A Pawtograph Problem in Paris

One sunny spring morning I was rushing to work. I had lots of work to do. Oops, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Dancy the Dogetective. Now where was I? Ah, I remember, I work in the Department of Dogetectives. It was a typical work day. As I was working, my sister came in at lightning speed on her electric scooter!

“Pancy,” I said. “How many times have I told you to not ride your scooter in my office!” 

“Sorry!” she said sheepishly. Right then, my up to no good cousin barged in.

 “What up peeps?” she asked. Before I could scream anything, she stuffed my mouth with chicken.

Oh, chicken! My favorite, I thought, then I gulped it in one bite. Just then I realized that it had peanuts from the taste. Oh, no, peanuts! I always get a tummy ache when I eat peanuts. For some reason, my cousin doesn’t like me.” 

“I NEED THE BATHROOM!” I shrieked.

My whole team looked at me.

 “Oops, sorry Dancy-pants,” my cousin snickered. 

 “I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS!” I shrieked.

I ran to the bathroom. After the bathroom, I ran to strangle my cousin, but my sister stopped me!

“Stop acting like babies, split up!” she said. 

“Wow, nice going sis, thanks!” I said. 

“You’re welcome,” she said proudly.

”Hmf,” said my cousin. Then I heard a little knock on the door.

”Come in,” I said. Just then I realized my little niece was standing outside the door.

“Hi auntie!” She ran to hug me. 

“Oh, my little niece Fancy.” Not to brag but my niece is the sweetest, most honest little dog in the whole wide world.

”Oh, Dancy, I forgot to tell you that I have a holiday for one week!” my sister Pancy said. 

 “Oh, me too,” said my little niece. Suddenly my cousin’s grumpy face turns into a sly grin. 

”I think that our cousin is up to something,” Pancy said.

”Isn’t it obvious?” I asked.

“Well, I guess.” Pancy said. 

“Oh, sis, you never say yes or no,” I said as I burst out laughing.

“Well, yeah, I guess,” she said as she burst out laughing too.   

“Auntie, can we go to Paris?” Fancy said. 

“If I can book tickets, then yes,” I replied.                                

After our talk I realized that it was night, so I told my team to go home and my family went home too. The next morning I got a call from one of my best friends. I was shocked at what he had to say!

“We are going to Paris!” I shouted into my family’s room. We started to pack as soon as we finished breakfast. After 20 minutes, we were at the airport.

”Come on!” shouted my sister. After a maze of people we reached our airplane and boarded. On our flight, I was so excited I couldn’t stay still! 

Finally, after a long flight, my cousin said, ”I am famished! I’m so hungry!” 

“Oh, we can get a pawtogragh of a famous author.” I said. “Want to go?”

”Let’s go,” said my sis.     

“It’s on 76th street,” I said. We walked down the road to 76th street, and were finally there. But the author wasn’t there! There was a crowd like swarming bees around honey. 

“What a mystery,” I said. 

“Let’s look for clues,” my sis said. 

Me and my sister looked for clues while my niece and cousin asked people where they saw the author last. We were looking for footprints and other kinds of helping clues. 

“Oh, come here,” my sister said, “I think I found something!” 

“What did you find?” I asked. 

In reply, she said, “I found some coins. I think our famous author got dognapped!”

“I think so too,” I agreed.

“Wow, look, I found more coins! It’s a trail of coins! Maybe if we follow them, it’ll lead to footprints or other clues!”

 “Okay, ”I replied. And, as always, my sister was right. This time our clue was footprints! They led to a big hotel. Its name was the Ritz. The Ritz was one of the fanciest hotels.

”Hey, I know our famous author’s name. Let’s ask if someone saw him!” I said. 

“Okay,” Pancy said. So we went to ask the hotel manager. 

He said he hadn’t seen the author, but I saw a fearful look on his face and beads of sweat on his forehead.

”He is lying,” I told my family. They believed me, so we went to every floor and checked every door. Finally, on the fourth floor, in the 159th room, we finally found the dognapper. We knocked on the door, but the door had been left unlocked. Then, in front of our very eyes, was the one and only author.

 “We found her!” exclaimed Dancy. She was tied up and had a handkerchief in her mouth so she couldn’t scream.

 “Help!” she said, in a muffled scream. Quickly, Pancy ran to untie the handkerchief. I got a knife from the drawers and went to cut the ropes. 

“Thank you,” our author said. 

“You’re welcome,” we said, proudly.

THE END.

The Nuclear Death: Part 2

Chief Larry was finding a way to capture S.H. They changed the location of S.H., which used to be in Nevada, but Chief Larry had a plan. Of course, he was still sad about the director of D.N.S. dying, but right now he had to focus on how to find S.H. He was going to send some spies to get hired at S.H., but they still had to find the location. Chief Larry, or, should I say, Director Larry, used satellite connection to find the exact location of S.H. It was in a cave in Argentina, in Buenos Aires. So, Director Larry, along with five unidentified spies, went to Buenos Aires. They took a private jet. It had gourmet food, and the bathroom was so big, someone could sleep in it. Director Larry did sleep in the bathroom, because the bedroom was worse than the bathroom. Once they arrived in Buenos Aires, they settled at Argentina’s best hotel. They also had a D.N.S. in Buenos Aires. The hotel was in D.N.S. 

The Argentinian director of that D.N.S. was so happy to see Director Larry. Director Larry was the boss of all the D.N.S., because it was in the U.S.A, which is where it had started. The Argentinian director’s name was Pedro, Director Pedro. Luckily, all of the D.N.S. directors spoke English. They looked at the satellite connection again. S.H. was 5 miles away. Director Larry, along with his and Pedro’s spies, went to the cave. They traveled in  a car. Once they got there, Director Larry told the spies to disguise themselves in regular clothes so S.H. would hire them. Director Larry also said that they would stay in S.H. for one week, undercover. 

In S.H., a spy named Clinton was writing down information in his notebook. He found out that S.H. was going to set off a nuclear bomb in the D.N.S. facility in Argentina. Clinton had a walkie-talkie to talk with Director Pedro and Director Larry. Clinton told them everything. Clinton’s role was to spy on D.N.S. and find out what they were up to. But don’t forget: Clinton was an undercover agent for D.N.S. When Clinton’s time was up, he went back to D.N.S. Clinton told them everything, from the beginning to the end. Clinton found out that they were going to set off the bomb on Friday. That day was Tuesday. Director Pedro and Director Larry called all of the other directors from all over the world. Clinton told them it wasn’t just Argentina: they were going to do all of the facilities, starting with Argentina. They warned all the other facilities and asked them to go on lockdown. Now, S.H. couldn’t steal anything from them. If you’re wondering who’s controlling the facility in the U.S.A, it’s the vice-director. When S.H. arrived at D.N.S., they were super confused. Director Pedro told every facility to send out military forces. S.H. went back to their base. The leader of S.H. told his people to go to America.

Two days later, when they got to America, it was on lockdown again. The only choice they had was to break into the facility, so they did exactly that. They used some rope and attached some sticks to secure the hook. They were through the first level. There were many other levels until they got to the core. The core was where D.N.S. kept all the bombs and built them. The first level was very easy, but they saw many, many guards standing. 

Director Larry got back to the D.N.S. in the U.S.A. When he landed, he heard an alarm. He asked one of his guards what was going on. The guards said that S.H. was trying to break into the facility. The guard also said, 

“We have to keep you safe. They might be trying to assassinate you.” Director Larry went inside a large, most secure vault, located in the core. It seemed like S.H. wanted to blow up the core, but if they wanted to do that, wouldn’t that mean they would die, too? Maybe they would steal all the bombs and then use them to destroy the world. But once they destroyed the world, they would probably be dead, too.

 Director Larry sat in the vault and watched some TV. He watched the movie “Moonfall,” to prepare for the end of the world. But then, he heard one of the guards saying something. He said, “we’re going to lift up the vault and take you to a different area.” He heard a big thud. The vault was lifting up. The guard said, 

“Most likely, we’re going to take you to New York City to stay at the Plaza Hotel.” Director Larry refused. He wanted to stay in the building and fight with his people.

“You have to live,” screamed the guard. 

“If my people die, I will too,” Director Larry said. Just like that, Director Larry opened the vault and jumped out with a parachute. He saw the leader of S.H. standing with a knife. Director Larry kneeled and showed his chest with no fear. The knife touched his heart. 

“Thank you for setting me free,” whispered Larry. He fell down on his side. Every guard kneeled. The leader of S.H. stole the nuke button from Larry and pressed it. D.N.S. and S.H. were destroyed with grace. When the other D.N.S. facilities heard, they pressed the nuke button too. Angels surrounded the body of Larry with respect. Larry rose to heaven with his people. The war was over.

A Teacher’s Worst Day EVER!

PROLOGUE

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

CHAPTER ONE 

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

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

CHAPTER TWO

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHAPTER THREE

Meanwhile, in the classroom…

 Music is blaring, chaos is everywhere. 

“This is the best day EVER!”

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

“I don’t care! This is awesome!”

“Mathew, get off the table!”

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

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

“Oh, shut up,” 

“I agree with Jessica.”

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

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

CHAPTER FOUR

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

“Well?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHAPTER FIVE

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

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

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

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

Then I ask, “What happened?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHAPTER SIX

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

EPILOGUE

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

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

“Yes, honey?”

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

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

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

Birds of a Feather

Chapter 1: Flamingos

What makes flamingos special?

Flamingos can stand on one leg, did you know that it’s easier for them but it’s harder for humans? Since flamingos are pink, they don’t do it on their own. There’s pink plankton stuff in the water and they eat it and that’s what makes flamingos pink. Baby flamingos don’t start out pink, they start out gray. They start out puffy and they look like penguin babies because they are gray and puffy.

Where do flamingos live?

Flamingos usually live in mangrove swamps. Did you know that flamingos are a relative to dodo birds? They have the same beaks.

What do flamingo eggs look like?

Flamingo eggs are not the same as chicken eggs. They are like an oval, but no arch on the top. It kind of comes in on the side. Did you know that flamingos fly? Mostly only swamp flamingos fly because the swamp gives them much more cool and they can sense when something is coming. There’s not that much danger in lakes though. Flamingo packs are called flamboyances. A flamingo is 3 and a half to 5 feet tall. And did you know that lake flamingos make mud and stick nests?

Chapter 2: Golden Pheasants

Did you know that golden pheasants live in Western China? 

Did you know that golden pheasant eggs are the exact same size and shape of chicken eggs? But they don’t have spots on them.

What do female golden pheasants look like?

They look more brownish blackish. And the males look; blue, red, a little black, yellow, gold, and there’s some grayish on the tail. Golden pheasants can fly but only a few feet in the air and they prefer to stay on the ground. Golden pheasants eat berries, bugs, and leaves. In the wild, golden pheasants live 5 to 6 years. But in people’s homes they can live 15 to 20 years. I think that’s because they get more treatment in houses. And I don’t think they live long in the wild because there are predators coming out to eat them. 

What are golden pheasants’ predators? 

Their predators are foxes and wild cats. 

Chapter 3: Toucans 

Where do Toucans live? 

They live in the Amazon Rainforest. 

What is a flock of Toucans called?

It is called a durante of Toucans. I thought durante means together, but it is Portuguese for during. It makes sense because durante and during kind of sound similar. 

What do males look like? Male and females look the same, except male beaks are longer and narrower. 

How many years do they live?

They live 12 to 20 years. 

Did you know that there are different types of Toucans? 

There are over 40 different species of Toucan. I would guess there are 60 because they are one of the most popular kinds of birds. All the different types of Toucan species have a big beak. 

Chapter 4: Owls

Did you know that owls are nocturnal? 

What does nocturnal mean? 

Nocturnal means you stay awake all night and go to sleep all day. 

What is a flock of owls called? 

A flock of owls is called a parliament. A parliament is how people make laws in England. 

What are owls’ ancestors? 

Owls are closely related to Toucans and Hornbills. 

What do owl eggs look like? 

They are very round and they are white. 

How many species of owl are there? 

There were 250 species of owl. I knew there would be more than 100 species of owl because they are so smart and cunning like foxes! Here are some types of owls: the snowy owl, the elf owl, the barn owl. 

Chapter 5:  Eagles

Eagles are one of the most interesting birds on the planet. Eagle flocks have many names but the top three are: convocation, congregation, and aerie. 

My favorite, personally, is definitely convocation. They are almost as fast as peregrine falcons. Peregrine falcons can go at almost 100 miles per hour while eagles can go 90 miles per hour. 

I think that the females are more attractive because the males don’t really have any color. The female’s wingspan is just huge! 

When eagles go out hunting it depends on where they live for what they eat. If they live on land they mostly eat snakes, rabbits, and squirrels. If they live near the sea, they usually eat fish.

Green

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

The scent of its endless leaves

The wind rustling the branches of the big ol’ oak

The leaves, so soft and safe 

Bring the warmth and safety of napping under the tree

The sweet, sweet sap from the maple trees an ample 

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

Wishtree

Chapter 1

I dragged my suitcase along the sidewalk. I already knew that magic wasn’t a thing here. Maybe that’s why Mom wanted us to move. Because I was always running off to the wishtree.

The wishtree was something only I knew about. It was the only magic tree – probably ever. Once I was so mad and ran off into the woods. I eventually sat down at a tree. I wished that I could just be happy. Then, I felt a shiver run down my spine. I felt really happy all of a sudden. I ran back home. 

Inside it was cold and dusty. My mom helped me get the blow-up mattress out of my bag. I shivered. I pulled a blanket out And tried to sleep in my dusty old room. Probably full of rats. But I lay down anyway. I stared blankly at the ceiling.

I woke up with a jolt. It was beautiful – the sight of the sunlight and the curtains blowing in the wind. It made the dust shine. I walked into the other room. My Mom handed me a piece of toast and an egg. I sat down at the table with one wobbly chair. “School today.” She said. I sighed. “Honey, I know it’s hard. Moving. But you’ll make friends.”

“Will I?” 

“You will. I promise.”

I arrived at school surrounded by kids screaming out to their friends and pushing through to be the first one there. I thought about going somewhere else, but decided I’d have to face it. I lived here now, and there’s no skipping school with a mom who would ask you about every second of your day. So I walked into the schoolyard and found one class who was obviously bored out of their minds waiting for “the new kid.”

“Okay class! Let’s go inside!” I walked to the back of the line, embarrassed that 24 kids were waiting for me out in the hot sun. The teacher led us into the classroom and everyone sat down. I sat at the empty desk in the back of the class. “Brooklyn, why don’t you come to the front, right here? Calvin, would you go sit in the back?” I grabbed my bag and stumbled to the front of the class. Calvin grumbled and slumped down at his new seat. I did the same. “So, today, we have a new student! Come on up Brooklyn. Brooklyn just moved here from New Jersey! She- er, why don’t you tell us about yourself?” 

The whole class stared at me as I fumbled with my hands. “I– um… I’m Brooklyn and- um… I’m 10.” I looked down at my feet. “I have a dog.” A hand immediately shot up. “Yeah?” I said, nervous about what they would say.

“Me too!” the hand said. Phew. A shy hand slowly went up. “You?”

I held my breath. “Um… what’s it’s-um- name?”  The girl said, obviously as nervous as I was.

“Oh. His name’s Snickers.” I replied with a sigh of relief.

I walked back to my seat. “Sam, would you show Brooklyn around the school? Why don’t you show her where the lunchroom is, and…”

“Sure.” Sam said. Although I didn’t see Sam, I knew she wasn’t too excited about anything. I stood up and so did she, and together we walked down the stairs. “That’s the- um, the cafeteria, and…” She gestured to a room with tables and benches, just like my old school. “That’s th-the music room, and the- the gym.”  I peered into the gym, with two basketball hoops, two soccer goals and an exhausted third-grade class doing jumping jacks. “The science– um, the science room is over here, and that– that’s the aud- auditorium.” Finally, we went back upstairs and the teacher looked at Sam in a, come on, it’s your job even though you don’t like it, way. She led me into the back of the classroom. 

A boy in a seat next to the book bins snickered. “Ooh, Stuttering Sam has a new friend-”

“Shut up, Ted.” Sam replied. “So, this- um, this is the class library, and, um… you can pick out– your book that you’re re– um, that you’ll read.”

At recess, Ted came up to me. “You know, you probably want to tell Ms. Kayla to pair you with somebody else. Nobody likes Sam.” I looked over at Sam who was sitting all alone, drawing in her sketchbook. 

“Go away.”

“Why?”

Sam looked at me. “Because.” Ted had walked away. I sat down next to Sam. 

“Because why?” 

“Because- Why do you- you keep-um- asking why? Nobody likes me. Nobody talks to you- I mean-um- me except you.” 

“Why?” I looked at Sam. “You know, Ted is pretty stupid.” She smiled. It was the first time I saw her smile. 

“Yeah.”

Chapter 2

I opened the door, expecting my mom to be there. But she wasn’t. “Brooklyn! I’m in here!” I took off my backpack and went to my bedroom. I had a real bed! “What do you want for dinner?” I stood there for a second, puzzled why she wasn’t asking me about school.

“Oh, um– whatever. I don’t care.” 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah.”

“Okay, how does macaroni and cheese sound? I wen-”

“Mom, that’s okay. I’m not that hungry anyway.” She walked over and hugged me. “Mom, I’m okay. I just- I’m just tired.”

She looked like she was going to burst.“School– did you meet anybo-”

“Mom! It was fine! I’m fine! Everything– School was fine. Fine!” I felt tears swelling up in my eyes. I knew I couldn’t stop them. So I stood there, in the doorway, crying.
“Honey, come here.”

I stood there. “No!”

I ran out. I needed to get out of this place. I had friends. I had a life and my  mom had to tear me away. If only Joey was here. Or Adrienne, or Amaya. So I ran deep into the woods. The trees made me hope. Hope one had– magic like my wishtree. So I sat down and cried. My mom would never understand.  Never! So I climbed to the top of the tree. I looked at my small city. I smiled. I have no idea why, and I never will. 

The next day at school I sat down at my desk. I looked at Sam. She was doodling on a piece of scrap paper. She handed it to me. It read:

Brooklyn, 

Do you want to be friends? Tell me at recess.

   From, Sam 

   I shoved the paper in my pocket just as the teacher glanced at me. At recess, I went up to her. “Yeah.” I said. “Sure…” I thought about it for a moment. My mom always says, “Friends tell each other.” Would I have to tell her my dad is still in New Jersey? Or about my wishtree? Or, about my friends and old school and everything? But I didn’t really care. “Of course.”

“Really?” 

“Really.”

Chapter 3

I scurried out the door and into the car. We were driving back to New Jersey! Just for a day though. But my Mom said I was having a playdate with Amaya! So first thing on Sunday, I was out the door and buckling my seatbelt, waiting for my mom.  She walked out the door and handed me a piece of toast. 

        “Why are you out here?”

        “I couldn’t wait.” My mom told me to come inside. She said she wanted to talk. When we got inside, she said she was so sorry. She said we couldn’t go. I don’t think she knew how mad I was.

I sat down at my desk (an old one) and started on my homework I didn’t do right. This school does it so differently than my old one. I just didn’t understand this problem. I didn’t understand a lot of things, like how me and Sam just became friends. Or like why we moved. So I did my homework the way I knew because I didn’t know any other way. 

Chapter 4

On Monday, Sam and I were assigned to be partners in reading. We needed to make a poster about our book. We were reading The Penderwicks because I told Miss Kayla about it. We needed to talk about the traits of our favorite character. Sam was writing about Batty and I was writing about Jane. I guess teachers put you with your friend if you don’t know anyone else. I also guess you could call Ted someone I know, but I didn’t want to. 

“Brooklyn, what- what is Batsy’s- Batty’s real name?” Sam whispered to me, her hands red from writing furiously.

“Elizabeth.” I replied, my hands not nearly as red as hers. 

That day was a good day. Tuesdays are the days I dread. P.E., afterschool, and of course loads of homework. Loads.

I ran to the forest and sat down at the wishtree. I wished for a friend and Sam appeared next to me. I wished for a friend again, but nobody else appeared. Sam smiled and I panicked. I woke up in panic, too. It turned out I was dreaming. I was so tired and exhausted that I slumped back down into my bed and fell asleep again to a dream.

I was home. Back home. My mom and dad and my dog Snickers were all there. I ran around until my mom called me in for dinner. I don’t completely remember, but at one point, I was at the wishtree. I was so happy to be there, yet not as happy as I was sitting with Sam on the playground, comforting her. Telling her that Ted was stupid and didn’t – shouldn’t – call her names. I wished to have a good, pure friend I could trust. Amaya came out of the woods. Now, I was happy, but that made me wonder – am I better friends with Sam than Amaya? Than Adrienne? Joey too?

I woke up, tears forming in my eyes. I wiped them aside and looked at the clock. 6:00. I got dressed and started to write in my journal.

Tonight I dreamt of Sam. She is my friend, yet I worry, too good of a friend?

I always write one line, then illustrate it. Today was not the day for drawing. I sat down on my bed. Then, with a sudden jolt of energy, ran to my bookshelf and pulled out, The Lake of Secrets, one of my favorites. It was poetry. I opened it up to her grandma’s favorite, The Only Tree Left.

                            The tree sat in the open field

         Buildings forming around it.

It frowned. 

Then I read more and more and more until my alarm rang at 7:00. My mom was waiting for me at the kitchen table. “Do you want to skip school and go to Amaya’s house?”

“Really?” I frowned. Something was wrong. “Mom, is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine, and do you want to or not?”

“Yeah.” I felt too tired to go back to bed, yet tired enough to sleep again.

“Get in the car. Now.” My mom was obviously not in a good mood. So I got in the car. “Honey, you sure? Ms. Kayla said you made a very good friend, and that she has no other friends…”

“Mom, Amaya is my friend. So is – Sam. But I haven’t seen Amaya in months!” She sighed. 

Later when I woke up in the car, I realized I had a dream. A strange being was telling me that I should not want to go back. That I could still visit my old friends but I should not abandon my new friend. I sat up straight. “Brooklyn, we’re here.”

At Amaya’s house we played secret spies and spied on her sister Annie. “ANNIE!!!” Amaya called out to her sister, then we ran out of the house and Annie had a furious look on her face.

Chapter 5

I was content.

I was happy.

I was amazed.

Sam raised her hand and spoke, something she never did. We shared our poster. We laughed. Ted humiliated himself. It was an amazing week, and I regretted nothing at all. My dad came, moved in and brought Snickers. I was amazed at how I followed the directions of the spirit and I was happy, and just how pure the world seemed. How I could hear the words so clearly. They sounded crisp, like the sharp scent of the rain on a spring morning.

The freshness of the world made me happy.

When my dad came made me content.

And how Sam was so proud and spoke up made me amazed.

On Wednesday, we presented our reading posters, and nobody did as awesome as me and Sam. Nobody could be as good friends, either.

When I visited my old house, the wishtree glowed with enthusiasm.

“Hey!” I said. “Nice to see you again.” I sat down at the wishtree and finally wished for all I would ever need: To always have friends.                

The Fly

CHAPTER 1

“Hurry up, you slowpoke!” Beni cried. He flung his arms in the air and sailed high above to the gust of the warm wind that gave him that hearty boost.

He stared at the sky. The world, these powers, this ability…it almost felt cosmic, how a single step he could take could physically take him down a rabbit hole.

As I squinted in the November moonlight, I recognized Beni’s familiar figure soaring in the sky like a bird. One leap, and I was soaring too.

How could this have happened?  Well, I used to feel like a goner, in those weary, grimey days that sucked the present out of me, and lost me in the past. Those flashes and pops of lightning and thunder tore me away from my family. All I have now is my annoying brother, Beni.

Sweat crawled up my spine as I wove beneath the tall trees.

It’s crazy to fly. It’s like saying it’s the end of the world if your pencil broke in half.

But crazy doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, it’s not.

If you go back a good ten years, my adventure could start. But my past is not my present. My life now, in the present, is awesome. I go out to soar in the fluffy clouds that drift gently by the bright sky. 

Fine, you want the story of my past? You got to be ready. You got to know it.

You’ve got to need the story of my past. Not just to want the past, but to need it. You have to need my past. 

Why would you need such a grim thing? 

I see. Because I am in the process of telling you this story, and by this story I mean the tall tale of my upsetting, dark past.

I trust you. I trust the press and the publishers and my fellow editor(s) to not make this more than it is, which stands in the category of being a piece of forlorn American literature.

Or not. 

Look, I can’t be just plain old fiction. I exist. You’re going to think that this is just some rip-off book of kids’ fairy tales until you meet me. And when you look into the past, and change it, it affects your present and your future. So if you really are the reason I look into my real past in order to change the amazing present, you better be ready to see me flying across the sky when you crawl under your mom’s bed because you think there’s a thunder storm and it’s actually me soaring like a jet plane at two in the morning.

Well, here’s my past and you won’t like it.

It all started when Mom called me to the breakfast table after a long sleep that night. “Coming, Mom!” I yelled. 

Mom raised her eyebrows and plunked a small pinch pot on the rusty table. My family used to be poor. In fact, they still are. My family is small, like really small. It only goes up about four generations, and there hasn’t been enough people in the family to make enough money to survive. 

I sat in the chair.

Sorry…I mean I stood while eating. As you might have guessed, we couldn’t even afford a single chair. The table, however, was donated to us from a rich family called the Meyers that somehow believed that they had too many things in their house. But the table was rusty, so you could think that they had it for a long time. Like, really long. Crazy long.

When the Meyers had first bought the table, it was actually purchased by the head of the family, Lucia Josephine Meyer. She was an elderly lady who had just retired from her job as a salesman. Every day, she would make about 2,000 dollars! The money would gradually pass down throughout the family and would make them richer and richer until they could probably purchase 20 cars. They were millionaires, maybe billionaires!  The family was cheerful and hopeful until Lucia Meyer died sadly of old age. Her husband, George Topaz Meyer lll, seemed to be affected the most out of all the family members from this big loss. Before George died, he insisted on being buried beside Lucia forever. Lucia and George’s son had become a wealthy salesman as well, and kept the big family going, generation after generation, salesman after salesman, rich houses were constantly being sold and purchased. 

Anyway, the pinch pot had been made from dirty clay from the lake where we got our water. It was our only cup. But we barely used it. Oh, did I mention that I have no father? 

My dad, John Schuyler Thompson, passed away when I was a toddler. Ever since, my mom has been going out with a man named Theodore Akler to fancy dinner parties and stuff. Theodore is not like my real dad at all. His grin is nothing compared to my dad’s friendly, toothy smile.

“So, why is everything so fancy? And how did you get those expensive lantern candles?”

“Well.” Mom smiled, “Mr. Theodore has asked me to marry him!”

I choked on my dirty water. I froze. 

“What?” I squeaked.

“I’m going to marry Theodore!” Mom yelled excitedly.

“Ew!” My many siblings chimed in with disgust.

  But I just gasped.

“Honey, are you all right?” Mom said, her mood switching to concern instantly. “How do you feel?”

The truth is, I didn’t know how I felt. “I’m…fine.” And without asking to be excused, I ran up to my bedroom and started to cry.

CHAPTER 2

“…Then we need to tell the caterer to buy good whipped cream, and I have to get my wedding dress, and we have to serve a million people, and on top of all that, we can barely afford a bouquet!” Mom yelled.

She was trying to plan a wedding with very little time (how is that even possible if you’re penniless?).

I rolled my eyes and sniggered mockingly. “Then just give him back the engagement ring and get un-married.” I joked casually.

“MORRIS MILTON SCHUYLER THOMPSON!” Mom shrieked furiously. “Go to your room now!”

I stormed up to my bedroom and slammed the door shut. I curled into a ball and wept until my pillow was soaked. Change was harsh. But I couldn’t control it. No one could.

“You can come out now.” My mom shouted up to me, like dad always would.

Mom patted a worn-out pillow, indicating that she clearly wanted me to sit there.

“Write down the names of people I tell you to invite.” Mom instructed. “Nana Bleeberg, Aunt Porsha, Rilenne Mackza-”

“Who’s Rilenne Mackza?” I asked.

“Just a kind French lady across the street. She met you when you were in kindergarten.” Mom said.

“Oh.” I replied. “Who else do we need to invite?”

“Let’s see…” Mom pondered. “George Fredrick Wisley, Roxanne Jenifers, Stanley Guatemungo, Madeline Raysyn, Choltiferr Jackobbs, Bostette Watsons, Margarette Lunston, and…”

You might think that that’s a small number of people to invite to a wedding. But the truth is, we couldn’t afford a crumb of Oreos if we tried. Our family was so poor, and we knew we were stuck that way. Living life to the fullest for us was only inviting about ten people to a wedding. 

“Nimbosteen Colsteeronni…and that’s about it.” Mom sighed. “Go set the table, Morris.”

I tossed the napkins onto the table.

All of a sudden, there was a horrid rumbling that could make me deaf. 

“EARTHQUAKE!”  Mom screamed. 

Mom and I huddled under the doorway. Beni and my grandfather did too. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was the frantic sobs of my mother and grandfather as they slowly died.

CHAPTER 3

Springfield, Illinois

Two years later, Beni and I moved into a house next to our friend Chloe’s. We built it out of mud and sticks and wood.

The roof was made of straw.

The forlorn massacre that had destroyed most of my beloved family had traveled to New Zealand – the atomic plates were still shaking. The world was still quaking.

One day, Chloe’s older sister, named Meradith, introduced me and Beni to her husband, Ralph. Ralph took me and Beni to the zoo.

Beni and I were fascinated by a mysterious silver hawk in a restricted room. Beni had trained in Karate for as long as I could remember, so I was not surprised when he blasted open the door to the locked restricted room titled “No Admittance”.

The bird had bit me and Beni. The glossy scar looked like a big deal. Ralph rushed us to the hospital immediately. We got several stitches. Let me tell you this, it wasn’t fun to get bit. But little did Beni and I know that it would end up being the reason we flew. One day when the stitches were removed, it was barely an injury anymore at all. I whooped with joy and sprung into the air. That was the day when I realized that I could fly.

The definition of soup

“Water with ice is obviously not a soup,” Lucas said, taking a bite of his sandwich. “Then it would be called ‘soup.’”

“Well, why not? The definition of soup is a liquid with chunks of something in it, and that’s what water with ice is,” Leo replied.

“Well, it says that it’s typically made of some sort of boiling meat or vegetables and there are no vegetables or meat in soup.”

“That doesn’t mean always,” Leo said. “‘Typically’ only means sometimes.”

“So, you’re saying that there is some soup out there that isn’t made with vegetables?”

` “Not exactly,” Leo said, taking a bite of his sandwich. “I’m just saying there could be. Which brings me back to my point that water with ice is soup.”

“I guess you have a point, but I still will never believe that water with ice is soup.”

“Well, maybe this will change your mind,” Leo said. 

He then took a cup of ice water and poured it in a bowl. Then Leo put a cucumber in it, because there is such a thing as cucumber water.

“Wait a minuuutttteeee, that is soup! That is crazy, thank you for showing me that,” Lucas said.

The Assassin Games

A-man, the Assassin, and Leany the berry met at the battlefield on the bridge at midnight. A-man the Assassin killed Leany the berry with a very sharp sword. Leany the berry was very surprised when she was about to die. A-man the Assassin left without a single notice by killing Leany the berry. The next day, the cops came to investigate the mystery. But they couldn’t find a single clue. So they called the detectives to find clues. But even they could not find a single clue.

“We still haven’t found any clues of who killed Leany the berry,” said the cop. So they went up the bridge to investigate again. They found a sharp sword on Leany the berry. They took it out and investigated. They went to scan the sword and found out that A-man the Assassin killed Leany!!

They searched everywhere for A-man the Assassin, put posters everywhere, and wrote “Wanted” on the middle of the poster. If anyone found A-man the Assassin and brought him back, they would get 5,000,000,000,000 dollars because this was not the first crime he committed. According to the FBI, he committed 50 crimes already! So that’s why the person who brings him back will have so much money! When the cops and the detectives were done putting the posters up, they went back to investigate the mystery.

Meanwhile, A-man the Assassin was getting out of town on an airplane. He met his boss. Her name was Malicia.

“Come and sit with me, Malevolent. Let’s chat about this,” said Malicia.

“Good to see you again, boss,” A-Man said.

“You forgot to take the sword out of Leany the berry. Are you going to talk about this situation?!” Malicia shouted.

“I know you are mad about this–”

“This seems like a little mistake, but it reveals all of your crimes. Did you remember what I taught you?!” screamed Malicia.

“Just calm down, this is not a big problem!” said A-Man.

“Not a big problem? You may be able to solve this problem, but this will affect your career at ESK academy!!!” screamed Malicia.

“But you always figure out the way, right?” said A-Man.

“That’s true, so I want to pair you up with a teammate, so she can help you with your job. Her name is Layla, her code name is Queen Killer. She is a great thief and killer. She stole many things that can help us. And many, many fancy jewels that no one had ever succeeded in stealing, ever. I bet she can help you out, Malevolent!” exclaimed Malicia, “Come on out Layla.” 

Then, Layla stepped into the room with a wise air about her.

“What’s up guys, what are you guys chatting about right now?” said Layla.

“Layla, meet your new teammate, Malevolent, and Malevolent, meet your new teammate, Layla,” said Malicia. Then Malicia went away to do her daily spa and left Layla and Malevolent to talk some more. Meanwhile, the cops and the detectives were still talking and trying to find where A-Man the Assassin was.

“This job is really hard. We’re never going to find A-man the Assassin,” said one cop.

“Shush! If we keep on talking about this, our boss may fire us,” said another cop.

In the chief’s room, a detective and the chief were not talking about the previous crime where A-Man the Assassin killed Leany. Instead, they were talking about the Queen Killer.

“Queen Killer has committed way more crimes, and also bigger crimes, than A-Man the Assassin. I suggest that we work on Queen Killer first,” the chief said.

Meanwhile, Queen Killer and A-man were getting to know each other quickly.

“So, how did you get your code name?” asked Queen Killer.

“How did you get your code name?” replied A-Man.

“Same as you did, get your crimes famous and people will name you! They named me Queen Killer because I am the best killer and thief in the whole wide world! How about you?” Layla asked calmly.

“I got my code name because there was a lot of news about me, and people thought I had a perfect rate of stealing. That’s why,” replied A-man.

“Okay, well, your code name sounds boring, unlike my code name. It’s much cooler than yours, A-Man,” said Queen Killer.

“Excuse me, if you don’t mind if I say, my code name is way cooler than yours, Queen Killer,” A-Man said.

“How so?” replied Queen Killer. A-man was hesitating to respond. Queen Killer was really good at intimidating people. “Well, never mind then,” said Queen Killer calmly.

After a little while, Malicia came back to ask how they were doing.

“We’re quite nice,” said Queen Killer. A-Man shot her a dirty look, but did not say anything.

“So, are you guys ready for your first mission together?” asked Malicia. 

“You bet!” said Queen Killer.

“Whatever,” said A-man.

“Okay then,” said Malicia. “Your first mission is to steal Fabergé eggs from a museum in Russia.”

“Okay, this is easy, I stole hundreds of those before,” said Queen Killer.

“Are you kidding me!? I’ve tried to steal one of those and I failed!” said A-Man.

“Well, that’s because only the best thieves in the world, like me, can steal it,” Queen Killer responded. 

“Alright, you two stop arguing!” said Malicia.

“But it is true, right?” responded Queen Killer.

“Yes,” Malicia said with a sigh and laughed at A-man, who grunted at Queen Killer.

“Alright, you two are acting like children right now and you guys are now twenty years old!” said Malicia, “We’re arriving in Russia and going straight to the Kremlin Armoury museum. Now, I suggest you guys get ready.” 

Meanwhile, at night, when the plane arrived in Russia and when the museum was closed, the three villains got suited up and went straight to the museum. When they arrived there, there were no more security guards. Queen Killer and A-man were about to climb to the balcony when Malicia shouted, “Where are you guys going! We don’t have a plan yet! How would you guys get to steal those eggs!”

“Shhh, boss, calm down, let us do the plan now!” said Queen Killer. 

“First, I am going to let you know that you guys are going to steal forty-four of those! Get them all for our king!” exclaimed Malicia. 

“What!!! Forty-four! That’s all of the Fabergé eggs in the museum! I can barely steal one!” A-man shouted, surprised.

“Relax!” said Queen Killer while rolling her eyes.

“Which one of you will be the leader?” said Malicia.

“Me, duh!” said Queen Killer confidently.

“We haven’t even discussed this!” said A-man.

“No arguments!” said Queen Killer. 

“What about the plan?!” A-Man asked. 

“We will discuss the plan later,” Queen Killer said. A-man ran after Queen Killer. Then Malicia left to get some fresh air. 

Meanwhile, in the dark night, Queen Killer and A-Man arrived at the Kremlin Armoury and climbed up to the balcony and snuck into the museum. When they got into the museum, they saw forty-four Fabergé eggs. In front of the eggs, there was a glass door and a keypad lock. Before they did anything, Queen Killer used a pad to hack into the security cameras. A-Man tried the simplest combinations, but failed.

“Step aside, dum-dum. Let me do it,” Queen Killer said. She studied the key pad and tried 4-4-8 on the keypad and then opened the glass door! 

She put all the eggs in a big bag, carried it away with A-Man, and ran up to the balcony with A-Man following. 

A few minutes later, they got on the private plane and showed Malicia the Fabergé eggs.

“Well done, you guys, our king will be so happy to hear about it. Good teamwork, guys,” said Malicia.

“Although it was teamwork, I didn’t see A-Man do anything. But I guess you can still call it teamwork.” 

“What?! I did everything!” shouted A-man.

“What did you do? Please tell me,” said Queen Killer. 

“I put the eggs in the bag,” said A-man.

“That is nothing. Do you know why the security guards did not come? And do you know why the security alarms did not go off? All because of me, not you!” said Queen Killer.

“Stop arguing, you two, let’s go to the king,” said Malicia. The next day, the cops and the detectives went to investigate the Kremlin Armoury museum. 

A detective said, “I suspect that Queen Killer stole these eggs.”

“I do too,” said a cop. After a few minutes, a detective and a cop called a museum staff member and got into the security room. 

Malicia came back from delivering the stolen packages with the eggs and said to A-Man and Queen Killer, “The boss says good job. Now you have to prepare for a second mission.”

Malicia dragged Queen Killer for a private talk. “Try to communicate nicely with A-Man–” she said, but before she could finish the sentence, Queen Killer said, “Right!” Malicia’s words might have given Queen Killer an idea. And they went back to where A-Man was waiting.

 A-Man said: “What were you guys talking about?”

 “Your second mission is to steal the Funerary Mask of King Tutankhamun.” They went on the plane and traveled a long journey to Egypt and arrived at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. And of course, like usual, they arrived at midnight. And surprisingly, this time, Queen Killer was more patient and allowed A-Man to lead. But she wasn’t patient enough to figure out a plan when they were on the plane, they did it on the way to the museum. She wanted to relax on the plane. A-Man assumed every mission would be like this. 

On top of the museum building, there was a dome; they went through it and found the Funerary Mask. There was glass in front of it, of course, and it did have a lock, but it was not as tricky as the other one. It was just a little lock that Queen Killer easily picked. And, of course, she hacked into the security system, so it was an easy one. They left the building, went back to the plane, and showed Malicia the Funerary Mask. Queen Killer said her compliments to herself and one compliment to A-Man.

When they were settling in on the plane, Malicia said, “Thanks for being nice to A-Man.”

“No problem,” Queen Killer replied. But Malicia looked at her suspiciously, not knowing what trick she had up her sleeve. 

She said quietly to herself, “There’s gotta be more to this.” 

A few months later, A-Man and Queen Killer made a good team. They stole many things: jewelry, artifacts, famous paintings, etc. One day, they had a mission for the Olmec Colossal Head in the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology in Mexico. They went through a window, and A-man jumped down and rolled the Head to where Queen Killer was standing on the other side of the window. Queen Killer used the machine to rocket-launch the Head. But then, the security alarm went off.

 “Wait, I thought you had looked at the signals!” A-Man said.

 “Well, I looked at the signals, but there was a second layer, and I was too lazy and I gave up,” said Queen Killer. 

“What?!” said A-Man. Four hundred security guards came. 

They said, “Look! That’s Queen Killer and A-Man the Assassin!” Half of them were instructed to follow Queen Killer. Queen Killer ran very far, but in the opposite direction from the airport, and stopped. And then fought them, and beat them in five minutes. She went back to the plane without her partner.

A-Man was still fighting them, but he was struggling. By then, Queen Killer and her boss had already left because A-Man was so slow, and Queen Killer didn’t care. By the time he got out of that mess, the plane had already taken off and was halfway back. So he took another plane the next day. He had a plan to disclose what Queen Killer had done to him but he didn’t know that Queen Killer had her own plan. 

He went back and went to his boss’s room and said, “Boss, Queen Killer left me behind and didn’t wait for me and left me hanging there.”

The chair turned around, but it was not who A-Man was expecting. It was Queen Killer! “Hi, A-Man, sorry to disappoint you, but Malicia is not here. This is what happened: while you were gone, I challenged the boss to a fight, she lost, and I took the boss’s spot. I thought I could surprise you like this.”

But before A-Man could understand what was happening, she ordered ESK agents to capture him. He barely escaped, but luckily, he did escape. So he wandered off, trying to avoid the ESK Academy, but he didn’t know where he was going.

He met a seventy-year old man who said, “Hello, you look lost.”

“Whatever, mind your own business,” said A-Man.

“Okay, but would you like to come into my house?” said the old man.

“Whatever,” said A-Man and went into the old man’s house. A-Man saw a picture the old man had on his desk, and it was a picture of the old man, a woman, and a baby child. He recognized the baby in the picture: it was him! He turned around and said, “Who are you?” 

“I am your father, silly kid,” the old man laughed.

A-Man said, “What? You’re my father? I just recognized myself!” Instead of hugging, A-Man started to shout at his father,“Why did you leave me?”

“Because I had no choice! I betrayed the ESK agents, and they were looking for me all over! They could have found me. If I took you with me, they could have gotten you, too. But luckily, they didn’t find me.

“What?!” A-Man said, while he tried to process all this information. “So you really are my father?” He told him about how he was one of the top-fighters in the ESK Academy, and all about his fights. Right after he finished his story, A-Man said, “Teach me how to be a better fighter,” with a firm voice.

 “Okay, sure,” his father said, and then walked over to his chandelier. 

“What are you doing? I thought you were going to teach me how to fight, and you walk to the chandelier?” A-Man said. His father pulled on the chandelier string, and one of the walls opened.

“Come on in, sonny,” said the father. 

“Don’t call me sonny,” said A-Man.

“Okay, sonny,” said his father. 

A-Man’s father taught him how to fight. At first, he wasn’t as good as his father. His father said, “You only focus on attacking, but not blocking. And you never study your opponents’ weaknesses and strategies. If you studied them, you could figure out a way to beat them.” 

A few hours later, he got it. And then, A-Man said, “Did I master it?”

 “Yeah, you did. Just remember, when you fight, don’t fight with anger. Fight peacefully, and fight for good.”

Before any of them knew it, A-Man raised a knife and pushed him to the wall. His father looked at him with no fear. Just when he was about to stab him, he stabbed the wall and ran away.

Meanwhile, Queen Killer was on a private jet, going to steal the Mona Lisa painting. She went to the same country where A-Man was. She went to the balcony, hacked into the security signals again, and then slid down easily, like she was daydreaming. She was just about to grab the painting, looked around suspiciously, then…Crash! A-Man came in through one of the windows, but since he was still swinging in the air, he knocked Queen Killer out of the other side of the window and flew into the air! 

A-Man shouted, “Aaah! This is not how I planned it!” Then, Queen Killer noticed the bridge. She turned to the bridge, grabbed it, and landed on her feet. But A-Man crashed into the bridge and fell into the river. He climbed back up on the bridge. 

“Ow, that hurts,” he said. “I know you must be surprised.”

 “I’m not surprised,” Queen Killer replied. “I was expecting this.” 

Then, she drew out a sword, and A-man took his sword and prepared to fight. He knew whatever happened, Queen Killer would have no mercy. They fought, fought, fought; screamed, screamed, screamed; Queen Killer was about to stab him in the heart. But A-Man remembered what his father taught him, and kicked her and was about to stab her, but then Queen Killer kicked him off and stabbed him in the leg, and she said,“Goodbye.” 

She pushed him in the river and left. But luckily, A-Man’s father ran to him, dragged him up, and put him in the hospital. 

THE END

Ish’s spy Adventure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I’m doomed!” he yells. 

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

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

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

Ish finds where the voice was coming from. 

“Ah! It’s Captain One Eye!” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Oof!” The pirate touches the ground. 

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

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

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

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

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

Another mission, Ish thought. 

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

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

Magical Life, Chapter One: Seeking Back Story

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

________________________________________________________________

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

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

________________________________________________________________

Bump

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We’re at the top!!!” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

***

6 months later

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Giant Cats 2: HUMANS

After Ginger and Peter found out that they had the same secret, they decided to go on a trip together. They went from Giant Cat Town to Giant Cat California. They wanted me to share their journey with you. They packed up and said goodbye, but they almost forgot one crucial thing: to pick who will rule Cat Town while they are gone. So they asked their good friend Oliver. He was very nervous, because everyone would depend on him. They just wanted to have a good time and go on a vacation without having to worry about having a secret anymore. They told Oliver “You’ll be fine!” and set off. But…they accidentally took a spaceship instead of their plane to Giant Cat California and they ended up on the moon. Six fish and two snails were trying to trick Ginger and Peter, and since Oliver had no experience being the ruler, they tricked him and became the rulers themselves. But they didn’t know that Oliver was actually used to this, because they go on a lot of trips and they leave him in charge. So when the fish tried to become rulers, it really didn’t work. First of all, they were fighting for who would be the first determined ruler. Secondly, they forgot they were only one or two inches long, and Oliver is a cat.

So, they had a second try, and they barely came out alive because Oliver forgot to cut his nails. 

Now, let’s tell Oliver’s side of the story! 

“I saw a few fish on the floor out of water, so I tried to pick them up and put them in a glass of water. But I accidentally used my claws! Thankfully, I didn’t hurt them, but they were very frightened in my hands. So I quickly put them in a glass of water, and I went and ate lunch. When I came back, they were gone! And the glass was broken. I just hope they’re ok.”

Meanwhile, on the moon….

Ginger and Peter are enjoying the moon quite nicely by eating water cake. My mistake, actually milk cake. They also saw a squirrel pass by, waving to them.

“That’s quite interesting,” Peter said. Ginger agreed and nodded her head. It was very quiet on the moon….UNTIL!…actually, never mind, nothing happened. Yeah, the moon was very quiet and dusty.

Inside the rocket ship, there was a vacuum, so they decided to do the moon a favor, but they accidentally pressed the “blast off” button. Thankfully, they were holding hands, so they blasted off together and landed in Giant Cat California.

I guess the moral of the story is that love can push you through anything….even if you’re trapped on the moon!

Let’s go back to Cat Town.

The snails just told the fish that Peter and Ginger had escaped and were headed somewhere. They traveled halfway around the world by swimming, but they forgot that not everywhere is surrounded by water—and where Peter and Ginger were, in the middle of California, was nowhere near the beach! The fish could go nowhere near that far….their tails would get far too tired! So they found a slice of butter and a tiny stick and started rowing. Thankfully, one of the fish was a carver, so while they rowed, he carved a much safer bus in the butter. So they all went in the bus, 6 fish and 2 snails, and the wheels started sliding on the pavement. Since it was in California, though, the pavement was very hot and the butter started melting. They quickly found a cup and started rolling in it. Again, the carver fish carved a little train. And there were functioning seatbelts. And they were safe in the train. And they thought they had arrived at their destination, but they were wrong. The snails don’t have the best eyes, so they saw the wrong area. They tried again, except when they started rolling again, the train fell apart! Thankfully, they found some bottlecaps and slid down the hill in them, so they decided to have some fun and do what they were trying to do.

They finally got to the hotel, but Ginger and Peter weren’t there. They had left the hotel to go to lunch. One of the fish looked at the snail very oddly. They waited there, but they didn’t have to wait long. The only problem was they couldn’t get inside the hotel, so they thought of a plan as quickly as they could and tried it out. It did not work. They decided to try the next thing, but there was another problem: they had nowhere to stay. So they found a pond nearby, and stayed there for the night. The next day, the cats found flipper prints leading to the pond. They investigated, and found six fish and two snails. Then, they turned them back into good snails and good fish. At the very end of the story, they all went back to Giant Cat Town, and there, waiting for them, was Oliver. He was very tired for some reason, and then he told us why. Being the ruler of Giant Cat Town alone is really hard. Next time, he will ask his sister for help.

The End.

Dead Hollow Grave

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GLaDOS Might Not Be the “Bad Guy”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bibliography

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

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

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

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

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

The Planet

There was an astronaut that had to go on a big adventure. Her name was Coco. She had to go to six different planets to find a missing alien. The first one was about music. She had to write a song to get past the first planet. The second planet was about dancing. She had to choreograph a dance. The third one was about adventure. She had to find an adventure on the planet. The fourth one was about drawing. She had to draw a self-portrait. The fifth one was about love. She had to find her true love. The last one was about fun. She had to make it fun to find the alien. 

For days, she was thinking about a song and she finally had it. Coco went into the planet, but the planet wouldn’t take it. Coco tried about five times, and then she picked it up, noticing something was wrong. It wasn’t the right paper. She went back into the spaceship and she looked all around. She found it underneath her pillow, and she put it on the planet. The planet finally accepted and let her move onto the next one.

A week later, she finally figured out her photograph for planet two. Coco danced all around, but the planet wouldn’t take it. Something was wrong. She had no more ideas, so she went back into the spaceship. Coco had the wrong boots. That’s what she was missing to be a good dancer. She looked all around and she found them in the bathtub. And then the planet took it. So, she went onto the next planet .

On planet three, Coco had to find an adventure. She thought that it would be impossible to find one. Eventually, she found one, and left. 

The fourth planet needed a drawing. It took Coco a very long time to draw herself but she finally did it. But she forgot one thing. She forgot to draw the nose. She put it on the planet, but the planet didn’t take it. She looked all around and she finally noticed it. She practiced the nose on a different piece of paper, and she messed up a tiny bit, but she still got it accepted.

The fifth planet. Coco thought it would be impossible to find true love on the planet. She looked for more than three months, but she still couldn’t find it. She finally found someone on the planet that was her true love. They danced; they made music together, which almost made her forget about the adventure. Her true love had to go straight to Earth. The planet accepted it, but she was sad that she had to leave her true love. 

The sixth planet. Coco tried for almost a year, but she couldn’t find something fun. After that year, she finally found a toy. She had no idea what it mean or what to do with it. But the toy had something written on the back. It said that if you shake it, something magical will appear. So she shook it about five times and finally found the missing alien. She went back to Earth, and everybody thought she would never return. But she did return, and she found her true love again. She experimented on the alien in her secret lab. She needed to find out why the alien went missing. She thinks it escaped and wants to go back to its own planet and that there’s probably more aliens. So, she went back up and found one more planet. The planet of sparkles. 

Coco was so amazed that she passed out and had to tell everyone. Now every time she goes to space she always visits her alien friends. Sometimes they put on musicals, and she sometimes does new adventures. Everybody in the neighborhood throws one big party for her. It was one party she would never forget. The end.

Spaghetti and… Clams?

I stared out the window. The snow made the playground all white. It was lunchtime. We had recess after lunch. We would definitely have indoor recess. I stared at my lunch bag. Spaghetti and meatballs again. That was the only thing my mom had ever packed since we got back from Mexico. Even though my stomach grumbled like a hungry lion, I didn’t want to eat spaghetti and meatballs. I kept a chart of how many times my mom packed spaghetti and meatballs and I was at 19 days! But the days just kept coming: 20, 21, 22, 23, 24! I counted on and on each day. I was getting so tired of it.

Finally, no meatballs! Still spaghetti though. What were those things? I noticed they were moving. Not moving like rolling, but opening and closing. I was confused and hungry, so I started to pick up my fork. Suddenly I started to notice something bad. Wait a minute. 

“Are those clams?” I thought to myself, “Ahhh!” 

I ran to get school lunch. Nope. It was spinach with carrots and sweet potato fries. Gross! I tried not to barf. I found some crackers lying in the corner of the cafeteria. I gobbled them up. Ewww. They tasted like people’s feet. I didn’t know what to do. I asked my friend Hanna if she would share her salami with me. She only gave me one piece. I ripped it up into small pieces to last me the whole lunch period. I was still hungry. I wished I had something like pizza. 

When I got home, I could barely breathe. I slumped on the couch. 

When my mom got home from work, the first thing she said was, “Why the gloomy face, kiddo?” 

“You,” I breathed, “packed…me…clams…” I started, “For lunch!!! Ahhh!!!” I yelled. 

I ran all the way up two flights of stairs to my room. 

Mom ran after me screaming,” Aliela, come back!!!” 

I didn’t want to upset Mom. I think I mostly upset myself. Mom didn’t seem upset, I think she only wanted to talk with me, but I just wanted to be alone. 

Then, I heard the front door moan. My older brother, Kalub, was home. Kalub was in high school, and he participated in a world-wide famous high school football game. 

“My team won.” Kalub bragged. 

“I don’t think that is true,” Mom said, face buried in her computer. 

She probably searched it up. Kalub’s team was called Dark Hawks. The other team was Alley Champs. 

We had started eating dinner so I was glad that the subject had changed! 

“Mom,” I said. “May I be excused to get dessert?” 

“Eat a little bit more,” she said. “And then you can eat dessert.”

“Mom!” 

I decided not to bring up the subject of lunch, but I’ll bring it up tomorrow morning. I needed more time to forgive Mom in my head before I chose to talk about it. I just hoped Mom remembers to not give me clams for lunch tomorrow!!!

Boogaloo

The Boogaloo is hungry for thou,

with stealing eyes of flame,

thou wont want to learn its name.

Living in the foogly woods,

there in the middle he stood.

 Born from Buzzpin flies,

 you will be blind from one look in its eyes. 

Scrailing screams, biggest roar,

you might as well just come and stay,

because the Boogaloo is on its way. 

So come here child and have some tea,

and the Boogaloo will bring a treat,

but in return he will have your…MEAT!

Time for Turkey

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

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

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

The Anteater

One day in California, there lived a boy. The boy had all the toys in the town. The boy wanted to have something new. How hard is it to think of something new?!

“Wait a minute,” said the boy, “I think I got it! All I want is a particular pet! I want an anteater! I want it nice and gray.”

As soon as his dad heard the news, he went to all the zoos that he could find. He asked the zookeepers calmly if they had any anteaters.

“We have anteaters, but our anteaters are not for sale.”

One day later, his dad found a zoo that said “Anteaters for sale”. He found the nicest, grayest anteater and gave it to his son. 

The anteater asked the boy, “Please give me some meat and bread.”

The boy said, “No, you are an anteater and you should go outside and find some ants from my garden.”

The anteater searched night and day, but he couldn’t find a single ant.

Five days later, the boy’s aunt came over. The boy shouted over to the anteater, “Come see my Aunt Samantha! She is over 15 years old.”

The anteater turned around and said, “A giant ant?”

Sometimes people think it’s “a-nt”, but it’s actually, “au-nt”. 

As soon as the anteater heard the word “aunt” he said, “Hmmm, a giant ant.”

The boy said, “Yes, yes, a good big ah-nt”

The anteater came closer and closer and said, “Hmm, I don’t care if the aunt is over 15. I don’t care how old the aunt is. Tonight, when Aunt Samantha is sleeping, I will gulp her down head to toe.”

So, at night he did exactly what he said. He ate her head to toe, toenails too!

In the morning, the boy looked around for his Aunt Samantha. Then, he saw the anteater in Aunt Samantha’s bed. The anteater said, “Since I ate Aunt Samantha for dinner, I will eat you for dessert!”

The anteater didn’t only eat the boy, he ate his whole family and even his plants. 

After he ate everyone and all the plants, he had so much energy, so he dug into the boy’s garden. Then he saw a tiny speck of something black in the dirt moving. He said, “Ah! Another ant!”

       The end.

Ditched

Chapter 1- The Beginning of it All 

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 2- The Hike

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

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

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

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

Chapter 3-  BATS

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

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

Chapter 4: The Ditch

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

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

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

             Chapter 5: The Plan

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

                                                              Aftermath

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

Birds

Chapter 1: Flamingos

What makes flamingos special?

Flamingos can stand one leg, did you know that it’s easier for them but it’s harder for humans? Since flamingos are pink, they don’t do it on their own. There’s pink plankton stuff in the water and they eat it and that’s what makes flamingos pink. Baby flamingos don’t start out pink, they start out gray. They start out puffy and they look like penguin babies because they are gray and puffy.

Where do flamingos live?

Flamingos usually live in mangrove swamps. Did you know that flamingos are a relative to dodo birds? They have the same beaks.

What do flamingo eggs look like?

Flamingo eggs are not the same as chicken eggs. They are like an oval, but no arch on the top. It kind of comes in on the side.

Did you know that flamingos fly? Mostly only swamp flamingos fly because the swamp gives them much more cool and they can sense when something is coming. There’s not that much danger in lakes though. Flamingo groups are called flamboyances. A flamingo is 3 and a half to 5 feet tall. And did you know that lake flamingos make mud and stick nests?

Chapter 2: Golden Pheasants

Did you know that golden pheasants live in Western China? Did you know that golden pheasant eggs are the exact same size and shape of chicken eggs? But they don’t have spots on them.

What do female golden pheasants look like?

They look more brownish-blackish. And the males look blue, red, a little black, yellow, gold, and there’s some grayish on the tail.

Golden pheasants can fly but only a few feet in the air and they prefer to stay on the ground. Golden pheasants eat berries, bugs, and leaves. In the wild golden pheasants live 5 to 6 years. But in people’s homes they can live 15 to 20 years. I think that’s because they get more treatment at houses. And I don’t think they live long in the wild because their are predators coming out to eat them.

What are golden pheasants’ predators?

Their predators are foxes and wild cats. 

Chapter 3: Toucans 

Where do Toucans live?

They live in the Amazon Rainforest.

What is a flock of Toucans called?

It is called a durante of Toucans. I thought durante means together, but it is Portuguese for during. It makes sense because durante and during kind of sound similar.

What do males look like?

Male and females look the same, except male beaks are longer and narrower.

How many years do they live?

They live 12 to 20 years.

Did you know that there are different types of Toucans? There are over 40 different species of Toucan. I would guess there are 60 because they are one of the most popular kinds of birds. All the different types of Toucan species have a big beak. 

Anabella

Does Anabella have to be perfect?

Once upon time in Japan there was a girl named Anabella. She loved going to Japan and she loved playing and helping. She also loved reading, taking walks, and even everyone in her family, and cleaning the house very clean. Every time her mom drops a glass of water Anabella helps her mom clean the wet floor, and Anabella is smart and helps her family whenever her family needs help.

She wants to be a teacher when she grows up so she is working hard so she can be a teacher when she grows up. She reads a lot of books so she could be a teacher when she is a grownup so she works harder than anybody else to do a lot of math like ‘is 100 greater than 1000 or is 1000 greater than 100?’ Anabella would think the greater one is 1000. Do you think Anabella will get it right or wrong? I think she will get it right because it says she is smart. What do you think? She knows everything! Do you think  Anabella will get it right?

She does a lot of work every single day because she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She is trying to work as hard as the other students. Her teacher’s name is Miss Luna. Miss Luna helps Anabella to get it right. She practices her math, reading, and even hard math without anybody helping her. Her brain is trying to work hard to know the answers. Anabella’s mom said, “Your grandparents are coming here soon.” She tried to finish her math quickly, so her grandparents won’t see her doing her homework. After she was done, the grandparents came. Anabella came to the front door to hug her grandparents. And she said, “hi,” in Japanese. “Hello Anabella, I am so happy to see you,” said Anabellas grandpa. At bed time Anabella screamed in her pillow so loud! Her mom said “Stop screaming, do that at a sleepover!” After she yelled at Anabella she slept peacefully, she didn’t even say one word she just [zzzzzz.] 

The next day Anabella wore her favorite outfit that says ‘I love writing’ with shorts and long socks and sneakers with a headband that has a bow. The color of the headband was blue. She felt very disappointed because she had to do math all over again. She had to do it fast because it was almost her math test. During recess Anabella saw a girl at the next bench. She sat right next to the poor girl. She asked what was wrong. The girl said “I wanted to be a writer when I grow up but I keep on practicing swimming instead of writing.” “What is your name?” asked Anabella. “My name is Cinnamon but my real name is Flora. My family is a god or ghost. I could help you.” Now Anabela knows if she makes a mistake her brain will grow! The End!

Sally loves Cinnamon the Hamster, Book 1

Once there was a girl named Sally. Sally loved hamsters. 

One day her mother said, “Sally, I have a present for you!” 

 “What?’’ Sally said.

’’Look in this box,’’ Sally’s mother said. Sally’s mom was holding a big brown box. Sally opened the box and inside the box was a cute hamster. The hamster was a brown cinnamon color. 

Sally said, “Oh, I’ll name you Cinnamon the hamster.” Her mom gave her a hamster pack and a guide, but Sally already knew a ton about hamsters. But she still read the guide, just in case. She let the hamster run in a spinner. Sally fed Cinnamon lettuce and carrots. And she took Cinnamon out for walks. And she gave Cinnamon a school, called Cinnamon school. When Sally went to school, she left Cinnamon a cardboard cut out of her so he wouldn’t be lonely. 

One day, when Sally was taking Cinnamon for a walk he slipped out of her leash. Cinnamon didn’t realize he was out of the leash. Sally didn’t realize he was out of the leash either. When Sally looked at her leash, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Cinnamon wasn’t on the leash! 

When Cinnamon looked, he was in the bushes. But Sally didn’t see him in the bushes. They were very tall bushes. Sally looked everywhere. She looked in one of the bushes, but she didn’t look in the bush Cinnamon was in because she didn’t realize there was another bush. Her mother was at the supermarket and her father was working, so Sally realized she would have to act like Cinnamon so that he would come to her. But she would have to read a book all about hamsters first. The guide! She put food out at night, but Cinnamon didn’t come to her. The bushes were so high that Cinnamon couldn’t smell. 

Cinnamon fed on lettuce, because there was lettuce in the bushes, and he thought that those bushes were the woods. 

And then her mom called and said she wouldn’t be back for a week because she was going to San Francisco for her work. And her dad would be working all day. 

So Sally thought, if she was going to find Cinnamon she would need him to come to her. She walked all over the neighborhood singing her Cinnamon song. “Cinnamon, oh Cinnamon!” She sang up and down the street. But the bushes were too thick and high that Cinnamon couldn’t hear it. 

Then she saw the bushes that Cinnamon was in were rattling. She thought that it just must be ants. She went to check the bushes, but when she looked, Cinnamon thought it was a hungry lion. When she looked he ran outside the bushes, then he came back when she was done looking. 

Cinnamon was scared. Sally was scared too. She didn’t know what to do. 

She thought she should wear her night vision goggles. But since the bushes were very thick, she couldn’t find him. Then she called out, “Cinnamon! Cinnamon!” 

Cinnamon thought it was a snake because he only heard “Sssssssssisss”, so he thought it was a snake. And some of the leaves were cinnamon colored, so he camouflaged in them whenever Sally looked. 

Sally was very discouraged. Then she said, “Maybe mom was right. I should have read the guide all the way through.” She had thrown the guide out when she was just half way through. “Maybe I’ll live my life without Cinnamon. Mom is going to kill me when she finds out.” 

Cinnamon ran out of carrots and lettuce in the bush. So he went into the real woods to find some food. Mom got home and Sally said, “Can I go to the woods to see what kind of uh, leaves there are?’’ 

“Sure,’’Sally’s mom said. But Sally was actually going to look for Cinnamon.

It was summertime and Sally was moving in 62 days and she had to find Cinnamon before then. So when she went into the woods she realized she would have to be like Cinnamon again, which didn’t work last time but she was willing to try again. She saw Cinnamon’s footprints but ended up following a tiny cat that wasn’t Cinnamon and it scratched her. While Cinnamon was trying to find some hope and some food, the cat that scratched Sally came right in front of Cinnamon and it was really big. It was a ginger cat with orange stripes. The cat chased Cinnamon through the woods and out of the woods and back into the woods. He made himself a little hole to hide him and the cat couldn’t get him. Anyways, Cinnamon came out of his little hole and looked around. He wasn’t a very good climber so he couldn’t climb. He was a very good jumper though. Cinnamon wandered accidentally into bullet ant territory. And Cinnamon didn’t realize, but then a bullet ant started chasing him and Cinnamon knew about bullet ants because he went to bullet ant school. Cinnamon jumped over twigs and left and ran very fast but the bullet ant could probably outrun him. He jumped over a big pile of dirt and the bullet ants couldn’t get him.

When he saw the ants leaving, now Cinnamon was really scared. He trembled. When he got out from behind the dirt pile, he started to shake, partly because it was really warm. He didn’t like being warm. He needed to be room temperature. Finally Cinnamon found some lettuce on the ground and it felt very good to eat. Cinnamon started now to find his way home to Sally. He thought he heard her voice but he only heard hummingbirds. Meanwhile, Sally felt hopeless. Just then, Sally saw Cinnamon! Cinnamon ran to Sally. Sally kissed Cinnamon.

  The end.

Dimension 96: Chapter 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I know what we all want,” Dan said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quantum Computing Pros: Power, Medical, and Cybersecurity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Sources Cited:

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

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

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

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

The Person in the Well

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Wrong Mom

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

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

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

A lady that was supposed to be our mom. 

But it wasn’t.

The Birthday Mystery

It was almost Isabella’s birthday. She was about to turn ten years old. She was so excited. Isabella wants her birthday to be very special, because her birthday is in spring which is her favorite season. And every year when it was her birthday, it’s always very special. Isabella got some markers, and then she drew a card, and then she found lots of envelopes, and then she made copies of the sheet she drew. She put them in each envelope with different stickers. One day on March 19, so she loves her birthday so much. She thought there would be some really special presents that she had always wanted since she was five years old. At bedtime, she kissed her teddy bear that she got when she was four years old. 

Then she went to sleep and she dreamed that she and her friends loved her birthday, and she dreamed that she got thousands of presents, including the present she wanted every since she was a little girl. Another teddy bear, teddy bear clothing, and a teddy bear bow tie. She already had one teddy bear, but she wanted two. Then she heard a strange noise that woke her up, but she saw nothing. “Whatever,” she thought. “It was probably a dream.” Then she went back to sleep the whole night. 

The next day was March 20th. Isabella wore her normal school uniform, but included her colorful backpack. When she came to school, she saw Charlie, the mean girl in the school. Isabella looked at her, not very happy. Then she went to her classroom. There was a math assessment, and the problem was 1000000 – 7000 = 3000. 

After the math assessment, it was lunch and recess. She saw her friends named Andrea, Emily, Camila, and Cinnamon. Isabella saw Charlie doing the monkey bars all over again. Isabella thought, it will become not funner if she keeps doing this. After recess they did writing workshop. Her story was nonfiction about flowers and soil. Then it was time for packup, and then they got home. Of course, Isabella got ready for the cake. She changed into her pajamas, ate her dinner, brushed her teeth, and went to the bathroom. She gets ready for sleep and her mom and dad kiss her goodnight.

The next day, it was her birthday. Before she goes to school, Isabella goes to the blue mailbox. Isabella didn’t realize she put the name Charlie on one of the envelopes. Then, she went to school and when it was math, the teacher didn’t really celebrate anybody’s birthday.

Since it was Isabella’s birthday, when Isabella went to the park she was going to say nice things to her friends, but before she could say the nice things she saw Charlie.

“Charlie, I did not invite you to my birthday party,” said Isabella.

“A letter came to my mailbox. You did’t realize you added my name?” said Charlie in a confused face. 

“I didn’t realize. Oh, and also, sorry that I made a mean face yesterday morning. Will you forgive me Charlie?” said Isabella.

“Yes, I always forgive people,” said Charlie in a nice voice… but this is not the end of the story. When it was time to eat the cake, the cake was missing!

“Oh no, the cake is missing!” said Isabela and Charlie.

“What if one of your friends is NOT your friend?” said Charlie.

“That is a good question Charlie. What if my one of my friends is not my friend? I got the cake for 9999 dollars.” 

“That is a lot of money to pay,” said Charlie. “No worries, my dog is smart. His name is Chase. Chase could do anything, so I think he could solve the case. Oh, and also, I am a detective, same as Chase,” whispered Charlie. Chase sniffed all the way to Charlie’s little sister Anna. 

“Anna, you made my new friend very mad,” said Charlie.

“I am sorry, I wanted mommy to love me more,” said Anna.

Isabella felt thrilled because the mystery was solved. She was as happy as a newborn flower. Isabella thought about if her birthday has to be perfect?

“It doesn’t have to be perfect!” Isabella. 

“I guess we solved the mystery,” said Charlie. 

Charlie might still be a little mean. I promise, Charlie will be nice!

The lesson is to not blame it on someone else.

The Book Story

Aria took a book off the shelf. “Here,” she said, handing it to Bunbun. “You can learn more about Fantasia in this book.”

Bunbun had to write a whole report on fantasy. “Well,” said Bunbun, except now his voice was muffled. 

“Okay, silly goose,” said Aria, taking the book off of the small bunny. “You can read it with me.”

“Okay, time to open the book!” said Bunbun.

Aria opened the shiny cover of the book and started reading. Later, she finally closed the book and said, “Okay, time to go to bed.”

Okay, now I can explain what they’re talking about. Except really quietly. They are talking about the world of no magic. The one you’re probably in right now, because this was the opposite. The world of fantasy thought of the world of humans as the world of fantasy. Oh, okay, now they’re waking up and I can stop talking.

Aria yawned. “I thought I heard voices.”

“This sure is a strange dream you had there, miss.”

“Okay, I know what you want,” said Aria, laughing. “To go outside and play ball. Be careful because the ball is twice your size, Bunbun.”

“Okay,” said Bunbun.

They went outside. Aria took the ball and threw it. But before the ball reached Bunbun it disappeared.

“Huh, that’s strange,” said Aria. “Our balls never disappear.”

“I know!” said Bunbun.

“Here, come on, Bunbun.” Bunbun ran to her but also faded. 

“Yeesh!” cried Aria, running back. Then she noticed her hand. It was slowly disappearing! “Oh no,” she groaned.

“Mommy!” Aria heard a voice say.

“Bunbun!” said Aria. A tiny little Bunny hopped in her hands. “Though it’s kind of blank here.

Aria slowly stood up with the small bunny in her hands. But she fell through the floor. 

“Huh. Is this a weird day?” grumbled Bunbun.

“I have to say, I agree,” said Aria, lifting her eyebrow at the weird things all around.

Bunbun sat down, thinking. “My book!” he cried. “I was writing about the world of fantasy, right?”

“Right…” said Aria.

“I was just thinking how–”

“BUNBUN! Watch out!” cried Aria. She snatched the tiny bunny from the ground and ran to the side.

“What?”

“Look! Your book!” she said, panting. They both looked as the book fell and its pages became stranger. They looked like they were flipping from both sides and the words started spilling out of the book. “Oh, I hope not,” moaned Aria.

The words started spinning and spinning and spinning around them.

“Yup! I knew it,” squealed Bunbun in a horrified voice.

“We’re going inside the book!”cried Aria. 

“Help,” grumbled Bunbun. “You’re kidding me. Is this really the place we’re supposed to be going to?” said Bunbun in an annoyed voice.

“Where?” asked Aria. “We’re not even there yet!”

“Well, now that you mention it, I don’t see the ground because of all these words.” It was kind of true. “Is this because I’m hearing that voice again?”

“No! What voice?” squeaked Bunbun.

“And in you go!” said Aria, looking at the hole that was opening up between the words.

“Don’t!” squealed Bunbun, but he was already flip-flopping through the air, and letting his stomach also do flip-flops. Now the bunny was looking up, hoping he wouldn’t get squished by a very big human called Aria. “Now I’m hearing what Aria was hearing.”

“Yeah, I told you that voice was somewhere out there!” said someone behind him.

“Yow!” cried Bunbun, looking for something to hide behind, or someone.

“It’s just me, silly bunny,” said Aria.

“Well, if you’re going to call me silly bunny, you better watch out. This isn’t the place we’re supposed to be.”

“It is if we’re already there,” warned Aria. All Bunbun did was hop on her shoulder.

“Well, if you want to,” said Aria.

“Don’t ask me,” said Bunbun, already hiding his face behind her head.

“Hmmm,” said Aria.

“Are you sure I should peek out?” said Bunbun.

“You should if you wanna squeal again!”

But Bunbun didn’t care. That was all he needed to hear to give a tiny peek.

“EEEE!” he said, almost flying up to the clouds. “I wish my friend Aria wasn’t so serious,” he said, hanging up in the air for at least three seconds before crashing back down to the grass. “Hey, this isn’t grass,” thought Bunbun. “This is slime!” He noticed that the ground was a giant puddle of very gooey slime that was actually mud. “Mama!” he cried. “This is so gooey!” he thought when he finally scrambled out.

“Whatever,” said Aria, running back to the book. She grabbed the book and started flipping through the pages. “I don’t get it. This book is empty!”

“Not so empty,” said Bunbun, flipping to the last page. “Look!” There was one word that had the spelling A-R-I-A  A-N-D  B-U-N-B-U-N. “Hey! That spells Bunbun and Aria!”

Aria looked at Bunbun. Bunbun looked at Aria. “Well, since we got in the book, we must have gotten the book to get the words to have us in the book!” said Aria and Bunbun.

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t leave it in my room. Otherwise I would have thought that there was a girl named Aria and a bunny named Bunbun in the fantasy world too.”

“Woah! What is that?” said Bunbun pointing to something with a long tail, long whiskers, and long ears. “Well, whatever it is, I learned to sound it out: ck-ah-t.”

“I think that spell cat?” said Aria. “But we don’t know what a cat is, or what a cat does!” 

“Well just in case,” said Bunbun, “let’s run.”

Bunbun hopped off of Aria’s shoulder and started running as fast as he could with his tiny legs.

“Ahh,” Bunbun thought. But soon he got a little more filled up with energy. Because he saw that the cat was running after him. “EEE! MAMA MIA!” he cried. He jumped as high as he could so the cat wouldn’t reach him, but he ended up in Aria’s face instead.

“What are you doing?” cried Aria. “You know you shouldn’t have jumped in my face.”

“Sorry! That cat’s about to pounce in my face!” said Bunbun.

“Well, in that case, let’s use the last of our words, even if there aren’t any words,” said Bunbun, staring into the book.

“Wait, what?” said Aria. She flipped to the first page. There was a whole page written. Bunbun flattened himself out like a balloon. “Bunbun, you aren’t supposed to be a bookmark!” said Aria.

But Bunbun still was flat as a deflated balloon.

“I know what you want!” said Aria. She blew on the words which blew Bunbun all over the place. “Now you can blow yourself up!” said Aria.

“Okay,” said Bunbun, and he blew himself up like a balloon.

“Okay, now that you’re not as flat as a deflated balloon, we can–”

“Fly?” interrupted Bunbun.

“No,” said Aria. But she still checked where her feet were dangling. In midair.

“I hate flying.”

“Why?”

“Gives me the creeps,” ended the conversation Bunbun. “All I know is that I’m glad we escaped for the ck-ah-t.”

“It’s a cat, Bunbun, it’s a cat!” said Aria.

Bunbun was doing something Aria didn’t expect, banging his head against a rock with his head bouncing off like a ball. “Hey, this rock is even bouncier than the rocks we have.”

“Okay, Bunbun, did we land in the land of balloons?”

“Pretty much,” he said.

“Whatever. I just want to know, what is that?” Aria said slowly. She pointed towards a blue streak in the sky.

“Hi!” came a voice.

“Who is that? Who is that?” cried Bunbun, jumping up and down.

Finally, Aria noticed that it was another girl. “I thought we were the only ones that came to the fantasy world,” she said, cocking her head.

“Yeah, I didn’t know Zelda also came here!”

“Well, I came here having the feeling you would also come here. Sooo, I picked a book off the shelf and started reading to my pet.”

“You mean your pet dragon Urly?”

“Yeah!” she said. “There’s my dragon!” she said, pointing to a very specific wind dragon.

“Well, now we have a dragon, we can move around more efficiently.”

“Not me! Not me!” said Bunbun, jumping into Aria’s shirt.

“Hey! Get out of there!” laughed Aria. “You tickle!”

Finally two small ears poked out of the bottom of Aria’s shirt, then some eyes, then a nose, then Bunbun poked out. Suddenly, wind came

“It’s just a dragon!” Aria hollered over the wind.

“Stop the wind, Urly,” Zelda said. Then the wind died down. 

“Come on Bunbun, get out of my shirt,” Aria said. Unfortunately, while the wind was   going on, Bunbun got really scared and went under Aria’s shirt. It really tickled, so Aria said, “Get out!” 

“Come on, everybody,” said Zelda. “Let’s get on to my dragon.” 

Zelda felt like she shouldn’t do this, but in her head, she heard her dragon’s voice saying don’t worry. It will be fine. 

Okay, Zelda replied in her mind. She slid onto her dragon and helped Bunbun and Aria on. 

Aria said, “You know, I was thinking that maybe we shouldn’t be going on Bunbun too hard. He is the smallest bunny I found in the petstore.” 

The dragon was flapping its wings, and it begun to roar. Zelda, Aria and Bunbun could see mountains and streams and hills. Bunbun said he felt like too much of a bird to be a bunny, and Aria giggled. 

“Don’t worry, Bunbun. We aren’t going to turn into cake,” Zelda said. Even though that’s what Bunbun thought Zelda said, when really she had said, “Bunbun are you sure we’re all going to turn into a piece of cake? Because when you think about it…that’s not really true.”

“Where should I ask my dragon to go?” Zelda asked.

“Well we don’t know, but our book might know,” said Aria.

“What do you mean, your book would know?” Zelda was really confused. 

“Oh, we’ll show you.” Bunbun tugged the book out of Aria’s knapsack. 

“It says the fffff….” Bunbun tried to read, but he was not a good reader. 

“Three paces left,” Aria said for him. 

“Change the direction to three paces left and let’s fly there,” Zelda instructed her dragon. 

The dragon nodded. He swooped left. 

“What next?” Zelda asked. 

“Go down,” Aria read. They zoomed down. They slid off. 

“Look,” Bunbun said. “I see a letter.” They looked up and saw a letter.

“How do we get to it?” Bunbun asked.

“I have an idea,” Zelda said. “Come on everyone, stand next to me.”

Everyone raced to her sides.

“Now!” she instructed her dragon. “Get us into the air, please.”

And then a huge gust of wind came under their feet and they started floating up towards the letter. “Can you reach it?” Aria asked.

“No,” Zelda said. “But I think Bunbun can. He’s jumping!”

With one last jump, Bunbun grabbed the letter and they slowly started going down. “Now, let’s place it in the first page of the book, right here,” said Bunbun.

“How?” said Aria.

“Just try,” said Bunbun

Zelda snatched up the first letter and placed it. They watched as the letter slowly slid into place and looked like a printed letter again.

“Okay, first letter. Now let’s keep going,” Zelda said. They slid back onto the wind dragon, and Zelda said, “Fly, dragon, fly! We’ve got letters to find!”

After a while of grunting and looking at the book for directions, Aria finally looked up into the sky.

“Hey guys look! I see a big cluster of letters!” Aria said. The dragon flew up close and Aria snatched it up from the air. “Hey, let’s put them in alphabetical order,” Aria said.

They placed each letter carefully and they all looked like printed letters. But they did not go in alphabetical order. They kept rearranging themselves.

Now the letters spelled: find three things. And then it paused.

“Okay, now I know that,” Aria said, “but I don’t know what the three items are. Now we have to find letters and items!” They kept flying. Then, they landed.

“Guys,” Zelda said. “Let’s eat.” 

Aria took out chocolate. Bunbun took out carrots. And Zelda took out mango strips. They started to eat.

Bunbun chomped down on his perfect carrots he gathered. He said they were the most delicious he had ever tasted. And Aria just laughed. She said, “Of course you like carrots!”

Then Bunbun raced down the hill to the closest river, which was not very far. He was thinking about washing his legs, but he found something. “Hey, guys, I found this cool jewel shaped rock!” he called.

Zelda and Aria came running over with the dragon. “What did you find?” Zelda asked.

“I found this rock,” Bunbun answered.

“Oh!” Aria said. “Let’s see if Zelda’s dragon came to help us out.”

“Hey, Urly, can you help us out?” Zelda said in her mind.

“I am ready!” her dragon answered.

“All you have to do is ask the stone to help,” Zelda said, opening her eyes.

“Okay.”

Bunbun said, “Can you help us, stone?” The stone started to glow and it shot blue beams everywhere. “Yeee!” Bunbun cried.

“Bunbun!” Zelda cried, jumping to the little bunny. She screamed as the beam shot towards her and moved away.

“These beams are crazy,” Aria said.

“Watch out!” Bunbun squeaked.

“Huh?” Aria said.

“Uh oh,” Zelda said.

“Ouch!” Aria cried. “These beams hurt.”

“Hey, where’s Aria?” Bunbun said.

“I’m here, I’m here,” Aria said.

“Where?” Zelda asked.

“Zelda! If you want to find out, you should probably get in the way of those beams,” Bunbun said.

“Okay,” Zelda said, her voice shaking, but anyway, she jumped in the bath of one of the beams. “Ahh!” she cried as she turned invisible.

The bunny fell onto the ground and squealed, as he was also in the way of one of those beams.

Just then, Zelda felt the stone. She grabbed the stone and said, “Where are we going?” The stone shot out more beams, which just made the friends go down and down and down.

Finally, when Aria hit the floor, she heard another voice.

“Aria!! Bunbun! Where are you?” 

Zelda! Aria thought. She’s here! Finally, she heard a thump and a small thump and she saw her friends again.

Zelda was checking around for her dragon, and then she heard a giant cry.

“Ayeeeee!”

“What was that?”

“Ayeeeeeee!”

“What. Was. That?” Aria said.

“Ohhh, I think that’s my dragon,” Zelda said. “Are you hearing me?” she said in her mind.

“Yes,” Urly replied. “I am here. Right beside you. So don’t forget.”

“Okay,” Bunbun breathed. “That is scary.” Urly, wind tornado! Zelda yelled. 

“Something about that phrase reminds me of something scary,” Aria mumbled. Before she could say, “Zelda, this is not a good idea,” the wind started blowing in a circle around them.

Yikes! Bunbun thought as he went spinning in the air. Or, at least he thought he was spinning. His mind was spinning.

“Quiet down!” Zelda said. “There’s so much noise that I cannot concentrate on telling my dragon what to do!”

“Sorry,” Bunbun squealed.

“Down!” Zelda yelled and the tornado slowly went down.

As soon as Aria came to the ground, she put Bunbun down. But that was a tiny mistake because the wind hadn’t died down yet, so Bunbun flew onto Aria’s shoulder. But Zelda hadn’t landed quite yet. She was still going down.

“Ow!” Bunbun yelled, putting his hands on his ears. “I forgot to tell you, I keep hearing that weird voice in my head.

Zelda said, “Are we still invisible?”

“Excuse me,” Bunbun interrupted. “That is not an answer.”

“Yeah, that’s not an answer, but that’s another question.” Aria mixed her own voice into the conversation.

Then Zelda shook her head. “Let me see…”

“Let you see what?” Bunbun said.

“I see letters!” Zelda said. She snatched the letters from the air.

Aria quickly took out the book. She put the letters into alphabetical order, but she knew that they wouldn’t turn out that way. Instead, they saw a character’s name.

“I know that book!” Bunbun said. “Now, let me see, where did I last remember that?” Then his eyes got big.

“Greek mythology!” they all said together.

Aria looked at Zelda. Then she looked at Bunbun. Then she looked at Zelda again. “This is very interesting. We fill up half the book. And now we make different thoughts.”

Zelda grinned. “I have an idea,” she said. She walked up to it and started thinking, how do we get home? Answer. And then suddenly new words filled the book. Find all the letters. “Woah! How did you do that?” Bunbun squealed.

“I thought of a question, and it formed that word and wrote an answer.”

And then Bunbun came up and thought, How do we get those letters? And then new words filled the book. They will come to you once you ask.

It was true. Aria looked above her head and saw a big bundle of letters. She grabbed it. “So we have m, n, o, p, and y.”

“Yeah, we don’t really need the y right now,” Zelda said.

“Oh, right. We’re only up to p right now,” Bunbun said.

Then Zelda came up and thought, are we still invisible? Then new sets of letters filled the book. But then all the other letters, and the ones they had already found came into alphabetical order. The book closed.

Zelda heard her dragon’s reply in her head. The book told me you have to put it all together so you are visible again.

“Oh!” Zelda said. She grabbed the book, opened to the right page, and started putting the letters closer to each other so they wouldn’t be so far apart. Bunbun came up and clapped.

Then there was a silence and Aria disappeared. “Yikes!” Bunbun cried. He jumped into the air and then disappeared in midair.

“Bunbun!” Zelda cried. “Well, you might as well think about it.” Then she looked at her hand. It was slowly fading. “Ahhhhh!” she screamed. Then her whole leg disappeared, and she blinked and saw her friends again. “Oh, there you are, people!”

Aria said, “Well, you might as well still be questioning. You’re not invisible anymore.”

“Yes,” Bunbun breathed. “Were you scared when you saw me jump in the air?”

“What do you mean I saw you? I saw you disappear in midair!”

“Oh, sorry!” Bunbun said.

Aria said, “S, c, l, z, y. I’m waiting, people!”

Bunbun opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly shut it because he knew Aria was pretty annoyed. Bunbun shuddered. “It’s cold in here!”

“Oh, right, I forgot to give you your sweater,” Aria said. She handed him his sweater.

“Thanks, Mom!” Bunbun said.

Aria shot him a quick look. Then she looked at Zelda and said, “Can you tell this dragon to fly us up again?”

“Wind tornado, please!” said Zelda, facing Urly.

Suddenly, the wind started to blow, and it circled around them and lifted them up.

I’m crazy, Bunbun thought.

“Bunbun, Zelda, look,” she cried. They all looked. It looked like a smear in the sky. “There’s the rest of the letters! And there is the portal shaped stone!”

“Oh, I know what you’re thinking!” Zelda said. She grabbed the book, Bunbun grabbed the letters, and Aria grabbed the stone.

Bunbun quickly put the letters into place and Aria shouted, “Let’s go wherever this stone takes us to!”

The wind started blowing even harder. It spun and spun and spun until everything went black for Zelda, Bunbun, and Aria.

A few minutes later, Zelda made everything turn back to normal. “Aria, Aria, look! There’s Bunbun’s house! And there’s yours! And there’s mine.” 

“Aria! Wake up!” Zelda said.

“Huh?”Aria said. 

“Stop dreaming that we are at home,” Bunbun said.

“Okay, okay,” Aria stammered. “Where are we anyway?”

“We’re not anywhere yet,” Bunbun said. “We’re still in the magical wind that this stone is taking us into.”

“Oh, really? How confusing,” Aria said.

Zelda was still listening to what Zelda and Bunbun were saying, but her hearing kind of trailed off because she was looking at something else.

Aria whirled around to start talking to Zelda, but then her mouth just hung open. “Zelda! Why are you upside down?”

“I don’t know myself,” Zelda said, her hands hanging in the air.

Suddenly, Bunbun was also up in the air.

Yikes, Aria thought. I think I’ll go somewhere else so I don’t end up upside down like that. But before she could start running away, her foot was slowly going up into the air. Then her other foot, and then her hands were hanging upside down.

So, she thought to herself, if this stone is going to go crazy on us, I’m going to go crazy on it. But how?

Aria remembered that she had always wished to do magic. She said, “Zelda, you know a lot about this place don’t you?”

“Well, sort of,” Zelda said.

Then Aria said, “Can people do magic around here if they weren’t able to do it in the true world?”

“Yes, I think,” she said.

“Ohhh-kay,” Aria said. “Let me try.” She tried her best to point at the cloud they were hanging in. Finally, she was able to do it and she started chanting to herself, “Make this cloud go away if you can.” Then suddenly, Aria and the others were flipped right side up and upside down again, and they kept flipping like that until they finally hit the ground.

Ouch! Bunbun thought. “Mama!” he called.

Aria landed right next to Bunbun, where Zelda landed right next Aria.

“Why did you do that? And how?” Bunbun asked.

“First,” Zelda said, “I have to–”

“SCREEEEE OCK NEE OCK!”

“Oh, bother,” Zelda said. “Stop making those ridiculous sounds, Urly.”

Spreeeeee,” her dragon cried.

“Oh, really?” Zelda said. “Why don’t you just lay down and rest so you don’t have to make those sounds anymore. Ahhh, okay that solved it,” Zelda said.

“Wait!” Bunbun cried. “I wanna try too.” He pointed his tiny paws at one leaf. “Make this leaf flow up!” he said. It floated up and flew on his ear. Bunbun brushed the leaf off his ear.

“Me too!” Zelda said. She pointed her finger at Aria, which scowled.

“Don’t, Zelda!” she said.

Zelda lifted an eyebrow and started singing. “Make her float on a tree!”

Yikes, Bunbun thought to himself again.

But then Aria started lifting on the tree. “Ohh, Zelda, get me down!” She said between bumps. Then she floated back down on the ground.

“Ohhh,” Bunbun said. Then Bunbun smiled big and said, “Make that cloud turn into cotton candy. Yum!” Bunbun squealed at the cotton candy cloud, which slowly went to the ground.

Aria laughed. “Okay little bunny. You can have some cotton candy while we talk.”

Bunbun jumped onto the small little cotton candy cloud and ate it. Sadly, he said, “does this still make people turn black and white?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, yeah, I’m still black and white.”

Then, Bunbun had the greatest idea anyone has ever had. He shouted, “Make it rain rainbow drops!” The ground started to shake and then rainbow drops started splattered everywhere, and wherever they landed, color returned. “That’s way better!” Bunbun said, zooming down the hill.

“Oh, bother, little Bunbun,” Aria said.

“Oh, right,” Zelda said. “He might have just run down the hill.” She stepped on the hill and slid down.

Aria hesitated for a moment, but then slid down and saw Bunbun.

“Bunbun, what did I tell you about–”

“Is my mouth black and white?” Bunbun said. 

“Yes,” Aria said.

Bunbun opened his mouth and a few rainbow drops flew in.

“I wonder when we’re going to have time to stop talking about this nonsense.”

“I wonder that too,” Aria said.

“Well, I think it’s going to be now,” Zelda said. “I see the letter z.”

“Z?”

“And it’s golden.”

“Oh, really? Let’s pick it up then.”

Zelda snatched the letter z and placed it in the book and said, “I hope this forms something useful.”

And the book did form something useful. The words came: home.

“Yay!” Bunbun squeaked. “Home!” He took a step, dove straight into the words, and vanished.

“Bunbun!” Zelda cried. She jumped into the book and vanished too.

“I’m so glad we can go home,” Aria said, and she dove into the words too.

“Yay! Home! Home!” she heard a tiny voice squeal.

“Oh, my dragon flew into the book too!” she heard another voice say.

Ock nee spreee!”

Aria found herself lying in the autumn leaves as everything was turning more autumn, sort of.

Then a gentle pitter-patter hit her on the face.

“Are you going home?” Bunbun said.

“No,” Aria said. “I think I’ll stay with Zelda.

the end

The Mustache

I once thought that leaves were leaves 

now i think they’re feelings in search of a place, a bench, 

someone’s hair, a finger isn’t that like us going from place looking to feel alive.

I walked my dog on a cold night past the stars and moon

I walked my dog across the street into the lagoon

I walked my dog out of the lagoon 

But now my dog went kabloom for thousands of frogs got in his fur

The Mustache

I wish I had a mustache

One with little pointy ends

Or maybe even the ones with little curls at the end

Maybe I want the ones with droopy ends

But for all I want

Is a mustache                                           

Author’s Note

I wish that Writopia would never end, but sometimes good things have to end, like your babysitter leaving or maybe a loved one passing, but we are strong.   

One and One Blackbirds

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

“Friends?” she asked, smiling.

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

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

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

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

MESSI AND THE THREE LITTLE

There once lived the only best soccer player that ever lived! His name was Lionel Messi. One hot and bright afternoon in summer, Messi came on the court to practice for his big game, sweating like nobody had ever sweat before. He looked like an ice cream cone melting in the sun.

The soccer balls saw him coming by that afternoon. All three balls were going crazy for him. The soccer balls’ names were Frank, Macy, and Nicky, and they were new balls, so they didn’t know much about Messi. They were just ordered a week ago from Amazon, and they were delivered in a box that was in a truck that went to the court, where they ordered tons of other balls.

But when Messi walked into the court the balls started to get scared; they’d never been kicked before. One of the balls tried to scream but it was so scared that no sound came out. Nobody could even hear a peep! The three little balls noticed that they were on the top rack, so Messi was probably going to pick one of them! This was so scary for the balls.

The first ball he chose, Frank, was the least smart in the soccer ball rack. Messi held the first ball, and as he took him away, Frank screamed loudly for help. “Help!” Frank screamed while Messi was lowering him down slowly. As he placed Frank on the ground, Frank was terrified. Frank rolled away as fast as he could. Right when Messi placed Frank to the floor, Frank went to the goal. Messi thought it was just a slope; the ball went in the soccer goal. “There, you happy now? I’m going to kick your butt one day!” Frank said. Frank was even crazier than Messi.

Messi reached for the other ball. He got the second ball, Nicky, in the rack of soccer balls. He was ordinary, like all the other balls in the rack. When Messi took Nicky, Nicky was terrified, then Messi put him on the ground hoping that Nicky wasn’t going to move. Messi went to the bathroom. It took Messi pretty long. Every ball thought that he was eating beans. When he came back, Messi was shocked to see that Nicky was gone, and he was getting frustrated. It turned out that Nicky was hiding behind the soccer rack. Messi’s face was turning red, in a way that the balls thought looked funny. “Hehehe,” said the balls.

The Drama

Messi sat down and was really annoyed. He took a water break and kept on thinking about why all the balls were going away. He couldn’t see any of them. He also kept on thinking about if he was going to win the big game, and how many hours he should be training. I wish I could have a break, Messi whispered in his head. But he knew he couldn’t, because then he would not be able to win the big game. 

Messi knew he had to change his schedule to win his soccer game. Another really good team was playing against them. Messi changed his schedule from two hours of practice, to four hours of practice. And when Messi did that, he felt proud. I don’t know why he was so proud, it was just a little fix. Anyway, he got up and kissed both his muscles.

Messi went to the soccer ball rack and somehow got the smartest ball, Macy. While Messi was placing Macy down, she had a big grin on her face, and she also had a big check on her back to know that she got everything right. When Messi put her on the ground, in just one blink Macy was gone. It turned out that she was also the fastest runner in the rack, and she was hiding in Messi’s soccer bag. Messi opened his eyes and saw that the ball wasn’t there again. He was furious. “Why, why me?” he said in a whisper. Then he said, “OH DARN IT!” Then he left the court.

-THE END-

Escape Mars

Stuck on Mars: Part 1

Alex is an astronaut in NASA. He loves going to space, and he’s always wanted to go to Mars. Alex got a mission to go to Mars, but since Alex was so excited to go to Mars, he didn’t check the fuel or the engine, and he didn’t pack any tools. 

Nothing went wrong for the 6 months, but when Alex was really close to Mars, everything started to go wrong. Alarms were going off, the engine broke, the ship was out of fuel. Since Alex packed no tools, he couldn’t fix the engine, and Alex packed no extra fuel tanks either.

Since the engine was broken and they only had a little bit of fuel, they had a crash landing on Mars. Alex got some scratches and bruises, but the injuries were not big. However, the rocket was torn into pieces. Alex had water and food, but not many packets because Alex was only planning on staying for two or three days. Alex had to eat only tiny bits of food a day, or else there was no way of getting out of Mars.

It’s been two months, and Alex is still stranded on Mars. Alex tried an emergency message, but it didn’t go through because the rocket was torn apart. Just when Alex was losing hope, he saw something in the distance: it was another astronaut.

 Escaping Mars: Part 2 

Alan is an astronaut in NASA. Alan had a mission to go to Mars. Before he went to Mars, he read a newspaper story saying there was a missing astronaut. It took Alan seven months to

get to Mars. Alan was trying to find out if people can live on Mars, if there were any living creatures there, and if there was food and water. 

When Alan was close to Mars, he saw that the rocket was running out of fuel, but he thought it would be fine. So when he got to Mars, he looked around, but he found no food and water, and no living creatures. At that point, he went back to the rocket. When he got to his seat, he saw that the rocket ran out of fuel, so he had to go back outside and see if there was a fuel source somewhere on Mars.

Alan went to the back of the rocket ship where the storage was kept. He found a shovel so he took it with him. Alan knew he had lots of food and water, he was just hoping it would last long enough till he found a fuel source. Alan went outside and started digging. It took him a month. Alan was so tired, but then he found a little bit more of the fuel source, so he knew he had to keep digging. He also knew he was running out of food and water so he had to dig much faster.

It’d been a week, and Alan had found a little fuel, but he only had a few packs of food and water left. So from three meals a day, it became two and then one meal a day. Back at NASA, they knew it would take at least a year, but it’d been almost two years, so they sent Alan a message that they were sending fuel. When Alan got the message, he was relieved that they were sending some fuel. After a week, he got the fuel, but when he put the fuel in the rocket it still wasn’t enough, so he had to keep digging.

After a few days, he only had one more pack of food left, so he sent a message to NASA and asked them for more food packs. NASA replied that they were out of food packs, so Alan could only have bit by bit of food every day. Finally the day had come when he had found enough fuel in the ground to fill up the rocket ship. When Alan finished filling up the rocket ship, he checked the food packs and knew that if he had a little bit of food everyday, he might make it seven months.

After seven months, he made it back to earth, but he was starving. He had a big feast with burgers and french fries. 

“I couldn’t find any water or food and I couldn’t find living creatures,” NASA told Alan after the feast. “But I did find some fuel source in the ground, so if we can go to Mars one more time, I think we can find something there.” 

“We will make another rocket for you but this time you have to find something,” NASA said.

“Ok,” Alan replied.

Alan got ready for his second mission, but this time he knew he couldn’t fail.

While Alan was packing up for his next trip to Mars, he got a call saying that something went wrong with the rocket and the engine had blown up, but they had fix it before Alan went to space. They had no time to postpone the launch, so they quickly fixed it up and hoped that the rocket would still work. Alan sat down on his seat and looked at how much fuel he had. It said it was full fuel, but what Alan didn’t know was that something was going wrong with the engine. The blast off was successful, but Alan felt something would go wrong.

It’d been six months, nothing was wrong with the engine, and they were almost to Mars. Since nothing went wrong for six months, Alan was just relaxing. But as soon as Alan was

going to sit down and relax, an alarm went off. Red lights were everywhere. Alan ran back to 

where the engine was. He got some tools, but nothing could fix it, so he used tape to tape

the wires together. The alarm went off and everything was fine again. But Alan knew that tape

wouldn’t hold for long, so he had to be faster.

One month later, Alan was so close to Mars. All he needed to do was to land, but the alarm went off and he couldn’t fix it, so Alan had a rough landing. Alan got some injuries and the rocket needed fixing, so Alan wrapped up his injuries and started to fix the rocket. But Alan didn’t have all the supplies to fix the engine, so he had to send an emergency message through the satellites to NASA. They got the message and sent some tools in another rocket ship. Alan fixed up the rocket, but something went wrong again: the fuel tank was empty. Alan thought that the fuel must have dripped out of the rocket ship, because when he saw the fuel for the first time, it said it was full.

Alan knew he couldn’t send another emergency message because he was limited to one, but he had an idea: he took the shovel and went outside. He started digging. He kept digging and digging, but this time he couldn’t find a fuel source, so he walked farther and farther. Finally when he found a fuel source, he got up and looked around, but he couldn’t see the rocket ship. Alan had an idea: to follow his footprints. But they weren’t there – the wind must have made the sand cover all the footprints. Alan had another plan. The plan was to go backwards. Alan kept going backwards for hours and hours, but he could see nothing.

A few hours later, he saw something far away. It was his rocket ship! Alan was so relieved that he started running to the rocket ship, but since he could only find one place with a fuel source, he had to drag the big rocket ship with him all the way to the fuel source. It took him 

three days without stopping to get to the fuel source with the big rocket. When he reached the fuel source, it was night, and Alan was really tired, so he went to sleep.

The next day, Alan started digging, but Alan’s left hand was injured so he could 

only dig with his right which made him slower. After four weeks he found some more fuel, but Alan knew he needed to find more fuel. In the morning the day he saw something in the distance he found another astronaut. Alan ran to the other astronaut. Alan thought that that astronaut must have also lost fuel and was stuck on Mars. Alan went to the other man and asked him what his name was. 

“My name is Alex,” said Alex. 

“How much fuel do you have?” Alan asked. 

“I have half fuel,” Alex said.

Alan also had half fuel. “So if we put our fuel together we’ll have full fuel,” Alan thought. 

“Let’s put our fuel together in one rocket ship then we can both get out of Mars,” Alan said.

“Ok,” said Alex.

So Alex and Alan put their fuel together and they had enough fuel to go back to Earth. They both went in Alan’s rocket ship, but when they tried to blast off, the rocket said too much weight, so one person had to come off. 

“I’ll come off,” Alan said. 

“When I get to Earth, I’ll bring a rocket ship to you with full fuel,” Alex said.

“Ok,” Alan said.

After a few weeks, Alan saw a rocket ship. It landed where he was. Alan was so happy to see the rocket because had no food the whole time and he was starving. Alan went in the rocket ship and started eating. After he was full, Alan started to blast off.

Seven months later, Alan got back to Earth. He couldn’t get any information on the Martian fuel source, but that was ok because he found the astronaut that went missing in space.

Three talons of the stars: The start of the adventure

CHAPTER 1

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

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

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

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

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

He really was about to start an adventure.  

CHAPTER 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHAPTER 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHAPTER 4: NIGHTSTAR

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

CHAPTER 5

“Nightstar! NIGHTSTAR!” Flame called. 

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

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

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

CHAPTER 6: MISTYCLAW

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

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

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

CHAPTER 7:  

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

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

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

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

 “Oh no…”   

CHAPTER 8: MISTYCLAW

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

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

CHAPTER 9:

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

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

CHAPTER 10:

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

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

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

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

 “Yup! I’m alright!” Nightstar said. 

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

“We’re finally here!” Flame shouted. 

CHAPTER 11: 

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

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

LEARN ABOUT THE CHARACTERS:

A Crack in the Walls

Chapter 1

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

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

.         .         . 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I’m really sorry!” I said.

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

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

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

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

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

Eva–

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

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

“So, what’s up?” I asked.

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

“What are you saying?” I asked. 

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

“So…”

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

Chapter 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I wouldn’t let you get hurt.” I said

And I pushed her right where she belonged.

August 27th.

The day where things went wrong.

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

I would never forget, but I could forgive. 

Fin. 

My Life With Tourette’s 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summer Haiku

I jump in the pool

Summer vacation is great

I love the summer

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

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

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

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

“Thanks,” I muttered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeremiah’s Musical

Jeremiah had decided to not audition.

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

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

“Who told you that?” Gully demanded.

There was a pause.

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

“What?” Gully squawked. 

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

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

“The co-director’s house.”

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

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

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

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

“You are dismissed,” Gully said firmly.

“Wh-what? I do not understand.”

“You told Jeremiah that-mmfff!”

Jeremiah flapped his wings over Gully’s bill.

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

“Uh, sorry,” Jeremiah said awkwardly. 

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

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

Gully and Jeremiah landed back in Jeremiah’s hole. 

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

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

“This one, Jeremiah. You are talented.”

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

“But Jerry . . . “

Jeremiah sat on the couch with a humph.

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

No reply.

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

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

“The bathroom?” A parakeet suggested.

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

“Not in the set!” A hummingbird exclaimed. 

Within a second, Gully had flown away.

“Jerry?”

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

“You are not sleeping.”

“I am.”

“Then how come you’re talking?”

There was a pause.

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

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

Cough-cough-cough.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There was a click on the other line.

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

“Nooooo…  Jeremiah whined.

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

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

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

Another cheer went over the actors as they resumed rehearsal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeremiah stifled a groan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Have you ever seen him?” Jeremiah pressed.

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

“Sparsmethius!” Jeremiah yelled. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Why not today?” Gully asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gully looked out of the hole.

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

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

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

Jeremiah glanced outside.

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

“Snow!” Gully repeated.

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

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

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

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

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

The bird clapped their wings, clearly impressed. Jeremiah smiled. Some other birds flocked onto the stage. 

“I think I will be better by the time of the musical!” Jeremiah told Gully.

“Uh, good.” Gully fiddled with his feathers. “Um, can I tell you something?”

“Sure,” Jeremiah said.

“Uh, the musical, Jerry, it got… well, moved,” Gully whispered.

“To when?” Jeremiah was suddenly alarmed.

“Well, to… tomorrow.” Gully looked away.

“WHAT!?” Jeremiah screeched. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“No,” Gully whispered. “I’m sorry, Jeremiah.”

“How? Why?” Jeremiah shook Gully’s wings, his yellow eyes widened.

“Th-the day we requested was reserved for the human high school musical,” Gully said, fidgeting with his feathers.

“Why? They think humans are more important than birds? Huh?” Jeremiah demanded. 

“They kind of are. Humans invented the lightbulb. That’s what the theater manager said. Besides, humans don’t like birdseed,” Gully told Jeremiah.

“That’s not true. Dicey Hopskins invented the lightbulb. Did the theater manager even go to college?” Jeremiah inquired angrily.

“Uh, you know birds don’t go to college, either,” Gully whispered.

Jeremiah shook his head, feathers flying on Gully. “You’re lying. You’re joking. No, that’s not possible. I-I’m not ready!” Jeremiah screamed. Many birds looked at him.

“We are ready,” Gully assured him. “The costumes aren’t.”

“Why don’t we just buy costumes?” An exhausted red-breasted robin with pins in her beak asked.

“That’s human stuff. Humans buy everything. Besides, we won’t be allowed in department stores.” Gully responded, shaking his head.

The robin groaned. Jeremiah understood how she felt.

Gully took out a smoked-salmon sandwich and handed Jeremiah a packet of dried mice. “A thank-you present, for doing the musical even though you are sick. Those sunflower seed snack packets here are too small for your huge talent.” 

Gully took a bite of smoked-salmon. Jeremiah wolfed down a mouse. He coughed up a pellet and tossed it into the wastebasket. A blue jay nibbling on sunflower seeds looked insulted.

“It will all be for nothing. What if I forget my lines? What will I do?” Jeremiah moaned in distress, stuffing mice in his mouth.

“You can do it, Jerry!” Gully cried.

“I… am speaking to the manager,” Jeremiah announced.

“Okay,” Gully said distractedly, helping sort the costumes.

Jeremiah thought that Gully should have begged him to not go, to stay and to face his fears. A little part of Jeremiah thought that Gully was not spending enough attention on him. But he left reluctantly to speak with the manager because he said he would. He was afraid, though.

“Hey mister!” Jeremiah called up to the manager.

“Well, hello. What do we have here?” The manager chuckled.

“I have come to ask: why did you switch the performing time?” Jeremiah demanded. He tried to sound intimidating, but that is hard for any bird, even snowy owls. “Besides, humans didn’t invent the lightbulb. A MOUCE did!” Jeremiah yelled.

“Uh, sorry Owl, sir. High school musical is paying more than you bird guys. Besides, many people, even one bird, like the human version better,” The manager told Jeremiah. 

The owl felt embarrassed and stepped out of the manager’s office. 

“Well?” Gully greeted Jeremiah.

Jeremiah did not reply and therefore was even more embarrassed. He decided to talk to the cast of Human High School Musical.

“Hey,” Zac Efron greeted Jeremiah.

“Hey,” Jeremiah greeted back.

“So, um… why are you here?” Zac asked gently.

“I want to ask: why did you take our time spot in the theater?”

“Uh, we needed more time.” Zac looked away and waved his arms, squiggled his fingers at the rest of the cast. Jeremiah was filled with envy. Why couldn’t his feathers do that? Then he glanced at the rest of the cast. They looked ten times readier than the bird cast!

“It’s not fair.” Jeremiah told Zac Efron calmly.

“I-I’m sorry? Why is it not fair?” The confused actor asked.

“Because we are not ready but we have to perform tomorrow!” Jeremiah screamed, annoyed. Zac looked taken aback and perhaps a bit amused.

“I’m sorry, but we, er, have lots of tickets. We have so much pressure,” Zac told Jeremiah.

“How much pressure do you have, huh? How many tickets?” Jeremiah demanded, determined to prove the human wrong.

“Uh, so, we have, like, two thousand tickets,” Another actress said.

“TWO THOUSAND?!” Jeremiah squawked.

Zac smiled awkwardly and ushered Jeremiah out of the set room.

“They have two thousand tickets,” Jeremiah coolly informed Gully.

“What? Who has two thousand tickets?” Gully looked up from his clipboard.

“Human High School Musical.” Jeremiah stayed calm. Gully jumped out of his feathers and looked as if his fish had come down wrong.

“Two thousand!” Gully confirmed with Jeremiah loudly. “Two thousand tickets!”

“Yes,” Jeremiah said. He knew he could never sell that many tickets.

Gully shook his head in amazement and took out some mahi-mahi jerky. Jeremiah smiled, triumphant that he managed to surprise his friend, but perhaps a bit sullen that Gully had paid more attention to some tickets than him. He chewed on a dried mouse. Then he watched a duet sung by a pelican and an ostrich. A Kakapo banged his wings on a piano. A raven slammed her talons on a drum set. 

“The costumes are finished!” The red-breasted robin and a mourning dove cried happily. Many birds whooped as they changed into their costumes. Fluffy, red, off-the-wing gowns, baggy talon jeans, rhinestone belts, winglets and talon sneakers. Jeremiah looked around in a miniature baseball cap. 

Then they did the rehearsal and Jeremiah flew home, grabbing some mice on the way and brewing more tea. He was still coughing, but less. Slowly, he was recovering!

Jeremiah took a fly around the forest for exercise. He did this because he always felt refreshed when he got back; the cool, dewy leaves were calming. He spotted Sparsmethius, playing poker and drinking beer with his friends. Jeremiah peeked over with hate. He knew, he just knew, that Sparsmethius was the understudy! Jeremiah suddenly had the urge to go to the bathroom. But he wanted to continue to spy! So he decided to poop on Sparsemethius for revenge. Unfortunately, Sparsmaethius saw him. Jeremiah flew back to his hole. In the middle of the night, he snuck back to Sparsmethius’s nest. There was a deck of cards, a stove, some crumpled paper, and a long piece of paper. Jeremiah picked it up. It read:

Operation get rid of Jeremiah 

Turn the forest against him. Get the birds to hate him. Get the set to hate him. Get Gully to hate him.

Convince the manager to let the Human High School Musical take the spot the set wants. It worked!

Be Jeremiah’s understudy.

‘Besides, people, even one bird, like the human version more.’  

Jeremiah thought of what the manager said. Then he felt tired and flew back. He passed Gully’s house. There was a letter at the door. Jeremiah started to read it.

Dear Mr. Gully Sea,

I do not mean to concern you, but I have heard rumors of your friend Jeremiah wanting to sabotage the set. I understand that you have complete faith in your friend, but we all know how destructive snowy owls could be.

Sincerely, a friend. Leave a response by the hollowed tree trunk next to the lake.

Jeremiah glanced in the house. Gully was sleeping. Jeremiah ripped the letter in half and tossed the two pieces in the lake. He knew that Spersemethius had written it, because of the handwriting.

Dear A Friend,

I have complete trust in Jeremiah. Thank you for your concern.

Sincerely, Gully

Jeremiah left the note by the hollowed tree. He had a fleet of thoughts about what Gully would think, however Jeremiah felt it was correct.

There was another note in the tree, an hour later.

Dear Gully,

I am amazed and touched by your loyalty to Jeremiah. Could you please think it over, though? I think that the set is really important.

Sincerely, A Friend.

Dear A Friend, I am very happy that you care so much about the play. But Jeremiah is a truly special owl and this concern is not very realistic. I hope you renew your trust for him.

-Gully Sea

After he wrote the note, Jeremiah set down the letter by the hollowed tree. It let off a perplexing bad smell. The owl flew back to his hole.

The receiver rang.

“Jeremiah. Come to my house. Now.” It was Gully. His voice sounded tense with anger.

Jeremiah flew over, afraid of what might happen.

“What is this, Jeremiah!?” Gully roared, holding up the letters.

Jeremiah gulped. “Uh, I can explain . . .” he started.

“No! No, who is A Friend? Are you really going to destroy the set? What?” Gully yelped angrily.

“It’s Sparsmethius.” Jeremiah told his friend solemnly.

“That doesn’t matter. Why did you respond for me?” Gully yelled.

“I was trying to protect myself!” Now Jeremiah was also yelling.

“Why couldn’t you trust me to say that I trusted you?!” Gully demanded. “I was just trying to get my fermented fish that I keep in the hollowed tree trunk and I see… this!” 

“I-I was afraid.” Jeremiah whispered.

“Okay. Well, the performance is tomorrow. You better catch some more sleep,” Gully said. He still looked angry but he wanted to be more responsible as a director. Jeremiah opened his mouth to argue but a yawn came out instead. He sighed and flew back to his hole.

The next day, the set was a flurry of feathers and noise. The robin and penguin buttoned and hooked as all the other birds wriggled into their costumes. 

“Presenting High School Musical, Bird Edition!” Gully cried. The curtain went up and a few pigeons started belting out lyrics. The Kakapo joined in. An hour of singing and high school, and it was time for Jeremiah’s solo.

He looked at the audience but none of his voice came out. He had forgotten his lines in the stress. He was supposed to sing about how owls were good at singing, but he felt the opposite.

‘Owls are great at articulation and stuff like that,’ The penguin mouthed.

“Uh, towels have crates of pickled relations with tufts of rat,” Jeremiah sang meekly. A laugh came up from the hundreds of beaks in the audience. Jeremiah shifted uncomfortably. The penguin mouthed more lines, glancing at Jeremiah’s script.

‘The lyrics just go with their beaks,’ The penguin mouthed.

“The licks just know the beats.” Jeremiah choked out. More laughter.

“Adhesive world we know and eat, but I can tote bag the hue cycle. When my ear the rustic, I fold to trance. Towels we far, and towels we ring, Towels are the tars of the hue cycle! I chart the heat in the grill, I give a like phone, I ring, ring, ring! Towels in my gold just dove drew ring!” Jeremiah whispered, glancing at the penguin for lines. Tears filled his eyes. Gully glared at Jeremiah. The audience roared… with laughter.

Then the play ended. Many people wanted Jeremiah’s autograph, including a famous TikDucker. But Gully pulled him away.

“How could you mess up my play?” Gully asked.

“It isn’t just your play. It’s my play, too,” Jeremiah said, almost tearfully.

“No! How could you ruin your lines? It’s like you did it on purpose! That’s what your ‘paparazzi’ thought,” Gully poured out. He put bitter emphasis on the word paparazzi, almost as if he was jealous.

“It’s not my fault! If you are really my friend, you would forgive me,” Jeremiah defended himself.

“If you were really my friend, you wouldn’t have disgraced me!” Gully cried.

“You’re disgracing yourself right here,” Jeremiah pointed out rudely.

“I get most of the pressure because I’m the director! The paparazzi will come at you.The bad reviews will come at me!” Gully explained impatiently. Soon the birds were arguing.

“Gully, my paparazzi – and everybody else – liked my accidental twist!” Jeremiah was getting very angry. So was Gully.

“Not everybody!” Gully told Jeremiah.

“Well, most people. Because they thought I did it on purpose.”

“You sounded pretty bad,” Gully told Jeremiah angrily.

“Very touching comment from a friend. Or are you still?” Jeremiah asked.

Gully stormed away. Well, that sure answered the question.

Suddenly all Jeremiah wanted to do was curl in his hole, sipping tea and listening to classical music on the radio. Gully was putting away the microphones and costumes. Jeremiah signed the last autograph and flew home.

He brewed tea and cried. Then he flew in the forest and sang out the correct lines. He had known them all along, but had felt stage fright. He sobbed. 

Gully heard him and felt bad. Jeremiah fell asleep in his bed. 

The next day he went in front of Gully’s house, thrust open the door, and sang his solo. Gully grabbed his wing and whispered an apology. Jeremiah looked into the seagull’s earnest brown eyes and fled. An apology! Gully said sorry!

Jeremiah flapped his wings and soared around. Sparsmethius stopped him. Jeremiah expected him to say something bad, but instead he simply said: “You did a good job.”

Jeremiah was shocked.

The sparrow solemnly searched in Jeremiah’s face. Then he flew away.

Jeremiah sipped tea. Then he hunted a bit and practiced his solo for no reason. He felt… good. He thought about everyone. Sparsmethius, Gully, the cast, his mom, his girlfriend. He was proud of himself. He had visited his mom who was at the play and loved it. He had called Juniper, his girlfriend, and she laughed so hard about the messed-up lines that Jeremiah could hear her feathers flying across the room.

I am Jeremiah. An owl. And I am talented, Jeremiah reminded himself, and launched himself into the sky.

The end.

Epilogue

“Three cheers for Jeremiah! Woohoo!” The birds chorused. Penelope the penguin winked at him. Gully smiled.

They were at the cast party.

“Hey Jeremiah. I really liked the play after all. I think you made it better,” A few birds congratulated Jeremiah as he ate fish in a blanket. 

“Wow. Did you know the fourth most viewed and liked TikDucker has your autograph, Jeremiah?” A swan asked. Jeremiah grinned.

“Let’s have a toast to Jeremiah!” Gully exclaimed. Various birds raised their glasses of berry and nut smoothies.

Jeremiah thought back to the play. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. He wished he could do it all over again. 

Perhaps he would get his wish.

From Earth to Mars

On the planet Arth everyone speaks Onglish. This story has been translated to English from Onglish…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAA,” screamed Ethan. It was another one of those coffee floods that happened about once in about six months. I had only lived for six months, but I was getting tired of it. I asked a coffee company, Coffee Mate, if  their coffee contains any harmful ingredients. The bitterness that came from the coffee was really bad. 

I asked my friends, Ethan and Evan if they wanted to come along too and we all agreed. We had to prepare many things such as taking the lizard’s cage out of its place, building a spaceship, having 9,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of oil and having to find a person with an IQ of 194 or higher. We decided to work together on one thing at a time. But after trying to take the lizard’s cage off, we basically gave up on that step until we did all of it.

We found a really good fuel source with 1,000,000,000,000,000 gallons for just a dollar. So we carried out 9,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of fuel with the help of Eddie Hall and Brian Shaw who are the strongest men in the world to help us. So we only spent $9. We bought it in Delaware so there aren’t taxes. We went around the world to find someone with about 300,000 IQ. After about 10 years we found one person with that. Most people would say their IQ is very high but when they got tested the IQ was usually 2 and rarely 3. When we found the right person, we asked him if I knew the basics and principles of building a spaceship. He said that the only metal that could hold together in this cold space is titanium. But in the world, titanium was expensive. So we went to the nearest bank and pleaded for money. After 7 hours of that, we got our first $1000 dollars. We asked Ictor, a smart guy who lived nearby, what to do, and we came up with a very simple solution: steal money from a bank. We got paint guns and wore all black and covered everything but our eyes. This way we don’t need to go to court.

We had brown eyes and I was sure there were at least 7.9 billion other people with brown eyes. I got him some weapons such as axes and swords for protection and getting into the vault. “Where is the big vault with tI $1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (one billion trillion thousand.)?” “Oh, we just need to break everything in the bank down until we find it! Easy!” When we broke everything down we finally found the vault. We tried opening with their weapons but that didn’t work. “Our weapons are too not sharpened!” I told Ethan and Evan. “Good thing I brought my sharpener!” said Evan.

After we sharpened all of our weapons we tried again. The metal easily got ripped by the sword blade. And after almost no effort, the metal was completely open. And then, before his eyes, there was so much money. He loved it.  He got some bags and filled it with money. When they were done, they carried it to the car which was a huge pain. So they found a trolley borrowing center and they took that. They didn’t spend any money on it because the manager let them just take it because they had so much money. So when they brought it to the titanium store, they used all of it. They had the exact money. So they brought the titanium to the smart person and he started building right away. When he was at the last piece the whole thing broke down. 

“NOOOOOO,”  we were doomed.

Suddenly the water fountain beside them exploded and the whole town exploded with water again. Thankfully titanium is coffee resistant, but not thankfully, they had to build the whole ship again. The spaceship took so long to build but now, all of that work for nothing. Later, he realized that only one of the pieces of titanium was too sharp and that is how the thing collapsed. 

“Ten months of working and no progress made,” said Ethan. 

After they figured out the problem and finished the spaceship, they started to put the oil in the spaceship.

“Dum dee doo de da,” sang Ethan. When they finally put all of the oil in the spaceship, they started trying to pull the lizard’s cage off the ground. They called Eddie Hall and Brian Shaw to come over and help. They had to use all their strength to just lift the cage off the ground. After they did so, they went on the spaceship and took off.

9 MONTHS LATER: ON MARS

Evan and Ethan and Ethan were at the beach on Mars and were really relaxed. The calm sea and the red martian soil/sand was really soothing and he never wanted to leave the beach named Red Beach. They were looking at the sea and trying to burn their skin but it was very impossible on the beach because on Mars it was really cold. He was a lot taller than before. After all, he was 6 months old and now he is 25. Also, he got glasses. While he was building the spaceship, something went wrong and now without his glasses, he needs to go very close to see something clearly. They all thought ‘I wonder how it is on Earth. Should we have stayed on Earth, or should we have left?’ The sun was slowly going down and down, and they all slowly packed up and went home and never lived on Earth again.

THE END

The Weeping Willow

Trees are our lungs. That’s what Willow would tell me as we’d lie under the big oak tree out front. Hand in hand, we’d watch the clouds pass and the leaves blow. Occasionally one of us would point to a cloud, calling out what it looked like. The other would squint her eyes and try to see it. I could never see what Willow saw in the clouds. Hi, my name is Grace. Although I was never that graceful; that was Willow’s job. If we were animals she’d be a gazelle, prancing around majestically. Anyways, I’m 11 years old, and I think that if I were an animal I’d be a turtle. “You just need to come out of your shell!” She would say enthusiastically. 

“It’s not that easy. You don’t even have a shell to come out of!” I’d respond. 

Then she’d do a backflip or a front handspring or something, as if to say “Obviously”. She and I had this discussion many times.

This started on a spring day in late May. I woke up early, got dressed, and left for school. I didn’t bother having breakfast. I decided I’d buy a granola bar at the newsstand on the way to school. Of course, I forgot that they closed down the stand that weekend. After a breakfast of disgusting lime flavored yogurt from the cafeteria, I put my bag in my locker and made my way to homeroom. My teacher was droning on and on, and I was so tired I fell asleep right there on my desk. She had to wake me up, and by the time I realized what had happened the whole class was laughing at me. I hate being the center of attention. To make matters worse, Alyssa, my arch-enemy, started telling everyone. 

After English, Math, and Spanish, I made my way to gym class. I was crossing my fingers that we’d play dodgeball, because there’d be so much chaos I could waltz over to the girls bathroom when Ms. Jones wasn’t looking and spend the period reading instead. Instead, we played soccer, and she made me the goalie! Lunch, which followed P.E., wasn’t much of an improvement. I spilled a sloppy joe all over the front of my shirt, and by the time I had walked through the door of my bedroom I was exhausted, not to mention I had stains on my shirt and my hair was a mess. I changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, then collapsed onto my bed.

I stayed in bed until my mom called me for dinner. I trudged over to the table and sat down. I started eating my pasta and my parents exchanged a glance. “Um–is there something wrong?” I asked, hesitantly. 

My mother sighed. “Sweetie, we know that you’ve been having a hard time at school this year.” 

Of course I have! I thought, but instead I just nodded. 

My dad cleared his throat and continued. “We think it would be a good idea to give you a fresh start.” I didn’t say anything, but I started fantasizing about what it would be like to go to school away from my tormentors, Alyssa and her group of followers.

I took a deep breath and said, “I’ll think about it, but I think it would be nice to go to a different school next year.” 

My parents exchanged another glance, and my dad spoke up. “Gracie, it wouldn’t be for the next school year, it would be for the summer. And, it’s not a choice. You’ll leave the Sunday after school ends.”

I looked up from my food. “Wait, what?? I’m spending the summer away?? Who am I even going with??” 

My mother said “that’s the other thing we want to talk to you about. You’ll spend the summer with my sister, Esme.” I scrunched up my face, trying to remember her from the family gatherings. My mom, reading my expression, said “Oh come on, you know Aunt Esme! She was at Thanksgiving last year!” Finally I nodded, vaguely remembering a  middle aged woman who sat across from me, who asked me to pass the cranberry sauce, and scolded Willow when she spit out her sparkling apple juice laughing. This was not who I wanted to spend the summer with. 

“Well-well- I won’t go! You can’t make me!” 

My dad stood up. “Oh yes you will.” He said, in his most stern voice. “You will have a great time, and you will learn new things.” Without a word, I stormed out of the room.

I ran into my room and flopped onto my bed with a satisfying flop. If Willow was here, she’d sit on the foot of my bed, give me a big hug, and tell me everything was okay. I got up and put my ear to the door. I could hear my parents muffled voices, but I could tell that no one was coming. Trying to be as silent as possible, I walked over to my bookshelf. I pulled over a chair and felt around on the top shelf until I found it. I got down, moved the chair back, and sat down on my bed. Then I started drawing. I had never been the creative one, that was Willow. She’d put on plays, write stories, and sew clothing, while I’d be the stage manager, check her grammar, or let her dress me up like a mannequin. I had always been the one who never spoke, who sat quietly in a corner reading. But when I drew, those pieces of imagination that I thought I had lacked came flowing out. Worlds of color and beauty right there on the page.

                 I could never tell anyone this, though. Like I said, this was Willow’s sort of thing. They’d probably all laugh at me, I thought. I kept sketching in that old composition book until I heard a knock on the door. Quickly, I stuffed the notebook in my pillowcase, right as my dad walked through the door to my bedroom. 

“Hey, kiddo.” He said, ruffling my hair. Immediately I got up and combed it back into place. My dad continued, “I just want to let you know that your mom and I are doing this for your own good.” I rolled my eyes at that. My dad took a deep breath. “Your mom and I have an idea. You can  spend 3 weeks there, and then we’ll come up and if you still want to leave you can, but if you want to stay, that’s also fine. No judgment.” 

“Ok, sure. Well goodnight.” I said, without making eye contact. 

He smiled. “Goodnight, Gracie.”  He said. After that I drifted off to sleep.

The next two weeks of school were a rush of standardized tests, assemblies, field days, and popsicles. Finally, the Sunday after the last day of school came. I sat on our porch, taking in the smell of the freshly mowed grass, the sound of honeybees pollinating, the feeling of the sun on my face. Summer I thought. At precisely 9:33 a.m, a black car pulled into the driveway. 

 A middle aged woman wearing jeans, a black blouse, and fancy ankle boots stepped out, with her hair neatly pulled into a bun perched on the top of her head. 

My own mom was wearing a striped shirt and shorts that went to her knees, complete with dirty sneakers from working in the garden. She wore a sun hat and her hair sat on her shoulders. At first I couldn’t see any resemblance. 

My mom had dark brown hair like me, while Aunt Esme had dirty blonde hair. My mom had tan skin, freckles, and callused hands, while Aunt Esme had pale, perfect skin and perfectly manicured nails. But after they had a tight hug, I could see their identical smiles. 

Finally, Aunt Esme walked over to me and smiled. “Hi, Aunt Esme.” I said hesitantly. 

She laughed, but it sounded forced. “Hi, Grace. Do you need any help with your luggage?” 

I looked at my duffel bag and backpack loaded with clothes and books. “No, that’s ok.” I said. 

After a moment of silence, my mom swooped in and said “Esme, why don’t you come in for a cup of coffee?” I followed my mom and Aunt Esme into the house and sat with them, sipping lemonade as they had their coffee. 

About 15 minutes later, Aunt Esme stood up, brushed herself off and turned to my mom. “It’s been lovely, Rachel, but we should go if we want to get back to my house before noon.” My mom stood up too and walked us outside. I hauled my duffel bag into the trunk of Aunt Esme’s car and tossed my backpack in the back seat. After a series of tight hugs from my mom and dad and reassurance from Aunt Esme, we got in the car and pulled out of the driveway.

The whole drive Aunt Esme and I didn’t talk much, except for “I’m stopping for gas, do you want anything from the convenience store?” 

To which I replied “No, thanks.” Finally, at 12:47 pm (we had in fact been caught in traffic), we turned right and drove up to a two story house that overlooked a lake. I thought about Aunt Esme, all shiny and fancy, living in an old house in the middle of nowhere. I would have thought that she lived in a luxury apartment! 

As if reading my mind, Aunt Esme just shrugged and said “It’s my summer home. Would you like to come see your room?” The guest bedroom, which was where I would be staying, had a big canopy bed with soft pillows and a pale blue bedspread. The walls had white wallpaper with little blue flowers, and there was a white vanity, a white dresser, a white desk, and hardwood floors covered by a pale blue carpet that matched the bedspread. What really got my attention though, was a window seat overlooking the lake. 

“It’s perfect.” I marveled. 

Aunt Esme looked at me and smiled, and was about to open her mouth to say something, but she snapped back into reality.  “Grace, would you like some lunch? I need to go shopping, we can do that this afternoon, but I have sandwich things.” I put a hand on my growling stomach and followed her downstairs. Over a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches, Aunt Esme told her that they would go to town today to pick up some groceries, and for an “orientation” as she put it. After lunch I got a tour of the house, and then we went back in the car and went to town. 

Millstone (I learned that was the name of the town) was so bright and vibrant. It had cute little shops, and everyone knew each other.  I was once again surprised about where Aunt Esme lived.  After shopping we got dinner and ice cream. We arrived back at the house around 9:00 p.m. 

Aunt Esme worked on an article she was writing while I watched TV and ate candy I had bought from a store in the center of town. 

A little while later I climbed up the stairs. I had unpacked earlier, and I got my sketchbook out of the drawer in the wardrobe that I had hidden it in. I sat down on the window seat and started drawing. I drew the lake, I drew the birds, I drew the trees, and I drew the moon. As soon as I picked up a pencil a calm washed over me. 

The next morning I woke up in the window seat with my sketchbook in my lap and my pencil behind my ear. I was still in my clothes from the day before. walked over to the wardrobe, got dressed, and put my notebook back in its hiding place. I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, where I found Aunt Esme sitting at the kitchen table typing away on her computer. When she saw me she looked up, closed her computer, walked over to the stove, and put a plate of eggs, bacon, sausages, mini muffins, and even a doughnut in front of me. My eyes widened. I looked up at Aunt Esme who blushed and said “I wasn’t sure what you liked.”

After devouring breakfast, Aunt Esme told me that her friend who lived nearby was going to come over around 11:00 for brunch. “I want you to be on your best behavior.” she warned. Ah yes, the Thanksgiving “Get Some Towels To Clean Up The Mess You Made Young Lady” Aunt Esme was back. I went up to my room to make my bed. After that was done, I walked outside with my new book to look for good reading spaces. After making three loops around the house I decided on a little lawn chair next to the lake. Enough sun that I wouldn’t get cold on the chillier days, and enough shade so I wouldn’t come back to the house sunburned all over. 

I stared up at the trees. Willow would have loved this place, just sitting here writing or doing cartwheels or splashing me, even if I specifically said “Don’t splash me!” I must have gotten lost in my thoughts, or fallen asleep, but before I knew it it was 11:07 and Aunt Esme was calling out “Grace! Come meet Ms. Smith!” Ms. Smith was a tall woman who looked a lot like Aunt Esme. She was the editor for the Millstone Gazette. 

After introducing myself and bringing them some iced tea (“What a polite little girl!” Ms. Smith remarked), I headed back to the chair for my book. I was just about to sit down when I saw a flash of red. 

I whirled around, looking for animals, when I heard an unmistakable crunch of dead leaves. I grabbed my book and suspiciously followed the sound. I came to a patch in the woods, and realizing that there was nothing or no one there I sighed and turned around, when a girl with auburn hair popped her head out from behind a tree. “Hi!” she exclaimed.  I screamed. Obviously not noticing that, she said “I’m Maggie!” 

“H-hi.” I whispered. “Um- I’m Grace.”  

“Cool! Do you live here?” Maggie replied. 

“N-no. I’m spending the summer up here, with my Aunt Esme.” 

Maggie’s big smile decreased a little, but she nodded. “Ok. Do you want to come over and have popsicles?” 

I nodded and said “I’ll go ask my aunt.” 

On the walk over to Maggie’s house, I learned that Maggie was going into 6th grade just like me, Maggie had been the lead in the musical for the last two years, and that Maggie had  two older sisters and one older brother. As they got their popsicles out of the freezer, Maggie asked “Do you have any siblings?” 

I hesitated but said “No, I’m an only child.”

 Maggie nodded. “My oldest sister Sophie, she’s 17, and a perfect dancer, and right now she’s boarding at some fancy ballet school in New York City. She’ll be home in a week though! My brother Sam is 15, and QB on the highschool football team. He thinks he’s so awesome. Really, he just stinks up the house,” she said, elbowing a teenage boy walking past us. She licked her popsicle and said “Wanna go out back?”

I followed Maggie to the backyard. After Maggie took another lick of her popsicle and said “Then you have my 14 year old sister Olivia. She’s Miss. Popularity, cheer captain, she’s been the class president since 6th grade, and she’ll never let anyone forget it. She may seem sweet, but she’s the devil in disguise. Then you have me, Maggie. I have absolutely no athletic ability, but I sing and act and play piano. Last year I got a solo for the school-wide concert! I think that’s why my sister Sophie and I get along so well. We’re both performers. She got into Wellesley, and is going to continue dancing at the Boston School of Ballet.”

 Once I finished processing this information, I asked “Hey, what time is it?” 

Maggie checked her watch and said “11:53 am.” 

I jumped up. “Aunt Esme said I have to be home by noon!” 

Maggie just shrugged and said “Relax, we’ll get there on time! Come on!” Us two girlsjogged back to Aunt Esme’s house. We arrived at 11:58. I waved to Aunt Esme. 

“Bye, Grace!” Maggie called out. I gave a sort of wave and rushed inside. 

Once inside Aunt Esme started asking questions. “How was it? Did you have fun? What’s that girl’s name again…”  After Aunt Esme was satisfied with the answers I had provided, she handed me a bowl of mac n’ cheese. I picked up a spoonful of the cheesy, gloopy pasta, and tears came to my eyes. Aunt Esme turned around and said “What’s wrong? Is it burned? Or should I have not made it al dente?” 

I wiped the tears off her cheek and said “No, it’s fine, it looks delicious, it’s just…” I took a deep breath. “This was Willow’s favorite food. I haven’t eaten it since-” 

Without a word Aunt Esme whisked it away and put it in the fridge. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I had no idea. I’ll tell you what, what if I eat it for dinner?” 

I nodded and said in a quiet voice. “Ok.” 

Aunt Esme asked, “Would you like a quesadilla?” 

I shook my head and stood up “I’m actually not hungry anymore.”  

I trudged upstairs and sat at my window seat with my sketchbook. Even though it was only noon, I felt exhausted. Everytime my eyelids dropped I snapped myself out of it, but I finally fell into a deep sleep. 

I woke up around 2:00 am. I went downstairs to get a snack. Finally settling on some chocolate chip cookies, I sat down, nibbling around the edges. 

After I finished, I went back upstairs and tucked myself in. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t sleep. After 3 hours of light sleep on and off, I pulled on a hoodie andgrabbed my sketchbook. As quietly as possible, I opened the door and stepped outside into the crisp morning air. The sun was just rising, and I watched the light bounce off the lake and the leaves.

I walked over to my little spot near the woods, I opened my notebook, and grabbed my pencil. I tried to think of things to draw, but the vibrant colors didn’t spill out like they did the other day. I closed my eyes and turned my head up. When I opened my eyes, I saw the leaves. I managed to sketch every one with veins and details. When I finally finished, I slammed my notebook shut and looked around. And standing right next to me was Aunt Esme. 

As soon as I made eye contact with her I stuffed my notebook under my hoodie. “Oh, um, Aunt Esme!” I said as cheerfully as possible. I continued.“Um, what are you doing? Did you see-” 

Aunt Esme put her hand up. “Grace, I saw you drawing, and you’re really good!” 

I looked down and blushed. “I never meant for anyone to see that.” I said quietly. “Willow was always the creative one. People would laugh at me if I showed them.” 

Aunt Esme looked me straight in the eye. “Grace, am I laughing? No, I’m observing this beautiful piece of art that you made. I bet if we showed this to your parents when they come in two weeks they wouldn’t laugh. They would be taken back by your beautiful art skills. I bet if we showed this to Maggie she wouldn’t laugh. She’d probably call it a work of fine art and put on a play based on it.” I smiled at that last one. Yep, that sounded like Maggie.

“The world needs artists like you, Grace! They need artists like you to show them beauty and affection. They need artists like you to sew the world back together when it’s broken in pieces. So what if Willow was also creative. I think that your parents would be pretty proud to say that they had two smart, creative, adventurous daughters. Now get dressed! I’m taking you out for breakfast at the diner in town.” 

At the thought of breakfast I leapt to my feet, but before I ran back into the house I looked at Aunt Esme. “Thank you.” I whispered. 

Aunt Esme pulled me into a tight hug. “Anytime.” She said, smiling. After a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and sausages, Aunt Esme took me to a crafting store in town and gave me $25. “I’ll be in the visitor’s center across the street, since I want to pick up the newspaper. Wait outside when you’re done, ok?” I nodded and ran into the cool, air conditioned store.

I marveled at all of the supplies. It took 15 minutes, but I finally decided to buy a 100 page sketchbook, a pack of charcoal pencils, regular drawing pencils, and even fancy watercolors! I paid and was walking down the street with Aunt Esme when I ran into Maggie. “Hi!” She exclaimed and said “hey, do you want to come over later to swim? It’s supposed to be REALLY hot today!” I looked at Aunt Esme who nodded in approval. 

Around 3:00 I headed over to Maggie’s house and rang the doorbell. A teenage girl wearing a cheer uniform answered the door. “H-hi. I’m Grace, Maggie invited me?”

The girl (who I assumed was Olivia) rolled her eyes, said “she’s out back,” and left, staring at her phone. I walked through the house to the backyard, where I found Maggie running through the sprinklers with a girl who looked like a college student. 

When Maggie saw me she jumped up and said “Sophie came back a day early!” She gestured towards the girl. Sophie walked towards me and introduced herself. After I changed into my bathing suit, all three of us cannon-balled into their part of the lake and swam to the floating dock, taking turns pushing each other off and going down the water slide. It was the most fun I’d had in a while. After 2 hours of swimming,  we raced back to the shore and dried off. 

“So, Grace.” Sophie said “Do you have any siblings?” 

Before I could open my mouth Maggie said “She’s an only child.” 

“Lucky!” said Sophie, elbowing Maggie. I smiled at the two sisters. 

“I should probably go home now,” I said, “It’s getting late.”. 

Sophie smiled at me and gave me a hug. “Sure! Do you want us to walk you there?” 

“No, that’s ok.” I replied simply. “I’m ok.” 

I arrived at home and found Aunt Esme standing outside the door with her hands on her hips. “Where were you?” she asked. 

“At Maggie’s house!” I exclaimed. 

“It’s 6:02! I told you to be back by 5:45! I was scared to death! I thought you had been mauled by a bear!” 

“Well, I’m here now,” I said. “God, Grace,” I thought, “when did you get so bold!”

Aunt Esme rolled her eyes and said “Don’t scare me like that again. But come inside, you must be starving.”

While I ate my spaghetti and meatballs, I told Aunt Esme all about Sophie and Maggie. Aunt Esme smiled. “Seems like you’re having fun up here!” she commented. 

I slid off the chair. “Oh, no. I’m definitely not having fun.”

I wasn’t having fun, but everyday I went swimming with Maggie and Sophie and walked downtown to get ice cream. I wasn’t having fun, but every night I made drawings and showed them to Aunt Esme. I wasn’t having fun, but every night I stared up at the stars, counting every one I could see. 

About a week after Aunt Esme caught me drawing, she had a guest come over for tea. She said that her name was Ms. Martins, and that she was a bit uptight. Aunt Esme also asked that I was on my best behavior. But at least Maggie could come over! Ms. Martins looked a lot older than Aunt Esme, like she could be a grandmother. I served the ladies tea, and then went down to the lake with Maggie. It was too cold to swim, so we were just hanging out.  Suddenly, I started hearing snippets of their conversation. Yes, Grace. What was her twin’s name? I held up a finger, signally for Maggie to be quiet. 

“Ah yes, Willow,” I heard  Ms. Martins say. “Yes, I met that girl once, didn’t I? Never liked her.” I stood up and dusted myself off and slowly walked towards Ms. Martins and Aunt Esme, Maggie following me. I could hear Ms. Martins talking. “Honestly, Esme, she was too rowdy. Too loud. Back in my day girls were quiet and nice. Willow is… not that. And she had absolutely no manners. Honestly that girl looked like a pig, shoveling food down her mouth.”

That was the last straw. I stood up, grabbed Ms. Martin’s teacup, and threw it on the ground. I felt my ears get hot, and I felt a burst of energy that I never had before. And then I screamed.

 “HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT! YOU DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL WILLOW A PIG, WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE ONE YOURSELF! YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, IF YOU PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG IT’S STILL A PIG! YOU’RE THE EXAMPLE OF THAT!” 

By the time I finished, my throat hurt and there were tears streaming down my face. Ms. Martins looked like she was about to faint. Maggie looked like she was holding back a laugh. After a few seconds we all came to our senses. Ms. Martins grabbed her purse, whacked me in the arm with it, yelled “Good day!” and walked to her car. Before Aunt Esme could say anything, I ran into the woods, Maggie running after me, and I curled into a ball on the forest ground. I cried and cried and cried. I curled myself into a ball so tight I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It felt like the walls were caving in on me. It felt like my lungs had exploded. 

Finally, Maggie caught up to me. “Are you okay?” She asked. “What’s wrong?” And right then, the words just came tumbling out. 

Willow and I were not twins. I was born at 11:55 pm on December 28th. She was born at  12:03 am on December 29th. We were both preemies. Three pound Grace and three and a half pound Willow. I needed a machine to breathe for me. Willow got to go home three weeks before me, and apparantly she was never happy until I came home.  We were inseparable. But then came 5th grade. 

Alyssa got worse and worse, and Willow wasn’t able to stand up for me. Around October Willow was diagnosed with leukemia. She fought so hard. After all the injections, she rubbed her arm and brushed it off. After losing her hair to chemo, she laughed. After all the pain, she managed to put a smile on her face. We thought she would make it, but mid-February she passed away. I had always been shy, but I would barely talk. It felt like there was a hole in my heart. Willow had taught me about everything from trees and nature to fashion design and gymnastics. 

After talking about all of this, I realized something. Until I had come up  to this tiny little town of Millstone, I had been sad and lonely all of the time. But up here I was happy. I made new friends. And although Willow would always be a part of my life, and I would always love her, the gap in my heart was starting to be filled. With Maggie. With Sophie. With Aunt Esme. 

A week later my parents came up to Millstone. After ice-cream, it was decision time. “So, Gracie, do you want to come home?” My dad said. 

I took a deep breath. “I want to stay here for the summer. I’m away from Alyssa. I’ve made friends. I have Aunt Esme. And I’m happy.”

After getting over their surprise, my parents gave me a tight hug and drove away. “I have something for you!” Aunt Esme said. She pulled out of her purse a copy of the Millstone Gazette, with a drawing on the front page. I looked closely and I noticed that it was my drawing of the tree! “The world needs to see your art, Grace!” Aunt Esme said. I hugged the newspaper close to my chest. I loved Millstone. Up here, I had the memory of Willow surrounding me. Up here I could finally breathe. 

Because trees are our lungs. Don’t chop us down.

Breakaway

1


My father’s long, pale, fingers slide across the keyboard, creating a familiar melody. Her song.  My hands slip on the long knife, fingers wet with tears. 

“Papa?” 

My father turns. His eyes are bloodshot.

“Papa?” I repeat. 

His voice is barely audible, raspy and weak.

“She’s gone.”

“To where?” I whisper. “Where has she gone?”

“I don’t know,” he says, “but she’s never coming back.”

****

The house feels quiet without her. Her long gowns, and those eyes that have countless untold secrets behind them. I open the door to her room, which is neatly organized into sections. 

My father’s side of the room houses framed sheet music and stacked clothes. Tissues covered in blood litter the floor, and the rancid smell of vomit wafted from the adjoining bathroom.

The other half of the large room is my mother’s. Each piece of antique furniture is spotless, each dress in her polished closet is unharmed, and frankly, looks like it was barely worn. Her bathroom radiates cleanliness and the distinct smell of lavender. 

In the center of the room is a large, king sized bed, with two little tables flanking each side. A small book lies on the pale sheets. I take it cautiously, eyes roving across the floral cover. There’s no protection on it – no lock, no password. It opens at my touch.

Hurriedly, I snap it shut and run across the hall to my room. I know it’s irrational, but somehow, it feels like she’s still here, watching me. Like her body – her spirit – has inhabited this house long enough to make a lasting impression. 

I rush across the hall to my bedroom and punch in the combination for the small safe next to my bed. I quickly shove the book in and slam the door. I can hear the sound of my father heaving on the bottom floor, and turn my head to check the time. 18:27. Dinner. 

The sound of my feet clomping down the stairs startles Freddie, my chubby orange cat who enjoys napping on the banister. I think that he senses that something is wrong in this house – though that may be because my mother usually feeds him. His eyes narrow, and he lets out a small hiss before falling back asleep. 

I can see my father lying on the floor, eyelids flickering. 

I run towards him, picking up his limp body and placing it on the couch. 

I check his pulse. Still breathing. 

“Matilda?” he whispers.

“Yes, Papa?”

“I’m tired.” 

I smile weakly. 

“Get some sleep,” I say. “I’ll make some food.”

As I begin to walk towards the kitchen, I realize something. 

“Jamie?” I yell. 

I forgot about my brother.

I sprint past my father, who is passed out on the couch, back up the stairs, and into my little brother’s room. 

“Hey, Jamie… are you ok? I’m making dinner, it’ll be ready soon…”

Silence.

“Jamie?”

I hear quiet sobs coming from the closet.

Jamie is curled in the fetal position, resting on a pile of clothes. 

“Hey, J…” 

I wrap my arms around his shivering body. 

“I’m making mac and cheese – your favorite!”

He sniffles and wipes his nose. 

“Tilda? Where – where is she?”

I close my eyes, trying to hold back tears.

“I don’t know.”

“But you always know! You always know!” he rasps.

“This time, I don’t. Now come with me. You can have dessert before and after dinner.”

My brother picks at his food. His tongue is bright blue from the lollipop he had while I was cooking. 

I smile and pat him gently on the head.

“Eat,” I scold.  “You don’t want a stomachache, do you?” 

He scowls, but starts to spoon his mouth full of pasta. 

“Petra?” My father opens his eyes and looks around. 

“No, Papa. It’s only me,” I say. “Would you like me to make you a plate?” 

He nods, and I bustle around the kitchen to get him his dinner. 

“Wait!” exclaims my brother as I start to head over to my dad. 

I turn. 

“It could be contagious. You haven’t been hugging him or anything, have you?”

Sometimes, even though I’d never tell him, I think my 9-year-old brother might be smarter than me. 

I pull the collar of my green sweater over my nose and mouth, and proceed to give my father the food. 

“Now, be careful there,” I say to Papa. “Eat as much as you like. If you feel nauseous, take a break. Ok?”

He gives me a small, forced, smile as he grabs his fork and digs in. 

***

I tuck Jamie into bed and extinguish the candle by his bedside table. My father’s digestive system and the macaroni clearly didn’t get along – the heaving in the downstairs bathroom is louder than ever. But I leave him alone. At this point, I can’t do much more than feed him and clean his vomit off the floor. I need to focus on getting out of this godforsaken place – and finding her. 

Later that night, I sit on my bed, running my fingers across the cover of the book. The door to my room is locked, and I finally feel like her ever-present eyes have closed for the night, and she can’t see what I’m about to do.

I open the book and begin to read.

            2 – The Diary


04.09.93 23:47 am

The stars are gorgeous tonight. It’s just the right temperature.

I could see Jeb through the glass. He’s bent over, working in the field. I haven’t spoken to him since graduation. 

I look up at the ceiling as if it holds all the answers.  

I can hear my parents arguing through the thin walls of our flat. 

There was a knock on my window. 

“Jeb?” I asked.

He taped a note to the window, winked, and climbed downwards, out of sight.

The note was a love song. I can feel the tears threatening to spill over as I tear it into small pieces. I can’t be distracted by a silly serenade.

Do I love him? I’m not sure. 

But even if I did, I couldn’t. 

Shouldn’t.

David Foster. 

That’s his name. 

From what I’ve heard, he seems like a stand-up guy. Plays piano. Likes animals. Rich. That’s good enough for my parents – and I guess it should be good enough for me.

Dearest Diary, you feel like the only thing that will listen to me these days. I haven’t even talked to Imani in weeks. 

As much as I miss Jeb, I miss her more. She’d be able to talk me out of being my usual stupid self. 

Yesterday, I tried to send her a letter. My parents found it. I don’t know what the sudden change in heart is all about. Up until recently, I was allowed to hang out with Imani whenever I wanted. 

Between her big brother being in the army, and the security systems on the house, safety was certainly never an issue. 

I feel like I’m going mad without them. 

You know what?

I don’t care what my parents say. They marry me off to some nerdy loner for the extra cash.

If I ever have kids, I’ll NEVER  treat them the way my parents treat me.

I’m better than that.

I’m better than them.

And, tomorrow, darling Diary,

I’m going to find my friends.

3


I look up, eyes wide. 

I feel like I violated her trust – and David Foster?
That’s my dad.

I never knew that they had an arranged marriage – but it explains a lot. The long silences, the cold stares.  

But something that I never thought would happen just did. 

I feel like I can relate to my mother.

That determination. Knowing something’s up, 

Even though I may not be as close to her as I am to my father, I’ve  idolized her.

Thought she was perfect.

It’s funny, really. How she complains about her parents. How she says she’ll never be like them. But she is them. Almost an exact carbon copy. 

The materialistic hunger. The tight leash she holds her children on. 

But somehow, I admire her even more than before.

At least I understand her motives, her spirit.

I feel a sudden rush of anger.

Even if she didn’t love my dad, that gives her no right to leave him – us – in the time that we need her most. 

Through my anger, a sudden idea flashes in my mind. It’s odd that I didn’t see this immediately. 

My mom didn’t grow up here. She was born in the town of Milesea. And it sounds like this man that my mom liked, Jeb, grew up there too. 

So I’m going to get there. 

***

I stand in front of the van shop. Billy stares back at me defiantly.

“How many times do I have to say this? I want to rent a van.

“Kid, how many times do I have to say this? You’re a minor. You can’t rent.”

I sigh. This is my last resort.

I slap a large wad of bills on the table. 

It’s now Billy’s turn to sigh.

“Do you want it furnished?” 

An hour later, I leave the store in a large camper van. The inside had been renovated a few months earlier and now holds a small kitchenette, a little couch, a bunk bed, and a small chamber pot hidden in the corner.  

Luckily, I got my driver’s license last month, a few weeks before my mom left. It was one of the few times in my entire life that I had actually left the palatial grounds of my house, 

The van’s big wheels scrape on the rough rocks of my thin driveway.  

Jamie stands on the porch, waving at me. I hop out of the van and ruffle his hair.

“Go pack,” I say. “We leave at 10:00.”

***

I brush my hair out of my eyes and pull it back into a slick ponytail. I put on a pair of fraying jeans and a black hoodie over a green polo shirt. It’s the clothes I usually wear to help Mrs. Lynn in the garden – but I guess it’s good for driving. I turn and start to zip up my bag – and stop. The little stuffed rhino that I’ve had since I was born stares at me pleadingly. I’m 16, but I still sleep with it. So I grab it and shove it in my bag before Jamie can see. He teases me about it – even though he has one himself. But he’s 9. 

I only packed one suitcase for myself. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone.  But I packed two for my dad. One filled with clothes, the other with medicine and towels that we can soak in water when his fever gets too high.

In the living room, Jamie sits atop a suitcase in a t-shirt and baggy jeans. His curly hair looks like someone tried tame it back and failed miserably, resulting in a worse frizz than ever.

My father sits on the couch, dark circles that are always under his eyes more apparent than ever.

Supporting him, we head over to the car, and I help Papa into the bottom bunk. 

We’re resigned to protecting ourselves from whatever disease he has – because if it’s contagious, we probably already have it.

Before starting the van, I help Jamie get situated in the top bunk, where he soon gets comfy with his book.

As I climb down the ladder, I see my father murmuring in his sleep, and I don’t really think anything of it – but I check his forehead. Hot. 

So I make use of those towels. After covering it in icy water, I place it on his head, hoping to give him some relief.

I don’t know how much it did, but I start up the car. If we want to get to Milesea in the next few days, then we better get going soon.

I’m driving well into the night. My eyelids flutter as I try to stay awake. 

Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn my head around. 

My father is standing behind me, a crazed look in his eyes. 

“Papa, go back to sleep. At Milesea, we’ll find a doctor for you, and you’ll feel all better.”

He gives me a big grin, but in one swift motion, shoves me off the seat and gets in himself.

“Papa!” I shout. “You’re sick! You shouldn’t be driving!”

His eyes are bright and shining with an almost demonic happiness, but tears run like waterfalls down his sunken cheeks.

“Petra. Petra. Petra. For Petra.”

I know what’s about to happen. 

I rush up the old wooden ladder and wrap my arms around my brother’s sleeping form.

“I love you,” I whisper into his ear. “Always.”

Then everything goes black.

Epilogue (Six Months Later)


I open my eyes. My bedroom is dimly lit and small, but it’s what we can afford.

We both work, and our jobs don’t pay very well – but we get by. Three months ago, we made enough to buy our own house.

Two bedrooms. Two bathrooms. Big backyard.

It’s beautiful, but not nearly what I’m used to. And I’ve tried to be fine with that, but I find myself missing the riches my old life came with.

“Petra?” Jeb’s head peeks through the door frame. “Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling?”
I muster a small smile. 

“Better than yesterday, but I don’t want to jinx it.”

I walk up to Jeb and give him a small kiss on the cheek. 

He pulls away, smiles, and bends down.

“Morning kiddo!”

And then he plants a kiss on my belly.

For the first time in forever, I finally feel at peace. 

I walk into the bathroom and stare at myself in front of the mirror. My floral dress sweeps on the wet bathroom tiles. 

My hair is braided loosely down my back, a sharp contrast to the harsh bun I wore when I lived at the mansion. I feel so free these days. Yesterday, I spent hours curled up on the couch under a blanket, drinking hot tea, face buried in a book. And the day before, I decorated the nursery in hues of pink and blue. The bedroom for my new baby girl. 

I hated my life before, but I didn’t hate my children. I couldn’t bear to tell them about how I grew up. How I met their father. How I never loved him. So I stayed silent. 

I’m sending them a letter today explaining everything. I’m hoping that they’ll come to meet their little half-sister when she’s born.

But for now, I’m going to focus on what I have, not what I left behind.

BREAKING FREE

Chapter 1

“Come onnnn!” I yell. 

“I’m coming! Just wait one minute,” my mom calls back. Tonight is the Night of Freeness, and Queen Sleeping Beauty and King Charming are hosting a ball. The Night of Freeness is when famous creatures and, well, not-famous creatures, hang out together. It’s my favorite night because I don’t need to work. You see famous creatures like Humpty Dumpty, Cinderella and The Beast, who are supposed to have a great luxurious life because yeah, they are famous. Unfamous creatures need to work for famous creatures to make the famous creatures’ lives better. I am an unfamous creature. 

Back to the ball. Queen Snow White, of course, helps with that. Queen Snow White is the leader of all the balls and, in my opinion, the leader of  the world. Oh, the glorious Queen Snow White, this. Oh the glorious Queen Snow White, that. So annoying! I wish I could be a famous creature. And hey, I was there when Humpty Dumpty fell! But of course, the boring Ella never got mentioned. Of course not. She’s nothing important. Hmph! 

“Ok, I’m ready. Let’s go,” my mom says as she comes out of the dressing room. I twirl around the room. My long black hair swings around me. I have always thought my mom was way prettier than me, but I never tell her. She is wearing a long and poofy yellow dress with white swirls. 

“Are we going to take a carriage, or walk?” I asked. I knew the answer. 

“We wouldn’t want to ruin our pretty dresses,” She says. We walk down the stairs that lead to the outside. It’s spring. There is a light breeze, but it is also warm out. Butler Mother Toppkins opens the carriage door for us. 

“Thank you,” Mother says. “Oh, Mother Toppkins! Are you going to the ball too? It is the Night of Freeness, and you don’t need to work for us until tomorrow,” she adds. 

Mother Toppkins smiles.  “I will go, thank you,” she says. Then she shuts the door. 

“Now, you need to be very well mannered and kind. Queen Snow will be up in her room. She doesn’t like too much attention,” Mother says. 

I nod my head. The carriage starts moving. Queen Snow has a room at every castle, even ours. It’s required. Oh my gosh! I just got the greatest idea in the history of great ideas! I don’t want to ruin the fun of the Night of Freeness, but I don’t think any of this is fair. I want to be free.

 Usually on normal days mother and I go over to Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk’s house and Clean! ‘Cause he’s all famous and we need to respect him and all. I’m going to change this. I’m going to talk to Queen Snow.

Chapter 2

Mother gets out of the carriage and lifts up her dress. I get out of the carriage and trip. I fall on my knees. Ow. That’s ok. No harm done. I see Mother smothering a laugh.

 “Please don’t insult me,” I say as I get up. Mother nods. Here’s my plan. Queen Snow will be up in her room, and I will be down at the ball. I can tell the guards that I need to go to the bathroom, and the other bathroom has been locked forever! I’m a kid, so they cannot expect too much from me. Then, I go up and talk to Queen Snow. I will talk to her about how I think I and some of the other creatures should be free. She probably will not listen. But I can bribe her. Queen Snow basically gets everything she wants. She wants our Castle of Light badly, and she would do anything to get it. Three years ago she offered her son’s life for it. There is some history through the Kingdom of Light and Queen Snow’s son. Queen Snow has one son, Sammy, and one daughter, June. Sammy is 15, and June is 12. Sammy, when he was about my age, 10, wanted to have a fairy cake for his birthday. If you blow out the candle of a fairy cake and make a wish, that wish comes true no matter what. The Light Kingdom is the only kingdom that sells fairy cakes besides the Sea Kingdom, where the cake gets soggy. Sammy didn’t have any money, but he came over to the Light Kingdom. The fairy didn’t know it was Sammy at the time, and told him he needed to pay double for his rudeness. Sammy got upset and grabbed a knife from the butcher’s stand, threatening to kill the poor fairy. He didn’t, but the Light Kingdom has feared Sammy ever since. We have also heard that Sammy has gotten even more dangerous. At that thought, I shivered. 

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go inside,” Mother says

We start walking toward the castle. It is giant, with two long pillars on the side. It has a moat, but one so small you could just step over it. It’s gray, and has a drawbridge. At the very top of it, you can see Queen Snow’s room. Her room is always at the top left. In every castle. I have no idea why. Mother and I step onto the open drawbridge and go inside the castle. 

Woah. Double woah. There is a big chandelier hanging on the high ceiling. There are rows and rows of snacks and in the very back of the room there are three thrones, one big and two smaller. Queen Sleeping Beauty, King Charming and the bigger one for Queen Snow. And, greatest of all, there are twisting stairs that lead all the way up to Queen Snow. Two guards are patrolling the stairs. I guess Queen Snow put them there. 

“You can go find some other kids to play with, I want to greet Queen Sleeping Beauty and King Charming,” Mother says, and with that she pats my back and leaves. In other cases I would grumble and say something like Fine, leave me stranded, I’m sure I’ll find somebody else to raise me. Then, Mother would  chuckle and walk away. But now I am high-energy, ready for anything. 

I take a look around. Hmmm. I need to find a way to lock the bathroom door, but still be able to get out. I’ve got it! I run to the bathroom and say a lot of “ excuse mes” and “sorries”. I look at the bathroom. Ah, a window. I lock the door, then get a white stool with pink and green polka dots. It is not very pretty in my opinion. I prop the stool under the windowsill and open the window. Oh! This is a bad idea. I might ruin my dress! Then I think about all the times I’ve needed to clean those golden eggs and trim weeds. This will be worth it. I climb out the window. My silky blue dress snags on the window, and I stumble. I can’t rip it, or Mother will know something is up. I carefully lift my dress off the windowsill edge. Phew. I close the window and turn around the corner. Now I can see the entrance. I see a carriage with a lady getting out. She has beautiful blonde hair that is in a long braid. Rapunzel.  I step over the moat and get on the drawbridge. Yay! I’ve made it. I walk through the entrance into the reception room and try not to look like I just climbed out of a bathroom window. Then I put on a very sad face. I wobble over to the stairs. A guard looks at me. 

“Hello. Queen Snow’s personal service. How may I help you?” the guard says. I try not to laugh, keeping the sad look pasted on my face. 

“I need to use the potty!” I say.

“ Oh! Uh…There is a bathroom to the left of the royal thrones,” The guard says. He looks kind of surprised. Maybe he expected me to be more mature.

 “No! I need to go potty and the other bathroom is not opening! I want to go!” I say.

 The guard looks at me up and down. Then he closes his eyes and sighs

. “Right. Go on up. If I hear any disturbance at all from Queen Snow you are going to jail. Do you understand?” he asks.

 I try to look worried and nod. Then I rush upstairs. “Bathroom 23 is locked. Repeat, Bathroom 23 is locked,” I hear the guard say. Yay! I made it. Now for the hard part.

Chapter 3

I crawl up the stairs. Oh my gosh! How does Queen Snow get all the way up here? While I’m walking up the stairs I should probably plan what to say. Should it be babyish, like with the guard, or more mature? I think it should be more mature. Here goes nothing. I get up to the highest floor. There are 3 rooms. Queen Snow is known for being kind and generous, so this should be pretty easy. Hopefully. Which room should I check first? The first door is closed fully, and there’s a strangely awesome smell coming from that room. The second is closed, and it smells really bad. The third is closed too, and no sound or smell comes from it. I know the one on the left with the good smell is Queen Snow’s room, but she could be in any of the others. I want to get it over with, so I will check the smelly one first. 

“That’s enough!” I hear. I can’t tell what room it comes from. I open the door to the first and smelly one. Pee U! It’s a bathroom. Ewwwwwwww! Let me check the next one. Which one should I pick? How about her room?

“NO! I want it!” I hear. It’s coming from room one: her bedroom, the one with the nice smell. I quickly take a peek into the third room. The walls are red and the room is really messy. Dirty socks and wet paint brushes are on the bed. I quickly shut the door. I need to talk to Queen Snow. I open the door and hope for the very best. 

“It has BAD grammar, and my kids need to be good rulers!” Queen Snow shouts. The room is very small, smaller than the messy room. The walls are a hot pink. There is a made bed with a book on it. Queen Snow is sitting in a fluffy looking chair, and I desperately want to push her off it so I can take a seat. She is sitting in front of a dresser and mirror. A tall, skinny kid is pulling a book from Queen Snow’s hand. A second ago, she said “My kids need to be good rulers”. Who would dare pull anything out of Queen Snow’s hand? Suddenly everything fit together. I stumble back and grip onto the railing. I’m standing in front of the most dangerous person in the kingdom. And that person is, unfortunately, Sammy White. 

Queen Snow looks at me like she doesn’t know what to make of this. “What is THIS?” she exclaims. Sammy looks at me. I have two options. I can run down the stairs at full speed, or stay. I need to do this.

  “Um…My na-” I start to say.

 “Oh! I recognize her. She is some princess of light, or something,” Sammy interrupts. His eyes scream ‘Come at me, I dare you’. I take a deep breath. 

“Yes, thank you Sammy,” I say and try to look calm.

 “Ah. Ok. Um… Your name is?” Queen Snow says.

 “E-Ella, your majesty,” I say, curtsying.

 “That is more like it. Why did you come up here, Ella princess of light? Because I don’t have much time. You seem to stutter way too much for this to be proper, but please go on,” Queen Snow says. I’m taken aback by her rudeness.

 “I’m sorry…your majesty” I say. She sighs. “I wanted to come to talk to you about famous and unfamous creatures,” I say.

 “My mother doesn’t talk about that,” Sammy says. I try to ignore him. I need to face my fears.

 “No darling, let her talk,” Queen Snow says.
“Thanks. I want you to change this. I am treated unfairly, and I don’t like that. I am a maid for Jack’s house,” I say.

 “Honey, please. I don’t change stuff like that.” Queen Snow responds. She examines her nails while I talk.

 “Stop worrying about how pretty you are, and listen to me!” I demand. 

Queen Snow looks up, surprised.  “Do not talk back to me!” she yells, getting up from her chair.

 “We are all the same! We are all equal!” I yell.

 “Leave!” She yells.

 “I will talk to my mom and see if you can get our castle in exchange for you letting every single unfamous creature go,” I say. I try to stay calm. I’ve suddenly realized that I’m not only scared of Sammy, I’m afraid of Queen Snow.  Queen Snow sits back down.

“Sammy darling, please go into your room. I need to talk to Ella, alone,” Queen Snow says, in a dangerously calm voice. Sammy nods. He leaves the room and pushes me out of his way. He goes into the dirty third room.

“You are embarrassing!” Queen Snow immediately says. 

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“You are embarrassing!” She shouts, even though I didn’t mean excuse me like please repeat that, I meant it like how rude can you get! “You think I would give away my power and fame for some lame castle that I wanted three years ago? You think?” Queen Snow cries. I feel my face turning red. “Go back from where you came from and stop disturbing me!” Queen Snow yells. 

Am I actually going to let some snobby Queen treat me this way? No, I will not! 

“You- You are the worst queen ever! And for your information, I will go back to where I came from!” I shout. I storm down the stairs.

“You know there is an elevator!” Queen Snow yells, slamming her door.

UGH!

Chapter 4

“Can we go home now?” I ask my mother. The chandelier and thrones don’t look pretty anymore. 

“Are you feeling Ok?” Mother asks me. 

“Fine, I’m feeling fine,” I grumble.

“Okay, we can leave soon,” Mother says, then she turns her back on me. 

Why was Queen Snow so rude? What was her problem? “Mother, aren’t you tired of being treated badly by the famous cr-” I start to say.

 “Honey, we don’t talk about that here.” Mother interrupts.

 “Then let’s go home so we can talk about it,” I say. My mother looks at me for a long time.

 “Fine then” Mother says. She takes me by the arm and we start walking out of the castle.

“Have you ever met Queen Snow?” I ask her in the carriage. 

“Ah, yes. Once when I was very tiny. She came over and wanted to take a look at me. She wants to every time there is a new baby. I don’t remember much. I do remember my mother talking to her and bowing. But no more, Why?” Mother says. I decide not to answer the question. Mother is looking out of the window. 

“Mother, I want to start a protest against Queen Snow,” I say. 

Mother looks up from the window. “Really? And why is that?” she asks. 

I sigh. “Aren’t you ever going to realize that cleaning Jack’s house is not the most productive thing to do?” I ask her. She chuckles. When will she notice? Why hasn’t anybody done anything? 

“No, it is not such a productive thing, is it.”Mother says. I can’t believe she is agreeing. 

“I want to do a protest, a parade!” I yell as the carriage stops. Mother looks at me and I expect her to say something like No, darling, that is a bad idea. But she smiles.

 “Okay” She says. 

That was… easy. I get out of the carriage and finally lift my dress up correctly! 

“Mother, I saw Sammy today.” I say. I don’t know why I do it or if I shouldn’t have. Mother stops dead in her tracks.  

“A-And where was this?” she asks, cautiously and slowly.

“I went up to Snow White’s room today. I saw Sammy there. I went up to talk to her about the fairness of creatures.” I say, trying to seem pretty chill about it.

“Go up to your room NOW!” Mother yells.

“What about the parade?” I ask. I immediately knew I shouldn’t have.

“Later! I need to think now! I have done so much for you and you respond like THIS!” my mother yells. My eyes tear up. I dash into the castle and run up the stairs. I don’t bother taking my heels off. I have done a lot in return too. I am a good daughter! 

Chapter 5

Rap rap rap. 

“Oh come on. I am sorry. Please let me in ” I hear Mother’s voice say.
“Fine,” I grumble, and I open the door. I know that Mother is sorry, but the parade meant a lot to me. She just shut that idea out.

“I am really sorry. Let’s do the parade. We only have a day to convince people anyways, because today is the Day of Freeness. If we wait till tomorrow, Queen Snow will put us in jail. So get out here so we can spread the word about this parade,” Mother says. I nod. She is right. We only have today. 

“So, I was thinking, we work for them, right? What if part of the protest was not working for them. Because they need us,” Mother says. I nod again. “Come on, let’s go,” she says. 

“ Should we make posters?” I ask. 

This time, mother nods. “You go around telling people, and I will put up posters, Ok?” Mother asks. 

“Sure” I agree. 

The door knob is cold to my fingers. I walk down the two flights of stairs.  I think I forgive Mother. I ran across the wet grass. Our neighbor is also an unfamous creature. His name is Ferm chicken. He is a chicken.  He is one of the happiest, talkiest chickens I ever have known. I knock on his door, and I spot Mother coming out of our castle holding some flyers. His house is unstable and made of hay. I would not be surprised if  the whole house collapsed over my hand. The door opens. 

“What? Oh my! Princess of light!” says Ferm chicken, bowing three times.

“Yeah”  I say. “I wanted to tell you that the unfamous creatures are going to stop working for the famous creatures in protest.”

“Oh my gosh, that is great! Do you want to come inside? It is such an awesome day out, isn’t it?” Ferm chicken asks.

“Oh, no thank you! But how is Mrs. Frem chicken?” I ask.

“Ok, thank you for asking.” Ferm chicken replies. He stares at me for a couple of seconds.

“Do you know any good places to find unfamous creatures?” I ask. 

“Yeah, try house 54.” Ferm chicken says.

“Thanks.” I say. He shuts the door with a big slam. The hay house trembles. House 54. House 54. Ah. Here. On the door it has a sign that says:

BEWARE OF THE PIG. 

THAT’S MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I gulp. But if Ferm chicken trusts this dude, I bet I should, too. I slowly knock on the door. 

“Hullo. My name Loin the lion,” says the lion who answers the door.

“Hello, Loin the lion-” I say, before getting cut off.

“NOOOOOO! My name Loin! Not Loin the lion!” He interrupts. 

“Sorry, Loin.” I say.

“Sure.” Loin says.

“So, me and some other folks are going to stop working for famous creatures in protest. Will you?” I ask him.

“Sure,” he says. I can’t tell if that is a yes, but that’s ok.

“Loin, do you know any other places where there are other unfamous creatures’ houses?” I ask.

“23 house DOGGY.” Loin says. Then he breaks out in giggles, whispering “doggy hee hummy hee doggy dum dog dutch hee hum le lum doggy hee hummy hee doggy dum dog dutch he hum le lum doggy hee hummy!”

Suddenly, he shuts the door in my face. Ok…

“Bye!” I call.

“Bye bye doggy!” Loin cries. 

This goes on for three to four hours, and I get every single unfamous creature in the whole Kingdom of Light to join the parade. Mother does a good job with the posters. I see a few. They say:

Have you ever felt like you had more

potential than cleaning a house? 

Stop working and cleaning for 

Them then! They need us and will have

to learn how to do it on their own! 

Lots of people agree! Don’t be embarrassed!

And stuff like:

We are stopping working! We can do more

 than just cleaning! Lots of creatures are 

doing it! Don’t be embarrassed! We are all

equal, and some people can’t see that! They 

need us now! But they need to learn how to 

do this on their own! 

As I walk home I think about how Queen Snow would’ve reacted to this. She would probably have said something like “Darling! This is such a horrid idea! Don’t do this to your friends!” Ha ha. I hope I never have to see her or Sammy again! I probably will, though.  My feet hit the ground. It’s hot out. This morning it was pretty cool, but now the cobblestones are melting. Boy. In the distance, I see our castle. It’s funny; there are high people, low people and really low people. I still live in a castle, but I am a maid. Queen Snow is at the very top. The people in my kingdom are at the bottom. Everybody would be famous! Or rather, everybody would be unfamous. I look up and see the castle. I’ve been walking for a long time and my legs are sore. 

When I get home I see Mother on the couch, reading a book. I sit on the couch next to her and grab a random book. I could read anything now. The ways of her majesty Queen Snow White. Nevermind. Not anything. I put that book down and pick up another book. I start reading, and the words swirl in my brain. Hopefully this will end ok.

Chapter 6

I turn in my bed. I can’t be late or I will be scolded by Jack. 

“Ughhh” I say. Suddenly, I remember about the not working thing. I can go back to sleep! Yay! I cuddle my covers. Just as I’m falling back asleep I hear a knock on the door. “NOOOOO!” I half mumble, half shout. Mother comes in and sits on the end of my bed. I turn my back to her by flopping around. 

Mother chuckles. “Darling, you need to get up. Queen Snow is at the door,” she says, calmly. 

I bolt straight up.

 “Woah! Deep breaths. Deep breaths. She wants to talk to you about the absence of  some maids,” Mother says. 

“What should I say?” I ask. What if she puts Mother and me in jail? 

“Be honest. She may have witnesses, but she can not physically prove anything,” Mother says. 

I push my sheets back. I know I am in my PJ’s, and I know I didn’t brush my hair. But at this point I don’t care what she or Sammy thinks of me. 

I go downstairs and Mother follows me. My hand brushes against the railing, for maybe the last time. I open the door, the cool door knob against my hand. 

As Mother said, Queen Snow stands by the door. Two guards are standing next to her with absolutely no expression. 

“Hi Queen Snow,” I say, my hand on the side of the door. 

“What on earth are you wearing? This is infuriating! You have no respect for your elders!” Queen Snow shouts.

 I glance behind me and I see Mother smiling at me. “Sorry” I say. I’m pretty sure we both know that I’m not really sorry.

“Whatever, Ella. I came to complain about the absence of my maids and workers!” Queen Snow yells. 

“Don’t call them that!” I shout. Then I take a breath. “Do you have a guess why they didn’t show up?” I ask. 

Queen Snow rolls her eyes. “Oh, Sure!” she says. One of her guards holds up one of the posters that Mother printed. “Because they don’t deserve to be treated like this or whatever,” she grumbles. I smile as I see her blush a bit. 

“Yeah, exactly. So we will not even acknowledge your presence until you change the rules,” I say. I put on one of my ‘I told you I would win’ smiles that I have been practicing in my mirror.

I can’t tell what Queen Snow’s look is. Somewhat disgusted. 

“Well..” Queen Snow starts to say, but her voice trails off.

“So, Goodbye Queen Snow,” I say, and slowly shut the door.

“Wait! No! Guards, Do something! A– what? No! No!” I hear Queen Snow shout.

I look at Mother straight into her eyes. 

“Wanna make some celebration cupcakes?” Mother asks. I nod. I am proud, happy and scared. Queen Snow still has a lot of power. She can use her power. But for now it will be ok.

Chapter 7

THE FAIRYTALE NEWSPAPER.

Queen Snow has lost power to a 10 year old girl named Ella. Everybody is shocked and Queen Snow is infuriated! Ella was saying to Queen Snow that the not-famous creatures should not work until Queen Snow changes the rules. People have had parades and stopped working. This is crazy! Queen Snow hasn’t shown herself in public for 3 weeks, and nobody knows what decision she will make. On Saturday there was attempted murder. A whole gang of people tried to break into Queen Snow’s house and murder her! They are in jail now. Nobody knows where that came from, or if Ella started it. The construction workers are very busy: people have hired them to smash Queen Snow’s rooms in their castles. Some people have tried to smash them themselves, and their castles look absolutely ruined. They don’t care. People are worried, though. What if Queen Snow decides not to get rid of the rule? Would everyone who tried to stop her go to jail? If she does get rid of the castle, would people lose their homes to give the money to less rich people? What about all the money they earned? If Queen Snow is not in charge of making the rules, who will be? Is this a bad thing? Some people say that Ella should be the leader, but this is a big problem. Now we will leave you with that question. Thank you for reading  THE FAIRYTALE NEWSPAPER, and goodbye. 

Chapter 8

I am everywhere! In the newspaper, and radio! It’s crazy and in some way I love it! But I also really am annoyed, because sometimes the newspaper talks total trash about me! Mother is very proud, though. Some people also think I should take Queen Snow’s place. Honestly I would be ok with that. But I don’t want this whole thing to start over again. And that would be even worse, because I would be the new Queen Snow! Except Queen Ella. Right now I am sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper and eating cookies. I flip the page and Mother walks into the room. 

“Queen Snow has decided to have a ball at her palace, and at the end she will make her decision,” Mother says.

 I have been waiting for this news for 3 whole weeks! I am kind of done with this. “That’s awesome!” I say, though. It is pretty good. But why a ball? What is she planning? “When is it happening?” I ask. 

“Now. Well, Tonight,” Mother says. 

I almost choke on a cookie. “So soon?!” I yell. Mother nods. I have so many thoughts I don’t know what to think. “Do I need to go?” I ask, and I know it is a horrible question.

“Um.. Yes! Duh, Ella! She is announcing the most important thing in your life!” Mother cries. 

“Ok,” I say. Why am I not excited? 

Mother frowns and sits down next to me. “Are you ok, Ella?” she asks. I burst into tears. “Why are you crying?” Mother asks. I don’t know. Why am I crying? 

“I don’t want to become queen.” I say. 

She stares at me for a minute. “Ok. That’s Fine.” Mother says.

“Who will be in charge, then?” I shout.

“ I will.” Mother says. 

I start laughing. And laughing. And laughing. My stomach hurts. “You can’t be Queen!” I say. 

“Why can’t I be Queen?” Mother asks.

 I think for a moment. “You’re too old?” I say. But it comes out more like a question.

“Queen Snow is older than me!” Mother says. 

I think about that. I believe her, but Queen Snow looks great for her age.

“Let’s go to the store to buy some dresses.” Mother says. 

Chapter 9

My mother and I are walking to the ball.  We don’t care if we get our dresses dirty, and nobody would stop a carriage for us. 

I break the silence. “What do you think she will pick?” I ask. 

“Well, it’s no use being famous if nobody likes you and you have no maids,”  Mother says. 

I nodded, but she hasn’t answered my question. I am worried now. Really, really worried. We see a crowd of people coming to the castle. Monsters, Orges, humans. I think I see a sheep! I get inside and inhale. I try not to seem amazed, but this is even better than Queen Sleeping Beauty’s place. A bunch of candles are hanging from a rich purple ceiling. There are a bunch of soft and cushiony chairs on the ground. The ball room is tremendous! Gigantic! 

Queen Snow stands on the stage. Seeing her gives me the chills. Everybody sits down. Queen Snow puts on a totally fake smile.

 “Hi everybody!” Queen Snow shouts. 

Nobody says anything, but I hear some disappointed muttering. 

 “Great. Yup. I get it. I have made a decision. This is one of my biggest decisions. And honestly, I am not so satisfied with my choice. But… Please bow down to Queen Ella.” 

My heart beats fast. Mother nudges me.

“Go up there. Show them you are brave.” Mother whispers in my ear. 

I get up and walk down the aisle. Creatures howl and cheer. Queen Snow smiles. I step up the stairs. Queen Snow goes down the stairs, and when she passes me she whispers:“See what it is like, Ella.” 

I ignore her. I squeeze my long pink dress. 

“Thank you, everybody.” I say. I don’t know what to say. Do I want to give this big opportunity to my mom? There is a big pause. “Ahem. Sorry. I actually have some disappointing news.” I said. People whispered some more. “I don’t actually want to be queen very much. So I want to give this place to my mom.” I say. I see tears glistening in her eyes and she gets up. She walks down the aisle and gets on the stage. I hug her, and then awkwardly get off the stage. 

“Thank you, Ella. I look forward to seeing the awesome progress we will have together. You do not need to give away anything, and I will not make you or force you to do anything.” 

I look over at Que- I mean just Snow. She is scowling. This is okay. Everything went okay. 

ESSAY ON NATURE

Nature is a very important part of living. Once, I was at the beach with my friends. It was a nice sunny day. My friends and I had just gotten out of the water and put on our coveralls when my best friend Mila said, “Look, it’s a balloon in the ocean!” I saw a Happy Birthday balloon in the ocean. “Let’s go get it before it goes too far!” I said, taking off my dress from over my bathing suit. We ran into the ocean and got the balloon, then threw it into the trash.
A few days ago I learned that it takes 450 years for a balloon to decompose. I was happy that I had saved the balloon from the ocean, where it might have killed marine wildlife.
Nature helps us in many ways. It was how we sustained ourselves when we were cave people. Nature is a part of life and some people don’t pay much attention to how it’s being treated. In this essay, I will be going over how the earth is being affected by humans including ocean pollution, air pollution, animal extinction, and climate change.

                                   Ocean Pollution

Every day more and more trash is disposed of into the ocean. Every 60 seconds a whole truckload of plastic goes into the ocean. The ocean is holding 5.25 trillion pieces of trash. Of that trash, 15% goes to beaches, 15% floats, and 70% sinks to the depths of the ocean, killing and strangling marine wildlife.
This needs to stop. Can you believe that on some beaches the shores are covered in trash? You are lucky to be at a beach where trash isn’t flooding every nook and cranny. You might think “why aren’t we just preserving the ocean then?” Well, we are, but only less than 8% of the ocean is actually preserved. On the other hand, there are many people, like Oceana, Sea Legacy, and Ocean Conservancy, that are in the ocean right now picking up trash!

                                    Air Pollution

We breathe oxygen every day, right? Well, only 21% of the air is actually oxygen. Everything else is Co2, nitrogen, neon, and hydrogen. If we don’t stop air pollution, then humans will die of polluted air. We need clean air to survive, and only 21% of our air is clean. If we keep pumping carbon dioxide into the air, the air will be full of Co2. However, in places like Las Vegas, you can see a whole dark cloud of Co2 and dirty air on top of it.
People breathe O2 and let out Co2. Trees produce O2 and take in Co2. We are cutting down 2,400 trees per second worldwide! There might be no trees left in the future, which means no clean air. But there are many organizations like Team Trees that plant thousands of trees every year.

                                  Animal Extinction

Have you heard of a panda farm or a tiger farm? Probably not, but not because they don’t exist! That is a huge issue because these are endangered species, about to go extinct. People think their fur looks nice, or they think it would make a nice mantel, so they kill these species for a coat that they will outgrow in six months. They need a farm that doesn’t kill them, but just preserves them. We keep slaughtering these animals for fun, not thinking about the devastation that we are causing. We need to preserve these creatures! Some scientists are collecting DNA for these endangered creatures so when they are extinct they can try to recreate the creature. But they wouldn’t need to do this if the creature wasn’t going extinct in the first place. We need to save these peace-loving creatures! At least some zoos are trying to preserve and tend to these animals that are going extinct.

                                   Climate Change

The climate is changing the world. In some places, it is hotter or cooler than normal. That is all because of climate change. In New York, it normally snows around 12 days per year, but in 2019 it only snowed eight times, and in 2020 it only snowed ten! During the summer, New York normally tops 85 degrees, but one day this year it was almost 100 degrees. In parts of Africa, it is so hot, elephants have to walk miles just for a drink of water. Climate change is also affecting crop growth. There are low supplies worldwide because climate change affects plants. Plants can’t grow properly, so they die, leaving nothing to harvest and send to supermarkets. In hot areas, the water loss is making people that already have little to drink walk miles and miles for just a few buckets of dirty water. Climate change is changing the weather patterns, making it hard to decide if it’s going to rain, snow, or be sunny.
Climate change is mainly because of air pollution, which changes how clouds move so places that need water get a smaller amount. There are scientists that are helping people in Africa by giving them filters, so that when they get the water they can make it clean and drinkable.

                                     Conclusion

In conclusion, nature is very important, but we are not taking good care of it. It’s so important for us to fix the environment. We would be lost without nature, or dead. This topic is important to me, because every day I walk around seeing over-flooded trash cans and people throwing out plastic bags, not caring where it’s going to land, and I think it’s disgusting. This topic is important to the community, because it will open the eyes of people who don’t care if one day trash will flood the streets, or if one day we need to wear oxygen tanks and masks because of polluted air. This topic is important to the world, because if you looked at the earth in outer space, where it would be green, lush, blue, and vibrant, it would be brown or light blue. You should care, because soon when you look at the earth from space it will be dry and dirty from trash. This is serious, not a small issue that can be blown over!

Grimm Getaway

Chapter 1

“OWW! Why did you slap me! I despise you Lihn!” 

“You slapped yourself and you know it Amy!” Well, meet my psychotic sister! When my little sister was born, I wasn’t jealous. I didn’t try to demand attention. I just helped my parents set up her nursery. I fed her and changed her diaper and took care of her while my parents were at work. She was the most talkative toddler I had ever met and used large words for her age . . . especially when we were alone. I was fourteen by the time she was two and my parents were starting to worry about her. I overheard them talking about her and from what I heard they were concerned why she didn’t talk yet.

 “Mom! Umm sorry for interrupting. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but when you guys are at work she talks a lot . . . she started talking last year and she uses surprisingly big words for her age!” I said in the most gentle way possible. 

My parents exchanged a look and ran to my sister with huge smiles on their faces. “Amy! Lihn says you can talk, can you say ‘mama’?” my mother asked. 

“Moomoo?” My sister asked. 

“Lihn why did you lie to us! I can’t believe you!” My father said with a look of disappointment spreading across his face.

 “I- I’m sorry I thought . . . nevermind ” I said. I didn’t sleep that night, Am I going insane? Is Amy going insane? Are my parents going insane? Is this all a dream? Do I need a therapist? Is my sister a psychotic maniac? DO I EVEN WANT TO KNOW!??!

Nope! I don’t need to know. That lasted about a month…

One night I woke up to get a glass of water and I heard noises that sounded like metal on rock. I decided to ignore it and ask Dad if he was up late sharpening knives for the butcher shop again, but when I asked he just looked me dead in the eye and said “No! And I thought I told you not to talk about knives in front of your sister.” 

I dropped it and decided I was just hearing things, but when I went up to take a shower before dinner, and my sister was sitting on my bed with my dad’s lucky butcher knife (the extra sharp one) in her hand, it was freshly sharpened. 

“Hello. Pitiful sister, I would like to welcome you graciously into my Grimm Getaway or as you like to call it the void! So just let me slit your throat ,and we will be on our way. Those imbeciles you call Mom and Dad will join you soon, and you can sit down for tea. My demons will serve you,” Amy said in the most annoyingly cheerful voice I have ever heard. 

When I didn’t respond she simply said, “I’ll let you gather your things.” She cut a deep cut in her thumb, smeared it on the door and disappeared.

 I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and ran to clean my door. That night I didn’t sleep. I just squeezed my stuffed giraffe wearing the Hawaiian shirt that I couldn’t sleep without and told myself it was all just a dream, it was all just a dream. I was starting to convince myself when I heard more sharpening noises, and it took all of my willpower not to hide on the inside of my window seat. Eventually I gave in. I brought a blanket, a pillow and my giraffe, Wynn, into the window seat and slept in there. It was cramped but I decided I would take a cramped space over my sister with a knife anyday. 

Chapter 2

When I woke up the next morning, I went downstairs and couldn’t believe my eyes. There were red drops and splatters leading up to the kitchen. I was terrified of what my sister had done, but I decided I needed to see for myself. MY SISTER WAS EATING SPAGHETTI-OS IN THE KITCHEN!!! My sister was making a huge mess with the spaghetti-os, and my mom was sitting there watching! 

“What is going on? Why is Amy eating spaghetti-os at 8:03 AM?” I asked. 

“She crawled into my room with a can of spaghetti-os, and I said, ‘why not?” my mother replied. 

“Umm because it is way too early in the morning to be eating spaghetti-os,” I said. My mom just stared at me and shrugged. I went back upstairs, after 367 seconds of silence in the kitchen I couldn’t take it anymore (yes I counted). When I went upstairs I took a shower and got ready for the day. 

One month later, I went up to my room to grab something, and my sister was sitting on my bed with the sharpest butcher knife in the house. Freshly. Sharpened.  

“Hello, sister! I gave you 37 days to pack. I hope you’re ready,” my sister said.

She just stared at me waiting.

 I ran downstairs. I heard my sister say something but it was drowned out by my pumping heart. I couldn’t breathe by the time I got to the backyard and locked the door. I collapsed on the floor, and everything went black.  

I woke up in the living room with the fan blowing on me and my mother sitting there staring at me. 

“You’re awake! What happened!?” my mother asked. 

“Where is Amy? What happened?” I asked. 

“Oh honey. It’s good to see you’re worried about your sister, but she was crying in your room when we went looking for you. You fainted and were out for 42 minutes and 53 seconds. I was counting.” I looked at my mother for so long I didn’t know what to say at that point. My mom just sat there for another minute and then walked away. I heard noises in the kitchen and just assumed she was cooking something. 

About an hour later, she came into the living room with a tray. On the tray was chilly with melted cheese and sour cream, a ceasar salad and some assorted cookies. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until my mom plopped it on my lap and said, “Eat up. You didn’t even have breakfast today!” 

That night, I stayed up way too late and decided to take my sister and myself to see if we were hallucinating. I felt strange in that sitting room with a 2 year old. Not to mention I’m only 14.

 I decided to only take my sister for an appointment, since she was talking about demons serving tea. They wouldn’t let me go in with her so I just waited hoping this would all be a misunderstanding. 

“Your sister does see many hallucinations but she is an interesting case. She uses large words for her age and is very smart. But anyway, she is very interesting because some of her hallucinations are based on real events. You will have to investigate that but…good luck,” the doctor informed me. 

Chapter 3

I spent all night trying to figure out what the doctor meant. When I went through my memories my brain stuck on one thing. She called it her Grimm Getaway or the Void. I remembered that one night her babysitter took her for a walk in the woods. The next morning, she told me she saw an abandoned house with a sign that said, “My name is Rachel Grimm and this is my getaway. If you have any demons, I will get rid of them if you sit down for tea in my void room!” I remember telling her how stupid that sounded, but maybe this is what the doctor meant by the hallucinations being based on real events. By then I was definitely spooked. So I decided I will forever sleep in the window seat…well at least until I figured this out. 

When I woke up the next morning I decided to take my sister to the abandoned house and see what’s going on.

 On the walk through the woods to find the house I asked who Rachel Grimm was. “She is my master. She created my Grimm Getaway. She commands the Demons…” My 2 year old sister is starting to seriously scare me. Her master? Seriously? 2 months to go and she will still only be 3!

 I asked her what her Grimm Getaway was and all she said was, “Your microscopic brain can’t even begin to imagine the wonderful things it contains, so let me make this easy for you. It is a big black luxurious abode in the deep dark void. All I need to get in is some of my blood, but for someone as pathetically normal as you, we will need blood from the neck!” AND I THOUGHT I WAS CONCERNED BEFORE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY SISTER!? The house was farther than I thought, and my phone battery was decreasing rapidly, not that I had service out there anyway.

And for some reason it smelled like rotting tangerines. 

After about twenty more minutes, we found the house.

It was old and definitely abandoned. It was kind of grayish purple, and there were so many splotches of peeled paint on the house it almost looked like polka dots. 

I tried to find the sign but instead I found an address,  

143 Raven Road

U.S  Massachusetts 

6663

“Do you think this is the new address of the person who lived here?” I asked my sister. 

“Yes.” 

Now I just have to find this address…Good thing I live in Massachusetts!

When I got home, I immediately asked my mom where Raven road is, “Oh! I can take you there, but first I need to know why.”  

“Umm…on our walk I saw a package that was addressed to ‘143 Raven Road’. And Amy wants to come too. She said her friend lives on Raven Road, and she wants to visit,” I lied. My mom agreed and said she would take us, but she had a dentist appointment, so I would have to take us home. 

My sister and I got out of the car the next day to knock on the door of the person who may or may not have corrupted my sister. This new house didn’t look much better than the old one, but instead of purplish gray paint it was bright green paint with what looked like pitch black paint underneath where the green was peeling. It smelled like artificial bananas and was sickeningly sweet.  

I went up to the house and rapped on the door 3 times. 

Chapter 4

The wood was old and frayed. I made a mental note to check for splinters later. I heard a grunt coming from inside the house, and the part of my brain that associates old, decrepit houses with ugly, old, witch- looking ladies was very surprised when I saw an eye so beautifully hazel it almost looked golden peeking through the peephole. 

“Oh, she is one of my little victims down there. She is the youngest victim, and the only one still alive…Well come in, come in.” The woman said walking towards a table showing off her gorgeous auburn ringlets. She looked kind of old school with her red corseted gown. It did look like she hadn’t changed or showered or anything hygienic in the past 50 years (and smelled like it too), but somehow she was still breathtakingly beautiful. Her house was as cluttered as the littered streets on the way here.

 I decided I should just jump right in. 

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?” I screamed. 

“Awwww. Is that the only reason you visited? Why don’t you sit down for tea?” the woman said. 

Her face started twisting and stretching in ways that couldn’t be normal. Her beautiful eyes slowly melted into her face and left behind empty sockets. Her skin slowly started turning purple and melting into a contorted body. The only thing that stayed the same was her hair. Even her dress was melting. The only thing left of her after another minute of horrifying melting was her corset, her mouth, and her hair. Her mouth was dripping with blood and when she opened it her tongue was wrapped around an ax that was slowly coming out of her mouth. Her tongue was very long. The ax was a very large ax and her tongue was wrapped all the way around it. Her corset wasn’t naturally red. It was bloodstained and slowly melting away with her hand. Her hair was the only thing left normal. The tips were drenched in blood and with auburn the hair, it looked a lot like fire.  Her mouth still had an ax in it, but somehow still had great control. 

She went over to my sister and her hair went on top of my sisters like a perfectly fitted wig. My sister started mouthing words I couldn’t understand, so fast I couldn’t even try to lipread them. My sister went into the other room. When I followed her in, I saw at least 53 mannequins. My sister went over and cut the head off one of the mannequins. Then the woman (or what was left of her at least) went over to the freshly decapitated mannequin and placed herself over the nonexistent head and immediately the mannequin started to transform into the same woman that answered the door. Only, her dress was white. There was blood coming from her mouth, even with the ax gone, and it was staining the dress and making it the same blood red color as her dress was before. Soon the whole dress was transformed to blood red. 

Chapter 5

“Everytime I do this to one of my victims, it knocks them out for a few hours. Now she won’t hear what she is a victim of!” the creepy lady said. I guess I should be calling her Rachel. I mean it is her name.

 “So…your name is Rachel?” 

“Yes,” Rachel said. 

“Rachel, what is going on with my sister?” I asked.

“Ugh I guess this is the part where you pretend to be a hero and I have to give up my master plan because I think I can kill you so you won’t ruin it, then you ruin my plan and get everyone away safely. So the authorities can deal with me?” Rachel asked, sounding almost as bored as she looked. 

I nodded hoping I would get the easy win. I always hated the stupid heroes in the story who risk their lives for other people. Yeah, I’m not cut out for that kind of thing. “Yes, very well then. It was a dark and stormy night-.” 

“I don’t need your backstory, just tell me what you did to my sister!” 

“Fine jeez I thought that was how this works. I tell you the whole long story, you get caught in one sentence, and then you figure out how to thwart me!” I rolled my eyes.

“Basically I’m possessing a bunch of kids to kill as many people as possible. Your sister here is the youngest, and she is failing her job. She only killed one person, and he wasn’t even on the list. Oh, and if you’re wondering why she’s so bright for her age, I only choose kids like that because they can be more scary whilst holding a knife. So there you have it! I’m gonna let your sister go anyway because I was already planning to, but just so you know I don’t have a reason for killing everyone. Yes I knew you were going to ask that. I just want to-.” 

OK, THIS LADY IS MESSED UP! I should just grab my sister and run shouldn’t I? Or do I kill this lady? Or do I get the authorities the address so they can kill this lady? Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll get the authorities.

So…yeah I grabbed my sister, and I ran for my life!

But then I was lost, so I called my mom. She was at a restaurant, and I was a bit concerned she might be cheating on my dad. But I was gonna figure that out later. (A story for another time.) My mom said she would ask my dad to come get us. (When I asked who she was with, she just said it wasn’t my business.) When she hung up, my brain seemed to catch up with the situation and decided that that creepy lady could be following me. So I ran, and ran, and ran. 

And then I realized that my dad didn’t know where I was. So I called him, with the little battery I had left and told him where we were. I sat down to see if I could wake up my sister. I remembered I had a backpack with me, I brought two water bottles and a flashlight just in case, (But not a map? How dumb am I?) I poured some water on a random pack of tissues on the road. Yes I know it’s unsanitary, but that was a dire situation. I slapped my sister to see if that would wake her up, it didn’t but to be perfectly honest . . . she deserved a slap in the face. Although . . . she didn’t do it on purpose. I rubbed the wet tissue over her face to try and wake her up. It worked! 

“Hey, Lihn . . . Wh-wh-what happened. Are you okay?” She sounded so innocent I just had to know, “Do you remember a creepy lady named Rachel Grimm?” I asked. 

“No. Why?” Amy asked.

 “No reason!” I replied, trying to make the most genuine smile possible. I decided I wasn’t going to question why or how she forgot everything. I was just happy to have my sister back!

Epilogue

My dad picked us up and drove us home after that. When we got home Amy started talking around my parents. She has never done anything creepy since that day. I have never had to sleep in the window seat ever again (except when the neighbors are shooting fireworks). 

So, remember when I said my mom might be cheating on my dad? Well, she was. My parents got divorced. My dad is dating a woman named Emily, and my mom got married to the same guy she was in the restaurant with that day. His name is David. 

My sister is in 2nd grade, and I am in high school. Yes, I do still sleep with my stuffed giraffe, Wynn, and now he has a bucket hat AND a Hawaiian shirt, thanks to my sister.

I also now have a half-brother on my mom’s side named Dexter, and I still haven’t met him because my mom moved to California! I saw him when I was Facetime with my mom but never in person. I am going to meet him next month. I can’t wait! I am going to visit my aunt as well (she also lives in california). I can’t wait to see everyone! I never told Amy about her being possessed because I don’t want to bring it back. 

I watch Amy’s brown hair glint in the golden sun as she goes to greet her friends. 

“Dad! You Invited Charlotte AND Elizabeth!! They are so loud!!!” 

“Lihn, that’s no way to talk about your sister’s friends!” 

“Whatever.” 

So, as you can see, things are pretty normal. At least for our family. 

Sometimes even after all these years I still wonder how the world can be so peaceful, and yet, life is so scary…

Chapter 5, The Vanishing City

The reporters tried to swim but it was like their feet were bolted to the floor. Minutes later the city came back up with nothing on it. Not even the dead bodies. All the buildings and statues appeared exactly the same. I stepped on it and the dead bodies appeared for only me to see. 

“Do you see that?” I asked Carrot. 

“See what?” He said. 

“The dead bodies. They’re there again,” I said. 

“No, they’re not,” Carrot said, frustrated. 

I took one more step. “Now they’re back,” he said. 

I started to walk in the city, hoping I would not end up like the reporters. I didn’t. Soon the statue came to life. It told us that we were the chosen ones that were meant to save Atlantis from the spirits of the people who had died there. So Carrot and Topher geared up so they could touch the ghosts and defeat them. The first ghost they found was Topher’s mom. Topher started to cry. Then Topher hugged his mom and she became a dog again. 

Then the statue came over and said: “I forgot to tell you that if you hug your loved ones, they come to life again.” 

“Little late,” I said.

A Sliver of a Play

Scene 1

Characters: AMALAE (Amalie): twelfth grader, very protective of work, NESSET (Nes-set): clingy little sister, second grade

AMALAE is at her computer in the middle of the room. There is a bunk bed in the corner, suggesting that this is a bedroom.

NESSET runs in.

NESSET

Amalae, Amalae, what are you doing?

AMALAE looks up.

AMALAE

Go away, Nesset, I’m applying to college.

AMALAE continues doing her work.

NESSET

But, sis, you never play with me!

AMALAE stands up with a sigh.

AMALAE

Fine, but just this once.

NESSET accidentally sees her sister’s computer tab and gasps.

AMALAE

What is it?

NESSET

I left something in my bed. You can go ahead.

This is a lie. As soon as AMALAE leaves, NESSET checks the computer. She creeps to the desk. Suddenly interested in being a spy, she does some pretty bad rolls and gets to the most recent tab. She looks at it with wonder.

NESSET

Why would Amalae be applying to an acting school if she wants to become an artist? 

Scene 2

New character: BECEREA (Bec-a-re-a): a mom who hates actors and loves those who study or do anything other than the arts

They are in a room with a lot of toys, a couch, and a TV.

AMALAE

So what do you want to do? 

NESSET

Um, um, um.

BECEREA comes storming in after seeing that the bedroom is empty.

BECEREA

You should be studying, Amalae.

AMALAE

Um, um, um.

NESSET looks like she wants to pee her pants or like she is keeping in something important.

NESSET

Amalae wants to be an actor!

BECEREA looks at her.

BECEREA

What is she talking about, Amalae?

BECEREA looks at AMALAE to see that she has disappeared. The front door is open.

BECEREA

Nesset, how dare you put ideas in her head.

BECEREA storms out the front door in pursuit of AMALAE.

NESSET

But I didn – 

(sighs)

If I were Amalae, I would run away, too.

She follows her mom out.

NESSET

I wish that I had kept my mouth shut. Then maybe we would be able to play.

Scene 3

Warning: cliffhanger

BECEREA walks through the streets, looking for AMALAE.

BECEREA

Where did that traitor go?

BECEREA passes the alley that AMALAE is hiding in. NESSET, who is following BECEREA, sees AMALAE writing in a notebook. She runs away.

NESSET

I don’t need to betray her even more.

AMALAE looks around, making sure she is not being watched. She starts doing something nobody has ever heard her do. She starts to sing (but waits for BECEREA and NESSET to talk. She instead hums).

BECEREA stops a few meters ahead.

BECEREA

Do you hear that?

NESSET, knowing who it is, is scared, and is obviously hiding something. She turns to the audience.

NESSET

Now she starts singing – just when I decide to protect her?

She turns back to her mother.

NESSET

I’ll go check.

Who Knows How Long

All my life I’ve been searching

Searching for me (long)

For who I’m supposed to be (long)

For me (statement)

But who knows how long it’ll be

’Til I’m away from my chores

From my history (long)

And I know

There’s a place out there 

My secret lair

Where I can uncover the layer

That keeps coming to haunt me (long)

Cause I’m tired of all the history books (this is where it starts getting exciting)

The tests

The nooks that I can’t find

I wish for a chance to be alone

A chance to hold my own

A chance that’s all I need (long, slows down)

All I need, cause then I’ll be free (long)

But who knows how long that’ll take

Who know if before that, I’ll break

From the pressure

From the control

So I’m breaking out 

They’ll shut their mouths

Once they see what I can do

Then I’ll be something different to you (long)

BECEREA

Nesset!

AMALAE turns and sees NESSET run away.

AMALAE

Uh-oh.

An actor steps into the alley a second after NESSET would have seen movement. The character is introduced later as MRS. LILLAETTE, the professor of music at the Academy of Foundational Arts, which is the academy that AMALAE wants to go to.

MYSTERY PERSON

Have you ever considered being an actor?

Scene 4

New character: KAYLEEN: best friend, wants to become a dancer, funny

They are in a dorm at the academy.

KAYLEEN

Hi – you’re my new roomie, right?

AMALAE

I guess so?

MRS. LILLAETTE 

Great, you two are settled in. Amalae, this is Kayleen’s first day, too. The play is in three weeks, and auditions are in two days. Kayleen, the dancers choose their song tomorrow, but the official auditions are on the same day as the play auditions. Bye.

KAYLEEN

Isn’t this great? When I ran away from home, hoping to find an academy to train at, I didn’t think I’d get the best one ever!

AMALAE

Wait, you ran away from home? I did that, too!

KAYLEEN

What a coincidence. Anyway, what are you auditioning for?

AMALAE

I don’t even know what the play is!

MR. LOFT

It’s Beauty and the Beast.

They turn to find two people at the door.

KAYLEEN

Who are you?

MS. ROKISAS

He’s the director of theater.

MR. LOFT

And she’s the director of dance.

AMALAE

And why are you here?

MS. ROKISAS 

I wanted to give you the dance we are learning for our performance, Kayleen.

MR. LOFT

And I wanted to give you the lyrics. All the wannabe-Belles will be singing, Amalae.

AMALAE AND KAYLEEN

Thanks?

MR. LOFT AND MS. ROKISAS

You’re welcome.

The teachers leave. The girls turn towards the door across from the beds.

AMALAE

I’m guessing that’s the closet?

KAYLEEN

I waited to explore until you got here.

They open it and walk in. Inside is a bathroom with two stalls and two sinks, and when they open the stalls, there’s a shower and a toilet in each.

KAYLEEN

Cool – we get our own bathroom!

AMALAE finds doors on opposite sides of the bathroom.

AMALAE

Yeah, now these doors must lead to closets, right?

KAYLEEN

One way to find out.

Together, they open the doors.

AMALAE

Oh, wow, there’s a stage and a monitor reading my lines in case I forget.

KAYLEEN

And I have a dance area with mirrors for walls, footsteps on the floor that match my dance steps, even a bar for ballet.

TOGETHER

Let’s start practicing.

KAYLEEN falls into yet another room.

KAYLEEN

Oh, there’s the closet.

Scene 5

In the house, living room. NESSET has an apple. BECEREA is pacing in anger.

BECEREA

The nerve of that… that… that… fool.

NESSET

I know, right? 

(laughs nervously)

BECEREA

She is a disgrace.

NESSET

I know right? 

(stops eating) 

Mom, why do you hate actors?

BECEREA 

(snaps)

Because they killed my grandmother.

NESSET spits out apple chunks.

NESSET

WHAT? Are you sure of that?

BECEREA

Wellll, I never found any real proof, but.

NESSET

What happened?

BECEREA

You want the whole story? Fine. It started when I was a baby.

NESSET

You remember when you were a baby?

BECEREA

Yes, shush. I had just turned one when my mother showed me a picture of her grandmother. She had started the line of actresses, she said. My mother then told me that I would be an actress when I grew up. I was excited. I begged my mother to show me the oldest actor of our alive family – I begged for years. When I was seven, she finally agreed. She took me to Broadway to see my grandma’s latest achievement. I was so excited – I watched the first act of Beauty and the Beast with amazement. Then something horrible happened. Lumiere’s candles set the place on fire. The people watching ran out, screaming. The actors tried to put it out, but in the end, they had to evacuate. But not fast enough – my grandmother was trying to stop it harder than anyone – she had gotten the role of Belle! She wouldn’t stop – they had to drag her, but. Her dress was already burning – it was too late. 

A picture of her while this happens has been playing the whole time.

NESSET’s apple drops to the ground. 

NESSET

Mommy, that’s intense. 

BECEREA

Indeed, now, come on. I think I know where the misfit has gone.

At auditions.

AMALAE

I’m so nervous – what if I don’t get the song right?

KAYLEEN

I’m nervous, too – what if my feet don’t like modern music?

TEACHERS

Girls? It’s time.

Starts dancing (ask director for how).

KAYLEEN is in other room.

Starts.

MS. LILAETTE

And for the leading role of Belle: AMALAE! And for the honor of being up front with the dancers: KAYLEEN!

GIRLS

OMG!

(squeal)

They are bouncing off the walls in joy.

MS. LILAETTE

Good job, girls.

Back to BECEREA and NESSET.

BECEREA

I think they are at the Academy of Foundational Arts. 

Zooms in on outside of school.

Scene 6

KAYLEEN

Wake up, sleepyhead – you said we should do one more run-through before the play starts!

AMALAE

It’s morning already?!

KAYLEEN 

(slowly)

Yes, that’s how sleeping works – time goes faster.

AMALAE

Wait, last night was… IT’S THE DAY OF THE PLAY!

KAYLEEN

We have one hour – are you going to be dumb and just stand there, or are we running through my routine and your lines? I do not want to go to breakfast without a refresher!

AMALAE

Okay, okay, let’s go to the dance room. 

In her dance room.

KAYLEEN

Okay, so it goes one, two, to the left, to the right, cartwheel, fade into the crowd, step on the platform. And shoot into the sky. Then I jump off at thirty feet and survive. I go backstage while everyone else does the rest of the song and come back for the finale. We all start singing at two. 

She actually does this to music.

AMALAE is in her theater room.

AMALAE 

I’m sorry, Gaston, but I… I… I… I just don’t deserve you.

Bell that signals places rings.

BECEREA storms into the main office with NESSET trailing behind. PRINCIPAL HANAYES is waiting for them.

PRINCIPAL

Hello, Becerea Temtilask. I knew you were coming. I understand you have a daughter registered and want to take her home.

BECEREA

How did you know that – are you associated with Magic?

PRINCIPAL 

(laughs)

Nooo, we have security that saw you enter the school.

NESSET

I want to be a dancer!

BECEREA

Not now – where is Amalae?

PRINCIPAL

She’s about to amaze the audience as the lead in our first production of Beauty and the Beast.

BECEREA 

I don’t care if she’s directing Tangled on Broadway – I want to know where she is!

NESSET

Mommy, look – Amalae’s on stage.

AMALAE is being shown her new room. BECEREA and NESSET go to stop her but become transfixed by the show. They watch the whole thing. 

NESSET

Woah, Momma, that was awesome. 

She notices BECEREA is getting pulled to the next room with everyone else.

NESSET

Momma?

They watch KAYLEEN.

NESSET sees AMALAE and slips away from BECEREA without her noticing.

AMALAE

Nesset! Wait, if you’re here, that means… I have to run.

NESSET

I saw you on stage, and although I only saw a part of a play, I’ve realized something.

AMALAE

What is it?

NESSET

When I grow up, I want to put on a sliver of a play, too.

BECEREA

Nesset, we are going home… Amalae is not worth our ti… Nesset? 

She walks away grumbling about traitors and daughters and actors.

NESSET

Where am I going to stay now?!

AMALAE

You can stay with me.

Poems

The Table And The Chair

“Table and chair,” said the Dishes in the washer,

“Do you ever get dirty, or squeaky, or noisy,” say the Dishes to The Table and The Chair.

“Well as a duty being a Table you have to be sturdy, and dirty,” said the Table to the Dishes.

“Oh well as a duty being chair you have to stay comfy, but sometimes dirty, or you have to deal with farts,” said the Chair to the Dishes.

“Wow, wow, wow. I am the Dishes, yet nothing compared to The Table And The Chair.”

Connection

A family loves, loses, and cares. But we have a connection, that is like a flower, the soil grows a seed that has a strong stem supporting the bloom of the flowers. Take a peek inside, see the pollen ready to help, while a bee comes, takes the pollen to another and another plant, to help it grow. 

Father is the stem, who gives us courage,

While Mother’s petals bloom and give us protection,

Giving the baby life, making it turn into something superb!!

The Wind And The Trees / A True Haiku.

The wind blows the trees,

While they shake to the wind’s beat,

The leaves fall away.

World And You 

Roses may be blue, while the sky stays a brilliant shade of gray.

You see the world the same as me, but just maybe, just maybe we can see the world we share in a different point of view.

So that we can be one.

Roses turn red, while we grow. While the sky is blue and the sun shines. We see stuff differently and we will remember that mistakes we make are accomplishments.

One day something may die. As we ponder about how they think but mostly live. Someday something will die, but we will become brand new.

Roses break down into ash, while the sky turns gray, and clouds fill up then… Oh just oh I see the moon.

Rose will die, sky clouded up, grass cut down.

         But one thing which will stay as a piece is

                            My heart for you. 

Braid

Braids rule, and so do you, if you want some style and some fancy like you!!

Rad, drag, royal crown, maybe prince or princess crown!

A delicate crown made for you, maybe some flowers like the princess Rapunzel

I vote for “Braid-o-Matic”!!

Do you vote for it too!? Braids rule and so do you!!

Samosas

Super luscious, smooth but filling.

A beautiful blend of peas and mashed potatoes

Maybe some chutney, salsa, or podi can help too!!

Opens up warm and spicy

Super luscious, smooth but filling.

A beautiful blend of peas and mashed potatoes

Samosas rule and so do you, if you are wise buy the SAMOSAS!!

Four Seasons

Do you know the four seasons?

Well, let me tell you about them!!

Winter, the season of coldness and snow

Spring, the season of warmth and beauty

Summer, the season of hotness and activity

Fall, the season of all different color leaves

Now you know the four seasons!!

What a majestic color, Purple!

Purple, what a soothing color.

You see it makes me feel as if

Kids were laughing and playing, enjoying the sound of friendships and sportsmanship.

A juicy boost or fruits and veggies

Soft and warm on a sunny day, or rough and cold on a windy day.

Maybe a luscious cake, chocolate, and vanilla

Yum!!

Welcome, Purple

Welcome, Purple, how you make me feel as if I am a bird soaring through the skies, and how pleasant, how jovial you make me feel.

I wake up, have a good day, learn so many new things, get to share all my work, say hi, and then bye.

I woke up and the first thing which happened was purple, oh Purple, how you blind me with happiness.

Oh, I wake up, the clouds are gray, come to school late, never say hi or even bye, don’t even show all my work, and have bad dreams about how my teacher yells hollers and shouts.

But anyways what my choice is, you ask? Well, I will think of that which blinds me with happiness, got to say hi and bye, got to share my work…

Oh, what do you say, Purple, Purple, Dude you have… the golden prize, love, and the brains, and what a beautiful mind, this what I do.

I think of PURPLE!!

The Adventures of the Super Team #1

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there were four super boys, two super girls, and a wicked witch. A volcano had just erupted in the city, and the people had to be safe and had to stay in their homes. The super boys and super girls had to save the day…

All the characters have different powers. 

They all have super cool powers and they are going to battle the wicked witch. 

Well, first, the Super Team had to make a plan to capture the wicked witch. The Super Team already knew where the wicked witch was because, at the scene of the volcano, Super Team put a tracking device on the wicked witch. Right now the wicked witch was in the forest. 

So the Super Team put their powers in place and they all successfully got to the forest. Then they met up and went around the rainforest. They decided to split up and then meet when one of them found her. But each of them saw the wicked witch in different places, but at different times, so they ended up seeing each other and cornering the wicked witch. But the wicked witch did not know they were there, so they spied on her from three sides then they all leaped and captured her. 

First, they tied her up. Then they put her in a locked cage. Finally, they took her to jail and locked her up in a jail cell. That was one job done for the Super Team for the day. 

Then the Super Team went home and enjoyed the afternoon with some hot cocoa and pizza. The Super Team played a board game together, and then, since they were all tired, they went to bed early. They had very sweet dreams also. Also, they were ready for tomorrow’s patrol around the city… 

The Super Team is a team where they work together and save the day even when the bad guy is tough. Here are the names of the Super Team from oldest to youngest: the first one said that their name was Invisible Kid, The second one said their name was Teleport Kid, the third name was Freeze Kid. the fourth kid’s name was Flying Kid, the fifth kid’s name was Animal Kid, and the sixth kid’s name was Unicorn Kid. 

Chapter 2 

There was a house and living in that house was a queen of witches and two thousand ghosts. In the house next to it, there was a Super Team. Every day, one house battled the other house. But in the end, no one won. The house with two thousand ghosts and the queen of witches was a very old house. The house that the Super Team lived in was a very nice house to live in.

One day, they battled for eight days, and after that eight days they were so tired, so they went back to their house. The next day, the queen of witches said, “How about we be friends and never fight ever again?” The queen said that because she did not really like fighting. 

Then another person moved into the house next to the Super Team house and two houses away from two thousand ghosts and the queen of witches. And twenty days later, they found out that the person that moved in was a bad guy. They found out by seeing all of his trinkets that were bad things. Only bad guys use that stuff.

The next day, they knocked on the door of the person that moved in and they were ready to battle with all their magic. He opened the door and was not ready and got poisoned and had to stay in bed for one year. He said, “I’ll get you next time!”

Well, the Super Team and Whist (which was the ghosts and the witches’ team name) decided that they needed to become friends and have another friend. So in two months, they made a magical potion to heal the bad guy who lived right next to them. Then when the potion was ready, they knocked on the bad guy’s house. When he opened the door he was surprised by what he saw. 

Super Team said, “We want to be friends with you so we brought you a potion. It can undo your wound. We also need help sometimes and sometimes we could help you.”

The bad guy had a huge smile and was grinning from ear to ear. He said, “I would love to be a helper for all of you, and thank you. Also, my name is Thomas and I am a wizard.” Thomas drank the potion and was great again.

From that day on, when the Super Team called for help, Thomas the wizard came to help them. The super team almost every day had a bad guy come, but not once did the super team fail. They always captured the bad guy.

Sometimes, if the bad guy is really bad, the Super Team has to take them to jail.

But the Super Team usually doesn’t do that because they teach the bad guy how to be good and nice. They also don’t like being mean and putting people in jail.

Chapter 3

There was a house and 2,007 people living in the house. All of them were good guys. Six of the 2,007 people were on a team. As you know, their team was called Super Team. They were brave and always saved the day (as you guys know). There were also 2,000 ghosts, and the one other person was the queen of witches. She was a bad guy before, but now she was a good guy. 

“We will betray the Super Team,” said the queen of witches. “We will battle them!” 

“Okay!” said the ghosts.

The plan Whist (Queen of witches and ghosts) made was this: in the morning, when the Super Team woke up for breakfast, they would secretly cover all four sides of the room. Then they would pop out and fight and the Super Team wouldn’t even have their powers. Whist predicted after that, they would win and take Super Team to prison…

A day later, when the Super Team woke up, they did their normal routine. They woke up, brushed their teeth, and changed. Then they went to have breakfast. They walked in normally with no sound in the kitchen. When each of them was getting their breakfast, one of the ghosts made an ooh sound. That’s when all six of them stopped and started looking. The queen of witches told that ghost “shh,” but she said it very quietly. 

After breakfast when all six Super Team kids were going to get changed in their clothes, none of them could get out because the ghosts were blocking them. But the Super Team couldn’t see the ghosts. 

Then out of nowhere, the queen of witches came out and scared all six of them. She said, “Booooo Super Team!!!” 

All the ghosts came out of nowhere and attacked the Super Team, and forced them into a corner. 

The Super Team had to think fast. So they ducked the ghosts, went to their room, got their powers, and fought Whist. The Super Team went to all on different sides of the room. They ducked and slid and could not lose this big battle. To make sure none of the stuff in the house got damaged, the Super Team took Whist outside to fight. The Super Team always had emergency powers if needed, and they needed to use them now.

The emergency powers are the same as the normal powers the Super Team has but they have more power, so when they used the emergency powers it powered Whist very very very far away. They blew away. It powered them so hard that they were in New Jersey and went all the way to Canada. After that, the Super Team was so tired that they went back home and took a long nap.

Chapter 4

Once there was a house where there was a mom, dad, and boy. The boy’s name was Thomas. It was three o’clock in the afternoon and the boy wanted to get a toy but his mom and dad said, “No!” 

So the boy said to his mom and dad, “Can I play a game with you?” 

His parents said, “We’re busy,” so the boy broke their trash can and the chairs. He was mad and grounded for one week. He did not go to school that week. In the room that the boy was in, there was a shelf of food, so his mom and dad did not have to make the food every day.

He finally got out of being grounded. The boy was so sad and even more angry. But he was happy that he got to play with his friends again. His friends were finally happy to play with Thomas.

“Ring, ring, ring,” went the alarm clock the Super Team had. It woke the Super Team. The Super Team woke up with excitement because they were ready to start the day. The evil wizard was only one hour away from the Super Team’s house. The evil wizard was going to attack the Super Team. At one o’clock in the morning, he put a trap in the Super Team’s house. A booby trap that only one spell could work to undo. You could only find the spell in the Amazon Forest.

The Super Team woke up and saw that they were locked in their house. They knew that there was only one spell that would undo the trap. But the evil wizard didn’t realize the Super Team’s powers. The spells are magical spells so you need magic. Then, the Teleport Kid tried to teleport out of the house. It didn’t work and he just hit the wall with a boom! And he hurt his arm. He said, “Ouch!” 

***

They had to find the medical kit to fix his arm with a BandAid and then he’ll get much better. Animal Kid said, ”I am going to make sure Teleport Kid is okay.”

Freeze Kid said, “Oh my god! I want to see who’s out there!”

Flying Kid said, “I want to fly out the roof!” 

Unicorn Kid said, “I’m gonna push this thing!” 

Teleport Kid said, “I’m a little bit okay, but not all better.” 

There he was, the bad wizard, out the door. The wizard was laughing, “Hahahaaa.” 

Unicorn Kid hit the house with all her might and the house broke and then hit the wizard. The wizard tried to fight the Super Team. Freeze Kid froze the wizard. Flying Kid flew around the wizard. Then Invisible Kid pushed the wizard and the wizard fell.

***

But then the wizard said, “I’m still good.” Then Thomas came out of nowhere and did his karate to the wizard. Then the Super Team thanked Thomas and gave him a medal for helping them. 

Chapter 5

The Super Team cast a spell on the evil wizard so he would be dizzy. So when the evil wizard went to the streets, he would bump into people, so when the evil wizard went to the streets he bumped into people and he got bumped back because they didn’t like getting bumped. 

One person that was walking by got bumped by the evil wizard. The evil wizard was covered in lemonade because he kept bumping into people. The person said, “You need to have better manners!” 

“It’s not my fault! It’s your fault!”

“What did I do?” the other person said. 

“You pushed me,” said the evil wizard.

“No, you pushed me first,” said the other person. Then all the people there made faces at the evil wizard.

The evil wizard stayed there for 20 days. He was still alive because he was a wizard, but Invisible Kid was spying on the evil wizard so he did no funny business. 

After that, he saw a sign. It said: “find a treasure chest and you will get your own secret lair.” Invisible Kid wanted to get that lair for his team so he started looking for it.

Invisible Kid was going back to his home. He was looking and looking and looking for the chest. He couldn’t find it. He was so busy looking that he got lost. He knew the chest was in the sand. He knew that because the sign told him. 

***

A little while later…

The man in front saw the pretend money and ran after the evil wizard as fast as he could run, but the evil wizard ran faster.

Invisible Kid was still looking and looking, but in the forest, he wasn’t giving up even if he was lost. He kept looking and finally bumped into a tree. But he got up and then he saw sand, so he decided to dig. He couldn’t find anything. He dug for at least three days and he was determined he was going to use all his might. He was very, very, very hungry though. He finally found it on the fifth day he was digging. He found it. He knew he would find it. He opened it and it pushed him back three miles! 

“Aaaaahhhhh! Where am I?” said Invisible Kid slowly. He saw close by there were a lot of maps across the street. Invisible Kid ran and got a map and saw he was by a beach. He luckily had his bathing suit. Invisible Kid swam all the way to the end of the ocean because that is where the treasure chest could be. It took him two minutes to swim to the other side of the ocean. He knew it was on this beach but still could not find the treasure chest. 

Invisible Kid saw a potion in the water. It was really big and the can was purple. The potion said, “There is a chest inside this potion.” But another person swam and took the potion. So Invisible Kid went invisible and swam as fast as he could to get the potion. But the other guy was too fast! 

So Invisible Kid went to a store and got his favorite food. His favorite food was pizza and so he ate a whole pie of pizza in one bite and he was ready to run as fast as he could. ‘Cause with pizza, he can run super fast. 

So he ran and took the potion ‘cause he was super fast. He saw that that person was the evil wizard. But the evil wizard was too slow to catch Invisible Kid. Then Invisible Kid looked in the potion and saw the chest. It was mesmerizing. He took the chest and evil wizard and went home. The Super Team put a spell on the evil wizard so he would always be good.

***

One month later…

The evil witch was spying on the Super Team. she had the power to freeze. The evil witch has a magic stick and when she points it at somebody for five seconds the other person will freeze. The evil witch grew up to be evil. All her family were evil. The evil witch lived in the town. She grew up in the town. She was mean so nobody wanted to be her friend. So she wanted to be a bad guy…

“And yes, I will be a bad guy,” the evil witch said when she was five. The evil witch was a real bad guy… after that moment, the evil witch was EVIL! That was the time she became evil! 

Then, to be evil, she started pushing and shoving the children, but the teachers were too scared to talk to the evil witch. The teachers told the police and they came right away. When the five year old evil witch saw the police she was really ready to run. She was a really fast runner. So she ran as fast as she could when the police tried to catch her they wouldn’t. She was just running farther from the police. She was on her own, and then found a stick. She kept it if a police would come then. The stick had magic powers and the powers went into her body. Then she put her hand on a tree and the tree was frozen. Then she knew her power was that she could freeze. She knew her power was amazing.

***

After the Super Team made the evil wizard good they returned the chest, but they didn’t take the lair. They didn’t take it because there was someone else who really really badly wanted it, so they wanted to be nice. 

A day later, the Super Team was reading the news and they heard an evil witch robbed a bank. The Super Team wanted to research to find out more about the evil witch. They found out the evil witch liked collecting chests, so they wanted to take all of them so she didn’t rule the world. They split up to get all the chests. They would communicate by talking through their walkie-talkies.

Then when all of them were finding the chests, they saw there was one more chest, so they decided to let Invisible Kid do it. Invisible Kid had been searching and searching and finally found the chest. Unfortunately, the evil witch found the chest at the same time as Invisible Kid did, so then they had to fight for it. 

First Invisible Kid turned invisible and stepped closer and closer to the chest. Since the evil witch didn’t know where Invisible Kid was, she just protected herself and the chest. But out of nowhere, Invisible Kid snatched the chest and ran as fast as he could. When the evil witch tried to chase him, out of nowhere, Teleport Kid came, got Invisible Kid, and brought them both home. After they were both home, Super Team went back and fought the evil witch. Since the evil witch was outnumbered, she lost.

***

After that, the super team turned the evil witch good. They also decided to return the chests since the evil witch and wizard were good now.

THE END.

The Elf Story

Once upon a time, there lived an elf. His name was Elfy. He was a good elf and was helpful. One day, Elfy remembered when he was sick and thought about when he was in the elf  hospital. So, today, Elfy wanted to see the hospital because it helped him heal. 

Elfy had wings so he flew there; it was only a five-minute flight. When he got there, he was confused because it looked like a big, abandoned building. Elfy thought it was the wrong place, but on the side of the building, there was a ripped and torn sign that said, Elf Hospital. Elfy was really sad the hospital was abandoned. But, to cheer himself up, he decided to look through the things there and see if there were any cool memories.

When Elfy started looking, there was a little crackling sound: crackle crackle. But Elfy was brave and kept looking for memories. Then, all of a sudden, the electricity went out, and it was pitch black. 

Elfy took the memories he could and went back home. When Elfy was home, he looked through the memories and thought about the hospital. 

THE END.

A Man of Dreams

I am a man

Just a simple man

With microscopic dreams

Smaller than they seem

I don’t look up too much

Don’t really beam

But like those stars

You wish upon at night

My microscopic dreams

Are wishes as much as they are bright

I’m out of sight

Most of the day

Hiding indoors

From November to May

Night and day

Day and night

But when I sleep

I dream of dreams

More you can wish for

More than it seems

I am a man

Just the simple kind

But I have dreams

Bold and lined

Hopefully you too

Can dream a dream

Better than

How it might seem

I give you this knowledge

To dream a dream

To be yourself

And be redeemed

A rival nor foe

You dream a dream

Better than

It could seem

Mr. Poodle and the Stray Cat, Starburst

One day, there lived a poodle named Mr. Poodle. Mr. Poodle had no friends, making the only stray or soon-to-be pet, a lost but kind cat, his only option. Mr. Poodle was a 13-year-old, living pup with his own family, made up of Mrs. Poodle and his three children, Marcy, Darcy, and Barcy.

Mr. Poodle was a lone pup while growing up, meaning his only friend was his teacher, Mrs. Brat. Mrs. Brat was not always a brat, you know. And so every single night he would wish upon a star and say, “I always wanted a friend. Give me a friend.”

’Til day one of 2013 he had been begging for that.

Meanwhile, the other pet, or should we say stray cat, named Starburst, was also in need of a friend. Her story was that she had lost her papa, and her mom was shot and taken to the hound. Stary got her name from a piece of wrapper she found in a trashcan named Starburst.

So, on day 145, Stary was eating up used garbage in the trashcan ’cause that’s what you find in a trashcan. In another 15 minutes, Stary was vomiting in the trash!!

Mr. Poodle was walking down the street when he saw Stary on his property.

He barked, “Get off! My owner may send you to the hound!!”

She did what she was told.

The next day, she came to the trash can (where she had vomited), finding Mr. Poodle with the rest of his family. She thanked him and said, “Thank you for saving me. You know, I’ve been wanting to ask you something. Of course, that something is: Mr. Poodle, would you like to be my friend?”

Mr. Poodle blushed and said, “Of course,” and so they hugged each other from day 146 to the last day of life for both of them.

The Four Seasons of Poetry

Winter

It’s a beautiful winter day

Soft white snow covers the entirety of the New York streets

Children gleefully tossing the snow around

Adults trying not to get their shoes and pants wet

Cars are buried in this whiteness

Little snowflakes drift down from the sky

Kids catching the wet flakes on their tongues

Screaming with joy

Bikes whiz by

Trying not to be stopped by the blizzard of snow

Building up on the street

What a winter wonderland.

Spring

Spring

Blossoms on trees

Everything soaking up the nice rays of the gentle warm sun

Rain

Tumbles down, feeding the plants and soil

Flowers – daisies, lavenders, and more

Which are blooming after a long winter

People take nice strolls down the streets

Only sweaters on

A relief after those overcoats from winter

Temperatures go up

From freezing to hot

Animals, like hedgehogs and porcupines, wake up

From their long hibernation

Rub their eyes

Yawn

And enjoy the beginning of spring.

Summer

Summer

Eat popsicles and

Go away on vacation

… Maybe

Swimming is great in the summer

Trees’ buds bloom

Cherry blossoms shower and

A gentle breeze blows through it all

Kids are off at summer camp

Adults stroll by

Just don’t waste the summer working, grown-ups

Children laughing and playing with glee

Watching the sun give its rounds through the summer.

Fall

Last but not least

We have the fall

The summer’s over

The trees change

From green to red, orange, yellow, and brown

Some stay green

Fall, to top it all off

It gets chillier and more breezes blow 

It’s a mix of summer and winter

Perfect time to sit back and enjoy the view

The swirling leaves 

Dancing while tumbling toward the direction of the ground 

Hurricanes of colors

Trying to say

“Summer’s over, let’s welcome winter.”

And then the four seasons of poetry 

Begin all over again.

To top it all off

You’ve seen the four seasons of poetry

Summer, winter, fall, spring

You’ve seen it all

But one more thing 

To top it all off – 

Everyone has a favorite season and 

That’s ok

But that’s no reason to

Say “I hate summer!” “Fall is boring.” “Winter’s too cold!” “Spring has too many breezes.”

Like every season for its own unique styles

Winter’s snow

Summer’s heat

Spring’s blossoms

Fall’s leaves

And like poetry too

It’s like a story

Split into many lines

Without much punctuation

It’s easy to write

When you think of something to say

It can be short, long, or in the middle

It can be about anything in the world

One sentence can be forty hundred lines in poetry

You can express yourself however you want

And that 

Tops it all off

Spring

March sunshine has come

And you know spring has begun

Birds are chirping

Flowers are blooming

Kids are playing outside

Coats are thrown in the closet

And shorts and T-shirts arrive

April rain has come

And you know spring is here

Softball season has started

Batting

Running  

Throwing 

Catching

And rainbows have appeared

May humidity has come

And you know spring is coming to an end

The rain has slowed

Because summer is near

Jumping in pools

Playing in sprinklers 

Tossing water balloons around

All signs that summer is near

June’s boiling temperature is here

Spring is at an end

Rainbows

Rain 

Softball

Flowers

Have come to an end

See you again next time spring

A Beautiful Season

Birds soar in the sky

Gliding along

I see two chickadees

Singing a beautiful song

I see a blue jay too

Feeding its babies

So many wonderful birds

Common but unique

Flowers sway in the warm breeze

Dancing gently with ease

Roses a shade of deep red

Bright pink, and cream colored

Daffodils bright yellow and white

Tulips pale pink and blood red

Pansies all different colors

Cosmos pink, orange and white

Rain falls

Soaking the land

Allowing the plants to grow

Raindrops fall from the clouds

Oh, look! It has ceased!

And the sunlight breaks through

And look, now there’s a rainbow too

Today we are very lucky

A flash of brown and white

Comes to stop in the grass

Nuzzling a patch of clovers

Sniffing the air cautiously

Then she races through the grass to the burrow

Anxious to reach her babies

She stops there and drops the food

And they start to eat the plants

Welcome Green

This pale feeling welcomes me, 

Somehow comforting, yet tiring. 

The way it makes me frown and smile

Gives me a way to learn and express 

Never stopping. 

If thou is not met, I shall believe what the heart tells me. 

The odd feeling can make this day brighten. 

It can make this day darken. 

For either way, it is like a house, 

Welcoming me, 

Giving me strength.

Escaping from Alcatraz

A kid should not read this book. Bad dreams. Of being stuck in Alcatraz.

In San Francisco, there was a prison called Alcatraz. It was a place for people who did something really bad. In 1948, Alcatraz was still open for prisoners. But nobody knew that there was one convict who was trying to escape from that island. He was looking for a way out of that filthy place. His plan was like this: he would trick the guard into his cell, and then he would pull the bomb out of his hand and throw it into the hallway. And that would make his cell blow up. Using the dust in the air, nobody would be able to see him. Then he would pull out the bomb from some guards. And a rifle.

“It’s lunch time, Number 3984!!” one of the guards said. 

Ah, I thought, it’s time to get out of this filthy prison. So I pretended to be dead. Anxious, the guard came to my bed. When he got closer, I got up as fast as I could and punched the guard as hard as I could. The guard fainted the instant I hit him, with no sounds. I looked at the guard to see if he had a key. During the time I tried to find the key, I really thought I was silly because Alcatraz has a door that’s electronic. So no one could escape in a stupid way. Like unlocking the door with a key. 

Desperate to get out from that prison, I threw the bomb into the hallway. The guards yelled, “What the – ” but it was too late for them to stop the bomb. After ten seconds, the cell blew up, and the hallway was filled with dust. Nobody saw me approaching the guard. And nobody saw me taking off a few more bombs and a rifle. I ran to the door of the prison and finally escaped from the prison. But it was my mistake that it might be the end of my prison escape.

Two more guards were waiting outside as a surprise. They were armed with lots of new weapons. Like machine guns and some more things. I simply said, “I will surrender.” 

They actually did believe a liar. When they tried to put on a handcuff, I punched them with my elbow in their stomachs. They threw up and just fell into the ground. Pretty easy to fight a guard. 

But the real problem to escape from there was crossing the ocean to go back to San Francisco. No one could swim through that gap in this cold weather. So the only way to escape from there was to take the boat that was heavily guarded by guards who were armed with the U.S. Army’s newest weapon.

To fight them, I picked up every single weapon from the two guards. Bombs, M16s, and M16s with mini rockets. It was really heavy with the guns all over my body, but I still had the power to carry it. After a minute, there were ordinary guards only armed with a rifle. But there were still 18 guards, so I threw the bomb with gas on it to the guards, and when all of them were coughing, I escaped.

I went up to the tower and saw 489 guards guarding the boat. So I thought, The only way to the boat is to make the other prisoners jail break and make them fight with the guards. So I went back to the filthy prison where people were locked up in the filthy prison and the guards fainted. So I pushed the button and made the door open. 

Many people went out. They went through the door by kicking the guards as payback. I followed them out, passing them weapons and things. There were 153 prisoners. Enough to fight the guards who had never had a fight. Two guards approached, and the gangster beat that guy up. They went to the shore and fought with the guards who were armed with only guns. I gave them M16s and some bombs, so the guards were no match for them. Also, some of them were people who were trained at the finest academy in the U.S and the U.K. So that made the guards fall off from the land to the shore. I already cut off almost every single thing that could connect to the outside world. So nobody could connect with the government and bring some more work like the FBI or the CIA. 

And, finally, when the deck was clear, I used the boat to escape to San Francisco. I found a lot of money in the boat. I went to the airport and bought a first class ticket that goes to Hawaii. No one will find me again.

To be continued… 

Coco and Rosie

Part 1 

Once upon a time, there were two sisters, Coco and Rosie. They lived with their mom, dad and grandma. Their dad was in charge of the house but he usually would say yes. His name was David. Grandma Mimi was eighty-seven years old. She came to New York from Africa when she was seventeen. Mimi was their mom’s mom. Mimi liked flowers and ran a flower shop called Mimi’s Flowers. Their father was a police officer. Coco loved to learn, and she loved school. She always said so, and always studied. She loved to study biology, geometry, and history. Rosie just sat in Pre-K. She cried, pooped, and ate. One day Coco was talking to Mimi. 

“Why did you bring me over here?” asked Coco.

“I need to talk to you about studying. You work too much and I think we should have a vacation. We are going on a cruise for a year. I know you’re going to miss school, but it’s going to be more fun! Your teachers sent me some homework you can do, and turn it in next year,” said Mimi.

“I’m not sure about this. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I am organizing it right now. I just wanted to tell you so that you don’t get overstressed,” said Mimi.

Coco felt nervous. She felt like no one would like her anymore because she was going to be gone for a year. But she felt okay about not studying because she did feel overworked.

Coco packed her bag and Rosie’s, but because Rosie’s was very small, she didn’t have to pack that much. On the cruise, there was a whole bunch of food, a whole bunch of games, and fun things to do. She played in the pool a little bit, and even though she really missed studying and school, she was having too much fun to think about it. She met two girls and three boys. The boys were really nice, but she was a year older than them. One of the girls had the same birthday as she did, and the other one had a similar birthday (but it wasn’t the same day). They played games together like Bingo, Marco Polo, and Limbo. After that, they all went to bed and woke up in the same room. But, for some reason, Coco wasn’t there. 

They looked all over for her, and even tried to call her. But she didn’t answer. She was flying away to go back to school. Her family had taken a small boat to the shore and gotten on a plane back home. Coco was miserable because she really liked the cruise. But they had to leave because Mimi thought that everyone would get boatsick. She had totally forgotten about it because she was too busy organizing and planning everything. When they got back from the cruise, Coco ran into her bedroom and started crying. 

But a year later, all of her friends from the cruise came to visit her. She was so happy that she was speechless. She got a letter that said that if she wanted to, she could go and join College University. Everyone was so proud of her. 

Eight years later, she was twenty-four working as a nurse, and made enough money to help charity. Coco moved to Africa and Mimi came too. Because Coco had to go to work three times a week Mimi had a caregiver. 

Three days later, Mimi fainted. Coco had to take Mimi to the hospital. They found out she had lung cancer, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. But, her whole family flew in from New York so they could check on her. 

For two months, Mimi couldn’t go anywhere except her house and all she could eat was soup and water. So the family stayed so they all could have a family trip. But they didn’t get enough tickets so they couldn’t. One person would have to fly by themselves. 

Coco took the one ticket and flew by herself. She was worried, but also happy because she was nervous about something happening to her like the plane crashing or almost hitting the water, but she was happy that she got to drink soda. 

She looked out the window and it looked beautiful. She saw the ocean, she saw birds flying. She also saw a rocket going into space. She was so amazed that she forgot all about her family. She took a whole bunch of pictures until 6 AM. She fell asleep. At last, she got to her house. She was so happy to see her family. Mimi was alright, and everyone was so happy. 

Coco went back to Florida. Instead of being a doctor, she wanted to be a nurse. So she went back to school, where she finally became a nurse, and she stayed in New York City. She got her own house, but she visited her family every single day. She still sometimes helped with the flower shop. Coco had a party to become a nurse and doctor. Her parents, friends, cousins, grandparents, sister, uncles, and aunts were there. It was a blast. 

The Suburbs

Our family had just moved to the suburbs of New Jersey. I had lived in a city my entire life. In a way, it felt wrong to live in a wooden house with anything I wanted. As our family came towards the house, I realized what had been terrifying me. The house was said to have been occupied by a family that had strangely died one night. Their bodies were said to be there, waiting to find someone and…

 “Leo!” my mom called. She was trying to unpack the luggage, yet was struggling to make progress. “Come help me unload the trunk, and carry the bags down to the basement,” she said. Suddenly, my heart froze. Basements in the city were okay to go in, but those in the suburbs seemed different. If the family that lived in this house had really died, going into the basement would be their entire plan. Instead, I got the luggage and went up to my room. The moment I put my foot on a stair, it started creaking. I slowly went up the staircase, and found my room rather quickly. It was near the attic, and was easily accessible as it was just on the right of the top of the stairs. I unpacked and went to explore the new house. I wasn’t really that much of an outside-type-of-guy. Living in the city had its pros and cons, too. Going outside was definitely a con. Yet in the suburbs, you could have the freedom to do anything you want. Even though I wanted to go on the TV and get my controller to start playing games, another part of me wanted to get as far away from this house as possible. So instead of making my parents mad, I went outside to find some new friends that could distract me from my dead bodies theory. 

This was the first time I was able to let the stress go, and I realized that it was early morning. I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and get a view of things. New Jersey definitely won the award for the place with the best scenery in which I have ever lived. There were woods all around me, which I guess is a plus for all the things I experienced that day. After coming back from my short walk, I came in to eat lunch. There weren’t any restaurants, so we had to do the best we could with the food we had. Soup wasn’t my favorite option, but to keep my mind off the dark theory, I decided to just eat it. The day passed quickly, and in what felt like three seconds, it was already time to go to bed. 

Now, I am not the type of person who wants to go to sleep with a teddy bear, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I turned the lights out and tried to go to sleep. I kept tossing and turning, not able to rest. The trees were rustling, the cold wind making me hide under my blanket. Around 1:00 AM, the door creaked open. My brain finally got put to use. My head snapped up, and my body somehow felt warmer. The entire dead body basement idea didn’t feel like a joke to me anymore. I saw a shadow of a tall woman with long hair walking toward the living room. I crept out of bed, and silently prayed she didn’t see or hear me. When I was halfway across the room, she turned around. A dark hood hid her face, yet I could see her looking straight at me.

 “AHHH!” I screamed. I ran to my parent’s room, and jumped on the bed. I got under the covers. I heard footsteps coming towards the room. Closer, closer, closer, and stop. Then, the woman pulled the hood up revealing a white bony face with gleaming white teeth. Her smile was so bright, I couldn’t see what happened. Then, darkness took over.

The Secret Power

Lowe was running for her life. She clutched the magic orb and then soared into the sky. The clones were chasing her, beating their wings as fast as they could. The rainforest must be close now. If not, I think Launta would accept me just as well as Mari…There! The humid temperature and the mist of the rainforest came into sight as well as a patrol of six dragons. But they didn’t see her. Lowe tried to shout, but heavy talons grasped her snout and her voice became a muffed shriek in surprise. You’re not getting this! She thought as the clones tried to snatch the glowing orb in Lowe’s claws. Finally, she twisted her way out – but one tough clone pounced on her and sent the orb sailing into a giant boulder. 

“No!” Lowe screamed. “Help, somebody come!” Crack!  The orb shattered on the boulder. Only cracked pieces and shards remained. 

“Who’s there?” a voice yelled. It must be one of the serpents on the patrol!  Immediately, the clones fell back and disappeared into the haze. But not all. The same tough clone took one look at the shattered pieces of the orb and quickly snatched a medium-sized piece before joining the other clones. 

“No!” Lowe shouted, but he had already gone. She carefully cleaned up the broken pieces and stuffed them into her sack. 

“Who are you, and why were those clones after you and that?” The same voice from before had come. He pointed to Lowe’s sack with one sharp wing tip.

“My name is Lowe. I come from the Sky Mountains, and I’m a secret agent working for Xunsu Feng. I’ll tell you everything that happened just now. But with Mari and everybody,” Lowe said quickly. 

“Very well, but there’s one thing I would like to know. Why would they send a serpentet?” the serpent asked confusingly.

Lowe paused.  “Because Xunsu Feng knows what he’s doing. He knows I’m skilled. He knows that I’m better at stealing things than most other professionals.”

The serpent stopped. Then nodded. “I understand. My name’s Vine. Come on, I’m taking you to Mari now.” 

***

They walked and flew together in silence. Finally, Lowe could see a giant wooden platform with a wide palace on it. It was concealed from above because there were trees and vegetation growing above the platform. Smart, Lowe thought.

 “Here,” Vine said. He guided Lowe into the wide palace made of wood. Inside were two dragons, one light blue with silver spots. The other, who was larger than most dragons, was dark blue with faint yellow stripes. Lowe realized that the bigger one had a sky blue crown, and had matching anklets that had light blue sapphires embedded in them. That’s Mari.

“Well, who’s our new visitor?” Mari said. 

“This is Lowe, your majesty. She comes from the Sky Mountains. Lowe is going to tell you her story about stumbling into the rainforest with a bunch of clones chasing her and about that magic orb.”

Mari snorted, then walked over to a box on the ground and opened it with a key. She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper rolled up like a scroll.

“Hrm. This is what Feng meant?” Mari rolled open the paper. “All right. Silverspot, tell everyone that there’s a meeting at the Platform.” The light blue dragon nodded, then flew out the entrance. “Follow me,” Mari said.

***

They all flew to a wide area of wooden planks called “the platform.” The wood encircled a tree. Its height, from the looks of it, was about 300 feet tall. Eek! This tree is so tall that it makes me dizzy! Lowe thought. She saw dragons and serpents of all ages and sizes land either on nearby trees, the tree that the platform was encircling, or on the platform. Vine started to drift off towards a nearby tree when –

 “Vine, where are you going?” Lowe asked.

“Well…You see, every dragon or serpent you see in this forest is ranked. The higher ranked ones, such as Mari’s commanders, are on or closer to the platform. The lower ranked ones are farther away from the platform. Why do we do this? It’s because we can’t fit every single being on the platform. Every reptile deserves to hear what Mari has to say. Even if they don’t have to do anything with what she says.”

Lowe tilted her head.

Sigh. I know it’s a lot to process. But look for necklaces or wristbands with this pattern.” Vine showed a blue limestone wristband on him with five tiny wood carved sticks. “This shows my rank, Level five.”

“I see.”

“Anyways, I have to go now. You’re obviously important, go on the platform, look out for the wristbands and necklaces!” Vine shouted, and with that, he darted away.

Well, I guess I’ll just go on my way. Lowe flew and landed on the platform. Lots of confused looks were directed towards her. 

Mari stepped besides Lowe. “Finally, our storyteller is here, ”she said.

“What?”

“She looks like someone swallowed her only gecko!”

“She’s suspicious.”

“Yeah, she could be an imposter!”

“Mari, with all respect, I’d like to ask: where does this serpent come from and why are they speaking?” a solid red dragon asked harshly.

Lowe spotted Vine. He pointed to the red dragon, as if it was a message saying, Look there! Ah-hah! His wrist! It showed one wood stick. But there was something different about the color of the bracelet. When Lowe saw Vine’s wrist, the band was blue. But the red dragon’s band was faint yellow. I shouldn’t focus on that right now, c’mon Lowe! Pay attention to the speech!

“This is Lowe, she will do all the explaining,” Mari went on. “The floor is yours.” A sharp hiss from Mari came.

***

Nervousness crawled onto Lowe, each scale on her prickled with fear.

 “Well, it all started when uh, Ruler Feng told me to steal the glowing resistor, a special sphere that is purely magic energy, called light force. Light force is used to repel dark forces. That’s why we can use it to defeat Ophanar. But, uh, while I was getting chased uh, the orb broke. Here’s the thing, I got all the pieces but a clone stole one, we need to get it back.”

Where’s that red dragon again? Ah-hah! All the other dragons and serpents have blue bands. “Mari! I’ve found an imposter – he has a faint yellow band and all the others are blue!” Lowe whispered. 

“Conceal? You’re right. Tell everyone, I’ll signal my guards to catch him, once you shout. And if Conceal escapes? He won’t. I’ve set traps all around here.” 

All right, Lowe, time for a time to open my mouth. “Dragons and serpents! All around hear me!” Lowe cried. “There is an imposter among us!”

Sail

I am drawn

Drawn to sail away

In my tiny boat

From night to day

The waves that rocked gently

Have now grown fierce 

But I have no remorse 

For these monstrous waves

I shall ride them

Even if it means I won’t be saved

Now a calm ocean

Under the spotlight

The water has grown tame

After the last night

Lying on my boat

With the sail flying everywhere

But I am still tired

And don’t seem to care

Then I stand up

And brush away my sweat

And ride the ocean once more

As if it were my pet!

The Miner

A not-so-long time ago, in a mining district, lived a miner named Bob who was poor as dirt. He supported his family by buying a meager supply of cabbage and coal he snuck out of his mine for their stove. His job was hard and time-consuming, and he was forced to travel thousands of feet down each day to mine coal. He developed a hacking cough and was extremely sick, but in order to survive, he continued his job.

One day, Bob traveled down in the rusty elevator like he usually did. It looked like it was going to be a normal day. But, as he turned the corner, he saw a large, shiny thing sticking out of the cave wall. He went closer to get a good look, but the supervisor caught him. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” he yelled through his megaphone. 

Bob, frightened, went right back to work. But he hadn’t forgotten the object. That night, he thought up a plan to sneak into the mine and investigate. He snuck onto the elevator and as the doors closed with a grinding screech, he steeled himself to enter the damp mine. As he reached the shiny object, he slid a dusty finger across it, revealing a blotch of gold. Bob’s heart rate increased as he revealed more gold. He made a mental note of the vein, and then ran home.

The next night, he brought his rusty pickaxe into the mine. He wandered around until he found the vein, swung at it, and made a small crack. He repeated this a couple of times until the chunk fell out, leaving him with a chunk of gold the size of a football. He then ran all the way back home.

The next day, he was going down in the elevator, planning on traveling to the market after the day at work. The gold was in his mining suit, tucked away into a pocket. All of a sudden, the elevator screeched to a stop. The gold chunk loosened itself just a little bit so that it poked out of Bob’s jumpsuit. Bob didn’t notice, as the elevator quickly started moving again. As Bob stepped out of the elevator, the supervisor walked up to him. 

The supervisor patted him on the back. “What’s up? How’ve you been doing?” 

Confused, Bob thought, What has gotten into him? The supervisor then hurriedly rushed away. Bob shrugged and went back to work. Meanwhile, the supervisor was huddled in a corner, smiling and holding a pile of gold.

Bob, on his way home, realized that the gold was gone. He then realized that it was the supervisor who, in bumping into him, had pickpocketed him!

Bob rode the elevator back down, and at the bottom, met the supervisor who was waiting for the elevator. Bob grabbed his collar and slapped the gold out of his hands and back into his, then dashed into the elevator. He tried pressing the “close door” button, but the supervisor was too quick. He got in just as the elevator doors shut with a groan. The elevator began going up as Bob and the supervisor grappled for the gold. Bob managed to wrench the gold out of the supervisor’s hands and shoved him up against the wall just as the elevator arrived on the surface. Bob ran home, panting. 

Upon arriving home, he, while gasping for air, told his family that he would be leaving for the market. 

As he made it to the market, the merchant at the pawnshop stall offered to pay $1,000 for the gold, more than Bob was expecting. He paid for some food for his family and medicine for himself, and they lived happily… for the next month.

Becky

“Today is the worst day of my life.”

It wasn’t, of course. The worst day of Martha’s life had been the day her whole family died in a fire fifteen years ago. But her otherwise painfully dull life living in a small cabin created a need for some drama. And it was hailing. Looking out the window, watching the hail assault the earth, she couldn’t help but feel that the six-day hailstorm was some sort of punishment. For what, she couldn’t be sure. As the puddles grew larger, the hunger (her last grocery store run was seven days ago) began to set in. And as she grew weaker, dark thoughts seeped into her mind. Maybe it was her fault her family died. Maybe she could have saved them by getting home a few minutes earlier or destroying the stove the previous day in a fit of inexplicable foresight. Or maybe it was because she had gotten cake mix instead of eggs from the supermarket last week. The more she thought about it, the more things she discovered which could be the cause of the hail. The more ways she could have stopped them. If only, if only.

“When will it end?” She moaned to her favorite pan, Becky, which was sitting on a pillow on the kitchen counter next to her. Becky was silent. “Maybe it was the time when I was six,” she muttered. “I was at the ice cream store, and – ” 

Something hit the window and clattered to the ground loudly. She gave a small start, then looked outside. It was not hail. It was a rock. She sighed shakily and looked out into the woods. A teenage boy quickly ducked behind a tree, his cackling muted by the distance and the glass. It wasn’t the first time her home had been attacked. The people of this small town were known for disliking the strange and different, and living in a cabin in the town park was decidedly strange and different. The boys of the town often liked to express their opinions on Martha’s lifestyle through violence. The walls of her cabin had had to be repaired five times already. But there was nothing she could do. No one would listen to her, and she didn’t know how else she could live. She couldn’t bear the crowds of people and their uncaring, obligatory condolences after the fire, like a blanket meant to be comforting that was actually suffocating when wrapped around a child that was too small. She needed solitude, but she also had to be somewhat close to other people, because she couldn’t exactly farm her own food. When she first thought of it, the idea of the cabin in the park had seemed perfect, and it hadn’t taken too much work to acquire a permit to make it a reality. But if she could take it all back, she might just go and live in the woods, even if it meant giving up cake. 

As if to say “All right, then, go,” another rock came hurtling toward the window. It met the glass with a noise that sounded deafening, then actually made a crack – small, but nonetheless a crack. Martha gasped and scrambled for Becky. But she was too late.

Another rock came flying at her, evidently thrown by Roger Morrison, the town’s star Little League pitcher, as it broke the window and landed right on top of Becky.

Martha screamed. “No, no, no, no,” she said, diving for where Becky had landed on the floor as the rock skittered away. “It – it can’t be,” she whispered. Slowly, hand shaking, she picked Becky up. Becky had landed with the side used for cooking down. “A-are you okay – ” She asked as she turned her over, then screamed again. “NO!”

There was a large dent slightly to the left of Becky’s center.

Martha clutched Becky to her chest. “Shhh,” she soothed. “It’s okay. You’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.” She sat on the kitchen floor all afternoon and all night, as the hailstorm stopped, holding Becky and whispering to her with more love than she would give a baby until she finally fell asleep and slumped over.

Martha woke the next morning to the kitchen, and therefore, as far as she cared, the whole world, cast in the gold-orange light of dawn. She stood up, Becky sliding to the ground, and smiled. Rejuvenated, she spent the morning running errands. She brought her clothes to the laundromat, bought groceries, and had a handyman come to the house to repair the window. When they had left, she stepped into the kitchen and sank into an armchair. 

“Well,” she said, addressing the house, “I suppose I’ll…” She let the thought drift into action, and took a different pan from a cabinet, and brought it to her stove. She began to make an omelet. Only when she was seated at her table, eating it, did she finally remember that Becky was still on the floor. “Oh,” she said. “I’m, um, sorry that I used, er, Agatha to make my eggs. But, you know…” She took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. “You’re dented now. And I know, I know it wasn’t your fault. I was there, right? I saw them throw that rock. So it wasn’t your fault. But… I… I don’t think I can cook with you anymore. It just… wouldn’t be right, you know?” She searched Becky’s surface for understanding, forgiveness, anything. But all there was was metal. Dented metal. “Oh,” she said softly, picking Becky up and placing it on the table. She rubbed her thumb over the dent over and over. “I’m sorry. I wish it didn’t have to be like this,” She whispered. “You’re my oldest friend, you know. You know that. I will keep you, I promise. I just… won’t cook with you.” She looked into the pan again. Then she winced and turned to the window. The curtains outside swayed sharply in the wind in what could only be criticism. She stared at them, neck twisted uncomfortably, until a tear leaked out of her eyes. She cried and cried, but didn’t turn back to face Becky, even after she fell asleep. 

When she woke, the kitchen was bathed not in beautiful golden sunlight, but in darkness. Martha blinked sleepily, then glanced at the clock. It was seventeen minutes past midnight. “Ohhh,” she moaned, out of both drowsy surprise at the time and significant neck pain. She got up, massaging her neck, and stepped into the doorway to the hall. She paused and turned back to the table where Becky rested like a pouting child, if that child were also made of metal and sitting on a table. “I’m sorry,” she said, somewhat annoyed. Then she stumbled into her bedroom, pulled the covers of her bed over herself, and waited to fall asleep. But she didn’t. She tossed, then turned, then got up, did push-ups until she was exhausted, and crawled into bed again, but it didn’t work. Finally, she scowled, got up, and went back into the kitchen and sat down to face Becky. “All right,” she began. “First of all, for the millionth time, I am sorry about the dent. It was… It was my fault. I should have been protecting you better. I suppose I… haven’t been very good to you. I – I cook in you, and I never thank you. I bought you, for God’s sake. I… So, thank you. For everything. And I hope you can understand that I won’t- can’t cook with you again, but that I’ll still love you. Always.” She reached out, hesitated, then rubbed the dent. “B-Becky?” she asked, eyes and heart heavy with tears and overwhelming love. “Oh, Becky,” she cried, throwing herself onto the pan. Her weeping stretched toward dawn.

The next month, the rock hit Sybill, and the cycle began again. 

The Wiggly Monkey

Once upon a time, there was a monkey named Shalin. He lived in the jungle. He was eating bananas on top of a tree. But suddenly, he ate a banana that wasn’t ripe. He then felt wiggly, wiggly as a worm. He started to wiggle. He kept on wiggling and wiggling and wiggling. Then, he jumped down and off of the tree. He thought to himself, How do I stop acting like this?

A lion came up to the tree. He asked Shalin, “What are you doing?” 

Shalin said, “I am trying to stop wiggling!” 

“Don’t worry! I have some time to wiggle too. Let’s wiggle together!” said the Lion. Both Shalin and the Lion started to wiggle. 

Then, Shalin said, “Actually, it’s fun to wiggle! I want to stay like this forever!”

Child Writing Concerns

Essays are difficult for kids, but we can conquer them. I am a ten-year-old student, and whenever I try, I always have a hard time getting an idea. I will think for hours upon hours, but nothing comes to mind. Even if I try again the next day, sometimes, nothing still happens. My brain is like a computer with an error not being able to run a program. I always thought of it as writer’s block, but it really should be known as “essay block”! I don’t have it when I write my stories or at school. But when it comes to essays, I am stumped about what to do.

However, I have found a solution for myself. It’s called a partner. They help you through the day. My partner changes all the time. I can have a little stuffy or even my brother as my guide. I had to come up with my own solution for my own essay block, so as not to take the advice of an adult who is not in a position to remember what writing as a kid is like. 

Adults sometimes can have an “illness” per se, called Grown-Ideas. They have a more fixed mindset and less imagination than when they were a kid because they grow a more danger-mind. This is where they can’t imagine anything, only the bluntness. When you are a child your mindscape is endless so you truly understand the problems grownups don’t. 

This brings me to something I found to further suggest this, an article by Kim Kautzer called “How to Help a Child with Writer’s Block.” Kautzer, who wrote the article, simply doesn’t understand children at all. She kept referring to the learner as “he,” and not “she” or “they.”  As an example, she would write “Later, he can ask,” or “[f]or example, he can” or even “gives him,” but never use other pronouns. It’s as though only boys can learn and use this advice. I feel a little as though this sexist wording is from the past.

It’s probably careless wording that accounts for most mistakes, but her other overgeneralization is more serious. It concerns age and expectations of what kids should achieve at certain ages. She kept saying that a person has a duty to meet certain standards by a set birthdate. For example, she says that “Younger children shouldn’t labor over a revision. It’s enough to add a few details, substitute stronger words, and polish up spelling and punctuation.” So, in other words, she is suggesting that the minute the kid turns a new age, they are somehow supposed to be wonderful with no whatsoever real preparation. Just because that is true for some people, it’s not like you can magically blow out your birthday candles and then write cleanly and perfectly. Everyone is different, therefore, it is an unrealistic standard to change so quickly from easy to hard expectations in one day. For example, in the article Kautzer says, “Teens, however, should expect to rewrite a draft several times before it passes muster, beefing up arguments, supporting with additional facts, embellishing with description, and improving both word choice and mechanics.” This quote is the opposite of the claim that writing is hard since it is saying that you have to be like this at one age or another. Making these claims can be pressuring, and create shame since she makes seeming to fall short of “age-appropriate” goals a stressful situation. 

You can decide for yourself with the link at the end. If you are an adult, you probably won’t understand. So, I feel you should listen to kids like me, the people who are affected by these bad pedagogical choices, first.

Why Standardized Testing Is Unfair

I always knew that standardized testing wasn’t fair to people who did not have as much knowledge as me from doing after-school activities. I recently turned ten, and when we did the state tests in school, I was already doing sets and operations on sets, which is a sixth-grade level. But I did not realize how super unfair it was until I did my math test. It was too easy for me, but I saw people around me struggling with the questions. I think that standardized testing should be abolished. It is stressful, helps only certain types of students, and there are much fairer ways to measure teacher effectiveness and student achievement.

First of all, testing puts kids through a lot of unnecessary stress. Every time we have a test in our ELA class, everyone gets upset. Some might say that this test-related stress is a necessary evil, but that isn’t true. Sure, tests are important: Testing shows what you know. According to Scientific American, it is the case at every grade level that frequent tests boost learning. If you don’t, you won’t show what you know, and the next grade would be too hard. But there are other ways that we could measure a teacher’s performance with students other than tests, or in other words, how students have improved since they started school. For example, there could be an art project reflecting on what they learned in math, or a science project about physics-related math.

Secondly, standardized tests only help certain types of students, which means that they can be biased. Multiple academic papers and analyses have found that standardized tests reinforce racism and classism. According to op-ed writer Jamie Palladino, who cites a finding from Inside Higher Ed that on the reading section of the SAT, “[s]tudents in families making less than $20,000 averaged a score of 433 while students from families making $200,000 had an average score of 570.” This shows that standardized tests are not fair to students who don’t have rich families. To be clear, even if you know this, there is not a high chance for a student to be born into a rich family. But not everyone agrees that this is a cause for concern. 

Sean-Michael Pigeon, a student who claims that tests elevated his opportunities even though he lacked the wealth of his classmates, rejects the idea that they are classist, writing “Testing and academic performance were the best way for someone like me to succeed.” Even though he says that testing was his way to get to the Ivy League, and receive its financial aid, there is not a way to know if his admission was really based on his test scores, because there are too many other factors in the decision of admitting or not admitting someone into the school. Furthermore, the financial aid would have come if he got admitted, regardless of his test scores.

Even though testing is measured, it is not always fair. There are different ways we could measure a student’s academic score. As the website Otus shows, there are at least four ways to measure a student’s performance. Sampling, Stealth or Game-based assessments, Multiple Measures, or Portfolio-based assessments. Sampling is a semi-alternative to standardized testing. Sampling is taking a smaller part of the population, making a test for that group, and sending it to them. It isn’t completely perfect, but it is better than a test for everyone. Stealth or Game-based assessments are when a test is like a game, making it more fun. Portfolio-based assessments are when you measure student progress based on projects, presentations, reports, and papers collected over time. Multiple Measures is basically all of the above.

So what? You might be thinking. Well if you are thinking, What about kids who do know the material but they are anxious testers? Well, if we get rid of standardized testing, they might not be as stressed, but as long as standardized tests exist, there isn’t much you can do about it other than say some supporting words. You might also be thinking, Standardized tests are said to be “standard,” but this also means that they can be biased toward people who learned specific topics in specific ways, which is going to be more beneficial to kids of some backgrounds than others. Is this fair? And really the sad answer is no, no it is not fair for people who don’t have the same background as others. You can try to do extracurricular material out of or in school, but for now, it is just not fair. With all these possible better alternatives, abolishing standardized testing makes the most sense.

Works Cited:

Pigeon, Sean-Michael. “Standardized tests help poor students like me.”

<https://www.goerie.com/story/opinion/2021/04/05/op-ed-getting-rid-standardized-testing-punishes-poor-students/4851745001/>

Palladino, Jamie. “Op-Ed: Abolish standardized testing.” <https://friendsinsight.org/611/opinion/op-ed-abolish-standardized-testing/>

Walker, Jordan. “How to Measure Student Progress Without Standardized Tests.”

<https://otus.com/measure-student-progress-without-standardized-testing/>

Minli’s Special Ingredient

Grand-mama stirred the big black pot, Mama cut the pork, and Papa made the dough. The smell, the taste! 

“It looks good, Grand-mama!” Minli said, standing on her tippy-toes to peek higher over the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Grand-mama smiled and scooped her up. “Yes, Baby, it will be ready when I add the special ingredient.”

Minli’s black pigtails waved up and down as Grand-mama cradled her. Minli pushed her bangs out of her face so she could peer with her wide eyes up at Grand-mama.

“Special ingredients?” Minli asked, curious.

“Mm-hmm,” Grand-mama said, setting Minli down back on the step stool.

Minli climbed up to watch Papa fold the dumplings. “But Grand-mama, what’s your special ingredient?”

Grand-mama smiled. “It’s a special spice.”

Minli wrinkled her nose, then asked, “Do I have a special ingredient?”

Grand-mama smiled and said, “What do you think?” 

“I have to be a big girl to have it, right?” she said, crossing her arms and pouting. She was only three.

Grand-mama looked at her with a mischievous smile, “But Minli, you don’t have to be big, you just have to have the right tongue.”

Minli was confused, “What do you mean ‘right tongue’?”

Grand-mama was now more focused on the pot, stirring and stirring until finally, she spoke. “I mean you have to be brave and try things that may not look tasty.” She held the wooden spoon to Minli’s lips and Minli licked the homemade sauce. “But you can always try,” Grand-mama finished triumphantly as Minli licked the sauce off her lips.

“What’s it called, Grand-mama?”

“Soy sauce,” Grand-mama said simply, continuing to stir.

Mama came over to Minli and scooped her up, tickling her belly. Minli giggled and asked, “Mama, do YOU have a special ingredient?”

“Why yes I do, baby girl!” Mama said. “Grand-mama taught me, just as she taught you.” Minli smiled at this thought. When the table was set Minli dipped her dumpling in the soy sauce.

Mama smiled when she saw Minli. She slid over a white bowl with a sauce in it. Minli tried the sauce and loved it.

A few years later…

Minli stood in front of Grand-mama’s grave and put a letter to her at the edge of the cold stone.

Dear Grand-mama,

I’m not sure if this is allowed. The Lin family has done this tradition for generations, and I am not sure what my ingredient is.

The problem is, I can’t find just one. I love you and I love this family, but what happens if you love everything too much?

I think my special ingredient is Love. 

The Glowing Snow

I look outside and see the white snow,

Then I get curious and I want to know,

What happens if snow could glow?

So I wait until dusk throughout the day,

I was think to maybe go outside and play,

But it’s too late to do that so I will find out the way. 

I rush to the lights because its time now,

Then I see it all happen as I hear a snow plow, 

I was filled with emotion because I wanted to know.

I put on my materials and run outside,

The snow starts to glitter as I slide, 

I go back inside as I stand feeling happy and with pride.

Sharky’s Adventure in the Deep Blue Sea

Chapter 1

This is Sharky. He lives in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. He loves to play and hug his mom. Also, he is eight years old.

But the one thing that he can not do is go to the east part of the ocean because there are orcas. Sharky loves the holiday Christmas because he gets so many presents! His favorite is this wind-up toy saw shark. He also has a fear of humans because they love to kill sharks and make shark fin soup. They capture a shark and cut off his fin, and then they put it in a bowl of water with vegetables! His favorite meal is called fish stew. It’s dead fish with seal skin, and he loves it. His favorite dessert is seal ice cream.

Chapter 2

Well, Sharky was just swimming around, and then he heard a rumbling sound. It was a swarm of fish! Well, he is a shark, so he did what all sharks did: he ate them but not them all! He saved some for fish stew. Oh – forgot to say they were yellow tang fish, his favorite. Then, his friend Barky came over to play. He also told him that he had saved him fish stew. Barky’s favorite food was fish stew, too!  They played Pin the Dorsal Fin on the Fish. They also played Fish Attack, which is when they go to the sea and just attack fish together. They play a lot of games together, including tag (not the one people do). They also played Conversation Wheel. How you play is you spin the wheel and whatever you get, you have to have a conversation about. Today, they got: Do you like pumpkin pie? And one that said, Prize. “Prize” means that whatever you rolled the day before, you get. So, if tomorrow they got Prize, then they would get to eat pumpkin pie. But the bad part about it is that, no matter what, you have to eat it. So if you don’t like it, it’s going to be a nightmare. They love to play Among Us, Shark Mod.  

Sharky and Barky played Among Us, Shark Mod for 35 minutes and played Conversation Wheel for another 26 minutes. They also played Pin the Dorsal Fin on the Fish and ate their fish stew. Then Barky left.

“Goodbye,” Barky said.

Chapter 3

Now, Sharky was going to bed. For some reason, he could not sleep. He was thinking about a current that pushes him to the other side of the ocean. He was trembling with fear in his bed. He tried to go to sleep, but then, there was a small current. It felt like a pretty hard breeze. He almost fell off his bed, but then he used his fin to stop himself. Now, his bed is very short, so it was pretty easy. Then there was a medium-size current. This one felt like really hard rain that was not drops, just water – kind of like in a jug. This time, he fell off his bed. Don’t worry – he was okay. 

Chapter 4

Then there was a super-big current that knocked Sharky right off his bed, and he floated out of his house, and he kept floating and floating and floating until he was somewhere in the middle of the ocean. He said, “Oh no! I must get out of here!” 

But then, the water current came back and he kept floating and floating and floating. 

Then he came to the other side of the ocean. He said, “How did I get to here? I must swim back.” 

But he was very tired. He only usually swims in the middle of the day or right when he gets up. He doesn’t usually swim at night because if you swim at night, you don’t know what could happen. Things that could happen are: jellyfish could sting you, turtles could hit you with their shells, nets could be lowered down, and you could get captured, orcas could swim to the other side, and people could scuba dive down and make you into shark fin soup. Sharks have really good smelling senses, so he smells this drop of blood. So he swims slowly to it. Then he investigates it, and he finds out it’s people’s blood. And he goes away because it smells really, really bad, and he tries to swim slowly back to his home, but then something swims out of the seaweed! It is an orca. The orca grabs his tail and brings him to his home. Sharky doesn’t know what to say. 

The orca is like, “Are you my new dinner next week?!” 

He said, “I don’t know, but maybe?” 

“Well, I think you are.” 

Sharky said, “I am?” 

“Yes, you are,” said the orca. He said, “Well, while you’re in my home, you can sleep in a guest bedroom.” 

Sharky said, “Thanks, because I’m really sleepy.” 

And then the orca said, “You’re welcome. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

Chapter 5

Sharky woke up the next morning thinking, How can I escape this orca’s house? But then he had an idea. He loved that there was this rope on the playground that you could slide down into the water. He would always make a big splash. So he looked around for something like the rope, and then he found so many stacks of paper. They were clean and white. And then he looked around for something to stick it with. Then he found fish glue. The fish glue was really strong, so he made three tunnels. And then he said, “Now how can I make this stronger?” He found some metal bar things, and then he was like, “Well, how can I cut this off?” So he slapped his tail against it so many times, but it still wouldn’t come off. Then he found this billboard that said, ORCAS FOR LIFE. And he said, “Well, I could just hit that billboard with it and it would probably fall off.” So he held it with his tail and revved back and threw it right at the metal bar. The metal bar flew right off and right onto the ground. Bing! it said. But then he got scared, and then the orca came in. 

He said, “I heard a sound in here! This is where Sharky sleeps. What’s going on here?” He called out, “Sharky! Sharky, where are you?” 

Sharky was hiding behind a pole. Not that pole. There was another pole. He managed to get his body in there. Once the orca left, he came out. 

“Phew!” he said. “I thought I would get caught!” And he ran out and pushed the metal bar into his tunnels. Once the metal bar was gone there, he used fish glue to stick it together. And then he said, “If only somehow I could disguise myself and get out there!” He found this policeman costume in the closet. So he was like, “But why would a policeman be in his house? Maybe I can just run past, and then I’ll get there.”

So he swam as fast as he ever could past the orca and threw his “slide” that he made down the steps and slid right down. Now he was energized, so he swam as fast as he could through the ocean and to the other side. The next day, Barky came. They had so much fun, and he told him about the story about getting pushed by the currents and seeing the orcas, and that was his dream the night before. They had fish stew, and while they were having fish stew, the orca was back at home, trying to find something to eat. Sharky lived happily ever after. 

The End.

Spring Has Sprung

Sunshine falls gently like bubbles of golden bliss

Like a beautiful bright light in a pitch black abyss

Sparkling through the budded trees

While a warm breeze blows gently with ease

Flowers bloom in the morning dew

Animals, birds, and rainbows, too

Winter long gone, cast aside your fear 

For now Spring has sprung

To begin the new year

After cold and snow and wind

After huddling up close to live

A new day has begun

Just like the beautiful rising sun

Let all your worries float away

Because for now the sunshine is here to stay

No more coats and masks and fear

Forever Spring will spring

To dawn a new year

Poem of Writopia

This is a place where stories are born.

They flow from deep crevices in the caves of our minds

And float into the air

Which is good-natured just like the instructors – 

We watch the raw ideas mingle above our heads,

Akin to lovers under the mistletoe,

We let them be destroyed and reborn, 

We bounce them back and forth

And shine them in different lights

And take them apart and see how they work

And learn their secrets – 

Learn them so well that we can put them back together when we’re done

We blend it all together into a thing strange to us

But beautiful, somehow,

To those who read it

And when we have finished

We sate our mouths

With salt and sugar and cream

Like the sovereigns of old

And then come back 

For more –

For more mayhem 

For more tangles of words

For more thickets of plot

For more rolling pastures of poetry

For more, for more

Because this is a place where stories are born

McLaren Team

Chapter 1: The Beginning of Their Adventure

One day, the boys were walking home from school. They saw a guy in a McLaren. They heard there was a McLaren race going on. They went to watch the race in the capital of California. It was on the race track, and someone used a farting boost that he installed himself to speed up. The guy they saw with a McLaren won. He got $100 trillion because there were a thousand people. Then the boys worked so hard to get money for their McLaren. Jimjim was betting money on football games. He was always lucky and got $10,000. His other friends were playing a mystery claw machine game where, if you get something in the claw, you can find the special item in it. Sometimes it’s a phone or AirPods or money. 

Jake, William, Dillion, Chris, JJ, and DJD  are all 18. They’ve been friends since forever. They were born in the same hospital, at the same time, on the same day. 

Jake is athletic and plays soccer and basketball. 

William is stubborn and always wants to win. 

Dillion is calm and shy. 

Chris gets all the girls. 

JJ is boring with personality. 

And DJD is determined and jealous of Chris. 

Jimjim is their president and leader. He has a girlfriend named Jemina, and they’re getting married in one year if he wins the race, but if he loses, they break up. All the members are from California. One day, Jimjim and his crew were walking to the McLaren dealership. They had to cross the dog park. One of the dogs was chasing the whole team until they got to the other side where the dog could not reach them. The reason the dog was chasing them was because the team had Goldfish in their hands. When they were finished with their Goldfish, Chris and William raced to the trash can, and when William stepped on something, he saw that the trash can could open, so he didn’t have to put his foot on the trash can handle. 

When they got their McLarens, Jimjim had the most expensive one, and William, Dillion, Chris, and Jake had all the second-best McLarens, and DJD and JJ had the third-best. At the dealership, they saw five people with metal bars come in. The chief said, “Give me five of your McLarens’ keys now!” 

The car dealership man said, “Okay, okay, okay, I’m sorry!” 

One of the guys on the chief’s team said, “Hurry up, I don’t have all day!” 

Jimjim’s group got into their Teslas (which weren’t very good because they were really old). They started their cars, and they actually smashed through the glass of the dealership and smashed the McLarens. Before they started racing, they were actually junior cops, and they arrested all five of the crooks, and then they radioed for police. Then the dealership owner said, “Oh my God, thank you! Here, take five free cars. Jimjim, you get the most expensive one. William, Dillion, Chris, and Jake get the second-best ones, and DJD and JJ get the third-best.”

The dealership man also gave the boys the whole dealership. This was the happiest day of their lives. They got all the money in the dealership’s vault. To access it, you had to start a McLaren and drive without going anywhere. Then a secret passageway would appear. The boys had so much money, and they bought a whole race track so they could test their cars. They also bought a trailer. On the day of the race, they all were so confident they would win. If only one teammate crosses the line first – wins for the whole team. When the race started, they were off. All the boys were lined up. Part of the race had jumpscares in it, so the racers can get distracted and crash, but before they could get that far, Jimjim talked through the mic. 

“Guys, be careful. You don’t have to get scared. You can just look forward and win by focusing.”

Everyone said, “You got it!”

“And if anyone tries to get in our way – delete them!”

“Yes, siree!” said the boys. 

When they reached the scary part, Chris got a little distracted because he saw a girl right next to him, and instead of Chris pushing her and knocking her out, she knocked him off balance! Chris was okay, though. 

Dillion was right in front of Chris, so he said into the mic, “We got a man down!”

Jimjim was like, “Ah, shucks! Why did Chris have to be in the back where the girls are? He’s, of course, going to lose his control!” 

When the race was almost finished, only William and Jimjim remained. Some other person in the race passed Jimjim. William said, “I will take him out!”

“Okay, do it now! I believe in you, bro,” said Jimjim. 

After William smashed the person that was in front of Jimjim, Jimjim crossed the finish line and won the race. The person who got smashed by William asked if she could join their team. Then, out of nowhere, everyone heard an explosion. DJD’s car got blown up, and there was no trace of DJD. 

Jimjim said, “Yeah, you can join our team.”

The girl said, “I also can tell the future if you want me to help you find your friend.”

Jimjim said, “What do you mean? He exploded.” 

The girl said, “No, that’s not true. If you look closely at the ground, you can see his footsteps.” 

Dillion said, “If you want to be a part of our squad, what’s your name?”

“That’s need-to-know information. We can do that later,” said the girl. “Now let’s just focus on finding your friend.”

As they were walking for a couple of minutes, they saw DJD with a broken arm! 

“Are you okay?” said everyone.

“No, I was badly injured in the race! Ahhh!” he shrieked in pain, and then his arm fell off!

“Ewww!” everyone said. “Will you be okay, DJD?”

“Yeah, I will be – ” He fell to the ground.

The girl said, “He has died.” 

Everyone started crying. The girl tried reviving him, but there was no cure. He was dead. 

The girl finally told the boys the need-to-know information, and said her name was JDD. 

After they took their sad moment away, they went to the dealership (that they own!) and got JDD a new car. It had the best engine ever, and if someone smashed into it, it could keep going. 

“This car was going to be DJD’s birthday present because his birthday would’ve been in two days. This is your present from us for joining our team, and it’s a reminder of DJD.”  

Then when Jimjim got home, he realized his girlfriend had left him a note saying, I’m sorry, but I’ve moved on with a richer, cooler, more expensive guy. When he went to his room, he realized that his girlfriend still had on her bracelet that he had given her so that, if she ever left him, he would know where to look for her. 

Chapter 2: Newest Member Joins The Pack

In the morning, Jimjim met up with the boys and their new member, JDD, at the dealership. Jimjim told them what happened with his girlfriend. JDD suggested that they should search the area for her. Everyone liked that, but Jimjim said, “That would be nice, but I installed a tracker on her bracelet that I gave her. Let me see here. Oh, man, she must have found it. I guess I should listen to you, JDD.” 

After all the boys and JDD had left the dealership, they scattered around the city. Jimjim’s girlfriend snuck into the dealership. She tried to steal a McLaren, but not everyone left. William stayed. Then he contacted everyone. When everyone came back, they saw William on the floor, and they were shocked. 

Dillion said, “How couldn’t you tie her up?” 

William said, “I did, but someone came with her secretly. It went so fast.” 

Dillion said, “You mean, secretly. Hahaha!” 

Everyone said, “That’s why you’re not funny.” 

Jimjim said, “That’s enough! You really think this is the time to make a joke, huh?” 

Chris said, “Chill out, bro.” 

JDD said, “Just stop! I will get crazy.” 

“Uhhh, fine, geez. You’re so high maintenance,” Jimjim said with an attitude. 

Jake said, “Wait, William, you said that someone was with her?” 

“Yeah,” said William. 

Dillion said, “Oh, that is true. So we have to find out who it was.” 

Jimjim suggested, “Racing at the field, but JDD, JJ, William, and Chris all stay here.” 

“That’s a good idea,” said JDD. 

“Then when they come in, we can be in the secret cloak that I invented,” Jake informed them. 

As everyone left, JDD, JJ, William, and Chris all stayed behind. As they suspected, Jimjim’s girlfriend appeared with none other than – “DJD!” 

Everyone was shocked, except Jimjim and Jake because they were at the racetrack. Dillion was so annoyed that DJD had to lie about his death. Then William and Chris decided enough was enough, so they stood up from their hiding spot, got their handcuffs, and very secretly, when both their hands were on their backs, arrested them! 

Chapter 3: The Plan Has Collapsed

After Jimjim and Jake came back, Jimjim was the calmest, but Jake, on the other hand, fainted when he saw DJD. 

Jimjim said, “I thought you died!” 

“Not exactly. I was practicing how to hold my breath at home, and I might say that it worked.” 

Jimjim now looked at his ex-girlfriend. 

“Why are you trying to steal our McLaren, huh? I am waiting for an exclamation now!” shouted Jimjim. 

Jemina replied, “I heard from a little birdie that you have a dealership.” 

“Who might be that birdie? I am listening!” 

“That would be me,” exclaimed DJD. 

“Please don’t send me to jail! I am too pretty to be in there,” said Jemina in a sus voice. 

“Oh, don’t worry, you’re not going to jail,” said Jimjim. 

“Oh, that’s so good. I – ” 

“You’re going to solitary,” exclaimed Jimjim. 

“What? No way! I will not set foot in solitary,” huffed Jemina. 

“We are leaving now,” yelled William. 

When they got to the station, they threw them in there. Jemina was starting to beg the guard to let her go. The guard started to fall in love with her. Then, out of nowhere, the guard let her out.

Chapter 4: The Intense Snow

The group came back from the Museum of Cars, and when they got to solitary, they saw that the guard was knocked out and he was unconscious. They ran out and went in their McLarens and raced all the way back to the dealership, seeing that two of the cars were missing. The Slashers went out, but before they could, Dillion said, “Why don’t we just wait until the next race?” (Which was only in five months.)

Five months later… 

In January, the race was held, but there was a slight, little problem. Those weren’t regular cars! They were sled-McLarens. They were so ready to beat everyone and claim the title. When the person told the racers to go, they were off, and Jimjim told everyone the same routine that he told everyone in the last race. DJD wasn’t in the group, so he knew what they were doing, so he decided to go really fast with Jemina, who was, surprisingly, in the race! When William, Dillion, Chris, and Jimjim were all in first, DJD crashed into Chris and William. Jemina flew past Jimjim. Then, out of nowhere, he saw a vision. He remembered how JDD did that in the last race, but instead of Jimjim crashing into Jemina, she smashed him. Then DJD dashed straight to the finish line, but JDD came out of nowhere and smashed right into DJD and crossed that finish line, and they were champions once again! But then, when DJD and Jemina crossed the line, they got handcuffed and got sent to a solitary underground prison. 

Chapter 5: Two New Stars Are Born Anew

Two years passed, and Jemina and DJD were out of the prison, and they lived a happy life, and they actually got married. They had two children, Jinx and Sphinx, who were twins. It was the same day that the whole group had been born, and the same time! A year later, they found the group, and they asked if they could join, but then Jimjim was a little sus, but he let them in anyway. 

The next race was here, but William told the group, “I don’t think I can race this time because I hurt my leg.” 

Jimjim then told Sphinx he could substitute for William. Sphinx replied, “I’m really nervous!” 

“Don’t be,” said Dillion. 

Sphinx’s twin brother said, “Good luck. You got this!” 

Chapter 6: The Odds Get Harder

In this race, there was a slight twist. Only one of your group members could race, so Jimjim was counting on Sphinx to beat it. Even though this was Sphinx’s first race, he was really nervous, but he took three deep breaths and went to the starting line. When the race was about to start, he heard his parents cheering, and when Jimjim heard that, he was really in shock. When he was about to run towards Sphinx, he got exploded by an apple. Then he saw the same robbers who tried to steal cars from the dealership. He was about to call his police buddies, but before he could, the robbers came and threw his phone so far that he couldn’t call them. After that, he was really upset and got his whole team together, but before he could, the race had already started. Sphinx was off! The problem was, it was just a trick. All of the racers that were on the line were robots, and they were meant to be bad drivers so Sphinx could win because, at the end of the race, they were going to spray Sphinx with some hypnosis gas so he would crash. JDD used her psychic powers to throw the robbers off balance, but what she didn’t know was that they had marbles that could deflect magic and psychic powers. When Jimjim saw Sphinx nearing the end, a strange man walked on the racetrack. Sphinx saw him and stopped, and then the man was actually Dillion in disguise, and then he was saved. But then William walked on the finish line and took the gas himself to show Sphinx that it was a trap. But what they didn’t know was that he wouldn’t wake up for 10 hours.

Chapter 7: The Depression of the Century

When William finally woke up, he told the whole group that DJD and Jemina were planning this and trying to sabotage their own son! 

Jimjim had an idea. “I think we can set up a race and we can force those robbers out and see what they would do not to Sphinx, but to Jinx.” 

“I don’t think that will work,” said Jinx. 

“Why not?” William asked.  

“I will be down in the vault because I’m a little scared and I don’t want to get knocked out for 10 hours like William.” 

But then they heard a little, “Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun!” 

William was in the corner playing Clash Royale. 

Everyone was like, “Really? Now is not the time. This is serious business right now. If we do this, we will be legends and everyone will know our names.” 

“Doesn’t everyone already know our names?” asked William. 

“That is true, but we have to get even more trophies, not just one trophy.” 

JJ said, “I’m not sure we – ” 

“You’re not going to be able to do this!” an anonymous voice said. 

“Who was that? Imma give you some martial arts moves if you don’t behave,” said Dillion. But then Dillion switched his words right away and said, “I mean, I’ll give you some mac ’n’ cheese arts! Hahaha.” 

“You’re done. You’re really done,” said the anonymous voice again, but a little louder. 

Chapter 8: The Hunt Begins

Jimjim replied, “I know where the secret, legendary car is.” 

“Oh, we know,” answered the anonymous voice in a laughing voice.  

“Jimjim, why would you tell them where the secret car is?” answered Jake. 

“If you don’t stop talking right now, I’m going to call you Jake from State Farm!” said the anonymous voice. 

“Why do you keep saying that? I’m not Jake from State Farm. You’re Jake from State Farm, and also, you’re Barney from the song,” said Jake. 

When the voice stopped talking, the team was in shock, and they quickly got into their McLarens and rode all the way to the exhibition. But then they realized that the anonymous voices were not there! But then they heard a SCRRRT. Then the car was so fast that they just saw a flick of wind. There was sleeping gas inside the building, and when they passed by, all the teammates fainted except one, and that was… 

Chapter 9: The Stress Has Begun

As the anonymous voices thought they were safe from the team, Jake came out of nowhere and crashed right into them. Then Jake jumped out of the car and got into the legendary car. When the rest of the group got to his location, they went back to the dealership and put it into the vault. Jimjim was thinking to himself, Isn’t this too easy? Then he saw that Jake was acting a little weird. Jake was turning into a ghost! The anonymous voices threw something at him so he could pixelate into a ghost. 

Jimjim yelled, “What is the cure for this craziness?” 

“We have the cure!!” someone replied. “But if you don’t give us the legendary car, he will be turned into a ghost forever! You have exactly seventy-two hours until he pixelates into a full ghost.”

William said, “We can’t do it because then we’re gonna lose the car and never find it again.” 

Jimjim said, “We have to do it.” 

Everyone was like, “What are you doing? We cannot give them the car because we’ll never find it again and it will disappear.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” said Jimjim. “But I have a slight plan to get them confused, and we can still have it.”

Chapter 10: An Extraordinary End of the First Adventure 

Jimjim told everyone the plan, and they all liked it. They spray-painted the same exact design of the car so they could give them that car and they could still have the legendary car. When they got to the same place where they got the car, they saw three people coming out from the anonymous place. It looked like DJD and Jemina were coming with the antidote in their hands. First, they told them to bring the antidote to them, and then after that, they tossed over the antidote. They brought Jake with them, and Jake drank the potion, and he started turning back into a regular human. And then they had to use a special cannon that was invented by Quint Dinkleberry that can evaporate those people from the planet. So, quickly, before they saw that the legendary car was fake, they went to Quint Dinkleberry and got the special weapon, and after that, they won, and they got sent to Planet Dinkleberry. They actually sent a spy in case they got transported to Planet Dinkleberry. After that, the spy was following them, and then William heard a crack behind them, and then he used the same weapon that they used to transport DJD and Jemina to Planet Dinkleberry. A black car drove up to them and asked if they were willing to join their team of secret spy agents. The man was named Sherlock, and he said, “I have a spot for all of you to steal as spies to get the legendary cars.” 

Everyone asked Jimjim if they were going to go and work with him. Jimjim said, “Yes. We are honored to work with you.” 

Sherlock answered, “Your next adventure will be in the deep jungle.” 

To be continued…

The Nightmare King, Ice Triagile, and the Rage of the King

“The king will not beat me again!” 

The Ice Triagile (part dragon, part tiger, and part crocodile) looks into his globe. He is in his dark, gloomy temple. 

“That king can take control of me. Why do I keep sending more minions? But the king is not the problem. Thunder Bear is!” he says in his dark and scary castle as he picks up a dagger and throws it at the painting of Thunder Bear. Right in the mouth.

“Your majesty, the serum is ready. Oh, and the Penerse (penguin/horse) was a traitor,” says Ty’le, the Ice Triagile’s son. 

“Bring him in.” 

“Yes, father.” 

“Well? Any last words?” 

“I – I was framed,” says the Penerse. 

“I can see you are a traitor. Kill her,” the Ice Triagile tells his son. 

A few minutes later… 

“Aaahhh!!!” screams the Penerse in pain.

***

“Solf (wolf/seal). Report,” says Thunder Bear. 

Solf says, “All good in the water, but I saw Uniale (whale/unicorn). Oh, and the Penerse is gone.”

Thunder Bear replies, “Oh, can you get it on our side?” 

Solf shakes his head. “It’s on their side! Oh, and I need to see the king.”

Thunder Bear says, “Okay,” then yells, “Open the gates!” 

The Crocoions (crocodile/lions) open the gates. When Solf is inside, he gives the king some water.

But it is poisonous. Just then, Solf changes into the Ice Triagile. Then the Ice Triagile walks away, and Crocoion guards run right at him. He takes out his blades and kills them. Just then, the Catbear comes out, but the Ice Triagile kills the Catbear. Then Thunder Bear charges at the Ice Triagile and fights him.

Then he takes the Ice Triagile, throws him in the water, and does a lightning strike, but the Ice Triagile flies up and hits Thunder Bear with an ice blast. The king fights the poison, gets back to normal, and hits the Ice Triagile back to his island, and so then they win.

***

A voice says, “You failed me.”

The Ice Triagile pleads, “Give me more time.” 

“Nooo! Your son will take charge,” says the voice. Then he kills the Ice Triagile.

The End.

The Defending Three

In a jungle. The VELOCIRAPTOR is running. 

VELOCIRAPTOR

Leave me alone, Dimetrodon! 

The DIMETRODON comes on stage. DIMETRODON is able to catch up with VELOCIRAPTOR. 

DIMETRODON:

Now you will be my snack!

VELOCIRAPTOR

So long, sucka!

VELOCIRAPTOR zooms off. DIMETRODON follows him. The PSITTACOSAURUS is onstage, looking down at the grass, trying to decide what grass to eat. 

PSITTACOSAURUS

Hmm. What grass to eat today? 

She sees VELOCIRAPTOR. 

PSITTACOSAURUS

Oh no! Run away! It’s a velociraptor!

VELOCIRAPTOR

(sighs) 

I think I did it. I think I outran him. 

(His stomach growls.) 

Uch, I need a snack. Who is that tasty guy over there? Gotcha! Hey, that’s just a rock.

Rustle, rustle.

VELOCIRAPTOR

Huh, what’s that? I’ll investigate who’s there. 

Rustle, rustle.

DIMETRODON

Roaaar!

VELOCIRAPTOR

You!

DIMETRODON

That’s right. I’ll get you this time! You made me lose my energy, so now I can’t run fast, and you will pay.

PSITTACOSAURUS

Ahhh!

PSITTACOSAURUS starts running. 

DIMETRODON and VELOCIRAPTOR

She’s mine.

They both start chasing her.

PSITTACOSAURUS

Leave me alone!

VELOCIRAPTOR and DIMETRODON are worn out.

VELOCIRAPTOR

(all worn out) 

I got her. 

DIMETRODON

(also worn out) 

No, I got her.

PSITTACOSAURUS

W-w-will you hurt me?

DIMETRODON and VELOCIRAPTOR fall to the ground.

VELOCIRAPTOR

(all worn out) 

If we would hurt you, you would hurt us with your quills.

DIMETRODON

Same. 

PSITTACOSAURUS

Can we be friends?

VELOCIRAPTOR and DIMETRODON get up and nod at each other.

PSITTACOSAURUS

Please – my family left me when I was three, and I am almost seven. I also have powers. 

VELOCIRAPTOR

You can join us.

DIMETRODON

What type of powers do you have?

PSITTACOSAURUS

I have everything, any power imaginable – like, I can make both of you have my powers.

VELOCIRAPTOR

Wait, don’t –

Boom!

VELOCIRAPTOR

Something’s wrong. I think I also have every power in the world. 

DIMETRODON

S-s-same.

VELOCIRAPTOR

I know we can defend the forest. 

PSITTACOSAURUS

Yes, I’m in.

DIMETRODON

As long as I get to smash.

VELOCIRAPTOR

Yes, you will! We will call ourselves the Defending Three.

VELOCIRAPTOR, the brains.PSITTACOSAURUS, the defense. DIMETRODON, the strength. And, together, they are the Defending Three.

Driving Blind

Nothing. Just gray. Panic took control of me. Why did we have to drive at night? What if we were driving off a cliff? I was close to tears on the high mountain. My mom tried to put on a reassuring smile, but it was clearly fake. I squeezed her hand so tightly, it hurt for me as well. My sister was the navigator, and my dad was the driver. Endless gray consumed us. The lights of the cars behind us shone, but there were none ahead to guide us. We had to brake several times before the cars behind us got impatient. They weaved left and right, then passed us. They cruised ahead, then halted as they became blind. I felt like I was in a horror show and there was no exit, no escape to leave. As the other cars regained their speed by turning on “fog lights” that we didn’t have, we almost lost the cars. That was when the arguing began.

My sister thought it was best to increase speed so that we didn’t lose our guiding light. I agreed with my mom, though, who thought it was risky to increase speed driving when we couldn’t see anything. My dad agreed with my sister, so he started speeding to catch up. I squeezed my mom’s hand and started to hyperventilate. I couldn’t calm down. With my free hand, I put my hand on my heart and uneasily listened to the rapid beating. 

As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, my sister announced, “There’s a sharp turn coming up.”

The large yellow signs with the midnight-colored left arrows were the only help for us. Again, questions invaded my mind. How will we escape this? Will we lose the cars ahead? Just then, the car in front of us disappeared. A new question formed inside my stressed head. Was it condensed in the fog or lost to something else ahead?

Sadly, my dad didn’t share my same worries, so we continued. But we soon found the car again in front of us. As we silently drove, I continued to hyperventilate until at one point, it let us go. Clear from up ahead. This didn’t comfort me though. There could be more of those areas. I was tired and wanted to close my eyes, but the fear overtook me. Squeezing my mom’s hand while listening to my heartbeat, I continued to look up ahead. But I didn’t see anything but roads, jungle, and no fog!

Demon Killer

Editor’s Note: Content Warning — This psychological thriller contains Violence and Murder. It may be scary for some younger readers.

“George,” Mom said. Mom had black hair. She was always smiling. She only wore purple and yellow dresses. Today, she was wearing a purple and yellow dress because that was the only thing she wore. 

 “Why do we have to go to the stupid hotel?” George asked. 

“You know, your father wants to go to this hotel really badly,” Mom said. 

George was the type of kid who really was into Minecraft and Pokemon Go.  He only wore orange shorts and purple t-shirts. His dad worked in the industry and got these tickets for this very fancy hotel. When they got there, there were four other people at the Hotel of Fanciness. When they got to their room, there were cookies for everyone. Then, in a flash, the dining room was ready to have dinner. There was one gigantic straight table. There was a selection of McDonald’s and every single color of Jell-O that existed in the name of Jell-O history. EVERYONE enjoyed their food… 

15 MINUTES LATER

KRCCC!

Suddenly, the lights went out and everyone saw blood on the ground. The light came back on, and they could see Dr. Frankenstein was dead. 

DUN DUN DUNNN! 

George started crying. Then, George noticed that there was a bloody knife in his mom’s pocket. Coincidentally, his mom was sitting right next to Dr. Frankenstein. 

“It isn’t what it looks like… promise.” 

No one talked to George’s mom for the rest of the two days. When everyone was having breakfast, they all went up to put their plates in the sink. Suddenly, there was another strike. The lights went out and….

 KRCCC!

 Mrs. Frankenstein was dead!   

This time, there was a hook in Mrs. Frankenstein’s throat with a purple piece of leather stuck to the end of the hook. The waiter thought this had gone on way too long.

“This has gone on long enough!!! Tonight, George will sleep alone and all the other people will sleep together,” said the waiter. No one was killed that night. That morning, George’s mom knew something was up. 

“George, is there anything you want to tell me?” 

“Nope. I have to tell Dad how appreciative I am that he let us all come here to this lovely hotel!” George’s mom now knew that something was up. 

That night, at dinner, Mom yelled, “I know who the demon killer is!!! I was very surprised when I figured it out… THE DEMON KILLER IS GEORGE!!!”

George replied, “Honestly, it’s Dad. He gave me a needle every night and forced me to put it in my skin. He forced me using a gun! He is in a bet with someone. He has to kill everyone living in this hotel, and if he does, he gets a large amount of money!! He was controlling me.” Tears appeared out of George’s eyes. George’s dad walked in.

“This guuuy’s name is actually Dr. Lawrence Payne!”

KRCCC!

The lights went out, and a few moments later, the lights went on and George’s dad was DEAD!!!

Tommy’s Adventures

Tommy’s lungs gratefully greeted the fresh air as he and Bobby (his best friend) piled out of the airport. Tommy and Bobby the Acorns had arrived in San Francisco!!!

Tommy’s mind drifted back to a few days ago, when the leaves had delivered the mail. Sitting patiently on top of the pile was a colorful flier. It was the flier for the all-new nuts and seeds skatepark. 

“Earth to Tommy!” Bobby’s voice rang in his ears.

Tommy’s mind suddenly snapped back to reality. Somehow, while Tommy was having his little “flashback,” he was able to get a taxi for him and Bobby.  Before they knew it, they arrived at the skatepark! It also had a hotel you could stay in. And it was pretty cheap too! He and Bobby had pooled their allowance and managed to fill the price of 50 wood chips. 

When the taxi driver opened the door, the hot air hit his shell.   

“Gulp,” Tommy gulped. Climbing up the steps was a slow and tedious process. When they got to the top, they saw a sign that said, “Congratulations! You’ve reached the top and proved you’re worthy of staying at Nuts Sk8er Park!”

“Wow,” said Bobby, as they walked into the hotel. “Nooo! My life is ruined!! More stairs!!!”

“They’ve got a busted elevator? Come on!” said Tommy.

***

20 minutes later… 

*pant pant* “Bobby?” *pant pant* “I forgot my skateboard.”

*pant pant* “That’s okay.” *pant pant* “I don’t have one either.”

5 minutes later, they got their skateboards. 

“Now, Bobby,” said Tommy playfully, “I know you’re not as advanced as me, so we can start with a simple trick.” 

“Ha ha ha. Very funny.” 

They waited in a line as long as a ball of yarn. Finally, it was their turn! As they were speeding down the hill, Tommy imagined what it would feel like if he had any hair to rush in the wind. Suddenly, the skateboard slowed, lowered and started to make a scraping noise. The wheels had popped off! Bobby seemed to be in the same sticky situation. 

“Ummm, Bobby?”

“ — let’s go back to the hotel.” Bobby finished his sentence. 

***

When they got back to the hotel, Tommy heard the manager arguing with one of the staff members in the skateboard return center. 

“Do you want everyone else to find out this place is a scam!?” 

When they heard that sentence, they marched right in and demanded their woodchips back. Luckily, they got an early flight back to the city and told their families all about their adventures.

Tommy’s Winter Adventures

Tommy and his friend Bobby’s acorn relationship was as strong as metal. Tommy and Bobby were in Antarctica, and when you’re in Antarctica, you’ve got to have some fun. So Tommy and Bobby agreed on going sledding on a nice, tall, snowy mountain. 

They packed up their stuff and made sure they were properly dressed — they didn’t want to get cold.

So they set off on to the snowy fields of the Antarctic. It was a good, long walk, but when they got there, they were stunned. It was huge. Tommy was a bit nervous, but he didn’t share this with Bobby because he didn’t want to ruin the fun. 

They got on Tommy’s new and improved blue sled, which Tommy was very proud of. 

“Comfy,” said Bobby as he, too, got on the sled. The sled started to move and soon they were speeding down the mountain. 

“This is fun!” shouted Tommy over the wind, but his words trailed off as Tommy lost his grip and fell off the sled. 

“TOMMY!” shouted Bobby. Unfortunately, Tommy slammed into a tree. 

“Are you ok?” asked Bobby, helping Tommy to his feet. 

“Yes,” said Tommy. “But I think I sprained my point.” (AKA his ankle.) 

“I have a plastic bag I can fill with snow just like an ice pack,” said Bobby. 

“Okay, try,” said Tommy urgently. Bobby quickly filled his plastic bag with snow and when he was done he gave it to Tommy. 

“Okay, now that that is solved, we still need to get you to a hospital,” said Bobby. 

“But I can’t walk,” said Tommy.

“I think I have an idea,” said an excited Bobby. “Try to get on your sled,” said Bobby. As Tommy hopped on his point to his sled he asked Bobby an important question. 

“What exactly is your idea?” said Tommy.

“I’m going to pull you by my stem up to the hospital nearby,” said Bobby. And he began to pull Tommy up the mountain. When they got to the hospital, the nurses wrapped Tommy’s ankle and said it would take two weeks to heal.

“Umm, Bobby, we have a problem. I can’t walk,” said Tommy in a worried tone.

“That’s okay. I will just pull you home on your sled,” said Bobby. And that’s what they did.

When they got home, they made a fire and had a nice time drinking hot chocolate, laughing, and telling stories from when they were little. 

Mr. Puppy Face Goes to School

Book #2 of the Mr. Puppy Face Series

One day, Mr. Puppy Face gets a letter in the mail saying that he is invited to teach puppies in Grade 1 about being a Professional Puppy Scout. (Read Book One, A Job for Mr. Puppy Face.) He decides to go because he wants an opportunity to teach little puppies. 

Soon, he is on a school bus with other puppies, driving to a building with a giant sign that reads, “Puppy Academy: Where Slobbery Dreams Come True.” He walks into the building, checking with kids so he knows where to go. He walks into the classroom, and he looks around. The walls are covered with scribbles on construction paper that were supposedly called drawings, and the floors had colorful fuzzy rugs with the ABC’s on them. He thought it was all wonderful. It reminded him of when he was a kid. He sat down on a chair marked, “Teacher Puppy Face.” It was obviously referring to him. 

 He sat down in front of a white board, and the principal entered. She looked very professional. She introduced Mr. Puppy Face to the class that had entered so quietly, they seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. 

After, he wrote important stuff on the whiteboard, and he stuffed blank paper into a thick blue file folder so that he would seem professional.

While he was doing this, the kids just thought his presentation already started, so they were clueless. Then, Mr. Puppy Face remembered that he did not plan out his presentation or what he was going to say. Then he looked around. He saw many other parents! It was Job Day!!! He would have time to plan out what he was going to say while the other parents went. 

He thought something up while a fire dog, a police officer, and a librarian went. He gave an important speech. At least, he thought it was important… 

The End

The Lake

It had been a long time since I had visited my mom. My mother had always been insecure, but ever since my father’s death, she became disconnected from all of my family members and moved away to a tiny lake house nestled between the trees of a huge forest. She never really talked to me — not for a long time. However, about a year ago, we started sending each other letters and emails, and one day, she invited me to her house. It had been a long time since I had seen my mother, and I was naturally worried about her, so I was eager to see her. 

As I drove more into the wilderness, I found her house. My mom was waiting for me on the front porch. There were a few wrinkles on her face, but she was as gorgeous as ever. Her long brown hair was pulled up into a bun and ringlets framed her face. 

“Lily!” she exclaimed and ran over to hug me. “I’ve missed you so much,” she said, tears filling her eyes. My mother stepped back and smiled at me. “I would like you to meet someone very special.

“Johnny! You can come out,” she said. A handsome man walked out of the lake. When I said handsome, I meant knockout handsome. The rosy light from the sunset outside gave him an angelic glow. 

“Lily, I would like you to meet John,” she said, beaming at me.

“How do you do?” the man said, shaking my hand. His grip was so strong that when he let go I breathed a sigh of relief. I stared at him suspiciously — a handsome man walking out from the water? There was something very wrong going on here. 

We stared at each other for a few seconds until my mom clapped her hands together.

“Do you want dinner? It’s pork roast!” she said.

We walked inside. It was clean and cozy, and the pork smelled so good. I soon forgot about being suspicious about John from enjoying the meal.

“Can you pass the salt?” asked my mom. As I handed her the salt, a little bit fell off the shaker and landed on John’s hand. John cried out and cradled his hand before he ran off into his room. My mom and I stared at each other, then stood up and went to our rooms. 

I couldn’t sleep that night because strange lights were emitting from the lake. At midnight, I crept out of my bed to see what was in the lake. Outside, it was cold, and the sand was wet. I squinted my eyes and saw John walking into the lake!

“JOHN!” I cried, running forward. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around. John was facing me. 

“What do you need?” he asked. 

Life in the Eyes of a Royal Drolfette

Ever since Jewelea had been attacked by evil invaders as a drolfette, she has lived on her own. But when humans kidnap her and try to keep her, she must escape to find Drolftopia and to recover her long-lost royal heritage. And she now meets some new challenges, being a hero and a magical queen. 

Prologue

One joyful day, there was news that not just one but four eggs had just been laid by Lady Rain and her husband, Lord Pluto. All rejoiced as soon there would be new royals! The eggs were beautiful, and each was, according to tradition, topped with a special crown for the baby inside. The crown would fall off when the egg hatched and would belong to the drolf or drolfette that had been in the egg forever. The crown also had the name of the prince or princess that was inside the egg. The egg that was laid first would, of course, belong to the future ruler. However, we have not gotten there just yet. Depending on if the egg had a star or heart on the front, it would be a boy or a girl. And so, one by one, the eggs hatched. 

First to hatch was a very special young princess from a bejeweled egg, who would become the queen. Her name was Jewelea. Then hatched twin princes, emerging from a shimmering black egg. Next hatched twin princesses, who were born from a soft, cream colored egg. Finally, there was one more pair of twins — this time a prince and princess from a mahogany egg.

Soon, Jewelea looked around, wondering what to do. She could hear a whooshing noise outside. She and her three sisters and three brothers panicked, scrambling everywhere. THEY WERE UNDER ATTACK! Running out the door, carrying their seven children, Lord Pluto and Lady Rain screamed. As the authorities started to arrive, they split and ran for cover. As Jewelea ran, she wondered whether she would ever see her family again. 

15 Years Later… 

Chapter 1: The Best Birthday

“Hm-hm, hm-hm-hm,” Jewelea sang to herself as she paced her hideout. It looked decent, seeing as she had lived there for fifteen years; there was a living room filled with old books, cushions, and mugs. There was a kitchen that held all of her food and where she had dug a hole in the wall for a sink and filled it with smooth stone she had found nearby. She had taken the hose from the house above her and stuck it through a pipe she had found at the dump, and now she just had to pull on the string next to the sink to turn the water on and off. She also had a bathroom, which had a bath exactly the same as the sink, just three times as big and using another hose. It also had a toilet that had a pipe leading to the sewer that she had connected herself, so now she had a toilet. And, of course, the bathroom had its own sink, using yet another hose and pipe. 

Finally, we reach the bedroom. It had five beds stuck into each of the walls, except that the back wall had a wardrobe instead of beds, and the front had the archway for a door. The whole house was deep underground, but it was totally awesome. Jewelea liked her house, and tomorrow was her sixteenth birthday! 

After a dinner of carrots, sunflower seeds, and lettuce salad, she went into the bedroom, climbed into her bed, grabbed her stuffed elephant, and fell asleep. The next morning, she woke up, brushed her teeth, combed her silky white fur, and ran into the kitchen to get the basket in which she would collect the food that she would eat for the day. Though she had a ladder leading towards the ground that most of her fellow drolves tread on, she rarely ever went up. She only went up if she needed to repair her water system or if she needed some fresh air. 

Today, she went over to her garden, which also had a chicken coop and a stall with a cow in it. The stall was big with hay bales and a water trough in it. The chicken coop had four chickens: a black one, a brown one, a white one, and a gray one. The chicken coop also had two floors — the bottom was where they ate, drank, and ran around, and the top was where they slept and laid their eggs. The nests where they laid their eggs were designed so that when an egg was laid, it went straight into a tub on either side that was filled with soapy water to clean the eggs as they sat there. 

Jewelea milked the cow, gathered the eggs, and harvested the lettuce, carrots, beans, sunflowers, strawberries, and herbs in her garden for the day. She took some wood from the woodpile near the stone chimney that reached all the way to the ground and took some matches from the mantelpiece, as well as a frying pan, some salt, a cloth, and an oven mitt. She lit the wood and started a fire, and while the fire was heating up, she scrambled eggs, strained milk, washed berries, and chopped herbs. When the fire was hot enough, she put the eggs in the frying pan, put on the oven mitt, and held the eggs out over the fire. As soon as they were cooked, she decided that she should eat them and then go exploring for a little while. So she ate her breakfast and ran up the ladder outside, but as she went into the street, somebody made everything go black.

Chapter 2: Discovered

Jewelea was TERRIFIED! As she was dragged along, she could hear a voice saying, “C’mon Joe, we gotta take this one to the hospital, it’s a beauty.” Jewelea did not know what a hospital was — the only buildings in Drolftopia were stands and houses, and the only ways of transport were by foot or wing, and all the animals that lived there were drolves! What was a hospital, and what was it for?

Jewelea howled. She howled and howled and howled with confusion and misery. “Owowaaa! Wooo! Arooo!” 

Eventually, whoever was carrying her said to the other, “Doesn’t this one ever stop?”

The other, whose name was apparently Joe, replied, “Don’t think so,” and chuckled. 

Jewelea felt the bag or box or whatever she was in get lifted into somewhere that she could not see, but before she could wonder what to do and where she was, the box or bag she was in started to shake violently. It was a curious sensation — it felt new and bumpy and strange, but it also felt warm and safe. Jewelea didn’t know what to make of it. But soon the rhythm of the thing she was in carried her off to sleep. 

When she awoke, she was startled to see someone staring at her through thick, square glasses. What was more, this creature had two legs, not four! The thing opened its mouth and said gently, “It’s all right, everything is gonna be fine. Though you will have to get surgery on your kidney, everything else seems to be in order.”

Jewelea sat there, trembling with fright and cold. It was not very warm in the place where she was sitting, and speaking of where she was sitting, it appeared to be some sort of table or counter with a leather cushion on top in a small room. The walls were lined with pictures of strange animals and plants. Cabinets, a sink much like the one back home, and some chairs covered one wall while all the others were bursting with those pictures. Jewelea heard the thing talking to another one just like it, but the other one had black hair and no glasses. Then, they grabbed something from under the counter she was sitting on and placed it next to her. It seemed like a box, except that it had a screen of wire mesh across the front. Inside Jewelea could see blankets, her stuffed elephant, and a small velvet cushion. The cozy looking bed tempted her, so when the things, which she thought she knew the name of but couldn’t quite remember, opened the box, she happily stepped in. 

They closed the mesh door as she stepped inside, and yet they opened a door in the top and gently pet her, then closed it once more. Jewelea found herself being moved towards another room. When the creatures carrying her opened the cage, she immediately jumped out, soaring onto a small chair in the corner, glad to be out of that thing! Jewelea liked the chair, and sat down on it, wondering, What are they doing now? They’ve already kidnapped me, brought me here, stuffed me in a cage, and I don’t even know who or what they are! So Jewelea growled as they approached her carrying a small, pointy thing, but they were not scared. This must have happened with a lot of the drolves they kidnapped. (Not saying she blamed her fellow drolves or anything.) But as they closed in, she howled and barked and growled some more. The creatures were confused. But they finally reached her and jabbed her with the pointy thing, and within minutes she collapsed, and fell into a deep, strange, dreamless sleep.

Chapter 3: The Hospital 

The next thing Jewelea knew, she was staring at some fuzzy blobs up ahead. She shook herself and tried to stand, but a sudden sharp pain in her side prevented her from doing so. As her vision cleared, she noticed she was in another room, this one with lavender walls, another sink and leather cushion bench, and a bunch of thingies with glowing screens and long metal claws hanging over her head. What should I do? Jewelea asked herself. I’m trapped in this place that seems to be an endless hallway of weird rooms, and I can’t even stand up! AND it’s my birthday! 

Jewelea sat there, thinking about it for hours, and by that time, she had recovered from what that creature had called surgery, so she could make a plan to escape. First thing on the morning of her recovery, the plan began. Jewelea pretended to sleep as one of the creatures came in. Suddenly she shot a jet of blue flame on the mesh, and it melted away. She soared out, gliding quickly on her jewel-encrusted wings, and flew straight out the door and into the hallway. Jewelea zoomed down the hallway, and at the end, she found a glass door. 

Not bothering to open it and wait for them to catch her, she put on an extra boost of speed and zoomed right through the door. Glass flew everywhere. There was a chinking noise, and then a sickening thud told Jewelea that the creatures had slipped on the glass and fallen to the tiled floor. In front of her were bushes and trees, and in the distance, she could see mountains. The fresh air felt good on her sweaty face. Panting, she looked around and realized she was lost! 

The trees and grasses were different then the rainbow colored ones in Drolftopia because these ones were only green and brown. Jewelea decided to fly up and see where she was. Soaring up into the clouds, she saw miles of the same sort of buildings and plants, with the occasional strange animal. Using her dragon vision, she focused on a small golden trapdoor thing in a large hill. The Great Separator! A sudden memory crossed her brain. A tan-colored drolfette was staring at her with kind, caring, sparkly blue eyes. Her eyes! A golden tiara bejeweled with amber and rubies sat on her head. Another drolf came into the picture. This one had stormy gray fur and bright, all-knowing brown eyes. A silver crown encrusted with sapphires and emeralds was on his head. Words made of diamonds were on the front of his crown. They read: Lord Pluto, King of all Drolves. Her parents! Lord Pluto, her father, said in a deep, calm voice, “Hello there! Welcome to Drolftopia, little one!”

Jewelea shook herself and started soaring towards the golden trapdoor. A strong instinct told her that she would be safe on the other side. She reached the trapdoor and put her pawprint in the scanner and zoomed through to find none other than Drolftopia!

Chapter 4: Voxes

Jewelea slowly stepped through the gateway. Drolftopia looked different than it had on her birthday. The usually bright, cheerful cottages were now a mass of gray and white wreckage. All of the drolves were gone. There was no color anywhere. Suddenly, Jewelea saw a blur of silver light. The light flashed by her fast as lightning, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Jewelea sniffed. An odor of decaying flesh streamed through her nostrils. Jewelea, disgusted, flew high into the foggy sky above. 

From high up she could see all of Drolftopia. Silver flashes of light were appearing and vanishing, draining even the white trim on the wreckage of its color. I hope everyone is all right, she thought. But in the meantime I should investigate. So that is what she did. 

Swooping down silently, she hid carefully behind a large gray door and peeked around the edge. One of the silver lights had slowed nearby, inspecting a white board. Now that the light had slowed, Jewelea could see the details. Glowing red eyes peered from a slim, drolf-like head. 

Suddenly, the light opened its mouth to reveal a strong, muscular jaw with fangs so sharp it seemed the light cut itself every time it closed its mouth. The light breathed in the thin, dusty air as if drinking in the world around it. The white board became darker and darker as the light became brighter and brighter.

Jewelea then remembered the book she had borrowed from the town library about the beings of the spirit world. A picture on one of the last pages was of a white fox with glowing red eyes and razor-sharp fangs. Jewelea strained her memory and remembered that the paragraph next to the picture was titled: VOXES. Voxes, it read, were the evil souls of bloodthirsty foxes that had roamed the earth for centuries, killing all animals in their wake. Voxes sucked all life and color from the world around them to make themselves more powerful. 

These must be voxes, Jewelea thought. I have to do something! But what first? Jewelea suddenly soared up to the foggy clouds above. The vox didn’t notice. Jewelea closed her eyes and carefully listened to the evil silence around her. A noise startled Jewelea. A soft, miserable noise was coming from nearby. Howling! Jewelea rushed towards the noise. The noise was coming from a gigantic black metal cage. Inside, hundreds of drolves were howling miserably. Voxes were guarding the sides and top of the cage. I have to get them out! Jewelea thought. Gliding quickly upward, Jewelea peeked through the mass of vox guards. Underneath, though barely visible, was a shimmering silver key. 

Chapter 5: The Battlefield

Jewelea silently parachuted down to the ground. Creeping toward the metal cage, she thought about how best to get them to safety. Suddenly, one of the vox guards spotted her. He leaped, gliding creepily across the ground. Signaling to the others, he jumped down and ran. Jewelea rushed as fast as she could towards the cage. Zigzagging quickly, her heart pounding with exhaust and fright, she soared into the mist once more. Her fuzzy white silhouette blocked out the few rays of icy moonlight. She zoomed lightning fast towards the cage, but they had beaten her. Turning sharply, she sprinted away towards the marketplace. She had hardly ever been there, so she didn’t know what to expect.

And when she got there, she saw that the stands looked abandoned, and there was no merchandise on their shelves. The thick crowd was gone too. Jewelea hid behind a stand and waited for the world to end, for her vision to cloud and vanish, for her color to fade. But it never did. She realized then that the only way to save Drolftopia was to let the drolves go. But how? Jewelea thought.

Suddenly, she had an idea. Flapping her bejeweled wings hard, she lifted off the ground. Jewelea zipped to the cage just as the voxes got to the marketplace where she had been. She managed to get to the cage before they had figured out where she was and how to get there. Jewelea swooped down, grabbed the silver key in her mouth, and stuck it into the lock. There was a sharp click as the lock fell to the ground. Jewelea bit down hard on the handle of the cage door and pulled. The door swung open. The drolves soared out of the cage like a flock of birds, glad to be out at last. A tan drolf with blue wings and green eyes came up to Jewelea and said, “Thanks for freeing us! I don’t know what we would have done without you! But the royal family is still stuck. They’re at the palace, locked up someplace. You gotta save them!”  

“Bye! Thanks!” Jewelea shouted in reply as she zoomed as fast as she could towards the palace. The palace was a huge marble building surrounded by a large fruit orchard. A golden tower was in the middle of the courtyard in the center of the marble walls. The palace looked ghostly. Fog had settled around the great palace and made it impossible to see twenty feet in front of you in any direction. Jewelea flew towards where she thought the tower should be. Looming ahead of her was the tower, bright and golden as ever, and faint howls could be heard from inside. 

Chapter 6: A Palace of Gems

Jewelea parachuted into the tower. Rubble and torn furniture were everywhere. She followed the noises, and they got louder and louder with every step she took. As Jewelea rounded a corner, she saw a small wooden crate and inside, a brownish snout was poking out through the barred window. 

“Mom!” Jewelea cried.

“Jewels?” her mom replied. 

“I missed you, Mom!” Jewelea exclaimed. 

“I feel the same way!” she replied. “But could you get me and the rest of the family out of here, by any chance?”

“Sure,” Jewelea said. She picked the lock with her tooth, and the lock fell off. The door burst open and eight drolves flew out, circling her. 

“Hiya!” a storm gray drolf said. 

“How are you?” a cream-colored drolfette exclaimed.

“Hello, everybody!” Jewelea called. “I need to check who is who before I can greet you by name, because, like…” 

“We know. You ran away and you’ve been gone for sixteen years, blah, blah, blah,” a jet black drolf said. 

“Attention, hut!” a gray drolf said. He wore a silver crown. At the sound of his voice, all of the drolves lined up perfectly straight. 

At one end of the line, a beige drolfette with gold wings and green eyes said in a sweet, cheerful voice, “Hi! I’m Fern. Nice to meet you!”

Second, the pure black drolf with black wings and dark eyes said in a clever, mischievous voice, “Hiya, I’m Onyx.” 

Next, a storm gray drolf with silver wings and gray eyes said, “Hello, I’m Thunder, and this is my twin brother, Zigzag.” He gestured towards a drolf exactly like him, except with a white lightning bolt on his back. 

Finally, a cream-colored drolfette with bronzy wings and sparkly blue eyes said, “Hi there, I’m Cloud, and this is my twin sister Snowflake.” And she pointed a paw at a drolfette precisely the same but with a white spot on her forehead. 

“Nice to meet you all,” Jewelea replied. “Tell me if I got it right. Fern, Onyx, Thunder, Zigzag, Cloud, and Snowflake.” 

“Correctamundo,” Onyx said. 

“Ok. Great. Let’s go home to our bedrooms and sleep. I am exhausted.” 

 “Sure,” Snowflake replied.

All Because of Three Little Screws

“WHY DOES TIM NOT HAVE A CHAIR, AND WHY IS THERE A BROKEN CHAIR THERE?!” Ms. M screeched. Don’t understand? It makes sense. Here is the full explanation: 

It was the second month of third grade. During math class, Kevin was studying hard. The problem he needed to solve was 58 + 65. He did the math. It was 13. He carried the one to the tens place, and the 5 + 6 was 11. He wrote down his final answer, and then realized he made a mistake. The eraser rubbed hard against the flimsy sheet of paper in his notebook.

Kevin, you’re so stupid. Yeah, I know. No, I mean you need an award. Shut up! No, you should shut up, you’re the dumb one! SHUT UP!!! This was one of the many conversations he had in his head during the day. He had forgotten to carry the one! Kevin quickly added that one and his final answer was 123. He was about to raise his hand to share his answer with the class, when he heard a slight thump under his chair. He poked his head under his chair to investigate the odd sound. To his surprise, there were three screws under the seat. He raised his hand.

“Yes, Kevin.” Ms. M had called on him.

“Um…” Kevin started. “There are some screws under my chair.”

Ms. M stopped her rant about how this class was the worst class she has ever had to teach (this time it was because someone had forgotten to carry the one) to come over to Kevin’s seat at table three and calmly picked up the screws out of Kevin’s cupped hands.

“Thank you,” she said, not too enthusiastically. Ms. M went back to her post by the SMART Board™ and put the screws on a low bookshelf that was part of their class library. She made nothing of it and continued her rant.

Flash forward to a little bit past the halfway point of the school year. They had a one time substitute since Ms. M was out on family business. They were working on a math worksheet again, and everyone was relaxed that day because of the substitute. The entire day was chill, so Kevin swiveled his chair for the umpteenth-million time to talk to Jeremy. There was a slight ping-pang on the floor, and before he realized it, the seat of his chair became another backrest. As it rose up his back, the last screw had fallen out. He remembered the beginning of the year and thought to himself, So that’s what the screws were from. It made more sense to him now, but he still was not happy about his current predicament. He got up, put the seat back into the correct position and hauled the chair into the back of the room, then hauled it over people to eavesdrop on their conversations. Someone was in the middle of a heated argument with one of the other students about which word the person should use in a sentence: their, there, or they’re. He put the chair down and on the way back to his seat — or lack of seat — he made a quick detour to the empty seat that no one sat in. He brought it over to his seat (the others were still going with their debate, by the way) and put the chair at his desk. 

Moving on to a different side of the story, you get Isabell and Ted. Isabell was a bright student, just like Ted. They both finished their math work and wanted to check their answers with one another. Isabell went over to the seat no one sat in after talking to the substitute about it. Since there was no seat, the substitute brought Tim’s chair over because Tim was absent. However, Isabell and Ted forgot to put Tim’s chair back; this resulted in — best way to put it — disaster the following day.  

The next day, all the kids lined up outside. The buzz and chatter of a new day was in the air. The class watched Ms. M walk slowly down the stairs like a sloth crossbred with a snail who made out with a tortoise. All of the teacher’s pets yelled at everybody to get into two distinguished lines. Ms. M stood in front of her class waiting for two of the most perfect lines that she had ever seen in her life, and about 45 seconds later, she led the class up the back staircase.  

The hike up the staircase with their backpacks was a hard one, but they got used to it after a while. They didn’t like the thought of having their strict normal teacher anymore, but they knew that there was no getting out of it now. They passed the door from one kid to the next. 

Not even half of the class got through the door when Ms. M screeched, “WHY DOES TIM NOT HAVE A CHAIR, AND WHY IS THERE A BROKEN CHAIR THERE?!” 

Kevin leaned his head back and casually said, “I don’t know.” He was only halfway lying. He did not know, at that point, why Tim did not have a chair. 

Thief

It was Halloween, and Amelia was running from house to house, trick-or-treating. She was a normal kid living a normal life. She had annoying siblings, she did after-school activities, and she texted her friends. She listened to music and chewed gum as she did her homework. And, of course, she ate candy, too. Lollipops were her favorite, and usually, she got a sack of lollipops out of the three sacks of candy she got. Her parents didn’t allow her to have candy because they were healthy moms and dads, but she snuck the candy into her closet. 

Amelia’s mother, Sandy, and her father, Jake, didn’t permit Amelia to stay up later than 10:30 PM, but Amelia had her ways. She would read by her night light and suck on her leftover candy. On that particular day, she took out a big grape lollipop, her favorite flavor, and opened her book. Her book was very interesting, but it was very late, and so she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, she sighed and took a piece of candy out of the first sack and went downstairs. Never had she thought that her parents were going to be so cheerful that morning. She expected to see angry faces staring at her, but they were bustling around. Amelia sighed again, very confused. Hoping her parents didn’t see her worried face, she quickly gulped down her food, brushed her teeth, and ran out the door. 

On most days, Amelia was a very good student and often teased for being the teacher’s pet. Amelia never minded the bullies, but this worrying made her more sensitive, and she almost yelled at the boys teasing her. If she had actually yelled at them, she would have gone straight to the principal’s office. That made the boys tease her even more, but at that exact moment, the lunch bell rang and Amelia rushed into the cafeteria. 

In one corner of the cafeteria, she stayed low for a while, and when everyone was busy eating, she felt brave enough to go buy her lunch. Then, when she searched through her backpack, her money was gone. So was her candy. And so she was lunchless. Her stomach rumbled, but what was there to do? When Amelia was young, she always wanted to solve a mystery. Now, there was one right in front of her eyes. 

The next day, Amelia still wasn’t sure if she had just dropped her things or if they went missing, so she went to school with her lunch money and more candy. Once again, the same thing happened. Her parents were becoming suspicious because, when she came home, her stomach was always rumbling like a car motor. 

Finally, she decided to go to the principal. But first, she had to talk to her mother. 

“Mom? Can I bike to school?” Amelia asked, though she knew the answer would be no.

After a moment of pause, Amelia’s mother said, “Well, you are in middle school, so I suppose so.” 

Trying hard not to run up to her mother and hug her, Amelia simply walked into her room. Her mother and father went on a stroll, and Amelia took the chance to make some pizza to cook in the morning. When her parents came back, she lied, “We have pizza-making competition in cooking class, so I made some.” 

It was a really bad lie, but they still went along with her. Since her parents didn’t want her to know that she was going to be in big trouble for lying, they hid their suspicion. 

“That looks like a great pizza. Freeze it, and I will heat it up in the morning,” her mother said. Amelia was secretly taking it, just in case the thief was back again, so she would have something to eat. Her plan that she hoped was going to fix this mystery was to go to the principal’s office and see if he would allow her to check the security cameras.

Amelia hardly slept that night, worrying about the next day. In the morning, she didn’t even bother to hide her unusualness. Quickly, she dressed, showered, ate, and brushed her teeth. One second she was in the garage grabbing her bike, the next she was outside heading towards school. Her aim was to get there early, so she could go in first. 

Soon, the bell rang, and Amelia rushed into the building and headed to the principal’s office. Her principal was a reasonably kind one and understood her well. Though it was strange, her principal mostly hid his suspicion when Amelia bustled into the office. Mostly, he was cool with her situation, but Amelia could tell he was quite suspicious of her. Although she had never gone to see the security cameras before, it felt weird that a security man was there supervising her. 

Mr. Crasper, the security man, showed her the video and she spotted her locker. The thief approached her locker and dug through her backpack, taking out a small object, then another, and then some paper (the money). 

“Yes, that is the thief that kept stealing my things!” Amelia exclaimed.

The principal came in and said, “Found the thief? Lemme see who it is!” 

Amelia did so and the principal sighed.

“Ahh, that’s the bully of the school. We have had many kids come to complain about him. I think he is such a menace, we might have to report him. Don’t worry, we will catch him,” the principal said.

“Oh, thank you so much!” Amelia exclaimed.

“You’re welcome,” the principal said, and they shook hands. “Now, don’t be late, the second bell will ring soon.” And Amelia skipped off to class. 

Ghostly Figures

The road near my house was the pinnacle of fright. 

Not the road itself. The road was fine. It was what was on the road that was creepy. 

Normal stuff was there. Cars, bikes, motorcycles, passersby. Nothing you wouldn’t really expect. Except, I saw something different there. 

People. Countless people, milling through their daily lives. And not just people from now, either. The people were dressed in pelts, or large petticoats, or tight-fitting leggings and Rollerblades. People with loincloths, people with fancy tuxedos, children, adults, the elderly. They were all doing their own thing, stuck in their own little world. And they all shared the same feature, a pale green glow, making them see-through and ghostly. 

Maybe they were ghostly. Maybe they were ghosts. Maybe they were lost souls, and this was just a rest stop to get where they were going.

It wasn’t on any other blocks, either. Just this specific road, 18th Street and Butler. And it didn’t seem like anyone else was bothered by all the ghosts — ahem, ghostly figures — or they didn’t see them at all. 

Every time I walked past the road on my way to school, I slowed my pace. Waved to some of them. Sometimes they even waved back. I stopped overthinking it years ago. 

I didn’t know what caused it. I didn’t really care, either. I didn’t care until they all disappeared. 

Fire – A Poem Collection

#1

The screech of violins

The singing of the cello

The deep ringing of flutes

The beat of drums

The thrum of grand pianos

All created a fire

#2

The writers’ place

It’s in outer space

Aliens like to sleep there

The dragons roar crazily

The writers wake up and eat phones

They taste weird and bitter

Then they write about floors that burned

And human-eating cows (moo)

Then they have writer’s block (aw)

And they start to sing with sadness

#3

Huzzah! We shout as we dive into the sofa

It tastes very sweet but smells like someone farted.

Then we take the pillows and start hitting each other in the eyes.

Then the pillows erupt and we eat the fluff

Then lick our lips with joy.

Three Is Turned to One by a Human Beast

Kkkra shooo!

“Jet, come eat breakfast,” Mom said.

What? What’s happening? Startled and half-asleep, I jumped up out of bed and banged my head on a chair. 

“Oh, just five more minutes,” I said, falling onto my bed.

“Come now,” Mom said in a strict Mom voice.

“OK,” I said with a sigh.

Creak, creak, creak. I came down the splintery wooden stairs.

Oh, hi there. My name is Jet. I’m twelve years old. I live in a war zone in my homeland city in the forest. My city and two other cities fight day and night. My city’s name is Wild Fasts. I don’t know why. The other city is named Steel City because it is foolproof, but it’s not really a steel city — it is a desert full of dark-skinned people. The last city is named Sharp because they have sharp, deadly knives and are full of bandits on a dock. My mom says my dad died in the war when I was three. We are lucky we are even alive right now.

I sat down in front of Mom.

“Here, today’s meal is toast,” Mom said.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said. “Oh, and Mom?” 

“Yes?” 

“When do you think it is going to stop?” I asked.

“What?” 

Kkkrrrunch!

“You know, the war,” I mumbled with my mouth stuffed with toast. 

“Oh, I’m not sure. It could go on forever,” replied Mom while pouring milk into the glass cups.

“I wish I could free these people from this ongoing war,” I said.

“Maybe if you really work on it, it will happen,” encouraged Mom.

I knew she was just encouraging me, but I smiled. I finished breakfast. 

“See you later, Mom. I’m going to meet my friends,” I said.

I went to the park. I turned all 360 degrees. Where are they?

“Boo!”

They came out from behind an ice cream truck.

“Aaak!!!”

Chapter One: DNA

“Hey! Why do you scare me like that every time?” I shouted.

“It’s fun!” my friends said simultaneously, giggling.

“But it scared me half to death!” I muttered under my breath. 

Anyway, these are my friends. They’re brother and sister. The sister named Ruby is twelve and the brother named Vac is eleven.

“So, anyway, what do ya want to do? Because I’m as bored as hell,” I ask.

“Wanna race?” Vac asked.

“Sure, because I’m going to win,” I said.

“To my house,” Ruby said.

“Bu — but that’s…”

“Then do ya Q-U-I-T?” Ruby cut in.

“No way,” I said.

“Then let’s go,” Vac said.

Three… two… one… go!

We dashed. I dashed so fast it knocked the wind out of me

“Done, haha! I’m done already!” I shouted in awe of myself. I looked around. There was no one there. This is gonna take a long time…

Finally, Ruby and Vac arrived five minutes later.

“We are done,” they gasped simultaneously. They were on their knees gasping for breath.

“What took you so long?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked.

“And what happened to your legs?!” Vac panicked, not taking his eyes off my legs like if he did, something would stab him in the back.

“Wha — OMG! There’s cheetah fur on my leg!!” I panicked too. We went to my house to talk to my mom. “What’s happening to me?” I shouted while pointing at my leg.

“I knew this day would come…” she whispered to herself while putting a hand on her forehead.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Your Dad’s DNA — it’s forming,” Mom told me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Your dad was half-cheetah.”

I was half-beast.

Chapter Two: New City

Now I know why our city is named Wild Fasts. 

“But… I don’t understand what you mean! And — and you said my — my dad’s dead!!!” I shouted, tears dripping down my cheeks .

“No, he’s not dead. He’s in the wild somewhere. I just know it,” Mom told me.

“How did he get there?” I asked, still petrified.

“Like you wanted, he tried to make peace, but they thought it was a trap, so they attacked instead. The others made it back but — but he couldn’t.” She finished talking and sobbed.

I was mad — no, furious! But sad at the same time. I wanted to run out of here and find my dad. But I didn’t know if I would make it or not. Plus, I didn’t know where he was.

 “I know you want to find your dad, and I will let you. But you need to know how to control the cheetah in you, so I’ll lead you until we get there, and then I’ll go,” Mom told me.

“OK,” I told Mom.

“Don’t forget us,” Ruby and Vac said simultaneously. 

“It’s too dangerous,” said Mom.

“Just go with it. If they say something, they never take it back,” I told Mom like it was just common sense.

“OK, just one tiny, little problem… It’s that — this person in the other city,” Mom told us, saying the last part more quickly.

“First, that’s a big problemo! Second, how can we trust that ‘person’?” said Ruby.

“That ‘person’ trained Jet’s dad,” said Mom.

Why is everyone saying “person” like it’s important? I thought.

“OK then, let’s go in twenty minutes,” Vac said.

***

We got out of our city no problemo, but that was the easy part.

We spent several days in the forest sleeping, walking, and eating until we made it. There was a wall of stone and guards in every corner. The only way was up. The good thing was there was a hill near us.

“Ruby, did you bring the paper like always?” asked Vac.

“Of course,” Ruby said.

“Can you give it to me so I can make a glider for each of us? Then, we can glide in there from the hilltop,” said Vac.

“Fine with me,” Ruby replied. “Here,” she said while handing the paper over.

We went up the hill.

“That was a good hike,” I gasped while I basically fell. 

I would have tumbled down if my mom didn’t stop me.

Chapter Three: Arguing

“You guys should rest. We will go at midnight,” Vac said. “I’ll be making the glider.”

“Now, who made you boss?” Ruby asked.

“I’m not the boss. I’m just saying I’ll make the glider and you guys should rest,” Vac told her.

“Yeah, well, I want to help!” shouted Ruby.

“Well, I think I’ll be better off if I do this alone,” said Vac while he was making the glider.

“Well, I’m the one who gave you the paper,” Ruby said.

Blah blah blah…

Mom looked in her bag.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

“Clothing to disguise us,” my mom answered.

“Good idea.” 

“There, a cloak.”

“OK, now let’s rest.”

***

At midnight, Vac and Ruby were still arguing, but they had made the gliders.

“Ok, now zip it,” I told them.

They finally stopped.

“Let’s go,” I whispered.

We glided. It was actually really fun, like flying. Mom and I were way in front of Vac and Ruby.

I saw Vac mouth, “This conversation is not finished.”

“Everyone got a cloak, right?” Mom whispered.

“Yes,” we whispered back.

We landed safely because it was night and no one was awake.

“OK, let’s wait ‘til sunlight. When it’s time, Mom will tell us who the ‘person’ is,” I said.

We lay down on the hard, cold rock waiting to sleep. Very slowly, I closed my eyes into the darkness.

***

We opened our eyes in the bright sunlight.

“I officially hate living in the street,” I said.

“Same,” Vac agreed.

“Let’s go,” my mom said.

My mom and I started walking, but Vac and Ruby were arguing about who was going to find the “person” first.

Chapter Four: The Person

My mom and I were so focused on finding the “person” that we didn’t realize Vac and Ruby were running a different way and arguing about who was going to find the “person” first.

They kept arguing until they found themselves lost and sat down on a bench, not knowing which way to go.

“OK, because we’re lost — and you know it, too — why don’t we just give up on this pointless argument?” Ruby growled.

“Deal?” Vac asked.

“Deal,” Ruby replied.

“Are we good?” asked Vac.

“We’re good,” Ruby answered.

“Good,” Vac said.

“Now, where did we come from?” Ruby said.

“There — no, there — no, I don’t know,” Vac said.

“There,” said an old lady nearby, pointing to the way they had come from.

“WHERE DID THIS OLD HAG COME FROM?” Vac shouted.

The old lady whacked Vac with her walking stick.

“I probably deserved that,” Vac mumbled.

The old lady was wearing brown ripped clothes, sharp teeth, and had sharp nails like talons and a white outline at the eye tail.

Ruby shot a glance at the old lady. 

“I think we are supposed to know her,” Ruby whispered.

***

Meanwhile…

“Mom, what does the ‘person’ look like?” I asked.

“Just an old lady,” my mom said.

Chapter Five: City Trouble

Bonk. Ooof!

I fell to the ground.

“Hey, what are you doing?” said the big guy I had bonked into.

He was bald and basically three feet wide and six feet tall. I made him so mad that he looked as hot as a flaming piece of charcoal. He was about to hit me, but he missed. It seemed like I was too fast for him, but then my cloak drifted off.

Security guards surrounded us.

“Oh crap,” I said.

There were two reasons why I said, “Oh crap.” First, the security guards surrounded us. Second, the cheetah DNA was once again forming.

We stood back to back. There was one space that was not closed.

“Let’s run through there on the count of three,” I mouthed through the side of my mouth, ticking my head.

“OK,” my mom mouthed back.

“One… two… three!” I said.

We ran for it.

My mom ran as fast as she could. I went the same speed, not turning back and not knowing where to go until we saw Vac and Ruby with the “old lady.”

“What are you doing with the ‘person’?!” I shouted.

“Oh!!! So this old hag is the ‘person’?!” Vac said. OK, I shouldn’t have said that, he thought.

Whack!

Chapter Six: Grandma

“I knew there was something suspicious about this person,” Ruby said, balling her hands into fists.

“Why are you running?” Vac asked.

“No time to explain,” Mom and I gasped simultaneously. The security guards were catching up.

“Run!” I told everyone.

We ran. Vac was the one who dragged the old lady. We turned a corner and, fortunately, the door was there, but unfortunately, there were even more guards at the door’s entrance.

We turned another corner before the security guards could and went into an abandoned building to hide.

“Mom,” Mom whispered to the old lady happily.

Ruby and Vac stared in awe at my mom, jaws dropped.

“What?” Mom said, looking uncomfortable.

“Let’s talk about this afterwards,” the old lady scolded Vac and Ruby, whacking them with her walking stick.

“So, what should we do?” Vac whispered.

“What about we make them follow us into a trap?” Ruby asked.

“That is not a bad idea,” Mom said.

“OK then, let’s do that plan,” I said.

“You’re saying it like we have another choice,” Vac said to me.

“Whatever. Just go with the plan,” I quickly said.

“OK then, who’s the bait?” Vac asked.

Nobody raised their hand. They were all staring at me.

“OK, fine. I’ll go,” I sighed.

Chapter Seven: Escape

Thirty minutes later, we had already set up the trap. It was a simple one, you know: dig up a hole and put sticks over it, then cover it with leaves. Anyway, I went to the front entrance and got their attention. Then, I ran.

I jumped over the booby trap, and when the guards chased me, they fell into the hole.

“Let’s go before backup comes,” I said.

We ran for the door. It was already open. We ran until we couldn’t see the city.

“I think we lost ‘em,” Ruby said.

We settled down in the middle of Wild Fasts and Steel City next to a tree. We set up camp and went inside tents.

“I guess the Steel City isn’t foolproof?!” I said.

“It could be in the history books: the group who — ” Vac started saying.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Ruby cut in.

“So, ummm, old ha — I know what you’re thinking; you don’t need to hit me — I mean, Grandma,” I said.

“Yes?” she replied in a croaky voice.

“Did you really teach my dad, Flin?” I asked.

“Yes,” she croaked.

“Can you teach me?” I asked.

“I suppose,” said the old lady with a small smile.

“We will start the next morning,” the old lady croaked.

***

“Wait, so why didn’t you tell us she was your mother?” I asked my mom.

“Because you would ask too many questions.”

“That’s true,” I replied, trying to block a tirade. 

“I guess I’ll go, then,” my mom said.

“Wait until sunrise,” I said with gleaming eyes.

“OK then,” Mom said with a sigh.

“Then let’s rest up,” Ruby said. Nobody could argue with that. 

I went into the tent with Grandma and Mom while Vac and Ruby went into the other one. I lay down. Now it’s not long until I see my dad.

Chapter Eight: Lessons

It was beaming sunlight when I woke up. My mom was about to leave. She and Grandma were hugging. We said a quick goodbye and hugged, too. When I hugged my mom, she said, “Do what Grandma says,” and slipped a pen in my pocket without me noticing. When my mom left,

silence fell…

“So, Grandma, what are we going to do?” I asked, cutting the silence. “Hunting, fighting, racin — ” 

“Meditation,” Grandma cut in.

“Why?” I said, a little disappointed but trying not to show it. 

Grandma glared at me.

Under a tree, Grandma and I sat down and closed our eyes. I twitched. I snuck a peek to see if she was still meditating. She was still meditating. I was aching, but I was trying my best to stay still. I wanted to know how much more I’d need to keep it up, but no matter what, I’d do it to find my dad.

So, I survived, and at the end, I was more comfortable. When what felt like two hours had passed, I stood up and felt a jolt of aching pain. It was only a cramp, but it hurt pretty bad.

The next day, I asked if we were going to do something else, but she gave me the stink eye, so I listened and sat down and closed my eyes. Every passing day was less painful but still very painful.

Two weeks had passed and we were still doing the same thing: same old mediation.“I can’t believe we’re wasting our time meditating while we could be looking for my dad!” I told Grandma, who twitched, but she didn’t respond. She was too busy meditating.

Chapter Nine: Frustration

Yyyhhhaaa!

Silence fell.

“Let’s meditate,” snapped Grandma, cutting the silence.

“OH, now I’ve had enough! I mean, every day I meditate, and what do I learn?! Nothing! SO. I. QUIT!” I shouted, storming out of the tent and sitting down under the same old tree.

“Dogmatic,” sighed Grandma.

I skipped lunch and went near the tree to eat dinner ALONE. I slept outside, but I couldn’t sleep in the frosty, cold wind until Ruby came. 

“What happened this morning?” she asked.

“Stuff,” I mumbled.

“Come on, dude. Break the silence act,” Vac said. I jumped. 

“Seriously, come on! Do you need to keep sneaking up on me?” I growled. 

“Stop stalling and spit it out!” Ruby snarled.

“Fine, I quit the whole thing!” I blurted.

“I’m sure she knows something. After all, she trained your dad,” Vac suggested.

“Sure, just trust an old lady that I learn nothing from,” I mumbled under my breath.

“What?” Ruby said.

“Nothing,” I said.

They walked away.

“Well, just give her one more try,” Ruby said.

The words echoed in my head. I sat there, waiting a little longer. Then, I tiptoed into the tent while Grandma was snoring. I slipped into the sleeping bag. 

I’ll give her one last try.

***

Sunlight came into the tent, burning my eyes. My eyes blinked rapidly. I saw my grandma outside. I trembled, every step I took getting me closer and closer to her, but at the same time she was going farther and farther away. My legs were wobbling like my bones had been removed. 

No! Get a hold of yourself, I told myself.

“Bbbttthhh,” I shuddered.

When I was in front of Grandma, I stopped. The words I wanted to say were stuck on the tip of my tongue. The only two words that came out were… “I’m sorry.”

Chapter Ten: Test

I was sweating, waiting for the answer…

“You’ve passed your test,” she answered.

She’s kidding, right? I thought. 

“What do you mean?” I stammered, not knowing what else to say.

“This has been a test all along and you’ve passed it,” Grandma cackled.

“What was?” I asked, happy but confused.

“You see, I was testing you to see if you would come back or not,” Grandma answered.

“But how did you know I was going to quit?” I questioned.

“I’ve had experience with many apprentices to know you were going to quit,” she explained.

“But…” I started.

“Tsk tsk tsk. Let’s just do the next level, shall we?” Grandma cut in.

I grinned.

“But just remember to do meditation daily,” she said.

Immediately my grin turned upside down.

“But you can rest for today,” she told me.Yes! I raced into the tent and lay down. I had the word “daily” stuck in my head, repeating over and over until the darkness swallowed me whole into the world of sleep.

Chapter Eleven: Message

It was finally sunrise. 

“Rise and shine,” Grandma said.

“Five more — ” I started to yawn.

She frowned. I didn’t argue. Grandma walked outside to the campfire.

I wore the clothes I wore the day my mom left. I felt something in my pocket, but I was too sleepy to notice. I half-sleepwalked outside to the campfire.

“What are we doing?” I asked half-heartedly.

I clutched my stomach when I saw what she was eating. Ruby and Vac were looking at Grandma, awestruck, but she hardly noticed.

“Hunting,” Grandma said, her words muffled by the deer fur in her mouth.

In that exciting moment, the only word I could say without barfing was, “OK.”

Grandma finished eating the deer and wiped the blood on her sleeve. 

“Wanna come?” I asked Ruby and Vac while they were frozen like statues.

“Yeah, sure,” they mouthed back, or maybe they twitched, but after that they both nodded, so I guessed it was a yes.

I dragged Vac and Ruby until they finally recovered from the shock of seeing Grandma eat the deer raw. I almost barfed just thinking about it. Anyway, we followed Grandma until we came to a stop behind a huge rock. I was about to ask why we stopped, but I spotted the rabbit, and the first thing I thought she was going to do was show me how to catch it, but I was wrong.

“You can catch it right?” Grandma asked.

“What in God’s name are yo — ” I started.

Shove.

I fell on my knees. Brownish-gold dirt smudged on them. The rabbit heard the noise of the thud, so it quickly ran away. I had two choices: shout at my grandma and ask her why she pushed me or run after the rabbit. I had to choose quickly because the rabbit was running away, so I chose to chase the rabbit because I could deal with her later. So, I dashed after the rabbit with all my might. The rabbit was too fast even though it was as small as a little baby. 

Faster, faster, faster, I thought to myself.

I burst forward at the speed of light. I caught the rabbit in a matter of seconds.

“I caught it! Ugh, now I’m lost.”

***

Many hours later…

“This. Is. So. Tiring.” I walked to the camp. Tired.

Ahhh!

I tripped on a rock and fell head first into the ground as a pen slipped out of my pocket. I grabbed it, stood up, and held it up to the moonlight. I saw a message that said… 

Text me.

Chapter Twelve: Messages

Every night, I went out into the moonlight to see if there was another message. But on the fourth day, I saw a name written on it:

Clover Rose

TO BE CONTINUED…

The Beginning

It was a nice summer day. Then, all of a sudden, a black angel grabbed a spear and threw it at the sun, and the air turned to smoke. The dark angel went to a radio station and told everyone she was destroying the earth. Then, Jane leaned against her book shelf. Suddenly, a secret door opened! Jane stepped inside curiously. It led to an elevator which took her down to the basement. When she finally got down to the basement, she realized it was actually a secret hideout. Then, a dark figure in the room said, “Jane, you need to restore peace by battling the dark angel…” 

With no idea what was happening, Jane did what the dark figure said anyway. After the dark figure gave her a cool new costume to wear, she was ready to battle. Then, she ran back up and went into the elevator and rushed out the door and went to go find the dark angel. 

***

When Jane found the dark angel, they battled. The dark angel said she wasn’t really good at violence so… they had a dance competition! Jane wasn’t really sure how to dance because she actually never learned how to dance. Her friend at school told her that the only thing that mattered was having fun. So, Jane took that advice and had fun. And she actually won the dance battle because the dark angel didn’t really know what to do. But then, something happened. The dark angel’s dress turned pink… she was actually an angel under a curse by the Queen Devil, who was trying to take over heaven. 

***

Jane was confused but a little excited for the adventure the angel had told her was ahead. Then, suddenly, something came into view. It was a shooting star or something. It was coming straight towards her. She ran out of the way, then looked to see what it was.

The thing stopped. It was another angel. It was the other angel’s friend. She told Jane that the Devil was still working hard, but that he went back to Hell for his plans, so this would be the right time to help her get to Heaven. Jane, a.k.a. Phoenix, was a little confused about how to get to Heaven since she didn’t have wings.  

The angel said, “You just have to have kindness in your heart to get to Heaven.” 

She tried her best to fly, and she got to Heaven. She found out something strange.  Instead of being happy in the clouds, it was filled with gloom and red. All over the place there was evil, fire, dust, and ash. Jane was super confused now. 

The angel told her, “This was the work of the Devil.” 

But they quickly went down to an underground base. Now Jane understood that they needed a place to live so the Devil wouldn’t destroy it. They formed a plan to destroy the Devil and thought confidently of what to do. 

Then, they suggested, “Maybe let’s plan a sneak attack to find out their plans.” 

Jane thought this was smart but dangerous. She was up for the job.

The next time, Jane crept into Hell and quickly grabbed the plans. Then, she replaced them with a fake replica she had made on the internet. When she went back to Heaven, the angel said they’d do something with it. 

Then, they told her they’d rewrite the evil plans so they’d be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ready for the attack. Then, they heard a big thing like a bomb. They went up, and the war was beginning. Jane was upset because she found the plan ten minutes earlier, and they must’ve known it was a replica.

The angels grabbed anything near them and Jane, a.k.a. Phoenix, grabbed her bow and arrow. The Devil said he wasn’t good at fighting, so they had a dance battle instead. Jane wasn’t confident because she wasn’t good at dancing, but she tried her best, and she won. 

What happened next was unbelievable.

To be continued…

The Spider Tree

It was the Christmas season, and I was in my cozy apartment building where nothing exciting happened. We had several traditions, like watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas and doing secret Amazon shopping for everybody. We had bought our Christmas tree from a different Christmas farm this year, but it was perfect, and we had decorated it with Christmas ornaments the night before while blaring Christmas music. It was December 21st, and I was watering the Christmas tree, my favorite job. Little did I know, enemies were making their way into my hair. I didn’t suspect anything until that night. It was pitch-black in the hallway as I stepped into my parents’ bedroom. Suddenly, I felt something tickling me. 

“Indi, this better not be one of your games!”

No response. Taking a deep breath, I groped for the light, and as it flickered on, I turned suddenly. Staring at the floor, I was petrified at the sight of a spider! A large midnight one about the size of my thumbnail crawled along the floor. With an ear-splitting scream, I alerted my parents. I don’t have a phobia of spiders like my dramatic older sister, Indira, or Indi for short. They were just annoying, but once they climb out of your hair, you might have a change of heart. I did, and I was now deathly afraid. Luckily for me, my scream made my mother jump out of bed and race to the doorway. Thankfully, the only thing she was frightened of were waterbugs, so she could be my exterminator. As she stomped it dead, I huddled next to my snoring father, trying to comprehend how the spider had found its way into my hair. The most obvious thought never occurred… the innocent Christmas tree. Shaking my hair, no spiders fell. I was in the clear… for now, until the spiders found me again.

***

I was still shaken by my spider incident, but I put it behind me. I needed to continue with my life. Easier said than done when the spiders are lurking nearby. My daily job of watering the tree had been completed at 3:15 PM precisely. It was midnight, and I was settled in a chair, reading a book, until my “friend” decided to come out and play. As I flipped the page, an orange spider stuck out on my hair’s strands, which hung from my face. 

“You’re hallucinating,” I tried to convince myself, but fear won that round.

As my sister and mother chatted rapidly in the hallway, I let out my famous ear-splitting scream. 

Moments later, they suddenly stopped their conversation and arrived at the end of the hallway, where I was trembling. 

Stuttering, I started, “SPIDER, in — in my hair!”

I shook as the real message arrived to me: two spiders in my hair in two days. The spiders were trying to send a message, and the worst part was, my sister and mother didn’t believe me! They thought I was making it up! With determination, I searched the wooden floor and found the culprit. As my mother exterminated it, I decided to huddle next to my sister. After my mother exterminated it, she researched and discovered that the new type of tree we had bought this year was one spiders liked. Then the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Every time I put my head UNDER the tree to water it, guess what crawled into my hair at 3:15 PM, then waited for seven to nine hours to scare me at night? Spiders! We decided that right after Christmas we would throw the tree out, and NOBODY would be watering it!

You Don’t Belong Here

You don’t belong here. The kids are mean. You are a wimp.

Those were the first thoughts that stuck in the back of my head as I stepped through the doors of Blowwhite Middle School for my first day of seventh grade. I felt excluded as almost 90% of the kids ran to one another, saying, “I missed you so much, Evelyn!” or “Samantha!!! What homeroom teacher did you get? I got Lilyberg!” Or, my least favorite, “I can’t believe there are new kids in school!” 

I felt as if everybody in the school had been there already and had a million friends already, while I was left to rot. I looked at my schedule as I revealed it from my pocket. 

“Mrs. Jimveds in Room 509,” I noted, pushing that to the back of my head. I pulled my backpack straps onto my shoulder and walked down the hall. I noticed that all of the rooms had a three in the hundreds’ place. I knew I was two floors up. I saw kids flooding into a door, and I kneeled over to investigate. I saw that it was a staircase, so I pushed my way politely into the crowd and thundered up a flight of stairs, then opened the door. I looked at the number in the hundreds’ place.

“Whoops,” I murmured as I looked at the nearest door: 414. I turned to go back to the staircase. Clunk, gukk, clink went everyone’s feet. I ran up the twisting tower of stairs, and I reached the fifth floor. I opened the door and ran into the hallway. 

Hmm, I thought, this is 503, now 505, 507… Okay, there’s 509.

It turns out it was 508, but the lettering must have worn off a bit because the teacher said, “I already have all my students… except Hannah Morrens. What’s your name, honey?” 

“Mia,” I told her. “Mia Lee.” 

She said, “You’re next door with Mrs. Jimveds.” 

She sent one of her students to help me next door. I said, “Thank you,” and then the student returned to his classroom.

As I opened the door to my new classroom, all of my classmates were already there. Mrs. Jimveds said to me, “You must be Mia!” 

I looked at my feet and said, “Hi.”

She said, “Go sit next to Maddie there. See?”

The girl who I think was Maddie waved. So, I sat at the only empty desk next to her.

“Hi! I’m Mia! What’s your name?” I asked her, faking some enthusiasm in my voice as I shakily sat down and unpacked my bag. 

“I’m Maddie Widdows,” the girl said. “I’m new.”

“Same!” I said a bit too loudly. People stared at us with confusion as I blushed and turned the color of the red on the YouTube logo. But I returned halfway back to my normal color when Mrs. Jimveds took attendance.

“Adam Jacobson.”

“Here!”

“Amanda Kaymond?”

“Present!”

“Beatrice Adams and Chris Liberty?”

Some boy in the back of the room made a kissy sound. I bet he was thinking, Beatrice and Chris, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! But when Layla Menmor sent him a dirty look, he shut up. 

Mark Ravenson said, “What’s first, Madam?” Most of the boys cracked up. 

I was like, “You guys need to grow up!!!” Thankfully, Mrs. Jimveds started class then. 

“As most of you know, I’m Mrs. Jimveds, but you can call me Lola. That’s my first name. Now, Beatrice and Chris will be passing out math books.” 

Another boy — Kale Veggy — made the kissy sound again. And he actually said, “Beatrice and Chris, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

Chris and Beatrice shot him a dirty look as they passed out math books. 

“And please complete pages one and two,” Lola added. So, when I got mine I filled them out. “Nice job,” Lola exclaimed when she passed my desk. Just then, the bell for second period rang. I got my stuff and checked my schedule. Mr. Peters in Room 414. 

That was the room I had seen on the 4th floor when I’d walked by in the morning. So, I gathered my stuff, thanked Lola, and hurried to Mr. Peters’ class. He checked me in when I approached the room. Apparently, only four other students were in class with me: Maddie Widdows, Areque Manelipo, Rosie Daniels, and Damien Ronaldson. I snatched a seat next to Rosie and Maddie, and Mr. Peters began the lesson. 

“I’m Donald Peters,” he said, “and welcome to music.”

Mr. Peters taught us to play a simple song on the piano before a brrring made us all jump. I thanked Mr. Peters and raced out of the room. I dug around in my pocket for my schedule. It… was empty. Where was my schedule? I retraced my steps to the classroom, where my schedule rested on the floor. I picked it up and studied it. Mrs. Jimveds, Mr. Peters… Elizabeth Ronald Rowling. In room…? It had been colored over with black marker. 

Oh no…! I thought, racing out into the hallways. The late bell had already rung, but kids were still streaming past. I peeked at one boy’s schedule. His homeroom was Elizabeth R. in Room 687. Okay. I raced up two flights of stairs and found the number 682, 683, 684, 685, 686… 687 — okay. I went into the room. Elizabeth greeted me. 

“Hi, you’re… Crystal?” 

I shook my head, “No.

“Tristan? Lee?” 

I shook my head again.

“…Mia?”

“Yes,” I told her. “Mia Lee.”

***

After Elizabeth’s class, I had four other classes, then, my lunch period, art, and science — my last period. It had been a tiring and stressful day, but only one day out of two-hundred days of school. So I knew there was much more to come —

But I was finally able to tell myself that I belonged.

Kiss, Marry, Kill

Editor’s Note: Content warning — partying/mature content, violence/murder. We recommend an older audience for this psychological thriller.

The fresh air of October sprang through my lungs, the aroma of a fall night chilling my spine. My red flannel wasn’t doing much for the cold. The only thing I wore other than that was a short red dress with spaghetti straps that hugged my curves. My friends convinced me to go to the Halloween party that happened annually. I wasn’t very social. I didn’t have any social media accounts that were for anything more than me using the app and liking friends’ posts. It wasn’t like I was surprised that not that many people were interested in me. After all, there wasn’t much to be interested in.

The broken, old concrete on the stairs of the barn creaked as I walked in, music from inside blasting in my ears. Every year, the seniors got to pick where the parties were held. This year, instead of some rich kid’s mansion, they decided it’d be a good idea to break into an abandoned barn on a farm in the middle of nowhere, away from our high school in the suburbs of New York City. I couldn’t tell whether the barn doors were knocked down before or after the party started, but I could tell that there was no way they were going back up. 

My friend, Andrew Heightman, was the one who hosted and invited me to the party. I wouldn’t even really call him a friend, we just had an ongoing Snapchat streak that broke most records of people who were actually friends or dating.

I stepped into the crowd of sweaty bodies. My nose cringed at the overwhelming amount of Axe body spray and cheap perfume. I was almost certain everyone there was either drunk, high, or just out of their mind. The very loud beat of the music and screaming made my head hurt, making me lose some of my concentration. I fought my way through the crowd of teens, looking for someone I knew who was even a little bit conscious. 

I got about halfway through the tight crowd when, suddenly, the music stopped. The lights flickered out and the room filled with quiet whispers of overexaggerated fear and gasps. If they knew what was about to happen, maybe their fear wouldn’t have been exaggerated.

I wasn’t fazed — after all, it was a Halloween party in an abandoned barn. Someone was bound to pull a not-so-scary prank. The lights turned back on with a loud, familiar click — except this time, it wasn’t the light switch for the entire barn but a spotlight. 

I stood on the tips of my Converse, trying to see what the spotlight was reflecting on. There, under the spotlight, was a fully empty circle, except for the host, Andrew Heightman, standing smack dab in the middle in a cheesy Dracula costume. I exhaled, annoyed at the drama of it all.

“Hello, and welcome to the Annual Halloween Party!” he exclaimed, grinning a cheeky smile, and the crowd erupted with cheers. My feet began to grow tired from looking at him for that long on my tippy toes, so I fought my way to the front of the circle to get a clearer look. 

“Tonight, I thought we would play a game,” he proclaimed, his deep voice echoing off the walls. “Not a middle school game of Spin the Bottle, or a game of tag, but a friendly game of Kiss, Marry, Kill.”

To be honest, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t weirded out by this. Beer Pong was an example of something teenagers would play at a party. Kiss, Marry, Kill, was more of a sleepover-with-your-best-friends-to-find-out-your-opinions-on-people kind of game.  

I wasn’t exactly sure how this would turn out any other way than outing people on who they wanted to make out with.

“Now, I can see you’re all surprised. I’m not dumb. I understand why. ‘How would you play that at a huge party?’ you might say. And to that, I would tell you to just listen to the name of the game, and you know most of the rules,” he explained with almost too much confidence. He smirked and brushed his gelled hair back a bit while the crowd remained silent, not completely sure what that meant.

“Some of you probably picked up on the fact that I said ‘most’ of the rules. There are some more, completely unique to my amazing, awe-inspiring game.”

I scoffed quietly. Sometimes he could be so self-absorbed.

“Rule one: just like every single other thing that happens at this party, the details of this game will not be spread to anyone outside the guest list, or we will make sure you and the person which you shared it with aren’t able to tell anyone else.”

Most people were concerned about the rule, while I only noticed it when he said “we.” He was alone, wasn’t he?

“Like Fight Club?” a guy in the back of the crowd joked loudly, followed by a chorus of confused laughs.

However, Andrew didn’t seem too amused by the joke. “Yes, Jake, exactly like Fight Club.” A crooked smirk appeared on his face. “Except this won’t exactly be a fist fight, will it?” Now he began to pace in his empty circle, his arms behind his back in a fake attempt at looking fancy in a Dracula costume, the way you see people do in movies when the movies are set in the 1800s or something.

“Now, before I continue to explain, we need a few volunteers.” He stopped pacing when he said the end. “A girl and three boys is what we need. If you’re completely sure that you don’t care what the rest of this game entails, no matter what happens and that you will not stop playing, please step forward into the circle.” His words echoed in my brain as I thought about it. He knew that no one would step forward quite immediately if he made the game seem mysterious. And I had to give it to him, he was right. 

Before I could think any more about it, I felt a strong hand push against my back, pushing me into the circle. I stumbled a bit, but regained my balance as I looked for who did it. 

It was a guy I recognized only from him being a part of the high school football team and a part of the popular guys. Also known as the designated a-holes of the school. 

“Jerk,” I muttered, turning to go back to my spot. But before I could, I felt a cold, sturdy hand on my arm, keeping me in place. I looked back and saw Andrew.

“Nuh-uh-uh-uh. No matter how you get in the circle, voluntarily or not, you cannot leave the circle. You, Miss Stone, are staying.” Couldn’t even call me by my first name. 

Sighing, I looked at the people that were now in the circle. Thomas Sanches, the football captain, was standing there with his old bomber jacket and fake zombie prosthetics. Angel Lee, the guy who everyone loved till he came out as gay and suddenly everyone who was homophobic just “never really liked the guy.” And last, and definitely least, John Young. He was the kind of guy that didnt smoke, didn’t fail any classes, and most definitely didn’t really go to parties. But he also wasn’t the valedictorian or anything. He didn’t really do anything. The kind of guy who you could be in school with for years and completely forget he existed. 

“Now that we have all of our lovely players, we might as well start instead of wasting time explaining the rest, am I right?” The crowd murmured in agreement, and you could tell they were starting to get suspicious of the ominous game Andrew was proposing. 

The lights went out with another loud click, and I heard the scraping of wood and concrete and the footsteps of about four people walking to where I could tell was the middle of the circle. They were only standing on the sides.

Another click, and the lights were back on. Andrew was now not in the middle of the circle but off to the side. Replacing him in the middle was now a single wooden chair facing three more chairs in a triangle shape. I noticed John take an audible breath in through his nose and then sneeze into his elbow quickly.

“Now, Miss Stone, please step forward into one of the chairs,” Andrew instructed, pointing to the chair that was facing the rest. Annoyed at the fact that I probably should’ve been drunk right now but instead was playing a stupid game, I shoved my hands in the pockets of my flannel and walked to the chair. I plunked myself down on the chair, self-conscious about myself when I saw the glares people were giving me.

  “Now, boys, be gentlemen and sit across from her, will you?” he said, as if he were more of a gentleman than them. As they stepped forward into their chairs, I felt myself forgetting why I was ever friends with Andrew. On the topic of friends, where were the friends that invited me? 

I zoned back into the real world when Andrew spoke. “The game begins.” 

A smirk traveled up his face as he snapped, and the all-too-familiar click of the lights filled my ears. I felt my arms being guided up to the sides of the chair by unfamiliar hands of people I could not see. I sighed, trying to play it cool. It was all a prank orchestrated by Andrew to scare everyone. 

As I started to question myself, I felt rope being tied around my hands, securing me to the chair. The mysterious hands pulled the rope tightly and the lights came back on. 

“What the hell is this?” I glared at Andrew. I tried to turn my neck to see the faces of the people that tied me up, but no one was there. Just a confused crowd and a few familiar faces. I noticed John once again sniffing through his nose and gulping. Was he nervous?

“Relax, Stone. It’s just a friendly game,” he said. The sudden change in nickname made me feel more intimidated for some reason I couldn’t name. It’s just a prank, part of me said. But it was kind of hard to listen to it when the other part was screaming, You’re definitely not okay!

 “Now, as I said before, Miss Stone will have to pick out of these three gentlemen who she would like to kiss, marry, or kill,” he said, his smirk still remaining. “Kiss?” he said, giving me a questioning glare.

I hesitated, then I just chose to say the first person I looked at. 

“John, I guess?” I said. He looked at me weirdly, his brown hair that usually covered half his face now showing his shockingly gray eyes. The look he gave me wasn’t of disgust but of surprise. As soon as I matched his look, I could tell he wanted to rip through the rope around his wrists and run far, far away. 

Click. Darkness surrounded me once again, and I felt my chair being pushed and moved. I felt what felt like another set of human legs covered in jeans push against mine and then another click

My eyes adjusted to the light again, and I saw what had changed. I was now pressed against John’s chair, our knees touching. Everyone gave us an odd look.

“So kiss,” Andrew said.

“Huh?” John stuttered.

I didn’t understand it, but I didn’t feel like making this take any more time than it already was probably going to take, so I leaned forward and pecked him on the lips, his expression surprised as I pulled back. The crowd erupted, and suddenly, I realized that if Andrew wanted us to kiss for the kiss part of the game, what would he want us to do for the marry and kill part?

“Shocking. Didn’t think that would ever happen,” Thomas spoke up. Only the football team and the girls who liked him laughed. It was like a cult. He was basically their god. 

Whatever he or his girlfriend, Leana Brown, did, the rest of the school just followed. Don’t ask me why.

“Thank you, Mr. Sanches, for your unneeded opinion,” Andrew spat back, and although he hid it well, I could see that pause of frustration in his cocky smirk. “Thank you, Miss Stone and Mr. Young, for participating in the first part of our game,” Andrew said, and I gave him a fake half-smile. 

Click. Darkness consumed the room yet another time, and I could feel my chair being moved by the invisible humans hidden in the darkness. 

Click. Light filled the room from string lights on the walls as I was once again facing the three boys. 

This time though, there was tape over Thomas’s mouth. I watched in horror as he squirmed in his chair, muffled cries coming from behind the tape. Loud protests came from the crowd. 

“Oh, shut up, or I’ll put tape on all of your mouths,” Andrew said in an annoyed tone. The crowd stopped arguing other than a few over-exasperated gasps.

I looked down and noticed my hands were shaking slightly. I tried to stop them and keep them still, but they just kept shaking more than before. 

“Turning back to Miss Stone.” He turned on his heels, his wicked smirk not just annoying me, but scaring me now. What was he hiding behind it? 

“Now, what were we saying before we were rudely interrupted by some people here?” Andrew questioned, the question having absolutely no reason other than trying to intimidate the crowd. I snorted at his stupidity. 

“Right at the point where you forced two strangers to kiss, actually,” I retorted, gathering all the confidence I could into my voice. His eyes rolled. 

“Those cocky remarks aren’t fooling anyone, Stone. We can all see your hands shake,” he argued, his brigade of the cocky game-master starting to crumble like a stone wall being hit by a missile. Quickly.

“Just get the game over with,” I remarked, eager to leave. His smirk returned to his face, and he stepped over to stand behind the three boys I was looking at. 

He rested his hands on Angel’s shoulders, standing straight in the middle, making an uncomfortable amount of eye contact with me.

“Get your dirty hands off me,” Angel said, his sass finally seeming to annoy Andrew.  Angel shivered his shoulders for a couple of seconds before Andrew straightened his shoulders and held Angel’s shoulders down. His biceps shone through his shirt sleeves as Angel fought for freedom from Andrew. Andrew started to lean down, and soon his mouth was at Angel’s ear. 

He whispered something quietly into Angel’s ear, making him gulp and making Angel’s face turn an uncomfortable shade of gray. 

“So, Stone, please select which to marry,” Andrew said, turning back towards me. He gestured his hand above Angel’s and Thomas’s heads like he was a shop worker trying to sell a new flavor of ice cream. 

“Uhh…” I said. Angel looked at me, and he slowly mouthed, Me. I didn’t mouth anything back, as Andrew was still watching me like a hawk. 

I looked at Thomas, but his facial expression was blank. 

“Angel,” I muttered quietly. Even if he asked me to do it, I still felt kind of odd for saying I would marry a gay guy to his face. 

Angel let go of a breath he seemed to have been holding for a while. 

“Fair enough,” Andrew said. 

Click. The invisible hands were back on mine in seconds. I felt something being slipped onto my ring finger, and I took a shaky breath as I guessed what it was.

Click. I looked at the new things added to the room: rings on Angel’s and my ring fingers and what looked like legal documents on a desk in between us. 

Angel and I met eyes, and both our eyes were filled with the horror that this was real. I let out a strained, choked, laugh. 

“Very funny, Andrew,” I said, the words coming out as if they had to fight a thousand wars to slip off my tongue. Sweat began to form on my hairline, making my black hair come out of its original curled style. 

“If it were a joke, you would be laughing. This is real,” Andrew insisted. I gulped, my breaths not coming so naturally anymore. 

“I’m done, Andrew. Get me the hell out of this chair,” Angel said, finally cracking from stress. But he mouthed “me” earlier as if he wanted to continue, didn’t he? Or was that for a different reason?

“Nuh-uh-uh. The four of you came into this circle, and only three of you will come out safely.” His words made my breath hitch, and my heart started beating millions of miles an hour from what I can guess. Andrew paused and walked over to Thomas, and to Thomas’s demise, put his fingers under Thomas’s chin, forcing him to look up at Andrew. Andrew’s chiseled features glinted in the dim lighting, making him even more terrifying. But I could see the way his black hair was shiny with sweat. It was not hot in here. It was mid-fall. So why was he out of all people sweating? 

“Speaking of, there’s only one step left for my little game. And there’s only one person left for the job. Isn’t that right, Thomas?” Andrew says, a laugh escaping his lips. I looked at the crowd and noticed one of my old friends, Gray, was in the first row of people in the antsy crowd that was held back from entering the circle by fear. His hand was holding something mostly hidden by his black jeans. I then realized it was a phone camera. With a light on. Gray was recording this.

What would he do with the recording? Did he not notice Andrew’s threat? Would he post it anonymously online? 

Before I could think of any more scenarios of what he could do with the recording, my ears filled with a click.

He’s gonna kill Thomas was all that went through my head.

Before I could think, I summoned all the strength in my body and broke through the ropes, my wrists burning from pulling on the rope so hard. I picked up the chair, turned it over, ripped off the bottom of the chair with a disgruntled yelp, and walked blindy towards the figure that I could make out as Andrew from my limited sight. 

Without another word, I plunged the sharp wooden leg of the chair straight in his chest, and, choking and bleeding out in the dark, he fell to the ground. My hand slipped to my face, cupping my mouth. 

Tears filled my eyes as I heard the gunshot. The gunshot I knew had killed Thomas. I slipped to my knees, realizing what I had done. A hand covered my mouth with a cloth, making me grow drowsy as I slipped from consciousness.

The Secret of the Fairies

Chapter 1: The Adventure

One day, there was a fairy named Lilac. She lived in a cottage in the woods. Most of the stuff she owned, she had made herself. One day, she received a letter from the fairies. They wanted to send her to help the Kingdom of Fairies. The fairies knew that Lilac solved a lot of puzzles, so they knew she was smart. She rushed to her room to pack. She packed a flashlight, clothes, shoes, a notepad, and a pencil. When she started to get the map, she saw one of her cupboards began to glitter rainbow. She went out to see what was happening to the cupboard. There was a letter that was floating in the air that said: trust your heart. She wondered, should she trust this letter? She would give it a try. She closed her eyes and started to walk. Finally, she bumped into something. She opened her eyes. Right in front of her was a portal. Above it, it said: Land of Fairies. Yes! she thought. She went right into the portal. When she opened her eyes, she saw thousands of flowers. Some of the flowers were still fresh, and some of the flowers were wilting. She wondered what to do. The girl in front of her was a fairy. 

“Who are you?” shouted the fairy. 

Lilac replied, “One of the fairies sent me to meet you.” 

And kindly the fairy said, “You must be Lilac. My name is Samantha.” Then she added, “Let me take you to the Queen.” 

On the way there, they saw a fairy in the water. Sam said, “What are you doing here, Aurora?”

“I cannot reach out to Rain,” Aurora said.

“This is Lilac.” Lilac waved while Sam introduced her. Then Sam added, “She’s helping us save our kingdom.” Sam waved her wand, and Aurora was outside.

“I will help Lilac,” Aurora said.

Sam said, “We’re going to the Queen.” 

“I will go with you,” said Aurora.

Chapter 2: The Queen

They continued walking, and a few minutes later, they arrived at a beautiful castle. They went in and saw beautiful rooms. Lilac was curious about the rooms, but Samantha and Aurora just passed by them. Finally, they reached a room with a beautiful shell door.

“Wait right here,” Sam said to Aurora and Lilac. She went in the room, and she came out again. “The Queen is ready to see you,” she told Lilac.

Lilac went into the room. Then, she saw the Queen. Lilac curtsied and sat down in front of the Queen.

The Queen said, “You can call me Queen Lily.”

Lilac said, “What can I do to help your kingdom?” 

“I will show you.”

She led them up to a room with a glass case. She opened the lid. There, they saw flowers wilting. The Queen looked sad. “Here, I will tell you the story of these flowers,” Queen Lily said. “One day, there was a wise fairy. Her name was May. She took care of these beautiful flowers. One day, she met a mermaid. The mermaid said, ‘Give me the flowers!’ May gave the flowers to the mermaid. May trusted the mermaid. The mermaid sprinkled dust onto the flowers. A kingdom was going to appear, and the flowers would take care of the land. May saw a beautiful land. She saw a feather. She chased after it, but she got lost and couldn’t find the flowers again.” Lily then smiled and said, “With a little bit of magic, I got the flowers back.”

Chapter 3: The Gems

Queen Lily said, “Yesterday, the flowers started wilting, and the fairies were getting more tired every day. I realized this when I visited the flowers yesterday, and I saw that they were wilting. Then, I went to the fairies. Usually, the fairies meet me outside, but yesterday, they were sleeping.” She started crying when she said this. “If the flowers die, the fairies can’t take good care of the kingdom, and the kingdom will disappear.” 

“It’s okay,” Lilac said to comfort her. “We will help your kingdom.” Lilac knew what to do, but she didn’t know how to do it. 

Queen Lily hugged Lilac. “You have two weeks to rescue the flowers,” Queen Lily said. 

Lilac’s heart pounded thinking about whether that time would be enough to rescue the flowers. 

Queen Lily reassured her when she saw that Lilac was worried. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you can do it.” Then Queen Lily said, “You need to find the seven gems and give them to the Gem Fairies. I will tell you how you can give it to them later. But first, I will give you something. Come, follow me.” 

They walked down the steps to a door. Queen Lily took a key hanging from around her neck and used it to unlock the door. They entered a room with dozens of glass cases filled with various pages and books. She opened one of the glass cases, and she took out a book. She then opened the book and said, “This book is all about the kingdom and the fairies that live in it. If you forget the story where May gets the flowers, you can find it in this book. Also, there is a map tucked into the book.” 

Chapter 4: Leaving

“Who else is going with you?” asked Queen Lily .

“Aurora is going to come with me,” Lilac said.

“Okay, you might need this then,” Queen Lily said as she took two rings from off of her finger and slid them onto Lilac’s. 

         There’s so much to worry about, Lilac thought. 

“You can leave tomorrow,” said Queen Lily. 

The next day, they set out on a journey. They went on and on and on. “When do you think it’s gonna end?” Lilac asked Aurora. 

“Remember,” said Aurora, “the path can last for a long time. Here,” said Aurora. “We can stop by a stream to get some water.”

They got to a stream, and they each took a long sip of water. Aurora got some sticks and leaves to make a cup with a lid. She dumped it in some water and closed the lid. She made another one and filled it with some nuts. 

“Let’s go,” said Lilac. 

They reached the forest. 

“The map says we have to go this way,” Lilac said. She pointed towards the forest. It was dark. They were nervous. But they headed into the forest anyway. Before long, they started to smell smoke. 

Aurora said, “What’s that smell?”

“I don’t know,” Lilac said.

They kept walking. And then they stopped in their tracks. They saw a big dragon with red scales who was breathing fire. The dragon heard all the noise and turned around, facing them.  

Oh no, both of them thought. 

The dragon said, “Who are you?”

“We are Lilac and Aurora,” said Lilac bravely.

“Why are you here?”

Aurora quivered as she said, “We are here to find a gem.”

“You aren’t the first ones to try to get the gem,” he boomed as he pulled open a cage.

Lilac saw who was inside and cried, “Rose!”

“Lilac!” Rose cried back from the cage. 

Aurora stayed quiet. Then, Aurora muttered, “Please make this move,” running out of breath, waving her wand at a pile of twigs. The twigs started moving at her. She made them lay down on the grass and took one stick and said quietly, “Say something! Write this on the stick and distract the dragon.”

She moved the stick with her mind over to Lilac. And she said under her breath, “Make a waterfall,” and a waterfall started to appear right by her side. Aurora took a bucket and dunked it in the water and walked quietly over to the dragon’s back. The dragon felt the water and turned around, but Aurora was too quick. She ran to the other side and whispered something to Lilac, “Let’s go.” Once they were safely away from the dragon, Aurora said, “Why don’t we make something that will make the dragon want to trade with us?”

“Alright,” said Lilac, “what should we make?”

“I think dragons like fire. We need something with fire.”

“Well,” said Lilac, “we can’t make fire. I wonder what we should do.”

Aurora thought of it.

Chapter 5: Smokey

“There is a dragon living down by the stream named Smokey. We can go to her and ask for help.”

When they reached the stream, they took a long sip of water again. Aurora cried, “There’s the cave where Smokey lives. After we take one more sip, we’ll go there.”

They took one more sip and started off. Once they reached the cave, they knocked on the door. Smokey said, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me!” cried Aurora.

“Hi, Aurora! Who’s this friend with you?”

“Her name is Lilac!”

“Well, come in, come in. You can explain everything to me when we’re all inside.”

They went inside and drank milk and ate cookies. 

Aurora explained, “We are trying to find the seven gems. The dragon will give us the gems. So, we were thinking you could help us make something for us to trade with the dragon.”

“I’ve got an idea. I just need two sticks and a couple blades of grass. Collect them for me, and I will make you something for the dragon.”

So, they went and got two sticks and a couple blades of grass. They went back to the cave where Smokey lived. Smokey said, “Thank you.”

She set out to work. It took all day and night, so Smokey let Aurora and Lilac sleep and eat there. Around nighttime, Lilac and Aurora did not have pajamas, so they decided to sleep in their clothes. Smokey said, “I have a few extra blankets. You can sleep in that.” She gave them two blankets and two pillows. Lilac and Aurora took them and lay down on the ground. They lay down feeling colder. They couldn’t do anything about it. They couldn’t sleep the whole night. The next day, Lilac and Aurora woke up and Smokey was making breakfast — eggs and waffles with strawberries.

“Are you done?” Lilac said easily.  

“Yes,” Smokey said. “Come, have some breakfast.”

So, they walked over to the table, which was a long tree top with small pillows to sit on. They sat down, and they ate their food. They were all very hungry. 

“Let’s go!” Lilac said to Aurora .

“Wait! I have to give you the thing to give to the dragon!” 

“Right,” said Aurora. 

“Let me quickly get it. Here,” Smokey said. 

Smokey ran off quickly and got a bracelet for the dragon. There were red beads and green beads, and in the middle of the bracelet, there was a picture of a fire made from beads in the middle. 

Chapter 6: The Fight

Smokey pointed out the way to the dragon’s cave. “You go straight, then you turn right, and you should be able to turn left, and then there they are.” 

“Let’s go,” Aurora said to Lilac. They followed Smokey’s directions until they came upon a pond. 

“Let’s take a drink of water,” said Lilac. 

“No!” said Aurora. “We took too many sips of water.”

“But — but — but — ” stammered Lilac. Lilac sensed that they were going to have a fight. 

“No buts,” said Aurora. “Let’s keep going.” Aurora started to walk. When she went a few feet away from her, she looked behind to see Lilac taking a sip of water. “Lilac!” shouted Aurora. 

“Well!” Lilac shouted back. “You are not my mother!”

“Well, I do not care about this thing anymore!” And Aurora threw the bracelet. It shattered in gold sparkles.

Lilac wondered what to do. Aurora stomped off, so Lilac followed Aurora. “Do not follow me,” said Aurora when she looked back. She waved her wand, and Lilac fell on the floor. Aurora walked off. 

A few hours later, Smokey came out. “Oh no!” cried Smokey. He carried Lilac inside of his cave. Smokey used his magic to see the past, and saw that Aurora put a spell on Lilac. Smokey used his own powers to undo Aurora’s spell. 

When Lilac woke up, Lilac asked in wonder, “Where am I?” She said this as she blinked her eyes to clear out all the blurs. 

“You are in my cave. Aurora put a spell on you,” replied Smokey.

“Why?” demanded Lilac. 

“I do not know,” said Smokey. “Here.” He put a spell on Lilac so Lilac could remember what happened. 

“Oh, I remember what happened.” 

“Please, Lilac, tell me what happened.” 

“Well,” started Lilac. “It’s a long story.”

“It’s alright, but all I know is that Aurora put a spell on you and broke the bracelet. You can stay here for the night. Have a glass of tea.” He handed Lilac a mug filled with tea. “It will give you energy,” said Smokey. 

She slowly sipped the tea. It almost burned her tongue. She never realized until now that her dress was covered with mud and her hair was messy. “Oh,” she sighed.

“Do not worry,” Smokey said. “I will make you some clothing.” He took a bunch of twigs, grass, and leaves in a huge pile. He began to make a shirt, pants, and pajamas for Lilac. 

“Thank you!” Lilac said gratefully. He finished faster than one hour. 

“Put these on,” he ordered Lilac. “It’s nearly lunchtime. For lunch I will make some chicken from the chickens in the wild.” 

Lilac sat down. “What should I do?” she said.

“Let’s play checkers,” Smokey said. He took out the checkerboard. “We will drink milk and eat cookies while we play.” They played for almost an hour. Lilac won. Smokey said, “Why don’t you take a rest? It’s been a long day. I’ll make lunch while you do.” Lilac took a nap for thirty minutes. When she woke up, the food was ready for her. It was perfect; it was not too hot, and it was not too cold. They both gobbled up the food. They realized they were starving. They finished the food in less than ten minutes. 

“Why don’t we do this puzzle I got?” asked Smokey. Lilac took the puzzle from Smokey’s hands. “It’s a picture of a kitten,” said Smokey. 

“I love kittens!” Lilac said. Lilac did that while Smokey took Lilac’s dress to the pond to be washed. When Smokey came back, Lilac only did half of the puzzle, but she had drawn the half she did. Smokey took a nap for one hour. He was tired after doing all the chores. 

Chapter 7: Gems

After Smokey’s nap, Lilac was done with the puzzle. Lilac said to Smokey, “I really, really want to get the gems. When can I?” 

Smokey said to Lilac, “You can get them soon, but I will have to help you.”

“Okay,” Lilac sighed. She wanted to do this adventure by herself. 

“We’ll just have a snack, and then we can find the gems.” They had a snack of crackers with cheese. Lilac dressed in the top and pants that Smokey made for her. 

They set out. “Let’s go there,” Lilac said, pointing to the top of the mountain.

“How will we get up?” Smokey asked.

“Climb it, of course!” Lilac answered.

“Let’s start climbing, otherwise we won’t get to the top of the mountain in time,” said Smokey. 

“Let’s do this!” shouted Lilac. They started climbing. Once they were just a teeny little bit off the ground, they huffed and puffed, and they found a place to rest and eat some berries and drink a cup of water.

After they were well-rested, they started to climb again. They did this for a while. Climb a little bit, then eat and rest. Climb, eat, and rest. They finally reached the mountain when it was eleven o’clock. “Let’s sleep,” Smokey said. They slept. 

They woke up in the morning and saw a ladder. Lilac said, “Follow me!” Lilac climbed up the ladder. When they reached the top, they found the first gem. It was bright pink, but there was something in front of it. A fairy.

Smokey asked what the fairy’s name was. She said that her name was Spring. “What do you want?” she demanded. “You want the gem? You can have it, but you have to trade for it with something.”

“What do you have, Lilac?” Smokey whispered.
“I have this,” she whispered back, holding a picture of a kitten out.

“What is that?” Spring said. 

“It’s a picture.”

“Will you trade it for the gem?” Smokey asked. 

“Alright,” agreed Spring. “This is called the Spring Gem,” she said as she handed over the gem. “Take good care of it.” 

Yes, Lilac and Smokey thought. We got the first gem! The Spring Gem. They went down to go to Smokey’s cottage to have a break. They didn’t have any more food and water. They finally reached Smokey’s cave. They ate and drank and took a nap. They felt refreshed. 

“Let’s go,” said Smokey.

They set off again. Smokey made another bracelet. Finally, they reached the dragon’s cave. The dragon said, “What do you want?!”

Lilac said, “We want the gem.”

“What will you give me?” 

“We’ll give you this.” Lilac pulled out the bracelet. 

He snatched the bracelet out of Lilac’s hand. He threw the gem to Lilac. 

“Look!”

“I knew it,” said Smokey.

“You knew what?” asked Lilac.

“That he would want the bracelet so much, I put magic in it!”

“Oh,” said Lilac. “I’m hungry,” Lilac said. “What’s for dinner?”

“I don’t know,” said Smokey. “Do you want to help me make dinner?”

“Yes,” exclaimed Lilac.

They went back to Smokey’s cave. Lilac and Smokey made pasta for dinner. They were so hungry they finished the food in, like, ten seconds. 

“Let’s sleep,” said Lilac. 

They slept. 

They both woke up at the same time. Smokey made pancakes for breakfast. “Let’s get the other gem,” Lilac said. 

Right when she said it, there was a knock on the door.

Chapter 8: Somebody At the Door

“Who is it?” called Smokey.

“Let me in, and you will see,” called somebody from behind the door.

“Okay,” said Lilac. “You stay here,” she said behind her back to Smokey.

“Since when were you my mother?” Smokey laughed.

But Lilac did not hear him. She was opening the door. To her surprise, Aurora was standing behind the door.

“I am sorry I used my magic on you,” Aurora said, looking down at her feet.

“It’s alright, Aurora, come in,” Lilac said loudly so Smokey could hear.

Smokey rushed to see Aurora and to show her the gems they got.

“Wow,” Aurora said.

“I like that one,” Aurora pointed at the Spring Gem.  

“That’s called the Spring Gem,” said Lilac.

“Did you get any gems?” Lilac hopefully said.

“No,” Aurora said. “But I got a map of the gems.”

To Be Continued…

The Cursed Coin

PROLOGUE

Josie Anderson was running away from something unimaginable. She was running away in the Smith Forest, North of Elf Creek. She was running and running and then… splash! She fell into the river. She swam and swam for days. She didn’t know where she was going. She was hungry and cold… but she did not care at all. All she felt was the rumbling of it coming. She felt it stop, so she came out of the lake — a creek now, a creek that was labeled on all the maps.

“Elf Creek,” she whispered, and sure enough, as she turned around, she saw little people with sharp, small teeth in sky blue and plum purple dresses and shirts. “Something is wrong here,” she told herself. The faces, well… They, well, when I say this none of you will believe me, but they did not look real… 

As she looked around, the elves evaporated into little pieces of dust. The thing that she was running from — it was back. She had no feeling in her legs, but she ran into the dark woods anyway. The thing she was running from — it gave her a toothy grin with its fangs exposed.

The witch walked into the sunlight and pushed Josie to the ground. As she bent down to take Josie’s soul, Josie slipped out of her daze and kicked the witch in the face. Scarlet red blood slithered down her face.

“Not just yet will I leave this world,” Josie whispered to herself. The witch glared at her with so much loathing that it could boil a soup. Josie took one step closer to the witch. “Why are you doing this, Mother?”

The witch looked at her. “So you recognize me, Josie. I knew my girl was smart but not this smart.”

Josie wanted to see her mother the way she had been when she was normal, before she ran away, before the incident. And then the memories flooded back. Her parents were fighting. Her mother was very violent. Well, for a long time it was just that, and then something changed. It happened when Mother was studying her little animals and one bit her. She stayed cooped up in her room. When she came out, it was only to eat and drink water. When she came out, she barely spoke to them.

Then Father stood up at dinner. “What is happening, Izzy? You have been like this for one month, and you haven’t told us anything about what is happening.” Worry struck Father’s face. Father was always mad, and his face never changed, but this look that Father gave Mother was something different, different from anything else. He was worried and something else… Something I can’t put into words, but the look was still something.

“Nothing,” Mother mumbled. Her voice was different — it was gruff and raspy, and Josie did not like it. Then, flash! She saw Mother and Father fighting, and Mother had a trunk and a bag. She was about to leave when father found out, and then it struck Josie.

“What if… I go into Mother’s room? Then I would find out what happened, right?” she asked herself. Josie gasped! She had a good idea… I know this does not seem like a lot, but for Josie, it was something new. What was happening to Mother had taken a toll on the entire family, so just thinking straight was a challenge. Josie darted into Mother’s room. It was… well… dark. The stained glass windows were completely covered by vines, the walls were covered with vines, and there were maps with animals, but something stood out: a shining silver coin. Josie turned the lights on and off, and the coin was still shining.

“What in the — “

Mother’s glare was unmistakable, Josie felt it from a mile away.

“I see that you are poking around in my room, Josie.’’

Josie, for the first time, was scared of her family — no, her mother — but instead of walking to her, she walked right to the coin, which turned red. Instead of running away, she inched closer, but when she looked at mother, her skin turned white, and then Josie ran.  

CHAPTER ONE

Ann was having a nice dream, but when Aunt Josie was making breakfast, nothing was quiet. So, Ann woke up early just so she did not have to wake up to the sound of banging pots and pans. Ann opened her eyes to the hot, sticky summer air. Aunt Josie was making her bed. Ann heard that only because of one thing: Aunt Josie was singing. Ann decided to make some oatmeal.

“Aunt Josie?” Ann asked. “Do we have anything other than oatmeal?”

“Well,” Aunt Josie said, “We have eggs from your grandmother’s recipe. I always liked it when I was a — ” Aunt Josie was interrupted by a loud mouse. Aunt Josie hated animals. Something had happened to her when she was a kid, but Ann was not sure what it was…

Aunt Josie took a broom and smashed the mouse. Ann flinched in her chair. She was an animal lover. Aunt Josie was panting — she never successfully killed anything. Ann was still standing there in shock, and then an idea hit her. What if she went looking for Grandmother? Surely, she knew why Aunt Josie hated animals so much?

Aunt Josie was still thinking back on that one day — the image of a cursed wolf’s insides was stuck in her mind. The only thing that kept her distracted from it was thinking about Ann, but Josie remembered that night like it was yesterday.

She had been carrying a basket of apples down the road to the expecting mother of a girl. The mother had just learned that her husband had died in the war of the goblins. Josie entered the house. It was odd. She closed the door… It was also odd. The room was a circle with paintings of fish and water. There were photos of the mother and her husband. Josie went into the only room with a rectangular door frame, and there the mother was, lying in her bed.

“Trudy?” Josie called down to the low bed.

The woman woke up with a start. “Is he home?” She jumped out of bed. When she remembered that her late husband wasn’t coming home, her eyes swarmed with tears. She sat back down and cried, “How will I take care of my baby?” she sobbed. 

Josie had an idea, “I can take care of her, Trudy!”

Trudy gasped. “Really? THANK YOU SO MUCH!” 

The next week, out came Ann. Josie moved away from Trudy’s house and Trudy, just for Ann, so she could have a better life. That was all that Trudy wanted, so Josie did it.

CHAPTER TWO

Ann always wanted a friend, but the town was all the way on the other side of Wispy Hollows. Lova was what the town was called. The Mayor was called Mina. They called her that because her eyes sparkled like gems, but she was the most bossiest person in the WORLD! But her adviser, Jacob, was always wearing black. He had a hunchback; his hair was long, greasy, and black; and his skin was white like a ghost. The only thing that stood out were his bloodshot, red eyes. He was very sinister, but the only thing that paid off for that was that he opened an orphanage!… Next to a power plant… How about helping the poor people by giving all of them money?… But the money was stolen from people’s bank accounts… Welp, now you can understand that this guy was a BAD one. Everything that he tried to do was ruined. But the only way to get to the shops was by going into the town, so…

“PLEASE, can I go to the farmers’ market? I just want to see what is going on… and make some friends?” Ann’s voice broke. The tears dribbled down her face. Her brown eyes were attacked with emotion.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table: “I said no! There are adults there that take kids, and, and, and, well… ” Josie was about to confess her deepest secret. Her voice broke. “Well, you are all I have left.” Josie ran over to Ann and held her tight. “I am keeping you safe.”

Suddenly, Ann understood why Aunt Josie was so strict all the time — she was making sure that Ann lived a happy and safe life. But Josie was flexible, so the next day, Aunt Josie took Ann to the market. But when they looked around, it was crowded with people.

“What is happening?” Josie asked a shopper right next to her.

“Well, today is the freedom parade,” he answered like it was obvious.

“Are the shops still open today?” Josie asked.

“Of course! They are in Westwind! Just take the train to Redmaw, then walk to the Map seller, and he will take it from there.”

Aunt Josie was so perplexed that she almost fainted. “Um, WHAT?”

Ann was also bewildered. What were all these towns?

“Here, let me take you to the train station, okay? Then you will get what I am talking about.”

Ann glared at him. How was she supposed to trust him if he didn’t tell them his name? 

Aunt Josie was reading her mind. “What is your name?”

“Max. My name is Max.”

Ann gave him a dirty look. “Why didn’t you tell us?” she scowled at his weak figure.

“I do not trust all people…”

Of course, because Aunt Josie was Aunt Josie, she stared daggers at him and asked him for proof. While he was rustling around in his battered pocket, she slapped him across the face, and a trickle of blood went down his cheek. She pulled out a flask that she carried around. The things I live with, being the niece of a scientist, Ann thought. Josie put his blood in the flask, and it turned black. Ann rolled her eyes, and sighed. Not this again.

“Who are you?” Max asked.

But Josie muttered under her breath. “I’ve never seen this before…” She quickly smirked. “Okay, fine, you can take us to… what, Westmaw?”

Yes, thought Josie, the capital, where the Red Tavern is, where that mayor lives, where I can take the beacon to get home

Little did Josie and Ann know, the market was not in Westmaw. It was in the stronghold.

So, they got on the train. The train conductor was going to stop at Redmaw last. Finally, after a long time, he announced, “Next stop, Redmaw.”

Even though Ann was expecting the voice to come, it never failed to make her jump. When she looked around, she saw Aunt Josie sleeping. When she shook Aunt Josie, she woke up with a start.

“Huh? Where am I?”

Meanwhile, in the backseat of the train, Max was very quiet reading a book. Aunt Josie nudged him to follow them, so by the time they were at the map seller, it was dusk, and the stars were as bright as the sun against the navy blue sky. Ann was immersed in her thoughts — the ones that bothered her the most, about her parents. Aunt Josie never told me about them, who are they? I call her my aunt, but I don’t even know if we are related. I mean, she is old enough to be my aunt… I have to find out. Oh! I remember Aunt Josie never talks about Grandma Izzy… Maybe I can talk to her?

Aunt Josie was fighting with Max for, like, the fifth time this hour.

“I told you, the map seller was closed! What do you have? Oh I know, a bad memory.” Max smirked. He enjoyed making people feel bad. That Josie woman only has a suspicion of who I am and what I am capable of…

Aunt Josie was still mad at him, and when she was mad, nothing good came after. “Listen here you toad sack. You just let me get some food, and then leave me and my family alone… okay?”

Toad sack! Max thought. She drew the line right there.

This was where Ann decided to speak up. “Stop, Aunt Josie! He is trying to help us and get us food.”

Ann did not even understand why they were even going with Max. Or why this was important to Ann or Aunt Josie, or why they were taking this so far. She just was getting sucked into the abyss of obedience.  

***

Josie was determined to find out who Max was and what he wanted. While Max and Ann were sleeping, Josie went into the woods near the campsite. They were sleeping next to the road. They were at an old camping site and were renting a rickety cabin that swayed with the slightest movement and creaked with the smallest breeze. They were not allowed to use anything that had anything to do with fire because the cabin was made out of old oak wood and bark. It had been left behind a long time ago. Now, time to get to the exciting part…

CHAPTER THREE

When Josie was walking in the forest, she heard whispers. She turned her head. No one there. Pull yourself together, Josie. Who would be awake this late? She hesitated. Someone that’s not me. She went deeper into the woods. The second she went to the woods and saw the trees turn a darker shade of green, she saw a clearing. In the middle of it was a little gold coin. She picked it up, and it had the same markings of the coin from her mother’s room. When she saw it, some memories flashed in her mind, and then she heard howling in the wind. She rushed back to the rickety cabin where she found everyone lying and sleeping silently on the dusty ground. 

When Ann woke up, the sun peeked into the window. Ann walked to the plain of daisies and saw Aunt Josie fighting with Max on the riverside, so she stepped closer to hear what they were saying. They were just talking about what to have for breakfast. When she inched closer, she saw a little glint in Aunt Josie’s pocket — a coin. When Ann went to touch it, Aunt Josie tried to slap her hand against Ann’s… But it was too late.

TO BE CONTINUED…

I Die Again

Chapter 1

The wind whistled by my face as the waves trashed the ship around. From the bars of my cell and the small window I could see through, we seemed to be in the open sea — no one around to hear my cries for help. The ship jerked to the left, knocking me off the tiny chair that sat in the cell.

A male pirate rushed past. “Lower the sails!” he screeched as his fat, drunk body thumped up the stairs onto deck.

A blast rocked the ship around as the fire spread to my cell. The heat was overwhelming. My eyes stung, and my blood boiled as it rushed to my head. The room turned upside down and began to spin. My head felt hot, and a moan escaped my lips as another shot rang through the air, punching a hole in the cell two away from my own. Three pirates ran down and began to open my cell. I reached out a desperate hand as my legs began to shake, and my head collapsed on the ground. As the hole in the wall grew, my back fell through the opening. I had my last glare at the dark black sky before my body hit the water with a splash, and I saw the blurry images of the three men yelling from the hole, watching me, yelling commands. My mind pushed against the forever sleep, my body fought as I sank, the feeling of death crept over me, the warmth spread through my veins, my life was over, I was going back to him.

“Come,” his voice whispered in my head. 

Chapter 2

The sand felt like thousands of needles poking through my skin. I pressed my eyes against the pain, counting the seconds until he came to torture me again. Seventy-two seconds passed till I realized that nobody was there, I was alone. Everything was pitch-black, apart from the blood red sand. My mind zoomed back to the blood dripping down the dark cave walls as my brother and sisters sat cramped up, trying to stay in the shadows, desperate to survive. My mind hurt from thinking of the past of a different girl. I was past that, and nothing was going to bring me back to it.

I knelt on my knee and stood, trying to get a better glimpse of my surroundings. I had nothing to do but walk forward and try to figure anything out. I picked up a rock to chuck it into the darkness, see if it would fall anywhere, but when I bent to pick up the rock, my hands slipped right through it. I tried again and again, desperate for anything. It made no sense as to why I couldn’t pick up a simple rock! The only reason I could think of was if I was a ghost, but that was not possible — I mean, how would that happen?

The memory of the sun’s rays shining through the water came back to me.

Chapter 3

But if I was dead, then how was I alive? It was not possible for me to be here. I would be in the underworld if I were dead. This wasn’t possible, unless some sort of magic had brought me here. Or maybe… this was the path to him. No, that was not possible! That could not be possible! I was NEVER going to go back to him, ever. I would rather die a billion painful deaths than go back to him. He had destroyed everything I loved, and if getting back at him was the last thing I did, then so be it!

I kicked the sand with frustration, thinking that the sand deserved it just for being there. The bits of sand flew in my eyes and mouth, and I spit it out bitterly. I was not going to stay here forever, and if I was going to stay here, I was going to do something! I started pacing around the whatever-it-was until I realized I had circled back to my footprints. I had been walking in circles for hours, with no end! 

Chapter 4

Walking in circles with no end was going to do me no good. I was going to have to branch out if I was ever going to get out of this dungeon-dark place. I started walking forward cautiously, feeling where I was going before stepping, but after a little while, everything was the same. There was no point in being cautious.

I took a big step forward, then a couple others. It felt good to not be so cautious for a little while. I took another… I was sinking through open air! My arms flailed as I tried to scream, but no sound came out, and besides, if I wasn’t already dead, then surely I would be now. My hip hit the the ground and I rolled over in surprise and pain, grabbing my hip as I rolled down the hill. And splashed straight into a pond. I glared around as a body walked through me like I wasn’t there. The body — a girl — turned around. It was a younger me, the me from the day that my life changed, and the war struck. 

     Part 1 is over.

Part 2 is coming soon.

The Undiscovered Night: 3 Poems

Poem One

The bright stars battle the moon, which hovers above the dark wavy canvas.
Ripples strike the water, taking over the world. A skipped rock, almost pulled by the light current, washes over the reflection of sand against the water. The pretty sight washes away suddenly, late for an eternity of sleep.

Poem Two

I imagine skies
Draped over my windowpane
Just like a blackbird

Poem Three

Like stars through windows
I unravel the night sky
From my blue powers

Kiki the Witch

CHAPTER ONE

It was a normal Saturday, and I was taking a walk around town running some errands. 

“Hi Kiki,” said the baker. “By the way, a girl stopped in here and wanted to know where you live. She said her name was Maya.”

How funny, I thought. I don’t know anyone named Maya.

“She told me to tell you to meet her in front of the clocktower at 4:30,” the baker told me. 

Now I was getting scared. But I was interested. So, I quickly ran to the clocktower. A girl with short curly brown hair and glasses waved at me.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” I replied.

The girl was wearing an all green uniform. Her hair was brushed. She looked very different from me. I was wearing jeans, a white t-shirt, and red Converse, and my black hair was pulled in a ponytail.

“Who are you?” I said.

“Why, I’m here to take you to the Witch’s Institute.” 

“Wait, I’m a witch?! I cannot believe this!!”

“Yes, you’re a witch! Now let’s go!”

CHAPTER TWO

Maya got out her bike and told me to get on. She started to pedal, then she started to pedal super fast. Suddenly, we were flying — well, for three seconds until the bike started to drop. We landed in a pile of leaves.

“What just happened?’” I asked.

“My wand fell out of the bike basket. That’s what keeps us levitated. Help me look,” said Maya.

We rummaged around in the leaves for a few minutes.

“I found it!” Maya yelled. The wand was in a sharp thorny bush a few paces off the path. She ran to go get it and then stopped. “That’s poison ivy and I’m wearing a skirt! You need to go get it.”

“No, I can’t.”

“But you’re wearing pants,” Maya said.

“Fine, I’ll go get it!”

I ran as fast as I could, hoping I wouldn’t touch the poison ivy. I grabbed the wand and ran back. Maya patted me on the back, put the wand in the basket, told me to hop on!

CHAPTER THREE

We flew for about thirty minutes, and I tried not to look down. Finally, we arrived. The Witch Academy was big and made out of bricks. Maya led me in. She handed me my uniform, a map of the school, a wand, and a canvas bag to put everything in. Then she told me that I would pick out a cat tomorrow. A cat! I was so excited. I loved cats. Then, Maya showed me my room. Nice, I guess. There was a twin-sized bed, a closet, a small window, a navy blue quilt, a wobbly stool, and an old fashioned rug. Next, Maya gave me a tour of the school. I saw lots of other witches come from classes. Then, Maya and I sat down to eat dinner. Maya introduced me to her friend, Lily, and we became friends. After dinner, I went back to my room and got ready for bed. As I lay down to go to sleep, I realized that I was about to become a real witch.    

CHAPTER FOUR 

Next morning, I was woken by Maya, who told me it was time to go get a cat. So, I brushed my teeth and hair and put on my uniform. Maya led me downstairs to a room full of cats. There were black cats and small cats. Suddenly, a tabby cat kitten rubbed against my leg.

“I’ll take that one,” I said.

I picked the cat up and carried him upstairs. Next, I went to potions class, then witch history class, then basic spell class. Overall, I liked being a witch. I still missed my parents from time to time, but I had my cat and my friends, and the best part was that it had been almost a year at Witch Academy, and I will be going home for summer in a week. 

To be continued….

The Fashion Store’s Victory, Book 1: The Queen’s Revenge

1. Olivia and Cathie were hanging clothes up for customers when Maline came bursting out of breath saying, “Victory!”

Olivia asked, “What victory? Did you win the lottery?”

“Nope,”  said Maline. “I won new customers!” Maline was a pretty nice person with black hair and always wore ripped clothes. She was beautiful. Olivia was the nicest person you could meet, with blonde hair and hazel eyes. Cathie (short for Caroline) was a neat girl with a southern accent. Thalia was a girl who was usually nice, but if you crossed her, you would live to regret it, with raven eyes that seemed to be able to pierce through you. And she always wore punk, showing clothes made of black leather.

It started to get really cold. It started to snow. Eventually, it snowed so much that Olivia, Maline, and Cathie were stuck! 

2. It was Nate and Caden’s shift at the store. They were very surprised when the road was blocked, but that wasn’t enough to keep them from shoveling through it.

3. It seemed to be hard for Nate and Caden, but they were determined to shovel through. Then finally, they found the door! They opened the door and the bell jingled. “Oh, thank god!” said Maline, and hugged Nate and Caden. Olivia and Cathie were so relieved, they couldn’t speak. Everyone was freezing.

4. “Let’s talk about those customers,” said Olivia.

“Okay,” said Maline.

“Who are they and how much will they pay?” asked Cathie.

“They will pay a lot,” Maline said. “And they might be the royal family of England.” 

5. Everyone in the room was speechless. “WHAT?!” asked and screamed everyone.

“Yes, yes. I know. Cool, right? But they aren’t. They are a billionaire family.”

6. “Yes! We will be the richest store ever!”

7. “Yes, we will. Now, we have to get ready for the family.”

“That’s today?!” asked Olivia.

8. “But the store’s being renovated!” Cathie said.

“Ahh! Seriously!”

“Ah, Mrs. Cullen, Mr. Cullen,” curtsied Maline.

9. ”Uhh, you’re here early — ”

“AHHH!”

Before she knew it, the billionaire wife was drenched with black paint — on her white dress, no less. Mrs. Cullen screamed with rage, loud enough so that the whole country could hear. She stomped out of the room like a child in a tantrum. Her baby boy started to cry. He was scared of the noise.

 10.  They had to go to court, guilty of ruining the billionaire’s favorite dress. They testified.

 11. It was off with their heads, but they found a portal to Mt. Olympus. They fell through a really big hole.

12. They had only ever read about it in books. They never thought it was a real place, but it was. They thought they were dreaming, but they weren’t, not at all. 

As she was falling down the big hole, Maline thought of her brother and her sister who she left behind.

“Oof,” said Ryan, Maline’s older brother. 

 “Ryan, you don’t have to fall over when I throw the football!” said Max, Maline’s sister, who was 9, but Ryan couldn’t catch it because it kept hitting him in the stomach, causing him to fall over. This was the last memory of her family Maline had before she moved to Queensland to start the store with her friends.

As Cathie was falling down the big hole, all she was thinking about was Sarah Ruth, her little sister. She had recently received a letter from her mother (who she was not particularly close with) saying that she disappeared last week. As you can probably imagine, Cathie was devastated to hear the news. 

As Bella fell, she thought of the only family she had left, her idiot father. In some ways, she was glad to be away from him, but then she thought of the fact that he wouldn’t notice if a giant teacup started singing and dancing on the dining room table, so surely he wouldn’t notice if she were gone. 

As Thalia was falling down the rabbit hole, she was thinking about her dog, Tulip. Tulip was 98 in dog years, pretty old. Thalia missed her dog. She had a strong instinct to scale the rabbit hole and run to her home and get Tulip. Sadly, this could not be done. She was also thinking about her sister, Rue. She also missed her brother, Thresh. They had lived in a small shack made out of wood. Thalia was an introvert who mostly kept to herself. Thalia wondered when the falling would end, and just like that, “BANG!” They hit the floor.

The Dark Spirit of the Enchanted Trampoline Park, Book 1: Captured!

Chapter 1

As I walked along the trail, I could hear the crunch of leaves and the singing of birds. I had always loved hiking and went hiking whenever I could. Snap! I tripped on a twig and fell face-forward into the leaf litter. Phew, at least the leaves saved me, I thought, and then I was jerked upward. I tried to scream for help, but no sound came out.

Suddenly, the pulling stopped and I was dangling in the air, about 400 feet above the ground. Then I was pulled sideways. I screamed, but again, no sound came out. After what seemed like 30 minutes of watching the ground speed below me, I felt myself plummet down toward the ground. This time I felt no urge to scream, only a strange urge to sing that got stronger as the ground grew nearer. 100 feet from the ground now, I saw a clearing dotted with trampolines. 75 feet and I could see the shapes of people jumping up and down on the trampolines. 50 feet, and I could hear singing. Finally, there were only 5 feet between me and the floor, and I stopped falling. I felt something around my waist loosen, and I landed on the ground with a thud.

I stood up, but then collapsed to the ground again as something gained control of me. In a panic, I fought at it, trying to shove it out of my mind, but nothing worked. I tried to move, but I couldn’t. A rasping voice in my head said, Ahhh welcome, Lily. Another puppet for my collection. I could imagine the voice smirking as the presence controlling me picked my body up and walked me to the nearest trampoline. The urge to sing was as strong as ever, along with a new urge to bounce on the trampoline. I was pushed by an invisible force onto the trampoline, and started to sing in time with all the other people, in the same weird, slurred voice. 

Chapter 2

I could still think. All I could do was think. My mouth moved on its own. Words of all languages spilled out of my mouth and added to the swirling torrent of sound. I was tired, hungry, and thirsty, but no matter how hard I tried to gain control of myself, I couldn’t do anything. I went on like this in an endless loop, tracking the days and nights and growing hungrier and thirstier as the days wore on. Every 2 days, water was delivered by the same invisible force that had brought me here. After 5 days, everyone stopped again. 

Suddenly, all noise stopped as the rasping voice entered my mind again. Well I can’t let you die can I? I know most of you have done this before, but my new recruits need to know the rules. 

What rules? I thought, and as if reading my mind, the rasping voice continued.

The rules are to stay in place until your food is delivered, AND EAT ALL OF IT AND NO MORE!!! If you don’t follow these rules then I will give you something disgusting, and you will have to eat it all.

A large picnic blanket flew down from the sky, laden with large bowls of slightly cold and overcooked vegetable stew. It looked delicious after 5 days with no food, and staggering with fatigue, I grabbed the bowl nearest to me. There was a spoon lying next to it, and I picked it up as well. I thought back to the safety lessons I had learned as a child and remembered that after not having food for a long time, you could only eat small bites of food at a time. As much as I wanted to gulp down the food, I forced myself to eat slowly. I saw some people shoveling food into their mouths as fast as they could — the newer people, I realized, the ones that came here after me. They obviously didn’t know that they needed to slow down. I wished I could tell them, but I couldn’t talk. After the meal was finished, everyone’s minds were taken over again, forcing everyone’s bodies back onto the trampolines, to begin the endless loop again.

Chapter 3

The days wore on. I could see the fatigue that I felt reflected on people’s faces as we jumped and sang without stopping. Yet they couldn’t do anything about it, and neither could I. 

Days passed, and the world started going hazy. I lost track of the days. The only thing that kept me from collapsing was the need to obey the rasping voice. New people came, and the park expanded to accommodate them, but nobody left. I had seen people try to escape, but the bond was always too strong. I could see the hiking trails that wound around the trampoline park, and I could see the people walking along them that never even showed the slightest sign of noticing the trampoline park.

More days passed as I watched the trickle of people, and then one day, a tall lady with a long dress and some shiny things poking out of her back — were those wings?! — walked up. Nobody on the trail noticed… Wait a second, I thought, and I realized that she more like flew up to the fence of the trampoline park. A fairy! I realized. A real fairy! I thought they were only mythical creatures!

We are mythical creatures, said a calm, gentle voice in my head. I knew immediately that this voice belonged to the fairy, because it was so unlike the rasping voice that I heard so often. 

Wait a second, I thought. Can you mindread? Can you see my thoughts?

Yes, I can, replied the fairy.

Can you help me get out of here? I thought at her, and I saw her lips curve into a small smile.

Remember, you still have your imagination. You always will. It is the key, she said. 

What is your name? I thought.

I am Annika, she said, right before disintegrating into a puff of rainbow sparkles.

Chapter 4

I was always thinking of Annika’s words now. They were stuck in my head, and I could hear them clearly through the eerie singing. They repeated in my head over and over again. 

Remember, you still have your imagination. You always will. It is the key.

Key to what? My escape? How could imagination be the key? The thoughts that followed were always pessimistic. I didn’t know what to do, and so I thought about it. It seemed familiar…. Oh! It’s that riddle that goes: imagine you are in a box, there is nothing around you, and the box is steel. How do you get out? And the answer is stop imagining! I guess I can try to imagine myself out of here.

I imagined as hard as I could, thinking of the hiking trail I had been on, thinking of home. Nothing. I nearly gave up on myself when another idea struck me. Songs have meaning right? So maybe I can imagine I understand the language, and I will find a way out. I tried that. I listened closely to the music, thinking, I know this language, over and over again in my mind. Slowly the words started to gain some meaning, and finally I could understand the words clearly. The song went like this: Remember to hold on to hope, It will help you cope with dangers, use hope to save yourself… 

Well, I haven’t been doing much but giving up on hope, I thought, but if it will save me, I will not give up hope.

Chapter 5

I wasn’t thinking of anything but how I would get home. I was very hopeful and optimistic about the future. I knew I would get home if I was hopeful. Suddenly, just like the day when I got dropped into this miserable place, I got jerked upward, but there was no invisible force doing this. There was a golden harness latched around my waist, and it seemed to be pulling the dark creature that had controlled me for so long outside of my mind. I realized I could speak again, and I shouted down to the people below, “Don’t give up! Be hopeful!” They seemed to hear me because they tilted their heads up into the sky to look at me. I repeated my message until the people became no more than specks in the distance. I grinned to myself. I was on my way home.

A Collection of Nature Poems

The Lamps of Dark

Night has lots of lamps

Some that shouldn’t even be on

But there is one as bright as night 

It lights the world

It has many names 

And it is the moon

All Things Green

Leaves, trees, all things green

They brighten up the world I see

In the sun, they shine like new

They look beautiful even from a view

That is just something I’ve seen 

About leaves, trees, all things green

Our Warm Glow

The sun is hot, just so you know

If you ever touched it, you should jump in some snow

The sun shines bright 

Like the moon at night 

It brings us heat on repeat 

And we know it shall not see defeat

Into the Fairy Realm

Moonlight streamed through the open curtains and spilled into the room, penetrating its darkness and washing it with silver. The night had grown warmer in the past couple of hours, and the window was thrown wide open in an attempt to draw any kind of breeze in, but there was none. The scent of the roses from the courtyard below was heavy and sweet, drifting up from the gardens to sit sluggishly in the room.

Emily was sitting on her bed with her pajamas backward, and the cotton was sticking onto her because of the heat. She was wide awake, though this had less to do with the heat and more to do with her anxiety. In just a couple more hours, her grandmother was going to wake her up. The problem wasn’t that she needed more sleep, but that her hair had been magically grown by fairies and she couldn’t cut it off.

You see, fairies aren’t like you would think. Yes, some fairies are cool, but most fairies are evil to the bone. You see, unlike other people, Emily has the ability to see magical creatures. Regular, normal people see beetles for the bad fairies and butterflies for the good fairies. 

For months, the fairies have been bothering Emily to no end. At one point, they had found her secret diary which included her notes about fairies, most of which were mean, so it was no surprise when fairies had her hair grow this long. She looked like Rapunzel, there was no way her grandmother wouldn’t notice. Just last night her hair was only up to her shoulders, now it was dragging along the floor! If her grandmother saw her hair, she would cut it off and then discover that the hair couldn’t be cut off, which would later make her grandmother suspicious. No, she couldn’t go to eat breakfast this morning, NO WAY. 

“I’ll just have to read my diary,” she thought, “Then I’ll be distracted.” So she did and found an interesting piece of information that she hadn’t written:

“Your hair has grown as a punishment for the insults you wrote in this diary, but we can give you a clue as to what you need to cut off your hair. First, you must find something that is sharp, a type of metal that rhymes with peel.” 

This was easy, it was obviously steel. There probably wasn’t another metal that rhymes with peel. But did her grandmother even own a knife? Maybe for cooking, but surely none of them were steel. There might be a steel knife in the kitchens where they served the cafe, but going to the cafe would mean getting out of her room. This was hopeless. 

Under the bed she saw something shiny! She looked and found a steel knife. Emily immediately started chopping off her hair. It was uneven, but she could always fix it later.  She tied it into a ponytail so it wouldn’t seem so uneven. 

She got out of her room and, “Whoosh!” She wasn’t in her room anymore. There were butterflies and fairies and glitter everywhere! Emily was in the realm of fairies.

The Magical Orb of Shaddowtown

 Chapter 1: BEWARE!!!!

It was just another snowy morning in Minnesota. Anna woke up. She immediately turned on the radio. “The schools that have snow days today are West Bridge school, Martin Luther King School of fine art, Lakeside Middle school, Riverview Middle school, and Oakland Elementary school! “ 

“Yes!” Anna screamed.

 “Darling, can you go to the library to fetch the three books that I ordered the other day?” her mom asked.

 “Can I do it later in the afternoon?” Anna asked.

“Oh fine, but I need them for tomorrow,” her mom said.

Anna immediately pulled out her iPad and started to watch a movie. It was about a monkey trying to escape the jungle.

Later, it was lunchtime and her dad made a yummy PB & J sandwich. “Are you going to get the books?” her mom asked. 

“Yeah, I will now.” She put on her puffiest sweater, thickest pants, longest shirt, warmest scarf, coziest sweater, and best snow boots. She opened up the door just a bit and she felt like her entire body was an ice cube. “It is freezing and I barely even put my foot outside. I think that I will go later before it closes and when it is less cold,” she said. She took off all of her thick and puffy layers and went back to her bedroom.

 “Mom, what are the names of the books you ordered?” Anna asked.

Fry an Egg on the Sidewalk, A Trip to the Moon, and uh…. I think it was called Beware. “ Right after she said the word beware, the door creaked open on its own.

“Mom! I have heard of this. It used to be the diary of a powerful king that ruled the world. When he passed away, his soul was kept inside the book. People say that the book is cursed.”

Anna heard it from lots of people and they also said that when the king comes from the dead, he will seek revenge on whomever kept his ancient diary. “You really believe that, honey? People lie… a lot. Let me show you. BEWARE. Did anything happen?” Nothing happened. A moment later, the window shattered into pieces, though nothing broke it, it just happened on its own.

“Now do you believe me?” Anna asked her mom.

“Yeah, fine,” she said with a worried look on her face.

Chapter 2: Finding of the magical orb of Shaddowtown

After about an hour and a half, it stopped snowing and Anna went to the library to get the three books. Right when she was about to pick up the book, she thought out loud, “Maybe before the king died, he cursed the book so whoever touched it would be cursed.” She quickly ran to the CVS store and bought protective gloves. Then, she ran back to the library and picked up the books with the gloves. She decided to read the book to see if there was any way she could return it to where the king was buried. Maybe there was some kind of portal to take her there. She opened the book to a random page and kept on flipping through it until she reached a page that said The magical Orb of Shaddowtown. It said that you need to say a special secret code to get to the magical world of Shadowtown, a place so frightening, people die from being there. It gave Anna the shivers. Only the most powerful leaders are buried there. “Maybe he isn’t who people think he is. Maybe he is still alive. All I have to do is find the orb, find the code, talk to the king, make him decurse this book, and it won’t be cursed again!” She said it so casually, like she has dealt with this before. She tried looking for clues in the book as to where the orb must be. It did say one clue. “Your passcode is in plain sight, mix up the letters to make them right.” The day was almost over and all Anna could think about was the clue. She was upset that she used her time and couldn’t find anything. She went to bed on a bad note.

She woke up the next morning and had school again. Right when she was brushing her teeth, she understood the riddle. In every diary, you write your name. Maybe it is spelled backwards! She opened the book and on it was a little tag that said XAM GNIK. She spelled it backwards and it spelled King Max. That was the password! Now, all she needed to do was to find the orb. It could be anywhere! Maybe there was a hint inside the book for the orb just like the hint for the passcode. 

Chapter 3: A trip to Shaddowtown

Anna was looking for more clues in the book, but she didn’t find anything that was much help. Finally, after a lot of searching, Anna found a clue. It said, “The place that has helped you all this time, is the place that will solve what you call a crime. “ Anna was confused. “The place that has helped you all this time. “ Anna paused for a while until she thought…

The library! Of course! The library was what helped Anna find the book, so that was also the place that was hiding the orb. “That explains why the library is called King Maxwell library.” Anna rushed to the library. Anna got reminded of the movies she had watched before, like the ones that had books that acted as levers that opened some kind of passageway. Maybe that “lever” was a book about King Max’s history. Anna looked in the history section, and without realizing, she bumped into the wall and the wall flipped completely. I think that she found the secret room! In the middle of the big room was a crystal orb. Anna was about to take a step when, “Wait! Maybe this room is filled with booby traps?” She picked up a stone that she found on the floor and threw it on the floor. It immediately burned into ashes. There was a sturdy old vine that Anna could use as a rope to get across the floor. She got the orb and left home.

She was confused on how to get back, if there even was a way back, so she had to keep the orb until she could find out how to use it and get to Shaddowtown. Then she would return it because she didn’t want to look suspicious. She reviewed the page in the book and held the orb in her hand. On the side was a button. She pressed it and the orb started speaking. “Hello. What is the passcode?” the device asked.

“King Max,“ Anna said. Suddenly, the orb, a sphere kind of shape, flattened out and created a portal. “Orb, how will I come back home?” Anna asked. 

“All you have to say is: Portal, take me home. Then you will jump inside it and fall in your bedroom. ” Anna nodded her head. Anna remembered to take the book with her. She was not sure she would find him. Would he actually be dead? Would he be hiding in his casket? Would he be living on the streets? Were there even streets in Shaddowtown? “I promise, you will be alright,“ the orb said.

Anna hopped inside the portal and came to the scariest place she had ever been in her entire life. The sky was black and everything she could see was grey. There was not a single human being on the street except her. There was a dust ball rolling beside her left leg. It was not like she imagined. There were streets like she thought there would be. She was looking for the Shaddowtown cemetery to find King Max.

Finally, she gave up and sat down under a tree. Droplets of water came down her cheeks. “First time at Shaddowtown” a voice said in the shadows. 

“Who said that?“ Anna asked, frightened. 

“Look behind you.“ the voice said. Anna turned around and saw that she was talking to a tree. She opened the book to a page titled The creatures of Shaddowtown. It said that there were secretive squirrels that live in the mysterious shadow-filled forest. There were also terrifying talking shadow trees, the one that Anna was talking to. There were also the mysterious shadow monkeys living in the jumpy joyless jungle. “Most of my kind are terrifying. It’s in the name, but you, little girl, sat on the right tree.” the tree said in a nice voice. “What brings you here?” the tree asked. 

“Well I am trying to find King Max to decurse this book. I want to safely restore this in the library,” Anna said.

“You are in grave danger, little girl,” the tree said. “He is still alive, but 10 times more powerful. He can curse you with any possible spell. Good thing you are wearing gloves,“ the tree said. “The cemetery is on Shadow stone drive, which is passed that dumpster and to the next left. You’ll see the cemetery on the right,” the tree said. “Good luck. Know that whenever you need help, find the tree that has a big brown splotch of bark on the bottom roots. We trees can look invisible, like shadows. So if someone is after you, just hug me and we’ll both turn invisible,” he said. 

Chapter 4: The Cemetery on Shadow Stone Drive

Anna walked past the dumpster, turned left, and then made a right and saw a sign that said Shadow stone cemetery. She walked straight on the path down the middle and found the stone that said King Maxwell the 1st. She found a shovel on the ground. She picked it up and dug for a while until she made a hole. She peeked her head and saw King Max, all alone, sitting by himself on a stool he put for decoration because he was going to spend his entire life there, so he needed to be comfortable. “Um, excuse me? King Max?” Anna said. 

“Who has entered my home? I mean uh… I’m dead,“ King Max said. 

“I know that you’re not dead. I am Anna and got here through the magical orb of Shaddowtown. I found the passageway in the library, and I have our diary called Beware. Can you please decurse it or something? We humans don’t deserve to be cursed just because you are a bad person,” Anna said.

“That’s not what happened. I used to be a ruler, a powerful ruler, and everyone loved me. Everybody promised that they would care for me forever and ever. Until one day a new ruler came and everyone betrayed me. They broke my promise. Anyway, so the other ruler cursed my diary. He meant it to curse me, but when I lost it, it got free to the world so others could be cursed and everyone blamed me. The ruler was called Richard Dixeon.”

“He is that suspicious guy that owns the library near my house! I knew something was fishy about him.,“ Anna said. 

“I have been trying all my life to get out of Shaddowtown, but I am not as powerful as people say I am,” King Max said.

“I have a portal that can take us both out of here. Only one one condition. Can you decurse this book?” Anna said. 

“I wish I could, but I don’t know the spell. Though I do know someone who does. His name is Sorcerer Goblin. He owns what people think is a flower shop, but is secretly his potion lab. It is on Maple drive,“ he said. 

“Hey, I know that flower shop! It is two minutes away from my house. If you want, I can take you with me home and get the right potions do decurse this book, and while we’re at it, we can turn Richard Dixeon into a frog. That guy deserves to be taught a lesson,” Anna said. “Why did he want to curse you anyways?” Anna was interested in the topic. 

“He didn’t want me to be a better ruler,” King Max said. 

“If we want to go home, we need to dress you up in some better looking clothes, hundreds of humans will be seeing you. You can’t go looking like a dumpster threw up on you, no offense. Also, this is winter time, in Minnesota. You better be wearing your fluffiest outfit. Are there any clothing shops? Do you get everything here free because there are no humans around?” Anna asked.

“Pretty much,“ King Max said. He climbed out of his “home“ and they were off to Shadow Up my Outfit. When they got there, there were lots of options. Anna pulled out a fluffy blue shirt, Khaki long pants, a snow coat, boots, and earmuffs. “I didn’t know that Shaddowtown had a good sense of style,” Anna said.

“Now where is the portal?” Max asked. 

“Um, all I have to say is, uh…. portal…. uh… “ Anna totally forgot what to say!

It had now been two whole hours and Anna was worried. “I bet that Mom and Dad are worried sick!” She was crying because she didn’t know what to do. She and King Max walked a while. Anna spotted a tree that had a brown splotch of bark on its roots. Anna hugged the tree. “Is someone chasing you?” the tree asked.

“Nope, I just forgot how to get home through the portal. I forgot what to say to make it appear,” Anna said softly.

“Portal, take me home,” the tree said.

“That’s right! How do you know?” Anna asked. 

“I once met a human girl about 11 years old, like your age, and we were the best of friends, until she left Shaddowtown forever without telling me. Right before I never saw her again, I heard her saying, “Portal, take me home,’ and since I still think about her, I remembered what she said,” the tree said. 

“Portal, take me home,” Anna said. The portal appeared. King Max and Anna hopped inside.

Chapter 5: A trip to the Human World

Anna and King Max landed in Anna’s bedroom with a loud thump. “Anna, is everything alright in there?” Ana heard her mom’s voice.

“Yep, my big stack of books just fell.” Anna felt her stomach flip when she lied to her mom. “I will open the window, you will go to the front door, and knock, of course. Tell my parents that you are my theater teacher and talk to my parents about how good a student I am. Then you are going to wait outside, I will tell my parents that I am going for a long walk and then we will go to meet the Sorcerer Goblin.” Anna chuckled a bit because of his name. After the plan worked, Anna and King Max walked to the flower shop.

“Sorcerer Goblin,” King Max said.

“Who comes to seek my secret?” a voice said.

“Your old pal, King Max, and a friend,” King Max said.

“What would you like today? Roses, daisies, lilacs, lavender, buttercups?” Goblin said.

“Um well, we were looking for potions,” Anna said.

“What kind of potion? I have a different section for that,” Goblin said.

“A decursing spell. A cursed diary. Can you decurse it?” King Max asked.

“Yes, of course, follow me,” Goblin said. He flipped the wall, sort of like the secret passage that helped Anna find the orb. There were thousands upon thousands upon thousands of potions, with crazy names like bulbrin, clantese, sordum, cansue, fulprit, and more funny names like that. After a while, Goblin found two potions and mixed them together (cansue, and prentalid). He put a droplet of the potion on the diary and it wasn’t cursed!

“Thank you so much, Sorcerer Goblin!” Anna said.

“Can we ask you for one more thing? Can you turn someone into a frog? ” they asked Sorcerer Goblin.

“Sure! Can you please get me flour, eggs, baking cocoa, milk, sugar, salt, a spoon, a bowl, cansue, artene, and sordum.” One minute later, they had everything they needed.

“Why all of this baking stuff?” Anna asked in a surprised voice. 

“Well, do you think that this person will just agree to be turned into a frog? I will put the spell inside the brownie so he will want to eat it. He might think it would be suspicious, so we need to show them that we can eat them too. One will have a potion inside and one will not.”

Finally, the brownies were done. They all walked to the library. Goblin and King Max were hiding outside because they looked suspicious. (Don’t worry, Goblin isn’t an actual Goblin.) Anna walked in and said to Richard

“Hey, I really enjoy reading the books from this library, and I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work so I baked brownies for you. Mmm,” she said while taking a bite of the brownie labeled not potioned, safe to eat. Richard suddenly turned into a frog.

“And that is revenge for cursing my friend’s diary, King Max.” Anna was holding Richard. She threw him onto a tree five minutes away from the library. Anna headed back to the library to return the orb and Beware. She also stuck a sign on Richard’s desk that said: On vacation forever. Never coming back! 🙂 

“Now that this adventure has come to an end, I think that we should celebrate. Milkshakes on me,” Anna said. The milkshakes tasted like victory.

But what they didn’t realize was that they were on an enemy list of a very grumpy frog that was waiting for his revenge

DUN DUN DUN!!!

The End

Make sure to read book 2!

Amelia and the Fire

Three minutes before the house broke down, Amelia had to get out of the broken house. It looked like a scary mansion. Nobody was there. It was just cracked mirrors and wood. The ground was shaking and the house was about to break, but a fire was outside. She had to get out or she was going to get burnt. The house was about to collapse in 3, 2, 1. 

Amelia got out just in time, but the fire was still there. She packed up all her stuff and ran away. Her whole village got burnt except Amelia. She had to go to a new town and build a house. She felt sad and scared. Her family did not make it. It was just Amelia, left alone. 

She had to get her own wood, so she went back in the forest. However, when she came back to the forest, she was glowing. It was a gem, a magical gem, but what did it do? She forgot the wood and brought the gem to the town. When she brought it, people and buildings started coming back. It was her family and her village. Amelia was so happy to see her family again. That was the story of Amelia trying to get her family back. 

The Alien WAR

Alien Joe lives in Zagburn. Alien Joe has big eyes and can swim in boiling water. Zagburn is a hot planet. It’s 400 degrees, which is why the aliens are all made of water. They’re exactly 65% water. It rains fire on planet Zagburn. The aliens survive in a bunch of water houses that are stabled by gravity so they don’t collapse. Zagburnians have hands that look like mustaches, but they’re not brown. It’s like a blue mustache. They’re actually pretty tall, they’re about 67 and ¾ inches. 

Alien Joe fits in with the other Zagburnians, but he’s an orphan. The Zagburnians decided to have a war with the Yagburnians and his parents died in that war. They were at war for the planet. They were fighting as soldiers. The Yagburnians are made out of obsidian and they’re really evil. The Yaburnians got forced out of the planet because Zagburn won, so now they have to live on an empty planet that has nothing alien involved, Luno. The planet is made of ice, so a quarter million aliens die every year. 

Alien Joe wants a family. Alien Joe is going to try to make friends and then try to convince them to be his family. He thinks he can make friends with Alien John, who is the nicest alien in the alien universe. There’s a bunch of rumors about Alien John (a Yagburnian) — if you meet him and you’re friends, then every wish you have will come true. Alien Joe could wish for a family from him! Alien John is not very good at being a detective so he’s not good at figuring out who really wants to be his friend. All you have to do in front of Alien John to be his friend is act rude. So basically, shake your butt in front of Alien John. Alien Joe goes up to Alien John and shakes his butt. It works! Alien John and Alien Joe are now friends. 

The hints and rumors actually backfire because they’re all fake! It was just to torture  people. That’s probably why the Yagburnians were the ones who told them all those rumors. Alien Joe wishes for a family and the opposite happens. He ends up in a torture chamber! The Yagburnians forced Alien John to stay with the Zagburnians because they wanted revenge on the Zagburnians. The Yagburnians forgot that the Zagburnians have water powers so he can easily slide out of the torture chamber. Before the Yagburnians left, they told the Zagburnians about Alien John and his powers so the Zagburnians would come to him and make wishes. They said he was Willzen which meant he could give you powers to have any wish you want. He’s not like a genie. He was supposed to be 100% better than a genie. But he was 100% worse! 

Alien Joe is going to sneak up and go to Alien John. Since the Yagburnians have fire powers and the Zagburnians have water powers, he can easily get rid of him. Alien Joe sneaks into a puddle because he’s the only one who knows about all this and he jumps out and destroys Alien John! Alien John flattens up and sizzles for five minutes. Then he transforms into a volcano and explodes. He’s a fire alien. Now Alien Joe warns everyone and he tells everyone to form into a big bridge to Luno and then they all jump across and now they turn into a giant water monster. They all jump onto the floor and that turns them into the giant water monster. The Yagburnians do the same. The Zagburnians hit them and the Yagburnians try to hit, but then they miss. Then they charge through the middle and there are more of them so that easily destroys them. But then there are two immortal people who are immortal because they were seriously from Willzen and they can grant wishes. Willzen people also have immortal people. The Willzens do not like the Yagburnians. Two Willzens are disguised as Yagburnians, and they have been watching in their mind and they give Alien Joe the power to grant any wish. Now, Alien Joe is the emperor! He gets a family. They look just like him. Now he can grant any wish since the Willzens give him the power to. Alien Joe feels happy. 

Come Over Tonight

Jonathan’s summer was only one day in when his parents sent him to sleepaway camp for the whole summer, right until the day before 6th grade started. He preferred staying home and playing video games rather than trying to catch fish in the middle of nowhere. He decided it couldn’t be so bad. Instead of trying to make excuses not to go, he went straight to the camping store called John’s Way To Nature. He brought the list, which his parents had given him before he left. 

  • Tent
  • Toothbrush and toothpaste
  • Any hygiene products
  • Sunglasses and a hat 
  • Clothes for like two months 
  • Things you want to buy for there 
  • Sandals 
  • Sticks
  • Sleeping bag 
  • Books or entertainment

After paying $300 for all of that, he started heading home, where there was a bus that had a big Camp Lyon logo that appeared right at his house. His parents rushed him to get inside the bus and gave him a bag with everything he had not gotten and a little card. Barely able to say goodbye, he entered the bus carefully, looking at all the new people he was gonna have to spend his summer with. Some of these people looked nice, and all the others seemed to be ready to kill you if they needed to. He examined the bus for a spot to sit. He found one next to Leo Maine, a boy at the camp. On the ride, there were movies, games, and even secrets being told, but on the 12th row to the right, the two boys made no conversation.

Finally, when they arrived, Jonathan had the courage to say, “See you around, Leo.”

“Mhm, see you around,” Leo responded. Then, the head of Camp Lyon made an announcement. 

“Attention, all 10 and 11-year-olds, due to budget cuts there will only be 4 cabins for all boys this age. Sorry, but if you hear your name being called, go to the person calling you. They’ll be your counselor this summer!” 

“This is gonna be a long summer,” Leo whispered to Jonathan. He nodded to show he agreed. 

Soon enough, all kids were with their counselors, 10 in total. Jonathan ended up being with Leo, Nathaniel, Kai, and Lukey. He got top bunk and Leo got bottom. Nathaniel got top and Lukey got bottom. Kai got his single and so did the counselor, Mike. Most of that day was getting organized and unpacking. By the time dinner came, maybe even the duck in the pond was starving! He took a seat with Leo, then two other kids joined: Mika and Maya, twins who had been there for more than 5 years. They seemed quite normal, especially since they welcomed him kindly. Jonathan had noticed that Kai and Lukey had been watching him since he had sat down. They had a sinister look on their faces, almost enough to make a child run. Jonathan was a strong boy, so instead of getting all nervous, he ignored them and continued eating the rice and salmon on his plate calmly. When it got time to go back to their bunks, all the kids from Cabin Two noticed Mike was gone. Jonathan suggested they go back to the cabin, and if he was not there they’d get someone. Unfortunately, they found him, except he was on the floor with a dagger right in his heart. It didn’t take anybody long to realize that he was dead. 

“Do we get someone?” asked Leo. 

“No, we keep this to ourselves and we just figure out who did it alone. We’ll just say he had to leave for college sooner than we thought and boom, we find the killer!” Jonathan responded.

“I see what you mean, but we’re not professionals! We’re just kids, you know?” Kai added. 

“They might accuse us! Is that what you want, Kai?” Jonathan said. 

“OK, fine, but trust me, I still think telling the police is a better idea,” Kai responded. Only problem they had to face was who was gonna lie to the head about him leaving? They decided to ask Mika the twin to come over that night to tell him about their situation. He came happily and suggested that he tell the head which everybody agreed on quickly. They took Mike’s body out and gave him a little funeral before they buried the body so nobody would find it. When they were done with that, Mika left the cabin to tell the head, they all wished him good luck. About 5 minutes, later Mika came back. 

“Well first of all, I’m getting transferred to this cabin and also she found a new counselor who won’t sleep with us but will help us with activities!” Mika said happily. Everybody sighed in relief and they agreed they’d start investigating in the morning but sleep that night. 

Jonathan had a hard time sleeping because of the picture of Mike with a dagger in his body. Same thing with Mika, who wanted to be reassured that Maya wasn’t getting stabbed by a killer. Nobody could be reassured after finding a dead body with a killer on the loose able to kill anybody they love! When morning came, Kai said he thought the killer was somebody on the inside. How would they know dinner was then? Mika agreed, but Mika didn’t know who was on the inside. There were just so many options. 

“Tomorrow, we’ll investigate. Today, we act like we… we know nothing. Just like normal campers, nothing out of the ordinary!” Jonathan told the group. 

“True, but like — ” Nathaniel interrupted Jonathan. Bang!

“Guys… anybody else hear that overdramatic bang?” Mika asked. 

“Yes, I did hear that overdramatic bang,” Jonathan responded. 

“I think I’m gonna go and see what that was,” Kai said while opening the cabin door. 

Then, as Kai entered the 4th cabin, he looked and he saw Mary dead. Mary was Mika’s twin sister’s counselor who Maya had told Mika all about. They saw a pan which they assumed had been used to kill Mary. It was bloody and so was her head where blood was dripping down her neck. It was a scary scene but mostly something nobody could forget. Kai was a strong boy but that didn’t stop him from shedding a small tear that dripped through his face. By the time he came back, he’d realized that this meant they had another body! Luckily, the ground had space for another funeral, to which Maya and the boys were invited. 

“Great, we have another murder to solve! Mika, would you do the honors of telling the head again? I say we find this out now before worse things happen,” Jonathan said. They agreed, but they knew it was gonna be hard considering the fact they still had to do activities all day. Investigating a murder while making a fire isn’t normally how you’d do them. 

“Ok, suggestion, we investigate at night?” Nathaniel said. 

“Actually, that’s a pretty good idea. Even though we’ll be tired, we won’t have to worry about counselors and activities!” Mika responded. 

“We are gonna be here for about 2 months. I think we can do this, right?” Jonathan asked.

“Yeah, I assume,” Nathaniel said. 

“It’s been 20 days and we still have nothing,” Jonathan said.

“Guys, where are Kai and Nathaniel?” Mika asked, looking nervous. “I’ll go check the boy’s shower if you guys want!” Mika said while already running to the room. After about 3 minutes of waiting, he came back. 

“Guys, I have bad news… ” Mika said with hesitation. 

“Don’t tell me they’re dead, I can’t deal with it!” Lukey said while covering his ears.

“Yes…” Mika said, unable to finish his phrase. Knock Knock.

“Enter, please,” Jonathan said, carefully trying not to let a killer in. 

“Hello, kids, I’m Mr. Brown and I’m here to help,” Mr. Brown said.

“Ok, but what type of help?” Jonathan replied.

“Backstory, a very long backstory. It all started with the Lyon, Grey, Stone, Maine, Ri, and Smith families. The Lyons had the idea of the camp so all families decided that Camp Lyon was an appropriate name for it. After years of success, I came along asking them about a murder, but they knew nothing about it. Only a few weeks later, the Lyons died by murder. After that, the Greys, Maines, and Stones decided to close it down, but the Ri and Smiths didn’t want to, so the Greys, Maines, and Stones left and never talked to the Ri and Smiths. So then, the Ri and Smiths took over Camp Lyon. Now, Kai Ri and Nathaniel Smith are dead, a little suspicious, you know?”  Mr. Brown asked after taking a long breath after talking without stopping. 

“Are you saying that our parents kill people?” Jonathan asked, scared for the answer. 

“Yes, unfortunately, I think all of your parents have killed innocent people,” Mr. Brown said while fixing his brown hat. 

“Are you gonna arrest them?” Leo asked. 

“Well, I have to, they could kill again, which wouldn’t be good,” Mr. Brown responded.

“This past month has been fun, but it’s time to go home, meaning we won’t see each other anymore, so please don’t forget me until next summer,” Maya cried. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t, but also don’t forget what happened this summer, like the events and people,” Jonathan said.  

Epilogue

Jonathan was on the bus, his friends laughing while he softly chuckled. These two months had been a lot. He even said it felt like a long day, but that wasn’t the point. His orange shirt with Camp Lyon on it was wrinkled and dirty. He saw the camp and Mr. Brown slowly walking away, his face red like normal. Maya’s face suddenly went sad.

“Jonathan, I… will I ever… ever see you again?” Maya asked.

“I don’t know, but just promise me one thing: come back next year,” Jonathan responded.

“We’ll try our best!” Mika giggled. “Leo, so?” Mika asked.

“I don’t know, but I think I’ll be back,” Leo said slowly while putting his water bottle in his bag.

The End

Penguin

My mom was making me walk through the streets of South Africa. My dad had gotten a new job so we moved from New York to South Africa and now I didn’t have any friends. Suddenly, as I was about to turn back and head home, I saw something that made me jump. It was a baby penguin being attacked by a seagull. Before I knew it, I was running at the seagull and screaming, and then the seagull flew away. I saw that this baby’s parents were dead, so I decided to keep the chick and raise her until she was old enough to leave my house.  

Two weeks later, the penguin chick, who I named Joanne (after Johannesburg street, where she was found), was almost ready to leave the nest (or house). I was feeding her raw fish that I had blended into a chunky smoothie. I made a nest for her in my room under a heat lamp out of leaves, sticks, and petals. Also, I let her swim in my kiddie pool. Finally, she was almost ready and I gave her the first whole fish to celebrate. 

After all these months, it was time for Joanne to leave and go into the sea. I was going to be all alone again, and I might never see her again, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I led the first (and only) feathered friend I had to the beach. There, I watched as she jumped into the waves of the South African ocean. 

One Year Later… 

My family and I had moved into a house and I had made friends. When it was penguin breeding time, and a penguin made a nest, I recognized the penguin. It was Joanne! I knew she would always be with me no matter what. 

The Color of the Sky

Many moons ago, there were two colors named Blue and Turquoise. They both claimed to be the color of the sky. 

One day, they both saw a flyer on the wall that said, “Prove that you are the color of the sky and you can win a hundred dollars! Come on December 8th, 1876.” Blue and Turquoise were very intrigued by this flyer so they both ran home to ask their parents if they could do it.

 Blue got home first and asked, “Can I go to this event?” Blue showed her parents the flier. Her parents said, 

“Sure, why not.”

Blue jumped with joy and ran all around the whole neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Turquoise was trying to convince his parents that he should go to the event too, but Turquoise’s parents were a lot stricter than Blue’s parents. 

“Please let me go, please,” Turquoise begged. 

“What is the meaning of this event?” asked Turquiose’s dad.

“The meaning of this event is to finally answer the question that we have had for centuries, what is the color of the sky. Plus you win a hundred dollars if you can prove that you are actually the color of the sky.” Turquiose’s parents were in a group huddle, probably talking about if he could go to the event.

“Your father and I have decided to let you go, plus we also talked about dinner. We are ordering McDonalds.”

“YAY YAY YAY!” exclaimed Turquoise. He was super happy.

Chapter 2: Practicing

Blue and Turquoise both realized that they needed to practice for the big event. They had two days until the big event. Turquoise saw Blue practicing. She was really good but Turquoise was not scared so he walked up to her and said,

“Do you want to practice with me?” 

“Of course!” Blue replied. “ Maybe the park could be our practice spot!” 

“Sure!” Turquoise responded.  So they practiced for the rest of the day.

The next day, Blue was at the park waiting for Turquoise but he did not show up until 20 minutes after he was supposed to show up.

“Why are you so late?” Blue said. Blue was frustrated because they usually had an hour to practice, now they only had 40 minutes to practice.

“Sorry,” Turquoise said, “I was, umm, umm… walking the dog.”

“Stop lying to me,” Blue said with an angry voice.

“I am not lying!” Turquoise exclaimed.

“I know you’re lying because you don’t have a dog!” Blue said. “So why were you really late?!”

“Because you are so much better than me I was worried and lost track of time.” Turquoise was telling the truth. “I am sorry.”

“I accept your apology, but why didn’t you just tell the truth in the first place?” Blue added.

“Because I thought you would laugh at me or be angry,” Turquoise said.

“I would never do that to you because you are my friend,” Blue said, “Now are you ready to start practicing?”

“Of course!” Turquoise said with joy. So they practiced for 35 minutes so they could get a little extra sleep for the big day tomorrow. 

Chapter 3: The Big Day

Blue woke up so happy because it was finally the big day where you got to prove that you were actually the color of the sky.

Blue got ready and ran down the street to Turquoise’s house to make sure he was ready. He was all good to go so they ran four blocks to get to the arena. They got there just in time.

So many colors. They saw Royal blue, Black, Gray, Baby blue, Light blue, Sky blue, and White.

They definitely did not think that White was going to make it but they were super nervous because they saw Sky blue, she basically already has the title. I guess she just wants to be the best.

“Ok, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!” said the computer.

“We got this!” Blue whispered.

“Remember you are NOT on a team,” the computer added.

“WHAT!?!?!?”

Chapter 4: Surprising Events

“In the rules, it does not say that you can’t be on a team,” Turquoise argued.

“Yes it did, way down in the corner so very small, see.” The computer showed them the flyer again but this time it was zoomed in super close.

“Oh yeah, I see it now,” Turquoise said.

In the corner, it said “No teams allowed.” The computer was right.

“I guess we have to go against each other for now,” Blue said with her sad voice.

“But but but we practiced together, we know each other’s moves and everything else,” Turquoise added.

“Rules are rules and we cannot change them,” the computer said. “I am sorry, but now we have to get on with the game. Does anyone want to leave?”      

“I want to leave, goodbye everyone,” Black said.

“Please don’t leave, I thought we were in this together but now I realize that that was a lie the whole time.” 

“Good bye.”

“Ok, bye, Black,” Turquoise and Blue said at the same time.

“Ok for real, let the games begin!” the computer said. “#1 obstacle. If you are the color of sky, you probably know how dodge clouds, so dodging clouds is the #1 obstacle.”

“AAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

“I am sorry but you’re out of the game,” the computer said.

“Awwww man,” Baby blue cried.

“Since someone already got out, let’s move to the next station, which will be a question,” said the computer. “If you are the color of the sky, you will know how many times the Earth spins around in one year.”

“I think I know the — ” Blue got interrupted by Turquoise.

“We are not supposed to be a team, remember?” Turquoise added.

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Blue said with her sad voice again.

“Write your answer down on a piece of paper and put it in this box,” said the computer while pointing his fake finger at the box. “Royal Blue, your answer is correct, Light blue, I am sorry, but your answer was incorrect, Blue your answer is correct, Gray your answer is incorrect, I am sorry. Sky blue your answer is correct, White your answer is correct, now last but not least Turquoise your answer is…”

Chapter 5: Your Answer Is…

“Correct!!! Good job everyone, the correct answer was 365!” said the computer. 

“Ok, at the beginning of Round 2, we had 7 players, now we only have 5 players!” White said, sounding kind of happy.

“Only 3 more rounds left,” added the computer. “Now, let’s move on to the next round which will be an obstacle,” said the computer. “The sky is full of birds and dust so you have to get through all of that without goggles. Let’s begin!” 

“WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH! SOOOO MUCH AIR IN MY EYES!!!” yelled Royal Blue. “AHHHHHHHHHHHH I AM FLYING AWAY!!!” 

  “Royal Blue, you are out of the game, I am sorry,” said the computer.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!!” yelled Sky Blue.

“I am sorry, but Sky Blue, you are eliminated.” The computer made it clear that Sky blue was out. “Are you ready for the next question?” 

“We’re ready!” the competitors said. 

“Alright, let’s begin,” said the computer. “If you are the color of the sky, you must know a lot about clouds so in this question you have to tell me something about clouds. White you go first.”

“Clouds taste like cotton candy!” said White. 

“I’m sorry, but that is incorrect,” the computer said. “Blue, your turn.” 

“Clouds are heavy because they’re filled with tons and tons of water.” 

“Good job Blue, that is correct,” the computer said. “Turquoise, your turn.” 

“Clouds are slow, slower than a sloth,” answered Turquoise. 

“I am sorry Turquoise, but that is an incorrect answer.” 

“Hello, I am Violet, and I am the color of the sky!” 

Chapter 6

The computer said, “Sometimes, people think that the color of the sky is purple. And some people think that the color of the sky is blue. So, you guys both win!” 

“No, I want to win!” said Violet. 

“Okay, you take the trophy and all the money!” said Blue. Blue walked home to see her best friend Turquoise sitting on the steps. 

“Do you want some ice cream?” Blue asked. 

“Sure,” Turquoise replied. 

The End!!!

Home Poem

I would come home from school

And my mother would smile at me in her best smile

I miss that smile

I miss it very much

At night I would crash into my pillow

I would dream of fluffy clouds and elves

I miss those dreams

I miss them very much

On weekends, when my father didn’t come home late

We would cook special dinners of vegetables and spices

I miss those dinners

I miss them very much

And that place called home

I lived there

I miss home

I miss it very much

Jack’s Soccer Adventure

Part I

Chapter 1

Jack was 15 years old and he loved to play soccer. One day, he went to the park to shoot goals against his brother, Miller. 

Miller was the goalkeeper. Jack said, “You’re too good a goalkeeper, I can’t score on you.” Miller said that he can teach Jack how to shoot the ball harder and curve the ball. After just two weeks of training with Miller, Jack knew how to shoot the ball harder and curve the ball. Jack entered the travel team tryout. After the tryout, his mom got him sushi because he loved sushi so much. 

After two weeks of waiting for the results, Jack finally got them. He made it on the A team, which is the harder league. Jack was so happy. The day after that, he practiced and practiced till 6:30. Then, he went to play his soccer match. Jack’s team, the Panthers, was losing to the Tigers 3-1. Right at the last minute, Jack kicked the ball into the net with so much curve and power it hit the goalkeeper’s hand, but still went in, and the ball left red marks on the goalkeeper’s hands. It was now 2-3. 

When there were 30 seconds left in the game, Jack scored a goal because the goalkeeper was looking at birds instead of watching the game and it was tied!! The game ended as a tie. The Tigers said goodbye to the Panthers and they all went home. Jack had sushi again for dinner, but when he woke up the next morning, he had a stomach ache. Jack thought about where it could have been from, and then he remembered the sushi!!!  

Chapter 2

Jack went to play soccer, but his stomach hurt so much, he had to take a rest. But he also needed to keep practicing. 

He had a game at 8:30 in the morning. Once he was done getting ready, he went to the soccer game and he started playing. He scored the first goal during the 25th minute, and then he got subbed out because he got tired. A while later, he got subbed in. Then, the other team scored and it was tied 1-1. Ten minutes later, it was half time. Jack got to rest for a bit after halftime. The other team almost scored, but Jack’s goalkeeper saved it and it was a close goal. Jack scored a goal but it didn’t count because he did a bicycle kick. The best player on the other team scored two goals and won. Jack was mad at himself. His coach said that it was okay that his team lost but Jack knew he could have done better.  

Chapter 3

Jack went to his first team practice. He did shooting drills and he aced the shooting even on his best goalie. When Jack went home, he saw on his computer a 95-rated player. Jack saw that he was worth $30,000. The next day, Jack went to his coach to ask him to buy the player, but the coach said he was too expensive. Jack mentioned that $30,000 was cheap for a 95-rated player and that the average money for a 95-rated player is double that money. But still, the coach said no. Jack went home sad, but then he had an idea. All of a sudden, Jack was very excited, and once he got home, he went on a website that said record your overall soccer rating. Jack clicked the record button and tried his hardest to get his rating. After that, he submitted his video. The program said to wait an hour for the results, so he passed the time by playing soccer. Then, when he went in to get the results, it said that he was a 99-rated overall.  

Chapter 4  

Jack could not believe his eyes. He wanted to show the coach the results but it was 9:30 and the sky was dark. Jack’s max outside limit was till 10:30 PM. He had to make the trip quick to the coach’s house. He went to the coach’s house and the coach said, “OMG, your rating is off the charts.” 

“Look at my soccer net worth, Coach,” Jack said. 

“Holy mama,” said the coach. “You’re worth 100,000 market value, sheesh!!!” Jack just got home at the last minute and his mom was surprised he made it back in time. Jack showed his brother, Miller. Miller was proud of Jack.

He said, “If you keep practicing, you’ll become a 105.”

“You think so?” said Jack.

“Yeah,” said Miller. “Let’s go to bed.”

“‘Kay,” said Jack. “Bye.”  

Chapter 5

When Jack woke up, he went to his game at 8:30. He could not wait till he won. When Jack got to the game, he started playing. He scored two goals. The first goal, Jack vollied the ball into the net. The second goal, he scored by curving the ball into the goal. Jack’s team won 2-0. It was time for the team’s payment. Jack’s manager paid him $100,000. Everyone else on the team and the manager were paid $50,000. When Jack got home, his family was not making enough money. Jack’s mom said that he needed to get more money from soccer. 

Jack said, “What is your job paying you?”

“Not enough money,” his mom said.  

“What about Dad?” 

“Also not enough,” said Jack’s mom. Jack did not want to do this but he had to.  

Chapter 6

Jack told his manager he was going to another team that would give him more money. 

“It’s called Manchester City,” he said to his manager. 

“What?!” said the manager. “You can’t leave. I’ll give you $500,000 instead of $100,000.”

“Nope, Manchester City is giving me $100,000,000.”

“What the?!? How rich are they?”  

“Very rich, said Jack. “Now, see you in the finals tomorrow against Manchester City.”

 Jack got home and he saw his mom and dad finding new jobs. His mom got a job as a cook because she loved cooking and she was good at cooking. His dad got a job as a worker for the same restaurant as Jack’s mom. 

The next day at the cup final, it was Jack’s old team versus Manchester City, his new team. Jack scored the first goal, and it was a long shot from 30 yards out. Jack’s old team thought they were going to lose. One of Jack’s old team players fouled someone badly and got a red card, so he had to get off the field and sit on the bench. Jack’s old team scored. It was a tie, so they went on to penalties. Jack’s new team won the penalties and won the cup. Jack was so happy. Jack got his payment of $100,000,000. Jack showed his family the check, and they were so proud of him.  

Miller asked Jack to go to the park. Jack said that it was 5:00 in the morning. Miller just said to go to the park with him. Jack said okay and went with him. He saw two people waiting for Jack. They asked to practice soccer with them. Jack said okay. He shot, and he scored five goals against them. Jack asked why Miller got these goalies to shoot on him. Miller told him at his next game, he was going to have a hard time scoring because they had a good goalie. When it was time for Jack’s game, he broke his leg shooting on the other team and had to sit out. Jack helped the coach for his team and his team won. When he got home, his mom and dad were devastated that his leg broke. 

  THE END

  PART 2  COMING SOON

High School Worries Stink

Chapter 1

Sam got another fail on his English work. He started to get furious. He really, really, really now wanted to get A+’s on his English and art classes, but then the teacher said, “Next test is going to get really, really hard.”

Sam went home and showed his family his grade. His older sister, Angelica, offered to help Sam with art. She helped him draw some pictures and helped him mix colors and hold the paintbrush correctly. Then, his little brother, Matthew, helped Sam with his reading and writing; together, they put together sentences until Sam felt ready to take the next test. He got an A. It wasn’t an A+, but it was better than an F-! Sam was a little upset and also kind of nervous about passing class and getting into a good college.

Then, Sam was doing sports, but when he was in gym class, he threw the football and got tackled by a big senior football player. His wrist and ankle were hurt really badly. The next day for his art project, Sam had to paint a perfect landscape. But the problem was he couldn’t hold the brush the way Angelica showed him too. His wrist hurt so much that his hand slipped and he accidentally drew a funny line in the wrong spot. When the teacher asked him what it was, he told her that it was an airplane. Sam turned in his painting and he was surprised when he got it back. He got an A+!

Chapter 2

When he told his family, they were so excited for him, but also confused. Angelica asked him why he had painted a big green line on his landscape.

“Well I was drawing and my wrist was twisted so I accidentally messed up the paints. So I told the teacher it was a plane,” said Sam. Angelica was confused, since there weren’t any green planes, but she was happy for Sam anyway. 

So then Sam said, “What do you think the next test is going to be?”

When he found out, he wasn’t happy. It was the highest level of writing. He had to write the hardest words into 18 sentences in 30 seconds. “What?! I can’t do that, my wrist is twisted!”

Sam took the test and was super nervous, but he thought about all of the hard work he’d put in and remembered how scary it was when his family was sick, and so he said to himself, No, I’m not giving up! I can do it!

Sam tried really hard and, surprisingly, he got an A+! He was so happy he told his family and they were all super excited for him. 

“How did you do it?” his younger sister asked.

“A lot of practice and help from your family pays off,” Sam said.

Chapter 3

The next day, it was Sam’s worst day. His first thing was sports and he had to play tennis. He tried to swing his racket with his hurt wrist, but he did it wrong and it broke! Then, when Sam had his test, he had to write for two hours without stopping. 

“Oh no!” Sam said, but the teacher said, “No help!”

Sam got an F. He felt really sad and worried. What if he didn’t pass the class?! He really wanted to get into a good college.

Then Sam had math and he said, “Phew! Finally something I’m good at!”

But he was wrong. The math was super hard:

(85,000 – 12 + 6) / 12 = 7,082.833

“You have to show your thinking!” the teacher said. Then Sam told the teacher his wrist was broken.  The teacher said, “Alexandra! Come! We need your expertise.” Alexandra came over and helped Sam write. Sam told her what he wanted to write with his fingers and she wrote it all down on the paper. 

Sam didn’t know it, but Alexandra messed up one of his answers. Sam got a B+ and he blamed Alexandra. Sam was so upset at Alexandra. 

He went to the teacher and said, “Alexandra messed up my answers on purpose!” The teacher asked Alexandra if this was true.

Alexandra said, “No!” 

“You’re lying,” the teacher said. “Apologize to Sam.” The teacher knew that Sam would never mess up answers on a math test. “Sam gets an A,” the teacher said. “And Alexandra gets… an F!”

“Woohoo!” Sam said.

When Sam went home he told his parents and they were so excited for him. They asked him a math problem:

(999,999,999 + 12 – 82)/ (600 + 80 – 2)/ 3 = 491, 642.05

“Wow! You’re really good at math!” his parents said. The parents couldn’t even put into words how good he was. “You’re even smarter than a computer! We had to look the answer to that question up.”

Sam felt satisfied. He for sure knew that he’d pass and get into a good college — at least he hoped he would.

Chapter 4

The next day, when Sam had his third to last test, Sam was nervous but also a little excited.

He asked his mom, “Do you think I’ll do well on my test?”

“I think you’ll do great.”

Sam wanted to make friends with everyone in his class. He went up to a girl he didn’t know and asked, “Do you want to be friends with me?” Sam asked. Surprisingly, the girl, Annabell, said yes! Within two minutes, they were friends. Sam felt really happy, but not happy enough. He still had 29 more people to make friends with. He didn’t want to get excited too soon. 

He walked over to someone else when suddenly someone else asked if he wanted to be friends. 

Sam said, “Of course!” His new friend’s name was Max. Wow that was easy. It only took one minute!

The same thing happened with everyone else in the class. The last one took six minutes, but now Sam was friends with everyone in the class. He knew everyone’s names and could call out, “Corey, come here!” or “Max, I need help!” or “Annabell, I need help!”

The next day, when he needed help, some of Sam’s new friends didn’t want to help him, but he was happy that twenty of the other ones did. They took their last test, and the teacher said Sam passed! And all of his friends passed! They were so excited they could all burst into flames!

Chapter 5

On Sam’s summer break, he was excited. He wanted to relax, and he was happy there were no more tests for now. He swam at the pool, talked to all of the friends that he’d made, watched movies, and had a lot of fun. However, he was so busy relaxing that he forgot everything his brother and sister had taught him about art and english. Sam asked his brother and sister if they would help teach him again. They said they would, as long as he promised not to forget again. After studying, Sam was ready to go to college.

When Sam got to college, he met his roommate for the first time. His roommate was named Jamie. 

“Hey, what do you like?” Sam asked. 

“I like sports,” Jamie said. “Football is my favorite.”

“Really? Me too!” said Sam. “What are you good at?”

“Art and English,” Jamie said.

“What are you bad at?” Sam asked.

“Math and science,” Jamie said.

Sam said, “Oh, it’s the opposite for me. Maybe we can help each other?”

“Sure!” Jamie said. “I’ve got a pretty hard math problem here.”

The problem was impossible, but eventually Sam figured it out. Three years in college have passed.

Chapter 6

The next day, Sam had a good feeling about it because he was already just four weeks away from being one with college. He was so excited he told his roommate Jamie, but Jamie was still asleep. Sam went back to sleep and woke up later to go eat breakfast. When they got back to their room, they were relaxing and working on their tests. Then they turned their “Everything You Know” tests in and got A+’s. Sam and Jamie both got really excited to tell their parents, but then they remembered their mom and dad weren’t there and got sad. They never thought they would get so many A’s and A+’s. 

Next was sports, and Sam broke his arm. He had to wear it in a cast. When he took his next test Jamie had to write it for him. But the teacher realized that it was Jamie’s handwriting and not Sam’s and gave him an F. Sam told her that his arm was broken, but she said that there was still no help allowed. Sam was sad. He really wanted to graduate and go to a good work.

Sam was so sad he didn’t even realize that two weeks passed and now it was the Fourth of July. He wanted to go see fireworks with Jamie. They went to see fireworks and he had never seen such cool fireworks before. When he got back Sam got a little letter from a teacher that said, “Hope you feel better soon.”

Sam had a test the next day, but he was super tired from staying up too late on the Fourth of July. Usually he slept late, but Sam had so much work to do. Sam really wanted to take a nap, so he asked his roommate if he would do his homework but he said no. At dinner, Sam left dinner.

“Really? You’re falling asleep before dinner? It’s only four o’clock.” 

“Yeah,” Sam said. Sam left.

“Okay, I’ll be in the cafeteria.”

The next day was the second to last day of school. He felt so happy. He had to take a test but he didn’t care. He just had to draw his picture of Costa Rica in less than one hour. 

When Jamie came back, Sam asked, “How is your day?”

“Fine, but I need your help with this math test,” Jamie said. Sam looked at the problem. It was 10 x 85. Sam looked at the paper and saw that the answer was 850. 

“850,” Sam said.

“Thank you!” Jamie said. “How did you solve that?”

“I just know that when you multiply by ten you just add a zero to the end of the bigger number.”

“Oh! I’ll use that next time.”

The next day was the last day of college. Sam was more excited than excited. Sam and Jamie went to the graduation party. When they saw it, Jamie said, “Wow! How could they put together such an amazing party!?”

“I guess college has its little secrets,” Sam said. Then they started partying and lost track of time. Then it was dinner time. They’d skipped lunch so they ate a big dinner. The next day he went to his first day of work at Einstein Lab. Sam was so happy he had his first job! He moved back to the town where his family lived and they never had to worry about medicine or getting sick ever again. 

The End.

Tommy the Mouse

Tommy groaned as he sat down in his cage. He looked at Joseph, who was playing with his toys as if they were the best things in the world. Joseph was a little brown rat that had a light pink nose and tiny little whiskers. He was like the opposite of Tommy in every single way

Tommy was a black mouse with a light brown nose and long whiskers. See what I mean? But, also, Joseph loved humans, and Tommy absolutely despised them. Tommy decided to start a conversation with him, even though he had just met him. 

“So… uh, you hate humans, don’t you?”

“No.”

“Well… you want to escape, right?”

“No.”

“Don’t you think this place is boring?”

“No.”

“Hmph.”

Tommy asked Joseph to write some things down. Well, that’s one of the things he likes, Tommy thought, watching Joseph. Tommy began explaining his escape plan. “So, you know the human’s laundry chute, right? We’ll sneak into their clothes that go down the chute, and then quickly scamper out.” Joseph looked like he was about to say something, but didn’t.

“Hm… how do we get out of the cage though?”

“W — I’m still figuring that out.”

“Hm,” Joseph said, and then looked out of their cage.

The next day, their tiny human came and showed them a sweater. “Human human! Hu — ! Human!” She showed them the sweater again. “I think she wants us to wear it,” Tommy whispered to Joseph. Joseph ran over to the cage and looked at her as if to say, Me first! Me first!

The human picked Joseph out of the cage and put the sweater on him. Next, it was Tommy’s turn. He was picked up (and he kicked and squirmed a lot) and the sweater was put on. He had to admit, it was warm. But he tried not to show that to Joseph. After that, the human plopped the sweater in their cage, and that gave Tommy an idea. Their owner’s parents did not really care about them, so they would not listen when their child talked about the rodents. They just said things like, “Yes,” and, “We know.”

So, the rats would hide in the sweater, the girl would ask her parents where the rats were, she would assume they let them out to play, while they went down the laundry chute to paradise!!! 

Tommy immediately told his plan to Joseph. “What if the girl sees us in the sweater? And how will we both fit?” Joseph asked.

“Well, if she finds out, we go to plan B.”

“What’s that?”

“Paw helplessly at the cage till she lets us out, and then we slide down the laundry chute.” 

Joseph looked at him skeptically.

* * *

Welp, as you can see, Tommy and Joseph were now pawing helplessly at the cage, waiting to get out. 

Tommy saw the human coming towards them. “She’s coming!” He whispered excitedly. 

The girl only had to look at them pawing at the cage a few times, and let them out. “Now come on!”

They ran to the laundry chute, the girl running after them calling, “Human! Ma — Human!!”

But they had already jumped down the chute. They could hear the girl crying behind them.

Still, they had other things to worry about. This was like a water slide — with no water! Tommy and Joseph felt like their tails were on fire. Thankfully, they fell down on the ground. When they looked up, they saw the wonderful eyes of a c — eyes of a cat??? 

The cat walked towards them, pushing them against the wall.  “This. Is. My. Alley!” she growled.

“Oh-h-hello cat. I’m going to call you — Waffles.” He did not want to admit it, but he felt a little scared. She growled louder. “Have mercy, Waffles! We just escaped from our home!” She scraped her claw against the ground and looked at it. 

“But if I don’t catch you, I’ll starve in the winter!” For a moment, she looked sad. Then her regular, terrifying stare came back. She started chasing them all around the alley. Then, Joseph spotted an air vent up high. They climbed up and went through. They had escaped Waffles. After a little while, they came out of the vents and landed in a grocery store. Once they explored a bit, they had to dodge a few feet from stepping on them and crushing them, you know, normal day. 

After that, an old human with a broom came, and once he saw them, he looked at them as if they were the weirdest things in the world. Then, he started bashing his broom against the floor. They ran behind the shelves and jumped behind the boxes. Then, when it looked like the humans were gone, they scampered out through the doors. They decided to take a little break on some white and black lines. They were both so exhausted from dodging things. Afterwards, they wanted to walk around a bit. But suddenly, a shiny red car with sharp tires came and almost sent them flying! If it weren’t for the human’s pants they were clinging onto, they never would have been able to be here again. The human crossed safely, and Tommy wondered how she did it. The human walked into the park, sat down somewhere, and rummaged in a backpack. 

The only reason he knew what backpack meant was because their owner had shown it to them so much, and he sort of picked it up. Wait… that was their owner’s backpack! Tommy tried running away, and Joseph tried to follow, but his tail got stuck and he squeaked in pain. The owner suddenly looked at him, with a surprised look. Then, she noticed they were her pets. She picked up Joseph, rummaged in her backpack again, still looking at the mouse, and then pulled out the sweater. Tommy smacked his forehead. She thinks he’s going to fall for that? Ha! Tommy thought. 

10 minutes later… 

He fell for it??? Really? Ugh, Tommy thought. Right now, Tommy was being held (more tightly than he’d like) in his human’s hand. Joseph, on the other hand, was nuzzling the human and squeaking happily in his sweater. Great, she’s taking us back to her building. Tommy tried signaling to Joseph to do something about this. He started to get annoyed. After three minutes, he finally responded. He looked at the human for a little and then unexpectedly, almost bit her. But he hesitated at the end. The human dropped them in alarm. She screamed, which apparently got her parent’s attention, and they came running down. They shooed Tommy and Joseph away, and started looking at the bite. The two rodents ran forward, happy to be rid of the humans, and…. fell into a hole

 * * *

Tommy blinked open his eyes. He saw a rat that looked just like Joseph.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing, ova’ here in our territory?”

“Joseph?”

“What? Oh, trying to stall are you?”

“You look like Joseph.”

“Joseph?” the rat replied. “How do you know Joseph? He was my brother, I thought he died!!” Tommy sat up, immediately wide awake. 

“Your…  brother??” he asked incredulously. Before the rat could answer, an older rat came up behind her.

“Louisa, Joseph is here.”

Louisa froze and looked at him. “Joseph? I — is that you?” The old rat made way for Louisa. She looked at Joseph and almost leaped forward to hug him. 

Then, she looked back and called, “ALLIE! Joseph is here!” A brown rat that looked just like Louisa came running, and hugged Joseph too. “I’ve missed you!” By now, Joseph had almost fallen down. Louisa and Allie stopped hugging him and he promptly fell backwards 

“We’re your sisters!” they both said at the same time. “And twins!” they said together again as Joseph got up.

“Wait…” Tommy said. Everyone looked at him as if he just appeared out of thin air. He looked at them all and his jaw dropped. “You’re all family?”

“Yes, we’ve been missing Joseph so much. I’m Louisa, this is my twin Allie. Over here, is Grandma and Grandpa.” Louisa gestured to the old rats behind her. “Then we have Arthur, and Ash.”  

Two rats with scars on their paws stepped up to Tommy and said, “Who’s this little mouse?” Arthur pushed Tommy backwards. 

Before anything else could happen, Louisa stepped in and said, “Okay, calm down.” Suddenly, a gust of wind made Tommy stumble. Louisa looked up and said, “I’m sure it’s nothing. We’ll just take cover in case.” More gusts of wind blew through the sewers. It smelled so salty. They tried to find cover, but there was not much that they could use here. Tommy suddenly got blown up out of the sewers, but thankfully he was holding onto the grates of the storm drain. Still, he was slowly losing his grip. He saw Joseph’s family being blown away behind him. The wind was too strong, and he let go.

 * * *

Tommy woke up with two black mice standing over him. He sat up and asked, “Who are you?”

“We’re your parents, Tommy!”

Tommy couldn’t believe his ears. “Parents?” he repeated.

The mice nodded their heads and looked to the right. “It seems you have brought friends with you.” Tommy followed their gaze. Joseph! he thought. 

“Is he okay?” he asked his parents, standing up.

“Yes, yes. He’s perfectly fine. Just getting some sleep,” Tommy’s mother said. “His family has told us all about that snowstorm.”

Tommy rubbed his eyes, and looked at his parents one more time before walking outside. They were on a farm! There were fresh crops growing in the fields, beautiful flowers, and when Tommy turned to look back to where he had come from, he saw a huge red building, with magnificent white doors. The whole place looked amazing. Tommy had gotten his dream. 

The Fire Man

One day, I was at a bar and the entire place suddenly lit on fire. I escaped just in time, but the others weren’t as lucky. 

The next day, I woke up and went to work as normal. But then I started randomly teleporting. And there were constantly flames on top of my hands. I was confused as to what was happening. I decided to stay at work. However, mid day, there was a sudden fire at my workplace. I Knew it wasn’t me that started the fire so I was wondering who or what did. Everyone in the bar died… or did they? It turned out that everyone in the bar got powers, same as me. Some the same, some different. I was at the bar with my friend which meant he probably got powers too. Which meant that they probably teleported out or they were fireproof, but I didn’t really feel like testing that theory. Some people had to be fireproof, though, that or some people had to have teleportation other than me. 

I asked some scientists to help me control these new powers. They agreed and so I started to control my teleportation first and they were going to see if they could get a grasp of fire second. We tried to see If I had any other super powers, like flight, invisibility or super strength. I did not have flight or invisibility, but I did have super strength. So first I tested if I could lift a car. It felt as if I were lifting a feather. Then I tried a bus. It was pretty much like one pound to me. Then a train… 5 pounds… easy. Then I lifted up a ferris wheel. For me, it was around twelve pounds. By the time we finished, it was already 11:00 PM, so I went home to go to bed. By “go to bed,” I really meant watch TV. 

When I actually went to bed, it was already 5:00 in the morning. I was watching too much of “the Flash.” And then in the morning, I had a pizza eating contest. During that, I found out that I had a new power… superspeed. I was so competitive that my hands started moving at super fast speeds. Luckily, nobody was looking at me with the exception of the scientists who were cheering me on. 

Then I tried to master the superspeed. And I lost tons of weight by running for one second, which for me was around the world. I think it was about 50 pounds. So now I wasn’t fat anymore. Then I decided to be a superhero so the scientists made me a suit. When the first bad guy came along, he wasn’t someone from the bar so it took about two seconds. He was robbing a bank and tried to shoot me but little did he know, I had super speed so I ran straight past it and took him down.

From this one event, I became famous. Then my friend that lit the office on fire robbed a bank, so that was not very good. We both have the same powers. I hope he didn’t know about some of them. Even so, he probably didn’t know how to control them. He definitely knew about the super speed because he was just speeding around town. He took a wrong turn to his house so I got to his house and teleported through the door. Then I started speed punching him until he got knocked out. I brought the money back to the bank and then I took him to the maximum security prison where super humans couldn’t use their powers. But then a magic suitcase appeared in his jail cell. He opened it and it teleported him out of jail.

The first thing he did was run to me and he choked me. Why can’t I teleport? I thought, but then this guy came out of a secret door and blasted my friend with a laser and then he got sent to a maximum, maximum security prison. Meanwhile, I was off fighting bad guys, and then the next guy from the bar appeared. I didn’t know what powers he had so I had to hope he had the same powers as me and and I recently bought a new house for my girlfriend and me. There were two bathrooms, a pool, a hot tub, a trampoline, and three flat screen TVs.

The bad guy was robbing a grocery store, but right before he left, I teleported to the exit and he shot a fire bullet and I thought, WHAT THE H*LL IS THAT?! I teleported behind him, wondering what had happened. Then I tried to punch him, but he sensed me and teleported behind me and punched ME, and well, he got away. I got injured, but luckily my super healing made me go back to normal in about one hour so that was good, but if a bad guy struck before that, then we were doomed. Unless… if someone else who was at the bar was a good guy, then they might go attack if a bad guy did strike 30 minutes later. You guessed it: a bad guy struck, and it was the same guy who robbed the grocery store but then this girl flew in and punched the guy midair. “Ouch!”

“Why does she have super strength AND flight? That is too much!”

He tried to shoot a fire bullet, but he missed and then a sniper tranqed him so they could bring him to a maximum, maximum, maximum security prison. When I was healed, I asked her what her name was and she said, “My name is… ”

TO BE CONTINUED…

Biomes Out of the Box

Chapter 1

I lie in the grass. I do not remember a single thing. A figure walks up to me. I shut my eyes. I wake up in a bed. 20 people are looking at me. A strong, bald guy helps me out of bed and then asks how I got here. 

I say, “I don’t know.” 

He says, “I am Jake, leader of the crystal world.” He has big pointy ears. 

I ask, “Are you an elf?”

He says, “Yes, we all are. You are the only human.” 

He takes me outside and we end up in a stone box. The walls are 100 feet high. 

I ask, “Where am I?” 

He says, “The crystal world, I already told you.” 

I say, “Can we go to the desert biome?”

“No we can’t. They are all locked,” Jake says.

“Why not? How are they all locked?”

“You’ll catch up on everything, Newbie.”

“Who’s Newbie?”

“You’re Newbie. That’s what we call the new people,” says Jake. 

Next, I meet a guy named Oliver. 

He says, “Aren’t you the new Newbie everyone’s talking about?” 

“That’s not my name,” I say. 

“Why? What is your name then?” 

“That’s weird. I can’t remember.” 

“Yep, we think we get brainwashed when we come here.” 

“What do you mean, come here?” 

“The Over People bring us here. Also, tomorrow is your lucky day. You get to become an elf and learn how to fly!” 

We hear a loud horn. 

I ask, “What is that?” 

“It’s Jake calling a ceremony to see what your name is going to be.” 

“But I already have a name,” I say. 

“Remember? You got brainwashed!” Oliver says. 

“Come on, we gotta go, or else we’ll lose points” 

“What are points?” I ask. 

“You ask a lot of questions,” he says. “You have five points when you come into the box. When you lose all of your points by doing bad things, they’ll burn you at the stake. Six people have already been burned.”

 When we get there, the Jake guy says to us, “Hey Oliver, looks like you’ve already made friends with the Newbie.” 

“That’s not my name,” I say. “Oh wait, it is my name.” 

They ask me to light a bonfire. Since I am going to be in the Orange Elf Cabin, they are going to name me Josh. 

“Hurray, you’re going to be with me,” says Oliver. 

“Oh, thank God,” I say. 

While we’re walking back to the Orange Cabin, everyone starts high fiving me, elf-smacking me on the back, and congratulating me. 

“What’s the difference between the Blue Elf Cabin, the Pink Elf Cabin, and the Orange Elf Cabin?” I ask. 

“Well, the Blue Elf Cabin can teleport anywhere inside the box, the Pink Elf Cabin can run more than 120 miles an hour, and the Orange Elf Cabin can fly up to 50 feet in the air. Tomorrow when you wake up, you will be an Orange Elf. Then you’ll have flying training. Good night.” 

The next morning, I wake up and find myself levitating in bed. Then, everyone else wakes up. 

“Hey, you’ve already got the hang of it!” Oliver says. 

I go outside after breakfast and start to walk around. I look at each biome three times and meet Rick. 

I ask, “Who are you? I think I recognize you.” 

“Well, you should, because I am the leader of the Orange Elf Cabin,” Rick says. 

A Pink Elf walks up to me and starts cracking jokes about me being a Newbie. Then this Rick guy gets fed up and a laser gun appears in his hand. 

“Back off, or there will be a hole right through you in three seconds.” 

“Don’t you remember? I can outrun that lazer. I’m a Pink Elf. I can run more than 120 miles an hour.” 

“Well, if I tell Jake, your last point will be gone, and you will be burned at the stake.” 

The Pink Elf backs off. 

“That’s how you deal with bad guys here,” Rick says. 

“I have one question for you. Who am I?” 

“Nobody knows.”

“Not even I know who I am?” I ask.

“Not even you,” Rick says. 

“Wow, this place is weird,” I say. 

“Yup, sure is,” Rick says. 

I ask him, “How long have you been here?”

 Rick says it’s hard to tell because time moves differently in the crystal world. 

I ask, “Have you opened any of the biomes yet?”

“Nope, we still can’t find the password or figure out how more and more people get here.”

Then, we turn into elves. I remember that I am an elf and sigh.

Oliver comes to tell Rick and me that it’s time for dinner. 

The next morning, I go to my flying lesson. I am surprised to see that Rick and Oliver are the teachers. It goes on for what feels like a year, and then we get called in for lunch. I am starting to get used to the schedule. When I look at the board, I still have 5 points, not that I thought I lost any. 

After lunch, a girl elf comes up to me and tells me her name. I was going to tell her mine, but she was at the bonfire. We chat like normal people or elves, and then I see that she has blue eyes. It is odd because everyone else has green eyes. I ask, and she says she doesn’t know why. She says that they had tried to figure it out, but it never worked. I ask how we unlock the biomes, and she says that we need a password. We try to find out the password but can’t. 

At dinner, there is a food fight with the Blue Elves and the Pink Elves. I sit next to Oliver, Rick, and Mia the girl elf. We talk and try to ignore the fight. Then, I have a headache, and the numbers 2-4-1-9 pop into my head. I go to the forest biome. I put in the numbers and it opens.

Chapter 2: Biomes in the Open

Everyone is in shock. I stumble into the forest, and there I fall. 

The next day, they have a meeting to see if it is safe to escape. They tell me that I now have 305 points for opening a biome. In the afternoon, ten elves go searching for the biome: three Pinks, one Orange, and six Blues. The Orange Elf flies up but bumps into a tree branch. The Pink Elves start running and trip over some tree roots. The Blue Elves try to teleport, but they can only teleport to places inside the box. The Blue Elves carry the rest of the injured elves to the Red Cross Elves. 

After dinner, I am really curious to see what is inside, so Oliver, Mia, Rick, this guy named Chris, and I go out. We explore for a few hours until we hear a rumbling noise. Then, it starts getting closer and sounds like growling. When we all sprint back to the box, it has stopped following us. When we look to see if everyone is sleeping, they aren’t. The Pink Elf that was picking on me for being a Newbie is being burned. 

“Well there goes number seven,” Oliver says.

We join the bonfire. That’s when it gets out of hand. The grass starts to burn and there is a massive fire. It burns down the Blue Elf Cabin. Then, everyone hears a loud boom. A normal human with a megaphone with a bunch of guys wearing backward helmets appears and says “We are the Over People and we are here to put the fire out!”

They start spraying water at the fire. “I think they’re called fire fighters,” Oliver says.

But the elves do not want them to fight the fire. They want answers. All the elves go into the chamber of weapons. Orange Elves take laser blasters, Blue Elves take nunchucks, and the Pink Elves take swords. First, Pink Elves run towards the Over People, distracting them so the Blue Elves can teleport behind them. The Orange Elves fly up above and start shooting at them. 

“Enough! We are going to call a meeting, and after that, maybe, just maybe, we’ll let you go. Only if you can unlock all the biomes,” say the Over People.

Everyone looks at me. Suddenly, the Over People disappear. 

Chapter 3: The Struggle to Escape

For the next two weeks, everyone is getting ready to escape, and they are all counting on me. We all start to pack our things. The Blue Elves are getting ready to say goodbye to their teleportation providers. Only Jake isn’t packing. Everyone is very confused. He is going to stay.

We all set off to the forest that I unlocked. That’s when I get another headache. The numbers 1-8-6-3 pop into my head, and I fly to the desert biome. I put in the numbers, and my headache stops. It unlocks. Everybody looks at me and the biome. Jake is smiling.

“Blue and Orange go into the desert, Pink go into the forest biome. But be careful, Pinks, there are a lot of roots,” Jake says. 

As we are walking, I hear a weird noise in front of me. 

“Rattlesnake! Josh, look out!” Mia yells.

I take off flying. But in three seconds, while I am 40 feet in the air, I fall back onto the rattlesnakes and feel something wet. 

“Eeewww, you have rattlesnake blood all over your back,” Mia says.

“Good thing I have a change of shirts.”

I put on my second shirt out of five. Then, we see something shiny. It looks like 78 motorcycles, one for each of us. Mia has to ride on the back of Oliver’s since her’s broke. Oliver, as usual, complains. 

“She’s your friend.”

My motorcycle breaks and I fall off. I land on Rick’s motorcycle. I backflip over him, grab onto the back of the seat, and get in position. I leave my motorcycle behind. We crash, sending us over the invisible barrier. That’s when we see the Over People. I see the guy that was holding the megaphone earlier and punch him in the face. We get in line and take turns punching him in the face, 78 times in total. 

“Alright, you already broke my nose!” he screams. “Ok, just stop punching me, and I will give you your freedom!”

The rest of the elves keep on punching him until he is knocked out. We leave the building and enter a strange world. A sign reads New York City.

“Wait, I think I got my memory back!” we all say.

“I think my name is Ravi. I have an older brother named Neel who looks exactly like Rick.” 

“I think my name is Neel and my brother is Ravi. We live near the cathedral school in Apartment—wait, that’s classified,” Rick says. 

Just then, Mia turns into a kitten. Oliver and a Blue Elf turn into my mom and dad.

Chapter 4: Back to Normal

“Why is everyone wearing masks?” Oliver asks.

“Meow meow meow,” says Mia.

We call a taxi and say goodbye to everyone we’ve met. 

“So, are you guys new here?” the taxi driver asks.

“No, we live here.”

“Aren’t you guys from that TV show, Biomes Out of the Box?” 

“Wait, what?!”

We walk into our home and start watching the TV show. 

“How did you get that laser gun in your hands?” I ask Neel.

“I don’t know,” he says.

We fell asleep later that night. Suddenly, the police barge into our house and take us to a different movie set. 

“Not this again,” we all say.  They don’t erase our memories this time or turn us into different people. They just interview us. 

“Where’s that Mia fella?” 

“Oh I’ll get her,” I say.

They put us into a James Bond movie. Then we get put in a maze and turn back to our other-selves. We learn that the name of my mom’s elf persona is Michelle. 

Suddenly, we all fall asleep and I wake up back in my cabin. It turns out none of that happened. I try to go back to the biome that I thought I unlocked, but I guess I never actually knew how to. 

A plane crashes into the box. That’s when we realize this is how the Over People bring people into this place. 

Rick was brought in by a car crash that made him lose his memory, and I was brought in by crashing my motorcycle. Then I go to the desert biome and put in a passcode to try and open it: Car Crash, Motorcycle Crash, Plane Crash. Surprisingly, it opens. I check to see if I’m dreaming. 

Everyone sprints out, leaving everything behind. I realize Oliver is actually not my dad, Mia is just an elf, Rick is a friend, and Michelle isn’t even real. 

Oliver catches up to me. 

“Nice job, dude,” he says.

For the first twenty minutes, everything is normal. Then, the sun starts beaming on us. Since the Pink Elves run way too fast, they run into quicksand. Then, there’s a sandstorm, and in the middle of it, Jake realizes that we will have to stop for the night. 

At night, we hear something that sounds like laughter. When we go outside, there is a pack of hyenas trying to eat our sandwiches. Then, we set off in the middle of the night. Jake knows that it would be more dangerous and tough to get through this. When it gets really dark, we still keep moving. Then, we meet different elves. They look exactly like us. 

Jake asks their leader, “Who are you?” 

“We came from a box with ten biomes,” they say.

“Wait, but we’re coming from a box too,” Jake replies. 

“So there’s two boxes?” everyone says. 

“Our elves can fly, can run more than 120 miles an hour, and the elves used to be able to teleport,” the leader says.

“No way! Same for us.”

Then we realize that if we keep on walking straight, each group will end up in each other’s boxes. So we turn the other way. We see something in the distance. We get closer and find a third box. 

“There must be a million boxes!” I say.

Then, we hear a voice that sounds like the Over People. The voice says, “Yes, this is the Over People. We have come here to trap you elves because you have all caught a virus. It is called ‘Elfatopia.’ It makes you turn into an elf so we trapped you. If you were in the real world, you would have lived with humans and a war would have started between you.”

Chapter 5

We walk for what feels like a trillion years. Then, we think we see something. We aren’t very surprised because we’ve already seen, like, fifty boxes. This is different. It is a shiny black building that looks like a lab. 

We slam on the door three times and yell, “FBI, open up!!!”

The door opens and we all barge through, breaking every single thing they have. We go out the front door. 

“Looks like we’re here,” Jake says. 

“Well, I guess we’re elves forever,” Mia says.

THE END                    

Black

Black is lifeless, death. 

Black tastes like chocolate, but also sour and disgusting. 

Black is like a wither and its rose. 

Black is like death and its stench. 

Black makes the loud spooky noises of a cave. 

Black is also the darkness of that cave. 

Black feels cold and dark. 

Black is as tough as sandpaper. 

Black is lifeless, death. 

Flee From the Fur

Once, there was a girl named Izumi, and she was an orphan. She missed her parents a lot, and she had only one thing left of them: an emerald ring. Her parents had told her that it would lead her to her freedom, but for the past four years, she had been living on the side of the road, and nothing good ever happened to her.

Chapter 1

It was another day on the side of the road, and Izumi was sitting there practicing her guitar so she could earn money to at least eat some food. She was trying to perfect a song when a cat came and sat down right next to her. She didn’t notice it until she came back from getting food.

“Meoow.”

Izumi looked down and saw the cat. It mewed again. It must be hungry! Izumi thought. She sat down and gave it some ham from her sandwich. It ate like it hadn’t had food in months! It does look very skinny, she thought. She went back to practicing her guitar.

The cat came to visit every day, and then, one day when Izumi had enough money, she bought a little float and a blanket to sleep on. That night, she let her cat sleep on the float with her. The cat—which she had named Jiji—went to sleep right away, but Izumi stayed up for a while thinking about if anything good would happen to her or if the cat could help her. She decided to think about that in the morning and sleep for now.

Chapter 2

Izumi woke up to the sound of loud car engines—they were louder than usual, and the cars were bigger than usual too!

“Wait, maybe it’s not the cars or their engines, maybe it’s…” She looked at her hands, but instead of hands, they were paws! Jet black paws! She looked in a little mirror that she had bought and saw that she had a cat’s face. She stepped back a little to see her full body, and when she looked she nearly fainted! She was a jet-black cat with bright blue eyes! She looked to her left and saw Jiji. She ran over to Jiji and asked why she was a cat.

“When you slept with me, the emerald ring was touching you and me. That emerald ring is not an ordinary ring, it’s a special ring that can turn you into a cat when it’s touching both you and another cat,” Jiji replied. 

“Yeah, but is there a way to change me back into a human?” Izumi asked. 

“You have to go to the Lord of the Cats, and there she will give you the answer to change back into a human. I do not know the answer to that, but I will help you reach her,” said Jiji. 

“Ok, but can we please go now? The cars are loud!” Izumi said.

“Well if you want to get away from the noise follow me!” Jiji yelled. She ran toward some bushes, waiting for Izumi to follow her. Izumi caught up to her and followed her through the bushes. 

Chapter 3

“How much longer?” Izumi complained.

“We’re almost there! Now chill out!” Jiji said impatiently. When they finally reached their destination, Izumi was shocked. Right in front of her, there was the biggest tree she has ever seen, and right in the middle of it was a big glowing stone. 

Jiji caught her looking at it and said, “That’s where the Lord of the Cats lives. It looks easy to get to, but trust me it’s hard.” 

“Why’s it hard?” Izumi asked. 

“Because, one: there are a ton of vines. And two: there are a bunch of bodyguards inside the stone and outside,” Jiji explained. 

“But I don’t see anyone,” Izumi said, confused. 

“That’s because they’re invisible.”

“WHAT?! How are we supposed to get past them!?”

“We’ll have to figure out a plan, dummy!”

“Riiight. So what’s the plan?” 

“I can’t think of a plan that quickly!” Jiji said angrily.

“Ok, so can we think of a plan?!”

“I thought you were nice!”

“I am just freaked out because I’m a cat!” While they were arguing a tall, big, gray, poofy cat stood there watching them fight. They clearly didn’t see him. 

“Ahem.” 

“Ahhhhh!!!” Jiji and Izumi screamed together.

“Oh, it’s just you,” said Jiji.

“Who’s he?” whispered Izumi.

“He’s my friend HairBall,” Jiji responded.

“Ok.”

“Can you help us?” Jiji pleaded, “Pleeease?”

The gray cat finally spoke. “Ok, ok, what do you want?”

“My friend here,” Jiji nudged Izumi, “got turned into a cat accidentally and needs to get turned back, but the only person that knows how to do that is The Lord of the Cats.” 

“So you want to sneak into the stone?” HairBall questioned.

“It’s for a good reason!” Jiji said.

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Ok but pleease??”

“FINE!”

“Uh, helloo, I exist,” Izumi said. 

“Sorry, I forgot about you,” Jiji said in a guilty voice.

“Yeah, no kidding.”

“Ok, let’s just make the plan,” Jiji said.

Chapter 4

It took a while for them to make a plan, but they finally did it. They planned to get some invisibility potion just in case. Then, they got some friends to distract the guards, and Hairball, Izumi, and Jiji snuck into the stone. What they didn’t know was that there was a narrow cliff that they had to go on to get to the stone. Their plan worked to get past the guards, but then when they came upon the cliff, they didn’t know what to do! They decided to hold onto the wall going in a single file line with Izumi in front. Izumi accidentally stepped a little too close to the edge where there was a loose rock. She slipped, but luckily she caught onto one of the rocks on the edge and pulled herself up. From then on, they stayed as close as they could to the wall.

Chapter 5

“Shhh!”

“No, you shh!”

The three cats had successfully snuck into the stone. 

“WOW!” they all said together. It glowed not too bright, but it was amazing. 

“What are you doing here?!” boomed a voice behind them.

They turned around to see the Lord of the Cats towering above them. She looked like a humongous calico cat. 

“We just wanted to know how to change me back into a human,” Izumi squeaked. 

“Ohh yeah, about that…” the Lord of the Cats said. 

“What, you know how to change me back?” Izumi asked hopefully.

“Umm, you can’t,” the Lord of the Cats said slowly.

“What do you mean?” Izumi asked in a scared voice.

“You can’t change back into a human.”

Izumi started shaking, then couldn’t hold it in and just let it out. She started crying so hard. Jiji and Hairball tried to comfort her, but she knew she couldn’t change back into a human and that was the end of her human life.

Ruby the Red Dragon

Ruby was born right by a volcano. When her egg cracked open, her mother and father weren’t there. As Ruby got older, she taught herself how to stay safe and gather food by herself. 

One day, she was flying around the island and found a castle in the clouds that looked like it was abandoned. She drew near to the castle, and suddenly, a group of knights came out screaming, “Charge!” They shot arrows at her but missed. They threw cannons and anything they could, but still, they didn’t have good aim at Ruby. Somehow, even though she wasn’t doing anything, Ruby started to feel drowsy and sleepy. Everything went black in her mind.

When Ruby woke up, the sun was not out and it was dark. She had been carried to the dungeons of the castle. Ruby shot fire out of her nostrils, but the knights didn’t seem to notice. She shouted as loud as she could, but the knights still didn’t do anything. 

Once she got placed with the other dragons in her cell, in dragon language they asked each other’s names. The first 45 seconds they got to know each other, they immediately knew they were going to be best friends. One of the dragons was named Sapphire, another one named Pearl, and one named Opal. 

Minutes turned into hours, hours turned into days, days turned into months, and months turned into years. All that time, the dragons made a plan to escape. 

One night, at 11:59 PM, they were prepared to break open their cells as quietly as they could. But the fire ended up blasting the castle in two pieces, leaving a cloud. 

As it did so, the dragons soared high to the cloud that the ancient castle was sitting on for millions of years.

The Spoiled Rich Brat

May 27

Dear diary,

My name is Chloe. My dad is REALLY rich. I can get ANYTHING I want. I bet my friends are so jealous!!! I used to have a lot of friends, but now I only have 6 because they said I was too sassy and boastful. But I don’t really care anyway because the friends I have now are WAYYY better. One day at school, there was a new girl. She looked poor, so I decided to tease her. So I told my friends, “We have to make a list of things to tease her with.”

We did, but we had to buy some things that were pretty expensive. So, of course, I asked my dad for some money! He said, “Of course,” and handed me 2,000 dollars. And that was the exact amount we needed! I said thanks and headed out the door.

We went to the local shopping market to buy the stuff we needed, like trash cans, tripwire, and a lot more. My dad was friends with the manager, Bob, so once he saw my friends and me he said, “What would you like today ma’am?” 

I said all the things we needed, and he said those things were out of stock. So I screamed, “Get me those things right now, before I have to call my dad!”

He said, “Ok, ok, ma’am,” and went to the warehouse to search for the things. He came back 10 minutes later and said, “I am so sorry but there is nothing I can do.”

So I screamed again and said, “You know that this is the WORST  market I have ever been to, and I am going to give this store the WORST review!!” 

I think he got mad too, so he screamed back, “Well, I’m gonna call your dad and tell him about you!”

My friends tried to calm me down, so I screamed one last time, “I DON’T CARE!” and stomped out the door.

xx

Chloe

May 27

Dear diary,

“Chloe, I need to have a talk with you!” my dad called.

So I said, “Yes,” in my very best daughter’s voice.

Then he opened the door. I wondered what he would talk about, like would I get some extra allowance, or would I get another dog to go with my other 2 Pomeranians? But then he said, “Chloe, I am very disappointed in you. Yesterday I got a call from Bob, and he said you were very rude.”

I thought, “Oh no!” Not this AGAIN!

And then he continued, “Bob told me you said his market was the worst store you had been to, is that right?”

“Uhhh…”

He started to yell, “CHLOE, YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE!”

And I decided that from that day, I would never talk to him ever again.

xx

Chloe

Dear diary,

Now I have to make a different plan since, you know… So I called my friends over to hang out and make a new plan. We decided to trip that poor girl from school and push her when there weren’t any teachers around. So we tried our plan and it worked. But summer break came quickly. So I said bye to my friends and walked out of school.

xx

Chloe

Dear diary,          

This summer break was the best break ever! We stayed at a resort in Hawaii and went and saw volcanoes erupting. Then we went to Colorado to a ski resort, and I thought that was even better. We went skiing on the Black Diamond, and I fell and twisted my ankle so I said, “I quit,”  and went back to the stupid lodge. When I got back to school, some kid pointed at me with my crutches. He also started laughing. So I said back to them, “Your families are probably poor as  dirt!” The truth is, basically money is all I care about. (Me in my head yelling, MONEY$$$$ 4 LIFE!)

I had to wear those AWFUL crutches for 8 weeks!!! Almost every person I walked past turned their head and looked at me. Another fact about me is that I like attention, but not this kind. Those 8 weeks were so painful and embarrassing, but at least I made it through. When I got to return those crutches I was so happy!! I yelled and screamed and shouted. My dad told me to calm down. I was about to say something, but then I remembered that I wouldn’t talk to him.

xx

Chloe

June 2

Dear diary,

Ok, so today I went to our attic to look for cool things to play with. While I was looking through some boxes, I found a diary. It looked really old and had the prettiest lace covering the edges. But this is the part I can’t believe. It said Sophie on it, and that was my mother’s name (at least I’m pretty sure). I spent the rest of the day thinking about the diary I  found and if I should ask Dad because I still am not talking to him. I finally made up my mind and went up to him. This is how it went:

“Dad? I wanted to ask if Mom wrote in diaries.” 

His answer was, “Yeah, she did, but let’s not talk about that.” He sounded sad when he said that.

So I walked back to my room. In my brain, I thought, “Wait, where is my mom? Where did she go? Did she leave us?”

That day I had so many thoughts swirling in my head. I was so tired so I went to bed.

TO BE CONTINUED…

The Seal

Once upon a time, there was a seal that wanted to go to the forest. The seal was one year old. He asked his mom if he could go to the forest. His mother said he could not go because he needed to be in the water. The seal grew and grew. Years passed, and he got upset and wanted to make a plan to go to the forest. He swam and swam. He even swam where he had never been before. He was swimming so fast that lost his hat and was too tired to even keep swimming. Then he saw a sign that said yard sale. So when he got his energy, he went to the yard sale. He found a glass container and a motor at the yard sale. Then he filled the tank with water and taped the motor to it. He hopped in the tank, and he went to the forest sitting in the tank at the end.

The End

The Secret of the World

Intro

The dark and swervy hallways led to the one room that controlled everything. The walls of the hallways were covered in dark granite and had long, steep stairs. The man got to the bottom of the stairs, and he opened the door to see that the queen was about to leave.

“What are you doing, Your Royal Highness?”

“Well, Mr. Dompettle, I am seeing my sister. She is towards the end. Why are you here?”

“Well mama, it is my job to do this. I must feed the prisoners.” 

Mr. Dompettle kept walking down the hall, placing a bowl of food in the compartment of every prisoner. Some of the prisoners complained that they needed more food and some tried to grab Mr. Dompettle by the jacket.

“Man, I hate my job. But I get to work for the queen. Not everyone can say that. “

When he got to the queen’s sister’s jail cell, she grabbed him by the coat. She told him a secret that her sister told her. It was too crazy for Mr. Dompettle to even believe. She let him go forcefully and said, “Don’t just stand there! Give me my food!”

With Mr. Dompettle’s shaking hand, he handed her a bowl of slush and went on. In the back of his head, he thought of what the queen’s sister told him. He had to figure out what it meant because all she said was a passage or poem.

Chapter 1: The Secret 

That morning, Mr. Dompettle woke up and he raced out of his cabin in the woods. He was late for work, so when he got on the bus, he told the driver, “Speed up! I work for the queen, and I have never been late one day of my life!” 

The bus driver sped up and everyone in the bus started screaming. Mr. Dompettle said the same thing that he said to the driver and everyone quieted down.

Finally, he got to the palace and ran to the changing quarters to get his uniform. When Mr. Dompettle finished changing, he ran up the stairs. Finally, he got to the room and lined up right as the queen approached the door. She rushed in and assigned everyone to their quarters besides Mr. Dompettle. 

“I know that you were running late, and that is okay, but I also know that my sister told you the secret. Don’t tell anyone, your life depends on it!” said the queen in a harsh voice. “Now go and feed my prisoners.” 

“Yes, Your Majesty.” 

Mr. Dompettle walked down the steep stairs with granite walls and started giving out the bowls of food. The prisoners did the usual and tried to grab Mr. Dompettle’s jacket, complaining about the lack of food. When he got to the queen’s sister’s chamber, she was dead. Mr. Dompettle ran back up to the queen’s room and said, “Your Majesty, your sister… Your sister… She is dead.” 

The queen rushed to the bottom of the palace, ran down the stairs with the granite walls, and went to her sister’s jail cell. Indeed, she was dead. There was a bit of thought that Mr. Dompettle killed her, but she reconsidered her thoughts and said, “Mr. Dompettle has been the most loyal; he couldn’t have killed her.”

“Take my sister out of her jail cell and bury her. Make someone make a stone. I don’t care who it is, it just needs to be magnificent,” boomed the queen. 

Mr. Dompettle helped take the queen’s sister out of her jail cell. The queen ran up the stairs with the granite walls and locked herself in her room. She got no sleep that night and just sat in her room and cried. Even though her sister had killed people, the queen was still heartbroken. She and her sister had always gotten along, but one day, they’d gotten in a huge fight that had made the queen’s entire family go against her sister. Then, the next day, she ran away. 

“WHY WASN’T IT ME!” yelled the queen.

That night in his cabin, Mr. Dompettle sat down at his table and wrote the very words that the queen’s sister told him. “The dragon’s slay, a heart of gold, a gem of beauty.” He wrote those very words on his last piece of paper and hid it in his coat. He would take it everywhere with him, so the secret wouldn’t come out.  

“The dragon’s slay, a heart of gold, a gem of beauty.” Mr. Dompettle repeated that over and over but still had no idea what it meant. 

Now one of the people that could have fixed the problem was dead, and the others didn’t even know that there was a problem. The dragon needed to be slayed, they needed a heart of gold, and they needed a gem of beauty to bring back the queen’s sister, Diana.

“Good luck, my peasants,”  said the strange voice.

Chapter 2: The stranger

Mr. Dompettle woke up, took the bus to the palace, ran downstairs and into the changing quarters, walked up the stairs, and went into the room and lined up. The queen did the same thing as yesterday: she assigned everyone besides Mr. Dompettle. 

“Mr. Dompettle, what did my sister tell you?”

“The dragon’s slay, a heart of gold, a gem of beauty,” they said together. 

Right then and there, there was a knock at the door of the palace that startled both of them. The queen told the guards that she would open the door and for them to go to their quarters, so they did. Now, she opened the door with a creak, and there was a beautiful lady with a bright red cape and a dark black suit. The beautiful lady repeated the queen’s secret in her ears and said, “You must slay the dragon in the woods, find a heart of gold, and get the gem of the land. The biggest gem in the land is a red ruby. Then, your sister will come back to life.”

The queen and Mr. Dompettle couldn’t ask for help. No one could know about this. Now, the two had to get cool suits and weapons. But it was late, so they both had to go home and be careful before they went.

“Goodnight, my queen,” said young Mr. Dompettle. 

“Goodnight, Mr. Dompettle,” said the queen.

Mr. Dompettle went home that night and had a sword and gun on the table. If there were a dragon out there, no one knew where it was. If it were in the woods, he had to be prepared.     

To be continued… 

Darkness Rises

An hour before dawn, a mysterious creature was spotted in Roseville Park in Hollywood, California. The police department said it was about nine feet tall. The police also spotted a gem that the creature was holding during the video that they took. People said that it belonged in a museum and that it was worth one million dollars.

“Someone must retrieve this gem.”  

When Jacob woke up with a start, there were so many things stuck in his mind:

  1. The incident at Roseville Park.
  2. Problems at home.

I mean seriously, it’s not easy to move into a new house, he thought.

As Jacob was walking to his friend Astor’s house, he could hear the loud thunder going: 

Boom! Boom! Boom! 

When Jacob arrived, he told Astor about the gem and that they could get rewarded one million dollars by finding it. 

“We’re going to be rich!” they said together in excitement. 

“I’ll see you at 1:10 am, that’s when we’re out.”

“Ok, Astor. First stop: 42nd street.”

As Jacob and Astor entered the dark house, a loud creeeak sound filled the hallway. As they crept along the stairs, a foot-sized claw pierced through the door.

Jacob and Astor rushed towards the door, and inside they caught a glimpse of a nine-foot monster carrying a two-foot gem. Jacob and Astor tried to snatch the gem from the monster, but it was too late. The monster had vanished…

***

After discussing the issue for a long time, Jacob and Astor finally thought of a plan to capture the monster and retrieve the gem. They programmed a weapon to trap the monster in a jar that would give it an electrical shock through its nervous system and put the monster to sleep. After the monster was captured, they would return the gem to the museum. 

Once it was dark, they put their plan into action. As they walked, they discussed how the monster must have teleported from California to New York. 

They came to a stop. The old oak door opened slightly, and they stepped inside and the old carpet on the floor evaporated. While they were checking downstairs, they heard a loud shriek coming from upstairs on the top floor. As they stepped into the dirty elevator, the noise became louder and louder until… Ding dong! The elevator door opened. 

Standing in front of them was the nine-foot monster carrying a two-foot gem. They aimed the weapon towards the creature’s heart and fired. It hit the monster, and the monster started twitching. Suddenly, it was trapped in an electrical jar which put it to sleep.

“Our plan worked!” screamed Jacob and Astor.
As they headed back towards the museum, the ominous clouds changed into white and fluffy clouds. When they entered the museum, the manager thanked them for their perseverance and bravery. Jacob and Astor handed him the gem, and the museum locked the monster’s jar in a cell, so the monster could never get out. They had saved the world! 

***

Epilogue

Then, a black hellhound appeared from the shadows.

“Darkness will return,” he said, and everything turned dark… 

1888

I was born in 1888. My family was dead. We had been investigating some bird, hippopotamus and t-rex when we heard a rumble. Then a volcano erupted and lots of lava was falling down.  It was big. There was thunder on the volcano and that was what was making it erupt. My family had been running back to our home but there was too much lava. So I hid under a big leaf and my mom and my sister and my dad were running to our home, but they all got caught and roasted by the volcano. 

So after all the eruption, I took them to the military and dug them graves and put a stone on them. I was homeless, but I wasn’t really, because I had my own house. I was hungry and then I saw the secret room where there were lots of fishing poles and spam. So I decided to go fishing. I cooked them up because I was over twenty (I was twenty one). Then I got some flaming rocks and I got my gloves and I picked up the rocks. I threw them at the graveyard. After I threw them, it started raining. The graveyard was rumbling. All of the dead people were coming up, and I saw they were zombies. There were only, like, people eaters. I ran and I saw my little four-year-old brother. He started chasing me. I saw my sister chasing another person. Then I threw a rock at my dad’s grave stone and he became a flaming zombie. 

I went to the house, and it was full of zombies. I dodged all of the zombies and ran to Dad’s secret room. There were a lot of zombies there. In the room, there were a lot of guns. I chose the mini gun and started shooting the zombies. And then I ran out of the bullets, so I chose two different weapons: the pistol and the sniper. I didn’t want to shoot my family, but I had to, because if they were zombies, they were of no use. 

I shot the flaming zombie, who was my dad. Then I shot my own little brother, then I shot my mom, then the pistol ran out of ammo so I used the sniper. Then there were only fifty zombies on my watch. The watch tells me how many people there are. There were actually 201 people, but after I shot the last person, I was all alone. I decided to live with my friend, the t-rex. His name was T-rex. Then there was lots of dead zombie flesh, but I told the t-rex not to touch it. The t-rex’s friend came, and after I was done playing with my friend, I went to the water. 

I found my friend, Shark. I saw a lot of fish. I asked Shark to kill all of those fish because I was hungry and had no food. I had all of these friends. I saw a traveler. He had a detective hat and sunglasses. He had long pants and a short t-shirt. I asked if I could live with him, and he said yes. 

When we got to his home, we lived together. After a while, he asked if I wanted some hot chocolate. I said I wanted a frozen hot chocolate and he gave me one. 

The problem was that the traveler was a werewolf. Today it was a full moon and I saw that he went in the garden. Then I followed him without getting caught, and then he looked at the full moon. Then there was a lot of fur, and then he started to grow more fur, and then he turned around and then he lived on the farm, so he ate all the pigs and the cows and the chickens and then he was going after me. And then I went back to bed and then he left the house. He didn’t sleep, he just stayed on the farm and stared at the full moon until it was the morning. Then he turned back into a person and I didn’t say that I sneaked out because I didn’t want him to know that I sneaked. 

After nine days, there was a lot of birds that I didn’t know, and then there were lots of people. Then I brought fish from the old ages and the traveler cooked it for me and then I ate it. He said at the next full moon, he would be having werewolf babies. After the full night, I saw a lot of little furry things, and those were like babies. They all followed the werewolf and they all turned into a werewolf. There were more people driving, and they all went for him the car. And then he was going for the person and then ate him up, and I was so terrified that I went back to bed and I didn’t sleep, I just searched up with my computer for werewolves. Then I saw that they eat only person meat. I thought he was going to go for me, but when he saw me, he didn’t run for me, he just went for all the animals. Then I researched: does a werewolf have babies? And they said: yes, and there were more babies until they died.  

Then I went to the garden. Then the chickens were getting more fur and laying more eggs. Then I ran away from the house and I lived with my friends. Then a big tsunami came. It flooded everything, and after a few minutes, the volcano erupted. Then I went to live in the arctic. It was too cold there so I ran to live in the desert, but it was too hot there so I decided to live in New York. And then I got through the pipe in New York. I went to someone else’s house and then I went through the tunnel and then I ran inside it and I saw a lot of scorpions. I got bitten by one and I fell down, and after a few days, I woke up and I was hungry. So I decided to eat the scorpions, but I needed a cooking place. I had an idea. So I brought all my scorpions to the volcano and cooked them. I chopped down the scorpion’s tail. I ate them and they were yummy, and there were a lot of enemies so I bit them and they got poisoned to death. I ate so many of them. But I got a poison bite because there were a lot of animals, and I was about to cook them but they attacked and then I just put it in my mouth so they didn’t eat it. The scorpion just went down to my stomach and I just bit them and they made a weird sound so I knew they were poisoned. And that’s how I died.

Then, they got poisoned and they died, and one by one I killed them, and then I saw there was a school of fish and I bit all of them and got an offense thing and a defense thing and then I looked and saw a big T-Rex and I bit them. It did no damage and I asked my friends to help so we defeated them and ate them for lunch.

So they ate him for lunch and I felt something weird in my stomach and then I almost died and then he said that he got poisoned, and then he bit him a lot and did poison and ate him and that’s how I got poisoned back.

And then he said that something was wrong with what he ate, and then he said he was born in 1888 and ate a lot of dinosaurs but the last one was really bad for his environment and health. Then I went to a doctor for about two weeks, who said I could go back when the time came. He said that I would at least need to avoid meat for two years and for now, I needed to eat vegetables. Then I said to myself that I could eat one little bite of meat. Then I ate it, and it had only been just one year, and I didn’t remember the taste but then I did! Then I went back to the doctor because I felt so sick and he asked if I had eaten meat. I said yes and he said no meat for 9 years. I didn’t eat meat for 8 years, but I got sick of vegetables, so after 9 years I went back to the doctor and then he said I could eat meat and then I went crazy on meat and then I ate a lot of meat from supermarkets. I didn’t buy them, I just stole them because I had no money.

After, I got really sick, then I went back to the doctors. He said I needed to go into a coma for about 30 years. I said to myself I thought I was going to die! Then after 30 years, I was about 40 years old and then I started cooking for myself and making my own money. I got a bank account and I got more money to buy more stocks to get more money. Then I got really tired of just waiting for money so I decided to play video games. I bought a PS5 and played the game like crazy. I played a Mario game and completed all the levels, so I played a different game and it was called rocket launch and I was so good at it and then I got the ball. I kept scoring and and got a lot of robots and then I got new clothes. I got socks, I got pants, and soon, my stock was going up soooo much because people were trading me and I was putting stuff in my stock.

Soon, I was a trillionaire and I went to a millionaire and then I bought lots of stuff, so I had thousands of dollars. I stopped wasting money and waited for me to be a millionaire and I went crazy on money now. I stopped eating meat and started getting healthy stuff like vegetables and fruits. I ate two snacks and three meals every day, and became the healthiest and richest boy in the world and then I was a nine millionaire. I was so crazy that I thought of breaking more games and then I broke all the games that I know so I started to install games that I didn’t know. There were so little games that I didn’t know about. Then I got a YouTube premium that had no ads and got new games that had no ads. Then, in one day, I got millions and millions of dollars and became the richest boy and became so curious to see who was giving me this money. I went to my old house and there was so much dust. I went to my room and saw the same lady giving me all the money and then I knew who she was. It was my grandma who almost died in a coma because someone pushed her and she almost fell 30 feet. She was in a coma still and donating all the money she had and now she had $9, but now $8, and then she died of a coma and she actually donated $1 to me, that was crazy. 

I went to college, and then after it became too hard, I went to elementary school. I went to meet my new friends and they were AJ, Michael, Andrea, Emily, Ryan, and Neil, and my first teacher was Mr. Granite. He was suspicious, so I followed him and I bought a new mansion near my school and then I was so suspicious of him. And then I followed him some more and then I decided I would go with my friends Neil, Michael, and Ryan, so I went with them.

We couldn’t find him in his house but we found him building a rocket ship and the garage door opened and he looked at us and then AJ and I didn’t know what to say. Then AJ finally said, “Freeze, dirtbag!”

Then Mr. Granite put his arms up in the air but then put them down because we did not have any weapons. And then we did elementary school, and then I got a new teacher when I was in 3rd grade. Then, on Friday, we were going to switch to our 3rd grade class and Mr. Granite was going to take off Friday at 2:00 PM. We went there just in time.

All of us played together and then we shook our heads. Andrea didn’t like it so Emily and Andrea stayed there. We got a new substitute teacher and I thought that was our teacher, so they waited for us and he was flying in the room wearing a red cape and then he fell down. He was lying down and then he brought rats because he was pretending to be a superhero, and then he showed it to everyone and then Emily was screaming and running out of the room.

What a crybaby, I thought.

And then, in 4th grade, we got a new substitute teacher instead of Mr. Cooper. Then we got a new substitute teacher and her name was Ms. Mary. And then she was going to get married to Mr. Tommy. And then she was making black makeup on her eyelids and then she was wearing everything black, and then Ms. Mary told us that she was from England and she did snorkeling and also there was a lot about hot dogs.

Then, at lunchtime, AJ said, “Ms. Mary is scary.” After AJ said that, he said that she lived in a cave and hung upside down. AJ said she was a vampire and then Emily said,

“We need to do something!” And then she ran out of the room.

What a crybaby, AJ thought.

And then Andrea said, “Don’t try to scare Emily.”

And then, when we got back, someone was climbing in the roof and I bet that it was Mr. Tommy. Then he said, “Will you marry me?”

Ms. Mary said excitedly, “Yes!”

And then they started smooching up until and after Mr. Tommy gave Ms. Mary a ring. AJ, Micheal, Ryan and I said that Ms. Mary probably tied up our real teacher on the railroad. “That happens all the time you know,” said AJ. And then they married and Mr. Klutz said Ms. Mary was his daughter. And then Michael, Andrea, Emily, Ryan, Neil, and I didn’t know that Mr. Klutz had a daughter but knew that he married a girl pig and that was the funniest thing in the history of the world. And then, after Mr. Tommy said that, he was starting a song about dirt and then we were going to go up for recess because the bell rang but we all snuck up on Ms. Mary and then they started smooching a million times and after that, they saw us and we ran out of the room. Thankfully, Ms. Mary did not say anything.  

After two weeks, we were going to 5th grade and then we got the same teacher but a new gym teacher and her name was Ms. Small. She was doing some juggling with nine balls and just shooting them up in the air and making all of them in the basketball hoop. Then she jumped on the trampoline and did a backflip and then got all those balls before they came down and shot the balls before they touched the ground. And then Michael, Ryan, AJ, and I were so confused that we laughed hard in confusion and then when she was done, we saw Ms. Small was very tall and her name should’ve been Ms. Tall instead of Ms. Small! Then she taught us to balance a feather with one finger and then she told us we had to juggle 10 balls in a row… It was so hard that I actually threw up and I got a headache. And when I got to Ms. Cooney’s office, our nurse told me that I had to go home. I thought I was happier than a panda eating 900 bamboo sticks.

Bill the Foodie

Bill was a foodie. He loved food of all kinds, and if you were to ask him if he had gone to this restaurant or that restaurant, he would always say yes. There were no restaurants in the vicinity of his house that he had not been to at least 17 times. But there was one restaurant he hadn’t been to that was across the world, but so far, he could not get there. It served special food, such as fish that only was in the waters in Australia, where the restaurant was.

He had heard about the restaurant from a friend of his in Australia who loved the food in the restaurant. He was in Chicago, and the weather had been bad, so he couldn’t get a plane. No boats would take him either, because they were worried about a storm. It had been raining and thundering for the past couple days, and there were no modes of distant transportation. Although Bill loved food, he also had a degree in building planes. One morning a few days later, an idea came to him. He would build a plane that could fly in any type of weather. But he knew that in the town where he lived, there were criminals who would steal his idea. He wanted to make sure that he would be the first one to file the patent.

He had a high stone wall built around the house, so high that it was unclimbable. He also had a tunnel built within the wall to get out and go to the supermarket or to one of his favorite restaurants. He went to a supply shop and got all the materials needed to build the plane. Then, he put them in his house via the opening in the tunnel in another place in his spacious yard. He started building the next day but accidentally put a piece in a place that it was not supposed to go, and it was bolted in, so to take it out and still have the plane be intact would be nearly impossible.

He was in a rage. Why hadn’t he checked that he was building the plane correctly? He felt like he was under so much pressure, but he realized that it was just a restaurant, and a plane that may or may not work.  Luckily, he had a close friend, who also built planes, and his friend gave him parts under the condition that he would let his friend fly in the plane as much as wanted. Gary, his friend, though, did not like food at all, and the nutrition he got was from a drink that he drank every day. Bill disagreed with him about just drinking things, but he told himself that he didn’t need to care. He knew that it wasn’t him, but other people do other things. Bill got a manual to build a plane, and he based his plane off of it. Unfortunately, the workman who worked for him also cleaned his house, and, by mistake, he threw away the manual. Luckily, right after, Bill saved it from the wastepaper basket, told the workman what had happened and forgave him, and then he kept going with his plane. 

Months passed, and he had his plane finished. Coincidentally, there was also bad weather, so he could still use his plane, and he flew happily to the restaurant. Also, he patented his plane.

The restaurant was everything he dreamed of. He loved the food so much that he decided to move to Australia permanently. He married and had children and everyone loved his plane, and soon it was used commercially. Time after time he went to the restaurant. He declared that it was the best restaurant he had ever experienced in his life. He lived a couple blocks away from the restaurant, so he could go there anytime he wanted. Bill realized that he didn’t need to go to every restaurant. He could start his own restaurant. And that is exactly what he did. 

Bill was happy with his restaurant, and he served interesting things, like smoked bats, steamed horse, and strange muffins full of grape and shallot and tomato. He had lots of customers because word passed quickly that he had very strange things in his restaurant. Every day, 50 people would come and take their favorite salads (with oranges, onions, and cranberries) and favorite soups (with grapefruits, tomatoes, and garlic). But he was bored with his menu. Every month or so, he would change it up. There would be tea with carrot juice, water infused with tomatoes, every strange item you can think of. Soon, people started moving closer to his restaurant, so that they could go there constantly. He had so many customers, he had to build a bigger restaurant to fit all of them! Finally, he decided to sell the restaurant. He sold it to his most loyal customers. The restaurant was operating even better without him. But he was still helping out if any of his new employees had any questions. Bill wanted to go back to Chicago though, so his entire family (he was getting quite old) packed their bags and left Australia. He wrote a book about his life, and a cookbook with the dishes he had made over the years. But word had come from Australia that the new employees had quit and sold the restaurant. He was devastated. What if they made his restaurant have normal food? He quickly flew to Australia, and had his by then 40-year-old children take over the restaurant. He flew back to Chicago, and after his children confirmed that everything was in perfect order, he relaxed. He made some of his dishes from the restaurant in his house, and they tasted even better. Word came out that his restaurant had become the number one restaurant in Australia. He was so very happy. People from all over the world had been coming to Australia just to see his restaurant. He flew over to Australia and saw that everyone was enjoying the food. He loved the food too, and finally he settled down and enjoyed the restaurant.

But, from the children’s view, life wasn’t all beer and skittles. They found that it was hard for them to run the restaurant as well as their father had. The children didn’t have the same obsession with food. They changed the dishes to what they wanted to make, and it felt easier. But they wanted to have a different career. They told this to their father, and he approved. They sold the restaurant, and moved on. One of the children became an accountant; another, a real estate agent; and another, a government official. They were all happy, and all fondly reminisced about the restaurant. But they still wanted to visit, so they saw how it was, and they helped with the food, and they gave the chefs ideas, as they weren’t totally separated from the restaurant. They still enjoyed it, they weren’t against it, they just had different interests than their father. Just like Bill and Gary. They had different opinions, but they still liked each other. Then, all the children remembered that they knew how to build planes, and got into the plane-building business. They enjoyed it, but realized that they actually wanted to be in the restaurant business again. So they bought it back and started again and found that they liked it more then they ever had. But they were getting old, so they soon retired, and left the family business to their children. And everyone remembered how the whole journey had started with one restaurant in Australia. Bill’s grandchildren liked it more than his children, and happily, they ran the restaurant the best that it had ever been before. 

But dishes were getting out of date, so the grandchildren changed it up a little bit. There was stewed tiger, fried guinea pig, and lettuce and orange peel salad. People enjoyed it, and one day, the grandchildren got an offer that they could not resist. A man was offering to buy the restaurant for 50 million dollars because it was such a good restaurant. He wanted the restaurant because he was a good advertiser, and he would get even more customers. It turned out that the offer was worth it. The man handled the restaurant quite well. Customers now from all over the world came to Australia from Hawaii just to go to Bill’s restaurant. It was in newspapers all over the world, and every single list of best restaurants always listed Bill’s restaurant as #1. By now, everyone in the world had at least heard of it, and three quarters of those people had gone to the restaurant. The man wanted to make the restaurant cheaper so that everybody could come. It was a good idea. Now, everyone had seen his restaurant, and lots of celebrities were coming to see how they got so much business. Most other restaurants had permanently closed because they could not keep up with Bill’s restaurant. The man changed the menu every day so that there would be lots of customers. They had to move into a bigger location so that there would be enough room for all of the customers! Business was doing well, and the man decided to open locations for this restaurant all over the world. It was doing so successfully that the business was worth two trillion dollars. All of the locations got more customers, and every single person in the world had heard of Bill’s restaurant. Bill’s restaurant even had a museum all about it. The business was doing so well that they had so many great chefs because all of the best chefs would take 5 million dollars to do the cooking. Finally, the restaurant was such a success that they had to move into the biggest building in Australia. They had enough money to create a whole chain of buildings named after them. Finally, the grandchildren took it back, and with the man’s advice, continued the restaurant for years to come.

At the Movies with Mrs. Lady and Mrs. Beagle

MRS. LADY
Oh hi, Mrs. Beagle!

MRS. BEAGLE
Woof. [Oh hi, Mrs. Lady.]

MRS. LADY
Today we are going to the movies with my friend, Mrs. Knitting, and her dog, Mrs. Bulldog.

MRS. BEAGLE
Ruff ruff? [What movie? Star Wars, King Kong, Frozen 2, Jumanji?]

MRS. LADY
We are going to watch It’s a Wonderful Life!

MRS. BEAGLE
Riff ruff? [What the heck?]

That evening…

MRS. LADY
Mrs. Beagle, are you ready?

MRS. BEAGLE
Ruff… [I am not… ]

MRS. LADY
Oh well, you are not ready, but here is your hat. (Pulls out an ugly dog hat)

MRS. BEAGLE
Ruff ruff. [Thanks… but it’s super ugly!]

MRS. LADY
(Cries) You don’t like it? I knitted it. (She stops crying.) Let’s go to the cinema.

Outside

MRS. KNITTING
Oh hi, Mrs. Lady, and hi, Mrs. Beagle. Let’s go to the cinema!

MRS. BEAGLE
Ruff ruff! [Hi, Mrs. Bulldog, I have been waiting all day to see you!]

MRS. BULLDOG
Ruff Riff. [Me too.]

MRS. LADY
Mrs. Beagle. and Mrs. Bulldog, come!

Inside the cinema

MRS. KNITTING
Hi, sir, we are here to watch It’s a Wonderful Life.

THE SIR AT THE COUNTER

Sorry, but It’s a Wonderful Life has been out of cinemas for more than eighty years. You can watch Little Women, Frozen 2, or Jumanji

MRS. LADY
I think we will watch Little Women.

MRS. BEAGLE
Ruff. [I told Mrs. Lady that It’s a Wonderful Life was bad.]

MRS. BULLDOG
Ruff riff ruff! [I told Mrs. Knitting the same thing!]

MRS. LADY
Mrs. Knitting, I watched Little Women fifty years ago.

MRS. KNITTING
So did I!

They enter the theater. The movie starts.

MRS. LADY
(Screams) What the heck? This is not Little Women.

EVERYONE EXCEPT MRS. LADY AND MRS. KNITTING
Shhh!

SECURITY
Ma’ams, you need to leave this room if you wanna scream.

MRS. LADY
(Cries) Why, why?

SECURITY
Just get out!

MRS. BEAGLE
Ruff ruff! [What a bad idea!]

The next day

MRS. LADY
Oh look, I got a package. (She opens it.) It is a DVD of It’s a Wonderful Life.

MRS. BEAGLE
Ruff! [Oh no!]

Space Adventures

Chapter  1

9:30 PM, Heading to the Moon…

***

“Ugh… ” groans Leo. “I’m sick of eating mashed potatoes for breakfast lunch and dinnerrr!”

“Blaaah! Me too,” says Jacob.

“Kill me!!!” yells Andrew, a few moments later

The ship starts beeping. “That’s a good thing, right?”

“Uh oh,” says Leo…

Chapter 2

10:13 PM

SELF… DE… STRUCT… !!!

“Guess it’s the end for us,” says Jacob. “Good knowing you all.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” says Andrew. 

“WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIEEE!!!” screams Leo.

“Oh shut up, man.”

Chapter 3

5:54 AM

Minutes later…

Boom! Crash!

“Ohhh nooo, are we in heaven!?!?!”

“Ahhhh!!”

“We’re dead!!!!”

“Man, I hate Leo,” says Andrew. 

“We’re not dead, we’re just on like some sort of other planet… ?”

“Our ship is kicked,” says Jacob. 

“@#%!#&!” (INTENSE CURSING FROM ANDREW.)

Chapter 4

12:37 AM

“Guess we need to find the parts.”

“I think I found something there,” says Jacob.

“Where?”

“There.”

“Oh, look at that,” says Leo.

Chapter 5

10:15 PM

Leo points to a giant booster.

“Whaaa?” says Jacob. “Guess I will get it.”

“Seems like other people have been here,” says Andrew.

They keep walking when Leo starts screaming for no reason, “It’s bones!!!“

“Ugh, eww,” says Andrew.

“Why do I hear like a BZZzz?”

Chapter 6 

2:56 AM

“Take cover!”

“What was that?!” yells Jacob. 

“Looks like a giant robot sent to kill us all, sir,” says Leo. 

Andrew backs off. “Well, we better start to explore and report to NASA what we are seeing,” says Andrew.

“YOU THINK THEY WILL BELIEVE ALL OF THIS?!?!”

Chapter 7

8:19 AM

“Oooooh, fruits, something else, then mashed potatoes!” says Leo.

“Yum!”

“Sweet!” 

“Juicy!”

“How come you can breathe?”

“I don’t know.”

“Huh, I can breathe as well. I’m going to write this down.”

Chapter 8

6:34 PM

“Water!!!!” says Leo.

He walks to the big lake. They see a smooth pile of sand. 

“Maybe we can rest here,” says Andrew. 

Chapter 9

9:27 AM

“Why do I feel little legs on me?” asks Andrew. 

“Why do I hear Leo carrying something?” asks Jacob. 

“Guys, look what I found!It says that they’re called crawlers!!!”

“They look like scorpions… ”

“This is like earth, weeee!!!” Splash!!!!                                                                                

Chapter 10

4:45 AM 

“I think we should rest,” says Jacob.

“How?” says Leo.

“How about that?”

“Why do I feel pain on my feet?” asks Andrew. 

“Umm, should we tell him?”

“No, you noticed it, you tell him!”

“Umm, uhhh, you have a tiger snapper snapping your leg,” says Leo.

“AaaAAHhhHH! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!!!!”

Chapter 11

8:54PM

1 hour later… 

“Guess we should head there!”

“There’s a jungle here?!?”

“I’m so glad that tiger snapper is gone.”

“I hear crawling again, is it your 999 crawlers, Leo?” 

“No,” says Leo.

“I think I found their cousin, the black crawler,” says Jacob.

Chapter 12

12:46 AM

“Be careful though, black cavaliers can be territorial. I hope they don’t mind us, it says that they eat bigger things than us, so we should be fine.”

Chapter 13

8:14 PM

“What’s that green liquid?”

“Don’t jump in there. It’s not wat – ”

“JUMP FIRST! CHECK LAST! WEEE!”

“God, I hate him,” says Andrew.

“Is it just me or do I see a giant factory out there?”

Chapter 14

2:48 AM

“This is going to take forever… ” groans Leo. 

“We’re already here.”

“Oh.”

“We better be sneaky, I see robots EVERYWHERE, so we need to stick toget – ”

“Weeeeee!!” !says Leo.

“WHY!”

Chapter 15 

7:56 AM

“He is so dead.”

“I’M ALIVE!”

“Aww man, I found a teleporter!”

“Really?” asks Andrew.

“Yeah! Here.” 

Chapter 16

1:34 PM

“Where does it go?”

“I have no idea. See ya!”

“Wait, we don’t know where it goes?!”

“Guess I will see him on the other side.” 

Chapter 17

9:38 PM

“Wah… it’s all junk and rocks and dirt, we are in Jun Bot City.”

“Wah, I see a lot of them,” says Leo. 

“There are a lot of these little square robots with small eyes,” says Andrew. “I see another

Teleporter!” 

Chapter 18

4:24 AM

“Wow, you look pixelated!”

“Why are your words in a speech bubble?” says Andrew. 

“I have moves! We’re in a video game! Where is the next teleporter?”                                          

Chapter 19

“It says that we need to complete 10 levels and fight the last boss,” says Jacob. 

LEVEL 1

PRESS THE RIGHT ARROW TO GO RIGHT

PRESS THE LEFT ARROW TO GO LEFT

PRESS THE SPACEBAR TO JUMP

LOADING…

“Oooo, we have fireballs for fighting!” 

PRESS SHIFT TO SHOOT FIREBALLS

Nice! Now let’s go fight that boss!

 LEVEL 2

WAVE 1 OF ENEMIES

That was easy. 

WAVE 2 OF ENEMIES

That was also easy. 

FINAL WAVE OF ENEMIES

Ow! Flying enemies, really?

LEVEL 3

WAVE 1 OF ENEMIES 

God, these parasites may be small, but they have two hearts!

And we only have three!

WAVE 2 OF ENEMIES

Whaaa, that’s three big dragons! 

FINAL WAVE

What is that?! Looks like a stone gaint.

LEVEL 4

MINI BOSS LEVEL

“Oh no, that’s a hydra! Dodge its attacks!!!”

“Ow, ow, eek!”

“I need to heal, “ says Leo. 

“He’s got my back!” says Jacob. 

“Good, I’ll get the final hit, and yeet!”

“Okay.”

“Now what?”

LEVEL 5

BIG SWARM OF ENEMIES!!!

“Ahhhh! Take cover!!!”

“I got like 453 of them!!!”
“Ahhhhh, eeeek!” 

A few hours later……

LEVEL 10 BOSS LEVEL

“Whaa, that is… so… AWESOME!!!”

“Please no, Leo,” says Andrew. 

“ROAR!!!”

“Oooh nooo, it shoots lasers!!!”

“Run, run, run, run!”

“Whew, I got some good shots on him!!!!” says Jacob. 

“Not me!” says Leo. “This could have been 100% easier if he weren’t able to move!!!” 

A FEW HOURS LATER 

“Ugh… this boss is unbeatable.” 

“Bruh, Leo, we just beat it.”

“Oh, okay!” says Leo. 

Chapter 20

3:15 AM

PICK ONE OUT OF THREE TELEPORTERS 

TO GO BACK BACK TO EARTH 

“Awwww, but I don’t want to go back to eating mashed potatoes in NYC!” says Leo.

“Yeah, there needs to be another way… ”

“Hmmm… ”

“I’ve got it! How about we build a bridge all the way back to earth!” says Jacob. 

“How?”

“With all the things that we discovered.”

Chapter 21

6:34 PM

“Phew, we made it!!! I see the president!”

A few minutes later

“And let us celebrate the glory for ANDREW, JACOB, AND LEO for being so brave and going to another planet! And making a giant bridge all the way back to earth!!! Here are your medals, and here’s the money.”

“Wow, I can’t believe we did it,” says Andrew. 

“Do you know what that means?” 

Chapter 22

10:23 PM

A few hours of celebrating 

“Woo! That felt gooood!” says Leo. 

“Yeah,” says Leo. “Wonder what planet to go to next? Maybe Venus?” says Jacob. 

“Pssst, NO! Something new!” 

Beep, beep. 

“Huh, my contact watch is beeping. Hmm.” 

“I see NASA says that one of their satellites is seeing dangerous things on planet 5,603. It says if we don’t stop it now, bad stuff is going to happen,” says Jacob. 

“What do you guys say?” 

“Ok!” says Leo. 

“I’m in!” says Jacob. 

“Ok,” says Andrew. 

“So where’s the spaceship?” asks Andrew.

“We crashed it, remember?” says Leo. 

“Oh, ummm.”                                                             

THE END

 Ok, we’re done here.

The Alien Bob Books

Chapter 1: The Alien Trying to Get Back Home 

There was an alien that needed an alien spaceship and fuel to get back to his home in space. When his parents were going to go on vacation in space, Alien Bob fell out of the UFO and landed on Earth. The alien named Alien Bob was searching for a spaceship/UFO. He had been searching for weeks, but he gave up hope. But there was a firewall to get to the UFO. He went into the Internet but there were internet golems so he fought the internet golems with his sticky tentacles, and Alien Bob won against the internet golems. So then he went to see the internet firewall. 

The firewall said, “Guess the password if you want to pass or I will blast you with a fire.” 

Then Alien Bob saw the UFO. “Ok,” said Alien Bob, “I think firewall.”

 The firewall said, “Error, nobody ever got past me. You may pass, you just need fuel.”

Alien Bob went down to the underworld to defeat the fire golems. He dug with his green pail head. Then Alien Bob went to defeat the fire golems. He punched them with his green fists and defeated the fire golems. Then he went to the top of Mount Everest to kill the ice golems. He got to the top of Mount Everest. An ice golem missed the Alien Bob with a liter of fuel he brought all the time.

Then Alien Bob hit the ice golem, then got the fuel. Now, he needed to get back to the UFO. He went back to the internet. The internet golems were dead, so he said to the firewall, “Firewall,” and he put the fuel into the UFO. He went into space but there were obstacles in space, so he turned on his guns and killed the robots. He went back to his planet and reunited with his alien mom and dad, and his mom and dad were so excited when they saw Alien Bob. The last time they had seen Alien Bob was 20 years ago.

Chapter 2: When Alien Bob Got an Alien Dog and Cat

One alien day on an alien planet, there was this new invention called an alien dog and cat. Alien Bob really wanted the alien dog and cat. But Alien Bob’s parents said, “No, no, we are not doing that. You already got lost on earth. We’re not spending $9,999.”

“Mom, why are you crying?” said Alien Bob.

“Well, your grandpa invented alien dogs and cats and he died today, so I don’t want to get the dog or the cat. But you can use your money to get a dog or cat.”

 “Ok,” said Alien Bob. He got the dog and cat. 

Chapter 3: Learning Everything of Alien

The alien planet is named Bleezama. They always have hot weather. Alien Bob’s mom’s name is Bloop Burp and Alien Bob’s dad is named Alien Blurb. All the aliens look green and have 90 small eyes. Aliens Bob’s parents act very happy. Their house in Bleezama is green and blue.

Chapter 4: How Other Aliens Almost Destroyed an Alien Planet

One day Alien Bob was friends with different kinds of aliens. They played alien tag. Alien tag was played if you got tagged you had to stuff your head in water, then you tag someone else. Then one day Alien Bob’s friend didn’t show up. He knew that his alien friend Zooburg was up to something. Alien Bob placed a tracker on Zooburg, and he was on a ship with a super duper Death Laser of DOOM. The ship with Zooburg in it went to Alien Bob’s planet. But then Alien Bob got his jetpack and the Sword of Justice and went to the ship. He broke the glass and killed the person controlling the Death Laser of DOOM. Then he found the reactor that gives power to the ship and he broke it. Then his bad friend Zooburg died with the ship. Alien Bob felt happy because his friend almost killed him and his planet.

Chapter 5: Zooburg’s Rebirth

 You know in the last book Zooburg died, so he will be reborn in this book. Zooburg’s death resulted in his dad being mad, so he gave him a second life. His dad had the power to give him a second life because he was emperor of all aliens. You can only give someone a second life once you’re an emperor because it uses too much energy. You also have to have a reason to use it on someone. Then Alien Bob found out about Zooburg’s rebirth in one year. He tried to destroy the house but he got away with the Sword of Destiny. But then, five years later, Zooburg came back with the Death Laser of DOOM and his emperor dad. So then all hope was lost, but his mom and dad had been hiding for years. They had the lost Sword of the Cosmos. Legend said that anybody that had, it was the god of the cosmos. So then Alien Bob’s mom gave Alien Bob the Sword of the Cosmos. 

Zooburg said, “You have the Sword of the Cosmos?”

 “Yes, I do. I’m not killing you, I’m killing your dad,” said Alien Bob. He stabbed Zooburg’s dad, who died, and now Alien Bob was the emperor with special abilities. 

Alien Bob said to his parents, “I promise you guys will be emperors.”

Chapter 6: Alien Bob’s Parents Becoming Emperors

“Ok,” said his parents. Alien Bob made two more of himself. Then, his parents killed the copy of Alien Bob by stabbing it. Then, Alien Bob’s parents were now emperors. The emperor powers are making two more of yourself, making someone alive again, killing someone instantly, and making the Sword of the Cosmos.

The Bunny Who Wanted a Carrot

Once upon a time, there was a bunny that wanted a carrot. The bunny went everywhere and searched for a carrot, but there was no carrot anywhere. The little bunny asked his mom where the carrots were. Mom said where the carrots were and the bunny hopped to where his mother told him to, but there were no carrots. The bunny went home again and asked his dad where he kept the carrots. The little bunny’s dad told him where he kept the carrots, and the little bunny went there. The little bunny searched and searched there, but he couldn’t find any carrots. 

The little bunny got so upset that he went to the market to buy his own carrot. There were no carrots in the market. The people said that a big giant had come and eaten all the carrots up, and the little bunny believed that. He said that he would kill the giant and get all the carrots back. 

He took a sword and shield, put some armor on, and went into the forest. He found a humongous giant and threw a rock at its face. Then, he hit the giant in the butt, and the giant gave back all the carrots.

The Big Prison

In the magical world, the weather was the same no matter where you went. But instead of it raining because water evaporates, people in the sky shot water pistols from the sky.

Amber was watching TV in her cell while thinking about plans to escape from prison. She was sure that Steve could not read her mind, so she went on her evil paper and wrote “first things first 111”—that was a secret message that she and her partner could use to write messages on paper. 

Because she was little, she could just squeeze between the bars and into freedom. But she did that once, and she got caught. Now, she was in the biggest securest prison, and everything was covered with bedrock which was an unbreakable type of metal. But she knew that there was a solution to everything. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Steve the elephant was on duty in a different prison. He got a call, but since there was no internet there, he went quickly to the main office where no prisoners were allowed. This was because there was a strong internet connection, and if a prisoner was there, then their best friend might help the prisoner escape by just making a few phone calls and text messages. Anyway, he needed to go to the prison that Amber was in because he was a very good guard.

In the prison that Amber was in, she had to eat bananas for dinner. Since she did not like bananas, she just burned them and put them in the snow, watching the steam come out of the snow. It was so satisfying that Amber did that to a bunch of different bananas, and she almost got caught three or four times. 

Then, Amber got the greatest idea in the world! She could just escape and get caught, and she then knew what to do next. She just randomly went out and got caught on purpose. 

When she was in the waiting room in her trials, she noticed a vent and a lady. Amber climbed onto the vent and dropped a ladder to rescue the lady. She helped the lady and told her the plan. They climbed through the vent and hid behind the boxes. They had four choices: distract, invisible cloak, plead, surprise attack. 

She chose distract. Later, she knew that that option did not work because after, like, thirty seconds she saw that everyone was dancing around like maniacs.

She time traveled back with the lady, and she had a new plan. She would ask the lady for help. She would jump out the window with her and hop on the motorcycle. The lady agreed. So Amber II jumped out of the window, but the real Amber missed the motorcycle, and the guards began chasing her. 

But then, Amber II smooshed all of the guards, and the real Amber got on the motorcycle, and they escaped to freedom! So they took out their prison coats—which were really hot to be in—and they finally jumped out of their jeep, driving out of town to safety. It had been a long time since both of them had breathed such fresh air.

Amber asked the lady, “Can we be allies?”

“Ok! That is a good idea.”

Amber II said, “We better get out of here because… I think I see Steve the elephant, who is a very good guard, and… I think he is also right above us.”

They were running for their lives, but that was no use because they were sucked into Steve’s elephant trunk. Steve said, “Explain yourselves.”

“We escaped from prison,” said Amber. 

“And why and how in the world did you find us here?” asked Amber II.

Then, Steve the elephant launched into the biggest explanation of his life.

“So… I was in the middle of my own business, doing my prison guard duty, and I got a call! Since there was no internet where I was currently, I went to the main office, and the call said that I had to move to the prison that you were currently in, just because I was a good prison guard. And since it was on the other side of the world, I got on a plane. There, I saw your familiar faces, and then I realized I was you too.”

“But anyway,” said Amber, “Who even is Amber?”

“Do you not realize that you are Amber?”

“Anyway, who is that lady then?”

“That is Amber,” said Amber.

Steve closed his eyes for a long time, and they said together in their brains, This is our chance. Our chance to teleport.

They appeared one millisecond after Steve opened his eyes again.

Hey where did they go? he thought. Well then, I better get back on the train!!! I mean, the airplane.

So Steve went to the airplane and slept…

THE END

Ms. Small is Big

I do not understand everything about the English language.

My name is Mr. Cup, and the English language is weird. Isn’t it supposed to be where feet run and noses smell, instead of noses run and feet smell? Why is it called a hot dog, but you do not even have a dog? Why is it called a pineapple, but there is no pine? Actually, there is no apple either. The English language is weird. I think that I am going to complain to the president about it later.

Anyway, at school, it was time for our first day of a class that is kind of like gym, but it is dumber because you do not get to play cool games like dodgeball, basketball, and other stuff. Instead, you have to do stuff like balancing feathers in one hand and trying to throw a pillow the farthest. Those games are a lot less fun. I think that I should go to the president and complain about it.

After school, I went to my mom and asked her if I could have paper and a pencil so I could complain to the president. I wrote this:

Dear Mr. President,

I would like to complain about the English language. Why is it that feet smell and noses run? Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around, where feet run and noses smell? That is only when you attach a nose to your feet and attach feet to your nose. Also there is no pine or apple in pineapple/

Sincerely,

Mr. Cup

When I got to school, there was a different teacher. She was big. Her head just about touched the basketball hoop and the ends of the gym. She was cool. We got to play dodgeball and other cool stuff, and then finally, when I got home I got the letter back. It just said that he changed the alphabet now everyone has to go back to Pre-K and stuff.

THE END

Mr. Potato

It was another fine day in the book production store. Everything was good today. Yesterday was the hardest day that the book company had ever had because they had the hardest decision to make: to hire a bad worker or wait six months and hire the best worker in the world. After eight hours of hard decision thinking, they said, “Six months is not that much. We will be able to handle it…”

Things kept moving well until…

Six months, 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 1 second later:

Woo hoo! They got the best worker in the world!!! Nothing could go wrong right?

But when they saw his work accuracy, they were disappointed. Everyone was sad. His speed was high, but he did most of the work wrong. They finally had to fire him because his accuracy was sooo low.

But before they fired him, they made a complaint to the person who measured everything in the world record book. They wrote:

Hello, this is the book company here. We would like to complain because it is NOT the best worker. His speed may be the fastest but his accuracy is the lowest. YOU ARE WRONG.

Sincerely,

The book company

They waited until they got an answer. The answer was so simple. It just said:

NOOO, that is wrong! We will come and check and see if you are right or we are right. Also, let’s have a bet about that. How about twenty million dollars?

They accepted it. In a few weeks, the person from the Guinness Book of World Records who measures the stuff was going to come all the way from planet Zog. He decided it was wrong, so the company got 20 million dollars. They decided to hire the worst person named Mr. Potato. He was actually a very good worker, but nobody noticed that he was an evil scientist trying to take over the world. He wanted the money to buy a secret evil lair, but since there were no secret lairs in the Milky Way galaxy, he had to go to a galaxy called the Evil Way.

 Exactly twenty million days in the future:

He did not come to the company ever again, he was not found in the Evil Way galaxy, and finally, he was wanted for 99999999 trillion dollars.

Mr. Potato’s EVIL PLAN CHART:

12345
Pose as a bad worker and then make the best worker a bad worker.Make them have a bet and then make the company win.Get hired in the company and stuff like normal.Be the best worker that the company EVER EVER EVER had.After having enough money to buy a secret lair, never be found again.

THE END

Most YouTube Fan

I had never been more frustrated than this. The only thing I wanted was YouTube. I had games, but I played them for sooo long that I played every game and maxed everything out. 

I got a call from my creator, Zach. The first thing he said was, “You have not found a way to access YouTube, have you?”

“No,” I said back. “I have not.”

Then he said slowly, “Good. But I will have to check.”

So then I said, “Can you install YouTube for me?”

“No,” said Zach.

Then I said, “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?” 

He said, “I said NO!”

“But I will only use it once a year.”

“Nope.”

Then I said please, like, a million hundred times and he said, “Yes.”

Woo hoo! I finally had YouTube. I watched memes of cats playing the piano. But I think I watched too many of those because then I got another call from Zach.

He said, “I see you have not been using YouTube correctly, so I just recently took it away.” 

NOOO! I could not live without YouTube. Netflix and all of the other sites are no fun anymore. I wanted YouTube. YouTube. YouTube. YouTube!!!

Now I knew that he would never ever forgive me, so there was only one way to get this right. I had to go to the secret cave of Zachs, and then I could hack into his thing and get YouTube back again! 

I got there and pressed the enter key on his thing. First, there were a lot of weird, antique people. I walked happily with my eyes closed, and then I saw glass! I smashed right into it. I backed up and read the glass. It said: solve these riddles and then put them on the box, then I will see if it was correct. The riddle was this:

You measure my life in hours, and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?

Hmm… I thought. Maybe it could be—? No, not that. I reread the question: You measure my life in hours, and I serve you by expiring. What Am I?

Then I thought of it: a candle!!! I put it on the box and then it said: correct > you may enter. YAY! 

I went to the next course and I saw a sign that said: break the bricks or if not go back. Only these three tools were options: C4, a jackhammer, and a spade. I chose the C4 and went on. I thought, whoa, I can’t believe that I am still not done!!!

But there was only one more obstacle. It said: which coin will drop faster—one that is at 1000000 degrees Fahrenheit or -3964873 degrees Fahrenheit? That was an easy one—the one that is hotter. It would freeze if it was that cold.

But then I saw my master, and I got kicked out of his server.

THE END

The Mysterious Fish

I, the most experienced scuba diver in the world, decline the statement that there are a lot of fish that we do not know about. I already know all of the fish.

 For example, the share fish. It has a lock button on it if it does not have any fish friends. But when it has some, the lock is opened. It also has a lot of share buttons on its body. That fish is my personal favorite.

 Anyway, I have to get proof that I have discovered all of the fish in the whole computer galaxy. I will tell you some of my favorite stuff and some stuff I really hate!

 First, I will tell you some of my favorite foods and my favorite drinks. Then I will tell you some of my least favorite drinks and foods. It is going to be extreme and very funny 100 percent guaranteed, so let’s start!!!

 I love zombie fish. People call them the “mysterious fish” because they have mysterious marks on their tails. These marks are different from the ones on their body because they have star-shaped markings. On their heads, they have heart-shaped markings.

For my favorite drink, I like red ice cubes mixed with different brands of head sheets. The ice cubes sheets make a salty and fizzy drink, while the head sheets have a sweet, eraser taste. So if you combine it all together you get a salty, fizzy, eraser, sweet taste! Yum!

I want to skip the part that I don’t like because describing it will make you throw up, 100% correct. I tried telling it to the person with the world record of not throwing up, and he threw up right away.

So here is the story of my scuba diving adventure:

I was currently underwater when I saw a great white shark. I thought, oh no! I did not already discover that animal. So I thought, well, I just now discovered the animal, so nah nah nah boo boo to the person that did not believe me. That happened tons more times, so then I went out and finished my journey.

That is all of my story so far because I am underwater and there are a lot more creatures to be found!!!

THE END

The Evil Christmas Villain 

Mr. Lamp was the most evil villain in the town. Nobody was more cunning than him. Santa Claus was not going to give him any presents because he was bad over the year.

Mr. Lamp went into his secret layer and started the engine, heading to Blueberry City. He thought he should start with house number one and go all the way to house number ten million, three hundred and sixty-five thousand, six hundred and sixty-six.

He quickly went to house one and saw a weird figure on the chimney. He thought it was nothing but an action figure, but it was actually Santa. He quickly went into the house and saw nothing but Santa in the room. He froze and Santa said, “Why are you in the house of Blueberry number one?”

Mr. Lamp said, “I only did this because this is my cousin’s house. I’m visiting for the holidays.” He was lying.

Santa said, “This isn’t your cousin’s house! Nobody lives here because this is my house! Now, shoo.”

Mr. Lamp went into his lair, and on his computer, he searched if Santa had more than one house. It said yes, Santa had more than one house. He had a house in every city. Mr. Lamp gulped. How could he get past Santa if he kept running into his houses? He might get tortured to death. He thought for a few hours and said to himself, “Maybe I could use my time gadget to freeze time so I can peek inside the house.”

He decided to go to house number two. He pressed his time gadget and saw that nobody was there. It was an old abandoned mansion. Then, he saw an evil clown staring at him like crazy. He thought I’m going to go to Blueberry for the last time.

He flew out the door with his eyes closed carelessly. Finally, when he decided to stop, he saw new houses but then he realized it was the forest he was creeped out by. It was the Hoia-Baciu Forest in Romania. He was scared of the forest because, according to the army tech person, in 1968 they recorded a UFO hovering over the forest. This was a true fact.

Then, he flew over to a city he knew a lot about. But he had not come here in a long time, so he did not know if there were new inventions that he missed because you can only view the news if you are in the city. It looked different from what it looked like before. Instead of Christmas trees, there were floating boats, but they did not have any ordinary ornaments. They had real diamonds, gold, emeralds, and rubies. Man, thought Mr. Lamp, this does not look like before!

But when he got to his secret lair to get his Christmas-present-sucker, he saw the sign. It didn’t say New York City, it said… Mayhem City. That was very weird. He didn’t know any kind of city named Mayhem City. And from there he discovered the Cursed Universe.

THE END

The Stinger Jellyfish

Mr. Jellyfish was going to go to the other part of the ocean because he wanted to sting humans really badly. But when he moved an inch, he saw his friend Lemon, whose face was all puffed up and excited. Lemon said, “Are you excited for the playdate tomorrow?” 

Wait, what? Mr. Jellyfish thought that the playdate was in a few days. Then he realized that he had to get his JF (jellyfish) school homework done. If he did not do it today, then his teacher would make him do nine times the work that he had to do. For his assignment, he wrote this poem:

Roses are red

Sun is yellow

Pens are inky

But garbage is stinky

He thought that his teacher would like it, but instead when he went to school the next day the teacher made him do it all over again because she thought that it was too stinky and garbage-ish. So, when he got home he wrote this:

Cups and books and cheese and ash

Now you know I’m talking trash

This might make you gag

But I like to smell the garbage bag.

This might not be a pity

But I like to pick up trash from the city

How about Monday as garbage day

Tuesday and Wednesday to

How about Thursday and Friday

And lastly Saturday and Sunday

What will we do without garbage day

But I like to pick trash from the bay

There! He had worked for two hours without making any mistakes. The next day, he figured out that he did not sleep the previous night. He passed his homework to his teacher and then slumped back to his chair. The day was finally over, and the school year ended tomorrow. He had to get a good night’s sleep, and he did.

The next day, school ended. He watched movies all day long, and then he came up with a plan of everything he needed to do. First, Mr. Jellyfish packed all of the stuff he needed, and then off him and his parents went.

The first obstacle he ran into was a wall. But that was no problem because the jellyfish could just sting the wall, and then it would go away. He walked a few more miles until he spotted a jelly-toxic tree. But he was equipped with a jelly flying suit so it was easy to jump over it. He walked a few steps, humming with his eyes closed, so then he bumped into a big cow. He got annoyed and said, “HEY COW, GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!” But the cow did not seem to understand English, so then Mr. Jellyfish said, “MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO” and the cow backed away. He thought that was easier than I expected. I just said some cow words and then he went away!

Then he fainted. His mom said, “Why did you faint?”

He said, “You remember when I said those moo words, right? I might be able to understand Mootongue which is really rare, you know.”

Then he saw a giant spider. That was one of his greatest fears. But he thought, it just looked like I thought it invited me to a duel.

Three against one. Both of his parents stung the giant spider but that was quite not enough. So then he stung the spider, and they defeated the spider.

He finally went to the local beach. He stung the nearest human. It felt great! And then he woke up and realized that was just all a dream, a BIG dream.

THE END

The Weird, Evil Clown

We were on the train going to the circus, when the train person said, “Ten hour delay.” What?! Is he joking? Ten hours! I did not like the sound of that. The parade at the circus started in only thirty minutes.

 I have been going to the same circus for like thirteen years. Maybe something went wrong because thirteen is the unluckiest number in our family.

 Maybe instead of going to the circus, we could visit Hoia-Baciu Forest, Romania or something. If that was real, then I would definitely go there. It was really cool. There were aliens there, and according to the military tech person, in 1968 there was a picture of a UFO hovering over the forest.

 We got to the next stop. My mom made furious calls to the train person while my dad beat up a robber in a prison where he works.

 I blinked once, and then I saw an evil-looking clown staring at me. I flinched, and then he was gone. I was now sweating like crazy. I thought, is the galaxy cursed?

I thought that the water machine galaxy was the safest place in the world. Those thoughts were freaking me out. Then I realized that a train was going to fall right on our heads. I said to my mom, “HEY LOOK HERE! A TRAIN IS ABOUT TO FALL ON OUR HEADS!!!”

 But she was not listening because she was screaming into her phone. She kinda looked like she was going to blow up!!! Right before the train fell on our heads, she said, “We are going to your dad’s prison.”

 I closed my eyes and covered my ears. But it did not come. The crash of the train did not come. I finally opened my eyes, and I looked at the train. It was floating. Something creepy was going on.

 My mom was acting normally. Mad, fearsome, and creepy. She was really heavy. I guess she was trying to be a heavyweight, but she already was one. She had to be 5940 sugg in waterpark units, which is 986 Pounds in American units or something.

 I had to do something. When we got home I told her my plan.

“Let’s go to the GFFF CASTLE universe. This place is way too freaky.”

And you will never ever believe what we saw when we got to the GFFF CASTLE… 

THE END

The Cursed Air Conditioner

Piper was more bored than ever. She asked her brother Griff, “Can you tell me a joke? I am more bored than ever!”

“No,” said Griff, “I am as bored as you.”

“Do you know what is causing this boredness to happen?” said Piper.

Then Griff thought so hard that his brain hurt. He finally said, “Maybe if we get some fresh air, that might help us.”

“Ok,” Piper said back.

So they asked their moms if they could go outside for some fresh air. Their moms glared back suspiciously at them until they finally said, “Yes, ok.”

The children went outside and smelled the fresh air. It felt great. This was as good as what Piper wanted: flying abilities.

Meanwhile, back in the house, their moms were talking about the weather.

“Do you think it is going to rain today?” asked Griff’s mom.

“No,” said their friend Granite’s mom. “I checked the weather forecast, and it said that it would be nice and clean.”

So then they decided to have a surprise playdate. The air conditioner was not happy at that time—it wanted to bore out someone, but it was not strong enough to bore out grownups with its magical powers.

Finally, after three hours Piper and Griff came back into the house, but the moment they went into the house they got bored, which made the air conditioner happy. He thought I think that the kids are back.

But when they got out of the room to eat dinner, the air conditioner got mad again. After dinner, they went to their bunk beds and were disgusted. What surprised them was when they noticed that it was the air conditioner. So they quickly got rid of the air conditioner. You will never believe in a million hundred years how their moms reacted when they figured out that the air conditioner was gone…

Fish Are Smart

The shark struck again. He tried many times to eat the fish, but he couldn’t. He thought I wish that there was a way to trick those little fools. So he got a trap and waited for what felt like one hundred million hours. But then the little fish said, “Oh! This is just another little dumb fish trap,” and the fish swam right past it. The shark was so furious that he thought that he was going to blow up. He then thought that if he could work with his other shark friends, they could create an invisible trap for the fishies.

But meanwhile, on the other end of town, all of the fishies were warned NOT to swim too much underwater and just eat homemade food, because if they don’t then it might be a trap and they will end up as the sharks’ next meal.

The sharks were about to finish their invention, but then a giant, angry-looking computer came up to him and said, “That will not be enough to fool the fishies. That is all I have to say.”

So then after the computer left, the sharks thought, that is a prank. We won’t listen to him. But when they completed their trap, none of the fishies came. They didn’t even come near the trap.

Then one of the shark’s friends said, “Why can’t we just sneak attack them?”

“Great idea,” said his other friend, Billy.

So they hid behind what they thought was a rock, but it was actually a rock that attacks back with the same amount of pressure that it receives. Since all of them were hiding on the rock, the mayor in the fish town said, “SHUTDOWN, LOCKDOWN!!! Close all of the fish shops immediately! If you are at school, shut down the school! Anywhere you are, just lockdown the thing!!! If you are brave enough, then you can fight in the war. These are the required things: #1. You must have a full army experience and kill at least 99999 people. #2. Get all of your army stuff and go, go, go, fight in the war!!!”

But they were already attacked and stuff. They did not need their weapons—they would already lose the war. But they still fought.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Super Max

SuperMax was one little, very fast boy who got lots and lots of trophies and medals from places like the running championship. He won every time and also did karate. He was a white belt in his second class. He got two for free because everyone knew that he won. He learned taekwondo, kickboxing, and regular boxing. He decided to quit racing but he still practiced. He was a blue belt and then started to learn some techniques. He was so focused that his brain hurt. Whenever the teacher said to go to blue square number one, he did it in one second! It took 500 steps to get there! 

Then, after they talked about courage, they went to the boxing bag, got their boxing gloves, and started punching them. The teacher taught SuperMax that you have to jab, cross, kick, overkick, and then hook. Then he was actually getting up to a yellow belt, but when he started to get focused, his brain started to not hurt. Then he saw a famous game of jujitsu. After that, he decided to do a trick on the jiu jitsu thing, but he didn’t know any of the things, so he didn’t do that. He saw that there was a king. Someone needed to defeat him but SuperMax wasn’t strong enough yet– he had to be a black belt at least! 

He started leveling up to an orange belt and started to learn the upper hook, side hook, and side kick. He was so good that he thought he could take the king over, but he had to be a black belt. After he got his 5th star, he got a new belt and then learned a new hook and back kick. He went to a karate competition and won. Then he had one yellow stripe on his belt. Now that he was a professional, he didn’t know if he should go. Then, he was a purple belt. He learned so many things that he couldn’t remember all of them. Then, he was a brown belt. He had to get 100 stars to get a black belt. 

He learned 50 more techniques, so he got 50 stars. He was too tired but he did it every day, and he started to be a black belt. After he got 99 stars, he had to do one more class, then he could get a black belt. He decided to do another class on the same day, and then he got a black belt.

Then, he went to the king. The king looked like his dad who died one million years ago. But his dad was a ghost. Then SuperMax started punching the king. After a million punches the king hit him back and did some damage, but SuperMax did not give up. He remembered that he had to say one word but forgot. He also forgot the paper and then his brain hurt. But he punched him once, and the King fell into lava. The crowd came to their feet in applause. 

Death, Love, Magic

Editor’s note: Content Warning: This story explores violent themes and discusses self-harm.

King’s footsteps slowly getting louder.

King: Our sons are married and my daughter must marry the king from the nearby kingdom but she refuses; she says she wants to marry a wizard! (King slams on table as he says wizard.)

Queen: A princess has one job, marry a prince. Marrying a wizard is absurd!

Together: How HORRIBLE!!!

Meanwhile, princess Penelope is sneaking off to the wizard’s hut.

Wizard: Ah Penelope you have come at last!

Penelope: I must marry a king against my father’s wishes so I came to say goodbye, my love.

Wizard: Well, what if your father is dead?

Penelope: Well, then my step-mother would rule.

Wizard: Well, what if your step-mother is dead?

Penelope: Well, my step-brothers will rule and make me a slave! 

Wizard: What if your step-brothers are dead?

Penelope: Weellll… I guess I will rule then and get to make my own choices.

The Wizard gets an evil gleam in his eye. He only loved Penelope to get the kingdom and then he would kill her.

Wizard: Well, I guess you should leave, my love, your father must be wondering where you are darling. 

Penelope leaves and closes the door.

Wizard: Now I’ll do what I do best: kill. 

The next day, Penelope hears a scream as she wakes up and runs to the noise to find her poor step-mother crying over her step-brother’s dead bodies.

Queen: OH NO! WHAT SHALL I EVER DO….?

Penelope: Step-mother… What happened to my step-brothers… ?

Queen: They were killed in their sleep! Killer is unknown.

King: WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR SONS!?

Penelope: They were murdered, father…

Everyone is silent except for the queen’s cries of heartbreak.

Queen: If I can not live with my sons, I will die, so I will kill myself to join them.

Before anyone could stop her the Queen brings out the king’s sword and stabs herself and collapses onto her four sons’ bodies and dies.

King: I will die too. I am a horrible king to let my sons die.

He takes the sword, pulls off his armor and stabs himself and dies.

That night, there is a funeral for the king, queen, and princes and a crowning for Penelope.

Penelope: I know who did this and I must kill him before he kills anyone else. GUARDS, find the wizard and bring him to me.

Guards come back with a struggling wizard. 

Wizard: My love, how could you do this to me! 

Penelope: How could you do this to ME? I tell my father I want to marry you and in the end, you kill my family! I will marry another man who was my second love. I was going to pick you as my husband but you killed my family. You shall be burned at the stake tonight!

Guards take the wizard away.

That night, Penelope stays in her room but hears the fire burning the wizard away and his cries of pain. When she comes out, the wizard is dead.

Two days later, a wedding is happening for Penelope and the prince of a nearby kingdom. 

Two years later 

Penelope has a family and a life but one of her daughters is magical. 

Ann: Mother, why do I have magic?

Penelope: You must have inherited it from a wizard I used to know and love until he killed my family.

Ann: Wizard? Love? Murder?!

Penelope: It is a long story…

  THE END

Sick

Sneeze! Sneeze!

This is not a breeze!

I’m sick at home

Stuck in this dome

I can’t even eat any cheese

My mother gave me a very hot towel

Then some medicine, I thought it was foul.

I gulped it down.

It made me frown.

And then I started to howl.

My teachers sent me a get-well card

And some homework, I thought it was hard.

I asked if I could go downstairs.

“This homework is a nightmare!”

“No,” my mother said, and stood on guard.

Finally, I did get better

The doctors sent me a very long letter

My mother read me the prescription

And gave a weird description

Later at school, I got 29 hugs and a nice, warm sweater.

End Poem

Hello, player.

You are the player.

You finished this dream. This dream is a dream about a game. A game where you collect resources, fight monsters, and build buildings.

This dream is a dream inside a dream. That dream is of life. Of eating, drinking, making money, and getting jobs.

Each one of those dreams starts with a mother and a father.

The mother and father give birth to you. Now, you are in their dream, with them.

You start to enter other dreams, most of them are named. Some of the names are Minecraft, Roblox, Terriera, and Slither.io, but there are a lot more than that.

Sometimes, you dream of creating dreams. Sometimes, you dream of a game.

That game is this game.

And you have finished it.

*Credits display*

Uni the Unicorn

Uni the unicorn was staring at the glittering stream, thinking about nothing except for sunlight. Ten minutes later, her little sister named Luna came and plopped herself right next to her sister and asked, “Whatcha doing?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about my power of sunlight,” Uni said. 

“I was thinking about the same thing!” said Luna. 

At the same precise moment, the darkness of twilight took over the shining sun. Uni questioned, “What is happening?”

When she looked at Luna, her little sister did not have any pupils, her eyes were just plain white. Her mane had streaks of black, purple, and navy blue. Instead of the rainbow colors on Luna’s horn, there was bronze swirled with gold. 

Luna shouted, “Do you now know why my name is Luna? It’s because I am the evil sorcerer of darkness!” Then she cackled an evil scary laugh and strode off. 

Uni started to get the spooks. She asked herself, Was her little sister actually on the dark side, or was Luna just trying to be funny? 

Then Uni had an idea. What if she were quick enough to follow her sister to Luna’s home and spy? She got right to work. She galloped home and quickly packed up and got some food and water. Once she was done, she ran off into the darkness of the afternoon. 

But after months and months, she still couldn’t find Luna. So what she did was give up reluctantly and went home as slow as a snake.

My Cat Has a Bell: A Short Story in Haiku

My cat has a bell

She is trying to escape

From her blue collar

My cat hates the bell

The bell jingles when she walks

It makes a loud noise

She wants the bell off

My cat is licking her bell

I worry for her

My cat hates the bell

I tried to free her from it

But it is gone now

Maybe she ate it

I must take her to the vet

She is mad at me

I now found the bell

It was not in her belly

She loves me again

Snow Day

Snow is to the Earth like Athena is to the Gods

A beautiful mix of chaos

What wonders does the Earth want us to see

As we look so closely to the winter storm

Snow is as beautiful as a purple flower that blooms

It brings joy and happiness to me

Blizzard winds bring snow days

Sledding swiftly down hills

Admiring the piles of snow on the windowsill makes me want to build a snowman

Wondering if these icicles look like an upside-down castle

But all that matters is me looking out the window

Seeing white snow mounted on my air conditioner

Wondering how I will spend this snow day

The End

Inspired by “Goodbye to a World” by Porter Robinson

“I love you.” That is how it all ended. On October 12th, 2067, the world ended. After seeing many collapse, he started seeing in slow motion. Looking at her, she was falling slowly, her eyes half closed, she looked worn out. Vision started being blurry until… she said, “I love you.” She collapsed and went still. No longer in this world, with nothing to live for, he collapsed. With one last breath, the world ended.

Starry’s Big Adventure 2

Starry and Matilda were starfish who just arrived back home after being adopted by humans. They worked hard to escape. They were so happy when they saw their families. 

When they arrived at home, Matilda lived four blocks down so it would be very easy to visit each other. They decided to spend the night with their families. Starry saw her sister, Lila. She looked liked Starry. They both played dolls. Lila was 4-years-old. Starry’s other sister, Stella, was 10 years old so she played a lot of video games like Animal crossing ™ on her Nintendo switch©. Lila wanted to play too but did not know how to work the joy-con.

Then, at 5:00 starfish time, their mom called dinner and they had chicken, mac and cheese, and broccoli. Starry loved the dinner. Starry gave out gifts and they went to bed. Lila and Stella shared a room. They did not complain about it. In the room, one side had unicorns and rainbows, and the other side had cats and Hello Kitty. Starry’s room was decorated with Barbies and puppies. She got the puppy decor from Pottery Barn Kids when she was nine. Starry was now 13, so she started to peel the Barbie stuff off the walls, and then she found Dora the Explorer wallpaper underneath the Barbie one. She peeled that one off too because she was too old for it. Now the wall was blank. 

She decided to pull out her computer and look at Pottery Barn Teen and she decided to get a hang-around chair, lamp, and paint. The next day, she went to the store and she got blue paint and a unicorn chair. She did not find a lamp that she liked so she decided to go to the mall next door. They found two lamps and three pillows. They were done shopping and went home for dinner. 

Starry went to her room to start decorating.  Matilda called and asked if they could have a sleepover. Starry went to her parents’ room and asked them but they said no. Starry decided to sneak out. She asked Matilda to come with her parents’ car and get close to the front window. She would be ready in 10 minutes. 

10 minutes later, she saw a black car pull up to the front window. Starry climbed out the window and Matilda opened the door just when she was about to climb in the car. She felt something tug her leg but she couldn’t see so she struggled him off and kicked him. She thought it was her dad, so she ran away. But when she looked back to make sure she hadn’t missed any bags, she saw he was dressed in all black and she knew enough from watching movies that he was a robber. She tried to call her parents, but they wouldn’t wake up. So she called her sisters and luckily they were up and tried to go into their parents’ room. They found a vent in the roof of the living room but the robber caught Lila. The robber was tall and he had a lot of garbage. His voice sounded very gruff, and he smelled like the sewer. Lila said, 

“Don’t wait for me! Go!” 

And luckily, she took karate so she hit him in the nose, and then she climbed into the vent to find their parents’ room. Stella ran and told her parents that there was someone in the house. She told her parents that a car was waiting outside but they wouldn’t budge. They said it was a nightmare and told her to go back to sleep. Stella did not obey, though. She quickly ran up into the vents, grabbed Lila by the arm, and pulled her into the car. 

Matilda drove to her parents’ house to tell them what happened. Matilda’s house was limestone with a pink roof and a black door. It was very quiet. Matilda went to unlock the door but then she noticed that she left her keys at Starry’s house so they ran back to the car and sped through the highway to get back to Starry’s house. 

The robber was still there, so they had to enter through the back door. The robber caught them but they ran away quickly. Matilda quickly grabbed the house keys and ran. Starry was scared because she wondered if her parents would listen to her little sister so they could come out. She was really tense and she couldn’t really walk. 

They got to the car and Matilda tried to start it, but she realized the robber pulled out all of their gas so they couldn’t move. They started running to Matilda’s house. They get Matilda’s keys and entered her house. They woke up her parents. Her parents agreed to come with them. They ran to Starry’s house and woke Starry’s parents up. When they saw Matilda’s parents, they thought it was not a dream anymore. They left out the back door then ran to Matilda’s house then called the police.

The police said most of the house had been destroyed and they had to get a new house. They stayed at their grandma’s house. They were excited. After the police said it was safe to go back home, they went to collect their stuff. Two weeks later, Starry’s parents said they found a house that they were going to buy and they were so excited. 

“I can’t wait to see your new house!” Matilda said.

Treasure Map

 One night, there was a big comet coming down at Earth at unknown speeds. It landed on some sort of large patch of grass. That comet wasn’t any kind of comet, it was a home to someone. The comet landed in a house’s backyard, which was located in Rome, Italy. At the beginning of that night, there were four people living in the house. At the end of the night, there were two people alive, plus a murderer on the loose. Little did two kids know, they survived the deadliest poison in the world.

13 years later

Kyle and Jennifer had been living in an orphanage for years now. They did not know why their parents were not alive, but they did know that they were murdered. They thought they were staying at their aunt and uncle’s house in Berlin, Germany when their parents were murdered. Now, they were treated poorly at the orphanage and had slight memories of either their aunt or uncle, who both shortly passed away later. And most of all, they wanted to see the world and they also hated where they lived…

One night in Berlin, Germany, At the Orphanage

“Hey,” whispered Jennifer. “Wanna escape?”
“I don’t know. I mean, the janitor is always there. It’s kind of creepy,” Kyle muttered.
“I’ve got an escape plan. Come on,” said Jennifer. They reviewed the escape plan and followed the plan step by step. They sneaked through the vents and eventually got to the fancy lobby of a giant skyscraper. They saw the lobby people, and one of them was their friend, Aaron. Aaron had been working there for as long as who knows when. He was the man with a long, shaggy beard and white hair. He wore red robes and knew almost everything. Seriously, if you asked him a question, he would not only answer questions, but would also tell you the answer or how to solve it. They rushed to him and asked him if he could give them disguises.
“I’ll give you the disguises on one circumstance,” said the old man. “And that’s if you don’t tell one single soul that I’m giving you disguises.”
Kyle and Jennifer looked at Aaron with a puzzled expression.
“Why?” Kyle asked.
”Here. Follow me,” said Aaron. Aaron escorted them into his office and said, “The reason I’m not letting you tell anyone is because the owner of this orphanage was a hater of a lot of people, including your parents.”
The twins looked at each other in the oddest way imaginable. “Tell us more,” said Jennifer in a barking tone.
“I mean, the owner of your orphanage and this building killed every single kids’ parents at the orphanage,” said Aaron.
”WHAT!” they barked at the same time.
“I suggest you help those four kids at that orphanage and escape immediately,” said Aaron.
”We will save those children immediately, but first you need to tell us why he wanted our parents,” said Jennifer.
“Well, first off, I wanted to tell you this when you got older and I figured now would be the right time. It all started when your parents and the kids at the orphanage’s parents were in a secret group. The group was called S.S.L.T. It stood for Secret Society of Lost Treasures. The owner of the orphanage was in that group. One day, they found a treasure map that would supposedly lead to heaven and you would be able to visit all of your ancestors. Of course, they were all teens when they were in this group. The owner of this orphanage’s name is Prince Alizai. He likes calling himself that, but no one really knows why. Anyway, the group rules were for every treasure to stay with one person for the week, and when it was Alizai’s turn, he never brought it back.”
“So why did he kill our parents?” asked Jennifer.
“Well I think it was because he thought your parents knew how precious this treasure map is. This is the way to save your parents and all of your orphanage-mate’s parents… ”
“Wait, so you’re telling us if we find this treasure map, we might be able to bring our parents back to Earth?” asked Jennifer. The two of them looked at Aaron like they were listening to God.
“Where can we find this precious treasure?” asked Kyle.
“Well, for all we know, it could be across the world,” whispered Aaron.
“I searched for it for decades and found nothing,” said Aaron.
”Are there any clues?” asked Kyle.
”Well, yes. You first must look in the Amazon Rainforest. There you will find a civilization that has amazing books and treasures. Remember to tell them that you are Aaron Cunningham’s godson.”
“Wait a minute. If we’re your godchildren, that means you’re our godfather?” asked Kyle suspiciously.
”Your parents and I were best of friends until that dreadful day. Now go and save those children, and if you are lucky, you will never have to live in an orphanage again,” said Aaron delightfully.
“Will you come with us?” asked Jennifer.
“Well, unfortunately, no,” muttered Aaron. “I can give you all the things you will need for you and your friends from the orphanage, and I’ll be able to take you to the airport, but that’s it because I’ve had my turn and now it’s your turn,” said Aaron proudly.
“Well okay, but can you at least help us get those kids out of the orphanage? I mean, they don’t talk,” said Kyle.
“Yeah, he’s right. We don’t even know their names,” said Jennifer.
“Don’t worry, I even talked to those kids before I talked to you guys. It’s no biggie,” said Aaron.
“Wait, so we’ve been living with these kids practically our whole lives and we didn’t know their names but you did?” grumbled Jennifer.
“That’s honestly sad,” said Kyle.
“Well, if you need to know, their names are: Chase, Chloe, Jack, and Katherine,” said Aaron. “I think you’ll get along with all of them. They even said you guys hardly talk,” said Aaron.
”Well what are we waiting for?” asked Jennifer.
The two of them snuck upstairs to tell their soon-to-be-friends that it was escape time. When they got into their room, they packed everything up and woke all of their friends. First, they woke up Jack, who was reading a book and looked like he knew that they were coming. Jack was a tall kid for his age. He was a very sporty kid who liked playing baseball. He had brown hair with a tiny bit of freckles and was already rushing out of the room quickly.
“Let’s go, guys,” said Jack.
All of them rushed to wake everyone up and they quietly went to the lobby. ”Where’s Aaron?” asked Katherine.
“Dunno,” said Chase.
“I see him,” said Kyle, running to the entrance of the huge skyscraper.
Aaron called out to them to get outside. The six of them charged outside to the large parking lot and saw Aaron next to a large limousine. The children got in the limousine and off they went to the airport. The car ride took 15 minutes until they got to the rather large airport. The airport was huge. The children forgot that Aaron wasn’t going on the trip to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. The flight would take 20 hours. On the plane, Kyle sat next to Jennifer, Chase sat next to Chloe (who were also siblings), and Jack sat next to Katherine, who were twins. For breakfast, they had strawberry oatmeal which was pretty decent for plane food. For lunch, they had Chicken Fingers and Fries. And for dinner, they had a choice of either Fish or Rotisserie chicken. The flight was long. Chase got seasick so Chloe made herself move to Jack’s lap.
“UGH!” said Jack. “GET OFF ME!” he screamed.
Chloe would not move so Jack casually pushed Chloe off him.
“Hey!” said Chloe. “What was that for!?”
“I had no choice, I mean, Chase got seasick so what did you expect?”
“FINE. But can you at least make Chase go use the bathroom so you don’t have to sit on my lap?” said Jack.
The two of them ended their fight and went to sleep. Six hours later, they arrived in beautiful Brazil. Aaron gave them instructions to ask a person for a large taxi. They got one, but the man who drove them did not speak.
“Is this a little weird?” said Jennifer.
“Yeah, this guy’s not speaking.”
“Wait a minute, this guy does not look Brazilian at all. Look at his suitcase,” whispered Kyle.
The suitcase read, “Flight from Berlin, Germany to Fortaleza, Brazil.”
“Guys, I think we might have a follower,” said Chase.
“I’m gonna agree with you there,” said a voice.
The man looked behind so the kids could see his face. It was Aaron, but Aaron did not have a beard. He looked a lot younger than he did in the past. His hair was black, not grey.
“You’re Prince Alizai, aren’t you?” said Kyle.
“A+,” said Prince.
“WHERE’S AARON!” screamed Katherine.
“There was no Aaron. I was Aaron in disguise.”
At that moment, Jack had just realized something. There was a piece of parchment in Prince’s pocket. Immediately, Jack whispered to Jennifer, “Look at his pocket.”
Jennifer elbowed Kyle and pointed at his pocket. Chase and Chloe went to sneak up at Prince and he looked back.
“AHHHHHHH!” screamed Chase and Chloe in unison.
They had the map. The children opened the car door and all of them ran as fast as they could back to the airport. Once they got the map, they looked at it, and it said the treasure was in a place called Cairo, Egypt. But it looked like it was in the water. “I think we found our flight,” said Kyle.
“We’re gonna have to sneak on a flight,” said Chloe.
“What are we waiting for, let’s go!” said Chase.
The six of them snuck past the boarding area and were now waiting for the flight.
“We don’t have any tickets, guys,” said Jack.
“I’ve got a plan. All we have to do is get outside of this airport,” said Jennifer.
They all eventually got on the plane. 19 hours later, they arrived at the airport in Cairo. It was 8:00 in the morning and they were near the treasure.
“Hello, hello, hello,” said a voice.
“It’s you again. You treacherous murderer,” said Jack.
“You really thought I was gonna let you flee away to find that treasure?” said Prince.
All of them ran as fast as they could to escape and they found snorkeling suits on the beach. They stole the suits and ran to the river. They swam and swam deep into the sea and they saw a huge white portal right in front of them.
“This must be it!” said Jennifer.
They jumped in the portal, and sure enough, they were in this huge place with clouds. They saw six people locked up in chains.
“MOM, DAD!” they screamed in unison.
They had not seen their parents in 13 years, each of them. They talked to them and realized the portal was shrinking.
“We’ve got to get back. Or we’re all dead,” said Katherine.
They just made it in the portal and were standing on the beach.
“Where are we?” said the parents together.
“We’re in Egypt!” said Katherine.

All of them went to a restaurant for lunch and each of the kids got chocolate milkshakes and had so much fun the rest of the day. It was evening now and the kids were playing on the beach. When their parents had died, all of them had their wallets in their pockets, so they were able to buy swimsuits so they got in the water.
“Well, well, well,” said a voice.
“AGAIN!” said Kyle.
“I see you have found my treasure map.”
“MOM, DAD!” They all screamed for their parents and they rushed over to the children and Prince.
“Prince has magical powers,” said the parents.
BAM.
There was a giant flash of light heading towards the parents and the kids. They ducked and the flash of light went the other way. They now saw one thing on the beach and that was Prince Alizai’s fallen body.
The spell had redirected onto Prince. “WE’RE ALIVE. THE BEACH IS STILL HERE!” they screamed in unison.
They had the time of their lives, and Chloe and Chase’s family, Katherine and Jack’s family, and Jennifer and Kyle’s family moved to Cairo. They would remember this moment forever.

Epilogue

20 years later, all of the children had jobs. Chase was a banker. Chloe was a painter. Katherine was an actor. Jack was a professional baseball player. Jennifer was an archeologist. Kyle was a pilot.
Their lives from that moment were, some people said, just a dream. But no, this was reality. They lived happily ever after.

The End

The Feast (Gone Wrong)

Characters (Chapter 1)                

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Jack, and he was going to have an all-you-can-eat feast at his house that night! Jack also had a dog named Bob. They liked to cook. 

The Supermarket and the Cooking (Chapter 2)

First, they went to the local supermarket and got some fruits and vegetables. Next, they went to the butcher shop and bought some meat. Then, they went to the candy & cake shop to buy a strawberry and chocolate cake. Finally, they started cooking. 

Jack’s first dish was a tomato, lettuce, and bacon salad! Bob also made some ranch dressing to go with it (yes, Jack’s dog is talented and can do that). Next, they made some fried chicken and some barbecue sauce to go with it (which the dog made, of course). Then, a person rang on their doorbell. It was their neighbor, Honey. 

Honey said, “Your food smells so good! Can I try the chicken?” 

Jack said, “Yes! We have plenty more!” 

Honey replied, “Thanks!” and she was off. Then, they made a honey, meat, and broccoli sandwich. They had some spare honey at their house. Then, another person rang on their doorbell. It was their friend, Noah. He loved vegetables (because he always wore green). 

Noah said, “Hi! Can I try your salad? I could smell it from a mile away! It smelled so good!” 

Jack replied, “Yes, of course, Noah! After all, you’re my friend.” 

Noah smiled and said, “Thanks! Bye!” Then, person after person came. Emily tried the sandwich. Liam tried the salad. Ava tried the chicken. In a matter of minutes, all the food was gone. Then, when Jack opened the door, there were SO MANY PEOPLE waiting. His other neighbors came. All the people from Jack’s school came. Even the mayor came to try some!

The Problem (Chapter 3)

Jack was thinking, Oh no! How will I ever feed all these people? Everybody waiting outside Jack’s door wanted to get a taste of his food. James, Jack’s friend, said, “What’s taking so long? Where’s the food, Jack?” 

Jack replied, “You see, lots of customers have come to my house to taste some and now I’m fresh out of food!” Jack got his wallet and he said, “Uh oh! I’m fresh out of money! How can I get my money back?” He said to the people, “I’ll be right back, ok?” Then, he had an idea. He went to the bank and got a $2,000 loan. Unfortunately, he was going to have to pay the loan back. He was worried. He now had money, but he had to pay the money back to the bank. Then, he had another idea. He could use the money to make a store! Once again, he bought some more fruits and vegetables from the local supermarket. Next, he bought some meat from the butcher. Then, he bought a HUMONGOUS cake from the cake & candy shop. He also had to buy some wood, screws, and wrenches from Home Depot. Finally, he told his friends from school to help him build the restaurant. 

Jack and his friends decided on a name for the restaurant. They called it: Jack and Bob’s restaurant. He hired some construction workers to build the restaurant for him. Jack gave the wrenches and screws to the construction workers and they started working. The construction workers asked why Jack wanted to build a restaurant. Jack said, “It’s just all part of my plan.” The construction workers just ignored him and kept on working. 

Meanwhile, Jack was cooking up some dishes at his house. He also realized that spicy foods go well with ranch. So he used his spare ranch to cook up some spicy chicken wings with ranch on the side. Then, he realized another thing. He realized that he was using a lot of sauces in his dishes. So, he asked the construction workers to rename the restaurant to: Jack and Bob’s Saucy Restaurant. Then, he rushed to the sauce shop and bought A LOT of sauces. He bought honey mustard, ketchup, Russian dressing, and more! He went back to his house, excited to incorporate all his newly found sauces into his dishes. He could also mix and match his sauces. He came up with white sauce, which is a hybrid of ranch and mayo, red sauce, which is a mix of ketchup and spicy sauces, and more! 

Meanwhile, the construction workers were almost finished with Jack and Bob’s Saucy Restaurant. It had shiny chairs, glass windows, the kitchen (of course), and even a TV! When Jack heard it was finished, he ran as fast as he could to Jack and Bob’s Saucy Restaurant. Then, he worked on his menu. When it was finished, the menu looked a little like this. He had Chicken Wings with ranch, Pita Bread with white sauce, Marinated Cucumber with mustard, Artichoke with spinach dip, Goat Cheese bites with cheese sauce, Cheeseburger with buffalo sauce, Carbonara with egg yolk, Sushi with soy sauce, Chicken Kabob with teriyaki sauce, Fish Sandwich with fish sauce, Katsu with bulldog sauce, Tacos with hot sauce, and most importantly, THE CAKE

Once it was done, people flocked to Jack and Bob’s Saucy Restaurant. Since so many people came that day, Jack decided to hire some restaurant chefs. He made A LOT of money. He gave back the spare loan money to the bank. He had paid back ¼ of the loan ($500). Now, he had ¾ left to pay back ($1500). And each of the dishes cost $10. So, Jack did the math, and he needed to sell 150 dishes. BUT, from that first day, they had no more dishes to sell. So, Jack and his chefs had to work very hard. The next day, they put up a sign saying that they were closed for the day. But people still came to the restaurant and waited in front of the door. They worked and worked and worked. The next day, they reopened the restaurant. Little did they know, a thief was watching nearby, and when Jack wasn’t looking, the thief stole his money.

The Thief (Chapter 4)

The next day, Jack got a message from the police. It said, “A thief stole your money.” Jack said, 

Uh oh. Someone stole my money!!!” Another problem was that Jack had three days to pay back the loan. He still had ¾ of the loan to pay back ($1,500). So, within those 3 days, he needed to catch the thief and get his money back. He sprinted to Home Depot and started working on the trap. Jack called it the Food-Trap 3000. It had a net (of course), sauce dispensers, and more! He needed to know where the thief was to make his plan work. And coincidentally, there was a compass right on the ground that said, “This is where the thief is.” Jack said, “WOW!” Now he could track down the thief and eventually catch him.

Jack brought Bob along with him (because dogs have a good sense of smell) and the compass would only lead Jack in the general direction of the thief. He also brought security cameras with him so he could see where the thief was while the thief didn’t know where Jack was. Jack used the compass. He found out that he needed to go northeast. He went northeast and ended up in a park. Jack thought, This is where the thief lives? 

Reluctantly, he set up the trap in a nearby bush and hung the security cameras on the walls. So he waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, after 2 hours, he finally got a glimpse of the thief. He felt that something was wrong. He ignored it, but Jack was ready to fire. But, when he fired, the net missed, the sauces sprayed in the bushes, and it was a complete failure. But Jack wasn’t going to give up. So, he rebuilt the Food-Trap 3000 and made it the Food-Trap 4000. It had taco launchers, hamburger bombs (lol), and a Bob balloon. So they waited again. And waited AND WAITED. After another two hours of waiting, they finally caught the thief. Jack celebrated his victory. Then, he went to sleep. He had a VERY LONG day. It was 1:00 AM when he got back. He had 1 day to pay back the loan. He was hoping that he would sell enough dishes to pay back the loan.

The Loan (Chapter 5)

Jack had $1,000. He gave the money to the bank. He needed only $500 to fully pay back the loan. Then, Jack’s friends (including Bob) surprised him with a box containing 500$! 

Jack was speechless. He said, “Where did you get all this money?” 

Jack’s friends said, “We combined all of our money and it equaled a total of 500$.”

“Oh,” replied Jack. After that, he paid back the loan. Then, he cooked (of course) and then slept.

Cooking Showdown! (Chapter 6)

When Jack woke up the next day, he checked his mailbox. He found a big envelope that said in bold letters: 

YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO A COOKING CONTEST AT 111 COOK STREET. IT STARTS AT 12:00 TODAY. THERE WILL BE 9 OTHER COOKS COMPETING WITH YOU. THE PRIZE IS THE ULTIMATE COOKING TROPHY!

Jack said, “WOW! BOB, COME HERE!” 

Bob said, “I like cooking! Let’s go!” 

Jack replied, “Ok!” He dressed into his clothes, grabbed his backpack, and went out the door. When he went out the door, he realized 111 cook street was 10 miles away! So, he took an Uber to get there. It was 11:00 when they got there. They still had one hour before the contest started. So they got some jelly doughnuts to eat to take up some time. They tasted SO good! Then, he went to the sign up and saw who he would be competing with. When he signed up, he saw a familiar face. Jack said, “Noah, is that you?” 

He said, “Yes, it’s me!” 

Jack replied, “Who are these other people?” 

Noah said, “I don’t know. We have some time before the competition starts, so why don’t we go shopping?” 

Jack said, “Ok!” So, Jack, Noah, and Bob went shopping. Jack bought a bracelet, Noah bought a cucumber eraser, and Bob bought a dog bone. By the time they were done shopping, it was time for the competition to start. The judge said, you must cook us an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. Jack said to Bob, “Let’s make our chicken wings for our appetizer, our cheeseburger for our entree, and we’ll have to figure out our dessert.” 

“Begin!”said the judges. Jack checked what materials he had. There were fruits, vegetables, meat, grains, and dairy products! Jack whispered to Bob, “Quick change of plans, Bob. We’re gonna make our marinated cucumber.” Bob nodded his head. Jack fried the cucumbers while Bob prepared the mustard. Then, Jack got started on the cheeseburger. Jack got the materials for the burger, while Bob prepared the buffalo sauce. This was going really well for Jack and Bob. Now, they had to figure out dessert. 

Luckily for them, there was an ice cream dispenser, and there was a chocolate syrup dispenser. So he pumped some ice cream from the dispenser and poured the chocolate syrup on it, and put a juicy, red strawberry on top. When he was finished, there was one minute left on the clock. So he put the dishes on the plate. After he did that, the judges said, “TIME’S UP! The first person presenting their dishes is Noah!” 

Jack whispered, “You can do it, Noah!” 

Noah said, “For my appetizer, I present to you a small lettuce salad! For my entree, I present to you my basil and broccoli pizza! And, for dessert, I present to you eggplant-flavored ice cream!” One judge held up a 7. Another judge held up a 6. The final judge held up an 8. 

The next judge said, “Next up is the team of Jack and Bob!” 

Jack said softly, “Here we go.” When he presented, the judges said nothing. They were in awe. Each of the judges held up a 10. 

Then, the judges said, “Jack automatically wins this cooking competition!” Jack said, “That was easy.”  

The End (Yay)

Axe

Prologue 

The car hummed as we drove through the bridge. We were visiting Dad, who was sent to the war. I was bored of the long drive so I clicked the first station on the radio. “Small storms are coming and rain. Stay safe on slick roads and watch out for black ice.” Thunder claps. The water beneath us was rising and dropping as if having a seizure. Before I had time to process my thinking, another thunderclap struck a pole on the bridge and it fell behind us. “HURRICANE!” my mother shouted! The bridge started to lean in and out like a needle and patchwork. It gave way and the car landed in the choppy waters. The beautiful summer day quickly turned into a disaster.

Chapter 1: The Ride

I pulled on my jeans and red sweater over my white shirt. I went down to eat breakfast.

“Hello, Anne.” 

“Hi, Mom.” I walked toward the pancakes and grabbed my cell phone. 

“Hmmph. No phones at the table, Anne” 

“Sorry, Mom, I’m just texting Janess about meeting Dad.” 

Mom smiled. As alway,  her smile was warm and it made her brown hair pop out against the pink pale of her lips. My mom always looked glamorous no matter what, wearing brown, yellow (like she was), blue, and even green! 

“I can make an exception.” 

“Coming, Mom!” I yelled. Mom was in the car fussing with the seat belt. “Can we go now, Mom?” I smiled at Mom as if she were the one holding us up. 

“Haha. Very funny” I buckled my seatbelt and sat back. The trees we had passed by were fluffy and green, and I hadn’t paid attention to the time and it was soon that I fell asleep.

I woke up with a sickening feeling in my stomach for no reason. Not the sick type but the type that made you feel nervous or that something bad was going to happen. Do you know what I mean? The car hummed as we drove through the bridge. We were visiting Dad, who was sent to the war. I was bored of the long drive, so I clicked the first station on the radio. 

“Small storms are coming and rain. Stay safe on slick roads and watch out for black ice.” Thunderclaps. The water beneath us was rising and dropping as if having a seizure. Before I had time to process my thinking, another thunderclap struck a pole on the bridge and it fell behind us.

“HURRICANE!” my mother shouted! The bridge started to lean in and out like a needle and patchwork. It gave way and the car landed in the choppy waters. The beautiful summer day quickly turned into a disaster.

Chapter 2: Random Axe

The car was sinking and the doors were jammed. Then I got an idea. But I had to tell Mom, but how? I would be underwater! I swam to the back, to my bag. My eyes were already getting blurry and Mom wasn’t moving. I got an axe from the emergency trunk and smashed at the glass. Mom’s fingers were at her throat, gasping for air. I grabbed her, took my bag and axe, and swam to the surface. The hurricane had just ended 30 seconds ago. My body was shivering, Mom came back to life, and I forgot something. The rest of the emergency bag! It had floated out of the car and got stuck on the last remaining base pole of the bridge. The rest was gone. All of it could have fallen on top of us. I swam to a small nearby island. Ignoring the pains in my leg from the seat that fell back on top of it. Mom was awake and was helping paddle. Now, my only resource was that axe. I touched the sand and — black.

Chapter 3

I woke up and my mom had a bewildered look in her eyes. Her arms were filled with sticks. I knew that if I complained then we would most likely have many threats so I started to help. Ignoring everything. Fire was done by mom and I attempted to fish for fish but I couldn’t catch anything. Oh! The water bent the light which meant I had to plunge deeper into the water. But, first I needed a weapon. I grabbed a nearby stick, beckoned for the axe from Mom, and sharpened my spear. I found some berries that birds were eating and I thought, We are having a feast tonight. Mom continued chopping at a tree. 

My throat was roasted, gasping for water. I looked uncertainly at the water. Nobody would find us. The bridge was so long it crossed from one state to another. We were in the middle, no reach from either place. I plopped some berries in my mouth, mother didn’t want any. Yuck! No juice in them! I went over to the water. I started to cry. How did I land myself here! I scooped some water and — WHAM. My mother hit me lightly with a log. 

“No unclean water! We weave together a basket to separate some of the water and heat it to make it fresh!” 

“Mom, how did you make a fire?” 

“Simple. I got wet bark, obviously, everything is drenched, a tsunami passed OVER us. Then I hit the axe on another piece of wood so the sparks would land on it, and I blew it gently to give it oxygen, then boom!” Mom always got to work in a situation and ignored her own feelings. I sometimes felt bad for her…

Sneak peek on Part Two:

I woke up in the night screaming! “HELP! MY INSIDES ARE BURNING!” My chest was bursting and I fell into an uneasy sleep. “Of course! Those berries were bird berries! They’re poisonous to humans!”

3 Seconds of Paranoia

Item: SCP-5327

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: No current containment procedures for SCP-5327 have been developed yet due to its unknown nature. Ideas have been left open for interpretation.

Description: SCP-5327 is a 3 second period in time where everything momentarily stops. All life ceases on Earth. The 3-second interval may or may not have happened already. There is no current way of telling how many times SCP-5327 has occurred, or when. Anyone that experiences SCP-5327’s effects soon forgets that it ever happened. Alongside forgetting SCP-5327’s events, the world seems to change every time SCP-5327 occurs. Records of anger before an SCP-5327 manifestation seemingly transpire after SCP-5327’s effects cease.

Addendum-5327-01: The following recording is a transcripted video of someone who claims to be Drew [REDACTED] poorly explaining an SCP-5327 manifestation. Apparently, he is the only current human to remember the effects of SCP-5327. He is currently being held in Site-49.

Video Begins: Heavy panting can be heard.

[00:30] I’m recording this because something just happened. Something really weird that I don’t even know that if I can explain — I don’t know if I can explain it.

[00:50] Time —

Long pause.

[01:46] Time just —

A second long pause.

[03:09] Time just froze. Or something — I don’t — I don’t — … How? I don’t know, nothing makes sense right now. I was feeling happy just a moment ago, but now I feel stressed and scared. I feel scared to move. I need —

Another long pause.

[05:34] I need help! Am I going insane?! The bird stopped in midair, midair! Midair! Midair!

Voice continues to grow louder.

[06:20] Midair! HOW DO — Freezing in midair is normal. This is normal. Well, I’m going insane. Help. I f — Feel — Midair! Midair! Fine — Freeze — I was happy, Freeze! Midair! Midair! Freezing in midair is normal. Midair! HOW DO — Freezing in midair is normal. This is normal. Well, I’m going insane. Help. I f — Feel — Midair! Midair! Fine — Freeze — I was happy, Freeze! Midair! Midair! Freezing in midair is normal. Midair! HOW DO — Freezing in midair is normal. This is normal. Well, I’m going insane. Help. I f — Feel — Midair! Midair! Fine – Freeze — I was happy, Freeze! Midair! Midair! Freezing in midair is normal. Midair! HOW DO — Freezing in midair is normal. This is normal. Well, I’m going insane. Help. I f — Feel — Midair! Midair! Fine — Freeze — I was happy, Freeze! Midair! Midair! Freezing in midair is normal. Midair! HOW DO — Freezing in midair is normal. This is normal. Well, I’m going insane. Help. I f — Feel — Midair! Midair! Fine — Freeze — I was happy, Freeze! Midair! Midair! Freezing in midair is normal.

Voice continues to go into nonsensical babble throughout the rest of the recording. Other voices can be heard in the background.

end tape

Addendum-5327-02: The following recording is a transcripted video from Site-49. Drew [REDACTED] is being held for an interview by Dr. Fent.

video begins.

Dr. Fent: Drew [REDACTED]. You have witnessed a manifestation of SCP-5327 before. We need you to describe that exact manifestation so we can analyze it better.

Drew [REDACTED]: I — I —

Officer Temmy: D-2911, if you do not respond, you will be terminated.

Dr. Fent: Give him time to recover, we can come back to this interview later if that is okay with you, Drew.

Drew [REDACTED]: I — I —

Dr. Fent: Terminate this interview.

video ends.

Attempt 2-5327-Witness-Communication:

video begins.

Dr. Fent: I’ll say this again, we need you to describe the SCP-5327 manifestation that you witnessed. If you do so, we might let you have a normal life again with class-c amnestics.

Drew [REDACTED]: I… I… Need more time…

Dr. Fent: D-2911, you have been given multiple weeks to recover. If you do not respond, you will be killed.

Drew [REDACTED]: I… OKAY! I was walking back to my house in Massachusetts, and then I froze. This would be normal. It would seem like I was in a sudden shock. But everything! Everything around me froze! The bird!! —

Dr. Fent: Calm down…

Drew [REDACTED]: Then there was this man… He looked like he was made out of galaxies. It was cool at the moment, but looking back… What the hell was that!?!

Dr. Fent: That’s what we’re trying to figure out. And what you are not allowed to know. Please continue.

Drew [REDACTED]: He… It touched me on the shoulder… And I started to record a video… And, I don’t even know if this is real anymore. I may have just gone insane.

Dr. Fent: We scanned your brain. It happened.

Drew [REDACTED]: I don’t have anything else to say…

Dr. Fent: Thank you. We can terminate this interview now.

video ends.

Extra Notes: Who is this person? – Dr. Fent.


Hello, Dr. Fent! You are the owner of this file. Would you like to edit anything?

y

Access Granted! HAGD!

“Hello, this is Dr. Fent writing. Um… I’m putting this at the end of the file to say that I don’t fully understand this anomaly.

Normally, I’m on top of things, but this is just confusing.

The person that D-2911 described… I don’t understand it. There’s some information that’s being blocked out. That I can’t see.

Probably the only people who have access to the higher information is the O5-Council.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any more information regarding SCP-5327. I can’t find any other information that could be of use, and even if I did, it’s probably going to be the death of me.

One day, I hope this gets revealed.

Because I feel that this is more than 3 seconds of paranoia and pause.”

end.

Good man, Dr. Fent. He knows when to chicken. – O5-12.


Hello, O5-12. Would you like to access file 5327-O5?

y

Please enter passcode.

We4rAllRunderkltheGFsamero3rRoof

Access Denied. Impersonating an O5 Council member will be a cause for termination. Please enter code to cancel MTF deployment at your location.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party. I^H Because I would not stop for death he ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Death he kindly stopped for me. Red Sky in Morning Sailor take e^H wArning.

Access Granted. MTF deployment has been terminated.

WeAreAllRunderkltheGFsamero3rRoof

Access Granted. Accessing FILE 5327-O5…

[UNKNOWN]: You wanted to talk to me?

[REDACTED]: If it’s the death of me. I want to understand.

[UNKNOWN]: Understand what part of what I do?

[REDACTED]: Why do you freeze time for three seconds rapidly?

[UNKNOWN]: So you have seen through those.

[REDACTED]: Why do you do it?

[UNKNOWN]: I’m saving you. Saving you from what you should fear most. The end of humanity. I don’t know if that’s a top priority, but I am trying to contain this… this… this beast that could rip apart everything. I have been constantly trying to discover new ways to keep it contained, and by pausing time shortly, it seems to have an effect.

[REDACTED]: Could you explain more about this anomaly?

[UNKNOWN]: I don’t think so. This is because you can’t see it. It exists, but it’s invisible to the naked eye. The best description I can give you is that it’s a terrorist atom. It has grown bigger over the years to the point where it’s feeding off of some nearby galaxies. I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this though. As I said, I’m constantly developing new ways to deal with the threats it brings. It seems to adapt to whatever I attempt.

[REDACTED]: Well… Just know… You have full support from us and the GOC. We are working together to help with your cause.

[UNKNOWN]: Thank you. Goodbye, O5-1. I hope to see each other soon.

[REDACTED]: Same here.

End.

Ms. Imaginashon

Chapter 1: Earthquake Disaster

Once, there was a girl named MS. Imaginashon. She helped people think of ideas. She loved her job that Mister Meyer gave her. My name is actually Loona. I am from planet Magination, same as my mom, MRS. Imaginashon, and my dad, MR. Imaginashon. People wonder how we came to planet Earth.
Well, it all started when I was a baby on planet Magination, a place where all the people had the best imagination. But one day, MR. Romio heard there was going to be a humongous earthquake on planet Magination. Everybody quickly left the planet using their imagination, and Loona and her family ended up on planet Earth in the country, America, in the state, West Virginia.
Loona realized she looked very different from everybody around them. They had big heads and they had four hands that looked like octopus hands and they were neon pink. The people in West Virginia did not know who they were and what they were doing there. Loona remembered that she had a paper bag so she took it from her suitcase and put it on her head because she was very, very embarrassed. Do not worry, they do not breathe!
The mayor of West Virginia’s granddaughter saw the imagination family and called her grandfather, Mayor Justice, to come look at what the new creatures were in her own state of West Virginia.
The Mayor was worried so he took some officers and went out the door to see the new visitors. When Mayor Justice arrived, he freaked out and shouted, “Stop, in the name of the law. Tell me who you are and why are you here!”
So Loona and her family did, and her father (AKA Mr. Imaginashon) said, “We are from planet Magination and there was a big earthquake and we ended up here to save ourselves.”
The Mayor froze and said, “Are you guys aliens?”
Loona and her mother and her father looked at each other and said, “What are aliens?”
The Mayor’s granddaughter said, “They are people who come from another planet.”
Loona looked confused and answered, “But you are from another planet than we are, does that make an alien?”
At that point, everyone from West Virginia standing there, including the mayor, his officers, and the granddaughter, couldn’t stop laughing. Mayor Justice decided the Magination family was nice and invited them to stay at his house.

Chapter 2: The Mystery Dessert

When they got to the Justice house, Mayor Justice showed them to their room and gave them some privacy. The clock turned 6:00 P.M. which meant time for dinner. Luna and her family were so excited to taste the dessert. Guess what it was? I am not going to tell you. Okay, I will tell you, but you have to read the next chapter.
When they got to the diner table, they sat down and ate the most delicious thing ever! It was pizza. They ate three whole pizzas because it was so good. Suddenly, it was the time they had been waiting for — dessert! Okay, I’ll tell you right now — it was CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS!!
Each of the Imaginashon family members ate 18 of them. Loona was about to get out of her riahc, oops, sorry! I said it in Magination language. I will switch back. Loona was about to get out of her chair when a siren went off. Tornado alert! Tornado alert!! Loona asked the Mayor what a tornado was. Mayor Justice said, “It is a very big wind that is formed by hot air and cold air.
Loona said, “Do we stop, drop, and roll?”
The Mayor couldn’t help but laugh. Suddenly, he said, “No, we have to seek shelter in the basement.”
Loona did not go to the basement. She thought and thought and thought until she got the perfect idea.

Chapter 3: The New Invention

Loona told her family and the Mayor that she was going to “the people that make things.” Mr. Justice said it was called an engineer. She thanked Mr. Justice for teaching her the correct word.
Loona’s BIG idea was to make a palm tree that was metal inside so it would stand up if the tornado came. The palm tree would also have moving roots and a brain that would help protect them in case the tornado or another disaster came. Each palm tree would have a parachute mode, a shield mode, and a sleep mode. The Mayor loved the idea but was worried about all the other people in West Virginia. Loona said they should make more palm trees for each family. The Mayor was so happy with the plan and brought Loona to the head engineer and she asked if he could make 1,000,000 more. Loona asked with a big bright smile on her face. The engineer was so shocked that he almost fainted and said,
“Sorry, kid, but that is too many for one day. We only can make one.”

Chapter 4: The Robot Family

Loona was disappointed. She went into the corner of the room and sat criss cross applesauce with her hands on her knees and hummed, “Hmm, hmm, hmm.” She thought very, very, very hard and finally came up with an idea of how to make moving metal people who could help with engineering the palm trees. She ran and told the engineers her idea. “Okay!!” they said “But you have to help us.”
She didn’t think once of saying no, so they went right to work. They first made a sketch of how it should look like. Then they took out metal plates and attached them together. Finally, they made arms and legs.
“Viola!” Loona said. They turned on the power button and then Loona said, “Look at that thing!”
The engineers asked Loona what she wanted to call this invention. She thought hard and finally said, “Robot, it is called a Robot.” If you ask me, this is the first time robots were invented. They made 2,000 of them!! When they were done, they started working on the palm trees. They needed to make them quickly because the tornado was coming. They went right to work. With the help of the robots, they finished one tree, then two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and on and on. They kept on making the metal palm trees. 6,000 trees, 7,000, 8,000… 100,000, 200,000….
The engineers were so tired but Loona and the engineers did not think of stopping. They made more and more and more until they couldn’t help it anymore, they were up to 999,999. One of the engineers screamed, “I can not do it anymore.”
The others said, “I am tired.” Loona knew everyone was exhausted and tried to re-energize them. She said, “We can do it! Its just one more tree!”
The engineers looked at each other and said, “Okay, we’ve got this! We will do it for Loona and West Virginia.”
So they made one more. Right when they finished, the tornado came and… read the next chapter to find out.

Chapter 5: The Escape of Doom

The tornado came and the room started to shake. Tables fell and the robots and palm trees were flying in the air and out of the building. Suddenly, they all heard a huge BOOM and the building collapsed. Loona’s mother, who was still in Mr. Justice’s house, heard the boom and saw the building her daughter was in collapse to the ground. She started to cry. She was so worried about Loona. She cried and cried until she saw a little yellow dot. It came closer and closer and closer until she realized it was a yellow parachute and it landed right in front of her. Loona’s mother looked at her husband, who was also crying, and said, “That is Loona! That is Loona! That is Loona!” with tears of joy running down her face.
Loona took the large yellow parachute off her shoulders and ran to her parents. Loona explained how she survived the BOOM. “It is all because of the trees that we made — when I heard the BOOM, I quickly turned on parachute mode!” Then Loona said, “We need to go back and give all the trees to the other people of West Virginia, if it saved me, it could save them.”
However, Loona noticed the robots and most of the trees were gone, how weird! Suddenly, Loona’s father, mother, Mayor Justice, and his granddaughter heard a rumble. They took out their palm trees and used it in shield mode. Right then, they all heard the song, “One maca two maca three macarena.”
They walked closer to where the music was coming from and saw little creatures who were made out of metal, otherwise known as Loona’s robots. Behind the robots were all the people of West Virginia, safe and sound. How amazing, the robots collected all the people during the big BOOM. Loona was worried the tornado may come again so she called out to all the people, “Turn your palm trees into shield mode.” Hours passed and it started to get late. Loona kept on yawning and she knew everyone must be tired too. So she called out to the people once again to put the palm trees in sleep mode so that they could sleep and still be protected. They all listened to Loona’s directions and put on sleep mode. In one minute, all of West Virginia was in a deep, deep sleep. The next day, when Loona woke up, she became the state hero.

Chapter 6: The New Job

The Mayor made a big party to celebrate the end of the tornado and gave Loona an award. Although Loona was just a child, he gave her an important job. The job was to give people ideas. For now on Loona was….
MS. IMAGINASHON

Epilogue

Dear readers:
This is Loona, I have a question for you … do you think this actually happened or was it made up in my imagination!?!?!? Enjoy thinking about that!

Let It Out

Kuqa was a young girl. Her mother had died last year when she was five So Kuqa only had her father. Most people couldn’t pronounce her name and she never had any friends. Kuqa in Albanian meant red. Kuqa’s mother was Albanian. Kuqa had not said a word ever since Roze (her mother) died. 

“Kuqa, it’s time for breakfast,” David (her father) said. Kuqa went to take her plate. It was Llakuma me eurocream. That was Kuqa’s favorite. Kuqa was homeschooled.

“Are you excited for school?” David asked. Kuqa nodded. She quite liked homeschooling. Kuqa gobbled up her Llakuma and then went to play with her dolls. Her dolls were from her mother. Kuqa named them Lulu and Nina. They were her favorite toys. She made them have a tea party with tiny plastic teacups. Kuqa had nothing to do most of the time. Before Roze died, they would go outside and play on the swings. But now Kuqa was an introvert and going outside just made her sad. 

           Kuqa walked up to the living room and pointed at a book. She knew how to read but not well so her father picked up the book and read to her. 

          “Once upon a time, there was a prince named Ocelius, he was a rude person who would judge everyone. One day, an old woman walked up to him, she said she wanted to give him some chocolates. The prince laughed and laughed then the woman turned him into a fly and stole all of his gold,” David read. Kuqa giggled, she loved that story. David kissed her good night and Kuqa went to sleep. 

Kuqa woke up at 6:00. She had a bad dream. She saw David sitting on the couch wide awake. 

“Come here,” David said. Kuqa walked toward the couch. 

“Do you like the idea of going to school?” David asked. Kuqa looked at David like he was crazy. 

“It’s just that you’d be so much smarter if you go, and I want you to learn in the best way possible,” David said. Kuqa didn’t want to go to school but she nodded yes because she knew if she said no, it wouldn’t work anyway. 

“And besides, you’ll have all your old friends there,” David explained. Kuqa thought for a moment. Her old friends, Lilly and Charlie, probably forgot her. Kuqa went back to her room to sleep for another hour. She had a nightmare. In the nightmare, she was in school. Everybody judged her because she didn’t talk.

David woke Kuqa up at 7:00. Kuqa was confused.

“Come on, get ready for school!” David said. Kuqa put on the backpack and ran to the bus. She was terrified. She saw Lilly. 

“Kuqa?” someone asked. It was Lilly. Lilly remembered her? Lilly ran to hug her. 

“How are you doing?” Lilly asked. Kuqa tried to respond but she couldn’t. She was too sad to talk. Then Charlie came. 

“Oh my god! It’s really you!” Charlie yelled with excitement. Kuqa hugged him. Lilly was confused by Kuqa not responding. She used to talk all day. Charlie seemed to expect a “hi” as well, but Kuqa just couldn’t say anything. Kuqa started crying. She was thinking about her mother. Kuqa cried very often. Lilly and Charlie were now SUPER confused. They gave Kuqa some space.  

She sat with Lilly on the bus ride. Lilly gave Kuqa a piece of paper and a pen.

“You’re not talking so maybe you can write why you’re so upset?” Lilly said. Kuqa wrote about Roze dying. This made Lilly stop talking to Kuqa. Lilly realized how sad Kuqa was. Lilly whispered something to Charlie. Kuqa knew what she said, it was that her mother died because Charlie looked at Kuqa with a sad look. 

Kuqa finally got to school where she saw her new teacher, Mrs. Lockerton. Mrs. Lockerton looked like a ghost with a very pale face, red cheeks, and a bunch of mascara. Kuqa tried to stay away from her. Kuqa saw the other teachers bring the new kids and make them introduce themselves. Kuqa had a piece of paper and a pen. She thought that Mrs. Lockerton would introduce Kuqa to the class.

“Class, bring out your books. It’s time to read,” Mrs. Lockerton explained. A boy was wearing a shirt with a stain on it. 

“Harold, didn’t I tell you that people in this class should wear good clothing!” Mrs. Lockerton yelled. 

“Sorry, Mrs. Lockerton!” Harold said with a scared look on his face. Mrs. Lockerton slapped the boy across the face. Kuqa did not like her teacher. 

It was time for lunch. Kuqa had a PB & J for lunch. She ate it fast. After lunch, it was time for recess. Kuqa hung out with Lilly. They talked to each other on a piece of paper. Kuqa wrote about her teacher and how crazy she was. Lilly laughed. 

“I heard she is a witch and that she kills children. Is that true?” Lilly asked. Mrs. Lockerton obviously wasn’t a witch so Kuqa started laughing. Lilly laughed with her. Kuqa realized that this was the first time she’d laughed since her mom died. Kuqa started to get a little sadder from thinking about her mom. Lilly noticed that she was sad.

“Do you think you need therapy?” Lilly asked. Kuqa wrote, maybe. Kuqa actually never thought about therapy. She thought of trying it. 

Dismissal came and Kuqa ran to the car. Kuqa wrote a note to her dad about trying therapy. David looked at her. 

“You want to try it?” David asked. Kuqa nodded yes. David smiled. Kuqa went home pretty happy. She almost talked but she still couldn’t do it. After trying and trying to talk, Kuqa got frustrated. She cried in the middle of the night. David woke up extremely tired. 

“What is it, honey?” David asked. Kuqa just didn’t know how to respond. She kept crying. She wasn’t mute, so why couldn’t she talk? 

“Red, red, you’ll be okay, you’ll talk one day,” David said. Red was David’s nickname for Kuqa. Of course, that was what Kuqa meant in Albanian. Kuqa hugged David hard. Harder than ever before. He always made her feel so much better. 

“Why don’t you sleep with Nina tonight?” David asked playfully. David picked up the doll. Kuqa grabbed it tight from his hands. She slept with the doll all night. 

She woke up at 6:00 am. She had time to eat her breakfast and brush her teeth (unlike last time). She was going to start therapy the next day. David told her it was culture day. Kuqa had to wear something in her culture. She looked through the closet. She saw the Albanian dress that Roze gave her. She stared at it. It had the Albanian eagle and some little flowers on it. Kuqa didn’t wear that dress since Roze died. Then she saw another thing in the closet — Roze’s scarf. It had the Kosovo flag on it. It was a little big for Kuqa but she decided to wear the scarf along with the dress. She went to the school bus. Lilly and Charlie saved a seat for her. 

“Nice dress, where is it from?” Charlie asked. Kuqa thought about it being from her mom. She shed a tear and ran to a different seat. Lilly punched Charlie in the stomach. She sat with Kuqa. Kuqa didn’t scream like usual but she was shedding tears so much. 

“I’m sorry about Charlie. He didn’t mean to make you sad,” Lilly explained. Kuqa nodded. “I think I know why you’re not talking. You want to keep in the feelings of your mom dying but you can’t. Some advice — let things out, you’ll feel better,” Lilly said. Kuqa wanted to know if this was true but she couldn’t just scream in class. She was going to see if that was true when she saw the therapist. The therapist knew best. Kuqa hugged Lilly. After a couple of minutes, they arrived at the school. Mrs. Lockerton was wearing a shirt with a Catalan flag. Mrs. Lockerton also had snakes on her pants so Kuqa was confused if she was Catalan or from somewhere else. 

“Bye, Kuqa!” Lilly waved. Kuqa waved back. Kuqa walked to her classroom. There was a kid with an Italian leather jacket. There was a kid with a scarf that said FRANCE, three other kids, and of course, there was Mrs. Lockerton. Kuqa guessed the other kids were sick or something.

“You might be wondering why barely anyone is here. It’s because the people that are gone wore better clothes. You guys didn’t. Your punishment is this,” Mrs. Lockerton said. 

“Mrs. Lockerton, where are you from?” Harold asked.

“I’m from Belarus, it shows the flag. Stupid child,” Mrs. Lockerton answered rudely. 

“No, that’s the flag of Catalonia,” Harold said. Mrs. Lockerton walked toward him and brought out a stick. She hit him. Harold started crying and then she hit him again. Then Mrs. Lockerton walked to Kuqa.

“What’s the two-headed eagle on the dress?” Mrs. Lockerton asked. Kuqa still couldn’t answer.

“What is it!?” Mrs. Lockerton screamed. Mrs. Lockerton was about to hit Kuqa with the stick but then…

“Stop!” Kuqa yelled. That was the first time in a year that she’d talked. A couple of the kids stared at Kuqa so surprised.

“It’s the Albanian eagle, my family is from Kosovo,” Kuqa explained. Mrs. Lockerton didn’t care. She hit Kuqa and sent her home. David picked her up. Kuqa got into the smelly car where David was probably gonna yell at her. 

“I heard you talked,” David said. 

“Yeah,” Kuqa responded. David smiled. He didn’t yell at Kuqa, surprisingly.

“How did you do it?” David asked. 

“I let my sadness out,” Kuqa explained while smiling.

“I love you,” David said. He kissed Kuqa’s forehead. 

                                                            THE END.

                                                               Afterward-

I want people to learn that you should always let your sad feelings out because it would make you feel so much better. So I wrote this story so people would do that and because I wanted to show Albanian culture to people. Kuqa was so sad she couldn’t talk, and when she let her feelings out, she talked, and I know you can do the same.

Finding Your Place

Amee is just an average teenage girl moving to Scranton PA from L.A. she has never fit in anywhere… or so she thought.

When she moves to Scranton PA, she finds friends, and apparently enemies.

The question is…

How can she stay together when everything is collapsing around her? 

 Finding Your Place

Prologue – Amee

I walk home from Westlake and try to open the wooden door to our house, but it won’t open.  I roll my eyes at the dark, wooden house with bright windows and big flowers and jiggle my key into the lock. I open the door and it loudly slams behind me. It smells like toast. I flip the lights on and grab a snack from the silver fridge. The dark brown chair screeches on the wood as I sit down to do my homework. After a while, my Math, History, and Art homework are done. I’m just about to reach into my bag for my Science stuff when I hear the door creak open and the strong sound of my dad’s boots clumping around the house, calling my name. I call back and he pulls a chair next to me. 

“Hey, sweetie,” he says, his deep, inviting voice grumbling with bad news. 

“Hi, Dad,” I answer. “You told me you wanted to tell me something?” 

He sighs and nods. “Um, yeah. Listen, Amee. We’re moving. We both know this is not the right place for us.” 

My lips quiver and my eyes quickly fill with tears. “Where are we moving?” 

He winces. “Scranton.” 

I gasp and a hand flies to my mouth. “That’s halfway across the country! Are you guys insane? What about me? What about my friends?” I stop. Tears escape my eyes and they quickly change to sobs. 

“Amee — ” he starts, but I push his words away and flee to my room. 

Chapter 1 – Amee

The Beginning 

“Hi. My name is Amee and I just moved here from L.A.,” I say from the front of the room. I hear mutters and whispers and I shiver. I hate muttering. 

“Why did you move in the middle of the year?” one girl with light blonde hair, tan skin, and deep green eyes asks. 

“Oh, um… ” I don’t think I’m ready to share that yet. I give a look to the teacher and, thankfully, she sees it. I walk back to my desk quietly and pull the chair out. It makes a shriek and I cringe. Everybody looks at me and I shrink in my t-shirt. 

I remember the look on my face when I got the news. I remember the gut punch when I was told. And mostly, I remember wondering why this all happened. 

We were moving to Pennsylvania. I didn’t understand! We had everything we needed right there in L.A.! But deep down, I had always felt out of place in L.A. No one ever talked to me and I felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere. I can’t believe I broke a mirror over that horrid hole of judgments. It was home though. I don’t know where my home is. 

My eyes focus on the classroom and I push thoughts of L.A. out of my mind. I live in Scranton now! I am happy! I am! I am. I shake my head as if to shake my thoughts away from my brain. I look around my classroom and eye the people in it. The group in the front row look as though they are in paradise. Their full attention is placed on the teacher as their eyes shift nervously from the board to their papers as they pen furiously to get everything down on the sheets. The group in the back looks as though they’re going to die. They all sneak-text under their desks and look everywhere but the teacher. And then there is me. Me, as in my own group, as in the only person who doesn’t fit in.  

After school, I walk home, dragging my feet. When I get home, I let myself in like I always did in L.A. I smile slightly and click the door open. The house is dark and I’m alone. As always. I run-up to my room, slam the door, and flop on my bed. Who am I? Do I fit in anywhere? 

Chapter 2 – Elizabeth

The Beginning, Pt 2 

“Hi, my name is Amee and I just moved here from L.A.,” says a girl with pale, porcelain skin, deep dark blue eyes, and hair so dark brown, you’d think it was black. Cool! L.A.! How about that, huh? I call out and ask why she moved here in the middle of the year.! Her eyes well up and she gives the teacher a look. Whoops. I quiet down and try to make eye contact with Nat. Natalie has been my friend since Kindergarten and she’s the closest friend I have. She stares at me fiercely and throws me a note. 

It says:

Liz – OMG! What the heck why did u ask that? You OBVIOUSLY made her sad! So confused. I like her so far! She looks nice!- Nat

I roll my eyes and scribble on the back of the page. 

Nat – Ugh I didn’t mean to! I just asked a question! You know how honest I am! Whatever. I like her, too! We should talk to her at lunch. – LIZZE♡♡

I focus my eyes back onto the teacher, and then it’s lunch. 

Natalie sees me in the cafeteria and waves me over but I go towards Amee. “Hi!” I say. 

“Um… hi,” she says quietly. WOW. She is shy. Whatever. I don’t mind. We talk and laugh for the rest of lunch, and when I go home, I think I might’ve made a new friend today!

Chapter 3 – Amee

Fitting In

When I get ready for school on Monday, I am nervous. This is my first full week at my new school and I don’t know if I even like it here in Scranton. My feet shriek on the tiled floor as I sulkily grab a piece of toast. 

A little voice in my brain:

What are you doing? 

A little voice in my brain:

You don’t belong

Me:

I do belong

A little voice in my brain:

What are you talking about? You don’t fit in anywhere

Me: 

I do fit in

The voice gets quieter.

And quieter.

I belong here. 

When I get to school, I am a little bit more confident but not by much. I walk into the classroom and everyone looks at me. Definitely not by much. A girl waves at me to come and sit next to her, and I get confused. Is it me she’s waving to? I look behind me, but I don’t see anyone. A warm sensation jolts through my body as I happily trot over. My eyes light up as I think, Ha! Told you! I do fit in! But then I see another girl. Walking towards the desk.

She sits down. 

I stop right in my tracks. The warm feeling turns to ice as I realize I don’t have anything.

Nothing.

No one.

Nothing! 

Something. 

What do I have to believe in? What? I sit down at a random desk and suddenly a note flies at my face and hits me smack in the nose. 

Dear Amee, 

Hi! It’s Elizabeth. Um I just wanted to say that you can TOTALLY sit with me and my friends at lunch again if you want to. No worries if you don’t want to, but we’d love it if you came! 

Xoxo Elizabeth 🙂 

I have that. I have that note to believe in. You will see me at lunch, Elizabeth! You can believe in that. 

Chapter 4 – Elizabeth

It Hurts 

When I come to school, I immediately plop my bag on the desk next to Nat and scribble a note to her on a piece of paper. 

Nat – 

I’m going to ask Amee to sit with us again, is that ok? Just wanted to make sure. 

Xoxo Liz

I see her brush off the back of the page and start writing while the teacher walks in and uncaps a whiteboard marker. 

LIZZE – 

Ummmm ok sure.

Xoxoxox NAT ;-D

Awesome! I rip a piece off the paper Nat and I were writing on and scribble a note. I fold the torn edges together and throw it at Amee, careful that the teacher is looking away so he won’t see me. It hits her smack in the nose and I wince. That’s gotta hurt. Luckily, the note drops in her black leggings after sliding down her green tee. She reads it and smiles slightly, nods in my direction, and focuses back on Mr. Frora. My eyes focus on Nat, and she senses my stare and turns towards me. Finally! I give her a thumbs up and suddenly the bell rings and I curse silently. Ugh, I totally spaced out! Darn it. Nothing I can do now. I grab my marble print bag and sling it across my shoulder. Amee meets up with me on the way to English and we make small talk.

Eventually, we go our separate ways; she has Math. When I get to the English room, Nat sits down and I see Faith walk briskly to get to the seat next to her.  Not so fast! I cut her off and slide into the empty chair as Faith slumps and plops into the seat behind her. I grin and make small talk with Nat as Faith desperately tries to be part of the conversation. 

“OMG, I love that show!” Nat exclaims when I bring up “The Office.” As we move onto the topic of pizza, Faith smiles like she’s hearing us as if we were on FaceTime and she was having bad internet. 

“I know, me too! Dwight is definitely my favorite character! So funny, am I right?” Nat and I stare. 

“We finished talking about that like so long ago.” Nat rolls her eyes and THANK GOD the English teacher walks in and everybody quiets down.

After English, it’s time for lunch (finally!!) and I walk to lunch and meet up with Amee. “Thanks for letting me sit with you,” she says breathlessly. 

“No problem!” I say as Natalie and Faith come up behind me. Faith links arms with Nat and links arms with me and starts walking towards the cafeteria, leaving Amee behind. I nudge Nat and jerk my head towards Amee. She nods, her eyes say, Ok fine, and pulls away from the chain, and I follow suit. Faith frowns and stops in her tracks as we link arms with Amee instead. Faith rolls her eyes and links arms with Amee, finishing the chain. She grins mischievously and digs her nails into Amee’s elbow. She yelps in pain and Faith pushes her away from the chain and links with Nat again. 

“Come on, New Girl!” she rolls her eyes. “Keep up!” As Faith pulls Nat and me towards our lunch table, I look back helplessly. I turn towards Nat, but instead of her sharing my concerns, she stifles a laugh, and Faith grins at her. Amee gets up and I see three scratches on the inside of her elbow. She gathers the stuff that fell out of her ombre white-to-purple backpack and walks confidently towards an empty table, but I can see the clear, salty tears forming in her eyes. 

Chapter 5 – Amee

 Betrayal 

Dear Amee, 

I am soooooo sorry! Do you want to sit with us tomorrow and talk?

Xoxo Elizabeth

Elizabeth,

HAHAHAHAHAHAH no. NO WAY. I am not going to “sit and talk with you” just to get completely embarrassed again. Again, NO WAY. I can’t believe I ever thought you were going to ACTUALLY be nice to me. 

  • Amee

I should’ve known. It was obvious. No one wants to be friends with me. I am the laughingstock of Oak Hills Elementary. I am finished! I am toast! Burnt, dead black, non-buttered toast! I walk out of lunch with my eyes red and my scratches even redder. I rub my eyelashes and wipe my cheeks. My schedule flutters off my locker wall and I see which period is next. Oh god. I have History, but that’s not the worst part. It’s with Elizabeth. And Faith. (And a few other people, obviously.) How am I going to get through this? No no no. this is not how I want it to be. I’ll be fine on my own. I can do this. I CAN do this. Can I?

As I walk into History with Gabi, I see Elizabeth sitting with Natalie as Faith talks to them, laughing, talking, and hurting my heart.

Chapter 6 – Elizabeth

Figuring It Out

Ok, am I allowed to be confused here? Nat seemed to like Amee in the notes that we wrote…

Unless she didn’t.

I quickly tell Nat and Faith I need to go to the bathroom, and when I get to the bright pink room (so sexist, by the way. Pretty sure the boys’ bathroom is blue). Anyway, I push the door open and immediately riffle through my backpack. I finally find a tiny gold bag with all of my notes since kindergarten in it. I quickly sort through the notes and find the ones that Nat wrote most recently. The words sure, and fine flash before my eyes and I realize she doesn’t like her! Obviously, DUH. How couldn’t I have noticed that before? I bolt out of the restroom before anyone sees me. As I walk out of the restroom and into the cafeteria, I try to make eye contact with Amee, but her head is down and she is nibbling chips while reading a book with a dark maroon cover.  I tried, at least, I thought. Nat waved me over and I plopped my lunch consisting of a hamburger, fries, and an apple. I bite into the soft bread and chew on the juicy meat. 

“Was that funny or what?” Faith asks as Nat smiles softly and laughs and reaches further into her sparkly lunch bag for the chocolate chip cookie she gets every day. “Ha, she deserved it,” Faith says immediately with a full mouth of cheese sandwich. Faith looks into my eyes and grins mischievously and I watch the corner of her eye follow Amee to our table. 

“Didn’t she, Lizzie?” Nat looks at me pointedly and I start to sweat. 

“Oh yeah, it was hilarious. You should do more. She totally deserves it.” 

Faith laughs and Nat sighs, relieved, and smiles to herself, but I feel terrible. 

When I get back to class, I write Amee a note and she responds totally meanly. I am so mad. But she still didn’t deserve those three red scratches. 

As I walk into History, Faith sits in the chair next to Nat before I can slide in. No biggie. The seat on the other side of her is open. Faith looks towards the door and I see Amee walk in. 

“Oh hi, New Girl,” Faith smirks. Everyone laughs and Amee’s face reddens. I feel bad, but I have to play along. Faith and Natalie are popular. They would make sure I had the worst rest of the school year ever if I defended Amee. “Why did you come here anyway?” Faith studies Amee’s watery eyes. Faith’s glare pierces Amee’s confidence and she runs out of the classroom. Nat covers her hands over her mouth and I can’t believe I was ever friends with these people. But, who else do I have? 

Chapter 6.5 – Amee                         

Faith glares at me and I stare at everybody looking at me in horror and literally run to the bathroom. Everything I’d hoped for was gone, flushed down the toilet of the stall I was hiding in. This is terrible! I sat and cried for a second, just flushed it all out. (No pun intended). I have had the worst day ever. Will Faith and Natalie ever leave me alone? Either way, I walk back slowly to History and inwardly vow I will not let Faith or Natalie bring me down. As soon as I walk in, though, I see Faith whisper something to Natalie, and they both laugh. I feel myself sinking lower and lower in my chair. So much for my vow. 

I disappointed myself. 

Chapter 7 – Elizabeth

Acting Out

As Amee slides down lower into her chair, I slide right along with her. Why did I let this happen? I can’t act like a baby anymore, I have to stand up for myself! And Amee! As we walk out of History class, Faith gets a mischievous glint in her eye and I smile. Perfect. Faith opens her mouth, and before she can say anything, I jump in. 

“You know what, Faith, before you open your big mouth again, let me give you a little news flash. If you think Amee will never belong, well guess what? You’re wrong! In fact, you are the furthest from right as you could ever get! We were all new kids, right? Well, look at us now! We belong. Amee is not different. Even if she doesn’t feel like she belongs right now, she will belong. Just like we all did. Amee is a kind and beautiful person inside and out. You might be pretty on the outside, but if you keep acting this way to my friend, you will always be ugly on the inside.” 

Faith stands there, shocked. Natalie flees to the bathroom, and I think I can make out tears streaming down her face. She started crying when I said the words “my friend.” Weird. Faith stutters and tries to make a comeback but all I do is walk away, feeling freer than I have in weeks. 

I really hope they will leave her alone. 

Amee walks up to me after my whole… conversation with Faith and smiles. “Thanks,” she says. 

“No problem.” I smile back. We talk and I feel like things are mended. Little do I know what Nat — er — I mean — Natalie, has up her sleeve. 

I see Natalie and Faith smile at each other wickedly as I stand up to get new paints, and when I turn back, Amee’s painting is splattered with water and they dumped out my cup. I pick it up to get new water, and at that exact moment, Amee decides to walk through the door and sees me, her painting, and the empty water cup in my hand. 

“What did you do!” Amee yells. Natalie points at me and says,

“Elizabeth dumped her water cup on your painting!” Amee opens her mouth in horror and turns towards me. 

“How could you!” her eyes water and she flees the room’s hot stares. 

Chapter  8 – Natalie

Seriously

Hi. I’m Natalie. I know you’re probably wondering why I’m so mean to Amee, and I would be too. I don’t know why Faith is mean to her, but I know my reason. You should probably know the backstory first. 

Elizabeth and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. All through Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, up till now, it’s always been “Elizabeth and Natalie”! Well, then Faith came, and then we were a threesome. I was fine with the duo though. Elizabeth was the first friend I’d ever had, and the best. I could tell her anything and she wouldn’t judge me. I felt safe with her. Then, Amee came and Elizabeth really liked her. She distanced herself from me more and more and I was scared. I didn’t want to lose her as a friend and I think I’ve already lost her. It might be too late but I have to try. She was the best friend I’d ever had and I’m not about to lose that over my pride. I have to fix things. 

Today is a fresh new day and I’m ready. I can do it! I plan to take out my phone and send her a text. It says:

Hey, Elizabeth. I know you’re probably still mad at me and I know it’s really weird that I’m not talking in text language but this is important. I miss you, Elizabeth. And I know that you probably don’t want to talk right now but I had to say it. The reason I was mean to Amee is because I was scared that I’d lose you. You are, or were, I guess, my best friend. And I get it if you can’t forgive me right now, or ever. But I just wanted you to know that. Love you. 

Wow. That is the longest text I’ve ever written. All I have to do now is press send. Just press send, Natalie, I say to myself. But I — I — I can’t. It’s too scary. I just have to do it. I press on the blue arrow and the message pops up in blue on my screen. Message sent, it says. Oooooohmigosh. I can’t believe I just did that. My heart is pounding harder than it ever has before. I literally RUN to school to see how Elizabeth reacts to my text. All of a sudden, my phone rings. I shut my eyes tightly and slowly take my phone out of my back pocket. I open one eye slightly to see who it is, and it’s Elizabeth. I slide to answer, relieved, but I’m not ready for what happens next. 

I hold the phone up to my ear and hear her say hi. “Hi, Elizabeth,” I say softly back.

“Hey, Natalie,” she sighs. 

“Did you get my text?” I speak into the phone. 

“Um, yeah,” she says and I hold my breath, waiting for an answer. Everything is silent around me, and it’s just me and her, breathing heavily and waiting. She takes a breath and starts talking. “Look. I know you meant well when you sent that text, and I get that you were scared. I really do. But, what you did was not right, and I just don’t know if I can forgive you yet. I just need a little time, Natalie,” she confesses. “I’m not ready.” 

Silent tears fall down my face and slip down onto my sneakers. “Oh, um, ok,” I say, my voice breaking. “I totally get it.” I brush tears off my face yet they still find a way to come back, salty and sad. I hang up, and it’s almost like I’m hanging up on our friendship completely. I am too late. I was trying to protect our friendship, but it seems like I’ve only made things worse. I lost her. 

As I walk to school, I try to make my eyes less red than they actually are. As soon as I get to school, Faith comes up to me and waves. I don’t wave back, but just keep walking. “Hey, hey, wait up!” Faith yells, but I shake my head. 

“No, Faith. I will not wait up. I need a break. Bye” Faith stands there looking confused and angry. I sigh. What am I going to do without Elizabeth by my side like she always was?

Chapter 9 – Faith

Please 

“No, Faith. I will not wait up. I need a break. Bye.” Natalie walks away as I get confused. What did I do wrong? I don’t know. 

Look. I know I was mean to Amee, but there’s a reason. Duh. I’m not cruel. Well, I was. I was just jealous. Amee was getting all the attention and Elizabeth and Natalie liked her, and being mean was just a defense mechanism. So yeah. That’s my story. I’ll stop, but everybody just has to leave me alone. I walk into school and see Elizabeth and Amee talking, probably making up from the fight about the prank Natalie and I pulled. I see Natalie up ahead talking to some random girl and then it hits me. I have no one. I’d always thought I’d have Natalie and Elizabeth forever. We would stick with each other through thick and thin. But now, who do I have? 

Chapter 10 – Amee

What?

I can’t believe Elizabeth would do that to me. After all we’ve been through, she just goes back to Natalie and Faith and doesn’t even care about me. My feelings. I mean, I know she has been friends with her for much longer but after they were so mean to me for no reason? But, what if it wasn’t her fault? Natalie and Faith were giggling and Elizabeth looked sad and apologetic. I need to talk to her. I call her and she is sniffling into the phone when she picks up.

“Everything okay, Liz?” I ask. And then it hits me. I think she noticed it too. That’s the first time I’ve called her Liz before. I can’t believe I did it so normally, like she was a friend! I could hear her smile through the phone as she said, 

“I’m okay now.” My face breaks into a smile and suddenly, I feel like I had a friend. 

“So, um, what happened?” I prod. 

“Oh, nothing. See you at school, Amee!” She pushes the question away, says goodbye, then hangs up. I’m confused. Is there something she doesn’t want to tell me? I get dressed in a short maroon skirt, a loose purple blouse, and slip-on black ankle boots. I grab my backpack and slam the door as I’m walking out. My mom opens the door again and smiles at me. 

“Have a good day, sweetie!” I shrug. 

“Love you, Mom!” I say and wave as I walk away. 

When I get to school, I spot Natalie and Faith talking and quickly put my head down. Natalie says something and then walks away and Faith just stands there. I look around and I see Elizabeth leaning on a pillar with her head in her hands. She looks confused and stressed. I wonder what’s wrong. I walk over to talk to her, my boots slamming on the pavement as I run to catch up to her as she walks to English. 

“What’s up?” I say. 

“Oh, just the usual. Your friend finally calling you by your nickname.” She puts her arm around me and I laugh. As we walk to English, I can see out of the corner of my eye Natalie walking with her hands in the pockets of her light blue jeans and a single tear slips down her cheek and lands on the floor. She steps on the spot where it hit the ground and pushes her tear down harder, shattering it, and keeps walking. I look back at Elizabeth as we’re walking, her face emotionless and stone-cold, and know something is wrong.

Chapter 11 – Elizabeth

Not Ready 

“I’m not ready,” I say into the phone. I’m never ready for this. I feel a stabbing pain in my heart when Natalie hangs up the phone. I sit down on the couch, still in my pajamas, and process what just happened. I lost my best friend since Kindergarten. My phone rings and I check to see who it is. It’s Amee. I pick it up and put the phone to my ear. I’m praying for some good news. I can’t keep my sniffling in and she asks me what’s wrong. And then I realize that she called me Liz. Liz! She’s never called me by my nickname before and a warmth spreads through my heart, numbing the pain and confusion. 

“So um, what happened?” she asks. I groan in my head and sidestep the question, say goodbye, and hang up. I just can’t take any more confusion right now. I stomp upstairs in my slippers and put on black leggings, a black t-shirt, slip-on sneakers, and head out. When I get to school, I see Amee walking over to me and I wave. We talk and I put my arm around her. We see Natalie, and I immediately look down, not wanting to meet her eyes. I quietly wipe my eyes, but when I feel Amee’s eyes on my face, I wipe my face of all emotion. She sees the red tear mark on my cheek and I quickly try to wipe it away but it stays. It must be stubborn. Darn you tear mark! I think. I see her thinking and I get scared. What’s happening?

After school, I walk to my computer and check my email. Amee sent me an email with a Zoom link for 6:00 PM. I text her that I accept and she seems overly excited — weird. I’m excited and don’t know how to wait! I grab a snack consisting of: salt and vinegar chips, sweet strawberries, lemonade, brownies, and a piece of chocolate chip banana bread. Yum! I grab the TV remote and turn the coal-black screen to electric blue. I play my favorite movie, and before I know it, it’s 5:55 and I have to go. 

I join the meeting, see Amee, and then see someone I definitely DID NOT want to see right now. Natalie is in the Zoom meeting! “Hi, Elizabeth,” Natalie says. I give Amee a withering glare and her look says, Oh well, what can we do?

Chapter 12 – Natalie

Forgiveness

To: Natalie Carter

From: Amee Walker

Subject: Zoom

Dear Natalie, 

I am inviting you to a zoom at 6 pm today. Join this link: hptts://webzoom.usTWEB273985357bdFRpjfslj34755fldhgso3 

Elizabeth will be there so you can talk to her. I repeat; TALK TO HER. There is no reason to talk to me, be mean to me, or even look at me. I am doing this for Elizabeth. See you at 6. 

Sincerely,

Amee Walker 

Her email is so sad and I really want to write her back, but I know it’s wrong. My fingers push on the keys and I press send before I can stop myself.

To: Amee Walker

From: Natalie Carter

Subject: RE: Zoom

Dear Amee,

I’m surprised you wrote to me. Thanks for the link, I will come. I actually do want to talk to you on the Zoom, because I don’t want to say it in an email. I’ll be there at 5:40 so we can talk. 

See you there.

Natalie

At 5:40, I join the link she sends and Amee is there, waiting patiently. As soon as my video glitches on and the microphone is working, I launch into it. “Look, Amee. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, well I did, but I was scared I would lose Elizabeth. We’ve been friends forever and I didn’t know where I fit in if it wasn’t with her. I feel awful and the only thing my fear and anger did was break everyone apart. I am so sorry. I get it if you can’t forgive me, Elizabeth already did that. I’m sorry.” Amee looks to the camera and opens her mouth. 

“I forgive you,” she says. I think my Zoom might not be working, maybe I’m hallucinating, but I never expected THAT. “Look,” she says. “I know what it feels like to not fit in. You were mainly the reason I didn’t fit in hahaha but I get it. You hurt me, but I know you know that, and I know you’ll try to make it up to me.” I smile at her and feel like things are mended. One more to go.

Elizabeth joins as Amee and I are talking. She gives me a withering glare and Amee’s eyes say, Don’t worry, I’ve got this. “Hey Elizabeth,” she says. 

“WHAT THE HECK, DUDE!” Elizabeth yells so loudly that her sound cuts out for a minute. 

“Wow. Calm down, sparky” she says. “Look. Natalie apologized to me, and I forgave her.” 

Elizabeth rubs her ears like she didn’t hear right, but Amee nods and moves on. “Now, I know that you might have some feeling that you HAVE to be mad because I’m your friend. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to. Natalie is really sorry, and she does have a good reason. We were all a little bit wrong, but I found a place in my heart to forgive Natalie, and all I’m asking is that you forgive her too.” 

I watch Elizabeth as tears stream down her cheeks. “Yes, Natalie. I forgive you! You’re my best friend! Of course, I forgive you!” I’m crying and Elizabeth’s crying and somehow, Amee is too. These are my friends. I’ve found my true friends. 

Chapter 13 – Epilogue  – Amee

The next day

I walk into school and see Natalie and Elizabeth waving me over. I run over and Natalie engulfs me in a powerful arm hug. Elizabeth smiles and slings her backpack over her shoulder as we walk into school, hand-in-hand. Natalie has to go to English and Elizabeth and I go to History. We sit at desks right next to each other and when she smiles at me, that’s when I know. 

I’ve found my place. 

THE END

The Tiger’s Dream

 Book One 

 There once was a tiger who wanted to go to the New York City Zoo but he lived in the New Jersey Zoo. He thought his zoo was too small and there were not enough animals. He had lived in this zoo for his whole life and he wanted to live somewhere else now. So one day, he set off on his journey to New York City. He took his map and he had a plan which was to go to the city and find the zoo in Central Park. He didn’t realize the map was for a different zoo and so he had to go back to New Jersey and get the map for the Central Park Zoo. He arrived in New York City and the people were terrified. He didn’t like that the people were scared of him. He didn’t care though, he just wanted to go to the zoo. He bumped into people and pets and he arrived at Central Park, except he didn’t know where the zoo was in Central Park. He had to steal a map from people. Well, he didn’t steal it, the people ran away and left the map behind. He saw some animals but he didn’t know where the Tiger section was. He kept looking around and a security guard saw him and brought him to the right section. And the tiger lived happily ever after.

Book Two

The tiger was in the Central Park Zoo and he wanted to meet new friends except there were too many animals, there were more than 100! And he couldn’t go to all of them in one day and maybe some animals would be scared of him because he’s really big. He went to other animals. First, he went to the penguins. First, he said, “You wanna be my friend?”

And they were like, “Sure.”

Then he said, “Can you help me get some new friends because there are a lot of animals in this zoo.” 

So they went off on their journey to find new animal friends. Then they went to the lions. The lions were sleeping so they had to come back later. They decided to take a break because it was a lot of walking, so they did. They got some water and they got some food to bring with them so they wouldn’t have to take a break, because it took hours to get to the other animals. 

Next, they went to the sharks. They asked one of the sharks, “Do you want to be our friend and look for other friends?” 

The shark said, “No, I already have my friends and I need to stay in the water.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t ask sea creatures because they have to stay in the water,” the tiger said. 

Next, they went back to the lions. They went over the gate and they were still sleeping but there were other animals behind them. There were other tigers, and this time the penguin asked, “Do you wanna be our friend and look for other friends?” 

The other tiger said, “Yes, well there are no other tigers here so I wanna be your friend and look for more friends too.”

So they went to the giraffes next. They were very tall so they had to use a microphone to ask them, “Do you wanna be friends with us and look for new friends?” The giraffe said yes and let the penguin and the two tigers get on his back so they wouldn’t have to walk. The giraffe was very nice, so that was why he did it. Next, they went to the little fishes in the little tank. 

“Do you wanna come with us because we could bring your tank and be friends?”

“Okay!”

So the penguin and the two tigers had to come off the giraffe because they had to carry the tank. The penguin said, “Maybe we should only ask those fishies because they live in a tank and the sharks live in a whole big tank.” 

Next, they went to the horses. The horses said no, they had a lot of friends so that was why they said no. They were like, “Okay, we won’t ask you again.”

Next, they went to the cows. The cows said, “Sure, we’ll be your friends.”

Now there were no more animals who didn’t live in the water so they had a dance party and lived happily ever after. 

Book Three

The tiger was exploring the zoo with his penguin friend. The security guard let him out of the zoo because he was a nice animal, he didn’t bite. All the people knew that so they weren’t scared of him anymore. 

First, he went to the large park where there was grass. There were lots of people and there were squirrels and birds. The people petted him and the penguin and then they went to the squirrels and birds. They gave the squirrels acorns and the birds got jealous so they brought some bird seeds too. He went to the next part of the park, it was the aquarium park. The people were like, “Why is there a tiger in the aquarium part of the park?” 

The tiger said, “Oh, we’re just meeting some new people and exploring Central Park.” 

So the people pet him too and they watched the aquarium for a little bit. They saw sharks, fish, and they saw stingrays and one big octopus. The penguin was scared so the tiger held the penguin’s hand. They went to the part where there was a slide. There were lots of kids. The penguin and the tiger went up to the slide to see some kids. The kids were like, “Ooo, a tiger and a penguin,” so the kids were very happy. They went to their parents and were like, “Can we keep them, can we keep them?” 

Their parents were like, “No, they’re zoo animals!” 

So the penguin and the tiger went back to their journey. They didn’t bring a map so they got lost. They weren’t in Central Park anymore, they were out on the street. It was no big deal, the people weren’t scared of the tiger and the penguin. So the tiger and the penguin got some ice cream and tried to go back to Central Park, and they went back to Central Park. They went back to their gate and they lived happily ever after. 

Book Four

The tiger was learning how to swim one day and today was the day. The teacher was the penguin. They went to the animal pool and the tiger got a floaty. The penguin didn’t need a floaty because he could swim. 

The penguin said, “First, lay back and try to float.” The tiger couldn’t float so the penguin didn’t know what to do. 

“Okay, let’s just start with the basics,” the penguin said. “We’re going to take a noodle and lay your arms on the noodle and kick your legs behind.” The tiger got it! The penguin was like, “Uh oh, the pool is draining, we have to tell the people that we’re still in it!” So they did. It took 2 hours to fill the pool back up so they had to go home and get water because they were tired. They went back to the pool and they were back to swimming. 

Next was to swim without the noodle. The penguin said, “Okay, we’re gonna try this without the noodle and see how you do.” The tiger did well but next, he had to try swimming with his head underwater and he got the goggles and he was good. But then there were other animals splashing around in the pool. 

“We’re the only animals that are supposed to be in here,” the penguin said.

“But it’s our pool too,” they replied.

“But we ordered a private pool.”

The animals said, “Well I suppose so.” So they went out of the pool and the penguin and the tiger kept doing their session. The penguin threw rings in the water and the tiger had to catch them. The tiger only caught two but there were three, so the penguin caught the last one for him. They were tired so they went out of the pool and went home and then they lived happily ever after. 

Book Five

Today was break day and that meant the tiger and the penguin could just play and they usually went to the big area in Central Park and played ball, except they wanted to do something different today.  They went to go visit the tiger’s old zoo in New Jersey. The penguin came too.  It took a long time to get there, that was why they had to pack. They packed water and food and they were going to New Jersey now. They took the right map to New Jersey and they took a map to the zoo in New Jersey and they finally got to New Jersey, but they had to find the zoo. So they got the map to go to the New Jersey zoo. They got through some forests while they were going to the zoo and they finally got to the zoo. They saw some old animals and so they said, “Hi.” And the old animals said, 

“Why are you here? You’re not from this zoo. You’re from the Central Park Zoo.” 

The tiger and the penguin just walked away and they went to the security guards. They were the security guards when the tiger was here. The security guards missed the tiger, but they didn’t miss him too much because they visited him every time they took a break. So they hugged each other and the penguin wanted to go home to the Central Park Zoo. The tiger said, “Okay, we can just go home.” So they went home. 

They were halfway home and it took hours to get halfway, except they were going the wrong way because they didn’t take the right map. So they had to jump on a bus and go back to New Jersey to get the maps. And then they walked back to Central Park Zoo and they finally got home.

Book Six

“Today, we’re going to the park,” said the lion and the penguin. They went to Central Park. The part where there are the tire swing and the swings, slide, monkey bars, and a see-saw.  They had to find the map to go to the park, so they got the map, they got to the park, but it was really crowded, so it was really hard for them to get in, so they had to wait a really long time for them to get out, or they could just rent the whole park. It was a good idea to just rent the whole park. So they did. So they got the whole park to themselves, but there were some people who really wanted to stay, so they let them stay. They had a blast and then they went to go get ice cream. The penguin got chocolate and the tiger got vanilla.  It was really hot, so their ice cream melted and they were really sad. So they went to Riverside Park and the tiger said, “For us, it’s National Park Day. That’s why we’re going to every park.” Next, they went to Battery Park.  There were not a lot of kids there, so they didn’t have to rent it again. They played and played, but there were no slides or swings, or a see-saw. There was just a tire swing and a slide, but they still had fun.  They had a fun day. 

The End.

Book Seven

Today was Hat Day.  They all wore really funny hats. The tiger and penguin wore hats too. The penguin had an orange and white and green one and the tiger had a green and yellow and blue one and they put some jewels on top of it.  But then, one of the other animals stole a jewel and it was one of the diamond jewels. So the tiger and the penguin had to go find the stealer. They couldn’t find him. He was probably hiding the jewel. So they asked everyone in the whole world. They had to ask one more person because that was the last person, so they did and they asked, “Do you have our diamond jewel?” 

He said, “No, I don’t.” 

They said, “Are you sure?!”  

He said, “Yes!!!!”  

And so the tiger and the penguin were very sad because that was their prized possession.  The guy who actually stole the jewel saw them and said, “I stole your jewel.  I’m sorry and I would never do it again.”  

They said, “I accept.”  They had a costume and hat party and they lived happily ever after!!!

Queen Fairy Crystal

Once upon a time, Queen Fairy Autumn and her pink fluffy unicorn, Bubblegum, went to a royal gala in New Orleans to celebrate the city’s 99th anniversary. It was also Autumn’s birthday. She got dressed in a long yellow ball gown, the color of gold coins. Then, she dressed up Bubblegum in a protector necklace which was jade and always shone brightly when the queen was in danger. Bubblegum also wore a white, blue, and pink tie-dye dress. Queen Fairy Autumn flew to the party while her unicorn galloped on a rainbow.

When they got there, the scent of chocolate cake filled the air. Fairies and elves celebrated the queen’s 32nd birthday until… The evil fairy Crystal crashed the party!

Crystal was wearing a jumpsuit made out of ice blue velvet and real ice cubes.

Then, Autumn noticed the wand. She nearly fainted.

Crystal had a dragon wand which had taken all the colors of Autumn’s people so that the Autumn’s kingdom’s colors were fading. Without color, everyone except the queen would start to fade to death.
Autumn had to make things right.

Before he died in a battle with the winter kingdom, Autumn’s father, the king, had said, “There is always a time to make things right before anything gets out of hand.”

“What have you done to my people?” said Autumn.

“I took over your land because I never got anything I wanted,” said Crystal.

“But don’t do this! You don’t know what you’re doing!” screamed Autumn.

“Mwaha-ha-ha-ha-aa, you will never get a hold of me!” Crystal yelled. “Zaaap!”

Crystal zapped her wand several times at Queen Fairy Autumn. But the wand did not work on Autumn.

“It’s time to make things right,” said Queen Fairy Autumn.

Crystal threw Autumn into the ocean which was full of tears.

But when Crystal looked at the water, she saw her true reflection — evil.

Because Autumn was gone, Crystal became the new queen — the Snow Queen of Winter. She made the queen’s people come back to color. There were gnomes, princesses, princes, ballerinas, dwarves, elves, pirates, fairies, mermaids, and good witches, celebrating the birth of a new season and a new queen. They were all dressed in coats made out of wool and leather. The new queen used her wand to make an ice castle. The people clapped and laughed and played games.

The Snow Queen had never felt this happy before. She finally realized that being evil was not the way to live.

Then one day, ice voyagers came. The Snow Queen made a big portal to protect her citizens. But the ice voyagers started taking away the snow which made everyone except the Snow Queen melt! Then there was no way she could get her people back, so she became evil again because all that she loved was lost forever. The people would only come back if a new season came.

Crystal was left alone in her ice castle with her mirror.

In another kingdom, far away, there were two neighbors, a girl named Kate and a boy named Gretel. They had love for each other; they even grew each other roses in different colors. Gretel would go over to Kate’s house to drink hot cocoa with marshmallows. They would build snowmen and go sledding together. The Snow Queen watched them in her mirror made of ice.

One day, when Kate and Gretel finished their hot cocoa with marshmallows, they went straight outside. As soon as they did, the Snow Queen sent transparent icicles straight into Gretel’s heart. He then became mean, greedy, and nasty. Gretel started to run away from Kate.

Kate screamed, “Why are you running away from me? I thought we were going to go sledding together!”

“Go away!” Gretel yelled in a rude tone. He ran away and never looked back.

Kate ran to her grandmother’s house. Tears flooded all the way down her rosy cheeks.

“Oh, Grandmother!” she cried. “I think the Snow Queen from the Kingdom of Winter took control of Gretel.”

“Oh, no!” her grandmother cried. But then she told Kate, “Oh, my darling, I know a shortcut to the Snow Queen.”

“What is it?” Kate said.

“First, you go to the lake where a magical bronze canoe is waiting just for you. Second, you will pass a beautiful garden where there are lots of flowers that are colors such as Yummy Yellow, Prancing Purple, Blaring Blue, Pretty Pink, Rose Red, Owing Orange, and Groomy Green. Then, you will see a pirate’s ship stuck on solid blue ice crystals.”

“Maybe the pirates can show me the way to the Snow Queen!” Kate exclaimed.

“Yes, they can,” her grandmother said. “But only if you are nice to them, even if they’re mean to you.”

“What next?” Kate asked.

“The final step is to find Gretel.”

“Thanks, Grandma!” Kate said with tears of joy.

“Oh, you’re welcome, my dear child,” Kate’s grandmother said.

“Bye, Grandma!” Kate said.

“Bye, darling!” Kate’s grandmother said.

Then, Kate put on her sweater, coat, mittens, scarf, hat, and snow boots. She raced out the door and went into the freezing cold. When Kate got to the bronze canoe, she had to go through all of the seasons. She climbed into the magical bronze canoe as her grandmother said. When she stepped inside the canoe, it moved by itself.
Wow, so this is what Grandma meant by magical, Kate thought.

When she got to the other side, she saw a beautiful garden with an old lady, who was wearing purple gloves and a purple dress.

“Hello there!” Kate said politely.

“Hi,” the woman said. “Can you please brush my hair, dear?”

The lady pulled out a purple comb and gave it to Kate. She took off her hat and held it tightly in her purple gloves while Kate brushed her hair. When Kate was finished, the lady asked her to do chores around the house. When Kate was finished with the chores, she asked where she could find the Snow Queen. The lady pointed right and Kate, without a word, left.

The next obstacle was a snowstorm. Kate fought the snowstorm like a warrior. Five minutes later, she saw a pirate’s ship stuck in solid ice. Kate walked closer to the pirate ship until…

“Aaargh!” one of the pirates shouted.

“Eek!” Kate screamed in horror.

“Hey, matey, why are you skedaddling here?!”

“Umm, ” Kate started to worry. “I want to find a way to the Snow Queen!” she screamed loudly, as if the whole world wanted to hear her little voice.

“Why, though?” said a girl pirate named Alivida De La Cruz.

“Because my friend, Gretel…”

“Gretel? Who in the name of the ship is named Gretel!”

“He’s my friend who got lured to the Snow Queen! And I… I… I just miss him.”

“Well why didn’t you say so then?”

“So will you lead me to the Snow Queen?”

“Yes, since you gave us a reason.”

“Thank you!”

“Yeah! But first, we are going to need someone to help us with the ice.”

“Umper!” Alivida De La Cruz shouted.

“Yes, Captain!” replies Umper.

“Get your axe please so that… uhh… what’s your name?”

“Kate,” Kate whispered.

“Uhh, Kate and I can break the ice to keep the river flowin’,” said Alivida De La Cruz.

“Yes, ma’am!” And down Umper came with the axe.

Kate and Alivida De La Cruz held the axe together. The ice went crush, crunch, croop! Then they climbed up the ladder for the ship and sailed through the icy water.

“To adventure!” Alivida De La Cruz said.

“To adventure!” said Kate.

In 15 minutes, they were at the Snow Queen’s ice castle. Kate was freezing, even though she was wearing a coat, snow boots, a scarf, hat, and mittens. “Thank you, Alivida De La Cruz,” Kate said.

“You’re welcome, matey! Anytime!” Alivida De La Cruz shouted.

Kate ran as fast as her legs could take her all the way up that iceberg hill. When she was in front of the ice doors, she opened them. Creak!

“Hello?” Kate said, shivering.

“Who is it?” the Snow Queen said in her snarling voice. The queen had a frown on her face. She had teal lipstick and icicles on her back, sticking up to the ice chandelier.

“Oh, hello,” Kate said.

“Well, well, aren’t you that little pest who was playing with this boy all the time?”

“Yes, Snow Queen, and I’m here to get my friend back, you crook!”

“Excuse me? What in the ice did you say?” Crystal said.

“I said, you crook!” yelled Kate.

“Out of my way!” Crystal screamed. She pushed Kate to the side.

Kate ran past her up to the Snow Queen’s throne room and saw Gretel, other children, elderly people, and grown-ups.

“Gretel!” Kate said in relief. “I am glad that you are fine.” She tried to hug him but he kept turning around and backing away. Then finally, Kate had a plan. “Gretel,” she said.

“Yes? What do you want?” Gretel said.

“I would like to talk with you,” said Kate.

“What is it?”

“Don’t tell the Snow Queen, though,” said Kate.

“Okay,” said Gretel.

Kate leaned forward and went to Gretel’s ear. Then, she hugged him and she said, “I love you!”

Gretel closed his eyes. All of a sudden, he wasn’t pale anymore, he was colorful. He was back to normal!

“Thanks for saving me!” Gretel said.

“You are welcome,” Kate said. “Now let’s get out of here!”

“Yeah!” said Gretel.

The two friends ran home. When they got there, Kate explained how she got to meet a pirate and an old lady who wore a purple dress.

“Wow!” Kate’s grandma said, fascinated. “It’s a good thing Gretel is back home now!”

In another kingdom, the Snow Queen, Crystal, adopted a cat and was happy… for now…

The Train of Horror

Once upon a time, I was a kid named Jack. It was a normal day in winter. I was sleeping. Suddenly, a letter popped in my window and flew to my bed. I opened it carefully, making sure my parents didn’t seem awake. The letter said, “Come to a train party, there will be hot cocoa and you will have a lot of fun.” I thought this was gonna be super fun. It said, “Go to fiftieth street at 3:30 PM.” I hid the letter in the drawer and then slept. 

The next morning, I forgot the letter, but then as soon as I saw the clock go to three, I remembered. I went into my room, grabbed the card, and ran to 50th street. And then I saw a line. A lot of people were lined up. There were kids like me. So I saw the time was 3:25. I quickly lined up. And then a man said,

 “Come in the train.” I couldn’t say what he looked like because he had a black hood on top of him, covering his face. We went inside. He said, “This will last a few days.” I thought that this would be no problem. So I saw a playground there. He thought that was pretty odd. But I was energetic so I invited two kids to come with me. 

They came and we played tag. Once we ran out of all our energy, we went back in. 

In all of the seats, everyone was missing. This was pretty odd. Then the guy with the black hood on top of him said they were on the way in a waterslide park in the train. Now I was thinking this would be pretty fun and odd too. It was too odd. How could there be a waterslide? Did they have infinite water? But I didn’t mind. I went to the water slide and I saw all the children who were jumping up and down in the water. And it was pretty great. After we were done playing in the waterslides, we all went to bed. Each room was carefully designed for three people. So then I thought this was perfect. I invited the ones I invited to the park. They said it was a great idea. I asked what their names were. The first one was Sammy, the second one was Rafa. I thought we were gonna be great friends. So, we went to bed. 

The next morning, a girl screamed on the train. Me, Sammy, and Rafa ran to where it came. We came to the room, opened the door, and already four kids were just standing there. I asked what happened and they said they didn’t know either. We opened the door and saw one of two roommates went missing. Now I was starting to think this was a really odd place. How could two kids go missing? We asked the four kids to investigate the room. They said okay. We searched every closet, including the roof. Finally, there was a footprint. Then, under the footprint, the plank was loose. He pulled it up and there was a letter. He told everyone to come. Everyone came. He read the letter out loud, making sure everyone could hear him. When everyone heard what was happening, they were now aware. I said for everyone to calm down, not tell the driver at all, because the driver was acting the most sus in the whole train. They agreed so we went to the water park. I said to Sammy and Rafa that we had to do something about this problem. They said that we should get more info so we did. I knew what the letter said. I didn’t want to tell it. I told it to Sammy and Rafa. It said,

 “DON’T RUN :D!” I knew something was up so I told them, 

“Don’t act scared because then whoever is doing this is going to react and attack.” So we agreed we had to get out of here. WAIT, OH NO. I realized we all remembered the legend on 50th street. A monster came trapping children, and when they said a word, they got their soul cut so that meant that the driver was the REAPER. Spread the word! They remembered 50th street was the most deserted place. It was the scariest. Whoever went there was never to be seen again so they investigated. No clues. We went to bed. 

Nothing happened, yet I sighed with relief. A scream filled the train. I expected the driver to come out but nothing. 

“Wait,” the girl said. She had a bad dream. “We know the REAPER is fattening us for the kill. We remember the REAPER got a curse. The only one he can kill is who is most afraid.” So it was good that she wasn’t that scared. So now I felt scared. I tried not to feel too scared. We went to sleep. I felt afraid. 

I felt like going to Rafa and Sammy and asking them to sleep with me, then someone opened the door. I sensed the REAPER close. I knew he had come for me and then as soon as he was about to cut my soul, my soul came back. A sigh of relief came to me. 

“What happened?” I was still afraid and the REAPER went away. Luckily, when we were about to go to sleep, we papered a button on the bed. When one of us pressed it, we alerted the other person that the REAPER was here. I pressed it: boom.

 “Yay!” I whispered. BOOM. The door slammed open. The REAPER came out. 

Of course, I think. The REAPER could hear every word we said but luckily he was all the way on the bottom of the train.

We survived the first night. I told Sammy and Rafa that the REAPER came into our room and was about to cut my soul. Sammy said,“There is another legend… it says one day, a boy and a group of 3 have powers. The first has the power to Command the animals, the second can control the ice and snow and water, the last cannot be cut by the REAPER but can kill him.” 

“THAT’S IT!” I told them I must be the one who can’t get cut and that was why my soul came back to me! I said, 

“Of course!”

 Sammy said, “But who are the other two?”

 “It’s YOU and Rafa!”

“No way,” Sammy said. “So what should we do?” said Sammy. 

“IDK,” I said. “Maybe we save everyone?”

“NO WAY,” said Rafa. 

“Why not?” I said.

“Because I know we have to save them but what about us?” said Rafa. 

“I agree,” said Sammy. 

“Let’s tell the crew,” I said. 

“Midnight 8:00 PM, another day of surviving,” I said. Luckily, no one screamed. “Wait!” *Lights turned off* “Sammy, Rafa!” They woke up. “What’s happening and the reaper is coming!” We went to bed faking. He passed right by us. Suddenly, dogs started to come in our room. That’s it! Rafa could control the animals. The REAPER saw. He came in the room and the dogs barked and attacked him, and wolves even started hopping in the window and attacking too and mice started to bite him. Cockroaches just annoyed him. The REAPER was scared of the animals. He was outnumbered and if he took a soul, they would devour him. He ran away, staying there, waiting for the next attack. They kept barking but then snow came in and stopped the barking. Its powder snow must have made a fluffy pillow and then a snowy hand closed the window.

Friends

Characters: 

BIYU (10): A kid who always annoys his older sister yet deeply cares about her and LOVES broccoli (weird, I know)

RIKU (15): A teen who just wants her space from others and wants friends

AIMI (15): Riku’s supposed best friend

RIKU and BIYU are in the field a bit away from their house. A few minutes later, RIKU starts walking to the house. As she walks off she says to BIYU:

RIKU

I’ll see you there. 

BIYU

(Staring off into the curtains) Hm, what’s that, Mom? You want Riku to get the heck out of my room? Oh, alright, I’ll tell her that. 

BIYU turns around, looks at RIKU, and smiles. 

RIKU

MoM sAiD tO gEt ThE hEcK oUtTa My RoOm!  

RIKU copies BIYU’s movements. 

BIYU

(Stares into the curtain again) What’s that, Mom? Tell Riku to stop bothering me? 

BIYU smiles. 

RIKU

But I —

RIKU

                                                      [Aside] Mother is always on Biyu’s side and it’s really annoying.

RIKU

Okay, mother . . . Sorry. . . Not sorry, Biyu. (She sniffs)

BIYU

                    [Aside] I never wanted Riku to be sad. Riku, wait!

RIKU

                                       [Aside] Time to call Aimi. 

Sighing, RIKU takes her phone out from her back pocket and scrolls through her contacts and finally comes across “BestFriend.”

917-397-2675.

Heyy, Aimi… My day hasn’t been the best. 

AIMI

Hey… Aw why. Was it your good for nothing brother? I never liked him anyways. [Aside] It’s not like I really care anyway

RIKU

You what…

She shakes her head and starts tearing up.

AIMI

[Aside] You weren’t supposed to hear that

Oh I was talking to my… 

[Aside] Nonexistent 

Brother. 

RIKU

Why are you lying to my face?

AIMI

HAHAHA don’t comment on me. (AIMI scoffs)

RIKU

I  didn’t, I’m — 

AIMI cuts the phone

AIMI

Annoying brat. (AIMI rolls her eyes) 

RIKU sighs, sits on her bed, and drenches her pillow, twirls her hair, then gets up and starts pacing around. 

RIKU

[Aside] Why did Aimi do that?

I’m worried about Aimi. She doesn’t act like this. 

BIYU walks into RIKU’s room and leans on the door frame.

BIYU

What did Aimi do? 

RIKU

Ugh nothing. Get out of my room… (RIKU shakes her head and turns away)

BIYU

You can’t lie to me, your face gives out what you’re feeling right away. (BIYU sighs) C’mon, don’t lie to me… I’ll try to help.

RIKU

Aimi snapped at me.

BIYU

I never liked her but… (BIYU sighs) If you really wanna repair your relationship… be the bigger person and go to her house.

AIMI

I hope she doesn’t bother me for forgiveness, it’s gonna be annoying… Although hurting her was nice it also hurt. She’s the only real friend I ever had.

AIMI shakes her head to get the thoughts out of her head. RIKU puts her jacket and shoes on and goes out of the house

RIKU

Ah, the wind feels so nice.

The fall breeze hits RIKU’s face. Her hair flows in the air and a tear streams down her face. All the people who are near RIKU freeze as she walks by. RIKU to the audience:

RIKU

I’ve been friends with Aimi my whole life. We have been best friends, we have gone through everything together. Was it my fault? Did I build this pressure between us up? Even if it was me being the bigger person. Does that make it right? No it doesn’t, saying sorry doesn’t repair your actions. It doesn’t actually show you’re sorry. You’re just asking for pity. But this always happens.. I always ask for pity even when it’s not my fault. Everyone thinks I’m a fool, but I (RIKU sighs). I understand that Aimi is using me. But I need someone to lean on even if they are using a fake persona.

Everyone on the stage starts moving again as RIKU wipes a tear off her face and arrives at AIMI’s.  Then shakily she rings the doorbell.

AIMI

Who could that be? (AIMI makes an annoyed face)

RIKU

I really hope she can forgive me…

AIMI

[Aside] Ugh is it RIKU?

RIKU keeps ringing the bell

AIMI

Coming, coming. 

AIMI stares at the door and makes an annoyed face, then proceeds to open it. AIMI tries to open the door but can’t.

RIKU

(As AIMI opens the door, RIKU tries to hide) I don’t wanna do this anymore..

AIMI

(AIMI proceeds to open the door). I know why you’re here. Come and sit on my couch. I’ll bring some tea out. 

RIKU

Stop this. Stop acting like you’re my friend. STOP, I KNOW YOU NEVER LIKED ME. NO ONE EVER DID.

AIMI

Well, why do you think no one liked you? Because you follow them around, make them feel guilty. HOW DO YOU THINK IT FEELS LETTING PEOPLE DOWN? 

RIKU

YOU NEVER LIKED ME. I DONT MATTER RIGHT, THIS FRIENDSHIP WAS NEVER REAL. I NEVER HAD FRIENDS BEFORE… AND EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY BE FAKE… I still care. (RIKU is on the floor covering her face, sobbing)

AIMI

Why…

The doorbell rings. AIMI proceeds to open it as RIKU is on the floor crying.

BIYU

Hey, Aimi I came to see… WHAT DID YOU DO TO RIKU?

AIMI

I didn’t do anything….

AIMI sighs. BIYU runs to RIKU and starts comforting her by hugging her.

BIYU

Look. I knew this was going to happen. That’s why I told you to come here. I knew all about her but..

RIKU

Even if  I won’t be your friend anymore…

BIYU

… Please don’t be her enemy…

AIMI goes up to RIKU and embraces RIKU softly…

CURTIN 

——————————————————————————————————————————-

THE ACTORS COME OUT AND BOW. 

Why We Shouldn’t Have Borders

See any borders? You don’t and it’s still our world

“All the borders in the world are man-made. There are no borders, we are all hooked together. Everything is connected. There is no line of demarcation. We are hooked together like the colors of a rainbow, our problem is ignorance, we don’t understand that.”-Bob Proctor. Borders can spark wars and cause deaths, borders can make nationality which can pinpoint people against other people and make people say and do mean things to other people.

According to Wikipedia, 56 wars from 1846-2020 have been partially if not 100% caused by borders. From the start of time, wars, battles, and deaths have been caused by borders. Over 100,000,000 deaths have happened because of borders. Without borders, the number of deaths would have fallen and wars would fade. WW1 was started because of borders and WW2 happened because of WW1. World War 1 was caused by the Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina which caused Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, to shoot the Austrian Archduke and his wife. This caused WW1 and eventually caused WW2, plus a total of 63,000,000 deaths. Without borders, this never would have happened. Also, with Covid, the U.S is still working on evaluating their testing, but countries like Rwanda have testing ready in up to three days. Without borders and nationality, countries could share their testing and it would save many lives. 

Borders also translate large feelings of nationality. This was another cause of World War I. And nationality is caused by borders! Nationality also causes problems with immigration. Also, without borders, immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers would be able to travel through countries freely without being pursued and assaulted by the local police, military, and regular passersby. Nationality also causes the people in these countries to do what they do. And without borders there would be no nationality and then nobody would do any of these horrible things. 

Thirdly, if you have no borders, countries wouldn’t need such powerful militaries. For example, the U.S. spent 718.69 billion dollars on the military in 2019. This is a drastic amount of money spent on the military when the country could be using this money for other things like healthcare and helping the homeless, both of which would help the population. Without borders, the U.S. would lower its military budget because there’d be no U.S., just the Earth as we know it. If this happened, millions of people’s lives would be saved. For example, Belgium, which is part of the EU, spends only 4614 million in U.S dollars for their military. The EU uses the same currency, and if you’re a French citizen and have a passport, you can easily travel to any country that is part of the EU. As a summary, the EU makes some parts of Europe borderless, and see how countries are able to cut down on military spending?

Finally, the world should have no borders because many wars have been caused by borders, borders give people a feeling of nationality which can make them hate other people from other countries, and without borders, countries wouldn’t have to spend so much money on the military. It could be used for other things like healthcare which can save millions of lives. This is why we should have no borders. 

“I am a Citizen of the World, and my Nationality is Goodwill.” –Socrates

The Blue Bunny

Statistics:

The Blue Bunny(halloween)

My name is Thomas Marshall. I’m afraid it is not entirely safe to display any part of my identification because of the Interceptors. 

The following is a complement of stories from the perspectives of people who witnessed The Blue Bunny, because it would be hard to capture a full story from only one person. At the end, I will present the one and only journal of The Blue Bunny itself. However, I have read neither of these, because I think that the stories told there would not be worth reading, because the Blue Bunny would be more mad if I actually read it.

I have been running away from the Interceptors for a very long time. They can do so much damage to one’s self, you truly can never be safe from them. I am constantly forced to move away from the Interceptors because they can breed so quickly, and send their DNA through the air and reform in another place. The shielding from some of them is beyond nowadays’ tech, so I must stay at least twenty meters away from them if I want anything other than cancer. It also is not amazing for you if you have COVID-19. Yes, coronavirus still exists. It has been about 30 very long years of Covid, because scientists are more concerned with the blue Bunny. There are so many Interceptors that it is nearly impossible to list all of them. Before, there was only one type. Then, another came, and made more of itself. Then the two species bred, and added in more complexity. Another species got stuffed into the mix when some were exposed to radiation. The others were combined, mutated, and gene-spliced to make the rest. It started mixing in with almost all the other species in the world to create an enormous band of animals ranging from strange bunny clowns, to pirate rabbits, to bears that do surgery. Some of them are so fast that a mile radius is the point to start expecting death in the next few seconds. Some are large enough to smush you under their feet. Some can hack into any device, and make them blow you up. But the Interceptors all have a natural skill for hacking, reading data, and bombing the internet with virus websites. That is why it is unsafe to give any info about me, because the Interceptors would be on me in a heartbeat. They have such a large database of all their victims, so if any name matches, they will immediately track me down. They have made the internet almost impossible to use for fear of getting a virus downloaded. They are exceptionally good at coding viruses, so merely opening Google could download an app, and send them an email giving them my exact latitude and longitude, my name, in which direction I might be going, and in no time I would be injected. The injections are not normal. They are meant to turn you into one of them, and they can come from any one of the Interceptors. They could give you it by simply biting you like a vampire, throwing carrots, or even the surgery bear could give you a full scale “inspection” with no anesthesia. The surgery bear is highly unqualified, and is very incompetent in the medical buisness. The only reason the bear will pay you a visit is to try and see how necessary lungs really are. And for some reason, he never remembers.

Now, for the first story, about me. I am Thomas Marshall.

Thomas Marshall, 8:00-8:30 A.M., 13/5/2013:

I believe, to my understanding, that the moment when it all started was when I looked up from my laptop because of the small shadow of a rabbit on the lobby security cam. That was the moment when I was aware that something was wrong. After the outlet exploded, I started to shuffle towards the door. When the door unscrewed its hinges, I started to jog. And after a 3-inch face to face encounter with a humanoid rabbit, standing up like a human, I ran away and located the nearest elevator. The elevator took so long that by the time it got up to the top floor I was positive that that weird rabbit would come to “meet and greet” me. But when it did, there wasn’t a bunny in sight. I cautiously walked out of the elevator, but quickly faced a rabbit leaping nearly five feet to tackle me.

“What? Stop it! Get off of me,” I said.

“Hey, mind if I borrow some of your feet? That should sum up my collection to about seventy-seven, and boy, I’ll be lucky then!” I started to run down the stairs as I came up with the conclusion that that rabbit thought human feet were lucky as humans thought rabbit feet were lucky. I had randomly heard somewhere that rabbits didn’t really like water, so I took some blue paint from the storage closet. Pretty much the same, seeing as I didn’t have time to go to the sink. So when the bunny was on the ground floor of the building, I dropped the paint. That may have been one of my biggest mistakes. The rabbit was definitely scarier being blue than a regular white or pink or grey bunny. After I ran down to warn the others, they quickly ran into the elevator. I noticed that one of them had a hang glider, which might be useful for getting away. Unfortunately, there was only room for one. When we got to the top of the elevator, the Blue Bunny was standing in front of us.

James is a nine year old boy who lives in an apartment building with his mom, Charlie; his dad, Otto; and his sister, Fiddle. He and his family were going camping. His uncle is named D.J. Dunce.

James Nick, 8:30-8:32 A.M. 13/5/2013:

“Hey! There is a Blue Bunny! Come with me into the elevator! It’s perfectly safe! But I warn you, I think it is evil!” After that guy told us that, my sister lost it.

“Ah! We’re going to die! The Blue Bunny! Ah! Nooo!” Wow, that was a big reaction. This is James Nick here, speaking from the elevator, hopefully not going to get killed. Oh wait, I already was killed (almost) by my sister. At the top, the Blue Bunny was there.

“Hey guys, I need some feet ‘cause one guy didn’t want to give me his feet,” said the bunny. Oops, I got caught. It kind of scared me. I mean, he really could have done a better job, but still, the idea of stealing feet is a little freaky. Anyway, we decided to go back down the elevator to the lobby, because the rabbit had other plans, clearly. So it was a little creepy, but another scare would probably cross the line.

Fiddle is a twelve year old girl, who is James’ sister.

Fiddler Abacus, 8:30-8:32 A.M. 13/5/2013

“Hey! There is a Blue Bunny! Come with me into the elevator! It’s perfectly safe! But I warn you, I think it is evil!” James nearly fainted and started hyperventilating. His reaction was so dramatic that I was sure he was faking it.

“Oh, no, the end has come, and this is most likely the last second of my life!”

“Um, it’s just a bunny. Oh, stop it. We aren’t going to die. Besides, I thought you like rabbits.” He continued screaming, saying some things so dramatic and cliché that I would prefer not to put them here. I am Fiddle, here in the elevator, slowly inching away from James to try and get to the corner of the elevator. However, I have found this difficult with James possibly having symptoms of a sugar rush; running around, banging on the walls, and randomly punching elevator buttons. When we got to the top I had decided what I would do with this rabbit, assuming it really was evil. So when the rabbit sprang onto us, I tried to walk it to the edge of the building. Of course, it didn’t work out. Everyone else was pulling me back towards the elevator. James punched the down button on the elevator, and the last thing I saw was a rabbit jumping on somebody.

D.J. Dunce is a disk jockey who lives in Canada. He is the uncle of James and Fiddle, and took a trip to their apartment to go camping with them.

D.J. Dunce, 8:30-8:32 A.M., 13/5/2013:

“Hey! There’s a Blue Bunny! Come with me into the elevator! It’s perfectly safe! But I warn you, I think it is evil!” Well, that sounds boring! Waiting in an elevator, hoping some rabbit  doesn’t get you! As it turned out I was absolutely right! Boring! If only I had a bambox, a jukebox, or a CD player, I could brighten this place up! Me and four discs! But sadly, I left my bambox, CD player, DvD player, Blu-ray player, full desk set, and my two double-speaker radios, not including all of my 60 discs. Even a phone could do the trick. Whoa! Cool rabbit! Boom! Kind of creepy, but wow! Cool photoshop! Wait no, that’s not photoshop. Guess I’ll go along with the rest of the gang, on their camping trip. Oh, wait! I should get my Bambox.

Thomas Marshall, 8:32-8:36 A.M., 13/5/2013

I ran with the paraglider to the edge of the building, and jumped off. I had, of course, forgotten the superior ability of leaping when it comes to hares and rabbits. And so, after a little unwilling glug from a bottle the bunny was holding, I let go. From my perspective, the next thing that happened was me falling into a pit. When I reached the bottom, I felt something crawl up my back and land sitting on my head. After that, for some weird reason, I could jump a lot higher.

D.J. Dunce, 8:32-10:00 A.M., 13/5/2013:

Alright, I got my bambox! Time to get my discs! I got way too many discs to stuff into my backpack. So I took forty to my backpack, five to my left pocket, five to my right pocket, and ten to hold in my hands. I didn’t know where the others were, so I assumed they were at the top. They weren’t, so I went back down. Rabbit jumpscare! Ha ha ha! They were in the lobby, walking out the door. I ran after them (which wasn’t super easy with all my sixty discs and players) and just made it through before they closed the door.

“Where were you?” they asked.

“I had to get my discs, yo,” I replied. “To play about sixty discs on our trip!”

“Whoopie. What’s the first one called again?”

“The bookworms song?”

“Great.”

“Seriously! Let’s listen to some in the car!” We got into the car, and drove away.

***

When we got out of the car, we were in the forest. I set up all the music equipment behind a tree, and the others set up the tent. The moment the others stepped into the tent, I pressed the play button. However, I never got to hear the music.

James Nick, 8:32-10:00 A.M.13/5/2013

“Where is D.J. Dunce??? We need him ASAP!” said my mother.

“I don’t know! He just ran away to get something,” said Fiddle.

“Let me guess. To get his bambox,” I said.

“Let’s just go, he doesn’t even want to come!”

“Fine, fine. Get in the car, everyone!”

“Wait, he’s over there!”

“Where were you?”

“I had to get my discs, yo,” he said. “To play sixty discs on our trip!”

“Whoopie. What’s the first one called again?”

“The bookworms song?”

“Great.”

“Seriously! Let’s listen to some in the car!”

“Alright, everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

 ***

I realized it was lightly raining when we got out. It took us over an hour to set up the tent. I had no idea where D.J. Dunce was, and we really needed his help. The tent was really a basic structure, but with a rain collector on the top of it.

“Oh, where are you, D.J. Dunce? This thing is going to collapse,” said my mother. I struggled to hold up the top, but with the rain collector on it, it was nearly impossible.

“D.J. Dunce! Please! We need you now!”  The tent started to sag with the weight of the rain. The collector overflowed. It became too heavy for us to lift and we dropped it. The collector spilled water over all of us, soaking us from head to toe. It was a little hard to believe that so much water was contained inside that pot. I finally spotted D.J. Dunce and glared at him. I saw him push a button on his D.J. Deck, and music started blaring at us.

“AND THEN THEY READ!”

Fiddler Abacus, 8:32-10:00 A.M.13/5/2013

“Where is D.J. Dunce? We need him now!” said my mother.

“I don’t know! He just ran away to get something!” I said.

“Let me guess. To get his Bambox,” said James.

“Let’s just go, he doesn’t even want to come.”

“Fine, fine. Get in the car everyone!”

“Wait, he’s over there!”

“Where were you?”

“I had to get my discs, yo, ” he said. “To play sixty discs on our trip!”

“Whoopie. What’s the first one called again?”

“The bookworms song?”

“Great.”

“Seriously! Let’s listen to some in the car!”

“Alright, everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

***

I took the big pot out of the trunk when we got out. It was raining, so we decided to have a rain collector. The tent was a small green one, but flat at the top for the rain collector. A thick pole went through the middle of it to support the collector. However, the pole was basically a tree trunk. It could not support the full weight of the pot. D.J. Dunce said that he would go out and find something stronger, but he didn’t come back. The tree trunk cracked, and we had to hold the pot up with our bare hands. The pot was going to fall on top of us if D.J. Dunce didn’t come immediately. I saw him behind a tree, setting up a D.J. deck. I glared at him. The pot was just too heavy, and we dropped it, spilling water all over us. D.J. Dunce pressed a green button and music started shooting out of his speakers. But as I called him over one final time, he disappeared. He left the music still playing, and I ran over to his deck. The buttons had no labels on them, and none of them worked. I thought there would be a normal power button, but I was wrong. All the buttons were the same size, and all green. D.J. Dunce was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, the rain stopped. And as crazy as it sounds, the surrounding area was completely dry. Even our clothes. But the weirdest part was that a weird campfire suddenly sprang to life, and a tree fell on top of it.

James Nick, 10:00-10:05 A.M. 13/5/2013

The music kept on playing. Fiddle went over to try and turn it off, but it didn’t work. She called for D.J. Dunce, and as soon as she did, the rain stopped, and everything dried up. A campfire that we never made burst into flame, and a nearby tree fell on it.

“Forest fire!” cried Fiddle. We noticed another tent suddenly sprang up beside us and we all ran into it. As it turned out, D.J. Dunce was with us.

“D.J. Dunce! Where were you?” D.J. Dunce froze, not moving, not looking at any of us. “Well? The rain collector soaked us all!”

“You are not wet,” said D.J. Dunce.

“Still, the tent collapsed!”

“Um, I don’t think so.” He gestured to the ceiling of the tent.

“How do you operate your bambox?” asked Fiddle.

“What’s a bambox?”

“I thought you knew!”

“Why are you calling me a D.J.?”

“Because you are D.J. Dunce!”

“Think again!” And he stood up. He looked down at us, grinned, and fell flat on his back. Fiddle touched his face and said she felt plastic. A very long, blue ear shot out of the top of his head and wrapped around Fiddle’s arm. It curled down his face and pulled his mask off, revealing his blue face.

“Haha, you got me. Mind if I borrow a few limbs?” 

That was just too much for everyone. We ran out the tent door, and got in the car. It wasn’t until we got back to the building that we realized the bunny was in the trunk.

Fiddler Abacus, 10:00-10:05 A.M. 13/5/2013

“Forest fire!” I yelled. A tent appeared out of nowhere beside us. I had no time to think about who was doing this. I just ran to the tent and jumped in, and everyone else followed. D.J. Dunce was among them.

“D.J. Dunce! Where were you?” I asked. D.J. Dunce stopped moving completely. It looked as though he had been turned to stone. “Well? The rain collector soaked us all!”

“You are not wet, ” said D.J. Dunce.

“Still, the tent collapsed!”

“Um, I don’t think so.” He gestured to the ceiling of the tent.

“How do you operate your bambox?” I asked.

“What’s a bambox?”

“I thought you knew!”

“Why are you calling me a D.J.?”

“Because you are D.J. Dunce!”

“Think again!” He rose, grinning creepily. He fell over onto his back. I reached my hand out and touched his face.

“It’s plastic,” I said. Suddenly, a blue ear shot out from the top of his head and curled around my wrist. The other ear reached down and grabbed at his chin, and pulled a plastic mask off. It had a blue face, with wide, scary eyes, and a mouth that was smiling weirdly. It was the blue bunny.

“Okay, you got me. Could I just borrow some body parts for my bulletin board?” 

Nobody could handle that. We all bolted to the car and started it up. When we got out, the bunny was inside.

And finally, the Blue Bunny itself. I copied this story from a page in his journal. I will never read this, because he would be very angry if he knew I read this.

The Blue Bunny, 8:00-10:00 A.M. 13/5/2013

Ooh, the feet! Just a few watchy thingies to dodge, and the footies will be mine! A few extra outlet explosions wouldn’t hurt. Here we go! Here is the short circuit. BOOM! The outlet fizzled, then crackled, then every light, computer, and every device plugged into the outlet exploded, then went dark. Bits of white hot metal flew out from the outlets. Next, I jumped up the stairs, and stood outside the door of a room. I pulled out a screwdriver and unscrewed the door hinges. The door fell to the ground with a crash. I quickly ran out of the way before the guy inside saw me. I jumped down to the bottom of the stairs. The guy followed behind me, but delayed by about half a minute. I waited under the staircase, and stuck some explosive under it. The explosive would go off ten seconds after it was lit, so I had to time it perfectly. I lit the explosive twenty steps under the person, and in exactly ten seconds, the stair the person was on suddenly blew up, and the guy fell to the ground. When he got up, I made sure to get up close to him. He sat up and screamed. He ran to the elevator, and pressed the up button. I slowly ran towards him to scare him as much as possible. He got in just in time. I ran to the spot where there were no stairs above me, and jumped. I crashed through the roof and landed outside the elevator door. I stepped back, so that I was behind the elevator door, and jumped on to the elevator station. When the door finally opened, and the guy walked out, I jumped on top of him. Now, for the routine…

“Hello, good sir, may I borrow a foot or two?”

“Get off!” 

“Oops, sorry, I just would like to sum my collection up to seventy-seven, that’s all.”

“You collect feet?”

“Of course! Don’t you?” He ran into the elevator, and went to the bottom floor. I waited patiently at the top of the elevator, and when the doors opened, I stepped right up so that my nose was pressed against the door.

“Oh, thank you! You brought more feet!” One of the guys, the one I was chasing earlier, took a hang glider out of another person’s hands, and ran off the side of the building. I compared the distance between me and the glider, and my speed and the glider’s speed. I worked it out, and figured I should jump as hard as I could if I wanted to make it in three seconds. I leaped off the side and landed on top of the glider. The glider took a small dive, then straightened. I pulled a small bottle out of my utility belt, and stuffed it into the person’s mouth. He fell asleep instantly. I caught him before he fell, and we glided along far away, to an island. My first idea was to just leave him there and get his feet, but then I remembered the bunny ears Captain VunnIe had given me. The ears were almost like a headband, but with real bunny ears on them. I landed on the sand, but not very well. I tossed the guy in the pit as soon as he woke up, and threw the ears on his head. His skin started to turn blue, and his shoes started to fall off. His feet grew twice their original size, and he jumped up to meet me.

“Hello, Bunny.”

“Go away! What have you done to me? How did you do this? Why?”

“I thought it would be handy to have a couple extra bunnies. You know, to help me around, and stuff.”

“And why would I?”

“You are about to become a Blue Bunny, but I first will need to do some extra things.”

“No, don’t. I will run away if I have to.”

“How? You have no boat, and bunnies can’t swim.” He really did look puzzled, and he thought for a moment.

“How did you get here?” 

Even though I knew I shouldn’t say anything, I just had to tell him.

“A plane. Right over there.” I pointed to a plane behind a tree. He ran to it and fumbled with the controls. I ran after him, but before I got to him, he had already started the engine, and risen high enough that I couldn’t jump up to him (not to brag, but almost twenty meters). I called up to him, and shouted to come back, but he wouldn’t turn the plane around. I was trapped on the island, with little chance of getting off. Suddenly, I saw the plane turn around back, and I realized the person had been kind enough to bring me the plane back. I quickly jumped to it, and turned around, before the plane made a landing. The plane hit an air pocket, and jolted suddenly. I realized that getting Thomas wouldn’t benefit me much at all. I did see the other people with him though. I could get them. So I lowered the plane beneath the clouds, so I could see the ground below me. I was flying over the city already, which meant if I was going to catch them, I needed to turn sharply, by about 270°. I swooped towards the lobby entrance, when near there I saw a blue car with five passengers inside, passengers I recognized. I followed the car, and pulled out another device Captain VunnIe  had given me. It was a long range microphone that could pick up on talking from a mile away. I pointed it at the car and listened for something that could tell me where they were going, but I could hardly hear anything over the music. 

“D.J. Dunce, that music is getting to be a little annoying,” said one person.

“Okay, okay.” The music got quieter, and stopped. I could hear them much better now.

“So, plans for the camping trip?” That was all I needed. I knew there was one and only one camping site, so I followed the car towards the site. I landed  in the camping site, in an open area, but away from the people in the car. The area was a circle of  grass without trees. All around it, there were trees. I got there ten minutes before them, and by the time they got there, it was raining. The people in the car set up a tent, with a rain collector on the top. However, not everyone was there. One person was in the trees on the edge of the circle, with a table set up. I snuck towards him, and pulled out the last gift Captain VunnIe had given me. It was a strange cube, with one button on each side of the cube.  Each button had an image on it, one with a rain cloud on it, another with a sun on it, another with a symbol of snow on it. I quickly tripped him and fed him a drug that would make him fall asleep. The drug worked very well, he fell asleep almost instantly. I pressed the button on the weather cube, the sun icon. The clouds seemed to dissipate. The rain instantly stopped. Everything was perfectly dry. I pulled out a plastic mask I had made myself, and pulled it over my face. I ran into the trees, where the other people were, and built up a small campfire. I chopped down a tree with a laser, and it fell onto the campfire. I used the laser to burn the tree further, and a full forest fire sprang up. I built up a tent as fast as I could, and told the others to go into the tent. As the others came in, I went back. I did some quick scaring, which I will not show here. I ran out of the tent when I was done, and went into the trunk of the car. After that, I got back to the island. 

If you are thinking about sharing this information, don’t. If the Blue Bunny sees you with this, he will kill you. If you think Google Drive is safe, it isn’t. In fact, he owns the website. But as far as Google knows, they have total control. But enough spoilers. You’ll read about that in the next book. This info is for just you, just so that you’ll know about the Blue Bunny.

Tuck’s Grand Adventure

Once upon a time, there was a dog called Tuck. There was also a villain named Mr. Stupido. Mr. Stupido was, as you can guess, stupid. He wanted a magical snake that attracted dogs because he thought that dogs were cows and he tried to milk the dogs. Naturally, as dogs aren’t cows, there wasn’t any milk, and Mr. Stupido went on a search for the snake dog toy. One day, he got it. The magical dog toy was Tuck’s before Mr. Stupido stole it, so Tuck went on a quest to find his dog toy and to save all dogs from being milked. (He didn’t know that part yet.) 

There was only one thing on his side. Tuck was adorable! He used his charm to get lots and lots of food. Tuck began his quest by walking through his backyard. He got a little ways out when he thought, Oh boy, I want to chew something! 

He sniffed around his backyard until he found a really good stick. Then, he picked it up and started chewing. He kept walking. Soon, Tuck got hungry. He chased a few mice but they all ran away. Soon, he found an even better squirrel! He caught it. Tuck kept walking by the side of the stream where he had gotten the scent of Mr. Stupido and his toy. (Being stupid, Mr. Stupido left a really obvious trail.) 

Tuck saw a house nearby. It wasn’t Mr. Stupido’s, but Tuck was getting hungry so he begged for food and got some. The next house was Mr. Stupido’s, and it had a big sign on the front that said, “The home of Mr. Stupido,” so he walked in and got the toy. (Mr. Stupido didn’t have any security system.) When Mr. Stupido saw Tuck, he waved and said, “Hi, cowie!”

Tuck let all the dogs out and then went back home with all of the dogs (because he had the dog toy) and took a nice, long nap.

Sights – A Haiku Collection

#3

Sleek skies of Heaven

Fill the empty void above us

All blue as always

#6

The mountain goes up

Beyond the mist of the day

No eye can see so

#8

When my fist reaches

The red blood runs under my thumb

And to my own arm

#12

It was a dark time

When the leaves were black with evil

I was so very scared

#22

The springlight of night

Fills my cold, hungry soul with beauty

I smile wearily, extend hands

#31

As the sun dies away

I realize it’s not all trustable

It dies like us, too

I, Broken Girl

Can you see?

Can you see what is happening?

Can you see I am suffering?

No. You do not.

No. You only saw a weak, mindless girl.

No pity. Just a girl who has gotten a taste of this world.

I have tasted it before.

I have been in it before.

I am not naive or dumb.

My name is Sarah.

My name is ordinary.

My name is not like me.

Me. The broken, tired girl.

Me. Who has not seen love for years.

Me. Who no one cares for.

My possessions are gone.

My hope is dim.

My heart is cracking.

Before, I was happy.

Before, I was loved.

Before, I was truly me.

After, I was broken.

After, I was looked upon as less.

After, I was changed.

Now, I am broken.

Now, I am looked upon as less.

Now, I am drowning.

We, the broken.

We, the crybabies.

We, the changed.

Do you see the truth now?

Do you feel my feelings now?

Do you remember me now?

The Afterthen

Chapter 1 – Surprised

It was a Wednesday. Alexis was procrastinating on her math homework, as usual. The sunflowers were bending upward and soaking in the sunshine. As it got warmer out, they seemed to be moving further and further from their wintertime weakness. Their petals glowed with raw magic and their hay green centers swirled like whirlpool water into the tall, thick stems. Then, she heard a rumbling behind her. She whipped her head around. So maybe, although Alexis would kill me if she found out I said this, it was just her pet poodle, Daffodil, growling at this toy she had that looked just like her. Alexis was just so bored in this beautifully magical town that she was combing through her almost-but-not-quite perfect days, searching for something even remotely spooky or dangerous. But eventually, she’d have to get back to her math homework or Mrs. LaNeil would kill her. She flopped back down in her chair, and, while tapping her pencil repeatedly between problems, she struggled through the remaining six sheets. That’s right, six sheets. Oh, teachers back then…

I don’t know exactly why Alexis had to procrastinate so much, since, to my dismay, I could not get that out of her. But my theory, which is probably right, (I consider myself to be very well acquainted with her), is that her pride simply would not allow her to be a good little girl and finish it early like everyone else at her school.

Once she finished, she flopped down on her boring pink bed and wished and wondered. She wished she didn’t have such a dull life. She wondered why she stuck out, why no one was like her, why she had to be alone.

The next afternoon was Friday, thank the sunflowers. She relaxed and read. Her ridiculous school uniform was on the floor. It included a pink hair bow, a white dress, pink tights, white ruffly socks, and shiny pink Mary Janes.

After a few weeks of dull routines, Alexis received a pristine white envelope with her name and address stamped on it in shiny gold leaf. She was not impressed. Probably some letter from a stupid teacher complaining about stupid grades. When she opened it, she collapsed on her plush white rug. Every year for every eleven year old in the village, there was an official tournament. Not for sewing, or spelling, or math. This was a tournament of magic.

And you may not know, but Alexis was special when it came to magic. She was easily the most powerful in her grade. Alexis could fly, make her hair burn or turn into red-hot, dripping lava, and so many other amazing things. But her specialty was earth. She could pick up pebbles and spin them into gold. She could pick up gold and spin it into pebbles. She could crush you in a second with a grain of sand. No one else was completely aware of it, but she was probably more powerful than many of the masters.

So she jumped and flew off her balcony, down into the fields of emerald grass. The trees were perfect; scarlet, golden, and deep blue. Her high, silver combat boots dug into the fertile soil. Then she practiced. She spun rocks above her fingers. She mined diamonds out of the ground by using all the effort in her body, and turned them into a tall tower. Next, she spiraled around the tower, all the way up. Then she shattered it to pieces, and did backflips and frontflips in the air as she came down.

After hours and hours, she worked out a routine. She was proud of herself. She knew she could win the tournament, but there was a few months before this would happen. It was an agonizingly long amount of time to wait. She leapt back up onto her balcony and went back inside. Besides, the sun was beginning to set. She had one of her usual late dinners alone in the dining room before heading to bed. That night, she tossed and turned. She didn’t think she would be able to wait. Her parents had better be ready for another drop in her grades. She didn’t care about that, though. Her worry, besides the long wait for the tournament, was that competition for the Sapphire Crown (the prize of winning the tournament) coming up, with the long amount of time for practice and improvement. This might wreck Alexis’s chance and the Sapphire Crown, which was the key to the most exciting opportunities in Sunflower. It was a secret, but it was what Alexis craved the most. The crown also brought respect to its champions. This adventure might come with a friend. After all these years of loneliness, someone might finally just walk up and invite her over for mango smoothies one day. Well, banana shakes would be preferable; after all, the mangos in Sunflower were awfully sour. But really, Alexis wouldn’t mind if it was rotten sunflower stems. Which some adults liked. Not that she understood why. 

Now there is really something I have to tell you. Alexis was not acknowledging the second part of the Sapphire Crown contest. Nobody knew what happened in the dark and shadowed second stage. Only one person made it past the first stage, which was the routine Alexis was making. Once the winner had completed the unknown second stage, they were forbidden to speak of it. That is, if they survived. 

Chapter 2 – The Contest

A few months was far too long for Alexis to wait. She had her routine completed, including all the finishing touches, and even a stunning outfit. (In my opinion, there was no need for her routine, despite its glory, because I am positive that she could have won the tournament with just that outfit. But she didn’t ask me). However, a few months is not forever, and the day came. It was conveniently over a break so all the teachers and students were free, as well as the stay-at-home parents and the town leaders and every other person in the village. Even the animals were free that week. Even the sunflowers, naturally. Moving on.

Alexis walked a short distance to the field where the competition was held. There were chairs set up in neat rows in the grass. She sat next to her mother, since she had no friends to sit with. She watched the other children perform their talents. She clapped politely after each one, but really she was terrified. The talents were just getting better and better and it seemed that every one of them would be that tiny bit better than her. That meant everything in a competition like this. She performed her routine as #56. 20 remained. It was rather uneventful. Now, I don’t mean that the crowd wasn’t impressed. Just that they weren’t really surprised at what she’d done.

At the end of the competition, the leaders walked onto the stage. They took folded yellow papers and passed them out to students. Before Alexis could open hers, some black-haired girl who could fly opened her paper and petals came out. This signaled that she had won the competition. Alexis’s expression was completely blank at first, and she worked hard to keep it that way. Her emotions and mind still felt frozen, unable to process the information overload. Alexis had been a close second. Very good, but not what she’d been hoping for. You see, she had been hoping to win. She dipped her head to her parents and left, only allowing the tears to stream down her cheeks when she was out of sight.

. . .

She hid in her room and cried. She didn’t know what was going to happen to her now. Her life was surely over. Everything was over. She could never…

“Alexis,” her brother Lincoln said, the door slowly opening.

“Go away.”

“Alexis, listen. The girl who won chose not to accept. That means you won.”

Alexis’s whole world brightened. Then she remembered the second task. She was nervous, but any place it sent her would be better than here. So she got up, wiped her eyes as best she could and walked to the field.

It was all a blur, really. Flashes of do you accept and I do and very well and things like that. But everything slowed down when they read out the second task.

“Your second task is to go into the Afterthen and save it. You must survive and come home to win the Sapphire Crown.”

“Wha-What is the Afterthen?” Alexis asked nervously. 

“The Afterthen is a land very near here that is stuck in a time warp. It is under the rule of tyrannical people who use time all wrong.” This was interesting. She was supposed to save a whole land from evil rulers and time itself? Great. A portal appeared next to the stage. “Are you ready to go now? Simply step through the portal and then you will be in the Afterthen.”

Alexis stepped through the portal before she had time to think better of it.

Chapter 3 – The Beach of Shoes

The first thing she saw in the Afterthen was a beach covered in shoes. Something in the sand was pulling her shoes off, and she felt a strange urge to be barefoot. But she resisted. She liked her shoes. Besides, there was no point in going into a dangerous land without shoes on her feet. Once she pulled away, the sand moved in another direction. Since she had nowhere else to go, she followed the wave of wet sand. As she walked further and further down the beach, she saw a figure moving in place. Closer now. It was a girl. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was running or at least was trying to. Her body repeated the same motions again and again, but didn’t move forward or backward.

Alexis inspected her closely. The air around her was purplish and moved around slowly, like fog. Alexis stuck her hand in the fog. It suddenly moved very slowly, but she was able to grab the girl’s hand and pull her out so she collapsed, breathless, on the ground.

“Who are you?” Alexis asked.

“I’m Hailee. Sunflower sent me to the Afterthen on a quest to save it, but I got stuck in this time warp.”

“I didn’t know anyone from Sunflower who has been sent to the Afterthen.” Alexis said. But maybe…

“I heard a girl fifty years ago got sent to another place in her second stage and never came back. Maybe that’s what’ll happen to you once you get to your second stage,” her brother had once joked to her.

“Hailee. Listen, I think you are from fifty years ago.”

“That’s possible.” Hailee said.
“Do you know anything about the Afterthen?”

“Well, I don’t know a lot, but this is what I do know. A long time ago, Sunflower was part of the Afterthen. Sunflower, which hasn’t changed much since then, acted as a safe refuge to lost travelers and anyone who happened to be in the extension of the time warp, really. Now, the leaders of the Afterthen didn’t like this, because they want as much time as they need while the rest of the land gets nothing. So they stole the time from Sunflower. They threatened to fast forward everyone in the town to their deaths if Sunflower did not break away. Sunflower, of course, agreed, so a powerful magician turned the town into an island and sent it away, and, well, that’s how we ended up where we are.”

“Wow. I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…” Alexis began, but then gasped as if the air was sucked out of her when really it was the time and felt herself slipping into a time warp.

“GO! RUN! QUICKLY!” Hailee screamed.

They ran as fast as they could during the breaks in the time warp, but had to go slowly during the moments that it was in effect.  Now, you will be noticing this more and more in the story, so let me explain what is actually happening to these girls. You see, the time was moving from the area where they were to some other poor place where everyone would find themselves with too much time. It would pile up all around the people, and when they hit the piles time would slow down or speed up. People would be constantly teleporting from time period to time period, but I’m getting off topic. I think I know this story too well.

Moving on. With no other place to go, Alexis and Hailee dove into the ocean. Then the surface disappeared, and suddenly Alexis was drowning, but what did she feel beneath her feet, that grainy substance. Sand.

“What just happened?” Alexis panted.

“Well, that was the Ocean of Time. It just tried to rob us. We’re out now though, but we better get out fast, because it’s sure to be furious at us.”

“But why would it try to rob us?” Alexis was forced to scream this because the tide was loud and angry.

“Because the Afterthen used time frivolously and wasted it all somehow. However, that was a long, long time ago. These days, they rob it from whoever is around.” The ocean started pulling at Alexis’ feet and she felt so relaxed like she had all the time in the world. Some part of her knew this was bad, but the ocean seemed so kind and welcoming.  She snapped out of her trance soon enough, though, most likely because Hailee pulled her away, and the world around them morphed into a field of flowers and field mice.

“This is the Field of Mice,” Hailee observed from a small leather notebook she took out of her frilly skirt pocket.

Chapter 4 – Eye of the Hurricane

Alexis raised her eyebrows at the name. Hailee gave her a look.

“The people in the Afterthen are too busy wasting time to be creative about names. Besides, it’s not like it matters, as long as we will be relatively safe here, which we will be,” she reminded Alexis. Alexis had to agree. They kept walking.

After a few hours, they became hungry and tired so they stopped for a break. Alexis crafted bowls and cups out of earth. Hailee snapped her fingers, and suddenly rain came pouring down, filling the dishes with cold, clean water. 

“Impressive,” Alexis remarked.

“Yeah, I can control the weather,” Hailee said with a proud look on her face that she was having a terrible time hiding. Alexis dumped the water out of the bowls and grabbed Hailee’s hand. 

“Come on,” she said, grinning, “I know some edible flowers that make a delicious salad.” The girls hunted for daylilies for about half an hour. When they came back, their hands and pockets were stuffed with enough petals to give each girl several helpings of salad (not to mention what they had eaten while walking). They filled their bowls with pale pink and yellow blossoms and had a good meal, leaving them refreshed and ready to continue the journey ahead of them. Alexis buried the dishes, so no one would know the girls had been there.

The Field of Mice went on for what seemed like forever. When the sun began to set, the pair slept under the stars, the soft grass and daisies cushioning them, the traces of the daylilies still in their mouths.

They slept until 11:00 the next morning, and they were still so tired they would have slept for longer, but Alexis spotted the end of the Field of Mice a mile away. Normally, this would be hard to notice since it was so far, but as you know, this field is very colorful and very green, and what came after it looked black and burnt, so the contrast made it easy to see. She tapped Hailee’s shoulder to wake her up.

“I guess we’ve reached the end of the Field of Mice,” Hailee said.

“Do you know what that black place is?” Alexis asked.

“No, not yet.”

“What do you mean, not yet?”

“Here, I’ll show you,” Hailee responded, taking the rough leather notebook out of her pocket again. “This is how the notebook works. It is an enchanted item that Sunflower handed out to visitors before they left the Afterthen. They gave me one before my quest. I imagine they’re all gone now, after fifty years. Anyway. Basically, when I am in a certain place in the Afterthen, the notebook will show me the name of where I am, along with a short description and the appropriate warnings for wherever I am. So I can’t see what that place is until we are actually there.”

“Useful. But we should keep moving,” Alexis observed.

And that is what they did. Hailee put the notebook back into her skirt pocket, which was so frilly and poofy that no one would notice if you put an elephant into it. That mile was a boring mile, well, as boring as something could be when there was so much dread in the air. Because of this dread, Alexis was looking for something to distract her. Her wandering eyes stopped on Hailee’s bare feet.

“Was the reason you got stuck in the time warp the fact that you have no shoes?” Alexis asked. “After all, I didn’t get stuck in one, and I have shoes.”

“Well, it was probably just luck,” Hailee contradicted her. “Time in the Afterthen is random. You can’t expect it to have any kind of rhyme or reason. On the other hand, you might be partly right. People who fall for tricks are more likely to end up in dilemmas.”

“So?” Alexis said skeptically, not getting the point.

So, it’s partly my bad luck and partly my idiocy.”

“Interesting conclusion.”

The girls kept walking, forgetting the strange conversation in their dread. As they drew closer to the black place, the flowers became less common and the grass thinned out, until they were on a near-scorched field.

You may have guessed by now. They had reached the black place.

Chapter 5 – STAY AWAY

Hailee opened her notebook, but it was empty. She gasped. However, in a few seconds, words slowly appeared across the page. They were large and hastily written, as if scrawled by someone in a hurry. It wasn’t difficult to read though. Alexis could clearly see the message:

STAY AWAY

“This isn’t a good sign,” Hailee whispered in her shock. A shady figure stepped out from behind a cliff. He wore old timey detective clothes and was evidently from a time portal somewhere nearby. He took a small dagger from his pocket. And threw it directly at Alexis.

. . .

Luckily, Alexis blocked it with a wall of sparkling emeralds.

“You’ve got taste,” Hailee observed.

Alexis viewed her work with satisfaction. She peeked out. She noticed that the man was gone. She also noticed that instead of one dagger stuck in the wall of emeralds, there were at least a dozen. Whoever that man was, he was someone to watch out for. Despite the safety of expensive and glittery shields.

They stayed cautious as they walked through the almost never ending black place. They didn’t encounter many dangers, which was suspicious. It didn’t last forever, though. Within a few hours, they spotted an army of redcoats marching towards them, wielding muskets and bayonets. Eventually the tense march turned into an all-out battle, with Alexis tossing men into the air and Hailee striking down entire regiments with lightning bolts. More kept appearing. It was an impossible fight.

The girls ducked into an alley. They had a minute or so before there was the sound of footsteps behind them. But not thousands of footsteps. Just one person. It was a medieval knight. Then suddenly it transformed into a boy. His eyes constantly changed color and his clothes seemed to change styles every second.

“My name is Jack. I can get you out of here.” The boy promptly transformed into a redcoat.

“How did you do that?” Alexis asked suspiciously.

“There isn’t time to explain. Now, come on. You’ll have no trouble at all getting through them now.” With that, Jack tapped both of the girls and transformed them into soldiers. They would have protested, but an officer’s fancy shoes were heading toward the alley.

They blended in easily with the redcoats. Eventually, the army turned and started heading back in the direction of the Field of Mice. Alexis assumed that they were continuing the patrol. The trio broke off from patrol and transformed back into themselves again.

“I’ve been traveling around the Afterthen since I was little. I’ve never gotten this far. How did you do it?” Jack said.

“I guess we just got lucky,” Hailee said, shrugging.

“What’s that in the distance?” Alexis asked.

There was a field similar to the Field of Mice. It had no time portals and looked safe. Except for one thing. There was a golden palace, guarded by tiny camo dots.

“The palace of the rulers. Once you get inside, they’re quite vulnerable. And we can deal with the guards.”

Alexis simply could not believe it. She was nearing the end of her quest. All they needed to do was get past the guards and lock the rulers in some remote dungeon. Everything suddenly came together. The rulers used time wrong. If they were stripped of their power the armies from history would disappear. Perhaps one of the Sunflower rulers could take the throne. 

Despite the excitement, the journey took weeks of hard traveling. They ate dried petals that were leftover from before the black place. Eventually though, they reached the golden palace – and its army.

Chapter 6 – The False Victory

Jack had been right, the camo troops were easy to fight. They weren’t endless, like the redcoats. They easily broke into the palace. The halls were lined with paintings of the various “attractions” of the nearby areas. Gold suits of armor made loud noises as they walked past.

The palace seemed endless. Alexis’s feet ached terribly from the long journey they were so close to finishing. Hailee, who was barefoot, had to walk on the fancy red carpet to keep her feet from unbearable pain. After half an hour, a set of double doors labeled “THRONE ROOM” came into sight. They were so close!!!

. . .

Ten minutes later they opened the door. The rulers were eating lunch at a table to the left of the three intricately carved thrones. They didn’t notice the trio.

Alexis readied chains of hard earth. Hailee had a lightning bolt in each hand. They were about to throw them when suddenly they were blasted into the air.

Alexis couldn’t move. Couldn’t move at all. An endless void opened up beneath her. Couldn’t hear much either, except for a laugh. She searched desperately for the source of the laugh. She knew whoever laughed had thwarted their plans somehow, and stopped two powerful enchanters. Then she found the face. Jack’s.

“You really thought you could stop us?” Jack asked in that same tone he had used before the redcoats. “The rulers were notified by that detective that you were trying to stop us. He never misses anything. They sent me to stop you two from ruining our time warp here. Since I have proven satisfactory, I will become the new ruler of the Afterthen. And you? Well, you had better enjoy living in the void.”

THE END

Mountain Mama

The Lost Bunny

Hi, I am the queen of the mountains. My name is Mountain Mama. I am a girl with long, dirty brown hair, and I have a crown made of leaves and I am a fairy. I come out every day from my home in one of the mountains in West Virginia. You can see my home from the view of the summit pool. But one time I messed up. One cold winter morning, Miss Hess said that she doesn’t know where her little bunny disappeared. When she woke up she was gone. Mountain Mama was shocked. She said to Miss Hess,

“Do not worry, we will find your little bunny for you.”

So that night the queen set out for a look around the kingdom to find the little bunny. She looked and looked for an hour already. But then she found a carrot. She went down to get the carrot. She went down to pick up and maybe find a clue. So when she went down she found a hole and it was so tiny that I, Queen Mountain Mama, couldn’t even fit in there so I used my magic wand and I said, “Bibedy bobbidy boo, make me small.” So then she went in the tunnel. Read the next chapter to find out.

The Way To Go

 So I walked a little deeper into the cave. 

“Aaaaaaaaah!” A net just swung down right near my head. “Ok ok ok ok Mountain Mama, you are ok. You can do this, you are on the mission to find the little bunny.” It was brighter and it was, don don don, carrots. I thought this was a mystery, not a pile of carrots. She thought and thought until she had a brilliant idea. Not only was it a brilliant idea, it was a wonderful and blunderful idea, and it also was a big big big big big brainstorming idea. Ok I think that was a little too much. Ok now let’s get on to the real topic. The brilliant idea was, don don don, to dig through the huge pile of carrots. So she usd her magic wand to make a shovel, so that is what I did and then I started to dig. Let’s see how many hours that took me. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, yes it was 24 hours. Then I finally got to go into the cave and then to the next chapter.

Never Give Up 

When I went in, I saw a big table of carrots again. I said to myself again never give up. So I took a lot of the carrots and then I saw a little tail.  So little! 

I asked the bunny if she was missing and then she said,

 “Oh Mountain Mama, I was really scared. The wind blew me away and Mommy did not see so I ended up here and I did not know what to do.” 

“Well now,” I said, “you are safe. Let me bring you back to your mommy.”

“Ok thank you Mountain Mama.” Then I held the little bunny in my arms and I flapped my wings and I flew off. When I returned the little bunny, I flapped my wings again and I said,

 “That is why you should never give up!!!” 

The Mimic

Chapter 1

For my little brother, Damir

The sky is black and lights almost look like they come to you. Legend said that a Mimic lives in Embassy Park Where I live. Oh, if you’re wondering who I am, my name is Liam and I am 16. I have been spying on the Mimic for 5 years now and I know who it is.

It is my friend, Tanqr, the Youtuber. I know Tanqr is the Mimic because I went to his house and saw his tentacles. Tanqr was not the Mimic all the time. The Mimic died but his soul got into Tanqr.

Chapter 2 

On a Friday at midnight, I spy on him, but he is nowhere to be found. 1 second later, he is behind me! 3 hours later, I wake up. I’m tied up on a chair.

I say, “What do you want from me?”

“I want to KILL YOU,” he says in a broke-up voice. “I know that you saw my tentacles. You do not want to know what I am going to do to you.”

I say, “Where are we?” He says we are in the abandoned metro station. I ask why. He replies,

“Because I want you to suffer like I did.”

5 years earlier, Tanqr was making a video and the soul went into him.

Chapter 3

He was making a video of a game in roblox called arsenal. He also plays Big Paintball. The way The Mimic’s soul got into Tanqr was The Mimic had a hideout in a nuclear power plant with his friends and it exploded and killed them and one soul survived and got into Tanqr. Back into the future, the Mimic lets me go. The Mimic says he needs to go somewhere when he lets me go. The next day at school, my other friend, Mack, and I go to math class. 45 minutes later, dinggg! The math teacher, Ms. Katz, grades my work, and like always I get a straight A. Hmmm, Tanqr is not at school, which is weird. He needs to go to school.

Chapter 4

The next day, he still is not coming to school. It’s getting weird because I am thinking maybe he could be planning to take over the world. The next day, he comes to school, but he looks sus (P.S., sus means suspicious). I’m wondering what is he doing. He’s wearing a bowtie, but I haven’t seen him ever were a bowtie. Tanqr is also so nice today. He’s supposed to be shy. First, someone dropped their books and Tanqr helped him. Next, someone was getting bullied and he embarrassed the leader bully by saying that he pooped in his pants.

ChApTeR 5

After school, he says, “Yo, can I come to your house?” I say yes.

1 hour later, you will not believe what happened, not in a million years. Ok, fine, I will tell you. THE MIMIC’S SOUL GOT OUT OF TANQR. I can’t believe it, not in a million years.

2 Days later, I hear a whoosh sound at night and I turn around. I can’t believe it, the soul is here. I run to the bathroom and I splash the ghost and it goes away but it doesn’t die which is weird.

… To be continued.

Epilogue

The next day, the soul tries to kill me again. Does this guy ever give up? (No, he does not.) I can’t believe it. The Most Info about Ghosts book says that the ghost that attacked me does not give up (see, I told you). The author, Jalley Brown, claims she saw a ghost but I asked her at the museum of ghosts and she said she lied (which I partially knew) because she wanted attention and to be famous .Then I research all night and I get the only why to defeat the ghost is to get the rarest rock in the world, which is called (drum roll please): Clockstone.                                     

M25.C8-5-19-19.T8-9-14-7-25.F15-18.T8-5.L1-19-20.S5-13-5-19-20-5-18.

My first memories of playing chess are a little fuzzy, but I do remember I wanted to beat my brother Shepherd at something he was in a club for and I wasn’t. I had a really competitive spirit and I still do now. I wanted my brother to show me how to play chess and finally my brother was forced to by my mother. Luckily, my kindergarten school had a chess club which is where I met my best friend of five years. After playing with my friends and winning, my competitive spirit slowly turned into a love for chess and finally at my first rated tournament I got to put my skills to the test. I was in the lowest section and there were five rounds (it was a city tournament). The section was K-1.  Everyone had an under 400 rating. I won each of the 5 rounds and I got first place. I shot up my rating to 925 and got kicked out of the section because my rating was too high. I helped my team to get first place with 4 people (top 4 add their points together for the team points).  In total, we had 16 points (my brother – 3, a 1st grader named Joshua – 4, my best friend Avaan – 4, me – 5). I played in many tournaments, finally reaching a rating of 1000 at age 6. 

Skip forward a few years to 3rd grade. My parents made me stop playing chess tournaments because my schedule was full. I adapted and for two years I didn’t play chess.

Skip forward a couple more years. In 5th grade, because of Covid, all the chess was online. There are differences between online chess and real chess. One difference is that there are distractions at home. Siblings can be very annoying when you are trying to focus. When we are playing in person, everyone has to be quiet. I started to play online chess and broke 1500, hurraay! My rating started bouncing around between 1475 and 1525, finally settling around 1510-1530. 

However, then my rating jumped down to 1488. WAAAAAH. At a tournament in April 2021, I won two out of two games. I thought I could win all 4 rounds. Unfortunately there was someone who is higher rated who I hadn’t beaten in the last 5 games we played. I beat him a long time ago, but I thought, It probably won’t be today… UUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHH! His name is… Elliot Goodrich. He is only in 2nd grade and has a rating of over 1500!  

First round, I played a guy named Andrew Plasse. 20 moves later, it was still even. Finally, I thought of a tactic. Win a pawn. Then, I was up 1 point. I won another pawn. I was winning when we got to the end game.  I was up 2 pawns. Me- King, Bishop, Rook, and 2 more pawns than him. Him- King, Knight, Rook, and 2 less pawns than me. He resigned. Victory for me! I checked his rating after the match, 800. Cue the groan of disappointment. 

Note: I could only see his name when I was playing. His name allows me to know where to search for his rating, but I didn’t look him up. 

In the second round, I won again. Then I played Elliot… And I won! I was so happy!

Just to mention, there is a timer in chess that ticks per second. There is sometimes a delay which means if you don’t move in a certain amount of time, your clock starts ticking. After each move, you get time back on the clock. But the increment isn’t used for every chess game. In person, every time you move, you are supposed to hit the clock switching which side is ticking. If someone’s timer reaches zero and the other person can win if they continue, it is a loss for the person out of time. If the other person cannot win if they continue playing, then it is a draw.

Chess can be very frustrating for me at times. There are two specific times when I got really mad. I was winning at the game when I put my opponent in a stalemate, when he cannot move his king or any piece anywhere. This means it is a draw. At the first game I was in the last game of the tournament at board 2. My friend and I were the top two players, both at 3/3. My friend beat his opponent and won the section, but I drew to my opponent by stalemate even though I was winning and I got second. He got 4/4 but I got 3.5/4. And no, it was not on tiebreaks. I was the only one with 3.5 as my opponent went 3/4. Stalemate means that the opponent cannot move or you cannot move, therefore resulting in a draw. This is different from Chinese chess though.

Even with all my troubles and frustrations, I still continued playing chess. I actually started writing this paragraph on the 2nd day of the New York State Chess Championship. It was between rounds 4 and 5 on April 17-18, 2021. There were two days and three rounds per day. 

The first game, I was winning by a bishop and a pawn. Then, I dreadfully lost a rook by a simple tactic that I found immediately after I moved. Then. I lost. I was so mad and so sad. I was playing a 1000 which was not even that good. The word STUPID ricocheted across my mind. Then, I got over it in an hour by telling myself that the next round would be easier. 

2nd game, also against a 1000. I got his bishop in the first 10 moves. I took everything from him then I mated him. Easy enough. 1/2 points is my score.

3rd game, last game of the day, and the most insane. Lost the exchange. Then I won a bishop for a pawn. The game was tied. Then, I lost a knight. Then I lost the game. I was playing 1200. I won ⅓ of the games.

In the 4th game, I played another 1000. I won a bishop. I went to the endgame and was victorious. Yay! Return to the present.

In the 5th and 6th game I beat a 1000 and 1200 respectively. I got a score of 4/6, 27 out of over 100. Not really impressive. My friend though, got a score ⅚, and got 3rd place! Considering this is the championship for elementary players, he is basically #3 elementary school chess player in the whole city. Interestingly enough, when we were in the K-1st grade we played each other infinitely and beat each other around the same amount. Like, 10 times each.

I don’t really know why I like chess so much. It’s hard for me to explain my feelings. I just like it, no need to push, that’s it. So, you people can try it and see how you like it. I am still going to play, not planning to stop. But I think this essay is lengthy enough. But just so you know, if you challenge me, I won’t go easy: I like to win.

*P.s- You may be asking yourself what the title is. The letters start a word. The letters are the first letter in the word. The numbers are what number the letter is in the alphabet, for example, 1=a, 2=b, 3=c, 4=d, 5=e.  The title is a puzzle just like chess!

P.s.s- This was written over a period of time (you’re probably thinking DUH).

The Moon

Chapter 1: Spell of the Moon

I was walking at night next to the lake, like every night, but this time, something caught my eye. I just could not stop looking at the reflection of the moon in the lake. I slowly looked up and there it was. The moon was just too beautiful. It was calling to me. It caught me by surprise. I have heard this before, the moon, the beautiful, full moon is dangerous. I wanted to run away, but the other part of me was caught with the spell of the moon.

The spell of the moon was impossible to get out of. Looked like I was stuck forever. I could not call because I could not speak. I could not run because I could not move, and everything I tried to do would just give my energy to the moon. All I could do was glare at the reflection that was sucking me in, better yet, sucking my soul.

I glared and glared until I had no choice but to walk inside that very lake my great-grandmother stepped into, never to be seen again. The only thing passed on from her was her story, the story that was told to my grandmother, my mother, and me. I was supposed to tell it to my kids when I got older (since I was only 11), but now it was too late. I stepped into the lake and did not look back. I looked to the moon, and the moon looked back at me. Straight from my heart was my soul, up into the sky. Flying and laughing, right into the moon. What was done, was done, and what was taken, was taken. My soul was taken, and there was nothing I could do about it. Except that there was something wrong. My soul had too much passion than it was supposed to when taken from the moon. Instead of disappearing like my great-grandmother, I stayed staring at the moon. My mother came outside, and she knew what was happening. Before she could say anything, my body felt weird. After a few seconds, I had realized I was now a part of it, I had turned into water. My brown short hair floated until it perished into the wind.

Chapter 2: 1860

I opened my eyes and I was in a house.

“Are you okay?” said a lady.

“Ahhh! How am I alive!”

“Excuse me? I am sorry to startle you, my name is Mary Wilieson, what is yours?”

“Uhh, Luisa Wilson. Hahaha, My great great great grandmother was named Mary Wilieson.”

“Really? Dear, I think you hurt your head. There is only one Willieson in the 1860s.” She smiled.

“Yeah…  wait, 1860s!!!”

“You should get some rest, we will call you for supper,” she suggested. The nice, sweet lady stepped out of the room. Then it hit me. That was my great-great-great-grandmother! Back then, we were called the Wiliesons because it was “cool.” My great-grandmother changed it so it could be easy to say. I wanted to let her know what happened, but I could not let her know that she was my great great great grandmother. 

I stayed up in the room, making up a plan to escape (also wondering why I had 1860 clothes on). After a little while, I felt at home in that room. Even though it was dusty and old, the shape, size, and placement of things felt so familiar, but nothing could distract me. 

“It’s supper!!” 

Except for that. I was starving. I ran downstairs. 

“Sorry if my husband woke you.” She smiled

“No, it’s alright, I was already waking up anyway.” 

All the faces of their kids looked familiar from photos and albums.

“Try this, dear,” Mary said, putting food on my plate

“Mhhhhh, cheesy mashed potatoes with secret olives and a hint of paprika, old family recipe.” They all looked at me funny.

“What are you talking about? I just made this up.” 

“This present and past stuff is confusing.” That was what I wanted to say, but instead, I said, “That’s what I see, at least. Hee hee.” 

“You have a good eye, dear.” 

We ate and ate, and while we were eating, it felt like my family was with me. They were! We were in my house! That was why it looked familiar. Without making a mistake with my manners, I told them. “What a nice house you have, really feels like home.” 

“I am glad you like it, dear, we built it a few years ago to raise our family.” She smiled. She was also right, and after that, the Wilsons or Wiliesons were raised in the same house. I smiled back at her.

“Hey, you want to ride around with me and my horse?” said my great-great-uncle. 

“Nuh-uh, Pablo. She’s playing dolls with me,”  said my great-great-grandmother, Mila. What should I do? Play with Grandma Mila, or ride with Uncle Pablo?

“Don’t worry, Tio Pablo, we can go later, let the little ones first.” I smiled. 

“Tio Pablo?” he asked me.

“Pablo, sorry, going a little bonkers.” 

“Bonkers?” he asked again. Isn’t anything I say right!?

“Uh, meet you around 2:30, okay?” I said, pushing my grandma Mila to her room.

“How did you know this is my room?” she asked when we got there.

“You carved your initials right here,” I said, moving and pointing behind the bed. The only thing was it was not there yet!

“I don’t see anything, but good idea.” 

So close!  I knew she had initials carved because her room is my and my little brother’s room in the future. When my sister, Carmen, went to college, I upgraded to Carmen’s room, and now Grandma Mila’s room is my little brother’s room. I know, it’s confusing.

After a while, Pablo showed up with his horse (Pablo Junior) from the window. I hopped on the horse’s beautiful, light brown back, and we went through the town. Our house was pretty far away from the town but it was beautiful. 

“You know, Luisa, you are really pretty, and I am impressed by what you did at the dinner table.”

“Uh, thank you. Hey, that really looks like Time Square! I mean, look at those billboards.” I pointed.

“Where? That’s a cafe, You alright?”

“Yeah, just… ”

“Um, okay, well, I am reading these cowboy books that are cool.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek for being so charming. 

“Uhhh, well you wanna… wanna see the park?”

“Sure.” Then I snapped out of it, I can’t “like” my great-great-uncle! The worst thing happened next, Pablo galloped his horse in front of a beautiful sunset. He gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Weird, it’s like, kissing my little sister.”

“I am sorry, Tio Pablo!” I hugged him, got off the horse, and ran. Ran like the wind. I ran so fast that my leg disappeared. Then arm!

“What’s happening?!” I tried dragging myself across the floor before Pablo looked for me. Suddenly, my other arm disappeared. Trying to get up with one leg, I saw I had none. I had no head, no spine, no anything. I sank into the ground. 

Chapter 3: Great Grandma’s Soul

When I opened my eyes, I was flying in the air. There she was. My great-grandmother, under the moon spell. Stepping into the lake. I was still invisible and could not feel myself. Before she stepped into the lake, she managed to say,

“I know you’re there, Luisa, but you can’t change the past. This was meant to be. The moon sucking souls is destiny.” She turned her head to look at me, straightly opening her mouth and showing her devil teeth and creepy face that was turning around and around.

“Hahahahaha! Cackle cackle! Hee hee hee!” She turned around and entered the lake. That was not my grandmother.

“You are really smart, Luisa.”

“Ahhh!” It was the little devil that was making the creepy faces.

“Let’s see how powerful and smart you are after this.” He moved his tiny hands around. There was the picture of my grandmother, looking at great-grandma disappearing in the air. 

“Mommy!” she yelled. 

A tear came down my face. After, there was Grandma telling the story to my mom. Now, it was Tio Pablo and me. Playing dolls with Grandma Mila. Eating with my family, past and present. My family looking up at the moon. Rain falling, houses on fire. Creating the lake, the same lake that helped the moon take my soul from me. A garden that children played in. Grandma Mila’s soul was being taken, little by little. Until falling in love. It was all so confusing and painful. 

Then there was me. Me under the spell, the horrible spell. I touched my face like a porcelain doll. 

“Cold,” Past Me whispered softly, trying to put her hand on her cheek. Terrified, I removed my hand from Past Me’s cheek. All these moments, horrible, beautiful, loving, painful moments.

“ENOUGH!!!” I screamed, wiping out my tears. “I get it, I have had sad moments, happy moments, any moment, and will never have them again. Just do what you have to do. You can’t make me travel back in time  and make me suffer, I will ruin the timeline and… I don’t know, I like it how it is.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, who said anything about that? There was something out of control with your soul but now it is back in our order. It would be fun to mess around with you but that was not the moon’s order.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Look, we can’t talk here, let’s deal with it in the moooooooon… ” the little devil said, kicking me to the moon.

Chapter 4: A Trip to the Moon

“Ahhhhhh!!” Ouch, I am still sore from that bump. The kick was so hard, I passed right through some guards and right into the hall. Say what you want about the nasty moon, he was beautiful. Before the guards chased me, I quickly went deeper inside. The moon was like a type of castle. All the paintings of relatives and flags of moons. It looked so magical. Most of it was blue, my favorite color! It was like a museum! I adored museums. I kept walking through the shiny patterned hallways. I found a pen under the big, long, blue carpet, that had a pattern like the carpet from my favorite movie, Aladin. I drew a mustache on a painting nearby. I suddenly heard some voices and quickly hid behind a pole, putting the pen in my pocket.

“She does not deserve to be here!” 

“I was just doing my nightly stroll, that’s all.” 

“Silence! If your mother told you the story, you should not have been walking around me at night.”

“What-cha-doing?” I looked slowly next to me. It was that creepy little devil! He smiled at me, showing his not surprisingly sharp teeth.

“Ahhhhhh!!!!” My scream made silence for everyone around me. The little devil’s smile grew bigger and grabbed me by the arm. His hand burned me, like friction between 

ice and lava. He pushed me forward and left a rash on my arm. It was the only thing I could feel. Then I realized who was talking. It was my real great grandmother’s soul. She was arguing with the moon himself! There was this other girl there, she looked a lot like me. I think that’s because she is me. That’s my soul the moon stole! My grandma and I turned around. 

“Oh no,” whispered my grandma. The moon had a smirk on his face.

“Bow to me!” he laughed.

“I’m good,” I replied. The little devil, great Grandma Stephi, and the moon were shocked by my answer. 

“Up top,” said my soul, putting her hand up. I was about to high-five her but great Grandma Stephi interrupted. 

“NO! You may not touch.” 

“Why not?” we both asked. 

“You don’t want to know.” 

“Silence! Let’s not talk about that, what I do want to know is who you think you are for responding in a horrible way!?!” said the moon.

“I think I know, and I am Luisa Wilson. You took my soul, and you thought you took my power and passion, but they are still in me. I am not afraid of you, I am not afraid of your little devils, and however many guards you put up in front of me, I will not be afraid. These slaves of yours deserve much more. These souls should not be here. You can scare and overpower anyone you want, but you won’t be able to do that to me. So you better be careful.” 

There was a silence until…

“You go girl! I just realized how smart I am, how smart we are.”

“Haha.”

“She is right! I will not be afraid of you anymore!” said the little devil.

“Leroy, do you know how I know how your father died? Do you know who poured lion blood and covered him in tiger skin? Do you know who has leftover blood and skin? Do you know who can kill you as well? Do you know who killed your father?” I heard all that and felt so bad for the little devil.

“Sorry, Luisa, I have no choice.” He bowed to the moon. 

“Little devil,” I whispered. 

“Come on, I believe in you, you were awesome on the tellie with great-great-great-Grandma Mary. You were awesome just now, do something to that moon,” said my soul, she hugged me. I hugged her back. We let go and touched hands. 

“I believe in you.” She faded away. Was that the last of my soul? Would I be without one forever?

Then I started to feel queasy. I blacked out, but from the story, I believe this is what happened. I turned half-human, but one half of me was missing, and now with my soul, I can’t breathe on the moon. My great grandmother’s soul carried me down to the lake, where I believe I turned into water. When I woke up, I got out of the lake full human. I saw Grandma’s soul go up to the moon.

“Grandma!” 

She quickly flew to me.

“Where is it I need to go!” I touched her. So her soul combined with me.

“No! It’s to… ”

Now I was full Human plus my grandma’s soul. I was able to fly and breathe on the moon. I felt a little weird but it would be worth it. I went up to the moon. I sneaked up to his lair, which I realized was there secretly behind his throne. I took all his materials and poured them on him.

Chapter 5: Cheese Moon

“What are you doing?!” he asked. Nothing had happened to him. Suddenly, everyone was chasing me. I hid behind a painting for a while, thinking what to do next. Suddenly, a flash of light came behind the painting. Someone discovered me! 

“Little devil, Leroy! I am so sorry what happened to your father but please don’t hurt me!”

“Don’t worry, I am here to help you, quick, before they see you.”

“Leroy, do you know what the moon’s weakness is?”

“I don’t know, he gets feisty when people say he is made out of cheese.”

“That will have to do. How do you get cheese around here?” 

“Urgh, there is this special pen, you have to draw and it will come to life. They are so rare, there are only two in the castle, one’s with the moon and the other was lost. Everyone looked but… ” Before he finished his sentence, I took that pen from my pocket and looked at it.

“That’s the one! How did you find it?!” His voice echoed through the hallways. Everyone rushed over to see what was happening. I quickly drew a man with a rare collectible card that my little brother had and hid behind the painting.

“What is it? Did you find the girl?!” yelled the moon from across the hall. 

“No, but I did find this card! It is a… ” 

“Rare collectible,” I whispered to him.

“Rare collectible!” he repeated. 

“I am a… ” 

“Trying to trade it,” I whispered again.

“Trying to trade it! With this guard.” Leroy smiled

“Okay, do your… thing quickly, we need to find that girl!” he said, waving his arms around. Then I remembered a TV show I would watch when I was little. Cheese moon! I drew the cheese moon character with his long legs, pink cheeks, cheesy holes, and cute little blue hat on top. We looked for the moon everywhere. The kitchen, his room, the lab, everywhere he might be looking for me. How ironic, we were both looking for each other. The evil soul-stealing moon, and the innocent little girl who wanted her soul back. We kept looking.

“Did you ask us to split up?” Leroy asked. 

“No, why?” 

“I think cheese moon had his own opinion,” Leroy said, pointing where cheese moon was standing.

“Oh great, now we are looking for two moons!”

“Cheese moon!” we called. We entered the throne room and finally found him talking to the moon.

“What is the meaning of this? Who are you?” said the real moon. 

“My name is cheese moon, nice to meet you, friend!” 

“Cheese moon?! Hey, little girl, do you have something to do with this?” the moon asked, as he saw me approach.

“Don’t be mad, little friend, I see you are wearing my costume, you must be a fan! Let me sing the cheese moon song to cheer you up. 

Guess who’s made out of cheese, the moon’s made out of cheese! You want a piece of cheese? All you have to do is say please. To get a bit of cheeeeese, all you gotta do is take a piece of me! Cheese moon cheese moon! Hope you like my tune! Hey!” 

The moon squinted a lot with one eye. He was not okay. He turned as red as a shiny apple and as hot as a jalapeno. He looked like he was going to explode. 

“Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I want to rip your hair apart and break every bone in your body until people stuff fish inside your ears and bury you alive!” Yep, he was totally not okay.

“Whoa, whoa, friend, here, have a piece of cheese,” said cheese moon, breaking a part of himself. The moon squinted some more until slapped the piece of cheese out of cheese moon’s hand. Cheese moon looked disappointed and disappeared into the wind. 

“You! You did this, haha, it did not work. I will finish you off, and Leroy! You were helping her? I got someth… ” He could not finish his sentence. His mouth was as shut as a clamshell.

“Mr. moon?” I asked. He looked at his hands that were wobbling. After a few seconds, the real moon disintegrated.  Leroy looked at me with a stare.

Chapter 6: Dreaming?

I woke up in my bed and wondered if it was all a dream. I walked around my room and it was all normal. Grandma Mila’s initials were behind the bed. 

I guess it was just a weird dream, I thought. Then there was a weird glow coming from out of my window. When I opened my eyes, there was an angel in my room! 

“Aaaahhh!” 

“Why the scream?” the angel asked. It was a familiar voice, but much lighter and softer. “Don’t you remember? It’s me, Leroy.” 

“Leroy?” I could not believe what he was telling me. I looked at him with my mouth opened wide.

“Yep, that’s me! After defeating the moon, they turned me into an angel.” He smiled with his perfect, normal, shiny, non-devil teeth.

“Leroy! It is you!” I hugged him.

“Wait, did you say, ‘Defeat the moon?’” I said, surprised. 

“Of course, do you not remember anything?” he asked me. 

“Not really, so it was not a dream?” 

“What?” 

“How about great-Grandma?”

“I suggest you go downstairs.”

I rushed downstairs. There she was! 

“Great-Grandma!!” 

“Hi, Luisa!” Leroy came downstairs and smiled. 

“Well, I better get going.”

“No, Leroy, stay here, join us for breakfast.” 

“Um, okay.”

“Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Felix (my little brother), this is Leroy.”

“We know who Leroy is. Don’t you remember the dinner we had with him yesterday?” said my mother. 

“Huh?”

“It’s alright, you have been through a lot. Let’s eat.” 

We ate breakfast, and my big sister Carmen visited from college. We all had a good time. I am still curious to know what happened after the moon was defeated. Half of me is scared that during my time of being water, I worked for the moon. What scares me the most about that, I could still be under his power.     

To be continued…

My Costume

One day, my parents told me to go outside and told me nothing else but that it was a surprise. When I walked outside, I saw a million smarties. Not really. But I did see something that made me feel that way. I saw my parents holding a zombie cheerleader costume and smiling. My eyes went big. I wanted to explode with happiness. But wait a second. How did my parents know that I wanted a zombie cheerleader costume? The only place where I had written it down was my…. diary! 

“Hey!”  I shouted at my parents. “You read my diary!”  

Guilty as charged,my dad said. I grumbled away, but my parents knew I was happy. 

The next day, Halloween, I walked outside happily with my costume and makeup. But when I had only taken a few steps, I saw my arch nemesis, Rosabelle. She was in a vampire queen costume with a huge hoop skirty skirt. I almost exploded. She also had creepy makeup, but the skirt had jewels, and she even had vampire teeth. My stomach went around and around like a blender. I wanted to go home. But suddenly, I saw her scratching herself, and suddenly, she tripped in a murky puddle and almost stained herself. I smiled. Maybe a big skirt wasn’t so good after all. This was going to be a great Halloween. 

Uni and The Butterfly

Uni was a baby unicorn. She had a rainbow mane, a blue tail, and a golden horn. Uni met a man dressed in blue who gave her a tent. He was wearing a blue striped shirt and navy blue pants. There were marshmallows in the tent and the only thing unicorns eat is marshmallows. The reason he gave her the tent is because she was homeless. 

“I’m a baby unicorn and I’m homeless,” Uni said. 

“Go under the awning to get out of the rain. I’ll be right back,” the man said. 

The man searched on Google, “What do unicorns eat?” On the screen, it said,

 “Unicorns eat marshmallows.” Luckily, the man had six bags of marshmallows in his house. He poured the marshmallows into a tent and put a small mattress and a blanket inside. He also put a little stuffy in the tent. The stuffy was a little unicorn. He took the tent outside. 

He said to Uni, “You can live in the tent. There is food and a mattress and a blanket. You can eat the food and sleep on the mattress and the blanket.” 

Uni said, “Thank you!”

She jumped because she was happy. But there was one thing she wasn’t happy about. She wanted a friend. 

Uni carried the tent to the beach. Uni ate her dinner, which was marshmallows, then she went to sleep. She had a dream and her dream was her playing with a friend. She really, really, really, really, really wanted a friend. 

In the morning, she went to the bay and saw a butterfly. The butterfly had blue and purple wings and golden metallic dots. She went up to the butterfly. 

“Do you want to be my friend?” Uni asked. 

“Yes!” the butterfly said. 

Uni jumped in excitement! They played and ate marshmallows in the tent and then went to bed. 

THE END! 

Masks

As I look out the window

The tall buildings and green trees 

I see people walking by, talking on the phone

And some smiling

So I smile Back

Even if they can’t see me 

I know that they know, someone will smile back

And that makes me smile

And when I smile under the mask

I know that someone in the world, someone 

By their window 

Smiling

Maybe they are smiling because they got a gift

Or because they get to spend time with people

Whatever the reason is that they are smiling 

It will make me smile

Even if they are across the world

Most of the time when people are smiling under their mask

Their eyes slightly squint

And if you are walking down the street

Or look into the window 

Smile back

You can smile in many different ways

Some people say that you can’t smile with the mask on

But 

You can smile by saying hi

Or waving

Or doing something kind

Yes

Smiling is with your mouth

But it also has other definitions

A Starfish Named Solar

Once upon a time, there was a starfish named Solar. All she wanted was to get out of the water and to see the stars. But her parents said she was too young to go out. One day, when she was older, she decided to get out, and her parents said she was old enough to get out of the water. 

She heard that there was a starry night where the stars were alive, but the night was very far away. She knew it would take years, and she was only ten at the time. When she was older,  the day came and she started to go out. She went out of the water and started going up a hill. When she was halfway up, she lay down because she was very tired and so she took a nap. When she woke up, it was already the next day, and she only had a few more days. When she went up the hill, she started sitting up to see all the stars. She put up a bed and telescope to see closer, and some things to eat. She also had a game to play so she wasn’t bored. 

There were a few nights before the day came. She decided once it was nighttime, she would look through her telescope to find the moon. The next day, she looked through her telescope and she saw Saturn. 

She brought a notepad so she could write down ideas, and on that notepad, she wrote, “Saturn can be found at night with a very big, strong telescope.” She had a big, strong telescope, too. 

She checked her calendar, and after the day, she saw that it was at night, so prepared everything she had to do to see the stars alive. 

That night, when the stars were alive, not only were the stars alive, but she also noticed a meteor shower! She was so happy! By the end of the meteor shower, she went to bed. The next morning, she started to go down the hill. It took days to get back to her pond. When she arrived, she told everybody in the pond about her week. There were lots of fish, and starfish, and snails. They were very impressed. That night, when the day was over, Solar dreamed about her day, and imagined she could go again. She even decided to become an astronaut and go to space. 

The End

The First Place Winner

Hi, my name is Fluffly and I am pug. I am also the most fashionable thing that has ever walked on earth. Scarlet red is the most fashionable color. I live in New York City. I have lived here for so long. I need to see the world. I plan to go to London. The capital of… hmm, I don’t know. If you have not heard, in London, there is a fashion competition and the winner gets a tour of the world. Now all I have to do is get on a plane. 

You are probably wondering who is your owner or do you live in an adoption center. Well, I live with no one. I kind of just do my own thing. I start to get ready. I put on my trench coat and black sunglasses to try to blend in with the crowd. I walk into the airport and there are so many people there, but of course, none as fashionable as me. I start to run to where it says “London,” then I wait to get on the plane.

 I go under a seat and look at people’s outfits. They are not flattering, especially their socks. Their socks are tan colored and have ugly, blue spots. I just can’t. After I tell you what I did, you have to promise not to hate me.

 I bit the sock off. I know, I know, but the sock is so ugly. I run to a different seat. Of course, I am looking fabulous like always. Then I hear someone say the plane to London is taking off in ten minutes! I run to the plane. Do you know when you are going on the plane and you look down and there is a small gap? I look down. I am so scared that I’ll chip a nail. I run quickly to first class. There is no one there because it is way too expensive. It’s perfect because none of the flight attendants will come and ruin my plan. 

There is a whole cart of food just for me. It has candy, cake, and all sorts of sweets. I am loving life until someone or something comes in. It’s a pug! I am holding back my tears. This pug is more fashionable than me!! One thing about me is I always tell the truth. She comes up to me and says, “Hi, I am Talyor and I am sneaking on this plane to London.”

I say, “I am, too.” Then I move away from her. She is weird. I start to stuff my mouth with chocolate cake with strawberries. I am raging with jealousy. She is so fashionable. I look at her and she is fixing her hair and smirks at me. Arg, I hate her. She is the WORST!! Her fur is like silk. I cannot believe my eyes. It’s crazy. 

Finally, the plane lands and I can get away from her. I start to walk to my hotel. My hotel is amazing. It has a huge hot tub. Then there is a huge TV and couch. My bed is just unexplainable. I lie down and watch some TV. Then someone comes up and gives me a massage. It is an amazing experience. I never want to leave. 

Then I go to get breakfast. I have fruit loops. I walk to the hotel and I look inside. It has so many clothes. Then I walk to the runway and start to stretch. I do my best fur flip. Of course, it’s perfect. Then I get dressed for the runway. I am wearing a red dress, the best color ever. It has a small trail and triangle cut-outs in the front. I am not really nervous. They announce my new arch-enemy, Taylor. She walks the runway with such confidence. Then they announce my name. I start to walk down the runway. I kill it. My fur looks great. Then they announce the winners. Taylor gets 2nd and I get first! I shoot a funny look at her, like saying, “I won.”

I get to go on the world trip. 

Hi, it is a day after my world trip. I have decided to stay in Rome! It is amazing, there is so much to do and see. Right now, I am at a restaurant eating pasta and pizza. I am starting to learn about their style. It is pretty good but it could be better. Believe it or not, right in front of me is Stella Jean. Ahhh! She has such a good sense of style. 

Spot

Chapter 1: The Light       

Once upon a time, there lived a baby cheetah whose name was Spot. He was faster than the fastest car. He was 5 years old. While his dad was out hunting, he and his mom were watching the birds fly and they were listening to the birds and trees. Just out of the blue, he asked, “Why aren’t I allowed to go out of our grass field?”  

His mom froze at that question and said, “Because you can’t handle it.” 

“What do you mean, I can’t handle it?” said Spot, bewildered at that answer. His mom didn’t answer.

At that same moment, Spot jumped up and dashed out of the grass field.                                                                                                    

Soon, he could hear his mother calling for him. He ran until he couldn’t hear his mother calling him anymore. But then he saw a light, or he thought so. Then he heard a sound, though also not very clearly.

Chapter 2: The Incident  

It sounded like someone saying, “Do you need help?” And it sounded like he or she was crying.  Before he could react, he saw something that made him freeze. It was his dad right in front of him. He expected his dad to be really upset, but his dad asked him very calmly, “Why are you out here?” When Spot did not reply, his dad told him that he was going to have to explain when they got home.

After that, Spot and his dad did not say anything to each other until they reached home. When they got home, his mother was relieved that Spot was safely home.

Dad had hunted a hyena for all of them to eat. Spot could tell that his mom and dad were not happy with him because it was one quiet dinner. After dinner, Spot was ready to run and check out what he had heard. But he couldn’t go out right then because his mom and dad would catch him. 

So he decided on going at night to find who or what was in the forest. When his mom and dad were asleep, he crept past them and left for the forest. As he went further away from home, he was startled when he heard the noise again. He looked all around, but could not see anything.

Chapter 3: The Map

Spot went into the forest. He couldn’t see any light so he started running faster and further away from home. And then he saw a light in the distance. He got closer and closer and closer and closer.  He was curious and a little scared.

Chapter 4: The Baby                

Then he saw a baby animal who looked just like him. It said, “Who are you?” 

“My name is… Spot, and who are you?”

“Hello, Spot. I am Slash.” 

“Hello! Where do you live, Slash? I have never seen you around here. But why are you crying, Slash?”

“I think the human hunters have captured my parents and taken them away. Have you ever used a map?”

“Um… no. Have you?”

“Yes, well one of the hunters dropped a map and a flashlight so I took them and ran away. Do you want to help me find them?” 

“Yes. Why don’t we go at dawn so we can see better? We can meet at Lucky Coin lake. Do you see it on the map?”

“Yes. It’s getting late now, let’s go home now. I’ll see you in the morning.”

 “Ok,” said Slash.

Chapter 5: The Truth 

Once Spot got home, he went very quietly so as not to be heard by his parents. Then he went right to bed.

Because he was so excited to see Slash at the lake early in the morning.

When he got up, he jumped up, and yelled for his mom to “wake up!” 

“Why are you up so early, Spot?” 

“Well… I met… another… cheetah… cub,” Spot said. 

“What!!!!” said his mother, surprised. “Where does he live?” 

“I don’t know where he lives but we agreed to meet at the Lucky Coin lake. Do you want to come?” Spot asked. 

“Yes! But why are we going there?”

“I will explain when we get there. Ok?” Spot said. 

So they headed to the lake, and there was the legend, Slash! 

“Hi there, Spot,” Slash said. 

“Hi, I want to introduce you to my mom!”

“Hi, there.” 

“Well, is she going to help us with the you-know-what?” Slash whispered to Spot. 

“I don’t know. You want me to tell her?”

“Yeah.”

Spot turned to his mom and said, “Well, ummm… do you want to help us save Slash’s parents?” 

“Wait, what?!!” said his bewildered mom.

“Well, Slash says his mom and dad got captured by human hunters. One of them dropped a map and a flashlight so Slash picked them up and ran away as fast as his little legs could carry him.  Do you want to help?” Spot said. 

His mom froze then said… “Yes!! Of course.” 

“Ok, do you think Dad would like to help, too?”

“Yeah,” said his mom, even though she was not sure of it.

“Ok, let me get Dad. You stay here,” Spot said, then ran home as fast as he could. 

When he got home, he looked all around but could not find his dad anywhere. He wasn’t in the backyard, he wasn’t in the den, and he wasn’t in the grassy field. He had no more time to waste so he ran back as fast as a lightning bolt back to Slash and Mom.  

When he got there, he was out of breath and his heart was pounding. Slash and his mom looked confused.  

“Where is your Dad?!” asked Slash.

“I have no idea, I could not find him anywhere,” said Spot.

Mom then remembered that he was going to go for a hunt to find dinner.  She turned to Slash and said, “Let’s go rescue your parents!”

“Okay, get the map out,” Spot said, trying to rush.  

30 minutes later…                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       “We’re here. Look!” Spot whispered as he poked his head through the bushes and admired the many different animals that were sitting in cages. The cages were connected to each other and sitting in a long line. They looked at each cage, and at the very end of the line, there were the cheetahs. There was a sign on the outside that said, “No touching the cheetahs.” At the front of the cages, there was one guard who was sitting on an uncomfortable wooden chair, sharpening his sword.  

Spot turned to Slash and his mom and said, “What’s the plan?”

“Let’s tackle the guard from different directions,” said Slash.

“Good plan,” said Mom.

They began to move in slowly from different directions. Mom whispered over to Spot and Slash, “Remember to be quiet so we don’t wake the others.” As they got closer to the guard, Spot got more and more nervous as he got closer and started sweating.  

They all counted quietly, “Three, two, one, gooo!!” Mom got there first and clawed the guard with her front paw. Pow!!!! The guard took his gun out and held it, sword out, and started swinging it at the three of them. Spot heard Slash scream, “AAHHHH!” Then out of nowhere, they saw a furry blur flying through the air at the guard before he could react and shoot at them.  Boom!!   

“He’s down,” yelled Spot. When he turned around, he noticed that the furry blur was his dad. He was about to explode with questions but he was so happy to see him. 

“Look what I found! It’s the keys!” 

“Wait! How are you here?!?” Spot said.

“I’ll explain later.” 

Slash ran to the last cage. When he saw his parents, he was so excited, he couldn’t hide it.  

“Hi, Mom, hi, Dad!” said Slash as he cried in tears of joy.

“Hi, who are these cheetahs?”

“They are friends.”

“Okay. We’ll talk later and get us out.” 

Chchch!!

 “Okay, now run, run!” 

And that’s the story about Spot and Slash, hoped you liked it! Bye!

To be continued…

Sneak Peek:

“Bye, Slash, see you tomorrow, same place.”

“Okay.”

Then they hugged. They were so happy it was over. 

“Bye!”

And then the cheetahs left. 

“I have something to tell both of you, come on. Well, I work with a company that helps cheetahs. That’s how I found you!!”

Dunt! Dunt! Dunt!  Be sure to check out the next one. 

She Wonders

I wonder what Amelia Earhart saw in the sky to make her want to fly a plane

I wonder the source of  Barack Obama’s courage to change history becoming the first Black male President

I wonder why Clara Spence thought educating girls was important

I wonder if I could have been the pencil writing the words from Lois Lowry’s imagination 

I wonder if Lin Manuel Miranda thought of a woman playing Hamilton

I wonder all of these things but for me…

When I look in the sky my dream is to be a U.S. Supreme Court Judge.

I hope to have enough courage to get over my fear of dogs

I hope to never stop learning

If I was a pen who could continue writing words the world would never get tired of reading  from my spunky imagination… aka Jolie’s Adventures

The Boy That Always Had Detention

Ok, here is the story. 

My name is Sam and I always get detention, I don’t know why, but I just do. I don’t get why pranking the teacher is something to get in trouble about. For example, putting a bit of goo on top of the door so it falls on Ms. Cutt. By the way, Ms. Cutt is our teacher. I always call her Ms. Butt. Honestly, that is a better name than Ms. Cutt. Does she want to cut something?

Oooooohhhh noooo! I am late for class, I better go to Ms. Cutt or she will cut me in half or put me in detention. Ok, don’t tell anybody but I thought of another prank so I put a little glue under her coffee mug and it will be hard to lift then she will spill the coffee everywhere. Lol. I think it is the best one yet. 

“Alright,” I say when I entered the class. I am obviously the class clown. Everybody likes me so I don’t have a problem with making friends and that stuff. I sit down and get ready for some action. Ms. Cutt always goes to the principal’s office to say hi before class starts because she wants to get a promotion for being polite but everybody knows she is not going to get a promotion so yeah. I take the coffee mug, I put some glue under it, and pour the coffee into the mug.

Ms. Cutt enters the room. She has reddish hair and brown eyes. Ms. Cutt looks around the room and takes attendance. She starts screaming names. “Carl, Reed, Natalie, Niko, Sam.” She gets tired of saying the names so she just stops like a lazy pig. She sits at her desk and tries to take a sip of her coffee but it is stuck so she pulls and pulls and then the coffee goes everywhere. She automatically looks at me. She says, “Goo? To the principal’s office.” 

I walk out still laughing from the prank. I enter the principal’s office. The principal’s name is Mr. Steve. He wants to be called by his first name because he thinks the students will like him more but that is not true. So when I walk in, the principal calls my parents for the first time. My parents do not care neither do I so once again I get away with everything. 

My friends always get upset because I do not get in trouble and then they prank me. They do the classic slime prank in my shoes, well I am pretty gross sometimes so sometimes I take my shoes off in class hehe. My friends sneak under my desk and put slime in my shoes and I put them on and scream and throw one of the shoes at my friend, soon-to-be-enemy, and the other to my other friend. They both get bruises on their heads, that means they should not mess with me. I obviously get sent to the principal’s office for violence and stuff, blah blah blah. My parents come, blah blah blah, and I got in trouble, wait, no, my parent take away all electronics for a month, noooooo! 🙁 🙁

Today I get my test back from school. I get an F-. I bring my test to my parents. They are not pleased. My teacher says on the test (with a little note), “You’re going to have to take the sixth grade again because of your poor grades.” 

Then, my parents actually start to care about everything I’ve done. My parents stop me from watching TV and from using my phone and all my devices. I start having a panic attack because I’ve never paid attention in class and there is a test the next day. Cause I am very sneaky, I sneak out of my window in my home very quietly and bring some paper and a pen with me and go to my school with my bike. It isn’t that far away. And I go to my English teacher’s classroom because that is the test the next day. I go to the ELA teacher’s classroom and my teacher is very organized with all the grades and the test answers and I can’t take a picture of them because I got my phone taken away, that’s why I brought the piece of paper and the pen. And I walk through the school’s hallways very quietly, but there is the janitor there. But the janitor is kind of clueless and old so he doesn’t notice. And I run back home through the window. I put my bike away like it was before and I immediately go back to sleep until the morning. 

When I wake up, my mom smells me and yells, “What that smell?” I am just pretending that I am still sleeping. My mom obviously knows that I am fake sleeping so I just say, 

“Well, I don’t know.” 

She says, “Why do you have leaves in your hair, too? And why’s the ladder out next to the window? If you don’t confess what you did, there will be no electronics for life.” 

I say, “I went to the school and I got the answers for my English test.” My mom obviously gets so mad. 

She says, “No more pranks, and no more electronics for a long time until you get your grades up.” 

And that is how Sam learns to be more serious and more caring about his grades. 

The Adventures of Miles Black

One evening, Miles Black, the school bully, and his friends were egging houses. “SPLAT!” An egg crunched on Mrs. Blackwell’s window. Then they saw it, just what they’d wanted — a pet store that had a big sign saying “adoption day.” They went inside the store and went to where the bunnies were. They got them out of their cages. They hid them in their sweater pockets and went outside. When nobody was looking, they dropped them down on the ground. Suddenly, a bunny began sniffing. It sniffed all the way to a little boy eating baby carrots. The bunny climbed up the little boy, and the boy was covered in scratches, and bruises, and a broken arm by the time the bunny was done trying to take his carrots. Suddenly, the news spread. They all knew who it could have been, Miles Black and his team. The next evening, when they were ready to start egging houses, Miles said, “I don’t want to.”

“WHAT?” said Billy, the second-best bully.

“Yeah,” Miles replied. “Is there a problem with that?” 

“Whatever, dude, we will egg houses without you.” 

So Miles just went home early. 

“Oh, well, you’re home early,” said Mrs. Black. 

“I didn’t have much to study for, Mom,” Miles said (Miles’ mom didn’t know about the bullying). He ate dinner early and did everything early. He was afraid the bullies would tease him. 

The next morning, he put on his backpack and left. But he turned right around and went back to the house. He forgot he had baseball. When he walked to school, he took the regular route, not the bully route where he and the bullies used to talk about evil plans (egging houses and more stuff). 

“I see you finally stopped egging houses and bullying,” said Patricia Paro, the only smart kid in his class, when he was walking to school. He just pulled the hood of his hoodie on his head and walked away. When he walked into class, something was different today. There was one extra desk. Today, they had a new kid in their class. He looked like a nice kid. At lunch, the new kid asked Miles if he could sit with him. Miles liked him; he seemed like he would be a good friend. He learned his name was Michael and he liked baseball. 

“You know it’s spring, and we could use a new teammate, and don’t be shocked but we need a new name right now. Our name is Joe’s Pizza,” Miles said. 

Really? I mean, really? I didn’t know you liked baseball,” said Michael. 

BBRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGG! The lunch bell rang. Michael and Miles ran back to class.

They started passing notes to each other, and they decided that they would meet at Miles’ house when they went home. It was a long four hours but they went through it. When Miles brought Michael to his house, Mrs. Black, Miles’ mom, was cooking Miles’ favorite food: tacos. And set on the coffee table in front of the couch was a big bowl of chips and guacamole. 

“Mom, meet Michael, my friend, and Michael, meet my mom, Mrs. Black,” said Miles.

“Hi, Mrs. Black,” said Michael shyly. Miles led Michael up the stairs into Miles’ bedroom. Miles’ bedroom was full of posters with baseball stars on them. It had a big, wide window looking out to a tree in his yard. At exactly five o’clock, Michael went home. 

The next day, they were walking to school. Miles saw the bullies. Then suddenly, Miles said, “I may not have told you everything about myself.”

“Okay, so tell me now,” said Michael. 

“I used to be a bully,” Miles blurted out.

WHAT!” replied Michael. For the rest of the day, Miles and Michael didn’t talk until after school when they realized that they were neighbors. 

“Sorry,” said Miles but Michael just walked away. Great, Miles thought. I need to find a new friend again. 

The next morning, Miles walked to school, sat alone at lunch, and his day went by as fast as a snap. When he got home, he found his grandma sitting on the couch. Miles forgot today was the day his grandma was coming over to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

“Oh, Grandma Joan, I forgot you were coming,” said Miles. “And anyway, I have to go upstairs  and make some Valentines for people I don’t even know.” 

“It is alright, and Miles, we are having rice and beans for dinner,” said Miles’ grandma in a nice, soft voice. So Miles went upstairs. After a while, Mrs. Black said,

“Miles, your dad is home. Come say Hi.”

So he went downstairs glumly. 

The next day, after they exchanged Valentine’s cards, Miles looked at one of his cards and it said a bunch of mean stuff but the card wasn’t signed. Then he looked around the room to see people whispering and pointing to Miles. At lunch, Milly Marino asked Miles, “Did you write this note?” 

“No,” he replied.

 “Good, because everyone got one.” 

That day, a lot of people asked him the same. Suddenly, he found who sent the notes.

It was the bullies. Of course. How could he not think of this (he was supposed to be the smart and talented Miles Black! Why else would someone make up a story about him?). That day, right before the class left for home, he asked his teacher if he could say something to the class. He said, “Wait, I know who sent the mean notes!” 

“Yeah, right,” one boy said. 

“The bullies did it, they wrote everyone mean notes including themselves so they wouldn’t be caught,” Miles said. Everyone was quiet for a second, then shouted out, 

“REALLY?!” 

Then the teacher said, “Anyone who helped write the note, step up.”

Miles looked at the bullies with red eyes. He made his hands into fists, and finally, the bullies stepped up and the teacher gave them Saturday detention. That day, when Miles was going home, Billy came and said, “You will get REVENGE.” He just smiled and ran all the way home. He was glad that was over.

My Pet Slime

Once, there was a girl named Piper. She loved, loved, LOVED animals, but she couldn’t have a pet because she was allergic to dogs, cats, guinea pigs, every kind of pet. Her mom wanted to make her feel better, and she knew that Piper loved to make slime, so she took her to the toy store to get a slime-making kit. 

When Piper got home, she opened up the kit and made the slime. Then that night, a fairy came and sprinkled her fairy dust all over Oozie. 

The fairy said, “You’re gonna be a lovely pet to this girl,” and flew away silently, as if to not wake Piper.

When Oozie came alive, he said, “Wow, what a cool place!” and snuggled on Piper’s counter and fell asleep. 

In the morning, Piper found out that her slime had come alive! She decided to name him Oozie because he was oozy. He could also change his shape. He could be flat as a pancake or round as a ball or just his normal shape. 

Piper screamed, “Ahhh!” And Oozie screamed back, 

“Ahhhh!” She ran to her parents’ room. 

“Mommy, daddy, the slime came alive!” Her parents ran into her room, but Oozie wasn’t moving. He was only alive for Piper because he was being shy. 

“Sweetie, it was just your imagination. Come on down for breakfast once you get changed,” her dad said.

Piper started to get ready for breakfast, but as soon as her parents left the room, Oozie came alive again! Piper loved Oozie so much so she put him in her backpack, but he couldn’t breathe. She cut out breathing holes in her backpack. When she came downstairs with her bag, she hoped her parents wouldn’t notice the holes. She dropped some crumbs through the holes. 

At school, she met up with her worst enemy, Claire. Claire was the most popular girl in the class. She has good ideas, but she teased Piper. “Hi, Pipe for my building that’s connected to my bathroom,” she laughed out loud.

“Hi, Claire’s the store.” Life was easier when you agreed with Claire, Piper thought.

Then, at the end of the day, Piper actually made friends with Claire, because Claire was nice to her in geometry and said sorry for calling her Pipe. They became best friends and had a playdate every day after school. Once Oozie got used to Claire coming over, he actually came alive for her, too, and they had many fun adventures. 

The end.

B-day Celebrations

Why do people think that the double-digit birthday is such a big deal?

You know, I’ve always wondered why people make such a big deal on the double-digit birthday. It’s just something I’ve known as a child, a thing I’ve known since I was born. Yeah. It’s like common knowledge for Americans. I think that everyone just knows it. Every child I’ve been friends with basically knows. Is it just an American thing? Honestly, for Asians, it’s more seven and 60. I mean, it is like a whole new lifeline, since you become more mature, or at least you feel more mature. As you probably know, I’m Chinese-American. My parents are Chinese, whereas I’m American. 

The Chinese way to celebrate birthdays: the first birthday party of a Chinese child takes place when he/she turns two years old. Parents celebrate a birthday by surrounding a child with symbolic items such as a toy airplane, an abacus, a flute, etc. And these items are the attempt to predict the future of the child. Likewise, seven has both positive and negative connotations in Chinese culture. For the positive side, 七 (seven) sounds like both 起 (qǐ), which means “start” or “rise,” and also 气 (qì), which means “vital energy.” Seven is also seen as a lucky number for relationships. Honestly, Americans take a liking to the birthday leading to the double-digit.

An amazingly surprising thing about Chinese birthdays is that they DON’T eat cake as we do. I know right, WHAT? But here’s the reason why: different cultures eat differently. In the Chinese way, they prefer to eat healthier things. 

Chinese people don’t really make such a big deal on their birthdays. While nowadays, young people in China celebrate their birthdays every year like in the West, traditionally, not much importance was attached to your birthday in China. After celebrating three birthdays – 30 days, one year, and six years, no birthday was given any special attention until you were 60. It’s fascinating, isn’t it?

For Chinese people, they zoom in more on the year of whichever animal, rather than the value of the year. But for Americans, they prefer to focus on the value, and what age one is turning.

Now, let’s focus on the types of Chinese years. There are many, 12, actually, based on the year that one is born. There’s the rabbit year, the tiger year, the lamb year, the monkey year, the mouse year, the horse year, the dragon year, the snake year, the dog year, the chicken year, and the pig year. I’m born in the tiger year, and so is my mom, but unfortunately, my dad’s born in the lamb (ram) year. I’ve already mentioned that I’m born in the tiger year (as is my mom), and, well, my mom has a tendency to be obstinate, as do I. So, some people carry on the traits that their animal year has captivity.  

This essay explores different ways that different cultures celebrate their birthdays, as well as how they differ from each other in each and every way. I want to make it clear that every culture has a different way of celebrating birthdays. I was hoping that this essay can give ideas on how people do things differently.

Stolen

FADE IN:

INT. HOUSE- 3 PM

JACINDA is sitting at her desk with a pencil in her hair and paperwork in front of her. Unable to focus, she turns around, and her eyes dart across the room and focus on ASHLEY. She stands up and picks up Ashley, then puts her on the desk next to her, and using a remote, turns Ashley on.

JACINDA

I have a secret. Can I trust you? No, I can’t. I mean, how do I know you won’t be hacked or… or something else. Maybe your programming’s bad and you’ll betray me. 

ASHLEY 

(crackly voice)

Oh, Jacinda. You built me so I can act as a friend. A friend has feelings, as do I. This means I can detect feelings as well. I am detecting guilt. You know you can tell me anything.

JACINDA

Thanks. I know I can talk to you, Ashley. Now if anybody finds out about this, they’ll probably die, so if I tell you, your robot life is in danger.

ASHLEY

I understand, J, but it is alright as long as your life won’t be in danger. I can protect you though, if I have to, with the lasers you made me with. 

JACINDA

No, Ashley. I don’t care if I’m dying. Under no circumstances do you use those lasers. Ok?

ASHLEY

Understood. Now, I am dying to know: What’s the secret?

JACINDA

The secret is connected to you. The way I created you was with materials. Stolen materials.

ASHLEY

What do you mean, stolen?

JACINDA

I mean stolen. As in, I took and used something that didn’t belong to me and they are probably going to hang me for it!

ASHLEY

I still don’t understand. Why would you steal? 

JACINDA

The thing is, I didn’t technically steal. More like, somebody knew that I was a scientist and dropped your parts next to my door. I used them, and a day after I built you, there was a note that got slipped under my door. It said that the parts I used to build you were stolen from the place I work in: Lab Home. After I read the letter, I checked you and your parts carefully, remember?

ASHLEY

Yes, I do.

JACINDA

Well, while I was checking you, I found a sticker with Lab Home’s initials on it and the background of us launching a rocket into space. After that, when I went to Lab Home for my regular work routine, the boss announced that parts had been stolen from the big project most of us had been conducting: a way to make a robot like you and turn them into humans.

ASHLEY

Are you sure? 

JACINDA

Positive, I was a worker on that project which means I’m one of their suspects, so sooner or later they’re going to come to my house and find you. Then I’m going to get hanged, or maybe not hanged, but seriously in trouble. 

ASHLEY

Stop with the negative attitude. Go to the boss and tell him what you just told me. If you come clean, he’ll know you didn’t do it.

JACINDA

It’s not that simple, Ashley. The person who gave me these parts is blackmailing me to not tell anybody or they’ll get hurt. That can’t happen.

ASHLEY

Well, what are you going to do about it?

JACINDA

So now I’m going to have to run. That’s the only way to guarantee everybody’s safety. Don’t you agree, Ashley?

ASHLEY

Honestly, J, I’m not sure. I mean, do you have to go? Right now, the person blackmailing you doesn’t want you to contact others. This way you’re not as strong, but it’s different when you’re with others. You, in a way, have a team.

Jacinda shakes her head and sighs, reaching for Ashley’s remote to turn her off. She then places Ashley back in the place she found her. 

INT. LAB HOME- 6 PM

VLAD, who is in charge of the human-robot project, is having a meeting with all of the members. Jacinda is staring at the floor, not wanting him to see the fear in her eyes.

VLAD

Attention, please. This is very serious. I need you to confess to stealing the parts of the human- robot project. If nobody has anything to say to me, then fine. I’m asking the security team tomorrow to go to all of your houses and search. You have nothing to hide so that’ll be fine unless… somebody might want to say something. Dismissed!

The members start murmuring amongst themselves, but none say anything to Vlad. They all start splitting up and return to their normal work.

JACINDA(V/O)

(thinking)

What am I going to do? I can’t confess, right? Yeah, I shouldn’t. Ashley’s wrong, I’m right. Ok, I need to get out of the house today. I can do that. I need to tell Vlad that I’m sick. Simple.

Jacinda stands up from her desk and approaches Vlad at his. She waits until he gets off the phone and he looks up at her.

VLAD 

(annoyed)

What do you want? I’m under enough stress with this robot-human program that I don’t need any more distractions.

Jacinda takes a tissue from his desk and blows into it. She then does a fake cough and sneezes.

JACINDA 

(whispering)

I’m sick.

VLAD

(annoyed)

Ok, fine. Go, but remember we’re going to your house tomorrow.

EXT. JACINDA’S PORCH 10 AM

Security guards are knocking at Jacinda’s door but she’s not answering. They finally decide to use a master key to open the door. There’s no latch on the door so they conclude she isn’t home.

SECURITY GUARD #1

Check this whole place and make sure she’s not hiding anything, ok?

They search her apartment but find nothing. One of the security guards, though, carefully checks the floor and finds a tile that is unlike the others. 

SECURITY GUARD #2

Hey, guys, look what I found.

He lifts it up to show a trapdoor with a basement. There is a box of Lab Home parts which are supposed to be used for the robot-human program.

SECURITY GUARD #1

Call the boss and tell him that Jacinda took the stuff. Oh also, the rest of you check for other secret compartments. We don’t want to miss anything.

SECURITY GUARD #2

Um, boss, we found out that Jacinda stole the parts, sir. Looking for more now.

VLAD

Excellent. Also, you’re getting a promotion.

Vlad sets down the phone and laughs evilly.

VLAD

Oh, my plan worked. I love it when that happens.

INT. TRUCK 12 PM

Jacinda and Ashley are sitting in the back of a truck that’s driving them to New Jersey. Suddenly though, they come to a halting stop. Jacinda hears talking and suddenly, the back door is pulled open and a police officer is standing there along with the diver who has a helpless look on his face.

POLICE OFFICER

You’re under arrest.

JACINDA

(fake shock)

Me? Why, I didn’t do anything.

POLICE OFFICER

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that. Your job, Lab Home, begs to differ. Come on, let’s go.

ASHLEY

Hello, Jacinda.

JACINDA

(Actual shock)

What? Ashley, how are you up? I didn’t turn you on.

Ashley holograms a figure in front of her. 

ASHLEY

(Vlad’s voice)

Hello, Jacinda. I see you’re in a bit of a twist now. Is this a bad time? Anyway, I just wanted to let you know who was behind the brilliant plan that got you in this mess. Any guesses?

JACINDA

Vlad? Why and how did you hack Ashely?

ASHLEY

(Vlad’s Voice)

Well, you didn’t put a strong firewall and I guess I know how to hack. For your why question, meet me at Lab Home and we can discuss it over coffee. Huh? Oh, let me take care of this police officer for you. Ashley, launch lasers.

JACINDA

No!

Jacinda hurriedly rushes to Ashley’s remote and tries to turn Ashley off. When this doesn’t work, Ashley aims her lasers toward Jacinda and fires, obliterating the remote. Ashley then turns toward the officer and fires. Barely missing him, the officer ducks and runs to the other side of the truck and takes out his walkie- talkie.

POLICE OFFICER

Help! I repeat, mayday! I’m being attacked by a robot here. All units, I repeat: help!

While this is occurring, Ashley suddenly becomes 5 times bigger and starts flying off with Jacinda. She bangs against the metal hands, only hurting herself.

JACINDA

Let me guess, hacked?

ASHLEY

(Vlad’s voice)

You are smart, now aren’t you? This means I’m going to have to take you out but I do want you to see my plan.

INT. LAB HOME 12:45 PM

Jacinda is in Vlad’s office and Big Ashley is guarding the office. Vlad approaches Big Ashley and waits as the robot steps aside. He then sits down across from Jacinda.

JACINDA

So, the reason you brought me here was to explain why you concocted this grand plan. Will you please explain?

VLAD

With pleasure. I felt you were hogging all the spotlight with your brilliant ideas. It was the only chance I got to lead the human- robot program. I then thought of a way for you to get fired from Lab Home: steal something valuable. Now I was certain of 2 things in this plan: it would work, and you would run away, leaving me with respect and applause. The part I was confused about is you didn’t run away the way I thought. I wanted you to be full of anxiety, vulnerable. Instead, you had a plan. That’s what worries me about you. Now, any questions?

JACINDA

Yeah, one. Why do you talk so much?

Vlad stands up and, not responding, approaches Big Ashley. 

VLAD

Do me a favor and take care of Jacinda, permanently!

Big Ashley nods and then roughly takes Jacinda by her arm and drags her to the Lab Home basement. When they get down there, Big Ashley pins Jacinda against the wall and warms up her lasers. 

JACINDA

Please, Ashley, don’t do this.

ASHLEY

I only take orders from Vlad. He is superior. Exterminate!

JACINDA

I’m sorry, Ashley, but I can’t let you do that. Start self destruct sequence: Password – Handles. My first name for you until I came up with a better name. Goodbye, Ashley.

ASHLEY

No, what are you- self destruct 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

ASHLEY

(Regular Ashley)

Goodbye, Jacinda.

A huge explosion sends metal flying everywhere. Jacinda covers her head to protect her from the flying debris. When the aftershock hits Jacinda, she tumbles to the ground. Picking herself up, she goes back to the floor where Vlad was and sneaks up behind him. Accidentally, she steps on a creaky floorboard.

VLAD

Is that you, Ashley? I heard an explosion and I thought it might’ve been you blowing Jacinda up.

JACINDA

Think again!

Jacinda, taking Vlad by surprise, is able to tie Vlad up and call the police to hand him over.

POLICE OFFICER

Well, would you look at that? Same people. Now then, you’re being charged for quite a few things, including attempted murder, theft, and blackmailing. 

VLAD

(Yelling)

I demand to speak with my lawyer! There’s no evidence!

JACINDA

I beg to differ, Vlad. Oh, by the way, I thought you’d like to know I’m the boss now since you’re going to prison.

VLAD

I’ll get you!

JACINDA

If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that. 

INT. JAIL CELL 7 PM

Vlad is wearing the regular orange prison suit as he lies down on his dusty bed. Wiping off the dirt, he hears a cling as the jail cell swings open with a click of the key. Not facing the person, Vlad returns to wiping his bed. A hand rests on his shoulder, making Vlad stop uneasily. Cautiously turning, he faces something hidden by the shadows. 

ASHLEY

Hello Vlad, let’s finish this. 

FADE OUT

Wicked Witch of the Night

A werewolf haunts a decayed old mansion, the walking dead stalk you in the night. 

The crawling bones, the creaking floors, they make you want to die. A whole world of arachnids live in that big, old house.

 And you won’t escape alive, even if you try. The night was as quiet as a mouse. 

And you did not hear the walking mummy, who was as tall as the sky, but could become as small as a louse.

 But he’s as quiet as a mouse. And that was the end of you. You didn’t experience the walking evil living in the cellar of that house.

 The skeletons are with the ghosts.

 You hear the sound of creaking doors. 

The zombies eat your brains and more. 

The floating ghouls all go to schools, and the pumpkins are alive! 

The evil creature living in that house is none other than the wicked witch of the night! You walked downstairs to the cellar. The pumpkins lit the way. 

The witch ate children like you, and you cannot run away. The moon was full, the man turned into a wolf. The witch was cooking something, in that big, black cauldron of hers. 

She beckoned for you to come closer, and then she locked the doors. You crawled into a corner, like a little mouse. You saw the witch’s wart-filled face,

 She had some claws that were sharp as a mace.

 You could not now win with an ace,

 for you saw the witch’s wart-filled face. Her eyes were glowing red. And they were filled with rage!

 You saw the unfortunate humans that died, whilst trapped in her cage. The whole army of monsters, living in that big old house, cornered you like a little mouse. And then, they pounced!!!

Playtime

Chapter One

“Ugh. I’m so bored.”

 I flop down on my bed. 

“Hey, Siri. Interesting things near me.”  I scroll through the options. “Hmmm… Brooklyn escape room. And it’s called…. Playtime. It says two to four players. I’ll try to invite some of my friends.” 

First, I call Susan. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, Susan, there’s a really fun looking escape room and I scheduled it for 4:00 tomorrow. You wanna come?”

“Sure, I’m free tomorrow.”

“Great! See you then!”

I try calling Margret next, but she doesn’t pick up. Then, I call Lily. 

“Hi, Lily, wanna come to an escape room with me and Susan at 4:00 tomorrow?” It’s a bit of a risk, since I know Lily doesn’t like Susan, but I hope she can come. 

“I’m sorry, I have a class from 3:30 to 5:00.”

“That’s fine, Lily! See you at school!” I hang up. Guess it’s just Susan.

Chapter Two 

It’s a cloudy day when Susan and I go into the escape room. I’m talking with a worker at the escape room.

“Well, you see, there’s an emergency button, if something were to happen,” he says.

“But wait a second, where is it?”

“Have a good time!” he says, and closes the door. Weird guy.

“Huh,” says Susan. I look around. It’s a room. I mean, I know it’s an escape room, but this just looks like a little girl’s bedroom. You know, toys, a frilly bed, a dresser, and a bookcase. I notice that it’s very clean.

“Hmmm. I feel like there should be a puzzle we solve or something.” 

“I know, right?” Susan says. We keep searching the room for some idea of what will happen or some sort of clue everywhere we can think of (under the rug, in the dresser, on the bookshelves) when the lights flicker. On and off, on and off. Susan and I freeze. It stops. 

“Okaaaaay. What just happened?” 

“Don’t ask me.”

“Wait.” I spot something on the floor. It’s a piece of paper, and I pick it up. It’s in cursive.

 Mary likes playtime.

Okay, I’m really scared now like really. And that’s before I hear the whispering.

“Do you hear that?” asks Susan.

“Yeah, I do.” Whispering. Little voices. I can’t tell who they belong to. They talk over each other in a language I can’t understand. I plug my ears, but it doesn’t help. I feel like it’s creeping into my brain. Then, suddenly, it stops.

Chapter Three

“Okay, isn’t there an emergency button?” says Susan.

“I don’t know, he didn’t say where it was!”

“Well then, we’re just going to have to find it, won’t we.”

I used to not like how Susan could be bossy sometimes, but right now, I really appreciate it. We start checking on shelves, in drawers, in corners and crevices. Everywhere possible. Until finally, the only place we haven’t checked is under the bed. I think we’re both a little scared to go under there.

 “Okay,” says Susan. “I’m going under there.”

 ….. orrrr maybe I’m the one who’s scared to do it. She slowly crawls under the bed, going farther down until I can’t see her anymore. I wait for about a minute, but she doesn’t reply. “Susan?” I call. I lean down. “Susan!” 

But I don’t see her.  Like, as in she’s not there. There is nothing under the bed. Not even a dust bunny! (Like I said, it’s very clean.) But seriously! I’m alone! I’ve done escape rooms before, so I went with the creepiness, but this is too much. People don’t just disappear! But I had a feeling I was next. If there’s one rule that goes for everyone in the world, it’s that if your friend disappears under totally random circumstances, you can freak out. So that’s exactly what I do.

I try to bang on the doors. “Help!” I shout, but it’s like nobody hears me. So I search around. I’m sure there’s something I missed when trying to find the emergency button. Finally, I think I see something behind the dresser, so I muster up all my strength and push it to the side. Sure enough, there’s a green button. I press it but nothing happens. I’m shocked. I was sure that would be the answer. All of a sudden, an alarm starts blaring. Nobody comes. But the alarm doesn’t stop. I start tugging on the doorknob. I thought they weren’t allowed to actually lock people in! I give up and flop down on the bed. I can’t believe this! But then the alarm stops. I hear a click from the door. I decide to try one more time. I go to the door, grab with both hands, and pull. Like the door had never been locked, it opens easily. I’m so happy! But what about Susan? I think. But that’s when I see the… thing on the other side of the door. That’s really the only way to describe it. Something unspeakable. Something out of a horror film. One rated Z, which doesn’t exist. Yeah, that’s how scary it was. A monster. I’m about to slam the door in its… face-like thingy when all of a sudden, I feel a strange sensation in my back. I’m about to turn around when my perspective goes black. I close my eyes. And never open them in human form again.

Epilogue

A man sits alone in his house. As he stares out the window, a tear rolls down his cheek. He remembers the day about a month ago when his daughter disappeared. He wonders if she will come back someday. And maybe, just maybe, whatever his daughter had become was watching him, waiting for the day that he would join her. 

James

Chapter 1

James was an 8th grader who was going to Franklin Middle school. He was trying to get famous, but none of the other kids would talk to him. He had no clue how he could do it, because it was so hard to make friends with kids during recess. He had heard about other kids getting popular, or sometimes even becoming class president, and he wanted to be a part of that area, or at least a few steps below. Maybe, he thought, if I can make some friends, or start some kind of group, I might get at least a few people who can help me. He knew (and remembered) very few of the kids in his class’ names, but he still went and tried his plan out.

So he asked his classmate, Ben (or so he thought), what to do. 

“Well, I think it’s always possible to just make a forum, or some other discussion kind of thing, I don’t really know,” said Ben. Well, thought James, I have no idea how to make a website or a forum, and even if I did, it would take a while to actually get it going, so that’s no use. He went over to another kid, Jordan (maybe), and asked the same question.

“You should totally make a video game! Kids like video games. Just make a VR game and everyone will go to you.” Of course! James thought. If I make a VR game, everyone will like me. And that would be the perfect head start! “You just have to be careful, though, about the decision you make when you make a video game. If it’s too fun, they won’t want to stop, and that can be a problem.”

“Hmm, that shouldn’t be a problem,” said James.

Chapter 2

            James had no coding skills or mechanical skills whatsoever, so he had to call his distant friend, Stanley, up and ask him to ask his dad to use his 3-D printer to make a VR headset that a phone could slide into. He went to the website The Code Mush, to squash together 4 code files: one that gave interface to the motion sensors on the headset (made by his friend’s dad), one with neural networks (because James thought the smarter, the better), a 3-D resource file (so he could program with 3-D graphics), and some pseudo-code he made himself. Overnight, the administrators of the website thought about what code to put as an answer, and what kind of person would make a robot with artificial intelligence disguised as a VR headset, with an extremely insecure web runner, which allowed people to easily hack into the game and make people see whatever the person hacking wanted them to see. But the administrator decided that whoever was asking for this had a good reason, and in the morning, he had his answer. A few days later, Stanley’s dad came over, and gave him the headset. After he had assembled it, and downloaded the code files to his phone, he gave it to his friend, Bill, for a test run. The goal of the game was to drive around on your bike and capture all the bad guys, and look as dramatic as possible. He wondered if this game could be a problem, because at the beginning of the game, it said to get on your bike, but he thought that as long as he told his friend the whole plan, it shouldn’t be a problem.

            As soon as Bill put the motors and the exosuit on, he knew something wasn’t right. He hadn’t seen any motors and definitely no exosuit when James gave it to him, and he had no idea why they would be necessary. But he kept putting it on, and when he was just about to put on the headset, he realized that the only thing James gave him was that headset. The robot must have built the exosuit itself! Maybe James’ phone had a virus on it and James didn’t know it. But before he could put the headset down, the phone turned on. He grimaced as the phone whirred, and saw the phone typing its own password in. He tried to turn the phone off, but he accidentally opened the game file. He knew that when the game turned on, there would be no escape. The motors started to move his limbs for him, and he couldn’t resist. The motors started to push his legs back and forth, making him walk down the street, and towards Stanley’s house. When he got to the house, he felt his hands moving towards his headset, and as much as he struggled, he could not stop himself from putting it on. He felt his hands moving about, maybe building something, but he could not see past the headset. He shouted as something small crawled up his shirt, and landed on his head, strapping a mask over his nose and mouth. And when he breathed in, he felt himself fall asleep. As James was waiting for Bill and his test run reviews, he decided to go over and ask him himself. So he went over to Bill’s house, and rang the doorbell, and Bill’s dad came out.

“Where is Bill?” asked James, looking around.

“Bill? I think he is at Stanley’s house,” replied Bill’s dad. So James walked down the street, by his school and some other schools, and sometime later, he got to Stanley’s house. He rang the doorbell. It took a very long time for Bill to answer. When Bill came out, James could tell that he seemed different. His arms and legs were moving weirdly, and he had put on this really thick sweater and some sweatpants.

“Salutations, James,” said Bill in a weird monotone. “The game was… amusing. It had…  superlative outcomes. The game felt incredibly relevant to the world.”

“What does that mean?” asked James, who had no memory of his friend knowing a lot of words.

“It means like real life.”

“Okay, so on a scale of 1-100, how was it?”

“1,000,000,000%. Better than it is possible to be. If I were you, I would sell to everyone around the world.”

“Hmm. I will think about that, bye,” said James, leaving quite quickly. He was pretty scared that his friend had taken on some weird behavior right after he went into the suit, and definitely not considering selling around the world.

The next day at Bill’s house, there were more VR armatures, this time without any phone controlling them. Bill was making (against his will) more of them, and sometimes, even tiny robot bundles that could mess with people’s brainwaves. At least an eighth of his class was made up of ultra-smart kids in really baggy clothes or no visible changes. Every night, Bill kept making more, and after a while, there were enough to fill his entire class, and a few more classes. And James had no knowledge of this at all. Things were looking pretty bad.

Chapter 3

Before, the problem could easily be ignored. But now, with kids walking all around him and looking at him blankly, it was impossible not to notice. Bill (or really whoever was controlling him), on the other hand, was making a lot of money off James’ idea, and that was not super good for James. James could be sued for making an idea that would control people, or maybe a two-way sue. Some of the kids at the school were making some of their own VR armatures, all through recess, after school, weekends, and even on the holidays. When the kids weren’t in school, they were making suits. A lot of the teachers, too, had been controlled by the armatures, and were making their own suits. James started going to Bill’s house more frequently, to check in on him.

“Hi, Bill,” said James one day.

“Hello, James, how are you?” Bill said.

“I’m okay. I noticed that you are… well… acting a little funny. Is there something wrong?”

“No. Nothing. I am perfectly fine. And yes, I have been telling more jokes than usual. Why?”

“That’s not what I meant. I mean… you’ve been wearing the same clothes every day, and you are always disappearing in class, and I never see you at recess.”

“I’ve been raking, and I had to go to the bathroom. And I haven’t been wearing the same clothes every day, ” said Bill so quickly, it sounded to James as if he had said it in five seconds.

“Oh, yes of course, ” said James. “You aren’t still in that VR suit I gave you, are you?”

“No, absolutely not,” said Bill, who was kind of telling the truth. He wasn’t in the exosuit, he was being controlled by the tiny robots.

“Okay, bye, Bill,”

“Goodbye.”

Most of the other times he talked to Bill, the effect was the same. After a few months, the entire school was filled with robot kids. Eventually, James finally figured it all out, exactly what had been going on with Bill, except for the tiny brain robots. But he had no idea how to power all the robots down, without anybody noticing. He needed help from his parents. After he explained the whole thing to his mom and dad (with a lot of difficulty), they told him that he should find out who was controlling these robots, or make an app update, adding an unharmful self destruct system. He decided to make an update, because he did not know how to hack. So he made a new app, and told everyone at school that there was an update, and they quickly ran away from him, probably to get the new app. He had programmed in a foolproof way to have the suit unlatch from the person, and walk far away, into a deep pit in James’ backyard.

A week later, in the middle of the night, the suits unlatched, retracting the bracelets around their arms and legs, and got up and walked around. The suits walked out the door, all towards James’ house. While James was looking out his window at them, he was thinking about what could be the end of this crisis. He noticed only twenty armatures walked into the pit, and there were at least 400 kids in his school, all of whom were possessed. The next morning, he noticed that his plan had barely worked at all. Only a few kids had acted friendly, and the rest had been very weird. He decided to ask the kids who had been cured, because they were the ones that made the suits.

“Hi! Did you notice anything strange last week?”

“Oh, yes, the weirdest! There was like this skeleton! It just walked onto my body and it stuck there!”

“Tell me about it! I really need info.”

“Okay. It was really terrible, but also kind of cool.” So the kids told him the whole story, all of their suspicions (all of which were correct), all about the microbots, exosuits, and some torn up sweaters. When they all were done, James understood. Everything made sense, and he thought he knew how to stop it.

Chapter 4

Since the nanobots only ran on very small batteries, it wouldn’t do too much harm if they short-circuited. So he set up some small capacitive touch activated door knob squirters, some small pressure plates under some mats, and several motion activated water cannons, to blast whoever was infected with water. He had taken the creative time to work hard and actually learn how to make the things himself properly, instead of just relying on other people to help him. But unfortunately, he had done it on a Friday, so he would have to wait three days before seeing the effects. It was on Sunday that he had finally noticed a flaw in his plan. Squirting the kids with water wouldn’t short out the mini-robots, because they were in the kids’ brains. He quickly created a small electric shocker for a show and tell project, to share what the effects of certain electronic components could do to voltage. It would be absolutely impossible to notice for the kids, because the voltage level was only nine volts. When the nine volts ran across the kids’ bodies from one hand to the other, it would pass through every part of their body, including the tiny robots. There was another advantage to the nanobots using tiny batteries. It meant that it could handle no more than around one volt, and if ten volts entered the nanobots’ battery sockets, they would overpower, and get destroyed. This really was a terrible idea, because sending ten volts into a brain-controlling nanobot could cause them to send brain signals of ten volts through their brains, which is a lot of volts for a person’s brain. But luckily, the robots had a small power restrictor, which would self-destruct if the voltage was too much. When he went to school that day, he was really excited about finally saving his school. The kids could carrey voltage in their bodies, so whoever they touched would also be free from the tiny robots, and if they touched the playground equipment, it would spread everywhere. So in the evening, when the kids lined up to try out James’ experiment, all of the kids had a tiny jump, and then walked back to their seats. It worked perfectly, and by the end of the week, the VR headsets and all of the nanobots had been completely wiped out permanently. At the end of the day, all of the kids thanked James for saving them from the robots. James wanted to run for class president, and he won the vote, probably because all the kids liked that he had been smart and creative enough to stop the robots (although the teachers didn’t approve as much because they got soaked).

Friendzy the Dragon

Once upon a time, there was a dragon named Friendzy. 

Hi, I am Friendzy. I am red with wings. I love to do flips, somersaults, and handstands. I really want to learn how to fly like my mom and my dad. My dad always tells me to stay healthy and go to school. So when I went to school yesterday, I was the only one there, so I was so happy. 

Now do not get confused when Sheva turned into me. She said that we did not learn how to fly and breathe fire. So when I asked my teacher to teach me how to fly and breathe fire, the teacher said, “No.” The teacher was too busy trying to find the other students who were playing hide and seek. 

I was so mad that I had to find someone else to teach me how to fly and breathe fire, but I was so scared that I asked my brother to come with me. But then far away, I still saw another old dragon who I think knew how to fly and breathe fire. So I went up there with my brother and asked him if he could teach me how to fly and breathe fire. So the old dragon told me to come tomorrow. So I was so excited that I could just scream this out loud! 

So I rushed over and I went to bed quickly. “This was the best day ever,” I said. 

“What did you say?” said my dad. 

“I said that this old dragon on the mountain will teach me how to fly and breathe fire tomorrow,” I said. 

So when today was tomorrow, I went up on the mountain. 

“Hi again, are you ready to learn how to fly and breathe fire?” asked the old dragon. 

“Yes,” I said. 

“Okay, so when you’re trying to fly, you want to try to flap your wings so hard that you can lift up off the ground, and when you’re off the ground, you flap your wings a little slower. And this is how you breathe fire. So open your mouth wide, and let it breathe out,” said the old dragon. 

“I did it,” I said. 

So when I went home, I taught my brother how to fly! “I did it,” said my little brother. So when it was my tenth birthday, I told my friends to fly with me! 

“I’m having the best birthday ever,” I said. 

And that was how Friendzy learned how to fly and breathe fire. 

The End!

WWI

I am listening to the radio. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia because Austria-Hungary thinks the Serbian government has killed their heir with assassins waiting along the way. But since Serbia and Russia are friends, Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary. But Germany is friends with Austria-Hungary, so Germany declares war on Russia. Then I turn off the radio. I grab some toast and run to school. 

My name is George and I am twenty one years old. I’m in university and love history. I don’t stay there. I go and come home every day. I can’t imagine how hard it is to be a soldier. The hardships you have to grow through. 

All of a sudden, the ground starts to rumble. The school emergency bells ring through the halls. We are all ordered to evacuate the building. Then, in the daylight, I see planes dropping round, cylindrical things from a door under the plane. I see a sign on it. The Swastika. I see a plane drop a big object, but when it hits the ground, it makes an explosion. They are bombs. That means this is a bombing raid! 

I am led to a bombing raid shelter where we are ordered to stay until the raid ends. I know this is Germany because Germany invaded Belgium and the British were friends with Belgium. So Britain sent troops to Belgium to help them. I want to fight for my country, so I enlist in the army. I am fit for the army, perfect size, strength, and with no training, I go to the battle field. I am assigned with a task of clearing a path for other infantry units. We march for hours until we see a German pill box with a machine gun loaded with a sixty caliber bullet belt. We saw movement in the pill box and knew we needed to destroy it before they noticed us. We are armed with Lee Enfield rifles and have twenty clips of ammo per soldier. Then I see a German officer reach for his binoculars and gaze out of the window. His binoculars hit on our sight. He screams, “Open fire!”

Then there are bullets zipping by in all directions. We quickly get down to the ground and fire back. I see two German soldiers get out of the pill box, both with Mausers. They start to fire in the field we are in. We outnumber them two to one and we pick them off one by one. Since we have C-4 explosives, we just need to plant one next to the door and then blow it off. Then we will capture a few officers, ask for information on their moving troops, and then make them POWs. Because that pill box will be dangerous to other reinforcements coming in by ground. 

One of our officers tells me and another soldier we should make a run for it and plant the bomb. So I grab a C-4 from the bundle I am carrying and we run for our lives. We make it unscathed and plant it. Then we see ten figures screaming and tell them to get out of there with weapons down and hands up. We take them prisoners, then go back into the pill box. We see four limp bodies. Dead. Two died of concussion, the others of the explosion. Then we see another pill box. And since it isn’t on duty, we think it will be easy to capture it. But when we plant the C-4, it doesn’t do a thing! We realize the door is made of steel, and the rest of the pill box is concrete reinforced with steel. We will need something stronger than C-4’s, so we run back to our command post, a few yards away, and tell the general that he didn’t give us what we needed and that he is the one who is going to deal with it. 

We think they are going to kick us out of the army but they say that it is alright and that we will get some tanks tomorrow morning. 

The next morning, we go back to the pill box and figure it is now active. Almost as if on cue, German machine guns open up. I see a soldier get up and throw a grenade. He takes out five Germans! Then I feel a pain in the leg. I have been shot. Everything is becoming blurry. I collapse. Everything goes black. 

I wake up in a tent with a familiar face hovering over me. I can’t believe it. I have survived! I ask his name and he says, “Oliver.” And soon after that we become close friends. 

I ask if we destroyed the pill box and Oliver says yes. He says that the tank was a Mark One and it had gotten stuck while descending. But it had still fired into the window where the machine gun was, killing its occupants instantly. But he says we had also lost eight men in the battle. 

In a few days, I have recovered completely. They have used pincers to take out the bullet and put sulfur powder on the wound. I go back to my group and they tell me we are going to dig trenches because of a suspected counterattack. We spend all day and night digging with shovels and bayonets. Luckily, I haven’t lost my shovel, so it is a bit easier. But for some of the men, they have lost both shovels and bayonets! They have really bad bruises and blisters on their hands. But they keep on going. We make about thirty feet in length, not bad for a day’s work.

 In two days, we are finished with the trench. The next day, our scout reports seeing  three tanks and about five hundred Germans heading to our trench. But it isn’t a problem for us. We have already planted mines on the road they were on. Suddenly, we hear a loud explosion. We all grin. They have fallen into our trap. We also have portable bazookas, and if the tanks miraculously survive, we will finish it off. But the Germans on foot will survive because the mines only activate when under heavy pressure. And for that, we have light and heavy machine guns to easily take out the Germans. Only one tank survives the minefield, and it has a large chunk of armor dragging behind it, and the top of the tank is on fire. But it keeps moving forward. 

We all grab a bazooka and some yell, “Fire!”

We all watch as the tank is demolished. We all cheer, but too early. We see a soldier fall, then another. We all crouch down and see the Germans advancing. We see a shell soaring through the air and land with a boom. A green smoke erupts from it. Poisonous gas. I yell, “Put on your gas masks!” 

We wait until the gas clears, but now the Germans are really close to taking over the trench. I run to a machine gun and yell to Oliver to come help me feed the machine gun. Once I squeeze the trigger and slice it across the field, Germans start going down. We have five machine guns and we begin mowing through them. I see a German officer raise a white flag. They’ve surrendered. 

We motion the medics to let them get their wounded. Then I see the medic talking through a telephone a mile a minute! I know he is describing our position. Then he pulls out a pistol. I grab the machine gun and put ten bullets in him. Even though it is a crime to kill a medic, he is giving away our position and he was going to kill us. 

We send a scout to see if German reinforcements are coming. He comes running back and says that the Germans are positioning artillery guns and they are now loading them with poisonous gas. We get into the tiny rooms that were dug into the side of the trench. Those spaces are meant for sleeping and protection from bombardment. We put on our gas masks. As soon as we get into those tiny spaces, we hear the screams of artillery shells flying through the air. They burst in green smoke. The gas masks are uncomfortable, but useful in these situations. Then we hear rumbling behind us. We peek just for a few seconds. Tanks have come to our aid! But the Germans know that already. Then we see anti-tank shells. They land all around our tanks. The Germans soon bring their own tanks. They outnumber our tanks, four against seven. But our tanks are not alone. We still have our bazookas. 

I aim it directly at the bottom of the enemy tank and fire. The tank is then being gobbled up in flames. Soon after, the rest of the group gets out and grabs their bazookas. But then we see Germans come out of dense foilage, with bayonets fixed. I drop my bazooka and grab a machine gun. The Germans are desperately fighting. I call for someone to help me, and Oliver comes, even though we need to help our tanks. We are running low on ammo, but we keep firing at the Germans. 

We take them all out in about five minutes! 

The field is littered with bodies. But the tanks keep fighting. Four of us aim our bazookas at one tank because it will take more than one person to take out one tank! We fire at almost the same time and the tank explodes. Its gun shatters and the left armor is hanging by a thread. We hear ear-piercing screams coming from inside the tank. The Germans in there are being cooked alive. I shudder at the thought of me being the German in that tank. I shake that thought away and fire at another tank. 

One of our tanks is hit and its wheels are on fire. I rescue the soldiers in the tank. The other three tanks fire shell after shell at their enemy. All together, we take out five enemy tanks, but the other four retreat. We all get out of the trench and then Germans run at us from all directions. We take out all of the tanks, so our tanks leave. We are surrounded. Some men stay in the trench to tend to the wounded. But the Germans didn’t know that. They ordered us to drop our weapons and put our hands up. They tell us to line up. I know they are going to execute us. But suddenly a German soldier falls, then another, then another. The Germans don’t know where they are being attacked from. They take out the Germans quickly. I go back to the trench and go to sleep. The next day, I learn that I have been in the war for about two years. I can’t believe it! It feels like only weeks have passed.

Vacations Everywhere!

Peggy was at home, very sad. She was grounded by her parents because she did not do her homework and couldn’t go out with her friends. She wanted to be at her grandma’s house, but she was too small to go there all by herself and her grandma lived far away. She was at her yard and saw something sparkly in the bushes and found a mirror. 

She looked at the mirror and said, “I wish I was at my grandma‘s house.” The mirror was magic so it took her to her grandma’s house. Peggy didn’t know that the mirror was magic, so she was surprised! She snuck out of the kitchen and surprised her grandma. 

Grandma was sitting and watching T.V., and when Peggy scared her, she looked to the side and asked, “How did you get here?” 

Grandma recognized the mirror and said, “You found my mirror. I left it at your house when I went there. Thanks for finding it.” 

“You are magical?” 

“Yes I am.” 

“What? You are?!” said Peggy, amazed.

Grandma said, “I am a witch. My mom was a witch, too. You are a witch, too. I will teach you how to be a witch, too. But don’t tell anybody. That was my mom’s mirror now it is mine.”

“How is magic real?” asked Peggy. 

“Magic is in our lives,” said Grandma. “First you need to think of the places you want to go and then you appear there. If you want to take a buddy, you have to hold its hand.”

Peggy held her grandma’s hand and they disappeared to Paris. They went to the carousel, rollercoaster, and ate cotton candy. They had so much fun. They went to Spain and went to Portaventura and went on a lot of rides. When Peggy was on a ride, her mom noticed that Peggy was not home and her mom started to get nervous. Peggy’s mom went to the yard and discovered that Peggy had the mirror. Mom got her mirror and went to Grandma’s house, but Mom did not see them. She asked the mirror where to go, and the mirror showed her. She appeared right in front of Peggy. Peggy was surprised.

Mom said to Grandma, “Enough playing with Peggy.” Mom grabbed Peggy’s hand and used a broomstick so that no one could see that they were transporting with mirrors. However, when her mom was about to go, Peggy jumped out of the broomstick and stayed with Grandma. 

So Grandma showed Peggy how to ride a broomstick because Peggy wanted to be a proper witch. “The first thing you need to ride a broomstick is that you need to learn where to sit and where to put your cat. So, your cat goes on the end of the bush and you sit at the front. To make your broomstick go, you need to move your legs up and down and then it will start flying. To turn your broomstick, you need to put your arm where you want to go. To land, you put your broomstick down to the floor, it goes straight, and when you want to stop, you pull it up. And that’s how you ride a broomstick.” 

Peggy went for a try and Peggy twirled, turned, and almost fell out. She screamed, “Get me off this thing!” 

Grandma said, “Stay calm and your broomstick will keep on flying the right way.” 

When Peggy twisted and turned she felt excited, but when she almost fell off she felt scared and nervous because she thought she was going to fall down onto the floor and get really, really hurt! 

Every day after school, Peggy’s mom let her go to Grandma’s only if she did her homework and behaved. Peggy did a very disgusting spell. “What is in this spell?” Peggy wondered as she asked her grandma.

“There is worm poop, worm slime, water, and sunlight,” Grandma told Peggy, putting her fingers together.

“Yuck!” Peggy said, disgusted. 

Peggy got all of the ingredients, mixed them together, put them out in sunlight, and waited for four hours. In those four hours, Peggy lay down, counting all the flowers and grass until she lost count. She counts about 1,400 flowers and 6,045 grasses. 

Peggy asked if her grandma had a pool in her backyard. 

Grandma answered, “Yes.”

Peggy got dressed in her swimsuit and jumped in the steam and the water was like fire. Peggy was really hot because the light of the sun was hard and shining really bright. Peggy sat on the edge of the pool and then stood up and dove in. She almost hit her head on the bottom, and the pool was really deep. It passed the grass. It was under the ground. 

The four hours passed and the potion turned green and icky. Even though the spell had horrible ingredients, it actually smelled like lovely flowers. Peggy brought her potion home and gave it to her little sister, and it turned her little sister into a worm. 

Her mom came in and said, “Why is there a worm in your sister’s room?”

Peggy answered, “I turned my sister into a worm.”

Mom laughed. “I see that you learned a new spell.” 

When Peggy got back to her grandma’s house, she asked, “How do you turn people back into themselves?”

Grandma answered, “Instead of the same spell, you use the opposite. Instead of smelly and disgusting things, you put flowers, grass, perfume, and the last thing is sunlight.”

Peggy mixed the ingreetings together. It took two hours. During the two hours, Peggy went into the pool that was deep. After the two hours, she went home and gave it to her sister. Her sister turned back to herself.

Peggy’s favorite toy was her stuffy. She got it when she was two months old and it was named Soniño. She slept with it. It came with a blanket, and the blanket was named Peludo. It was one of her first stuffies, and if someone took it away from her forever, she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Peggy didn’t like hard homework and tests, but she liked normal homework. Peggy wasn’t allowed to go to her grandma’s house because she had to do her homework. Since her homework was really hard, she didn’t want to!

THE TEST happened on Friday at school. THE TEST was a lot of really hard multiplication, addition, subtraction, and other math things. Peggy’s school was not a magic school. It was a very different school, which was very hard. They sent her homework for Saturday and Sunday, and on Monday-Thursday, they did little tests at home to prepare for Friday. If Peggy did all of THE TEST’s answers wrong, she would go back to second grade. If Peggy did halfway of THE TEST correct, she would stay in third grade. If she got all of the answers in THE TEST, she would be able to go on to fourth grade. Peggy was very scared and nervous to take THE TEST because it was a really big day, and she needed to know her answers.

Peggy was not able to escape from her house because there were lots of booby traps, and if she passed one, a big alarm would sound. The booby traps were for the parents to know when Peggy was escaping because they wanted her to do her homework. Some of the booby traps were on the floor and some were on the ceiling and some were on the wall. The walls were bright white and the ceilings were dark white and the floor had light brown patterns. The booby traps looked like a little ball with something that they sat on so they didn’t roll off. The ones that were on the ceiling and walls had this little sticker, and some walls had magnets that they stuck on. The sound they made sounded like an ambulance and a fire truck and a police car noise all together! The only way that you could pass them was by being invisible, but the problem was that Peggy didn’t have all her ingredients, book of spells, and magic pot since she left them at her grandma’s house.

While Peggy was trying to escape, she went to the kitchen to find some ingredients and see if she had enough. While that was happening, her parents and her family were all in a meeting at her grandma’s house. They talked about how worried they were about THE TEST because Peggy didn’t want to do her homework, and they were so worried that if she didn’t do it, she would fail. They all talked about what Peggy liked most, and they all forgot what it was. They were so worried that they would not figure it out, and that Peggy would escape and not do her test. Her mom went with her magic and went to a spell that said, “To Know Your Daughter’s Favorite Toy.” She mixed up the potion ingredients, and she knew right away that her Soniño and Peludo were just it. 

So, with her magic, she saw that Peggy was in the kitchen trying to find some ingredients for her spell. Her dad took her Soniño and Peludo with his magic, and her mom and dad went right back to their house. They warned Peggy of what would happen if she didn’t do her homework (that they would take Soniño and Peludo from her forever). Peggy got so worried because she could not sleep with Soniño and Peludo missing, so she went straight into her room. She forgot there was an alarm right on her door but her parents weren’t mad because they knew she was going to do her homework since she really loved Soniño and Peludo and that she would do anything to avoid her parents taking them away. 

Peggy was on her desk chair working hard on her homework. Every day, when she woke up, she had breakfast and went to her room to practice math, reading, writing, and social studies. Peggy felt nervous. If she didn’t get all of it right, her mom might be mad at her and make her practice more! 

After lots of days of practicing, the test day arrives. Peggy felt nervous. Very nervous, because she didn’t want to be held back or stay in third grade. The teacher set a timer, so they would do their work. 

The teacher said, “Ready, set, go!”

Peggy remembered all her studying and wrote, wrote, wrote everything. When math was done, she moved to reading. Then she moved to writing, and then to social studies. 

Finally, the test was over. When the teachers went to check her work, Peggy bit her lips and shook her legs. The teachers called in her whole entire family to say her results. Peggy took a deep breath in and calmed herself down. When the teacher said, “Peggy, you can move on to fourth grade,” Peggy was relieved and her family cheered. 

Since Peggy passed, her family thought of throwing a party. So, they went to buy donuts and a congratulations cake. Her friends and grandma and grandpa came to celebrate, too. Peggy got a present from Grandma and Grandpa. It was a card that said, “Congratulations, Peggy! You did great.” Peggy thanked her grandpa and grandma because she really liked the card. She gave them a kiss and a hug. 

Peggy also got a graduation dress and hat. It even said her name. 

At her school, everyone passed, and they had a graduation party. Peggy wore her congratulations dress that her mom and dad bought for her. It even had a tassel and it said the year that she graduated. They took a class picture. Peggy smiled happier than ever. 

Peggy graduated at this very fun play place. It had lots of games and lots of very fun rides. She went on ten rides and played many, many games. When it was time to leave, Peggy helped her teacher clean up the tables and put away the cake. Peggy was really sad to start fourth grade and really happy at the same time. She was sad because she was going to miss her teachers. They were really fun and helpful. She was happy to move to fourth grade because she really worked a lot this year, and she was really happy to find new friends and teachers. 

Her parents bought a house for the summer. It had a pool and it had a lake. They went swimming in the lake and in the pool. They also went paddleboarding in the lake with their paddleboard. Over the summer, they also did a thank-you card for her teachers. 

Peggy found out that two of her friends rented a house right beside hers. One friend was on the right and the other one was on the left. Every day, they invited each other to go to their houses and make a thank-you poster for their teacher. They also opened the pool gates and swam in the pool together with lots of flamingo floaties and surfboards. 

It was the last week of summer, and Peggy brought lots of things, so they started packing. When the day was over, they still had a lot to pack, so every day they packed a little until it was time to go. Peggy said goodbye to her friends and goodbye to her summer house. 

Peggy was happy that school was about to start. But she heard some really sad news that her friends weren’t going to the same school as her. She was going to miss her friends, but her mom and dad said they would always visit them. 

When school started, her teacher’s name was Ella. She found lots of new friends and classmates. But her old friends would always be her best friends forever. Mom and Dad were so proud. So were Grandma and Grandpa, to see Peggy make new friends and have fun. 

Now Peggy was doing her homework every day. She went to her grandma’s house and also learned spells, and got her very own cat. The cat’s name was Chocolate, because her fur was brown and it smelled like chocolate. She was a magic cat with the power to create chocolate any time that Peggy asked her to. Peggy also got her very own broomstick to share with her cat, so her cat could sit on the tail and they could fly home. Peggy also learned many new spells. There was a changing-color spell, a weather spell that was really hard and dangerous (because you were controlling the weather and you never know what type of spell you might create), and also a math spell that helped her concentrate. 

Peggy was talking to her grandma about magic spells, but then Grandma had some horrible, very sad news. 

She said, “I’m dying. I’m very old.”

Peggy was really sad, and she started crying a bit, but Grandma told her that this happens to everyone. Peggy hugged her grandma as tight as she could. Peggy said, crying, “But without you, I can’t learn magic spells!” 

“I know you will!” responded Grandma. “I have to go to the hospital now to see my checkup,” said Grandma, “and you need to go home.” 

So, Peggy took her magic mirror and hopped on her broomstick and took her kitten named Chocolate and they went home. She told the news to her mom and dad, who were super disappointed because they liked Grandma a lot! 

“We know that darling,” said Mom. “Do you want to go visit Grandma?”

“Of course I do!” responded Peggy. 

So Mom, Dad, Sister, and Peggy went out to visit Grandma. They all took out their magic mirror except her sister, she didn’t have one, but she hopped on Peggy’s broomstick and carried her cat Chocolate. They went to the hospital where Grandma was, and Grandpa. Peggy held Grandma’s hand super tight. 

“The checkup is done!” said Grandma. “I’m going home now. Want to come with me?”

“Yes please!” responded Peggy.

So this time, her sister hopped on her Grandma’s broomstick and they all flew to Grandma’s house. Three days later, it was the day before Grandma was about to die, they went to this very cute sprinkle shop called Delicious Sprinkles. They went in and bought a bit of delicious sprinkles. When they got home, they baked a cake with Grandma. Grandma was also a very excellent baker! They baked 100 cupcakes and ten cakes. Imagine ten cakes! When they were done, they sprinkled lots and lots of cute and sparkly sprinkles. Of course, Grandma had to help! When they finished, they popped the cake into the oven and they forgot that they put the sprinkles in. 

“We needed to put the sprinkles after!” said Peggy. 

When the cake was finished, the sprinkles were completely melted! So they added sprinkles again. Grandma took a little bite without any sprinkles. She said, “Melted sprinkles taste delicious all together.” 

Peggy took a little bite. “You’re right!” said Peggy with a mouthful of cake. They saved some for later. 

They got to the hospital to see how Grandma was doing with her last day. 

The doctor said, “She’s doing great.” Peggy gave the doctor a cupcake.
“Why thank you! It tastes delicious.”

“You’re welcome,” said Peggy.

They went back to Grandma’s house and they had a sleepover all together. Before they took Grandma to the secret room, Peggy and Grandma had a very personal goodbye and kissed together. 

Grandma said, “I know you’ll become a great witch.” 

Peggy thought about it, and she said, “I will miss you.”

While they took Grandma to the private room, Peggy discovered the book of spells. The book of spells was something that Grandma left for Peggy. The note said: “From Grandma, To Peggy. This book of spells was mine and now it’s yours so you will become a great witch like me and your family. You can also use it to teach your sister. Love you! – Grandma”

Epilogue

Two months later, Peggy has been leaving flowers every day after her studies and writing notes of what she studies to her grandma. Peggy starts teaching her older sister. Her sister and her get into a bit of a problem. Her sister tries a spell, they hear a rumbling and then they get blocked! What will happen next to Peggy and her sister?

The Robot Who Met a Person

In another world, there was a robot named Emily who really wanted to meet a person but herio mom said she couldn’t. Emily went to her room and started crying, and then she said, “I really, really want to meet a real person. I’m gonna find a way to.” 

She started thinking, she was really into science and she even once said, “Oh, I want to learn about who existed thousands of years before me.” Next, she asked her mom, “Can I look up on your computer what existed thousands of years ago?” The computer said they were called People. After that, she went and looked it up in her book, and the book said that they were really cool. But they didn’t have a picture of the people. So, Emily said, “Oooh, I really, really want to meet a person so I can see what they look like and see what language they speak.” 

Emily wanted to go, so now she was gonna go outside and look all over the city for a person, but when she went home, she started crying again because she could not find a human. Then, she asked her mom if she could look on the internet. Her mom said, “Yes.” 

She went on the internet and looked to see if there was a way to find a human, and it said to go back in time to the 1900s. She thought and then she looked on the internet and looked up how to go back to the 1900s. It said to go to the darkest cave in the land, but first she had to travel to the Robot Island on a robot bird. She did not want to tell her mom because her mom would not let her so she had to sneak out. She started packing up her things then said to her mom she was going to a sleepover with her friend for a week.

Then she said goodbye to her mom and walked out the door, took her car, and drove to robot city airport and looked for the sign that said Robot Island area then she got out of her car and then took out her suitcase from her car then went in to the airport. She bought a ticket using her money that she had saved for just the occasion. Then she took the move (escalator) to the top floor to the waiting room and waited for them to announce that the Robot Island bird was boarding. She waited ten minutes and then they announced it was time for the robots going on the Robot Island bird to board. So she got up and she walked to where the robot captain was and she gave the captain the ticket and she boarded the robot bird. She found her seat and she sat down and started reading her book, and then they announced that it would take five hours to get to Robot Island. 

 The robot bird was flying into the air and Emily looked out the window and everything looked so small. So she watched some TV, the flight attendants gave out some drinks, and Emily watched five movies that were each one hour. Then, she got off the plane, and she saw a bunch of trees and this giant ocean. She looked up in her research book, and it said that this ocean was the biggest ocean in the Robot world. And then, she walked out of the plane and she went to her hotel. It was this round shape and it said, “Robot Island Hotel.” She walked into the hotel, checked in, and the hotel manager gave her the key to her room and then he showed her where her room was. She walked to her room and put all her stuff down, and then went out of her room and her mission just began. She went out of the hotel and took her research book with her and looked for the cave then found it. Then, she sneaked towards the cave, but there were guards standing in the entrance, so she tried to find another entrance from the back but she couldn’t. So she broke open the cave and sneaked in, then tiptoed towards the time machine, but there was a guard standing right in front of the time machine. So she tiptoed a tiny bit closer but the guard saw her and said, “Out!” 

So Emily quickly tiptoed another way and came back, and then he turned around and she tiptoed away so the guard couldn’t see her. She was feeling confident. She thought she probably wouldn’t get to the time machine cause there was a guard right in front of it. So then, she went out of the cave and tried to get to the front of the cave. The guard was looking toward the back of the cave because he was expecting her to come back. So she went out of the cave and went to the front entrance. There were guards. So then she distracted them and said, “Come get this gold rock,” and she threw it and they went to go get it because they thought it was gold. So then she sneaked in and the guard wasn’t looking and she got the time machine.

She put it in her bag and she ran all the way back to the hotel. Now she was so happy she quietly said, “Yes!” She ran to her hotel and waited for the elevator, then she got on the elevator and rode up to the fifth floor and opened her research book and it said to go outside in an open space where no one can see you. So she took her backpack and put her research book into her backpack. She put on her footwear and walked out of the hotel door and waited for the elevator, and then got on the elevator. Now she was very, very, very hungry. She walked out of the hotel and looked for an open space where there was no one. So she looked around a little more and finally, she found a space where she didn’t see anyone and it was very open. So she got out the time machine and said, “I want to go back to the 1900s.” And then, a whirl of wind caught her and she flew back very fast. Finally, she landed. 

It was very different from the robot world when she saw it. All the people looked different. They looked like they had round heads and oval bellies and weird shaped feet and little tiny toes. They were wearing long dresses that went to their ankles. There were also people wearing t-shirts with short sleeves and they had little words on them, but the words were different from robot language words. She also saw shops and saw people walking in and out of the shops. It looked very busy. 

So Emily walked around a little bit. She saw people looking right at her face. Their faces looked confused and weirded out and scared because they never saw anything like it. She was feeling embarrassed and she thought it would take a little bit of time for humans to get used to her, and that meant it would take time for her to get used to the humans so she could really meet the humans. She walked around, then she recognized the writing. It was a little similar to robot language words. She saw a shop that said, “Costume Store,” so she went inside. 

She tried to hide herself so no one could see her. She looked around, then she saw a costume of a teenage girl. “Perfect,” she said, but then she realized she needed money and she would have to sneak out of the costume store. So she tried to hide herself and the teenage girl costume. 

Emily made it out and tried to hide herself when she was putting on the teenage girl costume. Now she wouldn’t be embarrassed because she was wearing the teenage girl costume. 

She started taking a walk and then she saw a park, so she went to the park and ran around a little bit. Then, she saw a hotel and she went into it. She waited in line. When it was her turn, she just thought, Oh, I forgot! I almost forgot. I got a little bit of magic from the time machine and I’ll use that and I’ll tell the time machine that I want money because I don’t have any money. 

So Emily said to the person at the front desk of the hotel, “I’ll just step aside for a second. The next person can go.” So she stepped to the side, stepped out of the hotel, and she ran into an open space in the park. Then, she took out the time machine and she said, “Abracadabra, Time Machine, I need…” And then she looked at the hotel, and it said, “For one hotel room, it’s going to be $25.” So she asked the time machine for $30 just in case. Then, the time machine gave her $30. So then she put it into her pocket and she went back in the hotel and, at the front desk, she paid the money and they showed her where the hotel room was. They gave her the key to her hotel room so she went into the hotel and put down her stuff and started to think about how she would get the humans to like her. Then, she got an idea. 

She would set up a stand that sold pancakes because she learned in a research book that one kind of food that humans loved were pancakes. This book was all about humans, and she brought it with her from Robot World. It was a robot language, which was similar to human English. So she took her bag, and since she had money left, she would buy stuff for the stand. So she saw a store that had supplies, and she gathered all the supplies like a table, and she went to a store called Alex’s Deli and bought pancakes. Then, Emily went to the park, and on the side of the park, she set up the stand. Then people started coming to get them. They said, “How much does it cost?” 

She said, “Ten dollars per pancake.” So they got a pancake and went. After she got 30 customers, she took everything down and cleaned up. She made $300! She was very happy. She had made lots of money and people liked her because she sold them pancakes. They didn’t think she was a robot because she was acting normally and wearing the costume. It was hard for her not to be her normal self, but she wasn’t uncomfortable, because people liked her.

Then, Emily walked back into an open space in the park and said to the time machine, “Time Machine, please take me back to Robot World, right back to the front door of my house with all my luggage.” So the time machine formed a cloud that took her right back to her front door with all her luggage, and she knocked on the door and her mom opened it and said,

“Hello, darling.” It had been less than a week, so she decided to go home early then go unpack her bag. 

Finding the Banana Tree

Chapter 1: Obstacle Course 

There once was a monkey who wanted a banana so he went on an adventure.

On his search for his banana, he discovered an obstacle course. He had to swing vine to vine to go over a pond. So he jumped on the vines until some alligators came. “If you don’t make it through this obstacle course, you’re dinner for us!” 

And now the monkey was scared. So he had to go fast and he had to face his fear. 

The alligators followed him so that if he fell, they could catch him in their mouths. But he got through the obstacle course so the alligators didn’t have anything to eat. 

The next part of the obstacle course was pretty hard. He had to go through a maze but there were cheetahs in it! The monkey had to make sure he didn’t bump into any of them. He just had to try. So he went through the maze and then he bumped into a cheetah. He ran away, but while he was running, he found an exit. But then there was another cheetah! Both of the cheetahs bumped into each other and the monkey got out of the maze. The cheetahs were dizzy and mad that they didn’t get to eat the monkey. 

Then, the monkey had to jump on some hippos without getting eaten. The monkey jumped and he jumped and he jumped until he almost got chomped. He got away with only  a scratch. He finished that obstacle course. He found a banana but it wasn’t a regular banana. it was a golden banana! So he went back home and tried to eat his banana. But when he bit the gold banana, his teeth fell out. He felt sad. And he still felt hungry. 

Chapter 2: A Bad Day

Monkey had a bad day to start off with. He woke up hungry because he didn’t eat anything the day before. He decided to ask for help from his friend, Pete the Parrot. Since Pete could fly, Monkey had a great idea. He’d ask Pete to fly high and search the land for bananas. Monkey started to go to Pete the Parrot’s house. On his way to Pete’s house, he met a lemur who looked sad. Monkey asked the lemur, “Why are you sad?” 

Lemur said because she had no friends. 

Monkey invited her to come with him to Pete the Parrot’s house. Monkey asked the lemur her name.

“My name is Leah, what’s your name?” 

“My name is Miles,” said Monkey. 

They continued walking to Pete’s house. When they arrived at Pete’s house, Pete was outside planting tomatoes. 

Miles told him about not finding any bananas yesterday. He also told him about an obstacle course he discovered and how he was almost eaten by the alligators, cheetahs, and hippos. After surviving the other animals, he had found a golden banana. “I thought the banana was a real banana,” Miles said. “I bit it and my teeth fell out. It was a solid gold banana.”

So Pete agreed to fly over the jungle in search of bananas. After two hours, Pete returned with his findings. Pete said, “I found a tree with a lot of bananas, but it’s going to be dangerous  to get there.”

Miles said, “Fine, I’m not scared, because I’m brave and I want those bananas!” 

Chapter 3: Off to the Tree

So Miles, Leah, and Pete all headed into the jungle but first they took something to protect themselves from the predators. They gathered some sticks and rocks. Miles, Pete, and Leah went on an adventure to the tree. They were walking through the jungle being led by Pete. Pete was flying  ahead and told them to take a big blue palm tree. They got to the palm tree and a panther jumped out. 

The panther said, “This is my land, who are you? What are you doing here?” 

They felt a scared little wiggle in their tummies like butterflies. 

Miles said, “We’re on an adventure to a banana tree of bananas? I’m very hungry, I didn’t eat yesterday. My friend, Pete, found this tree.” 

Panther then said, “Well, if you promise to bring me back some bananas, I will let you go.” 

Miles agreed to the deal and they kept walking on the path to the banana tree. As they kept walking, Pete told them to take a right turn, so they took the right. Pete did not see the pool of snakes waiting in the path. Miles and Leah were freaked out when they saw the poisonous snakes. Leah said, “We have to find a way to get over these snakes.” 

Then Miles said, “We can swing from vine to vine, like I did yesterday during the obstacle course.”

As they swung from vine to vine, the snakes began to spring at them to bite their legs. Pete yelled, “Faster, faster!” 

Miles and Leah yelled back, “We’re trying but it’s so hard with snakes below us!” 

Miles and Leah made it across the snakes. “Whew, we made it.” 

Miles asked Pete, “Are we almost there? I want to eat the bananas, I’m hungry.”

Pete said, “We’re almost there.” 

Chapter 4: See You Again

Pete saw the tree and yelled, “I see the tree!”

Miles and Leah started dancing because they are so happy. Then, the cheetahs popped out and said, “Hello, Miles, nice to see you again.”

Leah said, “Who are these guys?” 

“I met them in the obstacle course I told you about,” said Miles. “They tried to eat me.” 

“Yes,” the cheetah said, “but this time, you will be our dinner.” 

Then the cheetahs yelled, “Attack!”

Pete started to drop rock on the cheetahs, while Miles poked them with the sticks. The cheetahs then fell to the ground and said,

“We surrender, please stop poking us with the sticks, and tell your friend to stop throwing rocks.” 

So Miles, Leah, and Pete stopped their attack. The cheetah moved out of the way and let them pass. 

Chapter 5: Finally

Finally, they arrived at the tree and took as much as they could carry. Miles said, “We can’t forget panther.” 

So they collected bananas for panther, too. After collecting the bananas, they headed home. On their way home, they stopped at a panther’s house and dropped off his bananas. They thanked him for letting them pass his land. Once they got to Miles’ house, they had dinner. Their dinner, of course, was bananas. Then Pete the Parrot said,

“I have to go back home to finish planting my tomatoes.” 

Miles said, “Ok, goodbye, and thanks for showing us where the bananas were.” Miles said to Leah, “If you want to stay here with me, you can.”

Leah said, “Ok, I would love to stay with you.” 

Crazy About Computers

Chapter 1: New Computer

“A new computer!?” shouted Veronica. 

When she found a new computer had been delivered to her dad, she got really excited, even if it wasn’t her computer. Her dad had worked from home, because her mom was the president of the U.S., so she was too busy to take care of Veronica.

“I can’t wait for my new computer,” said Veronica. 

“Really, it’s Daddy’s computer, Veronica,” Veronica’s mom said. “I won’t get you one if you won’t go to school.”

Her extended family was from England, but a month ago, they had moved to America. They had a cat and his name was Strike. Veronica named her cat Strike because a few years ago, when Veronica competed in bowling, her cat helped her win. 

“I need a new computer,” shouted Veronica. “I need it to order my new manicure set because in two weeks there is a birthday party, and I have to look my best!”

Her mom said, “If you want people in your class to like you, you have to go to school, that’s the only way!” 

Veronica got persuaded immediately. “But does that mean you will get me a new computer?” Veronica asked. 

“Yes!” her mom said, annoyed. Since her mom was distracted, she was late for work, as the president. So she got so mad at Veronica, that she said, “For dinner, I can’t cook your favorite pasta, this time. Just make a sandwich for dinner tonight, maybe next week if I have time, I can make the pasta for you, if you don’t distract me.” 

Veronica’s younger brother, Dylan, said, “You are so irresponsible! You are late for everything, again.” Whenever Veronica had arguments, she became late for school. 

Chapter 2: A Day At School

In the morning, Veronica had slept in, so she had eaten on the bus. 

“But Mom could get me an alarm,” she snapped. 

Her mom said, “Now get on the bus, you are not going to get me late again.” 

Veronica got on the bus, and was actually allowed to use her mom’s MetroCard. Veronica did not like school. When she arrived, some other girls whispered about her, and Veronica was pretty sure it was rumors about her and her mom since she was the president’s daughter and the dad was owner of the most famous restaurant. Most other girls in her school were jealous that she was a celebrity and her mom was the president and the other kids’ parents weren’t. They all did not want Veronica to know that they were jealous. Veronica’s teacher was also from England. When school was over, Veronica got to know her classmates better. She was happy. 

“Mom will finally get me a computer! I am so excited! I can do so many other things other than ordering my new manicure set!”

When Veronica got on the school bus, she actually had someone who could talk to her and actually, since that friend was pretty popular, she said that all of the girls on the bus would be able to play a game. Veronica was so excited that she actually had friends because before, she was not invited to any of the games.

Chapter 3: Sick!

Veronica talked about the whole school day to her dad because her mom was nowhere to be seen. “Where is mom?” Veronica asked. 

 “Mom is sick so she is in your room relaxing.” 

“Will I still be able to get my new computer?” Veronica said excitedly. 

“I am sorry, but she is the president, so she needs all the rest she can get so she can get back to work.” 

Veronica asked if her dad could get her a computer, but he was always doing things and didn’t have so much time to just order stuff. “Now to not be bored, how about you play with Dylan for a little while or you can play on your iPad,” said Veronica’s dad. 

Veronica would always choose to play on her iPad because whenever she tried playing with Dylan, he always made excuses, telling her he had to do something else, like make dinner. 

When Veronica was heading to her room, she passed by Dylan and he said, “Did you know that mom is sick?”

“Of course I know because that means I don’t get a computer, even though today on the bus some other girl invited me to play a game with some other friends! But I can’t get a computer because mom is sick,” Veronica aggressively said. 

“Then use mine!” Dylan said. Veronica gasped.

Chapter 4: Dylan’s Computer 

“You have a computer!?” shouted Veronica. 

Then Dylan automatically pulled Veronica over to his room and showed her it on his desk. Veronica was never really allowed in Dylan’s room but today she was allowed. She was super confused that Dylan had a computer because she didn’t know. She became super jealous. She was screaming inside her head. Her hands were in fists. 

“How could Mom not get me a computer, and get Dylan one? It’s not fair.” 

“Mom is sick, and she has so much work to do, until she gets you one, you can use mine. But you have to wipe every key that you touched after every single use. I want it SUPER neat,” Dylan said.

Dylan downloaded all sorts of video games, his screen was covered with them, and he used so much money to buy the games. 

Veronica then threatened to tell on Dylan, but Dylan said, “You can’t use my computer ever again, if you tell on me.” 

Veronica sighed. “I won’t tell if you let me play your games WITHOUT complaining.” 

“I have a perfect streak on all of them, besides, don’t you have a huge test tomorrow? You should study.”

Veronica asked him if she was saying all this to her so that she wouldn’t go on his computer anymore, and so she wouldn’t tell on him, and he nervously laughed and said, “No,” looking at the floor.

Veronica went to her room, and started texting her friends about how unfair it was to not get a computer. She and her friend, Caroline, got in a fight because her friend bragged that she had three new types of computers, and Veronica had none. Veronica got so mad, and her friend texted her not to sit next to her, or play games with her.

Chapter 5: Caroline Ignores For The Day

In the morning, Veronica left the house earlier because she wanted to make up with Caroline, and she knew that her ex-friend came to school super early to exercise at school. Veronica was going to say bye to her dad, and complain that Dylan got a computer and she didn’t. 

“Do you understand that Mom is sick and needs to go back to work soon, so she has to rest? Before, when Dylan got his computer, Mom was not sick, so she ordered one for Dylan. When Mom feels better, I promise she will get you a computer, too. And if you want to go to school, then you have to stop asking questions and eat,” said her dad. 

When Veronica was at her school, she saw Caroline and said, “I really want to make up!” 

“Is it because you just want friends? You are so lonely!” Caroline teased. 

Veronica was now not so sure about being friends with Caroline after all. Now Veronica realized that Caroline was the most popular girl at school for no reason because she was absolutely mean!  

“Caroline, I don’t have a computer because my mom is sick and I think that you know that my mom is the president so she has to rest the most so she can get back to work,” said Veronica.

“What about your dad? I thought you said you have a great dad that cares about you so much. If your dad cares about you so much, then why can’t he order it for you?” Caroline said meanly. Her eyes squinted at Veronica, her hand on her hips. “And anyways, I can’t even believe I am even talking to you? You are so snooty and I think that’s why no one wants to be your friend. I am going to tell everyone in the school to not even try to be your friend because you are not likable.” 

At math, Caroline did not sit next to Veronica. Veronica could not even pay attention in  class. “This is all your fault,” said Veronica to Caroline. 

“Can I have one of the school computers?” Veronica asked the teacher.

“Don’t you have your own to use? And no way you can have one, because we need them for students who don’t have access to computers at home, and besides, we already have a shortage of computers,” Mrs Jones, Veronica’s teacher, said. 

Then Veronica thought of a plan: to sneak into the classroom at midnight and get a computer. She was sure that she would return the computer after she ordered the manicure set, but then she remembered that Caroline told everyone in the class that no one should talk to her. She frowned, but there were other things that were fun that Veronica could do on the computer. She wanted to get back at Caroline, she wanted to play a prank — put a water balloon in Caroline’s locker so that when Caroline opened it in the morning, it would make her wet for being so mean! Hopefully, she wouldn’t get caught! Veronica thought this was the perfect plan.

Chapter 6: The Plan 

She knew her parents were watching TV, and had fallen asleep on the couch. She decided to climb out of her window. She pushed the window open, and it creaked. She climbed onto the roof, swung onto the gutter, and landed on her feet with a thud. First, she went to the water fountain and filled the balloon up with water. There was only one problem, every locker had a code! Caroline would pick something that was very not obvious, Veronica thought. She stomped her foot and didn’t even think about being too noisy. She said to herself, I need to figure out what Caroline’s very secret code is.  But she didn’t need to figure it out! Veronica was overthinking about the plan. When Veronica realized that she did not need to figure out what the code was, she heard some footsteps. Veronica said to herself, I can’t run because it would be too easy to hear the footsteps of me while I am running. Veronica had to think fast but she did not have any time so her only choice was to run! She brought the balloon, and since Veronica took rock climbing classes, she was able to climb out the window in five seconds, and her plan had been a failure.

Chapter 7- Planning Plan B

Dylan always snuck into Veronica’s room at midnight and didn’t see Veronica, so he shouted and Veronica’s parents were all freaked out that Veronica was not in her room sleeping, so when Veronica came back they were so relieved. 

“Where were you? We all were so worried! Why did you even sneak out at night?” Veronica’s mom said. 

“I was just getting my project from school, that I was working on this past week, it’s worth 40 percent of my grade, and is due tomorrow, so I was freaking out!” Veronica lied. 

“You could ask me to drive you, don’t scare me like that again. Next time, just don’t do it in the middle of the night. Okay?” Her mom said relieved, and sighed. 

Then Veronica went back to her room, and was exhausted. I can’t fail to pull the prank, Caroline should get what she deserves, she thought. I’ll wake up super early tomorrow morning to plan this,  Veronica thought to herself. She set her alarm that was technically for Dylan but Veronica stole it from him, for 5:30, and then when it rang, she started immediately planning and looking at the blueprints of the school, so she wouldn’t fail again. 

Chapter 8: New Girl At School

 When Veronica was just done planning the plan, she quickly turned off the lights and hid her plans and snuggled under her covers and fell asleep again. Since Veronica fell asleep again, no one would know that she had woken up at 5:30 to plan. Dylan woke Veronica up and Veronica couldn’t take her mind off her plan that she had planned. Veronica’s dad had made eggs and pancakes, and then Veronica was not late for the school bus, so she did not have to ride the public bus.

Veronica had memorized everyone on her school bus, and then she had realized that there was someone new, she looked pretty shy. All the seats were taken. Caroline and Veronica were living in the same neighborhood, so they took the school bus together. So Veronica could not sit anywhere, but there was one more seat next to Caroline! Caroline refused for Veronica to sit next to her but all of a sudden, the new girl said to Caroline,

“She can sit wherever she wants!”

That new girl, Shelby, was shy, but the master of standing up for others.  Veronica had made friends with Shelby immediately. They sat next to each other at lunch, and since they were starting to become good friends, Veronica told Shelby about the plan. They decided that Shelby would be able to be part of the plan because she helped make it 100% accurate. Shelby would get the computer and Veronica would pull the prank on Caroline.

Chapter 9: Rebels

In after-school, Shelby and Veronica were both in rock climbing class so they chatted about the plan the whole time. 

“So remember, set an alarm or anything to help you remember to wake you up at 12:00. I am using my little brother’s alarm, who is in 3rd grade, because I actually don’t have one. So you got it?” Veronica said. Veronica was a little embarrassed that she told Shelby that she did not have an alarm. 

“I promise that I won’t tell anyone,” Shelby said.  

When it was midnight, the alarm rang loudly and woke Veronica up, Shelby stayed awake until 12:00 because she wanted to make back-up plans. Then exactly at 12:00, both of them went to school and met each other in the corridor. 

“So remember: the computers are in the classroom, so get one, but if you want one too, then you can get one for yourself, and I am going to be pulling the prank on Caroline,” Veronica whispered. 

“Here’s a flashlight for you. I have my own,” Shelby said as she was pulling out the flashlights out of her mini backpack. 

Veronica said, “Well lets hope our plan works. If you hear any footsteps, then hide under the table in the classroom, and I will hide in the other classroom right across from Caroline’s locker. Okay?” 

“Got it,” Shelby said. 

Then Shelby got the computers and Veronica pulled the prank, and it worked! They headed home with the computers and Veronica was super tired and excited that she forgot to hide the computer. So, when Dylan snuck in Veronica’s room while she was sleeping, he spotted the computer from school and was going to immediately tell her parents, but he already woke Veronica up.

 She said, “Go away.” But Dylan already told Veronica’s parents. They looked very confused about the computer. 

“How did you get the computer from school to here?” they said. 

Veronica did not want to tell the truth so she said, “Dylan stole it from the school then did not want to get in trouble so he put it in my room!”   

“Really, you are going to blame me?” said Dylan. 

“Let’s discuss this tomorrow because it is so late,” Veronica’s parents said angrily.

Chapter 10: Caught Red Handed!

It was good that Veronica’s mom was not sick anymore so she always went to work super early, and her dad always just quickly made breakfast and then went back to his room where he worked. So Veronica did not have to talk about the computer. Veronica quickly ate breakfast and hopped on the bus and sat right next to Shelby. 

“I am so excited at the prank,” Shelby whispered. 

Then when they arrived at school, the principal had called them into his office. “I heard, Veronica, that you were Crazy about computers! They were missing this morning, but there last night, when the janitors checked.”

The vice principal said, “Let’s check the security cameras to see who stole them! I mean, they were probably stolen!” 

Veronica gulped, her palms were so sweaty, she had to keep rubbing them on her jeans. Shelby kept glancing nervously between the principal and Veronica. They checked the security cameras to find Veronica and Shelby, both in black hoodies and leggings to blend in. 

The vice principal asked with a harsh tone, “Where are the computers? This is really bad, you can end up a huge fine, and we have to tell your parents!” The Vice Principal exclaimed. “Whether you are the president’s daughter or not, it doesn’t matter!” 

Chapter 11: Making Mistakes 

“We are so sorry!” Shelby said.  

“We just wanted a computer and we will definitely make sure that we will return it by this morning because we know we felt bad!” Veronica said. 

Shelby begged, “Please don’t tell our parents, because we are so sorry!” The principle forgave Veronica and Shelby, but he was still going to tell their parents. 

When Veronica’s dad found out that Veronica had stolen the computers, he was upset but understood why. He said, “You have to be patient because your mom is really busy because she is president and I have to take care of you and work! I can’t even believe that you stole the computers from school! Just because you really want to get a computer, it really does not mean that you can steal it from school with your friend. I will get you a computer some time.” 

“You are going to get me a computer? I am so excited! You are the best dad ever! It’s gotta be perfect,” Veronica said excitedly.

Chapter 12: Getting the Computer

Then Veronica waited and waited, and when her birthday came, she got a new computer! 

“A new computer?! I can’t believe I have a new computer. This is so exciting but I can’t order the manicure set that I was going to order for the birthday party but I can download some games and order other cool things and I will have so much fun! Thank you so much! I love this new computer so much! You are the best parents ever,” said Veronica.

And the prank that Veronica had done was a success. Caroline got all wet when she opened her locker and no one had known that it was Veronica’s fault except Shelby and Veronica. Veronica was so happy because she finally got her new computer!  “YAY!”

Mercy’s New Place

Chapter One: The Introduction 

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Mercy. She wanted to go to a different place. She wanted to go to England, where her mom and dad lived. Before she took the plane, Mercy asked her friends if they wanted to go with her. Five of her friends said yes, and five said no. She went to her house and took some pants, t-shirts, sneakers, shorts, winter shoes, and more. When her friends were packing, she thought of all the things she could do in England.

Chapter Two: Leaving for England 

They took their stuff and left to go to the plane. In the meantime, they watched TV and movies. They watched Toy Story, WALL-E, and lots more. When they got there, they went to their house. Mercy went to hers and her friends lived in a different place in the apartment.

Chapter Three: Meeting her Parents 

Mercy went to the apartment, went to the house, got the keys, and opened the door. She saw her parents. She hugged them. “Long time no see,” said her parents. 

They went to sit for lunch (it was lunch in England). 

After they ate, they watched a movie. 

Mercy said, “I brought my friends, they’re in a different room but in the same apartment!” 

Mercy’s dad said, “Why? We want to see only see you.” 

Mercy said, “They were not coming to our apartment. They’re just visiting, what’s the problem?” “You can’t make them leave?” asked her dad.

“No,” said Mercy. “I don’t understand, why do you want them to leave?”

 Her dad said, “Because I explained: we want to be with you by ourselves.”

 “I won’t make them leave, sorry, they’re my friends,” said Mercy. 

Chapter Four: Angry Everyone 

Mercy told her parents she couldn’t. She left the living room and went to her room. She cried. Her hands were under her forehead, and she felt the teardrops on her soft coat. She sat on the chair. She decided to go to her friends. 

She said, “I have to make a plan because I want to sneak without my parents seeing me.”

Chapter Five: The Plan 


1. Tiptoe across the room

2. Hide underneath the table and wait until everyone goes

3. Go next to the corner of the room 

4. Go next to the door 

5. Take a bag, put everything needed inside 

6. Make a plan for how to tell friends in the hallway 

7. Get ready for the sneak 

Chapter Six: The Sneak 

Mercy remembered what to do. She took a deep breath, reached into her bag, and looked at the first step and she tiptoed across the room. She looked at the next thing. She hid underneath the table and waited for everyone to go. She went to the third step, then she went to the corner of the room and she looked at the fourth step: go next to the door. She went next to the door and the fifth step was to take the bag and put everything that she needed inside. The sixth step was to make a plan for how to tell her friends to go. She took paper out of her bag and she started to write how she’d tell her friends. The seventh step was to get ready to sneak. She took a deep breath and went to her first friend.

Chapter Seven: The Showing and the Telling

She took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. Mercy heard a loud thud after she knocked. 

Her friend said, “What’s going on, Mercy? Having fun?” 

“Yes,” she said. “But I have something to tell you.”

“Ok, what?” her friend said.

“Let’s go into your house.”

“Ok,” said her friend, not knowing what was wrong. They went. They heard another loud thud. Mercy still did not know what it was. 

Isabelle, who was her friend, told her, “Ok, what’s wrong?” 

Mercy took a deep reach into her purple bag and started talking. “Hi, Isabelle, my friend. I know this is hard for you, I had a discussion with my parents and they screamed all they could. I told them I can’t make this happen. They told me I had to. I cried in my room so much and I realized this is for the best. I know this is a big translation. I’ll catch you one. I am asking you, please with a cherry on top: can you go back to Spain, please?”
Isabelle asked, “Is there any other way?”

“I’ll go check.” She called her mom. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hi,” her mom said. 

“Is there any other way for my friends not to go?” 

“I’m sorry,” said her mom. “No, there is no other way. I wish there were.” 

“Ok, thanks mom,” said Mercy. 

“Bye bye,” said her mom. 

Mercy talked to her friend. “I’m so sorry, this is for the best.”

“Is anyone else except me coming back?” 

“Everyone,” said Mercy. 

Isabelle said, “Can you catch me a flight?” 

“Sure,” said Mercy. 

“Ok,” said Isabelle. 

Chapter Eight: Second Bye Bye

She went to her other friend. She told her the same thing (“Hi, Rachel, my friend. I know this is hard for you, I had a discussion with my parents and they screamed all they could. I told them I can’t make this happen. They told me I had to. I cried in my room so much and I realized this is for the best. I know this is a big translation. I’ll catch you one. I am asking you, please with a cherry on top: can you go back to Spain, please?”). Rachel said, “Ok.” 

And all her friends went back to Spain. 

Chapter Nine: The Problem

Mercy went to her house. She suddenly realized the door was locked. She tried knocking and she looked under the door. There was a mouse. 

Mercy said, “Huh, Mouse, can you help?” She did not expect the mouse to speak. 

He said, “Of course, what do you want me to do?” 

Mercy said, “Can you go under the door and take the keys from my dad?” But before he answered, she said, “I’ll call him.” She called him but he did not answer. She called her mom. No answers. 

“Can you take the keys from my dad and bring them to me?” Mercy asked. 

“Sure!” said the mouse. He went under the little crack and went to Mercy’s dad and jumped on him and grabbed the keys and went to Mercy. 

The mouse said, “Here they are!” 

“Thanks!” said Mercy. She took out a piece of paper and she planned how to sneak. She wrote down this…

Chapter Ten: The Plan 

She wrote down the same thing when she got out of the house, then she went inside and went to her room silently. 

Chapter 11: Apologize 

When she went inside, she heard a creak of opening the door. She saw her mom. 

Her mom asked, “Where have you been?” 

Mercy did not know what to say. 

She said, “At a restaurant.” She did not want anyone to know where she had been. 

“What did you eat?” her mom asked. 

“Macaroni and cheese,” Mercy said. 

“Cool! About that, I’m sorry we told you to not be with your friends, you have so many friends you should be with.” 

Mercy told her mom to go. She quickly called her friends. “I’m sorry for you going back and forth, back and forth. If any of you want to come back to England, you could come back.” 

She was mad at herself.

Chapter 12: No Fun with Lies!

Mercy called her mom, and told her all about where she was. Her mom was angry she lied. 

“Why did you lie? You could have told the truth. I would not be mad at you.” 

Mercy said sorry. 

“Next time, tell the truth.”

“Ok,” said Mercy.

Chapter 13: The Flight Back to Spain 

After a week of being there with her friends, she went back to Spain. She said bye to her mom and dad and went on the plane. She played games, watched movies, and when she got back, she told all her friends how much fun she’d had. She went back to school and told all of the teachers how much fun she’d had. She told the class how much fun she’d had.

Chapter 14: The End

And she lived happily ever after. The end.

Hair to Fire, Fire to Hair

Hair to fire, fire to hair,

Is that truly, really fair?

Look at those fancy candles at the restaurant,

I better bend over, ‘cause I think I see a croissant.

Now it’s hair to fire, fire to hair,

Is that truly, really fair?

Now lets pretend its not even there,

‘Cause it’s hair to fire, fire to hair.

Look at that fancy tablecloth,

Bend over to slurp up, with your mouth, some broth.

Mama is screaming,

“I’m sorry, I know that’s not polite.”

And then I realize that the tablecloth is alight.

‘Cause it’s hair to tablecloth, tablecloth to hair.

Is that truly, really fair?

Three Anaconda Araffe

Book 1: World is Starting in Three, Two, One, NOW

(Narrator is speaking)

Hi, my name is Besa, and today we are going to meet three anacondas and a giraffe. And this story takes place in the far, far future on the planet, Clone.

Once upon a time, in the far, far future, Africa and the Amazon collided and then three anacondas and a giraffe collided and what does that equal: three anaconda araffe! 

Chapter One: First Clone Day

(Narrator is reading and will explain what First Clone Day is in the next book) 

We’re just starting… 0.5

Once upon a time, three anacondas and a giraffe went through their bodies and then, when they said the magic word, they turned into one thing, and then when they said the magic word again, they turned into four things, and then, the continents moved super fast like in a millisecond, and then, an orca and a tiger went together and equaled a torca! And then, the three anaconda araffe said the magic word (BESA) and then they turned into three anacondas and a giraffe, and then the giraffe charged at the torca and then the torca was so stunned that it couldn’t move anymore, but then, the three anacondas squeezed them until they couldn’t breathe anymore.

Chapter Two: Now We’re Rocking!

And now, three continents went together in a snap, and then a rock and a star collided! And then, it equaled a rock star! And the rock star threw giant rocks at them/him. And then them/him said the magic word and then they collided, and then the three anaconda araffe charged so hard that they discollided!

Chapter Three: Getting a Sidekick!

And now a continent split! But a kangaroo and a flea collided but then they fell into the water and they collided with a shark and that equaled a flangark!

Chapter Three: Getting a Sidekick Part 2

And now three arachnids collided and equaled a vinegaspoon! 

Chapter Four: Getting an Infinite Frenemy

And now a jellyfish collided with an orca equaling an inca! And now the three anaconda araffe and the flangark and the vinegaspoon saw the inca, they thought that the inca was good, but it was actually bad, and so, it was actually a frenemy! 

Chapter Four: Getting an Infinite Frenemy Part 2 

The inca went back to its master called xbdhsjdb 88, otherwise known as the Clone Master (it was evil). The inca went back to the gang (three anaconda araffe, flangark, and vinegaspoon (A.F.V). 

Chapter Five: Now You See Me, Now You Goat

The Clone Master sent another army and called invisigoat, but the flangark started floating and that was how they saw the the invisigoat and then the vinegaspoon shot the invisigoat with silk and stung the invisigoat and threw vinegar like acid at invisigoat!

Chapter Six: Last Clone Day

And now, today is Last Clone Day! Last Clone Day is the day when the planet Clone copied another planet! 

(Narrator is speaking)  

To be continued in another book… 

Three Anaconda Araffe 

Book 2: The Second World is Just Starting

Chapter One: First Clone Day

The three anaconda araffe oddly survived it, but with some impenetrable body improvements. 

Chapter Two: Electric Zap in a Snap!

And now, dajya and daustralia collided! And then a dorny devil and a dajya delephant collided, and then that equaled a dorny delephant! But then the three anaconda araffe saw the dorny delephant, and then the three anaconda araffe was like, “Really!” And then the three anaconda araffe just went in front of the dorny delephant, and then right before the dorny delephant swung its dunk, the three anaconda araffe just zapped the dorny delephant! 

Chapter Three: The Ditch

And now, the dinternet collided with a witch, equaling a ditch! The three anaconda araffe (T.A.A.) found the ditch and T.A.A. thought that he could beat the ditch super fast, but he was WRONG. The ditch made T.A.A.’s forcefield to freeze, but what the ditch didn’t know was that T.A.A. could split through a forcefield. And so T.A.A. said the magic word in his mind, and so then they split! And the ditch was too low to fly high enough in time, and so the giraffe charged at the ditch and then the three anacondas squeezed the ditch so hard that it just made stars! 

Chapter Four: You Don’t Know What You Said in Your Dore 

And now, a deerphone and a deer combined and equaled a heerdeer! When T.A.A. was sleeping, the heerdeer hypnotized T.A.A. and since the heerdeer does everything that people say, the heerdeer hypnotized T.A.A. to say, “Eat me, eat me, eat me, eat me, eat me!” But the heerdeer didn’t notice, and he also hypnotized T.A.A. to say, “BESA!” And the heerdeer couldn’t hypnotize four things at once, so then, the three anacondas said, “Let me squeeze you until you can’t breathe anymore, and then let me eat you!” And then the heerdeer let the three anacondas squeeze and eat them, and then the giraffe wasn’t hypnotized anymore! 

Chapter Five: Last Clone Day 

(Narrator is speaking)

And now today is Last Clone Day! You now know what Last Clone Day is from the previous book, so I don’t need to tell you this time.

Three Anaconda Araffe

Book Three: Evil Sneazle 

Chapter One: First Clone Day 

(Narrator is reading)

And you all know what First Clone Day is because it was in the second book! So I’m just going to skip telling you what First Clone Day is and go on with the story. 

Chapter Two: Reintroducing Inca!

And now the inca found T.A.A. and then the inca started hitting and slapping and hitting and slapping and hitting and slapping and hitting and slapping T.A.A. and T.A.A. was like, “Why are you doing this?” And then the inca was like, “Oops, sorry.” And then T.A.A. was suuuuuper suspicious, and then the inca said, “I gotta go, so byeee!” And then T.A.A. followed the inca until he found the Clone Master!

Chapter Three: The Clone Master

And now T.A.A. is at the Clone Master’s headquarters, and he found the Clone Master, and then the Clone Master said, “Security guards! Attack!” And then T.A.A. started ramming at all of the security guards! And the Clone Master was like, “You wanna do it the hard way, huh?” And then the Clone Master said the magic word, and he turned into twelve Clone Masters, and then into twenty-four Clone Masters! And then T.A.A. was like, “No way you’re gonna beat me with twenty-four Clone Masters!” And he only needed to charge four times at the Clone Master to be able to defeat all the Clone Masters. 

THE END 

Black Magic

Hi, my name is Anthea. I’m also a furry. I’ve always wanted to go to school, but because of my powers, I cannot. My parents say my powers are dangerous. My powers are teleportation, invisibility, and I can make explosions. I want to go to school to find something to control my powers so they won’t be dangerous anymore. I live in a poor village, so I cannot find school in the village around my town. I’m thinking of changing my name so that I can go to school. I would have my cousin take my place. By the way, my cousin’s name is Athena. I need to talk to my parents. If I can go to my friend Jamie’s house, she’s the only one in our village who has a computer, I could find a magic school. That would be great. There are a lot of stories of me destroying things.

One time, I tried helping people fix their house but I ended up breaking it. I don’t want to get rid of my powers, I just want to make them useful. My cousin and I have our own unique qualities. But in singing, we are both good. My cousin and I have always been wanting to go to school, so she wouldn’t mind taking my place. I would have to be escaping at nighttime. Jamie and my cousin are going to help me escape. I’ll be taking the bus to Athens, Georgia. 

Jamie is helping me pack my things to go. 

“Anthea, are you sure you want to do this?” asks Jamie.

“Anthea, you can always stay here with us,” Athena says. 

“It was our dream, Athena, I want to go,” I say. 

We are saying our goodbyes. I know my cousin is sad but she is also happy that our dream is coming true. I know I’m making the right choice. What scares me is when we get there I won’t know anybody. But luckily, Jamie got me some tickets for a hotel. Dark Side and I have been saving up money since we were little to go to school. So I’ve got my college fund money. Sadly, I do not know what my parents are thinking. Dark Side does have an open mouth, so she’ll probably tell my parents that I left. Tomorrow will be a new day and I will register myself for power school. 

I’m going to my hotel and it looks gorgeous. Now I have to go to bed and make sure my next day will be awesome. 

I wake up this morning and I’m getting dressed to register myself for school. I can’t believe my dream is coming true. I’m going to prepare myself a bagel and cream cheese. Going out and seeing Georgia is beautiful. I’m taking the bus to the school cause it’s a mile away from my hotel. Seeing the school is amazing. It’s big and pretty. Looks like the school is very old. When I go inside the school, it is really big. It looks more like a ballroom. The principal of the school asks me what I’m doing here. I tell him I’ve come here to register myself. He’s glad and gives me a tour. After that, he asks me if I have powers. I agree and tell him I have powers. I’ve come on the weekend, so there is no one really there, except himself. I notice he is fixing the place. And I ask him if I can help. So the principal and I mop the floor, fix the chairs, and fix his office. 

After fixing his office, he tells me to come on Monday, and that I will make some really good friends.

Jamie has always taught me to be confident in myself with my dreams. So after getting out of the school, I go shopping for school supplies. Dark Side recently told me from Jamie’s computer that she’s going to school in New York, which is not that far by car from where we live. I’m really happy for her; she’ll be sending me a photo or an anime drawing. Jamie gave me money for school supplies before I left. I thanked her.

It’s Monday now, now I’m going to school. I’ve already made a friend. I bet Jamie would like her as well. Dark Side would be happy as well. Her name is the opposite of ours, Sunshine. And her sister is Light Side. I recently met a girl who worked in a pet shop, and she showed me a picture of a bunny.

The bunny was really cute and fluffy. She said she would give it to me for free and I was really glad to hear the news, because the bunny was really cute. I would have it in a cage, get a phone, and send a picture to Dark Side. I would name the bunny Fluffy. 

But getting back to school, it’s really hard. Today we are going to see what extra powers we have, are they legendary or common? I hope my powers are legendary. But this bully named Chloe and her assistant Lila always bother me and think that my powers will be common. My cousin thinks I’m gonna find a boy and get married. But I told her to stop telling me that, but she did tell me that my parents were happy but sad. At least I’m calmer now that she’s told me this because I know how my parents think. But there is a cute boy named Alexander. But I won’t focus on him — I have to focus on my studies.

Now we’re going outside to a field to see what our powers will be. First, it’s Sunshine. She gets a legendary– a guardian angel. And her sister is a nature fairy. While Chloe and Lila are common demon bunnies. When I hear the news that I’m the legendary person in my class, I am so happy. My powers are a griffin that can read minds. Even though Chloe knows I can read her mind, she still intends to do bad tricks on me. But I really don’t care.

I’ll describe Chloe for you. Blonde hair, blue eyes, yellow jacket, and a striped shirt. And she always tries to act like she’s the boss of everyone. She, too, likes Alexander. Whenever she sees him, she always acts so crazy. But I just ignore her. Though I do have a friend who’s a boy, as well. His name is William. He is a really kind friend; he is also legendary. His powers are a fire guardian. Just the opposite of Sunshine.

All four of us are going to have a sleepover, over at Sunshine’s house. It’s going to be really fun, I will bring some chips and Doritos. She says we are going to watch the movie Deadpool. But William disagrees. Soon enough, it’s going to be half of the year. Cause I entered in half of the year. But since there are three more years to go, I’m really happy. Tomorrow’s lesson is going to be about: can you fly or not? I think I can fly, cause griffins fly. Sunshine and Light Side can definitely fly. I don’t know about William, though. There’s this new boy going into school with us. His name is Felix. But I feel something suspicious about him. My cousin is enjoying her time there. I didn’t know that Jamie’s there, as well. 

The sleepover turns out really fun. Her mom is really fun and her house is beautiful. William tells us at night that he likes Sunshine. But luckily she is not there when he says it. We both tell him to tell her so it won’t be too late. Later that night, we do Truth or Dare, and I ask William truth or dare. And not wanting to do a dare, he says truth. So I ask him: who does he like? And he says that he likes Sunshine. But this time, she is there. She is surprised but happy. She doesn’t know what to say, so we continue on. Then they do a truth or dare on me. And I say dare. And they make me sing my least favorite song, Kiki, and play my least favorite video game, Fortnite! I don’t know why, but I do it. But I’m fine. So I do a truth or dare on Sunshine. Sunshine says dare. So I make her do something embarrassing: act like she’s a grandma and help her sister burp. And Light Side ends up burping. It’s really funny. But we keep on. Then, it’s Light Side’s turn. William asks Light Side truth or dare, and she picks truth. So William asks her. But he knows that she already does this.

“Is it true that you used your poo as hair gel?” says William. Embarrassed, Light Side says yes.

***

It’s been three years now since the sleepover. We’ve had many since then. It’s almost prom and I’m really happy. But I don’t know what to wear and who to go with. Alexander recently asked me out, but I didn’t respond. I don’t know what to say. But today I’m saying yes. 

It’s later. So now we’re going together. My only fear is my dress. So Sunshine and Light Side are taking me out to buy a dress. And after that I am going to send a picture to Dark Side. Dark Side has actually agreed to meet me at the airport, cause I asked her where she’s going to live for the rest of her life. And she said here, where we live. I was sad but told her the honest truth: I was going to stay in Georgia. She was really sad, but still, everything came with benefit.

Prom is fun, they have cake, a chocolate fountain, and Alexander and I are prom king and queen. This year has gone by so fast, it’s already graduation time. During the year, I have earned money so that I can bring my family over. I buy tickets so that my friend, my cousin, and my parents can come over. They all start new lives here. My cousin gets a good-paying job. And my parents have enough money for retiring. I start a family. My kids get powers like me, but they get a better future ahead of them and they have a better hold of their powers. We’re just a big family and we’re happy in our lives right now.

A Kid Can Face War

The Holocaust was a war that broke out, and at that time, our mother found out that children were going to be taken. She was told by one of her closest friends, whose name was Maria, and she told my mother,

“I heard from my husband that kids five and up will be fighting.”

Our mother was very shocked and scared. She was acting very nervous because she knew what was going to happen. At that time, my mom told Maria she didn’t think it was true. Maria also had a son who was one year older than me and we were best friends. That was before war, though soldiers had later taken his life, and when I found out about his death. I was sad and upset because I couldn’t help him.

I still remember the date of the war starting, it was September 1st, 1939. My friend died in October. I’ve forgotten the date, though. I remember I was scared for my life when I was holding my first gun. I didn’t even know how to use a gun at the time. It felt like I was holding 100 iron bars to me because I was young and weak, now a gun to me is light like a feather. The leather on my gun was the only thing comfortable for me at the time. Seeing how old the other kids were, I thought that maybe I should just be bait for them, but I was also terrified of getting killed. I helped around more, though, because we would find abandoned war houses and I healed the men there even if I was only six at the time. I did experience a lot of things, and we had to be careful because there could be German soldiers there. 

When I treated my first soldiers I was horrified and I asked myself, Am I being punished? Why did you send me here, mother? I was traumatized, but I knew that I had a job. When I healed men, I would have to either use water and medicine or kill them if they couldn’t make it. Killing them was the hardest option for me because I wanted people to live, but it was war so I couldn’t do anything. I remember wishing I was older so that I could be like the rest of the kids and that I could be able to do more.

I think I did get hurt about two times. The first time, I was kicked and punched by a soldier, it was painful because it was my face and my stomach and I remember feeling the hardness of the shoe. The second time was when I was shot for the first time. I thought I was going to die right there. I was crying from all the pain and that I couldn’t say bye to my mom. I saw light. I thought I was done but I was lucky and got saved by one of my fellow soldiers. I remember asking him,

“Can I say bye?”

He stood quietly. I love telling this story and will keep telling it until I’m old. I wish that this world could be a more peaceful place and that wars could end.

Being a Gumball

CELIA

Hello, my name is Celia Ballington… and I am a gum ball. But I am not any gum ball; I was 2 when I fell out of the gumball dispenser onto the floor. However, I was caught in a bucket of toxic left under the dispenser because they hired people to clean the mall; there was a strange toxic disease in the pipes, but it made me immortal.

Scene 1

Present Day, 10 years Later in the Dispenser

CAMERON

Come on, help me push Connor to the door!

CELIA

Wait, what? He’s going to be stepped on out there!

CONNOR 

(waking up

What’s going on?

CAMERON 

(pushing Connor out the door)

Uhh… nothing… have a good trip!

CONNOR

(falling)

I thought I was awake!

CELIA

Why did you do that, aren’t you my best friend?

CAMERON

Ooh, good idea! Wanna be my partner in crime?

CELIA

No way—

CAMERON

Oh well, down you go then.

CELIA starts also falling. She blows frantically, stretching to make a bubblegum parachute, and catches CONNER. As they float down, a baby nearby stares at them and grabs them.

They are squished between its grasp and they head to the baby’s house.

Scene 2

An Hour Later, at the House, During Lunchtime

CONNER and CELIA roll toward the bed to hide from the mom when she picks the baby, DARWIN, up for lunch. They then decide to explore the baby’s room.

CELIA rolls up the crib, and CONNER sneakily pushes her down to land on a xylophone and rolls under the next door, leaving CELIA to be seen as MOM rushes in.

MOM

I bet it’s that rat!

The baby grabs CELIA and drools over her. 

CELIA

Gross! 

 CELIA rolls away before DARWIN can wipe her on the wall. 

CONNER

Help, I’m stuck!

There was a puddle of water on the bathroom floor and CONNER got sticky and stuck to the floor. CELIA now leaves CONNER behind as she rolls out the door, around the block to be stepped on by TEENAGER. 

TEENAGER

Ew dude, I got some gum on my cool new sneakers.

TEENAGER throws CELIA into the trash, along with the shoe. She slowly crawls into the shoe and fall asleep.

Scene 3

The Next Morning, Before Sunrise

CELIA is woken up by a chitter. 

CELIA

Ugh, I bet it’s just Cameron teasing me for being a scaredy-ball for being scared of Conner falling out. 

Instead, she wakes up to see the face of a rat. CELIA attempts to roll out of a rusty hole in the trash, but she isn’t dry, and instead patches it up. After a while, the trash and the bin are lifted up into a dump truck. 

CELIA

Conner, I’m flying! Oh, yeah he’s not here.

The rat responds, chittering happily to CELIA’s surprise.

CELIA

I must be hallucinating.

CONNER

(the rat)

You know, I am not just a rat. I was crawling through the sewers when I found some green goo. I was incredibly thirsty, so I drank it. Now I can talk!

They become friends, and sneak into restaurants, schools, and factories, picking up knowledge and resources.

Scene 4

Two Years Later

Ring! Ring! 

Celia

(in the tissue hut)

Who could it be? 

(she forgets she has her Chew5 Phone)

The contacts said it was Cameron?!

CONNER THE RAT

Answer it.

CAMERON 

(over the phone)

Hey… Celia?

CELIA

(berry annoyed)

Yeah, I’m still alive, in a home, with a best friend, doing better than I had been with you.

CAMERON

Look, I’m in chew-vie, and I got to phone someone. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.

CELIA

(hanging up)

Nice try, but I don’t want to see your round face again.

CONNER THE RAT

Don’t you have a round face, too?

CELIA

I said it from the top of my head, okay?

Scene 5

Two Years Later

CONNER THE RAT

Hello, my name is Conner and I am a rat.

MAN 1

(chuckling) 

Is this some kind of joke?

CELIA

No. My name is Celia and I am a gumball.

MAN 2

So, you scheduled a meeting.

CELIA

Yes, we are the owners of Big Toxi Curing Co.

MAN 1

Oh, I’m so sorry. Hey, do you need us?

CONNER THE RAT

We were looking for testers for our medicine, but you seem to be a good one.

MAN 1

(drinking green liquid) 

No, no, I only have the symptoms.

Everyone stares at him as MAN 1 then throws up black vomit under the table in a casual way, and then comes back to the meeting like nothing happened.

Scene 6

At the Lab

CONNER THE RAT: 

Darwin, this is Steve.

(points to MAN 1)

Steve, this is Darwin, one of our best scientists.

DARWIN

Pleasure to meet you, come hop into this tub.

Steve 

(walking in)

Ooh, a hot tub?

DARWIN closes the clear curtains, and they observe as a pink fluid sprays him.

STEVE

Cherry flavor!

STEVE’S skin turns vibrant again and he unswells.

STEVE

I feel like a new man. So am I famous now for being the first person cured? Am I super strong, or super fast?

DARWIN/CELIA/CONNER THE RAT

That will be two hundred fifty bucks.

The world is saved and our main character, CELIA, lives happily ever after forever because she is immortal… and what is a story without a happy ending?

The End.

About Conner the gum ball, he was Darwin’s pet until Darwin started working for Celia and Conner the rat, he decided to bring Conner the gum ball to the company as a tester, and Celia still had no mercy on him.

Cameron stayed in chew-vie and then in gum ball adults’ jail for the rest of her sticky life, contemplating how her phone call trick with Celia didn’t work, and just being evil.

Wait, But Before You Go, Read the Bubblegum Glossary:

Scaredy-ball: Basically scaredy-cat but when talking about gumballs

Bubblegum Parachute: Just bubbles you blow with bubblegum, but what bubblegum uses them for

Chew5: iPhone type, like iPhone 12, but when talking about gumball products

Berry: Very

Chew-vie: Juvie

Dragon Fire

Prologue

In the moist, slippery cave at the darkest night, one blue and yellow egg sits at a crater in the cave. Two serpents slip into the cave and wrap around the egg.

“Dinner!” the first one yells. 

“No, he could have a much better use for us.”

Chapter One: Dragonite

I slink through the cave, my blue, silky scales make no sound. When I’m about to get out, my father yells, “Don’t even think about itssss,” his voice trailing off like a hiss. I haven’t been able to leave the cave since I hatched. My father found my egg in a crater over six years ago, and even now, he keeps saying that I’m far too weak to go out into the world by myself, and he’s probably right…

Chapter Two: 10 Years Later

I soar through the air. My scales have lost their blue, silky color and are now a vibrant yellow, a small spike on my head and thin, yellow wisp zoom backward on my head.

10 years ago, my father may have poisoned me if I went out of the cave but now, I’m bigger, stronger, and have gotten into fights. My father has told me more about the war that’s been going on, and how I will have to fight with my brothers and sisters to stop the fighting, that’s right! I haven’t talked about my siblings.

Chapter Three: A Chance to Talk about my Siblings

I have four siblings, each from a different one of the five clans. All have had their eggs “borrowed” by my Dad. There’s the Water tribe, the Earth tribe, the Fire tribe, the Light tribe, and me, from the Sky tribe. My oldest sibling, Mudstacle, is part of the Earth tribe. The youngest sibling, Riptide, is part of the Water tribe, Eruptor is from the fire tribe, and Sunlight, part of the Light tribe. I’m supposed to be called Dragonite, but just call me Chris, and we are supposed to stop the war.

Chapter Four: Battle training, Sky High

My dad says that I have to learn how to hunt and how to fight, so he slithers out of the cave and brings Landlings, with the fur on their head and the five little claws. I eat it promptly, of course, and then move to the history cave, where dad told me about the war. The five tribes are choosing sides to fight for the largest piece of land on the entire island. Water joined forces with Earth, Fire joined Light, and Sky fends for themselves. Of course, this doesn’t make my brothers and sisters pick sides. Next is battle training, this may be the end…

Chapter Five: Don’t Fight my Father!

This is probably a good time to say that my father is not just a normal snake, he’s a big, GIANT snake, with venomous, poison fangs that will make your heart stop in seconds. So while he is melting rocks with his acid, I’m hiding behind a rock trying to avoid the crossfire, shooting flames here and there blindly, when eventually, I do what the sky tribe always does: summon electricity to their fist and punch people in the gut, except I punch my father.

Chapter Six: Punishment or Praise

My siblings stick their heads out in surprise, Riptide spits water out of his mouth and laughs like a hyena. Dad stands up on his tail and glares at me. Then, he opens his mouth, I brace myself, and he says… 

“Well done, Dragonite. You get to eat five pieces of food from the prey pile.”

“WHAT?” we all say in unison.

Chapter Seven: Grand Theft Egg

My siblings hate my father, they want to go back to their families, especially Eruptor. Her egg was stolen from the royal hatchery, meaning that she’s the next Fire tribe queen, meaning that she was taken from him to start a war. If she wasn’t nice, she would have seared her claws through his skin. But me, I just want to end the war and go back home, to the sky.

Chapter Eight: Cave Run

For laughing, my dad puts a chain around Riptide’s mouth and ties him to the Cave rock. So that’s when Eruptor has enough and she says she is going to get out of here and we could come if we want. Riptide muffles something so Eruptor sears the chains of Riptide since she has fireproof scales. Once Dad, or “Venomdrench,” hears the metal clanking, he slithers to the cave, where Riptide is freezing the rock blocking the exit. I punch, and we fly away. We don’t know where we are going, we just leave.

Chapter Nine: Royalty

We soar through the air, we are finally free, we can do what we want. But then we see shiny glistening scales drag Eruptor down, but Riptide freezes the attacker’s wings and he plummets to the ground. I float down carefully and I see a brown dragon with pearls and jewel bracelets on her arms and legs. Mudstacle quivers and says,

“Guys, that’s the Earth queen. Earthquake.” 

Chapter Ten: Royalty Harmed

We have a queen with frozen wings in front of us, I think. We let her go, the entire Earth kingdom will be after us, we kill her and we might cause an entire new war.

But without hesitation, Eruptor pours molten lava all around where the queen is standing, and the plot of land dropped, all the way to the Earth’s core.

“Well, now we have killed royalty, have an entire Tribe after us, and we have nowhere to go”

“Wait!” I yell to my Mudstacle, Sunlight, Eruptor, and Riptide. “The sky tribe is fond of all clans, we can stay there!’

Chapter 11: Sky’s in Disguise  

The Earth tribe can turn themselves into any color, such as a Sky dragon. Water dragons can change color as long as they’re in water. Fire dragons can stay to the yellow color of skywings as long as they’re calm, and Sunlight is half Skytribe, so no trouble at all. So we walk into the mountain, called the Kingdom of Sky, and a guard twice our size opens the door, ready to pounce, then he looks down at us, and Riptide says,

“Hello!”

Chapter 12: 15 years later

We’re all visiting Eruptor, queen of the Fire tribe. I bring my kids along in a small little bag, one blue and yellow egg, and one red and blue egg. Mudstacle became the new Earth queen, and Riptide is the best hunter in the water tribe, and Sunlight, the Light princess. Mudstacle now has five big pearls on her body, Eruptor has jewels embroidered all around her, Riptide has gills and a fin on his head and back, and I have fully grown wings. Sunlight, queen of the strongest tribe, has a Sunstone on her chest and a sun emblem on her cheek. We are the protectors of the dragonfire.

Why School Should be Shorter

Ever since Covid-19, this is what my online school day looks like. We have a few online classes, and then we work on a couple of assignments. This ends up being only three to five hours. Right now, teachers mostly grade students based on participation instead of assignments. If teachers think that this is enough to grade students, then when we go back to school, we should just do the same thing in person. I believe that school should be four hours a day.

One reason why schools should only be four hours a day is because students can get tired. If students get tired, then they can’t focus on their work. Here’s a story. One day, I got really tired at school. My teacher gave me an assignment and I forgot how to do the work. It took a couple of minutes to remember how to do it. That proves that if students are tired they cannot complete assignments as well as they normally would. If students can’t focus on their work, then they will not be able to complete assignments. If school was shorter, students would be able to focus and get better grades. Also, if students got home earlier every day, then they would be able to get some more sleep. Finally, students would have more time to do homework and to study a little bit more as well.

 Something related to students getting tired is students being stressed. The way that tiredness affects students is different than the way stress affects students. Tiredness affects students mentally, while stress affects students physically. Students could get stressed out because of all the time they have to spend in school. If school were shorter, students would have more time to relax and to find out what relieves their stress. I have asthma. Ever since I have been home from school, I have been having fewer asthma attacks. I don’t know if this is because of less stress, but there is definitely some relation. According to err.ersjournals.com, “Chronic stress in early life is associated with an increased risk of asthma onset.” This proves that if you are stressed at a young age, then you have a risk of developing asthma. Stress also weakens your immune system. According to simplypsychology.org, “When we’re stressed, the immune system’s ability to fight off antigens is reduced. That is why we are more susceptible to infections.” This proves that if you are stressed out, then you are more prone to diseases. This also proves that when we go back to school in September, schools should let students go home early. If they let students go home early, then students have a lower chance of getting the coronavirus because they will be less stressed. If the students are less stressed, then their immune system will not be as weak as it would be if they were stressed. There are many things that students could do to relieve stress, and they would have more time to do these things if school were shorter. One of those things is coloring/painting. Another option would be extracurricular activities.

Finally, school should only be four hours because students will have more time to socialize and/or do extracurricular activities. If students get more time to do these things, then they 

will become more social instead of sitting around studying all day. Students will also be able to learn during extracurricular activities. According to crimsoneducation.org, “Some students worry that participating in extracurriculars may take away too much time from their schoolwork, thus hurting their grades; however, extracurricular activities can actually improve your grades and your outlook on school in general.” According to this, extracurricular activities also improve the way students feel about school. Ever since I’ve started extracurricular activities, such as swimming, I feel like school is interesting because I have a larger variety of activities now.

In conclusion, school should be shorter because it is important for students to get time to enjoy themselves, as well as being good students. It is important because this all impacts the future lives of students all around the world. Students also get to spend more time with their parents, which impacts their future by showing them what life will be like when they get older. This topic is very important, but now this topic is especially important because of Covd-19. Maybe Covid-19 will also show us that adults’ work days should be shorter as well.

Robbery

Alex had a normal life until he was eight. His parents went out to get food while he stayed at home. That was when he put on the TV. There was a sudden news flash. It said there was a robbery happening near a store. The robber wore a black mask, a jacket, and blue jeans. Police were on the scene saying,

“POLICE! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR.”

That was when it happened. It was crazy, people started screaming and running and police were firing at the robber, the robber firing back. Alex sat there paralyzed in fright. But as he watched, he saw the police catching the robber. It later said that at least five people died, three police and two citizens. Alex then realized that the store that got robbed was the store that his parents went to get food at! Alex’s mind went through a million thoughts.

Are they dead? Are they hurt? Are they coming home? Should I go out to see if they are okay? After many arguments with himself, he decided to stay. That was when he heard on the news the child’s parents that got killed will get collected by the orphanage.

Hours passed and no one came, not even his parents had come home. That was when he heard a knock on the door. He was filled with excitement. Could it really be his parents? Then he remembered what the news said.

Well, he thought, it is time to find out. He opened the door and saw…

Two tall men. Wearing black clothes like if someone just died. The first man said, “Hello, child, may I come in?”

Alex knew not to let strangers in, but he had a gut feeling that they were important. So he let them both in. It was like they were inspecting the house. After some minutes looking around, they sat down. One of them said, “So did you hear the news?”

“Yes, I heard that they said a robbery happened and five people, including two citizens, died.”

 The other men said, “You’re right. And did you hear what they said later?”

“Yes,” Alex replied. “They said the child’s parents who died would go to an orphanage.”

“Well are your parents Steve and Chirstine?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I am afraid I have some bad news… your parents got killed by the robber.”

Alex sat there in shock. All of a sudden, he started to cry. One of them said,

“What is your name, child?”

“A- A- Alex,” he said, sobbing.

“Well, I am Michael, this David. So I am afraid we will have to take you to the orphanage. Come on, Alex.”

Alex, sobbing, went with them and never looked back.

***

That was three years ago, and ever since then, Alex had been in the orphanage. He remembered that day like it was yesterday. Every day he thought about it and wished it never happened. In the two years people tried to adopt him, it never ended well. The first family seemed nice at first but it turned out they weren’t. They worked him like a slave every day. One day it went too far, and Alex escaped. He had nowhere to go so it was back to the orphanage for him. After that, three more families adopted him but he ran away from all of them. They all were nice, but he never liked them. All he ever wished for was a family like the one he had. He remembered the times they spent together. How his parents loved him. But his parents had died and there was nothing that could change that.

A few days after he had run away from his fourth home, a new kid came in. He was as tall as Alex, 4ft 6 in. A lady introduced him to Alex.

“Alex, this is Mike.”

“Hi,” said Mike.

“Hello,” Alex replied. 

“So how did you end up here?” Mike said. 

“My parents got killed by a robber two years ago,” Alex said sadly.

Mike replied, “Mine too.”         

“Wait… WHAT?” Alex said.

Mike looked confused.

“Why are you so surprised?” Alex said.

“That’s not possible, my parents were the only citizens that day it happened… unless. Wait, were your parents cops?”

“Yeah, how did you know?” Mike asked, surprised. 

“I thought I was the only kid that lost his parents from the robbery that day,’ Alex said.

“… ok. Anyway, how did it go for you getting a family?” Mike asked. 

“Well, good, I guess the first family wasn’t so nice, but the others

were, but I didn’t like them,” Alex said.

“What, why?” Mike asked, a little jealous.

“None of them are like my family,” Alex said.

“So, I got terrible people who wanted to adopt me and you are

running away from people who want to love you,”  Mike said angrily. 

“Well, umm you see that uhhh… ”  Alex said, stammering.

“My dream is to live a happy life with someone who loves me and all

you care about is people who are already dead,” he said angrily as he stormed off.

Alex sat there in confusion. What, has he never wanted his family back?

Alex didn’t see him later that day and slept while thinking about it. The next day, he had gone to breakfast and saw that Mike was going to a new home again, but this was the same home that Alex got for the first time. He ran towards Mike and said,

“What are you doing?”

Mike said a little annoyed, “What it looks like. I am getting a new

home.”

“Don’t go with them. They treat you like a slave.”

“How do you know?” Mike replied.

Alex said, “Because I went with them once.”

Mike stopped in surprise and said to the lady, “I don’t want to go with you.”

She looked angry. “Why?”

Mike said, “Because I am not a servant.”

She left storming off and Alex said, “You know, you’re right.”

“About what?” Mike replied.

 “They are dead and nothing can change that. I need to accept it,” Alex said.

“Yup, now let’s go and get a new family,” Mike answered.

Don’t Take the Best of Me

Once upon a time, there were these three best friends named Abby, Amy, and Abigail. They were the best of friends and did everything together. But what two of the friends didn’t know was that Abby had a very big secret, a secret that she had been keeping ever since she met them in 1st grade until now, in 6th grade. Her secret was she had type 1 diabetes and felt ashamed of it because she felt that all she was to people was a sick girl who couldn’t take care of herself. That’s why, ever since she moved here to this small town in Colorado, she felt she didn’t have to be a sick girl near people, that was, of course, if no one found out.

But she still had to follow a certain number of rules for herself, so no one had to suspect anything. For example, everywhere she went, she needed to carry apple juice with her at all times to maintain her blood sugar and so it didn’t go too low or too high — because blood sugar was her main source of energy and came from the food she ate, if it went way too high, then it could cause severe heart conditions. So she needed to have and maintain a certain diet. And her mom to her felt like just another person who reminded her that she was sick because of all the importance she gave her. Sometimes, it even made her feel like her own mother was ashamed of her but she knew she was just helping her hide the fact that she had diabetes like by hiding her continuous glucose monitor under her clothes.

Ever since what had happened at her last school, when one of her closest friends recorded a video of her in a hospital having a seizure and showed everyone in her old school, she had lost all her friends. The thought of her having an illness was such a big deal that they stopped talking to her and stopped hanging out. That was until she moved here and she felt like she had the chance to begin a fresh start and to have no one who knew what had happened to her before she had moved here. That was until today, when some 3rd grader was getting bullied by some 8th grader and she wanted to tell the teacher but didn’t want to be a tattle teller. But she felt like she had to, so she did.

“Hey, you over there, don’t you know what happens to bullies when they pick on kids, they get reported to the principal’s office.” As she was about to go to the principal’s office.

But little did she know she was in for a surprise when the 8th grader said, “You will regret this.” 

And sure enough, she would.

The next day, when she was walking to school, she heard whispering and laughing, she didn’t think anything of it until she saw people staring at her when she walked inside the school. Suddenly, she felt someone pull her into the girls’ bathroom. It was Amy and Abigail. And just as she was about to scream,

“Why the heck did you pull me in here for?”

Amy put her hand against her mouth, closed the door, and pulled out her phone to show her the video that everybody was talking about. It was a video of her having a seizure in a hospital.

“What is this?” said Abigail. 

As Abby started seeing the video, she stared at them both and started having shivering lips as if she was about to cry.

“I can ex… pla… in,” she said as she was shivering.

“If you don’t tell us right now, we’re leaving,” said Abigail.

And just as they were about to leave, Abby built up all of her emotions and said, she said what she never thought she would say, ever,

“… I have… DIABETES!” 

Just there and then, Amy and Abigail stood there looking at Abby in a state of shock as Abby dropped down on the floor and started crying. But just as suddenly, she felt two arms touch her back as she looked over at both shoulders and smiled when she saw Amy and Abigail.

“We didn’t know you had diabetes, Abby, we are so, so very sorry, but what I don’t understand is why you never told us,” Abigail said with a calm voice.

“I guess I was just scared of what you and Amy might think about me.”

“You don’t have to be ashamed of who you are or what you are, we both accept you for being you, so who cares what everybody else thinks, you have us,” said Amy as all three of them hugged on the ground, crying and laughing.

The very next day, Abby decided to hold an assembly in her school and explain all about her illness to people and really open up something that she’d been trying to avoid for years. Some people supported her and some people didn’t, but at the end of the day, it didn’t even matter. Who cared what people’s opinions were of her? She should just be happy for who she was and not ashamed of that. She had people who actually cared about her, what more did she need?

Ms. Frizz

Ms. Frizz was an old woman who wore many sweaters, she had white, frizzy hair, and was a great math teacher, with greater students. They were all strangely smart. They would come in with a 100 IQ and go up to 160 within the first month. Since Ms. Frizz was seemingly a great teacher, not one parent complained about their kid being put in her classroom. In fact, parents were lining up at the administration office to transition their kid to that class. But Ms. Frizz kept a dark secret hidden behind the classroom’s dry, cracked walls. And no one knew all this until the day Timmy went into her class.

Timmy had a twin named Tommy, and Tommy was in Ms. Frizz’s class. The reason why they were split up was because Tommy had more potential, as his parents said, so he went to the ‘smarter classroom’ which Timmy thought was unfair, but he knew it would happen because Tommy was the favorite. But the twins decided to pull a prank one day and swap classes. As soon as Timmy walked into the classroom, he knew something was wrong. He watched as all the students stared blankly at Ms. Frizz.

“Hello class! We will start class by watching this math video!” 

“Yes, Ms. Frizz,” said all the students in unison. 

Timmy looked on as she projected a spinning black and white spiral that seemed never ending. He didn’t want to know what would happen if he looked at the spiral so he quickly looked for a way out. While Ms. Frizz was busy rolling back the projector into the ceiling, Timmy ran out of the classroom. What else could he do? He couldn’t just go back to class! When his mom came to pick them up, Timmy told her everything! But she didn’t believe him! Timmy didn’t know what to say or what to do. Then a light bulb went off, quite literally because Timmy’s mom was changing the dining room light bulbs after Timmy’s dad fell off of a chair while bringing his plate to eat. Dad blamed it on the bad lighting, but Timmy blamed it on how big he was. But he figured out how to give proof! He would bring a tape recorder! As Timmy came into school the next day, he was stopped in the hallway,

“Tim, what do you think you’re doing walking into my classroom?” 

“Tommy, remember we were supposed to switch classrooms?” 

“Yeah, but that was yesterday. And I can’t possibly stay in that mind numbing classroom of yours for another day!” 

“You can hold in there especially if I tell Eliza you were a bedwetter until you were 8!” 

“Ugh, fine!!!”

It was safe to say that Timmy felt quite accomplished with himself! He slowly crept into the classroom, uncomfortably holding the tape recorder under his sweater. 

“Tommy! You were acting quite strange by running out of the room yesterday. Can you go get me something from the ‘closet’… ” 

“Uhm, sure,” said Timmy without knowing what danger awaited him. All the students watched as he walked in slowly. 

“Uhm, Ms. Frizz, there is nothing in the — ”

The students watched in excitement as Timmy fell down a trapdoor and into a strange room. 

“Oops,” said Ms. Frizz while holding her hand over her mouth.

“Help me!!” Timmy pulled his phone out of his pocket and immediately took pictures of the room and the trap door. He called his mom to come pick him up, and as the good mother she was, she picked him up. Or so she thought. 

“Mom hurry!! Come pick me up!” typed Timmy as fast as he could. 

“Honey, I don’t know what you mean, you are already in the car,” said Timmy’s mom over text. 

Timmy felt his heart rise up and into his throat. She didn’t take Timmy, she took another boy home. He started panicking as it felt like the walls around him kept getting smaller. Just when he was about to pass out, a new, pristine, white projector unfolded out of the ceiling. It was a completely different color from the room, which needed a new paint job and a heavy duty scrubbing of the walls to get all the muck and grime off. Then the projector started playing a tape. 

“Hello, Tommy, I hate to put you down here since you were always my favorite student, but lately I feel like you need some one-on-one time. And that’s okay because you will be here in confinement while you get help on your ‘studies.’ And the kid I sent your mom home with was just a robot. And I know she is a doctor so she will be busy and won’t care to drive all the way back to school to pick ‘you’ up. She still thinks she has the right kid,” said the recorded tape of Ms. Frizz’s voice.

Timmy wasn’t going to accept this. He was going to escape right out of here. Well, as soon as he found a way he would. He looked up at the projector screen and wondered, 

“If I can climb this, then I should be able to get underneath the trap door and get out.” He quickly rushed over and climbed on top of the projector. He tried his best to balance his feet on the skinny projector screen, he stood up and couldn’t reach the trapdoor. 

“Darn these short legs!” 

He looked around to see if there was something he could use to reach and punch the trapdoor so he could escape. There! He saw that there was a pointer finger that teachers use to point at things but it would come in handy in this situation. He thrusted the finger up and swiftly broke the door! He used all the courage and upper body strength he had to climb up through the door. He made it out! He ran out of the classroom and out the school door. He then realized he would have to walk four miles to walk home since he didn’t have enough money for the bus fare. Once he made it home, he dragged his legs to the front door and used his keys to walk in, he then saw Tommy and the robot sitting at the table eating. He couldn’t tell who was the robot! They both looked the same! Timmy then announced his presence and said,

“Guys, I have something to show you!” He walked up to his mom and said, “I’m the real Timmy! Ms. Frizz just trapped me in a room so that she could hypnotize me, too!!”

“Timmy!? If you’re Timmy, then who are the people here at the dining table!?” Timmy’s mom, Alicia, shrieked and dropped a teacup. Alicia then ran up the stairs muttering to herself.  

“Maid! Come clean this up! And you! Have you lost your mind?! Ms. Frizz would never do that.” 

“Why can’t you be like your brother and be calm and collected!” said his dad. 

“I have the pictures! Why can’t you just believe me! My whole life, you have loved Tommy more than me, and you didn’t even care enough to put us in the same class!” 

“Son, I’m sorry you feel that, I know I may have shown more love to your brother but now we have to stop the robot,” said Timmy’s dad, Eric, gripping his shoulders. 

“B-But how can we?” said Timmy.

“It’s simple, we just touch their arms and we see if we can feel a heartbeat!” As soon as his father said that, they immediately ran over to the table and touched their wrists to feel a heartbeat. In a heartbeat, Tim’s dad had pinned the robot onto the floor!

“Call the police, Tim!!” bellowed his father. Tim dialed the police and when the police showed up, they handcuffed the robot (even though they could have just turned it off). Timmy then showed the police the pictures and the recording of everything Ms. Frizz had done. The police later found out where she lived, and that same night, they broke into her home with a warrant for her arrest, but there was no trace of Ms. Frizz. 

“Thomas, Timothy, me and your father have decided that we should move to Florida because I don’t want to bring another robot child home and I’m also now afraid of the school,” said their mother fanning herself.

Timmy and Tommy looked at each other and in unison they said, “Thank goodness!”

Two weeks later, Timmy and Tommy went to their first day of a new school. As they both took their seats (they were in the same class now), both of their hearts dropped, as they saw an old woman wearing many sweaters with white, frizzy hair. 

“Hello, class! My name is Ms. Frizz and I will be your math teacher this year!” 

Seymour & a Piece of Cheese

I, Seymor, am a little hamster who just really wanted a piece of cheese. Every night, I would sit eating disgusting sunflower seeds. I would daydream about cheese. 

But one day, a little girl came to clean my cage. I just ran out of the cage. The little girl screamed! 

I said, “Talk about loud!” I ran. All that time on my exercise wheels paid off. Buck, her big brother yelled, “get the hamster.” The little girl started throwing traps. Unfortunately, all of the traps went on Buck. Oww, that must have hurt. 

While Buck was pinned down, I ran to the front door to make my escape. At just the right moment, their mom came and opened the door. I ran out at last. I was outside finally. New York is not a safe place for a hamster! I ran, but everyone seemed to hate hamsters. One even caught me. I ran inside the cage, but I saw there was a hole in the cage, so I ran back out. When I was outside again, I ran for the subway. I ran down the steps to the subway and I sniffed cheese, but a person on a bench holding a coffee cup and with a hat on, was eating the cheese. Nooo! 

I ran to the person and I was literally on his lap. He seemed very scared of me, but luckily I got away before he smushed me. I ran up the stairs and I was outside. I used my little hand to swipe the top of my head. Phew, it was sweaty. I ran inside. Gee, it was cold inside. I jumped on this snuggly thing. I snuggled in this thing that was very comfy. 

After an hour, I left the house and I saw a cheese store. I started running like crazy and finally I was in front of the store. Luckily they just opened and the owner of the store had a bright smile on his face. I looked right and left and there was just CHEESE! The owner opened the door AND I RAN IN! I ate EVERY PIECE AND CRUMB OF CHEESE. I spotted a cheese piece on a pedestal. My eyes filled with water and I jumped and ate the piece of cheese. From that day on, I lived the BEST LIFE EVER! 

The End.         

Katenga

Mayoth, 37th, 29141

Proteus, EverDunes

Deliah Blue’s Private Journal

To whom it may concern: I am Delyonïah Blue, Captain of the Fortuna 3 Spacecraft which has Landed on Neptune’s 10th moon, Proteus, on Lapis 24th, 29121. However, today is the last day I will live, for I will give my life to banish the soul, Katenga the shapeshifting Demon, from this massive body of water, which Katenga has taken over to destroy all civilization in our galaxy. Force does not work because punches and knives go right through it. I think our only chance of defeating Katenga is to have fire on large poles and usher Katenga out of our dome, in fear we would evaporate him. Once we get him out of the dome, he will freeze in open space, because the dome is the only type of civilization we have made on Proteus. YES! Katenga has just frozen, but just in case, I will transfer his soul into a single grain of sand, which is to be lost. Hopefully, Katenga will not take control of any more unlucky people. This transfer is a secret process only people who have had Katenga inside of them know. Good-bye forever.

Mayoth, 74th, 29151

Proteus, EverDunes

Loradis looked up into the sky, to Neptune, and then he went back to growing potatoes. He did that for a while until his buddies growing the kale walked over to him and said, “We should probably go inside. It looks like there is going to be a haboob.”

“We need to get the tent out and do some surgery on it and make it able to guard over the crops. Hey, Couch Potato. Get it, now!” Loradis exclaimed.

Couch Potato ran back covered in sand, pushing down on him. The sand hadn’t gotten the crops yet, but it was close. Loradis took out the sawzall and he took out the tent reinforcements and sanded the tent poles in such a way that it would reinforce itself once it was in the ground. Then, he took the five small poles and planted them around the crops. He assembled the tent and the cloth was flat over the crops. Because he knew that a haboob was a sandstorm that had sand rain, with extra gravitational force. To stop this, he put the modified tent over with extra tension so the sand would not crush the crops on top of the tent.

Svetöralis was watching his father set up the tent, full of fear that his father would not be able to make it to the airlock in time. Fortunately, his father got back to the airlock, but it was full of sand.

“Daddy, get in!” Svetöralis yelled. Svetöralis ran to the airlock, wondering if his father was in. The door opened, and there was a small avalanche of sand on Svetöralis. He crawled out, looking for his father, but he was already latched onto his leg. When they went home, they both had showers and Svetöralis noticed there was a single grain of sand that wouldn’t come off. He pulled, but it wouldn’t come off. He decided to wait until the morning to see if it would fall off. 

In the morning, he was very tired and said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if I was a rock.” Then, the area around that one grain of sand turned green and he turned into the last rock he had seen, and he fell through his bed. He decided to turn into a carpenter, and immediately he knew the skills he needed to fix the bed. He fixed it, then he decided, “This is fun! Time to prank! I am a pig!” He turned into an enormous pig, and he decided to weigh himself on his scale. It broke. He tiptoed out the door and he went to his neighbor’s house and growled at the door. The neighbor opened the door, shaking, and then, in fear, he slapped the pig and then he closed the door as fast as he could. Then, Svetöralis turned back into a human and yelped, “Ow, that hurt, you know!”

The neighbor opened the door again, now mad, and pulled Svetöralis by his hair to the leader’s office and yelled, “This boy has been possessed by Katenga!”

“Hey, hey, let’s not make accusations yet, okay? Show me, Svetöralis Mars, show me, do you have the spirit Katenga?” The leader asked.

Svetöralis said, “I want to be a pig.”

The area around the grain of sand on his leg turned green again, and he shapeshifted into a pig.

“That’s the pig I saw before!” The neighbor yelled.

Svetöralis turned back to a human and said, “I want to start a program to look for alien life, and with this ability, I can speak to them, because when I turn into something, I am able to understand the language of the animal I turn into.”

“Hmm, that might actually be a good idea,” the leader said. “You’re on, kid!”

Audrey and the Guardians of the Wall

 Chapter 1 – Getting Home

Once upon a time there lived a unicorn Audry. She was trapped in a land and the name of it was Earth. Her home was in Unicornland which was in the clouds. She wanted to get home, but the only problem was that there was a big wall that separated the two worlds. And there were a lot of guards that guarded the wall. 

One beautiful, sunny day, she went out and she decided to try to fly over the wall, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t jump over the wall or fly over it. But then she spotted a small window that was in the middle of the wall. She thought if she shrank to half her size, she could fly through it, but she didn’t. 

Then, many days passed and she was really frustrated. But then she thought that she could shrink herself to a fourth of her real size. When she did it, she should have been able to fly through, but her wings were too big. 

Then she was sitting outside when she remembered something. When she was shrinking herself, she forgot to shrink her wings. She shrank them, and she thought she could fly through. But she couldn’t, because her wings could only shrink to half of their size, not a fourth. 

So the next day, she was sitting outside and thinking of new ideas and how she could go back to her home. Then, an idea struck her. She thought that she could take out the bricks and make the hole wider so she could fly through. But there were three guards guarding it. 

One was so tired from all the work that he retired. But two of them were still standing there and they saw the unicorn trying to take out the bricks. They immediately took their staff and then the unicorn didn’t know what to do. And it was getting dark, so she went back to sleep. 

The next day, the unicorn thought that if she could put a sleeping spell on them, she could take out more bricks. She did that for the following couple of days. She did that but she only took out a couple blocks in a day. So she only took out half the bricks she needed to fly through it. Then, the guards woke up, and their hands were slippery and so they couldn’t hold the staff very well. So the unicorn took their staffs and so they ran away. They were too scared. 

The unicorn started taking out the blocks very easily. She took out another fourth of the blocks and only had another fourth to take out, but then a whole army of guards came, and then the unicorn put a sleeping spell on every single one except one, and then she took his staff away, which was the sharpest, and then she took out all of the bricks and could finally go home. When she got home, everyone was so happy to see her and she was so happy to be home. 

And then she built tons of layers on the wall so none of the guards could put a spell on any of the unicorns or hurt them ever again.

Chapter 2 – Back home 

But the unicorn never knew that there was a whole other island where they made those staffs so then the guards started making the same tiny hole. And then, when they made it, Audry and all the other unicorns thought they were trying to have some fun making windows. But they didn’t know that the guards were trying to get Audry the unicorn back. 

So then the guards had a special potion to make her come back to Earth. But the guards never knew that when she got back, she was training, so now anywhere she went, she had her powers, and not only flying. So it would be much harder for the guards to get her back. 

Then, when the guards finally got her back, they closed the window with magic bricks. But they didn’t know that the unicorn had all the powers now, so she could just break the bricks. But now that they knew she had trained, when they found out about it, they made a whole row of guards standing on each other’s heads so the unicorn wouldn’t be able to make a hole. But then the unicorn remembered that she could make herself and her wings bigger, almost fifty times. So she did that and flew to the top and started waving her wings. And the soldiers on the other row of soldier’s heads started wiggling and fell and got hurt so they ran away.

Then the unicorn started breaking the wall, but Audrey never knew that the staff had a special power. So when Audrey touched her wing with the staff, it took away some of her powers and was much slower than she had expected it to be. The guards were fully recovered when Audrey finished, so when the guards were fully recovered, they went back to action. 

But they didn’t know that Audrey’s powers had healed, too. So she quickly took out the last few bricks of the wall and flew through it. When she was finally back home, she closed the wall for good and put a magic potion that made soldiers not be able to open the wall again so the unicorns were back together and didn’t have to worry about anything else.      

Chapter 3 – A Black Hole                                        

 

One beautiful day in Unicornland, Audry found out that people from Unicornland were falling into a black hole. Audry went on her computer to try to find how to close the hole. But no matter how long she tried, she couldn’t find answers. Audry got closer. Then she fell into it.  Audy fainted on the way down. When she woke up, the same two guards were holding her. They told her if she came back to Earth, they would leave Unicornland alone. She said yes. 

Chapter 4 – A Secret Escape   

At night, when all the guards were asleep, Audry started breaking the wall. She flew through. When she got back, all the unicorns flew to a different land and they lived happily ever after.                

The end          

Bobby and Milly

Chapter 1 –  The Puppy

Once upon a time, there was a puppy named Bobby. And Bobby

Was so cute. Bobby had an owner. The owner’s name was

Milly.  Milly loved puppies.  That’s why Milly had a puppy.

Milly was five years old when she got the puppy.

But now, she was 12. Her worst fear was losing the puppy.

She was so happy to have a puppy. And lucky.

When she went to school, the puppy would

Always chew on his bone until she came

Back from school. The puppy loved Milly. And Milly

Loved Bobby. One day, she had to go to camp.

So the puppy was chewing and chewing. 

Until Bobby got tired of chewing. So Bobby 

Was barking at the door. So Milly’s 

Mom picked the puppy up and gave it a bath.

Then, when the puppy was done, milly came back

And picked it up. And then Milly played

Soccer with Bobby and Milly played tag with 

Bobby. And she played hide and seek with 

Bobby. Then it was time to sleep. So Milly

Was sleeping with Bobby .

Chapter 2 – Wake Up

Milly was sleeping. And then her mom said,

“Wake up! You’re going to be late for school.”

So she got up very fast for school. Then the dog was 

Sad because Milly always went to school. 

So this time he just was sleeping. Then, when

Bobby woke up, Milly was there. Then

Milly had to take a shower. Bobby jumped 

In the shower with her. Then she was tired.

So she took a nap. Then she watched a big 

Movie with Bobby. Then it was time to sleep. 

So Milly was sleeping with Bobby. Bobby 

Had a nightmare. But it felt so real.

And then Bobby woke up. Then Milly got late for school.

She took a car.

Chapter 3 – Where is Bobby?

Then, when Milly woke  up, she did not see Bobby anywhere.

“Bobby?” she said. Then she had to go to school. “NOOOO!”

But then she was already at school. Milly’s mom knew

How much Milly loved Bobby. So she looked for it. 

But she did not find it. When Milly got back from school,

She started looking for Bobby for 5 hours. But she 

Could not find Bobby. Then it was night. She had a nightmare.

She woke up. Then went back to bed.

Then, it was morning. She woke up and ate breakfast.

Then when she was done with breakfast, she was looking

At old pictures of her and Bobby. Then her mom came 

In the room. And said, “Don’t worry, we will get another puppy.”

“I don’t want another puppy. I want Bobby.”

Chapter 4 – I’m Sad

“I’m sad,” Milly said. Her mom came in and said, 

“Don’t worry. We will find Bobby.”

“But what if we can’t find Bobby?”

“We will,” said her mom.

Then they heard a barking noise. Milly went outside but it was 

The neighbor’s dog. She cried and cried. She did not know what to do.

Then it was night. Then she heard a barking noise. 

It was Bobby. “Where were you?” she said, then she hugged Bobby.

The end.   

Lucy the Teacup

Lucy is sitting on the table, just waiting to be filled with tea. She sees the maid walking towards her with a steaming hot kettle in one hand and a bowl of little sugar cubes on the other. Lucy’s best friend, Angela, who is a candle, is sitting next to her. 

Yes, Lucy thinks.

But all of a sudden, the maid trips and spills all the tea!!

“There goes my warmth, down the drain,” Lucy says quietly.

“It’s okay, we will both get what we want, I know we will,” Angela says.

Both Angela and Lucy mope until they spot the dining table.

“The dining table!!” They both say. “Our goal is the dining table, if we get to the dining table, we can be filled and lit every day!!”

“Wait, but what if I melt on the way there?!”

“You are not going to melt, you are a hard candle!!”

So the teacup and the candle jump on the nearest chair, which sneezes. The teacup and candle say bless you, and walk on with their day. Now they’re on the floor. Or how they say it, “The Danger Zone.”

“Okay, Lucy, we are in the Danger Zone. Try to tip toe, and don’t make any sudden movements. Okay?” Angela says.

“Okay,” Lucy says.

So the girls tiptoe to the middle of the floor and see a maid so they stop.

“What are you doing here?? You are quite dirty, let me go clean you up.”

2 Minutes Later

“There you go with your little friend,” says the maid, giggling at the end.

“Like I said, down there is The Danger Zone.”

“The only noise was the chair that sneezed,” Lucy says.

“This time we have to try to get there another way,” says Angela.

“Ohh, we have to go a way that the maid will not find us. We can jump on the fireplace…”

“I AM A CANDLE!! For goodness sakes!!!”

“I’m sorry,” Lucy says.

“Why do you live in this house anyway!!”

“Do you think I am the headstate teacup master!!! I give out the place that every teacup under the age of 60 goes??? Do you think I am my Dad?? I miss my dad so much, and Karen and Maya.”

“I thought you hated your sisters,” says Angela.

“Yea, but I can still miss them.”

“Okay let’s just try to get down there, on the fireplace,” Angela says with a nervous smile on her face.

Angela sighs hard and jumps with Lucy onto the fireplace. She can feel the heat on her candle body. But she keeps running, holding her best friend’s hand, and never letting go. Angela is running record speed with Lucy, only a foot to go, and Angela’s feet are burning. She can feel the melted candle dripping on her forehead. Both see a wood slide, that connects the end of the fireplace and The Danger Zone together.

“One, Two, Three… Jump!!!”

They jump off the fireplace and slide on the wooden slide they saw. Melted candle is smeared on the wood slide, and Angela’s legs are still burning.

“Are you okay?” Lucy asks.

“I think I’m fine, my legs just hurt,”Angela responds.

They slowly walk behind a standing vacuum cleaner and sit down.

“I think I just need water and a little break,” Angela says.

“That’s okay,” Lucy says.

They both spot a dog feeder and it has a bit of water in it. Lucy pushes the vacuum to the side of the dog feeder and they both hide behind it. But they both see a maid walking by. So they freeze. No one can hear, but both Lucy and Angela’s hearts are pounding out of their chests. They both think the maid is going to find them. But the maid just walks right past them.

“Okay, now let’s go to the dining table,“ says Angela.

“Wait, but what if I fall off the chair or the table? I will mess up the whole plan.”

“No you won’t, stop doubting yourself,” Angela says.

“Okay,” Lucy says.

So they tiptoe to the side of the wall and stop. Then they look around and keep moving. They get to the dining room table and are about to jump to the chair, until they hear a crack. They wait for something to happen but nothing does. So they proceed to jump on the chair. They look around once more and jump on the table. Luckily, all the teacups and candles are the same. But Lucy and Angela are extras, and get placed on the side table. Lucy gets into where the other teacup was and pushes the teacup off the table. The teacup doesn’t break, but the maid puts it on the side table. Then Angela does the same, with a candle instead. The same thing happens. The maid picks it up and puts it on the side table. Mission completed.

“Ohh yeah!!” Lucy says.

A Bedtime Story

“Misty!” Cathy called. “I need you to read me a bedtime story!”

As soon as she heard this, 13-year-old Misty came racing up the stairs.

“What kind of story do you want to hear, sis?” Misty breathlessly responded after she dashed to Cathy’s room.


“I wanna hear a story about a tiger!” Cathy screamed.

“Ok, ok,” Misty said. “Once upon a time, there was a tiger named Splash. Splash wasn’t an ordinary tiger. He had a big imagination, so he decided that he wanted to write a story. He got the idea from watching people write and draw all day at the zoo.


“The next morning, Splash woke up, jumped up and down on the other tigers, and told them all about his wanting to write a story. They all just laughed and said stuff like, ‘You can’t write a story; you’re just a puny tiger, Splash!’ This was true – Splash was just a baby tiger with a dream, but Splash didn’t get discouraged. Instead he decided to work harder.


“At snack time, Splash usually did what he liked the most in the world, and that was splashing in the water. That was also how he got his name, Splash. All of the other tigers were eating and bragging about how long they could stay on their hind legs. Splash had something more important to do with his time. More important than splashing in the water. He decided to start his first book. He needed pencil and paper first, so when the people started coming, he stole their pencils, drawings and their paper when they weren’t looking.


“At noon, after Splash got everything he needed, he wanted to think about what his book was gonna be about. When he started to jot down some notes, he realized something awful — he can’t write! Splash spent the rest of the sobbing and listening to the others laugh and play.


“The next week, Splash saw someone walking up to the shelter. It was a little girl wearing braids and holding a small teddy bear. She went and asked the guy, Phil, who fed the tigers, ‘Are the tigers for sale?’


“She had a sweet little voice, but Phil laughed and dismissed her. Splash whined to let her know that he cared.

“The next few weeks, she kept on coming and she kept Splash company. Of course, the other tigers laughed all day. It turned out that she and her family owned a zoo. It almost seemed like she could understand Splash and all the other animals in the zoo. She was so supportive of the animals and Splash loved her. He wanted to go to her zoo with more friendly tigers and live with her forever. After a while, he knew her name: Dorothy.


“One day, Dorothy didn’t come. Splash and the animals who actually cared became worried. They didn’t have their usual spark. They didn’t eat for two days and grew very weak.


“They didn’t see Dorothy for the rest of the year and they spent it crying. It was hard for them, not seeing Dorothy and all. They didn’t get why she suddenly left. They thought they would never see each other again.


“In a year, Dorothy came and Splash was mad. She didn’t come with the braids she used to wear. She came with jeans, long hair, and a shirt. She looked so different. She was talking to her friends. She acted like she didn’t know any of the animals there; it was hard to watch.


“The other Tigers made fun of Splash, they said, ‘We knew she was never gonna remember you, never!’


“At midnight, Splash rolled onto something. It was something special; Splash could feel it in his small tiger bones. It was numbers, 2001, N Clark St, Chicago IL.


“Splash felt it meant something and he wanted to go there. Wait; there was something else on the address.


“It said, ‘To: Splash, From: Dorothy; I am sorry that I left and didn’t say hi today. I left because my parents divorced and I was forced to live with my dad in Indiana. That address is for my zoo. I will talk to you tomorrow, bye!’


“Splash felt like singing, but he fell asleep right away. All that reading must have made him tired. He was snoring all night. Now the other animals couldn’t sleep!


“The next morning, Dorothy came back. She walked right up to Phil and said, ‘I’ll give you 1,000 bucks for this whole zoo.’


“‘Lots o’ money!’ he thought with a sly grin, ‘We’ll take it.’ he responded, ‘Bwah-ha ha! We will use the money for the zoo!’


“After he had realized that he just sold the zoo so he couldn’t use the money, he yelled, ‘YOU TRICKED ME!!!’ Splash was worried, so he ran out of the zoo and went to Dorothy’s zoo. When he got there the sign read ‘2001, Lincoln Park Zoo.’ Splash ran in and went to the other animals. The tigers seemed nice, the giraffes were magnificent, the lobsters were nicer than he expected, and the kangaroos were awesome.


“Dorothy came after a while and said, ‘Splash! I got the zoo and they are going to rebuild it here! I am so happy you came because I brought the whole crew.’ She showed Splash every single animal from the zoo except the tigers.


“‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Dorothy continued. ‘Where are the tigers? They are in a special place for ‘Horrible Tigers.’


“Splash liked this idea. He nodded his head.


“‘Well, let’s get this party started!’ Dorothy said.


“They partied all night and played Splash’s favorite musi — ”


“ZZZZZZZZZ!” Cathy was asleep. Misty slowly tucked her into bed and went to her room.

“MOM! I need you to tell me a bedtime story!”

All My Imagination

“Bedtime, girls!” Dad called after my twin sister and I washed up and ate dinner and changed into pajamas. 

So we hurried into our shared room so that we could read before Dad came in and pushed our bedtime to a little later. About five minutes later, Mom and Dad came in and said it was time to put our books away. 

“Aww,” I said, “just a few minutes more pleeeease?” and I made my pleading face.

“No,” Dad said sternly, “you say this every time.”

Charlie and I didn’t want to argue, so we gave him our books and laid down. I was really looking forward to knowing if the characters in my book made it back from the time machine. 

Mom and Dad tucked us in and said good night. 

After they left, Charlie said, “Hey, Ali, want to read some more? I have my reading light that I got for our ninth birthday.”

I surprised myself with my own answer. I said that I wanted to get some rest before our first day of fourth grade. She seemed a little disappointed but hardly showed it. Then, I started to fall asleep.

Suddenly, I was flying. I couldn’t tell where, but I could see a whole town below me. It looked like London. Charlie and I went there with our parents last summer. But it didn’t look like how it did when we went there. It just looked different.

Then I started going in circles and I hoped it would stop soon, because I was getting dizzy. It stopped, but I was somewhere else.

“Hello?” I tried to say to an elderly woman. “Hello? Could you please tell me where I am? I’m lost.”

But she couldn’t seem to hear me.

It was hot. “Am I in some sort of tropical place?” I thought. Maybe I was in Hawaii. I have never been there, but I studied it in first grade and my cousin went there a year ago. But then I realized that everyone looked different. Not like how they looked in Alex’s pictures. “How is this happening?” I thought.

But just then I started twirling again. I landed with a thud in some place that looked like Pensylvania, where I’m from, except maybe older. Maybe in the colonial times that we were learning about in school. And then I realized it. I realized what I hadn’t noticed before. I was time travelling. 

And then I started spinning one last time. I ended up in a place. I couldn’t tell where because it was all covered in trees and bushes. There were Native Americans and deer and other animals getting shot by the Natives for food and clothes. It was their way of life I suppose. We learned about them in third grade also. I tried to talk to them, maybe ask some questions, but they couldn’t seem to hear me either. Maybe it was that they were visible to me, but I wasn’t visible to them. 

Then, I heard a “bring, bring, bring!” and “Wake up, Ali!” And that was the moment I realized that it was just my imagination.

Escape From the Mall

Once, there was a lipstick whose name was Magenta. She lived in the makeup store in the mall. People were smothering her guts on their lips! That was how her parents died. One day, Magenta decided to escape because she knew soon a person would buy her and that would be dangerous, one time a person almost bought her. She planned her escape at night so no people would see her but there was one obstacle, there was a night guard, and his dog and cat. It was a big problem!!!

The mall soon opened and filled with busy shoppers and people smothered the lipsticks’ guts on their lips. Every time this happened, Magenta thought to herself, Oww! 

Hours passed and finally the shoppers left, the mall closed, and the night guard came in with his pets, the dog and cat. Magenta was too small to see where to go to reach the exit, then she had an idea, she took the springs of an empty blush container and attached them to her feet. “Boing, Boing” went the springs when she jumped. The night guard heard the noise and Magenta quickly dropped the springs and closed her lid, the night guard looked at Magenta then the springs. “Those springs must’ve fallen off that blush container,” he said. He walked away muttering to himself, “This place is old.” 

Magenta attached small bits of tissue to the end of the springs, so the springs would not make noise. How am I going to get out of the mall? Magenta thought to herself, then jumped to the top of the shelf. She took the empty blush container and threw it on the sleeping dog. The dog woke up and started for the door, and the night guard started chasing the dog. Magenta took a mighty leap and landed on the night watcher’s head!!! The night guard was too busy chasing the dog, so he didn’t notice Magenta. Soon, Magenta worried that the night watcher would notice her, so she jumped off the night watcher’s head and ran into the arts and crafts store, but she didn’t know that the cat was in the shop. When Magenta saw the cat, she immediately jumped to the top of a shelf and thought to herself, Cats can climb so the cat can get me. Then she had a plan, she took a red, glow in the dark, cherry-scented, no smears marker, drew a perfectly round, red dot on the shelf, and cooed, “Here kitty kitty.” The cat climbed up the shelf and when the cat saw the dot, she kept pouncing the dot because she thought it was a laser. When the cat was distracted, Magenta jumped off the shelf and disguised herself as a mouse, ran out of the store, and headed for the door. Then the night guard turned around and shouted,

“Mouse!!!” and started chasing Magenta! Magenta ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, when she reached the door it was closed. Dead end. Then she ran to the tool store and pushed a hammer that was near the window with all her might. The hammer broke the window and before she could jump out, the night guard grabbed the tail of the disguise. “Got you,” he said. Magenta held onto the window ledge tightly. Magenta grabbed a needle, let go of the window ledge with one hand, and threw the gleaming sharp needle at the night watcher’s eye. “Oww!!!” he shouted. He cupped his hands around his eye. When Magenta’s disguise tail was free, she leaped out of the window. She did it! No people would smother their guts on her lips! She would explore the world.                                    

The End 💄                                                                             

Sweet Murder

Chapter 1

We were playing tag. My friend was chasing me. There was nowhere to go and then I thought of something: the forest! I ran as fast as I could towards the forest. We went deeper and deeper into the forest. Can we stop? Then, we came upon a few dead bodies. It was on the other side of a little hill. It was almost as if the trees were forming a gate around it. When I saw the bodies, I got really worried. And then we figured out that the dead bodies were our parents! I was very sad.

 Chapter 2

(3 weeks later)

I hear a big thump and a wake up. I realize what the sound is. The paperboy tossing the newspaper at the door. I get up, open the door, and look at the newspaper. On the headline, it says, “Mister K murdered.”

I call my friend and say, “Did you see the headline on the newspaper?”

He says, “Yeah, can you believe it?!”

I say, “Do you think it could have anything to do with the dead bodies we saw?”

Chapter 3

My friend agrees with me that we have to find out who the murderer is.

“First, we have to start looking for clues,” I say.

My friend says, “Got it. Let’s start looking.”

“I know,” I say. “In movies, aren’t there always like bad people in the alley ways?”

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

Chapter 4

“Which alley should we search first?” I say.

“How about Crook’s Alley?” my friend says.

I say, “Why Crook’s Alley?”

“Because ‘crook’ is another word for a bad person,” my friend says.

We walk by the bakery and the donut shop to Crook’s Alley. We walk on Crook’s Alley and see a sign .

<This way to Clues about an anonymous murder. The wrong path leads to certain Doom >

Chapter 5

“So how do we know which way to go?” my friend says.

“Let’s check around for clues. Remember X marks the spot. Hey, look at this fine print,” I say.

The fine print says, “How many seconds are there in a year?”

“I think it might be a riddle,” I say. “How about we go to the shop and see if there are any calculators.”

It says on the fine print that this riddle expires in seven minutes and the calculator shop is on the other side of town. We won’t be able to get there in time.

“Well, if this isn’t a riddle, maybe they don’t want us to find out how many seconds are in a year. Or maybe they do. How about we pick the highest one? Let’s go to the left,” I say. 

“No I think we should go to the right,” my friend says.

“How about we both go the way that we want,” I say.

And we both walk off in opposite directions.

Chapter 6

So I walk down the path. And then suddenly, a big metal wall falls down behind me and on the wall there is graffiti that says:

Welcome to your DOOMDOOMDOOMDOOMDOOMDOOMDOOMDOOMDOOMDOOMDOOMDOOM

And then, the floor opens up and a machine that looks like a big, tall, bending straw pointing towards me comes out and says, “Scanning, scanning, scan complete. Starting Doom process.” 

My friend starts down his path and a metal wall slams down behind him. Then a computerized voice says, “Please continue down the path.”

Chapter 7  

“DOOM process complete,” the machine says, and projects an image of my friend being zapped by a laser and obliterated into smithereens.

“NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” I say.

I feel like I want to smash that machine to bits. And I try to smash the machine to bits. But then it says, “Hostile takeover. Prepare to be obliterated!” And then it shoots out a laser that makes a big crater in the floor

I run for my life.      

 Chapter 8 

I keep running down the path for my life. I see my friend walking down that path where the paths meet up and I think I must be seeing things, and I’m insane and crazy and out of my mind. Then I run up to him and poof him in the nose to make sure he isn’t a  projection. And To make sure I’m not seeing things. And I feel he’s there and I yell, “YOU ARE ALIVE!!”

My friend says, “Of course I’m alive.”

And then I yell, “Run for your life.”

We go down the tunnel to a place where there’s a man sitting at a table and he says, “I’ve been expecting you.”

Chapter 9

I say, “We’re looking for clues about an anonymous murder.”

The man says, “Yes, the murderer is the guy who works at the donut shop. You can go now.”

And then we leave and the donut man gets arrested.

The End 

JOLIE’S ADVENTURE: THE SUPERPOWERS BEHIND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Chapter 1: Dianna The Brainwasher

One day in Vermont, a girl named Dianna was walking in the forest to chop down some trees for wood. She wanted to build a treehouse. Dianna was tall as a tree with a winsome, brown bob and loved to read historical books. Funny thing is that she disliked all animals that possibly were roaming in the forest. As she was walking in the woods, she saw a tree with deep scratches on it and she knew that it had to be a bear’s big claw imprints. Dianna was starting to get anxious.

Suddenly, a big, brown bear appeared 10 feet away. Dianna ran swiftly until she saw a way out. A long, gray train that was approaching. She ran to jump on the train, but she missed the jump and the train ran over her left ankle. “Ouch!” she screamed in a hurt voice. She looked down and her ankle was horribly scraped. Luckily, after she said in fret voice, “I hope my ankle is not broken,” it healed up quickly as if nothing ever happened. Dianna was shocked by how quickly her ankle healed because she had never experienced something like this before. Dianna started to think – is this imaginary?

Dianna predicted another train was coming. So she waited. Eventually, after ten minutes, another train came briskly. Dianna jumped on the train thinking she was heading back home, but she fell asleep on the train and ended up in the Jim Crow South. She got off the train in Montgomery, Alabama! Dianna was frightened… and she was also wondering how her ankle healed so quickly.

In Montgomery, Alabama, Dianna met Martin Luther King. He told her that she needed  to help Black people fight for equality. Something sparked Dianna to get involved. Unfortunately, right before her eyes, people were getting beaten so badly by the police for protesting against segregation. At that moment, she was so angry, she shouted loudly while crying, “You do not need to do this! Stop it! Racism has to stop!” All of a sudden, the police dropped their weapons and looked at Dianna and said, “You are right! We are going to stop this police brutality!”

Dianna realized she had superpowers –  whatever she spoke with passion, it became reality. Feeling bold, she stood with John Lewis and Martin Luther King in protest, hoping this was the start to ending racism in the South. But this was not the end, something else was brewing in California with a young, clever, girl named Savannah… 

Chapter 2: Savannah The Flyer

At the same time, in New York City, an activist named Malcolm X was fighting for equality for Black people. Savannah, a young activist, with brown hair hanging to her shoulders and caramel skin, was living in California. She wanted to help stop racism too, so she decided to fly to New York City to help Malcolm X with his plan. Savannah’s superpower was to fly. She discovered that she had flying powers when she was climbing on the top of the tree and fell, but luckily flew up into the sky. 

On her way from California, she stopped and landed on the ground so she could go to some fancy coffee shop to get some water. She was out of breath from flying from California. She sipped on some water and got back flying. On her way to New York, she saw Commander Melanoff’s Mansion, the Rodent Gazette building, and Eerie Elementary. While Savannah was flying, she felt a sense of calmness.  

Finally, after ten hours of flying, Savannah got to New York City. She was out of breath but excited. At the same time she landed, Malcolm X was giving a speech in The Audubon Ballroom. One man showed up named Thomas Hagan who was there to get rid of Malcolm X. As Savannah was walking down the street, she looked through a window and saw Thomas Hagan with a tool in his hand. She ran high-speed in the ballroom, grabbed Malcolm X, and hastily flew up through the ceiling to the sky and flew away so Thomas Hagan wouldn’t eliminate him. After that day, Savannah changed history and Malcolm X continued to be an activist.

Chapter 3: Jolie The Time Traveler

Across town, in Harlem, a girl named Jolie was an activist for Black Lives Matter. She was watching a documentary on her TV about Rosa Parks. Jolie was very meticulous about things like cleaning her bedroom and making sure the dishes were clean. She had sandy-brown hair that she always wore in a bun. In the living room, while she was watching TV, her lamp lights went off and on… 

All of a sudden, she blinked and she was sitting next to Rosa Parks in the front of the bus.

Jolie was so nervous and felt she could have a heart attack, because she had warped back in time to the Civil Rights Movement. Jolie knew from her past adventures through her imagination she could create a tunnel, she could warp into a book with her favorite character, but she didn’t know she could time travel through a movie. Meanwhile, the bus driver stood up and walked over to Rosa and Jolie and commanded, “Get to the back of the bus!” Jolie thought this demand was diabolical and she refused to move. Instantly, Dianna tiptoed on the bus and slowly walked past the bus driver and whispered in his ear, 

“Let them sit on this bus.” The bus driver nodded his head in yes motion. Following behind Dianna was Savannah, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X. They all sat in the front of the bus and the other people on the bus were shocked. They just so happened to be on the same bus. Was someone trying to tell us something? The next stop was a meeting to discuss the next moves for the Civil Rights Movement.

Epilogue

The Civil Rights leaders and Superpowers were in a meeting in Chicago to discuss the next move for the movement. They were all sitting next to each other.

“I think these three young girls should help us in the next march,” Martin said proudly.

“Absolutely!” the girls said repetitiously. They stared at each other in excitement. The two men who were sitting next to Martin and Malcolm nodded in an aye motion after reading the reports in their hand. These two men were deciders who choose what happens next in the movement.

The Superpowers joined forces to change what happened to the Civil Rights leaders. MLK and Malcolm X lived until they were 100 years old. Jolie time traveled back home to another adventure. Eventually, Dianna went back to Vermont. Savannah flew back to California. All three girls’ lives had changed for the better. They were now a part of American History… even though Jolie’s real name could not be mentioned to avoid anyone finding out that she was a time traveler.

Fortnite

Editor’s Note: This story is inspired by the game Fortnite, which was developed by Epic Games. Content Warning for gun usage and video game violence.

One day I was playing squads on Fortnite with my friends when all of a sudden my TV started glowing. I put my hand up to the screen and my hand went through it. I was confused. Then I said into the mic, “Hey guys, are you seeing this?” 

Zaniya asked, “Seeing what?” 

Then I realized only I could be part of the Fortnite world. Maybe. Is this what I actually think it is? I cautiously walked in, and I realized I was in a lobby. I thought Fortnite had a lobby. I was in a Fortnite lobby! I remembered I was with my friends. I slapped my forehead thinking, am I dreaming or hallucinating? I thought if I was in Fortnite I could change what I was wearing. I went into the clothing section and saw all my skins. In order to test my theory that I was not dreaming or hallucinating, I went to the emote section and saw all my emotes. Next to Vbucks, I saw everything that I had in real life I had here in this virtual world. It’s like I entered Fortnite – or did I?

I heard a voice say, “Games starting in 3, 2, 1!”

I was immediately transported through the air and brought to what looked like the waiting place from my gaming experience. This was different. It looked exactly like Fortnite but you could not get killed. I floated over to the Battle Bus, and then we flew into my favorite game. I figured I was in Fortnite, so I got ready to win a game. I dropped and landed at a humongous house and walked inside. I picked up a gun and started firing it. Firing the gun felt good and I thought, I think I’ll like it here. I grabbed the loot and after I was done, I had an AR, a shotgun, an RPG, and healing. A few seconds later, I could hear footsteps and got ready. As soon as they came inside the person tried to shoot me but I jumped so high. I was surprised how high I could jump! I shot at him and lasered him and he died. I looked up and watched in amazement as I saw my kills, my health, my ammo, and my building materials. I wondered if someone was playing me and I was the character in Fortnite. I did a move only I knew to test my theory. I set C4 bombs everywhere, got a gun, and shot the house down. The loot rained down on me. Then I built my own house/base to live in and protect myself. I made windows and doors and everything that belongs in a base and more. A few more people came to the house. I bombed, sniped, shot out the air, and killed everyone. I, ZRC, ended the game with a win and 20 kills. 

Later that day, I, ZRC, was relaxing and partying at Party Hub. I was thinking about how good I was and how I won every game I went to. I knew this was a dream come true and I would never leave. The excitement was like a bubble about to burst when I heard over the intercom, “Come to the lounge where you will meet all agents.” I ran to the inter-lounge and saw Skye, Midas, Meoscles, Pelly, and Brutus. Over the intercom, I heard they were going to pick one person to become a new agent in Fortnite. Everyone cheered! I was full of excitement. Midas said “Drum roll please, the new agent also the best Fortnite player here other than us is ZRC!” I said, “YES!” and jumped for joy! My friends said “Yeah man!” 

After everyone left the lounge, the agents told me to stay behind and pick my favorite gun to be my weapon as an agent, and to make a new skin.

I picked a shotgun and the skin I made had a wolf mask. My hands and arms were covered in ice and my body was very muscular with abs and biceps. I looked down. I was wearing an ice skin with an ice shotgun and ice arms and hands. Being an agent was hard work. I had to pick henchmen to work as assistants. I had to pick a place to stay where I lived. I chose to make Salty Springs into an ice land with a mansion in the front with henchmen as guards. I had become a hot drop, which means everyone is coming here to get my gun. Whenever someone killed me, I would just respawn into another game. I checked my pocket to see if I had my phone. When I pulled out my phone, a piece of paper appeared in my hands and told me to call myself. I called myself and on the phone screen. It said, Zahir has answered. He heard my voice saying, “Hello? Hello?” Then I asked, “Can you play me on Fortnite?”

 “Wait, what do you mean to play you? Don’t you see me the new agent bro? I don’t know what you’re talking about, bye.”

 ZRC thought that maybe he did not know he was in the game. He knew he wanted to be the best Fortnite player in the world, but to do that he had to defeat Ssunde and the X Brothers. The X Brothers are a glitch that prevent people from winning but they don’t have an external body. They are bots programmed into the game. They just think they are real people but they are actually glitches programmed to ruin the game. My team is the Beard. His special ability is that he can drive things really well like helicopters, boats, and stuff. Zanirock’s special ability is that she can shoot really fast, faster than me, ZRC 2008. I have the special ability to have the best aim in the world and the best leadership in the world. I also have a specialized gun and henchmen. My team and I were itching to battle Ssundee after we placed second best in the world, but Ssundee is always in front. I sometimes wonder how he is so good. Gameday was in 2 days. Today, everyone was partying at Party Royale. Me and my team were having a good time laughing and joking around when our opponents came and said, “Good luck, you’ll need it ‘cause you’re going down!” 

When the X Brothers turned around, I saw them glitch for a second. I told my team, and they said, “What are you talking about?”

“We saw nothing man, just worry about having fun,” we replied.

It was Game Day. My team put on their game faces and walked out into the lobby.

We heard the last words from this bot, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”

We were launched into the Battle Bus and jumped out.

Skye dove into the tallest building there. They looted the place and then saw one of the X Brothers. They said, “3, 2, 1,” and killed him in 3 shots.

His brother was hot in pursuit when both X Brothers came out of a bush and said, “We are still here.”

“I talked about how I killed you. Are you hacking at the same time?”

They said, “We are a hack.”

Ssundee came up from the ground and surrounded them. As the leader I am, I took the lead and I shot Ssundee then 360 no-scoped one of the X Brothers. I one-pumped the other X Brother, but they rose back up. We did the only other thing we could do: Trap them with traps. We got spike traps and built a tower so they could not get out and ran 5 seconds later. They heard a noise. Then we heard, “You have won the place of the Best Fortnite Player in the World!” Ssundee and the X Brothers came out of the tower by hacking them. They tried to shoot us but then they went stiff. We all looked up and saw the Fortnite agents controlling him. They said, “You cheated! The penalty is that you get banned from Fortnite FOREVER.”

Me and my team said, “Yes sir!” and we heard my voice in the real world say, “Yes sir!” I got a VIC-Roy and won the place of Best Fortnite player. A machine transported me back home. Now, I had two powers: being able to have the best aim in the world and being able to go in and out of video games whenever I wanted. When I stepped out of the game, my sister, Kyle, and my real self were frozen for a second. Then I thought maybe I freeze time every time I go into a game. After that, I joined my real body, and I played Fortnite.

The Guy Who Only Struck Out

       

Chapter One: The First Game

“Oh hey, Janoris,” I yelled.

Janoris was my best friend on my baseball team. The difference was that Janoris was the best player and I was the worst player on our team. Our baseball team’s name was the Bronx Bandits, and we were an okay team. The reason why I was so bad at baseball was that I only struck out. My position was first base, and if there was a good throw I could catch it, but I couldn’t scoop any throws.

It was the day of our first game of the season, and we were playing the Burmington Sharks. We were the away team, so we batted first. The coach announced the lineup.

“Janoris is up, Josh is on deck, and Mike is in the hole,” Coach Dunlap announced.

Janoris worked the count to two and two and then swung and singled into center field. Four batters later, the bases were loaded and there were two outs, and I was up. We had scored no runs, but if I walked or got a hit, we would score. But I was probably going to strike out, and that was exactly what I did. Three pitches later, I was walking back to the dugout. In the bottom of the inning, when I was back at first base, a pop fly came my way, and I missed it.

Eight innings later, our team lost to the Burmington Sharks 5-1, and it was all my fault. I thought about quitting baseball. But after thinking about it, I decided not to quit. Baseball was too fun, even when you were really bad at it. As Babe Ruth said, “Don’t let the fear of striking out stop you from playing the game.”

After the game, my dad drove me home for dinner. My mom had made me my favorite meal to make me feel better. I ate two hamburgers, and then I went to my room. I thought it would be cool to swallow a baseball, so I did. I felt dizzy, and then I fell to the ground. Our next baseball game would be at a tournament at Ripken in Maryland. I was so excited even though I felt totally sick.

 

Chapter Two: Ripken

On the drive to Ripken, it was really bumpy, and I threw up the baseball that I had swallowed. I showed my parents, and they said I was just tricking them by pretending a baseball came out of my mouth. But I wasn’t.

When we arrived in Ripken, we were late. My team was already practicing. I thought they would be in our team’s dormitory, but I didn’t know the time. We were later than I thought. We were playing the Staten Island Badgers.

When I got to the field, I discovered that the fields were made of turf. That meant the baseball would bounce really high. I was sweating before the game even started.

I struck out every time at bat and made four errors, but we still won. No, actually, we crushed them 23-5. The tournament was a double elimination format. That meant that when a team lost twice, they would be out of the tournament.

In the afternoon, we played our second game of the day. It was a rematch against the Burmington Sharks. In the game, I was on the bench and not playing, so it was tied, and we went into extra innings. For the last inning, I played first base. They had scored no runs. The leadoff batter was me, and for once I got on base with a walk. Then, Janoris was up and hit a walk off home run.

 

Four days later…

“Yeah!” I screamed. We had just won the tournament.

“I don’t know why you’re so happy when you didn’t do anything to help,” Jerry said.

Jerry was the second best player on our team. I knew it was true that I never helped the team. I just struck out and made errors.

 

Chapter Three: The Mystery

When I got back to my house the next day, I wanted to go play catch with my dad, but my glove was missing.

“Dad, someone stole my glove,” I whined.

“No one took it. You just misplaced it,” he yelled back.

But someone did take it, and they were on my team. They didn’t want me to have my glove so I couldn’t play, and so they wouldn’t lose because of me. At the next game, I asked everyone on my team if they had seen my glove. “No” was the answer that everyone gave me.

“Guess you’ll just have to sit on the bench for the whole game,” Frankfort said.

Then right there I knew that Frankfort took my glove. I didn’t say anything to him because he would get mad and start throwing baseballs at me, and he was one of many pitchers on our team, and he threw like 65 miles per hour. When I was sure there were no baseballs around, I asked Frankfort.

“Did you take my glove because I’m bad and you don’t want me to play?” I asked him.

He looked offended. “I did no such thing,” he replied back.

After that, I got out of there really quickly because Frankfort was looking for a ball to throw at me.

 

Chapter Four: The Solution

For the past two weeks, I couldn’t play in any baseball games because of my missing glove. My dad was really mad that I couldn’t play in any games.

“How many times do I have to tell you, don’t misplace your baseball equipment!” he yelled.

I asked my dad if I could go to Frankfort’s house. I wanted to see if he had my glove. When I knocked on his door, Frankfort answered.

“Go away! I don’t want you in my house. My mom is not here!” he yelled.

“Please, just five minutes,” I begged him.

“Fine, but just five,” he said back.

When five minutes was up, I couldn’t find my glove. When I got home, all of my baseball equipment was gone. I convinced my dad to replace my equipment by saying, “You want me to play baseball, right? I can’t play without it.”

My dad agreed and went to get more equipment.

 

Chapter Five: The Guy Who ONLY Hit Homers

At the baseball store I got a new glove, a new bat, new batting gloves, and a new helmet.

At our next baseball game (which was the championship match) I was batting in the bottom of the second on the first pitch. I hit a long, high fly ball that was a home run! Everyone was so surprised, and even more surprised when I hit one again.

Then in the bottom of the ninth inning, the last inning, the bases were loaded. There were two outs, and we were down by three. My third home run would win the championship.

I pointed to right field calling my shot. Everyone started laughing and looking at right field. I ignored them. I let the first and the second pitches go by for strikes. Then, I hit a grand slam into right field. We had won the championship!

 

The End

 

Shortys and the Big Race

 

     Scene One: The Beginning

 

On stage, we see a bush and a red brick wall and no trees. It’s bright, sunny, and hot. There’s chirping birds.

 

MILLY (off stage)

Hey! Wait up.

 

Four girls run on stage. Emy first, Milly second, Kayla third, and Cat last. Emy touches the wall, and Milly closes her eyes and puts her hand in the bush.

 

EMY

First place.

 

Emy flips her golden hair with her hand.

 

MILLY

Second place.

 

Emy and Cat laugh as Kayla touches the wall.

 

KAYLA

Second place.

 

She puts an imaginary medal around her neck. Cat misses the wall by inches.

 

CAT

Third! I would be first if my mean sister Kay…

 

KAYLA

Watch it sissy.

 

EMY

I’m still counting!

 

Cat taps the wall with her finger.

 

CAT (muttering)

Third.

 

The narrator walks out as Cat silently argues with her sister, and Emy tries to break up the fight. Milly still has her hand in the bush, not noticing what’s going on. She has her eyes closed.

 

NARRATOR

The four girls called themselves the shortys because they each had long names that they had shortened. Emy was Emuleta, Kayla was Kaylamenta, Cat was Catrenen, and Milly was Milliana. They shortened them because they didn’t like them, and then people could pronounce them and couldn’t make fun of them.

 

EMY

Open your eyes, Milly.

 

Milly opens her eyes and sees her hand is in a bush. She pulls out her hand and touches the wall.

 

MILLY (muttering)

Last.

 

Their enemy Jane comes on with her sidekicks Lily, Gale, and Sadie.

 

JANE

Oh my. Lookie here.

 

CAT

Shut up, Jane.

 

EMY

You remember the time where we tricked you into jumping into the lake?

 

KAYLA

Don’t make fun of our names.

 

JANE

I challenge you to a relay race.

 

CAT

It is on!

 

Scene Two: The Training

 

We see a brick wall and Milly snoozing on the ground.

 

KAYLA

Come on, come on, come on.

 

Kayla runs on with Cat trailing behind her.

 

CAT

Hey, wait up! You got a head start! That’s cheating!

 

Emy walks on.

 

EMY

Okay, now the order. Cat, you first.

 

CAT

Why me?

 

EMY

Just, just…

 

KAYLA

You heard her. You’re first!

 

She turns to Emy.

 

KAYLA

Me next, right?

 

EMY

Sure.

 

CAT

Yeah, yeah,

 

EMY

Me next, of course!

 

KAYLA

And finally, Milly!

 

Milly sits up.

 

MILLY

Did I hear my name?

 

EMY

You did. You’ll be finishing off the race for us.

 

Milly faints.

 

EMY

Did I say something?

 

Scene Three: The Race

 

Narrator comes on stage.

 

NARRATOR

The race!!!

 

Narrator walks off stage and coach walks on.

 

COACH

Ready, set, go!

 

Cat starts to run off the stage, and narrator comes on.

 

NARRATOR

So they ran and ran and ran and ran, and Cat came in second behind Lily. And then Kayla started to run. And right behind her was Gale, but Kayla stayed ahead of her and finished before her. And then Emy started to sprint. She ran and ran and ran and ran. She was almost halfway there when Gale came home and Sadie started and Emy took first before Sadie. Then, Milly started to run.

 

Milly runs on stage with Jane close behind.

 

NARRATOR

Milly ran and Jane ran and Milly ran and Jane ran.

 

Milly and Jane turn towards the audience and run in place. They run off stage and come back on stage, and Lily, Emy, and Kayla come on stage to see the end of the race. And Jane has her hand out to touch the wall. And she touches something.

 

JANE

First.

 

Everyone laughs. And Milly touches the wall and cries with joy.

 

MILLY

First.

 

Jane opens her eyes and sees her hand in a bush.

 

MILLY

This memory is a keeper.

 

EMY

Good job!

 

Everyone bows.

 

ALL

The End.

 

Everyone walks off but Kayla.

 

KAYLA

See you in my next book, “Odd One Out.”

 

Emy walks on as Kayla takes a silly bow.

 

EMY

Come on, Kay. We don’t have forever!

 

Emy starts to pull Kayla off stage as she sends fake kisses to the audience.

 

 

 

Air France 447

It was 7:30 P.M. on June 1, 2009. No one on board thought anything could go wrong on this Rio to Paris flight.

However, things did not go to plan.

In a few hours, the A330 would be part of a three year-long investigation. It was four hours later when a gauge indicated that there was a rise in temperature. That was nothing that pilots Marc Dubois and David Robert were worried about. But that was only the beginning of the disaster.

An alarm lit up. Suddenly, autopilot and several instruments shut down by themselves. The pilot in control pulled up. The plane stalled and started a descent in a level position.

At 9:10 A.M. local time, the expected time of arrival, Flight 447 was nowhere in sight. The plane, Air France Flight 447, crashed.

There are two questions: Where is it? And what happened to Airbus A330?

Answers seemed to be gone with the plane.

Forever.

 

Sean and Alex

           

Part One: Atlantis

Once there was a boy named Sean, and his friend named Alex loved to adventure. When they were teenagers, their parents told them to look for a different world without them, to be independent. They just graduated high school and came home from graduation when their parents said, “Good job, kids. Get out of the house. Be independent. Go explore.”

And then they went home and they started packing. They didn’t pack too much. They just packed as much as their blue and green backpack could hold. They packed diving stuff, food, and money. Their goal was to discover Atlantis. At first, they look in the marine area, wearing flippers and goggles and scuba tanks. It looked like water, green and blue water with a lot of sea animals, like blue, red, orange, and green fish.

They went on a boat to the sea to look for new worlds like Atlantis. Then, they jumped off the boat and went scuba-diving. They went deeper and deeper until they saw a squid. It looked like a black monster with eight tentacles and chased them until they went into a little hole where the squid couldn’t get in. And then one of them took the goggles off and said, “Hey, why isn’t there water in here?” Then, the other one took off the goggles, and they went exploring.

They found a boot, a sailing cap, and bones. Then, they started walking around, but it was a dead-end because there was a large shipwreck. They jumped on the ship and looked around to see if they could find anything, but there was nothing to be found. But then, they saw something glowing in the ship. Then, they went under to look. Then, they saw something glowing in a cap.  

They went in that room, and then Alex touched it, and a voice said, “Don’t touch it! Get out of here!” And then, bones came out of the ground. And the bones arranged into human forms. The bone people had swords, but then Alex and Sean started running to the other end to get out. While they were running, they put on their goggles, but then they went out into the water, the deep sea.

Again, they bumped into something bad. They saw a shark! Then, they took out swords they got from the skeletons. The skeletons were mad about that. Then, the shark saw them, so Alex and Sean took their swords out and stabbed the shark. The shark wailed and backed off, and left. Then, Alex and Sean wanted to go deeper until they saw a city. And a cobblestone sign said, Welcome to Atlantis! Then, they took out cameras and started taking pictures. Then, they went back up to the boat and went home to tell their parents about Atlantis.

 

Part Two: A Different Solar System

Alex and Sean asked their parents if they could go to space. The parents said yes. Then, Alex and Sean went to the space station. They took a bus there and a blue, white, and green rocket ship made by NASA. They felt really happy in the rocket ship, and the rocket said, “Five… Four… Three… Two… One… BLAST OFF!”

Then, they went into space. When they got into space, they put on space suits, and the space suits gave them air to go outside. Then, they went outside, and they went on Mars. Mars was cold and orange, and there were a lot of mountains. And he saw some aliens with some red spots. Then, they were hungry, and they wanted some restaurants to eat at. Then, they saw one named The Mars Hotel. Then, they went in. It looked like a huge place with tons of floors made of marble with carpets. They went to book a room and to order some food. And they ate the food, and it was pretty good, but they didn’t remember what they came there for.

There were a lot of video games there, and they got carried away until Alex said, “Should we leave?”

And Sean said, “Yes. I can’t remember what we came here for.”

Alex said, “Neither can I.”

But then, they left. They left that restaurant. They went back to their spaceship, and they flew off to a different solar system, and one of the planets there was named Candyland. Then, Alex said, “Please! Please! Please! Can we stop there?”

And Sean said, “Yes.”

And then, the auto-driven spaceship landed on Candyland. And then, Alex and Sean climbed out and went to eat some candy. The delicious-looking candy was peppermint and before Alex licked it, Sean smelled some poison in it, so he told Alex not to have it. Alex went back to the spaceship to take the map, and Sean took a walk. Sean went to look at the other candies, to see if they were poisonous. And then Mr. Candy said, “Get out of my land!” Then, Sean ran back to the spaceship and made his spaceship leave, and they left, going back home.

 

Part Three: Climbing mountains

Alex and Sean asked their parents once again if they could go climb on mountains. Their parents said yes. So they went to Mount Kilimanjaro. It was super tall, taller than the Empire State Building. Then, they started climbing. When it became dark, they were a quarter of the way there. They camped there. The campsite was just like rocks, and they built their own grayish, greenish fabric tent. In the night, they heard squawking. In the morning, they started climbing again. They were so fast, they climbed up and down the mountain until it became dark.

Then, they went to Mount Everest. At Mount Everest, they climbed it halfway. And then they had dinner. They had burgers and steak, and it tasted good. Then, they went to bed in their campsite. In the campsite, they heard a bear, and they came out of their tent in the middle of the night and saw a bear coming into their tent. They got out a knife and stabbed the bear. Then, they started climbing again with a flashlight. And they saw a man, sitting there, and they asked him, “What are you doing there?”

The guy said, “Can you help me climb this mountain?”

Sean said yes. Then, they started climbing. They went to the top. They were shivering because they didn’t have any jackets. The end.

 

Part Four: Conclusion

Alex and his mom and Sean and his mom talked. Sean and Alex said, “We want to stay at home. We’ve been on so many adventures.”

Sean’s mom said, “Okay, we’ll let you stay at home.”

Sean and Alex said, “Thanks!”

 

The End!

 

The Strong Pencil, the Weak Eraser, and the Evil Microphone

The eraser said to the pencil, “I want to die.”

“Why?”

“Because kids wipe me on the paper, and it hurts a lot, and they hit me with pencils when they play hockey.”

The pencil said, “Kids throw me around, and throw me on the ground, and they crack my friends in half, and write with me. Some kids put me into you, and it hurts a lot.”

Then, a microphone came and screamed at the children. “Don’t throw pencils, and don’t hit erasers,” said the microphone. Then, the microphone turned to the pencil and eraser, and the microphone said, “Pay me or else I will scream so loud I will break your ears!”

Then, the pencil and the eraser decided to run. The microphone was chasing them while screaming.

Then, the pencil and eraser ran away.

They went to the pencil box, and the microphone couldn’t fit, so it started screaming. It said, “Come, come, come out!”

Then, the pencil came out and tried to poke him off the table to break the SHHHHHH BOOM. The microphone cracked into pieces, but the eraser was still shivering with fear.

 

Even Death Has Morals

          

Charles

Hi, my name is Charles. I am ten years of age, and I have MVD. MVD is short for mitral valve disease. Almost all of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (the breed I am) get this disease by age ten. And I have it. Today I went to the vet, and she told us that I was going to die tomorrow. But I do not want to die. So I asked my friend Lola what to do because she is very smart.

 

Lola

Hi, I’m Lola, and I have FeLV. FeLV is short for feline leukemia virus. I am part of the 50% of FeLV cats to have FeLV-B. FeLV-B causes tumors and other abnormal tissue growth.

I learned about it today. I went to the vet today, and they told my owner. I do not know if i am going to die, but I sure do not hope so. Also, Charles asked me if I knew about MVD. But I do not know about it.

He said, “Hey, Lola. Today I was diagnosed with MVD. What do I do?”

I replied, “I do not know about MVD. I will go ask Sheldon.”

 

Sheldon

Hi, my name is Sheldon. And do not be the stereotype I know you are. Just because my name is Sheldon does not mean I am a turtle. I am a proud hamster! Today my cat friend Lola asked me if I knew anything about MVD or FeLV, but I said I do not know anything about them, and I am about to die! I am three, you know! (Three is a common age for hamsters to die.)

So I went to Charles and asked him, “Did the vet tell you more about MVD?”

He replied, “No! All he told us was that I am going to die tomorrow!”

 

The Owner

Hi, I’m the owner of Charles, Lola, and Sheldon. My name is Steve. Today is the day all of them died. I really wish I did something instead of just leaving them to die. But I have learned two things. The first is to not take things for granted because they can always go away. The second thing is that if someone or something is in pain, do not leave it. Get help. I wish you also learned these things too.

 

 

A Friend’s Secret

There once was a tiny panda bear named Teddy who lived with his parents in a bamboo forest. They could talk, but they couldn’t expose their secret to humans. They were afraid that humans would capture the pandas, force them to talk to humans, and prove that pandas could talk. The humans would separate the panda families and would kill some of them because they were afraid of their talking because it wasn’t natural.  They would put the others in zoos and cages. This family had a house in the bamboo forest and had one child. They lived in a community with a couple of panda families that had kids that were much older than Teddy. When Teddy approached the older kids to play, they excluded him and pretended he was not there. Teddy was always really sad because nobody bothered to be his friend. Teddy always tried to talk to his parents, but they were always too busy or at work. When Teddy was lonely, he went to his secret hideout and drew pictures of him being friends with other pandas.

Teddy was a curious, little panda. The little panda named Teddy had no friends and hoped to make friends, but since pandas were in danger, he had less of a chance of making friends with other pandas. Teddy dreamt of being friends with humans, but he knew it wasn’t possible and he wasn’t allowed to. One day, Teddy was strolling in the forest when he suddenly saw a boy that was walking down the pathway through the bamboo forest. Teddy knew he wasn’t supposed to talk to the boy, but this was his only chance to make friends. The bamboo forest was surrounded by a national park and was protected by the rangers and only had a few pandas to worry about. Because of the small number of pandas, the park was about to close. So, he took his chance.

“Hello, would you like to be my friend?” said Teddy.

The boy literally jumped by the sound of Teddy’s voice. The boy’s name was Parker. He lived with his parents in a house near the forest. His parents were scientists studying pandas, and he was an only child.

“Who said that?” said Parker.

“I said that!” exclaimed Teddy. Teddy curiously got out of his hiding place and started to walk slowly to Parker because he was not so sure that he could trust Parker yet. Parker was speechless. It’s not everyday that you get to see a talking bear. Parker was confused and scared. Why is a panda bear talking? Is he dangerous? Is he going to hurt me?

“Don’t be afraid! I just want to be friends. Just don’t tell anybody I can talk,” Teddy said.

“Okay,” Parker said, but he was still confused how Teddy could talk.

“My name is Teddy, and I’m pretty lonely, so I really do just want friends,” Teddy said.

“Okay, but I can’t stay here for long because I have to go back to my parents,” Parker said.

“This is a secret. Even my parents don’t know that I’m talking to you because I’m not allowed to talk to humans,” Teddy said.

“Okay. I promise!” Parker said.

Teddy was still a little scared and wasn’t fully comfortable, but he wanted to be friends and didn’t want to cause harm to anyone. In the distance, both Teddy and Parker heard Parker’s parents calling for him.

“I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you soon,” Parker said, and then Teddy ran back to his parents and reached home just in time for his family’s dinner.

“Where were you?” Teddy’s mom asked.

“I was exploring the forest,” Teddy stammered.

“You aren’t allowed to go too far out, or else you’ll get lost,” Teddy’s mom reminded him.

“Okay,” Teddy said and got up and washed his dishes and went to bed.

The next day, Teddy woke up and made sure that nothing was a dream by pinching himself. It was not a dream! He had just talked to a human! Teddy had never lied before, and it didn’t feel good to lie. He realized that he shouldn’t have talked to Parker — it could put all the pandas in danger! He could always make friends with the other pandas that their neighbors would give birth to. Teddy felt awful for what he had done. Teddy combed his tangled fur, and he went downstairs for breakfast. For breakfast he had bamboo and fresh water from the stream. In the dining room there was a smooth bamboo table with comfy bamboo chairs and a little wash basin at the corner of the room. Teddy slipped outside and hurried through the winding trees of bamboo, moss, and rocks. When Teddy finally got there, he waited behind the tree just in case other people came and Teddy accidentally thought that they were Parker. When Parker finally came, Teddy slipped out of the trees and walked toward him.

“Hi!” said Teddy. “Come with me. I want to show you something!”

Teddy showed Parker how to climb over the fence and led him through the trees until they came across the stream behind the trees, so Teddy’s parents didn’t see them. They talked about their parents and about what they did. Parker said that his parents were scientists, so right now they were studying pandas. Teddy said that his parents worked at the food workshop and made sure there weren’t any bugs in the food. Once they got bored of talking, Teddy took Parker a little deeper into the woods and showed him his secret hideout. It had a ladder underground that led into a tiny room with drawings and a little chair pushed to the corner of the room. On the other side there was a tiny cupboard with bamboo inside in case Teddy got hungry. Teddy showed Parker all the other tiny rooms, and then they went back to where they started. Once they were done, they crawled back up and went back through the path of winding bamboo trees back to the walkway. They saw Parker’s parents coming down. Teddy quickly went behind a tree.

“See you later,” Parker whispered to Teddy.

Teddy strolled back to his house. Teddy reached his house just in time for lunch. He quickly ate his lunch and went upstairs to take a nap.

When Teddy woke up, he felt exhausted. Teddy heard his parents calling him downstairs to meet his aunt and uncle.

“This is your aunt and uncle. They have just moved in,” Teddy’s mom said.

“They will be staying the night in your room, so you will have to stay in our room,” Teddy’s dad said.

Immediately, Teddy went upstairs and started packing his belongings. He packed his stuffed panda bear, his book on the national park, his bamboo lava lamp, and his panda pajamas. Then, he put that all into a rucksack, and he left it by his bed. He then went back downstairs for dinner, which was bamboo stew. He slowly ate his stew, thinking about Parker. Is Parker going to stay here, or is he going to leave? And does he even like me?

When he was done with dinner, he took all the dishes and handed out dessert, which was bamboo pie. After dessert, he took the dishes and washed them in the sink and went back to the table for conversations.

“What if somebody told our secret? We’d be in grave danger!” his Aunt Beatrice said. Suddenly, Teddy thought twice about his actions with Parker and started feeling sick.

“I’m going to bed now,” Teddy told his parents.

“Why so early?” asked his Dad.

“I don’t feel too good,” Teddy stammered. He felt uncomfortable and just wanted to tell them what he had done, but then he would get in a lot of trouble, and he didn’t want to. He quickly rushed upstairs and changed into his panda pajamas and went into his parents’ bedroom, and laid awake on his back with his eyes closed, thinking about what he had done.

The next morning, Teddy didn’t want to get out of bed. He didn’t want to meet Parker and didn’t want to cause harm to anyone anymore.

Meanwhile, at the walkway, Parker looked around for Teddy and shouted out his name, but didn’t see him. He tried going to the hideout and looked for him, just in case he was there, but he wasn’t. Parker started to worry. What happened to Teddy? Parker slowly walked back, feeling mad that Teddy didn’t show up. He was really disappointed that Teddy didn’t want to come, because he told him he would be there. He walked towards his parents.

“Let’s go home,” he said to his parents.

The next day, Teddy went to the walkway.  He knew Parker had been looking for him because Teddy had heard Parker calling the day before, and he knew Parker had been mad because he had heard Parker stomping his feet.  Teddy didn’t see Parker at the walkway and went back home. Teddy realized that he should have gone to Parker, and he should’ve talked things out, but he didn’t. He also realized that telling Parker about his secret was really wrong, and he was not going to be friends with Parker anymore.

Teddy went home feeling really sad and disappointed in himself. He should’ve talked things out with Parker, but he couldn’t anymore because Parker was gone, and he deserved that.

Teddy went to his hideout and drew himself and Parker as not friends anymore. Teddy never realized that Parker had been to his hideout to see if he was there. He also never realized that Parker had accidentally told his parents that pandas could talk! Parker felt terrible! He promised Teddy that he wouldn’t tell his secret. Should I go back and talk things out with Teddy and say I am sorry? Will Teddy be waiting for me? He chose to do the right thing. He went to the walkway when his parents were at work.

Back at the walkway, Teddy sat on top of the fence feeling disappointed that Parker wasn’t there. Suddenly, Teddy saw Parker approaching him. As Parker walked toward him, Teddy said he was sorry for what he had done. He shouldn’t have left Parker alone and not responded to him. Teddy also told him that he shouldn’t have told him that pandas could talk. Parker said that what he did was even worse. He had accidentally told his parents that pandas can talk.

“Oh no! We have to do something about it and stop them from telling other humans!” Teddy said.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t know what I was doing when I told them,” Parker said.

“It’s okay. I understand. What I did was also really wrong. I should’ve worked things out with you. I shouldn’t have told you my secret in the first place even though I trust you,” Teddy said. “Let’s go to my hideout, and we can talk things out there.”

Parker followed Teddy back to the hideout, and they both sat at the table. Teddy pulled out two pieces of paper and two pencils. They both started brainstorming ideas on how they could solve their problem.

Suddenly, Teddy came up with an idea! “Parker, you can go home and tell your parents you were joking about how pandas can talk.”

“Great idea!” said Parker. “Then they will forget about what I said!”

Teddy led Parker out of the hideout and back to the walkway because Parker was still not used to all the bamboo trees and how to get through them. Once they got back to the walkway, Parker said goodbye and climbed over the fence. Teddy walked back to his hideout through the green, lush trees with moss covered rocks. In the air there was a scent of fresh dew on the moss. When Teddy got there, he grabbed all the weaved bamboo boxes he could find and carried them back home. He needed them because his family was moving into a different house, so his aunt and uncle would not have to sleep in his room. When he was done with packing, he heard the door open, and his mom, dad, aunt, and uncle entered. They carried bamboo boxes in their hands. Teddy left all the boxes with his belongings by the door. They were moving in two days. After everyone was done packing, there were a lot of boxes by the door. Teddy’s mom started packing all the dishes and pots and pans. Teddy stripped the sheets in the bedrooms and packed them into a box. Since Teddy’s hideout had a couple of rooms, they slept there for the night.

When they woke up, the scent of bamboo and fresh sunlight came in from the open light. For breakfast they had some bamboo. Teddy quickly got dressed and went for a walk outside. Surrounding him was a lush forest of dew, moss covered rocks, and a hundred bamboo trees. Teddy walked to the walkway and sat on the rocks eating bamboo and watched all the tourists stare in awe at him. He waited for Parker, but it didn’t take long. When nobody was looking, Parker snuck over the fence. Teddy told Parker about how his parents were in the hideout and how they were moving in one day. They sat on the grass behind the trees talking in whispers so nobody would see or hear them. In the distance, they heard Teddy’s parents calling him for lunch. Parker quietly snuck over the fence when nobody was looking. Teddy hurried back home through the path of winding trees and moss covered rocks until he came across the river. He grabbed a big log and carefully walked over it. He reached the hideout and went into the room with a table in the middle and a couple of cupboards on the side of the room. He quickly ate lunch and went back outside over the stream and through the winding path of trees. When he reached the walkway, Parker was waiting for him. They went back to Teddy’s old house and went up to his room.

Teddy asked Parker, “How did it go with your parents? Did they believe that you were joking?”

Parker said, “No, they didn’t believe me because I sounded serious when I said it. I’m sorry.”

Teddy said, “It’s okay, we can find another idea. Wait here. I’m going to go to the hideout and get a couple of pieces of paper.”

Parker said, “Okay.”

Teddy went back to the hideout and grabbed a couple of pieces of paper and then went back to Parker. They sat at the table and jotted down some ideas that they had, but none of them made sense. They didn’t know what to do, and they didn’t want Parker’s parents to tell anybody else.

Teddy came up with an idea that might work, which was Parker telling his parents that they can’t tell anybody, but then Teddy realized that then Parker’s parents would know that pandas can talk. They sat there thinking and thinking, but they didn’t know what they should do. Teddy told Parker that he should go home and that he will try to think of some ideas.

Teddy led Parker back to the walkway, and they both said goodbye. Teddy went back home. Teddy went into his bedroom in the hideout and sat at his desk and tried to think of some ideas, but he didn’t think any of them would work.

Teddy finally thought of an idea that might work. Parker would talk to Teddy in front of his parents, but Teddy wouldn’t respond, and then his parents would believe that Teddy couldn’t talk.

After dinner that night, Teddy went to bed and woke up eager to try his idea. He quickly got out of bed and packed his breakfast in a little container and ran back to the walkway. He waited until Parker came and told him his idea. Parker agreed to try this idea, so he got his parents to come with him. Teddy stayed behind the fence just in case they tried to take him to study him. Parker came back with his parents following him and showed them Teddy. Parker talked to Teddy, but Parker knew that Teddy wouldn’t respond. That was part of the idea.

Parker told him, “Hello. What’s your name?”

Teddy sat there and pretended to look confused. He tilted his head to make it even more realistic.

Parker told his parents, “See? Pandas can’t talk.”

His parents said to him, “So then why did you say that pandas could talk?”

Parker said, “Since you guys are really serious scientists, I just wanted you to laugh for once.”

Parker’s parents said, “Let us try to talk to him.” They tried talking to Teddy, but Teddy just ignored them. They said, “We have to go, so please don’t do that again. You disturbed us. You’re grounded. You can’t come here for two days.”

Parker said, “Come on!”

Once Parker’s parents went, Teddy said, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” said Parker.

Parker slowly walked home, disappointed that he couldn’t see Teddy for two days. At least it wasn’t for four days. Plus, by the time he was ungrounded, he would be able to at least see some of their new home. Two days passed slowly in those days. Teddy moved to his new home which was pretty big, and it had a ton of rooms. Parker was really eager to see Teddy’s new home, at least on the outside. Finally, on the day that Parker was ungrounded, he went to the walkway and met Teddy, who led him to their new home on the outside.

“Wait here, I want to get something!” Teddy said.

“Okay,” said Parker.

When Teddy went inside, Teddy’s parents glanced outside the window and were shocked to see a human.

“Young man! Explain yourself!” his mom said.

“Uh oh!” Teddy said.

Teddy’s mom had a very stern look on her face.

“Did you tell a human our secret?” said his dad.

“Maybe… well… we kind of just maybe became good friends,” said Teddy.

“Do you know how much danger you put us in?” said his mom.

“Well, I trust him. He’ll keep the secret really safe,” said Teddy.

“How long have you been friends with this boy?” said his dad.

“Well, maybe a month or two,” said Teddy.

His parents were really angry. Luckily, his aunt and uncle were out for a walk. Thank goodness!

“I’m really sorry, but I just don’t have any friends!”

“Well, if our secret is safe with him, it should be good,” said his parents.

Teddy thought, Phew! I thought this was going to be worse.

“You’re going to be grounded for five days,” said his dad.

Teddy felt awful and didn’t know what to do. He went back outside and told Parker the disappointing news and how annoying it was. He would be grounded for five days!

“You should go. I’ll get in more trouble if you stay here longer,” Teddy said.

“Okay,” said Parker.

Teddy led Parker back to the walkway, since the path was a little bit different. Teddy felt awful. He had gotten in so much trouble, and he didn’t want Parker to also have the punishment of not seeing him. Teddy walked back home slowly and sadly. His parents told him to go to his room. Teddy laid on his bed on his stomach. He was hungry but didn’t have anything in his bedroom.

“Mom!” Teddy said. “Can I have something to eat? I’m hungry!”

“Come down here and get something if you want something!”

“Okay,” said Teddy.

Teddy slowly dragged his feet down the stairs into the kitchen to the pantry, opening the door with a sad face on him. He looked in the mirror and thought to himself, Oof! I look awful! There were wet stains on him and green patches of leaf stains on him. I better take a shower, he thought to himself. He quickly got his clothes and went into the fresh, lemon scented bathroom. It smells like lemons, he thought. He used his fur body wash from Pandaphora. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself cozily. Five days passed slowly, and in those days, Teddy stayed in his room, practicing his juggling. Usually the ball would bounce on his head and he would get a huge bump on it. His juggling got better and better every day. On the last day, he decided to just lie in bed and sleep. He was happy because he was ungrounded at last.

“Finally!” he said to himself. “Ungrounded!”

Parker was waiting at the walkway when Teddy was there.

“I’m ungrounded!” Teddy told Parker.

“Yay! Finally!” said Parker. “Those five days sure went by slowly.”

They went to Teddy’s hideout and hung out, talking about what had happened in those five days.

“Well, I’ve been getting better at juggling. Want to see?” Teddy said.

“Okay… ” Parker said, unsure.

Teddy grabbed three clementines and started juggling them, but they kept on falling on his head. Teddy and Parker laughed hysterically. They were on the floor, rolling on their backs cheerfully. They were friends in secret.

The End

 

Beautiful: A Feminist Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful teenage girl named Chrysanthemum. Her long, perfect nose inhaled the salty odor of the sweat trickling down her beautiful face. Chrysanthemum’s long fingers were clenched into tight fists, and her thin legs were driven into the soft carpet on her bedroom’s hardwood floor. Chrysanthemum breathed deeply and collapsed onto her hot pink bedspread. Her dark red hair fanned out in wavy strokes, clashing horribly with the repulsive shade of pink that decorated her blanket. Chrysanthemum opened her deep blue and amber eyes. She got up and looked at the pillow taped to the wall. One of the pieces of clear scotch tape was peeling. Chrysanthemum pulled another piece of tape off of the roll, enjoying the sharp sound of the thin strip snapping against the tiny spikes that stung when they pricked the bottom of a person’s finger. Chrysanthemum grabbed as much tape as she could and reattached the pillow to the pale pink and white wallpaper. She would need a lot of tape. Chrysanthemum definitely punched hard enough to knock a pillow off a wall.

Chrysanthemum’s body might have been in her bedroom, but her mind was at school. Earlier that day, she had heard something that was… disturbing.

She was in the schoolyard at lunch, and her less-beautiful-but-still-pretty-and-popular friends ran up to her.

“Oh, honey, are you okay?” they asked her, looking worried.

“Of course,” Chrysanthemum answered, wondering what they could possibly be talking about. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

The girls whispered among one another, sounding much like a frenzied flock of birds. Chrysanthemum managed to hear a couple of sentences, however.

“She stubbed her toe. She is too delicate for that.”

“The poor thing is clueless, like always.”

Chrysanthemum backed away, horrified at how her “friends” thought of her.

And then, a final blow: “It’s fine. She’s too pretty to handle herself without any friends. She’ll come back to us.”

Chrysanthemum shuddered, remembering how angry and alone she had felt when she had heard this. Chrysanthemum collapsed back onto her bed and sobbed into her second pillow. Everyone wished that they looked like her. They thought it was so easy to be pretty. They had no idea how wrong they were.

Whenever Chrysanthemum asked her parents to go to the store after school, they said no. Their excuse was that they were worried that she would get hurt or lost. This was the store that was a block away from school. She didn’t even have to cross any streets to get there. Whenever Chrysanthemum was about to climb the big, fake spider web in the yard behind her school, her teachers would run up to her and tell her that it was too dangerous. When she protested with the argument that everyone else did it, they would tell her that it was different because the time for being outside was about to end, and so she didn’t have time to climb it anyway. Chrysanthemum couldn’t exactly tell the teacher to stop lying about how long recess was, so she had never once gotten to climb the spiderweb. Nor had she ever gone to the store near school. The worst part about her being pretty was that everyone was always watching her. Chrysanthemum didn’t have any friends who weren’t popular and pretty, because everyone would judge her if she did. Chrysanthemum couldn’t show that she loved math and hated art because no one would like her if she did. Why would they? The kids no one could stand were the math whizzes. No one realized this, but Chrysanthemum was just as vulnerable and exposed as a turtle without a shell. Chrysanthemum wished that she could be ugly. Just for a day, to see what it was like. When Chrysanthemum looked at the calendar, she came up with a plan. The date was October 20th.

Over the next few days, Chrysanthemum worked nonstop. She worked with the teachers to plan a Halloween party in the gym at school. She made a deal with an unpopular seventh grader named Seraphina who was about her height and who had widely advertised that she was going to be dressed as a character from Star Wars: the green woman who served Jabba the Hutt. Chrysanthemum then told all of her “friends” that she would go as a mummy, and told them that she would be covering her face. Then, she started to make her costume.

 

It was Halloween. Chrysanthemum was ready. She put on a green mask and a lot of green clothes, and got ready to see what it was like to be disliked. Here was her plan: she would dress up like the green servant of Jabba the Hutt in the place of Seraphina, and she would dress up like a mummy with its face covered in the place of Chrysanthemum. This way everyone would think that Chrysanthemum was unpopular and treat her that way, and they wouldn’t wonder where Chrysanthemum was because Seraphina would be dressed as Chrysanthemum had planned to. There was only one problem. And it was called her parents.

“Honey, it’s not that I don’t trust you to go to the Halloween party alone, it’s just… ”

“That you don’t trust me to go to the Halloween party alone,” finished Chrysanthemum.

Her mom looked apologetic. “Well, yes. And I don’t understand why you really want to. You can have candy here. After all, you get almost everything you want.”

“You have to let me grow up! My whole life you’ve been babying me. You expect me to act like a little girl and to always need you to help me with everything, but how am I supposed to get independent enough to go out by myself if you won’t let me go out by myself? You say that I get everything I want, but has it ever occurred to you that maybe I don’t like all the things you give me? I know that this will come as a shock to you, but I hate pink and Barbies and dolls and unicorns! If I had a choice, I would never in a million years wear a dress! When I see ruffles, I’d rather set them on fire than wear them! When I go to the shoe store, I don’t actually want the tiny pink slippers with sparkles on them. I want the practical sneakers! But if this ruins me in your eyes or whatever, well then, you have to deal with it.

Chrysanthemum’s mom gave an annoying little giggle that made Chrysanthemum want to push her fingers into her ears and sing. “Honey, I know that’s not true. You asked me to give you pink wallpaper and pink bedding.”

Really?” Chrysanthemum hissed. “Because I seem to remember asking you for white paint and a red rug and bed.”

“Pink is the girl version of red. I just made you happy.”

Do I look happy to you???”

Chrysanthemum’s mother’s shoulders slumped. She sighed. “No. You don’t. I’m sorry, Chrys. I guess that I always wanted you to be like me, and I just didn’t understand how much it really affected you. You can go to the party.”

Chrysanthemum smiled and hugged her mother. “Thanks, Mom,” she said. “That means a lot.” Chrysanthemum then grabbed her bag and ran out the door. Her plan was in motion.

 

When Chrysanthemum got to the party, she immediately saw a girl dressed like a mummy, covered in linen from head to toe, but with slits cut out so that she could see and breathe. She gave little sign that she saw Chrysanthemum, except for giving her a small nod. Chrysanthemum returned the greeting and continued on into the party, bracing herself for whatever came next. But nothing came next, at least for a while. No one even gave her a glance. Chrysanthemum hated this. But it was a lot better than what did come next. Chrysanthemum was getting a piece of candy from the big bowl in the entrance when she was surrounded by a group of people dressed as a unicorn, a fairy, and a ballerina. These were the girls who she had previously called friends. Years later, this night came as a blur.

Chrysanthemum still could only remember one thing that they had said: “You’re nobody. You have no friends. So don’t expect sympathy from us.”

It was the first time Chrysanthemum had actually been bullied, so she ended up in tears. Tears that made the space under her mask hot and stuffy. Chrysanthemum ran to the bathroom, pushing people aside and forcing her way through the crowd.

There were drops of condensation on the dirty, cracked mirror. Chrysanthemum wiped away the fog and pulled off her mask. There were long tear marks on her cheeks, glowing in the fluorescent lights. Chrysanthemum turned on the facet and caught the glittering, transparent water in the cup of her hands. She poured the water on her face, wiping off the grime and snot. When she finished, it was impossible to tell that Chrysanthemum had ever been crying. Her skin was as clear and spotless as ever. Chrysanthemum steadied herself and turned to go back out. She was about to slip the mask back on, but was stopped. A unicorn, a fairy, and a ballerina were standing by the door.

“Oh my god! Chrysanthemum!”

“Weren’t you supposed to be a mummy?”

“We had no idea that was you!”

“I saw you dressed as a mummy!”

“We’re so sorry!”

“Yeah, guys, didn’t you see the mummy?”

“We would have never said those things if we had known it was you.”

“We thought we were talking to that dork, Seraphina.”

Chrysanthemum stared at them in horror. “How could you?”

“What?”

“How could you treat someone that way? If you had been talking to Seraphina instead of me, would you have apologized? And why did you follow me to the bathroom in the first place? To bully me even more? I didn’t want to believe it. Seraphina told me that you guys were mean, but I didn’t believe her. I thought you guys were bad friends… but it turns out you are even worse people.” Chrysanthemum then ran out of the bathroom and out of the gym and out of the school and into the cool scene of Manhattan in fall. Chrysanthemum breathed in the fresh, crisp air and let the familiar scents make their way into her sinuses. Chrysanthemum heard the banging of the big wooden door that led to the school, and turned around, ready to lecture her former friends some more. Instead, it was Seraphina.

“Hey, Chrys. You okay?”

In the last eleven days, Chrysanthemum and Seraphina had become close friends. It had turned out that they got along well. They both preferred math over art; they both thought that dogs were (very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very) awesome, but snakes were cooler; they both despised pink but loved blue. Most importantly, they got along very well. Well enough to hang out outside of school. Seraphina had changed Chrysanthemum’s entire perspective on beauty. She had helped Chrysanthemum with her plan to switch costumes. She was the one who had warned Chrysanthemum about her so-called “friends.” As far as Chrysanthemum knew, Seraphina was the first real friend she had ever had. Apparently Seraphina hadn’t had many friends either, except for a girl named Harper, who had also been bullied at her school until she decided to stand up to those bullies. Seraphina introduced Chrysanthemum to Harper, so now Chrysanthemum had two close friends to hang out with.

Over the next couple of weeks, people all over the school heard about how Chrysanthemum had stood up to the (formerly) popular girls, and people wanted to become her friend. And it wasn’t just because she was pretty! Meanwhile, people heard Seraphina’s account of being popular for a night, and how no one would talk to her because they were scared she would judge them. Everyone was happy that Seraphina hadn’t been judging them. Chrysanthemum’s former “friends” were being treated fine, but they were no longer popular or particularly well-liked. Chrysanthemum rarely talked to them, and when she did, they treated her with respect. The teachers still treated her the same, but Chrysanthemum knew she couldn’t control everything. Only herself. Middle school always has its ups and downs. But at least for now… they lived happily ever after.

 

Put on Your Game Face

 

Hmm…

Click.

Tap.

Crumple.

Arrgh.

Beep beep beep, goes my text tone.

“If London texts me again, I will throw my phone out of the window.”

Madeline Kate O’Brian

You have been selected for a game challenge.

You will have five days to complete this challenge.

If you don’t complete it in five days, there will be consequences.

If you accept, write back immediately.

 

Well, that is out of the blue. And who calls me by my full name (except for my parents when I get in trouble, of course)? Oh great, and now there is a five minute countdown. In red. This is definitely big. Very big.

I accept. Give me more details.

Immediately, the thing texts back.

Good, you accepted. Come to York Street, go to building number 33, and ring the buzzer three times. Come on September first at exactly 11:31 AM. Do NOT BE LATE!

“Well, that’s weird. 11:31? Who can pull that off?”

“I can.”

That is London, my very annoying twin sister who is also a gamer, and who thinks that she can do anything and everything, which isn’t all bad. But it is really annoying. Please don’t let her have gotten the same text as me, I think.

“Hey, little sis, what are you concocting now?”

“None of your beeswax,” I snap.

“Ohhhhh, someone’s in a bad mood.”

“I am not in a bad mood! I am just stuck. But why are you in here?”

“One, this is my room, too; and two, I think that something is up with you. You haven’t sent me an annoyed text in like 15 minutes.”

“So what?”

“So something is up.”

“No, I am down, I can’t think of a game, and… ”

“And what?”

“And I entered a contest with a deadline of three days.”

London walks over to my desk.

“Oh, so you’re making a game about random kids who have to ‘find their superpowers.’”

“Don’t you see that one is crumpled?” I say as I pick up the paper and throw it onto the soft, fluffy carpet.

Great, there goes my great idea. But now it probably isn’t my idea anymore because copycat London got it in her evil, evil clutches.

“Go bother Ryan or something,” I say to London.

“Oh, am I bothering you?” she asks in fake surprise.

“Yes,” I say through my gritted teeth. My fingernails are digging into my palms. I feel my anger rising and boiling up.

“Fine! I will leave. But keep in mind that I will come back, because this is my room too.” And with that, she slams the door.

I put my head down on the wood of my desk. Then, there comes another beep beep beep.

Here are the other people involved with this challenge:

Rose Apperad

Belle Mersa

Aaron Icer

Jack Canfor

And Beatrice Becomler.

Hmm. Those are interesting people. Really interesting. So, back to my thinking stage.

 

Tap.

Tap.

Crumple.

Crumple.

Headslam.

“Dinner time!”

Ugh! Dinner again. Ohhh! But it smells really good. I meet my older brother Ryan on the stairs.

“London told me you told her to bother me.”

“Well, yeah, because she was in my — our room, bothering me, and I am very, very busy.”

“Oh. Are you working on the other game?”

“Umm, yeah.”

“Can I test it?”

“Umm, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“It’s for a competition, and I am not sure on the rules.”

“Oh. Okay, then.”

When we get to the dinner table, London is already there.

“Mom called dinner two and a half minutes ago. You’re late. Funny! That’s how much older I am than you.”

“Stop it, London.”

“Why?”

“Oh, London, why don’t you just run away,” Ryan asks rhetorically.

“If I ran away, Mom and Dad would miss me too much. They would make a reward for anyone who found me, and I would turn myself in and get the reward, which would be pretty high.”

“Umm… London?” I say. “I am not sure that’s how it works.”

“Girls, could we have at least one dinner without you two arguing about something or someone?” Mom says angrily.

“Probably not,” mumbles Ryan.

“What did you say?” asks London, her face growing pink.

“I said that you couldn’t not argue.”

“I accept your challenge.”

“I didn’t challenge you.”

“Five bucks if I don’t argue.”

“Oh, whatever.”

I whisper to Ryan, “You just earned a free five bucks.”

Ryan chuckles.

“So, did anyone do anything fun today?” asks Dad.

“I went to the skatepark,” offers Ryan.

“You skate?” asks Dad.

“Well, kind of. I actually went to the skatepark in a video game.”

“That makes more sense,” Mom says.

At that moment, our neighbor, Mrs. Sweetson, (nicknamed Mrs. Grump by London and me, one of the only things we agree about) appears by our sliding glass door.

“Kids, did you do something?” Mom asks cautiously before she opens the door.

“Nope!” is our very speedy reply.

Mom gives us a cold, knowing look before opening the door.

“Did I see a For Sale sign on your front lawn?” she asks excitedly.

“I don’t think so. Do you feel okay, Mrs. Sweetson?”

“Yes,” she snaps, trying to hide her disappointment. “Well, I am sure that it’s there. I will show you.”

Mom goes outside, and we follow her. Mrs. Sweetson hates us because when we were six, we accidently told the petting zoo that we ordered for our birthday to go to her house. She still hasn’t forgiven us, six whole years later! Like, seriously, doesn’t she know the saying “forgive and forget”? Well, when we get to the sign, there really is a sign. I have a feeling Mrs. Grumps planted it there.

“I am very sorry, Mrs. Sweetson, but we are not moving. Kids, is this your version of a joke?”

“No. We aren’t that mean,” London says sweetly.

“I don’t think that that should be legal, because it is very confusing,” I say.

“We wouldn’t do such a thing. On top of that, we like our house and don’t want to leave if we don’t have to. Right?” says Ryan.

“Right,” London and I say.

“Fine,” Mom says and goes back inside.

“Okay, kids, you’ll get away with it this time. But next time, you won’t be so lucky, because next time I will have evidence. Now, get out of my sight,” Mrs. Sweetson says.

We all trudge back to the house and grab our favorite popsicles (mine is lemon cream) and walk upstairs. When I get back to our rooms, the thing had texted me a lot.

Start thinking of game ideas.

Unless you want consequences.

And then

I am putting you in the blueish-gray room.

And

You have to make your game out of the materials we give you and you get three extras.

All I am thinking is, What is this thing I got myself into? Blueish-grey room. Consequences. They give you materials. What is this, Chopped?

“Hmmm, what is this?” London asks slyly.

“Do you need to know?”

“Yes!”

“I entered a board game competition. Nothing new.”

“Did you tell Mom? Do you need parent permission?”

“No and no. And please do something for me for once, and don’t tell Mom.”

“Okay. I won’t tell Mom. But you have to tell me more about this contest.”

“Okay, it’s not a contest. It’s more of a challenge.”

“Fine! A challenge. Tell me more.”

“I don’t know more.”

“Uh , yes you do.”

“Uh, no I don’t.”

At that moment, Ryan walks into the room. Thank goodness, I think.

“What is going on here?”

“She won’t tell me about her challenge.”

“I don’t know enough to tell her without lying.”

“Okay,” Ryan says, “I will treat you to something… ”

“Anything?” asks London.

“Anything, if you leave Maddie alone.”

“Deal!”

“Thank you,” I whisper as Ryan walks out the door. He nods and walks off.

 

A few hours later, I am pacing around the house when the perfect idea pops up and makes its way into my central thinking system.

 

Why. That is a question I ask myself a lot. Like, why does London have to be my twin? And why do ideas just pop in my mind? And why do they not come to me when I really, really need them? But most of all, why am I in this challenge? I didn’t do anything to get in.

 

Later that night, I go to Ryan’s room. It’s the 24th of August, and school will start on the 10th of September. (It’s starting later because of technical difficulties with the sprinkler system.) I need help with getting to the place for the contest without my parents getting suspicious. And with kids like London, Ryan, and me, there is always a need for suspicion. I tell this to Ryan, and he doesn’t seem too worried.

“Maddie, keep in mind that I am sixteen,” he says.

“So?”

“So, what do you get when you turn sixteen?”

“Umm… a driver’s license?”

“Exactly!” he says. “And what can you do with a driver’s license?”

“Drive.”

“And what do you drive?”

I glare at him. “Ryan, stop. A car, obviously.”

How could I forget? Ryan is sixteen, and a few weeks ago, he got a used red sports car with money from his job as a caddy at one of the country clubs, even though he knows nothing about golf.

“Okay, so I have a way to get there now. I need an excuse.”

Ryan looks at me as if it is obvious. “Maddie, I provide the transportation, and you do the excuses. Okay?”

“Fine.”

I go back to my room to find London doing her normal nightly routine. Laying out her outfit, while checking the weather and her calendar to make sure that it is perfect for the next day. I roll my eyes. Shorts and a T-shirt work for me.

 

It is the night before the first day at the contest, and I still don’t have an excuse. Wait, London always has excuses. So, I ask London.

“Hmmm, I see your struggle,” says London. “I have the perfect thing. Say that you are going to get things for school.”

“That’s great! But remember, this is a five day contest.”

“Okay, go to a friend’s house on the second day, a movie on the third day, the park on the fourth day, and a drive on the fifth. Then you just have to leave at different times so you don’t create suspicion, which you should get an award for because you are really good at not creating suspicion,” she says sarcastically.

“London!”

“Just saying.”

“Anyway, thanks.”

“Wait, Maddie. My services have a price.”

“What do you mean, it has a price?”

“I mean, you have to pay. Two dollars.

“Why would pay you money?”

“Because… I just helped you a lot.”

“In other words, no.”

“Please!”

“NO!!!”

And with that, I storm out of the room, and I go out in the yard. A second later, Mom’s head peeks out of our sliding glass door. Ugh, I think I can never be alone in this house.

“Maddie, a girl named Rose Aperad is coming over in about five minutes. Do you know her?” I hesitate for half of a millisecond. Right! One of the other contestants.

“Okay,” I say. “But can you keep London very busy while she’s here?”

“Sure. I guess that not all of these things that you do have to involve London.”

“Thank you,” I say, then Mom pops back in the house.

A few minutes later, a girl named Rose Aperad comes. She has olive skin, brown wavy hair that tumbles down her back, and exotic looking green eyes.

“Hi,” the girl says. “You must be Madeline.”

“Yes, I am. Rose, right?” I ask.

“Yep.”

“Come on in.”

“Thank you,” she says. “But I can only stay for a few minutes. I am warning you that this challenge is very challenging and very dangerous. Good luck.”

And with that, she turns on her heel, gets on her bike, and leaves.

And for the second time that day, I ask myself what I had gotten myself into. And why would Rose, who I don’t even know, warn me?

Stunned, I walk into the kitchen. Mom notices and comes over. “Is everything alright?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “I just don’t feel very well.”

“Oh,” she says. “Well, then I hope you feel better. Why don’t you go get some rest? Call me if you need anything.”

“Wait,” I say when she is halfway up the stairs. “Where’s London?”

“Oh, I was busy, so I sent Ryan to go take her for ice cream or something.”

 

It is the day of the first day of the contest. I am so nervous. So nervous. I get out of bed, and I play a one person game of Quiet-as-a-Mouse as I tiptoe up the stairs to the loft, also known as Ryan’s room. “Ryan, Ryan!” I exclaim. He rolls over and looks groggily at me.

“London, go away.”

“Ryan, I am not London!” This happens a lot with us being identical and all. Even with our older brother.

“So sorry, Maddie. I am just tired.”

“It’s fine,” I say. He rolls over again to look at his alarm clock.

“Madeline Kate O’Brian, how dare you wake me up at 6:20. Let me sleep for at least three more hours.”

“Sorry, Ryan.”

I head back to my room. I need something to do, so I find a piece of paper and write out my game.

 

A Race to the Deadline.

Rules: There are at least three characters. You are each either a movie director, a writer, or a reporter. You all have a deadline that you have to meet. On different spaces you pick a card. It is either good or bad. It will either set you back or get you closer…

 

Then, London wakes up, and she is mad. “You turned on the light and woke me up.”

“Sorry,” I say.

“Maddie, since you choose to be up at this hour, where is that sleeping mask Ryan gave to me for my birthday?”

“Yeah,” I say, pulling it out of my desk drawer. Now I am glad that I saved this thing, because I was going to use it for a game, but I didn’t.

 

It is a few hours later, and I am putting on jeans and a Harry Potter T-shirt. I am racing downstairs, grabbing a bag of gummy bears (for stress eating), a bag of sea salt and vinegar chips (for a snack), and a bottle of water. I take my game idea and my mom’s old phone (also known as my new phone) out to the front stoop and into the front seat of Ryan’s car.

“Ready to go,” I say.

We get to York Street, and there are a lot of numbered houses: 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, but no 33. I am very confused. Then, I spot Rose going through the side wall. A hidden door. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I get out of the car and walk around the side door, my heart thumping like a drum. I check the time: 11:30. I look for cracks in the wall. Finally, I find the crack and push. Overhead, I hear a computerized voice say: “Welcome, Madeline Kate O’Brian.”

“You can call me Madeline,” I say, even though the computer probably can’t hear me.

“Yes, Madeline, and you can call me Viola.”

“Umm… okay,” I answer, not exactly sure what to say.

“Go down the hall, and take two rights. Then you will be at the blueish grey room, and then you will answer the riddle.” Oh great, I think. A riddle.

I walk down that hall and take my first right. I see a light pinkish-grey room with the names Aaron Icer and Rose Aperad. Then, I take another right and see the yellowish-grey room with the names Belle Mersa and Jack Canfor. I walk a little further, and I finally see the blueish-grey room with names Madeline O’Brian and Beatrice Becomler.

I step through the door, and a cranky old man’s voice says: “You will answer this riddle, and you will find that the password is the answer to this riddle. Here is the riddle: a cowboy rides his horse into town on Friday, two days later the cowboy leaves on Friday. How could this happen?”

I sit down on the cool tile floor. I think better when I sit down. Friday, cowboys ride horses. He rode a horse.

“Got it,” I exclaim. “The cowboy rode in on a horse named Friday.”

“Very good,” the cranky old man says. “You may enter.”

The door swings open to reveal two desks with fluffy roller chairs and a blueish carpet that probably used to be fluffy but was worn out by years of use, along with two hammocks with pillows and blankets, two bright green baskets, and a girl with dirty blond hair that is in beach waves. She wears thick black rimmed glass and a cheery smile.

“Hello,” the girl says. “I am Beatrice Becomler, and you are probably Madeline.”

“Yeah… ”

Just then, Viola’s voice blares through the speakers.

“Attention! The contest will start in two minutes. In the first round, you will have to draw out the plan for your game. With only the materials that we give you in the box. Then if the Master accepts your plan, you will move onto the next round. If not, then you will meet your fate.”

Beatrice and I freeze.

“Okay,” she says. “That was freaky.” I nod in agreement.

“Let’s open our baskets.”

My basket: One sheet of construction paper, a piece of charcoal, and a twenty-four count box of crayons. And a note: Try, Try, Try. Hun. Sounds like I have heard that before.

I get another text right as I am starting to draw out the cards for my game.

You have to work if you don’t want to meet your fate.

Great! Another creepy text.

I start working again. I look up at the wall. Ten minutes left.

Before I know it, the timer is going off. Beeee boooooo beeeeeeeep.

Then, Viola says: “Come to the front hall. Your work will be judged there.”

We all file into the hall. First up is Rose Aperad. Her work gets passed. Then Aaron Icer. His work is denied. A young woman leads a scared looking Aaron out of the room. Then everyone else goes, and then it is my turn. I walk up to the stand on shaky legs, where I put my work under a screen so that our judge can judge it.

“Your work is denied.”

I just stand there. I don’t move. The young woman comes back out and leads me to a small room where a girl about my age is standing. She looks just like me. She turns, and it’s…

“LONDON!”
“Madeline?”

“What the heck have you done?!”

“I made a contest. Nothing new.”

“Why would you do this?

“I am trying really hard to make you happy.”

“Yeah right.”

“No, really.”

“Are you judging our work?!”

“No. My friend Viola is.”

“Is this thing fake?!”

“Definitely not. You know that I don’t do the fake thing. I do the real thing.”

“London, you will never be able to repay me.”

“Madeline. Try me.”

“No wonder I never thought we were actually twins.”

“Oh, but we are.”

“I know that! But seriously, Why would you do this me?”

“I know how competitive you are, and that you needed a challenge. You were kind of on a gamer’s block all summer, and I wanted your creative juices to start flowing.”

“Thanks, I guess. But, wait, where is Aaron?”

“Safe and sound at home.”

“You know what, London, I actually kind of want to thank you. But now I know I will not read strange texts.”

“Remember Rose.”

“Yeah, did you set her up?”

“Sure, I did. I felt bad, so I wanted you to back down.”

“You did, did you?”

“Yes. Listen, Maddie, I am very sorry. I didn’t mean for you to take it that way. I was just trying to help.”

“I still do not forgive you. But I thank you.”

“Remember that story that Mom used to tell us about how on the first day of kindergarten, we wouldn’t separate, and our teachers had to come and literally pull us apart?“ London recalls.

“Yeah. Why don’t we get Ryan to pick us up and go home,” I suggest.

 

Epilogue.

I am sitting in my room, or at least my side of it. My side of the carpet is the fluffiest, and better for sitting on, whereas London’s side is worn from many years of practicing gymnastics and her horrible hip-hop. My bed is neat and cozy-looking, and London’s is the opposite. I am sitting on the fluffy carpet, bouncing a ball and eating a bowl of ice cream while mulling over yesterday’s events. (I am very good at multitasking.) I am still upset at London. I am wondering why I hadn’t picked up on how she knew about the 11:31 thing. Or how all of the texts mostly came when she was not in the same room as me. I look over at London’s bed. She had already done her silly ritual. Laying out her clothes. A scoop of ice cream trickles down my favorite Mickey Mouse T-shirt. Oh come on, I think. I hear London’s soft footsteps across the hall. Great, I think. London is going to barge in here and totally be rude. That will really drive me off the edge. Instead, London comes in and sits down next to me. Her eyes are full of remorse. We look at each other and go in for a hug. I look at London. Her clothes have smudges of my chocolate ice cream. She looks down and glares at me. We both giggle.

 

Dagger and the Bloodwolf

Dagger was a 21-year-old man living on Tracker Street in Orlando, Florida. He was the only one living on that street, but he was actually from California but moved because he got a job as a bartender in Orlando. Tracker Street was built in the 1950s, and now, by 2017, it had looked old and wrinkly, like no one had ever lived on the street. There was only one bar in the town, where Dagger worked. The rest of it was forest. The bar was named Beer’s Beer House and was very hard to work in, had a lot of fights, and was hard work because you had to protect yourself because people started bar brawls. There were so many brawls because people from all over the world came to have beer there. They could be friends, or they could be enemies, which was why people started brawls. Dagger had friends that he met when he started working there. Their names were Lash the trashboy, who mostly took out the trash, and Raker the waiter. Lastly, there was Jack the chef. Dagger and his friends usually went to a casino in the city of Orlando to have fun. They usually played games and had drinks.

That night, Dagger was walking home from the bar. That’s when it struck. Big, strong, deadly, the bloodwolf. Struck at the speed of light and never gave up when it was up to killing. When Dagger first saw it, he was scared to death. He ran as fast as he could, but the bloodwolf didn’t catch him. Not yet, at least.

The bloodwolf was a cross between a werewolf and a wolf. The people who made this terrible mixture was the government. They wanted to make an unbeatable weapon so no one would cross paths with them. That night, when the wolf tried to get out of their rusty hands, they took the wolf and threw him into a pit, thinking the wolf would become a weapon, but they were wrong. The wolf transformed into the bloodwolf. It was destructive, it was massive, and it killed everyone in its path that night. People said legend said that the bloodwolf still haunted Orlando, Florida, and they had assumed correctly. They put up warning signs, which was why everyone left. The bloodwolf wanted to get revenge for what the humans did to him, and what he ate was the flesh of human beings.

The bloodwolf had gotten Dagger’s scent and was now hunting Dagger. The next day, Dagger thought that was just a dream, seeing the bloodwolf in front of him.

He kept saying to himself, “It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream, it’s just a dream.”

When he arrived at the bar, because his job was a bartender, his friend said, “Hey, what’s wrong, buddy?”

He said, “Well, you know, I saw a werewolf.”

Everybody laughed, making fun of him. The whole day he was miserable and trying to make his friends think about something else, but it never worked. Dagger was turning away from his friends, trying to ignore them. Okay, let’s face it, Dagger could sometimes be crazy, and his friends knew that. So this time, they thought this was really just stupidity or a dream. His friends were never so mean to him, but when they heard he saw a werewolf, they just laughed and laughed and made fun of him. Usually, they would have fun together, but they also made fun of each other sometimes for the fun of it. When he got out of the bar, he was very vigilant and alert of his surroundings, but the bloodwolf was smarter than he thought. He went in the forest for a nice walk, thinking that the bloodwolf wouldn’t come so far from the village and thinking that it was a werewolf, but it was not. Bloodwolves looked like werewolves. But bloodwolves were faster, smarter, and did not come out of humans. That night he thought, Oh well, who cares. It’s just a werewolf. What can a werewolf do to me. He was thinking it was just a dog, so he could just throw a stick and he would go fetch. But he was very much wrong. Bloodwolves were not dogs. They knew the difference between dogs and wolves, and they did not give up until their prey was destroyed. That night, Dagger actually enjoyed his time in the forest. It was nice because the night sky was blue, and there was a full moon and a lot of stars. When he was going home, it struck again. It was like the speed of light. It was so fast, Dagger didn’t even see it coming when the bloodwolf was right in front of him. He ran the other way, thinking he could outrun the bloodwolf, but it was faster than he thought. The chase was two minutes long and as he was running, he thought he could survive because he was kind of smart, and he thought the bloodwolf wasn’t. But no, the bloodwolf was smarter and quicker, so when the bloodwolf pounced to get him, it did some damage. But then, the bloodwolf caught him and killed him and ate him. At that moment, Dagger found out that the bloodwolf was really a bloodwolf, but it was too late. That night, the bloodwolf had a feast on Dagger’s body. Legend stated that whoever went into the forest again would be hunted by that bloodwolf that killed Dagger five years ago.

The End

Oh wait. The next day, Dagger was in digital heaven. That why it’s written like this. Dagger was playing sports like soccer and baseball and made his dream come true, becoming the best bartender ever. Dagger was a skeleton. Dagger was thinking how rich he could be in digital heaven. Dagger was seeing himself being the president of digital heaven.

Now that’s the end.

 

Persephona

        

Part One

Once there was a girl who got bullied. Her name was Parsephona. Everyone always thought she was all nicey-nice. This was her worst fear. People thought this because she was Persephone’s daughter, goddess of spring. She went to the underworld. No one understood Persephone either. She lived in ancient Greece. Ancient Greece was beautiful. But she was just a normal girl. She was a sweet girl with beautiful, green eyes She liked sports a bunch and gymnastics. She got bullied because she didn’t have any friends that lived close and because she was the daughter of a goddess.

Ava lived three hours away. She lived in a town named San Deana. Her friend, Parsephona, lived in Caler Dean. Every summer, she loved to go and stay with her friend because they were the only ones who understood each other. They met in the middle of preschool when both looked really sad and lonely. They were sitting next to each other and looked in each other’s eyes and saw that they were supposed to be great friends. In preschool, they lived in the same town. Then in the middle of fifth grade, her dad got a job in Caler Dean. Over the years they were together, they became inseparable. So when Parsephona and her friend had to be separated, their moms said they could see each other every summer. Ava liked soccer and gymnastics.

Parsephona always tried to make the bullying stop, but it never worked. One time, she was talking back to a bully, but then everybody laughed at her. She wanted to ask her parents to help her with what was going on at school. But she was too afraid that her parents would say something like, “You can work.” So, she had it as a secret. So she was so mad that she tried to call a hypnosis teacher. She thought that she should after the last day of school. Then, she realized that she was not allowed to invite someone without her parents’ permission.

So that summer, she asked, “Can I get something by myself before we go.”

Then her mom said, “You sure, honey?”

“I’m sure, Mom.”

“Alright then, go. But you must be back by 5:00.”

Then, she went out to find the hypnosis teacher. As she got closer, she got scared. She also started to think that she would have nightmares that night. Then, she thought that she should turn back, but she also wanted to keep going because she wanted to be less mad. She stopped and sat on the stairs of an awkward building to think what she should do. She also thought she should just go to her friend’s house now because that was the only person she could talk to. She found a car and decided to take it, so she stole it. She didn’t think correctly, so she just did. Then she went driving, and a cop saw her and put her in jail. She should have just called her mom. She called her friend, and she came to help her get out of jail.

When her friend got there, she told the police that it was just a misunderstanding. She said that she did this because she was really scared. She had never been in jail before, so she had no idea what happened. Then, the police let her out of jail and called her parents.

From that day, she realized that she should always tell her parents what was happening. Now she told her parents that people were bullying her, and they said they would talk to everyone’s parents. All the parents told them that they should be nicer.

Then, she realized that they were all really good friends. Her parents did give a punishment and that was that she had to take care of her new baby sister straight after school till she was in seventh grade, and she knew to be more responsible next time. Then every time she got mad, she went to her mom for help. She was now more responsible.

The moral of this part of this story is to count on everyone when you need help.

 

Part Two: My Diary

(Night)

Dear diary,

Why did I do this. Now I have to go home and not do any gymnastics. I guess I’ll do a backflip in the backyard while sis is sleeping. I wish we had a trampoline. I also wish I knew who my dad is. I think he is really fun. I’ve been struggling with this because when it’s winter, Mom is in the underworld. We know it’s not Hades, but who is it? I ask my mom, but she says that she would never tell. Back to now, sis is sleeping, Mom has something on Mount Olympus, so I’m technically alone. I’m having a lot of thoughts right now. Like what if the kids are being nice just because their parents told them to? I wish that people understood me. Now it’s getting really late, and Mom isn’t back yet. I will go to bed, but if she is not back by morning, I will freak out.

(Morning)

Dear diary,

Mom still gone. I tried calling her, but she didn’t answer. I’ll call Athena. She is a wise goddess. Mom told me Mom has to go down to the underworld because it’s going to be winter very soon and how Artemis is going to be my babysitter. She is so fun. She taught me archery, and the first time I tried, I hit the target right in the middle and tied with Artemis, the best person at archery in the world.

“How did I even get this good?” I asked Artemis.

“Your dad,” she said.

 

The end

 

Sequel coming out summer 2019.

 

A New War

Our story begins in the village of Dinval in a world where wars never end. Dinval is home to many of the race Redwood, and our character Rohan has a friend named Ralf. They are very good friends. Rohan and Ralf are going on a trip to Dinvel, home to the race of Ginvers. Dinvel is a small village. It was once a huge kingdom, but Zoros destroyed the place, and it is now only a village.

But before they go, there is a celebration of Vindor, the ones who have been protecting Inval from Zoros, the dark lord. It happened 1,000 years ago, when the great war was going on, but Vindor has protected them ever since. Some time later, Rohan and Ralf have made it to the celebration. As violins play, they dance for some time.

And then they realize they have to go, so Rohan goes up to Ralf. Rohan says to Ralf, “Hey, we need to go.”

Rohan and Ralf go to their home and sleep. Rohan can’t sleep. He keeps hearing whispers, so Rohan gets up and goes outside and walks around to think. And then Rohan hears two men talking, and Rohan eavesdrops on their conversion.

“Zoros will tear down every city to take over this world,” the two men say.

Rohan panics, and he looks up in the sky and sees a rain of arrows. Rohan takes cover.

Rohan sees Hourloks killing villagers. Hourloks are the darkest race to live. Rohan gets Ralf, and they start running. A Hourlok runs over and is about to stab Rohan, but a Vindorion soldier impales the Hourlok and tells Rohan to run. Rohan and Ralf run into the forest, and they escape the Hourloks.

A few weeks later, they make it to a village named Oostir. They go into a motel and rent it out as they talk about what happened, and then they go to bed. Rohan wakes up, goes downstairs, goes outside, and sees a man. He is an Adorian. Rohan hears horses far away. The man tells Rohan to go inside. They go into the motel.

Ralf yells, “WHO IS THAT?!”

“I don’t know,” says Rohan.

“YOU DON’T KNOW?” yells Ralf.

“I’m Arados,” the man says.

“Who?” Rohan asks.

“It does not matter who I am. We need to leave now. Jump out the window.”

“Um w… why?” says Ralf.

“Just do it,” says Arados.

“Okay,” says Ralf.

“What are those things, and why are they after us?”

“They are Singhul, and I do not know why they are after you, but just go. I will meet you at the gate. Run.”

Rohan and Ralf get to the gate. Arados runs to them and opens the gate. They run.

A few days later…

“Hey, where are we going?” Rohan asks Arados.

“We are going to Elvon,” Arados says.

“Where?” Rohan asks.

“We are going to go to Elvon,” Arados says.

“Why?” Rohan asks.

“To understand why the Singhul are after you and to know why they are back.”

“But why Elvon?” asks Rohan.

“The seers are there now. Stop asking stuff,” says Arados.

“Okay,” says Rohan.

“Hey, we are here. Just over this hill,” says Arados.

Rohan walks over the hill and sees a city like no other. They walk into the huge castle and see a meeting room with three men called the seers. Rohan starts walking up to them, and then a glass ball falls out of Rohan’s bag.

Then, the seers yell, “WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?”

“I… I… my dad gave it to me,” Rohan nervously says.

“Do you know what that is?”

“No, I don’t,” Rohan says.

A bearded man comes into the meeting room and says, “Don’t be hard on the boy, just tell him.”

“So that’s why the Singhul were after you,” says Arados.

“What is it? Just tell me,” Rohan says.

“It is the key to the crystal of the knight’s guard,” one of the seers says.

“What is that?” Rohan asks.

“It is… ”

A huge boom hits the castle.

“What was that?” Rohan asks.

“OH NO!! IT’S ZOROS! HE’S ATTACKING!” Arados yells as thuds and booms go on. “Run! Get your men to the battlefields!” the bearded man says.

“Rohan, run,” Arados says.

“Where are you going?” Rohan asks Arados.

“Just run,” Arados says.

Rohan gets to the top of the castle tower and sees the Hourloks breaking through the gate. A boulder comes and hits the tower that Rohan is in, and then the tower comes down. Rohan falls out of the tower. He gets up and is slightly hurt. He sees two Hourloks coming at him, but Arados comes and uses his sword and kills them both. Arados tells Rohan to run inside the castle. They both run inside and close the gate. Rohan hears the Hourloks banging at the gate.

“Arados, we need to leave to Airadon,” the bearded man says.

A few days later, they walk into the the meeting room, and they talk.

“What is your name?” Rohan asks the bearded man.

“My name is Dilval.”

“Okay, what is the knight’s guard?”

“They are the ones that protected the world, but now they are dead.”

The king comes into the room and shouts, “We must break the key.”

“No, we must use the crystal,” Dilval says.

“No, we will not. I own the crystal,” replies the king.

Dilval whispers to Rohan, “You take the glass ball and get the crystal. It is beneath the castle. Go now. The king won’t understand. It is the only way to take down Zoros.”

“Okay,” agrees Rohan.

Rohan finds the gate under the castle. He goes in. He sees a slot to put in the glass ball. He puts it in. It opens, and he sees a bright light. He sees the crystal. He grabs the crystal and runs. He looks up in the sky and sees a dragon. Zoros is here. Dilval and Arados run to the wooden bridge to leave, but Zoros himself comes out of a portal of fire.

When he came out of the portal, it felt like all happiness was gone from the world. Dilval fights, but Zoros kills Dilval. Zoros uses his sword and kills Arados.

Rohan screams, “NOOOOO!!!”

“You are dark. I can feel it. Why not join me?” Zoros asks in a deep, dark voice to Rohan.

“No, I will not join you, you monster.”

“Okay, then I will just kill you,” Zoros says to Rohan.

Rohan grabs the crystal and shines it on Zoros. The crystal breaks, and Zoros dies. And now Rohan will live on, his life scarred by darkness.

The end

 

The Diary of Sir Littleton III

        

December 1, 1924

Hello, my name is Sir Littleton III. I live in London, England. I have been having some rough times lately. I only want a friend, but how could a little mouse like me find a friend in London? I also have to escape mean people who chase me with brooms!

And guess where I live? An old pipe in a wall! Aieeee! Mouse! Oops! Sorry, gotta run! Bye!

December 2, 1924

I’m back!

I went to the museum by sneaking into some lady’s purse to get away from those mean people with brooms. When I was there, I heard some priests talking about how they should respect all life. That’s it! I thought. I could live in the church! I am going to be a church mouse!

I rushed home, stuffed my things in my doll’s suitcase, and headed straight for the church.

I scurried through the crowd and found a pair of fancy, comfy shoes to live in. I felt like a one pound weight was lifted off my tiny shoulders (which is a lot for a mouse).

Then, I decided I needed to look like a church mouse. I snuck into the priest’s dressing room and cut a tiny robe from his big one and put it on. Then, I cut off the top of his hat and put that on too. Finally, to top it all off, I took the long stick he carries and broke off the top. I went back to my shoe to get dressed. I looked fabulous! Amazing! Beautiful! I was a real church mouse. While I sat in the shoes and read a torn off piece of the bible, I heard a THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! The priest was coming! I shut my eyes tight and put my paws in front of my snout, hoping I would not get killed, when he picked me up and hugged me.

“My, my, you’d make a great pet,” he said.

Well, chop my cheese, I thought. He wants to keep me as a pet!

“And where did you get those adorable little clothes?”

My little snout went redder than a tomato.

“Oh, who cares? You are the cutest thing I ever saw!”

Suddenly, I heard a scream from the dressing room.

“Eek! Somebody ruined my clothes!”

“Lorenzo, what’s more important — clothes or animals?”

“FINE, but if I catch that dirty mouse doing anything with my things again, I promise, I will get revenge!” he snarled.

I shivered like I was in Antarctica.

That night, I slept in my shoe. When I woke up, I continued reading the torn off bible page. A cold, wrinkly thing pushed down on my snout. Wait a minute… that was Lorenzo’s foot! Ew! Lorenzo stomped into the shoes and started walking down the hall. I screamed for help, but to everybody else it sounded like SQUEAK, SQUEAK, SQUEAK!

“Aw, are you okay, mouse?” Lorenzo laughed.

Great, now I’m stuck in a shoe getting crushed by none other than Lorenzo’s foot, I thought.

When I thought all hope was lost, the priest came running in screaming.

”MY MOUSE IS GONE! I WANT HIM BACK!” he wailed.

Now it was Lorenzo’s turn to go as red as a tomato. When the priest looked at his shoe, he went paler than a ball of mozzarella.

“Y-y-you… you took my mouse!” he stuttered. “YOU TOOK MY MOUSE!” he screamed.

Then, he ran over to the phone and dialed 9-1-1 to report animal abuse. The police rushed over and arrested Lorenzo. He was very mad. After that, the priest and I lived a happy and calm life together.

THE END

 

Goldfish

Once upon a time, there were two goldfish. One was Pretzel, and one was Cheddar. One day, they were swimming by a coral reef, and they found an extra cheddar goldfish, who was Cheddar’s mom. Extra Cheddar said that Pretzel and Cheddar needed to take a nap.

When they were supposed to be napping, they were whispering and talking, and Pretzel said to Cheddar, “I wish we were rulers of the sea.”
Pretzel said, “Ooh, me too. I wonder how we can become rulers.”

After their nap, Cheddar’s mother sent them out to play in the playground, which was the coral reef. When they got to the playground, they found Pizza goldfish. Then, Pretzel said, “Pizza, I wish we were all rulers.”

“I agree, I wonder how we could become rulers,” Pizza said.

Pizza, Pretzel, and Cheddar swam around the reef to try to think of a way to become rulers. They couldn’t think of anything, but then Pizza goldfish said, “I thought of something. We can go back to our house and have a snack there and think. Maybe we’re swimming around too much and can’t think about becoming rulers.”

So they went back, but they just ran into Pizza-Pretzel goldfish, Pizza and Pretzel’s mom. They asked their mom if they could go back home and have a snack, and she said, “Yes.” Then, they sat at the kitchen table and thought. Cheddar had an idea that they could go the ruler of the sea so they could ask to become assistant rulers. Pizza and Pretzel went to their mom to ask if they could go see the ruler of the sea.

She said, “No, you guys have been asking too much. When you guys are older, you can go out on your own and ask.”

Cheddar, Pretzel, and Pizza were all sad, and they had to think, think, think. Pretzel had an idea. “How about Pizza and I tell our mom that our birthday is coming up soon and if we can go then because we’ll be older.”

They asked their mom, and she decided it was okay with her, but Cheddar couldn’t go because she was younger. Cheddar felt sad because she wasn’t allowed to go, but Pizza and Pretzel were allowed to. She swam slow.

Pizza had an idea so Cheddar could come along with them. Cheddar saved just enough money to buy five pairs of sock. Each pair one size larger than the other. They went to Cheddar’s house and asked if she could measure Cheddar again to see how much bigger she’d gotten. Then, Cheddar put on all the socks to make her look taller to her mom. Her mom said, “How many pairs of socks is that.”

Then, Cheddar pulled up the largest sock to cover the smaller socks and said, “Only one.”

Her mom said, “Let me measure those socks,” and she saw that they were way too big on Cheddar’s fin, and she asked to take off the sock. Cheddar pulled them all off at the same time, and they came inside out. Then, Cheddar’s mom said “Cheddddarrrr, go into the house and have a time-out for five minutes.”

Cheddar was so upset that she started crying.

Pizza and Pretzel were having a playdate at Cheddar’s house, and they ran out and tried to see if there was any way they could become rulers and then make Cheddar a ruler too. They went to the ruler’s castle, but the drawbridge was up, so they went back to Cheddar’s house. Cheddar’s mom was in the kitchen. “We are going up to Cheddar’s room,” Pretzel said. They were really just going out the back door. They went out, and they went to the ruler’s castle. The drawbridge was down, and they went inside.

They asked the ruler, “Can we please be rulers?”

“Yes, but you need to take a test to see if you can rule properly. And it’s a very hard test, and nobody has passed it but me.”

“We’ll take the test!” they all said at once.

“Here are the questions: If another army comes, what would you do?”

Pizza, Pretzel, and Cheddar talked, and Pizza said, “Ask your army to fight back.”

“Yes. What would you do if someone came to visit?”
They talked, and then Pretzel said, “Give them your guest room and make them feel very welcome.”

“Yes. Name three good rules for the kingdom.”

Cheddar said, “Look both ways before you cross the street.” Cheddar was really frustrated because she was having lots of trouble coming up with rules. Then, she said, “Be nice to others.” Last, she said, “You have to brush your teeth every morning.”

The ruler said yes to all of them. They all became rulers, and they all got a castle. The castles had a big dining room, a huge kitchen, an amazingly large living room, lots of bathrooms, and lots of bedrooms. There was one tower where the throne was. The throne was made of red velvet. Pizza, Pretzel, and Cheddar had the castle to themselves, but their parents got to stay with them. They were very happy that they became rulers.

In their kingdom, real goldfish lived. They ate seaweed and sand. Their supermarket was a very sandy and seaweed-y place. They watched movies, read books, and played with their friends. Every day, the little fish went to a school of fish, and the houses looked like bubbles. Pizza, Pretzel, and Cheddar were the best rulers ever.

The End

 

Coco At The Circus

Coco is an elephant. She likes to go to the circus. In Coco’s world, there are no people because one day people invaded their world, but no one got hurt. Every year, there is a circus to celebrate that they are safe. Today is the day of January first, so they celebrate today! Coco goes to the circus and gets popcorn and cotton candy. She sits down and gets comfy. She is very excited. First, the horses come with beautiful feathers on the top of their heads. The ladies on top of the horses also have feathers on the top of their heads and beautiful headdresses. The riders twirl and dance on top of the horses. Coco really likes it. Every rider has a special color for their costume. Next, there are clowns. They are juggling eight bananas each. They hop on one leg. They also dance and juggle and do all different kinds of things when they juggle. Then, they start juggling with their feet and do the exact same things that they did when they were juggling with their hands. Next, there is a bear that can unlock itself from its cage. So, it unlocks itself. Everybody is surprised. Then, the bear goes back into his cage and locks himself up again. The audience is relieved. Then, the bear starts going in and out of his cage. In and out, in and out, over and over again. The audience laughs. When the circus is done, Coco is happy because there is another circus for animals that could not come today. But the next day, some of the things are missing! “Oh no!” cries Coco. So, she decides she would try and look for them. She looks in stores, her neighbor’s house, streets and sidewalks, but she still cannot find them. She goes back to the circus to look for clues, and she sees footprints. They look like bear footprints. That is odd, she thinks. She follows the footprints to the bear’s cage! She looks all around the cage, but she cannot find them. Then, she notices the bear’s blanket is bumpy, so she looks there, and she finds them! So, she tells the ringmaster she found the missing things. They have the circus the next day, thanks to Coco.

The End

 

Faller Killed Killer

Once upon a time there was a snowflake named Killer. He looked like he had many swords, and they were made of ice. His were semicircles. He was white and clear. He lived in Alaska on a tree. Next to that tree lived Faller, who was a snowflake, which was clear and was very irritating. Faller looked like he was a fan, so whenever you spun him, he would give you air. Before, when they both were not fighting, Killer used to spin Faller. When Faller thought, I don’t like it when he spins me, he started to irritate Killer. He would make lots of noise in the night when Killer was sleeping. Then, in the morning, he used to come in his living room and open the window shades and put music in his room and then wake him up. Then, Faller ran out, and he fell down. When he would fall down, he started spinning.

When Killer and Faller saw the biggest star in the sky in the night, Killer decided in the morning he was going to kill Faller because he irritated him so much

Killer had many swords, and he was holding seven swords. He was very dangerous. He was bigger than Faller. Faller was like snow and often fell.

One day, Killer put one of his swords in Faller’s body and took it out. He broke Faller’s flake. Then, Faller fell. Faller was flying again. When Faller had fallen on the ground, Killer came and tried to eat him up. Faller had no swords but had many flakes. He cut his flakes into two pieces, but then cut them off the middle and made them into swords. Faller pointed them on Killer, and he stabbed them through Killer. First, Killer had ten swords, but now Faller took three of his swords, and he only had seven left.

Faller thought, Why does Killer always try kill me and melt me? If Killer kills me, I can’t come back. He almost succeeded!

He saw one of his flakes on the ground and made a boomerang out of them to kill Killer.

But Killer took the boomerang and made that one of his swords. They both were fighting. Then, Faller broke one of Killer’s swords and made that his mighty, mighty, mighty, mighty, mighty sword. It was very sharp. It was very dangerous. It could go through Killer’s wings.

Then, Killer thought, I have to get revenge.

But Killer almost died. Faller used his mighty sword to cut Killer in half. Faller took part of Killer’s body to make another sword. Then, Faller took another part of Killer and made it into a mighty sword. He now had three more swords. Faller made one of his swords into metal by putting a metal piece he had and then put fire in that. Then, Faller went into Killer’s heart with his sword, and then Killer melted into water. Faller was happy, because Killer used to kill everyone. He was dancing!

The Twins that Never Fight

Once, there were two twins who lived in New York in Manhattan. Elizabeth and Grace were their names, and they were five years old. They both had brown hair, blue eyes, they were missing two teeth, and they had peach skin. They lived with their mom and their dad. They shared a room, and they liked each other a lot. They liked to do a lot of things together, and their favorite thing to do together was eat ice cream. And they were different in one way. Elizabeth played soccer, and Grace didn’t play soccer. She would rather fix her hair. They both liked to dance.

There was a big dance competition coming up. Grace and Elizabeth were dancing around in their uniforms for the dance competition. They had known about the competition for a month, and they practiced every day. They loved to practice. Grace remembered that they would get to go out to dinner after the competition, and they rarely get to go out to dinner. Their mom said they could get dessert. If they won, they would get to pick what restaurant they got to go to. If they didn’t win, their mom and dad would pick the restaurant. Grace and Elizabeth were excited, so they practiced really hard. They had five days before the dance competition.

Later that day, Elizabeth used Grace’s lip gloss. Grace got mad at Elizabeth, and she ripped her poster for soccer and threw her trophy on the ground. It broke in half. Elizabeth ran and told her mom, crying. Her mom told Grace not to throw trophies because someone can get really hurt. Grace thought maybe they would not make up, and they would miss the dance competition. So, Grace went and told Elizabeth that it was okay that she used her lip gloss. Elizabeth said that she wasn’t mad anymore. They made up and hugged and kept practicing for the dance competition. They turned on this weird music and thought it was the song for the dance competition, so they danced to the weird music.

The night before the dance competition, Grace thought as she slept, Am I gonna win? Am I gonna win? Am I gonna win? Then, she woke up and went to get water and went back to sleep.

In the morning, Grace and Elizabeth got their uniforms and matching bows on. They were red with white sparkles. They got in the car and drove off to Sag Harbor for the dance competition. It was a five hour car trip. At the competition, the judge called their names. They were first. They walked onto the big stage and started to dance with the weird music, but then different music came on, and they had to dance with that music instead. They just went with it and copied each other. Eight people danced after them. No one was as good as Elizabeth and Grace. At the end, they crossed their fingers that they would win first place. They jinxed that they would not win the competition. They put the first place on the board, and it was Grace and Elizabeth! They drove to the restaurant they picked, Maxwell’s, and ate dinner. They each got chocolate ice cream for dessert.

THE END!!!

 

The Evil Santa

Every night on Christmas Eve, Evil Santa takes toys from the innocent boys and girls. The Good Santa couldn’t help because he was kidnapped by the Evil Santa. Evil Santa first kidnapped Good Santa 200 years ago, and it had been going on since then. The old Good Santa tried to send a secret message to the elves to ride the reindeer sleigh to save them, but they couldn’t do it and couldn’t get back.

One day, an elf heard on the radio that someone was stealing presents on Christmas Eve again. So the elf said, “I’m going to finally stop this thief.”

He was going to go on Santa’s sleigh. He didn’t know how to ride the sleigh, but he did it anyway. They said the robber was in New York City, so the elf had to go with the reindeer to New York. When he got to New York, he saw a lot of beautiful stuff he never saw before. He saw the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

When he passed a few houses, he saw someone sneaking into someone’s house. He stopped outside of the building, and he went inside the elevator. There were too many floors, so he picked floor three. Then, he went into someone’s room, but they were sleeping, and they had a dog. The elf didn’t want to wake the dog and be seen, so he walked quietly. Then, he saw someone at the Christmas tree. He did a sneak attack. He went on the ceiling, and then he jumped onto Evil Santa. Evil Santa yelled, “How did you get up there?!” It was a little loud, but it didn’t wake the people. But it woke up the dog. The dog was barking, and the man saw Evil Santa but not the elf because the elf was too small. The guy went on Evil Santa. They were fighting for a long time until Evil Santa got away.

The elf was under the bed, and he still couldn’t get out. He was in big trouble. He didn’t know what to do until the dog saw him under the bed. The dog was growling at him. Then, the guy told the dog to be quiet. They went back to sleep. The elf went away, but the guy saw him. The guy told his wife that someone stole presents from their house, and an elf was in the house too. So he called the police and pressed the fire alarm.

The police came quickly. The elf was running so slow. The police were chasing him, and he was scared. His hands were sweaty, and his heart was beating quickly, so he called the reindeer. They came with the big sleigh. They were off again. The cops were so jealous that they were flying in Santa’s sleigh. The elf said, “Now the cops want to get me. I’m a criminal!”

The elf was hungry. He saw a restaurant, but he didn’t go in. He just saw a lot of stuff about Santa. He listened to his favorite radio and relaxed. He wanted to find Good Santa again so everyone could get back Christmas. He looked around for someone to help, but no one wanted to.

In the morning, the elf was off again to find his boss, Good Santa, and the Evil Santa. The elf was sleeping on the sleigh when they left, and he didn’t notice they were somewhere else. They were close to Pennsylvania. The reindeer were getting tired, and they were getting as hungry as the elf. So the elf gave them all carrots, and the elf got a boiled egg for his lunch.

The elf was back in New York. Then, he saw a big, giant building, and he saw Evil Santa with all these people. He didn’t know why he was up there. Then he thought, He was a criminal, a villain. So he couldn’t beat him by himself, and he needed help. Then, he thought for a minute. He built a talking dog leash, a leash that if you put it on a dog, it can talk. A police dog was walking, and he asked the dog if he could help. The dog barked, but then the dog put the talking dog leash on, and he said, “Yeah.” The canine dog told him about Evil Santa, and the dog said he also wanted to get rid of Evil Santa because he always saw him at bedtime stealing presents.

So, the elf and the dog went up to the building to get Evil Santa. The elf wanted to jump out of the sleigh, but the dog was scared and thought the elf was crazy. So the elf used his stick pads to get up the building. They used a laser to cut a circle in the window. Then, they went under the table and saw all the stuff Evil Santa stole. The dog saw his presents and wanted to get them.

“No, don’t get it!” said the elf, but the dog got it, and then they saw him.

They were chasing the dog, and the dog said, “Go get the presents and save everybody!” The elf got all the presents and also saw his boss. He wanted to save his boss, but he needed the keys. The Evil Santa had the keys, so the elf did a sneak attack like back in the house. He climbed up on the walls with the sticky pads and jumped and got the keys.

The Evil Santa was chasing the elf while everyone else was chasing the dog, until the dog jumped out of the window and used his parachute. It was a little windy, so he went too high and the parachute got broken. All the villains tried to jump with parachutes, but they were too heavy, so they fell. The dog tried to fly. Then, he used his grappling hook because he was a secret agent dog.

Evil Santa was still chasing the elf. Then, the elf fought the Evil Santa. The Evil Santa was much stronger than the elf, so the elf used all his powers. But Evil Santa grabbed the elf’s neck and was choking him. He said, “I always steal presents on Christmas, and no one sees me or stops me.” But then, the secret agent dog did his karate kicks. Evil Santa was on the edge of the window. The elf couldn’t move. He was injured very badly. The dog was mad, so he used the grappling hook on Evil Santa and shot him all the way to another building. The Evil Santa was shaking to get free. He fell on the ground and landed on all the bad guys that fell before.

Then, the police came and found out who was stealing the presents and arrested Evil Santa. The dog also found the keys on the ground and freed Good Santa. They all went back to the North Pole with the dog. The dog was happy to be there because he could help if anyone was in trouble. Good Santa said, “We have a new Santa: Jiminy Elf!” Jiminy Elf would now be the new Santa. Everyone planned a ceremony, and they were happy.

 

War of the Fruits

        

Note from the author: A lot of strange things have happened in the fridge. I hope you enjoy, and just saying, dried banana tastes quite good.

Chapter One

There once was a team of banana soldiers in a banana city in a fridge in a kitchen in a house in New York City on the Earth. They really wanted to take over more land in the kitchen, but the team of apple soldiers in the apple city in that same fridge in that same kitchen in that same house in New York City would not let them. It was easy enough to get out of the fridge, since in that house people were opening the fridge all the time, but it was harder to actually get to the landing that they wanted. Being fruit, they would land on the floor and not onto the glorious counters they so badly wanted.

The bananas needed to figure out a way to make a bridge to the other side of the kitchen to the counter. Luckily, they saw a plank and thought, That would make a perfect bridge. However, the plank was on the counter, the very counter they were trying to reach. Then, their time arrived: someone opened the fridge…

Chapter Two

Up on the higher shelf, the apples were thinking about the counter across the kitchen. The apples looked down and noticed their arch enemies — the bananas — talking about a plank on the kitchen counter. They immediately became interested.

“We have less of a chance of getting to that plank than the bananas do,” said an apple, noting how they would have to climb down from their higher spot in order to figure out how to get the plank.

Just as the apples began devising a plan to climb down from their shelf, the fridge opened…

Chapter Three

The bananas were super excited that their chance had come. They had everything planned out. Only two would go. The most agile and quick bananas of the bunch would go. When they fell on the floor, they would go to the drawers and climb up the drawers.

When the door opened, they made their jump. They quickly climbed up the side of the drawers, when they saw them… the apples, getting ready to jump down from their shelf in the fridge. They knew they had to move fast. They reached the plank and ran into some oranges. The oranges were big, muscular, and bright, bright orange. The plank was a bed for some oranges, and they would not give up their plank so easily. The oranges really valued their rest. They needed to sleep a lot because if somebody came and tried to attack them, they needed to be well-rested so they could fight back. So, the bananas thought, Maybe we could let the apples do the hard part and deal with the oranges, and once the plank is in the fridge, we could retrieve it. So, using their agility and quickness, the bananas hid and waited for the apples.

Chapter Four

The apples saw the bananas hiding and contacted their king. “The bananas are trying to get us to do their dirty work and battle it out with the oranges,” they reported.

So, the King replied, “Wait under the place you were going to climb, and wait for them to come down.” They did as they were told. A few hours later, they started to feel uncomfortable. Brown ickiness started to appear on their skin. It was hot.

“We’re beginning to rot!” they said, noticing they had been out of the fridge for too long. They needed to get back into the fridge. They tried to climb up, and they hid in the freezer until the fridge would be opened again. Three days later, they opened the fridge, and the apples jumped into the fridge. They were saved!

Chapter Five

The bananas were annoyed their plan was foiled. They jumped into the fridge, too. Then, they told the leader of the bananas, “It might take a little bit longer to get all of us out onto the counter.”

“We need to hurry,” the king said, “because the apples might get there first. We can’t let that happen! We have to go super fast, jump, and try to get a plank to make a bridge.”

The bananas decided to hide out in the freezer and make plans down there. It would take less time to get down, climb up, and get the plank that way. They went down, but the apples were down there, too! So, they hid behind an ice pack until the freezer opened. The stakes were high. If they were in the fridge for longer than four days, they would freeze into frozen fruit!

Chapter Six

The fridge opened, and the apples snuck up into the fridge so they wouldn’t rot. They were extremely strong, about as strong as the bananas were quick, so they were able to pull themselves up into the fridge. Then, it started warming up, so they could tell that the freezer had been opened. They realized this was their chance to get out and into the fridge. The bananas were on a lower level, so the apples needed to sneak up and past them to get back to their king on the high shelf. It was very important that they not be seen. The apples jumped onto the wall of the fridge and climbed up quietly and stealthily so that the bananas would not see them.

Chapter Seven

One of the bananas noticed an apple climbing up the side of the fridge to their high shelf. The banana ran to his chief, and the chief of the bananas said, “Follow them!”

The bananas climbed up the side of the wall after the apples. The banana chief was waiting for the bananas that were in the freezer to come back up. He noticed them climbing up and then climbing down the other side of the freezer. They ran as fast as they could to the drawers and climbed up. It was hard. There were not many places to grab on to climb, but they managed to do it. They hid and waited for the oranges to get off of the plank so that they could use it for their bridge. The oranges went off the plank and went to look for an intruder. They did not want anyone of those apples or bananas to come around and cause any of their chaos, and they especially did not want them to use their bed to make a bridge!

Chapter Eight

The apples were really angry because the bananas were closer to the goal than they were. They decided that they needed to be really quick, but the apples were still healing from their rot. They decided it was time for sabotage. The apples sent their strongest, but not most agile, apples to jump down out of the fridge and onto the floor. The strongest apple jumped out and grabbed the banana. He threw the banana off the shelf. The oranges heard a commotion, so they woke up. The strongest apple had the apples’ secret weapon: The Apple Slicer. He sliced himself into lots of more little apples.

Chapter Nine

The banana was about to get the plank, but an apple tackled him and threw him to the ground! He broke his leg from the fall! He ran as fast as he could, at least as fast as a banana can run with a broken leg. He finally climbed up and went back into the fridge. It took a while, so he started rotting a little too. He noticed a brown spot on his face… he was unripe. He had a smudge on his leg. Finally when he got up there, the bananas sent their strongest banana and with his bananas’ secret weapon: The Banana Cutter.

They sent their longest rope from the fridge to the counter, but only he could climb it because he was the strongest. He was there. He chopped himself into little, strong, and mighty banana pieces, and he used his skin as a rocket! He shot himself to the other side just so he wouldn’t waste time.

The apple and the banana called a truce just so they could team up to battle the oranges. But after that, they would fight again.

Chapter Ten

The oranges were furious to be woken up from their nap. The apple took on one orange, and the banana took on the other. Little did the two enemies know, the oranges unpeeled themselves and turned into lots of little oranges! So, it was basically an eight on eight battle! They fought and fought and fought! The apple called more apples to come and help. The apple jumped up, turned on the sink grabbed the bananas rocket that he flew there with, and used it as a raft to go across to the side with the plank!!!

Chapter Eleven

The bananas saw the apple calling for more help, so they did the same. “OH, NO. RETREAT!!!” said the oranges.

Meanwhile, back in the fridge, the banana chief said, “Hurry! Come help!”

A few planks across, the apple king said, “Go give them help, too!”

It took a little longer than it would for the banana and the apple because they were stronger, so they could just use the rope. They had to jump down from the fridge, climb a ladder, and catch the raft across from the sink. Then, when they finally arrived a few hours later, they surrounded the oranges. The oranges ran away, but the apple had the plank. He ran as fast as he could with all his other companions and made the bridge.

“Yay!! We made the bridge!”

Chapter Twelve

The bananas were quite angry that the apples got the plank. They turned bright green because bananas are green when they’re not ripe. They chased after the apples. One of the bananas was thinking, What is the point? So he just sat in the background, watching it like a movie, picking at dried banana. Then, the fridge door opened again. The apple put down the plank and said, “We win!!!” But then, right behind him, the bananas ran towards him. But, luckily, more apple warriors stopped them. Then, the apple king and the banana chief started screaming opposite things.

The banana king started weeping and weeping and weeping, and the apple king was jumping around on his throne, screaming “Yay! Yay! Yay!” Finally, the war ended. The apples had won.

They ran around screaming, “Yay! Yay! Yay!” just like their king. But every one of the bananas, except for one of them, was weeping and weeping, just like their king. He just kept on eating his dried banana.

Chapter Thirteen

I told you that dried banana is so good that you can eat it, even if everyone else is crying. That’s the whole point. Also, now I’m going to go eat some apples, and maybe a banana after, and the oranges, oh well. They’re just sleeping.

Hi, I’m the narrator. I told you some weird things that have happened in the fridge. My name is Fridge. Yeah, I’m a fridge. I hope you enjoyed. My pets are magnets, and my best friend is the counter. He’s quite sleepy, though, just like his pets, the oranges. Oh, and also, World War 2 is coming soon or, should I say, World War of the Fruits 2, so be sure to read it. Goodbye! Wait! Be respectful to your fridges, just because you might have me. Also your counter. Don’t wake him up. He’s grumpy. Now, for real. Goodbye.

They’re inside someone’s stomach. It’s gross, and they’re about to be pooped out. There’s a lot of brown stuff, and they’re unaware of what it is. They’re trying to swim in blood away from the toilet and the brown stuff that they’re still not able to identify. The apple and banana have also become friends. They look like chewed up fruit, and they’re very mushy, and there’s banana juice and apple juice dripping out of them. Also, they met a very nice broccoli that has not gone through the system yet. They’re all thinking, I’m doomed to see light again. Also, they met a frog which has been making their owner have a very weird voice. They’re looking at very gross puffy, brown stuff that they don’t want to touch.

 

The Road Trip

 

“Emma, start packing! We need to leave at 1:00 P.M.!” my mother yelled. Oh no… I forgot to pack! It was already 11 A.M.. I grabbed my shorts and a few shirts. I plugged in my phone and shoved my toiletries in my bag. My little sister came waddling in my room, holding her stuffed bear that she has had since she was born.

“Sis, did you pack yet?” I questioned her.

“Uh, I think Mommy did yesterday,” she replied, unable to pronounce “th” and “s.”

“Okay, well I need to pack.” I turned around, my words fading. “OH NO! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!” I screamed angrily. She was cutting my phone charger. I quickly ran over and picked her up, grabbing the cord out of her hand. What am I going to tell Mom? I thought. I brought my little sister down to the kitchen where my mother was.

“Uhh Mom? Kayla ruined my extension cord… ” I said with a sweet but harsh tone.

“O-M-G, is she okay?” she said, picking her up. “My sweet baby!” she cried.

“My sweet baby!” I mocked her under my breath.

“Why did you let her do that?!” she yelled as if I let her jump off a cliff.

“I did not! I was packing, and she just did it!” I panicked.

It was time to leave for the trip. We packed up the van and got in. I brought a lot of food like trail mix, Skittles, Twix, and beef jerky! When we started driving, my sister said it. What we all dreaded.

“I need to use the bathroom!” She grinned.

“Oh, for the sweet mercy of God! David!” my mother yelled to my dad.

“What should I do? Oh umm okay, sweetie? Pee in this bag.” He sweat.

Mom, Dad, she will not pee in a bag next to me!” I emphasized so they knew I was serious.

“BAG PEE PEE!” my sister squealed as she grabbed it and pulled her pants down. I heard the pee going in the bag.

Ewwww!” I exclaimed. I needed to take a nap…

I woke up from my nap. I was still tired, but I couldn’t fall back asleep because of my little sister eating. At least she was eating and wouldn’t start her “I’m hungry” campaign. I checked my phone, and it was 3:01 P.M.. We had been driving for two hours, so six more to go. I saw my phone was at five percent, so I asked to plug it in.

“Mom, can you plug my phone in?” I asked, full of hope.

“Sure, sweetie, but only till it hits 60. Daddy needs it,” she said. I could tell she was tired, but when you have a daughter like my sister, you are in for a long, annoying ride. I looked at my sister, eating a Twix.

“Hey, um, Kayla? Where did you get that?” I was worried she was eating my candy.

“I got from blue bag!” she said without a worry, but she better have been worried.

“What have you eaten?” I wasn’t in the mood to ask because knowing her, she ate all of it.

“I ate kittle, Twix, tale mix, and beef jerky,” she answered.

“OH NO! THAT WAS MY FOOD! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!” I screamed furiously.

“I ate you food?” she said, putting it down.

“YES!” I yelled at her. I felt kind of bad yelling at a three-year-old, but she needed to be disciplined to not steal other people’s food. I hated her so much. So much. Candy Thief, candy thief, candy thief. That is what she was. I was too tired to complain now that I got my emotions out, and besides, we were going to a beach resort. Relaxation awaited. So I went to bed.

“Sweetie, we are here. Get up!” my mother frightened me. Awww we are here, I thought. I opened my eyes in three, two, one.

“AAAAAAAHH!” I screamed.

“What is wrong?” my mother said, worried.

Well, the sign for this place is halfway lit up, it is hanging on by a screw, there is caution tape around the whole darn place, oh, and it is 12 miles away from the beach. And to top it all off, IT IS A MOTEL!” I scream with disgust. My parents and sister were silent. We went into our room, and it was gross. Spider webs were everywhere, bugs crawled up the walls, and wait. There was a queen bed and a twin. So I needed to share it with my sister. Oh. No. This. Would. Be. Torture! I grabbed my bag and laid my wash towel on the bed. I couldn’t bear sleeping on the bed, so I grabbed my backpack and used it as a pillow. My little sister kicked and talked in her sleep. But I knew it was just one night.

We woke up, and my little sister put the towel in my bag. “Thank you, Kayla,” I said. She just smiled. We decided to order food.

“Hi, we would like one breakfast burrito, a ham omelette, a chicken burrito, and a salad. Thank you.” I wanted the ham omelette. It sounded so good. When the food got here, I didn’t have an omelette. I got a weird carrot looking thing.

“Sister, do you want to trade? You don’t seem to like that,” my little sister said.

“Oh no, it is fine. But, I mean, sure?” I replied as she handed it to me. “Thank you!” I said. She smiled again.

It was now time for us to leave for the beach. We got in the van, and I was still tired after the kicking, talking, gross, bed phenomenon. I was ready to ride the waves. So was my sister. She fell asleep on my shoulder. So, you know, why not go to sleep too.

We got to the beach, and my sister wanted to swim. So, sure. I would swim with her. After all, she was the best sister ever.

 

Electro

 

Episode One/ Chapter One

There was once a boy named Jack, and he was a normal boy. But one day, there was an electrical storm, and he got struck by lightning. But instead of dying, he got electric superpowers, and he made his superhero name Electro. He could teleport, concentrate electricity in his fingertips, and release electricity. Jack was happy that he had these powers because where he lived was a crime ridden city, and a few days ago, criminals attacked his sister Lily. So he started teleporting around the city to test his powers, and when he was exploring, he found a gang of criminals attacking a man and taking his money, so he tried to cover his face as best as he could with his hood and went down to fight. When he landed on the ground, he shot an electric wave at the criminals. Then, the ones that he didn’t hit he hit with electric punches and kicks. When he did the punches and kicks, it felt like his hand was tingling and like it was surging with power. Then, after the battle, he helped the man that was hurt get up and gave his money back.

The man said, “Thank you for saving me, young man.”

Then, Jack said, “Anytime.”

After that, Jack teleported home and went to bed. Tomorrow, he was going to make his superhero suit.

 

Episode Two/ Chapter Two

In the morning, Jack put together his superhero suit. His suit would be a blue hoodie with sports goggles and a blue vogmask. He had one because of allergies. It nullified his allergies. Then, he went to school. School was going well for Jack. He got an A+ on a math test, and he then had science. Then, he heard a loud buzzing sound, and when he looked outside, there was a dark portal. Through the portal came a crimson demon, and the demon destroyed half of his school, and everywhere kids were screaming. Luckily, Jack brought his costume to school, so he hid in the janitor’s closet and changed and fought the demon. He shot an electrical wave at the demon, teleported behind it, and lightning punched the demon as hard as he could. Behind him, he heard everybody screaming. After Jack’s combo attack, the demon shot a fire blast at him, but Jack teleported away just in time. Then, Jack transformed into a lightning dragon and shot a mini electrical storm at the demon, and that destroyed the demon. But Jack used up a lot of his energy, and he passed out. When Jack woke up, he was in the school nurse’s office, and there was a bunch of kids all bunched up around him. His mask was on very loose, so he covered his face with his hands. Luckily, nobody recognized him.

One of the kids asked him, “Who are you?”

Jack replied, “I’m Electro.”

 

Episode Three/ Chapter Three

The next day, Jack asked his friends Ben and Mason to meet up with him after school. When Jack walked through the hallways, he saw all the kids talking about Electro and what happened yesterday. Then, when Jack looked at the school newspaper, he saw him/Electro on the front cover. It said: Yesterday, on April 22, a new superhero named Electro saved our school from a demon that came from a dark portal. Who really is this young superhero? And does he go to our school?

“Wow,” said Jack. “I’m really becoming a superhero.”

But inside, Jack was also worried about all the responsibilities of becoming a superhero.

After school, Jack met Ben and Mason behind the school, and Jack said, “Remember that Electro guy that saved the school from yesterday?”

Ben said, “Yeah.”

Mason said, “What about him?”

Jack said, “Did you know that I’m him?”

Then, Jack teleported in a circle to show them.

“Wow!” said Ben and Mason.

“But you have to remember this,” said Jack. “You can’t tell anyone that I’m Electro, okay? I only trust you because you’re my best friends.”

“Okay,” said Ben and Mason.

Then, they all went home. So now Ben and Mason knew that Jack had superpowers, but Jack didn’t know that Ben and Mason had their own superpowers. So that was why they weren’t freaking out when they knew their friend had powers. And Jack also didn’t know that the demon was after Jack’s powers because the demon ruler wanted his powers.

 

Episode Four/ Chapter Four

When Jack went to school, there was another demon attack, but there were two demons this time. Jack did everything he could. He shot the biggest electric wave he could make and shot two electrical storms at both of the demons, but it wasn’t enough, and just before both of the demons shot fire blasts at Jack, there was a plasma blast and a fire blast shot at the two demons. When Jack looked at the two new heroes, he saw the one that shot the plasma blast, which Jack figured out was Mason, because he didn’t see him with the rest of the kids. Mason was wearing a blue and green jacket with a green bandana over his mouth. And the hero that shot the fire blast was wearing a red shirt with an orange and black cloak and black gauntlets, which Jack knew was Ben because he didn’t see him in the crowd of students that evacuated the school either. Mason and Ben helped Jack with the battle. Mason shot huge plasma waves at the demons and hit them with plasma punches, while Ben used his fiery fists to attack the smaller demon and used fire breath to deal with the bigger demon. After a big fight, the demons retreated back through the portal that led to the demon world. When the battle ended, nobody knew that the two other heroes were Ben and Mason, so they interviewed them. Ben’s superhero name was Hellblaze, and Mason’s name was Retro. After school, Jack talked to Ben and Mason.

“I know those two heroes were you guys. Why didn’t you tell me you had powers when I told you I had them?”

Mason said, “I’m sorry. We should have told you.”

“Yeah,” said Ben. “We should have.”

“Well, at least I know now,” said Jack.

And then, all the boys came to Jack’s house to talk about their powers. Jack found out Mason got his powers by touching one of his dad’s radioactive experiments, so his dad knew about his powers. Also, Ben got his powers by being caught in the firestorm last week from a weather machine that the big science organization of the city made. They did a lot of testing with dangerous things. They decided to make a superhero group, but they didn’t know what to call it, so they would think of it later. And all the boys slept at Jack’s house.

 

Episode Five/ Chapter Five

When Jack was asleep, he had a dream that changed everything. He could see the king of the demon world ordering all of his strongest demon fighters to fight Jack and take his powers, because he wanted them to charge a weapon that would destroy the human dimension, so he could bring the human dimension into his empire. Also, he could use Mason’s and Ben’s powers for other uses. But he also found out that his powers were meant for him since he was born, because he could think of all the ways to use them, and the god of lightning was keeping them until he was ready for them. The lightning that hit him was supercharged by the gods. Then, Jack’s dream ended, and Jack was shocked by what he saw and what he found out.

“I can’t believe my powers were meant for me,” he said. “I thought it was just luck.”

And then, Jack woke up Ben and Mason and told them about his dream, and they told him they had dreams similar to his.

Mason said, “The demon king wants my powers to help power their weapon.”

“Same here,” said Jack.

Then Ben said, “The demon king wants my powers to be the source of the demon’s forge, so they can have stronger weapons to take over other dimensions.”

“Well, we’re not gonna let that happen,” said Jack.

Then, they all headed to school.

 

Episode Six/ Chapter Six

Now that the three boys knew what all of their powers were meant for and what was after them, they always had their guards up. When school started, everything was normal. Jack did history and a few other periods. Then, it was time for lunch, and still there was no attack on the school. The school lunchroom was much smaller now, because of the time when the demon destroyed half of the school, and also, some of the classrooms got destroyed, so there were less subjects, and school would let out early. At 1:30, school let out, and Jack, Ben, and Mason were surprised that there was no attack on the school. Jack thought there was something suspicious going on, so he called a superhero meeting. First thing at the meeting, Jack thought of a superhero group name: Thunder.

But Ben said, “That name is based too much on your powers. We have to make a name that makes sense to all of us.”

“Maybe we should call it the Force,” said Mason, and we all agreed.

“Another thing that we need to talk about is why there was no demon attack, because I have a feeling that there is going to be one tonight, if not today.”

Ben suggested, “Why don’t we have another sleepover, so we can protect each other?”

“Okay,” said Mason and Jack, so that’s what they did.

 

Episode Seven/ Chapter Seven

It was dark, and then there was a loud buzzing sound, and it woke up Jack, Mason, and Ben. Then, the three boys saw the demon portal, and then they all got ready to fight, but what came out were three demons the same size of the three boys.

One of the demons said, “We need your help to fight against the demon king, and we want you to be a part of the resistance.”

All the demons looked like normal boys, but with red eyes and red horns.

“Why would we trust you?” said Jack.

Another demon said, “Because we’re trying do the same thing: defeat the demon king.”

Then, one of the demon boys said, “Hi, my name is Kobal.”

Then, he pointed to his brother and said, “This is Leo.”

Then, he pointed to his other brother and said, “And this is Dagon.”

Then, Dagon said, “We promise you can trust us.”

“Okay,” said Jack. “We will come with you.”

“We will?” said Mason.

“Yeah,” said Jack. Then, he said, “If we come with you, you guys have to promise us that we can come back to our world whenever we want to.”

“Deal,” said Leo.

Then, Kobal said, “But first you have to help as much as you can.”

“Okay,” said Ben.

Then, Dagon said, “We’ll tell you our powers too: Kobal has fire magic, Leo has darkness magic, and I have earth magic, so we’re all very strong.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” said the boys.

“Now, step into the portal,” said Leo, and that’s when Jack, Mason, and Ben’s journey began.

 

The next day, Jack looked at the sky of the demon world. It was red and black, and for miles and miles, Jack saw flames with red grass and black trees. Then far away, Jack saw the demon king’s castle. It had red and white walls, and at the roof of the castle, there were two holes, and out of them came blasts of white hot flames.

“Wow,” said Jack.

Right now, Jack was eating a devil dog. It was basically a demon version of a hot dog and way more spicy.

“This is so spicy, and I love it.”

Jack’s blue hair was messed up, and his mouth was covered with ketchup, and his clothes were yellow and red.

Jack thought, What am I supposed to be doing? I know that I’m meant to fight the demon king, but when? And what if he and his army are too powerful to beat?

Jack was very worried how this was going to turn out.

Then, Jack saw his friends’ worried faces. Then, he said, “Guys, together, the Force is way stronger than the demon king.” But inside, Jack was having his own doubts about how this battle was going to turn out.

To be continued…

 

The Great Snowball Fight

It was the best snowball fight ever, but I won because I know the secret to winning all snowball fights.

This is what happened. I, a snowman, and my best friend, a snowman, met on a snowy day. We made two different snow forts and made a pile of snowballs. We made a snow ship and two snow cities. The cities were giant buildings made out of ice and little buildings made out of ice, too. We made ladders to climb up to different stories of the building, and the finishing touch was an icy, snowy statue of me in the middle of my city and a statue of him in his city.

There was only one thing left that I needed: a sign. But the time was up! We had an hour left of preparations, so we made catapults and cannons and a wall with little windows to blast out of.

The battle began. I dug a tunnel down under my base and into his, and I used ice bricks to hold up the top, just so I wouldn’t die.

I ran as fast as I could through my tunnel into his big ice castle. I snuck around and climbed up his highest building and threw a snowball at him.

Now the battle was really beginning. We threw snowball after snowball. I noticed there was an ice cannon on his roof, and I ran for it.

Noooooooo! I got hit by a snowball! I thought I was done for, but luckily I didn’t get hit in the face. I limped over to the cannon, even though I had no feet. I reached the cannon, and I put in some snowballs and fired. Or should I say snowballed.

It started to snow. It covered up my escape route. I thought, how would I escape? I thought I could dig a hole as fast as I could and get back into my lair. I limped over to my hole and started digging.

So, I started digging. I ran through my hole and tried to get to the other side.

I thought it was over. I was just out of his lair. I finally got into my lair. I took out a snowball and threw it at him. It missed. But then I threw another, and it hit. Yay!! It hit! I won!

I couldn’t fully win, though, without a sign that said I won. And that was the secret to winning all snowball fights. But then I realized that I couldn’t make a sign that said I won without a pencil, so I tried to grab my pencil. Then, I realized my pencil was on the floor. And I couldn’t reach it because I was on the top of one of my buildings. I ran as fast as I could to get to it, but by accident I tripped off the building. Then, I fell flat on my face onto the snow.

I got really bad frostbite, but I did wonder how a snowman could get frostbite, because he’s quite cold already. I warmed up by building an ice heater. It melted straight away, though. Luckily, it cured me. I grabbed the pencil. I drew the sign that said I won!, but I still had to climb up the giant tower I had made. So, I climbed up the ladder.

Meanwhile, my opponent was not fully on the floor. He was digging a tunnel and making a labyrinth to me.

Finally, he got into my base. I had just put up the sign. We shook hands and said good game, even though I won. Yaaaaaay!

THE END

“Liar, you got it totally wrong. I was the one who won,” said my opponent.

“Uhhhh. Fine, I’ll admit it. You won,” I said. “You had the secret to winning all snowball fights. But I’ll never admit it again.”

“Oh, wait! If you want, I’m good friends with the fridge,” he said. “So if you wouldn’t mind, read the fridge’s story. His story’s quite good, too. The books are called World War of the Fruits 1 and World War of the Fruits 2. They’re really funny.”

Now it’s really THE END.

 

Maddy the Gymnast

Once upon a time there was a girl named Maddy, and she was really into gymnastics. She started gymnastics when she was only one year old. One day, she asked her mom to ask her teacher if she could move up to the team. Her teacher said, “You can move up to the team after you know how to do a backhand walkover and a back handspring.”

Maddy said, “Okay, I’ll try my hardest.”

She went to her house because her mom was a girls coach for gymnastics. She said, “Can you teach me how do a backhand walkover and a back handspring?”

Her mom said, “Sure.”

They were in the gym, and she was trying to do a back handspring, and she sprained her arm. She went to the hospital for one day. She was quite emotional. She had a boyfriend. He got her ice cream. She got rainbow ice cream. Then, they kissed on the lips. She jumped around and smiled and watched lots of TV. Then, she got an ice pop. It was her favorite flavor.

The next day, Maddy felt better. She went back to gymnastics. This time, her mom taught her a back handspring and a backhand walkover, but she was really scared to do it. She tried one more time, and she got it. Her mom taught her how to get better at her posture and moves.

Later, there was a tryout for the team. Maddy did the moves that the teacher asked her to do and all the ones she was good at. It all went really well. The teacher saw how good Maddy was and said, “You’re on the team!” Maddy made the team, and everybody was happy, so they threw her a surprise party. There was a girl named Grace that Maddy was friends with who didn’t make the team, and Maddy forgot to invite her to the party. Grace told everybody that Maddy forgot to invite her to the party, and everybody gasped! But Maddy’s besties were on her team, and Grace’s besties were on her team.

Then, there was a competition to go to the Olympics. Grace told the judge to give Maddy a zero for the beam, but the judge gave her 100. Grace got mad at the judge for not listening, but the judge ignored her because she was cheating. Maddy also did her new moves, the back handspring and the backhand walkover, and she got a 100. She got into the Olympics.

Maddy threw another party, and this time she invited Grace. But Grace wanted revenge because she was still mad. Grace wanted to prank Maddy at a meet. One day at a meet, Grace put glue in Maddy’s water bottle, and then Maddy drank the water bottle, but then she felt glue, so she spit it out. She was angry. She was going to get another water bottle, but Grace poured it on her pants, and everyone was laughing. Maddy took the leotard and started changing, even though she knew it was Grace’s prank.

She wore her leotard, and she went to gymnastics. She pretended like nothing had happened. Even though everyone knew what happened, they still acted like nothing happened. Grace pushed Maddy down the beam and said, “I hate you.” She also laughed when Maddy fell. She also teased Maddy.

Then, the teacher saw what happened. The teacher said, “If you keep this up, you will get kicked off the team.” Maddy smiled. Grace kept being mean after the teacher gave her a warning, and she got kicked off the team.

Five days after Grace got kicked off the team, there was a competition. Maddy felt nervous that she would get last place and the teacher would be really mad. Maddy and her teammates all stretched together. They talked about how they were scared for the competition. Maddy’s first station was beam. She did a triple twist, then a roundoff, then a back tuck. Her score was 100. Next, she did bars and got 100. After that, she did trampoline and got 100. The last station was floor. She did a triple twist into a backbend. She got 500. Afterwards, Maddy thought, I know I’ll get first place. Then, the judges revealed that she got first! She was smiling so hard, and they had a party.

The end.

P.S. This time she invited Grace.

 

The Girl Who Couldn’t Stop Drawing

Once there was a girl, and she drew animal people. Her name was Sophia. In her dreams, she only thought of animal people. There were food and games and animals, but there was always this animal with big eyes wearing a suit. Sometimes, another character would be in it. One day, she couldn’t stop drawing the photos of the animal people. Ding ding! The bell rang, and class was over. Sophia, the girl, took her stuff and walked out the door. Oops, she bumped into a pole. She was drawing in a book, and she dropped all her pictures. Then, Sophia picked all of them up and ran into the bathroom. She was so embarrassed because her pants ripped while she was picking them up. She ran out the door and into the class, and it was hard because she was at the front of the class. And they had P.E.. They started doing jumping jacks. She was at the front of the class, and everybody was laughing, even the boys. She ran out of school. Sophia ran to the hygiene store to pick up some medicine for her pants. But, instead, she picked up lice maker. And then, she drank the lice maker, and in the morning, she had knits. So, she didn’t go to school. She felt dizzy, so she started drawing. Drawing and drawing and drawing. She realized it was a problem. She remembered people talking about Ms. Pig Wig. So, she called Ms. Pig Wig. She helped anyone cure things like the Non-Sleeper’s Cure and Don’t Want to Go To Schooler’s Cure. So now, she’ll cure the Start Stop Drawing Cure. She tried thousands of numbers, but they didn’t work. The last one did though.

But her phone died. Sophia marched over to Ms. Pig Wig’s house. She knocked. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Ms. Pig Wig answered. She was old, had long rainbow hair, and wore random clothes and a guacamole hat with an avocado on toast purse. Her favorite animal was a blobfish. She said, “What do you need?”

And Sophia said, “I need the cure to stop drawing cute animals.”

So Ms. Pig Wig said, “I’ll go get it.” Sophia gave her three gold coins. And Ms. Pig Wig gave her a big box that said Start Stop Drawing Cure.

“Thank you, but what’s in here?”

“Something special,” said Ms. Pig Wig.

When Sophia got to her house, she opened the box, and there were paper and pens and some ugly stuff like fake poop, gross but moldy Febreeze, and an old piece of chalk with some food smudges on it. So, she just drew all of it. She kept drawing and drawing and drawing. But, instead of drawing ugly stuff, she drew cute drawings.

Then, she found a letter, and it said to draw the ugly stuff. So, she drew the ugly stuff. And she couldn’t stop drawing it. Sophia used all the paper and pens. One day, she did not know which one to draw. So she went back to Ms. Pig Wig and returned it back to Ms. Pig Wig and told her it helped.

The next day, she went to school. She was happy, but when she opened the door, there were posters that said “Butt Girl Sophia,” and they had a photo of the rip in her pants. She ran to the classroom. She told the teacher and said, “People are bullying me!”

So, the teacher went out into the hall to see the poster. He laughed so hard that his pants flew off. So, her friends took a photo of his underwear, which had kittens, pugs, and rainbows. And then they started putting up posters of him and took down the posters of her. The other adults were in the teacher’s lounge. When they come out, they heard the bell, and all the kids ran out except for that one adult. All the teachers saw him in his underwear. Sophia was now happy because everybody forgot about the poster of “Butt Girl Sophia.” She thought she was so grateful that after school she went to Ms. Pig Wig’s house and thanked her with ten chocolate coins, which in this country is $100 dollars. That’s not the only thing. All her bad stuff disappeared, and she drew cute animals once in a while, but she knew it would never be the end of the Start Stop Drawing Cute Animals Cure.

 

Gone Girls

 

Hailee

Hi, my name is Hailee. I am 11 years old, and I have been friends with Riley for eight years. We met when we were three at a Mommy and Me class. Since then, we are inseparable. We do everything together.

I am the one who loves sports. I am on the school soccer, swim, and basketball team. What Riley and I share is that we are both on the dance team. My whole family loves sports, my dad especially. When it comes to sports, our family doesn’t stop screaming.

I have a younger brother, an older sister, a mom, a dad, and then of course, Riley.

The one thing I am allergic to is pollen, and I might have to go to the hospital and take medicine if it’s near me.

Riley and I live in townhouses connected to each other by a garden. Sometimes at night, we’ll sneak out to the garden and hang out to talk and play. We got caught once but still keep doing it because we lied to our parents, saying, “We will never do it again.”

This summer, we are going to stay in our house. We already planned everything this summer. We already babysit people in a different townhouse. We will do that and get money and then, when we aren’t doing sports, art, or dance, we will go around and help out and have fun. We also want to make enough money to buy more stuff for the summer and school.

Between the two of us, Riley is way smarter. She always gets full scores on her tests, and I get like half or a bit more. She never gets in trouble, but I am the opposite of that. But with her, we always get out of trouble.

So, now you know about me. Let’s get on with the story.

 

Riley

Hello, my name is Riley. As you already know, I am best friends with Hailee. When she is at basketball, I am there watching. When I am in a play, she is in the front row. Then, of course, we are always dancing together.

My family is difficult. I have twin sisters who are six years old and an older brother who is fourteen years old. I also have my dog Bailey. My sisters have a turtle. Then, my mom. My dad doesn’t live with us because my parents got divorced when I was two. But every Friday, I get a weekly call to talk to my dad about everything. Sometimes he comes over when he is in town. I mean, I miss him and I wish I could see him often, but at least we can talk sometimes.

Since being a lawyer and handling a dog and four kids alone is hard, we have a nanny. Sara is our nanny. She sleeps over every night except for Friday and Saturday. She is amazing. She helps out and plays with us. She is always someone I can talk to, along with Hailee.

I am mildly allergic to many things: horses, dust, grass, and gluten. If I eat or touch one of those I can get sick, and I need to take a lot of medicine.

The activities I do are dance, art, swimming, acting, and fashion. During some of my free time I do fashion. This means that I design clothes, try on clothes, and finally sew and make the clothes. Sometimes, Hailee and I wear clothes that I make or design. Those are the things I am mostly good at.

Hailee and I manage our schedules, so most of the time we are together. Well, I gotta go. Our summer is starting!!!

Bye!

 

CHAPTER ONE: HIDDEN PASSAGEWAYS

“Come on!” Hailee screamed from the garden, jumping so she could see what Riley was doing in her room.

“Coming,” replied Riley. She jumped out the window. She got down with a thud then landed on her feet, and they started to walk down to town to get some ice cream. It was a really hot day that day. After five minutes of walking and talking, they arrived at the ice cream place.

“Hi,” they heard someone say to them. Riley and Hailee turned around to see Riley’s cousin Sasha working as an employee at Scoop. Sasha was Riley’s cousin on her mom’s side. She had straight blond hair just like Riley and bright blue eyes too. Even though she was six years older than Riley, they were still really close.

“Hey, Sasha. What are you doing here?” Riley asked her, looking up at the different flavors.

“Oh, I am working this week and next week because one, I love ice cream and two, I need money,” she replied, looking down at the girls.

They looked at each other, and then Hailee said, “I’ll have a cone with mint chocolate chip and rainbow sprinkles.” She looked at Sasha when she said that. Sasha turned around to get her flavor and then handed it to her.

“Um… I’ll have the same but in a cup,” Riley said. Sasha handed that to her, and they went over to get sprinkles.

“Thanks,” they said at the same time. Sasha waved bye, and they left Scoop.

 

They started to walk back until Hailee stopped in her tracks. She started to look at something in the far distance and saw a sign and trees. She licked the sprinkles right off her ice cream and asked, “What’s that?” She almost started walking over there.

“No, we don’t know what it is, and it’s in the middle of the woods. The only thing we see is a sign that reads COME FORWARD, and that could mean anything,” Riley replied cautiously. She kept on walking away from the ice cream place.

“Come on, just for one minute.” Hailee sighed while Riley started to turn around. They walked, staying on the passage. When they got to the sign, they saw many more passages. They all looked different. They all had many unique colors on the ground and trees. On one of the passages there was a house. It looked different from their house because in their normal town there were townhouses and country houses, but here there was an apartment.

“Woah,” Riley exclaimed, while her skirt shimmered in the light. There were beautiful trees and a huge lake. Hailee ran over to the lake. They stood by the lake for a while until they heard a thud.

There was a long sound. Riley and Hailee looked around. There was nothing but forest. Their town had disappeared.

 

CHAPTER TWO: THE HOUSE

“AHHH,” Riley cried. She fell to the ground where Hailee was lying down. After a minute of lying down in shock, Hailee stood up. She looked around a bit and then looked down at Riley.

“Are we dreaming?” asked Riley, not knowing what was going on. She stood up and looked around. All she saw was forest, but she also saw a house. It was the same house from before.

She was confused, but then Hailee replied, “No… But where are we?” She stood on her tippy toes to get a better view of the place. She saw the house too. The last thing they remembered was that they were sitting by a lake.

They took a look around. The forest they were in before had disappeared. Now they were in a place that was dark with barely any trees and worst of all, the passage had disappeared.

“Okay, let’s calm down. Maybe our cell phones work?” Hailee shrugged and took her phone out of her light blue fanny pack, and the case sparkled in the light. Then, Riley took her phone out of her pink purse. They held their phones up to the sun, but nothing changed. There was no connection.

Then, they started to walk over to the house. The house had music coming from it, and the music got louder as they walked closer. It was a bright yellow house which was odd for an apartment. Riley grabbed Hailee’s hand, and they got closer. Red roses surrounded the house.

Hailee began to sneeze. Her allergies began to act up more and more. She reopened her fanny pack and poured five pills into her mouth.

“Are you okay?” Riley asked, putting her hand on Hailee’s back.

“Yeah, I just need to get away from these flowers. Let’s knock on the door,” Hailee replied. She walked towards the door as Riley followed. Before they could knock, a lady walked out. She looked old, she had gray hair but it was short, she was tall, and she was wearing a long, black dress.

“Hi, girls,” she said, walking out more. They walked back, a bit scared.

“Um… Hi. I’m Hailee, and this is Riley,” Hailee said and started to walk forward.

“Would you like to come in?” the lady asked.

“Um, okay,” Riley replied. They walked into a kitchen where another lady was sitting. The rock music was playing. It was warm and nice. They wanted to stay there forever.

 

CHAPTER THREE: THE MYSTERIOUS WOMAN

After having tea and cookies, Riley said, “Thank you, but we better get going.” Riley and Hailee stood up, and they started to walk to the door.
“No, stay!” Annie, who was the old lady, shrieked. They pretended not to hear her and walked out together.

THUD.
Once they got out, the place had changed again.

Now, they were really scared. They were on the ground this time again. Riley stood up and then helped Hailee. They looked around. There was a castle and then the same apartment.

“O-M-G, what is that house? It is so creepy and so is this forest. Where are we?!” Riley said, looking around.

“Let’s go to the castle and see if someone can help us,” Hailee said while she started to run over there. Riley followed and when they got there, they knocked on the door.

The same woman from before was there, but this time she was wearing a big, red dress. They also saw the girl in the kitchen wearing a short, blue dress, but this time she looked more like Sasha. The two scared and shocked girls just smiled at her and then walked away.

Then, Riley realized, “These were all the pathways, and we just have to wait until we get to our pathway home.” She sat down on the pure, green grass.

“How about that lady?” Hailee whispered to Riley, sitting down. Riley shrugged.

“Let’s go to sleep and figure it out in the morning,” Riley said to Hailee and then took her phone out of her purse and put her purse under her head to sleep. Hailee sat down, leaning on a tree, and took Riley’s hand and thought, What if we never go home? What are our parents thinking?

 

CHAPTER FOUR: 100 PATHWAYS

When they woke up, they were in the middle of a room. They got up, only to see Sasha standing there. They were surprised.

“Sasha?” Riley asked, braiding her hair piece by piece.

Sasha walked closer to them and said, “Yes… I will explain later, but let’s get out of here.” Hailee put her hair up, and they followed Sasha out of the weird room. They were terrified. When they got there, they crouched down. “Okay, I am here because one day I was walking in the forest and I came in here, so Annie spotted me and said that she needed help. I was confused, but then she made me come back every single day to help because I heard rumors that if I didn’t, I could die. So I have my key back in my room to get out of this place. So all we have to do is get the key and go out,” Sasha said, looking at them. They spotted Annie looking for them.

“Shhh,” Sasha whispered. She moved a bit closer as a spider creeped up her leg.

“Ahhh, spider!!” Riley screamed and jumped back. Annie saw her.

“I knew you were here. So can you be my new assistant? If you want,” Annie asked. She stood there in silence, looking down at Hailee.

“NO!” Hailee screamed. She stood up. Annie walked closer.

“Why do you need help? What’s going on?” Hailee asked.

“Well, don’t you need to know everything,” Annie said, and she walked down and looked at Sasha. “Well, guess what, maybe while I am out working I need someone to do everything for me.” Then, it happened again.

THUD.

They woke up on the ground again back in the forest next to the house. Annie came out.

“Okay, sorry, whatever your name is, Saya. I am sorry you do everything for me. I can just get a maid,” Annie said surprisingly. The three girls who were scared walked closer. They took breaths and smiled.

“Thanks?” Sasha said. She was scared but also relieved that she didn’t need to read that much anymore, and she could just enjoy her summer at last. Then, the house disappeared.

THUD.

 

CHAPTER FIVE: HOME SWEET HOME

When they woke up, they were lying on a road and got up to see Riley’s parents and family standing there like robots. The three girls were really creeped out.

“Now is your chance to tell your family,” Hailee said to Riley. Riley looked scared and walked over to her parents.

“Um hi, Mom and Dad,” Riley said, with a different, more terrified voice than usual.

“Hi, sweetie. Where were you last night?” Riley’s mom asked.
“Oh, um… I slept over at Hailee’s,” she said, while pictures of what actually happened floated around in her brain. She looked over at Hailee, who motioned to her to talk.

“So… I have a question… It’s nice you like your job, but I was wondering if you could, you know, spend more time with me?” Riley questioned quietly.

Her mom put her hand on Riley’s back and said, “Sure, sweetie. I can go to the office this weekend and ask, okay?” Riley hugged her and moved on to her dad.

“Hey, Dad… ” she said and hugged him.

“Hi, sweet pea. Nice to see you,” he said to her, and then waved over to Hailee.

“Um, Dad… My question for you is can I spend more time with you?” she asked, scared to see the response.

“Actually, I just bought a house right near you, so you get to stay with me every weekend!” her dad replied.

She jumped up into his arms and whispered, “I love you.” Then, they waved goodbye and walked on the street home.

“I’m proud of you, Riles,” Hailee said to Riley, and they walked home together, holding hands. When they got home, they sat on their window sills and fell asleep.

 

Treasure Map

Once upon a time there was a treasure map. Ari was playing Minecraft, and it popped up on his computer out of the blue. When Ari saw this, he called his three friends, Hope, Linzi, and Mert, and told them to come to his house. His friends left their houses, and they reached Ari’s house in the span of five minutes. At Ari’s house, he showed them the treasure map. The boys and the girl decided to pursue it to find out what the mysterious treasure was.

They followed the map to a mysterious forest. There, they met a bear. In the bear’s den, there was a clue. They decided to get the clue when the bear was gone. Luckily, they weren’t caught by the bear. And then, the clue said, Up, up in the trees you will find another clue. But when Ari, Hope, Linzi, and Mert went up, up in the trees, they didn’t find any clue. They forgot that they didn’t read the clue fully — they turned the page. The clue said, Up, up in the tree, you will find it on a bird. Luckily, they went and caught the bird and got the clue. The clue was attached to its claws.

The clue said, Down, down underneath the surface, you will find a computer. But be very careful, it’s hot. Ari, Hope, Linzi, and Mert went down underneath the surface, and it was really hot. They found lava. And in the lava, there was another clue. To avoid the lava, they used two clues to make a little rope, and they got it. And then, they read the clue and the clue said, Read the treasure map and go to a different place. They followed the treasure map, and it led them to a swamp.

At the scary, smelly swamp, they found another clue, but they didn’t know how to get to it. Luckily, they had a little net and they used the net to get it. And then, they brought the net back, and they got the clue. And the clue said, Towards the right, you will find a fight. They went towards the right, and they found two animals fighting. A frog and a bullfrog were fighting. And then, they tried to get the clue in the middle of the fight, but everytime they tried to get the clue, they got hurt. Finally, they used the net to get in between the fight and get the clue. Accidentally, they picked up the frogs too. So, they let the frogs go and picked up the clue. The clue said, To the left, you will find flight. So, they walked towards the left, and then they found a bunch of birds, and one of them had a clue. The clue was attached to a bird’s claw. And they quickly jumped over the bird and got the clue. It said, The last place you will go is on the treasure map. They followed the treasure map to Skull Island. Everyone who tried to go there would never return.

Ari, Hope, Linzi, and Mert went to Skull Island and, luckily, they returned. They followed the treasure map, and they came across the huge skull of a giant T-Rex. And there, they found one clue. It said, Be very careful… Because above you, there is Blackbeard! They looked up, and they saw Blackbeard. He was a pirate with a black eyepatch, and he was a captain. He had a big, black beard. They saw a clue above him and jumped up to the clue, and they got it. Ari, Hope, Linzi, and Mert all worked together to throw Blackbeard off the island. They physically picked him up and threw him off. Then, they read the clue. The clue said, This is the last clue, and you must write a story about your adventure. And if you don’t, you will never return. They found a magical pen on the floor and wrote the story. Then, the story magically turned into a clue. The clue said, Finally, follow the treasure map to the treasure. They followed the map, and they got to the treasure. They opened it. There was a box of gold, and underneath the gold, there was another treasure map, but there were no clues with it. They followed the treasure map and took the gold and treasure chest with them. Then, they followed it, and it led to another treasure with a treasure map. And the treasure map said, There will be six treasure chests. And in the sixth one, there will be a key where you can open all six of them at once. You must stack all of them inside each other, and then you will get the real treasure.

They went to the third treasure, and the third treasure had a treasure map. They put the third treasure chest inside the other two. Next, the treasure map inside the third treasure chest said you must get three more treasures. There was one key, and when they opened it, they found a telescope and lots of things they would also need. Then, they followed the treasure map to the fourth map. The fourth treasure had more things they would need. Then, they followed the treasure map to the fifth one, but the fifth one was far away. Then, they took out some fake wings from their bag that they had, and they flew to it, and they got it. Then, it said the next one would give you the ultimate treasure. Then, they collected the fifth one, and the sixth one was very difficult to find. They didn’t find it, but they found a rocket ship, and they went to outer space.

In outer space, they searched everywhere, and still they couldn’t find the sixth treasure chest. They searched Mercury and didn’t find anything. They still had to go to the other planets. And then, they searched Venus, and it wasn’t there. Then, they went to Mars, and they couldn’t find it. They searched every single planet, and they still couldn’t find it. Then, they forgot they didn’t search inside the volcano in Mars. They searched inside the volcano at Mars and found the ultimate treasure. But since they were in outer space with zero gravity, the treasure spread everywhere. So everyone caught two pieces of the ultimate treasure, but there was some that were on the loose. All together, they got one quarter of the full treasure, but there were still three-quarters of it left out there.

They were too tired to look for it all, so they took a little break. Then, after that break, they took another break. After two breaks, they were still tired. So, they gathered all their stuff and went into their spaceship and traveled back to Earth. After a little rest and a water break, they got into their spaceship and went back to outer space. They searched and got two-quarters of the full treasure. Then, they put all of it together like a puzzle, and when they opened it, it was a cookie. When they took bites of the cookie, it was horrible. Then, they realized the treasure chest was a cookie making machine. They realized they could make cookies all day long. Then, they kept eating cookies. Soon, they were full. They wanted to take a break from adventuring, but then they found out that within the cookie machine, there was another treasure map.

The treasure map said, When you find this, there will be a huge surprise. So, they went to go and find the surprise but they could not find it. Then, they realized there was one place they did not look — the sun! In the middle of the sun, they found the surprise. However, they got trapped in the middle of the sun. They were all about to die because it was too hot. Finally, after they got out, they realized aliens took their spaceship. Then, they went to the moon to try and find the aliens. They couldn’t find the aliens, and they looked everywhere. Then, they went to work and found the aliens. They decided to put them on the moon forever and ever. Then, they found the treasure. The treasure was a cookie machine that could make delicious cookies. Then, Ari, Hope, Linzi, and Mert lived happily ever after.

The End.

 

The War for Aspadus

        

Chapter One

The Guard: Michael

Six hundred years ago, on a planet called Aspadus, there was a country called the Irevalon Empire. They were a country where people had powers. But over time, they spread out over the planet and developed their own powers and their own languages. On one half of the planet, it was green, hilly, and warm, and they spoke Dragonese, and on the other half, it was mostly watery and cold. They spoke Lorainian. Eventually, they separated into two different Kingdoms: The Kingdom of Kilgore and the Kingdom of Lorain. The King of Kilgore was a good leader named King Ray. The King of Lorain was King Jensen. He was a greedy king and wanted to rule the entire planet. So, he went to war with Kilgore. The war was six years long, and Kilgore won. They just wanted to keep their half of the planet and have peace. Ever since the war, the Lorains had poured money into their military because the Kilgores were more powerful. The people of Lorain were just trying to defend themselves from the mess their king got them into. After the war, the Kilgores learned how to control dragons with their powers, and the Lorains learned how to train sea monsters just in case they had another war.

In the Kingdom of Killgore, some people had powers, and they were called the Iron Guard. They protected the Kingdom. The leader of the Guard was the most powerful Guard member ever. His name was Michael. He was seven feet tall with muscles all over his body, and he had black beady eyes and black hair with a big black beard. He was also the oldest Guard member ever. He was 500 years old. Michael could fly, shoot fire out of his hands, and turn invisible. Those were the powers that only he had, but he also had powers that all the Guard had, like strength, speed, and the ability to move things with his mind. All of the Guard had a dragon. Michael’s dragon was called DemonFire. The dragon’s powers depended on their owner. DemonFire was the strongest of all. He could turn invisible and breathe fire. The biggest enemy of the Iron Guard was the Lorain Shield. They also had powers, but instead of dragons, they had sea monsters.

One day, Michael was training in the Guard headquarters. In the training room, there were weapons like crossbows, flaming swords, and armor. They also had traps and a fake battlefield, so the Guard could train without going to war.

Michael was about to kill the last Lorain soldier, when Michael’s servant rushed in saying, “Lorain is attacking the Kingdom! Warn the rest of the Guard!”

“YES! FINALLY SOME ACTION!” screamed Michael.

Michael gathered seven of the best Guard members. They were called the Elders and had started the Iron Guard. They were the strongest, fastest, and smartest. Their names were Jack, Logan, John, Paul, James, Will, and Trevor. When the Elders got to the battlefield, the Lorains were already getting away.

“This should be fun,” screamed Michael.

“Would you shut up, please?” Jack yelled.

Michael lit his hands on fire and shot two big fireballs that lit up two Lorain soldiers and their sea monsters. Suddenly, he heard a scream, and it sounded like it was coming from his side. He saw Jack being shot by two long streams of water and dangling from his dragon with his feet hitting the water. Michael pushed Jack back up onto his dragon with his mind.

“You’re welcome!” screamed Michael.

“Be quiet!” screamed Jack.

Michael grabbed his sword, jumped off his Dragon’s back, and turned invisible. When he landed, he grabbed a Lorain and stabbed him in the back. Three down, twelve to go, Michael said in his head. Logan plucked two attacking soldiers off their monsters with his mind and threw them into the water. Trevor struck two Lorains with a lighting bolt. That killed them and their monsters.

“Eight more,” Michael said.

Michael used his flames as he flew, dodging arrows and water when the last Lorain was killed.

Michael said, “Let’s get back home.”

When Michael and the Elders got back to Killgore, the rest of the Guard was waiting for them at the Guard Headquarters. Thousands of Guard members were there. One of them stepped forward and asked Michael, “Why didn’t you take us?”

“Because we did not need all of you,” Michael said.

After Michael got home and took a shower, his servant told Michael, “The King wants to see you again.”

“Okay,” replied Michael.

When Michael got to the castle, the rest of the Elders were already there. They all went up to a room where they made decisions. It was a big room with a long wooden table and stone walls. The king had a chair at the head of the table, and the other Elders were gathered around. To people who didn’t know him, the king looked scary. He was big, with a beard and a scar across his cheek. But in reality, he was not. He was funny, and he was humble.

“What do you think we should do about the Lorains?” said King Ray.

“I think we should attack them and make them pay for what they did today,” Michael said.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Michael,” Jack said.

“But we can’t just go into a big battle with the whole Lorain Empire,” said Logan.

“Come on, you’re always boring,” Michael said.

“Alright. You vote on it, but I’ll decide,” said King Ray.

“I say we attack with every member of the Guard and kill all of the Lorains,” Michael said. “Or do you want to stay here and let the Lorains take over the whole world?”

“Let’s attack,” Jack said.

“Attack,” Paul said.

“I say we stay here,” John said.

“Oh, come on, John. You would rather stay here and be a coward instead of have fun killing people?” said Michael.

“Still, I would rather stay here then risk killing the entire Guard. If we all die, what would happen to Kilgore?” John said.

“I think we need to get some revenge on Lorain. I want to punch King Jensen in the face so badly,” Trevor said.

“I like the way you think, T,” Michael said.

“I say we stay here,’’ Will said.

“Let’s stay here,” James said.

“Alright. What do you want, Ray?” Michael asked.

“That’s King Ray to you,” King Ray responded. “I think we should attack Lorain.”

“YES!!!” screamed Michael.

“We attack in three days,” said King Ray.

 

Chapter Two

The Shield: Jackson

When Jackson heard the news about the spies being killed, he was furious. He went straight to his dad, King Jensen. “I want to kill them all!” screamed Jackson.

“You will get your chance. We are attacking in three days — prepare your monsters and the Shield.”

“Perfect,” Jackson said.

Jackson went to his monster, WaveCrasher.

He said, “You ready, boy?”

WaveCrasher nodded all three of his heads.

One of Jackson’s powers was the ability to communicate with animals. Like all of the Shield members, he had special powers. Just he had more because he was the son of King Jensen and the most powerful witch ever, Queen Diana. Jackson’s powers were being able to talk to animals, breathing underwater, shooting water out of his hands, and being able to freeze the water as he walked.

“I can’t wait for the battle,” said Jackson to WaveCrasher.

When Jackson warned the rest of the Shield that they will be attacking Kilgore in three days, they were all excited because they hadn’t had a big battle like this for over 100 years.

“Prepare your monsters and the ships. We will kill every last Kilgores!” screamed Jackson.

When the entire Shield was on the boats, Jackson told all of the men to get ready to fight because the Kilgores were brutal.

A day later, Jackson saw ships and dragons. The dragons were huge. So was the Guard. Jackson knew that the Shield had more men and could eat them, but he also didn’t think the Guard was that big.

 

Chapter Three

The Battle: Michael

Michael was riding DemonFire when he saw a bunch of ships.

“It looks like the Shield,” he said. Michael told Jack who told the rest of the Guard.

“Let’s do this!” screamed Michael. All of the attacking line got on their dragons and charged. As soon as Michael got within 50 yards, arrows started firing at the Guard.

Michael said, “Make a shield.”

All of the members of the Guard made a shield with their minds, and the arrows bounced harmlessly into the water. Michael charged with DF, both of them burning boats and Lorains. Michael jumped off DM and told him to turn invisible. They both did and shot fire at the ships. Suddenly, something hit Michael in his back, and he visibly fell out of the sky. He called out to DF just in time, because he caught him before Michael hit the water.

“Thanks,” Michael said.

Going back to the battle, Michael was about to turn invisible when two arrows hit him in the shoulder and chest. Blood started pouring out of his mouth. He had to go back to the ship to heal.

 

Chapter Four

The Giant Jack

Jack saw Michael get shot three times and then retreat back to the ship. Jack thought, I’m going to have to make fun of him a little.

Jack said to his dragon, “Drop me.”

The dragon lowered him to the ground a bit, so Jack could jump off. Jack threw his dagger at a Lorain soldier in mid-air that hit him right in the head. When Jack landed, he flipped right over a soldier and stabbed him in the back.

“Come on, you’re making this too easy,” taunted Jack.

Jack flung two more soldiers into the the water without even touching them. All of a sudden, a Loric soldier twice the size of any other soldier jumped onto the boat. The huge soldier held a sword that was as long as Jack. In Jack’s head, he said, Oh no. Jack tried to hold the giant back with his telekinesis, but the giant easily broke through. The giant charged at Jack and punched him in the face. Jack went flying 20 feet backwards. Out of nowhere, Michael jumped off DF and shot the giant with fire. The giant screamed in pain as he jumped into the water.

“Thanks,” Jack screamed.

“Oh, look who learned some manners,” Michael said back.

As soon as Michael said that, three Loric soldiers charged him. Michael turned invisible and killed them all with his sword. Michael turned around and saw that the rest of the Loric ships were leaving.

“Look! They’re running!” screamed Michael.

When Michael got back to his ship, he talked to the Elders and asked them if they had ever seen a man that big. They all said no.

“We won the first battle. Do you think we should still attack Lorain while they’re weak?” asked Jack.

“I think we should attack them right now. It was fun,” Michael said.

“Of course you and Jack think it was fun. The rest of the Elders and I had to stay back and watch you guys fight,” Trevor said.

“Did we decide yet,” said Michael, “because I think we should attack.”

When Jackson got back to Lorain, he was a mess. He had one big burn on his back that was killing him. Who was that soldier that was flying and and shooting fire out of his hands, Jackson thought. I think I also saw him turn invisible when I jumped into the water. He was even too strong for the whole army to kill him.

Jackson went to his father King Jensen. “Do you know of a Guard member who can shoot fire out of his hands, turn invisible, and fly?” King Jensen and Jackson said at the same time.

King Jensen said, “Jackson, there is something that I never told you.”

“What is it,” Jackson said.

“He is your brother who was stolen by the Kilgores.”

Jackson was shocked when his dad said that. “So, he is Loric?” Jackson asked.

“Yes, he is, and he is the most powerful person in the world, and his name is Michael.”

 

Chapter Five

Round Two: Michael

When the Elders made the decision to attack the Loric island, Michael went out to scout the island by himself. When he got within 100 yards, he turned invisible. There are not that many Guards near the ships, so if we burn the ships, they won’t have a way off the island, Michael thought. When Michael got back to his ship, he told the Elders, and they all told the rest of the Guard the plan to burn the ships and kill all the Loric soldiers.

When Michael got back to the ships, he told the Elders the plan to beat the Lorains. Michael gathered the whole Guard and told them, “Anyone who can fly or shoot fire, step forward. You’re going to help me burn the Loric ships, so they can’t get away. Then, we will burn the rest of the Kingdom and kill them all.”

When the fleet was close to Lorain, Michael told the 20 men to get on their dragons and to start flying. Michael led the charge to Lorain. As soon as the Guard got within 100 feet, they started shooting flames at the boats. Michael thought, Good, all of the ships are gone. Hopefully, the rest of the Guard is destroying the rest of Lorain.

Jackson was awakened by screams, and his brother Jacob ran into his room screaming.

“The Guard is here.”

Jackson said, “What?” still half asleep.

“GET UP! LORAIN IS UNDER ATTACK!!!”

Now, Jackson was wide awake, and he put his armor on. He told his brother, “Get the people on the boats.”

Jacob said, “The Guard burned them.”

“Come on!!!” Jackson said.

Jackson got the Shield and told them that the Guard was attacking. When Jackson got outside, he saw that most of Lorain was already on fire and that the Guard was on their dragons. Jackson fired water at a few Guard members and knocked them off their dragons, but there were still a lot more. Suddenly, he saw the soldier that shot fire, his brother.

“Michael, brother.”

Michael was wondering why the giant was calling him brother. So, he jumped off DF and charged at him. Michael shot two fireballs at the giant, but the giant was too fast. This time, he stepped out of the way, so the flames went into the house behind him. Jackson made a wave and shot it at Michael. Michael blocked it with his telekinesis and threw another fireball at Jackson. This time, the fireball hit him right in his chest. The giant went flying back 30 yards with a big burn right in his chest. Michael started walking over to the giant, about to kill him, when two arrows flew over and hit Michael in his leg and back.

Jackson saw his chance and swept Michael’s leg. Michael fell and screamed in pain. Jackson looked over to see who shot the arrows and saw that it was Jacob.

Jackson smiled at Jacob and said, “Thanks.”

Right when Jackson said that, three Guard members walked over and started shooting at him.

Michael had blood coming out of everywhere. He was not sure who shot him and what happened after he got shot, because he blacked out. Michael tried to stand but couldn’t because of the pain in his back. His vision was blurry, and he couldn’t hear anything but 50 feet ahead of him. He thought he saw Jack, Logan, and John fighting the giant by themselves. Michael also saw DemonFire burning Loric soldiers. All of a sudden, a Loric soldier punched Michael in the back of the head. Michael was in no shape to fight but knew that he had to. Michael turned around and punched the man in the face. The man went flying backwards 45 feet. Michael had to help the Elders fight the giant. They couldn’t beat him by themselves. When the giant was not looking, Michael hurled three fireballs right at him. They all hit him in his back. He went flying, and when he landed, he didn’t get back up. John, Jack, and Logan all thanked Michael for killing the giant, but when they saw the two arrows, they started to get worried.

Jack said, “We have to get you to the hospital.”

 

The Castle of Love

Once upon a time, there lived a princess, queen, and king. They wanted to be very rich, but they did not have much money. They became king and queen because they were rich. Other people had $10, but they had almost $100,000, but there was someone way richer than them. They had $100,035, but that was from their army for fighting against England.

They became a little rich because they worked very hard for the high jungle every day to see plants and animals. The family had eight pet unicorns and 50 pet dragons and three horses. The first dragon was named Rainbow, the second was named Pretty, the third was named Beauty, the fourth was named Rainy, the fifth was named Rosie, the sixth was named Uni, the seventh was named Nature, and the final one was named Yummy. The unicorns were named the color hair they had. The first one was named Gold, and the next one was named Silver. The third was named Pink, the fourth was named Purple, the fifth was named Turquoise, the sixth was named Brownie, the seventh was named Rainbow, and the fifth was named Rainbow Gold. The army was named the Rich Army on Earth. Rainbow was a generous and kind unicorn. She could do anything for the family, but she was usually mean to everyone else because she didn’t like anyone else talking to her. Her friends didn’t know how this would happen. If she didn’t know anyone and she didn’t want to meet anyone new, how did she make friends?

Rainbow was almost a teenager because she was nine years old. Her next birthday was tomorrow. Maybe she must be magical. And the princess was very happy, but they had lots of money because they took care of all their pets, so they had been richer than ever. And they lived happily ever after.

The end.

 

Water “The Elixir of Life”

Water is the substance that is essential to life. Without water, we cannot live. According to www.worldwaterconcil.org (Water Supply & Sanitation), one in ten people lack the access to clean water and 1.8 million people die from diarrheal disease. This cannot happen anymore. People are losing their lives because they don’t have clean water. Right now people are offering two solutions, one is asking for donations to build a well, and two is selling water filters. Just donating money to different websites is not as productive as new inventions, and so we should focus on creating new inventions that can help with water problems.

One way that people are trying to help places with no water is that they are making organizations that try to persuade people to donate money and using the money that people have donated. They will get the equipment to build a well at a place that doesn’t have water. When they build a well, usually a whole village gets water, and nearby villages can also come and get water from them. There is this one website called Charity Water which raises money and helps build wells. My grade donated to the website, and in total we raised $25,130. This is not advertising or required, but if you want to donate, you can go to: https://my.charitywater.org. Donating will help many people worldwide. Charity Water also teaches people in the village how to take care of the well and how to repair it if it is broken. If the well is so broken that the people in the village cannot fix it, Charity Water will send someone there and help them fix it for free. These websites might be helpful for a bit, but soon people might not donate as much money as before because they need it for themselves.

Other than the organizations for building wells, people are creating new inventions such as lead detectors, water purifiers, etc. One company called LifeStraw makes water bottles with straws able to filter water so that the water will be safe to drink. Another cool invention is the Tethys, which is a water lead detector made by Gitanjali Rao, who is a 12-year-old. She won the Young Scientist challenge and got $25,000. The Tethys uses carbon nanotubes to detect lead in water and then sends the results to a smartphone with the Tethys app (Prisco). Attention: This device is not yet out on the market. One invention that has been around for a long time is Ceramic Water Filters. They are clay ceramic that have lots of tiny holes. The tiny holes are only big enough for water molecules to go through. Bacteria, dirt, and other bad stuff are too big to go through the small holes. This device was designed by Henry Doulton who is a British potter. This device was made in the early 1800’s (Kiger). Now, people are modifying the device by adding a silver coating to kill the bacteria and dangerous pathogens. There are still many inventions that are being made and are being tested. To me, all of these inventions are amazing and very cool.

Water filters are better than building wells. To build a well, it costs $6,000-$12,000 depending on how deep the water is (Brenner). People are going to have to donate at least $6,000 to build one well. On the other hand, buying a portable water filter costs $150-$275 (www.fixr.com). This difference lets you see how much money people need to donate to build a well compared to how much money a portable water filter costs. Lot of people argue that building wells can help more people, but people can share a water filter just like a well, and it’s much cheaper. Many people also say that water filters don’t work. Reasons that they might not work is because you have to change the filter once in a while. Some water filters might have a light to indicate that it’s time to change the filter, and others will have instructions that will recommend to change it every few days. Donating money to websites might not last as long as water filters. Ergo, people should focus more on developing new water filters. That work is more important than making organizations that ask for donations to build a well.

 

Work Cited

Brenner, Laurie. “The Average Cost for a Well & Septic System | Hunker.” Hunker.com, Hunker, 26 Nov. 2009, www.hunker.com/13402537/the-average-cost-for-a-well-septic-system

“Cost to Install a Water Treatment System – Estimates and Prices at Fixr.” Fixr.com, Fixr Blog, 22 Feb. 2016, www.fixr.com/costs/water-purification-system

Kiger, Patrick J. “10 Innovations in Water Purification.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Mar. 2018,

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/10-innovations-water-purification2.htm

Prisco, Jacopo. “The 12-Year Old Who Won a $25,000 Science Prize.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Feb. 2018, www.cnn.com/2017/11/28/health/gitanjali-rao-young-scientist-winner/index.html

“Water Supply & Sanitation.” World Water Council, www.worldwatercouncil.org/en/water-supply-sanitation

 

Charlotte

      

Part One

Chapter One

One morning, the sky was so blue I could see white clouds and airplanes, which we never saw here in my town, so it started the day off with an odd but somewhat happy start. The happy part ended when mom came and told me that even though it was the middle of the summer, June 8th, 1941, I had to work. When I say work, I don’t mean writing. I mean babysitting the triplets.

“Noooooooooooooooooooo!” I said.

Meanwhile, my older brother Michael got to go out with his friends, and my twin sister, Madeline, got to lie on the other side of the room!!! Sorry for the delay. I am Adaline, and this is how the worst day of my life started.

My mom made me eat breakfast quickly. It was oatmeal, my least favorite. I had to get dressed in uncomfortable clothes for the middle of the summer. Agh, long sleeves, long jeans, itchy headband, long socks up to the knee, and boots. Then, my mom got ready in nice summer clothes. It took her twenty minutes. She did her hair and makeup, and she put on her nice sandals and dress.

“The triplets, Ava, Emma, and Samuel, are in their room in the cribs. Please get them dressed and change their diapers,” my mom said. Then, she added, “Remember, they need exercise. Take them to the park. Remember to take a diaper bag, a first aid kit, two pairs of shoes, sunscreen, and water. Don’t forget snacks! Bye!” Then, she left. I wanted to be like my siblings. They got to go and have fun while I was stuck babysitting.

I went to the room and changed the kids quickly (their diapers and their clothes). The triplets were one and a half years old. One of them was in the carrier on my back. The others were in a double stroller.

The one on my back started screaming. The screaming was so high-pitched! It sounded like me. I was so annoyed. I had three babies, one screaming and two in the stroller asleep, while they should have been eating. The screaming one was throwing her food all over me! I was only eleven years old. I shouldn’t have been the one taking care of these kids! Michael was fifteen, but mom said he couldn’t be helping out. Then, the two in the stroller woke up, wanting food. When I gave it to them, they started spilling it and throwing it everywhere! On our way to the park, they saw one of their friends who was going in the opposite direction.

No, I thought. Please help me.

 

Chapter Two

The triplets screamed happily when they were next to their friend. I talked to the other baby’s mother for a while, and then she said something.

“Hey, if anything happens to me, can you please adopt my child?”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll have to talk to my mom.”

I was not surprised, but I was very worried. I couldn’t have another sibling. Oh no, I thought. I was part of six kids already. The triplets, my twin sister, and my brother. I couldn’t take care of quadruplets! Wait! That meant my older brother and twin sister would have to help!

“And, if anything happens to me,” the mother continued, “can you pick my other daughter up from 104th street and West End? That’s where the bus stop is. Pick her up at 2:30, please. She doesn’t need to go to school tomorrow if anything happens. “I’ll be right back,” the mother said. “Wait here. If I don’t come back in five minutes, then just take the baby to the playground. If I don’t show up at two, please pick up my daughter. Her name is Alexei. Don’t look for me. It’s not safe in the building.”

“Okay,” I said, “Bye!” I took the baby, leaving the mother with the stroller, and put the baby in the front of the baby carrier. The mother started walking away with the empty stroller. She went into her building. I waited five minutes.

She didn’t come out. I waited a little longer, then we went to the park. I had kids. I couldn’t leave them. I’d get in big trouble!

 

Chapter Three

At 2:00, I went to pick up the little girl, but the mom never told me what she looked like!

“Alexei,” I called to the bus. She came off and looked for her mom. She was scared. But then I called, “Come here, Alexi. I’m your mom’s daughter’s friend. Your little sister is friends with my little siblings.”

Alexei came and said, “Oh! Are you Adeline?”

“Yep,” I answered.

She asked, “Where’s my mom? Are you babysitting me?”

I answered, “It’s a long story. You’ll be staying with us for a while.”

“I WANT MY MOMMY!” she wailed.

“I’ll tell you when we get home,” I soothed. “Why don’t you get onto the board on the stroller? You can ride.”

“Okay… ” she said quietly.

I gave her a ride home.

When we got home, I introduced her to everybody. Everybody met for the first time except for the triplets. My mom still hadn’t come home, but she said she would be back by 2:30. Oh, and I forgot, she was visiting her friend… whose daughter I just picked up! My heart was beating so fast. My hands were shaking. I was panting, I was running out of breath, and I had no words. What would I do?!

 

Chapter Four

I ran over to the TV room and turned it on, and I jumped onto the couch with the kids and the remote.

“HURRY UP,” I yelled for my brother. “We need to watch something! I think Mom’s in danger!” I heard my brother running.

“By the way,” I added, “we adopted two kids.”

“What on earth?! You adopted two kids without Mom’s permission?” my brother asked. Then, he hesitated.

“Where’s Mom? She should be home by now.” His voice was questioning and worried.

The TV was on, and we saw the news. There was a huge fire from 92th to 134th street! It was 42 blocks!

“EVERYBODY, GRAB A CHILD OR TWO,” I yelled. “WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THE BUILDING.” I turned to my brother. “You can drive, right?”  I asked. “If you don’t, you’re in big trouble, mister.”

“Sort of? I can sort of drive,” he said. “I can knock down a few trees and buildings, but I can still drive.”

“Good enough. INTO THE CAR!” I yelled.

 

Chapter Five

“Get into the driver’s seat,” I told my brother, “Everyone else, sit down, and I’ll buckle you in.” I began to buckle in one, two, three, four, five, six… we need more car seats. I unbuckled two seats and squeezed two into a car seat. I sat down and buckled up, and we were off, but we forgot the baby’s blankets in the fire.

Then, we drove off, and we saw the fire truck up ahead, and then the fire truck hit our car and turned it over. I yelled, “Again! Everybody, take a child, unbuckle them, and run. We will need to get as far away from here as we can. Follow Michael, then run to Grammy and Poppy’s house in Brooklyn!” On our way there, people in a minivan stopped us and asked us to get in.

Michael said, “It’s the only thing we can do.”

We hopped in the car, and the parents had two children in the car named Avery and Sophie. When we got in the car, everybody held three children, and we drove back to their house. At first, we were nervous, but as we got used to it, we felt more at home. They adopted all of us.

We lived happily ever after… for a few minutes.

 

Part Two

Chapter Six

One Sunday, everybody left for a trip to Australia. Everybody went except for me, my sister’s friend, and my sister, Alexei. My sister’s friend name was Amanda. Amanda couldn’t eat a lot of things. She was allergic to pretty much everything that everybody else in the house liked, and Alexei liked everything that Amanda didn’t like, and Amanda liked what Alexei didn’t like. They didn’t like any of the same things.

I was not very picky. So it made it hard for the seven months they were in Australia. Every night, we would put the blackouts up and went into the subway. I would put the kids to bed. The first Monday, things went a little differently. Usually, every day we would get a letter in a very bright color from our family letting us know that everything was fine and good, but today we got a black letter that didn’t seem very happy. It said:

 

Family of Samuel, Avery, Sophie, Emma, Ava, Michael, Madeline, Elizabeth, and Benjamin Smith,

Please come to Australia to attend the funeral of Benjamin Smith. It will be at the Waverly Cemetery in Sydney, at 10:00 p.m. on Sunday July 16, 1941. We will explain how they died when you arrive.

The babies are okay, but are sick because of the bomb, and aren’t doing very well.

From,

James Harrington

 

My shoulders drooped, and I began to cry. I was so upset. We rushed over to the docks, caught the first boat to Australia, and we were off. It would take one whole week to get there from London, and with all the bombing, I wasn’t sure if I should have taken all the little ones with me. But who would take care of them if I didn’t bring them along? So on our way to Australia, the boat stopped at Brooklyn so that people could get on to go to Australia, and I dropped off the little ones with our grandparents. Alexei stayed with me as we got on the boat and sailed away. The boat was rough, very crowded, and the food wasn’t very good. Both of us felt sick.

It was really hard to be on the ship alone with a five-year-old as an eleven-year-old. I had to take care of her, and I had to take care of myself, but as we got on the ship and started sailing away, I felt badly that I left the little ones with our grandparents. Our grandparents weren’t the nicest people. They found the worst in every situation, and I didn’t want the little ones to think I abandoned them. Also, I felt like our grandparents would teach the little ones to not like a bunch of things and be mean. They wouldn’t teach them manners, and I’d come back to rude little sisters. So after we went to the funeral, I would take back every child and go back to Brooklyn to pick up the little ones with all the other kids and Elizabeth.

 

Chapter Seven

I got really nervous that the kids in Australia got really hurt because the letter said they were not doing so well. I hoped Michael, Madeline, and Elizabeth were okay, because if they weren’t, who would take care of the little ones? I couldn’t take care of everybody by myself, especially while taking care of bandaged adults and all of the people who normally help me with the seven children.

There was a little boy on the boat with me whose mom was on the last ship, which sunk. His dad was in the war and died. So I thought, Maybe I could convince Elizabeth to adopt him!

“Hi, I’m Adeline. I heard about your parents. Do you want to come with me? I’m only 11, but you can trust me. I have triplet little siblings, an older brother, and a twin sister. We were adopted by another family, and then there are two siblings in their family, and then there was another family that got adopted by us, who were another family of two children, and now we can adopt you. If that’s okay with you. There’s a five-year-old girl over there whose name is Alexei, who is one of the kids that we adopted… And what’s your name?” I said.

The little boy answered, “I am Charlie. You heard what happened to my family, right? I have a newborn sister and an older sister who are over there taking care of each other. My older sister is seven, and I am four.”

 

Chapter Eight

I introduced Alexei to Charlie, and they started playing. I then went around the boat, asking if any of the other children needed a new home or didn’t have parents. In all, there were ten children who needed a new home, not including Charlie and his siblings. So, we adopted all ten children into our family, and I got all of their parents out of a few rooms on the boat and had all the children sit in a circle and introduce themselves. There were six girls and four boys. The girls were Amelia who was six, Olivia who was three, Emily who was nine, Jessica who was eight, Isabella who was four, and Isla who was seven. The boys were Oliver who was six, Jacob who was two, Harry who was nine, and Jack who was seven. There were two sibling pairs and three only children.

When we got off the boat, I had everybody get in a line. First was Harry, then Emily, Jessica, Isla, Jack, Amelia, Oliver, Amelia (Charlie’s sister), Alexei, Isabella, Charlie, Olivia, Jacob, and the newborn, Ava. Amelia had to switch over to hold Ava, but other than that, this was the line. As we were getting off the boat, I had the older kids pair up with a younger kid. We got onto a trolly and were off to go to the funeral. First, we went to our house in Australia to pick up everybody else, then we got our clothes on. I was terrified but happy to have all of these new siblings. I knew how it felt to be separated from your parents, and I knew how important family was in times like this. We were young, with any boy over the age of 16 being sent off to war. Us younger ones had to stick together. I reminded myself this as I got myself ready and helped all the new siblings get ready for the funeral.

 

Chapter Ten

All the girls would have a dress that was black or blue and a bow to put in their hair. All the boys would have a suit and a tie. Everybody got changed, and I put everybody that was younger than five in a stroller, that the kids that were older than five helped push. We got on a trolly and went to Sydney for the funeral. We met Elizabeth, Michael, and all the other kids that didn’t come with me. Elizabeth was very droopy and blue. Her eyes looked black, and I could tell she was really sad. Michael had just gotten a black eye while running with Samuel, so he wasn’t looking his best either. In spite of all of this, I was really happy to see them. They were my family. Even with Benjamin gone, it made me so happy to know that the rest were safe. Who knew how Benjamin was killed? I wondered. I decided not to ask Elizabeth, because I knew that it would make her upset.

Before I got to ask anybody, Sammy came up to me and said, “Ben got killed in a bomb while fighting. Elizabeth was on her way to save him, but she fell and got knocked over, and her eye isn’t actually a black eye… It’s an eye patch because she lost her eyeball while running. We had to run to the hospital, and it was a disaster. Michael had to carry three of us, and Elizabeth held her eye, and Madeline carried me. When we went to the hospital to try and find something for Elizabeth’s eye and Benjamin, Benjamin wasn’t there. They had taken him to a grave site, and laid his body over the dirt. They said that we would have a funeral for him soon, but it has been a week since it happened. It happened the first day we were here in Australia.”

I said, “Wow. You haven’t learned to talk any less! Has Emma learned to talk yet?”

“No! Not at all!” Sammy said. “She still makes baby noises even though she is almost two!”

“When you’re five,” I said, “you’re gonna be saying words from the dictionary! Your vocabulary will be far more advanced than mine!”

 

Chapter Eleven

Sammy walked away, and Elizabeth came over to me and asked, “Why are these other 13 children here?”

I said, “I know how it feels to have no parents for a while, so I decided we could adopt them! But if you don’t want too… I will.” There was silence. “Will you adopt them? Pleeeeeeease?” I begged.

Then, Amelia and Ava came up to Elizabeth and said, “Hi, are you Elizabeth? I’m Amelia! And this is Ava, my newborn sister. She will be two months old tomorrow! What happened to… Bean? Ben? Benjamin?”

“Benjamin,” Elizabeth corrected, “and he was fighting in the war when a bomb hit him and he died, and we are at his funeral today if you know what that is.”

“We know what that is,” Amelia continued. “We were going to have a funeral for both of my parents, but then we had to go to Australia to see our grandparents, who suddenly died from a bomb… Who knows how? So Adeline picked me up, my little sister, and my little brother. We helped collect ten other children who all really want new homes, even if it’s here. Pleeeeeeeeeeease?”

After a few minutes of silence, Elizabeth finally said, “Okay. After the funeral, we’ll go to court and get the adoption papers for everybody here, other than Sophie and Avery.”

 

Chapter Twelve

“Every week day, I’ll have to send all of you adopting children, and they don’t like it. So everybody is planning against you and the day so that I can do some work around the house, and it’s just too much for me. The kids that are eight and older will have to take care of the younger ones. I’ll send you all to your grandparents, also known as my parents, not yours. Michael, Adeline, Madeline, and Peter will be in charge. Peter is my nephew. He is 11,” Elizabeth said. “His parents, my brother, was in the war and died. His mother was very ill from the bombs, and she too passed. So he and his five siblings will be joining you and living with us. That makes 30 children. People know that you are other children. I want all of you to get together and get in a car. Michael can drive now. He runs into a few trees and buildings, but other than that, he can still drive. He will be driving, and you will be off. I want all of you on a boat by midnight every Sunday night. You will all be on a boat that fits 30 people over the age of one, including the captain. That will make there be able to be one captain and the 30 of you children. There are 29 children above the age of one, so it’s a really good fit, and you guys will have the whole boat to yourselves. Try not to spill anything on the bus driver or anybody else. I will see you every weekend, but let’s get to the funeral.”

Everybody stood in a line, and we would get to the ceremony. The kids under the age of five could leave unless they need to be supervised, then they were allowed to stay. There were special circumstances. Everybody would need to eat lunch while they were there, so this meant Amanda would stay with me, Ava would stay with me, and Charlie would stay with me.

“FROWN FOR THE CAMERA!”

 

Chapter Thirteen

After our photo, we walked over to the funeral. Elizabeth dropped off all of the kids at the restaurant so that they could eat and play for a bit during the service. Us older kids were at the funeral, and some stayed back to watch the little kids. I stayed to watch the little kids with Madeline, and then I got everybody the meal that they wanted and a teeny weeny piece of cookie, since sugar was scarce due to the war. We played with the little kids for a bit longer, until the funeral was over. Once it was over, we met up with Elizabeth, and she told us at 11:30 to go back to the trolley and meet her in order to get to the boat and load our things onto it.

“You are going to New Zealand to hide,” said Elizabeth, “and you will be taking the boat that Benjamin built. As I told you before, it will fit 29 people over the age of one, in addition to all of your stuff. The captain is one of my really good friends who will be driving the boat there and back every Friday and Sunday.”

 

Chapter Fourteen

We got ready to leave the next day. We spent the rest of the evening putting our stuff on the boat. We needed to load all of the babies’ blankets and pacifiers, and all of  the older kids’ books and learning tools. We also packed five cartons of milk for each of the older kids to give to the babies and sleeping bags to sleep inside of. Food and water went under the hatch of the small boat, along with clothing for all of us. After we loaded all of this onto the boat, we were feeling very tired. We slept in the cabin under the deck of the small ship. Ten people would sleep in a room, two babies would share each crib, and two kids over the age of five would share a bed. It was very crowded. I felt stuck inside but safe. There were so many people around to keep us safe, and we all knew how to swim, luckily.

That morning, the boat took off for New Zealand. I was feeling very happy to be going to New Zealand, but then I remembered I had to pick up the one triplet from my mean grandparents house. I had almost forgotten about them with all of the new adoptions, but I could not leave them behind! I ran and told the driver to go to Brooklyn, and he told me it would be a week’s long journey. We had to do it.

“Let’s go!” he said. “But I bet Elizabeth will be wanting you back by the time you get there.”

“I will send her a letter,” I said. “That way, she will know where we are.” I found a feather and ink, took a piece of paper, and began to write…

 

Dear Elizabeth,

 

I forgot all about the kids back in Brooklyn! We need to go back and get them, because they are with my grandparents who are not very nice, and I don’t want the kids there to be raised in a home that is not very nice. Hope you understand.

Love,

Adeline

 

I handed the letter to the driver and asked him for an envelope. Once the letter was sent out to Elizabeth, we began our voyage to Brooklyn. The time went by quickly, but not easily. It was a rainy and stormy voyage. None of us had been on such a long journey. Eighty percent of us were throwing up, the other 20% suffered from fainting. The babies were screaming like they had never screamed like before. Their screams sounded like people were dying and like seals were slurping water.

 

Chapter Fifteen

Once we reached Brooklyn, all of the children ran off the ship and tied it to the dock. The driver came out with them, and then we all ran to our grandparents’ house. We fixed our dresses and suits so that they looked presentable and rang the doorbell. Two kids came out, and they looked older than I remembered. They were wearing the most fancy clothes I had ever seen, and they both had really pretty purses covered in gems. The little girls, one years old, looked like they are five and rich, even though they weren’t rich. Though, they were half rich.

We had to walk into the house to pick up the little ones. I felt jealous and dirty in my sloppy clothes as I walked into the beautiful mansion. There were beautiful flowers outside, swings covered in pink and blue gems, and the yellow house that they lived in was beautiful compared to the house that we live in. Our grandparents said that Elizabeth told them to take us instead of going to New Zealand every week. We walked in, and our grandparents gasped at the sight of us in our dirty clothes.

They said, “Oh! We have some much nicer clothes for you on the bed. But you mustn’t walk in like that! You need to take a shower beforehand! I will give you towels to walk on… so that you don’t get the floor all sloppy.”

I stepped out, and my grandmother said, “Adeline! It is so nice to see you again! I haven’t seen you since you were a baby! Get changed, and we will have a bit of breakfast! And you are not allowed to step a foot into that little boat again! I will have the driver bring your stuff into the house from the boat!”

 

Chapter Sixteen

After he did this, the driver took off, and we were on our own with our grandparents. We cleaned ourselves and got changed. I began to brush my hair, which I hadn’t done in so long, and it felt really nice to be neat again. After my parents died, I’d been dressed in all of these rusty clothes which my parents would never have put me in.

The boys went fishing, and the girls cooked and took care of all of the little girls. I helped Grandma clean the house, set the table, make French toast, pancakes, fruit bowls, salad, eggs, fresh squeezed orange juice, and lattes.

Then, our aunt took us from our grandparents. Our aunt lived in pretty much the same house as our grandparents, except it was in Alabama. There was a mansion that was painted a soft baby blue with guards covering the whole first floor of the house, which was pretty much what my house used to look like. It had flowers and vines covering some of the mansion, and it was ten stories high. Well, my house wasn’t ten stories high, it was 15… but this would do. We walked in wearing high heels and our blue poofy dresses and suits. Our aunt greeted us in a long, straight dress, and said she didn’t like the poofy dresses. She put us all into pink dresses with silver gems. Well, mine was covered in silver gems, and she did my hair.

She dyed my hair red, and I liked it. She had everybody else stay in their clothes, except for the triplets. She had the other 26 children go back to our grandparents’ house and kept the four of us.

 

Chapter Seventeen

She had two children of her own who looked just like me, and she told me that my parents had dyed my hair blonde when I was a baby…. Well, my fake parents… the people I thought were my parents. She told me that the four of us were actually her children! And that my parents took me from her. She introduced me to my actual brother and sister. One of them was 15 and named James, and my twin sister was Adeline. She told me my name was actually Charlotte! She said that the triplets were taken from her by her mother as she was giving birth to them. The other kids in my family were actually my parents’ kids, but who I thought was my aunt was actually my mom, and I got a little mad at my mom that wasn’t really my mom… She was my aunt, but she was dead. So she said that she would go to Elizabeth, and that the eight of us would go to the half adoption/half not adoption ceremony. My parents, my siblings, and I would go. Everybody else would live with my grandparents, who we would get to see every Christmas.

At the adoption ceremony, my siblings ended up deciding not to live with my grandparents. They lived with a new family that now had 23 more kids! Charlie, Amelia, and Ava stayed with my family that became a family of nine children.

THE END

 

Random Stories

     

Bob’s Story

Bob was a little kid. He was stranded in a forest. He needed water. But he did not need food that much because he stole his father’s gun. His problem was that he couldn’t shoot that well. When he tried to kill a baby pig, he missed by five feet and hit a bright green leaf on a tree. He thought he should make some shelter and then come back to kill the pig. Well, the pig oinked and ran away, so no more pig. So, he went out into the forest to find someone to help him. He looked all over, but he found no one but himself. It started to rain. After it rained, it got really muddy. So he ran, and he found a green house where he stayed. But it was a bear’s house. But he didn’t know and he went in, so when the bear came back to his house, Bob was scared. He ran away in a panic. It was muddy. But Bob did not have shelter, so he was soaking wet. Bob was cold and shivering. Then, he made a bed with leaves on the wet floor. The next morning, he was in a house. He was taken to a house where someone lived. That person didn’t look nice.

Bob said, “Thank you for saving me, and goodbye.”

Then, the strange man cackled. Bob really didn’t like him. He went to grab his father’s gun but found that it was gone. He asked the strange man where the gun was, but the man kept cackling. Bob really didn’t like him, so he ran to the front door and tried to open it. It was locked. A shiver ran down Bob’s spine. He ran to the back door and found it was locked.

The stranger said, “Ha ha! You are all mine now!” He cackled.

But the window was open, so Bob jumped out. The house then exploded!! Bob had gotten out just in time. He somehow found his way home and wrote a story about it. This is that story!

The End

***

Ezreke’s Story

One hot day, Ezreke was strolling through the desert. He had just seen some water, but now some people on camels were drinking it. They had on cutoff T-shirts, short pants, and flip-flops for shoes. Ezreke slowly made his way over in the hot desert and asked for some water.

“Please, can I have some water,” he said. The travelers said yes and gave him a cup full to the brim with water. After he drank the water, he asked if he could join them on their travels.

The travelers said, “Yes, you may come with us, as long as you come for a short time. We don’t have enough food and water for you and us.” Ezreke thanked them and hopped on one of the camels

After three days, one of the travelers said, “We don’t have enough food and water for you. Well? What are you waiting for? Go!”

Ezreke hopped on a camel that was alone. He said, “Take me to some shelter.” The camel didn’t understand Ezreke. He slid Erzeke off his back. He was so exhausted he took a nap on the ground. When he woke up, he felt sand on his face. He was buried! There was just enough room to sit up. He tried digging up, but whoever buried him had used wet sand, so he couldn’t get out. He tried digging to the side, but more sand fell. He was buried. He tried to think of what his dad would do.

“Always be resourceful. Use whatever you find.”

Ezreke groped around the hole and underneath him. He found a stick and a rock. He used the stick to make a hole. Then, he threw the rock to crack the wet sand. When the sand cracked, he used his hands to dig the rest of the way out. When he got out, he found a man who was digging a hole. An unconscious boy was lying at the man’s feet. Ezreke acted instinctively. He grabbed the rock he had used to crack the sand and threw it at the man. The rock hit the man on the head, and he slumped down, unconscious. When the rock was halfway through Ezreke’s outstretched hand and the man’s head, the boy had woken up. He saw his savior throwing a rock at the man who had kidnapped him, knocked him out, and tried to bury him alive. Naturally, he automatically ran towards Erzeke. This boy was a few years younger than Ezreke, and he was very scared.

“It’s all right. Look, an iPad! We can contact the city!”

The boy sniffed and smiled at Erzeke. He ran over and grabbed the iPad. But he wasn’t done. He pulled up Google Translate and typed something in French. It translated as Hi. My name is Francesco. I don’t speak English, but understand it well. My family lives in the city. Thank you for rescuing me.

Erzeke said, “You’re welcome,” and smiled at him. He smiled back. Erzeke contacted the police and his family. The man was arrested forever, and Francesco and Erzeke became friends.

The End

 

Awesome Airplanes!

       

“This is so awesome!” said Matthew as he pushed full throttle on his airplane and rushed through the clouds above the plains. Just then, a black enemy airplane from TCOEP (The Country of Evil People) dropped something on his plane. It started counting down. “A bomb!” he cried. Then, he heard a blast.

“Aaagh!” screamed Matthew as he fell toward yellow plains. But then, another airplane below caught him and his broken airplane by suddenly lifting the bottom of the wrecked airplane. That airplane is very strong, thought Matthew. Then, Matthew realized it was his brother, Michael’s Blackbird airplane. “Phew, that was a close one,” said Matthew.

“Ssh!” said Michael. “This is a secret mission. We need to destroy the TCOEP’s base. It is just over the hills. We need to surprise them by attacking at night.”

After they returned to their home base and repaired Matthew’s airplane, it was time to go on the mission.

As Matthew started up his airplane, he felt nervous, like he would never make it back from the mission. Soon, Matthew and his brother were soaring above the TCOEP’s base. Suddenly, the intruder alarm blared in the base. Er er eer, blared the alarm as the airplanes closed in to the base.

Just then, the roof of the base opened up, and two gigantic machine guns emerged from the depths of the base and soldiers dressed in black marched out of the base shooting with tiny pistols.

“Seriously?” laughed Michael through the walkie-talkie as he looked at the soldiers attempting to shoot their airplanes.

“Umm, I think we’re in big trouble,” said Matthew, as a giant machine gun shot down his brother’s airplane.

I got to save Michael! thought Matthew as he landed his airplane next to his brother’s wrecked airplane. Unfortunately, Matthew didn’t find his brother near the wrecked airplane, so he decided to go into the enemy base to find his brother.

Meanwhile, Michael was sneaking around the TCOEP base looking for the power system for the base. When he finally found the power system to the base, his brother, Matthew, was waiting for him there. “Let’s set a bomb in here and get out!” said Matthew.

Soon, Matthew and Michael had set a bomb, and it was counting down. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one POW! Luckily, the brothers got out of the base in time, but the high winds whipped the smoke and dust into the air. Out of the shadows, a man stepped in front of them. Not any man, the leader of the TCOEP.

 

When Owner Left Me

          

Chapter One: Owner is Gone

Owner petted me with the softest, most serene pet, as usual. They patted my forehead calmly and sang me to sleep. A dream formed around me, surrounding my brain in sleep. Floating islands of delicate treats, singing birds, and a pack of fresh squirrels surrounded my dream. Owner was running on their machine, and I was free of work, obedience, and training. Giant fields surrounded my home, dotted with dogs, sticks, and trees. There was game to hunt, and dogs were all barking and playing, and the sun shone like a beacon of happiness, hope, and knowledge.

I skipped to my friends, fur freshly groomed, never to be unkempt again. They greeted me with a joyful bark, prancing about, delighted to see me. Their owners were lounging in chairs, talking cheerfully about the latest soccer game. Lin, my best friend, trotted up to me and gave me an invitation to play, so I joined him. We played chase, an average game, but the one I hungered for the most, for Owner never allowed me to play chase. My other friends approached me, and they all wanted to play with me, so we did. It was the world I wanted, a utopia, a dream. Owner was never disappointed with me, there were always friends to play with, and a happy home to go home to at the end of the day. Then, a jolt of light woke me up, and Owner was gone.

I scampered to the living room, as quiet as a mouse, expecting Owner to appear and push me outside to use the bathroom, but they didn’t. I poked around the house. It was dark and quiet except for the wind rustling behind the trees. I entered the kitchen, and I sniffed around to see if he was pouring food for me, but all I could smell was the smell of cheese, poisons, and… my food!

I clawed up the kitchen cabinets, and I grasped the handle and nearly slid. The metal was smelly and stung my paws, but I knew it was all worth it, for the bag opened and the food spilled out like a rainbow. I jumped down at full speed, and I gobbled the food as fast as a gazelle. The bundle of flavors was like dreams, and my head hurt a lot, and my stomach felt like a punchbag, and I fainted.

I woke up to a bright, sunny day, with boiling heat and an extremely cold floor. The temperatures were making me dizzy, and as I approached the door, a wave of cold hit me, and I realized that the pain in my head was coming from the temperature control machine, that thing Owner always played with, with the buttons. The buttons made the screen change, but that was all I knew. It changed the temperature in the room because whenever Owner said, “I’m hot,” they would walk over to the machine, and the house would get cooler, but I didn’t know which button did what.

I paced around the house, searching for a way to make the house warmer. The house was a mess, books scattered everywhere, food rolling out the kitchen, and Owner had not been seen since last night. The bed was rumpled, the toys were falling out of the bin, and Owner’s room was a disaster that even a service dog couldn’t clean up. There was no sign of a solution to this cold floor and boiling ceiling.

Everything I saw was covered in little, repeating scribbles that did not make any sense. Owner scribbled all of the time. They scribbled during meals, they scribbled during my nap, they even scribbled when I went outside. Then, I came across a paper with a vibrant, full-color picture of our temperature control machine, surrounded with black, repeating scribbles. The paper was white as milk, and the scribbles were black as night and glimmered like black holes. I felt like something was pulling me in. I felt an urge, a desire, to understand these scribbles and why Owner treasured them.

I quickly realized that I had to go outside, so I grabbed the handle, jolted backwards, and the door became a door to fairy tale land. I flew outside, and I looked at the sky, and I knew exactly what I had to do to fix my home.

 

Chapter Two: I Attempt to go to School

I could run free now! I raced out the front yard and down the street. I didn’t care if the pet control owners saw me. Running through the street like a cheetah, I jumped like a bird on five cars, and I slid onto the country road leading up to the school. Owner frequently passed the school on our walks, describing it as a big, red brick building with large windows and a giant course nearby. Today, I saw little owners barking like foxes in the front yard. Then, they all began to approach me.

“What a cute doggie!” one told their friend as they petted me.

“Let me hold it!” another shouted.

“Let me, let me!” they squealed!

The owners yelled at each other, pulling on my ears and patting my head constantly. I wanted to bite them, to growl at them, to even fight them, but I knew I couldn’t go to school if I fought with my new playmates. Then, I scampered to the entrance of the school, weaving my way around the forest of feet. I soon saw a pair of very large feet, and the forest was getting tighter. I could hear the cries of the owners that had petted me earlier, and their footsteps were quick like rabbits. Pushing forward, I attempted to weave my way through the big feet, tripping over lopsided bags laying on the floor. Fingers were slowly being added to the forest, owners reached their fingers and nabbed the bags next to me, nearly dragging me off of the ground.

The entrance felt closer now. I could smell the fresh smell of the red brick coming like waves through my nose. The wall was visible, but owners were still squealing like mice. Disorientated, I scuttled around trying to find the entrance to the school. Wafts of sweat, perfume, and breakfast floated around like clouds. The owners were so near each other now, the forest felt like a maze, and there was no sunlight.

I raced around this confusing, noisy place, barely able to see what was in front of me. I regretted going into this maze without Owner. The owners were suffocating me, I felt like there was no life left in this world. Then, the owners all fell silent, and I shivered.

The brick doors creaked open like a rocket, and I crawled inside. The school was made of dazzling marble with giant poles, large arches, and a stark, black floor. Brown boards were spread over the walls, covered with white papers full of small scribbles. Owners were everywhere, crawling all over the walls and floor. Larger owners were herding the smaller owners into small, colorful rooms, squealing and shouting at them. Some owners were pointing at a few of the papers, scampering away when the larger owners were close by. I followed a group of very small owners, toddling slowly to the door. Scuttling underneath their feet, I crept inside the room where a large owner was standing at the door.

“Hello, class,” the owner boomed. Is our name Class? “Let’s sing the alphabet,” the owner instructed the class. What’s the alphabet?

“Of course, Sir,” the little owners replied. Is his name Sir?

Sir pointed to a scribble on the board and said, “A makes two sounds, a and a.” One scribble can make two sounds at once? How do you know which sound to make? I was confused, how could all of these owners understand what the scribbles meant if each one made more than one sound at once? I quickly realized that an owner was staring at me and that I had five seconds until Sir kicked me out of the school.

I dashed out of the classroom, and I crept the hallways as silent as a fly. I could hear footsteps behind me, Sir was booming at other owners, and noise was growing. After scampering for some time, sensing a flash of bright light, I felt a drop in the floor, and the voices were much softer, but the hall was dimmer, and the floor smelled like dirt. I was now wading in water, surrounded by curved stone walls. I could feel the dirt in the water with my paws, and the water was getting deeper. I could see a small point of light at the end of the tunnel, but my paws were getting weaker, I was slowing down, and my head felt like rock.

Sniffing something, I bent down and tilted my head, smelling a familiar scent from back home, but I couldn’t quite identify what it was. Small lumps were floating above the water, and the water was now a murky green. The point of light I had seen earlier wasn’t very far away now, but the water felt more like sludge, and the lumps felt more like concrete. I could barely paddle, and I couldn’t even walk. Feeling weight on my back, I stopped to rest.

I crawled slowly through the muddy water, slipping and falling at various moments. The point of light was actually a gaping hole with a large waterfall coming from it, shimmering in the dark cave. I knew that the end was near, and unless I could paddle better, I wouldn’t emerge from the tunnel alive. I tilted my head ready to soar like a bird at the end of the tunnel. I paddled like a duck, and then an invisible force pulled me into the water. I sank underwater for a second, and then I did a straight vertical drop.

I dropped down like a cannonball to the ground. My paws were shaking, and my legs were freezing from the cold water. I could barely lift my head. I had dropped onto the ground and rolled over on one side. I licked my wounds from the drop. My paws were covered with dirt and mud, and I smelled like a skunk. I cried out for help, squealing in the blazing sunlight. Barking hurt my throat, so I settled down on the grass, and I fell asleep surrounded in agony and pain and devoid of care and love.

 

Chapter Three: The Pound

As I woke up, I could smell owners again, poking and prodding my paws, and legs, and even my head. Owner wasn’t here, though, and these owners were strange, new, and smelly. Their tools reminded me of the murky water from earlier mixed with treats. It probably had been used on at least fifty other dogs before me. Their voices were muffled, and I felt a needle near my leg.

“The dog doesn’t need it,” a voice commanded.

“How many shots has the dog got?” argued another.

Two owners were poking me with sharp stuff and yelling at each other, almost ignoring me entirely. They were screaming like gorillas, and poking me like tigers, and they had me pinned on their table. Then, I got a waft of air from another room, and smelling the scent of other dogs, I knew what this place was and how to get home.

After a little while, the owners released me from the table and took me to a gray crate, covered with scratches and broken nails. Dogs were barking around me like lions, and some large, lumbering owners were walking some dogs to a door at the other end of the hall. The dogs were scraping against the bars and were climbing up their crates. Above all, the dogs looked imprisoned, bored, and lonely, so before owners shoved me into a crate forever, I ran through the hall, opened the door, and crept away as fast as a cheetah.

I crept quietly through the streets, dashing from corner to corner hiding in the shadows. The owners had emerged from the building, the same ones that had poked me before, and shouted, “Find that stray dog!” I slid under a bench nearby, sliding like a snail on the ground. Running like horses, the owners checked under every corner, bench, and sidewalk, so I had to find a place where they would never look. I looked up. The blue sky went on forever, and the owners couldn’t fly, but I couldn’t fly either. The only way up was a set of slippery, metal stairs on the side of the building that Owner revealed were poisons. I did not want to get poisoned, but it was better than going back to a crate forever. I dashed up the stairs like a rabbit, and I scrambled up to the roof, and I admired the view. The buildings went on forever. Buildings surrounded me in every direction, and there was not an owner in sight. I could feel the wind blowing in my face, and I could sniff the fresh air. The giant owners were gone, and I felt free, but not happy.

 

Chapter Four: Home

Where was Owner? I could barely remember what Owner looked like. Was Owner a dog or a different animal? Was Owner nice? I slithered quietly off of the roof using another staircase. The ground was so far away, I felt the urge to jump off the roof, but I ended up on the second floor instead. It was still a shimmering, bright, sunny day, even though so many things had happened. Sniffing the staircase, I greeted five different cats and dogs on my way down, and by the time I jumped onto the street, I was exhausted and as slow as a turtle.
I twisted around and skipped down several streets, bouncy in my steps. I could finally return home! Huge buildings surrounded me, shades of brown, dark green, and gray. The tall owners were chasing their dogs across the street like cows, laughing and smiling like Owner probably did. The sky began melting into an orange color tipped with yellow, and the ground became a darker gray. I could hear the sounds of home close by, sounds of running, jumping, and playing like dolphins, having no worries, only fun. I missed my home, my friends, and Owner.

Where was home though? I wandered through the darkening roads, panting constantly. The sky was now a shimmering shade of purple with streaks of orange in the distance. Looking up, I could still see those scribbles drawn on every pole. If I understood them, I knew they would lead me home. Scratching at the poles, I gazed at the stars. They were like glowing dots, like small treats ready to be gobbled up. I got off of the pole and ran along the isolated, quiet streets, barely able to see. I peeked around the corner and saw glowing lights in the distance, covered by windows. I recognized it from somewhere, but I was not exactly sure where. I sniffed the ground, a mixture of gum, chips, stone, and plastic wrappers. I trotted slowly down the street, glancing at the dim, black sky. I turned my head, and I spotted a row of houses nearby, and I carefully lifted my head up, and I heard a calm, clear sound.

It was Owner. I hadn’t heard Owner’s voice since last night, when he sang me to sleep. This time though, something was different. Owner wasn’t angry or upset, but he knew something I didn’t, and it wasn’t the answer to the scribbles. I crept down my road, avoiding Owner. Hearing Lin’s bark in the distance, my panting fell silent. I didn’t want to be seen. I leapt over the fence near my house, falling like a ball. I pushed the door open with my paw, and I crawled into the house. I peered at Owner’s room. It was now clean, stately, but at the same time, empty. The whole house felt different, isolated and lonely. Was Owner lonely without me? I approached the bed, white and made of wood, and I noticed a lump in the pillows. I jumped up, eyes glowing, barely able to walk, I fell onto the bed, and I licked Owner’s face. I slept that night knowing that it was all worth it.

 

Candyland

Once upon a time, there was a student bunny named Isabelle who was six years old. One day, Isabelle called Jim the dog for a meeting because Isabelle was a new student in school.

“You’re so ugly,” Jim replied, and Isabelle had no idea he was a bully dog.

Isabelle cried and threw her phone away, because she was so sad. Once Jim’s mom heard what Jim said, she told him to apologize to Isabelle immediately and scolded Jim for being rude.

So the next day, Isabelle saw Jim at school, and he apologized to her, but Isabelle still did not forgive him. So when Jim asked Isabelle to play during playtime, she told him “no” because she knew what he said was true and was still mad. Isabelle just kept playing with the kind children.

When it was lunchtime, the students were allowed to go home and eat, so when Isabelle went home, she ate her mom’s food and made a card with an ugly face on it for Jim saying, You’re ugly too, doggy. But one day, Jim’s mom and Isabelle’s mom hung out and brought Jim back to Isabelle’s home. There, the moms told their kids to play with each other.

“I don’t want to play with the ugly doggy dumpling!” said Isabelle.

“And I don’t want to play with the bunny cookie!” said Jim.

“Oh, just be nice and play together,” said the moms.

So Isabelle and Jim made up to make their moms happy and played a tea game together for the rest of the day. When Jim left, Isabelle went to sleep and snored a lot. She dreamt of her and Jim turning into emojis. Jim turned into the meh emoji, and Isabelle turned into the princess emoji, and they then ran around in Candyland and ate all the candy, and they slept in the marshmallows. Then, they saw trees, and on the trees there was chocolate, and they ate the chocolate. But they didn’t know how to find their mom and dad, and whoosh! they saw their mom and dad, but the mom and dad were chocolate statues, and then they ate their mom and dad.

And then, the doggy said, “Let’s go to the little room in the ginger house,” and they stayed in the ginger house and made things to eat by themselves.

So one day, they went outside, and they saw big scoops of ice cream because the Candyland was snowing, and the snow was ice cream. And in the Candyland there was a tornado, and the tornado was made of spaghetti, and when it rained, there were gummy bears, and if there was a big rain, there were jelly beans. Sometimes, there were hamburgers falling down, and they ate them too. One day, there was a big sun, and it melted all the candy, so the Candyland turned into only candy rainbow, so they ate. The rainbow turned into jelly beans. Then, there was a big snow, and it turned the candy into normal candy, and you could eat the ice cream again.

Then, they slept one night, and when they woke up, they thought they were still in the Candyland because it was not a dream — it was real. One day, they slept again and got to the Popsicle-Land, and there was lemonade and gum that you could jump on. You could even take a lot and get it into your mouth and then you could have a big bubble, and the bubble would give you a helmet. There was candy water, and you could go inside, and there were gummy animals in the candy water. And then, they all saw cookies that could fly through the sky, and you could sit on them and see all of Candyland, and then you would see one big lollipop, and it would float you on the candy water. There was a little girl made of candy and another girl made of chocolates. You could eat them. Then, when they ate them, they returned back home and had chocolate on their mouths.

Their mom said, “Why do you have chocolate on your mouths?”

And the dog and the rabbit said because they went to the Candyland and ate a lot of candy, and when they got home, it was a lot worse because they had to eat a lot of vegetables. Then, they slept, and they lived happily ever after. Now they never go to Candyland ever.

The end.

 

Video Games

It was seven o’clock, and Tom had just woken up for the weekend. Tom couldn’t wait to play Fortnite with his friends. Just before, he brushed his teeth and ate his breakfast and then got onto his iPad to play Fortnite. Fortnite was really fun for Tom. It was his favorite game, so he played it for two hours. Tom and his friends also won a Fortnite battle which made Tom very happy. While Tom was playing the game, he got a lot of good guns, which meant he was able to kill a lot of people, which was exciting because it meant he was winning. He was also a bush, so no one knew it was him. Tom and his friends also got a lot of chests which also gave him a lot of good guns.

After he had a lot of fun playing Fortnite with his friends, he went outside to play soccer. It was really fun because his dad was playing with him, and it was a high scoring game, and Tom won.

After Tom won the game, he asked, “Can we go to the arcade and play some games?”

His dad said, “No,” but Tom still had a lot of things to do at home.

After 15 minutes, Tom couldn’t wait to go to his friend’s birthday party, but that wasn’t for a long time. It was his friend, Peter, and he was turning nine years old.

Time had passed, and it was finally Peter’s party. His parents drove him to Peter’s birthday party. When Tom got there, there was a lot of action going on. People were playing tag together. Some people were jumping on the bouncy house. Tom chose to jump on the bouncy house instead of playing tag.

Once Tom was on the bouncy house, Tom saw that Peter and his friends were having a lot of fun playing tag on the bouncy house. Tom asked if he could join. Peter and his friends said of course.

After Tom was playing tag with Peter’s friends, Peter was suddenly the tagger. Tom thought Peter was really fast, so Tom wanted to avoid him. Then, Tom realized that Peter was chasing after him. Tom tried to run away, but Peter tagged him. Then, Tom fell down and hurt his leg. He was crying because of the pain.

Peter said sorry, and Tom felt better. Peter meant a lot to Tom because he was Tom’s best friend, so Peter’s apology cured Tom’s pain.

On the other side of the party, Tom saw that there was another conflict. One of Peter’s friends named Bob, who was very athletic but a slow runner, was fighting with another one of Peter’s friends named Jeff, who was very fast and liked playing video games. They were also playing tag, so they were fighting about who was not going to be the tagger. Nobody liked to be the tagger.

Finally, Jeff offered to be the tagger, so the fighting stopped, and they all felt better.

After they played, Tom’s parents said to Tom that it was time to go. Tom was very sad, but he had a lot of fun.

When Tom arrived home, Tom went to his bedroom. He was exhausted, so he went to bed.

After he went to bed, Tom woke up and realized that Peter’s birthday party had been a dream! He realized that Peter was actually having a birthday party today, so Tom couldn’t wait to go to his party.

The End

 

Kingdoms Dragon’s Game

Once there was a kingdom called Goving. In Goving, the people were happier than the happiest person in the world, until one day, a dragon attacked. This dragon’s name was Billbaring and was so depressed that it couldn’t be described. This dragon saw the kingdom and got more depressed.

This happiness, he thought, I need all to myself. So, the dragon attacked the kingdom. Now you might have thought, Why is he depressed? It was its nature, oh, and the dragon just moved into the den.

Now you would think that the king would go and kill the dragon, but no, this was what the king said: “I can’t kill a dragon by myself. I am too old and weak, and my memory is fading. I can’t do this with a group, let alone do it solo. What should I do?”

Then, a knight said, “Make a group, high king of Goving!”

So, a group was made, including three of the bravest knights, that went to the den of the dragon. They found Billbaring, and Billbaring found them. The dragon opened fire, and the knight moved out of the way before you could say “fire!” Let’s stop here and see what the den looked like: just stalagmites and stalactites and damp walls. Back to the story. In the end, the dragon died by being sliced tons of times in the chest. Now you might think the story is done. No, it is not. You see, there was this kingdom which attacked Goving because the kingdom wanted more land. This time, the king helped. The great war of the kingdoms had begun. Goving was outmatched a ton because the other kingdom had ten dragons, so the king got a shield and a sword and lots of armor and set onto the battlefield. The king was scared of the ten dragons. Everyone was. When the king got there, the great battle had begun. Everything was dirty and was smelling really bad because the other kingdom didn’t take baths. The king was somewhat scared of the hygiene of the other kingdom. The king and his army somehow killed all the dragons with a lot of swinging swords and blocking the flames. The heat of the flames was molting hot. Then, the king charged past the smelly army, covering his nose. He climbed a cliff to face the other king.

The other king called, “King of Goving, I want to battle you!”

Goving’s king answered yes. Goving’s king attacked first, and the other king blocked. They did this for a long time. It was like it had no end. Then, the other king (without warning) kicked Goving’s king so hard… Goving’s king was hanging off a cliff.

 

Days after the battle…

The great battle was done days before, and Goving was safe at last. Now you may have thought about this: Was the king safe too? The answer is yes, yes he was. The other king thought he won that. He was blinded by the fact, so the king of Goving pulled himself up just in time and sliced the other king in the chest. Now the king was walking in the forest, taking in the sweet smell of roses and trees and the nice and warm day. The king loved it more than ever. Goving was happy once again.

The End

 

Writopia Land

Once upon a time there was a girl named Amy who was exploring around Writopia Land, where she just moved in. She was walking when she saw a cute bunny.

She asked the bunny, “Are you lost,” not knowing that the bunny would respond, but it did.

It said, “Actually no, my mommy is right over there.” When Amy heard the bunny speak, she went down on the ground and started to scream. When she looked around, the trees were becoming purple. The flowers were turning into mushrooms. When Amy screamed, every animal that was near her went into a huddle.

The frog took his glasses off and said, “My my my, why is this girl screaming.”

While the chipmunk was eating a golden nut she said, “Maybe she is scared of us. This would explain the screaming.”

The bunny from before said, “I think chipmunk is right.”

After the bunny spoke, Amy stopped screaming and took bunny by the ears and said, “What are you, and why are the trees purple and the flowers mushrooms?” The bunny bit Amy. Amy screamed and ran toward her house. When she saw her house, she quickly came inside and stayed there forever.

After she left the forest, she looked like a lady that just saw a bear. Her hair was everywhere, and her eyes were wide open. When Amy thought of that moment, she realized that she could have been more mature with her decisions and made friends with the creatures. She looked at herself and thought she also looked strange.

Till this day, she doesn’t dare step in that forest again.

The end.

 

Trouble in Disney World!!!

Some families do not go on vacation. Others do. Either way, I do not care. I am too busy anyway. Oh!! Sorry about my manners. My name is Erica, Erica Manning. As I was saying, I am very busy this summer because I have to catch up on some school work. You see, my mother and father are both explorers, and I usually go with them on their expeditions. I have seen many amazing sights, but I have missed a lot of school. Summer is my catch-up time.

Rumble, grumble. Oh dear, I think that was my tummy. In that case, I better head down to breakfast. At this moment, I was in Brazil, if you were wondering. I walked downstairs to breakfast, where I smelled something like cheese. No wonder, it was my mother. She loved cooking native dishes of the country we were in. As I got closer, the smell got stronger and stronger.

When I entered the kitchen, I curiously asked my mother, “What is this smell?”

She replied, “Erica, darling, it’s Pão de queijo, which is a little small-baked cheese flavored roll. Want to try?”

It sounded delicious, so I sat down on one of our chairs and gulped it down. It was amazing. No more rumbly tummy for me. Then, my father entered the kitchen. He had also tracked down the smell. Soon, he was gobbling those rolls down too.

“Guess what, Erica? We’re going to some place else. And this time, it’s not another city for exploring.” Now this caught my attention. My eyes were fixed on him. He continued, “Most kids your age go to this place for a summer holiday. We thought it would be nice for you.”

“Yes,” chimed in my mother. “We are going to take you to Disney World!”

I was astonished at just the thought of going there. It was supposed to be basically Mickey Mouse paradise. I remembered when I was little asking my mother and father again and again and again if we could go there. Finally, for the first time in my life, I was going to have a real summer vacation. I absolutely couldn’t wait. My head was bursting with a million questions.

The first thing that popped out was, “What! How soon? When?”

“Well, we are going to be going tomorrow at about 5:00 a.m., so you may want to go to sleep early tonight.”

This was really not a problem for me because I have been on airplanes at very early times a lot. Before I knew it, we were packing our bags.

“What should I bring?” I asked my mother.

“Make sure you bring some clothes that are good for walking with, and you might want to bring your Mickey Mouse ears, too.”

Obediently, I packed them and stuffed my favorite book, Robin Crusoe, in too. I couldn’t wait for the time to come. I got my wish. Since the plane we were going on was too crowded, we were put on an earlier plane right that night. When I woke up, I was soaring above Florida. All of the cars and buildings looked like little toy blocks to me.

An announcement came over the speaker. The captain commanded, “Please put your seat belts on for landing.” I looked at my seat belt. Sure enough, it was fastened. Must have been mother or father.

I told my father excitedly, “We’re landing? I can’t wait to see my first sight.”

Once we landed, I was jumping with joy. It was all kind of a blur, but I do remember getting into our hotel. It had long, silk curtains and a nice mini bedside table with all my necessities. I soon drowsed off on a very comfortable bed. After what I think was two or three hours, I was woken by my mother who was wide awake.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead. It’s a special day today! You’re going in the shower after your father.”

I yawned. “What time is it,” I asked.

“It’s 7:30, we let you sleep in. You do look very tired.”

Once we did all the preparations, which seemed to go on forever, we finally headed out the door to Disney World. We jumped into a rented car and road all the way to Disney World. I could not wait for my first ride! Ta-da, there it was, the legendary amusement park I have been dreaming about since I was little. I couldn’t figure out what to do first. I ended up doing Aladdin and his magic carpets. It was amazing. You got to control your own magical carpet. We were all tired out after this amazing day, but we had one more stop to go. The gift shop, of course! I wanted to get a special pair of Mickey Mouse ears for my collection, but we could sense something was wrong when we stepped into the shop. We saw someone who looked very important pacing and mumbling under his breath. He seemed very unhappy.

I walked up to him and asked, “What is wrong?”

“You would never understand. My Mickey Mouse ears designer all of a sudden has gotten very ill with some disease, I don’t remember. She’ll be alright. Though the ears parade is tomorrow, and if I can’t find another substitute, the ears parade can’t go on.”

“Maybe our Erica can be a help,” my father said.

“We always knew she was a good designer,” my mother added in.

As he was making up his mind, I was bursting with anticipation. I really hoped he would let me do it.

“Fine,” he said. “What does she charge?”

“I’ll do it for nothing,” I replied. “It’s an honor.”

When I got home that night with my new designers pad and a job to do, I felt like I could fly. But that feeling didn’t last so long. As I carefully examined the paper, all of a sudden these numbers didn’t really make sense. Neither did all the graphs. I had to call on my mother and my father. And I still didn’t understand. Then, at around one in the morning, I turned it over. Ooooh, I thought. All that time I was having so much fuss over that one little mistake. It was turned over the wrong way! Then, I saw how sensible it was. I got to work knowing I didn’t have much time. I was feeling a little anxious. Though, now that I understood it, it was much easier. I made one Mickey Mouse ears with only one bow in the center. They weren’t pink, they were rainbow. In another one, I put a unicorn horn in the middle. I hoped that Mr. I don’t know his name would like them.

Even though I stayed up practically all night designing those ears, I thought it was fun. In the morning, I got the designs back to the director. We were supposed to meet up in front of the gift shop at seven. I could practically bounce off the walls. I felt like I was on the top of the world. I put my little pad in my little satchel. For some reason, I always knew that would serve a purpose when we went to Disney World, so I packed it.

My parents and I arrived at the gift shop at 6:55. My father always insisted on being there early. I saw from the distance a man coming toward us. He looked exactly like the director. He was the director!

So, then he got to the gift shop. I handed him my designs. I crossed my fingers that he would like them and put them in the ear parade.

As he looked at them, I could see a smile slowly spreading over his face.

“They’re fantastic!” he exclaimed, once he was finished scanning them. “Will you design the ears every single year for my parade? This is even better than my old designer.”

I couldn’t say no. Even though he was a middle-aged man, he looked as excited as a six-year-old on Christmas Day. I couldn’t let him down, so I replied, “Yes.” After all, it was enjoyable once I figured out I had the pad the wrong way.

“Little did you know, that you had averted a huge disaster. There could have been no ears in the ear parade.”

“Thank you. It was a pleasure. It was a real pleasure.”

“You know what,” my mother told me as we were leaving Disney World, “I knew it always a good idea to let a designer know about your talent.”

“This is for you,” my father said as he was holding up amazing gold Mickey Mouse ears with my name written on it in cursive.

It was a perfect day. I couldn’t wait to go back to Disney World.

The End.

 

Walking Through a Cave

Mayuree Nin and her team had just won a great soccer game in Hat Yai, Thailand. Her team was walking through a cave, which they went through a lot because it was a shortcut to the ice cream shop. They also had granola bars and celebratory treats.

Mayuree was laughing with her friends. The youngest kid on the team was 13. She was hugging everyone around her. The oldest kid on the team was 16, and she was jumping up and down. Mayuree was 14.

Then, the monsoon rain started. It flooded the caves.

“Coach!” shouted Mayuree. She ran over and hid behind a rock. All of the girls started to scream. Coach grabbed Mayuree’s arm. The team ran further into the cave. They stopped and waited. After a while, they went back out. Not every place was flooded. They went to try and find a way out of the cave. They looked around. The only ways out were small little tubes filled with water. Mayuree fell to the ground. They were trapped!

“Let’s try to ration out our food,” Coach said. First, they looked for water. They found water in a corner on the right side of the cave.

“This water tastes weird,” Mayuree’s friend said. The team was trying to wait for the water to drain. But it didn’t.

On the seventh day of being in the cave, the team ran out of food.

“What are we going to do!” a girl shouted. The coach sat down.

“I don’t know,” the coach sighed. They were trapped for four more days in the cave. On the fifth day, an explorer popped in all dressed in scuba gear. The kids looked up.

“Do you have any food?” the girls asked.

The explorer shook his head. The girls sighed. The explorer immediately dived back in the tunnel and left the girls behind. The explorer told other people about the team in the cave. The story became worldwide.

Mayuree was starving. Her whole team was starving. The rescuers brought the team food. The girls all ate very quickly. But now they were active enough to find some more water. The rescuers brought the team water bottles, snacks, and meals. Now they were finally active enough to talk about finding a way out. The rescuers told the team that the only ways out were the small passageways that were a mile long. It took six hours for the rescuers to get to the team. Mayuree liked to sit and wait for six hours for the rescuers to come. It really was the only thing to really do in the cave. But for two days, none of them came. They thought that the rescuers had forgotten about the team. They grew hungry again.

A rescuer came a few days later. He reported that a rescuer died in the passage. He was trying to put air packages in the passageway. But he ran out of air. That made the team cry. They knew they were never going to get out.

But the next day, rescuers came with extra gear. “Okay, kids. I will take four of you through the passage. One rescuer will be in front and in back of you.” As the rescuer said this, he handed scuba gear. They gave gear to Mayuree and her friend Malliyalara. Mayuree got scared.

 

A few hours later, Mayuree and the group of her friends were getting ready to go in. Mayuree used to be scared that she was not going to be good at soccer and lose the game. But this was so much scarier. Mayuree said goodbye to her friends and coach. Then, one by one, the girls went in the passages.

The girls had been swimming for three hours. The girls were very tired. Then, Mallivalara started to fall to the bottom of the passage. A rescuer came up behind her. He could not come next her. The passage was too small for that. “She ran out of air!” the rescuer shouted. Mayuree looked behind her. But it was hard. The tunnel was three feet tall and two feet wide. She had to turn back forward. How was this possible? she thought. The words went through her head a million times. Her friend had died. Her friend had died. Her friend had died. Her friend since diapers had died! But Mayuree had to focus. She went the rest of the trip focused and ready. When she got out of the cave, she could change out of her gear. She stared out of the cave. She took her mask off and took a deep breath. But she noticed none of the rescuers were holding Mallivalara’s body. Mayuree got filled with rage. She ran back to the tunnel. She dived in.

“Wait!!!” the rescuers cried. They grabbed Mayuree by the leg, then pulled her out.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the rescuers said to her.

“You left my friend’s body in the tunnel!!!” she shouted. Tears filled her eyes. She tried to pull back from the rescuer, but his grip was too strong. She gave up. She fell to the ground. The rescuers looked at each other. One pulled a mask out of his back pocket. He was about to put it on when Mayuree jumped up and grabbed it from him. Then, Mayuree jumped back into the tunnel. She started crawling towards her friend.

Three hours later, Mayuree came upon her friend. She was not moving, and Mayuree just wanted to cry. But she held herself together. She grabbed onto her arm and moved as fast as she could. She didn’t want to run out of air.

Four hours later, she was nearing the end of the tunnel. Then, she knew what was happening. She was running out of air. She tried to swim faster. She did exactly what she saw on shows. She had to take short breaths. She saw the exit. She started to swim faster and faster. Then, she totally ran out of air. She had a record of holding her breath for a minute, and she guessed that it was okay. She swam very fast and bursted through the top. She jumped out and grabbed her mask off. She took a deep breath and relaxed. She took Malmallikalara’s mask off. She sighed. At least she was okay, and her friend was not stuck in a tunnel. She took a deep breath. Then, she heard someone take an even deeper breath. It was Mallivalalara! She sat up. She looked around. Mayuree walked over and helped her up. Now this was a happy ending!!!

THE END

Inspired by true events

 

The Life of a Garbage Can

 

1

I’m mixed up. I’m crushed. I’m used as drums. I’m practically worthless. Recycling bins and compost bins have more value than me. They’re more organized. I’m a dump. A dump of trash. I’m basically nothing in this world. Dented all over. People use me, but not a lot. Why am I here? Do I have a sensible purpose?

 

2

It’s a windy day. I keep getting knocked over. Darn wind. I see lots of people with garbage in their hands. They don’t even bother to look at me seriously. The garbage dude drives by without even a glance at me. All alone, lying down, and no one to comfort me.

 

3

If only I was tidier, not dented and dirty. Just one glance at me and you’ll be disgusted. I just want to be known in this world. All the other garbage cans are even tidier than me. Yeah, a little jealousy going on here. They have a better outside. They have garbage bags in them. I’m just a dead, oversized tin can.

 

4

I’m rolling down a hill. Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow. I’m in so much pain. I roll into a ditch never to be seen again. No, just kidding. I just keep rolling until I stop at a dead end. The back and forth of the whistling wind rocks me like a baby to sleep.

 

5

I wake up to see a little girl putting me upright. She’s not like other people. She actually looks at me with heart. She stares at me like I need something. She carries me up the hill. She stops in front of a building and puts me down. It seems like it’s her house. She goes in and comes back with gray polish, a garbage bag, some paint, and some glue. She does all sorts of things to me. She uses the gray polish all around me. I’m starting to look pretty good. Then, she puts glue all on my rims, top and bottom, so I stay sturdy. She opens up the garbage bag and puts it in me.

 

6

The girl leaves me in front of her building and walks away. Now, I feel known. I sigh and look up at the sun. The start of a new day feels really great. I’m a new a person now. I breathe in the cool air. This time, I’m not going to let the wind knock me over. I’m going to stand strong. No, literally, she put glue under so I stay sturdy. Who knew?

 

7

The sun is about to set. People use me now. Not the way they did before. Before, they would drop their garbage in me, and sometimes they’d knock me over without even picking me back upright. When the sun went down and the girl came back, she had a big garbage bag in her hand. She put it in me. It just feels good. The garbage truck drives by and takes out the garbage bag from me. I feel relieved. I look back at the sky waiting for a new day to come.

 

THE END

 

Secret Samurai

Cynthia felt like she was a daredevil. After all, why would an eight-year-old jump down the Empire State Building with virtually no protection? She felt as if her insides had turned upside down and gone haywire. As she fell, she had a flashback as to why she was doing it:

Just five hours ago, she was in Chicago doing homework. Her aunt had given a high-tech suit to her as a birthday gift, which had the powers of a Samurai. “Your cousin has superpowers. This suit has powers you can use to defeat villains.” Cynthia decided to test it. She boarded a first class plane trip to New York. On the trip, she thought about Skullkiller, the notorious villain who wanted to kill her cousin. She had to defeat him.

To test the durability of the Samurai suit, she took a fall off the Empire State Building. The suit reacted and added wings to the suit. I’m not Falcon, she thought. She carefully glided down and landed swiftly on the ground. This wasn’t any ordinary suit. It could respond to her feelings. Cynthia suddenly remembered the history of the suit.

Her aunt had created the suit when she was a young girl. She used it to stop crime. Unfortunately, Skullkiller had learned about the suit and was willing to steal it. The suit, though, was destroyed before it had been used for evil. Somehow, it regrew itself.

“BREAKING NEWS, BREAKING NEWS! Eight-year-old makes heroic fall down Empire State Building. She fell down more than 500 feet, as a matter of fact. Officials are now trying to confirm the girl’s identity, although it may take some time. Around the country, there have been strange occurrences lately.”

Skullkiller was in his lair, watching the news. He reacted as soon as he saw the breaking headlines. “That girl’s in a black suit. Why does it look so familiar? Wait, it is familiar. It’s the Samurai suit! I thought it was destroyed. I’ve got to capture her, and also get back to killing that boy.”

That “boy” was really Cynthia’s 12-year-old cousin, Hayden. Skullkiller had killed his parents. Hayden and his older sister, Catherine, then went to live with their aunt. Skullkiller wanted revenge on Hayden, who defeated him many times before.

Cynthia and her mother were boarding the plane. Skullkiller confronted them. At first, Cynthia and her mother were in shock. They didn’t know that he was going to find them. Then, Cynthia and her mom came up with a plan.

Skullkiller laughed evilly, “Hahahahahahahaha…. Hello. Expecting me, eh?”

Cynthia’s mother began to levitate Skullkiller. She threw him out of the plane.

“He knows that you have the suit. We have to be as careful as we can. Anything you do makes Skullkiller smarter.”

When they reached their home in Chicago, Hayden asked Cynthia, “How did it go?”

Cynthia replied, “Went well. Only bad thing was confronting Skullkiller.”

“I’ll help you train for the battle. I’ve defeated him about a dozen times. Besides, the prophecy chose you.”

Cynthia nodded, then went to her room.

She took her suit disguised as a pack of gum — not a good idea! — and found a record of the newscast on YouTube. She thought, Things aren’t obvious. People don’t know superheroes’ real identities.

So, weeks went on. Hayden trained her to defend at the right time, use important items in the suit, and much more. Then, she was ready to fight.

The battle started in an abandoned town. It was dusty. The dust flew through the sky. Skullkiller tried to pounce on Cynthia, but the dust made it hard for him to see. She defended. A sword came out of the suit because she was thinking, I really need some help here. Cynthia used the sword and cut Skullkiller, badly wounding him.

Cynthia carried Skullkiller and flew high. She threw him down. Skullkiller surrendered. “I’ll get you next time!” he screamed. Cynthia felt more confident now. She could defeat somebody that only expert superheroes could master. Even if she didn’t have the suit, she could still do it.

 

Two Doughnuts Sometimes Make the Perfect Match

 

Chapter One

I knew my night was going to be a disaster when I picked up my phone and saw how many calls I got from Alison. With all the work in the bakery, I totally forgot to check my phone, and now Alison was going to be mad at me for two reasons. First, for not picking up her calls, and second, for telling her I couldn’t go to her masquerade ball because I was helping my parents at the bakery. Alison’s dad was the mayor of our small town in California, so every month, Alison had a huge party at her house, and her dad always asks my parents to cater the party.

I still remember the first time we met back when we were four when she first moved here. Our parents introduced us to each other, and ever since then, we have been best friends. We were four then, and we were thirteen now, and we were still the same. Sometimes it felt really good to think about the past. That was, until you flashed forward to the present and realized that you had some problems on your hands. I saw my dress and mask laying on top of my bed waiting to be worn. That made my decision for me. I was going to go to the masquerade ball.

So, I picked up my phone and texted Alison, I will meet you at your masquerade ball.

Alison texted back, I can’t wait to see what you’re wearing Jade!

I grabbed my red long dress with gold designs and my gold mask and quickly put it on. I did my makeup and put on my golden high heels. I walked to the mirror and couldn’t recognize myself. I wondered if anyone else could recognize me.

With that thought in my mind, I walked out of my room and yelled to my mom, “Mom I’m going to Alison’s party! Bye!”

“Okay, Jade. Don’t get into any trouble, and if you need anything ask your dad. He is at the party!” my mom yelled from her room.

After hearing that, I quickly headed out the door because it was already 7:55 p.m., and the party started at eight p.m..

 

Chapter Two

It was a good thing Alison only lived two blocks away from me. As I walked underneath the night sky, I felt the breeze blowing my hair. The walk to Alison’s party was very peaceful, but once I got to Alison’s house, I couldn’t even recognize her house. Alison went all out for this party. The house looked like a winter palace, like the one Elsa made in the movie Frozen. There were so many people going in and out of the house. I walked up to the front door and opened the door and walked in. As I did, I could see that everyone was staring at me. I felt like Cinderella when she walked into the ball and no one could recognize her. I quickly walked to the center to join everyone because I hated being the center of attention. As I walked to the crowd of people dancing and talking to each other, I realized something. I couldn’t recognize anyone. Something else I realized was that I was the only one wearing red. At that moment, I regretted wearing that dress because I hated standing out. So I walked out of the dance floor and walked to one of the

empty tables. As I tried the maccaron and the doughnuts that were at the table, I overheard two girls talking about a celebrity.

They were saying, “Bella, did you hear the rumors that have been going around?”

“What rumor, Isy?”

“Well, rumor has it that Alison invited Cabe Swift to the masquerade ball because he is working on a movie here.”

“Anyways, Alison asked, and Cabe said he would come.”

O-M-G, I can’t believe I am going to see Cabe Swift,” said both of the girls.

When I heard that, I was so confused because I knew everyone who was invited to the ball, but I never saw Cabe Swift’s name on the guest list. I guess it made sense that she invited him because she was a really big fan. Alison watched every movie that Cabe had ever made and has had a huge crush on him since the sixth grade. She said Cabe and her had a lot in common because they were the same age. I, on the other hand, didn’t hate him, but I didn’t love him either, so I guess you could say I liked his acting. But Alison loved him.

As I was sitting there and thinking to myself, I suddenly heard someone ask me, “Do you mind if I sit here?”

“Sure, go ahead!” After that, we started talking.

Me: “Are you having fun at the party?”

Him: “Not really, I don’t have any friends here.”

Him: “Why are you sitting here all by yourself?”

Me: “Let’s just say I don’t like being the center of attention, and as you can see, I am the center of attention today thanks to this red dress.”

Him: “Anyways, do you have any hobbies?

Me: “Well, I like to bake and listen to music.”

Him: “I like to bake too! Who is your favorite artist?”

Both of us at the same time: “Selena Gomez.”

Me: “O-M-G! Did you hear her new song ‘Back to You?’”

Him: “Yes!”

Both of us: “LOVED IT!”

Me: “Anyways, did you hear that we have a celebrity here tonight?”

Him: “Who’s the celebrity?”

Me (rolling my eyes while saying the name): “Cabe Swift.”

Him: “So are you a fan of Cabe?”

Me: “Let’s just say I am not a big fan. He seems so spoiled.”

Him  (with a smirk on his face): “Wow!”

From that point on, our conversation took off, and we talked for the rest of the night. He was really nice and mysterious. He had the same haircut as Cabe Swift, which looked really good on him. We took a lot of pictures and soon realized the party was almost over. So when I was about to leave, he asked for my phone number, so I gave it to him and walked home. When I actually got home, I realized that we never got to tell each other what our names were. So I started wondering, what could be his name be?

 

Chapter Three

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my parents arguing. I quickly got out of my bed and walked to where they were arguing because they didn’t usually fight. When I walked up to them fighting, I asked what they were fighting about, and my mom told me to sit down because I wasn’t going to take it well. So I did. My mom told me the most horrible thing I could think of. She told me that my dad got a letter in the mail saying that we would have to close the bakery if we couldn’t pay all the bills.

I asked, “How much are the bills going to be for the bakery?”

“About 15,000 dollars.”

“I am so sorry, sweetie, but we can’t afford to pay that much money.”

“Plus, we haven’t been getting a lot of customers lately.”

“Maybe if we get more customers, we can keep the bakery longer.”

“Right now we can only keep the bakery for ten days.” Hearing that made me want to cry even more than I had already been doing since I heard about the bakery. I ran to my room and laid down in my bed when I realized that I was going to be late for school. I got out of my bed and got ready as fast as I could while trying to look cute. Then, I ran to school, somehow managing to get before the bell.

When I walked into the hallway and walked to my locker, I looked around and saw that everyone was on their phone saying, “O-M-G, who is that girl?!

Then suddenly, I heard someone calling my name from down the hall, so I turned around and saw Alison running up to me and yelling, “Check Cabe Swift’s Instagram!”

So I got my phone out of my backpack and went to Cabe Swift’s Instagram. I couldn’t believe what I saw.

There it was, the picture of me and that mysterious boy at the party. I was so confused at first, wondering how the picture ended up in Cabe’s Instagram, when something finally clicked inside of my head, and I realized that the mysterious boy that I was talking to at the party was no one other than Cabe Swift! I started freaking out. I couldn’t believe it. I just spilled my heart out and embarrassed myself in front of the biggest teen celebrity!

I was about to faint when I heard Alison asking me, “Are you okay, Jade?”

I tried to play it cool by saying, “I am fine,” even though I was dying inside.

“So, did you check Cabe’s Instagram?”

“Yeah.”

“So who do you think that girl in the the red dress is next to Cabe? Who do you think it is?

“Well, I don’t know.”

“But whoever that is, she is a very lucky girl.”

“Also, did you read what it said under the picture?”

“No, what did it say?”

“Well, it said, ‘hashtag the best night of my life (Thank you mystery girl for making it the best).’”

Hearing that just made me scream out, “I am the girl in the red dress with Cabe in the picture!”

After screaming that out, I saw that everyone was staring at me in confusion, then started talking again saying how jealous they were that they didn’t get to be his mystery girl. After that, I looked at Alison’s face, and she looked so happy. She was congratulating me, and right at that moment the bell rang, and I had to get to class. After doing a lot of work in class, school was finally over. So, Alison and I walked and talked about last night and everything that happened. I also told her about the part when I gave Cabe my number.

Hearing that, Alison said, “I bet he’s going to text you to meet him later.”

“No way!” Right at that moment, I got a text from an unknown number. It said, Hey. You probably know who I am by now. It’s Cabe and I was wondering if you wanted to meet up? So text me your address and I will come pick you up in my limo!

So, I texted him my address and called my mom to let her know that I was going somewhere with a friend. Then, Cabe arrived in his limo. I said bye to Alison and got in the limo. As I sat in the limo, I could sense the awkwardness between us.

So, I asked, “How come you didn’t tell me you were Cabe Swift last night when we were talking?”

“Well, Jade… ”

“Wait, how do you know my name, because I never told you?”

“I might have done some digging around. Now back to what I was saying. Last night I had a lot of fun not having to be Cabe Swift, because whenever I talk to someone the conversation is always about me, and I really get tired of that. But last night, the conversation wasn’t only about me. It was about both of us, and I really liked talking to you. Plus, it didn’t sound like you were a really big fan of Cabe Swift last night, so I was hoping you would like Cabe better. So do you want be friends?”

“Sure.”

“Anyways, I was hoping we could go to your bakery.”

“Sure! It’s Friday, so the bakery is closed today, so we can have it all to ourselves.”

 

Chapter Four

Once we got to the Sweet Storm Bakery, I took out my spare key, and we both walked inside. I told him how our specialty was doughnuts, and since we didn’t have the doughnuts premade, we decided to make doughnuts from scratch. We went to the back of the the bakery and took out all of the supplies we needed. I had a lot of fun baking with Cabe. We decided to make two of my favorite doughnuts: ocean blue (vanilla doughnut with blue icing and and candies on top to make it look like the bottom of the ocean) and Choco coconut storm (chocolate doughnut with coconut and white frosting on top.) To my surprise, Cabe was a really good baker. I thought he was spoiled and wouldn’t even know how to crack an egg. I guess I didn’t really know who Cabe was on the inside. After we were done making the doughnuts, Cabe took a knife, cut two doughnuts in half and put the two doughnuts together into one. He took a bite from the side so that he could taste both of the doughnuts.

He said, “Wow! Two doughnuts can sometimes make the perfect match.”

Hearing that made me laugh, so I tried the doughnut the way he did, and I had to admit they tasted amazing together. After finishing our doughnuts, we started talking, and I told him about the bakery and suggested that we should let customers switch up the donuts, like making one side one doughnut and making the other side a different doughnut. He said he would post about it on his Instagram.

When I thanked him for his help, he said, “What are friends for?”

He also asked me if I wanted to audition for a small part in his movie. I told him I would think about it. After talking to him for what seemed like a few minutes, I realized that it was nine p.m.. Had we really been talking for two hours? After that, Cabe dropped me home, and for the rest of the night, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Talking to him felt different than talking to everyone else. Was I really falling for him?

 

Chapter Five

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of someone texting me. I picked up my phone and saw that my mom had called me two times and that Cabe texted me, Good Morning. So, I texted back, Good morning to you too.

Cabe: I posted about the bakery last night, and it looks like you might be getting a lot of new customers because it already has 2.6 million likes.

Me: O-M-G really. Thanks a lot.

Cabe: My pleasure. By the way are you auditioning for the movie?

Me: Uh I guess I will give it a shot.

Cabe: Awesome I will send you the script. The auditions are held at my hotel at 5.

Me: K bye.

After I was done texting Cabe, I called my mom, and she said the plan to get new customers was working. She also said that if we kept having this kind of customers, we could pay off the bills by next week, and we could keep the bakery. Hearing that made me really happy. So for the rest of the day, I helped my mom out at the bakery while trying to practice my lines. I wanted the day to slow down because I was not looking forward to the auditions. But when you want time to slow down, time does the opposite and goes as fast as it can. Soon, it was  five p.m., and I was at Cabe’s hotel waiting to be called in. There were a lot of girls auditioning for the same part which made me even more nervous.

Then, it was my turn. I auditioned in front of Cabe’s manager and the director for a character named Bella, the main character’s best friend. She helps her best friend Isabel and Jake (Cabe) get together. When I was auditioning, I was very disappointed not to see Cabe in the audition room. But I auditioned anyway, and the director told me they would let me know if I got the part by tonight. I walked home and was so happy the audition was over and done with. As I was walking I felt a sudden burst of happiness, and there I was again thinking about Cabe. I thought about Cabe all the way home. Once I opened the door and walked in, I saw both of my parents waiting for me at the door with their happiest faces.

“Jade, did you get the part?” asked my dad.

“I don’t know yet, Dad.”

After telling my parents everything that happened at the audition, I headed to my room and watched Netflix for the rest of the day, until I realized it was nine p.m.. I took out my phone and was going through Cabe’s Instagram when I got a call from Cabe.

I answered it and said, “Hello?”

“Hey, Jade. Guess what?”

“What? What’s going on?”

“Well, you got the part!”

“O-M-G, seriously!” My face turned bright red. I was so overwhelmed and in disbelief.

“Yeah, the director loved the way you really got into the character.”

After he told me I got the part, I told my parents, and we were all really happy. That night, Cabe and I talked until midnight. He told me about how he never really had a real friend on set and how lucky he was that I was going to be on set with him. When he said that, I blushed. He made me feel really special. The next morning, I headed off to set, bright and early. Cabe and I really had fun being on set together. For the rest of the week, I filmed after school on set. It was the best week of my life. First, because my mom was able to pay off the bills, so we got to keep the bakery, and second, because I got to spend the whole week having fun with Cabe on set. The parts of the week that I didn’t like were when Cabe and his co-star had to do a scene where they danced and went on dates. Even though I knew they were acting, it felt like they were an actual couple. For some reason, I felt a way that I never felt before. I was jealous. At that point, I knew I was falling for him. I didn’t want to tell him because what if he didn’t like me in that way — then it would be awkward between us. I thought he just wanted to be friends. That is, until he asked me to be his date to the movie premiere. I totally died inside when he asked me. I said yes. Now my problem was what was I going to wear to the premiere. I went shopping with Alison and my mom. I bought a long white dress with silver designs on the bottom. I also bought some silver jewelry.

Finally, premiere night arrived. Cabe came to my house in his limo and had a cupcake flower bouquet because he knew how much I loved sweets. He came up to my door and knocked. I opened the door, and when he saw me, he stared at me for a second, then said, “Jade, you look amazing!” I said thank you, and we got in the limo, and we drove to the premiere.

On the way there, he took my hand and said, “Jade, I really like you more than just a friend. Do you like me too?”

I said shyly, “I like you too.”

“I didn’t tell you because I thought things would be awkward between us if you didn’t feel the same way.”

“Well, I am glad this turned out well.”

“Me too.”

“You know you were right: two doughnuts can sometimes make a perfect match even if they are from two different worlds.”

After talking and embarrassing ourselves, we arrived at the premiere. He announced that he had a girlfriend at the red carpet, and then we watched the movie. It felt so weird to watch myself in a movie. But I had to say, Cabe made me feel comfortable when I wasn’t. We got a lot of questions about how we became a couple, and let’s just say I didn’t know how Cabe dealt with so many people asking questions and taking pictures, because I couldn’t deal with that kind of stuff. After we were done watching the movie, we went to the after party and had a lot of fun. From that point on, my life felt like a fairy tale. Even though we both had our own busy life, we made it work. But the bakery and I didn’t really work out. I wasn’t home a lot because of all the movies I was in. I mostly spent my time in LA, filming. But when I was at home, I spent as much time as I could at the bakery.

 

One Look is Friendship

 

JADA: Main character

GABBY: Jada’s best friend

JUSTIN: Jada’s brother

MADDIE, CORA, and STEPHANIE: Mean girls

DAD and MOM

NARRATOR

 

Erika: MADDIE

Samantha: STEPHANIE and MOM

Lydia: CORA

Ronni: JADA

Belinda: GABBY and NARRATOR

Andrew: DAD and JUSTIN

 

Waking up in bed. JADA puts clothes on, brushes hair, goes downstairs, brushes teeth, and eats cereal. Bus honks. Thirty minutes later, she is at school.

MADDIE: Hey, did you finish my homework? I’m not gonna pay you this week if you didn’t.

CORA and STEPHANIE cross arms. JUSTIN arrives.

JUSTIN: Stop bullying her. What did she ever do to you?

MADDIE: Fine.

JADA (to JUSTIN): Thank you so much.

JADA exits. GABBY enters.

GABBY: What happened over there? Did they want to get their homework again? You should stop letting them do that to you.

JADA: I have to get money to get a new car.

GABBY: Only until you get a new car.

Bell rings.

Thirty minutes later. Lunchtime. JADA sits down with GABBY. CORA, MADDIE, and STEPHANIE arrive at their table.

MADDIE: Where’s my homework? I’m literally not gonna pay you for three weeks!

JADA: Okay, okay, I’ll give it to you tomorrow.

MADDIE: Don’t tell Justin I told you this, or you know what’s gonna happen.

MADDIE exits. JUSTIN enters.

JUSTIN: Did she ask you for her homework again? Tell me the truth.

JADA: She did not ask me.

JUSTIN: Okay.

JUSTIN exits.

GABBY: Why didn’t you tell him the truth?

JADA: Because you know what’s gonna happen. She’s not gonna pay me for the whole month

GABBY: You can’t go on like this! You can get a job.

JADA: I don’t want a job! I have to do this.

GABBY: Whatever you say.

GABBY exits. Five minutes later, bell rings, and JADA exits the lunchroom. Three hours later, she is done with school, and GABBY is walking home with JADA. GABBY goes home first because her house is closer.

GABBY: Bye, see you tomorrow!

Five minutes later, JADA is home,

JADA (to her MOM): Um, Mom, the girls also want their homework, and I forgot where I put it, so I need to find it today.

MOM: Honey, you have to stop letting them do these things to you. You have to stop doing homework all the time, you have a life.

DAD enters.

DAD: What’s going on in here?

MOM: Oh, well the girls still want her homework, and they’re still bossing her around to get money.

DAD: You have to stop letting them bully you. I’m going to school with you tomorrow, and I’m going to talk to them.

JADA eats dinner, takes a shower, brushes her teeth, and goes to bed.

The next day, JADA sees GABBY, and they walk to school. JADA’s dad meets JADA at school, and JADA sees her dad talking to MADDIE, STEPHANIE, and CORA.

STEPHANIE: Hey, what do you want? Oh, and by the way, we still need our homework from your daughter.

CORA: Yeah we do! You know how much homework we gave her? We need it today.

JADA: Dad, what are you doing here? Go home! It’s embarrassing!

DAD: Okay honey, I’ll go home.

MADDIE: Dad calls you honey, not princess?

CORA: Where’s the homework? We need it today. You know that!

JADA hands them the homework.

JADA: Here’s your homework.

STEPHANIE: Okay.

Gives the homework back.

It doesn’t look like our handwriting. Just do one more line, and it will look like our handwriting.

JADA takes the homework back.

JADA: Okay, but you have to pay me extra this week, or I’m not giving your homework back.

MADDIE (rolling her eyes): Ugh, fine.

JADA walks off to class.

MADDIE: Where’s our homework? We need it now! She’s calling us up!

JADA: Where’s my money first?

MADDIE gives JADA the money, and JADA gives MADDIE her homework.

MADDIE: Finally.

MADDIE, CORA, and STEPHANIE go to the teacher and gives them the homework. Three hours later, she is done with school. Gets home and counts all her money and runs downstairs.

JADA: Oh my gosh, Mom, I have enough money to buy a new car! I don’t have to do their homework anymore!

Runs down the street and knocks on GABBY’s door.

JADA: Gabby, I have enough to buy a new car! I don’t have to do their homework anymore!

GABBY: We have to have a celebration at my house tomorrow!

JADA: Okay, tomorrow it is.

JADA gets back home.

JADA (to her parents): We’re gonna have a celebration tomorrow!

MOM and DAD: Okay, let’s go!

MOM: Go eat dinner, brush your teeth, get in the shower, and then get into bed.

JADA: Okay.

JUSTIN enters.

JADA: I don’t have to do their homework anymore! I have the right amount to buy a new car!

JUSTIN: Oh my god, I’m so proud of you!

JADA: Okay, could you come to my celebration? It’s tomorrow at eight.

JUSTIN: Sure, I’ll be there!

JADA exits. The next day. A huge celebration. GABBY calls JADA’s MOM and DAD.

GABBY: It’s time to do the decorations! Hurry, my house!

GABBY calls JUSTIN.

GABBY: Hurry, the celebration! We need decorations!

JUSTIN: Okay, I’m gonna call everybody from school to come. And I’ll get some decorations too.

MOM and DAD (to JADA): Honey, we’ll be back later.

JADA: Okay, see you later! Remember the celebration! Don’t be late!

MOM and DAD: Okay.

JADA arrives at GABBY’s house. GABBY opens the door.

Everyone: Surprise!!

JADA: Oh my gosh! I can’t believe you planned this!

JADA sees MADDIE, STEPHANIE, and CORA.

What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t like me or something.

MADDIE: I’m sorry for bossing you around with all these things. I got this car for you.

JADA: But what about all that money you gave me for doing your homework?

MADDIE: It’s okay. You can keep it and buy another car.

JADA: Well, do you want to hang out sometime? Just not this time because we’re having a party.

NARRATOR: And they had a great time.

 

Friendship Song

JADA: Friendship comes with a key everywhere,

MADDIE: Even if it’s harder than it looks.

GABBY: We’re all in it together,

JUSTIN: No matter if it’s rough.

EVERYBODY: We can do it,

Because it goes on, it goes on,

Because friendship is the key to victory.

JADA and MADDIE: We started off as enemies, but then we became good friends.

GABBY and STEPHANIE: We both found something interesting we like together,

EVERYONE: We all end up friends.

 

Typed by Belinda Becker Jacob

 

The Drawing Book

The most important object to me is the drawing book my old art teacher gave me when I was in second grade. The book is kind of ripped on the cover. It’s all black, and when you touch the cover it’s kind of rough. But in the inside there’s smooth white paper. The inside is filled with drawings I drew when I was little. The smell just smells like regular old paper.

The first thing I remember was when they were handing it out to all the art club kids, since it was the last day of art club. It was really sweet that he handed me that book because it was directly from him. He didn’t tell us what we had to draw. He let us be creative. My sister was also happy because it was her last year there. After that, I knew it would be different with the new teacher. She wasn’t that good of a teacher. He was. It was just so special because they only accepted kids from third grade and up. So, I was the first kid to enter that was in second grade. And it’s not just special because of that, but that art teacher left the school, so I never saw him again. He taught me that it doesn’t matter if you mess up, it’s art. When I heard he was leaving, it was really sad for me and my sister. We really missed him when he left. But that never stopped me from drawing. I don’t use it that often like I used to. I just found it again, and I began drawing again. And it reminds me of my teacher. What I’m filling the pages with now looks different than what I used to. But right now, it’s in my backpack.

 

Animals

 

Warning: This story contains graphic violence, which may be disturbing to some readers.

 

Chapter One

When midnight came, the zoo started roaring because in this area, everything is a life sentence, for the animals were treated like they were slaves. The zookeepers walked around the zoo. They looked into the animals eyes and hit them. While the zookeepers did that, one animal was in its cage, lonely in the corner, thinking, Why is the world like this? During that time, it was raining. The animal’s name was Robin, and he was an elephant. He always thought that animals should be free in the wild and that they should be able to have freedom as a family and survive in the wild.

For a long time, the animals were enslaved in the zoo for Homo sapiens to see. Also, near there was a circus. The circus tortured animals even more. They would smack them, put them in chains, and rip them apart. They would hypnotize them, shoot them, put them in cages, everything you can imagine, and worst of all, they used elephants.

Oooh, you can’t imagine what people did to those elephants. They would put them in chains and make them dance. They would make them pull things. They would chop up their tusks. They would kill their young. They would put them in cages. They would face paint them. They would make them drink venom. And there was another creature. That creature was a lion. The lion always wanted the circus to be boycotted and thought that animals shouldn’t be treated so awfully.

The elephant and the lion, Alexander, knew each other. Each Sunday evening, they would break out of the zoo, meet up, and try to raise money to help animals go back into the wild. It never worked. A lot of animals suffered.

 

Chapter Two

One evening, the elephant and the lion went to the restaurant.

The elephant said, “How much money did we raise?”

The lion said, “We only raised 35 cents.”

Then, Robin had an idea. The idea was that Alexander and Robin would both go back and tell the animals this plan: the animals all station around town to raise money and if it didn’t work, they would meet back at the zoo, even the circus animals, and get a new plan. So they both set out back to where they came from and told everybody the plan.

All the animals agreed that it was an amazing plan. They set out stations all through town.

 

Chapter Three

All of the animals set out stations in these locations. Two were Times Square, three near the zoo, five near the circus, ten near the Empire State Building, thirty-five in Central Park, and fifty-two in the suburbs. All of them raised a little bit of money each day. They soon had over one thousand dollars. But they still didn’t have enough money to put the animals back in the wild.

While Robin was walking, he met a few humans: Curiosity, Philosophy, and Geography. They all wanted the exact opposite. They wanted all animals to be put back in the zoo and not to be bred. They wanted them to die easily, and they wanted them to cut their flesh for fun. They also wanted to destroy their habitats.

Robin did not like this. He was wondering if they even had brains. He wondered if any of them even grew up as actual animals (because all of the organisms were actually animals).

 

Chapter Four

All of the stations around the city raised over one billion dollars each, and that still wasn’t enough to overthrow the government. The government did not agree with this and wanted more animals to be tortured with an electric chair and a guillotine. They would also tie horses up by all their body parts.

 

Chapter Five

Robin and Alexander thought of a new idea. They would start a rebellion on Sunday evening, in the state park, at five pm, longitude 33 degrees.

 

Chapter Six

Sunday evening, at five pm and longitude 33 degrees, the polar bears broke out of their cages, using little ticks all night, biting in the cages with their little fangs, to open them up. The polar bears banged on the zookeepers and got the keys. The praying mantis killed many bugs and stuck them on the cage like super glue. Since there were five million of them, they pulled back all together and destroyed the cage.

The ants crawled out. The owls used their smarts to use telekinetic powers to open up the bird cages. The zookeepers were knocked, and the seals used them as floats to be able to be on land. The dolphins used little sea sponges to be able to jump on land and walk around. The animals that live in the coral reef jumped into the seals’ little tanks. Also, since the cage had mowers in it, the alligators took all of them and destroyed the cage. The elephants blew the cage down. Now, since the endangered animals all lived in the same cage, they all together got the keys from the polar bears and opened it up. Also, the parrots were able to use human to communicate with the people to open the door. The parakeets were able to text loony tunes and get granny.

Now they all together marched toward the White House. They marched through the door into the president’s office. First, the elephants smacked him the face, poked his eyes out with their tusks, and burned his brain at the stake. They also made his wife wear burning iron heels and had to dance in them for the rest of their life. Then, they took the dead president and buried him in a junkyard.

They came out and broke out and did these things.

 

Chapter Seven

On that day, all of the birds were spinning around and around the White House. They also had heavy balls that had atomic bombs with them, that they had to drop on the people. They threw them on Washington DC and to add on to that destruction, they put on anti-chemical masks, put chemicals in the jars, and banged them on Washington DC. They, too, went back in time with a time machine and took the most radioactive bombs in the world that were supposed to fall on Japan. They took them back to the present and threw them on Washington DC. Then, they also threw in human beings with cancer and the rash. Then, they also threw in computers that could be burned to make the radiation even stronger. Then, they just flew off. The birds also flew over to Florida and sawed it off.

They also sold Manhattan back to the American Indians. They took off the “locks” in the Panama Canal. They also destroyed Nickelodeon studios. They also threw donuts on the people of California. They exploded Columbia College. They shut down Niagara Falls and filled up the Grand Canyon with dirt. They also gave venom to the people of Barnard College. They also went back to Washington DC and went to a pottery studio and made president pottery and threw it into a vat of radiation. Then they started putting kittens everywhere and gave them to the Native Americans. They went back in time and killed Lewis and Clark, sunk the Mayflower, and killed Christopher Columbus. They also killed Teddy Roosevelt.

Then, they went on their phones and started looking at Pinterest. The end.

 

Chapter Eight

They also found out that America has a warship called the Intrepid. They took the Intrepid and sailed to India and bombed it. They sailed back to the circus. The owls flew around the circus people, picked their feathers off, and started poking the people with them. Then, they flew all the way to Kansas and then started collecting tumbleweeds. Then, they went and started throwing tumbleweeds at the people at the zoo. The tumbleweeds had toxins in them which made them fly to the foreign of the galaxy. They also collected twigs and made a fire with them and threw them at the cages to melt them down and make them into little molds.

 

Chapter Nine

As all the marine animals jumped into the water, they started swimming towards Antarctica. There, they met the polar bears, penguins, and sea lions and took them on a trip to Asia, and they went to Russia and invaded Moscow. Then, they started going to the big mosque, and they peeled off the big onion domes and then squeezed them into the ground and cut a door to make them portable homes. Then, they flooded India. After that, they went to Dubai and watched the dancing fountains. But, before they did that, they clogged up the system and made it so that the dancing fountains were like the ones at the Met, which were not inspiring and the people didn’t pay at all and also since they clogged it up, the water just went one inch tall each time it leaped. So the people saw that the fountains weren’t working and started dancing around in the water for no reason.

Then, the marine animals swam to NYC and flooded the subway through the Hudson and the East River. Then, they went up the East River upstate and clogged up every single tube they can see, even the toothpaste in your grandmother’s country home. Then after that, they started going back into the city and climbed up the Empire State Building and started shooting enormous volts of electricity into every single home until everybody in New York State was electrified. Then, they started swimming down the East River, went to Florida, and enjoyed the beach.

 

Chapter Ten: The Land Rover

All the land animals did something too. The first thing they did was go up the Nile River and climb up the Great Pyramid. Then, they started teleporting solar power to every home they saw, which made all of Egypt and almost all of Africa, shake. Then, they took a boat to Europe and started destroying the Colosseum. Then, they knocked down the Tower of Pisa and started destroying the Hoover Dam. Then, they went back to England and arrested the Queen. Then, they went back in time and put an earthquake in Los Angeles. Then they went further ahead in time, and they went to the earthquake of 1906 in California and started putting massive volts of electricity in the ground to make it shake more. They went back in time, and they started climbing up the biggest tower in the world and started throwing bacon at the world even though there was a pig there. Then, they split up and went to every single bank in the world and got the money to overthrow the government.

Then, the whole zoo marched up to the White House in 2018, with all of the money from all over the world, and went into the Oval Office. Since the president was already dead, they had a new president. He had paintings of himself all over the walls. He was even worse than the previous president. He made sure that all the animals in the zoos of the world were smacked in the face each millisecond and that they would pull out the tusks of all the elephants each millisecond. They also forced them to give birth to more elephants to produce more tusks. All the animals marched up to the new president’s desk and put the money on the desk.

Then, they said, “Will we be free of slavery and injustice if we give you this money?”

Then, the new president said, “No, no.”

Then, the animals overthrew the government one last time by marching out and knocking unconscious every single person in the White House and made the new president sign a paper saying all the animals will be released into the wild. The declaration was signed, and all the animals were free in the wild!

 

Sad Life of Peter

Peter was squirting toothpaste as he yelled at his mom for taking away his PS4. As he brushed his teeth, he said to himself, “I could think of a million ways to annoy my mom. I will use my mom’s credit card to buy millions of millions of V-bucks. I will burn her iPhone X. I will call the police and say mom did child abuse. I shall have my revenge.”

Then, he did all of the things he said he was going to do. The game console was important to him because he had every game in it, and all the games cost a fortune, and his mom took it away because he did badly on his test.

Since he had a credit card, he went out to get some McDonalds. He then saw a kid helping his mom, and after he saw that, he wanted his mommie, but she was going to be in prison for 30 years (because of child abuse). Then, he realized his mistakes and started doing chores till he was 16 and had quite a lot of money, but he knew it was not enough, and now he could get a real job, so he could gain enough money. Then later, when his mom was free, she felt proud that Peter changed.

After a while, he and his mom were walking down an alleyway, and a shadowy figure came up to Peter’s mom and said, “Give me all your money or I kill Peter.”

Strange, Peter thought. How did he know my name?

Then, he took Peter in his arms and stuck a gun at him and said, “Give me your money.”

So, his mom gave the figure the money, but he still shot his gun at Peter’s mom, and Peter fell to the ground devastated. In an anguished voice, he yelled “Why!!!”

That day, his mom got murdered.

After that, he worked his butt off and got a new name, Millionaire Peter. Then, he made a superhero base. He was now the M-Man. His superpower was money. He could purchase anything in the world. Then, he fought crime.

He was looking for the enemy that killed his mom. Then, his crime phone rang. Then, there was a crime in the warehouse, and the butler said to be very careful. Then, he entered the warehouse with his best superhero gear, and then he realized this was what he trained for his whole life. It was the same person who killed his mom. He had the same mask on as the time when he killed his mom. So to him, this was the final battle. They both fought, but M-Man took off his mask.

The killer said, “You again.”

Then, they fought to the death, and the killer almost fell off the plane (sorry, forgot to mention before). Then, the killer opened his mask, and he said, “Peter, I am your father.”

“Really???” Peter asked. Then, he said, “How did I know your name. Why did you kill her.”

“Son, I was being mind-controlled by the Man. I tried to fight it as much as possible, but he said he would kill, so I had no choice.” The killer, who was Peter’s dad, said, “Sorry, son.”

Peter gave his father a puzzled look.

 

Adventure of the Orphanage

There were two teens at an orphanage, and they were twins. The twins were one boy and one girl, and they had to leave the orphanage to a foster family. The boy was named Alex, and the girl was named Artic. Alex was 13, and Artic was 15, and they had to be at least 21 to live alone in their own houses. They didn’t know the truth if their family had been killed or if they were hiding from their kids. The only memory they had was the half of their family’s picture where they see themselves and the body of their parents but, they don’t have a face. Now let’s get back to the teens at the orphanage. They were feeling butterflies in their stomachs. They were feeling that way because they felt like the family was not going to accept them at their house. They met the foster parents, and they felt suspicious about them.

The foster parents were named Cassie (as the mom) and Chris (as the dad). Cassie was 23, and Chris was 24, and they owned a mansion with two other teens that were “their kids.” Alex and Artic met the kids, and they were named Emma and Erick. The oldest was Emma because she was 17, and Erick was 15. The whole foster family had hate for Alex and Artic. The family made their foster teens do their chores (wash the dishes, clean the whole house, and take the trash out, etc.).

Alex and Artic woke up to a strange noise that sounded like someone was screaming in pain at the backyard at 5:00 am, and they went downstairs to check what happened in the backyard. They still heard the noise, then it stopped. They couldn’t believe what they saw. They felt suspense rushing down their blood. They saw the other half of the picture, and they saw a pile of dirt under the half. They connected both halves of the picture and found out that their foster parents found their real parents. Alex insisted that Artic dig the dirt to see what was under. Then, they saw a horrific picture of a dead body.

Alex heard the lights turn on in the house and told Artic, “Get out of here. Someone is awake, so we should go back to sleep.” Before they got caught, they put the pile of dirt back to how it was at the start. They went to the back door of the house and went in.

Alex and Artic went to their parents’ room and snuck under the bed and heard them talking clearly. The parents didn’t notice that Alex and Artic snuck in. They heard them saying, “Alex and Artic are our real children, and Emma and Erick are not our real children. They are villains, and they have superpowers of fire. Alex and Artic have superpowers of ice, but they don’t know it.”

Alex and Artic felt emotional because they finally found their parents, and they couldn’t trust them anymore.

Alex said, “Why would you keep a secret from your kids?”

They got out from under the bed, and it scared their parents.

The parents said, “You were not meant to hear that.”

Alex and Artic stormed out the room, and they went into their room and locked the door. They started sobbing, and finally their parents opened the lock and all had a family hug.

“We tried to keep you safe from them, and sorry for not telling you later that we were your parents and being rude toward you guys. Your siblings Emma and Erick are not actually your siblings. They are villains,’’ said their parents, who were really named Jess and Jessica.

Jessica asked the kids, “Why are you both covered in dirt?”

“We were digging a pile of dirt that was in the backyard because we heard a noise coming from there, and we saw a pile of dirt. Erick told me to help him dig the hole.”

“Did you know that you both have superpowers,” said Jess and Jessica.

They both went upstairs to see their real kids and put the villians back in their prison in a faraway island surrounded by a body of water. Emma and Erick heard the commotion and woke up and saw them in their bedroom. They both knew what was happening, but still got caught and were put in prison on a faraway island.

Artic asked the first question to the enemies. “Why were you playing to be me and my brother?” asked Artic.

“We were playing as you guys because our parents want to have your money for them only and not for us. They are just worried about themselves,” said Emma.

Alex said, “Who are your parents?”

“Our parents are Chloe and Cody,” said Erick.

Alex and Artic trusted Erick and Emma because they looked trustworthy and not like they were lying. Erick and Emma were crying and sobbing and saying that they didn’t belong there.

Alex and Artic both asked at the same time, “How did we both end up in different places that we both don’t belong in?”

“Our parents switched your birth certificates, pictures, and your names,” said Emma.

“Thanks,” said Alex and Artic.

Artic had a thought in her head, We should let them live with us, and there’s no more danger for them. That’s why our parents kept it as a secret.

So she asked them, and they said, “Yes.”

THE END

 

The World’s Smallest Dog

I am the world’s smallest dog. The world is too large and gigantic for me. All these big aliens are taking me by a red rope and naming me Ben, Fred, and Lilly! I can’t take it anymore! So, I run away. I mean, I will be left alone. No more “you’re a cutie pie” or “such an adorable munchkin” for me! So, with my short, stubby legs, I run down the road. I keep running until my small legs cannot take it anymore. I sit down to take a rest.

“Hey, you little doggie.” A big cat comes up on me.

I stand up to run away. My little legs don’t take me very far until the cat comes up to me. He grabs me up and bites me. I start to whimper. He drops me to the ground. Then, he walks away. I wait until he is gone, then I sit up. I have no idea where I am. The trees are swaying, and the wind is making me cold. I am hungry. Where is my soft and sweet doggie food? I am too small to do anything. So, I sit and stare hopelessly at a tree.

In the morning, I am awoken to the sound of chirps and baby birds. I look up. A bird’s nest is above my head. I run away from it. I never have liked birds. They were bigger than me. Anything bigger than me is sure to kill me. I am so small, my legs don’t even take me ten feet from the tree. I hate being so small. I hate it.

I walk as far as the town goes. I turn up onto a pole. There’s a picture of me!! I’m famous! All the world will know about me! For once, something goes well for me! Wait a second. I have seen that word before. I think it is “missing.” Or “massing.” I don’t know. Well, I’m famous. Who cares what it means. I walk down the street with my head held high. I hope people ask for autographs!

 

A few days later…

I am walking through a park with my head still held high. A van! It must be my special ride. I hop over to it and wait for the door to be opened to an inviting doggie food bowl and some doggie hair people to do my messy hair. The door opens with a slam. Not what I was expecting. But still, I’m excited for my new haircut. But a net falls over my head. What is going on here! I start barking. I get pulled by the net and dropped into a cage. Wait, I think I know what’s happening. I think I’m being taken to the pound! What am I supposed to do!!

 

One month later…

The pound is mucky and dirty, and it smells weird. The food is not that good. No one has adopted me yet. One more day in this stupid pound I will die!! Well, here comes another little girl who will pick any dog but the smallest dog in the world. We all have to line up and do tricks. At the end, the girl has to choose who she wants. All the dogs do handshakes and rolling over. The girl comes to me, and I look at her and smile. She smiles back at me. Then, she pets me. “I want this one,” she says.

“But you have not seen all the dogs yet,” the owner says.

“But I just know I want this one,” the girl says. The girl picks me up. She pets me once again. Then, she and her mom go out the door. I love this little girl, and she loves me, because I am the smallest dog in the world!!

The End

 

A Puffy Phenomenon

 

Life isn’t Fair

It’s hard being a rabbit with a disability. Kits look at you and hop behind their mom. Other bunnies hop away in fear. I just had to be chosen to have a disability. It isn’t fair. For the most part, I have a cool home. I find cool parts that humans leave in their shops, where those big machines sometimes come in, and live there for a while. Some say things on them like Nissan, Toyota, BMW, Jeep… I digress. Okay, back to my house. I steal parts from human shops and invent things to make my life easier. So far, I’ve invented a wheel for my missing leg, moving stairs for my house, and a robot to make me carrot cake. The project that I am working on right now is a little carrot mobile, and the wheel is made out of carrot stalks. It’s pretty cool, although my lifelong dream is to invent some sort of a friend, one who plays games with me and laughs with me. Something like that. Or, it could be easier to get a real friend. Much, much easier, but more complicated.

Right, let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Puffy Frank, and I am only six years old in human years (assuming this will be read by a human), and I think I am very intelligent for a six-year-old. My parents died saving me from a murderer. The murderer managed to cut one of my legs off, but I escaped and hid away in the sewers. I stayed there and cried for two weeks, because I was only five years old. It was so sad and terrifying at the same time. But I managed to get over it and used my skill of inventing to make myself a wheel for my missing leg. Well, I’m here now, so… I think I’m doing pretty well for a lone orphan, anyway. So, maybe you haven’t noticed, but this is my first long, real writing piece that I’ve written. I’m only six years old, anyways, so…

 

Test-drive

Just in case you were wondering, here is an example day from my life, just to show you how bad it is to be a disabled bunny:

So, I finally finished my carrot mobile, and I decided that maybe taking it out of my bunny hole and test-driving my carrot mobile might help me think of my next idea. So I tugged it out of my bunny hole, got in, and drove around Bugstown. Our village is named after the famous human bunny character, Bugs Bunny. We have pictures of him up all around town.

Anyways, I was driving around town and rabbits started “secretly” pointing at me. Kits stared at me. There was hardly any traffic around me. (Well, I will admit, that’s partly because I’m well… Okay, fine… I’m the only one who owns a car in Bugstown.) Still, the streets that I was on were almost completely empty. I drove on and on, still, rabbits scattering before me. Sometimes, I wondered if that was a good thing. To be feared by other bunnies. Either that’s my bad side, or I’m just trying to make myself feel better about myself. I don’t know. So, anyways, (I really have to get better at staying on one topic!) I was driving to nowhere, and then, I got my idea: a fake leg. I immediately turned around and started to drive back home. I was hungry. Maybe, if I made that fake leg and put on a disguise and made copies of my bunny mobile, I could sell them, and people wouldn’t be scared of me because I would just look like a normal bunny! Of course, my disguise would have to make me look older. (Or else someone would ask who my parents were and then, what would I say? If I told them the truth, they would just report me to the orphanage. And I am horrible at lies.) I think that could be a great plan! I would make enough money to buy myself food and toys, and other essentials. (Yes, I consider toys an essential.) Or I could make robots and program them to make bunny mobiles. Yeah, thats a better plan. I’ll would do that. As soon as I got home, I laid out the blueprint for the robot. All right! Awesome!

 

Perfect

First, I made the fake leg. It was easy. I took some fake rabbit hair and super glued it on to a plastic modeled leg. Then, I made two electrical cords running up from my fake leg to the stump of my real leg. Perfect. I tried to wiggle my fake toes. It worked! Amazing! I tried jumping. Yup! I could jump more gracefully than I had ever been able to in a year. Okay, next part of the plan: robots. In about three days, I finished six robots. Now, I just had to program them to make the bunny mobiles. I’m quite a very advanced bunny, if I say so myself. I quickly built a terminal to key the program in to them. Perfect! Making the program would be easy-peasy. There! Done! I washed my hands quickly to get all the oil off of me. Now, the next part of my plan: the disguise. I spent a lot of time pondering how to make it, walking back and forth, until finally I got it: a mustache and glasses.

It would look just like the human items humans sometimes wear on their face! I quickly made it out of fake rabbit hair and plastic. Perfect! Now, one more thing: a stand to sell bunny cars. I quickly threw together a stand. Perfect. The day was already over, so I went to bed with my fake leg. Wow! I was so excited for tomorrow!

 

Why Should I?

I woke up at 9:00 am. I don’t have to go to school, because I don’t want to. Why should I? No one ever told me to. I groaned, tired from the night before. (I’m a night owl, not a morning bird.) Then, I remembered today was the day to put my plan in action! And, I officially don’t have a missing leg. Hooray! I ran out of my bedroom. (Well, it wasn’t much of a bedroom… ) Yup, there was all my work from the past few days. My robots had made 30 bunny mobiles overnight (five robots each) just for me to sell. I quickly threw together a loooooong chain and a giant cart. I would attach the chain to the original bunny mobile, (which I would drive), and chain each bunny mobile to the chain. Then, at the end of the chain, the cart would be attached, and the stand would be in it. Perfect! Now I just had to find a busy corner. I drove around for a while, and then I found quite a busy corner, that people would pass by on their way to work. I set everything up, unlatched the chain from the original bunny chain, and connected it to the stand. Perfect. Now, the hardest part: waiting. I’ve never been patient. Never. Ever. I looked on the ground to see some parts that humans must of dropped. I picked them up and quickly made a puzzle where there was a big container with a lots of chutes inside, going in every direction. There was also a ball. You had to tilt the giant plastic container in every way to get the ball to go through the chute. I played around with that for a while, until an old man Mini Lop bunny hopped over.

I immediately stood straight up and said, “Hello, mister.”

He looked me up and down and said, “What you selling here?”

He had a long cigar in his mouth and kept moving it from side to side in his mouth.

I immediately said as politely as I could (I wasn’t trained in manners), “This, mister, is a one of a kind machine. If you get in it and press this thing down right here, this contraption will move forward. If you press down that and turn this wheel right, this contraption will turn right. Press down the button down there and turn the wheel left, and this contraption will turn left. If you press the other button down there, this contraption will immediately stop. I call this contraption, the ‘bunny mobile.’”

“Well, that’s certainly a unique contraption,” the old man growled. I held my breath. Then, the old man smiled. “How much for one?” he asked.

Oops. I forgot to make a price for the cars! “500 bunalls,” I blurted out.

The old man sighed. He grumbled, “Well, I guess it’s a new invention… ” He looked up at me. “How many do you have?” he asked.

“Thirty, sir.”

“Okay. I would like five for my whole family.”

I managed not to smile. “That would be 2,500 bunalls, sir,” I told him.

He gladly handed over five 500 bills. I unchained five cars, took another chain, and chained them all together.

“Thank you, sir!” I exclaimed.

“No, thank you,” he responded. He smiled.

Then, he hopped away with the chain of bunny mobiles. I sighed a sigh of pleasure. Business could be so pleasing! Unfortunately, in the next chapter, I learn that business isn’t always pleasing.

 

Unpleasant business

I was very happy. I had just sold five bunny cars! I was still smiling. Then, a pack of five teenager Rex Rabbits came up to me and said, “Haha! Look at this twerp. Selling giant carrots. Ha. He could never make it anywhere.” The teenagers were all smirking.

“Oh yeah?” I responded. “If you were smart, then you would know that these things are special, and I just started selling and already sold five of these things. Besides, even if they were a giant carrot, you wouldn’t have the brain to make one of these beauties.” I smiled.

I thought I had them beat! Unfortunately, I did not. The teenagers’ smiles fell off their faces.

“Well then, let’s see how good this junk really is.” One of the teenagers stepped forward and grabbed me in a bear hug. I squirmed, but it was no use. One of the other teenagers took one of my bunny mobiles. He signaled to all of the other teenagers. The teenager that was hugging me let go of me and dropped me to the ground. The teenager ran away with my bunny mobile, and all the other teenagers followed him. I was enraged. How dare they! I immediately called the police. They immediately came.

The police officer asked me, “Where’s your parents, kit?”

 

I’m a phenomenon

Oh no. Ohhhhhhhhh no. This was bad. I didn’t think ahead, and now they were asking me where my parents were. What was I supposed to say?

 

Flashback happens…

I was snuggled in my mother’s clutch.

“Puffy, I need you to promise something.”

“Anything, Mama,” I responded happily.

“Puffy, this will probably be the only lifelong promise I will make you make.”

“Okay, Mama. What is it?”

“I want you to promise to never, ever, lie to people. Okay?”

“Okay, Mama.”

“Deal?”

“Deal.”

 

Flashback ends.

“Kit! Kit!”

“Huh?”

Where are you parents?”

“Uhhhh… ”

Oh no. What was I going to say? I couldn’t break the one promise that I made. The one thing I have from my parents. But if I didn’t break the promise, my whole life could be in jeopardy if I didn’t lie. I tried to hear my parents like they do in movies, but I couldn’t hear anything. Then, I decided to tell the truth:

“I am an orphan.

I live in the sewers.

I have a missing leg.

My parents were murdered.”

The police gasped. The police who asked me where my parents were gasped. “You’re a phenomenon, kit.”

 

Downgrade

We walked to the orphanage. I looked away from the police. We were almost there. The police didn’t even have to tell me that we were there and to go into the orphanage. I did it myself.

 

Puffy v.2

I walked into the orphanage. The orphanage manager tried to introduce himself, but I ran by before he could. I hid out in my bedroom for most of the day. I was pretty sure I was going to have a horrible life from here. I slept for the whole day, not sure what to do. Then, the orphanage manager knocked on the door. I opened it.

The manager said softly to me, “Someone wants to adopt you, Puffy.”

 

Paperwork

I was sitting at the adoption desk. I stared at the people across from me. Both of them wanted to adopt me. They both were Holland Lops, and both had blue eyes. I gazed at them.

“What’s your name, son?” the man asked.

“Puffy,” I mumbled back.

“Well,” said the Holland Lop woman, “we would like to adopt you, Puffy. We live nearby, and we don’t have any children.”

“Okay,” I mumbled.

“Alright, all the paperwork is done!” the man exploded. “Let’s go see our new house!”

 

Interrupted

This was it, wasn’t it? I was going to leave my home and live in a house. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it. But did it matter how I felt about it? It wouldn’t change anything. Oh well, might as well try to be happy about it anyways. We got to our house, and then — oh! All my bunny cars! What ever happened to them!? Then, the orphanage director ran down to us.

“Excuse me!” the orphanage director called. “I believe this is yours!” Behind him, he was lugging the long chain of bunny cars!

“What in the world is that?” exclaimed both of the Holland Lops.

“Oh yes!” I exclaimed. “This, uhhh… ” The man laughed.

“My name is Bucky, and my wife’s name is Bun. Just call us Mom and Dad, though,” he responded.

“Okay then,” I started again. “This, Mom and — ”

“Can you just take this thing? It’s soooooooooo heavy,” the orphanage director groaned. Ugh, I keep getting interrupted! I thought to myself.

Dad took the chain and responded, “Start again, son.”

“Okay then,” I said. “Once again, this I — ”

“Sorry, but it’s getting cold outside.” Mom shivered.

Augh! I screamed in my head. What I said out loud was, “Okay.” We moved inside the house.

“Wow!” I exclaimed. The house wasn’t a house; it was a mansion! Beautiful! Even the bunny chains could be in the living room, and the living room could still be a ballroom! I dragged the bunny cars in.

“Mom and Dad, maybe you didn’t know, but I am an amazing inventor!”

“Really.” My dad smiled. “Could you invent something for us?”

 

A New Life

Now, my life is amazing. Better than ever before. I have a bedroom three times the size of my house in the sewers, and I learned how to slide down handrails. I‘m famous as the kid inventor, and my family makes a living out of bunny cars. I’m inventing new things every day, and I’ll never stop. I have one close group of friends, and they are all disabled!

Life is beautiful once again.

The end

 

The Canvas Who Wanted to be Loved

One day, before 5:00 a.m. in an art studio in Italy, canvases were waiting to be purchased and painted. That day, an artist came in and was looking for an old, priceless canvas to paint his next masterpiece. When he purchased his very first canvas, he brought it back to his own art shop so he could start painting. That canvas was not just a plain old canvas. It was ancient (who knew how old) and used by other famous artists. It could not talk, but it could do things. This canvas could change paintings if it wanted to. This canvas was magical, not alive. When the artist started painting, the painting started to come alive. The painter was painting a night sky, and the canvas was transformed into the scene.

The canvas saw all the shining lights and the dark blue night sky. The canvas was the scene. The canvas saw the dark mountains in the back, the shining lights of the village. Up in the sky, there were swirls of light from the stars. The canvas was feeling so lucky and colorful that he was the scene. When the painter, Vincent Van Gogh, was done with the painting, he started adding small details of sparks representing the stars. The final touch was the moon, shining and giving light to the village.

When he was finally done, he let the paint dry. The canvas felt lonely and cold. Once he was finally freezing, his artist put it in a room that was much warmer. The canvas saw more paintings and sat there until people came in admiring them. Years went on after his artist died. He was getting more and more admirers. One day, he was put into the MoMA, where even more people came to look at him. He felt loved. One day, it was so crowded, and someone took him. Stole him.

People were chasing him, and he saw the harsh life where all the policemen were chasing him too. He wanted to go back to the museum and not be stolen. He finally got back inside in a cool, chilly place — the thief’s house. When he was stolen, he felt lonely, but he had hope. He knew he was going to be rescued, but he didn’t know that everyone around the world was looking for him. No one loved him anymore — for now. He sat there by himself for at least two years. One day, when his thief died, he was recovered and put back into a safer museum.

People continued visiting him, and one day, because he was loved so much, he was sold. He continued living in a small house, where no one saw him besides his buyer. He didn’t like it. He wanted to go back where everybody got to see him and not just his buyer. He protested and protested. He defended himself by refusing to look good in the light and showing weird images instead of the beautiful blue and black night sky. He did not want to stay in this lonely house.

One day, his buyer had enough of him and sold him back to a different museum. There, he was loved even more and continued to show his beautiful image. No one wanted to buy him because they wanted to share him with the public. He wanted to stay right there and not be sold again.

THE END!!!

 

The British One

 

Intro

“What!” said Jackie. “You’re getting remarried?”

It was Saturday afternoon, and the family was having afternoon tea.

“Well, don’t you want me to be happy?” said Jackie’s mom, sipping her tea.

“Well, of course we do,” said Gabby, giving Jackie a look. “We’re just in shock, that’s all. But yes, we are very happy for you. Just one question: is he moving here, or are we moving to that big house we saw.”

Oh, please make him move here, thought Jackie. Or say that you think this is actually going too fast for you. Please say it’s the second one.

“Well, about that… ” said Jackie’s mom. “Remember the other house that only Gabriela and I saw? Well, we’re moving there.”

“What?!” Jackie screamed, spilling tea all over the table and jumping up. “I’m not moving!”

“Well, you have to,” her mom said.

“No,” said Jackie. “I’m running away.”

 

Two years later…

 

Chapter One

“Do any of them know what ‘on time’ means?” asked Will, cleaning an apple from the dirt on it. “They’re usually not this late.”

Jack and Will were sitting down near the pastry shop, waiting for the rest of their gang.

“They have the poet guy with them, right?” asked Jack, pacing back and forth. “I hope the poet guy won’t forget he’s the oldest out of all of them.”

“Well, how can he forget if he keeps reminding us about it,” said Will, snorting. “But really, if they got caught I’ll kill them before the police get to.”

“Hey!” said Jack suddenly. “It’s the poet guy!”

“Finally!” said Will as the poet guy got closer. “What took so long, Alan?”

“Captured,” said Alan, breathing heavily. “I just ran away from some policemen. They’re going to find us any minute. So move it!”

“I don’t know if this is the right time to point this out, but we have a small problem,” said Jack, looking past Alan and Will.

“You think I haven’t seen that before, British guy?” asked Alan. “I know that all of our group is gone except for me, German guy, and you.”

“No,” said Jack with a worried voice. “There are, like, ten policemen and a really tall guy coming toward us with guns.”

 

Chapter Two

“We could try and run,” said Will. “But whatever happens, Jack, keep your mouth shut. We all know how they hate British people.”

“We can’t run,” said Alan, leaning against the wall and taking a huge bite of the apple Will gave him. “Time to join our friends.”

“Shutting mouth,” said Jack. “Now!”

“What did you want to do with them sir?” asked one of the policemen to the tall man. “You want to take them to your school?”

“Yes, that’s right,” said the man. “And if you don’t mind, I would like to give them a proper hello.”

“Whatever you’d like sir,” said the same policeman.

The tall man came closer to the three of them and then crouched down, so he’d be face to face with them.

“I don’t think I introduced myself,” he said. “My name is Vincent. I am a director of a school for people like you. Your friends are also going to that school, so you won’t be very lonely there. Now may you please introduce yourselves?”

“Yeah sure, whatever,” Alan and Will mumbled. Jack still kept his mouth shut and didn’t dare look up.

“My name is Will,” mumbled Will, also not looking up. “I’m seventeen.”

“Nice to meet you, Will,” said Vincent. “I think that people at the school will call you German guy. Have you ever been called that before?”

Will nodded but still kept his head down.

“My name is Alan, and I’m the oldest of the group. I’m eighteen,” said Alan, picking his head up and looking Vincent straight in the eye. “People call me poet guy.”

“Well nice to meet you too, Alan,” said Vincent. “You like poetry?”
Alan nodded.

“Well, then we’ll get along,” said Vincent. “And what’s your name? You haven’t spoken at all.”

“That’s Jack,” said Alan quickly. “He’s a little shy sometimes.”

“I don’t think he’s shy,” said Vincent. “Say your name, or I’ll tell the policemen to take you away.”

“My name is Jack,” said Jack, trying to hide his British accent. “I’m sixteen.”

“Well, I guess people call you the British one.”

“No,” said Jack quickly. “We only call people ‘one’ if they are very important. They call me British guy.”

“Well, then,” said Vincent. “Poet guy, German guy, and British guy, I hope you’ll like your new school.”

 

Chapter Three

One hour later, Jack, Will, and Alan found themselves walking up to a big building.

All the way they were walking, none of them dared to speak.

Will was too shy to speak. He never liked talking to people he just met. It was different with their gang members.

Alan was too sad to speak. Vincent told them that their other friends refused to go and were now in jail.

And Jack was too scared to speak. The same thought kept running through his head. Her head, actually.

I just agreed to die. I’m a her. Not a he. Why did I agree to this. My foster parents wouldn’t kill me. Wait, thought Jack, I went through like two years without them, and I was perfectly fine. Whoever said I have to stop pretending.

They finally came to a tall building with heads sticking out of the windows.

“The other students like to give new students warm welcomes,” said Vincent. “I hope you’ll like it here.”

The three of them were still mute. None of them even paid attention to what he was saying. They all just kept their eyes forward.

When they got inside the building, they all gasped. Vincent smiled and said, “Welcome to your new home.”

The ceiling was at least ten feet tall, the walls were covered in amazing wallpaper. There was a sofa that took up a quarter of the room, a piano that took up half, and some chairs that took up the last quarter.

“Time to meet your classmates,” said Vincent. “You’ll be with them a lot, so try to be nice. If they try to kill you, either tell me or fight back. It happens here a lot.”
They walked down a long hallway to a room where there were two long tables.“This is where you’ll eat,” said Vincent. “You really don’t have to know where it is because everyone else will be rushing there every morning, afternoon, and night. You’ll memorize this whole place at some point. Now I really must show you were you’ll sleep.”

They walked down the hallway a couple of more minutes (it was really long) until they came to a door where loud sounds were coming from.

Vincent opened the door, and everyone got quiet.

“Students,” he said. “We have three new students today. Their names are Alan who is eighteen, Will who is seventeen, and Jack who is sixteen.”

Everyone was still quiet.

“I’ll leave you to say hello,” said Vincent. Then, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

“You guys have nicknames?” one of the boys asked. “Or should we give you guys one?”

“We have,” said Alan. “Mine’s poet guy.”

“Cool,” said another boy. “What about you?”

“Mine’s German guy,” said Will.

“What about the one that hasn’t spoken yet?” said the boy that first spoke. “What’s your nickname?”

“British guy,” said Jack

“Look at that!” said the boy. Jack saw he had a French accent, and the other boy that also laughed looked like a Romani. “We have a British guy in our room!”

“Well, what are you?” said Jack, not offended at all (he heard that before). “French guy and gypsy guy?”

The two boys looked at him blankly.

Then, the door opened, and Vincent came in.

“From now on, you shall call me by my last name: Mr. Rander,” he said. “Now all of you off to bed. What’s wrong with you guys? Michael? Alex? Hurry up!”

When everyone was in bed, Vincent put out the small candle on the windowsill. Then, he left the room.

The fire was still burning, so you could still see some things.

“Hey,” said the French guy. “British guy? We’re in France! What were your parents thinking of bringing you here after the war?!”

“I don’t have parents,” said Jack. “Besides, it’s easier to just keep your mouth shut and not talk about all the other things you stole if you get caught.”

Someone gave a small laugh.

“Well, in the morning you’ll really see how this room looks,” said the French guy. “It’s not the best room you ever saw.”

“I saw a bed,” said Jack. “That’s the most comfortable thing I ever saw!”

“How about your foster parents?” asked the French guy.

“Made me sleep outside,” said Jack, remembering the memory of him sleeping on the cold ground. “They really didn’t care if I died.”

“Well, now you’re here,” said the French guy. “You ever been to school?”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “I got kicked out all the time for stealing.”

“Well, this is a normal school,” said the French guy.

And that was their first day at that school.

 

Chapter Four

Three weeks later…

The bell rang, like usual, early in the morning.

“Today is telling secrets day!” said Mr. Rander. “We have this day every year. And no lies. So after classes, I want to hear your deepest secret! Now off you go!”

Jack’s eyes grew wide. His deepest secret? It’s that he’s a girl!

Time to die, thought Jack as he went to his first class of the day. Why did I ever agree to do this?

The morning classes got his mind off of things.

“German class is very important to everyone I hope,” said their teacher for German that morning. “And I know that you’re going to tell your secrets today, but you still have to pay attention!

That last part was for the kids in the back who always talked. Jack, Will, and Alan were one of those boys.

“Deutsche Geschichte,” said the German teacher. “Will! Translate that!”

Will stood up and said, “German history. And also, are the teachers going to share their secrets? Mrs. Ahif?”

“Nein!” said Mrs. Ahif. “Jetzt lese deutsche Geschichte in deinen Lehrbuchern!”

Everyone looked at Will for him to translate. He was the only one that could speak German fluently in the class, aside from Mrs. Ahif.

German class went on, and soon the bell rang which meant it was time for French class.

“French guy!” called Jack. “You better translate!”

“Yeah,” the French guy said as he sat next to Alan. “You owe me one.”

“No,” said Will. “I translated for German class, only fair if you translate in French class.”

“Fine,” said the French guy. “And you can call me Alex if you want.”

“Bonjour!” said Mr. Aubin coming into the room. “C’est le jour de l’histoire de France!”

“Today is French history day,” translated Alex. “I’m not helping you with anything else. Only what he’s saying, not what’s in the textbooks!”

“Sure,” said Jack. “The textbooks are in English. I think we all know English.”

“You’re supposed to know French!” said Alex angrily. “You’re in France! Not in America!”

“Is there something wrong in the back, boys?” asked Mr. Aubin.

“Non,” said Alex. “Nous allons travailler maintenant.”

“Good,” said Mr. Aubin and turned back to the boy he was helping

“You’re good at lying to teachers,” whispered Jack. “You said that we’re going to go and work now.”

“Well, I am,” Alex said and opened his book.

Half an hour later, the bell rang, and everyone ran out of the classrooms. Everyone couldn’t wait to hear the secrets of all the boys.

At least those were the only two classes of the day, thought Jack. Now I can live peacefully in a grave once they find out I’m a girl. Even if I don’t say I’m a girl, they’ll find out anyway at some point.

As everyone took their seats at lunch, Mr. Rander stood up and said, “We’ll go by tables, and then everyone will say their deepest secrets! No lying!”

“Last year this started,” said Alex. “I never lie to Mr. Rander. If you do, somehow he’ll find out and kick you out.”

“No lying it is,” said Alan.

Jack saw that Alan, Will, and Alex were also scared. It made Jack feel a tiny bit better.

Mr. Rander starting naming tables, and the boys went around and told their deepest secrets.

At least I’m going last, thought Jack, as a boy told everyone he’s not actually French. I can enjoy life for five more minutes!

Then, it was time for their table.

 

Chapter Five

“Alex,” said Mr. Renard. “Your secret.”

Alex stood up like all the other boys did and said, “My deepest secret is that I almost killed my dad.”

Everyone was quiet, and then Mr. Renard broke the silence.

“Well, I guess something in common with your friend Will over here,” said Mr. Renard. “I’m sure we all saw some anger in you when someone mentioned parents. Will, stand up.”

Will stood up and said, “My deepest secret is the same as Alex. I almost killed my dad.”

Mr. Renard said, “Well, we all get angry at our parents at some point. Alan your turn.”

Alan stood up and said, “I wrote ten poems, and they all were in a newspaper.”

“Well, that’s amazing!” said Mr. Renard. “Jack, your turn.”

Jack stood up slowly and said, “My deepest secret is that my name is actually Jackie, and um… I’m sort of like a girl really, and I’ve been pretending to be a boy for the past two years.”

It was deadly quiet in the room.

The whole room was looking at her with their mouths open.

Then, Will said, “You’re a girl?!”

“Yeah,” said Jackie. “But I can explain.”

So, Jackie told the whole story from beginning to the end.

“Forever this name will be with you… ” said Will. “The British One.”

THE END

 

Thunder the Tiger

Thunder the tiger lived in the jungle, but he wondered what New York City would be like. He lived on the north mountain which was actually very far away. He wondered if he would ever get to New York City because he was so far away.

His mom and dad said, “You can’t walk that far,” but he was confident that he could.

He walked a long distance to get to New York City. He saw an ostrich hiding in the bushes who wanted to kick him. He had to run a far distance, and he realized he was back where he started. He wondered again if he would ever get to New York City because there were so many dangers out there. But he wouldn’t give up. He swung on the vines and found a leopard. That was a real danger! He wondered if he would ever get past the leopard, and he tried and tried. However, the leopard found him again and again. But Thunder wouldn’t give up yet until he got tired. Then finally, he got past the leopard. Then, there was more trouble. He had to go back past the ostrich. He finally got past the ostrich too, and the ostrich tried to kick him.

But Thunder said, “Look, there’s another leopard!”

The ostrich looked, but nothing was there, He looked back, but the tiger was gone. Thunder had tricked him. But Thunder had more obstacles to get to New York City. He had to get past a whole big log pile that was blocking the path to New York. He tried to jump, but he fell down the log pile, so he went around the logs. But he had even more obstacles to do. He wondered if New York City even existed. He was so tired that he had to take a break.

The next morning, he had lots of obstacles to do, so he had to do his best to get to New York City. He had to get past a bunch of rocks that formed a wall. He had to make a hole in the ground and make another hole to get up. He tried and tried, but he couldn’t get past the craziest obstacles in the whole rainforest. He tried to get past the deer, but they were eating, and he knew they would think he was a predator and they were his prey. So he dressed up like a deer secretly and took off his costume when he finally got past the deer. But one of the deer saw him not in disguise, and the mother deer thought it was her baby, but it was just Thunder disguised as a deer. Then, when he took off his costume, the mother deer spotted him, and the deer realized they had been tricked.

The mother deer asked him where he was going, and the tiger said, “I want to leave the rainforest and go to New York City!”

The mother deer said, “Okay, you can go!”

He finally got past all obstacles, but then he realized New York City didn’t have the things he needed. It didn’t have a proper place to live, it just had tall buildings. They didn’t have water in pools on the ground, they only had water in fountains which he couldn’t reach because he was a baby. He realized he had gone this far for nothing, because New York City didn’t have the right things for him. Now he had to go past all the obstacles he had passed before.

The moral of the story is always be thankful for what you have, or else you’ll end up in a place you won’t want to be in ever again.

THE END.

 

The Debate Over the Weirdest Things

             

THE INTRO

(The Potato)

Once there was a world where not only people had the ability to speak, but so did other things…

(The Person)

We wish it was only us who spoke… Every morning, my friend has to wake up to more noise than himself. I’m glad that’s not me. I want to wake up to no noise other than myself.

 

THE BEGINNING

(The Person)

I wake up and feel happy. It’s a Saturday! For me that means that I don’t have to go to work! Yay!!

I go downstairs and make myself breakfast. I can eat in peace. My friend can’t. Too bad for him. At least he said he can’t. I think I’ll go visit my friend! I think. So, I clean up and go brush my teeth before I leave for my friend’s house.

 

(The Potato)

I never knew this would happen, but it did. I ended up leaving them and coming here to a different world from the one that I know, a world where not only I can’t speak, but I hear other voices, other voices that don’t belong to us. I don’t have the courage to talk to the new sounds I hear and the new figures that always seem to move around the room that I stay in, Well actually, I stay in a lot of rooms. Sorry, I don’t know the names of the rooms that I stay in. Okay, I know that I haven’t gotten to the point yet, so here it is: I left my Potato friends and now live with a thing I hear everyone call h-u-m-a-n-s, but I have no idea what they exactly are.

 

(The Person)

As I walk to my friend’s house, I think, How does he do this? This new companion of his?

When I get to the house, I don’t even knock on the door. All I do is push the door open, and wow, it opens!

“Hey yo!” I call into the house that seems pretty empty.

“Who are you?” a voice calls from inside the house.

“It’s me, your friend, Steve.”

“Oh,” says the voice, “you should knock the next time.”

“Well then, why do you leave your door open, huh?” I ask.

I hear some noises, and then my friend (whose name is Frank but we call Frankie when we are not in public) comes to the already opened door.

“How is your new companion doing?” I ask in hope that Frank is not in the mood to show me his new companion.

“Hey, you need to call me before you come to visit. I am not in the mood to show you my new friend or to see you! So you can go, bye bye,” Frank says, and he slams the door in my face. “By the way, I am still having breakfast!” I hear him shout from inside. I guess Frank doesn’t want to see me. Oh well, too bad, I think.

 

(Frankie)

Well, I guess that I’ll start from the beginning of my story:

My story!

There had been rumors about these Potato animals (who came from a place that is unknown to us humans) and how if no one adopted any of them, the government would have to probably do something to them that wouldn’t be so good. I felt bad for them and decided to adopt one and see how that went, so I might get more. I was also most likely one of the only people who decided to adopt any. This first poor Potato was really scared at first. I mean, really scared. He didn’t even want food, or when I put him down on my kitchen floor, he instantly ran for a hiding spot. But now he’s gotten a lot better. We play together, and the most amazing thing is that HE CAN TALK!!! Though he doesn’t talk much, he still talks sometimes. You’d be surprised how little work they are and how much company they keep you if you need it.

My potato’s name is Bob. Yeah, I know it’s a weird name, but he liked it, so that’s what matters. This morning, Bob and I were just starting our breakfast when my, sometimes annoying, friend Steve knocked on the door. Well no, he didn’t knock on the door. He just opened the door and called “Hey, yo!” I had no idea it was him until I asked who he was, and then he told me. Literally, he interrupted my nice Saturday morning breakfast with Bob! So I ended up going to the door and having a short conversation with Steve. Eventually, I got annoyed and told him to go away and slammed the door on him. I did that because, yes, he was annoying me, and two, he doesn’t like Potatoes. He is actually afraid of my Potato! Ha ha!! The good thing is that me and my Potato live happily and peacefully.

 

(Bob)

I was told not to come to the door when Frank went to open it, but I don’t know why he told me not to come.

Frank is a nice person to live with. He isn’t mean to me or anyone that I know (not that I know many h-u-m-a-n-s)! I also have started to figure out the life of h-u-m-a-n-s. Frank’s life seems pretty easy. He doesn’t ever leave the house without telling me. You know what? He never leaves the house. I think he is worried about me. Maybe he has a secret person who does stuff for him if he is with me all the time. I once asked him if I could write a letter to my Potato friends, and he was sooooooooo nice. He said, “Yes of course, Bob!” So here is what I wrote to my friends:

 

Dear Friends,

It’s me, your friend! My new name is Bob. I like it, do you?

Are you with a h-u-m-a-n yet? I am, I’m with a h-u-m-a-n who everyone calls Frank or Frankie. He is nice. I don’t know how I learned to write so well but I think it was Frank (or Frankie) who taught me.

I really hope some h-u-m-a-n takes you in.

All the best your Potato friend

Bob!

 

So now we just have to send the letter, but Frankie is working on that! I like my life with him. It is great!

 

(The Government)

“SILENCE!” Tom Raines shouts to all the important people in the courtroom, which is not being held for court. “What we are here for is to discuss the case of the Potatoes, so listen up everyone!”

“Ahem, sir, you haven’t gotten to the point,” an important man says impatiently.

“What do I care how you feel about time?!” Tom yells. “Okay, here is the point: We are going to vote on who thinks that the Potatoes should go and who thinks the Potatoes should get adopted by us.”

“They should go obviously!” the same important man says loudly, so everyone hears him real well.

“And why is the question!” Tom says.

“Are you on the other side?”

“No, I am a person. LET’S GET TO THE POINT! YOU ARE DISTRACTING ME!!!” Tom shrieks. “Who votes for no more Potatoes?

At first, everyone is silent. Then, a roar of cheers goes up. A lot of people are shouting, “No more live Potatoes on this planet!”

“Okay okay, and who wants Potatoes to stay?”

About half of the people stand up and cheer.

“Okay,” Tom says. “We’ll see what happens… ”

 

(Steve)

Well, I heard about the talk that the government had with important people. I’m never going to be part of that group. They voted, and seriously it was exactly even! I mean that’s not good, but still it’s pretty cool. I don’t know what side I’m on. Is it the good side or the bad side? There is no good side or bad side, is there? I think they are about the same. In a way, I wish the Potatoes weren’t here, but in another way it doesn’t really matter to me. Now I feel kind of sad that I never met Frankie’s Potato. So I decide to call Frankie and see if I can go over and meet the Potato.

 

(Bob)

I am doing my regular things when I hear a ring. Honestly, I don’t know where it came from, but then I hear Frankie groan and say, “Ugh the phone!” So, I go and pick up the phone.

Someone on the other end says, “Hi, Frankie. It’s me, Steve.”

Then, there is no more talking but just a pause. I don’t know how to use the phone, so I say something, “Hi… y-yes Frankie the h-u-m-a-n is h-home.” I am so surprised because there is a loud scream on the other side of the phone.

Frankie comes running into the room. “Who is on the other side of the phone?” he asks.

“Your friend Steve asked if you were home. I said yes.”

“Let me talk to Steve,” Frankie tells me.

“Hi, Steve. This is your friend, Frankie.”

Blah, blah, blah on the other side of the phone.

“Yes, okay. I’ll see if he’s in the mood.”

Blah, blah, blah.

“Yes, maybe see you later. Bye.” And with that last word, Frankie hangs up the phone.

“So, Steve called to ask if you were in the mood to meet him because he wanted to meet you now,” Frankie tells me.

“Umm… sure, but what do I say?” I ask, confused and a bit nervous. It’s the first time that I am ever meeting someone like a friend of Frankie. Of course when people were deciding what to do with us, we kind of met them, so I guess that counts as a person that I met.

“It will be okay. You just have to say: ‘Hi, I am Bob,’” Frankie says.

“Uhh… Okay you can call him and tell him to come if you want,” I say.

After a very little bit, Steve rings the bell. I get ready to say: Hi, my name is Bob. Three… Two… One… Bam! I think of all kinds of excuses to not have to tell Steve my name. I know this is kind of stupid, but I’m scared.

Steve comes through the door and into the room where Frank tells him to go to.

“This is my Potato. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“Hi, I-I am B-Bob.”

Steve looks completely freaked out about how I can speak. Rude.

“H-hi, Bob. As you know I am Steve, Frank’s friend.”

The Steve person doesn’t seem freaked out when he talks to me, how strange, only when I talk.

“Do you like Bob?” Frankie asks.

“Yeah, sure.”

I start to get kind of nervous that Steve doesn’t like me, so I start to go to a different room when Frank says, “Where do you think you’re going?” But in a nice way.

“Oh,” is all I can say. This silence feels so awkward.

“Why don’t we go to the living room so we can relax and talk about stuff? Have you heard about the talk the government had with the important people? Come on!” Frank says.

Frank, Steve, and I walk into the living room and sit down on the couch and some chairs. I have to say that Frank has a really big house, at least for me it seems big because I have never been in a house before (just this weird room where these people decided what to do with us, but that room was a lot bigger. Still, I think that Frank’s house is way cooler).

 

(Frankie)

We watch some TV and talk about other cool stuff until it’s time for Steve to leave. Then, he says, “You know what? I like you, Bob!”

“Thanks, Steve,” Bob says.

 

(The Government)

“Uhh well, we have to vote again. Sorry,” Tom Rains says.

“What?!” the annoying but important man demands.

“I’m so sorry, but let’s get to the voting instead of wasting time!” Tom says impatiently. “Raise your hand if you think the Potatoes should stay. Okay. Now raise your hands if you think the Potatoes should go.”

 

(Bob)

Frankie was not very happy the next weeks. He said that he wasn’t happy because something was sad, but he wouldn’t tell me what was sad. I don’t really know much about what is happening in the outside world that is beyond the front or back door of Frankie’s house, but I wish I did.

 

(Steve)

I thought things would turn out much different than they did. Things were so sad and bad and annoying now. I wish I never disliked Potatoes.

 

(Frankie)

It was too much for me. At least I got to keep Bob.

 

(The Government)

Some people were sad, and some were happy. I don’t know what I was. That annoying man was sooooo happy. I think he threw a party for it.

 

(Frankie)

The government almost made me give Bob back, but I insisted to let him stay, and they finally agreed to let him stay. I should have adopted more Potatoes before this. I was an idiot. Now they all have to go! I can’t let them go! I hope Steve is sad. We haven’t spoken at all in the days that the news came. I could actually hear some people cheering and saying bad words about the Potatoes on the street

I felt so sad, but maybe we talk to the government or rather Tom Rains. The next day, I went to Tom and explained to him about 500,000 times that he was not going to send the Potatoes somewhere else without an argument! He didn’t seem to understand that much, but he surprisingly agreed to have a last vote.

 

THE LAST VOTE

(Bob)

We all went to the courtroom, and there were a lot of people. I hope no one would really would notice me because I am a Potato.

Soon enough, everyone had arrived, and Tom spoke a bit. Then came the moment that I had been waiting for.

“Okay, ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The last-and-final-no-argument-against vote. Everyone of you has a slip. You will write down which side you vote for, then tomorrow we’ll see who won!”

Everyone wrote something on these slips of paper and gave them to Tom.

 

THE RESULTS

(Steve)

Today was making me soooooooooooooooo nervous! Today is the final announcement of which side won.

I went with my friend and Bob to see what Tom would say about who won. We all entered the same courtroom that we were in yesterday.

Tom seemed happy, but he kept a poker face. He instantly announced the results, though he did welcome us.

“So the results are that,” he paused then continued, “the side that voted for the Potatoes to stay won.

“YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!” I hear Frank shout with all the other people that are super happy.

“WHOO HOO! YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!” I yell.

“LET’S GO!!! YESSSSSSSS!!! WE WON!” Frank and a bunch other people shout. Everyone is cheering. I mean, a lot of people are.

The annoying man is not happy at all.

“WE DID IT!” I shout to Bob. He smiles. I see a lot of people with big smiles on their faces. Then, something unexpected happens. Suddenly, everyone notices Bob.

“Oh my god, there’s a Potato!” Everyone crowds around the Potato.

 

(Frankie)

We all go back to my house and throw up signs and banners for how happy we are.

“Now maybe I can adopt a Potato!” Steve says, and we all laugh.

 

THE END

 

Princess Cat Makes a Friend

One day, Princess Cat was taking her walk, and she saw an orange carrot in the window of a supermarket. A dog raced in front of her and grabbed the carrot. So, Princess Cat followed the dog! She followed it all the way to the dog’s house, but then the dog ate it. So, she went back home.

The next day, she went back to the store. She saw the carrot! But the dog’s owner took it for him to eat. The dog’s owner was Mary. Mary was very responsible. She was twenty. She had long brown hair and blue eyes. She went home with the carrot, and she shared it with the dog. The dog’s name was Ronald. Ronald had white fur and was a poodle.

The next day, Princess Cat meowed and meowed and meowed at her owner until she agreed to get the carrot. Her owner’s name was Rose. Rose had long black hair and purple eyes. Rose went to the wrong grocery market! When she gave it to Princess Cat, the cat hated it! “This is not the right carrot!” she said. “You must go back and get the right carrot. I will go with you there.”

So, they walked back to grocery store. When they walked there, they saw Ronald and Mary walking there too. Ronald saw them too. Princess Cat scratched her owner and pointed to them. Both of them started running. But then, the dog started running faster! The cat caught up, and they both grabbed the carrot at the same time! It snapped in half, but then the dog’s eyes got wide, and he just grabbed the other half.

Then, the cat scratched the dog’s back and grabbed onto him until they got back to the dog’s house. Then, the dog slammed the door and locked it!

(This is a very tragic story.)

The next day, they both ran as fast as they could to get there. But the carrot was gone! They turned to each other and each thought that the other one had stolen the carrot. So, they both ran into each other and just started to tackle each other. They rolled around all the way on the street, tackling each other.

They got to the cat’s house, and the cat’s owner was holding the carrot. Then, the dog and the cat both tackled her because they both wanted the carrot. Then, the owner swiped it out of their paws. The owner ate it. It tasted like glory.

Rose had wanted the carrot all along because she knew that she liked the same things as Princess Cat, and the cat said it looked absolutely delicious, and she would die for it. So, Rose ate it. Princess Cat was furious and sad. She just ran away from her owner. She ran and ran and ran until she got to her secret hideout in the park.

(We can’t see what it looks like, because it is underground and secret.)

Ronald got there just in time to jump into the hole before it closed. Dogs are very perceptive and fast, so he sniffed out where her hideout was, and he got there just in time. Ronald felt very bad for her. He understood how she felt because he was sad when he didn’t get the carrot. He cheered Princess Cat up by giving her a cupcake that he was holding the whole time. It was a strawberry cupcake, her favorite fruit. They stayed in the hideout overnight.

Her owner, Rose, felt very bad for eating the carrot and making Princess Cat upset. And Mary felt very scared because her dog was missing.

The next morning, they ran to get food from the store. This time, the carrot was not there. So, they went home and ate waffles for breakfast. They really enjoyed being friends. Meanwhile, Rose and Mary were racing around the city puting “missing” signs everywhere of Ronald and Princess Cat.

Rose and Mary looked at Princess Cat’s and Ronald’s favorite spots. Rose looked under her couch, in her bed, and behind the TV. Mary looked for Ronald in the park, on a certain spot beside the reservoir. As Rose and Mary were looking, they started to feel scared. “Where are our pets?” they said.

(Back at Princess Cat’s secret hideout, they were playing.)

“I feel bad for eating the carrot,” Rose said.

“It’s all your fault,” said Mary. “Why did you have to eat the carrot?” Mary knew Rose ate the carrot because she walked in as she was taking the second bite. She was so mad she felt like exploding.

Meanwhile, someone else saw the missing sign. It was an eight-year-old girl named Lila. As soon as she saw it, she told her parents. She was really worried because she loved animals. Lila didn’t have any pets, but she always wanted one. Lila had really keen eyesight, so she was good at finding things.

The next day, Lila was walking in the park. Ronald and Princess Cat had been missing for two whole days. Rose and Mary were feeling so scared. They weren’t feeling like giving up though! Suddenly, Lila saw a weird hole come up and down in the ground. She was surprised. Then, she saw it open again. She ran as fast as she could and slid in the hole. She saw a cat and a dog. She was so surprised, she even gasped. “Huuh!”

Then, she remembered the “missing” signs. That’s the dog and cat that are missing! she thought. She grabbed them, and Princess Cat and Ronald were very startled.

“What’s going on?” Princess Cat said. Once again, the dog’s eyes got really big. He tackled Lila!

“Calm down!” said Lila. “I’m trying to save you!” The cat and the dog glared at her.

How are you trying to help us? they thought.

“I’m trying to help you because I saw a ‘missing’ sign and want to bring you back to your owner.” Lila would want to keep them because she wanted a pet but knew it was not right.

Back in Hawaii, the owners had just given up. They decided that Princess Cat and Ronald might have moved to a whole different state, like Hawaii! So, they decided to give it one last shot and go to Hawaii. It was a lot of money! It took them ten hours. When they got there, they looked everywhere in Hawaii, which took twelve hours. They even went in a boat and looked in the water! They went scuba diving and looked under the water. They saw other animals like crabs, fishes, bumble bees, snails, shrimp, lobsters, but luckily no sharks. But no Princess Cat! And no Ronald! They decided to give up and stay in Hawaii because it was too much money to go back.

Meanwhile, back in New York, Princess Cat and Ronald still didn’t trust Lila. Then, she went to their houses with them. They didn’t want to go, but she was strong enough to hold them. She rang their doorbells, and no one answered. Then, she found out that Rose and Mary were in Hawaii! She saw a note to their dog and cat on the door.

 

Dear Princess Cat and Ronald,

We are in Hawaii. We only wrote this note just in case you were here.

 

(It seemed like they were mad at them.) (Because they were.)

Maybe I could keep them! thought Lila. She promised them that she would keep alive and safe. For once in their life, they believed her. They believed her because they got used to her a little more. They had been with her for seven hours! She was very kind to them and to everyone.

They decided they didn’t want to live in their hideout anymore. They went to Lila’s house. Lila’s parents opened the door and saw the animals.

“What’s going on!” said her mom.

“Blehh!” said her dad.

He thought it wasn’t real, so he was trying to wake himself up. But it was real. “These are the missing animals that I saw on the sign, and I checked at their houses to find their owners, but their owners are in Hawaii!” said Lila.

“Fine. We can keep them. But, you have to take care of them,” her parents agreed. Rose and Mary were never going to come back from Hawaii.

The next day, Lila and Ronald and Princess Cat had so much fun together. But then, they remembered the carrot. They ran as fast as they could to the grocery store, but Lila stopped them. “What do you want?” she said. They barked and meowed and barked and meowed and barked and meowed. Them, she realized that they wanted a carrot, because she learned how to speak dog and cat. That day, she had learned how to speak dog and cat because she searched for it on the Internet. Princess Cat and Ronald were a little sad because they missed Rose and Mary, but they still wanted the carrot.

Princess Cat and Ronald decided to go to Hawaii. They knew that Rose and Mary were in Hawaii. They wanted to be with them. They liked Lila, but they really wanted to be with Rose and Mary. So, they asked Lila if she could go with them.

She said, “I will ask my parents if I could come with you.”

So, she went to her parents to ask them if she can go to Hawaii with Princess Cat and Ronald. They said only if she did chores when she got back. Her parents bought her a plane ticket, and she felt happy and sad. She was sad because she was going to miss her parents, but happy because she was going to reunite Princess Cat and Ronald with Rose and Mary.

Lila, Princess Cat, and Ronald packed their suitcases and went to the airport. Princess Cat packed a mirror, a bathing suit, and snorkel gear. Ronald packed a ball, snorkel gear, and a bathing suit. They got food and things to do on the airplane because it was a ten hour flight. They got off the plane. Now, they were in Hawaii. Hawaii felt really hot. They saw coconut trees and pineapples and fish. They found Rose and Mary after all the hard work they did. They ran and ran and ran as fast as they could to get across the streets. They searched for three hours. They can run really fast because they’re a dog and a cat, so Lila rode on Ronald’s back. They searched high, low, and everywhere. They searched in the trees, they searched everywhere. They searched in the ocean. (They saw many sharkies, by the way.) They used their snorkel gear. They loved snorkeling, they were so good at it!

After a while, they finally found them. They found them at a house! They felt weird. The house looked very beautiful. There were many plants, little statues of fishes, and little statues of crabs. It looked like the kind of place where Rose and Mary would live. They rang the doorbell, and they knocked knocked knocked. They finally got in. Mary opened the door! Ronald jumped with joy! And then, Rose walked up too. Princess Cat leaped with pride! They both ran up to them and jumped into their arms.

“We’re so excited to see you!” Rose and Mary said. “Where were you?”

“Meow meow meow meow, meow meow woof woof woof,” they said.

They had no idea what they meant. Luckily, Lila was there to translate.

“Your secret hideout?!” they said. “Well, at least we forgive you for leaving because you came back and found us. We didn’t expect you to do this for us.”

They all decided they wanted to go back to their home. They moved back in with Rose and Mary. Then, Lila wanted to move in too. So then, she took her parents and moved in with Rose and Mary too. And then, they all went to the grocery store and bought the carrot. They all shared it. It tasted like glory!

THE END

 

Falcin’s Pizza

Falcin is a robot that lives in California. Falcin has two yellow arms and two blue legs. His body and his head are green, and he has spikes on his neck and a lot of spikes on his back. He also has a spike on his nose.

Falcin’s friend is having a birthday party, and he is going to give her pizza. (I think that’s funny because no one should get pizza for a present.) Falcin goes to John’s Pizza. There is a long line. When he is at the front of the line, there is only pepperoni, and his friend only likes cheese pizza. So Falcin decides to go home and order from another pizza store. He orders the pizza from Joe’s Pizza, and he goes to the party.

The width of the pizza is 18 feet, and the length of the pizza is one foot long. It smells good! Far away there is a giant basketball who smells the pizza, and he wants some. Falcin is having a lot of fun at the party until the giant basketball bully comes and eats all the pizza and destroys everyone at the party. It is a sad ending.

The End

 

The False Accident

Martha was running in a race. Katie was winning. Martha really wanted to win, so she decided to trip Katie. She ran just a tad bit faster until she was right next to Katie.

She ran next to Katie and when she was ready, she said to Katie, “Hey, Katie! Do you like running?”

Katie said, “Yeah.”

Martha asked, “Well, have you ever fell?”

Katie said, “Why do you ask that?”

Martha stuck out her leg, and Katie tripped over it. She fell and busted her chin. It was bleeding. A second later, Katie started bawling. Martha shaded her eyes and looked away.

“Martha tripped me!” Katie screamed at the top of her lungs.

“No I didn’t,” yelled Martha. “Anna told Lucy to do it so she could win.”

“Did not!” snarled Anna.

“Did too!” shouted Martha.

“Actually,” said Lucy, “Anna did not tell me to trip Katie.”

“She did!” said Martha.

And it went on and on and on like that until the coach said, “Stop! The rest of the race is cancelled. You may all go home. Nobody gets the prize cup for the winner, but there is no winner, and I am saving it for next year. Tomorrow, I want someone to confess and tell me who tripped Katie. If you do not, I will write a letter to your parents telling them that no one told me who tripped Katie and you all, except Katie, will get detention for the rest of the week. The detention will be cleaning the toilets with your toothbrush!!! And while you are doing that, Katie gets some free time.”

They all went home with their parents. Martha thought about what the coach had said. Martha slumped on the couch and turned on the TV. Nevermind, she thought, I am feeling too bad for Katie that I can’t even watch TV. She went in her room and buried her face into her bed full of fluffy and furry pillows. She started to cry. One and a half hours later, her mom entered the room.

“I heard someone crying one and a half hours ago. What happened?” her mom asked. Martha did not know an excuse, so she sighed when she realized she would have to tell her mom.

“I tripped Katie,” she said. “I just wanted to win the race because Dad said that if I don’t win the race, he won’t be proud of me.”

Her mom said, “Well, your dad just loves sports so much. He just wants you to be really good at them. But you will have to tell your dad. You can’t keep it a secret for the rest of your life. Also, you will get detention, but not at the racetrack.”

During dinner, Martha told her dad miserably, “I tripped Katie.”

“Well,” said Martha’s dad, “your mom and I are going to have to think of a consequence, but you are not going to have a consequence from the coach.”

“Yeah,” Martha muttered.

That night, Martha lay awake all night thinking about what she should say to Katie and the coach. Finally, she fell asleep, dreaming nightmares about Katie, Lucy, and Anna turning into monsters and attacking her, pushing her away from the racetrack. At one in the morning, she woke up sweating and still had no idea what she was going to say to Katie. Of course she knew what to say to the coach; she would whisper in his ear, “I tripped Katie because I wanted to win the race.” She was so exhausted, she fell back to sleep.

Six and a half hours later, she woke up at seven-thirty to her alarm, and remembered what she had to tell Katie and the coach. Nervous butterflies swarmed in her stomach as she thought about it. She still didn’t know what to say to Katie. She put her best pants and top on and went downstairs to breakfast.

“Look, Martha,” said her mom as she stepped into the dining room.

“The newspaper said there’s a new movie coming out in theaters, this Friday. It’s called The Diary. It’s about two best friends who moved away from each other, and they figure out a new way to communicate by writing letters to each other. Would you like to come watch it this Friday, Martha? Martha?”

“Yeah sure,” she said, rushing up the stairs to her room. She had a plan of how to tell Katie. She grabbed her journal, ripped out a page, and slammed the door shut.

“Are you okay up there?” her mom shouted from downstairs.

“Yeah!” she yelled back, quickly scribbling a note saying:

 

Hi Katie, sorry I pushed you.

I hope you can forgive me, I was too scared to say it to you in person, so I decided to write a letter to you. Would you write back? I just wanted to win so I tripped you, sorry.

Sincerely, Martha.

P.S. Once again, sorry for tripping you.

 

She then dug around her junk pile and found the best envelope that fit, but it was little torn up, so she had to use tape to fix it.

“Martha! Breakfast is ready!” called her mother from downstairs.

“Coming in a sec!” she yelled back. She closed the envelope and rushed downstairs. She shoved all the breakfast in her mouth and ran to the car with her running equipment. When she was sitting in the car, she took out the pen she had packed in her bag, and she ripped open the envelope. In tiny letters, she wrote what she was going to say to the coach. She ripped that piece out, folded it in the tiny envelope shape, and put it in her bag.

When she got to the racetrack, she snuck into the boys locker room and stuffed the tiny envelope into the coach’s locker. She went into the girls locker room and stuffed the big envelope in Katie’s locker. She put on her running shoes and her sweatpants and jogged to the racetrack.

“Well,” said the coach, “who did it?”

“Look in your locker after class,” said Martha.

“Okay,” said the coach, “only if the thing inside tells me who tripped Katie.”

“It does,” said Martha nervously.

“Then I will,” said the coach. “Okay everybody, listen up. One-hundred laps around the track, Katie’s first, then Lucy, then Anna, then Martha. Martha’s last.”

After class, Katie went to Martha’s locker and said, “I know you just wanted to win,” and she turned and walked away.

Next, the coach came and said, “I’m glad you told me and Katie that you tripped her.”

Martha was smiling all the way home.

THE END

 

Horse Tails

          

HAZEL

The wind blew Jenny’s and Hazel’s hair into their faces. Their laughs mingled with the repetitive sound of the waves gently lapping onto the shore. The horses cantered through the waves, splashing onto their hooves. Hazel was wearing riding pants, with riding boots that had small silver stars on them, and a plain black tee-shirt. Jenny was also wearing riding pants and boots with blue and green patterns on the top. She was wearing a white tee-shirt with a horse on it.

“Race you to the stables!” Hazel said to Jenny. The girls took off in a gallop towards Cedar Ridge Stables. There was a big fence surrounding the paddock and a big building with windows in it. Hay was spread all over the floor. Horses whinnied, and people chatted. Horses were riding out the front gate toward the meadow.

“Come on, Ebony!” Hazel yelled.

“Calypso! Let’s go girl!” Jenny shouted. Jenny and Calypso galloped in front of Ebony and Hazel. Ebony reared, and Hazel lost her balance, almost falling off.

“Hey!” she cried, annoyed.

“Sorry! My bad,” Jenny replied and galloped away.

“Whoa boy,” Hazel murmured and slowed Ebony to a stop in front of the stable gates. She dismounted and looked around for Jenny.

“Jenny!” Hazel called. “Where are you?” She led Ebony around the fences of the paddock. The barn smelled of horse manure and hay bales. Horses whinnied, and people talked. She heard hooves clomping behind her and turned around.

“Told you I’d win,” Jenny giggled.

Hazel laughed and said, “Ebony and I would’ve won if it weren’t for you! Anyways, let’s go meet the others.” They led their horses through the gates where a girl and boy were standing. The boy was wearing an old black jacket and ripped jeans.

“Hi!” Jenny smiled, and Hazel waved to him. He mumbled something and walked away. Hazel glanced at Jenny. Well, he doesn’t seem very friendly, Hazel thought. The girl was wearing fancy riding gear and had light blonde hair with bubble gum pink streaks and was grooming her dappled gray appaloosa.

“Hello! I’m Stephanie, and this is my horse, Quartz. She’s already won nine championships, and I bet we’ll win our tenth. Everyone knows she’s the best dressage horse here. By the way, sorry about Alex, he and his lame horse Onyx are really moody. They share the same personality. I don’t even know how he could afford his horse though! But you’re lucky that I’m here!” the girl told them. She kept talking, but no one listened. She seems kinda snooty, Hazel thought. Ebony whinnied. Hazel nudged Jenny.

“You know what, the horses are getting kind of antsy, we better go,” Jenny said and pulled Hazel with her. “What a brat,” Jenny said once they were out of earshot.

“Yeah. I can’t believe she said that about Alex, but he is kinda moody,” Hazel agreed. A tall man wearing a cowboy hat called them over. He had a mop of messy brown hair and was standing next to his horse, a tan thoroughbred with a dark mane.

“C’mon, let’s go see what he wants,” Jenny said.

“Howdy y’all! I’m Patrick Chapman, the owner of Cedar Ridge stables. I’ll show

you around this place and give you some lessons along with Emily Barton,” he told them.

“That’s my cousin!” Jenny said happily. Her lips curled up into a grin. Emily arrived and chatted with Jenny. Emily was the one who taught Jenny about horses and how to ride! Jenny always looked up to Emily and loved to play with her. This was Emily’s last summer before she went to college, and she wanted to spend it with Jenny.

“So, Hazel and Jenny, today we’ll see your skills!” she said. Jenny and Hazel smiled.

“Perfect! That means we can show everyone how amazing Quartz and I are at dressage! We’ve learned a new move, and my private instructor said that I’m the best rider he’s ever seen.” Stephanie appeared out of nowhere, obviously eavesdropping. Jenny looked at Hazel and rolled her eyes. Stephanie saw Jenny and glared at her. She mounted her horse and trotted over to them and stuck out her tongue at Jenny and Hazel. Then went into the middle of the training area. She turned on music.

“Watch and learn,” Stephanie said and flipped her hair. She started doing some elegant moves that looked really advanced.

“I hate to admit it, but she’s actually pretty good,” Jenny whispered to Hazel.

“I know.” Hazel sighed. “Let’s go get our horses.”

They walked over to their horses stalls, but Calypso and Ebony weren’t there! “The horses! They’re gone!”

 

EBONY

Ebony and Calypso and some other horses were just waiting for their riders in their stalls, when this strange girl approached them. She opened the doors to their stalls. She picked up the reins and led them out. Ebony reared and neighed, but no one came. Another horse, a North Swedish horse named Emberdust, whinnied and said, “Let’s go! We’re free, finally!” Calypso neighed and took off after him.

“Hey! Wait up!” Ebony cried and ran after Calypso.

 

***

 

The majestic mountains towered over the free horses. They looked like they were piercing the sky. “It’s getting dark… We should go home,” Ebony murmured, trotting up to Emberdust and Calypso.

“Aww, come on! Don’t be a party pooper!” Emberdust complained.

“Yeah, it’s fun out here!” Calypso exclaimed and galloped in circles around them.

“We should go stop and graze,” Emberdust suggested. “I’m hungry.” The horses slowed to a stop and bent down for some grass.

“It tastes so sweet!” Calypso said with her mouth full.

“I usually only have hay,” Emberdust said.

“Fine, I’ll have some,” Ebony finally gave in. He bent over and started to graze. “Hey! You’re right!” He neighed, surprised, “It really is better than the stuff at home.”

Emberdust grinned. “That’s the spirit!”

The horses rested for a bit, then started to walk back to the stables. A deep howl echoed through the hills. Ebony’s ears twitched. “Did… Did you hear that?”

“Oh, it was probably the wind or something.” Calypso nervously pawed the dirt with her hoof. “Let’s keep going.”

“I’m so happy we’re free — ” A loud growl interrupted Emberdust.

“What was that?” Calypso asked, looking around. The horses could almost smell the wet, matted fur of the beasts that lurked in the shadow. A cold shiver crawled up Ebony’s spine. He shook it off.

“I don’t like this, guys… We should go back. Now,” Ebony said, walking a little faster now.

“For once, I agree with Ebony,” Emberdust agreed, hurrying to catch up to Ebony.

“Aww, come on guys! This is supposed to be an adventure. I can’t wait to tell Onyx and Quartz what they missed out on!” Calypso neighed.

Suddenly, a large shadow appeared. Ebony reared and yelled, “WOLVES!!!”

 

JENNY

“Where are they?!” Jenny asked anxiously. “They were here before the training!”

“We were only gone for half an hour!” Hazel said. Jenny tried to remember what happened before the horses disappeared.

“We dropped them off, went to the training place, Alex was waiting with us, Stephanie appeared out of nowhere, then we came here,” Jenny said. Then, she looked at Stephanie. “Hazel, can we talk. Privately.” They walked out of the track.

“What is it? Did you figure out who let the horses out?” Hazel asked.

“I think so. Remember Alex was waiting with us for his turn, and then Stephanie came out of nowhere? I heard a faint horse whinny, but I thought it was just the other horses. The only horses that weren’t stolen were Quartz and Onyx, but Onyx never stays in his stall. So that leaves Stephanie,” Jenny explained.

Hazel hesitated for a moment, then said, “She was probably mad that we ignored her. I can’t believe she let the horses free because of that.” Hazel shook her head.

“Let’s go tell Emily,” Jenny said and walked back to where the others were standing. Stephanie was practicing her dressage and talking to her horse.

“Emily, we think we know who let the horses out!” Hazel told her.

“Stephanie! It makes the most sense! She was the one whose horse didn’t go missing, and she doesn’t like us that much,” Jenny said.

Emily nodded. “It does make sense. But we can’t jump to conclusions.”

Jenny sighed. “But… Okay, fine.”

“We’ll go out to find the horses. They can’t have gone far,” Emily reassured them.

“How?!” Jenny cried, “We don’t have any horses! And there’s no way I’m trusting Stephanie around our horses again.”

“Oh! I know!” Hazel piped up. “Alex can do it! He’s a good rider, and he and Onyx know their way around this place better than any of us.”

Emily smiled. “That’s a great idea Hazel! Let’s go get him right now.”

Jenny ran towards the stable, where Alex was taking care of Onyx. “Alex!” Jenny called. He looked around, surprised that someone was talking to him. “I… I know this is a lot to ask, but… Can you please look for Calypso, Ebony, and Emberdust? Somebody,” she glared at Stephanie, “let them out, and we don’t know where they are! Please say you’ll help us!” She begged, bursting out into tears.

“I… Oh, okay, alright… ” Alex answered, getting up onto Onyx.

“Thank you!” Jenny said.

“No problem,” Alex replied, and he galloped away.

“I’m so happy he agreed to find the horses!” Jenny smiled.

“Finally, we’re actually making friends! Unlike at our old school,” Hazel said.

“I wish we could stay here forever!” Jenny laughed and ran to her and Hazel’s favorite place to relax. Beside the lake and under the gigantic weeping willow tree. They could spend hours there.

 

CALYPSO

The shadows formed into living wolves and slowly approached them, their mouths foaming, and teeth reflecting in the light. “RUN!” Calypso shouted. She and Ebony bolted, but Emberdust stayed back.

“My hoof! It’s stuck!” He whinnied. The wolves came closer, their low growls surrounding them.

“Emberdust! Hurry!” Ebony screamed. The wolves pounced.

“EMBERDUST!” Calypso started sobbing. She galloped back to where Emberdust was hiding.

“I’m fine, they missed me. A rabbit distracted them. But my leg, I can’t move it,” Emberdust’s hoarse voice tried to choke out. Ebony galloped over as fast as a he could, as if he were in an intense race. Calypso felt like her heart was going to break her ribs, it was beating so hard. Ebony reared, shouting for help.

Finally, they heard hooves clomping as loud as Calypso’s heart. A jet black horse appeared riding on the hill with a boy with black hair and ripped jeans and a jacket on him. The horse stopped, and the boy dismounted. “We’re here to help, don’t worry.” The horse had a deep voice. He approached Emberdust. “He’s just twisted it, nothing too serious. Did something attack you?”

“Well, it definitely feels serious! It hurts worse than the time I crashed into that tree! We were running from the wolves, but I tripped and got stuck. If I didn’t fall, I could’ve fought the wolves!” Emberdust said. Ebony rolled his eyes.

“I’ll just go talk to Onyx,” Ebony muttered and walked away.

“Emberdust, I’m so glad you feel better! I was so scared!” Calypso cried.

“What’s up with Ebony? Is he still mad we didn’t listen to him?” Emberdust asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s just cranky,” Calypso replied. The boy walked towards where the horses were talking and started to look at Emberdust’s leg.

“You’ll be back on your feet in no time,” he reassured Emberdust. Isn’t he usually really shy? Calypso wondered. The boy wrapped Emberdust’s leg and hoof in a bandage and helped him stand up. He whinnied and tried to rear, but fell over again.

“Forgot I can’t do that with my injury!” Emberdust said and stood up again.

“Come on, I’ll help you,” Calypso offered. “Let’s head back to the stables.”

 

ALEX

Alex mounted Onyx and galloped away to try to find the horses. They went through the forest first, but they couldn’t find anything there. The mountains weren’t very far, so Alex and Onyx went there next. Onyx galloped so fast, the wind almost blew Alex off his horse. It didn’t take long to find them. The horses were whinnying and rearing.

“Whoa. It’s alright, calm down,” he murmured.

He slowly went towards a horse who he remembered was named Emberdust. The horse’s leg was trapped under a rock and was causing it great pain. His whinny sounded almost like a howl. He lay helplessly on the grass A small horse, who he thought was named Calypso, protectively moved in of Emberdust. She reared and neighed. A dark brown Morgan horse who must’ve been Hazel’s horse, Ebony, neighed back at her and started to walk away.

Calypso hesitated and followed him. “Sometimes, it seems as though you guys can talk,” he said, laughing.

Alex got the first aid kit from his saddle bag and found the bandages. He searched in his saddle bag for a bottle of water and some towels, and finally found them. He tried to clean the wound, but Emberdust whinnied and kicked at him. Alex backed away and got some treats.

“Here boy, I know it hurts, but you can do it!” Alex reassured and put on the bandages. “There you go! You’ll get better soon. You’re a strong horse, aren’t you, Emberdust?” Alex reassured him. “When we get back to Cedar Ridge Stables, I’ll make you a splint.” Alex mounted Onyx and held Calypso, Ebony, and Emberdust’s reins.

They had to go slow, so they got back to the stables later than planned. Jenny, Hazel, and Emily were waiting for them.

“Calypso!” Jenny hugged Calypso and took her reins.

Hazel ran up to Ebony and said, “I’ve been so worried!” Jenny and Hazel brought Calypso and Ebony back to their stalls to care for them.

“What happened? Is Emberdust okay?” Emily looked at Emberdust to make sure he wasn’t bleeding.

“Don’t worry, he just trapped his leg under a rock. I’ll make a splint for him, the cut isn’t deep, just long. He’s a strong horse, don’t worry,” Alex reassured her.

“Thank you so much!” Emily cried.

“I-It’s alright,” Alex said, who wasn’t used to all the attention. “I should go now… ” he said, and he and Emberdust galloped off towards the stables. This camp is the best thing that has happened to me! he thought happily.

“Come on, Onyx. Let’s get you back to the stables.”

 

STEPHANIE

Right before training, Stephanie had snuck into the stables. “You can come on out now!” she told the horses, opening the doors to their stalls. The horses hesitated, not sure what to do. “Come on, go!” she yelled. The horses took off, their hooves echoing off the cobblestone path. Ha! That’ll show them, Stephanie thought.

“Come on girl. Let’s go, Quartz,” she said and mounted Quartz. She trotted over to where Hazel, Jenny, and Alex were. She steered Quartz over to the middle of the paddock and stopped. “You can do it girl. Just try your best, that’s all that matters,” she whispered to Quartz, stroking her horse’s neck. Stephanie started off with a passage, keeping in rhythm to the classical music that was playing. She led her horse into a half pass. “Great job Quartz! That’s the first time we did that move perfectly! I’m so proud of you. Just a little bit more,” she told Quartz. Stephanie guided Quartz to the middle, and slowed her to a stop. “It was good, wasn’t it?” She smirked. Without waiting for an answer, she jumped the fence of the paddock and took off into a gallop.

Stephanie rode towards her home on the beach. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents! They would be so proud of her. “Mom! Dad! Guess what?!”

“What is it, honey?” her mother asked.

“I mastered that dressage move I’ve been learning for months!” Stephanie beamed.

“Uh huh, that’s nice,” her mother said, without looking up from her newspaper.

Stephanie’s face fell. “Aren’t you proud of me?”

“Of course I am, but I’m even more proud of your brother. He got into all the schools he applied to!” her mom said proudly, who finally started listening.

“I — That’s great, Mom,” Stephanie choked out, struggling to keep her voice from cracking.

“We’ll throw him a party of course!” her mother went on. “Want to help plan it? I know how much you love that!”

“Yeah, sure,” Stephanie said, trying to keep her tears in before she got out of the

house.

“I-I have to go,” she lied, rushing out of the house just as the first tears started to

fall. “Let’s go, Quartz.” She sniffled and mounted her horse and started her favorite trail, still sobbing.

After a while, she heard hoofbeats behind her and turned around. “Hazel? Jenny? Go away.” Stephanie galloped away, towards the mountains.

 

HAZEL

Hazel and Jenny were going on a trail ride through the forest. The birds were singing, and the fresh nature scent filled their nostrils. They were heading towards their favorite place, the tall weeping willow. The girls had just found the place the day before, but they loved spending time there.

“I love these trail rides. I’ll miss it when camp ends,” Hazel said, bringing Ebony to a trot next to Jenny.

“Yeah, same,” Jenny agreed.

Hazel froze. She could faintly make out a quiet sobbing noise. “Jenny… Did you hear that?” Hazel asked, halting her horse.

Jenny listened for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll go ahead. Stay here, Hazel,” Jenny commanded.

“No!” Hazel yelled, scaring several nearby birds.

Jenny looked at her, “Why not?” Jenny asked, confused.

Hazel bit her lip, not sure what to do. “Just… Please, can I go with you?” she begged.

Jenny sighed. “Fine. Follow me.” Hazel nodded and got behind her.

The sobbing sound got louder the farther in the woods they got. They saw flashes of a white and gray horse through the trees. “Stephanie? Is that you?” Jenny asked.

“No. Go away,” she replied.

“Stephanie, we know it’s you. What’s wrong?” Hazel asked.

“It’s none of your business. Go, away!” Stephanie yelled and galloped towards the mountains. Hazel and Jenny exchanged worried looks. They followed her. The mountains got closer, and Stephanie’s silhouette was at the top of the peak. The clouds were getting darker, and rain threatened to fall. Hazel moved up closer to Jenny, but Ebony tried to move away. “Ebony, why don’t you like Calypso anymore?” Hazel asked. He whinnied and tossed his head. They approached the top of the mountains and looked around for Stephanie. “Stephanie!” Hazel shouted.

“Where are you?” Jenny yelled. Drops of rain fell from the dark clouds. Jenny and Hazel dismounted and ran around, trying to find Stephanie. A silhouette was at the top of the mountain. “That must be Stephanie,” Hazel said and mounted Ebony. Jenny followed her to where the figures were standing, against the cloudy sky. Jenny and Hazel approached Stephanie.

“Stephanie, whatever is wrong, you can tell us,” Hazel gently asked her. Stephanie turned around and wiped her eyes.

“I know we haven’t gotten along very well, but I think we can change that,” Jenny comforted. Stephanie opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything. She turned back towards the darkening sky. Jenny and Hazel got off their horses and walked up next to Quartz and Stephanie.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell us, but I think we could help you,” Hazel offered. Jenny put her hand on Stephanie’s arm.

“My — my parents, they never listen!” Stephanie burst into tears again.

“It’s okay, just let it all out,” Hazel said.

“It’s like I don’t even exist!” Stephanie blew her nose on a tissue she had in her pocket. The rain started to fall heavily, but the girls barely noticed. Lightning flashed, and thunder boomed. The horses reared and whinnied. The second clap of thunder sent them running back to the stables.

“Oh no, the horses!” Jenny looked back at where they ran to. Stephanie and Hazel turned to look.

“We better head back,” Stephanie sniffled.

“It’s gonna be a long walk without our horses,” Jenny muttered to herself. They started the path back to the stables.

Finally, they arrived and found the horses hiding behind bales of hay. “Ebony!” Hazel ran to her horse. “It looks like we made a new friend.” She glanced toward Stephanie who was grooming Quartz.

 

EBONY

Emberdust was almost healed, which meant Calypso could now go out and play with him. Whatever, Ebony thought. It’s not like we’re friends anymore. He looked longingly out of the window of the barn and saw Emberdust and Calypso running around together in the paddock. Ebony sighed and started to drink some water. He heard hoof steps behind him and looked around.

“Who’s there?” He neighed, startled. Hazel walked out from behind the wooden door.

“Hey, Ebony, it’s me,” Hazel said, slowly walking towards him. Ebony snorted happily and tossed his head. Hazel mounted him, and steered him out of the barn. Jenny and Calypso were waiting for them outside. At least Emberdust isn’t here, Ebony thought. Hopefully Calypso will notice I exist. Calypso went up ahead, and Hazel pushed Ebony up closer to her. Ebony walked away from Calypso. “Ebony, come closer to Jenny,” Hazel said. He tossed his head in annoyance, but moved towards Calypso.

“Hey, Ebony!” Calypso beamed.

Ebony grinned. “Calypso! I missed you!”

Calypso tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean, ‘missed me?’”

Ebony looked down at his hooves, embarrassed. “Well… Just… You and Emberdust have spent so much time together, and I… ” His sentence trailed off, not sure what to say.

“Oh… Ebony! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you felt left out,” Calypso apologized.

Ebony sighed. “It’s okay.”

Hazel halted Ebony. Jenny and Hazel seemed to argue for a bit, and then Hazel guided Ebony into a trot behind Jenny and Calypso. He thought he heard a sound, and he flicked his tail in alarm. “Looks like there’s a storm coming,” Ebony observed. Calypso nodded.

 

JENNY

“I’m so excited for dinner tonight!” Jenny squealed in delight.

“I know it’s gonna be the best!” Hazel jumped up and down with Jenny.

“Barbeque is my favorite!” Stephanie said.

“Same, but I rarely have, because I don’t have a grill,” Jenny agreed. Jenny’s aunt was hosting a barbeque, and Patrick was cooking. Alex, Stephanie, Hazel, and Jenny were all going to dinner together.

“It’s gonna be impossible to wait until six o’clock!” Hazel exclaimed.

Finally, at six o’clock, Jenny and Hazel arrived together. Alex was already there, but Stephanie wasn’t. Jenny and Hazel walked over to the buffet and got some food. The delicious smell of cooking ribs wafted over to the couch they were sitting on. After a few minutes, they heard a car stopping in the driveway. Stephanie stepped out wearing a fancy rose gold dress with flowers. She had her hair in a long braid down her back.

“Wow! Stephanie! You look amazing!” Jenny greeted her and smiled.

Stephanie blushed from the compliment. “Thanks!” Hazel grabbed her hand and showed her around the backyard.

“Be right back, just have to go to the bathroom,” Jenny said and walked inside. She passed through the dining room. She heard voices coming from the kitchen. They sounded like her Aunt Victoria and Patrick Chapman, the stables owner.

“I just don’t know how to tell them,” a worried voice that might have been her aunt said.

“I bet they’ll be fine,” a deeper voice reassured her. They talked a little more a bit, then Jenny ran back outside with a concerned look on her face.

 

My Dogs Baba, Ibiza, and Poppy

I have a puppy named Poppy, and my puppy has brown eyes. Her fur is kind of white but isn’t that white. She is only ten pounds. I got her in 2016 at a family reunion. We went to the mall, and there was a pet store. I had been asking for a puppy for about a year. So, my mother finally said, “Okay, let’s see.”

In the pet store, there were a bunch of puppies. But Poppy was the only one playing but didn’t look happy while doing it. She was so tiny. She was only ten weeks old! I asked the man if I could play with her in the playpen. I asked my mom if we could get her, and she said we had to ask my dad. He said yes. I have had her for about two or three years now, and I love her so much. On a scale from one to ten of how much I love her, I say a 100!!! Sometimes she runs away. It makes me so sad when she does that, but she always comes back. She goes in the corn field, the woods, and even across the street. My brothers don’t like Poppy. I don’t know why. I think she is the best puppy ever. She plays a lot, and she makes friends all the time, and sometimes my mom, my dad, and I go on walks with Poppy and our other two dogs Baba and Ibiza. Sometimes, I watch my iPad, and I go to the couch with my iPad, and my dogs come over to the couch.

Poppy and I are very similar. Poppy and I are both very crazy. I bite my nails, and she has very long nails, and she’s only two, and she tried to bite them off! Then, when that didn’t work, she tried to scrape her nails off with her other paw. I wanted to tell my mom because it was funny. We’re also both very fast runners. When she escapes, she runs away really fast. Poppy can climb and jump, and so can I. We’re not just crazy. We also do crazy things. Poppy and Baba like me more than my brothers. My brothers don’t like Poppy because she runs all the time on them because she’s only two. Their favorite is Baba, and Baba likes us all pretty much equally. Poppy still loves me the most though. Even my brother, Ibi, jokes that Poppy likes him more than me (I think). Ibiza likes my dad the most, even though he’s kind of named after my brother Ibi.

My dog Baba broke his leg after being run over by a car, but is okay now. But he is afraid of almost everything and has a habit of nipping people when he is afraid, but sometimes he just barks or growls. If he’s in a car with all of us together, and he sees other cars, he’s not afraid.

Ibiza is a Mini Australian Shepherd. She loves attention. She will eat anything and steals Baba’s food sometimes. We got her when I was around six years old or younger than that.

When we go on walks, my mom will take one dog, my dad will take another, and I take the third. If I could take my dogs anywhere in the world, I would take them to sleepaway camp. This is my first summer going to sleepaway camp, and it would be so much fun with my dogs there right beside me.

Poppy would love camp because there would be a lot of kids there, and we would run and play and do everything together. If my dogs could talk, I think they would ask a lot of questions and ask for a lot of belly rubs. Baba’s favorite place to get pet is his armpit, and he’d probably ask for armpit pets all the time.

Ibiza would say, “Pet me now! Don’t look at him! Just me.”

I would say in reply, “Okay, in a minute.” She’s very impatient.

If my dogs had superpowers…

Baba would be able to fly, Ibiza would have telekinesis, and Poppy would be able to teleport.

One day, I brought all three of my dogs on a field trip to a lab. In this lab, they make special dog food, and I wanted my dogs to get a sneak peek at the new flavors. The scientist, William, met us at the front door to give us a tour of the dog food lab.

“Hello, Scientist William. These are my dogs Baba, Ibiza, and Poppy. Can we taste some of your dog food,” I said.

“Yes,” Scientist William said. And he gave us a tour. And gave us the dog food. “Don’t open it until you get home!”

“Okay!” I said. Then, we got home. I gave my dogs the dog food, and they ate it really fast. Then, Baba started lifting off the ground. Then, Ibiza looked at something, and it started to float. Poppy all of a sudden was gone and somehow was on the couch. I realized something was off. My dogs got superpowers!

I ran to my mom and dad.

“Mom! Dad! Come look in the kitchen!” I shouted. We went downstairs. My mom and dad didn’t look too worried.

“Calm down! This is kind of a good thing,” they said. “Now, Baba can fly, Ibiza has telekinesis, and Poppy can teleport. Now, we don’t have to walk Baba — we can fly him! Ibiza can pick things up for us, and we can get Poppy to teleport something.”

“Okay, I guess it’s a good thing,” I said. Then, they digested the food, and Poppy couldn’t teleport anymore, Ibiza didn’t have telekinesis anymore, and Baba couldn’t fly anymore.

“Dang it! We’re going back to bed!” my parents said.

The end

 

Baseball Fever

          

One

“I can do it!” I said to myself. “I can do it!”

The ball was coming straight towards me. “STRIKE ONE!” Carter shouted.

“You can do this,” I mumbled to myself. The ball was coming towards me from high.

“STRIKE TWO!” Carter yelled. I breathed in and out. The pitcher was getting ready to throw. I got this. Fling! The ball was at full speed.

“STRIKE THREE, YOU’RE OUT!” Carter hollered.

“Maybe next season,” Coach told me.

“Maybe next season,” I said to myself.

Two

I walked home with confidence. Mom opened the door for me.

“We’ll be having lasagna and spinach. Okay, sweetie?”

“Alright, Mom. That’s fine with me,” I answered. I went upstairs to my room to change into my inside clothes. I came back downstairs to eat dinner with Mom. My older brother was at sleepaway camp, and my dad was running late.

“So how was baseball, Riley?” Mom asked.

“It was okay I guess.”

“Sorry I couldn’t be there.”

“No. It’s okay, Mom,” I said. “Nothing much happened.”

“Okay.”

I was not that kind of person who threw a fit over things, that was more like my older brother. I swallowed down my food and heated up some milk for Mom and me. I took my milk up to my room and started to write in my diary. Next season I’m gonna win that trophy. I closed my diary and gulped down my milk. I went under my sheets feeling proud that I tried.

Three

I started to feel Dad waking me up. “What is it?” I said, annoyed.

“Mom signed you up for extra baseball practice, didn’t she?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay then, wake up!”

I hopped out of bed to the morning sunshine. I did my morning routine and grabbed my cap, my bat, my mitt, and my water bottle. Mom passed me my lunch, and then I headed out. I met Coach at the field and shook his hand.

“You ready for some b-ball, ol’ youngster?” Coach asked.

“Isn’t that for basketball, Coach?” I questioned.

“No, silly goose. I meant baseball!”

“Oh. Okay. I was a little confused there for a second.”

“Alrighty then, let’s start.”

Coach was telling me about my positioning and my focus. I was pretty sure it was my focus that was taking me off track during the game. Maybe now too. It was rush hour, and the road that was closest to the field was a one-way road, which I thought was really stupid. Traffic piled up there the most. All the honking and yelling was making me lose my focus. I breathed in and out, in and out. I tried to bring as much focus as I could, but it was useless. I didn’t holler, I didn’t scream… I just closed my eyes and imagined me winning that trophy. A dream come true.

I closed my eyes and ignored everything around me. Swing. Hit. Run.

Four

Coach threw the ball. “I hit it!” I shouted to Coach. “I hit it!”

Coach was clapping so hard, his hands were turning red. Coach ran for the ball that I hit and tried to throw it at me, but he missed. There was a rumor that I was the fastest kid in the school. I was so fast that the second that he threw it, I was already at homebase. I was crying tears of joy. I did it. For the first time. I did it. Practice was over, and the traffic died down. I drank some of my water and looked up to see the beautiful sunset. I drank some more water and skipped the rest of the way home, excited for the next season. I was going to win that trophy. I came back home, and I noticed that I didn’t eat my lunch. I decided to eat it later, I was too excited to eat now. I had to tell Mom the good news.

“Mom, guess what?”

“What is it, sweetie?”

“Oh, nothing. Maybe just that I made my first swing!”

“That’s amazing!”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“I’m gonna go to the grocery, okay? I need to get supplies.We’re having pizza.”

“Okay.”

I went up to my room and stepped over the piles of dirty clothes. I flopped on my bed and sighed in relief that I did it.

Five

A few months flew by.

Ring ring. My alarm was going off. I just remembered that it was time for the championships for baseball. I got ready as fast as I could. My team was a mix of boys and girls. I alternated spots, so sometimes I was a pitcher, sometimes I was an umpire, and sometimes I was a batter. Mom and Dad still couldn’t be there for the game, but my friend’s dad was videotaping. I grabbed my lunch, and Dad dropped me off.

“Okay, Riley. Break a leg,” Dad shouted.

“Bye,” I shouted back.

I entered the stadium, and Coach was there with the rest of the team.

“Riley.”

“Here.”

“Jess.”

“Here.”

“Alexander.”

“Here.”

Everyone was here. The game was about to start. We named jobs quickly. I was batter. Alexander would be a pitcher in the next game and so on.

The game started.

Six

I was in front of a kid from another team. They named their team after a brand for popcorn. Boom Chicka Pop. I always thought that was a funny name, but I did like that brand of popcorn. The umpire was kind of like a referee. He had to yell really loud because the field was big, and everyone needed to hear him. My ears were ringing, and I was starting to get a headache. I couldn’t focus. Everything seemed so dizzy and shaky. I felt like I was going to topple over. When someone from the other team threw the ball, it looked like it was spinning in all sorts of directions. I still couldn’t see straight. I missed the ball, and the umpire caught it. Dammit. It was kind of funny. No one got mad at me. They said, “You got this. Maybe next time, Riley.” That made me feel really good.

Seven

My team didn’t win, but I still felt good that we tried, that we tried hard enough to feel good about it. There was a celebration after the game. Everyone went to the park and had a barbeque. I didn’t want to eat anything, I just sat in my fold-out chair knowing that I didn’t have to win the trophy. I won everything I needed. Family and friends.

La Fin

 

Shrink

The only bad thing about getting ice cream is probably looking forward to one flavor and finding out it’s not there. But things that you don’t think can happen, happen. I was so excited to go to my favorite frozen yogurt place, 16 Handles. I was looking forward to my favorite flavor, birthday cake. I also love getting a million toppings. It was a nice sunny day on the streets of New York City. I didn’t want to to tell Mom I was getting ice cream. She said, “We could get it tonight after dinner.” I could get it twice without her knowing! Hooray! But at that moment, I tripped over a bottle of Coke.

“Oof,” I said in pain.

I fell onto something that used electricity because I saw a light pop up, and for some reason, I felt like the sun was moving away from me and all the people around me were becoming giants. It was probably just a dream. At that moment, I heard a crack sound, like something was just destroyed. I was in pain.

“Eww,” I shouted.

There was a gigantic rat in front of me. Good thing it didn’t spot me, otherwise I could have been a snack! I didn’t know where I was for some reason. That was so weird. Everything looked bigger. I tried using Google Maps on my phone, but that failed. The cigarettes were the size of me. Maybe I was shrunken. Uh-oh. How would I get home? The crack sound was me destroying the Miniaturizer, and I couldn’t get back to real size. Oh shoot. I needed to get home before it became dark. Mom was going to kill me. There were way too many creatures down on the ground, and it smelled like smoke. Mom was definitely going to kill me. Now it was dark, and I had to sleep in a Coca-Cola bottle.

“Aww, it’s so liquidy and sticky in here,” I said.

At that moment, I saw a weird figure in the distance. It looked like a caterpillar from where I was. It could have been a spider.

“Oof,” I said.

I was being carried on the back of a spider. It was a really small spider, though it was uncomfortable to sit on. I was still in the Coca-Cola. Uh-oh. I was about to become spider snack! And be eaten alive!! I had to make a run for it.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” I started screaming.

“Sssssssssss,” hissed the spider.

I ran for it. The cap to the bottle was on, so I kicked through it. Fresh air. Hallelujah. Oh gosh. There were too many people, and I was about to become as flat as a pancake. I was now as flat as a pancake. I was Flat Stanley! At that moment, something else picked me up. It looked like a hand. It was a hand.

“Hey Mom, can I keep this deflated toy?” asked a little boy.

“Sure,” said the mom.

Uh-oh, I thought.

This was the worst day of my life. On a nearby tree, I saw a missing sign that had a picture of me on it.

“Hey Mom, this toy looks like the dude on the sign,” said the boy.

“Yeah. The toy is probably supposed to look like the kid,” said the mom.

In less than five minutes, we were in an Uber going to a house. We made it. It was on 99th street between 1st and York. We got up to the apartment which was on the 68th floor of the awesome building. They went inside after 30 minutes of trying to open the door. We got in. It was as big as a mansion. Probably just an apartment room.

Let’s see what I knew.

One. I was small.

Two. I was almost killed.

I wanted to go home. I needed to leave. But how? I was now a toy. Dang it!

Maybe in the middle of the night I could sneak out.

It was now nighttime, but I was too tired to escape. I’d sleep in this really annoying toy bin with snoring toy Spider-Man and an ugly toy Superman. I slept through the night. I woke up when something touched me. Here we go again, I thought. Later that day, we went to some random place. I needed to leave now. I was going to make a distraction. I saw two sticks and a rubber band for a catapult, but I needed something to catapult. Like that marble. How would I get to it? I punched the kid holding me.

“Owww, what was that?!” screamed the boy in pain.

I made a jump for it and quickly hid under the nearest chair.

“Where’s my toy?” he asked.

There was no point in getting the marble now, but I did anyway and catapulted it at him on purpose. He started crying as soon as I started laughing. It was awesome. After that, I quickly escaped and walked home. I kept walking for about a week without stopping and eating until I reached 99th street. I was home and just got slobbered by the ugliest dog in the world. Eww. I walked in holding onto someone’s leg. She looked just like my mom. Wait, she was my mom! Free ride home!!! Yay!!! When I finally got home, I didn’t take my shoes off because I needed to make them normal size again too. I had to create a potion tomorrow while Mom was at work. I had eight hours to do it.

Okay. First, I needed to read my book about making people different sizes. I went outside. I found flowers, leaves, bark, and dirt. Perfect! I went back upstairs and threw some bark at the button to press it. I had perfect aim. I got upstairs and got under the hole at the bottom of the door and got back inside. I used the blender to blend up my ingredients, and I had my perfect potion. I also used some other stuff we had because the book wanted me to use that too. I took the potion and drank the whole bottle. I didn’t feel anything happening. I read the book carefully again. It said it took two days to kick in. I went under my bed and stayed there.

When my mom came home, I heard her crying. I saw her walk into my room and fall on my bed. She didn’t see me. I stayed there for two days, and two days later, I felt my body grow. I was finally normal size. I went out before Mom came home. I spied from a bush outside, and when she went upstairs, I went up too. I rang the doorbell, and when I walked in, my mom hugged me so tight I felt like my guts were being squeezed out. I was really happy. I told her the story, and I started eating right away because I was so hungry.

One day later, my mom came up to me and said…

“YOU’RE GROUNDED FOR ONE MONTH!”

 

THE END

 

A Wizard Who Can’t Talk

The wizard always dreamed to talk. He never went to school, that’s why he couldn’t talk. If he never talked, he could never make any spells. He was six years old. The wizard was called Cedric the Sensational. He was not the one who made that name — the wizard’s dad made it. Cedric the Sensational always tried to tell his dad that he hated that name. It was too fancy and too “sensational.” His real name was Potato, but his dad called him Cedric the Sensational because he was embarrassed that his son was called Potato. It was sort of his mom’s fault, because she named him that. He was also a little shy, because his name was Potato. People bullied him. They said, “Why is your name Potato? That’s, like, the worst name I ever heard of. And why are you so fat?”

One day, the wizard, Cedric the Sensational, said, “Now I know why they called me Potato — they thought I was fat. They called me that at school. Now I think I’ll ditch school and be homeschooled. But my mom doesn’t know how to speak English. So now, my mom can talk in the other language that she knows, which is Spanish, and I’ll understand, and I’ll say two or three words in English, and I’ll be like a two-year-old to people who don’t know Spanish. That’s what everyone says at my school — that I can’t talk at all.” He said in Spanish, “pero tú no sabes hablar en español,” which means “You don’t know how to talk in Spanish.” He was a little angry but mostly sad.
And Cedric the Sensational had enormous arm muscles that couldn’t even fit in the stores. He was always working out at his gym because he wanted to be the strongest at his school, so everyone would know that he was cool, but it didn’t work. So when he went in a store, he was knocking down everything, even other people. No one knew what happened to him, he just grew so big, as big as a building. He always wanted to be small again, but he couldn’t talk, and his mom didn’t teach him the spell, so he couldn’t make a spell to make himself small again.

So, his mom was going to do a spell in Spanish because she understood Spanish better than English. So then, Cedric the Sensational became a Spanish sorcerer. He learned lots of alphabets, but only two spell words, because his mom didn’t have any time to spend time with Cedric the Sensational. He really wanted to do spells, but he couldn’t talk, so he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t cast any spells. He couldn’t walk because he was too fat. He had one finger, two legs, three pairs of arms, and twenty pieces of hair. Cedric the Sensational looked really bad, and everyone called him fat, but he was actually an alien. Everyone looked at him as a wizard.

Cedric the Sensational met a unicorn with a birthmark that was in the shape of a heart, and the unicorn was mad at him. He was growling and baring his teeth, which were a little pointy. Cedric the Sensational had no exact idea why. The unicorn had a blue eye and was staring at him like he didn’t know anything. No one else knew what happened.

The unicorn was another alien, and he thought he looked like a normal, regular unicorn, and in his world, all the unicorns look exactly the same, but the unicorn had a rainbow horn, twenty eyes, one nose, forty-five arms, ninety-nine feet, and forty-nine legs. The unicorn came from their planet. The planet was called Forklimon. It was made out of forks and mon. No one knew what mon was, so that was why the planet was so mysterious. It had talking alligators and really, really long worms the length of buildings. It was a land of candy and pretzels and Goldfish and fruit snacks, and everyone was crying with happiness, and even if they broke their arms, they would still be crying with happiness. Everyone was cool there, but there were only two people who were really cool, as you can see, on the bottom.

“Come with me,” said the unicorn, grinning mysteriously. No one knew where Cedric went.

THE END

 

I Remember

    

I remember the white bunk bed and the smell of tomato and mozzarella

I remember reaching over the bunk bed

I remember falling at my own risk and cracking my head

I remember friend yelling and my mom screaming and crying for help

I remember us calling an ambulance and it taking too long

I remember dropping my friend and brother at the neborgiors apartment and calling a fast cab

I remember the blood on my shirt and my moms shirt

I remember my mom forgetting her wallet and the cab driver giving us a free ride

I remember the ER bringing me right in and being on a rolling bed, people running at my side, feeling like the Queen of the world

I remember the friends mom rushing in

I remember the staple tool and feeling nothing when the staple went in my head

I remember going into the head x ray room thing and the xray of my head

I remember laying in my bed hearing sounds of pain

I remember going home after a few hours to crying of joy and watching tv

I remember eating too cold strawberry ice cream and getting a painful freeze burn

I remember telling everybody at school what happened, being popular for a day and everybody wanting to see the staple

I remember me being only four

 

I Am Mehoko

My name is Mehoko. I live alone in New York City. My family threw me on the last plane here. “You deserve a better life than what you have here. Go, Mehoko, to a world I heard that has more!” My parents’ voices still echo in my ears as I repeat our last moment together. It hurt leaving my home in Quivik, where we always had rice for our meals. Quivik is in a distinct island off of China, and we speak Chinese, but we aren’t as advanced with life as they are. My life was still better, though. It might have been hard eating the leftovers of our old Emperor (who to say was actually quite nice), especially since we had to polish his house 20 times so we could get at least a dime’s worth of money (that’s how they say it in New York), but at least I had something. Here, I am lost and have only a bit of food. My authentic Quivik wear is ripping, and I have sort of started to lose hope, though I did have a decent day today.

I look to get a job, so I can fulfill my family’s wishes. I have run into some people here (by accident), and they were all so lively! I have observed how they speak, walk, and eat. Earlier today, I stopped at a Chinese restaurant and was greeted by two nice ladies, and they said they could possibly hire me.

They gave me a couple of dollars saying, “We few Chinese people need to stay together and watch out for each other.”

I nodded my head, though I am Quiviknese. But besides that, I know that I need to spend the money on food!

 

A few moments later…

I have been watching a little girl and her dad walk into a store that said Grocery Store. I have learned a few things about the language, and I now know a few words and their meanings. Anyways, I keep following them throughout the store without them knowing, picking everything they get and putting it in a crate/bag thingy. (I have never seen these helpful things.) Well, as I am following them, my heart is sinking. They keep playing together like me and my dad had once done. I only just stopped following them because they are now going to the “cash register,” and I can only be in the line. Now that they are leaving, I am desperately trying to put my things down exactly like the kid had.

“That will be $50.25,” the guy is saying, looking at me.

I don’t know the currency rules here, but I am just going to hand him a paper with a 20 on it. “Here.” I want to get out of the store because now there is no one to learn from, so I keep pushing the bill towards him.

“Oh, are you new here because that is only $20, and I need 30 more dollars and 25 cents,” the guy said once again, looking me up and down.

I can only nod because I really am having trouble with what the guy is saying. But he is full of surprises as he reaches for this black thing and dials numbers.

“Hey, boss, we have an Asian girl who looks like an immigrant who doesn’t have enough money… Yes… Okay… So I can give her the discount if she will work here to pay it off… Okay.” He hangs up. “Well, I will let you off the hook if you will work to pay it off.”

I keep nodding and repeating his words “work.” I am so surprised nobody ever leaves Quivik because you can’t work if you aren’t legal, and I learned in school that I could’ve gone to jail! I can’t stop myself from smiling, and he is reaching out his hand, so I will do the same. He continues to shake my hands, and I feel very proud right now. Mom, Dad, I will not fail you. One day, I will retrieve you from Quivik, I am thinking to myself.

I am looking at the shopping list thing that is coming out of this weird machine here. It says: bread, ham, banana, apple, watermelon, tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, crackers, cheese, hamburgers, hotdogs, water, juice, sugar, ice cream, cookies, cake, flour, pasta, lollipops, and gummy worms! My time here will be awesome and delicious! I feel better now that I have worked things out. Tomorrow, I start work, working. I am actually sort of happy I moved! But I will, I will, thank my lucky star, the one that made a difference! Quivik is my Home but New York is my City!

 

THE END!!!

 

Changing Towns

Once upon a time there was a princess named Celestia who was sixteen years old, and she liked colors. She really wanted more people in her town. It was a very lonely town, and she was wearing a black dress today.

So every day, she sat in her throne, and she said to herself, “How can I get more people in our town?”

But one day, on her birthday of turning seventeen, she thought, Maybe I should go and get more people in our town. So she told her parents that she was going to get more people in their town. The king and queen also wanted more people in their town, so they told their daughter Celestia that she could go do it. So, she packed her food, and she set off.

So first, she went to Chicago, and she told all the people there. Then, she went to Greece, and she told all the people there. Then, she went to Florida, and she told all the people there. Some said no, and some said yes in all the countries she went to so far. She convinced them to go to their town because she convinced them that it was a nice town, and there were hot tubs and pools all over it. The people that said no weren’t convinced with what she said.

And then, she went to Hawaii. All the people said yes in Hawaii because it was ten minutes before the volcano erupted in Hawaii, so they all said yes, they took all their stuff, and then they went with Princess Celestia. Once she got the Hawaiian people to safety in their town, the Hawaiian people thanked her for saving them. Then, it was nighttime. They all went to sleep, and Celestia promised herself that she would do some more talking to people tomorrow.

The morning after nighttime, she wore her color dress. The colors that it had were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink. She had a rainbow dress on! She went to London. Most people there said yes, and some said no, so she took the people that said yes on a boat while she went to a different country or state.

She went to Australia. The cities she went to were Sydney and Melbourne, and all the people in Sydney and Melbourne said yes. So she took them to New York City. They had a great time. Then, she went to New Mexico. New Mexico was a busy town, and there was a gate at the airport before you entered New Mexico, and the gate had a passcode that you had to enter. There was no button that said Change Passcode, so she didn’t know how she would get into New Mexico. So, she tried all the passcodes she knew, but none of them worked because the gate felt your hand if it was New Mexican or American or any other city, state, or country. The gate knew that she didn’t live in New Mexico, so Celestia didn’t know what to do. So, she thought and thought until she came up with an idea.

Good thing she brought a pogo stick in her backpack! She could jump over the fence and no one who was New Mexican knew if she was New Mexican or American. But there were wolves guarding the New Mexican houses because the New Mexicans knew that someone could have a pogo stick from a different state and jump over the fence. So, they put more wolves to guard. The wolves charged at her. She didn’t know what to do. She was surrounded by wolves. She said her name to the wolves, and then they said theirs. Good thing she knew wolf language! She learned wolf language at school where they taught all about wolves. She told the wolves her name in wolf language. She told them that she wanted to be their friend. They said that they would be her friend. So, the wolves let her go into New Mexico, and then the people were astonished of how Celestia got in. Then, they glared at the wolves. The wolves got really scared.

There were only ten children who weren’t glaring at the wolves. Those were Celestia’s friends in New Mexico. She called them, and they came and helped protect the wolves. Now that the wolves were safe, Celestia asked her friends if they wanted to go to New York City with her. They all said yes because they were her best friends in New Mexico! They asked all the people in New Mexico. All the children’s parents that were Celestia’s best friends came with their children to New York City, and then she went to Africa. All the people in Africa said yes, and then she took the people from New Mexico and from Africa to New York City, and they lived happily ever after! The end.

 

Real facts about different countries:

Fact: If it’s July 5th in Australia, and you think it’s also July 5th in America, it’s actually July 4th! It could be with any date. So for example, today in America it is 7/19/18, and in Australian times, it’s 7/20/18. So in Australian times, it’s always one day ahead of American times, and when it’s evening time in Australia, then it’s morning time for America.

Fact: There are lots of animals in Africa, like zebras, and lions, and animals like that. Most of them are tame and will do what a person who owns them says. There are different climates in Africa. There’s the tropical rainforest, and there’s a place where they grow chocolate, and there’s a desert in Africa.

Fact: In Hawaii, there is hula dancing. There are lots of islands. On 7/19/18, a volcano erupted in Hawaii. All of the islands were formed when a volcano erupted underwater.

 

Aria’s Story

The only thing Aria had ever wanted to do was to help people. Her mother was the former Queen of Aura. The crown was recently passed down to her despite the fact that she didn’t want it. Her mother was worried that she wouldn’t be a good queen, so she still monitored every decision that Aria made. The law kept them from getting what they wanted. It was Aria’s tenth day as queen, but she still wasn’t used to waking up at the crack of dawn.

“Today is going to be a good day,” Aria whispered to her brand new dog while staring out a window overlooking Coal.

He was a chihuahua that she found in Aura. Her kingdom was split into two parts. One was called Ruby, and the other was called Coal. It was named that because Aura produced many gems on Ruby. Coal was a recently purchased land that her mother bought because it was said to have gold. Of course, her mother had never actually visited Coal. On her first day as queen, Aria visited Coal and had felt so guilty for never helping people before. Aria had never been able to make a decision by herself even though she was twenty-two years old. Her mother had actually attached a camera to her when she was eighteen.

“Good luck,” Maya yelled, who was also on her way to the conference room.

“Thanks,” Aria responded.

As Aria walked into the conference room, she quickly turned around and ran in the opposite direction, until she bumped into her with her mom. On her way to the meeting with her mom, she saw her best friend on the way.

“Good morning, Mother” Aria said, while trying her best not to slouch.

“Good morning,” she responded stiffly.

“Mother, I wanted to ask you if we could give Coal more money.”

“Why?”

“Have you ever been there, Mother.”

“Of course not, I don’t have time for that.”

Aria just rolled her eyes while saying, “I went there the other day, and it was very poor.”

“Aria, don’t be silly. You know that we need to use it to buy food for Ruby.”

“Mother, have you been to the main cellar in Ruby.”

“No.”

“There is a lot of food rotting there.”

They started yelling at each other as the tension started growing between them. Then, Aria left the room feeling defeated.

Aria had to make a speech the next night about her first act as queen. Her mother was telling her to give Ruby more money to make a new spa. Of course, Aria didn’t want to do that, so she spent the remainder of that night thinking about it, while sitting in her favorite spot by the window and constantly looking at the immediate difference between Coal and Ruby. Her mother was breaking the law by trying to make Aria do what she didn’t want, but Aria didn’t know. When she woke up in the morning, she had even more worries when she had to help settle something in court. There was a murder in Coal because of a fight about food. As Aria looked through the rule book for a page about regulations about murder trials, she saw something that was interesting. Before she went to bed, she arranged a meeting with her mother and studied the page that she noticed earlier. The next day, Aria confidently walked into the conference room.

“Mother,” Aria said coldly.

“Aria,” her mother replied anxiously.

“I am giving the money to Coal.”

“You can’t. I forbid you to,” Aria’s mother yelled.

“And I forbid you to break the law,” Aria shot back.

“What are you talking about?”

“You can’t tell me what to do.”

“You can’t tell anyone about this.”

“I don’t intend to.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me that.”

As Aria exited the room, she worried that someone had been listening through the door. It would be very bad for her mother if someone found out. Aria scanned the hallway and saw no one. She went to her room and started preparing her speech for that night. It was very difficult to write a speech, but in the end, she completed it in time for the ceremony. Aria was very excited to announce her first act as queen.

When Aria began her speech, someone in the crowd shouted, “The queen is a criminal.”

Aria was very nervous.

Maya came up to the stage and said, “She forced Aria to do what she wanted.”

Aria’s mother came up to the stage and started denying that she ever did that. The whole room was filled with talking.

“Everybody, shut up,” yelled Aria.

The room suddenly became very quiet. The chief guard came up and arrested Aria’s mom. Aria started fidgeting and started thinking to herself, I will take care of her later.

“Tonight was very exciting, but hopefully it will be even more exciting. I know many of you don’t like that Coal is very poor. Hopefully, that can change. Aura’s money is split among Ruby and Coal, but not equally. Ruby gets 75% of the money, so that leaves Coal with 25% of the money. I am trying to change that so each section gets 50%,” said Aria once everyone calmed down. All of the people started clapping.

“First, I have a favor to ask. I need volunteers throughout the week to clean Coal and help with construction,” added Aria.

Many people raised their hands.

The next morning, Aria woke up in a chair and quickly got ready for a meeting about her mother’s punishment and then a meeting about Coal. As she looked out the window of her room, she saw a large gathering of people working in Coal. Aria pulled her hair into a very messy bun and ran through the halls. She was very tired from staying up all night, but it was worth it. She carried a huge binder with her, full of plans for Coal. Then, Aria realized something, being “Her Royal Highness Queen Aria Allgre of Aura” wasn’t that bad.

 

Twin Towers

        

Chapter One

Emma

“Miss Robinson, the answer? To number four?”

“Huh?” I said drowsily. “What are you talking about?”

“Miss Robinson! The answer! To number four!” Mrs. Stuart clarified, running her hands through her spiky hair. “When are you going to stop sleeping in my class? I wish you were more like your twin sister.”

I gasped, glaring at Mrs. Stuart. My twin, Evelyn, smiled, gave me a thumbs up, and buried her face in her math once more. I took that in a nice way, and looked up at Mrs. Stuart. “You can’t say that I’m worse than my sister to my face. That’s just plain horrible.”

Mrs. Stuart gaped at me, shook her head, then said, “I’ll deal with this later.” Then, she marched up to her “throne.” No, really — it looks like a real throne, one with a big armchair and a billion pillows with intricate design. It took up, like, a fourth of the small room. Mrs. Stuart would be proud of my fraction-math-equation… if she didn’t hate me at the time. I was probably at the verge of getting a C- anytime soon. Not that I wouldn’t without insulting her. I’m sort of a bad student. Oh, well.

Evelyn answered perfectly to the question she was given. Mrs. Stuart seemed to have deleted her bad self when she talked to my sister, but every now and then she shot me a disgusted look in the corner of her eye. Why did she hate me this much? Probably because I hated her as well. Sometimes she told me my homework was wrong, gave me a C, and then told me something had gone askew when she was checking my homework, but it went to my report card, so there was no way to undo it. She was my least favorite teacher, but Evelyn’s favorite. Obviously. Mrs. Stuart was the queen, Evelyn the princess, and I was the piece of mold stuck to the refrigerator door.

 

***

“I don’t know why we have to go to PE,” Evelyn whined, pulling her hair into a ponytail. “It’s useless. Not like I’m going to become a baseball player or anything.

“Well, what if you are going to be a baseball player?”

She gaped at me. “Ugh, I star in physics. How am I going to be a baseball player?”

“Well, ya never know.”

“O-M-G, you are so annoying.”

I grinned. “Well, that’s what twins are for, honestly.”

“Emma, you have to help me. I suck at PE. And you’re amazing at it.”

“Okay… but in return, you have to help me,” I bargained, raising my eyebrows.

“Huh? But Emma, you have it all. You aren’t the favorite of any academic teachers.”

I sighed. “That’s exactly why. I want at least one academic teacher to like me.”

Evelyn laughed. “Wow, ambitious. But deal. Deal?”

“Deal.”

 

Chapter Two

Evelyn

“Okay, the first step to soccer… what is the first step to soccer?” Emma said, uncertain.

“Uh, I’ll look it up.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “It means — ”

“The first step to soccer is no cell phones!” Emma shouted in my face, grabbing the device and slamming it down on the table. “The next step is kicking the ball… I think.”

I took my foot and swung it on the ball like Hercules’s club being used for attack. “Argh!” I shouted, but then realized my foot managed to barely nip the ball.

“You’re hopeless!” Emma growled, flopping backwards on the couch. “You can’t even kick a ball!”

You’re hopeless! You can’t teach me how to kick a ball!” I shot back at her.

“Well! Kicking a ball is easier!”

I didn’t know what to say to that. She had too much of a good point. Then, a thought struck me. “Hey! You’d be good at debate class!”

“Excuse me?”

“Debate class!”

“What in the world are you talking about?” Emma snapped. “Are you trying to insult me?”

“Of course you don’t know what debate class is! You only take the mandatory lessons. Well, debate class is when you’re supposed to argue. They have debate teams, and you have to go on about how your side is better. I’m in the class. We could go on the same team, even. It would be like twin bonding time!” I squealed, hopping in the air. But the truth was, I was sort of uncertain about Emma’s unexpected talent. I didn’t exactly have knack for debating, if that’s what you called being horrible at it.

“Well, this debate class seems fun.” Emma smiled. “Thanks for letting me know about it. I’ll def try it out. But… us? On the same team? We disagree on so many things, so have you lost your mind?”

“No, we don’t disagree! Okay, fine we do.” I rolled my eyes. “So now can you teach me how to kick a ball?”

“It’s so hard, I don’t think you should waste your time doing it,” Emma said sarcastically, popping her gum so loudly I thought it might explode on her face.

“Fine.”

“That was a joke! Huh, you didn’t realize that, did you?”

“No, I didn’t, thank you very much. Kicking a ball is actually hard. And don’t judge me.” I glared at Emma, and she stared back at me.

Emma scrunched her face up. “Well, then. What sport do you think you’re good at?”

“Picking up the balls when it’s time to clean up.”

“You’re hopeless. And it’s called shagging the balls.”

“Fine, tennis,” I said reluctantly.

“What? You’re not even good at tennis!”

“You said ‘pick a sport you think you’re good at,’ and now you’re telling me I can’t pick a sport I think I’m good at?”

Emma put her head in her hands. “Never mind. Pick a sport you’re good at.”

“Swimming?”

No!

“Badminton?”

“No.”

“Track?”

“Okay, sure. You’re not bad at running.” Emma sighed.

I hopped up and down. “Great, all I have to do now is run!” I ran out of the apartment door and went down the stairs to the lobby. Emma followed me. Then, I ran out of the building and started jogging next to the river. “Y’know, this isn’t so hard — WOAH!”

I fell flat on my face, and when I looked up, Emma was hooting with laughter.

“It’s not that funny!” I snapped at her. “Is it?”

“Of course it is! You have to look where you’re running. It doesn’t work if you’re running on cement and you trip on an umbrella!”

My cheeks reddened. “That’s what I tripped on?”

“Yes, duh! You thought it was a rock?”

“Um, yeah. I’ll try again.” I started running again, only to trip over my sandals and fall on my face again.

Emma started giggling again. “You forgot to wear sneakers! You need sneakers!”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” I demanded, walking to where she was standing. “Whatever, I don’t care. I’ll just get my sneakers.”

“Okay, bye.”

As I walked up the stairs to our apartment, I heard Emma call, “You can’t go up to the apartment without your keys!” Emma waved the keys above her head.

“Ugh!” I shouted, circling back to the building porch. I jumped up, grabbed Emma by the shoulders for support, and took the keys dangling above her head.

Emma stared at me. “Wow, how’d you do that? You’re a good jumper.”

“Um, I’m a natural?”

“I think you just developed a talent for gymnastics.”

 

Chapter Three

Emma

“What?” Evelyn shot at me. “Gymnastics?”

I breathed in and out. Gymnastics was my only weakness. I was not a flexible person. “Yeah, gymnastics.” I winced at the word again.

“You’re kidding,” Evelyn said loudly. “It can’t be.” She shook her head mournfully. “I’ll never be.”

I knew what she was thinking, and I felt bad for her. Seven years ago, Evelyn had gone to a gymnastics meet, her first one ever. She was a complete failure (no offense, but it was true) and hated gymnastics from that moment on. Sort of intense, but that’s what happened. Maybe she developed a skill from devoting her physical life (which wasn’t a lot) to ballet.

I thought this over. “Yes, but you are. Sorry. From doing all that ballet, maybe you became more flexible and jumpy than you wanted to.”

“Um, okay.”

I could sense the horror and uncertainty in Evelyn’s voice, and I could also sense it in mine. Evelyn didn’t know that I was horrible at gymnastics. No one did. What if she asked me to teach her?

“Emma, stop bulging your eyes at me like a pufferfish. Now can you teach me or not?”

I backed away. “Uh, I only know the advanced stuff. Maybe it’s best if you get an actual teacher?”

“Okay.” Evelyn let it off easier than I had expected. Maybe it could be okay to tell her a white lie? Whatever.

“Okay, I gotta practice for debate class,” I told her, running up the stairs to our apartment. “I’m going to tell Mom the reasons why I should have more ice cream than usual.”

I could feel Evelyn smile to the back of my head.

Once I reached the top of the stairs, I pushed my key into the lock, and the door swung open. “Mom? Dad?”

Nothing. Guess I would have to wait for some ice cream.

I started up the stairs to my room (we had a double floor apartment) and pulled out my phone, then started texting Scarlett. Hi Scarlett. What are you doing?

She texted back. Hi Emma. I’m not doing anything.

I texted back. Want to come over?

Is Evelyn with ya?

No. She’s practicing gymnastics

I waited a while for her message. Okay I’ll come. She finally texted.

Or maybe I could come to your house. I countered.

This time the text came fast. No I’ll come over to yours.

I had never seen Scarlett’s house. She probably had, like, annoying brothers. Oh well. Okay, see you in fifteen. I texted her.

In exactly fifteen minutes, the doorbell rang. I rushed down the stairs to meet Scarlett. “Who is it?” I asked the door.

Scarlett’s muffled voice said a quiet, “Scarlett.” So, I pulled open the heavy door and saw my best friend with her long silky orange hair messily topped on her head in a bun. She was wearing a pink and yellow tye-dye top and nice sky blue jeans. It was only noon, but Scarlett had already made a sunset explode in my house.

“Like my nails?” she said, showcasing scarlet fingers.

“Yeah, what color is that?”

“Bloodthirsty Vampire,” she informed me, sending prickles up my spine.

What?” I shivered.

“Just kidding. It’s actually called Scarlet Girl, so I thought it was perfect for me. Just wanted to see you panic a little.”

“Right.” I nodded, motioning for her to come in.

About fifteen minutes later, Scarlett went to the bathroom. I patiently waited for Scarlett to arrive, when my phone started ringing with Evelyn’s number.

 

Chapter Four

Evelyn

Emma picked up when I rang her. “Hi, Evelyn!”

“Hi, Emma!” I chirped, a bit happier than I meant to be. “I got an instructor! I called Mom, and she got me one!”

“Cool,” Emma told me. I heard crackling in the line. “Oh, I’m breaking up… I gotta go.”

And she hung up, just like that.

Mom shook me. “Honey, your instructor is going to meet you.”

Mom and I walked to the register. “Hi, my daughter is going to be doing gymnastics. It’s her first lesson.”

The woman at the register nodded. “Oh, hello! Phone number, please?”

“Three four seven,” Mom told her.

The woman repeated it, then typed it up.

“Seven one nine,” Mom continued.

The woman said it over, then started typing it on her computer.

Mom said the last four digits.

The woman clarified, going on her computer again. “Now if you will please tell me your daughter’s first and last name.”

“Evelyn Robinson,” Mom and I both said at the same time.

The woman at the desk smiled. “Well then. You’ll be with Rebecca.”

Where had I heard that name before? The name rung a bell, but I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it. Oh well.

Mom didn’t seem to notice, so I thought maybe a new girl in school?

The woman said she’d be back in a sec, after she checked in with Rebecca.

Mom waited until the woman was gone. “Evelyn, are you sure you want to do gymnastics? I mean, do you really want to?”

I glared at her. “Of course I do! Mom, I’ve never made a bad decision.”

Mom seemed unsure of that. “Are you sure?”

“Mo-om!”

“You’re making a bad decision from saying that in that tone, young lady.”

It would have been an amazing time for the woman to come in with Rebecca trailing behind her, but of course it didn’t. Things never work out that way.

We stood in silence for a couple minutes, when Mom said, “Where is the lunatic woman? She’s been missing for five minutes.”

“Maybe Rebecca’s not sure that she has to teach me, and the woman is telling her that she’s supposed to,” I explained. “It’s possible and logical. Actually, I have very good explanations — ”

“Shhhhh,” Mom hissed. “Did you say Rebecca?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because Rebecca is — ”

“The coach from when I was seven,” I finished, when the woman and Rebecca walked right in.

 

Chapter Five

Emma

I felt sort of guilty about crushing my fortune cookie wrapper right next to my phone, but I had to because I was busy. No distractions when doing homework! Scarlett and I were drilling each other on math and other academic subjects. If I was going to get my teacher charm on, there was no better way to do it than butter up the teachers with good grades and charmingness.

Surprisingly, Scarlett was really keen on getting to be Mrs. Stuart’s favorite, and I joked that if she were in my class it would be most hard because Evelyn would have taken the princess’s spot and was glued down onto it.

She cocked her head at me, like what are you talking about? And I explained it all.

From the unfairness and the deal and debate class and gymnastics. And she listened. But I didn’t tell Scarlett about being horrible at gymnastics. No one knew, and it was going to stay that way.

But I itched to tell at least someone. But then everyone would know. Word in Manhattan High got around fast, even if I told it to Scarlett. Someone would pick up a clue, start a rumor, and soon there would be lies, buzzing around the entire building. And soon people would make up more things about you, it would get to a teenage reporter, they would put it in a magazine, newspaper or something like that… and kazam! Everyone knows.

Then, completely out of the blue, Scarlett said, “I wish I had a twin.”

I stared at those six words, as if they had popped out of her mouth and were looming above her head like a cloud. Six words that would never go away. Words that were permanent, like a Sharpie on a plastic bottle. Never will be destroyed when you wash them. Will recycle over and over. Hard to cut. I looked at Scarlett again. “Why?”

Scarlett shrugged her shoulders, blushing a bit. “I don’t know, guess I don’t want to be so lonely anymore.”

I could see tears prick at her eyes. She was an only child, and her mom died when she was four. Scarlett’s dad was completely offensive, being rude and cooped up in his office, work, or in his room all the time.

I handed her a glass of water, and she blinked repetitively to make the tears go away. She swatted at her eyes like a gone mad kitten and gulped down the water, patting her lap softly to make her swallow in a more thorough and smooth way.

I elbowed her. “Hey, solve this.” I showed her a problem. “I’ve been stuck on it all day.”

She took the piece of paper from me, biting the tip of her eraser. “Fifty-six thousand, nine hundred forty, four hundred ninety-two.”

“You sure?”

“Yes,” Scarlett said. She etched the number onto the paper.

“Okay,” I said submissively, grabbing some more homework. I showed Scarlett the stack. “I’ll work on these. Like I’m editing Little Women.”

Scarlett snickered at that, focusing on her math once more.

 

Chapter Six

Evelyn

I stared at Rebecca in terror, at her ginger cream hair, big round green eyes, pink smile, rosy cheeks, sparkly nails, and long legs. I hoped she didn’t recognize me.

“Why hello, Evelyn!” Rebecca cried, shaking my hand. “You remind me of someone, but I can’t quite put my finger on who.”

I gulped, knowing that I reminded her of me. And reddish brown hair wasn’t exactly common in this world.

“Well, okay then. Come with me.” Rebecca smiled again, and I wanted to punch her face. Not exactly well, though.

“Is it your first time doing gymnastics?” Rebecca asked me, pushing some equipment out of my way.

“Yes,” I lied, walking with her. “It’s my first time.”

“Okay!” Rebecca squealed. “Let’s start with some fun stuff, then.”

Fun stuff? That couldn’t be soooo bad. “Okay.”

Rebecca showed my a pit full of spongy squares. She stood a meter or two away from the edge, facing the gaping space of cushions. “Now, Evelyn, I want you to stand at the edge, and then face me. Then fall back, yelling ‘timber,’ and try not to move like a tree being cut down. Okay?”

She called that fun? I tried not to be a wimp, so I positioned myself where she told me to stand and yelled timber as I started my descend to the square cushions. I flapped my arms around, but my legs stood straight like they were tied together. I sank into the pit and emerged from it to see Rebecca giggling. When she saw me frowning at her, she blushed a bit but then laughed a little more. She kept on laughing until she was flustered and sweat dripped from her eyebrows. “It’s okay, hon. I wasn’t laughing at you, though. I was laughing at a funny dream. But you’re a beginner, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

She smiled at me, motioning for me to pull myself out of the big pit. I grabbed the handles and pushed up, swinging my right leg over the edge and then my left one. I pushed up to my feet and then walked after Rebecca, and then I started running after her, because wow, she was a fast walker.

“Okay,” Rebecca said, walking in a swift motion. “How ‘bout we go on the trampoline? We could work on some handstands and cartwheels there.”

Handstands? Cartwheels? Uh… no way. And those words are final. But… I had to. I mean, I didn’t want to be a wimp. So, I trekked over to the swimming pool size trampoline and clambered onto it.

Rebecca gave me instructions to do downward dog, push my feet up and swing them over. She also taught me to run forward towards the mat, in a skippy run.

I gulped, but I went to the start of the trampoline (where the red line was) and stood silently at it.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Rebecca said kindly. “Don’t stress yourself.”

I took a deep breath and started running. I pushed on my hands and lifted up my feet. I could feel my back hit the pink mat.

Then, everything went black.

 

Chapter Seven

Emma

“I think we’re good,” Scarlett said, all drowsy after the math. “My brain power needs a recharge.”

I passed her a popsicle without saying anything. She didn’t say anything to me, let alone thank you, but I didn’t really care. She just sucked on the delicious fruity frozen stuff.

I didn’t give her more homework yet, because I knew she would groan and moan and smack the homework out of my hand, which I didn’t want happening.

Scarlett took the homework herself, and muttered a little, “Thanks,” and soon her popsicle was ice because she sucked the flavor out of it. I told her I would gladly eat the ice, but she said no thank you.

An hour later, Scarlett and I were done with the homework. She smiled and said, “I’m meeting Abby in the diner. You want to come?”

“Oh, I can’t. Mom would wonder where I am, even if I call her. I don’t want them to panic. Plus I’m going to lunch with Dad.”

Scarlett nodded. “Okay, then. Bye!”

I waved to her, and she jogged out the door.

When Scarlett disappeared, I locked up behind her. I started up the stairs to my room, flopping backwards on my bed. Then, my eyes fluttered closed, and I started to sleep.

 

***

I woke up to a key opening the door. I yawned happily, trekking down the stairs after I stretched my arms and legs. Mom stood at the doorway with Evelyn, who was pouting greatly. “Hi Mom! Hi… Evelyn… !” I looked at the both of them. Then I asked Evelyn, “How was your gymnastics?”

“Fine,” Evelyn said. “Apparently I aced it, but sort of got dizzy when I did a handstand on the trampoline. But Rebecca said I did everything right.”

“Rebecca?” I asked. I thought I heard that name before. “Isn’t that…”

Evelyn nodded. “Yeah, she is. But I don’t really care. She doesn’t recognize me, so that’s good, I guess.”

I smiled. “Well, welcome to the house. I finished all my homework today.”

Evelyn jumped up and down. “Yipee! Wonderful! This has got you nice and disciplined.”

Mom puzzled over this. “Wait, what’s this?”

“Nothing,” we both answered. “It’s nothing.”

Mom seemed unsure about this. “Is there something I need to know, girls?”

“No, Mom,” we said, giggling all the way up the stairs.

 

Chapter Eight

Evelyn

“Okay, that was close,” I said, giggling again. “Let’s not tell her about the deal, okay?”

“Okay,” Emma agreed submissively, pushing me an ice pop. “Here, take this.”

I smiled. “You’re the best.”

Emma nodded and said, “I know.”

I started licking the popsicle like crazy.

 

***

At school, Emma walked up to Mrs. Stuart. “Mrs. Stuart, I was wondering if I could drop off my homework. There’s quite a lot of it, and I was feeling a little pain in my neck from walking around.”

Mrs. Stuart inspected Emma. I was holding my breath. But Emma seemed entirely confident.

My twin pulled her homework out of her bag. “Where should I put this?”

Mrs. Stuart’s eyes bulged out. “Wh-what? How could you finish all that homework?”

“Just some discipline and a million ice pops.”

I could see Emma was hoping for a laugh after she did a little heh-heh, but she didn’t get it. I popped out of the corner I was hiding in and said, “Emma, let’s get you in electives for debate class, shall we?” I pulled Emma by the T-shirt and contributed to Mrs. Stuart by giving her a bright, busy smile.

At the sign-up, I saw that there was an elective for… gymnastics? Maybe it would be worthwhile so Emma wouldn’t know I was horrible at debate.

“Emma, I’ll sign up for gymnastics,” I told her.

“But what about debate?” Emma seemed a little hurt, but I knew I couldn’t tell her. Could I?

Okay. I had to. “Emma… well, debate class is my weakness. I’m horrible at it! Every time I have to get on stage to fight for my opinion, I get this super blast of stage fright. I get so scared of the audience that’s currently staring at me I cut my script short and stutter a lot.”

Emma raised her eyebrows, then started laughing. Like crazy. I stared at her, upset she was cackling at the situation I had never told anyone.

“Evelyn, seriously? You didn’t tell me this before?” Emma said in between on-and-off laughter. She gasped for some more fresh air. “This is so… unexpected! I thought every time you got on stage you threw up and ran off, or something!” She fell to the floor in little high pitched giggles. “I can’t believe you!”

I gaped at Emma. Was she really laughing? “It’s not funny!”

“It totally is. But I have something to tell you.

I listened in. Emma usually didn’t have anything to tell me.

“I’m terrible at gymnastics.”

I watched in surprise as Emma pushed off the ground. “B-but you told me… you were advanced… !”

Emma apologized, straightening out her denim skirt. “I thought everyone would soon know that I was a fraud.”

I bulged my eyes out at her. “Fraud? No one can be a fraud!”

“I guess you’re right.” Emma said, finishing signing off her name. But when I looked closer, I saw she had written it on the gymnastics sign-up. “C’mon. Let’s go show them.”

And there wouldn’t have been a better place to do that other than walking through the hallway, with my twin sister right next to me.

 

Special Sandwich

One day, Emily went to the doctor. As she entered the tiny room, the smell of fresh air made her feel better after she was sweating. She had bad news. The doctor said she had diabetes and that he recommended a kind of sandwich that involved bread, lettuce, tomato, and potato. He also recommended paper towels in case she made a mess, apples, oranges, 100% juice, and maybe low fat chips as a snack for one week.

“This will make you feel better!” the doctor said, hopeful.

If she didn’t, she would have to stay in the hospital for ten years. She immediately drove to the store and bought all of these for ten dollars in total.

She panicked as she took a blue plastic plate from her drawer at her sleepy home and put 100% whole wheat brown bread on the plate, put cheese on top after, lettuce, tomato, and potato. Emily knew she felt herself sweating, but she realized that she would soon feel better. She slowly got better after about one week and she was beaming afterwards, crying tears of joy. But…

Then, five years later, she went to the doctor and found out she had diabetes again.

Oh no, this can’t be happening! Emily thought. The doctor said there were no more ingredients of that sandwich, and Emily started to panic and sweat.

“Doctor, what should I do?!” Emily cried.

“The only thing you could do now is take grape medicine for four years. Drink ½ cup of medicine every twelve hours,” the doctor said.

And that’s what she did. She made sure she drank the medicine. She even set 2,920 alarms on her phone for each time she had to take it in those four years! The medicine helped her a little bit. And the more she took it, the more she felt better!

 

A New Friend

Once there was a girl named Mary. She had black hair and was in kindergarten. She was five and liked playing games at recess like family. Her best friend was named Mimi. Mimi had glasses, played with Mary 24/7, and was five as well. Their teacher was named Ms. Rendy. All these people had brown eyes.

One day, walking home from school, Mimi asked, “Do you want to go to my house and study for our report on Native Americans?”

So, Mary answered, “Totally!”

After about two hours, they finally found a big, fat, dusty book called All About Native Americans. It seemed liked the perfect book to write a report that was being turned into Sunset Elementary. After 55 chapters full of tiny, hard to read print, (some including clothing and games) they reached the chapter on animals and food. And guess what the first sentence said? It said that Native Americans ate bunnies! This was heartbreaking. Even worse, since Mary loved bunnies, she felt like she had been stabbed.

The next Tuesday, Mary went into the shed in her backyard to get a leash for her dog. But the second she got inside, the little wood structure seemed to begin going downward, but not underground. Kind of like an elevator. The stomach-churning zooming went on for ten minutes. When the door opened, Mary was so surprised by the shockingly beautiful landscape. Her breath was taken away. The grass was greener than anything her small hometown in Wisconsin had to offer, and large, innocent deer darted away from flying arrows. No one seemed to care about the animals. (This was a quiet scene.) Suddenly, Mary felt something warm and fuzzy rubbing against her leg. She looked down and saw it was a bunny!

“Help!” it whimpered. “They’re going to eat me!”

Arrows suddenly began flying into the time machine. The door started to close, but an old cat scampered in.

“Choose your button carefully, or else you shall regret it!”

“Okay?” Mary said curiously.

So, the cat walked calmly out. The buttons on the time elevator were covered in Russian letters. A random one was pressed, and then both the girl and the bunny felt their stomachs turning somersaults. Then finally after five hours, the door opened again. They screamed. A giant T-Rex!!!

“Next time, we should be more careful,” Mary nervously said.

Then, they went back up to present day.

 

No Snooping!

            

September 22, 2018

Tomorrow’s the first day of middle school. I’m nervous, excited and worried! I’m nerworrited! Everyone says Mrs. Grag is mean, and guess what? She’s my teacher!!! I once heard my older sister, Lacey, talking to her friends about how mean Mrs. Grag is. They were saying she gave lots of homework, gave detention easily, and gave at least two tests a week! That doesn’t sound like a nice teacher to me, you?

Another thing I’m disappointed about is both of my best friends are not in my class. This is the first year that they haven’t been in my class, and I don’t know how I am going to get through the year. My best friend Sabina is disappointed about it too. She tried to reassure me about it.

She said, “It’s okay, we can see each other after school,” but it didn’t help. I haven’t talked to my other best friend, Helena, about it yet, but I’m sure she’s not happy about it aeither.

Although, the thing I’m most worried about is the basketball team. I really love basketball, and I hope I can get on the middle school team, but I’m not sure. I know the competition is pretty tough, and there are some pretty good players who are also trying out. I tried to convince Helena and Sabina to try out for the team, but they don’t have any interest in basketball.

Now I have to go to the store to get new books and binders.

Later,

Beatrice (Bea) Malcery

 

September 23, 2018

Today when I woke up, I was still feeling nerworrited. I forgot to set my alarm last night, and it was 8:30 A.M.. I had to be at school in 20 minutes! So, I quickly jumped out of bed, got my clothes on, and shoved my toothbrush into my mouth. I started to run down the stairs, but halfway down I fell.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!” I screamed. “What is wrong with me this morning?!” My leg was bleeding like crazy, and it hurt like I had just fallen down the stairs. Oh wait — I did.

I quickly bandaged up my leg and gulped down my cereal. Finally, I was ready to go. I put my lucky basketball shoes on and grabbed my bike from the garage, put my basketball, binders, and books in the basket, and started riding to school.

When I finally reached school, I was panting and felt nauseous. I walked through the crowded halls of middle school hoping to find my locker, but I was having trouble finding it.

Crash!

I had just bumped into Charlie and dropped my books, my basketball, and my binder. Charlie helped me pick up my stuff and helped me up. Charlie had been in my class since kindergarten, but I had never really talked to him.

 

RIIIIINNNNNGGGGG.

“Oh my goodness, that was the second bell!” I said. “I’m late for my first class. UGGGGGGGGGG!”

I rushed to my English class, but I was late — not a surprise. My English teacher, Mrs. Johnson, gave me detention at 12:30. Luckily, the basketball tryouts were at 11:30. Geometry passed really slowly. It felt like it went on for hours. I started to not listen to Mrs. Johnson, but then she asked me a question, and I didn’t know the answer.

“Beatrice!” said Mrs. Johnson. “I want you to listen to what I’m saying.”

I wasn’t listening because I was thinking so much about the basketball tryouts. I told her I would listen from now on.

When geometry class was finally over, I took my backpack from under my chair and rushed to tryouts. As I arrived at the basketball tryouts, my heart was beating faster than it ever had before. It was finally my turn, and I was shaking all over. I dribbled up to the three-point line, and I shot. As the ball flew through the air, I double crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

“You made it!” I suddenly heard someone shout.

I had been closing my eyes and not looking. The coach told me I had made the team. Thanks to my lucky basketball shoes, I would be playing actual five on five basketball games! There were fifteen people competing, and I was one of the top ten. Yay!

As I left the gym, my heart was filled with joy. This had been my dream since kindergarten. The rest of the day at school went by very quickly. I didn’t even mind that Mrs. Grag (yep, that’s right, my mean homeroom teacher) gave us extra homework. I retrieved my bike from the bike rack outside of the school and started to ride home. I couldn’t believe I had made the basketball team! I was thinking about how proud I was of myself for making the team, but I wasn’t paying attention to what was in front of me.

“AHHHHHH!” I screamed. I had just bumped into a tree. My Band-Aids had fallen off from earlier, and I was super annoyed. “Twice in one day!” Suddenly, Charlie came over to help me up. He told me he had been in the store next door, and he had heard me fall. I told him thank you, and I rode the rest of the way home peacefully. As I was riding home, I started to think that maybe Charlie and I could become friends. I decided tomorrow I would invite him over.

As I opened the door to my house, my parents asked me how my day went.

“I made the basketball team!” I exclaimed.

“Let’s go out for ice cream to celebrate!” my parents said.

“Yay!” I said “Can we play basketball after?”

“Sure!” they responded.

See you,

Bea

 

September 24, 2018

Last night, I made sure to set my alarm so I didn’t have to rush getting out of the house. I got dressed in my most athletic clothes, ready for my first basketball practice. As I walked down the stairs, I made sure not to fall by holding onto the railing. My cut from yesterday was still healing.

I started to eat breakfast, but I heard the back door click open. Both of my parents were still asleep, so I decided to go check it out.

“Lacey, what are you doing?” Lacey was entering the house looking like she had been up all night. She had bags under her eyes, and she looked half asleep.

“Shhhhhhhhhhhh!” Lacey said, and she dragged me up to her room.

“I have been up all night partying with my friends,” Lacey whispered, “but you can’t tell anyone!”

“Mom, Dad!” I started to yell, but Lacey wasn’t taking chances.

“Shut up, Bea!” Lacey was whispering again. “I told you not to tell!”

Lacey said she would get me for this, so at this point I knew she wasn’t kidding, I decided not to tell Mom or Dad. I ran out of her room because I saw she had a jump rope. I wasn’t about to get choked.

While I was eating breakfast, I was thinking when I should invite Charlie over. A few minutes later, my parents woke up. I decided to ask them.

“Mom, Dad,” I said. “I’m inviting a boy over today. What time should I invite him over?”

“Honey, you’re inviting a boy over?” my mom said.

“What’s wrong with that, Marissa?” my dad said to her. “I like that idea. I think it’s good for her to not just be friends with girls.”

“I guess you’re right,” my mom said. “Bea, you can invite him over at five.”

When I got to school, I opened my locker to find a surprise. I had an invitation. It was a blue envelope with white stars, and it said my name on it. I opened it up, and I found a note to me. Here’s what it looked like:

 

Dear Bea,

Would you like to come over to my house for dinner at 5? I would really like to hang out with you and maybe we can play basketball after. If you like this idea, tell me in history.

– Charlie

 

I decided to tell him that I love the idea. I emailed my parents to tell them that Charlie wasn’t coming over after all, and that I was going to his house after school.

Today in math, we got a result on the quiz that we took before school. This quiz was to determine the class and level that we would be put in. I looked at my results, and I found out that I got put in the gifted and talented class. Yay! For the rest of the class, we did fractions and decimals. Boring!!!

When the class was finally over, I headed to history, determined to tell Charlie I would love to come over! Once I reached the class, I steered myself towards Charlie’s desk. I calmed myself down and told myself not to worry. Charlie was sitting at his desk drawing. “Hey, Charlie. I saw the note, and I’d really like to hang out with — ”

“What are you talking about,” Charlie said.

“I thought you invited — ”

Suddenly, Charlie P. walked over. “Hey, I’m the one who gave you that invitation!”

“With the white stars?” I asked.

“Yep!” he responded.

I mean, Charlie P. was a nice guy, but he thought so much of himself. He bragged to everyone at school that he had more than 100 trophies. Such a lie, right?

I could feel my cheeks getting hot. I tried to tell myself everything would turn out fine. How could I have assumed it was that Charlie. It didn’t have to be the Charlie that helped me up from my fall. How could I have been so dumb!!!

“So Beatrice, do you want to come over?” Charlie P. asked.

“Um — ” I started to say something, but Charlie P. interrupted me.

“So, you do want to come over?” he asked.

“I — ”

“It’s settled, you will come over at five,” Charlie P. said.

“Class, class, in your seats!” the history teacher said. “This is history, not playtime!”

“Yes, Mr. Williams,” the class said.

“A long, long time ago bla bla bla bla bla.”

I stopped listening to Mr. Williams because I was too busy thinking about Charlie P.’s house. I was thinking about how miserable I would be there.

“Beatrice!” yelled Mr. Williams. “I want you to listen to me!”

I had not realized it, but I had been daydreaming for 40 minutes. The class was almost over! I was just losing it today!

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Williams,” I said.

“You know what, Beatrice! I’ve heard from your other teachers that you haven’t been listening to them either,” said Mr. Williams. “I’m going to need to talk to your parents about this!”

I was very disappointed about this because I knew my parents would be very mad at me. They might even tell me I couldn’t be on the basketball team anymore. I guess I’ll find out soon.

As I was walking to the cafeteria, I saw Sabina.

“Hey, Sabina,” I said. “How are you doing?”

She looked at me like I was crazy and then walked away. I wondered what that was about. I thought we were really good friends. During lunch, I thought and thought about all the things that had gone wrong with me today. First the incident with the letter, then Mr. Williams getting mad at me, and then Sabina acting weird about me. Was it a coincidence, or were they all connected?

I tried to not think about going to Charlie P.’s house and pretend like it wasn’t going to happen, but eventually it did. Charlie P.’s chauffeur drove us to their house. They had a white limo with a personalized license plate that said, I RICH. I wondered how much fancier this car could get, but I didn’t have to wonder anymore when I got inside. The leather seats had no trace of dirt on them, and they had cupholders on either side. The seats could unfold into a bed, and there were extra pillows in the back. In the back, I also spotted a mini fridge and a mini basketball hoop. I asked the chauffeur if I could use the basketball hoop, and he said yes.

The ride to Charlie P.’s house was a long one, and when I got there, I figured out why. His house was a mansion in a grassy field with a perfectly neat garden in the next town over. This explained why Charlie P. was sometimes late to school.

As I stepped inside the house, I made sure my shoes weren’t muddy. I looked up from the floor and gasped.

“Your house is so beautiful!” I said to Charlie P.

“I know,” he replied.

“Would you like a snack, Beatrice?” Charlie’s mom asked.

“Sure!” I replied. “What do you have?”

“Follow me,” she said. I walked into the beautifully decorated kitchen with a marble floor and white walls. In the middle of the kitchen was an island, and it had two sinks and a bowl of fruit. The fridge was about as big as my bathroom. I opened it and found snacks galore. There were Goldfish, pretzels, cookies, crackers, and all kinds of juice. “That’s not it!” She led me into the bar. I sat down on one of the leather stools of the bar and ordered seltzer with a lemon and crackers from the butler. I wasn’t very hungry. But before I could take my first bite, Charlie pulled me off the stool and led me upstairs.

We entered a room labeled, Charlie’s trophy room. I wondered if the trophy rumor was true.

“C’mon Beatrice!” Charlie said. “I need to show you all my trophies.”

“Call me Bea,” I said.

“Whatever,” he responded.

Charlie’s trophy room was decorated in the most lovely red carpet. Glass cases filled with tons of trophies bordered the room. I started to look at one, but Charlie stopped me.

“Those are the off-limits ones,” stammered Charlie.

“Okay,” I replied. I never realized Charlie P. was this spoiled! As I looked at the trophies, I figured out that most of them were for horseback riding, but occasionally there were some for checkers.

“Sometimes, I stare at these all day!” Charlie said. “I just love looking at what I have accomplished!” I think I heard a bit of sarcasm in his voice, but I’m not sure.

“Yeah… sure… I could look at them all day, too,” I mumbled.

“So, Beatrice, do you want to look at my other trophy room, or do you want to do something else?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, trying to sound excited. “We can look at your other trophy room.”

This was the most boring experience that I’ve had in my life. Maybe if I was with someone else, like the other Charlie, then this would be so much fun! This house was super cool.

We headed into Charlie’s other trophy room and looked through all the trophies. I checked my watch to see when this would end.

“We could see my other eight trophy rooms if you want,” Charlie said. “But there’s still the medal rooms.”

We hadn’t even finished through the third medal room when Charlie P.’s mom called us for dinner.

“Charlie! Beatrice! Time for dinner!”

Charlie and I headed down the stairs for dinner. Meanwhile, I had a plan. When we got downstairs, we sat in the dining room. The table was the size of my bedroom, and the ceilings were high, decorated with a giant diamond chandelier that hung over the center of the table. The tablecloth just nearly covered the whole table. I don’t have any idea where they found that big of a tablecloth!

“Beatrice, we’re having Scandinavian steak and potatoes, do you like that?” Charlie’s mom said.

“I’ve never had it, but I’m sure I will,” I responded.

“Great, go ahead and sit at the table,” she said. Before I could take my first bite, I heard loud stomping footsteps. The footsteps were Charlie’s dad walking in. I hadn’t realized it before, that Charlie had a dad. I guess I was just too busy thinking about other things, like whether this was going to go well, or whether they were going to have good food for dinner. I just didn’t realize.

As Charlie’s dad sat down at the table, my mind was rushing. Was Charlie’s dad mean, was he nice, or just an average person? I soon learned what he was like. He sat down at the table and banged the table with his fork and knife.

“Where’s dinner?” he exclaimed, frustrated.

“The dinner’s coming, honey,” Charlie’s mom responded, sounding quite annoyed and tired.

Suddenly, I remembered my plan.

“Mrs. Pellock? May I go to the bathroom?” I asked Charlie’s mom.

“Sure!” she said. I wasn’t really going to the bathroom. I was just going up to the trophy room to look at his “off-limits” trophies. I quietly walked up the stairs and entered the trophy room. The trophy room was still as beautiful as before. I guess their maid had cleaned it since we had last been in. I walked to the back of the room to see the off-limits trophies. There they were.

I unlocked the case with my hair clip and took one of the trophies out. Under it, there was a Post-it Note.

It read, Trophy for horseback riding. Reminder: I cheated this one.

“Oh my goodness!” I exclaimed. “He cheated!” But then I guess someone heard me, and booming footsteps came up the stairs. It was Charlie’s dad.

“Beatrice, what are you doing, looking at my son’s off-limits trophies?” he said.

“I just wanted, ummm, to see how amazing — ” I started to say.

“Beatrice, get back down to the table. I want you to eat dinner peacefully, and I’ll send you home after dinner.”

I had made a mistake, and I knew it. Now I was an enemy of the Pellock house. Mrs. Pellock and Mr. Pellock will probably call my parents. I will be in huge trouble. The teachers will call my parents, too. I’ll be in double trouble.

Mr. Pellock took my hand firmly as we walked down the stairs to the dining room.

“Look who I found,” he exclaimed. “Beatrice was up there looking at Charlie’s off-limits trophies.”

“Well, did she see anything? Like, the thing?” Charlie asked.

“I didn’t see anything,” I quickly stammered. “Just trophies.”

I’m just so frustrated, I can’t write anymore. I’ll just have to tell you what happened tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.

See you,

Bea

 

The Monster that Betrayed

There were footsteps. My heart was pounding. I was starting to think that this wasn’t a good idea. There was something looking through the window. It was hard to tell what it was. It was big, with a scar marked across his face, and that’s all I saw.

 

It was a windy night, and we were bored. My friend Sophia came over. We decided to do something fun. We hid behind the gates of a neighbor’s house and started to prank them. While they were away, we covered their house with loads of toilet paper. Then, we started to laugh hysterically. Sophia and I hid in a random closet and waited for them to come home. I could hear their car pull over as it kept on slowing down.

“Madison, I don’t know about this anymore,” Sophia whispered.

“Don’t be such a baby!” I jotted back. We both heard voices that we were blaming on each other. Sophia couldn’t help but to giggle.

“What’s that noise?” one of the neighbors said. All of a sudden, we didn’t know what to do! We had a mini panic in our heads, and suddenly we saw something that didn’t really look like a human. It had hair, or was it fur, all over itself. Its eyes were blue with a glimmer of gold in the middle. Sophia and I didn’t know what it was. Once they approached, something happened, and all I saw were two random people.

“What did you do to our place?!” he screamed out loud. When he was yelling at us for what we did, I wasn’t very focused on him… there was a mark, a mark that was on his neck. I had no idea why it was there and what it meant, but I knew I had to dig deeper and find out.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to contact your parents. You are invading our privacy,” he said at last. After everything got sorted out, I was at home grounded, Sophia was home also grounded, we were never allowed to see those neighbors again, and they never had to see us.

In the morning, I snuck a peek at my phone and quickly texted Sophia that I was going back. Before I did, I went on Google to try and find out what that mark was. There was nothing to see. None of them looked like the one I saw. The one I saw had a star that had a cross in the middle of it, and surrounding it was a circle that was carved into his skin. I could tell that it was old because of the color. For some reason, it kind of looked rusty.

 

The next day, I snuck out. I knew it wasn’t a good idea, but I had to. I had already called Sophia if she wanted to come along, but it was no use. She kept on making excuses to make me not go, like she was hiding something. Once I got there, I was going to begin my plan. It was to get in, look around, and try to get out. I knew it wasn’t the best plan, but it’s what I had.

 

Time for step one. I had to get in, but how? I tried to stay undercover, kind of like a spy! Not knowing what to do, I crept behind all the trees in the backyard and silently opened the door. Then, all of a sudden, squeak! That annoying door had to squeak! I was like, just why?! Luckily, no one heard because one of them was taking a shower and one of them was fast asleep. After that, I tiptoed upstairs and went into a room. What room was it? I wasn’t sure.

I quickly heard a voice that said, “Honey? I’m done! Do you mind getting my clothes?” With no one responding, I heard footsteps, getting louder and louder by the second. Then, I heard the door creak open, and all of a sudden it swung open! I ran into the closest thing I could find! And there I was, now stuck in a closet. Now the closet door cracked open, and there was a hand right near my face. I tried my hardest to avoid it, but all I did was make it worse. He was about to grab something, and his hand was pointing towards my face. Did he know I was there? Was he about to take me away? But then, what he did was… take out his clothes! I was soooooo relieved! Thank goodness I was good at hide-and-seek! I heard the door slam again, and that was a good sign. After what just happened, my plan now was to escape! I jumped out of the closet and stormed to the door, then I saw something, something unusual. It was a key. But where did it lead to?

 

It was finally a new day. I needed to discover more about this key. The key was rusty, and it had dust all over. I blew the dust off, and as it was dusting away, there was a symbol. It looked just like the one that was carved into the neighbor’s skin.

Beep, beep, beep! I turned over on my bed and saw my phone ringing, it was Sophia!

“Hey, Sophia! What did you want to talk about?” I said.

Then, she responded, “We need to talk.”

My voice suddenly trailed off, and she hung up.

 

I was going to meet her at our favorite private place to go. Then, she arrived.

“You know,” she said.

“What do you m — ”

Then she interrupted my sentence, “I know that you know You stole our key. I know you did.”

“What do you mean ‘our.’” I screamed back. Then, she looked away, and something happened. Her clothes started ripping into pieces and falling onto the floor. She started to grow fur on her body. Her eyes turned blue with a little bit of gold. She turned back around, and I saw a beast, a monster, a werewolf!

“This is who I really am! And you know your neighbors? They’re actually my parents!” Sophia screamed back.

“I was never your friend either.”

 

Foresta Sparking Chapter One

        

Chapter One: The Fire

Clink. Gavlin tensed. Clink. Clink. He turned to look at his companion, Denarth. Clink. Clink. Clink. Anticipation was painted across Denarth’s face. Clink. Clink. Clink. Gavlin turned back to the massive crater in the side of the ravine. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. His eyes narrowed. The gash began to omit a fiery glow. A shadowy figure appeared, dragging a sword along the stone. It solidified into a humanoid shape, charging at the two warriors, who raised their swords. The monster jumped out of the gaping hole (which was starting to look like a mouth more and more), and plunged its sword down. The blade hit the ground, shaking with power —

“AAAAAHHH!” Miles jumped up in his bed and hit his head on the low ceiling. He rubbed his head, thinking about the nightmare. He had it every night, and as a result, barely got any sleep. But today, he was going to need every last scrap of energy he had. Today, he would finally finish training and become a guard — one step away from being a full-fledged knight. He sighed and tried to fall asleep again. Thirty minutes later, he was still awake.

“Okay,” he whispered to himself, “I’ll go to my cove.”

He could climb to the roof of the bakery he lived in, and from there he could run across the rooftops until he got to his “cove.” The cove was a ledge that jutted out near the top of the local Count Tower. It was originally a window, but it had broken so many times that it had been covered with stone. The windowsill was still there, however, and some of the wet clay they had used to cover up the window had slid down and expanded the windowsill.

Miles rolled out of bed, threw on his squire clothes, and opened his door. It opened into a hallway with stairs at the end, but instead of walking forward, Miles turned to face the wall on the right and started climbing the loose boards. When he reached the top, he jumped to the other (repaired) wall and squeezed through a trapdoor. The night air felt good on his face. He stood on the roof for a moment, his eyes closed, the wind blowing his dark tufts of hair to either side.

He opened his eyes and started running across the roof. He jumped the gap between the roofs but tripped when he landed. As he lay sprawled across the stone roof (which was actually pretty comfortable), he noticed a fire coming from about three blocks away. He leapt to his feet, only to remember all his training gear was a block away in the Gladian Academy. He had a spare in his cove, but that was seven blocks in the other direction, and besides it would take him too long to climb the tower and then descend back to the rooftops. The fire was getting stronger; he didn’t have much time left to make a decision.

And so Miles made the best mistake of his life. He jumped from roof to roof, trying not to think about the hard cobblestone beneath. When he reached the street the fire was on, he swung down into an alleyway, then vaulted a fence and skidded to a stop in front of the inferno. It was a warehouse. The front door had collapsed, but a window on the upper floor was still partially accessible — the only problem being it was on the upper floor. He heard screams for help coming from the basement.

Miles turned around and climbed the storefront opposite the fire. Once he was atop the building, he ran to the back of the roof, and then bolted across it, jumped off the wooden shingles, and cleared the narrow street. He landed on the house next to the blazing warehouse and dropped onto a windowsill. Miles swung sideways and slipped through the semi-open window into a long, narrow wooden hallway. His shoe snagged on a bent board, and while he was bending down to free it, he heard another yell from below.

Miles rushed down the hallway to a stairway at the end, but before he got there the ground below creaked and gave way. A shower of dust and smoke followed him down two floors until he landed painfully on the cellar floor. The first thing he saw was a family tied to the wall: two parents, a girl, and a young boy. Smoke and fire licked at their feet but strangely avoided actually damaging them. The second thing he saw was the reason why.

A fiery beast was staring at him from atop a big keg of ale. It had narrow white slits for eyes and a forked tongue. Miles instinctively grabbed a charred stick of wood and held it defensively. The monster seemed to narrow its eyes even more and then lunged. Miles jumped out of the way and scrambled to his feet. Before the beast could attack again, Miles ran at it and stabbed its claw straight through into the floor. While it was trying to free itself, Miles ran to the family and tried to unhook the chains from the wall.

There was a pole embedded into the wooden wall; the end curved into a lasso-like shape. Five chains were clasped around the loop, running around the group of people and then circling back into the pipe. The chain links were made of pure steel, with veins of bronze running through the metal and clasping the links together. Miles would need a red-hot sword to cut through it, something he most definitely did not have. He could unhook the chains from the pipe, but there was even more steel binding the chains to the loop. The only option he had available to him was to pull the hook from the wall, unless he could magically conjure up a sharpened sword, which wasn’t exactly an option. Miles eyed the pipe. It looked aged, and the wooden wall surrounding it was coming apart. If he could pry the boards away, maybe he could —

SCCREEEEE!

Miles whipped around. The monster had ripped the makeshift spear out of its claw and threw it at Miles. He ducked just in time, and the blazing stick stuck in the wall above the chained family. Miles glanced down at the claw he had injured. Tar colored blood covered it, yet the monster showed no sign of pain. Sweeping his eyes around the room, he saw no other weapon, except — Miles suddenly realized what he had to do.

“Come on, beast. Kill me, or are you too dumb?”

He taunted the monster as he backed up, coming closer and closer to the chains. Finally, it lunged. Miles jumped away just in time, as the monster’s claws cut through the air and came in contact with the chains. Its claws made quick work of the steel, and before the beast had time to realize it, the family was free and running.

The monster roared at them and began to chase them, but before it got very far, it felt something in its back. When the chains had been broken, the force of the impact had yanked the pole out of the wall

Now, Miles had thrust it into the beast’s back. He pushed his shoes into the ground and pushed the pole through the monster. The beast saw the jagged end of the metal thing protruding through its chest and then collapsed on the floor dead. But when it died, it released its grip on the fire it had started, and the blaze kicked up steam.

He started to go for the stairs, but as he was running, some of the cross beams holding up the stairwell crashed down and blocked it off. The only other way out was the same way he got in, the hole in the ceiling. It was too tall to jump, but maybe he could climb the kegs and jump from there. The only problem was the kegs were big round barrels, and Miles didn’t see any place to gain purchase. He would have to climb on something else to get on top of the kegs. There was a rack filled with empty bottles, but it wasn’t nailed to the ground and would be risky.

BAAANNNGGG!!! A section of the wall caved in, almost crushing Miles. He climbed on the rack, balancing ever so carefully. It started to shake, and he lunged for the kegs just as the rack collapsed. He crashed into a keg and tried to regain his breath. He vaguely acknowledged the keg shifting and rolling under his feet. And then, he actually acknowledged the keg shifting and rolling under his feet, and a jolt of fear shot through his spine.

He backed up to the top of the keg, then ran and jumped like his life depended on it — which it did. He just barely managed to grab the edges of the hole and dangled over the raging fire. The wood he was holding was burning, and ash was getting everywhere. He choked on smoke and started to pull himself up. He hoped adrenaline would kick in, but it didn’t, until — “TIMMY! TIIMMY!”

The little boy Miles had freed was crying, and from the direction the sound was coming from, the toddler was near the front door. His plead for help gave Miles the adrenaline he needed. He pulled himself up into the hallway and raced down the hallway, vaulting a chunk of ceiling that had fallen. The stairway had broken, so he jumped out of the window and grabbed the shades from outside. Then, he jumped to a pole and slid down to the little boy. He looked up quizzically at Miles.

“It’s all okay! Just go over to your family!” Miles coaxed.

“NO! I want Timmy the Kitty!”

“Are you a knight?” the boy’s mother asked. “Timmy is our family cat. I thought he escaped with us, but apparently he got trapped in the front hall. And now little Kevin won’t leave. I mean, we all love Timmy, but there is no going back in there.”

Miles eyed the warehouse door. It had collapsed even more, and now most of it was smoldering on the street. He slipped through the opening and looked around. To his right, there was a long hallway that ended in a collapsed doorway, and to his left, there was a cat surrounded by flames. It was unconscious, meowing faintly every so often. He rushed to it, vaulted the flames, jumped back into the hallway, and started to run toward the doorway. However, he had pushed his luck too much.

The roof caved in, and he just managed to get the cat outside when the whole hallway crashed down on him. He was stuck in a tiny alcove, the fire drawing ever nearer… Miles closed his eyes.

 

Talia watched the Count Tower from across the street. She had been waiting over a week to get everything just right, and finally the day was here. It would be an easy job; so why was she so nervous? She had pulled off way more dangerous plans, why was this one so nerve-wracking? Because this is a Count Tower, she told herself. She ignored the fact that this was the third time she had stolen from a Count Tower. Before she could continue down this line of thought, two things happened. (Sort of.) The window opened, and Talia noticed a warehouse burning near Gavlin Street, about ten blocks away.

She glanced back up at the window, but hesitated. Why am I having so much trouble with this job? she thought. Talia took a deep breath and turned away from the Count Tower. She turned away from days of work. She turned away from clues to who she was that would threaten her life if found by the guards. Yet she turned away and raced toward the fire.

In almost no time at all, she was at the fire. There was a family near the front door. It seemed they were trying to pull a young boy away from the warehouse, who was wailing and yelling at the (collapsed) door. Suddenly, a boy about Talia’s age slipped out of a window, swung from the curtains to a pole, and slid down. He was about Talia’s height, with light brown skin and dark hair that he kept at his side. Talia recognized his red and black striped shirt as the Royal Guard colors, but he was too young to be a knight; he must be a squire.

The baby screamed something at the squire, and what appeared to be the toddler’s mother told the squire something that made him turn back to the house, slip through the door, and disappear into the wreckage. Talia watched the door with as much anticipation as the family. After a nerve-wracking minute, a cat sprang through the door, and the family rushed forward.

Suddenly, chariots dashed toward them. Atop the first was Prince Dengar VI, King Goliath’s third born. He was ruling Gladia while the king was sick. And, unfortunately, he wasn’t the nicest person alive. The prince got out of his golden chariot (yes, it really was a golden chariot), and walked over to the family. Talia didn’t want to see what Dengar was doing, and besides the squire was taking too long getting out. She slipped through a window and descended a couple of stairs. Near the door, the roof had collapsed. There were a couple of slits, and Talia could see the unconscious boy. The boards were too hot to touch, but she was a thief. She pulled a knife out of her dark cloak.

Any passerby would have thought the sight of Talia trying to free the squire would of been ridiculous, but any passerby hadn’t been a top-notch thief for almost a decade. She slid the knife between the boards, and within ten seconds, the boy was free. He was unconscious, so Talia kicked him in his ribs. Hard. The squire groaned. Talia rushed away. When she got back on the roof, she saw something she hoped she would never have to see. Prince Dengar was murdering the family.

Miles woke to someone kicking him in his ribs. At first he thought he was back in the roof of his bakery. Then, he remembered everything that had happened.

Am I in hell? he wondered.

It sure wasn’t heaven; his side hurt, his shirt stuck to his side, and he had several splinters in his hand. Screams nearby jolted him back into reality. He was up in a second and at the door in two more seconds. And then Miles, the youngest ever to fight a Flym, learned the truth about Prince Dengar the Sixth.

“What do you want us to do with these ones?” Five knights were with the Prince. Three were holding the family, one was at the chariot keeping the horses, and one was watching the rooftops.

“Kill them! And do it quickly. Dawn’s come early today, and soon Gavlin will be up. If the procession comes through, the whole plan will be for naught. We’ll have to wait another century, and §‡fl€ won’t like that.”

Miles couldn’t understand one of the words, but it sounded like a name. It reminded him of the roars of the monster in the play the castle put on every three months, Goliath the Hero. He wondered who Gavlin was. It rung a faint bell in his mind, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He charged outside, and before the knights registered what was happening, he had kicked the one with the horses in the stomach.

The others yelled, but the prince waved them down. Miles and the knight he had kicked exchanged blows. Miles kicked him in the shin. The knight grabbed Miles’s leg and threw him into the chariot. As Miles struggled to his feet, the knight charged him. Miles ducked under him and slipped the knight’s sword out of his scabbard. He quickly stabbed the knight in the back. Miles expected him to start bleeding, but instead fire spread throughout his body. Miles turned and faced the other knights.

One handed the child he was holding to his companion and drew his sword. He and the one who was watching the rooftops started to circle Miles. He raised his sword protectively. Everyone who was there couldn’t understand how Miles fought back, including him.

He was nervous until one of the knights charged him. Then, something instinctual took over. He parried the knight’s swing with ease. He pivoted in time to dodge a swipe to his legs and slid on the ground, cutting one of the knight’s legs. Like the other, it burst into flames.

But the wound wasn’t fatal. The knight — it — snarled at Miles and started to stab at him violently. Miles jumped to his feet and climbed onto the chariot. He fended off both knights, until the one he had stabbed through the back earlier climbed back to his feet and leapt back into the fray. He surprised Miles and soon had him dead to rights, when an arrow sliced through its head. It stumbled backward, and three more arrows pierced it through the heart. It burst into flames once more, this time burning to ashes.

Talia swung down from the rooftop where she had shot the monster and drew a pair of daggers. Together, she and Miles defeated the remaining guards. And then, piercing screams stung through the air. They turned just in time to see Prince Dengar murder the child, the bodies of the others strewed carelessly on the cobblestones. A burning rage overtook Miles.

“MURDERER!” he shouted, and charged the prince.

But Dengar was stronger, faster, and wiser than Miles. He easily overpowered the squire and would have killed him if not for Talia, who cut the ropes holding the horses to the chariots. The resulting mini-stampede distracted Dengar for enough time to let Talia jump on a horse and grab Miles, pulling him up with her.

Miles looked behind him. Dengar’s eyes switched from their usual dark green to a fiery red. Fire spread through his body; his hands and feet burned and reshaped themselves as claws. The prince became the same type of creature that Miles had just fought, albeit much more powerful — and much more terrifying.

Miles started to slip out of consciousness, slipping off the horse as well. Talia twisted around just in time to grab him, and the last thing Miles saw was Talia’s concerned face as she tied him in place with ropes from the chariot.

 

Pencil

Hey, my name is Bob, and I’m a pencil. I live in a pencil holder in a kindergarten classroom. Every day, I am sick of getting used to write and being sharpened until my eraser. All of my friends die, one after another, because they get sharpened too much and finally die. Our executioners are the 27 little boys and girls in small outfits that squirrels can fit into. These kids are cute, but they are killing my friends, I thought.

“We have to make a run for it,” said my wife, Bobbette.

“Agreed,” I said enthusiastically.

The number one thing I hate about being a pencil is always being bitten by the kids at the end of the day, then just being dropped on the ground. Once, I saw my friend Tim the pencil get stepped on and snapped in half. It was traumatizing.

The day after, we decided to make a plan to escape.

The teacher in the classroom, Ms. Lopez, said, “Hello, class. I’m Ms. Lopez, your substitute teacher. Tomorrow, we will have the one and only Dr. Seuss in our class for show and tell! One lucky student will also get to interview him! The student that won the writing competition is Hudson!”

Ten seconds after, we looked at each other and said, “This is our escape plan.” When Dr. Seuss walks in, we will slip into his bag, and he will take us away from this dungeon.

“But how do we get in the bag?” Bobbette asked.

“We get the kid, Hudson, to put us on Dr. Seuss’ desk,” I said.

“But how do we do that?” Bobbette asked.

“We have to get to Hudson’s desk. He’s that smart kid who always raises his hand. Hudson will get close enough to Dr. Seuss, and we can slip into his bag,” I explained.

“That’s a great plan!” Bobbette said.

“Tonight, we will climb into his desk and take out the other pencils while they sleep, we’ll tape ourselves together, and Hudson will bring us both to the doctor,” I said in great fashion. Bobette agreed.

The next morning, Hudson went up to Dr. Seuss’ desk with us taped to each other. The plan is working, we thought, but we didn’t know what was going to happen next. By the end of the interview, the tape came apart while I flew into his bag, and Bobette went with Hudson. We didn’t see each other ever again.

 

Keep Trying

Mackenzie is at the hospital for two months, because she has been paralyzed on one side of her body since she got in a car crash. Because she was gone for so long after the accident, Mackenzie wasn’t able to pay the rent for her house, so she lost it and became homeless. So to make Mackenzie happy after losing her house due to a car crash, Hayley, her best friend, buys her a house, a teddy bear plush, a drone, Jordan and Nike clothes, high-heeled boots, and 300 dollars from Target.

But while trying to get to the hospital, she realizes she is running out of time to get there, and there is also lots of traffic surrounding her. She also does not live near the hospital that Mackenzie is staying in Sleepy Hill. She lives in Cool Town. She starts to lose hope of getting there in time before Mackenzie wakes up. So, she decides to call the hospital and tells the nurse, “Can you please give Mackenzie a sleeping pill since she has not been sleeping well.”

The nurse responds, “Yes, we can give her one, but you have to give me your information.” Hayley tells her the information the nurse needs. Hayley hangs up.

Hayley then calls Mackenzie’s mother, Miranda. She picks up and says, “Why are you calling me, don’t you have better things to do with your life,” in a scary voice.

Hayley thinks to herself, Why did I bother calling her in the first place? “You should get your attitude together!” she says. “I never did anything to you for you to be rude to me. And if I did, tell me about it.”

Miranda replies, “That is not the way to respond to me, little girl!”

“Okay. I have had enough! I’m trying to help your daughter be happy and surprise her after feeling horrible for two months. I called for you to help me, not to give me an attitude like you always do. That is also probably why your daughter doesn’t like you,” Hayley replies.

“You should respect people that are older than you!” Miranda yells.

“You are nobody to be yelling at me like that!” Hayley yells back. “You’re the worst mother,” she says before hanging up the phone quickly. After hanging up, Hayley realizes that the cars in front of her have moved, and the ones behind her are honking at her. Hayley presses on the gas pedal and continues driving to the hospital.

Hayley makes it to the hospital and gets to Mackenzie’s room and wakes up Mackenzie. “Hey, Hayley. It’s good to see you!” Mackenzie says. “Thank you for coming.” Hayley gives Mackenzie a hug. Mackenzie feels warm in Hayley’s arms.

But all of a sudden, they hear Miranda’s voice. “She won’t be awake for long.” Hayley and Mackenzie get goosebumps down their arms. You are a crazy person! Hayley thinks.

 

Secrets

When I woke up, I saw Mother staring at the TV with a worried face. The channel was the news. I heard the reporter talking.

“Strange sightings of breezes and winds have been popping up lately.”

Mother sighed and turned off the TV.

“Breakfast, please!”

Mother trudged to the fridge and pulled out the milk.

“Cereal,” she said.

“The shadow-spirits, huh?”

She nodded. “Eat!”

When I was done eating, I went upstairs to my room and realized there was a note on my pillow. How had I not noticed that before?

I read the note and put my hand to my heart. This is what it said:

 

Dear Linda and Mary,

You can run, but you can’t hide.

Soon enough, WE WILL GET YOU!!!

– Shadow-spirits

 

I ran downstairs, trembling. I have to admit, I was scared.

“Mom! MOM? Where are you?” I heard the door slam open. I ran to it, in relief. “Oh Mother, the shadow-spirits, they’re coming to get us!”

I heard a quiet reply. I gasped. I knew that voice. It brought back bad memories.

“We know. We’re here, young Mary.”

 

I screamed and screamed. “This is a nightmare. This is a nightmare.”

The shadow-spirit made a movement. I think it was grinning.

“A real nightmare.”
I pinched myself. Ouch!! It was real. I backed away from the shadow-spirits, making sure that I was very far away from them.

“I’m not gonna turn into one of you,” I snapped.

“Will you do it for your family?” one shadow-spirit asked.

I looked at her more closely.

“Hey! Your height, the way you talk, sound, your posture. You remind me of — ”

“Yes, how is our little Mary?” the shadow-spirit next to my grandma asked.

“Grandma? Grandpa? NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

“It’s not us that wanted to see you. It’s him.” She pointed to the shadow-spirit in the front. I looked at him, and my heart stopped beating. Even though he was a shadow-spirit, I knew who he was.

“GET OUT!!!” I screamed. “All of you!!!” I felt like crying.

I heard Mother’s voice up the path. “Linda, do we have visitors? Don’t be rude.” The door opened, and suddenly I was left alone with Mother.

I felt like my world had fallen. My heart was crushed, and my soul had been destroyed.

My father was a shadow-spirit.

 

Poverty and Hunger in NYC

Homelessness and hunger are very closely related. People who are homeless have a higher chance of being hungry than anyone else. Forty-two percent of New York City households – 2.7 million men, women, and children — lack the income needed to cover basic necessities like food, housing, transportation, and childcare (cityharvest.org). Housing and food are necessities for life, yet they are overpriced. This is one reason why people don’t have a lot of the resources they need. Homelessness and hunger are two very important topics that are hurting our world, and they need to be stopped.

Nineteen point five percent of New York is in poverty. However, in April 2018, there were 62,498 homeless people, including 15,176 homeless families with 22,801 homeless children, sleeping each night in the New York City municipal shelter system. Families make up three-quarters of the homeless shelter population. The government can help, but they aren’t helping. Houses cost so much money, but people need them. Research shows that the primary cause of homelessness, particularly among families, is lack of affordable housing. Surveys of homeless families have identified the following major immediate, triggering causes of homelessness: eviction, doubled-up or severely overcrowded housing, domestic violence, job loss, and hazardous housing conditions.

Research shows that, compared to homeless families, homeless single adults have much higher rates of serious mental illness, addiction disorders, and other severe health problems. Studies show that the large majority of street homeless New Yorkers are people living with mental illness or other severe health problems. African-American and Latino New Yorkers are disproportionately affected by homelessness. Approximately 58 percent of New York City homeless shelter residents are African-American, 31 percent are Latino, 7 percent are white, less than 1 percent are Asian-American, and 3 percent are of unknown race/ethnicity (coalitionforthehomeless.org). Some people with privilege aren’t helping either. Most people feel like it is not their problem. Therefore, people are homeless. Homelessness leads to another important topic: hunger.

Nearly 1.3 million New Yorkers face hunger every year, including close to one in five New York City children. The number of food insecure people in NYC is larger than the population of Dallas, Texas (cityharvest.org). The USDA defines “food insecurity” as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for all household members. One in six children struggle with hunger. One in eight people struggle with hunger. People facing hunger in New York are estimated to report needing $1,242,696,000 per year to meet their food needs. Thirty-four point seven percent of households receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits have children (feedingamerica.org). In 2011, households with children reported a significantly higher food insecurity rate than households without children: 20.6% vs. 12.2%. Forty-nine million Americans struggle to put food on the table. In the US, hunger isn’t caused by a lack of food, but rather the continued prevalence of poverty (dosomething.org). There is enough food, but people aren’t helping. The government can take action, but they aren’t. A reason people are hungry is because they don’t have money and food is overpriced. Some people with privilege aren’t helping either because they feel like it is not their problem. Therefore, people are hungry.

As you can see, homelessness and hunger are very important topics that are impacting New York and all over the world in a bad way. We need food and housing, yet most people can’t afford them. More people can be helping, yet most aren’t. I hope this essay will encourage people to help people in need or share their resources to the less fortunate. Some people don’t care or don’t think it’s their problem, but I hope they realize it is. Most people with privilege think they are better just because they have money, yet they don’t realize some people don’t have money at all. A lot of people who help don’t have some of the necessities for life and some don’t have any. All in all, we need to help the less fortunate for a better future.

 

Works Cited

Ink, Social. “Facts About Hunger.” City Harvest, www.cityharvest.org/facts-about-hunger/.

“Basic Facts About Homelessness: New York City.” Coalition For The Homeless, www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/basic-facts-about-homelessness-new-york-city/.

“New York.” Feeding America, www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/new-york/.

“11 Facts About Hunger in the US.” DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change, www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-hunger-us.

 

The Situation

I have a secret. I know that we’re moving and that Dad has to stay behind because he has cancer, and they can’t take care of him where we are moving. Now, I’m confused about what to do. I’m going to go and break everything to Jake.

 

MAYRA goes to JAKE’s room and knocks on the door.

 

MAYRA: Knock, knock.

JAKE: Come in!!!

MAYRA: Um, Jake, can I talk to you about Dad please?

JAKE: Um, sure. About what, and why are you so serious too? Are you okay? Like, you’re worrying me?

MAYRA: Okay, umm here I go, um um, okay, so um.

JAKE: Mayra, just spill it already! I can’t take the tension!!!

MAYRA: Okay fine, we’re moving, and Dad’s not coming because he has cancer. Oh, and Mom said if you want Chick-fil-A.

JAKE: Whoa, you can’t drop a bomb like that then ask me about Chick-fil-A! So let me get this straight. We’re moving, and Dad can’t come because he has cancer. I am overwhelmed. Wait, when did he get diagnosed, and why did they tell you and not me? I’m the older sibling!!

MAYRA: Okay, Jake. Calm down, deep breath, and they didn’t tell me I wa /

JAKE: / Wait, please don’t tell me you eavesdropped on Mom and Dad again!!!

MAYRA: Okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay, I didn’t eavesdrop. I just happened to walk by at the right moment, and I heard everything, so I freaked out and came to tell you.

JAKE: I’m going to tell Mom and Dad!

 

JAKE says as he goes downstairs with MAYRA rushing after him, yelling to not tell on her.

 

MAYRA: Noooooo! Do not tell Mom and Dad. They will kill me for telling you and eavesdropping on them and an /

JAKE: / Aha, I knew you were going to eavesdrop. I know you so well.

MOM: Don’t tell Mom and Dad what, and why will we kill you, Mayra? You’re not answering me!

MAYRA: We can’t tell you about the surprise trip we planned to the zoo, and you’d kill me for not telling you ‘cause I know you lovvvvvve penguins.

MOM: Awww, thank you! Let me call your father. Eric!!!

DAD: Yeah, Marilyn?!

MOM: Come down here. Mayra made a surprise for all of us to go to the zoo tomorrow.

 

DAD comes down the stairs and into kitchen where everyone else is.

 

DAD: Oh, well that’s nice but I can’t. Do you remember the “incident?”

MAYRA: What “incident?”

MOM: Oh, nothing.

 

Scene 2: The Zoo (Where MAYRA gets in trouble)

MOM: Alright, everyone get in the car. We’re going to the zoo. Woo hoo!

JAKE: I call shotgun!!!

MAYRA: What, no fair! You always get shotgun! Mom, tell him it’s not fair!!!

MOM: Sweetheart, just let your brother sit here, and coming back you can sit here. Is that okay?

MAYRA: Fine.

JAKE: Ha ha ha. I’m the favorite child, I’m the favorite child, I’m the favori / Ow!!

 

/ MAYRA knocks JAKE in the head.

 

MOM: Mayra!!

MAYRA: What? He was being annoying, and I shut him up.

MOM: Still, that’s not an excuse. Say sorry!

MAYRA: Sorry, uh not fair!

JAKE: Hahahahaha!

DAD: Bye, guys. Love you. Have fun.

 

They get out of the car and go to the seal exhibition.

 

MOM: I appreciate Mayra making the whole trip just for us.

MAYRA: No problem, Mom.

JAKE: I’m going to go buy something to eat. You guys are welcome to come.

 

While they are walking to go get something to eat, they pass by the penguin exhibit.

 

MOM: Look at the penguin, it looks miserable.

JAKE: Oh, yeah, like someone I know.

 

Myra looks at JAKE sternly.

 

Myra: Jake, shut up!

 

MAYRA gives her mom a concerned look.

 

MAYRA: (scratching arm) Mom, I have to tell you something.

MOM: (raising her eyebrow) Yeah, what?

MAYRA: Mom, I overheard you and Dad’s conversations yesterday. I know everything, I know Dad has cancer, and that we’re moving.

MOM: I can’t believe you eavesdropped on our conversation. We’re going home!

JAKE: (mouth full of food) What!? I started eating!

 

End Scene

 

MAYRA is in the hallway and knocks on her mom’s door, concerned and disappointed with her actions.

 

MAYRA: I’m sorry, Mom. I know you’re mad at me, but please just let me explain.

MOM: What? Mayra, I’ve made my decision, and no, I’m not mad. I’m upset! I’m glad you told me that you know, but you are going to have to pay with three weeks of chores.

MAYRA: What!! Three weeks, uh fine, whatever makes you happy.

MOM: Go upstairs, kiddo. Good night.

 

MAYRA runs upstairs and into JAKE’s room while slamming the door.

 

JAKE: What do you want? You cost me my zoo food!

MAYRA: Let’s sneak out to steal a penguin.

JAKE: Okay, I know you’re obsessed with penguins, but this is a whole new type of crazy. Mayra, how do you suppose to keep the penguin cool in a hot house in summer, and how are you going to get there and not get caught?

MAYRA: You have a license, right?

 

JAKE nods and looks at MAYRA very concerned.

 

MAYRA: Looks like I have my getaway car and driver.

JAKE: Oh no, you are not dragging me into this!

MAYRA: Pleasssse. I’ll tell Mom about Brittany!

JAKE: No, you know how Mom hates Brittany’s mom. Fine, I’ll go!

MAYRA: Yay, we’re stealing a penguin!

JAKE: Ssshhhh, we’ll get caught!

MAYRA: Awww, you said “we.” Yay!!

 

End Scene

 

MAYRA and JAKE leave the zoo. They are walking slowly down the corridor towards the parking lot. Myra cups her hands tightly over her mouth in an attempt to cover her devious grin. JAKE rolls his eyes.

 

JAKE: Okay, Mayra, this is your last chance. Are you sure you want to steal this penguin?

MAYRA: Jake, I know you’re worried that we’re gonna get caught, but just trust me.

JAKE: Fine, whatever, but I called backup. We have to pick her up, okay.

MAYRA: Please don’t say it’s Brittany.

JAKE: What do you have against my girlfriend? She’s nice and pretty and really likes me, so please try to be nice to her please.

MAYRA: Fine, whatever.

MAYRA: You know, I don’t want to steal the penguin anymore. I’m going to bed. Good night.

JAKE: I knew it would work. Wow, she really hates Brittany. Eh, at least I don’t have        

to steal a penguin.

MAYRA (to the audience): So in the end, we ended up not moving, and Dad got better which is a win in any way we can get. And Mom is happier than before, but I’m still grounded so…

 

Double-Double

Blake was just a normal fifth grader. He did all the things a fifth grader would do. He would do school, homework, and he worked hard like any student. The only thing that was different about him was at the age of 11, high schools were already asking for him. Ballislife, a famous YouTube channel, was going to his games to film him. He had amazing handles and was great at shooting from anywhere from the half court line. He always got that satisfying sound of swish as the ball sailed through the net.

His dad always pushed him. He was an accountant, so he traveled a lot. At the age of six, Blake got his first phone, so his dad could call him and make sure he was taking 1,000 shots a day. His dad did this to look over how Blake shot the ball and to make sure his form was good. This was because Blake’s dad was a superfan of basketball. His favorite team was the Minnesota Timberwolves. Of course after two days, Blake lost his phone. But give him a break, he was six! So they just got powerful walkie-talkies, which he lost after three days. Blake played in the summer league, winter league, spring league, and fall league for the Radnor league in Springfield. But he had never played on a travel team. A travel team was something that was way more competitive. All his REC leagues were too easy for him. He won every game because of the mercy rule. He would score so much, the other team would just give up.

One day, he picked up the mail. He always hoped he would get something in the mail. But until that day, there was never a letter for him. Until he was looking through today’s, and he saw one addressed to him. He was excited and anxious that there was a letter for him. He quickly ripped it open and saw it was a letter from East Coast Power addressed to 4 Pivite Drive. It said that they were interested in his abilities, and they wanted him to join their team. The last line said, First practice tomorrow.

 

The next day, he went to the practice, which happened to be five minutes away from his house. He saw Lebron’s son, Dwayne Wade’s son, and a lot of other NBA stars’ sons. He was so nervous because he saw the superstars of the NBA sitting on the bleachers.
The kids seemed to know him. They all said it was an honor to play with him. He thought, Wow, I am a prodigy in the making, aren’t I. He was told he was going to be the starting point guard by coach Tim, the head coach of the team.

His dad said, “We are going to start practicing a lot more. You are the starting point guard for the team that has won states 57 years in a row. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on you, Blake.”

“I know Dad, but I also need to focus on school,” said Blake.

“That’s a good way to think, Blake,” said his dad.

Blake’s school was named Radnor Elementary School. He was one of the most popular kids at school. His best friend was Derrick. He just so happened to be Derrick Rose’s son. They always hung out and played basketball. He played for 10U East Coast Power because he was young for his grade. He might have been the best basketball player the school had ever seen. It was between them two, but they never competed or fought about it. It wouldn’t make sense because they were probably both going to play. Everybody knew him from SportsCenter and YouTube. His brother was 18 and was on track to be the greatest Uber driver of all time. He was being tipped a lot of money all the time. His whole family was extremely intelligent because they were really resourceful. Blake himself wanted to go to Duke because they had a good athletics team and a great school community. Blake was a very outgoing guy to people he knew. To unknown people, he was shy. But when it came to basketball, he was the best player on the court. His only problem was when his dad was watching. He got scared. He was still really good, but not as good.

 

The first game was in one week. He was taking 5,000 shots a day. His dad was planning on quitting his job. His mom was thinking about it too. He didn’t want them to, but they said, “It’s best for us. You will be making millions of dollars in just one week.”

That was true as long as he got at least a double-double. There was a 99.9 percent chance he’d get that. He was probably going to get a triple-double. The only problem was his dad was going. He was afraid of his dad. What if he messed everything up? If he did, they would go broke.

 

One week later…

Game time. Blake got on his signature shoes. He was so nervous. What if he let down Dad? If he did, that would be the end of his career.

In the car on the way there, his dad gave him a pep talk. “I know you better than anyone else in the whole world. You can do this,” said Dad.

As they pulled up at the gym, Competitive Edge, Blake was all pumped up. Still nervous, but pumped. The team they were playing wasn’t great. They were called the Sun Devils. The only threat was their point guard, number four on the leaderboard in Minnesota. Blake was one, but it was still a threat. Tipoff Power got the tip. Blake got it. I’ve got this. He passed it to Eric, and he took the three. Swish. One assist on defense, one steal. Five minutes later, subs. He ended with seven points, five assists, and four steals. It was close. Only five assists, one three pointer, and he’d be set in the next half. He came in. He took one three and hit it. He just needed five assists. One, two, three, four, but then he went for a layup and came down the wrong way.

His dad came out on the court. “Come on. Get up, son. I know you can.’’

“I-I-I can’t.”

“It will be okay. You’ll get em’ next time, bud.”

 

Two weeks later…

“Coach said you have one more chance. It’s a better team though, so look out.”

Blake was still recovering, so he would play the next game against an even better team. He had one week. He started practicing more than ever. He went to the gym every single day for eight hours. Then, it was tomorrow. He had practiced 48 hours in the last six days. Tomorrow was the game. He knew he could do it. His shot was on. He made ten out of ten shots. He was sure he’d do it. The only problem was that he was sore from all the work he put in. Next thing you know, he was feeling pain all over his body. He was tired. He went to bed at 6:00 that night.

He woke up at 10:00 in the morning. The game started at six. He went out to Starbucks for an egg sandwich. It was nice and warm, and it consisted of bacon, fried egg, and cheddar cheese, his normal breakfast. The whole day, he felt pretty good. He took a three hour nap. He had thirty minutes to get ready. He got his shoes. He opened his golden case with his signature shoes. He got out his jersey and his basketball shorts. He went to the game. All his friends were there. They asked him if he was good.

He said, “Yeah, still worried though.”

He was excited. He knew he could do it. He started the game with a quick three pointer. He got scored on at the other end. Three minutes later, he had five points, two assists, and one steal. He got taken out after this. He would have ten minutes. His team was down by ten now. He would have to take the win and the double-double. He went in and scored his five points in less than two minutes. He just needed eight assists. He passed the ball so many times. His team was missing a lot. He was at eight assists when Zhaire Wade, Dwyane Wade’s son, was able to dunk. Blake kept passing to him. He kept scoring. There were 20 seconds left. He needed one more assist. Time out. They were down by one. They called pick and roll on Blake and Zhaire. He passed it to Zhaire. He shot. Score!!! They won the game. He did it. He made his dad proud. He finished with 29 points, ten assists, four rebounds, and eight steals.

His dad came out on the court. “You did it, bud. Now you can go to the Apple store and get yourself an iPhone X and go to the candy store, because you are makin’ your own money now!”

Blake went home knowing he was making lots of money.

 

BLAKE WILL BE BACK!

 

A Love For Liberty

          

One

My hands were about to slip. I couldn’t drop it again! If I did, we wouldn’t have anything to eat! It was the first treat I had been able to get my hands on since we were on the street. My hands always got slippery when I stole. My sister, on the other hand, had no problem taking things off other people’s doorstep! I couldn’t even take something that I found on the ground! My bounty was a beautiful, creamy Milky Way bar that Libby would just love. She might even forgive me for taking Lady with me as my guard dog. Not likely though. The only thing she liked more than that scruffy excuse for a dog was maybe my mother. Well, now Lady was the only thing she loved. Because her number one special thing had passed away.

 

I managed to grip the delicate Milky Way until I got to my sister. She wasn’t looking happy. “I woke up to no food, no dog, and no sister! Where have you been?!” Libby looked as though being without an animal had turned her into a wild one.

I held up the fruit of my struggles. “To get this.”

Libby snatched the candy bar out of my hand. “I earned this!” She ripped open the wrapping that had protected the candy from getting covered in dirt. Out of it came the most beautiful sight an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old could want. A smooth, sweet chocolate bar. The beautiful sight soon disappeared. But the smudges of chocolate on my sister’s lips remained.

 

The average day for us wasn’t very active. When you live in New York, you already have all your options laid out in front of you. You can go on one of the subways and beg for money, but that is on Wednesdays. You can steal only on Tuesdays, but my sister usually broke that rule whenever she could. Although I pretended to look down upon it, I was actually grateful; we needed all the supplies we could get in order to leave this place.

 

Two

Ellis. That is what they used to call me. It is what she used to call me. My mother. Most of my school friends call me Ellie or just L. But my mother insisted that I allow her to call me Ellis. It was my proper name. My original name. And according to her, my correct name. But I always think. Is proper and original always correct? That question bounces around in my head from time to time. But today I couldn’t afford to daydream.

 

Today was the day that we needed to pack up. The day we needed to leave no trace. The day the police come to kick us out. I needed to quickly gather my and my sister’s stuff before the authorities arrived. My sister and I didn’t agree on many things, but we both agreed that we wouldn’t be put in an orphanage. We both knew that being in an actual home would just make us more homesick. Even more homesick than we were already. It would be like only seeing the chocolate on my sister’s lips. You can never have that sweetness.

 

Three

I had finally finished packing. I hadn’t seen Libby since I had told her to pack. I was hoping that she had gotten right to it and not put it off. For once I had trusted her, and I hope she didn’t abuse that. I hope…

Oh, what the heck! She’s my little sister! Why would she do anything that I told her to! I rushed over to our tent. Sure enough, she was grooming Lady. Our now pampered pet was loving it. She looked as though she was in a spa, having the time of her life. “Libby, the police are coming in five minutes! How could you! This isn’t a game, This isn’t pretend, it’s real life. And you keep treating it as a joke! Why can’t you just grow up!” I grabbed her wrist. I dragged her over to her stuff that was untouched in a giant mound. I scooped all of it up, and it went right into Libby’s lap. She opened her mouth to reply, probably with a snotty remark about it being a free country. I shut her down quickly with a small remark about how she was lucky I was helping her pack and not on my way.

 

Finally, we finished cramming our things into a bag. We turned to leave, but then I realized I had forgotten something. I turned back only to see the disconcerting lights that alerted me of the police that were so close. But I needed to reach it. I ran through the alley that we had slept in. I ran past the fire escape that we had used as a clothes hanger. I reached the place where I had tucked the package. I managed to stay out of sight of the police. I grabbed the package and dashed away from the scene. My sister and I sprinted away from the alley we had called home. I opened my hand, revealing a dirty handkerchief. And in my world, it was the “most correct” thing that came into my life.

 

Six months earlier…

 

Four

Everything was quiet. It seemed like we would never have a home. Maybe we were meant to be without a home for the rest of our lives. I still remember his last words. “Bring me a gift from the ocean.” Not “I love you” or “you will always have a place in my heart.” I was kind of angry. I admit I wasn’t expecting a request. But it did make sense. Every morning the old man would bring us to a beach and just stare out into the ocean. “It’s perfect,” he would always tell us. Even though it was a complicated request, I was determined to fulfill it. Since Libby, Lady, and I were now homeless once again.

 

Libby and I both knew we were going to do it. We were going to give the old man who had taken us in a gift.

 

Since we were homeless, traveling far had become more complicated. For one thing, we didn’t have any money. No, I mean we didn’t even have a penny. We could either walk to the nearest beach, which was Coney Island, or somehow gather enough money to take the train to Coney Island. We couldn’t walk because in Manhattan the chances are too high of being plucked out of the crowds that flooded the streets. My little sister would refuse to hold my hand, and she would 99.99999% get lost. All this rushed through my head while on the outside tears were running down my face. My hands making tiny fists. I was able to feel two emotions at once. I was able to cry and curl up into a little ball, but at the same time get back up again and stand tall. My sister was right next to me, but if you looked into her eyes, you would realize she was light years away. I needed to get started.

I whispered in my sister’s ear, “Follow me.” I walked out of the room that held the last person who would ever take us in.

 

Five

We walked along the sidewalk. My sister’s hands swaying at her sides. We both felt as alone as we did when we walked away from the police. When they told us we didn’t have a mother. No, we had a giant bottle of liquor. And a glass bottle can’t take care of kids. We only had Lady. And each other. But my sister and I were more distant than your average siblings. We were both reminders for each other that we used to have a real family. Sometimes, we were just objects to each other. Objects that could be hugged. Or yelled at. We weren’t sisters. We weren’t even companions. We helped out each other without talking.

“We need to get a job,” I told Libby.

Libby only nodded. Being at even the beginning of that funeral had softened both of us. “Where do I go?” My sister looked up questioningly.

I had an idea. “You go to a place with shade and start singing. You start getting people to come over and put money in your hat.”

I laid out what she should do by talking and drawing in the dirt. Libby nodded. She never sang. My sister was very self conscious, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t do whatever she could to make money. As a toddler she was always coming up with crazy money making ideas to get presents for people. Just because my sister comes across as a mean little sister, she gets beautiful things for the people she loves. This wasn’t going be like the time I told her to pack. She wasn’t doing this for me. She was doing it for the old man that had taken us in. The old man that had given us food. The old man that had taught us to care about other people. The man who showed us the bridges to different worlds.

 

When we came to the old man’s house, he took us to the ocean.

He said, “You need to understand.”

We went along with it because he had just fed us after he caught us looking through his trash. When we got to the beach, he showed us how we could see where the water ended. And that where the water ended was where the bridges to different worlds started. But for most people, the water just ended. The reason was because they hadn’t visited that world yet. My sister and I both knew that the oceans connected the different places in the world. But we thought that it sounded much more foreign to us. The way the old man said it, it seemed like he had visited these places. But we knew that the old man had never left America.

 

I left my sister at the spot she had picked to sing and set off to find a way for me to make money. I wasn’t born with a beautiful mellifluous voice like my sister’s, but I was older, and I expected myself to make more money than her. I could walk dogs. But I doubted anyone would want a 14-year-old girl to take care of their precious dogs. I could shovel snow? If it was winter. Suddenly, I had an idea. I set up a little stand and started to shout like someone at a carnival.

“Step right up, step right up! Get your fortunes right here! Told to you by a dog!”

As a little kid, I took ventriloquist classes. I could speak for our dog, Lady. It was a trick I took up to cheer my sister up in the days where we spent hours in our room. One little girl walked by and asked her mom if she could get her fortune told by a dog. They had a bit of an argument, but the little girl seemed to have the upper hand. They came over and asked how much it cost to get a fortune. I told them the price, and they looked surprised.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked.

“Yes, who told you to ask for that little amount of money?” The woman’s brows furrowed.

When I didn’t answer, she handed me three times as much as I asked her for. “Thank you so much,” I stuttered, shoving the money in my pocket. I would count it later…

 

I Won’t Stop Fighting

       

I am soaring

I am roaring

Protecting my innocence

No I’m not listening

 

I thought I failed

I thought I should bail

But that’s not me

And now I can see

 

I craved the attention

Oh and did I mention

I’m ready to start brand new

No more feeling blue

 

I give my hate to the wind

I’d give to have no more sins

But that’s just not how it goes

You and I both know

 

I’d take away the pain and suffering

My whole life I’ve been wondering

What it would be like without the mad and the sad

Without all of the hate and the bad

 

I dream of a place much simpler than this

A place I would surely miss

All I have to do when it gets too deep

A drift away to a happy sleep

 

I love how people can start to stand tall

How they peep above the wall

To see the other side

All the wonders it would hide

 

It hurts the most when I see it everyday

How they cause havoc with whatever they say

Pushing each other around doing whatever they want

The worst part is, they never caught

 

I fear of what people will become

Because we get judged from where we came from

Or the color of skin

Or whether they’re fat or thin

 

I forget that people could live as one

Because at the end of the day we bleed the same blood

It doesn’t matter where your from or where you go

Or if you’re different anywhere head to toe

 

I forgave the people long ago

Who did horrible things, but they didn’t know

But now it’s not a mystery

Come change the world with me

 

I won’t give up on hope and love

I’ll just wish on the stars above

Hoping for it to be different

But love is significant

 

I will persevere

But everyday, someone sheds a tear

Saving the world will be exciting

But I won’t ever stop fighting

 

The Amazing Aliens

    

Chapter One: The Awesome Idea

“Emily, Emily!” Sasha shouted. “I have the best idea ever. Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes please,” said Emily.

“How about we look for a new planet?” said Sasha.

“What about Kiki? Can she come?” asked Emily.

“Sure,” said Sasha.

“Let’s go to Tooth to get her,” said Emily.

“The planet is called Mint.”

“Woo hoo!” screamed Emily. The two best friends jumped over to Tooth (since Tooth was in close proximity to Cookie). The two friends went searching for Kiki. Within ten minutes, they realized that Kiki was chasing them (not for the spaceship, but as a joke). They were all laughing their heads off for one hour straight. Once they stopped laughing, they entered Sasha’s spaceship and flew around the big star, looking for an awesome planet.

 

Chapter Two: The Planet Mint

In only a few minutes, they reached planet Mint.

“This looks beautiful,” said Emily.

“I don’t know about that,” said Kiki.

“Well, it’s our very own planet, so the both of you should be happy, okay,” said Sasha.

“Now we have to build this planet’s furniture.”

“Okay, it’s a good thing Emily and I packed in advance,” said Sasha.

“Let’s build!” said Kiki.

There were beautiful decorations and purple wood paneling available for use. It took an entire week to build and decorate everything. Sasha wanted to get her old friends back from Cookie land. Sasha and Kiki decided to travel to planet Tooth to pick up Kiki’s friends as well. Emily stayed back to keep an eye out for potential villains. Within a few minutes, the other friends arrived. They had a party planned for that night and stayed up until 3:00 am. They were all incredibly tired but excited for the next upcoming party, which was promised to last until 11:00 pm. Everybody went home at 11:05 pm. Once Sasha, Kiki, and Emily arrived home, they immediately fell asleep. There was a scary creature slithering around the night sky.

It was an evil villain! It was tall in stature. Sasha didn’t see it, but it always came during the evening time. She heard it in the middle of the night. She told Emily and Kiki. They saw it flee before morning.

In the morning, they looked for it. But they were never successful in locating it. They went back to Chocolate Chip, but they still couldn’t find it. They went to Cookie land, and they still couldn’t find it. They went to a different planet called Blob. It looked like a green blob. They saw an evil villain. The creature was trying to go really fast, but Sasha, Emily, and Kiki collectively captured it. The evil villain was an alien snake. It had a long body and ten piercing eyes. It was a terrifying sight.

 

Chapter Three: The Evil Rattlesnake

They realized that the evil snake was actually an evil alien. The creature transformed back into an alien. It was a spitting image of Sasha. It looked similarly to when it was a snake, it was just in an alien form. It had a short body with arms and legs and two eyes, and it wore a shirt and pants. The creature was very cruel. He was continuously punching them. Finally, he decided to reveal his name.

“My name is Steph,” he said.

Steph was living on a planet where there were lots of aliens. Instead of transforming, he said it was just like Halloween every day for him. He apologized for punching them. Steph then went back to his planet. He wasn’t allowed to leave his other planet. He would sneak out every night. He traveled with Sasha, Kiki, and Emily to Space Town.

They arrived at Space Town and hid Steph in their house because he didn’t want to be seen. They went back to Blob, where Steph lived. They had the opportunity to meet his parents.

 

Chapter Four: Ten New Planets

The next morning, Kiki, Emily, Sasha, and Steph went to a bookstore on Chocolate Chip. This was their first time on Chocolate Chip, and it looked like a bookstore. After they got books at Chocolate Chip, they went to school. They had to go to Planet Blob for school. They floated to each planet. It went fast because there was a tunnel. You’re able to go to whatever place you want. Sasha, Emily, Steph, and Kiki were in class Z. Ms. P was the name of the homeroom teacher. In school, they had to have a contest. It was to find as many planets as you possibly could and write them down. If you found the most planets, you got a big prize for each of the aliens on your team.

Emily, Sasha, Kiki, and Steph made a team. They searched for ten planets. They began with Chocolate Chip, the bookstore, and they got to Blob, their town. They went to a camp that was named Clip, and they found another planet for evil people that was called Villains. That place had evil villains on it, and they were just like Steph before he became a friend, so they didn’t go on it for a while. Then, they went to a glass making place called Glass, and they found another place called Planet, and inside Planet there were four more planets that were named Oreo, Juice, Tree, and Jungle. And the last planet was named Pants. The next day, they were going to hand the paper in.

 

Chapter Five: Winners

The next morning, Emily, Sasha, Kiki, and Steph went to school. They gave the paper to Ms. P. Ms. P looked at it for a long time. Ms. P finally said, “Sit down and wait for the other aliens to come back.” They sat for a while. Still, nobody came. The other aliens were still looking for the planets. They finally came back with nothing on their papers.

Ms. P was so disappointed at them. They got detention, and Steph, Emily, Sasha, and Kiki were the winners. They got a huge golden trophy.

“Great job,” said Ms. P.

 

Chapter Six: The Big Secret

Steph went over to Sasha’s house to have a playdate. That’s when Sasha saw something on Steph’s face that looked the same as hers. It was the same ugly scar that she had. They also had the same eye color, a dark brown.

“Steph, what is your last name?” asked Sasha.

“Curry,” Steph replied.

“We might be brother and sister.”

“Why?”

“Because my last name is Curry.”

“What?! That’s awesome.”

“I know!!!”

Sasha and Steph hugged each other, and then Emily, Kiki, Sasha, and Steph all lived together.

 

Moving Away

It’s hard to move to a new house when your parents want to live and see a new place, but it is even harder to move to a new house when you are expecting a baby. Especially when almost all my friends are asking me these questions. They were asking questions like “when are you moving” and “where are you moving to.” It’s really annoying and stressful. Even if your best friend is always telling them that if they wanted to talk to me, they had to talk about something else. One day after Laura had told them what she told every day, they just stood there. I knew that after a few seconds they would burst out. Then when they just stood there, Laura took my hand and led me to the bench in the playground, away from everybody else. I felt a little nervous even though I’d known Laura since we were little kids. I knew Laura would want to talk to me about the new house and didn’t want to talk about the new house at all, but I knew I owed Laura an explanation to my behavior. And all my other friends… why were they acting so nosey and making me nervous and uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong, Aine?” she asked me in a concerned voice. “You seem different. A little bit paler and more quiet.”

“I don’t want to move,” I said. “I’ve lived in my house all my life, and I’m nervous and a bit sad to be leaving it. I’m excited about the baby, but I can’t believe I have to leave all my memories from my old house behind.” I thought about my bedroom and knowing where everything was. I could walk that house with my eyes closed. I was going to miss it. I knew that I had been acting less playful and being more quiet lately. It was only a matter of time that Laura would notice something was up.

“Your new house is going to be great, don’t worry,” Laura said, reassuring me.

“Let’s stop talking about the house,” I said, feeling a bit better. Laura usually gave good advice. I’m grateful for my clever, kind friend. “Maybe we should go on the swings.”

 

to talk with my parents about the move.

“Everybody at school keeps asking me when we are moving and where we are going to move to,” I said to them.

“We will be moving soon, sweetie,” my mom said, rubbing her belly, “and then they will all stop asking you these questions because they will know about it.”

“You know it’s unusual to move in our town,” Dad said.

We were sitting in my bedroom, the bedroom I loved and was soon going to move out of. I started to cry thinking about leaving this room.

My mom looked over at me and said, “Aine, it’s all right. All your furniture will be moved to the new house. We can make the room look the same.”

“But it won’t be the same,” I moaned.

I couldn’t understand why we have to move and see someplace new and have more adventures in the new place. It just wasn’t fair. I knew another person meant that we needed more space, but it all seemed unfair to me. The next day, Laura and I sat on the same bench we sat on yesterday outside of the playground.

I told Laura, “I’m moving in a week. You can tell the others that ‘cause they’ve obviously been wanting to know that for ages.”

I knew that as soon as the group of girls from my school walked by my house last week and saw me packing that they would start asking questions. They told everyone that I was moving, and now everyone was curious about when it would happen. People don’t usually move in our neighborhood, so everyone was curious.

“Don’t talk like that!” Laura said. I felt uneasy like I wanted to run away from that spot, but stayed on that bench in the playground. With Laura.

“Well, it’s true,” I said.

“Yes but even though I know I won’t tell anyone that you are moving in a week. So have you seen the house?”

“Not yet. I’m seeing the new house in two days, on Thursday.”

Ring, ring —

“There’s the bell. We’d better go to class,” Laura said.

“Yeah, let’s go, c’mon.”

 

“This is the first time I’m taking a half day of school, and I’m going to look at my new house,” I said. It was a bright sunny morning. There were very few clouds in the sky, and we were standing outside Green Hill Waldorf School. I was feeling nervous for the first time at my school.

And in my first few classes, I could not concentrate. By lunch I felt a little bit dizzy. And by the time Mom showed up, I felt so dizzy that the door frame seemed to be tipping slightly to the left. Mom definitely noticed something that Laura hadn’t. Mom brought me to the school nurse. She gave some pills to swallow. I felt better after that, but I was still shaking slightly. We got into the car. I waved to Laura. She waved back.

 

We pulled up into the driveway of a beautiful white house with a gabled roof. We got out of the car and walked towards the house. I was feeling nervous. We pushed on the door, and it swung open easily. We walked into the house, and we hadn’t put our furniture in there yet, but I could imagine all of it in place. The first room was a big room with a fireplace. Next to the fireplace there was a wooden door that led into a long narrow room with a sink, an oven, a dishwasher, and a lot of other kitchen supplies. We walked into a room to the left of the kitchen, and there was a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. As we walked up the stairs, we saw a few rooms once we reached the top of the second floor. Almost all of them looked to me, like bedrooms — except one that stood out. It was the smallest room, and it seemed to be a bathroom because it had a sink and toilet and a bathtub. Then, there was the biggest room and two small ones. One for me and one for the baby, I thought. We checked out every room, but outside the sun was setting.

Mom said, “We have to go now,” before it gets too dark. I was surprised by how much I liked the house. It was nice, but this feeling turned bittersweet quickly when I remembered my old house and how much I would miss it.

The next morning, I told Laura all about the house.

She said, “It sounds nice!” trying to support me, “but I understand that you will miss your old house too.”

I felt that same bittersweetness I felt when I left the new house yesterday. Laura saw that something was different, so she didn’t say anymore.

The next morning, I woke up, and I knew it was the big day: moving day. I heard many trucks pulling up to take our things to the new house. I got up quickly, pulled on the first clothes I could find, and ran downstairs full of nervous sadness and excitement. Mom was packing some things to eat for breakfast so that we could go right away and start unpacking. We got our stuff, got into the car, and followed the trucks. I watched my old house out the window as we drove away, and I felt really sad to be leaving it.

I asked Mom who would be moving into our old house, and she replied “We have met them once… they were really nice!”

After a few minutes, she pulled up into our new driveway. We got out, and the truck drivers got out as well. We all started taking stuff into the house, and I began to quickly pick up boxes and move them into the new house. I was both nervous and excited, so I moved quickly. Finally, we had gotten most of the stuff into the house, and only had a few boxes left.

Mom said, “Let’s eat the stuff we packed for breakfast! It’s getting really late, and I am sure we all feel really hungry.”

We agreed. I was starving. We started eating our sandwiches and fruit.

Mom and Dad told me I could explore while they took the rest of the boxes in. I ran all around the house, eager to check out the new space. I saw a ladder going up to the attic that I hadn’t noticed last time. I was curious so decided to go take a look. I quickly climbed up the ladder, and finally, panting, I arrived at the top. When I stood up I saw a door leading to a room in the attic. I walked into the room, and there was just old furniture. In the middle of the room however, there was a creature. It had the body of a horse, the head of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. I was scared. I ran out of the room, slammed the door behind me, and quickly climbed down the ladder.

I didn’t tell my family what I had seen in the attic. I probably will not see it again anyway, I thought to myself. We started unpacking the boxes, even though we knew we wouldn’t finish unpacking it all today. We decided to try anyway. By the end of the day, we had gotten out a couch and a few chairs and put them together, but nothing else. We slept on mats on the floor, and in the morning I woke up feeling sore and still tired.

I tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. I was too much awake. With everyone else still asleep, and my mind free to wander, I started thinking about the creature I had seen. I thought about how the creature hadn’t harmed me, and I decided to go up again and see it. I needed to get breakfast, but I wanted to go up and see it as soon as possible. I went upstairs and climbed the ladder. I walked to the door, pushed it open, and was welcomed with a huge shock. The room had changed completely, except for the huge creature who still stood in the middle. Instead of old dusty boxes and furniture, it looked exactly like a kitchen. The kitchen did not look like the one in our new house, however, it looked like the kitchen in Laura’s house. I peered past the creature, and there was exactly what I needed: breakfast. Cereal and a jug of milk sat behind him, and so I walked towards it. I tried to get around the creature, but he roared at me with his lion face. Terrified, I ran out of the room and back down the stairs.

When I got downstairs, I saw that it looked like my parents were awake. I asked them for some breakfast, and it came right away. As I ate, I could not stop thinking about the creature, and how the room had changed, and how the room had exactly what I needed. Thinking about the kitchen, I remembered that it was Laura’s kitchen, and Laura was coming over today, and I could show her the creature and the room.

Finally, the doorbell rang. I jumped up and opened the door. There stood Laura and her parents. My parents and Laura’s parents started chatting, and Laura and I slipped upstairs. We climbed up the ladder and walked to the room. As we were walking, I told Laura all about the room, the creature, and how it roared at me. Laura seemed a bit scared by the time we had reached the room. She pushed the door open and gasped as she saw the creature. I looked at the room. This time, it was completely white, and there was nothing behind the creature now.

Laura was really surprised. “There is nothing in the room,” Laura said, “besides this creature!”

“We will come back when the room is more exciting,” I said. “Right now it’s just this creature.”

We walked back out and started helping unpack. I knew by the end of today that we would be finished unpacking.

My room was the last to unpack. We put my bed together, placed the covers on the bed, and put the carpet and the drawer next to my bed and lamp. We filled the room with everything else that was in my old room. Then we had lunch and went outside the house. We rested in some chairs outside my house and talked and played until dinner time. Then, I climbed into my bed. It did not feel the same even though it was the same. Finally, after laying for a while I fell asleep.

Mom was right when she said that everybody was going to stop asking me about the move. Everybody who had been asking me the questions became my friends again, but I still had the creature and the room in my mind. Laura and I spent our days trying to think about how we could get the creature to do what we wanted it to do. All we could think of was to train it like you do to a dog, but we knew that would not work. We had to think every day, and finally one day we were having a sleepover, and we went up to the attic to think. Then it came to me: if the room had whatever you needed, it would have the thing we needed to tame the creature.

“How would we get past the creature, to get the thing?” said Laura.

“I don’t know,” I replied.

We went into the room anyway. The creature seemed more aggressive than ever once we entered. It charged at us the minute that we got into the room. We jumped aside, terrified. The creature backed up and charged again — this time at Laura. I jumped on its back. As soon as I did this, it flew into the air with its eagle wings. It did not seem able to get down while I was on its back. Laura looked at the thing behind the creature. It seemed to be some sort of ball.

She picked up the ball and said, “Come down!” The creature did exactly what she said. We were amazed. I jumped off its back. “Don’t harm us!” she commanded again at the creature. We ran out of the room and hid the ball in my new bedroom. We knew the creature could not get it.

A few weeks passed, and Laura and I didn’t really know or need to use the ball or go visit the creature. That was until one Friday afternoon after a particularly rough day of school. I was finding it hard to focus on school work with all the newness of moving, so when I got my English essay back and saw that I got a C, I was pretty upset. The only thing that comforted me was the thought of Laura coming over later on after school that day. When she got here, she suggested we play ball and that sounded good to me. We went to take the ball outside, and when I walked to the screen door that lead to the backyard and tried to slide it open, it would not budge. I never had any trouble opening the screen door at my old house. We were thinking what to do when we remembered the creature. We ran up to my room and grabbed the glass ball, then hurried up the ladder. We pushed the door to the attic open and stepped inside.

The creature ran at us, but I shouted “Stop!” and held up the glass ball, and the creature froze.

Laura and I asked the creature to help us open the screen door, and he obeyed.

He flew around the house, and finally he got to the screen. We asked him again to open the door. Slowly, so that we could see what he was doing, the creature placed one of his hoofs on the handle, spun it around three times, and then pushed the door open. We ran outside and thanked the creature. We saw the creature fly away and back up to the attic, so we began to play with the ball. When it started to get dark, we had to leave, and my parents came home.

A few days later, I woke up before my parents, hungry for something to eat. I went into the kitchen and yanked on the handle of the cupboard the same way I always did to open it and get some cereal. It did not pull open.

“Oh yeah… different cupboard” I reminded myself.

I crept up to the attic to get the help of the creature. I had the glass ball, and I raised it up as I stepped into the room.

I whispered, “Can you help me open the cupboard drawer?” to him.

The creature flew quietly out of the room and down to the kitchen. I followed quickly and quietly. He put his hoof on the handle of the cupboard and put a lot of weight onto it. It flew open. I thanked the creature and did something I never had done before. I reached out my hand, and I pet the creature on the head and said, “Thanks” one more time. The creature nodded his head at me and flew quietly back to his room in the attic.

As I ate my cereal, I was thinking of what I could name the creature. I wasn’t sure if it was a boy or a girl, so I decided to ask Laura for advice when I went to school. Right before school, I hurried to Laura and told her about what I was thinking. I told Laura to come to my house after school so that we could figure out what to name the creature. That night, we took the glass ball once more and hurried up to the attic. We had our plan all ready. We ran into the room and called into the glass ball before anything else could happen.

“Fly to the top of the room if you are a girl, and stay where you are if you are a boy!” we commanded.

The creature flew into the air until it reached the top of the room.

“Thank you!” we said and then hurried out of the room. Now we knew that the creature was a girl.

“What are you going to name her?” Laura asked, once we got back downstairs.

“I don’t know!” I said. “You have to help me figure it out.” We went to my bedroom and sat on my bed.

“The creature is in your house, Aine,” said Laura.

“Yes, but you helped me get the glass ball,” I said.

“What about ‘Wings?’” said Laura.

“Just because she has wings doesn’t mean we have to call her Wings!” I said.

“… but she looks like a ‘Wings!’” said Laura.

“What about Wither Wings?” I said, offering a compromise. “That way it’s Wings and something else.”

“Okay,” said Laura. “Wither Wings is a nice name.”

 

Two weeks later, I woke up with a fever, and my mom would not let me go to school. All morning, I felt grumpy and bored, so I decided to entertain myself and visit Wither Wings. I grabbed the ball and climbed the ladder into the room. I wondered if I could ever make Wither Wings talk. That was probably impossible even with the ball.

“Hi,” I said to the creature, testing to see if it could speak. Wither Wings did not answer. I guess I had to communicate with Wither Wings by motions, since she couldn’t speak. I waved at Wither Wings, not entirely sure what “want” I had come there to fulfill. She flapped her wings back at me. Mom was about to leave the house, and I decided that maybe I could ride Wither Wings after she left and nobody would know.

Just then, I heard Mom call, “Bye!”

“Bye!” I called back. I heard the door shut, and the noise of car wheels driving down the driveway. I got on Wither Wings and called into the ball which I had brought just in case, “Fly!”

Wither Wings took off. She flew down the stairs and around the living room. I was having a lot of fun. I managed to spin the door knob once, then she zoomed around the room twice, and finally we went past the door knob once more, I spun it one last time and pushed it open. Wither Wings flew out of the door immediately out into the backyard and the open air. She zoomed around the backyard and made to go out on the street, but I turned her back around. Finally, it seemed Wither Wings was getting tired, so I called into the glass ball, “Go back home!” She flew back through the door, up the stairs, up the ladder, and into her room. I waved goodbye, and then I ran back downstairs to get some lunch.

The next day, I was feeling better, and Mom let me go to school. I told Laura all about riding Wither Wings and what an adventure it was. She asked if she could ride Wither Wings one time, and I told her she could if we had enough time when my parents were out and we were in the house alone. We decided to ask our mothers for a sleepover. After school that night, I waited for mom to come home. When she walked through the door, I asked her immediately for the sleepover.

She said, “Tomorrow night?” placing her hand on her belly with a tired look on her face… “Which house?”

“This house!” I said.

She told me she had to think about it.

After dinner, she looked a bit better. “Yes, you can have Laura sleepover tomorrow,” she said, “but your dad and I are going out so you will be here alone.”

“Okay!” I said. We were very excited. The day passed by slowly, but evening finally came. We ran all the way to my new house, and we slammed the screen door behind us. We raced up the stairs and appeared panting in front of the ladder.

“Well,” said Laura, “you go up first!” I climbed up the ladder still taking steady breaths as I climbed, Laura at my heels. When we reached the attic, we could hear the heavy breath of Wither Wings. We stepped into the room.

“We’re back,” I said. Laura swung her leg over Wither Wings. I did the same. “Fly,” I said absentmindedly. Wither Wings, to my surprise, rose into the air. The ball was still in my pocket.

 

The Magic Rhino

        

Chapter One: Hard Things

“It’s snowing!” MAGIC MAN said.

“It’s snowing,” mocked mathemagician.

“It’s snowing great! Snowing is bad. When will you learn your lesson?” said mathemagician.

“Never. Because snowing is good,” said MAGIC MAN.

“No it’s not. It’s bad for the Earth.”

“No it’s not!”

“Yes it is.”

“No it’s not.”

“Mother! Isn’t snowing bad for the Earth?”

“Not exactly.”

MAGIC MAN grinned.

His bro frowned.

Then, it was time for breakfast, so they sulked to the table.

At the table, MAGIC MAN told them how he broke his foot at school and that the nurse said he should wear a cast for two or three months.

His mother said, “Why didn’t you tell me? Let’s get it on right away.”

So, he got his cast on and went to Sunday school.

 

At Sunday school, he learned that rhinos have been around for 500 years.

And he wanted to be a rhino.

But then, he remembered that magic wands could not put a spell on themselves. He also remembered that he could turn into a parrot. Maybe then, he could turn into a rhino. So he tried, but he could not do it.

 

Chapter Two

Forty-five years later…

MAGIC MAN had almost forgotten it, but he tried again. Still no parrot.

Then, he remembered that he could not turn into a parrot unless he was a senior. So, he waited another 11 years. He tried and poof, standing in his place was a beautiful, golden, new parrot. But he realized he could not turn into a rhino.

Then, he remembered that he could have turned into a rhino 45 years ago. But not now. You can only turn into a rhino if you are 45 or younger. But then, a magician with no wand, one that knew this parrot wanted to be a rhino, turned the parrot into a magic wand. And all he did was sing a special song:

I don’t want him to be a parrot, rhino, or pooh. Just a magic wand.

With that, the parrot was a magician wand.

The magician picked him up, waved him a little, and walked away with a magic wand in his hands.

 

The End

 

The Orphans

Katherine sat on the porch of the orphanage and watched the sun go down.

“Katherine! It’s dinner time. The mistress is getting mad, and she won’t wait any longer,” said Sadie, who was her best friend. Katherine hopped off the porch banister and ran inside. Once she was in the dining hall, she saw the mistress red-faced, and she stomped towards Katherine and grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to a seat.

“Katherine, I will be getting rid of you, and when I mean getting rid of you, you will be adopted,” the mistress said with a smile. Katherine knew that the mistress hated her the most. “But it will not only be you. It will also be Mackenzie,” she said, and everyone knew that Mackenzie was the mistress’s favorite.

After dinner, Katherine put everything in her ripped up farmers market bag and laid down, but before she could go to sleep, there was a knock at the door. Katherine walked to the door and opened it, and the second she opened it, Sadie hugged her.

“Don’t go. Please don’t go,” Sadie whispered. She knew why Sadie was saying this. It’s because Sadie did not have any other friends.

Katherine pulled herself away from Sadie. “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here. I need a family. It’s been twelve years without a mom or a dad, and I need one,” Katherine said with tears in her eyes.”

“I get it. You care more about a family than your friends,” Sadie said angrily.

“No, it’s not like that,” Katherine yelled. Sadie shook her head and left the room. Katherine closed the door and headed back to bed.

The next day at 8:00 am, a carriage with a woman and a man stopped in front of the orphanage. Katherine ran down the stairs to the entrance. Once she saw her new parents, she felt happy inside, but she did not see Sadie. Then, sadness fell over her.

“Hi, girls. This is Lily and James, and they will be your new guardians,” said the mistress.

Katherine and Mackenzie shook Lily and James’ hands, and they both jumped into the carriage. Before Katherine got into the carriage, she saw Sadie looking out of the window. A tear rolled down Katherine’s cheek, and she jumped into the carriage. Once they got to their new house, Katherine was starving, and their house was huge. They even had a pool. Once they got inside the house, Lily and James showed Katherine and Mackenzie’s room.

“You girls will be sharing a room, and you each have your own bed,” said James.

“And you each get your own maid,” Lily said while pointing to a bell on each of the beds. Lily and James left the room.

“So Katherine, do you like this house?” Mackenzie said shyly.

“I guess,” said Katherine. Mackenzie turned around.

“Okay, you may think I was the mistress’s favorite, but I hate the mistress,” said Mackenzie.

“Girls, breakfast is ready!” said Lily from the dining room downstairs.

The girls trotted down stairs and sat at down at the long dining table.

“So Mackenzie, tell us about your parents,” said James. Mackenzie froze and ran away, and everyone stayed silent.

After breakfast, Katherine found Mackenzie crying on her bed. “I don’t know my parents,” Mackenzie said between tears.

“Well, I don’t know my parents either, but you should at least be truthful with Lily and James,” said Katherine.

The next morning, there was a carriage waiting for Mackenzie.

“Mack, there’s a carriage waiting for you,” said Lily.

Katherine looked outside the window and saw the mistress in front of the entrance. She ran out of her room and down the stairs to the entrance, but she was too late. The carriage was almost all the way down the road. Katherine went back to her room and laid down on Mackenzie’s bed. A couple minutes later, Lily and James were standing at the foot of Mackenzie’s bed. Katherine jumped up from Mackenzie’s bed and hugged Lily and James, and then Katherine looked up at them.

“Where did Mack go?” Katherine asked.

“Well she, for some reason, went back to the orphanage,” said James.

Katherine’s eyes started to water, and she hugged Lily and James again. That afternoon, it was so hot that they had to stay inside, so Katherine secretly started to plan a rescue mission. Her plan was to go out at 10:00 pm, grab one of the horses from the stables, and she would ride to the orphanage and sneak in and grab Mack.

At 10:00 pm, Katherine was already at the stables. She grabbed a beautiful white stallion named Snowball, and she hitched her up. When she got to the orphanage, she knew that there was a secret passage in the back which led to the kitchen, and the kitchen was very close to the bedrooms. Once she got in to the secret tunnel, she remembered the times she and Sadie tried to escape, but the mistress always caught them. She kept crawling. Once she got to the kitchen, she was glad that she could finally walk, but she also had to keep quiet or else the mistress would keep her from going home. Once she got to the bedroom hall, she got so worried that she would wake everyone up. When she got to Mack’s bedroom, she had to be very careful. Once she got the door opened, she quickly walked into the bedroom and quietly closed the door. Once she was next to the bed, she started to slowly shake Mack.

“Katherine, is that you?” Mack asked.

“Yes, now be quiet. I’m saving you from this dump,” said Katherine.

Mack climbed out of bed and quietly went to her dresser. “So how are we getting out of this dump,” said Mack while getting clothes out of her dresser.

“Well, we are going to climb out the window because we are so close to the ground,” said Katherine looking out the window.

After Mackenzie finished packing up, Katherine opened the window and started climbing out, but then the door burst open and there was the mistress. Katherine jumped out of the window followed by Mackenzie, and they ran right to Snowball while the mistress ran to the exit. The two girls got on Snowball and rode off with the mistress right on their tail.

“So where did you get the horse?” asked Mackenzie out of breath.

“Lily and James have a stable behind their house,” said Katherine.

Mackenzie nodded.

Once they got to Lily and James’ house, they put Snowball back in the stables and ran into the house. Katherine ran up the stairs to Lily and James’ room, and they were still awake.

“Lily, James, I rescued Mack. Come downstairs,” said Katherine, and they followed.

When they got downstairs, they found Mackenzie sitting on the couch. Lily and James hugged both of the girls.

“I’m happy that we are all one big family,” said James.

 

Tips to Business

    

JIMMY and BILL are walking on a New York City street together.

 

BILL

So, Grandson, you want to become a successful businessman, you say? Well, I’ve got a few tips and tricks for you!

 

JIMMY

I’m listening.

 

BILL

First off, when your boss asks for a plain hot dog, always get him a plain hot dog. If you get him any condiments, he’ll kill you.

 

JIMMY

Does that have anything to do with actual business?

 

BILL

Of course it does! Real business doesn’t mean numbers and paperwork! It’s about getting your boss the right dog! That’s how I got to be a businessman!

 

JIMMY

Did you actually move from the level you started at? Did your paycheck change at all?

 

BILL

Of course it did! When I retired, I was earning fifty fewer dollars a week than when I started!

 

JIMMY

Oookkkaaaayy. That’s one way to view it.

 

BILL

Anyways, let’s move on. Another trick to move you up the ladder of business is to always make sure there are missed calls on your phone. It makes you look important. The trick to that is you call yourself a bunch of times on your iPhone from the stall. It worked so well! Everyone thought I had stomach problems when I got back twenty minutes later!

 

JIMMY

I don’t exactly get what this has to do with becoming a well-known businessman…

 

BILL

Well that, my son, is because you are not experienced! When you grow up, you will understand the stress of stomach problems!

 

JIMMY

That’s not what I don’t understand. I don’t understand how missed calls make you look important. It just makes you look unresponsive.

 

BILL

Forget it.

 

JIMMY

Thank god.

 

BILL

One of my most useful tricks in being a successful businessman is to always be drinking coffee. If you have coffee, it makes you look like you stayed up late to do work. But really, all it did was keep me up late! I got to watch more of The Brady Bunch! Who’s your favorite character? Mine’s Cindy. She’s soooooo pretty!

 

JIMMY

I don’t get why any of what you said has anything to do with becoming a good businessman. Marcia’s the cute one.

 

BILL

No way. She dates ugly guys. Cindy’s really mature.

 

JIMMY

She still likes dolls! Do you call that mature?

 

BILL

I still play with dolls! And I’m mature!

 

JIMMY

I’d debate that. Anyways, let’s get back on track. Why exactly does drinking coffee help you become a successful businessman?

 

BILL

Well, let’s face it. I didn’t see any of my colleagues, like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, drinking coffee. And look where they wound up.

 

JIMMY

Um, Grandpa, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are two of the richest and most successful people in the world. And why didn’t you tell me that you worked with them? I should’ve asked them for advice instead of you!

 

JIMMY starts typing on his phone.

 

BILL

Are you kidding me? I have just gave you the greatest advice in the history of business! Bill and John don’t like Marcia! And trust me, I asked them!

 

JIMMY

Sorry, say that again? I was busy scheduling lunch with Gates and breakfast with Bezos the next day.

 

BILL

You don’t need any more tips, you just got the greatest advice ever! How many times do I have to say it!

 

JIMMY

To be honest, I haven’t really gotten any useful tips from you today. I’d rather take tips from the internet than from you, and I never listen to the internet. No offense.

 

BILL starts tearing up.

 

BILL

No, no, I understand.

(Snuffle)

You don’t listen to people who play with dolls. But listen. I went to Bill Gates’ house one day when we were friends, and he had a whole dollhouse. But I know, the internet doesn’t play with dolls.

 

JIMMY

No, no, that’s not what I meant.

(Puts arm around BILL.)

I just meant that you’re not the best advice person. I admire that you play with dolls. To be honest, I have the whole Barbie set at home.

 

BILL

You do? That makes me feel a whole lot better.

 

BILL hugs JIMMY.

 

The scene quickly changes to an apartment. BILL and JIMMY are playing with dolls. They have their arms around each other.

 

Blackout.

 

When I Woke Up

      

When I woke up this morning

There was something out of place

My nose is on the ceiling

The light bulb’s on my face!

My computer keyboard

Had turned into a mace?

Then I saw that the flowers

Had turned into the vase!

I took to it that morning

Even so early on

I very quickly realized

That there was something wrong.

 

I got up and noticed

There was slime on the chair

I looked in the mirror

I had lollipop hair

My eyes were quite wide open

When I saw my room was bare

This is not what the teachers mean

When they say to share!

I took to it that morning

Even so early on

I very quickly realized

That there was something wrong

 

I quickly put my hat on

And got a horrid douse

I could not be seen like this

Walking out my house!

I tried to brush my hair

The hairbrush was a mouse

I wouldn’t let that ruin my day

I would never grouse

I took to it that morning

Even so early on

I very quickly realized

That there was something wrong

 

Everything was silly

I climbed back into bed

Even though the legs

Were small, green trees instead

I was rather hungry

But that would just be dread

Trying for hours to sleep

My foot must have been dead

I took to it that morning

Even so early on

I very quickly realized

That there was something wrong

 

Then I woke up again

It was all a dream!

I jumped around with glee

It made me want to scream!

Soon inside my mind

A plan grew, a scheme

I looked out my window

And I started to beam

I took to it that morning

Even so early on

I very quickly realized

There was nothing wrong!

 

Selena and the Big Secret

     

Chapter One: The Mist

I have brown hair, a blue shirt, black pants, and black shoes. I have blue eyes and brownish lips. We were on the Mist! The most famous boat on the whole ocean! I couldn’t even believe we had enough money to go to England! I felt like I was the luckiest girl in the world.

 

Chapter Two: Oh No!

I loved the ocean. The gentle breeze of the ocean. I wish I would never leave, but tomorrow I was going back home. I heard a big shrieking sound from below deck! I ran down to the source of the sound. The foamy ocean water was filling up the boat, and I went back up to the deck.

 

Chapter Three: Flashback!

I am Selena Sleek and the most unpopular girl in college. I am being bullied by the most popular kid in college, Ashley Kironoe. The most valuable thing I own is an antique-looking trophy. I won a swimming competition. I have a simple apartment, and it has a dresser with lots of perfumes, mascara, and all the makeup you could think of. I have a tiny, regular bed. I had a big closet with all the dream clothes of the world, all the dream shoes, shirts, pants. I go to the mall every Saturday. But I was still only the next popular from the mold in the girl’s shower!

 

Chapter Four: Flashforward!

We had crashed into a big rock, and I ran to the lifeboats, but I was too late. I was stuck on a ship in the middle of the ocean. I took a deep breath and jumped. I got out of the water and kept swimming until I saw a dot. I got excited and swam until I fell on the beach. I got up and put together some palm leaves. I fell gratefully on the leaves and went to sleep. But before I went to sleep, I saw a small elephant and a tiny monkey crawling to me. And do you know what they had on their skin? They had names: Jimbo for the monkey and Lena for the elephant. I wasn’t scared, even though I saw them.

 

Chapter Five: The Island

When I woke up, I made a big fire. I saw a cruise ship and made a big HELP in the sand. I jumped up and down. The cruise ship didn’t see me because the fire went out. I ran to the hill and started the fire up again. Then, I ran back to the beach and jumped up and down.

 

Chapter Six: The Rescue

The cruise ship started turning and saw me. The boat came toward me, and someone threw down a liferaft. I got up a ladder on the side of the boat. The boat was called The Whale. I looked around the whole boat, but my parents weren’t on the boat. Then, I got a fruit salad and water. I ate it all and changed clothes. I wore a pretty dress, and this time I always stayed near the lifeboats. Now I was scared. After a few minutes, I washed my clothes and borrowed a towel to wrap them up.

 

Chapter Seven: UGH!

The boat went to the highest speed. Then we turned, and we got into a storm. I thought I must be jinxed or something. I grabbed a lifeboat, and I rowed away. I took one last look at the boat and rowed as far as I could. When I couldn’t row away anymore, I fell asleep on my towel. When I woke up, I looked at my watch inside the towel. It was 6:00 am, and I rowed until 9:00 pm. I saw land and rowed back home.

 

Chapter Eight: The Hospital

I woke up in the hospital, and I tried to get up. I couldn’t do it because of all the wires. My parents came in.

They said, “You are ready to come back home.”

“Yay!” I said.

We went back home, and we all stayed home the whole day. I slept the whole day. The next day, I went to school.

Ashley said, “Meet me after school in the yard, okay.”

I said, “Okay.” We both went to class, and I didn’t get a single question correct in worry of what Ashley was going to do to me.

 

Chapter Nine: The New Start

I saw Ashley in the yard. She was standing next to the flagpole and leaning on it. Then, I saw a limousine, and Princess Diamond told me to come inside. She was wearing a pink ball gown with a pink jeweled tiara on her head and had blonde hair, blue eyes, red lipstick, and pink ballet shoes. I went inside, and she told me why she hadn’t come before. The king said that she shouldn’t tell me until I was ready.

 

Chapter Ten: The Palace

We drove all the way to the palace, and I got cookies. We arrived, and people bowed. We went inside the palace, which was pink, and there were lots of turrets and lots of towers. We went inside, and I was awed by the sight. There were more pillars. The whole castle was pink.

We went to a huge bedroom, and princess Diamond said, “This is your room.”

I jumped on the bed. I went to Princess Diamond and said, “What is this all about?”

Princess Diamond said, “Didn’t you know you’re a princess?”

I was so shocked that I ran back to the bedroom and laid down on the bed. I looked around and thought that this was all a dream. I pinched myself, but I didn’t wake up. I realized this was actually happening to me. I picked up a comb and brushed my hair like it was the most relaxing thing in the world, which it was. It was a magical hair brush that changed hair styles and hair colors. I felt I could outsmile the sun. My hair was now blonde and all wavy, like it was the most beautiful hair in the world, which it was. I looked around in the dresser for something else magical. I figured out everything was. Then I got red lipstick, which made my lips all glittery. Then I sat on my bed with a face mask. I was wondering what it would do to me. Then when I took it off, I saw that everything I ever thought was bad about my face was gone.

A maid came and said, “Dinner is ready, and change clothes.”

I changed into a purple diamond dress and went down to dinner. I ate a big turkey and went back upstairs. I jumped on the bed and then went to sleep.

 

Chapter Eleven: The First Day

I woke up the next day in the big, fluffy bed. I changed my clothes and rang the tiny bell next to my bed. A servant came with a silver tray and set it on the bed. I ate my breakfast and went to explore the rest of the castle.

 

Chapter Twelve: The Treasure Room

I went to the treasure room and looked at the sight. The whole room was glittering from the gold. I went back to my room and found a little box. I found Princess Diamond and asked what was in the box. She said it was my tiara for princess school.

I said, “Wow, I didn’t know I was going to princess school!”

 

Chapter Thirteen: Princess School

The next day, I got ready for princess school. Princess Diamond said that I would need ballet shoes, tutu skirts, two ball gowns, lots and lots of makeup, lots of books, a magic scepter, and, of course, my princess crown tiara. I got all that into a pink, sparkly suitcase. Then, I went to explore the rest of the castle. I saw a throne room. I sat on my throne and pretended to be the king.

 

Chapter Fourteen: The Friend Walked In

Then, the king walked in! Princess Diamond was with him.

Then they said, “We have a special guest for you.”

Then, my friend from my old school, Cassie, walked in. We went to my room, and we played with the millions of dolls I had. Then, we played with my humongous dollhouse. It was so big, we could even play inside! Then, the king came in and said Cassie had to leave. I said goodbye to Cassie and gave her my humongous dollhouse, but shrunk it down first with a magic scepter.

Then, I said, “As soon as you touch it, go inside the bag, set it on the floor, and it will turn humongous again.”

Then, Cassie left my room, and I went to sleep. I felt really sad, and I wondered if I would ever see Cassie again.

 

Chapter Fifteen: The Truth

I grabbed my suitcase and went down for breakfast. I was feeling a little homesick.

I said “Bring my family here!”

Then, the servant left with the carriage, and a few minutes later, with the help of the magic scepter, my parents were in the carriage. I explained the whole story to them. Then, I saved the best for last, I was a princess!

My mom said, “You know what this means, right?”

I said, “Of course I do! I get to be a princess!”

Then, my mom said, “No, it means that you are not our daughter!”

Then, my dad spoke. “Let us tell you the real story. We found you in a pink basket on our doorstep. We got you a crib, and then we kept you because then we didn’t know who your parents were. Then you grew up, and you know the rest.”

I was so dissapointed. I felt like I was falling down a cliff.

My mom said, “Then what did you think when you found out you were a princess?”

I said, “I thought maybe you were keeping some secret from me, like you were the king and queen. I think that’s why you’ve been so secretive lately. Maybe the king gave you a message. And why your faces are so white right now. I am so mad at you two. Go away and never come back!”

They left using my magic scepter.

 

Chapter Sixteen: The First Day

I was really nervous. I wondered if I was going to make a new friend. I was in the royal carriage going to school. Now I was at the school. I went to my room at C4. I met my new roommate, Ashley. I couldn’t believe I had to room with her! She was my only enemy.

She said, “Don’t worry. I’m not rooming with you. I’m just here for a visit. Your new roommate is Princess Julie. I told my parents I was really good friends with you, so I came here.”

I was so relieved she wasn’t my roommate! Princess Julie came in.

She said, “Hello. What’s your name?”

I felt like I was going to be friends with her. We put on our practice princess crowns. The bell rang, and we went off to our first class, history. When we got to class, Miss J told us to sit in our seats and get our history books out. I got out History of a Princess. I turned to page one, and we wrote our names in. We read until the end of class. Then, we went to manners class. We went down, and we saw a big table with lots of spoons and forks on it. Miss M told us to place them in the correct order. Then, we took out our manners books.

Miss M gave a big speech: “You must learn how to do manners this year and not anything wrong, or I will expel you!”

Princess Julie said, “Sheesh. What a meanie!”

Then, the class was over, and we went to ballet class. We did pirouettes and balance. Then when that was done, we went to lunch. We ate our lunch of milkshakes and cookies and ice cream and then went to computer class.

Princess Julie said, “I wonder what we do here. I guess we just do some coding.”

Then, the computers turned on, and we ended up doing Minecraft the whole day. I like Minecraft.

Miss L said, “We’re not going to do something princessy today. We’re going to do Minecraft.”

We ended up doing Minecraft the whole day. Then, we went to magic class. We all made rainbows with our scepters. I felt like it was really, really easy. I read the Magic for Beginners book before, so I knew everything. Then, we went back to our room. We each took a shower, and then we went to bed. I reached out to turn off the light, but a little pink fairy came in and turned it off.

 

Chapter Seventeen: The Rest of the Year

Through the year, I met Princess Julie, Princess Tina, Princess Lily, and Princess Kylie. They all became my friends. I only made two enemies this year at Princess School. The princess’s name was Princess Precious, and the prince’s name was Prince Arthur. He was the youngest king who ever lived when he got older. They bullied me and called me names.

 

Chapter Eighteen: The Test

I took the last year test. It was called Princess Year. They tested us on all the things that we ever learned that year. But I say it wasn’t that much. I already knew how to do all that stuff. Most of what we did was reading. Before the last year test, I was really, really nervous because I didn’t know what Princess Year really was. But now that I finished it, I felt like I got everything correct.

Precious was still my enemy, and so was her new boyfriend, Prince Arthur. Do you know why Precious likes him? It’s because they both don’t like me. I wish she would like me. I didn’t do anything wrong to her; I even gave her a present! She got a tiara, and Prince Arthur got a new horse. Now he uses it for races and other stuff like that, and he still enjoys it, but he still doesn’t like me. I think they don’t like me because of my past. After the test, we all went to the Princess Tea. We all had some tea and some pastries. We celebrated later in the summer with all our 100s on the test, and do you know what Precious and Arthur got? They got zeroes on all of them. I bet they’re a little jealous too.

 

Chapter Nineteen: The End

When summer started, all of our friends hung out. We went to the beach, and we also went to my castle. We met some princes at the prince’s school, we went to my old house, and we went to the dance class. We did not meet my fake parents, and I’m really happy for that. I hope they never know what a traitor they were (my friends). I really like dancing. We still ate pastries, and we got new tiaras at the end of the year, but Precious and Arthur didn’t because they didn’t get anything correct, not even the questions were correct.

Our ones were all pink jeweled and identical. I wear it all the time in the palace, and I still have a lot of fun. Most of the time, I wear the pink gown that I wore on the first day that I came. And also, do you want to know something? I took a picture with all my friends, and I know they’ll be my friends until the end, except maybe Prince Arthur.

 

The End.

 

The Signs of Summer

    

The bright yellow sun

The tall grass

The big white clouds

The cold drinks

 

The fresh smell of flowers

The crash of small waves

The buzz of bees

The hot sand in the ocean breeze

The big trees

The birds flapping their wings

The fresh air

The clear blue sky

 

People walking by

As kids beam

At ice cream

On their bicycle rides

 

As the moon is bright during the night

And the bright yellow sun shines over it all

The tall grass

The big white clouds

The cold drinks

And the ice cream

These are the signs of summer.

 

Treasure in Washington Monument

Once, on a sunny day in Washington D.C., a girl named Lily stared out at the Washington Monument. A few hours earlier, her mom had gotten separated from her in the crowd.

***

She had my ticket, which meant that I couldn’t get out. I looked through the crowds, and I thought, so many people! As night fell, the crowd left. Then, it was only me. Or so I thought. I roamed around the monument, looking at the displays.

 

Creak! I heard a sound from the other room.

“Where is the treasure,” he whispered.

Just then, a piece of paper floated into the room I was in. My heart was beating fast. I picked up the piece of paper. It said, Treasure in Washington Monument.

“Ah ha, so he is looking for the treasure,” I said to myself. I decided to find it first.

I sat down on the floor and thought, What if this is just a rumor. But I decided to go with it. I stared at the paper. It said, Treasure in monument. Hidden in bricks. Top secret.

Not so secret anymore, I thought. Before I could do anything, I heard a whisper.

“Where did that paper go?” He sounded angry. I shivered and held the paper close. If I was going to find the treasure, I better find it fast. If it was a brick that the treasure was in, it would be loose. I wiggled some of the bricks, and l realized that this would take forever. I glanced down at the paper and saw that in the corner in tiny writing was, P.S. it’s on the second floor.

I now had a major lead. Heading down to the second floor wasn’t going to be easy, but I was determined. I could hardly wait to see my mother’s face. As I raced down the steps, I felt like I was being followed. When I turned around, I saw a shape. Uh-oh! I was stuck in the Washington Monument with a thief that could do anything to me.

I ducked into the bathroom and started thinking. He was bigger than me, smarter, stronger. Who knew what he could do to me. But I was going to find the treasure, no matter what.

I looked out the bathroom window and saw it was getting light. After staying up all night, I was really tired. I yawned and got up. I thought again. Was finding the treasure worth risking my life. If he had a weapon, he could kill me. I had to make a decision, should I look for the treasure or hide? I decided to hide. I really wanted to find the treasure, but I didn’t want to get hurt.

“Lily!” It was Mom. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry! Security made me get out. Are you okay?” she asked. She looked worried.

“I’m fine!”

The next day at school, my teacher was teaching math. I thought it was boring and wrote my adventure from yesterday down. My hair was all tangled, and my shoes were worn-out. That was fun, but I was glad it was all over. It was pretty scary! I thought. But I might go back to investigate!

 

Part Two

I was sitting in my classroom. I thought of what happened the day before.

Maybe, I thought, I can go back and see if the thief is there tonight. This time, I will take my mom with me.

“Attention, everyone. Mr. Poop is absent today. Music is canceled,” the principal announced. Everyone groaned. This meant math for the rest of the day.

That night, I told my mom about my idea. After some thought, she said, “I will come with you. However, you have to promise to stay with me. Let’s pack.”

We walked to the Monument, and I told Mom we should sneak in through the side. As we walked up the stairs, I heard a man’s voice. “I didn’t do music today, so I could plan.”

I couldn’t hear the rest because my mom interrupted. “Lily, hurry up!”

“Mom, someone is here in the monument!”

“Really?!”

“Listen!”

“The treasure is on the second floor. I pulled out the brick a little,” the man said. He knows where the treasure is, I thought.

We made our way up to the second floor, and I was thinking about what the man had said. I didn’t do music today so I could plan. Those words seemed to bother me a little. They sounded weird.

When we got to the second floor, I saw a brick that was half pulled out. I ran towards it and jerked it out. I heard footsteps. I looked where the brick used to be. In there, was a glimmering necklace. The footsteps were getting louder. I snatched the necklace and pulled my mom into a closet. I watched to see how the thief would react. It was too dark to see his face, but he groped around and stuck his hand in the hole. “Huh,” he made a weird noise. I tried not to laugh. “Where did that brick go,” he yelled.

He pulled out his phone.

“Mr. Snogglewartle, the treasure is gone!” the thief said. I gasped. Mr. Snogglewartle was my principal’s name!

“Mom, did you hear that! My principal is working with the thief!”

“Oh my!” she said, sounding surprised.

“Let’s get out of here!” I said. As we were going down, we heard footsteps. We started to run.

“What are you doing!” the thief said.

We ran faster. Finally, he caught up to us. “Mr. Poop! What are you doing here?” He didn’t answer. Oh well, at least that answers the, I didn’t do music today because I had to plan. He was my music teacher! We fled.

“Wait!” Mr. Poop yelled.

We ran all the way home. For about 20 minutes, just straight running.

At home, we slammed the door shut. “Where should we put the necklace?” I asked my mom.

“We want to keep it safe. If the story leaks, we are in big trouble.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because, if the story leaks, then thieves are going to try to steal the necklace.”

“So? Where should we put the necklace?” I asked my mom. After a while of thought, my mom thought that we should donate it to a museum.

“If we donate it to a museum, it could be seen by many people. For everyone to enjoy.”

Thief in monument caught. That was what it said in the newspaper.

The next day, I was at the museum. The necklace in its display case glimmered more than ever. Under the display was a small, yellow card. It said, Donated by Miss Lily Burger. I was happy it said my name on it.

I felt really glad that the necklace was in its place. Everything had turned out well, I thought. In the end, I was happy with everything that had happened.

 

Nightquake

Max knew that it wasn’t going to be a good day. Yesterday, everything had gone wrong, and now Max, a quiet kid who sat in the back of class and got good grades, had gotten himself into a fight. Everyone at school knew about it. It was as big as a pay-per-view boxing match. And it was today.

Yesterday was what Max expected to be another normal day, going to school, doing his work, and going home. Instead, the most unexpected things happened at every corner.

First, he went downstairs to get breakfast, expecting to see his mom and dad already eating and getting ready for work. They weren’t there. When he went to go get his breakfast, he saw a ripped sheet of paper on the fridge.

 

Hey Max –

We had to go to work early today — we wouldn’t have

gone if it wasn’t an emergency. We’ll be home at 6:30.

Love,

Mom + Dad

 

That was already abnormal. Max’s parents never had to go to work early. They were pediatricians at the children’s hospital downtown. They usually worked from 10 am to 6 pm in the emergency room. What could’ve happened that made them leave so unexpectedly?

Then, Max arrived at school, and the principal called him into the office. Max had never gotten into trouble. In fact, he had never even talked to the principal before. Why was he going?

Max walked into the office. It had smooth walls that were the color of sand in the desert, and there was a lady that looked as if she was born in ancient times at the front desk.

“Are you Max Smith?” she asked Max with a stern voice, and he got worried.

Could I be in trouble? he wondered.

“Yes,” Max gulped. “That’s me.”

“Great. The principal’s office is right down that hall.” She pointed to the hall on the right of Max.

“Thank you.”

Max was nervous, but he gathered up the courage to walk down that short hall that felt like it was never-ending.

Max finally got to the end of the hall and opened the door. He saw the principal, who had slight wrinkles on his face, graying hair, and a thick unibrow.

“Come in.” The principal had a deep voice, almost as deep as Batman.

Max sat down on the gray, cushioned chair in front of the principal’s desk, and the worry slowly worked its way down from his head, to his stomach, and then all the way down to his legs.

“Max, do you know why you’re here?” He asked the question in a way that seemed as if Max did something wrong, and he should feel sorry for it.

“No,” he quietly whimpered.

“Well, you don’t have to worry. You’re not in trouble.”

Relief quickly took over the worry that was swallowing Max whole.

“Why am I here?” asked Max.

“You are here to be what is sort of an undercover agent for the school. I recently found out about a secret group within the school that has been bullying and hazing some new and old students for no apparent reason. I want you to join them and find out why they’re doing this, then do your best to stop them without getting caught. This is dangerous, and it is up to you, but before you make your decision, I want you to remember that I chose you because you are my best student, and I believe you can do the best job.”

Max had to take a second to let those words sink in. Best student? Undercover agent? Of course he had to accept. The dangers didn’t matter to Max. If he stayed somewhat quiet, he could avoid trouble.

Or so he thought…

 

Max didn’t know what to expect when he went up to William Brown, the school’s biggest bully. He slowly walked up to him, trembling with the thought of getting beat up, or worse. He was still wondering what made him the principal’s pick to end this, but he knew he needed to be focusing on the present right now. He finally reached William and whimpered the word, “Hi.”

“What do you want, twerp?” William asked in a tough, strong voice with the power to destroy worlds.

“I-I-I w-wanna be a-a p-part of your gr-group.”

“Ah, you mean the Union.”

“Yep.” Max’s confidence rose after hearing the name Union. He had a name now, and he could easily slide in.

“I mean, you seem quiet enough to stay silent about all this. But how do I know you’re tough enough?”

“I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.”

“I guess I will. You’re in.”

 

Max knew what he had to do now. He had to challenge them from the inside. Refuse missions, let kids free from the horrors they were about to face, and of course, forcing them to give him information. He knew this wouldn’t be easy, but he had to try.

When he opened his locker to put his books away for lunch, he saw a folded up note that had been dropped inside through the small slits at the top.

 

Dude –

I gotta tell you our HQ location so

you can come to our daily lunch

meetings. It’s at the unlocked closet

nobody uses at the football field.

The lunch meeting is @ 12:30. Please come.

 

Max knew he had to go to that meeting. He quickly put his books away, checked the time (it was 12:07), and hurried to the cafeteria. He ate his lunch in four minutes, then ran to the football field, which was three minutes away. He arrived 16 minutes early, at 12:14, but he was there on time to catch them before they could beat up another kid. He ran over to where they were gathering around a kid sitting on a chair, and he saw that it was one of his very few friends, Kent Buckley. He was about to say something to stop them, but just as he was about to do something, Kent got punched in the face three times. He was bleeding from his nose and mouth, and his teeth were red with blood. Kent got up to run away, but Axel Foiger pushed him back into the chair. Kent was crying, but nobody was doing anything to help. Max knew he should talk to them, but he also knew he needed to gain their trust. So, without thinking at all, with a smile on his face, Max went up to Kent, and spit on his face.

 

The entire Union was going wild. Max Smith helping us? Max was usually a nice, quiet kid. Why was he joining the Union? However, they were so impressed, that they didn’t even have the slightest thought that he was going to try and destroy the Union.

“Alright, alright,” William’s voice turned the entire group silent. “Yes, we have a new member, but that doesn’t matter right now. We just need to go into the closet and have our meeting. I have an idea of who’s next.”

All of the members of the Union were ready to know who was next. When the reveal finally came, they were so shocked, they barely talked for the next hour. They were scared for this and definitely not ready.

They were going to publicly fight Max Smith, so he could prove himself worthy to the Union. If they had to know how tough he was, they didn’t just have to take his word for it. They could just watch him in action.

Max was terrified. It didn’t help that the whole school knew by 2:30, and by 2:45, a time had been planned for the fight. He knew he couldn’t fail his principal, and he knew he was still going to take down the Union. As long as he believed in himself, he could do it.

 

After school, he walked home, knowing he was safe from getting beaten up, but terrified of tomorrow’s fight. It was 3:17 when he arrived home, and his parents weren’t going to be home for another 3 hours, 13 minutes. All he could do was wait to find out what the emergency was.

His parents arrived home at 7:00 pm, half an hour after the time they said they would arrive at. They had very clearly been crying, and he knew something was very wrong when they told him to sit down on the couch.

They sat down on the couch across from Max and started talking.

“A kid from your school, Jimmy Phillips, was brought to the emergency room last night with severe injuries. He was found lying on the ground unconscious, with a note taped to his shirt that said From the Union. He survived, but he will be blind for at least the next five years, and he can never move his left arm again. We want to know if you know anything about this.”

“No. I don’t.”

Max was shocked. He knew that the Union was bad, but to this level? He now felt horrible about helping them beat up Kent. Spitting on his face was the worst thing he could’ve done. Now, he knew that he definitely needed to stop them. He went upstairs and thought about this. He started preparing for the fight, now that he knew who he was working with. He was weak, but as long as he believed in himself, he could fight.

When he woke up the next day, he was as ready for the fight as he could possibly be. He knew he would be able to beat them when he knew why the principal chose him to infiltrate the Union. That would help him realize his strengths, and how he could use them. He got dressed, and immediately went to school. No breakfast was necessary.

When he arrived at school, he was called to the principal’s office for the second day in a row. He once again walked down the short hall that felt like an eternity, wondering what it was this time. He opened the door, and the principal immediately started to talk.

“I heard about the fight. I’m confident that you’re ready for this.”

“I’m just as confident as you are.”

“Good. The fight is not why you’re here right now. You’re here so I can tell you why I chose you.”

Max knew that he would finally know the answer to the question that had been on his mind for the past 24 hours.

“I chose you for three big reasons. Reason number one is that you’re smart. You’re smarter than all of the members in the Union combined. You can easily outsmart them. Reason number two is that you’re a likable person. The Union can easily get along with you, leading you to gain their trust, leading me to have all of their information. Reason number three is that you’re loyal. I mean, I’ve known you for a day, and you’re already doing everything I want, without questioning it. Your loyalty means that you won’t actually become a member of the Union, but instead come back to me. In fact, you’re so loyal, I bet you won’t tell anybody that my name is actually Joey Smoith.”

Max had to take a second to let that sink in. Who has a name like Joey Smoith?

“Thank you for choosing me.” That was all he said before leaving the principal’s office.

 

In the hours before the fight, Max realized how sluggish classes really were. Time went by slower than it had ever gone before. Max fell asleep during class, and when the teacher woke him up, it was 2:43pm. 17 minutes until the fight. The minutes started going by faster. Fifteen minutes until the fight. Faster. Twelve minutes until the fight. Faster. Eight minutes until the fight. Faster. Three minutes until the fight.

It was finally time for the fight. After hours of waiting, it was finally here. He went up to the Union, and everything became a blur. Someone shouted a starting word, and the fight began. Max believed in himself, so he could do it.

Max punched William in the face, kicked all of the members of the Union in the stomach, and then they got angry. They charged at Max, and he got punched in the face twice. Then, he got kicked in the crotch. His hair got pulled, his leg got snapped, he broke at least five bones, and then, he got knocked out. He had lost the fight.

There was blood coming from all over his body. It looked as if someone painted him dark red. His leg was gushing out blood, he looked flat, and he didn’t remember any of it when he woke up in the hospital two months later.

 

It had been a year since Max woke up in the hospital. It had taken him five months to recover, and he still had many scars. These scars brought him to the realization that he wasn’t the only one that had these troubles. The scars made him remember the fight and how hard he fought against the Union. This made him feel powerful, like he had the power to do anything. He had the power to help. He wanted to be like his favorite superhero, Robin. He would become a vigilante and protect all of the people that were being attacked.

He began by making his costume. He made himself a black mask that covered his entire head, and a suit that had a black center, and blue arms and legs, with a large N in the middle. Then, he trained for seven months. He worked out, jumped across rooftops, practiced knocking out criminals using punching bags in his basement. Then, he was ready. That night, he jumped across rooftops, looking for crime. He finally found something. Seven or eight criminals gathered around a gagged man tied up to a chair. He wasn’t worried. He knew he could do it. He was… Nightquake.

 

Something Broken

 

Katnissa

As I walk into the dining room, my mom says, “Katnissa. You’re late.”

“Sorry,” I say. “I was out with Galeian at the park.”

Galeian is my best friend. He and I have been best friends since we started kindergarten when we were five. I still remember on the first day of kindergarten I wore my hair in two braids instead of one (now the only hairstyle I wear is one braid over my left shoulder) and I was so nervous. He was the only one who was nice to me. Now, we are going into eighth grade. This year is the year we try out for high school. If we don’t go to the same high school, we won’t be friends anymore, and that would be sad.

“What’s for dinner,” I say.

“Spaghetti with meat sauce,” my mom says. “You know tomorrow you have an interview.”

“I know,” I reply.

“Don’t you want to prepare?”

“No,” I say.

I walk upstairs and flop facedown on my bed. Uhh, I don’t want to do this. I wish I was in kindergarten again, then I could be friends with Galeian forever and never have to leave. That is my only wish.

 

I wake up the next morning and immediately feel the warmth and coziness of the blanket on top of me. Then, I realize that I have my interview today, so I am allowed the skip school to go to my interview at Lexington High School. My bedroom is literally covered with posters of Alex Morgan, Lionel Messi, Abby Wambach, and Hope Solo.

I grab my phone off the nightstand and text Galeian, Hey are you nervous for our interview??

He almost instantly texts me and says, No, you.

And I say, Yes, a bit.

And he says, It’s okay don’t be nervous.

I then text, Meet you there.

When I stand up, I feel the shooting pain in my feet that you get when you first get up.

“Ow,” I mutter under my breath.

I open my drawer as it makes a low creaking sound. Creeeeeeeak. Then, I take my favorite shirt out of the drawer. It’s a black turtleneck sweaterish sort of thing. It’s plain, but I really like it. I also take out a pair of jeans. Then, I braid my hair into braid over my left shoulder, just like every morning. As I walk downstairs, I hear the slamming of our car’s trunk and the sound of our old garage doors closing. Yes, I can admit we don’t have the nicest house or the newest things, but we do live a good life. I walk across the lawn in my flip flops, and I feel the cold, wet grass on my toes. It must have just rained last night. I walk to the car and open the door. I get in the car, and my mom starts driving. It takes about 15 minutes to get there.

When I get out, my mom gives me a big hug and says, “I’m so proud of you.”

And I say, “Thanks, Mom,” but really inside it puts me under more pressure.

Then, I hear Galeian say, “Hey, Katnissa,” and I walk over to him.

“Hi, Galeian,” I say.

“Still nervous?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go in,” he says.

And I say, “Okay.”

As we walk into Lexington High School, I start to get butterflies in my stomach. The lady at the front desk tells us to go take a right through that door, then a left down the hallway, and then take a right right down the first hallway we see, and the room will be on our left at the end of that hall. We follow those directions, and we get there without getting lost. Yay!!! We go into the room and see a tall man with bright red hair.

He says, “Galeian, you’re up first.”

“Bye, Katnissa,” Galeian says.

“Bye,” I say.

 

Galeian

“Hi, Mom, I’m home,” I say as I walk through the front door.

“Good,” she says. “I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.” I walk into the living room where she is watching a show. She pauses her show. I sit down on our couch and relax.

Then, my mom says, “How was your day.”

I then say, “Good.”

“Where were you,” she says.

“I was out at the park with Katnissa.”

We were practicing for our state soccer tournaments that we are both in the finals of. We play on the same team because Brooke Charter School only has one team, and it is for boys. Katnissa had to ask so many times and keep showing the coach her skills, and even then it took her a whole year to get on the team. She is really good.

“That sounds fun. Also, you have an interview tomorrow,” she says. That’s my mom alright, always worried about me when I don’t need her to be.

“I know, Mom, you have told me half a billion times,” I say.

“I know,” she says. “Still, do you want to prepare??”

“No,” I say. Actually, I kind of yell at her. Well anyway, I walk upstairs and lie down on my bed. I wish I didn’t have to switch schools. It’s so annoying. Now I might never be friends with Katnissa again.

 

I wake up the next morning and feel annoyed.

“Really, Mom,” I say. “It’s only 7:00 am. Why do you have to wake me up.”

“You have an interview today,” she says.

Uhhhhhhh, I think. “This is the quadrillianth time you have told me!!” I say.

“I know, I know” she says, “but really you have to get up.”

“Fine,” I say. I walk over to my dresser and take out an expensive top and my nicest jeans and get dressed. Then, I walk downstairs to have breakfast. My mom has prepared me a great breakfast. A bit of egg, a bit of bacon, and a bit of hash browns. Yum!! I scarf up my breakfast, and my mom and I drive to Lexington High School. I feel a little nervous, but I dont tell my mom, or she will start to freak out and tell me I don’t have to go if I don’t want to, but I do want to go.

When I arrive, I see Katnissa, and I say, “Hey, Katnissa.”

After that, everything’s a blur. Next thing I know, I’m being called in for the interview.

 

Katnissa

I walk into the interviewing room and sit down on a red velvet chair.

The man in front of me across the desk says, “Hello, you must be Katnissa.”

“Yes,” I say.

“How are you today?” he asks.

“Good,” I say.

“So I’m going to get to the point,” he says. “Why do you want to go to Lexington high school?”

“It is the best sports school in the state of Massachusetts,” I say.

“So you play sports I presume?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say. “If you look in my folder, you will see a review from all my past coaches.” He opens my folder and takes out a review from my middle school coach and looks surprised.

“What are your favorite subjects in school?” he asks.

“Math and gym,” I say. “I not only love soccer. I love all sports in general, although I will admit my favorite is soccer. I love math because I like mind games, and math includes a lot of them.”

“My last question is about friends.” He asks, “Do you have a lot of of them??”

“Honestly, I have a few, my teammates and Galeian who is also my teammate.”

“So boys are on your team,” he says.

“Yes,” I say. “It is an all boys team except for me.”

“Thank you, Ms. Katnissa. Watch for a letter,” he says.

“Thank you,” I say. Then, I walk out of the door feeling remarkably happy.

 

Galeian

I open the front door to my house. I walked home with Katnissa, so I had to hold back tears the entire time. Why did I do that interview so horribly?! I walk into my house and feel the tears hot and salty rolling down my face. My mom comes out of the kitchen holding a spatula covered in sauce.

She says, “Honey, how was your int — , what happened, sweetheart?”

She gives me a big hug. The tears are slowing, and I am calming down slowly. I am breathing heavy, and for once, I am happy about my mom’s protecting nature.

“What happened, sweetheart, do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” I say.

“Okay,” she says.

She goes into the kitchen and gets me a fresh cup of her famous chocolate milk. When I drink it, I feel even better. After that, my mom and I curl up and watch my favorite movie. Later that night, as I walk upstairs, I feel a kind of happy, a happy I’ve never felt before, like I might be able to accept the the fact that I most likely will not get in to Lexington High School, and that’s okay. And for that, I thank my mother.

 

Katnissa

It’s a week after my interview, and we still haven’t gotten a letter or email about the school. It’s super nerve-wracking!! Suddenly, my mom yells from downstairs.

“Honey, I would come down here if I were you.”

I race downstairs and exclaim, “What.”

My mom says, “Come here.” I run over as fast as I can and look over her shoulder, and on her computer I see a message from Lexington High School.

“Open it!” I yell excitedly. “Open it!!”

She clicks it with her mouse, and here is what the email says.

 

Dear Ms. Rail

I am very pleased to inform you that your daughter has gotten into Lexington High School. Below I will provide a list of all details on this matter.

Thank you for your time,

Peter Wayne

 

“YES!” I exclaim. “YES, YES, YES!!”

My mom gives me a big hug. “I’m so proud of you!!” When we finally let go of each other, which is about half an hour later, my mom says, “Let’s go out to dinner to celebrate.”

“Yes,” I say.

Later that night, I’m still smiling. We hop in the car. We decide that we are going to my favorite restaurant that is on Oak Street. It’s an Italian restaurant, and it’s so good. The only problem is that it’s 30 minutes away. Whatever, who cares. I’m so happy.

 

Galeian

Even though I expected that I wouldn’t make it into the school, I still feel sad that I didn’t get in. The thing that cheered me up the most was my mom. Do you know what she did?! She gave me a hard mad emoji pillow to punch and a sad emoji pillow to squeeze. I cracked up so hard when she gave them to me. I was laughing forever. It was hilarious!! But the funniest thing ever was when she asked me, “Why are you laughing?” After that, I laughed for 20 minutes. But then, I went upstairs. The fun was over, and the gloom started. I thought back to the day of the interview, and then I remembered the smirkish smile she gave me when she came out if the room. She told the interviewer bad things about me. Oh my gosh!! Why would she do such a terrible, terrible thing. What did I ever do to her?? Well, the day before our interview, I beat her at soccer for the first time. Now she thinks I’m a pushover and a baby, and I hate her for it.

 

Katnissa

As we get in the car, I say, “Oh shoot. I should call Galeian, right?”

My mom then says, “Yeah sure.”

I turn on my phone and call Galeian. “Hey, Galeian,” I say when he answers. “I got in. I’m so excited we are going to do all kinds of fun things together.”

“I didn’t get in,” he says, sounding quite upset like he just cried. “So go away.”

I look toward the front window and say, “I’m so sorry, Galeian, that’s aw — ” Then I see the big white headlights raging toward us. “AAAAAAA!” I scream. Then, I hear a crash!! I feel some kind of sharp glass hit my arm, and I feel a bit of wet blood. Everything becomes blurry, and then my world goes black.

 

Galeian

As I am relaxing on my bed and feeling sleepy, I suddenly get a call. I pick up the phone and answer it without looking who it’s from. When I answer it, I hear Katnissa’s voice ranting about what we’re going to do together when we get to Lexington. Really, now she is trying to make me feel bad. Is she serious. She sounds so excited.

Then in the middle of her sentence, I cut her off and say, “I didn’t get in.”

Then unexpectedly she says, “Oh Galeian that’s aw — ” Then, I hear two screams and then a big crash. Oh my gosh, she just got into a car crash. Should I go and help her. Then I decide no, she ruined my dreams. I will never help her again. She doesn’t deserve it.

 

Katnissa

I wake up hearing voices. What’s going on? I think. What happened? Ow, my whole body hurts.

When I open my eyes, someone yells, “She’s awake.”

“Call the doctor,” yells someone else.

I open my eyes even wider to find my mom sitting there. With several scars on her face yes, but alive and awake. I smell an odd smell, like we are at a hospital. I also hear a quiet buzzing sound from the big machine Then, I notice that I have a bunch of wires connecting to me.

I try to say, “Mom, are we in a hospital,” but what comes out is this awful croaking sound.

I try to sit up, but the pain in my neck and right leg are too much to bare. Oh the pain!! I lay back down. I decide if I can’t get up, I will at least find out where I am. I can’t talk, so I decide my strategy will be to look around the room. I see a night table with a plant on it on my left side. On the table there is my phone cracked and most likely unusable. Then, I look on the other side and see a bunch of medical charts. Okay, we’re definitely at a hospital. But why are we here? Then I remember those big white headlights, and then I put two and two together, and I know we were in a car crash. Then, the doctor comes in with this clipboard in his hand.

Then, he says “Hello, Katnissa. I am Doctor Modisett.”

“What happened to me?” I ask.

He responds to me by saying, “You have a concussion, a broken arm, and a broken neck.”

“Nooooo,” I croak.

Then, the doctor drops the biggest bomb I’ve experienced on me.  He says, “Soccer may be off the table for you.”

“Nooo,” I say.

“I have to go to the nationals.” Then I cry, and I feel the hot, salty tears slowly roll down my face.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry,” my mom says.

“Noooo,” I cry back. I feel like I have no use in the world anymore, and my heart is crushed.

 

Galeian

My mom wakes me up the next day.

I ask her, “Why are you waking me up so early?”

She says, “We’re going to visit Katnissa in the hospital.”

Then I say, “Absolutely not, I will not go.”

“Yes, you will,” she says, “or you’re grounded, and don’t you care about your friend?”

“Fine,” I say.

I get dressed and walk down the stairs. She gives me breakfast, and we head off towards the hospital. When we get to the hospital, the person at the front desk says that she’s in room 302. Then, we take the elevator up to the third floor. The elevator is super slow. We open the door to her room, and I see her in the bed sleeping. My mom greets her mom and tells her how sorry she is that this happened. Then Katnissa wakes up. I glare at her.

She says, “Hi, Galeian.” I ignore her. “Galeian, did you hear me? Hello?” she says as she waved her hand in my face.

“Don’t put your hand in my face,” I say.

“Jeez,” she responds, “so harsh.”

I decide I would ignore her for the rest of the time we’re here. Then, I walk to the other side of the room and sit down facing away from her.

“What are you doing, Galeian?” my mom asks.

“You knew I didn’t want to come. Don’t expect me to talk.”

“But Katnissa is your best friend. Aren’t you happy to see her.”

I simply say, “No.”

 

Katnissa

The next time I open my eyes, I see Galeian walk through the door. I feel excited to see them, but still a little upset that he yelled at me when we were on the phone.

But I still try to be friends with him and say, “Hi, Galeian,” but he rudely ignores me. I don’t understand why he did that. I wave my hand in his face.

“Hello, why are you ignoring me.”

He yells at me again, telling me to not put my hands in his face. I don’t understand why he’s doing this. What did I ever do to him? Maybe it’s because I got into the school and he didn’t. May — that’s the only option. He’s mad at me because I got into the school and he didn’t. That’s not fair for him to do that. When I think about it, I should be the one mad at him. He hasn’t come to visit me and doesn’t even care that I’m okay. Then, Galeian leaves. He says he has to go to the bathroom, but I think he’s leaving for good.

I say to his mom, “Why is Galeian acting like this? Do you know?”

She says, “No, I have no idea. I don’t understand it either.”

Later that day, after Galeian and his mother left, my physical therapist comes for the first time to help me with my broken neck and leg. She has curly black hair and acts really nice.

She says, “Hello, I’m Ariana.”

“Hi, I’m Katnissa,” I say.

When I try to get out of bed, I realize just how bad my leg is. I almost fall over, but I catch myself using the bed.

“Ow,” I say. She tells me to sit down on the floor and slowly try to touch my toes. I do, and it hurts way too much to touch my toes.

“Ugh,” I say. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes you can,” she says. “If you want to get back to your passion, you have to work for it.”

“But it hurts to work for it,” I say.

“But you still have to do it,” she says.

Soon, she tells me to stand up and try walking but holding onto the railing. I get three steps before I have to stop. Each day, I get more and more steps, and eventually I start taking steps without needing to hold onto the rail. I’ve been working on getting better for two months, and every day I feel more and more confident that I could get back to soccer, and my neck is healing but not at as fast of a pace as my leg. I miss Galeian, but the old Galeian. Not the one who hates me.

 

Galeian

It’s been two months since I visited Katnissa in the hospital. I’m less mad now, and I was going to visit her and tell her I’m sorry, but I don’t know how. I think and think, and I decide that I’m going to visit her in the hospital today and make it right. I tell my mom, and she tells me that that’s great, and we should totally do that. So we get in the car and head towards the hospital. The drive is 20 minutes long. When we get there, I go to room 302, and I don’t see her. I walk down the hallway to check if she’s anywhere else and see her walking with her physical therapist practicing trying to walk. She’s doing a pretty good job, and I’m happy for her.

“Hello, I’m really sorry for ignoring you. I was wrong,” I say as I walk up to her.

“Why were you doing that to me? It was very mean,” she responds angrily.

I say, “I was upset because I thought you told the interviewer something bad about me, and I had already had a very bad interview. Did you do that?”

“Absolutely not!” she says. “I would never do that. I wanted us both to be at the same school.”

“Really?” I say.

“Yeah,” she says, “I would never try to hurt you.”

“Will you forgive me?” I say.

“I don’t know. I was really hurt that you didn’t come see me, and I think that was wrong. We’re best friends. You shouldn’t give up on your best friend without even trying to make it right.”

“I’ll make it right. I’ll visit you more, and I promise that will never happen again. I’m really sorry,” I say.

She says, “I’ll forgive you, but you can’t do that again.”

I leave the hospital that day feeling very happy.

 

Katnissa

Galeian visited me today. He seemed really nice, and I’m happy he came. Like I said before, I don’t know if I can forgive him. What he did was really wrong, and I don’t like it. I think I will forgive him though. He has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I can’t give up on him so easily. That would be just as mean as what he did to me. I can’t do that to him. Over the next few weeks, he visits me every day. And every day, he helps me walk a bit more than I did the day before. One day, I stop and tell him that it’s too hard, and I need to stop.

He tells me, “No, keep trying, keep going after it,” and I do.

I keep trying, and I keep working until I am allowed to stop physical therapy, as long as I keep taking walks with Galeian. So I realize that what I need is the promise that I can do it, that I’m not alone. And Galeian showed me that. So when he asks if I forgive him, I say yes.

 

Emma Learns How to Fly

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Okay,” Emma said.

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

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

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

“Thanks, Mom.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Okay,” said Emma.

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

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

THE END

 

The Story of Candyland

One early morning, Carly was asleep, and her mom was calling Carly up. So, Carly brushed her teeth, washed her face, ate breakfast and poof! She was in the Magic land of Candy.

Then, another poof came. It was her friend, Charlie. They thought they could use candy to make a house.

A fairy came and told them, “You can eat the candy, but you can’t make it into a house.”

So, the fairy used her wand to make a gingerbread house for them.

They saw a tree made of marshmallows, and the trunk was made of gum. They thought they could go to the ocean, but there was no ocean. There was only a cotton candy ocean. But there was a guard, and the guard told them that they couldn’t get in the ocean because it was very thick, and you could get stuck if you fall in. When you got stuck, you would sink. But the queen helped them out and used her wand to make the cotton candy smoother for them.

So, Charlie sat on a pizza to ride on the cotton candy ocean, and Carly used the cookie to sail on the cotton candy ocean. A little bear sat on a lollipop made of chocolate and sang. When they got on the island, the little bear was there too. They thought it was their home from before, but it was not. Her mom was in the home to find Carly, and Charlie’s mom was there to find Charlie. But their moms went to the room and didn’t find them anywhere.

They found a Coca-Cola pond, and they could drink Coca-Cola from the pond. They ate some of the fish made of jelly beans.

The moms saw them and said, “This planet is shaped like a jelly bean.”

But it was not their mom, it was the jelly mom. So, they ate the jelly mom because she wasn’t their real mom.

They found chickens in a farm where another chocolate bear was. This bear was eating half an egg, because the chicken was a magic chicken that could give you a chocolate egg if you gave her chocolate.

The bear said, “You should go to the Land of Food.”

So, they sailed on the big boat of candy and sailed to the Land of Food, and there was pizza mom. And they ate their pizza mom.

On the Land of Food, there was a machine that could give you anything you wanted, like pizza. And there was a unicorn made of every type of candy. The unicorn had a marshmallow mouth, and the cotton candy was her head. She had a jello body, and her four hooves were made of jello too. Her neck was made of chocolate. Her mane was made out of lollipops, and her tail was made out of golden candies and food coloring.

They saw a pile of mashed potatoes and jumped in the pile, and it felt very squishy. On the Food Land it was Christmas! The snow was made of all types of ice cream: vanilla, strawberry, chocolate chip, watermelon, lemon, pineapple, and all of the other flavors. They slept in a taco because it was nighttime, and they were tired. All of the candies turn into lights, and you still could eat them! And you couldn’t forget the taste of the popsicles because they tasted so good. You could eat a bit of fries and some hamburgers for dinner.

They ran into a goblin, and it was candy, and they ate the goblin like they did with the food moms. At midnight, when they slept in the taco, a fairy used her wand to send them to their own home.

When they got home, they were very unlucky because Carly’s mom said, “Where have you been!”

“We’ve been in Candyland,” Carly and Charlie said.

Carly’s mom said, “Your punishment is to only eat vegetables for four weeks!”

They never went to Food Land and Candyland because of the fairy who sent them away. And the fairy was made of jello, so they ate the fairy because they wouldn’t eat anything sweet for a month.

So, the next day, Carly and Charlie wished to go to Candyland again. But they could only go if they let the fairy out of their tummies. But Charlie and Carly said they couldn’t because they were people and weren’t magical and couldn’t easily spit her out. They went to the doctor and got the jello fairy out of their mouths. The fairy waved her wand, and Charlie and Carly could go to Candyland and never return. Their moms tried to find them for 2,000 years and didn’t succeed.

In Candyland, they did a lot of fun things. They found a princess that was a human, not candy. The princess showed them the way to the waterfall. And when they got there, there were four princesses that could change their hair magically. They could turn their hair into an island. But they didn’t because they could only do it if they were dreaming about it. Carly, Charlie, and the princesses used bubbles to go down the waterfall, and they had so much fun.

At the bottom of the waterfall, there was a crocodile! When the girls saw it, they quickly ran back to the castle to tell the queen about the crocodile. When they returned to the waterfall, they used a very sharp sword to stab the crocodile. After, they got into a big, big taco and had a tea party. The taco tipped over and fell inside the ocean of cotton candy. It was not a problem because the taco could still float. They ate cotton candy straight from the ocean. It was a rainbow cotton candy ocean that had all of the juicy flavors.

The queen used her magic wand to teleport them back to the castle, and they slept in a cloud that was in the castle! Carly and Charlie thought it was very comfortable. In the cloud bed, you could control your dreams. They dreamed of a basket, and they could see something in the basket. It would give you whatever you wanted, like cotton candy, jelly beans, and chocolate eggs. And sometimes, you could say you wanted chocolate bars. They shared their candy with the four princesses they met that day. When the dream was done, they fell asleep and didn’t dream more because the cloud could only give them one dream that they could control.

The next day, they were still in candy land. They got to a big lollipop and pressed a button, and all of the candy melted, and a tornado slurped up pasta and meatballs.

“What?” said Carly.

“It is yummy!”

“What is yummy?”

“Ruuuuuuuun… No… ”

“It is pasta and meatballs. Slurp, slurp, yum.”

They ate all of it, then they saw soup, so they drank some. They saw a little cute bear covered with pasta, so they slurped the pasta off him, and the bear thanked them and gave them some tea.

They saw a pond that was made out of Coca-Cola. They drank some of the Coca-Cola, so it made them cool. They saw the jelly donut fish in the Coca-Cola pond. They thought it was a very, very boring day because they didn’t play anything. They only ate and saw little chocolate bears. Tomorrow was Carly’s birthday, but they were very sad because it was a boring day.

A little bear heard them and thought he could give them a surprise, so at midnight, the little bear built a waterslide and a rollercoaster. In the morning, the little bear baked a cake and bought gifts to give Carly. He told the other bears to buy enough gifts for her. The first bear gave Carly a car. The second bear gave her a banana boat. The third bear gave Carly a box of M&Ms. The fourth bear gave Carly a pet dog. The fifth bear gave Carly a very special candy. In Candyland, it was called the Unicorn Mix. Carly was very, very surprised.

The next day, the seventh bear gave her a very, very special gift. It was called a cake pudding, so you could put cake on a plate and then put it on your hand, and when you turned and turned it, the machine would plop the cake on your face. The eighth little bear gave Carly a robot that could do homework. She was so surprised that they ran out the taco and started to play.

Charlie ran out too because Carly said, “Come out and play!”

It was so fun. Carly and Charlie played for 24 hours.

Then, a pile of lollipops and candies dropped down on them. They were stuck, and it was so sticky that a lollipop stuck to their heads. When a guard saw the lollipop on their heads, he used his own sword to cut it off.

They ate their hamburger lunch and were very tired. They slept in the taco for three days because they were so tired. After the three days, they thought they were in Candyland, but they were in their own house.

Their mom said they were sleeping for three days. They thought it was serious, so they watched TV for eight days. It was so good, and they got to do homework for eight weeks. It was good because Carly still had her homework robot. Her mom was surprised that she got 100 on her homework. Her mom was very surprised, so she gave Carly another pile of homework, and she got 100 on another homework too. Her mommy let her watch TV for 15 days. Her mom let her drink Coca-Cola and eat lots of chips and candies and no vegetables for a week.

Carly was very surprised that her mom let her drink Coca-Cola because she never let her drink Coca Cola and never let her eat chips. Her mom went to the restaurant with Carly. Charlie was at home learning math. Carly’s mom said that she could go to Charlie’s house and play.

Charlie’s mom said, “Yes, that’s a great idea,” so Carly went to Charlie’s house.

They played cards and made lemonade. They watched TV for 24 hours, and they had a sleepover. Robot was very sad because he didn’t go into anyone’s house. So the robot never worked for Carly, but her mom found out Carly’s trick and punished her for one year and let her do homework and locked the robot out of the house. Charlie was very sad about Carly, too.

One day, they wanted to do a trick on their moms. So Carly put poop on the plate, so her mom would go to the sink and wash her hands and then have a snake in the sink, so the snake would bite Carly’s mom’s hands. And then Carly put some rocks on the floor, so that when Carly’s mom would run away, her feet would be very, very hurt. She put a donkey out in the door, and so when Carly’s mom would go outside, the donkey would kick her very hard. So, Carly’s mom would freeze, and Carly would never have to do homework ever again.

THE END

 

Dragon Time

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

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

Then, the dragon said, “Bacon!”

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

Then, the dragon said, “I want waffles!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So the dragon said, “Beer!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The End!

 

Three Worlds

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

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

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

They shouted, “Hooray!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I don’t know,” Jack replied.

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

The End

 

Priya: War Hero

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

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

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

“Maan mat roo.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Morse Code Puzzle

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

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