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.

The race started. I started running.

“Go faster!” someone yelled.

“He’s too slow!” another voice said.

“He is slower than a turtle!” someone else shouted.

“He is a turtle!”

By the time I was halfway done, everyone else was finished. I cost the Millbury Dragons the win.

My name is Tobias. Most people call me “Turtle.” Not only because a turtle could probably beat me in a race, but also, I love turtles. I live in Millbury, and the track team is the most popular team in the town.

One day, I came home and started my homework. I got bored, so I cut a face into my glue stick with scissors. My parents called me in for dinner.

My mischievous little brother, Billy, did not come for dinner. My mom told me to check on him.

I looked all around the house for him, and there was one room left. Mine. I pushed open the door. I could not believe what I saw…

The little devil had fed my glue stick to my beloved turtle, Rob! I rushed down the stairs, nearly falling down. I told my parents. My dad took me and Rob to the vet.

I hated all of it. The smell of cats and anchovies was terrible. The only thing to do was read the magazines they had there. All of them were four-year-old Sports Illustrateds. Everyone there looked like they were 900 years old. They were staring at me like I had three heads. Maybe it was because I was crying like my mom had just died. My dad pretended like he did not know me.

The vet slowly walked into the dark waiting room. He slumped in my direction. Here it comes, I thought. Suddenly, he lurched to the left and told an old lady her cat had diabetes.

She yelled at him, “My cat is fine,”  snatched the cat, and stormed out of the room.

A different vet walked the same walk, and this time, she came to me. She asked me ice breaker questions until I asked if Rob was okay.

She sighed and said, “Sadly, I do not — ’’

She was interrupted by me bursting into tears.

My dad said, “Shut up, Tobias, this is not how sixth graders act in public,” and “It’s just an animal.”

I said, “You’re just an animal too,” and stormed out of the building.

I got Rob when I was two years old. I looked at all the animals in the shop. He was the only one who looked back at me with his sparkling blue eyes. In third grade, I brought him to school and everyone loved him. I instantly became the coolest kid in school for a week. He would make jokes like hiding in his shell and scaring me when I picked him up. In fifth grade, I needed to get one question right to pass. The options were right and left. I asked him, and he moved to the right. He got it right! No pun intended.

I thought about all these things as I walked down Lincoln Drive. It was pitch black and pouring rain. An old man with a Milbury Dragons flag opened his window and started to yell at me. He told me to quit the team. That was it.

I yelled at him, “What is wrong with you!” and took off running. I made it about three feet before I slipped and fell on the concrete, and the old man laughed his head off. I started to cry. I was very wet.

I walked a slow walk home. I took out my phone and saw that it had cracked. My parents are going to be so mad, I thought. I looked at the viral videos. I saw that the old man had taken a video of me running and falling. Oh no, I thought. All the kids at school would see it and make fun of me.

The moment I got home, I fell asleep on the couch. I was awakened by Billy.

“Tobias tutle die?” he asked.

I said, “Yes, Billy, because you’re an idiot.” Then, he started to cry.

The next day I moped through what felt like the longest day of my life. In the morning, my mom and dad talked to me to cheer me up and lecture me. My mom made pancakes in the shape of turtles. I pretended to appreciate their thoughts, even though they made me feel worse. School was not any better.

The whole school had seen the video. It had more likes than “Beep Beep I’m a Sheep,” which had 54,000. Every time I walked into a room, people were holding their laughs. But most people weren’t able to, including Everett, and he was the most popular kid in school. He was also the fastest. I was late for homeroom and was “running’’ to get there. He and his gang tripped me, and I tumbled down the stairs, and they got a video. When the bell rang and school was over, I saw Mr. Munchkin and Principal Noe Boddy watching and laughing at part two.

I walked home instead of taking the bus. How would I survive that? The bus driver had probably seen it. My backpack had started shaking. Probably just my phone, I thought and kept walking.

By the time I was home, it was six o’clock. I started my homework. I had almost finished. There was one thing left. It was a stupid worksheet where we had to glue words onto a sheet. I slowly cracked opened my pencil box. I was about to take out my glue stick when I remembered what had happened to it. Somehow, it was still there. I was a little hesitant to unscrew the cap. I almost passed out when I did.

Standing in front of me was a five-inch-tall glue stick with arms, legs, and a face. I could not believe what was right in front of me.

“Who are you, and what are you?!?!”

“I am Mr. Glue Stickers. I am a magic glue stick. Yes, I am a talking glue stick, and this is not a dream,” it said.

I asked him, “Why are you here?”

And he said, “To help you with your life! Why do think I am here?’’ To be honest, I thought I might need this kind of a miracle to get my life back together.

Mr. Glue Stickers already knew what was happening to me. The next day, which was Saturday, I woke up and was glued into my running clothes and my shoes.

“What, how?” I asked him.

“I have my ways. Didn’t I tell you I was magical? Plus, no magician ever reveals his secrets.’’

I was exhausted when I was done. To make things worse, he made me jog the distance of the neighborhood three times!  I guess hard work pays off, because, in four weeks, I could actually beat a first grader in a race!

I still had one thing that still bothered me more than anything else: my turtle. The empty tank on my desk was very depressing.

“I’m a qualified therapist, you know. “

“There is no way that is possible.”

“Check the wrapper.”

There it was. It said, “Qualified Therapist.” Wait a minute! It looked like he wrote it in sharpie!

I doubted that he was telling the truth, but it felt good to finally tell someone how I felt. I might have no more problems! Boy, was I wrong.

The next day at track practice, Coach Caramel Cookie had something to say to me.

“Tobias Trinckleton, you’re off the team.”

“What!?!” I said with disbelief in my voice.

“You’re off the team.”

“What!!!” I said again, about to burst into tears.

“Do you need hearing aids? You’re off the team. Bye-bye! Adios! See you never!”

“Why?!!”

“Because you are bad at running. Now leave!”

Who knew a cookie could be so mean?

***

One week later, I was at the tryouts for the Running Cabbages. They had never won a race in their entire existence. I had brought Mr. Glue Stickers with me.

“Are you ready for this?“

“No.’’

“Just relax. Use what we have learned. Okay?”

“All I have learned is running sucks.”

“Really? Wow. Just quit, then.”

“No.”

“Try your best.”

“Okay.”

“We are going to crush that cookie. We are going to dip him in milk and shove him in our mouth.”

He was talking about how the Cabbages race the Dragons once a year.

“Okay.”

The tryouts were easy, even for me. Everyone there was horrible at running, though. One kid even tripped on his laces and still made the team. Everyone did. At the end, the coach, Coach Cucumber, had a talk with us.

“You guys are the best! Cabbages on three. Ready? One, two, three.”

No one said a word.

We lost every race. Only parents came to the races, but even they would rather sit in their cars. With every race, I was getting better. Mr. Glue Stickers and I still practiced every day. On the other hand, the Dragons had won every race. It was time for the big race, and we were not ready.

I was the the best runner on the team now. With practice, I could run more and more. The Cabbages never beat the Dragons. If we were going to win, I would have to run the best I had ever run in my whole life.

We arrived at the big race. As soon as we got off of the bus, we could hear the Dragons gossiping about our team. They were talking about our record, our team name, but most importantly, they were talking about me.

“They have the turtle on their team,” said Everett. Everyone laughed at that one, even Coach Cookie.

It was time for my final race, the 100 meters. We needed to win this one to win the competition. My heart was beating faster than ever before. I felt like I had to throw up. We lined up at the start.

Bang! They fired the starting gun. I ran as fast as I could. I was in the back. I almost gave up. That is when Mr. Glue Stickers poked his head out of my pocket.

“Take the glue out of my container and squeeze it,’’ he said. “It will kill me but you will win the race.”

“No!!! I do not want you to die!”

“It is fine, you do not need me any more.”

“It is more than that. You are my best friend. First, my turtle and now you! No way!”

I thought for a second. He really reminded me of my turtle.

“That really touches my heart, but I will have to leave soon anyway. So you leave me with no choice.’’

He jumped out of his container.

“No!!!” I yelled. Everyone stared at me.

I did what he asked. I squeezed him. I instantly started running faster. I passed every one. Now, I was only behind Everett. He did not see me though. He started to slow down and celebrate. That is when I passed him.

“I win, I win, I win!” he yelled.

I was about to pass him.

“Nope, you are wrong. I win!” I yelled, as I passed the finish line.

“What!?! Noooooooo!!!” Everett whined.

My teammates lifted me up with cheers.

“Hip hip hooray!” yelled Coach Cucumber. Everyone stared at him. He is very weird. I started to cry tears of joy and sadness. My dad and brother walked over to me.

“I am sorry for not understanding what that turtle meant to you,” Dad said.

“I’m sorry for killing it,” said Billy.

“Don’t be. I forgive you.”

“Let’s get ice cream,” said Dad.

“Yeah!!!” shouted Billy.

EPILOGUE

News of the race quickly spread around town. The video of me running was now the new big deal. The old man even bought a Running Cabbages shirt! I was in the newspaper. That still was not the biggest surprise.

“Tobias,” Coach Cookie said to me after school, “I want you on my team next year.”

“No way.’’

“Why not?” He sounded surprised and disappointed at the same time.

“You and your team are so rude! You kicked me off the team and were not nice about it. Plus, I like my new team. They actually care about having fun instead of winning!”

“I am sorry, turtle,” he chuckled.

“I am now proud to be a turtle!” I said and walked away.

THE END

Prologue

Her heart was beating really fast. Her stomach had butterflies in it. She wanted to know who her new owner would be. You must be wondering how she came to know, right? Well, Lucy is a smart cockapoo puppy, and believe it or not, she can read. I know, it’s a bit unusual, right?

Lucy’s breeder taped a paper to her cage that said, “Lucy is officially bought.”

Lucy really hoped that she would get a wonderful family as owners, and she did. A family walked into the house and made themselves comfortable on the couch. It was a family of four. Lucy played with them for a while. But as the Johnson family played with her, they were talking to the breeder, and Lucy heard and understood everything they said. The father’s name was Bob, the mother’s name was Emma, the oldest child was David, who was seventeen at the time, and there was Alexandra, who was nine.

Alexandra was going to be taking care of Lucy the most.

***

It has been three years since Lucy moved into the Johnson’s house. The parents work full-time and have to take care of Sara, (who is one and a half), the newest addition to the family. David is busy at college and only comes home on the weekends. Last but not least, there is Alexandra. Well, lots have changed between her and Lucy since the day Lucy was bought. Lots.

Part 1: LUCY

I was taking a walk with Alexandra. Her family really needs to get a new leash for me. This one keeps scratching me on my neck. A short while after, there was an adorable puppy walking towards us with her mother, and their owner Stephanie, who was Alexandra’s best friend. So, we all stopped to say hi. While Alexandra and Stephanie began to talk about school,  the puppy and her mother walked up to me. That was when I realized that the puppy’s mom was a good friend of mine. We used to play in the garden together. But that was only a year ago. I am three years old, and so is she. The only difference is that she has a mate and a five-week puppy, and I don’t. For me, finding a male is very hard considering that the Johnson family only wants me to mate with a pure bred.  

The puppy’s mom’s name is Feila, and her daughter’s name is Chloe. When Feila saw me, she said, “Oh my! Is that really you, Lucy? You look as if you haven’t taken a bath in a year.”

Poodles are so annoying these days. I, on the other hand, am a mix of a poodle, but I’m not as rude.

I just said, “Yes, it is really me. And my grooming schedule is none of your business.” Okay, maybe I went too rough on her that time.

All I was trying to do was change the subject. “Chloe is an adorable puppy!” I was trying to tell Feila.

But she pushed me away and said, “Stay away from my daughter! I do not want her to be around people who do not have a mate.” Unfortunately, Alexandra didn’t notice.

Then Feila chased me across the street. She is really threatening! I just wish Alexandra would stop talking to her friend for just one minute. She and her friend both let go of all the leashes! Chloe stayed behind, as her mother chased me. Once we got to the other side of the road, Feila toppled me over, and scratched me on my back, leaving a big scar.

The brat left me there to try and get up myself. I was in major pain! Then, to come and “save” me, three men lifted me from the pavement. Then, they took a garbage bag and wrapped it around me as if it were a blanket. I just thought that they were poor people trying to help me. I was wrong!

Those people carried me to a car. That was when they began to torture me. First, they took this weird, black liquid which was in a tiny little bottle, and they forcefully opened my mouth and poured it in. It tasted horrible! Then I felt really dizzy and my whole body became really weak. All of a sudden, I fell. I didn’t just fall after standing on the floor, I fell after standing on a six-foot-tall platform. I felt like I just died.

When I woke up, I found myself in a tiny cage with no water or food. I was starving, in pain, and I was weak.

Then, this young woman walked up to me, and she sat down with a baby bottle full of greenish-black liquid. “Hi there… let me see… oh hi there Lucy. My name is Mary, and I am 19-years-old and a volunteer at this rescue shelter. I know you have no idea what I am saying, but I don’t care because I am a loner,” she said.

That was when it hit me. I was brought to a rescue shelter!

But why? I was fine and healthy. I thought for a moment. Oh yeah! I was resting my body, so it didn’t hurt as much. I didn’t think Alexandra was going to be very happy, and neither were her parents.

Mary then took me out of my cage, and she made a baby face at me.

In my head, I said, “Um…hello? I am 3 and a half years old. Show me some respect!”

Then she put me on her lap and stuck the bottle in my mouth. It was very uncomfortable. I just wish that Alexandra included my age along with my name and phone number on my collar.

I have no idea what that liquid was, but I just couldn’t drink that everyday! I needed to get out of there! There were two tiny rooms. I have seen the first room before, and it was filled with about 15 dogs, all squirming. Those poor dogs had no place to breathe. The second room was the room I was in. This room had five other dogs. They all looked old, weak, and ugly. No offense.

The only good thing about being away from home was that I didn’t have to lie around the house all day doing nothing except playing with Alexandra for about five to ten minutes, and taking a walk around the block three times a week. Sara was only about to turn two, so I couldn’t blame her. David was busy with his college applications. Their parents weren’t the best at all. They gave me the most un-free life! I couldn’t go outside to do my business when I had to, and I was always locked in a tiny room with little food and water for about three hours whenever they had guests. That was almost everyday.

The Johnson family is nice and all, but it was almost as if they were tired of me. I had lived with them for three years, and the amount of eagerness they had to play and spend time with me had decreased, while I cared about them the same as I always did, which is a lot. Now, they all just said hi, good morning, good night, they wished a happy holidays, and all of them gave me a hug once in awhile. The hardest part is that I am a sensitive dog, and these things really bug me.

Part 2: ALEXANDRA

After a one-hour conversation with Stephanie, we both found out that we would soon be in big trouble. We were so deep into our conversation that we had let go of the dog leashes. Feila and Chloe had sat down beside Stephanie, wagging their tails happily. The problem was that Lucy was nowhere to be seen!

I think she ran away. Why would Lucy do such a thing? She usually cares about me and my family so much! After looking everywhere for another hour, I went back home, ready to face my parents.

On my way back home, I began to think back to when I had a lot of homework, and I pushed Lucy away when she wanted to play. I got it! Lucy ran away because she wanted to go somewhere where she would get more attention. I was annoyed at Lucy for running away, but at the same time, I just wish that I had spent more time with her. At this point, I was a block away from my house, and I had one minute to think of what I was going to say to them.

As I walked through the door, I saw David on the couch watching TV, and Sara crawling in circles. Then I said, “David, where’s mom and dad?”

He stared at me for a while and then replied, “They haven’t come home from New York yet. Why are you so eager?” Then his jaw dropped when he saw an empty leash in my hand. “Where is Lucy?! I knew you would lose her! You’re so untrustworthy! Keep your shoes on. We are going to look for her until we find her. And go call mom and dad!” He was furious.

This was the total opposite of what I thought his reaction would be. He never cares about Lucy! I know that sounds weird coming from me, but it’s true! When he yelled at me, I said sorry, and then I began to cry. I knew that this was mostly all my fault, but I still missed her. I took the phone and dialed my parents’ number, still having a million tears coming down my face at a time.

“Hello?” I said into the phone.

“Yes, Alexandra, what’s wrong?”

That was when I told them the whole story. I could tell that my parents were going to blow up.

“Alexandra Rose Johnson! When we got Lucy, you promised us that you would take care of her 100%! We are coming there right now!”

“Fine,” I said. “Bye.”

When they came home, we had a long discussion about responsibility. As my parents were deciding on my punishment, I felt a surge of anger at them.

“You guys think I’m untrustworthy, but you are terrible owners! All you care about is if her mate is a pure bred! Why don’t you ever think of her health, her needs, or her feelings!” I suddenly yelled. I waited for them to say something, but since they were so surprised that words actually came out of my mouth in that tone, I stormed out of my house to go look for my dog.

Part 3: LUCY

Yuck! That milk tasted like puke! I was forced to finish it, but I don’t even think it was white! Dogs are color-blind, but that milk was more on the dark gray side. Mary picked me up and mumbled something to me. I couldn’t understand her very well, but I just heard, “Lucy,” “Take,” and “Home.” Yay! From what I understood, Mary was going to take me home with her! I’m no longer going to have to stay in this stupid dumpster-like shelter… Turns out, I was 100% correct about what Mary was telling me. I’m going home with her this exact afternoon!

Finally, after a 30 minute car ride, we were finally home! Wow. I just found out that Mary is still in college. That’s probably why she always brought  homework with her. Mary lived in a small house with her two friends, Bella and Riley, who were very nice to me. They had a big yard with dog toys scattered around, a big dog house, and a huge fenced wall. I guess they have had other dogs come over. Good. Then maybe they’ll be different from the Johnsons,and know that dogs have feelings too.

***

One night later, everything changed. I feel like I might still have a part in my heart for Alexandra, but it’s a small part. I have now moved on to Mary. Yesterday, all four of us went to a dog park. There, I could run around playing with other dogs, but I still was not allowed out of Mary’s, Bella’s, or Riley’s sight. They wanted me to be happy. I could tell. But, I could also tell that they had fear in their eyes that my owners would come soon. When I first arrived at the shelter, a lady called the number on my leash about 10 times. Then, the shelter’s boss called and left a voicemail saying that I am going to be taken to Mary’s house. Mary and her friends didn’t call, because they didn’t want me to leave.

I think Mary is a much better owner than Alexandra. When we take a walk, she never starts a conversation with anyone in our way. She always wants to keep me in her sight. I just wish Alexandra would be more like her. I used to have a bond with Alex, but that wore off as she got older. My bond with Mary just keeps getting stronger. I don’t know if I really want Alexandra to come back for me.

Part 4: ALEXANDRA

I have knocked on doors, which didn’t work, and I have called several shelters. Now, here I am, looking down at the very last shelter that we are going to call for today. I am so nervous that I’m sweating! Why do phones have to take such a long time to ring?… Yes! They finally picked up!

“Hello?” said a young woman.

“Hi! I’m Alexandra Johnson, and I was wondering if you have my dog, Lucy, in your shelter.”

“Um, hold on one sec. I’m gonna have to check the files.”

“Okay,” I said, sounding hopeful. That lady took five minutes — that felt like five hours — finding those files!

“You’re in some sort of luck. Your dog was brought to our shelter, but was taken home by one of our volunteers.”

“Oh… what is this volunteer’s name, and where does she live?” I sounded like I was in a hurry.

“Well, her name is Mary Burke.” As the lady told me her address, I wrote it down.

Then, the whole family jumped in the car, and Dad drove over the speed limit. All of us wanted to make sure that Lucy was okay. Even Sara was whining and kept screaming the word “doggy.”

After a ten minute drive, we reached a small house with a huge yard. Then, we all got out and walked to the front door like a pack. I rang the doorbell, and out came a young, pretty woman holding my dog. My mom explained why we were there to her. Then, Mary put Lucy down and let me hug my dog. She then let us in, apologizing for taking our dog home, not knowing Lucy had owners.

A short while later, I put the leash on Lucy, and said goodbye and thank you to Mary and her friend. As we were walking out the door, Lucy barked loudly and ran back to Mary. That was a big back-stabbing moment.

Mary crouched down to Lucy and whispered, “I promise that I will come and visit you.” After that, she looked up at us, and we nodded. Then she hugged Lucy real tight.

***

“You guys can drive home. I think I’m gonna walk Lucy. I’ll see you there.”

“Okay. But stay safe and please don’t lose her again.” I kept calm when they said that.

I let them drive away. Then the talking began.

“I am so sorry Lucy! I know I should have never taken my eyes off of you! Now, I understand that you have feelings too! Please forgive me! I promise that from now on, I will play with you whenever you want to, and I will give you more attention.”

At that point, Stephanie was walking towards me with Feila. Then, I suddenly remembered that this was when Lucy was taken! So, I decided to do an experiment with my best friend and her dog. I started conversation with Stephanie, still keeping Feila and Lucy in the corner of my eye. Then Feila picked up her paw and was about to scratch Lucy, but I screamed to scare Feila. After my scream, she put her hand down.

“I knew it!” I yelled. “Last time you and I were talking, Feila must have scratched Lucy, making the people from the rescue shelter think that Lucy needed to be rescued.”

Stephanie just looked at me in disbelief. “How dare you accuse my sweet little Feila for doing such a thing! Your little, puny dog probably tripped over your big feet without you noticing, and fell onto the street.” I just looked at her with anger and tears in my eyes. “And if you want my dog to stay away from your disgusting dog, then I don’t want to be your friend at all!”

“Fine! That would be great!” I paused, waiting for her to say something, and she did.

“Luckily, I am moving out of the state for good!”

“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes, “I don’t want to see you ever again anyway. Bye Stephanie.” Then, I quickly walked past her and started sobbing.

“Lucy, I did that for you! I did that to prove to you that you are the best pet anyone could ever have. And you can mate with a mixed breed if you want.” I don’t think I have ever cried that much. “Bark three times if you forgive me.” Lucy barked three times and then I gave her a big hug and let her lick my face.

Part 5

When Alexandra and Lucy walked into the house, the whole family was waiting in an awkward circle formation.

“Alex, take Lucy’s leash off, and sit down. We have some talking to do.” Alex’s mom sounded a bit regretful. Alexandra let Lucy free and sat comfortably on the couch. As Lucy was freed from the leash, she ran to Sara, making sure she didn’t fall while attempting to stand up.

“I owe you all an apology,” Alex said. “I may have overreacted before, but that was only because I wanted to protect her and be a better owner. But, can you all please promise Lucy that she can mate with any dog she wants? Well, that is if she wants to mate at all.” Lucy shook her head trying to say no.

“Alex, we accept your apology. And Lucy, you don’t have to mate if you don’t want to.”

Suddenly, Sara shouted, “Yucy! Yucy! Yucy, come! Mommy! Doggy gone!” Sara’s lower lip stuck out, and she was about to cry. Lucy was out of sight.

“Wait, what? Did we lose Lucy again?” Alexandra panicked. “Sara, were you playing hide and seek?”

“Yeth.”

Alex sighed in relief. “Lucy, come out!” A tiny head poked out from under the couch. “Good girl!”

Then, the Johnsons laughed together as a family.

Epilogue

A few weeks after the reunion, the Johnson family was not expecting anyone. But, at 10 a.m. the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” shouted David. When he opened the door, he said, “Oh, hey Mary. Come in. What’s up?” Then he shouted into the house, “Hey, Mom, come downstairs! It’s your only chance to meet my girlfriend! You too, Alexandra!” David’s mom came racing down the stairs with Alexandra beside her.

Alex and her mom’s mouths dropped. “This is your girlfriend? She’s the one that took Lucy home!” Their mom hugged Mary tightly.

After a couple of hours, Alex and Mary took Lucy for a walk. During the walk, Mary and Alexandra got to know each other.

“Mary, I don’t think I ever said thank you. So, thank you for taking good care of Lucy while she was gone.”

“No problem.” Then Mary gave Alexandra a big hug. At that exact moment, Stephanie, Feila, and Chloe drove by with their heads sticking out of the car.

“Say bye forever, Lucy.”

Then, Lucy, with a smirk on her face, barked.

BOOM!

The starting gun was fired, and we started the race. We ran across the track, jumping over hurdles. As I sped over the finish line, I smiled. I may not have been first, but I did my best, and that’s what matters. I am Lily, and this is my story.

***

Eight years ago, when I was four, my family and I were struck by a truck on the highway. The truck driver seemed drunk and didn’t notice our car when he was changing lanes. We tumbled off of the hill we were driving on. As we did, the window by me shattered. After that, everything went black.

I think I woke up in the hospital. I couldn’t see anything, but I sensed it all. The beeping of the machines, the groans of the other people in the hospital. I sat up in my bed. I heard a nurse say something to the doctor, who must have stayed with me.

“Can you see?” he asked me. I shook my head.

“The window broke when you fell down that hill. The particles of glass fell into your eyes. They blinded you. You are blind.” He sounded very sorry to say it.

“Where’s my mom and dad?” I asked. You see, I wasn’t that worried about my eyes as I was about my parents.

“Your mother is all right. We just need her to spend the night at the hospital for inspection, just like we need to do with you. As for your father… ” His voice trailed off in such a way that made me very squirmy inside.

“What happened to my dad?” I asked.

“He died right after the accident after jumping in front of your mother to save her.”

“I need my mom!” I cried.

So the hospital sent my mom in a room with me. We talked and cried into the night because both my vision and my dad were gone.

I was homeschooled because of my vision. My mother taught me everything I need, not just math and science, but other things too. She told me to be strong, and not to let anything get to me. She said that people who cry and complain are weak. To be strong, I needed to be willing to accept change. Though this seemed harsh at first, I understood, and her advice helped me a lot.

One fine summer day, when I was twelve, my mother told me to get ready quickly, and that we had to go somewhere. When I asked where, she said I was going to school. I thought she was kidding, so I laughed. Then my mom dropped the bomb: “I have enrolled you in the St. George’s School, a private school. So, I have set up a meeting with the principal, Mr. Ryland. He’s super nice, hopefully, and he will give you a tour of the school. Don’t worry, it’s only July, so if you don’t like the school, I could always cancel.”

“Why? I like staying with you,” I said. Did she want to get rid of me? I don’t want to be alone!

“Well, you’re an only child. I think that staying with other normal children can help you, and you can experience real life.”

“Just in case you didn’t notice, I can barely get through the house by myself! You expect me to get through a school!” I never lash out at my mom. I don’t know what came across me, but I was mad.

“Just take the tour, please,” she said.

“Fine,” I grumbled. So my mom helped me get upstairs and get ready, and then helped me come down and eat. She handed me something. It was long and smooth, and the top of it felt kind of squishy.

“This is a cane,” she said. You don’t need to use it like an old person, just every now and then, gently stick it out in front of you to see if there is anything in front of you. Just don’t hit anyone with it,” she laughed.

Hand in hand, we went into the car, and drove to the St. George’s School. We walked together to the main office, where a female voice greeted us, and told us where to go to get to the principal’s office.

“You ready?” I nodded. She opened the door. Inside was a man with a loud booming voice.

“Hey, Lily! I’ve been expecting ya! Are ya ready for the tour?” he yelled. He must have looked kind of strange too, because I felt my mom stifle a laugh. “So, yer mom’s told me all about ya! She said yer smart, and really good at mental math. First, I’m gonna take ya to the gym, then to yer homeroom, then to the other classes. After that, the performing arts center, also known as the stage, and then we’ll loop back to my office! You good with that?” Without waiting for me to answer, he led us out the office, and I felt a cool breeze come upon us that gave me goosebumps. His strong grip led my mother and me down the hall, down the stairs, into someplace that felt warm, sticky, and smelled like sweat.

“This is the gym,” he boomed. The gym’s emptiness made his voice even louder and echo a bit. “The track’s outside, and the pool’s by the locker rooms, but we ain’t goin there today. We’re focusin’ on the gym. Hey, you might even want to start runnin’. Ya never know.”

Why did he think I could run? Even if I wanted to, the coach would probably just keep me on the sides anyway. I would crash into the walls and other people. My dad was the family runner. Not me.

Mr. Ryland led us back upstairs into a room.

“This is Mrs. Olanski, yer homeroom teacher. She teaches math.” A much gentler, slender hand, which must have Mrs. Olanski’s, held mine and led me to my desk.

“I put your desk close to the door, so that you won’t have any problems with getting into your seat. Whenever we have a test, I will read you the questions, and write them down for you. Otherwise, you won’t be treated like a little kid.”

Mrs. Olanski is awesome, I thought. Usually, people like me are treated like babies and adults use that singy-songy voice. Mrs. Olanski, on the other hand, treated me like a human. A normal one.

“Come on, you! We don’t have all day to tour the school! Let’s go to the science room!” boomed Mr. Ryland. We said bye to Mrs. Olanski, and went to the next room.

“Hi, I’m Mr. Daren. This year, you’ll be learning about all sorts of cool stuff.”

His voice was smiling. It was deep, but not as deep and Mr. Ryland’s, and I liked it. It was also much quieter.

“It’s my first year here, too, so I’m just about as nervous as you are,” he whispered, probably to me. After that, Mr. Ryland led my mom and I across the hall to the English room. A fragile, wrinkly hand led me to my desk.

“I am Miss Bonnie. The English language is the most important thing to understand, for talking with the improper grammar can lead to many more mistakes in life, Ryan Ryland.” Her voice sounded dangerous.

I stifled a laugh. Miss Bonnie started talking to me back in her sweet old lady voice again.

“I love to teach. Children are the best things, next to the proper use of English, aren’t they, dearie?”

“Uh, I guess so,” I said. We went to history after that. Mr. Jenkins, the teacher, told me it was his retiring year. Then “the stage.” And then we left. School’s gonna be easy, I thought, before I went to sleep that night. I was so wrong.

***

Two months later, I found myself in the car, with my mom driving me to school.

“Stop biting your nails,” my mom said. “You’re going to bite your fingers off!”

I couldn’t help it. I was so nervous. I stopped biting my nails, but started again no more than three minutes later. My mom sighed.

“It’s going to be okay. You don’t need to worry.” But how could I not worry? So I stayed very worried.

I felt the car make a large turn and then stop. My mom helped me out of the car, and we walked to the school. She opened the door, and we walked down the hallway. Then, she let go of me.

“I need you to get used to walking without me, okay? Remember, I can’t always hold your hand now, honey. I’ll be right next to you for now.” Now, I was really annoyed. Couldn’t we have practiced this at home?

So I stumbled around until I found room 301, Mrs. Olanski’s room. I heard my mom whisper, “Bye,” and leave. Great. Now I was all alone too. I found my desk and sat down. The room was quiet. So I was.

Mrs. Olanski took attendance, and started teaching us. When we were supposed to take notes, she walked right over and whispered to me, “You don’t need to, until Miss Bonnie can help you start writing. For now, your mind is your notebook.”

Next, we had history with Mr. Jenkins, a man whose voice sounded so squeaky he was comparable to a mouse. He didn’t really care.

Then we had Art. I stunk. I mean, how does the teacher expect me to do stuff if I can’t even see my work and supplies?

When we had lunch, I found a table that was empty and sat down. As I ate my sandwich, I ignored the snickers of some students behind me until I realized I was sitting on something very cold and squishy. I immediately stood up and inspected what I had been sitting on, which only made the laughs behind me louder. It was an ice cream sandwich. One of the kids behind me said, “Are you blind?”

Without waiting for my answer, he shouted, “Hey, Alex! This kid’s blind!” I mumbled something in reply and tried to sit somewhere else, but they kept on following me. I ended up stumbling my way into the girl’s bathroom, where I locked myself into a stall and ate there. I cried a little too.

I sat in the back of the room in Science. Mr. Daren may have noticed, but didn’t say anything.

I sat out in gym. There wasn’t much to do.

In English, I again took the seat at the very back of the room. Miss Bonnie noticed and asked me if anything was wrong, but I denied.

Every day went on like this until the beginning of November. That’s when things changed. At lunch that day, something weird happened. Someone sat down on my table. I felt the table shake as they pulled their chair in. By now, the boys weren’t doing the ice cream sandwich thing anymore because I always felt the chair before I sat down. But they were still doing rude things to me. I figured it was one of them, so I stayed silent.

Finally, the silence was unbearable, so I said, “Okay, what do you want to do to me now?” The voice that came back to me was innocent, and not at all snarky, like the boys.

“Uh, hi, I’m Sophia,” the girl said. Oops. I apologized.

“Those boys behind me like to make fun of me, so I figured you were one of them,” I said.

“No problem.” She seemed nice enough, but I just didn’t understand why she wanted to be with me. She also wasn’t in any of my classes, so I figured she was new. “Are you new?”

“Yeah, I just started coming here last month. I used to go to a public school but as my mom said, the teachers were ‘horrendous.’” Sophia laughed.

“But why did you start coming here?” I’ve been kinda alone this whole time, so I was surprised anyone would want to sit with me.

“Well, I used to sit alone this whole month, then I noticed you were all alone too. I get how it feels too, so I came and sat. No biggie. So, why do you sit alone? There are lots of new kids here.”

I just casually said, “I’m blind.” She, for some strange reason, started laughing.

“Oh, god. The two disabled children meet. This is hilarious.”

I must have had a weird look on my face. I couldn’t tell.

“Huh?” That’s all I said. Huh?

She stopped laughing and whispered,”I’m dyslexic. I have dyslexia, a disorder that makes words seem to dance and flip and shake and move in any other possible way. So don’t worry, I get you.”

And that was the start of our friendship. Whenever those boys ever did anything to me, she stuck up for me. She was the best thing I ever could have gotten. Plus, I helped her with mental math.

***

One day, once we had sat down for English, Mrs. Bonnie walked up to me. I could hear heels clacking against the ground closer and closer to me until they stopped.

“I am going to teach you how to write. You won’t be able to read, but you can always write.”

Was she crazy?  As if I could write. But oh man, she told me to stay an extra hour of school every day. When everybody left the room, I stayed in my seat. I was kind of grateful for that because I never walked, I kind of stumbled around until I felt the door. But she taught me. She told me that she put a stack of blank paper in my desk instead of the lined ones everyone got. Probably because I couldn’t find the line to write on. But by the next month, I knew how to write my letters neatly, print and cursive. And by the month after that, I could write. She also taught me to feel for the edges of the paper so I wouldn’t have crooked writing. That was really helpful. So now, whenever she asks us to write an answer in our notebooks, I can. At least on blank paper.

And whenever those kids bullied me, Mr. Daren somehow always noticed. Like, last week, that kid Alex had a cut, so he took off his bloody bandaid and was going to stick it on my food, but Mr. Daren noticed and took them to have a long talk with Mr. Ryland, who can be downright monstrous when he’s mad, apparently. All that happened when I was in the bathroom. Sophia told me.

Once I told Mrs. Olanski I could write, she said that was great and that I could start taking notes now. So I did. That wasn’t a problem anymore, because I didn’t have to worry about forgetting what I learned.

Mr. Daren sounded glad too, when I told him.

“Notes are important to write. The world of science is far too complex for a single brain to hold. We need reminders.”

Not bad. But it was true.

Once I went to Mrs. Bonnie’s room, she pulled me aside and gave me an iPad.

“Feel for the edges of the iPad so you know where it is. Tap on the left and it will repeat a word for you to write on the paper in front of you. Tap on the right and it will give you the next word to spell.”

So I worked on spelling for the next two hours. (I still stayed for the extra hour.)

Mrs. Bonnie gave one look at it, and sighed. “Spelling again tomorrow! Goodbye!”

Okay. So I apparently suck at spelling. Oh well.

The next day, Sophia told me at lunch that Mr. Jenkins had been looking at me all history.

“He was like, look at the board, glance at Lily, back to teaching, stare at Lily, teach a bit, look at Lily! He’s looking at you right now,” she whisper-yelled. “Did you do anything?”

“No, what would I do?” I was getting really nervous, and I could feel my palms starting to sweat. What did I do today? I walked into class, sat down, took notes, listened, and did everything I was supposed to, even though I couldn’t bear that squeaky voice of his.

“He’s literally staring at you while eating!” On an awkward scale from one to ten, I’d think this would be an eleven. A teacher is watching me shovel every mouthful of mashed potatoes into my mouth, I don’t know what to do, and Sophia’s whisper-yelling pretty audibly. I went into my best table manners, and pretend not to know that a creepy, old man was stalking me.

When I sat down for my extra hour of English, Mr. Jenkins walked in. I could hear his shoes squeaking and the sound of his cane hitting the ground as he walked. He was unmistakable.

“Hi, Miss Bonnie. Can I please have Lily for the extra hour today?”

Miss Bonnie hesitated. “But she is learning to spell!”

“I know, but this is extremely important. Please?’’

“Fine. Just today.”

Mr. Jenkins led me to his room and asked me to sit down. The second my bottom hit that chair, “Am I in trouble? I didn’t do anything wrong, I listened, took notes, and did everything I was supposed to, but why am I-”

“Whoa there! No, you are not in trouble. Just listen to me read this article.”

_____________________________________________________

Current Medicine Today: Bionic Eye Helps Blind Teenager Regain Eyesight

Rose Decker, a girl living in South Carolina, had cataracts as a child, fully losing eyesight by the time she was ten. SCECA (South Carolina Eye Care Association) had developed a microchip to place in the eye that enables people suffering from blindness to see well enough to navigate around their surroundings. “I wanted to try it. Even if the operation fails, there won’t be any making my eyes any worse, because I’m already blind,” says Rose Decker, now nearing the age of eighteen. The operation was tested, and it worked. Rose Decker can now see, though she wears glasses. “I am really proud of all these scientists that helped my daughter to see, this will really help the blind people across America,” says Amanda, or “Mandie” Decker, Rose’s mother.

________________________________________________________________

Mr. Jenkins finished reading. There was a long silence until my mom spoke up, who, unbeknownst to me, was in the room the whole time.

“So, what do you mean she can get this operation? It isn’t even affordable!”

Mr. Jenkins shocked us by saying, “No worries. Us teachers got together and set up a website which people can read and donate money for the operation. We raised $11,000, enough for the operation.”

I didn’t know what to feel. Hopeful that it would would work? Scared that it would hurt? Excited that I would see? Mixed emotions swirled around me like ghosts.

***

The doctors, Dr. Russell and Dr. Marshall, wheeled me into the operating room and put me on the operating table. They stuck a huge needle into me, saying it wouldn’t hurt. Liars. They drugged me with anesthesia and told me to count to ten. “One, two, threee, ffffoourrr…” Boom. And like that, I was asleep.  

I came to about five hours later. I still couldn’t see, and I was about to start crying because the operation “didn’t work” when I realised there were bandages covering both of my eyes. Stupid anesthesia! I was still super sleepy, so I went back to sleep.

This time when I woke up, I heard my mom saying, “She’s up!” and hugging me as tight as hugs can be. She whispered in my ear, “Sophia is here.”

“How are you feeling?” asked Sophia.

“Sleepy,” I replied.

“When do you get those bandages off?” Sophia’s voice sounded cautious, like she didn’t want to harm me even though she was just talking.

“’Bout two weeks,” I replied. Then she left. Well, I just couldn’t wait.

***

I was staying in the hospital until my eyes healed. (They made a bajillion cuts in there.) Every morning, a nurse changed my bandages, but never gave me any time to actually see anything. But the day came. After what seemed like forever, Dr. Russell walked into the room, his shoes squeaking as he did so.

“Tomorrow, your bandages are coming off. I will contact your parents.”

The word parents just made me sad. It’s been awhile since Dad died, but I still haven’t gotten over it yet.

The next day, my mom was next to me, holding what smelled like a cake. My mouth watered. The doctor slowly removed the bandages. Color flooded my eyes. It felt like I was opening my eyes after a long sleep and that I was now awake. My mom was so much prettier than I thought.

***

I came back to school with a happy heart. There were rumors everywhere.

“Lily had to get her eyeball taken out!”

“Yeah, cuz she poked em with a fork while eating!”

“No, the doctor made her eyeball exposed to radioactive stuff so that healed her!”

“Come on, that only happens in Superman comics!”

“It’s true!’’

But I didn’t let all this get to me. I sat down, and scanned the room, and the people in it. Instantly, I noticed Sophia, staring at me intently. I gave her a wave, beaming. She grinned back. She was real pretty too. Long, wavy, blond hair, and green eyes. Peter and Alex were both ugly. I’m pretty sure they were twins. Because they were equally ugly.

Mrs. Olanski took attendance, looked at me and smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

Mr. Jenkins did the exact same thing as before — look at the board, glance at Lily, back to teaching, stare at Lily, teach a bit, look at Lily. I didn’t mind. He was now my favorite teacher.

Ms. Turner, the art teacher just gave me a look, like she was challenging me to draw something good. I failed. Who cares?

Lunch was revenge time. I grabbed an ice cream sandwich, and broke it in half. I put it, ice cream side up, on Peter and Alex’s chairs. Squish. They sat down. Instantly, they looked back at me and scowled.

At gym, for the first time, I participated. I got so good at my sprinting that, after watching me for a few days, Coach James wanted me on the track team. Eventually, through months of practice, I became the best runner on the team. So, in late May, Coach James wanted me to run the annual race, representing the St. George’s School.

There were lots of people there, all different sizes, warming up on the dewy grass. I joined them. I remembered how good of a runner my dad once was. Now, I had to do well. Not for me, but for my father. Soon, we were all gathered at the starting line. The starting gun was fired. We all started sprinting, but I was a little surprised by how slow they were.

Epilogue

I looked around, feeling tired, but proud. I had just run 26.2 miles in three and a half hours. I crossed the finish line and looked back. There were a few people way behind me, but no one ahead. My cheeks were rosy red, and my face was covered in sweat. I imagined myself shaking hands with the president, and then him giving me a medal. There was a crowd of people at the end, screaming that I was first. But I didn’t see them. I saw my mom, standing there with tears of pride in her eyes. I realized, for the first time, that I was truly happy.

The End

I kicked the ball up the field for my friend, John. He received it. Then, a player on the other team came running, slammed right into me, and everything turned dark. When I woke up, everything was fuzzy, and I could see figures and sounds. Finally I could see, and I had a cast on my leg.

I said, “What happened?”

My mom said, “You were hit really hard. You broke your leg, and you got a serious concussion. You can’t play soccer for the rest of the year.”

“But, Mom, I am going to be behind on everything! I am going to lose my skill!”

“I am sorry, honey, but you are in a cast, and the doctor said that you can not play. Your coach and team know, and they are very disappointed.”

“The best thing to do is stay healthy and fit to make your recovery easier,” said the doctor.

***

One year later, things went fine. I mostly stayed at home because I had a wheelchair, and I did not get out much. I turned eleven. One day, my mom went out to get the mail when one of the envelopes had my name on it. Usually, I do not get mail. I wheeled over to my desk, grabbed my envelope opener, and opened it. It was a letter from the Red Bull Academy team.

It read, Congrats Tanner! You made the team! Practices will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Blah blah blah blah blah signature.

I rolled over, with excitement, to my mom and screamed, “I made the Red Bull team!”

“Congratulations, Tanner!”

That night dinner felt good, and I slept well. The next day, I actually got out of the cast. It felt good to not be on crutches or sitting down in a wheelchair. I got to exercising. I made a chart with different kinds of exercises for the whole week. For example, on Monday, I would be doing six inches of leg lifts for five minutes, then lunges and pushups, then planks. After that, high knees and, finally, butt kicks. I also did a lot of other exercises.

I ate healthy too. For breakfast, I would have three scrambled eggs, some fruit, and an orange juice. For lunch, some chicken, salad, and water. Finally, for dinner, some fish, salad, and vegetables. And for dessert, a big glass of milk. With all the exercise and healthy food, I was ready in a week and a half. In that time, I worked harder than I ever thought I would. Man, I broke a sweat.

That night, my mom walked into my room with a concerned expression.

“I’m worried that it is too early to start playing soccer again,” she said. “You got your cast off a week and a half ago.”

“But, Mom, I really worked hard for that spot. Remember the tryout? It was before I broke my leg. I was playing soccer for hours each day in our backyard, working on juggling, shooting, passing against the wood fence, and receiving. I worked really hard for this spot on the team. I cannot pass up this opportunity!”                   

The next day was my first practice. I met the coaches at the field. They were very nice. They were named Coach Ryan and Coach Nick. Right when I got there, I could hear a lot of kids screaming for the ball and talking to their coaches. During practice, I was a little rusty. Playing at home, there is no one watching and you could be yourself. At practice, you have a defense, and coaches are watching you. But overall, practice was great. I guess my mom was right.

In the locker room after practice, I thought it was time to tell the coaches I was in a cast.

I said, “Coach Nick? Coach Ryan? Come here.”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Coach Ryan asked.

“I have something to say,” I said. “I broke my leg last season, and I got my cast off a week and a half ago. I just want to tell you because I may not be playing as well as I was at tryouts last year.”

Coach Nick said, “Oh yeah, man. I will tell you what drills are too intense for you, and which are fine to do. I broke my leg once as a kid, and I know how you feel.”

“Thanks, Coach.”

“Always, man.”

Then, I saw my mom’s car, and we went home. That night, I read my book and wondered how my first game was going to go. Was I going to score two or three goals?

“Knock knock. Lights out,” Mom said.

The next day was free because I did not have practice. I slept in till 10:30am because I was tired from practice. When I walked downstairs, my dad was making eggs, and my mom was on her phone.

She said, “Great news, Tanner. Your first game is on Saturday, and Coach says you will be starting.”

I started to jump for joy, “Yes! I can’t wait till Saturday!”

After that whole scene, I had my breakfast: eggs with some fruit and milk. Then, I went with my dad to the park and ripped shots on him to practice for Saturday. Because I play center, attacking mid, I have to take shots from far away, so I practiced that then penalty kicks. After that, free kicks. Then it started to get late, so we went home.

For dinner, I had tilapia, vegetables, and water. That night, I read and fell asleep quickly. The next morning, I woke and had breakfast, which was the same thing I always have.

At practice, I went over to coach. He had another kid with him.

I asked, “Who is that?”

Coach said, “He is competing for your spot.”

Then everything paused in my mind, and everything turned dark. My soccer career was going well until this kid came into my life. Now, I had competition.

I put out my hand and said, “Hi, my name is Tanner. Yours?”

“Hi, I am Tommy.”

“May the best man win,” I said.

Then Tommy walked away.

Coach Ryan said, “I love a little competition.”

I just rolled my eyes. In practice that day, I watched Tommy. He just moved here from Florida. He was a very talented soccer player. Righty, it seemed like very strong foot. Let’s just put this down: I did not stalk him. I just watched him when he was not looking. As for me, I played very well. I think we were neck and neck.

After practice, I asked Coach Nick, “Who is going to start on Saturday?”

He said, “Tommy will. You will hop in not long after.”

I paused again, and my heart fell into pieces. I was really mad. My face started to turn red, but I remained calm.

Honk honk! That was my mom.

“Bye, Coach Nick,” I said, ran over to the car, and hopped in.

I told my mom and dad all about Tommy at dinner. They did not seem that happy either. I didn’t sleep well.

On Saturday, I got to the field. It was a new turf field in Sonville. It was nice and smooth. I saw the coaches.

They said at the same time, “Ready for the big game?”

I said, “I am ready. I am pumped.”

Coach Nick said, “Good.”

Before the game, practice was good. We warmed up for an hour, working on passing, shooting, and receiving. We did each for fifteen minutes, then stretched for another fifteen minutes. After that, we got in our uniforms. They were red, with RDS and three stars above it. My number was 24, and the name Caldwell was on the back because my name is Tanner Caldwell. The team we were playing was called Springtown Lions. They didn’t sound that good.

I was on the bench the start of the game. I was on the first seat because I was going to be the first sub. We started with the ball, and our striker, Pedro, passed it back to Tommy, who made a great pass to Pedro, who made a straight run upfield.

“A volley goal, RDS!” the announcer screamed.

After that goal, I had to get into my mode. The only thing I was listening for was, “Tanner, you’re up.”

That happened at halftime in the locker room.

Coach Nick said, “Tanner, you’re up for Tommy.”

I nodded my head. T’was time to prove myself, that I can play at this high of a level. I jogged onto the field. Everyone was cheering.

Springtown had the ball first. They passed it back. I sprinted, tackled the ball and hit a scissor, juked out one, juked out two, long curved shot right into the pocket corner. We scored!

I did my signature celebration, which is a roundoff then a backflip. My heart was racing. Everything was smooth sailing for that half until the ninetieth minute. Everyone in the crowd was jumping for joy and smiling because we were winning 6-2.

I made a pass to Pedro when a big player came in, studded up, and slide-tackled me. I slammed my head on the ground. Everything went gloomy. I stopped moving. The crowd was dead silent.

I could only hear my mom shriek and run onto the field. My heart got slower. I could hear a ringing noise and my heartbeat. My mom told me that the medics came in an ambulance. They carried me off the field on a yellow stretcher. They loaded me up, and drove off the field. When I finally woke up, I was in the hospital room, the numbers 334 staring from a wall. I could see my mom.

I asked, “What happened to me?”

“Honey, you broke your leg again and got a serious concussion. That game right there just ended your soccer career. I told you to not go out onto that field, and what did you do? Go out onto the field. Just admit that you were not ready.”

“You were right. I was not ready.”

That day was the worst day ever.

***

Ten years later, and I am now a soccer announcer. If I couldn’t not play soccer, I wanted to do something in soccer. So now, I am an announcer. I had been telling my story of my soccer life back when I was young, and it had touched a lot of lives. That is what made me famous. It also inspired people to play soccer.

Right now, I am at the FIFA World Cup in Madrid. Between the rivals, USA and Mexico, I cheered for USA! USA! USA! Alright, I got to go to work.

I slide my headphones on, roll over to the announcer booth, and see a little kid there. He looks about 10 years old. He has a cast on his left leg, and he is in a wheelchair.

“Hi, how are you?” I asked.

“Good. I just want to say that you inspired me to feel happy when I broke my leg. I was not happy at all, but when I heard your story. It helped me. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I know how you feel. I had a broken leg, and I kept pushing through. So that means never give up.”

Then he starts to roll away in his wheelchair.

We start in five, four, three, two, one.

“Hi, my name is Tanner Caldwell, and I bring to you the 2027 World Cup! Brought to you by Fox.”

“Sofia,” a woman in a dark room called.

She was wearing a black dress and long hoop earrings. Her deep brown eyes were staring straight at me, and her lips were in a straight line.

“You must come to the seaside town and find the key,” the woman’s deep, raspy voice echoed.

“What key?” I wondered, but the woman had already disappeared.

“Sofia, time for breakfast,” my mom yelled.

I rubbed my eyes and shuddered. “It’s only a dream,” I told myself.

But I had been having this dream every night this week and was beginning to think the woman’s message was important. Downstairs, my dad was cooking pancakes, and my mom was slowly sipping a cup of steaming coffee. My little sister, Ava, was sitting at the table with her cat, Muffin, curled up on her lap.

“I’ve been having weird dreams,” I announced to my family. “A woman keeps telling me to come to a seaside town and find some sort of key.”

“I’ve been having that same dream,” Ava cried, throwing her arms into the air. “I think we’re actually supposed to follow the woman’s directions.”

“That’s nonsense, girls,” my mom said firmly. “No woman from your dreams is ordering you to do anything.”

That put an end to the conversation.   

“Well, we’re going on vacation to the beach at Ocean City today, and we’ll be there for a week. You girls better start packing!” my dad exclaimed.  

I rushed upstairs to my room and started throwing my clothes and other things I would need into my suitcase. Ocean City. That sounds like a seaside town to me! I thought.

Finally, we were all ready to go. I whispered to Ava in the backseat of our blue minivan, “I wonder where the key is.”

“I don’t know, but the woman didn’t give us any clues,” Ava responded.

“We’ll find it,” I said.

“I don’t know if we should look,” Ava said. “It’s all so creepy, and I don’t know if we can trust that woman.”

“I’m nervous too, but it seemed like the woman’s message was important,” I replied. “We should definitely search for it.”

“Okay, fine,” Ava agreed.

***

At last, my family arrived at Ocean View Inn, the fancy hotel we would be staying at. We unpacked quickly and went to the beach.

Ava and I took off our flip flops. We raced across the scorching hot sand and into the water while our parents set up beach chairs under a brightly colored umbrella so they could relax and read. In the ocean, Ava and I swam over the smaller waves and dived under the big ones, while the seagulls circled and cawed from above. We splashed around and giggled, a big smile on each of our faces.

After about an hour, my mom said, “We are going back to the hotel, girls. Make sure you behave and be back by dinnertime.”

“We will,” Ava and I promised.

Once our parents left, Ava started jumping up and down excitedly. “This will be a perfect time to look for the key!” Ava exclaimed. “It could be on the beach.”

So, we started searching.  We looked inside the prettiest seashells and dug holes in the dry sand to see if the key was buried. We had no luck.

Suddenly I thought, It could be underwater. I swam out into the ocean, looking for the key.

“Ahh!!” I heard Ava scream from the shore.

I turned around just in time to see a huge wave racing towards me. Before I had time to react, it pulled me under and tossed me around like a rag doll. I got saltwater in my nose and mouth, and it burned my throat. Finally, I came up, gasping for air.

Ava and I decided to go back to our hotel for the night. We ate dinner with our parents and went to bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

“Sofia.”

The woman wearing the black dress and long hoop earrings had returned, this time with a different message.

“You have searched well, but in the wrong place,” she paused. “Your time is wasting. If you do not complete your mission soon, a war will break out. So, you must listen carefully. Go to the building of bricks and look in the water. Once you find it, the key will guide you to what it unlocks.”

The next morning, I told Ava about my dream. “The woman told me to go to the building of bricks and look for the key in the water,” I said.

“And she said if we didn’t find it soon, a war would break out!” Ava replied. “I had the exact same dream.”

My jaw dropped. This was starting to get very creepy.

The next day, Ava and I went to town while our parents were at the beach.

“I bet the key is here,” Ava said. “There are plenty of brick buildings.”

“Maybe,” I answered.

There were four brick buildings in town. One was a candy store, one was a toy store, one was a T-shirt shop, and one was a pizzeria. We looked in the candy store, but the only water there was in the bathroom sink. The key was not there. It was the same with the toy store and the T-shirt shop. I was starting to think that we would never find the key. Then, we went to the pizzeria. We looked in the bathroom sink and in the cups of water that people had on their tables, but the key was not there.

“Do you think we should look in the kitchen sink and in all of the pitchers of water back there?” Ava asked.

“I think we should,” I said.

So, we snuck into the kitchen. A cheesy aroma wafted through the air, and my mouth started to water. We looked in the sink but did not find the key. We were looking in the rows of pitchers of water when a guy in a chef’s hat and a curly, black mustache noticed us.

“Get out of my kitchen!” he hollered.

Ava and I dashed back to our hotel.

***

The next day, Ava and I looked in some of the houses of the people who lived in Ocean City. The first one was made of bricks. It was small compared to all of the houses on the street, but it was bigger than our house. Since there was no car in the driveway, and all of the lights were off, we went inside. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked. We looked in all the sinks, the bathtub, and the shower, but there was no key.

“This is hopeless. We should just give up so we can enjoy our vacation,” Ava moaned.

“Remember, the woman said that if we don’t find the key soon, a war will start,” I told her. “We have to keep trying.”

“Fine,” Ava said, but I could tell she didn’t want to.

Then we looked in the next house. It was huge with fuzzy carpets in every room. The windows were large and crystal clear as if they had been polished just yesterday. Beautiful pictures decorated the walls, and not a single thing was on the floor. Everything was in its place. It was the most amazing house I’ve ever seen.

We didn’t have time to admire it, though. Ava and I went straight to work. We looked in all the sinks, the bathtub, and the shower. We still did not find the key.

“Maybe we should look in their backyard,” I said. “They have a pool and a birdbath. You can look in the pool, and I’ll check the birdbath.”

“Okay,” Ava sighed.

I looked inside the birdbath and discovered a oddly shaped golden key. It was a few inches long and looked like it could fit inside my hand.

“Ava, I found it!” I exclaimed.

We jumped up and down with excitement and high-fived each other. I reached out to grab the key when a bird with dark blue and purple feathers swooped down from a nearby tree and grabbed the key in its beak. I gasped as it started flying away.

“Follow that bird!” Ava screamed.

We raced after it and kept up for a little bit but, in a few minutes, we started to get tired.

“No!” I yelled.

The bird was getting away.

“We need to get the key!”

Just then, the bird noticed a small, yellow bird feeder hanging from a large oak tree. The bird dropped the key immediately, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I ran towards the key and grasped it in my right hand. As soon as I touched it, a green glow appeared around the key.  My mouth dropped open, and I felt like my eyes almost popped out of my head. My hand opened, and the key fell to the ground with a thump. Ava and I exchanged nervous glances. I decided to pick it up before anything else could steal it like last time. Once I did, the green glow appeared again. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my gut and felt as though I was being pulled down the street. It took me a few seconds to realize that the key was dragging me somewhere!

“Ahh!” I screamed, afraid to let go.

I picked up speed as the key led me through the streets of the town and across the beach. It dragged me all the way to a red, white, and blue lighthouse and helped me climb up its many stairs. Finally, I reached the top. The glow disappeared.

A few minutes later, Ava arrived at the top of the lighthouse, panting like a dog. I told her what happened.

“The key dragged me all the way here and then stopped pulling me and stopped glowing.”

“That means whatever the key unlocks is probably up here,” she shrieked with delight.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something shiny. Behind a white fan was a small, brown chest with golden swirly designs and a shiny lock.

“Look, Ava!” I called, and she came running over.

I clicked the key into the lock and turned it excitedly. The chest swung open to reveal an oval shaped block of gold that looked like an egg. It was surrounded by a green glow.

“Wow,” Ava whispered.

I was speechless. Just then, the woman from my dreams came walking up the stairs, her black dress flowing around her.

“Greetings,” she said in a booming voice. “My name is Delilah. You have done well on your mission.”

“Why did we have to find this golden egg?” Ava asked.

“It is the king of England’s most prized possession,” she said. “It was stolen by a man named Vladimir, but if the king ever found out, he would suspect that the Russian king stole it. That would start a war. After all, they have never been on the best of terms. I found out that Vladimir stole the egg, but he knew that I knew, so he cast a spell on me so that I could not return the egg to the king or tell anyone the exact directions to it. Vladimir stole the egg to cause chaos between England and Russia.”

“Why did you choose us to find the egg, and how did you enter our dreams?” I asked.  

“I chose you two to find the egg because you two are determined and work together. I also knew you were going on vacation here,” Delilah said. “And how I got into your dreams, that was magic,” she said as the corners of her mouth turned upwards.  

“Why did Vladimir hide the key in the birdbath and the chest up here?” Ava questioned.

“Well,” Delilah began, “the key was hidden in Vladimir’s closest friend’s backyard. I’m afraid that he trusted too much that his friend, Michael, would protect it, since he is a world traveler and is rarely ever at home. Though, I’m not sure why he decided to hide the chest up here.”

Then, Delilah said a strange spell. A white dove swooped down and grabbed the golden egg from her hands, and it flew off to deliver the egg to the king of England. Delilah turned to leave.

“Wait!” I cried. “What happened to Vladimir?”

Delilah turned quickly, and her dark eyes looked straight into mine.

“He’s still out there,” her words echoed in the small space, “waiting to strike back.”

“Your science project needs to be creative,” Jeffrey’s science teacher croaked, “so I do not want to see any baking soda volcanos, or — ”

Ring!!! The bell chimed as all the students got up and rushed out of the school. Jeffrey grabbed his backpack, hopped on his skateboard, and rode down the road with his best friend, Matt.

“Want to work on that science project tonight?” Matt asked.

“Sure,” Jeffrey replied, “it’ll give me an excuse not to do the dishes tonight.”

“Well, this is my stop,” Matt said as he pulled into his driveway.

“See you tonight!” Jeffrey yelled.

“My house, alright?” Matt called back.

Jeffrey gave a thumbs up and then rode down the street to his house.

“Hey, Mom!” Jeffrey yelled as he walked through the door.

“Hello, sweetie!” Jeffrey’s mom called as she ran down the stairs with a basket of laundry. “How was school?”

“Good!” Jeffrey replied. “I have to work on a science project with Matt at his house tonight!”

“Isn’t it your turn to do the dishes though?” Jeffrey’s older sister asked as she texted.

“Oh, give him a break, Alissa!” Jeffrey’s mom replied. “I’d rather him be doing schoolwork than the dishes. You’ll just have to cover for him.”

Jeffrey’s sister groaned while Jeffrey whispered a “yes!”

***

Jeffrey threw his plate in the sink and called to his mom, “Alright, Mom, I’m going to Matt’s!”

He flew out the door and hopped on his skateboard. He rode up the road to Matt’s house and rang the doorbell. There was a faint ringing noise inside and some feet shuffling before the door opened.

“Hey, dude!” Matt said.

“Hey!” Jeffrey replied as they both ran upstairs to Matt’s room.

Matt swung the door open, and they both walked in.

“Hey, Cameron!” they both said as they petted Matt’s small, brown monkey.

He flew out of his cage and jumped on to Jeffrey’s shoulder.

Jeffrey sat on Matt’s bed and asked, “So what creative,” Jeffrey used his fingers to make quotations and spoke in his teacher’s voice, “science project have you come up with?”

Matt laughed and replied, “Well, I was wondering what would happen if we put different kinds of food products onto a Cheezzo and then used wires to electrify it?”

Jeffrey smiled and then told Matt, “At least it’s creative!”

They both laughed until Matt ran downstairs and grabbed a ton of stuff from his cupboard and dropped it on his bed.

“You were being serious!” Jeffrey said and then burst out laughing.

“You thought I wasn’t being serious,” Matt replied.

They both laughed again. Matt grabbed a Cheezzo, and they both threw on baking soda, some more cheese, milk, and other food. Matt pulled out a plug with wires poking out of it and plugged it in.

“Ready?” Matt asked.

“Ready,” Jeffrey snickered. He couldn’t take this seriously.

Matt flipped on the lights, and electricity burst out of the plug.

“Ouch!” Matt yelled as he dropped the wire and the Cheezzo. “I probably should’ve put on gloves.”

The electricity bounced on and off the Cheezzo until some of it landed on the bed. The sheets caught fire as Matt, Jeffrey, and Cameron hopped off the bed.

“I also probably should’ve thought about getting a fire extinguisher too!” Matt yelled as Cameron cowered behind their legs.

They both looked forward at the flaming bed and gasped. Suddenly, all of the fire and electricity stopped moving. All of the water in Matt’s cup started to rise, and all of the light bulbs started to smash open. Somewhat of a rip in reality was torn open in front of them in thin air! Jeffrey walked slowly towards it. Inside the tear was the same thing that was behind it, only a little different. Matt’s bright blue bedsheets (at least before the fire) were a pale, orange color. Matt no longer had a dresser next to his bed. It was, instead, replaced by a tall, red lamp. As Jeffrey reached his hand into the rip, he was pulled in!

“Jeffrey!” Matt cried as he jumped through.

All of a sudden, everything started going back to normal (except the light bulbs.) The water fell back into Matt’s cup, the fire and electricity continued to violently wave, and the hole started to close. Cameron ran forward, and jumped in at the last second, and landed on Jeffrey’s head as the hole closed.

Jeffrey looked around the now complete room, to find that the hole had shut. He tried diving to where the hole was but just fell and hit the ground with a thud. Before giving up, Jeffrey looked over at Matt, who seemed just as confused as he was.

“This has got to be some sort of prank!” Jeffrey yelled.

“What?!” Matt replied in shock.

“You set me up, didn’t you?!” Jeffrey claimed. “That’s why you wanted me at your house, and why your idea for a science project was so ridiculous, wasn’t it?!”

“Whoa, man,” Matt started, “I take it as a compliment that you would think my level of pranking is this good, but I am offended that you think I would ever do this to you, or even anyone!”

“Look,” Matt said, “I’m about as much, if not more terrified than you right now, okay!”

“You’re lying!” Jeffrey yelled.

“GET… OUT… NOW!” Matt yelled.

Cameron jumped back onto Matt.

“FINE!” Jeffrey yelled, and stormed out the door.

***

Outside the burning house, sirens were heard. People gathered around the aflamed house. Firemen were hosing the house down, but the flames grew stronger. Two cars pulled up, and Matt’s parents came out.

“What the heck is going on?!” Matt’s dad called.

His question was immediately answered as his head turned to the right and was greeted with his house.

“Are my child and his friend okay?!” Matt’s mom cried.

A nearby police officer walked over and informed them that there was no one in the building.

***

Jeffrey strolled down the sidewalk. Many people gave him odd looks until he finally got to his house. Jeffrey turned the doorknob, but the door didn’t open. Must be locked, Jeffrey thought. Jeffrey rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door. When the door opened, a tall woman was standing in the doorway, whom Jeffrey had never seen before. She looked down at Jeffrey and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Jeffrey covered his ears as he saw the woman grab a phone and call someone. She slammed the door in Jeffrey’s face and ran upstairs.

A few minutes later, police cars came speeding down the road and stopped in front of Jeffrey’s house. Five police officers came out of their cars, and two of them walked over to Jeffrey. Jeffrey walked towards the officers to ask what was going on, until one of them slammed him onto the ground and handcuffed him.

“What the heck?!” Jeffrey cried.

“You have the right to remain silent!” one of the officers bellowed.

“Anything you say now can and will be used against you in court!” another yelled.

***

Matt and Cameron were on the couch, watching TV, when the news came on.

“This just in,” the news reporter started, “The criminal mastermind, Jefferson Needlemeyer, has been caught and is awaiting trial!”

Matt stared at the screen in disbelief. It can’t be him! Matt thought. His full name isn’t Jefferson, it’s Jeffrey.

“Here are photos of the criminal now!” the news reporter informed.

The pictures showed Jeffrey in handcuffs in front of his own house.

“Oh dear God,” Matt gasped.

There was a small creak, and then the door started to open. Matt jumped up and bolted to “his” room. He heard talking, and then someone came upstairs. “Please don’t come into this room, please don’t come into this room!” Matt muttered. Soon enough, the door opened.

***

Bang, Bang! The gavel sounded.

“Case closed!” the judge yelled.

Jeffrey had just been declared guilty.

“Take ‘im away, boys!” an officer yelled.

Two cops pushed Jeffrey out of the room and into an empty one. One of the officers pushed a button, and the floor started to open into the walls. Both of the cops fled the room and locked the door. Below was a glowing green room with a toilet and a bed. Jeffrey backed up with the opening floor until he hit the wall. He stood on the last piece of metal until there was nothing left, and he plummeted down into the room.

***

Matt walked over and put a tablet on his bed.

“What the heck!” Matt cried

Matt turned around and repeated, “What the heck!”

Matt stared at Matt in shock.

Matt stared back in shock.

“Who are you!” they both demanded.

“Well, I’m Matt,” they both replied.

“Wait a minute!” they both said.

Each of them started jumping around and doing the same movements at the same time.

“So you are me!” each of them said.

“Look, I need you to help me find my best friend, Jeffrey!” Matt asked.

Matt’s eyes widened.

“Jefferson is nothing but a no good criminal!” Matt yelled.

“Alright, before I argue about how you’re wrong, I’m going to call you Matt-2 okay?” Matt asked.

“Why can’t you be Matt-2?” Matt asked.

“Because my room’s way cooler!” Matt replied.

“Fine,” Matt-2 concluded.

“Now,” Matt started, “my Jeffrey is a good person, alright! And I guess yours… is a criminal?”

“You got that right,” Matt-2 replied. “But how exactly are there two of us?”

“It’s a long story, and it involves blowing up a Cheezzo. But my theory is that this is a parallel world to mine, and that’s why there’s two of us. It’s also why there’s two Jeffrey’s,” Matt informed.

“Jefferson,” Matt-2 corrected.

“Shut up,” Matt retorted. “Your world has the wrong Jeff — ”

“ — Erson,” Matt-2 interrupted.

“I said it once, and I’ll say it again. Shut up!” Matt repeated.

“And how exactly do you know we have the wrong one?” Matt-2 asked.

“Because the one on the wanted photo has a scar on his arm, and the one in the court pictures doesn’t,” Matt concluded. “Also because I called him, and a cop picked up.”

“Well let’s get going then!” Matt-2 yelled.

Both Matts rushed downstairs and ran out the door.

“Is it just me or did two Matts just run out the door?” Matt-2’s dad asked.

“It’s probably just your bad vision,” Matt-2’s mom replied.

***

“We’re at the jail!” Matt-2 panted.

“Next time, let’s ride a bike or something,” Matt asked.

“There should be a broken door we can go through at the back!” Matt-2 said.

“How do you know that?” Matt asked.

“Let’s just say this isn’t the first time I’ve been here,” Matt-2 replied.

“You’ve been in jail before!” Matt cried.

Cameron growled at Matt-2.

“No!” Matt-2 quickly replied. “I’ve just broken Jefferson out of jail before, when we were still friends,” Matt-2 exclaimed, “but then I realized that he lied to me, and that he did commit those crimes.”

“Oh,” Matt replied.

“Anyway,” Matt-2 started, “the broken door around the back.”

Matt and Matt-2 rode around the prison, and sure enough, there was a broken door.

“I’m surprised the guards haven’t noticed this yet!” Matt said.

“Same,” Jefferson replied.

“Who was that!” both Matts gasped.

“Me!” Jefferson yelled.

“Who!” both Matts cried back.

Jefferson sighed. “Jefferson,” he said in an annoyed tone.

“Jefferson!” both Matts cried.

“Did you not recognize my voice, you idiot!” Jefferson yelled as he slid down from a rocky hill.

“What do you want!” both Matts asked.

“I want simply for your Jeffrey to stay in prison!” Jefferson exclaimed. “Then I can get away with almost anything without anyone knowing!”

“You’re crazy!” Matt yelled.

“We ain’t going down without a fight!” Matt-2 yelled.

“Have it your way then!” Jefferson yelled back, cracking his knuckles.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Matt started, “Where’s Cameron?”

There was a loud crack, and then Jefferson collapsed onto the floor. Behind him, stood Cameron with a baseball bat.

“What the heck!” Matt-2 screamed.

“Where did he even get a baseball bat!” Matt asked.

“Well, it’s a prison. There’s, like, five baseball bats in each cell,” Matt-2 replied.

“Huh, neat,” Matt said. “Now let’s get Jeffrey out of their before this dingus wakes up.

Matt and Matt-2 rushed inside the prison and found Jeffrey’s cell.

“What are you doing here! Jeffrey whispered. “There are guards everywhere!”

“We’re here to — ” Matt was interrupted.

“Wait a minute,” Jeffrey started, “I think I’m seeing double!”

“It’s a long story,” Matt-2 said.

“As I was saying,” Matt started, “We’re here to break you out!”

“Great!” Jeffrey whispered, “I’ve been planning for this, so… here’s a crowbar!”

He dropped a crowbar on the ground with a loud bang.

“SHHHHHHHH!” both Matts whispered.

“It’s you we’re trying to get out of here!” Matt whispered.

“Sorry!” Jeffrey replied.

Matt picked up the crowbar and started bending it against the bars. After a few bends and ouches, the cell was open.

“Thanks, guys!” Jeffrey said. “But I must admit, I’m surprised that none of the guards noticed tha — OH GOD, NO!”

Jeffrey ran to the broken door while both Matts looked behind them. As they turned around, they were greeted with multiple guards running towards them.

“Shoot,” Matt-2 muttered as they both turned around and ran towards Jeffrey.

“Get back here!!!” a few of the guards yelled.

“We’re so dead!” Matt yelled as they ran outside.

Cameron jumped off the bike seat he was on at the sight of Jeffrey and both Matts, but then he immediately shuddered behind the bike when he saw the guards.

“Get on the bike!” Matt yelled.

Cameron jumped inside a basket on the back of the bike as Matt and Jeffrey jumped on. Matt-2 jumped onto his bike, and they took off, the guards in close pursuit.

“We need to get back to ‘our’ house and recreate the portal!” Matt yelled.

They raced back to Matt-2’s house and emptied all the shelves of their contents, threw it onto a Cheezzo, electrified it, and bam! Everything around them caught fire, the water lifted out of the sink, and the light bulbs started to smash!

“I forgot to warn you about this!” Matt yelled.

“It’s fine!” Matt-2 yelled back. “I’ve got a fire extinguisher in that closet, so once you guys get outta here, I’ll put it out.”

Suddenly, a portal opened in front of them.

“Oh yeah,” Matt-2 started, “There’s a big chance that you guys will be sent to another parallel universe!”

“Well I guess we’re going to have to take that chance!” Jeffrey replied as police sped past the house, looking for them.

“Hopefully they’ll find Jefferson before he wakes up!” Matt said.

“Thanks for your help!” Jeffrey called back as he and Matt walked through.

“See ya!” Matt-2 replied as the portal closed behind them.

Matt-2 ran and grabbed the fire extinguisher and started putting out the fire.

“Matthew,” Matt-2’s mom yelled in, “What’s going on in there!”

“Shoot,” Matt-2 muttered.

***

Beneath the fire in the burning house, Jeffrey and Matt reappeared.

“Well,” Jeffrey started, “I think we’ve learned a valuable lesson from this.”

“And what’s that?” Matt asked.

“We’ve learned to never eat Cheezzos again.” Jeffrey replied.

“Definitely.” Matt concluded.

“Now the question is,” Jeffrey started, “are we back in the right univ — ”

“Yup,” Matt interrupted as he pointed to the fire around them.

“Shoot!” they both yelled at the same time.

The End  

I had been waiting for this day all year long.

It wasn’t Christmas. Or Thanksgiving. Or even my birthday.

It was the last day of school.

For as far as I remember, I had never enjoyed school. It just wasn’t fit for me, as some people say. I would prefer to be at home, hacking my computer or playing Minecraft. But this was my favorite time of the school year –– the last day of school, the last period: Only an hour away from freedom. I couldn’t help feeling happy.

I drummed my fingers on the lockers as I walked down the hallway. My last class was math, which I wasn’t particularly good at. Usually, I dreaded going to math class and facing my strict teacher, Mr. Foster. But today was different. As I neared my math classroom, I thought, Only an hour to go! What could possibly go wrong?

When I walked in my math classroom, I caught Mr. Foster staring at me, trying to catch my eye. I didn’t notice, because I was too busy thinking about escaping school and being free. Just one hour! I kept repeating to myself. Then I’m free!

When class finally started, I couldn’t help squirming around in my seat with excitement. Mr. Foster stood up, and announced that he was going to pass out our end of the year math tests. That got my attention. I hadn’t really paid attention to the test, but I couldn’t fail… could I?

Mr. Foster frowned as he reached my desk. When he dropped my test on my desk face-down, he whispered to me, “Meet me after class. We need to talk.”

That really got me worried. I didn’t dare look at my grade, so I just left the test sitting there. I noticed a few kids staring at my test, and I squirmed around some more. A kid named Ash sitting next to me leaned over.

“Hey,” he whispered. “What did you get? I got an A. My mom is going to FREAK OUT when she finds out that I got something wrong.”

“Shut up,” I whispered back to him. “Stop bragging.”

“Hey, just let me see your grade, will you?” Ash asked, irritated. He reached over for my paper.

“NO!” I shouted. But it was too late. He had grabbed my paper off my desk, and sat back in his chair. All eyes turned to us.

Ash’s eyes opened wide as he stared at my paper, open-mouthed. “Lemme see!” Kids from all around called. Even I went up to have a look.

“Boys and girls! Go back to your seats!” Mr. Foster shouted. Nobody besides Ash had time to see my grade. Not even me.

“Here, you can have your test back.” Ash handed me my test. He still seemed shocked. What was my grade? Part of me didn’t want to know.

Mr. Foster sent everyone back to their desks. He began a lecture about keeping your grade to yourself. I didn’t listen. More important thoughts were floating around in my head.

Like my math test.

The rest of the math class was okay. Everyone kept giving me weird looks, while I tried to ignore them. Finally, when math class ended, Mr. Foster called me over to his desk. But I knew I had to see my grade first.

Slowly, I flipped the test over with my eyes glued shut. Nervousness flowed through me as I opened my eyes to take a peek.

When I saw the letter written on the top of my paper, I gasped. I stood up and ran out of the classroom, ignoring Mr. Foster’s calls. I grabbed my belongings from my locker along the way, and sped up as I ran out into the hallway and outside, sobbing.

* * *

I didn’t take the bus home that day. Instead, I ran home, crying the whole way. I didn’t take any notice of anything around me. I just ran, as if it were a way to escape from my teacher, my worries, and my grade.

When my house appeared in sight, I suddenly slowed down. Why was I running home? I thought. Great. Now I’m here early, and my mom is going to suspect that something is wrong. I guess I’ll have to hide out here.

So, quietly, I snuck into the front yard and hid in the bushes. It was uncomfortable, and prickly. Suddenly, a sharp branch poked me. I rolled over and crashed into the door.

“Ouch!” I shouted. I gasped. Did my mom hear that? I crawled back under the bush.

The front door suddenly opened and my mom stepped out.

“James! What are you doing, hiding in a bush? Is something wrong?” she asked.

I hesitated. “Uh, well, Mom,” I began, “I…I just like hiding in bushes. It’s… a new fad, hiding in bushes.”

Mom rolled her eyes, as if she didn’t believe me. I didn’t blame her. She knew that the only place where I would willingly hide in a bush was in Minecraft, and I was nowhere near a computer.

Mom sighed as she let me inside. “Well, you couldn’t have been hiding in a bush just because you felt like it. Come on inside and show me what’s wrong.”

Reluctantly, I followed. I knew I was doomed. For the first time in a while, I wish she would return to the way she once was –– too busy to see any of my grades.

I followed my mom into the living room and we both sat down on the couch. “So, I heard you got your final math test back today,” my mom told me. “How did you do? I hope you didn’t just rush through. This test is very important, you know– you could flunk a grade because of it.”

I shifted nervously in the couch, not daring to respond. My mom just sighed. “Well, if you’re not going to tell me, I guess I’ll have to look for myself. James, go get your test.”
I wasn’t about to give up just then.“Mom… I… uh…”

My mom turned to look at me. “Yes?”

“Well, um… I…”

I had no idea what to say. So I said the first thing that came to mind.

“I LOOOOVE hiding in bushes!” I told her loudly.

My mom shot me a weird look. So instead of arguing, I got up and pulled the math test out from my backpack. I handed it to my mom.

For a moment, my mom seemed to be in complete shock. She shook her head as she stared at the paper. “Oh, James,” she sighed.

“Well, Mom, you always say that an A-minus isn’t an A, so…I guess…”

My mom just shook her head. “James, go upstairs. Go hack your computer or play some Minecraft or something. I need to think. And don’t come down until I tell you to.”

Think. That word never meant anything good. I hated, HATED when my parents told me to leave just so they could think, and anger began to flow through me. Sometimes, I just couldn’t believe my parents.

Once I was upstairs in my bedroom, I loaded up Minecraft. Gaming was a way to make me forget about all my worries and whatever’s going on in life. It was also the perfect place to express my anger.

I chose a random server at the top of my list and logged in. In the chat, I typed, “I HATE MY FAMILY! All I feel is asdfghjkl;!”

A new message popped up from a moderator named NerdyGamr21. “Dude, don’t use so many caps. This is your last warning. Also, I highly doubt that your family would do something worthy of your hate.” And, then and there, I was kicked from the server.

I logged back in.

I used caps again.

This time, no warning. I was permanently banned.

Haha, they could never get away with banning me. I hacked myself back in. This time, I only stayed for about two seconds, enough to type, “Well, you wouldn’t understand what is going on in my family” in the chat.

I slammed down my computer screen. I had expected some pity from the players, not a moderator who banned anybody who disobeyed the rules. He was not at all comforting. In fact, he sounded a lot like my mom.

As I was thinking about that dumb moderator, I suddenly heard the sound of the garage door opening. Was it my dad? Apparently, it was. I cringed. Even though he would never yell at me, I knew he would be disappointed to see my grade.

I heard footsteps coming in the house. I squatted down and mashed my ear into the floorboards to eavesdrop. I could hear my mom, standing up from the couch. A small bang sounded.

“Oh, good, you’re here,” my mom remarked. I heard my mom’s footsteps. “I need to talk to you.”

They began whispering. I couldn’t hear much of what they were saying, but I heard my name involved. It didn’t sound good.

After a while of talking, I heard my dad say, “Mmm. Okay. I’ll go talk to him.” I heard the sound of a paper crinkling, and then my dad’s footsteps up the stairs.

I quickly realized that ‘him’ was me. I sat up and jumped up on the bed, trying to act casual. I opened a book and pretended to read.

A few seconds later, my dad walked in. He had on his “let’s get down to business face.” He sat down next to me and held out my test.

“So, James,” my dad began, “Can you explain your grade to me?”

“Can you really expect me to do well on that dumb test? It was so hard, and I bet nobody really got an A on it. So somehow, you think I can? I might not be super dumb, but I’m not the type you would expect to ace a test as hard as that one! I wish I could, but…”

I searched my mind for a random excuse. Nothing came to mind.

My dad shook his head and sighed. “Honestly, James, I wish you would be more careful sometimes. Now let’s go over this test.”

I sighed inwardly. There was no way out.

“So let’s see. Five wrong here, three wrong here, and six wrong here.” My dad turned to face me. “Looks like you need to work on algebra,” he told me. “That’s a skill you will need for next year.”

My dad flipped a page.

“Come on, James, I’m sure your teacher has explained this to you before. Why can’t you remember this? You have been paying attention in class, right?”

“Well… sort of,” I answered. My dad eyed me suspiciously. “Well… no,” I admitted.  

My dad looked at me from the top of his glasses, but didn’t say anything. He just flipped the page silently.

“Next page. Graphing data –– I remember your tutor taught you this before, but ––” he looked down at the page –– “17 wrong.” My dad turned to look at me again. “You have got to do better. There are only 20 questions on this page. What percent of questions did you get wrong?” He questioned.

I couldn’t believe that he was trying to make me ashamed of my grade by making me do the math. “Hey, how should I know?” I replied, annoyed. “You can’t make me do this!”

My dad stood up. “James, I want you to actually think about this grade. This is serious ––  it can affect your future. I’m going to go downstairs and speak to your mom.” And with that, he left me in my room. Alone.

Part of me felt angry for saying what I did. But most of me felt that my dad deserved it. Why were my parents becoming such jerks all of a sudden?

But I didn’t think about it for too long. With a sigh, I plopped myself down onto my gaming chair and opened up my computer. When all went wrong, Minecraft was the solution. Hopefully, the dumb moderator wouldn’t be there.

* * *

After a long time, my dad finally came upstairs. “James, I’ve made an arrangement for you. The math teacher said that your final grade was an F, and that is not enough to move on to eighth grade. So, you’re going to have to take the test again.”

I nearly fell off my seat when I heard his words. Repeat the test?! How would I do that? I had already failed miserably. How could they expect me to do well this time?

My dad somehow knew what I was thinking. “James, you might think that I’m expecting too much of you. But you can do it. From now on, study every day and you’ll do well.”

I couldn’t believe it. Every day? I was no nerd!

Just as my dad was going to leave, he stopped himself. “I almost forgot –– here’s a packet to help you study. I want it complete by tomorrow.” Then, he left.

I looked through the packet. 10 pages?! My dad really was expecting too much of me! Sure, maybe I could do 10 pages in a week. But one day –– impossible.

“Well, better get started,” I told myself reluctantly. I picked up my pencil and stared down at the paper. Algebra?!! On the first page?!! I shook my head. Nah, I’ll do that later, I thought. Opening up my laptop, I loaded up Minecraft. I have better things to do.

I logged in to the server where I first met the moderator, NerdyGamr21. Surprisingly, he was also on. It was almost as if he knew what I was doing.

Trying to ignore the dumb moderator, I went straight over to the parkour. But then, something in the chat caught my attention.

In the chat, NerdyGamr21 had typed, “Hey, xXProclassGamerXx, if I’ve been here for 20 minutes, how many seconds have I been on for?”

At first, I laughed. Somebody must be having the same problem as me, I thought. But when I noticed players gathering around me and try to punch me in the face, I realized that xXProclassGamerXx was me!

I burst out of the circle of players congregating around me and walked over to where NerdyGamr21 was standing. I told him privately in chat, “SHUT UP!,” and I left.

Imagine a system of gas pipes. There they are, sitting there, minding their own business, until somebody nearby lights a match, and the whole thing blows up. That’s how I felt when StupidGamr21 or whatever his name was insulted me –– I was exploding inside. But I just sat there, glaring at the screen. How dare he insult me!

I’ve had enough gaming for now, I thought. The only problem was that there was nothing else to do. I could do the math packet, but… that was too much work for me, and avoiding the packet came first in my mind.

But something in my mind urged me to finish the packet first. It was a huge burden, and I felt that facing it was the only way to make it go away. Fine! I thought, giving in. My dad will be pretty mad if I don’t do it anyways.

When I looked deep into the problems, I realized that they were not as hard as I thought they would be. I got through the first page in about 40 minutes, and started the second.

I finished the rest of the packet at the same rate. When I was finished, I had already eaten dinner, and it was nearly time for bed. I yawned. Even though the packet was the worst form of torture, I felt a strange type of pride in finishing.

That’s enough for today, I thought. I sat down on my bed, and put my head down on my pillow. I fell asleep instantly, exhausted from all the work. I think I deserve a rest.

* * *

The next few days came and went the exact same way. Each day, my dad would give me a packet to finish. I would also play Minecraft, but I would try to avoid the server where I had first met the moderator, even though it was my favorite.

By the fifth day of following this routine, I was getting really tired of these math packets. The pride of finishing one was wearing off, too, once I realized that I was getting several problems wrong.

My parents seemed to have changed a lot. I realized that my mom was beginning to go on the computer much more often, and my dad was always whispering to her in a small voice. I was beginning to get slightly suspicious.

That day, I went downstairs into the office and went on my mom’s computer. I pressed ctrl+H to check her history. When I her history, my jaw dropped open.

Tuesday, 4:21: Minecraft. Just twenty minutes ago. This wasn’t right. I closed the page and checked her home screen. Sure enough, Minecraft was downloaded.

I clicked on the icon of the green block of grass. The Minecraft launcher appeared. At the bottom left corner, I saw her username.

NerdyGamr21.

No, this couldn’t be right.

For a few moments, I just sat there, staring at the screen of her computer with a blank look on my face. How could my mom be a moderator? I thought. It occurred to me that my mom knew more than she let on. But that didn’t stop me from being angry at her. In fact, I was furious.

“MOM!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. My mom came running into the office.

“James! Is anything wrong? What are you screaming about? Why are you sitting at my computer, and what are you doing on it?”

She leaned over and glanced at the screen. “What –– oh, James.” Her voice dropped.

“Y-you knew. You knew the whole time that I’ve been playing on the computer, haven’t you? You’ve been watching and humiliating me on the server!”

“James-” my mom began.

“I’ve had enough.”

I stormed up to my room. When I logged on to Minecraft, I realized that there was a new addition to my list of servers. Surprised, I clicked on it.

There was only one other person on the server. NerdyGamr21. Wow, my mom was sure smart.

In chat, I typed, “What are you doing on here?”

A few seconds later, a response appeared. “I’ve come here to talk.”

“About what?”

“You. And your computer. And my job as a moderator.”

I didn’t respond. I sat back in my chair, watching the screen, waiting for my mom to go on.

“I just wanted to bring you closer to us, and your responsibilities at school. I never meant to humiliate you. I just felt that you being with your computer had brought us apart.”

I was about to respond, but it was just then that I realized that I had been spending so much time behind my screen instead of with my family. If I had been out and about more often, I would have realized what my mom was doing earlier on. But no. I had chosen to hide in my room, away from my family, away from my responsibilities at school, with my computer as company.

But this was going to end. I slammed down my computer screen. After years of hiding, I needed to face reality. Not the players in Minecraft. Reality.

I walked down the stairs and into the office. “Mom?”

“Yes?”

She closed the screen of her computer. “Do you want to talk to me?”
“Mom, I…”

My mom sighed. “I know, James. I understand that you find the computer very addicting. That’s the problem with most modern children these days –– they spend so much time behind the screen and don’t know how to spend time with their family. You’re not to blame –– it’s just all this technology. It can be tempting.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Some people text their parents instead of walking 10 feet to go talk to them.”
My mom nodded. “Exactly what I mean. You see, hardly any of these kids nowadays remember that they have parents right next to them. I have to admit, ever since I started playing Minecraft, I’ve really been addicted to this computer.”

“When was that?”

“Oh, just a couple months after you began playing Minecraft. At first, I was curious about what you found so fun about playing Minecraft, and I wanted to try it for myself. So soon, I realized how amazing the game was, and became addicted. When I realized that I was spending too much time on the computer, I decided to take a break. And now I’m back, to bring you back to reality, too.”

I nodded. “Well, I think I’m back. Don’t expect me to give up Minecraft completely, but I guess I have to face reality at some point in time.”

My mom smiled at me. “Well, speaking of reality, I think it’s almost time you take your final math test. Why don’t you go upstairs and study? You will take the test sometime next week. And don’t tell me you’re not ready, because the computer is no longer in your way.”

* * *

For the next few days, I studied hard. I tried to do as well as possible, and even my dad was proud of my progress. “Great work, James,” he told me after I had finished one of his packets with only three mistakes.

But as the test got nearer and nearer, I got super nervous. What if the same thing happened again? Then I wouldn’t be able to advance to eighth grade! I would be left behind with everyone teasing me.

However, despite my nervousness, part of me was still hopeful. I had studied hard, passing shouldn’t be a problem… should it?

When the day finally came, I had pretty much dropped the hopeful part of me. Nervousness dominated. “What if I fail?” I told my mom in frustration.

“Don’t worry. You only need to get a B+ or better to pass,” my mom told me. “You’ve been studying so hard, I don’t think it’ll be a problem at all.”

Easy for you to say, I thought.

My mom told me that I would be taking the test over at the school, so we hopped into the car. During the ride to the school, I fidgeted in my seat, playing with the seat belt. My eyes were glued to the view outside. There was a tense silence inside.

When we finally got to the school, I had calmed down a bit. Ok, I told myself. It’s just a test. I’ve been studying so hard, and I am bound to do well.

I followed my mom into the building, and I was greeted by the vice principal, Mr. Price. “Hey, there,” he greeted us. “I’ll assume you’re Ash. Are you here to retake the test?”

For a moment, I was shocked. Ash had to retake the test too?

Maybe he hadn’t gotten an A after all, I thought. But before I could think of something witty to tell of him, my mom tapped me on the shoulder, bringing me back to my senses.

“Uh-no,” I told Mr. Price. “I mean, I’m here to retake the test, but I’m James Larson. Where do I go?”
The principal led me inside the school and into room 214. “Here. Your mother will remain outside while you take the test.” I looked inside. A dozen other kids were sitting at desks scattered around the room. “We’re just about to start the test. You can go find a seat anywhere.”

I nodded, and chose a seat at the front of the room. Soon, the tests were handed out, and the time started. I grabbed my pencil and began right away. I couldn’t fail again.

* * *

“Okay, time’s up.” Our instructor, Mr. Snyder, came around to collect our tests. “Pencils down. As soon as I collect your test, you may leave the room.”

I dropped my pencil and glanced upwards. Just in time, I thought. I stood up as Mr. Snyder took my paper from me. With a last glance at the retakers, I left the room.

My mom was waiting for me outside. “Well?” she asked. “How did you do?”
“Fine.” I glanced down at the floor. We left the building in silence.

“Well, I’m excited to get your test scores,” my mom told me.

And I’m nervous, I thought.

* * *

A few days later, I found a package in the mail addressed to me. Must be my test scores, I thought. I brought it back inside, afraid of what it might hold.

“Mom?” I called as I enter the house. “The test scores came.”

Footsteps sounded from above. “Coming!” she replied. “What did you get?”

I shrugged nervously. “Who knows?”

For a moment, we both just stared down at the envelope.

“Are you gonna open this?” my mom asked me.
I shrugged. “You do it,” I told her. She ripped it open.

I didn’t dare look at her. I could hear the paper crinkling, and then a faint sigh of relief from my mother. I looked up and my eyes met with the beautiful A- scrawled at the top of my paper.

I couldn’t contain my happiness. I grinned at my mom, and took the paper from her. I went through my test. Only 3 wrong answers in the whole thing! “I knew you could do it, James,” my mom told me as she patted my shoulder. “I knew you could.”

I nodded, placing the test on the nearby table. Well, now that that’s off my mind, I thought, I guess I’ll go play some Minecraft. I began heading upstairs, but stopped midway. I looked down at my mom, who was looking me in the eye.

For a moment, there was silence. We just stared at each other. Then, instead of continuing my way up, I turned around and headed back down towards my mom. She looked at me, surprised.

“Aren’t you going to play some Minecraft?” she asked me.

I shook my head. “Of course not. I have my family with me, and that’s all that matters. I don’t care if I win a game in Minecraft, or if there’s a new update. I’m tired of hiding behind that screen.”

My mom smiled. “Well, I’m glad. So, you wanna go out for a celebration? We’ll go to Veneto’s, your favorite.”

I nodded. “Hey, why not? Let’s go!”

As we piled into the car, I felt a surge of happiness. Though I had enjoyed playing Minecraft for a while, I had finally found something even better –– just spending time with my family. Right there in that car, I promised myself that I would never be so closed off again. I would try to make some friends and spend more time with my family, and avoid that computer screen that blocked everyone out of my life. It was as if the wall separating me from my family had been broken down.

We were united once more.

Epilogue

That was how my brand-new life began. That night, I packed my computer away into my suitcase. It would remain there for a while.

I began to spend more time with my parents instead of hanging out, alone, in my room. We had tons of fun together, and went out for dinner together often. Together, we learned more about each other, which formed an unbreakable bond between us three. At the end of the month, I couldn’t imagine how I had been able to withstand so much time away from them.

But with all the fun I was having, there was no room for regrets. I enjoyed my time, and, as they call it, lived life to the fullest. I had never felt better –– and it would never have happened if I were still hiding behind the screen of my computer. Never once did I feel any pain at all for giving up hacking, because feeling what I felt inside, I knew it was the right decision.

“Okay girls, practice is over!” Coach beckons us over and we jump off the beams. “Good practice, Kiera, watch out for your landings. Britt, keep your legs together on your roundoff. And Katherine, work on you back handspring,” she informs the other three girls.

Then, she looks at me.

“Noelle, keep working hard, you’re our All State elite champion. The big championship meet is tomorrow.” A shiver of excitement runs down my back. Soon, I will be flying through the air at the National Championships. My dream! Coach dismisses us and I follow the other girls into the locker room.

“Noelle, are you nervous for the championships?” Kate asks me.

“No, not really,” I respond as I turn on the shower.

“You’re so lucky!” Britt tells me. She’s also an elite gymnast, but Britt doesn’t qualify for the National Championships.

“Come on guys, you guys aren’t competing,” I try to hide my pride.

“Well, don’t worry. We’ll be watching and cheering you on,” my best friend, Kiera, encourages. We scramble into my mom’s car, chittering nonstop.

“How was practice?” she asks.

“Great, now can we please go? We’re going to be late for third period and Mr. Netoon is so strict,” I urge my mother.

Without another word, my mom steps on the pedal and we’re off. A few minutes later, the car screeches to a stop in front of the middle school. Kiera and I run into Mr. Newton’s classroom and choose a spot.

***

Algebra, so annoying! A few hours later, after school, I’m doing my homework as I start to draw my routine on beam out of stick figures on the sheet. I’m certainly an Elite in gymnastics, but definitely not in math.

***

Before I know it, my mother is calling me for dinner. I’m done with my homework, finally. Standing up from my chair, I slam shut my textbook. Dinner consists of broccoli, tofu, a salad, and, my favorite, beets. As an Elite gymnast, we’re practically required to eat healthy, sucks. I start to eat my dinner in silence.

“So, Noelle,” my father starts, “we’ll be cheering you on at the competition.”

“Cool,” I exclaim and jab at my food.

Ding dong! The doorbell rings. Who could it be? I glance at my mom, who is wearing an I-know-something-you-don’t-know smile. A girl with midnight black hair and stone brown eyes walks in with her mom. “Noelle, this is Mrs. Reeves and Delia. Mrs. Reeves and Delia, this is Noelle,” my mom cheerfully introduces us. “The Reeves are our new neighbors I decided to invite them over!” my mom explains.

Mrs. Reeves and her daughter look serious. Too serious.

“I heard you’re the best in Maine and you’re heading to Champs tomorrow,” she drawls with a slight Texas accent.

“Um, yeah,” I stammer.

“Why don’t you girls go up to Noelle’s room and hang out?” my mom suggests.

I lead Delia into my room. Clearly she’s impressed. My room has a white loft with a desk underneath. On my desk I have a Macbook Pro and an iMac. On my wall, I have a poster signed by Taylor Swift. My closet is filled with designer clothes. All of my furniture is white with designs I painted on them. Basically, my room is the room every girl would want.

“You know, I could have made it to Champs. I don’t believe you’re the best,” she glares at me, regaining her snobby attitude.

Yeesh. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to prove to you tomorrow when I get first,” I saunter out of the room, grabbing my phone, and text Kiera.

NoelleHandstand1: Kiera! Save me! There’s this girl here named Delia who thinks she’s better than me in life!

KikiA42: Jee good luck dealing with her!

NoelleHandstand 1: u know what, I’m gonna go practice my bars routine in my garage.

KikiA42: OK tell Delia to go away. C u tomar at early morning practice B4 the Champs!

NoelleHandstand 1: BYE!!!

I slip my phone into my pocket. I race downstairs. As I push open the garage door, I yell to my mom where I will be. I ignore Mrs. Reeves’s snarky comment. She’s just as bad as her daughter. I pull on my grips; without them I would slide off the bars. I take a deep breath and my routine takes over me. Soon I land with a satisfying thunk on the blue mat. Panting, I grab my water bottle. I take a huge swig out of it and I get on the beam. My instincts take over and before I know it, I’m doing all sorts of complicated tricks. Suddenly, my mom comes out.

“Whew, Noelle it smells like a sweatshop in here,” she holds her nose and glances around. “Well, I just came to tell you that it is time for bed,” she finishes, closing the door behind her.

I groan and slam the garage door. The championships are tomorrow and my parents and coach are all about me winning. I mean, I’m excited to go because it has been my dream my whole entire life, but my coach and parents are a little extreme.

“Win or die!” is literally what they are all saying. Uhhh, so much PRESSURE.

A few minutes later, I’m staring up at the light pink wall of my bedroom. I may have fallen asleep, but my thoughts are still rushing through my head like a long flowing river. I wish that Delia — the devil, should I call her? — never ever came into my life. Who did she think she was, with the right to make fun of me? I also have wished, multiple times actually, that I wasn’t the best gymnast in the state. Oh, sure, I have all that fame, but I don’t think anyone has ever thought about how much PRESSURE is put on me. Half of me loves the fame but the other half is dead. They clash in a battle, 24/7. I’m in the middle. The coaches always say that I’m going to do fine, I’m perfect. But do I think that? Sometimes, not really….

***

“And you’re gonna hear me r-r-roar!” My alarm blasts Katy Perry’s “Roar!” as I groggily sit up. Then, I fall right back down, flat on my face. Today is the big day and I was having thoughts of doubt in my sleep. But, of course, first comes early morning practice. I don’t get it, why do they have practice on meet days; especially a meet as big as THIS. Grudgingly, I trudge to the bathroom and start to brush my teeth.

***

I take a running start, leap on the springboard, and do a flawless Yurchenko vault. As I stick my landing I hear my coaches whooping. Of course. How could I ever worry about Delia? Everybody knows that I’m gonna do fine. I perform flawlessly on beam, bars, vault, floor. At the end, Coach comes up to me.

“Noelle, we’re very proud of you, you have created a spotless reputation and we wish the best for you this afternoon. Just remember this, we’re extremely proud of you.” Yeah, all that cheesy stuff. After that was said, I go into the locker room to meet up with Kiera.

“So, I saw your texts of desperateness; is Delia really that bad?”

“Oh yeah!” I reply, not missing a single heartbeat.

“Well, gotta go, my mom’s taking me shopping for some new clothes, I’ll see you later,” Kiera leaves me alone as I smooth out my leotard for later. It’s red and blue, with a white line separating where the colors meet up. I’m so jittery as I shove my things back into my duffel bag and run out to meet my mom. Just like me, she’s jittery.

“Okay, Noelle, here’s your schedule. First you are warming up. You go to the practice room and practice for thirty minutes, and then it’s go time.”

***

I fly through the air on my final flip as I let go of the white bar. As I land with a refreshing thump on the dark blue mat, the enormous crowd goes wild. Maybe my coach’s pep talk helped. Or possibly it was the tight leotard that I had stressfully pulled on. Whatever it is or was, I end up with a 9.89. Currently, I am in first place so far. I stroll to my next event, bars, with ease. Obviously, I will do flawlessly.

As I have predicted, I do impeccably, and I am extremely relaxed as I start on the beam. I raise my arms to the judges and take a deep breath. Nothing can go wrong now, one more event. My starting pose is an upside down split with my hands gripping tightly on the chalky beam. Once my energetic music starts up, I don’t even bother to pay attention to everything. I know I will do fine. Normally, my senses would be on high alert; even on small meets. But, what really could go wrong? I have done everything impeccably.

I swing up on the beam. Perfectly with the rhythm, I do a pivot with my leg sticking out behind me. Then, I do a split leap followed by a quick back handspring. The whole time I am with the music. Then, I lie down and bring my legs all the way on top on my head. I unroll and do a handstand pivot. My next move is an aerial. Before I know it, it is time for my final move. I study the beam in front of me, and right on cue I start my double tuck and somersault. Do I finish it? Nope. Not at all….

***

The next morning, I groan as I pick up my gray crutches. Struggling, I force myself up from my bed. My mom calls me for breakfast and I slip on an outfit. It takes me a while, but finally I make it downstairs and to the breakfast table.

“Hey grumpy,” my mom ruffles my hair.

“Hmf,” I mumble as I glance at my phone to check the time.

It’s 7:30 and I have a gazillion texts. Kira has told me “relax,” and “it’s okay,” about twenty times. Delia is texting me fake pity faces that I chose to ignore. My mom and dad have been spoiling me since I woke up (there was a balloon and a brand new leotard on my bedside table) but it makes no difference. What was done is done.

I still have the clear image. I leap into my double tuck and somersault.  I hear the crowd cheering and I think of Delia. That little — all of a sudden, my feet and legs are going everywhere and I’m out of control. What is happening? Before I know it, it is too late. I lie sprawled across the blue mat, crying in pain. My mom and coach immediately rush over and help me up. My leg is bursting with pain and my coach sits me down. He asks me what hurts and I blurt out the whole thing, except for the Delia part. He tells my mom to call an ambulance. Soon, I am lying on a white hospital cot while the doctor announces the bad news. I have broken my leg.

“Honey, do you want Cheerios or Wheaties?” my mom asks, snapping me out of my daydream. Well, more like day nightmare.

“Cheerios,” I reply frankly and text Delia back.

NoelleHandstand1: Shut up you jerk.

I hit send; I’m not even thinking about what I’m doing. I just do it, like the Nike motto. Then, I delete her chat and clutch my phone. I feel as if I will get in trouble, but I don’t care. I’m now Rebel Noelle, committing crimes left and right. I’m done.

I wake up to the sound of my mom yelling for me. It’s only six and I don’t have to get up until 7:30. What could possibly be wrong at this time in the morning? I do a march-ish stagger to my mom’s room to chew her out for waking me up, but I soon as I see her face, I know it’s a bad idea. My mom is holding her phone like it was a bug and she has on a bewildered face.

“NOELLE! Look at this! Delia’s mom just sent this to me; apparently, you called her daughter a jerk AND you told her to shut up!” I have never in my life seen my mom so mad!

“Well, Mom, she was being mean to me and and — ” I don’t get to finish because my mom starts lecturing me again.

“That’s it, young lady, your phone is gone, for a week.” She opens her hand and I drop my phone into her palm. There is no use arguing.

“And, you have to find something to occupy yourself. Right now you have nothing to do,” she adds. Wow. Gymnastics was my life and my mom was already trying to replace it. I stomp away.

School seems to last for a year. Finally, I streak down the halls, well more like stagger, as fast I as I can to freedom, but something catches my attention. There is a two feet by four feet poster that says:

Art Club

Join Today! Meets Tuesdays

My mom did say that I have to start something new. Why not art club? I mean, as reluctant as I am, I also thought this sounded fun. When my mom says to do something, I have to do it. As I scribble my name on the signup sheet, Kiera comes by.

“You’re signing up for art club?” she asks.

“My mom’s making me,” I reply. Kira shrugs and we walk out of school together.

I slam the door shut as I announce that I’m home. My mom greets me and  takes my backpack.

“Did you pick up anything new?” she asks as I sit down.

“I signed up for art club,” I grudgingly reply. “We meet Tuesdays after school.” I grab my bag and march upstairs to do my homework.

***

“Today we are going to draw a person. You can make him/her doing whatever he/she is doing. Just remember, use your imagination and try your best,” Mrs. Ziegler beams at the art club. I pick up my pencil and start sketching. I promise myself that this will turn out terrible. First, I sketch a head, a body, arms, and legs. My girl is posing as if she just ended a back handspring. Her foot is slightly up and her arms are raised like a champion. Now, to add some facial features. Soon, she has a short, curly, blond ponytail and a smiling face. For my final touches, I sketch a leotard and a beam. The art teacher comes over and glances at my paper.

“Wow! You did an excellent job!” she picks my paper up and pins it on the board. My face turns red as all the kids crowd around and praise my character. I’m both proud and embarrassed. I can’t believe this, I’m having fun in something other than gymnastics. The rest of the time passes in a flash and soon I’m running out of the building to meet my mom.

“You sure look overjoyed!” My mom pulls out of the parking lot as I smile widely.

“The teacher posted my artwork on the board in art club and everybody liked it,” I explain.

“Great job! This is Facebook-worthy!” My mom does her happy dance and pulls over. Just so you know, my mom is a facebook freak.

“Say cheese!” She snaps a picture and pull up back onto the road.  

As soon as we get home, my mom posts her post and writes her caption. The whole time I was happy. I wasn’t thinking about one thing: Delia.

“Hi y’all!” a girl with black, raven hair drawls as she walks into the art room for art club.

Delia.

She plops down on the seat next to me and ‘accidently’ pushes my paper onto the wet floor. Groaning, I pick it up.

“What are you doing here?” I ask her.

“Well, I saw your mom’s post on Facebook and I decided to give art club a try,” she replies innocently.

My friends, Whitney and Kloe glance at me wearily. I give them a look as if to say, “Delia is not good news.” They seem to get the message. Before I have the time to think of a snarky comment to Delia, Mrs. Ziegler claps her hands.

“Class! As you may know, we have an art expo coming up. Only one student’s work will be featured from this club. Here are the list of contestants. Delia Reeves, Whitney Bernen, Kloe Mccarthy, Michael Zeidman, Joyce Lee, and Noelle Greenfield. Good luck!” The thing we are drawing is a person. It can be a boy or girl, and it can be doing anything, anywhere. I doubt I can win. The first day I was here, I drew a good character but I don’t know if I can do it again. Besides, Delia is competing. Isn’t she rumored to be good at life? Suddenly, I have a great idea. I raise my hand.

“Mrs. Ziegler, are we aloud to use artwork that we have drawn before?”

“Yes, of course,” she smiles.

“Are you too scared to lose?” Delia hisses in my ear.

“Nope, just preparing to beat you,” I walk away.

Gingerly, I take my framed picture of my gymnast down. I decide to use my original picture and trace it and color it in. Taking out my black Sharpie pen, I examine my paper. Tracing is an easy feat. Slowly, I trace my drawing, making sure I don’t mess up. Then, I take out my colored pencils and start shading lightly. When I’m done, I have a colorful image of a gymnast. Perfect.

“Mrs. Ziegler, here’s my art expo entry,” I hand the teacher my artwork.

“Great! Results will come out this afternoon. You are the last contest entry,” she replies.

I am so nervous throughout the whole day. Everything passes in slow motion. At one point in the day, Delia stops me.

“Noelle the Nobody! After today, that will be your brand new name. It suits you perfectly anyways.” She smirks and saunters off.

Soon, I stand in the crowd waiting at the art room. Delia shows up.

“I am so gonna win!” she singsongs in my face. Mrs. Ziegler comes out.

“The winner is…”

“Delia Reeves!” Delia yells in my face.

“Noelle Greenfield!”

I can’t believe my ears. Mrs. Ziegler holds up my entry. I catch Delia slinking away into the crowd. Finally, I have proven Delia wrong. I have won.

***

That night, I lie on my back and stare at the light pink ceiling of my bedroom. I am happy I have won but I feel like there is a hole in me. Inside me, I really truly just want to be flying through the air on my Yurchenko vault or doing back handsprings on the beam. But, I have finally realised that the true meaning of life isn’t about doing one thing. It’s about being flexible and trying new things. I slowly drift off to sleep as I dream of my victory. I have won in something other than Gymnastics.

Epilogue: Six Months Later

I do my final move on my floor routine. A split. A flexible one. My smile is wider than ever. After my leg healed, I was able to go back to gymnastics, but I had to freshen up my skills. Finally, my coach let me compete as an Elite gymnast again. My coach gives me a ‘high ten’ and I head to the award ceremony.

You’re probably wondering about Delia. Well, I told my mom that Delia was provoking me. My mom told her mom. Mrs. Reeves was steaming mad at my mom and me for ‘framing’ her dear Delia. So, she transferred her daughter to some rich boarding school place because apparently we were a ‘bad influence’ on her. I haven’t seen her in months.

As for art club, I still do art competitions, and I still do art club after school on Tuesdays. Now, I do Gymnastics, Art Club, and flute. At the end of the day, the more skills, the better. Even if you try and fail, it’s better than not trying anything new. I run up to my first place block and wave to the crowd. My life is not gymnastics. It’s not art. It’s not flute. It’s being me, Noelle Greenfield.

It all started when Brandon’s arch-enemy blew up the White House, the Capitol building, and all the museums and memorials on the east bank of the Potomac river in one explosion. Brandon and his assistant Stanley Dalton were visiting Washington D.C. to tell President Rosemary J. Staten, Vice President Michael T. Evans, and Secretary of Education Jerome J. Johnson about their new invention and how to use it. Brandon was just nominated for smartest ten-year-old kid charted. He had invented a one hundred percent correct, infallible lie detector.

The clock chimed twice when Brandon’s evil arch-enemy, Doug Brooks and his assistant Alan Walker, marched in carrying sixteen portfolios. All of them were practically spilling. Brandon clenched my diamond charm that his Grandma Holly gave him when he was five, a day before she died of a heart attack.

“Brandon, meet Doug, who has just invented a tester that can harmlessly go into any software and disable networks and CPUs,” President Stanten cheerfully announced. Doug spared a second to shoot Brandon a withering glare, and Brandon sent one with an equal amount of hatred to Doug. Stanley looked like he was going to implode. He was shaking and sweating and once Brandon looked at him he dropped all of his papers and ran into the bathroom.

“Look at that pathetic human. Brandon must be insane to have hired him,” Doug whispered to his assistant. As he said it, his eyes turned a freakish green and when Brandon looked at him, he formed a green light in his palms and shot it at Brandon. Brandon ducked and the green ball shot out of the window and smashed into Pennsylvania Avenue. A huge green ball rose from the crater and its diameter grew to almost thirty feet before exploding. Doug and his assistant teleported away right before the White House crumbled to ruins. Brandon saw Stanley, the President, Vice President and the Secretary of Education all spiral into the air. But Brandon couldn’t, because his teleportation cube was with Stanley. Brandon heard an alarm ring in the distance before he was sucked into a pitch black world.

Beep, beep, beep. Brandon opened his eyes. He was in a hospital and a machine was trying to keep him alive. He groaned at the dull pains all around my body and that got the doctor’s attention.

“Brandon? Are you alright? We just finished cleaning the chunk of muscle that one of the rocks cut off. You’re going to have some huge scars on your legs and face. You’re in Florida and got transferred from Annapolis to here. Orlando,” the doctor said, anxiety splattered on his face. Brandon guessed it was because his dad had threatened to sue the doctors if Brandon wasn’t better within the week. Brandon groaned and fell back asleep.

Brandon woke up again in the middle of the night. The doctors were absent and he had a pile of presents on his bed side table. He groaned. They were all from girls who would pester him to ask him out or something. The top letter was from Mom. The second he read the word ‘Mom,’ he started crying. His mom was also in a hospital with blood, breast, and lung cancer, and a brain tumor. He had just visited her the day before the meeting. She was better and she said he was a prodigy but she also mentioned she knew he was capable of more things. He was puzzled but at the time, Brandon and his dad’s flight from Los Angeles was to leave in two hours and he and his Dad had to rush to the airport. He didn’t want his Dad to know because he was strict and only gave terse replies to answers.

Brandon fell back in his pillow and cried himself to sleep.

The next day, the doctors did a blood test. Brandon had never needed one because he was rarely sick, so his parents never thought he needed one. During the blood test, two doctors fainted, one doctor gasped, and the rest looked like clueless monkeys. Brandon saw what was on the machine, and it said, “System error. No known explanation.” Then, for no reason, he felt the scars on his legs that the doctor said would be there. They were gone, disappeared, vanished.

“Uhh excuse me? One question. Where are the scars that you said would be on my legs?” he asked. They looked at his leg and three more of them fainted, leaving four gaping doctors who stared at his leg where no signs of injuries could be seen.

Soon, Brandon’s injuries were healed and he got ready to leave. He was told to go to the airport and wait for his dad. They were going to go to West Palm Beach. The doctors were still surprised by Brandon and his tests results. Brandon felt like gasping at them and the machines. He decided that they needed brain updates. All of them. He was soon out of the hospital. A wave of fresh, warm air greeted him. It was around 9:00 and nobody was around. He strolled around the area and went to downtown.

It was the opposite of New York City. The apartment buildings were low, and about six floors, and Business Buildings were just nine to ten floors. He crossed 8th street and continued his way to the airport. The second he rounded the corner, a man in a trench coat grabbed him by his  head and stuffed him into a suitcase. Brandon suffocated in the suitcase for ten minutes until the bottom of the suitcase opened and the suitcase stopped bumping along the pavement, indicating the kidnapper had stopped, and sounded like he was smoking.

Suddenly, in a flash of green light, a tunnel opened leading to a platform above a land of paradise. A group of girls were at a base of a mountain. They raised their hands and muttered some words before the mountain rumbled and out exploded a stream of lava that turned into rubies upon touch! Another group of boys were walking in a barren courtyard. They put a grape into a burning hearth at the center and in a flash of sparks, the columns of marble around the courtyard were covered in grapevines and soon, they bore fruit. The boys high-fived and patted each other on their backs, eating fresh, juicy, purple grapes. Brandon walked around the platform until he noticed a woman, in a wheelchair, around the age of thirty-six, beckoning toward herself. She was clearly motioning Brandon to come to her.

Brandon froze. “Mom?” he said weakly. The woman smiled. “Mom!” He started running toward her. She started running towards Brandon. He embraced her so hard she said laughing, “Loosen up! I’m going pins and needles.” They both started crying tears of happiness.

“I’m so glad you’re alright! I was worried sick. Your father is waiting down there, see?!” Brandon looked down. Dad was in the courtyard with the boys, clearly teaching them how to play football. He looked up and waved. Brandon waved back and all the boys started pointing and whispering.

Stanley waved to Brandon, looking perfectly normal, except that he had a purple staff. Stanley put his  staff up into the air and wrote, “Is Brandon alright? All of the campers are anxious to meet him.”

Then Brandon’s mom pulled out a neon yellow staff and wrote, “Brandon is fine. All is well.” The golden letters shown in the air, and disappeared.

Brandon didn’t realize his mouth was opened in shock, until his mom noticed. “Why are you suprised? I thought you would know by now what you are. Remember the bus driver with the horns? Doug and the green explosion? The time were you found yourself suffocating inside a palm tree in Mexico when you went to sleep in the Ritz Carlton, Philadelphia? These things were not just coincidences. You are a magician and so am I.”

Brandon was speechless. He had a hard time believing what  his mom said. His mom laughed.

“You had proof when you saw me take out a staff and write golden letters in the air with golden particles the size of teensy weensy atoms.”

Brandon gaped at his Mom for a few more minutes before he answered. “How are we going to get down if I don’t have a teleporter and both you and dad refused to use teleporters?”

Brandon’s mom stared at him looking utterly bemused. “Opinions change. I put some sense into your dad’s brain after I decided to use teleporters.”

“But where are the teleporters?” Brandon asked, exasperated.

She smiled. “You will see me perform one more spell before we go down for a tour. Here I go. Summonialo Teleporters!”

Two teleporters zoomed out of a black portal and clattered on the glass platform.

“Ready?” asked mom. Brandon nodded. She flicked the box open and requested “Nuanen Welden!” Strangely, Brandon understood what she had said. Nuanen means beautiful, and Welden means forest. Nuanen Welden means the beautiful forest. The teleporter started humming and Brandon, using previous knowledge, knew that was the ten-second warning. The box opened once more and a purple portal rose out. Brandon and his Mom grabbed hands and walked into the portal.

They spun through hyperspace. Images of other places raced past  them. Brandon caught glimpses of other areas. Cairo, Beijing, New York, L.A., Las Vegas, and tons of other cities. Then the portal opened up and they walked out to a huge marble doorway. On top read, “Astori! Fri Cai Vinr! Nai Onr Jan Oloso!” which means, “Welcome Friends! Make yourself at home!”

Brandon was still puzzled by his knowledge of this language. One day, I master French after one month of hard work and the next I learn a unknown language in two minutes, thought Brandon.  

After the entrance, they came upon the clubhouse. It had a huge pool, a patio, a pool table and a casino from what Brandon could see. Then they arrived at the mess hall. Brandon saw a huge campfire with strange symbols around it. The fire was still red hot in the ashes. Next they proceeded to the amphitheater. A huge outdoor stage was surrounded with layers of seats in a half circle. Then the party of two arrived at the cabins. Each of them had a symbol and a word in the unknown language. As Brandon began to call it. They read, “Fire,” “Water,” “Earth,” “Ice,” “Air,” “Electric,” “Animal,” “Plant,” “Mind Reading,” “Future Predicting,” and right in front was the knowledge cabin. Brandon peeked inside to see just a blank, swirling, black mist.

“Brandon! Please don’t do that. It’s forbidden in Nuanen Welden,” Brandon’s mom called out after she was greeted by the group of girls from the volcano. One of them offered a ruby bracelet to Brandon’s mom and she accepted it warmly.

“Mom, why couldn’t I see anything? That mist was not a portal, so why could I not see anything?”

Brandon’s mom looked like he should know this, but resumed a normal expression. She replied, “That’s because you haven’t passed the trial of the cores yet.”

“What is the trial of the cores?” Brandon asked.

She explained that you have to go through three days of obstacles to find out which group you are in. She also mentioned she was a mind reader, so Brandon realized how he could never force a lie past her. She also knew what was troubling him. Then a huge wooden manor loomed up in front of them.

“That is the haunted manor. Twenty-three years ago when I came here, one magician went in and never came out. Every night there is a explosion, and blood starts to seep out of the tallest room in a waterfall. Then a wave of pain seeps through you and you fall into a nightmare. Only two months ago did we find out how to stop the pain, but you will still have nightmares and they are about what you fear the most,” Brandon’s mom whispered, dropping her voice with a shudder as if she could still feel the pain.

Then they passed a cathedral that loomed higher than the haunted tower. It had a huge gold bell on top. The edges were beautifully carved marble and the stained glass art was made with so perfection it looked so realistic. Then Brandon realized that the people in the glass were moving. He gasped and pointed at the glass tiles like a baby that first saw a bird. The people actually glanced at him and some waved. The party pasted the archery range and they saw a huge wooden tower that had broken ladders leading to the top. Then they ventured on and then, the big golden bell struck seven times. It was seven o’clock, and campers poured out of the cabins and training areas.

“C’mon, the feast has begun!” cried Brandon’s mom, looking happier than he was when he was given the Nobel Prize for the rocket boots and the teleporter he invented just a few months ago.

They followed the campers into the mess hall. In just a few hours’ time from when they had passed the hall during the beginning of the tour, there were piles of mashed potatoes, rivers of cranberry sauce, heaps of rotisserie chicken, mountains of spaghetti, hills of Caesar salads and lakes of stews and soups. Brandon sat down with his mom and his dad at the high table.

Brandon noticed that the campers that were in the cabins were know whispering and pointing at him. He ignored them like the paparazzi that followed him wherever he went. Then Brandon began to pile some of the baked yams and the steak onto his golden plates. He asked where was any of the drinks and a server stared at him with a expression of pure horror. She strode away, now bearing a expression of exasperation.

Leaning to his left, Brandon asked his dad, “Why did that servant looked so scared when I asked where the drinks were?” Brandon’s dad looked amused and then replied in a soft tone Brandon had never heard him use. “The drinks are forbidden within a ten-yard radius of the sacred hearth where we do our daily sacrifices at the strike of midnight so we are not pained by that mysterious person up at the top of the haunted manor. We have to sacrifice a ice pearl, a lava ruby, a water sapphire, a leaf emerald, and the rarest, most precious gem of all: the knowledge diamond. It has been a millennium since a knowledge camper came here. They have been extinct because they attract to many spirits and aliens then they can fend off — ”

He had trailed off because Brandon’s diamond charm rose off him and was giving off a brilliant white light. All around Brandon people started bowing on one knee. Then Brandon’s dad said, “Rise Brandon, son of Ilirea, start of the new age of the Knowledges.” Then the diamond started spinning. It spun and spun until it shot a solid pillar of white light up into the sky. It shot through the atmosphere, hurtled past the planets, exploded through the kuiper belt, spun through the Milky Way and it smashed into the alien planet of Nar Gazvoda.

One billion aliens escaped on space ships before they saw their beloved planet shatter into a trillion tiny asteroids. They wanted revenge on that planet and they set off toward Earth, following the light that still shone and destroyed neighboring planets. Then, the light hit the oldest star in the universe, which was a trillion miles in circumference.

It started shaking, and then parts of the star started to rumble. It shook, then pieces of the star exploded and the star ended its life in the biggest supernova that sent the spaceships zooming at the speed of sound.

Meanwhile, at the camp, everyone had gotten up, and tensions broke. The campers all lifted Brandon on their backs. They had just arrived at the cabins when they heard a huge BANG, and they witnessed a supernova. The star’s light and streaked the sky red, orange, yellow, and purple. The asteroid belt had been greatly disrupted and the asteroids flew in the direction toward earth.

The campers saw and set Brandon down to get staffs. Then the first asteroids came barreling down and the campers all muttered “Relashio,” and the asteroids reversed and crashed into each other. The meteors were equally as dangerous as the asteroids, because they traveled twice as fast.

Up in Augusta, the rest of the world saw a spectacular meteor shower until it started plummeting through the atmosphere. People screamed and fled. One by one, the meteors plummeted down, crashing and exploding worldwide known landmarks. The Forbidden City, the World Trade Center, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Pyramids of Giza, the Sydney Opera House, the Statue of Liberty, the Big Ben in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Blue Domed Church in Santorini, the Great Sphinx of Giza, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, The Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, and thousands of other fascinating landmarks that some people will never see.

Every death and destruction of a human of a landmark was a spear in Brandon’s heart. He had been to all those places and yet millions of people might never see one of them. The meteors swirled and crashed into the earth. Then the bigger asteroids came crashing in and a huge eruption of dirt, grass, rock, trees, water, and lava shot out of the ground as the asteroid crashed into the Gulf of Mexico for the second time.

Brandon woke up from his groaning. He was electric-tied onto a mat on the wall. He was in a solid titanium cell. He could hear voices on all sides of the cell. He had the strange sensation that he was hovering over a large fire. It was sweltering in the cell. The cell itself was a oven, and Brandon got the impression whoever put him in the cell wanted to cook him alive. Brandon started struggling against the electric-tied rope and all he got was a painful electric shock up against his ribs. He realized that his legs were both broken, and even if he managed to get off, he would have no chance in finding a way out. He let go and let himself fall into another coma.

When Brandon came fully into his senses, he was in a completely different room. It was decked out with a spa, bed, dinning table, a maple desk and a teleporting closet. Two aliens were whispering in the corner. He struggled against the binds and realized that it was not eletric anymore. He fell limp but then a strange glow started forming in my chest but expanding so rapidly that Brandon felt as if he were going to explode. Then a scream erupted from his mouth and the light burst in a huge beam. The beam erupted into a web and a it started criss cross into a huge circular dome around Brandon.

Then another light shot from his mouth and started twisting itself right the center of the dome. Then a stream of white light collided with the blue light and started spinning. The aliens who were talking had stopped and watched as the light shone ever brillianter than before. Then the light stopped twisting and started solidifying in a spear? No, a staff!? Brandon looked at the staff in bewilderment then the staff rose into Brandon’s outstretched hand and he clasped it hard in his sweating palms.

Then he shouted, “Summonialo Teleporter!” and a teleporter whizzed through the air and landed in Brandon’s other palm. He opened it and yelled the only place that had ever felt like home, Nuanen Welden. He crumpled when he hit the ground because it was so rocky. The place looked deserted and Brandon thought so until a voice rang out.

“Brandon!” A camper came running out of a wrecked cabin. “We were so worried. The aliens took you. How did you escape. You would need a staff — ” The camper’s eyes fell onto the staff topped with the blue swirling sphere.  “Wh-wh-where did you get that staff!?”

“Later. Where are my parents?” Brandon questioned.

“They’re alright. But their current whereabouts in the camp are unknown,” the camper answered. Before the camper could speak, the camper turned white and started speaking the ancient language so fast that all Brandon heard was gibberish. Then, the camper’s eyes turned a ghostly white and projected a beam of light that spoke to Brandon.

“You shall go south in search of peace between aliens and humans. You shall encounter many dangers along the way. You shall find peace in the golden light. Brandon, Elizabeth, Benedict, Harvey, Stanley, Jeffrey, Ronaldo, Amanda, Heather, Judith, Richard, and Benjamin shall go. One person shall perish in his sacrifice for peace for both aliens and humans and the golden light. If you fail, the world will be consumed in darkness and famine. One shall betray the group of ten. Three will be sacrificed on there own will. He, the leader, shall bring his biggest desire to rest by accomplishing it at his end.” The camper collapsed in a heap.

Then, the voice of Brandon’s mom echoed through the campus. “Brandon, Elizabeth, Benedict, Harvey, Stanley, Ronaldo, Amanda, Judith, Richard and Benjamin, please report to the clubhouse immediately for discussion. Bring your staffs along.”

Brandon scrambled over the rocky ground toward the clubhouse. Along the way, more people joined him, running and jumping along to the clubhouse.

Then all ten people pushed on the door and the door swung open with such tremendous force it flew off it’s hinges. The oldest looking one held up an emerald green staff and whispered in a low deep voice, “Reparis Door,” and the door rose into the air and latched itself into the hinges. Then all ten of them crept into the clubhouse, Stanley squeezing Brandon’s arm so hard that it turned purple.

Then, Brandon’s mom’s voice called out through the darkness.

They all raised their staffs (except Brandon) and shot balls of bright, golden light that spewed warmth and a shower of golden sparks. The light illuminated the room and Brandon saw his mom sitting behind a large wooden desk that Brandon suspected was oak and was elegantly carved. A quill was scurrying across, writing exactly what the camper said. Then, the quill exploded and turned into a wax stamper and banged the paper.

Then, Brandon’s mom looked up and said, “So, the group of you have been chosen to start the first quest that has happened in a eon. I want to give you all my knowledge about how to complete the quest. You should know that if you directly walked out of the camp and flew up to the real world, you would find yourself in Augusta, Maine.”

Everyone nodded their heads except Brandon. He thought it was Orlando since he was kidnapped in Orlando and slid down that slide.

There was  a moment of silence before a bell started chiming. Thirteen times? A clock never chimes thirteen times! Then, a sound of chaos met their ears, and Brandon assumed it was a warning bell.

Brandon’s mom stood up and yelled, “Go to Atlanta to find peace!” before they heard the sound of spaceships zooming down from the periwinkle sky.

“RUN!” Stanley yelled. They all scrambled out of the clubhouse and Harvey conjured a shield around them. Campers were battling aliens, and Elizabeth whispered “Ascendium Stairo!” and a long staircase made out clouds appeared. They all sprinted up and into an unrecognizable world. The city was in ruins. Fires were burning and the remaining buildings that were still standing were either leaning at an incredible angle or  had huge chunks torn away or were charred black.

Then Elizabeth tried to conjure a cloud jet but as soon as she had muttered the spell and a cloud started forming, the sky turned red and the cloud exploded into a shower of lava and the team scattered. Harvey conjured a compass from nowhere and said, “That’s south, and we should go south.”

The team started south. They passed ruined cities. They made it to North Carolina before an obstacle came. The team had just entered a ruined city that seemed like Charlotte when they came upon a park that was completely unharmed. The group was tired and sore and all ten of them sat down on benches when the ground started rumbling and a hydra burst out from the ground.

The hydra pelted them with poison but Ronaldo waved his staff and the ground started trembling and geysers erupted straight out of the ground. Water splashed everywhere and the hydra spluttered out a wave of yellow water. The team ran and dodged geysers. Stanley shot fireballs at the hydra. Benedict sent a tornado spinning at the hydra and a ghostly green head went flying into a tree and disintegrated into a shower of sparks. The tree quickly caught fire and sparks were flying. The hydra roared and cracks started appearing on the ground. Amanda froze the ground into slippery ice and started pushing the hydra back with icicles.

By the time the icicles had stopped flying, the hydra was covered in cuts. Then Richard and Judith at the same time, turned the ground into coral and the hydra was poisoned as soon as the coral touched him. Benjamin started wrapping the hydra with lightning and Brandon had no idea what to do so he raised his staff and thought, Please save me, when an orb of light formed at his staff and disintegrated the hydra. The team started whooping.

They arrived at Atlanta after weeks on I 85, when the team was refreshed. Atlanta looked like Charlotte in every way until they realized a mile out of the city, and a circle of landmines surrounded the city. They made their way through until Benedict held up a watch and said, “Goodbye team.” He pressed a button and the mines started exploding.

The team raced through the landmines and sprinted away. On the way, Ronaldo fell and was consumed, and Harvey died while trying to punch Benedict. The team of seven watched as the fire advanced on Atlanta. Suddenly, spaceships descended and the team quickly found themselves surrounded by aliens. They battled desperately through the apocalypse and found themselves in the courtyard of Brandon’s old boarding school.

The world was at its final stand. Disease, war and destruction were consuming earth. Most of Asia and Africa had fallen. The Asians and Africans that had escaped to the other continents (including Antarctica) found the other continents as bruised and battered as their own. Brandon and his fellow magicians sent spells flying into the sky and ricocheting off stones and trees with their staffs. They were in the courtyard of the boarding school Brandon went to a whole year ago. It was a alien apocalypse. Every second another magician went down. Then, a golden light burst from the front of Brandon’s staff and made a shield around him. The shots from the blasters just turned into golden light. He suddenly remembered what the camper told him. The quest for the golden light! The Prophecy of the light.  The camper spoke to him four weeks ago.

“One person shall perish in his sacrifice for peace and the golden light. One shall betray the group of ten. Five will be sacrificed through their own will. The leader shall bring his biggest desire to rest by accomplishing it at his end.”

He was going to die. He was to bring peace to the warring world and never see it. He told himself, “Make your mom proud by doing a recognizable act to salvage the world,” and he let the power he was channeling from his knowledge diamond go. For a second, he was engulfed in a golden light so brilliant that he thought he was in a solid golden coffin.

Stanley was overrun with aliens when he saw Brandon rise into the air with a golden shield and explode. The light shot a beam into the air and the world started repairing. The light picked up the ruins of cities and rebuilt them again. It regrew burnt crops and healed destroyed forests and with it, brought peace. The aliens slowly started fading and soon, all that was left of them were melted guns and a couple of blasters. The remaining group rushed toward where Brandon was but all that was left was the knowledge diamond. Elizabeth started crying, Amanda and Stanley silently started grieving over their friend. They opened up a portal and teleported to Nuanen Welden. The whole Nuanen Welden was cheerful until they found out that Brandon was gone. The funeral was held that day and all the knowledge diamond was burned. Everyone was crying. For the funeral, Stanley made a speech.

“Brandon was a good friend of mine. We went to the same boarding school and he made me his assistant last year. So much has happened in a year. We grew up and matured together. We built a teleporter, a chemical vacuum and a lie detector together. We fought through aliens together. Brandon was always an honorable and loyal friend. He helped rebuild the world by sacrificing himself. We were together. The one thing I learned from our friendship is that you are more powerful when you are together.”

“I’d like to welcome Erica Middleton to this class,” Mrs. Evans, a 7th grade homeroom teacher at Riverside Middle School, announced on the first day back from Winter Break.

A timid girl stood up at the front of the room, shivering at the thought of even standing in front of her class, let alone speaking to the students sitting at their desks.

“Hi? I’m Erica Middleton, and I moved from England?” Erica spoke softly with a slight British accent.

Another girl with a short bob of blonde hair spoke up, “Um, Erica, do you even know if your name is Erica or not?”

“Lacie, when did you become the teacher?” Mrs. Evans asked sharply. She glared at Lacie Kibbel, the leader of the popular group.

“What? I was just pointing out that she should have told us rather than asked us.” Lacie rolled her eyes.

Erica

I knew from the beginning that Lacie was not going to like me. After all, I was shy and unpopular. Probably the exact opposite of her. Lunch came so slowly, all the teachers kept asking me questions. Like, where did I move from? Why did I move? What school did I use to go to? When I answered, every time, Lacie Kibbel snickered. Which, of course, made practically half of the class snicker.

But then lunch finally came. I deliberately sat at the table farthest from Lacie’s group. So I sat at an empty seat where I thought I was safe from other people. I was wrong.

“Is anyone sitting here?” a girl named Brianna asked. “And you’re Erica, right?”

“Yes. And are you… Brianna?” I asked back. “Are you friends with Lacie?”

“Yes, I am Brianna and no, I am not friends with Lacie. She claimed I was her worst enemy in 5th grade. I think she forgot about it a week after,” Brianna ranted. She sat down next to me. “I hope you aren’t like her, she is so…annoying, popular, and stuck up.”

Across the room, I could see Lacie and her popular group looking at me and pointing. I pulled out my phone and saw Lacie’s smug expression turn into a shocked one. I could see her mouth forming the words, “She has an iPhone 6S?” I laughed to myself softly. Then I texted my cousin, Kate. Kate Middleton, the world-famous Duchess of Cambridge. I know, you’re probably really shocked right now –– or… not. Her dad is my dad’s older brother, so that’s why we have the same last name. I texted Kate, about my ‘situation’, and she was really sympathetic.

“Who was that?” Brianna asked, curious.

“Oh, just my cousin,” I answered nonchalantly. Then conversation turned to the usual. None of were us talking, just eating in silence.

Soon enough, recess came. As I stepped outside into the frigid winter air, Lacie strode up to me, sneering.

“Oh, were you just… let’s see… texting your dear mum? Who had to save her salary for years just to get you that phone? Huh, Erica?” Lacie taunted, as I debated with myself to tell her about Kate.

Don’t do it, don’t do it… I begged myself. So I didn’t. I walked away and began to jump rope.

Lacie

“Hi Erica” I saw my best friend, Sage Blick, yell to the new girl. “Wanna do a jump roping contest? And I like your shirt, it’s really pretty.”

“Of course!” Erica replied. “Your shirt is pretty, too.”

Lots of my other friends followed Sage’s lead and complimented Erica on her designer clothes. None of them have complimented me on my clothes. Mine are much nicer.

I strode up to them and eyed Sage. “Um, I’m pretty sure Sage doesn’t want to talk to you, she’s just… faking it. Right, Sage?” I nudged her –– more like shoved her –– and she finally agreed with me. Was I seeing things, or was there a flicker of disappointment in her eyes?

During the next period, I had a little talk with Sage. Long story short, she was glad that she didn’t have to be in the popular group. Seriously? And worst of all, she went to hang out with Erica.

“Lacie, do you have any good book recommendations?” Miranda Jis asked me. That girl loves to read, and she can be, well, pretty crazy without a book. Anyways, we ended up talking about a lot of books. So then I recruited her as my new best friend. Of course she said yes because my puppy-dog eyes and blinding white smile and good fashion sense are pretty hard to resist.

I had expected that, by the end of the day, Sage would have come up to me and apologized. She didn’t. She almost seemed to like her new life as a loser was better than when she got special treatment as my best friend.

In Social Studies, Ms. Norman gave us partners for the Lewis and Clark project. I got paired with Sage, and Miranda was paired with Erica. Why do all the bad things have to happen to me?

“Ms. Norman?” I asked sweetly. “Can Miranda and I be partners, and can Erica and Sage be partners? Please?”

“No, Lacie. You must do the project with Sage, and Erica must do it with Miranda. Understand?” Mrs. Norman replied curtly.

“Yeah… Sure, whatever you say…” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Erica

Miranda and I got together to brainstorm for our project. She really is nice, even though she’s Lacie’s best friend. It really is hard to believe that she would ever be as mean and as harsh as Lacie, since Lacie trained all her followers to be mean and harsh, like herself.

So, on Friday, Miranda and I hung out at my house. We got some work done, but mostly talked and laughed together.

“Erica, you’re so nice. I wish that we could be best friends,” Miranda said thoughtfully. “I know, you and Sage and Brianna could become part of the popular group, and we could be friends. That way, all your friends and my friends could form a super mega awesome group.”

I smiled weakly. Did she not know that Lacie was basically my mortal enemy? But, oh well, she liked me, and I would do anything to make sure I didn’t get another enemy.

“Uh, sure.” I faked cheeriness and smiled, but inside I was thinking: Oh no, please don’t do this to me, please don’t. Don’t you know that your new best friend is not nice? That she hates me? Please, Miranda.

But Miranda seemed oblivious to all this and left happily. Then I went to contemplate what I needed to do on Monday. Maybe I could fake being sick, or tell Miranda I didn’t want to. I didn’t want Lacie to tease me 24/7. Thousands and thousands of possibilities popped into my head. Then suddenly a small voice at the back of my brain woke up.

Hey, wait a moment., the voice yelled at my thoughts. Since when does Lacie Kibbel control what you do and don’t do? Last time I checked, you’re supposed to think for yourself, Erica.

“Fine,” I wanted to yell. “Fine, I’ll think for myself, now stop bothering me.”

On the dreaded Monday, I walked into homeroom trying to look confident. I guess I did a pretty decent job, since Lacie whispered in my ear, “Think you can overcome the popular group, huh? Well, you can’t.”

Later that day at lunch, Lacie didn’t miss any chance to insult me. When I was buying a slice of pizza, Lacie sneered, “Ah, I see that you don’t really care about your appearance –– pizza is really fattening, you know. I got a salad.” Lacie waved her salad in the air. “But on second thought, pizzas are the cheapest meal, so that’s probably the only thing your poor mum can afford.” The kids in the cafeteria gaped open-mouthed at us. Some of the popular group was glaring at me, but what did I do? Just bring out the nasty side of Lacie?

“Well sorry, Lacie, but I’m pretty sure that last Friday, you got and extra cheesy pizza and a double order of deep fried french fries. Is that true?” I asked, almost mockingly.

“Oh… Well, you must have seen one of your BFFs,” Lacie said. Then she said something that sounded a lot like ‘Sage Blick’, and turned back to me. “You got that meal. Didn’t you, Sage?” Lacie smirked, as Sage turned a shade of bubblegum pink.

“You know what? I think I have a headache. I’ll go to the nurse,” I scooted out of the cafeteria as quickly as I could.

Before I left, I heard Lacie howl with laughter. “You’re admitting defeat, aren’t you? Poor peasant girl.”

Lacie

After Erica left, I went back to eating my salad in peace. But I never thought that those losers would have the guts to stand up to me.

“Seriously?” Asked Sage. “Lacie, I was your best friend for four years. Those first two years, you were the greatest friend I could imagine. You were so nice. I never imagined that you would be so rude to another classmate, but those last two years… I didn’t see a speck of that old type of you. Nothing meant more to you than popularity. It surprised me. I would gladly be your best friend, if you ever became your old self again.” By the time Sage ended her speech, she was close to tears.

“Seriously, you’ve been really mean to Erica, Lacie,” Brianna spoke up. “I know that you love your popularity, but seriously? Unless you actually become nice, not your fakey-fakey type of nice, Erica’s going to become the new popular girl. And… you’re going to be out of the game.”

“Oh well,” I stuck my nose in the air and puffed up my chest. “I’m pretty sure that you two and your poor friend Erica will never overthrow my popular group.”

All of a sudden, to my surprise, one of my loyal followers decided to go to the loser’s side. I gasped, then quickly regained my composure. What was going on? Well, at least I still had the majority of the grade on my side, the right side, so I thought.

One by one, my popular group walked over to the loser’s side quietly. Soon, only Miranda and I were left.

“Miranda, I knew you would stick by me, we’re BFFs forever,” I put my fist in the air, ready for a fist bump. But Miranda shook her head.

“I’m really sorry Lacie, but…” Miranda started inching toward the loser’s side.

“What is going on here?” I exploded. “Somebody explain, right now.”

“Um, well, I guess that I think Sage has a point?” One of my former buddies mumbled. “And, I guess, you should be nicer to Erica?” I glared at her.

Then Miranda, the biggest traitor of all, started talking.

“Um, Lacie? I think that everyone here thinks that you’re being way too nasty to Erica. She doesn’t deserve any of that. I know that Erica is actually really nice. Please, Lacie, please just give her a chance.” Miranda asked, on behalf of all the losers.

“No way.” I practically yelled. “She comes from a poor family. If we were in England, we would say that she is a poor peasant girl. Why would I want to befriend her?”

Sage just sighed, “Lacie, you are hopeless.”

Erica

The next day, as soon as I sat down at my usual lunch table, the whole popular group swarmed around me. What was going on? I felt just a bit of sympathy towards Lacie –– having the popular crowd practically worship you one day, and have them ditch you the next. I had no idea what had happened.

“Um, Erica?” Lacie asked, her voice sugary sweet. I knew immediately that this niceness was all fake. “Can I sit here?”

“Sure,” I replied. It was the least I could do for Lacie, after all, she just got ditched by her so-called friends.

Lacie sat down gingerly, smoothing her skirt down. She was still rude to me, but her ego seemed to have been cut in half.

At lunch, it it felt like the first day of school for me all over again. Questions were asked over and over again, but this time by different students. Only Lacie was quiet.

I, meanwhile, was texting Kate. In case you don’t remember, Kate Middleton is my cousin. Like, the duchess.

Erica – Hi, just BTW, Lacie doesn’t

seem to hate me as much now.

I dunno what happened.

I think I should tell her about

how you’re my cousin.

Kate – Awesome If you decide to

tell her, just don’t say it like a big

deal. Just casually. Tell me their

reactions.

By the end of the lunch period, several questions about my family came up. I told them all about Mom and Dad. But I didn’t mention Kate at all. Then, finally, at the end of lunch, I stood up to dump my garbage out, and said, “ooh, and by the way? My cousin is Duchess Kate Middleton.”

That practically freaked everyone out, especially Lacie.

“What?” Lacie screeched, horrified. “You? That’s impossible. You’re a liar, and your family is poor. It is absolutely impossible.” She glared at me, her posture radiating hatred.

I shrugged: “Oh well –– if you don’t want to believe me, then don’t. See ya.” I started towards class, but Lacie stopped me by pulling on the back of my sweater.

“Erica Middleton, you are a liar and a fraud. If you actually pay attention, you will notice that nobody believes you. Just tell the truth,” Lacie snapped. “Just admit that your family is unbelievably poor. After all, it’s the truth.”

“Well,” I replied. “Like I said before –– don’t believe me if you don’t want to. Your choice. I might come to school with proof tomorrow or the day after that, Lacie. You might just want to wait and see.”

“I don’t need proof to know that you are lying, Erica,” Lacie snarled.

“Okay, Lacie. I don’t care if you believe me or not. Just drop the topic,” I said without turning around. Then I walked to class.

Lacie

Erica just said to “drop the topic” But I can’t, really. All my life, I have obsessed about the royals, but I’ve never met one. I have always wanted to be one. But then Erica said that she was related to a royal. More specifically, Kate Middleton. Like, she is absolutely so pretty, and so perfect, and I really want to be just like her.

But, that proved my suspicions. As soon as she said, on the first day, that she was Erica Middleton, I had a sneaking suspicion that she was related to her. After all, their last names were the same, and they both were from England.

That night I went to bed, but it took forever to go to sleep. I tossed and turned, thinking: What if Erica was related to Kate Middleton? Then what would happen to my empire? What would happen to me? I thought worriedly. As I fell asleep, I hoped that the next day would be be a lot better.

The next day, as I walked into homeroom, I noticed the slight chatter. Mrs. Evans saw me come in, and said: “Oh, hi, Lacie. Erica told us that a special guest from her family was coming to visit. She’s arriving in a couple of minutes.”

I nodded, having a feeling that it was Kate Middleton.

A couple minutes later, an announcement was made for the 7th grade to go to the auditorium. Erica was going to meet her guests with two friends, for an up-close meet-and-greet. She, of course, chose Sage and Brianna. I was so jealous. Even though I never wanted to be friends with Erica ever, I still wanted to meet Kate Middleton.

When we got to the auditorium, Brianna and Sage sat down excitedly with us. They were whispering to my former friends. I could make out some of what they were saying.

“You’ll be surprised,” Sage said. “She is even prettier in real life.”

“Yeah,” Brianna added. “She even signed the Polaroid photo that Mrs. Norman took of me, Sage, Erica, and her.”

Then, finally, Kate Middleton came out. It was so awesome, like a dream come true, I was sooo happy. Well, until I remembered that Erica had made it happen.

“Hello,” Duchess Kate said, in the most gorgeously awesome British accent, “It is a pleasure to meet all of you. My cousin Erica speaks of you so often. Your school, Riverside Middle School is just so beautiful, and I’m sure that the teachers here are so very kind.”

Then she went on and on and on about living in Great Britain, and yada yada yada. Instead of listening, I looked at her absolutely awesome designer outfit. She was wearing a super pretty navy and white striped sweater, and skinny jeans. Also, her high heels were, just, fabulous.

Now, as she started walking around, Erica started to hand out pictures of the royal family: Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Prince William, Princess Kate, and baby Prince George. They weren’t signed, but oh well, they were still awesome.

When she finally got to me, Princess Kate asked me, “Are you Lacie?”

“Yeah,” I replied. Erica probably told her all about me. Of course, it probably was super, um, negative stuff. But still, she knew me from my face.

“I love your outfit. Erica told me you weren’t the nicest to her, but to your close friends you were really nice. And I think that you probably should branch out more –– even to kids that you don’t want to be friends with. Be nice.” Kate Middleton said to me. My idol was having a conversation with me. I knew that she was vaguely hinting that I should have been nicer to Erica, but my main focus was: Omg, Kate Middleton is talking to me, and she actually said she loved my outfit. All I was wearing was an oversized lime green hoodie, and some jeans.

Then, I actually thought about what she said. She told me to try to be nicer to Erica. Even though Kate was doing it for Erica’s good, I couldn’t erase it from my head –– Kate Middleton told me to be nicer to her. So of course I was going to do it. But, I would be forcing myself –– I never wanted to (and probably never will) be nice to Erica.

I don’t know why, but I just despised Erica from the beginning. Probably because she was super pretty, and Sage liked her so much. She was the best at everything. Her life was definitely absolutely perfect. It would be so fun to be her. Glitz, glam, and glitter. She must be so happy. What about maids or servants or something? She should have that stuff in her house, shouldn’t she? After all, her family is royalty. How come she got lucky, so that she could be related to Kate Middleton? How come I couldn’t be Erica?

“Lacie,” Mrs. Kim, the math teacher snapped. “Concentrate.”

“Okay,” I replied meekly. I worked on one problem, then stopped to doodle on the margins of my paper. Soon enough, Mrs. Kim spotted me doodling again.

“Miss Kibbel, I’d like to see you outside. Now,” Mrs. Kim frowned.

“Yeah what?” I asked, glaring. It was so embarrassing to be called out of class, especially since the teacher was Mrs. Kim. She is the most carefree teacher in like, ever.

“Lacie, I’m disappointed in you. I thought you were a good math student.” Mrs. Kim reprimanded me.

“Well, I guess life hasn’t been so nice to me, and I know I need to concentrate?” I said Hopefully, Mrs. Kim would let me off the hook.

“No, Lacie. You have to concentrate, and life’s not fair. Your excuse is not valid. If I see you doing that again, you will be sent straight to the principal’s office. Do you understand?”

“Yeah sure, whatever,” I shrugged.

Later that day during lunch, I sat at my usual spot at the popular table. If Erica wasn’t stopping me, I wasn’t going to stop. I was sitting next to Miranda, and we were sitting across from Erica, Brianna, and Sage. All the other girls sat at another table, because Erica asked them to. It wasn’t like they wanted to, Erica had complete and total control over them.

“Guess what, Erica?” Sage said to Erica, obviously wanting me to overhear. “Today in math, Lacie got called out of the room, by Mrs. Kim. Didn’t you, Lacie?”

“Wow, Mrs. Kim? She’s literally the nicest teacher ever,” Erica gasped, surprised.

“Yup. She got in serious trouble. I heard that she got close to seeing the principal.” Brianna added.

“I did not,” I interrupted indignantly. “Just because you’re BFFs with a girl whose life is perfect, and she’s related to royalty does not mean that you get to insult me, Sage. I’m not sure if you’ve realized it, but you’re kinda popular. And I’m not. You shouldn’t be picking on a non-popular person seriously.”

“Well, Lacie, that’s basically you,” Erica said, as if it was the most obvious thing ever. Which, by the way, it wasn’t.

“Well Erica, I don’t think that you should be part of this conversation because your life is absolutely perfect. You’ve never experienced what I’m going through right now. Just saying, you have everything you could possibly want. And you’re so greedy, you want even more. And of course, your parents spoil you. Don’t hide it, because it’s––”

“Not the truth,” said Erica. “Do you really think that my parents are as carefree as yours? Have you seriously not thought about me as an actual human?”

I shrugged. “Well yeah, duh, you’re a human. Like, everybody knows that.” What was the big deal? She was still related to Kate Middleton.

“Have you ever moved across the ocean, and had to leave all your friends? I’m telling you, I’ve cried myself to sleep practically every single night since I moved to Riverside,” Erica looked at me with tears in her eyes.

“Yeah, so? It’s not like you don’t have friends here,” I pointed at Sage and Brianna.

“Do you know how much it hurts to be insulted over and over again by the same person? I’m telling you, it is like you’re being poked with multiple needles hundreds of times in a row.”

“So? That’s happened to me. It doesn’t hurt,” I sneered. Out of excuses yet? To be honest, I had never been poked like that before, but…

“My parents are strict as can be. The reason? My cousin. They don’t want me to grow up thinking that I’m royalty, because I’m not. My cousin is, and I’m not spoiled. Kate Middleton sends me all these clothes. My parents would never do that. Ever,” Erica sighed. “Convinced yet?”

The other table was watching us, and so were the boys.

“Clothes? Seriously? Your parents don’t buy you clothes?” I screeched.

“They do, but only the necessities,” Erica said sadly. I began to feel a pang of sympathy for Erica.

“So Kate got you every expensive thing you own?” I asked, in awe.

“Yup,” Erica nodded. “And, are your parents stay-at-home?”

“Only Mom,” I replied. What did that have to do with anything?

“Well, both of my parents work full-time. It’s not like I sit around chilling all day after school. I wash the dishes, wash the clothes, clean the house, and so much more. Do you do that, Lacie?” Erica asked. Now, I felt full on bad for her. She had to do practically everything in her house. I couldn’t imagine doing any of the things she does.

“I’m sorry, Erica,” I said genuinely. “I really mistook you for a princess, like your cousin. I guess… well, you’re not.”

Erica looked at me with an expression that was a mixture between amusement and annoyance. It was as if she was saying, Well, isn’t that obvious?

“Your family isn’t even richer than mine. So, I guess I hope that you’ll accept my apology. I know you probably can’t trust me too much, but please, just give me a chance,” I asked.

After I realized that Erica was actually a normal person, I just felt that she was so much… better than me in so many ways. She was just… herself. She didn’t care what others thought about her. I admired that. Maybe that was why I just hated her, she was so much more comfortable in her own skin.

“You’ll have to build up my trust first. If you really want me to be your friend. Seriously,” Erica replied. She wasn’t exactly forgiving me, but it was a step.

“Good morning, everybody.” Mrs. Evans said, grabbing our focus.

“Good morning, Mrs. Evans,” we chorused.

“Today’s project is a partner project –– and you are to write a 4-paragraph essay about the definition of bullying, and what you will do if you see somebody getting bullied. I’ll assign partners. So… Sage and Brianna, Miranda and Bridget, Erica and Lacie,” Mrs. Evans rattled off a list of names. As soon as I heard my name and Erica’s together, I froze.

Erica? And me? Was Mrs. Evans blind? Couldn’t she see that Erica and I were not friends? At all? I thought that she was trying to be a ‘kind and thoughtful homeroom teacher. That was not kind or thoughtful at all. It was as if she wanted to put us together and torture us. I could see that Erica was upset too. Finally, she turned to look at me and shrugged. I sighed. If Mrs. Evans wanted us to work together, then we had to.

“Now… you can get together with your partners and start working. If you don’t finish, you’ll have more time tomorrow,” Mrs. Evans smiled. “And, just saying, this will help the Board of Education with the anti-bullying system, they’re your audience. If you have any questions, just come up to me.”

“So…” Erica said. “I guess we’ll have to work together.”

“I guess,” I replied. “So if we see bullying, we report it to an adult at home or at school. Right?”

“Yeah. The definition is when someone repeatedly picks on someone else because of a certain characteristic,” Erica added. “So, I guess we’ll start writing.”

She took out a piece of lined paper and started working on our essay in her super neat handwriting. I wanted to compliment her about it, but I didn’t know how.

“I… like your… um… handwriting,” I blurted.

“Thanks, Lacie.” Erica smiled genuinely. “Yours is nice too.”

“Let’s focus. Do you want to write the whole thing? Or should we take turns?” I asked.

“I’ll write,” Erica replied. “So, the intro paragraph should be about the main thing. In this essay, you will learn about the definition of bullying and what students will do if we see someone getting bullied. Hopefully, this essay will help with the anti-bullying system.”

“Great. Next paragraph is about the definition of bullying,” I added. “So… From our past experience, bullying is when a person repeatedly picks on someone else because of a certain characteristic that they have. For example, whether or not someone wears glasses, or has braces. Something that makes bullies bully people is when they feel insecure about themselves.”

“And sometimes, the bully has been bullied by someone else, so he or she will bully others.”

All of a sudden, a thought flashed through my mind. Even though it was vague, it was specific enough for me to know that, even though I didn’t want it to, the thought was true. It was completely true. I was a bully. I was the one person who repeatedly picked on someone else because of a certain characteristic. I had bullied Erica Middleton. For a completely invalid reason, I had picked on Erica from the first day she had come to Riverside Middle School. She had made me feel insecure about myself from the very beginning. The way that Mrs. Evans cherished her as a student just irked me. There was no point in hiding it –– I was the bully that made Erica’s life miserable. I could feel myself shaking.

“Lacie,” Erica said in alarm. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I…” I whispered. My eyes filled up with tears. “I’m sorry. I’m a bully. I’m nothing but a bully. I shouldn’t even be writing an essay about how to prevent bullying. I’m a bully. I’m worthless.”

“No you’re not, Lacie.” Erica exclaimed. “You’re who you are, and nobody can change that. Lacie, you’re yourself. You shouldn’t be intimidated by someone else, you’re special in your own way.”

“Well,” I frowned. “I guess.”

* * *

Erica

On the last day of school, Lacie and I hugged goodbye.

“Bye, Lacie.” I called as we went our separate ways. “Be sure to write.”

“Bye, Erica,” Lacie hugged me. “Thanks for being such a good friend. After all I did to you…”

“You’re a great person, Lacie. I probably haven’t acknowledged it too much, but you’re a great friend. Just be comfortable in your own skin,” I smiled reassuringly. “See you next year.”

“Yeah, see you,” Lacie called. “All I wanted you to know was that… you’re not at all what I expected.”

“Ow!” Owen’s father screeched. He had just banged his head on the ceiling.

Owen was cleaning out the attic with his father when he found a dusty, old box with books in it, which matched the rest of the attic: dusty, creepy, and cobwebby.

“What’s this, Dad?” Owen shouted with satisfaction from across the attic. In his hand, he held hundreds of books with his ancestors’ names, initials, and photos from the present. Some were black and white photos of people, young and old, who looked like him and his father, only they were wearing things that people don’t wear anymore, like top hats!

Owen’s dad walked over from what was, in Owen’s opinion, the “creepy” side of the attic to have a peek. “What’s wha — … Wooo!!!”

CRASH!

“Ow! I found your skateboard!” Owen’s father told him, looking really dizzy. “Now, what do you need?” Owen’s father wobbled over carefully. “Oh, that. Those are all the books that your ancestors wrote.”

Owen looked at the books again, then thought to himself, My ancestors wrote these? How was I unaware of this?

Puzzled, he asked his dad, “So, you’re not the only author in the family?!”

“Oh no, I’m just one of them,” his father replied.

If I hadn’t felt bad enough that I couldn’t write as well as my father, now I’d be the only one in my whole family who couldn’t write a book! Owen thought to himself.

***

So that’s when it all started. It had been a few months since that day, and Owen still hadn’t done any better, if not, he’d done worse. Ever since then, he feared failing his family because he couldn’t write a story like them.

This morning, Owen was eating breakfast when he decided to ask his mom for a good idea for a story.

“Hello, Owen! Did you have a good night’s sleep?” Owen’s mom asked.

“Yeah, it was fine,” Owen groaned.

“I had the best dream last night where I had all the food in the world and — what do you want for breakfast today? Do you want cereal, or some waffles? Oh, I know, how about pancakes? Here, let me start cooking … ”

Owen’s mom rambled on and on about food, until Owen finally asked her, “Do you have any good ideas for a book, Mom?”

“How about a cookbook?!” Owen’s mom immediately replied.

Owen immediately regretted his decision because his mom loved food and cooking so much — heck, she was even flipping 12 pancakes for the family as she spoke! On that note, Owen stood up, grabbed his skateboard, ran for the door, picked up his backpack, and skated off to school, leaving his mom behind with all the food.

“What about your pancakes with extra butter and whipped cream with a cherry on top and a side of waffles with a side of bacon, eggs, and toast with a side of — oh, never mind.”

***

“Today in writing class, we are are going to learn about how to make realistic fiction stories,” Owen’s teacher told the class as she wrote on the chalkboard. “If you don’t have any ideas, then, a good thing to do is to write down everything you’ve done that day, like a journal!”

And there it was! Exactly what Owen had needed, some actually good advice.

A journal, of course! Owen thought to himself.

***

When school was out, Owen couldn’t wait to write in a journal. He ran home and got all the money he had from his piggy bank, ran to Staplers, bought an orange journal with a squiggly line pattern for $7.86, and then ran back home and started to write.

Today, I went to school and learned to write in the journal and I– Owen recited.

Owen suddenly had no idea why he had been so excited. Now that he was doing it, he felt a flash of complete boredom in his mind.

Owen kept on recording stuff over the next few months (boring or not) such as brushing teeth, getting in bed, pulling up the covers, putting his head on the pillow, and writing in this dumb journal.

As weeks passed, things were rough and boring: Dad got tons of fan mail (which, to Owen, felt like it was being shoved down his throat that he couldn’t write). Mom kept talking about food, food, food, while Owen wrote in his journal more and more.

Everything was always the same, and nothing was ever different. That was it.

Until one day, when Owen finally had an idea.

***

“Beat’cha!” Owen shouted. He was playing at his friend Lukas’ house.

“This game blows!” He threw his controller past the flatscreen.

“I might return it back to Games Galore!” Lukas shouted, his face turning the color of Owen’s red shirt.

“You’re the one who bought it and lost the mega power up,” Owen chuckled.

Owen yelled. Lukas’ little brother Benny had just waddled into the living room and ripped out all the pages in Owen’s orange journal.

Riiiiiiiiiiiip!

“Oh God! No, no, nooo!!!” Owen shouted over the pages.

Benny froze and ran away.

Owen tried to put the pages back together, but they wouldn’t go back, and to add to that, he couldn’t find the right order they were supposed to be in.

Suddenly, he looked at all the pages laid out in front of him and thought, This could be my story, the story about trying to find the right story to write!

“Of course!” he yelled. He ran back to his house and got to work.

Owen’s book was about a ten-year-old boy named Nick, who, like Owen, searched for the right story and finally found it!

***

Now, 30 years later, Owen is the most famous author in his family, and he has twins. His story was a hit, a blockbuster book!

“Daddy,” Owen’s son and daughter asked him one day, “do you have any good ideas for a story?”

Owen smiled.

Maggie Lexing was bursting with excitement as she ran through the front doors of her house. From 3:15 to 4:30, her three younger sisters went to soccer practice, and her father was at work, so Maggie had time with her mother without anyone else at home.

“Hi, Mom!” Maggie said. “I forgot to tell you yesterday that everyone at school is going crazy about seeing their birth certificates! Brianna Curry found hers in the attic, and ever since then, the whole fifth grade has been trying to find their birth certificates. Can I see mine?”

“Well, honey, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean, my parents never showed me my birth certificate, and my friends didn’t say a word about it. It certainly didn’t affect me.” Her mother wore a sad, frightened look on her face, an expression that Maggie rarely saw, especially when she was alone with her.

“Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top? I want to be the first one out of my friends who finds their birth certificate. You never mentioned it, and I have no idea where it is.” Maggie saw the doubt on her mother’s face. “I don’t need it right now.”

Her mother sighed, as if knowing this would be a battle where she could fight, but she would never win.

“Okay, sweetie. I guess I’ll show you when your dad comes home.”

Maggie ran upstairs with a big smile on her face, waiting for her father to come home. Her mother sat in a wooden stool, dreading the moment Mr. Lexing turned the ebony handle of the front door and walked inside their pastel blue house.

***

Later that night, Maggie and her mom had an early dinner before Maggie’s father came home. Usually, Maggie had dinner with her mother and father. Her mom didn’t tell her why they were having such an early dinner, no matter how much she tried to get it out of her. Even though she was still curious about this, Maggie decided to let it go.

Her dad walked through the front door. As soon as she heard the sound of his shoes clomping on the wooden panels of her house, Maggie, who was up in her bedroom awaiting her father’s arrival, ran downstairs.

Her mom whispered something to him, and as he ran upstairs to get Maggie’s birth certificate, her mom sat her down on the beige couch in the living room. Finally, Maggie saw her father come downstairs with a very fancy paper in his hands. He handed it over to Maggie, and her mom gave her shoulders a tight squeeze.

Maggie took a deep breath and looked down at her birth certificate. It looked like it had been very carefully made. It had a gold border lining the edges of the paper, and everything was written in black, fancy print. It looked so official, and for a moment, Maggie wondered whether she wanted to read it or not. But, as usual, curiosity took over, and she started to read the beige paper. But her excitement quickly changed to confusion. Just as she started to read it, her mother stopped her.

“Sweetie, before you read it, we should tell you something.” Her mother took a deep breath and started explain, “Honey, we’ve been meaning to tell you that you’re, you’re, you’re — ”

“Adopted.” Her dad finished her mother’s sentence, and even though he spoke in a whisper, the word “adopted” still held the same meaning and impact.

“This says that ‘Maria and Carson Salzi’ are my birth parents, not you,” Maggie said, and, in a way, she was sort of agreeing with her parents.

Maggie’s brown eyes shone with confusion, but soon they widened as she realized the truth. “But that means, that means, that means you guys have been lying to me my whole entire life!”

Maggie felt as if her parents had physically punched her. She began to say something else, but stopped mid-sentence at the sight of her sister, Maya, who was coming downstairs. Maya was dressed in her hot pink pjs, hugging a brown stuffed bear in one arm and rubbing her sleepy eyes with the other. Since Maggie’s dad was a doctor, he often came home late from work, and Maggie’s younger sisters went to bed before he came home.

“What’s going on, Mommy? Cassie, Sally, and I can’t sleep, because there’s too much yelling.” Maya twirled her blond hair around one of her tiny fingers.

Maggie had always wondered why she looked so different from her sisters and her parents, comparing her dark hair to their blond hair, or her brown eyes to their blue eyes. But every time she asked the question, her father told her that they all looked alike, and her mother turned very hesitant. Now she knew the answer.

Maya smiled at Maggie sleepily, her blue eyes shining. Maggie avoided her sister’s eyes and looked at the floor, not returning Maya’s small smile.

“Nothing’s going on, sweetie. Go back upstairs and sleep. We’ll be really quiet, okay?” Maggie’s mom’s voice was sweet and caring as she spoke. She saw the little transaction between Maggie and her younger sister, and the fact that Maggie didn’t return Maya’s smile, broke her heart.

“Okay, Mommy,” Maya responded, too tired to argue. She stifled a yawn, said, “goodnight” to everybody, and ran upstairs.

Maggie and her parents continued their conversation quietly.

“We didn’t tell you because we never wanted you to feel any different from the other kids. We felt like we were protecting you by not telling you the truth, but now we know that we were wrong. Then you turned six and started to go to elementary school, and we kept saying we would tell you, but we never had the courage or the heart.” Maggie’s dad looked at the floor as he said this, not having enough bravery to look her in the eyes.

“So lying to me is better?” Maggie looked up at her parents, her eyes full of pain.

“We didn’t want to lie to you. It’s just, certain things got in the way, and we never took the time to tell you. We adopted you from the orphanage when you were two years old, because I got a call from Child Services. I told your mother, and she loved the idea as much as I did. And the next thing we knew, we were signing adoption papers for you. We had your sisters a few years later.” Maggie’s father explained the whole story from the beginning, still looking down at the floor.

“They’re not even my real sisters anymore,” Maggie said, more to herself than to her parents.

“They’ll always be your sisters, and we’ll always be your family. I’ll always be your father, and your mother will always be your mother.” Maggie’s dad looked saddened by her comment, but Maggie didn’t care enough to notice the sorrow and pain in his voice.

Then, her mother spoke in a soft, fragile, and hurt voice. “Honey… we just want you to know that we’re still your parents, and we still love you. We’ll still be a family. This doesn’t change anything between us.”

“This changes everything between us!” Remembering her sisters upstairs who were trying to sleep, Maggie didn’t yell, but raised her voice slightly. She stomped upstairs, fuming that her parents didn’t tell her about this sooner, but she stopped midway up the stairs to say one more thing.

“In case you’re wondering, you don’t have to come and check on me. I want to be alone right now!”

Maggie pounced on her bed, more nervous and unsure of herself than usual. She realized that learning she was adopted made the scary idea that the people with whom she shared all her doubts and secrets with weren’t really her family. Were they? Or were they just people who picked her up from an orphanage eight years ago and acted like her family? They were people who had lied to her her whole entire life. But now she knew the truth.

“Oh, I know you’re upset but — ” Her mother started to say something, but Maggie cut her off.

“I’m not upset, and I don’t care! At all. Did you hear me? I. Don’t. Care,” Maggie screamed at the top of her lungs. She pushed away from the the wooden railing that she was holding onto and ran to her room, slamming the door.

“I’m not going to cry,” Maggie told herself over and over again. “I’m not going to cry, I’m not going to cry, I’m not going to cry.” Repeating those words to herself, Maggie clutched her golden heart necklace that hung around her neck, got down on her knees, and cried her heart out.

Maggie could faintly hear her younger sisters waking up and questioning the reason for her outburst, but she couldn’t care less about them right now. She listened as the sound of her dad’s footsteps continued up the stairs and to her sisters’ rooms. She listened as her mother’s footsteps, which were more soft and humble than her father’s, climbed upstairs and into her room.

Maggie knew that her mom would say something or try and comfort her, but she knew that nothing could comfort her — she needed to sort this out herself. So, with her mother standing in the doorway, with the moon in its peak high in the sky, and with the stars taking their place in the night that would now fall, Maggie got into her bed and cried herself to sleep.

***

That night, Maggie dreamt about a world that was perfect; the clouds were made out of pink, fluffy cotton candy, the houses were made out of gingerbread cookies, and the grass was made up of every single candy in the world dyed green. There was no war and no sicknesses, and best of all, nobody was lied to, like she had been. But as she woke up, with the bright sun shining in her face, she knew that the real world could never be that perfect.

Maggie woke up, got dressed, and ate a piece of toast. Her mom greeted her with a friendly hug and a warm “Good morning,” but Maggie didn’t return her mother’s kindness. Instead, she did nothing, she said nothing, and she went out the door without a single word.     

She raced down the front steps of her big blue house and ran across the freshly cut green lawn, wishing that she could pick up a candy from the grass, like she could in the perfect world she had in her dreams. As Maggie jogged to the stop sign where she met her best friends everyday before going to school with them, she stole a quick glance back at her house. Maggie saw her mother in the window staring at her with a hurt look in her eyes. Maggie continued watching her three sisters get ready for school, and she saw her mother helping her youngest sister, Cassie, put her Sofia the First princess backpack on.

Then Maggie turned around and walked the rest of the way to the stop sign. She didn’t tell her friends about what happened the night before, and Callie, Molly, and Sophie, being true BFFs, didn’t question her silence.

At school, Maggie listened to her teacher, Mrs. Amos, drone on and on about math, and then science, and finally social studies right before the bell rang, indicating the start of recess.

***

During recess, Callie, Molly and Sophie decided to make a move. They had noticed that something wasn’t quite right with Maggie, and they knew that she needed to tell them what was wrong. Normally, she was a chatterbox, talking up a storm, but today, Maggie was way more quiet than usual. Her bright, brown eyes that usually shone with confidence, were dull and dreary instead.

So, her friends asked her what happened to cause her silence, and reluctantly, Maggie told them. Maggie continued on and on, pouring her emotions out to her friends, and her friends kept quiet, absorbing the feelings that she was dumping out. They knew that behind an angry Maggie was another part of her — a part that they seldom saw. They saw a heartbroken Maggie, and at the end, she got pulled into a big group hug by her friends. Then, Molly said something that not only surprised Callie and Sophie, but also Maggie.

“You can’t blame them, you know,” Molly started to say, ending the hug. As Maggie looked at her friend with a questioning look, Molly elaborated.

“I mean your adoptive parents. I mean, I know that you’re not that happy, but you should know that your adoptive family actually helped you. They took you inside their house. They are nice to you. They love you. They treat you like family, even if they aren’t your real family. In a way, you’re lucky to have such caring parents. I know learning that you’re… adopted can be a pretty big shock, but this doesn’t mean your family isn’t your family. They adopted you because they love you — a lot.” Molly finished, looking Maggie straight in the eye.

Maggie looked at her friend in wonder. The thing that surprised her the most was that Molly was right. Suddenly, Maggie realized that there were two separate emotions you feel when you get adopted. One is anger, the way you can feel at your real, biological parents. But the other is love, the way that you could — should — feel about your adoptive parents. Then, Maggie realized something that she hadn’t realized before. She realized that she was just using anger as a mask — she was hiding behind her anger. And she was taking all that anger out on her adoptive parents, when she knew that she really felt this way towards her birth parents. She also realized that what she really wanted was to find out what happened to her birth parents and why they left her at the orphanage.

She gave Molly a hug, and Molly seemed surprised to be receiving one.

“You look surprised,” Maggie said, laughing, for the first time in a pretty long time.

“I just thought you would be more angry at me than thankful to me for saying that.” Molly returned the hug, but she still looked nervous, like Maggie was going to unleash her anger at any moment, but this time on her.

“Actually, I’m really happy you said that. It made me realize that being adopted isn’t such a bad thing after all.” Maggie pulled away from the hug, as Sophie and Callie smiled.

“Well then, what are we doing here? Let’s go play tag with the boys!” Sophie started running away onto the green field of the school lawn, and one by one, Maggie’s friends followed her. As Maggie started to run after her friends, she thought about how she only had one problem left to solve — the problem with her family.

***

When Maggie reached the brick steps in front of her house, she slowly climbed them, one at a time. She walked through the front door and straight up to her room, making one tiny, little stop in between. Her mom was in the kitchen, and she looked surprised about the fact that Maggie smiled at her.

“Hi! I’m back from school!” Maggie seemed like she had had a major attitude adjustment since yesterday. Her mom smiled back at her, and Maggie continued up the stairs.

Even though Maggie still needed to apologize to her parents, she thought she should wait until her dad came home, and until then, she had something she needed to do. She needed to sort out her emotions–right now, they were like a swirling, twisted, tornado inside of her, and she needed to untwist the twister. And Maggie knew exactly how to do that. She needed to realize what she did wrong and fix it.

Maggie plopped down on her purple beanbag chair and started to think. She realized that after she learned that she adopted, she had let anger blind her. She was so mad at her parents for not telling her sooner, she hadn’t been super nice to them. She had been like a little devil, only thinking about herself, completely oblivious to the world around her. Rather than thinking about her family and how hard it must be on them to tell her, she took her anger out on them. She knew that they were just trying to protect her.

As she thought about some things, she realized that there were a lot of things that she had to do, a lot of things that she had to fix, and a lot of mistakes that she made, but there was one thing that she didn’t have to do. She didn’t have to rehearse her apology to her parents because, well, they were her parents, and even if she didn’t do the best with her apology, she knew that they would love her no matter what. She knew that learning that she was adopted made things seem black and white, two colors that everyone could see. But in the middle was gray, and you have to find the gray yourself–with a little help from your friends and family. Molly and her parents had helped her see the gray.  

A tiny hand placed on her lap jolted Maggie back to reality. It was Cassie- her youngest sister. Maggie smiled down at Cassie, picked her up, and sat her down on her lap.

“Can you play outside with me and Maya and Sally? We know that you were upset yesterday, so we want you to come and play with us. To make you happier.” Little Cassie looked up at Maggie, her big, blue eyes shining with hope.

“I can play outside with you,” Maggie responded. Cassie leaped off of her lap and ran across the hall to the bedroom she shared with Maya and Sally.

Maggie smiled as she heard Cassie’s voice, full of excitement, as she told her sisters the good news. Then, Sally and Maya came into her room and started to drag her out of her room and outside. As Maggie put on her purple flip-flops, she caught a glimpse of her mom, smiling at her. Maggie’s dark, curly hair bounced up and down as she ran around in circles with Maya, Sally, and Cassie.

They actually are my sisters, Maggie thought as they began to play hide-and-seek together. She was hiding behind a big evergreen tree as she realized this. And I guess that my parents really are my parents.

“FOUND YOU!” Maggie jumped and screamed as she turned and saw who scared her. Three little girls were on the ground, laughing their heads off, screaming with excitement.

“Oh, I’m going to get you!” Maggie started running after her sisters, feeling joy and love, emotions that she hadn’t felt in a while.

As Cassie, Maya, and Sally screamed, yelled, and laughed as Maggie chased them, Maggie’s mom watched from the window with a smile on her face.

***

After a few hours, Maggie’s dad finally came home. Maggie greeted him with a smile and went up to her room to work up the courage to say sorry to her parents. When she finally gathered enough bravery to talk and apologize for being the horrible monster she had become, Maggie slowly proceeded down the stairs.

Maya, Sally, and Cassie were already asleep in their room, and as she went down the stairs, Maggie thought how lucky she was to have such great sisters. When her foot landed on the bottom step, both of her parents looked up at her, probably expecting some kind of outburst, but Maggie surprised them both. Her eyes dropped to the floor, she took a deep breath, and she began her apology.

“I wanted to say that I’m sorry for being such a horrible daughter for the past day, because even though I know that I’m adopted, I know now that it doesn’t change anything between us because family is forever.” Maggie finished and realized that she hadn’t said such a good apology. Maybe she should’ve practiced her apology.

“We never blamed you — ” Maggie’s father started to say, but then her mother interrupted.

“And you were never a horrible daughter. You were just upset, and we understand. We just want you to know that we love you to the moon and back,” she finished.

Maggie took her eyes off of the floor and looked up at her parents. They came over to her and wrapped her in a hug.That was all they needed to say, and Maggie knew, for sure, that her apology was the best apology ever. But there was one thing she was still very curious about. She untangled herself from her parents’ arms, looked up at them, and asked the one question she was still very curious about.

“Can I meet my biological parents or my biological family?” She held her breath in anticipation and counted the seconds that passed by as her parents looked at each other.    

“Oh, honey, if you really want to, I suppose we could arrange something with them, but it’s really up to you.” Maggie’s mother felt happy that her daughter had used the word “biological” instead of “real.”

Maggie thought about what her mother had just said, and something clicked. In all the confusion of emotions and decisions, she hadn’t really thought about meeting her birth parents. All she really knew was that she wanted to meet them. But now, thinking about what had happened, she realized something.

“You know, I guess some doors are better off unopened.” Maggie had made her decision. She didn’t need to meet her biological family because she had the best family right here.

That night, as she slept in her cozy bedroom, tightly wrapped in her purple and white blanket, her head resting on her purple pillow, she had the same dream of a perfect world.

When she woke up the next day, Maggie put her hand in front of her face, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. Maggie knew that the world could always be as perfect as her dreams. She had found the gray.

Welcome to the life of being in the middle.

I never have one perfect day. Everyone gets in the way of my perfect day. It’s always someone that ruins it. Every day, I think, Today’s the day, but every day, it fails. My mom has five children. I’m the middle child.

***

“Get up, you sleepypants!” Jack screamed.

I woke up in my bedroom with bags under my eyes. I looked out the window. It was still night.

“Help me turn on the computer,” Jack said slowly. That’s my older brother. He mostly texts his friends and does other pre-teen stuff.

I groaned and then walked to the office. I looked at the computer and showed him how to work it. “You just click the power button,” I muttered.

“Oh,” Jack said embarrassed.

Then, I walked out of the office. Down the hall, I saw the family picture that was taken very long ago. I arrived back in my bedroom. Then, I slammed my face onto the pillow.

When I woke up, it was still dark, and everyone was asleep. Everyone had his or her own room. I sneaked past all six bedrooms and into the kitchen. I quickly poured a bowl of cereal. I had a perfect bowl of cereal and a nice, peaceful breakfast.

Click! Clank! I saw my younger brother, Andrew, walk downstairs.

“I can’t sleep,” he whispered.

“Why not?” I asked.

“I had a nightmare,” Andrew whimpered.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a dream. It can’t really hurt you,” I said.

“I guess so,” he said with a worried tone. Then, Andrew went back upstairs.

***

When it reached dawn, everyone was awake. Dad had to take me, Andrew, and Chloe to school. Mom had to take Jack and Mia.

Mornings are chaos. Never in my life have I had a good morning. I wish that the day would come that I could have a perfect day, even if my siblings try to stop me.

In the car, I was talking to Chloe about her first day of kindergarten.

“Kindergarten sounds really scary,” she said, very frightened.

“Chloe, I’m sure you’ll have a blast!” I yelled.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really,” I responded.

Dad dropped her off, and it was just me and Andrew.

It was Andrew’s first day of second grade. Andrew wasn’t scared. He was really happy.

“Y’know, it’s a good thing that you’re excited,” I told Andrew.

Andrew gave me a smile.

When Andrew was dropped off, it was time for me to go to my first day of fourth grade.

But just imagine how scared Jack would be. It was his first day of middle school. And next year, Mia would be going to high school. That must be really, really scary.

Dad dropped me off, and I was scared to death.

I walked into Room 220, and I took a deep breath.

“Good morning, Gabe. May you please take your seat?” the teacher announced.

My seat was towards the back of the room. I walked all the way to the back. I couldn’t see the teacher from where I was sitting. Everything was a blur. I knew already that fourth grade wasn’t going to be my best year.

When school was over, I entered the car and was silent the whole ride home. Try number one for the perfect day was a failure.

When I got home, I wanted to go to bed early. And that’s what I did.

I was on my bed, thinking about whether I would ever get one perfect day. Everyone had a great first day of school except me. It is never fair.

“Gabe, are you okay?” my mom asked.

“I’m fine. I just had a rough day,” I said in a shy kind of voice.

My mom shut the door. I hoped to have a better day tomorrow.

***

  In the morning, I was the last one to wake up. I quickly put on my clothes, got my backpack, and ran into the car. When I got to school, I took my seat. This time, it was a

little easier to see the teacher, and we got to do this cool science experiment.

At recess, I met a kid named Lucas.

“Hi,” Lucas said.

  “Hello?” I whispered, “What’s your name?”

“Lucas,” he replied. “What’s yours?”

“Gabe,” I stammered.

“Goodbye!” Lucas said.

I just met a new friend on the second day of school! Today might finally be the perfect day!

“Back out of the way, kid!” a bully yelled in the hallway. He pushed me to the floor and laughed.

“Ow!” I yelled.

I was left on the floor in the hallway alone. And no one cared.

“Help!” I screamed. No one could hear me.

I had heard of this bully. His name was Tom. I got up and cleaned myself up. I hoped I’d never run into him again. Try number two was a failure. I knew it wasn’t true, that I wasn’t really going to have a perfect day. That day would never come.

Later, our family celebrated our dad’s birthday. We had to get all dressed up since it was a fancy restaurant, and everything they served there was fancy. The name of the restaurant was Astoria. My dad loves Astoria because their food is amazing.

I ordered chicken fingers to eat. I love chicken fingers!

“Cheers to dad,” Jack announced.

“Cheers to dad!” everyone yelled.

Everyone toasted high up in the air. It was an amazing night! It was very, very close to being perfect, but not perfect. Try number three had to be perfect, it had to.

***

I woke up in the morning feeling cranky. I yawned, and then I walked to the porch. I sat on the patio couch, looking at the beautiful sight of my backyard. It was right next to the woods. I had never ever been out there before. There was a river all the way back there, but its water was now polluted, and it was filled with garbage. Just looking down there made me want to go into the woods, but I had heard there were bears back there.

There was no school because it was Saturday. I was the only one up. I continued to look around my backyard. Then, I walked down the stairs and into my backyard. I looked around for a second.

“What are you doing out here?” Mia asked.

“Nothing!” I yelled.

“Are you trying to go out in the woods?!” she screamed.

“No, of course not!” I replied.

Mia gave an “I’m watching you” kind of look. She walked inside and slammed the door behind her.

I sat down and thought about the perfect day. Lucas was coming over that night for a sleepover, and I just hoped everyone didn’t embarrass me. I sat around, waiting for almost three hours. I stood on my head and got a head rush. Finally, when it struck 5:00, he arrived.

“Hey, Lucas,” I sputtered.

“Hey, Gabe,” Lucas replied.

“C’mon outside now!” I yelled.

Lucas followed me outside into the backyard. I walked into the woods.

“Are we supposed to go back there?” Lucas asked.

“It’s fine.” I lied.

We stepped foot into the dangerous woods. I was in a lot of trouble. The woods were very dark. I felt like someone was out to get me. I had goosebumps down my skin.

“Maybe we should go back,” Lucas suggested.

“No,” I said. I was as scared as Lucas, but I was very curious. I kept on walking forward.

“I’m going back,” Lucas sputtered. He went all the way back to the yard.

I stopped. I decided to go back. I turned around and went the other way.

When I came back from the woods, Lucas was gone.

“Lucas!” I yelled. I went inside and saw Lucas. But he was hanging out with Jack.

“Jack, get away from Lucas,” I sputtered.

“No way!” Jack yelled.

“Lucas is my friend,” I scoffed.

Then, Chloe and Andrew came downstairs.

“Oh, why is everyone down here?” I screamed.

Then, Mia came down.

“That’s it!” I yelled. I stomped to the office and slammed the door.

Lucas slowly opened the door.

“Hello?” Lucas echoed.

The lights were turned off. Lucas turned on the lights. I was curled up in a little ball.

“Gabe, I’m still your best friend,” he sputtered.

I didn’t answer.

“Gabe, c’mon let’s play,” Lucas continued.

Then, my head popped out. “You promise you won’t ditch me?” I whispered.

“I promise,” Lucas answered.

When it was 11:00, we started to go to sleep.

“Good night,” I said.

“Good night,” Lucas responded.

By midnight, we were asleep.

***

I stretched and groaned. Lucas woke up a few minutes after I did.

“I had a great sleep!” I yelled.

Lucas stretched his back. “I agree,” he said.

“Breakfast!” Mom yelled.

Chloe and Andrew were the first ones down, then Jack and Mia, and then me and Lucas. Mom made pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausages. As we were eating breakfast, Lucas and I talked about our next sleepover.

After breakfast, Lucas’s mom came to pick him up.

“Bye!” I yelled. Lucas waved while he was in the car.

“That was fun,” I said. “Tomorrow, I have to start try number three for the perfect day. Yesterday and today don’t count.”

“Well, good luck,” Andrew whispered.

In my room I made a plan for try number three. If I didn’t follow the plan, I was going to fail again. I couldn’t fail. Try number three had to be perfect.

***

When I got to the classroom, nothing bad happened. So far, so good.

Until Tom came back. “Hey, chump!” Tom yelled.

I tried to ignore him.

“You trying to have a perfect day?” he laughed.

“Yes,” I muttered.

Tom dropped me to the floor. He also stepped on my foot.

“Ow!” I screamed.

“Oops. Sorry, does that hurt?” Tom said sarcastically.

“Yes, it kind of does,” I said.

“Oh, I’m very sorry,” he laughed.

All of the sudden, Lucas came out.

“Back off,” Lucas sputtered.

“I’m not scared of you,” Tom answered.

I was shocked. I didn’t know Lucas was tough.

Lucas grabbed my hand and took me away from Tom.

“You will pay for that, Lucas. You will pay!” Tom yelled.

“You saved me,” I stammered.

“I couldn’t let you get beat up by Tom,” Lucas sputtered.

“Thank you,” I responded.

“No problem,” Lucas said. Then, he was gone.

When I got home, everyone was having pizza and watching a movie.

“Can I have some pizza?” I asked.

“Sorry, but there is nothing left,” Jack sputtered.

“Fine,” I said.

I walked onto the porch. This day was definitely horrible. First, I got attacked by Tom, and now, my family had forgotten about me.

Why does the world hate me so much?! All I’m asking for is one perfect day. Well, I’m done with this. Looking at the damp sky made me wonder, why me?

“Gabe?” a voice said.

It was my dad. “Look, I’m sorry we watched a movie and had pizza without you,” he sputtered.

“It’s not about that, Dad. It’s because I never had a perfect day.” I cried.

“Wait, it’s about that?” Dad asked.

“Yeah,” I stammered.

“None of us ever had a perfect day,” Dad said.

“What?!” I yelled.

“It’s true. With a family of seven, it’s impossible to have a perfect day,” Dad laughed.

“Really? Then, what about the time…uh,” I said cluelessly.

“See? There are no memories of a perfect day,” Dad sputtered.

“Huh. I guess there isn’t?” I laughed.

Then, Dad and I started laughing hysterically.

“What’s so funny?” Mom asked.

“Gabe thinks that everyone has had a perfect day except for him,” Dad laughed.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really,” I said.

Then, everyone was laughing.

All this time, I thought I was the only one who had horrible days. But my whole family never had a perfect day. Who cared about having a perfect day? I had my family. When we got in, we continued watching the movie as a family.

And I went to sleep knowing that there is no such thing as a perfect day.

Once Bob had to stay at Uncle Steve’s house. Bob loves Uncle Steve’s house. It has pizza, it has a park in his backyard, and a magical toilet which Uncle Steve doesn’t know. Bob told Uncle Steve, “You have a magical toilet!”

“Do I really have a magical toilet?”

“Sure you do.”

“You want to check it out?”

“Okay, fine.”

So they went in. Uncle Steve was surprised. We are video game people? he thought.

It was about Sonic racing. So Bob and Uncle Steve got onto a car. The other racers were Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Eggman, and Shadow.

“So Uncle Steve, there are four races. Also if you’re first you get ten points. If you are second you get eight points. If you are third you get six points. If you are fourth place you get four points. If you are fifth place you get two points. And if you sixth place you get one point. And after the four races if you have the most points you win.”

Three, two, one race. So Uncle Steve drove as fast as he could.

“OOOOO there is a power-up! Get that, Steve.”

So far they were in second place. When they got the power up they had three missiles. They used it all on Sonic. They were in first place so far. They got the next power up and then it was the boost power up. So far they were really ahead of everyone. They were in the second lap while everyone else was in the first lap. After two minutes, everyone came into the second lap but they were already in finishing the second lap. So far they were in the third lap. When they got the third power-up it was the boost power-up and then that power-up made them go almost to the end. After thirty-three seconds they finished the race. And then they were like, “We’re first!” A minute later, everyone else finished.

On the board they showed, Uncle Steve and Bob were first. Sonic was second. Tails was third. Shadow was fourth. Knuckles was fifth and the Evil Dr. Eggman was sixth.

“Uncle Steve, my advice is to go on the left side,” Bob said. “The race starts in three, two, one, race.”

They were really ahead of everybody except Sonic. He knew the trick.

“Get that boost power-up.”

So they got it. They were ahead of everyone. So far they were on the second lap. As soon as they were in the middle of the second lap Sonic caught up and was first place. But then Uncle Steve and Bob caught up with the boost up. Then Sonic got three missiles and used on Steve and Bob. So far they were in the third lap. Then Steve and Bob got three missiles and used it on Sonic. So far they almost to the end of the race. They saw a power-up. They got the boost power-up they finished the race.

“We’re first again!” A minute later Sonic and Tails finished. And three minutes later everyone else finished. On the board they showed Bob and Steve were first. Both Sonic and Tails were second. Knuckles was third. Shadow was fourth. And Dr. Eggman was fifth. The points were Steve and Bob with 20 points. Sonic with 16 points. Tails with 14 points. Knuckles and Shadow with eight points. And Dr. Eggman with three points.

Dr. Eggman was so mad at Steve and Bob.

“You two weiners better come here right now!!!” But they did not come. So instead Dr. Eggman came.

“I am going to push you out of this video game!”

So he used all his might to push them. Dr. Eggman was so strong he pushed them out of the video game.

“Whatever, let’s just flush the toilet,” Bob said.

So they did. As the toilet was flushing down water was dumped on their heads.

“We are back.” Just as they were back, the break was over. So they went into their car. The third race was really short. Three, two, one, race. So they zoomed as fast as he could, so that Dr. Eggman couldn’t see them. But Sonic caught up. The race was so short that there were no power-ups. So far they were in the third lap that’s how short it was. Well bad news, Sonic won. Both Bob and Uncle Steve and Tails were second. Shadow was third. Knuckles was fourth. And Dr. Eggman was fifth. The points are Bob and Uncle Steve at 28 points. Sonic at 26 points. Tails at 22 points. Shadow at 14 points. Knuckles at 12 points. And Dr. Eggman at five points.

“So Bob and Steve, you got back in?” said Dr. Eggman. “I am going to,” but he didn’t get a chance to finish, because at that point, the last race was about to start.

“Come on! I was just about to push you out of the video game.”

They zoomed to their carts. It was the loopty loop race.

“My advice is to go on the right loopty loop. Three, two, one, race.”

So they took the right loopty loop. But this time Tails followed them. And also there were no power-ups. They were now on the second lap. But they did not want Tails to follow them, so they took the left loopty loop while Tails took the right loopty loop. 50 seconds later, Steve and Bob were on the third lap, while Tails was in the middle of the third lap. Tails took the left loopty loop. So Bob and Steve took the right loopty loop. Both Bob and Steve and Tails were almost done with the last lap. Both of them met at the finish line. After 2 minutes everyone else finished. On the board they showed Bob and Steve and Tails were first. Shadow at second place. Sonic at third place. Dr. Eggman at fourth place. And Knuckles at fifth place. The points are Steve and Bob at 38 points. Tails and Sonic at 32 points. Shadow at 22 points. Knuckles at 14 points. And Dr. Eggman at nine points.

“We got the cup!”

“Now we like to present Bob and Steve.”

So they walked up and got the cup. They did their speech. It took them about 15 minutes. After that everyone said good game. But Dr. Eggman did not say good game because he was in the loser spot. After 12 minutes Bob and Steve asked, “Dr. Eggman, could you push us out of the video game?”

Dr. Eggman was surprised. “Is that really you?”

“Yes!”

“Egghead, just push them out,” said Sonic and Tails. So he did.

“Well, now since we are in the real world, I could eat pizza.” So he did.

“What about me?” Bob said.

“Keep that trophy with your other trophies. Seems like pizza is your dinner. Because it is 12:00 a.m. Well, good night Bob.”

“Good night, Steve.”

Well, Bob did not sleep. He was just playing with his iPad! He only slept at 3:00 a.m.! His dream was about Sonic and Tails. And Steve’s dream was about Dr. Eggman being defeated by Sonic and Tails.

THE END!    

Adam woke to something new. Anthony had awoken him at 4 in the morning!

“Hurry up! We’re going to the portal!” he said.

Adam rolled over and moaned groggily, “We already had a big day yesterday. No need to go back now.”

Anthony seemed upset. “Really. You and Nick are always not in the mood for adventure. If you won’t go, then I’ll go alone.”

Adam sat straight up. “You can’t do that! Mom was worried sick about us! Now you’re leaving?! Insane.”

“You’re such a woosie.”

Anthony left the room. Adam thought he heard the door close. He took a gulp. Should he tell Mom? Or Nick. Adam went to Nick’s room/observatory. “Anthony’s going to the portal!” he said.

Nick was stunned. “Impossible! I told him to go back to bed!”

“Well, looks like he didn’t listen. Just get out of bed!”

Adam and Nick raced outside. Adam sprang into the hole, Nick followed.

***

Anthony was so cold. Even though he had the heaviest coat in the history of the world, he felt like an ice cube. Guess where he was.

“Adam and Nick are such woosies. I feel good over here,” he said that, but wasn’t so sure if he meant it. Gee, he wished he just went to Mars instead of trying out the new portal. “Man, I never knew that Jupiter was so cold, I would’ve brought a thicker jacket.”

Remember that Anthony is EXTREMELY terrible at astronomy. Know the title, know the title.

***

Back on Earth, Nick and Adam were confused over which portal Anthony took. They knew that the fiery-red portal was the one that took you to Mars, but where did the gray one take you? “You go see,” said Nick.

“You go see. You’re the oldest,” said Adam.

“But since I’m the oldest, I’m the most important brother. We can’t afford to lose me.”

“I really don’t care about you.”

“You need to care about me.”

“I’ll care about you only if you go see where the gray portal leads.”

“Ohhhhhhh… so that’s what we were arguing about…”

“JUST GET IN THE PORTAL!!!”

“Alright, alright…”

Nick jumped into the portal.

***

Anthony stood on the icy ground of Pluto. “I really wish that Nick or Adam would come and save my life,” he murmured.

Suddenly, there was a flash of green light coming from the west side. “Still, Jupiter is pretty cool. Wait, Nick or Adam could’ve just come! I’M SAVED!!!”

Somewhere in the distance, Anthony was sure that no polar bear went into the portal, it was Nick or Adam. Though Nick had absolutely no idea that Anthony was in this portal.

Ugh. I can’t believe that I actually went through the stinking portal! Anthony is probably not even out here anyway, he thought, unaware of Anthony’s calls in the distance.

***

Adam was getting terribly bored at home.

“I do want to see what’s in the gray portal for myself. I’m not listening to any of the untrue stories of what’s in the portal,” he said to himself. “I can name a billion reasons why I won’t listen to any stories.”

1: Anthony talks too fast.

2: Nick doesn’t tell stories. When he does, they don’t make sense.

3: I just don’t like stories.

4: I hate Anthony.

1,000,000,000: I hate Anthony’s stories.

Looks like I can’t name a billion reasons, but look at the number!

Anyway, Adam jumped into the portal.

***

Nick had come so far away from the portal that unlike last time, when he remembered the location of the portal, he forgot where he saw it. He never looked at the spot because he needed to find Anthony.

“Gosh, I really, need, to, find, Anthony!!!” he cried.

I bet that you would be glad and better off without a brother like Anthony, but Nick needed him for fishing reasons. If he didn’t find Anthony, that meant more chores to do.

“ANTHONY!!!” he shouted.

No use.

“I’m gonna freeze, starve, and walk to death,” Nick mumbled.

Suddenly, two faint calls came from the north and south.

“Anthony?! Adam?!” cried Nick.

It had been so long since he’d ever seen their faces. Then, the worst thing in the world happened (technically, in Pluto’s world): A shower of methane snow began to fall.

“Stay where you are!!! I’m coming!!!” yelled Nick.

He started sprinting south, that’s where Adam was. Anthony started sprinting south, where he heard Nick’s calls. Adam stayed where he was, like he was told to. Plus, he knew that they weren’t directly north of each other. Anthony was way too stupid to know that, so he kept on running.

“Adam!” shouted Nick.

“Nick!” answered Adam.

They met up and they both wondered aloud, “Where’s Anthony?”

***

Unfortunately, Anthony was something like 1,000 miles away. Maybe actually 12. Even I don’t know for sure.

“Alright, I know Nick and Adam are here somewhere,” Anthony said. “But I do have a feeling that I should’ve listened to Nick. Well, that’s just too bad because I’m technically the oldest. Wait, let me say that again. WELL, THAT’S JUST TOO BAD ‘CAUSE I’M TECHNICALLY THE OLDEST!!!”

“Actually, I am!!!” yelled Nick back.

“BY FIVE SECONDS!!!”

Then Anthony realized what had just happened. He found Nick!

“I’m coming Nick!!!” he called. “Keep yelling!”

Nick yelled and yelled until he ran out of breath. Then he yelled some more. Adam started to join in with the yelling catastrophe. Anthony turned, looked but couldn’t find anything through the methane-snow blizzard.

***

Mom was so worried. It was 12 noon, and she hadn’t seen her kids in ages.

“Where did they go? Why? How? It’s been 2 days in a row now. I wonder what they’re doing right now. Are they okay? Do they need help? (They do.) When are they gonna be back? If so, then how long until then? Will they be back for supper?” she inquired to herself.

She really asked many more questions than this, I just wanted to stop writing all that.

***

Back on Pluto, Nick was still yelling. Adam was doing so too, and Anthony was still looking and turning. All until there was a flash of green light that alerted Adam, Anthony, and Nick.

“What, in the world, was that?” said Adam.

“No idea, so get your research book and start studying, you have a lot to learn, teacher’s pet,” said Nick.

“Hey, who said YOU’RE not a teacher’s pet, too! In fact, you’re more of a teacher’s pet than I am.”

“No.”

“Yeah, who’s the math wiz of YOUR class, eh? BEAT THAT!!!”

“Oh yeah?! Well, who’s the math wiz in YOUR class?! HA!!!”

“Jack.”

“So wait, you’re saying that you’re NOT the math wiz?”

“Yeah. I stink at math.”

“Fine. You win.”

That ended the argument.

***

Anthony was having some serious navigation problems. He was thirsty, too. At home, he would just lift his head and eat snow. Fortunately, he knew enough to NOT eat methane-snow, for that stuff would poison him.

“Gosh, this is almost impossible. I had enough,” he mumbled.

Then, like Pluto was listening to his complaints, Anthony stepped onto some methane snow, and fell into a hole where the portal gleamed its green glow.

“Well, I did say I had enough. Who cares about Nick and Adam anyway,” he said as he stepped into the portal.

Suddenly, a devil and an angel showed up on his shoulders.

“What are you thinking, Anthony. You can’t betray your brothers like that!!!” urged the angel in her squeaky voice.

“No! Don’t listen to that stupid angel. Betray your brothers! Keep going!” urged the devil evilly.

“What does betray even mean?! No wonder I don’t understand Star Wars movies,” said Anthony.

The devil and the angel shook their heads and disappeared.

***

“Okay, I’m totally DONE yelling and waiting for Anthony to get going. Let’s go home,” sighed Nick.

He started walking off until Adam said, “Wait, you know where the portal is?!”

That made Nick stop in his tracks.

“No, I don’t,” he said, ashamed.

Adam had no sympathy OR empathy on this.

“YOU MEAN THAT I’M NEVER GONNA SEE THE FACE OF THE EARTH AGAIN!?! THIS MOMENT WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN, MR. NICK!!!”

Nick took a deep breath and readied to fight back.

“WELL, DID YOU REMEMBER WHERE THE PORTAL LOCATION WAS WHEN WE WENT TO MARS?!!! NO!!! I DID!!!”

“WELL, AT LEAST IT WASN’T MINUS 400 DEGREES OUTSIDE!!!!!!!”

It was a while until Nick and Adam met up again. They had no idea what was ahead of them…

***

Scurrying across Pluto, two little creatures named gerocals spotted the two boys arguing. Through their tiny eyes, they were able to track down Adam and Nick during the methane-snow blizzard easily. They’d never sunk their poisonous fangs into a meal in thousands of millions of years. They were the cause of extinction of most species of animals on Pluto. They needed food and now they got some. They crawled hundreds of miles to get a few yards away.

“IIIIIIIIIIIIIII willllllllllllll nnnneeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvveeeeeerrrrrrrrrr seeeeeeeeeeeeeee tttthhhheeeeee facccccceeeeee offfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ttttttthhhhhheeeeeeeee Eaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrtttthhhhhh aaaaaaaaggggggaaaaaaaiiiiinnnnn! IIIIIIIIIIIIII hhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaatttteeee youuuuuuuuuuu Niiiiiiccccckkkk!!!” was what they heard Adam saying.

“Hissssssssss…” they hissed.

That gave them away.

“What is that?!” cried Adam, catching sight of the animals.

Retreating into the frozen ground, the couple hissed again.

“What was that?” said Nick.

“I don’t know,” said Adam.

“Start studying,” said Nick.

“Why don’t you start studying,” said Adam.

“Ok, I’ll start studying as soon as you start studying.”

“Oh fine, but you have to study too.”

“I don’t want to study.”

“If you don’t study then I won’t study.”                                                                

That ended the argument. The two animals started to come up above ground again. They were as tiny as a pebble and as gray as a stone. They tried to sink their poisonous fangs into Adam’s leg, but Adam noticed too quickly.

“Get them off of me!” he yelled.

He slapped them off of his leg. The two hissed loudly. Screaming, the two boys ran off into the methane blizzard. Unfortunately, they didn’t know how fast the two animals were. They easily caught up to them. Nick bravely picked up one of them. The other tried to bite him.

Adam quickly picked up the other one and Nick ripped the other one’s head off. Adam was too much of a woosie to rip the other one’s head off.

“Just do it,” said Nick.

“But I don’t want to,” said Adam.

“Whatever, then I’ll do it myself!” yelled Nick.

He ripped the other one’s head off.

***

Anthony felt a little glum for leaving his brothers behind. As much as he wanted to go back to Pluto, or Jupiter, as he would call it, he would rather stay home and betray his brothers, whatever that meant. The choice of staying home was more appealing to him by 1,000,000,000,000 (a trillion, in case you were wondering), other than make his life more hard and heroic by going into the portal.

“Honey! Can you go get your brothers!? They’ve been gone for hours,” called Mom.

“Do you know who you’re talking to!? I’m Anthony, the one who doesn’t care about his brothers or you!” shouted Anthony.

“You’re grounded, Anthony. Get into the house!”

Anthony didn’t hesitate. He jumped into the portal to Mars.

***

Nick and Adam were traveling across Pluto for hours. Each one had been looking out for the strange creatures they came across earlier in the day.

“Are you really sure that you’re sure that you have know idea where the portal is?” Adam asked for the thousandth time.

“Yes,” Nick sighed.

Suddenly, Adam fell into the same hole that Anthony fell into, and it had the portal in it!!!

Adam didn’t tell Nick, but did jump right in.

***

“I think I want to go home now,” said Anthony.

He went in at the same time as Adam!

***

Adam was flying through space with a speed so fast when suddenly, SLAM!!!  Adam and Anthony bumped into each other and stopped.

“COSMIC JAM!!!” cried Adam.

“What’s a ‘cosmic jam?’” asked Anthony.

“I have no clue. I just invented it now because we ‘jammed’ in the ‘cosmos.’ Get it? Whatever.”

“No. What are the cosmos, anyway?”

“Never mind.”  

Looking around, Anthony said, “Why are we here?”

No one knew. Suddenly, there was a zooming faraway noise that alerted them both. It was Nick. “Hi Nick!!!” yelled Anthony.

“He can’t hear you. He’s going, like 8 miles- per- second!” exclaimed Adam.

“Okay. Let’s not get too specific here. I have no idea what you’re talking about now. Slow it down.”

SLAM!!! Nick smashed into the two with tremendous speed and impact. Adam and Anthony were shot back so powerfully that Anthony felt like his face would rip off. Nick saw a flash of green light billions of miles away.

“Oh shoot. Was that Adam and Anthony that just got shot back to Earth?” he whined.

He took a look around. Around him was nothingness.

“Let me get this straight. I am stuck in this magical tube that glows a very dim white light and have no way of getting home. I just shot Adam and Anthony back to Earth, but I didn’t go anywhere. I’m supposed to be flying as fast as light! I hate my life.”

Then, there was a tremendous roar behind him. Nick turned to reveal a fuzzy, white…

***

“Oh shoot. I’m home. Someone took a bite out of the portals (Get it? The polar bear?). Can’t go anywhere but where I’m supposed to be when you’re grounded. Home,” moaned Anthony.

“I don’t know what insane thought you have in your mind, Anthony. I’m delighted to be home,” sighed Adam.

“Don’t you go all fancy words on me,” growled Anthony, holding up his fist.

“You mean vocabulary?” asked Adam.

“I SAID, DON’T GO FANCY WORDS ON ME!!!”

“Just saying.”  

“Anthony, get up here!” called Mom.

Anthony lazily climbed up the hole and went to bed. Adam stayed and watched as the portals recovered. He heard calls and roars coming from the gray portal. It sounded like Nick.

“Nick! I’m coming!” called Adam.

He shoved a stick (which was very long) into the portal, but held on to the other end urgently. Nick saw it while fighting and grabbed it, then pulled himself out of the cosmic jam without getting killed by the polar bear. There was a blinding flash of green light and Nick appeared in front of Adam.

“Shall we?” asked Adam.

“We shall,” answered Nick.

They got up and out of the hole. They fished, then ate, then drank, then slept. “Tomorrow, there should be another portal,” whispered Adam as they drifted off to sleep.

*****

The PORTAL series isn’t over! There are STILL MORE BOOKS!!! 🙂 Don’t miss PORTAL to the ASTEROIDS. The book is great!  Here, this is illegal to my code, but I’m doing it anyway. Here’s a preview of the next book, PORTAL to the ASTEROIDS:

Adam was gracefully moving across the rocky landscape.

“Man, where am I?” questioned Adam.

He was climbing around ever since he suddenly saw a brown light flash in front of him.  Something told him this wasn’t right. It wasn’t a planet for sure, it wasn’t a moon, so what was it? Adam was confused as he observed the ground once again. It was a grayish-brownish color and was very cold.

“I wonder if I’ll ever see home again,” he gulped.

**********************************************************************************************************

Special thanks to my wonderful teachers who got me thinking and got my creative juices flowing, Emily and Kira. Also, to my mom and dad, who got me interested in writing.

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Prised story to me

Little bit of time to make

Utterly funny

Time wasting awesomeness

Ought to be written by ME

PLUTO

********************************************************************************************************

One day, Phil the security guard saw a guy barge in through the floor.

“Yo, we have a problem, a few dudes barged in,” Phil said.

“Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, I am Phil the night guard for the mall,” Phil said.

Suddenly a guy came out of nowhere and said, “Surrender the mall or we will

shoot.”

“Whoa, let’s not get wild here. I am just the night guard,” Phil said calmly.

“Yeah, he is right. He is just a bad security guard,” said a bad guy.

Phil got mad. He started to jump on one of the bad guys.

“Oh, I see you have gotten angry. Well here comes some more bad guys,” yelled another bad guy.

Phil took out a blaster. “I will shoot if i need to!” yelled Phil.

The bad guys ran away, but they left something. It was an ID. It had a picture of the blue burglars setting off bombs underground.

“The blue burglars?” Phil questioned.

I need to learn more about this gang, Phil thought.

So Phil went to his computer and it said the blue burglars are the world’s most dangerous gang. They have been wanted for 20 years.

They steal and they wear blue and white shirts and a ski mask. On May 15th, they plan to blow up New York with bombs underground. 11 days left, he thought to himself.

“I live in New York. I need to save it so I must quit my job to save New York,”said Phil. The next day Phil told his boss he was quitting.

“Phil, I get it. You have been doing the job for a long time. You deserve to quit. But call me,” said the boss.

“Thanks for understanding,” Phil said.

And off he went to save New York from the bombs.

“First I need a defense base,” Phil said. So he bought bricks at the hardware store and he started building. Soon the lair was built and it had cannons and tanks. “Yay, the lair is made,” yelled Phil. Suddenly a burglar broke in and he did not get past the defenses. “YES!” Phil yelled! That proved that maybe Phil was ready to save New York.

Phil had to go home. He saw his wife at the door. She was happy that he was home.

But Phil did not tell about the bombs. He wasn’t ready yet to tell her about his plan.

“Today was the day I had to quit,” Phil said.

“Why?” she asked. By the way, her name was Jenny.

“Um.. well the rules, they were unfair,” Phil fibbed.

“Okay,” she said.

“Yeah, they said it is okay to smoke in the mall and skateboard so I quit,” Phil said.

“You know you could have just gone on strike,” Jenny said.

“Fine. There are bombs under New York,” Phil said.

“WHAT??” Jenny yelled.

“Look, it is my job to save New York,” Phil calmly said.

“Well it looks like you are saving New York. That is pretty brave of you,” said Jenny. Phil left before Jenny said another word. Phil went through New York finding a hole that led to the bombs. Phil walked and walked until he saw the hole.

“YES, I am there finally there!” Phil yelled.

“Not so fast! This is for the blue burglars only,” said a bad guy. Phil took out a bat and knocked him out. Phil started to worry. The hole was very deep.

“Do not worry, it is just a little drop,” he thought to himself. Suddenly a worker pushed Phil in the hole.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Phil woke up in a dark place. It was as big as a football field. “Wow, that was intense,” Phil said. Phil was very scared. He started to think that he would be stuck here forever.

“Phil, it is me your boss, Tom,” a voice said in the dark.

“My boss?” Phil said.

Phil walked closer to the voice.

“Phil, slavery is happening in this hole,” his boss, Tom, said.

“WHAT?” Phil said.

“It is true. I have been pushed down in the hole,” Tom said.

“Do you know about the bombs?” Phil said.

“Yes, I do know. I went to the hole to help you because I realized that the whole reason you quit was because you wanted to save New York so I decided to help you, but I got captured,” Tom said.

Phil started to run and save his boss. The bombs will explode in ten days. Tom tried to escape but the blue burglars started to punch him hard. Then Phil took out his blaster and he started to shoot. Suddenly more of them came and they were wearing green masks.

“Who the heck are the guys with the green masks?” the master of the blue burglars said. His name was John. Everyone was confused. People started to go mad.

Phil needed more help so he called 911. Phil and his boss escaped but they needed to return before ten days when the bombs go off. The next day, Phil woke up and looked out the window. There were holes all over the place. Phil was really scared. Phil heard a scream and it sounded like Jenny. Phil ran and ran until he could not run any longer. His legs were very tired. Then he saw Jenny about to be pushed into a hole. Phil ran as fast as he could before Jenny fell. Phil jumped but then fell in. Jenny made it to safety but poor Phil did not make it.

“Oh no, did Phil die?” cried Jenny. Suddenly, something lifted Phil into the sky. It was a miracle! Phil was flying but it was just a dream anyway. He could not fly, he was just dreaming. Suddenly, he woke up feeling very sick. Phil was very weary. He felt like he needed to throw up. Then his belly ached. It felt like he had to take a sick day today. Phil was not doing too well. He started to feel dizzy and then he got a headache and started coughing.

Phil could not move one bit. “Oh my gosh, this is so painful.” Phil needed Jenny but she was at the supermarket. “Oh, I am very sick and I really need medicine,” Phil thought. Everything was terrible. He had to use the bathroom but he could not move. He was trying to call 911 but he could not reach the phone. It took a long time until he got the phone.

He dialed 911 and then Phil heard a knock! Phil was happy 911 was here. Now that 911 was here he could have help. So the paramedics did what they could but he still felt sick. All their advice did not work for some reason.

“Phil, I am very sorry but we can not help you. You may have to go to get surgery done,” the paramedic said.

But that is when a boy walked in the house.

“Hello, my name is Colton I am looking for a home because I don’t have one,” said Colton.

“Well I do not know because I am sick. I don’t think that I can take care of you right now,” Phil said. Jenny walked in all worried about Phil.

“Phil, are you okay? I heard that you were sick and you called 911,” Jenny calmly said.

“Jenny, I may need to get surgery,” Phil said.

“WHAT?” Jenny yelled.

“And I also met a boy named Colton,” Phil says.

“Hello,” Colton says.

“Phil, I do not think we could have a kid with surgery and everything. I think we can not keep Colton,” Jenny says. Then Jenny brought Phil to the hospital for surgery.

Colton was sad that he had to leave. But then he got captured by the blue burglars.

Meanwhile, Phil was done with the surgery. But Phil still had to stay at the hospital for at least one night. Phil slept and dreamed about Colton all alone on the street. Phil woke up and he zipped out of the hospital to find Colton.

“Read all about it! A young boy named Colton gets captured!” the newspaperman yelled.

“Wait, Colton got captured?” yelled Phil.

“Where is Colton?” Phil said.

“Underground,” Newspaperman said.

Phil went in the hole again.

He looks at the timer. Two days left before- BOOM!

Phil ran to save Colton. He saw someone. It looked like someone he knew, but the person disappeared. He then just walked away thinking that it was nothing. Phil kept going and then he saw Colton in a cage. He had an idea. He could jump on a rope, swing down and kick the blue burglars in the face.

So he tried doing it but it was not as awesome as he expected.

Phil swung down and yelled, “HIYAH!!!” and then he fell and the rope hit a blue burglar. They got mad and took out blasters they were about to shoot when his boss kicked them in the face!!!

“Let me in on some of them!” yelled Phil.

Phil started punching them. It was like a duet of combat! Phil saved Colton and they escaped the hole. The next day, Phil was scared that the bomb would go off and he would not stop it. He decided that night he was going to stop the bomb. Phil was miserable all day. He kept on thinking about the bomb. What if the timer was tricking him and it was on a different day? Every single second he felt scared. This was a big risk for Phil. Phil worried and worried until he saw someone. It was the mysterious person from the hole.

“Hello,” Phil said.

“Quiet!” the person said

“Who are you?” Phil asked.

“I am Galactic but you can call me Glen,” Glen said.

“I am Phil,” he said.

“I need help. Can you help me stop a bomb?” Phil said.

“Sure,” said Glen.

They met in five hours.

“Ok, it is time to stop the bomb!” Phil yelled.

They jumped in the hole. They had two hours left until the bomb explodes.

Phil jumped and took out his blaster.

BOOM!!!

Glen started to take out a blaster too. Then all the guards were destroyed and John the master died. Phil then ran to the bomb. He saw two wires. He did not know which one to cut. The colors were red or blue. Phil thought. He made a decision.

He cut a wire and then…

Everyone was silent for a moment. He held his breath.

Phil looked at the bomb. It was stopped.

“YAY!” everyone yelled.

Colton came running up to Phil and hugged him. Phil smiled and decided to ask Colton to come live with them. Phil realized the house was too quiet and they needed some fun!

Phil’s family was safe from danger. It was true. Phil was a hero!

THE END

Read Phil 2

Coming Soon Fall 2015

“Phil is back in the sequel, Phil 2 defender of NEW YORK!!!!!”

Here’s the beginning of the sequel:

Phil was at home with Colton.

“Colton, why not we go on a little adventure,” Phil said

“I love adventure!” yelled Colton! So Colton and the family went on a adventure. Five minutes later- worst adventure EVER!!!

COLTON HAD TO GO BATHROOM!

PHIL HAD MOSQUITO BITES!

AND JENNY HAD A HEADACHE!

But they do not know what awaits them…

Steve is 87. He is trying to get to his house from the supermarket. He has a cane. Steve wants to be independent because he wants to do stuff on his own. He thinks he can do things but he realizes that he needs help doing all that stuff. He can’t really shop on his own- he has a hard time carrying it all back because he isn’t very strong. He needs someone to help. So he goes to a retirement home. All the people there are really mean. He is just unhappy because he thought he could do stuff that he wanted to do on his own but he can’t. He feels ashamed of himself, so he went back to his real house on his own one year later. He let his kids go away but he actually needs them. They are on a trip for a year. His kids are on a trip to Mexico tasting different foods. He had a hard time cleaning around the house, fixing old broken stuff like old chairs, and most of all, grocery shopping.

As he gets home, all the groceries fall through the bag onto the ground and make a big mess. There are tomatoes and spilled milk and spinach and celery and salad stuff. There is also a little box of cookies. He remembers when he was little that on the Fourth of July he couldn’t light a firework but his brothers could. This was because he was the youngest and his mom and dad didn’t trust him. When he went grocery shopping with his mom and dad, he couldn’t carry the milk and the eggs and all the heavy stuff because he wasn’t strong enough. So now, he gets people to help him just like he had to when he was younger. He’s sick of this! He only got to carry snacks as a kid and now he spills milk

In a couple of days, his kids are coming back to help him. He decides to fight through those days and get stuff he needs to get done until they come. He tries to fix a broken chair. His hands shake while putting the nail in the chair, and he struggles while hitting the nail with a hammer. He’s a little scared because if he messes up, he’ll go back to the retirement home. He doesn’t like that; things are breaking there, and not all the people are nice. He doesn’t have any friends there. At home, he likes being by himself. He’s more comfortable because he knows where everything is. He’s lived there for nine years.

It’s a dark blue house with a few bedrooms and circular windows. There is a pool in the backyard. There is also a wooden fence painted red. The lawn is all bright green grass.

One day before his kids get back, Steve gets hurt by a broken chair. Steve was sitting in the chair when the chair fell and Steve hurt his back. It hurt really, really, really bad. He cannot get up! He calls the police to get some help. The ambulance comes and they put him in a stretcher. They bring them to the hospital. Steve is nervous because he broke his back and doesn’t want to go to the retirement home. He has surgery but he doesn’t remember because they give him sleepy gas. When he wakes up he is still sleepy.

His kids Nina and Nick are at his house. When he wakes up, they say, “You need to go back to the retirement home. You broke your back and you need someone to help you.”

He is sad and disappointed because he has to go back. “I agree with you because I broke my back and no one’s here to watch me.”

He thought his kids were staying with him but they are not staying. Nina works at a movie theatre. Nick is working at a corndog stand. Steve cannot bring any furniture to the retirement home. He has a vase he really likes but isn’t allowed to bring. He can only bring his clothes. He keeps the vase in his house. The furniture at the retirement home reminds him of a hotel.

Steve makes a new friend named Sarah. Sarah is 69 and used to teach the fourth grade. Sarah really liked her job because she loves teaching people. She also had a really bad fall. Sarah fell off a horse and had to come to the retirement home. She can still walk, but only a little bit, and has to use a cane. Even though she is 69, she still has brown hair. Because Sarah and Steve became such good friends, he didn’t hate the retirement home as much anymore.