Mr. Mobster

I am evil. Then again, I seem to be the only one who thinks so. Don’t hate me; I’ve never killed someone or anything, but I’m still evil. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to be like my dad was, working at the coolest job in the world. He is (drumroll please…) HEAD OF THE MAFIA! At this point, if you’re one of the people thinking: “Oh my God, your dad is the head of the organization that has killed people and then used that as an excuse to kill even more people!” then stop reading right now.

But if you’re thinking to yourself: “That does sound kind of cool,” or even, “Why would you find that cool?” than bear with me. I’m not sure what the best part about my dad’s job is: the cool clothes and cars, the parties (I know, this might come as a big surprise but Mafia parties are awesome), the hats, the people, or just the pure…evilness. Anyway, I’ve been trying all my life just to get to do all of these things, but to no avail. I just don’t get how I’m “not evil enough.” What do they want me to do, bring in some dead bodies? Is it that Zander isn’t an evil enough name? I would literally give anything just to be a desk jockey (even those get cool hats and AK-47s).

I actually have a few friends who are also trying to get into the Mafia, with the same result. My first friend is Blake. When he was little, he would have totally been allowed into the kid Mafia (although then again, what did they use, shovels?) because he was always beating people up and feeding their homework to the dog (ironic, right?). But he is kind of sensitive (totally un-Mafia) and so when his parents found out, he never hurt anyone again.

Then there is Dominic: he is the brainiac that comes up with evil schemes and stuff. Sounds like he would totally get into the Mafia, right? WRONG. The Mafia does not need brains because this is their general rule of thumb: Take machine gun. Get people. Put people in a room. Spin around while shooting. Get as many people as you can. Oh, and don’t forget the evil grin. See any “evil schemes” there?

If you do, you’re totally overthinking it.

Then there is James. He is the explosives freak. Too much if you ask me. Quick story: his science fair project made every student evacuate the school. His Instagram account is full of videos of stuff exploding. He will post anything as long as it’s exploding. I know. We’re a weird group. At least everyone is evil (ish). Anyway, we’re meeting up tomorrow to decide what to do.

 

One day later…

 

“You still bein’ evil?” asks Blake with his usual excitement.

“You still not punchin’ anyone?” I reply (as always).

“But what if my par–”

“OKAY, I GET IT.”

Then suddenly, Blake’s pet sheep Al (you probably know why he named him that) comes next to us. Actually, I think that if anyone in our group were to go to the Mafia, it would be Al. Anyway, it turns out that Dominic called us here for an important meeting.

“Okay,” says Dominic. “Time for your weekly confidence booster: Al could probably overthrow the Mafia before you guys even got a job as a desk jockey. Anyway, I called you here to tell you something. How many times have you registered to join the Mafia?”

“Twenty,” we say in unison.

“I’m sorry guys, but I think it’s time to give up. Before you attack me, let’s remember that I’m the genius here.”

“WHAT?!?” we scream in unison again.

“We have dedicated our lives to this,” I bellow.

“As I said earlier, Al could overthrow the Mafia before you guys even became desk jockeys,” replies Dominic calmly.

“Hey, wait,” says Blake. “That’s not a bad idea. If we can’t join the Mafia, we could try to overthrow them. And you’ve already admitted that Al could overthrow the Mafia. What do we have to lose?”

“Huh! We would need a miracle to do that!” snaps Dominic.

“Well, if an evil genius, an explosive maniac, the son of the ex-head of the Mafia, a 300 pound 6’6” kid who refuses to hit a fly and a psychopath sheep that could beat the heavyweight wrestling champion in a few seconds isn’t a miracle, then what is?” says James, speaking for the first time.

“So your big scheme is based on a goat?!” says Dominic.

“Well, I guess it won’t be based on you!” I respond.

“Oh my God, you guys are crazy! But if you’re in, I’m in,” says Dominic. “But that doesn’t mean you’re not crazy.”

After many months of planning (well if it hadn’t been for Dominic, we would have attacked already, but, are you gonna argue with an evil genius?) we began. Everyone was nervous, except for Al (yes, even Dominic for once.) The plan had started.

James and I snuck down to the front door. We were worried, but then we heard it — a crack from behind the guards.

“OW! What the hell was that? I hire all these guards and then I’m injured by a chair!” squealed the guard captain.

Distracted by their injured captain, we managed to sneak the cake onto the desk. To be honest, we did a good job baking the cake…and setting the knock-out gas explosives.

“What’s this?” said one of the guards.

“‘To the wonderful guards of everyone’s favorite organization.’ Wonder who it’s from?” said one of the guards.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s dig in! I’m so hungry I could explode!” said a (significantly) chubbier guard.

Speaking of explosions…BOOM, CRACK, SMASH!

“Wow, great job James, just like clockwork,” I say high-fiving my friend. I radio in to Dominic: “Step 1, complete.”

“Good job. Blake is sneaking through the pipes now,” replies Dominic.

“How did you switch the chairs?” I asked.

“I didn’t. I just used aerodynamics. Would you like to learn how I did it?”

“No. Anyway, why are you sending Blake? He will make a lot of noise, after all, he is 200 lbs.”

“What else would he do? He wouldn’t throw a punch to save his life.”

“Fine, you win. We need to get going.”

“Roger that.”

Sigh. He’s so professional sometimes.

We took off for the secret passage my dad showed me when he was the leader, where he would meet Al (yes, sumo-goats are smart too.) Thump, thump, crack!

That must be Al, I thought to myself. Thank god I knew this passage, or the guards would have heard the bomb and found us. Luckily, that was just what we wanted. We took the passage behind the guard and (sorta) stealthily snuck behind them.

“Hey Al, want some carrots?” I whispered, and threw a bag of carrots at the guards.

“Those poor guards,” chuckled James.

Al went into rage mode (like the Al he was named after) and charged after the carrots (and therefore, the unexpecting guards). Soon, all the guards were on the ground being licked by the soon-to-be head of the Mafia. That’s got to have been bad for their self-esteem. We continued on, past the bodies scattered by the bomb and Al. Crackle.

I assumed it was a message from Dominic.

“Blake is almost there, what’s your status?”

“Doing fine. Al just took out the guards.”

“Great.”

Suddenly, we heard a noise. Like a click. Then thumping from behind us.

“DUCK!” I screamed.

Bullets fly across our heads.

“ROLL!”

I took them to a statue, and put in the secret code. The trapdoor opened up. We jumped in and blocked the entrance.

Just before we ducked in I spied who was chasing us. Big problem. It was head of security, who knew all the passageways by heart. We ran down the moldy halls of the tunnel until we reached a secret bunker. The head of security is always armed with a least two guns and a knife. Yikes. Even Al couldn’t beat that.

Crackle!

“Dominic!” I phoned in. “We got a fully armed head of security on our tails. Well, Al is the only one with a tail, but you know what I mean.”

“Doesn’t James have any explosives.”

I felt so dumb.

“Right. Of course he does,” I replied. “But wait a minute. He only has real explosives, not knock out gas.”

“Uh oh. Big problem. I’ll try to think of something. Try to keep him at bay.”

Then I had an idea.

“Dominic, do you have the building floorplan right now?”

“Yeah, why?”

“We’re in the secret tunnel under the statue. What is the wall behind us made out of?”

“Hey, not a bad idea. It’s made out of wood, you could blast us to the moon!”

James and I finish setting up the explosives just in time. *CRACK* The trapdoor

broke. *CRACK* The wall explodes.

“Grab Al and run!” I screamed.

The security guard is stunned by the blast, and must wait a little before he pursues us. That “little” makes all the difference.

“We literally just escaped the frickin’ head of security!” I screamed at James. “Bro hug!”

There are a surprising amount of times when I’m actually glad he’s an explosive freak.

We run with all our might, and soon we are out of breath. Well, except for Al. We take off towards the office, aware that the security guard would soon be on our heels.

“Blake, how are you doing?” I said over the radio.

“Doin’—” CLANK! “—Ow!” Thump. “Blake is down!”

“Come on, Dominic! Something has happened to Blake!” I said over my shoulder.

One problem. The only way to get to the pipes is back at the main entrance, where all the guards and commotion are. Wait hold up. Why am I doing this? This is Dominic’s job!

“Dominic! We got problems. Blake is down. The only entrance to the pipes is at the main entrance, where the guards are,” I practically screamed into the mic.

“James is out of explosives?” he replied calmly.

“Using explosives would destroy the water pipes, creating a flood.”

“Not gonna argue with our building expert. Anyway, just abandon him and invade the office yourselves.”

“YOU’RE JUST GONNA ABANDON ONE OF YOUR BEST FREAKIN’ FRIENDS?! ARE YOU NUTS?!”

“No, I’m just logical.”

“You know what? To hell with it! I don’t need you. I’ll just come up with my own plan, like I did when we were being chased by the head of security. We ca–”

“Speaking of the head of security, look behind you.”

Oh my god. This whole Blake incident completely made me forget about the head of security.

“Worrying about your little friend?” he chuckles.

“What did you do with Blake?” I scream at him.

“Nothing. The kid had lost his way in the pipes. He couldn’t do any harm. I just stole his poorly hidden mic. He’ll probably starve before he leaves. You and that little creature there, however, are a much bigger threat. That’s why I’m here.”

So this is how it ends? Are you kidding me? We are so close! It can’t—

Hey, wait a minute. Blake got lost? Blake never loses his way. Not even if you spin him around and make him drink wine. Then, I saw something. Just a glimpse. All of a sudden Blake is running full speed at the man threatening our lives. BAM! The head of security hits the ground. Immediately, Al is all over him.

“Good boy!” says Blake.

James and I are still stunned at this incredible turn of events.

“How? What? When? How?” we say in unison.

“Invasion first, questions later,” says Blake.

He looks nervous that he finally hit someone, but a see a smile creeping up his cheeks.

“Your parents will understand,” I say. That is, if they even find out.

Now that I think about this, I realize I forgot something important from an earlier scene (not the kind of thing that will change your life, but, important nonetheless). Blake was nervous about this whole invasion thing in the first place. Like, if his parents get mad when he hits someone, they probably might not be too happy if he’s the head of the Mafia. Anyway, we agreed to leave his name out of it, but still allow him to rule with us. Like an anonymous ruler. That’s what makes this so incredible (I still can’t get over the fact that I forgot this.)

Back to the story: We charged down the hallway, our final destination and soon-to-be office straight ahead. We opened the door…and inside was my dad. Just kidding! This is NOT Star Wars. Anyway, we open the door and…no one is inside. No, seriously. Where is the head of the Mafia?! Where?! Oh wait. How many times am I supposed to feel like the dumbest person in the world today? It’s twelve o’clock. The head of the Mafia is on his lunch break. We would be heads of the Mafia right now if it weren’t for a stinkin’ LUNCH BREAK!

“Uh, guys? Is it me, or is there no more head of the Mafia?” says James anxiously.

“He’s on his lunch break,” I replied.

“WHAT?!” everyone screamed in unison.

“Not even joking,” I grumbled.

“But what’s the big deal? You worried he will kill us with a tuna sandwich?” said Blake, although he still looked worried himself.

“The guards might have had a chance to warn him, and our whole plan will be ruined,” said James.

“Thanks, Mr. Positive,” snapped Blake.

“He has a point. We have to think fast. We not going to get defeated by the fact that the head of the Mafia needs a tuna sandwich, are we?” I said.

“I’ll think. But first, why are we obsessed by the idea of the head of the Mafia only eating tuna sandwiches?” I said.

He simultaneously received two kicks in the shins.

“What was that — ?!”

“THINK!” I screamed.

We heard thumps coming from the hall.

“Into the bathroom!” I cried.

We charged in, grabbing Al along the way. The thumps come inside the office.

“And how did these invaders take out all the guards with a SHEEP?! Stevenson, I want the truth!”

“But this is — ”

“Well even if this is true, that makes you the worst guards of all time. You’re all fired!”

The guard glumly walked out, ready to bring this news to his fellow guards.

“Okay guys, this is the plan: we sneak out –” I begin.

“And blow it up?” finishes — wait, do I really need to say who?

“No. We must get him captive. We’ll offer him his job or his life.”

“Right,” said James, sounding bummed.

“And we use Al?” asked Blake.

“That’ll be fun. It’ll make him pity the guard he fired!” I replied.

We snuck outside, behind the head. We can’t resist making a funny face when he’s not looking. We must be careful, I mean, he’s has a GRENADE CANNON for crying out loud.

“BAAAAA!” bleats Al.

The head turns around fully armed.

“I should have expect ― ”

SMASH!

And all of a sudden the head is crumpled on the floor, in a fetal position. I then notice the huge piece of plaster on top of him.

“What the…” I said, dumbfounded.

*Crackle* It’s Dominic!

“Did you—”

“Yes. I took into consideration what you said. I didn’t abandon you. Would you like to hear the Rube Goldberg invention that inspired me?”

“Sure. We owe you,” I responded.

After a long time enjoyed in our new office, the ex-head finally came to. First he was annoyed we ate his tuna sandwich (yes I know, it’s really true), but then he realized he had bigger problems (he was bound and gagged with his own grenade launcher aimed at him). Of course, he ended up giving in, and giving up his leadership, as Blake hid cowering in the bathroom hoping the ex-head wouldn’t see his face and tell anyone.

A few months later…

 

We did it. We finally finished. We have overcome life’s two biggest obstacles: overthrowing the Mafia, and understanding Dominic’s explanation of aerodynamics. Jokes aside, that was so totally awesome! I still can’t believe we did that. Also, I wanted to thank all of you who were skeptical at the beginning, but still bore with me. Hope you enjoyed my story. Have to go now…Mafia cupcake pet show party starts soon.

Creation Myth (From Dragonfire Saga)

About 100,000,000,000,000,000 years ago, there was nothing but Chaos — the swirling mist in the night sky that served no purpose, for time, space, matter, and antimatter had not been invented yet.

Then, out of Chaos, the first gods and goddesses were born. They are who we call the Great Deities. They are Sukai, god of the sky, Mizu, god of water and the sea, Hono, god of fire, Shitashi, god of death, Hikari, goddess of light, Shizen, goddess of nature, Suta, goddess of the stars, and Senso, goddess of war.

Now, Chaos, also called Konton, feared that he had given birth to those who would overthrow him. They had a radiant glow, and mysterious, deep eyes. So, he took the Great Deities and threw them into Yami, a deep pit, so that they could never overthrow him.

While they were in Yami, six new gods and goddesses were born. They were Taiyo, god of the sun, Uranai, god of divination, Supesu, god of space, Tsuki, goddess of the moon, Romansu, goddess of love, and Jikan, goddess of time. Then, a mysterious being floated down to them.

“I am Kurieita, your mother. Your father Konton fears he may be overthrown, and so has thrown you in this dark pit. I can help you get out,” said Kurieita.

Sukai agreed and quickly took leadership of the group, and, led by him, they escaped Yami and rose against their father, Konton. When Konton saw the fourteen gods and goddesses rising up against him, he fled.

Now the gods and goddesses were free. With help from Supesu and Jikan, space and time were created. Finally, order could be made out of the chaos, and thus the world we know as Chikyu was created. Finally, the gods and goddesses created us. And, as a response to human wish, they created the five magical orbs of fire, water, earth, light, and darkness to power our magic. All our spells are kept in our sacred book, the Kodai, or the Ancient Tome. And thus the universe was created.

Murder on May Street

CHAPTER ONE
Dong! Dong! Dong! Shoot! Sasha thought. I’m late for class. It’s five to nine, if I run I’ll be just barely on time. But there’s no running in the halls. I hope no one sees me.

“Late for class again, Ms. Tiddid? Detention!” Ms. Eleray said as Sasha not-so-sneakily snuck into class.

“Sorry,” she squeaked. “My sister held us up getting to the…”

“I did not ask for an explanation,” Ms. Eleray said.

“I can’t believe Missy got you detention again,” said Noel, Sasha’s best friend.

“I know, but at least it was only Ms. Eleray. Think what would happen if it was Ms. Triller,” Sasha said.

“I heard somebody was five minutes late and she took their textbooks and snapped them in half so they had to buy a new ones. Yeah, that’s right, all seven of them. At. Once.”

“One time, I heard somebody asked her what a word meant, but it was accidentally a curse, so she hung them from their pinky toes for two hours.”

“Yeesh. She is one tough teacher. Anyway, now I unfortunately have to go to math and I’m going to be late.”

“I have a free period,” Sasha said, “I have a social studies essay to work on.”

“See you in advanced science. I hope there’s no homework. I already have so much it touches the moon.”

“That reminds me. I also have to do an essay on the nine moon dusts and their uses for astronomy.”

A few miles away, something dreadful happened on May Street….

CHAPTER TWO
A scream cut through the warm air. Martin Tiddid lay dead on the sidewalk. There was a cut right across the middle of his throat. The papers he had been carrying lay strewn on the ground. It had been a peaceful morning, slightly over seventy degrees. But all that had been ruined now. “Martin, oh Martin. How could she tell the kids?” Maria thought. She got out her phone and called the school. Then she went back inside.

Tears dripped from Sasha’s cheeks as she ran toward home. “Want to come in for some tea, dear?” Ms. Willow called from her porch.

“No! Family emergency! Sorry!” Sasha yelled back.

“Oh! That’s nice,” Ms. Willow said.

Sasha ran on. “She is a bit wacky,” Sasha thought, “but all in all Ms. Willow is really very nice.”

Sasha skidded to a stop in front of her house. She walked to the gate and undid the latch. She looked at the flowers and right then every single one seemed to be an insult to her father. She opened the door. Right away something seemed wrong. Her mother wasn’t there to greet her like she usually was when she came home. But she was probably just upstairs in her room crying, Sasha thought. So she went up to check on her. She wasn’t in her bedroom either. Sasha looked through the whole house. She finally found her mother stuffed under her sister Missy’s bed. She had duct tape over her mouth and her hands and feet were tied together. She kind of looked like an upside down air balloon.

“Mmm mmm mmm!”

Boom! The door of Missy’s closet flew open and five guys dressed in silver burst out. They grabbed Sasha and stuffed her in a bag. She cursed. Loudly. Then she called them a few not-so-pleasant names. “You’ll shut up if you know what’s good for you,” said a rough scratchy voice. Then came a sound like a monkey being run over by a fire truck. Sasha realized it was laughter. Sasha heard a door slamming and she got hit on the side of the head by something that felt like stone. She heard some people talking in thick Russian accents.

”We better get moving before the people from Project Rosewell get here. They’ll flip if they find out someone else got in. Remember our cover story.” Thwack!

“We know the cover story, Grandolf. Shut up or she’ll hear us!”

“God, don’t hit me at least,” Grandolf muttered.

Sasha found the pocket knife she always kept for emergencies. She started sawing a hole in the bottom of the bag. It took a long time but her kidnappers were moving slowly. Eventually, she made a hole and fell out of the bag. Quickly, she kicked the guy who was holding the sack, tripped the guy next to him, hit him in the head, did a flip, hit one of the other guys and, while doing flips, conked the other guy out on the head with her fist. When she looked up she saw that she was in a cement tunnel but she didn’t know which way to go. She turned down the left passageway, scared for what was to come.

 

CHAPTER THREE
Sasha paused for a second to look at the wall. There was a little sword painted on it. Probably just an old scribble, she thought. She kept walking. About an hour later, Sasha came to a room. There were about twenty people bustling around. She stepped back into the hallway and peeked around the doorframe. They seemed nice enough, but you could never know. Sasha had learned that the hard way. Suddenly, a lady’s head whipped around. Sasha pulled back her head, but she thought the lady might have seen her golden hair whip through the door frame.

“Hey you!” the woman shouted.

“Who, me?” said a man walking past the door.

“Not you, Arnold! Her. Show yourself!” the woman yelled.

Sasha raced back down the hall, heart pounding. She turned a corner but kept running. Her feet started to hurt. She stopped to catch her breath. The hallway split off here. Sasha didn’t know which way to go. The hallways looked exactly the same. She turned left and ran into a small room. It connected four hallways, including the one Sasha had come from. She slowly turned around. At once she saw that she had made a mistake. Now she didn’t know where she had come from. She ran through the passageway in front of her and came into another room. She saw a piece of paper on the floor and picked it up.

 

It read: Dear Martin, Happy Anniversary. 20 years! That’s a big achievement. They have another mission for you soon, but enjoy your day off. From Diego.

 

Martin was her dad’s name. It must be a coincidence. She put the paper in her pocket. Then she ran down the hallway to the left. She was about to turn right, but something caught her eye. On the wall was a small arrow drawn with a sharpie. It was pointing straight ahead. Sasha wasn’t sure what to do. Half of her wanted to follow the arrow, but the other half of her wanted to run home screaming bloody murder. She decided to follow the arrow. She went down the hallway and she came into another room that looked exactly like the other three. She saw another arrow on the wall. Again, she followed it. When she got to the next room, she saw it was much bigger. There was a grand staircase that split off to either side in front of her.

There was a huge balcony on either side of the stairs. All of a sudden, Sasha heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She saw a passageway off to the side of the stairs and went through it.

Sasha peered back around the doorway and saw a tall woman with beautiful blonde hair in red shiny heels and a black suit walking through the passageway where Sasha had just come from. As soon as the lady had disappeared around the corner, Sasha ran up the stairs. She walked across the balcony and went through a doorway that lead to a small room with walls covered with bookshelves. There were thousands upon thousands of books. She started looking at the titles: Karate for Dummies, Fiddling 101, World Records, The Diary of Jan Yavonich, and many more. She looked around for her favorite book: Treasure of the Ruby. She found it and sat down for a second to look it over. She had lost her copy of it a few years ago and had never known where it had gone. When she opened the front cover, she found, to her surprise, it was her old copy with her name in it.

“What? How did this get here?” she wondered aloud. She moved to one of the loveseats by the windows. Soon she was absorbed in the book. She didn’t move for hours. Sasha was awakened from her trance by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. She dove under her chair. A woman wearing a gray sweater and black jeans walked in. Sasha was hoping the woman would just grab a book and leave, but the woman sat down in the chair across from Sasha, picked up a book called Matters of the Mind and sat down to read. Sasha spent the next few hours stuck under that chair with a leg cramp. The woman would not stop reading. Eventually, she closed the book and Sasha thought, “Phew. Now I can get out from this chair.” But the woman just picked up another book and began to read.

A few minutes later, a man walked in and said to the woman, “Allie, we need your help in the office.”

“Okay,” the woman said. “I’ll be there in a sec.” The man left the room. The woman put a bookmark in the book and closed it. She left the book on the chair, left the library, and closed the door. Instantly, the light shut off.

“Must have an automatic light system,” Sasha thought. She crept out from under the chair and opened the door and, instantly, the lights flicked on. She walked out and closed the door quietly. Sasha walked down the hallway. As she walked, she said to herself, “Wait a second… what the heck? How could all this fit under my house?”

She stopped walking and spun around. “Aha!” she said. “I thought I saw something green behind the radiator in the library.” Behind her was a big burly guy with a handle bar mustache. He looked like a strong man that had just escaped from the circus. Sasha flipped backwards and did a cartwheel kick. The man was knocked out cold. She heard footsteps mounting the stairs and so she ran through the nearest door. This room was weird. It looked like she had just stepped into a giant fishbowl. It was giant and round like a globe with a huge hole in the top, but the hole was covered with duct tape. Sasha held her ears to the door. The footsteps passed the room. She heard a door open and then close. Sasha left the room and ran straight down the hall into another one. She was curious about these rooms now. She burst into the next room and immediately regretted her decision.

There was a long, wooden table with dozens of people around it. For a moment there was only silence. Then someone yelled, “Grab heeeerrrrrrr!!!” Everybody surged towards her. They strapped her to a board and nailed her to the wall.

 

CHAPTER FOUR

“What do you know?asked a lady in a baggy grayish brown shirt and gray sweatpants covered in dirt and dust.

“N-nothing. IhadjustheardthatmydadhaddiedsoIranhomeand…” Sasha went on and on and spilled out her entire story and ended with “andsopleasedon’tkillmeit’snotmyfault.”

“Really? Go get the truth serum, Malin.” A man came back a few minutes later with a small bottle of yellow potion. They forced a drop of it into Sasha’s mouth. It tasted like banana smoothie.

“Where are the Silvers hiding?” the lady asked.

“I don’t know. Who are the Silvers? What are you talking about?” Sasha asked.

“Oh,” the lady said. Suddenly, the women pulled out a small perfume bottle and spritzed her with it. Sasha fell unconscious. She woke up in her house, not remembering a thing from the day before. She walked to her sister’s room and kicked open the door.

She yelled inside, “Get up you sleepyhead and get ready for school!” like she did every morning. Usually her sister grunted back but today there was no reply. Sasha didn’t notice. She had seen the closet door opened and Missy’s shoes strewn all over the floor. Then, she remembered what had happened the night before. She left Missy’s room, not saying a word. She flattened herself against the wall and peered around the door frame. When she was sure it was safe, she ran back to her room, grabbed her army knife, her emergency first-aid kit, her emergency fire kit, and a jump rope she had from when she was little. She stuffed it all in her backpack. She crept back into her sister’s room and dropped through a trapdoor, into the cement hallway she had been in the night before.

She retraced her steps but when she got to the room with the four hallways on each side, she forgot which way she had gone before. She decided to bear left. She searched every nook and cranny in that room, but there wasn’t the sharpie arrow from last night anywhere. In her search, Sasha had forgotten which passageway she had come in through. She went down the hallway to the right. This room looked just like all the other rooms she had been in in this maze. “Because that’s exactly what this is,” she thought, “a maze!”

She wandered around for a little while before sitting down in one of the rooms. Sasha jammed her hands in her pockets. She felt a piece of paper and pulled it out. It was the letter from last night. She studied it. Now that she thought about it, she recognized the name Diego. Then a memory came flooding back to her. She remembered a hooded figure entering her house at night. It was about 9:00 p.m. Sasha was a little girl. She was hiding behind the door frame. “Diego!” her dad said. “How are you?”

“Great,” the man said. He pulled back his hood to reveal big eyes and bright red cheeks.

“So, how are we doing this?” Martin asked.

“Simple really, though it might hurt a bit. I take a bit of your blood with a needle and you sign the contract with it.” Then the man, supposedly Diego, took out a long thin needle. Sasha’s dad held out his hand. Diego put the needle ever so lightly on his finger and then pushed down. Hard. He pulled the needle back. Martin took the needle and signed the contract. The memory ended there.

“Diego made Dad sign something. But what?” Sasha said to herself. She got up and walked down the hallway to the right. She turned left and couldn’t believe it! She had found the staircase! She was curious, she wanted to know about what the people in the room had been doing before they nailed her to the wall. She creeped down the hallway and peeked into a door. It was the room. She recognized the long oak table. The people were there again. Sasha overheard them talking.

“Martin is in the Cropher Dome. He will come out when the time is ripe. I feel bad for Maria. She had the worst part of it,” said a high, squeaky voice.

“The most important thing is, how did Sasha get in here? You don’t think Martin disobeyed orders, do you?” said another voice, this time low and deep.

Then the first voice said, “Nah. He’s one of the best. Y’know, the Silvers probably attacked her the day Martin staged his death. They think he’s dead, after all.”

Sasha crept away from the door. She tried not to get her hopes up. But it was hard not to. Her father might be…alive?

Space Call Book #1: Battle on Mars

Chapter 1: Crash Landing

 

Once upon a time, there was a man named Mike. He worked for the Republic of Space Call. His job was to help the Republic of Space Call find new worlds.

“Your new spaceship is ready. It’s time to find new worlds,” the Captain said. Mike went to the spaceship.

“Very cool!” Mike said loudly and excitedly. He got into his new spaceship with the Captain and started up the controls. He flew into space very fast but suddenly, he lost control of the ship.

“Oh no, I just lost control of the ship, Captain!”

“What?!” the Captain said.

Then, Mike saw a red planet ahead. Suddenly, they crashed on Mars. Luckily, the Captain and Mike were alright. The Captain asked, “How are we going to get back?”

“We need a radio to get back,” Mike answered.

Mike and the Captain looked at the broken spaceship and they suddenly felt tired. There was a fire in the front of the spaceship. There was too much fire to even see the front. The wings were bent and the windows had holes in them. And inside the spaceship, there was a lot of sand. Mike said, “Did you bring the radio with you?”

“Yes, I brought the radio with me. Duh,” the Captain said.

“How are we going to find that radio?” Mike said.

“Didn’t I tell you that I have it right here?” the Captain yelled at him angrily, shaking his fist.
Chapter 2: Captured

“Let’s use the radio to get back.”

“Okay,” the captain said in a low voice, his voice sore from yelling.

The Captain tried to use the radio to get back, but it was broken from the crash landing. Then, the Captain and Mike heard voices.

“Who stands there?” the Captain said in a brave voice.

Out of a crater, a dozen aliens jumped out with axes and guns that shot sticky bubblegum. The biggest alien said, “Put your hands up, or we will attack!” The Captain and Mike put their hands up at the same time. The aliens took them to their home in a crater and put them in a prison.

Mike asked the Captain, “How are we going to get out of here?”

“I don’t know,” the Captain said.

One alien said, “Our leader is coming.”

Then, out of a big hole, the leader alien came out. The leader said, “Why are you here?”

“Your dumb aliens took us here,” Mike said.

The next day the Captain and Mike planned their escape. When it was breakfast time, Mike flipped the table over and he and the Captain ran out of a hole and onto the planet’s surface. To their surprise, there was a big ship that bore the symbol of the Republic of Space Call. It had a come from the Republic. They ran inside the ship and the pilot greeted them.

“When we didn’t hear from you, we knew you crash landed on this planet because we set a tracker on your spaceship before you left.”

The ship went back to the Republic of Space Call but Mike stayed behind. Back on Space Call, the Captain was sending information to Mike. The Republic of Space Call troopers, named the B-7 Men and the ATPTs, planned their attack on the aliens. After only one hour of planning and ten minutes of getting ready, they flew their ship to the alien planet of Mars.
Chapter 3: The Battle

When they landed their ships, they took out their weapons and loaded them with bullets. They blew the door to the alien’s home open. The alien guards called in their troops. The battle had begun. The aliens fired their bubble gum. The Captain said, “B-7 Men…attack!” The alien forces started to fall back. Just then, another group of aliens came in and fired back at the B-7 Men. Then, the Captain ordered the ATPTs to help the B-7 Men. An ATPT fired his rocket gun. BOOM! The rocket exploded, sending tons of aliens backwards. The alien leader sent in his alien tanks. They fired their bubble gum, which knocked the man who had the rocket gun backward. Then three huge ATPTs fired at the aliens, sending them backwards.

The alien leader commanded, “Fire the big guns at the legs of that thing!”

“Yes, sir!” said one alien.

Then the APTP with the rocket shot the big guns and said, “Take that!” But the alien leader jumped out of the way.

“You are too slow!” the alien leader said.

Then, the ATPTs started firing laser cannons like mad. The alien leader sent in a big tank to shoot down the ATPTs’ laser cannons. An alien fired his cannon at one of the ATPTs and he fell down. The aliens were winning.
Chapter 4: Losing

The aliens’ cannons were blasting down the ATPTs. The Captain called for reinforcements. The call came through. Then, the Captain said to his men, “Fall back!”

The men did what he said and fell back. They hid in craters so the alien cannons could not hit them. But, their heads were still sticking out. Then, the alien fighters came out of the hangar and dropped bombs on the ATPTs’ heads. The men went even deeper into the craters. The aliens started to move forward. The ATPTs set a few bombs. BOOM! The bombs blew up. The alien fighters were destroyed. The Captain’s men came out of the crater and charged at the aliens and blasted down the aliens’ laser cannons.

“Good job!” the Captain said, pumping his fist high in the air.

“Thank you!” his troops said in a loud voice.

The aliens’ big guns fired at the Captain’s troops. The Captain’s troops started dying out fast. Then all of a sudden, out of the clouds, came five space cruisers. They landed on Mars to help the Captain’s men. And out of the first ship came Admiral Vissa. He had a gray shirt with four blue squares on the top and four red squares on the bottom. He had a gun holster with DC15 pistol.

“Hello, guys,” Admiral Vissa said. “What’s going on? Are we losing or winning?”

 

Chapter 5: Three Traitors

“We are losing,” Officer Wilson said.

“Well, not for long,” Admiral Vissa replied. He commanded his troops to charge the aliens. The battle was going well for Admiral Vissa’s troops. Then, the Captain had a meeting with the other leaders. He told his troops that Mike was spying on the enemy to give the Captain’s troops information.

Later, Admiral Vissa and the Captain were alone at the base. Suddenly, the Captain pointed a big gun at Admiral Vissa’s face. The Captain was bad all along. Out of nowhere, two snipers came into the room and pointed their guns at the Captain.

“Why did you do this to us?” Admiral Vissa asked.

“Well, I had to,” the Captain said.

“But why?”

“It’s hard to explain,” said the Captain. Several aliens came into the room as he spoke.

“Oh no, this is not good,” Admiral Vissa said and headbutted one alien in the butt. The alien fell over and dropped his gun. Admiral Vissa picked up the gun and shot down the other aliens. The Captain ran out of the room and sent in more aliens. “Get down the air vent because there are too many aliens to fight back!” Admiral Vissa commanded. The snipers and Admiral Vissa went down an air vent but the aliens were too fat to fit in.
Chapter 6: Home, Sweet Home

When the snipers and Admiral Vissa came through the air vent, Mike and Officer Wilson were waiting for them.

“What happened there?” Mike asked.

“The Captain is a traitor,” a tired looking sniper said. The snipers left and went to bed leaving Admiral Vissa alone with Mike and Officer Wilson.

“And so are we,” Mike and Officer Wilson said together and captured Admiral Vissa.

“You’ll never be saved,” Mike said.

“I’m not going to be in your silly trap for long,” Admiral Vissa replied as he was put in jail. The next day, the good snipers got him out of jail with some dynamite. BOOM! The jail bars fell down.

“What was that?” Mike yelled.

Admiral Vissa walked up to him and said, “I told you that I wouldn’t be in this silly trap for long.”

“We’ll get you back!” Mike said.

“I don’t think so,” Admiral Vissa replied.

Before they opened the door, Admiral Vissa and his men set liquid tabana in the alien jail. BOOM! The alien jails were destroyed. When they got outside, one of the pilots said there were alien spaceships near Mars trying to keep them on the planet.

“We’ll have to destroy the alien fighters to get back to Space Call. For now, the aliens have retreated. And we have won.”

The Space Call took off and they went into space and tried their best to win.

 

To Be Continued…

Story Told Backwards

My name is Neal Bhasin and I’m 10 years old and I am going to tell you a different kind of story. At my 10th birthday party, we had a game truck and a laser tag game at my house. After that, we went to have some cake, then we went to play dodgeball. Reader, before we move forward, we have to go backwards.

A couple days before that, we had to buy the dodgeballs from the store for the dodgeball game. The problem was we had to find out where we could find the dodgeballs. But all the sports stores didn’t have them. I was really nervous that we couldn’t get the dodgeballs for the party, and it would be a total disaster for the party. Luckily my mom had one of my school’s coach’s number, and she called him up to get the dodgeballs from the school. Finally we got the dodgeballs from my school then took them to my house. Now I’m here writing for you about my life.

I’m going to go back to my 9th birthday. We had a party at Lazer Tag and this time it was actually at the building instead of at my house. It was a fun party with all my friends and my family members. The next school year I was scared for my first day of school. Then I found out that I was in Miss Asker’s homeroom, Miss Ochoa’s reading, and Miss Roth’s math class. During that school year’s winter break and last year’s spring break, my family and I went to Mammoth and we skied. It was fun skiing in Mammoth, but after 11:30 the slopes got really slushy. Then during spring break we went to Snow Park, Salt Lake City, Utah. We skied there and I did a jump that was there. It was really fun going through the air. Later that year during the summer we went to Australia and New Zealand. We went to many different types of places like Auckland, Queensland, Queenstown, New South Wales, Sydney, Cairns, and Rotorua. We had a lot of fun during our trip seeing all the ways that our culture is different than Australia’s.

Now I’m going to go back to my 8th birthday. Reader, I’m going to put in some spice in the story to change it up a little. I was scared for the first day of third grade, until I found out I was in Miss Kaplan’s homeroom and reading and Miss Roth’s math class again. During the school year it was very fun and one of my friends came to me for advice about his girlfriend. Because he didn’t know what to do, I told him to back off a little bit and he did and it’s working out fine with him and his girl. That same year, I kept on getting injured and so I kept on going to my school’s nurse’s office. When my mom got all of these nurse’s slips back she thought that I really liked one of the nurses there, but no, I didn’t. It was just what they gave us crackers and the best flavored Gatorade — fruit punch.

During winter break we went to India and I met the rest of my family. We went to different parts of India like New Delhi and Mumbai. We went and watched a cricket game: India versus Pakistan. We went to my mom’s and her brother’s school and met one of her college friends. The friend had a daughter that was about my age.

During the summer of 2011, when I was 6, we went to Peru so my brother could show off his Spanish skills to my mom. We went to do some shopping and my brother was able to bargain and translate. We were getting ready to go on a hike up the side of a mountain to this thing called The Sun Gate. We started off like it was a nice smooth trail and me and my dad went farther and farther up the hill and people going down were so impressed by this little kid going up the hill. And so many people asked me how old I was and I said, “Six,” and they said, “Wow, how young you are and you’re going up this hill.”

We went up this trail farther to The Sun Gate and my dad took some photos standing in front of The Sun Gate.The Sun Gate was so beautiful I cannot describe it. I can’t even remember it, just it was beautiful. We decided to go back down around 12:30. We started heading down and it was a lot harder going down than coming up. The sun was going farther and farther and farther down. Finally, we reached the end of the trail around 7:50 while the sun was setting. Reader, that is all I want to say to you this time.

 

To be continued…

The Willow Tree

Part 1:  The Seven Witches

 

Long ago, there was a tree. A weeping willow tree. And it was just a pretty normal tree. Its leaves turned red, yellow, and brown in the fall; all the leaves fell off and the tree became bare in winter; the leaves bloomed back in springtime; and the tree shone the most bright in summer.

But one day, a troop of witches went walking through the woods, all old, and cackling their witchy laughs loudly. They spotted the tree.

“Well, lookie here,” said a witch.

“Looks like a mighty good one, if you ask me,” said another.

“We should do something to it,” said a witch mischievously.

“Maybe put a curse.” A witch rubbed her hands diabolically together.

“Who’s ever heard of a talking tree?” a small, frail witch blurted out.

“I haven’t,” said a rather plump witch.

All the seven witches, sisters in fact, looked at each other and each grinned a horrific smile.

The leader, it seemed, said, “Sisters! Cast the blabber spell!”

Each witch chanted, “Willow! Willow! Turn it into Willow!”

The leader said in a deep voice, “Let this talking tree, amaze and terrify everyone who sees it!”

The witches cheered in agreement and walked on, cackling again.

 

Part 2:  Willow, the Talking Tree Grew

 

“Hi everybody!” I said as a group of tourists were walking towards me. “I’m Willow, and…”

“Aaahhh!” the tourists screamed and ran.

I sighed. Everyone always did that. But I was used to it.  I’m 100 years old, but really I’m seven. I’m seven because I was cursed by witches to talk, but the witches didn’t know that the spell had “living forever” side effects. I don’t know. I woke up one morning and thought to myself, “A brand new day to look sharp.” Then I realized that I said that out loud, and you can imagine my shock. But I’ve had 97 years of experience, so I’m ok now.

Some kids were talking and chatting, and their voices grew louder as they were walking towards me. “Hey, kids!” I shouted.

“Who said that?” asked a heavy boy with a jersey and short hair.

“Me!” I said cheerily. I was glad that none of them had run away. Yet. “I’m Willow,” I continued. “And I’m…”

“It’s that tree!” interrupted a geeky looking boy with glasses. “I’ve read in myths that talking trees can grab you and strangle you till you die!”

“Ah!” said the jersey boy. “Run for your lives!”

The two boys ran, but there was a girl, and she stayed put in her place on the soft grass.  Her name was Lily.

A talking tree? Not likely. But if it is, I don’t believe in those stupid myths. It seems like a nice tree to me. I bet everyone runs away from that tree, and I bet that makes the tree really sad. I should talk to her. Or him?

“Um…hello?” I said nervously.

“Hi!” said the tree. “I don’t know if you heard me before because of those boys, but my name is Willow.”

“Willow?” I repeated. “Cool name.”

“Thank you!” said Willow.

I saw Willow’s branches turn a bit pink. “I’m guessing you’re blushing right now,” I said with a smile.

“Maybe,” said Willow, and her branches turned bright red. After a moment, though, Willow’s branches returned to normal.

“What’s your name?” Willow asked.

“I’m Lily,” I said, “and I have two older brothers. You probably saw them running away.”

“Yeah,” said Willow a little sadly.

“I’m seven,” I said.

“Me too!” interrupted Willow excitedly. “Except I’m really 100,” she said kind of sternly. “What do you mean?” I asked curiously.

 

Part 3:  Willow

 

“I mean,” I said, “Well, long story.”

“Please, can I hear it? I have lots of time,” said Lily hopefully.

“Fine,” I said.

Lily smiled brightly and sat down on the grass, as if she was already expecting a story.

“Long ago, I was a tree. I wasn’t a talking tree. Just a regular tree.”  Lily was listening intently, I could tell that. “I lived a very boring life. I couldn’t talk, and all my thoughts were shared with me, myself, and I,” I continued. “But when I was seven, some witches came along and turned me into a talking tree. One of the words in the spell that they cast was ‘Willow,’ so I guess that they named me that when they cast the spell.”

Lily nodded curiously and frowned. “Why would they name you that?” asked Lily.

“I don’t know,” said Willow thoughtfully. “But anyway, I was thinking something and realized that I had said it out loud! I was so shocked.”

“You must have been,” said Lily kindly.

“Yes,” I said. “But, I thought talking would be awesome! It wasn’t. Every time I talked, whether it was a group of tourists or some kids, they would all run away. And it’s been like that for 97 years.”

Lily looked at Willow sadly but said, “Why 97 years? Why that long?”

“Well, I guess the side effect of the spell was to live forever, but the witches probably didn’t know that.”

“No they probably didn’t,” added Lily.

“Yeah,” I said, “and to this day, when I shout out ‘Hi!’, everyone starts screaming and running away. I bet the witches wanted to make me feel sad.”

“Yeah,” said Lily sadly.

But my face brightened. “I have you, though!” I said cheerily. “You didn’t run away. You were smart and courageous. I don’t think think you believed that boy with the glasses, right?”

“Of course not!” said Lily with a happy smile. “I don’t believe in that kind of stuff anyway.”

“Good. Me neither,” I said.

 

Part 4: Lily

 

As I sat on the soft green grass, looking at the tree, I felt a rush of happiness. I was really glad I could cheer up a tree, and furthermore make a friend. This tree here was a complete miracle, straight out of The Wizard of Oz. I was still really shocked that I was sitting here, talking to a talking tree! I needed to get to know her more.

“What do you like to do?” I asked.
“Well,” said Willow, “nothing really. Standing, maybe?”

Right then and there, I felt so bad for Willow. She was right. That was a stupid question to ask because she really does nothing. Oy! What a life!

“I’d do anything to trade places with you,” I said sadly, but with a smile on my face.

Willow blushed extra extra bright red. “Aw,” said Willow, “I wish.”

Willow and I traded sad looks.

“I have an idea!” I shouted.

“Geez, what’s the hubbub?” said Willow annoyingly.

“I’m gonna get you a new hobby!” I said excitedly.

“A new hobby?” asked Willow, confused. “I don’t have any.”

“I’ll make you a new hobby!” I said happily. I jumped up from my seat and skipped on the grass. “Let’s see…” I said. “Hmmm…what’s there to do in the woods? Oh! You can pick flowers? Try it!”

“Okaaayyy,” said Willow hesitantly.

“There’s a patch of flowers right there.” I pointed to a nearby patch within her reach.

WIllow’s branches started to stretch out to the flowers. I watched in awe. Willow’s vines then grabbed about four flowers and pulled back. Willow smiled. “For you, madame,” she said, holding out the flowers to me.

“Thanks!” I said, taking the flowers and grasping them tightly in my hand.

“I like that hobby!” said Willow. “Let’s do it!”

Watermelon Specialty

Chapter: 1

 

One day, the Guardians of the Galaxy went through time and space in a portal inside Star Lord’s Milano — a blue and orange ship that looked like a huge jetpack. It had a beak-shaped front, a photon energy windshield, and all the newest technology. They were going back in time to eat a watermelon. They went back to Earth and bought a watermelon at a store named Ralph’s. The time was 11:58 PM on December 31, 1999 in New York, NY. The store was at closing time and the Guardians of the Galaxy barely made it out in time to see the ball drop in Times Square. They also didn’t get to eat the watermelon.

When the ball dropped, it emitted a strange light. The ball opened and time cops flew out and arrested the Guardians of the Galaxy.

“You are under arrest for stealing one of the priceless infinity stones. You will now be sentenced to seventy-eight years in prison,” they said.

“Hey, we didn’t steal. We just bought the first watermelon we found,” Star Lord said.

“An infinity stone? Hidden in a watermelon? Ridiculous!” the time cop said.

Star Lord took the watermelon and threw it on the ground. An orb rolled out of the watermelon. The time cops opened the orb and saw a blue infinity stone.

“How can this be?” they asked.

Thor came down to earth and said, “It is true. Only one of the six infinity stones are hidden on a planet. The others are lost somewhere in space or on asteroids.”

The time cops told the Guardians of the Galaxy that they were free to go.

Thor took the orb and the infinity stone up to Asgard and he put it in their most heavily guarded safe. When the effects of the time travel wore off, Groot felt drowsy. Drax felt like he had seen a ghost and almost fainted. Gamora fell down to the floor in shock and Star Lord said, “Well you’re all a bunch of babies, except for Rocket.” Rocket hadn’t fallen down.

Then Rocket fell down and said, “Come on, dude, get me some water.”

Star Lord gave Rocket a glass of water and Rocket said, “Ah, I was just pretending.”

Then Yondu came aboard and said, “Well, where’s the watermelon?”

Groot said, “I am Groot.”

Rocket translated. “Thor took it and put it in a vault. Apparently it had an infinity stone.”

Yondou got off the Millano and said, “Well, at least you didn’t die.”

When he got out, a watermelon fell out of the sky and landed in his arms and it started raining watermelons.

Yondou said, “What the @!??!@? This is crazy!”

And a king named Phillip XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV said, “ I challenge you to a duel against my court magician.”

 

Chapter: 2

 

Two weeks later, he went to a Roman arena somewhere in the 5,700th quadrant where he battled with the quadrant ruler’s court magician. Yondu had many challenges ahead of him. He had to defeat a thousand men without any of them touching him. He completed that task and moved on to the second. The second task was much harder. Watermelons fell from the sky. Without letting them touch the ground he had to destroy every watermelon or make them disappear. He completed the second task by whistling and making his arrow split every watermelon. The third task was a duel. Magic against force. He was fighting an amateur magician and had to not destroy him, but just deflect his magic missiles. This task was very frightening, but he did it. By the end of the ninth task, he was a little worn out.

For his final test, watermelons rained down again. He had to complete every task, including Him. A replica of himself made perfectly from the automaton factory was meant to only destroy the real Yondu. He finished this task, but was scraped and bruised. The automaton then crumbled to dust when all of the other tasks were completed.

The magician took his turn, but when he had to deflect the magic missiles instead of casting a destruction spell, he cast a seeking spell, seeking himself. When he did that he ran around for his life. The magician was almost through, but he cast the right spell and all of the missiles dissipated. In the final challenge, he almost lost the watermelons because he didn’t have time to cast a levitation spell. Yondu had done the tasks faster and quicker so he was the winner. The court magician was banished and his powers taken away. But he learned to do other things like craft swords. And he then became a knight of the realm. He then went back to the king and said, “King, I’ve become a worthy knight, why can I not join your ranks?”

And the King said, “You were banished, you lost a fight, but if you win this time, you will be in my ranks. But if you don’t, you will never ever see the light of day again.”

This time, he fought Star Lord. He was a tough competitor but Star Lord won. He was going to be executed, but Star Lord switched him with a chicken and he was saved. He became a Guardian Of The Galaxy.

 

Chapter: 3

 

He fought with the Guardians of the Galaxy for 23 years. He retired at 83. The Guardians of the Galaxy fought without him and became famous throughout every galaxy. He watched them fight. He grew older, they stayed the same age. When He died there wasn’t a funeral. The Guardians fought for the rest of eternity.

 

THE END

A Peculiar Predicament

The sun glistened brightly with glory and freedom, just like the thousands of hearts that it had granted life to. The butterflies wafted across the bright blue sky, graceful like the mist that encircled them. Everything was submerged in happiness at this astonishing era in time, leaving the world devoid of any peril that had left us wretched before. I too was born during this happy era, with many unusual characteristics which gave way to happenings that would change my life forever.

Early in my life I was born in New York City, in 1821, in a poor family that had mainly happiness to bond them together. I was the youngest of three children, who had thus far lived for ten years, in the small house that our family could afford. I had all the trappings of a normal childhood, furnished with the joy of school, books and friends. I was unusually curious about the world that I lived in, constantly marveling at the assortment of plants and animals within my reach. My mother was fine with me going out of the house alone, as long as I kept a small iron pistol with me to protect myself from any person that might try to harm me. My curiosity proved to be a great characteristic for school, as the teacher would raise my grades tremendously. But one day I pushed the limit.

In the summer, when I was meandering around the park looking for plant samples to study, I came across a putrid little flower that was filled with a foul odor and disease. It was limp, lying in the distance, too far for me to reach safely. However, my curiosity goaded me to go on, and that is what I did, trudging through the underbrush until the flower was just a yard and a half away. I gently touched the flower, retaining its feel like that of a rotten fruit and the color of the rain clouds in the sky. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the decayed flower, right in front of me, reducing it to charred tendrils of broken leaves. I leapt back in fright, running instinctively towards my left, in the direction I knew my home was.

I suddenly realized I was mistaken, and that I was running in the wrong direction. I sat down hopelessly, looking at the sky, exhausted, crying as much as the rain that was falling all around me. I, for the first time, experienced fright and it struck me as hard as the lightning that fell before me. Too tired to do anything, I laid down in the dirt and fell asleep, my mind fogged by the thought of what my day had become. The next morning, I awoke from my dreamy trance. I was lying in the same spot in the same lawn of last night. The only difference between both days was that the lawn was now filled with minute droplets of water that peppered the ground like flowers in a meadow. I realized my position and continued walking towards the north in search of my home. I stumbled through fallen boughs from trees, bloody carcasses of small animals and much, much, more until I came upon a small city-like place that was just in my sight. Again, my curiosity got me into trouble.

I ran toward the city, my heart once again enlightened by the thought of meeting another human being. I ran through the grass as fast as I could. One structure seemed to stand out, larger and grander as I came closer and closer. The structure was a castle made of four large walls, each composed of the finest marble. Embedded in the marble was a medley of jewels of various sizes, each a 100 times more mammoth than any jewel that I had ever seen. I ran through the doorway, looking with the utmost envy at all the jewels that dotted the walls. The corridor seemed to be endless, but still, with each step I became more elated and energetic. Soon, I emerged from the other side of the hallway, face to face with an object that would put anyone into a trance. It was large and diamond-shaped, with a small door as an opening. Its color was of a bright blue pigment just like that of a diamond. I approached the doorway, unsure as to whether I should to enter it. My mind was a medley of thoughts, one of them urging me to go on.

However, my curiosity was overwhelmed by my common sense, and I pushed myself to turn back around – which I began to regret, as soon as I did. As I turned, a ten feet long iron-headed spear appeared just a few inches from my face. The bearer, a soldier, emerged from the shadows, clad in a tough sheet of metal cloth. His face seemed to be made out of molten rock that warped constantly into different shapes. I turned around to run, but was stopped by another spear that emerged from the darkness, and then very soon was surrounded by spears, all of them looking more jagged than ever. Trying to suppress my fright, I pulled out my pistol and fired without hesitation at one of the savage faces, but the bullet surprisingly melted on its path toward the face and then just sunk lightly into the face upon collision. I was weighed down by hopelessness and fatigue, and so I gave up and just stood there without doing anything.

The soldiers finally stopped coming forward but looked menacing nevertheless, and with their spears held high it looked like nothing had been altered. I still exhaled a sigh of relief at the prospect of death that I had so nearly missed. Then, the soldiers nodded to each other with their disfigured faces and brought me through another set of corridors to a jail cell. This cell was filled with rotten bones aplenty, and was not any place fit for a human to stay in, but I followed them with utmost haste, as this was heaven compared to the torture those spears could induce. They then shut the bars down and began speaking in low, solemn voices, indistinguishable to my ears, but I was already so tired I was ready to faint. I was thinking about all of the events that could have resulted in my death, and how anxious my parents would be, hoping all day that I would appear, as I always do at their door, unfazed by any scoundrels that populate our city like the worms in a garden. I drifted into sleep, away from home once again, dreaming about the room that I would be in if it weren’t for my curiosity.

I don’t know if I had been sleeping for a day or a year but I awoke to the sound of spears hitting the bars of my cell. The soldiers seemed to be beckoning me to follow them. I followed, still frightened by their spears and their insusceptibility to my bullets. They then took me through another long corridor, which opened up into the most astonishing room I had seen so far. This room was almost completely occupied by an immense throne, more than two times larger than the house in which I lived in. On the throne was seated a middle aged man, a king of some sort, who didn’t seem that powerful at first glance. He wielded a small spear that was enveloped in a glistening sheath of emerald green particles. The sheath was astonishing to the eye, and I was amazed that nature could conjure such an object.

“Who are you who dared to scamper upon my property?” he said in a booming voice.

I shuddered out of my awe and responded to his question in the most innocent voice that I could muster, “I am just an innocent….” – but the man stopped me before I could speak.

“You are no innocent, for it is obvious that you came upon me intentionally.” Then the man aimed his spear at my heart. I suddenly realized his intent and leapt out of the way in the split second that he shot the spear. A small lightning bolt that struck the ground where I once stood showed me what my fate could have been. I dodged the oncoming lightning bolts, each one giving me more motivation to run faster until with one final effort, I started to run towards the corridor, for it seemed the safest place for me to run to. I ran constantly without halting or stopping, the cries of the guards humming in my ears as painful as the strongest bite a bee can induce.

Finally, the end of the corridor appeared, leading out into the room containing the diamond with a small doorway, which I had seen on my first arrival. Quickly realizing that my only hope was to go into that diamond, I executed the thought into action, and in a fragment of a second, I was inside of it, fright relentlessly pouring down my back like the sweat drops in a race. In my fright and haste, I was oblivious to what was happening within the diamond, as the diamond wasn’t stationary, but instead it traveled through the air at an immense speed through the castle-like structure to another part of its huge interior.

In a few seconds the diamond capsule arrived at another station just like the one I had left, which was a problem because of the guards. I could hear the guards’ tough voices talking to each other through the clean, untouched glass-like exterior of the diamond capsule that lay in between us. “We aliens have traveled to earth for a quiet, peaceful life, and that is what we enjoyed for three thousand years. But now it seems that the planet is getting dangerously hot, too hot for us to survive. We must move back to Neptune, the place in which we originated. Our ship will be ready in two to three days.” I shuddered, for all along I never suspected that I was in the captivity of aliens. I had to get home.

After a few prolonged minutes of fright, I stepped out of the capsule. One of the alien organisms was walking down the corridor; his face seemed not as deformed as the others. I took a deep breath and walked up to him, knowing that this was my only hope, to find a way out of this place even if he would probably kill me or send me back to the King. Then, I happened to notice a spear abandoned on the ground beside me. Quickly picking up the spear, I said, “Hello,” and then grabbed his arm, threatening to smite the spear into his heart. “I am a newcomer and would like to know about your species,” I offered. He conceded and gave me a bit of information about his species, knowledge as precious to me as the diamonds that hung on the walls. He told me that their species originated in the planet of Neptune. They had tried to adapt to the terrible conditions there at first, but then they moved to Earth, a relatively close planet that contained the perfect resources for their survival. He also said that the capsule would lead me to the exit.

Then I released him very rapidly and ran, so that when he attempted to kill me with a slash of his spear I was already at a distance. I was running as fast as I could through the hallways, thinking about why the guards wanted to kill me. Maybe it was because they feared us humans and thought that if I were to leave this place, I would spread the word to my fellow humans and the humans would kill them. I also then realized that I still did not know where the exit was and thus began running down corridors after corridors, as unsure about my position as a blind man.

Finally, after hours and hours of searching, I ended up in the King’s room and thought that my only hope now was to make a deal with the King. The flower, I thought, was the key. If not for the flower and the lightning, how would I have been able to see this city and its residents? The flower must have been related to these alien organisms. I walked into the King’s chamber with an expression like one chiseled from stone, death now becoming an option that I would relish.

I seated myself in front of the King’s placid expression, his arm raising the spear higher with each step that I took. “I have come to make a deal with you, if you will bring me back to my home.”

“And that deal is what?” he asked in a daunting voice.

“It is that I will tell you about your flower and what happened to it if you bring me back to my home.” Everyone gasped and even the king looked perplexed.

“My flower – you know where it is?” he asked in a voice much more placid voice than he had used for the previous question.

“Yes, I do, and will tell you only if you make the deal.”

“Describe the flower to me,” he said.

“It was black and withered and ridden with rot and disease,” I replied.

“Okay,” the King said, becoming less suspicious. “I will make the deal.”

“Now tell me what happened to the flower,” he asked.

“It was struck by lightning and destroyed to smithereens,” I replied. Everyone around me breathed a sigh of relief, even the King.

“Fine. I will teleport you back to your house, if you promise not to talk about our civilization to anyone.”

“I promise,” I said as I offered my solemn pact, and in a millionth of a second I was back in my house.

Venessa and The Unknown Island

There once was a Greek goddess named Venessa. Venessa was the goddess of wisdom and war, and she was the one of the most beautiful goddesses in all of Greece. She  had a pet owl named Athendite. Venessa had long wavy hair and brown eyes with bright pink lips (she didn’t use lipstick). Her job was to watch over the animals and the Greek demons.

She was on vacation on an unknown island with her owl. She didn’t want to keep doing her goddess jobs and chores; she was bored and needed a break. The island was tropical and had palm trees and a sandy beach. When she got there, she relaxed and went for a swim. The water was a clear, beautiful turquoise with tan sandbars emerging from the water. The water was lukewarm, just the right temperature. There weren’t any animals in the water at the time.

She didn’t know that back on Mount Olympus, her home, they had noticed she was gone, and their leader, Zeus, sent Apollo and Artemis to check all over Greece to find Venessa. Finally the twins, Artemis and Apollo, found the unknown island and were searching all over it, when at last they got a glance at Venessa.

Venessa realized that they were looking for her and she ran all around the island trying to escape, but so did Artemis and Apollo. Venessa came to a wall. When she listened carefully, she heard Artemis and Apollo on the other side talking about how to catch her. She heard they were going to catch her owl at midnight, and then when she went to retrieve her owl, they would set a trap for her.

That night, using her wisdom, Venessa made a fake owl out of the goddess paper she took with her. The owl would have a potion in it and that potion would make the whoever touched it forget everything that happened that day. They would fall asleep for eight hours, just enough time to ship them back to Mount Olympus. By the time Venessa finished making the fake owl, it was 11:00 p.m. Venessa would have to make the potion in one hour. The ingredients to make the potion were yellow tiger, pink and purple seagull, and the rarest peacock-patterned flowers.  She had learned to make the potion from a goddess book because she memorized every goddess book.

Venessa was dumbstruck on where to start, but still she set out in search of a yellow tiger. In the forest, there were narrow creeks that Venessa jumped over. She went deeper and deeper into the forest and finally found a yellow tiger sleeping under the shade of a palm tree. Venessa knew that she needed a bow and quiver to kill the yellow tiger. Using all her goddess will, Venessa made a bow and quiver appear in front of her. She shot it at the yellow tiger and it was hers. One down, two to go, she thought to herself.

Venessa knew that pink and purple seagulls only came out when the time was right for them. She sure hoped that the time was right and that they were out and vivacious. When Venessa arrived at the spot where the pink and purple seagulls lived, her heart sank: there were no seagulls out. When she looked closer, she saw that actually they were perched on a tree branch, asleep. Venessa shook with excitement, for she had found the pink and purple seagulls.

Then she remembered that her goddess powers wouldn’t work because she had used them up making the bow and quiver appear. Venessa could only use her goddess powers once a night. She thought about what to do, and then she had an idea! She could tie tree bark together with leaves, and then once the chain was long enough, she could asphyxiate one pink and purple seagull.

When she finished making the chain of bark, Venessa threw it and it went down the seagull’s throat. The seagull fell off the branch. She could add the pink and purple seagull to the potion! Two down, one to go, she thought.

Once again, just like with the pink and purple seagulls, it had to be the right time for the peacock-patterned flowers, otherwise there would be no blossom. When Venessa got to the flower part of the forest, her heart sank once more: there were no blossoms. She thought about what to do, but she couldn’t think of anything to do.

Venessa remembered that her owl ate peacock flowers when they hadn’t bloomed yet. She ran back to her real owl and asked if he could regurgitate some of the flowers he ate. He agreed. When some came out of his mouth, Venessa was excited as a dog getting a new chew toy. Her plan had worked! Out came a fully bloomed peacock patterned flower. The flower came out nice and clean because she had willed it to come out clean.

When she saw the time, Venessa realized that she only had five more minutes until midnight. She hurried to mix the potion and set out the fake owl. She hid her real owl in the basement of the hut she slept in and put the fake owl beside her. At exactly midnight, Venessa heard Artemis and Apollo’s footsteps. Quickly, Venessa closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. Artemis and Apollo knew Venessa slept with her owl beside her so when they saw the fake owl, they thought it was the real owl and picked it up. Instantly, they both fell into a deep sleep. Venessa stopped pretending to be asleep and put the sleeping Artemis and Apollo on a boat to go back to Olympus.

It was then that Venessa remembered this was an unknown island and no ship captain would be able to find them and steer the boat back to Olympus. So, Venessa got on the boat and drove them back. When they got to Olympus’ shore, Artemis and Apollo awoke and Venessa quickly undid the spell. Venessa stepped out of the boat and walked through the entrance. She sat at her throne, waiting for Zeus to talk to her. Venessa felt a little nervous.

Zeus called her and she went to go talk to him.  Zeus was wearing a blue cloak and he had a brown beard.

“If you had just asked me so I knew where you were going, I would’ve said yes,” Zeus said.

After that talk Venessa realized that she loved her home and everybody else that lived there and would never try to sneak out again. She sat on her velvet gold throne and smiled.

The End

How Penguins and a Chicken Became a Dancing Group

There once was a chicken named Peamer and he looked like an ordinary chicken except he could talk and had golden feathers. Most people did not know how he had gotten to be so special, but he knew. He had been exposed to toxic waste as a baby chick but he had to keep that a secret. The toxic waste was actually melted gold, which was why he had such spectacular feathers. His mother made him walk into the gold because she thought it was corn and she was hungry. To be fair, the gold was in small chunks but Peamer’s mom still wasn’t very smart to make her baby fetch her food. As soon as he stepped into the gold, there was a quick, bright, green flash. That was the moment he began to grow golden feathers. Peamer didn’t know what happened, he was just growing golden feathers! Pop! Pop! Pop! The golden feathers shot out from his chicken skin and all of his old white feathers fell to the ground. Peamer’s mom was speechless. She wasn’t the brightest chicken in the coop, so she thought Peamer had disappeared and had been replaced by another chicken. She was so afraid she ran away squawking, “Peamer! Peamer! Where are you?”

All the while, Peamer was standing right in front of her, saying, “I’m right here.”

Finally, she stopped her noise-making because she realized Peamer was still there.

She asked him, “How come you grew gold feathers?”

Peamer said, “Because you made me walk in the pile of gold chunks you thought was corn.”

Peamer’s mom was speechless. Her beak was half-open, and she stood very still, about to faint. Peamer’s mom fainted a lot. Just as she was about to fall backwards, Peamer caught her. His golden feathers were so strong! They were his superpower. After he took her back to the big, green field where they lived, Peamer stretched his new golden wings out to his sides and took his first flight ever with his golden feathers. He felt so special.

A king saw him flying in the air and signaled for him to come down to the castle. The king asked Peamer to come and live with him in his castle covered with diamonds, gems, crystals, and all shiny things. However, the king was not to be trusted. He  wanted to eat Peamer because he thought if he did, he would turn to gold and gain Peamer’s superpowers. The king started to overfeed Peamer at dinner. He fed him vegetables, hamburgers and ice cream.

Peamer started to feel the king was acting weird and knew he was up to something. Peamer said, “Sorry, I have to go to England for a business trip. Don’t worry about me coming back because I’ll come back to you all safe and sound.”

The king said, “All right, I trust you.”

And then Peamer took off. He wasn’t really going on a business trip. Peamer was planning to build his own chicken kingdom covered with diamonds, gems, crystals and all shiny things. The first thing he needed to do was find a place where the king could never track him down. He went all the way to Antarctica. Even though it was really, really, really cold, he built an igloo kingdom. He asked some penguins to help him by putting stacks of snow together. The penguins thought he was a king already because of his gold feathers.

In his igloo, Peamer sat on his couch and thought, “Oh my gosh, I better get on a diet.” The penguins, though, were out of food because the water was frozen.

The penguins came into Peamer’s igloo and said, “We’re hungry! Can you please fetch some food for us?” They thought Peamer was strong because he was a king. They thought he could help them.

Peamer did a thumbs-up sign to the penguins and went to fetch some fish. The penguins smiled because they were expecting a good meal. First, Peamer found fishermen. He discovered his superpowers allowed him to speak in any language. To the fishermen, he spoke Mandarin. He asked them to cast their lines into the ice to catch the fish below. Peamer brought the fish to the penguins and fed them until they were full.

Peamer trusted the penguins. They became his secretaries and guards and his own igloo army. He gave each penguin a special necklace made of gems. He had installed a gem scanning system that only scanned the special gems Peamer had. The system kept the igloo kingdom safe so no one could break in. In order to enter his igloo kingdom, one needed a special gem, just like one needs a key to enter their home. Once the penguins scanned their gem necklace, they could enter. The igloo was full of things the penguins couldn’t even imagine: wooden chairs surrounding a dinner table filled with gems and a thick book about adventures so Peamer, their king, could give the penguins an experience of the whole world. There was a different adventure on each page, one adventure for every day of the year.

The first adventure they went on was to London. He looked up where to go in his adventure book and on the map he found England. Their first stop was Big Ben. Just then he remembered he told the king he was going to England for his business trip and Peamer suddenly feared the king would find him. He signed up for personal planes to fly him and his penguins back to Antarctica. When Peamer met his personal pilot, he told him to keep this trip a secret or else the royal king would  find him and eat him up. The pilot pinky swore never to tell.

“If you pinky swear and do not keep the promise,” Peamer said to the pilot, “then I will never tell you how I got my golden feathers.”

The penguins sat in the back seats and read a book about an easier way to catch fish. The book said: “You must go to King Peamer.” The penguins were amazed, and went to tell Peamer. When they told him, Peamer nearly fainted. He was shocked people already knew about him. He stopped himself from fainting by touching his chest and saying, “Superpowers!”

When they landed in Antarctica, they returned to the igloo kingdom. Everything looked just the way they left it. But the moment they entered they realized something was terribly wrong.

The king had found out they lived in an igloo! He traveled all over the world to find the mystery chicken with the golden feathers and superpowers. The king stood in the middle of the room with a giant knife and guards surrounding him. He stabbed his giant knife into the floor repeatedly and shouted, “I shall eat you now! I shall eat you now!” He instructed some of the guards to prepare the boiling water, and the rest of the guards to catch him.

Peamer used his superpowers to escape. He flew through midair and shot out rainbows from his wings across the room. He was able to change the colors of his feathers to camouflage with the rainbow. Just then, the penguins revealed their own secret: they also had powers! They could shoot through the air and blend in with the rainbow, too.

The king and his guards were speechless. They looked around the room, confused. In the chaos, they forgot about the boiling water and it exploded. The igloo started to melt as the king and the guards left.

Once everyone was far, far away, Peamer and the penguins fell back down. Peamer said to the penguins, “No wonder you’re so strong!” Together they built the igloo again. Peamer had placed a covering on their belongings, so luckily, nothing was damaged. They named this day The Chaos Adventure!

Peamer and the penguins decided this adventure was too hard, so instead of going to new places, they’d have a dance party every day. They bought big speakers, two disco balls and a radio playing pop music. They wore flowy skirts, colorful wigs, masks and underwear with ruffles. Peamer and the penguins became known as the best dancers on Earth, after the neighbors discovered their dance parties. They thought it was cool a chicken and penguins could dance, and they shared the news with the whole world.

Then, they danced and lived happily ever after!

The End

Gone

Chapter 1

 

“Girls, when you get to school, don’t forget to text us.”

“Ok, Dad,” they said in unison. They were 12. Their birthday was April 19th, and they went to Salt Lake High School (it’s a private school).

“Why do Dad and Mom have to be so overprotective?” Julia said to Sarah as they walked out the door with the same steps. They were fraternal twins and they looked almost completely different but they acted similarly. Julia had brown hair and brown eyes and a pretty face and she was slender and attractive-looking. Sarah had blonde hair and blue eyes and always had a happy look on her face no matter what. She was slender and attractive-looking as well. They both had straight hair that came down to their shoulders but they always wore it in a ponytail, though those were the only looks that the twins shared.  They were both sporty but at the same time feminine. Sarah was shy and quiet but Julia was outgoing. They both were very studious and smart. They were the kind of kids who were popular but not in a bad way. They had a lot of friends and some of them were almost the same as them and some of them were the complete opposite. The girls were always, always criticizing their parents on how overprotective they were. And they had a reason to be criticizing their parents.

Julia wanted to try out for the soccer team but her parents wouldn’t let her because they were scared that she’d get hurt playing soccer. And Sarah, when she was really young, went into the laundromat and her parents yelled at her for that because they were scared she would go into a washing machine and the washing machine would turn on and she would die!

 

Chapter 2

 

That day at recess (or as they like to call it “hang out time”), their best friend, Hallie, came up to them and handed them an invitation to a double sleepover in two weeks birthday party for her also twin sister Annie. The girls were very excited to go, but they knew they couldn’t tell their parents because their parents wouldn’t let them go. So they said that on November 15th they were going to a high school curriculum meeting at school, so they would be back late. No parents allowed. But they didn’t say the time because they didn’t want their parents to know. If they said, “We’re leaving on the 15th and we’re coming back on the 17th” their parents would say “Wow. That’s a very long curriculum meeting.”

On the 15th, after school, their friend’s older sister, Betsy (who had just turned sixteen two months ago), drove them over to Hallie and Annie’s house for the sleepover. Once they got to the sleepover Hallie and Annie welcomed them by throwing streamers in their face and popping a balloon. The eight girls stayed up till two in the morning and they watched horror movies and played truth or dare. When they finally went to sleep they were not tired at all, but embarrassed by what they said on the truths and the dares and scared because of the horror movies.

In the morning they woke up at 5 o’clock (no sleep at all) and they were very tired. They each grabbed a small mug of coffee that, by the way they were not allowed to drink. Then they sat on the lounge chairs next to Hallie and Annie’s private pool. The city was quiet. Nobody else was awake. The only sound was the wind whistling in their ears. As they jumped into the pool, Betsy declared a game of truth or dare.

“Annie, Truth or Dare?”

“Truth, duh,” said Annie, rolling her eyes.

“Have you ever been to a different continent?”

“Yah, like three!”
It went on like this for three minutes until it was Julia’s turn.

“Julia, Truth or Dare?” asked Olivia.

“Truth,” said Julia.

“Have you ever kissed a boy?”

“Ooooo,” Sadie and Betsy said together. Allison made a kissy lips face. Julia’s face turned bright red.

Julia waited about a minute before answering. “Yes,” she whispered in a little voice.

“I can’t hear you,” Olivia said in a sing-song voice.

“Yes,” Julia said stronger.

“What!?” Sarah shouted, and she suddenly stopped splashing Sadie. “How could you not tell me that?” She yelled at her twin, sounding close to tears.

“What do mean!? Why did I have to tell you?!”

“We’re sisters, we tell each other everything!!!”

“I don’t have to tell you everything that goes on in my life!” Julia cried.

The rest of the girls backed up nervously.

“But we share everything else with each other, why not this?”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve kept secrets from me too. Plenty of times,” said Julia.

Sarah tried to speak, but her voice wouldn’t work. She turned bright red. Allison stepped in front of the girls, trying to stop the fight, but Sarah just pushed her out of the way. The rest of the girls were stunned. Sarah has never done that. She’s too peaceful. Sarah stormed out of the pool in a rage of anger. The rest of girls were stunned and Annie started crying. Then Olivia started crying. “This is all my fault!” Olivia cried “If I hadn’t asked you that we would all be having fun!” No one agreed with her, but no one disagreed.

On the way home from the sleepover, the twins weren’t talking to each other and they avoided each other’s eyes. All of a sudden, a piece of paper fell down at Julia’s feet. Sarah stopped walking, too. Julia bent down to pick it up and as soon as her fingers touched the paper, she disappeared into thin air. Sarah looked at the paper and then back to where her sister had stood and then to the paper and then to where her sister had stood.

The people who were walking by stopped in their tracks. Just like Sarah, they looked at the paper and then back to where Julia had been standing. Somebody fainted. Sarah did not notice anyone around her, until Mr. Hill, Sarah’s (former) art teacher, came rushing up to her.

“Sarah, are you alright? What happened to Julia?” he cried.

Sarah thought (randomly) of what Julia had told her once when they were younger. Sarah, don’t mix other people up in your personal life. It will only make things worse.

“She’s gone.”

 

Chapter 3

 

Sarah

As Sarah ran to her house (220 Nether 56 St.), she was about to knock on her door when she suddenly stopped. Mom and Dad are going to be so mad, she thought. Suddenly she was nervous to walk in. A second later, Sarah saw her mom’s face in the window.

“Uh-oh,” she said out loud. Her mouth dropped open.

Her mom ran out the door and embraced Sarah with strong arms.

“Sarah, Julia where have you been? Me and your dad have been worried sick about you!” Her mother shouted at her. She looked at Sarah, peeking around her back. “Wait, Sarah, where’s Julia?”

“We were walking down the street and then, um, there was this piece of paper and Julia kind of went down and touched it and then she went poof?” she said,  her words kind of jumbled up hoping she didn’t sound crazy.

Her mother hurried her inside. “Sarah, go to bed,” she said in a calm, quiet voice.

“Umm… okay,” she said, uncertainly.

When she was about to close her door, she heard her parents say in a hushed whisper, “We can’t tell her yet, it’s too dangerous.”

“But we have to, her sister just disappeared!”

“We can’t, it’s not fair to her.”

Then, they closed the living room door.  After two hours of constant worrying, she finally fell asleep to terrible dreams.

 

Chapter 4

 

Sarah

When Sarah woke up from tiresome dreams, she decided that she needed some fresh air to read the note that for some reason had made her sister disappear. She thought about leaving a note for her parents, but she didn’t because she knew that she would be back before they got home from work.

While Sarah was walking down to the park, she was surprised that no one was taking particular interest into why she wasn’t with Julia even though they were barely ever apart. Ms. Figg came up to Sarah and said,

“Hi Sarah, what a beautiful day.”

Sarah was shocked. She said, “Um-Ms. Figg, have you seen Julia in a while?”

“Who’s Julia, dear?” Ms. Figg replied.

“Only my sister,” Sarah said, incredulously.

“Sarah are you feeling alright?” Ms. Figg asked, concerned. “You don’t have any sisters. You’re an only child, remember?”

“I’m not an only child, I have a sister!” She shouted.

“Now Sarah, don’t lose your temper with me. I advise you go back to your parents so they don’t worry about you.” Ms. Figg said stepping back a step surprised that  Sarah was yelling.

Ms. Figg is a bit crazy. I’m sure no one else thinks I don’t have a sister.

As she walked down the street she bumped in to her BFF Kyley.

“Hey Sarah. how y’u doing ?” Kyley exclaimed

“Not asking ‘bout Julia I see” Sarah replied. Kyley and Julia had had an argument, so she wasn’t surprised that Kyley didn’t say anything about Julia.

“Um-remind me who Julia is again,” Kyley said hesitantly. “Too many friends to keep track of,” she joked.

Sarah’s face had mixture of shock and utter confusion. It’s not only Ms. Figg, it’s Kyley too? Uh-oh.

 

Chapter 5

 

Julia

As Julia woke up, everything seemed kind of blurry. It looked like she was in some sort of cage. Huh? I don’t remember being put into prison, she thought.

“Who’s that?” Julia asked out loud. She was looking at a short, rotund woman with eyes that looked pure evil and a serpent smile.

When the woman heard Julia, she laughed out loud. “I’m Alice,” she said in a sugary, sweet voice that sounded phony.

Julia shook her head, trying to make sense of all of it. “Funny woman who’s kind of fat, round shape prison thingamajiggy, and no more Sarah,” she mumbled under her breath. “This makes complete sense except for about everything!” She declared loud enough for Alice to hear.  “Why am I here exactly?” asked Julia.

“Well, I have two reasons that I captured you,” Alice replied. “Number one is so your sister would say the magical words that I will not repeat right now or I’ll get a big headache. So, I’ll go to Earth and be able to take it over.” At that, Julia’s face got a bit of a smirk on it.

Obviously this Alice person doesn’t know that half of Earth is run by a democracy and she won’t just be able to ‘take it over.’ Julia thought.

“And my second reason I captured you,” Alice continued, while pacing around Julia’s cage, “is so you and your sister can’t use your powers to overthrow me.”

“Ummm…powers?” Julia questioned, wondering if Alice was a crazy woman.

“You don’t know about your powers?” Alice suddenly stopped pacing.

“Uhhh, not exactly,” Julia replied, still with a questioning look on her face.

“Well then, just forget everything else I said, and that was just a joke, only the first part of the plan is true. Ha ha ha, I’m a jokester,” Alice said, obviously hiding something.

Alice walked into the other room, but she didn’t know she had left the door partly open. Even though at that moment Julia didn’t know it, this changed everything. “Her parents haven’t told her yet about her powers. This may mess everything up, or it might make everything better” Alice said unaware that Julia could hear her.

What the heck is she talking about?  Julia wondered.

Alice walked back into the room. “Sooo,” Alice said pacing around Julia’s cage/prison. “Your parents haven’t told you about any planets other than Earth?” she asked casually.

“‘Course they didn’t, ‘cause there aren’t any other planets. Right?” Julia said trying to not explode with curiosity.

“Right, so your sister is going to bring me down to earth then your world will be run by me! Ha ha ha ha ha!!” Alice declared evilly

“That will will never happen, you witch!!!” Julia shouted

 

Chapter 6

Sarah

 

“You okay Sarah? You look like you just saw a ghost,”asked Kyley worriedly.

“Look, Kyley, this will be hard to explain but just listen,” Sarah said.

After she explained everything to her BFF, Kyley whispered, “That is more complicated than this!” She showed Sarah her math homework. “Simplify x[y+(2*8)] +24( xy+ 28)”

“I know, but you’ve gotta trust me on this one,” said Sarah.

She and Kyley started to walk down to the old willow tree, which had been their playhouse since they were three. The reason it had always been their playhouse was because nobody else could interrupt them. Nobody else dared to go there because it was surrounded by old mansions, which were falling apart.

They sat down on the bean bags which they had put in there and started to read the note together. The note said: “To see your sister again, you must got to the top of Mount Hood and say ‘sasi-da-la-poo’ with your hands held out. From Alice :).”

“Uhh… sasi-da-la-poo?” Kyley said, snorting. “Whoever sent this note definitely has no style at all.”

“I guess you’re right,” said Sarah, “but I still wonder why she would take my sister. And I also wonder why she would leave her name on the note. Know what I mean?”

“Well, she’s definitely a stupid witch,” said Kyley.

“We should probably go to Mount Hood,” Sarah stood up.

Kyley went to the app store on her phone and bought a map of the state.

“I wonder if Mount Hood is in Portland.” Kyley looked at her phone. “Oh lookie, it is! The only problem is that it’s 11,235 feet in the air. We can totally climb that in like two days.”

“Don’t joke, Kyley, it’s true. It’s going to take a long time to get to the top of the mountain.”

“Hey, gloomy Gus,” Kyley started shaking Sarah. “Go away we want Sarah. We don’t want anymore Gus.”

Sarah faintly smiled. “We should go get our stuff,” she said.

 

Chapter 7

Julia

 

That night, when Julia thought that Alice was asleep, Julia went to the lock on the outside of her cage, took her hair pin off and started to pick the lock.

All of  sudden, an alarm started to blare. Julia had to let go of the lock in order to grab her ears. All of a sudden, Alice appeared with a creepy smile on her face.

“Oopsies,” Julia whispered.

“Oopsies is right,” Alice said in her ‘sugary sweet’ voice.

Alice yanked her out of the cage and threw her down a trapdoor with the cockroaches. It was dark, dusty, and Julia couldn’t see anything. All she could do was feel and hear the little cockroaches and trying not to step on them. There was a cot at the end of the room and Julia had to step over and around billions of cockroaches in order to get there.

“Ugh, I think I’m going to be sick,” said Julia.

When Julia woke up the next morning, there wasn’t breakfast waiting for her like there usually was. When she yelled that up to Alice, Alice replied, “You try to escape and you get no food for three days.”

That was the first time Julia heard Alice’s real voice. It was mean and rough. It even sounded like her personality.

 

Chapter 8

Sarah

 

Sarah ran home as fast as she could, her boots tapping on the sidewalk. She burst into the house, not even thinking about why the door was unlocked. She ran into her room and started to pack.

“Hmm, what will I need to climb a 12,000 foot mountain. Gee, let me think,” Sarah said. “Umm, I have a rope, a big long rope, actually. A grappling hook, no idea why I have that in here”

She paused.

“Wait, why aren’t Mom and Dad here?” she said out loud. Then Sarah thought of how the door had been left wide open when she came home. “That’s weird. Mom and Dad always lock the door. They don’t want robbers coming in. They are crazy about protectiveness.”

She walked into her parent’s room and saw that her mom and dad’s favorite bag was out of the closet and it looked like they had left in a rush. I wonder where they went, she thought.  All of a sudden, she heard a crash from her room.

What the–oh it’s the grappling hook. She walked into her room and saw her grappling hook lying on the floor.The wood on the dresser was scratched. This isn’t going to be a good grappling hook if it always falls. Then she saw that the grappling hook was broken.

‘It’s alright. I’ll fix it at a “Pro Ski and Mountain” shop,” she shrugged.

It took Sarah 20 minutes to pack up everything she needed. This is what was on her list,

  • A very, very warm jacket,hat,scarf,and gloves
    • A flashlight
  • Energy bars (lots of them for Kyley)
    • grappling hook,and rope
  • Actual food
    • A tent
  • Sleeping bag
    • Critical sleep toys
  • Water
    • A knife and lock picking tools (to get Julia out of her cage)
  • Boots

She packed everything in her very large furry backpack, (which she could turn into a pillow). And, she went back to the clubhouse to meet Kyley.

 

Chapter 9

Julia

 

Julia was starving. She hadn’t had food for two days and she only had muddy water. Then, Julia had a lightbulb. “Ooh Alice!” she called out in a friendly voice.

“What is it?” Alice called out in a crabby voice. It sounded like she had just woken up.

“Would you like some compliments, friendly morning compliments, Alice?”
“Why would you compliment me? I threw you in a room with cockroaches and I haven’t fed you for three days.”

“Because you deserve it, Alice!” continued Julia. “You deserve it because you’re so kind, you’re so beautiful. You deserve to be the ruler of this universe. It would be better that way for everybody.”

“Well,” Alice said flipping her hair, clearly flattered, “I am beautiful. And I am kind. And I do deserve to be the ruler of the universe. But how can you help me?”

“I can do so much. I can open the portal for you without my sister’s help. I can hypnotize people and make them love you.”

“You can hypnotize people?” Alice’s eyes were as wide as saucers and she was looking at Julia like she was some kind of goddess.

“ ‘Course, I’ve never done it before because you shouldn’t be hypnotized. You don’t deserve to be hypnotized. You’re too good.”

“I’m not good, I’m evil! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!”

“You’re too good at being evil to be hypnotized. I could help you, but in order for that, I’d have to be out of this dump.”

“You promise not to kill me when I let you out?”

When Julia heard Alice say ‘When I let you out’ she practically jumped for joy, but she couldn’t because she was on the tiny bench so she wouldn’t step on a cockroach.” This is my chance to get back to Earth Julia thought.

“I promise not to kill you,” Julia told Alice.

When Alice opened the door a barrage of light entered the room blinding Julia and making her cover her eyes. Alice dropped the ladder and Julia climbed up.

“How do I know you really hypnotize people?”Alice said narrowing her eyes.

“I hipnotized my teacher into thinking that I brought in my homework the day before instead of that day, so I didn’t have to do it.”

“Okay, we’ll determine if you’re lying later,” Alice said, turning away.

 

Chapter 10

 

Sarah was so hot, but she was so cold. Kyley next to her, was huffing and puffing just like her, but both were shivering in their winter jackets. The sky was blue over them and there was nothing but mountains as far as they could see.

“Stop, just stop please,” Kyley said. They only rested once and that was at the beginning of the mountain.

Sarah cursed herself for not remembering that Kyley had asthma and got tired very easily. They sat down to rest and took out actual food–canned beans, canned soup, canned goods. Most of the stuff, as you can see, was canned.

“Kyley, come on, can we keep going? We have to find my sister soon. We don’t know what’s gonna happen to her.”

All of a sudden, Kyley got angry. “You’re lucky I’m even coming with you. For all I know, your sister could be somebody fake. This could just be a stupid joke on me.”

“I’m sorry if you feel that way, but I hope you’re not giving up on me,” Sarah said holding back tears, not sure if they were angry tears or sad tears.

She stood up and started to go up the mountain.

“I’m still coming with you, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” Kyley stood up and walked up to Sarah

***

 

For a little while they didn’t talk, but when they were close to the top Kyley turned to Sarah.

“ListenIdon’twanttofightbutyoucan’tblamemeforwondering,” Kyley said sounding rushed.

“I forgive you if you can say that again but a lot slower so I can actually understand it,”Sarah joked

“Thanks Sarah I’m really sorry. I will help you find Julia no matter what.”

***

A few minutes later, Kyley said “Hey you know that day in first grade when I lost my first tooth at recess and you took me to the nurse?”

“Yes, why?”

“I feel like someone else was there, a pretty girl with light brown eyes and hair.”

“OMG! That’s Julia! You remember her! That’s awesome!”

“Slow down, Sarah. Yes, I remember her, but not everything. I only remember bits and parts. I didn’t even know who she was. Also, it kind of hurts when it happens. Like a headache or something,” Kyley explained.

“Well, it’s something, at least you remember some of her,” said Sarah.

It seemed like they were at the top, but they couldn’t be sure with all the switchbacks. It was getting colder, and each switchback it got colder and colder. But, it was so early, and they had been walking for so long that the cold seemed normal.

 

Chapter 11

Julia

 

“These cookies are really good.” They were sitting in Alice’s room having milk and cookies.

“I know right? They’re a family recipe,” said Alice.

“We should get down to business now.”

“Okay, here’s the plan,” said Alice. “You’re going to open the portal by saying the words I’ll write down, ‘cause again I can’t say them or I’ll get a big headache. Then, when we get onto the mountain, you’re going to close the portal by saying the words again. While you’re doing this, I’ll make sure that all the security slash defences on Earth go out so nobody can stop us. And, also with my powers, I will make every weapon explode. Except for ours of course.”

“Okay, that sounds great, but number one, what are the words to open the portal to the human world,” Julia said, after Alice told her the plan.

Alice wrote down on a piece of paper the words

sasi-da-la-poo

“That’s what I have to say? sasidalapoo. That is kinda lame.”

“I know I know, but I don’t choose the spells, I just know them,”

“Okay, so I say sasidalapoo,” said Julia almost laughing, “Then what?”

“Then the portal will open and we’ll go through the portal out to earth and I’ll go straight to the king’s office and I’ll demand him to come clean or I’ll kill all of his children!”

Again, Julie almost laughed.

“Obviously,” she thought, “she doesn’t know that there’s no king and she can’t just take over the world.”

To Alice, she said, “Okay this is a great plan. We should do it right now,”

“Wow, you’re eager,” Alice said. “This is the first time one of my captives has gone along with one of my plans,”

“Yeah, well I’m special,” said Julia.

They walked to the door and Julia held out her hand and said, ‘Sasidalapoo.” A big purple swirling portal appeared in front of Julia and Alice. Julia stepped through, a blast of icy cold wind hitting her square in the face, saying, “sasidalapoo” again before Alice could jump over to the earth. When she turned around after closing the portal she saw Sarah and Sarah’s friend Kyley staring at her with their mouths open in shock.

“Sarah!” Julia yelled.

“Julia!” Sarah yelled at the same time.

They tackled each other in a big bear hug.

“Oh my god, how did you get back!? I was about to say these really weird words to get you back but then YOU said them when you came onto the peak and you know I’m really confused I’m just gonna sit down for a minute,” she said as she sat down.

“Hi Julia,” Kyley said, “Hey, I remember you now. I remember all of our memories together!” Kyley’s face lit up like she just got the best present ever.

“You forgot them?” Julie said because of course she had no idea that everyone on earth had forgotten about her when she had disappeared.

“Yeah,” Sarah said, “Everyone on earth forgot about you when you disappeared, so they’ll probably remember you now but I’m not sure”

“Well let’s go find out!” Julia said, running down the hill, eager to find her parents.

“Wait, Julie, you’re wearing summer clothes and we’re on a hill that’s below zero degrees! I brought an extra jacket but I don’t think that will help,” said Kyley.

“Okay, can I have it? I really want to get down this hill.”

“Alright.” Kyley pulled out the extra jacket out of her backpack and handed it to Julia.

Julia put it on, picked up Kyley’s bag, because Sarah already had hers on her back, and once again started running down the hill but this time with Sarah and Kyley trailing behind her. When they got home,and they ran inside their house they saw their parents who were sitting on the couch, frantically wondering where their daughters were. Kyley’s parents were sitting on the other couch.

“Julia! Sarah!” their parents cried out.

“Kyley!” Kyley’s parents cried out at the same time.

Julia and Sarah ran to their parents and hugged them while Kyley ran to her parents and started crying in their arms. When Julia and Sarah pulled out of their parents hugs, their parents said, “We should all probably go back to our houses  so we can get out explanations for why our children were gone for so long,” Sarah’s mom said.

“You’re right,” Kyley’s father said, “Our children have a lot of explaining to do!”

Kyley and her parents walked out the door. Julia and Sarah sat on the couch next to their parents. Julia opened her mouth to speak.

“Stop, it’s okay,” said the girls father. “We know exactly why you were gone and the person who has explaining has to do is us.” They explained to the children how they were actually kings and queens of a magical world. Alice had wanted to be the queen and had almost succeeded if it hadn’t been for Sarah and Julia. Alice had launched an attack with her evil followers, forcing the king and queen to take their children and flee to earth. The reason the parents had been so protective is because they didn’t want their child to be captured by Alice to be killed.

That night when they went to sleep, Sarah and Julia decided to pull out an air mattress and sleep on the floor together. Instead of talking they just sat next to each other, resting, acknowledging each other’s presence. Sarah and Julia closed their eyes, still smiling knowing that everything would be okay as long as they were together.

 

THE END

FOR NOW…

Monster Jake: Book 1

Reader, I will now tell you of a story of murder, humor, mystery and friends. It is about five brothers and sisters who have an adventure. Their names are Sarah, Jake, Bob, Joe, and JJ.

 

CHAPTER 1: Bob

 

One day, Bob was in his backyard and he figured out that he was going to have a sister. He lived with his mom and dad who were candy makers. Bob was not an average 12-year-old, because he lived in a candy factory. His room was made of lollipops, ice cream, and brownies.
He never ate dinner, only dessert, and never got belly aches. A week later, his sister was born! HALLELUJAH!!! Her name was Sarah. He was happy to have a sibling, but after a couple of days he got a little bored because the baby kept throwing stuff. The first time the baby got a hold of candy, she ate a lollipop (it was a rainbow lollipop). She ate the whole thing, even the stick, and made the most annoying sound because she loved it so much. YAAA. Bob, after four days, was so tired because the sound took five days to stop echoing in the factory. He fell asleep for three years, but thought it was an hour. When he woke up, he was surrounded by people he didn’t even know. Turns out they were his brothers.
Their names were Joe, Jake, and JJ. They were triplets. They were super super smart. Bob realized he was in his room, but it not so much a room because the triplets had eaten it. It took those three years for them to eat it. They had eaten all but one crumb, but that was already gone because Joe ate it the second Bob woke up. The triplets did not know about Sarah, because she was in their parents room and they weren’t allowed in. They finally figured out that their parents were hiding a four-year-old girl. His parents were hiding Sarah because they didn’t want their triplets to think they had the biggest family in the world. But one day, they heard a baby crying in their parents room. The parents had kept her quiet before by not giving her any lollipops. The minute after they figured this out, they broke down their parents’ door and found the toddler asleep on the bed.

 

CHAPTER 2

 

Sarah started to yell at the kids. Bob heard the commotion and came running in. He found out what happened and said, “Did you guys not know that Sarah was here?”

The triplets blinked twice and said, “Who is Sarah?”

Bob said, “How did you not know she was here?” Then Bob says to Sarah, “Why are you here, anyways?”

The triplets said, “It’s a she?!?”

Over the next day, Bob figured out what happened while he was out cold. The next day, at breakfast, he asked his parents why they never told him that they were going to have such an annoying sister. His mom said, “We didn’t know.”

The triplets were confused at what was going on. Bob had to clear everything out with everyone. He told them how he fell asleep and when he was asleep, he had a dream that he was under water and he could breathe. Then a fish came up to him and told him something that sounded like a prophecy. The fish said, “You will have a journey to a far place where no one has gone before. And at the end, one of the friends you make shall do something that you will not know.”

Bob thought it meant that he was going to go somewhere and find some friends and one of them was going to do something strange. Bob went downstairs and told his parents everything. Bob finished his story and then he said, “I have something in my room that sounds just like this.” So Bob went up to his room and pulled a ripped little piece of paper out from his desk and it said: ‘-rah will be by the…’

They all say “HUH?!?”

Bob says, “I know, right?? The paper is ripped, so I don’t understand what it says!”

His Dad said, “Well, you better figure it out in at least a week.”

Bob said, “Why in a week?”

On the back of the paper it said: “Figure out in at least a week.”

 

CHAPTER 3

 

Bob went to his room and read the note over and over and over and over and over. Okay, I think you get the point. The next day…

Bob figured something out! Something was going to happen to Sarah! He rushed downstairs to tell his family. He said, “Something will happen to Sarah! It’s a good thing she’s asleep right now. Don’t tell her about this, or else she’ll get really mad.”

Joe said, “How do you know something is going to happen to Sarah?”

Bob explained, “Because, if you look on the piece of paper and read it carefully, you can figure out it’s the end of Sarah’s name.”

 

CHAPTER 4

 

It was Saturday, and it was time for Bob’s journey to start. So he packed up the piece of paper and a sleeping bag. Then he told his parents, “You can’t come along!”

They both said, “Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to die.” Then he told his siblings, “Pack up, we’re going.” He read the piece of paper one more time and realized something. On the bottom corner of it, there was a map. On the map was the whole world and there were seven little pieces of paper on each continent. He asked, “What are these?” When Jake saw it, he fainted. There’s also something else weird, besides Jake fainting. There was an airplane growing inside the wall. It was bright green, but all of its jets were pink. It was 100 feet long. On the front, there was a robot holding a sign saying, “I’m your ride.” So they hopped in and took off!

First stop: Florida. It was only a five minute flight because this airplane had three hundred million horsepower. It should have take longer because they lived in California. While the flight was going, they took a bucket of water and dumped it on Jake. He woke up and Bob said, “Why did you faint?”

“I don’t know. But when I looked at that paper, my brain went fuzzy.”

Then Sarah said, “Why are you so stretchy?” She pulled his arm. It was 30 feet long.

“I don’t knnnow!!”

“Okay, jeez!”said Joe.

“Please stop asking me questions,” screamed Jake.

Out of nowhere, Sarah said, “Thought you might want to know, we’re there.”

They first tried to find the piece of paper in Legoland. Sarah and Joe got bored because they couldn’t find anything, so they went on the rides. At twelve o’clock at night, the rest of the kids found them in a giant hotel room. They woke up at about one o’clock, and they went as fast as they could to Disney World.

At five o’clock (they didn’t even know it was five o’clock because they were too tired to look at their watches) Sarah found something inside of the Star Wars simulator. When the rest came over, Sarah reached inside C3PO’s mouth and found a glowing piece of paper. She tried to fit it into the other one, and it fit!

 

CHAPTER 5

 

They asked Bob, “Now where?”

He said, “Europe!”

Suddenly, something strange happened. Their airplanes split into five. All of them separated. Bob’s went to London, Sarah’s went to Wales, Joe’s went to France, JJ’s went to Switzerland, and Jake’s went to Spain. A couple hours later, they all met up in Switzerland because JJ had texted, “Come here quick! I found something!” So they all came. They saw what he was talking about and he said, “See? I found this awesome little teddy bear.” They all said, “Aw shoot, we all came for nothing!”

And then JJ said, “But look inside his mouth. There’s something in there!”

Bob pulled it out and it was the piece of paper! The paper was glowing and golden, just like the first two.

“Let’s go to South America,“ said Sarah.

Once again, the plane split up into five. Bob to Brazil, Sarah to Argentina, Jake to Venezuela, Joe to Chile, and JJ to Colombia. Joe was looking all around Chile. He got hungry so he tried to find some food. He found an avocado laying in a desert. He cut it open and took the pit out. He was going to bite it and he found the piece of paper! He took the piece of paper out, ate the avocado, and said, “The avocado wasn’t as good as I thought, but it was still worth it to find the paper!”

 

CHAPTER 6

 

They all met up and they fit the piece of paper with all the rest.

Bob said,”To Africa!”

The plane split up into five once again. Bob to Egypt, Sarah to Chad, JJ to Kenya, Joe to Zambia,and Jake to Ghana.

Bob went to the sphinx. It was ten times the size of him and he went inside. He saw torches on the walls and no floor. It was dark and the air tasted bitter. He couldn’t see very well because of the dust. He was thinking, “Why did I choose to go to Egypt, why? WHY!?” He walked up to a statue of the Egyptian god, Ra. He thought he heard something. He was getting really scared. He turned around. He turned back around. He jumped up when something touched his back and he screamed for help!

“Help me!”

He saw the statue moving. It said to him, “Bob. I know your last name and you don’t. It is Candy.”

Bob said, “Huh! That explains a lot.”

The statue screamed, “Wait! I will give you the paper,” as Bob turned to leave.

 

CHAPTER 7

 

All of the Candy children met up at the plane after each five planes morphed back together. Bob said, “I found the piece of paper but we can’t get it until we get back home.”

Then suddenly a voice they had never heard in the world before said, “What piece of paper?”

They all turned and screamed, “Ah!”

“Don’t scream! My name is David. I heard you talking about needing to find something very important. I have experience with finding things that are important, too.”

Sarah said, “Why don’t you join us?”

David looked happy and he was wearing a normal t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. So they hopped aboard the plane. Then the robot driving said, “You wanna go to Asia, sir?”

“That sounds good,” Bob said.

The five planes came again and Bob went to China, Sarah went Kazakhstan, Joe went to Japan, JJ went to India, and Jake went to Turkey.

David said, “Wait, what about me?”

Sarah said, “You can come with me every time.”

So they all went on the big paper hunt. In Japan, Joe was not having much luck. On the other hand, Sarah and David were finding some really useful stuff but not the piece of paper. They were finding treasure chests and a magic tool belt that had every tool you could find on a tool belt. Jake was eating Turkey in Turkey. All the way in China, Bob was digging through noodles and dumplings and little JJ was snake-charming, trying to see if the snake could see where the paper was. Joe got bored and he tried to ride the bullet train, and when he did, he saw something. The bullet train was see-through and had lots of reclining seats. He watched a movie and he saw people climbing up poles on trains. The movie was called “People Climbing up Poles on Trains.”

He looked through all the cars and finally he found a pole. He tried to climb it. He climbed all the way up, touched the top, and felt something like a piece of paper. He didn’t get to figure out what it was because he fell down. He opened one eye and he saw the glowing golden piece of paper, and he screamed, “I found it!” The Japanese cops started screaming Japanese curses at him. He started to run and he ran all the way back to the plane and he used the teleporter to teleport all of his friends back to the plane. Bob said, “Where are we? Wait, we’re back at the plane.” Joe had to explain everything. They fit the piece of paper, and it worked.

“Off to Australia!” David shouted.

Sarah said, “Me and David found some useful stuff! We put it in the storage part of the plane.”

“Why Australia?” said Bob.

“Because I live in Australia and I found a glowing piece of paper in the attic.”

Then Sarah said, “Why are you here?  Why aren’t you with your parents?”

“Because,” said David, “they kicked me out of the mansion.”

“WOW, YOU HAVE A MANSION!” they all screamed.

“Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but my dad is a millionaire!”

David explained everything and in no time they were off to Australia.

 

CHAPTER 8

 

The five planes came again and Bob went to Sydney, Sarah and David to Tasmania, JJ to New Zealand, Joe to the Gold Coast, and Jake to the desert. In the desert, Jake was searching through dust and sand, and he looked up and he saw a giant mountain of papers glowing. They looked exactly like the ones he was supposed to find. Then he did something he didn’t know he could do. He turned into a giant lightning bolt. He struck the pile and he hit one that didn’t get electrocuted, and he knew that was the one. When he found it, they all teleported back to the ship.

They all got in the plane, and went to the last place they wanted to go: Antarctica. “In this one, we all stick together,” said Bob.

But then David said, “But I want to split up. It will be easier.”

Bob said, “Well, you are the new one. I guess we could do what you want.”

So they split up. Bob wasn’t having much luck. He flew into a blizzard and flew all the way into the water. So did JJ, Sarah, Jake, and Joe, but not David. But before Sarah got blown away, she saw David stick out his hand out at her. All of them except Sarah landed on the ground. Sarah landed in a glacier and then the yeti came out and ate her. They all teleported back to the plane, and they all said, “Where’s Sarah?”

David just said, “Oh she’s back there. She found the piece of paper. She can teleport back when we’re back at her house.” While they were flying back it turned midnight, so they all went to sleep except for Jake and David.

David asked Jake, “Do you want a piece of candy? I made one special for you.”

He said, “No thanks.”

David said, “It’s really really good!”

So Jake ate it, and he turned into a hellhound. Then everything flashed black, and for a second you could see David as the grim reaper.

Jake thought, “That can’t be the grim reaper. My mind’s messing with me.”

Then David said, “Kill them.” And Jake did it, but when he hit his hand on the ground his hand fell apart and reformed. Then the hellhound body melted off, and so did his skin, but he was still there. He was a robot! Then Jake, as a robot, took David’s body threw it in the air. Then his family came back to life. When they awoke, they saw him and freaked out and started shooting him with their lasers, but he blocked them with his force field. But they weren’t really force fields. His robot body melted off, and he turned into this glowing strong person. He was a god! His name was Flipper. “I am Flipper, the god of monsters and death!” he said. Then he killed David.

Footsteps

Chapter 1

 

I don’t think I’m ever going to have more than one kid. I mean, why should I? Just look how upset I am with a new baby sister in the house. Lily. Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any worse, she came along. Basically what I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to put my son or daughter through that. Also, just look how upset my mom is: she just got a divorce with my dad and she is SUPER depressed. They got a divorce right after the new baby arrived. My personal opinion is that they divorced because of the baby.

“Margret, get down here for dinner, we’re all waiting for you.” By all, my mom means Lily and herself.

“Jeez, mom,” I whisper to myself.

I run down the stairs and quickly sit down. As I am sitting I accidentally knock over Lily’s pudding cup. Mom breathes in and out about five times and then loses it.

“MARGRET!” she yells as she gets up and runs to her room. Lily just sits there smiling and laughing.

“Oh, what are you so happy about, it was your stupid pudding cup,” I say.

My face turns red and then I run to my room. I sit in the corner and start to cry for the first time in my life. I feel all alone. A couple of minutes later there is a knock on the door. I run to get it, but scarily enough, Lily is by the door standing up and trying to reach the doorknob.

“MOM, GET DOWN HERE NOW!”

There is no answer and of course I am left all alone with devil child. Ok, I think to myself, what do I do now? I walk towards her very slowly then grasp the handle of the door. I pick Lily up and open the door barely enough so that I can see.  “Oh, thank god,” I sigh to myself. It is Thomas and Julia, my best friends.

“Come in, come in,” I tell them.

“OH MY GOSH,” Julia yells.

“What?” I asked her, putting Lily down in her high chair.

“Are you ready for the first day of 6th grade tomorrow?” Julia says.

“I know,” Thomas says back to her.

“S-,” Julia is about to say but I stop her.

“Guys, hello,” I tell my two best friends. “You guys are not even letting me talk.”

“What, Maggie,” Thomas says very nicely.

“Well what I was going to say was, are we meeting at Julia’s locker or in the janitor’s closet In between classes?” I say.

“Well I was thinking the janitor’s closet just because, well you know we did that all of last year,” Thomas says.

I looked at Julia. She shook her head. Yes, ok, I think we’re set.

“Yay,” Julia says really excited.

Just then Thomas gets a text. He says that he has to go meet up with his dad. He says bye to me and Julia and walks out. Me and Julia walk to my room. I slam the door shut me and Julia start talking about our first day of 6th grade. She says something about science class and Spanish but all I could think about is how I am going to survive 6th grade without Thomas and Julia with me every second of the day.

 

Chapter 2

 

I get up super early to organize all my folders and papers. I do it every year.

Ok, only some years.

I walk upstairs quietly enough so I don’t wake up the baby, but unfortunately I wake up mom. She comes out in her nightgown and smudged makeup…but you get used to it. For some strange reason mom is rushing me to eat breakfast like I am late or something. I look at the clock and scream hysterically.

“I AM LATE!”

“I know,” Mom says very angrily.

I eat my corn flakes fast then rush out the door, but halfway to school I realize I didn’t change out of my PJs but it’s too late. I am in the middle of 6th grade wearing my PJs.

“Hey,” I heard a voice behind me. It was Julia.

“Hi,” she said looking at me in a strange way.

“I know, I know,” I said, cutting her off.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say,” Julia replies.

I roll my eyes. “What am I going to do?” I say way over-dramatically.

“Calm down,” Julia says. “You can go change in the girls bathroom. I have a extra pair of clothes in my locker.”

“Oh my gosh thanks, Jules, you’re the best. Oh and hey, where’s Thomas?”

“Bad news,” Julia says. “Thomas is really sick.”

“Oh, that’s so sad,” I respond.

“Um, here is my combination.” Julia scribbled something on a piece of  paper. She looked at her watch and ran away.

“Hey, where are you going?”

But she never answered.

 

Chapter 3

 

After first period I try to find Julia. I realize I need to meet Julia in the janitor’s closet. I go to the closet and try to find her, but she isn’t here. I get out my phone and call her, but there is no answer. I don’t know know what was wrong. I try calling Thomas but then I realize that he is in the emergency room. Something must be really wrong.

When I get home my mom is not there and my sister is probably at this girl Gabby’s house. Gabby is the first friend Lily had ever made, well, the only friend Lily has in general. Anyway I call up the emergency room. I wait and wait until they finally pick up.

“Hello,” the woman on the other end of the phone says.

“Hi. I am Margaret Moore calling for Thomas Weinstein.”

There is a long pause. She says he switched to the Greystone Hospital a few nights ago.

“Oh,” I say suddenly. “Why,” I ask.

“I am sorry ma’am, I cannot tell you that over the phone. You will have to go over to Greystone yourself.”

“FINE,” I yell. I hung up the phone and run down the hallway out the front door, and long story short, I end up at the Greystone Hospital. I walk to the front desk and state my name real fast.

“I am Margaret Moore and I am here to see Thomas.”

“Ah yes, Thomas. Right this way, miss.”

She leads me into a pale gray room. I wish they would paint it, it is so depressing. A long stretcher comes out of another room. It is THOMAS!

I run up to him to hug him but the nurse just backs me away.

“What? Is it contagious?” I ask.

“No,” says the nurse. “Just give him some space.”

“Well okay,” I said. “But what’s wrong with Thomas anyway?”

Thomas finally says, “I have lung cancer.”

“W-what?” I said. “This can’t just happen overnight.”

“It didn’t,” says Thomas. “I knew I had it for a long time, but the nurses did nothing about it so neither did I. Then a couple nights ago I was playing soccer with my dad and I fainted my dad took me to the emergency room and told my dad it was a serious cancer problem so they switched me to the hospital and right now I am stuck in this hospital. Oh, I am so so so sorry, but I have to go.”

I say, “Wait.” I hear Thomas barely whispering. I feel both mad and upset I know it wasn’t his fault that he had cancer but I still feel like he is letting me down. It’s the same kind of feeling when my mom and dad got a divorce. I can’t really help it.

 

Chapter 4

 

Lily is in the hospital. My life couldn’t get any worse than it is. I am going to see Lily on Tuesday and my dad who I have not seen in about nine months is coming to the hospital.

 

******

 

“DADDY,” I yell, hugging him.

“Honey,” he says back, “I have to go see Lily ok, but you might not want to go into-”

“Amelia,” my dad says, a little upset but with a smirk.

My mom looks at him. She sees the smirk too.

“Look, Amelia, I am only here for Lily, not for you.”

“Oh, Tyler, I thought you were here for me,” my mom says, trying to be funny. I can’t help but smile. My mom obviously sees and winks at me across the waiting area. My dad sees  too and starts talking about how he got a new job and he is a lawyer and it is primarily true that he gets one of the kids. I personally do not think that is true but the he really starts yelling and my mom did not even say or do anything he just starts just like that.

“I can’t take your constant yelling and lying. You can’t get the kids all excited and then not do anything. You are a horrible parent so are you sure you want to keep both of our kids?”

“Yes I am sure, Tyler.” But then my mom starts getting really emotional and it happened again just like that.

“THEN WHY DID YOU LEAVE US? Why?” my mom says, getting quieter.

I always knew my dad left without an explanation. I just thought he packed his bags and left one day but I know that could never be the case.

Then my dad says something. He says something that I never will forgive him for.

“I love Lily and I am not going to get to know her.”

I finally scream, “WELL YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GET TO KNOW ME EITHER, DAD.” And with that I stand up and walked away. I hear my mom whisper but I am too upset to spy on them like I used too when I was little. I am too upset to do anything: to stand up, to talk, or to even think about what I heard walking out of the hospital. Thomas Weinstein is dead. I am so upset I run home.

Before I go to bed I look at my bedside dresser. I remember how Thomas had been sitting on the dresser the day before 6th grade!

 

The End

The Great Bird Colonies

There were BILLIONS of colonies of birds, but the two most popular were Ravenshine and Gryffinsmelt. At the Bird Olympics, Ravenshine always came in first and Gryffinsmelt came in second. Some of the sports were who can fly the best (Gryffinsmelt won that), who is the smartest (Ravenshine won that), who is the loudest (Ravens really are loud). The worst of all the teams from the bird colonies was Chickencroon.

Chickencroon was the worst because they weren’t really that loud, they couldn’t fly, and they weren’t very smart — in fact, you know how people say “chickened out?” Well, they say that because of the Chickencroons. The Chickencroons have beaks and flapping feathers like the other birds, but they can’t fly. The Chickencroons are also known as the Chickens of Terribleness because they’re so terrible. The Awful Chicken is the leader of all the chickens in the world. The Awful Chicken is in the royal family so he has to be the leader. The other chickens call him “Awful Chicken” behind his back because he’s such a careless ruler. But he doesn’t know they say that.

The chicken coup is where Awful Chicken and his family live is in a barn in Westchester. The royal chicken coup is owned by a farmer named Old McDonald, his god awful brother named Joe, and his crazy daredevil of a wife, Jane.

Maraie was the only daughter of the terrible chicken and instead of living luxuriously like her brothers, her mother, and her father, she was used as a servant. A very poor one, too. She slept on an itchy haystack while the others slept on the softest feathers Maraie could find. She traveled far and wide to get whatever they wanted because they asked her to. She never talked back and was very grateful, unlike her family. She was treated as a servant because they didn’t mean to have her. Her mother laid another egg and she wasn’t supposed to. They didn’t really want her. They only wanted the three sons, who they loved, but they wanted nothing to do with Maraie. Maraie’s life was miserable and sad. They never let her have the toys her brothers got, and the only thing she had was a doll made out of rags. Every Christmas, she  would get one toy, but it wasn’t really a toy. She would get a sewing kit, (some string, rags, and needles) for Christmas and for her birthday she didn’t really get anything. All she got was a five-minute break, and that’s the time she had to make the doll.

Later that day, Maraie was running errands when a piece of paper flew into her face. She quickly pulled it off. It was an ad to buy tickets for the Bird Olympics. Maraie had never heard of this Bird Olympics! The poster said it was the most important thing to the chicken colonies, and that they were in last place in all of the bird colonies. Maraie was outraged because nobody ever told her about the Great Bird Olympics. Wouldn’t you be mad if, ya know, your colony or your city or whatever had something super super important and no one ever told you?

She said, “Oh my god, all of these things I can do very, very well. Because in all my years of serving my family, I’ve done all these things and I’ve practiced them so much that they’re very easy for me. Like flying, shouting, and thinking good thoughts.”

She went to her father, the king, and said, “Nobody ever told me about the Great Bird Olympics. I just found out about it on my way here!”

The King muttered to his wife, “How did she find out?”

His wife whispered back, “I don’t know.”

The King spat out, “How did you find out, peasant?”

“Well, I was walking down the street when a flyer hit me right in the beak. It was flyer for the Great Bird Olympics and I didn’t know about it so I came back here to ask you about it.”

Then there was a long pause… then Maraie asked, “May I please compete in the Olympics representing  Chickencroon?!”

“NO!” said the King and Queen at once. “Even if you were royal, even then, you wouldn’t be allowed because only men can go!”

Then Maraie left.

As she walked outside she saw morning glory flowers blooming and she said, “Wait a minute, is it Spring? It is the first day of Spring, and the first day of Spring is my birthday!”

Then she rushed back into the castle. She said, “Oh it’s my birthday, that means I get five minutes off, right?”

The King said, “Fine. I can have other servants go fetch the milk. Now go on with yourself and make sure it’s only five minutes!”

Then she rushed back to her tiny little cottage. She got her needles and her rags to sew a costume. She tied back her fluffy feathers and put on the costume. She looked at herself in her dirty cracked mirror. She looked nothing like herself. She looked like a boy. She went back to the castle.

She went on her knees and asked, in front of the King and Queen, “Oh may I please represent Chickencroon in the Great Bird Olympics?”

The Queen and King asked, “Fly for me! Squawk for me! Answer our son’s homework.”

She did these and aced them.

The Queen and King answered, “Yes! Yes! What is your name?”

She hesitated. “Maximus the Great!”

The King and Queen said, “OK Maximus, the Great Bird Olympics are tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? I thought it was a year from now!” said Maraie (Maximus the Great).

“Oh yeah, the date changed,” said the King and Queen. “So beat it and go train!”

So Maraie rushed out of there as fast as she could. Before she left, the King called, “One more thing. Our peasant Maraie was gone for at least six minutes! Go and get her now!”

She went back to her little cottage, changed into her regular peasant clothes, and then rushed back to the castle as fast as her wings could take her.

She said, “Yes, your highness. What should I do to please you?”

The King said, “Go fly as fast you can to the cows. Then come back.”

Maraie found this a bit odd because usually when she goes to the cows, she milks them, but now she only had to go and come back. And so then, she flew as fast as she could and flew back. Then, the King and Queen thought, “Wow! That’s a lot like Maximus. You know Maximus was awesome. She can’t be like that. She always does that, so maybe that’s how she knew. Let’s ask her to fly to the sheep and yell at them to stop eating grass.”

“You have to yell as loud as you can!” the King and Queen said to Maraie.

Then she went to the sheep and yelled at them, “Stop eating grass!”

Then, she went back to the castle.

“For our final request for today,” the King and Queen said. “Do this sheet of math homework for our son.”

She did it and got every answer correct. The King and Queen were amazed and annoyed because now they suspected that she, Maraie, was Maximus The Great, which she was. They were catching on, which was a bad thing, and Maraie didn’t know it.

They said, “Now go to bed. Make sure you wake up at the crack of dawn. And when you wake up, make breakfast, get our sons ready for school, and do everything you usually do.”

So she went to bed thinking, Maybe they are catching on, what if they are catching on, I’m scared. What do I do? When she went to sleep, she had a dream. She went to the Bird Olympics, as Maximus, of course, and the King and Queen were watching her with mean eyes. Then, as she did her first challenge, they watched her like a hawk. She kept on doing these things right, as she usually did. She had her normal clothes underneath the suit to make it look like she had muscle.

While she was flying, a really stupid pigeon knocked into her and her suit fell off. The King and Queen saw what she looked like. Then she went down and guards surrounded her. That was the end of the dream. She woke up with a start. She checked the time on her clock. She was really late. It was 8 o’clock. She got into her day clothes and rushed out to the King’s castle. The King and Queen weren’t there. Just then she noticed no one was outside, or in their homes. She wandered around until she came to town square and she found the public poster board. She saw that there was a poster for the Great Bird Olympics. And she saw the time and the date. It was right then.

She gasped. Then she looked for the location. It said so at the very bottom. It said it was in Central Feather, the famous park where they hold the Great Bird Olympics. And it’s a great spot for nice picnics. She rushed back to her little cottage as fast as her stumpy little legs could take her. She put on her costume then rushed back out the door. She rushed over to the Olympics as fast as she could. Central Feather was in the middle of all the farms of the world. It was an hour flight. Then eventually when she got there it was almost too late. She got there just on time. It was the match right before Chicken Croon went on. She went up to the top box where the King and Queen were. They saw her.

“Oh! Maximus!” they said. “We thought you weren’t gonna come!”

“Why would I miss the biggest thing to happen to our colony? Anyway, we’re up next, right?”

“Yes,” said the Queen.

Then the announcer said, “For the worst match you’ll see here, Chickencroon is on! With Chickadee Do Da and everybody else.”

“Oh, Maximus, you’re up first,” says the King.

“Okay then.” Every birdie booed at her, but she was used to that so she wasn’t discouraged or anything.

“Eh, whatever, it happens all the time.”

But she thought people would cheer for her eventually, because she was in the Great Bird Olympics. She walked over to the center of the colosseum. She waved to the crowd. They booed even louder. She stopped immediately. She was guessing it was the running race, because the announcer announced, “Take your places at the starting line, contestants!”

She went to the starting line. Then the announcer

said, “One…two…three…go!”

Maraie ran as fast as she could. The other racers were ahead of her, but only by three feet. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, but didn’t fly. She got ahead and she ran faster and faster and faster and faster and faster, until she reached the ending line. Then the announcer said, “Oh my god, that’s the first time Chickencroon won anything since, like, ever. That’s amazing!”

She had reached the ending line before any birdie did. She was really surprised. So was every birdie else. The whole crowd was crazy shocked. The crowd gasped. Literally every birdie. Then other birds started to crowd at the finish line. Eventually everyone was there, and in that time Maraie got water and had a nice break. She was thinking, Oh my god, I just beat Ravenshine and Gryffinsmelt and everybody else!

The king and queen were jumping up and down singing, “Weeee woooon, weeee woooon!”

The announcer said, “And the next event iiiiiiiiisssss…ummm……FLYING, I think…”

Maraie made her feathers extra big by fluffing them. Then the announcer said, “Ready! Set! GOOOOOOOO!”

Maraie took off, flying as fast as a jet. Then she heard sizzling. She looked at her wing. It was smoking! She had been flying too fast and her wing caught fire. She started to go down, but she didn’t want to. She tried to flap her wings even harder, but by that time it was too late, and she was already on the ground. Then there was a loud beep.

“And Chickencroon is out! Not surprising. I knew their popularity was going to fade quickly!” said the announcer.

The King and Queen sobbed harder than usual. Then the king opened his eyes and looked at Maraie. Her costume had burned a little bit and he could see the scar that Maraie had when he slashed her when she was a baby. He looked at her in awe. He was amazed that his daughter could go that far and he suddenly realized how hard a life she had. Maraie flew wobbley to the top box where the King and Queen were. Then the queen said, “You betrayed us and all of Chickencroo-”

“SILENCE!!!” said the king. Then he continued. “That is our daughter!”

“Wha-” said the Queen.

“Uh uh uh! You are here to listen not to speak!” said the King. The Queen and Maraie were paralyzed with astonishment.

“Did I just fall on my head?” Maraie muttered.

The King said, “I have just realized how hard a life our daughter has had. We abandoned her when she was just a little baby, and not just that, we slashed her before that. Also, we treated her as the most unpleasant servant of all. Actually, the worst part is that we treated her as a servant at all! I believe that we must…accept her.”

Finally! Maraie thought. “Why…” She was in tears. Of happiness!

The King said, “Just seeing you out there getting hurt pained me.”

The Queen said, “No! Have you gone bonkers?!”

“You dare say that to the king!?”

“What are you gonna do about it?”

He turned to Maraie. “Maraie, pack up your things in your cabin. You’re moving into one of the biggest rooms in the castle.”

He turned to the queen once more and said, “As for you, you my bitter, bitter wifey, you are taking Maraie’s place in the peasant quarters.”

“But I still get all my things, don’t I?”

“Well, you can have half a slice of bread and two cups of water every day. You’re lucky, my queen, because you, first of all, do not get executed, and also what you get to eat every day is double what Maraie had! Oh yeah, one more thing. From this day forth, we’re divorced, and Maraie is princess of Chickencroon.”

The Queen shouted as the guards took her away, “This is not the end of me! I will be back for you! And Maraie, too!”

The King turned to Maraie and held her hand and said, “Let’s go back to the castle…Princess Maraie.” Then they walked back to castle happy, and confused.

 

THE END

The Everlasting Love Story

This tale starts in a world called Minecraft.

Once upon a time, there was a man named Steve (Steve is the main character in Minecraft). Steve had a house and in that house, there were two girls, Gina and Dana. Dana and Gina were in love with Steve. But Dana didn’t know Gina was dating Steve and Gina didn’t know Dana was dating Steve. But Steve was in love with both of them, so he didn’t know who to choose. It was a love triangle! (Gasp!) Steve kept dating Dana and Gina and suddenly he had an idea. He would have a contest. Since the ball was coming up next week, he would bring both of them there and he would see which one would dance with him more and whoever danced with him more would be his wife.

 

Next week

So Steve took Dana and Gina to the ball. Dana was wearing a white dress with white fabric with flowers on it, silver highheel shoes with diamonds on them, and bracelets that were white. Gina was wearing an orange dress with patches on it, brown flat shoes, and old, rotten bracelets. They went to the dancing area. Gina was the first to dance. She danced like a sick chicken. They danced for 15 minutes. Then Dana wanted to dance. Dana didn’t know that Steve liked Gina, and when she saw them dancing, she felt mad.

“Umm, Steve. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure.”

They walked to the corner, leaving Gina on the dancefloor.

“So what’s happening, I thought you loved me! Not Gina.”

“It’s probably time I give it up. Right now, I’m having a competition between you and Gina. I’m seeing who can dance longer. And whoever can dance longer will be my wife, because I love both of you.”

“Okey-dokey…wait. Are you serious?”

“Umm, yeah.”

“I thought you loved me.”

“I do, it’s just that I love both of you.”

“And besides, you didn’t even tell me that I was in this competition. And you lied to me about Gina. How disrespectful! I’m done with you!” She walked away.

“Wait, come back!” But Dana looked at him, and then turned away and walked out of the door into the cold night.

Steve went back onto the dance floor. Gina was still dancing. Now she looked like a dead cow. Steve said, “Gina, come here for a second. I want to talk to you. This whole time you and Dana were dancing, it was a competition between you and Dana. The person who danced the most would be my wife. Even if you did dance the longest, I actually wanted it to be Dana, but I didn’t know who to choose. It’s difficult to choose between two people. But now, I’m gonna go for Dana. I’m sorry. She has way more talent and danced way better than you. You danced like a sick chicken and a dead cow.”

“What?” said Gina, “What is wrong with you? You should have told me this was a competition this whole time. I’m done with you. You are rude. And first of all, I don’t even care about Dana. Why were you dating her anyway? You could have told me you were dating two people and that it was a love triangle, but you didn’t admit it to me. Don’t ever speak to me again.”

 

Next day

The next day was Sunday. Dana went to Mount Everest to ski. It was her hobby. She learned to ski from her dad. His name was Mike Modica. When she got to Mount Everest, she climbed to the top. It felt like it took her two days, but really, it took two hours. Meanwhile, she was putting new pink nail polish on her fingers and brushing her hair. Then, she saw it…a boy. A handsome boy. And he was combing his hair in such a beautiful direction, but she had a funny feeling about him. She felt like she couldn’t trust him. Just then, she felt a tingle in her head. She remembered when she ditched Steve because she couldn’t trust him. But anyway, she went over there. Suddenly, Dana tuned back. She thought to herself, “I can’t do it.”

The boy said, “Haven’t I seen you?”

Dana said, “Hey. I saw you at the ball!”

“That’s where I know you from!” he said. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, my name’s Madrid. What’s your name?”

“Dana. Why were you at the ball when no one was there with you?”

“I had no one to go with, so I just went alone.”

“Oh, you should have taken my friend, Gina,” Dana said, laughing.

“Wanna go skiing with me? I’m here all by myself.”

“Ok,” said Dana.

“Let’s go then,” Madrid said. They went up to the top of the hill and went on a triple black diamond.

Dana said, “I’ll race you down.”

Dana went before she said go, so she cheated.

Madrid said, “You cheater.”

“I’m sorry,” she said sarcasm-ly.

Then Madrid said, “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“Okay,” she said. “But only if you’re not judging me all the time.”

A week later they got married.

 

The End

A Million Ways to Have Fun

Me and my friends on the baseball team were watching the game before ours, and one of the teams that was playing got crushed 11-nothing. After that game, we played and we watched how the kids pitched. They were terrible at pitching. They were horrible because they threw balls behind their backs and balls were going over heads. It was walk, after walk, after walk until the coaches started pitching.

We finally hit stuff, and we hit home runs finally! It was a long game because we could score as many points as we wanted.

When the game finally was over, our coach tricked us by saying, “You did horrible!” But then he said, “Just joking, you did great!”

 

The next game we play I hope we will win.

 

When I had recess a couple of times, a girl that was not my friend in a different class always tried to give everybody hugs. She was not tall and very slow. She had short brown hair and when she tried to catch all the boys, she almost caught me! And then, because I had friends right next to me, I told them to just start running.

My friend, Dylan, was the main attraction. When we ran under the volcano and we saw her at the other end. Thankfully, we could go up, so we all climbed up the ladder as fast as we could and sprinted down the slide. There was a spiderweb at least 20 feet away, so we climbed up it and into the top. The girl was too afraid to to get to the top so we stayed up there for the rest of recess.

I went down before recess was over and a girl named Carly was right there at the bottom and no one was at the other side of the park so I ran and Carly chased me. It was pretty scary until I rolled under a branch. And when I got to the other side, six boys were standing right in front of me.  We grouped up and than we spread out all over the park and we all got chased at least once. And when we met up, Carly was at least two feet away from us. I was so scared, I almost started screaming for help. And then we all just ran for dear life in every which direction.

 

It was fun and totally not boring.

 

When I had a three man team in baseball we always got beat. I was the only good player on my team. We never got to the championships because we had the worst kids.

 

It was totally not fun.

 

Once when I was at a swim meet, I had a 600 butterfly. It’s hard stroke to do but when you get the hang of it you can get really good at it. I came in first, but I fell out on deck and when I woke up I was in the hospital with at least 20 of my teammates surrounding me. They looked blurry at first and then I realized who they were, but I still couldn’t see that well.
And when my mom came in she said, “You lost your goggles.”
Then my dad came in and said, “When did you get in here? And how did you get here?”

I replied, “I think I fell out on deck and just laid there flat out. and I really don’t know how else I would have gotten here.”
I think I was in the hospital for three days. When I came home, I asked where my grandma was, and my mom said, “She’s out at the supermarket.”

And I said, “Why couldn’t you drive her over there? I could have stayed in the hospital for a couple more hours.”

And then we drove to where she was and picked her up and brought her home. She lived on the same street as us. She always gives me candy when she goes to parties and if I’m lucky, we will go to Chelsea Piers. If I’m lucky, I will also see my friends. We will play arcade games and we will always get to the last level and then five seconds later we would almost beat the game and then we die. If I think a shot will hurt, it will feel like a rainbow hitting my head.

I’m usually an opposite guy.

Funny Friends – One Guy

Will, my best friend, is big, and he’s in my grade and goes to my school. He thinks he’s better than me at swimming. I haven’t seen him swim that fast but he says he can swim really fast. And he thinks he’s the king of the world. He thinks he’s related to Hitler, but what I always tell him is, “You’re not related to Hitler.”

For some reason, he punches himself and he punches the wall of our gym. It’s very odd how he punches everything he sees. I would have to run away to not get punched. But thankfully, he has the sense to not punch me. He almost punched the teacher. He actually punched our playground. He literally punched the volcano on our playground. He snapped a string on the spiderweb, but thankfully nobody fell. Luckily, nobody saw him do it, because there was a park ranger a couple feet away from him. And for some reason, he hates poetry. The only thing he really likes is punching things and gym, and art. The only reason why he likes art is because he gets to help clean up and he likes doing that for some reason.
Last year, he was punching my friend Maisai and the only reason why he did that was because he doesn’t like when he jokes around. Maisai was joking around about everything you could think of. He chased Will all day long. Everywhere he went he saw Will. Will dared him to jump off a 2-story building into a pool, and for some reason, he did it, and thankfully it was 12 feet deep. So he did not hurt himself.

It was fun watching them, but it was amazing that Masai did not get hurt.

Today, in swim practice, when I was swimming, I got hit at least 20 million times. And when I did, I got run over, so I couldn’t breathe for at least a couple seconds. They were drowning me underwater because there were at least nine people behind me, and I had to push up and stand up so I could get back where I was. It’s pretty odd because I’m the fastest one, but I was in two different lanes so it would be normal for me to be doing that. I had to race 9-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and 11-year-olds. It was fun and thankfully I beat all of them.

“Why won’t you stay in your lane?” said my coach.

And I said, “Okay, I will stay in my lane.”
So we did a 900 kick – a 900 free kick. It took me a long time to finish, but I came in first. I was happy and glad, but I did not cheer. And it seems like this is over, but when we had breakfast, oh my gosh. Everyone was talking about the 900 free kick and how good I was. It was really fun and somehow annoying, because everybody was talking about me.
When people talked about me, I told them, “If you hear anybody talking about me, tell them this is from the master: ‘Do not talk about me.’”
The next day, even more people were talking about it. Even news reporters said, “So many people are talking about this kid that did a 900 free kick.”
Then, people started coming to their swim classes and they asked me, “Are you going to be an Olympic swimmer?”
I said, “Maybe, maybe not.”

And then, I had bad luck that day. Somebody dropped a radiator on my car and a couch fell right next to my head. And then, our car caught on fire and the couch was in the car so the couch exploded and the whole city could see a car flying in the air somehow. I was scared. The day I came back to that same exact spot, the car went up, and then I saw a giant car come crashing down, making a crater in the Earth.
And then there was a blackout and then a war began and it was so not fun. I stayed in my house and a man came crashing through the building and I mean, falling from the sky. It was so scary because it was an old man just falling from the sky.

And he said, “Why do you want my presents?”

And then I said, “Who are you? What do you want from my life? Where’d you come from? How did you get here? When did you get here? And, I’m guessing, you made the couch and the radiator fall. Why did you do that to me and when did you do that?” And then I finally said, “You can leave my house and go up to where you work and stay there for your life.”

And that day was fun, scary, and guess what day it was? Halloween.

One day when I was walking home from school, this guy walked up to me and said, “What are you doing? This is a haunted room.”
“I thought this was a living room,” I said.
When I saw the guy randomly disappear into a deep black hole, I followed him and then he said, “Come with me and I will show you your doom, and if you survive, I will give you this house.”

I still followed him even though I could possibly die. And then iI entered a world of superheroes. I knew this was a superhero world because everyone was flying, shooting fire out their mouths, or running very fast.

When I said, “Hi superheroes,” their eyes turned red.

Then I started running back to the door that I came from. The guy slammed the door in my face and I was locked in, and there was no way to get out unless a superhero punched it down. But thankfully it was my lucky day so when I punched one of the superheroes they all turned into candy.

And then there was another black hole I had to go through, and there was a ghost that kept floating around. Thankfully, you could walk through them and they’d do nothing to you. There was a big staircase that led to the lobby of the house. It took me an hour to get all the way up the stairs and then I saw a giant floating baby head but thankfully you could go through it so it did nothing to you.

Then I walked out the house and what I saw was a town of angry mobs. And then I went back into the house and then the house turned upside down so I was on the ceiling. And then there was another black hole you had to go through and then the superheroes were there, and this time when you punched one they give you one piece of candy.  And then I had to destroy all of them for ten pieces of candy. The house was like an unreal house. It was a world of black holes. There was this one magical book that could stop the whole thing, but you would have to jump over 900 black holes to get to it.

And this weird man came out of nowhere and said, “If you want to get the magical book and stop all that’s happening, you will need a jetpack, a rocket, and two more jetpacks.” The weird man looked like a man, but he had hair like a cow and his face looked like a duck’s. His legs were shaped like buildings and his feet were shaped like pigeons. And then he gave me all the stuff I needed to get across. After one black hole, one of the jetpacks ran out, but thankfully the man had given me everything I needed. But then I had to get away from the black holes to read the book. But thankfully, I had a rocket with me and could fly over through six million black holes. And there was only one last black hole to go over, so I was happy and there were no problems. But the directions said to be careful because when the haunted house ends it will blow up. When I finally got outside, the house blew up. Thankfully I was not inside it. The angry mobs were still chasing me, so I read the book while I was running for dear life. You had to say six secret magical spells, and then everything would return to normal. And then it finally did: the sun was back, the angry mob was gone, and all the angry mobs turned into regular humans.

I am so glad I never had to be one of them.

My life is the best life I could ever have.

Sad

I stayed there a while, sitting in the warm, sweet air and crying next to my mother’s grave. I cried over the flowers I brought my mother. I wish she could see me. I just wish that one day she could come with me, or I would go with her, but I didn’t want to die, even if everyone I knew hated me and my Dad thought I had something to do with mother’s death. The only reason my Dad let me in the house was because someone might see me outside and then they would probably report him, and he wanted to live here, not in jail, or with my Mom, or as he calls it, DEATH. I liked to call it a better word, heaven. My Dad sometimes threw me out of the house and called me a freak and yelled and swore a lot. When I went to see my mother sometimes, he asked me where I was going, and if I said to see Mom, he said and screamed SHE IS DEAD or WHY? WHY? ARE YOU DUMB? Sometimes I thought I was adopted, but Mom was nice. I was young though, I don’t know why, but ever since Mom left, I just felt like I didn’t need any friends, but in my heart, I really did. I needed friends because friendship helped me when Mom left, all of my friends and everyone else were super nice, too, and all the teachers too, but one day I shut every one out. My Dad said he would homeschool me but he never taught me anything but how to yell and one million reasons why he should blame me for killing my mother.

I tried texting my only friend. Her name was Sarah. She didn’t care if I was dumb or awkward. I am super dumb. When she came over in eighth grade, she was doing philosophy, and my Dad didn’t really homeschool me like he was supposed to when he said he would homeschool me. When Mom was around, she used to say to my Dad, “When you get mad, just count to ten backwards, then you will calm down.” But these days, he only gets mad when I tell him to count backwards from ten, or he throws a book at me. I loved him even though he did this stuff, but I want to tell you where all the fun started and I got to tell you it from the beginning, a long time ago…the sad beginning.

 

Chapter 1

 

“Wait,” Sarah called as I looked. She was running behind me. “You’re always winning in our little races, you know, Christine. You are super fast. You should try out for the track team.”

“Yeah, right. Those people in the track team are weird and mean and huge. Whatever. But I am sorry, I can’t. I have violin lessons and I am not fit for it. I got to help out in the house because Max isn’t really feeling like herself these days.”

“Hey, well, you won’t really be alone. We could do CHEERLEADING,” she yelled.

“Wow, ok.”

When I turned around and saw her with a pom pom, all I thought was boringness.

“Oh, come on.”

“Fine, only for a little bit. And if I don’t like it, I will quit. Understood?”

“Ok then.” She burst out in huge smile. “Wow, oh my god. I am so happy you are actually going to try it out.”

 

Chapter 2

 

“Do I have to do this?” I called. My feet were tired.

“Yes, you said you would try and, wait there until I come out of the stall, please. Oh, wait. How does this look, Chris?”

“Oh gosh, I don’t really know what to say. You look good with pom poms. What about the outfit?” I answered.

“Well, it’s too tight. What about yours?” Sarah called.

“Well, it’s too tight. I am coming out now, wait.” RIP RIP RIP RIP.

“Oh no, wait, can you hand me my clothes? My outfit is too tight, too.”

“What’s with these cheerleaders and tightness?” I said.

“No clue, Chris, no clue.”

“Well, whatever. Let’s go. I don’t really want to try on the outfit. I’m too tired.”

“Whatever, Chris, let’s go.”

 

Chapter 3

 

“Ugh, I can’t do this. I should be at home helping. I hope I don’t get on the squad,” I said.

“Whatever, Chris, come on. I hope I get in. I bet I could become best friends with Elisabeth,” Sarah responded.

A pang of jealousy filled my body. Wasn’t she my best friend? A bunch of thoughts filled my head.

“Okay, let’s try. Five, six, five, six, seven, eight, flip!” Then another a double somersault.

“Ouch, ouch, Sara, you know I can’t really do th…ouch,” I said.

“Don’t be a grouch, you have to try. You promised, Chris,” she whined.

“Fine!”

“Sometimes you can be a real grouch, Chris.”

“Whatever, let’s go home!” I exclaimed.

 

Chapter 4

 

“Hi, Mom,” I said to my mother.

“Hi, sweetie,” my mother said.

“How are feeling? Is your fever down? How are you feeling?”

“I am fine, hun. How are you today?”

“Fine, ma. I am going to go up in my room. I got to do homework. I have lots. Bye.”

“Ugh.” Maybe Sarah texted her.

I sighed, then cried.

“Why is everything in life so hard? I have to do cheerleading with Sara and now Sara wants to be best friends with Elisabeth and…now I think Mom is going to die. Wwaaahhh.”

RRRR IIII IIII NNNN GGGGG!

 

“From: Saraqueen396

hi let’s quit this cheerleading thing”

 

“What–quit? Why!?” I immediately responded. “AARRRRRRRGGGGGGG,” I screamed in my pilllow.

Why why why would she quit? I thought it was our thing. Immediately I knew what to do. Run away. It was a really good idea, the best I had in long time. I immediately packed my backpack full of shirts and underwear. In my other bag, I packed pants and sneakers and a pair of flats. I wasn’t sure when I would leave, but I knew it would be today, because in the night I would be too tired and my dad would be home, so I might as well do it now. I stepped one leg out the window, then the other, carefully, so I wouldn’t make any noise that would cause my Mom to wake up and see me. Then I would get in trouble. I ran as fast as my legs could go…

“OOUUCHH!” I fell and tripped down the hill.

I looked for a place to stay. Once I found a place to stay, I opened my sketchbook. My recent sketch was of this girl, who looked so pretty. She sort of looked like me. I tilted my head.

It sort of reminded me of home. I didn’t want to imagine home, or my Mom calling the cops. Ugh. I looked at my scraped knee. I wished I brought bandages or alcohol in case of an accident.

“WELL, I AM HERE. I SHOULD PROBABLY EAT SNAILS. I should probably go home now. I gave them a good scare.”

Wait, I thought, I don’t want to go home. What will I say? I am so dumb. I should have brought food or snacks with me.

“Excuse me,” said a strange boy .

 

Chapter 5

 

“Don’t call the cops, please.“

“I won’t. I am nice. Anyways, you are just a girl jogging in the woods.“

“Right.” Oh wow, I made it without getting caught. Oh darn, he is still here, I thought.

“Well, bye, “ the boy said as he walked away.

Ugh, I thought. That guy is annoying but kinda cute. I tilted my head. Not bad. I must have looked like a fool in these clothes. I looked at the clothes I was wearing – my Dad’s khakis, and my Mom’s old blouse from Goodwill. I hadn’t wanted to look like myself. All my clothes were so, um, GIRLY. I hated it. Sara picked them out, but I never had the courage to say no offense, that outfit looks GIRLY. Anyways, Sara always wore those kinds of clothes, well, sort of like mine. I waited for a long time. Ugh, I thought. This is so boring. And off I drifted.

“Kid, come with me.”

“Huh?“ I said. When I looked up, I found a tall cop by me.

“Look kid, come, the train is going to leave us.”

“Where do you want to go?” I said.

“I am going to take you to an adoption center. Ohhhh, I forgot to ask if you had parents. Dumb me, sorry.”

“No, I don’t. My Mom left me here,” I lied.

“Okay, come on. You are coming with me,“ said the tall man.

 

Chapter 6

 

After a LONG train ride, I found myself face to face with an adoption home. They’re way creepier than they look in magazines.

Ding, dong. The bell sounded…uh, it didn’t sound normal.

“Well, off you go,” said the officer that went with me on the train.

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye,” he said without turning.

“WELCOME!!” a voice boomed from the loudspeaker. “Miss, please come to the main hall NOW.”

 

Chapter 7

 

At least I had my pad of paper. I also had my mechanical pencil. While I waited for someone to open the door, I started drawing anime. Anime was my favorite. I loved drawing it, too. I also loved watching it, that is the thing I love about my house. I had netflix and my anime website so that I could watch any anime show for free.

Sometimes, I doubt myself in my drawings or in class, I am always shy and …

“HELLO, LITTLE GIRL,” a seven-foot-tall woman said. Her face was uglier than the house, her eyes were gray but with a mix of red in the middle of her pupils and her hair was white, and I think she was albino. CREEPY .

“Hi,” I said. I didn’t want to be bothered by anyone, especially not by her.

“So, whats you’re name?”

“Abigail,” I lied.

“So, do you have parents?”

“NO,” I lied.

“Are you sure?”

“Yup.”

“Where did you live before then?”

“Alaska.”

“Then how did you get here? It’s Ohio.”

“Walked,” I lied.

“1,074 miles?”

“Yup.”

“Why are you lying, little girl?”

“Um, I am not…”

“Don’t deny it.”

“Oookaay.”

“Ok then, go up in the room and unpack. You WILL write a letter to me telling me where you used to live, and I know when you’re lying, it’s my…talent. Everyone here has one.” She smiled at me like the joker.

I thought about that.

 

Chapter 8

 

I thought and thought about it, and I couldn’t take my mind off it. I felt so curious. What was my talent? What if I don’t have a talent? Where was I, really? Was that really the only person in the orphanage?

Boom!

As I heard the boom, I sang,

 

“Oh, tumbling leaf

You fly so high

Let’s go chasin’

Butterflies

 

We follow clouds

Up in the air

Painting pictures

Of fairy tales

Oh, summer sun

Hold me in your arms

 

I love you, mother nature

Your sunny fields of green

I love your taste of freedom

Your singing in the wind

 

I love, I love

Breathing deeply

To smell your summer rain

 

I love, I love

When you kiss me

With your sunlight on my face, I love, I love

 

I lay my head

Under the tree

How many seasons

He might have seen

 

The golden fields

They softly bow

And seem to whisper

A lullaby

 

Oh, summer sun

Hold me in your arms

 

I love you, mother nature

Your sunny fields of green

I love your taste of freedom

Your singing in the wind

 

I love, I love

Breathing deeply

To smell your summer rain

 

I love, I love

When you kiss me

With your sunlight on my face

Like a warm embrace

 

Oh, you little bird

Tell the whole wide world

That I save my love for her

I love you mother nature

Your sunny fields of green

I love your taste of freedom

Your singing in the wind

 

I love, I love

When you kiss me

With your sunlight on my face

 

I love, I love.”

 

“STOP SINGING,” said someone upstairs.

Sorry, I thought, as I kept on singing under my breath.

“Come down here. There is someone I want you to meet,” said the woman that was, I guess, the manager.

As I came down, I saw a girl next to the albino woman who was probably the manager.

“I want you to meet Jade. She is…very, very creative.”

That minute, I knew I was going to be safe here.

Three Years Later

“Some girl named Sarah is here,” called the manager, who I recently learned was named Gretchen.

Sarah. The voice rang in my mind. How did she find me? I thought I was safe.

“Coming,” I called.

The minute I saw my friend’s face, it reminded me of everything. I missed her. Sure, Jade and I had become best friends throughout the years, and even though Sarah became my enemy, I still burst out crying.

“It’s ok. Do you know about what happened?” Sarah asked.

“No.”

“Well, your Mom died and your Dad is mad, but you still have me ALWAYS.”

“I want to come back.”

I knew that things wouldn’t be the same, but at least I had Sarah.

 

The End

Believe

A tale of sister’s trust and an underground world where it’s all wrong.

 

Dedicated to Nikki And Cami

 

You are my best friends

I could never trade you guys

For anyone else.

I have always trusted my sister, Annabelle Grace Stevens. I don’t think that she trusts me, but then again, doesn’t every sister think that her sister hates her guts? Even though that she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen or met, she covers it up. We all know why. She has a scar from 8th grade, where she had her skin cancer cells removed. There is a big scar left. She got a haircut that year, to cover it up, so there is always hair hanging over her face. The other side of her face is open. Annabelle is trustworthy. You can always count on her to tell secrets and they will not be told to any other ears.

Annabelle and I have a window that separates our rooms. When she sits and listens to jazz music, or watches a movie on her laptop, I watch her. She is too beautiful to ignore. Her ocean blue eyes and golden blonde hair blend with her perfectly tanned skin and amazing outfits that always match. I don’t know where she got all of those beautiful genes from — maybe Aunt Lucy, but the rest of my family is pale and plump.

I always feel nervous approaching Annabelle, because she is like the queen of the family.

“Annie, can I borrow your headphones?” I look at her.

She shrugs, “Sure, lil’ sis.”

She hands me the headphones and then goes back onto her phone. I walk back up to her with a promising look on my face.

“Lil’ sis, I have a birthday surprise for you for May 8th.” She winks.

I want to scream at her so badly right now because she knows that I hate surprises so much because you have to wait until somebody does something. I am not a patient girl, and can definetly not wait for a long time, because I like for things to happen, and to be entertained, and in my opinion, I rush life. I need to go a little bit slower because when you go faster, you cannot enjoy it.

RIIINNNGGG! My alarm clock goes off. It’s May 7th. I rub my eyes and stretch my arms out. May 7th. Tomorrow I am thirteen. My family is very Jewish, so I have to get a whole bat mitzvah. They are pretty psycho that I get to go to Israel, but we don’t have that kind of money right now. We will just do a regular bat mitzvah and then just go to NYC to a club and party. Ok, that’s small talk because my parents are almost broke. Well, except for the fact that I have a nice, comfortable house, not big. But, the perfect size.

I throw on one of my sisters old Beatle’s crop tops to wear to school. Until she comes yelling in from our bathroom. Her hair is put up in a turban, with a towel wrapped around her. She shows me downstairs to our creepy, dark basement. There are no lights down there, so we bring flashlights. The steps creaking noise stop, and Annabelle turns to me.

“I thought I heard mice down here,” she says. I look around by the light of the flashlight. I cling to Annabelle, even though I am fourteen years old. She turns on what I think is a newly installed light. Yep, I’m right. I see my whole family — yep, all 73 cousins, and my aunts uncles, grandparents, great grandparents, parents, friends, and all of my presents are down here.

“Surprise early birthday!!!” they all yell at me at the same exact time.

My favorite cousins and only best friends beside Annabelle run up to me with a 20 foot cake. I don’t know where my parents found the money to do all of this. No — they did not make — no — they did not make Aunt Josephine, owner of Kicks for Kids sneaker store — she did not pay for it. But, I know she payed for it, so I drop the cake back into the hands of Emerald and Kris. I pull her into a bear hug, and take in the wonderful scent of her new smoochy Gucci perfume from Michael Kors. I finally start digging into the presents, there are 72 though. That’s kind of weird, I think to myself. I look around and count them all twice. There are 73. I count the seventy third one as my sister, so I figure that she hasn’t gotten me one yet. And my parents will give me my presents tomorrow.

 

This is the list of all of my presents:

Alex and Ani ladybug bracelet

Gold necklace

New peach colored shirt with the words, “If you’re happy and you know it, go away!”

12 Abercrombie shirts

Nike sneakers (from Aunt Josephine)

A dress from Lord and Taylor

New nail polish set

Fitbit

Insurgent series

My favorite singer’s records

An iTunes giftcard

500 dollars that mom says are for college, but I think otherwise

A striped dress

A new bedroom remodel gift card for Pottery Barn

An art set

Converse shoes

Some skinny jeans

A scarf

Some bows from my cousin Jojo

More money

A bowl of my favorite candy

A leotard (I don’t know why)

Amazon gift card

New crop top

An awesome painting

A new pair of socks (thanks a lot)

Flats from Justice

2 pocketbooks from my favorite cousin

A key chain

A freedom flask

Some capris

Weight watchers 30 day trial (from Jenny) (Thanks a lot.)

Harry and David food basket

Stuffed animal from Ty

5 eos

Chair for my room

New flip flops

Bathrobe

Gummy bear light

Headband (I will never wear but thanks)

More rock crop tops

A hairbrush

More money that I can spend

A trip to the Plaza Hotel in NYC

A new nail polish set

More makeup

Pimple remover (thank you, god)

A little pet guinea pig named Fluff

Spray tan

Soccer ball (I don’t know where it came from)

A diary

New PB Teen pillows for my bed

Grape purple lip gloss

A bouquet of flowers

A membership on moviestarplanet.com along with a brand spankin’ new laptop

An Apple gift card for books

A head set

Silly putty

A magic 8 ball

Smelly erasers

Cool smencils that I will bring to school

A pencil that bends

Two pairs of leggings for next winter

A prom dress (I hug it for 20 minutes)

New pairs of socks from Nike

Great shorts from Aeropostale

A notepad with my first initial printed on it

Top hat (?)

Gift certificate to Crumbs

A new mini TV for my room

A turquoise beanbag

 

Wow, I have gotten so much, I better not act spoiled, and now I go around with my new notepad and write down my cousins names along with the present that they got me. It took a while because everyone was pushing and shoving. My oldest cousin turned on some pop music that set the mood and everyone started dancing. I just danced around the room, asking what presents people got me. It was pretty fun. But, then it was time to go.

I gave everybody the goody bags that were on the table in the basement. Hey, goody bags had a pencil, bouncy ball, two eos, and a note from me to each of my cousins. I thank Emeral and Kris for the awesome gifts. They all leave.

“Clean up!!!” Mom yells.

“I did not even set up this party! Why do I have to clean it up. Annie should really be cleaning it up. She set up the WHOLE thing!!!!!!” I yell.

It is a big mess, and one that I would not like to clean up.

“I will take away all of your presen –” Mom starts

“Ok,” I reply.

I waddle back downstairs in my old forever lazy and start picking up trash and papers. I clean up the fallen candy wrappers. I shut off the lights and step on the first stair when I hear a squeak.

“WEEEKKK,” says the animal.

I run upstairs and grab a fly swatter and then run back downstairs to look for the mouse. I walk around the basement in position that I am ready to karate chop it with the fly swatter.

“Hi yaaaaa!” I do a turn into a roundhouse kick.

Now, this is just getting weird. I used to take karate when I was an itty-bitty baby. I chuckle. I can imagine myself sucking on my finger and then my instructor comes over and I do a small kick and fall over.

I finally creep up to the mouse and swat it. It looks injured, but not killed, so I slam it with a baseball bat and it dies. I kick it over to the corner and get a wet paper towel to clean up the blood.

Mom comes down with a puzzled look on her face.

“Huh? What did you do here, honey?” she asked.

My face turns pale. Well, paler. I was cleaning out the old boxes with pictures of us. I gesture over to the piles of boxes with lots of content in them. Some boxes have so much stuff in them, that it has fallen over and onto the cold ground.

“I was just coming down to ask you what you wanted for dinner tonight. So, what do you want for dinner tonight?” she asks.

“Do you have any burgers in the freezer?” I ask her politely.

Mom nods her head and then runs upstairs. I can feel her panting when she gets to the top. I should really talk her into exercising. Maybe for her birthday, I should bring her to the gym. Would that be too obvious that I think she’s overweight?

Scratch that, I know that she is overweight.

Well, we’ll see what happens when her birthday comes around.

I eat my dinner and then wash the dishes and put them all in a neat row in the dishwasher. I then walk upstairs and take a shower while my parents look at all of my gifts and admire them. (I think mom stole my eos.) Whatever, parents will be parents.

After my shower, I come back downstairs to where Annabelle is sitting in the kitchen, crying. There is a pile of envelopes. I knock on the wall that divides the hallway from the kitchen. There are a few sniffles before I hear a reply from her.

“Come in.” She quickly shoves the papers in a drawer and starts to smile again.

I waltz in. Tear drops are glimmering on the old rusty granite. Her eyes are puffy and red. I pull over a chair and sit down next to her.

“What’s wrong, sis?” I ask her.

She turns away from me and pulls her arm out of my reach since I was stroking it. She mumbles something to herself that I don’t understand and then reaches her foot out and starts kicking the chair that is next to her to the side. Her hands are clasped under her knees, and she is moaning.

“UCLA. I-I-I-I didn’t g-g-g-g-et acc-e-e-pted,” she moans again.

“That’s weird. I thought that you didn’t want to go to UCLA! I thought that you wanted to go to Stanford. Or Harvard. Or Yale,” I finish.

I am just so confused right now.

“I GOT INTO HARVARD AND YALE AND PRINCETON AND DARTMOUTH AND BROWN AND…STANFORD!!!” she screams so loud that the house starts to shake and some things even fall.

“That’s amazing, sis!!!” I hug her. I do not want to be the one to let go of this. She suddenly yanks her arms away.

“You mean you don’t want me here!!” she says.

“I love you so much, it’s just great news but I wish that you would stay!” I reply.

“I was just kidding! God, little sis! Take a joke. Puh-leez!” Annabelle says.

I really want Annabelle to stop calling me little sis because it sounds like I am little and I really don’t want to be little. We are only four years apart. I think she should just call me Juliet like everyone else calls me.

But, she decides to call me little sis. It’s her decision anyways what she wants to call me. Everybody decides for themselves what they would really like to call me. You, reader, can call me Juliet.

I have to go to school tomorrow and be tortured unless one of my presents is a vacation somewhere. I need that. I have not been on a vacation ever in my life since I was 3 and went to Disneyland with my parents and their family friends.

I lay my head down on my pillow and start to slowly fall asleep. Tommorrow. Just a day away. My mind drifts off and my eyes shut.

“Rise and shine! It’s potato’s birthday!” My dad calls me potato because when I still wore diapers, mom handed me a potato and I dropped on dad’s head.

I scream. I am a teenager. No more, “You can’t date. Don’t go out any later then 7:00. You’re a little kid. No crop tops. No new phone!” God — the list could go on and on forever. You name it, my parents have forbid it.

I run downstairs to the kitchen. Mom is cooking walnut pancakes with berries. She put a dollop of whipped cream on top and got lots of syrup and sugar. I sniffed in the cool air and shifted my weight from foot to foot.

Mom stuck a corny candle in the middle of the pancake and then started to sing the song “Happy birthday.” Even if it was pretty corny, I was going to let my mom enjoy herself on my birthday even if I cringed at my judgment.

Mom was standing with her back to the counter like it was glued to it for the whole time that I ate breakfast. I tried to take small peeks, but she zigged every time that I zagged and then blocked every possible angle. She went down the hall to grab a snack. I casually stood up and walked over. Everything went black.

I wake up in my mother’s arms. Wait…let’s move back a second. How can my mother even carry 95 pounds? Anyways, all I remember was walking towards the counter. Boom!

“What happened?” I ask.

“You fainted a minute ago of shock. I guess of this….” She did not even have to keep speaking.

Well, to be honest, she was talking, but I was cutting her off. A phone. A new phone. Who wants to know what my old phone looks like? Basic math, just, two times dropped, thrown in toilet once, puked on three times, thrown by baby cousin, dropped in water for three hours four times. What does that equal.

A new phone. My love. I immediately add all of my old contacts and text my cousins. I upload Minecraft, Doodle Jump, Piano Tiles, Pinball, Facebook, and Circle and A Line. I am a phone freak. I guess you can call me that now. Now, what its my sister’s present for me? I wash the dishes and then climb up the stairs and brush my hair and get dressed. Annabelle is still asleep of course. I send music into her room to wake her up. The music of course does not wake her up. If you shot a gun five cm from her ear while she was asleep, she would not even hear it. I think that she really needs to get her ears checked out by a doctor.

I go into her room and punch her arm.

“Wake up, Annie!!!” I screech so loud that she principal calls later and asks what the noise was. My school is 8 minutes from my house.

She awakens just as I lift my arm, threatening to punch her. She luckily blocks her face with her pillow. I search like a bloodhound for my present. Nope, not it. I keep digging through the pile of stuff.

“Okay, okay. I will give you your present.” She opens a small bag that is beige colored and throws pixie dust on me. We both vanish.

The last thing I can remember is standing in my sisters room, about to bump my head. Now, I am in…???

I look around me from where I am standing and see about 60 monsters. Give or take. My sister is scooting on the ground in between the monsters and cringing I run through one ghost that is standing still, to get to my sister. We are suddenly on a monster street with monster people. There is a huge house that is also and inn. I whisper to Annabelle, but she doesn’t hear me. I whisper again, but louder this time. She doesn’t hear me. One monster walks over to me and throws a banana peel.

“I am not a garbage can, you freaks!!” I scream.

They obviously do not understand it because they speak monster language. Who I think is the king steps forwards, ahead of all of the other monsters who are gathered around me in a circle.

“Welcome…welcome to forgotten land. My fellow monsters here were actually humans, but they were transported from the real world by feeling forgotten. My fairy friend, Mary Ashley here, transports them back to Earth when they have gotten enough treatment. Not all of us are forgotten. Just some of us were born here and stayed here to make our lives easier. Like me. I speak part English, part Poovy,” he explains.

I try to escape from the circle of monsters standing around me, but there are rows and rows of monsters, and no openings. The king backs away, and laughs as he watches me try to get out. I finally look up to him and put my hands on my hips. He mouth speaks, “fine,” and then speaks in Poovy and apparently tells them to get out and make way for me.

I start to get thirsty after around Poovy time of 6 p.m. The Poovys offer me their gross water that is filled with earth worms, but I do not accept. Then one monster throws up cucumbers and asks if I want to eat.

“That’s just sick!” I say. It is really gross, but that’s what monsters do. From dinner, I thought that was just one bad thing that was going to happen. And…this was my birthday present. I am looking for my sister everywhere. She calls out my name, where she is in an alley with teenage monsters chatting and gossiping. I sigh. Some things just never change, wherever you go whoever you meet, they could still be gossiping. Annie waves me over.

“These nice monsters just told me that we are in an underground world!” Annabelle looks like she is excited to hear this.

“Why did you bring me here for my birthday!?” I hate it so much, but I just don’t say that because that would just make her cry.

“I didn’t have enough fairy dust to go to candy land, so I settled on this one,” she says.

Now we just have to find a way home. I pull her away from these freak monsters, and we run. For all these years, Annabelle has been missing for something for one day. And she does not ever tell us where she is going. Now I know that all of these years, she has been going to different worlds and explore new things. If she gets into a world, then she must know how to get out.

“There is always something that brings us home that is in the ocean. Where is the ocean?” Annabelle tells me.

We ask somebody who looks like they are the Poovy police where the ocean is, and he points down two streets, to the left, left again, and then a right turn.

When Annabelle and I are walking for a long time, we stop when we see the ocean. The ocean us just like a human ocean. No Poovys in the ocean! Thank you very much. Annabelle and I each get on a life vest and snorkeling equipment, and a boat brings us out far out.

I jump in the water, holding my breath before having to not breathe for a long time. There are what seems like Poovy creatures who are pretty scary. But, I can see resemblance with regular ocean creatures.

I am suddenly bitten by something and then everything goes black.

 

Juliet’s Funeral

I can hear my parents sniffling from inside my coffin.

“We let go of your dear daughter Juliet two days ago, on May 9th. She was very dear to all of us and had a love and passion to make each and every one of us feel nice and kind. She always made each and every one of us be noticed by her. Even if she had not many friends, she has ceased what she has and appreciates everything that she has. We will always remember her.” Everyone bows and my mom blows her nose.

Before everyone begins to cry, I sit up and open the coffin.
The End

God Like Thing

All of a sudden I was there.

But what was I before?

Was there a before?

I was alive. But what was alive?

I felt something rising into my subconsciousness, something of knowing.

But what was I before? Did I not exist? I can’t remember.

 

I stretched into my new form. It felt different, somehow.

I looked across the landscape, or was it sky? What does that mean? How do I know what this means?

 

It was blank, white, nothing. I could see nothing, or was it that I couldn’t see anything? But surely, if I saw nothing, It would be black, as I saw before. What was before?

Then I knew, at least I knew something. I could see something. Everything was just sucked of, something, instead of nothing, and this I know. Because I could see something. Full of vibrance…Color, that is what it was. Color. I could see it. It was small, but full of greens and blue. In the distance, a small box of beautiful color. And then I heard something. Heard, hearing? Yes. I heard something. Something very small. Something I know, no, believe to be coming from that color.

“Help!”

Then, before I could even realize it, something moved. Was it me? Did I move? I think I did. Suddenly I was closer, to the blue and the green. I looked in.

There were vibrant colors, lush greens and intoxicating blues, covering, what was it called? The landscape, yes. Mountains and hills rose and fell as they pleased, and the water rushed in rivers and sparkling waterfalls, dancing around the land. It appeared to have part of it submerged in water, it was surrounded by this blue liquid, it was all alone. The beautiful land was untouched, until I touched it.

 

I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to get close. The land was so beautiful and bright. It was warm. I wanted to see if I could go there, I had a pang of loneliness, it was terrible. Around me it was gray, sucked of color in any shape or form. I wanted to be somewhere where it was beautiful. I couldn’t help myself, I wanted to see if I could join it. So I touched it.

I didn’t mean for it to happen! I just wanted to see! But now it seems my touch has broken chaos on the world. Every tree around was on fire! Everything was brown and black, all broken and smoldering in ashes.

It changed. Something did. I think I changed it. with my touch, now the green is being replaced by a dark gray and orange and yellow tongues, I think, fire is what it’s called.

Something grew louder.

“Help!”

What was that? I looked around, I was alone, who could be saying that? What could be saying that? I looked into the box, now all gray and dull, black splotches littered the land and it made me feel sick just looking at it, knowing that I had changed all the beautiful green color to a dark gray. Well, I think I felt sick, but I did not feel good. So I moved, I moved away, I could not look at the destruction that I had inflicted. That was probably the only thing like that ever, the only thing with color, and I ruined it. I didn’t even have the slightest hope that it would get better, that it would, grow again. I couldn’t even think about it, I had to leave it, and so I did.

This thing has not given up, even if now the green is gone and it is just a murky gray and blue, and I’m not even convinced that I have given up on it. I hear it all the time.

“Help! Help!”

It said words over and over again.

Was it in trouble? No, I don’t think so. After I destroyed it, it only seems to get louder. But I didn’t think the blue itself was in danger, only everything in the blue.

But was there something in the blue making that noise? That I do not think so. But I couldn’t pull myself to seeing it. Dread and guilt have somehow taken over me, and it is horrible.

“HELP!”

Now that was the loudest it had even been. So I fought what I was feeling and peered back in again.

Gray, dull. All black and singed with some pestering flames that would not die out. However, the trees did not look as bare, was something growing on them?

“Help!”

Now what was that? Where did it come from? I searched the box, trying to find this sound. Can sound be found? No, I was trying to find what was making the sound.

I found it, I think I found it. What was it? It was standing there, no, it was in danger. It was in the blue, in the blue and fighting. Fighting the blue? Yes, I think so. It was thrashing wildly and it was screaming. What could I do? What should I do? I didn’t want to destroy everything. Not again.

But maybe, maybe I could help it. Pick it up or something. Maybe if I touched it softer.

Something moved, and it made a loud noise. Did I move it? The land shifted, it moved! I moved it! But the thing was scared, at least, I think that’s what it was. It thrashed some more and screamed about.

I did it again, and I moved the land closer to the thing. No, it did not realize. I moved it closer. Then it happened. I plowed the creature over with the land. I didn’t mean to! Whenever I touched the land, something bad happened.

But the creature was alive, it wasn’t hurt. It just stood up and walked onto the land. There, it was safe. But why couldn’t the creature just move the land itself?

Then, something strange happened, something interesting. The creature rose, and then looked to me. Could it see me? Did it know I was there? But something told me that it did. Because all of a sudden, the creature got on its knees and bowed.

 

——

 

What just happened? The land moved. It moved! And now I am safe. But what moved it? I think, some sort of a guardian? I protector? A god?

I think I must praise it, if it is to keep me safe. Safe from what? Well, it is better to be safe, than, well, not safe.

“Thank you!” I cried. I didn’t know if it heard me. This guardian, this God. I think that’s what I will call it, the God, my God. Did others have their own Gods? Were there others?

I felt lonelier than ever.

“I am alone?” I asked, asked the God. I don’t think it heard me.

“Why am I alone?” I asked again. I don’t think the God heard me.

I didn’t know what to do, so I walked, I walked around. I wanted to find some place beautiful, where I could live, live with someone, so I am not alone. Maybe others are waiting for me to live somewhere, so they can come.

Was the God watching me? That I do not know. Will it guide me to the perfect place, a blessed land? That I do not know, either.

But I kept walking, for a long time, when something strange happened. It got less bright. Darker? It was getting darker, and the big ball of light in the sky was falling. Falling! It was falling! Why? Will I end? Will I die?

“Why is the ball of light falling?” I shouted. But the God did not answer. I don’t think there is a God anymore. I think the land moving was something else. A coincidence of sorts.

 

——

 

Something was different. I could tell. I felt weaker. What was wrong with me? This little creature I watched was beginning to move around, from place to place, slumped over in a sad state.

And that’s when I felt it.

When the little creature looked to the sky, it said something, something I could not understand, and slumped and turned away. Was it mad at me? Did it expect, something?

But then I felt weaker, I didn’t know why. Was it because I had lost the creature? Lost it to what? That I could not say.

Should I give it something? What would I give it? I didn’t want to touch the land again, not after what I had done to it. Was it mad at me for destroying its home? Or making it look less vibrant?

I had to do something, I did not like seeing this creature upset, and I did not like the feeling of weakness.

It had been pacing around and muttering something. I tried to listen.

“Lonely.”

I heard that one word, lonely.

The creature was alone! Alone like me! That is why it is sad, at least, I thought so. Did it not know that I was there, that it was not alone? Maybe I wasn’t enough.

Was I supposed to make another one? I didn’t know how to do that!

I thought if maybe I could just think hard enough about it, I could make another one. Maybe.

I don’t know what I did, but suddenly, there it was. It was something, but it did not look like the creature. Did I have to make it look like that? It was floating by me. What should I do? I looked down. I seemed to now have gained a vessel of sorts. I looked much like the creature. I had hands, yes, hands. I didn’t know when I suddenly gained hands.

I stretched the creature before me. What a mess! It was gooey and floppy, and I didn’t know how I would be able to make it look like the creature.

I looked at the sad, slumped creature back in the not so colorful land, trying to gather ideas on what it looked like.

I guess I thought hard enough about it because when I turned back, the floppy mess looked like the creature.

Only how to bring this new creature to the sad creature in the land?

 

——

 

Now I am sure there is a God, because I was sitting under a tree when suddenly someone appeared. It looked like me.

“Hello,” it said simply.

“Hello,” I replied, the word new on my tongue. How did this new creature know more than I did?

Where did the creature come from? The God.

I bent down on my knees and bowed to the God. The new creature stared curiously at me.

“The God brought you here,” I said, “Brought me here, saved me from the water.”

The creature looked intrigued, and I wasn’t sure that it knew more than me anymore,

“Where is the God?”

“Up in the sky.”

“How?”

That I didn’t know. But I knew I wasn’t alone.

 

——

 

The new creature worked really well with the previous creature. They are both happy. And, somehow, they gathered materials and now have made, what is it called, a shelter!

I felt something swelling in me. Was it pride?

Now they were living in a shelter together.

Except one thing. When they came out, there were more creatures than that went it.

What happened? Had I created more?

There seemed to be some noises coming from the hut when they were in there, than the smaller creatures that came out.

Could I make smaller me’s?

I thought that maybe I could do that, except I needed a hut.

I must have a hut of my own, that will be something to work on.

 

——

 

I have found some interest in this God power. My people have found solitude in this beautiful land that the God brought us to. I taught my people the ways of our God, and they have a strong belief in It’s teachings. I was their leader, and our people grew from a meager tribe to a great civilization. We have buildings that seemed to reach the sky. We work the land to raise our crops so we could feed further generations. We tamed beasts and we tamed the water, and our God paved the way, sculpting the land to our pleasing. Our God brought forth our kind, and the only thing we could do in return is offer our belief, and act on It’s will. I was the oldest in our tribe, the leader, but suddenly one day I went somewhere else. I felt a floating sensation and saw a bright light, and suddenly I was looking down at my own people. I could see a wave of despair, and saw people crying, for the first time my people were corrupted with sadness. Nothing I have ever felt had felt worse. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see a smile that encompassed such kindness and wisdom. I looked down again, and saw my people moving on, and a beautiful ceremony for my transcendence into this new realm. A new leader arose and I knew that they were now in good hands. I turned back and realized.

They always were.

 

——

 

I watched as the people, my people, transformed into new shapes. They advanced, and arose as a powerful community. They believed in me, I could feel it. I realized that the only way I could survive was to feed off of their generous belief, and the only thing I could do in return was expand the land for them to use, and to guide them when they became troubled, and had no one to provide answers for them.

However, sometimes, even I didn’t have an answer.

But I never thought of myself as some divine being, however, if they believe I am, and rely on me so, I must be of some importance. I saw them grow and expand, how fast that they did. Before long they had large communities and could write each other cryptic messages with some sticks and a thin parchment they invented through the trees I had provided.

How cleverly they used their resources, always wanting to know exactly how to do something, always wanting to know how to do something to better their society. How kind they were, always lending a helping hand to others who had their particularly unique life not so well. Their leader was warm and kind, as well as wise and fit enough to lead them through, well, the not so great times.

And there were some not so great times, where greed and pride and selfishness had blackened their path and lead them to bring harm on themselves, and on others, and I was indeed surprised that there were others, but somehow I believed that they were distantly connected with me. Somehow. However, I tried to guide them to their particular needs and tried my best to lure them back when they questioned their belief in me. How frustrating it was to know that somehow they didn’t, almost seemed that they couldn’t, believe in my power and existence. It took me a while to figure out how to contact them, but somehow only certain people could feel my presence on a regular time period.

How easily manipulated they were, how easily they could lose their faith, but if they chose a different path, I could still feel they were connected to me. I knew that they could never leave me for good, I was a part of them.

Then suddenly, one day, one of them came to me. It ascended to me, a dull smile and worn eyes. Below I saw the people ravaged in grief, it made my heart ache. I saw tears form in the person’s eyes, I put my hand on it’s shoulder, I had to comfort it somehow. But they moved on, they were once again in the hands of a wise and knowing leader.

Then I realized, in the face of the person next to me, there was a familiar feature in its face. I realized, this was the first. The one that was drowning before, the one that believed in me from the start, the one I owe all my power to. Had this person come to a new world, had it joined me? Forever? Maybe it’s time in the world below us was over, and it had yet to join me in this new realm, a new part of it’s existence. For this person, and me as well, will never go away, we will always exist, we will just always be in a different form, waiting for someone else to find us, and to make us feel special in an empowering way.

I knew and welcomed the thought of one day meeting all of the people below us, and to learn of their experiences, because all I know now, I have learned from them. But was there going to be a time when I left this stage, abandoned these people that so greatly depended on me? I didn’t know, but something told me that I would always be with these people, not just these ones now, but future generations, and I couldn’t wait to meet them all, to see their experiences and help them on their wonderful journey.

I looked at the person before me, and I felt a great burst of love and pride swell in my heart. We looked on at the people, our people, together, as we watched them enter a new challenge, and a new age. I didn’t know what was to come, to happen next, but I knew it was going to be alright.

 

We’ve already come this far.

Pollyo

“Hey, where did everybody go?” I asked. Where all of my fellow ice cream cones would usually be playing, the forest was empty. The trees were not shaking from kids swinging in the trees, balls weren’t flying from the daily football game, and all the homes were empty.

Suddenly, the ground started to quiver. I jumped in fear. I felt like the world had frozen and I was in mid-air. Wait a minute, I thought. I’m just a holly, jolly ice cream cone. I don’t know fear. Happiness is the only emotion I DO know!

The squeakiest voice rang through the Fudgey Forest. It was very high pitched and sounded like a gummy rat from the Gummy Land.

“We have to get every last one of them for the boss,” it said.

Two big, blue shoes walked right by me when a giant shouted, “Hey, there’s one! Get him.”

A giant net scooped me up. Is this the end, I wondered. Is this the end of my village? All of the others must have been captured. A tiny, blue tear fell out of my eye followed by a white drip of ice cream. My vanilla was melting.

Wait a minute, I thought. This is kind of fun. Being the ice cream that I am – always happy no matter what – that little water drop sucked right back into my eye.

“Weeee, rollercoaster ride, weeeee!” I cried out with glee.

The net loop-de-looped over a rock and through the thick trees. As the huge people took massive steps away from our village, I looked through the thick ropes.

“I think that’s all of them. Let’s go,” the giant said.

“Where are we going, boys?!” I asked. I was very concerned. I had never left my village before.

“Quiet, little man,” the voice squeaked. The next thing I knew, I was dumped into an empty box.

I sat still on the ride to somewhere, thinking about my old friends who always wanted to explore the colossal world: the world of candy. This could be the adventure I’ve been wanting – to the other side of the world.

When we arrived, I saw a big box with wheels. I read the words, “Ice Cream Truck” in rainbow, bubble letters.

The giant said, “He’ll go for about three dollars.”

A little boy walked up to the giant and said, “One, please.”

“That’ll be three dollars. Pay up!”

“Here you go,” the little boy replied.He seemed like a nice kid to go home and play with.

The next thing I knew, something grabbed me. The giant’s hand, with five long, pointy fingers wrapped around my cone. The giant handed me to the boy. I could just see how hungry the boy was by looking in his eyes. He bared his teeth. The big, dangling thing in the back of his mouth was almost touching the tip of my ice cream top. I screamed, and a crack rippled through my cone.

But wait… what’s scared? I have only ever felt happiness, I thought.

Then I yelled as the little boy tried to eat me. I could see the hunger in his evil, little eyes.

“Stop right there. That was not enough,” another new giant shouted. He looked at me like I was the most important thing in the world. “This one is priceless.”

The boy jerked back his hand away from his mouth, and I gasped.

“Well, sir, that’s all the money I have,” the boy said.

“Now get out of here, scat, goodbye, hasta la vista,” he said as he waved with his devious smile. “Boys, shut down the truck. It’s time for a little magic!”

When we got back in the dark truck, the man started to wave his hands.

“Hi!” I said politely. I stood and waited and waited and waited. Finally, I started to spin and spin super fast ……whoosh.

I was flying through a portal.

“AHHHHHHH! This is so scary!” Wait, I thought. What is scary? “Can anybody tell me what scary is??”

Out of the portal, I landed right on a race track. I saw all my old buddies from the village. As I scanned the crowd, some moaned as they glanced at me. Others cheered. And some just sat quietly. Some people just didn’t get my sense of humor. And I guess I did laugh at the wrong time every now and then.

“Hey guys, what’s happening?” I looked and saw a race track that was licorice black. I hopped over to everybody and gave everyone a cone bump.

My old friend Joebob shook my hand. Then we kicked sprinkles onto each other. “What’s up, Pollyo? Are you chillin?”

“Yeah!” I said. “What are you up to?”

“We’re in a race. The winner gets three wishes.” Joebob’s ice cream started to slide. “We’re losing!” He said disappointedly. “If we lose, we’ll never get out of here.”

“Gooooo, team!” I shouted as Joebob hopped into the big thing with wheels.

Zoom! The wheels spun on Joebob’s car as he zipped and zoomed around the track.

“And there goes Joebob.” The announcer’s voice boomed throughout the stadium. “He is pulling away – the cones are in the lead!” I hopped in one of the empty cars.

Joebob zoomed passed me as the race wore on. I started to do a victory dance. I just knew we would win. Then something went down. My car zoomed off at top speed. It jerked over into a turn and went on two wheels. I started to fall over.  I gained control and zoomed around the track toward the finish line.

Everybody started to shout.

“Pollyo, Pollyo, Pollyo!”

I crossed the finish line. A great voice thundered from the sky. “And the winner is, POLLYO and The Ice Cream Team.”

The other candies crossed the line behind me. Some of them kicked their cars because they were so mad. Others were praying that they would be able to get out of this dreadful place, even though they had not won. The Ice Creams were cheering on Pollyo and telling him what to wish for.

“It’s time to get your wishes,” the voice thundered again.

“Wish that we can get out of here,” the ice cream crowd instructed. Their eyes were hopeful.

“Okay, okay,” I said, faking like I was listening. I couldn’t wait to make my wishes.

The crowd started to settle. Some of the ice creams began to melt from sweating. Everybody was waiting for me to make my wishes.

I could hear the announcer’s deep breathing.

“Can I have hands, a banana blaster, hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Oh! And a Giant chicken sandwich?” In a split second, I had made all three of my wishes.

Many of the other groups and all of the cones shouted, “NOOOOOO! You ruined our chance of getting home!” I smiled and stood silently staring at the devastated people. Everyone walked by me giving me a look that looked like the boy’s eyes. I slept on the cold, hard ground while the others made a large village and a warm fire.

The next day, I frolicked into the village.

“Can we ask the voice in the sky how to get out of here?” I asked, looking at the sweets around me–only a few cones, a gummy bear and a nerd.

“No. There’s no way. We’re stuck,” said the nerd. He had to be right because he was the smart one.

“Maybe Pollyo is right,” said Montana. She was wearing her usual pink, sparkly cowboy hat on top of her cone. “That mountain up there has been glowing,” she announced in her country accent. All of the pieces of candy grabbed their bags and started to hike up to the mountain.

When Montana, Joebob, and I reached the bottom of the mountain, camp had already been set up for the night. I rolled out my sleeping bag and fell asleep instantly.

In the middle of the night, something woke me up. I yawned. Then I heard it again – a rustling in Montana’s sleeping bag.

“Montana, what are you doing?”

“Climbing that mountain.” She stood up taller, her sprinkles shimmering.

“Can I come?”

I watched as Joebob hopped out of his sleeping bag, already in his climbing cone.

“Y’all weren’t planning this without me?” I said sadly, imitating Montana’s country accent. “Gosh darn, can anyone tell me what this emotion is.”

“Nope,”Joebob replied. “Can’t feel it either.”

We sneaked out of the tent, carefully trying not to wake any of the other cones.

We bounced up the gumdrop mountain, getting closer and closer to the glowing object. It got brighter and brighter as we got farther up. As I hopped, I noticed mallo cream beneath my cone, like snow. From a distance, I could hear a strange noise. Screaming skittles were tumbling down the mountain. As a purple one came close, Montana lassoed it with her bright ping lasso.

“What’s happening?!” she yelled. The skittle tried to wriggle free of her firm grip, but kept screaming. A Hershey’s bar came speeding down the mountain next, alongside four, sweet-looking flopping fish. The Hershey’s bar broke into four so the flopping fish could dodge us, but the youngest ran right over Joebob, sending him tumbling down the mountain. I wanted to bounce down the mountain and pounce on that stupid fish.

Wait a minute. What’s this emotion? I’m freaking out. I’ve never felt that before. I continued to bounce up the gumdrop mountain as the glow got brighter.

The light started to melt my ice cream and began to turn into a golden, glowing liquid.

“Empty your Canteen!” Montana yelled. “Let’s bring some of this goo to the camp so we can analyze it.”

We scooped up most of goo and found a gummy fish who offered us a ride down the mountain. When we got to the bottom of the mountain, Joebob laid crippled on the ground. His cone was cracked. The Hershey bars jolted to a stop and the canteen flew out of my hand. It slammed against the ground. The goo started to seep out of the bottle. When it tapped into JoeBob, the blinding light returned. Then it faded. Suddenly, Joebob’s cone was no longer cracked. Joebob was ready to climb up the mountain again. I look at the crack I had gotten when the boy was about to eat. I poured the elixir onto it and  felt a surge of energy. Another blinding flash of light.

The others started arising from their tents. When Dr. Squishy Muffins came from her tent, Montana whispered, “Stick the elixir in your bag now. Don’t talk to Dr. Squishy Muffins or Dr. Rainbow Sprinkles.”

My smile dropped into an “O.”

“I thought they were supposed to analyze the elixir,” I said.

“Just put it in your bag.” Montana tossed me the bag.

The next morning when I woke up the Mountain was gone and there were snowflakes the ground. There were many dippin’ dots scattered across the small hill. Other cones started to wake up and I told my usually early morning jokes. The whole town was laughing.

A great rumbling suddenly shook the ground. The commotion caused a few of the cones to fall over. The dippin’ dots started to roll into the cup. I was confused and a little scared. Not another feeling, I thought.

Legs popped out of the bottom of the cup. The face on the outside of the cup went from a smile to a ghostly grin. The Dippin Dotter had risen! It stood to its full height and looked at all of the candy ferociously, just like the boy who almost ate me.

“Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum!” the Dippin Dotter roared. “I see candy. Yum, yum, yum!”

Everyone stood stunned in amazement. Then, finally, I got to action. The banana blaster was already in my hands. I began to shoot the bananas at the giant’s grumpy face.

The design was halfway finished. His frown was almost turned upside down. The final bananas landed onto his now-happy face. The dippin dotter tumbled to the ground.

“PollyO! PollyO! PollyO!” All of the candy chanted just like at the race. This time, I didn’t mess it up.

The Dippin Dotter finally melted, but his drippings stayed for days and days, forming a pool of melted dippin dots.

“Guys, we should jump in!” said Josh, the Juicy Drop Taffy. He was a crazy stunt double who had been featured in the movie Sugar Rush as the perfect stunt double for the star, Tangy Tim.

“He has been right every other time,” Professor Cameron, the purple nerd, who is the smartest candy in the history of the world.

“I’ll go in first,” said Josh.

Catie the Riddle Skittle mystery solver examined the mysterious goo and said, “Josh, you’re a okay to jump!”

Josh revved his banana split and disappeared into the goo.

We waited days and days for Josh to come up. I was as worried as pop rocks before hitting a tongue. The professors and scientists started to examine the goo and test the substance. Women and children started to cry and even though I was worried, I just kept on cheering people up. On the final day when everyone was starving and wanted to eat each other, Josh finally popped out of the goo and had an exciting announcement.

“Guys, it’s home!” he announced.

The group stood stunned. Some stuttered, “Wha-what does he mean?”

“It’s home,” he repeated. “It’s where we used to live. The goo is a portal to our home!”

The group up front, mostly nerds examining the goo, hopped right into the portal.

Joebob, Montana and I waited in the back of the line for an hour. We started to get closer and closer to the goo. Finally, we reached the front of the line. The goo’s color started to change from a beautiful candy purple to a licorice black the same color as the race track.

“Hurry! Jump in!” yelled Montana. We all three looked at each other. Joebob hugged me until my ice cream started to gush out of the top of my cone.

“POLLYO!” Montana grabbed me, leaned over and kissed me.

“What’s this emotion?” I asked.

“Love, PollyO, Love.”

Professor Sunglass and the Bank Robber

 

Hi, I am going to tell you a story about my professor. His name is Professor Sunglass. And just so you know, he does not wear sunglasses. He was the best detective in South America. One day a person who worked at the bank came up to him and told him that his bank got robbed. Professor Sunglass got right onto the case.

Professor Sunglass checked the bank for every kind of DNA but the robber must have made sure he didn’t leave any traces of DNA. He called the police to come help him find the robber. The police couldn’t do any better than Professor Sunglass. Professor Sunglass called the President. The President could not figure it out, so he called the Vice President. The Vice President could not figure it out, so he called the ruler of Russia. No one could figure it out and more and more banks kept getting robbed.

Professor Sunglass got an idea. He told the President of the United States to see if anybody in the country was bad. Professor Sunglass told that to every country in the world by going on TV at 10:00 a.m. every day for one week. One country, which was called the Untitled Country, didn’t answer. Professor Sunglass thought that it was suspicious that they didn’t answer, so he took a plane to it. When it was time for the plane to land in the Untitled Country, the guys in their army started shooting missiles at Professor Sunglasses’ plane. Professor Sunglass got out his laser gun and started frying the missiles in the plane’s way. Professor Sunglass’ plane landed safely and everybody started cheering for the pilots.

When everybody got off the plane, Professor Sunglass went to go find the robber. On the way to a neighborhood called Criminalville, a guy from Murdererville showed up with a gun, but did not see Professor Sunglass because he made invisible technology to make sure no one saw him. The person from Murdererville walked straight passed him. Professor Sunglass thought that no one would realize he was there. Suddenly, a person came up to him with a heat sensor. The person with the heat sensor was from Technologyville. When that person saw Professor Sunglasses’ heat, he said something into his walkie talkie and lots of people that didn’t look very nice popped out of nowhere. Professor Sunglass jumped into his teleporter not knowing where he was going, just hoping he would get away. He landed in this random person’s house. He saw a person at a table. The person was very rich because he had 1,000 bags of money on the table. He realized those were the bags of money that they had in banks in South America. He figured out that that was the robber who robbed all the banks. He arrested him immediately and Professor Sunglass lived happily ever after, until his next adventure.

 

The End

The Night Shift

7:45 PM December 24, 1999

 

It is Oscar Robertson’s first night as the security guard in District 9. Oscar is on the watch but nothing is happening. Oscar hates this job and thinks this is the most boring job ever. Three nights later, on December 27, Oscar doesn’t even show up and nothing happens. For the next two nights he doesn’t show up until the school’s 5th grade teacher calls in to speak with him. Oscar gets to the office. In the office, he sees a very slim and tall woman.

Oscar says, “Why did you call me in?”

She says, “I’ve been informed that the kids are losing their technology and money. Could you stay on the look out for people coming in and out of the school?”

“That’s my duty.”

That night, Oscar doesn’t see anything suspicious. It is New Year’s Eve in 1999. Everybody is inside their homes thinking the world is going to end, but not Oscar, because he has the night shift.

Near the police station there is a garden where Oscar hides in the bushes with his rifle, watching the school. 11:59: everybody is inside their homes holding on to each other for dear life. Then Oscar catches a glimpse of something near the school. It is a man in a Mexican red wrestling mask approaching the door. Oscar loads…

…and fires, and he hits his mask as he attempts to run inside the school. Oscar fires at the handle which thankfully knocks the handle off, so the man in the mask makes a run for it, but is stopped by a bullet hitting his arm. He cries in pain and agony. Oscar walks up to him and sees that it is the janitor. Oscar says, “What? Why were you trying to steal the kids money?”

“I wasn’t stealing the money. I was cleaning the bathroom so thats why I have the mask so I don’t have to smell that awkward urine smell,” says the janitor. I glance over my shoulder and spot a kid on the 8th floor with a Mets shirt on. He opens the window and says, “What happened, Mr. R?”

“Nothing,” says Oscar.

 

10:30 AM   December 31, 1999

 

Today is the first day for Brett of the CPT’s and he is frightened to death. Right now, he is in math class writing in his journal. “If you didn’t already know, the CPT’s determine if you get in Hunter.”

If Brett gets into Hunter, his family will finally appreciate him. Since he is the middle child, getting appreciated is mission impossible. This is a once in a lifetime experience.

He gets bullied a lot.

He’s very shy.

He has no friends. Is this the life you dreamed of? Well, it’s certainly not the one he dreamed of. He thinks he did really well on the math part of the CPT’s. Tomorrow Brett will do the reading section.

That night, he goes home to a family all cuddled up on the bed watching his favorite movie. He asks to watch with them but they ignore him. He goes to the living room and turns on channel 26 and watches the exhibition Mets game against the San Francisco Giants. The worst part is the game starts on western time at 7:30. He watches the whole game, which ends at midnight. The final pitch of the game is pitched and the Mets win. Then the clock strikes 12:00 and he hears a gunshot. He runs to the window to get a glimpse of what’s going on. He opens the window to see Mr. R.

He says, “What’s going on?”

Mr. R says, “Nothing.”

Everyone is okay, and the world didn’t end. But soon Bret figures out that the janitor is on the ground in a puddle of blood. The blood is coming from his arm. He shouts as loud as he can until someone notices him; that someone is a cop. He thinks to himself, What have I done? Mr. R was like a brother to me. He was always there for me. NOOOOOOOOOO!!! The janitor is taken to the hospital, where he will be given a mechanical arm.

The next day, Oscar goes to court. The jury decides he has a choice of either two years in jail or to serve in the army for four years. Oscar choses to take the four years to serve the army. Oscar chooses to be in the air force. Bret doesn’t get into Hunter, which is for the best because he doesn’t deserve it, because he turned on a friend. A friend that has been there when needed is now gone. If Brett hadn’t had screamed, then Oscar wouldn’t have taken the blame. Oscar says, “If it wasn’t for the little brat, I wouldn’t be here.”

The Nightmare

Every night

I stare down at you

As you sleep

Ready to crawl down into your mind

 

I stare down at you

Waiting, watching

Ready to crawl down into your mind

I am your worst fear

 

Waiting, watching

For the first rumbling snore

I am your worst fear

I make you whimper and cry

 

For the first rumbling snore

Marks your doom

I make you whimper and cry

Every night

Through Time

“Where is that cake?” cried Apol.

“Be patient,” said his mother as she looked out the window.

“DING DONG!” exclaimed the bell.

“Jack must be here,” said Apol.

“Are you sure?” came a deep, low voice. It took this long to finish his sentence: 9999999999999999999999999999990675266767 milliseconds.

Then the voice said, “Only you can save the world.”

“What. How?” Apol sputtered.

“Oh, I forgot, my name is BUN.”

“Your name is BUN?”

“You got a problem with that?”

“No.”

“Good.”

Then BUN left quietly.

“What the..?”

His mother was gone.

“Weird.”

DING DONG

“This better be Jack.”

“It sure is. Heese is here also.”

They were at the table.

“Some wang,” asks Heese.

“No, yes,” said Apol.

“Oh,” said Heese.

“I thought Arrg was coming,” said Jack.

“Quiet,” said Apol quietly.

Now there was arguing; Jack was holding a coke, Heese’s arms crossed, Apol banging his fist on the table.

“I think Greek gods are real,” said Apol.

“Apol, there not real,” Heese shouted.

“I agree with Apol,” said Jack.

Bun’s voice came through the window. “Hurry up!”

“Who’s he?” said Heese.

“BUN,” said Apol

“BUN?”

“Yes BUN Jack.”

“Oh,” replied Jack.

“Hurry up,” BUN cried.

“Shut up, BUN,” said Heese.

“Fine,” said BUN as he went off.

“Weird. Let’s go,” concluded Jack.

Silently they left. They crossed light AV. Then Carckjack road. They found a car, got in, and it zipped off by itself.

“Cool,” Heese shouted over the engine.

“I didn’t expect this,” Apol cried.

“Me neither,” Jack foretold.

Now they speed along almost 1,000 mph.

“20 is the speed limit,” Jack told the car. It slowed down.

“That is crazy.”

“Stanford,” said Heese, because it was her dream to go there.

Soon they reached camps.

They crashed into History class. No one noticed them. It was as if they were invisible.

“Wait a minute,” Heese said. “I think we are invisible.”

It seemed like the teacher was talking about saving the world by traveling through time. Little did they know, every move of theirs was being watched.

”I know what we have to do,” Jack whispered. “Build a time machine.”

“How?” asked Apol.

Heese had already jumped out of the car and started putting these random pieces together. “Got it!” Heese cried five minutes later.

The machine was tall and skinny with solid gas inside. The gas wasn’t a color, it was more like every color.

“What time are we going to?” asked Jack.

“King Arthur’s,” Heese replied.

“Let’s go go go go!” said Apol nervously.

They stepped into the 5th dimension, time travel. It felt happy but also sad because you can’t have happy thoughts. It like felt hours, but it was really just seconds. It was like watching a really crucial game or race when you feel like time is taking forever. Their eyes closed, and they couldn’t see a thing. Then they felt a sudden feeling that they were alive again. They looked around. They stood before a huge castle.

“Is this Camelot?” Jack said, “Or am I just hallucinating?”

“I’m pretty sure that is Camelot. Is that Arthur?” asked Heese.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s Arthur,” Apol replied.

“I’m not sure how I feel,” Jack said quietly. “I’m not sure if this is a season. It feels like Spring, Summer, and Fall combined but it look like Winter.”

“There’s Merlin!” said Apol

“Quick, hide!” Jack replied hastily, louder then he had meant to.

Just then Merlin saw them

“Hello come to duel I suppose, without a weapon. Crazy fools.”

“Let us explain,” stuttered Apol, “I am Apol, there is Jack and Hesse.”

“Wait a minute.” he said while stroking his beard; then as if lit by a lamp he said, “from the future?”

“Yes,” said Jack, clearly shocked by what he had asked.

“Darn it, I can’t kill you know,” mumbled Merlin.

“Now where?” asked Apol.

“Nice time machine,” said Merlin out of the blue.

“Snake! Bird! Lion! Badger!” Hesse cried in fear.

Apol drew his sword. Dodging and blocking attacks, Apol herded the animals.

“Now to Pompeii!” Jack cried out of the blue.

“Into the time machine!” Apol cried, “I can’t keep them busy much longer!”

They went into the time machine not giving anyone enough time to register what happened.

They appeared at the base of the volcano…a half a split second before it erupted. They tried to run for cover, but it was too late. Apol felt a good deal of envy for whomever was safe and snug inside their house. Jack’s gears in his brain were turning like mad trying to figure out how to get out of here and save the world at the very same time. And Hesse was playing with the very last pieces of grass she found. Merlin saw a huge ball of ash coming their way.

“Watch out!” he cried.

But it was too late, it was about to hit them.

 

Author’s note: If you’re thinking about trying to travel through time and stuff like that, it’s dangerous, don’t do it. What these kids are doing, they are only doing it because they have to, well, they’re also a bit crazy.

The Famous Horn

Chapter 1 : Information

 

Once there was a girl that was eight years old. Her name was Jordan. She liked to figure out mysteries. She had a brother. His name was Jacob. Jacob was three. She was related to Louis Armstrong, and she wanted to figure out how to get his horn because she listened to his music all the time. She knew where the horn was. It was in his museum. He got it from the Queen of England. Jordan lived in Queens and the museum in Queens.

 

The next day Jordan woke up and she went downstairs to have some breakfast. Her mother was there. Her brother Jacob was still sleeping. Jordan asked her mother if they could go to the museum.

“Sure but we have to wait until your brother wakes up,” said her mom.

Jordan said, “Okay.”

Then Jordan asked for some breakfast. Her mother said, “I’ll give you some breakfast.”

While Jordan was eating her breakfast, her brother woke up. When Jordan was done with her breakfast, her mom told her to get dressed so they could go to the museum. Jordan went upstairs. Her mom gave Jacob some breakfast.  Jordan was dressed and came downstairs. She got her shoes on and her coat on. Jacob finished his breakfast and he was already dressed so he put on his shoes and coat. Her mother did the same thing. Then they went outside to the museum.

On the way, she felt nervous because she might get caught. When they got there, they went inside. They went to the part where the horn was. When Jordan got to the horn, she looked at how shiny it was. So did her brother and mother.

“Yes, now I can touch it and use it!” Then she started running towards the horn. And ran right into the plastic cage. Jordan said, “Darn it! It wasn’t as easy as it looks.”

 

Chapter 2: Getting In Trouble

 

Then her mother said, “Is that what you wanted to do?

Jordan said “Yes.”

Then her mother pulled Jordan out of the museum and onto the sidewalk. When they got back to the house, Jordan’s mother sent her to her room.

Jordan was walking to her room. Jacob was yelling and screaming. When Jordan went in her room, she turned on some music, but not any ordinary music. She turned on Louis Armstrong’s music. She heard the trumpet in the back that he was playing. She was thinking that she could be exactly like him. When her mom called her for lunch, she came down the stairs, and when she got to the dining room, she ate her lunch and ran outside to play. In the meanwhile, her mom started making one of her favorite dishes for dinner. It was also Louis Armstrong’s favorite dish, Jambalaya. Jacob was in his room playing on his iPad. When her brother was done playing his iPad, Jordan came into the house and into the dining room, and started eating.

“Wordan,” said Jacob, “I willed a wig in winecraft.” Which is “I killed a pig in Minecraft” in Jacob language.

“Great,” said Jordan, being sarcastic. “After all, that is the hardest thing to do in Minecraft,” being sarcastic again. While Jordan and Jacob were talking, her mom got Jacob some food, Jambalaya to be specific. When Jordan finished her food, she went upstairs and started reading. She was reading a series called Ellray Jakes.

Jacob was about to go upstairs. He said, “Wommy, W’m winished” ’which is “Mommy I’m finished” in Jacob language.

“Okay, you can go up now, Jacob. But just for a few minutes,” said his Mom.

 

Chapter 3: Planning Something

 

When Jordan woke up, again her brother was still sleeping.

Jordan began to blast Louis Armstrong music to wake up her brother from his sleep. Jacob started screaming, “Waaaah!” which is “Aaaah” in Jacob language.

She turned it right off so she wouldn’t get in trouble. She still really wanted the trumpet. So she started to save up money. She was trying to save up money for a jackhammer to break into the cage. She cleaned people’s cars. She set up something in front of her house. She got fifteen dollars! When she got the money, she hid it in her pocket and went to the store to look for a jackhammer to see how much it cost.

Jordan went to the hardware store on the corner of her street. She went in to ask the person at the counter where the jackhammers were. The man led her to the jackhammers. He went back to the counter to help other customers. She looked at each of the jackhammers one by one. Each one of them was over $200. She ran out of the store and went back to her house and asked her mom if she could buy a jackhammer for her.

Her mom said, “No way! I’m not buying you a jackhammer!”

Jordan went to her room to decide what she was going to do to get more money.

She decided that she has to make something.
Chapter 4: Spending More Money and Even More Money

She decided she was going to make a concert. But to make a concert she had to learn how to play an instrument.

She talked with her mom and her mom said, “You should play the cello.”

She remembered that things cost money. So she remembered that she would have to make money for a cello. She ran downstairs to ask her mom if she could buy the cello. She said she would. So her mom and her went to a music store and bought a cello.

She asked her mom if she could have cello lessons, but that would also cost money, too.
And her mom said, “Yes, but you can only have one more thing that you can ask me to buy for these next three months.”
Jordan’s mom found a great cello teacher named Eleanor. She would come to her house every Wednesday at 4:30. It was pretty easy until the harder songs came. She almost finished a book of songs that Eleanor suggested for her to do. She knew that she had to do something really famous. She decided that she had to do a Bach’s Minuet No.2 or Pachalbel’s Canon.

She was so excited to get the horn that she had to do the prettier one, and that was Pahalbel’s Canon. She told Eleanor that she wanted to practice that. Eleanor made sure that she was ready for it, but she was. She practiced every day for 30 minutes. She was pretty much ready, all she had to do was somehow make a stage. She decided she was going to make flyers and put them on every single tree that she could find in her neighborhood. Luckily, she had a copy machine, so she only had to make one.
The flyers said: “Come March 8th, 2015 to a concert in Central Park.” She was almost done, all she had to do was figure out how to make a stage. She asked her mom for the last thing she could buy for the three months which was materials to make a stage.
Her mom said that she would try to but asked, “What do you need it for?”

Jordan said that their school didn’t have a stage so they asked her if they could make one for the school. She didn’t want her mom to know she was trying to make money because she wanted to get a jackhammer so she could get the horn.

Her mom went out again for the last time for one month to buy lots of materials for the stage. Her mother bought steel, curtain, nails, lights, and all kind of things like that. When her mother and her got home, Jordan started building the stage in their basement which was humongous. When she was done all she had to do was find the space where she could do the concert in Central Park. But then she remembered that when you do something you have to pay for the space.

Then she realized that she couldn’t ask her mom to buy anything else. So she just waited a month until she could ask her mom to buy something. She asked her mom if she could buy a space in Central Park to do a concert just because she had been practicing the cello for so long. Then her mom bought a space in Central Park for her, but just a pretty small one. She asked her mom and brother and her dad who was in Pennsylvania to come help her bring the stage into Central Park to lift it in their truck. When they got to Central Park, they all helped to bring it to the space the Park gave them seats to put down.
People came when the hours passed by. Then at 7 o’clock the show started. Everybody had to pay $10 for the concert which meant she needed more than 20 people to come to the concert. Right before the show started, she counted how many people were there. She counted 20 people but she needed more than 20 people. She remembered that one of the Jackhammers cost $210. When the show was about to start she saw a face coming in. It looked familiar. It was Eleanor. She came to listen. Now she had enough money to buy a jackhammer, all she had to do was make it worth it. The concert went great, she missed a few notes but otherwise it was really good.

When she got home, her mother gave her all the money that she got. She was very proud of her. The next morning, she went to school. When she came home, she asked her mom if she could go to the hardware store. She bought a jackhammer. When she went home, her mother asked her what she was doing with the jackhammer. She said that her school needed it because they were trying to put an art studio in the school.

Then at night, when everybody was asleep, not close to the museum, she woke up, took the jackhammer, and tiptoed across the street. When she got there, fortunately the door wasn’t locked. She tiptoed in, wondering if anybody was in there. She could either go to jail or she could get what she wanted. She tiptoed to where the horn was. She looked right at it. She really, really, really wanted it. So she turned on the jackhammer and she started drilling in the plastic cage. People could hear her, but they were sleeping so they thought it was just construction. The cage was all drilled up so she could reach to get the horn.

She picked it up and quickly tiptoed back to her house, up the stairs, put the horn under the bed and tiptoed down the stairs into the basement and put the jackhammer down there quietly. She tiptoed back up the stairs into her room and went to sleep.

When she woke up, she left the horn under her bed and everything was normal. She went downstairs, ate breakfast, and went to school. Then, she came home. she looked under the bed. The horn was still there. She thought that she did the wrong thing. She felt kind of shy. She carefully took the horn, and decided to put it back where it came from. It wasn’t that easy. She had to pretend it was her own horn and she had to bring it back before anyone in the museum could see her.

Jordan left the house without anybody seeing her. In her head she thought she was one third of the way there. She looked in the Louis Armstrong Museum. She didn’t see anybody inside. She opened the door, tiptoed in, and then she turned around to make sure nobody was looking. But that made her look like she was taking it. A guard noticed her and started running after her. Jordan started running away from the guard. She ran towards her house. The guard followed her out of the museum. Then suddenly, when she was almost at her front door, the guard caught her. He called the police.

Jordan felt like she was going to get into humongous trouble. She was embarrassed and terrified of the trouble she was in. The police arrived. The police ask lots of questions. “Where do you live? How did you get inside? What’s your name?”

Jordan answered the questions with lots of “Umm’s”. When she told the police she lived there, they went to tell her mom.

But Jordan didn’t let them get to her house by being shy, admitting that she stole the horn but she was going to give it back, and saying “Umm, umm, please don’t, umm, tell, umm, my mom.”

They walked towards the guard that caught Jordan. They put him in jail for catching her for no apparent reason. The police put the horn back where it was.

Jordan went back home, which was three steps away and went to her room and went to sleep.

Book 2: The Unexpected War

Chapter 1: X’s bad day just got worse       

 

X was not happy today. His brother Double X was beating him in a game of ‘Who Can Shoot The Chicken Made of Clay?’ Double X was beating X by forty six carats. X got so mad that he wandered off to the place that he kept the portal. And his brother, Double X, was following him. They still never told Double X about the portal because they thought it would be better if Double X didn’t know because they thought it would be too dangerous for him. The reason why it was too dangerous for Double X was because when he was a little kid they lived at a swamp and then a bunch of crocodiles went into his room while he was sleeping, and when he woke up he saw the crocodiles ripping all of his teddy bears and all of his things he owned. Once they noticed that he was up, they bit his arms and legs off. But they found a potion–a very horrible tasting potion–and then they made Double X drink the potion for the next ten years, and after those ten years his arms and legs grew back and they were better than ever. But the actual reason why X think it’s too dangerous for Double X is because whenever Double X sees a crocodile he gets paralyzed with fear. But worst of all, when the crocodiles came they also killed Double X and X’s parents. And then they had to live in an orphanage for nine years until Sword and Flame Thrower adopted them. But the reason why it affected Double X more than it affected X was because Double X saw the crocodiles kill his parents, and he also heard their last words.

Their last words were, “When the hour strikes twelve on a Sunday night in the city that rests one hundred miles beneath the surface, there will be a war, and five armies will come to that war and hunt to all kill one person… you.” And then they died.

By accident X touched the portal and he got sent through the portal and Double X saw. Double X was very curious. He wanted to know what happened to his brother so he went over and touched the crystal, too. And then he noticed that his surroundings were changing and he was only seeing things that existed miles beneath the ground. And then he saw X, who looked like he was full of shame and he was never going to forgive himself by letting his brother look at this new world. Double X had never really liked things like crocodiles and so X felt like they could defeat him with ease.

Double X said to one of the citizens that was carrying a sword, “Can I borrow that sword for a second?”

He said, “Sure. No problem, bro.”

Double X said he wanted to fight to the death with X because X lied to him about this cool place. Double X wanted to kill him because Double X thought the place was cool. He liked the portal and the rock sculptures. So then X took his most prized possession out to fight Double X. It was the all-important Marshmallow Sword! And as it turned out X won because his brother couldn’t resist a good marshmallow.

And then X said to Double X, “I’m always one step ahead of you, little brother!”

 

* * *

 

Sword and Flame Thrower, X and Double X’s parents, were enjoying their day. Until they found out that Double X and X were gone! They went out of their minds and then they started bouncing up and down and then they fell into their pool full of taco ice cream cones. Except all of them were poisonous! The sad part was that there were also swords in it! But at least there was ice cream in it. But they missed the ice cream. But they also missed the swords! But they also missed the pool! So then they fell in the pool right left to it and that pool was filled with the most poisonous ice cream scorpions in the world. But luckily, they just decided to eat them. They’re only poisonous if they sting you.

And then they went, “Aaaaaaaaaaah!” And then after that Flamethrower said, “Like, totally. Aaaaaah!”

Then they had the craziest idea in the world. Sword wanted to go through the portal.

Then Flame Thrower said, “That plan is just so crazy. It just might work!”

“But,” they both said, ”we can’t do it right now. Because it’s our coffee break. Sorry!” they said through the portal. “We can’t help you right now. We have our coffee break.”

And then they poured some of the coffee into the portal and then it splattered on X and Double X’s faces.

 

*  *  *

 

X and Double X were astonished. Double X said, “Please! Spare me! … Another marshmallow, that is!”

X said, “Sorry, I can’t afford to lose any more of the marshmallows from my marshmallow sword. The marshmallow store is five blocks up, two blocks down, three more blocks down, five blocks into the air, two blocks southeast, and then you have to drill one hundred miles down into the ground.”

Double X said, “Sure! Anything for a good marshmallow!”

And then he started walking at his fastest slow pace which was five hundred and fifty six point five miles per hour. He looked like he was banging off the walls but in Double X’s point of view everybody else was moving in slow motion. Once Double X got to the marshmallow stand, he had a choice between extremely poisonous marshmallows and really good tasting marshmallows that were not poisonous. But of course Double X didn’t know the difference, so he just got a bag of each.

So then he went back to the city and then one of the people said, “Oooh, what’s that?”

Double X said, “Oh, that’s a marshmallow.”

And then the villager said, “Ohhh, can I have one?”

Double X said, “Sure, bro.”

But unfortunately he gave the villager the poisonous ones by accident. But luckily he only had one of them. But, unfortunately, he still died a very painful death and they caught it all on camera.

But luckily Double X still had enough poisonous marshmallows to kill a couple of crocodiles, which X, Sword, and Flamethrower still never told him about, but he had not yet come across any. But will he or will he not? That will remain undecided.

 

Chapter 2: Will they or will they not?

 

Flamethrower and Sword decided that their coffee break was over. So then they decided to have an ice cream because they didn’t want to go into the portal yet.

And then when X said through the portal, “Come down here,” they just threw a tub of ice cream on his face and said “There will be no mercy. There will be no mercy.”

But then, unluckily for Sword and Flamethrower, they finished their ice cream, and this time they didn’t even have an excuse for not going through the portal. So sad. They went in through the portal with all bow and arrows ready and their chocolate shield at the ready. When they went in, they were very sad because the ice cream bow and arrow melted as soon as they went in. But at least nobody was trying to kill them once they got through the portal, thankfully.

 

*  *  *

 

Double X said to the villagers’ corpse, “Sorry, bro. Not my fault. These little marshmallows did the trick. It wasn’t on my bucket list so it must have been on yours. Sorry.”

X came over and said, “What did you do this time?”

In a way, X didn’t want to know. But Double X told him anyway.

Double X said, “So I killed a guy with some poisonous marshmallows. But I didn’t know that they were poisonous marshmallows. I kind of did know that they were poisonous marshmallows, but I didn’t mean to give him poisonous marshmallows. But in a way I didn’t really know in the first place, but then after I tested them out on a couple of other villagers, and then they passed away, I figured out they were poisonous. But too late for that. But at least I know which ones are poisonous. Okay, you’re probably still mad at me right now.”

X said, “Oh, it’s okay. No it’s not okay! How dare you kill a bunch of people! Now you must suffer my wrath!”

But what Double X didn’t know was that X’s wrath was that he was going to take all the poisonous marshmallows from Double X and put them in his marshmallow sword so that his marshmallow sword was even more dangerous and poisonously awesome than ever. Double X was very sad that X took away his precious marshmallows. Double X started mumbling and then went over to the garbage dump and poured acid into it and then jumped into it like it was a super awesome swimming pool except instead of water it was made out of acid and garbage and sewer water.

Double X wanted revenge on X, so he went to find someone that would murder X when he was sleeping. When Double X was about to give up, he passed a group of crocodiles that were in disguise. The reason that they were in disguise was because they were planning to murder X (except not while he was sleeping, but while he was awake so that he could experience all the pain).

The crocodiles said, “We will let you live if you let us murder X.”

Double X said, “I have no idea what you mean, but better X dead than me dead.”

So, Double X said, “Okay, but don’t come crying back to me saying that X killed you.”

So when Double X came back, X asked him, “Where were you?!”

Double X said, “I was just talking to a bunch of people and trying to persuade them to murder you when you were sleeping.”

X said, “How dare you? I thought I could trust you. But, I also have to admit. I was also talking to a bunch of guys, trying to persuade them to throw you into a lava swamp.”

“We might as well kill them now,” they both said in unison.

So then, they first went to the guys who was going to throw Double X into a lava swamp and said, “New plan!”

“Well, we think we are going to throw you into a lava swamp right now,” X and Double X said in unison.

And so they did. And then they got it all on video tape because what’s the point of torturing people if you don’t have it all on video tape?!

When they got back to the village they showed the video tape to all of the soldiers that they knew, and then they had a party for the death of two of their enemies.  But when they were in the middle of their party they heard a strange rumbling noise, and then they saw a vulture.

They also saw a crocodile, a spider and a snake, which all said the same thing: “We are going to wage a war with you on the twenty-first of December.”

All of the humans were quite surprised that their defenses didn’t attack the intruders, but of course they had no choice.  They had to accept the challenge, or else the enemy would be allowed to take over their village.

“Yes we shall,” responded the humans, “but since you disturbed us while we were in a party, you will all be sentenced to death.  And I think you know how we sentence people to death by now.  So off the cliff you go.”

So off they went to the edge of the cliff, jumping off, never to be seen again.

 

Chapter 3: “The War”

 

All of the soldiers went to the battle station to get the equipment for the war.  As they did so, the enemy was also getting ready for war. The crocodiles, the vulture, the spiders, and the snakes were better at fighting, but this did not lower the humans’ spirits.  They sent Double X as a scout to see what the enemy was doing. When he came back, he told them that they’re all marching toward the city and they’re only 21,021.21 yards away. Double X was playing ping-pong with himself because since he was so fast he already finished making all of his equipment ready. He made diamond encrusted armor, of course. 20 swords, 35 shields, 39 packs of Greek fire, a bunch of these little strap thingies that you throw and then it makes a net and some grenades, Fishgut bombs, lice bombs, ice cream bombs, jelly bombs, spike bombs, fire bombs, net bombs, gooey bombs, water balloon bombs, laser bombs… Eh, you get the point.

X’s equipment was five hundred thousand shields, seven hundred swords, five hundred bombs, six hundred jars of Greek fire, and 25 tanks. Once he finished packing his equipment, he ordered twenty-five million of the villagers to try to destroy the enemy. But once they got there, all they saw was one crocodile.

But then twenty five million other crocodiles came and then one of the crocodiles shouted “CHARGE!”

And then all the crocodiles started running toward them. But, they had a secret weapon. Double X started to run around the crocodiles throwing jars of Greek fire at them. All the crocodiles died and then the other four armies started to pour through underground holes to attack them. Then Double X ran away, but all of the other four armies followed him. Double X knew that if he didn’t do anything then he was going to die. But he also knew that if he did do something then he might have a chance of defeating the four armies. So he changed directions and started running toward them. And then his army started to follow him. And then they started destroying the other four armies. And then there was just one vulture left, and then that vulture said that he surrendered and then flew away. So for now, they all got to live in peace.

 

THE END

Or So It Seemed……  

Izzy Momo

Once there was a boy named Izzy Momo. He lived in a cave and he had no one to play with. And he wanted a piece of dirt because no one ever had one. Except for people on Planet Dirt. So he had to go back in time because that was when Planet Dirt didn’t explode. So he had to get a lot of diamonds to make the time machine. Except he did not know how to make the time machine with the diamonds and diamonds are super rare on this planet. He had no one to go with so he was afraid he was going to be lost. So he got some diamonds because he was in a cave. It was pretty easy. He tried to make the time machine but he kept on failing. He will have to look at a magazine. But how could he find a magazine? So he thought and he thought but he never found out how. So he tried to get out of the cave but it was no use. So he tried to put a sack of diamonds and then climb up them, except all the diamonds fell and broke. So he tried to stack some iron like he did with the diamonds. Except he forgot that the ground was made out of the strongest thing in the world so the iron broke. So he tried to carry some of the strongest thing in the world. He decided he wanted a rock because the dirt people were way too rude. He wanted the rock because he hated people and no one else had a rock. He hated people because they were always mean to him. Another person was a bully and hurt him and then he hated everyone because they joined with him to stack it. And it finally worked.

He needed to go to Neptune because that’s the only way to get a magazine. But how can he get to Neptune? It was no use trying to make a ship because he had none of the ingredients. He needed some diamonds but he took all of the diamonds and they all broke. He used to use the strongest thing in the world and he used all of it. So he took one piece and made the spaceship and got the magazine.

But he doesn’t have the diamonds so he had to go to a different cave. So he went to the different cave except he only found one diamond and he needed three. He has to go to another time and that time he found diamonds. So he grabbed them and made the portal. He had to put three diamonds on the floor, then he had to put three pieces of sand around it, and then he had to throw a diamond in there.

A portal spawned right in his face. So he jumped in the portal and saw no dirt. Except he saw dirt people. And he tried to kill them. So he popped their heads off so they can get dirt and got two and banged their head together. Then the dirt people came back alive. They fell over and their mouths got stuck in the floor and Izzy Momo smacked their butts and they flipped over. Then they were mad, smacked Izzy Momo in the butt and then they killed him.

So he woke up from the dead right away and kicked the dirt people. He looked tiny, idiotic, and he acted like a dork. Since he died, he changed his personality. Except if he changed his personality, he started doing dorky things. He fell on the floor, put his head in the floor, and since he was dumb, he found some dirt and put it in his nose. He sneezed and some of the dirt fell into his mouth because his tongue was out and then he swallowed it, he died again, and he turned into a ghost. Then he finds more dirt people but now he was smart so he went under their legs then tripped them. They punched him in the face except they can’t punch him in the face because he’s a ghost.

So he hopped in the portal and it took him to the Diamond Dimension. It was all pure diamonds. He was rich for days. Except he didn’t care because he was already rich so he fell on the floor and went out of the Diamond Dimension and went to the Gold Dimension. Then it kept on happening with gold, with iron, and then he finally realized he had a question: How would he pick the rock up if he’s a ghost?

He had to get out of the portal so he can get out without them hurting him. He used rock because it could protect him. He had to carry it to Stone Dimension! Except there was only one stone and it was surrounded with a portal and he didn’t realize it. And then he fell in the portal and then he went to the Coal Dimension. It was raining coal and then coal fell on his head and it falls through him and it cracked the ground open.

He falls into it and he goes back in time until he was a baby. He sees what he looked like when he was a baby. He tries to punch the baby but he hurts himself because he’s really punching himself. Then he keeps on punching the baby but he’s basically punching himself and the baby had magical powers that turned people back into humans if they were a ghost. He turned back into a human. Then his Dad saw him and then he thought that he was evil and trying to kill the baby because he was punching the baby. Then they got into a fight. He won the fight and he didn’t feel bad at all.

He can’t get out of the past so there are two of him. He knew that he was going to have to live with the baby forever and he hated babies. He had to live with the baby because if the baby dies, he dies.

The One and Only World

Once upon a time there was a person named Hugo Steler. He was a thief and one day, he stole a purse from an old lady that had a library card so she could rent books from the public library. So he went to the library and picked out a random book. He didn’t know how it worked so he took a book and went outside, but the owner never saw so he was free. He read the whole thing and thought, “This isn’t anything important.” Then he read one page that told him about a world that was always green and exploded two trillion years ago. And so he thought, “I can make a new world, and I can live there. I can put my house there and I’ll have the biggest house in the world.” So he went looking for some clues to how to rebuild the world. He took one more book from the library. He read on one page that said if he finds a certain book, it will have a formula that creates a person that will tell him how to make the world again. So Hugo looked around and found all the ingredients. He needed a really, really special color that was called babu and then he also needed a really really really small bookcase that could fit into a glass. He put them all into a small container and he shook it and also put in a little bit of water, and after that it made a really really light yellow. Then, a little part of it exploded out so Hugo  went away and took a rag to clean it up, but it burned the rag! So he took the formula and put it in a secret container and then after a week, a new person came. That person told him everything to make the new world.

To make the new world, he had to get the best drawing in the whole world, and a piece of grass. So he was looking in the museum when he saw a giant painting but it wasn’t a painting; it was more like a scribble. It said, “The Best Painting in the World.”

But he hadn’t read the end of the directions, which was the most important part. That was, “The Best Painting in the World…for the stupid people.” SO Hugo took the painting but the guards saw him. They said, “No one can take the painting!” Then they said, “You can take that. That’s just a dumb drawing.”

Hugo said, “No, it’s the best painting in the world.”

The guard said, “That’s the best painting in the world for the stupid people!”

Hugo said, “Ohhhhh.” He looked in every single museum but he never found the Best Painting in the World. There was only the best picture for dumb people, or the best picture for people who never shut up. So, he just went to a chamber and said, “Why did I look here? It doesn’t seem important.” But there was a secret room. “Maybe it’s in here!” He walked and opened the door. It was so smelly! He almost passed out. But right in the middle of it was the painting. “If I can get past that wall of stinkiness, I can just use a portal.” So he ran to a bank and said “Can I have all your money, stupid person?”

One of the stupid bank people was writing a stupid report of how bad their bank was and there were nothing but baby stories all about the horrible bank. Hugo thought that the bank was actually the best. But they called it the Bad Bank. That was the name of that awesome place, but Hugo never was able to get money there. They were so mean, but it was an awesome place. So he ran to another place, but he had no idea where he was, so he just randomly went into a store and looked to see if there was a bank but there were none, and he went into a house and asked them for money but he was never able to find anything. So he just went to a random place that he never knew if it was even a place. It wasn’t a place. It was nothing. He started falling and falling and falling but then land came into view. But there were a million trampolines where he was. He went through 999 of them but then he started bouncing as high as the empire state building. He bounced so high he went right through all the trampolines. He crashed through the dirt and then he started falling again and there was nothing again. Then another land came into view and it was Heaven.

In Heaven, he got as much money as he wanted to buy diamonds to make a portal. The bad thing was, the only thing he needed after diamonds was impossible to get. Unless he killed  kill a million zombies! He never thought he could defeat them, but he got armor and a massive sword and so and so. Then he started looking for zombies but there were no more. So he gave up and went back to another world through a really small elevator and that world was the building world. So he just found a random house with a bed in it and went to sleep. When he woke up, he found a fake person in the room. He still didn’t feel like looking so he just opened the door. And there was the owner of the building right in front of him. But when the owner got so angry he fell onto the ground and turned into a zombie!

And then he yelled “7bytfgyrudhnygtfj8d3huyfrgrtefhiduh!”

After he said that, a million zombies rose from the earth. But Hugo wasn’t armed. The armor and the sword were on the other side. He thought, “If they look over there, then I can run.”

So he said “Hey, look, zombies!” He found the decoy on the edge of the door so he ran to get it and threw it as hard as he could. Since the zombies weren’t that smart, they thought that was him. So they ran after the decoy and jumped on the decoy. But there was one zombie that was smart enough to not run after that decoy. So, Hugo just took a grenade he found under his bed. He knew zombies in this world were really quite like dogs. So he just threw the grenade and the zombie ran and tried to get it and when he did he exploded. And then Hugo ran as fast as he could to the other side. Then he took his suit of armor that was laying on the door and put it on as fast as he can and got the sword. And when the zombies weren’t looking, he swiped his sword and since they were all bunched up he chopped off every zombie’s head.

He got the piece of paper that the ancient artist made. The piece of paper just appeared in the sky, falling down like a butterfly that had been shot by a gun. But then an evil dentist that had super shoes that let him jump super high appeared, and then he took the piece of paper and ran off.

But Hugo always had a gun in his pocket so he shot the dentist and won. That meant he could make the new world.

Biography – Scars

I must admit, it still hurts.  Every day, I feel it a bit, in my legs, arms, and face. I wanna scream but I just sigh and sit down – I guess I’ve gotten used to it.

What am I talking about?  Let me introduce myself. I am Rebecca Lugeva, and I am currently 78 years old. This is my story of how I got to where I am today.

 

July 16th, 1946

 

Right now I am nine. I lived in Turnsdale, Ohio and loved farming with my father, Bill. We were going to Florida where we were going on a rollercoaster past live lions! I was so excited!

We arrived in Florida at noon, a bright sun shining on me. I couldn’t wait to see those beautiful lions! As we arrived at the front gates, we were greeted by a tall man in a bright green outfit.

“Greetings family of Lugeva, we have been expecting you!” he said, as Father gave him some money. “Today we will be doing a beautiful tour of trained lions, so do not worry. And, as always, don’t lean out of the roller coaster.”

Filled with excitement, my family and I boarded the coaster, the man in green getting in the driver’s seat. I wonder what colors the lions are, I thought. Soon the engine roared to life and the roller coaster slowly took off, making a chugga-chugga sound. Soon, we were in a wonderful plains with a bunch of large, brown lions.

“They’re fabulous!” I cried out.

I leaned out to see them closer. At last minute I remember what the man in green had said: “Don’t lean out of the roller coaster.”

But it was too late. I fell off, landing on the grass. Then, I saw a lion charge at me, and everything went black.

 

July 20th, 1946

 

I woke up in a gray bed. It was long and uncomfortable. I noticed Father and Mother standing over me.

“You’re awake!” called Mother.

“W-what happened?” I asked groggily.

“You were bitten by a lion,” Father said. “Dumb Park Ranger! He said they were trained! You were in a coma for four days. We were very worried. Luckily the doctors have helped a lot.”

 

September 5th, 1953

 

Now, as I am 18, it is affecting my life greatly. The scars all over me made people afraid of me. It hurts all the time.  And today, I was sick of it.

I stared at my college roommate, the only person who supports me. Her name was Melissa Termella.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Just thinking back to the incident.”

“Don’t!” she said. “That’s the past. Think about this moment.”

 

December 31, 1957

 

After college, Melissa and I stayed in touch. I moved into a small house in Ohio, my home state. I tried to get back into farming – maybe that will make me happier. Nope. The farming motions just made the pain worse. I told Melissa this, and she decided to help me.

“What do you mean, help?” I asked over the telephone.

“I’ll come over tomorrow. You’ll see.”

 

January 1, 1958

 

“Happy new year,” said Melissa as she entered my house.

“To you too,” I said, then grunted; my scars hurt as I closed the door.

I led my only friend into the living room, where we sat down on my soft chairs. Melissa began to speak.

“So…lets start,” she said, “I am going to help you lighten your spirits. The more happy you are, the better your scars will get.”

I sighed, “Okay. Lets start.”

“Good,” Melissa said. “First, what is your favorite thing to do?”

“Farming. That didn’t work.”

“Ah! Don’t say that. We’re going now.”

“What – ?”
“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Then come on.”

With a large smile on her face, she ran out of the living room and into the backyard. I ran after her, so confused, that I momentarily forgot my pain.
“What are you doing?!” I asked, when we were both outside.

“I’m farming, genius!” Melissa said as she picked up a shovel and hoe.

She began to dig. All she was doing was digging, occasionally looking into the holes she was digging.

“You don’t know how to farm, do you?  I laughed.

“No clue,” Melissa said, as she turned to me. “But you do!  Get over here.”
I jogged over and picked up the shovel, “This, is how the master does her thing.”

I leaned down to the grass and got so into my farming and planting, I forgot about the scars, the lion, everything…

“Jeez,” said Melissa.  “You’re great!”

In ten minutes, a new plant was beginning to sprout.

“Boom!” I said. “How’s that?”

“I’m better at teaching,” shrugged Melissa.

We smiled and went inside. We walked over to the front door, and Melissa turned to me.

“I guess I’ll be going,” she said. “Think about what we did. Did you even feel those scars while you farmed?”

“No.”

“Great,” she said happily. “I’ll be back in two days.”

 

May 7, 1960

 

Now, three years later, Melissa is still teaching me, and I am very grateful for her. I relate myself to the plants I farm – getting taller and taller, better and better, as time goes on.

My scars are getting much better. Farming is getting more fun than it ever was. And I am closely listening to everything Melissa teaches me about: social skills, chatting skills, distractions, and more. Where would I be if I had gone to a different college? Thank goodness I found her–I might still be that secluded woman who weeps all the time.

Every year on Melissa’s birthday I go to her house, hug her, and tell her how thankful I am for her. And the hugging does not hurt my scars.

 

April 17th, 2015

 

Ah, present day. As I said, it still hurts. But not nearly as much as it used to. I am old, so that might make it worse. But I’m happy now. I think of Melissa who I still see sometimes. I have a nice husband named Rick and I have learned to be super thankful. I never took Thanksgiving “thankful speech” seriously–until I met Melissa.

Thank you for reading my story. Maybe I can inspire you to rise up and be a hero.

The Floorboards

I, Ruth Edith, age 12,

am staring out the window at the sky streaked with fluorescent chalk,

surrounding a sun which remains a golden luminous ball.

Deep in my soul, the feeling of happiness is locked away in a metal chest, coated in dead, gray dust.

That dead grayness flows within me. It is what makes me who I am today. I know I am supposed to be in hiding, locked under the concealing floorboards,

but I can’t take another second of it –

of insects crawling about my body, of my rumbling stomach, of fear.

Floorboards of sorrow conceal the old me.

The new me perches at the windowsill, wondering why our world is so deplorable.

How a single man can sway all of Germany to discriminate against Jews. That single man is despicable, heinous, loathsome.

I utter these words under my breath, careful not to awaken mother and father, who are obscured under the floorboards.

Father had been a tailor, but his shop has been confiscated by the Nazis.

Mother, a seamstress, worked with Father.

I had been a schoolgirl, dreamy and benevolent.

 

Suddenly I hear a faint sound.

There is a rattling noise of a car engine off in the distance.

I cannot imagine why one would drive a car around the village at the crack of dawn,

so my eyes remain peeled towards the window,

curiosity drowning me in its grasp.

It is a cherry-red convertible, as red as my cheeks on frigid mornings.

A man is standing in the backseat, hollering “all heil Hitler.”

It’s him, that dreaded man.

Many open their windows, echoing this foolish phrase.

I tiptoe back under the floorboards,

and let its despondency cover me.

The Adventures of Cig and Pow

1:

Cig and Pow were best friends. Cig got hurt many times, so Pow hurt himself because he felt bad for his friend. They liked Minecraft. They were awesome, so they didn’t die, but they were wounded. Cig and Pow wanted to go inside the Volcano of Doom and they wanted to get random Pokemon cards that nobody uses anymore. The Demon of Fire, the Big Shield of Awesomeness, the Big Mountain of Trains, the Big Toy Store of Thomas, and Alice the Duck-land were all in their way!

So first they played played Minecraft for a while, and killed skeletons and stuff like that. Then they died in Minecraft because of a zombie pig man. Then they decided to go fight the Demon of Fire with their diamond swords and armor. Cig and Pow were doing this in real life, not Minecraft. They had to walk miles without water or food. When they got there…

 

2:

They didn’t see any sign of the Demon of Fire. All they saw were My Little Ponies. But when they opened the gate, the My Little Ponies formed to turn into the demon. It was 50 feet tall and 100 feet wide with 70,000,000,000 wings.

Cig and Pow were so freaked out that they almost peed their pants. But they didn’t. But they almost did. They took out their diamond things and slashed the demon in half. Then Cig and Pow slashed down the gate.

“Go, move,” they hissed at each other.

They wanted to get to the Big Shield of Awesome soon. The Big Shield of Awesome seemed like it was 1,000,000,000,000 miles away.

 

3:

With no food, Cig and Pow were melting (because they were in the desert).

 

4:

They were praying so hard that they would find some food that they were melting even more.

 

5:

After they went through the desert, they fainted.

So after they got back up, they ran as fast as they could to try and find the Big Shield of Awesome. They found it on the top of a mountain that was called Cuckooland.

After they found it, they decided they should use it to go inside the Volcano of Doom to find random Pokemon cards that nobody uses anymore.

After that, they had to travel two trillion more miles to get to The Mountain of Trains.

When they got there, the trains were coming at them like crazy people. And they had bow and arrows and they were trying to shoot Cig and Pow. The trains wanted to stop them because they knew if Cig and Pow got the Pokemon cards, they could control them with it. The trains didn’t want that. So they attacked Cig and Pow with their bows and shot both of them in the chest.

 

6:

Cig and Pow were unconscious for three hours. They were lying in the train land. They were looking around and all the trains were blurry.

“jslibodg  ueiieojeoj,” said Cig.

“Dnbdjggdwiwhdj,” said Pow slowly.

Everything got better eventually.

“Dkejduoowwyy; Fhhdddhhdj hhhhi uHhg,” they both said.

“Poop,” Pow said. “I don’t think we should be talking because I think the trains will come back.”

 

The End.

Milkshakes

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Carley. She was famous because she had powers. Ice powers, to be exact. She didn’t like being famous because she had no privacy. Every time she went to her favorite restaurant, The Ice Palace Burgers, the paparazzi came and took pictures of her when she had her mouth full of cheeseburger. So she decided to make her own restaurant which is new and improved and also called the The Ice Palace Burgers so no one would bother her. Unless, of course, they were her family. She had a little sister named Anna who always came to the restaurant and ordered a large chocolate shake. She had at least three a day, which was starting to make her a little chubby. So Carley decided to change the password to only let in the rest of her family and not Anna. She built a new gym for her to exercise and lose weight.

“Why are you being so mean to me, Carley? I just really like to eat chocolate shakes all day long!” said Anna.

“I’m not being mean to you, I’m doing it for your own health. So you should be happy because until you lose weight a lot, I’ll tell you the password but you shouldn’t eat a lot of shakes because you’ll have to go back to the gym. Also, if you don’t do that, you’ll have to go to the old restaurant and you’ll have to pay a lot. And I won’t help you anymore!”

“Well, I guess that’s reasonable. What if I only have one shake a day? And then I’ll go to the gym and do 100 pushups? And I will be there for eight hours every day.”

“Okay, Anna. But if you drink more than that, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

“Okay. I promise to not drink more than one shake a day.”

The next day came and Anna went to the restaurant. She went to the counter and asked for one shake. And a large cheeseburger and some Sprite. She went to the table and ate it all. Then she went straight to the gym. She did 50 pushups and was there for one hour before she got hungry again.

“Hmm… I could really use a big chocolate shake right now,” she thought to herself.

“But I shouldn’t! I know! I’ll get a super duper large cheeseburger extra bacon and a Sprite. I’ll eat it and come back to the gym. That way I won’t break my promise.”

She left the gym and went to the restaurant. She ordered a super duper large cheeseburger with extra bacon and a Sprite. But while she was ordering, Carley came up next to her and ordered a large chocolate shake. It looked so delicious! Anna went straight to the bathroom to hide. After Carley left, Anna went back to her table and started eating really fast. But since she waited too long to eat it, her burger was cold and the Sprite was flat.

“Wow! That was not very tasty. But if I order any more, my sister will be mad. What should I do? I’m going to trash all this and go to the gym. Look at the time! I spent nine hours at the restaurant! I better get back really soon.”

When Anna got back to the gym, Carley was waiting for her.

“Where were you? I’ve been waiting here for hours. Were you drinking a milkshake?”

“No! I wasn’t.”

“What were you doing then?”

“I was eating at the restaurant.”

“What did you eat?”

“I ate super duper large cheeseburger with extra bacon and a huge Sprite.”

“Anna!”

“What? I didn’t break your promise.”

“Still, you ate too much! You need to exercise. How much time did you spend at the gym?”

“Um… one hour.”

“How many push ups did you do?”

“Fifty.”

“Okay. Since you broke your promise, I already changed the password to the restaurant. So now you can’t eat with me anymore.”

After saying that, Carley left Anna alone outside the gym.

Anna followed Carley and she found out that she went into the restaurant. Carley had used her ice powers to freeze the whole place but made a new restaurant called True Food Kitchen. At the moment she saw Anna, she erased her memory of the scene of Carley freezing the first restaurant and making a new one.

The next thing Anna knew, she was back in the gym doing push ups. She didn’t know why she was doing pushups, but decided to keep doing them anyway. After she finished her 100 pushups, she went to the restaurant to get a huge chocolate milkshake, but she realized it was frozen! But luckily, there was another restaurant. It was called True Food Kitchen. She went inside and ordered the chef’s special. But the chef said that a new customer has to be always blindfolded. It was a beautiful salad, but she couldn’t see it because her eyes were blindfolded. She took a bite.

“Mmmm! This is so delicious! But it’s not as delicious as my chocolate milkshake. I’ll get a drink! Waiter! I would like to order the milkshake special.”

She waited for her milkshake. When it came, it was green! But she didn’t see it because she was still blindfolded. She took a sip and it was better than the chocolate milkshake. Then she took of her blindfold. She saw Carley come through the door and go behind the counter.

“Carley, Carley, Carley!!! Sis, sis, you were right all the time. eating healthy is better for me.”

“Excellent, you learned your lesson that eating healthy is good for you!!!!”

The sisters lived happily ever after.

 

The End

Rae Raspberry

Right in our world, there is a land you will only see if you look closely: tiny people live in fruit, and their fruit. This is their story.

Rae watched the sunset in their small apartment while Mom and Dad argued. The gooey raspberry substance made a good cushion, as she had been sitting there for hours. Rae sighed. Ever since Mom came back, things had been hard, there was more arguing and fighting. Rae finished watching the sunset that looked pink from the raspberry.

“Dinner,” yelled Mom.

Rae sighed again. She was just glad to have Mom back. Mom’s new raspberry had an infestation of mold. Mom had only come back a few months ago. She’s so mean. Is that why? Rae wondered.

Raspberry quiche is my favorite!!!” Rupe said.

“What’s wrong?” said Rae.

Her parents looked at each offer.

“Your mother and I have decided we’re going to move to a body,” said Dad. She liked her little room even if she did have to share it with Rupe. Rupe said he really did not want to move. She thought of running to her room, but the house suddenly had a strange emptiness to it. Rupe was not sad about moving, though.

“Cool!” their Dad said. “Rupe is super happy and outgoing.”

A few days later, Rae finally had the courage to tell Willa and Grace that she was moving. She felt like her world was turning upside down. Everything was now packed up in little pink boxes that said, “Rheina Raspberry” or “Rupert Raspberry” or “Rupert Senior Raspberry” or “Rochelle Raspberry.” Before she knew it, it was time for Rae and her family to move.

Rae and her family climbed out onto the raspberry carton. Rae was still giving her parents the silent treatment. It was 2am. It was cold and scary, but Rae felt determined. She was so scared, having to take A bus and C bus. They had to jump over the ledge when Sam, the grocery store cat walked by.  She was not happy to be there with few other families and a guide.

“1,2,3! JUMP!” he yelled.

She jumped.

 

2:45 a.m.

Rae was tired. So tired that everything sounded like mumbling. She caught snatches of a conversations: I’m telling you. Caaaaa Siiick. Those hoodlums will pay! A high fever…

But most of all, Rae heard a young woman sing to her baby, only because she was next to her, as she was singing quietly, “If all of my misery was swept by a wave, I wouldn’t have to hide in a cave, my love, my only sweetheart.”

Just then Rae noticed that the woman, certainly quite young, had no baby, or child for that matter was with her. She must be crazy, thought Rae…

“All OFF! Last stop!” said the conductor, Hank.

“Rae, honey, wake up,” said Mom.

“Uuughhh,” said Rae.

Five hours later, the man at the Fruit Service Immigrant Center said, “Here are your seed costumes! You have to wear them when you board your raspberry! So if the humans see you, you will be safe.”

“WHAT?!” said Rae. It was a big white suit with a big white middle. It was the ugliest thing Rae had ever seen. She would never wear that. Her friend Grace would have said, “It would not have gone with her complexion.” She tried that–it didn’t work.

The man said, “Sorry kiddo.”

She was wearing a white undershirt. They went to their raspberry. It wasn’t like theirs–it was fatter, and you had to board the fruit that you were born with. “Now you are stuck with raspberries.”

She was disgusted. She was over ripe. Rae was so nervous, she didn’t want to get bitten. She didn’t want to get her leg bitten off like Willa’s dad. The carton was pretty, but she was so embarrassed about having to be in that costume, she tried to hide under the raspberry gel, but it did not work. She sat down. Her little brother Rupe was busy laughing. He thought he looked amazing in his suit. Mom and Dad looked so proud of him. “Thank you, Rupe, for being responsible and wearing it, even if you don’t want to,” said Dad with a glance at Rae.

“Grace and Willa would never be caught dead with that,” Rae said.

“WE’RE GOIN’ IN!!!” was heard all over.

Gosh, thought Rae, my neighbors were quieter than that. WERE quieter than that. WERE hit her like a pang in the chest. They were never going back, and she didn’t know what came ahead…

She woke to a sudden jolt to the shoulder. “Rae!!! Wake up, we’re going in!!!” said Mom.

“Rae, it’s time to gooo!!!” whined Rupe.

“OKAY! OKAY!” said Rae. She and Rupe got their bags and joined their parents at the edge of the gel. Instinctively, she crouched.

“Rae, hold on to your luggage,” said Mom.

“How do you know so much about this?” said Rae.

“I study,” said Mom. Just then, they felt themselves being lifted up.

“AAAHHH!!!” screamed Rae. Rae noticed she wasn’t the only one screaming–the whole Raspberry seemed to be shrieking in terror. Rae screamed along with them.

“BE QUIET,” came a voice that seemed to be coming from Rae’s stomach. “BE QUIET OR THEY WILL HEAR A MURMURING FROM THEIR FOOD!”

“Oh!” gasped Rae.

“Dont worry,” said Mom, “Everyone heard that. It came from the suit, that is what Mayor Fruitsy says.”

Rae had never been more scared in her life. “Mom and Dad, that was so close!!!” Chomp…Rae was aware of being put in the mouth. She vaguely saw Rupe. She saw teeth. She saw a person directing people, sitting on top of the uvula. She dived, like Mom and Dad had taught her. Mom and Dad…what happened? Chomp…oops, so close to my leg. She was just starting to get her courage back, when…she fell.

She was just falling down the tongue, and fast! She wanted to scream but bit her lip instead. Ooohhh! Cushiony! She tripped and fell onto a bridge. Clonk! Clonk! Her two pink bags fell on her head. ”Ooff!” she said.

“All in all, not such a smooth landing,” smirked a girl about her age, and then walked away. All Rae saw was long blond hair…

They said, “What’s wrong?”

“That girl was  mean!” She looked up at her, pained with tears in her eyes. This is not the future she wanted.

“Rae, we moved here for a new start…we needed to sort things out,” said Mom.

“RUPE!” yelled Dad.

“NO!” said Rae. She didn’t know why she didn’t want the girl to see her crying. Just then, Rupe arrived. But something was wrong. Rupe was clutching his hand and crying. His luggage fell on him too, but he didn’t seem to notice. Dad knew instantly what was wrong. “Rochelle! Take Rae to our house!” says Dad. “Our NEW house. I need to take Rupe to the emergency room. I know my way around here better than we did when we lived in our raspberry.” And with that, Dad and Rupe were gone.

To Rae, it looked like they had just disappeared from the ground. But she found out later that there was actually a series of tubes that once you stamped your foot in a certain place, and tapped in your ID, a bunch of manholes that led to the tubes that were all around the body that would take Dad and Rupe to the hospital. Along the sides of the greenish river, Rae noticed little beach houses. They were more like huts with a straw roof. They were small, but Mom said that it would fit them and they would live there.

They walked inside the hut and Rae noticed it was alright. Just no raspberry furniture. But she could get used to it and she had her own room. Just then, Dad popped out of the ground with Rupe.

“OH MY GOSH!!!! screamed Mom and Rae. “Whathappendtorupeisheokaywhatsup!” said Mom.

“He’s ok, it was just a graze. I’ll tell you later, Ro,” said Dad, using Mom’s nickname that meant something was wrong.

That night, Rae could not sleep in her new bed. To her it was uncomfortable, and made her sneeze. After the 10000000000th sneeze, she crept downstairs so she could ask Mom to make Mom’s special raspberry, but stopped when she heard her name.

“…AND dragging Rae to start over with a new brother, too!!!” She crouched under the stairs listening.

“Rupe…dead?” thought Rae. “Is that why he was in Mom and Dad’s bed?” She didn’t like Rupe but she didn’t hate him. Now she felt so guilty and tired that she lay down in bed, cried all night and didn’t sleep at all. Maybe that was why she was so grumpy the next day…

Rae had unpacked but something was still nagging at her. Raspberries tend to be real worrywarts. The first day of school was drawing nearer, but on the promising side, Dad was going to take them to his work on the brain.

 

Rae wrote this:

 

Some bad things in my life: Mom and Dad are fighting more, school starts soon!!! There is something wrong with my brother, my Dad bought him a device that he has to bring with him everywhere. Even at dinner or the bathroom. That is what Mom and Dad are fighting about now, but if it beeps when he has to go to work, it means something is wrong. I don’t like this…

 

Rae decided, right there on the very first day of school, to change “Rae” to “Rheina,” her given name. But then she changed it back to “Raina,” because it was better, and in her favorite book, that was the main character’s name.

Then realized she just liked Rae better.

When she arrived at the school, she looked at the class. It was so plain. She wished she’d gotten to go to the private raspberry school. Back when they lived in their old raspberry, there were two options. Go to a private school for just raspberries, or a school of mixed fruits. They were called Can Schools and Private Can Schools. She had originally gone to a private one, but after Mom moved out the first time when she was five, she switched to a Mixed Can School, and met Willa and Grace. Rae’s mother had moved out twice. The first time Rae’s mother came back because she had felt bad that she had taken her one-year-old son and not her five-year-old daughter. Rae was still mad at her about that. But she didn’t say anything, because it was too awkward. There are just some things you couldn’t tell her.

She pushed open the door, and…

“Here is the calculus of the numbers 2 4 6 8.” Oops. It was also Rae’s first time in middle school. She had gone to elementary school back in Raspberry Ville, but now the fifth grade school was a middle school. She had no idea what the teacher was talking about, but that didn’t really matter, because the teacher stopped right where she was as soon as she heard the door creak. “And here is our new student, Rheina Raspberry! Would you tell us a little bit about yourself, Rheina?”

Rae just stood there, so the teacher gave her a prompt. “Where are you from?”

Finally Rae got her courage. “Raspberry Ville,” she whispered.

“Great! Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about?” the teacher repeated, with that same amount of sarcasm they often use.

“Yes,” Rae said, repeated in a louder voice. “My name is Rae, not Rheina.”

The teacher looked for her for a moment and sat down. She told her to sit down next to a boy. He must have been a raspberry, Rae thought, because he has curly hair, like mine, but a darker shade of pink. The teacher was saying, “Richard, would you like to give Rae a tour?” Richard nodded.

First he showed her the bathroom, (awkward, because he was a boy and could not go in). Then he started talking: “my sister Riley is just like you, a girl with a love of nail projects. But I also have a brother named Roger, oh, and a baby named Reggie, another named Robbie, and everyone calls me Rich.”

Then he was silent. When they got back to class, the both of them were blushing, Rae from the lies she had told, and Richie from, well, everything.

“Good, now join Beryl, over there, Beryl, raise your hand!”

A pretty girl with blue hair tied into a bun and purple glasses raised her hand. “Yes, Miss Kiwi?” said Beryl.

She looks wimpy, thought Rae. She sat down next to Beryl and they worked on the math. However, the girl next to Beryl sneered and glared at Rae.

“Don’t mind her, that’s just Liviah. She’s mean.”

By the end of the lesson, they were talking about movies and recess. When the bell rang, Beryl asked Rae if she wanted to hang out with Beryl’s friends. Rae was happy to have this invitation so fast.

Just then, about five million girls came up. They all started telling Rae their names. All Rae heard was, “I’m Stella Strawberry,” and “I am Limona Lime,” and “I am Carina Cranberry,” and much more…everyone except for Liviah Lemon. Just then, Beryl pulled her away.

“Here, my friend,” she said. “Those are the twins Ollie and Ophelia Orange.”

“Hii!!!” said the girl named Lucy. “Let’s do a makeover on you, your lips are so dry.”

Rae touched the lips Mom always told her to put cream on, just as Stella said, “Oh my gosh, Luce, you are being so mean to this poor girl Rea, remember your first day?”

“Actually, its Rae,” said Rae softly, not wanting to upset one girl that was nice to her.

“Ahh! So sorry!” she said .

“S’okay,” said Rae. Just then, Liviah walked in.

“Hey Rae, you’re not okay, your Dad is dumb, your Mom should be dead, and I bet you wet the bed”.

Then she pushed Rae hard smack dab onto the ground. Her new friends helped her up, whispering words of comfort.

Recess ended. School was okay, classes were good, middle school was fine. That is what she told her mother, but here is a diary entry she wrote:

 

Dear Diary,

 

I hate this! The kids are okay, but it is so awful. I hate how the teachers are so boring and drone on. I hate that awful Liviah, she is so mean! Some of the kids are mean, and some are quiet, like Bart Blackberry in science, or Lola Lime. But it is so…bland, not like a mixed can should be.

 

Love,

R

 

Rae was excited about school. By the end of the week, she had forgotten that her father would take her and Rupe to the brain. He reminded her at dinner on Friday, but was interrupted by yet another phone call.

Her mother said, “Maybe that will give you a chance to see how busy your father is.” Then she cleared the dishes. Rae now relied more and more on her diary.

 

Dear Diary,

 

So nervous for the brain! Rupe seems to be feeling better, but he looks like he is running a 120 degree fever. I’m feeling sleepy, even though it is only 7:00. And today that Liviah pushed me against the lockers and spread the rumor that I wet the bed. One of my friends believed it! Aaaahhh!!

-R

 

On the day of the brain, Rae found a note scrawled for her by her mother. It read:

 

Rae’s father woke him up. At the gym–left out your clothes. Help Rupe get dressed–don’t forget he’s coming, too. Daddy is making breakfast.

 

Love, Mom

 

Rae looked at the clock. 6:00 a.m.! “Yeah, that’s when I get up,” said Dad.

He handed her a microwave waffle, still frozen. She gestured to it, and Dad shrugged.

“It’ll warm up while we walk.”

Mumbling something about too warm weather, he went to get his shoes. Then Rae remembered: Rupe! She woke him up, and they both got dressed, Rupe in a suit, and Rae in a frilly dress. They left, walked two blocks, and took a different subway.

They walked some more uphill, and Dad had to carry Rae and Rupe across some icky mud.

“Thank you, my lovely prince,” Rae said, and kissed him on the cheek. Rupe smiled.

When they finally got to the brain, both kids were tired, and Rupe had some mud trailing off his suit. Dad slapped a card in front big brass doors. A robotic voice said, “Hello, and welcome to the brain,” and after a brief pause, “Mr. R. Rasberry. Thank you for coming to work today.” Then it began to play the fruit national anthem. Oh say can you see, by the fruitily light…

Rae’s father opened the doors by punching in a code. The brain was full of light and energy. It was circular, and there was a rope to hold so you could not go in the sections. At each section, there was a door. Everything was bursting with activity. “Hiya, Brendon!” Dad said to a worker. “Brenny, these are my kids, Rae and Rupe.” Brendon barely nodded. Dad motioned to his head and made the crazy sign, which Rae thought was rude, as even crazy people have feelings too.

Their father had asked Rae to take Rupe to the fancy bathroom. (She made him go in the ladies room). But as they were walking back, Rae saw a familiar face: Brendon. “Hi, Brendon!” she called. He dismissed Rupe and Rae waving by just walking straight ahead. Rae shivered.

The rest of the brain was cool, but all Rae could think about was Brendon, and his distant yet cold look. Brendon was a blackberry. He looked like he used to have black hair, but thinning, and turning gray and white, like a grandfather. However, unlike a grandfather, there was no telltale twinkle in his cold, blue-gray, and, in this light, black eyes. So you can imagine just how happy Rae was to see her mother, out of the marble bathroom and long empty-spaced brain. Rae practically collapsed into her bed, meaning to think about Brendon, but she was so tired, she was asleep before the name Brendon ever entered her brain.

“Dinner, Rae? Are you feeling well?” her concerned mother said as she entered her room.

“Huh?” Rae was shaken awake by her mother’s voice. “I guess so.”

She joined her family at dinner, though not her father, as he had yet another business call. She hastily ate her dinner, even though it tasted bland and gross to her. “Now I’ve got a special surprise,” her mother said. “Raspberry pie!”

“Yay!!! cried Rupe.

“Hooray,” said Rae weakley.

“I hope you’re up to eating it,” her mother began, and to Rae’s horror, started to give a long speech about the importance of listening to your body, and only eating if you feel like it, even if it does look so good. But then somehow, the raspberries bubbling away smelled sugar-sweet, and sickly gross, and suddenly she just hated the color pink, and well…being a raspberry! And then everything went black.

She woke up with an apple doctor peering over her. “Yep, a touch of colitisofruito,” said the doctor, whose nametag read Dr. Antonio Apple, also bearing the slogan: “An Apple a day keeps the doctor away!” Her mother peered down on Rae, as the doctor began a long and dull conclusion.

“It must have been moving to a new place with new germs, or direct human contact.” He shuddered. “She will be fine in a few days. Just take this Rasberrio antibiotics. Stay home from school for a week though.“ Rae signed and fell asleep.

When she woke up, her head, throat, and stomach hurt. There was a pamphlet on her desk. It read:

 

Are you suffering from fruit month long mono?

Tips: Watch TV

Sleep

Raid the fridge

Have a long relaxing bubble bath

Read a book

Rest

Feel better!!!

 

Rae groaned and went back to sleep.

When her mother came home, Rae was sitting up, face flushed with fever. She called, “Mama!” and she came pestering Rae with a billion questions “Areyouokay? Whathappened? Howareyoufeeling? Doyouwantsomethingtoeat? Todrink?”

“Oh, Mama, right before I fainted, I thought the pie smelled gross, and I well, hated being a raspberry,” blurted Rae.

“Oh, baby!” she said. “You were sick, and I know you love being who you are. Just remember that, no matter what. Be who you are.”

Two weeks later, Rae felt fine, but as she put it to an email to her BFF’s, Rae was right. There was a huge storm coming. Outside, the wind blew hard. “”Rae, can you stay home alone?”

“Yeah,” said Rae, wearing trackpants and a sweatshirt.

“BYE,” Mom yelled. Rae flipped on the TV.

“Huge storm warning.” FLICK.

“We think it is caused by the baseballitusuioras germs, but can’t be sure.” FLICK.

“Dora, lets go explora.” FLICK.

Rae turned the TV off. How boring. She fell asleep.

It must have been dismissal time thought Rae, looking at the clock which read 2:45. “Wow,” thought Rae. “I have been asleep for hours! What woke me up?” she wondered.

Outside, the wind howled, and a branch smashed against the window. Despite what her mother said about not going near the window during a storm, Rae peered out, and saw rain, branches, and Mom and Rupe!!!??? Rae ran outside, trodding on fallen bits of tree, but despite her thousands of splinters on her sensitive raspberry feet, ran to her mother and brother.

“Mooom, Ruuupe!” she yelled.

“Rae!!!” yelled Mom. “Open the door!”

Rae ran back into the house and flung open the door. Mom and Rupe rushed in. She was holding an unconscious Rupe in her hands. Rae slammed the door. Mom put Rupe on the table, and poured some liquid onto his body. “He’ll be fine,” said Mom.

Rae looked doubtfully at her little brother. “Oh Rupe!” cried Rae. “Oh Mom! I heard you and Dad talking…and I don’t want a new brother! And why does Rupe look so sick?!”

“Oh, baby,” her mother said, “Your Dad’s specific job in the brain is called a brother. WE were thinking of divorce again…” She paused, seeing Rae’s horrified expression. “But now we won’t, hon. Rupe is like this because, well, the boys at school beat him up.”

“What!!!” cried Rae.

Before her mother could answer, Rupe sat up and groggily stared around.

“Mama!” he sobbed.

“Oh Rupie,” Mom said. “Come on! Off to beddy byes.” She scooped him up and carried him upstairs. Rae sat on the sofa, hoping that everything would be normal by tomorrow.

 

Three days later, the Raspberries were eating dinner, raspberry glazed pork chops with creamed raspberries, when Dad got another call, but this time on his regular cell. He walked off to answer it. Rae heard:

Dad: Hello? This is Rupert Raspberry.

Other Person: Hi…

Dad: Oh, hey Brendon. What’s up?

Brendon: Listen. My place is flooded, and I have a new home, but I need to crash somewhere tomorrow.

Dad: Hey–that’s too bad. How about you come over to our place?

Brendon: Um…

Dad: My family won’t mind.

Brendon: Family? Well, okay.

Dad: Okay…I have to go.

Brendon: See you tomorrow.

Dad: Bye.

Brendon: Bye.

 

When he came out, he announced, “Okay, it’s settled then. Tomorrow night, my work pal, Brendon, will be coming over for dinner. He lost his home, but is getting a new one, but needs a place to stay tomorrow.”

Even though she had to pretend she had not heard, Rae’s mother did have an argument.

“Darling, that’s all very wonderful, but what about Rupe? He is still injured, you know.”

“No he isn’t,” said Dad. “All that happened was that a huge branch crushed his foot, giving him welts and a fever.”

Mom sighed, but looked like she was going to say more. Rae quickly excused herself to “use the bathroom,” or actually wait out the fighting.

“AND HOW COULD YOU WITHOUT TELLING ME???!!!”

“…a friend, I owe him huge, come on, Rochie…”

“He couLD BE PSYCHO!!!!!”

“JUST GO PUT THE BABY TO BED, dearest angel!“

Rae tiptoed back to her room, and cried herself to sleep even though it was only 7:42.

The next day was filled with cleaning, Dad (trying) to cook, Rae doing her homework and avoiding people, and Rupe looking pale and sickly. Everyone had perked up, especially Rupe, by dinnertime.

Then Brendon was there.

“Come in! Come in!” Dad pretended that he had a happy, healthy family. Rae wondered if Brendon would fall for it. He looked unhappy. Rae’s mom came through the door.

“Hello. You must be Brendon. I’m Rochelle,” said Mom. Then Rae knew that she should say hello. “Hi…” What should I say? “I’m Rae and this is my little brother Rupe…”

Then they sat down to dinner. Rae ate her gross Dad-made turkey and salad. Rupe gagged it down. No one spoke, so Rae did not tell about how Liviah had taunted, teased, and accused her of crying and hurting her friend, even though Rae didn’t. She was so worried that Liviah would tell her parents, though Brendon’s eyes always softened to the raspberry children, while turned forever steely on the adults.

After dinner, Brendon was ready to leave. Rae’s parents were a bit disappointed that he was leaving, but got him his coat and said goodbye and thank you. Just as Brendon was picking up his coat, something fell out. Rae picked it up. “Brendon?” she said, but her family and Brendon had already gone. She thought, I can always give it to Dad to give it to him. On her bed, the wallet fell open. A picture of two young blackberry children came out, one older girl, one younger boy. Both were happy and laughing. It made Rae happy to see, although the older one looked semi-sad. I didn’t know that Brendon had kids, she thought. She then hid the wallet and the picture in her shirts drawer, underneath her Ming Hui’s ice cream shop shirt, and in her Lizzyhead island sweatshirt pocket. Good, she thought, running off. As she brushed her teeth, she thought about Brendon. Why is he so mysterious? Are those his kids? Why didn’t he tell us? Why do the kids look so familiar? Rae’s head swam with questions. Rae blocked all these thoughts and fell asleep.

 

The next morning, Rae ran off to school, only to find Liviah standing at the gate.

“I told Mr. Galvin the principal. How dare you be such a bully,” she said in a mock baby voice.

Mr. Galvin came out. ”Rae Raspberry! How dare you bully sweet Liviah. Come.”

Rae couldn’t take it. “I…I…” She ran the five blocks home.

“Mama!” she called, running in.

“Rae! Are you sick?”

Rae told her everything while crying. In Kiwigarten, she’d run out after missing the bus. One phone call to the principal was all it took, and Rae went back to school with her Mom. After the drop off and apologies, the principal told Rae he was busy, but she had to stand up to Liviah. It was recess, and the tables were turned. The whole school was watching. Liviah was being bullied-bullied by Simone, her frenemy, but she realized that Liviah was protecting Bart Blackberry from Simone’s teasing. What happened to the rude girl who would say to her boyfriend before he’d brush her off, “Lemon and lime were meant to be together!” with a sugary sweet voice and lips. Just then, Rae knew…she did not know how it happened, but she recognized the children from the photo: Bart Blackberry and Liviah Lemon. At the same time, her friends Willa Watermelon and Gemma Grape visited. Gemma ran right past her…hmph! Willa also looked hurt, but said that Grace missed her too much.

 

“Beryl, psst, Beryl,” Rae said. She then told her everything. When she finished, Beryl’s eyes were wide, and her mouth open. She was also just as shocked. This was a very strange playdate, thought Rae. The next day at school, Rae decided to confront Liviah.

“Liviah…I know your secret,” she blurted. Liviah broke away from her group of friends, and then they went to the garden. Liviah grabbed Rae by the shirt.

“How do you know?” her words came out sobbing, her mascara running.

“I got plastic surgery because of the divorce and the fight and the Limes let me stay with them, and now they are trying to be together but I’m too ashamed to come home.”

One hour later, Rae realized that the crazy lady she’d seen on the bus was Lizzi Lime with her daughter from another marriage, Libby Penelope Lemon-Pineapple. Wow, thought Rae. Then, imagine everyone’s shock and surprise as Rae walked in, friends with Liviah.

“You have to go to them today,” said Rae. “Text me.”

And they traded numbers, leaving Rae to explain, “Listen, she had some rough changes in her life. She is very nice, if you get to know her.” No one asked her anything else when Liviah ditched her own friends and sat at their lunch table. Rae felt at peace with the world at last.

 

Ggrapie: I’m sorry about what I said, I’m your friend…

WW: Me too.

RR: Forgave GTG bye friend calling

 

Llemon: THEY SAID YES!!! OMG THEY LOVE ME MY NEW NAME IS BELLA BLACKBERRY!!!

RR: that’s AWESOME

BellaB: FYI don’t get plastic surgery it HURTS and sucks 😀

RR: bye miss you Dad and rupe and me are going to a ball game

BellaB: Okay have fun TTYL bye

 

Rae logged off and went out the door with Dad and Rupe, and the game was immune system VS strep throat. They all cheered for IS, and they won. Rae cheered and almost dropped her hot dog. Rae’s friend Beryl was here, and Rae’s Mom came to take her family home, but then Mom looked flushed and ran up to Dad and kissed him, and from the looks in their eyes, Rae knew they were happy together. Suddenly, Rae felt happy and knew that whatever changed her life, whether divorce, moving, or enemies, Rae could take it on.

Sun or Moon: The Connection Skyway

CHAPTER  1: THE SKYWAY THAT LEADS DOWN

 

Daniel Star Palomino sat on the couch in his medium-sized apartment. His mother ran to him shouting “Get dressed, Mister! It’s almost time for school!” Daniel slowly got up from the brown couch and started walking to his bedroom. He looked in his mirror, his black hair looked distraught-like, like every morning, his blue-green eyes looked tired still, and his face expression looked so unhappy. He got dressed into a short blue T-shirt, dark blue short jeans, nice black high-tops, and a L.A. Dodgers baseball hat. He ran out of Coco Road (the street he lived on) and ran to the apartment across from him to walk with his friend Joshua Nilgin. You see, Joshua’s and Daniel’s families were cousins of sort. That was because Daniel’s great-grandpa married Joshua’s great-grandma. But there is technically another reason why. Also, because both Joshua and Daniel’s family were part of the Moon side on the star they call home, and not the Sun side. What I mean by “on the star they call home” is that they live on star called the Farler Star. And there is only one way down to Earth, and that is too risky to risk. But anyway, he ran to number eight (he was number ten) and knocked hard. A tall boy with hazel-gold hair and sparkly green eyes stood there, waiting for him to talk.

“Hey, Joshua,” Daniel finally said.

“Hey, come in.” He made his way into the wood door with Daniel following. “You know about the Open Skyway, right?”

“Yeah, but…” started Daniel.

“The one that leads to Earth. Yes,” he said. “And the Moon King is telling to the Moon people that we are going to have Eclipse War I with the Sun people because Sun people want to keep the skyway open and the Moon people want the connection closed.”

“Why in this world would the sun people want a human to find out about us? If that happened, our world would be in ashes because we can’t even stand more than ten humans in our world!” explained Daniel.

You see, we’re not aliens, we look like normal humans, but humans are so annoying. Daniel was shaking his head. Joshua’s little sister Mary came over to the two boys.

“Joshua, today is Saturday! Why are you up so early!?” she asked in a tired tone. Her green eyes looked like they were going to burst out of her head. She didn’t have the patience to hear Joshua’s answer.

“Never mind. Today we’re going to the Skyway Museum. Do you want to come too, Daniel?” (Mary had a crush on Daniel, even though Daniel was four years older than her).

“Why not,” replied Daniel. A grin spread on his face. “Not like there’s going to be an asteroid falling in the middle of the museum. Am I right?” Nobody laughed at Daniel’s joke. “Well, sorry for trying it to be funny.”

“WEIRDO IN THE HOUSE,” yelled Mary. She giggled. She thought she was the queen of everything.

“SHHHH!” Joshua whispered harshly. “Don’t wake up Mom and Dad. You know they’re sound sleepers.” Joshua sighed. Sometimes for him, having a little sister was the WORST.

“Time to go to school,” said Daniel.

“Oh yeah,” Joshua said and the two boys ran to John Moon Middle School. John Moon was the son of Matthew Moon (who is King Moon) in History of the Moon Kingdom.

Halfway on the trip to John Moon Middle School, Daniel stopped and said, “Joshua, I forgot, it’s Saturday! I’m pretty sure Mary told us that, but I stopped listening to her years ago ”

“Oh, you’re right. Let’s just go to the Ten Street Park,” said Joshua. They walked to the Ten Street Park, which was really on Northwest Avenue.  Jackson Anderson, the bully of the whole Moon Kingdom, was at also at Ten Street Park.

“Hey losers,” said Jackson. “You know Darren Milky Way (the mayor of Moon City which was in the moon side), turns out he’s my great uncle. So now, I might be related to the Moon King, since mayors are usually related to Matthew Moon.” Jackson was such a bragger. Can’t he just shut up?

“That’s not fascinating at all!” explained Joshua. “You see Jackson, maybe something like, a new roller coaster is coming up or there’s no school for the week is interesting.”

Jackson closed up to Joshua. “Are you sassin’ me punk! Because if you are, then it ain’t good.”

Just before Jackson could pound Joshua, Daniel grabbed his arms and ran to 597 East Half Street (it was the border of the Moon kingdom, and Cocoa Road was very close to the border, not to mention Ten Street Park was very close to the border, too).

“What do you think you’re doing?!” asked Daniel in amazement. “You could’ve gotten a black eye or injured yourself!”

“But I didn’t!” said Joshua. Joshua gazed away and saw something that caught his eye. “Look, something shiny.”

He ran over to the spot while Daniel was following him. He found a rockpile and started to pull something shiny out. And then, a jewel made of rubies and emeralds was in the palm of Joshua’s hand. And it on it was a carving of a crescent moon, overlapping with a sun. Daniel also looked inside the rockpile and found a letter. It read:

Dear founders of the jewel,

This my diary of the eclipse. It started like this: I was a regular boy named Salis San Palo. I was looking around when I found a jewel, the same one you found. And it was a dangerous jewel. It was wanted for the eclipse, to destroy or open the skyway. And eventually, it killed me, not to mention my brother, John Jr. Moon. (the son of John Moon). And Katherine Sun (the princess of Sun) also died. So beware this jewel, and beware the——– family.”

 

“Salis San Palo, that sounds familiar. But anyway, what does he mean by ‘And I’m still alive, but in a different place’? I need to know. And what does this jewel do?” All these things were in Daniel’s head, but the most important one he forget about.

“And which family we need to beware!” said Joshua. “The Sun family probably. And what does this jewel do to destroy most of the Farler Star. Do you think we need to go to the Redren Star?”

The Redren Star was a star planet that lead to the world of Eclipse, also the place where the portal to places unknown was. The Redren Star was a dangerous place, and Daniel wasn’t letting his best friend go there. “Are you crazy! The last person who went to the Redren Star ended up going into the portal unknown, and then nobody knows what happened to him!”

“You forget one thing. The Redren King knows everything, including what the jewel could do,” said Joshua.

Joshua was right, the Redren King did know everything. Daniel didn’t want to face it, but they were going to the Redren Star.

CHAPTER 2: THE REDREN KINGDOM

 

Daniel and Joshua went on a bus to the Redren Connection Way, where they found Emilia South, just sitting there. She had blonde hair, a dark red dress, and seaweed-colored eyes. Then she walked up to Daniel.

“What are you up to today, Dan?” asked Emilia, sounding like she knew everything about Daniel.

“Nothing, Emma,” Daniel replied in a soft tone.

“I want in!” Emilia whispered as harsh as she can. “If you don’t let me in then I’ll take the jewel from you.”

“You’re in!” said Joshua. Nothing or nobody could take something that important. “Sorry, Daniel. And how do you know about the jewel?”

“I was spying on you the whole day,” answered Emilia. “Wasn’t it obvious?” Emilia was such a little diva.

“Here we are, stopping right in front of the Redren Connection Way – get off if this is your stop,” announced the bus driver who seemed to be quite happy at the moment.

So Emilia, Joshua, and Daniel got off the bus and started walking up the Redren Connection Way. It took about five or ten minutes to get to the top. And on the Redren Star, the ground was blue, the grass was a violet, they had no flowers, and everybody who lived there was red, even the Frosties, but all people from the stars wouldn’t think it’s a big deal. Luckily, Daniel knew somebody who could take him to the Redren King, but it wouldn’t be easy. He lives in East County, but they came from the west, and the Frosties live in the East County. The Frosties were known to have ice power. Anyway, they started taking their buses, just Emilia, Daniel, and Joshua were riding on a bus until we got to Middle County, the center of the Redren Star. And the rest was walking. They walked for one day, and began to rest. In the morning, they would see the Frosties boy who knows Daniel.

 

It was now the crack of dawn, and in front of them was a door that just stood there. There was nothing on the sides or the back of the door. And on the door was a snowflake. So they opened it and found a whole different world. The snow was harsh. Everybody who lived there looked something like little blue elves. They had pointy ears, a very light lime-green eye color, and the men had scars on their faces with aqua colored blood coming out of them. The houses and buildings were the color cobalt blue, amaranth, debian red, eton blue, scarlet, or azure. The reason why the South Country’s houses and buildings were either blue or red was because red and blue were the South Country’s Honorful Colors.

“Guys, were supposed to go to the castle, not the mansion!” Daniel yelled so loud that the whole neighborhood could probably hear him. Emilia and Joshua then started to walk to the castle. Daniel knocked hard on the door.

“Who is it?” asked a man from inside the gates.

“Daniel Star Palomino, friend of Prince Icee” The doors opened for the three kids. “Told you I was friends with a Frostie boy.”

They went inside to this huge corridor made entirely out of crystals. Everything was transparent and beautiful in every way imaginable. Icee was waiting for them. Icee had sky blue hair, dark blue skin, the regular color of Frosties’ eyes.

“Daniel! What do you need?” asked Icee.

“Icee, I need your help to get connection with the Redren King. We have a special item to ask him about.”

“OK! Take a bus to the Middle County. The Redren King will be pleased to meet you,” Prince Icee got up and walked to the desk made out of ice. “Let me write you a note that will get you in the Redren Castle.” Prince Icee wrote a quick note. “Here.” He stuck out a hand to Emilia.

“Thanks,” she took the note from his hand.

Emilia’s blonde hair shined in the white snow. The three kids had to get out of Frostie County, or they would freeze to death.  They took the bus to Donut Woods (where the jello monster lives), which is also the border between Middle County and Frostie County. The bus came in under two minutes and took them straight to Redren Castle. The forest was huge, almost the size of the whole Moon Side. They saw the jello monster chasing them a little while. No one really cared because the jello monster was actually super sensitive, so Joshua yelled at him and he stopped chasing them. When they got to Redren Kingdom, they saw that it was booming. It seemed that more people from New York City and Los Angeles combined were there. The castle was huge, maybe the size of the Shanghai Tower, or bigger. Joshua saw the top: it was a statue of a star. The whole castle was the color rose. The exterior was only rose, except the gate, which was peachish. The gate was big for a gate. It was probably 555 feet, the minimum. The gate was marble, pure marble, like the Washington Monument – actually, they were the same size as the Washington Monument. When they were outside of the gate, they knocked. A voice that sounded like a tiger and a hyena combined asked, “Who’s there?”

“Me, Joshua Nilgin, Emilia South, Daniel Star Palomino, here to see the Redren King.” Joshua slid the note under the thick gate. On the bus, the kids read the note. It said:

 

Dear Redren King,

 

I am Prince Icee, prince of the Frostie County. My friends, Joshua Nilgin, Emilia South, and Daniel Star Palomino, have an important discovery to ask you about. These young kids are from the Moon Side of the Farler Star. Hope you can live happily in your big castle.

 

Love, Prince Icee

 

The doors creaked open, but it sounded like a million dogs howling. At least if anyone was asleep, they would wake up in ten seconds tops. The floors of the main hallway were made entirely out of bright rubies. When you walked into the main hallway, it would look like you were flying in a red, very red, paradise. There was a huge mural of the Redren King. He was a red-head, which Emilia thinks is cute. They walked around in that grand hallway. In the hallway, they saw runaway (from Earth) green honeycreepers, a type of bird, flying above their heads. Star people sometimes let pretty animals from earth come up into the stars. A tall man with turquoise eyes, straight red hair, and a fancy suit walked in.

“Hello, children! I am Quincy Redren, The Redren King. I am so happy you could come!” said the very cheerful and graceful Redren King. “You said you have an important discovery?”

Joshua got out the letter and the gem. The Redren King took the gem and note. “Be back in a starburst (‘hurry’ in Staranian). Did you know Staranian were ancient star people or ‘aliens’ top language?” The kids yawned to make sure he would stop teaching them. He went and came back in a nanosecond. “I found that the gem dates back to the Skyway Dynasty, where the Sun people and Moon people argued about the skyway for five centuries, five hundred years. The note belonged to Salis San Palo, whose nearest relative today is Logan Star Palomino.”

“That’s my grandpa!” screamed Daniel. “I’m the relative of Salis San Palo and John Moon Jr.”

“Wow! Oh, by the way you want to know which family to beware?” Emilia, Daniel, and Joshua’s eyes lit up like a thousand diamonds sparkling on a full moon. “You need to beware the Redren family, so that is my family!” King Redren made an evil grin. The three kids wondered what was going and if that question was going to be the end of him. “My great great grand daddy actually created the Skyway Dynasty to get the sun people and moon people hate each other. Redrenians hate people from the Farler Star, which used to be one whole star, not divided in half by the sun and moon.”

 

CHAPTER 3: BATTLE TO THE DEATH

 

“Children, I am very evil indeed. You see, girl, I believe your name is Emilia South, you are actually the great great granddaughter of Katherine Sun.” King Redren then put an angry face. He pointed at Joshua. “And you, you’re not Daniel Star Palomino’s cousin, for sure!” Joshua and Daniel looked confused. Emilia was jumping up and down seeing she was Sun royalty. Daniel didn’t care about royalty, but Joshua not being his cousin was huge to him. “My brother, Benjamin Redren, was your real father! Benjy, a real stupid guy. He wanted me to be good!” King Redren made an evil laugh. “So I killed him, like what I’m going to do to you!”

Joshua tried to sound valiant, but he felt like a baby crying because someone took his candy. “None of the things you’re saying are true!” But, Joshua knew some things he said were true, and he knew Benjamin Redren was one of them.

“It doesn’t matter because you don’t have powers, just like me!” shouted Emilia.

“And me!” shouted Daniel.

“And me!’ shouted Joshua.

“That is so, but I have weapons.” King Redren pressed a button and in his gun appeared a Redrenian gun, which has the pressure of ten waterfalls hitting you at the same place. “Say goodbye, Joshua Redren!” The second he said so, he shoot him with the gun. Joshua lay dead on the floor. The room was silent for a minute.

Daniel’s eyes and cheeks became red. He ran and punched King Redren like no tomorrow, because if he didn’t hurt him, there might be no tomorrow. His gun fell on the floor, so he was powerless.

“Emilia, shoot this bozo!” King Redren’s eyes stared at him. Daniel was jumping on his back so he couldn’t move an inch.

“Say goodbye, King Redren!” Emilia mimicked King Redren’s voice. When she shoot him, Daniel jumped off just in time not to be dead. King Redren lay dead on the floor, next to his nephew.

Daniel and Emilia had no choice but to go back home. Though, they told the story to the head guard and made decisions. He went to Joshua and King Redren where he got blood of King Redren mixed with a milk-looking drink and spilled it on Joshua. Joshua rose up. Emilia and Daniel gave him a hug for ten minutes straight, not moving. Since Joshua is technically the nearest relative to King Redren, he took over the Redren Star, and became known as Joshua Redren. The head guard, Quincy, and his wife, Brooke, said they’ll take care of little Joshua. The mayor, Darren Milky Way, was replaced with no one, because once they killed King Redren, the connection skyway and border of the sun and moon sides disappeared. So there was only one more thing to do, and that was to rub being a relative of royalty to Jackson Anderson. One day, Emilia, Joshua, and Daniel met on the border of the Redren Star and the Farler Star. It was a beautiful night. Emilia brought a picnic basket, Daniel brought some Farlanian food, and Joshua brought Redrenian food. You could see Earth, the Moon, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, et cetera. Then they saw something special. It was a special type of shooting star called the Kirby Rainbow Star, which could destroy any planet very quickly, and the three kids saw this one hurtling toward the Redren and Farler Star, which could kill both planets. The Kirby Rainbow Star looked like a falling rainbow.The three kids knew what they had to do, and that was warn everyone about the Kirby Rainbow Star.

 

The End…..For Now

Warming Sounds

Chapter 1: Different Types of Poetry

 

The wonder of light

when you’re lying in darkness

day is coming soon

 

I run

Away and the

Owls hoot breaking

The silence the darkness

Silent

Acrostic poem

Characteristic thinking

Remarkable learning

Obviously focused

Silent

Tense

Interesting

Cold

 

Patient

Observant

Excited inside

Magical silence

 

Books

Fiction, Fantasy

Mystery, Magic, Biography

Flipping Pages, Sucking me in

Limerick, Cinquain, Acrostic

Rhyme, Rhythm

Poetry

 

There was a obese old woman

Who had a very big bosom

a very small tush

give it a big push

and she’ll then have a very big bottom

 

Please write a poem

It’s an assignment for school

It is for writing

It will be long and funny

Just please bring it in on time

 

The trees are so bare

The snow is falling thickly

It is very cold

Inside, there’s hot chocolate

But outside, winter is here

 

A

Mountain

Reaches above

And beyond the clouds.

You need oxygen to breathe

The high-altitude air. You need lots

Of layers to keep out the cold. Go to mount

Everest or Mount McKinley. Climb up so very high

To the top of the world. You would be famous and awesome

 

Trying

Crying

Flying

Sighing

Trying not to start Crying

I’m Sighing while Flying

 

The animals at the zoo are locked up tight

They must be let out where they can roam so free

They will be able sleep without the light

They will get hurt and get stung by lots of bees

Make sure they don’t get on any airplane flights

Maybe they will be camouflaged by trees

The wild is where the animals will stay

Just don’t let any one of them become prey

 

Ice cream is so sweet

So many flavors to choose

All of them are neat

 

Chapter 2: Obese People Poems

 

There was on obese old man

Who put his hand in a frying pan

It sizzled his fat

His skin came off just like that

A massage chair worked better than the pan

 

There was an obese little kid

He sat under the trash can’s lid

People tried to throw him out

But there was no doubt

That he was a heavy little kid

 

There was a big and obese mom

But every day she was calm

Her kids always cried

Because she was so wide

So she moved all the way to Guam

 

Chapter 3: Cinquains

 

Upset

I feel so sad

I am going to cry

No one is here to comfort me

Angry

 

Writing

Oh so calming

Words appear on the page

Fingers swiftly touching the keys

Stories

 

The Beach

Waves colliding

With the hot silky sand

Digging a huge hole to jump in

Swimming

 

Puppy

Hyper and sweet

Kissing me in the face

Licking my hand with his wet tongue

A dog

 

Chapter 4: Haikus

Gerbils are awesome

Looking like mice but they’re not

Just let me hold them

 

School is kind of fun

You learn stuff like math and art

Let us leave some time

 

Zebras are awesome

I have a cool zebra hat

I’d like to see one

 

I love the Summer

I can go to camp all day

Beaches are crowded

 

You write with pencils

Pencils need to be sharpened

Just don’t break their tips!

 

Books are everywhere

They are on bookshelves and more

They’re there to be read

 

Chapter 5: Acrostic Poems

 

Restless night

Each individual character coming to life

All the stories blend together

Dancing through the stories

 

My mind imagines life in the stories

End the book and my dreams are over

 

Fancy castles and people

Animals can talk and come alive

In different stories the princesses marry Prince Charming

Remarkable endings

Young ladies can marry at age 15

 

Tanned ladies are as pretty as princesses

All the characters are very beautiful

Lions never show up

Endings have happily ever afters

Sending text messages is unavailable

 

Chapter 6: Shape Poems

 

A

Volcano.

Spewing hot

lava and destroying

habitats. Mother nature is

angry. Her anger erupts into fury

and her fury erupts in an eruption. In  A.D. 79

Vesuvius  erupted and destroyed the city of Pompeii

Many were killed. Volcanos continue to erupt around Earth.

 

Chapter 7: My Poems

 

Hot Chocolate

 

Sweet and sugary

Chocolate and marshmallows

Hot hand and hot tongue

Hot when you’re cold

The Grandfather Clock

There was a knock on my office door.

“Come in!” I said.

An old man with gray hair and a cane walked in. He was limping and his clothes were all battered.

“Mr. McKeever,” said the old man, “I need your help. My grandfather clock got stolen. Can you help me find it?”

“Tell me what happened,” I said.

“I was getting ready to go to bed when I heard footsteps. I thought it was my cat. I went into the kitchen. The pantry was open and everything inside it was thrown out. I ran to the front door and saw that it was open. Then there was a smash. I ran to the kitchen and I saw that my prized grandfather clock had been stolen! I ran outside and saw darkness. I looked at my watch. It said 12:14 a.m. Then there was a gunshot. Pain burst into my leg. I saw blood spilling from my leg. I climbed painfully inside. I called an ambulance. In a matter of two minutes, I heard sirens.  They took me out on a stretcher. The next thing I knew I was in the hospital. My leg wasn’t hurt. In a few days I was let out. Then I came straight to you,” said the old man.

“Okay, what did the robber look like?” I asked.

“I don’t know, it was too dark to see,” said the old man.

“Can you take me to your house?” I asked.

“Yes,” the old man said.

I led him outside. There was a shiny new Ferrari parked against the curb.

Why was this man in battered clothes and owned a Ferrari? I thought. I got in the back seat and said, “Nice car.”

The old man ignored me. He started the car. He took off.

“You’re going too fast,” I said.

Again, he didn’t respond.

We pulled up to barred gates. The old man typed something in on a meter-ish thing. The gates opened. He drove inside. There was a fountain. Behind the fountain there was a huge tan-colored mansion. The old man parked the car. I got out. I went inside. There was a long hall.

“Show me where your grandfather clock was,” I said.

The old man walked to where his grandfather clock was.

There were many gunshots.

I dived out of the way. Then I saw somebody run past me. I grabbed his leg. He tripped. He was a 15-year old boy with many freckles. “What is your name, son?” I asked.

“L-Luke,” said the boy trembling.

“Well, you’re going to be arrested,” I said. I forced him up and put handcuffs on him. Then I went outside to look for the old man. He was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is that old man?” I thought. I looked inside his car. He wasn’t there. I asked the boy, “What did you do to that old man?”

“What old man?” asked Luke.

“Never mind,” I said. I looked up and down the street. Then, I heard the door bang shut. Suddenly, the boy broke free from his handcuffs. He dashed away.

“Boy, get back here!” I yelled angrily. I dashed after him. I got a glimpse of the boy jumping over the barred gates. I ran after him.  I hopped the fence and cut my hand on one of the barbed wires. I almost fell off the fence. I finally managed to get down from the gate. I ran after the boy. Then I saw an idling motorcycle. I hopped on the motorcycle and pressed the gas pedal. It zoomed into the street. Then I saw the boy. I sped up. I caught him by the shirt.

“You better not run away again!” I yelled. I forced him on the motorcycle and zoomed to my office. When I got there, I saw a wreck inside. I quickly went inside, the boy on my heels. There was the old man.

What, why is the old man here? I thought.

“Well, good job, Luke, here’s the money,” said the old man. The old man pulled out $8,000 dollars.

“Why are you giving him money? Are you working for him, Luke?” I asked. The old man ran for the door. I punched him hard on the nose. He backed away. Then I locked the door.

“Explain to me why you are paying Luke money!” I yelled at him.

“Well, I said to Luke that I would pay him if you were kidnapped, and now you are,” he said. Luke jumped at me and grabbed my wrist. The old man tied me to a wall. Then they went to open the door but it was locked.

“Give me the key,” commanded the old man.

“Never,” I snarled. I took out my knife and cut the rope. I rolled and jumped up and snatched Luke’s gun.

“You’re under arrest,” I said pointing Luke’s gun at them. I pulled the trigger. A jet of blue light shot out from the gun and shocked them both. They fell to the ground. I called 911. A few minutes later the police showed up. They took them both.Then the mayor showed up. “Good work, detective. You caught one of the most skilled criminals in the U.S. I will award you $50,000 dollars,” said the mayor. The mystery was solved!

Happy Home Becomes Horror House

Meera Alasiad and her family owned a summer house on Golden Moon Beach, next to the Pacific Ocean. Meera was 15 at the time. She loved this house, and whenever she went there, she would spend as much time as she could in the ocean. This particular summer, the summer of 1998, was different.

When Meera got to the house, it was dark and gloomy. The house, named Happy Home, was full of cobwebs and old trash. When she stepped onto the front porch, it squeaked like a dying mouse. The front door was open, which was very unusual. As she stepped into the house to put down her luggage, her mother screamed. A scream so high-pitched that the birds in the trees out front flew away. An extra-large, extra hairy, Black Widow spider sat on the porch railing. Its beady little eyes followed Mrs. Alsiad’s frightened movements as she tried her very best to walk into the house. Mr. Alasiad cried out as the largest murder of crows the family had ever seen flew overhead. Meera didn’t notice any of this. She was busy staring with goggled eyes at the creature sitting right in her path.

It was a kitten! The kitten was the cutest thing she had ever seen. How could this poor creature be sitting here innocently in the house filled with horrible things?

“Mom, can we keep this adorable kitten, sitting here like nothing is happening?” Meera said in her sweetest voice.

“Y-y-yee-e-e-esss-s-s de-d-dea-r,” Mrs. Alasiad replied, still frightened of the spider.

“Dad, can I?” she asked in a tone that sounded like a puppy begging.

Still staring at the sky, Mr. Alasiad replied. The kitten was hers! She stooped over to grab the kitten, so she could pick him up and pull him close to her chest. All she wanted to do now was pet that cat’s soft looking fur, and pull him tight to her chest to give him a strong, loving hug.

But when she got her hands close to the cat, he dashed further into the house and up the rickety wood stairs. “Come back!” cried Meera as her hopes of cuddling the cat were dashed. Thump, thump, thump. Deep-sounding noises, too loud for a cat, passed above her head. Whatever in the world could that noise be? thought Meera. There it is again! she thought.

Thump. Thump. Thump. THUMP! The noise was getting louder, quicker, and closer. That was for sure not her tiny cat, who, when he had run up the stairs, had made hardly any noise at all. Thump. “What is that noise?” Meera thought as she heard a final thump. Then, all of a sudden, the noises stopped. Meera’s cat was softly treading down the stairs now.

Mr. and Mrs. Alsiad finally got over their fright when the crows and spider had suddenly taken off to who knows where. “Dear, what has happened to your new cat?” asked Mr. Alasiad. “And what in the world shall you name him? Or her? My oh my, do you even know what to do while taking care of a cat?” Meera was not listening. Who could while holding this cat? This cat held her attention for so long, because he was so sweet.

A week and a half later, after the house was all cleaned up, the cat still didn’t have a name. Meera was lying on her back, trying to think of names. “Puffy, Cheese Doodle, Evil Maniac, Cat.” She had thought of many names but was poo-pooing them all. And, somehow, her cat was able to understand her. The cat had made a head shaking motion to every name. “Happy?” Meera miserably shouted at her cat. “I am not allowed to go to the beach until I name you.” The cat nodded. “Happy? Is that the name you want?” Again, another nod. And it was decided, the cat was named Happy.

Meera picked her cat up and started dancing with him. Then, she walked out the door to her room. When she was closing the door, she saw a message. The message looked like it was written in a hurry, and the last letter of the last word went all the way to the floor. The message read: The Cat Is Evil.

Meera didn’t know what cat the sign meant, but she took a guess and thought that it meant her cat. But she knew, or at least thought, that her cat was the perfect one.

On the Friday of the very same week she named her cat, Meera was swimming at Clear Water Point, a calm, clear, secluded, well known area of the beach. Meera’s cat was at home, not even allowed out of the house for fear he would get rabies. Well, she was swimming with her friend, having so much fun, splashing and treading and just swimming laps. Then, all of a sudden, Meera’s friend fell into a drop off of the small current. Even though the current was small, a drop off at Clear Water Point feels like being caught in a net. Meera tried to dive under and save her friend, but all she found was the friendship bracelet Meera had made her. Rumors were true – the quickest way to drown was at a drop off in Clear Water Point.

Meera tried to swim away from her grief, like a racer would run away from their competitors. But it tailed her like a leash. I could have saved her if only if I had been looking, I could have saved her. I wish we hadn’t gone swimming in the first place. Then she wouldn’t have drowned. She will go to a better place, at least. Meera began to feel better.

At home, Meera couldn’t find her parents at all. She looked around for them, searching everywhere. She couldn’t seem to find them, or a note, or Happy. Meera went to do another check of the house when she saw it, another note. This was quickly scrawled in sharpie on the coffee table. This one ending in a dropped letter, and the sharpie lying there, uncapped. This note read: Kill the cat!

Again, Meera couldn’t understand the message. What cat? Why would this person want to kill a cat? Why is the pen uncapped? Where is the person? All of these thoughts ran through her head like a speeding locomotive rushing to its next destination. All of a sudden her thought train fell off a cliff as Happy sauntered into the room.

Meera ran at the cat and grabbed him in her hands before he ran away. She pulled him up to her face and for some reason smelled his fur. It smelled sort of like blood, and death. What is that smell? thought Meera uneasily, trying to identify it like she would guess a math problem, which was her worst subject. And why does Happy smell like that? Meera dropped Happy in surprise when he hissed in her direction. Probably just out hunting birds, Meera thought as she tried to make herself feel better.

Hours later, her parents still weren’t home. Meera plopped on the couch began to shiver. She shivered like it was sub-arctic, then like someone was running her nails down a blackboard. But her shivers were always partly caused by the feeling that someone was watching her.

Eventually, Meera fell into a sleep full of nightmares and shivers. In her dream, Meera was running from something. But every step she took made it harder to take another step, until finally her feet were stuck fast, like a fly in honey or a spoon in molasses. When the beast was about to catch her, her dream changed to all of her friends and family drowning in the drop off, and then the rest of people on Earth. Nobody was left and it was just Meera standing there, when Happy popped out of the water and dragged her down into the depths of the ocean. But Meera couldn’t drown, so she was just watching everybody dying. All of a sudden she started to choke on water. Her dream ended as abruptly as a wall begins.

Meera looked up and saw her mother pouring water into a glass, her father making coffee, and Happy sleeping. Everything was as it should be, and, wait, how did her parents get here? Mr. and Mrs. Alsiad were alright, in front of her. When did they get back, from where?

“Mom, Dad. Where were you? When did you get back? Why didn’t you leave a note? Dad, why didn’t you take me up to bed, or at least cover me with a blanket? What is for breakfast? I am starving. Is it French toast? Or cinnamon buns? Perhaps crepes, or chocolate pancakes? Blueberry pancakes or just regular ones? Tell me, tell me, tell meee!!!” Meera rushed all of her sentences, so they sounded like one continuous one.

Instead of answering any of her questions, Meera’s parents just stood there. They seemed a little like they were paralyzed, or frozen, or wax statues. Meera’s mind ran through all of the possible things that could have happened to them.

“Mom! Dad!” Meera screamed on the top of her lungs, like she was trying to break glass.

Finally they moved. It was so sudden. It was like the end of the book that you had been reading for so long that it seemed like a miracle that it had ended. They jerked from their “freezing” poses into more natural positions. Meera sighed, inhaled, then sighed again. She threw herself off the couch and rushed at them. She hugged both of them, trying to fit her arms around their stomachs.

“Honey, no need for this madness. You just went to the beach, for a couple of hours. It isn’t even breakfast time, more like time for snack,” Meera’s mother stated matter of factly. “We didn’t go anywhere; we were here the whole time. I don’t know when you got back, and I didn’t even realize you had laid down and taken a nap. You are a snorer. And you must have put that blanket on yourself, because I did not touch it.” Meera’s father laughed.

“But when I got home, you weren’t here. When I went to sleep, there was no blanket on me. You left no note and nothing for dinner. The cat smells like blood. My best friend drowned. And, I had nightmares. You are making coffee, Mom – how does that not signify it is morning? By the way, who let the cat out?” Meera angrily retorted.

“Well I never. Who knew? Last thing I was holding was air. And that cat ain’t allowed outside. You must be smelling things.”

Meera was very worried. Her parents had gone missing, came back, and didn’t even remember it. Her cat had killed something, and something was moving other things. There was something wrong with Happy Home.

Meera was up in her room bouncing a ball a couple hours later. Her mind could only hear and see the ball. Boing. “Three hundred fifty nine.” Boing. “Three hundred sixty.” She kept counting and bouncing the ball. Nothing eventful had happened since the morning. Her parents still hadn’t remembered anything about last night. Boing. “Three hundred sixty one.” Meera paused, thinking she had heard commotion from downstairs.

Meera raised her arm to toss the ball against the wall again. She was about to throw when she froze. Chills began to run down her back like water in a shower. She heard the click-clack of her mother’s high heel shoes, but instead of the leisurely sounding noise her mother usually made, they were hurried, and sounded like they were running.

Thump! A human-sounding thump flew up from the downstairs. More like a Meera’s Mom sound. Meera eyes widened. Her Mom had fallen, and most likely wouldn’t be able to get back up. She was kind-of chubby, and always had a hard time of getting back up. Better help her, Meera’s mind called to her.

Meera rushed down the stairs, and when she was halfway there, she stopped short. She saw a hideous beast that somewhat resembled Happy.

It had its long, sharp fangs dripping blood on her mother. The teeth were as long and sharp as knives, and would be able to rip through flesh in a second. The eyes were as red as tomatoes. Its claws were long, pointy, and as sharp as swords. These would be able to pierce stone. And her mother’s chest. The fur on the beast’s back was streaked with blood. It was a peachy-white color which looked soft to the touch. It was almost Happy. But with all of the qualities that made it beast-like.

Suddenly, it hit her. The blood smells in his fur when he wasn’t allowed outside; the messages about Happy, always ending abruptly, with no one there to have written it; the strange thumping sound that Meera had first heard from him; and the times when he was missing. Maybe this cat was also connected to the drowning of her friend; the disappearance of her parents; their return, which was so sudden; and the things at the beginning of the summer, the things that had terrified her parents. This cat was a monster, and it would stop at nothing to reach its goal. Though Meera did not know what it was.

Thankfully, the cat had not noticed her yet. It was about to claw her mother’s neck, when Meera ran out of luck. She whimpered like a sick puppy, echoing around the almost silent room, making it sound as loud as a clap of thunder.

Happy looked up. He saw her and narrowed his eyes. He got into a crouching position and pounced.

THE CONCLUSION HAS COME.

Excerpt from Different

 

Chapter Eleven

Peter

 

Peter flipped down the hill and landed hard on his backside. He grunted and stood up, wobbly. He limped a couple paces until being knocked to the ground by an irresistible force. He felt a cloth being placed over his mouth. Peter’s eyes darted around looking for anyone to signal to. Lathan and Scarlett were nowhere to be found. Peter strained to look behind him and saw Chews Abel standing over him, holding his hands in the air.

 

“Yes Peter, I’m Different.

 

Electricity and light flew off of his hands, burning Peter, making him jolt and spaz.

 

“Chews.” He lifted his head. “Stop.” Chews slapped his hands to his sides and smiled.

 

“Ah Peter, so weak. So… pathetic,” Chews whispered. Chews fell to his knees and stared into Peter’s eyes. Wind rushed around Peter’s head, making his hair curl and flop. His blonde bangs flew into his face, making his vision blurry. He rubbed his eyes and took deep breaths, making his heart beat slow. Chew’s eyelid twitched and his stood up. Peter’s hair fell back into place, and he attempted to pull himself up. He used all his strength to sit up, but then immediately fell back down. He opened his mouth, ready to demand reason, but no words came out. He tried again, only to get the same results.

 

“Want to know what I’ve done? Oh, nothing much. Just something so that you will suffer until the end of your days. I’ve taken your strength, taken your sound, your words, your voice. Yes, Peter,” Chews breathed. “Differents can do more than you know.” He plodded up the hill, but then turned back. “Oh, and your friends? Don’t worry about them, they’re in good hands,” he simpered and left. Peter could hear his boots pounding against the grass as he climbed up the steep hill. Peter could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Sweat dripped down his cheeks and landed in the muddy grass before him. Peter thrust his hands towards the mud. Sweat poured down his face, making a bigger puddle. Peter placed his hand shakily in the puddle and moved his hand in a circular motion.

 

“I. Will. Get. Him,” Peter mouthed. He pulled his hands furiously to the side. Then a bird swooped down and landed on his back. Peter shrieked and then blacked out.

 

——————————————————————————————-

 

“I LAY! Searching through the shreds, the horror, the blood, the cuts, the the debris, the dross…the pain, the agony, the terror-”

 

“Si!”

 

“Shut up, Chika!” Tears slid down her face. “Don’t you understand? We’re ruined. Ruined! Dead! Killed! Stabbed! Murdered!” She let her cranium hit the floor and she lay, motionless, on the wooden ground of the lobby.

 

“Si!” she felt a hard slap across the back of her head. Her lip was pushed into the hard cement and her jaw suddenly felt numb and she jumped to her feet.

 

“Who did that!” she looked around. Hibikee stood, towering over her. Si raised her hand in a fist, but he grabbed it and flung it backwards.

 

“If we want to survive we have to stick together. We can’t be over dramatic,” he stared at Si. “Scared, frightened, worried, and we can not think the worst. Understood?” They nodded. “Good!”

 

“But Hibikee! Our crest was just broken! We are weaker, powerless, de-”

 

“Si! We understand! You have made yourself clear! But as long as we work together, and try the best we can, we can be amazing!” Hibikee yelled. She watched as Hibikee waved his hand in the air, and grinned from ear to ear. Si felt defeated, angry, in pain. She growled and raised her lip up and down, her eyebrows furrowed. Then suddenly she stopped. Her head became clear of thought. She stared deep into Hibikee’s eyes and tilted her head, thinking.

 

“Just think…” Hibikee murmured. She suddenly felt infatuated with his courage and bravery. She hid her smile and stared at the shattered glass before her.

 

“So what should we do first?” Araki questioned.

 

“Well, we could head towards that small piste.” Chika indicated to a snowy peak. “We could see if there is civilization! We could ask for help!” They headed down the road.

 

“Is that part of the community?” Araki jumped in the air, trying to get a glimpse over the hill.

 

“Araki! Araki!” Si held him down. “Calm down, you’re not going see anything.” The tramped up the slope, Si wearing her “beautiful” pajamas, Hibikee sporting a blue onesie covered in Superman fan art, Chika’s shirt displayed her cosplay of Spider Woman, Araki wearing a long sleeve shirt with the worlds “Marvel” printed neatly in bold typing, and black slacks that seemed to be thrown on. Araki adjusted his leather belt and latched his hand onto a rock in the snow.

 

“What’s with the superhero, superheroine theme today?”

 

“I guess it’s just a coincidence!” They stopped when they reached the top of the hill and looked down. The hill went downward, it wasn’t steep, but it wasn’t easy to climb down. Si felt something slimy touch her ankle. She turned and gasped. There sat a dog, a small white puppy with a black spot around his tail. His eyes were large, brown, and adorable. Si slowly took a seat in the snow and pat the puppy gently on his head.

 

“What the…” Araki joined her, and soon they were all crowded around the dog. “Where is he from?”

 

“Probably somewhere down there.” They stared down at the multiple houses and lights that shined everywhere. “He’s so…so nummy!” They turned and saw throngs of children and adults hiking up the slope, carrying lanterns, and sticks.

 

“Hello!” they greeted them.

 

“Where did you — ” they recoiled and started to head hurriedly back down the hill. Questions filled their minds. Are they Different? Are they safe? Are they…human?

 

“We come in peace,” a man shouted. “And we have come to help!”

Going to Find the Ghoulians

Chapter One

 

Once upon a time, two kids named Sam and Jack were reading a book and they found out that there were people living on Mars. But you had to go through a 78 square mile maze with trick things like a half man half ___ and a square mile of raining tanks, but they thought they could do it so they asked their mom and dad to work at the government. They printed money for 600 days and collected $500 a day so they could buy a spaceship deluxe and a driver for $300,000. They got $200,000 and then the president came and they fell down and the president saw people not printing money, but stealing it, so they went to jail.

So the two kids had to buy a spaceship minus for $200,000 but then they had to get someone to drive the spaceship because there were 27 explode buttons and 13 drive buttons so they said that they were poor and homeless and they got $22. And then they bought a spaceship minus driving book and then they got in the spaceship minus and they saw a photograph of the correct spacesuits. So they snuck into another spaceship minus and got the correct spacesuits and got in their spaceship minus and started. Then they almost got to the maze but Sam fell on an explode button and then the ship exploded. But lucky for them, they landed on the maze 56 ninety ninths through.

Just then, it rained 500 pound weights, then it rained super hot spikey pasta, then you chose coffee or vodka. One took vodka, one took coffee, so one was walking zig zag and one was jumping all around, so one jumped up and carried the other and they got there. They said “backvgvhgv tawgijg,” and they got let in and they saw a sign that said welcome to Mars, home of the Ghoulians!!! And they also saw things with 3 legs, 2 feet per leg, 16 eyes, 4 mouths that go down, 34 ears on top of there heads, 2 toes per foot and leg and 6 heads (that fight a lot). They were also very cute. They wanted to take 1 home for a pet.

 

Chapter Two

 

So they tried to get a Ghoulian, but then 2 ears of the Ghoulian sunk into their head and 2 guns came out and it shot down onto the two kids. Then they were in an unbreakable trap. They were trapped in the trap for 20 years and then they still wanted to take a Ghoulian. So, then the Ghoulians put them in the Human Zoo where Ghoulian families come to watch you play around with the wheel hanging from the ceiling from a rope and at special times get fed with carrots and some Ghoulians go into the cage with carrots from Planet Earth by taking their special magnets that got carrots. At first the carrots were amazing and then they could get tasteless

Then there was someone who got sick there and their eyeball popped out and then it died. And then, in nighttime when the Ghoulians were asleep, they took the body and hid it so they could take it back to planet Earth. After 10 years, you got let out, so Sam and Jack tried to go out and then they went out but they couldn’t find their spaceship but luckily they were in their spacesuits so they floated in space and then they realized that they didn’t have their spaceship so they had to try to go down to Earth by waving their arms up and down so then they could get back down to Earth and it worked but the problem was, you could only move 50 miles a day so they were stuck doing that for 20 years then they finally saw Earth but then they saw that they were over a volcano so they landed in the volcano and lucky for them it was a fake volcano that scientists used to check out what volcanoes are like. It “exploded” and then they got to go out but then they realized they were on a scientist island so they asked a scientist how they could get out.

The scientist said, “This is a scientist island.” The only way that we can get out is by flying on flying chickens because this is a very high room and only flying chickens can break through the roof. So, you will have to use a flying chicken, but there is a fee of fifty dollars to rent one. So then they looked around in their pockets and then they realized that they have something from the Ghoulian’s home on Mars. So, they told the scientists that this is something from the Ghoulians and the scientists loved that idea because they didn’t have something from Mars from the Ghoulians but they had a lot of other stuff like lava from Mount Vesuvius or a dinosaur. So, they accepted it and they got a flying chicken.
Chapter Three
But then, they saw other scientists on flying chickens with helmets and those kinds of gear. So, they asked the scientist if they could have some helmets and gear.

And then the scientist said, “I guess the Ghoulian body you gave us was really cool and it would be waaay more than fifty dollars, so I will give you helmets, gear, and I will also teach you how to ride on the flying chicken.”

So they followed the scientist into the flying chicken testing and training room and the scientist said, “This is the room where all our flying chickens get tested to see if they can fly and if they are more than 2 feet tall and they get trained with people and people get trained with them. There are even flying chicken teachers. So, you will be going in flying chicken #32’s room, which you will meet in 16 minutes. And, you will meet and ride with flying chicken #32”.
They went to the room for flying chicken #32. The scientist stayed with them to supervise. And, the flying chicken would give them turns and teach them tips and in the end,  they would get to ride on the flying chicken’s back and do really fun stuff like ride on the flying chicken roller coaster. But, you would have to find how you got past the loop and the tricky turns. And, the kids thought it would be really fun and easy.

So, then, they got on and then the flying chicken’s back lifted up, rocket propellers stuck up, and then the flying chicken said, “Second thoughts? Well, too bad! Get ready to scream in threee, twooo, onnne, screeeaaammm”.

And then, they went up a really fast hill. And then, they thought that there are no seatbelts. How would they stay on? And then, they realized that there were a couple of buttons on the flying chickens pressed a button. but, they pressed the wrong one. It was the we’re going on a loop button. So, then the flying chicken tried to push up so it could stay on the loop. So, then the kids freeeaaakked out. They almost screamed their heads off. And then, they pressed the bumpy road button. So, then suddenly it went up and down and up and down and they didn’t know what to do and then they finally pressed the going up the hill button. But, it was almost at the top of the hill and it was ready to go down a really bumpy hill. And then, so they knew where the bumpy road button was. And then, they thought that the going downhill button would be next to the going uphill button. But, they pressed it and they were wrong. Now, they were going underwater. So, then, the flying chicken was pushing down while it was going up and down and the flying chicken almost exploded! But luckily, it didn’t.

The going under water button was a very bad choice, but it pushed them so hard that the track broke. Lucky for them, they pressed the going under water button and it was the part when they were going over water so then all they had to do was press the bumpy road button again. And then, it was only the going under water button. And then, the next part of the roller coaster was a loop, but they couldn’t go on it. So, they looked for a button differentiating paper so they could press the steering wheel button. Now the knew how to steer so they steered to an island but that island was part of the roller coaster and that part of the roller coaster has the worst part because it was the part for people who wanted to escape. For example, there is a REAL shark, DEADLY PINEapples and weird holua men who shoot XXXXXXL bullets from their belly buttons.
When Sam saw the pineapples he didn’t want to go so he thought that all scientists must have underwater labs. So, he looked at the button, differentiating card and he looked for the ‘going underwater’ button. So, they pressed the “going underwater” button and the flying chicken pushed down. And then, before they knew it they were underwater. And then, they also pressed the “going downhill” button so the pressure on the sand on the bottom of the ocean was even harder. So, finally they got to the scientist’s underwater labs. It was a modern place, shaped like a dome and it was made out of glass. So first, Jack tried pressing the “zombie’s crossing” button, which makes you go really fast so no zombies catch you. But, they couldn’t push through the glass because the glass was unbreakable. And then, after that, they looked in and they saw a few robots going around like really weird people screaming, “People trying to break in, people trying to break in!”

There were sirens going off and they were really loud. Sam and Jack both felt scared. And Sam said to Jack, “I know how to get in. All I have to do is look at the button differentiator card because I think I saw a chicken and riders turn invisible.” So Sam looked at the button differentiator and he saw the “flying chicken and riders turn invisible” button so he pressed it and they turned invisible .but the robots can see invisible people and the robots shot 1,000,000,000,000 pound people at them.

They hit the robot octopus, which was used for many experiments. And they also hit the remote control coral. There was a big explosion. And when something explodes, the water turns pink and then the water’s texture gets weird. Very weird. And now it’s hard for the robots, animals, and the remote control seashells to swim. Jack thought that the chicken was a very fun thing, so he decided to ride on its head. And he also thought that standing on its head while jumping and saying made up words when he thought that they were real English words. Then, the very heavy and sweaty sumowrestlers were sumo wrestling in air and almost hit him. Just a little armpit hair touches him. Jack is thinking, ew gross this is disgusting. He was also thinking, I can’t believe that I didn’t get killed.

Meanwhile, Sam was thinking a lot and he opened the secret door on the flying chicken’s back. So he uses the button differentiator and suddenly he sees this great button, an “operate by your brain” button. It had a big picture of a biiig brain. He pressed that button and it does whatever your brain thinks. And he’s thinking, please, just…get..me..and my friend…out of..here…

and then the flying chicken suddenly shot the bunch of de-energy bullets.  I(t’s the only kind that can kill robots because it takes out all the energy of the robots.

Jack was saved.

After the biiig mistake Jack was so mad he almost killed Sam but he shot all the robot and they all died because it is the only bullet that can kill robots. After that they got into the lab and they found flying chicken #32’s operating lap top and made the roller coaster stop and made them return to the end of the roller coaster and then the scientist saw that they had passed the test and that they could go home but he still stayed with them just to make sure. first they had to take the shuttle to to flying chicken airport there were 527 flying chickens (including theirs).They were thinking so much that they felt  like their brains were oozing out of their heads.They were also worried.

Finally they got there.They were sooo worried.The scientist left.

Chapter 4: The Flight

They were there at the airport at the runway.They were going to be taking off after 76 chickens.

“This chickenport is busy!” Said Jack. It felt like 100 whole years before they took off, but they reeeaaally wanted to get home so they had no choice. They finally took off.

When they took off they saw that it was going to be fun and scary.the first place they saw was Hong Kong. They noticed that something had changed because Hong Kong was more modern. After that they saw a robot dragon. It was like a real dragon.They had a big battle.The dragon breathed fire and unburnable butcher knifes. This is terrible” said Jack. Then the dragon flew to kansas they followed. He tried to land on a volcano but he landed in a volcano then they flew to their hometown Nebraska.

They got home and saw their mom and thier mom said, “Hi kiddies! Where have you been?”

And Jack said “It’s a long story, honey” doing a perfect imitation of his dad. If his dad was there he would of been in trouble for imitating him but he was at Mah Jong restaurant a Chinese restaurant he made a lotta money because people love buying Mah Jong’s specialty stuffed rats stuffed with rotten shark. And Sam said “Yeah I agree.”

And they went into their house and their mother gave them each a big kiss. Then the next day they had a special public ceremony in there town and at the ceremony they had everything that they liked like XXXXXL iPads and limited edition candies.

Strawberry’s Journey

Chapter One

It’s Just The Beginning

 

“Ma, why can’t I go outside?” I asked.

“Because outside the tunnels there is, there is, uhhh…you cannot go outside, you have to stay inside,” Ma replied.

“Ma, you are confining me in these stupid, putrid, horrible tunnels! Just let me go outside!” I said sadly.

“No. You can’t. Inside is best for me,” Ma said.

“We are talking about me not you, I want to go outside!” I yelled.

“Well, you can’t,” Ma said.

“Ma, you are ruining my life!” I yelled. I sat down on the bench. I felt the hardwood underneath me. I was really angry. I hit the wood really hard. That calmed me for a moment but not fully. I thought about what I knew about outside.

Elder Clover always told stories to us about sunshine, grass, trees, flowers, berries, rain, snow, and other animals, but what I loved most were the horror stories he told us of the people with guns that wanted to kill us bunnies. The stories seemed real, like these things actually existed.

“Ma, I am going to the water hole,” I said as I hopped through the hole in the wall. I ran down the path. The dirt clung on to my paws. I stopped. I brought my paws up to my face. They were covered in dirt, I put them back down on the smooth, soft ground and it felt almost comforting. I kept on sprinting.

I finally got there. The water hole is a pool of water inside of a cave. The rock walls were shiny and smooth. There were little orange fish swimming in the water. I went to the edge of the water, but I was careful not to fall in. I hate water, so does everyone I know.

I looked in the water. I saw myself. My long ears were drooping down on my face, my strawberry colored fur gleamed in the water.

“Strawberry, Strawberry!” The voice behind me came closer and closer. The pawsteps boomed in my ears. Blackberry came up behind me.

“What now, BB?” I said, sounding really annoyed. Blackberry is my little brother. He has black fur and black eyes.

“Ma needs you!” he said.

I hopped up and started to sprint. “Beat you there!” I said and gave myself a head start. Blackberry started to hop, but he was too late. I had already burst through the hole in the wall.

The dirt walls were gleaming. The dirt ground was smooth and soft underneath my back paws.

“Strawberry, clean your room! Then help me with Blueberry, Pa should be back soon,” Ma said. I groaned. Blackberry came through the hole in the wall. I saw him smirk as I hopped into my room.

The walls were covered with things I had found, like dead bugs such as lady bugs, beetles, flies, and other things that were extremely rare in the tunnels.

I cleaned up my leaves. The bottom leaf is what I sleep on, the top leaf is what covers me when I am put on my leaf.

Elder Clover told us that humans use a so called “pillow,” but we use sparrow feathers instead.

The floor is grass brought from the outside by other messengers from different community tunnels.

We have small jars found by messengers on the ground. Each room in every tunnel is required to have a jar with at least one firefly in it to light it up. My firefly’s name is Outside because I’ve always wanted to go outside.

“Ma, my room is cleaned! I am going back to the water hole. When I come back we will have a fresh jar of water. See you soon!” I called.

Once again I made my short journey to the water hole. I passed Hazel’s room, Sky’s, Land’s, Dream’s, Joy’s, and my bestest friend of them all, Snow’s room. I stopped abruptly, and hopped back a few paces. I hopped inside Snow’s room.

“Hi Mrs. Winter, I was just wondering if Snow was here.”

Before Snow’s Ma could answer, Snow’s little sister, Frost, came and said, “She went out this morning, put three carrots in a bag and told us she would be back by the evening meal. So basically, Snow is not here,” she concluded.

“Sorry for bothering you! Bye!” I said as I hopped out the hole.

I hopped down to the water hole. I looked in the water again. I saw my own reflection. Then I also saw a bunny hopping towards me. She looked strangely familiar. Very familiar. It seemed a little weird. White fur, blue eyes, ears tied back by strands of grass in “pigtails” as Elder Clover calls it.

Then I realized it was Snow! How could I be so stupid?! It seemed weird that I didn’t recognize her. Huh. I’ll think about that later.

“Strawberry, Strawberry!” Snow cried.

“What?” I asked as she came up next to me.

“Have you ever thought about escaping the tunnels and going outside?” she asked me.

“Yeah, I think I am going to soon. Do you want to come?” I asked.

“Yes! I would love to! I was going to ask you the same thing but you said it first!” she said, hopping up and down. “Oh, wait a minute, Ma told me to pick up Sled from his classes. I have to go,” Snow said glumly. She sat up and started to hop away.

“Wait! Snow!” She turned around. “Ma also told me to pick up Raspberry from her classes of history and the outside and her insect after-class,” I said.

“So what does that have anything to do with it?” she said with an annoyed tone.

“That means I can hop with you!” I said hopefully.

“I have to go to get him from the after-class room somewhere up the tunnel. Where do you go?” she asked, sounding hopeful.

“I have to get Razzy from there too. Let’s go!” I said with a smile. Snow smiled back. We hopped together up the tunnel to the after-class room.

By the time we got there, Sled and Raspberry were already waiting at the wall.

“Strawberry, where were you? You are like a billion years late!” Raspberry asked, obviously annoyed.

“Geez, Razzy, stop exaggerating. I was only a couple minutes late,” I said back.

I looked behind me. Snow and Sled had already gone down the tunnel. When I got back, Ma was waiting.

Chapter Two

Just About Ready

 

“Why are you so late, Strawberry Rose Berry!?” Ma screamed. I could tell she was angry. She never uses my full name.

“Uh-oh!” Raspberry said.

“Someone’s in trouble,” a voice said as he hopped out of his room. It was Blackberry. How could I not have known? Obvious.

“Shut your paw hole, BB!” I said through clenched teeth.

“Strawberry, again, watch your language young rabbit. Now why are you late? No lying,” Ma said.

“Uggghhhh! Fine. I was at the water hole and Snow came. We talked for a bit. Then she said that she had to get Sled then I remembered about Raspberry so we went to pick them up. Finally we came here,” I concluded.

“Okay, I will let you off this time. But promise you won’t be late again,” Ma said.

“Fine,” I said.

The next morning I packed a bag full of carrots, cabbage, and my firefly.

I hopped to Snow’s place. She was waiting outside her hole. She had a bag full of the same things I did.

“You ready?” I asked.

“Yup. Lets make a hop for it,” Snow said excitedly.

We went into my room and dug up until we got to the “outside.” Ma never enters my room so it was pretty easy, the tunnel was about a foot underground so it didn’t take very long to get outside.

 

Chapter Three

The Outside

 

“Wow!!! It’s just like Elder Clover’s stories! I never thought they were actually true! The sunshine is beautiful!” Snow said.

She was right, it was a whole new world, the color was so much sharper, the sunlight was warming, it was also a lot brighter. I was amazed.

I was amazed, then suddenly there was a whistle.

“Get ‘em!” Soldier Rabbit cried. He and his army armed with toothpicks came rushing at us.

Snow screamed. It was a high piercing shriek. All the soldiers fell to the ground trembling.

“HOP!!! Hop while they are down!” I screamed. Then Snow and I hopped away into the woods.

“We need a place to hide and live,” Snow suggested. “How about that place inside that tree, it could be the entrance hall, we can dig down to make more rooms and OH over there, we can make a city, and OH MY GOD…” She kept on talking.

“Snow, Snow, Snow! The bigger problem is THAT WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GO HOME!!!” I screamed.

“Oh, right.” Snow looked at the soft grassy ground underneath us.

 

**************************************************************

 

IN THE TUNNELS…

 

“Pa, honey, do you think Strawberry is going to be okay?” Ma asked

“I think she is going to be just fine. She can fend on her own. Let’s send more soldiers to look for her,” Pa said.

“Ok, I trust you, Honeybumkin,” Ma said as she smiled.

 

**************************************************************

 

BACK TO THE FOREST…

 

“Wait, SB, why can’t we go back to the tunnels?” Snow asked.

“We would be executed by Elder Clover!! He shows no mercy when it comes to breaking the rules!!!” I yelled at her.

“Oh wow, we are NOT going back,” Snow said quietly.

“Yeah, so let’s focus. How are we going to live? Most importantly WHERE are we going to live? How are we going to get food?” I said, almost ripping my ears out.

“We are going to live in that tree, as I already said,” she said waving her hands around with a smile. “We will eat grass and lettuce and carrots and the apples that fall from trees!”

“Ok, I call that tree to live in!” I screamed and hopped to the tree.

I hopped inside. The hollow trunk smelled like cinnamon and hazelnut. There was a soft coat of grass on the ground.

I hopped outside. Snow was filling birds nests with snow to put on the ground of her place. The fresh air felt chilly on my face. It was all new, trees, sky, clouds, snow, bushes, real grass, flowers, birds, and other animals. My mind was blown.

Then there was the sunset. I gathered a feather, no it wasn’t a sparrow feather like in the tunnels, it was a robin feather. I had only seen sparrow feathers.

I loved being out of the tunnels. Being inside for my whole life would make me depressed. Being outside felt like I was a bird. Spreading out my wings and flying free and no one could stop me. I felt like a new bunny.

I grabbed two leaves, one to sleep on and one to cover myself.

I hopped back into my tree. I placed the leaf, then the feather, then another leaf.

I went back outside to get some wood and something to eat. There was a shadow, it was a bunny, but it wasn’t anyone I knew.

The shadow got bigger and bigger.

“Hey! You seem new around here! I am Thalia. Our names aren’t based on things like yours, Strawberry. I know all about you. Everyone in the village I come from is a messenger, well, almost,” Thalia said. Bunnies came out of bushes, tunnels, and the other trees. “Join our village!” Thalia finished.

“We will join your village. Snow will too. Right, Snow?” I called.

“Right! I want friends!” Snow cried from somewhere in the dark, but then I heard a scoop so I now knew that she was still scooping snow.

“So…let’s get to the leaf, we are only bunnies, but you are rabbits, we need our rest, bye!” I squeaked and hopped into my tree.

I woke up in my tree. I hopped outside. Thalia was giving orders. I would have to listen to her because she scared me to death. I bet she could rip me right apart with a squeeze of a paw. She could kill a fox with a flick of the hind paw. I bet she could gnaw down a tree. I think she could crush a skull in one swishing motion. I would always obey her.

 

Chapter Four

Becoming a Part of Message

 

“You there,” Thalia pointed at me, “and Snow, we are having the welcoming ceremony, and also the adoption ceremony, but also the naming ceremony.”

All the rabbits and bunnies gathered around.

“We gather together today to welcome two new members of the community. They will be renamed and adopted. Strawberry will now be Gabby and will be adopted by Will and Bella! Snow will now be Izzy and will be adopted by Ben and Marin! Thank you all for gathering here today and welcoming Gabby and Izzy to our village!” Thalia concluded.

My new parents came up to greet me.

“Hello, we are your new parents. Call me Ma, and him Pa. We will care for you more than anyone else, we promise. We will always love you, even after we die.” Right after she said that, I trusted them with my life, I would love them forever. I couldn’t believe it after hearing that wonderful speech, it just clicked. We were bound forever until death. We walked to my tree and brought all my things to theirs. There were six empty leafs.

“Pa, what are the extra leaves for?” I asked.

“They are going to be for your new brothers or sisters. I know you are wondering why I am not at work, but when your wife is about to have her litter, you have to stay and help her out.”

 

TWO DAYS LATER

 

“Gabby, your Ma just had her litter, she wants you to help carry them to the meeting place. They are all healthy. Three males and three females. Hurry. The rabbit birthing six bunnies doesn’t usually live very long after giving birth,” Ben said hopping to my tree with me hopping behind.

“Ma, are you ok? You are turning white,” I said. Pa and I gathered close.

“I am afraid I am going to have to say goodbye. I am so sorry for leaving you this soon, Gabby, I love you all, goodbye Will, I love you I will always love you, goodbye,” Ma said then her arms went limp and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

“I love you too, Ma,” I whispered.

CLUNK. “Waaahhh!”

“Oh no! Ma let go of a bunny!” I cried and bent over to pick it up. When it was safely in my arms, it wasn’t hurt the slightest bit.

“Wow, this bunny is really strong!” I said as a cradled the gold bunny.

“We have to bring them to the ceremony,” Pa told me, his face still wet with tears. Tears didn’t come to my eyes, I didn’t know why.

“Yes, we should,” I agreed. I picked up the females and Pa picked up the males. We carried them together to the ceremony.

We handed Thalia the bunnies. “We gather here today to welcome Will and Bella’s new bunnies! Let’s now do the naming ceremony. This will be Skylar, this will be Maddie, this will be Bella, this will be Achillies, this will be Asher, and this will be Nick.” Thalia finished and handed us back the bunnies.

Skylar was grayish blue and had blue eyes. She reminded me of Blueberry, home, and the family I left because of my own curiosity. A tear trickled down my furry face.

“Gabby darling, are you ok? Why are you crying?” Pa asked.

“Call me SB. I am crying because I am so happy! These are tears of joy that the bunnies we born!” I said. Pa seemed to buy it.

Thalia handed us a HUGE bird’s nest. I remembered that you were supposed to put the young in it. I have a fuzzy memory of Elder Clover, if that was even his name, saying that humans called this a stroller.

I think we use human words around here. I am not sure. I’ll catch on at some point.

“Thanks, Thalia! Can you help me put the bunnies in the stroller?” I asked.

“Sure,” Thalia said and put the golden bunny with the golden eyes, the one Ma had dropped, Achilles, I think, into the stroller. Then Maddie, the light pinkish one like raspberry, Bella the whitish one, Asher the black one like BB, then Nick, the spotted one, then Skylar, the blue one, like Blueberry.

Pa and I pushed the stroller back to our tree. We fed them each mashed carrots and apples, then we put them to sleep.

“We are going to have to take them to the daycare, you are going to have to be messenger, and I have to go back to my job, being the food collector,” Pa told me.

Chapter Five

Being a Messenger

 

The next day, Pa left early for work, so I mashed carrots and fed it to the six for their “breakfast.” I put leaves and feathers in the strollers to make them feel comfy, then one by one I put them each in the stroller.

I pushed the stroller through the village passing Thalia who was giving orders to men who were painting the ground blue with mashed blueberries.

Finally, we got to the huge tree where I saw bunnies hopping everywhere. “This is the place,” I told them.

I saw a female rabbit and some others scrambling about feeding bunnies, bringing bunnies to the hole to do their business, burping bunnies, helping crying bunnies who had fallen, and breaking up fights between toys.

“Um, hello, can I drop off these little bunnies?” I asked a rabbit who was sitting on a log burping a little bunny. Her eyes widened.

“SIX MORE? I am so sorry, we can only take four of your six for everyday, are you their mother?” she asked.

“No, their older sister,” I turned to look at the bunnies. “Who wants to stay here and play with other bunnies?”

Skylar raised her paw, so did Bella, so did Asher, and so did Nick.

“It is decided. Skylar, Bella, Nick, and Asher will be staying with you. I will take the other two. Then Pa will pick them up before dinner, if that is what you call it,” I said. I waved my paw at the four who were staying and hopped away.

“Hey guys, we are going to go to other villages and give them things,” I told Maddie and Acki. The gold bunny, Acki, replied with a nod and grabbing a stick as if to be saying or else. Maddie smiled showing her big white teeth.

I let Maddie and Acki hop around. Acki hopped back to me with a jar. “Here go,” he said as I took the jar and put it in my bag. Maddie was by the flowers lifelessly staring and then quickly moved to something else then repeated the cycle over again.

We got to the next community. This one was above ground unlike my first community. I walked down the road, putting things on the houses that were marked with the same mark on each package. Maddie and Acki were looking at the package, then hopping down the marked path looking for the right tree to put the package. I handed them the packages and they delivered them. They are really good helpers.

Next village. Underground this time. It was my old village. I gave Maddie and Acki all the packages and told them to go in and come out when all the packages were delivered. I waited outside.

 

TEN MINUTES LATER

“Back,” Acki said.

“All gone,” Maddie said and showed her paws to prove that there were no packages left. I picked them up and set them on my back and walked back to my village.

 

Chapter Six

Back Home With My New Family

 

When we got back to the village, we went straight to the daycare place. Asher, Skye, Nick, and Bella were waiting. “Gabby! Homey!” Nick cried.

I placed them on my back and hopped to the tree. I put them all on their leaves and prepared their mashed carrots.

Pa came and sat down at the stick and waited for dinner. Each one of the bunnies came up and sat on the bench with Pa.

I placed the mashed carrots at each of the bunnies seats. For Pa I put out apples, cabbage, and carrots. I put out for me apples and cabbage.

We talked all night until the sun set on the hills. We gathered together on the stick. This was the first time I actually felt at home. I was with new my family. No, my old family wasn’t my family at all, my new family is a true family. I was free. Finally. Forever.

Please Contact Logan Simonds

It was already 10:00 p.m., and Dad still wasn’t home.

“Where issssss he?” my 6-year-old sister Kaitlyn, whined, since Mom was letting her stay up until Dad got home.

“Be quiet, Kaitlyn,” I snapped, then returned to my gaze at the door. Dad worked at Google, pursuing his love of computers, and usually he was home by 8 every night. But not tonight. He was two whole hours late, and I felt more nervous and worried than I ever had. What if he had gotten into a car crash? Or what if he had been kidnapped, and the kidnappers had taken his phone away from him, so he couldn’t call us? Yes, I was overreacting, but STILL! The thought of anything bad happening to Dad made my heart leap into my throat.

I turned towards Mom, who was looking really nervous as she paced back and forth across the living room.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“10:30.”

I sighed, and turned back towards the door. And, just at that instant, the door opened, and Dad stumbled in, his hair messy and tousled. There were bags under his eyes, and a frown stretched across his face. Nevertheless, Kaitlyn and I still ran into his arms.

“Hey, kiddo,” Dad said, but without the usual ring to his voice.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” I asked.

Dad didn’t reply, and he walked up to Mom.

“Penelope, can I talk to you for a bit?”

“Sure, honey. What’s up?”

Dad led her into their room, and I heard the door lock behind them. What on earth was happening? Dad never acted like this, never ever ever. Where was his cheerful self, his kind and happy self, his self that always hugged me and was smiling? I was pondering this as I tucked Kaitlyn in.

“What’s wrong with Daddy?” my sister asked, as I turned off the light.

“I don’t know.”

Then I left, and went to my room to wait for my parents to come in and say goodnight. But it was only Mom who came in. She now looked as forlorn as my dad, and her face was tear-stained.

“Mom, WHAT is happening?” I said, sitting up in bed. She sat down, and placed her hand on my head, running her fingers through my mess of red hair.

Mom sighed, and closed her eyes.

“Something very sudden has come up, Marley,” she said in that soft voice of hers.

“Yeah, duh!”

Mom sighed again.

“Your father…he’s… lost his job,” she blurted out.

What?

“He’s lost his job.”

“At Google?”

“At Google.”

I was silent for a long time. This was all SO quick, and it came at me like cannonball. If Dad lost his job, we could go broke! Mom didn’t have a job, so there would be no good money in the family. We could be homeless! What if Kaitlyn and I had to be sent off to a homeless shelter because Mom and Dad couldn’t afford our rent anymore? Or what if…

“Why?” I finally said, quietly.

Mom didn’t answer.

“I’m going to send in your father, all right? I think that he should tell you why.”

Mom left, and soon my father walked in, the door creaking as he walked into my room. He was silent as he sat upon my bed, and he was still quiet 5 minutes later, just staring in front of him, a dazed look in his green eyes.

“Dad?”

Dad closed his eyes.

“Sometimes people gotta do what they wanna do,” he finally said.

“What?”

His hand went on my shoulder, and my father turned to look at me.

“Today at work, I was fired by my boss. My careless, rude boss who has no feelings for other people whatsoever,” he said, his voice coated with anger the way a chocolate-covered pretzel is covered with chocolate. “A guy at work, my friend actually, was being yelled at by my boss for saying that he would have to leave work early tomorrow, since he had to attend his youngest daughter’s school play. Well, I didn’t think that my boss screaming at my friend was right, so I-I spoke my mind. And that’s what got me fired.”

Dad looked at me, me, who was in complete shock.

“You got fired for standing up for your friend?” I said.

“Yes, I did. But I lost my temper, Marley. I took it a little too far.”

“How?” I asked, feeling bewildered.

Dad sighed.

“I yelled at my boss. Screamed, argued…cursed. What my boss did wasn’t right, but what I did wasn’t-wasn’t right either,” my father said, quietly.

Dad? Losing his temper? I was confused. Dad was supposed to be perfect. He wasn’t supposed to scream at people, even if those people were jerks. I felt a shiver go through me.

“Why, Dad? Why did you have to lose your temper?”

Dad didn’t reply, and one of those uncommon frowns formed on his face.

“Good night, Marley,” Dad said, in almost a whisper. And with that, he left, closing the door behind him.

 

. . .

 

Clack, clack, clack. My fingers worked furiously at my keyboard, typing and typing, deleting, and typing again. Finally, when my fingers were just too tired to type anymore, I stood back and smiled, admiring my finished product.

 

My name is Marley Simonds, and I’m 13 years old. I live with my dad, Logan Simonds, and he just lost his job for doing the right thing. Let me just tell you, my dad is the best person in the whole entire world. He is so kind, and nice, and cheerful, and smart, and he was so good at his job at Google. All I want is for my father to get another job, preferably one having to do with computers. He would be such a good worker, I assure you. Please, if you work with computers, and you need a new worker, hire my dad. My whole family would appreciate it so much.

Contact “logansimonds45@gmail.com

 

Done. My ad to put in the local newspaper was done. I grinned, satisfied, and sent it to the newspaper using the email address I had found the night before. Now, all I had to do was wait for the newspaper to email me back – hopefully with good news. What a surprise it would be! I closed my eyes, smiling. Dad sure would be proud.

It was a week later. Luckily for me, the ad was going to be put up in the newspaper by tomorrow! I got a letter from the local newspaper telling me that they would definitely put it in the paper, free of charge! How cool is that? The editor said that he was so touched by my care for my father, and that he was going to contact my dad later today, to let him know. I couldn’t wait to see Dad’s face, full of joy and surprise. He would hug me, and laugh, and be  his old self again. Soon, he would get the email from the editor, later today. Later today had better come soon.

Dad came home before dinner that night. The second he walked in through the door, him and Mom shared a glance that said so many things. Dad hadn’t found a job.

But just you wait, Dad, just you wait.

Mom looked down, obviously trying to hide her sadness, and continued to grill hamburgers on the stove with Kaitlyn hanging by her shoulder, nagging her to let her help flip the burgers.

“I wanna flip them, Mommy! It looks fun!” Kaitlyn said in that annoying little voice of hers.

Help me, Mom mouthed to Dad, who sighed, and walked up to the stove to convince Kaitlyn that flipping hamburgers wasn’t as fun as it seemed. All the while, I waited impatiently, hopping around in a circle, twiddling my thumbs, WAITING for Dad to be finished with Kaitlyn so that he could see the email.

Finally, Dad went upstairs to his computer. He was up there for a long time. Had the email come yet? I wondered, biting my lip.

“Marley, can you come up here for a second?” Dad yelled down from his office.

This was the moment I had been waiting for! I raced upstairs, and stood behind Dad, who was reading an email, surely enough from the “Connecticut Local Newspaper.”

Dad looked towards me, but I didn’t see any of the excitement I had expected to see in his eyes.

“What’s this?” Dad gestured towards the email.

I was confused. Why wasn’t he happy?

“I, well, I sent the newspaper a notice, about you losing your job and everything. I wanted people to see it, and maybe even, you know, hire you. I…wanted to help you,” I mumbled.

Dad was quiet for a long time, and I suddenly regretted everything I had done – the ad, sending it to the newspaper, having them email Dad.

“Oh, Marley,” he said quietly, rubbing the top of my head, “that was so kind of you. I can always count on you, you know that?”

I nodded.

“Aren’t you happy?” I asked.

“I am happy, Marls. But sometimes, someone as old as me has to take care of things themselves. You know what I mean?”

I didn’t reply.

“I can’t have my daughter getting me a job. That’s my responsibility. It just proves that the kids are always smarter than the adults, though,” he said, chuckling, “Marley, that was very thoughtful of you. And you know what? That ad you wrote was so inspiring. I’ll never forget it. But we don’t need that ad in the newspaper. Because, guess what?”

“What?” I muttered.

“I GOT A JOB! I was going to tell you guys at dinner, so it could be a surprise. The job is at Apple, and I’m gonna be in charge of the whole store! How cool is that?”

I looked up, shocked.

“You got a job?!!”

Dad nodded that nod of his, and smiled that smile of his, and hugged me the way that he used to. And suddenly, I understood everything.

“Oh, Dad!” I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around his neck.

I guess that there was a surprise tonight, after all.

Homeless

CHAPTER 1: My Life

 

“All she wants is to have a home.”

That is how everyone knows me, I thought. I was walking home after trying to find some type of family. No success; again. I do have a home, I thought to myself, those people are all wrong about me. Once I got to the park, I think about my day. I had been near the preschool, hoping someone would want another child. Seems everyone has enough children. The park is my home, but I don’t really spend a lot of time there. Most of my time is spent walking around the streets. I have been doing this for four years, ever since my parents died in a big fire at their office.

They were both scientists. Someone else at the office made a “mistake” on a potion. It burnt the whole lab building down. When I heard, I went home, and used all the money around the house to pay for food, bills and the rent. Eventually, I ran out of it. Now, I am 11 years old. By the time I got to the park, it was about 6 o’clock. I have no clue of the time though, since my watch ran out of battery about a year ago. I basically live in the woods. The park connects to the woods.

I always wonder why no one ever came to save me. NOT ANYONE. Not even the landlord in the building cared that I was a child. He knew that my parents were both dead. He was a mean man, he was NEVER nice to me. So, he made sure that I was out on the streets, instead of safe, inside an orphanage  or foster home. I still hate him. I will never like him. NEVER.

To this day, I hate orphanage and foster homes. I am glad that the landlord didn’t send me to one, but he could’ve made sure that I was safe with a relative, or something. He always made sure that I was unhappy. One time, when I was 4, a little girl walked into the building with ice cream. The landlord was standing in the lobby and all he said was, “Enjoy your ice cream, kiddo!” Then, I followed the little girl into the lobby. I had ice cream, too. He said to me, “No ice cream in this building. Get that ice cream out of here!” Those last words stuck in my head LIKE GLUE.  I could never forget all the times that he was mean to me.

The next day, I went near the preschool again. As usual, all of the parents ignored me. Then, it was getting late. I was about to go back to the park for the next few hours, until preschool ended. Then, one last preschooler came out, I said hello, and for the first time ever, I heard a voice answer back. I was surprised.

“Did you just respond to me?” I asked.

“Yeah, you said hello, and I said hello back–is that okay?” she asked me back.

“That is fine, I’m just not used to someone responding. You see, no one has answered me for three years,” I said, uncomfortable.

“How do you live like that?” she asked

“Practice,” I said, “And where are your parents, and why are you so late?”

“You ask so many questions,” she said, “but I can tell you one thing about myself.”

“What?” I asked.

“I am not going into that school right now,” She said.

“Huh?” I started to say before I blacked out.

 

CHAPTER 2: The Day My Life Got Even Worse

 

I opened my eyes after a while and I could barely see. Everything was blurry. I looked down and the marks of a needle were on my arm. The shot was blurring my eyes. The preschooler walked into the room. My vision unblurred slowly as she stood next to my bed. I was in a bed. Had I been sleeping?

“Can you see?” the preschooler asked.

“Yes.” I answered to the short skinny blonde haired girl. Her hair was down to her elbows. She was wearing a purple sweaterdress and pink leggings

“Good. Now something you should know about me is that i am like you. You will never see me with parents. Oh, and you think your life is awful? Well, it’s about to get even worse.”

“Huh? I don’t get it! How can this life get even worse? I am kidnapped, with no family or friends left!”

“You don’t know how bad a person’s life can get,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I told you it’s about to get even worse,  now relax,” she said.

I blacked out again. I don’t even know what happened. I couldn’t remember anything that happened before. The preschooler’s life was played in  front of me. Just important parts. The only thing I learned is that the preschooler’s fake name was Lily, and she was a spoiled brat.

I woke up. I couldn’t see, just like last time, “How did you do that? How–.”

“Shut up. And call me Lily.”

“You are nothing like me. You are a spoiled brat with parents, friends, and a family. You get everything you want.”

“True. I agree. Your life is awful, mine is great. And that black-out thing is none of your business. And I am completely like you. There are some things you don’t know yet!”

“But–”

“There are a couple of things you should know: you are being put to the test, and I am learning all about you. I am learning your life. Every time you black out, I see a new year of your life. What I mean by that is that I experience your life in fast-forward, as you are blacked out. I have access to your thoughts. From what I have seen, we could be twins.”

“Not!” I screamed. “We are nothing alike.”

I blacked out again.

 

CHAPTER 3: I’m Not Going to Estimate How Bad My Life Can Get Any More.

 

It seems that every time I black out I see something. This time, I saw my life flash before my eyes. One thing that I just remembered was that the park guard was mean to me. He always took my stuff while I wasn’t at the park, and he told me that I couldn’t live there anymore. I told him that I wasn’t even in the park, I was in the woods. I thought my life was awful. I thought it couldn’t get worse. Now, it’s getting worse by the day. I woke to what seemed like a hospital room, but I was the only one there. There were tons of beds, but the only bed that was not empty was the one I was in. I started to think about my life. My parents died, the landlord kicked me out of my own house onto the streets, and then I was living in the woods. I could barely get food. But of course it could get worse. I went from in the woods, and little food, to being kidnapped around to different mystery places every day. When I was by myself there was no one to talk to, no place to sleep. Wild animals outside around me. It was scary, I have to admit. But now, instead of knowing where I was, or what to do, I am in places that I have never even heard of. I used to have a daily routine that I followed every day. Now, I have no idea what to do. Then, my eyes started to unblur.  For the first time in 4 years, I saw a working clock, so I decided to fix my watch to the date and time. January 18, 2012, 2:56pm. That’s when I realized it. No wonder Lily thought we were alike. I used to have good caring parents, too. That’s when a man walked into the room. I recognised him in a weird way. He had short black hair, rimmed glasses, and a small goatee. He was kind of heavy. He was wearing a science lab coat, and he looked kind of nervous. He came to my bed, and held out his hand for me to shake.

“Jamie, I have learned so much about you! It is so nice to finally meet you! Can I tell you where you are?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “You are in the building that your parents used to work in. Well…it got re-modeled a little bit…after the fire.” He seemed uncomfortable to talk about the fire. “But I am Herald Waltzchiz, and I am here and proud of it! I used to work with your parents. They were very good people. I just want you to know that I feel your pain, and that I am here for you,” he said.

Just then I realized why I recognized the man. He was my LANDLORD. HE was the one who kicked me out onto the streets. I hate that man. I had no idea what to do. Should I tell him that I know who he is? No, I finally decided. “Hi, it’s so nice to know that there is someone there for me. Thanks Dr. Waltzchiz!”

“Anytime, Jamie!”

“Wait,” I said as he started to leave “Do you know who or where Lily is?”

“Oh, uh, um, uh Lily? What do you mean?” He asked nervously.

I then knew that he knew who Lily was, and where she was. I didn’t bother him anymore about it. I knew that he wasn’t ever going to be there for me, and that he was a bad man. Once again, I blacked out.

 

CHAPTER 4: This Is Not What I Thought.

 

I woke up to a big room. I guess I had been asleep this whole time. I was sitting in a chair. Next to me was Lily. She was sitting down, too. The first thing I did was look at my watch. I had been being kidnapped for the past six weeks.

“I have all the information about you. I know your whole life. You will not be blacking out any more. Since I know about you, I think you have the right to know something.” I didn’t respond. I was mad at Lily. She had been sending me around to different places with Dr.Waltzchiz for the past six weeks. I had no idea what was happening. I didn’t even know for sure that it was Lily. But, it could be Dr. Waltzchiz. I liked my life better when nobody bothered to torture me. Sure, I was alone, but at least I was free to do what I wanted. But, at the same time, I wanted to learn about Lily. I had no idea how she could possibly have the power to do this to me.

“Go on,” I said.

“Well, for starters, you have no parents. I have no parents. I know that I came across to you as spoiled, but I am being tortured as well as you. You don’t know how yet, but you will see. I have a plan to save you. We have completely different lives, but we have a lot in common. We both have unhappy lives,” said Lily.

Dr. Waltzchiz walked into the room. “Come on Lily, we have to go.” Then he saw me. “Jamie, what a surprise to see you here. It’s too bad that me and Lily have to go now. Bye! I guess I’ll see you later!” He said.

“But, Daddy–” She put her hand over her mouth. “Did I just say what I think I said?” Lily asked.

“Yes, and it really is time to go now,” Said Dr. Waltzchiz.

“I’m not going! I don’t want to!” Lily screamed and stomped her foot.

“Wait–” I said, “ Lily, this is your dad?”

“Uh…no um yes uh maybe?” Lily said. She immediately covered her mouth.

“We are going RIGHT NOW!” Dr. Waltzchiz yelled as he pulled Lily out of the room. Lily screamed for help, and I ran to help her, but by the time I got to the doorway, I looked down, and there was no floor. I did not want to go down, but I heard Lily’s distant screams, and I knew that I could not abandon her. I jumped down, slowly starting to hear Lily more clearly.

As I jumped, I had a memory. It was about when my parents died. The manager of the science office had run to my house to tell me. The first thing he said was, “Your parents are dead.”

I cried for hours. He stayed with me for a couple of days, although I never saw his face once. I knew him from before, so I was comfortable with him. He came to check on me every once and a while, but he slowly stopped coming, and I lost contact of him. After I lost my house, I lived on trash that was not completely inedible. My life sucked. I barely slept at night. Now– I don’t even know how I sleep.

I hit the floor. The neverending fall was over.

 

CHAPTER 5: Who (REALLY) Is Dr. Waltzchiz?

 

I stood up. I looked all around. I was in a big room. The middle was empty, but there were tables spread out on the sides. In the middle were Lily and Dr. Waltzchiz. They were fighting over something. It seemed unreasonable, but I couldn’t really tell. Finally, Lily screamed out, “BUT YOU’RE NOT MY DAD!!!!!”

“What do you mean he’s not your dad?” Now it was my turn to cover my mouth. Both Lily and Dr. Waltzchiz looked at the little shoot I had come out of.

“How did you get here?” He asked.

“I’m skinny,” I said, “I haven’t eaten much in the last four years.”

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Ok. You can stop joking. I know that you know me inside and out. You have been almost reading my entire life the second it happened,” I said.

“You’re missing a chunk of the information, Jamie,” He snickered.

“Any help, Lily?” I asked, sounding like a beggar.

“Oh, she’s not helping you any time soon, Jamie. She works for me,” he said, Lily still staying quiet.

“She works for you? YOU WORK FOR HIM!?!?” I was about to go crazy!

“So smart now, huh dad?” Lily said.

“So he is your dad?” I asked.

“No, dumbo. Ever heard of sarcasm?” she asked.

“Lily, why do keep talking to this girl? We have work to do to destroy her,” he said.

“Destroy me?” I asked nervously, “You’re going to destroy me?”

“There is no use in hiding anything from you anymore,” he said calmly. “Lily said that you were being put to the test, and well, you were. The test was your life. If you were what you thought you were, you would have to die. You are nothing like we thought you would be. We thought you would be hopeless. Turns out, you are always hoping for life to get better.” I started to feel happy. “But, we still have to kill you.”

“I know all about you by the way. You have been four people in my life, trying to watch me wherever I go. You have been ‘the only survivor that used to work with my parents.’ That was when you lived with me for a while. You have been my ‘Landlord.’ You have been ‘the park guard.’ And you have been Dr. Waltzchiz. Not to mention the fact that you probably have been following me around everywhere I go using other disguises I don’t even know about.” I said, starting to get annoyed with him.

“I QUIT,” said Lily in the strongest voice she had ever used. She sounded tough.

“What? EXCUSE ME? You can’t quit!” said Dr. Waltzchiz, amazed with Lily’s choice.

She was standing across from me, next to Dr. Waltzchiz. She moved over next to me. She whispered to me, “I’m on your side now.”

“And you weren’t before?”

“Well, I wanted to be, but I was being controlled. You see, when someone likes him for a minute, he controls them. Kind of how he blacked you out.”

“I thought you did that,” I said.

“I did,” Lily said “but I was under his control. I just made myself realize that I hated him, and now, I have power over him.”

“How does he do it?” I asked Lily. Dr. Waltzchiz was still in the room.

“At birth, he wasn’t born right. Right before he was born, he died. The doctor put some type of a spatial light over him. Since his parents were both very weak, he grew up with the doctor. He taught him how to use his powers, but he motivated him to use his powers for bad. Then, he moved away, but the only way he knew to use his powers was to do bad things with them,” Lily said.

“How could you betray me?” He screamed at Lily.

Lily pulled my hand. “Let’s go,” she said to me.

“You’re not going anywhere.” he said.

“Oh yes we are! Come on, we have to go,” she said.

Dr. Waltzchiz tried to come after us, but Lily turned him into a toy, and put him in a jar. She picked up the jar. I was amazed.

“Close your eyes” she said. She brought me into a room.

“Finally,” she said. “It’s all over.”

She opened the door.

 

CHAPTER 6: Finally Happy

 

“He didn’t really kill your parents. He locked them up. This room was locked so that it couldn’t be opened unless he was destroyed. He thought he would live forever. You can open your eyes,” Lily paused.  “All that evil old Waltzchiz ever wanted was to make everybody’s life miserable. So, he figured out some way to get powers. Since he thought he would never die, he promised me his powers when he did die. The only power I got for being his assistant locking people in jars. I don’t know why, but for some reason, he had something against us, so he tortured us, and our families.”

I saw about a dozen people. Two of them were my parents. They were all frozen. “They were fed,” Lily said.

I ran to my parents. Lily unfolded a piece of paper.

It said: “My destroyer shall bring these people back to life.” Lily knew exactly what to do. She ran around, tapping all of them. They all came to life, and I hugged my parents. Finally, I was happy. At last.

“MOM, DAD!” Lily and I both shouted at the same time. We laughed.

“We knew that you would get us out,” my mom told me.

“Actually, Lily got you out.”

All of the thank you’s, and kisses, and hugs took hours. I missed my parents more than words could say.

Lily and I were friends for the rest of our lives.

“By the way,” Lily said to me, right after we found our parents, “I’m not in preschool.”

 

Chapter 7: Waltzchiz’s Story

by: Waltzchiz

 

I am not a crazy man!!! This is my story:

I went to college with the parents of Lily and Jamie. The dads of both families said that I was Harry, my first name, instead of Martin, my middle name. Ever since, I have wanted revenge. I am not crazy!!!

Excerpt from Apryl

Nat and I ate our bran cereal at the table, and enjoyed our last breakfast at home. I opened the mail, and found a notice on a green piece of paper:

 

Notice

Today is Switching Day!

All citizens of Ellipsis Yonder Metropolis are required to attend the ceremony.

Ceremony will be held at the Meeting Place

From 10 AM until 1 PM

Lunch will be held but please arrive early to claim your table.

All work is cancelled, and no classes will be held.

Anyone not at the ceremony will be severely disciplined.

 

It was Switching Day, the day that we switched quadrants. We would never come back to our parent’s quadrant. I didn’t know how Nat was taking it, but I cried into my pillow all last night. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to switch, I HAD to, but I would miss Mom and Dad. Maybe Nat didn’t think of it this way, but I thought of it as almost our last day of being sisters. Tomorrow, she would be with the negatives, and I would be with the positives. Sure, we would see each other (I mean, I’m pretty sure), but we wouldn’t live together. I was scared.

 

“Girlies! Get dressed! Your special clothes for the ritual,” Mom hollered at us from her and Dad’s room. The ritual is where we switch, and in front of everyone. We are required to wear nice clothes, so for girls, dresses, and boys, a sports jacket and nice pants. Nat and I had picked out dresses the week before, and I was completely IN LOVE with mine.

 

The dress was to my knees, and turquoise blue. A thick, dark blue waistband ran around, well, my waist. It was strapless, and, from waistband down, pleated. I zipped it up in front of my mirror, satisfied. I used my curling iron to curl my hair. I got the curling iron as a present for my fifteenth birthday. We get one present every other year. Nat got a straightening iron, so when I need my hair straightened, I use it, and vise-versa.

 

Nat and I met in the hallway outside of our rooms.

 

“You look great!” she grinned, her eyes darting from my hanging earrings to my high-heeled shoes, which was really not that high, only 1 inch. She wore a pink dress, the same length as mine, and had spaghetti straps. Rhinestones decorated the edges of the dress. Her hair was straightened (not surprising), and she too was wearing high heels. She had diamond studs in her ears.

 

Nat and I had been looking forward to getting to dress up like this for a long time. We aren’t usually (never) allowed to wear high-heels, or earrings, apart from the gold spheres that every girl receives on their seventh birthday. We dress simply, an outfit theme chosen at the beginning of each year, from when we are 10 until 16, when you are in your permanent quadrant. Honestly, I kind of like not having to pick my own outfit. When you wear the same type of thing every day, it doesn’t take long to get dressed, which is probably why they made this rule. I have always chosen the “Casual” theme, which is jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. Nat chose that for 10, 11, and 12, but then she decided that she liked being “pretty,” and for 13, chose the “Preppy” theme. That’s dresses and flats, and stuff like that. She’s more used to wearing fancy clothes than I am. She must feel normal for her to wear these clothes. I like it, but it’s different. Really different.

 

We linked arms and walked down the hallway. Mom smiled widely at us, and gestured for us to go outside.

 

“Dad will be ready in a minute! Wait outside for us!” Mom rushed back into the house.

 

“So. Are you ready?” Nat looked at me.

 

“I guess. Are you?” I looked down at the grassy area in front of our house.

 

“No. I want to stay with you, and Mom, and Dad. Why do we have to be separated?” she sounded like she was choking back tears.

 

“I don’t know, but it’s the way of life here. We just, just have to do it,” I held back tears as well, my voice breaking.

 

Nat hugged me, and we cried into each others shoulders. Suddenly, the front door banged open, Dad hurrying out.

 

“Come on, girls! Time to – are you two okay?” He frowned, and glanced back and forth between us. We carefully wiped tears from our eyes, and nod. Mom walks out, and ushers us into the car. As we drive to the mixed quadrant, I see Dad whispering to Mom, no doubt about the hugging/crying scene. Our family has always been against showing how you feel, but I don’t exactly agree with that, and I don’t think Nat does either.

 

We arrive at the main Meeting Place, the car swerving into the parking lot.

 

“We’ll let you two out here, and we’ll find a parking spot. We’ve reserved seats, so you can meet us there! See you soon, girls!” Mom kisses us each on the cheek, a meaningful but somewhat reluctant gesture. Nat and I get out of the car, and enter the Meeting Place.

 

When we pushed open the glass French doors and walked into the huge room, I felt like everyone was staring at me. Was the strapless dress a bad idea? Should I have chosen something that covered my shoulders? Were people surprised to see me in this? Did I look bad? God, how embarrassing.

 

We found our seats, and sat down. I felt a tap on my bare shoulder, and turned around to see Linzi grinning at me.

 

“Linzi! Hi!” I embrace her over the seats.

 

“Hey, Apryl! Is this your sister?” She holds out her hand to Nat.

 

“Yeah. Nat, this is my friend, Linzi, and Linzi this is my twin sister, Nat!” They shook.

 

“So, what blood type are you?” Linzi asked. “I’m O positive!”

 

“O negative!”

 

A little girl walked up behind Linzi and said, “Linz, Mommy wants you at our seats. She wants to tell you something.”

 

“Sorry, guys! I’ve got to go! Mother calls.” She ran away, chasing the little girl, who looked to be her sister. A second later, Mom and Dad appeared behind us.

 

“Well, Nat and Apryl, we want to tell you that we love you very much, and even though you must switch quadrants, you will always, ALWAYS, be our baby girls. We love you.” Mom and Dad hugged us in turn. Nat and I held Moms’ hands, and reminisced about the 15 years that we spent together. Suddenly, Metropolis Superior’s voice blasted over the speakers.

 

“All 15-year-olds, please report to the stage. Mr. Irwin, Mr. Santos, and Mrs. Lilac will be organizing you for the switch.”

 

Nat and I jumped to our feet, and rushed down the aisle. I could hear Linzi’s bulky heels clumping behind us. I could sense Isaac’s eyes resting on my bare shoulders. I knew what the three 10 year olds were talking about in the front row of the Meeting Place. Everything was in perfect focus. I wasn’t sad, or scared. I wasn’t angry at my parents for not telling us that Nat and I would be separated. I was emotionless, blocking everything out, so that I could switch in peace.

 

Mr. Irwin placed me in between Nat and Kai Bayan. Jake was directly behind me, in a sports coat and nice pants. He leaned over my shoulder and said,

 

“Apryl, right?”

 

“Yes. And you’re Jake, Linzi’s boyfriend,” I smiled. Jake grimaced.

 

“Yep. That’s my title, I guess.” I laughed, nervously. Didn’t he like Linzi?

 

“So, your parents live in the O quadrant, right? My parents live in the A quadrant.”

 

He smiled sadly at me. “Well, they’ll hardly be our parents anymore, you know? I mean, we’ll be living separately, and since my parents are O negative, we’ll NEVER see each other,” he said, his voice a mixture of sad, and bit excited (but why? Nothing good can come from leaving our parents).

 

“What do you mean? In the A quadrant, we’re not separated by positive and negative.”

 

“You mean, they’re not separated by positive and negative. You’re going to be in the O quadrant, positive subdivision in a few minutes!” he corrected, grinning. At that same moment, Metropolis Superior stepped onto the stage, and called for attention.

 

“Today, we are letting go of our children. They will be citizens of Ellipsis Yonder Metropolis as of today. Obviously not productive citizens, at least until they get their jobs.” At this, the audience chuckled politely. “So, let us proceed with the ceremony. First up is Keala Aarons.” I watched intently as the tall girl stood next to Metropolis Superior, smiling. She seemed confident, and definitely not scared. The screen behind the mass of 15-year-olds lit up, and Keala Aaron’s blood information appeared on the screen. She was AB positive. Also, her job was indicated (she was to be Instructor of eight-year-olds). The people applauded her, and she left the Meeting Place. Hmm. Why was she leaving? I wondered where she went.

 

Many people went up to the front of the stage before me. Soon, I heard a name that caught my attention.

 

“Apryl Barnes? Are you there?” People in the audience were craning their necks to look for this “Apryl Barnes.” I must have been daydreaming, and I missed my name! Oh no! I half ran onto stage, making sure my dress stayed up.

 

“Thank goodness. I’m glad you were here! We wouldn’t want to mess up the system, would we?” Metropolis Superior smiled kindly at me, laughing, her blonde bun bobbing up and down. I looked back at her, shyly, a faint smile on my face, my cheeks a rosy red, from embarrassment.

 

A second later, the screen flashed, and my name appeared:

 

Apryl Barnes

Blood Type: O positive

Job Assignment: Diplomat

 

I got the job I wanted! Yay! The audience applauded me, and I saw Mom and Dad grinning at me. I walked offstage, suddenly feeling confident about my dress, and ignoring the fact that I had missed my name being called. I turned around before leaving the Meeting Place, and glanced at Nat. She was running up to Metropolis Superior. I wanted to watch her, so I stayed in the room as she received her job assignment. She got Psychoanalyst, just like Mom! She grinned and ran over to where I was, near the door.

 

“Congratulations! You got the job you wanted!” She hugged me tightly.

 

“You too! You and Mom will be working together! Or at least in the same building.” I hugged her back. This might be the last time we interact with each other as siblings, so we had better make it count.

 

“I’ll miss you.” I said, opening the door. We start to climb the sturdy, wooden staircase, our arms linked. She nodded. We got to the top, and Nat opened it for us.

 

“This might just be where we get separated,” she lets go of my arm, frowning. The room is long, and has seats like the ones in the Meeting Place. There is a window in front of the room. I peered through, and I had a perfect view of the stage. I saw that the room was divided up into eight sections, one for each blood type. Large green signs indicated the groups. Nat ran to meet with one of her friends in the O negative section, while I went to O positive, and joined the three other people there, who I didn’t know. I sat alone, watching for Linzi or Jake to Isaac to go onto stage.

 

First, Isaac bounded up to the platform, joining Metropolis Superior. He was A negative, and he will be Engineer. A minute later he appeared in the room, and I waved at him. He waved back, grinned, and mouthed the words, Good luck! I’ll miss you. I nodded back to him, and he sat down in his respective section.

 

When Jake went up, he cheered as his name appeared on the screen, and ran out of the Meeting Place amid clapping and whooping. His job was Physical Trainor/Novitiate Trainor. He entered the room, and ran to sit next to me.

 

“Congrats! You happy with your job?” He slid into the seat next to me.

 

“Yeah, really happy. How about you? Satisfied?” I smiled at him, with butterflies in my stomach.

 

“Oh, definitely. I’m more excited about training the novitiates than being a physical trainer, though.” He laughs, and I join him. We exchanged friendly conversation until we heard Linzi’s name over the speakers.

 

Linzi sauntered over to Metropolis Superior. Her tight black dress shimmered in the spotlight, because of the sequins. She had chunky black heels on, and a golden necklace. Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head.

 

“Wow, she looks really pretty!” I exclaimed, nudging Jake.

 

“Yeah, she does. You do too,” he said, taking my hand a squeezing it. I quickly pulled my hand away. No matter how much I liked him, I couldn’t betray Linzi. And anyway, didn’t he like her? I mean, they were dating. And if he liked me, what did he see in me?

 

I blushed anyway. Even if I couldn’t like him, it felt good. Someone thinking I was pretty, I mean. Not the hand holding.

 

Nothing I Could Do

Lying here, sick in my stupid, old, busted up bed. It sucks so much. Dying and knowing it, that is. If I am going to die soon, I want it to be here. In the safety of my own home. My mother will most likely try to get me up and to school. She doesn’t know about my sickness. I would never have the nerve to worry her. She is the sweetest person you could ever know. She gives our leftover food to the poor and the homeless; she always gives up her seat on the bus. She is always kind and so selfless. I would never try to upset her, she doesn’t deserve that. It was hard enough when Dad walked out on us. I am supposed to go to school. I haven’t gone for a while though. I stopped the day I learned about my sickness. I got up every morning to go, then walked past it. I don’t want Mother to be suspicious of me. I missed Carly, though. She was my best friend. She would have been the first person I told if I had told someone. It was too risky though. I just told her I was on a long trip. I am scared that Mother would come in any minute now. I should try to get up. UGH! It’s too hard.

“George, I’m coming in, ok?” Oh no, I think. Just act really tired, and pretend to be ok, I tell myself. She opens the door and looks in.

“George it’s time to get up, are you ok?”

“Yes Mom, I’m just …” I can’t lie anymore. “Mom, I … I’m not ok. I’m sick.”

“Oh you poor thing. Do you have a fever? Do you need medicine?” She rushes toward my bed, her arms stretched out towards me. She tries to kiss my forehead.

“No, mom. It’s not like that.” I push her away. “I have a sickness. In my stomach.” I showed her the spot where the infirmitatem is. It was a bigish brown spot on my stomach.

“It hurts,” I say. She falls to the ground. I panic. What do I do? Should I help her up? Should I call someone. Did she faint? Is she ok?

“Mom! MOM?! Are you ok?!” I run, or more like hobble, to the phone. I dial in the number: 911. I don’t press call. Why? Why don’t I press call? I delete the numbers. (646) 534-7925, call. I press call. I wait. I wait more. I begin to become impatient. Just then a voice comes from the end of the other line.

“Hello? Mary? Is that you is everything Ok? Why are you calling me?” He sounds angry.

“Uh, um, no it’s me. Um uh, I think Mom fainted, or had a heart attack. What do I do?!” I start to cry. Why am I allowing myself to cry? Why would I do such a stupid thing? Now Dad will know how serious it really is.

“What?! Did you call 911 yet?”

“Uh, no. I called you.” I say. A pang of guilt hits me. Maybe I should have called 911.

“Ugh, just, call 911, Ok? It will be Ok.”

“Ok, bye.” I hang up and press my forehead against the wall. I bang it five times. I put the phone back up to my ear and dial the numbers 9-1-1.

“Uh, hello? Police, Firemen, or ambulance? What can I help you with?”

“My, um, mother had a heart attack.” I give them my address and hung up. For the first time in seven years I cry twice in a day. I cry until the ambulance arrives. And then it is dark. All … dark.

Next thing I know I am lying in a large bed, in a large wooden-floored room. I sit up, but quickly realized that was a bad idea. My small spot of infirmitatem has grown to a huge lump. I panic again. I don’t where I am, or how long I was asleep for.

“Hello?” A faintly familiar voice calls through the door. A man walks in. My dad. He came back. Am I happy he is here or angry that he left?

“Hi,” I say weakly. He obviously saw the spot.

“Let’s get you to the hospital.”

“Where is mom?” I have so many questions for him, all rushing through my mind.

Where is mom?!” I raise my voice and I need to know. I wouldn’t leave without my answe- OW! It is so painful.

“She is… gone.” He sounds disappointed. Then I feel myself just slip away. Gone. Forever.

Journey of A Worm

A few years ago, some worms fell from the sky in Norway. This is the story of how:

The worms of northern Norway were sick of eating dirt and living in dirt. It was sort of like eating their home. So they decided something: To live in people’s homes and instead of eating dirt they would eat gummy worms!

But the worms had one problem: How would they get to the town of Brekstad?!  It was a town that had a gummy worm factory.

Steve was the name of one of the worms. He had the answer to how they would get to Brekstad. But he had one problem: This plan would take way too long to get a driver’s pass (his plan is pretty simple):

“Let’s buy a punch buggy!”

All of the other worms were like, “What?” so they went with another worm’s plan. His name was JEFF!?!?! (yes including the (?) and (!) marks). JEFF!?!?! here wasn’t that smart, so he said, “Let’s go slide over the rainbow!!”

The faces of all the other worms were like,“What?” again. But another worm called Jhonny came up with another plan. This plan was to dig a tunnel to a field where there was a tornado going on in another part of Norway, in order for them to get blown to the town. This plan was all they had left, so the worms agreed.

It took a few years for the worms to tunnel to the field (really only a few hours because their destination was not actually that far), so when they got to the tornado near the town, the wind was so strong they all hung onto leaves but were blown away towards the town.

It felt like flying. It was like being sucked into a vacuum cleaner and being swirled around and around so much that they felt like they were going to hurl.

“Maybe this is how birds feel!” screamed Steve. All the worms were being stretched out because of the wind.

Jhonny wiggled around. “I’m doing yoga!”

After an hour, they finally fell. The leaves they were hanging onto broke their fall. When they made it to the ground they rejoiced.

“We made it!,” yelled JEFF!?!?!, and they all celebrated!

“So….now what?” asked one of the other worms.

JEFF!?!?! answered with, “I have no idea!”

Then they saw a sign that said: “Welcome to the Town of Bůd.” Underneath that on the sign it said: “The Town of the Gummy Worm Strike.”

Jhonny read the sign and said, “Are you kidding me?”

AWorkInProgress

hey cal, I  say

what, she replies

do you know what, cal

what

I’m moving, cal

 

what

says cal

I’m moving, cal

I say.

 

cal says what again

but i think she knows what I said

cal runs away

 

and the next day she acts like it’s not true

like I lied to her

 

and when we have a playdate

she sits on the edge of my loft

and cries.

 

I know

she knows

 

my mom told me, cal says

is it true?

 

yes, I say.

I’m sorry, cal.

 

all my stress is rising now. my heart is pumping in my ears,

says cal.

 

I didn’t have an answer.

my stress is swirling around like glitter in a jar,

says cal.

 

well, then, I say.

stop shaking the jar.

Broken Best Friend

My best friend

On a bike

Raises one hand up to wave “Hi”

Falls over sideways with a scream

Starts crying

An aggravating blood

Everywhere

Her parents frantically running

My mom picking her up

Running to our house

She’s sitting on the counter

Crying more and more

Wondering if I was going to even see her again

Will she remember our good times

Will she remember how much I love her

Will she remember…me?

Three days later

An orange cast wrapped around

Her broken wrist

She still

Has a smile

Pasted on her face

My best friend

Not With A Wimper But A Bang

 CHAPTER 1  

“This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.” – T.S. Elliot.

I am Francis W. Smith, and I believe quite the opposite. I believe the world ends with a big loud bang. I think that the world will have a Grand Finale. I just feel it in my bones.

When people first meet me, they think I’m a boy. Mostly because my name is Francis. But I also wear my hair up in a bun, and put a cap over it. That gives me an advantage. People in my town don’t expect boys to follow the rules as much as girls do. Some of the neighbors think I’m a boy. So whenever I break a rule or two, they aren’t as harsh on me. James, Martin, and Steve are my best friends. Those aren’t really our real names. I’m Francesca, James is Jamie, Martin is Maria, but Steve is just Steve, because he’s a boy.

Steve believes that aliens are going to attack. I don’t believe in aliens. I wonder if there are really monsters lurking above the dark black skies, watching our every move. It creeps me out that there might be aliens up in the big swirl of darkness of outer space, sort of like that fat man in the red suit they call Santa. My parents do not let me believe in Santa.

Ding Dong.

I hear my mother yelling at my father downstairs.”Get the door Harry! I still have my curlers in!”

“You get it! I’m on the phone with the accountant!”

I stumble down the rickety stairs, and open the door. Steve stands there thin as a pencil, mumbling theories about aliens. He looks up, his glasses falling down his nose, finally realizing that I had opened the door.

“OHMYGOSHALIENSAREGOINGTOATTACKFRANCISYOUGOTTABELIEVEMEIHAVE

PROOF!!!” Steve says.

” Wow dude, calm down, I can’t understand you.”

“Aliens are going to attack, Francis you gotta believe me. I have proof.”

 

Steve brings me to his house, an old but quaint building. He digs through his baggy jeans, looking for the keys. As he walks in, his dog, Mop, jumps up and licks his knees. Mop sniffs me, and slowly walks away, as if to say I smelled horrid.

Steve says, “Come on, I’ll show you! You have to be quiet, we can’t wake up my little sister.” He takes me up to his room. Steve says, “Sorry it might be a little messy.”

I look around and I think to myself, it looks like a tornado came by and threw up another tornado. I have been to Steve’s house before, but it’s never been messy at all. We shuffled across the room, through the piles and piles of books and papers as tall as skyscrapers. They were mostly books about alien abduction, but the rest were for school. He took out his telescope, and pointed it up to the sky. I looked in the telescope, and he said, “Do you see it?”

“No. I don’t see anything.”

He looks in and says, “Oh, maybe it moved.” He looked around through the telescope, and gives me a sad look. “Maybe you should go. It’s almost dinnertime.”

He shut the door, and I hear him moan. I can hear him, “My dream. Gone. Never. Going. To. Become. The. First. Person. To. See. Aliens.” I leave his house, trudging my way to my house.

 

CHAPTER 2

My father opens the door, with his long hair tied up in a ponytail. I know it’s kind of weird, but my dad’s going through this hippie phase, where he does everything hippie style; tie dye, bandanas, skinny jeans, the whole package. He’s kind of upset that his work has a dress code. They have to wear a suit, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find a store that sold tie dye colored suits. He also went through a “Star Wars” phase. Every day when he drove me to school, he would wear a Jedi robe. My teacher told him no “pajamas”, and he went bananas.

Don’t even make me bring up what he named our dog. Chewbacca.

He says, “How are ya doin’ kiddo?”, in his fake southern accent. Just hearing my goofy dad made me feel better.

“Good, kind of good, not so good, bad. I don’t know.”

“What’s wrong?” He says. “Steve saw aliens, then he showed them to me and they weren’t there, so he’s embarrassed and sad.” He looked at me, puzzled. I just told him it wasn’t a big deal, and flopped down on my bed.

I pick up the phone and call Maria, and she answers, “The Caldwell residence, Maria speaking.”

“Hi, it’s Francis. Want to hang out?”

“Sure. Meet you at 3:00. At the movies?”

“Sure. See you.”

“Bye.” I hang up, take off my jeans, and change into my sweatpants. I tell my dad I’m leaving, then shut the door. I walk up to the curb and wait for the cars to pass by.

 

CHAPTER 3

I live in Rhode Island, the smallest state. It’s pretty awesome living here. I go to Moses Brown, the best school in the world. The campus is awesome. It has a music room, a theater building, a woodshop building, and a fencing building. Of course, there is the school building too. School starts in 3 days, and I want to run for student council, but I don’t stand a chance against Carly Westminster, the “popular” kid in school.

I cross the street, and see Carly staring at me. She says, “Hey girlfriend!” and gives me a phony smile. I roll my eyes and walk away.

I walk into the movie theaters, and I hear a shooting noise. The sound of a gun. I rush towards the concession stand, but there is nobody there. The whole movie theater is empty, completely empty. But where did the bang come from? Not with a whimper but a bang. THE WORLD IS GOING TO END.

As I walk towards the other theater rooms, I hear screams. Everything is going in slow motion. I am not scared, but something big is going to happen. The doors of the theater room open, and a man in a green suit looks down at me. I feel dizzy, and my body is flopping around like a piece of cooked spaghetti. The weird man in the green suit twitches his hand back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. He is controlling my body. As he moves his hand, he forces my limp body into the theater. I see Maria screaming, but I can’t hear her.

BANG.

 

CHAPTER 4

Lights flash brightly on my stone cold face, as a woman wheels me through a hospital. The ground is slightly shaking. Why is the hospital moving? I tug at the tubes in my arms, and I know I couldn’t have been shot. I didn’t even feel anything! No blood, no scars, I don’t see anything wrong with me. Except the fact that I believe in aliens.

I look through a window that I don’t think was there before. And guess what! There’s earth! Wait, what? How can that be earth! I’m in a hospital on Earth! If I can see earth, then I’m not on earth… Holy crap! I’ve been abducted by aliens! Ok, don’t panic. I’m just going to ask the nurse how I can get out of here. But, she’s probably an alien! I try to get off the stretcher, but my legs are tied to it. I lie back down, and think for a minute. My last option is to actually talk to this woman.

“Excuse me, miss, will you tell me how to get out of -”

“Reklg mekl gooihj,” the woman says.

“Excuse me!”

She finally turns around and looks at me. I gasp. It’s Carly Westminster.

I always knew something was wrong with her, her long white hair, big red eyes, like mine. Out of all the crazy things in my life, Carly Westminster has to be an alien! I knew she hated me, and now she kidnapped me in her stupid alien spaceship thingy and now I’m just talking really fast for no reason!! Ok, let me get back to reality. This is probably all just a dream, and I’m going to wake up. Ow! Pinching does not help! I guess this is really my crazy life.

Carly stares at me creepily, then she says the same thing.”Reklgmeklgjiooihj,djfyyzako!”

Then she makes this face, like she is constipated. Then she grabs her ear, and pulls off her face.

 

CHAPTER 5

What did she just do?! She pulled off her face from left to right. And under that was an angry crimson face, with only half of a mouth, and a big fat nose. The only thing that didn’t change were those bright red eyes. This is not how I pictured being abducted by aliens. I thought they would be cute little green things, with big black bug eyes, saying “We come in peace” or “ET phone home.”

Carly stares at me and says, “Francesca W. Smith. You are so lucky to be related to the Carly Westminster.” She twirls her hair and looks at me.

“W-what do you mean?” I stammer.

“You were left at your parents’ doorstep, when you were two. Our parents were poor. Very poor. And then grandfather started up the electrical business, and we got rich, just like that. We would have taken you back, but we couldn’t just tell the people to give us their baby. Well, I always hated you because you were normal, and I had to be the alien. Aliens abducted us, and gave us  powers. But now these powers have an advantage.”

“What does that mean?” I say nervously.

“Soon you will be like me, an outcast.”

“What are you doing with that needle?” I say.

“Once I give you this shot, you won’t remember anything, and you won’t be able to tell anyone what happened here.” I feel a weird pain in my wrists, and a green light starts coming out of my fingers. Her stunned face gleams in the light. All of a sudden, the light wraps around Carly’s wrist and she unconsciously stabs herself with the needle.

I look at her, lying on the floor, and suddenly something occurs to me. How am I going to get back down to Earth?

 

CHAPTER 6

I instantly look for an opening in the wall but there is nothing. Wait, there’s a small latch on the floor! Ughhh! I can’t open it. How am I going to get out? An enormous man with no eyes walks towards me, and I think, “Maybe my weirdness will come in handy.” The man sticks his hand in his pocket and brings out a magnifying glass.

“I think I need glasses.” He says. I think he needs eyes. I walk past him quickly before he “sees” me.

Another alien turns the corner and drops a wrench. He eyes it, then eyes me. Then he keeps walking. Why had he not picked up the wrench? A small smirk starts to form on my face. I can use the wrench to escape.

I glance back at the ground. What? My eyes are messing with me. Nope, my eyes aren’t messing with me.The wrench got up and walked up to the latch in the floor.  It’s opening!

 

CHAPTER 7

I didn’t know life could be so happy, breath taking, and sad at the same time. Steve was right. The world is ending, and the aliens are taking over. I have always dreamed about this moment. Except I thought it would be different. Falling to your death isn’t really in slow motion, it’s all at once.

When you die, it’s not a happy farm in New Jersey. It’s nothing. Nothing at all, just silence and a bunch of people in white clothes and sunglasses. It’s also very dark.  Everybody is marching in a straight, boring line to a small elevator. Maybe we were wrong. It’s a elevator to heaven, not a staircase. I look to my left, then to my right. A couple of old women take off their sunglasses All of a sudden, I hear a noise. “Francis! Francis! Wake up! Please Francis! Don’t be dead!” It’s Steve. Am I still alive?

I feel Steve patting my back, saying, “Please wake up!”  Why aren’t I waking up? I have a theory: maybe I am DEAD. Ok never mind I’m not dead because I AM BREATHING.

Providence Place Mall. I am here. Here, as in alive. My eyes slowly open, not fully adjusted to the light. Steve looks down at me stunned at what he just saw. It’s not every day you see your best friend falling to their death. Except I’m not dead. He suddenly looks up at the sky, and down back at me.

“What happened?” he says.

“Just my everyday routine, you know, fighting aliens, falling from the sky.” I reply.

“No, seriously. Are you okay?”

“I’m serious. That’s what really happened.”

He looks at me, obviously not satisfied.

“Steve, you know how you were so confident that aliens were real?”

“No,” he says angrily.

“Well, in a not so distant past you were. And they are real. I swear.”

“On your life?”

“Yes.”

“Still. I don’t believe you. My dreams were crushed, and I don’t believe in aliens anymore. I’m over it.”

He trudges away, and doesn’t look back. I whisper back to him, “I know you still believe.”

Suddenly the ground shakes, and the alien ship comes crashing down. There is no one there. Where has everybody gone? It’s an aliena incursio. An alien invasion.

Steve looks back at me, surprised. Then he says, “I believe you.”

I start to say “watch out!” but it’s too late.

 

CHAPTER 8

He’s been dead for two days now

…  …  …  …

 

He’s been dead for three days now.  It doesn’t feel real. I feel dead. It’s excruciating.

CHAPTER 9

I have to tell the world. I can’t keep living with no one else knowing what had just happened. I am the only one who knows, and the only person who will know. But I have to find them. I have to find the aliens.

I say the words Carly said on the ship: ‘Reklg Mekl Giooihj,” and a small alien appears, about the size of my arm. This one isn’t too frightening, and it looks like ET.

ZZZP. ZZZP. My lamp sparks and drops to the floor. I spoke too soon. It shoots lasers from its eyes. He walks up to me and says, ”Greetings. Sorry about the lamp. I’ll fix it. Now let’s get to business. I have a compromise. You never tell a soul about the invasion, and I will give you the boy.”

“But Steve is dead!”

“I can fix that too.” he says.

“Okay.”

The second he leaves, someone knocks on the door.

“Ugh, who is it?”I say.

“It’s Steve!”

“You’re alive!”

“Uh…yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

They erased his memory. I should have known. I break down in tears. Nooooo! Why?

I wish I hadn’t made the deal. I wish I hadn’t.

 

CHAPTER 10

We walk to school, me pretending that it is a normal day, and Steve not knowing. Suddenly I stop and say two words: I believe. He looks back, and his eyes change color.

“I believe. I remember.” he says.

He stares at me, and we walk to school. It’s better than before, but life will never be normal again.

Oommbatata

Oommbatata the tortoise was a crazy testudine pupa. (A dollar tortoise’s scientific name.) He was not the kind of “friendly” tortoise. He only desired to create a new Turtletopia. (Turtletopia was the land of turtles and tortoises but was only a small island). His previous 43,535 attempts to take over the earth had failed because he had an army of only 62 testudine pupas, no tortoise tanks, lack of comedians, and blah blah blah!!! Oommbatata one day got picked up by somebody and then he was reminded of the injustice of animals.

“I’m gonna call in a tortoise army to show them who’s boss!” He climbed to the top of the random person’s finger and yelled in Tortoineise, “All you miniature testudine pupas better come here!”

Then the guy went, “What the heck is that tiny turtle saying?!”

Then, of course, Oommbatata yelled, “All of you testudine pupa, get that overestimated twerp!”

So, duh, he jumped off the person’s hand and landed with an oof. He chased Mr. You’re-Dead-To-Me all over the place. But three hours later he hadn’t gotten close and Mr. You’re-Dead-To-Me didn’t seem to care about Oommbatata. So, Oommbatata called the armed forces of Turtletopia to go faster. But since turtles are slow, they couldn’t catch up even then. He then had the urgent need to fart. He let it out into the skies above and landed on Mr. You’re-Dead-To-Me’s head. He kung-fued him by pooping on Mr. You’re-Dead-To-Me with a nasty blarp. The tortoise army mindlessly followed Oommbatata over Mr. You’re-Dead-To-Me and that was that. Then they took over Carl’s House of Beans and ate beans and flew into the Tower of Pisa. It only took about five seconds for the world to rename it the “Leaning Tower of Pisa” (It was in the New York Times, Issue 26 of 2005).

He yelled, “You’re ours, Italy!”

Then the cops came to get him but that smelly little posterior knocked ‘em out. Oommbatata then realized the Army was on their way, so they farted out of Italy. He waited three minutes and said, “You’re 180.32 seconds late! Now get movin’!!”

Meanwhile, the enemies, the birds, were migrating to the U.K. So Oommbatata and his tortoise army decided on staying in an abandoned warehouse and hatched a plan for the nighttime assault, but only after the spies discovered where they were.

“At 12 we strike the nest. We will gas our way up there. Then we will fart our poo cannons up and we will fire!”

They snuck to the big tree. By big, I mean 68 feet tall. They used their turtlenoculars to spot them. Oommbatata yelled, “What’s the status?”

“We’re positive the mentally retarded flock’s asleep!”

And so he climbed (with the assistance of gas) up the tree. The tortoises farted all the way up because of their big load, which meant high speeds (remember the poo cannons?) Then they shouted, “Hey, who’s slow now?”

“Shut up!” yelled Oommbatata.

Then the tortoises lay on their bellies. The midgets climbed on. General Ahookasma yelled, “Open fire!”

And a stinky scent filled the high-perched habitat. The birds woke up in a dark shade of brown. They all fainted from the stench and later shoved off from the nest. At 7 a.m. the farmer woke up in shock that stinky birds were lying unconscious on his fields. The flag of Turtletopia was placed on the now-useless birdie-perch. Then in the middle of the gas party, Oommbatata commanded them to sail the H.M.S. Feather back to America.

They turned the Statue of Liberty green (putting a shell on would be too hard work). They sailed to Florida, where they recruited crocodiles (the people wondered why they were gone). Then he created and signed the Declaration of Preparation for Invasion (declaring invasion) on Washington. But, since he had bad geography, he attacked Washington state instead. They farted their way across the diameter of the state. They then found that the birds had claimed this land. Oommbatata had a plan.

“We will strike at 1:00 sharp. We swing up those vines, get in our shells, and crash on those surprised faces!“

These turtles were tired, but they managed to hit their marks. “Again?! Where do we go now with these testudine pupa messing around?!”

Then Oommbatata shouted, “Hey! Nobody calls us by our scientific, biologically-named names!”

They jumped around like monkeys and farted ‘til their nest burned to gas. The crocodiles jumped up, rolled up into a ball in midair and made big holes in the floors. Then they farted all the way to Canada, where they landed on a now-squashed-birdie-base. Rokanohi said, “Is this the congo?”

“No, you idiot, this is Canada!” said Oommbatata.

They ventured into nowhere and found a jungle. They ventured all they way to the Amazon and again, Rokanohi asked if it was the Congo, and again, “No, you idiot, this is the Amazon!”

Then Ahookasma said, “We’re actually probably going to die because we’re in the Amazon.”

“What is going on with this planet??!!” yelled You-Know-Who.

Then they met a tribe of testudines. Well, at least not testudine pupas. Then they declared war because they hated the differences of their shells.

“Kjgkuesrguiesygrikuserhgkuserghkieusghkrsut” is what the conflict of the first Amazonian war sounded like. This is how it ended. Like World War II, except it was a big bunch of melons times two. They had drops of turtlepowder in them which hurt more than the insides of watermelon (turtlepowder was just cracked bits of shell). They placed a flag smack in the middle of the Amazon. In Latin it said: Cave turtures! (ich by the way meant beware the turtles). Then they had to go back to Washington state (by the way, from Washington to Canada to Amazon to Washington took 12 weeks) to get the H.M.S. Tortoise running. Their next destination: Moscow, Russia.

“We sail starting 12 noon in 30 seconds. Then we will travel to the border pretending we are a little cruise liner. After we land we sneak out and take over the world!” Oommbatata announced.

“But our legs are sore!” (They didn’t know they were gonna fart there.)

“Guess what?”

“What?”

“Nobody cares! Now shut up and let’s get going!”

They launched from the docks after 23 seconds and then they farted off the ship (walking gets old! farting never does!). Then they started to stench up St. Peter’s square. It reeked so horribly it woke everyone up. The Fire Department had to wear gas masks to put out the smell. Mission accomplished! Oommbatata had a deadly idea. He found a flight that would go around the world. His maximum fart diameter was 64,532 miles. Combined with his testudine army he could cover the world with natural greenhouse gases. They snuck into the baggage section and got into the luggage chamber. Then they farted a tiny hole (big enough for 32,445 midget tortoise butts to pass gas) and then opened fire on the world! The world stunk of testudine gassing for ten devastating days. (Nobody remembered those days because no one was conscious.) Oommbatata’s plan had worked! (Only for a few days.)

That is how they did it. They spent five days sleeping! Then they kept spraying the world for a year. So 2005 was lived twice. The actual one was the first but no one knew. They had only seen the second and not original 2005. And to make sure they didn’t confuse the people, they set a one-year timer so when the year ended they spent another day cleaning up the horrifying smell so it would feel like the people had fallen asleep and woken up the next day. Oommbatata still farted around in Turtletopia (the island). The reason it hasn’t been discovered is because it reeks too badly to smell. Every person who tries to explore is knocked out. Every person who was never seen again probably was knocked out for a century from turtle speed. Even the U.S. deployed Black Ops!!! Along with Italy’s army (they were knocked out though). They left a Blackhawk heli along with an A129 Mangusta.

“You thinking what I am?!”

They flew it over Venezuela and passed some speed over the tiny place. (The reason they speeded over Venezuela is because they spun the globe and picked a random place.) When they flew back they also gassed on Mr. You’re-Dead-To-Me II and III (don’t ask me who they are). The U.S. declared war that you have never heard of. It was secret!!! It was known as the War of the Midget Enemy. The U.S. had tanks, and so did Turtletopia. The U.S. had planes, and Turtletopia had a fleet of modified 747s. The U.S. had ships and subs, and Turtletopia had sea turtle subs with floatie turtles. The U.S. had cannons and guns, while turtletopia had fart and poo blasters. The reason the war was widely unknown was because the U.S. was too embarrassed to talk about it. The turtles won by nearly a fart. The battle was only one day because the turtles dropped paratroopers and they farted on America and they got knocked out again to miss another day of life. So America’s pretty much behind a day and they gave up. The new Turtletopia is now Earth! (That is why a lot of turtles live on Earth) and why forget the facts:

  • All species of sea turtles are endangered because they lost their floaties and are not used to swimming.
  • You never see flying turtles because they look like airliners (BECAUSE THEY ARE).
  • All turtles now have the special ability to fart @ will.

Anyways, just Wiki it.

Continued, every sort of life form except turtles has missed 56,778,786,565,547,476 hours, 15 minutes, 35.687 seconds of time while the turtles had farted them out. To this day they still shell the birds and blast them with the helicopters they got for free. WW3 had begun against the birds because they owned Brazil and Turtletopia island was in the Bermudas. They weren’t far away and when the birds flew to America, tortoise recon got them in sight and they deployed the TTAF (Turtletopia air force) in a ≜ formation from the Bermudas to America. Then they split up and dropped the parapoopers onto the birdie-base. King of Birdie-Poo, the eagle, sent birds that were shot down by the 747 #56 in the first wave. Then the turtles fought back by dropping empty explosive tortoise shells on the bird bath.

“No! Our bath! You leave us no choice! Send the condors!”

A fleet of condors in a V formation flew into battle which were kicked out by the tickle-o turtles. Tickled to death, they were, and the 7.5 kilos were just too much to handle on the four gram tinies. The helicopters flew over, shooting feathers off the now-naked, featherless, beaked freaks. Here comes the twist. The Black Ops comes in and shoots everyone down. Well, at least for the turtles, because the sanctuary was a mountain of rubble. They took over an airport and the planes and helicopters landed at the airport to refuel. One hour later, they took off again after robbing the restaurants. They landed back at the island of Turtletopia and played fart volleyball. The End. Or do you really think so? Well, the turtles outsmarted him and tricked him into ramming into a wall. Mission accomplished!

Do You Know What Scares Me Sometimes

do you know what scares me sometimes?

what will happen when I die.

 

I nearly died once,

when I was told I was moving (again).

away from the place I loved the most.

 

I think I’ll come back

as my opposite

I’ve already lived once,

my memory was just erased.

 

my opposite will be

a brown-skinned

lamb-haired

boy

who wears baggy basketball shorts down to his knees

and red t-shirts.

 

he will love basketball.

he will be christian

he will have a russian accent.

he will have trouble reading

he will have many friends and be handsome (although that’s not an opposite, just something i want).

 

most of all, though,

he will hate to write.

The Never-Ending Story (of the Purple Doughnut)

 

Once upon a time, a purple doughnut jumped onto the table. Suddenly a giant hand came down from the heavens and seized the doughnut.

“Please, don’t eat me,” said the doughnut, covering its eyes.

“How will you stop me?” said the giant in a gruff, gravelly voice.

“If I tell you a story, will you let me go?”

“If you don’t, I’ll smash your crust to make my cake, and if you do tell me a story, I’ll smash your crust to make my cake anyway.”

He’ll kill me if I do, and he’ll kill me if I don’t, the doughnut thought. There’s only one way to get out of this.

The doughnut cleared his throat and began to speak.

 

“Once upon a time, a purple doughnut jumped onto the table. Suddenly, a large hand came down from the heavens and seized the doughnut.”

“’Please, don’t eat me,’” said the doughnut, covering its eyes.

“‘How will you stop me?’” said the giant in a gruff, gravelly voice.

“‘If I tell you a story, will you let me go?’”

“‘If you don’t, I’ll smash your crust to make my cake, and if you do tell me a story, I’ll smash your crust to make my cake anyway.’”

He’ll kill me if I do, and he’ll kill me if I don’t, the doughnut thought. There’s only one way to get out of this.

The doughnut cleared his throat and began to speak.

 

“’Once upon a time a purple doughnut jumped onto the table. Suddenly, a large hand came down from the heavens and seized the doughnut.'”

“’Please don’t eat me,'” said the doughnut, covering its eyes.

“‘How will you stop me?’” said the giant in a gruff, gravelly voice.

“‘If I tell you a story, will you let me go?'”

“‘If you don’t I’ll smash your crust to make my cake, and if you do tell me a story, I’ll smash your crust to make my cake anyway.'”

He’ll kill me if I do, and he’ll kill me if I don’t, the doughnut thought. There’s only one way to get out of this.

The doughnut cleared his throat and began to speak.

 

“’Once upon a time a purple doughnut jumped onto the table. Suddenly, a large hand came down from the heavens and seized the doughnut.'”

“’Please don’t eat me,'” said the doughnut, covering its eyes.

“‘How will you stop me?’” said the giant in a gruff, gravelly voice.

“‘If I tell you a story, will you let me go?'”

“‘If you don’t I’ll smash your crust to make my cake, and if you do tell me a story, i’ll smash your crust to make my cake anyway.'”

He’ll kill me if I do, and he’ll kill me if I don’t, the doughnut thought. There’s only one way to get out of this.

The doughnut cleared his throat and began to speak…

Alexander: The Kingdom of Fairies

Prologue

My name is Alexandra Olive Rose, but everyone calls me Alex. I am 8 years old and I live in the country by a huge forest. Most of my time I sit and stare at my bedroom wall and get no dinner. Well, I have stared at that wall so many times I think it moved! You know why I stare at that wall almost every day of my life? Because I get in trouble from wanting to explore, like the time I went past the village and into the forest.

But it was only a foot in…

Fine! It wasn’t a foot in, it was my whole body! I know it was wrong but it felt so good to be out of the house! My dad carried me back home and then I got sent to my room, again! With no dinner! No “good night!”

My parents say that creatures live in the forest, dark creatures!

Anyway, I knew that I would not get dinner after I went to the forest, so every day before going to explore I always got a snack and put it under my bed, so that when I got sent to bed I would have something to eat. I ate my snack then started to read. I love books, and my parents wish I read rather than explored. But the thing about books is that I can read about other girls’ lives, just like mine, then see how they resolve it!

Chapter 1

I got up the next morning with the sound of birds chirping. I knew that today was going to be a good day! So, when I think I am going to have a good day I get dressed in my favorite outfit, a sleeveless juniper green colored shirt. Then for my skirt: white with pink polka dots and a pink line across. I went to the bathroom and brushed my thick brunette colored hair. I wanted my hair to grow long, but not too long, just like my mother’s. And to top it off I didn’t wear shoes that day!

I went down stairs and my mother left a note for me next to my breakfast. It said: ¨Don’t go into the forest and finish your breakfast  Love, Mom.¨  I sighed then finished my hot pancakes and all of my orange juice. After that I cut up some fruit so that I could be active because today was going to be the day! The day I left for an adventure! I went back upstairs to my room and wrote a note on my typewriter that said: ¨Dear Mother & Father, You need to let me go and adventure at some point, and again sorry I don’t follow your rules. See you soon, but I don’t know when. -Alex :)¨

Chapter 2

I decided to go without anything to carry so that I could get around quicker. Ok, I was about to do this! I got the door handle and opened the door, and…my mother came in!

“Oh hi honey! Thank you for opening the door for me,” she said.

OMG! I was so frustrated! Now I didn’t have an escape plan! She told me to put on some shoes which I didn’t want to do! She also told me to go and occupy my time, so I did. I ran to the back door to leave and…my dad walked in! And guess what he said?

“Oh hi honey! Thank you for opening the door for me!”

Like, can no one come through the window?! It’s easy, just climb, I do it all the time! After dinner I got tucked into bed. When I saw my mother and my father’s candle go out, I got out of bed and got dressed. I combed my hair so that I would look good running away.

I checked my parents’ room to make sure they were asleep so that I wouldn’t have to open the door and risk one of them coming through it again. I went inside the room and just looked at them. I had to admit it, I was going to miss them. I left the note I wrote on the desk then left. When I stepped outside, I quickly ran to the forest, then found a nice comfy cave to sleep in for that night.

Chapter 3

I woke up with food around me and a deer on top of me. “Is she dead?” asked a voice.

“No, wait, I see that she is waking up¨ another voice said.

I woke up and saw animals around me. It must be some type of dream, I thought, because how did I get here? I was lying cozy on some type of leaves, but none that I had ever seen before. As the deer moved away from on top of me, I sat up then asked “How did I get here?”

“Well we brought you here for Queen Ella and King Elite. Because you are our savior, you were chosen to come here,” the deer said.

Wait, did this deer just talk to me?

“I just understood you…” I said with disbelief.

“She is the one,” said the squirrel.

“But how?” I asked.

“Because we gave you the enchanted forest pendant. It allows you to communicate with us. It is protected by the king and queen and they said if we found you, to give it to you,” a rabbit said.

“How do you know it is me?” I asked.

“We just know,” said a turtle. And then, in a blink of an eye, they were all gone. I decided to go look around. My pillow had been a tree, so I stood up and peeked over it…there was an entire village! It was all made out of trees with tiny little glowing lights. Inside each one, a house. In the middle was a river of sparkly red water. I felt the enchantment in the air. And then I knew where I was…Enchantia.

Chapter 4

I knew about Enchantia from the Fairy Tale books I read when I was younger. I would always pretend I was a princess fairy, the most beautiful in the land! And so I thought today I would meet the lady that I pretended to be for so long! I ran towards the kingdom, then felt a little poke, like a shot at the doctor. I looked down and tiny warriors, the size of your thumb, were shooting spears the size of pinkies at me. They were fairies! But boys!

I knew that Enchantia must have had boys, but I never would have guessed they would also be fairies! I told them that I was a good person, not a bad one! But all I heard from them was “Idontknowwhatyouaresayingbadperson!”

Hey, I understood that…

I could speak fairy!

Just then, a lady riding in a carriage went right past the guards and straight up to my face. The guards bowed to her as she came up to me. She was the most delicate, beautiful, amazing thing I ever saw! I stared at her. She had a golden dress with a beautiful golden leaf crown that circled her head. She glittered, almost as if she were the sun. Then I saw who she was… I took a bow.

Chapter 5

“OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! You are…” I said not finishing my sentence.

“Queen Ella? Why yes, I am! And you must be Alexandra.”

“Yes, how did you-”

“But everyone calls you Alex. You ran away from home and your parents say that the forest is too dangerous for little girls like you! And animals took you here under my command. You used to play as me when you were little. You were destined to come here, Alex, you were!” She spoke in some sort of British accent.

“How do you know all that stuff about me? And how-I mean, why me?” I said.

“I watch you in my dreams. When that happens I know you are the one! And when you fall asleep I come visit you and tell you all about Enchantia, and that’s why you came here,” she said.

“Wow! Like magic?”I asked.

“No. Like magic!” she told me.

“I know, that is what I said!” I told her.

“No. It’s what I said! Anyway, you are planning on saving us all, right? Because that is what you are here for!”

“Umm…”

“Good! Now follow me and I will show you your room!” she said. I then followed her past a river and into the middle of a tree!

Chapter 6

Outside there were flowers and trees leading into two golden and wooden doors that would open to a red carpet and another pair of doors which lead to a beautiful room! It looked like a doll house, something on display because you couldn’t fit inside…unless you were very small!

“Uh…it’s a very royal room but it’s just too small, I can’t even stick my hand in there!” I said, worried.

“Oh ya I forgot! Silly me!” she said.

“What?” I asked. She took out her wand, it had the same detail as on my necklace, but on top was a perfect, beautiful quartz! She held it in front of me then.

“ENCHANTIA!” she shouted. I felt dizzy, then everything started to get bigger. Then I couldn’t see at all! All I heard was “Oh dear me!”

Then…silence.

Chapter 7

I woke up. Everything was big and I now had a dress in a wavy-sort of style, and at the bottom of this dress there was a circle of leaves. I had a beautiful tree pin in my hair and my hair was curled. I had these beautiful flats that matched my dress and as I turned around…I had wings! They were beautiful and golden with tiny bits of green! My necklace remained, so I knew I could still talk to the animals of Enchantia. I tried flying and on my first try I fell. I tried a second time. I fell, again. But I was not going to give up! I tried one more time…I flew! The Queen came up to me and said, “I see you have gotten the hang of flying!”

“Its awesome! So…now since I am small I can live in that royal room?” I asked her.

“Of course you can!!!” she said.

“Thank You!” I said, then flew off to my room. It was a beautiful room, and everything inside was forest themed! Canopy tree bed and wooden walls with a forest painted on it! It just looked so royal! I landed on top of my huge bed and went right to sleep!

Chapter 8

The next thing I knew I was in the middle of a wedding! There was a monster. I remembered him from the Fairy Tale books I used to read! His name was Fenrir, a dark and scary werewolf. He lived on the cold side of the forest, where everything was covered in ice. He was dark gray with a white belly, and ice stuck to him like honey that never wanted to come off. He had dark blue eyes that would spot you from miles away. He used to be locked up in chains and spikes, but someone had let him free. I woke up in the morning and I realized that it was only a dream. I remembered in the old story that Fenrir was to marry a fairy named Mary that he was obsessed with! She was forced into marriage to unite the two kingdoms or Fenrir would destroy Enchantia! Fenrir was afraid of Enchantia taking over the land. He was evil and did not want goodness to spread to the darkest parts of the forest.

I looked around me and saw that half of my room was torn up, broken! It wasn’t a dream after all! I had to go to the wedding because something must have gone wrong!

But how? I recognized that place but from where? Then it hit me! It was the tree where I woke up at the beginning! I flew over there and, sure enough, there they were! All the fairies were tied up, even the Queen and the King.

“How do like being at my wedding?” asked the Fenrir.

“We hate it and you know it!  The savior will help us! I know she will!” the Queen shouted at the Fenrir.

“So she will?” said the Fenrir. Fenrir was as tall as the statue of liberty!  I snuck up behind him, then I kicked him in the weak spot on his shoulder, and just like in the story, he fell to the floor! It was like a gigantic explosion had hit the entire earth! I was speechless, and before anything could be said, Fenrir got back up. He pushed me down upon the floor and was about to stomp on me with all his might when, all of a sudden, a Force Field surrounded me. I was flying, again! Then I thought happy thoughts as sun/fire balls came out of my hands. I threw them at Fenrir. I knew I had an advantage over him, since Fenrir will die if he is out of the cold for any long amount of time. I threw one last fireball at him and he fell. I went to him and put my head on his chest to see if his heart was still beating, but it wasn’t.

Silence fell upon the room. “You…you…you did it!” said a fairy.

“I told you that she was the one! I told all of you fairies! I haven’t see that power since I ruled the throne! And no one else has it!” the Queen shouted.

“All hail our savior…Princess Alexandra Olive Rose!” said the King.

“Me, Princess?! Me!?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes, but you have to take an oath to say that you would stay here, forever!” said the King.

“I would…” I didn’t finish my sentence, I looked at all the fairies, then looked at my house in the distance. “I used to just be a girl who wanted to explore, and now look at me, about to become a princess? I love you all and I will come back and visit…” I said, still looking back. “But my family is waiting for me at home!” I said.

“Understood.” said Queen Ella. And with a flick of a wand I felt dizzy again. I fell to the ground and the last word I heard was “Goodbye!”

Chapter 9

I woke up in my bed and it felt like nothing had happened! Had it all been a dream? The only thing I could remember was the necklace! I felt around my neck, and there it was! I knew it couldn’t have been a dream because it seemed so real! Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw a light glow in my closet. It was faint but I soon recognized it…

It was Queen Ella! I waved and saw her wave back, then she pointed to my desk. I saw a tiny card that read: “Don’t forget us please! We will all miss you! Keep the necklace but come visit us, ok!” I then looked at Queen Ella as a tear went down her face. I wanted to run and give her a hug but by that time she was already gone. I got out of bed and looked outside, which is when I saw all the fairies of Enchantia holding little lights in the sky! They were all crying tears of joy with a sign that said: PRINCESS ALEXANDRA OLIVE ROSE!

 

Authors Note:

During writing this book I pictured an 8 year old girl that just had a life that all the other girls didn’t.  This is the second book I have done besides DisNerds vr. PokeNerds in school. But I have like 5 other books I put aside to finish this book! I also put an author’s note in the other book as well! Like every professional author, I add the people I thank for inspiring or helping with the book! Ahem, My friends: Gracie, Alex A, Izzy, Sophia, and so many others! Umm…Oh ya! Ahem, My Writopia correctors/teachers: Alex and Emily! Umm… ya, my family and just lets say lots of people!

Beanie Boo Bunch

There was once a dog named Sir Rufferton. He was an arctic dog who lived in Greenland. One day Sir Rufferton was standing as a sentry for his doggie village. A few hours into his shift, two dogs in the dog army came with a cat hostage who was caught snooping around the back side of the village. Sir Rufferton was then assigned to interrogate her. When they reached a private room, he took off her face mask and instantly fell in love with this cat beauty. Her name was Sheila and she fell in love with him back. Despite dog and cat code they got married and had a child who was a dog named Slush.  After he was born, the stern glances and rude gestures turned into riots and angry mobs. For the safety of themselves, and Slush, they decided to give him away to a  summer village, a strange place called California, so maybe he could have a happy life. The next morning, Sir Rufferton set out on his long, hard journey with his baby son Slush.

Once Sir Rufferton arrived he waited until nightfall, then put Slush next to the sweetest looking animal, gave him a kiss on the head, and left. Little did Sir Rufferton know that he had put Slush next to the leader of the summer animals, the meanest and toughest of them all, a colorful hedgehog named Holly. Sir Rufferton had no idea that he’d put his precious son in a long life of pranks, rude names, and so on.

Five years later, Slush was no longer a pup. He was an adult dog. One day he was woken up to a pink lamb named Babs baaing in his face. Slush was very annoyed, and Babs just explained that she was giving him the proper treatment for a dog.

“You don’t help an adult dog,” she explained.

As the day went on, all of the other summer animals finally woke up and gave him the same reply, except in their own little animal language. Slush finally screamed to the rest of them, for the first time in his life.

“I can’t take it anymore!” he screamed, “You call me rude names, you’re always mean to me, whether I was a pup or not. It’s just not fair, what did I ever do to you? I’m leaving this place, never to return. You all are just such meanies, and I can’t take it!”

And with that, Slush grabbed all his things and left his summer village.

Once Slush felt like he was a fair distance from California, he stopped for a moment. He pulled out the one hint he had as to who his parents were, and tried to figure it out so he’d know where to go. The hint was a letter telling him that they were from somewhere cold. It was also a map of a place. Not how to get there, just of the place. Slush thought he knew this place, but he had failed geography as a pup. He mistook Greenland for Antarctica, so that’s where he went.

It took many days and nights, and lots of cold weather, but he finally reached Antarctica. Slush roamed through Antarctica, feeling at home despite the cold weather, which he had never before experienced. All of a sudden he heard a sound screaming.

“Look out!”

Next thing he knew, a blue penguin was racing toward him on his belly. Before Slush could react, he was on the ground, and the penguin was on top of him.

The penguin said, “Sorry for bumping into you, mate! I’m Ice Cube. Oh, and I think you need to call upon the magical unicorn of the Antarctic, because I think you broke my beak!”

Slush wasn’t sure how to react, but before he could, Ice Cube started doing this weird dance, and making these weird sounds, and a flash of light appeared. Then a white unicorn with rainbow colored spots all over her came flying out of the flash of light.

Once she landed, she said, “Hello unknown arctic dog. Oh, and hello Ice Cube, it’s been a while! I see your beak is broken, would you like me to fix it? Oh where are my manners, my name is Wishful, unknown stranger.”

After they got the whole introduction thing finished, Wishful began using one of her magic spells on Ice Cube’s beak. The three of them decided to become best friends forever. Slush felt really happy that he finally had friends he could trust. But little did he know the Summer Gang was coming his way fast.

The Summer Gang had an unknown source and found out where Slush was. One strangely warm day in Antarctica began as peacefully as everyday had over the past few weeks. Then, all of a sudden, Ice Cube, Wishful, and Slush saw a big gust of ice flying up, as if something was propelling it into the air. A few minutes later, the Summer Gang, Opal, Holly, and Babs, were seen in the distance. As soon as they had arrived in front of the winter gang’s igloo, Holly explained why they had come.

“Hello Slushie-Bear!” she said. “Just before you left our summer village, California, you said that we were meanies. And we’ve come to say that hurt our feelings in our empty, stone cold hearts, you ugly gray mutt! I mean, whoever heard of a grey dog living in a sunny place? Anyway, I’m getting off track. I’ve come to begin a war with you and your putrid arctic friends.”

The Summer Gang immediately walked inside the igloo without being invited.

Before you could say bananananarama, the war began! Each team fought strongly, but their power was equal to the the other.

Wishful then said, “You think you’re beating us? Well I think I’m gonna call in a friend.”

She went outside for a few minutes, and when she came back she brought a white and brown owl named Swoops. Ice Cube knew Swoops, so he decided to tell the Summer Gang what they were up against.

“Swoops here is a wise owl, as all owls are. But he is a special wise owl. He is a trained tactician. He will give us the skills we need to defeat you, and add a fourth party to our war against you. You better give up now, or you will be defeated trying.”

Opal was very jealous of their new friend, so she said, “You think you can call in a friend and win? Well we can too. We’re gonna call in a friend from way up high, and I mean way.”

With that, Opal made a horrible screeching sound, and in flew an angel bear named Halo. Each team decided to take a fifteen minute break so they could go over new strategies.

Once they returned, each team fought hard. The arctic gang fought with as much precision and synchronization as possible, while the Summer Gang played dirty, and had their angel friend call upon some undead skeletons to fight. Swoops, seeing that the Summer Gang was gaining an advantage, decided to play a little trick on them. He stopped the war for a few moments, and said that the winter gang didn’t want their floors to be broken any longer. They wanted the Summer Gang to go outside, and call upon more skeletons if they felt they needed them. The Summer Gang, seeing their chance, went outside. They no longer had their heavy duty snow gear on, and they had lived in warm weather all their lives, so they were not prepared to endure this very cold weather. The second all four of them got outside, they froze! The winter gang, realizing they had won the war, were very happy.

Slush stuck a note onto the ice cubes they were trapped inside of which said, “Never come back. We have won the war fair and square.”

And with that, Slush and his friends mailed the Summer Gang back to their home in California. After that, Slush never felt alone again. He knew he had true friends he could depend on, who wouldn’t make fun of him. Slush and his friends lived happily ever after, as BFFS.

And They Will Live Happily Ever After…Or Not!

Prologue

 

I am an angel in Heaven right now. This may sound a lot like Flynn Ryder, but here is the story of how I died…

The morning dawned and each princess arose in her own way. Princess Ariel was awoken by a crowd of adorable marine life. Princess Cinderella prefered a wake up call inside of her, thanks to a wee bit of magic from her fairy godmother. Princess Snow White let the dwarves wake her up, as they did anything for her after all that time she had spent being their maid. Princess Pocahontas was still a bit of a stranger to the English culture so always awoke to Meeko, her pet raccoon licking her face. Princess Belle (Beauty) loved more than anything else to stir to dancing and singing silverware. Princess Tiana was always up with the sun, even without an alarm clock. Princess Mulan, quite the early bird as well, was up even before the sun for training. And Princess Aurora? She just slept and slept. Only the sound of breaking tiaras could wake her up.

Oh the excitement that ran through the princesses’ hearts! The first reunion in a century! The only princess that had lived that long was, again, Aurora. But she hadn’t attended. She hadn’t fulfilled her story. To be honest, the princesses weren’t excited.

“Do I have to?” Tiana asked Naveen that morning. “It’s busy season at the restaurant. Are you sure you can handle it by yourself?”

Naveen assured her that he could. Belle wasn’t any more excited.

“But Adam, I’ve got to dish sit for Miss Teacup and I’d hate to let her down, you know how sensitive she is.”

When Aurora was dragged out of bed early, she had fits! “NO! No!” she shrieked, still half asleep. “Must…sleep…innn… ” she protested.

The second Cinderella’s mice groaned, as they have aged, but Cinderella hasn’t since she is a princess. “Cinderelly! Cinderelly! You’ve got your big fancy party!”

She moaned. “Not today! I just couldn’t stand a day with those bratty princesses trying to steal my fame!” Then her fairy godmother shot her with sleep magic and hauled her into her carriage.

Meanwhile, Mulan was up super early practicing kung fu for a festival for the school children coming up next week. “Keep it up gurly you looking FINE in the kung fu suit!” Mushu, her pet dragon, exclaimed.

“Mushu, stop it, I am trying to focus,” she said, trying to hold back her giggle.

Mulan’s grandma came up to her out of the house and said, “Mulan, you have to get ready for the princess reunion, you don’t want to go there sweaty, do you?”

“Nainai, can I please have 5 more minutes?”

“No Mulan, take a shower and put on your dress and meet me in the garden in 20 minutes.”

“Okay, Nainai,” she said reluctantly.

Ariel’s excuse was her daughter, Melody. “But Eric, we’ve got Melody’s ball to plan for! I’ve got to pick out her dress, try out hairstyles, help bake and who knows what more! Plus, I’ll be missing my daddy visit!” Ariel’s father let the merpeople and humans mix now, so she was turned back into a mermaid once a week to visit. Especially now that her father wasn’t feeling well.

Eric looked at the ceiling. “Women,” he said wearily. “I’ll never get them! Ariel, it’ll be fine. Besides, Melody’s almost 16. She should be able to take care of herself.”

“Fine,” Ariel grumbled.

So, surprisingly, they all got to the reunion on time, except Cinderella, of course, who had to make a “fashionably” late appearance. Snow White clicked her tongue in disapproval. Pocahontas rolled her eyes. “What?” Cinderella asked defensively.

Tiana’s temper had reached its limit. “Oh I’ll tell you what. None of us want to be here. Agreed?” The others nodded their heads. “Exactly, so why do you have to get here half an hour late like you’re better than the rest of us?”

“That’s right,” said Mulan, “I’ve had it with you snotty upper class princesses from Far Far Away thinking that you’re better than everyone else.”

“That’s because we are,” commented Belle.

“That’s exactly her point! I mean, have you ever worked a single day in your entire life? No! Have you had to fight for your husband? No! That’s because everything’s handed to you on a platter!” Pocahontas practically screamed.

“And that’s our fault why?” Aurora couldn’t help but point out. “Yeah, like the crowds love us and we’re beautiful and kind and stuff. We can’t help that!” Ariel added.

“Oh God,” Tiana muttered. “Even Naveen was better than this. And on the fact of you being ‘beautiful,’ have you never realized that you guys look almost identical? Ever thought about how you are all skinny and white? Y’all is like clones! Like take Mulan, she’s Chinese. She’s got culture. And if you’ve seen Pocahontas’ movie, you’ll learn about the Native Americans. And me, I’m here to teach y’all about New Orleans. I actually feel bad for you guys. You’ve got nothing.” Tiana sat back down, pleased with her speech. But you can bet that Ariel wasn’t.

“Excuse you! Saying I don’t have culture! Need I point out that I am the only mermaid here!”

Belle nodded. “I bet no one else here married a Beast…” She was cut off by Cinderella.

“Who turned out to be gorgeous. Hey, Tiana! Are you forgetting how many years I worked for the Steps?”

“And now all you do is sit around doing nothing. At least you got to be the servant of people! Those dwarves are disgustingly messy! And don’t even get me started on their fashion sen-” Snow White stopped. Sneezy had just walked in with an extra bag of ‘essentials’ she had forgotten to pack. He looked hurt.

“This was just what Ti was saying- you don’t mind if I call you Ti, do you?-” Mulan asked.

“Of course not, my sister, go right ahead,” agreed Tiana.

“You go, girl!” Pocahontas added.

“Just what Ti was saying! You guys hurt people’s feelings and don’t care! It’s just one dwarf out of your admiration society, right Snow?” Mulan said.

“But-” she protested. Pocahontas shook her head.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Mulan countered heartlessly. Cinderella sighed.

“You all are so immature. Dumb, too! Everyone knows that I’m the most famous. Sorry to crush your dreams, girls.” She laughed her high, tinkly laugh.

“You know what?” Aurora snapped. “I wish I didn’t have to come! I wish I wasn’t here! I could be sleeping right now! You guys can stop arguing because I’m the oldest and the eldest is always the best, so stop your yapping!” The princesses looked at one another.

“Sheesh. What’s up with her?” asked Ariel snottily. “Plus, I’ve got a movie made about me, my daughter, and my past. Or course I’m the most loved by all.”

“Oh my gosh!” Pocahontas screamed. “For Pete’s sake! Although I agree with Ti and Mulan, we’re all princesses. We don’t have to be bickering all the time to prove that. But, if it matters so much, Ariel, I’ve gotten two educational movies made about me and so does Mulan. Your movies teach, hmm, let me think, how to brush hair, and how to sing in an impossibly high soprano. All such important life skills, of course!” All of the royalty glared at each other. If looks could kill, they would all be in a casket. Mulan pulled a dagger out of nowhere and started sharpening it. Belle ‘politely’ cleared her throat.

“Do you mind?”

Tiana clenched her fists. “I’m gonna go ahead and speak for my gal MuMu-”

“Don’t call me that!” Mulan snapped.

“Fine, ya feisty little frog! My gal Mulan! A. You cannot try being sassy. It doesn’t work for you, and B. Mulan has the right to do whatever she wants. Leave her alone!” The fuel and force in Tiana’s words had escaped her mouth, but the power in them was buzzing in the room. Not a good sign…

Miniature elephants somehow popped into view and played a fanfare on their trunks. “Oh! They’re so cute!”Aurora squeaked breathlessly and all of the princesses immediately started gushing. Then a hovering dolphin floated up to Ariel. It squeaked in dolphin, a language that no one but Ariel could interpret.

Ariel nodded. “Mmm hmm, okay, uh huh…” she said, soothing the excited dolphin. She suddenly looked shocked and her face turned pale under her makeup. “Oh,” she said, nodding again, but with noticeably less enthusiasm. She nervously turned to face the group, their eyes wide in fear (everyone but Ti, MuMu, and Poca). “I don’t know how Splash knew this – I don’t know at all – “ Her hands shook with terror. “There is a war brewing. Against us. The villains have teamed up with someone else. An unexpected group of people.” Her breath almost failed her. “The princes,” Ariel said, and fainted.
Snow White turned paler than humanly possible. Aurora collapsed and no one knew if she had fainted or simply fell asleep.

Mulan didn’t look at all surprised. “I’ve never trusted men, real men, that is.”

Belle looked like she didn’t really care. “As long as I still get my palace, why does this even matter?” Pocahontas scoffed.

“Talk about conceited! Did you think about all of the people that might die in this war?”

“Might,” Belle interjected. “Whatever! How would you feel once you realized that you don’t have any servants because they’re all dead?”

“They won’t die!” Belle cried hotly, sounding as if she was desperate for some backup. “And if they do, I’ll just find new ones. What, do you think I’d work like some dirty slave?”

“Because you don’t care what happens to anyone as long as you get what you want, right?” Pocahontas was on a roll and there was nothing stopping her once she had that fiery glint in her eye. Their argument was interrupted by the creepy hush of all the birds muting their voices.

“Is it just me, or did everything just fall silent?” Cinderella half whimpered.

“It’s not you,” Aurora stage whispered.

At that moment, the lights went off. So did the sun. Literally. The sun turned black. All you could see was a flickering candle on the far side of the room.

“C’mon guys! It’s not that bad!” Tiana said, but her tone wasn’t goading, it was encouraging.

“Yeah! Don’t worry, we’ll be okay!” Mulan chided.

“You hope,” Pocahontas replied darkly, still sulking from not finishing her argument.

The lock on the ballroom door clicked shut. They were trapped. From a distant, very faintly, the princesses heard a cackle. Mulan sat up straight.

“What’s the matter, Mulan?” Ariel taunted shakily. “Scared?” Maybe picking on others ridded her of her fear.

“No way! Hunter’s instinct. Never trust unfamiliar sounds.” The girls exchanged worried looks. For once, Tiana appeared to be uncertain of herself. Unsure of what would happen next. Because that is what fear will do to you. Pocahontas had a strange look on her face. Like she was scared spitless, but didn’t want to show it. The other princesses had no such masks. They were scared and wanted everyone to know it.

“Help!” They wailed. “Please, somebody save us! Turn on the lights! Get me a pretty dress to wear as I die!” they cried. Tiana mischieviously smiled at Pocahontas, who returned the smirk-like grin before resuming her battle mode. She tightly gripped a bow and notched an arrow instinctively. Mulan did the same with her knives, poising them so they’d be ready to attack in a moment’s notice.

“Listen to you!” Tiana teased. “The princes are in a war against us. Why would they come and save us? And I’ll bet that your minions – sorry – companions are too scared to return.” The formerly panicking princesses lowered their heads, embarrassed.

“I guess so,” Snow White finally admitted. “I mean, this is pretty freaky though. Who would think our princes would do such a thing?”

“So much for ‘true love,’” muttered Pocahontas. “I chose John Rolfe over John Smith thinking he’d bring me a better life, and look at where that got me. Trapped in a room with you guys.” She wore a disgusted look on her face. When Poca ain’t happy, nobody’s happy!

“What’s wrong with you guys!” Aurora exclaimed. “You’re flipping over something a stinkin’ fish said, for Pete’s sake! How do we know for sure that Ariel’s not pranking us?”

“Hello? Standing right here!” Ariel was mad with a capital MAD. “Do you think I’d really play this sort of trick? I mean, I do love a good prank, but I’d never do that. I’d never want Eric to betray me!”

“So let’s stop this arguing. Obviously, we’ve got to make a game plan. We all hate the idea of being double crossed, or flat out lied to, but we gotta face the truth.” Cinderella stopped talking. The others seemed awestruck.

“Maybe you’ve got a brain under all of that hairspray after all, Cindy,” said Mulan, clearly impressed.

“Not bad for a princess,” Belle agreed slyly, nodding her head. “Not bad at all.”

“So what C means is that we all have something we’re good at and that we have to make that our defense against their fancy but deadly equipment. For example – again, an example, so you don’t have to agree with what I say – I’m a cook and baker, so I’ll pelt doughnut after doughnut and cannoli after jumbo pots at them! Ariel, do you have any control over water?” Tiana asked.

“A bit,” she answered, appearing as modest and shy for the first time.

“Can you summon it?” Tiana wanted to know.

Ariel perked up at this, grinning innocently. “Yes I can!” she said triumphantly.

Tiana smiled. “That’s perfect, because your defense is going to be to create a thin water wall blocking them from us, while also completely soaking the opposition. Belle, you can talk to dishes or something, so can you get your silverware friends to find you some non-alive teapots or something to chuck at our enemies? Thanks,” Tiana said without waiting for an answer. “Poca and MuMu…” Mulan growled. “…Poca and MuMu,” Tiana continued, “Y’all have your bows and knives along with a load of practice, so my bet is that you’ll be fine on your own. Aurora, you got magic pillows filled with bricks that can be cannoned into the air? ‘Cause that’s what we need. Cindy, see if your godmama can make us a cannon and you’ll get some pumpkins to fill it up, too. Am I missing anyone?” They all shook their heads. “Then let’s get to it! Let’s go kick some royal butt!”

Mulan kicked down the door, both fearlessly and ferociously, invigorated by Tiana’s battle plan/pep talk. She wasn’t the only one. They all were feeling pumped. Feeling like they could do anything. The princesses strutted out of the ballroom with a newfound confidence, ready to take on the world.

The princesses were working hard, funneling their spirit into their work. Unsurprisingly, Mulan and Pocahontas both had competitive streaks, competing against each other on how awesome they could be with weapons in their hands. As it turned out, Ariel was a determined person who never planned on giving up. Belle had deadly aim and could hit a target with a fork from anywhere. Cinderella and Aurora were an amazing team, quick to gather supplies, pull levers, and alternate positions. They were all excited, having set their differences aside and were having fun. But deep down, they knew that the time would come where this would not be a game or training, but a fight for their lives. That time came too soon…

Aurora was first to spot them, from high in the tower filling her previously comfy pillows with bricks before flinging them down a chute into Cinderella’s waiting hands. “They’re coming!” she hollered into her bullhorn loud enough for her friends to hear, but not the princes. The female royalty scrambled into their hiding places, waiting for the princes to play right into their hands.

As expected, the princes had recruited other townspeople to rally against the soon-to-be queens, claiming that it was their fault that they weren’t living the high life. Belle rolled her eyes, waiting for it to be over. She almost fell asleep as Charming gave a speech persecuting the princesses, that is, until someone whispered. “Psssst!” Belle heard the voice but couldn’t see the source. “Over here!” The supposedly invisible person whisper-called, and quick as lightning tied her up.

“Who are you?” Belle asked, her eyes full of anger and wonder simultaneously.

“I’ll tell you who I am in due time,” replied the masked figure. “But first, we need to talk.”

Pocahontas stood ready, every inch of her alert, ready for battle.Then someone stealthily crept over and nearly pulled her braid out. “What was that for?” Pocahontas whisper-yelled.

“Follow me,” said the mysterious person.

So Pocahontas and Belle each obeyed and walked. Their captors had led them to some sort of hideout. At the sight of each other, they were filled with glee.

“Poca!!!” Belle squealed.

“Bellerina!!!” Pocahontas exclaimed, each of them using their pet name for the other.

“Who are they?” Pocahontas added with a frown, nodding her head toward their guards. Their kidnappers exchanged looks.

“I guess we’ve gotta tell them,” one said sheepishly.

“Alright, but I like the disguises,” the other pouted. The first one yanked off the ski mask covering her face and turned toward the kidnappees.

“I am Princess Jasmine, and I am ready to join your fight.”

Belle gasped, “I so did not see that coming.”

But Pocahontas wasn’t really paying attention to her. Her gaze was fixed on the other, Pouter.

“If she’s a princess, than you are too, which means you are…” and Pouter finished her sentence for her. She unraveled the turban around her head and the scarf on her face. “Princess Rapunzel.”

She stated matter of factly as miles of thick blond hair tumbled down. “But didn’t you cut your hair a few years ago?” asked Pocahontas. Rapunzel only laughed.

“It’s amazing what hair products can do,” was her only reply.

“Jasmine, take a spear and work with Mulan. I’ve figured that you’re really strong,” commanded Belle. “And Rapunzel, go to Ariel and create a force field of hair around her water wall. Any leftover hair should be lassoing up the enemy. Got it?” They all nodded, surprised to see Belle in control.

Meanwhile, the other princesses had been spotted. Mulan had carelessly tried to find Pocahontas when she was challenged in combat by Eugene Fitzgerald A.K.A. Flynn Ryder who happened to be carrying a stainless steel pot. Unfortunately, that was when Jasmine came along and smashed it to smithereens. The moments of combat occurred too quickly (and violently) to record, but it was terrible. Prince versus princess. Townsperson versus warrior. It was a madhouse out there.

The battle either lasted for 2 hours and 40 minutes or 4 hours and 20 minutes. It did, eventually, come to an end, as all things do.

A sense of darkness covered the area. The opposition bowed down to a misty black shape/person that appeared to be riding on a storm cloud. “Who’s that?” had become the phrase of the day, for that was what the feminine portion of the royalty was wondering. The figure was slowly descending and its shape was becoming more definite. It was a she. She was a girl, about 18, a black hood, very punk looking, with leather boots and black jeans, also a glamour goth, with black hair with a red streak. Her body radiated power, but also a form of death, and maybe revenge. This pale, skinny teenager was a wonder. Was she an ally, or a threat? But it all came back to the same question: Who was she?

“Well, well well,” she taunted, “what do we have here?” The tone of her voice made the princesses pretty sure that she was foe, not friend. “I bet you’re worrying your perfect bratty princess heads about who I am. Well, that’s for me to know and you to find out! For years I’ve been planning this. For years I’ve stood in the shadow while you’ve gotten the glory. Now have you figured out who I am, princesses?” She practically spat out. They shook their heads. “Well, I can’t be surprised. You’re all too dumb to figure anything out.” The princesses had been scared into silence, but that ended once the stranger insulted their intelligence.

“Excuse you, Miss Mystery, but I’ve got plenty smarts,” snapped Tiana. “More than you!” She dished out sassily.

“Oh, really?” countered the stranger. “Go on, walk up to me. Come now, I won’t bite.” Taken aback, Tiana stepped forward. “Whoops, wrong step!” She jeered, pushing a button, therefore ensnaring Tiana. “Goodbye, country gal,” the stranger said softly in triumph. She raised an eyebrow at Belle. “Well? Haven’t you figured me out, book girl?” Belle had been lost in thought, but shook her head in defeat.

“I know who you are!” Cinderella blurted out victoriously. “You’re the one we all thought was good. The one we always loved. The one who we now know always secretly hated us. Don’t listen to a single word she says, guys! Don’t you get it? The streak in her hair? She’s Red Riding Hood!” Red said nothing, but chuckled. A small smile danced across her face, before settling on her lips.

“Well done, Cindy!” She congratulated her, but, as with all of her words, she had a sense of sarcasm.”You’re much brighter than you appear to be.”

“Well, I hope you’re happy, because you’re goin’ down,” was Ariel’s frail attempt at being intimidating. But she did look fierce, with her tangled mass of red hair and tattered clothes.

“Are you sure you want this, Red?” Jasmine asked. “Do you really want to destroy so many people to get what you want? I know you desperately want to rule, but what good it it to be a king without a kingdom?”

“You could always join us. We’d find a way to make you a princess. Please. We could be friends!” pleaded Aurora. Their voices were richer-sounding. Not charmspeak, but some magic. Ariel seemed to understand what they were doing, even before they knew it themselves. They were not forcing her. They were befriending her. She began to beautifully vocalize and sounded like an angel. The others followed her, harmonizing to Ariel’s melody that swiftly melted into a song. A song about friendship.

 

“To have a friend is the greatest thing ever

Cause once you come close, you will part never.”

 

“You think you can crush me? I, who have stolen all of the dark magic on the planet. I, who have the power to do ANYTHING!!!” Red cackled.

But the princesses had a plan. They kept singing, talking, and putting their souls into their words. Red tried to fight back, to summon dark magic, but it was too late. The power of love couldn’t melt a heart frozen with hatred, but it could destroy it. The princesses suddenly knew what they had to do. They each put one hand on Red’s heart and it glowed into a purple glowing ball. It was her sense of love. You see, without meaning to, each princess had taken a bit of Red’s love. She had adored them, and that led to a bit of her soul being transferred into theirs. By singing, the love had come out into the open. Like a vacuum cleaner, that love sucked out every ounce of mean in Red’s body. She was free. But she was in no state to live. She had been through so much that she couldn’t take it anymore. As her body dissolved into mist, her now clean soul went to Heaven to start a new life. Red became an angel, as I am.

That is because I am Red, and this is my story.

 

THE END

Twist in a Tale Because of a Portal

Prologue:

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a mushroom. A big mushroom. It covered the trunk of an old, sturdy oak tree looking as if even a hurricane or tornado couldn’t blow it apart. It was true, for even the strongest natural disaster couldn’t push it down. Why? Here’s why. A little girl named Abby had came here and sat underneath the mushroom. Everyday she would flip through pages of a fairy tale. The goddess of trees, Hellenore, blessed the tree with the mushroom. The tree would be healthy as long as Abby would sit under it. Over the years Abby will grow into a lady and the tree will remain healthy.

 

Chapter 1:

One day as Abby sat under the large oak tree which grew right behind her house, she heard a glistening sound like jewels clamoring against each other. She looked behind her and saw a crystal blue creek with shiny white stones almost like pearls. She gaped open mouthed as the water trickled over them making them sparkle radiantly. For a moment, nothing mattered. The stones shone so brightly and looked like it was full of magic. Abby suddenly came to her senses. As if in a trance, she picked up two of those pearl like stones and shoved them in her pocket. As she ran back home, the stones felt as heavy as a block of gold.

“Mom! I found these pearl-like stones near the tree.” Her mom looked at her wondrously. The lines on her face creased when she squinted to take a look.

“Why, those are the rarest stones on the earth!” she exclaimed. “ Where did you find those?”

“In the little creek behind the tree,” Abby replied wondrously.

Her mom and Abby raced to the creek. But, like magic, the magnificent creek with the shining stones was gone!

“Where are the stones? And where is the creek?” Her mom demanded impatiently.

“They were there when I came to read!” Abby cried disappointed. “They might have gone somewhere, I don’t know!”

So they walked home anxiously.

That night, Abby couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned thinking about the creek and the beautiful stones she had found. I know it was there, it can’t be a dream, she thought, struggling to remember everything. Had she led her mom to the wrong place? She definitely knew she had not. She fell into sleep in a baffled expression.

 

Chapter 2:

“Good morning, sweet cakes,” her dad said smiling widely at at her with his eyes twinkling merrily.

“Good morning, Pa,” Abby smiled.

Her mom (also called Ma) was in the kitchen making waffles with blueberries and strawberries.

“Good morning, sweet potato,” she said cheerily as if nothing had happened last night.

“Um, good morning, Ma,” Abby said, baffled why her mom was acting different than last night. “May I go read at my tree?” Abby asked politely.

Her mother nodded. So Abby grabbed her book and raced towards the tree. As she was reading silently, she heard something. Something that sounded so radiant and wonderous. She was drawn closer and closer to the sound until she saw the giant mushroom. She stared at it as it began to glow. Wow, Abby thought. Then, in a second it turned into a giant portal with winds so strong it could blow the Empire State Building down and  with a scent of fresh daffodils, it was so strong her book shut tightly. Abby had no idea what it was but still she jumped in. In the portal, it only took three seconds, but it felt like a rollercoaster with no seatbelts.

As she descended from the portal, she found a village. The houses were a colorful paradise compared to Abby’s own home but instead the houses were giant mushrooms! From dotted mushrooms growing from a carpet of neon green grass that covered the whole village to the dry brown dirt outside of the village and wild brown mushrooms that looked as if a little breeze would blow it down.

As she finished looking at the miraculous village, Abby saw two short long-eared gnomes planting in their garden as big as a piece of paper.

Abby quickly ran to them and asked, “Hello, I’m Hermione and I was sent here by a magical portal. Can you help me get back home?”

Abby didn’t like to reveal her real identity.The two gnomes looked up and looked as if they were surprised that a human was standing right in front of them.

“Hello!” they squeaked like a baby chick. “Who are you?”

“I’m Hermione,” Abby replied politely. The gnomes returned it with a bow.

“There is only one way to get back home, Madame. You will have to ask the wise old goblin of our kingdom!”

“Thanks,” Abby replied gratefully. So she set off down the peaceful village of the gnomes to approach the Great Goblin.

 

Chapter 3:

The Great Goblin was sitting in his castle, bored of the gifts the ambassadors of other lands were giving him. Out of all the lands, he was the most magnificent and wise one. The fairies were only pretty, the witches were only evil, and the dragons were only fierce. He, the greatest of all, was all of that, and wiser than an owl.

As he was trying to hold his yawn, a servant rushed up and quickly announced, “My lord, there is a girl that is coming your way!”

“Ah,” the Goblin answered, smiling. “That must be little Abby! Let her in!”

It really was Abby, for after a minute she came skipping in. She quickly bowed and asked, “Mr Great Goblin, your gnomes have told me only you can send me home.”

The goblin answered shaking his head, “The only way to do that is to see the queen of the heavens for even I don’t know how to take you home.

“How will I ever see the queen of the heavens?” inquired Abby.

“Easy,” said the Goblin. “You must please her with your wits. Only then will she answer your question.

The Goblin must have noticed the sad and wearied look on Abby’s face so he told her, “She will see you soon, I promise.”

 

Chapter 4:

Abby walked out of the throne room and out of the castle. She was stumbling over every step, thinking in despair. She began to cry. Suddenly, as her tears fell off her face and on the ground, a image like a big platter/plate appeared in front of her. A woman appeared, with peach blond hair and sea green eyes.

“I am Victoria, Queen of Heavens. If you answer all my riddles correctly, I will grant you a wish.”

“Ok,” Abby replied excitedly.

“First riddle. What has four legs, but can’t walk.”

“I know this one, it is a table!”

“Correct,” Victoria replied. “What is an astronaut’s favorite food?”

“Easy, space chips.”

“Correct again!” after a while Abby got all the riddles right and Queen Victoria finally said, “You may ask me a wish.”

“How can I get home?” Hermione (from now on let’s call her Hermione until further notice) answered quickly.

“I’m sorry, but that is beyond my powers. Only the Great Goblin can answer that!”

“What!” Hermione cried. “I just went to see him. He just said I had to ask you, the Queen of the Heavens, for a way to get back home.”

“I know,” the Queen said smiling brightly and widely, “He always tells people to come to me, so I could test them to prove them worthy. Now let me kiss you and the Goblin will see you and know you passed the test.”

Hermione smiled.

“Now,” the Queen said, “Go in the palace and tell the Goblin that you’ve passed the test and he can take you home.”

“Bye, and thanks,” Hermione ran into the palace and cried out loud, “I’ve passed the test, Mr. Goblin please take me home!”

“Okay,” he smiled and said. “Close your eyes.”

Hermione did. And when she opened her eyes she saw herself under the tree. She heard her mom yelling for her.

“Coming,” Hermione said and raced back home happy for a normal life without magical creatures. But that didn’t last long.

 

Chapter 5

The next day when Hermione was reading, the portal opened again but took her somewhere else. It was the world of Tangled. As she was strolling around the busy streets full of merchants and customers buying and selling fruit and vegetables, she saw two people starting a dance that drew everyone’s attention. One was a young girl no older than 17. She had golden hair that was about twice as long as a cobra and twinkling sea green eyes. She was jumping and dancing around playfully and grabbing everyone to join her. The other person was a young man, with short, brown hair and chocolate eyes. Hermione was smitten by this dance and was drawn closer and closer until she could smell the rose scented aroma of the girl.

The girl smiled at her warmly and said, “Hello! My name is Rapunzel and this is my friend Eugene. We were coming here to find the light that floats at night.”

“Oh, you mean the lanterns that honor the lost princess?” asked one of the village people obviously overhearing what Rapunzel had said.

“Yes, whatever they were, but definitely not stars,” Rapunzel said dreamily. “I want to see them. They appear only on my birthday. My mom doesn’t let me see them so I ran away.”

Then, for some reason, the people ran all directions. Then Hermione gasped. An old woman had walked into the streets wagging a finger at Rapunzel. Rapunzel screamed and Hermione ran for her life. Down the streets she ran until she ran into a half-giant.

“Who are you?” he boomed and Hermione replied

“I-I a-am Hermione and I am lost.”

“Well, I’m Bob and these are my friends, Adam and Casey.”

“Casey Weasley!” Hermione stammered. “I’ve read about you. You’re Ron’s son. May I have your autograph?”

Adam, with dark eyes wearing glasses smiled and said, “Sorry, too busy tracking down Horcruxes. Maybe next time.”

Casey burst out, “I’ll give you my autograph!” And he wrote on a sheet of paper: “Casey Weasley.”

“For goodness sake, Casey, write neater,” said Adam.

So Casey took the paper and scribbled out his “messy” name and replaced it.

“Much better.” Adam turned to Hermione said, “Hi, my name is Adam Malfoy and this is Casey Weasley as you can see. “

“Hi, I’m Hermione and I want to go home.”

Adam gestured towards the street. “Come, we’ll take you to Hogwarts.”

 

Chapter 6:

Hermione was so happy that she fainted. She heard shouting and then nothing. When she awoke she found herself in a bed. In Hogwarts. As soon as she awoke, she saw Casey and Adam staring down at her. “We were so worried about you.”

“How long have I’ve been out?”

“At least 15 minutes,” answered Casey.

“Well, I hope you are smart,” answered Adam grimly. “Because we are stuck on a problem. How do we get into the Ministry with Death Eaters crawling around it?”

“No problem, can’t you use polyjuice potion?” Hermione replied, smiling.

“That’s a great idea!” Casey said brightly.

“Thank you and now you can go home,” Adam replied quickly.

Casey must have saw the look in Hermione’s eyes because he cut in, “Are you kidding! We won’t last five weeks without her! She is so smart, she thought of polyjuice potion in two seconds!”

“Well, I guess she could stay for a–”

Hermione cut Adam by wrapping him in a big bear hug.

“THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO TRAVEL WITH THE FAMOUS Adam Malfoy!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

After she finished yelling, she looked around. Casey and Adam were rolling on the ground covering their ears.

“Control it, please,” they said in unison.

“Ok, ok, I was just excited that I got to join you.”

“Now for for the Polyjuice potion…” Casey stammered

“Does it taste horrible?” Hermione asked.

“I’m afraid so,” said Adam clutching his throat like he was going to barf.

 

Chapter 7:

They were making the potion when a portal opened up and sucked Hermione in. Adam and Casey yelled but it was nothing compared to the roaring of the portal. Hermione was sucked in and she landed under the great tree she was sucked into in the first place. She ran into a house that looked liked her own house. She saw her mom crying in the kitchen and her dad on the phone.

“Mom! I’m home!”

“Oh honey, we were so worried about you! Where were you?”

“I’ll tell you about it,” said Hermione smiling.

 

Chapter 8:

“First tell me, WHERE WERE YOU? WE WERE SO WORRIED RIGHT WHEN YOU CAME IN WE WERE ABOUT TO CALL THE POLICE!  THANK GOODNESS YOU CAME BACK!” Then she said calmly “ Tell me the truth. Where were you?”

“Umm…” Hermione was hesitant.

Suddenly a portal opened up (again) and Ma fell down.

“Ma!” Hermione cried.

“Don’t worry,” said a voice that sounded like tinkling bells on Santa’s sleigh. Hermione looked up. She saw a beautiful women that looked like Queen Victoria but had cheeks as red as a rose and a silver crown that looked liked the moon. Her dress was a pink paradise topped with moonstones and corals on the necklace.

“Who are you?” Hermione asked baffled. “And what happened to my mom?”

“Don’t worry, we’re just erasing her memory of you missing so you won’t get in trouble.”

“And done.”

“So I won’t get in trouble?” Hermione asked excitedly, “But is my mom all right?”

“She will be. And sorry. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. And you are?”

Hermione didn’t want to tell Glinda her real name so she said, “Dorothy.”

“Oh, hi Dorothy,” Glinda said sarcastically. Then she whispered, “I know your real name. It’s Hermione isn’t it.”

How did she know? thought Hermione.

“Anyways, Dorothy. You LANDED ON THE EVIL WITCH OF THE EAST! Anyways. Here are her magic shoes. It can take you wherever you want.”

“I want to go home!”

“Done.”

Hermione found herself in her own room on her bed.

“Hermione! Hermione! Dinner time!”

“Coming Ma!”

And she lived happily ever after.

 

Nothing To Do With Cats

Kathy

Hello. My name is Katherine Mohrlang but some people call me Kathy or, better yet, Kathy Kat. Okay, only one person calls me that, my best friend Sammi. Although you can still call me Kathy if you want. Sammi aka Samantha (but everyone calls her Sammi, I’m still trying to find a nickname for her.) and I live in, you guessed it, the South. Sammi and I have so many things in common, we could be twins. I think that we were twins to begin with but my mom thought that it would be nice to give her best friend (Sammi’s mom) a baby.  Sammi and I are both 12 years old and we both have German labradoodles which are sooo cute and fluffy. Mine’s named Julia. When it’s summer, we bathe them in our 19-year-old kiddy pool that neither my brother nor I have used since we were little. My brother’s name is Peter. He is 16 and the absolute best brother ever.

“Want to play some Minecraft?” Sammi asked me when we got to my house after school.

“Sure. Did you finish all of your homework?”

“Yeserry. What about you?”

“Yep.”

It seemed like we were playing for about 30 minutes, but when we finished playing and looked at the clock, it was 7:00 and we usually get home around 4:00.

“Wow, look what time it is,” I thought out loud. “Want to run up the hill and get your pjs?”

“Ok,” Sammi said, and went to get her stuff.

The good thing about our houses are that there is only a hill separating them. My mom and her mom act like we’re sisters and always allow us to have sleepovers with each other without asking. She also has a toothbrush and a rag at my house and I have the same at her house. The only thing we have at our own house that is not at the other’s house is clothing.

For most of the school year, it went on like that with different homework, new games, and other stuff. Until one day when school ended, I asked, “Do you want to come back to my place and play some games?”

“Uhhhh, I’m good,” Sammi’s depressed face said. I looked into her eyes. They were tired with a hint of sad.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she says with a bit of attitude.

“Come on, I can see it in your eyes. You’re sad.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, ok?”

I felt like my whole world just crashed and crumbled. We never kept anything to ourselves, and we always told each other everything. I was stunned, heartbroken. Am I dreaming? Something like this would not have happened in real life. Somebody please pinch me.

Just then it happens. A car turns the corner. It’s going too fast for a peaceful Friday. I’m laying on my back with car wheel marks on my arms and leg. I can’t feel my body. I’m in so much pain. Then I hear someone screaming. Oh wait, it’s me. “Kathy, Kathy,” I hear someone say. I hear crying. I soon realize that it’s Sammi. I hear a siren. An ambulance. I’m loaded on like a package. Ahhh…

Is this what Heaven feels like? Endless white halls. Weightlessness. Then I see some people lined up. I think it’s for and escalator. People were wrong. It’s not a staircase to Heaven, it’s an escalator.

Sammi

My name is Sammi Garmalsdyte. I’m 12 years old and I go to South High Middle School but Kathy Kat probably told you about me and my backstory. The only thing she didn’t tell you is why that one day I didn’t want to come over and play.

See my other best friend Sara, she’s 14, her boyfriend dumped her, her guinea pig died, and now her dad developed cancer. She had the worst week in the history of weeks. She wanted me to come over and have a shoulder to cry on. Her mom doesn’t get her. Her mom never had a pet and she thinks that Sara is too young to date. It’s so frustrating for Sara that these things are happening and she has no one to talk to. She told me not to tell anyone and it’s not like it’s anything that I need to tell Kathy Kat…

There is another thing I didn’t tell her. Ok. This is really personal but my parents are getting a divorce. Ok please please pleeeease don’t make fun of me. I didn’t tell her because I thought that she would start crying and would ask a lot of questions and I don’t want to talk about it. Well, now you know my big secret.

Kathy

After going up that escalator I discovered there is a whole nother world up there. I got a new dog because Julia couldn’t come. I named my new puppy Angelina. One day, when I was walking Angelina, she started barking. I looked to the direction that she was barking to and I saw a cat. I went over to the cat to see if it had a name tag. It said “If this cat is found, please return her to your true best friend Sammi Garmalsdyte.” Then I saw blackness. I opened my eyes and I was in a hospital room. I screamed and my mom came running into the room.

“Ohh honey, are you ok? Do you want me to call a doctor?”

“Just pinch me I want to wake up. I want to go back to the cat and Angelina. I need to find out my life.”

“Honey, this is real life.”

“You just don’t understand. I just know it wasn’t a dream. It’s like you don’t even know me. You are the worst mom ever.”

Later someone approaches my room and says, “Hello? Kathy Kat?”

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Kathy Kat.”

“Oh,” I say. “It’s you. People like you are not allowed to call me Kathy Kat any more.”

“But –”

“No buts. Only my bffs are allowed to call me that.”

“But we’re best friends for life.”

“No best friend for life would deny to go home with me. Best friends for life would stay by my side. Best friends for life wouldn’t make me get run over by a car. This is all your fault!” and with that Sammi ran out of my room crying. Serves her right.

Sammi

I wonder why Kathy’s being so mean to me. I didn’t do anything bad.

OR DID YOU.

Who said that.

HI SAMMI, I’M YOUR SELF CONSCIENCE.

Ahhhhhhhh.

OH SAMMI, I’M HERE TO HELP YOU.

Does anyone else hear this? Someone help me.

SAMANTHA GARMALSDYTE, PLEASE LISTEN TO ME. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU.  

I’m here to help you solve your problems.

YOU NEED TO TELL KATHY WHAT HAPPENED.

But she will be too sentimental about it.

DO YOU WANT TO LOSE YOUR BEST FRIEND?

No.

THEN TELL HER.  

Ok, I’ll tell her.

GOOD. NOW GOODBYE. EAT CHOCOLATE, ITS GOOD.

 

“Kathy,” I say as I come in.

“Mommy?” she asks.

“Nope, its Sammi.”

“Ohh. It’s you.”

“Kathy, just listen to me. I want to tell you why I ditched you that day.”

“Well, I would try to get you out but, you know, I can’t move my legs.”

So I ended up telling her everything that happened with my parents and Sara. She started to cry and I hugged her.

“I forgive you,” she said. “I didn’t know what you were going through.” It felt good to have a shoulder to cry on. I should have told her sooner.

Germany Series

Halloween in Germany

In Germany, Halloween is on December 13th, but instead of people trick-or-treating, people wear Teletubby suits and sleep in the subways. They watch Teletubby videos and watch the president give the Teletubbies the Nobel prize. The Teletubbies throw a party to make everyone tubby so they can’t fit in Alex’s vac pack. Halloween is the only time when mustard is not illegal. Teletubbies give everyone mustard so they will become sleepy and do whatever the Teletubbies want. These things happen because December 13th is on…FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!

The Teletubbies order everyone to find a man named Alex Henderson so the Teletubbies can meet Moby *** (the whale (duh)). The Teletubbies know everything because the TVs on their chests show them everything in the whole entire multiverse. They want to see Moby *** because he invented the lightbulb (LOL). Everybody thinks that Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb because Thomas Edison stole the first lightbulb from Moby *** and said that he invented the lightbulb. Thomas Edison’s brother said that Thomas Edison died of diabetes because he was actually killed by Moby ***. The Teletubbies need Moby *** to make a time machine to stop the people that made them from discontinuing them.

All the people of Germany went to Alex’s vac pack and tried to open it. They all got sucked in and the vac pack exploded and Moby *** came out. Moby *** gave them the time machine that he made over the thousands of years that he’s been in that vac pack. The Teletubbies went back in time in 2001. Andrew Davenport was sitting at his desk, thinking of new ideas for the Teletubbies and then he decided to discontinue them. Then, there was a bright flash and the Teletubbies used their tubby powers to kill him. Tubby powers are things that are powers that you can only use if you are tubby enough. The only tubby power that you can use is a body slam where if you jump up you’ll jump really high and when you fall you’ll fall faster than anything else, and when you land you will kill/break the thing you landed on. The teletubbies can only use these powers because they are tubby and they have TVs on their chest. Then, the Teletubbies started melting.

“What’s happening?!!!” asked one.

The Teletubbies discontinued themselves by killing their creator. The Germans dress as Teletubbies on Halloween (FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!) because they admire the Teletubbies because the Teletubbies made them when they were alive. The End…or is it?

Christmas in Germany

Christmas in Germany is the time when all the Germans dress up as Dora the Explorer and Diego. They run around Germany and sleep in gas stations. They drive in the driveway and park in the parkway. They eat carrots and then dress up as a bunny and eat rabbit food and say, “What did the rabbit say? DING DING DING DING DINGDADING, DING,” and then they say “WE MUST STEAL MA-YO-NAYSE, VAC-PACK MUST DIE.” So the German SWAT team doggy paddled on doggies. It took ten years. They opened Alex’s vac pack and disabled the vacuum device.

“WE WON!!!” they screamed, followed by them laughing evily.

“MWAHAHAHAHAHA…MWAHAHAHAHAHA!…MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” They laughed like that for 50 years. And then they moved so slowly that 5 minutes later, Alex realized that he forgot his backpack (no longer a vac pack) at the airport and he took his backpack while the (retired) German SWAT team tried to take the now 110 year old tub of mayonnaise (and failed).

Eraser Day in Germany

Eraser day in Germany is the day when people wear erasers that they bought probably the day after Eraser Day last year. The erasers are very, very dirty because they erased their whole house so everyone lives in erasers on Eraser Day because if they don’t, they get kicked in the face by everyone. Everyone loves Eraser Day because they get erased in their eraser clothes, so after Eraser Day the population of Germany is 10. On Eraser Day, someone named Jimmyjoebillybobtommytim erases everything in the universe, so the big bang happened again because after the universe was erased, someone went back in time and exploded the biggest bomb that man will ever create and as the universe developed again, Jimmyjoebillybobtommytim fell in a hole and died.

Once Jimmyjoebillybobtommytim had a tooth. It was the most sacred tooth in all of Germany. He used it to power a time machine and went back in time and accidently pressed the self destruct button. Then, the 123456789987654321th big bang happened.

Why Germany Is Crazy

When Icosaxx was little, he fell of the Eiffel tower onto a trampoline. His DNA got messed up and his mind frame changed to that of an adult. He passed college and became the smartest man in the world. Although being the smartest man in the world, he got little to no recognition.

In Germany, someone invented a time machine and went back in time and killed Hitler. In the future, he didn’t go back in time to kill Hitler because there was no reason. Then the universe exploded. After the 3rd big bang, a time machine was created and duplicated twenty times by going back in time to ten seconds ago twenty times. Then there were twenty scientists named Icosaxx. They all got into a fight about who was the real Icosaxx and one got into a time machine and destroyed the time machine that made the 3rd big bang. Then the universe ended (at least for 10,000,000,000,000 years). In a parallel universe, the Icosaxx missed a button on the time machine and went back in time to become the smartest person in history named Einstein. In another parallel universe, the Icosaxx traveled back in time to become Leonardo Da Vinci. He also became Michelangelo, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon, Martin Luther King Jr, Shakespeare, etc.

Once  Icosaxx invented a robot. A reproducing, communicating robot.The robot population grew and grew, and soon enough the robots took over the world. Then the one person left, Icosaxx, duplicated himself once more and touched himself. Then the universe exploded.

After the fourth big bang, Icosaxx changed his name to Icosikaihenainteger. ( ico-sika-ihe-nain-teg-er) Icosikaihenainteger was then finally recognized as the smartest person in the world in the year 9,999. Unfortunately, the world ended 10 seconds after the year 10,000.

 

The Dwarf Plan

 

The tiger went into a house that had a door that was too small for the tiger to fit through. It was a dwarf house so he ripped through the chimney, wanting to destroy the house. He destroyed the dwarves with explosives. But, one of the dwarves survived and, boy, was he angry. He ran from the burning remains, a plan of revenge coursing through his brains.

The tiger jumped off of the roof and scratched the dwarf hitting him down. But he missed and the boy kept on running and the tiger got really mad. So once he got up, the tiger chased him all the way up to the dwarf’s house since the door was too small the tiger went to locked the door then he went through the chimney. Then the tiger went to a tree and hid there so when the dwarf came he could attack. A wizard stopped it but the tiger dodged the attack. Then the wizard got really mad at the tiger because the tiger was destroying the world so the wizard went through a portal.

When he came out of the portal, he flew to the Potomac River and landed with a splash. It was a stormy night and the water was in big waves. The wizard couldn’t swim and he almost drowned. But, a ship came and picked him up and brought him to land. Then he got out but the tiger was running right towards him and pushed him down.

When he got up, he was back in the water so he swam to the shore and got up and ran to his house. The tiger snuck up into a tree before the wizard got in his house so he was already waiting for him. The tiger pushed him down and ate his wand. “Shoot!” The wizard knew he had to make the tiger spit it back out. How does one get a tiger to spit what it’s eaten? he asked himself. I could tickle him, he thought, or I could kick him in the throat he thought. I should probably tickle him, since I don’t want to make him any angrier than he already is.

So he tickled him and the tiger fell over because he was so ticklish and the wizard got his wand back and destroyed the tiger but he had a problem. The dwarf turned back on the wizard and the dwarf evolves but the wizard doesn’t know that and the dwarf knew were the wizard was so he ran into the woods and found him and ran out and tackle him and started fighting him.

First the dwarf began running circles around the wizard. He ran so fast, the wizard didn’t know that he was making a trap. Suddenly, the dwarf went underground and he cut a circle under the wizard’s feet. The wizard fell down and then dwarf covered up the hole with dirt. The wizard blasted open the top of the hole and yelled, “Diffindio!” which was a spell that spun the dwarf around until he fell unconscious. Then the wizard smashed him down into a huge hole and covered it up. But the dwarf was too strong and he broke out of the hole and punched the wizard in the face, then he saw the wizard’s wand on the ground. Then he picked it up and made the wizard vanish to another dimension.

At the other place, the wizard looked around confused. Where am I? he thought. Oh! I’m in another dimension. Trash was falling on him. Banana peels, old gallons of milk, and rotten cheese all fell on his head. Then he heard a shaking of an earthquake him. What on earth is going on? He looked around. There was metal dinging on the ceiling. With steel boxes as big as the Eiffel Tower! “Ah! I’m in a garbage truck! Where on earth is it taking me?! I’ve got to escape! Now!”Just then, he remembered that he had four seconds to get out or else he would be crushed. So he took a laser out of the trash and cut through the box. Then he used the laser and cut through the truck. He jumped down to the ground while the garbage truck sped away.

Then he went to a wand shop and bought a new wand. It was made of metal and titanium which was different than his other wand. When anyone tried to eat it, it would taser him or if they tried to take the wand it would taser them then too. “Expolamos,” he cried, making a circle with the wand above his head. He shot up into the sky into Earth.

Meanwhile, the dwarf had been looking for the wizard’s secrets. He was searching for the wizard’s actual name. Then the wizard came out of nowhere and shot his wand at the dwarf and the dwarf fell back onto the ground. An hour later the dwarf awoke but the wizard put on a spell that turned the dwarf into bell. It hurts because the kids were ringing the bell. So one day, when there was no moon, the dwarf broke out of the bell by using his super strength that came whenever the moon had disappeared. Then he started looking after the wizard’s secrets.

“I can see you’ve not learned your lesson,” said the wizard.

“You’ll learn yours!” said the dwarf. Then Evil Max came to save the dwarf. Evil Max looks like a huge monster. He has a good relationship with the dwarf because they’re both neighbors. His powers are invisibility, laser eyes, and jetpack feet.

“Oh, what do we have here? A wizard? Or a fish?” He laughed really hard.

The dwarf said, “A wizard!!!”

“Oh,” said Evil Max.

The whole time they were debating, the wizard was setting up a trap for both of them. Then when they both finished debating, the wizard was done with his trap. The trap was invisible so they couldn’t see it. So they walked right towards the trap and fell straight into the ground. They hit a spaceship that was flying underground and they flew into outer space and into another galaxy.

The wizard said, “Oh, he learned his lesson.”

 

THE END

The Secret Hunter

The burning sun beat down on my back as I intertwined the two pieces of golden straw. I worked intently, biting my chapped lips as the straw began to blend in with the rest of my basket. My masterpiece was halfway done, and I had been working on it for already half of the day, twisting and turning, while the sun burnt my bare back.

I looked up, setting my basket down onto the sand below my feet. In the distance, the sun was already starting to melt down the horizon, bursting with bright oranges, subtle yellows, majestic reds, and even tints of a soft green. It would be half an hour before the sun set, before Mama and Papa called me in for the nighttime meal.  I still had time to finish my basket, which would surely please my Mama. But I had been working on my basket for much of the day. I deserve a chance to have time to myself, I thought.

I stood up, brushing off dirt and sand from my clothes made of antelope-hide, and then began to walk over to the swimming hole. Clumps of sand crunched underneath my bare feet, as the sweet tune of the native sunbird carried out in musical waves in the beautiful sky above me.

It was a lovely day, perfect for exploring, running, and relaxing in the African savannah. Yet I was not permitted to do any of that. On this wonderful day, all I could do was weave a basket, and do all of the other womanly work that girls must do.

“Ebele!”

I whirled around. Imamu, one of the most daring boys of the tribe, was hanging off of the branch of an acacia tree, his long, strong legs dangling. He smiled at me.

“Look at me, Ebele! I am like the white monkey who swings atop the trees!”

His friends laughed around him, as Imamu let go of the tree, and fell towards the ground– only to land perfectly on the sand below him. I ran over to the tree.

“I would like to try!” I exclaimed.

I had just begun to place my foot onto a low branch, when suddenly, Imamu grabbed my arm, and pulled me down. He looked surprised at me, as did all of his friends.

“You are a girl, Ebele. The one who works around the home. Girls do not climb acacia trees.”

I did not reply. Instead, I looked down, and kicked a small, round pebble across the ground.

“Now, come, Ebele. It is almost time for supper.”

“But I was going to go to the swimming hole,” I began, but Imamu cut me off.

“There is no time.”

I sighed, and followed the group of boys back to the huts. I longed to climb the acacia tree. But Imamu was right. I could not. It was my job to weave baskets, to cook food, to clean up the huts. Men were the ones who hunted, explored, and climbed. Who did all of the things that I longed to do, but could not.

At dinner that night, all members of our tribe, which was known as Massai, gathered around a large fire. My Mama and I helped to serve everybody the meat from a fallow deer, before we were able to eat ourselves. When everybody was served, Mama, me, and all of the other women sat down to eat. As I munched on the juicy meat, I kept thinking back to today’s events.

“Mama?” I finally asked.

“Yes, Ebele?”

“Why must it be that men get to do adventurous activities while women must stay around the huts?”

Mama looked surprised at me.

“Ebele, men and women have their own jobs. We all help in our own ways.”

“I understand that, Mama. But why couldn’t the men cook and clean, and the women could hunt and explore?” I asked.

Mama cocked her head at me.

“This is just the way things work, Ebele. Now, finish your food. We would not want it to go to waste.”

Mama turned to talk to the woman next to her, and I turned back to my food. I gazed into the roaring fire, thinking. I needed to show Imamu and the rest of the men of our tribe that women were also capable of doing men’s jobs. But how?

The next morning, I woke up early to begin my chores. As I tidied up the tiny hut where I lived and collected wood for making a fire, I watched the men as they set off with their bows and arrows to hunt. Papa led the troop at the front. And suddenly, I had an idea.

Quickly, I swept the last bit of dust off of the floor of the hut, and ran over to Mama and Papa’s sleeping mat. Mama slept peacefully, but there was an empty space next to her where Papa usually slept.

“Mama,” I whispered.

Her black eyes fluttered open, and gazed up at me.

“I am going to go collect supplies to make a basket. I will come back in the afternoon.”

Mama nodded her head sleepily, and her eyes fluttered shut. I smiled. My idea was working.

Quickly, I slipped on my pair of moccasins, and took one of Papa’s bows and arrows from the shelf he had carved out when building our hut. Then I rushed out of the hut. I was a strong girl, so I ran quite quickly as I rushed to catch up with the men. I stayed back, waiting for them to fully disappear into the woods, and then, quiet as an elephant shrew, I went in after them.

I had never before been in the woods, so the surroundings were new to me. I gazed around myself in awe, at the tall, broad trees that ran along the sides of the path that the men always used. It was dark and cool in the forest, but very noisy, too. The forest was teeming with life. Although I could not see them, I could hear the sounds of animals everywhere – the chattering of baboons, the running of deer, the calls of albatrosses, the slithering of snakes. It was so different from the life I always lived at home, so much more exciting. I smiled, and then quickly crept along the trees, to catch up with the hunters.

We soon reached a clearing in the woods. Sunlight streamed through the trees, and I stayed back as the men stopped in front of me. Papa stood ahead of the group, looking around. Suddenly, one of the men, named Adebowale, let out a cry.

“The aardwolf! Men, I see an aardwolf!”

I gasped. An aardwolf! These very shy, nocturnal creatures were rarely seen by members of my tribe, yet they possessed some of the most juicy, delicious meat of all. I always heard men talking about how they longed to catch one of these animals, and now, here one was, for the first time.

I took a step forward out of the woods, my heart pounding. I watched as Papa’s eyes grew wide, and the hunters started whispering frantically to each other, as Adebowale pointed to a small, brown deer that was grazing in the shade of some trees. The men slowly affixed their arrows to their bows.

“Wait!”  Papa whispered.

The men turned toward him.

“It is much too difficult to catch the aardwolf with a bow and arrow.  It will be much easier to kill it using a dagger, yet we did not bring one. We must find another weapon to use.”

The men lowered their bows and arrows. The aardwolf had not spotted us yet, but it would soon. As the hunters looked around for something to use as a weapon, I did the same. Originally, I had only wanted to follow the men into the forest, and watch how they hunted. But now, I saw a chance to help, and I took it.

My eyes darted between the trees. A rock was too short and stubby to use as a dagger, and a piece of wood was not sharp enough. Suddenly, my eyes came to rest on a long, pointy stick that was resting against a tree. I looked up at the aardwolf. It was still grazing. Then, I glanced at the men. They were still searching. I smiled to myself, and I lifted up the stick. I took a step out from the trees, and held up the stick over my shoulder. I squeezed my eyes shut, and took careful aim at the aardwolf’s side. I knew that that was where I should be aiming, for I had listened many times to Papa’s conversations with his fellow hunters. Slowly, I walked farther out from the trees.

“Ebele!” I heard Papa shout.

I did not pay attention to his call. Instead, I drew back my arm, focused on the aardwolf….and released the stick.

I bit my lip as the stick shot forward. All of the hunters around me held their breaths… and the stick struck the aardwolf. I gasped, in shock at what I had just done. Around me, the men burst into shouts of cheer. I beamed, rushing over to kill the aardwolf, to put it out of its pain. As I tended to the creature, I heard running behind me.

“Ebele! Why are you in the woods? You should be at the hut, helping your Mama,” Papa exclaimed. The men around him nodded.

“I caught your aardwolf, Papa. I was the only one who saw the stick. I was a great help to you. If I had stayed home with Mama, the aardwolf might not have been caught.”

Papa gazed at me for a moment.

“You are right, Ebele. I am proud of you.”

He knelt down, and kissed me on the top of my head. Then, he helped me lift the aardwolf, and place it in a sling made of the strong hide of a fallow deer.

The other men gave me nods of appreciation as we began to walk out of the forest. I walked next to Papa, holding my head up high.

“I never thought that a girl could do such a wonderful thing,” Papa said, as we walked amongst the trees.

“Girls have the same abilities as men,” I said.

Papa nodded.

“I understand that now, Ebele. We will have a fine feast tonight, because of you.”

When we arrived back at the huts, everybody gathered around, while Papa told of what had happened. When he told of how I had killed the aardwolf, everyone gasped, and looked at me. And then, they all burst into applause. I even saw Mama at the front of the group, beaming up at me, her very own daughter.

“Ebele,” Papa said to me, when the clapping died down. “Will you join my hunting group? You are a fine hunter, and you will be a great help to my men.”

My eyes widened.

“Oh, yes, Papa! But only if the other women of Massai may join as well,”

Papa was quiet for a moment, but then he smiled.

“Yes. They may join if they would like.”

I looked out at the cheering women in front of me, and then at the men. Two equal genders, capable of doing the same things.

As I was walking back home, the sun setting behind me, I noticed a group of boys, in a huddle by the fire. They looked at me, their eyebrows narrowed, and I caught a glimpse of anger in their eyes. I walked slowly behind them, so that I could hear what came out of their mouths.

“How could Ebele’s father agree to this silly rule? Girls are not hunters. They are only made to clean the huts and cook us food.”

My eyes widened as Imamu said this.

“Ebele is sick in the head. She is a girl. I do not care if she caught the aardwolf, for that is not what she should have been doing,” Imamu’s brother snapped.

I walked on, for I had no longing to hear the rest of their words. Yes, people would not always agree that men and women were equal, despite all of our efforts to prove this. There would always be people who thought that women were only fit to work around the houses. Yet I knew that the women of Massai would prove themselves to be more than cleaners and cookers. Even if men such as Imamu did not agree.

Before I reached home, I made a final stop, at the acacia tree nearby. I let the wind play with my hair, as I placed my foot on a sturdy branch. I hesitated for just a moment. And then, I began to climb.

The Dog With Black Eyes

Now…

Aiki felt dizzy from her change. She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus. Staring at her were two pairs of black, watery, familiar eyes. She closed her eyes and tears went streaming out of her black eyes, remembering the details of what happened to her over the last two years.

Two Years Ago…

Aiki was nine before she was changed. She was running down the rocky stone path, crying and sobbing. Her mom and dad called her name.

“Aiki!” they shouted over and over.

Aiki never looked back. She never wanted to see them again. Why did they have to be in my life? she thought. This wouldn’t have happened if Mr. Goya had never appeared at their doorway.

Mr. Goya was a gangster. When people borrowed money, he would ask for more back. Aiki’s parents borrowed only $1.00 from him, but he is asking for $3,000. Ridiculous. And that is not all. He wanted to keep Aiki for her smartness. She was perfect in math, getting all A+’s. She could recite most of the Japanese history, knew a lot of science, and could write perfect essays. She was elected in all of her town to compete in the All Japan festival where she would compete against other kids for the prize. And the prize was $150,000. Aiki’s parents tried to hide in the town, but someone told him where Aiki was.

Mr. Goya wanted to pretend that Aiki was his daughter so he could get the second half of the prize: $35,000 for all of the parents. He wanted the prize money and the parent money. “I need Aiki, too. It is either me keeping Aiki or your whole family is going to jail,” Mr. Goya said.

Now, Aiki’s parents never wanted to go to jail. Or, they never even liked her. So they agreed that Aiki could be Mr. Goya’s “daughter.” Aiki overheard all of this from the kitchen. She quietly slipped through the back door and ran for the woods. She trampled through the tall grasses and scurried through the muddle of broken trees. She knew this place well. She always studied here and played here when she was little with her other neighborhood friends. She stopped short and rested on a fallen log beside a large rock for five minutes before she ran again. She ran deeper and deeper into the forest, jumping over tree roots and branches until making a complete stop. There in the woods sat a fairy in a blue, silky dress with faint teal wings. She was crying. Aiki ran up to her.

“Are you alright?” asked Aiki. Suddenly, the fairy zoomed across the sky-blue lake, leaving ripples on the surface. Aiki stumbled back in surprise.

“Who goes near me?” asked the fairy.

“Uh, l-l-I g-g-got l-l-lost…” stammered Aiki.

“What do you want?” asked the fairy.

“N-N-Nothing,” replied Aiki, still shaking from fright.

“I know what you want. You don’t want Mr. Goya to take you. Here is a disguise to last you two years,” and with that said, Aiki felt strange. Her arms scrunched up into the beige front paws of a dog. Her back legs became short, too.

“Woof! Woof!” barked Aiki, trying to say, “Why did you turn me into a dog?”

“Haha!” laughed the fairy and then she was off. Aiki felt unhappy. Just because of Mr. Goya, she thought. She ran to her house and licked her parent’s hands.

“What a cute dog!” her mother exclaimed. “Let’s keep her!”

And so, they did.

Two Years Later…

Aiki’s parents named the dog Aiki as well, which made Aiki laugh in her mind. Things were going so well, she even forgot she was a human. Her parents treated her 100 times better than when she was a human. She learned to not be afraid of Mr. Goya. She even forgot who he was. But she was a little sad. She wished she could tell her parents that she was Aiki. And also, she wished she even got to compete in the contest. She studied all year for it. But she pushed those thoughts away from her mind and imagined what the next day would bring. But one day, the fairy’s voice appeared in her head.

“In two years, you will be human,” the fairy repeated and repeated, her voice growing stronger each time.

Aiki wanted to see the fairy and ask her what she meant. Aiki never wanted to be a human again. She never wanted to have to run away from Mr. Goya again. Aiki ran out of the house and arrived at the fairy’s house. She couldn’t see the fairy. Aiki felt a little weird. Suddenly, her hind legs became human legs. The fore legs became her arms. The dog head became her head. She found herself in her old school uniform, which was clearly too short for her. She was spellbound.

“How could this work without the fairy?” she thought, her heart racing. She tried to run to her house. She wanted to tell her parents what happened. Well, she finished one of the two things. Aiki ran to her house, but she blacked out before she saw her parents. Her parents went outside and saw Aiki. They picked her up and carried her to her bed.

Now…

Aiki remembered all of those thoughts. She opened her eyes and saw her parents. She wiped her tears with her white school uniform sleeve that she was still wearing before she changed. She smiled and straightened herself into a sitting position. She was joyful to see them in her human form and she had many things to ask.

“What happened to Mr. Goya?” asked Aiki.

“He was killed by a fairy,” said the dad, who showed her a newspaper article. The fairy was using its powers to kill Mr. Goya in his fancy car.

Thanks fairy! thought Aiki.

“What about the contest?” asked Aiki.

“It was rescheduled. It is tomorrow by the way,” replied her mom.

“Really?” squealed Aiki. She leaped from the bed and grabbed her books and ran to the forest. She read and read. She was bothered by the pecking sound. She looked up to see what it was. Aiki smiled when she saw the fairy, grinning and holding up the newspaper all about her and Mr. Goya. Aiki returned home and talked more with her parents.

“You know, Aiki, we had an Akita dog. We named it after you. It had the same eyes as you, but she ran away. I wanted you to meet her…” her dad said.

Aiki smiled to herself.

 

The Sky

Blue,

flowing,

towering,

blowing,

sweet wind,

a cool breeze,

my glass of lemonade,

on a hot summer day.

 

Sky oh sky,

the home of clouds,

where rain falls down,

and is collected,

where sun and moon shine,

where stars lay,

glowing,

on your soft blanket.

 

Blue,

black,

pink,

purple,

red,

orange,

oh so many colors,

waiting to be discovered,

Looked upon by many,

something,

everyone,

no matter where,

shares.

 

Sky oh sky,

the home of clouds,

where rain falls down,

and is collected,

where sun and moon shine,

where stars lay,

glowing,

on your soft blanket.

 

Everyone,

everywhere,

looks up to see you,

you comfort us,

and wrap us,

swallow us up,

like a blanket,

one we will forever hold,

forever see,

forever feel,

forever hear,

forever smell,

your sweet,

wet,

smell.

 

 

Sky oh sky,

the home of clouds,

where rain falls down,

and is collected,

where sun and moon shine,

where stars lay,

glowing,

on your soft blanket.

The Same

Our forgotten friendship

Haunts me as I

Go by you

Everyday

 

When I talk to you

You turn away

I try to make an effort

But it’s not the same

 

You would laugh and talk with me

And tell me funny jokes

Like you and I were the only people

In the world

 

You still act the same

To other people

But I feel like dirt

When you treat me like you do

 

I think about you everyday

The way we used to be

And you would say

Hey, let’s get together

Sometime soon

And I would beam with happiness

Inside

 

I ask if you want to come over now

You say, sorry, busy

And I try not to show a reaction

But inside I’m crying

And I can’t feel
Can’t think

 

We used to sit together

Everyday

Talk about our future

And plan

 

We would go to

Greece and Rome

Paris and London

Everywhere

Somewhere new

Everyday

But then we didn’t have it anymore

Well, you didn’t have it anymore

 

And you became closer with

This person

And shut me out

I was afraid and lonely

 

I tell myself each day,

Maybe you’ll be my best friend

Again

I hope for it

 

And I cried about things I shouldn’t have

And said things I didn’t mean

I wish we could be friends again

 

So maybe you’re thinking about me right now

You probably don’t know I’m feeling this way

But if you do I’m sorry

Because you shouldn’t have to suffer

 

Maybe if we became closer

It wouldn’t be that great

But maybe, just maybe

It would be

The same

Gone

Ever had

That feeling, when

You don’t think

Something’s important

Till it’s gone?

 

My parents are gone.

Alive, but gone.

I miss them.

Badly.

 

Every second,

I see their faces

Imprinted in my mind

Like a tattoo.

 

By the time you read this,

They’ll be back

But I want you

To know

How it feels

When they’re gone.

 

When they’re gone,

I think about them

nonstop.

Every part of me misses them.

Sometimes, I catch myself thinking

“When I go home, I’ll tell my mom about this.”

And I play

The

Conversation

In my

Head.

Then I remember the truth.

She’s gone.

 

Sometimes,

I think about the big hug I’m

Gonna

give

My dad,

When I get home

 

Then, I realize

That

Last night,

I gave him the last

hug

I’d give him

In 12 days.

Its 11 now, but

It still hurts,

Like a

Band Aid

Ripped off

A

Wound.

Swiftly and

Cleanly.

 

I knew they

Would leave, but

It didn’t seem real,

TIll the day I

Woke up and realized

They were

GONE.

Fashion

More schools should have students wear uniforms because fashion is bothering kids in school academically. People say they want to go to Yale and Harvard but meanwhile their grades are like B’s or C’s and that is because they are so worried about what to wear in the morning and how much makeup to put on. I think that people should be more worried about how their grades are not how much makeup they are going to wear. This mostly happens to girls not boys and that is why people say that girls don’t get far in school, but I want to prove that wrong because if more schools start wearing uniforms then more girls will have opportunity to be a better student in school.

If you ask most parents, they will say that if you want to get into a good college than do not fall into the fashion trap. In fact, my mom did not fall into the fashion trap and ended up going to Yale. Some girls are so caught up in putting a bow in their hair and they are never really caring about what they really should be caring about. Most people think that a lot of people will like you if you are fashionable and beautiful. You might also think that you will be the most popular girl in school because of beauty and by that you will be the only one in your grade that gets a scholarship to whatever college that you want to go to. But that is not true. Go ask ten different moms if you will get a scholarship to to a college by being the most popular and fashionable girl in school and all of them will say no.

Some girls might not like to dress up and that is fine. Putting on a uniform might not magically get you good grades but putting on a uniform might stop you from worrying about fashion. You might be thinking that you don’t worry about fashion in the school day, but that is also fine.

If you are a girl, believe in yourself. The thought that boys are smarter than girls is not true and I believe that we can change that thought and turn it the other way around. If you are a school that has a no uniform policy, than maybe go ask your principal if you can put in a uniform policy and then she might say yes. You might be uncomfortable with that policy for the first five days but when you are getting straight A’s and being the smartest kid in your grade then you will thank me. You might not like this, but you may love it in a couple of years. You might actually surprise yourself in a very good way. You go ask your principal if you can have a uniform policy if you don’t already have one.

My Days as a Spy

I woke up this morning and realized I overslept. I threw on some clothes and ran out the door. I was just in time for the school bus to pick me up. I hopped on the bus, running to take my usual spot, next to my best friend, James. He looked very tired, I noticed. I pretended to be even more tired.

“Why are you so tired?” he asked.

“Oh, um, I- I was up doing homework, obviously.” I lied to make myself seem like a better person. James yawned loudly. He stretched his arms and pressed his nose on the window so it would be foggy. Then he wiped off all the fog. I fake yawned even more loudly and hoped it sounded real. I hoped he was not playing video games until 1:00 in the morning because I was only playing until 11:00 at night! I can’t let him know that. “Why are you so tired?” I asked suddenly.

“I was up doing homework until 12:00,” he replied.

I took a deep breath. “Yes,” I said to myself. I finished my homework at 8:00.

Suddenly, the bus came to a stop. We arrived at school. I walked as slowly as possible out of the bus and to the doors that led to the inside of my school. There was a large fountain with water pouring down outside the school. This girl, I’m not sure what her name was, had her shoulders up and looked tense. When she walked past the fountain, her shoulders went down and her face relaxed. She looked back at the water, and then bumped into a pole. The sound of the water seemed to calm or distract her. I chuckled to myself.

“You don’t see someone that ignorant everyday,” I said to James and patted him on the back.

When I entered school I dragged myself to the poetry room with my crazy and hippie teacher, Ms. Williams. Today we were going to write poems, I remembered.

“Think of things you like and your poem will arrive in your head,” she told my class and hopped around in a whimsical way. So I did what she told me and thought of things I liked. I made a list in my head. 1: Me. 2: Frappuccinos from Starbucks. 3: I can’t think of anything else. I sat there for a long time. I even tried hopping around in a whimsical way with my hands together and one leg in the air, but the poem never arrived.

I told Ms. Williams that I had poet’s block.

“Improbable!” she yelled at me. I turned my head with a dumb look on my face. It can’t be me she’s yelling at, I’m perfect. “I’m talking to you Zach!” she screamed at me. I stared blankly at her face, my mouth hanging down, drooling. Why would she yell at me? Something told me at that moment, something weird was going on with my usual calm, relaxed, peaceful, and hippie poem writing teacher especially because of the fact that out of everyone, she decided to yell at me, the perfect one. I intended to find out exactly what was going on. Just if you were wondering, it’s not like I’m worried about Ms. Williams. People say I’m nosy, but I prefer to say I like to know what’s going on with other people.

 

Spy Day 1

I woke up early this morning because I wanted to look as snazzy as an actual spy. I put on my cool, black sunglasses, my flashy watch, and wore a fedora hat to get myself in character. I looked so cool. I hoped no one would question my outfit. Wait, but why would they? I always look stylish. I told my mom I was leaving early today to get a frappuccino from Starbucks, but actually I was going to use my Starbucks money to take a cab to school since I was too early for the bus. I adore how tricky I am. Sorry, back to the plan. When I got there early, I would locate Ms. Williams and stalk her all day. I would ditch all of my classes which I do all the time because I’m way too good for school.

I walked like I was in a hip-hop performance to the cab, got in and directed the driver to Millsbury school. I’m as cool as a cucumber. Don’t tell anyone I just said that. Geez, “cool as a cucumber,” where did I get that from, my mom?

Anyways, ten minutes later, we were there and my search began. The driver handed me his card and said, “Good luck, kid.” Then he winked at me. It was like he knew me and everything I was going to do.

“See you soon,” I said that because I knew I would call him again.

When I walked inside the school, I saw a janitor on the phone with someone. I don’t think that he saw me because he was talking about how bratty and snobby the kids are at our school. How we don’t pick up our trash, don’t clean up our spills, and so on. I wanted to yell at him and fight back but, no, I remembered that I must remain unnoticed when I am a spy.

“This is going to be harder than I thought,” I said to myself.

I ran around the corner to the stairwell and didn’t look back. I hoped to find Ms. Williams sitting in the teachers’ lounge, but I know things aren’t usually that easy. If she is in there, there will probably be a catch. So when I went upstairs, I remembered that I had to expect the unexpected. I guess I’m just cool like that. I attempted to do a forward roll but I failed and landed on my stomach. I got up, brushed myself off and pretended like nothing happened. I looked back at the stairwell. Anyone could be following me at any moment. When I finally got to the teachers’ lounge, I peeked through the window to find Principal Blinkman giving Ms. Williams a lecture. What?! What did she do wrong?! I made a list in my head. 1:Calling me, her star student, out. 2: Making things sound very easy.

“Never mind,” I said to myself.

I decided that I wasn’t going to skip my classes because I do it so often that I was going to fail 5th grade. Lets just say I’m sort of regretting skipping yoga and math all the time so I could go to Emack and Bolio’s with my friends. As you could probably not imagine because you most likely have NOT ever been a spy before, I couldn’t stop thinking about the lecture all day.

Sorry about that guys. I’m just really cranky and annoyed at myself because I missed my chance to figure this out. Well, I’ll get back to you guys tomorrow. I have to go do my homework. (Did you get that joke? Who actually puts effort into their homework?)

 

Spy Day 2

Today, I’m a pro spy. I have experience and I know how to look cool doing everything. I’m even better than Mary Poppins. After all, she’s only practically perfect. I wore the same hat and watch and an all black outfit. I got compliments from everyone yesterday. Again, I lied to my mom. I called the taxi driver. I got in the cab and the driver already knew where I was going. I knew that I wasn’t going to mess this up today.

I didn’t talk to the taxi driver that day. He didn’t talk to me. It was silent. I think he was on to me. I don’t know if I will call him again. He looked at the back seat and said, “See you in ten years.” What’s that supposed to mean? He’s really freaking me out now. My final decision: no tip today.

I got to school and saw the same janitor, but this time, he was waiting for me.

“Look, it’s a bird,” I yelled.

“What?” he said stupidly and turned his head around. I didn’t think I could get by that easily. I ran up and peered in the teachers lounge again. This time Ms. Williams and Principal Blinkman were walking in and left the door open. All the other teachers rushed in and sat down rapidly. The door remained open.

“We have a very special announcement for you,” said Principal Blinkman.

“We are getting married,” squealed Ms. Williams with delight! My mouth dropped open and made the shape of an “O”. I’m done now. No more spying for me. Three words: Too much information.

 

Spy Day 3

Sorry guys. I was overreacting. Wait – or was I? You guys wouldn’t know how much stress this is, because you’re obviously not spies. And even if you were, you would never find out anything because you would be terrible spies, unlike me. So you know what? I’m gonna go back to bed, and stop spying because you guys are being so sassy. You already know too much! Goodbye. Mission accomplished.

 

Epilogue

This was written in the year 2005, when Zach was in 5th grade. Today, in the year 2015, Zach is an international spy. He has never forgotten you, but is afraid to talk to you again. He wishes that I tell you thank you, from him.

 

Sincerely,

Zach’s guardian angel, the taxi driver

Jack and She-Jack and Shredder

EXTERIOR: PARK, NIGHT

 

Shredder: So who do you want to mess with?

 

JACK, who looks like an eagle with white wings because he liked eagles. He had diamond armor on. He is a bad guy. SHREDDER wants to kill him. SHREDDER has claws and he pulls them out and tries to snap him. He punches his claws into JACK, but the diamond armor saves him.

 

JACK does a backflip and kicks SHREDDER right in his tush. SHREDDER goes flying out and hits himself on the back and then suddenly Jack runs, runs, runs, does a front flip ten times, jumps on a giant MARACA, picks it up.

 

JACK: Wahhhh!!

 

He slams it on SHREDDER’S head. But SHREDDER has silver armor, which isn’t as good as diamond armor but still good. So he’s still alive, and cracks his head a little. Then, suddenly, his mask pops off. He looks in the mirror and goes:

 

Shredder: What did you do to me? You made me have a wide bloody eye and half of my face is messed up.

 

SHREDDER then jumps off and and takes the mirror and says,

 

Shredder: Look at my face. What does it look like?

 

He attacks JACK, JACK backflips and dodges it. He picks up a giant wristband and tries to cut SHREDDER’s head off but it doesn’t work because his head is made of metal!

 

Pedestrian: Ohhhhhh!

 

INTERIOR, COURT: DAY

 

JACK and SHREDDER are in court.

 

Jack: He tried to kill me!

 

Shredder is slammed into a cell.

 

Shredder: Noooo! I Will come back for you in seventy years!!!!!

 

Seventy Years Later…

 

EXTERIOR – JAIL HOUSE, DAY

 

The police guards give SHREDDER all of his weapons, clothes, food, and water back to him.

Then SHREDDER gets out of jail. He starts walking down the street. As he walks he sees JACK on the sidewalk on his right. He follows JACK.

 

JACK senses him with his eagle sense.

 

Then JACK does a backflip right behind him! He tries to stab him with his golden sword. But then, the SHREDDER suddenly notices him doing a backflip and then moves! Then JACK super speeds all the way in front of him and tries to stab again, because he knew the SHREDDER was going to try to kill JACK!

 

SHREDDER did not kill JACK. But they walked away and had a fight – in TEXAS!

 

EXTERIOR – TEXAS, NIGHT

 

We are in the desert. They have a big duel to see who see who kills who. At dawn they will take ten paces and then turn around and try to shoot the other person. Whoever is the slowest, may lose and die.

 

SHREDDER cheats, and counts 1-2-3-BANG! But SHREDDER doesn’t have diamond armor, but JACK does. It takes 3 shots to kill him. It takes two shots to kill SHREDDER.

 

Shredder: Oh, this should have killed him…

 

[Voice over of Screenwriter]

 

Screenwriter: This is a story about…wait-wait-wait wait a second!  We’re almost at the end of this story. Okay, let’s get this over with! This is the illustrator, his name is Adi.

 

Illustrator: Let’s just end this right now.

 

Screenwriter: Oh sure, let’s do this.

 

Illustrator and Screenwriter:  THE END

Roman Play

CAST

Norbert the Nerd/Narrator

Wolf Friend

Baby Romulus

Baby Remus

Lupa

 

ACT I

SCENE I

Norbert: The story starts long ago in a place that would soon become Rome. Oh, look! There’s Romulus and Remus, brothers and founders of Rome. Dar dar dar, I’m a big stinky nerd.

Lupa: Oh look, why are there babies floating down the rivers? How odd. I should go investigate.  (Travel down to the river and pick up babies). My, my! Baby brothers! I must raise them!

Wolf Friend: Hi, Lupa! Are those babies you’ve got there?

Lupa: Sure are! Found them floating down the river! Odd, isn’t it?

Wolf Friend: That IS odd. Are you going to keep them?

Lupa: Yup.

Wolf Friend: ‘Kay. So what are you going to name them?

Lupa: Name them?

Wolf Friend: Yeah, name them.  If you keep them, you’ve got to name them!

Baby Romulus: (Gurgle) Romulus.

Baby Remus: (Gurgle) Remus.

Lupa: That’s it! Romulus and Remus!

Wolf Friend: How will you tell Remus and Romulus apart?

Lupa: Hmmm… I know! I will always dress Remus in green, and Romulus in blue!

Wolf Friend: What will you clothe them in?

Lupa: Good ol’ fashioned togas!

Wolf Friend: Great idea! See you at the wolf party tonight! (Leave)

Lupa: (Leave)

Norbert: The young Remus and Romulus grew up to young men very soon. They decided they would build a great city that would be around for generations to come. Dar dar dar I’m a fluff brain nerd!

Four Seasons of New Life

Hidden Music

A soft breeze,

Bright sun,

a shine,

and pollen or a sneeze.

 

When spring comes around,

all the babies are safe and sound.

New and filled,

with life,

wonder,

joy,

and    awe.

 

A silent peace on the chicks

young rabbits,

new grass,

bright flowers,

a silence called awe.

 

Broken only by the sweet song of birds,

learning to sing,

Small peeps,

signalling the beat.

 

A  quiet orchestra,

conducted by the trees,

in harmony with others,

dancers in the silent breeze.

Bright flowers,

born from seeds.

 

A soft hum,

brought by bees,

fighting against the sweet wind,

with yellow rays jumping down.

 

An ocean,

of greens and stems,

a rainbow,

crashing onto the soft wet grass.

Rumbling,

in a soft sweet hum

A raging war of color.

 

Green string,

beaded with shining crystals,

littered with clear diamonds.

An elegant necklace,

from the sky.

 

Soft wet earth,

holding these precious gems,

selling them for sound,

the life of the orchestra,

blowing in the sweet,

warm,

wet,

bright,

air.

 

Vivid colors,

that pop up,

yellow peeps,

pink sways,

blue streaks in the air,

with their beautiful song.

 

Bright buzzing balls,

filled with sunshine,

the stripes of a robber,

stealing the show,

from all else.

 

The gleeful shouts,

the after party,

welcoming the whole cast into their home,

even the warm

yet cool rain,

refreshing us all

as they run around together.

 

Climbing trees,

their thick trunks,

swinging on the papa branches,

while the mothers nurture all the new life,

birds,

leaves,

buds opening to blossoms,

and their own babies.

Twigs.

 

A raging war,

a battle,

between cool winter,

and a

warm summer.

 

Cold Water

 

A hot blaring sun,

pouring down,

covering us,

making us red and brown,

covered in crystal beads,

diamonds brought from spring.

 

You see waves in the air,

mimicking cool winds from past seasons,

the winds we all wished for,

filling us,

we would drink that in instead,

instead of ice cold water.

 

A cool sea

a pool,

the shade of a tree,

smooth cool lotion,

hot air,

bright light,

cold water.

 

Dripping,

warm water,

from my forehead,

cold water,

cooling us down.

 

We wilter in the sun,

saved by cold water,

but we don’t care,

we choose to run.

 

Us and plants alike

saved only by cold water,

wishes for winter,

once you have what you wish for,

you want the other.

 

Us,

summer,

heat,

sun,

saved,

by cold water.

 

New life,

Sun,

Beach balls,

Cold water dips,

All born again in summer.

 

Panting dogs,

hot sand,

cold water,

refreshing ice,

come again the jelly fish,

sweet green grass,

as you slip away to the dark,

the darker fall,

get lead into whiteness,

into a long frozen sleep.

 

The Down

 

When they come tumbling down,

falling fast,

trying to grasp,

clinging on to empty air,

as they flutter,

softly like the wings of a paper butterfly,

twisting and turning,

graceful dancers,

the biggest performance ever.

 

For a while they prepare,

staying still and stiff,

so they can put their whole life,

into this,

this one moment.

 

Then it comes,

new costumes,

green to

brown

red

orange

a level up,

a new show.

 

Then they rest,

after their long tiring performance,

on the ground,

a long sleep,

they rest and disappear,

to prepare their young,

for their own journey.

 

The beautiful play,

the story,

the papers spread it,

saying,

The Down, The Down,

Oh, The beautiful down.

The graceful downfall,

of that generation.

 

Where they spend,

their whole short lives,

preparing,

putting their all into this show,

like young kids.

 

Kids who spend long hours,

on their toes,

in leos,

bowing,

up and down,

bending,

their long graceful legs,

to bow down again,

and end.

 

A Rich Whiteness

 

Small pearls,

mimicking,

the leaves,

another generation,

of beautiful dancers,

a long ballet,

disappearing in the spring,

gone in the summer,

creating a soft,

wool,

cozy,

blanket,

wrapping us all,

creating fluffy marshmallows of fun.

 

Tiny hills,

hills that laugh,

and giggle,

and  hills that are covered in foot prints,

running up,

racing down,

while the hills scream with pleasure.

 

A soft pillow,

where angels sleep,

but never make their beds,

where kids rest their heads,

and their excitement,

creating these good natured beings,

these sweet angels,

blending in the white snow,

in their white gowns,

granting their wish.

 

Tiny pieces of glitter float down,

lighting the whole world,

like the dewy diamonds,

that spring brings,

changing the grass,

out of it dress,

red to white,

ready for a ball,

winter ready,

for its prince charming.

 

A gown,

white tile,

blowing,

flowing,

in the harsh,

demon wind,

blowing things away,

but the angels,

keep the joy,

and the winter becomes,

as warm and bright and refreshing,

as the whole changing year.

 

A Whole Changing Year

 

In a whole,

a year,

12,

4,

Life.

 

Life?

Year?

The same,

it is a whole life,

that happens in one whole year,

a long year,

a short life,

but then all things new come along,

same routine,

same show,

more interesting each time,

winter wants spring,

summer wants winter.

 

A continuous show,

never breaking,

featuring,

two ballets,

beaches,

and an orchestra,

with its own dancers,

dancing sunbeams,

flashy rays,

is the world ever not a dance,

one long big wonderful,

happy dance,

peaceful or violent,

strong or soft,

smooth or rough,

whipping or slipping.

 

A peaceful slide,

a violent wind,

a peaceful scene,

violent cries of “gone!”

A violent shake,

a peaceful fall,

a peaceful swim,

a violent sunbeam.

 

A strong wind,

a soft glide,

a strong scent,

a soft grass,

a strong fall,

a soft land,

a strong glare,

a soft water.

 

A smooth twirl,

a rough texture,

a smooth flake,

a rough fall,

a smooth sway,

a trunk,

a smooth water,

a rough burn.

 

A whipping wind,

slipping into water,

they have it all,

seasons,

anything you want,

all to your heart’s desire,

maybe,

maybe that’s why the show never stops,

a continuous dance,

because we like it,

repeating,

we know,

we can always be sure of one thing,

the circle of life,

the nature of animals,

the dance,

the way,

of the seasons.

Vroom Vroom

The car screeches across the asphalt and I groan under my breath as I press myself to the seat. The ringing of police sirens fills my ears, and if I’m even more unlucky, I might go deaf. I press my sandaled foot to the pedal, screeching at the same time the car does. It makes a strange sound and I notice I’ll have to get that checked out. Add that to my agenda, as if it wasn’t full enough already.

I squint and turn my head to the side, gripping the wheel and leaning forward. I’m on an unlucky streak. When I got my driver’s license, my supposed friends made me drive us to Las Vegas, where we would party for a week or three to celebrate this newfound freedom. Freedom isn’t all it’s cracked up to be though, especially when all of your friends think it’s a good idea to trash a casino with celebrities hanging out in it, for example, Katy Perry or Justin Bieber, who they may or may not have screamed at multiple times and gambled with. And lost your money. And then when they continuously scream at you-

“DRIVE!” Barley shouts into my ear, and I nudge him in the ribs. He’s riding shotgun next to me, but Madeline is leaning forward to yell at me too from the backseat.

But who cares where they’re sitting? It doesn’t matter right now, as we’ve already done something illegal.

I press the pedal harder, looking into the mirror at the cops. Lights flash by me, blue and red and green and yellow, all the colors in the rainbow blended to brightness that brings tears to my eyes. Barley rolls down the windows and I know it will be soon that we’ll be sweating as the hot air slams our faces.

“Air conditioning, Yasmine?” Madeline begs, but I shake my head breathlessly as the city flashes by us. Or maybe we flash by the city, I can’t tell. “Mad, we’re in a car chase in probably one of the craziest cities in the world. I’m beginning to know why we call you Mad.”

She rolls her eyes but keeps looking forwards, twitching nervously. I control my breathing and watch the array of colors smooth by. We crash through the parade, but thankfully don’t run anybody over. We’re in enough trouble. Barley yells a warning and I quickly avert the civilians with weird hair and colorful clothes and terribly applied makeup. And lots of bald guys that have the city lights reflecting on their shiny heads.

“This is bad,” Barley says tersely.

I roll my eyes. “Did that just occur to you? You can’t fool Barley, oh no! He might not look like the brightest crayon in the box-”
“Yasmine, one more insult about my intelligence and I’ll throw you out of this car,” He warns. I wave the remark off with my free, sweaty hand, but then attach it onto the wheel again.

“It’s my car. Good luck outrunning the cops.”

The wind whips my hair that has large, rainbow streaks dyed in it. Mad screams as people dart out of our way, clearing a path for another large car.

“Get ready to swerve it,” I inform my friends, making another unwise, stupid decision of a large array of unwise, stupid decisions.

“Oh, no,” Barley says hoarsely. “No. Yasmine, you’re not going to-”
“Shut up, Barely,” Mad chimes, leaning forward and grabbing his arm and screaming as we dart around the car, and I wince as we keep going. My instructor told me I was an excellent driver. I am, when I’m not in the midst of fear.

I wipe my rainbowed hair out of my eyes.

“We done?” Mad asks, trembling.

“Car chases never finish, oh dear Madeline.”

The Portal of Fiction

Crystal woke up, finding herself in her bedroom. It was quite dreary in her room, so she turned on the lamp. She grabbed a book from her desk. It was a Heroes of Olympus book by Rick Riordan called The Blood of Olympus. She was very fond of this book. It had so many twists and surprises which kept her at the edge of her seat. Crystal sat down near her lamp, turned it on to a dim light and started reading in the shadows. She wished that the characters in her book were real. But they’re in a fictional world, Crystal thought. And I’m here, in reality. She continued to read. She was at the part where three characters— Leo, Frank, and Hazel —were meeting Apollo and Artemis to seek help. Crystal glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 6:30 a.m., so Crystal decided to get ready to go to school. She put her homework in her backpack, and then put her book in there, too. Half an hour passed. Crystal exited her house, and walked towards the bus stop. She looked up at the gloomy sky.

“I wish that the characters in my book were real,” Crystal said, still staring at the ominous sky as if her wish would come true. She thought that her wish would never come true, but she was wrong. After one month, Crystal’s wish came to life.

 

It was May. Crystal had finished her book a while ago. Her wish was still in mind, but she was convinced that it wouldn’t happen. She looked outside, and it seemed pretty warm out, the usual spring weather. She texted her friend: Hey do you want to go running 2day? Her friend didn’t reply, so Crystal continued to stare out the window. It was suddenly cloudy and windy, as if the sun decided that Crystal’s neighborhood wasn’t worthy enough to shine on. She raced down the stairs to get a snack.

“Real sunny, don’t you think? You should go running with one of your friends,” Crystal’s dad said. Crystal raised an eyebrow.

“Dad, it’s cloudy and really windy right now. Not the right weather for running,” Crystal replied. Her dad looked outside and shook his head.

“It’s still sunny out, Crystal. Take a look,” Crystal’s dad said. She took a look. It was still windy, and she pointed that out. Her dad took a picture with his phone and showed the picture to Crystal. The sun shined brightly.

“What? But it’s….” Crystal decided not to argue anymore. I guess that if it really is nice outside I could go for a walk, Crystal thought. She put on her running shoes and went out onto her porch. It was still really windy, but this time it was stronger. The wind caused her to fly out of her porch and onto hard cement, far away from her beloved home. The wind was even stronger there, because this was where the wind was coming from. Crystal looked up and saw a giant shape over six feet tall. The exterior was amazing. With obsidian outlines, the shape was made out of diamonds. At the edges were…Percy Jackson books? Crystal discovered that the shape she was staring at…was a portal. Purple and blue sparks were everywhere, and inside the rectangle she could see hills and trees.

“I’m going in,” Crystal said. With her foot shaking, she stepped inside the portal.

 

Crystal did not want to leave. The first thought that entered her mind was, “Woah.” Across the meadow she could see a familiar pathway. Crystal approached an entrance, reading the words carved on the arch. “CAMP HALF-BLOOD,” she read. Her eyes widened and were as big as quarters. No way. Even if this was real, I can only pass if I’m a demigod, Crystal thought. She decided to step in anyway. However, Crystal passed. She stood there, shocked. A boy quickly approached to snap her back into reality.

“A new demigod? Did a satyr take you or…” The boy stopped talking as a centaur approached.

“Percy, remember that the barrier is broken. She could be a mortal. Remember that.”

Crystal gasped as the centaur said those words.

You’re Percy Jackson?! Wait… it all makes sense…” Crystal thought for a moment. In the books, Percy was described as a tall boy with sea green eyes and black ruffled hair. This boy had met all of the criteria.  And the centaur was probably Chiron! Before Crystal could say anything, Percy replied.

“Um, yeah I am Percy Jackson. Listen, I really don’t care if you’re a mortal, but we need all the help we can get.” Crystal had a puzzled look on her face.

“Huh?” she asked. Chiron sighed.

“Luke Castellan has returned, with a so called ‘friend,’” he explained. Crystal’s eyes widened, and if anyone looked closely they might have seen the fear in her brown eyes.

What?! B-but Luke’s good now, right? I mean, he stabbed himself in his Achilles’ heel in order to stop Kronos.”

In The Last Olympian, Luke Castellan was the hero of the great prophecy all along, and had turned to the good side at the last second. Chiron went silent, not even bothering to answer Crystal’s question.

“Percy, just… Tell Annabeth that we have a newcomer and uh, show her around. Crystal needs some armor, a weapon and a lot of training,” Chiron muttered. Percy nodded and motion for Crystal to follow him.

“Are you diagnosed with ADHD?” Percy asked, and Crystal knew exactly why he had asked it― it helped demigods fight monsters. She nodded.

“Yeah. Really stinks, but now I guess it can help me fight Luke and his sidekick,” Crystal replied, smiling to keep up the spirit. Percy smiled back, but Crystal could immediately tell that the smile was forced.

 

Camp Half Blood was packed. Even though Crystal had read all about the storage room for battle gear, she was still amazed. Daggers and swords were stacked against the walls, and hanging armor caught Crystal’s eye. She studied a celestial bronze sword, and she could tell that it was one of her favorites. Earlier, Percy had gotten Annabeth, a close companion, to show Crystal around camp, mainly because he needed to talk to Annabeth eyed Crystal examining the gleaming blade.

“I have a feeling that that sword is the one for you, Crystal. I know it,” Annabeth said with a lopsided smile. While touching the sharp sword, Crystal nodded.

“Yeah… I’ll pick this one.” Crystal replied, and Annabeth nodded back.

“Take it. Anyway, Crystal, what’s home like to you? I want to get a good backstory, like, I want to get to know you,” Annabeth said. Crystal sighed, remembering how earlier she explained her world to Annabeth.

“I kind of miss home, even though I’ve only been here for a few hours. Like, what’s happening back in my world? Hey, that reminds me… Will I ever get back home?” she asked. Now it was Annabeth’s turn to sigh.

“To be honest, I really don’t know, but I have done some calculations… ” Annabeth took out a folded piece of paper from her pocket.

“According to this paper, you got here through a portal, bringing you to this world. The difference between our world is that you’re reality and we’re from a book. Crystal, how exactly is that true? I’m not fictional, I’m a true being, I’m living a life,” Annabeth said with a puzzled look on her face.

“Well it’s hard to explain, you know? You’re part of this book series called― ” A rumbling sound interrupted Crystal’s reply. Demigods shouted their battle cries while raising their weapons. Some frantically rushed into the storage room, the same exact place where Crystal and Annabeth were, and grabbed armor.

“What’s going on?!” Annabeth screamed over the noise. Clarisse turned to her.

“Luke’s arrived, nit-wit! Get in gear!” Clarisse yelled back. Crystal remembered how Clarisse and Annabeth didn’t get along as well.

“What do I do?” she asked Annabeth, hoping she could hear her over the roaring noise. She seemed to hear her perfectly.

“Grab your sword. It’s time for your first battle!”

 

Battle was horror. Everyone was screaming or yelling, while some of the demigod leaders were trying to get control. Crystal could see Luke’s figure. He was tall and no longer wore a Camp Half-Blood shirt. By his side was a much smaller figure. Squinting, Crystal could see the figure’s features. He also had blonde hair, and dug his knife through a teddy bear. Crystal’s face fell. The ‘sidekick’ was Octavian, the main villain of the Heroes of Olympus series. She found Percy yelling at his peers, so she grabbed his arm when she had the chance.

“That guy with Luke is Octavian! He wants to take over our camp and he’s not Greek!” Crystal hissed. Percy’s face was blank.

“Then what is he? A mortal?” He asked.

“No, Roman! It’s really hard to―” Before she could finish, Octavian’s voice boomed through the air.

“Listen up, you stupid Greeks! I have a whole camp with me, and I finally convinced them that Greeks are dumb and do nothing for us Romans!” Demigods murmured after he had said those very words. Octavian continued to speak.

“Many Romans had objected, and said that I was wrong. What are their names? Oh, Jason, Reyna, Hazel, and Frank. I plan on killing them, after I take over this camp! Romans— ATTACK!” Swords flew through the air.

Someone grabbed Crystal. She turned around to see who it was, and it was Percy.

“We need to talk about this alone,” he said seriously. They turned to escape the battle, but two Romans approached. Percy took out his pen and opened it, revealing his sword, Riptide.

“Get out,” he growled at the Romans. They took out their swords and slashed at Percy. He dodged it right away and pulled Crystal’s arm, but the Romans wouldn’t let her pass. They slashed at her too and she almost was cut badly. She grabbed her sword and swung it at them as hard as she could.

“Curse you, Greek. All of you belong in Tartarus! You’re weak anyways. Ryan and I can take you both down.” The Roman had spoke in a gruff voice, and had also cursed under his breath. Ryan, nodded. They were both distracted and was focusing on Crystal. Right behind them, Percy swung Riptide and the Romans cursed.

“Dang it Greek!” Ryan yelled and slashed back, giving Percy a huge cut. The other Roman hit Crystal, and she screamed as she fell to the ground. Before she passed out, she only had one thought left in her mind. I want to go home.

 

“Crystal, it’s okay.” She heard these words spoken by a familiar voice— Percy’s voice. Crystal got up, and saw that she was in the infirmary.

“Oh, hey. You weren’t hit as badly as… others,” Percy spoke weakly. She turned around and saw what Percy meant. Campers were groaning in pain, and the Apollo kids were doing the best they could to help.

“The sword hit you, but it’s a small cut. I think I knocked down those Romans, though.” Percy didn’t say anything else. Just then, Will Solace, a well known Apollo kid, had walked up to Percy.

“I’ve had it!” Will yelled. “Those stupid people, the Romans, are freaking killing us. We’re losing a whole bunch of people!” Annabeth walked up.

“He’s right. Many demigods were killed. Anyway, I was eavesdropping on Octavian and Luke. They’re planning a bigger attack by the end of the month,” Annabeth informed. Another Apollo kid raced up to Will and whispered something to his ear. Will frowned, and said nothing for a minute or two.

“Annabeth, this is really hard to say but—”

“What?!” Annabeth interrupted with a concerned face. He sighed, and finally replied back.

“Your half-brother died in battle. It was Malcolm… Sorry Annabeth..” Will drifted off. Annabeth was silent. Crystal could see a tear rolling down her cheek. Malcolm was the second in command in the Athena cabin. He had done so much for Annabeth. He’d lead the Athena cabin to battle while Annabeth was with Percy. Percy embraced Annabeth, and she cried. Even Crystal felt like crying, because she knew what it was like to lose family. When she was two years old, her mom was in a car accident. Everyday, Crystal would ask her dad: “When will Mommy come home?” Her dad would leave the room, and she would hear faint crying sounds. After a week, her dad would stop leaving the room, and say: “She went on a trip, Crystal. Just a few more days and she’ll be home, I promise.” Of course, this promise was always broken. When Crystal grew older, she understood that her mom took a drive to heaven, and was going to stay there forever.

Annabeth raged.

“No matter what, Greeks will completely destroy these Romans!” Annabeth yelled loudly. Percy flinched, as she was right next to him. Crystal decided to say something supportive, but instead she said something else.

“I need to go home!” Crystal blurted out. No one really cared too much about what she said, except for Percy and Annabeth.

“You sure? I mean, you have potential you know…” Annabeth was about to say many reasons why Crystal was needed, but Percy cut her off.

“Sure. I mean, after all, this isn’t your home. Annabeth can calculate when the portal could be opened, and you can go home,” he said. Of course, Annabeth disapproved, and she pulled him aside for a little talk. Even though they were at the back of the infirmary, Crystal was still able to hear them.

“She can’t leave, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth insisted. “We need her. She’s important.”

“It’s her choice, Wise Girl,” Percy shot back. “Besides, no mortal can be used to having battles every five minutes.” He grinned when she finally gave in. They returned to Crystal.

“As soon as I know where the portal will appear, you can travel home,” Annabeth said. Crystal felt like smiling, but couldn’t. She really wanted to know how the fight would turn out. After all, she was the only one who knew information about the Romans or Octavian. Then again, she wasn’t that brave and wasn’t a risk taker. She could never stand a chance against Luke. Annabeth sat down, writing equations about the portal arrival and whatnot.

“You can head to my cabin if you want. You might as well explore the camp, actually. I’ll come with you,” Percy said to Crystal.They exited the infirmary and looked at the cabins of the demigods. The cabins were all in the shape of a U. Crystal explored each cabin, but her smile immediately dropped when she saw the Athena cabin. She heard faint crying sounds, and she knew why the demigods were crying— because of the death of Malcolm.

Putting his hand on her shoulder, Percy said, “We shouldn’t bother them.”

Crystal agreed. They left, and bumped into Tyson, Percy’s half brother who was also a cyclops.

“Hi brother!” Tyson said cheerfully.

“Who is your friend?” Percy chuckled.

“This is Crystal,” he said. Tyson nodded, and spoke about working in Poseidon’s underwater palace. It took a few minutes, and then Annabeth suddenly raced up to Percy.

“Seaweed Brain, I figured it out. In about a few days, the portal will arrive, and Crystal can get home,” she said. Crystal came up to her,with her face all red.

“A few freaking days?! I need to go home now!” she yelled. Annabeth backed away from her.

“Sorry, but it’s just the portal’s arrival and speed. I can’t change that for your needs.” She stalked off into the Athena cabin, and everyone could hear her trying to calm down her cabin mates.

“Where do I sleep?” Crystal groaned.

“You can sleep in the Hermes cabin,” Percy suggested.

“Fine,” Crystal mumbled. “When do I get home?”

“Don’t ask me.” He shrugged. Percy left, as it was getting late. Crystal decided to get some rest. She introduced herself to the eight people in the Hermes cabin. There would usually be a lot more, but too many of the demigods were killed. Crystal felt uncomfortable in her bed, but managed to get some sleep. It was a very dreamless sleep.

 

Days passed by. Crystal spent most of her time training. She was taught how to use her sword properly by Percy. Sometimes Annabeth would come by, asking about the Romans. She also tried bringing up what Crystal had said about her being in a book, but Crystal often changed the subject. She didn’t know what to say, and the thought process behind it drove her crazy. How exactly were fictional characters real? Crystal had decided not to think about it. After four days, Annabeth calculated that the portal would come in the afternoon, near the entrance to Camp Half-Blood. Once she had told Crystal, she had never seen such happiness from someone else. Crystal waited out until the portal had come. She checked her watch: 11:52 p.m. She glanced further through the field, and gasped. The Romans had come back.

“Oh my Gods!” Crystal screamed. “They’re coming right now!” Other yelled while pushing through into the storage area, and other groaned, clearly annoyed of the incoming event. Soon enough there was a whole battle going on.

“What the freaking heck Greeks, we beat you last time! Stop trying to fight us.” Octavion groaned, while Luke looked disgusted to have a partner like him. A portal zapped at the entrance. Crystal immediately ran towards it. She had stopped when she heard a terrifying yell. It was Percy. Luke smiled for a few seconds, but had frowned.

“What the hell!” Luke yelled at the Roman demigod. “I wanted him alive!” Crystal stood there, with her mouth wide open.

“Percy!” Annabeth screamed, pushing through. No one paid attention, they just kept fighting each other. Crystal came racing too, worried about her favorite character in the series.

“Fight, Annabeth. This is really dumb to die at a time like this, huh?” Percy mumbled.

“Seaweed Brain! You drive me crazy with those words! Here have some―” Annabeth started to get ambrosia, but Crystal stopped her.

“It’s too late,” she whimpered. “Percy’s dead.”

 

Annabeth cried. She was sobbing nonstop. She looked up to see Luke Castellan standing above her. He still had his scar, running down to his chin.

“Sorry,” he said. “I wanted him stay alive but hey, battle is battle.” Luke clenched his teeth together. Crystal tried hard not to punch his face. Annabeth turned to her.

“What are you doing?! The portal!” She reminded her. Alarmed, Crystal headed straight for the obsidian shape she had once saw. One foot was in.

“This is not what Apollo wanted!” Will Solace yelled at the top of his lungs. Octavian was a son of Apollo too.

“Kill the demigod scum,” Octavian said cruelly. At once, Romans had stabbed at Will, leaving him to die.

This world is vicious, Crystal thought. Too much violence. She shut her eyes. I need to help this place overcome this terrible battle. I choose not to go home. One foot was out. Taking her sword, she yelled, stabbing as many enemies as she could.

“Stop!” Luke Castellan said to her. Taking her arm, he shoved her into the empty Hermes cabin.

“We need to beat that stupid Octavian. He is unbearable!” Luke said sharply.

“Don’t you want to take over the Greeks and Romans? Or destroy Mount Olympus?” Crystal gritted her teeth. Luke rolled his eyes in return.

“Listen, I know that was all a big mistake. But Octavian is crazy. His orders are terrible, and he’s getting on my nerves. Some darn kid barking at me? Ugh,” he said, followed by a curse. Crystal wanted to believe him, but she still wasn’t so sure. Luke seemed to know what she was thinking.

“You want some proof that I’m against Octavian? Jason, Reyna, Hazel, and Frank! Come out,” Luke said. The four people shuffled out from a hidden wall.

“Luke!” Jason said with a frown. “There’s a demigod right there, we could get caught!” Crystal rolled her eyes. Jason was her least favorite character out of the series.

“Don’t worry, she’s with us, idiot,” Luke said while shaking his head. He turned to her.

“These are the Romans that think that us Greeks aren’t so bad,” he explained.

“Octavian is a terrible praetor. He isn’t even a praetor, he just thinks he is,” Reyna muttered to herself.

“So, you guys must have vital information on the Greeks,” Crystal guessed. Everyone nodded except for Luke.

“They’ll be able to help. Anyways, you guys get back to your wall. I need to talk to Crystal.” Luke shooed them away like animals. The Romans rolled their eyes and went back into their secret base. Pulling Crystal’s arm, Luke took her outside of the cabin. He looked down at his feet right away, after he saw the terrible damage the Romans had done. The Apollo kids were working harder than ever, getting the demigods to the infirmary. Annabeth continued to cry, right until Luke approached. Tears were still in her eyes, but she managed not to be so loud.

“Your soldiers killed…” she was not able to finish that sentence.

“I wanted him alive! Don’t you think that I care, Annabeth? I’ve cared for a long time, but Octavian had gotten the best of me. I have heard that Thalia had died, Annabeth. I’m broken.” Luke hung his head in shame. Crystal was mortified. Thalia was a very good friend of Annabeth and Luke, and now she was dead.

“I’m so sorry,” Crystal said shakily. How many times has she said that? The fictional world was terrible to its people living in it. Suddenly a horrible thought struck her. What if I die?

 

Training was important. Crystal trained every day, slowly becoming better and better. Percy was no longer there to help her. The incoming battle was so important that no demigod had any time to mourn, or to even do a proper burial. Annabeth did perform a burial ceremony for Percy’s body, but it was just by herself. Crystal stayed around, but she decided to train some more. Days passed, turned into weeks. Months came around. The Romans decided to attack a bit further into the year. The Romans that had declared a truce stayed in hiding, but trained too. Luke decided to teach Crystal about strategies in battle. This had made her improve a lot. Later that week, the Romans attacked.

 

Octavian turned up, as expected.

“We have come, once and for all! Attack, Romans!” Octavian screamed. Luke turned to Crystal.

“We need to get to Octavian. Don’t mind the others,” he said quietly. Crystal nodded, and soon they were hiding. Octavian was near, so Crystal was very scared.

“Get the onager!” Octavian called. “It’ll blow up these Greeks for sure!” Luke frowned, but Crystal whispered her plan to him. In The Blood of Olympus, Octavian had died due to his toga tied to the onager. When it fired, he flew through the sky and died. First, Luke had to find a way to get the Romans on their side, not Octavian’s.

“Crystal, sneak up and tie Octavian’s toga to the onager. Tyson will impersonate Octavian with his voice, so the Romans will be lured away. I’ll distract him,” Luke whispered. He went off without even bothering to listen to Crystal’s thoughts. That didn’t matter anyway, as she thought it was flawless. It got passed on quickly to Tyson. Luke made some awkward noises, and lured Octavian away. Tyson knew that it was the time to act.

“Hey! Get over on those rocks over there!” Tyson barked. “We’ll get a much better view of the death of our enemies!” The Romans seemed to hear, and they went over to the rocks. Demigods ambushed them, and they were cornered. They cursed, but no one could hear or care over the noise. Luke then motioned for Crystal to sneak in.

“Octavian, get further towards the onager,” he said. “I’ll teach you where to aim perfectly.” Octavian nodded, and Crystal cheered in her mind. He fell for the bait! He didn’t seem to notice Crystal. She quickly tied his toga on the onager.

“Why do you want to take over the two sides?!” Luke said loudly. Octavian rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. I want to prove that I am superior. I hate these two sides, and the Romans are really dumb sometimes!” Octavian quickly covered her mouth, as everyone had turned silent to his words.

“I uh, didn’t…” Romans yelled and screamed at Octavian and surged forward to kill him.

“Crystal, now!” Luke screamed. She powered the onager, and Octavian was soon flying through the sky with a girlish scream.

“Good work!” He said, and then hugged her. She wanted to say so many things, but suddenly the portal zapped in.

“What? No! I can’t go home now.. I just..” Crystal tried to say something, but couldn’t. The portal had already sucked her in.

 

Crystal stood at her porch. Coming inside her house, she could here her dad crying.

“Missing children.. My child was missing..” Her dad murmured.

“Dad?” He turned to Crystal. He didn’t say anything. He just ran to hug her.

Thieves of the Sea (Excerpt)

Chapter 3

 

*Gawain*

 

“Meet me where the sky touches the sea

Wait for me where the world begins”

 

I felt lost in another world. Time flew by, and I didn’t know how to count the minutes that had passed. A startling atmosphere hung in the air. I couldn’t remember what had happened. Am I dead? Is this how heaven feels? Like an endless, blank room? Everything was plain white. It damaged my eyes to see nothing but one color, but I couldn’t give up. This was just an obstacle I had to pass through. I made up my mind to search this unusual place.

I had been walking for what seemed like hours. My eyes were sore, so were my feet. If I was lost, I wouldn’t know. I had wished more than once that Jak were here. He was my savior, for he always knew what to do.

Finding the situation hopeless, I put myself into Jak’s shoes.

“What would Jak do?” I asked myself. Pondering on this question seemed doltish.

But indubitably, it was quite obvious. Emptying my pocket letting coins and other junk tumble out and onto the white floor.

I chose a few items and placed them as my markers and continued to explore placing a marker every few yards.

Jak had taught me all about what to do if you find yourself lost. He inspired me to keep items in my pocket for safety.

Dreaming in the process of marking, I failed to notice that my markings had shifted in the place of a circle.

“What the–”

But I didn’t have time to finish my statement before the inside of the hole became a purple storm. A feeling inside me told me I had to jump. Whether the hunger had gone to my head, or I was just normally insane, I jumped.

I thought my leg would sink through the cloud, but I was shocked when I landed softly like a feather on a pillow.

“This isn’t so bad,” I said as I watched the clouds slowly sink down, and the top of the hole close. “Perhaps this is the new land I had been searching for!”

But of course I was nowhere close.

It had seemed all delightful at first, but my heart had skipped a beat causing me to choke when the clouds dropped me in a dark tunnel. My eye couldn’t focus, and my hand was invisible in front of my face.

My back hit the ground hard, and in an instance, I was moving in an incredibly fast pace down the slope. Light soon found its way in the tunnel lighting it up. Stalagmites hung from above sparkling with due.

I felt my stomach rumbling and had been wishing for the ride to be over after many quick dodges from death.

I pointed my heel down and tried slowing down. Dust flew in the chilly air and went down my lungs. I gagged and fell flat on my back causing it to make an awful sound as I bellowed in pain.

Giving up, no longer feeling like Jak, I allowed myself to slide the rest of the way down, shutting my eyes.

I wasn’t scared, if that’s what you are thinking. I was just tired…..

 

I opened my eyes slowly, as if expecting something — or someone — to jump at me. Instead I saw a room. The room itself felt like it was part of a house. A family room perhaps.The proof I saw to help prove my point was a fireplace that stood in the center, and a brown, furnished table built of wood that had seemed recently polished.

The table had nothing but a large china plate with a dozen pieces of bread covered in the finest honey that glimmered in the light. The table wobbled at my touch as I leaned on top of it to get a better whiff.

My mouth began to water. The orphanage had been given a jar of honey as a reward for taking such good care of one of the parents who adopted a girl named Melitta. But that was before the death of Mr. Floros.

I remember how fine the honey was. It was sweet in my mouth and softened my throat that was painful.

This honey, however, was golden and seemed to be pressuring me to reach out and eat it.

I couldn’t help but reach out and grab the one farthest away from me, and stuff it in my mouth. The honey was all that mattered in that minute of delectable goodness.

I hadn’t noticed that my eyes were closed. It came as a real shock to me when I opened them to see the whole room empty, just as I tried to reach for a second helping of bread and honey, but that was missing as well.

I nearly tripped over the dead rat that sat beneath where the table used to sit.

I got down onto one knee to study it. What had caused his death? I hadn’t seen him before. Was what I seen before an illusion? Am I stuck here for eternity like the rat?

Near the mouth of the rat’s, was his front teeth inserted in a piece of bread. Honey slathered all over his poor, lifeless body.

Questions threw themselves at me as I tried to solve what was currently happening.

Looking around once more. The table missing, as well as the china plate, and the fireplace. It was missing. It couldn’t have sprouted legs and ran away! Or could it? No. It couldn’t. I kicked myself for having been so lousy.

I was stuck in an empty room with nothing. I was done for. I would die of starvation if I wasn’t dead already. I was ready to sulk when I heard a faint tinkling music behind me. I turned around alert for anything. In the distance I saw a round mirror.

It had a gold frame, and pearls every two inches. The glass was polished and sparkling. Golden vines seemed to be entwined in the frame. Words can not describe its remarkable beauty that I saw that day.

As I inched forward, the mirror’s light seemed to have been radiating the sun’s glare. I managed to step forward. I was deeply startled when I did not see my reflection in the glass. Was it a fluke? I had no idea on how this mirror appeared so suddenly. Could it hear my desperation? Was it magic? I wanted to find out as soon as possible, which meant now.

I marched towards it, and brought forth my hand and let my fingers and the mirror collide together. The mirror was cold, and smooth. My fingers slid onto the frame tracing every mark. It was then, when I was caught off guard, did the mirror cast a deadly beam of light. So bright it was, I nearly went blind.

“Who dares to awake me?” said a bold voice coming from within. I licked my lips which had dried and tried to responded although it was hard to think of the right words to say when you’re still trying to figure out how an ordinary mirror can talk.

I could feel it deep down that I would regret offending this powerful object.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you,” I apologized, taking a step back.

“Ahh. Gawain Michel. Pleasure to meet you.”

I was starstruck! How did it know my name? The name of a poor orphan boy.

“Pardon me, but how do you know my name?” I asked, checking behind it to assure myself no one else was here besides me.

“You will find no one there, boy,” she said which made me blush. I hope it didn’t look rude.

“To answer your question, I am The Mirror Queen of them all! I know everything that has happened, is happening, or will happen. I know everyone by name! Every place that has been discovered or not. And I am immortal, to live forever in the souls of every hero. I never shall die or decay,” it fumed.

“Are you going to kill me?” I addressed her…or him.

The mirror laughed with it’s lights blinking on and off.

“I would love to!-” it replied.

I stiffened.

“-But sadly I can not. You see, you have heard my tinkling noise. Only thee who hear it’s beautiful sound can see this very mirror, which is I. Mirror Queen. Therefore I can not kill you because you are the special one. My soul lives within you. And I can foretell that you have an important mission.”

I tried not to show it, but I was relieved that The Mirror Queen wouldn’t kill me. Although, I still had a question, but I didn’t know how to ask. I didn’t know if I even wanted to know-

“Ask me little one. I can hear your thoughts,” she interrupted.

” I-I was wondering, your majesty-” I bowed, “What would have happened if I didn’t hear your tinkling wonder?”

I didn’t know how, because this is all so hard to explain, but I could sense that she was blushing because I had felt a happiness inside me that did not belong to me..

“Well, if you hadn’t heard my tinkling-” she began. “That would have meant you had eaten the wrong dessert. You would have chosen the poisoned bread and honey. If you ask me, you have powerful instincts and I would advise listening to them. Tell me, boy, how you chose it, I’m pondering on how you survived. For nine out of the twelve are deadly. Two out of the twelve would open your eyes to allow you to see what is real, and depending on which of the two you chose, you may have even possessed power.”

“What did it do to me. Can you tell me which one I drank?” I begged ignoring her question.

“Unfortunately, darling, I can not allow you to divulge in what could have or has done to you, for the fates will not allow me to reveal such private facts. I am terribly sorry.”

I was confused and didn’t want to have to solve or be involved with the fates, but I did not let that show.

“Thank You Mirror Queen, but where am I? I thought I was dead at first, but now I-I don’t know!”

“You are in a dream, dearest boy. You are to awaken soon if you follow my command.”

“Of course!” I promised.

The mirror began to swirl in the colors of yellow, and purple.

“You must step through this portal. It will take most of the power invested in me, but I will manage. You will find yourself surrounded by my swirls of colors. Once you are in you must say one wish. Once you speak of it, it will appear on the walls and become real for a temporary amount of time.”

“The spirits will ask of you to step in, they will make promises they can not keep, but you must not! It is all an illusion,” she warned. “Instead you must resist the temptation. Instead you must destroy your dream. Here.”

A golden sword of similar color appeared out of thin air in front of me. My fingers found their way to the handle. I gaped at its wonder.

“Now go! There is a girl who is awaiting your awakening. You are both in trouble, and need to leave the premises! Best of luck, Special One.”

I didn’t want to risk leaving and dying, but my legs refused to listen and began to walk forward and into the portal.

“Will I ever see you again?” I asked.

She let out a soft laugh of sweet happiness. “All in a times come, boy. In the future, if you are to survive that is, we will see one another again most certainly. Although you may not be pleased to see me.”

I had disappeared as The Mirror Queen had recited her last word. I was blinded by the colors I had seen earlier. The swirls seemed to be coming closer. I didn’t have to even think about my wish because every star I ever saw, or every opportunity I could find to pray, or every birthday wish from my candle, I would always wish for the exact thing.

“My biggest wish is to have a family of my very own. Someone to love and hold in sad moments. That is my biggest wish!” I shouted through the swirls of colors that were inches away from touching my skin.

“We hear your wish, foolish child,” many voices hissed in usion. “And we can give it to you with no pay at all. All you must do is step throu-”

“Be quiet!” I shouted in a rude voice. “I know all you want to do is to feed on my blood, and feast on my bones. I will not step through the swirls!”

“Ahh, but you will change your mind. See here! This is what you can have.”

The swirling stopped. The room turned into an image of me having a picnic with a lovely woman and a handsome man. They were smiling into each others eyes. the woman — who I guessed was my mother — had brown eyes like me, and brown hair falling down her shoulders as she bit into her apple. She was wearing a tired grey dress with an apron tied around her that matched the the bonnet she had on.

The man had a brown mustache that matched his hair. He had blue eyes that were really quite sharp. He wore wrinkled clothing. I guessed that he was my father. Then there was I. I looked much handsomer, and less tired. I was chasing a little girl who I guess is my little sister. She looked like a miniature me, except for the girl part, and blonde hair.

I wanted to step through the picture. I wanted to be part of the scene. I didn’t care what The Mirror Queen had to say. I was ready to walk through the portal when the spirit awoke me.

“Yes. Yes. that’s it,” it hissed happily.

The scene was a trance! I didn’t actually want to cross! But it made no sense. Could it…be magic? No. It must be a dream. And to think of how sad I would be if that wish were to come true and be gone when I awake.

Pain would wash me. I took one last look at the scene. Without thinking I slashed off all the heads in the picture. Their eyes rolled to the back of their head as blood rained down.

The swirling stopped abruptly. I encouraged a smile to be plastered upon my bloody face. I awaited for something unusual to happen. Not that this or anything else that happened was unusual, but something to top it off.

My smile faded into an angry scowl. I was so caught up in my thoughts that if it hadn’t been for the slight creak in the floor, I would have died.

A devilish man with horns protruding from his head, and fangs that peeked out of his mouth, with a body of a horse came running with a silver sword towards me. The man was taking aim, and threw his sword. I was able to dodge out of the way saving my life, but my arm was severely scraped. Blood poured out of the wound, and onto the floor.

I held my arm in agony. “Why?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“My brothers and I haven’t eaten in ages, my dear. You are the first to come in over two centuries. I bet we can hide the fact that you’re a bit too skinny towards the belly, but I think we can manage,” he hissed.

Still on the ground holding my wound with a bloody hand, I managed to swipe my sword at him, missing by feets.

“Well done! You were able to stab the floor! I am impressed,” he mocked inching closer.

I was now swordless. I tried to think of a solution. I made a move of trying to grab my sword, but he blocked me off. If I were to reach down for it, I would loose my head with a flick of a wrist.

The sword was too far to reach it with my foot. If only there was another way! The man only continued to inch forward.

“Where are your brothers?” I asked, trying to spare myself some time.

“Where they should be. Lurking in the shadows awaiting for the right time to attack. Because like The Mirror Queen, we too are immortal.”

I searched for his brothers. I couldn’t locate any shadows. Where could the demons be?

“I find it cute, foolish one, that you can not seek them when they are right above your nose!” the man sneered.

Above my nose? My body stiffened as I looked above me. There on the ceiling lay more than a hundred demons. Each one unique in bad ways. One of them had three eyes and two holes for a nose, and no mouth.They were each a horrible sight, one worse after another.

“And you know what surprises me, foolish one?” the Devil asked. “Is that you have no idea of the power you contain. With one bite from you, I could possess all the power you maintain. Wouldn’t that be incredible.”

What could he be talking about? But I push my thoughts aside, for he was no more than five feet away from where I stood, as his brothers had almost reached my head.

“And who may you be, wanting to own my power. I bet you have loads. What could mine possibly be that you don’t have?” I countered. I was pleased on my come back.

“You joke! How dare you. I am your worst nightmare. The one that hides under your bed. They have many names for me, but I call myself the devil. The Queen must have told you. Well, screw her. You know that I have no power. That by simply devouring you I have enough to destroy, your majesty, while she is in her weak state. That’s what you get for helping others!” he whined.

I wanted to smile that he had no powers. It felt special at the moment, but I yet had no plan! He was close. Too close. If I were to outstretched my arm I could touch him, but I would have to be mad to do such thing.

“But aren’t I in a dream? You can’t kill me if I’m asleep,” I challenged him in a sassy one.

The Devil chuckled. It sounded deep and scary, and it echoed through the room.

“But that’s exactly how I receive your power. In your dreams. If I were to kill you now,” he said grabbing my chin tenderly. “Then you will — poof — disappear. Your soul with fly out of you, and on it’s way to heaven when I, the devil, will interfere — of course — and breathe you in where you will go to my kingdom. The most miserable, and feared place that the world will ever face. Lovely story, isn’t it?”

The Devil was already by my side. The sword lay on the ground. The Devil was on the opposite side from me. If I could be quick, then I could succeed.

Feeling better with a plan in mind, I took action. I jumped to the opposite side of the Devil and grabbed the sword. I was feeling a moment of bliss, when I fell to the floor. There was a heavy object weighing me down. It was the same color as the devil, but much more horrible. It had no eyes or nose, just one, wretched mouth. It’s body weighed me down as much as it could. I was being crushed.

Out of instinct and pure luck, I was able to dodge a few punches and stabs by the demon’s dagger. Out of pure frustration he meant to stab me, but I was able to lift my back high enough to pass it, but when I saw the opportunity dangling of the demons back, I took it. I opened my mouth wide enough and bit him. Of course to him, who had skin made out of iron, felt nothing but a pinch. Although startled at such a silly attempt, tried to shake me off.

Seeing my chance, I rolled out of the way, although my feet were still stuck underneath his weight. Without thinking much on what to do, I sent him a powerful kick on the back, causing him to drop his dagger.

I picked up the dagger that was bloodred. I stared at this object flashing before me with great beauty. A hand blindly attempted to search for it on the ground. I stabbed the it, pushing as hard as I dared to go. The hand was too large to be pierced all the way through, but enough to break his scaly skin. But I didn’t stop there, I pulled the dagger out. Green blood came pouring out. It flooded the ground, inches away from where I sat.

I let my dagger lead me, and I came so close to the demon’s heart. I hesitated on pushing it forward. I didn’t think I was capable of such criminal intention! Yet I had to do it.

I stabbed the demon’s body with his own dagger. I felt such burning guilt fill me inside. The demon shriveled up, becoming weightless.

The words: I had just killed someone kept floating back to mind. I had just murdered.

I had had a tough past, and killing would not help. I had sworn that the action of death shall never be committed by my name.

Yet I had done the very thing, I had betrayed myself. Even if he wasn’t human.

But there was no time to feel guilty. There was another demon to deal with, whether I wanted to or not.

While fighting, I had been oblivious to the shadow without a person. Realizing at the last minute, I threw my dagger at the shadow, square in the chest. The shadow disappeared into smoke going in all directions. I had been hoping I had killed it, but that would have been too easy.

I heard a voice in the distance cackling wickedly. I was turning my head in all four corners in the room, trying to make out the hidden demon.

“Ahh. I admire how you think your so powerful, full of…” He appeared in front of me, holding my chin between his warty fingers. “…Ability.” He said ever so casually. I held my dagger firmer in my hands, causing my knuckles to turn white. I swung my dagger towards his stomach. But of course, not being fast enough, he had disappeared into smoke once more.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, I turned around, quite swifter than I thought was possible. There he stood, behind him was hundreds of other demons. All bigger than he. All bigger than I. I knew I had no chance of beating them all. The thought of surrendering came to mind. But I pushed it aside. The only solution that seemed reasonable, was to stall.

I didn’t know what to say. I had never been good at talking. Instead I just let my heart speak, and kicked myself for every stutter.

“Well, that’s unfair. 200 against one. You must be very frightened by my skill,” I commented. “In Fact, Whenever I fought someone. It was usually just that person and I. Never had I thought, I would be fighting against demons.”

They all looked around, flustered by my comment.

“But never did I imagine that I would be fighting meek demons,” I finished off.

The demons gave me a look of murder plastered on their face, well, the ones who actually had a face. I felt proud of myself, but I didn’t expect for them to make the teams fair.

“Meek demons, did you say?” I heard a whisper in my ear. I felt hands rubbing my shoulders. Under other circumstances it would have been considered relaxing.

“Then, shall we get rid of these, ‘meek demons?’” the Devil hissed in a mocking voice.

I turned around and tried to stab the demon. No such luck. He had vanished once again into black smoke.

“You’re pathetic! Show yourself!” I shouted with rage. I held my dagger in my strong grip, resenting any sign of ridding it.

A few feet away from the demons, stood he.

“Shall we charge, sire?” a demon in the crowd hissed.

The Devil gave me a long look. He looked me up and down. His eyes seemed to be scanning me, seeing how strong I could possibly be. What my chance of winning is.

When his eyes reached mine, I saw fire behind his pupil. It was a wild one, swishing to all places. Nervous I took a step back.

The Devil seemed satisfied of my nervousness and smiled, I wanted to punch myself for showing weakness.

“No. Leave me be,” he replied, inching forward in a snake-slithering way.

“But sire-”

“I SAID LEAVE ME BE!” he roared with erupted rage.

The demon seemed speechless. I almost felt pity for him. Almost.

The Devil then made an effort to push the demon, but instead of the demon falling to ground, it burst into flames. The flames as though of the one behind the the demons eyes. The demon screamed with pain. He was slowly sizzling away until he was nothing but black dust.

“Does anyone else want to object as well?” the Devil threatened. There was long, silent, pause. No one shouted out. No one even dared to breathe.

“Good,” he replied. Clearly content with himself. With a snap of his fingers, the army of demons swiveled away in a swirl of wind. They were gone. It was just the Devil and I. I was scared. The Devil just sent his army of demons away, he obviously knew I was too weak to defeat someone such as him. Someone who has been alive for eons. I stood no chance, and I knew it.

“Is that fair now, foolish one?” he asked in a wretched tone.

“Why did you kill that demon?” I couldn’t help asking.

“Why shouldn’t I have. He talked to me disrespectfully. That’s unacceptable!” Each word became louder as he spoke them. He talked with such disgust. Every syllable was pronounced with such anger, and sadness.

“Because…because it’s unfair,” I came up with. I, myself, didn’t believe my words.

“Enough with this ‘fairness,'” he responded with annoyance in his voice.

“But to answer your question, monsters can’t be killed. His soul remains where I rule. The kingdom where my power is endless. There he will rest until he reforms. Of course, he can not do so unless I consent, which may take a few centuries to figure out,” he added.

Every step forward he took towards me, I took a step back. When I felt my back bump against the wall, I felt helpless. I was done for. Something caught my eye. It was shiny, and was glowing, but I had no time to investigate, instead I saw the Devil grin a sly smile before he pounced.

I dropped to the ground, and rolled to my side. I grabbed my the object, that I had guessed was my sword, and stabbed the Devil in the heart. I was certain he would die.

“Every human’s heart is is placed in their chest, but a demon is not. Instead they are located in the head, and the brain on the foot, where it is safe. Therefore you have not defeated me, but weakened me, for that sword is poisonous to the flesh of a monster. But weakness is not death!” The Devil hissed with effort, for i could tell he was in great pain.

Thinking that I had won, when the Devil collapsed, I had let my guard down. The Devil gathered all his speed and twisted my sword. He had used so much force that my hand was sprained. I dropped the sword with confused pain. He grabbed my sword, ready to plunge it in my heart. As his arm came forth towards my chest, I dived to the floor and stabbed my dagger into his foot. Red blood came oozing out of his foot. I looked up to see that the Devil looked half dead. I then took the dagger out and plunged it into the other foot as well. That was when the Devil fell. Just to make sure I stabbed him into the head as well. I couldn’t help letting a tear fall down.

“You don’t deserve to live,” the Devil hissed. Those were his last words. And I had to agree with him.

I curled up into a tight ball, crying with heavy breaths.

How am I alive? was the question I continued to ask.

The Case of the Missing Ruby

Miles Sharplake, better known as Detective Sharp, was busy playing on his Wii U when suddenly his partner, Patrick, hollered in his ear.

“Sharp, come here, take a look at this.”

Sharp, who was tired and wanted to relax playing Mario Kart, walked over. “What is it?”

Patrick told him to look at the other TV. The newscaster said there was a ruby worth 11 million dollars that had been stolen from the museum. Police had studied the scene of the crime, but no evidence was found. Sharp, who was really smart, knew what to do.

“Sharp, I think you can solve this,” said Patrick.

Sharp said, “Well then, let’s do this. But this is my last case. Oh crap, why another case?”

Sharp and Patrick went to the museum to check out the crime scene. When they looked at the dome featuring the ruby, they saw that it was gone. The tour guide was there, along with the police chief. The police chief was questioning the tour guide about what happened the night before since the tour guide has to help the janitor with cleaning up.

“Last night, I was asked to stay for a few more hours. When I went near the ruby, I swear I saw the ruby float. Then, something hit me, and I was knocked unconscious,”  said the tour guide.

“Say, is there anyone who knows about this ruby?” asked Sharp. The tourist told him that Bob could help.

“Bob isn’t here right now, but I know his address.”

“Well then, next stop: Bob’s house,” said Sharp.

Inside Bob’s house, there was a person with chips and soda on his couch. He was watching TV. The newscaster said that new, advanced technology had been invented, specifically gravity guns. The museum would put gravity guns in the displays. That segment immediately shocked Sharp. Gravity guns, museum, what did this all have to do with the ruby?

Sharp and Patrick immediately went to the police chopper. “Here comes the big experiment,” said the chief. There was a scientist who was using a gravity gun  for testing purposes. The gravitational force shot at the rock, pushing it.

“Perfect. Tomorrow, meet me at the museum,” said Sharp.

Sharp and Patrick went to the museum that night in night guard disguises and snuck into the building.

“Have you got the magnifying glass?”

“Yep, I do.”

“Quick, get to the ventilation system.”

Inside, Sharp and Patrick went and crawled under the laser security all the way into the famous display of minerals. “The thief is ready to go.” Suddenly, a voice was heard. “Ready aim― what the…” The whole room went pitch black.

“The power’s out,” said Sharp. “Quick, get me the flashlight, Patrick.” Suddenly, the power came back on. Police were surrounding the criminal. “Hey, we don’t know who we’re dealing with,” said Patrick.

“But I do,” said Sharp.

“Sharp, you know who this is?”

“Well well well, if it isn’t my old friend Thomas,” said Sharp. “Let me explain. A long time ago, when I started going to college for my degree, I met Thomas. We did experiments together, we helped each other in math class, we were basically best friends. Until one day, tragedy struck when Thomas went broke.

He had no money and no job. But, this was after our graduation. He moved over to Texas, and I never saw him again. Or did I? When I was playing on online mode of Mario Kart, some guy hacked on my account. He referred to himself as an old friend. When I heard that the ruby was stolen, I remembered the tragedy. And to this day I know what happened. Thomas knew that the ruby was worth 11 million bucks. He tried to use the gravity guns in the safe room to steal the ruby.”

“So you knew who the thief was, but you kept it a secret,” said Patrick.

“Yep, I did.”

“Sharp, you’ve done a wonderful job,” said the police chief.

“Yes, yes. Thank you, but please call me Miles. I will no longer solve crimes, I need to focus more on relaxing.”

Life as a Gymnast

Prologue:

One day when I was two years old, I was on my couch watching the Summer Olympics with my mom. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a gymnast. I started just a few weeks after the fact, and only progressed. In beginner’s class, I met my best friend, Cammie. We go to the same gymnasium now, and have been besties ever since.

 

Chapter One: Spotted

“I don’t know if this is such a great idea…” I said.

“Come on, it’ll be fine!” Cammie said, trying to reassure me.

Sorry, I’m Katherine Fisher. I have dark brown hair with crystal blue eyes and I’m about four and a half feet tall. My birthday is on March 17th–Saint Patrick’s Day! I was practicing routines at our gym with my best friend, Cammie. I’m ten years old and in level seven, the seventh highest competitive level at our gymnasium. Each level gets more challenging than the one before, and each level has different/harder routines and skills. I have a 12-year-old swimmer sister and a 14-year-old baseball/tennis brother. I also have a mom and a dad, and a medium chocolate labradoodle named Mak. My family’s talking about fostering another puppy, but our parents say that’s a long process. Anyway, my team shares a gym with the Golden Girls, our rival team, and they completely wrecked our supplies! Cammie and I were trying to think of a way to get back at the Golden Girls, but I wasn’t so sure about it…

* * *

I had to get home to finish my homework, so as soon as the Golden Girls walked into the gym I left for home. When I got there, I started my homework quickly so I wouldn’t get into trouble with my parents — I wasn’t even supposed to be at the gym! Cammie was still at the gym, doing whatever she was doing. I kept thinking about her because Cammie (alone) plus the Golden Girls equals…uh-oh! I just couldn’t help myself! Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I raced out the front door, leaving everything behind.

* * *

Of course, I was going to the gym. I had to find out what Cammie was doing. I had entered through the front door and was peeking through a window. When I got there, Cammie was trash talking to the Golden Girls.

I couldn’t let her do this! The Golden Girls had taken it way too far, but Cammie knew Coach Jasmine had told her if she did this to the Golden Girls again, she wouldn’t be able to compete in the next meet! Our team, Shooting Stars, needed Cammie! But then, I noticed Raven, a Golden Girl, was cursing back.

Instantly, they saw me. I tried to hide, but it was too late. I was dead meat. I’d been spotted.

 

Chapter Two: The Conversation

When Raven noticed me, that’s when I really started to freak out. She’s the “head” of the team at age eleven. Coach Jasmine believes everyone is the best on our team. I knew I’d have to come over sooner or later, so I chose sooner.

Raven smirked. “You brought your only friend — sorry, idiot — with you?!?! Such a baby!” she proclaimed.

“Excuse me?!?!” asked Cammie.

“Yeah, like, that’s right. I don’t care about, like, your stupid team. Like you’ll ever get sixth place in, like, our next meet, the Spring Classic. You do know the judges, like, give you tips, right? You might want to go practice to try to get, like, 80th in all around!” retorted Raven.

“You do know we got first place at the last meet that somebody forfeited? In fact, I’ve actually practiced, unlike someone I know. To be clear, there are only 78 people at the next meet! And there only are six teams, so technically what you’re saying is that we won’t get last place,” I told her.

“Oh, I know there aren’t even 80 people at the meet. That was my point. And, like, I meant you wouldn’t even place since, like, they might only give out five places,” Raven said, trying to give me a good comeback.

“How dare you,” I said and gasped, flabbergasted at her cruelness.

“You’ll get it this time,” Raven responded.

And with that, she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away. I tried to fight her off, but Raven sure had a good grip. My parents would know I was missing.

 

Chapter Three: Missing

Raven was running off so quickly, I didn’t even realize what was going on! Then I realized, I was locked in Raven’s closet! At least she had lots of popular clothes and was rich, so to me, Raven’s closet was like a room. At least I had breathing space. Also, this is the only time I’m actually glad that Raven’s apartment is on the same floor as mine so I could hear my parents talking through the vent!

I could hear my parents saying, “Where’s Katherine? She’s not in her room! I better call Cammie’s mom. I bet Katherine’s with Cammie,” said my mom, trying to stay relaxed.

“Ok. I’ll try to reach KK on her cell,” replied my dad, worried as ever. I felt really worried for my parents too since they didn’t know where I was. And unfortunately, I left my phone on my desk so it wouldn’t interrupt me during routines. Suddenly, I could hear my phone ring from my room.

“She’s missing!” wailed my mom, after she and Dad had called everyone and looked everywhere.

“No, she’s not. We will find her,” promised my dad. “She’s old enough to take care of herself.”

* * *

Since I could hear my parents, they would be able to hear me, right? You might think I’m stupid, but I’m just not the kind of ten year old girl that causes all that commotion. I just stay calm and think of all the ways to get out. Thankfully, I’m a stickler for when my bangs come out of my ponytail in gymnastics, so I always keep a bobby-pin in my gymnastics pants, which luckily I was wearing coming back from the gym. It was my favorite one, but it would get me out so I bent my bobby-pin back and clicked it into the lock to push the lock back out.

As soon as I heard the click, I sprinted out to the window and looked down. Oh, great. There was a ladder, but it was about eight feet from the window. As brave as I could be, I pushed out Raven’s window screen and climbed onto the windowsill. I had to leave before Raven’s family finished dinner, so I stepped out over the front door, and slipped!

Swiftly, I gripped the sill just in time without being seen. Luckily, I’m a very strong gymnast, so I pulled myself back up into front support and then stood back up, horrified. So close, I thought. I took about five more steps, and had reached the ladder. I quickly climbed down, jumping onto a snowbank, and ran home to my parents, as proud as ever. After I had told them everything, my parents told Raven’s gymnastics coach, Casey, and Raven was disqualified from the Spring Classic.

 

Chapter Four: Another Side-Mate

I could tell that when Raven got back to her room, she must’ve checked on me but was horrified that I was missing. Suddenly, Raven’s parents received a phone call from Coach Casey, explaining everything. The next day at the gym, I could overhear Raven telling a teammate that she was grounded.

*       *       *

The next day at practice, Raven’s “sidekick” Amelia walked over to me! I was worried she’d come to strangle me or something. But she actually apologized!

“For what?” I asked, literally puzzled.

“For Raven. Listen, I heard what happened, and I don’t want to be her little ‘robot’ anymore, but I’m way too scared to admit it to her. Imagine what would happen! It’s bad enough that I’ll have to train with her, but I’m on your side now, and it’s not a trick. I did bring a copy of the blueprint of her next comeback, to make you scratch yourself from the meet by calling in using a voice modifier that she has copied your voice on. Would it be okay if I helped you prevent that from happening? I mean, if you think it’s totally dumb, that’s fine, I understand. But just to let you know, I deleted your voice and ripped up Raven’s copy of the plan,” Amelia proclaimed quickly.

“Of course!” I replied, overjoyed. “Under one condition–Cammie can help. No offense, but you guys kinda sorta really ruined our event stations. We were already trying to think of a comeback. You purposely raised the parallel bars to a height that not even Sara, the five feet and three inch tall girl on our team, could reach! You also lowered our vault to rec level, removed the screws from the best beam, and took out the springs on floor! And guess who had to fix it; us! Listen, I’m really sorry. I’m sure it was probably Raven’s idea, and I shouldn’t even be yelling at anyone. Please forgive me,” I begged.

“First of all, what are you talking about? We didn’t wreck…RAVEN!!!” Amelia yelled, angrily. “Sorry, I’m just mad. Raven must’ve done this without us knowing and was secretly practicing in her private gymnasium at her house so she could win first in all-around in the Spring Classic and get that middle school scholarship! I’m really sorry about everything. Of course Cammie can help, and I forgive you,” she proceeded. I thought about Raven for a moment. I realized right then, that her name fit her perfectly. She was cruel. She was horrible.

“Thanks so much!” I said, hugging Amelia. I felt so relieved that that moment was over. I’d been dreading the asking for help part for days.

 

Chapter Five: “Katherine!”

“I can do this, I can do this, I can do this…” I managed to utter.

“Don’t worry. You’ll do great!” replied my dad.

“That’s just what parents are supposed to say. Listen, I’m just really nervous because this is a really important meet, and I’ve never had a meet since I learned my new routine with a back layout in it,” I proclaimed.

I was at the Spring Classic and it was right after bars. I had already done beam. After floor, I only had vault left, a full on. That’s where you sprint down the vaulting runway and when you get to the table you jump off the springboard, push off your hands at the end and twist off. Even though Raven was DQ’d, she didn’t even come to cheer her team on!

“KATHERINE FISHER; FLOOR; LEVEL SEVEN,” I heard over the loudspeaker. Oh, great. My turn.

As I stepped onto the floor and presented to the judges, terrified, I could feel Amelia watching me. She wasn’t Raven, but I still felt nervous. I guess I didn’t feel horrible that Raven was disqualified.  All of a sudden, my music started to play. I felt really good until my back layout. I had very angry butterflies in my stomach that were eager to escape into puke!

Everything seemed to slow down, but I stopped. I knew I was off-beat and I couldn’t afford to lose any more points, but since it’s my tumbling pass (one of the major tumbles in a routine, but you must run) I counted to three: 1…2…3! I hadn’t yet completed my back layout at a meet yet. Jasmine had spotted me and I had only completed it at practice three times alone, but she said I was ready. I started to sprint down the floor into my front handspring front tuck. After I presented, I started to lean forward and flipped back, keeping my knees straight and together. As I landed, I heard a loud snap and felt a fiery pain in my ankle! The music stopped and Jasmine, my parents and the nurse ran out onto the floor, while I had tears in my eyes.

“Katherine!” Jasmine yelled.

“Ow…” I managed to get out between gasps.

“Let’s get you to the ER, quick!” said my mom, horrified. But I was a little embarrassed for interrupting the whole competition.

I started to cry. In fact, I cried a whole downpour of tears! My brother, Matthew, broke his ankle once, and had a cast for a month. My sister, Alice, broke her wrist once, and had a cast for one month. There were two more meets until Nationals, and we had a meet every weekend. It hurt so much, I knew it was broken, and the doctor agreed. I would miss Nationals.

 

Chapter Six: The Plan

When I had finally come back from the ER, I was resting in bed with my leg up on my chair, reading. All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Ding-dong! Dang it! I thought. I had lost my spot in my book. By the time I had found it, Cammie and Amelia were up in my room. If you hadn’t already figured it out, they were the ones that rang the doorbell.

After we had talked and I had answered many questions about my leg and the whole experience, Amelia handed me flowers-made of chocolate! The card tied to the bouquet read:

“Dear Katherine,

Feel better soon!

Cammie and Amelia”

“Aaawww! You sure know the way to my heart,” I said, sweetly. “CHOCOLATE!!!”

It turns out, Cammie got first place for all around in the Spring Classic and Amelia got second! They didn’t give out scholarships because of “the incident.”

“Amelia and I were thinking we totes need a good plan to get back at Raven. We need your help!” Cammie explained, implying they needed time with me to think of one.

“Of course,” I replied, willingly.

After about ten minutes of contemplating, we finally thought of a plan: to sneak into Raven’s house before the next meet that I can compete in and pour flour down Raven’s leotard. Then when she put it on, she’d have to leave for the meet and wouldn’t have time to change, since she always procrastinates and she wouldn’t have any extra time. She’s always first at every meet because her last name is Arango (the only person on our team with a last name that starts with an “A”). Our teams always competes in this order: beam, bars, floor and vault, so Raven would be on beam first. We compete in the same division every time because we practice at the same gym. Then, the flour would be so itchy Raven wouldn’t be able to resist scratching. You get points off for itching/scratching and touching your leotard during a meet so Raven would get her score lowered and maybe (if we’re lucky) she’d be so itchy, she’d fall off and get even more points deducted!

“We can’t let anyone find out, though,” I proclaimed.

“Duh,” replied Cammie.

 

Chapter Seven: Removed

ONE MONTH LATER:

“Honey, I think we’re better off waiting until tomorrow to get your cast off because it’s supposed to be warmer and some of the snow should be melted by tomorrow,” Mom explained to me.

“But, Mom! The sooner, the better. Also, I want to actually be able to practice some simple skills. Please, can we do it today! If we want to do it today, we have to leave now!” I replied, trying to reassure my mom.

“Fine,” she answered.

We had just driven to the doctor to see if I was ready to get my cast off. I was in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. When the secretary called my name, then my doctor, Dr. Blart, would check my ankle to see if my cast was ready to be taken off! I mean, it’s been on for a month and I’m pretty sure it’s ready because I’ve been resting it a lot.

“Katherine Fisher; ankle injury; Dr. Blart; room 117,” I heard the secretary, Rachel, call out.

Yes, yes, yes, I thought.

TEN MINUTES LATER:

“Congratulations, Katherine. You’ve been caring for your ankle so well and now you’ve been rewarded with the joy of no cast! I’ve officially taken it off,” said Dr. Blart.

“Thank you!” I replied, joyfully. All of a sudden, I sounded a little too happy.

“Oh, don’t thank me. You’ve taken terrific care of it!” Dr. Blart answered.

After Dad drove me home I three-way called Amelia and Cammie.

“How’d you guys do at Nationals? I just got my cast off!” I told them.

“We have something to tell you,” Cammie said joyfully. “Nationals were postponed because of the snow and now you can compete!”

“Really!?!?” I asked.

“Yup,” answered Amelia. “We think it’s time to put our plan into action,” Amelia informed me.

“Let’s do it at the meet in two days!” I suggested.

“Perfect,” both Cammie and Amelia answered at the same time. We all started to crack up.

 

Chapter Eight: (The Not So Sweet) Sweet Revenge

TWO DAYS LATER:

I was at the meet and had all the ingredients in my drawstring backpack. Cammie, Amelia, and I were ready to put our plan into action.

Finally, after stretching, it was time to go to beam. We were all very nervous, and I was almost starting to regret it. But if we were going to do it, now was our chance. We had all snuck over to Raven’s house before leaving for the meet and luckily she had her team leotard laid out. I had been the only one that dared to pour the flour in, but whatevs.

After the judges had set up, they called her name. I could tell by the flabbergasted look on her face that she had definitely noticed the flour. Well, she couldn’t quit now. Raven had to compete.

In her back-walkover, Raven’s foot slipped and landed just off of beam. Yes, I thought. Unfortunately, she was fine for the rest of her routine. As a result, she got 9.27.

Then she asked Coach Casey if she could go to the bathroom, with her sweet face. Of course Casey said yes and obviously (to Cammie, Amelia and I) Raven was actually changing into her other leotard, the one that’s an exact replica of her other one. The rest of the meet went went by so swiftly, I honestly didn’t even know what was happening.

On the floor I fell on my butt during my back layout but at least I didn’t die.

When we got home, my mom had a very stern look on her face. I wondered why — actually, no I didn’t. I knew why. Raven had told her parents, and now my parents knew. I’m sure they told Jasmine.

“What happened?” my mom demanded, sternly.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it! You just don’t understand,” I replied, sobbing.

“Yes, I d-” mom was cut off.

“No, you don’t!” I assured her, sniffling. “You don’t know what she does to us. I know it was wrong of me, and I really regret doing it now, but I’ve tried ignoring Raven, trying to teach her that it’s wrong, everything! It was my only choice.”

All of a sudden, Mom held up her phone. “I do know,” she said, softly. On the screen, I saw our gym. It was a video camera! “I haven’t told you this, but Jasmine installed video cameras in the gym and sent us the link of footage. I’ve seen what you did to help, and what she did to hurt you. I understand. I’m glad that you realized what you did was wrong — because it was wrong — but I’ve seen it all, and I apologize to you. Just ‘cause I feel so bad that you have to handle this alone.”

“But I had Amelia and Cammie by my side!” I said.

“Yes, but next time you’re bullied, you need to tell me! Parents are here to help,” she told me.

“Okay,” I promised.

The next day at practice, Jasmine called Cammie, Amelia and I into her office. We all knew we were in trouble.

“I can’t believe you guys! You’re the best behaved kids on the team. Why did you sabotage Raven? Listen, I’ve seen what she did from the video cameras, but I heard about the meet. I need you for nationals, but if this happens again, you are benched from meets for one month! Do you understand?!?!” Jasmine scolded.

“Yes,” the three of us mumbled.

“Alright. Go warm-up. I’ll keep an eye on you guys,” Jasmine replied with a face as hard as rock.

 

Chapter Nine: Nationals

“I’m really nervous,” I told Cammie on the phone. “I don’t know if I can get my back layout.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll do great. You’ve done it at practice a few times, you just need to concentrate.”

“Thanks. I guess you’re right. Why do you always have to be so logical!” I said, sarcastically angry.

“Bye,” Cammie said.

“See you in three hours,” I replied.

Then Cammie hung up. Nationals were in three hours, and I was freaking out about my back layout. Now that my foot was better, I was physically able to do it, and I needed to prove I could move up to level eight!

* * *

When Cammie and I were at Nationals, it was already time to stretch! But, Raven wasn’t there, and she’s always first! Since my last name starts with an “F”, I always compete second, right after Raven. If she’s not here, I’d be first on floor! I’d completely screw up. All of a sudden, she walked in the door of Galaxy Gymnastics’ gym. Pheeeww! I thought.

Time flew by so fast (only like a half hour) so we were already on our second event-floor. There Raven was, doing her “little perfect routine,” with her “little perfect moves.” Then it was my turn. There I went, away with my dance. When I got to my first tumble pass (front handspring front tuck), I was glad I would get it over with soon, but then as I presented to the judges I realized it was now or never. I sprinted across the floor as fast as I could, thinking about what I had to do for my back layout. As of now I was on my roundoff double back handspring back tuck (a new skill in my routine even though I’d been doing them since level three). Here goes nothing, I thought in my head. I bent my arms and legs, and swooped my body backwards, keeping my legs straight in the air. I felt nothing as I landed, and had no idea what was going on. Suddenly I realized I HAD JUST COMPLETED MY BACK LAYOUT!!! As I finished my routine (with the biggest smile ever), Raven’s score was displayed. 9.55. Oh great, I thought. How am I ever supposed to beat that score? Then I presented to the judges for the last time and walked off the floor as my score appeared. 9.85!!! OMG!!! I couldn’t believe my eyes as I practically exploded. I couldn’t stop smiling, even during awards.

* * *

“FLOOR: THIRD PLACE, A TIE. CAMMIE GOLDFIN AT 9.45 FROM SHOOTING STARS AND RACHEL RICCARDI FROM GALAXY GYMNASTICS. AND SECOND PLACE, A TIE FROM THE GOLDEN GIRLS, RAVEN ARANGO, AND ALSO FROM GOLDEN GIRLS, AMELIA GOLDFIN AT 9.55. FIRST PLACE, KATHERINE FISHER FROM SHOOTING STARS AT 9.85!” I heard the speaker announce.

On and on she went. I got fourth on beam, second on bars, sixth on vault, and first AA (all around)!

All of a sudden, I heard the speaker say, “RAVEN ARANGO, YOU HAVE WON A MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP!!!!!”

Then my heart sunk.

“EXCUSE ME, THERE WAS A MISTAKE…KATHERINE FISHER FROM SHOOTING STARS HAS ACTUALLY WON THE SCHOLARSHIP!!! WOO-HOO!” the announcer continued.

There was something about how she said “woo-hoo” that made me feel the best. I wasn’t trying to boast, but it felt like magic as I walked up onto the podium.

And the happiness continues! As soon as I walked into the front door of my house with all five medals, there was a giant banner and balloons everywhere! Someone must have told my parents about the surprise. All of a sudden, Amelia and Cammie slowly peeked out from behind a wall. I knew what they had done. Then I saw a tiny goldendoodle walk out of the bathroom behind Cammie and Amelia!

“We’re fostering a puppy!” my mom said, holding out a ‘Congrats!’ cake.

My phone started to ring upstairs in my room. I ran upstairs and picked it up on the fourth ring.

“Uh, I’m so sorry; please forgive me!” someone stammered on the other end.

“Excuse me, who is–Raven, is that you?!?!” I asked, stunned.

“Yeah, it’s me. Listen, I’m really sorry about what I’ve been doing all this time!”

“Oh, and you just realized that now?” I asked, upset.

“Well, after Nationals, Jasmine had a talk with me, and I guess she’s made me rethink my actions. Please forgive me,” Raven begged.

“You’re lucky I’m–never mind. Okay, I forgive you. But don’t you dare think we’re friends after what you’ve done to me! Listen, I’m sorry I’m yelling, but you need to prove to everyone that you are nice inside,” I commanded. “Why did you go through all that trouble anyway?”

“I was just…jealous. I mean, you have such a nice family. You’re so good at gymnastics, and you have friends! And, uh, you did an amazing job at the meet,” Raven complimented me.

“Uh, thanks. I’m sorry if I’ve been bragging about stuff that I have and you don’t. But if you didn’t act so jealous, you’d have way more friends than anyone else in the world. You’re really nice inside, you just need to show it on the outside, too. Don’t worry, I go through the same family problems as you, but with my siblings,” I replied with a laugh. I’d never really gotten a compliment from Raven before.

I hung up the phone as I ran back downstairs and gobbled up the last of the vanilla/chocolate swirl cake with mocha frosting.

Amy and the Mystery of the Gold Vault

Once there was a girl named Amy. She hated it when people called her by her real name, which was Amelia. She was a curious 7-year-old girl, and loved to explore the streets of Paris. Everyone knew her — everyone knew the girl who had short, tangled red hair, and big blue eyes. Everyone knew the girl who always wore a long plaid skirt and a ruffled shirt.

It was June 5th, 1957, and Amy was causing trouble again. She lived in a large, fancy apartment building/hotel with a large ballroom, a banquet room, restaurants, and lots of room to cause trouble.

“Amy!” The cry could be heard all over the building whenever Amy was around. On this particular day, she was in the lobby staring at a tall, very fancy woman with ostrich feathers in her hat and all over her long gown. The woman was startled when she saw Amy, looking at her down through her spectacles. (She was visiting from New York and thought that a little pest like Amy should not be tolerated in this very fancy hotel/apartment building.) Amy didn’t care, she curtsied and pulled on the feathers. Hmm, this person’s feathers are VERY suspicious! She thought. She took the woman’s hand and pulled her into the broom closet. She took an electric torch and turned it on in the woman’s face.

“Where were you on the night of the…um, yesterday!?”

“Little girl, you must be joking! I have places to go!” she said.

Amy let her go after five more minutes of interrogation. The woman walked off, muttering things to herself. Amy was seven, so she wanted some adventure. She asked her mother if she could go onto the streets and look around.

“Yes, yes, but make sure Cecily comes with you.” Amy’s mother was always busy with work, so she usually made Amy’s annoying older sister babysit her.

As soon as they stepped out onto the street Amy took off, leaving Cecily in the dust. She knew her way around Paris. She decided to stop at the bank and chat with the people who were there. When she got there with Cecily far behind, panting and yelling, she overheard two people talking. “Jo, I don’t care. I won’t believe it. There is no gold vault behind that door!” one person said.

“I think that there is, Bill. I heard the bank people talking about it!” Jo wouldn’t budge, neither would Bill. Amy knew that she just HAD to interrogate Jo. She grabbed his hand, and dragged him into the alley next to the bank.

“What vault? Tell me tell me tell me! Ahem, I mean what do you know about said vault?” said Amy.

“Kid, leave me alone!” said Jo.

“Hmm, I wish that I had an electric torch…” said Amy.

“Alright, fine. We heard that there was a gigantic vault of gold behind the employees only door,” said Jo.

“Hmm, I suspected as much,” said Amy. She let go of his arm, and he ran off.

Amy was excited. She had a mystery! When she knew that there was no one passing by, she did her victory dance. She skipped back to the bank, where Cecily was waiting to give her a stern lecture. “I am going to tell mom that you ran off and that you were interrogating agai-” Amy passed her a One Direction t-shirt. “Squee! This will complete my collection of fan merchandise!” Aw, that was the last of my merchandise!

(Amy used One Direction when she was in trouble with Cecily. One time she put salt in Cecily’s tea, and when Cecily got mad at her she said that One Direction would hate her if she was mean.)

Cecily ran off to her One Direction temple in her bedroom and worshipped for half an hour, which gave Amy time to escape. Amy ran home — it was almost time for supper. When she got into bed, she told her puppy, Bartholomew, everything about the vault, and how she had tactfully interrogated Jo. Bartholomew told her about how he ate her toy bear by going into Cecily’s room and throwing up. That night Amy dreamed of golden chewed up toy bears.

In the morning she went with her mother to the bank. Her plan was to slip in the door and open the vault with her high tech “open sesames.” But she saw that someone already had that plan. A person in a trench coat had slipped into the employee’s only room. Amy decided to follow him. She turned the knob, and…

“Hey! Hey you! You’re not allowed to go in there!” an employee said. “That’s highly confidential!” Amelia was so disappointed. But she knew that if it was highly confidential (whatever that meant) it probably wasn’t a broom closet! Now she had a clue! She wasn’t exactly sure if it was gold, but it was something! The disappointment started to go away as her mother took her hand and dragged her out of the bank, muttering things that Amy could barely hear.

“You can read, Amelia! I don’t know why you would ever break the rules and go through that door!”

“Sorry. Please call me Amy, mother.”

“You are in so much trouble! And Cecily asked me to tell you that you have to clean up the vomit in her room! It’s your dog!”

“It’s her room.”

“You ruined her One Direction T-shirt!”

“Bartholomew ruined her One Direction T-shirt!”

“Why did you ever choose that silly name!”

“I like it. And why are you being so nice to Cecily! It was my bear that Bartholomew ate!”

“I thought that you outgrew that bear!”

“Bye.”

“What do you mean, ‘bye’?”

Amy took off. She ran all the way back to their apartment/hotel building. “Top floor, please.”

“Yes, ma’m.”

“Guess what, Bob! I found out that there is something amazing behind the employee’s only door at the bank!”

“What, a golden mop?” Bob joked. His name was not Bob, but Amy liked that name ever since she visited America and saw “Bob the Builder” on television. When she came back to Paris she said to Bob (Pierre) that she just had to know someone named Bob. So of course she chose her third best friend. (She wasn’t allowed to name her second best friend because it was a girl and she met Bartholomew before she saw Bob the Builder.) “Thank you, Bob.”

“Anytime, Amy.”

She hopped out of the elevator and into her apartment. Her family was very rich, so they owned the whole floor. She wanted the penthouse, but her father said that they shouldn’t spend their money on some foofy penthouse.

“I hope that you are here to clean my room,” warned Cecily.

“Nope. I want to speak with father,” said Amy, annoying Cecily. Amy ran to her father’s study. “Father! Can we go get bagels? I have a mission!”

“Did evil Mr. Squid come back?”

“No silly, this is real! I need as many danger sesames as possible!”

“Wait, I never heard the whole story of Mr. Squid!”

“Oh of course, you must hear! It was quite a battle. It was last month. I was sitting on my chair, and suddenly, Mr. Squid was in battle armor. I thought that he might have been playing dress up with Mr. Octopus, but I was wrong. He was getting ready to attack! I got ready. I ran to you, and asked for a dozen sesames. We bought them, because when I was little I had tons of charm.”

“I thought that this was last month!”

“Oh, but that is so long, cherie! Do not interrupt! Now where was I…ah, yes. I came back to my bedroom. Mr. Squid was in battle stance. I got into battle stance. I uttered the command. ‘CHARGE SESAME!’ I threw the bagels swiftly. They flew like bullets toward Mr. Squid. They hit him. Mother charged in. ‘Young lady, Mr. Squid is not a bowling pin,’ she said. I knocked her out of the way just in time for Mr. Squid’s ketchup packet bullets to whiz by. Mr. Squid was rushed to the infirmary by Mrs. Octopus, Mr. Octopus’ mother, who was a nurse. I defeated him in triumph. That is how the story goes.”

“You are very brave!” said father, laughing and clapping. “Yes, we will get the bagels.” Amy and her father walked down to the American shop, where they sold great bagels. They ordered a dozen sesame bagels.

“I’ll take it from here,” said Amy.

“Alright.” Amy’s father trusted her. “Now I must get back to work, dear.”

Amy went to the bank. The person in the trench coat was not there, but the employees only door was open, and in the progress of swinging shut! She made sure nobody saw her, and slipped in. What she saw did not amaze her. Aw, It’s just a dumb vault. She thought. But she slowly realized that the gold must be in the vault! The door was slightly open. The person in the trench coat had forgotten to shut it completely. It wasn’t enough to see inside, but it was open. Amy pushed as hard as she could on the gigantic door, and finally opened it enough to slip inside. There was one piece of gold.

“The person in the funny coat!” she said.

The next day Amy went to the bank early, before anyone was awake. She had her bagels ready. No one was in the bank except for the woman behind the counter, but she was in the back. But the employees only door was open again. Amy slowly walked in. The man in the trench coat was in the vault, just making sure that he didn’t forget anything. Amy fingered the piece of gold in her skirt pocket. She threw a bagel at him.

“Hey!” For a second he just stood there in surprise. “Ah! I’ve been shot! I’m getting weaker and weaker…hey…a 6-year-old angel…”

“I’m seven! And you just got bagelpulted!”

“Wait, what?” He bent down and picked the bagel up. “Hey kid! What’s the big idea?”

“You’re a thief! I’m telling!”

“If you tell,” he whispered threateningly, “I will shoot your brains out.” He pulled out a gun.

“A bagel gun?” Amy said.

“No, ya stupid kid, a lead gun.”

“Is that a kind of bagel? I only use sesame as a weapon.”

He pointed the gun at Amy. She screamed and ran out. He ran out the door into the streets of Paris. Amy followed. He ran to a sewer. He climbed in. Amy followed. There were thirty-nine other bandits. The sewer was overflowing with gold.

One of the bandits said, “Hey! There’s a little girl! Look!” Everyone looked at Amy.

“Hey kid! You’d better get out!” said the trench coat person.

I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves, here is how it goes, I know a song…” Amy sang.

“Kid get out and if you tell anybody I’ll shoot you!” said funny coat Bob, as Amy called him.

“Funny coat Bob, please don’t shoot me with your lead bagel gun! I’ll leave!”

“H-how did you know my name was trench coat Bob?”

“Oh, I thought it was funny coat. But anyway I’m psychic, so bye.” Amy left.

At dinner, Amy’s mother asked, “What did you do earlier, Amy? I haven’t seen you all day!”

“I solved a crime! I am going to go see the police and tell them.”

“What crime?”

“Trench coat Bob says that if I tell he’ll shoot me with his lead gun which he told me is not a bagel gun.”

“T-trench coat Bob? Oh my, I’m so glad that you’re okay! People have been trying to catch him for months! He is from Venice, and — oh! Tell me everything!”

“What about his not bagel gun?”

“He won’t shoot you behind bars, honey.”

“Okay, so there’s a gold vault behind the employees only door and he stole the gold and he put it in a sewer with other bandits, I think that there were a lot, and I guessed his name.”

The next day Amy and her family went to the police office. They told the whole story, and Amy showed them the sewer where the gold was. She showed the the piece of gold that she found. “You’ll be sorry, little girl!” trench coat Bob screamed as he and the other bandits were dragged along to prison.

 

The End

Read the next one!

 

Dragons vs. Dracula: Book 5

The dragon brothers carefully entered the cave full of bats. They found out about the cave from Fred the Dwarf, a friend of the dragon brothers. They were exploring the cave, searching for the crystal of death. The Crystal of Death would give them the power to revive dead things, so they could revive friends and use it for good. When they entered the cave, bats charged at both of the dragon brothers, but the two dragons burned the bats by breathing fire.

“What just happened?” said the older brother.

“Don’t blame me, I didn’t do it!” said the younger brother.

Suddenly, a pack of robotic bats with lasers came charging at them. They shot at the dragons. But then, one of the dragons created a burning shield that bounced the lasers off and reflected them towards the bats and destroyed them. The dragons together kept walking in the cave until they fell into an electrified cage. They quickly flew out before the cage closed shut.

The dragons kept exploring the cave looking for the Crystal of Death. After several days, they finally came to a dead end, and Dracula flew down from a hole on the ceiling with an army of indestructible bats.

Dracula commanded the bats to hold him up in midair so that Dracula could turn the dragons into vampires. After the bats held him up, Dracula tried to bite them. He opened his mouth, showing his teeth. They burned his teeth by breathing fire, so then Dracula changed his mind about turning them into vampires. He wanted to destroy them.

Dracula wanted to make the fight harder in order to impress the bats, so he let down the dragons and fought them fist to fist. First Dracula grabbed a rock shield and a metal sword and swung it at the dragon. The older brother dragon flew up then dived down while breathing fire, but Dracula dodged him. But the younger brother flew under and punched Dracula, knocking him down.

But then the older brother said that Dracula isn’t powered by life, he’s powered by death. After thinking about that, the brothers figured out that the Crystal actually powers Dracula and they would have to destroy him in order to get it. And so they hid behind the rock and created a plan. The plan was: the younger dragon would go to to Dracula as bait and while he did that, the older would create a formula out of the materials that they had. So after the plan was formed, they tried it. The younger dragon went in as bait and started to fight Dracula, and meanwhile the older dragon brother was making the potion. They kept on fighting until the potion was done and Dracula made the younger brother fall to the ground. Just as Dracula was about to destroy him, the older brother threw the potion and destroyed Dracula. The brothers found the Crystal, but they tested it first and threw a rock at the it. And the rock dissolved into ashes. So they had to wear a thousand rocks on their hands so their hands wouldn’t dissolve, and they put it in a container at their home in space. They decide that they will use their undissolvable tweezers to touch it.

They touch a button that points it towards what they want to heal. And that heals their friends.

Guardians Part 1

Chapter One

 

He walked back to the clinic. “How’s life?” Jason asked.

“Fine, for someone with cancer,” Jack responded, who was in his hospital bed.

“Well, if there’s anything I can do, tell me.” Jason paced around the room.

“Ugh, I hate this waiting. I wish you would either get better or… or something would happen!” Jason exclaimed. Jack had been diagnosed with cancer when he was 12.

“Well, it’s not like I can do anything!” Jack yelled.

Jason fixed his shaggy hair and left the room. He was 19, and had to get back home to study. He was on the basketball team, but not considered buff. He had a short temper and always needed something to do. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 14. He was walking back to his dormitory on 118th street when his friend walked up to him.

“Hey, how’s Jack?” asked Brian, the star of the basketball team.

“In his words, ‘fine for someone with cancer,’” Jason replied.

“Well, that’s not that great of an answer,” Brian responded.

“What do you want me to say?” Jason said.

Jason walked onto the college campus. He went to Columbia University. He was in his second year of college and was hoping to graduate with a master’s degree in engineering. People were all over the campus. He walked to his dorm building and sat on the steps, contemplating all that had happened that day. He needed to calm down. He had almost lost his temper on the basketball coach during a game, but Brian had gotten him out of the jam. The coach said Jason had a real problem and that he might need to see a therapist.

 

Chapter 2 (2 Weeks Later)

 

Jason knocked on the door. “Who is it?” the person behind it answered.

“It’s Jason, for the 7:15 appointment.”

“Ok, come in.”

He opened the door and laid on the couch. The therapist was sitting behind a desk with bookshelves to his left and right. He was wearing a sweater and a button down shirt with yellow jeans.

“Ok, Jason. Tell me, what angers you?”

“Well, a lot of things, but mainly, my friend Jack has cancer and I can’t deal with the waiting and not knowing what’s going to happen. It’s just scary, I don’t want to lose him, but I can’t wait much longer.”

“It seems you need to get your mind off of Jack and try to understand what’s happening to him.”

“Well, Jack isn’t having any surgeries and besides basketball, I do nothing else. What do you suggest?”

“Maybe try and get more involved in your school work.”

“Well, I’ll try that, but I’m not so sure it will work.”

Jason left the room, took the C train to 110th street and walked over to campus. “So, what did the therapist say?” his dorm mate asked.

“He says to get my mind of Jack by becoming more invested in my schoolwork.”

“That’s not the worst thing recommended by a therapist.”

Jason put down his school bag, pulled out his homework and laid down on his bed. Today had been good for Jason, something new happened. He tried to focus more on his schoolwork but he would always lose focus, even when he tried to work on the tiniest of things. He blamed it on his ADHD.

 

One day, he looked outside to the lion statues on campus. He looked back at his schoolwork and five minutes later when he looked outside, the statues were right outside his dorm! He was surprised and scared but also wanted to go outside and prove they had really moved. Finally, his curious got the best of him and he walked outside. When he opened the door, the lions spoke to him. “You are the only one who can see us. We can show you magical things but you cannot tell anyone. If you do, you will never see us again. Do you promise to never tell anyone?”

“Yes, I promise,” Jason said.

“Good. We will contact you when we need to.”

Jason walked away. He was puzzled by their words, “When we need to.” What did that mean? He turned back to them but saw the usual college students, chatting away. He resumed school as normal, but always had the lions on his mind. He wondered if what they had said was true, if no one else could see them but him. There had to be someone else.

 

Three Months Later…

 

It was a late Tuesday night, about 10:30 p.m. and Jason was studying. Then, the lions appeared. They seemed to pull him outside. It was like the lions could control his curiosity. “We need you now. Come with us.” The lions were being very conspicuous. A black sedan appeared out of the ground directly in front of him. “Get in,” the lions said. He got in the car.

I have to say, for a car that just came out of the ground, this is pretty comfortable,” Jason thought.

“Wow, really, Jason, you’re thinking about that. Why did we recruit you?”

“Wait, what? How do you know that?”

“Put two and two together, Jason. Figure it out.”

“Oh, ok, so you can read my mind now? Can I read minds now, too?”

“In time, Jason, you will learn. But for now, you need to learn the basics.”

“Basics of what?”

“The basics of controlling people.”

“Controlling people?”

“Yes, manipulating people to get exactly what you want.”

“Oh.” Jason was quiet for the rest of the car ride. He thought about what the lions had said. Did he really want to do this? Yes. He had to. It was the only way to stop thinking about Jack. The car ride finally ended. He got out of the car. “Where are we?” Jason asked.

“You don’t need to know that, so we won’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Our people do not like to waste time, so when we do not need to tell someone something, we do not.”

“That is a weird reason,” Jason thought.

“We can still read your thoughts.”

“Oh sorry, I forgot.”

They walked inside the building. It looked like a miniature castle with its and stone structure and towers. They walked four flights up a spiral staircase made of stone, with creaky wooden railings.

“Here is your partner, Jason.” A girl about 5’8” with long flowy blonde hair walked in with her own set of lions. “She will guide you through the basic training.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m… “

“I know who you are, Jason.”

“And who are you, then?”

“I’m Lara Walker. That’s all you need to know. Let me show you around the building.”

They entered the first door on their left. “What’s this?” Jason asked.

“This is the sleeping quarters.”

“Will I stay here?”

“While you participate in your training, you will stay here. After you complete your training, you will have the option to stay and be a mentor or work with the lions.”

“So, how many others are there?”

“We don’t know. The lions search around the world at campuses and school buildings for kids who can see them.”

“So how many are here?”

“Three others, making five altogether. I’ll introduce you to them when I’m done showing you around.”

They walked over to a set of white double doors.

“Is this the cafeteria?”

“We call it the mess hall, or the mess for short.”

“Ok, cool. Are there preset eating times or can you just walk in?”

“Well, both. From 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., you can get breakfast. From 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can get lunch, and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. you can get dinner. These times work in with your practice schedule but if you have time for any reason, you can stop by and grab a snack.”

They came to a long narrow hallway.

“What’s this?” Jason asked.

“These are the training facilities and classrooms.”

“Is that all?”

“…All of the building, yes.”

“I thought it would be bigger, for a secret hideout.”

“It’s not really a hideout, more like a training ground. Follow me.”

“Where?”

“To the others, remember?”

“Oh yeah, sorry,” Jason apologized. “They’re in class?”

“Yes. Good improvement on self-learning, Jason,” Lara remarked.

“Thanks?”

They walked into classroom number 504. “Who’s this?” asked the class in unison.

“Class, this is a new recruit, Jason.”

“Nice to meet you, Jason,” greeted some of the class. “Hi, Jason,” greeted the rest of the class.

“So, what’s this class working on?” Jason asked.

“We’re studying how to figure out what a person wants so you can manipulate them.”

“Oh.” Jason sat through the rest of the class.

“Did you like the class?” asked one of his classmates.

“Yeah, but I thought it was a bit weird.”

“We all do. But it’s better than where we came from so we’ll take it.”

 

Four Months Later…

 

While everyone was eating, the lions walked into the cafeteria and asked everyone to silence themselves. “Students, we, the lions, have an announcement to make. The training you have gone through was not actually to learn how to manipulate. It was to learn offense and defense against…The Hidden. The Hidden are an elitist group who believe if you are inferior in one thing, you are inferior in everything. Our ancestors tried to show them otherwise. They were assassinated. The Hidden are extremely good at what they do, which is killing people. We have been training your type of people because you are open to magic. The average person will write off magic as a ‘weird phenomenon’ or will not believe it happened in the first place. Open people accept magic, which is why you can see us. All we are made of and anything we own is magic, which makes you the only people who can see it. You five were chosen to defeat The Hidden, and that is what you will do. Sometimes you will work as a team but sometimes you will have to work on your own. Even though The Hidden aren’t much stronger than you, they have the power to break you. We will keep you updated as you work. Also, you will now work with the other lions. Tomorrow, we will have a meeting ceremony.”

The five kids were slightly shocked but one or two said, ”I knew it!” What was even stranger was that the day carried on as normal. But over the weeks, their training got harder. Soon they had personalized sessions and were working and learning for 8 to 11 hours a day. They had tight schedules and barely ever had free time. Then, one day, the lions had another announcement.

“Students, you have trained around the clock. Now your time has come to see what it is like in real battle. You will all graduate by the end of the week and will be doing field missions around the world. Do not worry about your other life. When you entered this building your outside life paused. When we are done with your services, or you wish to permanently leave, your life will resume as normal and you have the option of you memory being wiped as well. Understood?”

“Yes,” responded the five students.

Graduation was ten times more intense than the previous training. They fought battles against each other, cast spells they had been learning and worked in teams. They were split in half and faced the instructors in duos. Jason worked with Laura in duels and 1v1’s. These were the hardest because they faced the lions as well.

Finally, Jason and the group went on their first mission. Apparently, one of the scouts for the lions had found a fallen member in one of the college campuses.

“That’s strange.”

“What is?” Jason asked.

“We didn’t expect them this far up,” the lions explained.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re usually not as aggressive as going to a campus to hunt for us.”

They took the appearing car (the same one Jason took when he arrived at the castle) to the campus. “What do we do when we find The Hidden member?” Jason asked.

“Do what you were taught,” said the lion.

“You mean, attack him or her?”

“Thats what you learned, correct?”

“If they are The Hidden, what are we?”

“Everyone used to be human. Then came The Hidden. The attack was called the Fall. We are the Survivors. You are the Guardians.”

“The Guardians of what?”

“The last remaining of my species. Only special humans that can see us are The Guardians.”

“Well, do you have the same technology as humans? Are you an advanced race or…?”

“Can you ask us the questions later, like after we take care of this Hidden?”

“You sound like a mafia mobster.”

“What?”

“Nevermind.”

They approached the Hidden member. “What are you doing!?”

“Umm, stopping you?”

“You want me to battle you ruffians? I am Canakis The Great! Only kings challenge me!”

“Well, we’re gonna do something to you.”

The battle commenced, exhausting everyone to the max. Jason and Lara were very helpful, as they had been partners in the graduation duet battles. Before the group finished him off or before he retreated, the lions came over to extract some information. This gave the group of guardians some time to relax. They were all around the age of 18, the oldest being 21. They sat down on park benches.

“That was new.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Don’t know if I could have killed him though.”

“He deserved it. He was snobbish.”

“He wasn’t that bad.”

“Yeah right.”

“Not the rudest person I’ve met,” Lara said.

“Really?” Jason asked.

“Oh. Trust me, I’ve had some super snobs as friends.”

“Oh, sure.”

“You sure are acting snobbish.”

“Be quiet!” They both laughed.

“Today was fun. We work well together.”

She smiled at him. The rest of the group had broken up into their partnerships they had used at graduation. As the months passed, the group became more accustomed to fighting The Hidden and altogether became more friendly with each other. Partnerships were formed and bonds were made. Jason was having a lot of fun. Then came his next big problem.

“We have scouted a new power that is threatening to overcome The Hidden, The Survivors, The Guardians and possibly humanity. It is called The Monstrosity. They are a group of aliens connected to one source, one body of plasma, which is The Monstrosity. You will have two months of extra training based on what we have recovered from our scouts about The Monstrosity,” the Lions announced. “You will also have a two month break to visit people before we start the training. Colleges around the world have teachers and students that are recruiting Guardians like we are. You may know some.”

Jason was happy but surprised at the break the lions had given everyone one. Was it a sign? Could Jack be a recruiter? Jason felt confused.

Jason finally left with one of the lions to go to his campus in the strange appearing car. He said hello to everyone: Brian, the therapist, his roommates. Then, he went to visit Jack.

“Jack, I know…”

“I know what you’re about to say, Jason. Yes, I am a recruiter, yes, I did try to push you to the lions, and yes, the therapist is also a recruiter.”

“Whoa, how did you…?”

“I was trained too, Jason.”

“Oh. Well, that was all I was going to say, so, bye? I guess…”

“We can talk about normal things, if you want to.”

“Ok. How’s cancer life going?”

“Fairly horrible with a hint of…” Jack sighed.

“Well, this is awkward.”

“No. This is fine. I haven’t talked to anyone besides doctors in weeks. No one visits me besides the lions and they are boring too. Please talk to me. I won’t see you for months, maybe years. Please.”

“Well, if you put it that way, then I guess…” Jason trailed off. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“What do you mean?” Jack asked.

“Are you…dating someone? Like actually,” Jason said.

“No, boys in hospitals with cancer aren’t exactly popular.” Jack laughed.

“Nice to see your sense of humor. Always reassuring,” Jason said. “Anything else you wanna talk about?”

“Not really, but…”

“If you want to stop talking, that’s fine,” Jason said. “I know you can’t always talk and…”

“Jason, it’s fine. Go ahead. Leave if you want to, I don’t want to hold you back.”

Jason left and met back up with the lions. He asked the lions to go back to the facility.

“As you wish, but you don’t get to change your mind,” the lions said.

“Whatever,” Jason said.

He hopped in the car. The scenery around Jason drastically changed as they approached the facility. “Lions, do you know who trained Jack?”

“Yeah, only the best teacher. You should know who he is.”

“That’s cryptic,” Jason said.

The Lions ignored him for the rest of the ride. At the facility, he asked around to find Jack’s instructor, but couldn’t find him anywhere. He started get random headaches every now and then. They wouldn’t hurt that much but he would see flashes. Later those flashes got clearer. They were showing him something. But he didn’t know what it was. He told the lions about this. They seemed concerned.

“Can you see what the flashes depict?” they asked.

“Not clearly.”

“How long have you been getting them?”

“Maybe two to three weeks.”

“Okay. Keep in touch. If you can ever see what the flashes are depicting, tell us.”

“Why?” Jason wanted to know.

“We think The Monstrosity may be trying to contact you. It’s been happening to Lara, too.”

“Is she ok?”

“She’s as good as you are.”

Jason left the lions and went back to his room. He traveled through the white hallways and contemplated on his talk with the lions.

 

Two Months Later…

 

Jason rushed to the lions. He had a flash of a pulsing piece of plasma and a fairly small circle was highlighted in red. As he started to talk, he saw Lara was saying the same things.

“I saw something in the flash!” Lara and Jason said together.

“What did you see?” the lion asked.

“I saw the location of The Monstrosity,” Lara said.

“I saw its weakness…the brain,” Jason said.

“So if we can get to the brain with Lara’s help, we can exploit its weakness thanks to Jason,” said one of the lions.

“Students, we have an announcement. Your fellow classmates Jason and Lara have had visions that tell us where The Monstrosity is and how to kill it. We have already made a pact with The Hidden, so The Monstrosity is our main target. You know how to kill it and you know why to kill it, so let’s destroy our last enemy. That is all.”

Everyone was a little shaken up by the last talk, so they all took a nap. Jason kept having the flashes about The Monstrosity. People asked him and Lara, “What does it look like?” and “Where does it live?” or “How do we kill it?” It got a little annoying. Eventually, everyone stopped asking. They went through different stages. At first, they wanted to do the mission, then they got scared, then they just didn’t care. Finally, they went on the mission.

“According to Lara’s flashes, we will find The Monstrosity’s core in Hamburg, Germania. We will go there and kill it!” said one of the lions.

They arrived at a huge volcano and started to climb it. It was very rough ground. Once they reached the top, they saw The Monstrosity. It was a colorful mix of blue and purple, uglier than a face that had been shot. It had veins on it and spanned the whole gap of the volcano. In its center was a red and greenish dot-like mark that looked like a target. Some of the kids asked Lara, “Is that what we’re supposed attack?” At first she was a little confused, because it didn’t look as clear as it had in her flashes, but then she said yes. They asked the lions what to do next but their answer was cryptic: “You should know what to do already.”

They decided the best idea was to head down the volcano so they could attack the dot-thing in the middle. Using some cables and black harnesses, The Guardians began to descend down the bottom of the volcano’s cavern. It was very dark. Someone lit a lantern so they could see. Finally, they reached the bottom of the volcano.

“Do we have to step on the plasma thingy?” asked one of The Guardians.

“I think so,” Lara said.

“I’m washing my shoes after this,” Jason said.

They walked over to the dot-thing and started attacking it. They even stomped on it. But nothing happened. Next, The Guardians started falling down. Jason walked over to one of them. He had tranquilizer darts in the back of his neck. Then, suddenly, black, white and sunlight. Jason woke up in a white room with two people in lab coats staring at him.

“What happened?” he asked.

“This might hurt a little.”

“What will?”

Suddenly, a needle injected him. As he screamed, the light fades. Jason woke up looking out of his dorm window. His roommates were staring at him. He didn’t care. He could see everything but the lions.

Last Stand

Chapter 1: End of The World

Agent 37 patrolled the streets of New Nerf City. Agent 1 defended the city’s banks. Agent 99 scouted for Agent 37 and Agent 10 was the head of a Nerf army!!!

“Move it troopers, move it troopers,” said Agent 10.

 

Chapter 2: Reinforcements

“No!!” said Agent 1. “A grenade landed in a bank! Agent 1 was mortally wounded because he was next to the explosion.”

 

Chapter 3: Streak

Clash cing xing stab slash boom kick bam ka bam hi yah!

“Ouch, that hurt,” said Agent 45.

Agent 12 defeated Agent 67, Agent 75, Agent 56 and Agent 45 with fists guns and swords!

 

Chapter 4: Snipers

Pew pew pew pew! Ah! Unh! Nooo! Oof! Ahhhh.

Snipers picked off a lot of the insurrectionists.

 

Chapter 5: Recruits

A hobo finally found a cheap apartment room and was shown into his first personal room for years. The room was very nice. There was already a bed there, a lamp, and there was a table with a TV. The bed had pillows already, and some covers already. He also had a washing machine in there. So when his clothes were dirty he could just wash them right away while sitting in his pajamas reading a book. The first few days, he could sleep by himself. He was very happy because he could get a job, and he could stop panhandling. But there was a problem. Soon he couldn’t sleep by himself. He saw a Chinese movie that scared him so much that he couldn’t fall asleep. So he slept in the living room. Everybody else teased him, because he couldn’t sleep by himself. For example, like, “Oooh, this guy can’t sleep by himself!” or “Nerd!” or “Stop getting scared!” He went back to his apartment feeling humiliated, sleepy, and finally, upset. People called him names so much, he decided to lock his door and stay in there forever, and called it home.

The hobo was reading the news when he saw an advertisement for a new agent replacing Agent 1. He didn’t want to at first, but he thought Agent 1, if he retires, he could get a lot of money. Then he decided to join the agents. He walked right towards the headquarters. The headquarters is so high-tech, one button could already shoot ten thousands lasers out of it. It looks platinum and can transform into anything. There’s a secret hatch underground, and the hobo went through it. The secret hatch is for when you can’t enter the main entrance because people are attacking. The hobo asked about three million questions at headquarters, so he knew where the hatch was. The main entrance is only for high level clearance.

He found himself in the toilet. They had changed the pipes so he would end up in the toilet instead of the command center. He was so wet, he couldn’t go into the command center, because they restricted any wet people. But he found a small agent training center three hundred miles away right next to his house. He went there and signed himself in, and now he’s Agent Infinity.

Then he went through hard training courses. He had to lift three million pounds, run a twenty-five-mile lap, swim three hundred miles, and finally, jump rope right into some water and swim back up, but you can’t get your jump rope wet. He failed everything except for the twenty-five-mile-lap and a jump rope, and the swimming. He failed to lift three million pounds; he got crushed. He got promoted to Agent 2.

He thought that the people who called him nerd would pay, because now he would be in the news and they would read the news. And he was in the news. The article was, “Fat Hobo

Promoted to Agent 2 After Completing Three of the Training Courses.”

 

Chapter 6: Badge

When the hobo got sent to fight Zelltrax, he got defeated and the monster took his badge. Hobo passed out and he woke up in an emergency center. He got wounded so much that they had to amputate his arm. Hobo was asleep and didn’t feel the pain at all.

 

Chapter 7: Lose Your Rank

Hobo got demoted to Agent 27, which is pretty bad.

 

Chapter 8: Losing

1234567890-0987654321234567890p987654321234567890p9876543 was the password to blow up the world.The insurrectionists blew up the world.
THE END

The Importance of Space Exploration

Space exploration, just flashy photos and flags? If you look closer than your or your parents’ black and white autographed photo, you will see that it has a much more purposeful purpose. Space exploration actually benefits the environment and the population, and it allows important new scientific discoveries to be made.

Space exploration would benefit the environment. If we moved our dirty factories to another planet, this would reduce Earth pollution and provide a lower-cost alternative to building completely non-polluting factories. Also, space exploration may allow for better sites for greener living. For example, we could find a planet with more direct sunlight and a heat-only ozone layer. Or we could find a planet with natural cave tunnels for transit systems and cities so that no machinery would have to be brought to delve the cities. Space exploration might allow for environmental supplements to be pumped through to Earth so that we could still enjoy the environment but with less maintenance.

Space exploration could help the population. Space exploration could do this by finding new planets for the world to go to in an emergency or if the population gets too large for Earth to handle. There are probably dozens of planets with all the essentials of what we need — water, air, sunlight, and oxygen. In this way, space exploration could help the population. Finally, if you’re just ever yearning to go on a vacation, space exploration is very important to find new vacay destinations to get to if ever they are needed.

Space exploration could lead to important new scientific discoveries. For example, it could lead to the discovery of a new alien nation to be represented in the United Nations, or another tribe/nation of humans for us to connect with on a new Earth, or maybe one that is in need of our aid for creating a better government with freer rights. This would create the “United Intersolar Nations (UIN)” or, with the proper advancements the “United Republic Of Galactic Nations (URGN). Also, we could find planets that are empty, on which we could perform potentially harmful new science experiments with no casualties. This is how space exploration could lead to critical scientific discoveries.

Overall, space exploration is one of those things that just popped up, took hold and led the way to new greatness – the greatness of better science, more sustainable living, and happier lives. That’s why we should all promote space exploration. All of us should be those annoying salesmen we shoo from our doors in the morning. A number of people have come to agree with this fact, and in 2013 applications to live on Mars began. Even now we are developing those ships, for in all of our hearts there lies a simple yearning for the stars. So take action! Move! And send in your application today!

The Ghost in the Haunted Mansion

One evening, the haunted mansion had just risen from the ground. Werewolves were guarding it, and if they bit you, you’d turn into one. Zombies were guarding it too, and if they bit you, you also turned into one — unless they devoured you. The zombies and werewolves were all people who used to work in the house. There was a ghost who was the king of the house because he had once owned the house until it sank into the ground. He was the man that had run the house. This house was not just your ordinary house. It had gone down in 1849. It had fancy golden arches all over it, and it was covered in vines. There was a second ghost who was not king of the house, but he was the king’s servant. He would look around for something to eat. Sometimes he found ghost nibblets and sometimes he found seeds and berries. For dessert he’d have a cookie pie.

One night he was looking around for something to eat when he bumped into one of the werewolves and said, “Are you a ghost nibblet or a berry?”

The werewolf said, “Get out of the house if you’re not a ghost!”

The ghost said, “I am a ghost, you rotten berry!”

The werewolf replied angrily at the ghost, “I am not a rotten berry! I am a werewolf!” The werewolf was huffing and puffing and had jagged teeth.

“Try and eat me!” yelled the ghost. “Oh wait, you can’t, because you’re a werewolf, not a ghost. I could actually be inside you if I wanted to.”

“Oh yeah? Try it!”

So the ghost went inside of the werewolf. Once he got out of the werewolf he said, “Oh, you’re never going to be my dinner…” So he went back into the mansion. He realized that he wouldn’t find dinner inside because he had eaten all that was left, so he ventured out into the woods surrounding the house. He had seen the trees but he’d never gone in one.

“What’s this?” he said. “Is it called a hardly bargly? Or is it called a tree? I’ll go with tree! Yeah, tree would be the good name.” He went out and he saw something. It was a panther, but the ghost did not know that. “Oh, you must be one of the werewolves that I’ve heard so much about!” But the panther didn’t say anything because he wasn’t dead yet. So he couldn’t see the ghost, but he could hear him.

The panther thought, What’s that sound? That must be my head talking to myself…

He walked on to ghost’s property and was killed in seconds by the werewolves. The ghost of the panther ran into the forest, saw the ghost and said, “You mangy little thing! You made me go to the werewolf place!” He was running around, but the ghost just floated on.

The ghost kept going until he saw some quicksand. He thought the quicksand was ghost pellets and he tried to pick it up, but he couldn’t because it was just regular quicksand. “Bah! Not ghost pellets.” He moved on until he found an old wood shack. He went through the walls and he saw a little boat. “What is this thing?” It was a canoe made of three logs that were all put together to make a little…it wasn’t really even a boat – it was more like a raft. He moved it without anyone seeing, put it in the water and started paddling. “This is so cool!” he said. He rode it down the river until he reached a waterfall. “Why doesn’t this thing fly?” The raft went over the waterfall while the ghost was still flying. “I guess I’ll just have to keep flying and follow the river,” thought the ghost. He decided to follow the river because he thought it would lead him to food.

He got to the end of the river and walked right into a trap. It was just a table of ghost pellets with a cage on top. The ghost said, “Finally! Ghost pellets!” He went to the table and ate all the ghost pellets, but then the cage dropped and he found the King Ghost standing outside.

“You’re coming back with me,” said the King Ghost. He took him back to the haunted mansion, threw him in a cage, and said, “You will be punished for going outside of the property!” The servant ghost knew he wasn’t supposed to leave the property, but he hadn’t known that the King Ghost would find him.

After the King Ghost left, the servant ghost bent the bars of the cage and went outside. The servant started dragging his rags home, but he accidentally went to mansion of silly stuff, not the haunted mansion! The mansion of silly stuff was next to the haunted mansion, and it was where all the bad ghosts went.

The mansion of silly stuff looked exactly the same as the haunted mansion — it even had the same address. When the servant went inside, he saw a clown that popped out with two kitchen knives in his hands! The clown had a creepy smile painted on his face with sharp teeth, and the little ghost walked through him. He saw that there were ghost crocodiles, ghost sharks, and ghost orcas! He tried to fly up, but then he saw that he couldn’t fly — he had to surf across the water in the mansion. This place was very cold and he rode all around it. Then he found the worst thing of all. It was the ghost trap that held every single ghost that had died there. Then he saw a ghost that he recognized in the trap — it was his father hanging upside down. He had blood all over his face and he was hanging from a rope.

“Ahh! What is that thing?” said the servant ghost. Then he saw another trap that had ghosts parts in it. “I could’ve gotten my father out of the trap if I was the strongest ghost on Earth, but I see that little trap and I’m not falling for it,” he said.

He moved on and then he saw something…it really was the worst thing in the world. He saw a beheaded monster! The monster was squiggling around with arms like an octopus and had fifteen heads that had all been popped off. This monster was black with wings and breathed fire. It was 30,000 feet high and it was all bloody. The monster was so big it barely fit in the house, and it was trying to eat the ghost for a snack. It was drooling blood and was soaking wet with blood. It had orcas that could eat you as a tail. It was screaming like crazy, “Rawr!”

The servant hid behind a rock and said, “That’s gonna take awhile for me to defeat…so I’m just going to sneak around it if I can.” The monster had heads all over its back so it could see everything around it. The ghost tried to sneak around it, but one of the heads saw him. The head breathed fire at him and just barely missed him.

“Well, that was an unexpected party favor,” said the servant ghost. He snuck away and then he saw that there were lots of dead ghosts on the floor. He saw a sword, picked it up, and chopped off one of the heads. Blood and organs exploded from the neck. The monster screeched and the ghost had to cover his ears.

“I’ll just kill the main head,” said the servant ghost. He chopped off the main head with a sword and the monster fell down to the ground. “Well, at least that’s over.” He flew all the way out of the house. “Hey, I’m out in the forest again…oh boy. Now I just have to run away from the King Ghost.” He didn’t know that outside there was a trick. The King Ghost had made the bars of the first cage out of ghost gold, but this time, he made them out of diamonds and iron so that the servant ghost couldn’t bend the bars. The servant ghost stepped on the trap, but he got out of the way of the cage at the last minute. And then, there was more blood! The King Ghost had brought a dragon that ate everything that he saw, including plastic. The dragon’s tail was made of blood, and its face was made of blood — the whole dragon was made of blood — nothing but blood! The blood was red and so fresh that it was streaming. He was making an ocean of blood that nobody wanted to cross because it had orcas in it. The blood dragon was made out of magic blood and had sharp blood teeth.

The servant ghost said, “Blood! Yay! I love eating blood with my noodles…but I still like tacos better.”

The King Ghost yelled, “What? You crazy ghost! I will kill you!” Then he took out his humongous carving knife and threw it at the servant.

The servant caught the knife. “Oh? Was that your best throw?” He threw the knife back at the King Ghost and hit him in the heart. The King Ghost died. But the servant ghost became King because once the King Ghost dies, the servant becomes King. Once the servant became King, he said his first word as the King: “This was the worst day ever! But now that I’m King, I will search for all the old King’s secrets. I will search for the secret lever…”

He found the lever on top of a painting. He pulled the lever, and it opened up a passageway that led all the way to the basement. When he reached the basement, he walked down a hall full of spiderwebs, and there was a very faint light that only bats could see in. Only the old King Ghost had ever been to the basement. It was very creepy with a lot of blood on the pictures and walls. Once the new King Ghost made it down in the basement, he saw there was another lever! On the lever it said, “If you pull this lever down, this mansion will sink down to the ground.”

“Hmm, that’s probably how this mansion sank the first time!” said the new King Ghost. Then he saw the old King Ghost’s bones lying where he had died for the first time. They were in the shape of a human and had goosebumps all over them. Then the bones came alive.

The bones said in a dark, low voice, “Who has made me alive? Whoever has made me alive must be the King!”

The new King Ghost said, “It is I, the servant ghost.”

“What the heck!” said the bones. The bones were so surprised that they almost broke into a million pieces. “What happened to the original King Ghost?”

“Oh yeah, yeah,” said the new King. “Well, there was a knife in his heart…and now he’s dead…and I don’t have a heart, so you can’t kill me. Yeah.”

“Why! What! You killed me? Well, you killed my ghost, not me, because I’m bones…but you killed the GHOST OF ME!”

The new King went back towards the lever. He thought that if he pulled the lever, then it would take him to an Evil Land of Evil, where he belonged. So he went back to the lever and pulled it. The house shook like there was an earthquake. It was like a tornado sucked it underground. It got darker, and darker, and darker, until it was so dark that he realized he was in Ghost Land. All the zombies and werewolves had disappeared. The King wasn’t in the Evil Land of Evil. He was in Ghost Land, where he would sleep forever.

The Battle

I pulled and thrashed and tried my best to heave him off me. He was an evil piece of work. I socked him directly in his stomach, and he looked green, as if he was about to hurl. He donned patterns of wicked grins. Then, for a moment, he goggled at me, looking sheepish as if he might let me toss him across the room. But he stuck to me as firmly as a tree’s roots were planted into the ground. I swore.

“You, come right here!” my teacher screeched at her usual high pitch.

“Coming!” I gasped for air.

My arch-nemesis just would not let go without ending the fight.

“Stay and fight, you coward!” my sworn enemy screamed.

A voice in my head spurred me on, and I continued the war. I bit him, I punched him, and I swore that if I ever got him off me, I would murder him. “Ouch! Curses!” I had stubbed my puffy toe. I was getting beaten up and making a huge fool of myself in front of my whole class. My face burned red from embarrassment as my classmates sniggered and giggled. My head was stuck under his arm!

“Would one of you be kind enough to help him?” my twin sister said, with a pang of annoyance in her voice.

My best friend volunteered. Ha! I thought, you’re no match for two kids! But I had underestimated the power of my evil foe. One was defeating two of us! The teacher called up another one of my classmates to join the battle! But my crooked fiend was invincible. My twin just kept on calling up one student at a time to try and help me overcome my opponent. But nothing stood in his way. He was indestructible! At last, all of my classmates joined the fight!

We strategized. One person would try and pull him off me from his thick left shoulder, the other would try from the other shoulder. Everyone else would try pulling him off the top. The name of our battle plan? B.U.A.S.O!. Everyone got to their stations. We counted: 1, 2, 3, GO! They all tugged and pulled. Beads of sweat trickled down my neck. But our adversary retaliated with his own wicked plan: hang on tight and don’t let the stupid kids take over! Oh, yeah, and strangle the innocent victim (me) while you’re at it!

The irritating thing was that the teacher did absolutely nothing to help us. She just sat there, and occasionally took a sip of cool pink lemonade. After a few futile attempts to yank the enemy off me, the headmistress walked into the classroom to carry out her weekly ‘class supervision.’ My guess is that she scribbled something like, ‘class 567 is acting like a band of uncivilized monkeys’. Which is really offensive to monkeys!

At that moment, my friend grabbed a pair of scissors and tried to pierce the rival’s invulnerable and hairy skin. I spun around, with the enemy on me, trying not to get cut by the scissor. Then, disaster struck. I whipped around, smashed into the headmistress and knocked her over! She screeched in frustration, her puny spectacles dangling of her long, bony nose with steam escaping her ears. Her face was red as a tomato.

“YOU!” she yelled in a fury.

She blindly lunged at me, and in her rage, seized my arm (with the enemy still hanging onto me) and dragged me to her eerie office (dun dun dun!)!

Many strange artifacts hung here and there in her domain. A clock hung upside-down on a peg, and broomsticks lay still on the floor. She slumped onto a chair and donned an amused grin.

“Need help with that rival of yours, don’t you?” my principal said.

“Yes, miss!” I squeaked.

“Well, he can just stay on top of you and tackle you for eternity, I don’t care! That will be your punishment for knocking me over!” I swear that I heard my foe cackle with glee.

My enemy had blue spots all over his body from all the punches I had thrown at him. When I trudged out of the room, I accidently pushed a china pot over. It tumbled off the desk and shattered on the floor.

“AGAIN!?” my principal screamed.

This time, she charged at me and tried to pull me. Fortunately, she missed, and got the enemy instead. He landed on the floor, his stringy and woolly hair in a mess. I was free!

After a long lecture (with an occasional yell) the school bell finally rang. Students trampled each other, eager to get out of the prison. “FREEDOM!” they all yelled in unison.

When I got home, my mother asked the usual question, “What did you do at school today?”

I answered, “Today, I beat up my arch-enemy with B.U.A.S.O!” I puffed out my chest and flexed my muscles like Superman.

“What’s that?” my mom asked, while doing the dishes.

“It’s a battle strategy!”

“And who was your arch-enemy?” my mother asked, now very interested in the matter.

“My polka dotted sweater! B.U.A.S.O. stood for Beat Up A Sweater Operation!”

The Lightning Conspiracy

Peter rushed down the stairs. 10 minutes. He took out the guard near the door. 9 minutes. He heard the boosters starting. 8 minutes. He started to lockpick the door. 2 minutes. The door was unlocked. 0 minutes. The rocket took off. Peter’s heart sank. He had failed his mission.

Peter grabbed his coffee and put on his coat. “Another tiring day at work,” he mumbled to no one in particular. That is when the most unexpected thing happened. Two NSA agents appeared at the door of his apartment.

“Peter F. John, we need you,” the agent named Albert said.

“To do what? Make a cup of coffee?” Peter joked.

“Sir, this is serious matter. The NSA needs you to take down Lightning Industries. You did well stopping a nuclear war between the United States and Russia.”

“Do you mean the Lightning Industries that can blow up the moon with a touch of a computer? Oh yeah, by the way, you didn’t give me the 100,000 dollars like you promised.”

“Sir, are there any other Lightning Industries? And the President cheated you, not the NSA,” the agent said.

“Can’t your NSA goons take the company down?”

“The NSA does not have the right to take action. We can’t interrogate people, send people on suicide missions, etc.”

“So, what’s going to happen?”

“They are going to turn America to civil war.”

Peter was stunned. He always thought Lightning Industries was the greatest company in the world. How could Lightning Industries start a civil war in America?

“Sir? Are you there?” the NSA agent asked.

“How are they going to send America into civil war?”

“By crashing a rocket into Los Angeles. The rocket will have the U.S.A flag. People will blame the government. The second stage will involve a nuclear attack on the west coast. The attacks push America onto the edge of civil war. Finally, Lightning Industries will send in their troops and overthrow the government. Peter, the CIA and the FBI are made up of spies for Lightning Industries. The NSA intercepted a message about this.”

“What do I get for saving the world?”

“3,000,000 dollars, and we will buy you a nice estate just outside of New York City.”

“Okay. I’ll do it. Just make sure I get the reward.”

“Start Project: Civil War now.”

“Yes Mr. Lightning.”

“Oh yeah, and one more thing. Kill that highly skilled agent Peter John while you’re at it.”

Peter was finally there. The tallest building in the world. Lightning Tower. 520 floors and headquarters of the first multi-trillion dollar company. Armed with a pistol and a lock-picking kit, he knew he would never pass through security. His mission was to make sure the rocket never launched. “Freeze!” the armed guards shouted. Peter kicked the first guard and sent him crashing into the guard behind him. The four remaining guards started to fire away with their rifles. Peter took cover behind a truck. He loaded his pistol and fired at the guards. All the guards dropped to the floor and were saying their last prayers, and soon they all fell and lay motionless in a pool of blood. Peter slowly lock-picked the back door and went inside. He got in the service elevator and went to the control room.

He was surprised to see the control room empty. He looked at the enormous screen. He saw the target. Los Angeles. “What!! Only 10 more minutes till the rocket is launched!” Peter yelled.

The elevator down from the control room seemed like the slowest elevator that he’d ever been on. The elevator went above the 519th and a half floor, so he had to take the stairs down.

Peter rushed down the stairs. 10 minutes. He took out the guard near the door. 9 minutes. He heard the boosters starting. 8 minutes. He started to lockpick the door. 2 minutes. The door was unlocked. 0 minutes. The rocket took off.  Peter’s heart sank. He had failed his mission.

“Breaking News. A U.S. rocket crashed into the heart of Los Angeles, California, leaving 2,000 dead and many more injured. Revolts in San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, and Oakland have led California to the brink of civil war,” the reporter announced. Peter’s heart sank. If he had just been a little earlier, the U.S. would have nothing to worry about. Then he remembered something. The nuclear attack.

 

The Story of Lightning Industries

Lightning Industries was originally a weapons company that was founded in 1971 by 56- year-old Mark Lightning. He provided weapons to the government during the Iraq War and other various wars fought by the U.S. Mark bought tons of companies, and Lighting Industries’ yearly profit jumped to $12,234,109,459,017 in 2013, making it the first company worth a trillion dollars. Mark died on August 23, 2014, at the age of 93, after helping to fight Ebola in Africa. James Lightning took over the multi-trillion dollar company. Unlike his father, he was corrupted by evil and didn’t think about the middle and lower classes. His company became a monopoly in every department, and other companies fell like helpless chickens. His ultimate goal is to take over America. He gained control of the CIA, FBI, Army, Air Force, and the U.S National Guard by persuading (and bribing) them to take down the U.S government.

 

“I’m never going to get another job again,” Peter mumbled to himself.

That’s when two Lightning Industries troopers smashed through the door. “We have been ordered to put you in The United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Fremont County, Colorado until you have to present your case at court,” one yelled.

“What the !@#$!! What the !@#$ did I do? And did you really have to crash into my door? Have you guys heard something called a !@#$ing DOORBELL!!”

“Mr. John, you have been charged with assault and murder,” the buff guard said.

“Who did I murder?”

“You killed 5 Lighting Industries guards and injured 7 guards, 3 of whom are in critical condition.”

“You’re not the police though. You can’t arrest me!”

“Refuse to come with us, and we will shoot.” The guards then pulled out their pistols. “Last chance,” they warned Peter.

“NEVER!!!” Peter shouted.

There were gunshots and screams from the apartment. Then, everything went silent.

Peter woke up with his eyes bloodshot and his chest throbbing with pain. He slowly got up from his bed. He looked across the room. He saw Albert sleeping on a chair.

“Albert?” Peter moaned.

Albert’s eyes fluttered open.

“My God, Peter, you’re awake!” Albert rushed toward him.

“Yeah, I think I realized that I’m awake. What am I doing here?”

“Those Lightning Industries guards shot shrapnel into your chest. Our NSA agent on the street heard those gunshots and called the nearby hospital. Fortunately you live on the first floor so the medics could find you quickly. Right now you’re at a classified location.”

“How long have I been out?”

“2 weeks in a coma.”

“What has happened in the last 2 weeks?”

“America’s military forces have taken sides. The states of California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, and every state west of Louisiana have seceded and and declared themselves the Consolidated States of America. Lightning Industries, the Army, and Coast Guard have sided with the CSA. The Air Force went against Lightning Industries for framing them for the nuclear attacks on Portland, Oregon and the rocket crash on Los Angeles. So the Air Force, Marines, and Navy remain with the U.S government.”

“Wait. Are you telling me that they nuked Portland?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“S@#$!”

“Pete, don’t you realize what the biggest part is?”

“This might be World War III.”

Peter stared a long time at the building. The White House. The Fountain was gushing up water and the Columns towered high. He was going to meet the President to plan a strategy to combat the CSA.

“Good morning Mr. President, Christopher Beck.”

“This isn’t a good morning, but I’ll take the greeting,” said the stressed president.

“So, what is our strategy?”

“We surround the CSA. The Navy and Coast Guard will take the seas. The Marines are already securing the Mississippi River, and will join the 64th Tank Division en route to Topeka, Kansas.”

“Well, Mr. President, what do I do?”

“You’re going with the Navy SEALS and Albert to Boise, Idaho, to take down Lightning Industries’s main headquarters.”

“But isn’t Lightning Tower in San Diego the headquarters?”

“That’s what we thought, until the NSA figured out that the broadcasts Lightning Industries were sending to the CSA government were coming from Boise, Idaho. If you take Lightning Industries down, the CSA will lack weapons, supplies, and other troops.”

“What do I get?”

“The same reward you were supposed to get for stopping this civil war.”

Peter, Albert, and ten other Navy SEALS parachuted down from the plane. The wind blew against Peter’s cheeks as he floated down from the high altitude. The team met up in town, not wearing their uniforms of course. “Alright guys,” Peter whispered through the the comlinks in their ears. “Our operation will consist of two teams, with six people in each group. The first team will secure the perimeter. The U.S hacked their security system, so it should be easy to get in. The second group will make its way inside, and the first group will follow. Then, we plant the bomb inside the command center, and we get out. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” the soldiers said in unision.

Peter, Albert, and four Navy SEALS made their way through the dark building. It took them 30 minutes to find the building that was underground in the sewers.

“Hawk-1, this is Easy-4. We’ve secured the perimeter and took out some guards. We’ll be joining you soon,” the commander of the first group said.

“Roger that, Easy-4. We haven’t encountered any hostiles yet.”

Peter took out the map of the headquarters. He saw that the control room was the first door to the right. The team walked down the hall. That’s when about 50 CSA Army Special Ops surrounded the team, blocking their path to the control room where the self-button was. They had no chance of getting in.

“Hey Pete,” Albert whispered. “I’ll take on these guards, and you make a beeline for the control room.”

“But you’ll surely die,” Peter responded.

“There are more important things at stake the my life, Peter.”

Peter whispered Albert’s plan to the other Navy SEALS. First, Albert started to fire at the guards and threw a smoke grenade. The guards couldn’t see Peter and the rest of the troops making their way to the control room in the smoke and the confusion. Peter pushed the door open and found hundreds of workers inside.

“Everyone evacuate this building immediately!!!” Peter shouted to the workers. The workers didn’t leave at first, but after they saw the guns, they rushed out the exit.

“It’s going to take some time for me to hack this main control panel and blow this place up,” the technician said.

“How long is it going to take?” Peter asked.

“Five minutes.”

Albert was having trouble fending off the troops. He already had wounds in his foot, arm, and leg. He was getting drowsy. He knew he was losing blood. He started to collapse. His eyelids closed, and he thought about home. He then lost consciousness.

“Vulcan-5, this is Hawk-1. Easy-4 and Hawk-1 need extraction,” Peter shouted into his comlink.

“Roger that, Hawk-1. ETA 2 minutes,” the Vulcan-5 commander shouted.

Soon, Easy-4 and Vulcan-5 arrived to remove Peter and the rest of Hawk-1. Except for Albert. Peter flew away in the helicopter, and all the troops shouted with joy as they watched the factory blow up. Shrapnel flew in all different directions. A mushroom cloud hovered over Boise. All the troops strapped their gas masks on. It was the second atomic bomb used in war. Peter knew that they had probably now won. But not without a cost.

 

EPILOGUE

On January 14, 2017, the CSA merged back with the USA. James Lightning was reluctant to sell the company to another big company, Energy Enterprises, but advisors convinced him it was for the best. The Lighting Conspiracy was released by the government and James Lightning was put on trial for treason and sure enough, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Energy Enterprises helped America rebuild after the second American Civil War. Albert Goodman and Peter John were awarded the Medal of Honor for their bravery in combat. Peter retired to his new house near the Hudson River in New York. He does not want to be disturbed, but that time will have to wait.

Peter was reading his morning newspaper when the NSA showed up at his door. The NSA agent started to walk forward and began to talk to Peter.

“Peter, we have orders from the president to extract you and bring you to Washington D.C.”

“To do what?”

“We have another mission for you.”

 

The Lonely Woman in the Kitchen

Once upon a time, a woman closed the door with a smack. She took some flour, milk, and butter out of the closet door. There was no one else in the room. She felt kind of sad. She started to mix the flour, milk, and butter. Once she mixed it, it made a really yellow gooey mix. She just wanted a friend. She put the mixture in the oven and set the timer to 40 minutes. Then she sang:

I don’t have a friend

I want a friend

whaa whaa

I’m feeling blue

 

When the timer rang, she took out the cake and let it cool by the window. When it was cool she ate it all up.

 

The Sweet Family

There was a dog named Boa-Boa that lived with an owner named Alexandra. Alexandra had a baby named Margot. The baby was two years old. Boa-Boa wanted her owner to stay at home. Alexandra was always going to work. Boa-Boa was sad, because she didn’t have anyone to stay home with. She would go in her bed and sleep until Alexandra came back home. She woke up and jumped up and down when Alexandra came back. They played with each other. They played fetch outside and they did some tricks. Boa-Boa’s favorite trick was jumping to get a treat. When Boa-Boa was done with her treat, she went in her room. Alexandra went into Boa-Boa’s room.

The next day when Alexandra went to work, Boa-Boa went to get a sheet of paper and a pencil. She wrote down what she was going to do to stop Alexandra from going to work. Her plan was to tell Alexandra why she didn’t want her to go after she came home. When she came home, Boa-Boa gave Alexandra the paper.

Alexandra asked Boa-Boa, “What does this letter say?”

Boa-Boa said, “Arf arf arf arf arf!”

But Alexandra still didn’t understand. Then Alexandra turned Boa-Boa to speaking the English language, and Boa-Boa said, “This letter says that you cannot go to work anymore, because I love you. I mean, I mean you love me.”

Then Alexandra tried to turn Boa-Boa back into a regular dog because Boa-Boa sounded really silly. But Alexandra couldn’t turn Boa-Boa back into a regular dog, and Boa-Boa started to say crazy things, like: “***-a-doodle-doo, I love you, Alexandra and her dad loving and peeing, they’re walking together and says they’re ugly, but then they trip and pees on their head…” Boa-Boa kept on saying the same thing again and again. Alexandra kept shooting Boa-Boa with the laser, but Boa-Boa kept saying this:

“I love chickens, but chickens pee…”

Alexandra made Boa-Boa back into a dog, but there was a mysterious mouth on the back of her head, and the mouth started to say, “You are a poo. What a poo you are!”

And then Boa-Boa came up with a different strategy and started to walk like a human and acted so sassy. “I’m going outside and playing fetch — oops, I mean, I’m playing ball — oops, I mean I’m playing with my friend — oops! I mean I’m drinking coffee — oops, I mean I’m eating a cupcake, too!”

Alexandra was laughing so hard at what Boa-Boa was doing that her pants fell off outside. Alexandra said, “Oops!” and pulled back up her pants, but her pants broke open. When she went back home she tried to look for her pants, but she had no more pants because all of her pants were broken. Then her shirt and her underwear fell off and she was naked. And she was also bald because her hair fell off. She was naked and she needed to go outside, because she had to go to work, and she dared herself to do it, and she did.

She went outside and there was no one outside, and she went on the sidewalk, and then a million people came running toward her, and brought her back to her home. They cut her fingers off to make chicken fingers. Boa-Boa was crying and making a flood in the town.

Then Alexandra grew back her fingers, and her hair, and her shirt, and her underwear, and her pants really fast.

Then, Alexandra ran all the way home. On the way, she saw her dog Boa-Boa on the street. She picked her dog up. Alexandra took her dog Boa-Boa back home. When they got home, Boa-Boa started to act like she had been before. So Alexandra asked Boa-Boa why she was acting very strange.

Boa-Boa answered in a funny way, like: “fgfgfgfgharuiopoooppptaywgdsjjkcdiXCFHBFFGHhhhJJJAKE!”

Since Alexandra was annoyed by her dog, she gave it away to the best owner named Kuipi Lam. Alexandra walked to Kuipi Lam’s house on Tuesday. She opened Kuipi’s front door and saw Boa-Boa. “I will miss you,” Boa-Boa said in a funny way.

“I don’t care,” screamed Alexandra. Then she walked away.

“It will be okay,” Kuipi said in her house, and she petted Boa-Boa on the back. She let Boa-Boa go in her house and gave him some bones to chew on. Then Boa-Boa started to like Kuipi as her owner because Kuipi did not have to go to work because she had been fired, and she had lots of money so she was rich. She was very nice. Boa-Boa kept on chewing her bones when Kuipi was talking. Boa-Boa didn’t hear what Kuipi was saying. Kuipi was saying that it was time for dinner, but Boa-Boa didn’t go, so she didn’t eat dinner. Kuipi kept on telling her to eat dinner, but she didn’t go cause she was too busy chewing on her bones.

After Kuipi ate dinner, she called Boa-Boa to dinner again, but Boa-Boa still didn’t go. Then, Boa-Boa tried to find Kuipi, but she couldn’t find her. So Boa-Boa just went to bed.

The next day, Kuipi saw Boa-Boa not alive. She was so sad. She kept on crying and crying. Now that’s what I call a sad story. But now Kuipi can buy another dog that she will always take care of.

THE END!

P.S. I love Boa-Boa!