In fact, his gun rack had only one gun on it. Hans stared at it, smiling madly. Once he had the gun, he would destroy it. Then no turkeys would be killed just for dinner ever again.

Hans grabbed the gun and raced through the hallway. He decided to jump through the window that he had broken last ti-

Bang.

A bullet darted right past Hans and hit one of his feathers, which fell onto the floor. The bullet kept going and eventually hit a leg on a large oaken chair. Terrified, Hans turned around to see who had shot. He was amazed to see Vivian, standing several feet behind him, holding a gun.

“Oh,” she said when she saw Hans. “I thought a burglar had gotten in. I guess not. I won’t need this, then.” She threw her gun to the floor. 

“I really shouldn’t tell Fred. I don’t want to worry him. Of course, he’ll notice when his gun is gone.”

Vivian approached Hans, grabbed the gun, and walked off to put the farmer’s gun back in the gun rack.

Hans could not believe what had just happened. He had been horribly injured by destroying a glass window by jumping through it. He had a feather blasted off by a gun. He had almost been shot. He had been spanked with a belt. And why? Just so that he would be eaten on Thanksgiving day.

Depressed, Hans slunked back to the field and wept.

                                                                           ***

Hans awoke that morning before the last star had vanished and looked around. He had spent the night sleeping in the field while the other turkeys slept in a chicken coop that chickens had not lived in for years.

Just like they always had.

Always. Could anything always happen? He had always been treated kindly by Farmer Ballnaz, before Thanksgiving preparation began.

Always. His plans had always failed, but before they had failed, he had always thought that they wouldn’t.

Hans formed an idea in his mind that wasn’t too extravagant, but might, just might, work.

Hans dashed to the chicken (turkey) coop and awoke Peter from a deep sleep.

“Oh, father, I need something heavy, but not too heavy, not too big, and not noticeable.”

“Why, son, why?”

Hans did not want to tell his father that he was saving himself and everyone else from murder.

“I’ll tell you as soon as I can. First, I need a heavy thing.”

Peter flicked a ball of straw that had been in the chicken coop for no apparent reason since the farm had been owned by Farmer Ballnaz. Hans grabbed it and ran towards the house. This time he ran quickly, fearlessly, lest he be frightened away by the memories of pain and terror.

Hans jumped through the hole in the window, too quickly to consider what he was doing and be scared away.

He silently crept into Farmer Ballnaz’s bedroom and quietly pulled open the farmer’s dresser drawer and found where the shirts were kept. He put the straw ball in the right sleeve of one of the shirts. He then ran to the kitchen and hid in one of the cabinets, hardly daring to breathe.

Soon enough, Farmer Ballnaz came downstairs and poured a drink of whiskey. He poured more than he intended to, due to the weight on his sleeve, but he didn’t notice. He then turned on the TV to the sports channel and began to watch a soccer game. Whenever an athlete got close to scoring a goal, he would stare at the TV, seeming oblivious to anything else, Hans noticed. When one athlete grew very close to scoring, Hans crept out of the cabinet and, very silently, poured over the cup, spilling whiskey everywhere. The fat farmer did not notice until the goal had been scored. After that happened, he did notice, and without even cleaning up the alcohol, he poured more whiskey. But again, due to the fact that there was extra weight on his sleeve, he poured more than he intended to. 

And so it went. By the third glass or so, Farmer Ballnaz looked a bit odd.

By the fifth glass or so, Vivian came downstairs.

By the  seventh glass or so, Vivian noticed that Farmer Ballnaz looked a bit odd.

“Dear, I think you’re having a bit too much whiskey,’’ said Vivian.

“I guess… ” murmured Farmer Ballnaz. 

“I think you better go back to bed until you’re sober,” said Vivian.

“I guess… ” murmured Farmer Ballnaz.

As Farmer Ballnaz dragged himself to bed, Vivian left to shop for marinades.

Marinades that the turkeys would have been cooked with.

Marinades that they would have been cooked with if it wasn’t for Hans.

                                                                      ***

When Hans returned to the chicken (turkey) coop, he considered that he would not have gotten Farmer Ballnaz drunk if his father had not helped him. He had not received help from anyone in his failed attempts to save the turkeys. Maybe getting help once in a while was a good thing. As soon as he got back to the chicken (turkey) coop, He made an announcement. 

“Friends, turkeys, coop mates, lend me your ears.”

“Say what?” said one of the turkeys. Hans ignored him.

“We are not safe on this comfortable farm. Farmer Ballnaz has a desire to kill us for food.          We must flee.”

The turkeys squaked and flailed in surprise.

“He’s batty!” cried one.

“He’s wild!” cried another.

“He’s out of his mind!” cried a third.

“He is not!” cried Peter. “My son knows perfectly well what he’s talking about. Explain it to them, Hans.”

And Hans did. As he discussed what had he had heard through the window, the turkeys began to tremble with fear. When they heard of how Hans had been spanked with a belt, the little ones began to cry. And when they heard of the gun rack, the turkeys needed no more convincing.

“Let’s go!” cried one of the turkeys.

And so they left the horrible farm.

As Hans watched the farm seem smaller and smaller, he smiled. Maybe November was a bad month to be a turkey, but they had survived.

The end


Lost

One time a family went to the Big Apple Circus. The oldest was a girl. She was thirteen. The youngest was a boy who was nine turning ten. It was the middle of January. And it was ten degrees outside. So the show started. There were a lot of “oh”s and “oo”s from the crowd. So then the show was over and everybody started to leave, but then the girl and boy had to go to the bathroom but they realized their parents weren’t there. But they were super calm. So they quickly went to the bathroom, then went outside to see if their parents were there. But they weren’t. So they went to see if there was a security guard or police officers and there were a few police officers.

So they went to one of them and asked the police, “Can you help us find our parents?”

And the Police said, “What are your parents’ phone numbers?” The kids told the police their parents’ phone numbers and the police called their parents’ phone numbers and they both answered, but they were talking oddly. So they finished talking and the kids told the police that their parents were talking very oddly. So the police said, “Did they tell you where they are?”

“They said something about the dump.”

They said, “Oh no.”

And the kids said, “What?”

And the police said, “Go home. If anything happens, call 911. We gotta go. Don’t talk to anyone even if it’s someone you know. Also, lock the doors, close the windows, and shut the shades. Don’t answer the door even if it’s us and we’ll tell you when. And don’t make any noise at all. And we will tell you when you can let us in and we will ring the doorbell four times and then you can let us in. We better get going, see you later.”

Their parents snuck up behind them and said, “Boo.”

Then they both woke up to the smell of pancakes.

The End


The Corrupted Candyland

Part One: Before

Chapter One                                            

“We must leave Candyport!” The president said on the TV. “The broccoli monsters have been roaming for almost a decade, and gummy bear dust has been blinding us for five months. We simply cannot survive these conditions, and if we do survive, a supernova will kill us instantly. If someone really wants to stay, then fine. However, I do not recommend staying.”

Basically all the citizens of Candyport agreed with the president, except for two people, who happened to be, unfortunately, my parents, Jane and Michael Buttercup. They were literally addicted to candy; they had to eat at least twelve packs of gummy bears or Skittles every week, or they would have diarrhea for the rest of their lives. Somehow I got lucky and I didn’t get addicted to candy. My mom and dad also wanted to stay because “we’ve never lived anywhere outside the planet,” or “I’ve never even been on an airplane. I could be nauseous and barf the rest of my life with diarrhea,” or “the President said it was our choice to go. We’re choosing not to go.”

So, in other words, my parents didn’t want to go, didn’t have to go, and didn’t go.

But it was also my choice if I would go or not. I wasn’t required to stay with my parents, since now that I was thirteen, I was no longer a minor. That’s how it worked in Candyport. Anyway, conditions were terrible on my home planet. Ninety-foot tall broccoli monsters were killing people with just swats of their deadly florettes, and they were stomping over our beautiful, scenic, prized candy mountains, creating candy dust storms that blocked out the sun, which made it even harder to predict when the sun would turn into a supernova! Ugh!

One day, I met up with my best friend Vera.

“My parents are so annoying,” I complained. “They refuse to leave. That’s fine with me, but I want to leave, and they want me to stay! They treat me like I’m still a baby.”

“Well, maybe my mom could talk with your mom. You could board the spaceship with us. Oh! Gummy bear incoming! Duck, Emily!” Vera says.

“Thank you so much!” I say, as the gummy bear lands harmlessly behind us.

Later at dinner I bring up our conversation with my mom. “Oh, yes. Vera’s mom called me. I’ll have to think it over. You know, I will worry about you. I can’t just leave you with someone.” 

“But Vera and her mom aren’t just someone! We know them!” I protest. My mother just stares at me with that penetrating glance that makes you shut up.

The next day, my mom tells me that yes, I can go with Vera and her mom.

“Thanks for letting me go, Mom. I know that was a hard decision for you and Dad to make.” I hug her.

“When are you leaving, sweetie?” she asks me.

“In three days. Thursday afternoon.”

The days flew by. I mostly spent them eating (considering that not a lot of good food would be available on the spaceship), reading, staying at home (since the candy storms were getting even worse, it was a good thing that I was leaving the planet soon), sleeping, and worrying that the flight would be delayed, or even canceled.

Well, the flight was delayed. Not even the President knows how long we will have to wait. I think that we should just go. Conditions are steadily getting worse and today’s part of the storm will be better than next week’s part of the storm. I sigh, and turn on the TV.

“Breaking news!” A news reporter appears on the screen. “President Gumstein has a message for us. This is him live!”

“I announce that the Escaper Express will start boarding at exactly 5:15 am tomorrow, and will take off at exactly 6:00 am tomorrow. The Escaper Express II will start boarding at exactly 6:15 AM tomorrow and will take off at exactly 7:00 AM tomorrow. This will go on and on until two weeks have passed. In total, there will be three hundred thirty-six Escaper Expresses, if the plan succeeds. Each Escaper Express will have enough room for eight thousand, nine hundred and thirty people, perfectly fitting Candyport’s population of approximately three million people. Each spaceship will be equipped with a high-tech machine that provides infinite food. It has not been 100% approved, more like 98% approved. Our time here is short, as we all know, so we must make do with what we have. That’s it. I know that was a lot of information coming at you, so I will repeat myself…”

I jump up. “Oh my molasses! Dad, did you hear that? I’m leaving in two weeks!”

“Yes, sweetie,” he says. “Stay strong, Emma. I love you.”

That night, I call Vera. “Which Escape Express are our tickets for?” I ask.

“One sec,” she says. I hear some rummaging. “Escape Express XXXVII. Next Monday, starts boarding at 6:15 PM, takes off at 7:00 PM,” Vera reports.

“Well, it could be worse,” I say. “See you Monday!”

I go to the living room. “Hey, Mom. I’m leaving tomorrow evening.”

“Okay, Emmie.” She hasn’t called me that since I was eight. But I have a feeling she just wants to spend time with me. So I let her be thirty-three, pretend I’m still six, and just spend time with her baby, taking in my smell, how I look, everything about me, for the last time.


Chapter Two

Monday afternoon comes all too soon. I hug my parents goodbye and head to the square with a single suitcase of clothes and books, Vera, and her mom. President Gumstein wasn’t kidding—there are probably almost nine thousand people here, and the Escaper Express XXXVII is huge, it barely fits in the main square. And our main square is gigantic, like, two square miles gigantic. I look at the spaceship in awe. The front has a huge, round window surrounded by smaller windows on the circumference of the round window, and the rest of the spaceship is covered in a thick layer of square glass panels that seem unbreakable; I sure hope they are! Suddenly I spot President Gumstein himself!

He shouts into his megaphone, “Okay, everyone! Quiet down!” A hush falls over the crowd. “This is the Escaper Express XXXVII! Not the Escaper Express XXXVI or the Escaper Express XXXVIII! Check your tickets. Okay, everyone’s good? Great. Now, divide yourself into twenty-six sections. Each of your tickets has a letter of the alphabet. Section A to my right, your left. Section B to my left; you’re right of Section A…”

“Looks like we’re Section H,” Vera’s mom says. We walk to Section H. There were still around three hundred fifty people in each group, now I understand why the spaceship had to be so big. It appears that there are twenty-six doors (one for each group, I presume). The president lets each group board the Escaper Express one by one. It’s a good thing that H is towards the beginning of the alphabet, because even just standing outside for fifteen minutes, plus waiting to board in the square, is grueling. One minute, it’s cold, another minute hot. One minute the air is clean, the next minute fruit tape starts to bounce off people’s heads.

Finally, President Gumstein calls Section H to board. I take my last look at the city where I was born, with its oceans of blue raspberry Airheads, its dark chocolate soil, and its trees of rainbow Fruit Roll-Up leaves. I take probably my last deep breath of fresh clean air with the scent of candy. There is no going back now. I step onto the spacecrafts. Yes, plural spacecrafts—one the physical, one the spacecraft of emotions I am feeling. And finally the spacecraft of possibilities that was awaiting me on the other side of the door.


Part Two: The First Weeks

Chapter Three

The first week is definitely rough. I’m not used to so many people living in one place and every day I think about the stuff I left at my former home. For me it’s my bed. Of course all the Escaper Expresses have real beds, but they are never exactly the most comfortable since the planet’s United Council had to manufacture three million of them, plus sheets, blankets, pillows, pillowcases, mattresses, etc. And don’t forget all three hundred thirty-six Escaper Expresses. Enough of that.

When I wake up, I listen for the alarm clock, but it isn’t an alarm clock waking me up. It’s the Breakfast Bell, which always rings at exactly 7:00 AM. All twenty-six sections go to the Main Dining Hall, in the center of the spaceship, where there’s a huge buffet. Well, very occasionally I wake up to an alarm clock, waking up at around 5:00 AM if it’s my turn to help cook food for the day. But this rarely happens to me, since there are almost nine thousand people on one ship, and only about one hundred people needed to cook food. That seems like a lot, but when you think about it, one hundred is tiny compared to nine thousand.

I miss a lot of stuff from Candyport, but there’s still a lot of unique things that you can only experience on a spaceship, like zero gravity. It takes some getting used to, but since I got used to it, I can float and fly around with just a kick of my feet. Plus, you know that huge window surrounded by smaller windows that I talked about earlier? It’s called the Rotunda, and the view from it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I can see the stars, and galaxies, and it feels like I am a mere grain of sand in the dense, endless ocean.

Once, I think I see a supernova in the distance, millions of light years away. It is shades of blue and violet and there are some splashes of yellow, and in the center there is a speck of white, but just for a second. I know it can’t be the supernova that will swallow up Candyport—it has been four days since we took off and Candyport is already fifty light years away—but for that short second, I feel a twinge of pain. I know my parents will be stranded, the only ones on my former home planet. Why didn’t I urge them to go with me? They were there when I was watching TV, and the president said there was an infinite food machine… they probably weren’t listening that closely, but still! They could have had infinite candy and not have diarrhea for the rest of their lives.

I forcefully push those thoughts out of my mind. If I think about my parents for too long, a balloon already inflated from living on a spacecraft (possibly eternally) will pop. And everything will come out.

The food is better than I expected. If you don’t think about the fact that it was made from a machine with who knows what, it tastes pretty decent. I guess in every hundred people, you’re bound to find a good cook. Every Friday, there is even pizza—but not like bad school lunch personal pizzas—real pizza. Sometimes for lunch there’s hamburgers with fries, or maybe a hot dog. For breakfast there is usually waffles or cereal. For some reason, 20% of the food produced by the machine is cereal. Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, every kind of sugary cereal you can think of. For dinner, it’s like lunch, but every once in a while the cooks throw in some pasta.


Chapter Four

Within a week I have mostly adjusted to living on a spaceship. And by mostly I mean, mostly. I still think about my parents every once in a while, but I’ve gotten better at ignoring my thoughts. A little part of me tells me that it’s wrong, but I ignore that too. Also, about every other day I just get a little nauseous. It isn’t too unpleasant—I don’t barf—but it’s just a little unexpected. Like, one moment, it’s been two days since the last time I got nauseous, and I think I’m no longer in the nausea phase. The next moment, I get dizzy.

One day I’m in the Rotunda, just looking out. And Vera comes. We silently talk to each other. And we just hug. I know it sounds kind of stupid, but we just know what each other is thinking. We stare at the stars. And we stay there for fifteen minutes, just thinking about everything, about our old life, and Vera’s dad (his brother murdered him, only three people know it), and my parents. And when our next cooking shift will be, and trying to picture Candyport when the Escaper Express XXXVII blasted off. Were Candyport’s rings turquoise or lavender? Oh, right, they were turquoise with indigo speckles. What color was the planet? Red or gold? Oh right, it was a rainbow…so pretty. My dad had glasses, wait no he had contacts. I can’t remember… isn’t living on a spaceship for a long time bad for your brain? And the radiation is ten times stronger than on Candyport, right? I should have stayed… no I shouldn’t have. I’ll live longer on the Escaper Express…or will I?

Every once in a while, someone gets called to the Candyport Connections Room. If you get called, it’s usually not a good thing. I’ve seen people come out of there, red faced, puffy eyed and teary. The CCR will probably only be in use until the Escaper Express CCCXXXVI blasts off, unless there’s an urgent message from someone staying on Candyport, like my parents. Then it will be converted to a museum dedicated to the future generations of Candyport, so they can learn about their ancestors’ home planet.


Chapter Five

When I was a kid, I thought Candyport was perfect. When a candy storm happened, I thought it was a blessing from the candy gods. When I played Candyland, I thought that it actually was just a small country in Candyport.

When I was a kid, more importantly, I heard fairy tales. I had no idea what a fairy was, or why people called these tales “fairy” tales. One fairy tale Vera and I heard was called “A Planet Called Earth.” It was about this fascinating planet with blue oceans, green and brown continents, flashing lights, and no rings! Plus, the humans of Earth didn’t have any natural candy landforms, and had to make candy in factories! Imagine that! Crazy stuff! There were strange creatures called “animals,” who were every other living thing besides the humans. Whoever came up with that fairy tale certainly had a crazy imagination. The humans of Earth were so big-headed, and all they were doing was just destroying their planet little by little. Amazing to think that the people of Candyport and the people of Earth were the same species. We were beyond being from different planets. It was like we were from different universes.


Part Three: Miracles

Chapter Six

It’s a typical day on the spaceship when I hear the announcement: “Emma Buttercup, Section H, please report to the Candyport Connections Room immediately.” What? Did they just say my name? Or did I hear that wrong? 

“I repeat, Emma Buttercup, from Section H, please report to the Candyport Connections Room. You have a message.” The announcer says calmly and clearly, as if I wasn’t just about to explode into sadness.

I take a deep breath, and walk to the Candyport Connections Room.

“Hello, Emma. I am Diana.” A middle-aged woman greets me as I enter the CCR. “I know you are very concerned, and you have reason to be. Here, listen to the message.” She hands me a phone, and I take it with trembling hands, and hold it up to my ear, terrified of what I’m about to hear. My chest gets tight.

“Emma Butterworth, I regret to say that your candy addicted parents almost escaped death; they boarded the Escaper Express CCCXXXVI, but there was a malfunction with the spacecraft during blastoff that we can’t fix ourselves. If it hadn’t been the last Escaper Express, then we could have gotten help. Unfortunately, the Escaper Express CCCXXXV was long gone. I’m sorry, Emily. I’m calling you as the ship commander of the Escaper Express CCCXXXVII. Goodbye.”

Static. 336 will forever be my unlucky number. A tear falls down my cheek and splatters on the checkered tile of the CCR. I sob. Why did I leave them behind? Why did I ignore the bad feeling in my gut? Why? I knew they were going to die soon. Why did this hit me so unexpectedly? I run back to Section H, back to my bunk, with my head in my hands, and just cry.

My balloon has popped.

I wake up the next day with a spongy pillow and a groggy head. How long did I sleep? I look at my watch. It says 8:47 AM, Monday, December 4th, 1173. I try to do the math. “So I fell asleep after lunch on Sunday, and slept through dinner. Breakfast is ending around now…wow.”

The first thing I need to do is get a new pillow and pillowcase. My current ones are tear soaked. I throw them into the huge hamper outside my dorm. Next, get some food. I’m starving! I go down to the Dining Hall and put a muffin and some eggs into a napkin.

When I come back to the dorm, everyone’s come back up from breakfast.

“You okay?” Vera says.

“Not really,” I admit.

“My parents boarded the last Escaper Express, but something went wrong with the spaceship and everyone died, including them.” 

Vera puts a hand on my shoulder. “You’re handling it better than I did when my dad died.” She gives me a knowing glance. I nod. 


Chapter Seven

I go to the Rotunda. I look at the stars and galaxies. Happiness used to be mine for over a decade. I thought it would stay mine. Now I’m not so sure.

But when I look through the Rotunda, see space, all my thoughts disappear. Even as my life changes, the view is always the same. It’s comforting knowing that even when major things happen, some things have to stay the same.

Life goes on. The spaceship goes on. The food machine goes on.

But I am starting to feel homesick. Not necessarily for Candyport, but just for a home somewhere, to stay in one place and just be there. But every single day is the same here. It should be comforting, but I seek variety in my days now. “I don’t want to live on a spaceship. I—”

Vera interrupts me. “I know it’s hard, Emma. But you have to push through. You can’t let the death of your parents eat you up. I hate to be so candid, but either way you probably wouldn’t have seen your parents for the rest of your life. So I know it’ll be hard, but once you’re done grieving, you have to move along. Or else you’ll feel like this for your entire life. Think about that.”

This is one of the reasons why I love and hate Vera. She sometimes has to be frank to get to me. I know I need it sometimes, but I hate that I’m not strong enough to push through, to banish the bad thoughts from my head.

Vera continues her speech. “I know what you’re thinking, Emma. But this is what friends are for. This is why destiny chose us to be friends. This is why. So don’t worry. We have each other.”


Ten years later…

Part Four: Blue Marble

Chapter Eight

The year is 1183. I turned twenty-three two months ago. I have finally gotten over the deaths of my parents. I am looking through the Rotunda with Vera, something we’ve done every Saturday since we boarded the Escaper Express. Suddenly, I see a cool-looking blue planet. It has little greenish brown patches, and a bunch of beautiful white swirls. It looks different than any other planet I’ve seen. It looks…habitable. Other people think that too, I believe.

Suddenly, the loudspeaker cracks to life. “We are now approaching planet… um, unnamed. It appears that people want us to land on this planet. My data claims that the temperature and oxygen level is suitable for us humans. This Planet X is mostly uninhabited, so yes! Everyone, I am giving you five minutes to get to the dorms. Prepare for turbulence. We are going to land!’’ Everyone on board cheers, then rushes to their dorms.

Once Vera and I are in our bunks, I say, “I never thought we’d make it this far.”

“Yeah. Same.”

“Well, let’s get ready for landing.”

After landing…


Chapter Nine

“Welcome to Planet X, everyone. Please put your oxygen masks on. Though there is a suitable amount in the air, we just want to be cautious. Now, if you can just listen to my instructions. When exiting, Section Z will go first, followed by Y, X and so on. I will notify you when your Section exits,” the ship commander says.

Finally, Section H is called. When we go outside from the spacecraft, I at first laugh. 0.3% of the population of my (former) planet is walking around, astounded by a crazy, new world (to be fair, I was one of them) wearing black gas masks, peering around Planet X.

When everyone is off the ship, the ship commander takes a very forward-thinking looking radio out of his pocket and broadcasts all the other spaceships that we’ve landed on Planet X. Fortunately, since we’re Escaper Express XXXVII, there are only thirty-six ships ahead. And all of them have landed on Planet X, too. The remaining spaceships will try to find Planet X and land. For now we will try to communicate with the passengers of Escaper Expresses I-XXXVI to see where they are on this planet.

“Now it seems like we’re in a corner of a landmass. Pretty hot here, there is a blue mass of liquid close to us, and across from the liquid is another land mass.” This place is the Great Rift Valley of what is now Africa, near what is now Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, according to Google Maps. It is supposedly the cradle of humanity. 

“I know it’s very vague but sorry,” the ship commander says. Then suddenly I see a bunch of people out in the distance. I report to the commander. And eventually we all start trekking toward the other people, toward life and a new home and hope, with our few belongings and food on our backs. At least we don’t have to wear our hot gas masks anymore.

For about five hours, we walk to the mass of people in the sweltering heat. It is now clear that we are among fellow Candyport citizens.

“Hello!!!” We yell.

“Hello!!!” They yell.

Once we are united, we take a food break, and then decide to find shelter. Unfortunately, this part of Planet X is very dry and barren, except for desert shrubs that appear here and there. We decide that for the first day we will all set up camp under the shrubs and try to get some sleep. But then something very strange to us happens.


Chapter Ten

The entire world goes dark. No, I am not kidding. It’s crazy! No one expects it, and you know that bright thing in the sky that you only notice if you look for it that’s so ordinary (the sun)? Well Planet X’s sun slowly falls down in the water like a ball. And it changes the color of the sky until everything goes black! And it gets really cold too! It’s crazy, we worry the light won’t ever come back. We decide to go to sleep, and then we will plan things.

The next morning…

I wake up to a bright blue sky. Where am I? What is this shrub-like thing hovering above me? Suddenly, I remember yesterday’s events. We finally got off the spaceship, and we met up with our fellow Candyport citizens. Now, we must find the others. Also, we have to somehow get to our infinite food machines so that we have enough to feed everyone. That’s going to be hard. If we get lucky, then maybe an Escaper Express will land close to here. You see, when an Escaper Express lands, it can’t take off again, unless the fuel is completely recharged. While we wait for an Escaper Express to land, we eat a breakfast of energy bars, candy of course, and instant oatmeal.

At about noon, we see a giant spaceship shadowing the land we are living on. We all cheer for life and hope and love in a new place, the song of humanity. The spaceship lands, and the mass of people slowly exits the ship that is now basically a large piece of junk machinery but an hour ago carried 0.3% of an entire planet’s population across our universe.

Isn’t that amazing? Anything is possible. Even us humans living on Planet X (you probably know it as our currently own—but perhaps not original—planet, Earth!) have lived here almost a whole millenium (recall that in this story, at least, we landed in the year 1183 AD) or more depending on when you read this! It could mean that we were once strangers to our own planet(s), and not just to Earth. It could be anywhere, with anyone, anytime.


Footnotes:                                                  

This story was translated from Tamic (first human language) to Modern English in 2019.

I am not requesting the reader to believe anything in this story, including what they just read. But you are allowed to, because that’s what stories are for. A little something to brighten up your day, even if it’s not needed. Even if the title is cheesy. If you are living in a prison cell, or a mansion, it doesn’t matter. Because books are, and should be, for everyone. Because everyone sometimes needs a little enjoyment in their life. That is why I wrote this.

The End


Park Poems


Green Ribbon

The green strands

of pointy ribbon

tickle my feet

as me and my sister

run around 

playing tag.


Wooden Giants

Inspired by Isabella Ekstein

The wooden giants

with green hats

tower over me.

I grab an arm, 

and

pull myself up

slowly

arm to arm,

until I reach the very top

and I sit

on the giant’s arm

looking 

into the 

golden light

of 

early morning.

Seesaw

A Haiku

Seesaw, up and down.

Seesaw, slowly hits the ground.

Seesaw, lots of fun!


My Life in the Birchwood Forest

Prologue:

I don’t know why I was left here. All I know is that this is where my life began. Right here in Birchwood forest. I can remember how I woke up here, the sun shining down on my face when I was very small. I remember how I sat up and looked around, and it felt like everything around me was a fresh start. This was the only place I remembered. The only place I ever knew as home.


Chapter 1:

It all started the day I woke up in the Birchwood forest. I was all alone. At first I was scared. Scared of this strange new place. Scared of being alone. Scared of myself. But then I realized that if this is where Earth put me, where Earth wanted me to live a life like this one, then this is the life I have to live.

Ever since the day when I woke up here, I tell myself that this is home. I don’t have any other history behind that. Just that this is me, this is where I belong. I wasn’t living in luxury, alone in the forest. I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything other than leaves, which I carefully expected for any signs of insects. Eventually I thought I might starve. The only source of water I could reach was a stream, the tinkling sounds of rushing water musical relief to my ears. By my second year in the forest, I was only turning two, but, of course, I didn’t know that. I wouldn’t have learned how to tell time and the days and the weeks, and the months and the years, or if I would survive living here for as long as a decade or more. And I did. How? It’s all thanks to the deer.

Chapter 2:

If it hadn’t been the fate that the deer had found me, I probably wouldn’t have lasted another week. They had watched me for awhile and saw me abandoned. They came on my second birthday, and ever since then, they had been my family. They found me sobbing under one of the youngest birch trees, the leaves and twigs and grass not been a filling enough diet, and I didn’t think I would survive the next few days like this. I looked up and saw a deer standing over me, looking into my somber face. Then something strange happened. Something I thought no human would ever be able to do. The deer/. It spoke to me. Not the way animals do in fantasy stories-through my mind. It was like a voice was softly speaking to me through every cell in my body. I could feel it vibrating through my heart, my soul, my head, to the tips of my fingers and toes, and all throughout my body. I could make out what the voice was saying, now, as the deer drew closer. I know you’re afraid. I hiccuped a reply. I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t even have to. The words rushed out through my head, not through my mouth. Y-yes. I stuttered through my mind, my new way of speaking difficult at first. Yes I am.  

The vibrations bounced back to me with the deer’s response. You don’t have to be. And ever since that day, I was one of them. I was one of the deer. Raised by them and lived like them, and learned the ways of the deer. I later found out the name of the deer that found me alone. Sage. I loved that name. Just like the plant my mother used to cook with before she abandoned me. I miss the smell of that beautiful plant. And from that day forward, my name–was Twig. 

In this instance, I am reminded that I am loved and probably was, even before I was found by the deer. Maybe Poppa and Momma didn’t want to abandon me, all alone, in the forest years ago. Maybe it was for my own sake, I thought, chewing on my thumbnail, maybe I was in danger, or, someone was coming to take me away! No loving family could let that happen, that’s for sure.

 I resumed positive and tried to focus on learning how to crack open a charcoal nut, a special type of vegetation that grows in the forest. I dropped the nut down on the rocks by the stream and waited for it to hopefully split open and the creamy inside would pour out. Unfortunately, this didn’t work the first time.

 “Really?!” 

Sage gave me a look that clearly meant, “Be patient.”

 I had to try it five more times until I got it right. Learning in the forest was harder than I expected. Grass, bark, twigs, and berries were all a part of a deer’s diet. I had to learn to live like them, so that was what I had to eat, too. I delved into studying the ways of survival. Now knew what was edible and what wasn’t. Now that I knew how to survive here, I wasn’t afraid anymore.  However, I had always been afraid of what I am once I found out exactly what powers I have, but the deer helped me. This is what I mean: At the age of five, I discovered that I was a deer shapeshifter.

Chapter 3:

One day, when I was down at the stream washing my face, I spotted a fox den and noticed three pups. Where had their mother gone? (It had been obvious that their mother had gone in search of food.) I crawled carefully over to the den and peered inside. I gasped as I noticed that one of the pups wasn’t breathing and leaned in closer. The two other pups growled at me and slowly backed away. I hesitated to do so, but I scooped up the pup in my arms and pulled it closer to me to see what was wrong. There was blood everywhere.

  It had seemed that something had attacked the fox pup and somehow had gotten into the den. The pup was dead. I had heard a sound from somewhere in the distance. The trotting of paws. The mother fox was close by. I carefully set down the pup’s limp body. I quickly ducked out of the den, and prepared to run.  But, it had been too late. The fox was getting closer and closer, and broke into a run. I ran for my life, but I had never been that great at running. 

Suddenly, I felt a tingling sensation come over my body. I kept running and running, as the fox picked up speed. The more space I put between the fox and me, the better. But the tingling sensation reached the top of my head to the tips of my toes and all throughout my body. Then, I felt something on my skin, like snowflakes were landing on my arms and legs. My feet turned icy cold, and my hands, too. I looked back and saw the fox racing after me. I looked down at my feet and saw that they had been replaced with gleaming black hooves. I shrieked and looked at my hands to make sure nothing was going on there, but it wasn’t like anything else was going to make hooves on a human any less surprising. There were hooves on both my hands instead of human fingers. Then, I felt my body arch forward until I was running in the position of a dog (now that I think about it, like a deer). I felt big furry ears and antlers sprout up upon my head. This is where I had realized what was going on. I–was shapeshifting into the form of a deer. 

The fox really seemed to have a death wish for me! I thought, as the sweat dripped down my face.  Still in deer form, I was trotting away at such a speed that I felt as if I was flying. It was wonderful to be in deer form! A thought struck me then. I couldn’t let the fox chase me back to the herd! I would put all their lives in danger, and they won’t ever deserve that, not after saving my life. I flew myself around a turn and crouched low behind a huge rock. I thought I would surely be dead deer meat, and I really would be if I died as one. My heart had been pounding in my chest, and my legs shook as the fox drew nearer. I watched from the huge boulder as it sniffed the ground, trying to track my scent. Sweat dripped down my forehead, and the nerve racking thought of dying as something I only was once in my life and having my deer bones being crushed to bits kept floating back to mind. Eventually the fox gave up and stalked away, not happy with its loss of prey.

Well I certainly was. I let out the breath I was holding, which I didn’t realize I was, as I was hiding from the fox, worrying about whether or not I would be torn apart by fox jaws.

I walked back to the young birches that the herd lived in. What had just happened to me? I had thought.

  Later on I realized that maybe if I ripen this raw power, I’ll be able to shapeshift when I want, not only in a scary situation. I had thought. As I carved my skill for shapeshifting, I realized that if I practiced hard enough, I would be able to shift whenever I wanted to. I realized that when I was in danger with the fox that day, my shifting powers came because I needed saving. So, I practiced hard enough, every day, and soon was able to master the skill of shifting by the time I was nine years old.


Chapter 4:

Two years later…

 One night, on my eleventh birthday, I was up in one of the birch trees that I had carved my initials on, which meant “Twig has climbed this tree” and spotted a light– shining– from a little ways outside of the forest. Then, I spotted something miraculous. There was a garden in the front of the house with lettuce and tomatoes and all sorts of delicious foods for the deer and I thought that if I could reach the garden, I could bring back food for the herd and me to have. I jumped out of the tree and quietly crept over to where the garden was, and sneaked closer to the beautiful garden.  I thought I would be able to reach in and grab as many vegetables as I wanted to without being caught, but it was harder than it looked. As I drew nearer, I could see that there was a fence surrounding the garden. It was tall and spiky and it looked like it would be impossible for me to climb over it.

“Oh, honestly, this is to easy!” I smugly said to absolutely no one around me. I stood on my tiptoes and extended my fingers and arms in front of me. I thought about what a deer looks like, the tall white antlers and the slender hind legs. I pictured the whole body of a deer, every single descriptive part about one. This is the way the deer trained me up. Now I do it as if it’s as simple as plucking a flower from the soil. It’s a sweet sadness, happy you have a pretty flower to stick in a vase and stare at it just to admire its beauty. But then again, you miss how you saw the flower, innocent and sweet-smelling, and you know that it will eventually wilt, and you will want to return to what it was before, sorry for taking a life and want to plant another. That’s how it is with me. I can’t bear myself to stay in this form too long, for I know that this isn’t really who I am, I’m the girl who lives with a deer herd, not a deer who has found other deer to live with.

That’s Sage’s title.

With my human form swept away like the tide, I take passion in carefully making sure I use my deer form wisely, only to collect food in a simpler way, so that in case I’m ever near civilization, people won’t send me away!

Well, this time I won’t be in deer form for any of that. I’ll have to be in form just so I can’t tear open a space in the gate wide enough for me to climb through! Then I’ll change myself back and carry as many vegetables as I can back to the herd. Good plan! I thought, as I slowly and silently began to tear open a whole in the gate, carefully not to wake the possessor of the house. Once I had clambered through the tear in the gate (They really could have put better security on it, any animal would be smart enough to find a way to get through to the garden). I shifted back into my normal self and knelt down to reach for the lettuce and tomatoes and any other delicious vegetables I could find. Once I had enough to feed the whole herd, I took my loaded arms to the gate and tossed everything over. Then, I climbed back through the hole in the gate and grabbed everything up from the ground and with my arms full, I hurried back to the herd.


Chapter 5:

Sage had warned me not to go out again for if I was found I would be taken away and never able to see the deer again. Of course, I didn’t want that to happen at all, so I went back to feeding on the things we had before I traveled to the garden. One night, I became restless though, knowing that we had too many mouths to feed and I thought the herd needed more food because one morning the deer and awoke to a loud noise in the distance. It sounded like the calling of a stag but at a thousand times louder. Then, a few bushes collapsed ahead of us. Our berry grove! That meant that there would be less food for us all. That couldn’t happen! I wouldn’t let the herd starve. That night, Sage told me that the world was changing and the humans didn’t always care for the forests. They wanted their own ways and didn’t think ahead of time how nature could be affected. Then, I knew that if the world was changing, and if groves were being cut down as Sage tells me, then I needed to do what I had to do.  

Later that night, I waited until the herd was asleep and slowly crept past the snoozing deer. As I tiptoed past Sage, I stopped in front of her and whispered,

“I’m sorry, but this will do us all good.”

Then I quietly crept out through the tall bushes, separating me from the tall trees that would lead to the clearing where the house was and where the garden was planted. I crept closer to the garden and, planning to climb back through my hole that I made last week, I noticed that it was boarded up. I only had one other option, to dig under the gate and come out the other side. Sighing reluctantly, I quickly changed form in a flash. I began (I would say clawing, but I have hooves) digging in the ground until I had built a deep enough trench to wiggle my body through. 

As soon as I felt fresh air again, I held still and kept my body tucked away in the soil, only exhibiting my ears above ground. I heard a gunshot somewhere in the distance. I gulped. Sage’s warned me about human weapons.

“They could kill a deer in an instant.” She had told me. With my rattling nerves, I crept silently out of my trench, and stalked towards the garden. I changed back into my original form and filled my basket I had weaved from tiger grass a few days after my trip to the garden. I was about to return to the herd when I heard whispering voices coming from the house. As I crept near, I could make out what they were saying. I crouched low under the window and pressed my ear up against the wall. I heard a man’s voice, high-pitched and stupied:  “Yes, we must cut down the trees around this house if we aspire to build the town’s shopping mall here.” 

My eyes widened as I listened for more. 

Another voice, low and demanding, responded, “Certainly. And these trees will make fine 

lumber for materials to sell in the main mall.”  My heart was racing in my chest. Sweat dripped down my forehead. What would I tell Sage? I wasn’t supposed to be out.

“Shall we have a deadline for when we begin building?”

“In a week we may begin construction,” the demanding voice said.  “We have a deal then.” My heart was pounding now and I heard the front door unlocked and click open. I gasped and quickly ran around the corner of the house and pressed myself up against the wall. A skinny man walked down the front steps and out of the cottage. 

“Selfish man.” I heard him mutter.

He put his bowling hat over his head and stalked away, his black jacket billowing out behind him.

 Chapter 6:

My breath was coming out in short gasps, and my lungs burned. I was running as fast as I could, but I had to face it. I sucked at running. I was still in shock from what I had just heard from the two men’s conversation. My bare feet burned and my knees ached horribly. I skidded around a corner as the dirt flew up behind me and I coughed as in inhaled the musty air. I reached the bushes were we all lived and gasped in relief. Regret filled my body, but I dropped to my knees and shook Sage awake. 

“Sage!! Sage!!” I whisper-yelled, careful not to wake the other deer. Sage blinked open her sleepy eyes, and sat back on her hind legs. 

“What is it, my fawn?” (That was Sage’s nickname for me). I clutched at my side, a stitch digging into my skin. I panted, and a sob escaped. I covered my face with my hands as so Sage couldn’t see me crying. Sobs racked my body. I always thought I was brave…

“It’s alright to cry, little one, Sage said as if she read my mind. “Now where were you that you’ve gotten so upset?” I sniffed and didn’t look at Sage as I spoke.

“I…I went back to the garden,” I said with a sigh. Her hazelnut eyes widened. I knew that look. To encourage me to go on. I looked up, finally, and told her about what I had overheard from the two men. “What are we going to do?” I said softly, watching as Sage stares wistfully into the distance. 

“We must move the herd to another forest,” she said, determined.

“No!” I shrieked, the word echoing off the tall trees.

“Twig, there’s no other way to be safe. We can’t stay here and hope our home doesn’t fall on our heads. We will have no sources of food and nowhere to live.”

“That’s exactly why we need to stop this!” I yelled. The other deer arose to the sounds of yelling. “No, we can’t leave!” I exclaimed. Some of the young deer came over to me and nudged me with their small snouts, as if to say, “It’s going to be alright.” I gave them a sympathetic smile and looked up, ready for a fight. “I’m sorry. But Sage, you saved my life. This– this is how I can repay you. And It’s about time, too,” I said, a sensation of melancholy overcoming me. “Twelve years later.” I stood up, my hands balling into fists. “I won’t let this go on. It has to go down.” Then I turned on my heel, deaf to Sage’s “Wait!”


Chapter 7:

 I knew what I was doing. I was going to go up to that horrible man and tell him that there is a herd of deer living in the forest, there are foxes and woodpeckers, there are chipmunks and woodchucks, there is life itself and he just wants to cut it all down. I will not let that happen. As I grew nearer to the house, I noticed how nervous I was. I took a deep breath and knocked. I looked down at my rags. I look like I’m not even taken care of! Of course I am though! By the deer! 

Before I could make another remark on my clothes, the front door swung open and a man with greasy black hair and a lopsided tie approached me. 

“What do you want?” He growled. It was the man with the low and demanding voice! 

I gulped. “I was wondering if I could have a quick chat with you about the current events?” I asked in a weak voice. This guy was scarier than I expected! 

“Do you mean the new mall? Are you here to…complain?” He demanded. 

“Actually, yes!” I said with as much positivity as I could muster. “Do you realize that you are building insanity smack in the face of nature?!” 

He had no answer for this demanding question, except for a forced, “Come inside and explain yourself.” The man dragged me by the front of my shirt forward into a musty room, where three things startled me. One: a mean-looking dog with fangs that formed an underbite. He growled at me, must have been smelling the deer. I slowly inched away from him. Two: the skinny man with the high-pitched voice was cowering in the corner! I gave him a questioning look which he returned. Three: A girl, about my age, sitting on a ripped up couch, looking reluctant as she held a cup of tea which smelled as the fumes of rotting eggs. She smiled at me, a smile which I did not return. I turned to the low voiced man. 

“What is your name?” I demanded of him. “And why should I have trust in telling you any personal information?” 

He growled. “It’s Barney.” The skinny man said, smirking at him. ‘Barney’ glared at him and turned a bright shade of pink. The girl on the couch let a laugh escape, and I almost laughed with her when Barney rounded on her. “You may address me by Mr. Barns!” He yelled, wheeling on me. 

“Seeing as I have no respect for you-,” the girl shoved her fist in her mouth to force back a giggle, “–I will address you as Barney. Do you realize that you’re planning to build buildings and malls smack in the face of this forest? There are herds of deer living here, foxes in their dens, and all sorts of animals that rely on living and surviving here in this forest.”

“She’s right,” said the man with the high-pitched voice. “If there’s so much life here, then we must find a better place to build our houses and malls, or not build them at all.”

“Yes, I agree with that,” said the girl on the couch. This time I returned her smile. I smiled at the man in the corner, too. 

Barney turned pink and exploded at all of us. “Fools!” he yelled. “Who cares about what lies in the forest? We planned all this work out and now we will finish it!”

“No you will not!” I protested. “A great herd of deer live there! I live there!” Everyone stared at me. 


“You live there?” the girl asked. I flushed red and had to say something, so I admitted how I lived in the forest ever since I was a baby. After I finished the story of how the deer found me and took care of me, everyone was shocked at my tale.

“No children should be living in the forest!” Barney exclaimed. “We’ll send you off to a proper school and a proper home.”

“No!” I yelled. “I have to live with the deer! They saved my life, I have to protect them!”

“Now don’t fuss, you’ll be happy there,” said the man in the corner. 

“No, papa, I think she’s happy here. But I also think that you shouldn’t be planning with this terrible man-,” she gestures to Barney. “-to chop down the Birchwood Forest.” It was pure relief to hear her say that. “I mean, if you think about it, you just destroy a chain of life! How would you feel if someone came into town, kicked us out, and replaced it with skyscrapers and tall buildings, and we had to make a long journey to find a better life, and be scared all the while and anxious you wouldn’t be able to find a perfect way to be at ease again? You can’t do that to the animals living in the forest! I agree with–what’s your name?” She asked me. I blushed at the fact that she even wanted to name and, as a matter of fact, my name is Twig, and she probably has a name that has nothing to do with nature or anything strange, probably a really pretty name.

 “I’m Brooke. Named after that stream in the forest you live in! And that’s my father, he goes by Mr. Dave.” She gave me an ear to ear grin. This time, I returned it. “I’m Twig,” I said shyly. 

“That’s a great name!” She examined. 

“Thanks.” I muttered. “Now who’s with me? Are we going to stop this insanity or what?!” I felt like I was rousing a bunch of protesters. I felt so positive I thought I was going to burst. Barney, through all of this, was standing, his mouth hanging open, shocked. He shook his head.

“I will not stand for this. I am heading into town now to borrow a trencher. These trees will be gone by thursday.” At that point, I couldn’t stand it anymore.

 

Chapter 8:

“I’ll be right back.” I whispered to Brooke. She nodded and gave me a promising look. As Mr. Dave and Barney argued, I tiptoed back and out of the house. I turned on my heel and ran. I had to get Sage! I shouldn’t have left her all alone with the others! They need to be safe! And they can’t be when Barney is planning to rip apart our home! I headed for the the grove were we slept, racing along in the deer form (I had shifted as soon as I left), and was now racing along a dry path, my hooves clicking in the dirt. I almost collided with Sage, who seemed to have the intention of racing after me. “Sage!” I exclaimed. I tried to convince them, “I met a girl named Brooke who wants to help me save the forest, along with her father and one other man who completely disagrees with us and still won’t let us keep the forest the way it is.”    

“For the first time I’m going to try to fight back with you. We will make sure our home isn’t destroyed. Change back into your human form, so they won’t suspect anything.”

I heard a voice in the distance. “Twig!” It called out. I spun around and saw Brooke and her father racing after me. Sage backed a few steps away.

“You told them your name?” she whispered. 

“It’s okay, those people don’t want the forest to be teared down. They want to help us.”

Then Barney emerged from the cottage and came running after us. “He–doesn’t want to help. He just wants to be selfish and unfeeling.” I glared at the long shadow of Barney striding across the clearing of trees drawing nearer to us.

“What is this vermin you are standing by?” He questioned, looking up and down Sage. I could see in Sage’s face the terror of standing in the presence of a human as horrible as this. I, for one, was shocked at these words. 

“Excuse you? How heartless can man get if they haven’t grown up knowing the importance of nature in this world? The very deer who saved my life, who, if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t be speaking to you in this moment, the mere presence of me but a faded existence. I bet you want that, don’t you, me to be a dead goner. Than take me, take me instead of them, instead of the forest. I reached my hands out wide. I’m all yours. Just let them be.” 

Sage stepped in front of me, nudging me back. 

“No,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry I got you into this mess. And I’ll get you out, I promise.” I said. 

“I can’t do that!” Barney exclaimed, taken aback. “I can’t kill a human child instead of chopping down a random forest to make way for the new! Those options do not go together.” 

“In my world, they do. But, then, if you are too nervous to take my life instead of theirs because you think society will rat you out for murder, then leave us all. Build your malls, your homes, your tall–rectangular things–somewhere else, in a clearing where you don’t have to chop down my world.” A few minutes ticked by. 

“Please,” a tear ran down my cheek. “You don’t know how much this means to me.” Finally, the words came out that would change my life forever. Barney put his head in his hands. 

“Fine. Go live whatever life you want to.”

 Chapter 9:

Five Years Later…

Brooke

It was my last day to deliver food to Twig before I moved away. After today she would go into town when she needed to. I took the small satchel of food I tied it up to all tall tree, throwing the rope around it. As I pulled the rope up so no animals would eat it, I remembered the girl I met five years ago, and heard her tinkling laugh somewhere in the distance. She must be riding Sage. Or living in the tree house I helped her build last year. I will miss her so, so much.

“Goodbye, Twig.” I whispered into the forest.                  

Death Escape

Chapter 1

The outbreak starts

“Hey Matt! Let’s drive to the outskirts mall! We can go to the arcade,” I said. 

“But I don’t have money for those games!” said my friend Matt. 

“I got enough money to get all four of us covered! Go grab Gary and Al and lets get going!” I said. 

“No problem and thanks Kevin!” With that, we left our house and got into the car since I was the only one with a driver’s license, I drove.

  After a short drive with the guys chatting away about Fortnite because season 60 had flying cars, we finally pulled up to the mall. So we parked and entered the mall. The mall had so many stores with all sorts of fast food places along with other food stores. The mall was almost like a giant food store even though it had a bunch of other toy stores and clothing stores. I looked around and saw that today there weren’t many people there so it was more like a small crowd there. 

We entered the arcade with so many new games.

“Guys! Let’s play the new four-player walking dead!” I say. We run over to the new game and start. After we play for 5 minutes, we get death penalties. 

“Oh my goodness!” cried Gary. 

“Poor guy!” We had failed to save one of the guys which gave us a death penalty. “I sure hope this doesn’t happen to us Kevin,” said Al.

 We kept running around playing all sorts of arcade games. But after 30 minutes, I didn’t want to spend anymore money. So we set off toward the parking lot. We were going to enter the car and we all had received a message that tons of deer were gonna be on the road today.

“Ok Kevin, we should. Just drive carefully just to make sure we don’t kill anything,” said Matt. We then just jumped into the car and zoomed away.

Meanwhile……

“Sir! We have a small nuclear leak in the tank and it’s seeped into the water supply!” said a scientist to the manager who wasn’t very friendly at all.

“If you useless creeps don’t fix the problem or block more from coming out or I’ll go mad!” screamed the manager. Nearby, car washers didn’t seem to realize that their water supply had been a little bit contaminated by nuclear waste. They sprayed a person’s car and the person who had not paid attention to the deer message had already driven away at high speed. He then drove on the road and BANG accidentally hit a deer with his window open. “Ugh dumb animals…” he growled.

At that exact moment…

“Guys did you hear that?” asked Matt. “It sounded like some sort of bang!”

“Yeah I heard it too!” said Al.

“Do you think that’s the bang?” I asked pointing to a dead deer on the sidewalk. “Yeah.. maybe so,” said Gary. We walked out of the car and inspected the deer.

“Who would have done this?” asked Matt sadly.

“I bet it was him!” I said pointing to a person. I took a picture of the license plate and sent it to the police.

***

Later we had arrived home and turned on the Xbox and played Minecraft until 3:00 at noon. Until then we decided to watch some TV. We turned it on. It started with saying,

“A man drove by a deer corpse today and appeared to see it moving!”

That made us all jump out of our seats. “Could it be our deer?” cried Al seeming crazy nervous.

“Here we are with our witness! John! Would you please come up here?” said the reporter.

“Yes sir!” said the man named John. “I was just driving across the road until this seemingly dead deer just came to life!” He cried. “I even saw him get up and pound at a car! I then just drove away with that in film!” The man then said even more. “I then kept driving on the road until I saw some kind of man that looked deranged burst out of his window! Then he started chasing a car!”

“Well folks! That is our scoop for today! A mysterious deer coming to life what do you think? Leave a message on our website news channel 3.org!” he said.

We then were trying to change channels until channel 12 came in and said,

”Everyone listen up! We are here to show you a film of a clip shown from our newscopter! We are taking you there live! Subject! Massive violence and many casualties in the city of US! Here we are! Miles?”

“Yes sir, I can hear you! Now we are right now seeing in this city in Kansas where as far as I can see something wrong with some people! It’s as if they are killing others! I’ll try and go for a zoom in!” As the copter lowered, the camera zoomed in and we saw people with faces that had cracks and blood on them. It was not a pretty sight. But then something happened and the heli exploded on the ground.

“I think we better take a train somewhere else.” I said. Everyone took to that idea right away. So we booked train tickets to leave to Boston.

Chapter 2

Train of the dead


The next day, we were going to the train station. We then had checked in tickets and everything. We got to the tracks and went inside. We just viewed outside the window at the person letting people in. All of a sudden something pounced on him. And we had no idea what had happened. We were totally clueless. But it almost seemed like it was exactly like the people we saw in the news last night.

We knew that the train ride was supposed to be almost a day. But it was worth it to run away from total carnage.

“Guys, do you think it’s gonna be safe in Boston?” asked Gary worried.

“Yeah I’m sure we will,” I said. 

After an hour and a half, we were just sitting there until we saw something strange.

“Guys,” said Gary. “Does anything about this person look wrong to you?”

He said pointing to a woman who was limping our way and looking as if she would tumble down in a few seconds.

“She’s walking weird…” I said. “Do you think she’s sick?”

“Yeah I think so…” said Al. “Do you think she’s…. One of them?”

“What do you mean?” asked Matt.

“One of the creatures.” I told him. We saw her run into one of the train stewardesses.

“Ma’am are you okay?” asked the stewardess, bringing the woman into the back of the train. She laid the person on the ground.

“Conductor, we have a situation. There’s somebody here who seems in need of medical attention,” she said. The woman then got up. She got up and grabbed the stewardess and bit her in the neck. The stewardess fell in front of some passengers including us.

“What the hell??” murmured the passengers.

“Guys… we should run.” I said. We all got out of our chairs. “Hurry people!! Run!” I cried. The passengers didn’t all buy it.

“We aren’t going to listen to no pranks, sonny,” said an old man. A few passengers had already gotten up and were warning others to get up and run away.

“Fine! Just don’t get killed.” I said running off. “Everyone who saw the news last night?!” I said to passengers in car 5 out of 16 so I could get everyone to safety. So as we kept warning people to go to the front cars, we got most of the passengers in. I was getting a few more people out of car 7 where there were some other people. I ran to someone on the ground who was just lying there. As soon as I saw that person only had eye whites, I shoved them across from me and ran into car 6 where all the other people were. I shut the door before the crazy humans were in car 12 just in case something else happened. Two more people had then come, they banged on the door to get us to let them in. I did that and the couple got in.

One minute later, the zombies were in car 7 which is where we were behind them. They groped at the door and banged on it. One man was pressing against the door and said, “Anyone know how to lock these?” he said.

“Yeah I’d try twisting the orange thing on your left,” said somebody. The man did that.

“But what are those people doing with all that blood on them?” said one person. “It’s like a virus or something!”

“That’s it! It’s like a zombie outbreak or something!” I said. 

“Wait a minute, are we stopping somewhere?” I said. We saw a bunch of people approaching the window which made us all back up a little.

“Let us in! Please!” They cried. It took us all a minute to realize the train station had been overrun by zombies.

“Conductor! Open the door!” said a person. The conductor did so which also let the zombies on the train out. A couple survivors got in and slammed the door. Right before zombies started pounding the windows.

We slowly creaked open the door that led us to the train. We opened another door where there was still one or three zombies still hanging there. The few survivors including Gary and Al ran back. We slammed the door and saw someone slowly get killed by the zombie.

“Hey guys we can’t just stay on this train!” I said. “It’s going to reach Boston at one point where the virus might have already reached! We should all stick together.” Everyone was then talking about whether we should ditch the train and go to a stop with no zombies or go straight to Boston.

Everybody had mixed opinions and tried to argue with each other.

“We should stop the train at a stop,” said one man.

“But then we could end up getting ambushed by tons of zombies!” said another. “We should stay on the train.”

“But if we do that, it could get us trapped on a train or something. Besides, those zombies could break through that glass after a few hours!” said a third.

While everyone argued, me, Matt, Gary, and Al looked for something to help us. We all looked around until we could find something. Then we overheard the people deciding that we get off at the next stop. The conductor also agreed.

Once we got to the next stop, we realized nobody was here. We looked around hoping that there were no zombies. We looked around until somebody saw a R.I.O.T shield. We hoped that meant there were more survivors. We kept looking around together to see if there  were were survivors nearby until Al pointed at a baton. Gary had picked up both the shield and a baton which made him look more like the survivor kind. To be honest, he looked like a character from the Walking Dead series. So after he had that stuff, we kept searching for stuff to defend ourselves.

At one point, everybody was snooping around for weapons and shields. What I found was a wooden bat. But I was hoping I’d get a baton. But the thing is, there were hardly any weapons at all. Only three people had shields and about five people had bats or batons.

I was thinking about getting out of the train station until I realized that if there were a few police weapons, there could be police force nearby. Maybe even a military. I decided to look around downstairs for more weapons in the station and that when I saw that there was a broken gun a few feet away from me. At first I thought I was safe and had found a gun. But then I found out that it had blood all over it. That’s when I realized it meant that there could be a military force nearby that was infected.

I went back up to talk to Gary, Al, and Matt and explained what I had thought. They also thought about it and agreed with me.

“But where do you think the infected military can be?” asked Al. “Most likely at the train exit since that’s where nobody has gone.” I said. That’s when we heard a scream and saw a person run out the exit and into the station.

“Run!” he cried. “Run!!!” That’s when we realized that my theory of zombies was correct.


Chapter 3

Military chaos


Suddenly the whole train station had been completely overrun by infected soldiers. Gary grabbed his baton and bashed a zombie onto the floor.

“Let’s get the hell outta here!” he said. We then opened a door with nobody in it.

“Hurry! Get in here!” I cried to the panicking survivors. One by one, people noticed me calling them and ran through the door. After a few people entered, we noticed nobody else was alive. So we locked the door and saw that the zombies were already attacking.

“There’s too many of them! They’ll break the glass! Run!” I scream.

We all run and see that there’s still one train that was almost gonna leave. We kept running and making sure the infected didn’t catch up to us. We got onto the train.

“There’s still more people coming!” I said. “Get them in here!” But it was too late. Zombies broke through a window up top and started falling onto the ground. The passengers had mostly got into the train. So with that, the final person got in and closed the door. We figured we were safe but I had no idea what was gonna happen.

We quickly figured out that the people who were still alive had went into the incorrect train car and they got infected so it was no surprise to me that they were continuing to bang the windows. But me and my friends along with two other people got back into car 1 where nobody else was. We had blocked the glass doors to be sure they didn’t know we were there. Hopefully they had no sense of smell. But at one point we heard that somebody had opened the door for some completely stupid reason.

We soon heard the shrieks of zombies and survivors screaming. But no zombies banged on our door. That meant as long as the zombies couldn’t see us, we wouldn’t get chased. We then went to the conductor. “Hi guys,” he said. “This has been the worst day I have ever lived out of my whole life!” “We should get to Boston soon though,” he added.

Gary was worried. “Do you think that we could make it?” He asked.

“It’s possible, but let’s not lose hope yet.” said the conductor.

After we were 18 hours away from Boston, we looked and saw that zombies had overrun another train station. We were just about to pull away and after we were 11 minutes away from the station, we heard the conductor shout. 

“God dangit!” he screamed. “The engine’s broken!” 

I went over to him.

“We have to exit the train!” I said. “Guys, we have to get off.” I said to my friends. The two other survivors I first thought were still with us, but it turned out that their instincts made them go onto the train station first thing.


Chapter 4

Alone


“We are on our own,” said Gary shaking his head sadly. 

“We can’t stay on this train.

We have to actually survive until we reach Boston,” said Matt. We soon were walking off the train hoping not to get noticed by any really dangerous things. We all ran into the woods. But once we were walking, there were some zombies on the tracks. We were about to assault them until a zombie was right behind us and jumped on the conductor.

“ACK!” He cried, throwing the zombie to the ground. Thankfully he, the conductor, hadn’t been bitten.

“Gary! Hit the shield!” I said. Gary smashed his R.I.O.T shield directly into the zombie’s neck. It was a one shot kill, but this wasn’t a video game and we needed to actually fight those zombies on the tracks if we wanted to live.

We walked over to the zombies. They looked at us and lunged at us. My bat actually came in handy for the first time the apocalypse even happened. I struck at the zombie knocking it to the ground. Gary smacked a zombie’s head with his metal bat and got him killed. I kept continuously hitting a zombie until its blood oozed out.

“Matt! Here!” I said tossing my bat to Matt who was being attacked by a zombie. Matt first took out the zombie’s legs and then shoved the bat at its mouth.

“DIE!” cried Matt, smacking the zombie even after it was already completely dead. That was until there was a zombie right behind him. Gary whacked the zombie aside and shielded himself from getting bitten. Matt then finished the zombie off by punching him and smashing him.

After we had taken care of the zombies, we kept walking until we got to another area with zombies. But we kept either sneaking past or killing the zombies. At one point, we came to an area where there was a whole horde of them. So the idea was that we had to clear them out one by one which would be impossible unless somebody sacrificed themselves. I then noticed a person who had gotten eaten. I looked in his bag. Once I saw what was inside, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

There was actually 1 or 2 guns in there! I could not even believe my luck. At first I thought the gun was broken, but as soon as a zombie ran at me from out of nowhere, I did the first thing I thought of doing which was to grab a gun. But as soon as I pulled the trigger, blood went on the zombie’s head. I grabbed the shotgun for myself and passed the pistol to Al. Then we were ready. Matt and Gary took down those zombies as I took down the small crowd of undead humans. Gary kept giving the zombies a good clock on the head and wiped them out while Matt kept hitting at the guys so hard. He killed a row of three zombies in one hit. After defeating a somewhat endless wave of zombies, we actually managed to keep walking. But then, Al turned around and said, “Kevin, where did you get that gun?” He asked.

“In a pack.” I replied.

“Let’s see if it has food!” He said. “I’m hungry!” So that’s what we did. We finally got to that pack and opened it up.

“A banana, half a bag of chips, bottled water, and six cheese sticks,” said Gary.

“Let’s eat!” said Al. We all split the food.

We soon slept and waited in bushes where we hoped nobody could see us. We had to keep going early in the night so the zombies couldn’t see us. Thankfully we had survived the first day of the outbreak. We later kept going.


Chapter 5

Safe at last


We had a few encounters with zombies. I smashed some zombies to death that day until we finally had gotten to some kind of place where it looked like there had been a train accident. We all ran trying to make sure we didn’t run into a zombie horde. Soon, we saw a whole group of zombies all lying on the ground. But in front of us, there was a ton of zombies all grouped together on a bridge which we for sure had to take down.

We charged at the horde and were smacking them across the ground. I grabbed a zombie by the back of the shirt and broke its head by twisting it. Gary smacked zombies off into the lake which while Al shot his pistol making sure every bullet counted. We all ran toward other zombies knocking them into the river and shooting them all down.

Later, we had already found a tunnel which we thought would make a good base to be for surviving. We were alarmed by the sound of walkie talkies that made us think we were gonna be facing some kind of ultra smart zombies. That’s when we saw some people in army suits. We worried and walked over to get a closer look to see if they were human or zombie. But they then noticed us and said,

“Survivors approaching!” said some men. “Bring them over! Quick!”

Me, Gary, Al, Matt, and the conductor all approached the army men.

“We’re safe.” I said. “We survived the Zombie apocalypse!” We all cheered. Then we heard a noise in the air. “Scientists in the world have developed a cure for this disease! Medical units will now be dropping! Everybody now be calm! You are now safe!” The army men and my friends and me all cheered.

“We are survivors!” I said.

The end


Fend For Yourself

Nora lived right next to the waterfall Forest. The sky around the forest was always in perpetual sunset, so the ways the light hit the waterfall looked as if it was on fire. Nora never really noticed, but a water source kept her alive so she gave it some respect. Actually it was the only water source in the vicinity of fifty miles.  She lived on her own in the forest in a little grass hut. She got her water from the waterfall and salt from the ocean. She gathered roots and berries and set snares to catch the strange skinny birds. She was pretty self-dependent. She never noticed the beautiful setting or the pretty food that she gathered. The only thing about the nature that she really noticed was the crickets chirping that kept her from sleeping as early as she would like. Nora lived alone in her hut, but five miles away lived an old lady that seemed to know everything.

Every night when the crickets started to chirp, Nora started the long walk to the old lady’s grass hut and she learned about the possible plants and roots and edible birds that won’t give you bird fever. In return for the old lady’s knowledge, Nora fed her and shared her own knowledge , but since most of the useful things she knew were taught to her by the old lady, she mostly just told her stories of ancient gods and heroes. 

  One day when she was walking through the forest checking and resetting snares, she was unhappy to find that there were no edible birds, just the bright pink ones that were deadly poison. They were still alive so she let them go and walked over to the ocean to see if there was any fish to spear. None. She walked back into the forest and looked around for some roots and berries. She went to her favorite blackberry bush and found it untouched. She ran back to her hut, found a large basket, and stripped the berry bush clean of any fruit. 

She hauled the heavy basket inside and started eating. “Oh well,” she said to herself. “So much for a large lunch.” She sat down the half eaten blackberry basket and looked into the corner of the grass hut. There was an incredibly cute, little rabbit. Since Nora hardly noticed anything cute or pretty or nice she kicked it out of the hut and continued eating her berries. She set down the few remaining blackberries and wandered outside for a little afternoon stroll.

  After a mile or two, she noticed one of the strange skinny birds lying flat on its face. “Finally!” She said. “A real meal.” She kneeled down to pluck the bird when she noticed the the usually reddish brown skin of the strange skinny birds was paper white. Nora frowned and picked up the bird. Her stomach growled. She decided to consult the old lady. She took the long five mile hike up to the old lady’s house. She came running to the little grass hut. She walked into the hut.

Nora called the old lady Granny. Granny’s hut was strewn with thick, wooly rugs and sheepskin blankets from the real world.  Nora lived in the real world until she turned five. That was eight years ago. Bundles of good-smelling herbs hung from the ceiling.  Granny was sitting in a bundle of blankets cutting up meat Nora brought a few days ago on a large slab of wood that took up half the hut. Nora unclipped the bird from her belt. “Is that for me?” asked Granny. Nora’s cheeks turned red. She hadn’t anticipated this. “Sorry I will bring you your meat at the usual time but some weird things are happening.” Nora explained the vanished meat except for the paper white bird. “First you must not call it a bird. From now on you will call it a Apalaishan forest foul, and second give me the bird.” Granny said all in a hurry. “But you just said—” “No buts. Give me the bird.” Nora reluctantly gave Granny the bird.

Granny examined it for a solid five minutes. When she finally looked up from the Apalaishan forest foul she beckoned Nora to sit next to her. Nora sat down. Granny said, “Look at the slit in the side of your bird’s stomach.” She lifted the feathers that concealed the ugly gash. “The bird is completely sucked dry. There is not a trace of any blood. That explained why it is paper white. Your bird over here looked like he had an encounter with one of those giant leeches,” Granny paused and started plucking of the feathers.

 “You can have your dinner here. My cooking always tastes better than yours anyway.” Nora scowled at the floor, even though it was true. Granny always made good use of her herb bundles. It was starting to get dark. Nora walked over to close the grass curtain over the small hole in the hut and went around lighting candles with the fire that Granny had started to cook the food. Granny had three hundred and ninety-seven candles all stored away in a sheet of plastic to keep dry. It was unfortunate that she only had twenty candle holders. Granny had loads of stuff from the real world. That was the only thing that Nora did not like about Granny. 

After a long time of waiting for the stew to get ready, adding spices and unfamiliar herbs, supper was finally done. Granny spooned the stew into two wooden bowls and ate in silence. Nora was very hungry from her diminished lunch. She secretly thought that it was a bad idea that she showed Granny the bird. She wished she had eaten it all by herself. Even though the bird might have been poison, Nora had herbal remedies that Granny had taught her. 

Twenty minutes later, Nora got up and clipped the rest of the bird to her belt to be salted in her hut. A few years ago, she made a little trough out of sticks that she collected in the woods she filled it with salt. Now she had salted meat hanging from the roof of her hut as well as herbs and remedies. She salted the rest of the bird, hung it up, and crawled under a bear skin and went to sleep.   

The next day was a little more strange. Nora got up and pulled on a t-shirt and jeans that she brought to the from the real world, and went outside to check her snares all she found was paper white Apalashian forest foul. They were strewn across the forest floor. There were ten of them. She gathered them and took them to her hut. She plucked them and skinned them and did all sorts of things that you did to a piece of bird when you were hungry. She salted five and carried them over to Granny’s hut she dropped them off at the “Meat deposit” that Granny had installed for her. Since she already did the hunting and yesterday’s berries were still ripe, she decided to take a swim in the ocean.

 She walked to her hut, put on a bathing suit that used to fit Granny when she was thirteen, and headed to the ocean. Nora happened to be quite an accomplished swimmer, even when she was five and in the real world winning prizes for her back float and such. She went up to a cliff that looked down at the sea around forty feet down or so. She took a deep breath and dived into the blue-green waters once she touched the bottom she swam around face-down with her eyes open and she noticed something very strange. She got to her feet and swam deeper into the ocean and noticed fish lying on their backs. They were already dead. She looked up toward the cliff. There was a white flash of a tail disappearing into the woods. It looked like the rabbit she kicked out of her hut yesterday. 

She swam to the shore and ran to her hut and changed into her clothing. She got the long knife that she used for preparing meat and occasionally throwing a knife at a bird that wandered outside her hut. She silently slipped into her boots knife in hand and proceeded outside the hut. She was going to hunt down whoever was killing the animals. First she decided to tell Granny about her plan. She might give her something to help her. Last time something happened like this turned out to be a poacher. Nora had hit his head hard with a rock. He got amnesia, so instead of getting a buddy for Granny she led him over to the edge of the woods and pushed him out. He was probably now in some weird real world hospital.

Nora arrived at Granny’s hut and noticed that the meat was gone. She stepped into the hut and looked for some possible signs of life in the piles of blankets. “Granny! I need to tell you something,” Nora said loudly. No answer.  She looked and checked a couple of blanket piles. She checked the one nearest to the table. There she was! “Come here,” she croaked. Granny was very pale. As pale as the dead birds. Oh no. Nora hoped she was wrong about what she was thinking… Cause if she was right… “It the rabbit,” said Granny shakily. “The one who is killing the birds.” Her voice was barely a whisper. Granny collapsed. Nora’s eyes widened. She bit her lip. She felt Granny’s heart. Nothing. Nora made a small strangled sound. She carried Granny outside. 

  This could not be happening. Granny said that she wanted to have a proper, real-world burial. Hunting the rabbit could wait. She ran inside to fetch a shovel. She dug and dug and dug. Her hands were dotted with blisters. She set Granny down into the large hole and filled it in with dirt.  She went out to the meadow and picked Granny’s favorite purple flowers. She laid them around the grave. She went into Granny’s hut and collected all the herbs and meat. No use letting it go to waste. She carried them out to her own hut and hung them on the ceiling. 

‘Why did I like Granny so much? I guess she reminded me of my family in the real world. My dad my mom my sister. All of them. Even my infuriating cousins. I guess even Granny had a sassy side. I never actually knew my real grandmas. They died before I was born.  My grandma on my mom’s side died when my grandfather passed away due to a terrible sickness after the bombing of California. No one can even see the ruins because they are still toxic. My family lived In Nevada right near the border of California. Right near the bomb site. It wasn’t  even a normal bomb. It was the one that America swore to never use again. The Atom Bomb. Soon the sickness took hold of my whole family. My mother told me to flee to the Appalachian Trail. I did. I felt safe. But now no one is safe. I will avenge my adopted grandmother.’ Nora’s thinking time was over.

She picked up her knife filled with a new determination. She suddenly realized how ridiculous the whole situation was. A bloodsucking rabbit with a knife or an axe was out to get her. And Nora thought she had seen it all. Oh well. At least she had experience with killing animals. She might even enjoy rabbit stew. 

Nora trekked deeper into the woods. There was still no sign of the demon rabbit. At least he would stick out. There was no white rabbits in these woods. She decided to go in the direction of the cliff. The dead leaves crunched beneath her feet even though it was midsummer. She would scare of an elephant at this rate. Not that there were any elephants. She thought. Well with a demon rabbit who knew what was going to happen. She stepped onto the rocks. There wasn’t a sound. And suddenly behind a rock was the telltale flash of a white tail. She chased after it she threw her knife at it but missed. Appalashian forest foul were much slower. She yanked her knife out of the ground and threw again. This time the knife pinned the rabbit to the ground by its tail. Nora smiled. But something strange seemed to be happening. 

The rabbit’s tail looked like it was spinning. The tail lengthened and changed shape. Longer and longer and a strange square shape on top of the tail. The tail stopped spinning. The knife clattered to the ground. The tail had transformed into a large axe. The rabbit hopped around swinging the axe around and taunting Nora. The rabbit bared his teeth and jumped onto Nora swinging the axe like a madman. Nora did not know what to do. Her knife was still on the ground. All she had to do was get the knife. If that demon rabbit let her live long enough.  The rabbit started to shout meaningless things at her. The axe did not seem to ever get tired of flailing around. The rabbit’s pointy teeth were stained reddish brown from the fish and the birds. And Granny. Granny! She was the one who made Nora hunt the rabbit down not only because the birds were rotting but because the rabbit was the one who killed the only one who Nora liked anymore. Nora was so angry she could not see. She tore the rabbit off of her and lunged to get the fallen knife. She stomped down on the axe-tail an stabbed the rabbit. The rabbit still did not stop screaming. She stabbed it again and again but the rabbit did not cease to chatter. She held the rabbit by its neck and went to Granny ́s abandoned hut and got the big cooking pot. 

She started dumping herbal remedies into the pot that she brought with her everywhere. The water started to boil. She kept dumping random herbs into the pot until the water turned into a murky brown thick paste. Without thinking she dumped the rabbit into the pot and closed the lid on tightly this left her time to inspect her wounds. She had several deep gashes near her ankles and the rabbit left several puncture marks. She applied some dried seeds to her wounds and they immediately felt better. She checked on her rabbit stew. She knew that nothing could kill the rabbit. But she might put him in a state that will prevent them from ever doing harm to her and the forest. 

Nora reluctantly opened the pot lid. The murky brown had boiled down to a liquid that looked like the real world drink called coffee, only Nora’s concoction had brown mush floating around. The smell was overpowering. A tuft of brown sticky fur floated to the top. 

She went to Granny’s cabinet and retrieved a pair of tongs. She went back to the pot and fished around for awhile until she fished around for a while. She hit something. She pulled it out of the murky water and the rabbit was silent and sticky its eyes were closed and it mouth was only opened slightly as if it were asleep. Nora exhaled. She had avenged her Granny. She looked at the rabbit one last time to make sure it was dead. 

The rabbit opened its eyes and gave her a great big smile. “Peekaboo!” it said. The tail started to spin…

THE END   



Night in the Grocery Store

Prologue: 1899

Vegetable King Cabbage and Vegetable Queen Onion finally ruled the tomatoes and cucumbers, but not the fruits. The king and queen did not know that whenever they take down another fruit, a hero named Watermeloan sets his sights on the vegetable villains. 

Chapter one: Rise of the Veggies

Time of day: 9:59:68847562756 p.m.

“What a beautiful day! We sold more than four hundred items in this day! Wow, and it’s the record for this month!” The manager of the grocery store yelled with excitement. “Ohh man looks like we need to refill all the vegetables.” 

He looked around and saw the large grocery shop full of empty bins, trash, and with rotten tomatoes and apples lying on the ground. 

“Everything is just so messy.” 

So, he cleaned the floor, swept the trash, and after the giant clean up, the grocery store looked just like new. 

VROOM!!! and the manager drove back home.

“Well! Another war is going to happen today! Ahhh,” sighed Wattermeloan. “Now for the big plan. Where is Cantelope? Where are the apples? Where are the Mangos? C’mon! Let’s BEAT the veggies UP…..”

*

“Get up veggies! We have a lot of work to do today. The fruity poopy are still getting a lot of energy. We need to finish them all.” Cabbage said. 

Onion Rolled  up from her bed and yelled, ”CABBAGE! I 100% 

disagree with you. I believe that the fruits are still asleep!’’

“Well, well, well, whatever, Oni. Let’s prepare for the fight.”

*

Time 12:29:3718352846384937 a.m.

“Another fighting day. We fought the veggies from the 1800’s until today. These stupid veggies. When will they end this dumb war? Ahh! My grandfather was tortured by the stupid veggies. Phh! They’re so guilty and mean and ….they just want to control the whole world….” said Watermeloan.

*

“Mr. Peas, go! Do your job. Go! Quick, quick, quick,” said Onion. Mr. Peas is a spy for the veggies since the cabbage and onion became king and queen. Now he is going to spy again on Watermeloan and the fruits…..

*

1 hour later…

“Ma’am or Ms. Onion? I have spied on Watermeloan and saw the fruits preparing to battle us,” Mr. Peas said. 

“Okay, we will prepare too.” Onion replied. 

And then about fifteen minutes later, both sides had already prepared for the fight. Orange is ready to self-destruct on the side of the veggies. Watermeloan is also ready to throw fruits, like oranges, over like a bomb. And Onion is setting up the peas cannon. And Cabbage is pulling his blade and pointing it at the fruits, meaning to charge at the fruits. Then the fight happens. It was such a mess. Trash was thrown on the ground. Fruits exploded, and juice spread everywhere. Watermeloan was fighting Cabbage in a big brawl. Cabbage pulled out his blade and stabbed it into Watermeloan’s right arm and then Peas tied Watermloan up with a rubber band. Suddenly, all the fruits surrendered because Watermeloan is their leader and  they don’t want to leave him behind

Now all the fruits are in danger. Cabbage took all of the fruits to their palace. Now every fruit will be smashed into pieces by a huge metal hammer. Only Cabbage could lift the hammer up because he has a special power, but just the hammer can’t defeat Watermeloan. Only if you could stab a knife into Watermeloan’s eye would he be defeated. 

BOOM! BOOM! 

Cabbage is smashing the hammer on the ground to test his strength. And then he smashes Strawberry, Orange, and Banana. And now it is Watermeloan’s turn to die. Cabbage tried and tried to pull the strong glasses off of his eyes but he accidently hit his own bottom. It hurt really bad. 

Cabbage called Onion to help him. Onion squeezed herself and then she made use of her stinging smell to make Watermeloan’s nose and eyes burn. Cabbage pulls off Watermeloan’s glasses while he is distracted by the burning scent.

Cabbage was so happy that he could finally kill Watermeloan. So he went to grab his knives. On the way, Tomato was feeling very sad about joining the vegetables. So when Cabbage, Onion, and the other guards went to get the knife to stab it in Watermeloan’s eye, Tomato jumped down from the window above where Watermeloan was being tortured and took in his hands the rubber band that was tying Watermeloan to the ceiling. 

Tomato untied Watermeloan and told him that if you make Onion watch something sad, like a sad commercial, Onion will cry and will eventually peel apart. Watermeloan understood what Tomato was talking about and decided to grab a cellphone and turned the channel to a sad commercial. 

When Onion and Cabbage came back, they saw Watermeloan still hanging, but Watermealoan was faking it. So they grabbed the knife. Just when they tried to stab it into Watermeloan’s eye, Watermeloan jumped to the ground and the phone appeared behind Watermeloan

Then Tomato turned on the phone and turned the channel to a sad commercial, and it started to play, knowing that when an onion is really sad, it peels apart. Onion saw the commercial and her nose fell off first and then her eyes and then her whole body. 

Onion died.

Cabbage was so sad that he ran out of the grocery store. And every veggie surrendered just like the time the fruits surrendered because of their leader Watermeloan. HURRAY!!!

*

Time of day:8:59:999999 a.m.

The manager came in the grocery store. He saw the grocery store looked like a landfill. He yelled, “I THOUGHT I ALREADY CLEANED THE SHOP YESTERDAY, URGH! IT MUST HAVE BEEN A DREAM! WELL……. NEVER MIND I GUESS! I WILL CLEAN IT NOW!”

The End

New York City

The big apple always bustling with people 

Never letting you pass because they are late for work.


The crowded streets filled with food trucks 

Ice cream trucks in the summer 

Hot cocoa in every cafe in the winter

And popcorn all year round. 


Busses and Subways on almost every street.


The city that never sleeps 

Drinking too much coffee 

That keeps them up all night 

But all the same it’s still


Home 

To all those people who never sleep 

And the ones who do.


Toast

One day Bill walked around in the park, but suddenly, a hole opened up in the sky and sucked him in. He woke up to find that he was in another world. It seemed like the counterpart of Earth, which meant that things were pretty much the same. He saw other people just standing there, so he asked them what was going on. They told him that they also were sucked into a giant hole and they were on an alien planet. They were the aliens’ prisoners and the only way to get back to earth was the portal in the middle of the planet. He also learned that all your abilities were enhanced on this planet, which meant that he was super strong. He had very good eyesight and he had very good hearing. 

Every day, Bill thought about finally getting off the planet. He missed his family and friends. Bill thought about his plan and he snuck to the center of the planet and found out that the portal was heavily guarded. He needed a team of people to defeat the guards. He told everyone what his plan was and what he saw. Almost everyone agreed to help him except one person named Mike, who said that he enjoyed life on this planet. Turns out, Mike was actually a spy for the aliens. Now, every human was bound in chains that were said to be unbreakable, but it turned out they were super easy to break and they all sprinted for the portal. They all made it.

When they got back, they warned everyone about the aliens and how they might attack earth. Then, the aliens sent a message saying that they would attack in two days. Everyone started preparing weapons and other things to help them in the war. After the first day passed, everyone was ready for the invasion. 

Meanwhile, the aliens were also preparing for battle. The aliens started to board their ships because it would take a two-day flight to get back to Earth because the portal was unstable. 

The next morning, the aliens attacked with their vehicles and soon, the humans found out that the vehicles were indestructible. Their vehicles could also shoot things that disintegrate humans. So Bill and everyone else had to retreat. They were trying to think of a plan, but they could not think of one. Bill decided that they would have to evacuate the city. Once they did that, they sent a warning to everywhere on earth. Eventually, people started to build underground shelters to hide from the aliens. The aliens eventually found out that they were hiding, but they did not know where, so they sent scouts to look for them. The humans lived underground digging wells for water and sometimes sneaking up for food for many years and the aliens never found them. 

One day, one of the aliens found them. The humans did not know what to do, so they threw toast at it. Surprisingly, the alien disintgrated. Now the humans started making a lot of toast weapons, such as toast bombs and other things. The humans now were ready to attack the aliens. Then, the aliens started firing, but the toast blocked the blast. Then, they advanced with toast swords. They destroyed many aliens but the alien commander, Mike, would not give up and started sending in spaceships and other vehicles. Everyone fought very hard and thousands of lives were lost. Eventually the human army had to retreat, but the number of aliens in the alien army was significantly decreased. Once they were back in their hideout, they said that the only way to win was to send someone to bring a massive toast bomb and blow the aliens up while probably having to sacrifice yourself. Bill said that he would do it. The problem was that they did not have a bomb big enough to do the job, so they had to salvage all the armor and turn it into a bomb. Bill brought the biggest toast bomb and sacrificed himself and blew up all the aliens with jam and toast. After that, the humans went back above ground and started to rebuild their lives.


Natasha

The bell rings. I grab my pencils and notebooks, and shove them into my bag. I rush to the front of the line; today I beat Nina. My class walks silently down the hall. In my head, all my thoughts are jumbled: Will my dad come to my basketball game? What will be his excuse this time? Unexpected business trip, a problem with the company? I can see Natasha looking at me with worried eyes.

”Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I try to shrug off the feeling of disappointment in my dad, but I can’t. As soon as we reach the dismissal door, I grab Natasha’s hand and wait for the light to turn white. The second it does, I race down the block and karate kick the door open; guess I can thank my karate lessons. I hurry to the soda section while desperately searching for Fanta. I snatch the last bottle and watch Natasha put her Sprite on  the counter.

The guy behind the counter says, “5.75.”

I dig into my pocket and pull out a crumpled up five-dollar bill and three 25 cents. Natasha grabs both of our drinks and heads to the door. I glance at my phone and look at the time: 3:20 PM. As soon I glance at my phone, I shove Natasha out the door, and we race down the streets as if it were a competition. When the subway station is within my sight, I walk down the stairs clinging on to my soda, hoping it doesn’t fall.

The F train comes right on time; Natasha and I high five each other and walk into a crowded subway. It smells like sweat and it’s really hot. About five stops later, a lot of the people get off the subway. We finally find ourselves some seats where we can sit and enjoy our soda. Especially since my house is a bit far away. 

All I can think about is Masha, my dad’s girlfriend. Masha always takes me and Nat to get ice cream. Nat always gets two scoops of chocolate fudge, I get two scoops of oreo, while Masha gets one scoop of lemon. But then a sudden thought comes to me, and I remember my father never told me who my mother was or what happened to her. All I know is that my mother loved the beaches. It was almost like a perfect day at the beach, but then the clouds took over the sky, and everyone had to go home. I must have daydreamed too much because by the time I finish my thoughts, we arrive at Coney Island. While we’re walking home, I pass by a school, and another thought comes to me. 

Why didn’t my dad send me to school here where I lived, instead of a school in Brooklyn? 

I decide I’m going to ask my dad tonight. Although something doesn’t seem right.

But then Natasha wakes me from my thoughts.

”You have been really quiet today? Are you sure you’re okay.”

“Am fine. Don’t worry.”

“Ok, whatever you say, Angel.” 

I hate that nickname, but that doesn’t stop Masha from calling me that. She takes the keys out of her back pocket, and unlocks the door. We climb up seven flights of stairs, huffing and puffing as if the stairs are Mount Everest. We reach Apt. 7D and open the door to walk into a cold breeze, which feels very good against the hot May air. 

At first, I can’t believe my eyes, but then I realize my dad is standing in front of us. He is rarely at home and if he is, it’s only because something bad happened or he comes at 2 in the morning. His blue eyes are staring straight at Natasha and smiling. Natasha tells me that she just remembered she had a project, so she has to go home now. I help her get all her pencils in her bag, since we were playing the floor is lava on her stuff. Silently, I stand waving goodbye. I feel as if today will be the last time I will see her in a while. But I know that’s not possible, so I try to get the thought out of my head. My dad takes the trash bag and says he is going to throw it out. I shrug and walk to my room to ponder over all my thoughts. For the first time, I think my dad wasn’t where he said he was. 

I guess I fell asleep because when I wake up, my room is pitch black, and I hear some faint creaking coming from the living room. I pat down my bed searching for my phone. I finally find it under a bunch of blankets. I put my finger on the button of my phone and look at the time. It’s 2:00 AM. It’s probably my dad, I wonder what he was doing at 2 AM. Something seems off again. I slowly get out of bed and open my door. Like a mouse, I creep down the hallway past Masha’s room to my dad’s bedroom, where I have never been. He told me once that if I go into his room, I’ll get in big trouble. So I never do. 

I bring my head back to reality and reach for the doorknob, but then I hear a creaking behind me and a deep voice with a faint Russian accent. I can immediately tell it’s him, but he sounds madder than I’ve ever heard him. Although he rarely even talks to me. I can never forget that he forgot about my birthday three years in a row. 

He flicks the light switch on, and I can see him staring at me. His blue eyes look more unfriendly than before. His face looks so intimidating that it just makes me want to fall in a hole to swallow me up.

“I will ask one more time. Why were you going to go in my room?”

“I um… I couldn’t uh… sleep, yeah, because umm… I thought I saw a, uh, mouse in my room.” It sounds like I’m trying to convince myself more than my dad. 

He quietly walks in front of the door that leads to his room. His eyebrows are pushed together. It looks like he is thinking really hard. I silently walk backwards to reach the safe, reassuring feeling of my room.
“Give me your phone; that will be your punishment, and next time, follow my rules.”

 I feel so relieved nothing horrible happened, so I go to my room to fetch my phone quickly. When I return my phone, my dad is shocked to see me smiling.

“Can Natasha come for a sleepover?” I give him the puppy eyes that Natasha taught me to do. 

Fortunately it works, and he nods slowly, like he is still trying to make up his mind. There is something in his eyes, but I’m too tired to think about it. I manage to drag myself to my room and fall onto my bed. 

The smell of pancakes wake me up. Finally it’s Saturday. I put on some ripped shorts and an orange T-shirt. I open my door and walk into the kitchen where Masha is standing, flipping over a pancake.

“Hey Angel, you hungry?”

 I nod. 

“Ok good, because I made way too many pancakes.” 

Before I can even open my mouth, she says, “And no. Dimitri won’t have breakfast with us. He had to leave because of some problems with the business.”

 I shift uncomfortably and stare at the ground, feeling my eyes tear up. My dad told me to never cry because nothing was worth crying about, and I don’t want to show Masha that I am a 13 year-old who cries.

“Hey Angel, how about you put as much Nutella on your pancakes, just make sure to eat some strawberries?”

 I smile and think to myself how much I wish my dad was like Masha. But he’s not. 

After breakfast, I put on my Jordans and walk to the subway. I think about me and Natasha and the day we met. I chuckle a little thinking about how strange we were five years ago. 

I get to the subway station, walk down the stairs while getting my MetroCard out of my pocket, and wait until the train comes. I get in and sit down. Today, the subway is empty. I take my headset out and listen to “wish you were gay” by Billie Eilish. I quietly hum to the beat, thinking about how I want a family like Natasha, where I wouldn’t be an only child, and I would also have two parents who really cared about me. I remember all the days at school when Natasha would complain to me about how her sister spilled juice over her homework or how her brother spray-painted her hairbrush. And I could never forget when her older brother, Jason, stole all of Natasha’s allowance to buy a PS4. 

I finally arrive in Brooklyn. I walk to her house, looking at the trees and listening to the quiet surroundings. I look at all the houses with beautiful gardens in the front and perfectly-cut grass, and then I come across her house, which really stands out since there are bikes, scooters, balls, empty spray paint bottles, and chalk all over the ground. I try to avoid all the objects and get to the door safely without falling. Thank God I do because I wouldn’t want a sprained ankle for my basketball game or my karate practice. I ring the doorbell and wait for Natasha to open the door, but then Mrs. Smith comes out and asks me, “Why isn’t Natasha with you? I thought you two maybe had a sleepover since she didn’t come home yesterday.” 

I can feel my face become pale and my palms start to sweat. I take a big gulp.

“Well, uh, you see, she told me yesterday she had to go home to finish a project, are you sure she isn’t in her room?”

But before Mrs. Smith can answer, she falls to the floor and passes out. I open the door more to put Mrs. Smith on the couch, when I see Jessie playing with dolls, while Nick is trying to spray paint his hair, and Jason is skateboarding in the house.

“Jason, Nick, come help me get your mom to the couch, she passed out.”

They both stare at their pale mom lying on the floor, drop their things, and run over to help. Jessie won’t stop crying while screaming, her mom is dead. As soon as we put Mrs. Smith on the couch, Mr. Smith walks in and asks us what happened, although his eyes won’t leave his wife. Nick and Jason say they don’t know what happened, and they just heard me asking for help to carry Mrs. Smith on the couch. Jessie won’t stop crying and screaming, “MOMMY’S DEAD.” 

“JESSIE! Mommy is not dead, ok?”

 Jessie hugs her doll tighter and sits in a bean bag. Mr. Smith looks me straight in the eyes and asks me what happened.

”It’s a long story.” 

“Well, I have a lot of time.” 

So I told him about how we went to my house, played the floor is lava, and then Natasha told me she had to go do a project, so she left, and my dad went to throw out the trash at the same time. Wait a minute. Does my dad maybe know something?

”Uh, I have to go. I just realized I have karate in 30 minutes.” It’s not completely a lie because I do have karate class, just not in 30 minutes. Halfway through the door, I shout,  “Bye! Hope Mrs. Smith gets better!” I slam the door shut and run down a few blocks to get to Prospect Park so I can find a bench to sit on. 

Could my dad, no, but maybe. I mean he was staring at Natasha and he did come home earlier. He also went to throw out the trash at the same time Natasha left. But would he do something to her? It was so much for me to process, maybe Masha could help me. I quickly look for her number and call her. Please pick up, please, please, please.

”Hey Angel, what happened? Are you ok? Where are you?” 

“Thank God you answered and don’t worry I’m fine, but Natasha isn’t.” 

“What do you mean?!” 

“Can you just pick me up? I’ll tell you in the car.” 

“Ok, I’ll be there soon. Wait, where are you?” 

“In Prospect Park. I have to go. Bye.” 

“Bye, Angel.”

Now I have to call my dad. I take two big gulps and press the button to call him. I wait and I wait, but he doesn’t answer the phone. I really miss Natasha. Is she… no, she can’t be.  And for the first time in a while, I start crying. I see a black car pulling up on the corner, and Masha rushes out of the car to me and hugs me. She smells like peppermint. I wish she could be my mother. As soon as I summon up all my courage, I tell her about Natasha going missing and my visit to her house. And about how Dad came early and was acting strange around Natasha. He also went to throw out the trash at the same time Natasha left.

Then I look back at her eyes, because my father said, “a person’s eyes can tell you everything.” 

“Angel, I am sorry, but this time, I don’t believe you. Maybe you should talk to your dad. Also, I am going to Pennyslviana to visit my sister for three days, so let’s go back home and I’ll get my stuff when we get there.” 

“Ok.” 

“And I can call your dad so you two can talk.”

I nodded my head, too tired to speak. When we get into the car, I sit in shotgun and change the radio to “Lovely” by Billie Eilish.

”You really love Billie Eilish.”

I stare out the window, looking at the people. Then I remember I forgot about my karate class. “I forgot to go to karate class,” I mutter.

”Nicki, your dad doesn’t like it when you skip karate” 

“I know.”

There is not a lot of traffic today, so it takes us 20 minutes to get home. Masha opens the door, we climb up all the stairs, and for the first time, we don’t say anything to each other, which never happens since Masha and I usually talk a lot. She opens our apartment door, hugs me really tight, and then takes her backpack and her mini suitcase.

Before I close the door she hollers, “Don’t forget to lock the door!”

I laugh a bit and lock the door. I look at my dad’s door and decide that I want to see what I can find in his room. So I text my basketball coach that I’m not going to go to the basketball game because I didn’t feel well. I put my phone in pocket and walk towards his room. I can feel my heart beating. I know that whatever I find in there could possibly change my life forever.

I grab the handle and yank the door open, knowing that if I don’t do that, I would probably back out. I am shocked to see that everything about the room looks normal. Maybe Masha was right. I look around the room one last time to make sure I didn’t miss anything. All I see is a bed, a closet that’s wide open with business suits in it, a desk with no drawers, a rug, and a bookshelf with some Russian and English books. My dad made sure that I could speak Russian, German, and French. When I asked him why I had to learn those languages, he said because some of my family is from those countries, but now I know the only place my family is from is Russia. As I am about to leave the room, I see something under his bed. I pull it out from under the bed and see a big black box with Russian words on it, не открывать, which means “do not open” in Russian. I sit on the rug in case I faint when I find out what’s in the box.

I slowly open the top, and find a black gun with a bit of blood on it. I also find a piece of paper in a wooden frame that says, Мы убиваем за деньги, мы приносим смерть в другие страны, кровь на наших руках, мы убиваем, как медузы в коробке. “We kill for money, we bring death into other countries, blood on our hands we kill like a box jellyfish.” I breathe in and out three times, hoping something else in the box will prove my thoughts wrong. But they don’t. I find a knife and try to convince myself that it’s just an antique or a family relic.

The box has one last object in it. I take out a photo in black and white, with a picture of four men and two women. I see my dad standing next to a man with short blonde hair and dark eyes, and a woman with black hair in a bun and black eyes. None of them are smiling. Their faces give away nothing. In the back of the picture there is a sign in Japanese, ボックスクラゲ. I can’t understand it, so I Google it and figure out it means “box jellyfish.”

All of a sudden, a bunch of questions pop in my head. What does box jellyfish mean? Who are the men and woman in the photo? And why does my dad have a gun and a knife? 

And then I realize my dad is an assassin. I look at my phone and start panicking. It’s 10 PM. I shove everything back into the box and push the box under the bed. I close the door to the kitchen, take two white pieces of bread, and put peanut butter on one and jelly on the other. I put the two pieces together, lick my fingers, and go to my room. I sit on the bed staring at the white walls and eating my sandwich. My phone buzzes and I pick it up. I press the answer button and am about to ask her where she is and what she’s doing. 

But then I hear a deep voice with a Russian accent. I put myself on mute, so that no one will know I am listening. I pull the phone closer to my ears. It’s my dad’s voice. I immediately know what to do. Natasha and I watched so many movies and TV shows about people getting kidnapped. I have to distract my dad. Assassins are afraid of being caught, which means they’re afraid of police. I smirk a bit and call my dad. He has to pick up since Masha probably called him and told him about what I said about him, so he would pick up to avoid any suspicion.

And I am right. He does pick up. “Hello, who is this”

“Hey dad, it’s Nicki. So the police are standing in front of our door and they want to ask you some questions. What should I tell them?” 

  “Tell them I’ll be home in 15 minutes”

“Ok, they want to know where you are.” 

“I am at my office.” And then he hangs up. What my dad doesn’t know is that Natasha and I keep pocket knives in our shoes. That makes me realize that my dad doesn’t know that much about me. Now all I have to do is wait, so I wait and then I hear the door unlock, and my dad walks in the apartment. 

“Where are the police?”

“They’re not here. I lied.”

He takes his shoe off and takes out a gun, he growls, “What did you say?” He walks towards me and I walk backwards. I am pinned to the wall with a gun pointing towards my stomach. 

I hold up my phone. “I’ll call 911 if you shoot.” 

I can tell he is thinking. He moves the gun away from me and suddenly says, “Let’s make a deal. If you don’t call the police or tell anyone I’m an assassin, I won’t kill Masha.”

I hesitate. “Ok. But you have to leave Natasha alone.” 

My dad looks at me, nods, and walks to his room. And I walk to my room, and now I know my father is an assassin and he tried to kill my friend. 


Nothing But Nonsense

Chapter 1- Decisions, Decisions

One day, there were two people who were sent a SPECIAL letter. One was sent to Robert and the other was sent to Lyssy. All Robert wanted was a new job because after his school years he decided to give up, he left his job and his family. He lived alone and all he wanted was to reinvent himself and get a new job and be a successful person again. 

All Lyssy’s life, she felt confused, because after her school years, her family left her. Now all she wanted was a new family. 

When they first looked at the letter, they were confused as to why they got it. But after an hour of them looking at the letter in their driveway, they both decided to read it. The letter said, “Dear Reader, I don’t know your name so yeah just read and be glad you got the letter. So, you have been chosen to go to my Annual Debate CHALLENGE!! This is my email – iamdumb@debate.org. The End… Email me if you are interested.” Then they both closed the letter. 

Lyssy said, “The only thing I want in the world is to WIN THAT DEBATE.” 

Then Robert said, “I will win. MWAHAHAHAhahahahah!!” 

The Next Few Hours Later… AT LYSSY’S HOUSE

“I am going to CRUSH whoever is debating against me!” screamed Lyssy. (She was a very aggressive, smart, and competitive person, although Robert was a very gentle and careless type of person, but when it comes to debating, he was real serious.) 


Chapter 2- Stranger Danger

Finally, Robert and Lyssy decided to email their answer to The Unknown Messenger, as they liked to call it. 

The next day, Lyssy and Robert were alarmed at 6 AM so they could get ready to go to the debate department. When Lyssy was ready, she went downstairs from her bedroom and saw someone in her doorway who she assumed was The Unknown Messenger. She only assumed it was him because she had no other friends. When she finally calmed down that a complete stranger was in her house, she asked him why he was in her house. 

“Well, because I sent you the letter you emailed me back, so I thought I would come by and bring you to the debate department,” The Unknown Messenger explained. 

“OK second question, why do you look like that guy from Monopoly?” asked Lyssy. 

“OK first off rude, and second, we have to go to the other opponent’s house.” 

“OK fine but can I get breakfast first, please?” asked Lyssy. 

“Umm no, you will get it later at the department,” replied Unknown Messenger. 

“OK fine, let’s go,” commanded Lyssy. 

Chapter 3- Highschool History

The Unknown Messenger and Lyssy were at the other opponent’s house, Robert. But Lyssy had so many questions to ask The Unknown Messenger so she asked all the questions she had in her head. 

“So um, why did you choose me to do this? Who am I going up against? What prize would I get if I won? TELL ME YOUR NAME!! I can’t be debating for some Monopoly man I don’t know the name of.” shouted Lyssy. 

“OK, ok, just stop shouting, I’ll answer all your questions. First, I chose you because you were the only ones online that had nothing better to do. Next, you have to wait and see what you win. I want it to be a surprise. And lastly, my name is…” answered The Unknown Messenger. And that’s when Robert came out of his house. 

“Wait is that… ROBERT!?” asked Lyssy angrily. 

“Oh, do you two know each other?” asked The Unknown Messenger.

“Unfortunately yes, we met in high school,” answered Robert. 

“Well why are you two looking so pale? Especially you, Lyssy, you have so much makeup on.” 

“Well long story short, when we were in high school, she cheated off of me so much the teacher thought I let it happen, which I was totally against it, but she said she would make me popular so I just went with it, but I got detention for the rest of my high school year and she was kicked off the cheerleading team,” said Robert with anger. 

“Oh, I get it, you both ruined each other’s lives,” said The Unknown Messenger. 

“No, that’s not a summary of what Robert just told you, but whatever, just gives me happier to beat him,” said Lyssy with sass. 

“OK Ready Set, Let’s go to the debate department woohoo!!” said The Unknown Messenger with excitement.  

“OK whatever I’m winning,” said Robert and Lyssy at the same time. 

“Ugh don’t say what I say,” said Lyssy angrily. 

“I. Don’t. Care,” said Robert slowly. 


Chapter 4- Ethan

When Robert, Lyssy, and The Unknown Messenger got to the debate department, The Unknown Messenger was extremely irritated by Lyssy and Robert asking what his name was. 

“Tell us your name or we won’t do the debate and we’re gonna call the cops,” demanded Lyssy. 

“Why would you even call the cops over my name?” asked The Unknown Messenger. 

“Because you broke in my house without my permission without either of us knowing each other’s name!!” yelled Lyssy angrily.

“OK, fine my name is… Ethan.” said The Unknown Messenger nervously. 

“OMG, like THE Ethan Dolan!?” asked Robert in a girly voice. 

“No just Ethan, and don’t ask for my last name!” commanded Ethan. “Ok fine, let’s start this.”


Chapter 5- The Debate

Lyssy and Robert stood on the stage in an empty auditorium. Robert felt weird about it, but Lyssy didn’t care. All she was focused on was how great she thought she looked, and winning the debate. They were both wearing business suits, but Lyssy had on a tight skirt instead of pants. She also put on her special extensions. John didn’t really wanna put so much effort in what he wore. He thought that maybe if he looked like Donald Trump, he might get points for wearing what the president wore. So, he decided to wear a baseball and a professional suit. 

“OK, let’s begin the debate!” said Ethan happily. “The question is: if someone offered you a job would you take it? Like if you don’t know what the job is but it might pay good money, would you take the job?”

“Yes, I would take any job, I mean if it pays some good money, then I would take,” said Lyssy.

“No I wouldn’t take the job, although I would really like a job. The last time I agreed to something without knowing how much I was getting paid or knowing who was hiring me I ended up here, STILL CONFUSED,” said Robert.

“OK, thanks guys! Lyssy, you win!” said Ethan.

“But how, debating has multiple rounds. See, I knew this was fake once we even walked inside this EMPTY AUDITORIUM!” yelled Robert, pointing to all the empty seats.

“Well that just makes it easier for me because this whole thing was just for me to get a maid, so let’s go Lyssy!” said Ethan proudly. 

“No, I’m not going, I wasn’t made to be used. Especially not as a maid, I’m too pretty to be a maid,” said Lyssy while flipping her hair. 

“OK fine, leave then. You guys are going to the basement,” said Ethan angrily.

“FINE, IT’S BETTER THAN CLEANING FOR YOU!” said Lyssy and Robert at the same time as they went downstairs to the basement. 

When Lyssy and Robert got into the basement, they saw 4 other people. 

“Um, what’s you guys’ names, and why are you guys even here, did Ethan trick you guys too?”

“Yup, we were really tricked. Oh and my name is Albert,” said a small, skinny guy in a squeaky voice.

“My name is Jeff,” said a big guy in a deep voice.

“I’m Lilly,” said a tan girl in a normal voice.

“And I’m Rebbeca,” said another girl in a very emo outfit. 

“So do you guys think we should get out of here?” said Lyssy.

“We tried so many times, even Jeff tried and failed,” said Rebbeca.

“I’ll do it, weaklings,” said Lyssy, cracking her knuckles.

(Lyssy broke the door with her fists of anger.)

(Now everyone has their mouths open of amazement.)

“How did you? Teach us!” said Albert.

“Not right now, come on!” commanded Lyssy. 


1 Year Later

Lyssy and Robert became friends as well as Rebbeca, Albert, Jeff, and Lilly. They always met up and laughed about them being tricked by Ethan and how scared Robert was. Lyssy didn’t have a full family, but she had a very successful career, and Robert got half of his dream life. He got a family (NO gold diggers included), but was still looking for a job. 

THE END


Magic

Chapter 1

The Night Storm

Boom bang crash! Dark clouds covered the sky while I was inside my bedroom with my sheets over my head. I looked at the photo of my father on my nightstand. Me and my mother were looking at a bunch of stuff that was my father’s and found this photo. This was the only photo of him, he hated being in photos! My mother knocked on the door.

“Here is your dinner, Miranda,” my mother, Sarah, said.

Once I saw my mother, a thought just automatically popped into my head. How did Dad disappear? It was just like my mother read my mind. 

“We will never know. That night when he went to the lab, he just disappeared into thin air. Anyway, help your little brother with his homework.”

The next morning I went to my cousin Dawn’s house. We both were determined to find out what happened to my father. So we asked Dawn’s dad to drive us to the lab. He was overprotective of Dawn, so he set up a place where he would question us. 

So he said in a very serious low voice, “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?” he asked me. “I always wanted to know.”

“Um… chocolate,” I answered. Anyway, Dawn’s father continued speaking. He asked a lot of questions, so we thought the easiest way was to lie out of them, of course we learned that the hard way. We just said that there was stuff from the lab that belonged to my father. After A LOT of convincing, he FINALLY drove us to the lab. Okay, now step two, I thought. The guards. Me and Dawn talked about this. Our personalities were very different; I was on the dark side while she was little miss sunshine, so this is how the conversation went. 

Me: why don’t we threaten to stalk them for the rest of their lives?

Her: they will be threatened by two little girls? 

Me: good point. Then why don’t we cut off their toes and put them where they are not

supposed to be?

Her: NOOOO!!

Me: fine.

Her: why don’t we just use the same excuse that we used on my father: to recover my

father’s belongings.

Me: if you want to do it the boring way, sure. Why can’t we just knock ‘em out?

And that’s how the conversation ended. 

Chapter 2

The Lab

Then guess what method we used? Yes, Dawn’s method… such. A. Great. Method. But of course we got in. We went into the lab dressed how people who work in labs dress. White lab coats, goggles, and an evil smile on my face. We went to my dad’s workshop in the lab. It was empty with just a cement floor and a wood table, on the wall was a metal vent. We looked ALL over and found nothing! 

Just as I was checking under the table, Dawn shouted, “Miranda, there’s a switch here on the vent!” I rushed quickly over there and without thinking, I switched the switch down. Just then, the room transformed into a whole different place: potions filled the room, several different robot machines were roaming around from inch to inch. Paper was covering my dad’s desk from corner to corner. The room was pretty messy. Then, a whole different room appeared. There was a gigantic machine—his part was the only place in the room that seemed tidied up. The screen was showing the words “The Jurassic Times.”

Dawn looked really confused and I looked just as confused as her. Dawn was the one with the good eye and noticed a note on the machine. As she picked it up, she accidentally pressed the red button that said GO. Just then, I started to feel dizzy and the world started spinning. After a few seconds, things started to ease down. 

Chapter 3

The Jurassic Times

 I came to my senses and looked around me. I panicked because there were dinosaurs EVERYWHERE! Me and Dawn spent many hours running for our lives. We didn’t even have time to catch our breath. By the end of the day, we found a cave that was animal-free. We set up two beds that were made out of grass and hay. We also created a section for all the berries we picked to eat. We FINALLY had time to rest. Our cheeks were both red and we were breathing really hard. We looked at each other for a long time without saying anything. I  finally broke the silence.

“So…” I said between breaths, “we sure know what the machine is for now.”

“Yeah” she responded.

“I knew that your dad was smart but not so smart that he could make a time machine,” 

she remarked.

“We REALLY need to know how to get back!” I exclaimed.

The next day, we emptied our pockets to see what we had: I had a half eaten chocolate bar, a pack of gum, some money, a picture of my dad, and an iPod. Dawn had the note, she took some string, a pencil and paper. The note said: colonial times 828.

“What does 828 mean?” Dawn asked.

“No idea,” I responded. “Do you think Dad went to the colonial times?” I asked Dawn.

“Maybe? Anything else?” Dawn asked.

I checked all my pockets. “Oh yeah, I have a potion that I took from dad’s office.”

“What is it called?” Dawn exclaimed.

“It doesn’t have a name,” I replied.

Chapter 4

The Colonial Times

We drank the potion, then I accidentally looked at the note, then I went dizzy. After

that, we just blacked out. But this time, we ended up in a place where all girls wore dresses and bonnets, and boys petticoats and baggy pants. We looked down and saw that our clothes were different. Perfect! We wore the same clothes that everyone else wore! The time traveling with the potion came with clothes! Then I realized something! We were in the colonial times!

For the rest of the day, Dawn and I went looking for my father. We searched everywhere! We still couldn’t find him! At the end of the day, we stayed with a nice couple that said their names were Maria and David. They gave us a bedroom for the night.

“What do you think made us go into the colonial times?” Dawn asked.

I looked a bit guilty. “Um… I accidentally looked at the paper that said colonial times 828, that’s what probably triggered us to go here.”

“Ohhh, that makes sooo much more sense to me!”

“Yeah,” I responded. “So tomorrow…”

“Um, do you still have the picture—” I interrupted Dawn.

“Yeah,” Dawn finished her sentence. “We can show the people here it and see if they’ve ever seen him.”  

Every time we showed people the photo, they started murmuring to each other and started pointing at us. One person dropped everything she had in her hands and shouted, “WITCH!!” After that, with every step we took, people started backing away. Then, finally, Maria came out of the house and I showed her the photo. She looked shocked. 

She said, “Child, your father went to the place.”

“The place?”

Apparently I looked so confused that she started telling the whole story.

Chapter 5

“The Place”

“Once, there was a man and that man was your father. One day, he came out of nowhere. Everyone thought he was crazy because he kept saying that he came from a time machine from the future. They officially named him wizard of the year. This was the first time in 20 years they named a wizard of the year. Not since this one man who every time he snapped, a person in the town died. Everyone thought he was dangerous, and still thinks that. They think he is so dangerous that they built a special prison just for him. Anyone who goes in can’t get out. No one knows what to call it. So we just call it the place.

The legend states that the only way to bring a person out of there is if a person makes a potion strong enough to get out of there.”

Dawn murmured something under her breath so quietly that you couldn’t even manage to make out the words. Maria finished her story and nobody knew if that potion even exists. I was shocked! Dawn and I went back into the house. 

Right after we closed the door, Dawn exclaimed, “The potion that we have!”

I answered, “What do you mean? That potion was only for time traveling!”

Dawn explained, “When we went time travelling, do you know how much time it took to get here?”

“No?”

“Um, ten minutes and two seconds. And do you know how long it took to get to the jurassic times? 15 minutes and 56 seconds.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Oh I set a timer,” Dawn said. She continued speaking, “it’s like the potion wants us to be here.”

“Ok then what are we waiting for, let’s go!”

Chapter 6

Dirty Work

We walked and walked and walked and finally got there! It was in the middle of the woods. The place was very simple with stone walls and a moat around it and alligators snapping at you. It was so very welcoming! SO. VERY. We still had two things to do. Get past the alligators and get past the guards. Time to use MY method! This conversation was a bit different.

Me: this time, let’s knock ‘em out.

Her: can’t we just sweet talk them into letting us in?

Me: no!! We did your method last time, this time we’re going to jump on the alligators’ back and then they’re going to bring us to the guards. Then you go in the front and start talking to them. Then I sneak up on the back, knock them over and take their weapons.

Her: you can knock over the guards?

Me: I’m going to try, then you’re going to help me.

We jumped on the alligators’ backs, then they knocked us over.

I shouted, “Change of plans, we’re going swimming!”

It took longer than we thought, dodging all those alligators. We finally got to the castle and had to climb a bit. At least the plan with the guards worked. With a little help from pepper spray. When we got past the guards, we went to find my father.

“Miranda, is that you?”

“Hello? Dad?”

“I’m here.”

I turned around, then I saw him. He was nothing like how he looked in the picture. He looked older, dirty, like he hadn’t taken a shower in months. There were smudges of dirt all over his face. I gave some potion to my father. 

Then to Dawn, I said, “We’re going to drink it on the count of three, okay? One. Two. Three!”

I went dizzy then blacked out. We were back home. I saw my father and Dawn on the sides of me. I knocked on the door. 

When my mother saw me, she exclaimed, “Miranda, thank goodness! Where were you?”

When she saw Dad, all the color drained from her face. She screamed, “Ashton, come down here!”

“Ashton? ASHTON?” My mom went inside to look for my little brother. “Where’s Ashton?”

The End!             

Princessa

I am woken by a bright light. I shield my eyes, only to realise I’m not at home. I’m in a huge, puffy, pink bed with purple pillows. I, for one, hate the colors pink and purple. Those colors are signs of a princess. A butler walks through the door, and I shriek.

 “Sorry, Your Highness. Didn’t mean to startle you, Your Highness. Here is your breakfast, Your Highness,” said the butler. 

 “Uhhh,” I said. What was going on!? Since when was I royalty? The closest I had ever gotten to royalty was our dog named King. “What’s this?” I say. It looks absolutely gross! It’s a big bowl of oatmeal with pineapple on top. I hate pineapple and oatmeal is so plain.

 “It’s your favorite,” says the butler, with a little concern in his voice. 

“Oh, really?” I say, and the butler looks at me like I’ve gone crazy. At this point, I have. “Thanks, I totally love it!”

 The butler is so confused at this point. “Are you feeling alright, Your Highness? I will set up a visit to the royal nurse today, Your Highness.” 

The butler leaves, wondering what just happened. People say you should stay calm in unfamiliar situations, but I think it’s appropriate to freak out in this situation. Here I am, in a huge, comfy, and probably very expensive bed. It is so much nicer than the floor I slept on at the farm. I work there, and the pay is very low, barely enough to support my family. My mother is very sick, so she can’t work, and my father died last year. My brother, Bob, is too young to work, since he’s only five. My grandma lives with us too, but she’s very sick. Now I actually have my own room, with gold jewelry and a very cute, very huge, and very fluffy teddy bear. “Bob would love this teddy bear!” I mumble. 

I get out of bed, feeling like a princess. In this world, I am a princess. 

An old but very stylish lady runs into my room. “Enough sleeping, it’s time for your Proper Princess lessons,” she says.  That’s a thing?! Before I can say anything, she pulls me to a ballroom. 

“Whoa,” I say loudly. It’s gold and huge and gold and beautiful and gold. It’s just like the movies. Did I mention it was gold? 

“Enough dilly dally! We must get to work immediately!” says the lady. She hands me a book. “You know what to do.” 

“Yep,” I say nervously. 

“What is this word ‘yep’? Ug, the slang the children are using these days. You must say, ‘Yes mam’ or ‘Of course’. Do you understand?” 

She gives me a deathening stare. “Yes mam,” I squeak. 

Now, what to do with this book…Maybe I balance it on my head? That seems reasonable. I walk across the ballroom without the book falling once. I was good at this kind of thing since this is what I did for fun on the farm. 

“You’re getting much better at this, good job,” said the lady. “We are done for the day. You may leave.” 

I walk out and there is a grand staircase on the left. It has red carpet and silver railings. Seriously, a girl who was living with all of this for fourteen years has got to be spoiled. I walk up the stairs, and I can’t believe my eyes. There are thousands of gowns in so many different colors. Maybe not thousands, but you get the idea. They are all topped in jewels and more jewels and, well, more jewels!

 “Would you like to choose your dress for today, Your Highness?” asks the butler.

 I shriek, again. This guy has to stop creeping up on me! “Um, sure,” I say, even though I’m unsure on which dress I’ll choose. There are so many options! 

After 20 minutes of searching, I settle for a sea-green gown with blue jewels on top. I look in the mirror, and I can’t believe my eyes. I look like someone else, someone who is important.

“You usually pick a pink or purple one, Your Highness,” says the butler. 

“This one is just fine,” I say. I turn to him, realising he is too nice to lie to. “I have to tell you something, but you have to promise to stay calm,” I say to the butler. 

“I promise, Your Highness,” says the butler.

 I took a deep breath, and broke the news to him. I told him that I’m not the princess. I told how my life was before, with being very poor and working on the farm. I told him how my grandma was sick and needed expensive medicine. I told him I’m the only person who works in my family. 

“Ever since my father died, my mother has struggled moneywise. She has no one to lean on. My brother is too young to work, since he’s only 4. My mother has to take care of my brother and my very sick grandma.”

“Oh my,” the butler says slowly, almost in a whisper.

“That leaves me. Even though I’m only 14 years old, I have a full-time maid job on the farm. The pay isn’t much, only five pence a day. Just enough to feed my family. 

“Life is so much easier here. I just need a little break. I still wonder how I got here,” I say. The butler looks at me long and hard. He stares at me for what feels like hours. I think he’s deciding if this is true, or just a sob story. 

“Fine, I believe you. I won’t tell, but you must figure out who, or what, did this to you. You must return the real princess to the throne.” 

“Thank you!” I tell him, relieved my secret won’t be revealed. 

“Now, you have breakfast with the queen and king, your ‘parents,’” says the butler. “Act like you are royalty and use very formal language.” 

Breakfast was scrumptious and the king and queen didn’t expect a thing. They actually didn’t talk to me at all. They were just talking about work and laws and things kings and queens need to worry about. The real princess must have felt neglected. 

After breakfast, I try to sneak outside. I’m this close to the door when a voice stops me. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” it asks.

 I turn around to see a man with a measuring cup on his shoulder and a scissor in his hand. “We must do the dress fitting for the ball tomorrow night!” 

I’m going to a ball? Wow, that will be so magnificent! 

“Okay,” I say, and I follow him to the dressing room. It’s huge and right in the middle is the most beautiful gown I have ever seen. It goes all the way up to the floor and it has gold jewels all over it. It’s pink, but I actually don’t mind it that much. I wear it, the man and his assistants adjust the dress a little bit. 

“PERFECT!” the man screams. I look in the mirror and I cannot agree more. I get out of the dress and I’m told I have a horse riding lesson. Apparently, I’m some national champion. I don’t know how to ride a horse! Well, let’s just hope I’m lucky…

I come outside, and a lady with the biggest horse I have ever seen is waiting for me. The horse is black and tall. He looks calm, which makes this a little less scary.

”Get on the horse,” she says sternly. After about 15 times, I’m on. “Trot,” she says. Okay, it can’t be that hard. Maybe I just take the rope, and hold it. Then, maybe I fling it. The horse starts moving, slowly. It’s not a trot, but hey, I’ve never ridden a horse before. “TROT I SAID,” the lady screams. 

You need to calm down, I think in my head.

 I fling it even harder, and the horse is running at full speed. I’m scared, but I pretend I’m okay. 

“Yes, good job!” the lady says. 

The lesson continued, and it wasn’t as hard as it seemed. She taught me tips and tricks and by the end of the lesson, I could ride a horse! 

After my lesson, the chef made me lunch. It was handmade pasta with red sauce. It was more delicious than anything I have  ever tasted. For the rest of the day I had Proper Princess lessons. It was a little boring for the first hour, since we were just balancing the books. Then we went over proper tea party attire and manners. It was annoying, because apparently I “keep on getting in wrong”. 

After an amazing-smelling caviar, I go to my bed. It was such an amazing day. However, I feel guilty. My family is probably starving and here I am eating caviar.  I am sitting in the most comfy bed I have ever felt, yet my brother was sleeping on the dirt. I had to find a way to go back soon, and figure out what happened.

It is the day of the ball, and I am already excited when I woke up. An actual ball, that I would be dancing and twirling and being really important in.

“Your breakfast,” the butler says, rushing in with breakfast of waffles. “Are you excited for your first ball?”

“YES, YES,YES, OH YES!” I say in a loud, but not screaming voice. 

The butler leans closer. “Have you figured it out yet?”

“Figured out what?”

“Why you’re here!”

“Not yet, I have to find a plan.”

“Well, do it fast.”

“I’m trying!”

“Try harder!”

We start laughing, and then the butler heads to the door.

“Wait!” I say.

“Yes?”

“What should I call you?”

“You can call me Robert.”

“Okay. You can call me Maybell.”

“Okay, Maybell.”

I smile, and he smiles back before he leaves. The same man who did my dress fitting comes in. 

“Time to get into your gown!” he says very loudly.

“Ok,” I say politely, but excitedly.

“Come on, come on, no time to waste!”

“Fine,” I say, a little reluctant to get out of bed.

We go to the dressing room, and I put on my gown. I look astonishing. They then take me to the hairdresser, and they put my hair into a neat bun. This is a literal whole new world. 

Now I have to go to Proper Princess lessons again, in order to prepare for the ball. We go over proper greetings and the way to walk. We also practice walking in heels. It is so painful. I don’t get what’s wrong with sneakers. They are so much more comfy. Besides, nobody’s going to see my shoes. The gown is floor-long. It goes on for hours and hours.  

By the time we are done, it’s time for the ball. I make a grand entrance with the king and queen. Everyone is awing at us, and I feel really special. People talk to me, and I make a lot of things up.

“Hello Your Highness, how are you this fine evening?” asks the duke.

“Very well, thank you. How about yourself?” I say, sounding very formal.

“Very well, thank you. How is the royal swim team doing this year?”

“Very well, we can expect a win this year.”

“Good to hear it.”

I have no idea what the royal swim team is. I don’t even know how to swim! I just came up with stuff along the way. 

It is time for the dancing part of the evening. I am going to be ballroom dancing with multiple young men who want to marry me. Great.

I danced and danced, my feet getting tired and the heels giving me blisters. The last boy I danced with, Henry, wasn’t like the others. His eyes were sweet and calm. He was a great dancer, and our eyes were locked on each other. When it was time to stop dancing, we went over to the side a talked. He was like nobody else, and he was funny and a great listener. It was almost like… no, it couldn’t be… it was almost like… love at first sight. He was staying over at the palace since his father had work to do with the king. 

We spent the whole week together. We ate at the fanciest restaurant in town, Souffle. We went to the water park and went on all the rides. He was a great company. We were having dinner at the palace when I hear something I’ve wanted to hear for a few days now.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you something for some time now. In other words, since the day I met you,” says Henry slowly.

“I’m all ears,” I say excitedly.

“I really like you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” He bends down with a ring.

I have no words. This is one of the best moments of my life. I would normally think he wants to just be king, but Henry’s different.

“YES!” I say, excitedly.

I hug him so tightly, he could pass out. We run to the meeting room, and announce our marriage. Everyone is excited and congratulates me. I know I made the right choice. 

You might be thinking we are pretty young to be married, but we love each other too much to wait. Besides, my grandma got married at my age, so did my mom. It’s kind of a tradition at this point. 

As I go to bed, I am excited to now have a financé. I have so many plans for us. Then I go back to thinking about home. Would mom approve? Would she be mad that I wasn’t there and I couldn’t find her? I have to tell Henry. Maybe he could help me sneak out. 

The next morning, I find Henry. I take a deep breath and tell him everything. I tell him about me not being a princess and my back story. After I finish, he looks at me with those sweet, calm eyes. Is he mad at me for lying? 

Henry looks at me. “It’s not your fault. I’m not mad.”

“Good. Will you help me find the original princess?”

Henry thinks for a minute. Then, he gives me a smile. “Of course.”

“Great!” This is finally getting to a good start.

After lunch, we sneak out of the palace and into the village. We have to disguise ourselves. We don’t want the paparazzi getting in the way. We look around and call out, “KASSY?”, the name of the original princess. Nobody has any ideas on where she could be. 

After two hours of searching, I sit down on a bench. “We’re never going to find her and I’m never going to see my family again.” No matter how much I try to hold it back, tears fall from my eyes. 

“We’ll find her,” says Henry. “I promise you”

“Some promises can’t be fulfilled.” 

I look at Henry. His face starts smiling, almost like he came up with the best idea ever.

“I just came up with the best idea ever!” Henry yells.

Called it. “What is it?” I say excitedly.

“The only thing that has changed is you and Kassy switching lives, right?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“That means your family lives in the same house and Kassy works where you use to work!”

“That’s genius. What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

We run to the house and barge through the door. My brother is playing with his rocks and my mother is cleaning the kitchen. 

My mother looks at us, surprised.

“Who are you and why did you just come inside my house?” she says.

I want to tell her everything. I want to tell her I am her daughter. I want to tell her where I was. I want to say I’m sorry for not being there for our family. But I can’t. I have to wait till everything is resolved. 

“It doesn’t matter,” I say.

“Where is Kassy? I mean, Maybell. Where is Maybell?” says Henry in his stern prince voice. 

“She is at the Mare Berry Farm,” says my mother, a little scared at this point.

I feel bad, but there’s nothing I could do. Not until I find Kassy.

Henry and I run to the farm. I’m full of hope and fear. Would Kassy be mad? Can we fix our lives? At this moment, I’m glad to have Henry by my side. 

When we get to the farm, we find Kassy milking a cow. Wow, she is doing really well, even better than me. We run up to her. She looks at us, scared and surprised.

“I knew I would get caught at some point,” Kassy says, a little sadness in her voice.

“What do you mean?” I say, a little anger in my voice.

“I did this. I was the one who gave you the life of the princess.”

“How, What, Where, When, Why?” says Henry sternly.

“What is this, English class? Anyway, I was bored of my life at the palace.  My parents never talk to me. I feel like I have no family, no shoulder to lean on. Everyone just waits on me at a fancy place. I wanted to have family moments and actually do something for myself.”

“But it’s my family, my life!” I say, a little surprised that anybody would get bored of a life at the palace. 

“I know it was wrong but I was desperate. I made a wish on the magical well, just for fun, but I thought it was a myth. I didn’t know it would work!”

“Did you make the wish of June 27th?” Henry asks.

“Yeah, so?” says Kassy.

“All the wishes made on June 27th come true! There is no way to reverse them!” Henry yells in a worried voice.

“So we’re stuck like this forever?” Kassy and I say at the same time. We look at each other with sad faces. 

“Lets go to my actual house,” I say.

We all walk to the house and come in. My mother is reading a book to my brother, who is now asleep. 

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” my mother says sternly.

Then she pauses, like something is wrong. 

“Take off your hood,” she tells me. 

I do as told, and my mother gasps. She pulls out the birth certificate of both Kassy and I. 

“We’re… sisters?” I say.


20 YEARS LATER

“Remember the day you officially moved to the palace?” Kassy says. 

“The day we came to know we’re sisters?” I say. 

A lot has happened since that day. Kassy and I realised we were sisters. Apparently, the king and queen adopted Kassy. My mom, grandma, and brother moved to the palace. The king and queen bought the farm. We were a huge, happy family. Henry and I got married, and we had a child named Rose.

“Today is your coronation,” Kassy reminds me.

“Thanks for reminding me,” I say sarcastically, a little nervousness in my voice. “What if I do something wrong?”

“You’ll be fine. I gotta go get ready”

As Kassy leaves, I look out the window. It’s dawn, and the sunrise is beautiful. 20 years ago, I was wondering if my family and I would ever find a good home. Now, I live in one of the grandest places in the world. 


The Great Big Ocean

Alexandra had tried everything. She had tried begging her parents, she had tried refusing to come. Finally she agreed, but she convinced her parents to let her bring a couple books. But still, she was going to the beach. Her parents were taking her to the BEACH. Alexandra hated the beach, unlike her three year-old sister. Alexandra was very picky. One of the only things that she loved were books. BOOKS. She thought that there was nothing better than reading a good book on a summer day. She saw the beach come into view. Reluctantly, she climbed out of the car unenthusiastically. She got herself settled on the beach with her book, while her sister started a sandcastle.

“Alex help?” she asked. Alex groaned.

“Nooooo. I’m reading.”

“I’ll help,” said Dad.

“YAY YAY!” Alexandra’s sister, Charlotte, was grinning.

Silently thanking her dad, Alex started on her book about animal waste. Yes, animal waste. She was very interested in this right now. 

Her dad came over to her and asked, “Alex, want to swim?”

“WHAT! NO! I HATE SWIMMING!”

This was true. Alex hated swimming. Even worse, she didn’t know how.

“Alright,” said her dad. “But you need to learn how SOMETIME.”

Alex lay down just to find her book NOT THERE. Alex ran to her mom, yelling, “MOM! DID YOU TAKE MY BOOK?”

“NO, why?”

“MOOOM! ALL MY BOOKS ARE GONE!!”

“Get your other books, don’t bother me.”

Alex looked in her bag and reached in to find her other books on animal waste, only to find that they were also gone.

Alex glanced around to find a group of boys laughing and stealing glances at Alex. They had TAKEN HER BOOKS! 

Alex stormed over to them and yelled, “Give me my books back!”

A big boy, maybe 11 years old, sneered.

“Looks like that won’t happen.”

He had ripped out all the pages of Alexandra’s books and was now working on ripping the covers. Alex, trying not to cry, went back to the blanket and sat down. She loved those books. They had been her favorite. And now she would never get to finish them. She felt someone kneel down beside her. She looked up and found a boy with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes was looking at her.

“I’m sorry. My friends were being really mean to you.”

“It’s fine,” said Alex, even though it was not.

“You know there is a library on an island of the Ocean, right?”

“WHAT? Really? That would be so cool! I wish I could go.”

“You could,” said the boy.

“I’ll ask my parents. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Gabe,” said the boy.

Alexandra went and asked her parents.

“Mom and Dad, can I go with my friend named Gabe to the library across the Ocean?”

Mom looked surprised. “Sure!! But you know that you will have to swim across the ocean, right?”

“WHAT? BUT YOU KNOW I HATE THE WATER AND CAN’T SWIM!”

“Maybe Gabe can help you,” said Dad. “Go try.”

Alex went over to Gabe and said, “My mom made me swim!”

“That’s fine. I can teach you how. I’m on the NYC swim team.”

So Gabe took Alexandra’s hand and pulled her to the Ocean.

“Get in,” said Gabe.

Alex reluctantly got up to her chin in the water. Gabe held Alex’s legs up and told her to kick. Gabe let go and Alex felt herself float. It actually felt pretty good!

“Now move your arms!” Gabe continued directing Alexandra until she felt herself move in the water!

“What’s happening?” 

Gabe laughed. “What do you mean what’s happening? You’re swimming!”

“WOW!”

Alexandra had never felt this before. 

“Do you think you’re ready to swim?”

“I mean, yeah!”

“But will it get deep?”

“Nah, this Ocean’s surprisingly shallow, and I’ll walk with you and hold you up.”

So this continued until Alex spotted something disturbing. A big, big wave was forming a little way away. 

Alex shouted to Gabe, “LOOK, THAT IS THE BIGGEST WAVE EVER!”

“Oh, yeah, that’s the biggest wave of the year. It sometimes can kill people. Anyway, what’s your favorite thing to do?”

Alex was freaking out.

“Why are you asking me what my favorite thing to do is when we are maybe about to die?”

The wave was coming closer and closer, and the closer it came, the more Alexandra got more and more frantic!

“Okay, reeeeeeeeeelax! We can survive. It’s about a mile away, it just looks very close due to the size. But I think we will be okay.”

Alex noticed that Gabe seemed very calm.

“Have you experienced this before? You seem very calm.”

Gabe replied unusually. “Look, this wave is really scary to me too. I have not been in it before. But I have seen it, and this is one of the biggest waves ever. All I am doing is trying to stay calm, but inside me, I am freaking out. Just stay calm and—”

“But I thought you were the best swimmer in NYC! I am depending on you. I COULD DIE. This is really freaking me out.”

“Just because I am on a good swim team doesn’t mean I can swim through a wave as tall as the Empire State building!” The wave was less than 10 feet away from them now. “We are just going to have to face it now.”

Alexandra took some deep breaths.

“Face it,” she said, “FACE IT.”

The wave was about to come at Gabe and Alexandra. Alex braced herself for the worst. She peeked out of her hands— which were covering her face— and saw the wave a foot away. She heard Gabe yelling, “Do what you can! I am holding onto you! JUST BE CALM AND LOOK OUT!”

Alexandra repeated these words in her head. “Just be calm. JUST BE CALM!”

She felt the wave lift her up, high, high into the air. She spotted the beach and her Mom and Dad shouting. She couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but she could make out “Alexandra!” and “Careful!” She saw tears going down her mom’s face and her dad’s worried look. But she felt the comfort of Gabe next to her. Then, Alexandra felt the sensation of falling. Her brain raced as she shouted, “HHEEELLLLPPPP!!!”

The next thing she knew, she was flying in the air, head first. 

Alexandra felt her head smashed into the surging waves and a surge of pain in her right knee. She felt the sensation of falling into a dark, deep tunnel. She felt someone touch her shoulder. That was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.

***

Blink. Blink. Alexandra saw white. All white. She blinked again and realized that she was staring at a ceiling. She looked next to her and found her mom and dad sadly looking at her. She also spotted her sister in the playroom next door, playing with a toy airplane.  Their faces brightened when they saw Alexandra’s chocolate brown eyes.

“She’s awake!” said Dad.

“Thank God,” said Mom.

She felt her Mom kiss her on her cheek. Alexandra had millions of questions bubbling inside of her. But she surprisingly just couldn’t talk. (Emotionally and physically.) Why was she wearing pajamas with cupcakes on them? Who had rescued her? Was Gabe okay? Wait a second. Alexandra had a thought rush to her head. Was Gabe okay?

Alexandra looked next to her and saw Gabe, lying motionless. She saw a cast on his arm. It was white, but she could see red, probably blood. Alexandra felt so bad for her friend. And now he would never want to swim again, just like her. She saw Gabe’s eyes open and he mumbled, 

“Alexana?” He probably couldn’t talk as well, like her. Alex tried saying something.

“Hhhhiiii Gab.”

Huh. She was probably just tired. She saw the doctor come in, and Gabe did too.

“Hi guys!” the doctor said. “I am Dr. Ring. Gabe, you have broken your arm, as well as cut it on a rock in the Ocean, we think. Alexandra, you have a small crack in your right knee and will get crutches.” Alexandra hadn’t noticed that. She sat up and saw her knee in a cast. “You guys have headaches. You can’t speak very well yet.”

Dad spoke up. “Can we tell them what happened?”

The doctor smiled. “I think they would like to know.”

Dad started. “You guys had concussions. You didn’t feel this, but a lifeguard jumped in and got you guys. Then firefighters came. They used a crane to take you guys out of the Ocean.”

Mom continued. “The lifeguard couldn’t get you out because the waves after the big wave were too strong. Then they put you in an ambulance and brought you here.”

Alexandra felt better talking now.

“Shouldn’t I be wet? I- I was just in- in- in a big wave.”

“Yeah,” agreed Gabe. “How aren’t we w- wet and now both wearing cupcake p- p- p- pajamas?”

Dr. Ring laughed. “We cleaned you guys and dried you up. Oh, and these are the only pajamas we have.”

“Okay,” said Gabe. “But can you please get better pajamas?”

Just then Gabe’s parents arrived.

“Gabe!” exclaimed Gabe’s mom. “You should be resting, not talking about what pajamas this hospital has!”

“But they should have more,” retorted Gabe.

“Oh, hi Henry!” Gabe’s little two and a half year-old brother was staring at Gabe. Henry looked at Gabe.

“Gabee OK?”

“Yes, I’m fine, go play with Alexandra’s sister, Charlotte.”

Henry happily grabbed another toy airplane and started playing with Charlotte.

Alexandra decided that this was the time to tell her mom something important, something that had been waiting to say. Alex took a deep breath and began. 

“Mom?” asked Alex.

“Yes sweetie?”

“Can I learn how to swim?”

“Of course sweetie! But what changed your mind? I thought you would never want to swim now, even in pools!”

Alexandra started explaining. “Well, I don’t want to go in the ocean first, but I could take lessons in our swimming pool at home in Long Island. I want to be ready and not freaked out for a situation like this one.”

Gabe cut in. “Hey, I live in Long Island too!”

Gabe’s dad had an idea. Gabe could teach Alex to swim! “But Gabe, you’re cool because you are the only boy in your group that knows how to swim!”

That gave Alexandra an idea. “Can I get back at those boys who ripped up my books?”

“Oh yeah!” agreed Gabe. “We can push them into the water!”

Alexandra’s mom looked skeptical.

“Maybe that’s a little toooo much!”

Alexandra spoke up. “But can we do something?”

“Maybe just talk to them. But you should stand up for yourself and talk to them with Gabe.”

“Okay, after I learn how to swim because they are going to be meaner to me if I don’t know how to swim like them. Can we go home today?”

Charlotte and Henry came over. “Mommy, go home?” Charlotte asked.

“GO HOME! YAY YAY!” Henry was getting excited too.

“Yes, we are going home today,” the parents said in unison.

After a few more hours of rest, the families headed home. They went home in separate cars but Gabe promised to come visit Alexandra after they got home. (Because he was the one of them that could walk. Alexandra had crutches.)

At home, Alexandra met Gabe on the back porch. Gabe was the first one to speak.

“Well, this incident didn’t result in the best health.”

“Yes, but I learned to not be afraid of the Ocean and to fight through it.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you into the Ocean. This was all my fault.”

Alexandra felt bad for Gabe. “No, it’s not. It’s my fault for going into the Ocean. I wanted to go to the library.”

Gabe leaned over and hugged Alexandra. “You’re the best Alexandra. And it’s definitely not your fault.”

Alexandra leaned over to Gabe. Gabe put his arm around her. Then they heard footsteps coming. Thump. Thump. Thump. Gabe and Alex let go of each other and saw the mean boys coming over to them.

“Hey stupid!” yelled the tallest boy at Alex.

Gabe retorted. “Don’t call her that!”

“And you can call her anything you want, I guess?”

“She’s my friend!”

“Well, Gabe, then I guess you’re not our friends either. Go play with your girlfriend!”

“I’m not his girlfriend!” Alexandra said. “Am I?” 

LOOK ON NEXT PAGE!

THE END!!!!

Epilogue

After Gabe’s arm had healed and Alexandra’s leg healed, Gabe taught Alex swimming. Once Alex had learned how to be a great swimmer, the two of them decided to get back at those dumb boys. Gabe knew that the boys were going fishing, so Gabe and Alex had a plan. They swam in the Long Island river and pulled a prank on these boys. This was how it went. 

THE PRANK

“Allright, I see them.” Gabe and Alexandra were very exhausted having swam for so long. They could see the silhouettes of the tall boy and his friends. Alexandra was curious.

“What are their names?”

“The big one’s name is Parker, and his two friends are Daniel and Joshua. I used to like them, but now I regret EVER being friends with them. I much rather like being friends with you.” Alex blushed at the thought of how he meant “friends.”

Alexandra changed the topic. “So the plan is to push them into the water?”

“Yeah. I know our parents think it’s too much, but I think they deserve it.”

Alexandra agreed. “Surely pushing people into the water isn’t as bad as ripping up all their books, is it?”

“Exactly. Let’s do this.”

“IT’S TIME.” 

Gabe and Alex dove under the boy’s boat and pushed it over. They heard screams from above. Gabe laughed.

“Man, I haven’t heard them scream before. This is AMAZING. And they’re not wearing life jackets.”

Alex just thought of something. “Wait, will they drown? Let’s check.”

Gabe and Alex peered around the flipped boat and found Parker, Daniel, and Joshua trying to get back up on the boat.

“YOU-YOU DID THAT!” Parker was furious. “HOW DARE YOU!”

“How dare YOU rip up all my books?” Alexandra was glad that they finally got back at Parker and his gang.

Gabe cut in. “Here, take this.” Gabe handed them a buoy. “Use this to float home.”

Parker snatched it. “And why do we need this to float home?”

“Because we’re taking the boat.” Alexandra climbed on and helped Gabe up.

Daniel and Joshua yelled “No!” Parker just stared in fury. While Gabe was rowing away, Alexandra called to the boys.

“Hey! I hope the buoy fits all of you! Maybe you could SWIM?”

The boys groaned and started doggie paddling while their arms rested on the buoy. Alex and Gabe grinned and headed back home. 

THAT’S ALL FOLKS! WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK!

Endor’s Life

Endor isn’t like everyone else. He’s different for one reason, size. He’s bigger than any other of his species. He’s bigger because of mutation when he was born. He’s as big as the statue of liberty!!! There are monsters bigger than him, but those are different species. Like reptars and skylers, but those are other kinds. He’s only supposed to be 15 meters. But he’s more than five times the height!!! Endor is sort of like a turtle, but has spikes and has sharp teeth. Sadness makes him destroy cities. Anger. Rage. Endor has always been picked on by reptars saying, “Big body, gigantic coward!!!”

“Hey weakling,” said a reptar. His teeth started grinding. His spikes started bulging on his body.

“What do you want?” I asked. I was thinking of burning him with a flamethrower I was powering up in my mouth.

“Why don’t you get out of the way and give me your money, I want to buy something,” he replied with a grin on his face. Then out of nowhere, I blasted reptar. Then I realized I could use my size to protect the cities.

Endor faced many battles with skylers, fenines and more. But today was different.

“ROAR!!!” A huge roar was heard in the city, so Endor went to check it out.

What’s going on this time? I said to myself.

“Oh, just a reptar, wait, a REPTAR!!!” I screamed. Reptars are very powerful. So I went to the city to try and fight him off. But then, he slammed me onto a building. I shot fire at him but he shot me with plasma!!! I fell to the floor, he looked down at me, he was ready to devour me. There was nothing I could do. Except to fall in my fate. And sooner or later, I blacked out.

I woke up laying on the floor of a destroyed city. I did not know what happened. I saw the Reptar’s head on the floor. I saw a station over at the other side of the mountain. So I decided to go. 

I saw a skyler and he said he’d help me. So we made it there. But then the door slammed!!! I looked and saw some footage. I looked and saw me with the reptar!!! It showed me on the floor, and then my eyes turned red. I was shooting magma, shooting it toward the reptar, his skin started melting and then I fell. I was being tortured by the idea of being in this rusty station.

“HELP!!” I screamed. “PLEASE,” I said. “I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE!! JUST HELP.”

“Just calm down,” skyler said. “Calm’. It’s okay.’’ He calmed me down.

He managed to get me out, so we left the station. I realized, I was dangerous. But I was okay. I would still protect the cities.

THE END!!!

Far from Normal


Emma wanted to have a normal life where you can chill and get food at the store. But normal doesn’t apply when you live in a city infested with annoying sea dragons who go around asking for stuff. So it was a regular day at school when one of those things stopped her on her way home and asked for a fruit. She told it that she had none and walked on. However, the sea dragon did not stop. It followed her back to her house. She did not notice this until she got home and turned around to hang up her backpack and saw it standing right there, in the middle of a water spill on the floor.

“What do you want!?” she asked, exasperated.

“Can I have some fruit?” it asked.

“I told you, I don’t have any!”

She took her homework out of her backpack, went to her bedroom, and started it. Then the sea dragon tapped her on the finger. It had shrunk itself and was standing in the cup of water on her desk. 

“Can I please have a fruit now?”

That’s when she totally lost it. 

“Can you please shut now up now!!! For the last time can you not follow me everywhere?!” 

That’s when the sea dragon disappeared. For real, this time. Good, she thought, I can use some space. However, as she finished her homework she couldn’t help thinking that she had been a little bit rude. Don’t be silly, she told herself, it’s the thing’s fault that it can’t keep its big fat mouth shut. This still didn’t make her feel better about yelling at the top of her lungs. Then she smiled, and picked up a book. She read the title. “How to get rid of annoying creatures.She flipped the pages until she got to the page of sea dragons. This is what it said:

  1. Bore it out. Try patting your hair or blabbering nonstop about the newest book or movie. You might also want to talk about hair and makeup. They have no interest in that stuff. 
  2. Ignore it. Make it so tired of sitting there that it just leaves. 
  3. Don’t yell, or satisfy it. It will only ask for more, or keep asking for what you didn’t give it

Whatever. They shouldn’t expect us to do it that easily. It is not like sea dragons are cute little siblings. They don’t have any right to follow people all over the place. 

So what?

So they shouldn’t bother people!

Maybe you don’t have the right to yell!

Well, it was wasting my time!!

Well, two wrongs don’t make a right!!!

Fine. But it was still acting like a pain.

After that, Emma knew what would be the best plan. Just then, the door opened. It was Emma’s mom.

“Oh hi, Mom,” she said. “Can Kayla spend the night tomorrow?”

“Yes, but please do not stay up all night talking. If I hear a peep past midnight, I’m sending her straight home. Understand?”

“Okay fine.”

After her mom left the room, Emma sighed. She wished she and Kayla could spend the night giggling about the haunted comb at last summer’s sleepaway camp. (She knew Kayla had thrown it, Kayla liked to think it flew by itself.) Kayla was Emma’s best friend. However, unlike Emma, she seemed to think sea dragons were cute. At least they could stay up until midnight. It wasn’t a very long time for a sleepover, three hours, but it was something. After the incident with the comb, Emma had gotten a new white comb on a pink cloth. 

Okay, so it was a bit fancier than she expected. Honestly, she kind of liked it. Soon her mom called her out for dinner. They had pizza, which was one of Emma’s favorites. But she couldn’t focus on eating. She was too busy daydreaming. 

The next morning, Emma put on her favorite pink blouse and sparkly white lace skirt. She put little care into breakfast and brushing her teeth, as she had never cared for her morning routine. Then she ran off to meet Kayla at the bus stop.

“Hi, Kayla!”

“Hi, Emma! You seem quite cheerful.”

“Well, TGIF, because my mom says you can sleep over!”

“Cool! I’ll text my mom before we get there. And guess what?”

“What?”

“They expanded the bus system. So we don’t have to walk home!”

What? Are you kidding? This is the best news!!!”

“Um, what is so interesting about a bus system, may I ask?”

“Um… so we can get some rest?”

As close as the girls were, Emma could not explain that she did not want to be followed by an annoying sea dragon because Kayla seemed to adore them.

That was when the bus driver said, “C’mon girls, everyone is waiting for you.”

“Coming!”

Kayla put down her phone. “She said… Yes!”

“Sweet! So my house, right?”

“Yeah! So when should I be there?”

“Just right after school. I’m so happy about the bus system!”

“I never knew how much you hated walking.”

They chatted for awhile, until they realized they were they only ones on the bus. 

“Oops!” said Kayla.

“Come on, we’re going to be late for class again.

So as usual, they were late for class. In fact, the only times they weren’t late were when they had nothing to talk about on the bus, which was rare. 

“Ladies, what has been making you late for the past few days?” said the teacher, Miss Philips. “You both missed attendance. So you were marked absent. I guess I’ll have to adjust my notes.”

Emma sat down at her desk. So did Kayla. 

“Now, I hope you have memorized your times tables.” (The whole class sighed.) “Rose Miller, please recite the two times tables.”

Rose zipped right through (although this was probably because the two times tables are very easy).

The next five or so went through smoothly.

“Kayla Wexler, please recite the eight times tables.”

Kayla stood up and said them quickly, “Eight times one equals eight. Eight times two equals sixteen. Eight times three equals twenty-four. Eight times four equals thirty-two. Eight times five equals forty… ”

“Emma Taylor, please recite the nine times tables.”

“Nine times one equals nine. Nine times two equals eighteen. Nine times three equals twenty-seven. Nine times four equals thirty-six. Nine times five equals forty-five. Nine times six equals fifty-four. Nine times seven equals sixty-three. Nine times eight equals seventy-two. Nine times nine equals eighty-one. Nine times ten equals ninety. Nine times eleven equals ninety-nine. Nine times twelve equals one hundred and eight.”

After school, Emma and Kayla got on the bus. 

“Emma, did you ever wish that we could see the sea dragons more often? I mean, they are so cute.”

Oh boy, she is crazy sometimes. 

“Um, I never really thought about it.”

Because they are so annoying sometimes, she silently added. 

“Oh, this is our stop! Come on! I’ll run to my house and get my stuff, okay?”

“Sure, I’ll set up the sleeping bags. Or do you want to share the loft bed?”

“Sleeping bags sounds good. This way we can watch a movie or something. Should I get my own sleeping bag, or do you have a spare one?”

“Your choice. By the way, we can’t say anything past midnight. Or you get sent home.”

“Got it. Now I need to get my stuff.”

After that conversation, Emma took out a sleeping bag. It was pink with white stars. She laid it out in front of the TV. Then she went to her room and took out “How to get rid of annoying creatures.” Then Kayla came into the room. Emma instantly slammed the book down on the wooden floor.

“Hi, I put down my sleeping bag in the living room next to yours. Um, what’s that green thing on the floor?”

“Hi. That’s just a book. Why?”

“Let me get a look at the title. ‘How to get rid of annoying creatures.’ You’re not telling me you read this book? Also, why did you choose the green cover? I thought you would choose the pink. Or even white. Not green. I mean, it’s a nice color, but it was never your taste. Anyway, don’t you think this book is stereotypical?”

“Um, it only had green left. Plus, my room is pink enough.”

“But why did you get this book? It includes some of the cutest things ever. Look, sea dragons. Wait a minute, you bookmarked this page.”

“So?”

“So, you have been reading it.”

“So?”

“So, you agree with it.”

“Honestly, I do kind of think that they’re annoying. I mean, they always ask for stuff.”

“Fine. Let’s agree to disagree. But they are kind of cute in that way. Plus, they share whatever you give them.”

“Now that I think of it, they are kind of cute. Come on, let’s go get a snack. Glimmer chips? This time I did get them in pink.”

The girls giggled. As they walked to the kitchen, they passed their sleeping bags. The sleeping bags reflected their differences. Kayla’s was blue with a green dragon wrapped around it, while Emma’s was just pink with white stars, as most of her possessions were either pink, white, or both. Her only non-pink-or-white thing was “How to get rid of annoying creatures.” Kayla, on the other hand, owned anything with a cute animal decorating it. She was especially fond of sea dragons, and she hardly ever forgot about their cuteness. 

“Mmm, these are good,” said Kayla. “Are you sure you got these with your own money? Because they taste expensive.”

“Uh huh,” said Emma, who was sucking the chips, then chewing. Emma’s older brother, Eddie, burst into the house. 

“That is the slowest way to eat chips that I’ve ever seen,” he said. “You don’t suck off all the glitter and then chew. You start chewing as soon as it’s in your mouth.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“I can eat chips however I want, glutton,” she responded. “You don’t burst into the living room and say” (says this in a squeaky voice) “Eat it like this, not that, you have to eat before it rots’ like, that is so rude and nosy. I mean, keep your big fat mouth shut.”

By the time it was Emma and Kayla’s bedtime, the girls got into their sleeping bags and watched a movie. It was about a girl who was riding a sea dragon. Suddenly, Emma changed the channel.

“What was that all about?” asked Kayla. “We just started that one. We didn’t even get to the green ice cream part.”

  “Um, let’s watch The Sound of Music.

“Sure, but why don’t you like this movie? Do you still hate sea dragons?”

“No, but I still find them annoying.”

“They’re nice though. They share whatever you give them with all their friends. I find it sweet.”

 “I guess I kind of like them. But I prefer nuns and children, thank you very much.”

“Okay, let’s watch The Sound of Music.”

“Sounds good. Remember the line of kids?”

“Hey by the way, did you see those adorable water alicorns?”

The End


Just Edward

On Monday morning, Edward the snobby lobster lost his memory but he didn’t lose all of his memory. For example: he remembered his name and he knew how to talk. 

Suddenly, Edward felt hungry, but he didn’t know it, so he started wandering around in a huge, dark, black room with a small machine. But because he had lost his memory just a minute ago, he didn’t care.

He wandered around the room trying to find a door or a way out. After five minutes, he finally found a window that led outside to an open grass field. There was a little dirt road. Edward followed that road and ended up by a convenience store. He tried opening the door, but it was locked and the lights were out. He looked around, trying to find another way in.

Eventually, after five times circling the convenience store, he broke down the door by breaking it with his sharp claws. He crawled up a shelf, grabbed a bag of Cheetos, and started smacking his face into it because he didn’t remember how to eat. The bag broke and he started chewing the Cheetos. When he was done, his face looked like a giant orange. 

All of a sudden, someone walked in, studied the door, looked Edward right in the face, grabbed a broom, and ran at him. Edward climbed up a ladder that led to the roof, jumped on the guy, and started cutting his hair to the point that the guy was bald. Then, Edward ran out the door without him even knowing. 

Suddenly his friend, Luke, came out of the ocean and said, “Hey Edward, long time no see! How are you doing?”

Edward stopped, stuttered and said, “Who are you?”

Luke said, “You know who I am, stop playing around!”

Edward slapped Luke in the face. 

And then, Edward said, “I’m not playing around.” 

Luke shouted, “Hey! Why did you slap me?” Luke slapped Edward back and Edward slapped Luke, and that went back and forth for about two months.

Two months later…

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” shouted Luke as he jumped into the ocean. “It burns!” complained Luke. “WHY, EDWARD, WHY!” But Edward just ignored him and went on his way. 

Five days later… 

Edward’s face was still red and bulging with pain as he walked down the road heading towards Azweiture city. Edward was crawling to Azweiture city when the ground started to shake and a huge black and silver circle rolled past him and hit him with a wave of air. Another black and silver circle rolled past; Edward looked behind him and saw two big white lights speeding towards him. He crouched down and when it was right over him, he grabbed a bit of metal and pinched as hard as he could. Edward climbed on top of the beast, broke the glass, climbed in, and buckled his seatbelt. 

Ten minutes later, the driver got out of the beast and screamed when he saw Edward. He pulled out a thin brick with a screen on it and hit three numbers, 9-1-1, and hit a button that said “call” on it. One minute later, animal control came and tried to grab him, but Edward cut all their hair off. Everyone was too busy crying and feeling their head to notice the oversized lobster crawling away into the darkness.

Thirty minutes later, Edward had walked all 328 miles of Azweiture city and broke into house 229 Tin Street. He dug a hole in the ground and up into the Romanus’ house. In the house, Edward saw flashing lights coming from a big room. The light hurt his eyes and he didn’t like it at all. He scampered in and saw it. The source of all of that light was from a small penguin, but its belly had a rectangular blinding light. He climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling. He left little dents in the wall as he walked. Finally, he jumped down behind the penguin and cut everything he saw, even the wall. The penguin’s belly turned black. Then, Edward heard a “What?” from a fat guy with a brown bottle in his hand. He walked up to the penguin and tapped its belly. He looked behind and when he saw Edward, he ran.

Three seconds later he came back, but instead of a brown bottle in his hand, he had a big metal tube and a red strap on his head. Edward jumped on the metal tube and onto the man’s belly. He climbed up to cut all of the man’s head but when Edward got to the top of the man’s head, he found out he had none. The man grabbed Edward and threw him out the window and onto the street. Edward ran up to a woman with a big purple square on her back. He jumped on and squirmed into a small dark cramped chamber.

Five minutes later, the woman dropped the square and shrieked when she opened it. A man came running over and grabbed Edward. Edward pinched him and he yelled something that Edward couldn’t make out. Thirty seconds later, two men ran in with a small metal bar. Edward knew it was dangerous and pinched a triangle on one man’s face and and on the other man’s face. One man dropped his bar and ran away. Edward crawled over and pulled a small, thin metal piece with his leg, which was attached to the bigger piece. A metal ball shot out of the bar and hit a girl in the leg. Red stuff spewed out of where the metal ball hit her and she fell to the floor. Edward heard sirens and he saw red and blue lights shining through the glass walls.

Six men rushed in and saw Edward standing by the metal bar and the injured girl. They pointed their medal bars at Edward and they pulled the little trigger. A small metal ball came right at him. He jumped over the ball and rushed for cover. One man ran away and came back with a stretchy brown circle. The man ran toward Edward and tied the stretchy brown circle around his claws and put him in a cage. The cage was brought to a big beast with a big metal square behind it. The man put Edward in the big square and shut the two big metal plates behind him. He was trapped!

To be continued…

Carter & His Mad Lunchbox

“Carter! The school bus is here!”

“Coming!” I shouted.

“Don’t forget to bring your lunch bag!”

“Yeah, I know, whatever.”

I rushed to the bus just in time to see the fat bus driver wave his chubby, fat hand goodbye. Carrying my lunch bag, I trudged along the path to go to school. I was half a subject late just because the bus driver drove off without picking me up!

Fast forward, and we’re in my classroom after staying an eternity in the principal’s office to explain why I was late, which delayed even more of my time. When I entered my classroom, everyone looked at me, and half of them stared straight at my lunch. I looked down and saw water leaking through the paper bag. Like seriously, why do parents give their own child’s lunch in a paper bag?! No? Only me? Okay then, I guess only my parents are harassing their child even though I don’t even know what that word means or does, but it sounds like “spilling.”

Anyways, I sat down in my seat, and when I put my lunch down next to me, it went plofltp! My classmate made a disgusted face at me and quickly whipped her cube head back to the teacher and snickered under her putrid breath.

Fast forward again, and I finally made it to lunch with just a soggy sandwich. Long story short, everything else fell out. We went to the lunchroom, and I sat down with my only friend, Andy, who people also made fun of for being really short. 

Andy and I first became friends in first grade. One day at recess, Andy was being bullied by the school bully, Barter. I walked over and told Barter to stop.

He said, “No!”

Then he started kicking my leg and I fell over.

Then the teacher came over and said, “What’s going on?” 

Barter lied and said, “He tried to kick me.”

“But he’s on the ground,” the teacher replied. Then the teacher said, “Come with me, you’re going to the principal’s office.”

Then Barter started bawling, and Andy and I became friends at that moment. 

Every time Andy had even a little problem, Barter would come over and bully him for no reason at all and I thought, Please don’t bully me because my lunch is gone. Then, Barter came over and started bullying me. Barter snatched the lunch away.

Then, he realized the bag was wet and soggy, and he was like, “Ew, what did you do?” And he threw the lunch bag across the lunchroom, and it landed on a teacher’s foot.

The teacher hobbled over and shouted at Barter, “What happened here?”

I started to say, “He threw my lunch across… ”

And then Barter interrupted me and said, “He threw the lunch across the room, and it landed on you.”

And then the teacher said, “That doesn’t sound like a thing Carter would do.” 

Then Barter ran out of the lunchroom.

I whispered to Andy, “What’s up with him?” 

A classmate walked over and whispered in my ear, “How’s your lunch?” 

I bit my tongue to prevent the words I hate you! from coming out. So instead, I said, “Go away.” 

“No!”

“I am going to stay right here and watch you eat your lunch of air with a side of air and air for a drink!” She walked away, sneering and snickering to her friends. By the way, like half the class was her friend and the other half wanted to be her friend.

Andy said, “Why is it always us that gets bullied?!”

“Well… for one you are quite short for your age, no offense, and I am just bullied for my downsides.”

“I am talking to myself,” Andy replied.

The teacher came over and said, “I’m sorry for all the trouble about Barter and Victoria.”

Victoria was the second bully that came over to bully us. She was never nice to anyone except to her friends who actually didn’t support her bullying, but kept it a secret. Don’t ask me how I know, like please don’t. So now school just ended, and guess what?! I missed the bus to drive the students back home! That fat bus driver!

When I got home, I told my mom about the absolutely horrid day I had in school with my lunch bag.

“Call the principal, now!”

“I will… tomorrow…” Mom replied.

What?! Why not right now?!”

“Ohhh… alright, I will call them in a second.”

(She started casually phone calling some stranger, while tapping random numbers.)

Ahem? Where’d the call go?¨

“Didn’t you hear the phone? I just called them.”

“You cannot fool me, Mom. I know you were just tapping numbers and calling a random person.” Then I put on my I am disappointed at you for not calling my principal because two bullies bullied me because of my lunch on a Friday face.

I bet you’re out of breath from reading that, right? Well, to make it easier for you, it was my pouting face.

“Well, maybe you should change schools then,” Mom shot back at me.

“This was all my lunch’s fault because water started leaking from the bag. If it was Victoria, everyone in the class would go and help her in any way possible and would give her unnecessary amounts of towels. See how hard my life is?”

The very next day… 

We were driving to somewhere I wasn’t familiar with, and usually at this time we’d be pulling up to the school’s parking lot.

I asked my mom, “Where are we going?”

“To your new school…”

THE END


The Flower of Cator

I run around in my backyard, playing a fun game called Red Light, Green Light. I am playing with my four best friends: Morgan, Miranda, Miriam, Mira, and me, Madison. 

“Caught you!” Miranda shouts in glee at me as I wobble over. Suddenly, I fall to the ground, clutching my side. It feels like a side stitch, just worse; a million times worse. I scream in agony and I can barely stand up. 

After staying there for a while, the pain finally begins to subside and I slowly get up. My tear-streaked face looks around. All of my friends are staring at me oddly. Finally, Miriam takes me by my arm back into my house. Then, all my friends leave. 

My mother knows that something is wrong with me. However, she doesn’t know what. She thinks that I’ll be alright, I probably just got a cramp. She was wrong, and not doing anything was the biggest mistake she has ever made. 

The next day is my 14th birthday. Little do I know that it is my last. The pain gets so bad that we go to the hospital, but the doctors can’t find out what is wrong with me. I don’t know what is wrong with me. I keep getting sudden pains all over my body. Once, my heart stops beating. Luckily, there is a nurse in the room and she rushes for help. 

Everyone comes into my hospital room to give me get-well cards and presents. They know that I will be alright. After all, I am only an eighth grader, I’m not going to die or anything. They are horribly wrong. The pains get worse and I begin having a hard time breathing. The doctors put an oxygen mask over me while I sleep or else I might suffocate. 

The next day, things start getting out of control. I wake up in excruciating pain. There are doctors and nurses shouting “Code blue in 4-8.” 

I already know that my room is 4-8. I wish that someone would take me out of this misery. There are sirens going off of my heart monitor and all the other fancy machines around my bed. Soon, those sirens began to fade away. I know what this means. When the sirens fade away, I fade away too. My whole body is in agony, every muscle tense and screaming. I want to curl up into a tiny ball and melt into a puddle on my bed. 

I see a helpless doctor that is standing right next to my bed. He doesn’t know what to do and is staring at me as I slowly die. I let out a strangled gasp and that is my last breath. I close my eyes, see a bright flash, and leave this world.

***

It is a dark and stormy day when I see Courtney Quinn walking down the sidewalk. I jump back in surprise, for she died three years ago from cancer! Then, I realize that it is probably Miriam Quinn, her daughter, and also one of my best friends. She is walking around in the rain without an umbrella or a care that I am staring at her. I get a closer look and know, this can not be Miriam. She is way too old and looks exactly like Courtney did before she died, even with the same exact clothes on. 

I turn around and I don’t know where I am. It looks like a hotel, or a very fancy apartment. The room is very decorated and doesn’t look like anything that I have ever seen before. I search through my memory, looking for some kind of information that would tell me how I got in this mysterious place. However, I draw a blank. I can’t seem to remember anything except the fact that I belong here. Still, I know I remember some things because I remember Courtney and Miriam.

I wander out of my room and spot someone else in the hallway. There is someone that has their head down, slowly counting some kind of currency. When that person lifts his head, I see his face. It is my great-grandfather. My great-grandfather had died before I was born, but the pictures that we had were a spitting image of the man in front of me right now. 

I am starting to get freaked out. I see a group of girls pass by me who look suspiciously like the group of girls in the newspaper that had died in a forest fire. 

I don’t know where I am, and I am starting to get creeped out by the fact that there are a bunch of people walking around that are supposed to be dead. 

Everyone in town has an odd look about them. Some people are wearing very old-fashioned clothes, clothes that I have never seen someone wear before. There are girls and women wearing really uncomfortable-looking dresses, very old-fashioned dresses. Others are wearing headdresses made of feathers. Then, realization hits me. Those girls and women wearing those dresses are from a long time ago, from the pioneer times! And those people wearing headdresses. Those are probably Native American chiefs. How are they still alive, and what are they doing here?

I am so confused, and I don’t even know how I got here! No one even talks here! Over half of this town looks like they are going to a costume party! I open my mouth to say something, anything to myself. 

Hello, I mouth to myself. I want to scream, and I probably would if I could make any sound. I am like everyone else! I can’t talk! I feel so confined, so limited and it makes me feel claustrophobic in some kind of weird way. And then, that’s when I figure it all out. Why I am here, how I came here, and what all these people are doing here: I am dead, just like the rest of the people around me. And my room…

I lean outside to confirm my suspicions. On the exterior wall, there it says, 

M.L.M 

R.I.P

My room is a gravestone. This place is a graveyard. And I will never be able to escape. 

As I figure this out, bits and pieces of my past return. I see myself leaning over on the ground, holding my side. Then, I see it. Nurses calling “code blue,” then me. Myself dying. My sight is blurred by tears and I wipe away the tears. I never got to say goodbye to my parents. Not to my friends. Now, I am stuck in this wretched place where only dead people are. I want to go back. I want to return back home. 

I realize that I can leave my grave and go out on the street. When I do, I look down and realize that I can see down on Earth! I see people at a funeral and realize it is my funeral! I spot Morgan, Miriam, Miranda, and Mira huddled together with tears streaking across their face. Then, I see my parents crying together. I wish that I could go down into my funeral and comfort them. I wonder if I can! 

In this place, life is not fun. In this place, life is a void of emptiness and nothingness.  There is nothing fun to do here. My theory behind this reasoning is that most people that go to the graveyard are very old. Many people all over the world die from old age and infirmity. Usually, people that die from sickness are older as well, around my parents’ age. However, there aren’t many children in this place. In fact, I haven’t seen a single person my age. 

When I go to the graveyard manager, I write down a question for him.

How do I go back to Earth and get my life back?

“One second,” the manager says while flipping through a book. It feels relieving to hear at least one person talk in this silent and horrible world. “Here, found it! You must find the Flower of Cator and crush it along with some Amberse Water. Then, you must spread the poultice on your head and temples to rejuvenate the life there in your brain, for it is believed that your soul is actually in your brain. The only thing that I can help you with is this.” And with that, the manager leaves, leaving only a glass vial and a piece of paper behind. 

I pick up the vial, wondering what it is. Then, I realize that it contains that Amberse Water, which I needed to mix with the Flower of Cator! Then, I pick up the paper and see that they are directions on how to find the Flower of Cator. I read the first instruction. 

  1. Find the Master of Meditation. After doing this, ask him for help finding what you seek. No one has succeeded in doing this before, so the rest of the instructions are unknown.

Okay, so I know that I need to find this ‘Master of Meditation’ person. I see an old man that is sitting down with his legs crossed and arms in front of him. He is meditating. He will probably know how to find this Master of Meditation person. I walk up to him and show him the paper and Amberse Water. 

“You are looking for the Flower of Cator?” the man rumbles. I jump back in surprise, both because of the fact that he can talk and also that he already knows what I need. The man taps me on the throat and I fight the urge to run away. What is this creep doing? Then, I realize. This man is the Master of Meditation. “Speak!” the man announces. I look at him oddly. After all, shouldn’t he know that I can’t talk?

I clear my throat and attempt anyway. “H-hello?” I mutter under my breath. “Hello!” I exclaim in excitement. “My voice! It’s back!”

“Wow, I totally couldn’t tell,” the Master of Meditation groans. “Call me Mac. That was my name before…” his voice trails off. I decide not to question him because it’s obvious he doesn’t want to talk about it. “Now, you seem to be pretty confident about this Flower of Cator.”

“Yes,” I agree. “I really need to find this Flower so that I can get my life back and return back to Earth. I really miss my family and friends.”

“Well, I don’t think I can help you with that,” the man says to me, beginning to leave. 

“Wait! Please! I’ll do anything!” I plead to the man.

“Anything,” the man says with a smile beginning to creep up on his face. “You say? Well, then, I will help you. However, you must do everything I ask of you.”

By now, I am so desperate to get back to Earth, I accept. If I don’t get back to Earth, I’ll be stuck in this place forever! I don’t think I can survive with so much boredom in this place! We agree to meet at Dead Man Hill the next day. 

When I wake up the next day, I stretch and get ready to head for Dead Man Hill. When I get there, I see Mac already standing there underneath the hill. He seems impatient and irritated that I am late, but we never even had a certain meeting time. He just said, morning. Technically, if he is annoyed that I am so “late”, he is to blame for not telling me when we were going to meet up. After all, he was pretty vague on the time for meeting.

“Finally, you’ve come here,” Mac grumbles softly. “And don’t talk too loudly. After all, we don’t want those old grumps to be suspicious at you.”

I want to tell him that he has no right to call those old people old grumps because he is one himself, but I bite my tongue. I don’t want to annoy Mac because he is the only chance of me ever returning back to Earth with my family and friends! 

Mac has a lot of drills for me to do, and they are all puzzles. Puzzles to test my logical ability and other things like that. Here is one of my puzzles:

If

34+5=36

56+2=39

27+6=45

47+5=48

28+1=33

then

41+5=?

I don’t understand what help this will be to me. All I need is directions that lead to the Flower of Cator. However, I don’t want to question his way of thinking. 

After all of those puzzles, Mac makes me do all of his housework. He makes me mow his lawn and do his laundry. After I finish cleaning two extremely large windows, I realize now I’ve been bamboozled. 

“You’re not really the Master of Meditation, are you?” I accuse to Mac.

He shrugs. “I never said I was,” he replies. “You always just assumed it. Anyway, I got a lot of good things out of this. Thanks Mad.”

And I am very mad. Just like my nickname. In fact, I am furious. I storm out of Mac’s house, making a point to spill dirty water all over his floor and windows, then toss the dirty sponge and towel at his chest. 

I can’t believe that he tricked me into believing that he was actually the Master of Meditation. I was so stupid. 

The next day, I set out to look for the real Master of Meditation. And then, I realize something. How did Mac return my voice if he wasn’t the real Master of Meditation. It hits me like a car. The real Mac was at the place two days ago. However, yesterday, the real Mac didn’t show up. Meaning Mac was probably locked somewhere, or was taken somewhere! I have to find him, now! 

I head to the place where I first met Mac, in the lobby of my graveyard apartment. I don’t see anyone there, but I suddenly hear some muffled screams. I hear them coming from the janitor’s closet, so I rush over there. 

The door is locked. Luckily, I have a bobby pin with me because I need to hold back my long hair while playing soccer. I quickly pick the lock and open the door. I see Mac in there all tied up with a gag over his mouth. 

“Mac!” I cry out in horror. I quickly untie the ropes that are holding him back. 

“Uh oh,” Mac mutters. “Look behind you.”

I slowly turn around and see that every single person in the lobby is staring at me with disbelief as if I had grown another arm. Then, I realize why they are staring at me! I cried out ‘Mac’ really loudly and other people must have heard me. I want to run away but my legs aren’t functioning properly right now. 

The crowd closes in on us. It’s like a zombie apocalypse is attacking us, millions of people. Finally, my instincts return and I grab Mac’s arm and we run out of the building. 

“Are you crazy?” Mac asks me. “What are you thinking, talking that loud in front of all those people out there!” 

“I’m sorry, okay?” I retort. “I’m still trying to get used to the fact that I can’t speak with freedom.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that you found me. I thought I was going to suffocate if I had to stay there any longer. Luckily, oxygen was coming through the bottom of the door. I’m very claustrophobic, you know. What took you so long?” Mac rapidly asks. I am so annoyed. 

“You’re lucky I even came to save you. Instead of complaining, you might want to thank me for saving your butt right there!” I yell at Mac. 

“Geez, I’m sorry,” Mac mutters. 

We head off in silence. We can’t hear the crowd of people anymore, but we couldn’t hear them in the first place anyway. After we travel a long way, Mac stops me to talk. 

“Look, it’s time that I tell you how you’re going to get the Flower of Cator,” Mac tells me. “I can’t come with you because if I come in a one-mile radius of the flower, you and I will get trapped forever. This flower is very heavily guarded. There are only two. There used to be three, but I took one of them. The reason why I’m not on Earth is because I only had time to put a little on my head before they caught me. Don’t ask me who they are. There is a certain scent that will knock out the guards. You must carefully pluck the flower with its roots as well, for it must thrive or it will disintegrate if it dies.”

I process all the information that I have learned. Then I ask a question to Mac. “Where will I get this scent from?”

“I have it,” Mac takes it out of a heavily padded container. Then, he takes out two sets of nose plugs. “Here, open it after putting on the nose plugs.”

I open the container and I can smell it, even through the nose plugs! It smells horrible! I feel like I’m going to hurl. If it weren’t for the nose plugs, I probably would have passed out from the smell. I quickly close the container. Then, I reach to pull out my nose plugs, but Mac stops me. 

“Don’t,” he warns me. “The smell stills lingers for a couple hours. Leave them in until we go to bed.”

It is a couple hours ‘til it was time for me to sleep, so I decided that decision to be wise. We head over the hill and soon, the sun sets. I can see a faint blue glow very far in the distance. 

“That’s the natural glow of the Flower of Cator,” Mac explains after seeing me looking. “When the glow begins to fade, the flower is dying. This species of flowers used to be invasive, but soon, they began to die out. Rangers tried to destroy these flowers with acid and poison but it didn’t work. In the end, they destroyed it with fire. However, the chemicals from the acid and poison caused the flowers to become supernatural. They got a blue glow to it and possessed supernatural healing and rejuvenating powers.”

We set up camp and I remove my nose plugs. I can just barely smell the scent of the liquid in the vial. 

“It’s Aceart Water,” Mac explains to me. “It’s sucked from the Aceart plant.”

I nod in interest. This world turns out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it would have been when I had first died. 

The next morning, Mac tells me his whole story. Mac isn’t dead; he is very different from everyone else in this world. In fact, Mac is in the real world right now, but he’s also in this world. The reason is that Mac got into a really bad accident and he fell into a coma. When he fell into a coma, the doctors tried really hard to wake him from that coma. However, for the past nine years, Mac had never woken from his coma. Mac came very close to death many different times. Because of this, he became a part of this world. However, Mac says that he is kind of in between this world and the world where he is in a coma. 

The reason why Mac has the ability to return my voice and do many other things is because he messed up. Mac wanted to return back to the regular world, all rejuvenated, but he failed to do so. Like me, he attempted to get the Flower of Cator. He did get the flower, but he didn’t get Amberse Water. Mac thought that it was Amberse Water, but it was more of a copycat, a type of liquid that would give supernatural powers. This was called Ravenkint water. He spread the poultice over his head and temple, but only had enough time to use a little bit of it before he was caught. Mac only got small bits of abilities, but he used them to his advantage. Unfortunately, due to this mishap, being caught anywhere close to the Flower of Cator will be big trouble for Mac if anyone finds out. 

After he tells me the story, we begin traveling once again. I can tell that we are close to the flower; I can feel it. It is like a sixth sense to me. After long, hard traveling, we finally reach the botanical garden where the two flowers are being kept. 

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Mac tells me. “Blow this if you need help, and make sure to use that Aceart Water,” and hands me a whistle. It kind of looks like a dog whistle, and I wonder if it works like one too. I decide not to attempt blowing into it unless I got into a lot of trouble. 

Mac slips away and I slowly creep towards the flower. At the last second before I enter the building, I remember to put on my nose plugs. I rummage through my bag for the nose plugs, but I can’t find them! I realize that I must have left them with Mac! Uh oh! I’m in big trouble now. What am I going to do without the nose plugs! Suddenly, I spot some really nasty smelling plant. I form a plan in my head. 

I walk towards the group of guards surrounding the plant with those smelly plants stuffed up my nose. I must look really weird with those plants up my nose because one of the guards stare at me as if I’m mentally ill. Before any of the guards get the chance to ask me something, I open the vial of Aceart Water and one by one, the guards topple over like dominos. 

After they are on the floor, I reach over to pick one of the flowers. There are two, one seeming younger than the other. I pick the older one and quickly flee the place. 

Outside, Mac is waiting for me. “Did you get it?” he whisper-shouts. 

“Yes,” I reply. I am about to take the Amberse Water out of my backpack when suddenly Mac reaches for the flower. My reflexes kick in and I jerk the flower away from the reaching hands of Mac. “What are you doing?” I demand. 

“Madison, you are such a gullible child,” Mac laughs. “Don’t you know that I tricked you? That I wasn’t actually helping you?” All the pieces come together. Of course! Mac had played me. He just tricked me. He needed the flower to heal himself! 

“So all my hard work was for nothing!” I shout at Mac. I am livid. 

“Of course not!” Mac protests. “I need you to do all the manual work and get the flower for me, for I couldn’t get it myself after the last mishap.”

I am furious at Mac for tricking me, and myself for falling for it. I run away, trying to escape from Mac. All my hard work had gotten me this flower and Mac hadn’t done a thing! Unfortunately, Mac was unusually speedy for someone his age. However, I knew that Mac would never be strong enough to climb a tree.

I never climbed a tree, not even when I was a little girl. I hated getting dirt on my hands and also, my hands were really soft and it hurt when I even tried to do the monkey bars. Climbing trees was never my type of thing. Although this crisis was just hitting me, I tried to channel my inner monkey and grabbed a branch and began to climb. When I was close to the top, the branch broke and I almost went tumbling down 15 feet, but a stray branch broke my fall and also knocked the wind out of me. 

I was right about Mac being unable to climb the tree. He lingered at the bottom shouting, “You can’t stay up there forever! You’ll come down eventually for the Amberse Water!” However, he didn’t know that I had the Amberse Water in my backpack. 

I slowly pulled it out of my backpack and yelled back at Mac, “I have the Amberse Water right here!” and waved the vial. That was it. That’s all it took to set off Mac with shouts of anger. 

I took out the flower and I remembered that I had to crush it. However, I didn’t have a rock or anything to crush it with, so I knew that I only had one choice. 

I popped the flower in my mouth and began chewing on it. I pleaded that this flower wasn’t poisonous. The Flower of Cator actually had a fruity taste to it! After the poultice seemed pretty chewed up, I spit it out on my hand and poured in some of the Amberse Water. After mixing it together, I spread all of it over my forehead and temple. I even put some on my scalp. 

After this, I could still hear the faint shouting of Mac as my skin began to glow. I was going back home. 


The Adventures of Chester Lansbury

Part One

My name is Chester. I am a cat of high society. I share a home with a human named Angela Lansbury. My life is simple yet exquisite and luxurious. 

Like most cats, I like sticking to a routine. This is my routine:

  1. Wake Angela up
  2. Meow until Angela feeds me
  3. Eat 
  4. Let Angela dress me
  5. Dress Angela
  6. Groom myself
  7. Get in the “kitty carrier”
  8. Go to tea with Angela

So naturally, I am stressed to death when I hear a knock at the door at approximately 7:13 A.M. just as I am eating my tuna and caviar salad. Angela (still dressed in her bathrobe) shuffles over to the door and cautiously peers through the eyepiece. Then she attempts to open the door. It takes her a minute to get the latch undone, but when she does, a tall, broad, important-looking man flanked by two police officers step into the foyer.

“Officer Lincoln!” exclaims Angela. “What brings you to my penthouse so early in the morning?”

“Official business.” 

“Official business?” she asks, taking a seat on an antique sofa. “What sort of official business would concern me?”

“Your safety of course, Mrs. Lansbury,” he replies in a most casual tone. “Someone, you see, has been targeting renowned Broadway actors and actresses.”

At this, Angela lets out a small shriek. She opens her mouth to speak, but no sound comes out. A moment passes.

In a small, shaky voice she manages to say, “You mean to say, Officer Lincoln, that I am in danger of being assassinated?”

“Yes, I do,” he replies. “I hope you understand, Mrs. Lansbury, but you are not safe here, so you must go into hiding.”

“Hiding?! But who will take care of my darling Chester?” 

“I’m afraid I don’t know the details, just that a caretaker has been arranged and that you must come with us immediately. Your cat will be dropped off with the sitter shortly after we leave.”

A sitter? They’re leaving me with a sitter?

“Can’t I at least meet the sitter?” Angela begs.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’ve got orders to follow!” says one of the officers who is standing around in the background.

Angela, Officer Lincoln, and I shoot him a look. The officer blushes and trains his small, watery eyes on his shoes. 

“Well,” Angela declares, “I must get packing for wherever it is that you are taking me.” 

“I’m afraid we were given strict instructions to leave your apartment untouched. It would look suspicious to anyone who set foot here if you took many of your things with you,” says Officer Linclon.

So, still dressed in a bathrobe, Angela, the two police officers, and Officer Lincoln ‘discreetly’ leave the building. It’s hard to be discreet when you have a celebrity with you. I climb to the top of the ‘cat castle,’ which actually is a fairly large structure that is carpeted in a soft, furry fabric that smells lovely. Ahh… I think. Unfortunately the smell isn’t enough to distract me from the dark cloud on the horizon in the shape of a cat-sitter. Also, there is the fact that Angela is in potential danger. My stomach knots itself. I am not used to being so nervous right after breakfast. I wonder to myself: what will this sitter be like? Would she even feed me?

 Then, all of a sudden, I hear keys in the lock. Could it be? The new sitter? I curl myself into a tight ball and watch, concealed from my castle, as a tall, thin woman wearing all leather steps inside the room. She opens a large, leather cat carrier and from it emerges a particularly malevolent-seeming pair of leather gloves which she pulls on as she scans the room for me. I hope she will have to check all 21 rooms of the penthouse before finding me. She tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder. I shrink back to the corner of the cat castle, hoping she won’t find me. But then the worst thing happens. I step on a squeaky toy. The sitter whips around, her pale blue eyes fixed on mine. 

“There you are, kitty.” She smiles, and I notice for the first time since I had met her that she has a long scar that runs from one corner of her mouth down to the base of her neck. “You and I are going to have a lot of fun together.” She is grinning now.

Then before I know what is happening, she is aiming what I recognize as a tranquilizer gun from watching soap operas with Angela right at me. The room starts to spin. I take one last glance at the sitter, her icy eyes bear right into mine, and then she is gone. And I am alone.

Part Two

I shiver awake and find myself in a freezing cold room. I long to go out and explore or possibly escape the clutches of the evil cat-sitter who tranquilized me who knows how long ago. As I start to get up, however, my face squishes against what seems to be a metal grate. Of course, I am in a cage. I can’t just expect her to let me walk around doing whatever I feel like. My ears perk up at a noise in the background. It is like lots of glass beads clinking together. The door swings open, and I recognize the police officer who had snapped at Angela earlier, followed by the dreaded evil cat-sitter.

“Where do you want the arsenic, Ms. A?” asks the officer.

Arsenic?! They have arsenic? I knew they were evil, but what do they need arsenic for? They’re not planning to kill anyone, are they?

“Right there is fine, Robert,” replies the cat-sitter, aka Ms. A.

“Well, who’s it going to be tonight, Ms. A?” asks Robert. 

“Lansbury.” My eyes bulge. I can’t believe my ears! “A little bird told me… ” Ms. A continues, “that you know exactly where Angela Lansbury is hiding.” 

“On 128th St in Luke’s Donut Shop,” mumbles the officer.

I gulp. I know saving Angela is entirely up to me. So when Robert comes to feed me some crumbly brown balls, I bite him so hard he lets loose a shriek, and I manage to scamper out of the freezing cold room, which turns out to be a huge refrigerator. I turn a corner into a room filled with tables and chairs, which I instantly recognize as a restaurant. I spot the doorway, which very conveniently has a catflap at the bottom which means this had to be the place Angela liked to go to with me when I was a kitten. Also, I am two blocks away from home! I am not quite sure what I will do what I get there. Whew. I need to stop talking so fast. All this sprinting is getting to me. 

As soon as I get home, I jump on the doorman’s desk, pumped full of adrenaline. Henry, the lonely doorman, would do just about anything for me. I pounce onto his keyboard, and after a series of pokes and prods, I manage to type in the address. He is so surprised that he doesn’t even notice that I am not accompanied by a human. 

“You want to go get some donuts, buddy?” he asks me. I nod my head like I’ve seen many other humans do. “Okay!” he says, abandoning his post. He is a good friend but not a very good doorman. He hails a cab, and we clamber aboard. The driver doesn’t even notice I am there. “Luke’s Donut Shop, please,” requests Henry.

The cab smells like incense. It is a long ride. Finally, we arrive. I leap out of the cab and swiftly race into the donut shop. I dash around the cashier counter and into the back room. 

“Chester!” cries Angela. “What are you doing here! Where’s the sitter?”

I let out a pained meow. Officer Lincoln seems to get the message. 

“We need to move!” he barks. “Now!” Angela, an officer that I don’t recognize, and I sprint out of the store, pursued by the lady behind the counter who tears off her apron to reveal a crisp, blue uniform. On the corner, we run into Ms. A and Robert dressed up as business people carrying briefcases. I hiss as an indication that these are the evil ones.

“Hands up!” chime all three of the police officers, brandishing pistols at them.

Ms. A and Robert, who are not expecting to be caught, drop their briefcases and bolt in the other direction. What happens next is so bewildering I myself can’t believe it is happening. Angela takes a tranquilizer from who knows where and shoots them both square in the bottom. They drop to the floor. As the officer cuffs Robert and Ms. A and pries open the briefcases to reveal a syringe loaded with arsenic and two pistols, Angela engulfs me in kisses. It feels good after what I have just been through.

Epilogue

I am perched on top of a soft, furry stool made of the same material of my cat castle back home.

A news reporter squishes her powder-caked face against mine for a photo. When I agreed to have a news feature done about me, I didn’t know that people would be invading my personal space and rubbing their grubby little fingers on my sleek, glossy fur. I am so relieved when it’s time to go home to all my new friends. Officer Lincoln, the other two officers, Henry, and Angela are throwing me a ‘surprise’ party. Henry let it slip, and now I know. Life is good.

Fighting For Health

I lay crying, in bed, with a body.

That body used to belong to my sister, my pale, thin-skinned, dark-haired sick sister. She was the happiest girl in our town and would help people who were sad or angry. 

My mom was also about to cry. She sat in the corner of the room next to my dad. I wailed and cried until I almost could not breathe. Then, my mom came up to the bed, patted her head, and let a tear out. Then, she left the room. We followed her to the parking lot of the hospital. We drove home, and my parents and I walked into our cold, empty house. I ran to my room. I cried her name again and again: Lauren, Lauren, Lauren! 

Blond, beautiful, fun Lauren.

When I finally stopped crying, my mom came in. 

“I am going to run for Congress, Elizabeth,” she said firmly. 

“Really? That is great. But why?” 

“I am going to run because someone must run against having to pay for healthcare. It is not fair for people who are dying because they do not have enough money to pay for medical insurance to cover a simple checkup.”

I looked at her in surprise.

“Would you mind being a part of my campaign?”

“Sure,” I said hesitantly. 

She gave me a big hug. Then, she went to meet with possible supporters. 

 Later that day, she came home with a sad expression on her face. 

“Hey, Mom, why are you sa –”

“Hi, Rachel, do you want some warm stew for dinner?” my dad cut in.

“That would be wonderful, thank you,” my mom answered, thankful. 

 After we devoured the stew, I put my dishes in the dishwasher and went back to my room, my cold, empty room which was just like the rest of the house.

I could not go to sleep that night since I was thinking about my sister too much. I found myself looking at her soccer posters hung up on the wall and her toys lined up at the end of her bed. Those were the toys she played with before she was sick, before we were sad, before she died. 

I slept in my sister’s bed to remind me of her.

The next day my mom went off to work on the campaign and did the same for the next two days. The third was different. She asked me to come with her and skip school. When we walked over to a small house at the end of my block, I laid my eyes on an old man and a young woman, who had a stack of little cards with my mom’s pictures on it. (She looked really good.)

The photo made me really sad because I realized how much Lauren looked like our mom — her blonde hair, her eyes, and her smile. It also made me sad that she was not here to fight for her health. 

The young woman gave me a stack of little cards and told me that I could give them to people around my neighborhood. When I stepped outside the door, I felt encouraged because we were fighting for a good cause and helping people vote for their rights. 

I stepped up to the front door of a nice, petite, yellow house, which was across the street from our house. I never noticed the house because I was always having so much fun with my sister. A little old lady came up, and I gave her a card.

She looked at the card for what seemed like forever then said, “Young lady, you look a lot like this nice woman in the photo.” 

“Yes that is because she is my mother,” I informed her.

“That makes a lot of sense. You live across the street. Don’t you?” 

“Yes, in that small pink house,” I responded.

“May I bring some muffins near dinnertime for a little gift for you and your family, and your sister. You have a sister, right?” she asked. 

“Yes, but she recently passed away,” I said sadly.

“So sorry for your loss. What is your name?” she asked, eyes full of pity.

“My name is Elizabeth,” I told her. 

“Okay. I will see you later, Elizabeth. And thank you for the card. My vote is going to you and your family,” she said in a sweet and gentle voice. 

I walked away from the house, excited that we at least had one vote. I walked over to the next house. The house was very old with paint chipping and loose boards on the patio, but I still knocked. A man stuck one eye out of a little crack in the door. I offered him a card, but he declined. Instead, he gave me a card with a picture and black letters on it. When I returned to the sidewalk, I stared at the card. After a few minutes, I realized that he was the guy who was running against my mom. 

After I left, when I got to a trash can, I threw the card out so that my mom wouldn’t think I was trying to conspire against her. When the sky darkened, I headed back to the small house, where I met the old man and young woman. When I arrived at the small house, I got inside and saw my mom and the people who were helping with her campaign. When I came in, they all looked at me with a smile. I placed the rest of the cards on the table. My mom said her goodbyes to the people, then I followed her to the house. When we got home, we saw my dad talking with the old lady who lives across the street. They both looked at us, my dad with a face that clearly said, “Help me!” The old lady had a basket that looked filled with muffins. 

“Hello, Elizabeth, and I am guessing this is your mother.”

“Yes, this is my mother. What is your name? I do not think you told me when we met?”

“Oh, yes. Sorry. My name is Harriet.” 

“What a lovely name,” my mom said.

“We have been talking for a long time,” my dad said, with a pinch of annoyance in his voice.

“Yes. It has been very nice talking to you, but I think I must go. Sorry I could not talk for longer. I love your house, and I can help with anything you need. I will be right across the street!” Harriet said.

My mom faced me and said, “Who was that, Elizabeth?”

“Oh, that was the old lady I met while giving out the little cards.”

“And she can talk!” my dad said dramatically.

“Well she does live by herself,” I said.

There was a knock on the door. My mom went to open it and found my aunt Ellen. I was so excited to see her because every time she comes over, she brings gifts! I went to welcome her and before I said anything, she dragged in a big gift. I dragged the big, heavy, pink gift to the living room and opened it. Inside lay a black and blue bicycle! I was so happy because it matched the one my mom had, and my old one was too small! I was so excited. I ran to my parents to show them. They were so happy. Then, they looked at Aunt Ellen with surprised faces. 

“You bought this for her?” my mom said. 

“Yes, of course, I have to keep my record of bringing gifts for my niece.”

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,” my dad and mom laughed sarcastically.

“And I thought it might come in handy.”

“What?” My mom and dad said in unison.

“Ohh, nothing. Nevermind,” she said. “And I will not be able to go to the debate tomorrow.”

“Well, okay. Let us go to the kitchen and talk over some coffee,” Dad said. 

“Great! Sounds good,” Aunt Ellen replied.

And they walked to the kitchen. By the time I finished staring at my bike, trying to ride it in the house, and being yelled at by my parents, it was time to go to sleep. I got ready to sleep and got in bed, but before I went to sleep I prayed. I prayed for my sister’s safety up there. 

When I finally went to sleep, I dreamt that Lauren was still alive and we played and played. When I woke up, I was very sad to end my dream because I was having so much fun. My mom came in the room.

“Sweety, wake up, it is time for the first debate!” my mom said energetically. 

“Okay. Getting up,” I said.

I was so excited that I forgot about the dream. Once we were out in the driveway, we realized that all of our tires were flat! My mom was furious and so was I. After about ten minutes, my mom had an idea. 

“Wait here. I will be right back.”

“Okay.”

A few minutes later, she came out with two matching bikes. They had black and blue stripes. I jumped up and down and praised my mom. Then we got on the bikes and were off to the debate. We finally got there! When we did, we saw John. H. Corel, the guy running against my mom, staring at us in surprise, and Aunt Ellen.

What was she doing here? And with him?

To be continued… 


Molly’s Birthday

Once upon a time, there was a girl dog named Molly, and she could run super fast. Molly was very energetic. All Molly wanted was to go to explore the galaxy.

Molly’s mom was a cat, and her dad was a dinosaur. She also had a little brother named Austin, who was also a dog. In two days Molly was going to turn 13 years old. So, her family started to plan a trip to explore the galaxy, just like Molly wanted. The dad was trying to get some rocket fuel for their rocket so they could have enough energy for the rocket to see everything in outer space.

On the day of Molly’s birthday, her parents told her about the trip they were going to have for her birthday. When everything was ready, the mom started the engine for the rocket and they blasted off into space. They saw all the stars twinkle in the sky.

But, there was a hole in their rocket, and fuel started to fall, well, float away. Molly was trying to think about how she could block the hole. She saw that her brother was chewing on mega-stretchy gum. She got a stick of gum, and she started to stretch it out. When the candy was big enough, she was able to block the hole, and no more fuel was coming out. 

Molly’s mom started the engine of the rocket again, and they were off. Molly saw so many different planets she had never seen. She saw Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune so far. Austin, the brother, took some photos on his camera. The dad was feeling a bit hot, so he opened a big window.

There was a big turn up ahead, however. When the mom turned the wheel, Molly fell out the window. Luckily, she had her space helmet on. She was floating away from the rocket. The family was freaking out. They went to go stop at a gas station, and they saw her getting farther and farther. Near the gas station was a shop. So, the dad bought some rope to swing the rope like a lasso.

Meanwhile, Molly saw herself getting away from her family. She started to relax, and she saw more planets, like Jupiter, Mars, and Earth. Earth was Molly’s favorite planet. She saw her family going to the shops, and they bought rope. Molly was very confused. Then she realized that her family was trying to save her. So, Molly tried to float closer to her family. 

The dad swung the rope, and Molly caught it, and they went back to their rocket. They saw the last and final planets. They saw Venus and Mercury. Then Molly saw… the sun!

Molly had the best birthday ever, and she would never forget this day.

It was a bright and sunny day outside on the planet Pluto, and Molly was in her house and had her favorite yellow hat on (she couldn’t put on a shirt or pants because she was a dog). She was also taking out the photos from her birthday, which was yesterday. Molly was thinking that she could go back to space. However, from what happened on her birthday, Molly’s parents wouldn’t want to go back out there. Her mom and dad did not want her to go and lose her again. But, Molly remembered she had a telescope, so now she could always see the stars and planets in space. 


Experiment Gone Wrong

Deep in the Amazon rainforest, my team and I, an elite group of ninjas, sat in our protective tent and did a final run-through of our plan. 

“Okay, first step?” asked August. August was a trained dancer who used to work in the circus. Just like all of us girls, she’s a GEM (Genetically Engineered Mutant). August’s DNA was mixed with a feather, so she had the ability to become weightless at will. August was thirteen years old.

“Sneak up to Dr. Penski’s secret lab,” replied May. Dr. Penski was the mad scientist who created us. He mutated animal life as a hobby, and we are all sworn to stop his evil plots. May’s DNA was mixed with coral. She could communicate with sea animals.

“Next step?” questioned June. June’s DNA was created with glass. She could turn invisible whenever she wanted.

“Take out the guards and sneak in,” said December. December’s DNA was mixed in with clouds. She could control the weather with her feelings. December was 16. 

“Final step?” quizzed January. January’s DNA had a piece of a dead person’s brain in it (yes, I know, sounds kind of creepy, but if you see it, it’s really cool). She could summon and control the undead. January was 17.

“Crush Dr. Penski!” I exclaimed, pounding my fist into my hand. I was 18. My name is April. My DNA is mutated with a bit of all animals. Don’t ask me how, but Dr. Penski is more powerful than you think. I was supposed to be his ultimate weapon, able to morph into any animal. But for an IQ of 300, he’s pretty clueless in keeping ‘henchmen’ in his favor. Because if you ask me, if you want people to stay with you, don’t leave them in tiny, cramped cages with barely enough food or water. And now look at us, escaped mutated beings out to kill him. Nice move, Dr. Penski! Anyways, lesson of the day, kids: Don’t imprison genetically engineered beings and expect them to work for you.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” yelled December, jumping up to her feet as a burst of brilliant sunlight illuminated her face. 

“Um, it’s that way,” said January, a rotting hand reaching out of the ground and pointing.

We swiftly jumped into the trees and ran quickly towards the secret lab, pulling up our masks and carefully sticking to the shadows.

Finally, we reached the secret lab. The entrance was hidden behind a curtain of moss, and the lab was disguised as an enormous stone. The lab was surrounded by guards.

Step one, complete, I thought. Now for step two.

Now!” yelled May. 

“So much for a covert mission,” I said to myself.

Then all hell broke loose. Literally. Because January yelled and zombies rose from the ground and started attacking the guards and dragging them underground. 

August started floating around and kicking guards’ heads. She whirled around, kicking up, down, left, right, and around. Unconscious guards littered the ground.

June turned invisible and started pranking the guards, pulling down pants, yanking ears and noses, giving wedgies, and generally having a great time. She was just seven, after all.

December summoned a tornado that swept up the guards. She also made lightning strike the guards and fried them till they were crispy — the way I like my toast.

May just kicked and punched since she couldn’t really summon sea animals on land, but I wouldn’t be worried because man that six-year-old can hit.

I morphed into different animals and slashed, scratched, bit, and tackled until I felt like collapsing.

Finally, all the guards were either unconscious, dizzy, fried, pranked, or sucked to hell never to be seen again. Your average day in the life of a genetically engineered mutant. Pretty simple stuff.

“Okay, guys, be careful when you go in. We haven’t taken out all of the guards yet,” reminded June, turning visible and looking slightly out of breath from all of her vicious pranking. She turned invisible again, and we heard her say, “Let’s move!” 

Step three initiate! I thought excitedly as we crept stealthily inside. 

I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the dark, gloomy atmosphere of Dr. Penski’s laboratory.

“Brings back bad memories, doesn’t it?” June said, shuddering as she turned visible.

I shivered as I remembered being trapped in a tiny cage, unable to shapeshift or move.

“Let’s get this over with quickly,” said May, whimpering and grabbing hold of my hand. 

“Yeah,” I agreed, squeezing her hand gently.

We moved through the dark hallway, silent as a group of ninjas. Which I guess we were. 

We reached the end of the hall and peeked past the wall. We saw the hunched back of Dr. Penski, who was leaning over another one of his poor test subjects. He was chuckling evilly.

“A drop of spider DNA, a scorpion’s tail, ten strands of monkey fur… Complete!” he cackled. “Behold my latest creation: the spider-monkey!” A hulking monkey rose from the mist. But this wasn’t just some ordinary monkey. The monkey had eight long, hairy legs and a scorpion’s tail. The guards cheered and clapped. Dr. Penski stood proudly and admired his creation. “Beautiful!” he bragged. He clapped his hands, and the guards dragged the creature into a cage alongside the many other cages filled with mutant beasts, then exited the room.

The beasts were truly, well, gross. They snarled and clawed at the bars of the cages. Honestly, they had a speck of my sympathy. Technically, they were like us: genetically engineered mutants trapped in cages.

Come to Dr. Penski’s Mutant Emporium! (At your own risk)

  • A whale/shark
  • A donkey/monkey/snake
  • A snake/scorpion/spider
  • A zebra/lion/tiger/leopard
  • A wolf/lion/cheetah
  • And much more!

Entry fee: Your life

“He’s been at work since three years ago,” June muttered, flickering in anxiety. 

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get him,” said May.

  But something was wrong. My senses tingled as I scanned the room. The target was easy. Too easy.

A second too late I realized, “Wait, why did the guards leave?”

But it was too late. May, June, January, December, and August were already rushing into battle. 

Dr. Penski turned around and smirked. “E for effort, girls! Nice try. But you can’t scream ‘now’, annihilate my guards, and not expect me to notice! Guards, get em’!”

Guards rushed into the room, swarming around them. I knew we should have gone with covert, I thought, charging into battle.

The guards outnumbered us 20 to one. And no matter how amazing our powers were, we couldn’t defeat them. Eventually, they tied us up with rope and dragged us before Dr. Penski.

“Nice to see you again, daughters!” he cackled.

“Call us that one more time, and I swear, I will rip you apart piece by piece, you [this part was taken out by the editor]!” said January.

“I’d like to see you try!” Dr. Penski sneered. He clapped his hands, and the guards dragged us together. “I have a proposition for you. Work for me, and I’ll set you free!”

No way!” we all declared simultaneously.

He started pacing around and muttering under his breath. Then he brightened.

“What if I told you that I would feed you to my mutants?”

We glanced at each other. “Still no,” we said.

He sagged.

“It’ll be painful… ”

“Nope.”

“Please?”

“Nuh-uh.”

He slumped. “Fine!” he declared. “The beasts it is.”

The guards pulled us towards the cages. I tried to shapeshift, but I couldn’t. The ground shook with the undead trying to surface. Thunder rumbled outside. June… hold on, where was June?

“Where’s June?” I whispered to January. 

“Uh… hold on, where is June?” she whisper-shouted.

“That’s what I asked you,” I pointed out.

“Do you think… ?” she trailed off.

“Just maybe… ?” We grinned at each other.

“Prepare to meet your doom!” screamed Dr. Penski. His robots started dancing. 

“D-O-O-M!” his robots chanted, standing on each others’ shoulders and waving pink sparkly pom poms in the air. “Your doom!”

“O-kay?” said August. “I’m not pretending that wasn’t terrible coordination and flips back there. They were. Now, I really thought you could have added a backflip at the end followed by a front handspring. The choreography was not too shabby, but you had too much transition time. Now, remember if your velocity downwards reaches over six miles per hour, you need to go down head first and tuck into a shoulder-roll 4.009 seconds before you make contact with the ground, and — ”

Enough!” thundered Dr. Penski. “No one messes with my beautiful choreography and gets away with it! I will release my — !” He reached down to press the button to open the cage doors. 

“Not so fast!” An invisible hand reached over and plucked the remote control out of his hands and threw it to the side.

June turned visible, and we all cheered. She planted her hands on her hips and smiled triumphantly. She began working on our ropes, using a shard of glass. Finally, I was free! I shook myself out of the ropes, morphed into a jaguar, and used my sharp claws to free the rest of our GEMs. But just as I turned to smile at June, a shadow lurked behind May, grabbed her, and pressed a dagger to her neck. 

May!” we all screamed.

“Stop attacking, and move silently into that cage, no funny business — or the girl dies!” snarled Dr. Penski.

“How could you?! She’s only six years old!” I screamed at Penski.

“The more reason to threaten you!”

“Leave her alone!” yelled January. 

“Ten, nine, eight!” He pressed harder, and May gave a stifled scream. 

Maybe… I thought.

The other GEMs moved into the cage, but I stood my ground, hatching a plan. 

“Seven, six, five!” he glared at me.

“April, please! What are you thinking?!” shrieked December.

Rain splattered the ground outside.

I didn’t move or respond, pursing my lips and steeling my nerves. If we wanted to be free, I had to take this chance. 

“April! Don’t be selfish!” yelled June.

“Four, three, two — ”

I kicked into action. I morphed into a cheetah and charged into Penski at lightning speed. Everything slowed down.

No!” he shrieked. 

Yes!” cheered May.

I rammed into Dr. Penski at full speed.

Oof!” he grunted.

I let the GEMs out of their cages. June hugged May so fiercely that May’s face turned blue. 

“You had us worried sick!” she scolded. 

But in all the excitement, Dr. Penski reached the remote control! He grabbed it. “Mwa ha ha ha,” he cackled. “Prepare for the end of your worthless little lives — my worst monster! Meet Cerberus!” He slammed his hand on a button, releasing a cage door. An enormous three-headed dog leaped out. 

The beast had a scorpion’s tail, three sets of dripping poison jaws, and monstrous wings. The GEMs and I gaped in horror. 

“Attack!” yelled Penski. The monster lunged for us.

“Dodge under!” commanded January.

We slid under the giant dog and joined together behind him. 

“Okay, guys, you know the drill,” January sighed.

We assumed a fighting stance and gathered all our power. Zombies rose from the ground. Electricity crackled in the air. I morphed into a dragon. June turned invisible. August became weightless. The sea animals sloshed around in their tanks.

Cerberus turned around and roared. August and June jumped and climbed on top of the dog as a distraction. They pulled at his dark, grisly fur and screamed in his ears. The confused beast lumbered around and looked for the annoyance, leaving the coast clear for the rest of us. January’s zombies clambered on top of him. The sea animals churned up water and engulfed him. Lightning struck the water and electrocuted him. We had him pinned down… or so we thought.

Suddenly, Penski’s creation rose up and shook off the attacks. 

Ha ha ha! Well done, my baby!” yelled Penski.

Cerberus struck down my sisters and hooked them up with his claws, choking them. My blood boiled. No one harms my siblings and gets away with it! I roared with fury as I spread my scaly wings. Rushing towards the monster, I struck him with my foot. He stumbled back and slashed me painfully on the face. I slapped him with my tail and pinned him to the ground. I raised my claws for the kill. But just as I brought my hand down, I hesitated. 

This beast is like us, I thought. Maybe it doesn’t deserve to die. Maybe it’s like another GEM, a mutant designed to kill. Maybe if I just let it go… Hold on, April, what are you thinking?! It hurt my sisters! But also… 

“April… I can’t breathe… ” choked May. 

“What are you waiting for?” gasped August.

That set me off. Once again, I brought my claw down, this time harder. I shuddered and closed my eyes when I heard the beast’s pitiful whimper as it took its final breath and went limp under me. I turned back to a human and closed my eyes in sorrow. A single tear slid down my cheek as I sank to my knees. I let out a sob and squeezed my eyes shut.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“You did the right thing,” January said. “I know it’s hard, but you did.”

“I know how it feels,” August said. “Remember the Chicago Mission?” I nodded, remembering Penski’s snake/bird.

May walked up to me, her big brown eyes shining with tears. “Thank you, April,” she whispered.

“Wow, that was beautiful! But I’m going to destroy you!” declared Penski half-heartedly.

“Face it, Penski! It’s over for you!” December said, planting her hands on her hips.

“Fine, but if it is, it’s over for you too! Guards, initiate self-destruct!” 

The GEMs and I stared at each other in shock.

“He wouldn’t do that, would he?” January asked.

“I think he just did,” I replied.

“Let’s go!” yelled June.

We rushed towards the exit.

“Blocked!” screamed December.

A hole in the roof blew up, and I had an idea. I morphed into a dragon.

“Get on my back!” I yelled over the sound of crumbling debris. They obeyed, and I soared into the starry night sky, seconds before the lab blew up. 

Then everything was quiet. A light breeze ruffled the GEMs’ hair as we soared above the clouds. We shared an understanding moment of silence. 

“Wow,” January murmured.

“Yeah,” June agreed.

And that summed it all up. Our dad commited suicide, I killed a sibling, May almost died. But it was all okay. Because being there, flying with my sisters on a beautiful night, I knew that I didn’t need anything else in the world as long as I had them. And I did. I had my GEMs. My beautiful gems.


My Most Important Object

One object that means a lot to me is a plush toy that a father from my church gave me once. It means a lot to me because it is a little Jesus and he gave it to me when I was five years old. It has sandals. They are little brown sandals (my brother ripped one off) and it also has a little white crown. It also reminds me of the father because he is in Europe. The toy feels fluffy. The toy smells great (obviously when you wash it it smells like soap). Right now, I have it in my bed and I don’t let anyone touch it.


Treating Things with Respect

My Black Wii U could hold 32 GB of space. It cost $300 plus the tax, which I know was about $326. It felt very smooth and looked like a box that you put the disk in and a pad that looked like a switch. When you played with it a lot, it would overheat and smell like fire. You could also hear a whirring sound when you used it too much. I never tasted it, but it must taste like Japanese plastic since the Wii U was made in Japan.

I distinctly remember that bleak December. December of 2014. I told my dad I wanted the Wii U in the past few months. Then, a few days before Christmas, my dad showed me what he got me for Christmas. You guessed it, a black Wii U. I had not opened it yet because it was for Christmas. He did not open the box, but it did not have any Christmas wrapping, so I saw the big letters that spelled Wii U on the box. I thanked my dad for the gift that has not been forgotten, even now. Sometimes on the weekends, I use it in the morning. It is my first ever gaming console I ever got. Therefore it must not be trashed like most people did when they got a Nintendo Switch. The reason I say this is because there was this YouTube video.

People say that the Wii U was one of Nintendo’s biggest failures, but I consider this a lie. It is honestly one of the best consoles in history and is considered great.

I still use it to play Mario games from the 80’s, 90’s, and one from 2014. I did not just trash it when I got my Switch. I just stopped using it for a while. It is not lost, or framed, or squished behind something, and of course, not lost. It is right next to the TV in the living room. Every time you are watching TV in the living room, you can see it right next to the TV plugged into the power outlet there. It still looks brand new, because I clean it to take off the dust. I had also taken much care of it when I got it up until now because it is not damaged. So, concluding this piece, my Wii U is a cherished item in my home. People treat it with care, I treat it with care, and it will stay right next to the TV for as long as… who knows? It is the best console I own. Then goes the Switch, then the PS4, and last is something that is not mentioned, which is the PS3. That is a completely different story to be told, but the Wii U is the best. 10/10 object. 


Elijah’s Memoir

I remember I had a snow globe. It was from Canada, and it said Niagara Falls, and it had a waterfall. Every time I shook it, it was like sparkly confetti falling inside. On the letters, there were sharp corners but a smooth ball shaped surface. There were buildings and boats. It doesn’t smell or sound like anything, but it is glass, so if you drop, it will make a pretty loud sound like shattering ice.

I was on the plane with my mom and sister on our way to Canada. When we got off, the first thing I did was beg my mom to take me to the gift shop. So she did, and the whole time my eyes were planted on the snow globe. I didn’t have to say anything. My mom already caught on to what I was looking at. After the gift shop, my sister and I went up this tall building in an elevator, and there was a glass part of the floor where you could see the city. My mom didn’t come because she had claustrophobia.

When we got to the glass floor, I was scared to go on it, so I was clenching my globe so it wouldn’t fall, and my sister was there right beside me.

My snow globe said Niagara Falls, and I asked my mom, “Is that a place?”

She said, “Yes.”

I said, “Well, can we go there?”

“Yes,” she replied. “But change into your swim trunks.”

We got there. It was a beautiful sight to see. I looked back at the buildings, and they were the same as the ones in the snow globe. The sun was beaming on my face while I was in cool water. The sun was setting, so it was time to go to our hotel room, although my sister stayed a couple of minutes because she wanted to take pictures with the setting sun.

When we got to the room, I put my globe in a safe place where I could see it every time I woke up. It was like my energy source. When I see it, I feel like I can do anything. If I feel like it could be a bad day, I would put the snow globe in my bag like a good luck charm. I thought the only way the luck would work is if I shook it three times. 


The Woman

There was a woman who had a secret that she had never told anybody. She would go dark every night and did not know what she did. Every morning, she would see a new report on the news about a crime that she committed. She would always know that she did the crime, but she did not know how. She would be left clueless just like everybody else who was sitting in their living room or dentist office staring at a television screen, clueless to what was going on. 

There was one particular night that seemed like every other. When everybody was sitting at home waiting for another crime to happen, there was no crime because the woman was tired of seeing a crime on TV every day that she commited. To prevent another crime from happening, she stayed up that night. Every single day, her guilt built up higher and higher inside her, and she felt bad every day. She had not smiled in 10 years about what she had done to the world. 

One day she left her house to remind herself of all the damage she had caused and would probably keep causing. She wished she could stop every day, but she could not stop just by staying up. She stayed clueless as always.

One year later… 

Three hundred and sixty-five more days equaled to 365 more crimes that had been committed. The woman had made friends with the person within her body. The crimes had gotten better; they were small crimes now. They were crimes like stealing money from the elderly, stuff like that. She did not feel that much guilt and shame about the crimes because she barely committed murders and robberies and other crimes like that anymore. One day the woman was talking to the voice in her head, and she had a question that she wanted to ask the voice.

That question was, “What does it actually look like when you are committing these crimes?”

As soon as she finished asking her question, the voice got quiet. She did not hear the voice until that night. She was sleeping peacefully and felt lightheaded and then woke up but felt extremely light. She looked at her bed and still saw herself sleeping. So she just waited. Then she saw herself moving and putting on clothing, like dark clothing. She followed herself walking out of the house. Then she heard somebody calling out to her, so she turned around to see if there was something behind her. She did not see anything, so she turned back around to see if herself was still standing there. When she turned around, she was staring at herself then the voice started talking but from her body.

It said only two words, “Follow me.”

The creepiest thing about it was that when she was watching the voice, she did not look like herself. She looked more rugged. Her hair was all frizzy. It was a mess.

The voice started walking down the street to the closed bank and turned back around and said, “Be very quiet.”

Then the voice somehow opened the bank door like it was magic. The voice went straight to the vault with no problems. Then the vault door opened. Then the voice took a bag then kept putting more and more money into the bag. The voice took about 25 million dollars. Then the voice turned around and punched the woman in the face. When the woman woke up, she quickly checked the news, but when she turned it on to the news, there was no report on the crime. She was confused. She felt a sense of relief. 

She had not heard about any crimes in over a week. She did not hear from the voice either. She thought everything was over. One night she woke up to a familiar voice. It was the voice.

It said, “You will forget about every crime and every law you have ever broken. You will feel like a new person.”

The next day, the woman felt like she had just won the lottery. 

Two years later… 

The woman had two children and a loving husband. Every day she felt good about life. She was always smiling. She still saw crimes on the television, but something told her every single day that it was not her, so she had nothing to worry about. She ended up living a happy and healthy life with committing any crimes or breaking any lose. That’s what she thought… 

The End


The Princess’s Daughter

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Helen. She was married to a prince named Connor. They had lived a happy life together, but they wished for something more. A child. They had a child but couldn’t agree on a name. Princess Helen wanted to name her Ella. Prince Connor wanted to name her Rose. But the prince gave in, and so they named her Ella, but then decided her middle name would be Rose. Though, the prince and princess drifted apart over the years. Connor thought the princess was too selfish, his reasoning always being that they had chosen Ella as their daughter’s name instead of Rose. Princess Helen always said that Connor gave in in the end, and he agreed so it was fair. And, she said they had given her the middle name he wanted.

By the time Ella was two, Princess Helen and Prince Connor couldn’t stand each other. They would do everything separately. They also would fight over who would get to take Ella somewhere. For example, if Princess Helen went shopping, she would want to take Ella with her, but then Prince Connor would want to take Ella to an amusement park. Of course, he did this so that Ella would want to be with him instead of her mother. Ella would’ve wanted to go to the amusement park with her dad, because that would be fun, but she wouldn’t want to disappoint her mom. Even though she was little, she was very smart. Ella understood why her parents were fighting, but she didn’t understand why they got together in the first place. Why would they decide to marry each other in the first place, she thought, if they’re constantly fighting? She didn’t really remember anything from when she was little, so she didn’t remember how her parents acted before they started fighting. 

It was the day before Ella’s fourth birthday, and she was super excited. She was playing with her dolls in her room when she heard her parents fighting. She peeked into the living room where her mom was yelling at her dad.

“You can’t just walk out before Ella’s fourth birthday!” Princess Helen looked furious. 

“It’ll be better for Ella if I leave! How do you think Ella feels about us fighting all the time?”

Princess Helen paused. Ella held her breath. Prince Connor picked up a suitcase from the floor and walked to the door. He opened it. Ella ran out of her room and went to where her father was standing.

“Y-you can’t leave!” she cried.

Her father looked back at her with his watery blue eyes. He didn’t say anything at first. 

He gave her a hug and said, ”I love you. I will never forget you.”

And with that, he walked out and shut the door behind them. Ella stared at the door for a moment, tears in her eyes. Then she ran past her mother and into her bedroom. She flopped onto her bed and pushed her face into the pillow. She started to cry. Why did he have to leave? she thought. At least he understood what it was like for me to be in this situation, but there were other ways to solve the problem!

Princess Helen came into Ella’s room and sat on her bed.

Her face pale, she said, almost in a whisper, “I’m sorry.”

She couldn’t think of any words to comfort Ella, so she just sat on her bed for a while, until it was time for dinner. It was a very grim night that night. Neither Ella nor her mother said much. Princess Helen asked Ella if she wanted to sleep with her that night, but Ella refused. She didn’t want to think about what happened. She hugged her bear stuffed animal and tried to fall asleep. Why did he have to walk out like that? she thought as a tear rolled down her cheek. Why? After a while, Ella fell asleep, and the darkness of night fell upon the town.

December 28, 2006

It was Ella’s first day of sixth grade. Ella sat at her desk in class. She was taking a math test. Even though Ella had just started going to this school, at her elementary school, a few people recognized her and would follow her around and try to be her friend. But of course, none of her “admirers” understood what she was going through. It was also hard for her to make real friends because people might just want her for her fame. She had had a “friend” the year before at the beginning of fifth grade named Ashley who had seemed nice enough, but then one day, Ella saw Ashley on her phone. Here, let’s rewind. It was the end of the day, and Ella and Ashley were walking home together. 

“What are you doing?” asked Ella. 

“Just posting pictures on my story,” said Ashley. 

“Your story?” Ella asked. 

“On Instagram,” Ashley explained. 

Ashley showed Ella her phone. She was posting a picture of her and Ella.

“Don’t post those on your story!” Ella said.

“Why not?” said Ashley.

She paused and thought for a moment. 

“Actually, good point. They only stay for 24 hours. I’ll just post it regularly.”

Ashley tapped something on her phone. Then Ella realized something.

“Why do you need to post those on your story?” asked Ella.

“Uhhhh… ” said Ashley. “‘Cause we’re friends?”

“Let me see your phone!” Ella demanded.

They stopped walking. Ella scrolled through Ashley’s Instagram posts. Almost all of them were of her and Ella. Ella quickly scrolled down to the bottom where the first picture Ashley had posted was. Ashley looked worried. The first picture Ashley had posted was a selfie of her and Ella. It was also the day she had started the account. Ella knew this because Ella had asked Ashley what she was doing on her phone and Ashley had said she was setting up an Instagram account. And Ella also remembered that that picture was taken on the first day of fifth grade, which was when Ashley started the account. When Ashley had asked to take a picture with Ella, Ella had just thought, Eh, whatever, it can’t hurt. I’ll let her take a picture with me. But after seeing Ashley’s Instagram posts, Ella knew that Ashley had only been using her for her fame and popularity. Ella handed back Ashley’s phone and walked over to her limo driver’s car. Because of people like Ashley, Ella moved to a new school to get a fresh start. There she met Hannah. Hannah became Ella’s real and true friend. She was always there for Ella when she needed her. Coincidently, they got into the same middle school. But anyway, back to the math test. Ella looked at her paper. X=15-10. Solve for X. Ugh, what’s the point of these tests? Ella thought. She answered the question, then moved on to the next.

When Ella and the class was done with the test, everyone filed out of the classroom. They had a free period. 

As Ella walked out, a girl named Jessica from her class caught up to her and said, hurriedly, “Are you Ella Rose Welton?” 

“Umm, yes?” answered Ella awkwardly.

Jessica gasped and ran over to her friends, Elizabeth and Bridget. “It’s true!” she said excitedly.

Elizabeth and Bridget squealed. 

Eeeeeeeee!!!” they screeched.

What the heck is wrong with them? thought Ella. They sound like dying pigs!

Jessica, Elizabeth, and Bridget talked together for a few seconds and then came over. 

Elizabeth asked, “Want to be friends with us?”

“Oops, I’m late for class, gotta go,” said Ella, pretending to check her watch.

She quickly walked away. 

“But it’s free period!” said Bridget, but it was too late.

Ella was gone.

When Ella was walking with Hannah to have lunch later that day, Jessica, Elizabeth, and Bridget walked over.

“Hey, want to have lunch with us?” asked Bridget, looking hopeful. 

“Sorry, I’m having lunch with Hannah,” said Ella, trying to be polite. 

“Ugh, whatever,” said Jessica. “Let’s go, girls.”

They walked away.

“What is up with them?” said Hannah.

“They asked me if I wanted to be their friend after the math test was over,” said Ella. “I said I had to go to class.”

“Ha,” said Hannah.

Ella and Hannah could tell that Jessica, Elizabeth, and Bridget were not the types of girls they would want to be friends with. They started to walk towards Pizza Hut together.

Then, another girl from Ella’s class (Emily) walked up to Ella and Hannah and said, “Can I eat lunch with you guys?”

She seemed nice enough, so Ella said, “Sure! We’re going to Pizza Hut!”

Hannah smiled. Ella and Hannah looked at each other and nodded.

Ella, Hannah, and Emily walked into pizza hut together. They had lunch together and had a really good time. As they walked back to school, Emily skipped ahead. 

“Want to come over for dinner?” asked Hannah. 

“Sure!” said Ella excitedly.

One and a half hours later… 

It was the end of school, and Ella and Hannah were walking home together.

“Hey, want to stop at the pastry shop?” asked Hannah. 

“Sure!”

They walked to the pastry shop and got their pastries.

“Oh my gosh, these are so good!!” said Ella, eating her pastry. 

“I know, right?” said Hannah.

They stayed in the pastry shop for a while and then headed to Hannah’s house.

“Will your mom be mad that we’re a bit late?” asked Ella.

“Nah, I texted her, it’s fine.”

Ella and Hannah turned the corner and walked up the steps to Hannah’s house. Hannah walked in first, then held the door open for Ella. 

“What are we having for dinner?” asked Ella.

“Probably spaghetti and meatballs again,” said Hannah, chuckling.

 “If we keep having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, I’m going to stop coming over,” Ella joked as she walked in.

Hannah rolled her eyes, smiling. 

“I’ll have to — ” Ella stopped mid-sentence. 

“What is it?” asked Hannah.

Ella ran out of the house as fast as she could and went down the road.

 “Ella!!” yelled Hannah. “What the heck?!”

Hannah slammed the door behind her and ran to where Ella was crouching at the end of the street. She sat down next to her. 

“What happened, Ella?”

 “M-my dad,” said Ella quietly.

 “What about your dad?” said Hannah. 

“He was there,” said Ella even more quietly than she had before. 

“I’m so sorry,” said Hannah. 

“What?” said Ella, looking up at Hannah. 

“Well, I… I kind of… knew before… ” Hannah trailed off.

Ella stood up, anger in her eyes. 

“You knew?!”

 “I… I couldn’t tell you!” said Hannah, backing away slowly. “It’s just… he’s my mom and dad’s friend, and… ”

Dark clouds came into the sky. It became dark out. It started to rain. Hannah could see tears in her friend’s eyes. Hannah had never seen Ella cry before. Hannah met Ella after her father had left, and after her father left, Ella didn’t believe that there was anything else worth crying for. Ella started to cry, and she crouched down on the ground again. Hannah crouched down too.

“Ella, let’s sit on my stoop, and I’ll tell you what happened,” said Hannah gently. They walked over and sat on the front steps of Hannah’s house. Hannah started to explain. “Okay, so my parents have a lot of money, right? They’re pretty wealthy. So, my mom and dad were invited to this cocktail party. My mom’s friend hosted it and invited her and my dad to it. At the party, my mom and dad met your dad, Prince Connor. They quickly became friends. And this was when you and me were already friends. 

“Go on,” said Ella. 

“The night my parents came home from the party, they didn’t say anything to me about meeting your dad there. But, when I was in bed, I heard them talking in their room, and I heard my mom say ‘Connor.’ I ignored it and went to bed thinking that it couldn’t possibly be your dad. But the next day my mom told me how she and my dad met your dad at the cocktail party. Now I understood why she had said ‘Connor’ the night before. I guess my parents were talking about how they met your dad.”

“Oh,” said Ella. She wiped her tears. “How come you didn’t tell me?” 

“Well,” said Hannah. “It’s complicated.”

“Tell me about it,” said Ella.

“Okay,” said Hannah. “For one thing, I didn’t really see why you had to know. But, also, one day, your dad came over for dinner like he did tonight, and my mom told him I was friends with you. I guess she hadn’t told him before, because he had no idea. Just like you had no idea that my mom and dad knew your dad. Well, anyway, after my mom told him that, he told me not to tell you. He said it was because he knew if you knew, you would tell your mom and she would be mad at him for leaving, or something like that.”

“Oh,” said Ella. “Well, does my dad even want to see me now if he didn’t want you to tell me that he was here? And did he see me when I started to walk in?”

“Relax,” said Hannah. “I’m sure he’ll want to see you. Are you sure you’re not mad at me for not telling you?”

“It’s complicated,” said Ella.

She smiled. Hannah could tell Ella was back to her old self.

“Actually, Ella, I asked my mom and dad to invite your dad over for dinner tonight so that I could bring you over and you could see him.”

“Aww, Hannah, that’s so sweet,” said Ella. “I haven’t seen my dad in seven years.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears. She smiled, but it was a sad smile.

“Well, enough sitting around,” said Hannah. “Go in and see your dad.”

Ella got up from where she was sitting, walked up the rest of the steps, and put her hand on the doorknob. She hesitated for a moment. 

“Go on,” said Hannah.

Ella twisted the doorknob and opened the door. Her dad was sitting at the table. He got up. Ella and Prince Connor looked at each other.

THE END


The Wise Old Tree

I watch over my home

Yet am defenseless

To protect the land so rightfully I own,

I have seen my world

Change over time,

Have grown from but

A little sapling,

I have wizened and stretched

This knowledge of mine,

I have watched as my friends

Have perished and died,

Yet through all of this

I have learned my lesson,

I will live through my life

No matter what

Throughout my time

A lesson you shall learn,

My old friend

Through time,

Through time


The Sacrifice of Traxon Laxon

Traxon Laxon is a 24-year-old person from Neptune. In his world, he is a person who is worth a lot of money because everyone wants his special powers. Those powers are flight and fire. People want these powers, so they send their soldiers to capture him, and he always has to hide, and he feels sad because that’s all he does every day. One day his friend told him about a mysterious place called earth. His friend said that nobody ever went to earth and it was a safe place to hide. So one day, he took a spaceship and went off, and nobody has seen him since.

When he got to earth, he didn’t want to be seen because people were going to think that he was from another planet trying to kill them. But then he remembered that he has the ability to transform into anything he touches and so he did. He transformed into a human and was walking around safely.

Three days had passed, and Traxon Laxon had a job as a police officer and friends that were called Zack, John, and Ben. But one day, Traxon Laxon was at his apartment building in Manhattan, and someone rang his doorbell. Traxon Laxon was confused because it was so early in the morning. So he got up to get the door and saw something he never wanted to see. It was the people that were trying to kill him. He knew it was them, because they were holding all kinds of weapons. So Traxon Laxon punched the first two guys with a fist of fire, the next person got hit by a chair, and the last person got hit with a pan in his face.

When he finished fighting, he thought he was done but, no… 

A giant one-eyed monster came into the room and grabbed Traxon Laxon and threw him out the window of the building. So Traxon Laxon flew up to the giant monster and gave him a fist of fire. The one-eyed monster was hurt, so he sent his minions to take care of Traxon Laxon. All of the minions were on top of him, even the one-eyed monster.

There are too many of them, he said in his mind as he looked at the damage he did. He realized he put these people in danger, and his friends. He told himself, I never wanted people to get hurt, especially my friends. But then Traxon Laxon realized if he won the fight, they would still keep looking for him, and he would start hiding all over again. So he did what he had to do and grabbed all the people that were trying to kill him and brought them up to the sky and self-destructed, which killed himself and the people who were trying to kill him. 

One day later, after the big fight, Traxon Laxon was dead, and people were having a funeral. Everyone cried, but they knew it was the best for the city.


My Bracelet

My bracelet is light, colorful, bright, round, and the colors are like mountains going around and around. This bracelet brings up a lot of memories that will always stay in my heart and will always be remembered.

When I got my bracelet, it was unexpected, so I asked my mom, “What is this?” ¿Qué es esto?

She responded, “It’s something your dad left for you.” Es algo que tu papa dejo para ti.

I was in shock and didn’t know what to do. I loved it for who it was from, what it looked like, and because it would make me feel closer to my dad.

    The emotional feeling could be sadness because it reminded me of my dad because he had passed away when I was only five.

 The bracelet is on my arm right now, and it will always be there no matter what. I like that I will never feel like my dad is not still there with me.


The Last Wizard

Once, there was a young boy from the realm of magic. He was a young wizard and an apprentice of the greatest wizard in all of the realm. His name was Golgemort. And the apprentice’s name was Leo. And in the Earth realm, there was a girl named Rose who knew of the realm of magic in her grandmother’s stories. 

One day, Rose discovered a door covered in symbols in a different language. She tried to open the door, but it didn’t budge. But then, she found a small chest hidden in the snow. And inside was a key with strange handwriting on it. She assumed it was the key to the door. And it was. She opened the door and there was a hall of blue, glowing crystals. And at the other end of the hall there was another door. She walked down the hall and on her way down to the other door, there were little fairies flying around. She opened the door and she saw something beyond her imagination… a young boy… 

A few weeks earlier…

Leo was walking in the woods when he stumbled upon a little hut. Inside it he saw glowing lights. He looked inside and saw an old man. The man looked like the great wizard Golgemort. He tried to enter the house quietly without the man seeing him, but he tripped on a magic wand lying on the ground.

Then, Golgemort turned around and saw the boy lying on the ground. 

“What are you doing in my house?” Golgemort said, his eyes full of rage.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to invade your privacy, I was just curious,” Leo said hurriedly as he took a few steps backward. Not seeing where he was going, he slipped on a puddle of spilled water. As he plummeted towards the floor, he reached out towards the ceiling. Suddenly, his descent slowed to a halt. He was levitating.

Golgemort was shocked. “How are you doing that, boy? I thought I was the only wizard left…”

“The only wizard? I thought there were many wizards.”

“Well, a long time ago, there was a war between the magic realm and the Trolls. We won, but the Trolls kidnapped all the other wizards, but I escaped and I thought I was the only one left.”

“The only what?”

“Were you not listening to me, boy?”

“Not really, no,” Leo replied glumly, looking down at his worn boots. 

“What’s your name, boy?”

“Leo,” he whispered. 

“Speak up, boy!”

“My name’s Leo!” he yelled. 

“Calm down,” Golgemort said. “What is it you want?”

Leo looked up excitedly. “If you truly are the great mage, Golgemort, then you could train me to be a real wizard! Please, oh great and mighty sorcerer, be my teacher!”

“No, child, I can’t. I’m not a real wizard anymore. I’m far too old. You’re better off going somewhere else.” 

He looked up excitedly. “Could you please teach me?”

“Fine!” the old wizard snapped. “5:00 a.m. Your training starts then. Don’t be late or you shall suffer. Now get out of my house.“

Leo nearly jumped five feet into the air. “I won’t let you down, master!”

“Alright, alright. Now go! Don’t tell anyone about my existence! Everybody thinks the wizards are all dead.”

Leo quickly stepped out of the ramshackle house and ran with excitement towards his village. 

He was so tempted to tell all his friends about Golgemort, but he remembered his promise to the great wizard. He couldn’t let anyone know that magic still existed…

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Earth Realm…

“Let me tell you a story, my child… about the realm of magic…”

“Grandma, I’ve heard this story a million times already!”

“Fine, if you don’t want to hear my story again, go play outside,” Rose’s grandmother said, leading her to the door of her room. 

Rose sat in her bedroom, thinking about the classic tale that her grandmother would not shut up about. A long time ago, there was a war between the wizards of the Magic Realm and the Trolls. The great wizard, Golgemort, led an army of the greatest wizards against the Trolls.

“Nasty creatures,” her grandmother would always say. 

After thinking for a while, she elected to go outside. There was a thick layer of snow covering her backyard: perfect for building a snowman. 

“I’m going out, Grandma!” she called up to the half-deaf woman. 

Her grandmother grinned. “Alright, just don’t be too long now.” She knew Rose would find the door eventually.

Rose went out into the snow. She walked until she came upon a door with strange gold handwriting. She tried to open the door but it didn’t budge!

It was 5 a.m. Leo had been waiting outside for 5 minutes. When the old man came out, it was 5:06. The man said to Leo, “You’re here,“ the man said, surprised.  

“Yes,“ Leo said. “Alright, I’m ready to get into it, what kind of powerful, Troll-killing spells do you know?”

Then Golgemort said in his face, “Why do you want to learn any Troll-killing spells?”

Then Leo said, without thinking, “We never know when the Trolls are going to attack!”

Golgemort sighed. “You have a lot to learn.”

“Okay, then. What’s the first step of sorcery?”

“Well, the first step is using your wand. We have to get you one first.”

Then, Golgemort took him down into a dimly-lit cave with a gold door at the back. 

“So, I can choose any wand I want?” Leo asked. 

“No, no, no, child. The wand chooses you.”

“How do I know that it chooses me?”

“Well, if the wand doesn’t blow up in your face, it’s the one for you.”

“It blows up in my face?!” Leo exclaimed, horrified. 

“Yep!” Golgemort said excitedly. 

Leo gulped. “O-okay… ”

Golgemort unlocked the golden door, revealing a room with shelves upon shelves of different wands. Then, Leo picked up a wand and it exploded in his face. Golgemort stood in the corner, a smirk on his face, as Leo pushed himself up from the ground, his hair charred and ruined.

“Not the one,” Golgemort said. “Try another one.”

Leo gulped, even more terrified than he was before. He went over to another wand and picked it up. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Leo looked back to his master with a grin on his face.

“Hey, master, I think– ”

BOOM!

“… never mind.”

Golgemort looked around for a moment. “Maybe we should try a different type of wand,” he said, bringing the ashen boy a beautiful golden box, with only the tiniest hint of wear. “Maybe this one will do it,” Golgemort said, opening up the box to reveal a wand inlaid with phoenix feather, with gold and silver vines wrapping around the base. 

“Try it out,” Golgemort said. Leo took it, holding it gingerly away from his face.

“Please don’t explode, please don’t explode, please don’t explode… ”

After a few seconds, it didn’t explode. Nothing happened.

“Well, it didn’t explode within five seconds. I guess this is your wand.”

“Really?” Leo asked, a look of utter joy crossing his face. He jumped up and hugged his master.

“Get off me, boy!” Golgemort said, pushing him off. Leo was too ecstatic to even care

about his master’s hostility. 

“Well, we better get to training, then,” Golgemort said. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Leo said, still thinking about his wand. 

Then, Rose found a small chest with a key inside. She assumed it was the key to the door and it was! 

Inside the door was a blue crystal hallway with small fairies flying around. And at the end of the hallway, there was another door. She opened it. And she saw something beyond her imagination. A boy, wielding a small stick with multi-colored lights coming out of it. The boy appeared to be in battle with a dirty old man. She realized that the boy was fending the old man off, and needed help. She quickly jumped on the old man’s back and pulled him to the ground. 

The man grunted. “What are you doing, child. Didn’t you see that we were practicing?!” 

Rose looked at him quizzically. “Practicing? It looked like you were fighting!” Golgemort saw the girl’s clothes. She wore a strange skirt lined with stripes and odd buttons. Not the traditional robes of the realm.

“What are you wearing?!” Golgemort exclaimed. 

“You’re really asking me that?” Rose said, irritated. “I’d like to know where I am!”

“You are in the Realm of Magic,” Golgemort said. “Don’t you know that?”

“No, not really,” Rose responded. “Although…I have heard about a world like this from my

grandmother’s stories…”

“Where are you from?” Golgemort asked. 

“Um… Earth?”

“Ah, yes, the Earth Realm,” Golgemort said, looking off into the distance. “And how did you get here?”

“Well, I was playing around in the snow, and I found this door in the tree. I tried to open it but it wouldn’t open. Then I looked around for a key somewhere and I found a small chest with a key inside.”  

“I see,“ Golgemort said. “You can come to my house.” Then he yelled, “LEO, LET’S GO!”  

“Okay!” Leo responded. 

“Um, sure,” Rose said hesitantly.

So they set off to Golgemort’s house. Rose turned to the strange boy. “So what’s your name?”

“Leo,” he replied, looking down at his feet. “What’s yours?”

“Rose,” she said energetically. “So what’s the deal with–”

“We’ve arrived,” Golgemort interrupted. Rose laid her eyes upon the filthy shack that sat within the middle of a green swamp. 

“Really? This is your home?” Rose said incredulously. “This looks horrible!” 

Golgemort chuckled. “That’s what they all say.” He opened the splintered door, revealing a gorgeous home. The ceiling was a diverse array of different colors, all blending into each other, making everything seem infinite. Tiny fairies buzzed about the room, serenading Rose with an ethereal melody. Invisible maids were doing the dishes and cleaning the floors and cooking one of the most wonderful meals Rose had ever seen. 

Golgemort turned to Rose, a cocky smirk on his face. “Is it really that horrible?”

Rose looked down, filled with embarrassment. “No, not really, I guess.”

“Anywho, welcome to my humble abode,” Golgemort gestured to the space. A filthy grey dog popped out of its hiding space in the corner.

“What is that!“ Rose said.

“That’s just a dog,”  he said.

“Oh,”  she said. “This place is a bit strange. Are you sure that was a dog? It didn’t look like a dog.”

“Yes, I’m sure it was a dog. Now we have to find a way for you to get back home,” Golgemort said firmly, because he was getting a bit irritated with her and her billion questions.

“Easy, I just go back through that door and go home.”  

“Ha! The door doesn’t stay in one place for too long. It could be anywhere now. The dragon realm, the giant realm, even the realm of the mermaids, and that’s under the sea.”

“Then how do I get home?” she said a bit nervously, thinking she would be stuck in the realm of magic forever.

“Well, the door stays here for at least two days before it leaves for a different realm. And you came here a few minutes ago. So there’s a good chance we can still find it. But it’s dangerous, since in some parts there are dark wizards.” 

Rose gulped. 

“You know, The Cave of Wizards, where I got my wand, I saw some armor and a protection spellbook and we can give Rose a wand,” Leo said.

“You’re right, but she doesn’t know anything about magic,” Golgemort said.

“So what?” Leo said. “I learned magic and I knew nothing about it.”

“Yes, but it took you at least a few weeks to master it, and we only have two days to find the door.”

“Then we’ll only teach her the basic spells, to protect herself,” Leo said.

Golgemort was getting a bit annoyed with the back and forth and finally he said, “All right. Let’s go.”

“Where exactly are we going?” said Rose. 

“The Cave of Wizards!” said Leo. “We’re going to get you a wand and teach you how to protect yourself from the dark wizards.”

“But I don’t know anything about magic!”

“Well, it’s easy. All you have to do is–”

“We’re here!” Golgemort said, standing in front of two big gold doors. 

“Wow,” Rose said.

“This is where we’re going to get you a wand,” said Leo. Golgemort was looking for a wand while Leo told Rose how it works. “But you’d better hold it away from your face, because it’s the wand that chooses you, not you who chooses the wand. So you should be prepared for it to explode in your face if it’s not your wand.”

“Do I have to have a wand?” Rose said.

“Do you want to get killed looking for the door?” Leo said.

“No,” Rose said, a bit frightened.

All of a sudden, Golgemort said, “Try this.” It was a wand in a box, made out of wood with golden feathers wrapping around the bottom.

Leo yelled, “Remember to hold it away from your face if it explodes!”

“If it doesn’t explode within five seconds, it’s your wand,” Golgemort said.

Then Rose said in her head, five… four… three… two… one… Nothing happened, and Golgemort said, “Well done, this is your wand! It took Leo at least three tries to get his. Now we need to teach you spells. The first step is knowing how to hold your wand.”

“Like this?” she asked, holding the wand firmly.

“Yes, but you need to hold it a bit looser.”

“Like this?” she asked.

“Perfect.”

They spent all evening practicing. “Well, it’s getting late, and I think you’ve mastered all the basic spells. I think you should go to bed. Tomorrow morning we can start looking for the door,” Golgemort said.

The next day, when the sun rose, Rose woke up. Golgemort and Leo were already up.

Golgemort asked, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Rose all of a sudden said, “Oh yeah! I forgot my wand!” 

“And?” Golgemort said.

“And I have to get dressed.”

Five minutes later, Rose said, “Now I’m ready to go.” 

“Then let’s go,” Leo said, very excited to go on his first adventure using magic. 

So they set out into the dark part of the woods, where Golgemort assumed it would be, since he had gone into different realms before, and he knew the pattern of the door.

“We’re entering the dark part of the woods,” Golgemort said. “Everybody should get their wands out. Leo, do you have yours?”

“Yes.”
“Rose, do you have yours?”

“Yes.”

“Now we have to enter very quietly,” Golgemort said. “The dark wizards could be watching us.”

They walked for at least an hour. Nothing happened.

Rose said, “We have been walking forever. Are you sure there are dark wizards in the woods?”

Then all of a sudden, the dark wizards knocked them out with a magic spell. 

When they woke up, they were sitting in a small throne room in front of the leader of the dark wizards, Azulon. He had white hair, and one eye looked like it was blind. It was very creepy.

Azulon said, “Golgemort.”

Golgemort said, “Azulon.”

“Whaaaat?” Rose said. 

“I guess I haven’t introduced myself,” said Azulon. “I am Azulon, commander of the dark army, ruler of death, king of the dark wizards.”

“I guess you’re really into darkness,” Rose said. 

“Never mind,” said Azulon. “Why are you in the dark parts of the woods, Golgemort? You know that we are here and you know we kidnap anybody who trespasses.”

“We’re only looking for the door,” Golgemort said.

“So the door is here,” Azulon said, fascinated.

“Yes, why do you want to know?”

“Uh, I don’t know,” Azulon said. “To conquer all of the realms!” 

“I should have known,” Golgemort said. “You still have that desire to conquer all the realms.”

“Of course I do. I am the greatest wizard in all of the realms.”

“Wrong!” Leo said. “Golgemort is!”

“Shush! Child,” Azulon said, and put him back to sleep with a spell.

“Why do you want to conquer all the realms so badly?” Rose asked.

“To prove I am the greatest wizard of all time!” Azulon said.

“Won’t that just terrorize people?” Rose said. 

“No! They will think that I am the greatest wizard ever!”

“Enough with saying you’re the greatest wizard! We get it!” Rose said.

Golgemort said, “Just let us pass. It’ll be easier this way.”

“No! I need to keep you here so you don’t find the door before I do.”

“Okay,” Golgemort said, knowing that they had their wands so they could escape.

When Azulon and his guards left, Golgemort used a spell to get him out of the chair. Then he said, “Leo! Wake up!”

“What? What?” Leo said. “How are you out of your chair?”

“Are you blinded, child? I used a spell!”

“Get me out of this chair if you got out of your chair using a spell,” Rose said.

And soon, they were all free. “Now we have to find a way to get out of this building. There are the dark army guards everywhere.”

“What about through the window?” Leo said.

“We can’t do that. The guards are surrounding the building.”

“What if we used a spell to make us invisible?” Leo said. 

“Yes, but we would need a rope, and we would have to make that rope invisible too.”
“Simple. The invisible spells last up to an hour,” Leo said.
“Okay,” Golgemort said, “But first we need to find a rope.”

“Good point.”

“We can only look for one in here, because there are guards outside the door,” Golgemort said. 

“There’s one!” Rose said, pointing to a rope on the wall. 

“Good spotting,” Golgemort said to her. 

“Now we’ve got to make this rope invisible,” Rose said to both Leo and Golgemort. “Could one of you do that?”

“Sure,” Leo said, taking out his wand and making the rope invisible. “Now we have to make ourselves invisible.” 

Golgemort said, “I’ll make you two invisible, but Leo will have to make me invisible.”

Golgemort made Leo and Rose invisible. Leo and Rose put their hands in front of their faces, but they couldn’t see them.

“Where are you guys?” Golgemort said.

“Right here,” they said. 

“Well, you guys shouldn’t move, otherwise you could get lost because I can’t see you. Leo, I’m right in front of you, you can now cast the spell with your wand.”

“You are now invisible,” Leo said.

“I already knew that! Now we have to find a place to put the rope where the guards aren’t.”

“Right here,” Rose said, while pointing. 

“Great spotting,” Golgemort said again. 

So they opened the window, placed the rope in between the guards, and climbed down the rope as silently and quickly as possible. When they were all down, they started running into the woods, as silently and quickly as possible.

They ran for twenty-five minutes and at least two miles away from the secret lair. Then they had been running for an hour, and wouldn’t stop, knowing that they might get caught. Then, they collapsed. They couldn’t even see the secret lair anymore, so they knew that the dark army hadn’t caught up with them. 

When they woke up, they saw the door in the distance. But then, they realized that there was a big river with crocodiles. They had to figure out a way across it. 

Then, they realized they had forgotten their wands back at the secret lair. 

Then Golgemort said, “It’s all right, I can do magic with my hands.” Then he did a spell that created a very high bridge across the river. 

They crossed the bridge, but then they realized that the door was moving slowly, so it was farther away than it was before. So they kept walking, and walking, and walking, and walking, and walking, and walking, until they saw flying books in the air.

“Careful, they’re really dangerous,” Golgemort said. 

“How dangerous can flying books be?” said Leo, so he walked up to them and they started flying around him and hitting him on the head. “Yep, they’re definitely–” he collapsed. 

“We better wake him up,” Golgemort said. “Azulon could come into the room where we were kidnapped and find out we escaped any minute. Leo! Leo! Wake up!”

Rose yelled, “Look! The door is moving again! We have to wake him up!”

“Okay, I’ll use my spell to wake him up.” Golgemort woke him up. 

Leo said, “Ugh, what happened?”

Then Rose said, “The door is moving quickly! We gotta go!”

Leo stood up and said, “But we’re going to need a protection spell to get past the books.”

“Good idea,” said Golgemort.

“Great,” said Rose.

“How do we cast that spell?” Leo said. “All our wands are in the secret lair.”
“Golgemort can do hand magic,” said Rose. “That’s how we got across the river, remember?”

“No, not really,” Leo said. “And can’t you remember I was hit by a bunch of books so I don’t remember stuff?”

“Oh, right,” Rose said. “Either way, the door is moving faster and faster. It looks like it’s going to go into another realm. We have to catch up with it.” 

So they started running towards the door, but then they stumbled upon the flying books.

“Now we need to protect ourselves,” said Rose. “Golgemort, can you make a protection spell?”

“I can try,” Golgemort said. “Aluminos devatos!” He said. And when they walked by the books, they didn’t get hit by any. 

“It worked!” Rose said. 

“I know,” Leo said.

“I told you,” Golgemort said.

Then Rose yelled, “Look! The door is moving even faster than before! We’ve got to move!” 

So they started to run and run and run. They couldn’t catch up to the door, so they decided to run even faster. Then, Leo spotted Azulon and his dark army behind them. 

“Um, I think we’ve got company,” Leo said. 

“Oh, no,” Golgemort said.

“Not them,” Rose said. “How are we gonna get away from them?”

“I don’t know,” Leo said.

“I think I might have a way,” Golgemort said. “If we keep running, we’ll tire them out. The Dark Army can’t stay alive for long, they’re from the dead.” They kept running and running and finally caught up to the door when the door stopped. 

Then, all of a sudden, a voice said, “We’ve got you!” They turned around and it was Azulon, holding up his wand. “Surrender now!” Azulon said. 

Golgemort and Leo yelled at the same time, “Rose, go!”

“No!” Rose said.

“Just go!” yelled Golgemort.

“No! I’m not going to just leave you to die with Azulon!”

“It’s fine! I’ve dealt with him before!”

“I’ll come back to help you!” Rose said, a bit sad. And she went through the door.

Berniece and her Amazing Adventures

So once there was a beautiful raisin with beautiful hair. Her name was Berniece. She was going to the supermarket to get more salt and sugar to make salty sugary water. Berniece put on her sun hat and stepped outside. When she got outside, Berniece burned her wrinkly skin and got a rain jacket to not get burned. Once again, she got outside with her beautiful sun hat, rain jacket, and taco bag.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” a random stranger yelled. “I’m having a — I need a taco bag. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Berniece was very annoyed by this random guy’s tantrum. Luckily she had a 30-inch sized megaphone in her taco bag.

Stop throwing a tantrum! Jeez!” yelled Berniece.

So the random stranger rolled away. He had no gender, so it was just trying to get lots of attention like the song “Attention.” A very good song. It also wanted lots of tacos because it was broken and also wanted a taco bag. After all that commotion, Berniece was only 120 centimeters away from the supermarket and her salt and sugar. She was walking and walking, but then a giant wrecking ball came out of nowhere and blocked the pass to the supermarket. The only way to get to the supermarket was to be Miley Cyrus and swing on the wrecking ball.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Berniece screamed with joy.

After the new Berniece Cyrus was done with her musical number, she dropped, stopped, and rolled right into the supermarket into the salt and sugar aisle. She put her salt and sugar in her taco bag and got them for free. So she got outside with her free groceries, but then Miley Cyrus popped out of nowhere and swung away with her wrecking ball.

So Berniece was driving her beautiful Lamborghini home after she finished swimming in 300,000 gallons of cranberry juice. When she went to go park her Lamborghini, she saw her jam jar of mail, and there was a magical golden letter that said… 

Congratulations! You are invited to the most fancy clancy lunch ever.

Berniece was flattered that she was going to eat fancy lunch in a fancy house. So she got her most fancy taco suit with her matching taco purse, not a bag. After she got her outfit done, she put sugar in her hair so she could be sweet. (Cringy.) Berniece was all ready for her fancy lunch. At the fancy clancy lunch there were 1,000,000,000 pizzas. There was also a guy with bunny slippers and french fries as a hat and 100,000,000,000,000,000 tacos. The host of the fancy clancy lunch was wearing a pink, fluffy unicorn outfit with 100,000,000,000,000,000 Chipotle sandwiches. It was a beautiful fancy clancy lunch. So Berniece left the fancy clancy lunch with 300 gallons of cranberry juice and 50,000,000 chipotle sandwiches.

So, after Berniece left her fancy clancy lunch, she went to her muffin house and made 300 gallons worth of cranberry gelatin in her house to last her 69 weeks of pure gelatin. She would leave the leftovers for when Russia and America start a feud.

Berniece is very stubborn because she keeps on getting invitations to important missions that just randomly happen. Very, very suspenseful… so, Berniece went to her jam jar of mail and saw… (suspense)… another letter to join the Russia Government Corporation. Berniece got her 300 gallons of cranberry gelatin for the one year in Russia. After she got to Russia, she got a computer and exploded McDonald’s, Chipotle, Wendy’s, and Burger King by exploding all the food and tables and chairs.

After Berniece finished exploding food and furniture, the Russian government wanted Berniece to destroy Taco Bell with boom boom explosion. So Berniece was very disappointed that she needed to destroy Taco Bell. Berniece didn’t explode Taco Bell, but she exploded Russia instead. So, at the end, Berniece left Russia with new, cool hacking skills and secrets. She went home with her gelatin and new computer from Russia. And her brand new car from Russia. So Berniece went to go drive in her new car all the way to the Los Angeles beach. And she got her tan on.

Berniece was burning in the sun. She was in raisin form, so she saw the sun burned a hole in her muffin house. So, Berniece got her pool noodle and 50,000 beach chairs and her Dora towel and (temporary) boyfriend Barney and her DJ set. Barney went to wrinkly beach because they are raisins. The beach was in a sandbox. So, they put down their stuff and music. Berniece put on the song “Señorita.”

So, Berniece was the new Jesus because she separated the water with her pool noodle because she dropped her spoon. So, she washed her spoon and ate her Taco Bell taco and fed the birds tacos and put some in jail because they attacked her. Then after the birds attacked Berniece, she got all the sand and her 1,000,000 meter shovel and dug a hole all the way to her muffin house because she forgot her sunscreen. She also needed her Berniece limited edition figure. Barney got lost at sea on a cruise. So, Berniece left the beach single.


Advice of the Century

Sama Daga, student, best advice giver ever, and comedian is in her room, filming on you tube. She is giving million dollar advice for free. As you can see, she is really nice. She also answers questions from callers and comments. 

SAMA: Hello world! I give you the best advice you can ever get! It’s so good, it changes your life forever.  Let’s start with the stupidest game on earth.

Don’t play Fortnite

If you play Fortnite, you will get addicted

If you get addicted, you will play it all night and not sleep

If you don’t sleep, you will not pay attention in class

If you don’t pay attention in class, you will do badly in the surprize pop quiz

If you do badly on the surprize pop quiz, your parents will be mad

If your parents get mad, they will send you away

If you get sent away, you will go to a land called Mathominium

If you go to Mathominium, you will have math cramped in your brain

If you get math cramped in your brain, you will turn into a monster

If you turn into a monster, you will kill the world and you will die too because you have nowhere to live

Don’t play Fortnite!

I give great advice, right? Well, guess what? The next piece of advice is even better. This has to do with one of the scariest animals on earth.

Don’t hug a bear

If you hug a bear, you will get attached to him

If you get attached to him, you will think about him a lot

If you think about him a lot, you will go back in the forest

If you go back in the forest, you will get a rare spider bite

If you get a rare spider bite, you won’t be able to walk anymore

If you can’t walk anymore, you will be stuck in the forest

If you get stuck in the forest, a week later, the bear would text you

If the bear texts you, he will say he doesn’t like you.

If he says he doesn’t like you, you will cry and become depressed

If you cry and become depressed, you will die alone because no one found you in the forest

Don’t hug a bear!

So, seriously, don’t hug a bear. Million dollar advice here people! Pay attention! Now, I’m going to look in the comments to find a good question to answer. Oh, great question! Matts question is,”Should I flush my book down the toilet if i don’t wanna read it” My answer: for your own safety, please don’t

Don’t flush a book down a toilet

If you flush a book down a toilet, you will clog it

If you clog it, it won’t work

If it doesn’t work, you will have to drive all the way to the gas station

If you drive all the way to the gas station, the toilet there won’t work either

If the toilet doesn’t work at the gas station, you will go home sad

If you go home sad, your whole house will be flooding

If your whole house is flooding, you will run in to save your dog

If you run in to save your dog, you will find him swimming in the living room

If you find your dog swimming in the living room, you will run out with your dog

If you run out, you will find that your whole neighborhood is flooded

If you flood your whole neighborhood, your old neighbor will chase you with a 90’s newspaper

If you get chased, you will slip and break every bone in your body

Don’t flush your book down the toilet!

Matt, you really need life support. Get help soon. Now we have a request from… my brother. My brother asked,” Should I hit my sister if she is hogging the computer with her stupid you tube show?” First of all… this YouTube show is not stupid! I give good advice to the unfortunate: anyone but me! It has a billion fans! Make that a billion and one. Second of all…

Don’t hit your sister ever

If you hit your sister, she will slap you

If she slaps you, you will cry and tell mom

If you tell mom, she will yell at your sister and send her to her room and let you go to the park with your friends

If your sister goes to her room, she will sneak out the window.

If she sneaks out of her room, she will find you in the park

If she finds you in the park, she will give you a wedgie in front of all your friends

If she gives you wedgie in front of all your friends, all your friends will run from fear

If all your friends run from fear, you will have no friends

If you have no friends, you will be sad and depressed

If you are sad and depressed, you will try to invent a happiness machine

If you try to invent a happiness machine, everyone will abandon you because they think you’re weird

If everyone abandons you, you will die alone 

Don’t hit your sister ever!!!!

My brothers have always needed help. My mom won’t let me put him up for adoption. Seriously, I don’t see the problem with the idea. Mom only has to deal with one child. I’m making her life easier! Whatever, guess mom can’t see good ideas when they are right in front of her! Moms… Again, whatever. Now, we have a call in from Charlie.

(Charlie waves excitedly. Sama just waves with smile.)

CHARLIE: OMG, I can’t believe I’m on my fav show! Like, wow! 

SAMA: Yeah I know I’m generous.

CHARLIE: Totally! I wanted to ask you something… 

SAMA: Since I’m so generous, go ahead and ask your question!

CHARLIE; I cheated on my chem test. It’s just so hard! Should I tell my teacher I cheated?

SAMA: Charlie, that is a great question! Here’s my advice… 

Don’t tell your teacher you cheated on a chemistry test.

If you tell your teacher, she will pull the disappointed card.

If she pulls the disappointed card, she will tell you to take an even harder one.

If you have to take a harder test, the stress will get to your head.

If the stress gets to your head, you will forget all the chemistry you ever learnt.

If you forget all the chemistry you ever learnt, you will do badly on the test.

If you do badly, the teacher will make you go to chemistry summer school.

If you go to chemistry summer school, you will bore your eyes out.

If you bore your eyes out, you will become blind.

If you become blind, you will accidentally fall in a manhole.

If you fall in a manhole, your best friend will be an alligator. 

If your best friend is an alligator, he will eat you at one point because he’s hungry.

Don’t tell your teacher you cheated on a chemistry test!

Hope this helped guys! I’m so amazing for giving you advice right?! Well, this is the last piece of advice for today. It’s pretty short but very meaningful. 

Hit the like and subscribe button and all the other stuff that youtubers want you to do at the bottom of this video

If you hit the buttons, I will think that you are somewhat decent

If I think that you are somewhat decent, you’re cool

If your cool, your life is complete

Hit the like and subscribe button at the bottom of the video!

Sama waves goodbye with smile.

BLACKOUT.

The End

The Night of The Halloween Fair

One day at school, two kids came to Hamilton Middle School without knowing each other at all. At lunch the new kids, John and Will, met each other and then met Shane. They played football together at recess. Shane approached Will and John because he had no friends, and he wanted to become friends with the new kids. The new kids didn’t know him and how he had messed up in life beforehand, and it’s not often you get to restart with a clean slate. Shane had accidentally lit someone’s report on fire in science class, and he let the turtles out in their classroom. He also ran over all the plants in the garden by accident. Shane was a lonely dude with no friends, so he approached John and Will. They bonded over football and became better friends over the weeks. Shane realized that John was athletic but dumb and Will was smart but lazy, and Shane thought he was athletic and smart.

Three weeks after they met, John wanted to know Will and Shane better, and what better way than going to the Halloween fair? They were middle schoolers, and they thought that they were too old for Halloween.

“Are you guys going to the Halloween fair? My older brother works there, so we can get discounts off of tickets,” John said.

The next day, they told their parents that they were going to go to the Halloween fair which was in two days, but the parents didn’t want them to go because they knew that there were a couple of kids that had gone missing at the fairs, so they wanted to check and make sure it was going to be safe. So they checked it out and saw that it said it was going to be safe and there was going to be lots of security. The next day, they all went to the fair. It was mostly just teenagers. The fair was mostly Halloween stuff, like scary skeletons, grim reapers, zombies, ghosts, and haunted houses. They went to watch a clown movie called It. They were only showing very scary movies because it was Halloween evening. And then they went to go play some fair games, ride some rides, and then they met up with John’s older brother. Then they went to go do games, including dart throw, with John’s older brother and saw some of their classmates and talked with them. They went on a ride called The Fireball, which was a ride that went upside down, and the ride got stuck when they were upside down—though it was only for five minutes, and then they got it back working. 

Shane said, “Okay, we’re not doing another ride.”

Will said, “Yes, we are.”

Then they all went to the bathroom to start puking because all of the stuff that they ate at the fair and just went back out. They felt kind of dizzy, but after throwing up they felt fine. And they went to go grab some funnel cake because all the food left their body. 

At around when it was turning dark, they went to go see when the fair was going to close, and it said it was closing in half an hour, so they started hurrying up and doing more stuff. They won a whole bunch of teddy bears and watched a magic show, and this guy was pulling bunny rabbits out of his hat, then John watched people juggle swords and eat flaming food. They were having a blast. Then they went all into a photo booth, and they took lots and lots of photos, and they didn’t hear that the fair was closing. They walked out, and they didn’t see anybody. 

“Where’d they go?” they all said in unison.

Then they heard some evil cackling, and then they got scared. They wanted to go home, but it was too dark, and they didn’t know where they were supposed to go. Then they saw John’s older brother sweeping, and then they ran to go and ask him where everyone went. He told them that the fair closed ten minutes ago.

And then he said, “You guys should be going home now.”

So they headed to the front gates, but the gates were already closed, and when they tried to tug, there was another tug against them. They tried to open it several times, but a guy wasn’t letting them. They could feel a pull keeping them from opening it. They couldn’t see it, but all they saw were two eyes in the dark. Then they ran for John’s older brother. 

Will said, “John’s older brother, we just saw glowing red two eyes in the dark—I think there’s something, that we’re not alone.”

“First of all, I have a name. My name is Mark. Second of all, we’re not alone because there’s other people that work here. Third of all, you probably just saw the gatekeeper, the person who is watching people leave and getting the tickets from people.” And then they saw the magician, Onzony, who was tall, scary, and dressed in purple. And Mark said, “Hey, Onzony, what’cha doin?”

“I’m being your worst nightmare.” 

Then Mark said, “Wait—so you’re Trump singing?”

“No, I’m here to kill you!”

And then instead of pulling a bunny rabbit out of his hat, he pulled out a chainsaw, and they saw people on stilts cackling and surrounding them. And then they saw a clown on a unicycle going around juggling axes.

And then the clown went right in front of them and said, “Happy Halloween!”

And the clown threw the axes up in the air, and all the axes landed right in front of the four kids. 

“Aaaah!” they all screamed in unison and started running, but they ran into a giant scorpion, and the scorpion put its stinger at them.

Then they all ran into a different direction, and they ran into an inflatable sign saying, Go see the circus! Then a trapeze man walked to the other side of the sign and stabbed a sword right through the sign into Will’s stomach.

“Noooo!” John screamed, and he grabbed the sword and sliced off the trapeze man’s head.

Then they ran away.

“Okay, I think we lost them.”

They went to hide in the photo booth. They sat there for an hour before they realized that they were being carried. When they realized they were being carried, they looked outside the photo booth and realized that they were on a chain hanging three feet above sharks, and they could see sharks snapping at them, trying to jump.

Then a clown said, “They’re really hungry! I think we might need to feed them.” 

“Got it!” said the magician who cut the chain, and they fell into the shark tank.

And they were all swimming frantically and trying to get out while Mark was jumping on top of sharks trying not to get bitten, but then his arm got bitten off, and it was so bloody, and there was blood all over the pool. Then Mark jumped out while whimpering, then John also got out, and everyone got out.

“Release the snakes!” one of the clowns said.

A whole bunch of snakes, including Cobras and boa constrictors, came out of the dirt, and a snake got on Mark and tightened around him and then swallowed him whole! Then John and Shane were so mad and sad that they were speechless, then they ran away and got on the ferris wheel and climbed to the top of it. Then the rest of the fair started climbing up the ferris wheel. Then finally John and Shane reached the top, and they realized they had gotten ahead of the fair. The clowns were climbing up, and they were five feet away from grabbing them.

Then Shane spotted a pool and said, “Okay, on three we jump into the pool.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

They all jumped, and then something threw an axe at Shane, and Shane got killed before he hit the pool. John hit the pool, but he didn’t realize that the pool was full of crocodiles, and the crocodiles ate him. All that was left was a pool full of red.

The End.


When You’re Poor and You Still Live In Your Parent’s Basement When You’re Thirty: Enter the Whipped Cream Contest

I was baking day and night, dirty covered in butter and egg, 

and butterscotch, to make my famous whipped

Cream. Then I went to the fair to win the whipped cream contest.

The merry-go-round spins like a bunch of animals jumping in the forest

I smell fried oils and funnel cakes at the concession stands                                                 

I seek what looks like a fortune teller

in a tent who didn’t look like they had a job

I’m going to win the whipped cream contest,

The grand trophy and 10% discount on Safeway food

And 100% off Whole Foods for life. 

On the way home I was as happy as a kid gets when his parents say you can have 10 sundaes tonight. 

Then the heat of the sun makes me so pale

And I burst into flames, and then I think

How do I get home? Home is love.

It’s where your family is. It’s where I live

In my parent’s basement.  And my only family

Is the Xbox.  

2 years later, I become a worldwide celebrity because I gave food to the poor. 

I also became a world-class poker player, but I still live in my parent’s basement 

The reason I still live in my parent’s basement is because I spend so much money on the nice hotels 

And first class on the planes all for poker.

When you’re poor and you still live in your parent’s basement when you’re 30, enter the whipped cream contest.


Cakes, Tennis, and Moving!

“Steven, will you please come up here and show everyone how to draw a cake?” Ms. Clinton asked me.

I stood up and slowly walked to the whiteboard, hoping the bell would ring. I grabbed a marker and tried drawing a cake. Oliver, the school bully, teased me, saying that my ‘cake’ looked like a broken down house. I tried again. And again. And again. I came up with a circle with a few dots in the middle. I told everyone that it was a bird’s eye view to a cake. Luckily, that’s when the bell rang. Art is my last class, and Eddy and I grabbed our backpacks and walked home. Eddy is my best friend and also my neighbor.

Since it was a Monday, I luckily had my allowance from Sunday. We stopped by Sydney’s Sweets and walked in.

“Two Tinker bars and a large bag of chips, please,” I told Sydney, the manager. 

“That will be $3.50,” Sydney said, handing me the treats.

I gave her a five-dollar bill and collected my change. I handed Eddy a Tinker and stuffed the chips in my bag.

After a few seconds of walking and a few minutes of talking, Eddy and I stopped in our tracks. We saw my parents standing in front of my house, putting everything into a truck that said MOVING MASTERS on the sides. My parents were talking to someone who was helping them put the suitcases and furniture in the truck. I ran to my parents and asked them what was happening. My mom told me to pack my stuff and that she’ll explain it to me later.

Eddy came upstairs with me and helped me pack. I took my suitcase out of the shelf and stuffed my clothes in it. Eddy asked me if I knew what was happening. I shook my head and finished packing. Eddy said that he should go home now. My mom came upstairs and sat on the bed. She told me to sit down.

“Steven, your father was promoted to Vice President of his company. His new office is on the other side of the state. We are moving to Oaktown.”

I froze. That was three hours away! A lot of thoughts rushed through my head. Which school will I go to? Will I make friends? Is our house going to be big? Are my teachers going to be nice?

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I lay in bed, thinking about what my mother said. Tossing and turning, I looked at my full suitcase next to the door. All of my furniture except my bed was inside of the truck, including my reading chair and my desk. Even my closet! I still didn’t know when we were leaving.

“Steve, wake up!” That was my dad. “We are leaving on Friday. I’ll pick you up from school, and Mom and Molly will be waiting in the car outside.”

Dad made me pancakes—my favorite—for breakfast. The maple syrup was dripping down my chin as the puffy pancakes melted in my mouth.

It was a normal school day; I had epic fails in art class but crushed PE. At the end of the day, we had an announcement. The principal, Mr. Mikelly, told us that a tennis tournament was coming up. Tennis was my favorite sport! He showed us the trophy, and I started jumping with joy. It was a golden man in trophy position. On the side of the stand, it said Tennis Tournament 2019 – Awarded to 

I imagined it saying my name, Steven Trenton. I was the first one to sign up for the tournament.

The next day was tournament day. I was playing Hudson Matts. It was my serve. I served and won the point. Soon the game. Soon the set. And then the match. Time for the quarter finals. Won. Semifinals. Won. Finals time. I was playing Oliver Frenzy. I lifted my racquet and smashed the ball. He hit it back to me. Slice! After a few sets, I looked up at the scoreboard. It was a deuce. The match point for both of us. Oliver served, and I played a backhand. Unfortunately, he smashed it, and it was his point. Advantage for Frenzy. Then it was deuce again. Advantage for Trenton. Deuce. My advantage again. I hit a powerful forehand with the win. I received my trophy and medal. I spotted Oliver on the bench, with sweat all over his face. I walked over to him.

“Tough game.”

He didn’t reply. Eddy ran over to me. 

“Great job, dude!” he said. “Nobody here is as good as you!”

Friday was the day before I moved. That morning when I went to school, the day flew by. In the afternoon, we had another announcement. But this time, Mr. Mikelly called me up on stage. The last time I went up there was my play in second grade! I was kind of nervous when I went up there. 

“Today, we have a very special announcement. One of our students, Steven Trent, is moving to Oaktown today. He is also our tennis champion. We will miss him.”

My dad came into the room. I gave Eddy a hug, and Dad and I left.

In the car, I stared out the window. I saw the trees and suddenly the big city. The tall buildings were gleaming in the sunlight, and the cars zoomed through town. People wearing suits and ties walked from one building to another. This must Oaktown, the big city. Finally, I saw a big apartment building. It had a swimming pool and a playground. I was astonished. I read a big sign. Now, I lived in Pretcot Towers. Awesome!


How I Write

My pencil dulls while I write and write.

Only my paper is fully in sight.

I could write for days and nights, while I write and write.

My pencil goes on scribbling, which I find addicting, and I go on, pencil directing.

I wrote ‘til three pages were crumpled and wrote on,

“I wish I could go on!”

But it all came to a stop, and my pencil dropped.

My eyes were opened wide, as my hand ached,

“Is there anything else I can make?”

I knew there was, and I thought and thought, until my thinking came to a stop.

“A poem!”

I got it!

So, I sought paper, and a pen.

I didn’t know if THIS was ever gonna end.

There I again wrote away, wrote away another day.

And that is where THIS poem makes way.


Hurricane

“Calm down, Ivy!” my older brother irritatedly shouts at me over the loud music, as I am practically bouncing up and down in the brown leather seat of his car.

We pull into the parking lot of Topiary Garden and Tea House. Let me rewind. I am Ivy Marie Wildson, and I love iguanas. I have been begging my parents for an iguana since I was five years old. I am 12 now, and we found an iguana from Iguana Love Rescue online, and I finally convinced my parents to get it for me. His name is Albert Einstein. We are going to pick him up today. I get out of my brother’s Subaru, the hot summer air engulfing my body. We live in Miami, Florida. My mom pulls out her phone and checks the address the organization gave us. 

“Yup, this is the right place,” she says.

We walk towards the main building, the rubber straps of my flip-flops rubbing against my skin, but I barely notice the pain. Walking through the big oak door, the air conditioning relieves my skin. The man at the front desk has a friendly smile and a hairy unibrow. He points us in the direction of the manager’s office. We walk down the long marble corridor and come to a wooden door with a golden plaque reading: CAROL RODREGUIZ; MANAGER.

My mom knocks lightly, and a shrill voice yells, “Come in!”

I open the door, just to see a tower of boxes guarding it. We slide around the maze of packing boxes, and just when I think they don’t end, my eyes come upon her. She has small round librarian glasses perched on the very tip of her long, pale nose. Folds upon folds of skin adorn her face, making her look like the world’s oldest person. Long, white hairs, bleached by age, sit on her tiny head.

“Hello, dears,” she says with a smile full of yellowing teeth. “Tis so sad that I cannot bring Albert with me, but the apartment I am moving to does not allow pets. Please take good care of him.”

She carefully places the metal cage in my arms. While she and my mom take care of the paperwork, I sit on one of the duct taped cardboard boxes. I lower my head and look at him. I gasp. The first thing I notice are his brilliant eyes. One is blue, one brown. White tipped spikes adorn his green scaly body. 

“He’s a beau, isn’t he,” she says.

“Yes,” I say.

We thank her and walk back out to the lobby, and out into the afternoon sunlight.

The comfort of my duvet cover hugs my feet as I lay on my bed, Albert in front of me. I stroke his dewlap, the piece of loose skin that hangs below his chin, kind of like a beard. My dad had a beard that would he would shave every morning, but it would still keep growing. I remember the night my dad left. I was so young, but it is one of my clearest memories.

***

I want you to leave this house right now, Simon,” I remember my mother yelled, her voice stinging with sadness.

I heard a door slam, and Travis say, “Mommy, where is Daddy going?” and then my dad grabbed his keys and whispered softly to Travis, and my mom said, “Daddy is going away for a while, okay, sweetheart?” and then my dad slammed the front door, and Travis cried, and Dad’s car started and ran over our mailbox with a loud crash.

I remember him pulling out of our driveway and driving down the street really fast and Travis crying even more and Mom crying and yelling. The next morning, I remember hearing a stranger coming to the door and taking all of dad’s stuff away. For the next month, Mom cried every night, and I didn’t know why.

***

“Ivy! Bedtime!” my mom yells, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I get into my pajamas and brush my teeth. I slip under my comforter, and my mom opens my door a crack.

She sits down on the edge of my bed, and I ask, “Mom, why did Dad leave?”

I can tell she is surprised by my sudden question, and her face turns pale for a second, and I trace a hint of anger in her eyes.

“We are not going to talk about that right now, Ivy,” she says, clearly angry.

“Then when will we talk about it Mom?” I yell. “I deserve to know what happened to him!” I say, my voice rising.

For a second, her eyes shine with fear. “We are not going to talk about that right now. I will now turn off the light, and you will go to bed,” she yells, standing up, walking across the room, and flipping the light switch. She stops walking and turns around to face me. “I love you, Ivy,” she says softly, her voice now more scared than angry.

But I just turn my back to her until I hear the door close, then I cry myself to sleep.

I feel my pale face burning red, and I put my head down and focus my eyes on the armful of books in my arms. I continue shuffling my feet forward through the school halls. Suddenly, I trip. Oh crud, I think as my face meets the cold tile. I hear snickers and whispers around me. I gather up my belongings but then slip on a history book and fall back onto the floor. I feel hot tears sneaking out of the corners of my eyes, and I try to keep them in. The sound of laughter rises around me, but then the bell rings, and the crowd around me disperses. I just sit there, willing my feet to get up, but they feel too heavy to move. All of a sudden, a set of hands appears and starts stacking up the books. I look up and a familiar face meets my eyes. He always looks the same. Curly brown hair. A face dotted with freckles. Calm hazel eyes. I nod a silent thanks.

“You’re new here, right?” he asks with a small smile.

“Not really,” I replied, my voice quivering.

“I haven’t noticed you.”

“Okay, well I’m here,” I say, starting to get agitated.
“Are you nervous?” he says.

I wake up in a cold sweat, the sheets twisted around my legs. That is the seventh time I’ve had that dream in the last month. Every time, it has the same scenario. I fall in a crowd of people and humiliate myself. And every time, there is that same face of that stranger boy who helps me pick up my stuff and asks me those same questions.

The next morning, Mom is gone to Alabama on a work trip, and Travis is taking care of me. I spend my morning playing with Albert and listening to music. Travis is working at Harvey’s, the local burger joint, for his day shift. I finish the newest Rick Riordan book, play some Mario Kart, build a cardboard maze for Albert, and it feels like this day will never end. I go outside and sit on the old creaky rocking chair. The rain stops, and it looks like a picture perfect sunset accompanied by crystal clear glittering waters reflecting the ombre of colors. The temperature is perfect.

Finally Travis comes home, and the fight with Mom feels distant, like it was ages ago. He makes us some mac n cheese, and we watch the news. It says that there is going to be another storm to hit us tonight, but I don’t mind enough to pay that much attention. 

“They always say the storm is going to directly hit, but then it completely avoids us,” he says with a sigh.

His phone beeps, and he glances at it, but shields the message from my view. He gets up and grabs his jacket. 

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“Out with some friends,” he says. “I won’t be back too late.”

I turn back to the TV and surf the channels, but nothing good is on. I am about to turn it off, but suddenly, the screen goes black. Oh, the power must be out, I think. I hear the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof and the whooshing of the wind through the palm fronds. I pad my way up the stairs and into my room. I coo to Albert as I gently pull him out of his cage. Plopping onto my bed, I snatch my most recent library book, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, off my shelf. I place Albert on my lap and open my book. I have just almost gotten to the end of the seventh chapter when I hear a loud boom of lighting that makes me jump out of my skin. I cuddle Albert and soothe him, though it seems that I’m the one that needs soothing. I sit on top of the covers of my bed and suddenly, it seems that the world goes silent, except for the dripping of water from the ceiling.

Drip.

Drip

Drip

I put my old coffee mug under the leak and look out the window. I can barely see the front lawn; the rain is coming down in thick walls. I hear tree branches snapping and electrical lines sparking. I suddenly start thinking, maybe I should have listened to those storm warning signs. I huddle under the covers with Albert and try to read my book over the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. It feels as if the house is shaking. I can’t concentrate, so I go downstairs to get a snack. As I’m pulling the Goldfish box out from the pantry, the front door slams open and bangs against the wall. I run to the living room and don’t expect to see what’s outside. The sight is unbearable. The wind pulling the trees out of the ground. The streets are flooded, and it seems as if the sky turned to rain and is falling. Creak. Uh oh. Small particles of drywall float in front of my eyes, almost peacefully. Crash! I slowly turn around just to see a piece of ceiling fall onto the floor. My eyes widen, and I slowly walk backwards and out the door. I stand on my front lawn and look up at my house, the beautiful cream yellow house with white window trim and the bay window with the soft pillow, crashing to the ground. Then I remember Albert. I had put him on my shoulder, and there he was, gripping onto my shoulder in such a cartoonish way. His front claws hook into my tank top, and his back legs fly behind him. I reach out my hand to grab him, but at the very moment my finger touches his claw, he falls off my shoulder and onto a piece of driftwood.

“No!” I yell.

I run after him as he is swept away by the current. I scramble forward, plunging into the water, my hands feeling for his sandpaper scales. The current carries me, and I am blinded by the stinging winds. The street I once lived on feels like a roaring ocean. 

I attempt to climb up onto a soggy mattress, but the waves just pull me under. I forget to hold my breath; seawater filling my lungs. I thrash and kick, pulling myself through the surface. I gasp for air, and the cold, damp oxygen filling my lungs hurts my chest. The waves slam my body into a wall, and a searing pain cuts through my body. I fight to keep my aching body above the surface, and I try and pull myself onto a ragged dirt hill that I remembered sat on the edge of my block with the swing set and play structure. The dirt crumbles under my feet as I scramble up onto the small hill. I pull myself up and collapse on the wet grass. I sit up on the hill, pulling my shaking knees to my chest. I look up, the rain clouding my vision. I see a shadow moving slowly towards me. I hear a creak, then a crack. Uh oh. I see the shadow moving faster. I recognize the familiar shape a little too late. I let out an ear-piercing scream, and the world around me goes black as a tree falls on my leg. I come back to consciousness, and I try and bear the pain. I feel as if someone is splitting my leg open. That gives me an idea. I try and feel the rocks around me. I feel a sharp one and start banging it against the other rocks, slowly chipping it into a sharp point. I stab it into the stem of the palm frond and wince. I saw at it and attempt to cut it in half.

“Urgh!” I clench my teeth, beads of sweat running down my pale face.

I try and pull my leg out from under the palm frond tree. The blood circulation of my leg is slowly getting cut off from the rest of my body. I push my tangled, soggy locks out of my eyes and continue working on cutting the palm frond in half. The pain is so great that my leg is turning pale and numb. I would cry, but I have no more tears in my dehydrated eyes. I bite my bottom lip, the taste of blood seeping into my mouth. I decide to take a break, and I lay on the wet ground and start thinking. Suddenly, I sit up. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to not have realized this before. I connect the dots. Heavy rain. Fast winds. Loud roars. One word flashes through my mind. Hurricane.


Jason Lesley Mason

Chapter One

There once was a boy named Jason Leslie Mason. He was the class clown at Paul Revere high school. He was 12 years old and he was 7’10. He had blonde hair and blue eyes like the color of the sky. He was in 7th grade. He had no siblings, but two parents, surprisingly! His parents had brown hair and hazel eyes. Their names were Rhonda and Erv. His parents ignored him even though they worked at his school. His clothes were hand me downs from his father. They were all ripped and some of his clothes had holes where his underwear was. 

Nobody was his friend because they were afraid of how tall he was. He was only a class clown so he could make friends. He didn’t tell anybody about this but he was about to lose his one bedroom apartment in two months (unless he struck rich). His parents ignored him and talked about money 24/7. The most expensive thing he owned was a $180 pair of the Kyries 5. His biggest fear was being homeless, not being the only class clown, and going to jail. But one day during school…

Chapter Two

When Jason came back from winter break and went to homeroom, he saw her. There was somebody new and Jason knew instantly she was a class clown. Here is the thing with class clowns. They can tell who is a class clown. Just like a scum can tell who’s a scum.

The girl introduced herself to everybody. Her name was Leah and she moved from Kansas to Los Angeles. She was part Canadian. Her mom was Canadian, but her dad was American. Jason was also part Canadian and part French. Yes! Jason thought he might actually get a friend! Somebody to talk to (unlike his parents)! The bell rang.

 Everybody rushed out of class except for Jason. PE was the next class. Jason hated PE. You had to run a mile everyday. But today was different. Today they had to run four miles, do fifty push-ups, ten pull-ups, and eighty sit ups in ten minutes. Jason, as usual, was up first. The mile run was up first, after that pull ups, then sit ups, and last but not least push ups. The gun shot and Jason took five minutes to run four miles, forty five seconds to do ten pull ups, two minutes to do eighty sit ups, and one minute to do fifty push-ups. It took him eight minutes and forty five seconds total. He felt proud. Though it turned out, he did the worst in the class.

Chapter Three

Jason went to lunch. He noticed everybody around him picking out about ten things out of their lunch box. He looked in his lunch box and saw he only had a cheese stick and a cheese sandwich. He heard his stomach rumbling (and so did everybody else in the room). He tasted the cheese sandwich.

“Ugh,” he said. He put his cheese sandwich away and ate his cheese stick. It was better than nothing, he thought.

To the person sitting next to him, he said,“ Can I have your apple?”

The guy said, “No way, Jose. If you ain’t my friend I ain’t giving ya anything.” Jason was at a loss for words. Everybody started laughing. So Jason thought of something. H would call his Uncle Bob who is in jail (for murder). Jason had enough bullying in his life. He would ask his Uncle Bob how to steal money and kill any witnesses. All he wanted was revenge was that so hard to ask? Luckily he didn’t say this out loud. 

One problemo. He couldn’t sneak out. For some reason his parents put their bed right behind the door. Luckily, for his b-day, he got suction cups (because that was all they could afford). He decided after school he would try them out.

After school, he tried them out. They sucked. No wonder his parents could afford them! They were those fifty cents cup that had glue on the cups to make them “suction cups.”

When his parents came home they said, “We are off to the disco!”

Jason thought, thank god! I can easily escape home tonight and go steal money and maybe murder! He had already called his Uncle Bob. He had a list of every kid that was in his grade. He was going to start with a girl named Felicia. She lived in Bel Air. She was very rude to him.

Wow! I’m going to make a lot of money on the first night! Jason thought. The one problem was how was he going to get there? He lived in downtown L.A. which was like an hour or so with a car, and Jason didn’t have a car or the money for one. But he had a bike. But how could he ride a bike for two hours to Bel Air? Plus how could he even get into the house without a security camera noticing him?

He decided he would make a sling shot because he could shoot the camera so he could break in. He already had the stick carved out and there were mini rocks and a couple big rocks outside. But he would have to buy his own rubber bands at the gas station for twenty five cents.

Jason just bought his rubber bands and created his slingshot. Now all he had to do was get a taxi to take him to Bel Air. He found one! But it cost him twenty five dollars. Luckily, he had thirty dollars. Turns out he had to pay tax, which was an extra five dollars apparently. The guy’s name was Julius. It took them thirty minutes to get there. But they got there. He looked at the house and it was ginormous. He checked to make sure he had everything. 

Knife? Check. Slingshot. Check? Clown mask? Check. And backpack? Check. He was going in but he didn’t see them…

Chapter Four

There were two guard dogs coming his way! They were about three ft tall, three ft wide, and weighed about one hundred pounds. They had white fur and brown dots. He jumped back at the last second and bam they slammed into each other.

He raced inside, trying to find a vault, but he heard something, no somebody! Jason knew the drill Uncle Bob taught him it. Stick that knife through their head, stomach, or heart. The person was coming fast! Jason took his knife out and stuck it right through the person’s eye. Turns out he killed that girl Felicia.

The last thing Felicia said was, “Hi momma,” and then she fell to the floor (because she was sleepwalking).

He eventually found the vault. To his surprise, there was no lock or code. Also to his surprise, there were only fake IDs. Jason looked under them and saw that there were about one hundred gold bars in there! Luckily, he had a backpack, but only took fifteen gold bars. I’m rich! I’m rich! he thought. Julius honked outside.

Jason ran inside the taxi and said, “Will you keep it down please?”

Julius said, “Why?”

Jason gave him a stern look. “Just go!” he said.

“Whatevs,” Julius said.

When they got home, Julius said, “Where’s the money you owe me?”

Jason gave him the gold bar and said, “Keep the change.” Julius looked shocked, but took it anyway.

When he came inside his room, he saw his parents sleeping. Jason didn’t think they realized he left.

Jason woke them up and they said, “Jason, we have struck it rich.” 

Chapter Five

“You guys struck it rich! How?” Jason said.

His parents said, “Well, while we were at the disco, there was this lottery going around for thirty million dollars. We picked the number 1387 and won!”

Jason said, “Wait so I stole all these gold bars for nothing?”

You did what!!!” his parents said. So Jason explained everything (including the part about killing Felicia). Jason thought he could trust his parents. Turns out he was very wrong.

His parents sent him to court. He tried to lie out of it, but it didn’t work out so well. Jason ended up getting a bigger punishment. Instead of going to Juvie, he was going to jail for life.

When the guards took him the last thing he said was, “I will get revenge on everybody here, including you guys, Mom and Dad!”

The end!!!


Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary

Chapter One: Mary, Just Mary

Hi my name is Mary. I have short red hair and brown eyes. I am one of the youngest people in my fifth grade class. I have no friends. I have an older sister who hates me. I have a younger brother who hates me. I also have a dad that hates me. My mother passed away half a year ago. She died from lung cancer. She was the only person I was friends with. We were close.

I always ask myself, “Why does nobody like me?” Even at school, I ask myself that. Everybody makes fun of me for having no mom. I don’t know why.

“Why do you make fun of me for having no mom?!” I asked the three main people that were making fun of me. There were three people standing in a triangle. It was lunch time. There was a boy in the middle, a girl on the left, and a boy on the right. The boy in the middle’s name is Justin. The girl is Jessica. The other boy is Mark. They are all friends, but each have different friend groups as well.

The girl stepped forward and finally answered. “Because nobody likes you! You’re so easy to make fun of! Now it is way better that your mom is dead. You don’t have anybody who loves you!” she said. Then they all chuckled. I stepped one step forward to be right in front of her. I pointed my finger at her. I opened my mouth, but then just gave up. I walked away. I knew everything I should have said. I just didn’t say it. I knew there would be consequences.

I was gonna say, “You don’t know what it feels like! You don’t know what it feels like to have the only good person in your life gone! It sucks!” I knew she would have just come up with a mean response. She laughed when I walked away. Everyone did.

Every night my family makes me eat in another room. I’m okay with that. I don’t know why they make me do that though. My family is starting to be nicer to me though. If I am done eating early, I am allowed to sit at the table with them. When I was in my bed about to go to sleep, I realized something about what I was thinking about earlier, that they don’t know what it feels like to not have a mom or the only good person in your life. I kept on thinking about everything I was thinking about saying and stuff that I said. I started to miss my mom a lot. Everyone who ever made fun of me will regret it. It’s time to make them feel like… me.

Chapter Two: Bloody Mary’s beginning

Today was the day I was gonna start my mission. I am gonna kill the mom of every kid that has ever made fun of me for having no mom. So basically everybody in the grade. At 11 o’clock tonight, I am going to sneak out of the house and kill somebody’s mom. I will find out today. First person to make fun of me today, their mom will die. Then after, I will just choose at random. Watchout.

I arrived at school. Ten minutes till class will begin. Jessica and her friends walked up to me.

“Oh, hi loser! Still no mom? right?!” Jessica said. They all laughed.

“Your mom will be the first to go,” I whispered underneath their laughing.

“What was that you just said? Was it that you still suck? Yeah, cuz that’s right!” she said. Then they all laughed again.

Once it grew silent I said, “Sorry, in advance!” Then I pointed my right knee.

“About what? How much you suck!” Jessica responded. They laughed again. Their laughs are so annoying!

“You will find out soon enough,” I said, then flipped my hair and walked away.

Today at school was so suspenseful! I have to keep cover and not let anybody know what I am gonna do. I don’t know if I can keep this up. I had to think about how I am going to murder Jessica’s mom. And I also didn’t want anybody catching me writing stuff down or anything. But at the end of the day I came up with what I am gonna do. I am gonna stab her with a knife, then cut off the handle with another sharp tool, clean it, then throw it in the bushes in the front of the house. I know it will be found, but I am okay with that. I have a black outfit that I plan to wear. There is also a black ski mask. I finished the job just in time then headed back to my house. I had no guilt that night.

Chapter Three: Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary

It was the next week. I had killed a few other moms by now. Still, no guilt.

“Hey! Mary!” I heard from behind me, then turned around.

“Oh, hi Ashley,” I responded. Ashley and I are kind of friends. But she has a friend group that doesn’t let me hang out with them. I definitely won’t kill her mom. We started to chat.

“Did you know that the moms of some of the kids in the grade are being murdered?!” she asked.

“Yeah! Isn’t so crazy?! They haven’t even been caught! What a criminal mastermind, right?!” I asked.

“Yeah. but I am scared they are gonna kill my mom!” she said with a very worried look on her face.

“You won’t! All of the kids whose moms died, are annoying and mean! Like Jessica, Justin, Mark, George, and so on,” I said and comforted her.

She agreed. “Thanks, Mary! I feel a lot better.” Then Ashley left. 

Nobody has said anything about my mom passing. Except the people whose moms hadn’t passed. I have a list of whose moms I am gonna kill first. Victoria, Molly, Andrew, then Sophia’s mom. It was recess time and I heard people whispering. I walked up to a group of five people and asked what everyone is talking about.

“Well, you know that a bunch of the moms have been dying?” one of them asked.

“Yeah,” I responded.

“Well, there is a rumor that if you look in the mirror and say Bloody Mary three times, your mom will pass,” he told me. I got really nervous because my name is Mary I thought they knew I am the murderer.

“Uh, um, I am Mary! I am not a murderer what?!” I said really quickly. I was bright red. 

“Chillax! It is just a myth about a girl named Mary who killed people a long time ago. People just changed it for this situation. It is really scary,” He said. I said thanks then just walked away.

I heard that the cops and detectives are closing in on this case. They said that it was a student at our school. So at school no kid will talk to each other. I finished killing all the moms. Still, no guilt. I don’t care about other people when they did this to me. Just myself. I am a queen. It’s always me, myself, and I.

I walked straight to the park today. I just need some time to breath. I just wanted some fresh air. I still had no guilt, just checking to see if I did anything wrong with my murders, like leaving gum, or hair. The park was just two blocks away from my school. I would go home any minute now because I thought I was done. I was sitting on a bench. There were trees everywhere. And there was a bridge over water. On the opposite side of the park I saw two cops walking toward me. One of them looked at the other and pointed to me. They were coming toward me. I looked at my watch, then pretended I was running late. I started to run while glancing at my watch to make it believable. I got home in time. 

At dinner time, my family invited me to permanently be allowed to eat with them! I thanked them. We were talking about the murders of the moms in my school. They didn’t suspect is was me at all. I went to bed at night, still, no guilt.

Chapter Four: The Interrogation Room

Do you remember the run in with the cops last week? I sure do. They know the murderer is a child from the school. They just don’t know which one. There are five suspects. I am one of them because my mom didn’t die by this. And the rest of the people I just didn’t kill their moms. Each of the kids that are suspect, are going in an interrogation room. I went to the park bench again today. The cops were there. Thy were already in front of me. I couldn’t run.

“My name is Officer Wells, and this is, Officer Smalls,” one of the officers said to me.

“Nice to meet you! I am Mary!” Then I shook their hands. I acted really innocent.

“I believe you know about the recent murders by some kids in your grade,” Officer Wells said.

“Yeah, it is so sad!” I said.

“Well, because your mom has not passed away due to this, as well as other moms, you are a suspect,” Officer Smalls said.

“Oh no! That is really, really bad!” I said. I think they’re buying it.

“Come in this Saturday for an interrogation,” Officer Smalls said.

“Okay. Thank you, officers!” I said. Then they left. “Phew!” I finally said, once the officers were completely gone.

I went straight back home to work on my alibi. It was Thursday. I only have a couple of days left until I go to the interrogation room. I have been to our precinct before. I have vandalised city property. The person on the case of my vandalism was Jack Smith. I also committed some other crimes, but I didn’t get caught. My dad says I might be doing vandalism to forget about my mom passing. Jack is so annoying. He is also the number one detective. I came up with a good alibi.

Once he asks where I was at the time of the crime, I’ll say, “Well, what time were the murders?” to make it clear I have no idea what he is talking about. I will also say that the only reason my mom didn’t die like this was because she is already dead and if she was alive then they would have probably killed her. He hates when I am hard to confess.

I was at the table eating my mashed potatoes in complete silence then I said, “I have to go to the police station for interrogation. I am a suspect because my mom didn’t die by the murders like four others.” Nobody responded.

Then my dad said, “Well, I know it isn’t you so just don’t do anything stupid.” I agreed. Then I was done with my food so I cleaned my dishes.

Beep, beep, beep! my annoying alarm went off. My body shot out of my bed from being startled. I slammed the alarm then got dressed for the day. I had cereal for breakfast today. 

Today was Saturday so I got ready to go to the police station. I said bye to my family. The longest time they could keep me in there was 10 hours. The police station was only six blocks away from my house. I arrived there at 11:00 o’clock. I walked into the interrogation room.

“Please, have a seat,” Jack Smith said.

I sat down.

“Hey Mary, long time no see,” he said.

“Hey, Joke,” I said, then chuckled.

“I know you’re guilty!” he said.

“No, I’m not,” I responded.

“That’s it! We’re doing the one minute challenge!” he said, trying to scare me, but it wasn’t working. The one minute challenge is where he will try to do as many annoying things as possible to get me to confess. I only confessed once before.

“It’s gonna be easy because you’re so annoying,” I said. He ignored me.

“On the count of three! One, two, three!” He reached under the table and grabbed something. I was so confused. He took out a guitar and strung it back and forth.

Then he started to scream. “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!” it was very annoying. But I didn’t confess.

“I should stop doing that. It never works!” Jack said, putting away his guitar.

“30 seconds left,” I said.

“Hey! I can choose if I wanna go over the time. I can do what I want to!” Jack said. Soon enough, the minute is over, then the hour, then the interrogation. I didn’t confess. I went home. I still have no guilt.

Chapter Five: Case Closed

Next week when I was at school, nobody talked to me. Not even Ashley! Whenever I walked by someone, they would just walk quickly away. I have no idea of what is going on! I just needed to clear my head, so after school I headed to the park. I was just listening to some music when I heard footsteps. There was Officer Smalls, and Officer Wells.

“Is there anything wrong officer?” I asked, to not draw any suspicion.

“Please come to the police station with us,” they said. My heart was pumping faster by the second!

We finally arrived. I was terrified. I was told to go into the interrogation room. So I just did.  I saw Ashley and Jack sitting and waiting for me.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

“Well let me tell you a little story,” Jack said. “Earlier this morning, Ashley came in, saying she saw you at the scene of the crime. She saw you with a knife, at Jessica’s house the night her mom was killed. And because of this, we were also able to find out a piece of evidence that would have not been found otherwise.” Jack said then showed me the case file. It was all there. Everything that could put me in jail.

I looked at Ashley and said, “Were you only being nice to me because you didn’t want your mom to die?! I can’t believe you!” I screamed in her face.

“I’m sorry! I just didn’t want my mom to die!” she responded.

“Just be nice to me for being nice to me! Wait, did you tell everybody in the grade I did it? Is that why their not talking to me?!” I said.

“Well, yeah, but you drove me to it!” she responded.

“Alright, settle down! Mary, my only question is, why’d you do it?” Jack asked me. 

“Everybody made fun of me for my mom passing! I mean, who does that?! I just wanted them to feel what I feel,” I told him. 

He put handcuffs on me and took me away. I was sentenced to 70 years. Once I came the right age, I would leave juvie and go to prison. Officer Wells and Smalls went to my house to tell my family the bad news. They rushed straight in to see me. I told them I’m fine and they shouldn’t worry about me. Then they took me away. Now, I just have a little guilt.

Chapter Six: Prison

I have now been in juvie for the last year. I am the leader of the most popular gang in our juvie. Our gang is called JL, Juvie Leaders. Every day I write down tally marks of my day. And also, everyday I think of how I am going to kill Ashley and Jack when I get out of here. The food here is trash. Also my family is not even talking to me.

 I got an amazing idea. I will act normal around cellmates, then around guards, I will act perfect. Some people got their sentences reduced by being good. I can get mine reduced to twenty years! That’s fifty years less! It is an amazing thing. that’s basically it. I can’t wait till I get out of this trash place. In the end it wasn’t really worth it. But when I get out, Ashley and Jack, gotta go.

The End

THE BEST PLAY EVER

Audrey’s character: Ali

Natalia’s character: Cam

Relationship: Cousins


Scene One: Subway

Ali: Hey, do you want to go get a sub sandwich?

Cam: No way. You are buying me Shake Shack!

Ali: Ugh! Fine. But you’re paying me back. 

Cam: Can I not pay you back and just buy you ice cream?

Ali: Umm… no? Ice cream is a lot cheaper! I want the money I paid for Shake Shack back.

Cam: Fine! If you are going to be that way!

Ali: I’m going to be that way. Oh my god fine. Just buy me ice cream.

Cam: Ok what train do we need to get on?

Ali: I mean, we could take an Uber. The train is delayed.

Cam: I will pay for the Uber, let’s take Uber Limo!

Ali: Okay, I’ll pay for the food and the dessert because Uber Limo is expensive.

Cam: Fine. I am a billionaire so it’s ok.

Ali: Well I’m a trillionaire so I insist.

Cam: Let’s order the limo now.

Ali: Okay.


Scene Two: Street

Cam: It’s 39 minutes away. What the heck ahhhhhhh!

Ali: Okay let’s cancel and just ride in my BMW.

Cam: On the way back we better get a limo. If not I will be depressed. 

Ali: Oh wow. That’s not dramatic at all!

Cam: Whatever dude!

Ali: What?! I didn’t say you’re dramatic.

Cam: Can we just get the food? 

Ali: Yes. 

(They walks to Ali’s car. Ali looks in her pocket for her keys)

Ali: Uh oh… I left my keys in the car.

Cam: That’s helpful huh?!

Ali: Oh wait! I just remembered that I can unlock it with my fingerprint.

Cam: Then do it. 

(Ali put her fingerprint on the door handle and the car unlocked.)

Scene Three: Inside Car

Ali: Go to the other side and get in the passenger seat. I’m driving.

Cam: Ok.

(Ali started driving and a cop stopped her)

Cop: Miss, can I please see your license?

Ali: Sure. 

(License says: Age, 12. Name, Ali Smith)

Cop: Okay! Thank you!

(Ali continued driving)

Cam: There’s a chicken on the road

Chicken: Bok bok bok bok

Ali:  Oh my god!!!

(Crash)

(Ali drove into a trash can while she was trying to avoid the chicken)

Cam: Really, a trash can?! I think I should drive.

Ali: No! It’s my car and I didn’t want to drive into the chicken.

(Ali and Cam look at the car and it is not damaged at all, no scratches or dents)

Cam: Ummm you can’t drive. No offense.

Ali: Like you can drive better!

Cam: Just let me drive for a couple.

Ali: Oh my god no.

(Ali ran to the car and got in the driver’s seat before Cam. She turned on the car) 

Cam: If we don’t get food then I am going to be hangry.

Ali: Okay fine. 

(Cam got in the car and Ali drove to Shake Shack)


Scene Four: At Shake Shack

Cam: I will order for both of us. What do you want?

Ali: I’ll get a cookies and cream shake, a shack burger, and cheese fries.

Cam: I’m going to get a strawberry shake, a shack burger, and bacon fries. Let me go order. 

(Cam went to order and Ali got a table. Cam brought the food over.)

Ali: Ooh yum! I’ll get some straws.

(Ali went to go get some straws. She came back to the table, sat down and gave Cam a straw. They finished eating)

Cam: Let’s go shopping!!!

Ali: Okay, let’s go to Bergdorf Goodman. 

Cam: Gucci!

Ali: Versace!!

Cam: Jimmy Choo!

Ali: Dolce and Gabbana!! 

Cam: Let’s walk there.

Ali: Okay. It’s on 57 st and 5 ave.

Cam: Okay.

Ali: Let’s go.

(They walked all the way to Bergdorf Goodman.)

Cam: This store is horrid, let’s go to Gucci! 

Ali: Yeah, I agree. Fine we can go to Gucci but after that we go to Louis Vuitton.

Cam: Ok.

Ali: Let’s go.


Scene Five: Gucci Store

Cam: I have to buy a new pair of pants at Cucci so we need to be able to have enough time. 

Ali: Ooh okay!! We can get matching pants!

Cam: Ew, but ok. 

Ali: You’re so mean! That’s just a normal thing that cousins do!

Cam: It’s cringe.

Ali: Um… I was just kidding in the first place! You’re the paranoid one. 

Cam: Let’s buy what we want and go to Nike please. A new store opened close to here.

Ali: Ooh yessss! I need a new pair of Air Forces.

Cam: Yeah my Air Max 270’s just broke. 

Ali: Oh god. Yeah I don’t think I want a bag or a pair of shoes from Louis Vuitton. I was just kidding.

Cam: I agree let’s go!

Ali: Okay.

(Ali and Cam walked to the Nike store)


Scene Six: Nike Store

Cam: Ok the guide says floor two for teens let’s go!

Ali: Okay, I’m going to get a pair of shorts as well.

(Ali and Cam pick out their stuff and bring it to the cashier, two pairs of Air Force 1’s and 6 pairs of shorts)

Cashier: That will be $12,500 please!

(Ali and Cam pay)

Cashier: Thank you kind ma’am!

Cam: Let’s go to our mansions.

Ali: Okay. Mine or yours?

Cam: Mine!

Ali: Okay, okay.

Cam: Where’s your car? It’s pouring outside. Take this umbrella and go get the car. I will wait here for you. Leave your bags with me.

Ali: Okay.

(Ali goes to get the car, she drives back to the nike store and Cam gets in the car. Ali starts driving)


20 minutes later… 

Scene Seven: Cam’s Mansion

Ali: Your house looks like my cats’.

Cam: Teehee! I’m a cat lady. 

(Ali slaps her forehead)

Ali: You mean, crazy cat lady!

Cam: Sure!

Ali: Anyway… want to watch TV?

Cam: What do you want to watch?

Ali: Umm… Barney!

Cam: NO!

Ali: *chuckle* I was just saying that to see your reaction! I took a photo! *starts laughing*

(Ali shows Cam a photo of her face while saying, “No!”)

Cam: Fun, fun, fun in the sun.

Ali: Ummm… okay?

Cam: Ali, go follow me on insta.

Ali: I only follow my friends, or celebrities.

Cam: I’m more important than your friends. Follow me!!

Ali: Fine, I guess.

Cam: My account is cam.lopezz

Ali: Okay, mine is alis.graciie

Cam: Let’s take my Bugatti.

Ali: Okay.

Cam: I’m driving.

Ali: Okay, I’ll sit in the passenger seat.

(Ali looks outside the window and sees a robber)

Cam: Where should we go first?

Ali: Robber!!

Cam: Aaahhhhh!!!

Ali: There’s a robber in our houses!

Cam: Run!!!

(Ali and Cam run into their houses)

Ali: Get out of my house you evil robber!!!

Cam: All our money!!

Ali: He’s getting away!!

(Cam and Ali are worried and furious)

Cam: Run!!!

Ali:  No!! Call the cops!! We won’t be able to get him!!

Cam: I don’t have my phone!

Ali: I Do!! Well, I have mine… but it’s not charged.

Cam: He has my phone and is calling the cops!

(The robber calls the cops on Ali and Cam and frames them for robbing the houses. The cop comes)

Cop: Hands up and do not move!!

(Ali and Cam put their hands up)

Cop: You’re coming with me!

Cam: What?!

Ali: What? We didn’t do anything, this man robbed our mansions!

Cam: Exactly!

Cop: Well a man called and said two females identified as the famous Ali Grace and Cam Lopez robbed him! How do you explain that, huh?!

(Two police put handcuffs on Ali and Cam and take them to juvie)

Ali: Let me go! Let me go!!

Cam: Stop please!

(Ali bangs on the window)

Cam: What should we do?

Ali: I don’t know! I guess we have to deal with it.

Cam: Ugh ok.


Scene Eight: Court

Ali: We swear that we didn’t do it!

Judge: Where is your lawyer?

Ali: Here sir.

(Lawyer walks in)

Lawyer (Mr. Chimmins): Hello sir.

Judge: And why might your clients not have done this crime?

Mr Chimmins: You see, I was doing a photoshoot with Ms. Ali’s sister. She is a model and I am also a photographer. I just happened to take some photo evidence of the robber and the scared crying faces of Ms. Ali and Cam.

(Mr. Chimmins shows the Judge the photos)

Judge: Case closed! You two are proven not guilty but you have a fine. Ali: $1,000,000 and Cam: $1,000,000 as well

Cam: Let’s go Ali.

Ali: Okay fine. I guess I still have more!

Judge: Oh then I’ll take that too. 

Ali and Cam: Ugh!! We’re broke!!

The End

Far From Home Plate

Chapter One 

James stared at Ryan batting for the Chicago Colts leading 35-7 against the Louisville Colonels. The fastball pitch and… 

“Bam! He hit a homerun! This is the greatest picnic of the season in the history of baseball and it occurred at the West Side Park today when the Colts broke the record by scoring 36 runs on 32 hits for a total of 51 bases,” the commentators exclaimed. 

The crowd roared with excitement. People would remember this day forever. James jumped up and down in his seat. His brown hair flowed as he jumped in the cool June wind on that hot exciting day. James and his dad were sitting in the nosebleed seats high in the air overlooking the field. All the players looked so tiny from high up. No one had a very big expectations for the Chicago Colts because they had lost eight of their previous ten games.

“Wow, Dad, that was a great game!” James gushed loudly over the noise of the crowd.

“I know; this is amazing!” shouted James’ dad. 

The game eventually ended, with the Louisville Colonels not scoring any more runs. From high up James and his dad could see all the Chicago Colts players with their arms around each other, jumping up and down with excitement. June 29, 1897 would be the year that the Chicago Colts broke the record for the most runs in a MLB game. Every person paused to take in what had just happened, while usually the crowd left quickly to get home. Then suddenly everyone flooded out of the stadium pushing against each other at the same time to find the ten year-old James Marcelin lost in the crowd. James had lost his father’s hand by people ripping their hands apart in a hurry to get through. James had to push and shove to get through. He couldn’t even see over all the tall masses pushing him forward. James’ heart was pounding. He was sweaty. He was breathing heavy. Would he ever find his dad again? James saw a woman trying to get through the crowd. 

James went over and asked with a shaky voice, “Excuse me, have you seen my father?” 

She replied, “Well, what does he look like?”

“He is really tall and has a plaid jacket, hazel eyes, and a hat… it’s like a business hat.”

“Oh, sorry, I don’t remember seeing someone like that,” she sighed. 

“Well, thank you for your time,” James said back politely. 

James went over to some other stranger and asked again, “Excuse me, have you seen my father?” But the man just ignored him and kept walking to get out of the rambunctious crowd. 

So instead of asking another stranger, James went to the fence to get out of the rush of people and to try to see his dad. He tried to see over all the tall strangers, but he couldn’t spot his dad. James decided that he would go back to his seat, for maybe his father was waiting there. But when he arrived at his seat, there was no one to be found. Every person had left the stadium. Then, out of nowhere, standing before James was the player for the Chicago Colts, thirty-four year old Jimmy Ryan. James’ eyes flicked to Ryan’s face, who was standing tall in front of him. Was he actually meeting the Jimmy Ryan? His brown, bushy mustache and long face made him easy to recognize and hard to miss. When he spoke his voice was very bold as if he were speaking through a megaphone. Jimmy was wearing a striped cap that covered the brown mop of hair on his head. 

James stuttered,“A..a..are…youu…Jimmy…Rrryan?”

“Who else would it be?” Jimmy said, slapping James heartily on the back.

“I’m… a big fan!” James exclaimed. “I’m trying to find my father, he’s really tall, and he has a plaid jacket, and a business hat on.” 

Jimmy replied, “Well, I haven’t been paying much attention to people passing, but if you want, you could have a tour, and we could look for your father.” 

As James and Jimmy started at the locker rooms, his dad, Charles Marceiln, was rushing through a door from the concession stands to the seats, desperately searching for his son. He felt queasy, like he was about to do a big performance. Once he was through the door, he was suddenly back at the concession stands. But something had changed. He was back in a crowd of people. But they were all carrying a little box that was almost 2-dimensional. Most people also had Cubs caps on. Charles wondered who are the Cubs? As he looked around he saw a shop, but people were sliding odd cards, not paying with paper money.

Instead of just gazing around, Charles asked a man wearing a Cubs hat where they were, and the man snarled, “Where do you think we are? We’re in the Cubs stadium of course.” 

“Who are the cubs?” Charles asked.

“Only the greatest team in baseball history since 1903.” 

“Wait, what’s that date?” 

“1903,” he answered

“Wait, then what’s today? 

“It’s June 29th, 2019,” the stranger said then hurried to get to his seat. 

“… 2019,” Charles said panting.

Then suddenly, Charles’ head spun as if he had been spinning all day and the noise of the crowd slowly got fainter and fainter… until he couldn’t hear or see. Everything went black.


A Painted Life

My homeschool teacher kept rattling off about algebra and other math facts, but I was paying no attention whatsoever. I was busy daydreaming. I was on a grand stage with thousands of eyes on me. I danced like an elegant swan as people cheered for me. I could hear my teacher’s faded voice outside my fantasy.

“Margaret!” my teacher yelled.

I suddenly popped back into reality.

I hate being homeschooled, but children like me aren’t able to go to normal school. I got very sick when I was little. My whole family was disgusted by me. They all vanished except for my mother. Although I was really young when that happened, young enough to forget, I still felt devastated. Because of my sickness, I lost my ability to talk and walk, but my mother is very strict about it. She would always scream at me if she couldn’t understand my sign language. Though I think dancing and painting are the best ways to communicate my feelings, my mother discourages it.

After homeschooling, I picked up my pen and wheeled to my mother’s room. I slowly placed my pen on the wall with unsteady hands and drew a beautiful dancer elegantly dancing as if she were a dove. This can prove to my mother that I have a passion for painting and that I would love to dance, even though I’m in a wheelchair. While I was painting peacefully, I could hear my mother’s loud stomps come nearer. The door swung open, and I could tell just by looking at her eyes that she was anything but happy. She stomped towards me and grabbed the handle of my wheelchair forcefully. She dragged me up the ramp with one hand and jerked me into the attic. She didn’t say a word to me. Then she slammed the door shut and left, fuming. The silence was chilling. I could have heard a pin drop on the floor. It hurt when my mother didn’t understand my way of expressing myself. As tears ran down my cheeks and dripped into my shirt, while I was wheeling back across the room, I noticed something weird. In the corner of the room there was something glowing behind a bunch of boxes. I came closer to this shiny object and picked it up as if I were holding one of my dirty socks. It was an ordinary looking paintbrush. It felt like an ordinary paintbrush as well.I carefully lowered it in a tin of paint and dipped a bit of it onto the paintbrush. I slowly but steadily placed the paintbrush on the wall and painted a small puppy about as tiny as my hands. My painting was good enough to look like a real dog, at least. Suddenly, out of the blue, my painting started to glow. If I could have screamed, I would have. The warm glow of the painting was glowing brighter and brighter until I had to look away. Finally, the light dimmed, and when I turned back around, a silky, soft puppy lay in my arms.

Anything for Bacon

Let me tell you, there is nothing better than the smell of bacon in the morning.  Even if it isn’t coming from your apartment. The neighbors were having a better breakfast than me again.  I looked down at my bowl of Kibble in a Can and sulked. 

“Kibble in a Can, the world’s chewiest dog food, yuck!” 

Would you eat dog food?  If you’re reading this, you’re likely a human, so I don’t think you would. If you’re a dog who has managed to read this, you are probably too advanced to eat dog food. So, naturally I had to get some bacon. 

What else was I supposed to do other than jump from fire escape to fire escape until I found someone cooking bacon?  After five fire escapes, nearly falling twice, and five minutes of barking at a particularly annoying cat, I found the bacon apartment. Now, I just had to get through one window, three people, and another dog to get to the bacon. You know what they say: take it one step at a time!

First thing’s first, the window. Maybe if it gets hot enough, they will open the window. The air conditioner was right next to the window! All I had to do was break the AC! This was starting to be easier than expected! Little did I know how hard it is to break an AC without hands. Have you ever tried turning off an AC from inside the house without your hands? (I don’t recommend it).  Well imagine that, but from the outside of the house, the side without the off button. As I got closer to the AC, I could feel hot air shooting out at me. I had to tear off the panel with my mouth so I could rip the wire. Have you ever seen those cartoons where the character turns black when they get electrocuted. That’s how I felt. Turns out I wasn’t electrocuted, I was just shocked. The good news was that I ripped the wire and I’m pretty sure it turned off because hot air stopped shooting at me. (I know this seems a little extreme, but anything for bacon).

As the cold air stopped going into the apartment, the people inside seemed to notice. A woman walked over to the window. As this was happening, I had a daunting thought: what would she do when she saw a dog on her fire escape? I needed to hide. I used the basic thought that if I can’t see her she can’t see me. I covered my eyes with my paws, but somehow she managed to find me! It’s crazy! She must be a witch who can see through walls! When she found me, she took me inside and showed me to the other humans. There was a small female human and a large male human. Due to the fact that I jumped out the window, I didn’t have my collar on. The worst time to forget. Once I was in the apartment, the small female started making a high pitched squealing noise. This really hurt my ears, so what else was I supposed to do other than start running wildly around their apartment? Big mistake! Remember earlier when I mentioned that other dog? Well he started chasing me around the apartment and this guy was big! Big dog means big legs and big legs means fast. Soon the large dog started to catch up with me. If only I could find the kitchen, then I could get the bacon and get out of here. 

After a bit longer, I ducked under the sofa where the big dog couldn’t get me. If my owner was here, he would call me a good boy! After looking around the apartment (from under the sofa), I had a strong sense of where the bacon was. Again, I’m such a good boy! I made a mad dash for the what I thought was the kitchen. I was right! I was in the kitchen, with a big dog, a large female human, and a small female human on my tail. I jumped onto the counter, where was the bacon?  I saw it! Right there in front of me waiting to be eaten, so I ate it. Not all of it, but most of it. After that, I didn’t know what to do. I had my bacon, but how do I get out? I had no idea. Oh, oh, I know! I can just go back home using the fire escapes. I am such a good dog.         

Riot

Michael was baffled. A bunch of people with strange clothing were standing in the street. He knew nothing about this, who these people were, or what they were doing. All he knew was that at the front of the crowd, there was a bunch of yelling, “Get back!” 

He slowly started to back up back through the alley he had come from, when a crowd appeared on the other end. Michael was trapped. He went up to someone and tried to ask what was happening. All the guy said was, “Why are you being such a hater?”

Michael said, “I don’t even know what I’m hating!” The man just walked away. All Michael knew was that he had to get out of there. 

Stephanie knew that this march may have been overkill. She was having regrets. They hadn’t even asked politely. They were just marching straight away. She had been so eager to take action that she hadn’t even tried the easy way. Stephanie was not the leader of the march. She didn’t even know who was. She was just sort of following the herd.

Stephanie tried to wriggle up to the front, but everyone was so tightly packed. The lady in front of her said, “Move back to your spot! Stop pushing me!” Stephanie was confused. She had no idea why the crowd wasn’t moving, or why everyone was so squished. She couldn’t see over all of the signs people were holding, and she didn’t know why there was yelling at the front. Stephanie just kept going on.

Officer Norris was excited. He had woken up that morning expecting a normal day at the office. On his most exciting days, he went out and passed out parking tickets to people calling him an asshole just for doing his job. Now, the city had summoned all of the police officers in their small town to deal with the marchers. In his three years of being a cop, he had never done something even remotely as exciting. But as he rounded the corner in his beige police car, he was having second thoughts. The crowd looked awfully scary. People were screaming and swearing, and Norris had never dealt with a similar situation in his whole career. He uneasily got out of his car with his club, gun, and taser. He had never used any of them. Sweat was pouring down Norris’s face. He jogged to the crowd. Other officers had clear plastic riot shields. Norris didn’t think that this would be such a big deal. His excitement was slowly turning into fear and uneasiness. Norris would have to summon his inner tough guy.

Michael hadn’t moved. The crowds hadn’t budged either. He had no choice but to join them and get out of the alley. He had gone in to take a shortcut, but now he had to get out. So Michael moved with the hundreds of people in the street. He was slowly getting closer and closer to the yelling, but still couldn’t see anything at the front. He would just have to keep moving.

Stephanie was in the same situation. She let the crowd move her, and didn’t resist. Why were people yelling? She hadn’t thought this would turn violent. “Stop!” She yelled. “Stop fighting!”

Officer Norris heard something. Amongst all of the yelling and screaming, he heard one person say, “Stop fighting!” He tried to see who said it, but of course he couldn’t.

Someone tried to talk to him, but Norris got angry. “Get back!” he said. Norris took out his taser and thrust it into the man’s neck. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Norris was shocked at what he had done. He scooped up the man. It was Norris’s responsibility to get the man to safety. He could be trampled! 

Natalie stood on top of Antonio’s Pizza. She had her camera out and was filming the whole thing. No matter what happened, she had to capture the whole thing.

Her boss yelled at her over the radio. “Come back, Natalie! It’s too dangerous! Climb in the chopper!” Natalie didn’t move. Her job was to film whatever happened as close as she could. She zoomed in her camera and began speaking. “This morning, protesters gathered on Glenn street marching north. There has been minimal violence. Police are attempting to control the situation. One person has been tased.” Suddenly she noticed a police officer uncapping his water bottle. She zoomed in. It wasn’t a water bottle.

Suddenly the front grew much louder and Michael uneasily stepped back. A small metal object went flying through the air and struck a man in the face. He collapsed to the ground and began to bleed from his nose and mouth. Everyone stood there for a second before they processed what the metal was. Tear gas. Michael froze and began to act purely on instinct. He ran as fast as he could and covered his mouth. He pushed and shoved, but couldn’t move. Michael fell to the ground beside the man. The canister made a fssssshing sound. Michael began to cough. It felt as if an anvil was on Michael’s chest. He couldn’t breath and his skin began to burn. His eyes started watering and his nose began to run. A thick white smoke closed in around him and Michael tried to get up. He stumbled through the fog and eventually made it out. Everything felt like it was on fire.

Officer Norris couldn’t believe what had happened. As he climbed a fire escape with the limp body of the man he had tased, the tear gas was slowly billowing up beneath him. The wind blew all of the gas towards him. Norris was trained for this. He hardly had the strength to haul the man up the last ladder onto the roof.

There was a woman with a camera leaning over the edge. “Who are you?” she asked.

“An officer,” Norris said. “I need to get this man to safety. Can we stay up here?” She ignored him and Norris assumed that meant yes. It was kind of a rhetorical question. 

Michael ran down the street with tears and mucus pouring down his face. Then he spotted a fire escape that was down. He stumbled towards it and began to climb blindly. 

Stephanie was horrified. This had gotten way out of hand. She grabbed the man who had been struck and hauled him towards Antonio’s Pizza. She had her eye on the fire escape. She had to get to the top. 

Natalie went over to the cop who had come up and pointed her camera at him.

“I can call for a chopper to take this man to a hospital.” She spoke into her radio. “I need that chopper,” she said.

The cop said, “Thank you so much. I’m Officer Norris.”

Stephanie looked up. A black dot appeared in the sky. It steadily grew larger. It was a helicopter, coming towards Antonio’s. She needed to go to a hospital, but Stephanie didn’t know if she was strong enough to make it up there. She began to climb.

Michael collapsed on the top of the building. There were already three people there. One of them was lying on the ground. He looked back down at the crowd and noticed someone… carrying someone else. A woman was carrying the gassed man. She was heading towards the fire escape. Michael was at the bottom now. They carried the man in their arms. Together, they raced up the stairs. 

The helicopter landed on the roof right near Norris. He almost got pushed off the roof from the wind. Norris flung open the doors and said, “This man needs to go to the hospital.”

The pilot said, “But this is a news chopp-” Norris gave the pilot his signature death stare. “Ok, sir. Load him in.” 

Natalie was thrilled. She was getting the perfect story. She began to commentate while filming Officer Norris. “Atop a building in the middle of the Glenn Street Riot, unfolds a story of hope and perseverance. An officer helps an injured man into a helicopter on the roof of Antonio’s Pizza.”

Stephanie looked up. They were so close to the top. Eventually she and this new guy, who had introduced himself as Michael, climbed up onto the roof. There were already people there. And the chopper! The doors were closing and Stephanie panicked.

“Hey! Help! Can we use your chopper?

The man in the door with the police uniform said, “No. We have an injured man we need to get to the hospital.”

Michael yelled over the blades, “So do we!”

The helicopter’s doors opened again and the officer said, “Get in! Quick!” Stephanie and Michael quickly piled into the helicopter. As the doors closed and the blades began to spin, Stephanie saw the news woman stumble towards the edge. She watched in horror as the woman stumbled right off the edge. Without thinking, Stephanie wrenched open the doors again and jumped out. She ran towards the fire escape as fast as she could.

Norris was confused again. Why was this crazy lady running towards the edge? Natalie was probably dead. She would be soon, at least, from being trampled by the crowd. But then again Norris had taken an oath when he became an officer. Norris quickly filled in the guy that had just arrived on the situation and swiftly jumped the seven foot drop that was beneath them now. 

Stephanie acted swiftly. She scooped up the reporter’s limp body and rushed to her car through the protestors.

Suddenly, the officer from the helicopter rounded the corner and said, “Go to my car. It’ll go faster and has a siren to clear traffic.” The officer threw her the keys and together they ran for the patrol car. They clambered in and Norris put the reporter in the backseat. Then, Stephanie floored it.

The helicopter landed on the roof and the doors opened. Michael ran into the building and emerged five minutes later with two medical workers and two stretchers. He and the pilot carried the bodies into the hospital.

The tased man, Jeff, woke up quickly and Norris apologized again and again. After 13 hours of Michael waiting restlessly, the doctors proclaimed the other man dead. Natalie was fine. She had a minor concussion, but nothing too serious. Norris was promoted to Chief for bravery during the riot. The riot lasted three more hours and left two dead. Michael was surprised the number had been so low. Stephanie never marched again. She took action from her house, sending letters to politicians and such. The experience only made Natalie want to be a reporter more. And after a week or so, all was mostly well.

Bird Over Dove

As bird flies over dove,

The sky so icy blue,

As bride pronounces love to groom,

They set sail with the crew,


Snaking down the alleyway,

Watching here and there,

And even if you were to snap,

I’ll stay strong and hold my stare,


Staying strong but lovely,

Staying fierce still chic,

But if you have a surprise,

Can’t promise I won’t peek,


Seeing smiling faces,

The beautiful, shining glow,

Now if something doesn’t go my way,

To put on a smile I know.


Endangered Turtles

Turtles have been around for more than 100 million years, making them some of the most ancient creatures on earth. They even survived the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Though turtles can live for 80 years or more, they are still in trouble in terms of population in current times. Turtles are endangered, and that fact could affect the entire ecosystem if they go extinct. Though many of the problems for turtles are caused by other species, most are caused by humans.

Turtles face many kinds of danger from the time that they are born to the time of their deaths. Every year, thousands and thousands of hatchling turtles appear from their nests along the US South Shore and follow the Atlantic sea. Sadly, scientists estimated that only 1,000 to 10,000 of these turtles live to adulthood. The physical obstacles encountered by turtles are astounding. Nowadays, four of the seven kinds of turtles are endangered, one is critically endangered, and two are vulnerable. Throughout their life, sea turtles face many challenges that are made by both animals and humans. Predators such as raccoons, shellfish, and ants attack eggs and hatchlings, even at the nest. Once they grow, hatchlings create bite-sized meals for birds, shellfish, and many other predators in the sea. After growing to maturity, however, sea turtles are not faced with as many predator attacks except for the occasional shark attack. Yet, these predators are not the largest cause for sea turtle populations plummeting toward extinction.

Several different humans actions are responsible for turtle endangerment. Commercial fishing is one of the many things that humans are doing to cause turtles to be endangered. According to conserveturtles.org, 250,000 sea turtles are accidentally captured, injured, or killed by US fishermen each year. Many of these injuries and deaths take place while turtles are migrating through fishing areas. The turtles either get caught on the hooks because they are attracted to the bait, or they get caught in fishermen’s nets. Another thing that people are doing to affect turtle endangerment is that sometimes people kill turtles to eat their meat. Conserveturtles.org says that, “in many coastal communities, especially in Central America and Asia, sea turtles have provided a source of food.” During turtles’ nesting seasons, turtle hunters watch the beaches at night to look for female turtles looking to lay their eggs. These people will often wait until the female has laid her eggs, and then they will kill her and take the eggs.

Even less direct human actions can affect the turtles. For example, sea turtles mistake plastics and other garbage as food, (such as jellyfish) and ingest it. According to seeturtles.org, “hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales, and other marine mammals, and more than 1 million seabirds die each year from ocean pollution and ingestion or entanglement in marine debris.” Marine debris is man-made waste that is directly or indirectly disposed of in oceans, rivers, and other waterways. This mistake causes blockages within the turtles digestive system and eventual death. The waste that is dropped into the ocean tends to accumulate in something called a gyre. A gyre is an area of slow spiraling water and low winds. In the Pacific Ocean, there is a gyre called the North Pacific Gyre. Within this gyre, there is something called “The Great Garbage Patch.” This “garbage patch” is approximately the size of Texas with plastic debris extending about six meters under the water. It’s estimated that this “plastic island” contains 3.5 million tons of trash. This island shows how much plastic is collecting in the ocean and the amount of plastic going into the ocean is rising each year.

Though turtle extinction is a major problem, there are many things that we can do to save the turtles. The first thing that the average person can do is to reduce the amount of garbage you produce and clean up trash you see on the beach. By doing this there will be a lot less garbage in the ocean and a lot fewer turtles who die from a mistake of thinking a plastic bag is a jellyfish. Another thing that can be done for the turtles is to remove recreational equipment like chairs and umbrellas and to fill in holes and knock down sea castles in the sand (fisheries.noaa.gov). When these things are on the sand, they become obstacles for the nesting turtles and for the baby turtles to get to the ocean. A third thing that can be done to help turtles is to turn out all visible lights from the beach and avoid beach bonfires. According to defenders.org, “sea turtle hatchlings use light and reflections from the moon to find their way to the water at night.” That means that if they see the artificial light or the light from the fire, they will go toward it thinking it is the ocean. Finally, a chemical reduction can be used to help turtles. Even if you don’t know it, the chemicals you use on your lawn and in your home can somehow wash away into the ocean, killing plants and animals. Instead, use alternate products like biodegradable solutions.

It is important for people to know about the problem of endangered sea turtles and learn how to fix it. If people don’t help turtles soon, they will go extinct. If sea turtles go extinct, it will damage the ocean’s ecosystem. For example, sea turtles play an important role in keeping the seagrass bed healthy. When green sea turtles graze, they increase the productivity and nutrient content of seagrass blades. Without constant grazing, seagrass beds become overgrown and decompose and provide a good habitat for the growth of slime molds. Finally, if turtles went extinct, this would also affect humans. If there were no more turtles, then the jellyfish population would grow because sea turtles eat jellyfish. If this population grows, these jellyfish will travel in swarms across the ocean and do many things to affect us. For example, jellyfish may go to areas where there are a lot of fish and sting all of the fish, affecting what people eat and the fisherman’s catch. Therefore, the fishermen will not have any fish to sell, and they will lose a lot of money. Another thing that would happen if jellyfish population grows is that jellyfish may clog nuclear plant cooling water systems all over the world. This shows that our ecosystem is fragile, and we need to protect it. 

WORKS CITED

“Information About Sea Turtles: Threats to Sea Turtles.” Sea Turtle Conservancy, conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-sea-turtles/.

Noaa. “What Can You Do to Save Sea Turtles?” NOAA Fisheries, 6 June 2016, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/what-can-you-do-save-sea-turtles.

“Ocean Plastic.” SEE Turtles, www.seeturtles.org/ocean-plastic.

Pattavina, Peter. “Sea Turtles.” Defenders of Wildlife, defenders.org/wildlife/sea-turtles.
“Tour De Turtles Spotlight on the Race’s Biggest Competitors: The Leatherbacks.” Sea Turtle Conservancy, 13 Sept. 2016, conserveturtles.org/tour-de-turtles-spotlight-races-biggest-competitors-leatherbacks/.

The Plantation

Karen and August were best friends. They did everything together. Their parents were best friends and had known each other since they were in middle school, so Karen and August had known each other pretty much their whole lives. The girls went to the same middle school, they had the same interests, and they even went on vacations with each other, though they were a little different when it came to emotions. August was a bit shy while Karen was super outgoing, but they usually put those differences aside and focused on their friendship. Everyone knew them as the best friends. 

So when Karen got a new beach house, the girls were dying to go together. So they begged their parents and they eventually said yes. The girls were ecstatic! They immediately started packing. Two days went by and the girls were driving to the new beach house. When they got there, they explored the whole house. There was a pool, a deck, and the house was huge! There was a game room, a lovely kitchen with flower wallpaper, and 5 bedrooms!

The girls swam a little bit and caught some crabs. Afterwards, they wanted to explore the neighborhood. They asked their parents, and they said, “Yes, as long as you stick together.” So they went off. 

The girls were really excited when they saw an abandoned plantation. There was a “NO TRESPASSING” sign, but the girls ignored the warning and kept walking. There was a dirt path they went down, and it was an insane sight. There were fields of long grass, a pool, and a huge mansion right in front of them. The pool was murky with leaves floating on the top. The house was all beat down, and there was broken glass scattered around the house. There was a small guest house a little ways out into the fields.

When they stopped staring in awe Karen asked August, “Where do we start?”

“What do you mean?” August asked, confused. She didn’t want to go into the house. She just wanted to look.

“Let’s explore! As long as we stay together we are allowed to!” Karen exclaimed.

“But there was a-” but before she could finish, Karen was already pulling her into the small guest home. As soon as the girls went inside, they felt a cold rush of air that gave them chills.

“What was that?” August asked, looking around, aghast. 

“It was just a breeze. Chill,” Karen said, annoyed.

“Umm, ok,” August said, unsure. She felt like something was watching her, but she brushed it off. The girls walked a little further and they smelled something horrid and moldy. They looked at the ground and saw a rotting mouse moving with maggots. 

“No, no, I’m done! Bye! You have fun exploring a spirit filled maggot dump while I go back to the house!” August shrieked.

“What do you mean spirits? We have to stay together, remember? You can’t leave if I don’t, and there is no such thing as spirits,” Karen said, super aggravated. Why was her best friend being so annoying? Spirits aren’t even real!  

“Fine. Five minutes though, deal?” August said, aggravated as well. Why was her friend being so ignorant? Can’t Karen tell I’m scared?  

Karen took her left hand and put it behind her back. She crossed her fingers and said, 

“Deal.” The girls kept walking while August was clueless of what just happened. The girls walked into the very back of the house and saw a kitchen all burnt up as if there was a fire. Ash scattered all over the ground. Karen thought it was cool, but August thought it was gross. The girls didn’t really want to touch anything so they decided to head upstairs. As soon as they got upstairs, they heard a strange wispy noise that sounded sort of like a whistle. 

“What the heck was that?!” August cried. 

“Um.. It- it was, um, probably the wind. Yeah, the wind,” Karen said, unsure. She definitely heard that noise, and it sounded like a demonic whisper to her, but she didn’t want to leave yet. She wanted to explore the big house, too. So she thought of a plan; she wanted to sound ok so August wouldn’t completely have a heart attack. 

“Listen, we only have 3 minutes left. Let’s go in the mansion, and then we leave,” Karen said.

“No way am I spending another minute on this property!” August exclaimed. 

“You promised, August! Please!” Karen begged.

 “Ugh fine. Only 3 minutes! Wait, what if something happens to us? Like we get hurt?” August asked.

 “We have phones, remember? We can call for help! Now let’s go!” Karen said, pulling August down the stairs and out of the house.

 As they passed through the door frame they still felt that chill, but the girls didn’t say anything. Karen was confused. Why was her friend not flipping out? she thought. They tried opening the front door of the house, but it was locked so then they tried the back door and voila! It opened in a snap. The door creaked open, and they found themselves on an indoor patio. It had some chairs and a recliner, and it looked really dusty and smelled sort of like mold, but the girls quickly left that room and went to a big room that could have once been a living room. Chipped paint flakes covered the ground along with broken glass scattered around. But then Karen saw something that made her shudder. A small finger looking object was lying in the corner with dried blood covering it. 

“O-ok. Um.. let’s leave. Ok?” Karen said.

“Why do you want to leave so soon?” August asked. “I’m finally feeling brave, and I’m starting to think it’s cool in here.”

“It’s been three minutes though! Time to go!” Karen urged.

“Karen, I saw you cross your fingers. I just acted like I didn’t know, to make you happy. We are staying. Like you said, you can’t leave if I don’t. It’s fine. I’m not scared!” August said.

“I’m leaving!” Karen shouted. 

“Fine. See you soon, Karen.” Karen ran to the door and tried turning the door knob, but the door was locked. Karen ran back into the room where August had just been and she wasn’t there. Karen even tried the front of the house, but that door was locked.  Karen turned around and saw a slight shadow of a girl. Karen blinked her eyes and looked again and saw nothing. She could have sworn that she just saw a shadow. Karen looked for any possible exit when she found a piece of August’s skirt lying right in front of the basement door. She took all the courage she had and decided to walk down to the basement. She flicked on a light switch and was horrified by what she saw. Right before her eyes, August was tied to a chair bleeding from everywhere on her body as if she had been slashed. Karen was terrified as she realized August was dead. Immediately, Karen pulled out her phone but there was no signal whatsoever. She tried screaming, but it was no use. When she couldn’t call for help, and there was nothing she could do, she looked closer at August’s body. Blood dripped from the chair, splattering all over the floor, and August’s mouth hung open as if she had been… screaming? How? I couldn’t hear a scr- but Karen couldn’t even finish her thought when the lights flickered. Standing in front of August was… a shadow? 

“August?!” Karen screamed. 

“Told you I would see you soon,” said the shadow. 

The room went black. 


4012

December, 15, 1587

Dear Diary,

Daddy said he’ll be back soon. But I want to go with him just so bad. In England, here, there are not many opportunities for women. Hardly any, really. In what daddy calls ‘The New World,” people must farm. They must work. Even women. So maybe I’ll get a break from laundry, cooking, and cleaning all day. Maybe I can help build with my hands. Maybe I can learn how to fish! Here in England I did a task as simple as walking into a store in which they sold wood. The seller looked at me and said, “Hello, there. Um, the fabric store is just one avenue down. I can walk you if you’re afraid you’ll get lost.”  The man had a thin beard, just as thin as the ice he was standing on if he said anything like that to me again. No one will be on the land Daddy and I will venture to. Last night, Daddy had a man named Walter over for dinner. I call him Sir Rohlly, though. He wore a rugged blue coat and white shirt. He wore brown pants and shoes. The land will be called Roanoke, after my grandfather. I am begging my father, John White, to come along.

December, 15, 1804

Dear Diary,

Lewis just bosses me around. He knows of my many tongues, several skills, and connections so I can’t be too angry he is scared. Clark is no help, either. He simply buries his head in his hat. Sometimes they can be nice to each other, but most of the time, they fight like cats and dogs! “No, North is this way, Clark!” “No, Lewis.” And I sit there with the compass and laugh, because neither is right. But I breathe in and smell the trees, hear the hum of birds, see all the color, and most of all, wish I was back home, with my people. Instead of on the Lewis and Clark expedition. At home, they would include every one. We would share everything we had. I remember lending countless items to neighbors because they said please. “Please, Sacagewea, may we borrow your fishtrap?” We were all so polite. Ahhh, how I miss that.

December, 15, 1853

Dear Diary,

Tonight was a bigger group. Thirty, thirty-five, maybe. They all may be scared, but that sure doesn’t stop most of them. They travel through with me fast. Whenever they’re scared I tell them to think about the South. They start whispering with their neighbor when they’re scared, or they start to slump. They cross their arms at any sign of sound to think about how badly they were treated there. They quiver more thinking about the South than when they’re scared following me. Usually, it gets them going. Ten of the ones I rescued tonight were from my own plantation. Back when I left, the idea was next to insane. But now, people are flocking to hitch a ride on my railroad, with the best conductor. I must keep going back because I can’t think about those people I left behind. Even if they’re strangers, because of this, we’ve become friends. My brother is a Tubman, too. I wonder when he’ll want to leave. When I left, he wouldn’t leave. He would rather stay there, in the South, than travel to the North. He said he would rather be oppressed than get caught by people who approve of slavery. 

December, 15, 1903

Dear Diary, 

Not to brag, but I just won the Nobel Prize! For the second time! I recently discovered a green rock. It glows. I can turn it into liquid and find more. I call it Radium. Here, I’ll use it in a sentence; I discovered a new element: Radium. How about a song? Or a poem? You know what? I have to go to dinner soon, but maybe next time. This new element could do so much! It could save lives! Well, maybe. I’m worried about my husband. Ever since we started this project, he’s been very weak. But, as I’m sure you know, Curies are strong. He’ll recover.

December, 15, 1921

Dear Diary, 

Robert Abbot gave me a place to go. I want to fly so bad. And I will. In France. Not many will teach a black girl to fly in this era. I guess that means I’m ahead of my time. In France, I fly on a small plane. There are more buttons than there were sharecroppers on my field back in Texas. But I eventually learned what they all meant. As soon as the plane’s wheels start turning, I see the path growing shorter and shorter until I could no longer see the rock-filled road. Until I could see that very same road grow into nothing but one line amongst greenery so lush, it looked like second clouds. Until I could no longer see the road anymore, just a quilt of green. Until finally I could see the faint line of the road, then it grew bigger, and bigger and bigger, until the wheels of my plane smoothly touched the road. I remember the dirt roads in Texas. How when I walked my heels kicked up red dirt. It took me a while to get used to the city.  After many days of being up in that plane, I am handed my flying license. It has a picture of me and next to my picture the index card says “Bessie Coleman”.

December, 15, 1921

Dear Diary,

My father says that no woman should be in the cockpit. That they shouldn’t even be in the passenger’s seat. Well, to all those who think that, I will prove you wrong. It’s my third week flying on The Canary. It’s bright yellow and has an upgrade: cup holders. But I am fully focused on the air, the sky, and the cockpit when I am flying. When I was small, my father took me to an airshow. The male pilots did amazing things that took real courage and moxie. They did figure eights and loop-de-loops! I was absolutely marveled as they spun round and round. I told my father, right there, “Daddy, I want to do that. I want to fly.” My father told me to just see what happens. And now, fifteen years later, I am in the cockpit. First, the heat is so hot it’s like I am in a desert in the summertime. But I still climb into the tiny plane and flick up some switches. Then I start to move. When the wheels take off I feel like I’m on top of the world, though by this point I’m only 50 or 60 feet in the air. I have nothing to worry about. The blue goes on forever. And when I’m up in the clouds, I leave behind every one who thinks women shouldn’t fly. And I just do. I just fly. But what comes up, must come down. The plane’s wheels hit the ground again. And I get ready to re-enter reality. Because flying  in that plane up there seems almost to good to be true.

December, 15, 1935

Dear Diary,

It’s my husband’s second year serving as the president of the United States. And it’s my second year serving as the first lady. I drive the car to grab groceries, cook dinner, clean, and give speeches about civil rights in the very same day! Of course our maid, Mary, helps with chores, too. Living in the whithouse does have its perks. I am to speak tomorrow as well. I have it all prepared. When Franklin was campaigning, he would practice each of his speeches at least fifty times. And he would speak them to me. So I present my speeches to Franklin. Every night. He gives me terrific feedback. Our goals are different, yes, but Franklin supports me a whole lot. I am grateful to have such a wonderful husband and think we make a wonderful team. 

December, 15, 1872

Dear Diary,

I went through the streets today. Seventy-five women followed me, holding up signs saying “RIGHTS FOR ALL” and “EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN”. I held up a sign that said both. A couple of months ago I voted. They said it was illegal, but ,no, it was right. Three women came with me. Everyone stared, but we put in our ballots and walked out of there like we owned the place. I had dinner last night in my apartment. I cut out the words in articles that all citizens are supposed to trust. Usually, I love seeing my name in print, but not in these articles. They say things like Susan B. Anthony voted illegally for the U.S. president. She will be questioned.

December, 15, 2000

Dear Diary,

I know that everyone deserves a fair trial, so I give them one. I am the second female Supreme Court Justice. I don’t have much to write about. Yesterday I argued a murder case. It’s really quite exhilarating. Looking at evidence, hearing both sides, (it makes it easier when my kids are fighting) and getting to decide the fate of these people. I am working on a case for a woman named Mrs. Boji. She says while she, her husband, daughter, son, and sister were on the beach for ‘Splash Saturday,’ there car was stolen. In the car, there was a necklace of diamond and gold. I am writing now, but Ms. Boji, Mrs. Boji’s sister, is supposed to come by and talk so we can figure out more about this case. I must look over some documents and papers before she arrives.

December, 15, 4012

Dear Diary,

This is the first time I’m writing. I thought it might be a good time to write considering I am going on an adventure. I am in my space pod right now traveling back in time about 3000 years to meet Elizabeth White. Then I will keep recruiting influential women from the past. Why? Oh. Because an evil man named Xoron Zomm is trying, and succeeding, to destroy planet earth. He wants to put us back in the dark ages. My name is Quinn Quile. My father is… well… our version of a president. So, he chose his only daughter to save the world. I’ll write back soon, but I think I just landed In England. December, 15, 1587.

***

Alright, Elizabeth’s on my ship. I was so brave! Elizabeth was sewing on a rocking chair when I walked in. I told her of the future. She was actually looking for adventure. Of course, it took me an hour to get Elizabeth to that state. At first she held her needle up like I was an intruder. But she wanted more. She knew coming with me would give her that. So, she followed me onto my pod.  She gladly followed me on my ship with her needle and thread. She is now looking all around like she’s never seen an intergalactic starship before! Daddy taught me of each of these times and constantly, up to the moment my pod left 4012, to not tell of these women’s individual futures. So I couldn’t tell Elizabeth that Roanoke disappears and that she could not venture there with her father. But I could venture myself to retrieve the next woman on my list. Sacagewea. 

Sacagewea is now on my ship. I found her three hours ago sharpening a wood knife. She pushed another sharp object away from her. She didn’t look up from her task until I said. “Ma’am…” I mean, sure, ma’am might not have been the best thing to call Sacagewea. You call a Prodfert ma’am. 

Prodfert: Noun

Meaning 1: A 4000 century version of a president.

(The Prodfert in 4012 is Zomp Quile)

Meaning 2: A small water bug that is green and microscopic.

(That atom is as small as a Prodfert) 

Or

(Another name for a female Prodfert is ma’am.)

But, I mean, I was super nervous! Even in my time Sacagewea is a legend. Anyway, she looked up from her knife, and she said, “Hello…”

I took a deep breath. I was talking to the Sacagewea. Deep breath. But before I could say anything else, she said something. “Why are you wearing such funny clothes?” I looked down, forgetting for a moment that the clothes I was wearing Sacagewea did not know of. I was wearing a Jupingoe.

Jupingoe: Noun.

Meaning 1; A garment of silk cloth that important people of 4012 wear.

(I saw Quin Quile wear a Jupingoe on Sunday.)

Now, before I continue I would like to alert that I am only writing explanations of these words because Daddy says we might get this book published. They will sell my book in every year in every place. Anyway, I told Sacagewea I was of a different world, which was more or less true. I could tell her everything as soon as she was looking around my pod like Elizabeth, like she had never seen one before. Sacagewea wore Shoshone clothing and her long black hair was in two braids. I recognized the two men behind squabbling about something. Sacagewea looked at me. Sacagewea wasn’t going to come with me by will, but maybe by fear. “I am a Nimerigar. Go pack.” Sacagewea looked quite scared. But she listened. I know it was cruel, but daddy told me to use any tactic necessary in order to get the women we sought to cooperate. I will tell her the truth in the pod.

Nimerigar: Noun

Meaning 1: A Shoshone myth of a person that eats people.

Sacagawea followed me, brown bag slung over her shoulder, knife in hand. When I showed her my pod she put her knife in her bag.

“You are no Nimerigar! This is not a Nimerigar home!” Sacagewea turned to go back.

“Wait!” I screamed after her. She turned back.

“Yes?” She said harshly. “I know you do not like Lewis and Clark. But you are talented. I need your help. Please.”

“How?” she answered skeptically.

“The future is in peril. And we need you to save it.”

“Why would I help a liar?”

I sighed. “Because if you stay, you, yes you, will be a legend.” Then realizing what my father had said I added, “Maybe. But, you can change the world if you come with me.”

And she said “Okay.” And that is how I got Sacagewea on my pod. Next stop; 1853.

***

So…that was hard. Harriet came after many attempts, but eventually, I knew just what to say. Three down, six to go. Marie Curie. I got out my radiation suit.

***

Marie Curie was easy to persuade.

I found her where she spends most of her time. In her lab. She swirled the glowing liquid with a spoon. “Marie Curie…” She wasn’t as surprised as I’d expected.

“Hello. I always have time for fans.” 

“No, no” I stammered. “Well, yes, I am a fan, but that’s not why I came. The future is in peril. We need your help.”

“Sure,” said Marie. “Really? Just… just like that?”

“Well, yeah. I think it’s a great opportunity. Besides, I’m quite curious.” Curious Curie down. Five more to go.

***

Both Bessie Coleman and Amelia Earhart jumped at the chance to come to the future and fly. They became great friends when I brought them back to my pod.

“I think we deserve a nickname.” Amelia said.

“I agree.” Bessie found a spot next to Amelia who found a spot next to Marie. “How about…. The Future Flyers!

“Brilliant, Bessie!” Amelia cried.

***

Eleanor Rooesvelt I found cooking smoked salmon with her maid for dinner.

“Mary, will you give us a minute?” I smiled a little. So did Elanor.

“So, how’d you get in? Through the front door?” The truth is, I used my flantro.

Flantro: Noun

Meaning 1: A device that makes you shapeshift.

I turned into a ma’am. But of course I didn’t tell Eleanor that. I told her the same thing I told Marie. It’s just getting easier and easier.

***

I now have seven women on my pod. I just retrieved one more. I found Susan eating alone in her house. She wasn’t all that scared to see me.

“Susan—” but before I could go on Susan interrupted me.

“I prefer Ms. Anthony,” she said sternly.

“Ms. Anthony.”

“Oh, yes.”

“The future needs you.”She looked down. “I must stay here. Women need me.” “Exactly. In the future. No time will pass.” Ms. Anthony nodded.

***

One more. Ruth was in a courtroom. She was alone. “Ruth.” She looked up from the paper she was reading.

“Ahhh. You must be Ms. Boji, sister of well, Mrs. Boji.”

“No, sorry.”

“Oh. Then why are you here?”

“The future is in great peril. We need your help.”

“We?”

“Everyone in 4012.”

Ruth studied my face. “I am a judge,” she said. “I can tell if you’re lying or not. And my conclusion: I believe you.”

Nine down.

December, 16, 4012

Dear Diary,

Alright, I have nine women who are strapped in. Elizabeth has had eight… incidents… if you know what I mean. About to be ten. Of course I’ve only traveled this far through time once. And that was to England to meet Elizabeth. Ms. Anthony still seems a bit confused. But this is not a problem. She will soon see the peril the earth is in. I still have pictures in my head. Xoron wears his hair back slick, and says I am his niece. By blood, I am. But I do not love Xoron in the slightest. He says he is trying to cure the world of a terrible illness and only three stand against him. I stand against him and so do my parents. The visuals give me nightmares. Silly. Big twelve-year olds like me don’t get nightmares. The women are growing to be impatient now. So, I climb in the cockpit, turn on The Super Lukspower 3000, and start the engine.

The Super Lukspower 3000: Noun and Proper noun

Meaning 1: a super time travel thing that me, Fomal Cruston, the writer of this dictionary, does not understand. It helps with time travel. I think.

Meaning 2: An amazing futuristic cereal that I, Fomal Cruston, the writer of this dictionary, invented. Try it!

Not really my first choice to include a dictionary, but everyone from everywhere and whenever may read this book, so I kind of have to include one.

The engine revved and then I saw black. In the back I heard nine groaning noises. What a mess that must have made. I thought, too afraid to look back. Such a shame these women left their journals and diaries back in their time zones. That was three hours ago.

When I landed in an intergalactic port, one which we call, Intergalactic Port #14. (I think it’s got a nice ring to it). No one realized my return or that I brought nine women out of my pod or the different cultures each came from. Why? Xoron. Xoron’s view on how to “cure this wretched planet” (his words, not mine) was to absorb everyone into their phones, holograms, TV’s and video games. So, as I, and my nine recruits walked up the cobblestone road, only Ruth and I recognized the oldest of the technology that someone was holding to their face. An iphone x. There was a big building and in front of it were the words “You will be processed for weaponry and other security needs, but welcome to earth. Or welcome to 4012.” Elanore Roosevelt and Marie Curie took great lengths of time feeling the walls of the building. I don’t know why. I’m sure even in 1903 and 1935  they had extra-condensed-super-absorbing-foamy-incredibly soft metal that looked and smelled and felt like vanilla cake (ECSAFISM), but if they didn’t, I suppose I understand why they had their noses glued to the wall. I let the girls sniff the wall while I tried to get us Country Enter Forms. The accountant was clicking his mouse furiously. He clearly had had that computer for a very long time if it still had a mouse.

“Excuse me?” I asked in the most polite way I could considering everything with Xoron. 

“I’m on my break,” said the man not looking up. “Try Sarah.” He then groaned and started clicking again.

“The thing is,” I tried again, “We need Country Enter Forms… now.” I said this in  a very harsh, stern voice. The man playing video games kept his right hand to the mouse and his eyes locked on Pac Man, but with his left hand he grabbed a box of Country Enter Forms from under his desk. 

“Man! You messed me up!” The man looked up at me. His pupils glowed… blue. “If you ever mess me up again I… oohh! A new round’s starting!”

Country Entrance Forms: Noun

Meaning: A form which you need in order to legally be on Earth in the 4000 century.

The girls followed me outside. Several people, kids and adults, sat cross-legged in the shrubbery behind Intergalactic Port #14’s parking lot. I took the biggest flying van. Sure, you could call it theft…

Then, I drove home, situated my recruits, greeted my parents, and am now writing to you back in 4012 in my nice bed. I need something to call my recruits. The Recruits. No. The Maybees. Nuh-uh. The Time Capsule. Yes. I made a small… index I guess you could call it that. Here it is;

The Time Capsule:

A cool team of heroes

Elizabeth White

Their Supername: A Braver Snow White

What They’re Good At: taking on risks

What They’ll Do: they’ll work in the field

Sacagewea

Their Supername: Mother Nature

What They’re Good At: many tongues, is one with nature, and is brave

What They’ll Do: they’ll work both in the field and as a detective

Harriet Tubman

Their Supername: The Conductor

What They’re Good At: brave and daring

What They’ll Do: they’ll work in the field

Bessie Coleman

Their Supername: The Perfect Pilot

What They’re Good At: adventures

What They’ll Do: they’ll work in field and specialize in flight

Amelia Earheart

Their Supername: The Amazing Aviator

What They’re Good At: adventures

What They’ll Do: they’ll work in the field and specialize in flight

Marie Curie

Their Supername: The Mad Scientist or Curious Curie

What They’re Good At: curiosity

What They’ll Do: at home base

Susan B. Anthony

Their Supername: Superb Suffragette

What They’re Good At: determined

What They’ll Do: both

Eleanore Roosevelt

Their Supername: The Revving Roosevelt

What They’re Good At: persistent

What They’ll Do: both

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Their Supername: The Judge

What They’re Good At: fair

What They’ll Do: at home base

Quinn Quile

Their Supername: The Leader

What They’re Good At: brave

What They’ll Do: both

 I  have a plan on how to defeat Xoron.

December, 17, 4012

Dear Diary,

I met with my father and The Time Capsule after breakfast. The room we were in was dark and dank with only one computer. We had to keep our plans secret. I gave each Capsule a Jupingoe to fit in. They still don’t. Not like anyone is paying attention.

“My father and I believe Xoron has the control of all technology wherever he is. So we find that, turn it off, and then, the electricity in all technology shorts out worldwide. No more tech, no more zombies.” The women nodded reassuringly. I read aloud the chart I wrote last night and they all seemed pretty pleased, so I was pleased.

“Well, you know your uncle, where would he go?” asked Ms. Anthony. I knew my uncle not, but my father grew up with Xoron.

“Dad?” I asked.

He looked ahead. “Syshy Valley,” my dad said, snapping back. “We used to go there for summers. But then one summer, Ma’ams had infected the place. It took years to rid them, so we bought another house during those years. We never went back to Syshy.” I nodded. “Thanks.” The seven women who were out in the field with me followed me. Bessie and Amelia flew for backup.

When we arrived in Syshy Valley, I could tell there used to be houses; plots of land were bare without the grass, but only one house remained, well, if you could call it a house. Wood panels were torn from the base and I could only see the faintest bit of teal paint that was once oh so bright.

“Ready yourselves,” I told my girls. We easily broke the rotting door down. Empty. Well, except for a striped couch that had so many holes, you could call it swiss cheese.

“Dad,” I said through the intercom, “it’s empty.” There was silence for a moment, but then my dad said. “The boathouse.” We walked another mile to a smaller house with similar appearance as the last. Again we knocked down the door smoothly and with ease. There was indeed a man hunched over a table and a ball-type thing which I assumed was the tech controller. Beakers with blue liquid and pastry dishes with red filled the table, cluttering it beyond my belief. The butterflies in my stomach would not stop flapping, but I walked forward.

“Oh, my niece,” said Xoron, not turning around, “you brought friends. How quaint.”

“Go,” I whispered. Eleanor was punched in the eye by Xoron. Girl down. “The ball thingy. Get the ball thingy.”

“I can hear you, you know. Now, before I punch anyone else, I’ve prepared a speech. A villain speech.” The walls were rotting like those zombified people. “Good.” Xoron smiled. “The blue light that shines off of tech is great! For every year you look at it, you live an extra five years. It’s great! And the pupils glow a pretty blue. Always was your father’s favorite color.”

“No, Xoron!”

“Ahh, so uncle is a thing of the past. Last chance. Does no one not want to be punched?” Elizabeth put up her fists. “Start punching.” Each writhed in pain for 20 minutes. Harriet knocked her head on the wall. Xoron punched Sacagewea three times in the stomach and Elizabeth five times. But I led Xoron outside. This gave Bessie and Amelia time to sneak in and grab the ball. 

“Sorry, unc.” And I threw metal cuffs over Xorons hands.

“You’ve stopped me, but you will never stop the world I created!” I’ve been working on the police force since my tenth birthday. My father always taught me to never listen to a freshly arrested criminal.

“You’ll never stop me…” That’s mostly what they say. So, I walked back to my van with Xoron and put him in shotgun.

December, 17,  4012

Dear Diary,

I think each of these women brings different things to the team. Marie is a scientist, Ruth is a judge, so she can get the truth out of people, and all of them are just so brave; they’re perfect for the field. Almost everyone in 4012 is zombified by their tech. I’m with Marie working on how to work the ball so we can turn off all the phones everywhere. Ruth is questioning Xoron. She came out with no definitive expression on her face.

“He’s telling the truth,” Ruth said as she came out of the prisoner wing. “The ball is what controls the tech.”

“Can’t we just… cut it,” Suggested Harriet.

“Cut it. Cut it!” Marie said sarcastically. “Wait… ” she said, “that could work.”

“Bessie. Amelia. Do you have… a wrench or something? For your plane?”

“Yeah. I was helping Amelia work on the fuselage last night!” Everyone except Amelia stared at her blankly. “I’ll go get it,” she said. I think she was embarrassed.

Seven minutes later she came back. Marie took it from her and pounded. It didn’t budge. After several more tries, it split. It split! Marie took out the important wires. We had done it! Our one computer screen turned off. We really had done it. All nine of us have saved the human race! 

December, 18, 4012

Dear Diary, 

Every rose has its thorn; every cloud rains; every up has its down. Today I must return all of the women back to their respective time zones. 

***

Alright. I’ve returned them all. I cried at every one. But each of them said if there’s anything that ever happens to call them. That it was super fun working with everyone. I also told them to tell no one of this adventure. No time had passed. I had completed my mission and made a few friends on the way. I kind of hope another peril happens. I could assemble The Time Capsule again.

Epilogue

May, 11, 4013

Dear Diary,

When I awoke this morning I heard a loud, blaring alarm. My father ran in and shook me. He looked worried. I’ve never seen him this worried before.

“Xoron’s escaped,” he said, painting, “and so has every other villain in our cells.” I knew that I could assemble The Time Capsule again! Time for another adventure.

Sugar on Her Quest

Once a upon a time, there was a giant named Sugar. She lived on top of the clouds. Sugar had very curly hair. She was 53 years old. Her favorite color was dark blue. Her whole life she had been looking for a dark blue sandal. The sandal was special because her great-grandmother wore it everywhere. Her great-grandmother lived far, far, far away in a different part of the sky.

One day, she decided to look for it. So she went into her closet and pulled out the box that her great-grandmother left for her, and then she found the map. She also found a note that said, “Go down to Earth, and make a left, and you will find the guy who sells the sandals.” Then, she packed her bag with something to trade with the guy who was going to give her the sandal. She also packed food just in case.

Just then, a wind blew past. Then the map flew away! She also was only a quarter of the way down the ladder! She felt stuck. She was thinking about the dark blue sandals and missed wearing them.

Then she saw bluebirds. Sugar knew how to speak bird language.

She asked the birds, “Can you help me?”

The birds said, [tweet translation] “Yes, do you have any food?”

“Yes I do.”

Sugar gave them the food. So they went on. They helped her get down from the ladder. Sugar said bye and thank you to the birds, and they flew away.

She looked around and saw a bunch of small people. Even though she was born on Earth many years ago, she was confused. All of a sudden, she shrunk. She felt like one of her toy dolls. Sugar knew that she was smaller because even though she was a giant who lived on the clouds, now she was on Earth. So now, she started to look for the sandals salesman. Then she saw the man who sold them to the left of the ladder. She went up to him.

She asked him, “Can I have those sandals?” 

The man said, “Yes, do you have something to trade?”

“Yes, I have a pair of white shoes that make you fly.”

The man said, “I’ll take them.”

Sugar gave the man shoes, and she felt upset because she was going to use those shoes to fly back up to the clouds. The man gave Sugar the sandals, and she put them on, and she started to fly. She thought, Wow! I’m flying! These are even better than my rocket shoes!

Sugar got back to her home in the clouds happy and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.


The Not-So-Ordinary Hero

My name is Shealia. Don’t be surprised when I tell you this, but I am not a person. My true identity is a printer. I work at the FBI. You may be thinking, That can’t be terribly interesting. But in my 24-year life, I have soaked up thousands of juicy secrets. Don’t get me started on them!! 

I looked at the clock on the wall. It was 5:21 am. Smash! Crash! The sound of broken

glass filled the empty floor. I heard frantic yelling, then, a man in a pitch black full body-suit raced down the hallway and dove under me. I was astonished! I knew the FBI held very important documents that any decent crime-committee would want, but not to brag, my building is probably the safest in the state, even the country. I wish I was allowed to move, but the still-object code requires that I (you guessed right) stay still.

All of a sudden, a whole police brigade broke into the building, adding to the chaotic environment. The head police officer accidentally bumped my print button. That was it! I printed out in my neatest font: Under me! 

The police spun around, looking extremely confused. The head police officer read my message carefully, then motioned to another police officer who checked me for booby traps. Of course I did not have any. Why would I in the first place? A third police officer shrugged and as quick as lightning, the head police officer got down on her knees and crawled under me where the robber still was. I could tell that he was petrified. The police officer neatly captured him in one swift, silent move.

Fifteen years later… 

My name is Shealia. I am the most famous printer in the world. (The only one for that matter too.) I have won the Purple Heart for my bravery and the Nobel Peace Prize for my peaceful approaches to robbery. I am the best friend to the head of police, an activist protesting against the still-object code, and a detective to the police, all thanks to that fateful night.


Save Natural Resources – Before It Is Too Late!

Some people may think we have tons of resources on this planet, so we don’t really need to save them. Actually, we do need to save and wisely use our natural resources before we run out of them. Some resources, like oil and water, are re-generated, while others, like vegetables, organic meat, and sugars are being depleted. Some people are too optimistic, believing that new technology, such as 3D printing, may save our lives, and artificial food may replace our real food. I have a different opinion: saving natural resources is a must for now and also for the future even though technology develops rapidly.

Per Google research, one of the most important natural resources, oil, will only last 47.3 more years! Oil is needed for many applications, such as making plastics and lubrication. Oil, gas, and gas condensate are among the most important energy sources in the world. One thing we know for sure is that we need oil — currently around 90 million barrels of crude oil are used a day. Oil is used for many other purposes other than fuel for energy or transport. If we don’t save oil, our lives will be much less convenient and after 47.3 years we will have to use other resources to replace it, which will be difficult to adapt to.

Natural food is another natural resource that we need to save before it’s too late. In the future, our daily food may taste different than it does now; this is also one reason why we should save it, not only for human survival, but also to keep the original taste of food. Small things, like chocolate, to big things, like water, all need to be saved, since they are becoming more and more expensive and the demands are rising! Research estimated that in 2039, chocolate will be very rare and very expensive! Keeping in mind, everything needs water to survive —  how can we cook without water? If we don’t save water, how can we farm? Without crops, there will be no food left. Just imagine the life of kids without chocolate! Save chocolate for you and also for your children!

Some people are thinking technology can save our lives, which is true, but if we don’t save natural resources, technology like 3D printing will not really help. Technology created a digital food database that stores information about the flavor, color, shape, texture, and nutrients of different kinds of foodstuffs. The user can select the type of food they want from the database and their 3D printer can create small cubes in the shape of that food, which is then injected with the corresponding flavors, colors, and nutrients. For a long period of time, the 3D printed food won’t last long and the taste will be odd, not like real food that people have been enjoying for centuries!

Industrial-scale bug farming is not yet a reality, though we can later use it as food. Even some Israeli companies have recently started to produce insect-based foods commercially. We can’t really feed our ever-growing population with these kinds of artificial food; we have to save and wisely use our natural resources so that we can really survive comfortably — people in Africa and the Far East can keep eating their favorite kinds of bugs whole and Westerners can continue to use insect powders which they add to their traditional items like steak, burgers, mashed potatoes, etc.

Scientists predict that in the year 2038, sugar will be the new drug; we miss it so much that we are addicted to it, especially as kids. Let’s think of the following situation: we live in a society where we eat fruit grown using genetics; we drink synthetic wine. Scrambled eggs do not come from chickens; grilled meat was not taken from animals; roast fish never saw the sea. If we don’t save our resources, our world in the future will be exactly like the situation described above.

Now you see, other than wisely utilizing technology, we definitely need to save the natural resources as we have proved here. According to the UN, if the amount of food wasted around the world were reduced by just 25% there would be enough food to feed all the people who are malnourished. Even one small group of people can make a difference. Join us now to save instead of wasting our Natural Resources!


Nogill Origin Story

Once upon a time there was a fish, and this fish was destined to go on a journey somewhere unknown. Bem bem bem beeeem beeeeeeeem bem bem bem bem beeem beeeeem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem beeeem bem! So one day, a fish was swimming in an ocean, and it was very hungry, and just so you know this fish had no friends or parents, so he was all alone. Every fish in the sea would always make fun of him just because of how he looked, so he tried getting a haircut, but that made it worse, so he wore this hat forever to show that he was strong. But that didn’t work either, and one day the fish threw him out of the sea. Remember that hat he wore? Yeah, it had magical powers, so he was able to breathe out of water. All the fish in the sea were very surprised, and all the fish in the sea all of a sudden respected him. This fish finally got a name. Nogill. So anyway, Nogill set off to find his meaning in life. He saw lots of things and went on a great adventure. When he was walking through a dark aisle, he saw two men wearing black. The two men lunged at him, and right at that moment, a scar fell out of the sky, and that is when fishsticks fell in love. With guns, he head shot the two men wearing black, and they fell to the ground. Then another man appeared, but this man was wearing white. The man looked Nogill up and down. You will be fine.

To be continued…  


Help the Animals

In this article, I will be talking about a couple animals: a horse, an elephant, and a dog. These are some of the many abused animals in the world. If we do not help these animals, they will die and go extinct. On the surface, these animals seem different. Horses are more farm animals, elephants are wild animals, and dogs are mostly pets. But they all share something in common: they are getting threatened and mistreated.  

Horses

Did you know that out of the 9.2 million horses in the U.S., 100,000 horses in the U.S. get killed every year? When horses get killed, people use them to make baseballs, gelatine, glue, dog food, and beer. They get sent to slaughter houses and get crammed in dangerous trails. 92.3% of the horses sent to slaughter are in good condition and should not be sent to slaughter since they are healthy and could still last you a while. The bipartisan bill was introduced to Congress on January 3, 2019 and is trying to end horse slaughter. We need to speak for horses since they cannot speak for themselves.

Fun Facts About Horses:

  • Horse meat is not safe for human consumption.
  • Taco Bell and Burger King in England used horse meat pretending it was cow meat.
  • The end of domestic horse slaughter will not damage the US market.

Elephants

Elephants are treated very poorly by humans so we need to help them. The world is losing more elephants than their population can reproduce. Captive elephants are used for tourism. They are kept in horrible conditions. Elephants with big tusks are the most endangered. Less than half of the female population survives, creating lots of orphaned elephants. 100 African Elephants are killed every day by poachers, leaving only 100,000 remaining. The number of elephants in the world dropped 62% over the last decade. Poachers are after ivory, meat, and body parts. Ivory tusks are carved into jewelry and ornaments. We can take them in to protect them so they are not let out in the wild and killed.

Fun Facts About Elephants:

  • Elephants have the biggest brains of all the land animals.
  • There is only 40,000 Asian elephants remaining

Dogs

We need to inform more people that dogs are being abused and treated badly. Dogs are the most abused animals with the highest reports of animal abuse. Two million dogs are killed each year (mostly in Eastern Europe) for their fur to make dog fur coats. The puppies are kept in horrible conditions and are bred purely for profit. Even though it’s illegal, there’s still dog fighting going on in the US. Dogs are hurt, often killed, and kept in isolation. Some have their ears and tails cut. Puppy mills are places where purebred dogs are churned out and ripped away from their mothers. Dogs are in need of help from humans.

Fun Facts about Dogs:

  • There are about 100 dog breeds in the world.
  • A one year old pup is as physically mature as a fifteen year old human. (Caesar’s Way)

This article was about the abuse of animals, but now we have to not just talk about how they are mistreated, but how to resolve this situation. We can donate to companies that help these animals or we can spread the word that we should respect and help these animals. This topic really interested me because I love animals, and I love researching about them.  Overall, all of these animals are treated badly and this is not how they should be treated.

Bibliography:

Elephants Sources:

Online article: “Why Care?” World Elephant Day. http://worldelephantday.org/about/elephants

Horses Sources:

Online article: “A Humane World.” The Humane Society of the United States. https://blog.humanesociety.org/2019/01/bipartisan-bill-introduced-in-congress-to-end-slaughter-of-american-equines.html

Dogs Sources:

Online article: “10 FactsYou May Not Know About Dogs.” Cesarsway. https://www.cesarsway.com/10-facts-you-may-not-know-about-dogs/

Online Article: “Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats.” The Humane Society of the United States. https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/animal-cruelty-facts-and-stats

Hidden Under

Anna

I inhale deeply. The noise of rich Overs listening to the lies their “leader” tells them makes me sick. I almost feel bad, but no, he deserves this. They deserve this. Even if they knew the truth, they would never help us. To them, we are nothing. There is no turning back now. If I do, they will catch me. I need the money for my family. 

While I may have a ruthless job, it is common among people like me. Poor people, Unders, I mean, the dirt on the bottom of the rich people’s shoes. Since all the jobs that are kindly provided for us are dangerous, have long hours, and very little pay, most able bodied people end up in the black market. Although my job may be common, no one in my family knows, not even my talented sister, especially not my talented sister. Everyone thinks I work in the factories, making the ornate decorations that adorn the halls of the castle.

I ready my crossbow. It is an odd weapon, fashioned from household items because I am too poor for anything else. Since I am the best shot in the black market, most people have heard of me and want me to do their dirty work. I can pick and choose which jobs I take. That is how I got this particular deal. My client is very mysterious and I still don’t know who it is. It must be some Over who’s going to run for King.

I take a deep breath and the world around me goes silent. I close one eye to get a closer look at the target. I take another breath and then steady my hands. This is by far the most impactful job that I have ever been hired for. My hand pulls back and the world slows as the arrow flies through the air and punctures my victim’s heart. 

I put my crossbow away and start to turn around. My eyes widen and my breath stops short. My eyes narrow as I grab a knife from my bag. I feel a hand close around my mouth to stifle a scream that I know would give my location away to the hundreds of people watching the speech. The hundreds of people who would just love to see a public execution right now. Realization dawning, I put my hands in the air and sigh.

Ella

I pull my hair back as I walk to school. I have a gift, or so my mother tells me and one day that will save me from my horrible fate of working in the factories like my boring sister. While I am only twelve, I am the smartest girl at my school and know that when the Inspectors come, they will take me with them. It is a stupid attempt at trying to show that Overs don’t actually hate Unders. I am really just an exception to the wretched fate of being born a lowly Under.

I will spend the rest of my days in fancy outfits, an always full belly, and riches unimaginable. I will leave this dump behind and never look back. 

At school, we get our math tests back. I got a perfect score of course, but it still makes me a little sad. This is the last time I will get a test back while I am still an Under. My teachers all act kind to me, even though I know they must hate me. They act as if I am already their better. 

I practice saying my new name over and over again. Aravella. I still don’t know why the Overs are making me change it. I don’t care why though. As long as I can get away from my Under parents and sister who still think that they can protect me even though they know that I am better in every way than them. 

Everybody practically worships me here. They hope that when I go Up, I will treat them with respect and kindness because I was once one of them. I laugh out loud in class. Some people turn and stare but quickly turn away. Like I said, I have them wrapped around my finger and soon they will have no choice but to worship me for the Over I am.

I have decided which Under I will take Up with me to become my personal servant. It will be my sister because she has no real skill and I do really love her. She deserves a reward for supporting me even though she knew all along that I was better than her. 

I decided to play a trick on my classmates. I started lifting everyone’s papers in the air and showing off all of the grades. I noticed that some students looked hurt and some looked angry. At that point, I knew that going Up would be fun. 

Anna

A million possibilities of who these people could be come to mind but only one makes sense. They must be part of a rebel organization, but why would they have come for me? Sure, I may be good at shooting, but that’s about it. They can’t have come for money because I have none. 

The heavily armed men take me to a car. Half an hour later, we arrive at a building that is shabby, even by Under standards. They take me to a room that is completely bare except for a table with three chairs. Only one of the men sits down. He gestures for me to do the same. I sit. A woman walks in. Somehow, she looks familiar, but how? 

“Anna, I am the leader of a secret organization called the Hidden Sword. You are here because of your sister’s current situation. And, we need to recruit you. You are the best Under shooter, even if you don’t have a proper weapon. Our situation is dire. The Overs must be defeated,” the woman said. 

I pondered her statement. Suddenly, I realized that I had never told her my name. Something very shady was going on here and I seemed to be the only person who didn’t know what it was. 

“Well, if you are going to harm a hair on my sister’s head, I will not do anything for you. If you are going to attack the Overs, make sure my sister is nowhere near. But, other than that, I think that I hate the Overs as much as you do, so I’m game on,” I responded. 

I hoped that this lady had some sense of mercy, because otherwise, my minutes were limited. That wasn’t exactly the most endearing thing I’ve ever said.

“Anna, this rebellion isn’t about revenge, or hating the Overs. It’s about justice for the Unders. If we just go around killing people, we will just make Overs Unders, and Unders Overs. That will get us nowhere,” the woman said. “And besides, we need to have a new kind of society.” 

Ella

I look around my room and silently say goodbye. It isn’t much, but it has been my home for twelve years. Last night had been my last night as a lowly Under. I will be leaving Ella Craft behind and entering into the world of Aravella Swift. 

I put on my nicest clothes, brush my hair, and prepare for the Turnover. While I know that the Inspectors have to choose me, there is still a small sliver of doubt in my mind. What if they aren’t looking for somebody like me?

At school, everyone is tense and on their best behavior. They know that the Inspectors, and soon me, can end their lives with the snap of a finger, for something as simple as talking back, with no questions asked. My sister has always said that it is one of many faults in our twisted world. I used to believe her until this “twisted world” offered me a chance. She will need to change her thinking if she expects me to take her Up. 

The Inspectors come in. They are three tall men in long, black trench coats and dark pants. One of them is carrying a clipboard. They look around at their surroundings with distaste. Obviously, they are used to better decorations than our measly carpet, desks, chairs, and belongings.

I turned around to look at my teacher. She is biting her nails and looks like she is trying to make herself as small as possible. Contrary to her usual attire, she is wearing a long, modest, brown dress that makes her look like a carpet. She appears to have bags underneath her eyes. If three people in my class fail, so will she. She will be shamed, her job taken away. She will be sent to the factories, or worse, the mines.

The Inspectors go to talk to our teacher. They ask her about her students. She hands over our legal files, the files that will say that I deserve to move Up. 

They look through the files, concentration on their faces. They put aside three files. My teacher sighs in relief. Her job is safe.

“Thomas Splint, Michael Sander, and Ella Craft please come to the front of the room. All three of you are done with this school,” the Inspectors said. 

Anna

I walk through the corridor with the woman who has said her name is Wil. She is taking me further into the maze of rooms, halls, and doors. I suppose that it is better for them to have the weapons room farther into the building than on the outside but still, this is crazy!

Once we get there, Wil shows me dozens of bows, arrows, and crossbows. She says to pick one and that I can keep it. I am drawn toward a navy and silver crossbow. I can tell that it is no weapon used by Unders. This weapon is from Up. 

“How did you get this?” I ask. “This must have been worth hundreds, maybe thousands!” 

“We have more power than you think, Anna. And it isn’t that hard to intercept an order of hunting weapons,” Wil responded. I am starting to get that this rebellion doesn’t exactly follow the rules. They’re my kind of people. But, something clicks in the back of my mind. What if this is nothing more than a luxurious bribe, to get me to do something for them?

It isn’t that hard to believe and I wouldn’t put it past them. Still, even if they are trying to bribe me, it seems like we want similar things and it isn’t like they have me at gunpoint.

“What do you want me to do?” I ask. Better get this over with. Hopefully it’s something easy like killing someone of importance or maybe even simply stealing something.

“Anna, we need you to be a spy. You need to get your sister to take you Up with her. Likely, it won’t be that hard. Then you will listen in on everything you can. Politics, battle plans, or demographics will work. We also have some people who are already stationed there and should be able to alert you if you ever need to do anything extra. Keep a close watch on your sister and don’t tell anyone that you are apart of this organization at all costs. The King still thinks that we are nothing to worry about and I would like it to stay that way. I trust your instincts, so do what you have to. I will give you a transmitter so you can report back to me,” Wil says.

I am shocked. This will be extremely dangerous. Even though I think that I can handle it, what if I’m wrong? What if someone finds out and I am executed? What if my sister doesn’t decide to take me Up and the whole mission is canceled?

A few minutes later, I say yes and gather my things. Wil walks me back to the room where I entered and hands me my transmitter. It is smaller than I expected, but it doesn’t seem that complicated. I head home just as the sun is setting.

Ella

I walk to the front of the room. Unlike Michael and Thomas, I am not scared and walk proudly. Someone else might have felt bad for the two boys, but not me. They have controlled their own fate by failing the year. 

The Inspectors tell Michael and Thomas that they are expelled. They will graciously be provided with jobs in the mines. There will be no opportunity to switch jobs when the dust gets into their lungs or if they are injured in an accident. They have dug themselves a grave by not doing well in school. 

The Inspectors turn to me. They tell me that because of the kind and loving King Rexano, I will be going Up and I will be able to take one person with me who will become my personal servant. I will be taught in math, science and the arts. They tell me to go home for the last time.

At home, I tell my parents and sister triumphantly that I am going Up. 

“Anna, since I am going to let you come Up with me to be my servant, I expect you to gather my belongings and pack them. We will be leaving at sundown,” I say.

Surprisingly, Anna seems relieved. She does as I say and scurries upstairs. I look around at my surroundings and decide that I will not miss my tiny home.

Anna comes downstairs and says a tearful and emotional goodbye to my parents. She hugs them one final time and finally comes over to me.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” she asks.

“Why should I?” I reply. The quicker we go Up, the better. Besides, I am an Over now, I can do what I want.


Another Year Without You

Chapter One

I stood near the old maple tree my family planted about five years ago in our backyard. I was 13 years old, and it was 6:00 p.m. I had been standing there for hours. I finally sat down, and let the wind blow my hair around. It had been a week since my dad died, and I still couldn’t get over the fact that he was gone. Really, truly, gone. Since then, I felt off. I was broken, way beyond repair. He was gone with the wind. I just wish he could have told me. I wish I could see him, just feel his strong arms wrap around me. I wish he was still here most of all. I truly loved him.

I soon heard my mom call out, saying “Blair! Come back in! You know I hate it when you stay up too late! Plus, your first day of 8th grade is tomorrow!” I stood there with the maple tree, touched its gnarly bark, and went back in. That night, I laid in my bed, thinking about our tree in the backyard. It was the only thing that I could truly remember him by. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep. 

***

I woke up to sun streaming through my window and my new uniform laid neatly on my bed sheets. I groaned, and got out of bed. Just for a fact, I hate first days! My mom, she loves people being organized. Every time after summer break, she tells us to make goals for ourselves. Mine this year is to make at least one or two friends. The thing is, when you’re the new kid, you can choose who you are. For instance, you can be the doodler. The prankster. The mean girl. Or the oddball. I’m hoping I don’t have to be in that position. Everybody gives you these looks, and, well, they think you’re weird and that you aren’t good friend material and all that. So I shovel down my breakfast, brush my teeth, put on my uniform, grab my backpack, and get out the door. I walk across the street and try and think about how school will turn out. I walked along, and tried not to think about how embarrassed I could get or—and then I found myself at school.

Chapter Two

I gulped, and walked inside. I had prepared for any possible consequences or embarrassing situations that might have occurred at school. I finally felt like I was ready. I pushed open the door, and winced. Everybody was staring at me. I felt my face go hot. I did not expect this. Guess I was the oddball.

A girl suddenly asked, “We heard the news. Your parents?”

I replied, “W-well my mom is at work and…” I trailed off.

Then she asked, “Then what about your dad? Can’t he come?”

I paused, then said, “He… he died in the army. He was at war. Can we talk about this later? I have to get to class now.”

She then said, “Uh, sure, ok, but you never told me-” I walked away before she could finish her sentence.

I heard another girl say to the girl who asked about my dad say “Hey! She’s new! You shouldn’t pressure her like that.” Then she ran up to me and said, “hey sorry about my friend, Melissa. Can I talk to you at lunch maybe?” I then turned to her, and nodded slowly. Then I went back on my way to math class. I then thought, that right then was the most awkward first day of my life.

***

“So that’s it for that problem. Who knows what 122 to the power of 6 divided by 3 is? Blair? Are you paying attention?” Ms. Robins asked.

“Hm?” I answered. “Oh uh, yes ma’am.”

“Good. then can you participate next time?” she said.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll try next time.” I said.

“Ok, bye people!” Ms. Robins yelled, not paying any attention to me. “Hurry along to your next class or you won’t be going to class at all!” 

***

The next few periods passed by quickly, and then it was lunch. Then I remembered how I promised that other girl I would sit with her today. I looked around, trying to find her through all the other people. When the crowd cleared up, I saw her in the corner of my eye. She was waving me over, so I decided to walk up to her table.

Once I sat down, she said, “Melissa, she thinks all the new kids are weird, because when she was the new girl, she got embarrassed. So now, well, she turned out like that.” Then she said, “I feel really bad for you, hearing how he died, in a war. It must have been unbearable.”

I then said, “it wasn’t just the war, actually. He was the one who couldn’t bear it. He-”

She then said, “I get it just… don’t say the word.” She then got up from the table and she said, “I don’t want us to miss class now. We should go.”

But before she walked away, I shouted, “Hey! Uh, I never got your name!”

“Oh!” she said, turning back to me. “The name’s Kara. can we hang out after school today?”

“Yeah, sure.” Then I smiled. She wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Chapter Three

“So you came,” Kara said. I shrugged. What else could I do? We waited awhile in silence. Soon we had to go home. I had never known silence could say everything. That one night, I realized I had never, ever, ever, heard nothing. Absolutely, truly, nothing. It was quiet that day, and I was tired. Maybe one day it could happen again. Just one more time.

A few months later

Chapter Four

It was Winter now, and I was going to meet up with Kara at the skating rink. I skated once, but it didn’t seem that hard. I clutched my bag with my ice skates a little harder. Yeah, it won’t be too hard, I thought.

***

Ok. I might have missed a little bit. Yes, I had skated once. Once as in, well, five years ago! Yep, so when I got onto the rink, my legs turned to jelly. Kara came over to me and laughed. Then she said, “Here, let me help. I can teach you. But didn’t you say-” This time I cut her off. 

“Ehhhh, let’s talk about that later.” Then I started to laugh, and Kara joined me.

She let go of me and said, “Here! Try It on your own!” I tried it, then found it, well, not so freaky. I laughed, then spun around. I remembered how it was like, five years before. I remembered how free I felt. I remember I was skating with—no. I opened my eyes. I felt a wave of nausea and fear wash over me. I started spiraling out of control. I screamed.

All I remember was Kara rushing over to me, yelling, “Hang on! I’m coming!” and me falling through thin ice.

I could hear muffled voices through the water, but I could make out Kara’s voice saying into her phone, “Hello, my friend just recently-” her voice muffled through the freezing cold water. It sliced right through me. I desperately tried to take a breath, but nothing came out. I felt nauseous. Yes, I wanted there to be absolute silence again, but not this way. I could feel my chest breaking apart. Then everything went black.

***

I woke up in the hospital, with Kara beside me. I was going to move my arm to get in a sitting position, but a nurse next to me and said, “Don’t move just yet. We have to run a few brief tests on you first.” My chest still burned, but I stayed still after I heard that.

Some men in white coats came in and said something to the nurse. After they left, the nurse said, “You’re one of the lucky ones.”

I then asked, “What do you mean the lucky ones?”

“Well, most of the others pass away, but you, you are a strong girl. But your friend…” the nurse said. I had wondered what she meant, but before I could ask, more men in white coats came in and then I was quiet again.

***

After a bit, I was done with my tests, and Kara was still what seemed to be sleeping at the moment. I got up and tried to walk over to the door to ask for something to drink. I fell down the first time, but then got to my feet, sort of waddled around the place, and then I waddled to the door. I was going to open the door when I stopped. There were people talking right outside my door. I stood there, trying to listen in on their conversation. I could hear two voices that I thought I knew. One belonged to the nurse, and one was my mom’s! I was overjoyed. I wondered If she came to visit me!

I was going to open the door when I heard the nurse say something. “Your, your daughter. While she was ice skating with her friend, she fell into freezing cold water that was about 70 degrees fahrenheit. Her breathing was indiscernible, but she’s ok now, but her friend, after she called 911 and they hadn’t come yet, she jumped in too. They came soon after that, and hauled her out before things got worse. Now, her friend is in a coma.” That was when I realized she hadn’t been sleeping. When we had a sleepover at my house two months ago, I woke her up just by me opening the door. She was never such a deep sleeper. I fell to the ground and started to cry. I was bawling like a two year old.

The nurse then said to my mom, “Sorry, give me a second.” she then rushed into the room and said, “Blair! Blair, honey, what happened?”

I then answered, trying not to cry, “No. You don’t have to lie anymore. I know the truth. The real truth.” Well, I had learned. Even if you weren’t superstitious, thirteen was still an unlucky number.

Chapter Five

After that, I just blurted out the rest to her, not thinking about it at the time. I went on and on about it, even the parts with my dad. Then, the nurse told me a bit about herself too. Her name was Parker Thworp, and she grew up in Minnesota. She then told me that my friend ( “Kara,” I corrected. “My friend’s name is Kara.” “Ok then, Kara” she said), she was in a coma (which I knew, but I didn’t want to be rude and interrupt), and that a coma can last for more than a year. More than a year?! A year seemed like a whole lifetime to me.

I then asked, “Parker, err, Ms. thworp, can I ever go visit her? Like ever?”

“Well,” Ms. Thworp responded with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “It matters how she’s feeling. Maybe, If everything goes well.”

Well. I think hate is a strong word, but I hate the word well. It was the last word my dad said to me before he went off to war. I still remember his exact words. “Everything will go well, my dear Blair. Just remember, I will always be in your heart no matter where I go, no matter what happens.” 

***

So far, it’s been at least a year, and I have gotten out of the hospital. I sighed, then stared at the blank paper in front of me. Nothing had been going on since Kara had gone. I still visited her, but mostly I wrote to her. I couldn’t bear looking at her, so pale and thin. She looked like a ghost of her former self. I decided to leave the note paper there, and stayed there for the moment instead. It’s like I’ve been sending the notes for nothing. She was like Sleeping Beauty, but without the prince who heroically saves her by kissing her. It was not such a happily ever after at all, really. Another year without you has passed, and I can’t imagine another one like this.

***

A few days later, my mom got a phone call. I thought it was something about work for my mom, but then she said, “Blair? Yes she’s here. Why?” She then waited while the person at the other end of the line spoke.

Then she said, “Blair, hon, somebody wants to talk to you, this lady from the hospital.” I gasp, then grab it from my mom.

“Ms. Thworp? Is that you?”

I heard a few shuffling noises, then a female voice answered, “Hi, Blair! About Kara-” 

Then I said, “Oh, no.”

Then she quickly responded, “No! It-it’s not bad at all! It’s exactly the opposite! She’s coming out of her coma!”

I then quickly, almost yelling, said, “Oh my gosh! Thanks! Bye!” I then hung up, gave the phone back to my mom, then said, “Bye! I need to do something right now! Love you!” Then I slammed the door.

***

When I got to the hospital, I was out of breath, but I kept running. I ran all the way to where Kara’s room was, but before I could run to the door, more men in white suits came and one said, “Sorry, no visitors. We can’t risk-”

I shoved past them and ran into Kara’s room. I knelt near her bed and held one of her hands. I fished around in my pocket and then plucked out a bracelet. A friendship bracelet. I was hoping to give it to her when we were done ice skating, but, well, you know what happened. I slipped on her bracelet, and rolled up my sleeve to reveal one exactly the same.

I felt Kara’s hand tighten over mine, and then she whispered, “B-Blair?”

“Kara!” I yelled.

Chapter Six

Kara suddenly sat up, as if snapping out of some sort of spell. She then hugged me tight.

“I shouldn’t have let you go that day on the rink,” Kara said. “Look at me now, sitting in a hospital bed. That day-”

I then said, “No. That day we both messed up. It wasn’t just your fault, or just my fault. We’re in the same boat right now. Just hang on.”

***

I stood near the old maple tree my family planted six years ago. But this time, I wasn’t alone. We sat down in the grass, wet with dew that sparkled in the light, and Kara whispered something in my ear. something I can’t be sure if you won’t tell anyone, or if you will.

She whispered, “I couldn’t live a year without you.”

The End

Portal

Maria  

I live in Sydney, Australia with my parents. They own an animal clinic named Animals for Life! Yes, I don’t know why it’s called that. So, anyway it’s summer and I get to spend it all with the animals. Wait, I didn’t tell you who I am. Oops! My name is Maria Trier. My mother is Puerto Rican and my father is Australian. I was born in America so I’m Auserican. Yes, that’s not my joke it’s my mother’s. I am on my way to the horse pasture to see my favorite horse, Star. My mother has gone missing. She has been gone for the past few months since she came to see Luna, her horse.  Time passed in a blur since I noticed she was missing. One minute she was there and the next thing I knew I was being interviewed by the police. Annoying police. Don’t they get I just wanted to be alone? Of course I did. The mother I loved so much was gone and I might never see her again. I can’t think about it without crying. It’s so sad. And to make matters worse, Dad confiscated any picture with my mom in it. Anyway, Star was eating like usual. (What else is new?) That was the last usual thing of the day. 

Star

I’m a horse. At least, I am to Maria. To myself, and my mom, and my dad and my sister, and my cousin, and you get the point, I’m an Alicorn. I live in Maria’s home but also my world. I am the royal Alicorn of my world, and I was sent by the Queen to watch over Maria. I go to my world every night when the family is sleeping. The stars tell me if anyone disturbs Maria and her dad. I was not picked for this mission randomly, after all. I have control of the stars. I am named Star, my mother is named Luna, my father is named Sun, and my sister is named Celie, short for Celeste. As you can see, my family controls the times of day. To get to my world, you have to go into my favorite pasture and jump into the lake. Other horses don’t go into it because I made it invisible and put a force field around it. (Of course I can do that! I am an Alicorn after all. I’m  offended!) The Queen wanted to make sure no other normal animal could walk through the portal. That would be disastrous! Im guessing Maria wants the pen back because she looks like she’s going to explode.

Maria   

Excuse me! I am not going to explode!!! Don’t listen to her, she’s crazy!! So, where was I? Yes, that was the last normal thing that day. So, I was going to ride Star, so I straddled her. We started riding, and then Star’s mane started glowing red and a horn popped up. I wondered if I was hallucinating.

Star     

So ya, I might have hidden my horn and wings. Who cares? My horn started glowing red and that meant I was being called back to my world. Then I started being pulled by the horn toward the portal.

Maria 

Suddenly I saw a lake that hadn’t been there before. We fell through it and… “Star! What is the girl doing here?!”

“Where are we and who is that and why do you have wings and a horn and what?” I asked, looking at Star. “Okay, now that I got that out, why is that my mother’s voice?”

“Because it is my voice,” said a beautiful, musical, familiar voice.

“Mom!” I exclaimed, as a figure walked out into the clearing. It was my mother.


Detective Frog

Detective Frog was looking into the murder of Ribit Wonton, the wealthiest frog in Frogville (some monkeys lived here too). Detective Frog went to the scene of the murder in the biggest place in the whole world quintillion stories high!

Dang it! I can’t reach the top — that’s where the murder happened. Uhhhhh!

“Well, if you want to finish this creepy case, then you’re going to have to suck it up, buttercup,” said Sergeant Monkey, his best friend. 

“I guess I will then. Hey, will you come with me? I’m so scared I’m going to pee in my suit. Please!!!

Detective Frog’s suit was the best in the country, equipped with heat sensed missiles, rocket launchers, machine guns, and laser guns. It was called BOB.

“Why are you scared? You have a freakin’ BOB — why do you need me?” asked Sergeant Monkey.

“I don’t know how to use it… ” replied Detective Frog.

Fine, you are so dumb!!! Uggg!

Detective Frog and Sergeant Monkey took an elevator all the way to the quintillionth floor. 

24 hours later… 

Bleh!!!” Detective Frog said in disgust.

“Dude, there are just guts spilled everywhere. His tongue ripped apart in pieces everywhere, and blood spilled on the whole entire floor.”

“What? It looks beautiful,” Detective Frog said.

“What is wrong with you? Are you mental?”

“No.”

“I’m fine!” Detective Frog shouted.

“Okay, let’s get to work. I’ll take part of the tongue and analyze and see who murdered Ribit Wonton.”

Leave it to me!

Out of the elevator a large, fat pelican jumped out his fat chest and pushed in his stomach. Detective Frog could notice that he was trying to be a hot shot.

“What’s up, dudes? I’m the scientist here, and I am going to see this body and analyze it and catch the killer. Isn’t that awesome?”

Um, no it’s not, and you can’t speak proper English,” said Detective Frog and Sergeant Monkey in unison.

“This guy is so dumb,” Sergeant Monkey whispered to Detective Frog.

“I heard you say that,” Bobby said (the pelican).

He pulled a knife on both of them and stabbed Sergeant Monkey and knocked Detective Frog out. (Detective Frog thought he liked him.)

Four hours later… 

“Uhh, what happened?”

“I knocked you out. I am Buuuuuuooooooooby. Muhhhahahahahahahhahhahhahahhah!”

“Bff, your name is Buuuuuuooooooooby? That name is so dumb. Are your parents idiots, or is that a pelican thing?” Sergeant Monkey said.

Dude, what is your problem? That’s a cultural thing, and I am the one who murdered Ribot Wonton. I have all the money here. Muhahahahhahahahahhahaha.”

Behind him was so much money.

“Dude, what are you going to do with all this?” Detective Frog said.

“I am going to buy a Ferrari and a mansion and a lot of stuff.

“Well, I’m not going to let you.”

Detective Frog tried to use the BOB and fired a laser beam at Buuuuuuooooooooby. Buuuuuuooooooooby deflected it.

“You really think it would be that easy? I have super powers. Muhuhauahaauahahauahahahaa!”

“What?” 

“This… ”

Buuuuuuooooooooby fired a laser beam out of his eyes. Detective Frog teleported out of the way, and right behind him was Buuuuuuooooooooby. He knocked out Buuuuuuooooooooby and put him in jail and untied Sergeant Monkey. 

Ouchy!!!” Sergeant Monkey said and passed out.

Seven hours later… 

Sargeant Monkey started hyperventilating. 

“I have to get to Buuuuuuooooooooby. He’ll know what to do,” Detective Frog said to himself.

Detective Frog flew to Buuuuuuooooooooby.

“He got cut by a special sword called jshjkabjhkfbsfhhjfksakbhas. He can only be healed if you go to space and retrieve it. You will need me to guide you… ”

Nope!” And he murdered Buuuuuuooooooooby.

THE END… 

Detective Frog will come back soon… in… Detective Frog in Space… 


Love

Chapter 1

I’m Cloud, the only male wolf in the Best Pack Anyone Could Wish For – although Storm, my sister, said we might want to change our pack’s name and Emily, my best friend, seems to agree with her. Oh, well.

I was roused from my shaky sleep when I heard bickering at the entrance of the cave where the Best Pack Anyone Could Wish For lived.

“Emily! I thought I told you not to go outside in the middle of a thunderstorm!” Storm scolded.

“Yes, Alpha,” Emily said sarcastically, “but would you rather let Cloud starve to death?”

Storm, who was most likely shocked by the Alpha remark, didn’t respond. The leader of a wolf pack is called Alpha, and if Emily thought Storm should be Alpha, I’d agree in a heartbeat. But first, I needed to stop Storm and Emily from arguing.

“Thank you for the prey, Emily. And Storm, you should be Alpha,” I declared, which made both she-wolves whip around to face me with with a we-weren’t-arguing expression.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Emily said cheerfully, as if she had forgotten her previous argument, “I brought you a mouse!”

“I know. I smelled it. Thank you,” I said, wrapping my tail around my paws as the warm amber brown she wolf licked her paws and sat down next to me.

“Are you sure?” Storm said, shock flaring in her olive green eyes.

“Yes!” Emily and I declared simultaneously.

“We should call you Alpha from now on,” Emily joked.

“If you’re sure…”  Storm whispered.

“Alpha! Alpha! Alpha!” Emily and I howled her new name.

“Who’s Beta?” I asked. The Beta was second in command of a wolf pack.

“Well, one of you decides the new name for the pack, and the other becomes Beta,” Alpha decided.

I turned to face Emily. “You should be Beta,” I said, and after only a moment of hesitation, she nodded.

“Beta! Beta! Beta!” We cheered.

“Well, Cloud? What’s our pack’s new name?”

I studied Beta’s soft brown fur, and thought of her lost sister, Keelin. Then I thought about my brother, Sticks, who I hardly remember, but if I was able to recall more than just a faint memory of my brother’s tangled brown gray fur and stubby tail, I’m sure I’d miss him.

“The Pack of Stars,” I said in a hushed voice, “After Keelin and Sticks.”

“And Lola,” Alpha added. I didn’t think it was the right time to mention I don’t have a single memory of our mother.

“And Shadow,” Beta said, which sent me and Alpha’s heads tilting with confusion. “My mother,” Beta explained.

Alpha curled her tail around Beta’s, “You’ve lost all of your family,” she said sympathetically, then added quickly, “well, all of your family that’s worth anything.”

“Worthless murderer,” Beta agreed, snarling, no doubt thinking of her father, Claw, who had killed Keelin.

I studied my sister’s olive eyes that were filled with grief. Keelin was Alpha’s best friend. Alpha is very pretty, I mused, momentarily distracted. And she was — for a wolf her age, at least. Her silver gray moonlike fur was well groomed and she seemed much more mature than when we first started The Pack of Stars, which would be… a month ago, I think. Her muzzle had grown slightly longer and her silver fur was a sharp contrast to the cold, dark stone of this cave. She’s pretty, I thought, but Beta is outstanding.

“Hello, Earth to airhead! Ahem, Cloud? Yoo-hoo!” Alpha said, interrupting my chain of thought by waving her tail in front of my face.

“Airhead yourself,” I retorted, momentarily distracted from my daydreaming about Beta. But then I began thinking again.

Beta’s gray gold eyes contrast her soft mud and amber fur so perfectly and her laugh… I wonder if she knows I’m falling in love with her.

Chapter 2

“Do you hear that?” Beta asked, angling her ears towards a tall bush that was covered in thorns which made the bush look like jagged lightning. She was right, of course. I could hear shuffling and the occasional thwak! thwak! thwak! We were out hunting at night, so of course at this time we had to be way too alert.

“Yes,” I murmured, “should I go talk to them?”

“Sure. Wow, Alpha’s talk about you not being impulsive must have worked — although I guess she was pretty intimidating.”

“She gave you the same speech?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” she said. She tried to give me a menacing look at the hidden wolf(es), but mostly it looked like she was glaring at some random bush. After she must have decided she was scary enough, she raised her voice and howled, “show yourself!”

“Um… sure,” came the reply.

“Be quiet, you!” another voice scolded, but the wolves came out of hiding. It was two wolves. At least, I thought it was two. One of them had to be midnight black unless there was somehow magically floating golden eyes. Probably not. The other wolf was more visible, with his glowing silver white fur and dark blue eyes.

“I’m Silver and this is my younger brother, Galaxy,” the silver wolf said, his voice low and hoarse.

“Yeah, hello! Are you guys in a pack?” If you are, are you anything like the Pack of Dark Wolves? If you aren’t, can we join your pack? Please?” The black one, Galaxy, asked. His voice, compared with his brother’s, was light and fast — also full of questions.

“You know the Pack of Dark Wolves?” Beta asked, ears tilted with confusion. Then understanding dawned in her eyes. “Oh. Oh Silver, it’s you, “Beta said, with such a longing in her voice, I nearly stumbled over my paws in… hmm. I don’t actually know how to describe what I was feeling. Something like anger… but more than that. Maybe she’s sharing some of her longing with me, and I was longing for Beta. I have a strong feeling I’m not going to like this Silver.

Chapter 3

“Alpha! Guess what?!” Beta yelped excitedly as she marched into our home cave.

“I doubt you actually want me to guess,” Alpha replied, sliding out of her den. “What is it?”

“I found Silver and Galaxy, friends of mine from when I was in the Pack of Dark—”

“Wolves. Yes. Good for you. Guards, take them out a kill them, where my offspring can see them.” Then, smiling at Beta, Alpha said, “inside joke.”

“Oh, good,” Beta said, flicking her tail, “because if not…” she trailed off.

“What were you going to say?” I prompted.

“I finished what I was going to say!” Beta retorted.

“Oh,” Alpha and I said simultaneously. Then we heard a low, rumbly growl. I whipper around to face the entrance, thinking the Pack of Dark Wolves was attacking us again, but the only wolf nearby was Galaxy, whose tail was wrapped around himself in embarrassment.

“Sorry, just hungry,” the black wolf muttered.

Beta flicked her ears in amusement. “I’m sure we all are. Silver, wanna come hunting with me?” she asked with a shy glance in his direction. Now I can name the emotion I was feeling a bit earlier. Jealousy. I know because I’m feeling it now.

Chapter 4

“Here you go, Cloud!” Beta said cheerfully while tossing me some prey. She bounded away, calling over her shoulder, “I’m going to go play with Galaxy. See ya later!”

Silver padded over to where I was eating, regarding me. “Beta’s mine,” he said in his fierce but quiet voice.

“She doesn’t belong to anybody,” I announced.

“No. Claw promised her to me. She is destined to be my mate,” Silver snarled.

My hackles rose. “She can choose her own mate now!”

Silver growled, then launched himself at me. I instinctively raised my paws and batted him away. A small line of blood sprung from his underbelly. Growling, he landed on all fours and crouched down, looking ready to spring back up at me. I swerved to the side just as Silver leaped. I launched myself at his flying silver body and tried to pin him down, but he rolled over and ended up on top of me, teeth near my already bleeding throat.

“Silver. What. Are. You. Doing?” It was Alpha! Thank the Pack of Starry Wolves!

Once Silver heard her voice, he spun around and swiped at her, causing her one of her eyes amd muzzle to drip with blood. My sister released an ear splitting shriek of pain and Beta rushed over.

“Alpha! Cloud! Are you okay?”

Silver responded for us, which might have been a good idea, since he nearly ripped my vocal chords out and Alpha had fallen unconscious, but his answer was completely wrong. “They’re fine. Come on, Beta, I’m leaving this pack —- and your own father told you that you had to come with me!”

When Beta responded, her voice was hushed. “No, Silver. Father isn’t here now. I make my own choices. I choose to be called Emily. I met the wolf I love with that name, and I will die with that name, too!” Silver’s eyes seemed to brighten at this, most likely assuming that Emily was talking about them. Emily delivered the final blow, “and cloud is the one I love!”


Jack’s Saviors

Chapter One: Lily

Hi there. My name is Lily Bolt. My brother is Jack Bolt. Our mother is the boss of The New Press™ (a writing company), and our father is a high school teacher. We go to MS:11 (a middle school). I am in the same homeroom as my brother! We are always together. It’s annoying (sometimes).

As we walked to our homeroom, I started to write.

“Ms. Bolt? Can I have your attention? Please stop writing in your diary,” my teacher, Ms. Miller, said, interrupting my thoughts.

“Ms. Miller, it’s… it’s not a… a diary. It’s a journal,” I stammered as other kids snickered. I’m not good with talking to adults (in front of other kids, at least).

“Ms. Bolt, do you think I care if it is a diary or not? Just close the book,” Ms. Miller said.

After math class, Ms. Miller called me as I was leaving the classroom. “Ms. Bolt?” She tapped me on the shoulder. “Please meet me in the classroom during lunch.”

I tried to ignore her but it was hard. Like, really hard.

“Okay.” I crossed my fingers, hoping Ms. Miller would forget.

“What happened?” Jack asked me.

“Nothing. Just getting pizza with Ms. Miller,” I lied. As I walked away, I looked over my shoulder. Jack was still standing there, jaw dropped. He is kind of like the teacher’s pet.

As he stood there, a jock walked over to him and said, “Hi, teacher’s pet!”

He punched him in the shoulder and laughed as he walked away. Jack rubbed his shoulder and walked to the boy’s bathroom, glaring at me.

“What did I do?” I yelled at the boy’s bathroom.

As I walked away to the library, the jock looked at me. Before I didn’t see the jock’s face when he punched Jack. Now as he looked at me, I had a gush of anger. The jock that punched my brother was Jeff, the popular athlete, and he had a huge crush on me. Everyone knew that. Maybe that’s why Jack glared at me.

I stormed up to Jeff and screamed, “Why would you do that?! That was my brother!”

As I walked away from Jeff to the library for computer class, Jeff ran up to me and gave me his “dashing” smile.

“I’m not falling for that again.”

Last week he ran to me after I did cheerleading tryouts and said, “I hope you got in,” and gave me his dashing smile.

I fell into my brother’s arms and fainted. (I used to like him).

“I’m not… I’m not… ” I muttered to myself as he said, “Look, I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t know that was your brother!”

“Huh. Totally. I saw you when you punched him! You said, ‘Hi, teacher’s pet!’ And you then punched him. He is the only ‘teacher’s pet’ around here!” I yelled at him, right outside the library.

“Look, people will get punched around here! I don’t want you to get hurt,” Jeff said to me kindly.

“Why? ‘Cause I’m pretty? Huh?” I said to him.

Then I ran into the library, right before the bell rang. Students ran into the library. Girls gossiped, boys threw footballs, nerds read while they walked, loners walked, you guessed it, alone. Then I understood what Jeff meant. People will get hurt.

One girl ran up to me, hair in her face, yelling, “Lily! Lily!”

“Yes?” I asked calmly. 

“Lily, come,” the girl said.

Her hair was purple-blue-green-brown. Then I recognized her. She was Ms. Miller’s daughter, Amy Miller. As I followed Amy, Jeff was talking to his jock friends, glancing at me at random times, girls were still gossiping, and other people were sitting on the ground, reading or playing video games.

“Come on!” Amy said.

When we got to where Amy brought me, I gasped. It was beautiful. School was suddenly over! (But that wasn’t the beautiful part.) The beautiful part was the snow. There were five inches of snow already, and it was still snowing! I ran to my locker and heard something.

“Everyone, there are already five inches of snow, and it is still snowing. So go to your locker and get your bag. No homework, just get home. Oh, wait, you do have homework. Don’t go outside when you get home!” the speaker said.

I got my bag, and put on my coat. I ran outside. It was still snowing. I felt a snowball against my back. I heard laughing. I turned around. Three boys were laughing at me. I felt anger. I ran home. Winter has begun. So have mean boys.


Chapter Two: Jack

As I walked home, I looked at my arm. I remember Lily saying, “It can’t be that bad.” I know she only said that because of Jeff. My shoulder looked badly bruised. I sighed. It is bad. It is, I thought. I took out my phone and noticed that Jeff wasn’t in the group chat. It was only me, Amy, Lily, and Noah (my best friend).

Hey sis. I noticed that Jeff isn’t on the group chat anymore. Why? Is it that you two broke up…? I texted Lily in our private chat

She didn’t answer for 10 minutes. She was usually on her phone or in her journal.

“Huh,” I muttered. “Whatever. Maybe she hates me. I don’t care anymore.”

I opened the door to our house, and Lily wasn’t in her special chair. Okay, this is getting suspicious. Of course she would be in the special chair either when she is sad or if she is… lazy, I thought.

I saw a note that said, Go upstairs. Or else. It wasn’t Lily’s handwriting, or Mom’s, or Dad’s. It couldn’t be Mom’s or Dad’s. They stayed at work for another five hours. I didn’t like threats, so I hurried up stairs. Nothing was in the hallway, except for another note.

It said, Go to your room. Stay there until your sister comes home. I walked into my room and sat on my bed. I waited there for about one hour. I got really impatient (and I don’t really get inpatient) and walked downstairs. I saw a bucket of paint hanging on the door, and I swear I saw, like, five boys around our house, with snowballs. Then I saw three boys and two girls with Nerf Guns.

“Huh.” I wondered aloud.

I quickly put my hand on my mouth and stood really still. Then I quietly walked over to the fridge and took an apple. Then I saw all the people that surrounded the house scurry away. Then I saw a girl, snow all over her back and front.

“Lily?” I said. Just then she opened the door. I screamed, “Noooo!!!”

Paint splattered all over her. She was wearing a bright green shirt. The paint was pink. Believe me, it looked like… gross. I had a yellow shirt. I jumped in too. I didn’t want Lily to be alone. But then she pushed me away and ran outside, just to get more snow on her. I ran outside too, and I got Nerfed. Those three boys and two girls shot Nerfs at me.

I pulled Lily inside. “What happened!?” I screamed at her.

Lily started to cry and ran into the bathroom. I felt guilty. I got towels for her and knocked on the door.

“What is it?!” she yelled.

“I… I just… brought… some towels,” I stammered. I opened the door, not looking in, and threw the towels in. Then I said, “You know… I’m really good at handwriting… You want me to do your homework?”

“Sure,” she said.

I ran downstairs, took her homework out of her bag, and saw a note. It said, Ms. Bolt, come early tomorrow to school. Come to my classroom. – Ms. Miller.

I gasped. I’ll tell her later, I thought. I finished her homework with a, Ms. Miller, I will not write in my journal during class anymore. I did my homework and then ran to Lily’s room. Lily was dry, all clean in her pajamas. 

“I know who made those notes. Those kids out there,” she said out of nowhere.

“Um… here,” I handed her the note.

“Ugh,” she groaned.

“What? You get to have pizza and ice cream with Ms. Miller!” I was shocked.

“That’s during lunch! Right now… tomorrow morning… I’m going to be in big trouble!” She groaned again.

“No you’re not. Just show her your homework, and then she’ll let you go,” I said.

“Why?” Lily asked me.

“Because I wrote, Ms. Miller, I will not write in my journal during class anymore,” I replied.

“You have to ask me when you write stuff like that before you write it!!!” Lily said.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

“It’s okay,” Lily said quietly.

I put my pajamas on and went downstairs. I heard the door click open.

“Honey… darling,” a voice came from outside.

I opened the door and then I didn’t know if it was just me or a real one, but there was suddenly a blackout. 


Chapter Three: Amy

Ding dong, the doorbell rang. The door opened.

“Yes?” A girl answered the door.

“Hi, Lily!” I said excitedly.

“Go away,” Lily said.

“Why?” I asked, trying to be annoying (believe me, I can be really annoying!) but sometimes Lily knew me better than I knew myself!!

“Don’t try,” she said, grunting and slamming the door in my face.

I took out my phone. I looked at my phone case. I got it on my 10th birthday, in London. Lily was there with me (and Jack), and she gave me a phone case with leaves all over it. Then I got a PopSocket with a puppy (collie) barking. I smiled. I turned my phone over to the front and texted Lily.

Hey Lils, whatcha doing? Y didn’t u answer me?! What happened? And y didn’t u let me come in?! I’m still standing outside ur house. Waiting 4 u!!

After one minute, she answered. Ugh… y u, of all peeps?! Y u!? Ok, i’ll give u 10 mins in my house. Mom and dad aren’t home yet.

She opened the door, and said, “Come in, quickly.”

When we got in, she set a timer for ten minutes. “Wow. I’m starting to feel rushed,” I said to her, joking.

“Okay, so basically I got ambushed by some kids, (whatever!) Jack did my homework, (lucky!) and he… ” I didn’t listen to this part. It was already nine minutes!

“And then… ready for the mystery?” Lily asked me.

“Yeah!” I said, nervous, but still excited.

“He… he went… down… downstairs… but… but he never… never came… came back,” Lily said, sadly.

“Oh, Lily!” I said.

I felt really bad. I don’t have any younger siblings, so I don’t really know how it feels to lose one.

“Oh, Lily,” I started.

But just right then the timer rang. 

“Goodbye!!” Lily said and pushed me outside.

I took out my phone again and texted Jack this time.

Hey jack. Where r at? Lily’s worried mad. She just kicked me out of the house. I know u don’t text a lot, but I need u to text me back now! Like, right now!! Or I’ll have to tell ur parents that they need to hire some detectives.

He didn’t answer after five minutes. Then he texted back. 

Amy. Help. I’m kidnapped. Right now I’m in a sack. Just woke up. Tell Lily. I need you, Lily, and Noah. Get Jeff, if Lily wants. I just need all the help I can get!

I sighed. He was still alive. I ran back to Lily’s house and wrote a note to her.

Lily. Meet me in the girl’s bathroom, middle stall.

I got a text from Jack. Tell you details then. We need a team. I like, ‘Jack’s saviors’ cool, huh? Wait, getting off topic. Bye! Text ya at 9:00. K? Bye.

I put the note under her door. As I walked home, everything seemed… different. So many things would happen tomorrow. The high school dance would be in one week (Valentine’s Day dance). I also had so many questions. Who would I go to the dance with? Who kidnapped Jack? Would this “team” work out the way I thought it might? Would I make more friends? Would we invite Jeff? After that last question, I was home. I sighed.

I unlocked the door and yelled, “Mom? Dad? Y’all home?”

“Yes, honey!” my dad said calmly from the kitchen.

“Mom isn’t home yet?” I asked, surprised.

“No. She has a meeting about how to deal with girls or boys who like to write during class. I think you know who I’m talking about,” he said, glancing at me.

“Lily,” I sighed. 

“Honey, your food is at the table. Eat quickly,” he said, smiling. 

“Why?” I asked.

“It’s a surprise!” he teased me, laughing. “Fine. I’ll tell you. We are going to Avengers: Endgame with some friends from preschool.”

“Ugh,” I groaned. I’m usually really friendly, but I haven’t seen them since I was two years old!

“Honey. You love Marvel!” he exclaimed.

“I know, but… I haven’t seen them for a while,” I said sadly.

I finished eating and went upstairs to get my Marvel merchandise. When I came down, I looked in the mirror. I wore a baseball cap saying, Avengers: Endgame: Friday, April 26, 2019. I had a ponytail up under my cap, a shirt that said, Captain Marvel will return in Avengers: Endgame on the back and on the front it said, Captain Marvel. I wore pants that on the side said, Black Widow. I wore simple shoes that were gray.

“Okay, dad, I’m ready!” I said, running to the living room.

I heard a buzz from my phone. I looked at the text message. It was from Lily, and it came with a picture.

Hey Amy, saw note. I gtg to ur mom’s room early tho. When Jack disappeared, I saw 2 peeps (adults) leaving my house. I took a picture of it. I sent it to u. I’ll go to ur mom’s room (fingers crossed u might be there!) and after our ‘talk’ w/ ur mom, I’ll meet ya at bathroom. Bye!

I smiled. Kk, I texted her back.

Then I put my phone in my pocket and saw my dad running downstairs.

“We are late! Five minutes ‘till movie!!” he yelled. “Hop in! Hop in!”

We quickly got into the car and drove to the movie theater. We got our seats and sitting right next to me was a girl. Sitting next to her was another girl. Then a boy. Then five more girls. I recognized them all. They were my preschool friends! Laila, Willow, Liam, Maya, Georgia, Sole, Ciri, and Alison. I smiled. I knew they went to my school. Eight more people on our team now.


Chapter Four: Noah

I am really worried, worried sick. I saw Amy texting Jack on her private chat. Oh, I’m a hacker. My name is Noah. I texted Jack, but he didn’t answer back. So I hacked his private chat with Amy and saw the texts. I knew it was Jack texting Amy ‘cause… he kind of has a crush on her. Jack was kidnapped and in a sack full of apples! (I know it’s apples. In every book/movie it’s apples.) I’m so worried! Okay, get back in the present. Noah, get back into the present. Okay, so now I just got a text message from Amy.

Hey Noah. Meet me and Lily. We are making a team to find Jack. Don’t call the police. They will take you and me out of this.

I’m still really nervous, but I am Jack’s friend, not his overprotective friend like his mother. No. I’m his friend. The next morning, I got up at 5:00 and met Amy in Ms. Miller’s classroom. Lily wasn’t there yet. Neither was Ms. Miller.

“Where’s your — ”

“Shhh!” Amy interrupted, gesturing around her.

“What?” I whispered.

Amy ran up to me. “There’s a secret room around here. That’s where Mom and Lily are,” she told me, like it was obvious.

“Okay… why Lily though?” I asked her.

“She’s in trouble. And be quiet! Mom doesn’t know we are here!” she hissed at me.

I took out my phone. Jeez. Okay, Ms. Bossypants! I texted her. Amy glared at me.

Don’t you even dare, she texted me back.

K. yeesh, I texted her. Since I got in the classroom, I could hear distinct chatter. Now it stopped.

“Uh oh,” Amy said. “Out, quick.”

As we scurried away, Lily and Ms. Miller came out of a door with a blue handle. The room was pink. How could I have not noticed that?! I wondered. As I saw Lily leaving, her face was pale, and she was holding her math notebook.

“Good job, Lily!” Ms. Miller called out.

“Thanks,” she said back.

Ms. Miller was holding her homework. We went to the library, which was open from 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM. When we came in, eight people were in there already.

“Um… who are these people?!” I asked Amy, who was smiling, and Lily, who was just as puzzled as I was.

“These were my friends from preschool, and now they are in our team!” Amy said. “This is Ciri,” she said, pointing at a girl with dark brown fuzzy hair. “This is Solé,” she said, pointing at a girl with cool earrings that were made out of yarn. “This is Georgia,” she said, pointing to the tallest girl there. “This is Maya,” pointing to a girl with brown hair. “This is Liam,” pointing to the only boy there. I waved to him. He waved back. “This is Laila,” pointing to a girl with short black/brown hair. “This is Willow,” pointing to a girl who had a green bow in her hair. “And this is Alison,” pointing to a girl with round, redish-pinkish glasses.

“This is Lily,” she said, pointing at Lily. “And this is Noah,” she said, pointing at me. “And, well. I’m Amy, as you all know!” she said, trying to be humorous.

Kids laughed faintly. So did I.

Lily stepped in and said, “Okay, everyone. My brother, Jack, got kidnapped at 8:30 PM, yesterday night. It’s now 5:30 AM, nine hours after he got kidnapped. Amy here, knows something we don’t know.”

“Okay, so here. Do we have a board or… ” Amy started.

“Oh, yes! Yes!” I said excitedly. I was happy to help, but then with those ten faces all looking at me, my happiness quickly faded away. I said, “Um… I mean, there’s a Smartboard… ” I walked to the Smartboard and asked for Amy’s phone.

“Why?” She asked me.

“Because… because I need to connect it to the… ”

“Okay!” she said, putting her phone in my hand.

I felt her hand for a second. It was soft and smooth. I sighed. It made me feel better. I took the phone and connected it to the Smartboard. Then I gestured to Amy to take the lead.

“Thank you, Noah.”

“You’re… you’re welcome,” I said, sheepishly. I saw her eyes. They were beautiful. They were golden brown. I… I think… I started to like her. As in, like like like her… 

“Okay, everyone?” she asked, bringing me back to the present.

“Um… what?” I asked her, completely forgetting the text message I hacked into.

“Um… the text message??” she said.

“Oh yeah. Okay.” I read it through again and said, “Yep. I’m done reading.”

“Okay, everyone. The picture of the adults only reminds me of one family. Jeff. I met his parents, and one was enough,” she said, joking.

“Okay, let’s question him first,” Lily said. 

Just then I got an idea. “Hey guys. Um… Jack’s message… it said invite Jeff if wanted. Should we? He might know more than us, if that’s his parents. I know he would help Lily.” I glanced at her. “For anything.”

The school bell rang.

“Everyone, we will meet at lunch, table three!” Lily shouted over the ringing bell.

Everyone got their bags and ran to their homerooms. Eleven kids in the team. Only one kid to find. How hard can it be, really?


Chapter Five: Jeff

Hi. I’m Jeff. You might think of me as a cool, tough jock. But on the inside, I’m a small writer and a boy who wants a girl. My parents did something incredibly, horribly awesome. They kidnapped someone!! And they still aren’t in jail! I’m not going to tell the police anything. But what happened with Lily and Jack… Okay, I’ll be honest. I meant to punch Jack. I knew it was him, but… it was only because Ms. Roma (our homeroom teacher) let us do trivia.

She asked the only question about sports, and it was, “In inches, how big is the diameter of a basketball hoop?”

“I am really bad at math,” I said.

“But you are really good in sports,” Ms. Roma challenged me.

“Yeah. I remember last year we had to measure it in gym,” a girl, Rose, said.

“Just what was it?” Ms. Roma asked us all. “Put a thumbs up when you know it. Don’t yell it.”

Everyone suddenly remembered (or so I thought). I lied, and put a thumbs up.

“When I count ‘three, two, one’, raise your hand first,” Ms. Roma said. “Three, two, one!” she yelled.

Everyone quickly put their hand up.

“Ms. Rose, what do you think it is?” she asked Rose.

“Ten,” Rose said triumphantly.

“No, Ms. Rose. Now you are out of the game.”

“Mr. Outi, what do you think?” she asked Outi.

“Five!” he shouted.

Before Ms. Rome could even say, “I’m sorry,” he jumped on a table and screamed, “I’m the winner of this round! Me, me, me!” he screamed, louder. It hurt my ears so much!!!

“Mr. Outi! You are out of the game and of the classroom,” Ms. Roma shouted.

Ms. Roma is pretty nice, so we were all surprised when she shouted.

“Next?” she said quieter than shouting but still loudly. “Ms. Alison? What do you think the answer is?” she asked calmly to Alison.

I met Alison before. She is Lily’s friend, Amy’s, friend. (I mean, I think so.)

“Sixteen,” Alison said.

“Close, Ms. Alison, but no,” she whispered. No one heard except for me, since I was right next to Alison.

“I’m sorry, Alison, but no,” Ms. Roma said loudly, as she would call it, “inside voice.” 

When she first said that, Outi said, “I lost my inside voice in an accident.” It was funny. 

“Mr. Jeff?” Ms Roma asked me.

“Um… seventeen?” I said the closest number to sixteen.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jeff. Maybe the top star athlete will not be the top star in athlete facts,” she said to me.

Many people laughed or snickered.

One of them patted me on the back and said, “Next time, low star in athletic facts.”

Everyone laughed. I was blushing.

“You’re out! You’re out!” people teased.

As I walked to the section with Alison and Rose, I asked them, “Are you guys embarrassed because of losing?”

“No! Everyone loses at something,” Alison replied.

“Yeah. Agreed, but what I’m embarrassed of is you asking things a little kid would ask,” Rose said.

She said that last part loudly so everyone could hear. People laughed again.

“Hey, Jeff. Don’t be a sore loser. I like what Alison said. ‘Everyone loses at something.’ Like me. I lose at sports but I still have friends! And no one is perfect,” a boy said, named Jack. 

Ms. Roma cleared her throat. “Thank you, Jack, for the pep-talk.” Everyone laughed, including Jack. “But can we please get back to trivia?”

“Yes, Ms. Roma,” everyone said in harmony.

“Okay, Ms. Chelsea?”

“Call me Chels,” Chelsea said.

Everyone likes her. Not because of her singing, or how she looks, but because she takes everything chill. People call her Chill Chels. Everyone is her friend. 

“Um… let’s see… sixteen and up?” Chill Chels said.

“Ms. Chelsea, you have to pick an exact number,” Ms. Roma said.

“Oh then… okay… fifteen?” Chill Chels said, but in a question sort of way.

“No, Ms Chelsea. But thank you for being like Rose and Alison. Not some boys.” She looked at me. “And thank you for being ‘chill’ about it,” Ms. Roma said calmly.

“Okay,” Chill Chels said.

She walked towards me, Alison, and Rose, only to invite them to come to her house today.

“Sure!” Rose said.

“Yeah, I’m free!” Alison said.

They walked to a different corner, talking. Then Jack got it correct, and I got really mad. That’s why I punched him. But don’t get me wrong, I had no idea that Jack didn’t come to school the day after I complained to my parents about him, and then they kidnapped someone!

At lunch today, I ate at table three, all alone. But then eleven people came up to me and sat at that table. The one in the lead was Lily. In the cafeteria, there were security guards because of the kidnapping. But outside, anything could happen. And guess what? We could go outside!

So Lily said, “Outside, now.”

When we got outside, we picked a place with lots of grass. I thought we were having a date, and the people behind her were guards, so we wouldn’t get harmed (even though the kidnappers were my parents)! Lily introduced me to the gang behind her. I only knew three people. Alison, Amy, and Noah. So they questioned me about my parents, if anyone knew who was missing, and Noah said if I gave them the information they needed, I could help look for Jack. I told them that my parents did kidnap Jack, but I didn’t know where he was or why he got kidnapped. I told them no one knew who got kidnapped, but I could go tell a guard that I knew who it was.

They quickly said, “No! No! No! No! No! No!”

Then I said, “Why?”

And they said because they would hire a real detective, and only Lily would be in this, but they wanted to help. I answered their questions and soon enough, Noah’s promise was correct. I got on their team! It was private though. No telling anyone, ect. The team was called “Jack’s Saviors.” We all made a group chat called that. I couldn’t wait to help! I wasn’t just helping because I was nice, but I was also doing it for Lily! (And her friends, but… yeah.)


Chapter Six: Jack’s Saviors (Group Chat)

December 15th 2020, 7:50 AM

Lily: Hey saviors. 3rd day already and NO CLUE OF JACK! Well, that was my turn of investigating. Whose turn is it? Oh yeah, Jeff, it’s your turn. Try to ask your parents about Jack, and he’s been missing for 3 days already and maybe he might have been kidnapped? Before you do this, do your parents know that you know they are the kidnappers? And also say it was weird how Jack disappeared the day you complained about him. And say you two are friends. Make it seem like you like Jack as a friend and you miss him, or just spend lots of time with your parents to figure out where he is.

December 16th 2020, 7:40 AM

Jeff: Ok. Just did that for a whole day!!! Didn’t find out where Jack was, sadly. 

9:50 AM

Alison: Aw… I haven’t met Jack yet. He seems like a nice guy worth saving for!!

9:59 AM

Georgia: Hey! He’s Lily’s brother! We made new friends! Come on. We would save him for Lily and for Amy!

10:00 AM

Amy: We should all look for Jack at the same time to move faster. Here. I’ll send a photo of him. 

IMG.3958

10:17 AM

Noah: Ok. I think we should all look at where this kidnapping thing started. Lily’s house.

Ciri: Agreed. But, everyone should bring a microscope or something that would let us see closer in. 

Sole: Yeah. Lily’s at home with her mother and father, rushing them to go work. Just texted her on private chat. She said they still think that Jack is sick in bed. LOL!! 

Maya: Really?! I’m still so happy winter break just started!!! So many days to investigate!

Liam: Maya, you’re ALWAYS happy! And I think Noah, Jeff, and I should go for more clues. Maybe at Jeff’s house? I dunno.

Laila: Yeah. Maybe I can go sneak into my mom’s science room. I might find some good tools… 

Willow: YEAH! I’ll find some books about solving kidnap mysteries in the library. We could all meet at Lily’s house after. We all know where she lives… so yeah. See you guys there! GO SAVIORS!

11:11 AM

Lily: GUYS GUYS GUYS!!!! STOP DOING WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING!! WE FOUND HIM! Well, at least we know where.

Amy: where?

Noah: where?

Ciri, Alison, Sole, Georgia, Maya, Liam, Laila, Willow said the same thing: where?

Jeff: MY PARENTS HAVE A SECRET LAIR IN D.C. HE’S THERE!!!

11:20 AM 

Lily, Amy, Noah, Ciri, Alison, Sole, Georgia, Maya, Liam, Laila, and Willow said the same thing: Yay!!!

To be continued… 


Bonus Chapter: Jack’s Saviors (Group Chat)

Jeff: Hello? Anyone? Well, in my parents’ room, I found a paper. I’ll post it. But… I’m sorry. I have to leave the team. I won’t tell my parents, but I feel guilty reading this. Here. I posted it. 

We have a secret. We are secretly kidnappers, because our son, Jeff, has a public crush on this cheerleader, Lily. He punched her brother, by accident (well, he said that). He told us what happened, how Lily got really mad at him and left him. He told us that before Lily got mad, he told her, “Listen, Lily. People will get hurt around here. I don’t want you to.” After he told us that, he ran up stairs and didn’t come down. We didn’t disturb him because he was making a phone call. But we heard some words. “On 12th avenue, on 6th street. Yes. I know that’s where they live. I’m sure. Yes. Nerfs and snowballs. Okay. Bye.” And he hung up. So we went to their house, and there was paint all over the door. Nerfs were on the ground. We tried to open the door. We had a huge sack of apples. A boy opened the door, and instead of being nice to Lily, we knocked him out. Yes, I know. Mean and rude. But this boy stopped our Jack from getting the chance to have Lily like him!!

-Jeff’s parents


Amber Diaries

If found, please contact Amber Charleston.


Monday, January 20

I can’t believe this is happening to me. I’m in the girl’s bathroom panicking! There is no way I’m going to make it through eighth grade. I just made a complete fool out of myself in front of my crush (Matt)! Oh no!

And to make matters worse, I sit next to Rebecca Hills in just about every class, who, by the way, is the most popular girl in the whole school. Calling her vain is an understatement. She’s a killer shark with sparkly lipstick and a designer jacket. 

But, for some reason, everybody adores her.

Rebecca and I do not get along!

She is always gossiping behind my back saying super mean stuff, like our school mascot Manny wears cuter clothes than me, which could be true, but still, she doesn’t have to say it.

I do not appreciate that girl blabbing about my personal business like that.

Today, Matt asked me to be his partner for math class, and I was so happy that I flipped, and I bet Rebecca was super jealous, because right before French class she said, “He’s mine, Amber, so don’t you dare get close to him, or you’ll be sorry you ever met me.” In my head I said, “Then why does he never pay attention to you?” But on the outside I just ignored her like I always do.

Anyway, I just had the best math class ever, even though all Matt and I did was stare into each other’s eyes like lovesick puppies, and when he said, “Um… Amber could you pass me the pencil” it was so romantic I thought I was going to die.

Tuesday, January 21

Ugh! That was me screaming, by the way. My parents just told me that I’m grounded for three months just for getting an F in math. Geez! Parents can overreact so much sometimes. I bet Rebecca Hills never has these problems. She’s an only child and her parents’ sweet little girl.

And to make matters worse, when I walked into my room I discovered that my two younger siblings, Juli and Lolo, had completely trashed my room — my door was scribbled all over with purple marker. Unfinished homework was flying everywhere. My bed was soaking wet. I couldn’t tell if it was water or pee. Eww. “Mom, Dad, I can’t believe you let Juli and Lolo do this.” Their answer was, “Oh really, um, what did they do? Can’t be that bad, can it?” I was so frustrated with my parents and my siblings I kicked them out of my room and then had a very good private scream.


Wednesday, January 21

Yes! After all the drama from yesterday, I’m happy to have something good to say for once — today was the best day of my life I just won $3,000 dollars in a fashion design competition. Just a week ago my best friends, Estella, Emily, and Luna, entered a dress (without telling me of course) that I had made in second grade. Surprisingly, it won! Who would have thought an old dress would beat Rebecca’s awesome 3D fashion crush designs.

My friends and I are going out for pizza tonight. Then we’re going to go to my house for a celebration party and a sleepover — it’s going to be the best and the good news is: there’s no school tomorrow in honor of me, so we can stay up as late as we want!


Thursday, January 22

Well, the party’s over. I’m kind of sad it’s done. We had the best time. We ate so much junk food and drank so much soda that we were practically bouncing off the walls. Around 5 AM we finally decided to settle in and sleep

We slept till 1PM. By that time it was time for Estella, Emily, and Luna to go home. We said our goodbyes, and they left anyway. I just had the best night of my life!


Monday, January 26 

I cannot believe that girl. I just got home from school to find my entire front yard trashed. Plus our fancy rocking chair was broken, and when I went inside it was an even bigger mess glasses, and bowls were shattered, my siblings’ toys were scattered everywhere, and my entire wardrobe was on the floor. I have to clean this mess up before my parents get home, or I’m going to be in big trouble, and I’ll get all the blame. So excuse me, but I have to clean up a big mess and there’s not enough time to do it.

It’s half past midnight, and I’ve finally finished my homework. I’m so bored. Plus I’m not one bit sleepy — I have nothing to do but play with my Barbie dream house tucked away in my closet in case someone comes to visit. Yes, I’ll admit it. I play with Barbies, but if anyone is reading this, don’t you tell anyone or you’ll be sorry — I’d die of embarrassment if they knew.


Tuesday, January 28

I can’t believe what I just did! Right now I’m lying in bed pretending to be sick all because of my SSSBFF (super super secret best friend forever) Rebecca Rainbow Sparkles, who is the daughter of the senator of Rainbow Republic. I’m not supposed to tell anyone about it, but I figured writing about it wouldn’t hurt. The reason I’m lying in bed is to help Rebecca plan the upcoming war against pink fluffy unicorns, and I totally support her plan to dress up as a boy and join the war, but to make it clear Rebecca Rainbow is not Rebecca Hills. I hate that girl. So when I say Rebecca, I mean my friend, not my enemy. Note to self: Never stay up answering your SSSBFF emails.


Tuesday, January 29

Ahhh! I really don’t think that I’m going to survive this war. Rebecca Hills just joined the pink fluffy unicorns against me. Hopefully I make it out alive.

One year later… 

Okay, this is Amber. Still me, just one year older, and I’m not entirely sure if the war is over, but it seems to have paused for now. Anyway, last night I got the weirdest text from Rebecca saying, What’s your name?, Was it bongly boo boo?, or something like that. And then she made a promise to stop Rebecca Hills from torturing me. I totally believe in her, but let’s face it. There’s only so much a talking rainbow can do.


Friday, January 26

O-M-G! I am so excited. Rebecca is finally coming to the human world to stop Rebecca Hills. I offered to let her stay at my house. She can sleep under my bed, and so far it’s been working out really well. We have so much fun in the night. The only catch is I have to leave meals three times a day. I convinced mom and dad to let me stay home from school for a month if I did all their chores plus my chores in one day. It was a lot of work for one day, but I did it, so now I can spend all day at home!


Monday, January 30 

I am so happy!!! Rebecca just came inside. She’s finally here. I’m going to show her to my room. I’ll be back when I’m done with the tour. Also by the way, Rebecca looked different. She looked like a human. I asked her why, and she said it was a magical disguise. I’m glad she will be easier to hide now that she’s not as big. But I just want to say she looks fabulous. I wish I could have hair like her.

Saturday, February 17

O-M-G!

Today Rebecca and I were at the mall, and guess who showed up?!

Rebecca Hills!!!

We were enjoying ourselves and hanging out when all of a sudden we saw her with her friends. When she spotted me, she smiled one of her big fake smiles and wrapped me in a big “bear hug” as if we had been friends for life (which we had not) and then she walked right up to my face and said, “Amber, I’m so happy to see you. Congrats for winning all that money. Had I known the judges wanted old clothes, I would have brought my little sister’s poodle vomit stained dress.” I was both appalled and insulted by her rude ”compliment.”

Why is my life so miserable?!


Saturday, January 24

I am so nervous. Today Rebecca and I are finally going to get revenge on her by pushing her into the void.

Here’s our plan:

  1. Trick Rebecca into boarding a chariot to Rainbow Republic
  2. Disguise ourselves as pink fluffy unicorns, and when we’re close, we’ll push her in

Though seriously, this disguise might take some getting used to. You might be wondering what the void is. Well, it’s a pitch black space where anyone who falls in disappears forever. I have to go. Our chariot is getting impatient.

O-M-G, we just did it!!!

As soon as she got on, I made sure to act convincing. Boy was she pushy. No wonder the unicorns love her. They’re identical twins separated at birth. Anyway, I looked out the chariot and told her that the view was spellbinding, and just when we were about to enter Rainbow Republic, I pushed her, and she fell into the void never to be seen again.


Epilogue 

Rebecca and Amber went on to live long, exciting lives. Amber moved herself and her whole family to Rainbow Republic and lives there now with her mom, dad, and little brother and sister, who are now two and six. For more info, read pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows.

The Anderson Sisters

Chapter One: Meet the Anderson Sisters

Once there were five girls. They were sisters. They weren’t just sisters. They were orphans, too. They were trying to sleep on the hammocks near the horse pen because they were assigned to that sleep there. But they couldn’t because the horses were so loud. 

The Anderson sisters’ names were Ashlyn, Allison, Alice, Anna, and Audrey. 

Ashlyn and Allison were both nine-year-old twins that had different personalities. Ashlyn always wanted adventure. She was dark haired and had beautiful brown eyes. She was silly and always made Allison laugh. She also wanted to be free. She had a million plans to escape. But their evil orphan teacher was always on the lookout. Allison, however, was shy and had thin, lightish brown hair and rose pink cheeks. She never ever wanted anything to do with adventure. But she wanted to be free too.

Alice was seven years old with a ponytail. She had dark hair like Ashlyn. She was silly and wanted to be free also. Sometimes she would be upset, and she would be impatient with the orphanage teacher. But the orphanage teacher really deserved it.

Anna was five years old and was more silly and rough than Alice. She had blond hair with a few light brown streaks. She was small and never kept things to herself. She was a real chatterbox and always wanted to be the center of attention.

Audrey was three and loved animals (except the scary and mean ones). She wasn’t good at spelling or reading. That’s because their parents died when she was one year old, and the orphanage teacher never taught her. She didn’t exactly speak as much as the others. She had beautiful blond hair. 

That night, the girls at the orphanage were either assigned to sleep on tables, hammocks near loud horses, beds, or cauldrons.

Although the sisters had different personalities, they always worked together, like once when the orphanage teacher made them do the hardest thing in the world (picking veggies and sweet stuff and making a treat out of it).

They never fit in with the other girls in the orphanage. Everyone else had no siblings while the sisters, well, you know, had siblings. So the other girls thought that they would be weird. Also, they didn’t like them because Audrey would cry almost every night about their old dog. 

They used to have a dog named Hamlet, but he ran away after the orphanage teacher threatened to hunt him if he didn’t leave the orphanage. They have missed him forever. 

The orphanage teacher was named Mrs. Quincy. She was very wealthy and had everything she wanted. She wasn’t nice to the orphanage girls. That was because she thought they would go wild if they didn’t follow her orders. So she had been pretty tough and rich.

The Anderson sisters were very busy on their plan to escape that night. It was their turn to sleep on the tables the next night. They were planning to do it at twelve o’clock. But Ashlyn was too excited. She took a newspaper to keep her occupied. 

What is on the news now? she thought as she picked it up from the floor. 

That’s when she saw that the footprint mystery has been solved.


Chapter Two: The Footprint Mystery

The footprint mystery had been going on since four years ago. There was a person who walked in the mountains. Someone found the footprints, and there was a named carved right beside them. It said, Lily Rockstone, but no one knew who Lily Rockstone was. That’s when the footprint mystery began.

Ashlyn has been dying to find out who it was. It turned out that “Lily” was a 16-year-old girl who was an orphan, too. Her mom collapsed in a boulder accident when Lily was three years old. She left the mountains four years ago. All Ashlyn could see of her was her long, dark brown curly hair. Ashlyn was shocked and surprised. She kept reading more about Lily. She was so into it that she didn’t even notice her sisters wake up at twelve o’clock. 

“Ashlyn,” whispered Allison. “Ashlyn!”

“Sorry,” said Ashlyn. “You guys won’t believe what I just read in the newspaper!”


Chapter Three: Escape Plan 264

All the girls were shocked when they heard the news, except Allison.

“Yeah, yeah,” said Allison as the girls paid no attention to her and kept asking Ashlyn questions. “So, the plan, everyone?”

“Yes!” said Ashlyn. “Now we had, like, 262 plans. Right?” 

The girls nodded. 

“Well, this might be our final straw, so make it good!”

After the girls were finishing listening to Ashlyn’s instructions, they leaped into the air and landed on the fire escape. But Anna’s stomp was way too loud, and Mrs. Quincy woke up. 

All the girls glared at Anna. 

“What?!” exclaimed Anna. 

I see you!” screeched Mrs. Quincy. “Get back here!” 

The girls raced for their lives, but it was too late. The girls got trapped. 

Mrs. Quincy dragged them all the way to the orphanage. 

“Guess what?” said Mrs. Quincy in a weird voice. “How about you spend the night in the snowflake?”

Oh no! thought Ashlyn. The “snowflake” wasn’t nearly as cute or pretty as it sounded. 

The snowflake was an awful dome that was below temperature. Girls would go in there if they tried to escape from the orphanage or did something really bad, like the sisters did just a few minutes ago.

There were still girls from about 30 years ago stuck there all frozen. 

Mrs. Quincy led them to the “snowflake.”

“In you go,” she said. 

She shoved them in, and they were freezing already.

They slowly ran almost all the way to the end of the snowflake. 

Once there, they found sticks and coal and frames and wood and bricks!

They built a warm house there in no time! 

They also tried to discover who killed their mom. They know who killed their dad and who killed the murderer who killed their dad.

It happened two years ago. Ashlyn saw a dark man. He had a suitcase. Then when their dad just opened the door, they saw a crazy stranger that looked like a robber. Then he killed their dad. Then some other stranger killed the robber. When they ran away, they heard crying. Then mumbling. Then loud noises. Then the next thing they knew, they were knocked out and in a strange place called the orphanage.

They had no idea what happened to their mom.

“Okay, people,” said Ashlyn. “We need to escape and find where our mom is.” 

“First things first,” said Allison. “Get your suitcases.” 

The girls quickly got their suitcases, clothes, cookie jars, and books. 

“Okay,” said Anna, munching the sixth sugar cookie she had that evening. “Whath nexth?” 

“Now, who’s a really good climber?” asked Ashlyn. 

“Me! Me!” said Allison.

“Are you really strong?” asked Ashlyn suspiciously.

“Positive,” said Allison.

“You sure?”

Yes!!!

“Okay, Alice. Can you tie ropes?”

“Yep,” said Alice.

“Okay. Allison, after I throw the rope really high so that it goes over the hole on top of the dome, you climb up the rope to the top. I need you to carry each of us one by one. But first carry Alice to the top, so she can tie the rope on the hole. Then after you take all of us. I will get the luggage. Are we good?” said Ashlyn cheerfully with a thumb up. 

The girls nodded.

“Great! I’ll go check on Mrs. Quincy,” said Ashlyn. She put her coat on, grabbed all the luggage, and secretly crept out of the dome. The other girls couldn’t do this because they weren’t really trained to. 

Ms. Quincy was in her fancy room, on her bed.

Ashlyn noticed a frame on top of Ms. Quincy’s desk. 

Ashlyn didn’t have time to see who was on it. She had to meet her sisters on time. 

Ashlyn got to the door and waited behind a fire escape. Her sisters were running down the fire escape next.

“Free!” Ashlyn whisper shouted. They went to a bush to rest.


AL the Alien

In a world very, very far away, there lived an alien named AL. He was a very good Sweed, the species of alien. One day, he was in Sweed’s camp for boys. They were going to sell cookies to other Sweeds.

“Hello,” I said from the table to a man walking around.

Hello,” he said back, staring straight at me. Trust me, it was creepy. 

“Do you want some cookies? It’s only 20 ockes a b — ”

No!” 

“Why?” I asked. I didn’t know anyone who would not take a box of cookies from us. 

Because I said so!” 

I could not hold it in. I started laughing like crazy. “You never said ‘so!’” I managed to say. I thought that he would be smart enough to know that.

Aahhh!” he yelled.

I noticed that he was getting bigger by the second. He was also getting boxier. He was a Gacter, the Sweed’s mortal enemy!

I did not know what to do. But then, I remembered our safety code. 

“Ghfksotkswlbjsjuf!” I yelled.

This means that my friends would come and help me with what I needed. In this case, destroying the Gacter.

“Here!” said all of my friends, Fany, Eswat, Yater, and Gutony.

I told them about the problem. What happened next was awesome. First, you need to know that we have magic powers. When we think about a happy moment, a dim spiral of light comes out of our antenna and can destroy small life forms and plants. However, if we combine all of our spirals of light, we can destroy a Gacter, if we wanted to. 

“Go!” I yelled.

All my friends did. I thought of when I won the SSEHC tournament and got a gold medal. A dim spiral of light came from my antenna, and same with my friends. It created a black ball of power, and then, bam!

“We won!” I yelled.

The Gacter was dead, and we were getting azzip (pizza) at the best restaurant. We did it.

THE END


Glooey Glob the Alien

Glooey Glob is a very weird alien, as you probably already know. 

He’s green, like normal aliens, and his name is Glooey Glob.

He can transform into any forms he wants, like a tiny skyscraper, or a scary monster with razor-sharp teeth. (If you touch them, they feel so squishy and sink back in)

Glooey Glob wants to be able to do something else than just show off; he really wants to eat human food. 

For him, it’s like, well, he doesn’t know because he never tried, but it looks and smells so good.

Oh! But how is he able to smell? Good question.

He thinks of transforming into a mouth, tries to put food in it, but before he can do anything, the mouth sticks back together. 

The substance of his body is made of this kind of weird jello that you can see through, except with a weird eyeball in the middle. Glooey Glob can’t talk (but he can scream). 

He can’t eat because he has no mouth, though he does not need to.

Well actually, he can have a giant mouth that squishes down right when something goes in it! 

One day, Glooey Glob gets up, but when Glooey Glob gets up, for him he just transforms into something taller than a squishy puddle. 

Today is a big day, the day to do his plan he has been working on for weeks, the day he gets to eat foooooooooddd!!!

To hold his mouth when he is going to eat food, he thinks of putting sticks to keep it up. 

But then, there is another problem. 

He sees there are a lot of humans near the human food.

So, he goes to his old friend, whose name is Non Glooey Glob (he is not glooey), 

and borrows human clothes. 

Glooey Glob goes out and would go and get some food, except he realizes he has no human money. 

Then, he sees someone taking out money from their bag, and rushes up, secretly takes the bill, and gets back to buy some food.

Except, he steps on the person’s foot and the human says, 

“Help someone is stealing my money!”

Every single human looks at Glooey Glob, and Glooey Glob is scared he will be discovered, so he stands as still as a stick. 

The problem is, when he thinks about a stick, it makes him transform into a stick!

So, the clothes he is wearing fall off and everybody sees he is an alien, and they all scream out,

“An alien! An alien!” 

Weird things called cars with lights flashing and people in blue start coming out,

toward him. 

So, he thinks that transforming into a tree, and blending in with the other trees around would maybe make them not see him. 

But, apparently, his idea is bad because a tree cannot move. 

He is taken by the humans in blue, and brought to this weird place with metal bars in front of him, a bed that he did not know how to use, and toilets that he thought might be a good way to take a bath.

After he has enjoyed his small bath, he does not know if the bars were supposed to stop him from leaving or not, but he just transforms into a snake and slides through them to then transform back into a human-ish form.

He starts walking around, looking for something to do. 

He sees a door with a sign that says “cafeteria” and thinks it might be good to investigate. 

But when his one eye sees what is inside, he runnnnnns in, and screams

“Foooooooooddd!!!”

But the only sound that comes out is, 

“Oaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeee!!!”

Because, remember, he can’t talk.

Well after that you would think there would be no food left, but the problem is when Glooey Glob eats, the food has nowhere to go, so it just shoots back out with slimy bits on it.

So after a few minutes, all that was left was food everywhere, a nice and happy Glooey Glob, and a very mad cook.

When the cook sees Glooey Glob, he runs and says, “Help, guards, help!!!”

A bunch of humans in blue come and take Glooey Glob to a room almost the same as the other one, with a bed and toilets (for him a small bath). The only thing that is different is instead of metal bars, there is a door.

This time he was sure he was not supposed to escape.

He thinks humans are dumb because there is a latch that can be opened on the side of the door, so he opens it to escape, but on the other side is a tray of food, so he takes it and swallows it instantly. 

After that, he hears the bell ring, and out of nowhere a voice says, “Lunchtime! Everybody head to the cafeteria!” 

So, he remembers the word on the door and runs to the door! He sees a bunch of other prisoners. 

They all have an orange outfit, and he is jealous he didn’t get one. 

When Glooey Glob first arrived, they were about to give him one of those outfits, but he doesn’t get why they took it back after trying it on (because he obviously did not fit).

In the cafeteria, after about five minutes, all that was left was a bunch of humans in orange lined to the wall, trying to dodge from the food flying everywhere, that obviously was Glooey Glob eating. 

This is what happens when Glooey Glob eats: it looks like a giant monster with a thousand hands (not exaggerating). 

Each of them is holding a piece of food, trying to be the first one to put it in the big mouth that was not even chewing them, but ejecting them right out.

After a while, more humans in blue came and when they saw the mess, they ran out.

A week went by, every day the same, the humans eating and eating the same food in the cafeteria. every human in the prison left giving the whole prison to Glooey Glob.

But this day is special because a lot of humans in blue come and have this pokey thing that they use and poke the jello, and then Glooey Glob passes out.

Glooey Glob wakes up in a circular room, but before he can do anything, there is a big rumbling sound and then, 

“Five, four, three, two, one, blast off!!!”

Glooey Glob goes to a window that is circular and when he looks out, he sees blasts of smoke and fire under him. 

Then he realizes that he is moving upward toward the sky, and suddenly he is scared that he will never come back.

It has been a week, and Glooey Glob has just been sitting there the whole time in the circular room.

And then he suddenly sees an opening in the ceiling that he never saw before.

So, he tries going through it.

When he goes through it, he sees a lot of humans running around, some of them pushing on buttons all around, some of them putting on weird suits, and some of them eating food!

He has missed that thing for so long! 

So he runs up to it and grabs it, and doesn’t even worry about making a mouth. He just sticks it into his skin and it shoots right back out. Every human looks at him with a scared look, and all of them disappear into a different room. 

But then, he realizes no one is pushing the buttons! 

And the whole place is starting to slow down! 

He thinks, “Oh, if I control this thing, I can bring it back to earth.” 

So, he starts pressing weird buttons, but when he presses one button, he hears a loud screeeech from the door the humans went through, and the door detaches, and on the other side he sees darkness. 

After looking for a few more seconds, he sees the part of the spacecraft that detached and thinks it is pretty funny, that it is just this weird square thing in the middle of nowhere. 

So, he just goes back to his work, pressing buttons.

After a few more buttons, the spaceship kind of turns right, and after a few more minutes, he starts getting really hot, and sees this giant ball of fire.

And he’s heading straight for it! 

But, when he’s about to touch it, the spaceship just starts disappearing into smaller pieces, kind of like melting metal. 

But then, he touches the hot surface. 

For him, it’s as if he was taking a little bath, just a little hotter. 

After a while, swimming underneath, he starts feeling that heat go into him, like starting to actually feel the heat. 

So, he tries weirdly swimming back to the surface of the fire and lava. 

He bursts out, and instead of him starting to go back in, he just flies away, towards nothingness.

After a day of flying and nothingness, not being able to do the slightest thing, he sees a giant rock flying in the middle of nothing, and he is about to collide with it. 

He wants to dodge it, but in nothingness, he can’t move. 

So, he splats straight into the rock, and re-forms immediately, but then he feels the rock moving really fast, and he’s being pulled with it.

He can finally kind of move around on the rock. 

He sees it’s way bigger than he thinks. It’s about 30-feet long, and 15-feet high. 

And then he sees a small hole in it. When he goes in, he sees this really weird kind of creature that has eight eyes, and one leg. 

So, he comes up to it, and asks what’s going on, and then he says “Hello, what is this place?” 

But all that comes out is “Greak, glaa as scke ascrh.”

But surprisingly, the other creature seemed to understand, and responds,

“Rekiegl rk ro kreak rkar!”

Which means, in Alien language, “Welcome to my giant rock!”

Glooey Glob says, “Do you know how to go to earth?”

Alien says, “Simple! You just use my teleportation machine!”

Glooey Glob says, “What is a teleportation machine?”  

The alien says, “It’s a machine that will transport your body in a second to anywhere you want. But I can only take you to the moon, because I don’t want to be seen on earth.”

“So, can I use your machine?” Glooey Glob says.

“Aw, you don’t want to stay for a little longer?” the sad alien says.

“Well, I really want to eat food, and I’m really going to die if I don’t eat food,” Glooey Glob says. (Even though he does not need food).

“Well, okay, follow me!” says the alien.

He brings Glooey Glob into this stone cavern, and through the side, there’s what looks like a toilet. 

Which is what Glooey Glob thinks is the bath. 

The alien brings him to the toilets, and pushes a button next to it. 

And says, “To the moon!” 

The water in the toilet turns purple, and the alien jumps in. 

Glooey Glob follows. 

It feels like something is sucking him through nothingness, but it’s not like nothingness he’s been around; it’s purple nothingness.

Glooey Glob gets up and sees he’s on another asteroid, but this one is way, way, way bigger, and in the distance, he sees… earth!

Next to him is the sad alien and the toilet.

The alien says “Well, good luck,” and jumps into the toilet, disappearing with it.

Glooey Glob looks around and notices a stick with a piece of cloth on it near a spaceship, and humans around it jumping really high. 

But these humans are not normal humans — they have giant helmets that have a big piece of round glass and they are way bigger and have white suits. 

Glooey Glob, knowing that the humans will probably run away when he gets close, stays far away, but get closer and closer to the spaceship. 

When he gets there, he goes in, notices a human, but doesn’t mind, and goes to lock the doors. 

When the human sees him lock the door, he gets all scared, and screams out for the other human, but it’s too late! 

The spaceship starts going up as Glooey Glob starts pressing button after button in the control room. 

The humans that are still on the moon try jumping up towards the spaceship, but without luck, and fall back down, and stay there forever.

Another two days passed and Glooey Glob finally managed to tell the human to go back to earth, because obviously the spaceship is just going in a circle right now, with Glooey Glob controlling it. 

The human is really scared, but he still controls the spaceship back home, because this monster is going to be rewarded for bringing it back to earth.

So, another day passes, and Glooey Glob finally sees clouds around, and well, the human says something weird like, “Take this parachute and jump off!” but Glooey Glob doesn’t get what he means, and he is thinking to go eat tacos. 

The human starts running around the ship, grabbing weird material, and then he says, “Gooooo!” and jumps off the ship. 

Glooey Glob thinks this is a little weird, because he noticed the humans aren’t as squishy as him, and will probably not manage to survive the hit. But, he doesn’t care. He’s jumping off to go get tacos.

After a few minutes of freefall, he sees the human flying around with giant wings that are like 10 feet over him, and is wondering how the human is holding onto them. 

But, he doesn’t know what is happening, so he just forgets about the human, and finally lands on a weird blue surface he’s never seen before, besides in a bath. So, thinking it’s bath time, he does his usual bath, splitting into 15 pieces, and then splitting into another five pieces, and the biggest piece is juggling with the smaller pieces. After a while, the human finally arrives for bathtime, but he looks like he’s scared of the bath, because he goes onto a little floaty that is yellow with two other humans in it, and they are looking like they were waiting for him. 

The boat starts going toward Glooey Glob, and Glooey Glob, thinking it is a scary monster that is ruining his bath, tries going away, but because he is thinking of an elephant, but it’s really not working to try and swim away. 

So, they grab him, put him in the boat, and the boat starts going back towards a big tall mountain that he recognizes as the mountain right next to his house! 

Getting there, he starts walking towards the mountain, and wanting to say goodbye to the humans for bringing him back home, tries to do a nice hug. 

But, the humans are super scared of being hugged by a giant jello monster, and take out a weird looking item, click on a button on it, and a weird black ball shoots out of it, and goes through him. 

Thinking it’s a funny thing, he transforms into a piece of cheese with a bunch of holes that are the same size as the black ball. 

The human, looking even more scared, starts running away with his two other friends. Not really caring about what he was doing, he starts walking home, maybe, just maybe, having fun with a few more humans walking past.

But, without taking too much time, he arrives at his house and notices a small piece of paper on his doorstep (which is a mousehole). 

The thing is, he has a giant underground castle, but a super small door that is the size of a mouse hole. 

Glooey Glob transforms into a snake, passes through the door, grabs the piece of paper along the way, but has a hard time fitting it through the hole. 

After a few attempts at pulling it as a snake, he thought of transforming into a pair of big tweezers, which was way easier than to grab the piece of paper. 

When he reads it (it is in Alien language) he notices it is a recipe for cake! 

Which he remembers as Foooooooood!

And realizes the person who sent it is his friend, Cakeman. 

Glooey Glob is so happy to be home, especially to be able to make cake. 

But, that’s another story.

The End. 

Olivia Kokoefer

Chapter One

There once was a bowl of ramen named Olivia Kokoefer. Olivia, no matter what, would never eat bread or sandwiches cut diagonally. Never. She had kept this up for the 11 years she had been alive for. Olivia is unique. She also has unique qualities. For example, she can float magically from any height down to the ground with an umbrella, like Mary Poppins. Another one of her unique qualities is that her limbs are as skinny as a stick person’s. Although Olivia has some odd qualities, her appearance is mostly normal (other than the fact that she’s a bowl of ramen). She is the average height of an 11-year-old bowl of ramen and has short, wavy black hair. 

Olivia doesn’t necessarily go to school. She just sits at home on the counter. For her it’s quite exciting. She finds it exciting mostly because her human mom won’t let anybody eat her, and Olivia finds it funny what people will do to resist eating her. Once somebody tried to kidnap her. After that, her mom just put other not alive bowls of ramen on the counter. It kind of worked. Now Olivia just floats away when somebody glances over their shoulder to look at her. 

It may seem like Olivia lives her life without a care in the world, but that’s not true. Going to school is where most people meet their friends, and she kind of missed out on that, so now her only friend is her mom. You could consider her friends with the people who try to eat her because she sees them a lot, but Olivia doesn’t think about it that way. One day, she decided that having no friends was seriously getting to be an issue, so Olivia jumped off the counter and opened up her umbrella. It was time for an adventure (around her house, but still very exciting).

Whoosh, Olivia flew by holding onto her umbrella. Olivia does have feet. She just preferred the umbrella. When Olivia is in her Mary Poppins mode, she can control where the umbrella goes, straight, left, right, backwards, up, anywhere. Olivia flew by and took a few turns until she realized her mom went to work! She saw a truck and hopped onto the back. Now it was actually going to be an adventure.


Chapter Two

Olivia made herself comfortable over the watermelons that were spread over the bed of the truck. It was a little hard because the watermelons were big, hard lumps. Olivia stays in her house 50 percent of the time, but her mom likes to take her to her work, and sometimes they go on tours around town. After awhile, Olivia started to recognize where she was, her mom’s work. The truck didn’t slow down. It was going around 25 miles per hour. She would have to jump. The thought that went through her mind was, If I can do this, I’ll have two ways of getting out of the car. Plus she was also thinking, Ahhhhhhhh! She took three deep breaths and jumped.

Olivia opened her eyes and saw white around her. She was in heaven. Olivia saw many relatives that had passed away. 

“Grandma?” Olivia asked.

In her mind, she was in what she thought was heaven, while in reality she was just laying on the ground saying, “Grandma?”

People started to stare. When she opened her eyes and stood up, she saw she wasn’t in heaven. Olivia stood up and looked around. Suddenly, she saw her mom’s company, Clara and Kriss’s Upholstery. Clara was a good friend of her mom’s. They had started the company together. Olivia had to take two crosswalks to get to the building. But she wasn’t the kind of ramen that knew how to cross the street on her own. Her mom always carried her across. She just remembered to stay inside the striped lines on the ground, so she marched forward and figured nothing could happen. A car suddenly sped by right in front of her face.

The entire time Olivia was screaming, “Ahhhhhhhhh!”

She decided to run the rest of the crosswalk. When she approached the next crosswalk, there was a small white person in a black box. Plus everyone else was walking, so she decided to go. Finally, she reached the building. It was a tall, rectangular building that always smelled good. It was basically a really clean warehouse on the inside. Olivia never really understood why people needed doors, so she never really bothered to know what they look like or how to use them. She walked forward, stuck her little stick arms out, and walked straight into a wall. She fell flat on her back and tried again, this time in a different spot. She found what she thought was the door and walked towards it. Again, she fell flat on her back. She got up again and decided to ask somebody where the door was.

She walked into a crowd of people and asked gently, “Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the door?”

A woman with long brown hair turned around and looked at Olivia. On the woman’s name tag were the words, Clara Tjen. Suddenly, Olivia recognized this person! It was her mom’s old business partner, until she left to do some other job that she didn’t tell them about. Clara suddenly picked her up and started running. At first, Olivia thought she was heading in the direction of the door, but then she put her in the back of a sketchy white van and drove away. Olivia started to get more nervous and worried as they got closer to their destination. All she was thinking was, Nothing good can come of this ‘adventure.’

Fifteen minutes later, the old, creaky sliding door slid open. Olivia got onto her feet, and she looked up to see a man with seriously messed up yellow teeth and a bad haircut.

He picked her up and walked halfway to the door to hear Clara say, “I’ll be back later. There were sightings of a talking orange.”

The man nodded and kept walking towards the door. Olivia noticed that Clara had a strangely deep voice. She was also thinking, How dare they compare me to a talking orange! When the man opened the door, Olivia looked around and saw different foods with some sort of ability being tortured in some way, as if they were taking their powers! Tubes were coming out from their chests and into a huge watermelon. What are they doing? thought Olivia. She finally realized they were going to do the same thing to her! She had to make a run for it! She opened her umbrella and attempted to fly away. Sadly, she looked around, and she was still in the man’s arms. She tried again. No success. Until she finally flew!

“Sweet victory!” she yelled.

She was free! Then, she took a wrong turn and banged into one of the poles in this, well, interesting building. Olivia laid there for around 20 minutes. She glanced at her wrist, remembering she could never get a watch because her wrist was too small, and all the ones that did fit her were incredibly expensive. She looked around and noticed a clock on the wall. Since she never went to school, she never learned how to read time. And she never bothered to ask her mom how to read time, so let’s just say she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Olivia thought to herself, I really should just go to school. That really would solve a lot of my problems! Olivia looked up to see the same man with five others looking at her too.

“Get back to work!” a tall woman who looked like she could beat anybody in a physical confrontation barked.

Like Clara, this woman also had a name tag, but her straight, black hair was blocking part of it, so all she saw was, Soph and ng. Olivia didn’t recognize her, but she also didn’t not recognize her. It’s like she was around when Olivia was just a small cup of ramen or something like that. The woman picked Olivia up, looked left and right, and headed for the bathroom. Was she trying to save her? The woman sat her down on the edge of the bathroom sink, looked at her closely, and looked all directions, even under the bathroom stalls.

“Run,” the woman said and then put Olivia on the floor and motioned for the door near the back of the room.

Olivia nodded and headed for the door.

I guess she was going too slow because the woman had to say, “Go, go now,” a lot.

Olivia began to pick up the pace, but again she never learned how to use a door, so she slammed right into it like she did with the other door, plus the pole too. Again she fell flat on her back. The woman sighed and shook her head. She ran over (it was actually more of a casual jog) and pushed the door open. Olivia watched her open the door for future reference. The woman motioned with her hand for her to go be free in the dark, scary alleyway. Olivia began down the road and looked back to say “thank you” to the woman, but she had already turned around. Her hair spun around and revealed more of her name tag. It read Sophia Wong. Though Olivia now knew this mysterious person’s name, she still was not sure who this person was.

Olivia continued down the alleyway until she heard a low growl coming from some old trash cans a few feet away. Olivia stopped and looked straight at the trash cans. There were no signs of movement. Then, Olivia heard the low growl again, only this time it sounded closer, much closer. She turned around and saw a huge black dog, slobber running from its snout. The dog looked rather skinny, as if it hadn’t eaten in a while. Olivia slowly started to walk in the other direction, then she turned around and began to run, still only looking at the dog. Bang! Olivia hit a fence. She thought to herself, How can such an awesome bowl of ramen hit so many things?! The dog crept closer. This time it seemed much more angry.

The dog kept creeping closer to Olivia, when a person suddenly said, “Frankie, don’t traumatize the ramen.”

The person got closer. It was hard for Olivia to get a good look at the person because the dog was blocking her view. The thing she could see was, like Clara and Sophia, he had a name tag, only she couldn’t read his. The man finally picked up the dog, and it turned out it was actually quite a small dog. The man was wearing a blazer and a turtle neck along with, what looked like, fancy pants. This man was not like the others. He had a nice haircut, smelled good, and had very straight, white teeth. 

“Hello, Olivia,” the man said in a calm, evil voice, like the one bad guys in movies use. “I’ve been waiting for you.” He looked at Olivia and laughed quietly. “I have plans for you,” he said, along with his evil, slow laugh.


Chapter Three

Olivia opened her eyes to see at least half a dozen men standing in a circle around something. She waited for her eyes to focus. Finally, she saw it. It was a talking orange with ropes wrapped around its arms and legs, plus duct tape over its mouth. Olivia was startled when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned and saw the same man from before, the well dressed one. The man plopped her down next to the orange. The orange turned and looked directly into Olivia’s eyes. Chills went down her spine when she saw the fear in his eyes. A rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins, as if her body was telling her, Run!!! But Olivia refused to. Every bad scenario happened either because she hadn’t gone to school or because she attempted to run. She was going to stay put with this orange.

Olivia turned and caught a glimpse of somebody tied up in the closet. Who was that? Olivia thought to herself. The evil man strode by Olivia and the orange. He kept walking until he reached a wooden door. He wrenched it open and disappeared into the room. Finally somebody walked out. It was Clara! She’s here to save me! Olivia hoped, until she remembered Clara was the one who snatched her into the van in the first place.

Three hours later, Olivia was starting to get hungry. She looked around and didn’t see anything. She stood up but fell back down because the orange pulled her down, plus she was tied up with ropes too. The orange gestured to the duct tape covering his mouth. She got the hint and ripped it off when no one was looking.

He whispered into Olivia’s ear, “I have a plan.”

“You want to do what?!” Olivia exclaimed a little too loudly.

One of the men in the circle around them turned around but didn’t seem to have heard anything. 

“You want to do what?” Olivia said quieter this time.

The orange shot her a look clearly saying, Was I not clear? 

Olivia looked around and thought, Is this a good idea? She finally decided.

Olivia leaned over and whispered into the orange’s ear, “Let’s do this thing.” 

The orange smiled from ear to ear. They were ready.

After ‘rehearsing’ several times, the plan was in motion.

 “Remember, you fly away and distract the men while I run into the escape hole.” The orange gestured to a small hole, big enough for a bowl of ramen and an orange, but too small for a human. “Then I’ll distract the men while you run into the hole, and we’ll have sweet victory!”

Olivia nodded, remembering the time she thought she had sweet victory. She wasn’t sure if the plan would work, but she didn’t want to tamp down the orange’s enthusiasm, and she did not want to have to make up a plan of her own, so she went with it. 

Olivia took three deep breaths and thought, Go big and go home. First, she untied the orange. It was a bit of a struggle to try and untie him with stick arms, plus trying to do it without being seen. It was a little easier than it would’ve been if she didn’t have stick arms, because who can tightly tie stick arms together? The orange pretended like he was still tied up, then he nodded to the direction of the dining room table behind the wall of men watching a football game and drinking beer, gesturing to fly over there. Then, one of them stood up, creating an opening. Consequently, Olivia opened up her umbrella and glided right in between them. She wanted them to notice her, but not quite yet. Sadly, she accidentally clipped one of the men’s ears and caught their attention a little too soon. She looked behind the men to try and see whether or not the orange had made it in the escape hole that the rats use, and yes there are rats! At first she couldn’t see him, but then she looked at the spot where they were tied up before and saw his big foot stuck in the edge of the carpet. She had to save him or else the men would get both of them. Suddenly, she had a plan.


Chapter Four

Swoop in, grab the orange, and fly to the escape hole. Swoop in, grab the orange, and fly to the escape hole. Olivia repeated to herself over and over. She didn’t have much time to rethink her plan because half the men were just starting to realize Olivia was free and just hovering in the air, while the other half of the men were processing the fact that the orange was attempting to escape. All in all, they could agree the “very well-thought-out” plan was failing miserably. Olivia flew through the small crowd of clueless men and grabbed the orange’s hand. To Olivia’s surprise, the orange came out of the crack really easily.

“Well, that was a close one!” Olivia exclaimed.

She was so surprised by how easy it was. She accidentally went out a door and into the world. However, this was better than the hole, much better. Olivia landed in a nearby park. When she looked behind her, she realized she wasn’t holding onto the orange’s hand. She was holding onto a smooth twig. You have got to be kidding me! Who holds a twig in the air! Olivia, without even thinking, flew back to the building. She landed on the window sill and tiptoed in through the door, as not to alarm anybody. When she looked left and right, there was nobody there. She flew backwards to notice she went to the wrong building. Olivia jumped out the doorway and headed out the window. She flew to the right building this time and did the same thing. She landed on the window sill and quietly headed in the doorway. She looked left and right again. This time she saw the men flinging something into the closet where she saw the other thing or person from before. The orange! Olivia thought and, well, hoped. She raced in through the crack in the doorway before it closed.

“What was that?!” one of the men asked, but then didn’t seem to care after a while.

Olivia glanced around the corner. Nothing. Then, around the other corner. Nothing. She walked forward and, yet again, bumped into something. Olivia fell flat on her face.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” a voice said from the shadows.

Olivia, rubbing her bowl, looked up to see a very slim figure that seemed to be sitting on a chair.

“Mmm hmm,” Olivia mumbled.

She looked closely at the figure. Again she couldn’t make out when or where she might’ve encountered this person before. Olivia realized one of the only solutions would be to use her communication skills.

“Hello?” Olivia mumbled/whispered.

She could see the figure readjusting in their seat. The more Olivia examined this person, the more she came to the conclusion it was a woman whom she’d met before. 

“Yes?” the woman replied hopefully.

Who is that? Olivia kept thinking to herself. She felt somebody pick her up and put her on their lap. The woman leaned forward and turned on the light in the small closet. 

Olivia put her stick arm up to block the blinding light. She finally took her arm away. She saw a woman with long, wavy brown hair. Olivia looked at this person as if it was someone she used to be very close friends with.

“Do I know you?” Olivia said, hoping for an answer.

“That hurts,” the woman mumbled. “I am your mom’s business partner.”

Olivia racked her brain to think of who this person might be. Finally, a name popped into her head. Was it Clara?

“Clara?” Olivia asked, “Clara Tjen?” Olivia then thought, No, it can’t be her. She left here earlier! 

“Yes!” Clara laughed with joy.

“But you left here earlier. How are you here?” Olivia asked.

Clara sighed and said, “Let me explain.”


Chapter Five

“Uh-huh, you expect me to believe that you were kidnapped and shoved in this closet while a man put on your clothes?” Olivia asked as she sat in Clara’s lap. 

“This is why I don’t chat with talking food anymore,” Clara mumbled.

“What was that?” Olivia asked.

“Nothing.” 

“Have you seen a talking orange recently?”

“You mean that one?” Clara asked as she pointed to the back of the room.

Olivia turned her head to see an orange duct taped to a wall.

“You duct taped him to a wall?” Olivia asked.

“Yep,” Clara replied.

Olivia nodded, and then they high-fived.

“Nice job,” Olivia told her old friend.

“We need a plan to get out of here,” Clara said. “You guys had an interesting plan I watched play out a while ago.”

Olivia looked over to the orange and asked, “Who holds a super smooth stick in the air?”

“Did you keep it?” he asked

“Nope, I threw it out the window. It didn’t appear useful in any way.” Olivia smiled at the orange as if to say, Ha.

“Back to making a plan, people. We need to get out of here, those people are monsters!” Clara encouraged. “Who came up with that last plan?”

“I did the first one. The ‘rescue mission’ one was her idea,” the orange replied.

“So, Olivia is the better plan maker,” Clara said. 

“Why don’t we just sneak out the window right on the other side of this door? It’s like right there,” Olivia replied, agreeing with Clara that she was the better plan maker.

“Sure, why not?” Clara asked.

The orange stayed taped to the wall in awe by how simple and flaw-ful their plan was.

“I’d like to see how that turns out for you two,” the orange added.

“Oh no, mister, you’re coming with us,” Clara and Olivia said in unison.

Clara walked to the back of the closet and untaped the orange. Clara held the orange as Olivia quietly crept over to the door.

“Now, there could be a group of men right there, so be cautious,” Olivia warned.

Olivia very quietly crept the door open, as Clara tiptoed up next to her. Olivia peered out of the opening between the door and the doorway. Nothing. Where is everybody? Clara peered out above Olivia and also saw nothing.

“They must be on their lunch break!” Clara said, nodding her head.

“Really, you knew they had a lunch break the whole time?!” Olivia asked.

Clara just shrugged and motioned for Olivia to go towards the window. Olivia hurried to the window and sat on the ledge and waited for Clara and the orange to get there.

“Let’s go, let’s go, people!” Olivia rushed.

Clara and the orange ran over.

“Hold on to me somewhere, and I’ll fly us to wherever you guys want to go,” Olivia said.

Clara grabbed onto Olivia’s leg, and the orange grabbed onto Olivia’s other leg. Olivia opened up her umbrella, and they flew!

“Where to, orange?” Olivia asked as if she were a bus driver.

“Right here on top of that house,” the orange replied.

Olivia looked to the right and saw a whole bunch of oranges standing on the roof of a short building waving their arms side to side. Olivia landed right next to the parade of oranges and set the orange down.

“Thank you!” the oranges told Olivia.

“No problem,” Olivia replied as she flew away. “Where to, Clara?”

“Over there,” Clara exclaimed as she pointed to a tall apartment building next to a grocery store.

Olivia landed on the top and said her final goodbyes to Clara as she flew off to her house.

A few minutes later, she was in her house knocking on the door. Her mom opened the door and greeted her with a huge hug.

“I missed you!” her mom told her as they were hugging. “But it’s time to go to bed, so shoo shoo.”

Olivia headed upstairs to go to bed. She got under the covers and said, “Oh well, one day I’ll have some friends.”

“Hello?” a muffled voice asked.

Olivia sat up.

“Yes?” she said. “Who’s there?”

“Us!” they said.

Olivia looked around but couldn’t seem to see anything.

“Up here, in your bowl!” one voice said.

Olivia looked in her mirror and saw a whole bunch of foods in her bowl waving. Olivia smiled. She had friends!

THE END


the big issue

Crash is the sound I hear. I quickly grab my brother. He was hit in the crash. I throw him out my door just before I get out. I grab my phone and call 911. The ambulance arrives. I help them take my brother in the car, and they drive away with me running. I trip. Bang, I hear as my head hits the pavement. I reach for my phone. Dang. It broke when it hit the pavement. My vision is fading. I prepare myself for a bright light, but it doesn’t come. Then I pass out. I wake up in the hospital next to my brother, who isn’t moving. I’m worried. The doctor comes in.

I ask him, “What happened?”

He says I fell, but I don’t understand. I have fallen before. Why is this different?

Then I ask, “Is my brother okay?”

He says, “He’s fine, just in a coma.”

Then I ask, “Where are my parents?”

He says, “Outside.”

Then I say, “Wait, what happened to my brother?”

He says, “He was with you in the car.”

I say, “I wasn’t hurt?”

He says, “You were not.”

“How about my parents?” I say.

He says, “Your parents were not harmed.”

Three days later… 

“But Mom, I don’t want a new car. I will not get in it in my whole life.”

“Yes you will,” says Mom.

“No I won’t,” I say.

“Okay, no dinner for you,” says Mom.

“Fine, I would rather not eat than take another chance at death,” I say.

Four days later… 

“Fine, I’ll get in the car,” I say as I take a load of food and put it on my plate.

One day later… 

I get in the car, horrified of what happened one week ago.


Cloudy With a Chance of War

Chapter One

One day in Southern Foodafonia, the King of the Hot Dog Empire called a meeting with the Lord of Hambergria.

“We must go to war!” shouted King Hot Dog.

“With who?” asked Lord Hamburger, who was more intelligent than the hot dog.

“The humans!” shouted King Hot Dog.

“Okay?” said Lord Hamburger.

Back in human land… 

“La la la!” shouted the King of Lord of King 2 of Human Land. “I am so cool!!” he shouted. 

“King!” shouted a random person who ran into the throne room/bathroom/kitchen/cheese storage.

“King Hot Dog and Lord Hamburger have gone to battle!”

“With who?” asked the king.

“With you!” screamed the very random person.

“How do you know?” asked the king.

“Because they told me,” answered the person. 

“What? How? Why did they tell you?” asked the king.

“They told me, so I can kill you!”

Then he fell down. Confused, the king looked around the room.

“Die!!!” 


Chapter Two 

The King of Humans spun around and saw a hot dog running from the person who was actually a hot dog in a costume. The king ran from the room, shouting more curse words than a normal person should know — with the hot dog still running after him. The king ran into the town and jumped into the well. The hot dog fell into the water and died.

One hour later… 

After the king was pulled out of the well, he made an announcement. “The hot dogs have attacked us! They tried to kill me! And they ruined this nice shirt I had on — but anyway! We will now go to war! To war! To war!! To war!!!


Chapter Three

“Sir!” said the man.

“What do you want?” snapped the general of the weapon makers of the humans.

“The king needs 40 cannons by Flusday!” said the man.

“Fine,” said the general.

“Oh, also can you make me a carrot gun?” asked the man.

“Why?” asked the general.

“For fun,” replied the man.

“Okay,” said the general.

“Excellent… excellent!” said the man who was rubbing his hands together.

“Wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo!” screamed the Hot Dog King as he danced on the toilet. “Wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo!” he shouted.

“Uh… what are you doing?” asked Lord of Hambergria.

“Wo!” shouted the King of the Hot Dog as he shook his red butt at Lord Hamburger.

“Um… I need to go now,” said the Hamburger King as he walked out the door.

“Not so fast!” screamed the Hot Dog King as he pulled a lever behind him.

Suddenly the door slammed shut and locked itself.

“Lock activated,” said a computer voice.

“Eat some bread,” said the Hot Dog King as he tossed a loaf of bread at the Hamburger Lord.

“Fine,” said King Hamburger, and he started to cut the bread. 


Chapter Four

Ding dong! rang the doorbell.

“Who is it?” asked the person inside.

When no one answered, he came to the door. The man opened the door. He was the general. The general looked around and saw a letter on the ground. The general picked up the letter off the ground. He started to read the letter. Suddenly his face looked angry.

“Boom boom monkey!!!” he shouted.

“Sir, the cannons are ready!” said the general of the weapon makers.

“Good… they will pay for what they did to my shirt!” said King Human.

“And they will pay for the letter they sent to me!” said the general as he ripped up the letter in his hands.

“The hot dogs and the hamburgers will die!!!” screamed the king and general at the same time.

“Ho ha ho ha ho ha he he he he he ho!!! With cheese and peas! So go to come!!! Come! Come! Come! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

“Yay! It’s my birthday today!”

“Do we get cake?”

“And fun?!”

“Yes!”

“Yay!” screamed a group of kids at a birthday party.

“Stop screaming! Stop it!” shouted an angry parent.

“Yay cake!” screamed the kids. 

Boom!

“Run for your life!” screamed someone outside. “The hot dogs are attacking!”

The kids ran to the window to see what was happening.

Soon they started to scream, “The city is gone!”

“Mommy!”

“Run!”

“I want my mommy!”

Suddenly the building exploded. Boom!


Chapter Five

“We need help! We must defeat the hot dogs! So I asked for help. Meet… the cows!!!” said the King of the Humans as he opened the door behind him.

“Moo,” said a cow.

The general blinked. “So all the humans in this world are ruled by a crazy person who hires cows to do his bidding?!” said the general.

“Yes!” said the king as he shook his head.

“Well… hello!” said a voice.

The general jumped. He looked around the room but saw no one.

“I’m over here!” said the voice again.

The general looked at the cow. “You can talk?!” said the general.

“I am smart, so I can talk,” said the cow, “and I have a suit, so I am a business cow.”

The general’s mouth dropped. “Bu-bu… ” he said.

“Pizza army, come come come come!!!”

“Pizza!”

“Pizza!”

“Pizza!”

“If hot dogs win this war, we all die! So listen up! This is the battle strategy! We sneak the 100-foot tank past the great hot dog wall, then boom bam boom boom boom bam boom!!! Ha ha ha!” said the King of Humans. “Now… go!!!” he screamed.

The human army ran up the hill as fast as they could.

“Stop!” said a voice.

The man?” said the king. “What are you doing?” asked the king.

“Killing you! Pizza, attack!!!” said the man.

“Pizza!” screamed a lot of voices.

Then everything went black.

“Moo!”

“Moo moo moooooo!”

“Moo!” said a lot of cows.

“Yes… okay. Tom, more pizza… no… no pepperoni!” said the cow in a suit.

Beep-boop-beep.

“Yes?” said the cow in a suit as he picked up a phone.

“Help!!!” screamed a voice from the phone.

“Okay — but who are you?” asked the cow.

The King of Humans!!!” screamed the human phone.

“Okay, but can you wait a few hours? Tom wants pizza,” said the cow.

“No, come now!” screamed the king.

“Fine,” said the cow.

“He has no interest in business,” said the cow sadly.


Chapter Six

“Moo.”

“No. Not now, Fred. We need to save them.”

“Moo!”

“I said no! No more talk.”

“Moo!”

“Fine… you can go… but be quick!” said a cow who was wearing a suit.

He watched as Fred ran off to the bathroom. Beep… boop… beep!

“Who is it?” asked the cow as he picked up the phone

“Help!” screamed the person who called.

“Is this the King of Humans?”

“Yes!” screamed the King of Humans.

“Help!” he screamed again.

“Okay, I’m coming,” said the cow.

“Come faster!!!” screamed the king.

“Do you have an army to come save me?! And me only! Who cares about everyone else?” said the king.

“Yes, I have an army of cows with me,” answered the cow.

“Cows?! What can cows do?!” screamed the king.

“My cows know kung fu,” answered the cow calmly. “Bye,” said the cow, and he put the phone down.

Boom!

“No!” said the King of Humans.

“Don’t blow my head off!”

“Pizza pizza,” said a voice.

“No!” he screamed 

Crash!

“No!” he screamed.

The king closed his eyes.

Please no,” he whimpered.

“Get up,” said a voice.

The king slowly opened his eyes and saw… a cow standing in front of him.

“Cow!” shouted the king happily.

“Business cow,” corrected the business cow.

“Come with me please,” said the business cow.

“Okay,” answered the king.

“Can I have water?” he asked. 

Ten minutes later… 

“Are the tanks ready?”

“Yes.”

“Are the cannons ready?”

“Yes.”

“Are the guns ready?”

“Yes.”

“Is all the other stuff ready?”

“Yes.”

“Good… ” 


Chapter Seven

“Charge!!!” screamed the general as the two armies crashed into each other.

Boom!

“General!” screamed a soldier.

The general ran to him.

“What?” he asked.

“This person exploded!” said the soldier.

“What?” asked the general.

“This person exploded!” repeated the soldier.

“I know that!” said the general. “But people don’t explode?!”

“But he did!” said the soldier. “And if you don’t believe me, your brain is smaller than dirt!!!”

Then he fainted.

Boom! The head of a soldier came flying and hit the general in the head.

“What was that?!” the general said to no one.

Boom!

“Die!!” said a hot dog.

The general jumped out of the way and ate the hot dog.

“General!” said a soldier.

“What?” asked the general.

“My friend blew up!” said the soldier.

“Another person?!” asked the general.

“Yes!” said the soldier.

“Did something seem strange today?” asked the general.

“Um… yes, the food person seemed really old, and he had a lot of carrots,” said the soldier.

“The man! He must have used the carrot gun!” exclaimed the general. “How many people ate the carrots?” he asked the soldier.

“Everyone! But not me. I hate carrots,” answered the soldier.

“No… ” said the general slowly. “Run!” he screamed to the soldier.

Boom!!! The general and the soldier ran as fast as they could. Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!

“Ow!” said the soldier.

“What?” asked the general.

“Something hit me… ” said the soldier, then he fell asleep.

“Wha… ?” said the general.

Then everything went black.

“Wake up!”

“I said wake up!”

“Wake up!!!”

“Blok?” said the general sleepily.

“Wake up!!!”

“What? Where am I?” asked the general.

“You’re in the kingdom!” The general blinked twice and then looked around.

“The king?!’” the general exclaimed.

“Yes,” said the king.

“What happened? Did we win?” asked the general.

“Yes,” answered the king.

“Why am I tied up?” asked the general.

“I was bored,” replied the King of the Humans.

The general looked around the room — the soldier was asleep next to him. Suddenly, somebody in a different room screamed.

“Who was that?” asked the general.

“That was the man,” said the king. “We found him running toward the cheese city. We put him in the fart chamber with the Hot Dog and Hamburger King,” said the king.

THE END

What Happened?

Olivia’s Chapter

Jessica is hosting a perfectly calm birthday sleepover at her house until her mother hears “Ahhhh!” She gets nervous, so she quickly runs upstairs to us. 

“What happened?” Jessica’s mom questions us.

“Nothing,” Jessica and I say at the same time.

“Okay, but where is Bella?” Jessica’s mother, Ms. Jada, asks.

“In the bathroom,” Jessica quickly answers.

Then her mother stares at us suspiciously as she walks out of the door. We think that she leaves, but she is actually still standing by the door eavesdropping.

“Do you think we should tell someone?” I say. 

“Someone like who?” Jessica replies.

“What are you two hiding?” Jessica’s mother says in a really serious voice as she sticks her head in the door.

“Nothing,” we say at the same time again.

“Tell me now, or I will send Olivia and Bella home and never ever let you have a sleepover or a playdate again,” Jada says as she crosses her arms.

Jessica and I stare at each other and don’t talk. But after a while, we stare at each other again and nod.

“The news we are going to share to you is good and bad,” Jessica says in a serious voice. But finally after a silent moment, Jessica blurts out really fast, “The bad news is that we dared Bella to do Bloody Mary in the bathroom, and when we went back in there to check on her, she was not there.”

What?” Jessica’s mom yells.

“But the good news is that we found on the mirror a note written with lipstick that said Kiss Your Friend Goodbye.

That is not good news!” Ms. Jada shouts at me.


Jessica’s Chapter

After Olivia finishes sharing her “Good News” to my mom, she rushes quickly into the bathroom and sees the red letters and starts to panic. Bella is a really good friend of mine, but she is not as close to me as Olivia. Olivia and I have been friends since we were three years old, eight years ago, and I met Bella when I was 10, last year. The only reason that I dared Bella to do Bloody Mary is because before she went missing we were playing truth or dare, and I dared Bella to do Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary basically is a folklore legend consisting of a ghost, phantom, or spirit conjured to reveal the future. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is chanted repeatedly. At first I am a little mad at myself for daring Bella to do Bloody Mary. But at the same time, I am dying on the inside. I am dying because my mother is having a dramatic seizure panic attack thing. For the past like 10 minutes, Olivia and I have been exchanging weirdly confused looks.

After a while of no one talking, Olivia speaks up and says, “Should I go home?”

And before I even get to answer, my mom comes out of her panic attack, grabs Olivia’s arm, and yells no.

After another ten minutes of not talking, my mom says, “We have to write a note back to whoever took Bella.”

“What?” Olivia and I shout.

“What do you mean by ‘what’? You got yourself into this mess, and you’re lucky I am trying to get you out of it,” my mom yells.

“But this is not our fault,” I say to my mom.

“Oh, yes it is,” my mom snaps. 

Then I look over at Olivia and ask, “This isn’t our fault, right?”

But all Olivia does is look down on the ground and doesn’t say anything.

But after one minute of silence, Olivia speaks up and says, “It is our fault.”

Then I yell out, “What?!

And from out of nowhere, my mom says, “What did I tell you?”

“Cut it out. Right now all we need to do is find Bella. Am I right?” Olivia says.

Then my mom and I look at each other, nod, and say, “Yes” at the same time.


Olivia’s Chapter

Jessica, Ms. Jada, and I sit in a circle on the carpet in the living room and brainstorm what could have happened to Bella.

Before anyone can speak, I say, “Maybe she is just pranking us.” 

“No she isn’t,” Jessica replies.

“How do you know that she isn’t pranking us?” I respond.

“How do you know that she is?” Jessica questions back to me.

“Girls, I think that is enough. We should go back to brainstorming,” Ms. Jada says.

Then Jessica walks over to the sofa and turns the news on, and on the news is a big muscly man on TV, and the headline is Criminal Released out of Wisconsin Jail after several months of incarceration.

“O-M-G, I think I know what happened to Bella!” Jessica yells.

“What?” Ms. Jada and I say at the same time.

“Olivia, do you remember when Bella told us about her father and how he is a criminal,” Jessica says to me.

“Yeah,” I say.

“Well, maybe he was the one who took Bella!” Jessica yells.


Jessica’s Chapter

So Bella told Olivia and I that her dad got arrested a few months back for robbing people, and he would be released some time late October, and it is late October! She says that she and her mom moved from Wisconsin to California so they could hide from Bella’s dad. Bella loves her dad even though he is a criminal. She says that she misses him so much sometimes. And they have been getting lots of voicemails saying, “I know where you live,” and stuff like that.


Bella’s Chapter 

O-M-G! I am so freaked out. A big muscly man with a mask on grabs me by the neck and jumps out of the window with his hand over my mouth. I do not get hurt because there is a mattress that these other men with masks are holding. But right now I am in the back on a black van yelling and screaming for help with my hands and feet tied together, and one of the men hops in the back. He puts tape on my mouth and puts a blindfold on my eyes. After a while the van stops, and all I hear is the backdoor of the van opening and someone hopping into the back, which makes the van rumble and shake a bit. Then this person takes the blindfold off of me, and all I see is a man with a black mask and cut out patches where his eyes are. But then he takes off his mask, and I recognize this face. While I am staring deeply at this person, he is untying my hands and arms.

After five minutes, I shout out, “Dad, is that you?”

And my dad nods. I am just so shocked and filled with questions, but all I do is hug him.


Jada (Jessica’s Mom)

To be honest, I am not worried about Bella being missing because anyone who would take that girl will return her the next minute. She is cute and all, but her attitude isn’t. Her mother is a pretty nice person, but she gets on my nerves when she gives me that fake smile of hers. When Jessica showed me that guy on TV who was Bella’s dad, what I said in my head was, No surprise that Bella’s mom would marry a criminal.

“Hey, Jessica, can you pass me the phone?” I ask Jessica.

“Sure,” Jessica replies and hands me the phone.

Then I hold the phone in my hand and ask Jessica, “What is the number of Bella’s not so good, fake smiling, no good taste in men mother?”

“Well, Mom, stop being rude, and by the way, here’s her number.”

Then I enter the number and press call. Then Bella’s mom answers the phone.

“Hey, Jada, how are you and the girls doing?”

“I am doing good.”

“And the girls?”

“Olivia and Jessica are good.”

“What about Bella?”

“Sooo… Bella technically went missing, and the girls think her father took her, and by the way, you have no good taste in men. Bye,” I say, then hang up the phone.


Caroline (Bella’s Mom)

Right now I am literally freaking out! I am taking a cab over to Jada’s house. Oh that… rat is going to get what she deserves. She will never ever be able to watch Bella, and Bella will never be able to be friends with Jessica. The kid is a nice girl, it’s just her mother. I never really liked Jada, but I let Bella go because I do want her to make some new friends, and I do not want to get in her way. I know that Bella’s only friend is Jessica, and I really don’t want to break their friendship. Then, there’s this other girl named Olivia who’s always trying to take Jessica away from Bella. Bella tries to tell me that they’ve been friends for a while and they can talk, but that’s not what I think. When Jada first told me Bella went missing, my heart jumped. Bella is my only child, and I really do not want to lose her. And if her father took her, and I catch him, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind. When I first found out that Bella’s father was a criminal, I was shocked, because at home he was the most caring husband. I would not have thought that he would ever do that. But ever since we moved away from Bella’s dad, Bella has felt like not having two parents in her life is the worst thing in the world. I always tell her that it isn’t, but I know that Bella and her father have always had a strong relationship that I never wanted to end, but I could never trust someone who was a thief around my child. That is just a bad influence.


Alex (Bella’s Father)

Bella, Caroline, and I have always had a strong relationship. But ever since they found out that I was stealing, they started feeling uncomfortable around me, I guess. I get why they would feel uncomfortable, but it broke my heart. The only reason why I was stealing is because there’s an agency, and I used to work for this guy named Jeffrey Siegel, and basically he paid people $100 a week for every five items we stole. I stole many things, but I never told Caroline or Bella the reason why. Bella and I have always had a really close relationship. Even Caroline and I had one too, but Bella is a forgiving person. But on the other hand, Bella’s mother, Caroline, is not. Once, I accidentally broke one of her favorite hair accessories, and she wouldn’t talk to me the whole day. I even offered to buy her a new one, but she refused. And once, I broke one of Bella’s squishy foam balls, and she forgave me and said I didn’t have to buy her a new one. There’s a big difference between Bella and her mother, but I still love them both equally. I’m not sure if I already mentioned this, but Bella’s mother is a drama queen. She just wants to make everything she says a big deal, around me at least. I regret taking Bella, but if I had told Bella to come with me, I just know she would have refused. After all the stealing I’ve done, I probably lost her trust. All the people who helped me “kidnap” Bella had told me that if I do this, I will lose her trust even more, but I told them I desperately wanted to see my daughter.


Bella’s Chapter

I just remember that I had my phone in my back pocket, so I ask my dad if I can call my mom. 

“No! Please, no! She is going to get really pissed off, like really really pissed off!”

“Please, Dad!”

“No.”

“But what if she’s worried about where I am?”

“Okay, fine.”

Then I quickly pull my phone out of my pocket and call my mom. Before I dial my mom’s number, I see that there are 27 missed calls from her. I know that she is definitely worried about me. Then she picks up. 

“Hello, Mom?”

“Bella, is that you?”

“Yeah, Mom. Were you worried about me?”

“Yes, absolutely. Where are you?”
“I… actually don’t know.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“What I mean by that is, long story short, Dad kidnapped me when I was in the bathroom at Jessica’s house, and he put me in the back of a van, put a blindfold on me, and now he’s here with me in the middle of nowhere with his crew.”

“What?!” Mom shouts. “Pass the phone to your dad right now!”

Then I take the phone off of my ear, cover the microphone, and I mouth to my dad, “She wants to talk to you.”

My dad takes a deep breath and grabs the phone out of my hands. “Hi, sweetie,” my dad says over the phone in a scared voice.

“Who you calling sweetie, ‘cause I know you’re not talking to me!”

“I’m so sorry for what I did to Bella.”

“One, you should not be apologizing to me, and two, why would you do it?” 

“I only did it because I knew that if I asked your permission to spend time with Bella, you would say no, so the only way I could get Bella is to kidnap her.”

“Seriously? You had to kidnap her? I would’ve let you spend time with Bella if you just asked, because I know that Bella has missed you over the years.”

“I am very, very, very sorry, and I hope you and Bella forgive me.”

“I do forgive you. I just have one question. How did you find out that Bella was having a sleepover with Jessica?”

Right now I just love this moment but hate this moment. I love how my dad is apologizing and being all nice, but I hate how my mom is just asking so many questions, and she seems very annoyed. I really hope that will change later on in the conversation.

“Well, there’s a guy who lives around there, and I asked him if he saw a girl around there with long brown hair and hazel eyes, and he said yes.”

“Are you serious? You did all of this just to find out where Bella is?”

“Yes, I’ll do anything to see my daughter again.”

“Well you did not have to kidnap her.

“Well I kind — ”

Then my mom interrupts before my dad could finish and says, “Well you kind of what?”

“Well I kind of think your face is… pretty?”

“My face being pretty should not be something you kind of think. It should be a true fact for you. Bye.”

Then my dad hands over the phone to me and mouths the word “crazy” to me.


Jada’s Chapter (Jessica’s Mom)

I suddenly hear a ring coming from my door.

“Who is it?” I shout. 

“It’s Bella’s mom, Caroline,” she says in an angry voice.

Then I yell back, “Before you come in my house, you have to lose that tone!”

“Fine,” Caroline says, sounding annoyed.

“I still need you to fix that tone.”

“Okay,” Caroline says in a sweet voice.

The first thing Caroline does when she walks in is roll her eyes.

I hate it when people roll their eyes at me, so I say, “Keep rolling your eyes, and maybe you’ll find a brain.”

Then she fires back and says, “Excuse me? I don’t even want to be here. I’m just here because you lost my daughter,” she says while pointing her finger directly at my face. 

I slap her finger out of my face and say, “I didn’t even want your daughter to be here. Jessica did.”

Then she moves one step closer to me, and this time her face is two inches away from mine. She starts screaming stuff at me like, “I trusted you with my daughter!” Blah blah blah. And all I do is cover my nose because her breath really stinks.

“It’s not my fault your daughter got kidnapped. You think I’m going to expect her to get kidnapped while she’s in the bathroom? No. Not my problem.”

We suddenly hear a knock on the door, and I yell, “Who is it?

The answer is, “Bella and my dad, Alex.”

Caroline runs to the door, opens the door, and picks Bella up and kisses her all around. For Alex, she just gives him a glare.

He goes in for a hug, and she responds. “I never thought I’d see you again, Caroline.” 

Then they reach in for another hug, but I push them out the door and yell, “Go home!” 

Then she says, “Bella, come on, let’s go!”

Bella gives Jessica and Olivia a hug and runs out the door. On her way out, she yells, “Thank you, Ms. Jada, for letting me come over!”

“You’re welcome, Bella.” 


Part of Book Two


Bella’s Chapter 

One year later… 

Jessica, Olivia, and I are at school. My mom has been dead for a few months now. She died from breast cancer, and the doctors said she was going to make it but… she didn’t. This is our first day back. I really hate school. We are sitting at a smallish rectangle table in science class. James, an annoying boy in our class, keeps on throwing wet paper balls of paper at our heads. Right now we are doing an experiment to see what is more dense between cold and hot water. Jessica and Olivia tell me that they hate science (like me), so Olivia is slouching down on the table with her long light brown hair over her face. One of her eyes is closed, and the other one of her hazel eyes is open. And Jessica is lying her head down on the table with her black hair beside her shoulder, and there are bags under her blue eyes. Sometimes I wish I could just be homeschooled because there is no getting in trouble by your principal, no learning with annoying kids, and no getting snitched on, but unfortunately my dad can’t afford it. Suddenly, my very old science teacher falls to the ground.

Ten minutes later… 

Right now all I see are doctors, and all I hear are sirens.

I also see Principal Lee on her knees by the door wailing and crying, “No, not you too Uncle Stanley.”

I am just so confused right now, and I bet Olivia and Jessica are too. The expression on theirs face are saying that they are very confused.

One hour later… 

Right now this lady with tall heels and a blood red dress walks in, and a man with a suit walk in too. 

“Mom!” Jessica yells.

“Yes,” Ms. Jada says.

“Dad!” I yell.

“Hi, Bella. Jada and I will be your new science teachers,” my dad says as he holds Jada by the waist.

What?!” Jessica and I yell simultaneously.

“Dad, can we talk outside privately?” I say to my dad.

“Can no be the answer?” he responds.

No, oh my god you are so annoying!” I yell on my way to the door.

“That is no way to talk to your dad. You are very disrespectful just like your mother was,” Jada says to me right before I open the door.

Then I turn around and say, “Excuse me.”

Then Jada says, “Yes, you heard me.”

“First of all, you can’t tell me what to do, and second of all, you are not my mom, and you never will be, and third of all, never put words in your mouth about my mother again.”

My dad says, “About that… I have something important to tell you outside real quick, Bella and Jessica. Jada, come on.”

Then we all step out of the room, and my dad is the first one to speak. “Jada and I have been thinking about it, and we want to get married.”


The Dark Lord and the Prince

One day there was a prince who lived in a beautiful blue 15-room tower. The prince loved dogs. The prince decided to go to the adoption center to get a cat and dog. On his way to the adoption center, he heard something crawl through the bushes. He ignored it.

He heard it again, and he said, “This is getting weird.” 

He continued walking until he heard a voice behind him that said, “Run… ” 

The prince was scared, so he ran. When he looked behind him, he saw the Dark Lord! The Dark Lord was the most dangerous villain. For years he attempted to kill the prince, and disguised himself as the prince. When he did, he planned to kill the king and take over. This was his tenth attempt. The Dark Lord ran after the prince with a knife, mace, and a bag. The Dark Lord caught up and put the prince in the bag. The prince tried to talk, but the bag was too tight. The Dark Lord succeeded.

When the prince woke up, he found himself on a table with cuffs on him. He saw knives, chainsaws, swords, and a juicer. He was very scared. He had tape on his mouth, so he couldn’t talk.

Back at the king’s castle, the king was watching TV, and the newsman said, “A young prince has been captured by the Dark Lord. Who’s going to save him?”

The king was shocked. He gasped a very long gasp. The king decided it was time to defeat the Dark Lord. The king took his army to the Dark Lord’s lair.

At the Dark Lord’s Lair, the Dark Lord kicked open a huge wooden door. A dragon slowly approached out of the door and then… roar! The dragon roared very loudly. The prince was terrified.

The Dark Lord said, “Get eaten by the dragon or get cut up with all of these weapons. It’s your decision.” The Dark Lord took the tape off of the prince’s mouth. The prince was speechless. The Dark Lord said, “Choose, or I will kill you with my bare hands.”

“Hmm… maybe I’ll choose nothing.” The prince whistled, and his horse, Sir Jonathan came. 

“Uh oh,” the Dark Lord said.

Sir Jonathan charged through the door, and as fast as a blink of an eye, the Dark Lord was lying on the floor moaning and groaning. The Dark Lord came back up all weak.

He said, “You’re no match for me! Dragon!” 

The Dragon stepped out from his cage, “Roaaar!”

“Eat him,” the Dark Lord said. 

Back with the king, his army was lined up behind the Dark Lord’s lair.

“King, what are we going to do?” Justin the Knight asked. 

“We fight!” The king raised the lance in his fist. 

“Charge!!!”

The king broke the door open and said, “Well, hello there… ” 

The Dark Lord was standing next to the prince who was lying on a table. There were a bunch of ceiling lights on and a feast with big chairs for the dragons. “Brother,” the Dark Lord said to the king.

Everyone gasped. 

“Dad, you never told me that the Dark Lord was your brother!” 

“I had to keep it a secret so no one thought I was evil, which I am not. Let’s just forget about this and get you out of here.”

“Not so fast,” said the Dark Lord. “I’m going to press this button and your son goes in the juicer.”

Beep. “Justin, get your hammer to break the metal cuffs,” said the king.

“Got it, King.” Click! Justin swung the hammer and broke the cuffs.

“Son, are you okay?”

“Yeah, Dad, I’m fine.” 

“Let’s fight the Dark Lord,” the king said. 

“I always have a plan,” said the Dark Lord. 

“I hear footsteps, King,” Justin said. 

Roaaar. A bunch of dragons came out, and everyone gasped.

The king said, “Let the fight begin. Charge!”

The dragons started breathing fire and spitting out acid, and the king’s army started running for their lives.

“Hahahahahahaha,” the Dark Lord laughed. “Now who’s the winner”

“Everyone retreat!” said the king.

Everyone got back to the castle safely but one… Sir Jonathan! 

The prince went back for Sir Jonathan, but Sir Jonathan was down on the floor next to the Dark Lord.

“There is nothing to do now, prince.” Before the Dark Lord did anything, the prince took Sir Jonathan and ran back to the castle with the rest of the army and the king. 

The second the prince got to the castle, he took Sir Jonathan to the vet. The veterinarians put Sir Jonathan on the table and said they would need a few minutes. The prince was worried. A few minutes later, the prince came in to check on Sir Jonathan. The veterinarians said that Sir Jonathan needed a few days to rest. The prince was relieved. 

The prince went to talk to the king.

He asked “What’s going to be our next move?” 

“I don’t know yet, but soon I will come up with a plan,” said the king.

Since the prince had a little free time, he went to the pet store to adopt a dog.When he got to the pet store, he got a Golden Retriever. The prince named him Goldy. A few days later, the prince went to the vet to check on Sir Jonathan. Sir Jonathan was okay! The prince hugged Sir Jonathan and went back to his room. When Sir Jonathan went in the room, he started playing with Goldy. Goldy also played with Sir Jonathan. They bonded really well, and the prince was happy. 

The king knocked on the door, and the prince let him in.

The king said “I have a plan. The plan is make silent acid. Then come from the back door, and when the dragons are sleeping, pour the acid on their wings. When the dragons wake up, they won’t be able to fly, so we’ll put them in a dragon-proof net. Then bring them back to the castle and… tame them!

“Wow, Dad, that is a really good… and crazy plan! How are we going to tame dragons?!”

“We obviously give them whatever they want.”

“That’ll actually work,” said the prince.

The next day, the prince and the king went to the forest to collect gems, crystals, and acid bugs. The prince collected five gems and three crystals. The king found two crystals and five acid bugs. They went back to the castle and mashed everything up and mixed the ingredients in a pot. There was enough acid for everyone to use on the dragons. The king gave everyone in the army a bottle of silent acid. At midnight, everyone went to the Dark Lord’s lair and silently walked through the back door. Everyone picked the dragon cages’ locks with paper clips.

Then the army poured acid on the dragons, and the dragons started screaming. “Rooooar!”

Quickly they put the nets on the dragons and went back to the castle to their rooms. They fed the dragons and bathed them. Then the army put the saddle on their dragons. They all went on a test fly. It worked!!! They all quietly went to the Dark Lord’s lair. They left their dragons out of the door and busted the door open.

The Dark Lord saw them, and they said, “We surrender!”

The Dark Lord said, “Now let me kill all of you!”

“But wait you forgot our… dragons!” the king shouted, and the dragons flew into the lair, destroying everything in their path.

“Rooooar!”

“Where did you get those dragons? 

“They’re yours! Well… they were yours! We have tamed them!” said the king. 

“You wouldn’t!”

“I already did it… Fire!”

The dragons all shot the fireballs to the Dark Lord.

The Dark Lord said, “Nooo!”

The fireballs were thrown so close to the Dark Lord they blasted him away into the sun.

“I will get my revenge!!!” he shouted, right before he burned.


Cinnamon’s Story

Prologue

Cinnamon! Cinnamon!

Please wake up, Cinnamon! 

Tears filled Branch’s eyes. Cinnamon’s body was lifeless. 

She was not breathing. Was that a breath?!

No, it was just the wind. No no no! Please no! But his mate’s body was lifeless as stone. Blue, his daughter, buried her nose in her mother’s flank. 

“If only Wise were here,” sighed Goose.

Branch’s son looked as lifeless as Cinnamon. First Wise left and now Cinnamon… Please, oh, Cinnamon. No!


Chapter One: New Thoughts 

I crouched at the edge of the road in pure shock. Honey, my sister, slowly crept toward the ginger body in the road. Tom, our father, was dead. Silvermoon, my brother, paw by paw crept down his tree. Shock rippled down his spine. But I was too terrified to move. It had all been so sudden, a loud roar and one of the cats I loved most in the world was gone. No, no, I thought. Honey slowly dragged their father’s body off the road.

“Let’s go home,” Honey said.

We plodded along, no one saying anything. Grief was strong in the air. I looked up as they reached the driveway. I squinted at the end, three cats were there. Who could it be? I wondered. As we approached, the black she-cat stepped forward.

“I’m Night,” she said.

A ginger tom stepped beside Night. “I’m Maple,” he said. “And this is our brother, Carmel.”

Night finished with a glare at her brother.

“I’m Honey,” Honey said. “And this is Silvermoon,” she continued.

I tried to pull myself together, but part of me did not want to. “I’m Cinnamon,” was all I could muster.

Honey twisted and licked her dark brown tabby fur.

“Well, where are you from?” Silvermoon asked, stretching, his silver fur gleaming in the sunlight.

I looked at my own ginger fur. It looked rough and scarred. Just like I felt. I just wanted to go somewhere to start over. Rhinebeck! In a flash, I remembered the town. All those human and cars, yet something had drawn me. The happy spirit, the friendly cats. What was I thinking, my family. But something tempted me, drew me to Rhinebeck.

Silvermoon drew me out of my thoughts. “I thought we were going hunting! What had I missed.”

“Honey’s showing Night and co. a place they can stay.” I nodded mutely.

I quickly caught a mouse and a bluebird, then I followed Silvermoon. He caught three mice. Then he opened its jaws. What are you doing? I thought. Silvermoon went to the new bush. The berry tree was poisonous. Then he brought all three mice back. I saw cold, hard anger in his eyes. Anger at the world. All I felt was grief, grief that nothing would be the same. After the whole I can’t believe you tried to poison Honey nonsense, we went to sleep all together. Well, Honey and Silvermoon fell asleep. I turned over and over in my nest. I contemplated over and over as the first light of dawn shown in the garage with absolute serenity I made my choice.

Chapter Two: The Journey Begins

I woke up to Silvermoon prodding me.

“What?” I said groggily, a bit annoyed.

“Honey’s missing,” he said worriedly.

“How do you expect me to know where she is?” I snapped, very annoyed now.

He ran out. Twenty minutes later, Honey came in.

“Silvermoon’s looking for you,” I said.

“I know we had a run-in,” she answered.

“Can I confess?” we said at the same time.

“You first,” I said awkwardly.

“Okay, well I have a mate.”

 “Maple is so nice.” she said.

At that moment, my decision was confirmed.

“Oh, Honey, I’m leaving. Going to Rhinebeck, for good.”

“W-what,” she sputtered.

“Oh, Honey, I never really had a future here.”

“Oh, Cinnamon. Oh, Cinnamon.”

Tears flowed down Honey’s face.

“Oh, Cinnamon, no, I need you.” I licked her.

“I’ll always be right here in your heart.”

I said, “I love you.”

It was all words, but the look Honey and I shared said it all more than words could ever.

“Silvermoon, I love you.” I turned to my brother. “Oh, I love you.”

I walked up the driveway. Then I knew I would never see my siblings again. The journey began. 

As I walked, I looked around at the familiar street as I left forever. I left , I turned down the corner where Tom had died.

“I hope you’re with me,” I said to his grave. “I’ll need all the help I can get. I love you.”

The sun was setting, and I slept on his grave. When I woke up, I was sitting on the road, and Tom was sitting next to me.

“Tom!” I cried.

“Cinnamon,” he said warmly. “I am always with you. Now listen close. You will find your friend and savior in a place you don’t expect. Don’t turn down my gift, Cinnamon.”

And with that, he vanished. The dream faded around me, and I woke with a start. Then I looked around Tom’s grave. Right time to move. I walked up a road.

“Ruff.” A cat’s worst enemy: a dog. “This is my house. Get out, scoundrel.” The dog growled in a queer way.

I bared my teeth, and the dog the yellow dog leaped. I twisted and bit his ear hard. Then as I dropped to the ground, he scared my face.

“Errrrrrrr, get out right now, tyrant cat.”

I will, stinky dog.” And with that, I ran.

It was noon, and I was hungry. There was a house and a huge grass lawn with a small pond that trickled into a woodland stream. Water and food. The water was fresh and cold. Mouse! I found a used squirrel nest with a squirrel in it. It made up for mice. I continued on. The ground started sloping, and the sun started sinking. I slept by the road that night. Something icey woke me. Someone was watching me. At the end of the hill, I looked down the road. There was a big building. It looked warm and cosy. I saw cars and more cars and then wam! And there was a dog, a despicable dog. But at the sight of anything killed by a car, even a dog, I felt horrible. That dog had been killed like Tom. 

Then it struck me. No matter what, cat or dog, no one deserved this. Because we are all the same inside. I slowly dragged her body out of the road, and I saw a pup in her jaws dead too. She was a mother, and I thought of Sky and Ice. My mothers. A young life never lived. At that moment, I despised humans with a bitter hate. Hated life. Why so many lives and this pup would never feel joy, happiness and sadness. Then a thin yelp of, Momma! The pup. It was still alive. I looked at the mother dog. I would save her. The pup was my life now. Death couldn’t have her. The pup was injured. It needed care. I looked at the building. Humans might have been this pup’s only chance. We would look for help there. I picked up the pup.

“What is your name, little one?” I asked.

“Wind,” said the pup pitifully.

I put Wind on the grass.

“What’s your mother’s name, little one?” I asked.

“Rebecca,” said the pup, then promptly passed out.

I looked at the road, No cars. I raced onto the road. Vroom Mmmmm! I grabbed the body and ran. Safe. Then the terror of the whole thing hit. I was far far away from home with only this injured pup for company. I picked up Wind. We, or I, ran to the big building. There was someone outside.

“Kitty. Oh, and a puppy,” the child squealed, and a mom came (to us cats, you humans say uwqgdiuqgyuiefyq or other weird things, but the editor has translated to human.)

“Sweetie, come. Ooh, cat and dog?

“Come, sweetie, can you watch the pup for a second?”

Yay! Puppy!!!”

The sound would have deafened me, but it did not.

“Teddy!” she called.

“Yes,” said a gruff man’s voice.

“Teddy, this cat was trying to bring an injured pup.”

“Well, this cat does not look well.”

“Bring the pup.”

A second later, Wind was lying next to me.

“I’ll take um… ”

“Ohh, thank you!”

Then the two voices ceased I realised. She was unconscious, then the world faded around me.


Chapter Three: Farm Life

I walked through the field. I knew I should not. I felt disappointed in myself, my life. Living as a pet. With a human. I saw Honey and Silvermoon flourishing as wild cats. They would have been disappointed in me. Yes, this was my life now, living with humans. A tear surprised me by trickling down my cheek. I lived for Wind now. Without her, I would crumble of self shame. My life out the window for this. For Wind, I reminded myself. I gave my leg for Wind. Literally. It had been broken. I looked at it. I sat and remembered. One year ago came to the farm. Wind had always had an interest in the road where her mother died. One day, Wind ran into the road. A car was barreling toward her. I ran into the road and pushed her out of the road, with a crack! and a fiery pain. Then the world went black.

Now I was healed and fit again and I wanted to go. Wind sat next to me. 

“Wind, I’m leaving.”

“I know, and I’m coming,” said Wind in her normal gruff voice. 

“Oh, Wind, you have such a nice home here… ” 

I have it because of you. If you go, so do I.” 

Her sentiment warmed me, but I could not let her abandon her life for me.

“I have a deal,” I said.

What.

“You will come to Rhinebeck and come back.” 

Deal.

Then I started second-guessing myself. She would come back by herself… If she went with me would that be fair? And if she was that devoted, shouldn’t I be too? I should tell her not to come. But inside me, selfish me, I wanted her.

“Elosa!” This was from Teddy. He called me Elosa. 

When I walked into the FarmHouse/Farmers Market, it was a large white ‘building,’ I think you call them. There was a large ‘door,’ another word I picked up from living near humans. I walked in. As I did, I thought, Can I let Wind give this up for me? She might never come back… No, l would not let Wind… l would not even think it. And that’s when I found a CMail.

(Editor’s note: CMail is a cat version of Gmail, but for cats. It’s not on an iPhone. It is a long distance thing where they feel the message, but for your reading abilities (since I don’t think you read cat) it is formed like a letter.)

Dear Cinnamon, 

We miss you at home. I would like to talk to you more like this. I just had my first litter of kits with Maple! Their names are Golden, Tawny, Tyme, Tulip, and Rose! Silvermoon is mated with Night. He will write you soon. Silvermoon and I wanted to know, where are you? Do you have a mate, Kits? Please write answers to help your worried sister and brother. And I will ask you and ask you, will you come home? You still have a home here, Cinnamon! The CMail was sprinkled with tears. Probably Honey’s. Well I hope you are okay at least.

Your Always And Deeply Devoted Sister, 

Honey

The letter made me think, would it be easier to just go home? A second time in my life I wrestled with a big decision, but by morning I knew in my heart that I would not be able to go back, but as a sister I had to write back.

Here was my CMail:

Dear Honey,

I miss you a lot too! I semi had a pup (yes a dog). Her name is Wind, and her mother got hit by a car, and I adopted her. I am at a farm called Small Queen Farms and Market. My owner is Teddy Wert. I am leaving for Rhinebeck tomorrow. Also l can’t come home. Sorry. You and I, we miss each other equally. 

Sincerely, 

Cinnamon

Then I turned around. Wind was next to me. 

“Okay, time to go,” I said. 

“Yes,” said Wind as she looked around for what I did not know then but would be her last day, if I had known I probably would have made her stay, but I did not know, so we walked away. 

First we passed a big house and a sleek cat out on the lawn.

I am Queenie, and I am Queen!” said the cat. 

“Okay?” said Wind. 

We kept walking.

“Where is Rhinebeck?” Wind asked. 

“Across the road, then jump the big gap with the stream at the bottom.” Seeing the worried look on Wind’s face, I added, “Don’t worry, I jumped it as a kitten.”

Winds face relaxed. I should have known Wind would never see the other side of the chasm. At the road I watched. Wind made it. Barely three seconds slower and she would have died. Yeah, roads are rough. I didn’t know why those humans made then. (So if you are human, please stop killing us with your roads.) My turn. With five seconds to spare, I reached the other side.

“Well,” I said, winded (no joke intended).

Well is right,” said Wind, gasping and laughing. 

We forged on. When we arrived at the chasm, I jumped. For a second I felt myself plummeting. And then I landed, safe.

“Your turn!” I called.

“Okay, by the way, I’m glad I came.”

“I am too,” I said.

Then Wind jumped, and then the wind and Wind changed direction (joke intended), and she slipped away crashing into the other side hard, too hard. I ran to her. Wind was still.


Chapter Four: Without Wind (which is a short chapter)

Without Wind we could not breathe, without Wind, our earth would die… 

Bored, just kidding or stalling rather… I could continue my boring and factually incorrect poem. No, I thought not, okay, back to the story then… 

I stood over the body of the closest I had come to family since leaving the big greenhouse (sadly enough now back to the poem… okay, are all readers this mean?!) I stood there a long time. At nightfall, I picked up Wind. Then I thought, We must look strange, a cat with a dead dog in her mouth. Then I came upon a grove, and I… without Wind we would never shiver without Wind our hats would not fall of…

(Don’t laugh, I’m making myself feel better.) 

Without Wind our jackets would be useless, Without Wind We Will Wane! 

(Okay, I feel better now, well not really… But if you insist… okay)

I buried… Wind. There, I said it.


Chapter Five

I walked on aimlessly. Then I saw a big red barn, the Center for Performing Arts.

I realized I had made it. You know that empty feeling when determination and anxiety fill you up and then it is over? I do. That’s how I felt. I realized that I was alone. For the first time I felt lonely. And hungry. So I caught a mouse. Then I saw a brown tom-cat. 

“Hello!”

“Who are you. Are you a new member of Bee’s pack? If you are I’ll shred you for killing.”

“Hold your mice!” I said. “I’m Cinnamon.”

Then I told him my story.

“Bee is the leader of a group of cats who what to rule,” he told me. “They kill cats who don’t listen. I am a member of Cecilia’s tribe. We are fighting, Jenny is my mother.” 

This cat had lost his mother. I know that tearing feeling, a feeling of the world turning upside-down. He took me to Cecilia. She was kind and understanding, almost like the mother I had never had. The first moon was challenging. There were 16 cats in the tribe. My first mission was learning to fight. A cat, Deer, was supposed to teach me.

“So, I want to see what you know. Attack me.”

I crouched. I was exhausted when I got back to the tribe. 

A month later, Cecilia was standing on a tree. 

“Cats of my tribe. Today is the day when we will fight. I invite Woody, Deer, Cinnamon, Evelyn, Branch, and Rachel.” 

“M-me?” I said.

“Yes,” said Cecilia. So we lined up. 

We walk through the town that had become home. Right toward Bee’s camp.

“Attack” sliced through the air. I ran in. I slashed and bit everything in sight. I faced a cat I recognized, Typo. He stepped over a body. A cat who would never know victory. I yowled.

It was Woody. I carefully balanced on my front paws, and Typo reared. Perfect. I slashed his belly with grim determination, then imagined killing the thing that had killed my mother so I never knew her, my father right when I was little, Wind in that chasm, and I felt no fear. I would fight to the death. I knocked over Typo, finishing him, not killing. But if no one helped him, he would die. I felt Sky next to me.

“Evelyn, my love, she’s dying, help. I love you. You will be an amazing mother that I never was to you to those kits.”

“Sky!” I gasped. My mother!

“Go, my love. I’m right next to you.” 

So I sprang on the attacker. 

No one,” I hissed, “can mess with my tribe and get away with it. I cut a long line down Yu-Yu’s back. He tried to roll and shake me of but, and I wasn’t not proud of it. Another cat would never see the light of day. I felt Yu-Yu go limp. I ran to Evelyn.

“Are you okay,” I said.

She was alive. Rachel ran over. 

“I will take her find Cecilia and Branch. We won!” she said. 

“Okay.”

I looked around. Branch was leaning over a body. 

“Cecilia!” I wailed and raced over, grief radiating from me in waves.

“It’s okay, my love,” Branch said. “She is alive for now, but dying quick.”

“I’ll take Cecilia, you take Woody. He is dead,” I said. He raced off. I gently picked up the only motherly figure in my life. Then it hit me. I was expecting Branch’s kits. Okay so in the month I’d been with the tribe, Branch and I had gotten close.

Branch!” I called.

Yes,” he yelled back. 

“I’m expecting your kits!” 

“W-What.”

When we got back to camp, we put down the bodies. Uina, the healer, came over. 

“So, Woody’s alive, Evelyn’s dead and — and Cecilia’s dead.” 

I knew before she said it. 

“Katle is second, so now leader, and Kamel, being her brother, is second,” was the announcement. I did not care. Life was so beautiful and so short, and as Branch came over, I felt pure joy at life. And soon I hoped to enjoy it with my kits.

The End (for now)


The Pearl Necklace

Once upon a time, there was a mermaid. She used to always sing with her sisters, and it was by far the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. She missed hearing and singing with them a lot. She had six sisters.

A half-bald man had a stepdaughter who became a “sister” with the mermaids because she so badly wanted to get away from her stepfather. He was mean and cruel and hated his stepdaughter and the mermaids more than anything else, and he hated a whole lot of things. 

He hated the mermaids so much because his own stepdaughter left him to go to them. The half-bald man’s stepdaughter’s name was Charlotte, and she heard the most divine sound in her life — the seven mermaids singing that very moment. Charlotte, at that point, was thinking about her mother, who was presently on a seven-month business trip. When Charlotte heard the singing, she walked toward the ocean, which just happened to be right outside her house. Charlotte listened to the sounds of the mermaids and knew her stepdad wouldn’t understand to care to listen to them. 

“Here.” Charlotte heard a thin and high-pitched voice. She turned and saw one mermaid, with six following behind her. For some strange reason, Charlotte was attracted to both their beauty and the thought that mermaids actually existed.

“Become one of us,” said the first mermaid. 

“Grow into us,” said the second.

“Develop into us,” said the third. 

“Turn into us,” said the fourth.

“Emerge as us,’’ said the fifth.

“Eventually be us,” said the sixth.

“Come to us,” said the seventh.

“Um, no offense, but you’re making this whole ‘come be us’ thing weird to the extreme,” said Charlotte.

“Sorry,” said the first. 

“Regrets,” said the second. 

“Apologies,” said the third. 

“Remorse,” said the fourth. The fifth mermaid was about to say another synonym for ‘sorry,’ but Charlotte interrupted, “It’s okay. But why do you have to use a different word for everything you say?” 

“It’s our thing,” said the first.

“Instinct,” said the second.

“Sixth sense,” said the third.

“Intuition,” said the fourth.

“Aptitude,” said the fifth.

“Impulse,” said the sixth.

“Inclination,” said the seventh.

“Please, one of you talk. I can barely understand what you’re saying, and if this is typed, it would be extremely long and tedious work for the typer. Agree?” said Charlotte.

“Yes,” said the first.

“Precisely,” said the second.

“Gladly,” said the third.

“Beyond a doubt,” said the fourth.

“Naturally,” said the fifth.

“Unquestionably,” said the sixth.

“Yep,” simply said the seventh.

“Okay, do not answer me. This is all too much for the typer. If I ask a question, one of you will get to answer me and explain what is happening.”

“Wait, someone’s recording what we’re saying?” said the first. “That’s awesome!”

“That’s amazing!” giggled the second.

“Psychoneurotically disturbing,” muttered the third. 

“Sick!” exclaimed the fourth.

Stop talking!” screamed Charlotte.”We need to find a way to settle this.”

“She’s triggered!” whispered-screamed the scared first.

“I swear, if any of you join in, I will lose it,” said a triggered Charlotte, trying so hard to stop them. 

“One person,” started Charlotte, “I mean, mermaid, will explain everything to me. And there’s a lot I’m confused about. I don’t know how to choose though, because I realize how much you all love to talk.”

“Rock paper scissors!” exclaimed the first.

Charlotte agreed, and all seven mermaids played at the same time. The first mermaid beat the second, who was also beaten by the fifth and seventh who were both beaten by the sixth, who was beaten by the third and fourth, and the fourth beat the third who was beaten by the first. This was all very complex. Charlotte figured the first mermaid won. 

“Okay, you are officially one of us mermaids. We can’t stay in such shallow water for much longer so come in with us,” said the first mermaid.

Charlotte dove in the water with the first mermaid and her sisters. 

“Here, this may sound ridiculous, but trust me, if you use something of mine, like this pearl necklace, you will be able to breathe.”

Charlotte took the necklace and held it to her lips. It actually worked, but strangely Charlotte wasn’t surprised. That was probably because of the series of astonishing events that had just happened.

Emma didn’t mention the fact that whoever wore the necklace would transform into a mermaid, but Charlotte found out soon enough. In Charlotte’s eyes, everything turned black for a nanosecond. Charlotte’s eyes weren’t closed, but soon the faze stopped. She looked down and didn’t know what to think. I mean, she put on a pearl necklace and now looked exactly like Emma and her sisters. I don’t exactly have experience with that kind of situation either.

“Um, how do I turn back into… into myself?”

“Take off the necklace.”

Easy enough, I guess.

“So where do you sleep?” asked Charlotte. 

“In a pineapple under the sea,” said the first mermaid, rolling her eyes. 

“Really?’’ asked Charlotte. 

“No, I’m not a sponge. I’ve heard it before, but don’t ask questions just yet. We don’t really sleep, only swim around, not exactly thinking at that moment. It’s really hard to explain.”

“What’s your name, anyway?” asked the first mermaid. “Mine’s Emma.”

 “Charlotte. Charlotte Olivia Williams. What’s your last name?” asked Charlotte.

“Well, I don’t have a last name, or even a middle one. I can’t remember who my dad is or even if I have one. Did anyone ever mention you have the initials ‘COW’?” said Emma.

“Yes, I realized that. But everyone has a dad. Maybe not mermaids, though, as I’ve never even seen one before today,” said Charlotte.

“I’m not really sure, but we have more necessary things to talk about,” said Emma.

“Significant,” said the second.

“Crucial,” said the third.

“Relevant,” said the fourth.

“Essential,” said the fifth.

“Urgent,” said the sixth.

“Substantial,” said the seventh.

“You promised that you wouldn’t all talk at the same time!” cried Charlotte. 

“As I was saying… ” started Emma. 

“You were saying we had more important things to talk about. Here’s one. Why do you and your sisters always use a different synonym for every word?” asked Charlotte.

“That’s insignificant in comparison to what you really need to know,” said the third mermaid.

“Shut up,” said Emma.

I never knew that even mermaid sisters said “shut up” to each other. Anyway, Emma explained Charlotte’s question.

“Well, we’re so close that we used to say the same exact thing at the same exact time. So my sister, Sophie, the sixth one in line, thought we should think of other words while we’re talking in line and all use synonyms for every common word, so we don’t sound so ‘weird to the extreme’ like you mentioned earlier. We don’t get all that many chances to talk to other mermaids, much less humans, besides ourselves because both acquaintances are quite rare, so we take the chances we can get,” Emma explained.

“I’m sorry I said that. I’d like to see you guys tomorrow. What should I tell my stepdad I was doing? I’ll figure it out by the time I get home, in about seventeen seconds.”

But Charlotte’s stepdad did notice. Charlotte’s mom definitely would have noticed, if she wasn’t on a seven-month business trip. Charlotte’s stepdad noticed because every night Charlotte would leave to go to the ocean. He was horrified that anyone would prefer someone else more so than him. Even if it wasn’t a human. (That’s how ignorant he was.) He noticed her move her lips and go deeper into the ocean on Day One. Charlotte clearly never noticed his watching because she would have informed the other mermaids. Day One was the first day Charlotte saw the mermaids. That was 33 days ago.

Soon, Charlotte became good friends with each of the mermaids and memorized all their names. In the line in which Charlotte saw them on Day One their names were Emma, Grace, Hannah, Lily, Nora, Sophie, and Zoe. The seven mermaids had a thing with alphabetical order. 

They all looked very similar, and each resembled her sister even more so than herself. I don’t know if that is physically possible, but it was true for them. All of them kind of had the same face, yet different color eyes, colored hair, and texture hair.

Charlotte came to the ocean and met the mermaids. She loved them more than anything. She asked to become one of the mermaids, as that was what the mermaids wanted her to do on Day One. But the mermaids regretted saying that because they thought she should stay with her own kind above the waves, because she should get used to not being around the mermaids so much. The mermaids didn’t want her to have a hard time in the real world and didn’t want her to become a sister with them, regardless of their love for her. It was because of what happened the last time they made a human girl a sister of theirs.

 But then the mermaids learned that she was too sick without the care of the mermaids, and if she stayed with her cruel stepfather, she would surely die. They noticed her changes in behavior, like how she seemed to never want to leave the mermaids and knew she needed their help. And so the mermaids relented, and one night Charlotte joined them, and there were eight sisters. Charlotte loved being one of them, and she was no longer sad. The only reason she was sad was because she was without them. Pain can only be felt if experienced.

Charlotte soon realized that her stepfather was furious. He went out to the ocean with an extraordinarily large fishing net. He was an especially good swimmer, and he put his one and only talent to work. Of course, he didn’t hear the mermaids singing. Only people who really cared about the mermaids could hear them singing. Neither Charlotte nor the mermaids knew about the half-bald stepfather and his trying to murder mermaids, until Charlotte did, which was too late.

Before I go on, I suppose I should tell you several things about that ugly half-bald stepfather of Charlotte’s. The first thing is his name is Farley. Yeah, you heard it right. His name is Farley. That was part of the reason he was so evil, corrupt, unpleasant, cruel, vicious, bad, and downright ugly. I don’t think I had to use seven synonyms for the same kind of word, but I was kind of used to doing it because that’s one of the things the mermaids would say in line. 

So when Farley (yes, Farley, get over it, I have to call him Farley too) first set out with the net, Charlotte quickly went over to the mermaids to warn them. But that was no help. Grace was long gone. (I think that was the most depressing sentence I’ve written so far besides “his name was Farley.”) Emma and her sisters realized that the seaweed beds and plentiful food were a trap from Farley, so they made sure to steer clear of them. Charlotte informed them to move to the colder, more dangerous waters where Farley (hopefully) wouldn’t find them. Unfortunately, the mermaids weren’t very lucky, and the results weren’t very hopeful. Charlotte had no idea how it happened, and she would soon find out, but about a month later, he had captured Hannah, Sophie, Lily, and Zoe. A week later Farley had Nora in his clutches. Emma and Charlotte were worried sick about the other mermaids and devastated, dismal, sorrowful, perimmistic, sympathetic, pitiful, and very, very, depressed. (Again with the seven synonyms for one word thing. I need to stop.)

Charlotte didn’t want to, but she had to. She bid Emma farewell.

Charlotte thought she knew where Farley was spending all his free time — at home, but it wasn’t there. Charlotte decided to follow Farley to wherever he was keeping the mermaids. In order to rescue them, she needed to know where they were, of course. From their house, Farley swam underwater until he reached a continuous dim and shady tunnel. There was an immense glass box filled with water where Lily and Hannah, the mermaids three and four, were in. Their vivid and innocent eyes shone with delight in hopes that Charlotte would be able to rescue them. Of course, they couldn’t talk, because Farley still hadn’t seen that Charlotte was right behind him, and Charlotte hoped he wouldn’t. 

Charlotte saw the other tanks in front of her. She looked at the spiral staircase where viewers could go up and see the mermaids from there if it was too crowded, which of course had never happened before. There were a lot of ways to see the mermaids. For example, next to the risers above the staircase, one could sit on the reclining comfortable and large chairs. 

Charlotte viewed the modern and comfortable looking aquarium. The well-lit room easily expressed the mermaids in a beautiful way. A soft and mellifluous voice echoed through the room. 

“Charlotte, we’re here… ” the mermaids’ voices drifted off. 

“We have so much to tell you!” the mermaids whisper-shouted at once.

Charlotte turned on the opposite side of the glass and walked under the glass arched tunnel where mermaids could swim inside. Charlotte could see Emma right beside her inside the glass. Charlotte didn’t know how to react or respond to Emma. She hadn’t seen her in months. 

“I’ll find a way. I promise,” Charlotte declared. 

“What we need most is a plan. We can discuss it after Farley leaves but please don’t talk, because I know how much you love to, and it can get way out of control.”

All the mermaids seemed extremely excited to speak for the first time in months.

“Okay,” said the first mermaid.

“All right,” replied the second.

“Permitted,” declared the third.

“Fine by me,” said the fourth.

“Approved,” replied the fifth.

“Tolerable,” said the sixth.

“Surely,” declared the seventh.

Charlotte tried to be sensitive about how the mermaids hadn’t spoken in such a long time and allowed them to talk as much as they did, but it became difficult for her to tolerate. Charlotte gritted her teeth while smiling. She attempted doing this a lot, and most times she didn’t realize how ridiculous she looked while doing it. It is, as one most likely knows, one of the most preposterous actions one can do. 

“I have to find out more about Farley before I can help you, okay?” Charlotte said hastily.

Charlotte sprinted past the glass tunnel, tanks, and an unfinished kind of snack shack on the far left through an exit. She found another door with buttons for numbers locks, a keyboard, and switches. I know the drill by now, Charlotte thought confidently. She turned the handle and grinned as the door creaked open. 

Charlotte was shocked by what she observed in the bright modern-looking corner of the room. A desk. No, not a desk, but what was on the desk. A laptop. Well, not that either. Charlotte didn’t find laptops that exciting and exotic. It was a progress report on Word on the screen. Charlotte didn’t find it shocking until she read it. Charlotte revised all the spelling and grammar mistakes and changed the font as she read the reports. She also interpreted it the best she could because it could be vague and difficult to read. After revisions, it read:

Progress Report #1 4/7

I captured the mermaids today. Two of them. They all look the same so I can’t tell which one is which, though. I only realized that there were mermaids today anyway. I was wondering why Charlotte was spending so much time in the ocean. She appeared to be talking, also. I thought maybe she had gone insane, like me.

So I thought there was something in there. I decided to look. I couldn’t find anything at first. But I began to discover, little by little, more about mermaids. They like to rest near beds of seaweed. They love coral and live near it. They also can’t stand to be away from fish and all sea creatures and their sisters. I made all of these things they like happen. And they were baited. 

My plan had worked, and I was so proud! And I found a few things in Charlotte’s room. She had journal entries describing what she had learned about the mermaids, which also helped me grasp the knowledge. I figured out that mermaids only present themselves to little girls, so this was going to be more difficult than I thought. The mermaids had given Charlotte the gift of being able to transform into a mermaid whenever she wanted. 

Anyway, I baited the mermaids. I knew that the best time to capture them was when Charlotte and the mermaids were talking together. The mermaids were so close to me, I felt the urge to just snatch them. 

I don’t know why.

Now Charlotte just wanted to hurl the laptop against the wall. She wasn’t even editing the report that much. She knew that it was important, in order to see change, to not edit. By the end, it didn’t even sound like Farley anymore. But it was. She continued reading. Barely even editing. Regardless, back to the report:

I grabbed my fishing net and tugged it underwater. I scooped up the mermaids with the net. Mermaids #1 and 2 were light and easy to pull. I had already created the tanks. On the bottom ocean floor, I created a path of stones to the tanks. After following the stones for a long time, I reached a small, round red door. But when the door opened, water wouldn’t gush in, either. I don’t know how it works, it just another thing that’s magical I discovered.

I repeated this process several times, until there were no more mermaids seen. They tried, they tried, they tried to escape but it didn’t work. NO. Nothing worked for them. They were emotionally hurt, vulnerable and I just mindlessly took them away, out of a place where they were once so happy… 

She pressed her head against the keyboard as she struggled to think up a plan. A plan that would work. But she couldn’t think here. The perfect corners in the room seemed to be limiting her imagination. 

But the gears in her brain began to turn as she gathered all her information and researched more. At first, Charlotte thought it wasn’t complicated at all. 

“All I have to do to rescue you,” Charlotte started explaining, “is come to the aquarium at a time where Farley isn’t, smash the glass tanks, and bring you right back into the ocean. Then all will be settled, and we’ll live happily together. I know it has to be more complicated than that because everything looks easier on the surface than it actually is.” 

“I know.”

Charlotte was used to hearing that response. Emma knew everything Charlotte knew.

“I mean, I feel, like you, as if nothing will work, and my sisters and I will be worse off than now,” Emma added.

If a mermaid shuts down your idea to save their life, well, let’s just say you need another plan. Mermaids are known for some awful lies like taking sailors to the bottom of the sea and drowning them in the process, but you won’t hear about a pessimistic mermaid. Like, ever. 

Charlotte wasn’t about to waste her time reading another progress report or research any longer. Now, she was onto doing. 

“It’s now or never,” Charlotte began, “I’ll rescue you now, or never. It’s simple. Either it happens or it doesn’t. Farley’s gone, but soon he’ll have security guards. My mom’s gone now, but in a few days? She’ll just have to know about you. And some things are just easier not to have to explain. So is this what you want? To stay here forever and never had tried to escape? Do you want to feel hopeless for the rest of your life? If we do get caught, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Farley’s an idiot, but not idiot enough to have you killed. He realizes how important you are. If we wait any longer, the whole world will know about you. Do you want that to happen? You know what? I’m going to try, no matter what you say about it. I don’t care if it doesn’t work. I don’t care if you don’t want to risk it. I’m doing it for you.”

“I didn’t predict that that was going to come out of your mouth,” Emma admitted. “And I’m sorry for what I said.”

“Also, your mother would completely understand years ago, but not anymore. What I need to tell you is that the mermaid who abandoned us years and years ago is uh, well, there’s no easy way to say this. She’s your mother,” said Emma. 

Soon, all the mermaids emerged into Charlotte’s sight next to the transparent tunnel.

“We detect regret,” Grace announced. “That doesn’t exactly happen frequently to us.”

“What’s the matter? My sixth sense has been off all day,” said another.

“I told Emma my true feelings, and I want to rescue you, if you’re down for it or not,” Charlotte explained.

The sisters smiled sadly and for once, in unison said, “My beautiful, brave girl. Even though you’ll free us now anyway, we’re down for it.”

The mermaids watched as Charlotte vanished away to Farley’s headquarters. The doors were all created with those pulleys, codes, and combinations, and all had the same way to unlock them. The top-secret room with the most valuable items was located in one of the most genius and basic ways possible. It was located from the tanks in the rudiment of a paradiddle. I don’t even know how Charlotte knew to find it this way. My guess is that she had way too much experience in locating things by now. Anyway, she took the exits in the order of right-left-right-right, then looked for the room. It wasn’t there. Then she took the opposite paradiddle – left-right-left-left. She found a small round red door with the same pulleys, codes, and combinations. Charlotte smiled as she turned the doorknob open, but she wasn’t grinning anymore when she heard a blaring alarm go off.

Farley probably only created this alarm because he realized if anyone was smart enough to get into the building and figure out the order to finding the most valuable room in the building, they are most likely something along the lines of psychoneurotically disturbed. 

Charlotte’s mouth dropped open at the sound. She looked inside the room and saw that there was nothing at all in the room besides a fishing net. It wasn’t valuable, but was all she needed at this point to free her sisters. 

Charlotte had never run so quickly in her life as she had that day. Nothing mattered right now besides the mermaids, and it was her job to save them.

The fishing net trailed behind Charlotte as she struggled to remember which turns she had made. She found herself in the wrong place several times, and was not merely nervous about it. She was completely anxious. Nervous and anxious are two very, very different words. I’m joking. I’m not going to explain something to you that you already know at a time like this. Also, I have no desire to be educational. You are probably one of those two while reading this — nervous or anxious. If I were reading this instead of writing it, I wouldn’t be nervous or anxious because I would have no control over what was written. I know, I know. No one asked me.

Charlotte was anxious because she had complete control over what would happen. But she wasn’t feeling or thinking as she gripped the fishing net harder and sprinted faster. Trial and error, she thought. She wasn’t doing trial and error, but thinking about the paradiddle. She thought about how the mermaids needed her desperately. She thought about how it was it her fault if she didn’t succeed. And the alarm was still going off. Charlotte grit her teeth, and, eventually, out of sheer willpower, got back to the mermaids.

Charlotte sprinted past the mermaids. She opened the entrance to underground, as it was the easiest and fastest escape route. Charlotte first followed the path she had taken to get to the aquarium following Farley to make sure that it would lead her to the ocean. As she darted along, she noticed a perfectly ordinary, barely noticeable, heavy rusted door. 

The door creaked as Charlotte pushed it open. 

She took in the briny sea air and observed the vast and turbulent body of water in front of her. Her eyes lit up at the thought of rescuing her sisters.

Charlotte knew that she had an opportunity, and she had to take it right away or else she’d never be able to save the mermaids. Eventually she’d forget about them and if not forget, she wouldn’t care about them anymore. The mermaids told her that. When they had made one other girl with them, the new sisters weren’t faithful to their promise — to never forget about her sisters and always help them through tough times. “It was one,” Emma told Charlotte months before. “We were sad for so long, and we tried to forget her but we couldn’t. We promised not to forget her even if she forgot us, but it was so, so hard to get past the thought that she would abandon us that way.”

Charlotte had always wondered why they spoke about her so frequently. It was about her connection to her mom. The mermaids had always hinted at it but never had gotten into detail. Charlotte wondered why her mom abandoned the mermaids — her guess was that it was because of Farley, her work, Charlotte, and mostly the whole scheme of things.

Charlotte left the small iron door open as she ran toward the mermaids’ tanks. She spotted all of them fluttering around anxiously in the tall water. 

“I have an escape plan!” Charlotte declared.

Of course, for any sea creature to survive in captivity, over the tank there must be an opening. If the glass is hacked away with an axe, it will all shatter, and the mermaids will not be able to survive without water. They can survive without water for about 30 seconds, at most. It’s not like how humans can stay underwater for about two minutes for mermaids. 

“I have something to tell you, even though it may seem ridiculous,” Zoe, the last mermaid said. “Because I’m last in everything I wanted to tell you this: Us mermaids can live above water for as long as we want if we are holding the seashell we had given you way back. It works for mermaids on land as it does for humans on water. Do you still have it?”

Charlotte undid a hook-latch in her neck and showed the seashell necklace to Zoe. “Tonight you’ll be the first one saved,” Charlotte said.

With that, Charlotte vaulted, grasping the fishing net, up to the top of the tank. She gripped the top end of the glass with her right hand. Pain surged through her body, but Charlotte was willing to experience pain for the mermaids. Charlotte dropped the fishing net, and Zoe got in, while swimming to the top of the tank. She pulled herself over and plummeted into Charlotte’s arms. Charlotte quickly put the pearl necklace around Zoe and placed her on the ground. If it weren’t for the necklace, there would probably be no other way for the mermaids to be set free.

Charlotte and Zoe didn’t at all talk the whole way, except when Charlotte asked about 20 times in five minutes if she was breathing all right. She was so worried about Zoe that she nearly missed the open exit. Charlotte finally reached the opened door. There was a very short walkway outside it. Charlotte ran onto it and dropped Zoe into the water, already inches away. 

Charlotte repeated this process with Sophie, and she joined Zoe in waiting for the rest of the mermaids. The process was then repeated five more times. 

When Emma and all the sisters were freed, Charlotte joined the mermaids, bright-colored fish tails shimmering in the dark and deep sea.

Even though they had their differences and an entire world that set them apart, the eight sisters would never forget each other, because they were sisters no matter what.

Epilogue

Farley notices the mermaids gone, and now realizes that it’s better that way. He was wrong, and like most bad things, misunderstood. Regardless, Charlotte’s mother realizes the truth about him.

At 40 years of age, Charlotte continues to visit the mermaids daily. She has a daughter who learns about the mermaids and how her mother saved them. She eventually becomes a mermaid, too.


Looking For Joy

Part One

The Book

One night, the boy Jack was reading in his room, when the smell of his grandma’s brownies replaced the plain, old, airy smell. Just a month before, his pops died. Later on, feelings still carry through the tragedy. The day this all triggered, his mom came up to him; tears came dripping down her face. ¨Son,” she takes a heavy sigh, ¨Pops died.¨ That was it. Those were the only three words she said before walking out the door. In memory of him, he was buried in the graveyard across the street from Jack´s house. Every night, Jack would view the picture of Pops that he placed under his pillow. Tears would roll down his cheeks, just like his mother’s when she told him about Pop’s death. But this night, this night felt different for him. Winds howled at the milky white moon and blew through the dark lonely streets in a hurry. Clouds started to group together; the sky grew darker as he kept reading.

He thought and thought. There were some hmms and ahhs then an aha! He discovered the thing behind all this. Jack thought about this for a long time. The winds continued to howl, followed by the lightning striking out of anger. Jack yawned, and, as he did that, put his book away and into bed he went. He tucked the covers on in one swift move and fell dead. 

The bell struck twelve o’clock, and in one shake Jack woke up. In a panic, he got out of his bed and took a look around. Winds still blew and howled, but not as much as before. The book, that was what was on Jack’s mind right now. Slowly and carefully, he took the handles on the window and nudged it, aware to not make a single sound. A small mouse squeaked as he pulled the window. He kept doing this motion despite it making a little noise. Now, the window was big enough to fit an entire human, enough to fit Jack. Thinking, Jack leaned towards the window and took a look down, not too deep. His body trembled and shook. He was thinking and wondering. He started back to his bed, then turned around, making his final decision. He ran the edge of the room, where there were closets and posters and down to the left corner, a door. He took two big steps toward the window in a fast pace and one giant leap, flying out the window. Kicking his legs, Jack managed to have a decent landing right in front of a rose bush. At the time, a car hustled by, and Jack ducked in the sharp rose bush, making sure not to be seen. 

The lights lit up the sidewalk, shining almost as much as the full white moon that stood out in the pitch black sky. Jack, who was very scared, made a sprint, staying very low across the street, and climbed over the low graveyard fence. He checked his watch: 12:10. He still had time, but not a lot. He crawled across the graveyard. Jack had memorized where his grandpa was buried to rest. One left, two rights, another left, then the final right turn. He kept repeating this to himself over and over again until he felt confident. He kept going through the graveyard, passing stones carved with letters. Though Jack was used to the graveyard, as if it were a normal thing, and it never really scared him, now was when he was really tested. Shaking and shivering, from not just the cold but the intensity and how freaked out he was, Jack continued step by step on the clumpy dirt through the graveyard. He took his final turn as a light shined on him. Jack froze. I’m dead. The light though continued to shine throughout the graveyard and left him frozen in his tracks. Jack, now with more caution, took his last steps to get to Pop’s grave. He took his frozen, bare hands and started to dig on the hard, dirt ground. Jack’s hands started to bleed with pain, but the boy Jack didn’t stop. Shoveling the dirt with exhaustion, he took a breath. The boy Jack studied the head stone, reading everything, then fixed his head down, staring at the dirt. Though, not just dirt was in his sight, but a golden, thick book stuffed with pages you could see sticking out. 

Now, the boy Jack was not just any boy. He was a smart boy. And with that, what he was searching for was positively lying right in front of him. Any other kid wouldn’t know that his or her desire lied right in front of them. 

Jack immediately identified this book, unlike others could have done. He snatched the book and made a run for it. Jack traced his steps back, following them back home. He looked up at the sky and couldn’t help it but stop and stare. The stars were twinkling in the pitch black sky and the moon showed the path for the lost aliens who were probably trying to find their way home.

Jack suddenly realized what he was doing and went back to running, clutching the book so tight that his palms were starting to turn a bright pink just like his face from the cold, intense weather. Jack climbed over the fence and froze in his tracks. How do I get back up there? Jack clutched the book even tighter and then jumped on the tree, hugging it. He climbed the tree, grasping every part he could. Jack then switched over to climbing the nearest branch to the window. Though there was quite a big gap between them, Jack was up for anything, my reader. You should know that. Jack gripped the book one more time, and then risked himself, and then made the jump.

At first, Jack just closed his eyes as he was flying through the air, then opened them, then hit the floor followed by a thud that could have woken everyone up. Jack threw his clothes off, closed the window, ran to bed, and then placed the book under the pillow where Pop’s picture was.

“I cracked the code, Pops. I did it.” 

The next day was Saturday. It was seven o’clock when Jack’s alarm clock went off. No one was up yet, but Jack felt something peculiar. He dug under his pillow and found the dusty, golden book. He opened the book and blew off the dust, and it flew in his face. Jack started to read; it was hard, but he put his all into it. 

In big, bold, handwritten letters the book said, “One left, two rights, another left, then a final right turn. This is how you found this book.”

Jack found this odd, because it was right. He peeled through the pages. “There are three steps to joy. One: Find it. Two: Use it. Three: Share it.”

Step number three was scribbled out. Jack also found this odd. What could this mean? He closed the book and thought. Now was when his brain was really working. 

Jack was stunned. He decided to go down for breakfast. Grandma was cooking downstairs; the smell of juicy bacon and gooey eggs combined in the air. Everybody else was sitting at the table, Grandma, Mom, Dad, everybody except Pops. He knew he couldn’t tell them about the book. Jack’s dad was reading the newspaper, sipping his coffee. Jack tried his best to act like it was a normal day, but he failed, still thinking about the book. He sat at the breakfast table when the smell of eggs and a subtle amount of bacon combined onto a plate that lay right in front of him. Everybody dug into their plate, devouring the beautiful smell of the meal, though, Jack wasn’t very hungry. In fact, he wasn’t hungry at all. 

“Jack, aren’t you hungry?” His mom asked.

“No, I’m fine.” 

Jack would have gotten up, except he knew the rule: you sit at the table until everyone is done eating, only then can you be excused. So as a result, Jack waited. 

When breakfast was over, he climbed the stairs and into his room, shutting the door behind him. He hopped onto his bed and curiously decided to keep reading. He picked up the golden hardcover book.

Jack found nothing. He started to get his hopes up and then, he found more information. “Looking for joy?” That’s what the book said. Jack stumbled upon the words, trying to make sense of them. 

“Land of dead”

This wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be. 

He started to sweat.

To chatter.

To imagine.

To wonder, most of all.

All of this was blended in Jack’s brain.

This couldn’t be. There was something else; Jack knew it. He flipped through the pages once again. Examining every detail. Most of the pages had designs on them in golden ink. Swirls and curls were carefully printed on each piece of paper. Jack opened his laptop. “The land of the dead,” he typed in the computer. Nothing. The screen went black, dark. 

His quest for joy just had begun. However, there was no telling what was out there.

Again, it was night. Thunder ruled the sky and lighting cackled away. Jack was puzzled about the book. He knew going back to the grave would bring him more clues and ideas. A full moon just appeared up on the big, blue, black sky. That was the signal. Jack carefully opened the window, and again, jumped. This time, he was not scared. Yet. As he crossed the street, he was starting to see everything. Dead bodies rising, ghosts floating. And that was when he fainted. Face first. When he woke up, the first thing he saw were zombies with scabs. Ghosts. White, clear. A big, deep black dropped jaw. If there was one thing Jack knew about ghosts, it’s that you can walk right through them. And that’s what he did. If there was one thing Jack knew about zombies, it’s that you can’t walk through them. So that was when he encountered a zombie. The zombie’s scabs were as red as fire. Jack, though, wasn’t giving up. He ran right past it, being as free as a bird. The investigation just started. Jack scanned the area, while still being aware of the fact that he was engulfed by the dead. He just didn’t understand. He was stunned.

Now, my reader, the expected is never going to be expected, not in Jack’s case.

So, when a big, black hole popped up, he didn’t know how to react. However, even in the most troubling, hard times, you can always learn or realize something. Jack was just uncovering another layer to the mystery. The big, deep, purest, darkest, blackest hole. Now, what this was, was unknown to Jack. Except, there is one thing he realized, that the zombies were guarding it, and when this discovery was made, another layer was peeled off and swallowed just like an onion. Now, it wasn’t that easy, Jack now had to make it back to his apartment, and safely.

Except, he wasn’t done. There was a feeling, a buzzing signal that flowed through his body. He did not know what this was and neither do I. Except, Jack had a clue, it meant to stay. He daringly, boldly stayed. Although, one moment later, no matter what, Jack knew he had to go. And fast. Except, something caught his eye. More and more zombies and ghosts were appearing out of the hole, more and more. Jack’s head was debating whether to leave or stay. Eventually, he had to leave. It was too dangerous. The hole clearly mattered to the dead though. He had to think more.

The next day, Sunday, was time for more investigating. However, last night left a mark on his head, and Jack was especially curious about that. And so, not much happened on that day, until, of course, the signal. It was, again, twelve o’clock. Jack woke up, but this time just took the stairs down and walked across the street. But that’s when he saw it. He had woken up a little before 12, now, he didn’t know this. As the narrator, it is my job to inform you of this information. And so, what he saw were whirling winds, tornadoes, and hurricanes. They were all forming one black hole. The winds were getting faster and faster, the hole was getting bigger, and the winds howled louder and louder. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, it stopped. Jack knew he had his opportunity, so with no thought, he stuck his hand into the hole, blindly. Now, when I said it’s my job to inform you on important information, I didn’t mean all information, though. This is something I can’t tell you, though, and what Jack saw in the hole. But all I know is that soon the zombies and ghosts came to defend the hole, and like yesterday, he had nowhere to go besides home, and that’s where he went.

And today was Monday. And that means school. As Jack left the house, he felt as far away from Pops as he’s ever been.

The bell rang, giving the entire school the symbol of recess. As Jack packed up his stuff, he felt a great deal of relief of excitement. Finally, an opportunity.

However, reader, life isn’t problem free. And that’s when Jack ran into Polly Jones, a seventh grader, which made her one year older than Jack. As she was heading out for recess, Jack realized she was talking about the same topic which had been on his mind all morning, and was holding the same book that was hidden under his bed. 

“And I figured out a way to see the dead!”

 And so, there are more people than just Jack with the same mission. 

And after school, Jack did his homework, however, from what I saw, everything was incorrect:

What is X in 4,043+X=7,657 pops

4,567+6,123=  land Of Dead

(5+7) * 42 – 17=  The book

And tonight was the first night that Jack went to bed, with a mind clouded with thoughts.

And the next morning, Jack didn’t eat breakfast; he wasn’t hungry. And so, with an empty stomach and a full mind, he went to school.

The first person he saw was Polly Jones of the seventh grade. She was reading a book, but not just any book, the book Jack also had. I guess Jack knew it was his time to act, because right then he said, “Hi,” to her.

“Whatcha readin’ Polly?”

Polly just glared at Jack and kept reading.

“Where’d you get that book from?”

This time, the minimal response. “A graveyard.”

“Which one?”

“The one my grandmother was buried in.”

And then Jack walked away, and that could’ve been the longest conversation he had and will have with Polly Jones of seventh grade.

The bell rang and all the middle-schoolers piled into their classes. However, Jack is different from your average sixth grader. He was smarter, faster, stronger, more athletic, and, most of all, more curious. And, due to these traits, Jack turned away from school, in search of a trash can to dump all of his questions into.

His mom and dad both had jobs, so they weren’t home at this time of day. But, Mrs. Moretti always left keys under her mat outside the door. He dumped his backpack onto the floor, and, immediately, with no more thought, rushed out the door. Instead of going to Pop’s grave, Jack had the intention to go to another grave instead. He dug and dug until there was a hole in the ground with a golden, dirt-covered book. He went from grave to grave, and at every grave he saw the same thing: dirt-covered golden books.

And on every book, it read, “Looking for joy.” And when you flipped the cover it said, “Lost your loved one? Bring them back by reading this book.”

And so, Jack concluded that in every death, there is a way to see the dead once again.

And that is when the binder clicked.

Today was the day Jack was going to face Polly Jones of the seventh grade.

“I need that book!” 

A group of sixth, seventh and eight graders surrounded the two right after they heard Jack scream at Polly. 

“Well, get it.”

And so, Jack swiftly swiped the book out of her hands, but she swiftly canceled his move by taking it back. 

“Who do you think you are?”

“Uhhh… A guy searching for his grandpa!”

“And I am a woman searching for my grandma, so out of my way!”

Jack swiped the book from her once again, and ran. This time, all the way home. To Polly Jones, it seemed as if she’d never get the book back again. But that was soon to change…

End Of Part One


Just a Nightmare

Jake ran as the nightmarish creatures followed him, their horrible screeches cutting through the still night air like knife grating on stone. Jake felt drops of sweat fall on the stony ground as he ran into the foggy black. Running from the evil witch Baba Yaga and her foul tiger and lion felt sapping of his strength. Jake ran into the inky black as the nightmare ensued. The ground stopped as Jake tumbled, as he fell into a hateful, scorning darkness. Jake snapped awake, and awoke to a bed drenched with sweat. Looking around, Jake saw the drooping, sleepy-eyed moon through the open blinds and thought to himself, It was just a nightmare, just a nightmare… Knowing he wouldn’t sleep again, Jake walked into the kitchen and was immediately greeted by the warm smell of pancakes wafting through the room. Jake entered the kitchen thinking, Russia could not smell better than this. Being a P.I has its perks. Just as he was about to bite into his fluffy warm syrupy mountain, the phone rang. Ring! Jake almost shouted his favorite Russian curse word “mudak,” meaning sh*thead. Suddenly, his pet gnome, Tret Elponocks — wait, scratch that — his gnome roommate, Tret Elponocks, entered the room. He was a serious no-profanity believer and would’ve punched Jake had the phone call not been from B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence) central.

“Jake, we found a frog nest in the woods 15 minutes from your base.” 

“Copy that central.”

Jake scrambled to pull on his gray B.P.R.D. logoed suit and jumped into his dark silver modified DeLorean, thinking, This is how to drive in style. Arriving at the cave where the frog nest was and pulling out his silver bullet submachine gun (and thinking he was not the lone ranger), he entered the cave and saw a horrible sight: all of the frogs were dead, but, more interestingly, most were covered with bloats and burns. Whoever had killed them was fast. The sulfur-like smell of magic, of a supernatural being, wait, the smell of smoke and gunpowder? Jake jumped as the cave collapsed in a fireball much like the fireball of an 1800s Russian hand grenade. Whoever was behind this was old or old-school. It was time to go to info central, a.k.a the gossiping horse tavern. Walking to the counter, he ordered a 1% proof beer. Obviously Jake was a weak drinker.

Jake asked the bartender, a bald man with a dark beard and eyes that seemed to always be half-way peering at someone, “Have you seen anything… weird.”

Keeping his voice low, the bartender replied, “Na’w, but I been hearing whispers, whispers about Baba Yaga and children going missing, little children… ”

 After having another beer, Jake walked back to the house. Then grabbing his computer, he dug into the vast files of the B.P.R.D. online library. Entering into the search bar, ‘Baba Yaga,’ the results were limited only to Hellboy’s personal report after fighting the witch. Hellboy believes she escaped, but her whereabouts as well as powers, allies, and all other weaknesses were unknown except one: Christian artifacts. He would have to call the Vatican, which meant calling his ex-wife turned nun who he had not seen or spoken to for 20 years. He hated making calls like this. Every number he dialed made him weaker. 

“Victoria,” Jake said. 

Victoria coldly replied, “Jake, what do you want?” 

Setting his jaw, Jake replied, “I need you to pull some strings.”

“For what?” Victoria asked.

“I need a holy pendant.”

 “Why?” asked Victoria.

 “To kill Baba Yaga,” was Jake’s reply.

 “Jake, where are you?

 “Russia,” was the only reply from Jake.

 “Fine. Bye.”

 And that was the last thing Victoria said before hanging up. A couple days later, a package arrived with a note:

Handle with great care. (Do not break unless your paycheck is over a million dollars.) (Still don’t break.) P.S. This is the holy pendant of Charlemagne. 

“Wow, she really overdid that. I have a weird feeling she wants me to break this.”

Carefully unpacking the 2,015-year-old pendant and praying it wouldn’t break, he heard a knock on the door 

“No, I don’t,” replied a tactical gear clad Victoria (with holy water shotgun).

After hastily getting dressed, Jake was stopped by an armed Tret Elponocks.

“And you are going where without me?”

Jake was shocked at the sight of his battle ready ex-wife and gnome. He watched her as she unpacked her vast set of ancient weapons and artifacts.

“Here,” she said as she handed Jake a set of 1800’s Russian hand grenades.

“You said you thought this was what was in the cave?” Jake examined the items before confirming. “How the hell did you get your hands on these?” He turned to her, obviously impressed.

She shrugged. “Black market, that’s all.”

Jake’s eyes widened. “You seriously broke the law just to get your hands on these?”

“Hell yeah,” was Victoria’s response. “We need to find out if these are really what caused the explosion.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I caught the explosion on the suit cam. So if we do some math, scratch that, a lot of math, we can analyze the blast and check the blast to the charge. We’ll figure it out,” Jake explained.

“Suit cams, forgot you had those.” Victoria frowned. “Ugh, I just wasted 13,000 on those just for nothing!” She was yelling a little too loud now.

“No, you just got us the iron that we needed for attacking Baba Yaga. Plus, it blows up,” was Jake’s smart*ss reply.

“Okay, if you’re so da*m smart, where’s Baba Yaga?”

“Well?” said Jake.

“That’s problem number two.”

Plugging in her computer, she searched for an obscure Youtube video that just happened to be on the B.P.R.D. channel. (She crunched the numbers.) Only 0.0000000000001% of 1,300,000,000 watched. But, it said what they needed. Thy got hooked up with the B.P.R.D. Russia Kazakhstan-Russia border agent, who had been hearing reports of children going missing in the border town of Kongelsk. Kongelsk was a small town with a thick surrounding wood and a small stream. Then, Jake, Victoria, and Tret flew to the nearest airport and then helicoptered in.

In the town, after ordering local vodka (just ‘cause), they headed over to the agent’s house to discuss Baba Yaga. The agent welcomed them with freshly baked gingerbread and more vodka.

Later, they hopped in an SUV and headed into the surrounding wood. After driving into a clearing, they saw (after blinking in the sun for quite a while) a small cottage on chicken legs. Seeing smoke coming out of the firepit, and after drawing weaponry, they headed closer to the cottage. Baba Yaga opened the door and immediately the house started running.

After jumping back in the SUV, revving the engines, and going as fast as possible, they finally caught up to the quite fast chicken-legged house. Victoria opened the car door and fired off a holy water shell. The house briefly stopped, as if in pain, and then continued. An hour and 20 bucks in gas later, Baba Yaga’s house stopped, cornered in a limestone quarry. Baba Yaga then opened the door, and after chanting words in ancient Slavic, a strange red light emitted from her hands, destroying the SUV. Promptly, Victoria fired another round from the holy water shotgun, and Jake fired some silver bullets from the submachine gun. 

After a bullet hit Baba Yaga, she yelled, “You cannot kill me! As long as Russia endures, I will survive!” 

All firing stopped. A silence fell over the quarry. 

Back at base, another round of torture came from Abe Sapien (who just happened to be the Russia/Kazakhstan border agent in disguise). More terror awaited… Paintball guns.


Little Short Nuggets of Life

Little Short Nuggets of Life is an ongoing collection of vignettes about events in the author’s life. The stories below are highlights from the seven snippets that have been written so far. Enjoy!

Some guy died on the freeway, and my dad was late picking me up. I think it was some biker who got hit. My dad says he drove past a bike and a white sheet with a person-shaped lump under it on Highway 24. Anyway, I got dropped off at the bus stop at 3:20 in the afternoon. And after waiting for about five minutes, I began to become restless. I know that sounds lame, but first, I usually get picked up within at least the first two minutes. And second, five minutes is so long when you’re just sitting there. Like, seriously. Have somebody set a timer for five minutes and just sit there and try to guess when five minutes have passed. I’ll bet you say, “Stop,” around three minutes. A minute is a long time! And then when you put five of them together, it’s like, six times as long a time. Around minute seven, I started practicing jumping up and clicking my heels twice. I only got it twice. Again, it sounds easy, but it really isn’t! Then I started trying to teach myself Patty Cake. I am an expert now. Then, I just sat there a bit more. The bus and everyone else had left by now. Then I counted how many birds I could spot in a minute. It was eight. Then I practiced what I would say to my mom when she finally came. I started talking to myself. Not because I was going insane, but because that’s what I do when there’s nothing else to do. There was a car this whole time that would circle the block with a woman in it with AirPods. She went around four times. I think she was lost. Everytime she came back, I was like, “Oh it’s you again!” There was a pea plant and I would pick a pea pod and squeeze it to see how far I could shoot the peas. Turns out, not all that far.  So I just waited. A bit more.

A random thought I had today, “What if there was a store that was filled with people and mosquitos could just come along and be like, ‘O negative, please.’ And the cashier would say ‘Oh, try aisle four on the right side.’ And then the mosquito would go to aisle four and pick out the human they wanted and take it home to drink the person’s blood.

Then what would happen is when a mosquito bought a bunch of humans, they would get to the exit and see one of those huge bins for food that gets donated to the food bank and stick in a baby or two. How would a mosquito check if a human was good? By how long their hair is? Or how soft the bottom of their feet are? And there would be farms for humans that are B+ and farms for humans that are A-. How would they pay for the humans? What do mosquitoes use for currency? What do ants use for currency? Ants are so advanced and have such complicated ant hills that maybe they use money, too. I wonder if bees know that they will die if they sting somebody. I heard that all bees are female except for the workers, who basically get treated like slaves. They just work until they aren’t needed anymore. Then the queen just pushes them out the door and leaves them to die. That’s so sad! Imagine if humans did that. “Oh, little Billy. We don’t have a use for you anymore! Well, you’re on your own now!” While writing this I thought, “What are some other insects I could talk about?” So I Googled, “Cool Insect Facts.” And here’s what popped up: Did you know that 90% of species on Earth are insects? I mean, that’s just so many. And I learned that 290 million years ago there was this dragonfly that had a wingspan of three feet! It went around terrorizing lizards and being a jerk to everybody. Do insects name their babies? I also found out that termite queens can lay 7,000 eggs in a day. Imagine how painful that would be. Just laying eggs all day long. You would never get to just relax. Just eggs and eggs and eggs and eggs and eggs upon eggs upon eggs. Anyway, that’s what I have to say about insects. I guess insect life will just remain a mystery. 

So in Berkeley around this time it’s been getting really hot. And everyone is rejoicing. For the past two months, we have had rain almost every single day, and when it’s not raining, it’s overcast. But recently I have been able to wear short sleeve shirts and shorts. At the same time, I am melting onto the sidewalk practically, but it’s a small price to pay for all this glorious sunshine. I just constantly want to be outside. Sometimes, in the middle of class, I just feel a strong, burning desire to go run in a meadow or jump in a pool somewhere. Although today might have been an exception. We have this thing at school called Endurance Day and it was today. We ran the 800-meter dash. And everyone was so slow. One kid took seven minutes. It was so boiling, like somewhere someone had dropped an atom bomb. But instead of, you know, leveling a whole city, it released an insane flood of sunshine. The quickest time was four minutes, sixteen seconds. To put that in perspective, the average 800-meter time is from 3:16 all the way to 3:30. That’s around a minute slower than what your time should be. At the end, I was so tired that I rubbed my face against a cool pole that was in the shade. And by the way, it felt wonderful. This afternoon, I am going to take full and complete advantage of the heat and throw a backyard dance party. Maybe I’ll invite the really weird recluse tenant in our backyard. She works at the lace museum and spends her weekends going to Renaissance fairs and jousting in actual chainmail on actual horses. And when you look up “awkward” in the dictionary, a picture of her comes up. She seems to not really participate in the normal hobbies people in society participate in. What’s the morale? I don’t know. Maybe rub a pole to cool down. Anyway, that’s the end I suppose.


the man in a bird suit that hardly looked like a bird. but i shot it down anyway. like a bird.

Hi there! Rosie here. And I’m going to tell you the famous tale of how I came across the bird that showed me the meaning of life: Have no mercy.

So, I was just strolling in my backyard when I saw this funny-looking bird. It had blue feathers and a red mohawk of feathers on top of its head and green eyes. Plus, it was unusually large. And it kind of creeped me out. At first, I thought it was a normal bird, but then it began to scream like it was the end of the world. Then my head hurt. Within five seconds. So, I shot the bird with a potato gun. Not dead, just “taken out.” Like they do in movies. It fell to the ground, and I looked up on Google what to do with an injured animal when you find one. The first thing that came up was to go to an animal shelter and give it to them to deal with. So, I put the knocked out bird in a sack and carried it to the nearest shelter. (Wow. That bird must’ve been very bad at defense if it could be taken out with a potato gun that I got at the 7-Eleven store.)

When I reached the shelter, I thumped the unconscious bird in my sack down at the desk and said, “One totally alive bird delivery.”

And then I walked out before they realized that I was basically kidnapping a bird. Run! But then, my legs began to hurt, and I gave up. Nailed it. When I got home, they asked why I had been gone so long, and I answered that I had been on a nature bird walk. And I walked away thinking to myself about how much they didn’t know. 

And that’s the tale of the bird that showed me the way to my destiny. Later, I found out that it wasn’t a bird at all. It was a man in costume.


Sharpclaw (Chapter One)

Chapter One

Sharpclaw soared through the sky. Finally, free, he thought. Sharpclaw looked behind him at the army chasing him. Sharpclaw flapped furiously, and the landscape blurred. Forests with tall pine trees, mountains with tall peaks, and deserts with prickly cacti and large blue pools whirled by until he reached the sea. The world swam before his eyes and soon, out of sheer exhaustion, he passed out.

Sharpclaw woke to the crackling of a fire. Sharpclaw, with his dark blue scales and dark, unforgiving gray eyes, tried to sit up, but someone said in a fresh but dark voice:

“Do not try. You are very tired and on the verge of death. I will bring you back in due time but for now, you need rest.”

Sharpclaw closed his eyes, and the human spooned some soup into his mouth. It was delicious, the perfect combination of buttery and salty with chunks of vegetables and meat. Then he felt horrible, like someone was sticking a red hot needle into his back. Then he felt it on his tail, on his wing, and in his neck. Sharpclaw thrashed and kicked, but it did nothing. Finally the pain stopped, and Sharpclaw stopped kicking. Everything hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as before. Sharpclaw wondered what was happening to him, but he was too tired and closed his eyes. The next day, Sharpclaw awoke to someone petting him.

“Brave one. You escaped the King Albitroix’s wrath. I’m proud of you,” said the person, who now Sharpclaw could identify as a young boy with black hair and freckles that lightly dotted his face.

Sharpclaw closed his eyes as the human commented, “You are Sharpclaw, aren’t you.”

Sharpclaw replied without speaking, by telepathy. ‘Yes, little one, I am Sharpclaw. That is obvious, but who are you?

‘My name is Darius. I am honored to meet you. How did you escape, and what will you do now?’ asked Darius.

‘I will destroy everything the Albitroix owns and loves. I will kill all his men, and I will pillage every village in the entire kingdom of Endview who are all loyal to the tyrant of a king that we have,’ Sharpclaw ranted.

‘Yes. I agree. Will you join me to defeat the king?’ asked Darius.

Yes, on one condition: I kill the king,’ replied Sharpclaw.

I will talk to Shadowcourt about it,’ Darius told Sharpclaw.

‘Shadowcourt? You mean the mythic clan that is hidden from everyone?’ asked Sharpclaw, surprised.

Why yes, how did you know?’ questioned Darius.

I heard my, ugh, master the king talking about finding and destroying Shadowcourt,’ Sharpclaw answered.

Yes, if you would like to come to Shadowcourt in less than three weeks, I suggest we start now,’ suggested Darius. The sun warmed his face and reflected of Sharpclaw’s body. The birds tweeted.

Sharpclaw tested his body. His wings rose up and down, and his legs made circles in the sand. It felt surprisingly good. Sharpclaw had expected to feel sore, but he felt like he could fly around a mountain.

Let’s go. Climb onto my back,’ Sharpclaw ordered.

Darius climbed onto Sharpclaw’s back and gripped the curved spikes that protruded from his back. Then Darius leaped onto Sharpclaw’s scales, where the saddle would be if Sharpclaw had one, and Sharpclaw took a running leap, stretching his wings out wide. The wind caught at his wings, and Sharpclaw began his ascent. It tore at Sharpclaw’s wings as he fought to fly higher. Darius gripped Sharpclaw’s scales, and his face turned white. Sharpclaw flew faster and faster, then dove down through the forest, leaving Darius’s stomach far behind. And his guts. Sharpclaw weaved between the pine trees that dotted the forest floor. Then, Sharpclaw lunged at a rather plump chicken who was resting on the ground and raced towards it before he caught it in his mouth. After that, Sharpclaw rose out of the forest..

That’s what real fun looks like,’ declared Sharpclaw as he launched himself higher.

Cluck cluck cluck,” clucked the chicken, terrified at the big flying thing that had appeared in its life.

Sharpclaw landed at an incredible speed, but the landing was completely smooth. Darius fell off Sharpclaw’s back and ran to the bushes where Sharpclaw heard some pretty disturbing noises that consisted of “Ugh,” “Blech,” and things like that. 

Little one, was that too much fun?’ Sharpclaw questioned.

“Blech!” replied Darius.

Wow, Sharpclaw thought. Darius really does not look good. Maybe I should help. Sharpclaw was astonished at how he was thinking. Just yesterday, he would have thought: Eww. Gross, get away from that disgusting creep. But now Sharpclaw wanted to help. Sharpclaw arranged stones in a circle.

Cluck cluck cluck!” the chicken clucked.

Sharpclaw silenced the chicken once and for all by breathing fire. That singed the feathers off the chicken, and the chicken died a fast death. Sad but delicious. Then, Sharpclaw gathered some leaves and made a place for Darius to sit himself. Then, Sharpclaw sent a message with his mind to Darius:

‘Come, little human, sit down and eat. You must be starving. I will go and hunt for myself.’

With that Sharpclaw launched himself into the air and sped off. Darius groaned.


The Lost Princesses

It was 10:00 am in San Francisco, and our main character, Angel, was getting out of bed and ready for the day. The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping. It was a normal day and a school day. 

“Get ready to go to school,” said Angel’s mother.

“Okay,” said Angel. She got ready, ate breakfast, and went onto the school bus.

Hey!” screamed Carol, Angel’s best friend.

“Hey,” Angel muttered, obviously embarrassed.

Angel climbed into the seat next to Carol, and they talked about random things like ads. The bus got to school, and for some reason, Kathy, the popular girl, was all by herself. 

“Why is Kathy all by herself?” asked Carol.

“Well, that is a strange sight, but to be honest with you, I don’t care all that much,” whispered Angel.

The bell rang, and everyone ran inside. Kathy walked inside slowly, looking very miserable. The teacher, Mr. Q, was confused as well because he was used to yelling at Kathy to be quiet because she talked so much in class. Then at lunch, Angel saw Kathy’s two best friends Adrian and Alison. They were talking to the other popular girls at the school, snickering and looking over at Kathy. Then Alison went over to Kathy and snatched her weave, and then Kathy went over to the bathroom crying, but who cares? Angel and Carol were eavesdropping because they wanted to know what was going on with Kathy and her friends.

Adrian said, and I quote, “I don’t know why Alison and I even hung out with her. She is so lame.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that Alison and Adrian had such high standards for friends,” said Carol.

“They are snooty, popular girls. What did you think?” said Angel.

The time passed by quickly, and it was time to go home. Carol and Angel were going to have a playdate at Angel’s million dollar mansion, because why not? They were going to play Fortnite, and Angel was going to beat Carol so hard in Fortnite. So they went to Angel’s mansion, and they started to gossip because they could. On the news it said that a chicken tornado was coming to town. Carol was running in circles because she was terrified. Angel was scared, but thought it was a good chance to get chicken nuggets. Then they heard a big bang. A chicken tornado was outside, throwing chickens everywhere. Suddenly, a strange glowing started coming from the ground, and the walls were twisting up. It was obvious that they were entering another dimension… but that’s not possible, was it? The two girls were hearing an explosion somewhere in the distance. They were in mist, seeing a strange figure coming out of the fog. Carol was obviously freaking out because she was choking for air, but was alright… somehow. Angel was in shock, but was slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together, and that explained where her parents were. It was a person, with long wavy hair and crystalized eyes.

“Hello,” said the strange being.

“Hello, what’s your name?” asked Carol.

“My name is Tyra, Carol,” said Tyra.

“How do you know my name?” asked Carol.

“I am the being that controls the whole earth. You can say that I’m basically Mother Nature,” said Tyra.

“Oh okay. Wait, what?!” said Carol.

“Well anyways, I am glad that I have brought you here, since the world is in danger, and I need your help,” said Tyra.

“Why our help?” asked Angel.

Well, let me tell you a little backstory,” said Tyra, doing some weird magic do to a flashback.

It was a beautiful day on Mewni, the dimension where Angel was from, and Angel was the princess of that dimension. There was a war between Mewni and another dimension called The Terror Dimension. The Terror Dimension wanted to take over all of the dimensions, starting with Mewni. Angel’s parents, Eclipsa and Dusk, sent Angel to earth so that she wouldn’t get hurt. The butler, Alfred, was actually from Mewni, and he was sent to protect Angel, since she was the princess.

A similar tale of events happened to Carol’s dimension. Carol was also a space princess that was sent to earth. The dimension that she was from was called The Blessed Dimension. The Blessed Dimension was also under attack by The Terror Dimension. Carol’s parents were named Mythil and Peridot. Carol had to leave The Blessed Dimension when she was very young. But since she was a space princess, she had super memory.

The two girls heard their backstories and were amazed with how this secret was kept from them for a super long time. Since the two girls were space princesses (which totally makes sense), for some odd reason they could remember everything, so their memories were wiped. They still had their super memories, but they were not activated for some reason.Then something random happened. The girls started to float, transforming into weird but useful space princesses. Then something magical happened. A sudden blast appeared, and Angel had a magic royal wand. It had a crystal star on it, and the star was made out of who knows what. The wand also had two devil horns on it. Carol’s wand had a heart on it, and it also had a material of who knows what. When Angel touched her wand, it glowed, and a blast came out of it. All of a sudden, there was a hole in the space time continuum. The blast of the magic wand had literally ripped a hole in the space time continuum. But Tyra quickly patched the hole up. 

“Hmmmmm… ” said Tyra.

“What?” asked Angel.

“I don’t remember the royal magic wand being this powerful. Maybe it has something to do with your persona,” said Tyra.

Carol tried to blast her wand, but it was an epic fail. A little fart noise came from the wand and a little sparkle came out.

“Hey! Why doesn’t my wand work as well as Angel’s wand?” asked Carol.

“Well it might be because of your aura and your personas,” said Tyra.

The two girls continued to practice their wand magic stuff, and Angel was doing way better at the magic than Carol. Carol was about to rage quit when suddenly a spark came from her wand. Then, when she tried doing the spell lumos — a spell that would make the tip of her wand light up, producing a source of light — her wand produced a source of light. But that fantasy only lasted about 3.1 seconds. She tried to smash her wand on the ground, but it smacked her in the head. 

“Are you okay?” Angel asked.

No! I’m not okay! My wand just hit me in the head!” she sobbed.

Carol was upset. She couldn’t deal with this. but then she had a ‘smart’ idea. The quotation marks mean that this was actually a horrible idea, but who am I to judge? I mean it’s her decision, right? Anyways, let’s get back to the story. When Angel wasn’t looking, Carol snatched her wand and tried to use it. Turned out that both wands had attitudes, so Angel’s wand sent a blast towards Carol’s face. Turned out that it was a strange but effective tickle spell. Carol fell on the floor and hit her head on… the dimension floor! Angel turned around to see Carol. 

Okay, Carol, we might be best friends forever after, but that was so rude of you,” said Angel in an obviously upset tone.

These wands are evil and corrupted!” Carol screamed. “I don’t want to do this anymore.

“Well, it is only a couple of days from now that the world will be destroyed. I guess I will have to summon another warrior to fight alongside Angel,” said Tyra, popping in from out of nowhere.

What! You can’t replace me. I am irreplaceable!” screamed Carol.

“Sorry, girl, but you are not all that!” said Tyra.

Carol had a tantrum in the corner, while eating ice cream. Where did she get it from? Nobody knows. Eventually Carol came around because I need to get back to the story. Carol actually managed to make a spark come out from her wand, without it making a fart noise.

Ahhhh! Progress!” said Carol. She actually managed to do a spell without almost blowing herself up. Then, her wand lit up, and she tried to do a powerful spell, and it almost worked. Angel was obviously determined to get the spell right, since she was always succeeding in life. Angel wasn’t really practicing her spells since she didn’t want to make Carol feel bad about her “magic abilities.” But then Angel was going to do a spell that could easily rip a hole in the space time continuum. Being the child that she was, she did the spell, and it succeeded. Tyra didn’t notice, and somehow Angel easily patched up the hole. So it turned out that Tyra did notice and gave Angel a book of spells. 

“Use this book to study, and then you’ll be ready,” said Tyra.

“Ready for what?” asked Angel.

“To save the world from The Terror Dimension,” says Tyra.

Wait a minute. You’re saying that she gets to be advanced, and I don’t?! This is an outrage!” screamed Carol.

Tyra had to seal her in a magic bubble to stop her from murdering someone. Angel was becoming more advanced with every passing moment. The wand seemed to glow more. 

“You are ready,” said Tyra.

“But what about Carol?” asked Angel.

“Well, she will have to use what she knows already to help you in this battle,” answered Tyra.

“I can train her!” blurted out Angel.

“It will be a challenge, but it’s good to take risks and stuff,’’ said Tyra.

Angel used all of her energy to try to train Carol. It had an outcome. The outcome was that Carol actually knew how to do magic. She wasn’t as good as Angel, but it would do.

“She too is ready enough to face pure evil,” said Tyra.

“Why don’t you help us out?” asked Carol.

“Well, I’m lazy. Well, good luck,” said Tyra.

Tyra started to open up a portal so that Carol and Angel could go and face the mastermind behind The Terror Dimension.

“Well, like I said, good luck.”

They went on a journey like no other. They went through galaxies, and they destroyed meteors. Finally, they made it. Well, not to the Terror Dimension, but to the entrance to the Terror Dimension. They went in. They needed a way to get past the guards, because they did not want to use their magic because they were being lazy.

“Okay, so let’s sneak past the guards by sneaking past them,” said Carol.

“That’s not a very well-thought-out plan, but okay!” said Angel.

So basically they snuck past the guards somehow. They entered the Terror Dimension, and it was horrible. There were lost spirits everywhere, and they looked lost. With all of their courage, they carefully walked to the dark castle, where the mastermind of the Terror Dimension was reigning. 

“Okay, so let’s knock on the door,” said Carol.

Before Angel had a chance to respond, Carol knocked on the door. So that was a mistake because then the guards found them out and put them in a jail cell. They escaped because they had magic, after all. The two girls that had no idea what they were getting into were about to face the evil mastermind himself. Oh and by the way, nobody knew his name, just because. Anyways, they snuck into the throne room, seeing that the ruler of the Terror Dimension was playing Monopoly, all by himself. They somehow snuck behind his throne and managed to do a sneak attack on the ruler.

Ahhh!!!” screamed the mastermind.

But somehow he dodged the sneak attack. Probably because Carol wasn’t really contributing to the spell. The mastermind was silently laughing.

“What are you laughing at!” screamed Carol.

“You girls can’t even do a spell, and you have been sent here to end my reign? Well, I’m afraid that you won’t be able to stop me,” said the mastermind.

The two girls attacked, fighting for the whole universe. Not like there was any pressure, or anything. They tried to defeat him, but the mastermind was too strong for them. Then, something happened. Angel gained spade marks on her cheeks. They lit up. Then she said a spell that she never learned before. I call the spell which has no name, created by my mother from which she reigned, I call this spell for all its power, now stand before the queen and cower. The spell had no name. 

The wand let out a big blast that made a big explosion. The mastermind was harmed a lot, but he didn’t die since this story is kid friendly. You’re welcome.

“Woah, what was that!” screamed Carol.

“Well, I don’t know,” replied Angel.

“Your mission is complete,” said Tyra, coming out of nowhere.

What!” said Carol.

Tyra explained how since Angel was in need of a really powerful spell to “defeat” the mastermind, it was something that the wand did automatically for people with a really strong persona. 

“Now what is going to happen? Will we be going to earth? Or will we be going to our own dimensions?” asked Angel.

“Well, I recommend that you stay on earth, not to call any attention,” said Tyra.

“What about these cheek marks that just showed up out of nowhere?” asked Angel. 

“The cheek marks will disappear only if you think hard enough. They appeared because of your persona. This has a lot to do with your magic,” said Tyra.

Angel thought hard enough, and then the cheek marks disappeared from her face. 

“Now I will open up a portal so that you can get back to earth. Keep practicing magic. I will give Angel some dimensional scissors so that you girls can visit any dimensions any time you want to. Just think of where you want to go, and pretend to cut the air. That’s how you create a portal. Come to me for training anytime you want to,” said Tyra.

“Okay, bye!” said Carol and Angel at the same time.

Angel made them a portal to earth. They arrived, processing what just happened. 

“Okay, so let’s study some magic. Tell me all of your magic tricks!” said Carol, like their situation didn’t affect her whatsoever.

“Okay,” said Angel.

They studied their magic, with Angel eventually getting her own indestructible training room for very powerful spells. They eventually visited their dimensions, seeing their families for the first time. 

The End


The So-Called First Book of Stickman

Prologue

A note from Stickman: Hi, my name is Stickman, and I am the richest person in the world! Not to brag or anything… but today I will tell you how by going in this time machine!!! Um, guys… I said — in this… time machine.

The TV producers looked at each other. “We forgot to bring the fake time machine.”

Cue to an hour later…

Producers call, “Action!”

“As I was saying… the time machine!”

Two seconds later, Stickman ends up in his kindergarten class.

Oh, that’s why when I was little random time machines appeared out of nowhere.


Chapter One

It was a Saturday. He sees himself as a little kid trying to sell everybody Pokémon cards and gum. 

Stickman: “Yes, I was selling products since I was a kid. But I did get in trouble once or twice. Or three times. Or the whole school year… ”

All the cool kids had Supersoaker 3000’s and leather jackets. But me? Probably just wearing my Ninja Turtle’s shirt and my bag full of products. And at the end of the day, I always have a hand full of money and put them in my piggy bank! It was full of 1, 10, 20, and even 100 dollar bills! I even bet my family tries to steal my piggy bank! And that’s why ever since I was 10 years old I spent 500 dollars on a high tech laser lock and a pressure plate trap, which was later used as a chair… Anyway, that’s why my family probably hates me from the overwhelming alarm. By the time my brother goes to college, he will probably be deaf.

Speaking of college, when I was 18 I got accepted into Harvard Business School. At first I got a $1,000 scholarship, but soon enough I did magic and got a full scholarship (by scolding the school council) and started my first year. I threw away all my Pokémon products and filled my backpacks with instant coffee! I became an instant hit (soon enough I went into instant tea and instant noodles).

And no, it is not magic or anything…

Anyway, that’s when I met Centman.

Centman was a jerk. When I sold Cup Noodles, he would tell on me, then sell them himself to have less competitors. You might be asking, “Why didn’t you tell on him?” Well, my little fans, he would lie and find any way to change the topic and get me in trouble! Da da da da!!!


Chapter Two

Ever since kindergarten, this little rascal and I were put together in the same classroom.

The teachers would always say, “Ohhh, you’re best friends. You’re just debating, not arguing.”

But to tell you the truth, we hated each other. And hated each other’s guts. He was very annoying, and he was just horrible. He would always wear a beanie and a red T-shirt I didn’t like. (Sometimes I think he’s wearing the same shirt every day. Ew!) Not only that, as I mentioned for some reason we always get put to the same class every year! By the time I was in sixth grade, we both expected to be put in the same class and have the teacher say “you two are friends!” over and over again! And that is why he will always be there and haunt me… 

For example, when we were seven years old, at recess he tripped and cried, and once the teacher came to ask what happened, he told them that I pushed him even though I was like 300 feet away!!!

That’s why we hate each other. But now I think that I was the person who pushed him because I got a little carried away when I came thought the time machine… Anyway I’m not in NASA, so I don’t know how the time thing works. Oh, that’s why we hate each other… Anyway, uh, now I feel bad for him. So back to the story! But even though I did push him once, what I did to him was not even close to what he did to me. I bet if I counted the thing I did to him compared to the things he did to me, it would probably be 1 to 100,000,000,000,00,000,000,000,000,00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.000,000,000,000,000,00.

You might be wondering, When is the story of how you got rich? Well, hold your horses because that story will start at the next chapter.

(Note: There will be a big prank I will do to Centman in the end. Stay tuned.)


Chapter Three

Today I am back in the present thinking of my big master plan.

So I ran to my table and put a big piece of paper and started my plan. And this is when I realized that in all of those action movies it is harder than it looks to forget everything and think of a plan. So for the next three hours I thought and I thought. In the end I came up with a bunch of lame pranks and in the end none of them worked. Oh no, I forget to tell my life story, so stay tuned.

The End… for now


Sneak Peak for Book Two. Rules: Do not tell anybody. 

Stickman: “Hi fans, I’m back and better than ever, and today is the day I will tell you the story of my life… after I drink this coffee.”

One hour later… 


“Ahhhhhhhhhh, much better. Back to the time machine.”

*This is not sponsored by Back to the Future.*

“If I can find the on button… ”

Two seconds later, he ends up at his college.

“Ah, back in the day… ”

To be continued… 


The Stolen Diamond

On a February morning, everyone was crowding, waiting for the opening ceremony of the new and only diamond shop in town. My name is Jake, and I’m the owner of the shop. I was really excited for the opening ceremony, because when I looked out, I saw a huge amount of people waiting for it to open. But then I got this feeling. I thought, If many people are here today, that means that I will have to be sure that no one will try to steal any of my precious diamonds.

On July 14th, in Napoli, Italy, I inherited a jewelry store in the city center. The store was owned by my father, who, sadly, had passed away about a week before. I was extremely sad, and yet I was happy.

I was happy that I was going to continue a business that was owned by my father. Another reason that I was happy was because I was going to have the experience of being a shop owner, which was new for me. The reason that I was sad was because it made me think too much about my father, whose name was Jake, just like mine. Well, my name is Jake the Second, so, technically, it is not the same name.

At 9:00 am the next day, I woke up, and it was my first day being the owner of the shop. I opened the doors and stepped into the store, and, far back behind the counter, I could see a small motion. I walked further into the shop — I took a peek behind the counter and saw nothing. Eh, it was probably just something that I was thinking about, I thought. When I dropped off my backpack behind the counter, I saw all of the employees walking in. After I saw the security guard walking to the front door, all of the people came flooding inside. Then I saw an employee named Ali walk to the security guard. They both whispered to each other, and then Ali walked off back to his counter. I walked to the cashier to see if there were people there.

I took a look and saw a line that went all the way to the exit. But soon I got the suspicion that someone was going to walk outside the door with a diamond, and I would not know about it. Then, I saw a guy walk out of the store with a small bag and little case. 

“Hey, security guard, follow that guy,” I said.

The guy started to run and so did the security guard. Since I was a track and field runner when I was younger, I started sprinting to the guy. We turned the corner, and I heard my voice huffing and puffing. I almost had — 

“Ah, I got you,” I said.

 I turned back and saw the security guard making his way over. 

“Call the police,” I said.

 I took a look at the case that he had in his hand and got a sudden flashback.

***

I was peeking through the keyhole in the door, and saw my dad putting one of the most valuable diamonds inside this case. He closed the case, put it inside his backpack, zipped it up, and put it in the corner of the room. Then he made his way to me, which was near the exit. I started to run away from the door. I rushed down the stairs. As soon as my front foot hit the ground, the door upstairs opened.     

***

The guy who was trying to run away from us had the exact same black case as my father. I heard the sirens of the police cars in the distance. My heart was still pounding from when I had chased the guy all the way here to where we had caught him. I knew the policemen were going to be here any second, so I grabbed the case and started sprinting to the jewelry store. I felt my heart pounding so hard, like it was about to explode. All I had to do was make it to the top room without the police getting me and asking me what the case had in it, and all these other questions. Come onnn. I am almost there. Just two more steps. Onetwo. I sat down, and apparently there was no one in the shop. Everything that I saw was getting blurry, and I felt my body falling to the ground. I put all my effort in, and I was just barely able to tuck the case under the desk.

The next time I woke up, I was in the hospital bed with a lot of doctors around me. 

“He is alive. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes,” I replied, still wondering why I was there. “Excuse me, I have a quick question. Why am I here, and what happened?”

“Okay, so this morning when one of the employees who worked at the shop was coming in, they found you laying on the floor with your clothing from the past day still on. So they called us, and now we are making sure if you are okay,” the doctor said.

“Okay.” I said, acting like I was listening the whole time.

I had this feeling in me that they had taken the suitcase and did not tell me about it. I tried to get up, but then I felt this thing that pulled all of my chest hair off. I started screaming at the top of my lungs. All the doctors turned around with a shocked face.

“Why were you moving so much? We were trying to see if your vitals were okay.”

I didn’t want to end up having to pay so much money to the hospital for nothing. Meanwhile, as the doctors were talking, I slowly detached all of the vital cords. At night, when all of the doctors were gone, I slowly got out of my hospital bed, put my shoes on, and made my way to the front of the hospital. I thought that it was going to be super easy to get out of the hospital without getting caught by the security guard, who was probably sleeping, like always. Instead, the security guard was wide awake on his phone. On the side of the desk, there was a water jar from a hookah. Somehow, I managed to grab the jar. I threw it on to the other side of the desk, where the security guard was sitting. He ran over to the glass jar. Meanwhile, I snuck my way out the exit. 

Outside, I saw a person who looked familiar smoking. I took a good look at him. Then, I suddenly realized that he was the guy who attempted to steal my father’s case. As soon as I saw the guy, I also noticed the black suitcase that looked like the one he tried to steal from me. For some reason, he still did not see me, probably because he was in the distance. I tried to creep my way up to him. I made no noise at all. When I was so close to him, my foot crunched on top of a leaf. In the guy’s hand there were some broken pieces of glass. They looked so familiar to the ones that were part of the hookah, and he also had a green tube in his other hand. I grabbed his hand. Since I was so amazing, I had pepper spray in my pocket. I grabbed the pepper spray out of my pocket, and sprayed it directly into his eyes. The guy screamed in pain and fell to his knees. 

I was still confused why he had a green hookah in his hand. I walked into the hospital to see if the security guard was there. But he was not, and not even the green part of the hookah was there. I was so confused, but then realized that it was the security guard. I turned my back to the thief and tied his arms behind him. Then, I picked him up and carried him on my shoulders to the bus, throwing him in the luggage space underneath the bus. When it was our stop, I got off and brought him to my very big house. Once we got inside, I laid him down on the couch and slapped his face to make sure he was awake — since he had passed out due to the pepper spray. 

He suddenly got up and asked, “Where am I?” 

And then I came out from a corner to scare him and said, “You’re at my house.” 

“Wha, wha, wha — I’m — what?” he asked.

“Yeah, I pepper sprayed you and then you fainted, and then I brought you here using public transportation,” I said.

“Well that’s stupid,” he replied.

“Shut up and listen to me. Now tell me why you stole that suitcase from my store, then why you attempted to run away with it,” I said.

“Because as a little child, my mom and dad would always come to the store and admire how beautiful all of the diamonds and gems were. As I got older, I realized that I could be crazy rich if I stole some of the diamonds and sold them. One day, when your father was still working at the shop, I saw him bring into his office a black suitcase that had a mold of a really big diamond. On it was labeled ‘122 carats.’ I was shocked. So when he left the store, I snuck in before the store closed and waited until everyone was gone. I went up to his office and looked for the diamond. Then when I had found it, I closed the drawer and left the store. Before I got out the store, I checked the time and I saw that it was 4:30 am. I was so tired that I sat down on the bench and fell asleep. In the morning, when the store opened, the people saw me laying down on the bench. So I went to jail for two years for committing grand larceny. Your dad, the owner at the time, got really mad at me. So I went to jail and also got banned from the store.” he said.

After a while of explaining, I finally understood everything. I eventually called the police on him and the policemen took him away. 

When the policemen were about to put him in the car I said, “I hope you have a good time in jail.”

“Ohhh I will come for you” he said. 

That night I heard the guy’s voice repeating and repeating in my head, “I will come for you.”

But after that night I was all fine.

And then I lived a happy life with no more people stealing from my shop.

The End


3041

Chapter One

Alleyville, L.A. Year 3041

It all started when you got to school. You practically dropped your e-book when she told you. 

***

It was a normal morning. You had gotten up, told the computer a quick good morning, and went into the kitchen. But, that day, nothing had felt right. It was quite foggy out, unlike the normal sunny LA weather. You shoved some dry cereal with milk down your throat and headed into your room to get dressed. 

“Benny, clean my shirt.” The washing machine whirred.

(Benny was your computer.)

You slid on your newly clean shirt and some jeans.

You then hopped on your flypod and headed over to school. On the way to school you met up with your friends. One of them had a mischievous smile on her face — your friend Abby. She had been your friend since kindergarten, but you had recently drifted apart when she had started to become popular. When you got to school, Abby’s mischievous smile got bigger. When you were getting your ebooks from their ports, you looked at your friend, and her face looked like she was about to pop!

Finally you turned around and said, “Okay, what do you want to say?!”

She released her smile and said, “You know how everyone and everything is microchipped, right?”

“Yes,” you said.
“Well, my brother and I found an artifact from way back from 2017!” she squealed. You gazed at her in amazement.

“It’s called the iPhone X, and you can only see the person you are calling on the screen. Unlike now, the person is virtually standing there!!”

While you were getting your head together, Abby was ranting on and on about how she was going to have a party and everyone could see the phone.

While the school day droned on, you kept thinking that the police might find out. You are the person who always worried about grades and getting in trouble.

Finally, the day ended, and you went over to Abby’s house. You still felt a little unsure about having the phone without permission. Not even an adult knew about this phone! If the police found out, Harvard would not be happy. Once you had arrived, Abby let you know that she and her friends had decided to make a video to sell the phone to collectors on eBay, and she wanted you to film it. You took out your phone and clicked camera and started filming:

“I found an iPhone X in my backyard. It is retailing on ebay for 7.5 billion dollars. All the apps are in perfect condition and the settings work fine,” Abby said.

You and her friends all took a close look at it. You were all amazed as you scrolled through all of “Allison’s” old texts from 2017. You then heard a siren. The police were coming. You all ran into the closet, hiding the phone. The siren came closer and closer. You felt like the world was going to end. Abby was the popular girl. She would always take easy classes so she could get straight A’s without even cracking a textbook. All the teachers liked her and even got her special gifts when no one was looking. Unlike you, who would always be worrying about your grades and projects and things like that. 

But at this moment — no, you were not worried about your grades. You were worried that you would not be able to go to an Ivy League college! Harvard would never accept a criminal. Unlike everyone hiding in the closet (where the police would obviously find them), you hid Abby’s dads bathroom cabinet. As the sirens neared even closer, you thought you were going to faint. A few seconds later, you heard the police knock down the front door. Your heart was thumping so hard, you thought the police officers in the other room might hear it! You heard screams, shouts, and all your friends plead for their lives.


Chapter Two

“Is this all of you?” the police officer said sternly.

In your best friend’s best strong voice, she said the dreaded… “No!!! The person who brought the phone is in the other room!” 

You thought you were going to die. You heard the police push down the door to her dad’s room. Haven’t they ever heard of opening the door normally?! Anyways, you had to escape. For Harvard, you thought, for Harvard. Like a snail, you crept out of the cabinet, you slowly climbed on top of the toilet, and you opened the window. You looked down. Thank goodness her house was not a tall building. You slowly slid out of the house and delicately hopped into the backyard. What you didn’t realize was that the living room window (where everyone was) overlooked the backyard. 

There she is!!!” you heard a voice say.

You turned around to see four of the cops scrambling out of the door frame. You rolled your eyes and took out your phone and had it make a teleport and you stepped into it. Your world soon turned into a wavy black and white picture. Everything lost its color. Everything came into a wavy type of form. You waved obnoxiously at the cops, and seconds later you regretted it. 

You landed in a forest. Your watch told you that you were located in the Davy Crockett National Forest. Great, this was about an hour away if you took a flypod. You rolled your eyes. With today’s technology, it would take a snap of a finger. You were walking around for a few minutes, and then you heard a whirring noise. You looked up. Against the sapphire-blue sky, you saw a camo looking helicopter. The deafening noise of the helicopter soared above you. So they invented a talking toilet, but not a helicopter that does not have an ear-splitting noise? Sheesh. You ran so briskly that the S.W.A.T helicopter had to wait a few seconds before chasing after you. The wind blew around your ears, and they turned as red as a stop sign. At a quick glance you saw what looked like a tent and got a whiff of what smelled like beef soup. It smelled out of this world amazing. You glanced up to see the S.W.A.T. team was gone. A notification popped up on your watch. 8:08. Your stomach rumbled. It would have been so nice to have some dinner around now. You turned around to see all of these tents in a horseshoe. Just looking at it made you starving. You made the decision to go into the group of tents. You walked into the horseshoe of tents and knocked on one of the tent flaps.

A kind looking old lady greeted you with a not-so-subtle: “Who are you!!!” What seemed like her sons came running towards you. They were both wearing two rings in the shape of a skull. Their dirty hands came closer and closer to your face. They reeked of old cabbage and turnips. In a moment that was completely unlike you — who was usually meek and little — you slapped them both in the face. 

Never touch me without permission!” you yelled. This made their faces turn red and embarrassed. The grandma soon shoved her boys behind her and welcomed you into her tent. 

Before you could make out an answer she said, “Excuse my boys, they can be rowdy.” She reached into a gold box of tea, pulled out a travel cooker, and started to boil some water and took out some eggs. She took out a pan and said, “Fried or scrambled?”

“Fried please,” you replied.

She cracked an egg over the pan. The egg sizzled and bubbled over the pan. She motioned for you to sit down on a tiny velvet cushion. Her two sons sat behind her and as she flipped the egg over the tea kettle whistled. You quickly ran over to the kettle and poured the steaming hot water into the mugs she had laid out. She thanked you and turned back around. You sat back on your cushion. She sprinkled in some peppers, cheese bits, and onion into the omelets. The smell danced under your nose. As she placed the last omelet on the plate, she smiled at the delicious smelling food. 

“So, what brings you to these parts?” the lady inquired. She brought over the plates, and before you took a bite of the delightful looking omelet, you answered.

“It’s a very long story,” you said. You stared down at your plate. 

“Tell me,” she said. So then you sighed and told the whole story including the flypod, the phone. Through the whole entire story all she did was nod. 

At the end of the story, she glanced at her boys and said, “Well, some of my kids are looking for a friend. They are really lonely. You see, us backpackers are always traveling, and we could always use a fourth addition.” You felt your face turn red. You obviously wanted to say no, but you didn’t want to hurt her feelings. 

“Sorry,” you said. “My mom is very protective about where I go.” She hardly let you go to sleep-away camp. You forced a quick smile.

When she turned around to tend the stove, you exhaled. How were you going to get home, clear your name, and blame all the other people and tell them the truth?! Later that night, as the kind lady propped a pillow over the sleeping bag, you put your watch to vibrate for 4am.

4AM… 

You groaned as your watch vibrated. You rolled over and threw on your checkered Vans and sweatshirt. You slowly unzipped the tent’s flap and headed out. You walked for around 20 minutes and then stopped to check your watch: 4:21.

As you turned your head around, you heard, “Put your hands in the air in the name of the law!!!” the officer yelled through the microphone.

He sent down a ladder, but as he could tell by the look on your face, you yelled, “Nope! Not today, bro!

You ran as fast as your feet could take your. The helicopter followed you as you ran. He yelled in the microphone more and more about how he was going to catch you, so you gave in and climbed up the helicopter’s rope. But, as you were halfway up, you realized that this was not a cop helicopter. Instead of the camo pattern, it was covered in graffiti. You jumped off of the helicopter and into a tree. Behind the fake helicopter was a SWAT helicopter. You waved your hands in the air, and that somehow got their attention. 

The next day… 

As you stepped out of the chamber that you were kept in to get to the courtroom, you dusted off your now clean Vans that you spent all night trying to clean, along with your lifeguard sweatshirt. Twenty minutes before you had braided your hair. All of this was because you parents were going to be there, and they always knew you as smartie and a good girl. As you entered the courtroom, they handed you a paper. It talked about how to address the court. Your throat started to hurt. As you looked around, you heard a familiar laugh. You whipped your head around so fast your two braids slapped your neck. You saw all of your friends who were at the party. They all looked so confident that they were going to convince the judge that they were just innocent little girls when they were really annoying little brats. While the judge was talking, they all had their heads down in their phones. They took you out of the cage and into a seat — and you remembered to look straight at the judge when talking to him and say “your honor.”

“Order to the court, order to the court please,” the judge said.

He had gray hair, but was balding and he had a very raspy voice — he looked like he was a grandpa. He looked at you with a smile that said, ‘you’re going to win.” For once, you felt your heart be warmed again.

The judge looked at the other side of the court, at the other girls, and then looked back at your lawyer and said, “Proceed.”

Your lawyer had been assigned to you. She had blonde hair and freckles, and had a strict face.

Her name was Rachel, and she stepped forward and told the judge, “My client would like to tell her part of the story, if this pleases the court.”

You stood up from your seat and found yourself saying, “Your honor, our world is being watched over by the government. So much so that each person has to have a microchip implanted in their hand. Now, I’m not saying that it’s stupid that our government wants to watch over us. But, what I think I did wrong was to let my head take me places. Meaning that I let my head tell me to go to the party where the phone was held. Now, let me point out that I was not the person who brought the phone. It was Abby Lee-Ann Diaper!”

Abby’s face turned bright red. She stared so hard at you, you could swear she would have thrown daggers if she had them. Her mouth looked like she was about to yell at you so hard that it was going to knock down the whole entire building. She was about to say something, but her lawyer put his hand over her mouth. He whispered something to her parents, who were sitting in the row ahead of her. Her face turned even redder. Her face was now the color of flames. 

You felt a smile creep onto your face, but you quickly realized that it was better to keep to yourself. You turned your face forward towards the podium. Your lawyer stood up to speak and your mind started to wander. You started to imagine that you won the case, but everyone still decided to hate you. You groaned and turned your head back to the judge, who was still rambling on about how the government made the decision to have every single living thing microchipped (including smart-things).

Minutes later, while the judge was getting more and more off topic, you shook your head. You had been here for hours.

While the judge was getting water from his cup, you stood up and said, “May this please the court, for I have something to say. I think that we are getting a little off topic. May we please resume to the case?”

The judge turned his head at you with an annoyed glance. 

“Well, we have been talking here for two hours,” he said, “and you are the cause of this case.” 

Your hands rolled up into fists. Your face turned bright red. You looked at him straight in the eye. 

“Don’t give him what he wants,” your lawyer said.

Your face turned into a sly smile. You remembered your mom always telling you to not yell at your brothers when they would annoy you. You started thinking about what to say to the judge. This could be an opportunity, you thought.

“Well, me being the cause of the case is a little off,” you said.

Then you pulled out your phone and clicked on your photos. The judge gave you an odd look. You clicked on the recent category and started scrolling through to find pictures from the party. Your eyes lit up when you saw a video from the party. The video was you filming Abby talking about how they found the phone. 

“Perfect!” you murmured under your breath. You then went up to the judge with your phone in your hand.

You tapped your finger on the phone and the video started to play.

“I, Abby, found an iPhone X in my backyard. It is retailing on ebay for 7.5 billion dollars. All the apps are in perfect condition and the settings work fine.”

And then the video ended.

Later… 

Saturday, June 19, 3041

You woke up the next morning feeling refreshed with all the stress off of your shoulders. You were in your room. Not in a forest with a bunch of backpackers. Not in a jail cell or in a courtroom. You turned over to grab your phone from your nightstand and swiped up on your phone screen. You frowned when you saw the wallpaper on your phone, with all of your friends from the party. You quickly went to settings and changed your wallpaper to a picture of you and your camp friends. You smiled as you rolled out of bed. Your parents were already out of bed, making what you liked to call a “guilty breakfast.” The smell did what felt like cartwheels under your nose. 

The End

Unicorn Academy

Hello, my name is Cornpuf, and I am a pink fluffy unicorn. After being banned from Rainbow Republic — my original home — forever, we started a new life in the sun, since we had to get as far away as possible from the rainbows. Thanks to our shield-protected ship and our super power sun gear, we landed safely, so now we all lived inside a giant bubble that stretched up to six miles, so as you could imagine, it was pretty crowded here. We struggled to survive and ate whatever we could find, even broccoli. Bleh, we hated broccoli, but even with that we still had to go to school. It was called Unicorn Academy. Since we planned to get revenge on the rainbows one day, all of our classes involved skills. They were all taught by Rebbeca Hills’ family even if she was no more.

 Staff

  1. Defense Against Rainbows: Professor Reea Hills (little sister) 
  2. Color Gun Use 101: Mr. Hills (dad) 
  3. Unicorn Heroes and Heroines: Ms. Hills (mom)
  4. Surviving Life on a Different Planet 302: Mr. Alex Hills (little brother)
  5. Surviving a War: Mr. Aron Hills (uncle)

See what I mean? Anyway Professor Reea was really nice and so was Ms. Hills, but Mr. Hills and Mr. Alex were a little sharp, and Mr. Aron was really fun. Today Professor Reea Hills’ lecture was about the properties of hitting the unicorn way.

“You cross your arms, then release and punch,” she said. Then she told us how to blend in with rainbows and some new words, like pharaoh. Yeah, it never hurts to learn human words.

O-M-G! Today I got excused from Mr. Aron’s class to go to the principal’s office. I was totally paranoid that they discovered that I cheated in my How to Kick a Human’s Butt test, but no, the case was they had a secret mission for me tomorrow. At midnight, when everyone was sleeping, they would send me in a rocket and disguise me as a rainbow (all the humans love them) to another planet which I would investigate and see if it had all we needed.

Today I landed in Star Statues. Oh boy, I landed in the middle of Rainbow Republic, and I didn’t know how to get back. Ugh, there was also Rebbeca Rainbow’s new book on the shelf. She was such a show-off.

It was called “Encyclopedia of Rainbow Republic.” Yeah right, as if she knew anything, and I bet she didn’t mention what the poor pink fluffy unicorns had endured! She started the war, and I was going to end it. It was not our fault we were addicted to dancing on rainbows.


The Crime Kitty

Hi! Sorry I scared you there. My name is the Crime Kitty. No, it actually isn’t. My name is Cuddles! I am a black, fluffy, tiny kitty, but I have a dark side. You may not know me, but I am more than this so-called “adorable, cute, fluffy, and innocent” kitty. So, let me tell you why.

It was a dark and stormy night in New York City! I was with my owner (Emma). She is a 24-year-old adult who is in college, but she is super mean! I don’t remember her being mean when she got me from a pet store! Or maybe it’s because ever since she got me I made her life even harder. But she could have thought of that before! Well, back to the story. When I was with her, all of a sudden she told me, “Sorry, Cuddles, I have to go to the mall with my friends. Bye.” And then she just threw her sandals at me and left with a new pair of shoes. I mean, how rude! I have been planning for an escape ever since, and tonight was the perfect shot.

***

Ughhhh. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Why is it so hard to reach the doorknob!!! Oh wait!

Ten seconds later… 

Finally! I knew there was a stepstool around here. Now I can reach the door knob and wait! I need to pack necessities for the long trip ahead! Let’s see… 

Mini kitty backpack: check

Cat food and, well, food: check

My favorite cat jacket: check

And my milk: check

Well, I’m ready. Wow, I’m leaving now. Well, goodbye, house!                      

***

Doo doo doo doo doo do. Hmmm, well, since Emma’s not here to boss me around, I can do whatever I want! But I have to keep a low profile, so here are some personal rules for myself:

1: No making friends! (Keep a low profile. Tell no one your real name! Try not to be seen.)

2: If someone sees you, quickly run away without a trace!

3: Have fun! Do whatever you want!

Now I’m going to get a donut!

***

Hmmm, hmmmm, hmmmm, hmmmmmm, hmmmmmm.

I love donuts! But I have to focus on getting money! How am I going to buy stuff for myself if I have no money! And how are humans supposed to understand me when I want to buy something! Ugh, it was so much easier when Emma was taking care of me! But she was so mean! Wait a minute, I can just steal stuff. It’ll be much easier. I won’t have to lose a single penny! Well if I had one, but that’s not the point! But stealing is bad. Oh no, I’m hyperventilating again. Agh! Breathe in, breathe in, breathe out. Whoooo, that was way better. Hmmm, let’s see what time it is. If only I had a watch. Oh wait, there was a watch store near the city that Emma used to go with me. I think I have a clue where it is.

***

Creak. Wow, I never realized how creaky this door was. I guess the owner isn’t here today. Well, let me just take a look at this clock, and I will be heading out — Beee oooh, beee, oooh, beee, oooh!!!

Argh!!! So loud! Sensitive ears can’t take much longer! Meow.

***

Beee oooh, beee, oooh, beee, oooh!!! Ugh! What, where? Where am I? Am I in kitty heaven?! Tick tock tick tock. Oh, I guess not. Oh wait, I’m in the clock shop from last night. Hmm, I must have set off the alarms and passed out. Well, off I go.

Doooo, doooo, do, do, do,do — 

“Psssssssttttt.”

“Aghhh! Who was that?”

“It’s me,” someone whispered.

“It’s who?”

“Wow, I can’t believe you don’t recognize me!’’ A kitty stepped out of the shadows!!!

“I can’t believe it. Is that really you?!”

“Yep, it’s me!” My best friend of all time came towards me.

“I can’t believe my eyes. I’m so happy to see you. Whiskers, I haven’t seen you since you got adopted!

“You too! I missed you so much! But what are you doing here in the middle of the city unattended?” Whiskers said to me curiously.

“Ummm, what are you doing here in the middle of the city unattended?”

“You tell me first,” Whiskers said.

“Fine, well I ran away.”

“Why?’’ Whiskers asked.

“Well because I don’t like my owner. She is always so mean to me, and I just can’t stand it! I don’t even know why she’s so mean to me. Reow reow reow.”

“It’s okay, Cuddles. You have me?” Whiskers tried cheering me up.

“Yeah, I do have you. Thanks for cheering me up. But why are you in the middle of the city unattended?”

“Well, my owner took me to the park, and guess what?! She said she was going to go to the coffee shop to get a ‘latte,’ and when she left, she never came back!” said Whiskers angrily.

“Well, maybe she just forgot about you?”

No, she left! So I was left all alone in the park until I got hungry, so I went to the donut shop to the city,” Whiskers told me.

“Well, I have to get going. I am going to go explore. Want to come?”

“Sure,” Whiskers said happily.

So we went off to seek adventure! But then it was turning dark, and we saw nowhere to stay or sleep until we saw a jewelry store. So we decided to go in. But the door was locked, so we started walking away until there was the animal control truck came rolling in our direction! I knew that they were going to take us to the pound, and I will not go back there again, so we started running around the block.

Ahhhh we’re going to die!!!” yelled Whiskers.

“Don’t worry, Whiskers.” I panted. “We will lose him. I just know it.”

So we went running and running until we came back. But then, when I was running, I got shot with something, and I fell asleep, but then I saw Emma running towards me and saying, “That’s my cat!”

But when I woke up, Emma was hugging me, saying she was sorry she was super mean to me. I was so happy that she starting to act nice to me! But yeah, that was my story! I told you I am dark inside, so bye.

The End.


The Adventures of UNICAT!

Hello, I am a unicorn. Well, sort of!! I am in the slammer. I am a unicat to be exact! I got put here after I used my dark magic to hypnotize a man to do my evil bidding! Okay, so maybe not all of that is true! Okay, none of it is true!! Okay! I actually just used my half unicorn magic to get a free corn dog in McDonald’s and then tried to escape using my kiddy car after the cops came and told me to stop, but then I didn’t get far after I forgot to change the battery in that thing! They put this mask on me, and I imagined flying. Then I was on the moon! I think that mask had some of this gas that makes me feel all woozy and stuff!

Anyway, I have to escape!!! So I have a brilliant plan! As a unicat I need to keep my creative mind open. After all, brilliant ideas like mine come naturally in a unicat like me. Well the only unicat like me. I am the only unicat in the world! So lonely! Well anyway! I will use this plastic spoon to dig my way out of here! According to my calculations, I should be getting out of here in about… umm… years. Oh well! I am still digging, and I am super exhausted! Ahhh! I am a unicat, not a manual labored slave!!! That is it! I will use my amazing power to escape this place! If I spend one more day in the slammer, I think I’ll break! Okay, so this is my plan. I’m going in. First, I have to use my magical unicorn powers to bend the steel bars and squeeze between. Then, I have to drop kick the cops! (If that is possible.) After I do that, I’ll kick open the gates with my mighty strength (not really, I’ll just use my magic) and then I’ll try to get another free corn dog! I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right. I need to learn my lesson… I need to get two free corn dogs, duh!

Five minutes later… 

*Sounds of missiles crashing into the ground.*

Ahhh, these people are trying to kill me! I just open the gate quietly and start prancing to my freedom! I am also running with another one of my cellmates called Screamy Sam. He is a pony, and I should have known that he would have freaked once I opened the gate! Well anyway, we had a deep conversation about why he shouldn’t scream in the middle of operation escape prison and don’t scream! Well, I told him we couldn’t scream.

He says back, “Fine, then I’ll go, and you can stay here. I don’t want to close the gate on you by accident.”

I reply maybe a bit too brutally, “Why? ‘Cause you think that when I trip and fall and then the gate closes on my hoove that I’ll be limping and you’ll be calling me Limpy for the rest of my life and there will be a huge hideous scar across my eye, but all the real scars will be on the inside where my heart should be?”

He says, sounding a bit concerned, “ Ummm… are you okay, or should I call Dr. Phil?”

I say back, “No. Sorry you had to hear that.”

Anyway, recap. I am running as fast as my little hooves can go. I would fly, but I don’t want to leave my new (and only) friend, Screamy Sam.

A few seconds later… 

Yes, we are finally off! You may be wondering where, but we are going to… McDonald’s (to get two corn dogs, well, three for Screamy Sam)!

Anyway, Screamy Sam says he wants to go and visit Las Vegas, and I am all like “Who needs Las Vegas when you got all the corn dogs in New York?

Then he says back, “Umm… everyone?”

I go right up in his face and practically scream, “Wrong! Dude, ya gotta keep up with the program!”

We finally get there, and the owner of the McDonald’s throws a broom, and it lands on Screamy Sam’s hoof, and guess what! Turns out he sprains it! So I have to carry him all the way to a cloud, so he can rest! Man, boys are complicated. I have to go dumpster diving and find a bandage. This reminds me of the story my cat mom used to tell me about my birth.

She said, “Oh, Caticorn, when you were born, the day was bright and sunny and warm. The breeze smelled as if someone sprayed Febreeze in the air, and when you finally were born, your unidad was so happy, and so was I. You practically flew out of there. You were always the seeker of adventure we raised you to be. So wrap this bandage around your leg, so your scrape will feel better. You’ll be flying around in no time!”

Well anyway, I go back to the cloud, and then I wrap the bandage around his hoof. After that, we both just daze off into sleep mode I guess. Oh, I guess I might have forgotten to tell you that Screamy Sam has a black hood that covers his mane. He is pretty weird though. When I tried to yeet his hood off, he dodged my hoof!

I was all like, “It’s hot, dude, take off your hood! You’re going to get a heat stroke!

But he wouldn’t budge for anything I tried! So I just let the dude do whatever he wants. To be honest, I refuse to tell him this to his face, but he is pretty fun, okay. He has a sense of humor! But there is no way we could be best friends since he is a pony and I am a unicat! Other species can’t be friends! It’s part of RuleBook of Animaltopia, rule five, page two, paragraph 16, sentence eight: You shall not be friends or have any sort of relationship with other species other than your kind. It kind of sucks to be honest.

Anyway, Sam — I mean Screamy Sam — just woke up, and he sounded like an alarm clock. He almost scared the glitter out of me. When he woke up, instead of like normal animals, he screamed his head off!

I am like “Dude, are you okay!!! Do you need the hospital or anything!

He responds very calmly and rationally as if nothing at all happened. “What are you talking about? I just yawned, yeesh. I think you might need the hospital!” And then he laughs a little.

I am like, “Ummm, you’re joking right?”

He looks so puzzled I think even maybe I was wrong and I was crazy, not him! But then I remember I am never, never wrong, so that isn’t exactly an option. I really don’t know who is crazy (probably him), but it totally doesn’t matter at all to me! (It really does.) Anyway, his hoof is feeling better, so I decide why not — like civilized savage animals — we go to a diner for breakfast. So, I have to go dumpster diving to try and find a little bit of money while Screamy Sam just watches me go dumpster diving! It is so embarrassing. He has to take a banana peel off of my head after I get out of there. I smell like a dog barfed all over me that had eaten pickles, a squirrel, smelly gym socks, moldy bread, and a part of a shoe for breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, we are still Screamy — what am I saying? I meant to say screamingly hungry! If I don’t get my morning cat juice with rainbow unicorn sprinkles on top, I think I’m going to die of immensely low sugar! Do you even know what that can do to a unicat?!

I need to survive!” I tell Screamy Sam, while running in circles panicking.

“You mean we need to survive, right?” he says, looking a bit concerned.

“Uhhh, yeah did I say I? I meant we. I meant we totally,” I blurt out.

So we go to this diner place. It has an organic smoothie (ew) but whatever. At least I get to eat my pancakes with maple syrup topped with some whipped cream, frosted edible bananas, with rainbow sprinkles, and a unicorn toy on top of it all. These pancakes are my usual everyday breakfast. I really think I need more sugar in my body! That “organic, good for your health smoothie” totally makes my mouth bitter! Talk about yuck! Anyway, after Screamy Sam finishes his confetti flavored cupcakes we steal — I mean borrow — we head to the police because we found this stray cat on the street, and when I tried to clean it with my tongue like how mommy cats do to their young, it clobbered out of my hooves with drool leaking from its mouth and started chasing a car! Screamy Sam thought it was a dog! Pshhh he is so, wait a second, maybe that cat wasn’t really a cat! Oh! It was obviously… a tiger! You find them all the time in those shops. Except they don’t really move, and they are usually on display. I thought maybe tigers would be at least a little more territorial. But hey I’m not hating, just stating!

So once we get there, I see some really cool photos of me and Screamy Sam on a pole! I can’t really read, but it has a number on it and some words on it, too. I think they are going to give us money or something! You don’t think we are wanted right… Nah! Well, the police sure must have been jealous of us or something, ‘cause they keep on saying we’ve got ‘em or something. Then there are these silver thingies that they pull out, and they look like pretty stylish bracelets. So when I ask them if I could have one, they say, “Get ‘em!

But before I could say, “Hey, that’s not really nice,” Screamy Sam grabs my hoof, and we start flying. We settled on a cloud to get some sleep and rest since it is getting dark out.

When I wake up the next morning, I find Screamy Sam’s hood on the floor. But he is nowhere in site.

Scream Sam?!” I scream. Hey, that’s kind of ironic!

Then when I look down, I see another unicat! I am like, O-M-G, I’ll catch Screamy Sam later! I have another friend now, maybe!

So I fly down to the floor, and when I see the other unicat, I say, “Hey! What’s your name? Are you just like me? Are you nice? Are you funny? Are you competitive? And most importantly, do you have magical powers and can fly? Wait, that’s not important. What is, is… do you puke hairballs, too?

The other unicat totally ignores me! So I go up and turn their face around, and it is a boy unicat, with sky blue and turquoise hair colors, and he has light blue eyes.

“Ummm, hi?” I say, totally bewildered for I don’t know what reason.

“Ummm, hey Unica — ”

Actually more importantly, can we be friends?” I say.

“Ummmm, Unicat — ” says the boy unicat.

“I have another best friend that is called Screamy Sam, and he is great, really, did you know — ” I say, being interrupted by the boy unicat.

Unicat, I am Screamy Sam! Well, actually, my name is just Sam, but whatever,” he says, staring at me and smiling.

Then everything goes black, and I wake up staring at the sky.

Then I murmur, “How long was I out?

Then I hear Screamy Sam’s voice say, “About an hour or so.”

Then I fly up and say “What have you done to Screamy Sam???”

“I am Sam!” says Screamy S-Sam.

“Oh, forgot” I say. “So you have been pretending to be my friend , too?” I say, hurt.

“What! Are you crazy! You are so much fun! Of course we’re friends!” replies Sam quickly.

Oh good,” I say, relieved.

Well anyway, I guess we are friends now.

But I say to Sam, “But I wish I knew I was the only unicat in the world. I felt so unique and special. I don’t know, I kind of liked feeling I was special and one of a kind.”

Then Sam puts his hoof around me and gives me a big bear, well, unicat I guess, hug. 

Then I say, “Okay, that got weird, so where are we going now?”

Sam and I just stand there bewildered.

Then he says, “Vegas… ?”

I don’t want to disappoint the guy, so I say, “Okay, let’s take our wings and fly to vegas!”

So after a few hours by flight, we crash onto a cloud and are waiting for the snack cart to come around until I realize we aren’t in an airplane. Anyway, I get there, and we meet a nice walrus called Wally T., but I just call her Wally. She helps us “borrow” some pizza, and she asks us if we have a place to stay for the night.

I say, “Hmmm… well that bench looks pretty comfy!”

She is shocked and grabs us by our manes, then brings us deep into the woods, ties a string to what she calls “the special trees,” then she hangs a carpet thing onto the string (it looks more like a clothing line if you ask me) and then throws us in there. Then I see white or black, but I don’t really remember… Anyway back to the story, we are in the North Pole! But Sam says that walruses live in the Arctic, but I complain and say that she is magical. Hey, she never had a life-threatening crisis or anything! That makes her pretty magical to me. Anyway I’m going to have to leave now, but I’ll write again in a few days! (Wally T. is serving crumpets. But they feel and taste more like rocks… ) Anyway, bye!!!

The End!!!


The Classroom Escapade

Chapter One

“Lilly! Feed Bon-Bon, and quickly!”

“Okay, Mrs. Sanchez. Yes, ma’am.”

I walk up to the class pet hamster, Bon-Bon, and drop in some hamster food, only to be nibbled myself.

Ring!

Great, I missed the late bell for chorus and Miss Loxern will be mad because I stayed to feed a stupid, stupid hamster. I can hear her from here, saying, “Quiet, please. Single file lines only. Jeremiah, please stop chattering this instant!”

I better hurry up before the ice fountain starts up. “Shhhh!” Too late. It has started. The school’s wonky hours from 10-12 have begun, and I am trapped in unsafe zone (the only one). The hall.


Chapter Two

Gahhh! The ice has spread to the bathrooms! (And I really need to go!) I better seek shelter, quickly.

Okay, I am now in the janitor’s closet, and my pencil is getting its time to shine. I mean, it was at the bottom of my book bag, and I never use it. Oh great, here comes the liquor stage. As the ice from the ice fountain melts and turns into fog, the smoke detectors are set off, but instead of water, they rain liquor. I can hear it coming. 

Burp!

There goes Mr. Mcgail getting drunk, and Mrs. Berkowitz.

Just the typical, and I should probably stop eavesdropping on their dropping of glasses.

For my second time getting trapped in the schools wonderland-symmetrical labyrinth, this isn’t so bad… 

Aaaahhh!


Chapter Three

As the dragon stage commences, I scream in terror as an assortment of colored dragons roam the halls, turning everything into smoldering dust. The ash stings my eyes as I break the glass on the emergency fireproof shield that the school keeps for any stranded students in stage three and hold it up like an umbrella, ella, ella,and run continuously towards the gazebo in the economics classroom, daring myself to not look back. Suddenly, I come to a bump in the speeding lane. There is a gaping hole between the gazebo and the floor. I start to wonder if this is a curse anymore, or if it’s starting to get real. I mean, even back in 856, the dragons stayed in the halls. This is very unusual. Then again, everything is unusual about dragons. 

Anyway, there I am, about to die, when some marauder-like figure emerges from the dust and whispers into my ear, jump. To make a long story short, I did. As I look back to thank him, I realize he’s gone, and wonder if I was hallucinating, from all the ash. At the same time, I also want him to have not left and to stay and tell me what the heck was going on. Without realizing, an hour has passed, yet somehow I am still in the third stage, which makes no sense. Last time, I fainted from the liquor and didn’t wake up until I was in the nurse’s office. What the — nothing is moving! What is happening? Did everything just stop? This must be the fourth stage, then.

“Time stop.”

Just great. Then why are the biggest dragons moving? Am I stuck in some nightmarish world?

Lilly!

Bah! Did someone just speak to me? Here?


Chapter Four

Wait a minute, is that my grandma? What is she doing here? How did she get here from our house in Westchester? I saw her at home when she was sending me off, but, how did she get in? There are a million jillion things I want to ask her, but then again, I might overwhelm her.

“My dear Lily,” she said in a so un-grandma-like voice. I mean, she sounds like a Korean pop idol. “How long I have waited for this moment to tell you the truth; hiding it has been so hard.”

Suddenly, spikes start coming out of her head, and her arms start issuing slime from tiny slits in her arms while her head starts turning snout-like and rockish. Standing before me, I see a huge, cute, but still terrifying dragon who, based on the facts, I assume is my grandma. 

I am speechless. How could she keep this from me? Like seriously? If she is my grandmother, am I a dragon too?

As if reading my thoughts, the dragon, who I will call Grandma, says, “I am not your grandmother, but yes, you are a dragon. You are a morphUs — a being that has the ability to turn from a dragon to a human, who of course has mind reading powers that manifests at 13 when you establish a close relationship with an animal, which in this case, is that hamster Bon-Bon that you are always raving about.”

Okay, info overload, but instead of joking about it, I just rub my temples to try and process this new “vital” information. Anyway, as I try to blow my auburn brown hair from my eyes, even though I know that even if I succeed, the ash will still obscure my vision.

“Pay attention please.” Geez, for a grandma, she is pretty sassy. “Young woman, I can hear you thinking!” Okay, if you can, you are hands down so creepy! “Now, listen to me. You are the lost dragon heir, and you have to save us from the tainted King Erik. He was cursed, when you left, and until the true heir shows the greatness of good to him, he will reign over the dragon realm with terror. So now, concentrate on yourself as a dragon, and your stripes will light up.”

As I concentrate, my body becomes engulfed in light as what seems to be my skin sheds off and I land on the ground in a heap as a dragon. Whoa, it actually worked!

“Come on, quickly, Siena!”

I assume it is my dragon name as I take flight for the first time, admiring my shining burnt sienna and flame-like scales, absorbing the wind and feeling free. As we approach the palace though, my stomach twists itself into knots when I see all the poor citizens working in coal mines. Barging in is easy, but his face, his deep wounds and blood red eyes, his gleaming scales and spikes, I am not so sure of myself anymore. But when I see him snicker at a child begging for mercy, that is when I swallow any last feeling of pity or fear, because that is not how to treat a child of any sort.

“King Erik,” I state. In fury, I bellow out my speech that had suddenly burst from my heart. “You are, in my opinion, a good person who has been tainted, and I believe in second chances, so I wish no harm to come to you, unless you want that.”

He interrupts, saying only this, “Puny girl, you’ll never turn me back!”

By this time I have spotted an amulet on his horn and have realized it as the source of evil.

I continue, “I believe in you, if you would let me just… ”

Then I lunge. Straight for his head, I rip the amulet off and shatter it into a million pieces, never to be seen again. As the newly restored king awakens, I realize something. I might miss school, have to make new friends, and start a new life, but no matter how hard I fall, I will always, always, get up, because I am strong.


Lily Big Help and Her Idea

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Lily. Lily was seven years old. She lived in Paris. Lily’s parents had work that was very bad because they got $10 per hour. She lived in a small house with five rooms. There was the living room, bathroom, kitchen, and two other rooms. That was not enough space for herself, her two brothers, her mom and dad, and her grandparents. They all had to be squeezed together in two rooms. They were not comfortable. Lily wanted to help her family to get a bigger house, so they can have a bigger house. 

The next day, an idea came to her. She would do a lemonade stand in the park because she was seven years old. First, she had to get all her supplies. But that cost money, and she didn’t have any. She would ask her parents for some. She got $20 from her parents. She went to the supermarket and got the cups, lemons and sugar. When she got home, she started making the lemonade right away. First, she put water, then she squeezed the lemons to get the juice out and then put the sugar and then she mixed. Lastly, she put ice. She made her stand and put it up in the park where everybody runs. The first day, she didn’t get any customers. She was very sad for not getting any customers. But that did not stop her from trying again.


Panda Spies

PROLOGUE

Screech!!! The truck with the panda inside was finally here. Oh right, I forgot. My name is Eve, and I work at the AAC (Awesome Animal Center).

Right now we just rescued a panda from the RIA, Rebel Inc. Agency (or as everyone else knows them) the government, which was doing an experiment on the poor panda. They stole him from the rainforest to see what would happen when they took him away, and when nothing happened, they decided to kill him. But we knew about this plan, and we came to the rescue just in time. 

Let me tell you what happened to me and my BFF Mia. We ran after the truck holding the panda which was a pretty stupid idea considering we were just kids and that was a giant truck. If Mia wasn’t an amazing inventor (she had invented rocket shoes that carry you above the ground going six times faster than the truck) we would have been toast. We put the shoes on our feet, flew after the truck, and caught it up in no time. But one thing remained: how we would get in. We tried to lift the latch on the back of the truck, but it wouldn’t budge. Finally we got it open, and we saw the panda inside. It was so adorable! We got her back to the rescue center and fixed up her scratches and got her to her pen. The rescue center called the zoo manager, and he said we could keep the panda because we were the ones who had saved the panda. And from that day and on, us girls became best friends and never left each other’s side.


Chapter One: The Voice

Back to school. Ugh, stupid school. Eve and Mia carried themselves into class. The dumb teacher Mr. Beg boodey or Big boody wrote something that looked like neat gibberish. Then he suddenly collapsed and started snoring.

“Finally!” Mia said sarcastically. “Something exciting today!”

Something was wrong. He didn’t usually snooze off like that, if you didn’t count the time that he did snooze off. And if you didn’t count the other time he also snoozed off. Eve observed him. Suddenly, Eve and Mia heard a faint voice.

“My name is Lunala. I am the ghost of the panda that you saved. After saving me from the government, you have proved that you are worthy of being spies! There’s a new mystery you must solve. But it won’t be easy alone. Go to the stone wall in the park. Wait for me there… ”


Chapter Two: I Spy with My Little Eye… 

Mia turned to Eve. “Did you just hear what I just heard?” Eve was still looking towards the man.

“I wonder why he collapsed when this case may have nothing to do with him?” 

“I don’t know how or why, but it probably does have something to do with him. And if it does, I’m going to fire him and get a less boring teacher,” Eve said with a grin.

“Well, don’t get your hopes up!”

She started walking towards the door but noticed that Mia was still grinning and staring, so she went back and slapped her in the face. Mia popped out of her “revenge bubble,” grabbed her backpack, and followed her. When they got there, Mia leaned on the stone wall.

“I think this whole thing is a dumb prank that pranksters set up,” she said.

And at that moment, the wall she was leaning on opened up and revealed a long misty hallway. Mia stumbled backwards. There was a ghostlike woman that was so faint that the girls had to squint to prove to themselves that she was actually there.

Excuse me?” she said with the same ghostlike voice as the voice they had heard before.

“No prank, no prank,” Mia said, stepping away.

“Are you the ghost voice?” said Eve with curiosity in her eyes. The woman only turned around and started walking down the misty hallway. “C’mon!” Mia said.

“No way.”

“Why not? You were the one who was all, ‘Are you the ghost voice?’ — she’s getting away!”

And Eve was pulled after her. The hall turned into a slanted slope that seemed to get steeper and steeper. But the girls kept following her. When they got close enough, they saw a wall in the distance. It led straight up, and there was no way around it. As it got closer, they started to wonder how they would get past it. Lunala didn’t stop walking when she got to it though. Suddenly, as if gravity had changed, she walked up the wall, sideways. Eve gasped, and Mia grinned.

“And she expects us to do that?!”

“Poor you,” Mia said.

“Why? You know that we both have to climb that wall right?”

“Well, I think you’ll be on your own for that, because I have these.” From out of her bag, she brought out her rocket shoes.

“Better start climbing girl!”

She was right. There a long way to go. After a few minutes, instead of climbing, she felt as if she were crawling. Slowly but carefully, she stood up. And a few seconds after that, Mia, on her rocketties, fell to the ground. (She liked to name everything she invented. For example, her Ultra-Dishwasher who also did all the cooking and cleaning in her house was named Suzie.)

“What happened to the gravity?” she asked.

“I had the same question. It must be what happened to Lunala.”

Eve and Mia jogged the rest of the way, catching up to Lunala. They stopped at a vine-covered wall. Lunala faced the girls.

Put your hands on the wall.”

The girls looked at the wall and found two bloody but dry hand shapes carved into the wall. Lunala blew away the blood and the vines on the wall with one blow. They placed their hands on the stone carved wall, and suddenly, all the concrete in between the small square stones started to light up. So much light came out that all the stones flew out of the places and turned into ash. Soon the hand shapes also turned into ash. Even though the holders were gone, Lunala still held their hands in place.

When there was nothing left but light, she said, “Step into the light.”

And they walked in together, holding hands. Inside was warm; the light was getting brighter. Eve looked back only to see more light. They were holding their breath (except Lunala) as if they were under water. But they weren’t. They were in a light teleportation wave that was impossible to hack. Only the chosen ones could open it. Well, as long as you had a key card you could get in. They moved closer and closer to the light until Eve could just make out a beautiful technology-filled inside of a building with many testing rooms with new inventions waiting to be tested. They finally entered the palace like world.


Chapter Three: New Dimension

It was beautiful. It was bustling with people. A girl on floating shoes whizzed passed everyone and into their view.

“Hi! I’m Lia, and I’m going to show you around.”

The girls liked her already. She was wearing headphones, a dark blue tank top with a hoodie, jeans, and those floating shoes Mia was jealous of. Out of her watch, she popped out a hoverboard. “Get on, and try to keep up.” She put on her hood and turned on her music.

“Go. She will be important to your mission.”

“How? She doesn’t seem to be that helpful anyway.”

“You will see. Now go.”

They were as obedient as ever. They hopped on, she tapped the hoverboard twice, and it zoomed to the Grand (but very plain) Stairway. Lia was sitting there looking at her phone. She looked up.

“Oh! You made it! I didn’t expect that actually… Well, that doesn’t matter. Follow me.”

She showed them so many different rooms, including her own workout rooms and inventing rooms. (She is an inventor, and she built the shoes and the watch/hoverboard.) There were amazing rooms. Some rooms were beautiful and peaceful. Some were huge and full of people working out. After the tour, the girls were surprisingly tired. So Lia showed them their room. It. Was. Huge!!! I wouldn’t even call it a room. It had waterfalls and gigantic beautiful flowers. It was pretty much a hotel paradise if you ask me. It was getting dark, so they went to bed for the night, and suddenly, the voice appeared again. Out of nowhere.

Meet me at my office. Lia is outside to guide you.”

“Well, I guess we should go?”

“Duh!”

They raced out the door and almost fell into Lia. Lucky for their reputation, Lia dodged them just in time. They stumbled into the hall, missing her by a tinsy winsy millimeter. Also lucky for them, they fell on the hoverboard. And within a few seconds of zooming around people, they were outside a wall. The board hovered for a few seconds, and once the wall opened, it zoomed through. Inside was another beautiful estate. And they weren’t alone. Many other people were sitting around a table and smiling. Some were floating around. And some were ghosts, like Lunala.

“What is going on? You haven’t even told us where we are!” Mia said.

That’s why we called you here. Also to explain your mission.

Mission???” Lunala grinned.

“Hehe, yup. This is a long story, so get comfy. Once upon a time, there lived two royal blooded sisters. One represented nature, birth, sky, and light. The other represented destruction, death, lava, and darkness. They hated each other, as they were opposites, and they made no attempt to hide this. They harmed each other and the world around them to show who was stronger and more powerful. But they had no idea what was happening to them. An evil sorcerer known only by a rhyme… dark as the night, swift as a kite, wins all his fights, with a jaguar’s sight… had taken their good side and was sinking bad into it. The sister of light quickly realized and tried to tell her sister, but the magic was too powerful. She was only so powerful until the sorcerer showed her a chance to become his apprentice. Now this, was a chance she could not deny. In her eyes, it was like, ‘This man is giving me the chance to take over the world. Ha! Foolish. I’ll skin him ALIVE once I get everything out of his knowledge.’ But in real life, he was using her to do all his crimes FOR him. Now this was a smart move. In fact, he made such smart moves that he even kept his identity a secret. And that’s pretty impossible to do in a place like this especially if you are a well-known threat to everyone. Now, everyone knows the BAD sister as, ‘the sorcerer’s apprentice.’ It’s a proven rumor that she and her master are planning something. Something big. And we NEED to know what or else… or else…


Chapter Four: The Mission

“Or else what?” Eve asked.

Or else all the dimensions in the whole unalaxy will be controlled by one evil man.”

But how can one man control the entire unicycle-thingy that you were talking about that sounded really big?!” Mia asked, baffled.

This man is much more powerful than you think, and he’s a master of disguise. On his first attempt to control the whole unalaxy, he killed many lives. But luckily, unlike the rest of the people that died, the royal blooded ones, instead of perishing into thin air, turned into ghosts.” Lunala smiled.

 “You are the good sister!!!” Eve and Mia exclaimed in unison. “I can’t believe it!!!” they said again.

“Keep the celebration short, because things have only gotten worse now. So far, we’ve sent two spies, and only one has come back, barely escaping death. She said that the pair had created their secret base somewhere in the amazon. And that ‘spy,’ is actually Lia. And do your, ‘I can’t believe it!!!’ thing inside your heads this time.” Eve and Mia took Lunala’s advice and did it in their heads.

“… Okay… Well, anyways, you’re going to be the next spies. Lia will — ”

Wait! Don’t we need training before we go on our first real mission?” Eve asked.

“You were born to be spies. You don’t need training. Now, as I was saying… Lia will show you how to teleport. Then, you can start your mission however and whenever you want. This is just about getting information, so you can come back anytime you want. Oh, and also, this might help you get started.” She gave them an old, yellowing photo. Eve studied it and looked to Mia.

“It’s of a dragon bracelet. It might come in handy, so keep an eye out for it.” 

“Just know that I’ll always be with you!”

Okay…

“Suis moi!” Lia said. “Uhhhh, follow me, in French.”

Eve stashed the photo in her pocket. Suddenly, the world started to fade. A couple moments later, they spawned to Lia’s workout gym. It was quite a sight.

“Just now, you teleported. To teleport, first think of the place that you want to go to. Discuss it before you do so because you can’t do it without each other. Then say who you are to the Atom Spirit, one of my old friends who will give you advice. So in your case, say Eve, Mia, Panda Spies. Go ahead. Try it.”

“Eve.”

“Mia.”

Panda spies!!!” And for the second time that day, the world around them faded away.

So, where should we go?”

“Definitely to our classroom,” Eve answered.

Why? It’s Sunday, right? Or is my calendar another cheap New Year sell 50% off?”

“Ummm… I don’t have an answer to whatever you’re talking about, but we need to go there because we need to investigate. Yesterday our teacher fainted, and we think it has something to do with this ‘bad guy’ we were informed about,” Mia said.

Say the word, and I’ll send you straight to your destination!!!”

“Well, what’s the word?” Eve asked.

Your mom!!! Hahahahahaha, I’ll never get tired of my jokes!! Haha oh, umm, well, the actual word is cute cat puppy dog. I made it myself.”

Eve and Mia looked at him with a ‘seriously?’ look.

What! I can’t resist them!!!”

That’s what you named the word?”

“Well, I guess we should get going,” Eve said.

Cute cat puppy dog!” they said together. And then the world started spinning into their old classroom. 

The teacher should have still been lying there because the nurses wouldn’t bother to come to their classroom. 

“That’s weird. He’s not here.”

“Maybe the nurses decided to for some out of their minds but reasonable reason to check this room?”

“Probably not.” Something caught Eve’s eye.

“Is that a dragon bracelet on the floor???

“O-M-G, it is!!!” The girls danced around happily as if they had completed the mission… but soon came to realize they hadn’t. 

So, now what?”

“Uhhhhh, how am I supposed to know?” Eve asked putting the abandoned bracelet on. Something shot through her. Maybe magic. But whatever it was, it was growing fast. 

Ugh!!! We’re getting nowhere!!!” Lunala said that the photo of the dragon bracelet would help us. Well now that we’ve found it, something should happen right?”

”Mia? Something weird is — ” But before Eve could finish her sentence, they found themselves in the atom spirit’s home, and then in a deep in a dark wood, nowhere they had ever been before.

“ — wrong. Wow. Where are we, and how did we get here?”

“I don’t know, but it looks like we’re in the amazon.

The magic, or whatever that was inside of Eve had taken them to this forest! They heard footsteps and scrambled behind a tree before they could be spotted. The footsteps, were in fact two people’s footsteps. They were both unrecognizable, wearing dark cloaks and were discussing something.

“… need you to do this. I’m too old to do this stuff.”

“I’m starting to think you’re just using me. Even if you are too old, you can at least step through a portal! Besides, you don’t seem to be getting older at all!” The first voice was dark and low, a man’s voice. The second was a young woman’s voice, and she was about Lunala’s age, but a little younger.

“Just hustle, someone might see us!”

The duo shuffled over to a mysterious tall rectangular shape covered by a black sheet. The girls hadn’t seen it when they entered the forest, and there was a strange opening around the shape in the repeating cluster of trees. The man pulled the sheet off the shape and revealed an old dressing mirror.

“Ahhh, here it is. The portal to Earth. Now, I want you to slowly step inside and retrieve the materials that I had you remember last night.”

“How am I supposed to find them? It’s not like I know where it is already.”

“Just look for a yellow M, which’ll stand for McDonalds. Once you get the things, protect them with your life. Sacrifice anything to get them safe and sound in my clutch. Then, you are dismissed.”

And with that, the man disappeared into thin air. The woman took off her hood and revealed a beautiful face. She seemed familiar, and yet the girls couldn’t remember who she was. She stepped into the mirror.

“Well, she seemed pretty familiar!” Mia said.

“Yeah! I can’t remember what I know her from though!”

“I think the ‘materials’ they were talking about has something to do with our case!!!”

“Well, either way, we should follow her into the portal before it’s too late!”

“Good idea.”

They hopped into the mirror just as the magic was fading from it. The portal was just like the one that had led them to where Lia and the other ghosts were.

“I wouldn’t think earth is important to any of these things going on,” Eve said.

“If it has anything to do with it, maybe we should follow her.”

“Yup.”

And with that, the girls followed the distant cloaked woman. She was fast, and following her required lots of skill. But the girls managed by teleporting to her every few minutes. They arrived in a restaurant with a giant yellow M as its mascot. Ugh. McDonald’s. The woman seemed very interested in the fact that all of the customers had gathered in this particular spot and went around asking innocent people questions about why they had came here while the girls were busy crawling to the kitchen. 

“Now what?” Eve asked.

“Just fit in until she takes action. And worry not, I’m a pro at fitting in.”

“Uh-huh,” Eve said sarcastically. 

“Jealous?” Eve rolled her eyes, and Mia stuck her tongue out. “Okay so here’s what we’re going to do… ”


Chapter Five: The Plan

Mia reached inside her backpack, spread out a long sheet of blueprints, and grabbed two soda cans.

She placed them on the print and said, “This is us. First, we make some noise when the mascot is nearby and lure him over into the kitchen. I’ll throw a sack over his head, tie his hands and feet, and you’ll push him down. Once he’s lying down, I’ll pull off the person’s costume and hop inside. You help me up and also get inside. Then we’ll be ready to explore outside without being caught!”

“Let’s do this!

“Also, lets try to do all of this quietly… ”

But, how am I supposed to be loud when I’m trying to be quiet???”

“Just do what I do okay? Monkey see monkey do.” Eve nodded, and they started their loud improvising band.

Eventually, the mascot guy came in. They did as planned, and when Eve pulled the costume off the man, she didn’t just notice the man. She noticed that the man was a very handsome man indeed. Mia was in position to throw the sack over his head, but when he turned to look at her, she nearly trampled him and ended up falling in Eve’s arms, laughing hysterically. She hit her head on the counter top and went nuts.

 “Oh, hello, my dear old granny Bob!” Her words didn’t match her confused expression. “Oh, and what is Mr. Big boody doing here?”

“Uhh, is she always like this?” the handsome guy asked.

“No, she just hit her head on the counter top.”

“You should get her back to the Central Spy Base.”

“Wha — how did you know?!” Not every day did someone know that they were spies.

“I used to work there. And you two have the same sparkle in your eyes as another spy I know.”

“Well,” Eve said looking back at the mysterious woman. She sighed. “Okay… but I was in the middle of catching the woman… oh wait! Why don’t you go take Mia there while I deal with the case? What? What a great deal!!! I would definitely take the job.”

“Nice try, but I’m prohibited from going back.”

“So you were a spy. Hmm, interesting! So tell me, why why why did you become prohibited from the Central whatever it’s called?”

“Chickens eat barf-arf-arf! I’m a pig!!!” Mia exclaimed after taking a self tour of the kitchen.

“Let’s not get too personal. We should probably get going, and fine, I’ll go with you. So it’s fair.”

“Oh, and what’s your name?”

“Jason. And yours?”

“I’m Eve, and this is my friend Mia.”

“Mia, Mia Mia — ”

“And Eve,” Eve cut in.

Jason picked up Mia and held Eve’s hand. It was warm, and it seemed like such a gesture even though it was only for a short time. 

“Jason. Eve. Mia. Panda spies!!!” Eve said. The world spun into the misty land of the Atom Spirit.

“Hello up there, fat guy!” Jason turned, and his rocket shoes blasted him upwards so that he and the Atom Spirit were face to face. Well mostly nose to face (because the Atom Spirit was so huge!!!).

“You again??? I thought you were banished from the Central Spy Base!!!”

“Well, yeah I was banished. But I’m going to sneak in.” Jason started walking towards the opening in the floor, but the Atom Spirit blocked him.

Nu-u-u!!! Where do you think you’re going???

Eve just stood there while Jason defended her.

“Uhhhh, the YKW. Duh!!!

“… ”

“The you know where. Now get outta my way so I can go. Besides, I have a girl to save” For the first time, the Atom Spirit noticed Eve, standing there behind Jason.

“Ohhh, so it’s you creating all the commotion?! I thought you were on a mission to save the world??? I guess you’re going to be in lots of trouble!!!”

“Whatever, just let us pass,” Eve mumbled pushing past the Atom Spirit.

Just before she stepped in, she motioned Jason to follow her. Jason tipped his imaginary hat to the Atom Spirit and skidded off with Mia on his shoulder.


Chapter Six: Revival

The Central Spy Base was strangely deserted. Normally, there were at least a hundred students roaming about, but today, absolutely no one was there. As if there was something more important than taking a walk!!! Okay, nevermind, there were things more important than taking a walk, but who cared!!!

“I-it’s been such a long time since I’ve been here… ” Jason said, “that I, I forgot how beautiful this place is… ”

Eve noticed he had dropped Mia and that she had started to wake up from a nap.

“It’s strange, nobody here. We should probably stay quiet and alert.” Eve nodded.

“Why?”

“Something is going on… Uhh, I don’t want to talk about it, so yeah!”

“But then what are we going to do about… ”

The pandas brought us together!!!” Mia fell back into her sleep.

“Her.” Eve sighed, looking down.

“Do not fear, Jason is here!!! We’ll just drop her in this closet!!!” When Eve looked up, she saw him slam a closet door closed, lock it, and mash the key into pieces.

No!!! She was like a sister to me!!! Why!!!” 

“Jeez, I was just kidding.” Jason stepped aside, so she could see where he had really hidden her.

“On the shelf, huh? I like your sense of humor, but we should seriously get going.” Eve walked towards the stone wall, Lunala’s meeting place.

Wait!!! You might want to know, the reason I wanted us to be quiet, is because… because… whenever someone comes here, the place automatically knows. Lunala’s been on the search for me for a long time so now that I’ve shown up, she’s obviously looking for me.”

So why’s that bad???”

“I wanna stay hidden, because if Lunala finds me, I’m going to become the future ruler of the Central Spy Base. And I don’t like the whole, ‘ruling’ process.”

Eve nods, not in understanding, for she did not get why he didn’t want to be ruler of the Central Spy Base, but because she wanted him to think she was cool. Eve started to think about how Mia would turn out. And about how life would have been like if she and Mia hadn’t saved Lunala. Something grabbed her and pulled her out of her day dreaming and into another room. 

“What did you do that for???” Eve yelled, pushing away from whoever it was that pulled her. Noticing that it was Jason, she shrank back into her usual hunched position.

“Lunala just walked in, so I ran here, but you were just standing there, so I grabbed you and got over here. If it wasn’t thanks to me, we would have been caught.

“Oh… well thanks,” Eve mumbled without meaning it. Eve looked around to see what room they were in, but she was startled by what she saw.

“Jason? I think you brought us into Lunala’s meeting room!!!” Jason turned and saw what she saw. Tons of people, including Lia were staring at them.

“J-Jason… what are you doing here?” She stepped forward.

“I thought you had left us for good… ” Eve glanced at Jason. He had turned red.

“Guilty as charged,” he murmured. Lia looked straight into his eyes. Her dangerous side had come out.

“You said we would come back together.” She grabbed him by the collar.

You said we could share the deal.” She stopped. She took a deep breath. 

“Excuse me. I will work this out myself, alone.” With that, she walked out of the room, still holding Jason.

“Whoa! That was crazy!” Eve laughed, but nobody else did. They stared at her. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, was that not funny to any of you?” She looked around and saw a snail in its cage laughing along with her. “See, the snail agrees!!!”

Eve plastered a fake smile on her face. She slowly walked out of the room, not wanting to deal with any more snails or grumpy ghosts. Suddenly, it came to her. She took out the picture of the dragon bracelet, and in the background was a forest, too familiar to miss. That was where the magic inside of her had taken them. Just before that, they had found the dragon bracelet in the classroom. She decided to go there. But before she did that, she grabbed Mia. Poor Mia had a scar from the counter incident. 

“Eve. Mia. Panda spies!!!” She tried to do her best imitation of Mia. The world turned white and the Atom Spirit appeared.

Well hello there, Eve dear!!!” he said, patting her head. Eve appreciated it, especially because recently there had been nobody around to love her.

“I would like to go to my classroom.”

“… ”

“Even though it’s Sunday.” The Atom Spirit nodded, and in a blink of an eye, the smokey colorless place became her old classroom. Summer break had sent all the kids sprawling out on the fresh grass. Jealous, Eve rolled her eyes at the thought of it. I need to focu — Ow!!! When she looked down she saw Mia, grabbing her foot. 

“W-what happened?” She looked around. “How did we get here? What’s going on???”

“You passed out when your head hit the counter top in the kitchen of McDonald’s.” Mia nodded in understanding.

“Ohhhhh, I think I remember that… ”

“You need to help me figure this out. I-I can’t do this alone.”

“Well tell me the clues!” Eve explained everything that had happened that day. But she left out the part about Lia and Jason.

So, can you help me???” Eve pleaded with pleading eyes.

Mia smirked and said, “I think I know what the evil man’s plan is!”


Chapter Seven: The Truth

“Eve, I need you to teleport us to the forest using your magic inside of you. It is a place where only special magic can take us. 

“How did you learn all of this stuff?” Eve asked.

“While I conked out, I learned a lot of things you may have not known,” Mia said. 

Eve used the magic inside of her, and it came swirling out of her chest into the world. The forest appeared. Mia walked up to one of the trees. She jumped and grabbed a leaf. She smelled it.

“I knew it!!!”

“Knew what???” Eve had no idea of how a leaf could be so important.

“These leaves are called dragon leaves, and that’s what the picture was supposed to represent, not the actual bracelet. And it makes sense. Mr. Beg Boodey likes and knows the agriculture of dragons by heart.”

“But why is the tree important?”

“The dragon leaf tree’s leaves are the key ingredients to the hypnotizing spell. I think that the evil man was planning on taking over everyone’s minds. They went to McDonald’s to collect supplies.”

“Well, that explains a lot” 

“It would have been nice if Lunala had put in the word, ‘McDonalds’ in her story.”

The story! The man and the woman must have been from Lunala’s story, uhhh, what was his name again, Mia? “

“The evil man.”

“Thanks, pal. And Lunala’s sister. We need to deliver this info before Lunala and the CSB get hypnotized!!!”


Chapter Eight: Surprise!

As Eve and Mia ran down the hall and pounded on the hard stone wall leading to Lunala’s room, Eve felt a sensation of worry drift through her. What if she was too late? What if everyone was already hypnotized??? No, it couldn’t happen. No! No! No! Eve pushed harder and harder on the wall, but it wouldn’t budge. Finally, Mia smiled as she realized.

“Eve, just use your magic!” Embarrassed from not knowing, Eve took a step back and let her miracles begin. She had learned about it when it had magically transported her and Mia to the forest. When she opened the door, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“SURPRISE!!!” everyone yelled. “HAPPY PROMOTION!!!”

Eve couldn’t believe it. She and Mia were getting promoted! She glanced over at Mia, whose eyes bulged out of her face. Music and laughter filled the room. 

Hey, so nice job… on the job! I heard that you’re getting promoted to professional spy with Mia!” Lunala said.

“Yep. But how did you know we were here?” Mia stammered. Lunala smiled.

Remember when I said just before you left to go searching for clues that I’ll always be with you?

“Yeah… what about it?” Eve asked.

So I never left you. Like you never left each other after you saved me. I guess panda Lunala really brought you together.”


Untitled

Chapter One

What in the world was happening!!! Everything seemed blurry. I was trying to take in my surroundings, so I went and grabbed onto something. It could not hold my weight, and it fell on my head, making me see things ten times worse than I could before, and a glass of some sort of liquid fell on me and shattered. Then, I looked around and saw numbers everywhere. Somehow I found a pattern and began making the numbers into shapes and real things. I did not know how this happened. I was never really sharp in math. In fact, I got D’s in math. I kept on looking around, and I saw a nice futuristic building. It had an all you can eat fro-yo station, a massive safe, a bunch of computers, and a bunch of iPads, iPhones, and Apple watches. That’s when it hit me! There were so many products from Apple. I knew it was the huge company’s storage room! Then suddenly I was turning a shade of yellow. I got so freaked out that I screamed!! I heard footsteps coming, so I ducked behind a nearby shelf full of iPads. The door creaked open, then a dark shadow pounced onto me.

I heard a little voice say, “Savanna, what in the world are you doing here?”

I recognized that voice.

“Mr. O’Malley?” I asked.

Even in the dark I could see him looking surprised.

“How do you know it is me?” he asked me.

I did not know why I told him the truth, but it just slipped out. “Your breath smells like onions.”


Chapter Two

The next thing I knew I was in the math room, which is where Mr. O’Malley taught. I was really drowsy, and I checked my pulse. I had been knocked unconscious for about two hours. I got up and steadied myself with one of the desks in there and went to the vending machine. I was so hungry. However, when I wanted a healthy energy bar, after I entered the code, the tile underneath the floor started to open. The next thing I knew, I was on a trampoline that broke my fall. I looked around and did a quick scan of the room. It had a nice and soft couch, a vault, a bed, and a huge TV screen. Then I decided to sit on the couch and reflect on what had just happened. I was so confused. Why did I check my pulse to see how long I had been unconscious? What was suddenly making me so smart? How did I fall into the floor? Is Mr. O’Malley evil? Is this his hideout? I thought I was on to something. I knew how this happened. Mr. O’Malley needed privacy, so he picked the only thing in the vending machine that he knew we would never touch. Wait, this did not add up. How was I suddenly becoming so smart? I saw the tile slowly creeping open. Therefore, I jumped to safety under the couch. I heard a creak coming from the trampoline. I took a little quick peek, and I saw Mr. O’Malley. Thankfully he did not notice me. He went straight to the computer and began typing something. He kept on looking around to see if anyone was in there spying on him.

This was what made me to jump out and say, “What are you doing!!!”

Instead of responding with an answer, he asked me, “What are you doing here?”

“I asked you first!” I said in response.

He gave me a hard stare and said, “If you don’t tell me now, I will give you an F on your report card.” 

Here is what I found for, “If you don’t tell me now, I will give you an F on your report card.”

I don’t know how, but I sounded like Siri. I was so freaked out. Wait!! I’ve got it. This was all caused by the liquid thing that fell from the table. Everything was falling into place! Since we were at the Apple store, I was accidentally exposed to their top secret liquid that made Apple products so smart. That was why I was so smart, and that was why I knew so much suddenly. Also Siri was part of Apple. That’s why I sounded like Siri, and that’s also why I was turning colors based on my mood. That’s an app called D.I.Y. mood clothes and skin. I couldn’t believe that I just found that out! That was so awesome! Now I could know every strategy, be smart, and know every app that would either help me or just be really fun.

Mr. O’Malley on the other hand seemed a mix between mad, shocked and horrified!!!

He instantly started to yell at me. “How did you figure that out!”

After I sounded like Siri, I replied, “I started thinking about pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, and right then and there I started to say the entire definition of pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Noun, an invented long word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust. Do want to hear the definition of Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia?”

Mr. O’Malley instantly said, “No!”

He sounded like he didn’t want to hear another word from me. 

Also I knew myself well, so I knew that I would have never known the definition to pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. I would only know that if a miracle happened. Other than that I would probably not know, like, not even at the end of time. That’s how bad I was at vocabulary. Wait, hear me out. I have a good reason for not studying vocabulary. I personally thought that was a waste of time. For example, vocabulary was just a harder and fancier way to say a simple word. Therefore it was absolutely useless to waste your time to memorize them.

Then Mr. O’Malley inched in my face… I woke in my bedroom, and I thought it was all a dream until looked at the clock. It was 4:00 pm. Therefore, it wasn’t possible that I slept from morning to 4:00PM!!! I was actually an early bird. I woke up everyday at 6:30 to catch the bus, so I had a habit of waking up early. Ugh, Mr. O’Malley was so obsessed with knocking people out. Also not to mention, how did he get me in my bedroom? For now, all I could conclude was that he had a problem.

O-M-G! I totally forgot all about my science project. It was due tomorrow, Monday!! I kind of got distracted and ended up eating my project supplies, and there was no time to get more. (Also did I mention I lived in the Apple store? My parents worked there and didn’t have much money, so we slept in my mom’s and dad’s office. Also they worked for a long time, and I was not supposed to go outside without permission.) The assignment was to make an electron out of candy. Also, it was assigned like three weeks ago. Oh no, I just realized that if Mr. O’Malley already hated me for figuring out some classified stuff, he would hate me even more for forgetting to do my assignment that was assigned three weeks ago. Three weeks was literally the longest time he’d ever given us to do the assignment. I was dead.


Chapter Three

Monday.

At school.

I ended up with no assignment, so I got detention.

“Great, nothing like thinking about what I have done for an hour.”

(Our school was strict about detention. There were even rankings to see how long you needed detention. Once, a kid named Blade got detention for five hours every day for the rest of the school year. It was September. He got this because he skipped school for a week. That probably explained why he moved to Alaska. Also he said he went there to “study penguins and how global warming is impacting the Earth” in October. However, we all knew that he was still here because I saw him around my house in December, and I told it to my bestie, and she spilled the beans to my other friend, and just like that everyone knew. I don’t know how, but then I was elected class president, and we never had a class president!) 

Finally, detention was over. I was walking back from school when Mr. O’Malley ran like his legs were on fire from a doughnut store across the street. Then a person who looked like the manager came out running, and his face was red to the point he looked like tomato.

Then, Mr. O’Malley came running towards me and looked into my eyes and said, “If you tell anybody about me stealing doughnuts, I am telling Teddy Herman to fire your parents.”

And just like that he ran away. Ugh, I hated how he was so close to Teddy Herman! 

When I got home I scanned the whole room for bugs. I actually found three, one under the couch, another one resting on the pipes in the bathroom sink, and another one in the light hanging from the ceiling. I took them out and went into the store for a “stroll.” I put all three of the bugs in random peoples bags, and I was on my way home. (By the way, Teddy Herman was the owner of Apple.) I had decided to tell my parents what happened.

As soon as both of my parents were home, I made them sit down at the dining table, and it got serious. I told them everything that happened so far. Then they freaked out and gave me a lecture about not telling them sooner. And they were planning to sue the company because I found bugs in our apartment. Then I told my parents about how Mr. O’Malley stole a bunch of doughnuts from Delish Doughnuts. Then I kept on rambling on about how I hated him and how he threatened me.

Then in the middle of that, my dad said, “You shouldn’t hate him. He’s your uncle… ”


Emma Williams

Preface

Hugo reaches his hand out to mine. Our fingers touch and stay like that. It may be the happiest moment of my life, if M. Clément hadn’t just stormed in the room.

“You lied to me!” I snarl at M. Clément.

Watch out!” he yells.

Just then, something very large hits my head, and I black out.


Chapter One: M. Clément’s Bakery

On my walk to school, I always pass M. Clément’s bakery on the corner. 

“Hello!” I say and wave.

M. Clément waves back, and I smile.

“Come for your usual?” he asks me.

“Sorry,” I say. “I’m a little late for school.”

He shrugs. “Next time.”

I look back at him one last time and make my way to school.


Chapter Two: The Hourglass

The next day, Mr. Clément motions to me to come inside his bakery. It is the weekend, so I have time to spend with him. I give a little tug on Daisy, my dog’s leash, and we cross the street.

When I walk in the door, Penny, M. Clément’s cat, greets me with her usual rub on the leg.

“Bonjour! Mon petit assistant,” he says, grabbing a croissant de chocolat for me.

He passes it to me, and I sit down in one of his boutique coffee tables. I munch away vigorously, and when I am done, M. Clément sweeps my crumbs off the table with one graceful motion of his little broom.

“Merci, M. Clément,” I say to him. I love how it is now, like old times.

“Always,” he smiles. Then he pauses and adds, “Emma, I have to talk to you about something.” That’s weird, he never uses my first name, I think it’s because he doesn’t think it’s classic French.

“Yeah, about what?” I ask, suddenly getting very interested.

“Come, I will show you something.” M. Clément leads me to the back of his bakery. 

I see Hugo Bergeron kneading the dough for a croissant — or maybe an éclair, I can’t tell. 

I wave to him, and he gives me a toothy smile. I silently laugh.

“Hey,” Hugo says to me and goes back to kneading his piece of dough, and when M. Clément pulls me along with him even further back, Hugo replaces his “hey” with “ou, au revoir!”

M. Clément leads me further than I have been before, and we enter a small room with the label M. Clément on the door. 

It is very cozy in here, with furniture lining most of the walls, except for the wall with the door and the one with the fireplace. I do not know how M. Clément manages to get the fireplace in his little suite he rented for his boutique bakery. It just grows and grows every time he shows me a little more of what I had thought to be un petit boulangerie.

M. Clément motions for me to sit down, so I find myself seated in the most comfortable sofa I have ever sat on and with peppermint tea (my favorite type).

“Emma Williams,” he says, rummaging through a knapsack he has lying on the floor. “Do you know what this is?” M. Clément finally finds what he is looking for and brings it out, so I can examine it carefully. 

In his hands sits an hourglass with two oiseaux winding around it. The birds look like white swans but with red stripes forming around their necks. 

“They look to me like regular oiseaux, swans, M. Clément,” I say. 

“Emma, look closer, look inside!” M. Clément says with much enthusiasm.

Inside there is clean, white sand flowing forever toward… the top? Okay, I admit, that’s a bit odd but otherwise… I don’t know.

“Well, the sand’s going toward the top — is that what you’re getting at?” I ask M. Clément.

“Yes yes, but don’t you feel it?” I have no idea what M. Clément is talking about.

I rack my brain for anything I might feel and surprisingly, I feel something. I just have this feeling that something is getting low. I don’t know why, but I feel like I need to refill the thing or else… I trail off. 

“Is… is something getting low?” I ask, feeling very stupid in doing so. 

“Yes yes, now you’re getting it,” M. Clément says. “We have one more minute.”

“Sorry?” I ask him, getting confused.

“Emma, do you notice the draining feeling?”

“Yes,” I do actually feel it.

“When it feels this depressing… there is only one more minute,” M. Clément pronounces minute like minuuuuuuuuuuute. Well, I guess everyone here does.

I think M. Clément sees my puzzled face because he says, “When someone spreads a bad rumor around about me, the hourglass will slowly start losing its sand, and if not stopped, will cause mass destruction. An old friend gave it to me as a gift, but over the years, I have started to question if it is really a gift or a curse in disguise.”

“What kind of destruction will it cause?” I ask.

“Well, the sand will start slipping out of ze hourglass, and then I do not know. Anything could happen from there!”

“Like what?”

“The ‘ole city of Paris could be consumed by sand for all I know!”

“Is there any way to stop it?” I ask in my very American accent.

“Well I do not know! I would guess you could somehow prove the rumor wrong,” M. Clément says with a sigh. “It has never worked.”

“But — but every problem has multiple solutions, if you are thinking! Being creative!” I pause. No one says anything for a few moments. “Isn’t that what you always tell me?”

“Yeah, yeah… I guess.” 

“Um, M. Clément? Are you okay?” 

“Yes, of course,” he says quickly. “Why don’t you go back to your house and spend some time with your papa?”

Well that was the end of our little discussion. I head home for dinner.


Chapter Three: Family

Mama has dinner ready for me. It is pasta and potatoes. Matthew, my brother, is already sitting at the table. We don’t talk much, and that is when I get lost in thought. 

I realize now that I haven’t yet told you that my family are immigrants from the United States. Well, my papa went to university here in Paris and met my mama — and he stayed. I guess we are originally from Africa ‘cause we’re African American, but you get the idea, anyway. 

I have frizzy dark brown hair like milk chocolate. I have the same bright sky-blue eyes as my Mama — very much unlike my Papa’s hazelnut eyes. And of course my caramel skin. I love caramel. It is my favourite thing in the world.

Now back to dinner. Mama is already washing the dishes. Wait — dinner is done? I look at my plate. I have eaten a half a potato, nothing else.

“Yes, that’s right Emma,” Mama says. “You have a lot more eating to do.”


Chapter Four: The Bergerons

I, yes, you’ve already guessed it, stop by M. Clément’s Bakery this morning. I rub Penny’s tummy, say hello to Hugo, and follow M. Clément to the back.

He tells me almost exactly what he told me yesterday, but with one more thing that catches my eye — or wait no, my ears?

After the part where he tells me about proving the rumor wrong, and the “It has never worked” part, he says, “Unless … no, never mind.”

Of course, I say, “What? Please tell me, M. Clément!” 

“No no, it wouldn’t work.”

“Just tell me,” I urge. 

I think he gives up on my obstinate attitude, because he says, “Oh, okay. If we must.” He pauses to clear his throat. “Well, I’ve tried and so has most of the generations of people here in Paris, but never has anyone else. So, I thought partly because your father is originally from the United States, well maybe you would be able to help me?”

“Yes, yes, M. Clément! Of course I’ll help you!” I say in excitement. “So, what is the rumor, and who spread it?” 

“Well, I believe one of my old friends from school still holds a very nasty grudge on me. His name: Monsieur Thomas Bergeron.”

“You mean Hugo’s father?” I say very loudly. 

“Yes, I do indeed. And that is why I would like Hugo to come with you on your little adventure. I think he will be key. Do you agree?”

I blush almost as red as a tomato. I have a crush on Hugo Bergeron. There, I said it to you. Yes! Now it feels so much better. I have so many secrets. And sometimes it’s hard to keep them totally sucked inside. So they come out in emotions. 

And here’s what I say to M. Clément: “Yes.” And then all of my emotions I have been trying to keep in come rushing out, all right in front of M. Clément. 

Anger. Guilt. Fury. Joy. And something in between all of them. And I start crying. 

M. Clément just sits there. Then he walks out of the room. He comes back carrying a little brown bag. He holds it out to me, and I open it. Inside is a croissant de chocolat. 

“Go home, Emma. We can get started whenever you feel ready.”

“Thank you, M. Clément.”

“Of course.” He smiles mega-big.


Chapter Five: Thoughts

When I get home, I lie down on my bed and just think. I think about my whole big life. All the years I’ve passed, all the years to come.

In French, we say, instead of I am (how old you are), I have (your age) years.

I like it better that way. (No offense, English.)

I have so much longer to come, and I’ve only lived a tiny bit of my life. 

I have honestly considered saying no to M. Clément, and just ignoring him. Never going into his bakery again. But he’s the only true friend I have. I mean, I have some friends from school and other places, but none of them really understand me, and how hard it was to leave New York. And not just the city, but all my friends, my family, and my apartment. 

We moved to Paris because Papa found a spot in a big law firm here. We were all so happy for him at the time, but I didn’t realize then what it would mean in the long term. 

So, on the weekend, I will go to M. Clément’s bakery and be ready to confess. 


Chapter Six: My Confession

He sits me down in one of his awesomely comfortable armchairs, and I tell him everything. I don’t even miss the part about New York. And I tell him about my crush on Hugo. 

“Emma,” he says once I am done. “I will go get Hugo now, and we can keep your little crush a secret.”

“I will if you will.”

“Deal.” The few minutes of waiting for M. Clément to come feel like hours. 

Finally, M. Clément comes back with Hugo trailing behind him. 

“Oh, hey, Emma,” Hugo says. “I didn’t realize you were here, too.”

M. Clément saves me from a very embarrassing answer by saying, “Yes. We want you to help us.”

“Help you with what?”

M. Clément tells Hugo our plan. While he is talking, Hugo just nods. “I know it’s a lot to ask you, Hugo. You know, asking you to believe your father spread this horrible rumor and then getting you to work against him,” M. Clément finishes. 

“I know,” Hugo says.

I am suddenly all confused. “You know? What?”

“My father. He hated when I told him that I had been going to M. Clément’s bakery.”

“Then how do you still go?”

“I sneak away after school.”

“But you have after school, right?” I ask. “With Madam Dejardin.” I know that because my older brother is in grade eight with Hugo. 

“I sneak away from that.”

“But my brother said you’re always at after school.” This will go on forever: me asking something, Hugo proving me wrong, me trying to prove him wrong, etc.

“That our little secret,” Hugo says with a hint of a smile. “Now anyway, Emma, are you free next Saturday?” 

“Yeah.”

“Okay, cool. You can meet at my place, then.”

And that was it. Hugo walked out of the room leaving me and M. Clément alone in the room.

“Okay then,” I say and walk out.


Chapter Seven: Papa and Me/Our Sleepover

Friday night, I cannot sleep. I stay up all night wondering what will happen. I don’t understand. It just seems so vague. 

Papa knocks on my door at 3:43. 

“I don’t hear you snoring,” he says. 

“You’re back?”

“Yep.” He sits on my bed. “Fill me in on what’s happening in your life. School. Friends.”

“Can we pinky promise you won’t tell Mama, Matthew especially, or anyone?”

“Promise.” We latch pinkies. And shake. “Now you tell me.”

I spill. Everything.

“Wow,” Papa says when I’m done. “No kidding you’re having trouble sleeping.” He pauses. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t we have a dad-daughter sleepover?”

“Sure!” We talk about things the rest of the night. And I kind of just drift to sleep, listening to my father’s soothing drawl.


Chapter Eight: Waking Up

Papa is shaking me in my dream — wait no, not a dream. I bolt awake. 

“Hey, kiddo,” he says. “Time to have breakfast.”


Chapter Nine: The Bergeron’s House/Mansion

I arrive at Hugo’s place at exactly 11:26. I’ve never realized how big it is. 

There is a gateway in which I open and follow a stone path with lamps along it surrounded with trees. 

I finally get to the big wooden door. I ring the bell. Hugo greets me with his classic toothy grin. 

He leads me through a living room and to another, smaller living room. M. Bergeron is sitting there. 

M. Bergeron has teal eyes, quite like Hugo’s, which compliments his jet black hair. 

“Are you Matthew’s sister?” he asks. 

“Yeah.”

M. Bergeron opens his mouth to speak again, but is cut off by Hugo. 

“So, getting to the point, we were wondering if we could go up to my room.”

A woman, I’m guessing to be Hugo’s mother, walks into the room. 

She has a bob in her perfect dirty blond hair, just like her son. 

“Sure,” she says. “I’ll make you guys a snack.” She smiles.


Chapter Ten: The Diary

Hugo leads me to what I’m guessing to be his room. It is so big. One wall is covered with windows from ceiling to floor with long ornate drapes covering the view. Dirty clothes line the floor, and his shelf is covered with photos of him, Matthew, and Oliver. 

“So, I snuck into my dad’s office, and here’s what I found,” Hugo says. He is about to bring out a piece of paper when I cut him off.

“Wait — you snuck into your dad’s office?!” I smile really big now. 

“Yup,” Hugo shoves a battered black leather book into my face. “My dad’s diary from 19 years ago. I figured out that’s when the person, my dad, as you’ll see, gave M. Clément the hourglass.”

 I open up the diary, very curious. Curly cursive covers the pages in French, but I will translate it for you. Here’s what it says:

03/09/00

Dear Diary,

I gave my old friend the hourglass today. It feels like such a big weight lifted off my shoulders. M. Clément will pay for what he did to our family. Tomorrow I will spread the rumor. He was the rich, famous one. I had to fight for my position. Not him. Now everyone will think he lied. He will be fired, and I will be the next mayor. My son will be happy. We can live as a family. Not a broken family because of Hugo Clément, but a real, happy family. 

M. Bergeron

“Wow, Hugo,” is all I can say. 

“Yup.”

“That changes everything.”

“We have to tell M. Clément!” I yell. 

“No, but I think he already knows. The rumor makes him look really bad.”

“Hey, you’re right!” I say. “Am I ever mad at him. I trusted him!” I start pacing. 

“Hey, Emma. Don’t get so upset. Just face it. One o’clock tomorrow in front of my house.”

“Cool.”


Chapter Eleven: Back To the Unfamiliar Yet Familiar Bakery

I get to his house at 1:02. Two minutes late. Whatever.

I ring the doorbell, and Hugo emerges.

“You ready?”

“Yup,” he says.

We walk to the bus stop near Hugo’s house and take it seven stops. We get out exactly two blocks from M. Clément’s bakery.

When we get there, I open the door and take a deep breath. M. Clément is nowhere in sight.

Hugo reaches his hand out to mine. Our fingers touch and stay like that. It may be the happiest moment of my life, if M. Clément hadn’t just stormed in the room.

“You lied to me!” I snarl at M. Clément.

Watch out!” he yells.

Just then, something very large hits my head, and I black out.


Chapter Twelve: At the Hospital

I wake up in a bed that is not mine. I realize I am in a hospital because a nurse comes up to me.

“You have lots of visitors,” she says in French. 

“Who?” I ask.

“Do you want your family to come in?”

“Yes.”

The nurse opens a door and Mama, Papa, and Matthew rush in. They hug me super tight. 

“You have a concussion,” says Matthew. “Apparently it’s really bad and could cause severe brain damage if not treated properly.” 

“Don’t just say it like that,” Mama scolds. 

“Sorry.”

“Are you okay?” Papa asks. “We’ll always be here for you.”

“I know. I love you.”

“We love you too, always.”

I smile.

The nurse enters the room again. She says, “You have more visitors. Hugo Bergeron, and M. Clément.”

“You can let them in.”

She opens the door again, and Hugo rushes to my side. “Are you okay?” he asks. “That was a really big piece of concrete that hit your head!”

“Wait — that’s what gave me the concussion?”

“Yup, and you’re lucky you survived!” 

M. Clément pushes past Hugo. He says, “I am so sorry, Emma. I guess there isn’t anything that can make up for it.”

“What about a croissant au chocolat every day?”

“Sure. And hey, you should really get your ceiling fixed!”

M. Clément smiles. I smile even bigger. 

The End!


Circus of Talents

I was in the garden of the Queen of England’s palace when it happened. Let me explain. My name is Haven Shelly Dean. I’m thirteen years old. My father sold me for a new house and a flock of sheep. Now I live as a servant for the Queen of England. I work in the kitchen. Now, from 2 pm to 3 pm is my only off-hour.

I was walking next to the pond, when I saw a duck. And that’s when I found out my magical powers.

The duck said, “Quack quaaaack!” But to me, it sounded like, “Hello Haaaaven!”

I blinked. Then I blinked again. Then twice more. Then again. I was sure I had heard wrong.

“How do you know my name?” I asked. 

Except my voice sounded more like, “Quack quack quick honk quaaack.”

I ran back to the palace to start cooking early. I volunteered to make the salad, which was a hated thing to make at the kitchen. I did that so I wouldn’t have to help with the duck.

***

It must have been a coincidence. It must have. Because, two days later, on Lesson Day (Lesson Day is the day that all servants under the age of 15 have off to learn math, writing, and reading) I saw a notice. The notice said, 

Do you think you have a talent?

Servants, come to the Library on May 2nd to show off your talent. You will be viewed privately, and the winner will join the Circus of Talents. Sign up on the sheet below!

I was the third one to sign up.

***

May 2nd was the next day, and since so many servants were trying out, the Queen’s Advisor gave us the day off. We gathered in the library. 

A man with important looking clothing on was standing on a table.

“Hello,” he said. “My name is Carter Marlon. I am the director of the Circus of Talents. You will be viewed one at a time, and then I will announce the winner. You will be viewed in the order that you signed up in.”

“First up: Benny Dennis.”

Benny stepped forwards. He was a skinny kid who worked with the laundry. He went into the next room. A few minutes later, he came out practically crying. He ran out of the room. 

“Next up: Matilda Scott.” 

A girl who I didn’t recognize walked up. She walked into the room and came out with a worried face. She sat at a table in the back. 

“Haven Dean.” 

I walked into the room.

“Hello, Haven,” said Carter. “What is your talent?”

“Umm… I think I may be able to talk to ducks?” I said. 

Carter looked so happy, I thought he was going to explode. “Yes, yes! This is exactly the talent!”

Carter snapped his fingers. A duck, the duck I had seen in the garden, appeared. “Yeah, that’s my talent. I can summon things.” 

“Um, hello?” I said.

“I heard quack!” said Carter. “Perfect! You’re hired! But I still need to test everyone else, just to be fair. But go sit at the table across from Matilda.” 

I nodded and left the room. My head was exploding with thoughts. How did this happen? Am I really actually leaving the palace? Wow! This is crazy! Is Carter always this way? Wow!

About thirty minutes later, Carter got back up onto the table. “The winner is… ” he paused for dramatic effect. “Haven Dean!” The whole room clapped and cheered.

***

I got into the back of Carter’s van. He said we were driving a little to the real site of the Circus. Almost everyone had come to see me off. Even the Queen of England was there. After the palace had disappeared, I turned around to face Carter.

“Are you ready?” he asked. 

I nodded my head. Yes, I thought. I’m ready.


Clueless

The door opened to the front of my office. My assistant walked in looking flustered. 

“There has been a murder!” he yelled. I looked at him and shook my head. 

“We see murders every day,” I said.

“Not like this,” he said. “This person was brutally killed, then the body was stolen while the cops were searching the house.” 

Let me tell you a little about me. I am a detective. I work on a lot of murders, but usually they’re easy to solve. Like once, this man killed his high school enemy, and when I walked into the room he confessed that he was getting payed $100,000 to kill that man. Then, he was found dead in his jail cell, but the stupid man who had killed him had forgotten to put on gloves, and we found him right away.

“Who was murdered?” I asked. 

“This lady named Yvonne Harrison,” said my assistant.

“Rich?” I asked.

“So-so,” he said.

“We have to search her house,” I said.

***

Her house was small, about the size of my office. I looked around. There was barely anything around. A small television and a rag couch sat in the middle of the room. There was a patch of dry red blood stuck to the rug. 

“Have you tested her blood?” I asked a CSI man.

“Yes. And we found it didn’t actually belong to the Miss Harrison.” Interesting!

“Who did it belong to?” I asked.

“It belongs to a man named Gregory Doff,” said the CSI guy.

“Where does he live?” I asked.

“In a cemetery. He died a year ago.” 

Right now, I had no suspects or clues. Just a mere ‘the pool of blood this lady was lying on is not actually hers! It belongs to someone who’s been dead for a year!!’

I searched the bedroom. There was a Rolex watch on the bedside table, and next to it was a lamp. The bed had flowered linen sheets over a three inch thick comforter. I walked out the door. 

“Who are our main suspects?” I asked Jonathan Fedley, the head of the CSI. 

“Well, for starters, we have her brother-in-law. He is her only living relative.”

“In-law? Miss Harrison was married?”

“Yeah. To a man named Greg Doff who died in January of 2002.”

I have a good memory, so I don’t know why I thought my mind was tricking me of that name being familiar.

“Who?” I asked.

“We don’t have much information on him, except for that he was very poor and he probably married Mrs. Harrison for her money — ” There were suddenly shouts from across the hall in the crime scene.

At first, it sounded like the CSI investigators that were investigating the murder were shouting, “This house has been clean!” but then I realized they were saying, “The house has been swiped clean!”

In police code robbery equals 211, but this was not a robbery. Even the flower sheets were gone!

“How is this possible!” I yelled at the same time Mr. Fedley yelled, “This is not acceptable!”

The CSI investigators didn’t even find a trace of a footstep. Or a fingerprint. The only way we knew anything was stolen was because it was missing.

“Inspector Krysley, we have found out more information and a motive for Tristen Doff, Mrs. Harrison’s brother-in-law,” said Jonathan after we had searched the entire house for clues. 

“What did you find out?” I asked.

“We found out that Mrs. Harrison hated on him because of some sort of romance with her sister.”

“Anything else?”

“Oh yeah. We found out that Mrs. Harrison supposedly hit Doff with her car almost over a decade ago. We still don’t know why.” Another mystery!

Now it was time to round up the clues. Also, round up the suspects, motives, and alibis.

“Blood on the ground suggests she was either shot or stabbed,” said a clueless CSI member.

“But it’s blood of another person!” said another CSI member.

“Blood of another person suggests someone unlawfully blood banked Greg Doff’s blood,” said Jonathan. I groaned. It was hard to work with someone who was as smart as me.

“Small house and rag couch suggests revenge and not money,” I said.

“Stolen body in plain sight of cops suggests disguise,” said Jonathan.

“Rolex watch suggests a small wealth,” I said.

“Flowered comforter suggests living mother,” said Jonathan.

“But that’s absurd!” I said. “All her relatives are dead except Tristan!”

“But maybe she died, like, a few days ago!” said Jonathan.

Everyone gasped. There was no police code for Double Agent, but everyone in the system knew the signs. I started suggesting more stuff.

“Dead husband suggests grief,” I said. Jonathan glared at me.

“Everything stolen in plain sight suggests more than one person working for someone,” said Jonathan.

“Suspect affair with victim’s sister suggests connection of families,” I said.

“Suspect hit by victim in car suggests private connection with each other,” said Jonathan. I wrote everything down, except the silly stuff.

  • Blood of another person suggests unlawful blood bank
  • Rag couch and small house suggests revenge and not money
  • Stolen body in plain sight of cops suggests disguise
  • Rolex watch suggests small wealth
  • Dead husband suggests grief
  • Many items stolen in plain sight suggests more than one person/double agents
  • Suspect affair with victim’s sister suggests connection in families
  • Suspect hit by victim in car suggests private connection

And I added something.

*Jonathan knows something we don’t

How did I know Jonathan knew something we didn’t? Well, he’d been showing lots of signs. For example, Jonathan knew that Tristan Doff was the brother-in-law before the conversation. And I know that because he was one of the people searching the house. He didn’t have time to discuss it with the CSI people. And if he knew that, he must have known more about the case than we did. And I was going to get it out of him. 

When we finished our meeting, it was time to go home. I called my assistant, and he got me a car. The driver dropped me off at the front of my apartment building.

“Thank you,” I said.

I walked into the building and rode up to the 12th floor. I was the only person who lived on the 12th floor. The rest of my neighbors probably had vertigo or something, but I liked the 12th floor. It was so quiet and never smelled like food. I opened the door, and what I saw was a big surprise. A few CSI investigators were in my house, poking around in my kitchen. 

“What are you doing!?” I yelled at them.

They turned to me, then each of them talked at the same time. Luckily, when they stopped, one of them who I recognized as Rupert Hackett told me something that sounded pretty much like the truth.

“Mr. Fedley, he suspects you,” he said.

I knew that’s what they thought, but I was pretty sure that Jonathan was lying. 

“Where did he go?” I asked him.

“He said he was going to investigate more,” he said. 

“Where?” I asked.

“At the crime scene,” said Rupert. 

“Thank you!” I said. “Get me the camera footage. I think he’s guilty.”

Rupert looked at me uncertainly, then pulled up the camera footage. 

Jonathan is not alone. He is with Chief Inspector Harper and most of the crew. He looks around at the numbered evidence. He picks up evidence number 33 and talks to Miss Harper about it. Then he picks up a lot more evidence and talks to many different inspectors about it. I recognize Johann Dreyfus, Blanche Mac Lottery, Lauren Aaren, and Henry Kensington. So many detectives! They can’t all be Double Agents! Then, Jonathan writes something in his notebook. Dreyfus nods at him. Jonathan says something, then hugs Dreyfus, and walks out the door.

“See? He’s innocent!” said Rupert.

“Wait. Go back to when he’s hugging Dreyfus,” I said.

Rupert rewound the video.

So many detectives! They can’t all be Double Agents! Then, Jonathan writes something in his notebook. Dreyfus nods at him. Jonathan says something, then hugs Dreyfus — 

That watch!

“Zoom in on his hand!” I said.

Rupert looked at me like I had three dinosaur heads, then did as I said. 

“Jonathan is the killer,” I said. “At least one of them… ”

I rode in a cab to Jonathan’s house with my assistant. The lights were on, and I knocked on the door. The lights suddenly were turned off, and the curtains were closed. An old lady answered the door. 

“Are you looking for Than?” she asked. Than.

“Yes,” I said.

“He’s out. I’m his mother. Visiting from Orlando,” said the old lady. 

“Where?” I said doubtful and suspicious. 

“He’s gone,” she said. I frowned.

“Do you want a cup of tea?” she asked.

“Sure.” It would give me a chance to search the house. “Come in,” she said.

I walked into the house, following the old lady. She sat me down at the table, and I put my hands on the checkered tablecloth. The lady faced away. 

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Leana Krysley. I’m a detective,” I said. 

“Leana. Such a beautiful name. Why do you want to see Than?” she asked. She poured the hot water into the cup.

“Well, we need to question him — ”

“Ahhhh,” said the old lady.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“My name is Carla Fedley. And I know Jonathan is not guilty of the murder. And yes, I lied. He is in the house.” Then, the old lady smiled and got back to my tea. “Do you want your tea to go?” she asked. 

“Yes please,” I said.

Then I turned and walked out the door without my tea. Jonathan wasn’t the murderer. He couldn’t have been if he was at home. It only took me three minutes to get to my house to his house, but from Mrs. Harrison’s house to his house, it took an hour. So he couldn’t have taken that much time from Mrs. Harrison’s to his house, so he was at his house all along. There were only two questions. Why did Jonathan say that he was going to investigate, and who had rigged the camera system in Mrs. Harrison’s house? 

When I got home, I saw a letter on the table from my assistant.

Dear Leana,

I am really scared that I am going to get killed. Since you told me everything you know, will they kill me first? I ran away to my upstate house. I QUIT!

Sincerely,

Your Assistant

I put the letter down and went to bed. 

The next day, I returned to the crime scene. After all, nobody had ever solved a murder in just a day. 

Dreyfus was there to greet me, and Jonathan was there too. They were investigating like it was any other day. I looked over at Rupert, and he looked away. So he didn’t tell Dreyfus. I looked around to see a new piece of evidence. A note.

“Where did this come from?” I asked Dreyfus.

“I found it under a floorboard. Read it. Maybe you can figure out what it says,” said Dreyfus.

1/4/02

A chara Yvonne,

Tá a fhios agam gurb é seo an uair dheireanach a scríobhfaidh mé chugat, ach táim ag imeacht ó New Jersey chun cónaí le mo chara is fearr a bhuail tú le cúpla bliain ar ais. Mar sin féin, chuir mé litir chuig Than agus Tristan Tá mo dheartháir ag teacht go Nua-Eabhrac ach níl mé ag iarraidh aghaidh a thabhairt air tar éis duit é a bhualadh le You-Know-What. Bí ullamh aghaidh a thabhairt air.

Grá,

Greg

“I didn’t know Mrs. Harrison was Irish!” I said. “I’m Irish!”

“So read it!” said Dreyfus.

January 4, 2002. Dear Yvonne, I know this will be the last time I ever write to you, but I am running away to New Jersey to live with my best friend who you met a few years back. Anyway, I have sent a letter to Than and Tristan my brother is coming to New York but I don’t want to face him after you hit him with your car. Be prepared to face him. Love, Greg.” THAN!!!

Then I remembered the day before on the first day of investigation. 

I had asked who the suspects were. Then, Jonathan had said it was Mrs. Harrison’s brother-in-law. I had asked if she was married, and Jonathan had said yes, to a man named Greg Doff! Greg!

“You were friends with Gregory Doff?” I asked. And then I remembered the date.

“And the last time he was ever seen alive was January 4, 2002! That means you were the last one to see him alive!” I yelled in realization. Jonathan looked at me sheepishly. “And did you… kill him?” I asked quietly. Jonathan nodded.

“But I swear I didn’t kill Mrs. Harrison. She was nice! And I would never kill her!” I frowned.

“But what about the watch?”

“That’s my watch.”

“Then who killed Mrs. Harrison?” 

I wrote suspects, alibis, and motives in my notebook.

Suspect: Tristan Doff

Motive: He hated Mrs. Harrison for some reason

Suspect: Gregory Doff

Motive (Or what we think is a motive): He knew that he would never see her again/needed the money?

Alibi: He was murdered before Mrs. Harrison, so he can’t be the murderer

So I crossed him off.

Suspect: Johann Dreyfus

Motive: Found the letter; maybe knew what it was?

Suspect: Carla Fedley

Motive: (Unknown)

Suspect: Police Chief who guarded the house

Motive: (Unknown)

Jonathan was arrested the next day, and the next day was also a return to the crime scene.

“Let’s meet some new suspects,” said Dreyfus. He brought in five people. 

Suspect: Karen Calhun (Best Friend)

Motive: (Unknown)

Suspect: Jeremy Rolfson (Brother in-law’s best friend)

Motive: Helping his friend

Suspect: George Harris (Friend’s husband) 

Motive: Stealing away time with his wife

Suspect: Doctor Trenton Murray (Victim’s doctor)

Motive: (Unknown)

Suspect: Jenny Wolfson (Best Friend)

Motive: (Unknown)

I questioned all of them, but none of them seemed to have a motive except Tristan Doff’s friend who might have done something for his friend and killed her.

“I’m really stuck,” I told Dreyfus. 

“Then let’s do a walk through of the crime scene.”

We entered through the front door. I walked to the kitchen. 

“Have you guys checked the fridge?” I asked. Dreyfus nodded.

“We have, but you can check again.” 

“Okay.” I opened the fridge and gasped.

Dreyfus gasped when he saw too. In the fridge was a dead body. On it were carved letters.

Good Work, Detectives! -C .F 

“Who’s initials are C F?” asked Dreyfus.

“I think I know,” I said.

When we got to Carla Fedley’s house, Dreyfus knocked on the door. No one answered. Dreyfus was about to knock again, but I said no. He drove me back to my house. There, I rode the elevator to the 12th floor and went into my house. I made myself some tea, then got disgusted and drank matcha instead. Then, I watched some TV, and at 12:00, went into my bed and fell asleep.

It must have been just a minute later when I woke up. I checked the time, but it was only 12:46. I heard a rustle. I turned my bedside light on and looked around. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows. Carla Fedley

“Leana, you figured it out at last,” said Carla Fedley said.

She held the knife above my head. I ran out of bed, grabbing my phone on the way. I ran out of the door and locked it and called the police. They came in an instant, and I showed them Carla. She was arrested the next day.

It turned out, Tristan Doff bribed Carla into killing Mrs. Harrison by saying he would expose Jonathan’s secret if she didn’t kill Mrs. Harrison. When the body was still in sight, she told everyone to check the fridge masked as a CSI member. After they checked the fridge, she put the body into the fridge disguised as a CSI person. Then, she and some of Tristan Doff’s friends stole everything, all dressed as CSI members. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to drink tea again.


The Adventures of the Cat Club

Mittens is a brave little kitty. He is black, and his paws are white. He loves to travel around the world! He has a treehouse with lots of toys, blankets, and robotic machines. He loves fish and has a talent to catch them with his paws. But the most impressive thing about Mittens is that he is a tap dancer! He performs everywhere, like in France, New York, and Bubble Gum City! He lives on cat island, and since he has a ton of money… everything is made for cats! But, out of all the money, fame, and cat toys, Mittens has always wanted to travel to Hawaii to become a hula tap dancer! He also has a best friend named Jerry. Jerry is very funny and orange. They decided to travel to Hawaii together.

On the plane, Mittens asked Jerry, “What is your dream?”

Jerry said, “Probably to learn the alphabet!”

“Interesting!” Mittens answered, hoping his best friend really would learn the alphabet. 

As Mittens ate a few fancy treats and played tic tac meow with Jerry, he became tired, so he went inside his fluffy mini house that has his bed in it and is shaped like a star and fell asleep. 

In at least an hour later, he woke up from Sally, the waiter, saying, “We’re all going to die!”

All the workers were screaming. Catnip was flying everywhere.

Mittens meowed, “What happened?”

“You mean what’s happening?!” Jerry meowed back. “Birds were flying by, and John, our pilot, saw them and tried to catch them but didn’t realize that he couldn’t break through glass and lost control of the plane!”

“Oh, John!” Mittens sighed as he looked at John. “Have you been eating too much catnip? You know we’ve been telling you to stop! It’s bad for you!”

“Well… ” Mittens whispered to Jerry. “It’s pretty good!” John scrambled away, and Jerry laughed.

But his laughing stopped shortly after the plane crashed and all the cats meowed.

“Is everyone okay?” Mittens asked.

Meow!!” they all answered.

“Okay then… !”

So it turned out that they crashed in Hawaii and were near a volcano.

“It’s not going to explode, right?” Jerry asked.

“Of course not,” Mittens answered.

“People live here.”

People!!” Jerry screamed and fainted.

“Well ya,” Mittens scoffed as he got Jerry back on his feet.

“Oh my, I had a bad dream!” Jerry said. “Your plane crashed, and we went to Hawaii, and you said people were here. Mittens, I mean really!”

“Jerry? Jerry?” Mittens asked. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah! Of course! Why would I not — Oh no no no no!

“Jerry, calm down!”

No no no no no!!! Wait, Mittens, can I have some water please?”

“Umm yeah, yeah! Catnip flavor or plain?”

“Catnip flavor!” Jerry said as he wobbled into a tree and fell down.

“Okay!” Mittens said, partly laughing. “Here,” Mittens said as he gave the water to Jerry and splashed some on his face.

Hey! You got my fur wet!”

“Jerry, let’s go!” Mittens said.

“Okay, okay,” Jerry said, walking behind Mittens.

“Everyone else, try to find or rebuild the plane.”

They said, “Meowwwwww,” which meant okay in cat language, or as cats call it, Meowster talk.

As Jerry and Mittens ran into a restaurant, Mittens spotted a white, fluffy, beautiful female cat!

He stopped in his tracks, walked in a weird way that he thought looked cool, grabbed some shades, and said, “Hellooo, kitty.”

Mittens flexed his tail and put on his handsome face.

“Hi,” the girl cat said. “What’s your name? Mine is Snowflake.”

“My name is Gregory Von Chad the III Meower. Ummm, I’m Mittens! You like to hang around these parts of the woods — oops, I mean these parts of the restaurants? Umm, I mean you like fish? Ummm, no I mean I-I-I like your eyes. They’re so blue!”

“Thanks! Yours are nice too, and Mittens is a cute name!” Snowflake said dreamily or that’s what Mittens thought.

“Thank you, do you like tap dancers?”

“I guess, because you’re one!” Snowflake gave Mittens a piece of paper and then ran off.

Mittens opened the paper, and her number was on it!

Jerry found Mittens, and they ran through the restaurant when Jerry asked Mittens, “Who was that girl you were talking to?”

“Snowflake,” Mittens replied. “The most coolest, prettiest, mysterious kitty!”

“Cool… Got her number?” Jerry asked, gesturing toward the paper in Mitten’s paw.

“Yeah! We’re going to the movies tonight… or at least I think that’s what her eyes said… girls are confusing!”

“You’re telling me!” Jerry laughed. “My mom once liked peanut butter, and I said I do too, but then she kicked me in the basement! I’ll never eat peanut butter again!”

“Okay, good to know… but let’s find the hula place… I want to fulfill my dreams!” Mittens said heroically.

So Mittens and Jerry found the hula place, and Mittens tap danced with a skirt and blew people’s minds away!

“Go Mitty the Kitty!” Jerry screamed. 

As Snowflake ran, she stopped at a store to get some catnip. As she was walking out of the store, she saw a little gray mouse with an eyepatch and then blacked out. She woke up and found herself underground, tied to a chair, and a mouse was in front of her.

“Hello, pretty one,” the mouse said. “I am Cheesenstine! (The evil mouse who captured you and is now going to torture your kind!) I come from Cheesetopia, and I will trick your little boyfriend Mittens into coming to the movies with you and then capture him, and then steal his popcorn, and then watch the movie with you two tied, and then bring you back to my lair and keep you there while I destroy cat-kind with my Robotic Cheese Cat Exterminator 1000! And if you’re wondering why I’m against cats, it’s because I’m a mouse of course, and because one time someone stole my cheese, but mostly because when I was a little mouse, cats invaded my family’s hole we were living in and ate my mom, dad, and two sisters. I was the only one left, and I barely made it alive! That’s why I have this eyepatch! Because the cat stole what was supposed to be under it. So I will get my revenge! Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha!” He coughed loudly. “Ha-ha-ha, okay I’m done!”

“That was a lot to say for a little mouse like you!” Snowflake teased Cheesenstine.

“Oh you think you’re so tough!” Cheesenstine said, offended.

“Well… ” Snowflake said as she untied the ropes that were around her wrists with her claws. “I think I am actually pretty tough.” Snowflake busted out of the ropes and jumped on Cheesenstine.

“Yay!” Jerry continued screaming. “You’re the best hula tap dancer ever!”

“Thanks!” Mittens said as he took a water break. “Oh, I need to go! I have a date with Snowflake!” Mittens exclaimed.

“Go get her!” Jerry said proudly for no reason.

“Okay, I will!” Mittens ran off to pick up Snowflake at the restaurant where they met and couldn’t find her.

So he decided to call her with his cat phone (much more high tech… buy one today!) She picked up the phone apparently but seemed busy.

All he heard was, Meow meow. OW, STOP IT! HELP ME! MEOW! Oh hi, Mittens, I’m at Oloha Street, underground, where the sign is. Come quick. This guy is feisty.

Snowflake hung up, and Mittens ran to Oloha Street.

He looked at the ground and up at the sign and jumped. The ground opened, and he slid into a tunnel that led to an underground lair. There he found Snowflake and a mouse with an eyepatch and a bad temper fighting.

“What’s going on?” Mittens meowed over the noise.

They stopped fighting, and Snowflake said, “You’re here. Good. Now help me get this guy tied up!”

“Wait, what?” Mittens asked. “Who is he, and why were you two fighting?”

“Hello!” Cheesenstine said evilly. “I was going to capture you during your date at the movies, but this will work too! I am Chesenstine! And I captured your little friend to lure you into coming so I could keep you two from keeping me to destroy all cats with my Robotic Cheese Cat Exterminator 10000! Now you two are stuck here! Wonderful, right? Now bye bye!”

Cheesenstine said that he dug a hole upward? That made no sense, but Mittens and Snowflake were stuck.

“We have to find a way out of this!” Snowflake said as she stomped her paw in a cute way.

“Yeah totally,” Mittens agreed. “But what about the movies? I mean, like, is our date off?” Snowflake looked at him and instead of her slapping him, which is what he thought she was going to do, she smiled and laughed! “You really are a special cat,” she said to Mittens.

He blushed and quickly said, “Let’s go!”

“Umm, how again? Aren’t we trapped?” Snowflake asked.

“Yes,” Mittens said. “But… remember you’re with a really special cat?”

“Of course I do,” she exclaimed, laughing a little.

“Okay,” Mittens sighed. “But it’s crazy!”

“I’m in for crazy!” Snowflake assured.

“Okay, you see right there?” Mittens asked, pointing to a dark space in the lair.

“Yeah,” Snowflake said. “There’s nothing there.”

“That’s what you think,” he said smartly. “Look.” He walked in the dark and pushed out a black machine that digs threw dirt and throws cats around. “It has two seats, so we can dig upward and throw around Cheesenstine!” Mittens said happily. 

“Okay. Let’s try it!” Snowflake said, hopping into one seat, and Mittens hopped into the other.

They drove the machine through the dirt and came to the surface. 

People and cats were screaming and running everywhere as Cheesenstine destroyed buildings and tried to throw cats with his machine.

Jerry ran up to Mittens and Snowflake and asked, “So, no movies?”

“No movies!” Mittens answered.

“Let me guess,” Jerry started. “That mouse wants to destroy all cats because cats destroyed his family and his name is Cheesenstine?”

Mittens and Snowflake were stunned.

“What?! I watch a lot of movies!”

“Yeah, Jerry,” Mittens managed to say. “Now let’s destroy that guy.”

The three ran and jumped up on the Robotic Cheese Cat Exterminator 1000 (because cats can jump high) and started to bite the thing with their sharp teeth.

“This is useless!” Snowflake started.

“Yeah, we need a stick,” Jerry said. “That breaks everything!”

“Okay, then get your stick!” Mittens told Jerry.

So Jerry jumped off the machine and grabbed a big stick that was actually a log with his mouth, jumped back up on the machine, and hit the thing.

Ahhhh!” Cheesentine screamed from inside the Robotic Cheese Cat Exterminator 1000. “You stupid cats will pay!!!

Thunk!

The Cat Exterminator 1000 hit the ground, and Snowflake said to Jerry, “Wow, sticks really break everything!”

“Well, big sticks,” Mittens corrected.

“Yeah yeah,” she said. “So, Mittens, now that Cheesenstine is destroyed, want to go to the movies? I think Captain Meower is still playing tonight at 6!”

“Yeah, of course!”

“Ummmm, Jerry, want to go grab cheeseburgers?”

“Okay, dude, but never say ‘cheese’ again after what happened today!” Jerry said.

“Okay, let’s go… Bye, Snowflake!”

“Bye,” she replied.

After Jerry and Mittens got cheeseburgers, it was already 5:59, so they picked up Snowflake, and Jerry said bye when they got to the movies. Mittens and Snowflake went in the theater and started watching the movie Captain Meower!

As it got to the middle of the movie, Mittens said to Snowflake, “I thought my dream was to become a hula tap dancer, but now I realize it was to meet you. To find love.”


Santa

Word from the author

People say I’m plagiarizing because there’s already a book about this, so I did some research. Apparently there is. But I continue writing this because it’s not plagiarizing if you do it without knowing you are, so for those of you who would like to sue and make me pay a lot of money, not happening, because now I’ve given credit so, yeah… HAHA!

-Kai Tschopp (aka the author)


Prologue

Far, far out in the South Pole howling winds could be heard. The snow blizzard blocked a beautiful structure composed of stone bricks, white glass pane, and quartz. Inside, even louder then the wind, howling laughter could be heard… echoing past every hallway in the entire building.

“MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! shouted a figure from his throne.

The figure looked surprisingly like Santa, but he wore all blue.

“I will bomb the North Pole! My twin brother will die, and all the children in the entire world will be sad. And while they’re so sad, I will take over the world!!!


Chapter One: Nuke!!

Luke Marrow’s head banged on the floor.

“Ow… that hurt,” Luke said absentmindedly.

He stood up from the floor and sat on his bed. Suddenly, a message blared from the intercom at Santa’s secret base at the North Pole:

Attention, all elves report to Santa’s throne room!

Luke paled.

“Oh, no I need to get to the throne room now!”

Luke raced down the hall, zigzagged across the stairs, and finally ended up in the spacious throne room alongside hundreds of other elves. Luke looked over at Santa. His gray eyes seemed so sad, and his long, long beard drooped. Sure, he was 2,000 years old, but he always seemed so… upbeat, but today not so much.

Santa raised his wrinkled hand for attention: “My fellow elves, I have an announcement to make! My evil twin (who is nothing like me!) is planning to nuke the North Pole!” Santa exclaimed.

Several elves gasped. Three or four elves even fainted.

“Yes, he is! And he is launching the nuke now!”

He snapped his fingers, and a projector projected an image of someone that looked exactly like Santa but was wearing all blue! Elves gasped. Wearing blue was just about as bad as swearing in front of a three-year-old to the elves. The man in the screen turned around and laughed maniacally as he pressed a red button on his control panel and smoke rose around the screen.

“Mwaahahahahahahahahahaha!” the blue man yelled.

“The Drakon nuke will destroy the North Pole, and I will get my brother back for accidentally misplacing my teddy bear and sending it to someone across the world!”

Santa turned red. The elves turned their eyes to Santa.

“Hehe… continue elves… I didn’t do that… Yes I did… ” Santa added quietly.

Luke turned back to the screen. So did the other elves. Smoke was still rising from the nuke. Suddenly a voice appeared from the nuke: “Countdown for Drakon nuke model #3459 in T-minus: Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One… Blastoff!

Blue quickly took cover and watched in awe as the nuke slowly raised in the air.

“In ten hours exactly the nuke will strike the North Pole and blow up everything!” Santa announced.

“And say thank you to Andrew the spy who hijacked the camera viewing this from the South Pole. Now… run as fast as your butts can carry you!” screamed Santa.

Several elves screamed. Some cried. Another even begged for mercy. Luke felt the blood drain out of his face. Blue could not do this to the North Pole. Luke would not allow it. But Luke felt helpless to do anything. It’s not like he could just storm the South Pole and demand that Blue surrendered. The South Pole was built like a fortress. He couldn’t do that… Could he?

While Luke was trapped in the tornado of his own thoughts, his home that he had been born in was being abandoned… No! Luke couldn’t let this happen! He had to stop Blue! Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder.

“Hey, I know it’s hard, but you have to leave. Otherwise you’ll get destroyed alongside the North Pole. You can’t do this” pleaded Luke’s friend, Kat.

“Please… ” whispered Kat.

Luke shook himself and awakened himself out of his trance.

“You’re right. We can’t let Blue do this… ” said Luke to Kat.

“But… I don’t know how we are supposed to get to him,” continued Luke.

I know! We could borrow the planes that Santa uses!” exclaimed Kat.

“Great idea, Kat!” exclaimed Luke.

“To the artillery!” shouted Kat.

“And… let’s get out of here before we’re nuked!” replied Luke unenthusiastically.

“Yeah… ” whispered Kat.

Luke and Kat stormed out of the room, raced down the halls, and followed the signs pointing to the artillery. One of the signs read:

To the artillery guns, bombs, planes, retired reindeer, and rockets. Please be responsible with tools!

(Sidenote from author) Hold on a minute. You thought Santa still rode reindeers? This, my friend, is the 21st century and people do not ride reindeers. They ride jets, cars, planes, and Santa’s personal favorite, the Boeing 777. This is the latest fashion, and it will be for quite a while. Thank you, and now keep reading your book. Now. Please. Thank you.

“We will… ” Luke said to one of the signs sarcastically.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to Kat and Luke, they arrived at the artillery. They raced around old reindeer slowly walking for their lives, the newest model of a gun, and even an old cannons, but they ignored all that stuff. It seemed that a lot of elves had the same idea as Luke and Kat and had snatched up the jets, airplanes, and Boeing 777’s before they could. They tried to hitch a ride with other elves, but they didn’t exactly seem in the “Christmas spirit.” Finally, the only thing left was an old helicopter.

“Let’s go!” yelled Kat.

They jumped into the helicopter and Luke pressed the ON button. The blades started whirring. They spun into the air.

“Do you by any chance know how to fly a helicopter?” Luke asked.


Chapter Two: To Antartica!

Kat stared at Luke.

What? You don’t know how to fly a helicopter?” screamed Kat.

I thought you said jump in!” retorted Luke.

But you pressed the button!” screamed Kat.

So?” asked Luke.

There was no time for arguing, and they both knew it, so they just faced the controls. It seemed pretty simple. There were a few buttons with titles like: Eject, Guns, ON/OFF, and things like that. There was a lever that was labeled: Altitude. And lastly, there was a joystick labeled: Steering. The controls seemed simple enough, so Kat and Luke sat down in the two seats. Luke took the steering joystick, and Kat had the altitude lever. Kat looked out of the window and suddenly pulled the lever up as hard as she could. Luke felt as if his stomach had fallen out of his body one hundred feet below.

“What was that for?” asked Luke.

“There was a mountain that we were about to crash into!” explained Kat.

Sure enough, when Luke looked down, he saw a snow-capped mountain just twenty feet below them.

“If this is what our ride is gonna be like, I’d have stayed at Santa’s place!” said Luke, his face green.

“Errrrrr… in that case if I was you… ” said Kat.

And that was what the ride was like all the way down to the South Pole (not including stops at Greenland, Alaska, Canada, San Francisco, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Chile, and not to mention avoiding being spotted by humans). At last, one cold, snowy day, Luke spotted a cold, snowy mountain… They had arrived at the South Pole.

“We have to ditch the helicopter now, or Blue’s forces will spot us!” said Luke.

“I heard that Blue sends troops out to alert him if there is an invasion, so that forces people to travel in small groups to avoid being caught. And even then, they can easily be wiped out in his fortress if they manage to somehow avoid being caught.”

“Oh boy,” said Kat, unenthusiastically.

Kat slowly cranked the Altitude lever downwards, and the helicopter slowly descended. Luke steered in a circle, and so the landing wasn’t too bad, but Luke and Kat were still terrible pilots.

“Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow… ow,” wailed Luke.

“You are a terrible pilot, Luke,” replied Kat, holding her shoulder.

“Oh, let’s just get on with it!” retorted Luke.

So, Luke and Kat wandered and wandered around in hopes of finding the fortress, staring at the empty whiteness that looked like an empty canvas. They suddenly came across some elves dressed entirely in blue, marching south.

One elf said, “Wow, I can’t wait to pull off my mittens and sit by the fire and have a nice warm cup of hot chocolate.”

Kat and Luke looked at each other. They had just found their ticket to Blue’s fortress…


Chapter Three: Into the Fortress

Luke and Kat slowly followed the marching troop that they hoped was leading them in the direction of Blue’s fortress.

“We can’t keep following the troop. They’ll spot us. We need to steal their clothes and be disguised as them!” said Luke quietly.

Are you kidding me?” whisper-screamed Kat.

“Is it a good idea to take off your clothes in Antarctica?” she continued.

“Well, we’ll just put them over our clothes. Happy?” replied Luke, a little miffed.

So Kat and Luke ran up to a soldier elf quickly and quietly, so as to not be seen or heard, and tackled one soldier while holding his mouth shut. The soldier fell on the ground with a thump.

“Sorry, this might be embarrassing,” Kat told the soldier, and he let out a shriek when he realized what was happening.

Luckily, no one heard. Then, they started working. The soldier screamed to much, so they stuffed snow in his mouth. Since elves had been given the gift of heat from the snow lords (let’s not go into elf religion, here) they could not freeze to death. Elves only wore clothes so that they wouldn’t be naked.

“Bye, bye,” whispered Luke.

Then, they repeated the process. Soon, the rest of the troop was about 200 meters ahead.

“We’ve got to catch up to them,” Kat told Luke.

“Yeah,” agreed Luke.

They left the two naked (but warm) elves buried in the snow and hurried after the elven troop.

Luke started gracefully running to catch up with the troop while Kat started sprinting full out. The snow made a crunch-crunch sound when they stomped in it. They ran and ran and ran until they finally caught up.

“Are you excited to have hot chocolate, Robert?” asked one hulking elf while looking in Luke’s direction.

For a second, Luke thought, Who is Robert? Then, he looked at the way the bulky elf was looking at him and almost said, “Ummm, am I Robert?” But, Luke came to the conclusion that he was Robert and said, “Um, yeah totally.”

Kat shot Luke a dirty look that said, If we get caught, it will be all your fault.

Luke tried again. “Definitely, I’m really excited to have that hot chocolate,” Luke said excitedly and tried to hide the fact that he didn’t know what hot chocolate was.

“Good, so am I,” the elf said.

The other elves nodded in agreement.

As Luke and Kat walked toward the palace, they were both thinking different things. Kat was thinking, I hope Luke’s not gonna be an idiot and give us away. And Luke was thinking, Did I just give us away?

They were both startled when there was suddenly shouting

“Hooray for hot chocolate! We are here!” one elf shouted.

“Yay,” another elf shouted.

“Ummm… ” said Luke quietly.

“Well, let’s go get some hot chocolate!” shouted a small elf that had a very loud voice.

“Yay!” everyone said, except for Luke and Kat.

As they stormed into the palace, someone declared that they were as loud as rioting monkeys screaming for bananas. Kat thought about what they were doing. Suddenly, with a shock, Kat realized the ugly truth… They didn’t have an actual plan beyond getting in the palace. Kat walked up to Luke.

“We have a problem.”

“What? Nothing could be wrong while you’re drinking hot chocolate. This is as good as… as… ummm… a police officer!” Luke exclaimed.

Kat broke the bad news.

“We don’t have a plan,” she said.

As this registered in Luke’s pea-sized brain, Kat sat down and tried the hot chocolate.

“So… that’s bad?” asked Luke, puzzled.

Yes!” whispered-screamed Kat, exasperated.

“Oh,” said Luke sounding very depressed.

“So here is my plan,” said Kat, pulling out a piece of paper.

First, she drew a stick figure and labled it Blue. Then, she drew two people with a dotted line behind them. First, they walked into a room and grabbed what seemed to be a big bomb. Then, they snuck around guards and into Blue’s throne room. The stick figures threw the bomb at Blue. And there wasn’t a picture for that, but you can just imagine what happens next…

“Perfect,” said Luke. “Now, just try some of this hot chocolate!”

Kat sipped the hot chocolate.

“Wow, this is good,” Kat exclaimed.

The two adventurers were so busy sipping their hot chocolate that they didn’t notice…

(Ahem, hi, guys! Kai here.) This is the part in a story every good writer has to have. A twist. The part of the story where the reader thinks, Oh, they’re going to do it! And then the writer adds something just to annoy you. If you noticed the words “the two adventurers were so busy sipping their hot chocolate that they didn’t notice… ” then you could have maybe predicted this. Now I can annoy you. Yay.

… two elves reading their paper. Then, they looked up. Rage filled the elves’ faces, but they could not act erratically. The two elves had to play this smart. The two elves walked up to the elf guard on duty and whispered into his ear. They quickly spread the message in this manner. So then, just as Kat put her mug down, the guards threw a bag over Luke and Kat’s chocolate covered faces.


Chapter Four: Bombs

Luke woke up in a cold, damp room. What happened? Luke wondered. Then, as if his wish had been answered, a guard came up to him.

“Trying to bomb Master Blue, eh?” the elf asked in a mid-westernly sounding gruff voice. “That ain’t gonna get ya anywhere. Master Blue has got at least 15 soldiers surrounding him at all times. Dat guy has got some serious safety problems.”

“Yeah, I guess… ” said Luke quietly.

“Hey, tell you what, you seem like a good lad. If ya promise not to do anything bad, I will think ‘bout giving you the keys. Eh?”

“Um… yeah, okay” Luke said, even though he felt bad lying.

“Good,” the guard said and handed him the keys.

Luke opened his cell and in a flourish, stood up and looked around. The dungeons were miserable, and he looked at the cells next to him. They were all empty and wet except for one. And it housed Kat. Luke quickly opened the lock. It opened with a satisfying click.

“Kat, Kat, can you hear me? Kat wake up!” Luke said softly.

“Hi, Luke,” said Kat.

“Listen, I have the keys. We have to get out of here right now!” Luke said in a commanding but nice tone that made him sound really dumb.

“Really?” Kat said in a voice that made her sound slightly insane.

“Yes, really, now! We have to go!” Luke whispered-not-whispered.

“Okay, okay fine. Wait — you’re completely right. We have to go now!”

The two friends sprinted out of the prison by following signs that were placed conveniently all around, leading up some stairs to a circular room. There were five doorways leading to a cafeteria, a lobby, an armory, barracks, and a nuke bunker. Luke chose the door with a sign marked armory. He and Kat raced down the hallway and around a corner when Luke’s eyes met the most beautiful sight ever. The armory. It was filled to the brim with tanks, the latest technology guns, fighter jets, bombs, and best of all, nuclear bombs. If you wanted a weapon of mass destruction, this was the place in the palace to find it.

“Hey, Kat, can you come over here and help me pick a bomb?” Luke asked.

“Sure, Luke. We could use grenades because we can carry lots of them and throw them easily, but we could also try to sneak in a bomb for the full effect and a big boom. We could also try small bombs which we could arrange into a pyramid for the fun of it.”

“Good idea, Kat, let’s try the big bomb. Let’s try to find one with a big timer that says fancy things like: you will die in approximately T-minus 2:00.000 minutes. Beep, beep, beep. That would be cool,” exclaimed Luke.

“Sounds good to me!” agreed Kat.

And so our two unlikely heroes went on a mission to find a bomb. Luke was looking around for a bomb when he noticed the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The biggest, scariest, and most awesome bomb he had ever seen.

Luke felt himself tearing up just by looking at the bomb and then regained his senses and yelled, “Kat, come over here and look at this bomb I just found!”

Kat immediately ran over to the bomb, and she too felt in awe at the greatness of the bomb.

“This is the one! We need to do this with this bomb. It’s sort of an inner feeling. Like we absolutely have to do this,” announced Kat earnestly.

“Yes, I agree. You should feel honored to be in this godly presence,” replied Luke.

“Now, to destroying Blue,” Kat said.

The two adventurers lifted the bomb and started staggering out of the room. Kat and Luke finally lifted it out of the room. They set it down, exhausted, and rested their hands on their knees and panted.

“That pant — was pant — good. Keep pant — Going pant,” panted Luke.

“Yes pant — ” agreed Kat.

The two adventurers then put their hands under the bomb and lifted and lifted, and slowly the bomb lifted. Then, the two adventurers staggered down the hallway and finally to the throne room door, which was filled to the brim with at least twenty tons of rubies, diamonds, emeralds, gold, silver, copper, piles of hundies and most importantly, Blue himself.

They shoved the bomb through the door, then, the two dove headfirst under a giant pile of dollar bills. If you were there, you might have heard a slight beep, beep as our heroes had preset the bomb. Then, you might have heard the bomb speak its message of doom, but it was muffled by the dollar bills. But Blue was too distracted playing with his riches and didn’t hear.

“All is good — wait, how are we going to get out of here in time?” exclaimed Kat.

At that very moment, there was a loud crash and a boom, and Luke and Kat heard, “Like this — Ho ho ho!” someone said in a familiar voice.

“Santa!” Luke said.

“Hop in!” Santa replied.

“You horrible traitor! You freak!” Blue shouted.

Luke and Kat hopped into the sleigh, and they sped off. Everything whizzed past and Luke realized suddenly, hey, this is how Santa delivers all those presents.

“Wait, are those your reindeer? I thought they didn’t fly!” Kat asked, startled.

“Oh, they do. They just like to rest and be lazy,” Santa said in a teasing voice.

So this is how our two heroes found themselves speeding along in Santa’s secret sleigh at top speed. In less than an hour, the party were gliding over the North Pole over a dark, jaggedy mountain.

“Wait, wasn’t this place wrecked?” Luke asked.

“It was, but it so happens that I too have a little bit of magic,” Santa replied.

The sleigh came down towards a jet black strip of concrete… the landing strip! The sleigh slowly lowered down, and Luke and Kat covered their heads and tucked into a ball around their knees. This was going to be a rough landing. Boom. The sleigh crashed to the ground with a sickening crash. The reindeer took off running, pulling the sleigh and going slower and slower until they finally arrived at the foot of a mountain. Most people thought that this mountain was just a mountain, but in reality, it was the secret entrance to Fort S or Fort Santa. The Fort could only be accessed by elves whom Santa trusted. Santa pulled a garage door opener out of his pocket and pressed it.

“Activating sequence open door. Do you want to do this?” a hidden speaker in the button asked.

“Yes,” Santa said, enunciating clearly.

The mountain then rumbled as a part of the cavern door pulled in and put to the side by powerful pistons. The party sleighed through. They passed hallways, displaying monitors, art, and technology that neither Luke nor Kat had ever even heard of. Then they entered a large room and finally slid to a stop.

Suddenly, there were elves jumping out from behind furniture and at the top of their lungs yelled, “Surprise!

There were various shouts of “We love you!”, “Yay!”, and “Thank you for stopping Blue!” It was a surprise party. Kat and Luke had never felt so overjoyed. They were surrounded by the elves they loved, who were all cheering their little elven hearts out for them. It was the best feeling in the world.

Now, my reader, my job as a writer is done. I have finished the book. You now know the story of Luke, Kat, Santa, and Blue. It was a joy writing for you all, and I want to thank you for reading this book. Thank you. Now I must go. I really never wanted to say these words, but:

The End


Journey to the Heavens

Storm Search

My eyes flew open as the door swung open. My mom was standing in the doorway, her eyes wild. Outside, rain poured out from the bleak night sky.

“What happened?” I asked.

“The rain was just super cold,” she muttered, but I knew she was lying. I made a silent decision to sneak outside afterwards. “Go to sleep, India Hollyblade,” she added.

I trudged to my bed, but as soon as my mother began to snore, I crept outside after putting on a long sleeved navy blue dress with thick tights. I wore a long crimson coat with white faux fur and tied my chocolate brown hair into a bun before I slung a bag of emergency tools that my mother gave me. Then I created a forcefield and ran outside, whistling for Windra, my giant white wolf. I hopped onto her back, and we raced around the garden, looking for anything that might have spooked my mom. Then I saw the light.


Volcano Light

It was silvery and soft, and at first I thought the light was just a trick of the moonlight, but then I realized the moon was hidden behind the clouds. I urged Windra to go forward, and as we climbed the hill, I noticed that the light was coming from the dormant volcano. Could the volcano possibly be erupting? I thought. Nah, volcanos don’t have silver lava, do they? As soon as Windra and I reached the volcano, I ran up to it and balanced on the rim of the volcano. I had done this many times, but it still made me nervous to know that a slight misstep could get me into an even more dangerous position. I realized that a swirling light had appeared inside the volcano. Before I could think about what I was seeing and actually get it into my head that this wasn’t a dream, the moon broke free of the clouds, and the silver light grew brighter, making the earlier light seem dim in comparison. I was so busy staring in awe at the breathtaking sight that I did not notice that the wind was picking up up until it was too late. A strong gust of wind hit me hard, and I started to topple over. Windra tried to grab me, but my weight made her lose balance, and we both fell into the silver light, the wolf, howling, and me, screaming as the silver light engulfed us.


The Test Of The Sleeping Moon

I was still screaming when I realized that first, I wasn’t burning up or dying or anything horrible like that, and second, I could breathe and everything felt peaceful and I felt so relaxed as the light turned dark and my eyelids started to close… Slurp!!! My eyes shot open as I felt the horrible sensation and wetness of wolf saliva. Blinding light hit me like someone had shone a flashlight in my eyes. Then I realized we were sitting on a cloud.

Then a voice said, “Congratulations! You have passed the test of the Sleeping Moon!”

An old wizardly man who looked blurry in the mist surrounding him pointed to snoring people that had appeared around us.


Information

“The Test of the Sleeping Moon is what people go through when they enter Faunaree, our world. Hostiles are sent to the land of nightmares forever, which is all the way north. Here is a map of where Twilight Hotel is, and see you later!” the old guy (whom I had named Mr. Tedious) said. “If you fail the Test of The Sleeping Moon, which you didn’t, you are considered a Hostile.”

Now that I could see him more clearly, I knew he had stunning blue eyes, a silvery robe, and white hair that covered his face almost entirely. Then I sank through the clouds.


Getting To The Hotel

As I landed softly on the ground with Windra, I contemplated the map. It showed a desert, and after a while I spotted the hills of sand for real. I walked through the desert for days, then weeks then months, until I couldn’t keep track of time. Just as I let go of my last hold on reality, there were two pathways, one going downhill and one going up. I decided to go up because I loved sliding down hills, so I hopped onto Windra and skidded down the hill. Suddenly we were in the middle of swirling light, and everything was soft and like a feather, like I was in a flock of doves until it dissipated so that I could see a marvelous castle that looked like an abandoned royal palace. Lightning struck the mountains in the distance, and the windows glowed an eerie purple-pink. Obviously I took a photo (by the way, it was in my emergency bag, in case you were wondering) as I ran down the walkway and knocked. No one answered, so I knocked again. Still, no one answered. Impatient, I opened the door that led to what changed not only my life and future, but almost everyone else’s.


Twilight Hotel (with little comments from the author)

Now, first, I must remind you that I was a young and rather impulsive child at this age. For the story’s sake, do not treat the me in this book as you would treat me if my older and wiser self were making these decisions. What’s that you say? Oh, right, the story. On we go! Wait, what?! There’s barely enough room for me to finish my little comments! The story starts… now! Oh, and if you want the story in wolf language, that can be arranged.*

*Bark howl woof arf howl! Bark arf bark woof arf howl!


Twilight Hotel

(Joyful to say, and also hopefully joyful for you readers, no more serious chapter titles after this.)

Like I said, I had opened the door and was stepping in when I remembered my manners.

“Sorry for trespassing! I hope you will forgive me, and I am returning this map to you, or at least I assume this is yours,” I said (very politely). Windra barked, ruining my charming manner. I dropped the map, and immediately I fell face first into a fluffy bed. “Huh,” I said, and then fell asleep.


In Which I Meet My Friend The Puppy

As soon as I woke up, I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a room full of snow. Strangely, it wasn’t cold at all! In fact, the snow was pretty warm. I stepped in hesitantly, and 45 minutes later, when a puppy stepped in, she found me building a giant snowman that was nine feet and nine inches tall. (We checked.)

“Hello?” she asked. “I am Mocha, your new transportation ride.”

I looked at her, threw a snowball at Windra, then studied her some more. “But you’re smaller than a chair!” I exclaimed, offended.

Who would dare send me a tiny little puppy and pretend that I was smaller than that.

“True,” Mocha said. “But I can grow.”

Then the world (or at least everything within my eyesight) grew big and furry and smelled like dog fur.


In Which I Eat Some Chicken

Aaaahhhh!!!” I yelled as Mocha flung Windra and I onto her back and leaped out the window.

We’re gonna dii-ie, we’re gonna dii-ie! a singsong voice chanted in my head. As we hit the ground, we dissolved into millions of tiny particles and reformed on top of Mr. Tedious’ head. As Mr. Tedious sank through the cloud, yelling at the top of his lungs, we bounced upwards, only because Mr. Tedious has a rather bouncy head. As I grabbed a piece of delicious chicken, I felt a little bad for Mr. Tedious.

“Oops,” said Mocha.


In Which I Eat (And Describe) Chicken and Go to a Palace

As we flapped towards the portal, I munched on the chicken. It was salty and juicy, but a little chewy, too, like how a chicken born in fire would taste: A little crispy on the outside, but soft and buttery on the inside. I was just stuffing the last of the fire chicken in my mouth when we arrived in a palace.


In Which I Meet My Mom

I entered the palace hesitantly, one foot at a time, only me, just me. I had tried to get Windra to come, but the scary guards wouldn’t allow the wolf. My footsteps echoed along the hallway, and Mocha had disappeared to wherever giant dogs spent their free time. I walked at first, but then wonderful aromas wafted down from wherever the hallway led to, and I began to run. Even though I had just had the fire chicken, my stomach still growled. Suddenly, I ran into my mom.


In Which I Eat Some Lunch

“Mom?” I asked, unable to believe it.

“I know, sweetie,” my mom said. “But let’s have lunch first.” She took a sip of the tea.

Why didn’t you tell me about this place; it is so awesome — oh,” I shouted at first, but then I took a sip of the tea. It was like drinking liquid sugar, but with a hint of a creamy spice. It was sticky, yet it slid on my tongue, and soon, my mind began to clear. “Let’s eat first,” I agreed.

A chicken scrambled towards me, balancing a tray of what looked like leafy green vegetables on his head. I took one of the leaves, nibbled on the edge, and immediately my mind exploded. It tasted like someone sprinkled wasabi on it and then poured chocolate milk on the leaf. Brown speckles on the leaf added creamy, salty, bursts that exploded in my mouth.

“Now, by all means, let us talk!” my mom said.


A Face-To-Face Chat

“I knew of this world, but I didn’t tell you because this world would fry a lesser brain like the dragon eggs over there.” She nodded at some purplish-black eggs that I hadn’t seen before. “Obviously I underestimated you. We will be living here from now on.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said. “Can we eat now?”

“Of course!” my mom said, obviously relieved to be freed of the awkward conversation.


In Which I Get Three Awesome Tools and Eat Some More.

I wolfed down two more leaves and grabbed a sparkly brown square from a box labeled Unicorn Creamtoys. I bit into it and blinked. The creamtoy melted in my mouth, but then it reformed back into a square, like it was trying to last as long as it could. I felt a ball pop out of my mouth, and then it filled with a sweet taste that my mouth wanted to dispose of. I spat it out, and it self-cleaned itself. Out of it popped out three things: a belt, a glowing rod, and a bunch of glowing sticks. A voice in my head (because of the creamtoy) said, The belt is a magical thing that allows you to pluck anything you want from its pockets. The rod is stunner that is safer than an electric staff. You can use it to charge the glow-throwers. After that, as I fingered my stuff, I knew this story would have a happily-ever-after.


By The Way

Thank you! Thank you! I don’t have much time, but I just want to say how much I thank India’s mother, Hazel Hollyblade, for cooperating. (Of course, she insisted on her own story, but yeah.)


Pack

Chapter One

I am Storm, a lone she-wolf. I am traveling with my much younger brother, Cloud. Before we talk about anything, let me tell you my backstory.

“Go to sleep, darling,” Lola, my mother, whispered.

“I can’t,” I protested.

“Your brothers can. And you’re much older than them. If they can sleep, so can you,” Lola whispered again.

“Tell me about dad before I do,” I pleaded.

Lola sighed, giving in. “Doobie was a brave wolf. I met him when he was hunting for our pack… ”

“Run! Run! Cloud, run! Storm, where’s Sticks?” Lola yelled.

I woke up with a start. Why was she yelling? Then I saw the golden-red branches that radiated heat. Then I recalled something from Lola’s stories. Fire. The thing that had killed my father, Doobie.

“Run,” Lola repeated.

Then we heard a voice: “Mommy, Mommy, help!”

Then that gray stuff that floated around the sky — smoke, I recalled — cleared, and I saw my brown-gray younger brother who supposingly looked like Doobie.

“Help!” Sticks called, a panicked look on his face.

Lola glanced at me and whispered, “Find Cloud, then run. Please.”

I couldn’t do anything but nod. I ran to the other side of the large cave, which was filled with sickly, small-looking trees that were already catching flames. It was where our pack used to hunt. But now the fire will kill all the prey, probably the hunters, too.

Anyway, as soon as I found my white-furred brother, Cloud, I grabbed him by his neck fur and, against my mother’s will, turned to find her. At last, I saw her. Sticks was in her jaws, and she was trying to run past those evil flickering red branches.

“Leave!” she yelled.

I shook my head. No way was I going to leave her! I took a running leap towards her, trying to push her away from the flames, but it was too late. A large birch tree, perhaps larger than the rest, was staggering down as flames burned away at its roots. The fallen tree landed in front of my mother, startling the somewhat elderly Lola. The grayish-white she-wolf scrambled back, trying to get away from the flames, but she was surrounded.

“Mother! Sticks!” I yelled.

Cloud was trembling by now. I curled my tail around his eyes, which were navy-blue in color, like staring out at a lake at the darkest time of night, so he couldn’t see our mother, well, die. And here I was, unable to help my own family without killing myself.

“Go,” Lola whispered. And I did, though I made the mistake of looking back. The last time I saw my mother was her gazing at me lovingly, with Sticks perched on her head, tiny brown paws on Lola’s ears, grabbing on in any way he could.

That was the last time I saw any of my pack, unless you count Cloud as a pack, but I don’t, so… Oh, and FYI, I don’t react well to pity, so please don’t sympathize with me. That just makes it worse.


Chapter Two

So, now that you know my backstory, it’s best if you know my future — or at least, the future I want. And judging from my luck, this isn’t going to happen. Basically, Lola, Sticks, and the rest of my pack are supposed to be fire-resistant,  then me and Cloud find them, and we all live happily ever after. Like that’s going to happen.

“Hey, Stormy!” That’s Cloud, calling to me. No, my name is not Stormy. It’s Storm. He just adds a “y” to annoy me.

“Yes?” I said.

“I have a brilliant idea!” I was about to say that his version of “brilliant” was about as brilliant as a snail’s brain, but then he said, “Let’s join or create a pack!” and I just stared at him, jaw hanging open that it was even possible for such an annoying, not-so-brilliant wolf to say something so brilliant. Cloud took my mouth’s floor-magnetizing as a bad sign and mumbled, “I mean, we’re just so lonely right now, and I can’t even hunt yet. I mean, your okay, but — ”

He trailed off, and I surprised him and myself by saying, “Cloud, that’s brilliant. Three howls for my brilliant, brilliant brother!”

We did howl, but way more than three times. It’s a wolf habit, howling. I don’t know why, but it just feels… right.

Anyways, that night, as I curled up with Cloud in our den, I wondered, I know getting a pack is a good idea, but is that possible?

So, I said something about my den, so I’m getting the feeling I need to describe the appearance. It’s this small cave with a low, narrow entrance made of thick pure black stone. Tall spruce trees, which my brother calls “Spricey trees,” were littered above our cave, like several stars fell down and became trees. One of those spruce trees must have fallen over, because long branches of dark green hid our cave from sight, like a warning: Do not enter, or us leaves will slive you into shreds and leave your remains so a vulture can eat you.

Yeah, okay, maybe that warning was a bit intense, but whatever. That is what it looked like.

I remembered a brief dream about Cloud and Sticks and I running in the snow, as I taught them how to hunt snow hares before I woke up.

“Cloud,” I yawned once I nudged my brother away, “What you said yesterday, about getting a pack, I was considering it last night.”

“And?” the white wolf pup asked, shaking the sleep from his eyes in a cute-ish way.

I responded with an, “It’s okay,” but Cloud — annoyingly– stared at me with those big, water-during-the-middle-of-the-night eyes, as if he was was repeating the question “And?”

I sighed. Wolf pups tend to have more control over us older wolves, with pure adorability, and it’s so tempting to just say yes, accept anything those pups want to do.

“It’s an idea we can try out, okay? I mean, if we join a pack we don’t like, we can always leave, right? But let’s go get some wolfish friends tomorrow, and play in the mud today, ‘kay? Yes? Good,” I said, just to get his mind of the topic so I could think about it in solitude.

I was right. Cloud’s mind floated away from packs and stuff like a, well, like a cloud.

I splashed around in the mud with Cloud for a bit, changing my fur from silvery-gray, like the moon, to deep, rich brown. Meanwhile, I was thinking, on one paw, Cloud’s right, and we’d be safer in a pack. But on the other paw, wouldn’t taking a pack mean I would be saying that I was done with Lola and my former pack? Ugh, Storm, stop making this decision harder for yourself.

But in the end, I didn’t really make the decision. It turns out it was someone else made the decision for me. He had cornered us while we were walking back to our den.

“Why, hello,” he hissed. “I heard you were looking for a pack. So, would you like to join mine?”


Chapter Three

“Who are you?” I howled, curling my tail protectively around Cloud. The other wolf grinned in amusement at my anger.

I studied him. The wolf looked like an ordinary brown wolf. He was the color of mud, like what we had just rolled in (I double-checked to make sure it was his actual fur color, instead of being mud-covered). He had broad shoulders and his leg muscles — I wasn’t sure I wanted to face those. He had long, sharp, wickedly curved claws that glinted almost as dangerously as his eyes. His eyes, speaking of, were a beady, malicious black balls that glinted with greed. Deep red-pink scars were scattered among his brown pelt. Hmm. I wasn’t sure I should trust this wolf.

“Why, I’m Claw, leader of a pack of wolves. And don’t be scared of me. I only fight to protect my pack.” The strange wolf studied us. “And you don’t seem like much of a threat.”

“Well, he may not be, but I definitely am,” I informed him, pushing Cloud behind my back.

Claw smiled in such an odd way. It seemed more like a smirk.

“The bond that connects siblings. It’s always so … adorable,” he said. “Do you want to meet the rest of my pack?”

I was going to say no, thank you when Cloud did his annoying impulsive little brother thing and said, “Sure!”

I sighed. Broth-ers. But Claw led us — well, led Cloud and I followed — through the forest, until we reached a wide clearing. It was this light shade of grassy green with this really tall sort of tree I had never seen before. One of those trees had the largest branches, spread out. The trunk was so wide, it took up at least have of the clearing. And scattered among those branches, or on the trunk, was at least 20 wolves. I mean, a few were on the ground, but they were mostly on the tree.

“Emily! Keelin!” Claw called.

Two small, female wolf  cubs who looked around the same age ran up to us. They both had short snouts, long tails, and fluffy fur. The only difference between them was that one was the exact same color as Claw, while the other was a shadowy color of gray-black. The brown one was slightly more wiry and had a playful expression and rather tall ears. She looked like she didn’t have a care in the world, constantly chasing her tail and pouncing on some fallen leaf. The gray-black one was large, with a thick, furry scruff and a thoughtful expression.

“These are my twin daugh — Emily, get your tail back here! — daughters. Emily’s the jumpy one, and Keelin is the smart one. Emily, give me that leaf! Stand here like a proper wolf, for once! Ugh.”

Keelin looked at us with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. Emmie’s not normally this annoying.”

Emily appeared at her side. “That’s ‘cause I’m never annoying!” she said innocently — though I saw through the act, because she said it with a smile. “Dad, can we give them the tour?”

Claw sighed. “If they’re staying, go ahead. Are you staying?”

“Yep!” Cloud shouted.

“We are?’ I asked.

“Yes, we are!”

“Yay!” Emily cheered. She bounced off — literally bounced — with Cloud following, equally jumpy. Claw sighed, than slithered away.

Keelin regarded me, now that we were alone.

“We’re facing the same problem, I suppose.” She didn’t say it as a question — just a statement, clear and true as day.

“Yeah.”

Emily and Cloud swooped back to us.

“Guys! Are you coming?”

Keelin and I nodded, simultaneously. Emily and Cloud beamed, simultaneously. And at that moment, I realized that this pack was a great pack — friendship, happiness, and trust.


Chapter Four

“Storm! Storm! Help me!” Cloud called.

“Why? What is it?”

“The Pack of Dark Wolves is chasing me!”

I shuddered in my sleep. The Pack of Dark Wolves was a wolf pack so evil, their hearts were darker than the shadows, their claws as sharp as a splinter. If they caught you, even if you didn’t do anything, they’ll kill you in the slowest, most painful way possible. There was a very understandable reason I was having these dreams: it’s because The Pack of Dark Wolves are the most scary, deadly pack in the world. I mean, they’re mostly a legend, but they always manage to creep themselves into your nightmares, and it’s just so easy to believe in those myths.

A small paw woke me up from my dreams, then said the most coincidental coincidence ever said.

“Uh, Storm, we really have to leave,” Cloud mumbled.

“Why? This is a good pack. We’ve been here for over a month, and nothing bad has happened to us,” I grumbled.

Then Cloud told me the most horrifying thing in the history of this forest — and trees live a long, long time.  

“I woke up early, and so did Emmie, so we went outside, hoping the sunlight would warm us up. But then Claw wanted to talk to Emmie, alone, so when Emmie talked with him, I eavesdropped — ”

Brothers.

“ — and found out they were the Pack of Dark — ”

“Wolves. Yes. Good for you. Guards, take them out and kill them, where my offsprings can see them,” a voice interrupted. He said the word offsprings like they were distasteful. Claw stormed (not my storm, different storm) into the den, with at least ten bodyguards — not like he needs them — behind him.

The bodyguards grabbed us by our scruffs and hauled us out into the open — though my guard’s teeth were slightly too deep, and it really hurt.

“Keelin! Keelin, help!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Two small shapes, one brown and one black, came to help us, not like that would help us very much.

Fighting broke out, and I could feel a wolf’s claws on my spine. I kicked out with my hind paws and winded the opponent.

Then I saw Cloud… being cornered against the tree we’ve called home for a while now, blood leaking from a gash in his shoulder. Then I heard Keelin wail in pain, and I glanced in her direction. Claw was towering over her, claws poised at her chest — but he was glancing in my direction, like he was waiting for me to chose — my best friend… or my brother.

I can’t believe I did this, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. I chose Cloud. I lunged toward the wolf standing at Cloud’s throat, and I heard heart-shattering wails of pain at the same time. Knowing I couldn’t change my mind now, I slashed my claws across that wolf’s heart and… you know what? I’ll not go into the details. Let’s just say that I killed him.

Claw snarled at us, “You’ll live for now, you annoying wolf pups. I’ll swear I’ll kill your family one day!”

“Good luck, since my family’s dead,” I said.

“But feel free to kill yourself,” Emily said, tears staining her eyes, and I had a quick estimate why.

Claw snarled, then ran away.

Then I spotted the body.

The body of a fluffy, bloody wolf. Keelin.

“No!” I sobbed, lifting my snout to the sky with a wailing howl.

For around a minute I sat there, swallowed by my grief, barely noticing Emily until she spoke.

“Stormy, you should help with Cloud’s shoulder. I’ve tried to stop the bleeding, but… ”

I nodded.

“Be there in a moment. Oh, and Emily?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry for choosing Cloud.”

She brushed her fur against my shoulder.

“It was the right choice. I mean, I’ll miss her, but still, it was the right one. I bet Keelin is watching us from the Pack of Starry Wolves.”

The Pack of Starry Wolves was the pack dead wolves joined when they died, so that they could watch over their family and friends in peace.

I ran over to Cloud. His shoulder was bleeding like crazy, so it was rather obvious he’d lose so much blood he’d die unless we stopped the endless red river sprouting from Cloud’s shoulder.

“Emily, can you get me some moss?” I asked.

She nodded, then she was off.

While she was gone, I cleaned off his wound with gentle, careful strokes of my tongue. Cloud sat up blearily and gazed at me with his midnight-blue eyes.

“I’m sorry for being the other option,” he apologized. I tilted my head. That made no sense.

“If I wasn’t here, Keelin would still be alive,” he continued.

“And you wouldn’t be,” I said, continuing to gently lick the blood of the wound, “Listen to me, Cloud. We don’t need another pack. You’re the best pack anyone can wish for.”

“Uh… can I join the best pack anyone could wish for? Wow, that needs an abbreviation. BPACWF?” Emily interrupted.

I chuckled.

“Of course, Emmie,” I said with a smile.

Emily tossed me the ball of moss, and I caught it with my jaws. I set the ball on the jagged cut on Cloud’s shoulder and spread it around until it soaked up all the blood. Then I nudged the moss aside and helped Cloud up.

“Come on, pack,” I grinned, “let’s find a place to stay the night.”

And maybe all nights, living together… as a pack.


Monodogs

Hello, my name is Twix. I would like it if you would give me a belly rub because I have been a very good boy! Still no?! How rude! What if I give you a kiss and a hug and you give me a belly rub? Ugh! How about five kisses and three hugs, and in favor, I would like a belly rub, and that’s all. You are so rude! I am calling Mom over. See what she has to say about your behavior.

Hello, my name is Lavender. I like to stay in my garden of lavender because I hate mosquitos. They are the most annoying, pesky bugs in the universe! They buzz by your ear, and when you try to eat them, they fly away. Again, they are so annoying!! If I had one wish that could come true, I would like for all mosquitos to become extinct. Hmmmmmm, but I want a lifetime supply of treats. What to do??? Help!!

Hey, it’s your pal, Rusty. Back in my days I used to love romping around with my sister, Piper. But now these days I just want to stay at home and sleep all day. Did you get that, Mom? Hey, I do have a job. I guard the house, so nobody breaks in!!! Sorry, reader, may I have a moment with my mother?! You are so dead, Mom, and you yell at me when I bark at another dog. Well, you are getting a piece of your own mind. (Sorry, Piper, that you didn’t get any credit.)

Hello, my name is Twilight. I like being in the spotlight because my parents are William Shakespaw and Sophia Vergrra. They always tell me to be on my best behavior because when I am in the spotlight I go crazy. I really just want to be a singer and an actress. I was going for more of an opera singer and a comedy performer, but I don’t see those two jobs being a very good mix. So, I need a bit of help. Both, opera singing, or comedy performing? Or maybe I can do each of them for a third of the year?!

Hello, my name is Forest. I am kind of stuck… as you can see. I would love it if you could help me with this… human! Well, they are on their way. I have been in this light tangle situation for about two hours. Well, one hour and 59 minutes. Still the same! Okay, let me tell you what happened. I was playing with my buddies, Hunter and Ace. And we were playing hide-and-go-seek, but it didn’t go as planned. I got stuck. I am not very surprised they didn’t help me. That time that they got chased by a bear and almost fell off of a cliff was pretty funny!! And the other time they got close to a horse, and it bucked.

Hello! My name is Ace. You may know me as Forest’s friend. Yes, he got stuck. Hunter and I didn’t help Forest because he had let us get bucked by a horse, and we nearly fell off a cliff! That was so scary, and when I got back, I got this piece of refreshing watermelon! It tastes so good!!! I am in heaven!!! I really want some more watermelon. If you were going to give me a surprise, I would love some watermelon.

What’s up! I am Hunter, and I really don’t know what to do. I am stuck modeling for a dog company that sells dog clothes, and since I am used to wearing clothes I feel very naked. I am only doing this and smiling because I want some treats here! Come on, you can’t blame a dog for wanting something to eat! I will succeed and model for a dog company, naked! Sorry I have to say this, dog company, but… I quit. I don’t want to model naked!! In fact, I don’t think anyone wants to model naked, so I quit!!!

Hey! It’s Hazel, Hunter’s sister, and Piper is my best friend, but I can’t find her right know… I am looking for her, and in Tahoe it is so cold, and I just want to go to sleep. No, I will keep on finding her, and we will dogopoly like she promised. We live in Australia, so it has definitely not been a long couple of days until getting up here! I really don’t know where she is! What if I try calling her on my woofy-phone?

“Hello, Piper, I have been looking for you! I looked all around the house looking for you, and you weren’t there, so now I am in Tahoe looking for you, and I am very frustrated with you. Why didn’t you tell me that you were under your parents bed! Ugh, Piper, you are in very big trouble, Piper! I am coming back right now!”

So, you probably already heard what is happening. And I have some bad news… I used up all of my money on food. Now that is a big problem!

Hi, my name is Poppy. Quick question, do you want to try and find my bone? I hid my bone for this game, so you better say yes!! Yes? Yay! Okay. Ready, set, go. Wow, Mom’s doing better than Dad and sissy! Go, Mom! Oh no, Dad’s ahead. Oh no, sissy gives up and doesn’t want to do it anymore. Only Mom and Dad are in. Oh, they don’t want to do it anymore, so there is another problem… I forgot where the bone is. No!!!

One eternity later…

As you can see, I just had a mental breakdown. I wish that I could have found that bone, but it now is long gone. I need a bit of personal space.

We are all from the SF Bay organization. We were all named after something that means a lot to us or something that we really like.

Twix likes to follow his parent around when he eats Twix.

Lavender loves the smell of lavender.

Rusty likes to help his dad with his metalshop business.

Twilight likes to be in the spotlight, and she is known for always having a twinkle in her eyes.

Forest likes to romp around in the forest with his friends.

Ace likes to watch his family play card games. His favorite card is the Ace of Spades.

Hunter likes to chase rabbits.

Hazel likes to snack on hazelnuts when she is bored.

Poppy likes to steal poppyseed goods.


What Blood Can Do

Preface

Sara was a vampire, and everyone who knew her noticed something unusual about her the moment they saw her.


Chapter One: People

(Sara)

I opened the front door and walked out into the fresh spring breeze of L.A. and started walking down my block, keeping my pace quick and swift. That was mostly why everyone stopped me on the street to ask me why I was walking so fast. As I walked, I spotted a nice patisserie shop, and I walked in to avoid the people that would mostly look at me and question why I was walking so fast. And you know, I really don’t know why I walk so fast, but actually I do. It’s because I’m a vampire. I knew that before my mom did. When I was born, the people at the hospital noticed something that shone in me and that was that I was a vampire. It’s not that bad being a vampire. I actually like it.

“Excuse me, miss, is there anything we can help you with?” the man at the counter in the shop asked.

“Oh, yes! Could I get a hot chocolate with whipped cream please?”

“Yes, coming up! And that would be $5.30,” the man said.

“Sure,” I said as I handed him the money.

As I left the store, I noticed how the man looked at me, like I was different or suspicious, but I totally ignored him and kept doing my things.


Chapter Two: Walk

(Sara)

My walk back was actually pretty good, not so many stares. (At first).

But then a girl that looked about my age stopped me and asked me, “Are you magical? ‘Cause you walk unusually fast!”

I didn’t know how to respond, so I said, “I guess some people just walk fast.”

“Okay, I guess so too,” the girl responded. Then she stuck out her hand, “Emma,” she said.

“Sara,” I said.

Emma decided to walk to my house with me, and I was okay with it, so it wasn’t weird. We talked about random things that usually come to girls’ minds when they hang out.

Then when we got to my house, I said, “Do you want to come in?”

“Is that okay?” Emma asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

“K.”

***

Soon enough, it was time for Emma to leave, and she did.

But before she left she asked me, “Can we meet again tomorrow?”

I thought for a moment and then said, “Yes.”


Chapter Three: Friends

(Sara)

The next day, Emma came over, and she already had plans for us. I was actually really happy that she already had plans because then we would have probably been doing nothing since I’m not very good at making plans. Anyway, since Emma had plans she decided that we would go to a science museum.

“Does this museum have any blood or anything that has to do with blood?” I asked.

“Why?” Emma asked. “Do you faint at the sight of blood?”

“N-no, just does it?”

“Yeah, it does have a human body exhibit, and that includes blood.”

“Okay, then we better not go to this museum,” I mumbled.

“We can skip that part,” Emma suggested.

“Yeah, true, but still let’s do it another day,” I complained.

“Okay, fine!” Emma said, clearly annoyed.“Then where do you want to go?”

“Let’s go to a park. How does that sound?”

“Okay, I guess.”

I probably shouldn’t have been so picky, but how could I have resisted killing things, even people, maybe. You may not know how much I have to try not to kill Emma when I’m with her, and it would have been even worse at a museum with a blood exhibit.


Chapter Four: Blood

(Emma)

It was pretty annoying because Sara was being really picky about where we were going to go for fun. I suspected something about her that might have been the reason for why she didn’t want to go to this museum. But honestly I have no clue! Why would someone not want to go to a museum? Like, it’s just a museum! I thought, but then again blood. Blood was what was stopping Sara from going to this museum. Then I wondered why blood was stopping Sara.

“So which park do you want to go to?” she suddenly asked.

Since I was annoyed with her I said, “My friend texted me earlier and said that she was going to go to Griffith Park, and I said that I might meet her there, so let’s go there.”

“Okay, that sounds reasonable,” Sara murmured, clearly not very excited at my park choice with another friend.

When we got to the park, I spotted my friend (Madison), and I ran over to give her a hug!

“This is my friend, Sara,” I said as I introduced Sara to Madison. I noticed that Sara didn’t seem to mind how I had said the word friend.

“Hi, I’m Madison,” Madison said cautiously.

“Hi,” Sara whispered.

“So, what should we do?” Madison asked.

“Let’s go to the lake!” I suggested. “It will be about a 5-10 minute walk from here, so we can chat along the way! How does that sound?”

Madison and Sara just nodded. While we walked, I noticed how Madison stared at Sara just the way I had yesterday when I met Sara.

“I heard that you guys just met yesterday,” Madison said still looking at Sara.

“Uh, yes,” Sara whispered again.

“You don’t have to whisper you know,” I said.

Sara just shrugged. It was too peaceful. I didn’t think that Madison would notice Sara the way that I did. It was just very quiet, and it felt silent. Suddenly we heard a scream. We all turned around. There was a boy crying on the ground, and there was blood. Lots of blood. I glanced over at Sara. Her teeth were clenched, and she was shaking.

“Sara?” I asked.

“Yes?” she whispered.

“Are you okay?”

“Sort of.”

Madison glared at Sara. “Why are you whispering?” she demanded.

“Leave her alone,” I mumbled.

Then Sara lunged forward on top of the boy and then almost, just almost (and that is if I hadn’t come in and grabbed Sara) bit the poor boy.

What were you thinking??” I yelled at her.

“Okay, okay I should have told you!” Sara moaned.

I looked over at Madison, and she was glaring at me and at Sara.

Then Madison started to scream, “Sara, why did you just do that?! That kid was already hurt, and you just went to hurt that kid even more?! I can’t believe you! You can be such a jerk!

When I looked at Sara, she had tears in her eyes. Then when I looked at Madison, she was glaring at both of us very hard. She looked furious.

“Okay, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’m a vampire!!! I couldn’t help it” Sara burst out.

“I’m sorry. I may have heard you wrong,” Madison said. “But I don’t think vampires exist. Is this some kind of joke?”

“You don’t understand!” Sara protested.

“Okay, whatever you say.”

I was so confused. Sara was a vampire? That must have been why she didn’t want to go to the blood museum, and that was also probably why she lunged for that poor boy. I was upset with Sara for not telling me, and I was upset with Madison because she was being so mean to Sara.

“Okay, let’s go, Emma. I’m done!!” Madison said.

“Bye,” I whispered to Sara.


Chapter Five: Friendless

(Sara)

I walked home unusually slowly. I was miserable because I didn’t know if Emma would still be my friend. It was for sure confirmed that Madison hated me. Why did I have to be a vampire? Why couldn’t I be normal. Why did Madison have to be so annoying? I wish that I hadn’t done what I had done. Oh, that poor kid, and it was all my fault. If I wasn’t a vampire then I would have never done any of the things that I did. Now I was totally friendless. Yay, I guess? This is how it was before I’d even met Emma and Madison, though I didn’t consider Madison a friend.

When I got home I went to my room and dialed Emma’s number. She didn’t answer, so I decided to text her. Here is what I texted:

To: Emma

Hi, it’s me, Sara. I hope you forgive me for what I did.

From: Sara

Then I decided to email her instead:

To: Emma

Hi, it’s me Sara I just called you, but you didn’t answer which is okay.

I am emailing you to tell you that I would like to be friends again and to explain what/why I did what I did earlier today at the park. Here is my explanation:

Since I told you earlier that I am a vampire, and it’s true, that’s why I lunged for the kid. Vampires have to try not to kill people, or rather humans, when they are near each other. I’m not trying to scare you. I promise that I will never kill you. We are attracted to human blood, so that’s why I went for that kid (because of all the blood on the floor).

I really hope you forgive me.

From: Sara

All I had to do was hope that Emma would respond quickly.


Chapter Six: Email (Part One)

(Emma)

Madison and I walked with me to the ice cream truck where I got chocolate and she got vanilla. We ate in silence.

“I have to go,” I told Madison when we were halfway through our ice cream.

“Why?” she asked. “Need to apologize to the jerk?”

I rolled my eyes. “No.”

“Okay, fine. Bye! Can we meet up tomorrow?”

“No,” I whispered.

“What! Why?”

“Let me go please. I’ll text you later maybe.”

“Bye.” She waved at me.

I walked home quickly. I knew that I needed to talk to Sara. Not that I was sorry yet. I actually started to run. I ran home, fast. I opened the front door and quickly locked it behind me. I ran upstairs and opened up my MacBook to Gmail. I had gotten an email from Sara! Yay! After I was done reading it, I understood why she had acted so weird. I quickly responded:

To: Sara

Hi! I got your email, and now I am responding.

I understand why you did what you did. Madison will never forgive you just so you know, but I will.

I hope that we can be friends again even though we were never not friends.

From: Emma

All I had to do was hope that Sara would respond quickly.


Chapter Seven: Email (Part Two)

(Sara)

Yes! Emma responded. I really hoped that she wasn’t mad, and from reading her email I could tell that she was not mad!

I decided to write Emma another email:

To: Emma

I am so relieved that you will still be my friend even though I probably don’t deserve it. Thank you so much!

Also, can you come over tonight or tomorrow?

From: Sara

Chapter Eight: Email (Part Three)

(Emma)

I read Sara’s message and responded this:

To: Sara

Hi! I’m glad that you are willing to be friend, and yes you deserve it. What could you have done? You couldn’t help yourself. I obviously forgive you as I said before. Earlier Madison asked if I could meet her tomorrow, and I said no! But we can definitely meet tomorrow. Can we talk on the phone instead? I think it would be much easier. Also, sorry that I didn’t pick up the phone earlier. I was still at the park, and my phone was silenced.

Talk to you in a sec (on the phone).

From: Emma


Chapter Nine: Phone Call

(Sara)

I read Emma’s email and then called her on my phone.

“Hi, Emma?” I asked.

“Hi, Sara!” she said.

“So I’m really sorry for what I did earlier.”

“It’s fine, really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, positive.”

“So you said that Madison asked to meet tomorrow and you said no?” I said.

“Yup.”

“Why? For me?”

“Sort of, mostly because I got pretty sick of her, and if you didn’t know she is someone who is very easy to get sick of, and because I wanted to make it up to you.”

“Oh, thank you, but shouldn’t I be the one apologizing?” I asked Emma.

“Only if you want.”

“Yes please!” I cried.

Emma just laughed. “So should I come over tomorrow, or do you want to come over. Actually I think you should come see my house for once.”

“Okay! Sounds good” I said excitedly.

“Bye, Emma!”

“Bye, Sara!” And we hung up.


Chapter Ten: Fake Friends

(Madison)

We are totally fake. Me and Emma, no way am I ever going to like her or her friend “the jerk.” How could she leave me to go home and probably go talk to “the jerk.” Oh well, I’m never going to forgive her anyway, so she better be sorry. We are fake friends. I wonder was she faking it the whole time because I sure wasn’t. When I first met Emma she seemed like such a nice girl, but now? Oh, god! I should probably call her to see if maybe, just maybe I can convince her to meet me again tomorrow.

I dialed Emma’s number, and she responded almost immediately

“What do you want?” she asked, annoyed.

“Could you please meet me tomorrow?”

“No, I already told you.”

“Ugh.”

“Plus I made plans with Sara for tomorrow. She’s coming over!

What?!” I yelled.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

You betrayed me to go with — ”

Emma stopped me and and said, “She is not a jerk.”

Fine!” I yelled. “If you don’t want to be my friend then I guess I’m better off without you!

“Same here.” Emma agreed.

“Why are you so mean?!” I asked.

“You are the one who is mean,” she remarked. “I’m just standing up for my friend and what’s right.”

I didn’t even bother to say goodbye to Emma. I just hung up.


Chapter Eleven: Hiking

(Emma and Sara) or (2nd person)

The next morning, Sara walked over to Emma’s house, and Emma explained that she thought that they should go hiking. Sara agreed and went back to her house to get a sandwich and hiking gear. When she was done, Emma and Sara met at Emma’s front door.

“Let’s do this!” Emma said.

“Cool!” Sara responded.

The two of them hiked in Griffith Park (the same park where Sara and Madison had met). They started to hike at the very beginning of the trail, and all they really talked about was what had happened earlier.

They hiked and hiked until Sara stopped in her tracks.

“What is it?” Emma asked.

“I smell something.” Sara said.

“What!”

Blood,” Sara whispered. “Also you probably don’t want to see this, so you should go.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m probably going to hunt.”

“Wouldn’t that be cool?” Emma asked.

“No,” Sara said. “Please go, I don’t think you want to see me hunt.”

“Can I just watch from a distance?”

“Okay fine, but a far distance.”

“K,” Emma said.

Emma walked away from Sara about 20 steps and stood to watch her.


Chapter Twelve: My View

(Emma)

As I moved back, I saw Sara take a deep breath. Then I saw a wolf come into view.

“Ahh,” I gasped.

“Shhh… ” Sara said looking back at me. “Move back five more steps.”

I moved back and watched as Sara lunged for the wolf…


Chapter Thirteen: What’s Going On

(Madison)

I was really upset, but maybe just maybe I could call Sara and see if she would pick up. So I dialed Sara’s number and waited. Ugh she didn’t pick up, I thought. I wonder where she and Emma went, but apparently they are not at Emma’s house or Sara’s house. Don’t tell me that she went to a park or rather Griffith Park. No, no, no! I thought. To me Griffith Park is a devil. I decided to leave my mom a note about where I was going, it said:

Hi mom.

I went to Griffith Park, and I’ll be back in about 1-2 hours. See you then!

-Madison

I headed out, and when I got to the park, I was very annoyed. If Emma and Sara were here, then I would have to check all over the park. Ugh! How was I ever going to find them? Oh no, I thought to myself. I had just gotten hungry, and I would have to go get food before I could go look for my “friends.” I decided to go to Taco Bell since I love tacos!


Chapter Fourteen: The Wolf

(The wolf)

I was just strolling nearby, and yes I did hear some voices, and maybe I should have gotten scared, but I didn’t. Then I saw two girls talking, and then one of them backed away from me or from the other girl. (I don’t know.) No one needs to be scared of me. I’m just a wolf. Wait — are people scared of wolves? Is that normal? I know that I’ve been pretty calm, but something else happened. Suddenly the girl closest to me lunged at me! I was not expecting this. Ah, now I understand this girl is a vampire, and she wants to eat me.


Chapter Fifteen: Kill

(Sara)

As I jumped at the wolf, I thought, Should I be doing this? Yes was the answer. The wolf dodged me. I bared my teeth at him and jumped on top of him and dug my teeth into his neck. (Yum!) The wolf tried to shake me off, but I held on and bit deeper. I took a quick glance at Emma. She was frozen to her spot. I bit again, and this time the wolf stopped moving. He just fell peacefully on the ground… dead.

I looked at Emma again. She looked really sad and amazed at the same time.

“You just killed a wolf,” she managed to say.

“Yeah, that’s kind of how we hunt,” I said.

“But that was a life that could have lasted a couple of years more,” she protested.

“I’m sorry that’s just how we hunt,” I said.

“Well, that was cruel!” Emma said.

“I’m sorry, but you were the one who wanted to see this,” I said.

“That’s true. Let’s go now,” Emma said.

“Umm… you can go, but I’m hungry.”

“Oh yeah, sorry. I guess I’ll wait for you.”

“You probably don’t want to see this. It’s a little bit disturbing.”

“Okay, right. But it’s okay.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

I devoured the wolf’s blood quickly and then just left it like that.

“You’re just going to leave the poor wolf alone like this?” Emma asked, worried.

“Unfortunately, yes,” I said.

Emma did not look too happy about this.


Chapter Sixteen: How It Feels to Be Dead

(The Wolf)

Now I’m dead, and I was just trying to live, and now I’m dead. Oh well, what can I do? Nothing I guess. That other girl did not look too happy to see her friend kill a wolf. Vampire. I officially do not like vampires. Not at all! They are dirty little creatures who go around sucking blood from other things. I wonder if they think that they can kill teddy bears? Or objects in general! Well, it doesn’t matter because I am dead, and being dead feels like being dead, or it might feel like lying on the ground and reflecting on your bad life where an annoying girl just randomly jumped on top of you and killed you. Not so fun if you ask me. Now what will happen to me? Will I become a wolfire (wolf-vampire)? Or will I just melt into the ground? If I become a wolfire, I will go kill the girl who thought she had an appetizing meal of a magical wolf who came back for her in the next life! Haha, revenge!


Chapter Seventeen: Found Them

(Emma, Sara, and Madison) or (2nd Person)

When Madison finished her lunch, she went to the part of the park where there was lots of grass, and she sat down to wait and see if Emma and Sara would show up. And yes, just as Madison sat down, she saw Emma and Sara come into view.

“Emma! Sara!” she yelled as she jumped up.

“Hi, Madison,” Emma said wearily.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, well, something.”

“Can you tell me?” Madison asked.

“Okay,” they both said.

So Emma and Sara told Madison what had happened, and Madison finally understood. She apologized to Sara, and they were all at peace.

“You know we should all go to my house!” Madison said.

“Cool, yeah!” Sara agreed.

“Okay, let’s go!” Emma said.

And the three girls walked off to Madison’s house in the quiet evening.

The End

A word from the wolf:

This is amazing. I came back to life as a wolf, so yeah I’m the same, but I’m fine with it. I don’t think I’m ever going to go near that girl again. But I do hope that wolves can be more friends with humans.


Beauty at Its Finest

Content Warning: Depression, Suicide, Eating disorders

Author’s Note: Not based on a true story.

I’m Isla. Since I was a child, I have always aspired to be a model. I saw them on TV, and they were my role models, like Beige Inc. and CL Beauty models. The models there, they were beautiful, happy, and rich! I longed to be those things. I remember wearing my mom’s clothes, putting on her makeup and high heels, and doing my greatest catwalk in front of her. I loved pretending to be a model. I loved doing it because I was happy. But I never thought the fashion world would be like this. Hello, I’m Isla Middleton, and this is my story.

I started working at 11 as a small-time actress. At the time, all I wanted to do was get famous through modeling or show biz, and at this age I was starting to put my dream into motion. I started acting in movies as small roles, but worked hard on those roles. When I was on set acting, an actress by the name of Olive Flores watched me and supported me. When I was done with my scene, she said good job to me and referred me to some people she knew. She also winked at me.

After Olive did that, I started getting more roles and started getting more and more popular. Even though I was burnt out from working a lot, I was happy and proud.

Then I got a lead role in a movie (when I was 14), and that changed everything for me. When I learned I got the part, I was smiling ear to ear. I was beaming with glee since I got a lead part! When I got home from work, I told my mom what happened. (She raised me by herself. She was a single mom.)

“Hey, Mom,” I said.

“Yeah?” My mom asked smugly, already knowing the situation (my grin gave it away).

“I just got a lead role in the movie, Guardian of the Lilac!”

”I’m so proud of you, honey! I knew I raised you well.”

When she said, that we both laughed, then hugged.

After that movie, I got more roles, and then I got asked to do an ad with CL Beauty when I was 17. When I learned I could actually become a model, I was so happy. After that ad, I exclusively did modeling. That was my dream anyways. I starred in more ads until… I got invited to walk on the catwalk! I was 19 and one of the youngest to ever walk across on the catwalk. It was what I had always wanted to do. I’d finally achieved my goal.

When I got there, we were on a strict routine. Wake up, eat food, get dressed, go to the gym, go back home, shower, get ready for practice and fitting, go to practice and fitting, then go home, put on face masks, sleep. Sometimes we got manicures and pedicures. At the practice we were all yelled at. This wasn’t fun. This wasn’t what I had thought it would be like. It wasn’t like the ads. They were fat shaming us, saying that we were not the best, saying that our stomachs weren’t flat enough, saying that the only way to fix your “pretty” face is to get plastic surgery, saying that you aren’t perfect, that you aren’t enough.

My heart shattered into pieces, I thought, Is this the actual modeling world? Is this what I want? I didn’t know what to do. I loved modeling, but did I want to endure this torture? No, I didn’t want to be called worthless and ugly, but this was my dream. So I stayed. Probably the worst decision I have ever made. At times the insults got so bad I wanted to give up on my dream. I wanted to die. But I still stayed, because it’s my dream and I didn’t want to give it up, even if my emotional health was low and damaged. I just can’t believe my young self made such a mistake.

One day when I was in my studio apartment, I was admiring it before I went to bed (yep, that’s me). My studio room is small and homey. I installed heaters and air conditioning, so I could be comfortable.

I have a small twin bed with white sheets and a pastel pink blanket. There’s a small desk near my bed that’s a pastel blue color with two drawers. Inside the drawers are books. I love reading in my spare time, but I rarely have free time. On top of the desk is a pastel yellow lamp dimly, softly illuminating the entire room, making the room feel… nice. I have an icy purple furry rug. It’s super soft.

The walls have a white background with limes on it. The floor was wood, but the bathroom was tiles, and the kitchen was marble.

My kitchen was normal. Oven, stove, sink, fridge, and a microwave on top of the stove. Inside my bathroom is a bath and shower, a sink, a toilet, and a vanity full of makeup. The mirror on the vanity has lights. Inside the vanity drawers was a lot of makeup. On the desk of the vanity were curling irons and straightening irons. I have a little table with shaving cream, a razor, hair oil, body lotion, hand lotion, face lotion, leave-in conditioner, spray shampoo, and sunscreen (I don’t use spray tan, I think I’m bronze enough).

During the night I couldn’t sleep, I thought it was because I was looking at my phone, so I put it down. A few hours later, I still couldn’t sleep. I was really confused. I tried everything, but I couldn’t sleep. Then I started to think about my future. I thought if I was going to be treated like nothing for the rest of my modeling career, if I was going to be told to do stuff like a slave. I just didn’t know what to do. Then I was thinking some pretty dark thoughts. I was thinking of what I would do if my mom died. At that point I thought I would kill myself to be with her. I wasn’t in the right state of mind. At around two in the morning, I finally fell asleep.

A week after the sleeping incident, I was getting worse. I felt like pain was the only thing I had. I felt like I didn’t need a therapist. I thought they would try to make me not “myself.” I needed to be this terrible version of myself to feel free. I was happy I felt free. It was me and the blood, me and the deep cuts in my arms and wrists, me and the razor blade, me and the over the counter medicine that I popped in my mouth like candy. But in reality, I wasn’t actually free. I was trapped. Trapped in a jail cell, made of pain and self-doubt. My mom noticed I wasn’t talking to her. She started sending me message after message, call after call, trying to ask if I’m okay. I thought she wouldn’t help. She was like the therapist, trying to trap me. I can’t believe I thought that about my own mom. That time was the lowest I’ve felt mentally. I can still feel scars from those cuts. And they still let me model.

About a month later from the sleeping incident, I finally decided to reach out to my mom. She noticed my voice was raspy, that I was tired, that I was sad. She asked what’s wrong, and I broke out sobbing.

In between the sobs I muttered, “I’m not your perfect daughter” and “why do you stay with me?”

I thought my mom didn’t even deserve me. I thought no one deserves me, no one should love me. But I felt free, and that’s why I didn’t stop. My mom wanted to know why I thought this. She wanted to know the root, what caused me to be like this. I didn’t spill. I said it was due to stress, even though that was a complete lie. She believed it. She said I could talk to her any time. I complied.

After that call with my mom, I decided to meet a therapist. The call wasn’t the only reason I went. I went because the modeling agents said, “If you don’t put on your A-game, we will fire you! We will tell everyone you just break at the slightest touch, and you won’t get hired again. So get your head in the game, Miss Snowflake.”

The therapist said that I’ve gotten really bad through the course of a month. He gave me medication and told me to follow the dose. He consoled me, told me everything will be okay. He treated me like I wasn’t nothing, like I wasn’t a slave, but the modeling industry treated me like a slave. They used me for what they needed, they threw me around, then sold me. He helped me a lot.

There were two months before the catwalk, I stopped hurting myself. I wanted to do this catwalk. The two months flew by. I just hung out with the other models and had fun (the therapist told me that socializing was a key part to my recovery).

Then catwalk day came. We got hair stylists, makeup stylists, and outfit stylists pounded on us. We were in Paris. I got an old timey red dress with white polka dots (it looked like it was from the 50’s). I had red heels as well. My hair was in a classic night-out 50’s hair style, and my make-up was also the classic night-out 50’s style. I was beautiful. I was second to walk. I walked gracefully with the catwalk I made up in when I was a toddler, but I added a graceful twirl. Everyone clapped and cheered at all of us. I was beaming with fake glee, my grin was ear to ear, just like when I got the offer to walk on the catwalk. But this grin was a bit different. I wasn’t happy.

Want to know why I wasn’t happy? It was because of all the things I endured to show up on the catwalk for a few minutes. It was because I had to seek solace in cuts, blood, and drugs, but “nothing” serious, I just smoked. But after the catwalk I got poked fun at. People said that I was too fat for the catwalk, or they could see my glumness on my face. So it started again, my cycle of cuts, blood, and something new, starving myself. I decided not to do drugs. I still wanted to model. I hated being laughed at for trying my hardest.

I always felt hungry when I starved myself. But when I looked at the scale and the numbers were low, it somehow felt redeeming. But when the numbers are high I barely eat any food for days or weeks at a time.

I stopped talking to my therapist. I tried to distance myself from my mom, but when she did call I lied. I sounded as happy and jolly as I always was. The insults, the laughs, the taunts, it was torture. I decided to go do some more magazine cover photoshoots because you could hide your feelings in the photos. You could hide the cuts in the photos. You could hide it all.

I slowly started becoming a more famous model. I still had the scars, but they didn’t show as much. Then one day, three months after the catwalk, I became Australia’s next big hit. Everybody loved me. They asked about how thin I was, how pretty I was. All the girls wanted to be me. I was happy they loved me, and I decided to talk to my therapist again.

He noticed everything. He gave me some medicine, antidepressants, and told me to go to a clinic for people who are anorexic. I obliged. I wanted to keep my title. I went to a clinic. I took the medicine. I did everything to keep my title. Even though I still have depression to this day, I’m not anorexic anymore. That clinic probably saved my life. You had to finish all your food and drink or else you would get in trouble. It wasn’t fun, but if I didn’t do that I probably would’ve died.

I was happy. I was famous. I was an actress and model. All I wanted to be. I became friends with a lot of famous people, I was on the red carpet winning awards, everything I dreamed of doing. I even became best friends with Olive Flores, the girl who started my career. She’s also young, three years older than me. She’s like the older sister I’ve never had. On our days off, we hung out. We went to my house, I went to her house, we watched movie premieres, we got food at restaurants, we got ice cream and boba together, we did everything teenage girls did. I was 17 at the time, and she was 20. She said on her 21st birthday she would sneak me into a bar, so we could hang out. I loved her. I told her everything, and in return she told me about her own experiences and she gave me guidance. But she never told me she had the want to die.

On her 21st birthday she really did sneak me in a bar with her other friends. We were talking, and I was the only one who stayed sober. Everyone else was drinking. I thought it was funny when they stumbled or said dumb stuff.

Olive told me to have a drink, but then I chuckled and said, “Well then who’s going to drive y’all home?”

Then she understood and laughed. She then said “Fine. But next time you need to try alcohol.”

I said, “Okay, Olive I’ll try it on my 21st birthday, and I’ll invite you too! If you’re still friends with me.”

“Oh silly, I’m obviously always going to be by your side. I love you like a sister, Il. I would never leave you behind.”

“I love you like a sister too, Livy.”

“Oh, stop being so cute, and let’s dance!”

I laughed and said, “Okay, I’ll dance, only if you dance with me.”

She said, “I was obviously going to dance with you. Let’s go!”

I followed. That night was fun. I loved it. We hung out and danced, we laughed and told jokes, and at the end of the night I drove everyone home.

A month after her birthday I tried to call her to ask her if she wanted to hangout on the weekend. It transferred immediately to her classic voicemail, “Hey, it’s Olive! You missed me, probably because I’m busy with work or hanging out with some of my friends! Well, call me back, okay? See you later!” She never liked saying bye. She always said see you later. I was really confused, because Olive always takes my calls, even if she’s working. If she answers me when she’s working, she tells me to call back soon. Or she would text me after hanging up. I know her voicemail because she hasn’t changed it for years. I called her mom. She answered.

I asked, “Hey, Ms. Flores, do you know where Olive is?”

She said in a shocked tone, “I thought she was with you. She hasn’t been home. She hasn’t answered my calls either.”

“Oh no… I hope she’s not hurt. I’m going to file a missing persons report. We need to find her.”

“Thank you so much. You’re like the younger sister Olive never had. If you find her please take care of her and bring her to me, okay?”

“I would never hurt Olive. I promise you I will find her and bring her back home.”

“Okay, goodbye, sweetie.”

“Bye, Ms. Flores.”

I went to my local police station and filed a missing person report for Olive. The last time I saw her, and I think everyone else saw her, was on her 21st birthday. When I dropped her off at home she was wearing a black sparkly party dress that ended at her knees. She was wearing a white fur coat on top of that. She was wearing white stilettos, six inches high. She had black fishnet leggings for pants. She wore a black and white hat with a gray feather. Her hair was down and curled, tight party curls. Her makeup was the normal night out makeup. Without the heels she would be 5’4”. Her hair was black, thick, and long. She’s a brown Latina. Specifically, Central American.

The police found her in a forest one week after I filed the report. She hanged herself on a tree. Her suicide note said, I love you all, but I don’t think this is the right time for me to be on earth. The acting and modeling industry has given me many scars that I don’t want to live with. This industry has pushed me off the edge many times. In my head I have battles between living or dying, between staying or leaving. And I decided to leave. To my best friends, some of the best people in the world, I love you, and please don’t linger on me. Forget about me, please. I want you all to live a good life. Especially you, Isla, you have a bright future. Please don’t be influenced by me. Okay? I love you all, but I need to go now. I love you all. See you all later.

I collapsed when I read that at the police station. I remembered her being all jolly and happy. Now she’s… dead. This isn’t true. She wouldn’t leave me. I was in denial. I became a ball on the floor crying. I was heartbroken. She was the one who guided me through my career. Heck, she even started it. When I finished reading the note I felt like a knife had been stabbed in my heart. Olive’s mom and some of her friends were crying in their seats. They were trying to comfort me too. They knew I was really affected by her passing. I owe everything to her. My mind was in denial, but in my heart, I knew she was dead.

A week after I learned she died, her story was aired on the news. I was still heartbroken, and I couldn’t bare to watch her story on air. So I blocked out all news about her passing. I didn’t want to be reminded again and again of her death.

A month after her passing, I went to her funeral. She promised she would drink with me. I brought a bottle of wine and drank a cup of it. With her near me, but not with me. At her funeral I talked about her. I sang to her. “She was my beacon light in my dark times. She was the best.” I talked about her to cope with her death.

It took me months to recover. When I fully recovered, I realized that the modeling and show biz industry was not for me. I’ve already pretty much gone to hell and back. I didn’t want to die. I couldn’t die. I needed to live for her. So I quit my jobs, and I fell under obscurity again. I still miss her, even to this day, but I’ve cried so many tears for her that I have none left.

I woke up in my bed, covers over me, my head resting on a pillow. I sat up after laying there for a long time, thinking and breathing slowly, something I haven’t done in a long time.

I looked like a mess. My hair was everywhere, and I hadn’t showered or put makeup on yet. I haven’t shaved my legs and mustache in a long time.

I was thinking about Olive. I wasn’t crying. I was thinking happy thoughts about her. I felt at ease. I was thinking that I might be feeling peace, something I haven’t felt in so long, I was finally okay. I was at peace. I was happy.

I saw the sun was rising through the window, one of the most beautiful sunrises I have seen in a while. The mixture of pinks, oranges, yellows, and that little hint of red that mixed together and shining through my window.

I was happy.

I asked, “Was that good?”

Maria said, “Perfect.”


Lost in Outer Space

Everyone around was panicking because they only had two more hours of oxygen. His head hung low. The whole reason they were about to die was his fault, and everyone was shouting at him. The whole reason it was his fault was because he was driving the cramped, smelly form of transportation, and he had crashed into something that they didn’t know about.  Actually, he was happy. His boss, who hated everything and was so mean, had lowered the pay, fired all of his best friends, and while he was driving, his boss had turned his phone on too loud.

When they had crashed, they couldn’t turn around, and they were going to get lost, but they only had a limited amount of oxygen.

The oxygen would only last for two hours. Then the rocket burst open, and they all died except him, who stole the yellow oxygen tank and ate his spaceship by cutting it up with a knife that he had in his pocket. Then he ate a planet. First, he felt a weird, tingly feeling in his head. Then, he got bigger and bigger and became a spaceship!

Then he crashed into Earth, and humans went everywhere. Some ended up on Mars, some on Jupiter, some on Saturn, but none on Pluto. Pluto, which was the first place that he looked at and loved, was nice and empty, so that’s where he chose to live. After years of living alone, he decided that he felt sorry for the humans who could no longer live on Earth. Then he decided to get a job selling groceries on Mars, and the pay was good.

He liked Mars because there, nobody cared if he was a rocket. He liked Jupiter because it was a nice, safe place. He hated Saturn because everybody there despised him because he was a rocket, and there were a lot of burglaries. One day, on Pluto, he found his boss. Pluto was too cold, so he had to live on a different planet. So then, he tried to get his boss a job on Mars, but Mars was packed. He couldn’t live on Jupiter because people didn’t like him because they knew he was mean. Finally, he got a home on hateful, miserable Saturn. After about a week, he was a nicer, changed man. The best thing about him was that he always turned his phone on mute, so he could live on Jupiter.

One day, a person who lived on Neptune was dead and was having a funeral. Then they went to Neptune, but once they had launched, they got lost. He did not want to get lost because he had already gotten lost, and he didn’t like it one bit! At last, he realized he forgot the oxygen tank! They wandered around space for awhile. Suddenly, they saw another rocket! The rocket had oxygen, so the people climbed onto it, and the rocket showed them the way to Neptune, where they attended the funeral. After the funeral, they got more oxygen and flew back to Mars. After a few weeks, his boss died of pneumonia, and he was very sad, but he had gained a lot. He had made friends with his boss, had gotten a job at the grocery store, and had lived a nice, happy life.

The End!

Thank you for reading!


Is a Kiss Just a Kiss?

Content Warning: The content of the following piece includes an active shooter situation in school

Chapter One

Awww!” I groan. I peek into my locker at school.

“What’s the issue?” Erika says. Erika says it with an attitude, so I wonder why Erika is acting so rude.

“Oh jeez, why do you have to say it like that? I just forgot my history book at home,” I say.

“Did I ask you for your personal information? I did not need to know that,” says Erika.

I slam my locker shut and start walking to my next class.

Bang!!! Chase and I bang heads, but we are okay. Chase is the cutest boy at Washington High.

Owww!” I say at the same time as Chase.

“Sorry,” Chase apologizes.

“It’s okay,” I say.

“Well, well… ” Chase says nervously.

Chapter Two

“Yeah?” I say. “You can tell me anything.”

“I was just wondering if you would like to see a movie with me?” Chase says nervously as he looks down at his blue jeans.

I don’t know what to say because I am shocked. I have liked Chase since sixth grade when we met at Washington Middle.

“Ummm… “Sure?” I say that like I am going to ask a question.

“What movie do you want to see?” Chase says that excitedly. “Oh, what about Bird Box?

“Sure,” I answer. I am confused why Chase asked me to go out with him. I secretly like him, but I didn’t know that Chase actually wanted to go out with me. “So what time and day,” I ask, “and I’ll need your phone number.”

“Tomorrow night, 6:00,” Chase says.

Chase takes out his phone and hands it to me. I put my phone number in his phone and hand his phone back.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say.

Chapter Three

I set my alarm for 6:30 am. I am a bit nervous for my date. I am not sure if I should bail on him or go on the date.

I pick out a sweater with ripped shorts and a tank top with my favorite pair of Vans. I switch the sweater and don’t like it, so I pick out another sweater, and I hate it so much that I just go with the even worse sweater that I put on.

When I arrive at school, Chase runs to me and gives a hug.

“Hey bae — I mean Evelyn,” Chase says.

“Hi?” I say weirdly. It is weird how Chase called me “bae” because I thought Chase liked Erika, not me. Maybe he likes me, maybe he doesn’t. I don’t know.

“‘Kay. I’m leaving. Bye.” I walk away to English class, but before I leave…

Chapter Four

“Wait!” Chase says. He runs to me and kisses me. His soft lips pressing against mine feels like heaven.

“O-M-G!!! Was that a dream?” I say. I feel really good, but I am worried that someone saw the kiss.

“No. It wasn’t. It was real. I’m in love with you,” Chase says. I can’t believe that he’s in love with me!

“Ummm… I have to go to class right now. Love you — I mean see you later,” I say nervously.

“See you later, Ev,” Chase says.

During English class, there is an announcement.

“Hello, students, can Evelyn and Chase come to the principal’s office? Evelyn and Chase to the principal’s office.”

“You know what that means, go to the office,” the English teacher says.

I am confused. I don’t know why I have to go to the principal’s office, but I just go along with it. I am also confused why Chase has to go as well.

“Hello, Chase and Evelyn. You have come to the office because there has been a rat infestation in your locker Chase.”

“What?” Chase freaks out so badly that his face turns red, like the color of blood.

“And Evelyn, you have an empty locker next to yours, so we have decided that Chase is going to be next to you.”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… ”

Chapter Five

“Excuse me, Ms. Campbell. Please bring Chase to his new locker,” the principal says.

“Okay,” I say. I show him to the locker next to mine.

“See you later,” I say.

“See you,” Chase says. I walk to my class blushing. I was going to kiss him, but don’t want to make a scene and also I don’t want to be late for class. I’m kind of starting to have feelings for him, but I know that he doesn’t have feelings for me.

Wait!!!” Chase yells. “Here is a letter for you.”

I open up the envelope and start reading:

Dear Evelyn,

I have to confess this to you. I love you. I’ve loved you since middle school, and I’ve been nervous to tell you this, so I put it in a letter. You are the most prettiest person I’ve ever met, not Erika. I love you, and I hope you feel the same way.

– Love, Chase

O-M-G!! He loves me! Ya! But why say it now when we already went out on a date, or just a hang out.

A few minutes later, I’m in math class.

Ring! Ring! Ring! The principal makes an announcement that someone broke into the school.

“Everyone! There is a robber in the school! Everyone form a line, and evacuate the school ASAP!!!” the principal says.

We are now standing in a line, being very silent because I’m scared. Now I’m with Chase to evacuate the school. I can see a man with a gun!

He’s aiming his gun at Chase. I have to save him. I have to be brave. I jump in front of Chase to save him.

Oh no! Evelyn!!” Chase cries…


Under The Same Stars

Why are things stressful? I don’t know! Then why did I ask myself? That I don’t know either! My thoughts are so weird. I thought.

Why do people have to write book reports? I DON’T KNOW? I have to stop asking myself these questions!

Face in my hands, out of my mind, trying to write a book report that is due tomorrow, this is torture. I wish James was here to help me… NO, don’t think different thoughts. James will be back soon enough! Think Moby Dick thoughts!

After what seemed like HOURS (it was more like 30 minutes) I got my book report done. James would be SO proud… I miss him. Maybe when I go to Hollywood to visit him I can show him this, it being my one of my better book reports.

***

“Time for dinner!” my mom shouts from the kitchen, her voice echoing through the silent hallway where James used to rant the poems that had wrote moments before. All of them hitting you with the feeling and passion they were written with. But now it is just echo.

This feels so unnatural… Why would she shout??? She KNOWS it is going to echo! Okay, NO, it is not her fault, Sam! How dare you think that!

I run down stairs with my eyes shut and sniff the air.

I know exactly what this is!!!

“It is soup dumplings!” I shout, excited about my guess.

“Correct!” my mom exclaims with a smile. “Now as your prize for guessing correctly, you don’t have to do the dishes after dinner!”

Does she sense my loneliness? She would NEVER do this if she didn’t. I hate that she can read my mind! If James hadn’t left then I wouldn’t feel so lonely! SAM! How dare you put your own good in front of your brother’s dreams! James deserves to take this chance!

“Yes!!!” I exclaim, hoping that my mom doesn’t notice the awkward tone I say it in.

“Let’s go sit down,” she says in a more melancholy tone.

Holy crap! She figured it out. Shoot shoot shoot shoot No….

We go and sit down at the table, and by then I have a plan for not talking.

I am going to ALWAYS keep my mouth full to the brim with soup dumplings. That way I can’t talk and if I wolf it down like that, then I can be excused then BOOM! No sharing feelings!!! Why do i not want to keep my feelings to myself? Again, Sam, STOP IT WITH THE QUESTIONS!

I sit down to a full plate of 10 dumplings. The aroma is irresistibly incredible.

This is going to be a piece of cake…

I gather my composure with a smile and pile three dumplings into my mouth at once.

And then it hits me…

These are soup dumplings… They have hot broth in the center… I just bit into THREE OF THEM without poking the dumpling and letting the broth cool down…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” I holler, mouth sizzling and burning like an egg in a frying pan.

Ice, ice, I need ICE!!!

I jump from the table and sprint to the freezer.

***

That was embarrassing… Why didn’t I think that through!? Maybe because I was so focused on getting things in my my mouth swallowing and running back up the stairs that I didn’t consider the ABSURDLY HOT BROTH! Why am I so stupid!? Again. Sam… STOP IT WITH THE QUESTIONS!!

My mom looks at me with that pity look she uses only when someone has truly embarrassed themselves.

Great.

“Honey… ” she begins awkwardly. “You need to start to talk about your feelings! You’ve always been a quiet introverted person, but lately it has been abnormal and depressing.”

Hey, Mom, ever heard the phrase TOO MUCH INFORMATION??

“Meh,” I respond, quieter than I have ever been attempting to make a joke. “Not a big feelings person. More into baggy sweats and graphic novels.”

OH GOD I literally NEVER make jokes OUT LOUD. Was that funny? SAM, YOU WILL FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF IN JUST A MOMENT!! NO. QUESTIONS!!!

“I never hear you make jokes. You are incredibly funny! You should really use those skills more!” my mom suggested after a fit of laughter.

And right after I feel like I have actually socialized. (I know, shocker.) The doorbell rings.

***

There is a letter. From James. For me. MY BROTHER HAD FINALLY WRITTEN!!!

My mom grins at me, her pearly whites flashing with intensity, and if I am right, a little bit of hope.

“Go up to your room and read it, since it is for you specifically then come back down and I can reheat your dinner,” she says with a wink, and then swiftly glides back into the kitchen.

I am so excited!!! But also nervous… What if Hollywood changed him? He is my brother. I want the best for him, and when he wrote a play for his high school, never in a million years would I think that a famous producer and director would want to turn his play into a Hollywood production. To be honest, I would be TERRIFIED. But nevertheless, I must read this. To tell the truth, I would still read this if he had shoes growing out of his forehead.

Okay… moment of truth…. Let’s read this letter.


Sam,

You are probably wondering if Hollywood has changed me, and in fact it has for the better. I have learned life skills and improved my abilities in the driving. Now let me ask YOU a question. Have you done the same?

Oof. Way to give me a punch in the gut. He knows I have always compared myself to him. Anywho, I have to continue.

Look, I know you have been a reserved, introverted person, but you have ruined your social life! And to fix this, I have a challenge for you.

Man… the dude may be a soon to be superstar, but he sure remembers how to catch my attention. He knows I love challenges. And before I read the rest, challenge accepted.

I challenge you that in ten MONTHS you will have a big group of friends, soaring grades, an appearance that pleases you, and what you feel is a healthy, fit body. But I know you can’t accomplish this without having a little comforting poetry before it.

Think about this:

When you’re in bed

And looking up through your skylight

Watching the bright, gleaming stars

Think about this:

We all sleep under the same stars

We all have a connection

Through thick and thin

Through light and dark

Through the stars above your head

So tonight in bed remember that

And hopefully

It’s comforting

I hope that you know I love you with all my heart,

James


Wow, what an inspiring letter. I wish I could be that inspiring.


Epilogue

Hi… Remember me? The trainwreck of a girl where the person inside her head was bubbly and funny and outgoing but the girl on the outside couldn’t manage to bring her to life. But you would never imagine how now the sixth grade me is a whole new girl. And now walking down the brightly colored hallways with the neon yellow lockers and the locks that make the soft clicking noise when you spin them, I don’t feel like I am in a death trap at the bottom of the world and praying it didn’t come crashing down on my shoulders. Instead I feel like I am on top of the world and pulling my friends and family up with me. And now you’re thinking, friends?! Since when did Sam have friends? And my answer to that is: since ten months ago. I have built up my self esteem, built up my social life, improved my grades, and the amount of things I am actually sharing and explaining to my (rather large) group of friends. And even now I am entertaining many of my friends with a rather entertaining and enlightening story.

Also my appearance changed quite a bit too! I used to wear baggy sweats and loose T-shirts that usually hung to my knees and my hair in a big frizzy ponytail. But now? I wear a number of jeans and leggings (especially high waisted ones with belts. black preferably) I wear neat, flowy T-shirts in soft creamy colors. And wear my hair in neat double buns. It’s funny, I never ever thought a letter could change my life. I thought I would always be the annoying introverted girl with no friends yet, here we are. And remember, you can always make a change in your life, all you have to do is let someone motivate you and put your mind to it and you can always get it done.


Christmas Eve Tree

I wake up to Leo, my brother, screaming in my ear, “Wake up! It’s Christmas morning!

I jump out of my bed and whack him with a huge pillow. I look at my alarm clock, and it says 3:00, the witch hour. My brother runs downstairs to the Christmas tree and is amazed about how many presents are under the tree.

Then he screams my name, “Grace!

I see him reach for a present. “Don’t!” I shout. “Didn’t Mom tell you about what happened to Grandpa when he touched a present before he was supposed to?”

“What happened?”

“He almost died.” After I tell my brother that, he touches the present and disappears.

I go and get my parents from their bedroom and yell, “Leo is gone forever!”

“Why? What happened?” my mom asks.

My dad is still snoring.

But then I scream in his ear and wake him up. He screams and jumps out of bed. Then I tell them what happened.

Then we rush downstairs and see the present that Leo touched. Then my mom and dad grab it and disappear. And then I look around to see an old mirror that I’ve never seen before. Then I run to the present and touch it.

I land in a dark place. Surprisingly, I see my mom. Then shortly after that I find my dad. We all look for my brother, but he’s nowhere to be found. This place smells sweet, like candy. Then suddenly a light turns on. And then we see a rabbit, and we find a door and we walk through it.

Then the rabbit says, “I’m your brother.”

But I argue with him. I say, “If you’re really my brother, then what’s your name?”

“My name is Leo, Leo Maxwell.”

“What’s your full name?”
“Leo James Maxwell.”

“That’s not my real brother’s middle name,” I say.

“Imposter!” I shout. Then I suddenly see my mom and dad in a dark room with checkered floors. Then I see my brother in the same room. But then when I go and walk up to them, they don’t reply.

The next thing I see is a small glass bottle on a bookcase. It looks interesting, so I drink the green liquid without even thinking.

Then I’m back at home with my family.

I suddenly wake up in my room. I feel tired. I look around and see my bright blue walls, but my room is dark. I run to my parents’ room, and turns out it’s just a dream.

I go downstairs and see the Christmas tree, and I quickly touch the present.


The Dryplace

October 2, 1996

Dear Diary,

My name is Lee Jordan. I am an explorer for the Australian Nature Society. Yesterday we set off on my first expedition. We are in the outback. In my giant backpack I packed three big water bottles, six days of food, three changes of clothes, a raincoat, a compass, a pocket knife, a box of matches, this diary, a sleeping bag, and a tiny tent.

Your very own,

Lee

October 3, 1996

Dear Diary,

It’s currently 5:00 AM. Everyone is asleep. Today we check if this part of the forest’s koalas are healthy and strong. We set out at 8:00 AM. Oh, Alex just woke up. We are supposed to make breakfast for the other troupe members.

Your very own,

Lee

October 3, 1996

Dear Diary,

OH MY GOD! Somehow I ended up in the desert!!! Let me tell you about it. So we had set out on the trail, and I stopped to tie my shoe. I was tying my shoe for two minutes. When I looked up, the troupe was all the way across the field. So I ran to catch them, but they had turned a corner. When I caught up to where I last saw the troupe, it was dark and full of rocks. They had turned one of two corners. I turned the other one, and I ended up here!!! Now I don’t know what to do. Like I told you, I have six days worth of food, so if I don’t get out of here fast enough I am dead meat.

Your very own,

Lee

October 3, 1996

Dear Diary,

I finally found a place to stay tonight. It’s in a little valley surrounded by sand dunes. As soon as I set up the tent, I got a fire started and cooked a sausage. It was okay. Oh, and did I mention that it is fa-reezing, like so cold. I have my sleeping bag and tent, but that’s about it for warmth. I mean, I could heat up rocks over the fire and stick them under the sleeping bag. But that would give warmth for about an hour. I think I’m going to bed now.

Your very own,

Lee

October 4, 1996

Dear Diary,

I just woke up 15 minutes ago, restarted the fire, and started making some breakfast when I realized that I still had my emergency transponder in my backpack. When I went to look for it in my backpack, I found it in the lower right inside compartment. But to my “pleasant” surprise, the transponder was smashed from when I dropped my backpack two days ago. Now I have no idea what to do unless I can figure out how to get this thing fixed soon.

Your very own,

Lee

October 7, 1996

Dear Diary,

I know I haven’t written in a while, but I was busy working on the emergency transponder. But I think I finally cracked the code. I have some emergency parts in my backpack, and the part that was smashed was not the satellite, and I finally figured out how to take the satellite out of the transponder. So now I have to send the emergency signal with my location. It’s starting to warm

up in the desert, but at night it gets absolutely freezing.

Your very own,

Lee

October 8, 1996

Dear Diary,

I finally fixed the transponder!!! I reattached the wire that connected the microchip and the satellite, and I had sent the distress signal. They should be here in about three hours, and I am going to explore a little bit of the wildlife for now until the helicopter gets here. I will kind of miss the desert because it’s a world of wonder and exploration, and I will be sad to leave it. But hopefully I will get a chance to come back another day.

Your very own,

Lee

July 16, 1997

Dear Diary,

Hi… Remember me? Lee, the girl who got lost in the desert? Today, I’m in my lab. After the incident, I decided to keep up my research on the Australian outback. So the Australian Nature Society has agreed to help me with my research on the outback. The society and I have created a team made up of wildlife professionals and naturalists, including me. I try not to speak of the incident, but when I have to, people find it a very interesting topic. I would like to become a naturalist for all the world to see some day.

Your very own,

Lee


Pencils and Alligators

“Oy yoy yoy! Another cat and doggy day. I can’t believe it. Our home is going to be destroyed in about a week when we have another cat and doggy day!” Jaz was ranting again. Her brother, Josh, always listened to her. That was the problem with Josh. He was too submissive. And Jaz was way too talkative and extroverted. The siblings were complete opposites, yet they were the only friends each of them had.

“Well, that would be longer than the last one,” Josh said.

“Josh, why do you always look on the bright side even when there is none? All the pencils we’ve been in have lasted longer than the last but still not long enough. I hope one day we will have enough money to finally move into a mechanical pencil. Those things last forever. Once you’re there, you pretty much have a spot there for the next one or two years. Sometimes they do get damaged, but they’re always okay in the end.” Jaz leaned forward in her seat, daydreaming about mechanical pencils. Doing so, she exposed herself to the falling cats and dogs outside and quickly leaned back in with the dreamy look still on her face.

It was Sage PM, which meant it was two hours until the glowing point went down in the sky. When the glowing point went down in the sky, everybody had to be inside their homes. That was when the greater forces controlling the pencil tried to wipe everybody away. They might succeed if you aren’t inside, but ever since Steven, people have been less against that rule.

Jaz and Josh’s favorite part of the city was their small deck. They put up a small tarp, so they could sit on it even when it was raining alligators or it was cat and doggy out. The weather in this pencil was especially bad. They have been in warm pencils, cold pencils, humid pencils, and dark pencils. But they had never been in a pencil with this much bad animal weather.

“I have to get to the kitchen. My shift starts in 20 minutes,” Jaz said.

Jaz worked at an alligator restaurant. Every time it rained alligators, they got a whole new batch of food to cook. Everyone loved it, and it was a good way to get rid of the extra alligators roaming the streets. Jaz was the best alligator chef the restaurant had.

“Okay, just come right home. You don’t want to be stuck outside when the glowing point goes down,” Josh said.

“I know, I know,” Jaz said. “Why is it that we’re the same age, but you are always telling me to be safe and come home on time. You’re not my parent. I know what to do.”

Jaz winked at Josh before grabbing her cat and doggy-proof umbrella and coat and walking out of the tarp. Josh sat there, waiting for his sister to come home. Little did he know he would never see her again.


Looking For Joy

Chapter One: A Book

One night, one cursed night, the boy Jack was reading in his room when the smell of his grandma’s brownies replaced the plain old airy smell. Just a month before, his pops died. Later on, feelings still carried through the tragedy. One day, the day this all triggered, his mom came up to him, tears came dripping down her face. “Son,” she took a heavy sigh, “Pops died.” That was it. Those were the only three words she said before walking out the door. In memory of him. He was buried in the graveyard across the street from Jack’s house. Every night, Jack would view the picture of Pops that he placed under his pillow. Tears would roll down his cheeks just like his mother when she told him about Pops’ death. But this night, this night felt different for him. Winds howled at the milky white moon and blew through the dark, lonely streets in a hurry. Clouds started to group together. The sky grew darker as he kept reading.

He thought and thought. There were some hmms and ahhs then an aha! He discovered the thing behind all this. Jack thought about this for a long time. The winds continued to howl, followed by the lightning striking out of anger. Jack yawned, and as he did that he put his book away and into bed he went. He tucked the covers on in one swift move and fell dead.

The bell struck, twelve o’clock. In one shake, Jack woke up. In a panic, he got out of his bed and took a look around. Winds still blew and howled but not as much as before. The book, that was what was on Jack’s mind right now. Slowly and carefully, he took the handles on the window and nudged it, aware to not make a single sound. A small mouse squeaked as he pulled the window. He kept doing this motion despite it made a little noise. Now the window was big enough to fit an entire human, enough to fit Jack. Thinking, Jack leaned towards the window and took a look down. Not too deep. His body trembled and shook, thinking and wondering. He started back to his bed, then turned around making his final decision. He ran the edge of the room, were there were closets, posters, and down to the left corner, a door. He took two big steps toward the window in a fast pace and one giant leap flying out the window. Kicking his legs, Jack managed to have a decent landing right in front of the rose bush at the time that a car hustled by. Jack ducked in the sharp rose bush, making sure not to be seen.

The lights lit up the sidewalk, shining almost as much as the full white moon that stood out in the pitch black sky. Jack, who was very scared, made a sprint staying very low across the street and climbed over the low graveyard fence. He checked his watch, twelve ten. He still had time but not a lot. He crawled across the graveyard. Jack had memorized where his grandpa was buried to rest. One left, two rights, another left, then the final right turn. He kept repeating this to himself over and over again until he felt confident. He kept going through the graveyard, passing stones carved with letters. The bitter cold air pinched on Jack’s tongue. Though Jack was used to the graveyard, as if it were a normal thing, and it never really scared him, now was when he was really tested. Shaking and shivering, from not just the cold but the intensity and how freaked out he was, Jack continued step by step on the clumpy dirt through the graveyard. He took his final turn as a light shone on him. Jack froze. I’m dead. The light though continued to shine throughout the graveyard and left him frozen in his tracks. Jack, now with more caution, took his last steps to get to Pops grave. He took his frozen bare hands and started to dig on the hard dirt ground. Jack’s hands started to bleed with pain, but the boy Jack didn’t stop shoveling the dirt. With exhaust, he took a breath. The boy Jack studied the headstone, reading everything, then fixes his head down staring at the dirt. Though, not just dirt was in his sight, but a golden thick book stuffed with pages you could see sticking out.

Now, the boy Jack was not just any boy. He was a smart boy. And with that, what he was searching for, was positively lying right in front of him. Any other kid wouldn’t know that his or her desire lied right in front of them.

Jack immediately identified this book, unlike others could have done. He snatched the book and made a run for it. Jack traced his steps back, following them back home. He looked up at the sky and couldn’t help it but stop and stare. The stars were twinkling in the pitch black sky and the moon shown the path for the lost aliens who were probably trying to find their way home.

Jack suddenly realized what he was doing and went back to running, clutching the book so tight that his palms were starting to turn a bright pink just like his face from the cold, intense weather. Jack climbed over the fence and froze in his tracks. How do I get back up there? Jack clutched the book even tighter and then jumped on the tree, hugging it. He climbed the tree, grasping every part he can. Jack then switched over to climbing the nearest branch to the window. Though there was quite a big gap between. Jack was up for anything, my reader. You should know that. Jack gripped the book one more time and then risked himself, then made the jump.

At first, Jack just closed his eyes as he was flying through the air, then opened them, then hit the floor followed by a thud that could have woken everyone up. Jack threw his clothes off, closed the window, ran to bed, and then placed the book under the pillow where Pops’ picture was.

“I cracked the code, Pops. I did it.”

The next day was Saturday. It was seven o’clock when Jack’s alarm clock went off. No one was up yet, but Jack felt something peculiar. He dug under his pillow and found the dusty golden book. He opened the book and blew off the dust. It flew in his face. Jack started to read. It was hard, but he put his all into it. In big, bold, handwritten letters the book said:

One left two rights, another left, then a final right turn. This is how you found this book.

Jack found this odd, because it was right. He peeled through the pages.

There are three steps to joy. One: find it. Two: use it. Three: share it.

Step number three was scribbled out.

Jack also found this odd. What could this mean? Jack closed the book and thought. Now was when his brain was really working.


The Bored Hero

Once upon a time, there was a knight. This knight’s name was Sir Edmond. Sir Edmond had completed many great deeds of heroism (99 to be exact). His most famous deeds were: The Flaying Of The Most Ferociously Ferocious Ferret and The Defeat Of The Antarctic Abusive Armadillo. Sir Edmond was trying to do one more deed, so he could get to one hundred deeds, so he could get the one hundred deeds medal and become the knight of one hundred deeds. The knight of one hundred deeds was the most important knight in the land.

Sir Edmond went looking for a monster to defeat, but he had defeated all the monsters in existence (except one, which we’ll get back to later)! So he went looking for other deeds to do, but he had done all the deeds there were to do (except one, which we’ll also get back to later). The rule was you can only use one deed once.

When he went to a town and said, “What can I do?” the answer was always, “Nothing.” Sir Edmond was now desperate, so he went to The Place Where Nothing Happens, a town on the border of the Really Bad Forest, where, as you might have guessed, nothing happens.

As he was walking, he saw a magic umbrella for sale, “Magic umbrella! Even protects you from rain when it’s not raining!” The sign advertised, only $99,999,999,999.99! And one cent for shipping, handling, selling, and ripping people off!

That’s a horrible thing that person’s doing, thought Sir Edmond. I’ll stop him and get my hundredth deed!

But when he looked back, the advertisement said, Colorful Umbrellas $1.99, a perfectly reasonable price.

What happened?! thought Sir Edmond. I could swear that was there a second ago!

Suddenly, Sir Edmond heard the sound of someone cackling coming from a nearby alleyway. Sir Edmond turned, and gathering all the courage he could muster, stepped into the dimly lit alleyway. Sir Edmond was surprised at what he saw in the alleyway, for it was nothing he had expected. No evil witch stood there mixing her equally evil potions, nor did a demonic demon with nails as sharp as knives laugh over his evil plan to enslave the universe. Instead it was just a plain old umbrella leaning against a neighboring house. Wait, that was the umbrella from the shop that had disappeared!

“Finally!” Sir Edmond cried. “I can take this umbrella, arrest its owner, and get my hundredth deed! But nobody will believe me. They will think me mad! I need some evidence.”

While Sir Edmond thought about how to get some solid evidence, he heard a shuffle in the bushes.

“You get back here!” shouted Sir Edmond as he saw the umbrella go running off into the Really Bad Forest. Should I not follow the umbrella into the Really Bad Forest and try to get a deed somewhere else? thought Sir Edmond. Or should I follow it into the deep scary Really Bad Forest and possibly, no, probably get myself killed in a horribly painful way?

After a while of deciding and weighing the pros and cons (Sir Edmond was very good at weighing the pros and cons) Sir Edmond decided to chase the umbrella into the Really Bad Forest. As he was doing so, he stumbled upon an old man sitting in the forest with an umbrella.

“Aha!” exclaimed Sir Edmond. “You were the one!”

“Yes, I was!” said the old man in an inhuman voice. Then, the old man turned into an evil demon!!!

***

We interrupt this book to inform you that this demon was indeed the dreaded Pkeuxblo Demon, the stealer of leftover food on the kitchen counter, and Sir Edmond’s arch-nemesis!!

***

Just then, with a sudden burst of speed, Sir Edmond stabbed the demon in the upper left eyebrow, which, as Sir Edmond had known from his history of dealing with demons, is their only weak spot! Sir Edmond had killed the Pkeuxblo Demon! Sir Edmond was awarded the one hundred deeds medal and was awarded the title of the knight of one hundred deeds. Now, because of Sir Edmond’s brave deeds (and a little bit of luck), you can sleep in your beds assured that the Pkeuxblo Demon won’t come to your house and steal your precious leftovers.

The End


Pig Island

Last day of school. Woohoo! Okay, let’s move on. My dad told me this morning that when I got home, I should do some research on where we were going to go this summer. So, I looked up best places to go in the summer on my computer, when all of a sudden as I was scrolling down, there were some words that said, best place to go, Pig Island!!! I clicked new tab, searched Pig Island, and there it was: best place to go, Pig Island, and underneath it said 4.5 stars for Pig Island!!! I knew I had to get to Pig Island.

That night, when my parents came home and my sister, Katie, came home from high school, and we were all sitting down, I told them, “I looked up places to go for the summer, and it came up with Pig Island, and we’re going to go there!!!” I let it out all in one breath and breathed heavily afterwards.

“Oh, hun, I love that you are so excited about it, but you know I’m allergic to pigs,” my dad said. “How long will we be there, because you know you have to do Spanish camp for most of the summer too.”

“I’m sorry PaPu, but we can’t,” my mother added. Don’t laugh. That’s my nickname. My real name is Pua.

We have to go. I love pigs, and you did name me Pua because that’s Moana’s pig’s name, right?”

“Yes hunny, but that’s not an excuse.”

Fine,” I said as I stomped upstairs.

“If she leaves, then can I go too?” I heard Katie say after I left.

They gave her a stern look.

The next morning, I sat up in my bed all happy that it was the first day of summer, but worried that I might not be able to go to Pig Island. I hopped out of bed and started pacing around my room, thinking about if I had any good ideas of how I could get there. After five back and forth paces, I finally had a good idea. I thought to myself, Maybe there is a medicine that my dad could take that would make him not allergic to pigs for the day. Then I realized the other problem we had of going there. I had to go to Spanish camp. So now I had to figure out two problems and fast.

I looked over at the clock. It was 6:00. Time for my morning run. I could think about the problems while I was running. I changed my clothes, grabbed my jacket, slipped on my running shoes, grabbed my phone and my earbuds, and raced out the door. I slipped in my earbuds and went into my own secret world like a parallel universe. I ran for half an hour around the neighborhood and looped back to my house where I took a shower and ate breakfast.

My sister came down with her head in her phone and still in her llama pajamas and asked, “How long have you been down here?”

I took another bite of my cinnamon bread and looked up at the clock. It said 7:00. I calculated it in my head. “An hour.”

She put down her phone and answered, “Cool. Have you figured out the two problems?”

Shoot,” I accidently said out loud. I never figured out the problem. Well, that was a waste of time. I looked up at my sister and said, “No, I haven’t figured out the problem. Wait, I have an idea.”

I plopped down my cinnamon bread and ran to my computer. I looked up if there was a cure, and I scrolled down and found a bunch of medicines. One of them was a medicine from a doctor named Dr. Anderson. Boom, out of nowhere it was like a lightbulb went off in my head.

“Sis, get out your computer and see if there are any Spanish camps.”

Okay,” she said as she slowly strolled over to her computer.

She opened it up and did what I told. I looked back at my research and realized that there could actually be a way for me to go to Pig Island. I smiled inside my head.

After 20 minutes, I asked, “Have you found a camp?”

“Yeah, it says it’s a two week camp and will teach you beginner or advanced Spanish.”

“Great, can you see how old you have to be.”

“K.”

Thirty minutes later…

“Have you figured it out?”

“Yeah, it says that you have to be 8 to 15 years old. That seems great right, because I was going to go take a shower.”

“I need one more thing for you to do.”

Driving to the doctor…

“Thanks again for driving me to the doctor. I looked up a cure for pigs, and it said that there was this doctor who figured out how to cure being allergic to pigs. His name is Dr. Anderson.”

“No problem. Don’t tell Mom and Dad, but I actually want to go to Pig Island.”

“Pull over, we’re here.”

Seeing the doctor…

We step in and see a woman on an office chair looking at her computer.

“Hello?” I ask.

She turns and answers, “What can I do for you?”

“We’re here to get a medicine for allergies to pigs.”

“Great, are you Emily Paterson?”

“Yes.”

Thirty minutes later…

“So you need to have one pill every morning and make sure his vitals and blood pressure are normal every night,” she said.

“Great, is that all,” I say.

“Yep.”

Getting home…

“Okay, Katie, get back on your computer and sign us up for that Spanish camp,” I said.

“I will work on getting tickets to the Bahamas.”

Ten minutes later…

“So we have a hotel, plane tickets, in a camp, and we’re going to Pig Island.” I started dancing around and doing my happy dance.

A week later…

“Let’s go everybody. Let’s go!

We drove to the airport and hopped on the plane. I was smiling on the whole plane trip there. My mouth still hurts. I even made a song on the way there to sing to the piggies. We landed smoothly, got off the plane, and rode to our hotel. We stayed the night there and got ready to take our boat to Pig Island.

The next morning, I woke up and woke everybody up, and I mean everybody in the hotel accidently, to go to Pig Island. We gave my dad his pills and started to get ready. An hour later, after we got all ready for Pig Island, we jumped onto the boat and sailed to Pig Island.

At Pig Island…

The sailors anchored us in, and we had to take a rowboat to shore. That was the best moment in my life, because there were pigs swimming close to us, but they didn’t let us touch them because they were afraid of the oars. The sailors helped us onto shore and then said that they were going back to the boat and we would be leaving in an hour.

I thought to myself, An hour? That’s not enough time. I want to spend my whole life with these piggies.

They started rowing away, and I was the first person to dive into the water head first. I played with them for so long I felt like I was becoming a pig. They were just so cute, and pink, and swam with me, and even sunbathed on the sand. I even named the pigs Pinky, Cracker, Bunny, Wilbert, Buttercup, Flower, Fluffy, Asparagus, Fuzzball, and Strawberry. The sailors said that we had one more minute, and we had to wrap it up. Oh no. At the last minute, Wilbert jumped on top of me, and he hugged me to death. I loved Pig Island and all the pigs here!!!

THE END!!!


The Legendary Monument

When I saw a Legendary village I froze, and watched.

It really was the land of mysterious dragons I wondered…

Then does that mean that Scarlett Bones has been here?

That must have been quite a unique adventure for her.

She must have seen the beautiful horizon of the mountains.

When it started to rain I saw a bright flame.

Then I realized that it was a giant comet soaring.

But I felt a light sprinkle on my head Rain…

The rain eroded the whole cliff and I started falling.

Thank Goodness I was rescued by a beautiful mythical beast.

That Legendary village froze me.

It was the dragons land.

Scarlett’s favorite color is Scarlet.

I saw many mythical creatures.

A comet flew past me.

I looked at the horizon.

I thought, What an adventure.

I went hiking, then fell.

Then it started to rain.

In the distance a flame!

The legendary village.

The dragon’s land.

Scarlett Mary Bones.

Observing mythical creatures.

Comets flying past.

The melting horizon.

“What an adventure.”

Then I fell.

It started raining.

Then seeing flames.


Tasty

I went grocery shopping, sure that that was a wise decision. You see, the previous evening I had prepared and consumed a massive amount of my homemade chili. Some pretty tasty stuff, but it’s very spicy to the point of it being painful. It comes with a guarantee (from me) that if you eat it, your body will fall apart the next day.

Here’s the thing. I awakened that morning, and even after having two bowls of my homemade chili, nothing happened. Despite the habanero peppers swimming throughout my body, I appeared to be fine. Knowing that a time would come, yet not sure of just when, I bravely set off for the market, a local Costco that I often hunt in to find hot dogs and tater tots. I heard from one of my friends that Costco was having a ketchup sale, so I decided to go.

Upon entering the store at first, everything seemed fine. I pulled out a shopping cart and pushed it into the food aisle while dropping every single item on the shelves in not caring what they were. It wasn’t until I was at the total opposite side of the restrooms that the pain hit me like a train. Stop looking at me like you don’t know what I’m referring to. It’s the “oops, I gotta go” pain. But this was different.

The habaneros in the chili from the night before were planning revenge. In a mad rush for freedom, they bullied their way through my intestines. Before I could take one step in the direction of the restrooms, they fired a shot. I stood alone in the aisle, eyes wide. I was afraid to move, frightened that the odor might escape to another aisle. I slowly moved up the next aisle just as an elderly woman turned her disgusted face to me. I watched as she walked into an invisible wall of odor losing all her senses. This made me laugh. When you laugh, it’s hard to keep things down. Another explosion came. It was so loud, it echoed down all the aisles. I gasped, fearing that someone would think it was someone firing a gun. I ran down all of the aisles to the nearest restroom.

As I walked out, an employee ran towards me.

“Ah sir, there has been a report of you setting an, um, stink bomb here,” the man said.

People were staring at me, which set me off again. I sprinted towards the exit sign and drove back home.

Home again, I grinned as I took a peek into the refrigerator and realized that there was nothing to eat but a leftover bowl of chili, so I consumed it. The day after that, I made a brave journey to Walmart. I can’t say anymore information about what had happened in Walmart because I am currently in court.


I Am Not Friends With My Nose Anymore

I am not friends with my nose anymore

We used to be the best of friends

We’d play for hours in the park

Then I would go to school

But I would take my nose with me

And then he would show me

Smelling things

Just the two of us

But then

Winter came

No more park

I was sad

At least I had school

He didn’t like the cold either

Then he turned all red

I would rub him

But it would only hurt more

Then no more school

A little bit later I stopped being friends with him

Then my nose stopped letting me smell

No more anything

In about two weeks my nose gave me a lesson

It started to bleed

We couldn’t fix it

My nose wouldn’t stop

He was being a meanie

Then we went to the hospital

They gave me something round and green to swallow

It didn’t really help

More and more blood

Then my parents were whispering to the people in the white suits

Then I suddenly felt really sleepy

When I woke

And now we’re not friends anymore


Allergens

I had to get out of the space. There was a faint smell of Goldfish and Fig Newtons, and it was warm. The hives were starting, and I couldn’t resist itching them. Although the hives seemed to always be there, I hadn’t gotten used to them. Besides, I usually had the goggles. They didn’t eliminate the allergens completely from my body, but they certainly helped. I lay down on the rug in a hopeless attempt to get away from the allergens, but they were everywhere. The rug smelled like mango bubble tea, probably from a spill the day earlier. I needed out, but was trapped. I asked myself for the billionth time: what the heck am I doing here? I thought I could stay here to hide from the allergens, but it did not work. In fact, it epically failed. But I had to do this for Batina. Batina, my beautiful best friend.

Batina was like me. She was the only one that got it. The allergens everywhere. The weird looks we got when walking down the street. We met here, and I had to be here. I knew she wouldn’t come back, but I needed to try. Her death had scared me. Her death was because of the allergens. No one on earth has the same condition, but I’m scared I won’t be able to keep my secret any longer. If I get discovered, I’ll become something like a display case and scientific wonder. By the way, that’s not a good thing. But if I just look like a moron who wears funky goggles in the summer, no scientist is going to put me on a lab table.

Anyways. I survive. But I admit it’s extremely annoying. Humans are obsessed with the allergens. They wear them all over their body, but only Batina and I seemed to care. Only Batina. We used to buy each other packs of goggles every year for New Years.

We were the best of any friends, more similar and different than any other friends. The allergens ruin my life, but I admit, they led me to what keeps me alive. Kept me alive. Emphasis on kept. When Batina died, I’m ashamed to say that I did not attend her funeral. She wouldn’t have wanted me to anyway.

The allergens were getting stronger. I could feel them crawling on my skin like grubs. I shuddered, thinking of The Bug Incident. Let’s just say it involved bugs crawling on me. I’ll leave it at that.

People sometimes ask my favorite hobby. Actually, that’s not true. I’m extremely antisocial, so no one asks me anything. But… my favorite hobby is reading. There are no allergens. Wait. No. There are mentions of the allergens, which causes my throat to itch, but there aren’t actual allergens.

But sometimes I think I see Batina in the distance, but of course, it’s not her. I really hope that, wherever she is, in whatever dimension, she can be around the allergens. The colors.


My Sacred Friend

Chapter One: The Real Stuff

One morning, I, George Lonerfin, my older brother, Hugo Lonerfin, and my friend, Gande Hulkin, were playing at our HQ, which is in an abandoned house near the theater on 1387th st. in Alabama in an imaginary dimension. It’s outside the solar system, which is in my fiction story from my elementary school called, “Space Bananas.”

“Hey, who wants to know the secret of this abandoned house?” Hugo said, holding a flashlight under his chin. He knows that that scares me and Gande. Even though we were scared, we nodded.

“Listen up, boys, because I’m only going to tell you this once,” Hugo said.

He knows that we hate being called boys, because that’s the worst name to be called by, but he got away when we tried to hit him last time, so we got closer like he wanted to. I think.

“In this abandoned house, there lived a scientist. He made technology and tried to invent things that helped the world, and they all failed, and when I mean all of his inventions failed, I mean all of them. Rumor has it that one night, on 2/2/2222 at 2:22, one of his inventions was a success.”

At first I thought this was a normal, non-scary story, but then I thought about two things that made no sense at all. First of all, it was 2019, and the house says it was from 1375, and second, that’s a little weird. They all have 2s! I tried to talk over him, but it was no use.

“He made an ogre. An ogre that can eat your soul!!!” Hugo said. He raised his eyebrows under the flashlight that made him look scary under the flashlight. Well, I thought it was scary, but Gande looked satisfied.

“Well, it’s a rumor. It’s not like anyone would believe in those stupid rumors,” Hugo said so casually, but all of a sudden, there was a swift wind in the room.

Then, all of a sudden, I saw a glimpse of a green, war-prepared monster! Then we saw it. The green, war-prepared monster was an ogre! He must have been from the story! He must have heard Hugo saying that ogres weren’t real!

“How dare you say ogre not real?! You die for saying nonsense!! I’m not just an ogre! I’m an ogre spirit!!!” the ogre said.

When I heard about spirits, my head got dizzy. My eyes got blurry, and then I passed out. Then all I could see was darkness. When I opened my eyes 30 seconds later, I was in the hospital.


Chapter Two: One More

When I was at the hospital, I was on a squishy bed and those cool pillows which are so huge. I really wanted to see who was around me, but I just sank into the huge pillow and all I could see was a mix of black and white. But it’s okay, because I heard them.

“What happened at your so-called-hideout?!” I heard Mom say. I think that she was screaming at Hugo.

“Why are you saying that I did it?! Look, it’s not my fault that an ogre came into our hideout! Well, like you say that so-called-hideout, which we do have. It’s in the abandoned house that’s near the theater! Remember? We took you there for our show and tell, right?” Hugo whined.

I remembered that show and tell, and I don’t want to take fatty Joe, big fat Bill, and big Stanley to the house anymore. How much do they weigh?! Joe, Bill, and Stanley are the top three fattest people in the school! And the weird thing that’s impossible is we’re the youngest grade. They’re eight grades older than Joe, Bill, and Stanley, but Joe, Bill, and Stanley are heavier than each and every kid! And I have never seen them eat junk food. That was until they went to our hideout and went to the junk food section. Next day, they came to school saying to people that they finally had diabetes. I was surprised about two things. One: they didn’t have diabetes until that day. Two: they were happy that they had diabetes. Back to the story.

“You mean that wretched place where those three fat boys were also there? The day after that, I got a scolding from all of the boys’ parents. Back to this scolding.”

Wow. Just, wow. I can’t believe that Mom just said that to her own son! She would never scold me like that! Now we know who’s Mom’s favorite, I thought in my head with no guilt at all. I was smiling like crazy, and no one even noticed. Fake sleeping has a lot of upsides.

“I don’t care what kind of excuses you have, but we will not tolerate with your excuses with an ogre!” I heard Mom screaming.

So the ogre was real. I wasn’t dreaming at that part.

“You are grounded for making your brother pass out no matter what excuse you have, young man!” Mom screamed.

I decided to “wake up.” I twisted my head, and fortunately it looked like I was waking up. I owe one to the acting class that Mom forced me to take. I felt bad for calling it a piece of cake though. Then I saw Hugo getting angrier and angrier and getting hairier and hairier turning into a car-sized ogre. I don’t know how it happened, but it turned out horrible. He wrecked the machine that turns your bed up and down. Then the ogre saw me with his bloody, green eyes. I freaked out, sweat dripping down my face. The ogre who’s supposed to be my brother, stomped his feet so hard that everywhere he stomped, the floor cracked. He looked at me freakishly and grabbed me by the shirt.

I am going to die!!! I thought with horror.

Then all of a sudden, the crack in my head was now fine! He let go of me and then became human. He wasn’t awake though. He was actually thinking of his girlfriend, Liz.

“Liz… will… you… ” Hugo moaned. I didn’t want to hear the rest. Then all of a sudden,  Mom, Dad, and all the nurses and doctors dashed in through the door.

Oh my God. I’m glad you’re safe!!!” all the strangers and non-strangers screamed joyfully.

“Liz… let’s… marry… at… my… house… ” Hugo moaned.

His cheeks looked pinker than usual. Then he got my pillow, and you don’t want to know what happened next. All the people in the room either barfed, looked to the other side and went to the corner, or left the room and ran to see if other people got hurt. I still think that that’s just an excuse to leave this one room after what Hugo just said right now.

But why did he turn into an ogre?It makes no sense!! I thought. Then all of a sudden, he opened his eyes. I’ll tell him about the Liz thing later. But before I could even talk to him, Mom and Dad shoved me to the side and screamed at Hugo.

“What happened to you?!” Mom and Dad said.

“I don’t know, but I met Gande in my head. He said that I’ll give you the power to heal your brother. Of course, ‘cause he’s my friend. By the way, ogres are real, and they’ll come for people’s souls. We need to refresh anyways. Then he left out of my memory, and then I slept!” Hugo said.

I believe that’s true, and I need more details, but Mom and Dad interrupted when I was trying to talk to him.

Why were you tired?!” they said in unison.

Well, I guess, why was he tired is about to be answered.

“I don’t know, right after Gande left, I felt a poke in my head, and then I went sleepy. Anyways, what happened here?!” Hugo questioned after he answered our question.

The room was still full with blood and quarks and stuff. By the way, when I mean “quarks and stuff,” I mean bent doctor utensils, broken beds, and ripped up lab coat-like stuff. When all the doctors came in and saw the room, the doctors all fainted on the clear floor. They fainted for three days. Back to the story.

We went back to our house, and Mom, Dad, and Hugo had a huge conversation. I was stuck in my room doing homework.

“56 times 7, 42, carry the 4, 35, 35 plus 4, 39, 392. Next!!!” I speak when I do my work.

“45 minus 72, 72 minus 47, 25, minus 25, 34 times 675, 3 times 600, add the zero, 3 times 70, add the zero… add them all up… next.”

I think I slept. Then, I looked up. I was in a new dimension. I thought this is a dream. But it didn’t feel like a good dream…


Chapter Three: A Dream

I was walking in a pitch darkness. When I ended up in a wall, it had a sign. It was a wanted sign for a scientist. I took it just in case. It was for a guy named June. June was a boy who made all kinds of stuff. Then all of a sudden, I ended up somewhere else. It looked like a village. It seemed like a peaceful one.

“I’m telling you the truth!!!” I heard a boy say from a big crowd. When I turned around, I saw a boy who I thought that I would’ve seen here. It was Gande. Here he was, standing like a president. Like he was standing saying a speech.

“June, it’s 3,548,672,197. After that big explosion that blew up earth, we barely have any technology. All we have is this planet that the ogres gave us politely,” a villager said.

After I heard that news, I fell down. Strange thing is, I fell on a villager’s feet, but I went through his feet.

“AAAHHH!!!” I screamed. I screamed as loud as I could, but no one heard me.

Am I a ghost? Am I going to die? Am I dead? What do you mean by OGRES? What do you mean by earth exploding? What number is that? Is that a year?! I don’t know what’s going on?! I thought in my head while I also listened to mini future Gande.

“Please believe me. I know who the ogres really are. Great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpa Gande’s journal told me.”

Mini-Gande had to grab onto his dad and left. I really wanted to know more, but I had to go in a library and search for more information. I watched in a movie that I forgot what it was called, always something something. I forgot. I knew that I had to search for more information about this place, so best place to look, the library. Normally, I hate going to the library and studying, but I had to. I walked around, but no library was found. I was actually kind of bummed that there was no library. I was stuck to a villager’s rusty ol’ shoe. Then all of a sudden, everyone around me and every place that was in my sight also vaporized, and then I ended up in that black pitch again. Now I know why Hugo called me a crybaby, and now I know that I still am. I was a crybaby then and a crybaby now and a crybaby then. Then out of nowhere, I appeared at my house again.


Chapter Four: Mysteries

What are you talking about?!” Hugo said to me while we were in our treehouse. Ever since that day, we weren’t allowed in that abandoned house anymore. Instead, we had to deal with the treehouse that had many dead rats. We got it last year, and Dad said that he wouldn’t touch it, Mom wouldn’t touch it, and none of us would touch it. We avoided it for a while, and it was there ever since. Back to the story.

“You had a dream about the future? Why isn’t your dream seeing your nephew?” Hugo replied. I think he’s still thinking that Liz agreed to marry him. I had to say that he was wrong, but that’s not the important part. I told Hugo everything. And when I mean everything, I said everything. I told him about the wanted June poster, the town, and all about Gande.

“Well, I still think that you should start having dreams about you being an uncle, but I still don’t really believe you. Sorry.”

I couldn’t believe that out of all these people, my own brother, who became a ogre, wouldn’t believe me! I thought that he was the only person who would believe me.

“Then why did you turn into an ogre, huh?” I complained back. I knew it was bad to complain to people who are older than you, but I got permission from destiny this time.

“I don’t know! Okay? I don’t know everything!”

“Oh no you don’t,” said a voice from afar. (When I say afar, I mean eight feet away.) Then, when we looked at who it was, it was Gande, wearing his midnight robe. His midnight robe had full moons all over them. He knotted it in a double knot, like he always did. He must have been in his meditation class. I really know everything about Gande. Well, I thought I knew everything. Turns out not…

“What do you want?“ I asked. Then I was scared at what Gande was going to say, and I knew it was going to be scary, and it was.

“I want my best, successful invention back,” he said.

What are you talking about?!” I screamed. The wind was coming all at once. Then I couldn’t hear him, but I knew what he said. Those words pierced my heart so badly.

He said, “I want your brother, the ogre, back.”

Then all of a sudden, Gande was gone.

“Why was he here?” Hugo asked me.

“I don’t know. But I think we’re going to go through a lot this year.”


Chapter Five: Lost

I was now pretty much scared of Gande now. The next day at school, I tried to avoid Gande as much as I could. I couldn’t imagine that nice Gande being so mean! I know that he was on the wanted poster, but I didn’t know what he did! Did he do something wrong? Did he do something so horrible? I didn’t know! Today was going to be hard avoiding Gande, because we were reading buddies, writing buddies, math buddies, science buddies, and social studies buddies!

“Gande? Do you remember, uh, I don’t know, that time you came into my house last night and told me that you really wanted my brother because he’s the ogre and a swift wind came and then all of a sudden you were gone?” I asked, with my lungs out of breath.

“What are you talking about?” Gande said like he had no clue at all.

What is going on?! How can he not remember what he did to us last night?! As a matter of fact, how is it possible?!

“You don’t remember last night?” I said, trying to be calm. Unfortunately, my face blew my cover. I should have got into that lying class that Hugo recommended for me. It was a lesson that Hugo and his friend Mason made up. I was such a good kid. Back to the story.

“What happened last night, George? Did you have a bad dream?” Gande asked me. A bad dream?! No way that was a dream.

“I have to tell you something,” I said. It seemed like Gande was listening to me. When I tried to open my mouth to say a word, someone pushed me into the school president, Emily. She was the strictest president in the world. The person who pushed me was Andrew, a person who had a crush on the school president. If you want me to say this lovey dovey-like, I’ll do it.

Lovey dovey mode: on.

We fell to the floor with quite a fall. Our eyes met, and our lips touched. We were all shocked, especially Andrew, but we didn’t care. We lost track of time, and the teacher came in.

Lovey dovey mode: off.

Basically meaning, we kissed. Andrew was jealous, and the teacher came in. Emily pushed me away, ran away, and it looked like she was blushing. I got in trouble by Andrew and Emily, but mostly, Andrew was screaming at my face, and Emily was punching me lightly, but the more she punched me, the more Andrew got jealous and yelled at me. That took a whole day. I got detention, and Emily always looked away whenever I tried to talk to her. Andrew always tried to pick a fight with me, but because of that, he got 45 detention slips.

When this was all finally over, I told Gande to come to my house. Gande said that he would, but he had to bring Mila and Samantha. Mila was their dog, and Samantha his sister. And that was not all his family members. There were still his three older sisters, Ava, Amila, and Sivan, his two other younger sisters, Milan and Tammy, his two older brothers, Nicholas and Nathaniel, and his four younger brothers, Christ, Alex, Bob, and John, and he had five dogs, including Mila, two cats, three hamsters, four birds, and two gorillas. His parents were veterinarians, and sometimes they had to take the animals home. Their house was big, and they did need a big house. He had 30 family members, including the animals and him. The older brothers and sisters were all married, had babies, were pregnant, or in college. Must have been hard for Mr. and Ms. Hulkin to have 14 kids and 16 animals to deal with. They always had to pay for all the food, and they always made the food on their own. They made their own dog food, cat food, all kinds of food! Gande had a lot of babysitters. It was crazy. I wondered what harm he did to his family if he had this power… especially Nicholas. He bullied Gande for his whole life. And everybody had teased him once in a while, but the thing about Gande was that he didn’t know what the difference between a joke and the truth was. Oh boy… Back to the story.


Chapter Six: Track Team

Gande did bring Mila and Samantha, and Liz was here. Before Gande, Mila, and Samantha came, I told Hugo about the confession thing. He was crying in his room for 30 minutes when he heard that he couldn’t have his nephew. He said that it was a waste of time and life. He said that he was wondering why he was first in our beach house, and then we were in a hospital, but just not quite the right hospital. Then he came out when I said that I would try to invite Liz over.

I did invite Liz over when I said. She popped up, closed her computer, ignored all her phone calls, and then told me to get my butt up and start walking. (My butt was already up though).

We walked to my house. It was actually pretty quiet and pretty normal. The only thing that wasn’t normal was that her ex-boyfriend came and said that he wanted to make up. He was a pretty cool guy. That’s what I thought until he pushed me away and walked away with Liz. Geez. But then she pushed him away, pulled me back up, then grabbed my hand and ran away. I felt like a teddy bear blowing away by the wind. It was weird.

Thirty seconds after, we were at my house. I was actually surprised because our house was one mile away from where she was. My arm felt like it was dislocated after Liz ran. I wanted to have credit for some running, but it was impossible to stop Liz running away from her ex. I told Liz that she could be on the track team, and surprisingly, she took the advice.

When Hugo came to the door, he saw Liz, and he invited her to his room. They were all lovey dovey like they always were. I felt bad for the ex.

Gande was already at the treehouse. Mila and Samantha were playing in my room. Hugo said that he let them touch my skyscraper model that I worked one year on. I told Hugo why in the world he would do such a thing to me. But that wasn’t important to me. All I was worried about was Gande.


Chapter Seven: Panic, Run, Dream?

When I came to the treehouse, Gande was still fine. When I got up to the treehouse, he was looking around like he was trying to find something. When he was done looking around, he grabbed on to my shoulders and said,

“ListenverycloselysomethingiscomingforyouandthebookthatyouhaveIneedyoutorunfarawaywithallyour — ”

I told him to calm down. He took a deep breath and just grabbed a piece of paper from my homework and grabbed my lucky pencil from my lucky notebook. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to get something from my lucky notebook or lucky pencil. They’re the reason why I got a 100% on my test. Gande wrote a lot down. He was a fast writer, but he was writing faster than ever.

Then he handed the piece of paper over to me, and when I thought I wanted to run away, I was running as fast as Liz could run. Then out from the bushes behind me, the ogre was chasing me. I tripped over a rock and I fell. My knee was bleeding. It felt like this life was going to be over as soon as I was about to be eaten, then I tried to think of all the positive thoughts. Then when I wished that I wanted to die, I closed my eyes, trembled, and suddenly, the next thing I knew I was in my bed. It felt like nothing happened. Same bed, same Rolling Stones poster, same old bedroom that I always had since the Gande incident. Then I finally noticed that it was just a freaky nightmare. I noticed the time. 10:54 AM!!! School started 2 hours and 34 minutes ago!!! I ran over to the door with my pajamas, and I just went to school. Then I found out. It was a Sunday!!

I ran back to the house. At the dining room, Hugo called me a stupid little dummy. I stuffed my sandwich into my mouth.

My mom asked me in shock, “What kind of dream makes you wake up at 10:54 in the morning???

“A weird dream,” I replied, and the strangest thing is, I never had that dream again.


Winter and Scott

Chapter One: The Beginning

“I still can’t believe you two got the best-looking girls in the year,” muttered Seamus as the boys left the dorms.

“Don’t be jealous, Seamus,” Charlie said, catching James’s eye. James couldn’t blame Seamus, because he was going with Lila Brown, who was not very, ummm, attractive?

Sylvia Winter, James’s date, was very pretty and very popular. Charlie was going with Sophia Smith, who was also very pretty, and smart. Sophia, Sylvia, Lila, and Katie Chiu, who was Harry’s date, were waiting at the foot of the staircase leading up to the boy’s dorms.

“Hey, Harry. Hi, Charlie. Hi, Seamus. Hi, James,” Katie said when she spotted them.

“Hi, Katie,” said Harry. “Hi, Sophia. Hi, Lila. Hi, Sylvia,” Harry said, returning a smile to Katie.

“Shall we go then?” asked Sylvia awkwardly.

“Yes, alright,” replied James, taking Sylvia swiftly by the arm and leading her towards the Entrance Hall.


Chapter Two: The Fall Dance

The Entrance Hall, when they arrived, was filled with couples, all waiting for the music to begin. The Entrance Hall looked great for the fact that it was almost always covered with a coat of baby blue paint. There were rather large oak leaves hanging on the ceiling in brilliant shades of yellow, orange, brown, and red. There were pumpkins and apples piled in the corners and against the walls, and to top it all off, there was a large banner designed with pumpkins, acorns, and apples and the words Fall Dance on it.

When the doors opened, Professor Blume was standing in the doorway,

“The Fall Dance is now open. You may enter,” said Professor Blume wearily. “Mister Scott, a moment if you will, please.”

“Go on, Sylvia, I’ll be there in a moment,” James told Sylvia.

Turning back to Professor Blume, James’s mind started racing. What did Professor Blume want with him? Sure, he hadn’t handed in his Care for Magical Creatures homework two weeks in a row, and it was the subject Professor Blume taught. Or was it about the argument he had with Peter Paterson the day before, where he had accidentally hexed Peter.

“Mister Scott,” said Professor Blume. “The headmistress has ordered me to give you this.” She handed him a neatly rolled piece of parchment.

James unrolled the parchment and read it:

Mister Scott,

It has come to my attention that the sister of Miss Sylvia Winter has recently been taken ill by the deadly disease of Dragon Poxs. Mr. and Mrs. Winter would like to come and pick Sylvia up to visit Ms. Sadie Winter at the Mooniago Medical Center for Magical injuries, and have asked me to ask you, Mr. Scott, if you would like to join them. Please send me your cat with your answer.

Sincerely, Professor Pythonia

James’s stomach tied itself into a hard knot at the pit of his stomach.

Why hadn’t Sylvia told him? She had been his girlfriend for two years and seven months, and she trusted him… or at least he thought so.


Chapter Three: James’s Question

Professor Pythonia,

The answer to your question: please tell Mr. and Mrs. Winter that I would like to go with them to visit Sadie at Mooniago’s. But before that, could I ask something? Why is it that Sylvia never told me about Sadie’s Dragon Pox? Surely she trusts me, right?

Sincerely, James Scott

James reread the letter, then rolled up the parchment and sealed it. He tied it to Whisker’s black, slim torso.

“Go, Whisker,” he muttered to his cat. “I’ll be here.”

James collapsed into an armchair, thinking about Sylvia.

Normally, he would never, ever ask a professor about Sylvia or his personal feelings or problems. But Professor Pythonia was different. She was James’s mum’s best friend when they were in school. So, Padme Pythonia was basically his aunt.

Whiskers returned a half hour later, a new piece of parchment tied neatly to her back.

My Dearest James,

Sylvia knows you well enough to trust you. But do you know her enough to trust her? Ponder the question, my dear. Send Whiskers along if you’ve got any questions, James.

Sincerely, Aunt Padme

Chapter Four: Dragons

When Eva and Eric Winter arrived a week later, James had his black duffle bag packed and Whisker was napping in her woven traveling basket. He put on his navy blue traveling cloak and walked out into the cool courtyard to find Sylvia, in her sky blue traveling cloak, sitting on the Winter’s Diamond-light dragon, Loche. She had her cat, Scotty, napping on her lap.

“Hello, James!” said Mrs.Winter. “You can sit next to Sylvia, dear.”

James walked over to the far end of the courtyard where Loche was sitting.

He climbed onto Loche, sat next to Sylvia, and scratched Scotty behind his ear. Sylvia looked out onto the lake and slipped a small piece of parchment into James’s duffle bag, before he could notice.

Chapter Five: Sylvia’s Note

When they arrived at the west wing of Mooniago’s Medical Center, where the families of patients stayed, the witch at the front desk greeted them and showed them to their rooms.

James would be sharing a room with Sylvia, and Eva Winter would be sharing with Eric Winter.

When James started to unpack, a small piece of parchment fell out of his duffle and onto the carpet. James read it:

My Dearest James,

I’m sorry I’ve been a bit… off lately. You see, Lila’s older sister, Lulu Brown, she works with Dragons. And the Dragons, well, they went a bit mad and they… killed her. They slashed her across her chest. I promised Lila you would be at Lulu’s funeral. I hope you’re not angry.

Love you always, Sylvia Winter

James glanced over at Sylvia. She was sitting on her bed, tears streaming silently down her face.

“It’s okay, Sylvi, it’s okay,” James cooed. Sylvia looked up at James.

“You’re coming?” Sylvia asked. James sat down next to her,

“Of course, Sylvi,” James whispered. “Always.”


Chapter Six: Mooniago’s

The following morning, James awoke early, dressed, and tapped Sylvia softly.

“Wake up, Sylvi,” James whispered. “It’s time.”

Sylvia stirred, opened her brilliantly blue eyes sleepily, and snuggled closer to James, resting her head on his lap

They headed down to breakfast ten minutes later, meeting Mr. and Mrs. Winter as they went.

After breakfast, they fastened their cloaks and headed towards the east wing, where Sadie lay, half dead, and infested with Dragon Pox.

“Hi, Mum. Hi, Sylvi,” said Sadie weakly. “Hi, Dad.”

“Oh, Sadie,” Mrs.Winter, tears pouring down her flushed face.


Chapter Seven: Sadie’s Fate

They left for lunch when Sadie had dozed off three hours later.

“Mum?” asked Sylvia, as they headed back to the west wing, where they would have lunch and then head back to the east wing.

“Yes, dear,” Mrs. Winter responded, dabbing her sooty-gray eyes with a tissue.

“Sadie will be alright, won’t she?” Sylvia asked, every ounce of her hoping her older sister would be cured.

“Of course she will,” replied Mr. Winter, his face white with blotchy red spots. “We’re in a hospital, remember?”

***

When they returned to the east wing, Nurse Suki greeted them sadly.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Winter,” said Nurse Suki. “We couldn’t save her.”

No!” shouted Sylvia, tears pouring down her red cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Sylvi,” James whispered, as he pulled her into his arms, trying to comfort in any way he could.

Chapter Eight: The Return

Sylvia, James, and Mr. and Mrs. Winter headed back to school the next day, after a great deal of tears, tissues, white and blotchy faces, and more sobbing.

When Loche landed softly on the green grass just beyond the courtyard, Professor Pythonia, Charlie, Seamus, Harry, Lila, Sophia, and Katie were all rushing across the courtyard towards them.

“Well?” asked Charlie, when James slid off Loche and onto the ground.

“Guess,” James replied, cocking his head at Sylvia, who was in tears again and being comforted by her friends and Mrs. Winter. James had a strong urge to run over and hug her, but he resisted.

“Dead?” Charlie guessed. James winced and nodded slightly, eying Sylvia, who was hugging Lila.


Chapter Nine: Two Funerals

A few months later, once the grief had blown over the Winters and the Browns, two funerals were scheduled. One for Sadie Winter, the other for Lulu Brown.

“You okay?” James asked Sylvia quietly, as they took their seats.

“Y-yeah,” Sylvia said, her face white and blotchy again.

“You sure?” Sylvia sighed loudly.

“Yes.”

The funeral ceremony lasted forever, and it looked as if it was torture for Sylvia and Lila. The graves were dug on the edge of the woods surrounding the courtyard, where two headstones were placed.

Sadie Winter

1972-1991

Beloved daughter, sister, and student

Lulu Brown

1973-1991

Beloved sister, student, dragon trainer, and daughter

“C’mon Sylvia, I want to show you something,” James said, taking Sylvia by the hand and strolling down to the lake’s edge.

“Sit,” he said, patting the ground beside him. Ten minutes passed in silence.

“This,” said James, “is what I do when I leave dinner early.” He gestured towards the lake in front of him and the beautiful sunset reflecting on the water.

“Wow,” murmured Sylvia softly.

“Sunsets,” whispered James, “always make me feel good.”

“I agree,” Sylvia whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes, imagining what it would be like to have Sadie standing on her other side.


PLANES: Chapter One

One Saturday morning, I sit up in my bed, get up, and run to my window. I lift up the shades and peer out the fogged up glass. I see the pond my older brother, Kyle, built yesterday in my backyard. I’d only helped him with a little bit, until I got tired and went back inside. Last night, Kyle’s college break ended, and he had to drive back to Massachusetts, so he didn’t get to finish his pond. I just stare at that unfinished pile of wood in my backyard. I guess I have to finish it myself if I want something done about it. I don’t mind about putting proper clothes on, so I stay in my saggy, old pajamas. I don’t ever care about my hair, mostly because I’ve just given up on tending to it.

I call to my mom as I drape myself over the railing and slowly slip down. “Mom, I’m hungry,” I say as I mope over to the kitchen.

“Get your breakfast yourself, weasel.”

I give her the stink eye as I attempt a grab at the cream donuts we got last night at The Donut Parlor. My mom doesn’t even have to turn around and look at me to say, “No.” I growl at that and slide open the glass back door that leads to our backyard.

“Put some shoes on, Anne, it’s bee season.”

I stare her down as I shuffle into my worn down flip-flops. I stumble outside onto the brick patio and run into the grass, until I get to the unfinished wooden pond at the end of our fenced-up yard. I look down at the slabs of wood.

“Better get my hands on this,” I say to myself, grabbing a plank of wood and holding it up to where it will be once this pond is finished.

“Whatcha doin’?” Mom says from the kitchen window. I growl again.

“Stop being so nosy. You don’t have to know what I’m doing all the time,” I say, not thinking.

Mom makes a face that looks hurt, but I know she doesn’t really care on the inside. “Okay, weasel, just get inside soon. Breakfast will seem to eat itself in this family.”

I grab the piece of wood again. I need gloves, nails, a hammer, and… that’s pretty much it, but whatever. I run back inside and grab a tiny index card from one of our island’s drawers. I shuffle around the drawer for a few more seconds, until I realize there’s no pens in there. I run down the hall to Mom’s office, where I think I can find a pen. I rustle and scramble through her stuff — twice — until I just can’t find any pens.

Mom! Do you know where any pens are?” I call.

I enter the kitchen, and she shrugs. “I don’t know. Uh… maybe my office? I’m not allowed to barge into your life, anyways.”

I growl once more.

“Please, Mom, I need to finish this! I want to make Kyle proud, y’know?”

“Awww. You want to be a handywoman!” Mom gushes.

I pout. “Just ‘cause I want to make a pond that I promised Kyle I’d finish doesn’t mean I want it to be my full time job when I’m older.”

Mom shrugs. “What’s with the attitude, weasel? Anyway, why do you even need a pen to make a pond?”

I grumble. “You’re so annoying! And immature! Stop acting more childish than me! And I’m the actual child here.”

I feel kind of bad after I storm out of there, because Mom has this sad look in her eyes. She was only trying to help, and I got mad at her.

I’m about to go down to apologize, when I hear a voice that’s unfamiliar, yelling my name. “ANNE! ANNE!” I turn around my whole room and look out all the windows. “Hi, Anne. I’m up here.” I look up on my ceiling, and a strange blue substance is oozing off my ceiling.

“AAAAA!” I run downstairs, panting. I slide on my socks into the kitchen. “MOM! I think I’ve got a fungus or something in my room. It’s blue and disgusting! Can you help?”

Mom sighs. “Sorry, honey, I’m trying to be more adult-ish, like you said. I’m texting Alexandra, the insurance woman. I was looking through my work and found out about the money for the house we got lost year that we didn’t buy. We didn’t pay for the special fee to ignore the business emails the buyers would send us. I have to cover that up.”

I sigh. “Okay, you don’t have to help me. Anyway, sorry about earlier.”

I slouch upstairs and look at my little sister, Liliana. She’s holding a fluffy bear that’s on Care Bears.

“Play,” she says, holding out the pink bear to me. I pat her on the head and go to my room, scared. Liliana follows me. “Play!” she says, stuffing the bear into my stomach.

“Not right now, Lili,” I say. “Don’t come in, okay?” Liliana sadly walks away, and I feel bad for the second time in the last hour. “Wait,” I say, gently grabbing her arm. “I can play.”

I follow her into her and my other little siblings’ room and sit on the floor next to her. We shake around Barbie dolls, have tea that’s actually hot water from the bathroom sink, play with her Care Bears, and put on a princess fashion show. I’m pretty tired, and I have homework to do, so I start out the door.

“Play? More play?” says my three-year-old sister, waddling out of her room in a princess dress.

I sigh. “Sorry, Liliana. I can’t. I have work to do, Okay?”

She tilts her head. “You job like Mommy?” she babbles, hugging the bear close to her chest.

“No, it’s easier. I only have to read a book.” I give her and her bear a big hug. “When I’m done, we can play some more, okay?”

She nods. After I pick up my book, The Candlemaker’s Son #4, I read at least seven chapters before going down for breakfast.

“Mom? Can I have some breakfast?” I say, looking around the kitchen to see if she’s still here.

She’s yelling in the next room. I try not to snoop into her business, so I head out the door, feeling bad yet again. Whatever trouble she’s in, it’s my fault, because I forced her to do work she didn’t have to. I go up to Liliana’s room, and she’s playing with my other younger brother who’s older than her. They are playing ninjas, and she seems to hate it. I run to my room. I have to get rid of this weird slime, I say inside my head. I run down to the kitchen with a great idea. I grab a dirty spatula from the sink, the stepstool from the upstairs bathroom, duct tape, another roll of duct tape, another step stool, my beanbag chair, gloves, science goggles, a doctor mask, two headbands, a large tin bucket, and some pillows. I take the pillows and put them on the sides of the bucket. I duct tape the two step stools together and place my beanbag on top of them. That’s there for me to stand on when I remove the substance. I put the pillows out in case I fall. I have the goggles, so nothing gets in my eyes. I have the headbands, so none of it gets in my hair. I have the gloves for the removal. The only thing I don’t have is confidence, which I need most. I feel silly in my little costume as I tightly grip the spatula and step onto my wobbly structure. I go on my tiptoes and almost vomit when I see the stuff up close and personal.

“Hey there, how’s it goin’, weird thing. Well, I’m about to scrape you from my walls, so I can dispose of you. Goodbye!”

I push the spatula against the ceiling and the substance, and it easily glops off into the bucket, and a bit of it is on the pillows. I climb down and take a close look at the blue stuff. I don’t poke it, because no death please, thank you very much. I collect the extra bits that snuck onto my pillows and throw the cases into the wash. I go back upstairs and carry the large bucket downstairs, holding it away from my face. I gag as I pour the blue stuff into a trash bag. I throw it out front, since trash day is two days from now. I go back inside. What even was that? I really should tell Mom. But I realize she’s still working, yelling at the phone. I slump back upstairs, feeling that my room is unsafe, even though the substance is gone. I go to Liliana’s room instead of my own. I sit down next to her. My brother that was playing with her, George, has left.

Liliana looks really sad, so I say, “What’s wrong?”

Lili sighs. “Georgie only let us do what he wanted to do.” She pouts.

“I’ll do what you want to do, okay?”

Liliana nods, and before I know it, we’re drawing pictures of her imaginary friend. Actually, she’s just scribbling, but I don’t think about it too much. My worries seem to wash out of my mind like a big wave in the ocean at the beach. Then I look over at my shoulder, because it’s hurting. I notice something there.

“OH MY — ”

There is the blue stuff, on my favorite Ramones shirt. I almost wipe it off, but I run to get my gloves instead. Liliana is calling for me.

“Play!” she screams, but I don’t listen.

It must’ve been from the removal, or maybe when I was reading in my room. This wasn’t funny anymore. I washed the slime off. I could die! I run yelling to Mom.

“MOM!” I yell, about to cry. The blue stuff is all off, but I have to tell her. She is cleaning up plates from breakfast, but I am not hungry anymore. I feel like fainting, or vomiting. “Please, please, please, Mom, listen! I could die. Please.

Mom sighs. “Honey, I tried all I could, but the buyers were fine, absolutely fine. I don’t have any work to do, I’m sorry. I don’t want you to die, so maybe I can do my taxes early, I guess — ”

I shake my head as I say, “Mom! No, it’s not that. I don’t care about that anymore! There was this weird fungus, and it dripped, and I read, and I removed it, and there was a step stool, and a trash bag, and it was blue, and it knew my name, and — ”

Mom stops me. “Wait, wait, wait just a minute! Why didn’t you tell me?”

I sigh. “Because you were so busy” — I did finger quotes — “That I didn’t want to disrupt you.”

Mom laughs a little bit. “Oh, Anne!” Mom says, leaning over to give me a squeezy hug. “You could’ve told me! I would’ve loved to have an excuse to stop that call!” I chuckle. “Well, wait here. I’m going to call Dr. Gantome, okay? I’ll see what he can do. That stuff fell on you, right?” Mom runs to the home phone and dials Dr. Gantome’s number. We haven’t seen him in a while, since Mom went on her healthy diet and forced us to go along with it. “Hello? Oh, you’re there! Dr. Gantome, hi!” There’s a short pause. “Oh, yes, I’m well.” Another pause, except shorter. “Liliana’s growing up! Oh, yes, everyone’s okay, healthy, and Kyle’s good!” Another pause, longer than the other ones. “Oh, it’s actually Anne this time. George and Mia are okay.” A very short pause, and then, “Well, she says there was a weird fungus… ? Right, sweetie?” I nod. “Yeah, and it was blue.” A pause as long as all of them combined. “Well, she got rid of it herself, and I was working… and she threw it out, but we just found a bit on her sweater.” Dr. Gantome talks on the phone for so long that I decide to leave. I hear Mom yelling to me, and I come back downstairs. “Did you get it off?” she whispers, holding the bottom of the phone. I nod, and she gets her phone back to her ear. “Dr. Gantome? Hi, yes, yes, I just couldn’t hear you — what? No, my hearing’s fine, it’s just there was static — Dr. Gantome? I’m sorry, yes… no, she hasn’t been acting strange since the incident. Actually, she just told me before our call… ” A short pause is there. “No, Dr. Gantome, everyone else is fine, everything’s okay, it’s just Anne… ” She pauses and talk and pauses and talks. I’m tired of listening by now.

Dear Diary, “Amelie”

“Amelie” 9/10/18

Dear Diary,

I have a secret. I have a fake name because my real name is really long, and the reason is very embarrassing. My fake name is Amelie.

My real name is Amelie-Ellen-Ann-Emma-Katie-Emily-Rebecca-Susan-Jullian-Julia-Caroline-Ally-Amelie-Ellen-Ann-Emma-Katie-Emily-Rebecca-Susan-Jullian-Julia-Caroline-Ally-Hannah-Kate-Daina-Ella-Ellenor-Isla-Mary-Nora-Hannah-Kate-Daina-Ella-Ellenor-Isla-Mary-Nora.

The reason my name is so long is because my great 11-times-more great grandparents, for some crazy reason, I don’t even know why, decided to keep each name for every generation. Today is my first day of school because my old school is only K-4. My new school is called Jefferson Middle School. I think I am going to die during attendance. Also, I have ten classes a day. That means ten times each day for attendance. And school starts tomorrow. I don’t know what I am going to do. I am doomed.

“Amelie” 8/11/18

Dear Diary,

I am on the school bus, so I am writing really messy right now. I don’t think I am going to survive. I am going to write again at breakfast.

P.S. It is at school. Bye And I think I have a headache. Oh great, my stomach hurts now.

“Amelie” 8/11/18

Dear Diary,

It is first period. Well, it’s not exactly first period. It is called Breakfast, but it’s more like a brunch, since school starts at 10 o’clock. Oh no, it’s time for first period. I am doomed!!! Bye!

“Amelie” 8/11/10

Dear Diary,

It is now lunch finally. First period was terrible we had attendance first thing. Since my last name is Bailey I was called first. My teacher had to say my whole name, and everyone was cracking up. I was so embarrassed. After I said, “Here,” I told the teacher to call me Amelie for short.

However, she said, “Don’t be embarrassed by your name.”

So already I have detention. My teacher is stupid. That’s why I have so much time to write right now. Luckily, detention just makes you sit and be quiet. Nevermind, spoke too soon. Oh great. Here comes Ms. Bradly. See you soon.

“Amelie” 8/11/10

Dear Diary,

Ms. Clarck gave me another detention. Middle school is the worst!!! Sorry, let me backtrack. Now it’s snack, and I just had a meeting with the principal. Great way to start the day!! I just realized that the principal has the worst breath. (I bet she eats onions for breakfast on purpose to make us faint.) I literally fainted. Then, the principal thought I was making a joke and judging her. I actually fainted with I guess a dumbo like her of course wouldn’t understand. She sent me to another detention and had me sit outside because she needed to “calm” herself. However, I actually heard her crying like a baby. And I couldn’t hold myself in, and I burst out laughing. The vice principal heard the principal, and he heard me laughing. Oh great, another detention. She also tells me if I get five detentions in a day, I have to get suspended. Now I have to stay two hours after school, since detention is an hour long and I got two detentions. Oh! That’s the bell, got to go.

“Amelie” 8/11/10

Dear Diary,

It is now lunch, and I got another detention because this time the teacher asked me if I wanted a nickname so I said, “yes.” Then he asked me what I should be called and since I had experience with the other teacher I said I think my name is the best out of everyone else’s and I don’t need a nickname. Then I didn’t realized that this teacher is really nice and hates obnoxious people. One more detention until I get suspended. Got to go, bye!!!

“Amelie” 8/11/10

Dear Diary,

Phew!!! Finally didn’t get a detention. Oops, late for class. Got to go. I have to run.

“Amelie” 8/11/10

Dear Diary,

Wow!!! I just got yelled at for not listening, but it’s not my fault. My teacher is most boringest teacher. Even her name. Her name is Ann. So, I just yelled at my teacher and told her that she is out of her mind and her voice is boring.

But then the teacher said, “What do you mean I am out of my mind and my voice is not boring?! That’s not how you talk to your step-grandmother!!! That’s it. I knew you were bad. That’s another detention for Amelie-Ellen-Ann-Emma-Katie-Emily-Rebecca-Susan-Jullian-Julia-Caroline-Ally-Hannah-Kate-Daina-Ella-Ellenor-Isla-Mary-Nora. In case you haven’t noticed, the name ‘Ann’ is in your name. Now go to detention, and don’t talk back to me!!!”

And the worst part was all the other kids started whispering to each other. I am never going to have friends!

“Amelie” 8/11/10

Dear Diary,

Oh no. I am on my way back, and my mom is going to ground me. I hate my life. I got suspended for a week!!! And my mom is taking away my diary when we get back home!!! My life has officially ended.

“Amelie” 8/11/10

Dear Diary,

My mom just yelled at me so badly. I am grounded, and I have to do my homework even though I am completely clueless of what we are doing, and I can’t even use the Internet. My mom punished me to never use the Internet or my phone for the rest of the month. I am completely doomed. My phone is like my life. Also, this is the last time I am using my diary. Bye!!!


Elephant

The jungles of South Asia are noisy, warm and dark;

Then titan longhorn beetles stand up and chirp the dawn,

And Borneo goes silent as footsteps shake the bark,

While a strange, gigantic creature lumbers out onto the lawn.

It lifts up its proboscis and bugles in delight;

Its dark gray wall of iron hide scrapes branches of bamboo;

It has large arrays of wrinkles and scars from many a fight;

Instead of many animals with no tusks, it has two.

In the middle of that forest, in the brightening light of day,

The elephant loudly yodels another morning-call.

Why not believe in goblins, in pixies, trolls and fey,

If such a marvelous creature even exists at all?


Corn Nut the Chipmunk

One day, Corn Nut the Chipmunk decides to buy a bag of corn nuts. Corn Nut is small, feisty, and loves corn nuts. Corn Nut walks into the busyness of the streets and into the corner store for some corn nuts. Something happens. Corn Nut’s chip bag explodes, and all the corn nuts fall out of the bag.

There is only one explanation for this thing: Corn Nut’s chip bag was already opened. Corn Nut decides then that he has bad luck. Corn Nut walks back, but on the way back, Corn Nut has an idea. He could go to a fortune teller and ask if he has bad luck and get cured.

While Corn Nut gets cured by the fortune teller’s mystic crystal ball, he wonders how he is going to pay the fortune teller. He has no money. So when Corn Nut is cured from his bad luck, he decides to run off.

But on his way home, he gets lost because he is not paying attention to where he is going. Fortunately, he finds a 70-year-old fat flying squirrel named Beth, who makes him happy.

In the end, not all is lost, because Beth is kind enough to tell Corn Nut where he is and tells him the directions to home.


Killer Refrigerator

Chapter One

Once upon a time my mom was going shopping. She was getting ice cream and yogurt. Just as she slammed the door, a part of her hand got caught in the refrigerator, and her skin fell off. On our way to the doctor’s, I saw a bird that had been sucked into a car’s exhaust and was all smashed up. My mom got to the doctor’s, and they stitched her hand back together. She passed out for three days. Meanwhile, at the store, the janitor was cleaning the refrigerator, and right as she was about to wipe the blood away, it disappeared. The janitor was very curious and cut her hand a little and rubbed the blood onto the refrigerator. The refrigerator groaned and then snapped its door open and ate the janitor up!

Chapter Two

The refrigerator had fortunately been sleeping when I bought ice cream the next day. But when I went to get some ice cream from my home refrigerator, I realized there was no ice cream, but instead there was an eyeball in the tub. I decided to investigate the refrigerator. I set up a spycam at the supermarket, and the day after that, I remembered to check the footage. At midnight the previous night, a manager had gone to restock the ice cream. What I saw shocked me so much I almost passed out. The refrigerator had chomped up the manager, and I saw what its plan was. He used the janitor’s feet, and they popped out from the bottom of the refrigerator, and he used the manager’s hands to push himself up. I was about to save the files when my computer died because I’m bad at charging it, and it deleted all the footage.

I ran to the supermarket, and the refrigerator was gone! I decided to call a detective. I knew without the footage the police would never believe me. The detective’s name was Sherlock Holmes — just kidding. I can’t tell you because he’s a secret agent, so let’s say Sherlock for now. So, Sherlock came over to the house. He asked where the supermarket was, and I told him downtown. He went over to the store, and he used a new gadget that had only been available for one hour: it was a detective spyglass with a thermal camera on it that could show you where the criminal’s footsteps were. He asked the janitor what they’d seen, and they said the janitor had worn Crocs. We tracked the footsteps to an old abandoned theme park. The refrigerator had gone to the haunted mansion. We went to the place, and we heard noises coming from the back. I told Sherlock to stay back, and I snuck up. I remembered the refrigerator seemed to hate ketchup. I thought I would throw the ketchup. When I looked up at the refrigerator, he swallowed me whole!

The End… for now.


Diary of a 10-year-old Artist

September 17th, 2045

Okay. First off the bat, I just want to say one thing. I am not doing this on purpose! My name is Hannah Froll, I am 10 years old, and I am an artist!!! This is just a stupid assignment that I have to do for stupid school. If I don’t finish it by December, my art class will get cancelled!!! This is what Mrs. Beliani (my principal) wrote:

Dear Camilla and Stan Froll,

I regret to inform you that your daughter, Hannah, is failing in all of her classes except for art class. Enclosed, please find a journal that Hannah must complete before September 30th. Otherwise, Hannah will have to stop going to art class.

Deepest Sympathies,

Rholok Beliani

See what I mean?! I wish I could just fill this book with doodles, but no such luck. I have to do only writing, or it doesn’t count!!! Y’know what? I’m just going to start tomorrow. ‘Night!

September 18th, 2045

You would never believe what happened today. After school, I had soccer, and then math club, and then I had to go to this writing practice that my mom makes me go to.

But at writing class there’s this girl named Miela, and she is so mean! The worst part is, all the teachers think she’s an angel because she’s so good at writing. Her stories aren’t even that good!! She just writes about totally boring “perfect writing” stories that are “extremely well-written.” But today Ms. Perfect finally got in trouble. I know, right? Long overdue. The teacher caught her at last, being a jerk to me about my story, which was about a pig with superpowers.

She leaned over and said, “Really, Frolly.” (Her pet nickname for me.) “A pig could never get superpowers. Really.” That was when the teacher walked over.

Miela immediately switched back to “perfect mode,” but it was too late. The teacher had heard everything that she had said.

“Miela! I thought that you were better than that!”

I smiled, and Miela gulped. The teacher walked back to her desk and started filling out papers.

Miela glared at me and whispered through clenched teeth, “I’ll get you for this, Frolly.”

Oh, jeez. I never imagined that I would write this much. So, ‘night, future readers.

September 19th, 2045

Believe it or not, writing class might actually be bearable now!

I just found out that Miela was expelled!!!

She is such a tensndl! Oops. I forgot that I would get in trouble. I have to hand this in!!

But before that happened, I had a really weird day.

First, my best friend and I, Kiriana, had art, so I was really excited. We were talking about how we might get a new student tomorrow, so we were kind of happy (for school). But halfway there, my stomach seemed to contract, and I barfed all the way around the hallway, slipping and falling.

I woke up at home with my mom sitting over me, phone in hand.

“Hey,” she said. “Your writing class just called.”

That was when I learned that Miela had been expelled. I whipped out my diary, but then I realized what I was doing.

So, I’m just letting you know I still don’t like writing. Right?

September 20th, 2045

Today is officially the worst day of my life. You know the new student that I was talking about? It’s Miela!!! So now, I have made three enemies in school: Samson the football star, Onyo the cheerleader, and you-know-what. Mr. Aatri, my homeroom teacher, made an announcement to the class at the beginning of the day.

“Class, please welcome our new student, Miela.”

I was drinking a glass of water at the time and sprayed it all over Kalnis, who was sitting in front of me. He whipped around and glared at me.

“Watch it, dweeb,” he hissed, glaring at me.

At recess, Miela walked over to me, but I noticed a change in the way she looked at me. She looked almost… sorry.

“Hey,” she said. Then, she quickly said something like, “Really sorry. Do you want to be friends?” She looked up, and I smiled. She understood.

September 21, 2048

Guess what? Today, Mrs. Beliani called me to her office. The announcement was met with the typical response.

“OooOOOoooh,” the class said. All except for my now two friends.

I walked up the long hallway to my principal’s office. I was holding this diary in my hands, and I passed it to Mrs. Beliani. She flipped through it for a second, then looked up at me.

“Your work has improved greatly.” I was confused, so she spelled it out for me.

“You don’t have to do this anymore.” She expected me to smile, but I asked one question.

“Can I put in one more entry?”

She let me, but also asked me if I wanted to do it again.

And maybe I will.


Busch Gardens

We were pulling into an amusement park called Busch Gardens in Virginia. My dad hit the switch that turned off the radio. I was kind of annoyed because it was in the middle of my favorite song from Hamilton.

“Dad,” I said, “turn it back on. That was my favorite song.” There was no response. I saw him out the window walking away. I opened the door and ran after my dad, calling for him. I finally caught up with him. “Dad, you left without me,” I complained.

We kept on walking to the entrance. It read Busch Gardens! I smiled. Today was the day I was going to overcome my fear of big roller coasters. I was a little nervous but still excited. My dad handed me my ticket and told me to give it to the person when we go through the turnstile. I handed the lady the ticket.

She said, “Thank you.”

We walked on to meet Audrey and Brian. Brian had just had a party to celebrate a book he wrote. Audrey was Brian’s daughter. She was 11 at the time, and I was eight.

“Hi,” I said to Audrey in a cheerful tone to make a good impression.

She said, “Hi” back.

We had a conversation until we got to the actual park. She took an iPad out of her bag and showed me videos of all the rides. She pointed at the ride that we were going on first. I looked at it in horror. It had loop-the-loops, big drops, and twists. That was everything I was scared of. I shivered slightly.

We were lining up for a roller coaster called the Loch Ness Monster. I was very confused because everybody was talking so fast. We used our fast passes to skip the line. I sat down in the middle because I was the smallest. My hands were sweaty, and I was shaking. I was so nervous. I had never been on a rollercoaster this big. I felt a small drop down. The ride had started. “Ahhhhh!” I was so scared. The roller coaster was shaking my head back and forth. My least favorite part was when you were about to go down a hill and you’re going up with the cranking noise. My head tilted backwards, and my neck started to hurt. The cranking stopped. There was a small pause. Oh no, we were about to go down the drop. I put my hands up. “Ahhhhhhh!” Then because we were going so fast, the first loop-the-loop was unnoticeable. There was another drop. When going up, I looked down. It looked like 5,000 feet. I could already feel sweat trickling down my face. I had just noticed one more thing. At the bottom of the drop, there was a pool of water. I was so focused on how scared I was that I didn’t noticed that we stopped. I felt a sudden jerk. “Ahhhhhhhh!” I lifted my arms up like everybody else. It felt like we were falling for ten minutes. My arms started to hurt from holding them up for so long. We finally made a big splash in the pool of water. Water creeped up my arms and legs. It got into my shirt. We came to a stop. I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped off. I was still pretty dizzy because of all the twists and turns. I waddled off with my mouth hanging open.

We went to the bar to get a drink. On the screen I clicked on Sprite. A gazillion different kinds showed on the screen. I never knew there were more than one kind. I wanted to try them all. First, I clicked on the vanilla flavor and put a little in my cup. It was too sweet. I tried every other kind. There was cherry, orange, blueberry, strawberry, and grape. My favorite was original. I tried a mix of every kind. I spit it out and filled with lemon-lime. I jumped up and down from all the sugar. Then, we got ice cream.

I picked up the map and looked at it. It was huge. I had to stretch out my arms to hold the whole thing. I asked my dad where we were.

He pointed to the bottom of the map and where we were going. He pointed to the very top. “There,” he said.

I looked at the map in horror. We had just passed the ice cream store. And even though we had walked for five minutes, we had only walked an inch on the map.

After 20 minutes of walking, we got to the ride. This one was even bigger than the other one. Big drops, five loop-the-loops, and it was going much faster.

“Here we are,” said my dad in an enthusiastic voice.

Neither Audrey nor I wanted to go on this one. Then, I saw a girl who looked like she was younger than me, and when she came back around, it looked like she was having fun. My feet felt like they were locked in place. My dad nudged me to move forward because the cart was here. I took a big step on to the cart. I sat in the middle again. I looked at the ride in front of me.

After the ride, I stepped off, my head still bobbing like a chicken. I was very proud of myself. The biggest ride I had been on before this was the mouse ride at Rye Playland. I think it had one drop, not steep at all and maybe 20 feet. I had definitely loved the first two rides here at Busch Gardens, but I knew there was more to come. After being on those rides, I knew I was ready for anything.

The Life of Ash

One day, Ash was sneaking through the woods near his village, dodging the guards meant to keep things out not in, but his parents had told them to not let him out of the village except if they gave them express permission or if there was an emergency and they had to retreat to Castle Macindaw. Ash recalled the time that he was just wandering in the woods on a dare, and he saw something supernatural that scared him out of his wits. Something unexplainable. Something that would make him afraid of Grimsdell Wood for a long time.

Then, he had raced home and told his mother what had happened. That had led her to not let him outside of the village without permission. “For your own good,” she had said. He smiled ruefully at the memory. But he was twelve now, double the age of when he first got terrified in Grimsdell Wood, so he would not get terrified again. All the same, he went into a different wood just because he felt like it. (Alright, he was a little bit scared.)

The wood that he went into was called Stonebrook, and he had explored the wood when he was a little boy and therefore knew every inch of it. Today he decided to go very deep into the wood, to a spot that he had made a clearing with his father’s axe (“borrowed”) and a good sickle (also borrowed). Today he reached the clearing, then picked up the axe and sickle and decided to go deeper into the wood, where he had never been before. After about ten minutes’ worth of walking, he heard this faint growling noise coming from behind him.

Slowly, he turned around and found himself face-to-face with a bear! He tried to raise the axe, but he was too slow. The bear stepped forward and decapitated him with one swing of his mighty paw. His body (and head) crashed to the ground, covered with something that you should not think about if you are currently eating anything. The bear took one sniff of the air that smelled like gore and dropped to the ground, dead.

Ash’s life flashed before his eyes, particularly the time when he went into Grimsdell Wood on his own, to prove that he was inimitable. He recalled the time that he went deep into the wood and got terrified by that huge warrior and those snakes… Ash shuddered at the thought. He had been terrified out of his wits, then raced home and told his mother. That had led to him eventually being killed by the bear. Therefore, it was his mother’s fault. Then, he thought of her and how heartbroken she would be, and his anger melted away like dew on the sunshine. He eventually became aware that the bear was dead. Vengeance! he thought. Then, he died.

Epilogue

The next day, a fine day, a patrol ventured out of the village and into Stonebrook Wood. He went deep into the wood and eventually came across the bodies and took one whiff of the gore-and-corpe-smelling air. Then, he died.

Author’s Note: When you are done with the story, reread the epilogue until there is no one left in the village.

The End