Tag: Fiction

Once upon a time, there was a kind wizard named Confucuis. He and his wife, Liva, lived in a happy town. Confucuis had a wizard hat, a long beard, and a staff. He was as tall as a statue of a man. But earlier, a dark wizard named Lord Black had cast a spell throughout the town, and the town had lost all its fortune. The town was so happy that it didn’t notice Lord Black casting his spell. So Confucuis decided to set off into Lord Black’s dark castle, where he had kept all the town’s gold. Confucuis packed a candle, a cup of tea, and a staff. He set off far, far away from his town. Finally, he found the entrance to Lord Black’s castle. 

“I have found Lord Black’s castle, but how am I supposed to get pass those guards?” Confucuis said to himself.

Then, he came up with an idea. He would hide behind a tree and then whisper his spell at the guards. The entrance lit up and the guards fell into a deep sleep. Confucuis crept quietly into the castle. He hid behind a wall of steel poles. He put his ear into a tiny hole in the wall. He listened to what Lord Black was saying to his servants. 

“I can’t be sleeping when Confucuis is sneaking around the castle. Find him now!” Black yelled to his servants. 

The servants and Black walked away. 

“Now’s my chance,” Confucuis whispered. He cast a spell against the steel wall and it fell over. Confucuis put on his invisibility cloak. He crept across the throne room and stopped at two temple doors with tiger faces on them. He opened the doors. He jumped through the trap door and ended up inside the dungeon. He saw the treasure chest where his country’s gold was. He suddenly grabbed the treasure chest and put all the gold into his pockets. He put his invisibility cloak back on. 

“Halt!” someone shouted. It was one of the knights. “You’re not going anywhere until you face me,” boomed the knight. 

“Fine,” said Confucuis, “then I will face you. I have a surprise for you while you are standing right there.” He cast a spell at the knight’s feet. The knight was thrown out of the castle and into the moat. Confucuis now put his invisibility cloak on. He walked all the way to the entrance. 

“Now my job is done,” he said, and he headed back to his country and returned all the gold to where it belonged. 

One time a family went to the Big Apple Circus. The oldest was a girl. She was thirteen. The youngest was a boy who was nine turning ten. It was the middle of January. And it was ten degrees outside. So the show started. There were a lot of “oh”s and “oo”s from the crowd. So then the show was over and everybody started to leave, but then the girl and boy had to go to the bathroom but they realized their parents weren’t there. But they were super calm. So they quickly went to the bathroom, then went outside to see if their parents were there. But they weren’t. So they went to see if there was a security guard or police officers and there were a few police officers.

So they went to one of them and asked the police, “Can you help us find our parents?”

And the Police said, “What are your parents’ phone numbers?” The kids told the police their parents’ phone numbers and the police called their parents’ phone numbers and they both answered, but they were talking oddly. So they finished talking and the kids told the police that their parents were talking very oddly. So the police said, “Did they tell you where they are?”

“They said something about the dump.”

They said, “Oh no.”

And the kids said, “What?”

And the police said, “Go home. If anything happens, call 911. We gotta go. Don’t talk to anyone even if it’s someone you know. Also, lock the doors, close the windows, and shut the shades. Don’t answer the door even if it’s us and we’ll tell you when. And don’t make any noise at all. And we will tell you when you can let us in and we will ring the doorbell four times and then you can let us in. We better get going, see you later.”

Their parents snuck up behind them and said, “Boo.”

Then they both woke up to the smell of pancakes.

The End

Part One: Before

Chapter One                                            

“We must leave Candyport!” The president said on the TV. “The broccoli monsters have been roaming for almost a decade, and gummy bear dust has been blinding us for five months. We simply cannot survive these conditions, and if we do survive, a supernova will kill us instantly. If someone really wants to stay, then fine. However, I do not recommend staying.”

Basically all the citizens of Candyport agreed with the president, except for two people, who happened to be, unfortunately, my parents, Jane and Michael Buttercup. They were literally addicted to candy; they had to eat at least twelve packs of gummy bears or Skittles every week, or they would have diarrhea for the rest of their lives. Somehow I got lucky and I didn’t get addicted to candy. My mom and dad also wanted to stay because “we’ve never lived anywhere outside the planet,” or “I’ve never even been on an airplane. I could be nauseous and barf the rest of my life with diarrhea,” or “the President said it was our choice to go. We’re choosing not to go.”

So, in other words, my parents didn’t want to go, didn’t have to go, and didn’t go.

But it was also my choice if I would go or not. I wasn’t required to stay with my parents, since now that I was thirteen, I was no longer a minor. That’s how it worked in Candyport. Anyway, conditions were terrible on my home planet. Ninety-foot tall broccoli monsters were killing people with just swats of their deadly florettes, and they were stomping over our beautiful, scenic, prized candy mountains, creating candy dust storms that blocked out the sun, which made it even harder to predict when the sun would turn into a supernova! Ugh!

One day, I met up with my best friend Vera.

“My parents are so annoying,” I complained. “They refuse to leave. That’s fine with me, but I want to leave, and they want me to stay! They treat me like I’m still a baby.”

“Well, maybe my mom could talk with your mom. You could board the spaceship with us. Oh! Gummy bear incoming! Duck, Emily!” Vera says.

“Thank you so much!” I say, as the gummy bear lands harmlessly behind us.

Later at dinner I bring up our conversation with my mom. “Oh, yes. Vera’s mom called me. I’ll have to think it over. You know, I will worry about you. I can’t just leave you with someone.” 

“But Vera and her mom aren’t just someone! We know them!” I protest. My mother just stares at me with that penetrating glance that makes you shut up.

The next day, my mom tells me that yes, I can go with Vera and her mom.

“Thanks for letting me go, Mom. I know that was a hard decision for you and Dad to make.” I hug her.

“When are you leaving, sweetie?” she asks me.

“In three days. Thursday afternoon.”

The days flew by. I mostly spent them eating (considering that not a lot of good food would be available on the spaceship), reading, staying at home (since the candy storms were getting even worse, it was a good thing that I was leaving the planet soon), sleeping, and worrying that the flight would be delayed, or even canceled.

Well, the flight was delayed. Not even the President knows how long we will have to wait. I think that we should just go. Conditions are steadily getting worse and today’s part of the storm will be better than next week’s part of the storm. I sigh, and turn on the TV.

“Breaking news!” A news reporter appears on the screen. “President Gumstein has a message for us. This is him live!”

“I announce that the Escaper Express will start boarding at exactly 5:15 am tomorrow, and will take off at exactly 6:00 am tomorrow. The Escaper Express II will start boarding at exactly 6:15 AM tomorrow and will take off at exactly 7:00 AM tomorrow. This will go on and on until two weeks have passed. In total, there will be three hundred thirty-six Escaper Expresses, if the plan succeeds. Each Escaper Express will have enough room for eight thousand, nine hundred and thirty people, perfectly fitting Candyport’s population of approximately three million people. Each spaceship will be equipped with a high-tech machine that provides infinite food. It has not been 100% approved, more like 98% approved. Our time here is short, as we all know, so we must make do with what we have. That’s it. I know that was a lot of information coming at you, so I will repeat myself…”

I jump up. “Oh my molasses! Dad, did you hear that? I’m leaving in two weeks!”

“Yes, sweetie,” he says. “Stay strong, Emma. I love you.”

That night, I call Vera. “Which Escape Express are our tickets for?” I ask.

“One sec,” she says. I hear some rummaging. “Escape Express XXXVII. Next Monday, starts boarding at 6:15 PM, takes off at 7:00 PM,” Vera reports.

“Well, it could be worse,” I say. “See you Monday!”

I go to the living room. “Hey, Mom. I’m leaving tomorrow evening.”

“Okay, Emmie.” She hasn’t called me that since I was eight. But I have a feeling she just wants to spend time with me. So I let her be thirty-three, pretend I’m still six, and just spend time with her baby, taking in my smell, how I look, everything about me, for the last time.

Chapter Two

Monday afternoon comes all too soon. I hug my parents goodbye and head to the square with a single suitcase of clothes and books, Vera, and her mom. President Gumstein wasn’t kidding—there are probably almost nine thousand people here, and the Escaper Express XXXVII is huge, it barely fits in the main square. And our main square is gigantic, like, two square miles gigantic. I look at the spaceship in awe. The front has a huge, round window surrounded by smaller windows on the circumference of the round window, and the rest of the spaceship is covered in a thick layer of square glass panels that seem unbreakable; I sure hope they are! Suddenly I spot President Gumstein himself!

He shouts into his megaphone, “Okay, everyone! Quiet down!” A hush falls over the crowd. “This is the Escaper Express XXXVII! Not the Escaper Express XXXVI or the Escaper Express XXXVIII! Check your tickets. Okay, everyone’s good? Great. Now, divide yourself into twenty-six sections. Each of your tickets has a letter of the alphabet. Section A to my right, your left. Section B to my left; you’re right of Section A…”

“Looks like we’re Section H,” Vera’s mom says. We walk to Section H. There were still around three hundred fifty people in each group, now I understand why the spaceship had to be so big. It appears that there are twenty-six doors (one for each group, I presume). The president lets each group board the Escaper Express one by one. It’s a good thing that H is towards the beginning of the alphabet, because even just standing outside for fifteen minutes, plus waiting to board in the square, is grueling. One minute, it’s cold, another minute hot. One minute the air is clean, the next minute fruit tape starts to bounce off people’s heads.

Finally, President Gumstein calls Section H to board. I take my last look at the city where I was born, with its oceans of blue raspberry Airheads, its dark chocolate soil, and its trees of rainbow Fruit Roll-Up leaves. I take probably my last deep breath of fresh clean air with the scent of candy. There is no going back now. I step onto the spacecrafts. Yes, plural spacecrafts—one the physical, one the spacecraft of emotions I am feeling. And finally the spacecraft of possibilities that was awaiting me on the other side of the door.

Part Two: The First Weeks

Chapter Three

The first week is definitely rough. I’m not used to so many people living in one place and every day I think about the stuff I left at my former home. For me it’s my bed. Of course all the Escaper Expresses have real beds, but they are never exactly the most comfortable since the planet’s United Council had to manufacture three million of them, plus sheets, blankets, pillows, pillowcases, mattresses, etc. And don’t forget all three hundred thirty-six Escaper Expresses. Enough of that.

When I wake up, I listen for the alarm clock, but it isn’t an alarm clock waking me up. It’s the Breakfast Bell, which always rings at exactly 7:00 AM. All twenty-six sections go to the Main Dining Hall, in the center of the spaceship, where there’s a huge buffet. Well, very occasionally I wake up to an alarm clock, waking up at around 5:00 AM if it’s my turn to help cook food for the day. But this rarely happens to me, since there are almost nine thousand people on one ship, and only about one hundred people needed to cook food. That seems like a lot, but when you think about it, one hundred is tiny compared to nine thousand.

I miss a lot of stuff from Candyport, but there’s still a lot of unique things that you can only experience on a spaceship, like zero gravity. It takes some getting used to, but since I got used to it, I can float and fly around with just a kick of my feet. Plus, you know that huge window surrounded by smaller windows that I talked about earlier? It’s called the Rotunda, and the view from it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I can see the stars, and galaxies, and it feels like I am a mere grain of sand in the dense, endless ocean.

Once, I think I see a supernova in the distance, millions of light years away. It is shades of blue and violet and there are some splashes of yellow, and in the center there is a speck of white, but just for a second. I know it can’t be the supernova that will swallow up Candyport—it has been four days since we took off and Candyport is already fifty light years away—but for that short second, I feel a twinge of pain. I know my parents will be stranded, the only ones on my former home planet. Why didn’t I urge them to go with me? They were there when I was watching TV, and the president said there was an infinite food machine… they probably weren’t listening that closely, but still! They could have had infinite candy and not have diarrhea for the rest of their lives.

I forcefully push those thoughts out of my mind. If I think about my parents for too long, a balloon already inflated from living on a spacecraft (possibly eternally) will pop. And everything will come out.

The food is better than I expected. If you don’t think about the fact that it was made from a machine with who knows what, it tastes pretty decent. I guess in every hundred people, you’re bound to find a good cook. Every Friday, there is even pizza—but not like bad school lunch personal pizzas—real pizza. Sometimes for lunch there’s hamburgers with fries, or maybe a hot dog. For breakfast there is usually waffles or cereal. For some reason, 20% of the food produced by the machine is cereal. Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, every kind of sugary cereal you can think of. For dinner, it’s like lunch, but every once in a while the cooks throw in some pasta.

Chapter Four

Within a week I have mostly adjusted to living on a spaceship. And by mostly I mean, mostly. I still think about my parents every once in a while, but I’ve gotten better at ignoring my thoughts. A little part of me tells me that it’s wrong, but I ignore that too. Also, about every other day I just get a little nauseous. It isn’t too unpleasant—I don’t barf—but it’s just a little unexpected. Like, one moment, it’s been two days since the last time I got nauseous, and I think I’m no longer in the nausea phase. The next moment, I get dizzy.

One day I’m in the Rotunda, just looking out. And Vera comes. We silently talk to each other. And we just hug. I know it sounds kind of stupid, but we just know what each other is thinking. We stare at the stars. And we stay there for fifteen minutes, just thinking about everything, about our old life, and Vera’s dad (his brother murdered him, only three people know it), and my parents. And when our next cooking shift will be, and trying to picture Candyport when the Escaper Express XXXVII blasted off. Were Candyport’s rings turquoise or lavender? Oh, right, they were turquoise with indigo speckles. What color was the planet? Red or gold? Oh right, it was a rainbow…so pretty. My dad had glasses, wait no he had contacts. I can’t remember… isn’t living on a spaceship for a long time bad for your brain? And the radiation is ten times stronger than on Candyport, right? I should have stayed… no I shouldn’t have. I’ll live longer on the Escaper Express…or will I?

Every once in a while, someone gets called to the Candyport Connections Room. If you get called, it’s usually not a good thing. I’ve seen people come out of there, red faced, puffy eyed and teary. The CCR will probably only be in use until the Escaper Express CCCXXXVI blasts off, unless there’s an urgent message from someone staying on Candyport, like my parents. Then it will be converted to a museum dedicated to the future generations of Candyport, so they can learn about their ancestors’ home planet.

Chapter Five

When I was a kid, I thought Candyport was perfect. When a candy storm happened, I thought it was a blessing from the candy gods. When I played Candyland, I thought that it actually was just a small country in Candyport.

When I was a kid, more importantly, I heard fairy tales. I had no idea what a fairy was, or why people called these tales “fairy” tales. One fairy tale Vera and I heard was called “A Planet Called Earth.” It was about this fascinating planet with blue oceans, green and brown continents, flashing lights, and no rings! Plus, the humans of Earth didn’t have any natural candy landforms, and had to make candy in factories! Imagine that! Crazy stuff! There were strange creatures called “animals,” who were every other living thing besides the humans. Whoever came up with that fairy tale certainly had a crazy imagination. The humans of Earth were so big-headed, and all they were doing was just destroying their planet little by little. Amazing to think that the people of Candyport and the people of Earth were the same species. We were beyond being from different planets. It was like we were from different universes.

Part Three: Miracles

Chapter Six

It’s a typical day on the spaceship when I hear the announcement: “Emma Buttercup, Section H, please report to the Candyport Connections Room immediately.” What? Did they just say my name? Or did I hear that wrong? 

“I repeat, Emma Buttercup, from Section H, please report to the Candyport Connections Room. You have a message.” The announcer says calmly and clearly, as if I wasn’t just about to explode into sadness.

I take a deep breath, and walk to the Candyport Connections Room.

“Hello, Emma. I am Diana.” A middle-aged woman greets me as I enter the CCR. “I know you are very concerned, and you have reason to be. Here, listen to the message.” She hands me a phone, and I take it with trembling hands, and hold it up to my ear, terrified of what I’m about to hear. My chest gets tight.

“Emma Butterworth, I regret to say that your candy addicted parents almost escaped death; they boarded the Escaper Express CCCXXXVI, but there was a malfunction with the spacecraft during blastoff that we can’t fix ourselves. If it hadn’t been the last Escaper Express, then we could have gotten help. Unfortunately, the Escaper Express CCCXXXV was long gone. I’m sorry, Emily. I’m calling you as the ship commander of the Escaper Express CCCXXXVII. Goodbye.”

Static. 336 will forever be my unlucky number. A tear falls down my cheek and splatters on the checkered tile of the CCR. I sob. Why did I leave them behind? Why did I ignore the bad feeling in my gut? Why? I knew they were going to die soon. Why did this hit me so unexpectedly? I run back to Section H, back to my bunk, with my head in my hands, and just cry.

My balloon has popped.

I wake up the next day with a spongy pillow and a groggy head. How long did I sleep? I look at my watch. It says 8:47 AM, Monday, December 4th, 1173. I try to do the math. “So I fell asleep after lunch on Sunday, and slept through dinner. Breakfast is ending around now…wow.”

The first thing I need to do is get a new pillow and pillowcase. My current ones are tear soaked. I throw them into the huge hamper outside my dorm. Next, get some food. I’m starving! I go down to the Dining Hall and put a muffin and some eggs into a napkin.

When I come back to the dorm, everyone’s come back up from breakfast.

“You okay?” Vera says.

“Not really,” I admit.

“My parents boarded the last Escaper Express, but something went wrong with the spaceship and everyone died, including them.” 

Vera puts a hand on my shoulder. “You’re handling it better than I did when my dad died.” She gives me a knowing glance. I nod. 

Chapter Seven

I go to the Rotunda. I look at the stars and galaxies. Happiness used to be mine for over a decade. I thought it would stay mine. Now I’m not so sure.

But when I look through the Rotunda, see space, all my thoughts disappear. Even as my life changes, the view is always the same. It’s comforting knowing that even when major things happen, some things have to stay the same.

Life goes on. The spaceship goes on. The food machine goes on.

But I am starting to feel homesick. Not necessarily for Candyport, but just for a home somewhere, to stay in one place and just be there. But every single day is the same here. It should be comforting, but I seek variety in my days now. “I don’t want to live on a spaceship. I—”

Vera interrupts me. “I know it’s hard, Emma. But you have to push through. You can’t let the death of your parents eat you up. I hate to be so candid, but either way you probably wouldn’t have seen your parents for the rest of your life. So I know it’ll be hard, but once you’re done grieving, you have to move along. Or else you’ll feel like this for your entire life. Think about that.”

This is one of the reasons why I love and hate Vera. She sometimes has to be frank to get to me. I know I need it sometimes, but I hate that I’m not strong enough to push through, to banish the bad thoughts from my head.

Vera continues her speech. “I know what you’re thinking, Emma. But this is what friends are for. This is why destiny chose us to be friends. This is why. So don’t worry. We have each other.”

Ten years later…

Part Four: Blue Marble

Chapter Eight

The year is 1183. I turned twenty-three two months ago. I have finally gotten over the deaths of my parents. I am looking through the Rotunda with Vera, something we’ve done every Saturday since we boarded the Escaper Express. Suddenly, I see a cool-looking blue planet. It has little greenish brown patches, and a bunch of beautiful white swirls. It looks different than any other planet I’ve seen. It looks…habitable. Other people think that too, I believe.

Suddenly, the loudspeaker cracks to life. “We are now approaching planet… um, unnamed. It appears that people want us to land on this planet. My data claims that the temperature and oxygen level is suitable for us humans. This Planet X is mostly uninhabited, so yes! Everyone, I am giving you five minutes to get to the dorms. Prepare for turbulence. We are going to land!’’ Everyone on board cheers, then rushes to their dorms.

Once Vera and I are in our bunks, I say, “I never thought we’d make it this far.”

“Yeah. Same.”

“Well, let’s get ready for landing.”

After landing…

Chapter Nine

“Welcome to Planet X, everyone. Please put your oxygen masks on. Though there is a suitable amount in the air, we just want to be cautious. Now, if you can just listen to my instructions. When exiting, Section Z will go first, followed by Y, X and so on. I will notify you when your Section exits,” the ship commander says.

Finally, Section H is called. When we go outside from the spacecraft, I at first laugh. 0.3% of the population of my (former) planet is walking around, astounded by a crazy, new world (to be fair, I was one of them) wearing black gas masks, peering around Planet X.

When everyone is off the ship, the ship commander takes a very forward-thinking looking radio out of his pocket and broadcasts all the other spaceships that we’ve landed on Planet X. Fortunately, since we’re Escaper Express XXXVII, there are only thirty-six ships ahead. And all of them have landed on Planet X, too. The remaining spaceships will try to find Planet X and land. For now we will try to communicate with the passengers of Escaper Expresses I-XXXVI to see where they are on this planet.

“Now it seems like we’re in a corner of a landmass. Pretty hot here, there is a blue mass of liquid close to us, and across from the liquid is another land mass.” This place is the Great Rift Valley of what is now Africa, near what is now Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, according to Google Maps. It is supposedly the cradle of humanity. 

“I know it’s very vague but sorry,” the ship commander says. Then suddenly I see a bunch of people out in the distance. I report to the commander. And eventually we all start trekking toward the other people, toward life and a new home and hope, with our few belongings and food on our backs. At least we don’t have to wear our hot gas masks anymore.

For about five hours, we walk to the mass of people in the sweltering heat. It is now clear that we are among fellow Candyport citizens.

“Hello!!!” We yell.

“Hello!!!” They yell.

Once we are united, we take a food break, and then decide to find shelter. Unfortunately, this part of Planet X is very dry and barren, except for desert shrubs that appear here and there. We decide that for the first day we will all set up camp under the shrubs and try to get some sleep. But then something very strange to us happens.

Chapter Ten

The entire world goes dark. No, I am not kidding. It’s crazy! No one expects it, and you know that bright thing in the sky that you only notice if you look for it that’s so ordinary (the sun)? Well Planet X’s sun slowly falls down in the water like a ball. And it changes the color of the sky until everything goes black! And it gets really cold too! It’s crazy, we worry the light won’t ever come back. We decide to go to sleep, and then we will plan things.

The next morning…

I wake up to a bright blue sky. Where am I? What is this shrub-like thing hovering above me? Suddenly, I remember yesterday’s events. We finally got off the spaceship, and we met up with our fellow Candyport citizens. Now, we must find the others. Also, we have to somehow get to our infinite food machines so that we have enough to feed everyone. That’s going to be hard. If we get lucky, then maybe an Escaper Express will land close to here. You see, when an Escaper Express lands, it can’t take off again, unless the fuel is completely recharged. While we wait for an Escaper Express to land, we eat a breakfast of energy bars, candy of course, and instant oatmeal.

At about noon, we see a giant spaceship shadowing the land we are living on. We all cheer for life and hope and love in a new place, the song of humanity. The spaceship lands, and the mass of people slowly exits the ship that is now basically a large piece of junk machinery but an hour ago carried 0.3% of an entire planet’s population across our universe.

Isn’t that amazing? Anything is possible. Even us humans living on Planet X (you probably know it as our currently own—but perhaps not original—planet, Earth!) have lived here almost a whole millenium (recall that in this story, at least, we landed in the year 1183 AD) or more depending on when you read this! It could mean that we were once strangers to our own planet(s), and not just to Earth. It could be anywhere, with anyone, anytime.

Footnotes:                                                  

This story was translated from Tamic (first human language) to Modern English in 2019.

I am not requesting the reader to believe anything in this story, including what they just read. But you are allowed to, because that’s what stories are for. A little something to brighten up your day, even if it’s not needed. Even if the title is cheesy. If you are living in a prison cell, or a mansion, it doesn’t matter. Because books are, and should be, for everyone. Because everyone sometimes needs a little enjoyment in their life. That is why I wrote this.

The End

Once there was a kid named Max who was 8 years old. He liked to read comics and liked to play baseball. One day he was walking and saw a car that looked like his parents’ and it was unlocked so he went inside. He thought it would be cool if he stepped on the gas, but he thought the car was not on so it would not move. He stepped on the gas and then he saw a rocket engine in the back.

All of a sudden the car was flying and he thought, “I hope I’m just flying and not going to outer space.” But the car went up and up and it broke through the atmosphere. Max started screaming because he thought he was not going to be able to breathe and die. He tried to breathe and… he actually could breathe. 

He said, “Yay, I’m not going to die.” He zoomed through space and then he saw that he was weaving through the Milky Way galaxy.

It was cool and Max wondered if maybe he made it back alive, he could share his findings with NASA.

He wondered what other galaxies were out there. Then he saw a planet that was red and green and blue and white. He decided to land on the planet. He looked at the car and realized it had changed and now had a bunch of buttons and levers. He pressed a button labeled autopilot and he told the car to land. Then he jumped out of the shift and amazingly, he could breathe. He found a planet with life on it. He started to explore by foot. He noticed that there were houses, but they were bigger than any house he’d ever seen. He wanted to go inside, but he was afraid that whoever was living there might not want him there. 

Max saw a store and decided to go inside. It had aliens in it. They were blue and red with one green eye. He remembered that he left his phone in the car. So he ran back inside to his car to take a picture of the aliens but he accidently left the flash on and the aliens saw him. They started chasing after him so he ran back into the car and saw a button that said “weapons” so he pressed it. A laser gun appeared. Max grabbed it, jumped out and ran at the aliens shooting it. But the aliens had laser guns too so Max ran back to the car and pressed the “weapons” button again. A grenade appeared this time. Max ran outside and threw it at the aliens and then he started running and the aliens ran after him. He detonated the grenade and all the aliens exploded. He decided to get off this crazy planet and he looked at the buttons and saw a button that said “home” and pressed it. The rocket zoomed and he was back in the Milky Way galaxy and it zoomed some more and then zoomed just a little more and in no time he was back to earth. 

He used the rocket car one more time and flew to NASA to share all of his crazy findings.

The End

Prologue:

I don’t know why I was left here. All I know is that this is where my life began. Right here in Birchwood forest. I can remember how I woke up here, the sun shining down on my face when I was very small. I remember how I sat up and looked around, and it felt like everything around me was a fresh start. This was the only place I remembered. The only place I ever knew as home.

Chapter 1:

It all started the day I woke up in the Birchwood forest. I was all alone. At first I was scared. Scared of this strange new place. Scared of being alone. Scared of myself. But then I realized that if this is where Earth put me, where Earth wanted me to live a life like this one, then this is the life I have to live.

Ever since the day when I woke up here, I tell myself that this is home. I don’t have any other history behind that. Just that this is me, this is where I belong. I wasn’t living in luxury, alone in the forest. I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything other than leaves, which I carefully expected for any signs of insects. Eventually I thought I might starve. The only source of water I could reach was a stream, the tinkling sounds of rushing water musical relief to my ears. By my second year in the forest, I was only turning two, but, of course, I didn’t know that. I wouldn’t have learned how to tell time and the days and the weeks, and the months and the years, or if I would survive living here for as long as a decade or more. And I did. How? It’s all thanks to the deer.

Chapter 2:

If it hadn’t been the fate that the deer had found me, I probably wouldn’t have lasted another week. They had watched me for awhile and saw me abandoned. They came on my second birthday, and ever since then, they had been my family. They found me sobbing under one of the youngest birch trees, the leaves and twigs and grass not been a filling enough diet, and I didn’t think I would survive the next few days like this. I looked up and saw a deer standing over me, looking into my somber face. Then something strange happened. Something I thought no human would ever be able to do. The deer/. It spoke to me. Not the way animals do in fantasy stories-through my mind. It was like a voice was softly speaking to me through every cell in my body. I could feel it vibrating through my heart, my soul, my head, to the tips of my fingers and toes, and all throughout my body. I could make out what the voice was saying, now, as the deer drew closer. I know you’re afraid. I hiccuped a reply. I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t even have to. The words rushed out through my head, not through my mouth. Y-yes. I stuttered through my mind, my new way of speaking difficult at first. Yes I am.  

The vibrations bounced back to me with the deer’s response. You don’t have to be. And ever since that day, I was one of them. I was one of the deer. Raised by them and lived like them, and learned the ways of the deer. I later found out the name of the deer that found me alone. Sage. I loved that name. Just like the plant my mother used to cook with before she abandoned me. I miss the smell of that beautiful plant. And from that day forward, my name–was Twig. 

In this instance, I am reminded that I am loved and probably was, even before I was found by the deer. Maybe Poppa and Momma didn’t want to abandon me, all alone, in the forest years ago. Maybe it was for my own sake, I thought, chewing on my thumbnail, maybe I was in danger, or, someone was coming to take me away! No loving family could let that happen, that’s for sure.

 I resumed positive and tried to focus on learning how to crack open a charcoal nut, a special type of vegetation that grows in the forest. I dropped the nut down on the rocks by the stream and waited for it to hopefully split open and the creamy inside would pour out. Unfortunately, this didn’t work the first time.

 “Really?!” 

Sage gave me a look that clearly meant, “Be patient.”

 I had to try it five more times until I got it right. Learning in the forest was harder than I expected. Grass, bark, twigs, and berries were all a part of a deer’s diet. I had to learn to live like them, so that was what I had to eat, too. I delved into studying the ways of survival. Now knew what was edible and what wasn’t. Now that I knew how to survive here, I wasn’t afraid anymore.  However, I had always been afraid of what I am once I found out exactly what powers I have, but the deer helped me. This is what I mean: At the age of five, I discovered that I was a deer shapeshifter.

Chapter 3:

One day, when I was down at the stream washing my face, I spotted a fox den and noticed three pups. Where had their mother gone? (It had been obvious that their mother had gone in search of food.) I crawled carefully over to the den and peered inside. I gasped as I noticed that one of the pups wasn’t breathing and leaned in closer. The two other pups growled at me and slowly backed away. I hesitated to do so, but I scooped up the pup in my arms and pulled it closer to me to see what was wrong. There was blood everywhere.

  It had seemed that something had attacked the fox pup and somehow had gotten into the den. The pup was dead. I had heard a sound from somewhere in the distance. The trotting of paws. The mother fox was close by. I carefully set down the pup’s limp body. I quickly ducked out of the den, and prepared to run.  But, it had been too late. The fox was getting closer and closer, and broke into a run. I ran for my life, but I had never been that great at running. 

Suddenly, I felt a tingling sensation come over my body. I kept running and running, as the fox picked up speed. The more space I put between the fox and me, the better. But the tingling sensation reached the top of my head to the tips of my toes and all throughout my body. Then, I felt something on my skin, like snowflakes were landing on my arms and legs. My feet turned icy cold, and my hands, too. I looked back and saw the fox racing after me. I looked down at my feet and saw that they had been replaced with gleaming black hooves. I shrieked and looked at my hands to make sure nothing was going on there, but it wasn’t like anything else was going to make hooves on a human any less surprising. There were hooves on both my hands instead of human fingers. Then, I felt my body arch forward until I was running in the position of a dog (now that I think about it, like a deer). I felt big furry ears and antlers sprout up upon my head. This is where I had realized what was going on. I–was shapeshifting into the form of a deer. 

The fox really seemed to have a death wish for me! I thought, as the sweat dripped down my face.  Still in deer form, I was trotting away at such a speed that I felt as if I was flying. It was wonderful to be in deer form! A thought struck me then. I couldn’t let the fox chase me back to the herd! I would put all their lives in danger, and they won’t ever deserve that, not after saving my life. I flew myself around a turn and crouched low behind a huge rock. I thought I would surely be dead deer meat, and I really would be if I died as one. My heart had been pounding in my chest, and my legs shook as the fox drew nearer. I watched from the huge boulder as it sniffed the ground, trying to track my scent. Sweat dripped down my forehead, and the nerve racking thought of dying as something I only was once in my life and having my deer bones being crushed to bits kept floating back to mind. Eventually the fox gave up and stalked away, not happy with its loss of prey.

Well I certainly was. I let out the breath I was holding, which I didn’t realize I was, as I was hiding from the fox, worrying about whether or not I would be torn apart by fox jaws.

I walked back to the young birches that the herd lived in. What had just happened to me? I had thought.

  Later on I realized that maybe if I ripen this raw power, I’ll be able to shapeshift when I want, not only in a scary situation. I had thought. As I carved my skill for shapeshifting, I realized that if I practiced hard enough, I would be able to shift whenever I wanted to. I realized that when I was in danger with the fox that day, my shifting powers came because I needed saving. So, I practiced hard enough, every day, and soon was able to master the skill of shifting by the time I was nine years old.

Chapter 4:

Two years later…

 One night, on my eleventh birthday, I was up in one of the birch trees that I had carved my initials on, which meant “Twig has climbed this tree” and spotted a light– shining– from a little ways outside of the forest. Then, I spotted something miraculous. There was a garden in the front of the house with lettuce and tomatoes and all sorts of delicious foods for the deer and I thought that if I could reach the garden, I could bring back food for the herd and me to have. I jumped out of the tree and quietly crept over to where the garden was, and sneaked closer to the beautiful garden.  I thought I would be able to reach in and grab as many vegetables as I wanted to without being caught, but it was harder than it looked. As I drew nearer, I could see that there was a fence surrounding the garden. It was tall and spiky and it looked like it would be impossible for me to climb over it.

“Oh, honestly, this is to easy!” I smugly said to absolutely no one around me. I stood on my tiptoes and extended my fingers and arms in front of me. I thought about what a deer looks like, the tall white antlers and the slender hind legs. I pictured the whole body of a deer, every single descriptive part about one. This is the way the deer trained me up. Now I do it as if it’s as simple as plucking a flower from the soil. It’s a sweet sadness, happy you have a pretty flower to stick in a vase and stare at it just to admire its beauty. But then again, you miss how you saw the flower, innocent and sweet-smelling, and you know that it will eventually wilt, and you will want to return to what it was before, sorry for taking a life and want to plant another. That’s how it is with me. I can’t bear myself to stay in this form too long, for I know that this isn’t really who I am, I’m the girl who lives with a deer herd, not a deer who has found other deer to live with.

That’s Sage’s title.

With my human form swept away like the tide, I take passion in carefully making sure I use my deer form wisely, only to collect food in a simpler way, so that in case I’m ever near civilization, people won’t send me away!

Well, this time I won’t be in deer form for any of that. I’ll have to be in form just so I can’t tear open a space in the gate wide enough for me to climb through! Then I’ll change myself back and carry as many vegetables as I can back to the herd. Good plan! I thought, as I slowly and silently began to tear open a whole in the gate, carefully not to wake the possessor of the house. Once I had clambered through the tear in the gate (They really could have put better security on it, any animal would be smart enough to find a way to get through to the garden). I shifted back into my normal self and knelt down to reach for the lettuce and tomatoes and any other delicious vegetables I could find. Once I had enough to feed the whole herd, I took my loaded arms to the gate and tossed everything over. Then, I climbed back through the hole in the gate and grabbed everything up from the ground and with my arms full, I hurried back to the herd.

Chapter 5:

Sage had warned me not to go out again for if I was found I would be taken away and never able to see the deer again. Of course, I didn’t want that to happen at all, so I went back to feeding on the things we had before I traveled to the garden. One night, I became restless though, knowing that we had too many mouths to feed and I thought the herd needed more food because one morning the deer and awoke to a loud noise in the distance. It sounded like the calling of a stag but at a thousand times louder. Then, a few bushes collapsed ahead of us. Our berry grove! That meant that there would be less food for us all. That couldn’t happen! I wouldn’t let the herd starve. That night, Sage told me that the world was changing and the humans didn’t always care for the forests. They wanted their own ways and didn’t think ahead of time how nature could be affected. Then, I knew that if the world was changing, and if groves were being cut down as Sage tells me, then I needed to do what I had to do.  

Later that night, I waited until the herd was asleep and slowly crept past the snoozing deer. As I tiptoed past Sage, I stopped in front of her and whispered,

“I’m sorry, but this will do us all good.”

Then I quietly crept out through the tall bushes, separating me from the tall trees that would lead to the clearing where the house was and where the garden was planted. I crept closer to the garden and, planning to climb back through my hole that I made last week, I noticed that it was boarded up. I only had one other option, to dig under the gate and come out the other side. Sighing reluctantly, I quickly changed form in a flash. I began (I would say clawing, but I have hooves) digging in the ground until I had built a deep enough trench to wiggle my body through. 

As soon as I felt fresh air again, I held still and kept my body tucked away in the soil, only exhibiting my ears above ground. I heard a gunshot somewhere in the distance. I gulped. Sage’s warned me about human weapons.

“They could kill a deer in an instant.” She had told me. With my rattling nerves, I crept silently out of my trench, and stalked towards the garden. I changed back into my original form and filled my basket I had weaved from tiger grass a few days after my trip to the garden. I was about to return to the herd when I heard whispering voices coming from the house. As I crept near, I could make out what they were saying. I crouched low under the window and pressed my ear up against the wall. I heard a man’s voice, high-pitched and stupied:  “Yes, we must cut down the trees around this house if we aspire to build the town’s shopping mall here.” 

My eyes widened as I listened for more. 

Another voice, low and demanding, responded, “Certainly. And these trees will make fine 

lumber for materials to sell in the main mall.”  My heart was racing in my chest. Sweat dripped down my forehead. What would I tell Sage? I wasn’t supposed to be out.

“Shall we have a deadline for when we begin building?”

“In a week we may begin construction,” the demanding voice said.  “We have a deal then.” My heart was pounding now and I heard the front door unlocked and click open. I gasped and quickly ran around the corner of the house and pressed myself up against the wall. A skinny man walked down the front steps and out of the cottage. 

“Selfish man.” I heard him mutter.

He put his bowling hat over his head and stalked away, his black jacket billowing out behind him.

 Chapter 6:

My breath was coming out in short gasps, and my lungs burned. I was running as fast as I could, but I had to face it. I sucked at running. I was still in shock from what I had just heard from the two men’s conversation. My bare feet burned and my knees ached horribly. I skidded around a corner as the dirt flew up behind me and I coughed as in inhaled the musty air. I reached the bushes were we all lived and gasped in relief. Regret filled my body, but I dropped to my knees and shook Sage awake. 

“Sage!! Sage!!” I whisper-yelled, careful not to wake the other deer. Sage blinked open her sleepy eyes, and sat back on her hind legs. 

“What is it, my fawn?” (That was Sage’s nickname for me). I clutched at my side, a stitch digging into my skin. I panted, and a sob escaped. I covered my face with my hands as so Sage couldn’t see me crying. Sobs racked my body. I always thought I was brave…

“It’s alright to cry, little one, Sage said as if she read my mind. “Now where were you that you’ve gotten so upset?” I sniffed and didn’t look at Sage as I spoke.

“I…I went back to the garden,” I said with a sigh. Her hazelnut eyes widened. I knew that look. To encourage me to go on. I looked up, finally, and told her about what I had overheard from the two men. “What are we going to do?” I said softly, watching as Sage stares wistfully into the distance. 

“We must move the herd to another forest,” she said, determined.

“No!” I shrieked, the word echoing off the tall trees.

“Twig, there’s no other way to be safe. We can’t stay here and hope our home doesn’t fall on our heads. We will have no sources of food and nowhere to live.”

“That’s exactly why we need to stop this!” I yelled. The other deer arose to the sounds of yelling. “No, we can’t leave!” I exclaimed. Some of the young deer came over to me and nudged me with their small snouts, as if to say, “It’s going to be alright.” I gave them a sympathetic smile and looked up, ready for a fight. “I’m sorry. But Sage, you saved my life. This– this is how I can repay you. And It’s about time, too,” I said, a sensation of melancholy overcoming me. “Twelve years later.” I stood up, my hands balling into fists. “I won’t let this go on. It has to go down.” Then I turned on my heel, deaf to Sage’s “Wait!”

Chapter 7:

 I knew what I was doing. I was going to go up to that horrible man and tell him that there is a herd of deer living in the forest, there are foxes and woodpeckers, there are chipmunks and woodchucks, there is life itself and he just wants to cut it all down. I will not let that happen. As I grew nearer to the house, I noticed how nervous I was. I took a deep breath and knocked. I looked down at my rags. I look like I’m not even taken care of! Of course I am though! By the deer! 

Before I could make another remark on my clothes, the front door swung open and a man with greasy black hair and a lopsided tie approached me. 

“What do you want?” He growled. It was the man with the low and demanding voice! 

I gulped. “I was wondering if I could have a quick chat with you about the current events?” I asked in a weak voice. This guy was scarier than I expected! 

“Do you mean the new mall? Are you here to…complain?” He demanded. 

“Actually, yes!” I said with as much positivity as I could muster. “Do you realize that you are building insanity smack in the face of nature?!” 

He had no answer for this demanding question, except for a forced, “Come inside and explain yourself.” The man dragged me by the front of my shirt forward into a musty room, where three things startled me. One: a mean-looking dog with fangs that formed an underbite. He growled at me, must have been smelling the deer. I slowly inched away from him. Two: the skinny man with the high-pitched voice was cowering in the corner! I gave him a questioning look which he returned. Three: A girl, about my age, sitting on a ripped up couch, looking reluctant as she held a cup of tea which smelled as the fumes of rotting eggs. She smiled at me, a smile which I did not return. I turned to the low voiced man. 

“What is your name?” I demanded of him. “And why should I have trust in telling you any personal information?” 

He growled. “It’s Barney.” The skinny man said, smirking at him. ‘Barney’ glared at him and turned a bright shade of pink. The girl on the couch let a laugh escape, and I almost laughed with her when Barney rounded on her. “You may address me by Mr. Barns!” He yelled, wheeling on me. 

“Seeing as I have no respect for you-,” the girl shoved her fist in her mouth to force back a giggle, “–I will address you as Barney. Do you realize that you’re planning to build buildings and malls smack in the face of this forest? There are herds of deer living here, foxes in their dens, and all sorts of animals that rely on living and surviving here in this forest.”

“She’s right,” said the man with the high-pitched voice. “If there’s so much life here, then we must find a better place to build our houses and malls, or not build them at all.”

“Yes, I agree with that,” said the girl on the couch. This time I returned her smile. I smiled at the man in the corner, too. 

Barney turned pink and exploded at all of us. “Fools!” he yelled. “Who cares about what lies in the forest? We planned all this work out and now we will finish it!”

“No you will not!” I protested. “A great herd of deer live there! I live there!” Everyone stared at me. 

“You live there?” the girl asked. I flushed red and had to say something, so I admitted how I lived in the forest ever since I was a baby. After I finished the story of how the deer found me and took care of me, everyone was shocked at my tale.

“No children should be living in the forest!” Barney exclaimed. “We’ll send you off to a proper school and a proper home.”

“No!” I yelled. “I have to live with the deer! They saved my life, I have to protect them!”

“Now don’t fuss, you’ll be happy there,” said the man in the corner. 

“No, papa, I think she’s happy here. But I also think that you shouldn’t be planning with this terrible man-,” she gestures to Barney. “-to chop down the Birchwood Forest.” It was pure relief to hear her say that. “I mean, if you think about it, you just destroy a chain of life! How would you feel if someone came into town, kicked us out, and replaced it with skyscrapers and tall buildings, and we had to make a long journey to find a better life, and be scared all the while and anxious you wouldn’t be able to find a perfect way to be at ease again? You can’t do that to the animals living in the forest! I agree with–what’s your name?” She asked me. I blushed at the fact that she even wanted to name and, as a matter of fact, my name is Twig, and she probably has a name that has nothing to do with nature or anything strange, probably a really pretty name.

 “I’m Brooke. Named after that stream in the forest you live in! And that’s my father, he goes by Mr. Dave.” She gave me an ear to ear grin. This time, I returned it. “I’m Twig,” I said shyly. 

“That’s a great name!” She examined. 

“Thanks.” I muttered. “Now who’s with me? Are we going to stop this insanity or what?!” I felt like I was rousing a bunch of protesters. I felt so positive I thought I was going to burst. Barney, through all of this, was standing, his mouth hanging open, shocked. He shook his head.

“I will not stand for this. I am heading into town now to borrow a trencher. These trees will be gone by thursday.” At that point, I couldn’t stand it anymore.

Chapter 8:

“I’ll be right back.” I whispered to Brooke. She nodded and gave me a promising look. As Mr. Dave and Barney argued, I tiptoed back and out of the house. I turned on my heel and ran. I had to get Sage! I shouldn’t have left her all alone with the others! They need to be safe! And they can’t be when Barney is planning to rip apart our home! I headed for the the grove were we slept, racing along in the deer form (I had shifted as soon as I left), and was now racing along a dry path, my hooves clicking in the dirt. I almost collided with Sage, who seemed to have the intention of racing after me. “Sage!” I exclaimed. I tried to convince them, “I met a girl named Brooke who wants to help me save the forest, along with her father and one other man who completely disagrees with us and still won’t let us keep the forest the way it is.”    

“For the first time I’m going to try to fight back with you. We will make sure our home isn’t destroyed. Change back into your human form, so they won’t suspect anything.”

I heard a voice in the distance. “Twig!” It called out. I spun around and saw Brooke and her father racing after me. Sage backed a few steps away.

“You told them your name?” she whispered. 

“It’s okay, those people don’t want the forest to be teared down. They want to help us.”

Then Barney emerged from the cottage and came running after us. “He–doesn’t want to help. He just wants to be selfish and unfeeling.” I glared at the long shadow of Barney striding across the clearing of trees drawing nearer to us.

“What is this vermin you are standing by?” He questioned, looking up and down Sage. I could see in Sage’s face the terror of standing in the presence of a human as horrible as this. I, for one, was shocked at these words. 

“Excuse you? How heartless can man get if they haven’t grown up knowing the importance of nature in this world? The very deer who saved my life, who, if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t be speaking to you in this moment, the mere presence of me but a faded existence. I bet you want that, don’t you, me to be a dead goner. Than take me, take me instead of them, instead of the forest. I reached my hands out wide. I’m all yours. Just let them be.” 

Sage stepped in front of me, nudging me back. 

“No,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry I got you into this mess. And I’ll get you out, I promise.” I said. 

“I can’t do that!” Barney exclaimed, taken aback. “I can’t kill a human child instead of chopping down a random forest to make way for the new! Those options do not go together.” 

“In my world, they do. But, then, if you are too nervous to take my life instead of theirs because you think society will rat you out for murder, then leave us all. Build your malls, your homes, your tall–rectangular things–somewhere else, in a clearing where you don’t have to chop down my world.” A few minutes ticked by. 

“Please,” a tear ran down my cheek. “You don’t know how much this means to me.” Finally, the words came out that would change my life forever. Barney put his head in his hands. 

“Fine. Go live whatever life you want to.”

 Chapter 9:

Five Years Later…

Brooke

It was my last day to deliver food to Twig before I moved away. After today she would go into town when she needed to. I took the small satchel of food I tied it up to all tall tree, throwing the rope around it. As I pulled the rope up so no animals would eat it, I remembered the girl I met five years ago, and heard her tinkling laugh somewhere in the distance. She must be riding Sage. Or living in the tree house I helped her build last year. I will miss her so, so much.

“Goodbye, Twig.” I whispered into the forest.                  

Chapter 1

The outbreak starts

“Hey Matt! Let’s drive to the outskirts mall! We can go to the arcade,” I said. 

“But I don’t have money for those games!” said my friend Matt. 

“I got enough money to get all four of us covered! Go grab Gary and Al and lets get going!” I said. 

“No problem and thanks Kevin!” With that, we left our house and got into the car since I was the only one with a driver’s license, I drove.

  After a short drive with the guys chatting away about Fortnite because season 60 had flying cars, we finally pulled up to the mall. So we parked and entered the mall. The mall had so many stores with all sorts of fast food places along with other food stores. The mall was almost like a giant food store even though it had a bunch of other toy stores and clothing stores. I looked around and saw that today there weren’t many people there so it was more like a small crowd there. 

We entered the arcade with so many new games.

“Guys! Let’s play the new four-player walking dead!” I say. We run over to the new game and start. After we play for 5 minutes, we get death penalties. 

“Oh my goodness!” cried Gary. 

“Poor guy!” We had failed to save one of the guys which gave us a death penalty. “I sure hope this doesn’t happen to us Kevin,” said Al.

 We kept running around playing all sorts of arcade games. But after 30 minutes, I didn’t want to spend anymore money. So we set off toward the parking lot. We were going to enter the car and we all had received a message that tons of deer were gonna be on the road today.

“Ok Kevin, we should. Just drive carefully just to make sure we don’t kill anything,” said Matt. We then just jumped into the car and zoomed away.

Meanwhile……

“Sir! We have a small nuclear leak in the tank and it’s seeped into the water supply!” said a scientist to the manager who wasn’t very friendly at all.

“If you useless creeps don’t fix the problem or block more from coming out or I’ll go mad!” screamed the manager. Nearby, car washers didn’t seem to realize that their water supply had been a little bit contaminated by nuclear waste. They sprayed a person’s car and the person who had not paid attention to the deer message had already driven away at high speed. He then drove on the road and BANG accidentally hit a deer with his window open. “Ugh dumb animals…” he growled.

At that exact moment…

“Guys did you hear that?” asked Matt. “It sounded like some sort of bang!”

“Yeah I heard it too!” said Al.

“Do you think that’s the bang?” I asked pointing to a dead deer on the sidewalk. “Yeah.. maybe so,” said Gary. We walked out of the car and inspected the deer.

“Who would have done this?” asked Matt sadly.

“I bet it was him!” I said pointing to a person. I took a picture of the license plate and sent it to the police.

***

Later we had arrived home and turned on the Xbox and played Minecraft until 3:00 at noon. Until then we decided to watch some TV. We turned it on. It started with saying,

“A man drove by a deer corpse today and appeared to see it moving!”

That made us all jump out of our seats. “Could it be our deer?” cried Al seeming crazy nervous.

“Here we are with our witness! John! Would you please come up here?” said the reporter.

“Yes sir!” said the man named John. “I was just driving across the road until this seemingly dead deer just came to life!” He cried. “I even saw him get up and pound at a car! I then just drove away with that in film!” The man then said even more. “I then kept driving on the road until I saw some kind of man that looked deranged burst out of his window! Then he started chasing a car!”

“Well folks! That is our scoop for today! A mysterious deer coming to life what do you think? Leave a message on our website news channel 3.org!” he said.

We then were trying to change channels until channel 12 came in and said,

”Everyone listen up! We are here to show you a film of a clip shown from our newscopter! We are taking you there live! Subject! Massive violence and many casualties in the city of US! Here we are! Miles?”

“Yes sir, I can hear you! Now we are right now seeing in this city in Kansas where as far as I can see something wrong with some people! It’s as if they are killing others! I’ll try and go for a zoom in!” As the copter lowered, the camera zoomed in and we saw people with faces that had cracks and blood on them. It was not a pretty sight. But then something happened and the heli exploded on the ground.

“I think we better take a train somewhere else.” I said. Everyone took to that idea right away. So we booked train tickets to leave to Boston.

Chapter 2

Train of the dead

The next day, we were going to the train station. We then had checked in tickets and everything. We got to the tracks and went inside. We just viewed outside the window at the person letting people in. All of a sudden something pounced on him. And we had no idea what had happened. We were totally clueless. But it almost seemed like it was exactly like the people we saw in the news last night.

We knew that the train ride was supposed to be almost a day. But it was worth it to run away from total carnage.

“Guys, do you think it’s gonna be safe in Boston?” asked Gary worried.

“Yeah I’m sure we will,” I said. 

After an hour and a half, we were just sitting there until we saw something strange.

“Guys,” said Gary. “Does anything about this person look wrong to you?”

He said pointing to a woman who was limping our way and looking as if she would tumble down in a few seconds.

“She’s walking weird…” I said. “Do you think she’s sick?”

“Yeah I think so…” said Al. “Do you think she’s…. One of them?”

“What do you mean?” asked Matt.

“One of the creatures.” I told him. We saw her run into one of the train stewardesses.

“Ma’am are you okay?” asked the stewardess, bringing the woman into the back of the train. She laid the person on the ground.

“Conductor, we have a situation. There’s somebody here who seems in need of medical attention,” she said. The woman then got up. She got up and grabbed the stewardess and bit her in the neck. The stewardess fell in front of some passengers including us.

“What the hell??” murmured the passengers.

“Guys… we should run.” I said. We all got out of our chairs. “Hurry people!! Run!” I cried. The passengers didn’t all buy it.

“We aren’t going to listen to no pranks, sonny,” said an old man. A few passengers had already gotten up and were warning others to get up and run away.

“Fine! Just don’t get killed.” I said running off. “Everyone who saw the news last night?!” I said to passengers in car 5 out of 16 so I could get everyone to safety. So as we kept warning people to go to the front cars, we got most of the passengers in. I was getting a few more people out of car 7 where there were some other people. I ran to someone on the ground who was just lying there. As soon as I saw that person only had eye whites, I shoved them across from me and ran into car 6 where all the other people were. I shut the door before the crazy humans were in car 12 just in case something else happened. Two more people had then come, they banged on the door to get us to let them in. I did that and the couple got in.

One minute later, the zombies were in car 7 which is where we were behind them. They groped at the door and banged on it. One man was pressing against the door and said, “Anyone know how to lock these?” he said.

“Yeah I’d try twisting the orange thing on your left,” said somebody. The man did that.

“But what are those people doing with all that blood on them?” said one person. “It’s like a virus or something!”

“That’s it! It’s like a zombie outbreak or something!” I said. 

“Wait a minute, are we stopping somewhere?” I said. We saw a bunch of people approaching the window which made us all back up a little.

“Let us in! Please!” They cried. It took us all a minute to realize the train station had been overrun by zombies.

“Conductor! Open the door!” said a person. The conductor did so which also let the zombies on the train out. A couple survivors got in and slammed the door. Right before zombies started pounding the windows.

We slowly creaked open the door that led us to the train. We opened another door where there was still one or three zombies still hanging there. The few survivors including Gary and Al ran back. We slammed the door and saw someone slowly get killed by the zombie.

“Hey guys we can’t just stay on this train!” I said. “It’s going to reach Boston at one point where the virus might have already reached! We should all stick together.” Everyone was then talking about whether we should ditch the train and go to a stop with no zombies or go straight to Boston.

Everybody had mixed opinions and tried to argue with each other.

“We should stop the train at a stop,” said one man.

“But then we could end up getting ambushed by tons of zombies!” said another. “We should stay on the train.”

“But if we do that, it could get us trapped on a train or something. Besides, those zombies could break through that glass after a few hours!” said a third.

While everyone argued, me, Matt, Gary, and Al looked for something to help us. We all looked around until we could find something. Then we overheard the people deciding that we get off at the next stop. The conductor also agreed.

Once we got to the next stop, we realized nobody was here. We looked around hoping that there were no zombies. We looked around until somebody saw a R.I.O.T shield. We hoped that meant there were more survivors. We kept looking around together to see if there  were were survivors nearby until Al pointed at a baton. Gary had picked up both the shield and a baton which made him look more like the survivor kind. To be honest, he looked like a character from the Walking Dead series. So after he had that stuff, we kept searching for stuff to defend ourselves.

At one point, everybody was snooping around for weapons and shields. What I found was a wooden bat. But I was hoping I’d get a baton. But the thing is, there were hardly any weapons at all. Only three people had shields and about five people had bats or batons.

I was thinking about getting out of the train station until I realized that if there were a few police weapons, there could be police force nearby. Maybe even a military. I decided to look around downstairs for more weapons in the station and that when I saw that there was a broken gun a few feet away from me. At first I thought I was safe and had found a gun. But then I found out that it had blood all over it. That’s when I realized it meant that there could be a military force nearby that was infected.

I went back up to talk to Gary, Al, and Matt and explained what I had thought. They also thought about it and agreed with me.

“But where do you think the infected military can be?” asked Al. “Most likely at the train exit since that’s where nobody has gone.” I said. That’s when we heard a scream and saw a person run out the exit and into the station.

“Run!” he cried. “Run!!!” That’s when we realized that my theory of zombies was correct.

Chapter 3

Military chaos

Suddenly the whole train station had been completely overrun by infected soldiers. Gary grabbed his baton and bashed a zombie onto the floor.

“Let’s get the hell outta here!” he said. We then opened a door with nobody in it.

“Hurry! Get in here!” I cried to the panicking survivors. One by one, people noticed me calling them and ran through the door. After a few people entered, we noticed nobody else was alive. So we locked the door and saw that the zombies were already attacking.

“There’s too many of them! They’ll break the glass! Run!” I scream.

We all run and see that there’s still one train that was almost gonna leave. We kept running and making sure the infected didn’t catch up to us. We got onto the train.

“There’s still more people coming!” I said. “Get them in here!” But it was too late. Zombies broke through a window up top and started falling onto the ground. The passengers had mostly got into the train. So with that, the final person got in and closed the door. We figured we were safe but I had no idea what was gonna happen.

We quickly figured out that the people who were still alive had went into the incorrect train car and they got infected so it was no surprise to me that they were continuing to bang the windows. But me and my friends along with two other people got back into car 1 where nobody else was. We had blocked the glass doors to be sure they didn’t know we were there. Hopefully they had no sense of smell. But at one point we heard that somebody had opened the door for some completely stupid reason.

We soon heard the shrieks of zombies and survivors screaming. But no zombies banged on our door. That meant as long as the zombies couldn’t see us, we wouldn’t get chased. We then went to the conductor. “Hi guys,” he said. “This has been the worst day I have ever lived out of my whole life!” “We should get to Boston soon though,” he added.

Gary was worried. “Do you think that we could make it?” He asked.

“It’s possible, but let’s not lose hope yet.” said the conductor.

After we were 18 hours away from Boston, we looked and saw that zombies had overrun another train station. We were just about to pull away and after we were 11 minutes away from the station, we heard the conductor shout. 

“God dangit!” he screamed. “The engine’s broken!” 

I went over to him.

“We have to exit the train!” I said. “Guys, we have to get off.” I said to my friends. The two other survivors I first thought were still with us, but it turned out that their instincts made them go onto the train station first thing.

Chapter 4

Alone

“We are on our own,” said Gary shaking his head sadly. 

“We can’t stay on this train.

We have to actually survive until we reach Boston,” said Matt. We soon were walking off the train hoping not to get noticed by any really dangerous things. We all ran into the woods. But once we were walking, there were some zombies on the tracks. We were about to assault them until a zombie was right behind us and jumped on the conductor.

“ACK!” He cried, throwing the zombie to the ground. Thankfully he, the conductor, hadn’t been bitten.

“Gary! Hit the shield!” I said. Gary smashed his R.I.O.T shield directly into the zombie’s neck. It was a one shot kill, but this wasn’t a video game and we needed to actually fight those zombies on the tracks if we wanted to live.

We walked over to the zombies. They looked at us and lunged at us. My bat actually came in handy for the first time the apocalypse even happened. I struck at the zombie knocking it to the ground. Gary smacked a zombie’s head with his metal bat and got him killed. I kept continuously hitting a zombie until its blood oozed out.

“Matt! Here!” I said tossing my bat to Matt who was being attacked by a zombie. Matt first took out the zombie’s legs and then shoved the bat at its mouth.

“DIE!” cried Matt, smacking the zombie even after it was already completely dead. That was until there was a zombie right behind him. Gary whacked the zombie aside and shielded himself from getting bitten. Matt then finished the zombie off by punching him and smashing him.

After we had taken care of the zombies, we kept walking until we got to another area with zombies. But we kept either sneaking past or killing the zombies. At one point, we came to an area where there was a whole horde of them. So the idea was that we had to clear them out one by one which would be impossible unless somebody sacrificed themselves. I then noticed a person who had gotten eaten. I looked in his bag. Once I saw what was inside, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

There was actually 1 or 2 guns in there! I could not even believe my luck. At first I thought the gun was broken, but as soon as a zombie ran at me from out of nowhere, I did the first thing I thought of doing which was to grab a gun. But as soon as I pulled the trigger, blood went on the zombie’s head. I grabbed the shotgun for myself and passed the pistol to Al. Then we were ready. Matt and Gary took down those zombies as I took down the small crowd of undead humans. Gary kept giving the zombies a good clock on the head and wiped them out while Matt kept hitting at the guys so hard. He killed a row of three zombies in one hit. After defeating a somewhat endless wave of zombies, we actually managed to keep walking. But then, Al turned around and said, “Kevin, where did you get that gun?” He asked.

“In a pack.” I replied.

“Let’s see if it has food!” He said. “I’m hungry!” So that’s what we did. We finally got to that pack and opened it up.

“A banana, half a bag of chips, bottled water, and six cheese sticks,” said Gary.

“Let’s eat!” said Al. We all split the food.

We soon slept and waited in bushes where we hoped nobody could see us. We had to keep going early in the night so the zombies couldn’t see us. Thankfully we had survived the first day of the outbreak. We later kept going.

Chapter 5

Safe at last

We had a few encounters with zombies. I smashed some zombies to death that day until we finally had gotten to some kind of place where it looked like there had been a train accident. We all ran trying to make sure we didn’t run into a zombie horde. Soon, we saw a whole group of zombies all lying on the ground. But in front of us, there was a ton of zombies all grouped together on a bridge which we for sure had to take down.

We charged at the horde and were smacking them across the ground. I grabbed a zombie by the back of the shirt and broke its head by twisting it. Gary smacked zombies off into the lake which while Al shot his pistol making sure every bullet counted. We all ran toward other zombies knocking them into the river and shooting them all down.

Later, we had already found a tunnel which we thought would make a good base to be for surviving. We were alarmed by the sound of walkie talkies that made us think we were gonna be facing some kind of ultra smart zombies. That’s when we saw some people in army suits. We worried and walked over to get a closer look to see if they were human or zombie. But they then noticed us and said,

“Survivors approaching!” said some men. “Bring them over! Quick!”

Me, Gary, Al, Matt, and the conductor all approached the army men.

“We’re safe.” I said. “We survived the Zombie apocalypse!” We all cheered. Then we heard a noise in the air. “Scientists in the world have developed a cure for this disease! Medical units will now be dropping! Everybody now be calm! You are now safe!” The army men and my friends and me all cheered.

“We are survivors!” I said.

The end

Nora lived right next to the waterfall Forest. The sky around the forest was always in perpetual sunset, so the ways the light hit the waterfall looked as if it was on fire. Nora never really noticed, but a water source kept her alive so she gave it some respect. Actually it was the only water source in the vicinity of fifty miles.  She lived on her own in the forest in a little grass hut. She got her water from the waterfall and salt from the ocean. She gathered roots and berries and set snares to catch the strange skinny birds. She was pretty self-dependent. She never noticed the beautiful setting or the pretty food that she gathered. The only thing about the nature that she really noticed was the crickets chirping that kept her from sleeping as early as she would like. Nora lived alone in her hut, but five miles away lived an old lady that seemed to know everything.

Every night when the crickets started to chirp, Nora started the long walk to the old lady’s grass hut and she learned about the possible plants and roots and edible birds that won’t give you bird fever. In return for the old lady’s knowledge, Nora fed her and shared her own knowledge , but since most of the useful things she knew were taught to her by the old lady, she mostly just told her stories of ancient gods and heroes. 

  One day when she was walking through the forest checking and resetting snares, she was unhappy to find that there were no edible birds, just the bright pink ones that were deadly poison. They were still alive so she let them go and walked over to the ocean to see if there was any fish to spear. None. She walked back into the forest and looked around for some roots and berries. She went to her favorite blackberry bush and found it untouched. She ran back to her hut, found a large basket, and stripped the berry bush clean of any fruit. 

She hauled the heavy basket inside and started eating. “Oh well,” she said to herself. “So much for a large lunch.” She sat down the half eaten blackberry basket and looked into the corner of the grass hut. There was an incredibly cute, little rabbit. Since Nora hardly noticed anything cute or pretty or nice she kicked it out of the hut and continued eating her berries. She set down the few remaining blackberries and wandered outside for a little afternoon stroll.

  After a mile or two, she noticed one of the strange skinny birds lying flat on its face. “Finally!” She said. “A real meal.” She kneeled down to pluck the bird when she noticed the the usually reddish brown skin of the strange skinny birds was paper white. Nora frowned and picked up the bird. Her stomach growled. She decided to consult the old lady. She took the long five mile hike up to the old lady’s house. She came running to the little grass hut. She walked into the hut.

Nora called the old lady Granny. Granny’s hut was strewn with thick, wooly rugs and sheepskin blankets from the real world.  Nora lived in the real world until she turned five. That was eight years ago. Bundles of good-smelling herbs hung from the ceiling.  Granny was sitting in a bundle of blankets cutting up meat Nora brought a few days ago on a large slab of wood that took up half the hut. Nora unclipped the bird from her belt. “Is that for me?” asked Granny. Nora’s cheeks turned red. She hadn’t anticipated this. “Sorry I will bring you your meat at the usual time but some weird things are happening.” Nora explained the vanished meat except for the paper white bird. “First you must not call it a bird. From now on you will call it a Apalaishan forest foul, and second give me the bird.” Granny said all in a hurry. “But you just said—” “No buts. Give me the bird.” Nora reluctantly gave Granny the bird.

Granny examined it for a solid five minutes. When she finally looked up from the Apalaishan forest foul she beckoned Nora to sit next to her. Nora sat down. Granny said, “Look at the slit in the side of your bird’s stomach.” She lifted the feathers that concealed the ugly gash. “The bird is completely sucked dry. There is not a trace of any blood. That explained why it is paper white. Your bird over here looked like he had an encounter with one of those giant leeches,” Granny paused and started plucking of the feathers.

 “You can have your dinner here. My cooking always tastes better than yours anyway.” Nora scowled at the floor, even though it was true. Granny always made good use of her herb bundles. It was starting to get dark. Nora walked over to close the grass curtain over the small hole in the hut and went around lighting candles with the fire that Granny had started to cook the food. Granny had three hundred and ninety-seven candles all stored away in a sheet of plastic to keep dry. It was unfortunate that she only had twenty candle holders. Granny had loads of stuff from the real world. That was the only thing that Nora did not like about Granny. 

After a long time of waiting for the stew to get ready, adding spices and unfamiliar herbs, supper was finally done. Granny spooned the stew into two wooden bowls and ate in silence. Nora was very hungry from her diminished lunch. She secretly thought that it was a bad idea that she showed Granny the bird. She wished she had eaten it all by herself. Even though the bird might have been poison, Nora had herbal remedies that Granny had taught her. 

Twenty minutes later, Nora got up and clipped the rest of the bird to her belt to be salted in her hut. A few years ago, she made a little trough out of sticks that she collected in the woods she filled it with salt. Now she had salted meat hanging from the roof of her hut as well as herbs and remedies. She salted the rest of the bird, hung it up, and crawled under a bear skin and went to sleep.   

The next day was a little more strange. Nora got up and pulled on a t-shirt and jeans that she brought to the from the real world, and went outside to check her snares all she found was paper white Apalashian forest foul. They were strewn across the forest floor. There were ten of them. She gathered them and took them to her hut. She plucked them and skinned them and did all sorts of things that you did to a piece of bird when you were hungry. She salted five and carried them over to Granny’s hut she dropped them off at the “Meat deposit” that Granny had installed for her. Since she already did the hunting and yesterday’s berries were still ripe, she decided to take a swim in the ocean.

 She walked to her hut, put on a bathing suit that used to fit Granny when she was thirteen, and headed to the ocean. Nora happened to be quite an accomplished swimmer, even when she was five and in the real world winning prizes for her back float and such. She went up to a cliff that looked down at the sea around forty feet down or so. She took a deep breath and dived into the blue-green waters once she touched the bottom she swam around face-down with her eyes open and she noticed something very strange. She got to her feet and swam deeper into the ocean and noticed fish lying on their backs. They were already dead. She looked up toward the cliff. There was a white flash of a tail disappearing into the woods. It looked like the rabbit she kicked out of her hut yesterday. 

She swam to the shore and ran to her hut and changed into her clothing. She got the long knife that she used for preparing meat and occasionally throwing a knife at a bird that wandered outside her hut. She silently slipped into her boots knife in hand and proceeded outside the hut. She was going to hunt down whoever was killing the animals. First she decided to tell Granny about her plan. She might give her something to help her. Last time something happened like this turned out to be a poacher. Nora had hit his head hard with a rock. He got amnesia, so instead of getting a buddy for Granny she led him over to the edge of the woods and pushed him out. He was probably now in some weird real world hospital.

Nora arrived at Granny’s hut and noticed that the meat was gone. She stepped into the hut and looked for some possible signs of life in the piles of blankets. “Granny! I need to tell you something,” Nora said loudly. No answer.  She looked and checked a couple of blanket piles. She checked the one nearest to the table. There she was! “Come here,” she croaked. Granny was very pale. As pale as the dead birds. Oh no. Nora hoped she was wrong about what she was thinking… Cause if she was right… “It the rabbit,” said Granny shakily. “The one who is killing the birds.” Her voice was barely a whisper. Granny collapsed. Nora’s eyes widened. She bit her lip. She felt Granny’s heart. Nothing. Nora made a small strangled sound. She carried Granny outside. 

  This could not be happening. Granny said that she wanted to have a proper, real-world burial. Hunting the rabbit could wait. She ran inside to fetch a shovel. She dug and dug and dug. Her hands were dotted with blisters. She set Granny down into the large hole and filled it in with dirt.  She went out to the meadow and picked Granny’s favorite purple flowers. She laid them around the grave. She went into Granny’s hut and collected all the herbs and meat. No use letting it go to waste. She carried them out to her own hut and hung them on the ceiling. 

‘Why did I like Granny so much? I guess she reminded me of my family in the real world. My dad my mom my sister. All of them. Even my infuriating cousins. I guess even Granny had a sassy side. I never actually knew my real grandmas. They died before I was born.  My grandma on my mom’s side died when my grandfather passed away due to a terrible sickness after the bombing of California. No one can even see the ruins because they are still toxic. My family lived In Nevada right near the border of California. Right near the bomb site. It wasn’t  even a normal bomb. It was the one that America swore to never use again. The Atom Bomb. Soon the sickness took hold of my whole family. My mother told me to flee to the Appalachian Trail. I did. I felt safe. But now no one is safe. I will avenge my adopted grandmother.’ Nora’s thinking time was over.

She picked up her knife filled with a new determination. She suddenly realized how ridiculous the whole situation was. A bloodsucking rabbit with a knife or an axe was out to get her. And Nora thought she had seen it all. Oh well. At least she had experience with killing animals. She might even enjoy rabbit stew. 

Nora trekked deeper into the woods. There was still no sign of the demon rabbit. At least he would stick out. There was no white rabbits in these woods. She decided to go in the direction of the cliff. The dead leaves crunched beneath her feet even though it was midsummer. She would scare of an elephant at this rate. Not that there were any elephants. She thought. Well with a demon rabbit who knew what was going to happen. She stepped onto the rocks. There wasn’t a sound. And suddenly behind a rock was the telltale flash of a white tail. She chased after it she threw her knife at it but missed. Appalashian forest foul were much slower. She yanked her knife out of the ground and threw again. This time the knife pinned the rabbit to the ground by its tail. Nora smiled. But something strange seemed to be happening. 

The rabbit’s tail looked like it was spinning. The tail lengthened and changed shape. Longer and longer and a strange square shape on top of the tail. The tail stopped spinning. The knife clattered to the ground. The tail had transformed into a large axe. The rabbit hopped around swinging the axe around and taunting Nora. The rabbit bared his teeth and jumped onto Nora swinging the axe like a madman. Nora did not know what to do. Her knife was still on the ground. All she had to do was get the knife. If that demon rabbit let her live long enough.  The rabbit started to shout meaningless things at her. The axe did not seem to ever get tired of flailing around. The rabbit’s pointy teeth were stained reddish brown from the fish and the birds. And Granny. Granny! She was the one who made Nora hunt the rabbit down not only because the birds were rotting but because the rabbit was the one who killed the only one who Nora liked anymore. Nora was so angry she could not see. She tore the rabbit off of her and lunged to get the fallen knife. She stomped down on the axe-tail an stabbed the rabbit. The rabbit still did not stop screaming. She stabbed it again and again but the rabbit did not cease to chatter. She held the rabbit by its neck and went to Granny ́s abandoned hut and got the big cooking pot. 

She started dumping herbal remedies into the pot that she brought with her everywhere. The water started to boil. She kept dumping random herbs into the pot until the water turned into a murky brown thick paste. Without thinking she dumped the rabbit into the pot and closed the lid on tightly this left her time to inspect her wounds. She had several deep gashes near her ankles and the rabbit left several puncture marks. She applied some dried seeds to her wounds and they immediately felt better. She checked on her rabbit stew. She knew that nothing could kill the rabbit. But she might put him in a state that will prevent them from ever doing harm to her and the forest. 

Nora reluctantly opened the pot lid. The murky brown had boiled down to a liquid that looked like the real world drink called coffee, only Nora’s concoction had brown mush floating around. The smell was overpowering. A tuft of brown sticky fur floated to the top. 

She went to Granny’s cabinet and retrieved a pair of tongs. She went back to the pot and fished around for awhile until she fished around for a while. She hit something. She pulled it out of the murky water and the rabbit was silent and sticky its eyes were closed and it mouth was only opened slightly as if it were asleep. Nora exhaled. She had avenged her Granny. She looked at the rabbit one last time to make sure it was dead. 

The rabbit opened its eyes and gave her a great big smile. “Peekaboo!” it said. The tail started to spin…

THE END   

PART l

Ch1: A bad day.

I feel as if the clouds departed for me today, for the sun is shining all over Akron even though I don’t like the sun. I think today is going to be the perfect day, mostly because tonight is going to be a full moon.

It’s my favorite subject in school, social studies. We are learning about wildlife. I am doing wolves.

“LISA! Are you paying attention?” My teacher Mrs. Moogs says pretty loud.

“I am, I am,” I reply even though I wasn’t.

”Well show us what your speech is about,” Mrs. Moogs says sounding annoyed.

 “Wolves, that’s what I am writing about,” I mumble walking up to the front of my classroom. 

“Well are you going to start?” Mrs. Moogs asks rudely. 

“I am, I am,“ I mumble once again. “I am writing about wolves. Wolves hunt mice, bunnies…”

”Wolves are DUMB,” a student yells out. I look down and see Bratt smirking at me. Bratt is the biggest and meanest bully in my school, P.S.37. He is so mean that he scares his own mom and dad. He is “like” a legend in school. Once Bratt was sent to the principal’s office when he came back the principal was following him, the principal had a black eye on his left eye. “Wolves are high predators and are related to dogs and coyotes,” I say raising my voice a little.

 “Still boring and BOO,” Bratt yells out again in mean voice.

Soon everyone starts yelling BOO at the top of their lungs. 

“SHUSH UP!” Mrs. Moogs screams at all the kids but that just made them louder.

 Mrs. Moogs looks at the kid that was yelling BOO the loudest. “Jack go to the office.” Everyone becomes silent watching Jack leave. “Anyone else that wants to join Jack?” Mrs. Moogs asks everyone in the classroom waiting for an answer. “Good. You may start over Lisa.”

”Most wolves hunt in packs. A pack means -” 

“I can’t hear you all, I can hear is your sassy, little voice,” he tells me.

This time I am so mad at Bratt for interrupting me again. I stare Bratt right across his face making him smile his horrible smile. Bratt stands up staring into my eyes as if he is winning a staring contest. Seeing that he stood up I do the same. Now I am standing up I am five inches taller than Bratt. This makes Bratt mad. He always brags about how he is the tallest in the whole school.

”Oh wow,” Nelson whispers even though I hear him. I look a little past Bratt, looking at my classmates which are Nelson, Max, and Ryla. 

“Hey guys stop starin’ and fight,” says Max with his English accent. Bratt looks at me devilishly as if he is agreeing with Max. But before I can do anything Mrs. Moogs calls me.

 “Lisa go to the principal.”

 I go downstairs without putting up a fight with Mrs. Moogs. 

When I get to Principal Cunningham’s office, he’s on the ground shivering to death. In front of him are two vikings that are arguing about whether they should take the principal first, and not take the students, or take the kids first and not take the principal. After a few minutes, they walk out of the room and decide to take the kids. I try to be silent as possible but they spot me and say,

“Why not start with this one?”

The viking with a red beard tries to hold me still but I bite him and run away to warn my best friends Kayla and Shawn. They are both in the same classroom, which is 3-208. I run upstairs. They can see me through the crack of the door. They both ask the teacher, which is their English teacher Mrs. Tiffany, if they can go to the bathroom, which she replies yes. They run out the door as fast as they can. They know all my secrets. 

“What’s the problem?” They ask at the same time.

“There are these viking dudes that are planning to capture all the students here,” I say in an excited voice. 

“Let’s go and beat them up!” says Shawn. “Give them a lesson.” We swiftly run down the stairs to see that there are seven hundred vikings with axes and spears caging kids. Shawn slows down and says, “I’m not sure I want to beat them up anymore.” 

Kayla bravely walks outside and says, “I demand you to stop!” To which they surprisingly do stop, and they all bow down to her. She thinks it’s a trick, so she takes one of their axes and starts hacking all the cages trying to get the kids out. Shawn takes a spear and starts swiftly cutting a viking’s helmet and starts attacking everybody he can see. After one hour of battling the vikings, we all huddle up together, knowing that there is no hope in defeating them, and we say that we will go home and hide. The vikings keep capturing the kids, but don’t hurt any of them. Kayla swiftly says that she is going to stay here and follow them to wherever they go. 

Shawn says that he is going to go and spend some time making a machine to defeat them. 

I now know that I’m going to be alone in hiding.

In the meanwhile, I keep trying to bite as many hairy arms and hairy legs as I can. We all agree that in two weeks from now, we will do what we need to do. When the two weeks are up, we will meet by the heart-tree. This time, Shawn like he always does, asks, “Why is it called the heart tree?” just to annoy us.

But I should say so anyway. The heart-tree is a tree, a normal tree, but it is shaved into a heart. A cat once got stuck in there when it was a normal tree and it was so scared that it kept going up the tree and down the tree, making it into a heart shape because the cat, everywhere it went, brushed off some leaves. It’s not a very exciting story. But that is the story. Soon all the vikings leave, with Kayla following them and Shawn running as fast as he can to go home and build a machine to destroy them. I look around and make sure nobody’s looking, and then I turn around. And when I’m right about to take my step, Mrs. Tiffany goes up to me and says, “Where are you going?” 

I reply and say, “I am going home.”

“I should call your parents before you go home,” she says.

“They’re probably sleeping,” I quickly say. 

“Then I shall walk you home, for you are only in first grade.”

“No thank you,” I say as politely and calmly as I can. But she insists. So I walk with her until we reach the forest. 

“You live here?” She asks me a little weirdly. 

“Yeah, I do.”

So we walk inside the forest. We walk for five hours until we come upon a cave. I tell her that we should rest there, for it is almost sundown. I don’t tell her this is my home.

Too tired to talk, she nods in agreement. She brings out two blankets and a pillow, as if she needs that in every situation, from her bag, and lays it down inside the misty cave. We both fall asleep very quickly. 

I wake up because I realize that it is a full moon and I’ve turned into a wolf. 

It all happened seven years ago when I was born. I remembered it all too well because I have a wolf’s memory. My mom was there in the hospital with me. It was midnight when I was born, and there was a full moon out. So I was a wolf at that time. My mom, who was also a wolf at that time, for some reason thought I was in danger. A few days later another female wolf, Guard came and brought me to her den with her four pups. Their names are Fluff, Ruff, and the twins, Sapphire and Chocolate.

Mrs. Tiffany wakes up in the middle of the night and looks at my bed and sees that I’m not there anymore. She turns to see me in wolf form gently lapping water in the nearby river. 

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” She screams and faints. When she faints, I put my paw on her to make sure that she’s not faking it. When she doesn’t get up, I curl up into a ball and fall asleep. When I wake up again, I wake up Mrs. Tiffany, who screams again when she wakes up and then thinks that it is all just a bad dream. And then, she looks at me and I realize that I still have my black fluffy wolf tail and my fluffy ears. And then I tell her that it’s not a dream.

Ch2: the explanation

She looks at me in shock and pinches herself to make sure that it isn’t a dream. I tell her that on full moons, when it is night, I turn into a wolf, that explains why I still have a wolf tail and wolf ears. She pinches herself again on the leg and tells herself it isn’t real. But I respond and say,

“It is real.”

She faints again and I dig in her bag and find a bucket and fill it up with water and pour it on her face. When she wakes up again, I tell her that we have to start leaving because I smell poachers, their miles away. The poachers are the worst, they once came into spot’s den. Spot growled as loud as he could. The poachers didn’t go away. They stayed and took a knife and cut off Spot’s leg. Guard rushed over to Spot and put him in his bed made out of wolf hair that they shed in the winter. Spot slept for a week. In the middle of the week, Spot got up, and was whimpering so loudly that Fluff and Ruff, who were in Guard’s stomach, kicked Guard’s stomach really hard.

She complains, “We haven’t even eaten breakfast yet.” 

“Well I’ve made it,” I tell her.

 She looks at me and asks, “What is it?”

“Chicken.”

“Where’d you get this?” Mrs. Tiffany questions me.

“I ran over to a farm and kinda stole a chicken and killed it.”

“We’ll get sued!” 

“Well, probably not, nobody knows where I live.”

“That makes sense.” 

“Well, let’s start eating.” 

“We have to cook it first!”

“Oh, right. I usually eat it raw.” 

Mrs. Tiffany starts pulling out footlong sticks and a packet of matches and lights the fire. I take two sticks and plant one on each side and plant one on top. She takes some string for her bag and ties the chicken to the top stick. I cut off the chicken breast and two chicken legs. She takes the chicken breast and wolfs it down. I take two chicken legs and wolf down all of them and spit out the bones. Mrs. Tiffany looks at me curiously and then remembers that I am a wolf, after all.

She asks, “Why do we have to leave?”

Ch3: run away with me.

“We have to leave because of poachers. They’ll probably kill me and then arrest you.”

“Kill you?” Mrs. Tiffany shouts. 

“And arrest you,” I add.

“Well, shouldn’t we pack some food?”

“Great idea. There are some walnuts that should be ripe by now and some shoots.”

“Walnuts and shoots?” Mrs. Tiffany exclaims. 

“Well, yeah. They’re mostly the only thing that won’t get rotten on our way there.” I should go warn Guard about the poachers, I think. We go over to the walnut tree. She picks some nuts and I pick some shoots. Mrs. Tiffany shoves them in her bag and I tell her to follow me. 

We run together over to Guard’s den. I tell her to wait outside because Guard doesn’t like strangers.

“Who’s Guard?” Mrs. Tiffany asks me. 

But I’ve already run inside. I go over to Guard and tell her in wolf language, “New poachers are in the area and we’re going to have to move until they leave.”

“Okay,” she says calmly. “I’ll go gather everyone up.”

I run back outside. Mrs. Tiffany asks me, “What happened in there?” She claims that she heard a lot of growling. 

“Oh, we were just speaking in wolf language,” I say while turning into a wolf from the moonlight I have been storing inside my body. It used to hurt me, it felt like sticks and stones breaking my bones but now I feel nothing. We run back inside the den and pick up Fluff and Ruff by the scruff of their necks. I set them down and tell them to get on my back.

“Yes, sissy,” they say at the same time. They jump on my back swiftly and I tell Sapphire to follow me and grab Chocolate by the scruff of his neck. I run outside and I see the whole pack of Sage and Stalk and their three pups, Rose, Cinnamon, and Grassy, also Splashy and Firy and their two pups, Rocky and Obsidian, and last but not least, Alpha’s husband, Spot.  It’s a big pack of fifteen, including the Alpha’s kids. 

It doesn’t take long to get to the other den. The whole time I walk next to Mrs. Tiffany for I think she was scared to be next to all the wolves. Most of the time Fluff and Ruff were yipping and yapping. Chocolate and Sapphire were arguing about whose eyes look better. We arrive at the tiny den, by then it is almost sundown. Sage and Stalk fall asleep first because they were carrying Rose, Cinnamon, and Grassy on their back the whole time. Then, Chocolate and Sapphire fall asleep next to Rocky and Obsidian. Splashy and Firy fall asleep next to Mrs. Tiffany. Guard and Spot fall asleep next to the single wolf that had been living there alone. His name was Spice. He is Sage’s dad. I fell asleep on top of Fluff and Ruff. 

I wake up to the sound of a gunshot. The poachers are only one foot away from the cave. I keep trying to wake up Spice, for he can howl the best and make everyone wake up. I realize the only way to wake everybody up was to wake Fluff and Ruff. So I jumped on Fluff and Ruff and they woke up. Immediately, they ran all the way over to Spice and started jumping on his stomach saying, “Wake up! Wake up!” very loudly in his ears. Finally, he is awake, and I tell him that the poachers are here and he is going to have to howl to wake everyone up. He nods in agreement and howls really loudly. Everybody wakes up, but now the poacher is right outside the cave. He comes in with a pistol. Everybody is awake, ready to attack. He blows the whistle and three more poachers come. Fluff and Ruff run to the back of the cave and start digging a little hole. Spice runs over to the hole and sat right on top of it. Guard and Spot jump on the first poacher and steal his pistol and start trying to break it. The second poacher shoots Spot on the stump of the leg that he doesn’t have, which doesn’t hurt at all because every morning he takes a pill to make his leg numb, that Stalk made so he doesn’t feel anything. Chocolate runs over to the second poacher and starts running circles around his leg as fast as he can, which was the whole circle around in five seconds. He is making the poacher dizzy, so dizzy the poacher just sees a flying chocolate bar around his legs. When he tries to grab Chocolate, Chocolate is on the other side of his legs. Soon, the poacher falls down in dizziness and Sapphire comes and started punching him in the face with her paws. Now his nose is bleeding. I jump on the second poacher’s stomach, who is now laying down. I grab his pistol and I throw it over to Mrs. Tiffany, who somehow catches it and starts shooting it at the first poacher’s toes. Sage and Stalk and Rose and Grassy and Cinnamon and Obsidian go over, run outside of the cave when nobody’s looking and start collecting bendable twigs to make a cage with some metal that they have found from recent adventures. The third poacher, who is just standing there in awe, does not notice when Sage and Stalk put the cage above him, and he does not notice it fall. Soon, he is trapped in a cage. The fourth poacher comes out of nowhere and seems to be the chief, takes a rifle and shoots at me at the same moment that I turn back into human. I try not to pay much attention to my pain, which is throbbing. I roll on my back. Mrs. Tiffany stops shooting the guy’s feet and picks me up and takes me to the back of the cave so no harm can be done to me anymore. Everything feels strange. When I try to talk or scream, no noise comes out. The world goes bonkers. Stars and rainbows are everywhere. I finally close my eyes and the pain goes away.

Ch 4: Don’t Lie To Me, I Can Eat You Alive

I’m in a room. Next to me is a donkey with a top hat and a sticker on his fur saying, “Hello, my name is Donkey Kong.” Next to me is a familiar face, one that I haven’t seen in a very long, long time…

The first poacher and the second poacher run away screaming, and the chief poacher runs away saying, 

“I want my mommy!” The third poacher is still stuck inside of his cage, sitting down, chewing on his nails, thinking of how to get out. 

“Hey you!” Mrs. Tiffany shouts at his face, running from the back of the cave. 

“What about me? Are you going to let me go or not?” says the third poacher.

“Well, first you have to answer some questions.”
“Okay, whatever.” 

“The person that your chief just killed name was Lisa. Do you know her?”

“What’s her last name?”

“Moonfire.”

“Oh yeah, I do know the Moonfires. We’re neighbors. And they have two kids, I didn’t know one of them ran away.”

“Where do they live?”

“Cleveland, Shawn Road. But they just recently moved.”

“Where did they move to?” Mrs. Tiffany asks, in suspense.

“I don’t know, they said they moved to somewhere in the forest, five hours away from Akron. They were nice neighbors.”

“Who do you work for?” 

“I work for the military,” he answers while smiling. 

Sapphire, who is usually very quiet, goes over to the third poacher and stands on her hind legs to make her one foot taller.

She grins and says, “Don’t lie to me. I can eat you alive,” in her best human voice.
The third poacher, clearly shaken, says, “Uh, yeah. I work for Queen Setorga. She has like a million viking dudes, they’re so weird. So basically I kinda work for the viking dudes.” Sweat trickles down his neck, scared by little Sapphire. 

“What is your name?” Mrs. Tiffany wonders out loud. 

“Oh, my name. My name. What is it again? Oh, right. It’s, umm… it’s, uhh… uhhh… I’ve clearly forgotten my name. Did you brainwash me or something?”

“No, we didn’t,” Mrs. Tiffany says, a little louder than she expected to say. “Just tell us your name!”

“Oh, yeah, that thing. My name… what does name mean again? So, my name, uh… Let’s see, what is my name again? Oh, right, it’s umm, umm, yeah, it’s Jeff. Yeah, that’s it.”

“Jeff what?” says Mrs. Tiffany, in curiosity. Sapphire takes one step forward and “Jeff” spills the beans.

“Ahh! Please don’t kill me! My name is Kevin Moonfire.”

I look down at my fingers. The tips are bone. You could see where the bullet hit my heart. Am I dead? Why am I still here?

“Hello, I’ve been waiting for you for a few minutes,” says the familiar person.

“Um, not to be rude, but WHO ARE YOU?” I say in a “soft voice.”

“My name is Emily, but you can call me Mrs. Moonfire.”

“Mom?” I’m looking around. There’s a big light above me, in a very big ceiling. There’s grass on the ground and the walls. 

“Yeah, it’s me, honey.” 

This calls me back to my senses. “Wait, what?” I say. “Why are you here?” I ask in confusion. “Why weren’t you there all those years ago? When I was born, why did you just leave me on the patio on the steps?”
“Because you were in danger.”
“How? What kind of danger? So much danger to you that you left me there?” 

“No, I meant danger to you. The person that made me into a wolf and the twins a wolf. He was a werewolf. He realized that when you were created, he could steal you and put you in his army, and then he’d just throw you away, like a piece of garbage.”

“Oh. Well, now that I’m dead, what else is there to do? And how did you die with me?” I wonder.  

“Well, every time a wolf dies that’s half human, I am drawn to it. You are free to leave, you can leave. You probably don’t want to be with me anymore. I’m a terrible mother.”

“I believe in second chances. But how do I leave?” 

“Do you see that tiny hole in the air, the dot in the air?”
“Yes, I do,” I reply.

“That is the way back. It is traveling through space and time. You have to be careful when you go back. If you don’t come back in the right place, then you could lose your wolf life. You would still be human but you need a lot of moonlight  to turn back. There is two sides of you. When you died, you were human. You don’t have that human life anymore. However, your wolf life is asking you for a second chance in life. You do not have to take this chance. But if you want to you can. If you go into the wrong time, and you see yourself as a wolf, it’s over.”

“Okay, okay. Now come with me and let’s get this over with.”
“I hope you have a wolf memory,” she holds my hand and we jump in together. 

I first see the first thing that I can see in the black hole, which is my mom. We move over to her putting me down on the steps. Then Guard finding me. Me playing Duck Duck Wolf, a hunting game, with Chocolate and Sapphire. Poachers coming and taking Spot’s leg. Fluff and Ruff being born. Me turning one year old with my birthday bear. It was delicious. Fluff and Ruff learning to talk. Chocolate turning three. Me turning five. Sapphire running away, and finding her. Me going to school. Me graduating into first grade. The vikings. Me, and Kayla and Shawn huddled together. Me and Mrs. Tiffany. The poachers. And me, dead in the back of the cave. I jump into that picture, my hands still tightly holding my mom’s. 

“Hi guys!” I say very casually in my human voice. 

“Who-what!!” Mrs. Tiffany says confuzzled.

“Yip!” yelps Fluff, poking her head out from the hole she’s in. 

“Yap!” yelps Ruff, also poking his head out from the hole.

Sapphire turns around and says, “Is that another you? A taller you? In human form?” 

“That’s my mom!” I say in an excited tone. Kevin turns around.

“Emily?” he says as if his dream came true.

“Yes?” My mom says. 

“Who is that talking wolf next to you?”

“Oh, that’s Lisa.”

“Who?”

“I’ll tell you later, but she’s our daughter.”

“Should we take her home?”

“Sure, but what about her wolves and that middle aged person?”

“Well, I guess they’ll fit in our seven-floored house.”

“Don’t lie to me, I can eat you alive.” Sapphire says the only words that she can say in human language. 

“Tell me now why you didn’t tell me about her before!” Kevin yells, inside of a cage.

“Why are you yelling at me now? You usually never yell,” Emily shouts at him. 

“Well, this is a reason to yell about!”

“I can’t agree with you.”

“Well.”

“Well, you’re the one that joined the poachers!”

“I guess I should tell you my story.”
“Yes, you should!” Emily shouts. Everybody stares at Emily, including the wolves. 

“One day, I was just cleaning the house ten years after we had gotten married and the viking dudes knocked down my door. Of course, I didn’t know who this was, so I answered, and they said ‘You have to come with us now.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m just doing my spring cleaning. Do you mind coming back maybe in the summer?’ They said no, and I asked them again. ‘No, I will not tolerate this!’ said the viking with the red beard–”

“Oh, I’ve met a viking with a red beard. He’s the one that captured a lot of students,” I interrupt.

“Let me continue with my story!” Kevin says in an angry voice. “They handcuffed my hands behind my back and blindfolded me. They spun me around until I barfed on the red beard viking’s face.”

“Hee Hee Hee Hee Haha,” Chocolate laughs. 

“Can I continue with my story?” Kevin hollers. Everyone nodded at him in agreement. “They brought me into their base a month ago. They said that if I didn’t become an army member they will kill me and my children and my wife. So immediately, I knew they were the bad guys. So I said sure, so I could become a snitch. One day, they told me that I needed to go on a mission to hunt some wolves that have been disturbing people in the wild. I came, but I did not do anything because the place looked familiar . So I didn’t fight any of the wolves. I didn’t do anything when you captured me. So here I am now. I thought it was pretty funny that the Chief, who was also the general of the army, was scared and was saying, ‘I want my mommy!’” 

“Oh, I‘m sorry, I didn’t know,” Emily said. 

“Guys, I just remembered something!” I say. 

“What?” Mrs. Tiffany exclaims. 

“You know how I’ve always been here for the wolves’ adventures. I think that now you should help me on my adventure.”

“Okay, Lisa. I don’t see where this is going,” says my mom.

“My friends said that we would meet together at the heart-shaped tree after two weeks. That’s up in two days. That’s exactly how long it’s going to take us. Do you want to join me?”

“Sure!” All the wolves say immediately, for they had been on all of her adventures.

“Well, Mom, Dad, and Mrs. Tiffany, would you like to come?”

“It would be fun,” Mrs. Tiffany admits. 

“I just met you. I don’t know if I can be with you,” says Kevin. 

“Just trust me, Dad.”

“If you’re going, Kevin, I’m going too,” my mom tells my dad. 

“Okay, then let’s start going!” 

“But wait!” My dad says. “We don’t have any rifles to hunt! The dried food you have isn’t going to last us two weeks!”

“You’re right, but we already have our weapons,” I say, pointing to the wolves. 

“Good point,” he says. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!”

“Well, it is late at night,” Mrs. Tiffany says. “We should get some rest before we go.”

“Okay,” all the wolves agree. Mrs. Tiffany gets my Mom and Dad a blanket and a big pillow to share. She flops down with her head on my side. She smiles in her sleep. I think she’s probably happy that the pillow is a soft big wolf. 

I wake up to Spice howling really loudly. “It’s okay, Spice,” I tell him. “I’m awake. I can wake all the humans up.” He stops howling. I jump on top of my Mom, who says something that I can’t understand. She waits for me to respond, but I tell her that I have no idea what she’s saying.

She tells me, “Part of being in wolf form for most of your life is that you won’t be able to hear humans very well.” She says it as if all of this is normal. I jump on Dad and tell him to wake up, but of course all he hears is growling and he thinks that it is Sapphire. My Mom explains to him why he only heard growling. Then, I go and I wake up Mrs. Tiffany. I whisper in her ear, “Wake up!”

She strangely understands me, and says, “Okay, Lisa. I’ll wake up.” My mom, not knowing that Mrs. Tiffany can still hear me, explains to her what had just happened, and she says, “But I just heard her clearly!”

Mom says that it’s strange then I tell her she’s been with me the whole time. Mom says that it is a very rare possibility that Mrs. Tiffany can hear what I am saying. 

When all the wolves are awake, I tell Mom to get on Sage and for Mom to tell Dad to get on Stalk. Mom picks up Rose and Cinnamon and Dad picks up Grassy. I tell Mrs. Tiffany to ride Spot. I let Rocky and Obsidian get on my back and I hold Fluff and Ruff by the scruff of their necks. Guard, who’s next to Firy, puts Sapphire on her back and she picks up Chocolate. And we run for two weeks.

We stop a few times. It’s very exhausting. Finally, we get there and we’re one day early. That whole day, everybody falls asleep, but I stay awake, my eyes open, waiting for Kayla and Shawn. I notice Shawn is wearing tattered armour and Kayla is wearing a crown and armour that’s embroidered with jewels. 

When Kayla and Shawn come, they notice me when I’m in wolf form. They’re surprised to see Mrs. Tiffany, and two other humans. I tell them I’ll share my story later. I tell them they should share theirs first. They nod in agreement, very tired from their journey. Kayla translates to Shawn what I am saying, for I have taught her how to speak wolf language. Shawn asks if I’m hungry. Me and Kayla say yes at the exact same time. He pulls out a donut from his pocket and says, “Do you want to split this dessert together?”

We are very happy. They told me what they did and then went over our battle plans.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Sareen. She loved toys and especially her blanket. It was really fuzzy. It could fit as a cape and was made of black, really cozy material.

Whenever Sareen was feeling happy, sad, or any emotion, she wanted her special blanket. One day, Sareen left the blanket alone to go to breakfast and then the blanket started moving by itself. It first went to the washroom to flush the toilet. The next thing he did was he go outside the balcony watching the birds because the bird pooped on him. Then the blanket went in Sareen’s mom and dad’s room. He messed up the bed. Then he went to the guest room. Then Sareen went upstairs and saw that everything was a mess, but the blanket was gone because it was walking down to the kitchen. Then Sareen looked in the laundry room to look for the blanket and she also saw that the laundry room was a mess. The blanket was looking for something. Then Sareen found a little black piece of something because she thought it was her blanket. She started to run after the little black thing and then she got the blanket. Then it was night, so she needed to get her blanket. She looked everywhere and then she finally got it! Then she went to sleep with it. The blanket found a stuffed animal right next to Sareen so it took that instead. 

The next day, Sareen was wearing the blanket as a cape, and then the blanket was moving by itself! The blanket lifted Sareen off the ground, and she started flying in the living room! She then landed on the soft couch. Sareen said, “That was amazing!”

The blanket replied to Sareen by saying, “Let’s fly more!”

Sareen said, “How did you fly?” The blanket said nothing, but instead went on the ground and fell asleep. Sareen took it into her bed and had mint chocolate chip ice cream by herself. She watched a lot of TV because she had nothing to do because her blanket was asleep. She stayed awake all night. She tried to wake up her blanket because she wanted to fly! She shook the blanket. The blanket woke up. Sareen made a paper airplane with the blanket and flew! They flew outside and Sareen accidentally dropped into the pool while the blanket kept flying. The blanket then fell into the grass because it needed more energy. So then Sareen swam to the stairs and then went to the shower. She then changed into her PJs. She slept in her really comfy bed. Her blanket was still in the grass so the blanket walked up the stairs and slept in her bed with her. 

The end.

One day, a little girl named Emily decided to go for a walk. It was a nice day, and so Emily wanted to go to Central Park. So Emily went to her mom and said, “Mom can you take me to Central Park?” And her mom said, “Yes.”

So they headed out to the park and on the way there, an eagle swooped down and scared Emily. The eagle had a scratch on its nose, which made it look very scary, and it made scary noises and growls that sounded like, “RRR.” 

After the attack, Emily was terrified, and she told her mom that she wanted to head home. But her mom wanted to take her to a big grassy field in Central Park with swings, and so she said, “It’s fine, let’s just move on.” 

“Fine mom, but what if the eagle comes back?” 

“It won’t. I promise, okay?”

“I believe you.”

Then Emily and her mom entered Central Park, and went to the grassy field. And then, the giant eagle was back to scare her!

Emily was so scared that she wanted to leave Central Park. The mom agreed to leave Central Park. On the way out, the giant came out and ate the eagle. The giant was so big. Emily saw Central Park was haunted, and she never wanted to go back. They went back home.

Then it was night, and Emily thought she was going to have nightmares and couldn’t fall asleep. But when it was morning time, she was so sleepy. The moment she went on the couch, she fell asleep. When she fell asleep, she woke up in the nighttime, and she heard so many strange noises that freaked her out, and she ran to her mom’s room. But she wasn’t there. She was so scared that she stayed in her mom’s room and didn’t go out. So she fell asleep in there.

“MOM! WHERE ARE YOU?” 

Her mom was actually there, but it was too dark, so Emily couldn’t see. 

Her mom said, “Lower your voice! I’m right here.”

“Oh, I didn’t see you there.”

And the mom was so mad that she said, “Go back to your room!”

Emily said, “No mom! Remember, there’s a monster?” So Emily begged her mom and said, “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I promise I won’t do it again!”

“I don’t care! Go to your room.”

Emily said, “Can I borrow a flashlight?”

“No.”

Emily was so mad that she didn’t even care, and she walked out. “I don’t care. I’m still going to walk out.”

When she walked out, she told her mom that she was going to walk, but she ran instead. She didn’t wake up that morning. Her mom came to her room to check on her. 

And then Emily said, “Get out of my room.”

“Okay. But you can’t stay in there for long.” And then Emily’s mom said, “I guess you don’t want my homemade biscuits.”

And then Emily was so tempted that she ran out of her room. Her mom said, “Aha! What did I witness!” 

“Okay I might have ran out of my room, but I could smell the biscuits a mile away. How can I not smell them?”

“Oh I didn’t know that.” 

“Whatever, I’m still going to eat the biscuits.” 

“Ok. They are on the dining table.” 

Emily walked there and took a seat, and the moment she sat down, she heard something. She thought it was her mom making more biscuits until she asked her mom. 

tap,tap,tap   “Mom, are you making more biscuits?” 

And her mom answered, “No.” 

Then Emily said, “Look outside, mom… there’s an eagle!!!” 

“No there isn’t.” 

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa there’s an eagle in our window! Mom, how can we get it out?” 

Then the eagle said, “I am watching you! You will be in my sight wherever you go. You can go to space, and you will not find me. I have a place where I can hide, and no one knows about it. Not even my family! Sometimes I don’t even know where my own house is, and sometimes I even have to sleep on a cloud because I don’t know where my own house is! Once I didn’t come to my house for a whole month!”

“Well, if you get lost again you can’t sleep in my house,” said Emily. 

Emily’s mom went to the kitchen and got a broom and did this, “GET OUT. HAYAH!” 

And then the eagle got hit off of the window. 

The eagle was flying in the sky, and flew up again, and cracked their window sill, and said, “What was that for?” 

The mom said, “What are you doing here? I thought I hit the jelly out of you!” 

The eagle said, “Oh, I’m already dead. I just want to have company.” 

Then the mom said, “Oh, why do you keep scaring us then?”

Then Emily said, “Yeah, why do you have a big scar on your nose?” 

“Because when I was alive, I had an owner that was so mean, she threw a knife at my nose, but all I did was do my business on her bed! And as in business, I mean… you know… ” said the eagle. 

The mom said, “You can stay a week here, but you can’t do your business on my bed, or Emily’s bed.”

Then the eagle said, “Ok, shall we get this party started?” He went to the kitchen and got the chips, and put them on the fan, and put the fan on, and then the chips flew everywhere!

The mom said, “Don’t make me change my mind.” 

The eagle said, “Sorry, sorry.” He used his magic powers to clean up so fast, faster than a superhero. And the mom was speechless, the same was Emily. 

Then Emily said, “Can you clean my room?”

“No, sorry, I only can clean up when I make a mess,” said the eagle. 

Then Emily said, “Go make a mess in my room.”

“Of course not, then I’ll just have to clean up even more. How boring would that be?” said the eagle.

And then, secret agents knocked on our door and said, “We’re gonna need that eagle, and we DON’T take no for an answer.” 

And then, the eagle hid under the couch and whispered to Emily, “Don’t tell them where I am because they will kill me. That is why I have a secret house.” 

And then the secret agent told Emily’s mom, “When we find the eagle, we will feed it to a big giant.” 

The eagle told Emily, “See, what did I tell you?” 

“What was that?” said the secret agent. 

Emily’s mom said, “That was nothing!”

The secret agent said, “Are you hiding something from me?”

“Of course not! See you later, come back tomorrow.” And she slammed the door. The secret agent was so upset that he didn’t even care. He used his weapon and kicked the door open.

He said, “I know the eagle is here. I am searching, whether or not you say no.” 

First, the secret agent checked Emily’s room. Second, he checked Emily’s mom’s room. Third, he checked the kitchen. Fourth, he checked the living room. 

Dun dun Duuuuuunnnn. 

Emily said, “Hello, who are you? Nothing to see here, please get out of my house.” 

She used her hands to push him back out of the living room, but then the eagle sneezed! 

“AACHOOOOOO!” 

Then the secret agent turned around, and flipped Emily with his hands. 

He said, “Get out of my way, you’re wasting my time.” He went into the living room.

Emily said to her mom, “Mom, what should we do?”

“No worries, look! The eagle is flying away!” said her mom.

Then the evil agent spy said, “We need to get that eagle!” 

He pulled a strap on his bag, and then wings came out of the backpack. And then he flew after the eagle! The eagle flew back to his home, but then he didn’t know where his home was because it was hidden in camouflage! He instead went to a dead tree and camouflaged with that because it was brown, white, and black. 

When the secret agent got near the home where the eagle was flying, he said, “Where did the eagle go?” 

So he used his watch to scan everywhere, and he saw that the eagle was camouflaging with the tree, but the eagle saw him coming closer, so the eagle flew off, back to Emily’s home, and the eagle hid in their dog cage since Coco died. So they stuffed the eagle inside. The cage was very big because a Sammy Smile can be up to eighty-five pounds! When the secret agent came back, he asked where the eagle was. 

The mother said, “Nowhere, it’s just our dog Coco! You must’ve come to the wrong house!” 

The family dressed up in wigs, so that the agent wouldn’t recognize them. 

“Of course, I have! The person in the other house has brown straight hair. You guys have grey, black, curly hair.” 

The agent knew it was us because we didn’t use accents, and then he pulled our wigs off!

Emily said, “It’s a miracle! I’m young again!” 

The agent said, “Where’s your dog?”

Emily said, “In China.”

He said “I know you’re lying.”

Emily said, “Fine, she is in California getting a doggy groom.” 

Then the agent believed them because they gave him the location and why the dog was there. So he flew off!

The eagle said, “Thank you.” 

But really it was just a hologram! The agent was really under the couch the whole time! So really, he knew where the eagle was! 

“Get out of my way where is the dog cage?” 

“Nowhere,” said Emily. 

The End 

I was in the car going to the waterpark, and my dog was coming with me. The color of her fur was brown and white. She was snuggling with me, and when she got up and put her head out the window, she stuck her tongue out. My mom was driving and we pulled into the waterpark, which was in California, and we got our stuff out of the car. We got out our towels, our goggles, and our swimming caps. My goggles were dark blue and violet, and my cap was pink, and I was wearing my bathing suit. My bathing suit was pink and it had a ‘T’ on it, which was light blue. When we went to the gate, we realized we forgot our tickets in the car, so we went back to the car, and then we went back to the gate with our tickets. Then, we got in and went on a water slide. We finished the water slide, and it was really fun. Then, we went on a water-coaster, and it was really long and fun. When we got off, I was really dizzy because it went around in circles. Then, we got some Gatorade and ice cream because it was really hot. I got mint chocolate chip with hot fudge, and my mom got vanilla with caramel sauce. We got to put on our own toppings. We stayed at the water park for the whole day. I also did a throwing game, and I got a little teddy bear. Then, we got lunch. I got mac and cheese, and my mom got a burger. I took my first sip of my Gatorade, and then we went on the water-coaster again because it was really fun. Then, I finished my Gatorade. I took my cap off because it was really tight. My mom’s bathing suit had red roses and a yellow background. When it was almost nighttime, we went back to the car. When we were driving home, there was lots of traffic. My mom was running out of gas, so we stopped at a gas station and got more gas. When we got back on the road, there was much less traffic, so we got back home in one hour. 

THE END

Chapter 1 – A Message from Auntie Julie.

“Wake up!” shouted Mom.

“Why in the world are you waking me up? It’s only 3 o’clock in the morning!” said Joanne.

“Because I just got a message from Auntie Julie that she said that the farmhouse was empty and we could live on their farm forever!”

“Ugh, can I just sleep five more minutes?”

“Okay, five more minutes. Starting now!”

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven

Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve,

Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen,

Sixteen, seventeen…

Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock…

“RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!! FIVE MINUTES DONE!!!” 

It was 3:05 now. The sky was dark. There were no lights. It was the middle of the night. 

Joanne woke up and she peaked at the message—it was on her mom’s G-mail. She was amazed after she saw that message because Auntie Julie had discovered a new house that was in her property and was perfect for her family. 

Chapter 2 – Packing Up

“What are we going to do now that we’ve received the message?” Joanne asked.

“We have to pack!!” her mom said. So they called a gigantic moving truck to carry their furniture, so the people who were in the truck loaded the furniture inside the truck. Joanne felt sort of blank in the house, and they used all their six suitcases for their own little stuff. Joanne’s older sister Catherine carried two suitcases, one for her baby sister Maria, and one for herself. Joanne had another sister named Collette—Maria was the smallest. She was one year old, and Collette was two years older: she was three. Joanne was seven years old and Catherine was ten years old! 

So they started packing. They got their blankets and their stuffed animals and their bags plus their clothes. And their books were carried by the shelves. Now, after they all cleaned up, they dusted the floors to make it clean; it was plain white. There was nothing inside. Joanne felt like she was in a very white room like in Hollywood. She felt weird because she had never seen so much white before. It was very strange. Joanne felt like there was a ghost in the room. The ghost was spying on her now. Luckily it was morning, so there was still some light. The family took their butterfly curtains off and Catherine carried them to the truck with Joanne. Their dad carried the drawers and when the house was all cleaned up, the family only saw it blank. They were sad to leave their old house, but also excited to meet their farmhouse.

Chapter 3 – A Gas Problem

So the family told the truck where to go to their new house—‘the farm 28 gates.’ The farm was in Upstate New York, farther than the Bronx. It was on ‘28 gate’ street, higher than 299th st. The truck went there peacefully with some bumps, but that didn’t bother the furniture. But the family car faced a lot of problems. The dad had claustrophobia—which means that Dad couldn’t stand in small and tight places. So they went to the gas station because the car suddenly had no gas. The gas station was very small, and they could only recharge gas one car at a time, so the dad drove in and got very sweaty, scared, and nervous. So the dad closed his eyes while he was doing the gas. Then Mom suggested that she would drive the car out of the gas station, and then they would switch back to Dad, so he could be relaxed in the back seat, close his eyes and not drive blindfolded. So Dad got in the backseat, and Mom got in the front seat. When the gas was finished, they paid by the credit card, and the mom sort of drove out. Then they parked at a corner, and Mom went to the backseat. Dad started driving again.

Then Dad said, “The farm is sort of far. So if you want to sleep, you could sleep. Now we are in the beginning of  the Bronx. We still have to cross the Bronx. But the Bronx is very big. So it might take a long time to cross the Bronx.”

Chapter 4 – The Music Competition

After a few songs, Dad suggested that the family have a music contest. “The contest worked like this: we will play some songs and you have to guess the song’s name. We will only play the beginning or the middle or the end. Me and mom will be the judges and see who knows the most songs. And you kids will be split into teams.” 

“Yeeeeeeeeeeees!!!” Collete and Joanne yelled. 

“We will win the competition,” commented Collette. 

Maria and Catherine yelled, “Nooooooooooooo!!! Boooooooooo!!!” 

“Okay, what are your team names?” asked Dad. Joanne said their team is Lightning Bolt of Songs. Catherine said their team will be Catherinemaria superheros! 

“Yessss,” said Joanne because she knew a centillion songs.  

“One last note everyone, do not say bad things about your sisters!” 

Then they started the competition. ‘Their first song was like this: “We will rock you!” After the middle part, Joanne’s hand shot up. 

“What Joanne? What is the song? “ asked Dad. 

“The song is called we will, we will rock you!” shouted Joanne.

“Lightning Bolt of Songs wins one!!!” 

“Woo hoo!!!’ said Collette and Joanne,

“Okay next song. Eenie meenie miney mo. catch a tiger by his toe. If you holler let him, if she holler let him go. She indecisive she keeps a lie…” 

After the beginning, Catherine’s hand shot up. 

“What is the song’s name?” asked Dad. 

“It is called miney mo!” 

“Nope!” 

Just then Collette’s hand shot up.

“What is the song, Collette?” asked dad.

“It is called eenie meenie!” shouted Collette.

“Okay, Lightning Bolt of Songs wins!” 

“Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” shouted Collette and Joanne. 

“The competition is over now, everyone.” So then they relaxed in the car and went to sleep.

Chapter 5: We are here!!!!

After a while, they woke up. 

They were woken up by dad. “Now we are on the 299th street. We have crossed the whole Bronx. Now we have to cross the 200th avenue, and then we can see the countryside.” 

It was 5 o’clock in the morning and the sun hadn’t risen yet. So the family drove across the 200th avenue and saw 28 Gate Street. They drove onto the property and saw Auntie Julie!  

Auntie Julie led them to the house, and then Auntie Julie told a joke. “What is black and a dog?” she asked.

Joanne guessed Blacky, one of the farm’s dogs, and Auntie Julie said, “Right!” Auntie Julie explained that there were three more dogs too. Their names were Peggy, Rosie, and Maggie. Auntie Julie showed the dogs to them.

The girls played a while with the dogs, while the parents explored the giant house that they would be moving into.  

Chapter 6: Moving in!!!

Then the moving truck arrived. And then they loaded the furniture into the house and the girls helped. First, they moved one bunk into the gigantic room, then they moved another bunk to the same gigantic room, then they moved the bookshelves and the tables and the lamps. And they put some stuff on the balcony. Then on the second floor, they put the parents’ furniture in, and they put the workout stuff in another room on that floor. Back on the first floor, they put the dining table and kitchenware in the kitchen. And in the lounge, they put a lot of comfy stuff there. And in the basement, they put the recycled stuff in there. And their family car would go in there, so they drove it in. And they got the basement key and stored it in the car. 

After that, the parents went to sleep and the girls played with the dogs once again. They were feeling very happy, and Auntie Julie took the four girls to explore the farm because it was morning now! And after lunch, they slept for half an hour, and then they fed the horses and the sheep. Then they played with the horses by riding them, and they had a super duper happy time!

The End!

The bell rings. I grab my pencils and notebooks, and shove them into my bag. I rush to the front of the line; today I beat Nina. My class walks silently down the hall. In my head, all my thoughts are jumbled: Will my dad come to my basketball game? What will be his excuse this time? Unexpected business trip, a problem with the company? I can see Natasha looking at me with worried eyes.

”Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I try to shrug off the feeling of disappointment in my dad, but I can’t. As soon as we reach the dismissal door, I grab Natasha’s hand and wait for the light to turn white. The second it does, I race down the block and karate kick the door open; guess I can thank my karate lessons. I hurry to the soda section while desperately searching for Fanta. I snatch the last bottle and watch Natasha put her Sprite on  the counter.

The guy behind the counter says, “5.75.”

I dig into my pocket and pull out a crumpled up five-dollar bill and three 25 cents. Natasha grabs both of our drinks and heads to the door. I glance at my phone and look at the time: 3:20 PM. As soon I glance at my phone, I shove Natasha out the door, and we race down the streets as if it were a competition. When the subway station is within my sight, I walk down the stairs clinging on to my soda, hoping it doesn’t fall.

The F train comes right on time; Natasha and I high five each other and walk into a crowded subway. It smells like sweat and it’s really hot. About five stops later, a lot of the people get off the subway. We finally find ourselves some seats where we can sit and enjoy our soda. Especially since my house is a bit far away. 

All I can think about is Masha, my dad’s girlfriend. Masha always takes me and Nat to get ice cream. Nat always gets two scoops of chocolate fudge, I get two scoops of oreo, while Masha gets one scoop of lemon. But then a sudden thought comes to me, and I remember my father never told me who my mother was or what happened to her. All I know is that my mother loved the beaches. It was almost like a perfect day at the beach, but then the clouds took over the sky, and everyone had to go home. I must have daydreamed too much because by the time I finish my thoughts, we arrive at Coney Island. While we’re walking home, I pass by a school, and another thought comes to me. 

Why didn’t my dad send me to school here where I lived, instead of a school in Brooklyn? 

I decide I’m going to ask my dad tonight. Although something doesn’t seem right.

But then Natasha wakes me from my thoughts.

”You have been really quiet today? Are you sure you’re okay.”

“Am fine. Don’t worry.”

“Ok, whatever you say, Angel.” 

I hate that nickname, but that doesn’t stop Masha from calling me that. She takes the keys out of her back pocket, and unlocks the door. We climb up seven flights of stairs, huffing and puffing as if the stairs are Mount Everest. We reach Apt. 7D and open the door to walk into a cold breeze, which feels very good against the hot May air. 

At first, I can’t believe my eyes, but then I realize my dad is standing in front of us. He is rarely at home and if he is, it’s only because something bad happened or he comes at 2 in the morning. His blue eyes are staring straight at Natasha and smiling. Natasha tells me that she just remembered she had a project, so she has to go home now. I help her get all her pencils in her bag, since we were playing the floor is lava on her stuff. Silently, I stand waving goodbye. I feel as if today will be the last time I will see her in a while. But I know that’s not possible, so I try to get the thought out of my head. My dad takes the trash bag and says he is going to throw it out. I shrug and walk to my room to ponder over all my thoughts. For the first time, I think my dad wasn’t where he said he was. 

I guess I fell asleep because when I wake up, my room is pitch black, and I hear some faint creaking coming from the living room. I pat down my bed searching for my phone. I finally find it under a bunch of blankets. I put my finger on the button of my phone and look at the time. It’s 2:00 AM. It’s probably my dad, I wonder what he was doing at 2 AM. Something seems off again. I slowly get out of bed and open my door. Like a mouse, I creep down the hallway past Masha’s room to my dad’s bedroom, where I have never been. He told me once that if I go into his room, I’ll get in big trouble. So I never do. 

I bring my head back to reality and reach for the doorknob, but then I hear a creaking behind me and a deep voice with a faint Russian accent. I can immediately tell it’s him, but he sounds madder than I’ve ever heard him. Although he rarely even talks to me. I can never forget that he forgot about my birthday three years in a row. 

He flicks the light switch on, and I can see him staring at me. His blue eyes look more unfriendly than before. His face looks so intimidating that it just makes me want to fall in a hole to swallow me up.

“I will ask one more time. Why were you going to go in my room?”

“I um… I couldn’t uh… sleep, yeah, because umm… I thought I saw a, uh, mouse in my room.” It sounds like I’m trying to convince myself more than my dad. 

He quietly walks in front of the door that leads to his room. His eyebrows are pushed together. It looks like he is thinking really hard. I silently walk backwards to reach the safe, reassuring feeling of my room.
“Give me your phone; that will be your punishment, and next time, follow my rules.”

 I feel so relieved nothing horrible happened, so I go to my room to fetch my phone quickly. When I return my phone, my dad is shocked to see me smiling.

“Can Natasha come for a sleepover?” I give him the puppy eyes that Natasha taught me to do. 

Fortunately it works, and he nods slowly, like he is still trying to make up his mind. There is something in his eyes, but I’m too tired to think about it. I manage to drag myself to my room and fall onto my bed. 

The smell of pancakes wake me up. Finally it’s Saturday. I put on some ripped shorts and an orange T-shirt. I open my door and walk into the kitchen where Masha is standing, flipping over a pancake.

“Hey Angel, you hungry?”

 I nod. 

“Ok good, because I made way too many pancakes.” 

Before I can even open my mouth, she says, “And no. Dimitri won’t have breakfast with us. He had to leave because of some problems with the business.”

 I shift uncomfortably and stare at the ground, feeling my eyes tear up. My dad told me to never cry because nothing was worth crying about, and I don’t want to show Masha that I am a 13 year-old who cries.

“Hey Angel, how about you put as much Nutella on your pancakes, just make sure to eat some strawberries?”

 I smile and think to myself how much I wish my dad was like Masha. But he’s not. 

After breakfast, I put on my Jordans and walk to the subway. I think about me and Natasha and the day we met. I chuckle a little thinking about how strange we were five years ago. 

I get to the subway station, walk down the stairs while getting my MetroCard out of my pocket, and wait until the train comes. I get in and sit down. Today, the subway is empty. I take my headset out and listen to “wish you were gay” by Billie Eilish. I quietly hum to the beat, thinking about how I want a family like Natasha, where I wouldn’t be an only child, and I would also have two parents who really cared about me. I remember all the days at school when Natasha would complain to me about how her sister spilled juice over her homework or how her brother spray-painted her hairbrush. And I could never forget when her older brother, Jason, stole all of Natasha’s allowance to buy a PS4. 

I finally arrive in Brooklyn. I walk to her house, looking at the trees and listening to the quiet surroundings. I look at all the houses with beautiful gardens in the front and perfectly-cut grass, and then I come across her house, which really stands out since there are bikes, scooters, balls, empty spray paint bottles, and chalk all over the ground. I try to avoid all the objects and get to the door safely without falling. Thank God I do because I wouldn’t want a sprained ankle for my basketball game or my karate practice. I ring the doorbell and wait for Natasha to open the door, but then Mrs. Smith comes out and asks me, “Why isn’t Natasha with you? I thought you two maybe had a sleepover since she didn’t come home yesterday.” 

I can feel my face become pale and my palms start to sweat. I take a big gulp.

“Well, uh, you see, she told me yesterday she had to go home to finish a project, are you sure she isn’t in her room?”

But before Mrs. Smith can answer, she falls to the floor and passes out. I open the door more to put Mrs. Smith on the couch, when I see Jessie playing with dolls, while Nick is trying to spray paint his hair, and Jason is skateboarding in the house.

“Jason, Nick, come help me get your mom to the couch, she passed out.”

They both stare at their pale mom lying on the floor, drop their things, and run over to help. Jessie won’t stop crying while screaming, her mom is dead. As soon as we put Mrs. Smith on the couch, Mr. Smith walks in and asks us what happened, although his eyes won’t leave his wife. Nick and Jason say they don’t know what happened, and they just heard me asking for help to carry Mrs. Smith on the couch. Jessie won’t stop crying and screaming, “MOMMY’S DEAD.” 

“JESSIE! Mommy is not dead, ok?”

 Jessie hugs her doll tighter and sits in a bean bag. Mr. Smith looks me straight in the eyes and asks me what happened.

”It’s a long story.” 

“Well, I have a lot of time.” 

So I told him about how we went to my house, played the floor is lava, and then Natasha told me she had to go do a project, so she left, and my dad went to throw out the trash at the same time. Wait a minute. Does my dad maybe know something?

”Uh, I have to go. I just realized I have karate in 30 minutes.” It’s not completely a lie because I do have karate class, just not in 30 minutes. Halfway through the door, I shout,  “Bye! Hope Mrs. Smith gets better!” I slam the door shut and run down a few blocks to get to Prospect Park so I can find a bench to sit on. 

Could my dad, no, but maybe. I mean he was staring at Natasha and he did come home earlier. He also went to throw out the trash at the same time Natasha left. But would he do something to her? It was so much for me to process, maybe Masha could help me. I quickly look for her number and call her. Please pick up, please, please, please.

”Hey Angel, what happened? Are you ok? Where are you?” 

“Thank God you answered and don’t worry I’m fine, but Natasha isn’t.” 

“What do you mean?!” 

“Can you just pick me up? I’ll tell you in the car.” 

“Ok, I’ll be there soon. Wait, where are you?” 

“In Prospect Park. I have to go. Bye.” 

“Bye, Angel.”

Now I have to call my dad. I take two big gulps and press the button to call him. I wait and I wait, but he doesn’t answer the phone. I really miss Natasha. Is she… no, she can’t be.  And for the first time in a while, I start crying. I see a black car pulling up on the corner, and Masha rushes out of the car to me and hugs me. She smells like peppermint. I wish she could be my mother. As soon as I summon up all my courage, I tell her about Natasha going missing and my visit to her house. And about how Dad came early and was acting strange around Natasha. He also went to throw out the trash at the same time Natasha left.

Then I look back at her eyes, because my father said, “a person’s eyes can tell you everything.” 

“Angel, I am sorry, but this time, I don’t believe you. Maybe you should talk to your dad. Also, I am going to Pennyslviana to visit my sister for three days, so let’s go back home and I’ll get my stuff when we get there.” 

“Ok.” 

“And I can call your dad so you two can talk.”

I nodded my head, too tired to speak. When we get into the car, I sit in shotgun and change the radio to “Lovely” by Billie Eilish.

”You really love Billie Eilish.”

I stare out the window, looking at the people. Then I remember I forgot about my karate class. “I forgot to go to karate class,” I mutter.

”Nicki, your dad doesn’t like it when you skip karate” 

“I know.”

There is not a lot of traffic today, so it takes us 20 minutes to get home. Masha opens the door, we climb up all the stairs, and for the first time, we don’t say anything to each other, which never happens since Masha and I usually talk a lot. She opens our apartment door, hugs me really tight, and then takes her backpack and her mini suitcase.

Before I close the door she hollers, “Don’t forget to lock the door!”

I laugh a bit and lock the door. I look at my dad’s door and decide that I want to see what I can find in his room. So I text my basketball coach that I’m not going to go to the basketball game because I didn’t feel well. I put my phone in pocket and walk towards his room. I can feel my heart beating. I know that whatever I find in there could possibly change my life forever.

I grab the handle and yank the door open, knowing that if I don’t do that, I would probably back out. I am shocked to see that everything about the room looks normal. Maybe Masha was right. I look around the room one last time to make sure I didn’t miss anything. All I see is a bed, a closet that’s wide open with business suits in it, a desk with no drawers, a rug, and a bookshelf with some Russian and English books. My dad made sure that I could speak Russian, German, and French. When I asked him why I had to learn those languages, he said because some of my family is from those countries, but now I know the only place my family is from is Russia. As I am about to leave the room, I see something under his bed. I pull it out from under the bed and see a big black box with Russian words on it, не открывать, which means “do not open” in Russian. I sit on the rug in case I faint when I find out what’s in the box.

I slowly open the top, and find a black gun with a bit of blood on it. I also find a piece of paper in a wooden frame that says, Мы убиваем за деньги, мы приносим смерть в другие страны, кровь на наших руках, мы убиваем, как медузы в коробке. “We kill for money, we bring death into other countries, blood on our hands we kill like a box jellyfish.” I breathe in and out three times, hoping something else in the box will prove my thoughts wrong. But they don’t. I find a knife and try to convince myself that it’s just an antique or a family relic.

The box has one last object in it. I take out a photo in black and white, with a picture of four men and two women. I see my dad standing next to a man with short blonde hair and dark eyes, and a woman with black hair in a bun and black eyes. None of them are smiling. Their faces give away nothing. In the back of the picture there is a sign in Japanese, ボックスクラゲ. I can’t understand it, so I Google it and figure out it means “box jellyfish.”

All of a sudden, a bunch of questions pop in my head. What does box jellyfish mean? Who are the men and woman in the photo? And why does my dad have a gun and a knife? 

And then I realize my dad is an assassin. I look at my phone and start panicking. It’s 10 PM. I shove everything back into the box and push the box under the bed. I close the door to the kitchen, take two white pieces of bread, and put peanut butter on one and jelly on the other. I put the two pieces together, lick my fingers, and go to my room. I sit on the bed staring at the white walls and eating my sandwich. My phone buzzes and I pick it up. I press the answer button and am about to ask her where she is and what she’s doing. 

But then I hear a deep voice with a Russian accent. I put myself on mute, so that no one will know I am listening. I pull the phone closer to my ears. It’s my dad’s voice. I immediately know what to do. Natasha and I watched so many movies and TV shows about people getting kidnapped. I have to distract my dad. Assassins are afraid of being caught, which means they’re afraid of police. I smirk a bit and call my dad. He has to pick up since Masha probably called him and told him about what I said about him, so he would pick up to avoid any suspicion.

And I am right. He does pick up. “Hello, who is this”

“Hey dad, it’s Nicki. So the police are standing in front of our door and they want to ask you some questions. What should I tell them?” 

  “Tell them I’ll be home in 15 minutes”

“Ok, they want to know where you are.” 

“I am at my office.” And then he hangs up. What my dad doesn’t know is that Natasha and I keep pocket knives in our shoes. That makes me realize that my dad doesn’t know that much about me. Now all I have to do is wait, so I wait and then I hear the door unlock, and my dad walks in the apartment. 

“Where are the police?”

“They’re not here. I lied.”

He takes his shoe off and takes out a gun, he growls, “What did you say?” He walks towards me and I walk backwards. I am pinned to the wall with a gun pointing towards my stomach. 

I hold up my phone. “I’ll call 911 if you shoot.” 

I can tell he is thinking. He moves the gun away from me and suddenly says, “Let’s make a deal. If you don’t call the police or tell anyone I’m an assassin, I won’t kill Masha.”

I hesitate. “Ok. But you have to leave Natasha alone.” 

My dad looks at me, nods, and walks to his room. And I walk to my room, and now I know my father is an assassin and he tried to kill my friend. 

Once upon a time, before the dinosaur age, there was a dragon named Flame. He was captured by a really big dragon. He was captured in the big dragon’s cave since he was three. Flame was doing a lot of work for the big dragon, and he really wanted to get out. But there was a big boulder in his way, and the only way to move the boulder was to take the key from the dragon’s neck. He was in his room sleeping. Flame decided to try to take the key from the dragon’s neck. But he had to be careful, because the big dragon could wake up at any moment and eat him like he did to the other smaller dragons. 

So Flame opened the door, shivering in fear and thinking about what could happen if he woke the big dragon. Flame bit the key off the chain hanging off the big dragon’s neck with his sharp teeth. Then, he tiptoed to the boulder and put the key through the hole of the boulder. When the boulder rolled out of the doorway, it made a very loud sound. Flame heard the big dragon wake up. 

So Flame flew out. He heard the big dragon roar, “Flame!!!” As soon as Flame heard him, he flew as fast as he could, far away from the cave.

Flame had no idea where he was. It was raining and foggy, so it was hard to see. 

“Where am I?” Flame said to himself. Flame was cold and tired. He soared down to the ground and fell asleep. 

The next morning, Flame had figured out what he was going to do. He was going to find other dragons to make friends with. Before he was kidnapped, he heard of a forest full of dragons. Flame flew away happier than ever and ready for a long journey. 

While Flame was flying, he tried to remember where the forest was. He remembered that it was near an ocean, but he couldn’t remember what ocean it was. He decided to search around every ocean to find somebody to help him. He decided to first search the Pacific Ocean. He first started near the northwest corner of the Pacific Ocean, and he saw a castle. So he decided to go in. But there were two dragon guards. He asked the two dragon guards, “Where am I?”

They said, “You are looking at the Castle of Fire.” 

Then he asked, “Have you ever seen the Forest of Dragons?”

They answered, “No, but maybe the Queen Dragon knows.”

One of the guards asked another guard to tell the Queen Dragon that there was a visitor. A few moments later, the Queen Dragon came down and said, “I do know where the Forest of Dragons is.” 

The Queen Dragon had red scales. She had jewelry embedded in her wings. She had smoke coming out of her nostrils. She had very sharp claws, and she had many pearls on her arms. But the Queen was greedy about treasure. So she said, “I will tell you where the forest is only if you give me some jewelry.”

Flame says, “I have no jewelry, but I will try to find it.” 

So Flame went out on a search for jewelry. 

He asked a guard where he could find jewelries and the guard replied, “There is a mountain full of jewelry. It is nearby, but it is very dangerous. Many of us have still not made it back.” 

Flame thought about this. Would he really risk his life just to meet other dragons to make friends with? What happens if the big dragon finds him? Flame made up his mind. In order to be safe, protected, and happy, he must get the jewelry. 

When Flame reached the mountain, he looked up and saw how tall the mountain was. He thought about how many monsters could be up in that mountain. He climbed up and finally found a ledge. And there was a cave in there! He decided to rest in the cave — until he heard a growling sound. He took a stick he found on the ground, and he put a small bit of fire on the tip of it. He used the stick as a torch. He did not see anything. His teeth were chattering. He went deeper in, and he saw movement. He stepped back, and put his light a little closer. There was a giant worm, and it had many sharp teeth all around its mouth. And blood on his teeth. Flame decided to run for it. The worm chased after him, even though it looked like he just ate something. After Flame was near the exit, he threw his torch at the worm, which ate it. Flame decided to breathe fire, but basically none at all came out. He decided to fly away, but just when he was about to fly out, he sneezed on the worm. A lot of fire came out, and the worm ran away. If monsters like that popped up again, he was just gonna run for his life.    

  Flame didn’t want to see that ugly thing again.  Flame flew up for a long time until he reached another ledge. He saw things flying in the air. Flame did not know what the things were, until one of the things landed. They were giant horseflies! There was even a whole swarm of  them. Flame would not be able to take out all of the flies with his fire like he did to the worm. All of a sudden, the flies stared at him without moving. Then they jumped on Flame and attacked him. Flame struggled to breathe fire (which killed about 10 flies). And then, he started rolling around, which smushed a lot of flies. And then he breathed more fire, which got rid of all of them. 

Then, he flew up higher until he reached another ledge, and he realized he was near the top. But he needed a break, so he sat on the ledge. The mountain looked like a giant rock with very rough edges and with many ledges. He was sitting on one of them. He could see there were jewelries growing on top of it. But he had to rest because his wings were sore. 

On the ledge, he heard pinchers. Flame was not scared because he had faced many monsters already. But what came out was a spider, which was the predator of most bugs. And he couldn’t touch it because it was a tarantula. And a tarantula had hair on its body so when you touched it, you became itchy. He couldn’t run away because his wings were really tired, and he wouldn’t be able to fly well. And he couldn’t use his fire because he hadn’t eaten anything for a while. So he decided to try to throw rocks at the spider. He threw many rocks at the spider. One of his rocks missed and hit the top of the cave, which hit a rock that was holding a boulder in place. And the boulder fell on the spider! The spider was stuck.

After a few minutes, his wings felt okay. He decided to fly more until he finally got to the top of the mountain. Just right when he was about to take a jewelry, something came out from behind it. It was a giant scorpion!

It was a big threat, because it had pinchers and a stinger, and they were also poisonous. It had a hard armor. First, the scorpion jumped on Flame. Flame kicked him off, which took all his energy because he was very hungry. Flame tried to breathe fire, but he forgot he couldn’t. He knocked over a tower of jewelry onto the scorpion, which soon broke out by using his pinchers. Flame flew on the top of a jewelry tower to think about how to defeat the scorpion. 

He thought about what the scorpion couldn’t do that Flame could do. Flame got an idea. He had wings and the scorpion didn’t. Soon later, the scorpion pinched down the jewelry tower. Flame happily flew down because he had an idea. Flame jumped off the ledge. The scorpion followed. The scorpion looked straight and not below him. Then, he fell down the ledge. Flame flew back to the top and could not see the scorpion, because the mountain was so tall, and the scorpion fell so low. Flame took a big piece of jewelry. It looked like a pillar with pointy edging on the top. But it was very light. 

He finally took one more look at the top of the jewelry mountain. It was full of colorful jewelries. He flew back down to the Castle of Fire and asked one of the guards to bring the Queen down. When the Queen came down, Flame gave the jewelry to the Queen. The Queen kept her promise.

She said, “I will show you the way to the Forest of Dragons.”

She walked past the mountain and about a mile away from the mountain, she stood right in front of a forest. Then, she stopped and turned around.

She said, “This is the Forest of Dragons. Keep on walking forward until you see a big space with no trees. Then, you’ll see dragons walking around there. Then, you have reached the Forest of Dragons.”

Flame ran forward until he reached a big space. It was very big. He could see many dragons walking around there. Then, he had figured out he had reached the Forest of Dragons. He asked one of the walking dragons. Flame said he was new to the Forest of Dragons. The dragon was so nice, he gave Flame a big house. 

Since Flame had made it to the Forest of Dragons, he needed to make friends. But how? He went outside to think. He walked forward looking down, and he bumped into someone. He was blue with bits of silver scales. 

Flame said, “Hi, I’m new here.” 

The blue dragon also said, “Hi. If you are new, do you know if there are games here?” 

“No,” replied Flame. They hung out for a while and played many games, such as toss the rock, destroy the doll, and racing. After they ate dinner, it was time to go.

Flame thought about today. He thought to himself, I made a friend.

Chapter One: What Happened?

Once a squirrel called Lilly went into a walnut shop. After she bought some walnuts, she went out. Then she saw something weird. The traffic lights were off, and there were no lights in buildings and in the other shops. They could not cook. The ovens were off. And then Lilly the squirrel wondered why all the lights and the ovens were off. It got even worse when it was very dangerous to cross the streets. The cars never stopped. Lilly was very worried, and then she saw something even weirder. There were fire trucks and policemen everywhere. They were worried too. Some schools and hospitals still had light, which was very weird. She had no idea what was happening.

She talked to one of the policemen and asked, “What happened?”

Chapter Two: A Talk with the Policemen

Then, the policeman said, “The electricity transformer got on fire, so the electricity was cut off. The firemen will fix the problem. Now the firemen are on West 99th Street, so it might take days to have electricity, or if the firemen are fast tomorrow, we will have electricity.”

Chapter Three: A Mystery

When Lilly went into her apartment, she noticed that there was no air conditioner, and everybody was outside getting cold air.

The manager said, “The elevators don’t work, but do not worry because nobody’s stuck in the elevator.”

Then, when she went to the mailroom, she could not see anything except black.

The manager said, “We can only take the stairs,” so she climbed and climbed.

There was only a little bit of light in the stairs.

Chapter Four: In the Apartment

Once she got to the ninth floor, she saw two old women. One of the old women was holding a dog that was grunting.

Then, Lilly asked the other woman, “Is there light in the room? Why are you out here?” 

The woman said, “There’s no light in the room, and we’re out here to get a bit of light.” 

When Lilly got into her room, she saw no light and no air conditioner. It was very hot, so she opened all her windows. She could not sleep because she needed some light to sleep. There was no light, so she used her phone. Her phone had a percentage of 80. On her phone, she set a mode that saved electricity. When she went to the shower, she turned the water to hot, but only cold water came out.

When Lilly was showering, she was freezing and calling, “Ahh!!!”

Then when she got out, she quickly got dressed, but she could not use the hair dryer because there was no electricity. Then she tried to charge her phone, but she could not. Then, when she tried to sleep again, she heard the police and fire trucks sounds, and she was distracted. So she tried to sleep very deeply, but her phone shut off, and she couldn’t have light. Then, she tried her new way of sleeping without light, and she held onto her stuffed animal and fell asleep.

Chapter Five: The Plan

The next day she woke up. There was still no air conditioner and no light, but there was sunlight. After getting dressed, she decided to pack an emergency bag because her doctor told her that she could not live in a house without electricity for three days. Her eyes would hurt a lot if there was no electricity for three days. She started packing after breakfast. This was her list:

EMERGENCY BAG LIST

1. Money ($200)

2. Sleeping bag

3. Books 

4. Toys 

5. Clothes

6. Phone

So Lilly packed her emergency bag, and then she looked for a place to go, and she found the New York Public Library. A lot of animals were there, and they were affected by the blackout. There were a lot of comfy couches for sleeping bags. She unloaded her stuff on one of the purple couches, and she made a friend called Billy. He’s a hedgehog. Together they played games like chopsticks and poker. Billy was very good at chopsticks, and Lilly was very good at poker. Then, they explored Brooklyn by crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. They figured out the subway wasn’t working, so they took a taxi to the New York Public Library. Then, at last, it was night, so they fell asleep in their sleeping bags.

Chapter Six: Yes! Electricity! 

The next day, she noticed that there was electricity! She was super happy, and she took a taxi home. She cooked herself breakfast and turned on the lights. She was happier than ever. She marked this day 7/13. She took a little nap and got back to work.

Chapter 1

The Night Storm

Boom bang crash! Dark clouds covered the sky while I was inside my bedroom with my sheets over my head. I looked at the photo of my father on my nightstand. Me and my mother were looking at a bunch of stuff that was my father’s and found this photo. This was the only photo of him, he hated being in photos! My mother knocked on the door.

“Here is your dinner, Miranda,” my mother, Sarah, said.

Once I saw my mother, a thought just automatically popped into my head. How did Dad disappear? It was just like my mother read my mind. 

“We will never know. That night when he went to the lab, he just disappeared into thin air. Anyway, help your little brother with his homework.”

The next morning I went to my cousin Dawn’s house. We both were determined to find out what happened to my father. So we asked Dawn’s dad to drive us to the lab. He was overprotective of Dawn, so he set up a place where he would question us. 

So he said in a very serious low voice, “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?” he asked me. “I always wanted to know.”

“Um… chocolate,” I answered. Anyway, Dawn’s father continued speaking. He asked a lot of questions, so we thought the easiest way was to lie out of them, of course we learned that the hard way. We just said that there was stuff from the lab that belonged to my father. After A LOT of convincing, he FINALLY drove us to the lab. Okay, now step two, I thought. The guards. Me and Dawn talked about this. Our personalities were very different; I was on the dark side while she was little miss sunshine, so this is how the conversation went. 

Me: why don’t we threaten to stalk them for the rest of their lives?

Her: they will be threatened by two little girls? 

Me: good point. Then why don’t we cut off their toes and put them where they are not

supposed to be?

Her: NOOOO!!

Me: fine.

Her: why don’t we just use the same excuse that we used on my father: to recover my

father’s belongings.

Me: if you want to do it the boring way, sure. Why can’t we just knock ‘em out?

And that’s how the conversation ended. 

Chapter 2

The Lab

Then guess what method we used? Yes, Dawn’s method… such. A. Great. Method. But of course we got in. We went into the lab dressed how people who work in labs dress. White lab coats, goggles, and an evil smile on my face. We went to my dad’s workshop in the lab. It was empty with just a cement floor and a wood table, on the wall was a metal vent. We looked ALL over and found nothing! 

Just as I was checking under the table, Dawn shouted, “Miranda, there’s a switch here on the vent!” I rushed quickly over there and without thinking, I switched the switch down. Just then, the room transformed into a whole different place: potions filled the room, several different robot machines were roaming around from inch to inch. Paper was covering my dad’s desk from corner to corner. The room was pretty messy. Then, a whole different room appeared. There was a gigantic machine—his part was the only place in the room that seemed tidied up. The screen was showing the words “The Jurassic Times.”

Dawn looked really confused and I looked just as confused as her. Dawn was the one with the good eye and noticed a note on the machine. As she picked it up, she accidentally pressed the red button that said GO. Just then, I started to feel dizzy and the world started spinning. After a few seconds, things started to ease down. 

Chapter 3

The Jurassic Times

 I came to my senses and looked around me. I panicked because there were dinosaurs EVERYWHERE! Me and Dawn spent many hours running for our lives. We didn’t even have time to catch our breath. By the end of the day, we found a cave that was animal-free. We set up two beds that were made out of grass and hay. We also created a section for all the berries we picked to eat. We FINALLY had time to rest. Our cheeks were both red and we were breathing really hard. We looked at each other for a long time without saying anything. I  finally broke the silence.

“So…” I said between breaths, “we sure know what the machine is for now.”

“Yeah” she responded.

“I knew that your dad was smart but not so smart that he could make a time machine,” 

she remarked.

“We REALLY need to know how to get back!” I exclaimed.

The next day, we emptied our pockets to see what we had: I had a half eaten chocolate bar, a pack of gum, some money, a picture of my dad, and an iPod. Dawn had the note, she took some string, a pencil and paper. The note said: colonial times 828.

“What does 828 mean?” Dawn asked.

“No idea,” I responded. “Do you think Dad went to the colonial times?” I asked Dawn.

“Maybe? Anything else?” Dawn asked.

I checked all my pockets. “Oh yeah, I have a potion that I took from dad’s office.”

“What is it called?” Dawn exclaimed.

“It doesn’t have a name,” I replied.

Chapter 4

The Colonial Times

We drank the potion, then I accidentally looked at the note, then I went dizzy. After

that, we just blacked out. But this time, we ended up in a place where all girls wore dresses and bonnets, and boys petticoats and baggy pants. We looked down and saw that our clothes were different. Perfect! We wore the same clothes that everyone else wore! The time traveling with the potion came with clothes! Then I realized something! We were in the colonial times!

For the rest of the day, Dawn and I went looking for my father. We searched everywhere! We still couldn’t find him! At the end of the day, we stayed with a nice couple that said their names were Maria and David. They gave us a bedroom for the night.

“What do you think made us go into the colonial times?” Dawn asked.

I looked a bit guilty. “Um… I accidentally looked at the paper that said colonial times 828, that’s what probably triggered us to go here.”

“Ohhh, that makes sooo much more sense to me!”

“Yeah,” I responded. “So tomorrow…”

“Um, do you still have the picture—” I interrupted Dawn.

“Yeah,” Dawn finished her sentence. “We can show the people here it and see if they’ve ever seen him.”  

Every time we showed people the photo, they started murmuring to each other and started pointing at us. One person dropped everything she had in her hands and shouted, “WITCH!!” After that, with every step we took, people started backing away. Then, finally, Maria came out of the house and I showed her the photo. She looked shocked. 

She said, “Child, your father went to the place.”

“The place?”

Apparently I looked so confused that she started telling the whole story.

Chapter 5

“The Place”

“Once, there was a man and that man was your father. One day, he came out of nowhere. Everyone thought he was crazy because he kept saying that he came from a time machine from the future. They officially named him wizard of the year. This was the first time in 20 years they named a wizard of the year. Not since this one man who every time he snapped, a person in the town died. Everyone thought he was dangerous, and still thinks that. They think he is so dangerous that they built a special prison just for him. Anyone who goes in can’t get out. No one knows what to call it. So we just call it the place.

The legend states that the only way to bring a person out of there is if a person makes a potion strong enough to get out of there.”

Dawn murmured something under her breath so quietly that you couldn’t even manage to make out the words. Maria finished her story and nobody knew if that potion even exists. I was shocked! Dawn and I went back into the house. 

Right after we closed the door, Dawn exclaimed, “The potion that we have!”

I answered, “What do you mean? That potion was only for time traveling!”

Dawn explained, “When we went time travelling, do you know how much time it took to get here?”

“No?”

“Um, ten minutes and two seconds. And do you know how long it took to get to the jurassic times? 15 minutes and 56 seconds.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Oh I set a timer,” Dawn said. She continued speaking, “it’s like the potion wants us to be here.”

“Ok then what are we waiting for, let’s go!”

Chapter 6

Dirty Work

We walked and walked and walked and finally got there! It was in the middle of the woods. The place was very simple with stone walls and a moat around it and alligators snapping at you. It was so very welcoming! SO. VERY. We still had two things to do. Get past the alligators and get past the guards. Time to use MY method! This conversation was a bit different.

Me: this time, let’s knock ‘em out.

Her: can’t we just sweet talk them into letting us in?

Me: no!! We did your method last time, this time we’re going to jump on the alligators’ back and then they’re going to bring us to the guards. Then you go in the front and start talking to them. Then I sneak up on the back, knock them over and take their weapons.

Her: you can knock over the guards?

Me: I’m going to try, then you’re going to help me.

We jumped on the alligators’ backs, then they knocked us over.

I shouted, “Change of plans, we’re going swimming!”

It took longer than we thought, dodging all those alligators. We finally got to the castle and had to climb a bit. At least the plan with the guards worked. With a little help from pepper spray. When we got past the guards, we went to find my father.

“Miranda, is that you?”

“Hello? Dad?”

“I’m here.”

I turned around, then I saw him. He was nothing like how he looked in the picture. He looked older, dirty, like he hadn’t taken a shower in months. There were smudges of dirt all over his face. I gave some potion to my father. 

Then to Dawn, I said, “We’re going to drink it on the count of three, okay? One. Two. Three!”

I went dizzy then blacked out. We were back home. I saw my father and Dawn on the sides of me. I knocked on the door. 

When my mother saw me, she exclaimed, “Miranda, thank goodness! Where were you?”

When she saw Dad, all the color drained from her face. She screamed, “Ashton, come down here!”

“Ashton? ASHTON?” My mom went inside to look for my little brother. “Where’s Ashton?”

The End!             

I am woken by a bright light. I shield my eyes, only to realise I’m not at home. I’m in a huge, puffy, pink bed with purple pillows. I, for one, hate the colors pink and purple. Those colors are signs of a princess. A butler walks through the door, and I shriek.

 “Sorry, Your Highness. Didn’t mean to startle you, Your Highness. Here is your breakfast, Your Highness,” said the butler. 

 “Uhhh,” I said. What was going on!? Since when was I royalty? The closest I had ever gotten to royalty was our dog named King. “What’s this?” I say. It looks absolutely gross! It’s a big bowl of oatmeal with pineapple on top. I hate pineapple and oatmeal is so plain.

 “It’s your favorite,” says the butler, with a little concern in his voice. 

“Oh, really?” I say, and the butler looks at me like I’ve gone crazy. At this point, I have. “Thanks, I totally love it!”

 The butler is so confused at this point. “Are you feeling alright, Your Highness? I will set up a visit to the royal nurse today, Your Highness.” 

The butler leaves, wondering what just happened. People say you should stay calm in unfamiliar situations, but I think it’s appropriate to freak out in this situation. Here I am, in a huge, comfy, and probably very expensive bed. It is so much nicer than the floor I slept on at the farm. I work there, and the pay is very low, barely enough to support my family. My mother is very sick, so she can’t work, and my father died last year. My brother, Bob, is too young to work, since he’s only five. My grandma lives with us too, but she’s very sick. Now I actually have my own room, with gold jewelry and a very cute, very huge, and very fluffy teddy bear. “Bob would love this teddy bear!” I mumble. 

I get out of bed, feeling like a princess. In this world, I am a princess. 

An old but very stylish lady runs into my room. “Enough sleeping, it’s time for your Proper Princess lessons,” she says.  That’s a thing?! Before I can say anything, she pulls me to a ballroom. 

“Whoa,” I say loudly. It’s gold and huge and gold and beautiful and gold. It’s just like the movies. Did I mention it was gold? 

“Enough dilly dally! We must get to work immediately!” says the lady. She hands me a book. “You know what to do.” 

“Yep,” I say nervously. 

“What is this word ‘yep’? Ug, the slang the children are using these days. You must say, ‘Yes mam’ or ‘Of course’. Do you understand?” 

She gives me a deathening stare. “Yes mam,” I squeak. 

Now, what to do with this book…Maybe I balance it on my head? That seems reasonable. I walk across the ballroom without the book falling once. I was good at this kind of thing since this is what I did for fun on the farm. 

“You’re getting much better at this, good job,” said the lady. “We are done for the day. You may leave.” 

I walk out and there is a grand staircase on the left. It has red carpet and silver railings. Seriously, a girl who was living with all of this for fourteen years has got to be spoiled. I walk up the stairs, and I can’t believe my eyes. There are thousands of gowns in so many different colors. Maybe not thousands, but you get the idea. They are all topped in jewels and more jewels and, well, more jewels!

 “Would you like to choose your dress for today, Your Highness?” asks the butler.

 I shriek, again. This guy has to stop creeping up on me! “Um, sure,” I say, even though I’m unsure on which dress I’ll choose. There are so many options! 

After 20 minutes of searching, I settle for a sea-green gown with blue jewels on top. I look in the mirror, and I can’t believe my eyes. I look like someone else, someone who is important.

“You usually pick a pink or purple one, Your Highness,” says the butler. 

“This one is just fine,” I say. I turn to him, realising he is too nice to lie to. “I have to tell you something, but you have to promise to stay calm,” I say to the butler. 

“I promise, Your Highness,” says the butler.

 I took a deep breath, and broke the news to him. I told him that I’m not the princess. I told how my life was before, with being very poor and working on the farm. I told him how my grandma was sick and needed expensive medicine. I told him I’m the only person who works in my family. 

“Ever since my father died, my mother has struggled moneywise. She has no one to lean on. My brother is too young to work, since he’s only 4. My mother has to take care of my brother and my very sick grandma.”

“Oh my,” the butler says slowly, almost in a whisper.

“That leaves me. Even though I’m only 14 years old, I have a full-time maid job on the farm. The pay isn’t much, only five pence a day. Just enough to feed my family. 

“Life is so much easier here. I just need a little break. I still wonder how I got here,” I say. The butler looks at me long and hard. He stares at me for what feels like hours. I think he’s deciding if this is true, or just a sob story. 

“Fine, I believe you. I won’t tell, but you must figure out who, or what, did this to you. You must return the real princess to the throne.” 

“Thank you!” I tell him, relieved my secret won’t be revealed. 

“Now, you have breakfast with the queen and king, your ‘parents,’” says the butler. “Act like you are royalty and use very formal language.” 

Breakfast was scrumptious and the king and queen didn’t expect a thing. They actually didn’t talk to me at all. They were just talking about work and laws and things kings and queens need to worry about. The real princess must have felt neglected. 

After breakfast, I try to sneak outside. I’m this close to the door when a voice stops me. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” it asks.

 I turn around to see a man with a measuring cup on his shoulder and a scissor in his hand. “We must do the dress fitting for the ball tomorrow night!” 

I’m going to a ball? Wow, that will be so magnificent! 

“Okay,” I say, and I follow him to the dressing room. It’s huge and right in the middle is the most beautiful gown I have ever seen. It goes all the way up to the floor and it has gold jewels all over it. It’s pink, but I actually don’t mind it that much. I wear it, the man and his assistants adjust the dress a little bit. 

“PERFECT!” the man screams. I look in the mirror and I cannot agree more. I get out of the dress and I’m told I have a horse riding lesson. Apparently, I’m some national champion. I don’t know how to ride a horse! Well, let’s just hope I’m lucky…

I come outside, and a lady with the biggest horse I have ever seen is waiting for me. The horse is black and tall. He looks calm, which makes this a little less scary.

”Get on the horse,” she says sternly. After about 15 times, I’m on. “Trot,” she says. Okay, it can’t be that hard. Maybe I just take the rope, and hold it. Then, maybe I fling it. The horse starts moving, slowly. It’s not a trot, but hey, I’ve never ridden a horse before. “TROT I SAID,” the lady screams. 

You need to calm down, I think in my head.

 I fling it even harder, and the horse is running at full speed. I’m scared, but I pretend I’m okay. 

“Yes, good job!” the lady says. 

The lesson continued, and it wasn’t as hard as it seemed. She taught me tips and tricks and by the end of the lesson, I could ride a horse! 

After my lesson, the chef made me lunch. It was handmade pasta with red sauce. It was more delicious than anything I have  ever tasted. For the rest of the day I had Proper Princess lessons. It was a little boring for the first hour, since we were just balancing the books. Then we went over proper tea party attire and manners. It was annoying, because apparently I “keep on getting in wrong”. 

After an amazing-smelling caviar, I go to my bed. It was such an amazing day. However, I feel guilty. My family is probably starving and here I am eating caviar.  I am sitting in the most comfy bed I have ever felt, yet my brother was sleeping on the dirt. I had to find a way to go back soon, and figure out what happened.

It is the day of the ball, and I am already excited when I woke up. An actual ball, that I would be dancing and twirling and being really important in.

“Your breakfast,” the butler says, rushing in with breakfast of waffles. “Are you excited for your first ball?”

“YES, YES,YES, OH YES!” I say in a loud, but not screaming voice. 

The butler leans closer. “Have you figured it out yet?”

“Figured out what?”

“Why you’re here!”

“Not yet, I have to find a plan.”

“Well, do it fast.”

“I’m trying!”

“Try harder!”

We start laughing, and then the butler heads to the door.

“Wait!” I say.

“Yes?”

“What should I call you?”

“You can call me Robert.”

“Okay. You can call me Maybell.”

“Okay, Maybell.”

I smile, and he smiles back before he leaves. The same man who did my dress fitting comes in. 

“Time to get into your gown!” he says very loudly.

“Ok,” I say politely, but excitedly.

“Come on, come on, no time to waste!”

“Fine,” I say, a little reluctant to get out of bed.

We go to the dressing room, and I put on my gown. I look astonishing. They then take me to the hairdresser, and they put my hair into a neat bun. This is a literal whole new world. 

Now I have to go to Proper Princess lessons again, in order to prepare for the ball. We go over proper greetings and the way to walk. We also practice walking in heels. It is so painful. I don’t get what’s wrong with sneakers. They are so much more comfy. Besides, nobody’s going to see my shoes. The gown is floor-long. It goes on for hours and hours.  

By the time we are done, it’s time for the ball. I make a grand entrance with the king and queen. Everyone is awing at us, and I feel really special. People talk to me, and I make a lot of things up.

“Hello Your Highness, how are you this fine evening?” asks the duke.

“Very well, thank you. How about yourself?” I say, sounding very formal.

“Very well, thank you. How is the royal swim team doing this year?”

“Very well, we can expect a win this year.”

“Good to hear it.”

I have no idea what the royal swim team is. I don’t even know how to swim! I just came up with stuff along the way. 

It is time for the dancing part of the evening. I am going to be ballroom dancing with multiple young men who want to marry me. Great.

I danced and danced, my feet getting tired and the heels giving me blisters. The last boy I danced with, Henry, wasn’t like the others. His eyes were sweet and calm. He was a great dancer, and our eyes were locked on each other. When it was time to stop dancing, we went over to the side a talked. He was like nobody else, and he was funny and a great listener. It was almost like… no, it couldn’t be… it was almost like… love at first sight. He was staying over at the palace since his father had work to do with the king. 

We spent the whole week together. We ate at the fanciest restaurant in town, Souffle. We went to the water park and went on all the rides. He was a great company. We were having dinner at the palace when I hear something I’ve wanted to hear for a few days now.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you something for some time now. In other words, since the day I met you,” says Henry slowly.

“I’m all ears,” I say excitedly.

“I really like you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” He bends down with a ring.

I have no words. This is one of the best moments of my life. I would normally think he wants to just be king, but Henry’s different.

“YES!” I say, excitedly.

I hug him so tightly, he could pass out. We run to the meeting room, and announce our marriage. Everyone is excited and congratulates me. I know I made the right choice. 

You might be thinking we are pretty young to be married, but we love each other too much to wait. Besides, my grandma got married at my age, so did my mom. It’s kind of a tradition at this point. 

As I go to bed, I am excited to now have a financé. I have so many plans for us. Then I go back to thinking about home. Would mom approve? Would she be mad that I wasn’t there and I couldn’t find her? I have to tell Henry. Maybe he could help me sneak out. 

The next morning, I find Henry. I take a deep breath and tell him everything. I tell him about me not being a princess and my back story. After I finish, he looks at me with those sweet, calm eyes. Is he mad at me for lying? 

Henry looks at me. “It’s not your fault. I’m not mad.”

“Good. Will you help me find the original princess?”

Henry thinks for a minute. Then, he gives me a smile. “Of course.”

“Great!” This is finally getting to a good start.

After lunch, we sneak out of the palace and into the village. We have to disguise ourselves. We don’t want the paparazzi getting in the way. We look around and call out, “KASSY?”, the name of the original princess. Nobody has any ideas on where she could be. 

After two hours of searching, I sit down on a bench. “We’re never going to find her and I’m never going to see my family again.” No matter how much I try to hold it back, tears fall from my eyes. 

“We’ll find her,” says Henry. “I promise you”

“Some promises can’t be fulfilled.” 

I look at Henry. His face starts smiling, almost like he came up with the best idea ever.

“I just came up with the best idea ever!” Henry yells.

Called it. “What is it?” I say excitedly.

“The only thing that has changed is you and Kassy switching lives, right?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“That means your family lives in the same house and Kassy works where you use to work!”

“That’s genius. What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

We run to the house and barge through the door. My brother is playing with his rocks and my mother is cleaning the kitchen. 

My mother looks at us, surprised.

“Who are you and why did you just come inside my house?” she says.

I want to tell her everything. I want to tell her I am her daughter. I want to tell her where I was. I want to say I’m sorry for not being there for our family. But I can’t. I have to wait till everything is resolved. 

“It doesn’t matter,” I say.

“Where is Kassy? I mean, Maybell. Where is Maybell?” says Henry in his stern prince voice. 

“She is at the Mare Berry Farm,” says my mother, a little scared at this point.

I feel bad, but there’s nothing I could do. Not until I find Kassy.

Henry and I run to the farm. I’m full of hope and fear. Would Kassy be mad? Can we fix our lives? At this moment, I’m glad to have Henry by my side. 

When we get to the farm, we find Kassy milking a cow. Wow, she is doing really well, even better than me. We run up to her. She looks at us, scared and surprised.

“I knew I would get caught at some point,” Kassy says, a little sadness in her voice.

“What do you mean?” I say, a little anger in my voice.

“I did this. I was the one who gave you the life of the princess.”

“How, What, Where, When, Why?” says Henry sternly.

“What is this, English class? Anyway, I was bored of my life at the palace.  My parents never talk to me. I feel like I have no family, no shoulder to lean on. Everyone just waits on me at a fancy place. I wanted to have family moments and actually do something for myself.”

“But it’s my family, my life!” I say, a little surprised that anybody would get bored of a life at the palace. 

“I know it was wrong but I was desperate. I made a wish on the magical well, just for fun, but I thought it was a myth. I didn’t know it would work!”

“Did you make the wish of June 27th?” Henry asks.

“Yeah, so?” says Kassy.

“All the wishes made on June 27th come true! There is no way to reverse them!” Henry yells in a worried voice.

“So we’re stuck like this forever?” Kassy and I say at the same time. We look at each other with sad faces. 

“Lets go to my actual house,” I say.

We all walk to the house and come in. My mother is reading a book to my brother, who is now asleep. 

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” my mother says sternly.

Then she pauses, like something is wrong. 

“Take off your hood,” she tells me. 

I do as told, and my mother gasps. She pulls out the birth certificate of both Kassy and I. 

“We’re… sisters?” I say.

20 YEARS LATER

“Remember the day you officially moved to the palace?” Kassy says. 

“The day we came to know we’re sisters?” I say. 

A lot has happened since that day. Kassy and I realised we were sisters. Apparently, the king and queen adopted Kassy. My mom, grandma, and brother moved to the palace. The king and queen bought the farm. We were a huge, happy family. Henry and I got married, and we had a child named Rose.

“Today is your coronation,” Kassy reminds me.

“Thanks for reminding me,” I say sarcastically, a little nervousness in my voice. “What if I do something wrong?”

“You’ll be fine. I gotta go get ready”

As Kassy leaves, I look out the window. It’s dawn, and the sunrise is beautiful. 20 years ago, I was wondering if my family and I would ever find a good home. Now, I live in one of the grandest places in the world. 

Alexandra had tried everything. She had tried begging her parents, she had tried refusing to come. Finally she agreed, but she convinced her parents to let her bring a couple books. But still, she was going to the beach. Her parents were taking her to the BEACH. Alexandra hated the beach, unlike her three year-old sister. Alexandra was very picky. One of the only things that she loved were books. BOOKS. She thought that there was nothing better than reading a good book on a summer day. She saw the beach come into view. Reluctantly, she climbed out of the car unenthusiastically. She got herself settled on the beach with her book, while her sister started a sandcastle.

“Alex help?” she asked. Alex groaned.

“Nooooo. I’m reading.”

“I’ll help,” said Dad.

“YAY YAY!” Alexandra’s sister, Charlotte, was grinning.

Silently thanking her dad, Alex started on her book about animal waste. Yes, animal waste. She was very interested in this right now. 

Her dad came over to her and asked, “Alex, want to swim?”

“WHAT! NO! I HATE SWIMMING!”

This was true. Alex hated swimming. Even worse, she didn’t know how.

“Alright,” said her dad. “But you need to learn how SOMETIME.”

Alex lay down just to find her book NOT THERE. Alex ran to her mom, yelling, “MOM! DID YOU TAKE MY BOOK?”

“NO, why?”

“MOOOM! ALL MY BOOKS ARE GONE!!”

“Get your other books, don’t bother me.”

Alex looked in her bag and reached in to find her other books on animal waste, only to find that they were also gone.

Alex glanced around to find a group of boys laughing and stealing glances at Alex. They had TAKEN HER BOOKS! 

Alex stormed over to them and yelled, “Give me my books back!”

A big boy, maybe 11 years old, sneered.

“Looks like that won’t happen.”

He had ripped out all the pages of Alexandra’s books and was now working on ripping the covers. Alex, trying not to cry, went back to the blanket and sat down. She loved those books. They had been her favorite. And now she would never get to finish them. She felt someone kneel down beside her. She looked up and found a boy with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes was looking at her.

“I’m sorry. My friends were being really mean to you.”

“It’s fine,” said Alex, even though it was not.

“You know there is a library on an island of the Ocean, right?”

“WHAT? Really? That would be so cool! I wish I could go.”

“You could,” said the boy.

“I’ll ask my parents. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Gabe,” said the boy.

Alexandra went and asked her parents.

“Mom and Dad, can I go with my friend named Gabe to the library across the Ocean?”

Mom looked surprised. “Sure!! But you know that you will have to swim across the ocean, right?”

“WHAT? BUT YOU KNOW I HATE THE WATER AND CAN’T SWIM!”

“Maybe Gabe can help you,” said Dad. “Go try.”

Alex went over to Gabe and said, “My mom made me swim!”

“That’s fine. I can teach you how. I’m on the NYC swim team.”

So Gabe took Alexandra’s hand and pulled her to the Ocean.

“Get in,” said Gabe.

Alex reluctantly got up to her chin in the water. Gabe held Alex’s legs up and told her to kick. Gabe let go and Alex felt herself float. It actually felt pretty good!

“Now move your arms!” Gabe continued directing Alexandra until she felt herself move in the water!

“What’s happening?” 

Gabe laughed. “What do you mean what’s happening? You’re swimming!”

“WOW!”

Alexandra had never felt this before. 

“Do you think you’re ready to swim?”

“I mean, yeah!”

“But will it get deep?”

“Nah, this Ocean’s surprisingly shallow, and I’ll walk with you and hold you up.”

So this continued until Alex spotted something disturbing. A big, big wave was forming a little way away. 

Alex shouted to Gabe, “LOOK, THAT IS THE BIGGEST WAVE EVER!”

“Oh, yeah, that’s the biggest wave of the year. It sometimes can kill people. Anyway, what’s your favorite thing to do?”

Alex was freaking out.

“Why are you asking me what my favorite thing to do is when we are maybe about to die?”

The wave was coming closer and closer, and the closer it came, the more Alexandra got more and more frantic!

“Okay, reeeeeeeeeelax! We can survive. It’s about a mile away, it just looks very close due to the size. But I think we will be okay.”

Alex noticed that Gabe seemed very calm.

“Have you experienced this before? You seem very calm.”

Gabe replied unusually. “Look, this wave is really scary to me too. I have not been in it before. But I have seen it, and this is one of the biggest waves ever. All I am doing is trying to stay calm, but inside me, I am freaking out. Just stay calm and—”

“But I thought you were the best swimmer in NYC! I am depending on you. I COULD DIE. This is really freaking me out.”

“Just because I am on a good swim team doesn’t mean I can swim through a wave as tall as the Empire State building!” The wave was less than 10 feet away from them now. “We are just going to have to face it now.”

Alexandra took some deep breaths.

“Face it,” she said, “FACE IT.”

The wave was about to come at Gabe and Alexandra. Alex braced herself for the worst. She peeked out of her hands— which were covering her face— and saw the wave a foot away. She heard Gabe yelling, “Do what you can! I am holding onto you! JUST BE CALM AND LOOK OUT!”

Alexandra repeated these words in her head. “Just be calm. JUST BE CALM!”

She felt the wave lift her up, high, high into the air. She spotted the beach and her Mom and Dad shouting. She couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but she could make out “Alexandra!” and “Careful!” She saw tears going down her mom’s face and her dad’s worried look. But she felt the comfort of Gabe next to her. Then, Alexandra felt the sensation of falling. Her brain raced as she shouted, “HHEEELLLLPPPP!!!”

The next thing she knew, she was flying in the air, head first. 

Alexandra felt her head smashed into the surging waves and a surge of pain in her right knee. She felt the sensation of falling into a dark, deep tunnel. She felt someone touch her shoulder. That was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.

***

Blink. Blink. Alexandra saw white. All white. She blinked again and realized that she was staring at a ceiling. She looked next to her and found her mom and dad sadly looking at her. She also spotted her sister in the playroom next door, playing with a toy airplane.  Their faces brightened when they saw Alexandra’s chocolate brown eyes.

“She’s awake!” said Dad.

“Thank God,” said Mom.

She felt her Mom kiss her on her cheek. Alexandra had millions of questions bubbling inside of her. But she surprisingly just couldn’t talk. (Emotionally and physically.) Why was she wearing pajamas with cupcakes on them? Who had rescued her? Was Gabe okay? Wait a second. Alexandra had a thought rush to her head. Was Gabe okay?

Alexandra looked next to her and saw Gabe, lying motionless. She saw a cast on his arm. It was white, but she could see red, probably blood. Alexandra felt so bad for her friend. And now he would never want to swim again, just like her. She saw Gabe’s eyes open and he mumbled, 

“Alexana?” He probably couldn’t talk as well, like her. Alex tried saying something.

“Hhhhiiii Gab.”

Huh. She was probably just tired. She saw the doctor come in, and Gabe did too.

“Hi guys!” the doctor said. “I am Dr. Ring. Gabe, you have broken your arm, as well as cut it on a rock in the Ocean, we think. Alexandra, you have a small crack in your right knee and will get crutches.” Alexandra hadn’t noticed that. She sat up and saw her knee in a cast. “You guys have headaches. You can’t speak very well yet.”

Dad spoke up. “Can we tell them what happened?”

The doctor smiled. “I think they would like to know.”

Dad started. “You guys had concussions. You didn’t feel this, but a lifeguard jumped in and got you guys. Then firefighters came. They used a crane to take you guys out of the Ocean.”

Mom continued. “The lifeguard couldn’t get you out because the waves after the big wave were too strong. Then they put you in an ambulance and brought you here.”

Alexandra felt better talking now.

“Shouldn’t I be wet? I- I was just in- in- in a big wave.”

“Yeah,” agreed Gabe. “How aren’t we w- wet and now both wearing cupcake p- p- p- pajamas?”

Dr. Ring laughed. “We cleaned you guys and dried you up. Oh, and these are the only pajamas we have.”

“Okay,” said Gabe. “But can you please get better pajamas?”

Just then Gabe’s parents arrived.

“Gabe!” exclaimed Gabe’s mom. “You should be resting, not talking about what pajamas this hospital has!”

“But they should have more,” retorted Gabe.

“Oh, hi Henry!” Gabe’s little two and a half year-old brother was staring at Gabe. Henry looked at Gabe.

“Gabee OK?”

“Yes, I’m fine, go play with Alexandra’s sister, Charlotte.”

Henry happily grabbed another toy airplane and started playing with Charlotte.

Alexandra decided that this was the time to tell her mom something important, something that had been waiting to say. Alex took a deep breath and began. 

“Mom?” asked Alex.

“Yes sweetie?”

“Can I learn how to swim?”

“Of course sweetie! But what changed your mind? I thought you would never want to swim now, even in pools!”

Alexandra started explaining. “Well, I don’t want to go in the ocean first, but I could take lessons in our swimming pool at home in Long Island. I want to be ready and not freaked out for a situation like this one.”

Gabe cut in. “Hey, I live in Long Island too!”

Gabe’s dad had an idea. Gabe could teach Alex to swim! “But Gabe, you’re cool because you are the only boy in your group that knows how to swim!”

That gave Alexandra an idea. “Can I get back at those boys who ripped up my books?”

“Oh yeah!” agreed Gabe. “We can push them into the water!”

Alexandra’s mom looked skeptical.

“Maybe that’s a little toooo much!”

Alexandra spoke up. “But can we do something?”

“Maybe just talk to them. But you should stand up for yourself and talk to them with Gabe.”

“Okay, after I learn how to swim because they are going to be meaner to me if I don’t know how to swim like them. Can we go home today?”

Charlotte and Henry came over. “Mommy, go home?” Charlotte asked.

“GO HOME! YAY YAY!” Henry was getting excited too.

“Yes, we are going home today,” the parents said in unison.

After a few more hours of rest, the families headed home. They went home in separate cars but Gabe promised to come visit Alexandra after they got home. (Because he was the one of them that could walk. Alexandra had crutches.)

At home, Alexandra met Gabe on the back porch. Gabe was the first one to speak.

“Well, this incident didn’t result in the best health.”

“Yes, but I learned to not be afraid of the Ocean and to fight through it.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you into the Ocean. This was all my fault.”

Alexandra felt bad for Gabe. “No, it’s not. It’s my fault for going into the Ocean. I wanted to go to the library.”

Gabe leaned over and hugged Alexandra. “You’re the best Alexandra. And it’s definitely not your fault.”

Alexandra leaned over to Gabe. Gabe put his arm around her. Then they heard footsteps coming. Thump. Thump. Thump. Gabe and Alex let go of each other and saw the mean boys coming over to them.

“Hey stupid!” yelled the tallest boy at Alex.

Gabe retorted. “Don’t call her that!”

“And you can call her anything you want, I guess?”

“She’s my friend!”

“Well, Gabe, then I guess you’re not our friends either. Go play with your girlfriend!”

“I’m not his girlfriend!” Alexandra said. “Am I?” 

LOOK ON NEXT PAGE!

THE END!!!!

Epilogue

After Gabe’s arm had healed and Alexandra’s leg healed, Gabe taught Alex swimming. Once Alex had learned how to be a great swimmer, the two of them decided to get back at those dumb boys. Gabe knew that the boys were going fishing, so Gabe and Alex had a plan. They swam in the Long Island river and pulled a prank on these boys. This was how it went. 

THE PRANK

“Allright, I see them.” Gabe and Alexandra were very exhausted having swam for so long. They could see the silhouettes of the tall boy and his friends. Alexandra was curious.

“What are their names?”

“The big one’s name is Parker, and his two friends are Daniel and Joshua. I used to like them, but now I regret EVER being friends with them. I much rather like being friends with you.” Alex blushed at the thought of how he meant “friends.”

Alexandra changed the topic. “So the plan is to push them into the water?”

“Yeah. I know our parents think it’s too much, but I think they deserve it.”

Alexandra agreed. “Surely pushing people into the water isn’t as bad as ripping up all their books, is it?”

“Exactly. Let’s do this.”

“IT’S TIME.” 

Gabe and Alex dove under the boy’s boat and pushed it over. They heard screams from above. Gabe laughed.

“Man, I haven’t heard them scream before. This is AMAZING. And they’re not wearing life jackets.”

Alex just thought of something. “Wait, will they drown? Let’s check.”

Gabe and Alex peered around the flipped boat and found Parker, Daniel, and Joshua trying to get back up on the boat.

“YOU-YOU DID THAT!” Parker was furious. “HOW DARE YOU!”

“How dare YOU rip up all my books?” Alexandra was glad that they finally got back at Parker and his gang.

Gabe cut in. “Here, take this.” Gabe handed them a buoy. “Use this to float home.”

Parker snatched it. “And why do we need this to float home?”

“Because we’re taking the boat.” Alexandra climbed on and helped Gabe up.

Daniel and Joshua yelled “No!” Parker just stared in fury. While Gabe was rowing away, Alexandra called to the boys.

“Hey! I hope the buoy fits all of you! Maybe you could SWIM?”

The boys groaned and started doggie paddling while their arms rested on the buoy. Alex and Gabe grinned and headed back home. 

THAT’S ALL FOLKS! WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK!

Endor isn’t like everyone else. He’s different for one reason, size. He’s bigger than any other of his species. He’s bigger because of mutation when he was born. He’s as big as the statue of liberty!!! There are monsters bigger than him, but those are different species. Like reptars and skylers, but those are other kinds. He’s only supposed to be 15 meters. But he’s more than five times the height!!! Endor is sort of like a turtle, but has spikes and has sharp teeth. Sadness makes him destroy cities. Anger. Rage. Endor has always been picked on by reptars saying, “Big body, gigantic coward!!!”

“Hey weakling,” said a reptar. His teeth started grinding. His spikes started bulging on his body.

“What do you want?” I asked. I was thinking of burning him with a flamethrower I was powering up in my mouth.

“Why don’t you get out of the way and give me your money, I want to buy something,” he replied with a grin on his face. Then out of nowhere, I blasted reptar. Then I realized I could use my size to protect the cities.

Endor faced many battles with skylers, fenines and more. But today was different.

“ROAR!!!” A huge roar was heard in the city, so Endor went to check it out.

What’s going on this time? I said to myself.

“Oh, just a reptar, wait, a REPTAR!!!” I screamed. Reptars are very powerful. So I went to the city to try and fight him off. But then, he slammed me onto a building. I shot fire at him but he shot me with plasma!!! I fell to the floor, he looked down at me, he was ready to devour me. There was nothing I could do. Except to fall in my fate. And sooner or later, I blacked out.

I woke up laying on the floor of a destroyed city. I did not know what happened. I saw the Reptar’s head on the floor. I saw a station over at the other side of the mountain. So I decided to go. 

I saw a skyler and he said he’d help me. So we made it there. But then the door slammed!!! I looked and saw some footage. I looked and saw me with the reptar!!! It showed me on the floor, and then my eyes turned red. I was shooting magma, shooting it toward the reptar, his skin started melting and then I fell. I was being tortured by the idea of being in this rusty station.

“HELP!!” I screamed. “PLEASE,” I said. “I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE!! JUST HELP.”

“Just calm down,” skyler said. “Calm’. It’s okay.’’ He calmed me down.

He managed to get me out, so we left the station. I realized, I was dangerous. But I was okay. I would still protect the cities.

THE END!!!

Chapter One

“Mommy, I don’t want to go to the hair salon! Please, leave me here by myself!”

“No, you have to go with me, because you’re the one that has to have the haircut.”

“My hair’s long! I want it to be like this!”

“Well, you have to cut your bangs.”

“Your bangs are way too long.”

“I know it’s up to my chin, but I’ll just move it to the sides and put a clip. Please, Mom! I just don’t want to cut my hair! Please, please, just respect me! I’ll stay here with Teddy.” 

“If you want to stay here with Teddy, you have to have a babysitter.”
“Not the mean one again! Not Sophia!”

“Well, that’s the only one I can find online.”

“Please, Mom! I want to stay here, I don’t want to cut my hair! My hair is the most beautiful thing right now. I don’t want it to be horrible! Please, let me Mom. I’m voting for you!”

“Silly, Sandy.”

“But Mom! Please! Or I’ll stay here with Daddy.”

“Well, he’s going to come at nighttime.”

“Well, I’ll wait for him at nighttime when he’s back from the day.”

“Well, I’m going to be back from the day,” said Mom.

“But Mom, I’m already ten. Why can’t you leave me here by myself?”

“Let’s not argue. Your hair is getting way too long, and it’s already touching your toes.”

“So? I like it there. I can make longer braids, tie it up into a bun, etc.”

“I know, but I want it to get shorter like this.”

“No, that’s way too short! I looked horrible when I had shorter hair when I was a baby like this.”

“Then, your hair was almost touching your knees. Come on, let’s just go.”

“Mommy, don’t pull my hair here! I’m not Sleeping Beauty. Even though I liked the movie.”

“Well, okay, fine. Only this once.”

“At least it’s up to my knees. I like my hair this long.”

“Well, sweetie, we have to go. It’s going to close any second.”

“That’s what I want to happen! Well, okay, fine. I’ll go with you. The hair salon is going to be bad. Oh, I have an idea. I can hide from the person that cuts my hair. Well, I think that won’t work. Because I went there last time, and they cut my hair up to my hands, and then I tried to hide, but they found me really easily under the chair. Oh! They never found me under the table. Let me try this time under the table.”

Chapter Two: The Bad Haircut

Oh, I’m here. Where’s the table around here so I can hide? I hope they don’t cut my hair like that guy: his hair, like, stripes. Mom says they put hair dye on his hair. I want pink hair dye.

“You’re not getting hair dye, because you’re too young.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m ten.”

“You have to be 14 to get hair dye.”

“Please, Mom!” 

“Okay, fine, only because your birthday’s coming up.”

“Which color do you want?”

“I want light blue that goes to pink. Dark pink.”

“Fine, okay. I’m going to ask them if we can do that.”

“We can do that!”

“Yay!! Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome. But I won’t let you do this again.”

“This is the last time I’m going to do this. I promise this is the last time. But Mommy, there’s a mistake. Tie dye doesn’t come out of your hair.”

“What? No!”

“But we already paid for it.”

“Okay, only this once.”

“But it won’t come out! For this whole year.”

“Fine. It will never come out.”

“Even when you’re a grandma it won’t come out.”

“Can I take my money back?”

“No.”

“No,” said Mom. 

“I’m going to have tie dye, ya ya ya ya ya.”

“Okay. I’m going to ask them if there’s any shampoo that can take it out of your hair.”

“No, there’s no shampoo.”

“Oh my gosh, I was almost caught there. I have to hurry, in case Mom says my birthday’s coming up. Can you not cut my hair and only put hair dye?”

“Okay, okay, okay, fine. Only because your birthday’s coming up, okay? You hear me?”

“Yes. Mom. Are you going to put the hair dye on? Or are you going to cut my hair?”

“She’s going to put the hair dye.” 

“Well let’s do it, yay!”

Snip.

“No! My hair is ruined!!!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Now it’s time to put hair dye on.”

Chapter Three: The Hair Dye

Sandy was sad that the hair lady cut her hair. She asked not to, but she did. Sandy was super sad.

“Mommy, I don’t want to stay here in this place. She cut my hair when I didn’t ask her to! I love my blond hair! Please, please, I want to get out of here, and I want to get a wig. Please! Because if she cuts everything off, I can get a wig!”

“If you get a wig, it’ll just fall off.”

“Just… please, Mom. I promise you.”

“No, you can’t do that.”

“I asked for a shark hair, with teeth.”

“I know, that’s why she made those big things. You can’t paint them.”

“Oh, that’s why. Please keep doing what you’re doing, Ms. Hairstylist. I forgot that I said I want shark hair. But don’t make it too big, because I still want to make rays on my hair.”

“Okay, I’m sorry that I cut it and you didn’t say to, but you said to make shark hair, and I’m sorry that I did. I can put your hair back with glue, then.”

“What? You can?”

“Only if I cut all of your hair out and put a wig on your head.”

“Which type of glue?”

“It’s like edible glue.”

“What? I don’t get what you’re saying, Ms. Stylist lady.”

“Well, I believe in you. Do you believe in me?’

“It’s not a poem.”

“Well, you know that you, miss little lady…”

“I’m not a little lady, I’m a kid. I’m ten years old. I’m turning eleven. I hope that you keep on doing your shark teeth, but not up to my forehead, because then I’d be really sad.”

“Okay,” said the hair stylist. “I’ll make them up to here, is that okay? To your knees?”

“Sure. Well, no, only up till my ankles, okay?”

“Okay. Up to your ankles. One cut, shark teeth, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and then… well, okay, I’m done. Now to put the hair dye on! First I’m going to get a brush and start putting the hair dye on your hair.”

“Okay! I hope it shines like my friend’s does. Wait, why are you putting my hair in the water? The hair dye will come out!”

“No, it’s to get your hair wet, and then it’ll come out lighter.” 

“Okay, fine. I love my hair. It’s wonderful. I’m going to look in the mirror! Ooh, I look like I’m in a shark place where the sharks play, at the end of the sea.” 

“You’re welcome! That’s 24 bucks!”

“What?? That’s way too much, I need to go to the bank. Wait, there’s Cece and her mom. Let me ask them if they have some money.”

Sandy asked Cece if she had any money.

“Oh,” she said. “Hi, Sandy?”

“Do you have any money for my haircut?”

“Oh, I love your hair!”

“I know, that’s why I need money to pay for it. Do you have any money?”

“Oh, I only have 24 bucks.”

“Wow, that’s perfect! Because I only have 100 dollars. So only give us 24 bucks, cuz that’s the right amount that I need to pay for my hair. Yay! I can pay for my hair, and I’m going to show dad when he gets home. He’s going to love it.”

Chapter Four: Getting Home

“Wow, my hair is so adorable! No wait, there’s a problem! There’s going to be a thunderstorm coming, and we’re only going to arrive in 30 minutes. And there’s so much traffic! If we get late, Dad will be mad, and also, we can maybe even get hurt, because our car is made out of metal. We need to go quick.”

“Okay, let’s hurry! Let’s take the shortcut.”

“Okay, let’s get home. Go down to 32, veer 34. It’s only one block. No wait, we’re in Columbus. We have to be in Broadway. We live in Broadway, not here. But this is where our cousin lives. Let’s ask them if we can sleep there for one day.”

But when they got there, they already had someone at their house. 

“Oh man, I guess we have to take another traffic the right way.”

“Okay, let’s go. Oh wait, wait a second! There’s no more traffic and no more thunder! Yay, we have all the street for ourselves!”

“No we don’t, because look. There’s still a little bit of traffic up ahead.”

“But still, I’m happy that we’re almost home, so I can show Daddy my hair. Yay, yay, yay, we’re almost home! Let’s go home. I’m so worried that Daddy gets hit by thunder.”

“That will never happen! He’s already home.”

“Let me call Daddy. I have a phone cuz I’m ten.”

“You’re actually eleven.”

“Well, I’m not eleven yet. Well I know tomorrow’s my birthday but tomorrow’s gonna be raining like today so we have to do it today at home, because we are going to vacation tomorrow to celebrate there. But we can’t go, because there’s a traffic jam- a big one!”

“Finally, the traffic jam is done and I can see home. FINALLY! Finally, we got here at home.”

“Where were you?” Daddy said.

“We were at the hair salon, and I got a new hairstyle!” Sandy said.

“I love it! I want to go there! 

“Not now, please. I can’t drive anymore. So many traffic jams.” Said Mom.

“Okay fine, another day.”

“I’ll go by myself tonight.”

“Don’t, please, it’s terrifying getting back home.”

THE END

Emma wanted to have a normal life where you can chill and get food at the store. But normal doesn’t apply when you live in a city infested with annoying sea dragons who go around asking for stuff. So it was a regular day at school when one of those things stopped her on her way home and asked for a fruit. She told it that she had none and walked on. However, the sea dragon did not stop. It followed her back to her house. She did not notice this until she got home and turned around to hang up her backpack and saw it standing right there, in the middle of a water spill on the floor.

“What do you want!?” she asked, exasperated.

“Can I have some fruit?” it asked.

“I told you, I don’t have any!”

She took her homework out of her backpack, went to her bedroom, and started it. Then the sea dragon tapped her on the finger. It had shrunk itself and was standing in the cup of water on her desk. 

“Can I please have a fruit now?”

That’s when she totally lost it. 

“Can you please shut now up now!!! For the last time can you not follow me everywhere?!” 

That’s when the sea dragon disappeared. For real, this time. Good, she thought, I can use some space. However, as she finished her homework she couldn’t help thinking that she had been a little bit rude. Don’t be silly, she told herself, it’s the thing’s fault that it can’t keep its big fat mouth shut. This still didn’t make her feel better about yelling at the top of her lungs. Then she smiled, and picked up a book. She read the title. “How to get rid of annoying creatures.” She flipped the pages until she got to the page of sea dragons. This is what it said:

1. Bore it out. Try patting your hair or blabbering nonstop about the newest book or movie. You might also want to talk about hair and makeup. They have no interest in that stuff. 
2. Ignore it. Make it so tired of sitting there that it just leaves. 
3. Don’t yell, or satisfy it. It will only ask for more, or keep asking for what you didn’t give it

Whatever. They shouldn’t expect us to do it that easily. It is not like sea dragons are cute little siblings. They don’t have any right to follow people all over the place. 

So what?

So they shouldn’t bother people!

Maybe you don’t have the right to yell!

Well, it was wasting my time!!

Well, two wrongs don’t make a right!!!

Fine. But it was still acting like a pain.

After that, Emma knew what would be the best plan. Just then, the door opened. It was Emma’s mom.

“Oh hi, Mom,” she said. “Can Kayla spend the night tomorrow?”

“Yes, but please do not stay up all night talking. If I hear a peep past midnight, I’m sending her straight home. Understand?”

“Okay fine.”

After her mom left the room, Emma sighed. She wished she and Kayla could spend the night giggling about the haunted comb at last summer’s sleepaway camp. (She knew Kayla had thrown it, Kayla liked to think it flew by itself.) Kayla was Emma’s best friend. However, unlike Emma, she seemed to think sea dragons were cute. At least they could stay up until midnight. It wasn’t a very long time for a sleepover, three hours, but it was something. After the incident with the comb, Emma had gotten a new white comb on a pink cloth. 

Okay, so it was a bit fancier than she expected. Honestly, she kind of liked it. Soon her mom called her out for dinner. They had pizza, which was one of Emma’s favorites. But she couldn’t focus on eating. She was too busy daydreaming. 

The next morning, Emma put on her favorite pink blouse and sparkly white lace skirt. She put little care into breakfast and brushing her teeth, as she had never cared for her morning routine. Then she ran off to meet Kayla at the bus stop.

“Hi, Kayla!”

“Hi, Emma! You seem quite cheerful.”

“Well, TGIF, because my mom says you can sleep over!”

“Cool! I’ll text my mom before we get there. And guess what?”

“What?”

“They expanded the bus system. So we don’t have to walk home!”

“What? Are you kidding? This is the best news!!!”

“Um, what is so interesting about a bus system, may I ask?”

“Um… so we can get some rest?”

As close as the girls were, Emma could not explain that she did not want to be followed by an annoying sea dragon because Kayla seemed to adore them.

That was when the bus driver said, “C’mon girls, everyone is waiting for you.”

“Coming!”

Kayla put down her phone. “She said… Yes!”

“Sweet! So my house, right?”

“Yeah! So when should I be there?”

“Just right after school. I’m so happy about the bus system!”

“I never knew how much you hated walking.”

They chatted for awhile, until they realized they were they only ones on the bus. 

“Oops!” said Kayla.

“Come on, we’re going to be late for class again.”

So as usual, they were late for class. In fact, the only times they weren’t late were when they had nothing to talk about on the bus, which was rare. 

“Ladies, what has been making you late for the past few days?” said the teacher, Miss Philips. “You both missed attendance. So you were marked absent. I guess I’ll have to adjust my notes.”

Emma sat down at her desk. So did Kayla. 

“Now, I hope you have memorized your times tables.” (The whole class sighed.) “Rose Miller, please recite the two times tables.”

Rose zipped right through (although this was probably because the two times tables are very easy).

The next five or so went through smoothly.

“Kayla Wexler, please recite the eight times tables.”

Kayla stood up and said them quickly, “Eight times one equals eight. Eight times two equals sixteen. Eight times three equals twenty-four. Eight times four equals thirty-two. Eight times five equals forty… ”

“Emma Taylor, please recite the nine times tables.”

“Nine times one equals nine. Nine times two equals eighteen. Nine times three equals twenty-seven. Nine times four equals thirty-six. Nine times five equals forty-five. Nine times six equals fifty-four. Nine times seven equals sixty-three. Nine times eight equals seventy-two. Nine times nine equals eighty-one. Nine times ten equals ninety. Nine times eleven equals ninety-nine. Nine times twelve equals one hundred and eight.”

After school, Emma and Kayla got on the bus. 

“Emma, did you ever wish that we could see the sea dragons more often? I mean, they are so cute.”

Oh boy, she is crazy sometimes. 

“Um, I never really thought about it.”

Because they are so annoying sometimes, she silently added. 

“Oh, this is our stop! Come on! I’ll run to my house and get my stuff, okay?”

“Sure, I’ll set up the sleeping bags. Or do you want to share the loft bed?”

“Sleeping bags sounds good. This way we can watch a movie or something. Should I get my own sleeping bag, or do you have a spare one?”

“Your choice. By the way, we can’t say anything past midnight. Or you get sent home.”

“Got it. Now I need to get my stuff.”

After that conversation, Emma took out a sleeping bag. It was pink with white stars. She laid it out in front of the TV. Then she went to her room and took out “How to get rid of annoying creatures.” Then Kayla came into the room. Emma instantly slammed the book down on the wooden floor.

“Hi, I put down my sleeping bag in the living room next to yours. Um, what’s that green thing on the floor?”

“Hi. That’s just a book. Why?”

“Let me get a look at the title. ‘How to get rid of annoying creatures.’ You’re not telling me you read this book? Also, why did you choose the green cover? I thought you would choose the pink. Or even white. Not green. I mean, it’s a nice color, but it was never your taste. Anyway, don’t you think this book is stereotypical?”

“Um, it only had green left. Plus, my room is pink enough.”

“But why did you get this book? It includes some of the cutest things ever. Look, sea dragons. Wait a minute, you bookmarked this page.”

“So?”

“So, you have been reading it.”

“So?”

“So, you agree with it.”

“Honestly, I do kind of think that they’re annoying. I mean, they always ask for stuff.”

“Fine. Let’s agree to disagree. But they are kind of cute in that way. Plus, they share whatever you give them.”

“Now that I think of it, they are kind of cute. Come on, let’s go get a snack. Glimmer chips? This time I did get them in pink.”

The girls giggled. As they walked to the kitchen, they passed their sleeping bags. The sleeping bags reflected their differences. Kayla’s was blue with a green dragon wrapped around it, while Emma’s was just pink with white stars, as most of her possessions were either pink, white, or both. Her only non-pink-or-white thing was “How to get rid of annoying creatures.” Kayla, on the other hand, owned anything with a cute animal decorating it. She was especially fond of sea dragons, and she hardly ever forgot about their cuteness. 

“Mmm, these are good,” said Kayla. “Are you sure you got these with your own money? Because they taste expensive.”

“Uh huh,” said Emma, who was sucking the chips, then chewing. Emma’s older brother, Eddie, burst into the house. 

“That is the slowest way to eat chips that I’ve ever seen,” he said. “You don’t suck off all the glitter and then chew. You start chewing as soon as it’s in your mouth.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“I can eat chips however I want, glutton,” she responded. “You don’t burst into the living room and say” (says this in a squeaky voice) “Eat it like this, not that, you have to eat before it rots’ like, that is so rude and nosy. I mean, keep your big fat mouth shut.”

By the time it was Emma and Kayla’s bedtime, the girls got into their sleeping bags and watched a movie. It was about a girl who was riding a sea dragon. Suddenly, Emma changed the channel.

“What was that all about?” asked Kayla. “We just started that one. We didn’t even get to the green ice cream part.”

  “Um, let’s watch The Sound of Music.”

“Sure, but why don’t you like this movie? Do you still hate sea dragons?”

“No, but I still find them annoying.”

“They’re nice though. They share whatever you give them with all their friends. I find it sweet.”

 “I guess I kind of like them. But I prefer nuns and children, thank you very much.”

“Okay, let’s watch The Sound of Music.”

“Sounds good. Remember the line of kids?”

“Hey by the way, did you see those adorable water alicorns?”

The End

On Monday morning, Edward the snobby lobster lost his memory but he didn’t lose all of his memory. For example: he remembered his name and he knew how to talk. 

Suddenly, Edward felt hungry, but he didn’t know it, so he started wandering around in a huge, dark, black room with a small machine. But because he had lost his memory just a minute ago, he didn’t care.

He wandered around the room trying to find a door or a way out. After five minutes, he finally found a window that led outside to an open grass field. There was a little dirt road. Edward followed that road and ended up by a convenience store. He tried opening the door, but it was locked and the lights were out. He looked around, trying to find another way in.

Eventually, after five times circling the convenience store, he broke down the door by breaking it with his sharp claws. He crawled up a shelf, grabbed a bag of Cheetos, and started smacking his face into it because he didn’t remember how to eat. The bag broke and he started chewing the Cheetos. When he was done, his face looked like a giant orange. 

All of a sudden, someone walked in, studied the door, looked Edward right in the face, grabbed a broom, and ran at him. Edward climbed up a ladder that led to the roof, jumped on the guy, and started cutting his hair to the point that the guy was bald. Then, Edward ran out the door without him even knowing. 

Suddenly his friend, Luke, came out of the ocean and said, “Hey Edward, long time no see! How are you doing?”

Edward stopped, stuttered and said, “Who are you?”

Luke said, “You know who I am, stop playing around!”

Edward slapped Luke in the face. 

And then, Edward said, “I’m not playing around.” 

Luke shouted, “Hey! Why did you slap me?” Luke slapped Edward back and Edward slapped Luke, and that went back and forth for about two months.

Two months later…

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” shouted Luke as he jumped into the ocean. “It burns!” complained Luke. “WHY, EDWARD, WHY!” But Edward just ignored him and went on his way. 

Five days later… 

Edward’s face was still red and bulging with pain as he walked down the road heading towards Azweiture city. Edward was crawling to Azweiture city when the ground started to shake and a huge black and silver circle rolled past him and hit him with a wave of air. Another black and silver circle rolled past; Edward looked behind him and saw two big white lights speeding towards him. He crouched down and when it was right over him, he grabbed a bit of metal and pinched as hard as he could. Edward climbed on top of the beast, broke the glass, climbed in, and buckled his seatbelt. 

Ten minutes later, the driver got out of the beast and screamed when he saw Edward. He pulled out a thin brick with a screen on it and hit three numbers, 9-1-1, and hit a button that said “call” on it. One minute later, animal control came and tried to grab him, but Edward cut all their hair off. Everyone was too busy crying and feeling their head to notice the oversized lobster crawling away into the darkness.

Thirty minutes later, Edward had walked all 328 miles of Azweiture city and broke into house 229 Tin Street. He dug a hole in the ground and up into the Romanus’ house. In the house, Edward saw flashing lights coming from a big room. The light hurt his eyes and he didn’t like it at all. He scampered in and saw it. The source of all of that light was from a small penguin, but its belly had a rectangular blinding light. He climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling. He left little dents in the wall as he walked. Finally, he jumped down behind the penguin and cut everything he saw, even the wall. The penguin’s belly turned black. Then, Edward heard a “What?” from a fat guy with a brown bottle in his hand. He walked up to the penguin and tapped its belly. He looked behind and when he saw Edward, he ran.

Three seconds later he came back, but instead of a brown bottle in his hand, he had a big metal tube and a red strap on his head. Edward jumped on the metal tube and onto the man’s belly. He climbed up to cut all of the man’s head but when Edward got to the top of the man’s head, he found out he had none. The man grabbed Edward and threw him out the window and onto the street. Edward ran up to a woman with a big purple square on her back. He jumped on and squirmed into a small dark cramped chamber.

Five minutes later, the woman dropped the square and shrieked when she opened it. A man came running over and grabbed Edward. Edward pinched him and he yelled something that Edward couldn’t make out. Thirty seconds later, two men ran in with a small metal bar. Edward knew it was dangerous and pinched a triangle on one man’s face and and on the other man’s face. One man dropped his bar and ran away. Edward crawled over and pulled a small, thin metal piece with his leg, which was attached to the bigger piece. A metal ball shot out of the bar and hit a girl in the leg. Red stuff spewed out of where the metal ball hit her and she fell to the floor. Edward heard sirens and he saw red and blue lights shining through the glass walls.

Six men rushed in and saw Edward standing by the metal bar and the injured girl. They pointed their medal bars at Edward and they pulled the little trigger. A small metal ball came right at him. He jumped over the ball and rushed for cover. One man ran away and came back with a stretchy brown circle. The man ran toward Edward and tied the stretchy brown circle around his claws and put him in a cage. The cage was brought to a big beast with a big metal square behind it. The man put Edward in the big square and shut the two big metal plates behind him. He was trapped!

To be continued…

Arstina was an evil doll. She had long since escaped the nursery and now roamed the underworld where she lived looking for something. She didn’t know what it was. Her hair was rough and knotted. Her eyes had splotches of paint on them. Her crippled body was stained with all sorts of things. Suddenly one day she knew what it meant.

She felt the rough spot on her stomach. She rubbed it, and it came off in flakes. She bent down and licked it off the hot floor of the underworld. Ice cream. In that moment, Arstina felt something odd. Desire. She longed for another taste. Sadly, though, that would be hard. 

There was no ice cream in the underworld. The shadow king ruled it all. And he did not give out sugary treats. He was very greedy. Arstina decided to beg the shadow king. Maybe he would show compassion.

She walked over to his palace. She rapped on the tall, black door. A guard answered. Arstina explained why she was there. The guard growled something and went to get the shadow king. Arstina hoped he would listen.

Soon, two guards came out. They both grabbed one of her arms and carried her in.

“What’s happening?” Arstina asked.

“The king is not pleased with you,” one guard responded in a gruff voice. “He thinks you are inconsiderate, horrible, lazy, annoying, and an overall nuisance. He wishes to kill you.”

Arstina gulped. Then she snapped back into reality. She started to yell at the guards.

“You are horrible people, and you should let me go! All I wanted was some ice cream!” Four words into her sentence, though, one guard stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth.

Six minutes later, she arrived in a courtyard out back. There was a big pile of wood in the middle. The shadow king walked up to Arstina and smiled. 

He said, “Hello, Arstina. I expect we’ll have some fun together. Simply jump on that pile of wood and allow us to tie you up.”

Arstina gulped and decided against it. The shadow king was holding a bunch of matches.

“Do you not want to?” Pause. “We can do this the hard way or the easy way.” Another pause. Arstina still stood firm. “All right, the hard way.”

The shadow king grabbed a rope and tied her up before she could respond. Then he forced her to march to the wood pile. He then tied her down. The shadow king struck a match and smiled devilishly. He gingerly placed it on the pile and then stopped for a second to watch Arstina burst into flames.

She cried out in pain. “I just wanted some ice cream!”

The king paused for a moment, as if he was thinking of something. Then he ran into the castle to get something.

The last thing Arstina ever saw was the shadow king laughing maniacally as he licked an ice cream cone. 

Chapter One    

Once there was a girl named Emilly. Her sister’s name was Julie. And they always played. They had nicknames for each other but they were never that mean. One day, Emilly and Julie had a big fight. Emilly had a very mean, mean name to call her little sister Julie. It was “Stinkbreath.” Julie’s name for Emilly was “Meanie.” They kept on calling each other that and they never stopped the fight until their mom came home.

The mom said, “Why is this place is a mess?”

They both said at the same time, “She did it!”

The mom said, “Well, you two are grounded for a whole week! You’re going to pick up all this stuff and clean it up, and tidy my room AND yours. And your dad’s room.”

And then their dad came home. “What is this whole big mess?”

They both said at the same time, “She did it!”

Their dad made another punishment. “You two both have to do ten chores a week until September! Every day I’ll write you a list.”

They both said, We’re sorry,” and got to work. They didn’t have much time to go to school but their mom said, “I want this place tidied up by the time that I get home tomorrow.”

The mom picked up Julie’s stuffed bunny and said “Throw this in the garbage.”

Julie said, “No! That’s my only stuffed bunny!”

“Then why did I find this whole stack of stuffed bunnies in your candy jar?”

She said, “Ummmm….” She was speechless!

Her mom said, “Now! And you can save one if you want, but I want you to throw all of the rest out.”

Julie did as she was told, but secretly she kept all her bunnies in another place… in her lollipop drawer!

Her mom said, “I found these in your lollipop drawer! You’re grounded til November!”

Julie said, “Do you have anything for me to do?”

“No, what did you ever do?”

“Really? Thanks, you guys.” 

“Julie was the one who started the fight, not me,” said Emilly.

The parents believed this, so they called “Julie! Stop watching a show, give the phone to Emilly and start doing this now! No more discussions, now! Go to your room and pack. I’m sending you to your friend’s home to tell her about what you’ve done. Just this once. But I’m not going to pack for you this time.”

“Oh my god. Seriously? I really really have to get to work. Can you please pack for me?”

“Fine. Only because you’re doing work.”

By the time mom was finished, Julie was finished with everything. But secretly, she put it all in the backyard. 

Her dad said, “You cleaned up very quickly! I’m going to go and get my car from the backyard.”

“Julie!! I have a surprise for you!” said Dad.

“What is it?”

“The smashing robot that I made out of all of your very cool and fun things.”

“Dad!! I didn’t think that you’d be so mad at me! I thought only Mom would be, cuz you’re nicer than mom!”

“I am? I mean, yes, I am. Okay, I’m sorry, I’ll take all of the stuff out.”

She cleaned up very quickly, but this time, she actually did it. Julie was a very quick cleaner, so she finished, and her dad took her for a ride. 

“When you said that I was nicer than your mom, I’m going to take you for a little ride, just for fun. But it’s going to be a short ride and it’s going to go very quickly. This is where I go when I pretend to ride my bike. I go to this tractor, and nobody is here right now because it is night time. This is my real work. I used to work in a gas station, so everyone is feeling bad for me. But I’m a racecar driver now, so I get paid a lot of money!”

“You should tell that to the whole family.”

“I don’t know about that.”

Chapter Two

When they reached the tractor, Julie said, “This is the coolest thing ever! I wish Emilly was here!” 

“Well, I don’t really want to bring Emilly. She knows how to drive a car, soo… and then your mom will be the only person who doesn’t know what my job is. So I don’t really want to tell her that I have this. You have to keep my secret though. If you don’t, you’re going to get a humongous punishment,” said their dad.

“Sometimes, I tell Emilly some of my secrets, and she tells me some of hers, and we both keep them secret.”

“Emilly tells me all of your secrets.”

“What!! That’s so mean, I kept all of hers in!”

“That’s so mean.”

“Well, not really, you told me all of yours, too. I told Emilly I read your diary.”

“Emilly didn’t tell me! I don’t want you to drop me off. Emilly actually taught me how to drive a car, so hop on, I’m going to take you back home and tell mom that I want her to drive me.”

Then dad says, “Whee! Emilly sure knows how to drive.”

“I’m not Emilly.”

“I know, but I’m just saying that Emilly really knows how to drive.”

“But I’m better than her, right?”

“Ummm… no.”

“Now I especially don’t want you take me. You’re being very un-good at parenting right now. But Mom is nicer, and you are not nicer than mom! You are the meanest dad in the whole entire world!”

“Well then why did I pack you rice krispies for all of this?”

“You did?”

“Well, not anymore.”

“Uh oh, let’s go back to the tractor. I’ll drive.”

So then dad says, “Who’s nicer now, me or Mom?”

“Ummm… you.”

“Really? Am I actually, or are you pretending?”

“No, you are, actually, for real! Now can I have the rice krispies?”

“No, you get to share your rice krispies with your friends. Let’s go there. Mom’s probably wondering where you are and probably so is my friend.”

Chapter Three

They finally reached Coco’s house. 

“Coco! I’m so happy to see you!”

“Me too,” said Coco. 

Julie said, “I’m starving! I should have ate them before?”

“What?”

“The yummy yummy dumplings. At least I have some in my bag.”

“Julie? You have dumplings in your bag?”

“No.”

“Let me check your bag.”

“Oh, no dumplings.”

“Bye, dad!”

“Bye! Hope you have a good time!” 

At the sleepover, Julie’s like, “So, I started a fight with my sister Emilly, and I lied to my parents about not starting the fight, but then Emilly told them and they believed Emilly, and then I told the truth, and then they felt bad for me so they told me that I could come to your house just for one time. And she said it like this: just for ONCE! And I was like ahh, and then I said, okay, deal.”

They had lots of yummy rice krispies and the yummy yummy dumplings, which Julie hid in her bag, and they slept. 

Her dad was there to pick her up.

“Dad, can we go to your tractor, please?”

“Okay, we can go to the tractor. But just this once. And I mean just this once!”

“Okay. Yippee! Bye, Coco!” She gave Coco a big hug.

Coco gave Julie a big hug too. “Woohee!”

Chapter Four

They went to the tractor. They finally got there. “Whee! This is so much fun,” said Julie. And then they left. “Already, dad? Please can we get just one more?”

“Okay, but just one more.”

“Wheee! This is so much fun,” said Julie. 

Then they left. “Emilly, it was so much fun at the tractor!”

“What tractor?”

“Dad’s job tractor!”

“Julie!” said the Dad. “I told you not to tell them!”

“Tell us what?”

“Julie, stop. Be quiet and get to your chores. Otherwise you’re never going to go there again.”

“Okay, I’m just going to talk to her for one second.”

“Julie, you cannot do that ever again. It’s so, so, so bad. And then they’re going to know what my job is.”

“Why don’t you tell them what your job is?”

“Because your mom hates racecar drivers. The only one she likes is Derek.” And Derek is the dad’s name. “And I am Derek, the one that she likes.”

“Then why don’t you tell her?”

“I suppose so.”

Then they came out.

“Dad has something to say!” said Julie.

“What is it, Dad?” said Emilly.

“Go on, dad, tell them!”

“Ummmm… I sort of have a new job that’s a racecar driver and I’m Derek the driver!”

“You are? Is that why when you go the bathroom when we all see racecar drivers and you are Derek?”

“Yes.”

“Well now we know, so you can always get prepared earlier. Why wouldn’t you tell us that before?”

“Well… so I took Julie to the tractor and we raced so much and it was so much fun, because Emilly taught Julie how to drive a car. So we raced and raced and raced, and then we left. Julie was like really? Do we have to leave already? And I was having so much fun so I said maybe not already, and then I probably should not have taken the grounded girl to the tractor, but I really wanted to go there myself, and I didn’t want to get in trouble by anybody, so I always had to keep it secret.”

“Emilly knows about this!”

“Dad! You lied to me?”

“Maybe sorta kinda…” Then her dad said, “Yes.”

“But Emilly and you would have kept it a secret, but then I had to tell the whole family. And now I’m happy that I told the whole family.”

The mom made the decision that “You both do not have to be grounded. Your dad and I will clean all of this up.”

“We’ll help! Do we have to do the chores until November?”

“No!”

“Yay!! Let’s get to cleaning!”

The End. 

1. Dolls
2. Cars
3. Legos
4. Pizza
5. Fish
6. Meat
7. Ice cream
8. Chocolate
9. Art
10. Ice cream cone

Bep-Bop wants all of these things on the list above because if he doesn’t get them, he might die from starvation and be bored for the rest of his short life.

He goes to the mall called Dean’s Mall and buys the things on the list above. 

There is a problem though: the mall is crowded with people, so it is hard to find the store that he needs to go to to get the things on the list above.

 He finds his way to the store that has everything he needs, apparently. It is called Dean’s Happy Store. The name means, everything you need to buy is in this store. So, he gets the things he needs, and then another problem happens. It is still crowded! So, he needs to find his way to the register.

He finally pays for the stuff, and then he gets distracted by another store that has games for the Switch that he had bought for another time. He tries to resist it, but he can’t. He gets one game, at least one, and it is called Super Mario Maker 2 + Online.

Then, he gets to his car. This time it is not crowded. Then, he drives home and has a happy day.

“Carter! The school bus is here!”

“Coming!” I shouted.

“Don’t forget to bring your lunch bag!”

“Yeah, I know, whatever.”

I rushed to the bus just in time to see the fat bus driver wave his chubby, fat hand goodbye. Carrying my lunch bag, I trudged along the path to go to school. I was half a subject late just because the bus driver drove off without picking me up!

Fast forward, and we’re in my classroom after staying an eternity in the principal’s office to explain why I was late, which delayed even more of my time. When I entered my classroom, everyone looked at me, and half of them stared straight at my lunch. I looked down and saw water leaking through the paper bag. Like seriously, why do parents give their own child’s lunch in a paper bag?! No? Only me? Okay then, I guess only my parents are harassing their child even though I don’t even know what that word means or does, but it sounds like “spilling.”

Anyways, I sat down in my seat, and when I put my lunch down next to me, it went plofltp! My classmate made a disgusted face at me and quickly whipped her cube head back to the teacher and snickered under her putrid breath.

Fast forward again, and I finally made it to lunch with just a soggy sandwich. Long story short, everything else fell out. We went to the lunchroom, and I sat down with my only friend, Andy, who people also made fun of for being really short. 

Andy and I first became friends in first grade. One day at recess, Andy was being bullied by the school bully, Barter. I walked over and told Barter to stop.

He said, “No!”

Then he started kicking my leg and I fell over.

Then the teacher came over and said, “What’s going on?” 

Barter lied and said, “He tried to kick me.”

“But he’s on the ground,” the teacher replied. Then the teacher said, “Come with me, you’re going to the principal’s office.”

Then Barter started bawling, and Andy and I became friends at that moment. 

Every time Andy had even a little problem, Barter would come over and bully him for no reason at all and I thought, Please don’t bully me because my lunch is gone. Then, Barter came over and started bullying me. Barter snatched the lunch away.

Then, he realized the bag was wet and soggy, and he was like, “Ew, what did you do?” And he threw the lunch bag across the lunchroom, and it landed on a teacher’s foot.

The teacher hobbled over and shouted at Barter, “What happened here?”

I started to say, “He threw my lunch across… ”

And then Barter interrupted me and said, “He threw the lunch across the room, and it landed on you.”

And then the teacher said, “That doesn’t sound like a thing Carter would do.” 

Then Barter ran out of the lunchroom.

I whispered to Andy, “What’s up with him?” 

A classmate walked over and whispered in my ear, “How’s your lunch?” 

I bit my tongue to prevent the words I hate you! from coming out. So instead, I said, “Go away.” 

“No!”

“I am going to stay right here and watch you eat your lunch of air with a side of air and air for a drink!” She walked away, sneering and snickering to her friends. By the way, like half the class was her friend and the other half wanted to be her friend.

Andy said, “Why is it always us that gets bullied?!”

“Well… for one you are quite short for your age, no offense, and I am just bullied for my downsides.”

“I am talking to myself,” Andy replied.

The teacher came over and said, “I’m sorry for all the trouble about Barter and Victoria.”

Victoria was the second bully that came over to bully us. She was never nice to anyone except to her friends who actually didn’t support her bullying, but kept it a secret. Don’t ask me how I know, like please don’t. So now school just ended, and guess what?! I missed the bus to drive the students back home! That fat bus driver!

When I got home, I told my mom about the absolutely horrid day I had in school with my lunch bag.

“Call the principal, now!”

“I will… tomorrow…” Mom replied.

“What?! Why not right now?!”

“Ohhh… alright, I will call them in a second.”

(She started casually phone calling some stranger, while tapping random numbers.)

“Ahem? Where’d the call go?¨

“Didn’t you hear the phone? I just called them.”

“You cannot fool me, Mom. I know you were just tapping numbers and calling a random person.” Then I put on my I am disappointed at you for not calling my principal because two bullies bullied me because of my lunch on a Friday face.

I bet you’re out of breath from reading that, right? Well, to make it easier for you, it was my pouting face.

“Well, maybe you should change schools then,” Mom shot back at me.

“This was all my lunch’s fault because water started leaking from the bag. If it was Victoria, everyone in the class would go and help her in any way possible and would give her unnecessary amounts of towels. See how hard my life is?”

The very next day… 

We were driving to somewhere I wasn’t familiar with, and usually at this time we’d be pulling up to the school’s parking lot.

I asked my mom, “Where are we going?”

“To your new school…”

THE END

I run around in my backyard, playing a fun game called Red Light, Green Light. I am playing with my four best friends: Morgan, Miranda, Miriam, Mira, and me, Madison. 

“Caught you!” Miranda shouts in glee at me as I wobble over. Suddenly, I fall to the ground, clutching my side. It feels like a side stitch, just worse; a million times worse. I scream in agony and I can barely stand up. 

After staying there for a while, the pain finally begins to subside and I slowly get up. My tear-streaked face looks around. All of my friends are staring at me oddly. Finally, Miriam takes me by my arm back into my house. Then, all my friends leave. 

My mother knows that something is wrong with me. However, she doesn’t know what. She thinks that I’ll be alright, I probably just got a cramp. She was wrong, and not doing anything was the biggest mistake she has ever made. 

The next day is my 14th birthday. Little do I know that it is my last. The pain gets so bad that we go to the hospital, but the doctors can’t find out what is wrong with me. I don’t know what is wrong with me. I keep getting sudden pains all over my body. Once, my heart stops beating. Luckily, there is a nurse in the room and she rushes for help. 

Everyone comes into my hospital room to give me get-well cards and presents. They know that I will be alright. After all, I am only an eighth grader, I’m not going to die or anything. They are horribly wrong. The pains get worse and I begin having a hard time breathing. The doctors put an oxygen mask over me while I sleep or else I might suffocate. 

The next day, things start getting out of control. I wake up in excruciating pain. There are doctors and nurses shouting “Code blue in 4-8.” 

I already know that my room is 4-8. I wish that someone would take me out of this misery. There are sirens going off of my heart monitor and all the other fancy machines around my bed. Soon, those sirens began to fade away. I know what this means. When the sirens fade away, I fade away too. My whole body is in agony, every muscle tense and screaming. I want to curl up into a tiny ball and melt into a puddle on my bed. 

I see a helpless doctor that is standing right next to my bed. He doesn’t know what to do and is staring at me as I slowly die. I let out a strangled gasp and that is my last breath. I close my eyes, see a bright flash, and leave this world.

***

It is a dark and stormy day when I see Courtney Quinn walking down the sidewalk. I jump back in surprise, for she died three years ago from cancer! Then, I realize that it is probably Miriam Quinn, her daughter, and also one of my best friends. She is walking around in the rain without an umbrella or a care that I am staring at her. I get a closer look and know, this can not be Miriam. She is way too old and looks exactly like Courtney did before she died, even with the same exact clothes on. 

I turn around and I don’t know where I am. It looks like a hotel, or a very fancy apartment. The room is very decorated and doesn’t look like anything that I have ever seen before. I search through my memory, looking for some kind of information that would tell me how I got in this mysterious place. However, I draw a blank. I can’t seem to remember anything except the fact that I belong here. Still, I know I remember some things because I remember Courtney and Miriam.

I wander out of my room and spot someone else in the hallway. There is someone that has their head down, slowly counting some kind of currency. When that person lifts his head, I see his face. It is my great-grandfather. My great-grandfather had died before I was born, but the pictures that we had were a spitting image of the man in front of me right now. 

I am starting to get freaked out. I see a group of girls pass by me who look suspiciously like the group of girls in the newspaper that had died in a forest fire. 

I don’t know where I am, and I am starting to get creeped out by the fact that there are a bunch of people walking around that are supposed to be dead. 

Everyone in town has an odd look about them. Some people are wearing very old-fashioned clothes, clothes that I have never seen someone wear before. There are girls and women wearing really uncomfortable-looking dresses, very old-fashioned dresses. Others are wearing headdresses made of feathers. Then, realization hits me. Those girls and women wearing those dresses are from a long time ago, from the pioneer times! And those people wearing headdresses. Those are probably Native American chiefs. How are they still alive, and what are they doing here?

I am so confused, and I don’t even know how I got here! No one even talks here! Over half of this town looks like they are going to a costume party! I open my mouth to say something, anything to myself. 

Hello, I mouth to myself. I want to scream, and I probably would if I could make any sound. I am like everyone else! I can’t talk! I feel so confined, so limited and it makes me feel claustrophobic in some kind of weird way. And then, that’s when I figure it all out. Why I am here, how I came here, and what all these people are doing here: I am dead, just like the rest of the people around me. And my room…

I lean outside to confirm my suspicions. On the exterior wall, there it says, 

M.L.M 

R.I.P

My room is a gravestone. This place is a graveyard. And I will never be able to escape. 

As I figure this out, bits and pieces of my past return. I see myself leaning over on the ground, holding my side. Then, I see it. Nurses calling “code blue,” then me. Myself dying. My sight is blurred by tears and I wipe away the tears. I never got to say goodbye to my parents. Not to my friends. Now, I am stuck in this wretched place where only dead people are. I want to go back. I want to return back home. 

I realize that I can leave my grave and go out on the street. When I do, I look down and realize that I can see down on Earth! I see people at a funeral and realize it is my funeral! I spot Morgan, Miriam, Miranda, and Mira huddled together with tears streaking across their face. Then, I see my parents crying together. I wish that I could go down into my funeral and comfort them. I wonder if I can! 

In this place, life is not fun. In this place, life is a void of emptiness and nothingness.  There is nothing fun to do here. My theory behind this reasoning is that most people that go to the graveyard are very old. Many people all over the world die from old age and infirmity. Usually, people that die from sickness are older as well, around my parents’ age. However, there aren’t many children in this place. In fact, I haven’t seen a single person my age. 

When I go to the graveyard manager, I write down a question for him.

How do I go back to Earth and get my life back?

“One second,” the manager says while flipping through a book. It feels relieving to hear at least one person talk in this silent and horrible world. “Here, found it! You must find the Flower of Cator and crush it along with some Amberse Water. Then, you must spread the poultice on your head and temples to rejuvenate the life there in your brain, for it is believed that your soul is actually in your brain. The only thing that I can help you with is this.” And with that, the manager leaves, leaving only a glass vial and a piece of paper behind. 

I pick up the vial, wondering what it is. Then, I realize that it contains that Amberse Water, which I needed to mix with the Flower of Cator! Then, I pick up the paper and see that they are directions on how to find the Flower of Cator. I read the first instruction. 

1. Find the Master of Meditation. After doing this, ask him for help finding what you seek. No one has succeeded in doing this before, so the rest of the instructions are unknown.

Okay, so I know that I need to find this ‘Master of Meditation’ person. I see an old man that is sitting down with his legs crossed and arms in front of him. He is meditating. He will probably know how to find this Master of Meditation person. I walk up to him and show him the paper and Amberse Water. 

“You are looking for the Flower of Cator?” the man rumbles. I jump back in surprise, both because of the fact that he can talk and also that he already knows what I need. The man taps me on the throat and I fight the urge to run away. What is this creep doing? Then, I realize. This man is the Master of Meditation. “Speak!” the man announces. I look at him oddly. After all, shouldn’t he know that I can’t talk?

I clear my throat and attempt anyway. “H-hello?” I mutter under my breath. “Hello!” I exclaim in excitement. “My voice! It’s back!”

“Wow, I totally couldn’t tell,” the Master of Meditation groans. “Call me Mac. That was my name before…” his voice trails off. I decide not to question him because it’s obvious he doesn’t want to talk about it. “Now, you seem to be pretty confident about this Flower of Cator.”

“Yes,” I agree. “I really need to find this Flower so that I can get my life back and return back to Earth. I really miss my family and friends.”

“Well, I don’t think I can help you with that,” the man says to me, beginning to leave. 

“Wait! Please! I’ll do anything!” I plead to the man.

“Anything,” the man says with a smile beginning to creep up on his face. “You say? Well, then, I will help you. However, you must do everything I ask of you.”

By now, I am so desperate to get back to Earth, I accept. If I don’t get back to Earth, I’ll be stuck in this place forever! I don’t think I can survive with so much boredom in this place! We agree to meet at Dead Man Hill the next day. 

When I wake up the next day, I stretch and get ready to head for Dead Man Hill. When I get there, I see Mac already standing there underneath the hill. He seems impatient and irritated that I am late, but we never even had a certain meeting time. He just said, morning. Technically, if he is annoyed that I am so “late”, he is to blame for not telling me when we were going to meet up. After all, he was pretty vague on the time for meeting.

“Finally, you’ve come here,” Mac grumbles softly. “And don’t talk too loudly. After all, we don’t want those old grumps to be suspicious at you.”

I want to tell him that he has no right to call those old people old grumps because he is one himself, but I bite my tongue. I don’t want to annoy Mac because he is the only chance of me ever returning back to Earth with my family and friends! 

Mac has a lot of drills for me to do, and they are all puzzles. Puzzles to test my logical ability and other things like that. Here is one of my puzzles:

If

34+5=36

56+2=39

27+6=45

47+5=48

28+1=33

then

41+5=?

I don’t understand what help this will be to me. All I need is directions that lead to the Flower of Cator. However, I don’t want to question his way of thinking. 

After all of those puzzles, Mac makes me do all of his housework. He makes me mow his lawn and do his laundry. After I finish cleaning two extremely large windows, I realize now I’ve been bamboozled. 

“You’re not really the Master of Meditation, are you?” I accuse to Mac.

He shrugs. “I never said I was,” he replies. “You always just assumed it. Anyway, I got a lot of good things out of this. Thanks Mad.”

And I am very mad. Just like my nickname. In fact, I am furious. I storm out of Mac’s house, making a point to spill dirty water all over his floor and windows, then toss the dirty sponge and towel at his chest. 

I can’t believe that he tricked me into believing that he was actually the Master of Meditation. I was so stupid. 

The next day, I set out to look for the real Master of Meditation. And then, I realize something. How did Mac return my voice if he wasn’t the real Master of Meditation. It hits me like a car. The real Mac was at the place two days ago. However, yesterday, the real Mac didn’t show up. Meaning Mac was probably locked somewhere, or was taken somewhere! I have to find him, now! 

I head to the place where I first met Mac, in the lobby of my graveyard apartment. I don’t see anyone there, but I suddenly hear some muffled screams. I hear them coming from the janitor’s closet, so I rush over there. 

The door is locked. Luckily, I have a bobby pin with me because I need to hold back my long hair while playing soccer. I quickly pick the lock and open the door. I see Mac in there all tied up with a gag over his mouth. 

“Mac!” I cry out in horror. I quickly untie the ropes that are holding him back. 

“Uh oh,” Mac mutters. “Look behind you.”

I slowly turn around and see that every single person in the lobby is staring at me with disbelief as if I had grown another arm. Then, I realize why they are staring at me! I cried out ‘Mac’ really loudly and other people must have heard me. I want to run away but my legs aren’t functioning properly right now. 

The crowd closes in on us. It’s like a zombie apocalypse is attacking us, millions of people. Finally, my instincts return and I grab Mac’s arm and we run out of the building. 

“Are you crazy?” Mac asks me. “What are you thinking, talking that loud in front of all those people out there!” 

“I’m sorry, okay?” I retort. “I’m still trying to get used to the fact that I can’t speak with freedom.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that you found me. I thought I was going to suffocate if I had to stay there any longer. Luckily, oxygen was coming through the bottom of the door. I’m very claustrophobic, you know. What took you so long?” Mac rapidly asks. I am so annoyed. 

“You’re lucky I even came to save you. Instead of complaining, you might want to thank me for saving your butt right there!” I yell at Mac. 

“Geez, I’m sorry,” Mac mutters. 

We head off in silence. We can’t hear the crowd of people anymore, but we couldn’t hear them in the first place anyway. After we travel a long way, Mac stops me to talk. 

“Look, it’s time that I tell you how you’re going to get the Flower of Cator,” Mac tells me. “I can’t come with you because if I come in a one-mile radius of the flower, you and I will get trapped forever. This flower is very heavily guarded. There are only two. There used to be three, but I took one of them. The reason why I’m not on Earth is because I only had time to put a little on my head before they caught me. Don’t ask me who they are. There is a certain scent that will knock out the guards. You must carefully pluck the flower with its roots as well, for it must thrive or it will disintegrate if it dies.”

I process all the information that I have learned. Then I ask a question to Mac. “Where will I get this scent from?”

“I have it,” Mac takes it out of a heavily padded container. Then, he takes out two sets of nose plugs. “Here, open it after putting on the nose plugs.”

I open the container and I can smell it, even through the nose plugs! It smells horrible! I feel like I’m going to hurl. If it weren’t for the nose plugs, I probably would have passed out from the smell. I quickly close the container. Then, I reach to pull out my nose plugs, but Mac stops me. 

“Don’t,” he warns me. “The smell stills lingers for a couple hours. Leave them in until we go to bed.”

It is a couple hours ‘til it was time for me to sleep, so I decided that decision to be wise. We head over the hill and soon, the sun sets. I can see a faint blue glow very far in the distance. 

“That’s the natural glow of the Flower of Cator,” Mac explains after seeing me looking. “When the glow begins to fade, the flower is dying. This species of flowers used to be invasive, but soon, they began to die out. Rangers tried to destroy these flowers with acid and poison but it didn’t work. In the end, they destroyed it with fire. However, the chemicals from the acid and poison caused the flowers to become supernatural. They got a blue glow to it and possessed supernatural healing and rejuvenating powers.”

We set up camp and I remove my nose plugs. I can just barely smell the scent of the liquid in the vial. 

“It’s Aceart Water,” Mac explains to me. “It’s sucked from the Aceart plant.”

I nod in interest. This world turns out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it would have been when I had first died. 

The next morning, Mac tells me his whole story. Mac isn’t dead; he is very different from everyone else in this world. In fact, Mac is in the real world right now, but he’s also in this world. The reason is that Mac got into a really bad accident and he fell into a coma. When he fell into a coma, the doctors tried really hard to wake him from that coma. However, for the past nine years, Mac had never woken from his coma. Mac came very close to death many different times. Because of this, he became a part of this world. However, Mac says that he is kind of in between this world and the world where he is in a coma. 

The reason why Mac has the ability to return my voice and do many other things is because he messed up. Mac wanted to return back to the regular world, all rejuvenated, but he failed to do so. Like me, he attempted to get the Flower of Cator. He did get the flower, but he didn’t get Amberse Water. Mac thought that it was Amberse Water, but it was more of a copycat, a type of liquid that would give supernatural powers. This was called Ravenkint water. He spread the poultice over his head and temple, but only had enough time to use a little bit of it before he was caught. Mac only got small bits of abilities, but he used them to his advantage. Unfortunately, due to this mishap, being caught anywhere close to the Flower of Cator will be big trouble for Mac if anyone finds out. 

After he tells me the story, we begin traveling once again. I can tell that we are close to the flower; I can feel it. It is like a sixth sense to me. After long, hard traveling, we finally reach the botanical garden where the two flowers are being kept. 

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Mac tells me. “Blow this if you need help, and make sure to use that Aceart Water,” and hands me a whistle. It kind of looks like a dog whistle, and I wonder if it works like one too. I decide not to attempt blowing into it unless I got into a lot of trouble. 

Mac slips away and I slowly creep towards the flower. At the last second before I enter the building, I remember to put on my nose plugs. I rummage through my bag for the nose plugs, but I can’t find them! I realize that I must have left them with Mac! Uh oh! I’m in big trouble now. What am I going to do without the nose plugs! Suddenly, I spot some really nasty smelling plant. I form a plan in my head. 

I walk towards the group of guards surrounding the plant with those smelly plants stuffed up my nose. I must look really weird with those plants up my nose because one of the guards stare at me as if I’m mentally ill. Before any of the guards get the chance to ask me something, I open the vial of Aceart Water and one by one, the guards topple over like dominos. 

After they are on the floor, I reach over to pick one of the flowers. There are two, one seeming younger than the other. I pick the older one and quickly flee the place. 

Outside, Mac is waiting for me. “Did you get it?” he whisper-shouts. 

“Yes,” I reply. I am about to take the Amberse Water out of my backpack when suddenly Mac reaches for the flower. My reflexes kick in and I jerk the flower away from the reaching hands of Mac. “What are you doing?” I demand. 

“Madison, you are such a gullible child,” Mac laughs. “Don’t you know that I tricked you? That I wasn’t actually helping you?” All the pieces come together. Of course! Mac had played me. He just tricked me. He needed the flower to heal himself! 

“So all my hard work was for nothing!” I shout at Mac. I am livid. 

“Of course not!” Mac protests. “I need you to do all the manual work and get the flower for me, for I couldn’t get it myself after the last mishap.”

I am furious at Mac for tricking me, and myself for falling for it. I run away, trying to escape from Mac. All my hard work had gotten me this flower and Mac hadn’t done a thing! Unfortunately, Mac was unusually speedy for someone his age. However, I knew that Mac would never be strong enough to climb a tree.

I never climbed a tree, not even when I was a little girl. I hated getting dirt on my hands and also, my hands were really soft and it hurt when I even tried to do the monkey bars. Climbing trees was never my type of thing. Although this crisis was just hitting me, I tried to channel my inner monkey and grabbed a branch and began to climb. When I was close to the top, the branch broke and I almost went tumbling down 15 feet, but a stray branch broke my fall and also knocked the wind out of me. 

I was right about Mac being unable to climb the tree. He lingered at the bottom shouting, “You can’t stay up there forever! You’ll come down eventually for the Amberse Water!” However, he didn’t know that I had the Amberse Water in my backpack. 

I slowly pulled it out of my backpack and yelled back at Mac, “I have the Amberse Water right here!” and waved the vial. That was it. That’s all it took to set off Mac with shouts of anger. 

I took out the flower and I remembered that I had to crush it. However, I didn’t have a rock or anything to crush it with, so I knew that I only had one choice. 

I popped the flower in my mouth and began chewing on it. I pleaded that this flower wasn’t poisonous. The Flower of Cator actually had a fruity taste to it! After the poultice seemed pretty chewed up, I spit it out on my hand and poured in some of the Amberse Water. After mixing it together, I spread all of it over my forehead and temple. I even put some on my scalp. 

After this, I could still hear the faint shouting of Mac as my skin began to glow. I was going back home. 

Part One

My name is Chester. I am a cat of high society. I share a home with a human named Angela Lansbury. My life is simple yet exquisite and luxurious. 

Like most cats, I like sticking to a routine. This is my routine:

1. Wake Angela up
2. Meow until Angela feeds me
3. Eat 
4. Let Angela dress me
5. Dress Angela
6. Groom myself
7. Get in the “kitty carrier”
8. Go to tea with Angela

So naturally, I am stressed to death when I hear a knock at the door at approximately 7:13 A.M. just as I am eating my tuna and caviar salad. Angela (still dressed in her bathrobe) shuffles over to the door and cautiously peers through the eyepiece. Then she attempts to open the door. It takes her a minute to get the latch undone, but when she does, a tall, broad, important-looking man flanked by two police officers step into the foyer.

“Officer Lincoln!” exclaims Angela. “What brings you to my penthouse so early in the morning?”

“Official business.” 

“Official business?” she asks, taking a seat on an antique sofa. “What sort of official business would concern me?”

“Your safety of course, Mrs. Lansbury,” he replies in a most casual tone. “Someone, you see, has been targeting renowned Broadway actors and actresses.”

At this, Angela lets out a small shriek. She opens her mouth to speak, but no sound comes out. A moment passes.

In a small, shaky voice she manages to say, “You mean to say, Officer Lincoln, that I am in danger of being assassinated?”

“Yes, I do,” he replies. “I hope you understand, Mrs. Lansbury, but you are not safe here, so you must go into hiding.”

“Hiding?! But who will take care of my darling Chester?” 

“I’m afraid I don’t know the details, just that a caretaker has been arranged and that you must come with us immediately. Your cat will be dropped off with the sitter shortly after we leave.”

A sitter? They’re leaving me with a sitter?

“Can’t I at least meet the sitter?” Angela begs.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’ve got orders to follow!” says one of the officers who is standing around in the background.

Angela, Officer Lincoln, and I shoot him a look. The officer blushes and trains his small, watery eyes on his shoes. 

“Well,” Angela declares, “I must get packing for wherever it is that you are taking me.” 

“I’m afraid we were given strict instructions to leave your apartment untouched. It would look suspicious to anyone who set foot here if you took many of your things with you,” says Officer Linclon.

So, still dressed in a bathrobe, Angela, the two police officers, and Officer Lincoln ‘discreetly’ leave the building. It’s hard to be discreet when you have a celebrity with you. I climb to the top of the ‘cat castle,’ which actually is a fairly large structure that is carpeted in a soft, furry fabric that smells lovely. Ahh… I think. Unfortunately the smell isn’t enough to distract me from the dark cloud on the horizon in the shape of a cat-sitter. Also, there is the fact that Angela is in potential danger. My stomach knots itself. I am not used to being so nervous right after breakfast. I wonder to myself: what will this sitter be like? Would she even feed me?

 Then, all of a sudden, I hear keys in the lock. Could it be? The new sitter? I curl myself into a tight ball and watch, concealed from my castle, as a tall, thin woman wearing all leather steps inside the room. She opens a large, leather cat carrier and from it emerges a particularly malevolent-seeming pair of leather gloves which she pulls on as she scans the room for me. I hope she will have to check all 21 rooms of the penthouse before finding me. She tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder. I shrink back to the corner of the cat castle, hoping she won’t find me. But then the worst thing happens. I step on a squeaky toy. The sitter whips around, her pale blue eyes fixed on mine. 

“There you are, kitty.” She smiles, and I notice for the first time since I had met her that she has a long scar that runs from one corner of her mouth down to the base of her neck. “You and I are going to have a lot of fun together.” She is grinning now.

Then before I know what is happening, she is aiming what I recognize as a tranquilizer gun from watching soap operas with Angela right at me. The room starts to spin. I take one last glance at the sitter, her icy eyes bear right into mine, and then she is gone. And I am alone.

Part Two

I shiver awake and find myself in a freezing cold room. I long to go out and explore or possibly escape the clutches of the evil cat-sitter who tranquilized me who knows how long ago. As I start to get up, however, my face squishes against what seems to be a metal grate. Of course, I am in a cage. I can’t just expect her to let me walk around doing whatever I feel like. My ears perk up at a noise in the background. It is like lots of glass beads clinking together. The door swings open, and I recognize the police officer who had snapped at Angela earlier, followed by the dreaded evil cat-sitter.

“Where do you want the arsenic, Ms. A?” asks the officer.

Arsenic?! They have arsenic? I knew they were evil, but what do they need arsenic for? They’re not planning to kill anyone, are they?

“Right there is fine, Robert,” replies the cat-sitter, aka Ms. A.

“Well, who’s it going to be tonight, Ms. A?” asks Robert. 

“Lansbury.” My eyes bulge. I can’t believe my ears! “A little bird told me… ” Ms. A continues, “that you know exactly where Angela Lansbury is hiding.” 

“On 128th St in Luke’s Donut Shop,” mumbles the officer.

I gulp. I know saving Angela is entirely up to me. So when Robert comes to feed me some crumbly brown balls, I bite him so hard he lets loose a shriek, and I manage to scamper out of the freezing cold room, which turns out to be a huge refrigerator. I turn a corner into a room filled with tables and chairs, which I instantly recognize as a restaurant. I spot the doorway, which very conveniently has a catflap at the bottom which means this had to be the place Angela liked to go to with me when I was a kitten. Also, I am two blocks away from home! I am not quite sure what I will do what I get there. Whew. I need to stop talking so fast. All this sprinting is getting to me. 

As soon as I get home, I jump on the doorman’s desk, pumped full of adrenaline. Henry, the lonely doorman, would do just about anything for me. I pounce onto his keyboard, and after a series of pokes and prods, I manage to type in the address. He is so surprised that he doesn’t even notice that I am not accompanied by a human. 

“You want to go get some donuts, buddy?” he asks me. I nod my head like I’ve seen many other humans do. “Okay!” he says, abandoning his post. He is a good friend but not a very good doorman. He hails a cab, and we clamber aboard. The driver doesn’t even notice I am there. “Luke’s Donut Shop, please,” requests Henry.

The cab smells like incense. It is a long ride. Finally, we arrive. I leap out of the cab and swiftly race into the donut shop. I dash around the cashier counter and into the back room. 

“Chester!” cries Angela. “What are you doing here! Where’s the sitter?”

I let out a pained meow. Officer Lincoln seems to get the message. 

“We need to move!” he barks. “Now!” Angela, an officer that I don’t recognize, and I sprint out of the store, pursued by the lady behind the counter who tears off her apron to reveal a crisp, blue uniform. On the corner, we run into Ms. A and Robert dressed up as business people carrying briefcases. I hiss as an indication that these are the evil ones.

“Hands up!” chime all three of the police officers, brandishing pistols at them.

Ms. A and Robert, who are not expecting to be caught, drop their briefcases and bolt in the other direction. What happens next is so bewildering I myself can’t believe it is happening. Angela takes a tranquilizer from who knows where and shoots them both square in the bottom. They drop to the floor. As the officer cuffs Robert and Ms. A and pries open the briefcases to reveal a syringe loaded with arsenic and two pistols, Angela engulfs me in kisses. It feels good after what I have just been through.

Epilogue

I am perched on top of a soft, furry stool made of the same material of my cat castle back home.

A news reporter squishes her powder-caked face against mine for a photo. When I agreed to have a news feature done about me, I didn’t know that people would be invading my personal space and rubbing their grubby little fingers on my sleek, glossy fur. I am so relieved when it’s time to go home to all my new friends. Officer Lincoln, the other two officers, Henry, and Angela are throwing me a ‘surprise’ party. Henry let it slip, and now I know. Life is good.

Nia’s mom suddenly collapsed on the floor. Nia knew what this meant; her mom was dead. This maybe happened because her mom had a serious disease. Nia rushed to the hospital with her mom immediately and asked her mom’s doctor if her mom was officially dead.

The doctor checked if she was breathing and said, “She is officially dead because of a rare heart attack.”

Nia burst into tears. 

Later that day, her dad gave Nia a Ouija board. Nia didn’t know what was this was, so she asked. 

Her dad responded, “It’s used to summon dead people, like your mom, at three o’clock in the morning.”

Nia knew exactly what to do: summon her mom. It was already nine, and Nia’s dad told her that if she wanted to summon her mom, she needed to wake up at three in the morning. 

Nia was thinking how strange it was that her dad gave her a free gift, but after she thought that, her dad said, “And after you summon your mom, do the chores.”

Nia went straight to sleep and set an alarm for two in the morning. 

Ring ring ring! The sound of the alarm woke up Nia, and she went straight to her computer and searched up how to use a Ouija board. There were lots of suggestions, and they were all the same, so Nia picked a random one. She followed the instructions and prepared the Ouija board, and when she heard another timer, she knew it was time to summon her mom.

She said the old and un-understandable words, and she said, “Mom, come alive.”

Nia saw the lights flickering, and she heard a soft breeze. It started smelling weird, like yogurt with perfume in it. The windows were opening and shutting closed, along with the door. Suddenly, she heard a voice, and she saw a strange shadow come out of the Ouija board. She knew it was her mom. 

Her mom said, “Why did you wake me from my peaceful sleep?” in a low, dark voice. 

It was spooky, but Nia answered, “Because I want you to come back.”

Nia’s mom asked her, “How are you going to do that?”

Nia responded back, saying, “Well, I’ll just keep you a ghost, and you’ll just stay with me forever. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.” 

Her mom said back, ”You’re such a child! Of course you can’t do that, silly.” Nia noticed her mom’s voice was cranky. Maybe that was because she had a hard fall. Her mom suddenly said, “I want to go back to sleep. Bye bye.” 

Nia followed the steps and said bye to her mom. Her mom disappeared, and all the creepy things suddenly stopped. Nia thought that the Ouija board wasn’t as scary as she thought. It was sort of like FaceTime. Nia knew she was going to look at her mom every day, but now she needed to do the chores.

After she was done with the chores, she plopped down on the sofa and took the remote and put on Birdbox. Since Nia was only 12, she felt really brave facing her fears of the Ouija board. When the movie was on, she was thinking about why her dad gave her the gift of the Ouija board. She paused the TV and went to her dad. 

Her dad said, “Shoo away little fly, I’m trying to focus!”

He was playing Fortnite on a video game console. She felt okay because she was used to her dad saying this to her. 

Nia asked her dad why did he gave the Ouija board to her. 

The dad answered by saying, “Well, it’s been in the family for generations, and now I’m passing it on to you. My mom also died, and my mom’s mom also died, and so on and so forth. And this time your mom died, so I’m giving the board to you.” Nia understood and went back to the TV. Nia’s dad said right after that, “Well, I think you missed a spot. A big one.” 

Nia went back to work and when she was finished, she went back to the sofa. But before her eyes, she saw her dad watching his favorite movie on Netflix called Shine. Nia was used to this, but she always thought to herself, What a creepy movie. But she also thought to herself, What a creepy family I have. Nia suddenly heard in the movie that a girl lost her mom and summoned her on the Ouija board. That girl sounded like Nia. She wondered if the story was based on her, but she was sure it wasn’t. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, she thought to herself. She plopped on the sofa again with her dad, but this time she was slouching. She started watching the show with her dad. The dad looked at her with sad and fierce eyes combined. Nia thought that maybe her dad was scared, so she grabbed the remote and paused it.

But Nia’s dad said, “Hey, don’t pause it. I want to keep on watching!” 

Nia asked, “Then why do you have fierce and sad eyes all at once?”

“You know how this story is kind of based on our family?”

”Yeah,” Nia said.

“In the movie the dad dies, so I’m worried that I will die like the dad in the movie scene, since it might be based on our family.” 

“I don’t want you to die,” said Nia. 

The dad said, “It’s fine if I die. At least I won’t need to be with you. If I die, you will need to stay home by yourself and cook and sleep and make the beds, but at least you will have the whole apartment to yourself.”

The next day when the dad was calmly eating breakfast, he dramatically collapsed on the floor, just like Nia’s mom. Nia was still sleeping. When she heard her alarm, she woke up. She had forgotten to call her mom. When Nia woke up and saw her dad, she put her knees on the floor and started crying as loud as she could. Tears were flowing down her cheeks like a waterfall. Nia decided that if her whole family was dead, then why couldn’t she be dead? Nia planned to kill herself with the sharpest knife she could find in the kitchen, but right before she was going to go on the Ouija board and summon the ghosts of her parents. She got her computer and the Ouija board, but it was not three o’clock yet, so she went to her bed and started dreaming about how Shine was correct about how her dad died. She woke up at exactly three and started saying the words on the Ouija board. Then the creepy things happened again, like the windows opened and shut, and it smelled weird, and this time she heard lightning outside. Two shadows now appeared, coming out of the board, and this time it was her mom and her dad.

She heard voices saying, “Hello.” 

She saw her parents on the board and said, “Hello,” back. 

The mom said, “I miss you so much.” 

Nia said, “I’m seeing you every day.”

The mom said back, “Well, it’s not like I can actually see you in real life. Now, I just remembered that today, your grandparents are going to move to Hawaii so they can see you. The Philippines is having some trouble with politics and your grandparents lived in the Philippines. Maybe you can go live with Grandpa and Grandma.”

Nia said to her mom, “That’s a much better idea than killing myself.”

The mom said, “You were gonna kill yourself?” Her eyes and mouth were wide open. 

Nia said back, “Yes I was going to plan to kill myself, but now since you gave me the idea to go live with Grandma and Grandpa, I can finally have a happy ending! When are they coming?”

Mom said, “Today!” 

“What time?” Nia said. 

“Right now!”

Nia said, for the last time, “Do you think that they’re here right now? What house are they gonna move to?”

The mom said, “They’re going to move to the open apartment on our apartment floor.”

“Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad,” said Nia. 

The dad ignored her, but the mom said, “Bye.”

Nia followed the steps to pause the Ouija board, and then she took the keys and unlocked the door. She ran to the apartment on her floor. She saw her grandma and grandpa waiting for her, and they looked surprisingly young.

They said that they were only 44 years old and Nia said, “Hey, that’s just as old as my parents, and they’re dead already!” 

They looked at Nia, surprised and shocked, and they said at the same time, “What? They’re dead? We’re their parents!”

“Yep. They’re dead.”

Then the grandparents pulled out a surprise for Nia. Nia had forgotten that it was her birthday. Their present was an iPhone X Super and a picture with Nia’s grandparents that had more than a billion dollars. 

Nia lived happily ever after with her grandparents. 

The End

One day in the middle of summer, Mummy Dragon was sitting on the top of the mountain in her dark and narrow cave, sitting on her eggs. Then she was hungry, so she flew off to the top of the woods to find food. As she flew off, her feet pushed one of the eggs down the mountain. The mummy dragon didn’t notice that one of her spotty eggs slipped out of the cave. 

Meanwhile, Lucy was in the house of her stepmother because her real mother got stuck in a car crash. Her stepmother had just kicked her out of the house. She went to the mountain to think about her lovely mom by the bushy bushes. Suddenly, the egg rolled out of the bush. Lucy was shocked. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. She ran back home with the egg in her arms. When she got there, her stepmother shouted at Lucy and said, “Get that smelly egg out of the house!”

Lucy then walked up a hill and found a palace. The palace had big cones at the top and had soldiers guarding the gate with big, fluffy hats. I think this is because the queen wanted to be mean by making them hot. It was so hot that the soldiers felt like it was cold, so they didn’t really mind.

So, back to the story. Lucy went into the palace and met a queen that was very wicked. She would always trick people with her nasty tricks. Lucy told the queen that she found this egg near the mountain of dragons.

The queen made a wicked smile and said, “Come here, my dear, and I’ll show you a cozy bed for your eggs to stay in.” Lucy followed her into a dark room. She said, “Bye, have fun!”

But as she closed the door, Lucy fell into something’s mouth. What could it be…?

It was a dragon! It was actually the egg’s mom that the queen’s servants had caught before. Lucy kicked and shouted, but the dragon wouldn’t let her out. Then, Lucy had an idea! She could rub the dragon’s tummy and make her sneeze, and then she shot out of the dragon’s mouth. That’s when the dragon noticed that the egg Lucy was holding was one of her babies because the egg just hatched. The mummy dragon got mad at Lucy and thought Lucy was trying to steal her babies, but the egg didn’t call her Mummy. She called Lucy Mummy, so she knew that Lucy had taken care of her babies and thanked her. So, she decided to fly Lucy back home. 

When they got there, Mummy Dragon noticed that Lucy’s face fell, so she asked Lucy, “Why are you looking so sad?

Lucy sadly told Mummy Dragon the story of her stepmother. 

Mummy Dragon decided to secretly burn the stepmother. So, they made a plan to burn the wicked stepmother. So, when the stepmother went out to call Lucy to do her chores, Mummy Dragon blew fire at the stepmother, and the stepmother turned black. 

So right now, Lucy lives with the mummy dragon, and the mummy dragon teaches her how to be a dragon. So she turns into a human dragon.

The End

Once upon a time, there was a girl dog named Molly, and she could run super fast. Molly was very energetic. All Molly wanted was to go to explore the galaxy.

Molly’s mom was a cat, and her dad was a dinosaur. She also had a little brother named Austin, who was also a dog. In two days Molly was going to turn 13 years old. So, her family started to plan a trip to explore the galaxy, just like Molly wanted. The dad was trying to get some rocket fuel for their rocket so they could have enough energy for the rocket to see everything in outer space.

On the day of Molly’s birthday, her parents told her about the trip they were going to have for her birthday. When everything was ready, the mom started the engine for the rocket and they blasted off into space. They saw all the stars twinkle in the sky.

But, there was a hole in their rocket, and fuel started to fall, well, float away. Molly was trying to think about how she could block the hole. She saw that her brother was chewing on mega-stretchy gum. She got a stick of gum, and she started to stretch it out. When the candy was big enough, she was able to block the hole, and no more fuel was coming out. 

Molly’s mom started the engine of the rocket again, and they were off. Molly saw so many different planets she had never seen. She saw Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune so far. Austin, the brother, took some photos on his camera. The dad was feeling a bit hot, so he opened a big window.

There was a big turn up ahead, however. When the mom turned the wheel, Molly fell out the window. Luckily, she had her space helmet on. She was floating away from the rocket. The family was freaking out. They went to go stop at a gas station, and they saw her getting farther and farther. Near the gas station was a shop. So, the dad bought some rope to swing the rope like a lasso.

Meanwhile, Molly saw herself getting away from her family. She started to relax, and she saw more planets, like Jupiter, Mars, and Earth. Earth was Molly’s favorite planet. She saw her family going to the shops, and they bought rope. Molly was very confused. Then she realized that her family was trying to save her. So, Molly tried to float closer to her family. 

The dad swung the rope, and Molly caught it, and they went back to their rocket. They saw the last and final planets. They saw Venus and Mercury. Then Molly saw… the sun!

Molly had the best birthday ever, and she would never forget this day.

It was a bright and sunny day outside on the planet Pluto, and Molly was in her house and had her favorite yellow hat on (she couldn’t put on a shirt or pants because she was a dog). She was also taking out the photos from her birthday, which was yesterday. Molly was thinking that she could go back to space. However, from what happened on her birthday, Molly’s parents wouldn’t want to go back out there. Her mom and dad did not want her to go and lose her again. But, Molly remembered she had a telescope, so now she could always see the stars and planets in space. 

Deep in the Amazon rainforest, my team and I, an elite group of ninjas, sat in our protective tent and did a final run-through of our plan. 

“Okay, first step?” asked August. August was a trained dancer who used to work in the circus. Just like all of us girls, she’s a GEM (Genetically Engineered Mutant). August’s DNA was mixed with a feather, so she had the ability to become weightless at will. August was thirteen years old.

“Sneak up to Dr. Penski’s secret lab,” replied May. Dr. Penski was the mad scientist who created us. He mutated animal life as a hobby, and we are all sworn to stop his evil plots. May’s DNA was mixed with coral. She could communicate with sea animals.

“Next step?” questioned June. June’s DNA was created with glass. She could turn invisible whenever she wanted.

“Take out the guards and sneak in,” said December. December’s DNA was mixed in with clouds. She could control the weather with her feelings. December was 16. 

“Final step?” quizzed January. January’s DNA had a piece of a dead person’s brain in it (yes, I know, sounds kind of creepy, but if you see it, it’s really cool). She could summon and control the undead. January was 17.

“Crush Dr. Penski!” I exclaimed, pounding my fist into my hand. I was 18. My name is April. My DNA is mutated with a bit of all animals. Don’t ask me how, but Dr. Penski is more powerful than you think. I was supposed to be his ultimate weapon, able to morph into any animal. But for an IQ of 300, he’s pretty clueless in keeping ‘henchmen’ in his favor. Because if you ask me, if you want people to stay with you, don’t leave them in tiny, cramped cages with barely enough food or water. And now look at us, escaped mutated beings out to kill him. Nice move, Dr. Penski! Anyways, lesson of the day, kids: Don’t imprison genetically engineered beings and expect them to work for you.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” yelled December, jumping up to her feet as a burst of brilliant sunlight illuminated her face. 

“Um, it’s that way,” said January, a rotting hand reaching out of the ground and pointing.

We swiftly jumped into the trees and ran quickly towards the secret lab, pulling up our masks and carefully sticking to the shadows.

Finally, we reached the secret lab. The entrance was hidden behind a curtain of moss, and the lab was disguised as an enormous stone. The lab was surrounded by guards.

Step one, complete, I thought. Now for step two.

“Now!” yelled May. 

“So much for a covert mission,” I said to myself.

Then all hell broke loose. Literally. Because January yelled and zombies rose from the ground and started attacking the guards and dragging them underground. 

August started floating around and kicking guards’ heads. She whirled around, kicking up, down, left, right, and around. Unconscious guards littered the ground.

June turned invisible and started pranking the guards, pulling down pants, yanking ears and noses, giving wedgies, and generally having a great time. She was just seven, after all.

December summoned a tornado that swept up the guards. She also made lightning strike the guards and fried them till they were crispy — the way I like my toast.

May just kicked and punched since she couldn’t really summon sea animals on land, but I wouldn’t be worried because man that six-year-old can hit.

I morphed into different animals and slashed, scratched, bit, and tackled until I felt like collapsing.

Finally, all the guards were either unconscious, dizzy, fried, pranked, or sucked to hell never to be seen again. Your average day in the life of a genetically engineered mutant. Pretty simple stuff.

“Okay, guys, be careful when you go in. We haven’t taken out all of the guards yet,” reminded June, turning visible and looking slightly out of breath from all of her vicious pranking. She turned invisible again, and we heard her say, “Let’s move!” 

Step three initiate! I thought excitedly as we crept stealthily inside. 

I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the dark, gloomy atmosphere of Dr. Penski’s laboratory.

“Brings back bad memories, doesn’t it?” June said, shuddering as she turned visible.

I shivered as I remembered being trapped in a tiny cage, unable to shapeshift or move.

“Let’s get this over with quickly,” said May, whimpering and grabbing hold of my hand. 

“Yeah,” I agreed, squeezing her hand gently.

We moved through the dark hallway, silent as a group of ninjas. Which I guess we were. 

We reached the end of the hall and peeked past the wall. We saw the hunched back of Dr. Penski, who was leaning over another one of his poor test subjects. He was chuckling evilly.

“A drop of spider DNA, a scorpion’s tail, ten strands of monkey fur… Complete!” he cackled. “Behold my latest creation: the spider-monkey!” A hulking monkey rose from the mist. But this wasn’t just some ordinary monkey. The monkey had eight long, hairy legs and a scorpion’s tail. The guards cheered and clapped. Dr. Penski stood proudly and admired his creation. “Beautiful!” he bragged. He clapped his hands, and the guards dragged the creature into a cage alongside the many other cages filled with mutant beasts, then exited the room.

The beasts were truly, well, gross. They snarled and clawed at the bars of the cages. Honestly, they had a speck of my sympathy. Technically, they were like us: genetically engineered mutants trapped in cages.

Come to Dr. Penski’s Mutant Emporium! (At your own risk)

• A whale/shark
• A donkey/monkey/snake
• A snake/scorpion/spider
• A zebra/lion/tiger/leopard
• A wolf/lion/cheetah
• And much more!

Entry fee: Your life

“He’s been at work since three years ago,” June muttered, flickering in anxiety. 

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get him,” said May.

  But something was wrong. My senses tingled as I scanned the room. The target was easy. Too easy.

A second too late I realized, “Wait, why did the guards leave?”

But it was too late. May, June, January, December, and August were already rushing into battle. 

Dr. Penski turned around and smirked. “E for effort, girls! Nice try. But you can’t scream ‘now’, annihilate my guards, and not expect me to notice! Guards, get em’!”

Guards rushed into the room, swarming around them. I knew we should have gone with covert, I thought, charging into battle.

The guards outnumbered us 20 to one. And no matter how amazing our powers were, we couldn’t defeat them. Eventually, they tied us up with rope and dragged us before Dr. Penski.

“Nice to see you again, daughters!” he cackled.

“Call us that one more time, and I swear, I will rip you apart piece by piece, you [this part was taken out by the editor]!” said January.

“I’d like to see you try!” Dr. Penski sneered. He clapped his hands, and the guards dragged us together. “I have a proposition for you. Work for me, and I’ll set you free!”

“No way!” we all declared simultaneously.

He started pacing around and muttering under his breath. Then he brightened.

“What if I told you that I would feed you to my mutants?”

We glanced at each other. “Still no,” we said.

He sagged.

“It’ll be painful… ”

“Nope.”

“Please?”

“Nuh-uh.”

He slumped. “Fine!” he declared. “The beasts it is.”

The guards pulled us towards the cages. I tried to shapeshift, but I couldn’t. The ground shook with the undead trying to surface. Thunder rumbled outside. June… hold on, where was June?

“Where’s June?” I whispered to January. 

“Uh… hold on, where is June?” she whisper-shouted.

“That’s what I asked you,” I pointed out.

“Do you think… ?” she trailed off.

“Just maybe… ?” We grinned at each other.

“Prepare to meet your doom!” screamed Dr. Penski. His robots started dancing. 

“D-O-O-M!” his robots chanted, standing on each others’ shoulders and waving pink sparkly pom poms in the air. “Your doom!”

“O-kay?” said August. “I’m not pretending that wasn’t terrible coordination and flips back there. They were. Now, I really thought you could have added a backflip at the end followed by a front handspring. The choreography was not too shabby, but you had too much transition time. Now, remember if your velocity downwards reaches over six miles per hour, you need to go down head first and tuck into a shoulder-roll 4.009 seconds before you make contact with the ground, and — ”

“Enough!” thundered Dr. Penski. “No one messes with my beautiful choreography and gets away with it! I will release my — !” He reached down to press the button to open the cage doors. 

“Not so fast!” An invisible hand reached over and plucked the remote control out of his hands and threw it to the side.

June turned visible, and we all cheered. She planted her hands on her hips and smiled triumphantly. She began working on our ropes, using a shard of glass. Finally, I was free! I shook myself out of the ropes, morphed into a jaguar, and used my sharp claws to free the rest of our GEMs. But just as I turned to smile at June, a shadow lurked behind May, grabbed her, and pressed a dagger to her neck. 

“May!” we all screamed.

“Stop attacking, and move silently into that cage, no funny business — or the girl dies!” snarled Dr. Penski.

“How could you?! She’s only six years old!” I screamed at Penski.

“The more reason to threaten you!”

“Leave her alone!” yelled January. 

“Ten, nine, eight!” He pressed harder, and May gave a stifled scream. 

Maybe… I thought.

The other GEMs moved into the cage, but I stood my ground, hatching a plan. 

“Seven, six, five!” he glared at me.

“April, please! What are you thinking?!” shrieked December.

Rain splattered the ground outside.

I didn’t move or respond, pursing my lips and steeling my nerves. If we wanted to be free, I had to take this chance. 

“April! Don’t be selfish!” yelled June.

“Four, three, two — ”

I kicked into action. I morphed into a cheetah and charged into Penski at lightning speed. Everything slowed down.

“No!” he shrieked. 

“Yes!” cheered May.

I rammed into Dr. Penski at full speed.

“Oof!” he grunted.

I let the GEMs out of their cages. June hugged May so fiercely that May’s face turned blue. 

“You had us worried sick!” she scolded. 

But in all the excitement, Dr. Penski reached the remote control! He grabbed it. “Mwa ha ha ha,” he cackled. “Prepare for the end of your worthless little lives — my worst monster! Meet Cerberus!” He slammed his hand on a button, releasing a cage door. An enormous three-headed dog leaped out. 

The beast had a scorpion’s tail, three sets of dripping poison jaws, and monstrous wings. The GEMs and I gaped in horror. 

“Attack!” yelled Penski. The monster lunged for us.

“Dodge under!” commanded January.

We slid under the giant dog and joined together behind him. 

“Okay, guys, you know the drill,” January sighed.

We assumed a fighting stance and gathered all our power. Zombies rose from the ground. Electricity crackled in the air. I morphed into a dragon. June turned invisible. August became weightless. The sea animals sloshed around in their tanks.

Cerberus turned around and roared. August and June jumped and climbed on top of the dog as a distraction. They pulled at his dark, grisly fur and screamed in his ears. The confused beast lumbered around and looked for the annoyance, leaving the coast clear for the rest of us. January’s zombies clambered on top of him. The sea animals churned up water and engulfed him. Lightning struck the water and electrocuted him. We had him pinned down… or so we thought.

Suddenly, Penski’s creation rose up and shook off the attacks. 

“Ha ha ha! Well done, my baby!” yelled Penski.

Cerberus struck down my sisters and hooked them up with his claws, choking them. My blood boiled. No one harms my siblings and gets away with it! I roared with fury as I spread my scaly wings. Rushing towards the monster, I struck him with my foot. He stumbled back and slashed me painfully on the face. I slapped him with my tail and pinned him to the ground. I raised my claws for the kill. But just as I brought my hand down, I hesitated. 

This beast is like us, I thought. Maybe it doesn’t deserve to die. Maybe it’s like another GEM, a mutant designed to kill. Maybe if I just let it go… Hold on, April, what are you thinking?! It hurt my sisters! But also… 

“April… I can’t breathe… ” choked May. 

“What are you waiting for?” gasped August.

That set me off. Once again, I brought my claw down, this time harder. I shuddered and closed my eyes when I heard the beast’s pitiful whimper as it took its final breath and went limp under me. I turned back to a human and closed my eyes in sorrow. A single tear slid down my cheek as I sank to my knees. I let out a sob and squeezed my eyes shut.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“You did the right thing,” January said. “I know it’s hard, but you did.”

“I know how it feels,” August said. “Remember the Chicago Mission?” I nodded, remembering Penski’s snake/bird.

May walked up to me, her big brown eyes shining with tears. “Thank you, April,” she whispered.

“Wow, that was beautiful! But I’m going to destroy you!” declared Penski half-heartedly.

“Face it, Penski! It’s over for you!” December said, planting her hands on her hips.

“Fine, but if it is, it’s over for you too! Guards, initiate self-destruct!” 

The GEMs and I stared at each other in shock.

“He wouldn’t do that, would he?” January asked.

“I think he just did,” I replied.

“Let’s go!” yelled June.

We rushed towards the exit.

“Blocked!” screamed December.

A hole in the roof blew up, and I had an idea. I morphed into a dragon.

“Get on my back!” I yelled over the sound of crumbling debris. They obeyed, and I soared into the starry night sky, seconds before the lab blew up. 

Then everything was quiet. A light breeze ruffled the GEMs’ hair as we soared above the clouds. We shared an understanding moment of silence. 

“Wow,” January murmured.

“Yeah,” June agreed.

And that summed it all up. Our dad commited suicide, I killed a sibling, May almost died. But it was all okay. Because being there, flying with my sisters on a beautiful night, I knew that I didn’t need anything else in the world as long as I had them. And I did. I had my GEMs. My beautiful gems.

Hi, I’m Lilah! I’m an ant. I hope you know a lot about ants, otherwise this story is going to make no sense. In my humble opinion, it’s pretty cool. FYI, ants are mostly girls. The males kind of just sit around the anthill until they go on a mating flight. Then they die. Anyway, the queen of this hill is all our moms. She gave birth to us. My job as a worker ant is to find food. But I’d rather watch the humans. They are really interesting. And I can actually understand their language.

We live right next to the house of Tony Relez. He recently divorced Elena W. His daughter is named Lucy. Now I’m hearing something really interesting.

“But Daddy, I want an ant farm!”

Wait — what?

“Yes, Lucy, but where would we get the ants?”

Oh, good. They can’t have one now. They won’t find us.

“There’s an anthill out back!”

Oh no. She knows! This is bad news. I need to tell mom! What? The queen is my mom.

I run in and to the queen’s private chamber.

“Mom! The people outside are going to capture us and put us in an ant farm!”

“Really?” Mom says skeptically. “I don’t remember that the humans know we exist.”

“Yes, it’s true! I heard them! Come see for yourself!”

“Very well,” Mom says.

We crawl out, and I show her.

Tony was just saying, “Okay, I’ll order the ant farm today.”

“See?” I say, annoyed.

“Oh no!!!” Mom says, ignoring me.

“We have to run away!” I sigh.

She never notices me.

Mom starts yelling to everybody. “We need to start packing up! Everybody, gather your things! Food! Don’t forget food! Carry as much food as you can!”

See? She never notices me. The bad part of this is, our anthill is so big. It can sometimes take days to notify everyone. I hope the ant farm takes a long time to deliver. 

It doesn’t. After three days, a package arrives. I can read human language. It’s the ant farm. The problem is, we are still packing up. Oh! Good news! We’re almost done. Uh-oh. The people are coming over with the ant farm. I get a lurching feeling in my stomach. They’re putting sand in. Tony has a funnel in his hand, Lucy a shovel. They take sand from the sandbox and fill up the ant farm. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. This is my fate, and I’m just sitting and watching it? I guess I just love to watch humans. That will never go away.

Mom yells, “Okay, we’re ready!”

“Wait no!” I yell.

Tony has finished filling up the ant farm. They’re ready to look for ants now.

Lucy yells, “Look!”

The whole population of the anthill is streaming out. Blast it! Blast, blast, blast it. Talk about bad timing! They’re definitely going to capture us now. Tony grabs an index card and holds it on the ground. The other ants are walking up to the card and checking it out.

“No!” I yell, but it’s too late.

In one quick movement, Tony picks up the card, opens the ant farm, and taps in the card. I feel like I’m next, and I’m right.

Tony puts the card in front of me, his hands blocking the sides. I have no escape. Sighing, I step onto the card. He puts the card on the hole to the ant farm. I’m doomed! I’m slipping… I can’t hold on much longer. Finally I give up and let go of the card. I fall in. 

“Ow!!!” It hurts. A lot. Instead of moist soil like I’m used to, I land on hard-packed sand. I see lots of ants here, too. Ella, Mya, Lou, and others. But not Mom. That’s good, I guess, but without her we can’t reproduce. We’ll all die here eventually.

Old woman Lina speaks first. “The humans have sealed our fates. We will… ” Her voice drifts off.

“Can I just be the one to say it?” I ask. I don’t wait for an answer. “We’re going to die here.” They all stare at me with did-you-really-have-to-say-that-we’re-already-in-a-bad-situation looks on their faces. I’m like, “Jeez, someone had to say it.” Now they have seriously-you’re-so-dark looks on their faces. I tune out then. These people are too much. I’m watching the humans now. 

Tony says, “I think that’s enough ants. Let’s go back inside and water the ants.”

I take this as a big insult. We’re animals, not plants! We don’t need to be watered! But soon I see what he meant. He takes a dropper and squeezes water into the sand. Now the sand is nice and moist. I lick some of the drops of water. It tastes delicious. I’ve been thirsty for a few days. There’s only so much water on the front porch, where our anthill used to be. I don’t know. I could get used to this. 

One month later… 

Living in an ant farm is actually not bad. We get water every day and food every week. And not bad food, either. Yummy stuff like pizza cheese that’s still melty and honey nut granola. The water is always nice. There’s only been one crisis. 

Okay so — about a week into when we got into the ant farm Lucy said, “Daddy, they’re not tunnelling… I don’t like them!”

“Okay,” said Tony, “We can get new ants.”

I gasped — what were they going to do? My question was answered soon enough.

Tony said, “Let’s dump these out where we got them.”

“Okay!” said Lucy.

Luckily I heard them.

“Guys, start tunnelling!” I yelled.

“Why?” asked Mya.

“Because, trust me, the humans are going to dump us out if you don’t.”

“Okay whatever,” they said.

“It’ll be something to do. We’re getting kind of bored.”

We started tunnelling as fast as we could. Actually, I was the only one really tunnelling because I was the only one that really cared. Fortunately our hard work paid off.

Lucy said, “Daddy, look! They’re tunnelling.”

Tony said, “Okay then, sweetheart, we don’t have to dump them out.”

Well, that was pretty much it for the crisis.

 Anyway, everything continued normally, pretty much. That is, until that one fateful day.

That day Lucy came downstairs from her bedroom crying. I wondered what had happened. Maybe Tony was getting remarried? But those weren’t happy tears.

“But Daddy, I want to keep them!”

Uh-oh. Is she talking about us?

“Honey, we’re moving.”

Wait — what?

“Your ants couldn’t possibly survive the drive.”

Wait — what? They’re moving and leaving us behind? This is horrible. 

“Like I said, we can leave them on a stoop sale and some other kid could take them.”

“But Daddy, I don’t want to move,” said Lucy.

“Yes, but we have to go today,” said Tony. “The rent is going up.” I’m devastated. Are they just going to leave us behind? This is horrible. “And we have to go today. I already ordered a moving truck.” Even worse! 

Even worse! I can’t leave her. It’s embarrassing to say, but I’ve really gotten attached to Lucy. And she’s gotten attached to us. I need to think. I really like Lucy. I can’t go with another kid. They might not give me pizza and granola. I’ve made up my mind. I’m going with them. But by now they’re getting in the truck. There’s nothing I can do… is there?

“Guys!” I say. “We have to go with them! We have to get out of here!”

“Why?” they ask.

“Because!” I sigh.

They will never understand me. I climb up and to the top of the ant farm, leaving them behind. In all the rush, Tony left the hatch open. I scamper out. By now the truck is pulling away. I can still make it! I run as fast as I can. It pays off. I grab onto a wheel and run up to the top. I jump up. I’m now on the big part of the truck. I run over to the window. It takes a long time. But thankfully Tony left it open. I climb in, unnoticed. I’m with Lucy, finally. 

The End

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Helen. She was married to a prince named Connor. They had lived a happy life together, but they wished for something more. A child. They had a child but couldn’t agree on a name. Princess Helen wanted to name her Ella. Prince Connor wanted to name her Rose. But the prince gave in, and so they named her Ella, but then decided her middle name would be Rose. Though, the prince and princess drifted apart over the years. Connor thought the princess was too selfish, his reasoning always being that they had chosen Ella as their daughter’s name instead of Rose. Princess Helen always said that Connor gave in in the end, and he agreed so it was fair. And, she said they had given her the middle name he wanted.

By the time Ella was two, Princess Helen and Prince Connor couldn’t stand each other. They would do everything separately. They also would fight over who would get to take Ella somewhere. For example, if Princess Helen went shopping, she would want to take Ella with her, but then Prince Connor would want to take Ella to an amusement park. Of course, he did this so that Ella would want to be with him instead of her mother. Ella would’ve wanted to go to the amusement park with her dad, because that would be fun, but she wouldn’t want to disappoint her mom. Even though she was little, she was very smart. Ella understood why her parents were fighting, but she didn’t understand why they got together in the first place. Why would they decide to marry each other in the first place, she thought, if they’re constantly fighting? She didn’t really remember anything from when she was little, so she didn’t remember how her parents acted before they started fighting. 

It was the day before Ella’s fourth birthday, and she was super excited. She was playing with her dolls in her room when she heard her parents fighting. She peeked into the living room where her mom was yelling at her dad.

“You can’t just walk out before Ella’s fourth birthday!” Princess Helen looked furious. 

“It’ll be better for Ella if I leave! How do you think Ella feels about us fighting all the time?”

Princess Helen paused. Ella held her breath. Prince Connor picked up a suitcase from the floor and walked to the door. He opened it. Ella ran out of her room and went to where her father was standing.

“Y-you can’t leave!” she cried.

Her father looked back at her with his watery blue eyes. He didn’t say anything at first. 

He gave her a hug and said, ”I love you. I will never forget you.”

And with that, he walked out and shut the door behind them. Ella stared at the door for a moment, tears in her eyes. Then she ran past her mother and into her bedroom. She flopped onto her bed and pushed her face into the pillow. She started to cry. Why did he have to leave? she thought. At least he understood what it was like for me to be in this situation, but there were other ways to solve the problem!

Princess Helen came into Ella’s room and sat on her bed.

Her face pale, she said, almost in a whisper, “I’m sorry.”

She couldn’t think of any words to comfort Ella, so she just sat on her bed for a while, until it was time for dinner. It was a very grim night that night. Neither Ella nor her mother said much. Princess Helen asked Ella if she wanted to sleep with her that night, but Ella refused. She didn’t want to think about what happened. She hugged her bear stuffed animal and tried to fall asleep. Why did he have to walk out like that? she thought as a tear rolled down her cheek. Why? After a while, Ella fell asleep, and the darkness of night fell upon the town.

December 28, 2006

It was Ella’s first day of sixth grade. Ella sat at her desk in class. She was taking a math test. Even though Ella had just started going to this school, at her elementary school, a few people recognized her and would follow her around and try to be her friend. But of course, none of her “admirers” understood what she was going through. It was also hard for her to make real friends because people might just want her for her fame. She had had a “friend” the year before at the beginning of fifth grade named Ashley who had seemed nice enough, but then one day, Ella saw Ashley on her phone. Here, let’s rewind. It was the end of the day, and Ella and Ashley were walking home together. 

“What are you doing?” asked Ella. 

“Just posting pictures on my story,” said Ashley. 

“Your story?” Ella asked. 

“On Instagram,” Ashley explained. 

Ashley showed Ella her phone. She was posting a picture of her and Ella.

“Don’t post those on your story!” Ella said.

“Why not?” said Ashley.

She paused and thought for a moment. 

“Actually, good point. They only stay for 24 hours. I’ll just post it regularly.”

Ashley tapped something on her phone. Then Ella realized something.

“Why do you need to post those on your story?” asked Ella.

“Uhhhh… ” said Ashley. “‘Cause we’re friends?”

“Let me see your phone!” Ella demanded.

They stopped walking. Ella scrolled through Ashley’s Instagram posts. Almost all of them were of her and Ella. Ella quickly scrolled down to the bottom where the first picture Ashley had posted was. Ashley looked worried. The first picture Ashley had posted was a selfie of her and Ella. It was also the day she had started the account. Ella knew this because Ella had asked Ashley what she was doing on her phone and Ashley had said she was setting up an Instagram account. And Ella also remembered that that picture was taken on the first day of fifth grade, which was when Ashley started the account. When Ashley had asked to take a picture with Ella, Ella had just thought, Eh, whatever, it can’t hurt. I’ll let her take a picture with me. But after seeing Ashley’s Instagram posts, Ella knew that Ashley had only been using her for her fame and popularity. Ella handed back Ashley’s phone and walked over to her limo driver’s car. Because of people like Ashley, Ella moved to a new school to get a fresh start. There she met Hannah. Hannah became Ella’s real and true friend. She was always there for Ella when she needed her. Coincidently, they got into the same middle school. But anyway, back to the math test. Ella looked at her paper. X=15-10. Solve for X. Ugh, what’s the point of these tests? Ella thought. She answered the question, then moved on to the next.

When Ella and the class was done with the test, everyone filed out of the classroom. They had a free period. 

As Ella walked out, a girl named Jessica from her class caught up to her and said, hurriedly, “Are you Ella Rose Welton?” 

“Umm, yes?” answered Ella awkwardly.

Jessica gasped and ran over to her friends, Elizabeth and Bridget. “It’s true!” she said excitedly.

Elizabeth and Bridget squealed. 

“Eeeeeeeee!!!” they screeched.

What the heck is wrong with them? thought Ella. They sound like dying pigs!

Jessica, Elizabeth, and Bridget talked together for a few seconds and then came over. 

Elizabeth asked, “Want to be friends with us?”

“Oops, I’m late for class, gotta go,” said Ella, pretending to check her watch.

She quickly walked away. 

“But it’s free period!” said Bridget, but it was too late.

Ella was gone.

When Ella was walking with Hannah to have lunch later that day, Jessica, Elizabeth, and Bridget walked over.

“Hey, want to have lunch with us?” asked Bridget, looking hopeful. 

“Sorry, I’m having lunch with Hannah,” said Ella, trying to be polite. 

“Ugh, whatever,” said Jessica. “Let’s go, girls.”

They walked away.

“What is up with them?” said Hannah.

“They asked me if I wanted to be their friend after the math test was over,” said Ella. “I said I had to go to class.”

“Ha,” said Hannah.

Ella and Hannah could tell that Jessica, Elizabeth, and Bridget were not the types of girls they would want to be friends with. They started to walk towards Pizza Hut together.

Then, another girl from Ella’s class (Emily) walked up to Ella and Hannah and said, “Can I eat lunch with you guys?”

She seemed nice enough, so Ella said, “Sure! We’re going to Pizza Hut!”

Hannah smiled. Ella and Hannah looked at each other and nodded.

Ella, Hannah, and Emily walked into pizza hut together. They had lunch together and had a really good time. As they walked back to school, Emily skipped ahead. 

“Want to come over for dinner?” asked Hannah. 

“Sure!” said Ella excitedly.

One and a half hours later… 

It was the end of school, and Ella and Hannah were walking home together.

“Hey, want to stop at the pastry shop?” asked Hannah. 

“Sure!”

They walked to the pastry shop and got their pastries.

“Oh my gosh, these are so good!!” said Ella, eating her pastry. 

“I know, right?” said Hannah.

They stayed in the pastry shop for a while and then headed to Hannah’s house.

“Will your mom be mad that we’re a bit late?” asked Ella.

“Nah, I texted her, it’s fine.”

Ella and Hannah turned the corner and walked up the steps to Hannah’s house. Hannah walked in first, then held the door open for Ella. 

“What are we having for dinner?” asked Ella.

“Probably spaghetti and meatballs again,” said Hannah, chuckling.

 “If we keep having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, I’m going to stop coming over,” Ella joked as she walked in.

Hannah rolled her eyes, smiling. 

“I’ll have to — ” Ella stopped mid-sentence. 

“What is it?” asked Hannah.

Ella ran out of the house as fast as she could and went down the road.

 “Ella!!” yelled Hannah. “What the heck?!”

Hannah slammed the door behind her and ran to where Ella was crouching at the end of the street. She sat down next to her. 

“What happened, Ella?”

 “M-my dad,” said Ella quietly.

 “What about your dad?” said Hannah. 

“He was there,” said Ella even more quietly than she had before. 

“I’m so sorry,” said Hannah. 

“What?” said Ella, looking up at Hannah. 

“Well, I… I kind of… knew before… ” Hannah trailed off.

Ella stood up, anger in her eyes. 

“You knew?!”

 “I… I couldn’t tell you!” said Hannah, backing away slowly. “It’s just… he’s my mom and dad’s friend, and… ”

Dark clouds came into the sky. It became dark out. It started to rain. Hannah could see tears in her friend’s eyes. Hannah had never seen Ella cry before. Hannah met Ella after her father had left, and after her father left, Ella didn’t believe that there was anything else worth crying for. Ella started to cry, and she crouched down on the ground again. Hannah crouched down too.

“Ella, let’s sit on my stoop, and I’ll tell you what happened,” said Hannah gently. They walked over and sat on the front steps of Hannah’s house. Hannah started to explain. “Okay, so my parents have a lot of money, right? They’re pretty wealthy. So, my mom and dad were invited to this cocktail party. My mom’s friend hosted it and invited her and my dad to it. At the party, my mom and dad met your dad, Prince Connor. They quickly became friends. And this was when you and me were already friends. 

“Go on,” said Ella. 

“The night my parents came home from the party, they didn’t say anything to me about meeting your dad there. But, when I was in bed, I heard them talking in their room, and I heard my mom say ‘Connor.’ I ignored it and went to bed thinking that it couldn’t possibly be your dad. But the next day my mom told me how she and my dad met your dad at the cocktail party. Now I understood why she had said ‘Connor’ the night before. I guess my parents were talking about how they met your dad.”

“Oh,” said Ella. She wiped her tears. “How come you didn’t tell me?” 

“Well,” said Hannah. “It’s complicated.”

“Tell me about it,” said Ella.

“Okay,” said Hannah. “For one thing, I didn’t really see why you had to know. But, also, one day, your dad came over for dinner like he did tonight, and my mom told him I was friends with you. I guess she hadn’t told him before, because he had no idea. Just like you had no idea that my mom and dad knew your dad. Well, anyway, after my mom told him that, he told me not to tell you. He said it was because he knew if you knew, you would tell your mom and she would be mad at him for leaving, or something like that.”

“Oh,” said Ella. “Well, does my dad even want to see me now if he didn’t want you to tell me that he was here? And did he see me when I started to walk in?”

“Relax,” said Hannah. “I’m sure he’ll want to see you. Are you sure you’re not mad at me for not telling you?”

“It’s complicated,” said Ella.

She smiled. Hannah could tell Ella was back to her old self.

“Actually, Ella, I asked my mom and dad to invite your dad over for dinner tonight so that I could bring you over and you could see him.”

“Aww, Hannah, that’s so sweet,” said Ella. “I haven’t seen my dad in seven years.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears. She smiled, but it was a sad smile.

“Well, enough sitting around,” said Hannah. “Go in and see your dad.”

Ella got up from where she was sitting, walked up the rest of the steps, and put her hand on the doorknob. She hesitated for a moment. 

“Go on,” said Hannah.

Ella twisted the doorknob and opened the door. Her dad was sitting at the table. He got up. Ella and Prince Connor looked at each other.

THE END

Traxon Laxon is a 24-year-old person from Neptune. In his world, he is a person who is worth a lot of money because everyone wants his special powers. Those powers are flight and fire. People want these powers, so they send their soldiers to capture him, and he always has to hide, and he feels sad because that’s all he does every day. One day his friend told him about a mysterious place called earth. His friend said that nobody ever went to earth and it was a safe place to hide. So one day, he took a spaceship and went off, and nobody has seen him since.

When he got to earth, he didn’t want to be seen because people were going to think that he was from another planet trying to kill them. But then he remembered that he has the ability to transform into anything he touches and so he did. He transformed into a human and was walking around safely.

Three days had passed, and Traxon Laxon had a job as a police officer and friends that were called Zack, John, and Ben. But one day, Traxon Laxon was at his apartment building in Manhattan, and someone rang his doorbell. Traxon Laxon was confused because it was so early in the morning. So he got up to get the door and saw something he never wanted to see. It was the people that were trying to kill him. He knew it was them, because they were holding all kinds of weapons. So Traxon Laxon punched the first two guys with a fist of fire, the next person got hit by a chair, and the last person got hit with a pan in his face.

When he finished fighting, he thought he was done but, no… 

A giant one-eyed monster came into the room and grabbed Traxon Laxon and threw him out the window of the building. So Traxon Laxon flew up to the giant monster and gave him a fist of fire. The one-eyed monster was hurt, so he sent his minions to take care of Traxon Laxon. All of the minions were on top of him, even the one-eyed monster.

There are too many of them, he said in his mind as he looked at the damage he did. He realized he put these people in danger, and his friends. He told himself, I never wanted people to get hurt, especially my friends. But then Traxon Laxon realized if he won the fight, they would still keep looking for him, and he would start hiding all over again. So he did what he had to do and grabbed all the people that were trying to kill him and brought them up to the sky and self-destructed, which killed himself and the people who were trying to kill him. 

One day later, after the big fight, Traxon Laxon was dead, and people were having a funeral. Everyone cried, but they knew it was the best for the city.

Once, there was a young boy from the realm of magic. He was a young wizard and an apprentice of the greatest wizard in all of the realm. His name was Golgemort. And the apprentice’s name was Leo. And in the Earth realm, there was a girl named Rose who knew of the realm of magic in her grandmother’s stories. 

One day, Rose discovered a door covered in symbols in a different language. She tried to open the door, but it didn’t budge. But then, she found a small chest hidden in the snow. And inside was a key with strange handwriting on it. She assumed it was the key to the door. And it was. She opened the door and there was a hall of blue, glowing crystals. And at the other end of the hall there was another door. She walked down the hall and on her way down to the other door, there were little fairies flying around. She opened the door and she saw something beyond her imagination… a young boy… 

A few weeks earlier…

Leo was walking in the woods when he stumbled upon a little hut. Inside it he saw glowing lights. He looked inside and saw an old man. The man looked like the great wizard Golgemort. He tried to enter the house quietly without the man seeing him, but he tripped on a magic wand lying on the ground.

Then, Golgemort turned around and saw the boy lying on the ground. 

“What are you doing in my house?” Golgemort said, his eyes full of rage.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to invade your privacy, I was just curious,” Leo said hurriedly as he took a few steps backward. Not seeing where he was going, he slipped on a puddle of spilled water. As he plummeted towards the floor, he reached out towards the ceiling. Suddenly, his descent slowed to a halt. He was levitating.

Golgemort was shocked. “How are you doing that, boy? I thought I was the only wizard left…”

“The only wizard? I thought there were many wizards.”

“Well, a long time ago, there was a war between the magic realm and the Trolls. We won, but the Trolls kidnapped all the other wizards, but I escaped and I thought I was the only one left.”

“The only what?”

“Were you not listening to me, boy?”

“Not really, no,” Leo replied glumly, looking down at his worn boots. 

“What’s your name, boy?”

“Leo,” he whispered. 

“Speak up, boy!”

“My name’s Leo!” he yelled. 

“Calm down,” Golgemort said. “What is it you want?”

Leo looked up excitedly. “If you truly are the great mage, Golgemort, then you could train me to be a real wizard! Please, oh great and mighty sorcerer, be my teacher!”

“No, child, I can’t. I’m not a real wizard anymore. I’m far too old. You’re better off going somewhere else.” 

He looked up excitedly. “Could you please teach me?”

“Fine!” the old wizard snapped. “5:00 a.m. Your training starts then. Don’t be late or you shall suffer. Now get out of my house.“

Leo nearly jumped five feet into the air. “I won’t let you down, master!”

“Alright, alright. Now go! Don’t tell anyone about my existence! Everybody thinks the wizards are all dead.”

Leo quickly stepped out of the ramshackle house and ran with excitement towards his village. 

He was so tempted to tell all his friends about Golgemort, but he remembered his promise to the great wizard. He couldn’t let anyone know that magic still existed…

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Earth Realm…

“Let me tell you a story, my child… about the realm of magic…”

“Grandma, I’ve heard this story a million times already!”

“Fine, if you don’t want to hear my story again, go play outside,” Rose’s grandmother said, leading her to the door of her room. 

Rose sat in her bedroom, thinking about the classic tale that her grandmother would not shut up about. A long time ago, there was a war between the wizards of the Magic Realm and the Trolls. The great wizard, Golgemort, led an army of the greatest wizards against the Trolls.

“Nasty creatures,” her grandmother would always say. 

After thinking for a while, she elected to go outside. There was a thick layer of snow covering her backyard: perfect for building a snowman. 

“I’m going out, Grandma!” she called up to the half-deaf woman. 

Her grandmother grinned. “Alright, just don’t be too long now.” She knew Rose would find the door eventually.

Rose went out into the snow. She walked until she came upon a door with strange gold handwriting. She tried to open the door but it didn’t budge!

It was 5 a.m. Leo had been waiting outside for 5 minutes. When the old man came out, it was 5:06. The man said to Leo, “You’re here,“ the man said, surprised.  

“Yes,“ Leo said. “Alright, I’m ready to get into it, what kind of powerful, Troll-killing spells do you know?”

Then Golgemort said in his face, “Why do you want to learn any Troll-killing spells?”

Then Leo said, without thinking, “We never know when the Trolls are going to attack!”

Golgemort sighed. “You have a lot to learn.”

“Okay, then. What’s the first step of sorcery?”

“Well, the first step is using your wand. We have to get you one first.”

Then, Golgemort took him down into a dimly-lit cave with a gold door at the back. 

“So, I can choose any wand I want?” Leo asked. 

“No, no, no, child. The wand chooses you.”

“How do I know that it chooses me?”

“Well, if the wand doesn’t blow up in your face, it’s the one for you.”

“It blows up in my face?!” Leo exclaimed, horrified. 

“Yep!” Golgemort said excitedly. 

Leo gulped. “O-okay… ”

Golgemort unlocked the golden door, revealing a room with shelves upon shelves of different wands. Then, Leo picked up a wand and it exploded in his face. Golgemort stood in the corner, a smirk on his face, as Leo pushed himself up from the ground, his hair charred and ruined.

“Not the one,” Golgemort said. “Try another one.”

Leo gulped, even more terrified than he was before. He went over to another wand and picked it up. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Leo looked back to his master with a grin on his face.

“Hey, master, I think– ”

BOOM!

“… never mind.”

Golgemort looked around for a moment. “Maybe we should try a different type of wand,” he said, bringing the ashen boy a beautiful golden box, with only the tiniest hint of wear. “Maybe this one will do it,” Golgemort said, opening up the box to reveal a wand inlaid with phoenix feather, with gold and silver vines wrapping around the base. 

“Try it out,” Golgemort said. Leo took it, holding it gingerly away from his face.

“Please don’t explode, please don’t explode, please don’t explode… ”

After a few seconds, it didn’t explode. Nothing happened.

“Well, it didn’t explode within five seconds. I guess this is your wand.”

“Really?” Leo asked, a look of utter joy crossing his face. He jumped up and hugged his master.

“Get off me, boy!” Golgemort said, pushing him off. Leo was too ecstatic to even care

about his master’s hostility. 

“Well, we better get to training, then,” Golgemort said. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Leo said, still thinking about his wand. 

Then, Rose found a small chest with a key inside. She assumed it was the key to the door and it was! 

Inside the door was a blue crystal hallway with small fairies flying around. And at the end of the hallway, there was another door. She opened it. And she saw something beyond her imagination. A boy, wielding a small stick with multi-colored lights coming out of it. The boy appeared to be in battle with a dirty old man. She realized that the boy was fending the old man off, and needed help. She quickly jumped on the old man’s back and pulled him to the ground. 

The man grunted. “What are you doing, child. Didn’t you see that we were practicing?!” 

Rose looked at him quizzically. “Practicing? It looked like you were fighting!” Golgemort saw the girl’s clothes. She wore a strange skirt lined with stripes and odd buttons. Not the traditional robes of the realm.

“What are you wearing?!” Golgemort exclaimed. 

“You’re really asking me that?” Rose said, irritated. “I’d like to know where I am!”

“You are in the Realm of Magic,” Golgemort said. “Don’t you know that?”

“No, not really,” Rose responded. “Although…I have heard about a world like this from my

grandmother’s stories…”

“Where are you from?” Golgemort asked. 

“Um… Earth?”

“Ah, yes, the Earth Realm,” Golgemort said, looking off into the distance. “And how did you get here?”

“Well, I was playing around in the snow, and I found this door in the tree. I tried to open it but it wouldn’t open. Then I looked around for a key somewhere and I found a small chest with a key inside.”  

“I see,“ Golgemort said. “You can come to my house.” Then he yelled, “LEO, LET’S GO!”  

“Okay!” Leo responded. 

“Um, sure,” Rose said hesitantly.

So they set off to Golgemort’s house. Rose turned to the strange boy. “So what’s your name?”

“Leo,” he replied, looking down at his feet. “What’s yours?”

“Rose,” she said energetically. “So what’s the deal with–”

“We’ve arrived,” Golgemort interrupted. Rose laid her eyes upon the filthy shack that sat within the middle of a green swamp. 

“Really? This is your home?” Rose said incredulously. “This looks horrible!” 

Golgemort chuckled. “That’s what they all say.” He opened the splintered door, revealing a gorgeous home. The ceiling was a diverse array of different colors, all blending into each other, making everything seem infinite. Tiny fairies buzzed about the room, serenading Rose with an ethereal melody. Invisible maids were doing the dishes and cleaning the floors and cooking one of the most wonderful meals Rose had ever seen. 

Golgemort turned to Rose, a cocky smirk on his face. “Is it really that horrible?”

Rose looked down, filled with embarrassment. “No, not really, I guess.”

“Anywho, welcome to my humble abode,” Golgemort gestured to the space. A filthy grey dog popped out of its hiding space in the corner.

“What is that!“ Rose said.

“That’s just a dog,”  he said.

“Oh,”  she said. “This place is a bit strange. Are you sure that was a dog? It didn’t look like a dog.”

“Yes, I’m sure it was a dog. Now we have to find a way for you to get back home,” Golgemort said firmly, because he was getting a bit irritated with her and her billion questions.

“Easy, I just go back through that door and go home.”  

“Ha! The door doesn’t stay in one place for too long. It could be anywhere now. The dragon realm, the giant realm, even the realm of the mermaids, and that’s under the sea.”

“Then how do I get home?” she said a bit nervously, thinking she would be stuck in the realm of magic forever.

“Well, the door stays here for at least two days before it leaves for a different realm. And you came here a few minutes ago. So there’s a good chance we can still find it. But it’s dangerous, since in some parts there are dark wizards.” 

Rose gulped. 

“You know, The Cave of Wizards, where I got my wand, I saw some armor and a protection spellbook and we can give Rose a wand,” Leo said.

“You’re right, but she doesn’t know anything about magic,” Golgemort said.

“So what?” Leo said. “I learned magic and I knew nothing about it.”

“Yes, but it took you at least a few weeks to master it, and we only have two days to find the door.”

“Then we’ll only teach her the basic spells, to protect herself,” Leo said.

Golgemort was getting a bit annoyed with the back and forth and finally he said, “All right. Let’s go.”

“Where exactly are we going?” said Rose. 

“The Cave of Wizards!” said Leo. “We’re going to get you a wand and teach you how to protect yourself from the dark wizards.”

“But I don’t know anything about magic!”

“Well, it’s easy. All you have to do is–”

“We’re here!” Golgemort said, standing in front of two big gold doors. 

“Wow,” Rose said.

“This is where we’re going to get you a wand,” said Leo. Golgemort was looking for a wand while Leo told Rose how it works. “But you’d better hold it away from your face, because it’s the wand that chooses you, not you who chooses the wand. So you should be prepared for it to explode in your face if it’s not your wand.”

“Do I have to have a wand?” Rose said.

“Do you want to get killed looking for the door?” Leo said.

“No,” Rose said, a bit frightened.

All of a sudden, Golgemort said, “Try this.” It was a wand in a box, made out of wood with golden feathers wrapping around the bottom.

Leo yelled, “Remember to hold it away from your face if it explodes!”

“If it doesn’t explode within five seconds, it’s your wand,” Golgemort said.

Then Rose said in her head, five… four… three… two… one… Nothing happened, and Golgemort said, “Well done, this is your wand! It took Leo at least three tries to get his. Now we need to teach you spells. The first step is knowing how to hold your wand.”

“Like this?” she asked, holding the wand firmly.

“Yes, but you need to hold it a bit looser.”

“Like this?” she asked.

“Perfect.”

They spent all evening practicing. “Well, it’s getting late, and I think you’ve mastered all the basic spells. I think you should go to bed. Tomorrow morning we can start looking for the door,” Golgemort said.

The next day, when the sun rose, Rose woke up. Golgemort and Leo were already up.

Golgemort asked, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Rose all of a sudden said, “Oh yeah! I forgot my wand!” 

“And?” Golgemort said.

“And I have to get dressed.”

Five minutes later, Rose said, “Now I’m ready to go.” 

“Then let’s go,” Leo said, very excited to go on his first adventure using magic. 

So they set out into the dark part of the woods, where Golgemort assumed it would be, since he had gone into different realms before, and he knew the pattern of the door.

“We’re entering the dark part of the woods,” Golgemort said. “Everybody should get their wands out. Leo, do you have yours?”

“Yes.”
“Rose, do you have yours?”

“Yes.”

“Now we have to enter very quietly,” Golgemort said. “The dark wizards could be watching us.”

They walked for at least an hour. Nothing happened.

Rose said, “We have been walking forever. Are you sure there are dark wizards in the woods?”

Then all of a sudden, the dark wizards knocked them out with a magic spell. 

When they woke up, they were sitting in a small throne room in front of the leader of the dark wizards, Azulon. He had white hair, and one eye looked like it was blind. It was very creepy.

Azulon said, “Golgemort.”

Golgemort said, “Azulon.”

“Whaaaat?” Rose said. 

“I guess I haven’t introduced myself,” said Azulon. “I am Azulon, commander of the dark army, ruler of death, king of the dark wizards.”

“I guess you’re really into darkness,” Rose said. 

“Never mind,” said Azulon. “Why are you in the dark parts of the woods, Golgemort? You know that we are here and you know we kidnap anybody who trespasses.”

“We’re only looking for the door,” Golgemort said.

“So the door is here,” Azulon said, fascinated.

“Yes, why do you want to know?”

“Uh, I don’t know,” Azulon said. “To conquer all of the realms!” 

“I should have known,” Golgemort said. “You still have that desire to conquer all the realms.”

“Of course I do. I am the greatest wizard in all of the realms.”

“Wrong!” Leo said. “Golgemort is!”

“Shush! Child,” Azulon said, and put him back to sleep with a spell.

“Why do you want to conquer all the realms so badly?” Rose asked.

“To prove I am the greatest wizard of all time!” Azulon said.

“Won’t that just terrorize people?” Rose said. 

“No! They will think that I am the greatest wizard ever!”

“Enough with saying you’re the greatest wizard! We get it!” Rose said.

Golgemort said, “Just let us pass. It’ll be easier this way.”

“No! I need to keep you here so you don’t find the door before I do.”

“Okay,” Golgemort said, knowing that they had their wands so they could escape.

When Azulon and his guards left, Golgemort used a spell to get him out of the chair. Then he said, “Leo! Wake up!”

“What? What?” Leo said. “How are you out of your chair?”

“Are you blinded, child? I used a spell!”

“Get me out of this chair if you got out of your chair using a spell,” Rose said.

And soon, they were all free. “Now we have to find a way to get out of this building. There are the dark army guards everywhere.”

“What about through the window?” Leo said.

“We can’t do that. The guards are surrounding the building.”

“What if we used a spell to make us invisible?” Leo said. 

“Yes, but we would need a rope, and we would have to make that rope invisible too.”
“Simple. The invisible spells last up to an hour,” Leo said.
“Okay,” Golgemort said, “But first we need to find a rope.”

“Good point.”

“We can only look for one in here, because there are guards outside the door,” Golgemort said. 

“There’s one!” Rose said, pointing to a rope on the wall. 

“Good spotting,” Golgemort said to her. 

“Now we’ve got to make this rope invisible,” Rose said to both Leo and Golgemort. “Could one of you do that?”

“Sure,” Leo said, taking out his wand and making the rope invisible. “Now we have to make ourselves invisible.” 

Golgemort said, “I’ll make you two invisible, but Leo will have to make me invisible.”

Golgemort made Leo and Rose invisible. Leo and Rose put their hands in front of their faces, but they couldn’t see them.

“Where are you guys?” Golgemort said.

“Right here,” they said. 

“Well, you guys shouldn’t move, otherwise you could get lost because I can’t see you. Leo, I’m right in front of you, you can now cast the spell with your wand.”

“You are now invisible,” Leo said.

“I already knew that! Now we have to find a place to put the rope where the guards aren’t.”

“Right here,” Rose said, while pointing. 

“Great spotting,” Golgemort said again. 

So they opened the window, placed the rope in between the guards, and climbed down the rope as silently and quickly as possible. When they were all down, they started running into the woods, as silently and quickly as possible.

They ran for twenty-five minutes and at least two miles away from the secret lair. Then they had been running for an hour, and wouldn’t stop, knowing that they might get caught. Then, they collapsed. They couldn’t even see the secret lair anymore, so they knew that the dark army hadn’t caught up with them. 

When they woke up, they saw the door in the distance. But then, they realized that there was a big river with crocodiles. They had to figure out a way across it. 

Then, they realized they had forgotten their wands back at the secret lair. 

Then Golgemort said, “It’s all right, I can do magic with my hands.” Then he did a spell that created a very high bridge across the river. 

They crossed the bridge, but then they realized that the door was moving slowly, so it was farther away than it was before. So they kept walking, and walking, and walking, and walking, and walking, and walking, until they saw flying books in the air.

“Careful, they’re really dangerous,” Golgemort said. 

“How dangerous can flying books be?” said Leo, so he walked up to them and they started flying around him and hitting him on the head. “Yep, they’re definitely–” he collapsed. 

“We better wake him up,” Golgemort said. “Azulon could come into the room where we were kidnapped and find out we escaped any minute. Leo! Leo! Wake up!”

Rose yelled, “Look! The door is moving again! We have to wake him up!”

“Okay, I’ll use my spell to wake him up.” Golgemort woke him up. 

Leo said, “Ugh, what happened?”

Then Rose said, “The door is moving quickly! We gotta go!”

Leo stood up and said, “But we’re going to need a protection spell to get past the books.”

“Good idea,” said Golgemort.

“Great,” said Rose.

“How do we cast that spell?” Leo said. “All our wands are in the secret lair.”
“Golgemort can do hand magic,” said Rose. “That’s how we got across the river, remember?”

“No, not really,” Leo said. “And can’t you remember I was hit by a bunch of books so I don’t remember stuff?”

“Oh, right,” Rose said. “Either way, the door is moving faster and faster. It looks like it’s going to go into another realm. We have to catch up with it.” 

So they started running towards the door, but then they stumbled upon the flying books.

“Now we need to protect ourselves,” said Rose. “Golgemort, can you make a protection spell?”

“I can try,” Golgemort said. “Aluminos devatos!” He said. And when they walked by the books, they didn’t get hit by any. 

“It worked!” Rose said. 

“I know,” Leo said.

“I told you,” Golgemort said.

Then Rose yelled, “Look! The door is moving even faster than before! We’ve got to move!” 

So they started to run and run and run. They couldn’t catch up to the door, so they decided to run even faster. Then, Leo spotted Azulon and his dark army behind them. 

“Um, I think we’ve got company,” Leo said. 

“Oh, no,” Golgemort said.

“Not them,” Rose said. “How are we gonna get away from them?”

“I don’t know,” Leo said.

“I think I might have a way,” Golgemort said. “If we keep running, we’ll tire them out. The Dark Army can’t stay alive for long, they’re from the dead.” They kept running and running and finally caught up to the door when the door stopped. 

Then, all of a sudden, a voice said, “We’ve got you!” They turned around and it was Azulon, holding up his wand. “Surrender now!” Azulon said. 

Golgemort and Leo yelled at the same time, “Rose, go!”

“No!” Rose said.

“Just go!” yelled Golgemort.

“No! I’m not going to just leave you to die with Azulon!”

“It’s fine! I’ve dealt with him before!”

“I’ll come back to help you!” Rose said, a bit sad. And she went through the door.

So once there was a beautiful raisin with beautiful hair. Her name was Berniece. She was going to the supermarket to get more salt and sugar to make salty sugary water. Berniece put on her sun hat and stepped outside. When she got outside, Berniece burned her wrinkly skin and got a rain jacket to not get burned. Once again, she got outside with her beautiful sun hat, rain jacket, and taco bag.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” a random stranger yelled. “I’m having a — I need a taco bag. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Berniece was very annoyed by this random guy’s tantrum. Luckily she had a 30-inch sized megaphone in her taco bag.

“Stop throwing a tantrum! Jeez!” yelled Berniece.

So the random stranger rolled away. He had no gender, so it was just trying to get lots of attention like the song “Attention.” A very good song. It also wanted lots of tacos because it was broken and also wanted a taco bag. After all that commotion, Berniece was only 120 centimeters away from the supermarket and her salt and sugar. She was walking and walking, but then a giant wrecking ball came out of nowhere and blocked the pass to the supermarket. The only way to get to the supermarket was to be Miley Cyrus and swing on the wrecking ball.

“Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Berniece screamed with joy.

After the new Berniece Cyrus was done with her musical number, she dropped, stopped, and rolled right into the supermarket into the salt and sugar aisle. She put her salt and sugar in her taco bag and got them for free. So she got outside with her free groceries, but then Miley Cyrus popped out of nowhere and swung away with her wrecking ball.

So Berniece was driving her beautiful Lamborghini home after she finished swimming in 300,000 gallons of cranberry juice. When she went to go park her Lamborghini, she saw her jam jar of mail, and there was a magical golden letter that said… 

Congratulations! You are invited to the most fancy clancy lunch ever.

Berniece was flattered that she was going to eat fancy lunch in a fancy house. So she got her most fancy taco suit with her matching taco purse, not a bag. After she got her outfit done, she put sugar in her hair so she could be sweet. (Cringy.) Berniece was all ready for her fancy lunch. At the fancy clancy lunch there were 1,000,000,000 pizzas. There was also a guy with bunny slippers and french fries as a hat and 100,000,000,000,000,000 tacos. The host of the fancy clancy lunch was wearing a pink, fluffy unicorn outfit with 100,000,000,000,000,000 Chipotle sandwiches. It was a beautiful fancy clancy lunch. So Berniece left the fancy clancy lunch with 300 gallons of cranberry juice and 50,000,000 chipotle sandwiches.

So, after Berniece left her fancy clancy lunch, she went to her muffin house and made 300 gallons worth of cranberry gelatin in her house to last her 69 weeks of pure gelatin. She would leave the leftovers for when Russia and America start a feud.

Berniece is very stubborn because she keeps on getting invitations to important missions that just randomly happen. Very, very suspenseful… so, Berniece went to her jam jar of mail and saw… (suspense)… another letter to join the Russia Government Corporation. Berniece got her 300 gallons of cranberry gelatin for the one year in Russia. After she got to Russia, she got a computer and exploded McDonald’s, Chipotle, Wendy’s, and Burger King by exploding all the food and tables and chairs.

After Berniece finished exploding food and furniture, the Russian government wanted Berniece to destroy Taco Bell with boom boom explosion. So Berniece was very disappointed that she needed to destroy Taco Bell. Berniece didn’t explode Taco Bell, but she exploded Russia instead. So, at the end, Berniece left Russia with new, cool hacking skills and secrets. She went home with her gelatin and new computer from Russia. And her brand new car from Russia. So Berniece went to go drive in her new car all the way to the Los Angeles beach. And she got her tan on.

Berniece was burning in the sun. She was in raisin form, so she saw the sun burned a hole in her muffin house. So, Berniece got her pool noodle and 50,000 beach chairs and her Dora towel and (temporary) boyfriend Barney and her DJ set. Barney went to wrinkly beach because they are raisins. The beach was in a sandbox. So, they put down their stuff and music. Berniece put on the song “Señorita.”

So, Berniece was the new Jesus because she separated the water with her pool noodle because she dropped her spoon. So, she washed her spoon and ate her Taco Bell taco and fed the birds tacos and put some in jail because they attacked her. Then after the birds attacked Berniece, she got all the sand and her 1,000,000 meter shovel and dug a hole all the way to her muffin house because she forgot her sunscreen. She also needed her Berniece limited edition figure. Barney got lost at sea on a cruise. So, Berniece left the beach single.

There was once a man named Lefty. Nobody knew his real name. He lived in the woods. He also loved flowers. Red flowers, blue flowers, and yellow flowers. But he always did everything with his left hand. 

But one night, he was heading to bed when two motorcycle people came in.

“MY GARDENS!” Lefty screamed. 

  The motorcycle dude did a trick with the stick that sent the knife flying and cut his left hand off.

“MY HAND, MY HAND!” Lefty screamed. He ran back to his cabin, but by then, it was too late. He had already bled out.

***
About a year later, a few kids came into the camp. They were staying up late when one of them went into Lefty’s cabin. But he did not come out, so the others went in to get him. They heard a scream. The kid’s head came rolling out of the room. They went inside the room. They all gaped in horror at what they saw. Not someone but something. Nobody ever heard from the kids again!

Once upon a time there was a cupcake. A wise old tree had once told him his fortune was to have jelly. This wise tree was his mother. You should listen to your parents.

So he went to McDonalds because there was food there and said, “Hi. I’d like some jelly please.” The McDonalds waiters were very rude and instead of giving it to him, they threw the jelly in his face. Then the cupcake cried and his tears washed it off. 

He then walked to a laundry place. He walked in and asked, “Do you have any jelly?” 

“No,” said the person at the front desk. “You should try that jelly store across the street.”

So cupcake went over to the jelly store. “Hello. Do you have any jelly?”

“No.”

“But this is a jelly store.”

“It’s a jam store.”

“What’s jam?”

“Jelly.”

“I’ll take some jam then.”

“We don’t sell cars.”

“I did not ask for a car! I want Jelly!”

“I thought you said you wanted a traffic jam.”

“I’m leaving,” said the cupcake. So he left. He then arrived at a strange creepy door. It screeched when he opened it. Inside was a giant. He was holding a bat.

“Do you have jelly?”

The giant grunted, “Try that store.” He was pointing at the jam store.

“That’s a jam store.”

The giant shouted and hit the cupcake with his bat.

The cupcake woke up in a hospital cot. His mother, the wise old tree was leaning over him. She said, “I did not tell you your fortune was to have jelly. I told you that you had a fat belly.”

The cupcake turned red.

The End.

Lloyd is in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. He has always loved the ocean and is amazed by all the creatures in it. He swims to the bottom of the ocean in a submarine and sees a six gill shark. He sees a reef octopus, a great reef shark, a luminescent jellyfish, and anglerfish. 

Inside his submarine, Lloyd is always prepared. He has water, food, and tools to protect him in case an octopus attacks the submarine. One of Lloyd’s tools is a mask, so he can swim in the ocean when he leaves the submarine. He also has a suit with air tanks so he can breathe. In his submarine, Lloyd travels to the Arctic and he sees Arctic krill. Arctic krill can grow only up to two inches.

Lloyd came to the Arctic to learn about the ocean because he is a marine scientist. Lloyd loves the ocean because he wants to learn about how it changes over time. 

He is always angry that people were harming the ocean by throwing trash into it. The ocean is dying because of the trash being thrown in it every year and global warming. This makes it a hard place to learn about. This is because the fish, bottlenose dolphins, grey reef sharks, and all the other animals are dying.

Lloyd wants to save the ocean by building a special machine that sucks up trash from the ocean. When he gets back to shore, he puts back his submarine, and then he goes to his lab. He starts building his machine. To start building he needs metal, a screwdriver, screws, and all his other materials. Lloyd works by himself at the lab because he is a private marine scientist. But he does have a crew that works with him. Only tonight, Lloyd comes into his lab late and the rest of his crew is sleeping. Lloyd is best friends with his crew. 

A few hours later, he goes to bed, and then wakes up at 12pm. He goes out of bed and goes back to his lab to keep working on his machine. He works on his machine for seven days. After one week, Lloyd is super happy that he finished his machine. 

Before he puts it in the ocean, Lloyd has to do a test run. He sets up the experiment in his bathroom, and pretends the bathtub is the ocean. The test is a success! Now Lloyd knows that the machine works and he is ready to bring it to the ocean. 

The next morning he wakes up very early, and goes into the ocean in his submarine. He brings the machine to the ocean and turns it on. 8,000,000,000,000,000 pounds of trash are sucked up by the machine. Lloyd did it!  The ocean is saved. 

But he forgets one thing. Today is his birthday. He puts all the trash in his trash can and goes to the store to buy supplies for his birthday. 

He sets everything up and even bakes a cake. He looks at his watch and wonders why no one has arrived. Then he realizes that he forgot to send invitations. He decides to send invitations to his crew. A few hours later, his crew arrives, and he has his birthday party. They play bob the apple, spin the bottle, catch the cannonball. They split up into teams and play cannonball, which is when you throw an 1,800 pound bowling ball into the air and have to catch it. And then they play basketball for 18 hours. 

After their game, Lloyd heads to the ocean to discover more about it. He goes back to Australia’s Great Barrier reef and sees an electrical eel and a wedgehog shark. 

At first he doesn’t see the wedgehog shark because it blends into the environment. Out of nowhere, the shark jumps out at Lloyd’s submarine and starts chomping on the side of the submarine.

The wedgehog shark loses its teeth because the submarine is metal. The shark travels back to his friends to search for clams with them.

After the shark leaves, Lloyd goes to the Pacific Ocean. He sees a blue whale. It is the biggest animal that ever lived. It’s two times bigger than the biggest dinosaur. Its cub drinks 200 gallons of milk from its mother each day. 

Lloyd travels to the Atlantic Ocean. He sees a giant squid, which is called Caribbean Reef octopus. The giant squid has eight arms, one eye, and can eat two crabs at a time. He also sees a horseshoe crab. The horseshoe crab has ten legs and they can be many colors, like black and brown. He travels to the bottom of the ocean and sees a cookie cutter shark. The cookie cutter shark is bioluminescent, which means that it glows in the dark. The baby cookie cutter sharks stick onto whales and make cookie shaped bites. The adult cookie cutter sharks make large cookie shaped bites. Cookie cutter sharks eat squid, dolphins, and baby whales. 

The last ocean Lloyd goes to is the Indian Ocean. Lloyd goes there to learn about the sea creatures living there. The Indian Ocean is the youngest ocean. It was formed 64 million years ago. Lloyd sees a spinner dolphin and a dusky dolphin. Lloyd also sees a Great Reef Shark, which mostly eats fish. The biggest dolphin is an orca. Another name for the orca is killer whale. The reason why people call this killer whale is because it looks like a whale, but it is really a dolphin. An orca is the biggest kind of dolphin on earth. The Indian Ocean has the least amount of creatures of all the oceans. 

Lloyd goes back to the Atlantic Ocean and sees a lionfish. He also goes to the Coastal Waters of South Australia. There are whale sharks, which have spots and eat plankton. Cookie cutter sharks also feed on them. He also sees a manta ray. Manta rays are the size of three king sized beds. Manta rays can jump as high as 7ft outside the water, so they can jump over a seven foot wall. They eat mainly plankton. Phytoplankton use the sun as their food. Phytoplankton are 2 millimeters.

Then, Lloyd visits an American Coral Reef. At the American Coral Reef, Lloyd sees a family of wedgehog sharks. One of the shark’s dorsal fins slaps the side of the submarine. Lloyd quickly turns the submarine the other direction and travels for eight days. 

After eight days, Lloyd goes back home. It’s about time that he goes back to the lab. When he gets there, his crew his ready to work. 

Once he gets to the lab, Lloyd starts making statues of the animals he saw. He wants to put them in the museum and show all the people what he saw. The first animal Lloyd starts working on is the Caribbean Reef octopus. 

One animal Lloyd didn’t look for was the Great White Shark, but he still makes a statue of one. He remembers what it looks like from when he saw one when he was six at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. When he went there all those years ago, Lloyd also saw a bull shark.

Lloyd keeps making statues and starts working on the one of a blue whale. Lloyd works on his statues for eight months straight without sleeping. He only sleeps for 5 minutes each day. 

After eight months, Lloyd is finally finished with his project. After he puts them into the museum, everyone gets to see them and learn about the oceans and reefs. Lloyd gets a million dollars from the museum manager. 

THE END

One day a cow named Lucas is playing at the park with Nobey, and then he wants to pee, so he does, but instead he is playing in the bathroom. He’s playing with the toilet and stuffing toilet paper inside the toilet. The toilet starts to gurgle and it explodes, making all the other toilets explode too. And then, he explodes the whole bathroom. The cow throws the bricks into the park, and the park starts exploding too. The cow then explodes the whole city by throwing bricks everywhere. There’s only one person left on earth, and the only person is the cow. The cow wants to take over the world and explode the world. He is going to make his own cows. He will have an army of cows so no one will come. The cow lays eggs to make more cows to fill the whole city. They build new buildings and doors shaped like cows. All types of food in the world are shaped like a cow, even poop. They make more cow-shaped things like cups, dishes, rugs, chairs, and boxes. Then, pigs from space come to take over the cows. Other animals that come from space come to make teams to battle to take the city. The winners get the city. The other animals have to go home to space.

They use their whole body to fight each other. The cows, lions, jaguars, and the elephants win. Everyone else goes back to space. They change the city and break it all up into fourths. They make the shapes of what they are in the cities. Cows make cow-shaped things, jaguars make jaguar-shaped things, lions make lion-shaped things, and elephants make elephant-shaped things. And then they all battle each other to see who will take the whole city.

And everything explodes. It was too much of a racket! It is now a pile of dust and stones. It blows away into the ocean. Most of the sea creatures die because of the pollution. Only squids survive.

Mr. Eel is 15 and wants to go to Eel World for freedom. He has been trying to go to Eel World for eight years. He first started going when he was seven. Every time he tries to go to Eel World, Mr. Shark chases him away. Mr. Shark chases him away because eels are sharks’ dinner. Mr. Shark is never able to eat Mr. Eel because he runs away. But Mr. Eel is a weirdo eel because he never uses his electrical powers on Mr. Shark.

Mr. Eel doesn’t like Mr. Shark because he ate Mr. Eel’s brother. Mr. Eel’s brother wasn’t a weirdo eel, so he was going to use his electrical powers, but Mr. Shark was too fast. Mr. Eel and his brother were both 13 when Mr. Shark ate him. They were twins.

Mr. Eel wants to get revenge for his brother. He wants to kill Mr. Shark, but he’s too dumb to use his electric powers. He thinks he’s a normal eel. He doesn’t know he’s an electric eel.

In the beginning, Mr. Eel’s brother killed Mr. Shark’s brother. And then Mr. Shark killed Mr. Eel’s brother.

The first thing he does is think of a way to kill Mr. Shark. He thinks of a trap. He’s going to pretend he’s swimming near a pretend fish so that Mr. Shark will chase both of them. The real Mr. Eel and the real Mr. Fish are friends. After Mr. Shark chases both of them, he licks his lips. But they’re both really fast. Then they stop, and he tries to eat them. But then the spike comes out and traps him, but he gets away using his fins to stop the spikes. He’s quite injured and goes to the shark hospital.

While Mr. Shark is in the hospital, Mr. Shark’s sister comes along. Mr. Eel notices Mrs. Shark. So then he notices that he has a yellow spot and thinks that it is a strong spot and uses it, and then electricity start shooting everywhere. He points it at Mrs. Shark, and Mrs. Shark dies. 

Mr. Shark finds out in the hospital, and he gets really angry. He gets a lot of lollipops, and he eats them. Then he gets really strong. He plays some soccer. He finds out that his fins are fine. He looks around for Mr. Eel and Mr. Fish. Mr. Eel spots him and goes toward him. He presses the yellow spot that shoots electricity. He misses on the first shot. He misses on the second shot. He misses on the third shot. He misses on the fourth shot. He misses every shot until the 1,000th shot.

Mr. Eel celebrates by throwing a party with all of his friends: Mr. Fish, Mr. Seahorse, Mr. Starfish, Mr. Frog, and Mr. Dolphin and Mr. Whale. Then they go on a cruise, but the cruise sinks, so they jump off of the ship and get on a speedboat and go all around the world. And then they come back to their ocean, go home, and get some rest.

The End.

There was a girl who owned a cat, and that cat had baby kittens. The girl was named Lulu, and she wanted to keep Cardinal, her favorite kitten.

Cardinal was orangey and had black all around its eyes and mouth, and that’s what made her look like a Cardinal.

But her mom said, “Lulu, you have to sell them.”

Lulu felt very mad. She tried to hide the kittens—she put them in her bedroom and locked the bedroom door. But she thought her mom would make her unlock the door, so she hid them under the covers in her bed. Her mom found out where she hid them because Lulu’s brother told the mom. 

Next, a kid walking along the street with their mom asked to buy Cardinal. The kid’s mom had told her that Lulu’s family was selling kittens and her kid was looking for a pet. Cardinal the kitten wanted to stay with Lulu. She tried to run away and hide, but Lulu’s mom caught Cardinal. The kid was named Mary.

Mary loved cats. Cardinal squirmed in the cage. Mary walked to her home holding the cage. She looked very, very happy. When she got inside, she opened the cage and hugged Cardinal. Cardinal was happy but still missed Lulu. Meanwhile, Lulu was sitting on her bed thinking about Cardinal. She wondered if Cardinal escaped from the cage and was coming to her house. She wondered if Cardinal loved her new owner, but Lulu hoped Cardinal would come back. Cardinal was having a happy life with Mary, but she was hungry.

She walked towards Mary and said, “Meow,” and Mary wondered if Cardinal was hungry.

So she got a kitty bowl and filled it with cat food. Cardinal gobbled it up. It was delicious! She never had wet cat food before, only dry cat food. But now that she tried wet cat food, she really liked it. She drank some water and went to the couch to take a nap. Lulu, on the other hand, thought Cardinal was having a happy life. She knew Mary was a nice girl and that she knew how to take care of Cardinal because Mary had a pet cat before her, and Lulu came to Mary’s house to see the cat. The next day, Cardinal woke up to a fresh new day. Cardinal looked around and noticed Mary was still asleep in bed. She walked to Mary’s bedroom, pushed the door open, and jumped on Mary’s bed. She licked Mary’s face and laid down on her floor. Mary got out of bed and walked to her mom and dad’s room. 

“Mom, can I go outside?”

“Yes,” she replied.

Mary walked outside, and with her chalk, she drew a picture of Cardinal and thought about activities she could do with Cardinal. She came back inside and got breakfast ready for the family. She poured cat food into Cardinal’s food bowl. Cardinal smelled the food and ate it while Mary’s family ate breakfast. Cardinal wondered what to play with Mary now that she got used to the new home. Mary walked to Cardinal. She told Cardinal she was going to the pet store to get a collar for her because she wanted to play with Cardinal in her backyard. Mary’s mom walked with Mary to the pet store. Mary got a collar that was Cardinal’s size, and it was red. She wrote Cardinal’s name on the collar and the address of the house. When Mary and her mom entered the house, Cardinal came to Mary. Mary put the collar on Cardinal. Cardinal tried to look at it but couldn’t. She still loved the collar!

Mary took Cardinal outside to play. Mary drew with chalk. She drew a picture of her and Cardinal. Cardinal, on the other hand, ran around in the backyard chasing a rubber ball. Mary told Cardinal that she was really good at soccer. Cardinal scored another goal in the soccer net. Mary’s mom weaved the soccer net before. The next day Mary’s mom was on the phone calling Lulu for a playdate at Mary’s house. Mary was excited because she hadn’t seen Lulu in a long time.

When Lulu came, she asked, “How is Cardinal doing?”

“Cardinal is doing great!” Mary replied.

“Awesome,” Lulu told Mary. Lulu told Mary that she could take care of Cardinal for the rest of Cardinal’s life until Cardinal had babies just like her mom. Cardinal licked Lulu, and Lulu hugged Cardinal. Lulu and Mary played for a little while until the playdate ended. The two girls and Cardinal had happy lives.

The End.

Once there was a dolphin coming from school. Then there was a hurricane. It pushed her away from going home. It pushed her deep in the ocean where there was a giant squid who blocked her way. He pushed her from leaving home. The squid was as big as a ten story building. When the squid wasn’t looking, the dolphin went right past its arms. But then the squid caught him again. The squid held him and squeezed him. The dolphin was stuck with the squid until somebody saw him.

A seahorse saw them and tried to help the dolphin. It tried to distract the squid while the dolphin went out. It worked, but then it didn’t work. The seahorse got captured by the squid too. The seahorse and dolphin grabbed the squid’s arms and escaped. And then they finally got out and become friends. But the squid tried to chase them! And they ran around in circles five times. And then the squid trapped them with the net. But the dolphin and the seahorse found scissors buried in the ground, and they cut a hole in the net. And then they swam away.

They were going to go play in the park without getting seen by the squid. They played on the swings and on the slide and then they played tag. Then they went to meet the seahorse family and played until it was time to go. On the way home the dolphin saw the squid, and the squid saw the dolphin, and the dolphin was surprised because the dolphin thought that the squid would not come back. The squid grabbed the dolphin, who screamed for help. It didn’t work, so he screamed again. And then the seahorse came, and he saw what was going on, so he tried to help. He grabbed the dolphin from the squid, and they swam away. The squid followed them and tried to get them. But the dolphin and the seahorse were too fast. And then they hid, and the squid couldn’t find them. And then they said goodbye, and the dolphin went home, and they never saw the squid again. 

The End.

“Steven, will you please come up here and show everyone how to draw a cake?” Ms. Clinton asked me.

I stood up and slowly walked to the whiteboard, hoping the bell would ring. I grabbed a marker and tried drawing a cake. Oliver, the school bully, teased me, saying that my ‘cake’ looked like a broken down house. I tried again. And again. And again. I came up with a circle with a few dots in the middle. I told everyone that it was a bird’s eye view to a cake. Luckily, that’s when the bell rang. Art is my last class, and Eddy and I grabbed our backpacks and walked home. Eddy is my best friend and also my neighbor.

Since it was a Monday, I luckily had my allowance from Sunday. We stopped by Sydney’s Sweets and walked in.

“Two Tinker bars and a large bag of chips, please,” I told Sydney, the manager. 

“That will be $3.50,” Sydney said, handing me the treats.

I gave her a five-dollar bill and collected my change. I handed Eddy a Tinker and stuffed the chips in my bag.

After a few seconds of walking and a few minutes of talking, Eddy and I stopped in our tracks. We saw my parents standing in front of my house, putting everything into a truck that said MOVING MASTERS on the sides. My parents were talking to someone who was helping them put the suitcases and furniture in the truck. I ran to my parents and asked them what was happening. My mom told me to pack my stuff and that she’ll explain it to me later.

Eddy came upstairs with me and helped me pack. I took my suitcase out of the shelf and stuffed my clothes in it. Eddy asked me if I knew what was happening. I shook my head and finished packing. Eddy said that he should go home now. My mom came upstairs and sat on the bed. She told me to sit down.

“Steven, your father was promoted to Vice President of his company. His new office is on the other side of the state. We are moving to Oaktown.”

I froze. That was three hours away! A lot of thoughts rushed through my head. Which school will I go to? Will I make friends? Is our house going to be big? Are my teachers going to be nice?

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I lay in bed, thinking about what my mother said. Tossing and turning, I looked at my full suitcase next to the door. All of my furniture except my bed was inside of the truck, including my reading chair and my desk. Even my closet! I still didn’t know when we were leaving.

“Steve, wake up!” That was my dad. “We are leaving on Friday. I’ll pick you up from school, and Mom and Molly will be waiting in the car outside.”

Dad made me pancakes—my favorite—for breakfast. The maple syrup was dripping down my chin as the puffy pancakes melted in my mouth.

It was a normal school day; I had epic fails in art class but crushed PE. At the end of the day, we had an announcement. The principal, Mr. Mikelly, told us that a tennis tournament was coming up. Tennis was my favorite sport! He showed us the trophy, and I started jumping with joy. It was a golden man in trophy position. On the side of the stand, it said Tennis Tournament 2019 – Awarded to 

I imagined it saying my name, Steven Trenton. I was the first one to sign up for the tournament.

The next day was tournament day. I was playing Hudson Matts. It was my serve. I served and won the point. Soon the game. Soon the set. And then the match. Time for the quarter finals. Won. Semifinals. Won. Finals time. I was playing Oliver Frenzy. I lifted my racquet and smashed the ball. He hit it back to me. Slice! After a few sets, I looked up at the scoreboard. It was a deuce. The match point for both of us. Oliver served, and I played a backhand. Unfortunately, he smashed it, and it was his point. Advantage for Frenzy. Then it was deuce again. Advantage for Trenton. Deuce. My advantage again. I hit a powerful forehand with the win. I received my trophy and medal. I spotted Oliver on the bench, with sweat all over his face. I walked over to him.

“Tough game.”

He didn’t reply. Eddy ran over to me. 

“Great job, dude!” he said. “Nobody here is as good as you!”

Friday was the day before I moved. That morning when I went to school, the day flew by. In the afternoon, we had another announcement. But this time, Mr. Mikelly called me up on stage. The last time I went up there was my play in second grade! I was kind of nervous when I went up there. 

“Today, we have a very special announcement. One of our students, Steven Trent, is moving to Oaktown today. He is also our tennis champion. We will miss him.”

My dad came into the room. I gave Eddy a hug, and Dad and I left.

In the car, I stared out the window. I saw the trees and suddenly the big city. The tall buildings were gleaming in the sunlight, and the cars zoomed through town. People wearing suits and ties walked from one building to another. This must Oaktown, the big city. Finally, I saw a big apartment building. It had a swimming pool and a playground. I was astonished. I read a big sign. Now, I lived in Pretcot Towers. Awesome!

Pilla and Pimilla were sisters who lived in a small town by a great big mountain called Mount Zilla. There had always been a town legend of an evil queen of snakes, Quilla, who lived atop the mountain. After their parents died in a “mysterious accident,” Pimilla and Pilla were each other’s only family. As they grew older, they noticed that they had strange powers to transform into animals. One day, the two girls went to their favorite restaurant, and Pilla suddenly disappeared. 

***

“Pimilla! Wake up sleepy head! Come outside with me and get some lunch! It’s 1:00! You have been sleeping for 16 hours,” she said.

“Just five more minutes,” she replied.

Five minutes later, they were on the path to Bear Burger.

“What am I going to eat? When I get to lunch, I’m going to have a turkey sandwich with a brioche bun and avocado on the side,” she sang.

“Pilla! Stop singing that annoying song!” Pimilla roared.

When they got there, they sat down, and it took over an hour for the waitress to deliver their food. They both fell asleep at the same time. Then Pimilla was so bored that she went to the bathroom and transformed into a beetle, then a horse, and back to a human. Then she finally walked back to their booth. She realized that Pilla was not there!

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, she thought. Maybe she was kidnapped… hold on.

There was no time to lose, and she set off to the waitress, and even though she was just nineteen, Pimilla had a credit card.

“Hurry up!” she said… People were like sloths.

“Sign this, please,” the waitress asked patiently.

She held up her screen and Pimilla signed it very quickly, and the waitress gave Pimilla her card. Since Pimilla was 10 years older than Pilla, she could drive a car and she had a license. However, she was too hurried and forgot all about her car. Instead, she ran. Since the cement was still wet, she made out straight lines where something had been. She could also make out Pilla’s footprints, and she followed them for an hour until she found a mountain where the footsteps stopped. Pimilla transformed into a horse, and she galloped to the mountain. She knew all about the stories, so she predicted that Pilla was hidden there. The mountain itself looked pretty scary. On top was a big stone snake, and it looked very old, and then it came alive! 

“What do you want?” it asked.

Pimilla was too shocked to speak. Was she really seeing a stone animal speak to her? 

“Answer!” the stone snake said.

“I came here for my sister,” Pimilla answered.

“Ahh. Well, that’s not going to happen. If you want your sister, you will have to get yourself and whatever-her-name-is out of prison.”

Before Pimilla could answer, there was a rumbling sound, and she could feel herself being dragged into the mountain! Then she heard a high-pitched squeal. She turned, and she saw Pilla. Then a huge snake pushed Pimilla into her cell and closed the door behind her. Pimilla pushed with all her might, but the door didn’t budge. Then she looked around the cell to find a way out. Instead, she found an old silver dagger.

“Don’t worry, Pilla,” Pimilla said. 

“I am never worried,” Pilla said.

Not paying attention to what her sister said, Pimilla freed herself from the cell by digging into the metal with the dagger. Then she freed Pilla next. Pimilla hugged her very tightly.

“Oh, Pilla! We will escape together! I just know it! As long as there’s magic and hope in the air, we know we can escape from these brutal, scary, and mad snakes! Now, let’s get a move on!”

They started to run away when one of the snakes stopped their path and the twins skidded to a stop.

“Oh! You are not going anywhere. I’ve heard that you can transform into a horse and beetle just like your mom! We captured your dad and your mommy who traveled to Mount Zilla. Lucky for us, our God Villa day is tomorrow, and on God Villa day we will murder you. This is because Quilla will awake for a sacrifice. And if we don’t feed you to Quilla, she will destroy Mount Zilla!” said the snake, seeing the confused looks on their faces.

Then he took a deep breath. These words struck Pimilla. What did the snake mean when it said that her parents had been here? Had the snakes killed her parents?

“Did you really say all of that in one sentence?” asked Pilla.

Pimilla jumped as she had forgotten that Pilla was even there, and she shrieked.

“What?” asked Pilla

“I’m sorry, I forgot all about you. You scared me half to death, also,” she added.

Pimilla cut the snake in half with the dagger and cut out the door. Over 1,000 snakes came chasing them, and they were poisonous too! It was turning dark, and Pimilla knew that in the morning the snakes would try to feed them to Quilla. There was a door at the base of the mountain and a button to close the door to the outside. The snakes pressed it, and the door slowly started to close. Pilla and Pimilla ran at full speed and slid under it just as started to close.

“We made it,” Pimilla spluttered.

They started to go back Bear Burger, and none of the snakes followed them because they were dueling Quilla. Quilla had awoken and was eating the snakes because she was angry that she hadn’t received a sacrifice. Now the snakes were defeated! When they got back to Bear Burger, there were two ghosts sitting in their booth. They were the sisters’ mom and dad. 

“I was so worried, so your father and I thought we should come and visit, so here we are. We also want you to know that no one else can see us except you both,” said their ghost moma.

Pimilla told them about their adventures, and they believed every single word of it. They were so glad that their daughters had defeated the evils of Mount Zilla once and for all. Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!

My homeschool teacher kept rattling off about algebra and other math facts, but I was paying no attention whatsoever. I was busy daydreaming. I was on a grand stage with thousands of eyes on me. I danced like an elegant swan as people cheered for me. I could hear my teacher’s faded voice outside my fantasy.

“Margaret!” my teacher yelled.

I suddenly popped back into reality.

I hate being homeschooled, but children like me aren’t able to go to normal school. I got very sick when I was little. My whole family was disgusted by me. They all vanished except for my mother. Although I was really young when that happened, young enough to forget, I still felt devastated. Because of my sickness, I lost my ability to talk and walk, but my mother is very strict about it. She would always scream at me if she couldn’t understand my sign language. Though I think dancing and painting are the best ways to communicate my feelings, my mother discourages it.

After homeschooling, I picked up my pen and wheeled to my mother’s room. I slowly placed my pen on the wall with unsteady hands and drew a beautiful dancer elegantly dancing as if she were a dove. This can prove to my mother that I have a passion for painting and that I would love to dance, even though I’m in a wheelchair. While I was painting peacefully, I could hear my mother’s loud stomps come nearer. The door swung open, and I could tell just by looking at her eyes that she was anything but happy. She stomped towards me and grabbed the handle of my wheelchair forcefully. She dragged me up the ramp with one hand and jerked me into the attic. She didn’t say a word to me. Then she slammed the door shut and left, fuming. The silence was chilling. I could have heard a pin drop on the floor. It hurt when my mother didn’t understand my way of expressing myself. As tears ran down my cheeks and dripped into my shirt, while I was wheeling back across the room, I noticed something weird. In the corner of the room there was something glowing behind a bunch of boxes. I came closer to this shiny object and picked it up as if I were holding one of my dirty socks. It was an ordinary looking paintbrush. It felt like an ordinary paintbrush as well.I carefully lowered it in a tin of paint and dipped a bit of it onto the paintbrush. I slowly but steadily placed the paintbrush on the wall and painted a small puppy about as tiny as my hands. My painting was good enough to look like a real dog, at least. Suddenly, out of the blue, my painting started to glow. If I could have screamed, I would have. The warm glow of the painting was glowing brighter and brighter until I had to look away. Finally, the light dimmed, and when I turned back around, a silky, soft puppy lay in my arms.

Chapter One

There was a Gingerbread Man. There was a Gingerbread Girl. The Gingerbread Girl and the Gingerbread Man got into a fight. The Gingerbread Man was evil. The Gingerbread Girl was evil too. The Gingerbread Girl and the Gingerbread Man wanted to kill each other because they’re evil. The Gingerbread Girl met a new Gingerbread Girl. The Gingerbread Girls fought and tried to roast the Gingerbread Man. They threw him into the wall and threw him into the air conditioning to cool him off. Then they threw him into the microwave to blow him up. The Gingerbread Man didn’t blow up yet. The Gingerbread Girl had a cute Gingerbread Dog. It was not even close to Christmas for the Gingerbread people to fight, but they still got out of bed, and they tried to roast him. Then the Gingerbread Girl got an axe. The Gingerbread Girls were named Eileen and Maxi. With the axe they chopped his arm, but it came back to life.

Chapter Two

The Gingerbread Man decided to be good.

The Gingerbread Man said sorry to the girls, and the girls said, “We’re sorry too. We don’t want to be bad anymore.”

They put away all the bad tools, and they all said sorry, and then the princess said, “No more fighting in this town.”

And they were so happy!

The End

Once upon a time, there was a cheetah named Max. He loved Coca-Cola. Each meal he drank five Coca-Colas. One day, he was drinking Coca-Cola and read the news. He read to stay fit. The next day in the newspaper, the cheetah saw there was going to be a race. Then he packed a Coca-Cola for the race and once he got there, it was about to start. When it did, he was stuck in last place because of all the Coca-Colas he drank. He felt like he was about to burp and then once he did, he still ran slow because he drank too much Coca-Cola and he couldn’t keep up with everybody. He kept on burping until he had to stop and burp and then once he started running again, his stomach started to hurt. Max’s stomach pain got so bad he quit the race. He felt ashamed of himself. 

The next day, Max was by himself at home. He read the newspaper again and saw there was a race tomorrow. This time he didn’t drink any Coca-Cola. Instead he went and got vegetables from the store and he only ate them for dinner, lunch, and breakfast. The next day, he was ready for the race. When the race started, the cheetah was in the first place. Max felt really good and then he won the race! The moral of the story is not to drink too much Coca-Cola. 

The End

Let me tell you, there is nothing better than the smell of bacon in the morning.  Even if it isn’t coming from your apartment. The neighbors were having a better breakfast than me again.  I looked down at my bowl of Kibble in a Can and sulked. 

“Kibble in a Can, the world’s chewiest dog food, yuck!” 

Would you eat dog food?  If you’re reading this, you’re likely a human, so I don’t think you would. If you’re a dog who has managed to read this, you are probably too advanced to eat dog food. So, naturally I had to get some bacon. 

What else was I supposed to do other than jump from fire escape to fire escape until I found someone cooking bacon?  After five fire escapes, nearly falling twice, and five minutes of barking at a particularly annoying cat, I found the bacon apartment. Now, I just had to get through one window, three people, and another dog to get to the bacon. You know what they say: take it one step at a time!

First thing’s first, the window. Maybe if it gets hot enough, they will open the window. The air conditioner was right next to the window! All I had to do was break the AC! This was starting to be easier than expected! Little did I know how hard it is to break an AC without hands. Have you ever tried turning off an AC from inside the house without your hands? (I don’t recommend it).  Well imagine that, but from the outside of the house, the side without the off button. As I got closer to the AC, I could feel hot air shooting out at me. I had to tear off the panel with my mouth so I could rip the wire. Have you ever seen those cartoons where the character turns black when they get electrocuted. That’s how I felt. Turns out I wasn’t electrocuted, I was just shocked. The good news was that I ripped the wire and I’m pretty sure it turned off because hot air stopped shooting at me. (I know this seems a little extreme, but anything for bacon).

As the cold air stopped going into the apartment, the people inside seemed to notice. A woman walked over to the window. As this was happening, I had a daunting thought: what would she do when she saw a dog on her fire escape? I needed to hide. I used the basic thought that if I can’t see her she can’t see me. I covered my eyes with my paws, but somehow she managed to find me! It’s crazy! She must be a witch who can see through walls! When she found me, she took me inside and showed me to the other humans. There was a small female human and a large male human. Due to the fact that I jumped out the window, I didn’t have my collar on. The worst time to forget. Once I was in the apartment, the small female started making a high pitched squealing noise. This really hurt my ears, so what else was I supposed to do other than start running wildly around their apartment? Big mistake! Remember earlier when I mentioned that other dog? Well he started chasing me around the apartment and this guy was big! Big dog means big legs and big legs means fast. Soon the large dog started to catch up with me. If only I could find the kitchen, then I could get the bacon and get out of here. 

After a bit longer, I ducked under the sofa where the big dog couldn’t get me. If my owner was here, he would call me a good boy! After looking around the apartment (from under the sofa), I had a strong sense of where the bacon was. Again, I’m such a good boy! I made a mad dash for the what I thought was the kitchen. I was right! I was in the kitchen, with a big dog, a large female human, and a small female human on my tail. I jumped onto the counter, where was the bacon?  I saw it! Right there in front of me waiting to be eaten, so I ate it. Not all of it, but most of it. After that, I didn’t know what to do. I had my bacon, but how do I get out? I had no idea. Oh, oh, I know! I can just go back home using the fire escapes. I am such a good dog.         

One day, a cow named Grass was eating grass. He liked grass because of his name.

Mmmmmmmmmmm. He said, “Grass is good.”

Then he sang his song. It was: grass grass grass grass grass-grass-grass grass-grass-grass grass grass grass grass grassy grassy grass grass. He liked his song. But one day, Grass woke up. There was no grass!!! Grass looked around. The cows ate the grass! It was like a cow-pocolips! Oh no! Grass was the only thing cows ate!

Suddenly, all the cows said, “Moooooooooooo!”

Then the farmer walked out the door and heard… “Moooooooooooo!”

All the cows stopped because he said, “Shh, I’m trying to have tea!”

Then, right when he was walking in the door… he stopped!

Grass was hoping the farmer would notice the grass, but instead he just said, “Oh, I forgot to say bye.”

Grass was disappointed because he wanted more grass.

He ran towards the farmer and said, “Wait,” but all the farmer heard was moo.

The farmer went into the barn and closed the door. Grass walked up to the door and picked up his hoof and opened the door.

He went in and said, “Um, farmer, I think that we need more grass.”

The farmer actually understood. Grass was surprised. Well, at least Grass thought he understood because the farmer was going out with planting seeds. Grass thought it was grass seeds. But, instead, he saw the labels on the packages, and it was sunflower seeds and corn!! Grass was allergic to corn. How dare that farmer!!!

Grass said, “Farmer! I will get revenge.”

So he walked back, away from the farmer. Grass was not very happy. So he fell asleep. 

Grass dreamed about having so much fun in the grass. For a second, when he woke up, he thought it was real, but it was all a dream. He looked around him, and as if things could not get any worse… he was surrounded by corn! 

He yelled out his cousin’s name, “Banana!”

And Banana loved corn so much. So Banana came over and noticed Grass surrounded by corn. He ate all the corn. Grass was finally free! Grass went along, trying to pretend that he was in the grass, but it didn’t really work out. He wanted his precious grass back. He imagined being in tall, tall grass. Taller than him. He could eat all he wanted and poke his head out and act like a cool cow. He really wished that dream wasn’t real. And he was glad that the corn did not grow as high as an elephant’s eye. And he thought when the farmer came back, he should say, How dare you not give me that grass. I need that grass. Now I am starving and so thin. That could be his revenge. 

Today was not a moo-tastic day for grass. He sang his song sadly. He was too sad to sing it. He was super sad. So instead he sang this: Moo.

Grass was very sad, so he went to Banana, hopped on Banana’s back, and said, “Giddy up, horsey!”

Grass was talking in his sleep.

Banana suddenly woke up and said, “I’m not your horse, Grass.”

Grass woke up and said, “Why am I on you? Oh, are you my horsey? I’m sorry, Banana! I’m just very sad about the grass.”

Banana said, “Well, just keep your hooves off me! Anyway, I have an idea. How about you just go sneak into the dude’s office and just steal those grass seeds and say, ‘um thank you. I stole your grass seeds.’ It’ll just come out as a moo, so you’re good. So yeah, just sneak in there tonight and say, ‘I stole your grass, so bye now!’”

“Okay…” said Grass, “But am I not too big? I think I’m a little too big.”

“So what? Just steal those away. But just think of how you would hold them—okay, Banana? Well anyway, I need to go to sleep even though it’s midday.”

When Grass woke up, he wanted more grass. But then he saw Banana was standing right in front of him with a little teensy pack.

“Could it be? Is it Grass?” Grass whispered.

Then Grass spotted a quokka.

“Hi,” he said. “I’m Phredd (fr-ehd).”

Grass was was like, “Say what? How do you spell your name?” 

“P-h-r-e-d-d.”

“Seriously?” Grass said. 

“Yeah. My name is Phredd, and it’s spelled like that. And I am a party animal. I’ve high-fived a camera before and just said hi to this person who was facing this camera thingy-majiggy at me. So yeah,” said Phredd.

“Um, well, we kind of have a problem with this grass,” said Grass. “So could you help us? Just distract the farmer with your party thingy-majiggies while I go sneak in, get the grass seeds, and grow some grass for me to eat. So could you just sneak in there and sing your song thingy-majiggy-thingies?”

“Okie dokie,” said Phredd.

So the next morning, they snuck in there. Grass asked Phredd to go in first and wake up the farmer and say, “Howdy dowdy, how are ya, dude?” 

“So then I can just sneak in there, get my grass, and sing my song once again!”

“So let’s go!” said Phredd.

“La la, loo loo,” they sang as they went to the farm.

“This is very fun. Now it’s time to sneak in,” said Grass. “So you go in first.”

“Okay, I’ll throw my party and have so much fun and high-five cameras and say hello to farmers.”

“La, la, la,” Phredd sang.

Grass could hear Phredd and the farmer screaming, saying, “Ah! What is this?”

He could also hear Phredd putting on a party. Grass knew now that he could go in and do it. So he did and he went in and thought, Where would the grass seeds be? This was very frustrating for him. But finally, he found them. He planted the seeds when he got out and got Phredd. He told Phredd to come back sometime soon. And a few weeks later, the grass grew. But now he needed to deal with the cow-pocolips.

He said, “You will leave. Now leave.”

And now there were only a few more cows: him, his cousins, and a few others. And he met another cow. He figured out that cow was his sister. She had a big bow and was black and white. And we will talk about that in the next story.

The End

Once there was a calf who lost its mom, and he needed to pass an obstacle full of lava. It was a river, and the calf thought he would have to swim through to get to the other side. 

But the lava was actually water that lights up. The calf stayed at a hotel to sleep for the night. The next day, the calf was ready. He was ready for the challenge up ahead. He was going across the world to the ex-lava river.

He went to the ex-lava river, and it felt comfortable and warm. He swam across, but he didn’t know he was starting to drown. And then he sank down under the ex-lava river. He could still see the water, and then he walked under water and spotted a ramp at the end. He climbed up the ramp then got to his mom.

Chapter One: The War

In a village called Lightling, people were living in peace. They would buy food from the markets, they would get their milk from cows, and they would have their toothbrushes made of horses’ tails. And in this village there was a woman and a man, and the woman was having a baby. But that was bad. Because when she got pregnant a war was starting. And the father was in the war. Luckily, she had the baby. The baby’s name was Spy. Spy was weird and funny. He also wore a ninja suit a lot. Spy was very tall because his father was tall. When Spy grew up, he got to go to the pool. When he was twelve, he went to the pool one day and he saw people leaving the pool and he was thinking something was wrong. But he stayed in. Then he heard a bang! Lightling was under attack! He got out of the pool and dried off and quickly got all his protection and went out. He saw thousands of buildings down and a lot of banging. Then he heard a rumble. It was so loud it cut out all of the sound. Then he saw what it was: it was a tank! And it was coming right for him! He ran as fast as he could. He turned around. But to his surprise the tank did not move. He thought it was a Shadow Spy (one of the most powerful people) and Shadow Spies were on the bad side. But it was not. 

It was his dad!!!

Spy’s mouth dropped. He ran to him so fast that he was out of breath when he got to him. But when he stood up he hugged his dad.

“I brought you something,” his dad said. “Spy, I brought you a navigation system.” 

“Thank you so much!!!” Spy yelled back. “But why will I need this?” said Spy.

“Because if you have to be in the war you can find targets. To see where bases are and roads,” his father explained. 

Then Spy went into the house and when he went to bed he saw something coming toward him. It was small and had big black letters all over it. When it got there it stopped in mid-air. 

“Do you want to join the war???” it said.

Spy was so surprised when he heard that he jumped out of bed. He looked at the plane and said “Yes!”

“Hop aboard!” the driver said. But he remembered to bring the map. When he got it he jumped out of his window and onto the plane. The plane was cozy, and it had beds. He asked where they were going. The driver said they were going to a castle. Then Spy went to lay down. When he woke up he was in a castle. The castle was big, sturdy, and had cannons. He looked around.

Someone came in and said, “Hello new air force commander. Would you like your uniform?”

Spy said yes. So the nice man came back with a uniform. It was nice and soft. He put it on. It was cozy. 

“Would you like a tour?” the man said.

Spy said yes. So the man gave him a tour. He told him where the tanks were and airplanes and other stuff. Then he went to the Great Hall and ate. After he went to his room and he took the map.

Chapter Two: The Person in the Castle

When he went out, he saw something turning a corner. Spy wanted to see what it was, so he followed it. First he was quiet. 

“Who are you?” Spy said. The person turned around.

“I am Dare,” he said. “My dad is in the war too. I am Spy’s brother. He doesn’t know that I’m his brother.”

“But he does,” Spy said angrily.

“How does he?” Dare said. 

 “Because I am a Spy,” Spy said.

Dare looked at Spy and paused. They had some quiet until Dare said “Now you know me.”

“But why did Mom and Dad not tell me?” Spy said, crying.

“Because I was once a Shadow Spy, and if Mom and Dad showed you then you would probably get mad,” Dare answered.

“But still probably I would cool down after that and I would like you,” Spy said. 

“No you would not. I did not like people on your side. Because I made the army of the Shadow Spies. Think. I made the Shadow Spies,” Dare said, emotionless. 

Dare suddenly began to cry. “I’m sorry,” Dare finally said. “Let’s be friends.” Spy hugged Dare. 

All of the sudden Spy heard lights flashing in the castle. 

The castle was under attack!!! He saw what it was. It was boats with Shadow Spies on them and they were shooting the castle! He saw a knife on the ground. He picked it up. He went outside. He dodged nineteen bullets.

He aimed at the leader of the spies. He threw the knife at the bottom of the boat. The boat sank. Just five more boats. He saw Dare shooting down more. He saw a watch-tower. He went in it and started shooting the boats down. He saw more and more coming, but he got those too. And finally they had victory!!! And partied all night long!  

But they didn’t know that the Shadow Spies were getting sleep. The Shadow Spies were ready to get revenge! So when they were asleep they dropped heavy balls and almost knocked them down. Then Spy woke up from sleep and saw even more Shadow Spies. He defeated all of them, working together. And then Dare and Spy traveled back to their parents in Lightling.

Then they had a turkey and mashed potato dinner and were all happy. 

Then they went to bed. His brother tucked him to bed, got him water, got toothpaste on his toothbrush, and he went to bed. The next morning the mom had a surprise for them: french toast, pancakes, and waffles with whipped cream. They even had a chocolate milkshake with hot chocolate!!! They ate the whole thing of pancakes, french toast, and waffles!! After they had to lay down. They laid down so long they fell asleep for an hour!!! After they called the jet that started how they got to the castle. And when Spy and Dare got there they were elected leaders. They told everyone that they can go to their beds and rest. After they told them to get in their planes and go to do tricks and have an air show.

Chapter One

Hi, I’m Rayan, and my family is going to Puerto Rico.

“Hurry up, and get your bag. We have to go,” said my mom.

“Okay,” I said.

I love Puerto Rico. I go at least once a year, and I have so much fun! 

When we got to the security checkpoint at the airport, we were so sloppy we couldn’t even walk. We had to get up so early after we stayed up all night packing our bags, and we were tired! 

When we got on the plane, it was so hot. The flight attendant told me that my bag was too heavy and that it would have to go under the plane. I felt fine with that because I didn’t want to deal with my bag on the plane anyway.

When the plane was up in the air, the beverage cart came around. I had a Sprite, but it made me want to go to the bathroom. So I got up to go to the bathroom.

Chapter Two

When I got inside, the whole bathroom was shaking! At first I thought someone was playing a trick, but when I got out, I realized the whole plane was shaking.

“The turbulence has broken down the beverage cart,” the flight attendant said.

“Hey, folks, we just hit a patch of bumpy air,” the pilot said.

That did not seem right to me.

Chapter Three

The turbulence lasted for about two minutes more, but before you knew it, we landed. We were so tired.

When we were in Puerto Rico, we went to our summer home. Our summer home is big. It was dark, so I just went to bed.

Chapter Four: Pool Party

The next day, we went to my cousin Gabrel’s pool party. When we saw my cousins, we went to get a hot dog.

“Umm,” I said. “This is good.”

Chapter Five

I didn’t go in the pool. Last time, I fell in the pool with my normal clothes, and that was not fun. After five days, we had to leave for our flight. We left Puerto Rico, and we got on the plane to go back home. It was a great trip, and I had lots of fun!

THE END

Once there lived a donut, and her name was Sprinkles. She had chocolate icing and rainbow sprinkles.

Sprinkles really wanted to take a bite out of a muffin, but they were far away from where she was. She tried to roll, but the glass was blocking her. She was in a bakery. She was also next to one mean cupcake who did not let her move. The cupcake was too busy teasing her about being a donut and saying that they were better than her. She sometimes cried, but she learned to ignore them. Sometimes she wished she was a cupcake.

And then someone picked her up and put her in a brown bag. She was happy that she was leaving the cupcakes. But she was wondering where she was going. Sprinkles was a bit nervous but happy at the same time. Then she thought that she was moving for a long time. She was not happy anymore—she was scared.

Sprinkles didn’t know where she was going. Until she got put on a plate. She looked around and saw that she wasn’t in the bakery anymore. She didn’t recognize this place at all… until she realized that someone was making coffee. She didn’t know what they were doing. So she started rolling off the table, and then she saw a dog under the table. It looked like it was a bulldog. She froze. The bulldog chased her. The guy looked at Sprinkles and picked her up and… put her in the trash can. Ahh!

Sprinkles landed in a big pile of brown stuff. She sniffed it to see if it was a muffin. It smelled terrible. She didn’t know what it was… until she remembered that she had poked a hole in the brown bag before she was on the plate and saw the bulldog pooping. She screamed.

Sprinkles went to the opposite side of the trash can. She tried to climb out. She failed the first time, but after she tried a few more times, she did it. She pushed on the lid, and it worked! Sprinkles got out of the trash can so she hopped upstairs, making sure the bulldog didn’t see her or smell her to go take a shower.

She was thinking that the bulldog would find her any minute now, but no one came in the bathroom. When she saw the sink dripping, she went on the toilet, on the toilet paper, and then hopped on the sink. And she took her little shower. 

After she took a shower, she went to the edge of the sink and rolled to the other edge of the sink and jumped through the nearest window. She wouldn’t dream of living with a bulldog! She was terrified of it! She landed on a soft pile of grass. Then she saw the Bulldog sitting behind the back door screen—she didn’t care because he couldn’t get out.

“Do you want to go outside, Pumpkin?” someone said.

She quickly hid in a bush. The screen door opened and… Pumpkin ran outside and started chasing a butterfly. It was beautiful—it was purple with black swirls. She wanted the Bulldog to leave because she wanted to go back to the bakery and find the muffin. The dog stopped chasing the butterfly and started sniffing the floor. Sprinkles suddenly felt scared. When the dog came to the bush, she got very nervous too. So she backed up. The dog went around the bush and saw a little, tiny brown spot, and he went closer and saw Sprinkles. 

Sprinkles ran out of the bush and started going to the bakery. The person in the house started chasing after Pumpkin and brought him back to the house. She slowed down her pace. She didn’t know where she was going, though. So she tried to retrace her steps. When she got back to the house, she remembered the way to the bakery. So she went to the bakery. She had a problem when she reached the bakery. The door said, “Closed.” When she tried to open the door, it was locked. So she found a tree and climbed it. It was a small tree, so she jumped into one of the bakery’s windows. She landed where she remembered she was made. She thought it must be the kitchen. She went out the door and looked for the muffin. The muffin was sleeping, so she was very quiet so that the muffin wouldn’t wake up and get mad at her. She was about to take a big bite out of the muffin when the muffin woke up and looked at her. 

The muffin asked, “What are you doing?”

So she told the muffin the truth. The muffin wasn’t very upset, but the muffin said not to do it again. So Sprinkles said okay. Sprinkles could see that they were starting to make friends. She liked the muffin very much, so she asked if they could be friends. The muffin said yes, and she was very happy because now she really liked the muffin. The muffin asked if she could go back to sleep, and Sprinkles said yes because she didn’t want to lose a friend. She was very tired, so she fell asleep too. In the morning, she saw the bulldog and the man. The muffin was still sleeping, but she hid behind the muffin. The man was picking cupcakes next to him, and Sprinkles was glad that he didn’t like the cupcake because she knew what would happen to the cupcake. The muffin finally woke up, and he said that he should’ve introduced himself, so he said his name was Blueberry because he was a blueberry muffin. Sprinkles said that her name was Sprinkles. Now she realized that she didn’t want to eat a muffin but that she wanted to make friends with a muffin.

Chapter One

Once upon a time, there was a cupcake named Sophie. She lived in a bakery in New York. Sophie had everything but cake. Sophie really liked cake. When she was four years old, she started eating lots of cake. She would sneak into the kitchen in her house and grab a piece of cake and eat it in her room in a cabinet.

She had heard lots of people saying, “Can we have that piece of cake for a birthday party?”

That made her decide that maybe she could have a birthday party and have some cake. 

One night, when everybody was gone at the bakery, Sophie went out of her little house, out of the bakery, and went to go find a piece of cake.

On the news it had said, “Whoever gets this strawberry cake can have it for the rest of their life, and it is in Queens.” But Sophie had arms and legs made out of cupcakes. She started heading toward Queens on foot. She had to walk down the sidewalk, and when she was heading for Queens, a fox came by. It was a fox with a sword to block Sophie. 

The fox was getting ready to chop Sophie in half. The fox didn’t want Sophie to get the cake because he wanted it. Sophie was holding a basket of cherries just in case there was something blocking her, so she could just throw it at it. And then, when Sophie got to the fox, she threw the cherries at the floor, so the fox could catch them. So, the fox started catching the cherries with his sword, and after a couple of cherries, Sophie ran right past him.

When Sophie got past the fox, she was getting close to the bridge. She could see the bridge over the buildings. Sophie started to feel something really hot on her. Then, she looked up to the sky, and she saw red spots coming down from the sky.

“What in the world is going on?!”

It was raining hot sauce!!! Sophie tried to dodge the hot sauce. But, when the hot sauce started coming down hard, she still had to go under things so she could make it to the bridge. She saw an icy stand across the street. I think I should run super fast across the street to get to the icy stand to hide under! Then she climbed up a tree and jumped onto another tree, and there was a very long branch, and since there was a very long branch, she could balance on it and go the next tree on the other side of the street. When she dropped down from the other tree, she quickly ran to the icy stand, and she wanted a cup from the icy stand, so she could hide under. She saw it next to an icy bin and while the customer was ordering, Sophie quickly took a cup and hid under it. She got close to the bridge, the raining hot sauce stopped, and then she started walking towards the bridge.

Then a lion quickly ran in front of her and blocked her.

Sophie said, “Uh oh, why is there a lion in front of me??”

The lion heard her, and the lion said, “You’re not going to get to that cake because I want to get that cake also!”

And then Sophie said, “Well, I’m going to get that cake before you!” 

And then Sophie said, “Well, I will be able to sneak behind you and get that cake before you.” 

He said, “Are you sure? But I’m definitely going to block you.”

And then Sophie started hiding behind a rock right next to her. And the lion looked at the sky, and the sun started to rise up. So then, when Sophie was behind the rock, the lion looked back, and he was really confused where Sophie was. The lion looked where Sophie was standing, and the lion thought that Sophie just quickly went invisible. It was the lion’s first time seeing a real cupcake in his life that could move, so then the lion wouldn’t eat the cupcake because the lion didn’t like cupcakes, but the lion could smell the cupcake like animals. So then the lion looked for the cupcake, and then Sophie started to go on the bridge and walk.

The bridge had vines to swing on for fun. Sophie looked very confused. She never saw a bridge with vines. She saw points from the road and wondered why. 

Next, there were swords sticking up, and Sophie had to swing on vines and not fall on the swords. Since Sophie had arms and legs, she took her arms and hung on the vines, and she pumped her legs so she could swing. When Sophie was swinging on the vines, she could feel the breeze. When she swung onto the last vine, her hands almost slipped, and she almost fell. She quickly jumped on the other side of the swords. 

“Phew! I can’t believe I almost fell. I can’t wait to enter Queens!”

Queens seemed so close. In Queens, it looked so much different than in New York. There were no big people. There were only tiny people. All the buildings were are also tiny. She continued walking. She was heading to a park where a birthday party was. Sophie was really excited to go get the cake.

Chapter Two

Sophie saw the park and knew where to go. She was about to walk off the bridge, but then   there was a gorilla! The gorilla had an axe to block Sophie. When the gorilla blocked Sophie, the gorilla thought he could have the cake all to himself. 

“I’m going to go get that cake before you do!”

“Well, since I’m tinier than you, I can get it first!”

The gorilla saw the cherries that Sophie had in her basket.

“Those cherries look yummy.”

“Do you want these cherries?”

The gorilla said, “I’d love to take your cherries for dinner.”

“You can have all of these cherries for your dinner.”

Sophie brought the cherries for the gorilla to eat for dinner. When Sophie put the cherries to the gorilla to chop up, Sophie started tiptoeing past the gorilla until she got to the cake. It was strawberry cake with two levels, lots of vanilla frosting on the top, with rainbow sprinkles, and a cherry on top. Sophie was really surprised at how big the cake was.

“This strawberry cake looks very yummy!”

She licked her lips and made a delicious face. She thought she could share with her friends if she had enough to eat by herself. Sophie promised her friends that she would give some of the strawberry cake, and now Sophie was thinking, Should I keep it all to myself?

Meanwhile, the gorilla was thinking. After the gorilla chopped all the cherries into small pieces, the gorilla walked over to Sophie and said, “Can we trade these really small pieces of cherries for the whole cake?”

Sophie said, “No because I’m sharing it with my friends.” 

“Okay, fine, but one day I’ll get that cake!”

Then, the gorilla left and had his cherries for his dinner. 

Sophie decided to share with her friends because she promised them that she would share a piece of cake with them. And if she didn’t share with her friends, she thought that her friends wouldn’t want to be friends with her anymore and tell a lie to her friends. 

She called with her very tiny phone. Her phone had cat ears with strawberries. It has sprinkles all over it.

She said, “Do you want to have some cake with me?”

And then one of her friends, Emily, said, “Okay.”

She said, “I’m at a birthday party! Take a tiny car, and drive it to the Queens.”

And when Emily came, they had cake together.

Sophie said, “But, the thing is, I don’t know how to cut this cake!”

So then Emily quickly ran to the bakery and got a knife to cut the cake. Sophie and Emily cut the cake together, so they could share the cake. The cake was really good!

Sophie called her next friend with her tiny phone. She called her friend Lucy.

And Sophie told Lucy how to get to the birthday party. “So first you take a tiny car and you take it to the Queen’s. First when you get off the bridge, and you look to your right, the birthday party’s right there.”

And then when Lucy came to the birthday party, they shared one piece of cake together.

“Another day we’ll share the cake again.”

The next day, when they went back to the birthday party, they ate the rest of the piece of cake, and it took about nine hours. They felt hyper, and then at night they all went back to their homes in New York with their tiny cars and went to sleep.

Part One: The Great Museum

One day in the Met, all the Greek mythology and royal statues and animals wanted to be free and move around, so all of the statues and animals came up with a plan to sneak out in the night and move around. But then they remembered that the museum had guards to defend the outside, and inside, the watchers would see them move. Then they took a risk to just move around inside, and when the watchers pointed their flashlights, they would stand still. So at 2:00AM, they started to get out their bases and started playing tag and running, but then the night watchers started searching around. Once they heard a flick of the flashlight, they all needed to go to their base, and when they went away, they could start moving again. But one time when the watchers went away and the people started moving, one of the statues fell! He broke off a piece of him! The watchers turned around, and all the statues were moving but were too slow. They got caught! They ran to try to make a run for it towards the door, and once they got out, they jumped into the water in the fountains to hide. Once the watchers left, they moved to the back of the museum, so they would trick the watchers, but they didn’t because they stayed in the back. But instead of the watchers pulling them to their base, they screamed like girls and ran to the front of the museum. They didn’t pay attention to where they were running and ran their head right into a fountain. While that happened, all the statues went to the park and played more tag, but right before they knew it, it was 7:00AM.

Part Two: The Running Statues

At 7:00AM, they could have been seen, so they stayed up in a place where they were covered. Well… not really. They stayed up in a closed playground on 13th Street, and they said they would move to places and act like the thing they were. A statue or animal. They all split up. Some people went to the Empire State Building, Freedom Tower, Madison Square Garden, and more. When they got to their places, they even did some pranks. They split up, so one of the knights went to a playground, and he stood on a rock and stayed there. Once, he stayed still when people came and they actually thought he was a statue! They walked past him and touched him, and he stayed as still as a statue. After a few minutes, The Knight was ready to do a prank. He was right next to a bench that a dad put out a bag next to him. So first, he was starting out easy. The Knight tapped the dad on the bench. He tapped him and then went back to his pose. Tap pose tap pose. The dad was so confused! The dad was so scared that when The Knight tapped him, he jumped eight feet! It was so funny! Then The Knight took it to the next level. He kicked the dad in the butt and made him fly. He then grabbed the bag, put it in his pocket, and went back to his position. This time, the dad flew 50 feet! Then The Knight left on a car he snuck into. 

Meanwhile, the Greek Lady in a robe went to the Freedom Tower and stood on the street and waddled around the city. She went to the 9/11 Memorial and she stood there, looked down the hole and up to the Freedom Tower. She looked at all the names that died. She felt kind of sad and also kind of happy for the things that happened when she was made. It reminded her of her mom and dad and the memories they had, but they got destroyed. She also felt curious. Why would they destroy a cool building like this? Then, she waddled closer to the thing and looked deeper into the hole. More people came and it would be easier to be visible by more people, so she waddled backwards and went back to her normal statue position. 

While Greek Lady statue went to the Freedom Tower, the Baby Royal Horse statue went to the Natural History Museum. He was one foot tall and two feet wide. But, the Horse wondered how he would get in. Then, he saw a bag a little bigger than him and he thought he could sneak in that. So, he tapped the owner of the bag on the back. That made him look somewhere else, and then the Baby Royal Horse snuck into the bag and the owner of the bag didn’t notice. The owner of the bag went into the Natural History Museum and talked to the ticket people. After that, he knew he snuck in. The owner of the bag went into the marine animals exhibit to see the great blue whale. A lot of people adored the whale and some people were watching the TV. The guy who was carrying him went under the blue whale and looked around. He walked around for about two minutes. After he checked out the blue whale, he went back to the space area, where there’s also a big TV to watch about all the eors, shapes, stars, and planets. He didn’t go first to the TV. He went to the chunks of rocks from eors. He went to read about the different planets. The Baby Royal Horse was thinking, What’s is space? What are eors? What are planets? While the Baby Royal Horse was thinking that, the man went to the TVs. A lot of people were on the benches looking at the TV. They were very focused. The TV had a man on it saying things about stars and how fast they go. He thought, What are stars? After the man watched the video about eors, stars, and planets. He went to the land animals exhibit. There were rhinos, monkeys, elephants, tigers, bisons, and way more. The Royal Baby Horse had so many things in his mind. What are these animals? Are they alive? What is that background?

While the Royal Horse was in the Natural History Museum, Hercules went to the Guggenheim Museum and snuck in at night, but of course, there was a guard. So he snuck in very silently and quietly. He got caught one minute after, but the guard was dumb. The guard ran up the spiral, stood next to Hercules, and said something nobody could understand. Something like, “Yutiderawn cooooew!!!” Then Hercules punched him in the stomach, and the guard flew off the staircase and said something like, “Futfdssjsbnvjbhsaj!”  The guard flew 200 feet in the air and smashed through the wall. Then Hercules looked at the paintings and thought, Wow they look so colorful and bright and cool. Then he thought, I get why people love looking at things like me and these paintings. I want to get the attention again and respect. I’m going to tell the other statues and animals ‘Hey guys when I went to the Guggenheim Museum, I was amazed by the paintings and I thought I want respect, like how I liked the paintings. We’re cool and I bet people would like us.’ And he said, “I’m going to tell them how I want to go back!”

Part Three: The Lazy Guard

They were up in Central Park at 9:45PM, and Hercules told the Horse, Knight, and Greek Lady about the things he thought in his mind, and also the part when he punched the guard through`the wall. He got them pretty convinced to go back to the museum, so they agreed to go back and sneak into a car/truck and break the car with the mighty Hercules!!! So they saw a truck. It was a Whole Foods truck, and they jumped on it. Hercules winded up his arm and threw his best punch!!! Pow!!! And all of the truck parts broke in half like a knife through a piece of meat. Then they ran away because it was their last prank. They didn’t know where the Met was and they didn’t know where they were going.

They all went running in weird ways! They only knew the street the Met was on was 86th street, but they didn’t know which way went to 86th. Then they looked up and noticed the street signs. The number was 44th, and then they went to the next street 45th, next street 46th. They wondered, If we keep on going this way, will we go higher and get to 86th street? And then they said out loud the same thing they wondered. They agreed that they would go the way they thought was right. They got tired when they got to 54th street, so they took a break. They stole a drink and a bag of Cheetos from a pharmacy.

They waited for about five minutes and continued on their journey on getting to 86th street. Then they took a break at 70th street, and they were almost there! This time, they stole a big bottle of coke from a grocery store. Then they took a break at 81st street! They were so close this time, they stole a cake from a bakery for celebration, but when they thought they got out safely, they didn’t notice the camera caught them. They got caught!!! They ran out of the building like The Flash, while eating the chocolate cake, but they didn’t even get seen by anybody because the security guard was sleeping, so no need to worry. They celebrated with cake and walked to 86th. The guard screamed like a girl again, while they went to their bases and went to their poses.

Part Four: The Security Tapes

When they got to the Met, they thought they got back safely, and they didn’t think they got caught by the security camera. But the person controlling the security at night would check the tapes because he knew he fell asleep, and he would see the statues steal the cake and he would see the way they went. And so in the morning, the security guard checked the tapes and saw the statues. He wondered, Where did the statues go when they left? Then he thought, Wait… statues live in the museum and the Met is close to here so… they should be in the Met, right? So he went to the Met at 7AM, but it was closed, so he could not come in. So at 9AM, he went in. The statues were very scared, but when he went in, he got distracted. He looked at everything. He stayed at the water animals exhibit for 15 minutes and at the land animal exhibit for 20 minutes. He even stayed at the mummy exhibit for one hour!

He forgot about the statues, and the statues were not worried about him anymore, but then he remembered about the statues. He first went to the royal exhibit to find The Knight and Baby Royal Horse. When he got there, The Horse and Knight were scared when they saw him. They stood really still. The guard tried to touch one of the knights, but instead the guard for the museum tackled him like a football player. Unluckily, he broke his ankle and could not get up. There was one person that could look through walls and he looked through the bakery, where the security guard would be while it was closed because it opens at 2:00 for some reason.

The guy looked and saw nothing in the seat and screamed “Free cakes!” One million people came running at the bakery. The security guard tried to get back outside, but he just rested on the street, and the statues lived happily ever after.

The End

Chapter One

Once upon a time, there was a flying cow that breathed fire, but only when she wanted to. Her name was Agatha. She lived in a cave in the Netherlands. Her life was good, but she just wanted cake. 

The only things that were in Agatha’s way were a bat with a sword and a giant tarantula fish. The cake was guarded by the bat and the giant tarantula fish, and there was quicksand at the bottom of the cave that the fish and bat lived in! And there were rumors, ranging from a village boy in a shop to a knight-in-armor, that whoever went in there, no one came out alive.

Agatha had tried once, and almost got her head chopped off! But she was willing to do anything to get that cake. Over dinner, Agatha decided to go and get the cake, even if she did get her head cut off. She would even die just to get a bite out of the untouched cake she had heard about so much about from the newspaper bear. She started her journey.  

Chapter Two

When Agatha was halfway there, a sudden thought hit her brain with a bang. She felt worried. What if I fall in the quicksand before I get a taste of the cake? What if the bat kills me? Suddenly, she tripped on a rock and fell flat on her face! 

“Aah,” she said, and then giggled a long snorty giggle. Ignoring all her worries, she still kept going.

When she got there she eyed the quicksand, the giant tarantula fish, the bat with the sword, and the slightest hint of cake. It also smelled horrible in there. Since she was a cow, she didn’t have awesome athletic skills, so even with thoughts racing in her head she still shouted out, “Hey! I want cake! You’ve been keeping me from cake. I’m going to get that cake!” 

Suddenly everything was silent, then the bat flew at her from behind, and scratched the tip of her tail, not her body, but it hurt a lot. When they started the battle, the bat seemed to have the upper hand. He was slashing her with the sword, almost hitting her. It did get a few hard blows on her, on her black spot. Then Agatha got the upper hand. She tried to get the sword and held onto it with hooves and it did not cut her hooves. Then she was able to swing the bat around because the bat wasn’t supposed to let go of the sword. It threw it and then the giant tarantula fish caught it. 

Chapter Three

Agatha was triumphant!!! She went to the glass box that housed the cake, and looked at the keyhole. “Rats, darn it,” she said. 

But then she noticed the key. It was right next to the keyhole, just hanging from a peg! She giggled that snorty giggle of hers, and then the giant tarantula knocked her off her hooves! She got ready to cut off the creature’s head, the sword in aiming position, but as soon as the creature saw the sword, it squealed in horror at having its partner dead.

Then, it suddenly shrunk down to the size of a kitten and grew a tabby cats fur. Then its fins became a red collar, and it became a tabby kitten with a red collar that said, “My name is Sunny!!!” So Tabitha picked up Sunny, got the key, and unlocked the glass case. She reached inside, got the cake and then, to her horror, she found out it was soooo heavy! 

She couldn’t even fly because of the weight of the cake! But Sunny meowed along the way, even getting her clean paws dirty! So finally, she asked Sunny, “Would you be my pet?”

Chapter Four

Sunny meowed and it sounded like a yes kind of meow, and that gave Agatha the cow confidence. So she finally got home after a few stumbles and the occasional tripping on rocks and small animals. When she got home, she finally got to share it with her friends and family and she ate the biggest helping of cake. She also toasted s’mores with her breath and gave some to her friends, but ate the most s’mores Hadn’t she deserved it?

The End

December, 15, 1587

Dear Diary,

Daddy said he’ll be back soon. But I want to go with him just so bad. In England, here, there are not many opportunities for women. Hardly any, really. In what daddy calls ‘The New World,” people must farm. They must work. Even women. So maybe I’ll get a break from laundry, cooking, and cleaning all day. Maybe I can help build with my hands. Maybe I can learn how to fish! Here in England I did a task as simple as walking into a store in which they sold wood. The seller looked at me and said, “Hello, there. Um, the fabric store is just one avenue down. I can walk you if you’re afraid you’ll get lost.”  The man had a thin beard, just as thin as the ice he was standing on if he said anything like that to me again. No one will be on the land Daddy and I will venture to. Last night, Daddy had a man named Walter over for dinner. I call him Sir Rohlly, though. He wore a rugged blue coat and white shirt. He wore brown pants and shoes. The land will be called Roanoke, after my grandfather. I am begging my father, John White, to come along.

December, 15, 1804

Dear Diary,

Lewis just bosses me around. He knows of my many tongues, several skills, and connections so I can’t be too angry he is scared. Clark is no help, either. He simply buries his head in his hat. Sometimes they can be nice to each other, but most of the time, they fight like cats and dogs! “No, North is this way, Clark!” “No, Lewis.” And I sit there with the compass and laugh, because neither is right. But I breathe in and smell the trees, hear the hum of birds, see all the color, and most of all, wish I was back home, with my people. Instead of on the Lewis and Clark expedition. At home, they would include every one. We would share everything we had. I remember lending countless items to neighbors because they said please. “Please, Sacagewea, may we borrow your fishtrap?” We were all so polite. Ahhh, how I miss that.

December, 15, 1853

Dear Diary,

Tonight was a bigger group. Thirty, thirty-five, maybe. They all may be scared, but that sure doesn’t stop most of them. They travel through with me fast. Whenever they’re scared I tell them to think about the South. They start whispering with their neighbor when they’re scared, or they start to slump. They cross their arms at any sign of sound to think about how badly they were treated there. They quiver more thinking about the South than when they’re scared following me. Usually, it gets them going. Ten of the ones I rescued tonight were from my own plantation. Back when I left, the idea was next to insane. But now, people are flocking to hitch a ride on my railroad, with the best conductor. I must keep going back because I can’t think about those people I left behind. Even if they’re strangers, because of this, we’ve become friends. My brother is a Tubman, too. I wonder when he’ll want to leave. When I left, he wouldn’t leave. He would rather stay there, in the South, than travel to the North. He said he would rather be oppressed than get caught by people who approve of slavery. 

December, 15, 1903

Dear Diary, 

Not to brag, but I just won the Nobel Prize! For the second time! I recently discovered a green rock. It glows. I can turn it into liquid and find more. I call it Radium. Here, I’ll use it in a sentence; I discovered a new element: Radium. How about a song? Or a poem? You know what? I have to go to dinner soon, but maybe next time. This new element could do so much! It could save lives! Well, maybe. I’m worried about my husband. Ever since we started this project, he’s been very weak. But, as I’m sure you know, Curies are strong. He’ll recover.

December, 15, 1921

Dear Diary, 

Robert Abbot gave me a place to go. I want to fly so bad. And I will. In France. Not many will teach a black girl to fly in this era. I guess that means I’m ahead of my time. In France, I fly on a small plane. There are more buttons than there were sharecroppers on my field back in Texas. But I eventually learned what they all meant. As soon as the plane’s wheels start turning, I see the path growing shorter and shorter until I could no longer see the rock-filled road. Until I could see that very same road grow into nothing but one line amongst greenery so lush, it looked like second clouds. Until I could no longer see the road anymore, just a quilt of green. Until finally I could see the faint line of the road, then it grew bigger, and bigger and bigger, until the wheels of my plane smoothly touched the road. I remember the dirt roads in Texas. How when I walked my heels kicked up red dirt. It took me a while to get used to the city.  After many days of being up in that plane, I am handed my flying license. It has a picture of me and next to my picture the index card says “Bessie Coleman”.

December, 15, 1921

Dear Diary,

My father says that no woman should be in the cockpit. That they shouldn’t even be in the passenger’s seat. Well, to all those who think that, I will prove you wrong. It’s my third week flying on The Canary. It’s bright yellow and has an upgrade: cup holders. But I am fully focused on the air, the sky, and the cockpit when I am flying. When I was small, my father took me to an airshow. The male pilots did amazing things that took real courage and moxie. They did figure eights and loop-de-loops! I was absolutely marveled as they spun round and round. I told my father, right there, “Daddy, I want to do that. I want to fly.” My father told me to just see what happens. And now, fifteen years later, I am in the cockpit. First, the heat is so hot it’s like I am in a desert in the summertime. But I still climb into the tiny plane and flick up some switches. Then I start to move. When the wheels take off I feel like I’m on top of the world, though by this point I’m only 50 or 60 feet in the air. I have nothing to worry about. The blue goes on forever. And when I’m up in the clouds, I leave behind every one who thinks women shouldn’t fly. And I just do. I just fly. But what comes up, must come down. The plane’s wheels hit the ground again. And I get ready to re-enter reality. Because flying  in that plane up there seems almost to good to be true.

December, 15, 1935

Dear Diary,

It’s my husband’s second year serving as the president of the United States. And it’s my second year serving as the first lady. I drive the car to grab groceries, cook dinner, clean, and give speeches about civil rights in the very same day! Of course our maid, Mary, helps with chores, too. Living in the whithouse does have its perks. I am to speak tomorrow as well. I have it all prepared. When Franklin was campaigning, he would practice each of his speeches at least fifty times. And he would speak them to me. So I present my speeches to Franklin. Every night. He gives me terrific feedback. Our goals are different, yes, but Franklin supports me a whole lot. I am grateful to have such a wonderful husband and think we make a wonderful team. 

December, 15, 1872

Dear Diary,

I went through the streets today. Seventy-five women followed me, holding up signs saying “RIGHTS FOR ALL” and “EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN”. I held up a sign that said both. A couple of months ago I voted. They said it was illegal, but ,no, it was right. Three women came with me. Everyone stared, but we put in our ballots and walked out of there like we owned the place. I had dinner last night in my apartment. I cut out the words in articles that all citizens are supposed to trust. Usually, I love seeing my name in print, but not in these articles. They say things like Susan B. Anthony voted illegally for the U.S. president. She will be questioned.

December, 15, 2000

Dear Diary,

I know that everyone deserves a fair trial, so I give them one. I am the second female Supreme Court Justice. I don’t have much to write about. Yesterday I argued a murder case. It’s really quite exhilarating. Looking at evidence, hearing both sides, (it makes it easier when my kids are fighting) and getting to decide the fate of these people. I am working on a case for a woman named Mrs. Boji. She says while she, her husband, daughter, son, and sister were on the beach for ‘Splash Saturday,’ there car was stolen. In the car, there was a necklace of diamond and gold. I am writing now, but Ms. Boji, Mrs. Boji’s sister, is supposed to come by and talk so we can figure out more about this case. I must look over some documents and papers before she arrives.

December, 15, 4012

Dear Diary,

This is the first time I’m writing. I thought it might be a good time to write considering I am going on an adventure. I am in my space pod right now traveling back in time about 3000 years to meet Elizabeth White. Then I will keep recruiting influential women from the past. Why? Oh. Because an evil man named Xoron Zomm is trying, and succeeding, to destroy planet earth. He wants to put us back in the dark ages. My name is Quinn Quile. My father is… well… our version of a president. So, he chose his only daughter to save the world. I’ll write back soon, but I think I just landed In England. December, 15, 1587.

***

Alright, Elizabeth’s on my ship. I was so brave! Elizabeth was sewing on a rocking chair when I walked in. I told her of the future. She was actually looking for adventure. Of course, it took me an hour to get Elizabeth to that state. At first she held her needle up like I was an intruder. But she wanted more. She knew coming with me would give her that. So, she followed me onto my pod.  She gladly followed me on my ship with her needle and thread. She is now looking all around like she’s never seen an intergalactic starship before! Daddy taught me of each of these times and constantly, up to the moment my pod left 4012, to not tell of these women’s individual futures. So I couldn’t tell Elizabeth that Roanoke disappears and that she could not venture there with her father. But I could venture myself to retrieve the next woman on my list. Sacagewea. 

Sacagewea is now on my ship. I found her three hours ago sharpening a wood knife. She pushed another sharp object away from her. She didn’t look up from her task until I said. “Ma’am…” I mean, sure, ma’am might not have been the best thing to call Sacagewea. You call a Prodfert ma’am. 

Prodfert: Noun

Meaning 1: A 4000 century version of a president.

(The Prodfert in 4012 is Zomp Quile)

Meaning 2: A small water bug that is green and microscopic.

(That atom is as small as a Prodfert) 

Or

(Another name for a female Prodfert is ma’am.)

But, I mean, I was super nervous! Even in my time Sacagewea is a legend. Anyway, she looked up from her knife, and she said, “Hello…”

I took a deep breath. I was talking to the Sacagewea. Deep breath. But before I could say anything else, she said something. “Why are you wearing such funny clothes?” I looked down, forgetting for a moment that the clothes I was wearing Sacagewea did not know of. I was wearing a Jupingoe.

Jupingoe: Noun.

Meaning 1; A garment of silk cloth that important people of 4012 wear.

(I saw Quin Quile wear a Jupingoe on Sunday.)

Now, before I continue I would like to alert that I am only writing explanations of these words because Daddy says we might get this book published. They will sell my book in every year in every place. Anyway, I told Sacagewea I was of a different world, which was more or less true. I could tell her everything as soon as she was looking around my pod like Elizabeth, like she had never seen one before. Sacagewea wore Shoshone clothing and her long black hair was in two braids. I recognized the two men behind squabbling about something. Sacagewea looked at me. Sacagewea wasn’t going to come with me by will, but maybe by fear. “I am a Nimerigar. Go pack.” Sacagewea looked quite scared. But she listened. I know it was cruel, but daddy told me to use any tactic necessary in order to get the women we sought to cooperate. I will tell her the truth in the pod.

Nimerigar: Noun

Meaning 1: A Shoshone myth of a person that eats people.

Sacagawea followed me, brown bag slung over her shoulder, knife in hand. When I showed her my pod she put her knife in her bag.

“You are no Nimerigar! This is not a Nimerigar home!” Sacagewea turned to go back.

“Wait!” I screamed after her. She turned back.

“Yes?” She said harshly. “I know you do not like Lewis and Clark. But you are talented. I need your help. Please.”

“How?” she answered skeptically.

“The future is in peril. And we need you to save it.”

“Why would I help a liar?”

I sighed. “Because if you stay, you, yes you, will be a legend.” Then realizing what my father had said I added, “Maybe. But, you can change the world if you come with me.”

And she said “Okay.” And that is how I got Sacagewea on my pod. Next stop; 1853.

***

So…that was hard. Harriet came after many attempts, but eventually, I knew just what to say. Three down, six to go. Marie Curie. I got out my radiation suit.

***

Marie Curie was easy to persuade.

I found her where she spends most of her time. In her lab. She swirled the glowing liquid with a spoon. “Marie Curie…” She wasn’t as surprised as I’d expected.

“Hello. I always have time for fans.” 

“No, no” I stammered. “Well, yes, I am a fan, but that’s not why I came. The future is in peril. We need your help.”

“Sure,” said Marie. “Really? Just… just like that?”

“Well, yeah. I think it’s a great opportunity. Besides, I’m quite curious.” Curious Curie down. Five more to go.

***

Both Bessie Coleman and Amelia Earhart jumped at the chance to come to the future and fly. They became great friends when I brought them back to my pod.

“I think we deserve a nickname.” Amelia said.

“I agree.” Bessie found a spot next to Amelia who found a spot next to Marie. “How about…. The Future Flyers!”

“Brilliant, Bessie!” Amelia cried.

***

Eleanor Rooesvelt I found cooking smoked salmon with her maid for dinner.

“Mary, will you give us a minute?” I smiled a little. So did Elanor.

“So, how’d you get in? Through the front door?” The truth is, I used my flantro.

Flantro: Noun

Meaning 1: A device that makes you shapeshift.

I turned into a ma’am. But of course I didn’t tell Eleanor that. I told her the same thing I told Marie. It’s just getting easier and easier.

***

I now have seven women on my pod. I just retrieved one more. I found Susan eating alone in her house. She wasn’t all that scared to see me.

“Susan—” but before I could go on Susan interrupted me.

“I prefer Ms. Anthony,” she said sternly.

“Ms. Anthony.”

“Oh, yes.”

“The future needs you.”She looked down. “I must stay here. Women need me.” “Exactly. In the future. No time will pass.” Ms. Anthony nodded.

***

One more. Ruth was in a courtroom. She was alone. “Ruth.” She looked up from the paper she was reading.

“Ahhh. You must be Ms. Boji, sister of well, Mrs. Boji.”

“No, sorry.”

“Oh. Then why are you here?”

“The future is in great peril. We need your help.”

“We?”

“Everyone in 4012.”

Ruth studied my face. “I am a judge,” she said. “I can tell if you’re lying or not. And my conclusion: I believe you.”

Nine down.

December, 16, 4012

Dear Diary,

Alright, I have nine women who are strapped in. Elizabeth has had eight… incidents… if you know what I mean. About to be ten. Of course I’ve only traveled this far through time once. And that was to England to meet Elizabeth. Ms. Anthony still seems a bit confused. But this is not a problem. She will soon see the peril the earth is in. I still have pictures in my head. Xoron wears his hair back slick, and says I am his niece. By blood, I am. But I do not love Xoron in the slightest. He says he is trying to cure the world of a terrible illness and only three stand against him. I stand against him and so do my parents. The visuals give me nightmares. Silly. Big twelve-year olds like me don’t get nightmares. The women are growing to be impatient now. So, I climb in the cockpit, turn on The Super Lukspower 3000, and start the engine.

The Super Lukspower 3000: Noun and Proper noun

Meaning 1: a super time travel thing that me, Fomal Cruston, the writer of this dictionary, does not understand. It helps with time travel. I think.

Meaning 2: An amazing futuristic cereal that I, Fomal Cruston, the writer of this dictionary, invented. Try it!

Not really my first choice to include a dictionary, but everyone from everywhere and whenever may read this book, so I kind of have to include one.

The engine revved and then I saw black. In the back I heard nine groaning noises. What a mess that must have made. I thought, too afraid to look back. Such a shame these women left their journals and diaries back in their time zones. That was three hours ago.

When I landed in an intergalactic port, one which we call, Intergalactic Port #14. (I think it’s got a nice ring to it). No one realized my return or that I brought nine women out of my pod or the different cultures each came from. Why? Xoron. Xoron’s view on how to “cure this wretched planet” (his words, not mine) was to absorb everyone into their phones, holograms, TV’s and video games. So, as I, and my nine recruits walked up the cobblestone road, only Ruth and I recognized the oldest of the technology that someone was holding to their face. An iphone x. There was a big building and in front of it were the words “You will be processed for weaponry and other security needs, but welcome to earth. Or welcome to 4012.” Elanore Roosevelt and Marie Curie took great lengths of time feeling the walls of the building. I don’t know why. I’m sure even in 1903 and 1935  they had extra-condensed-super-absorbing-foamy-incredibly soft metal that looked and smelled and felt like vanilla cake (ECSAFISM), but if they didn’t, I suppose I understand why they had their noses glued to the wall. I let the girls sniff the wall while I tried to get us Country Enter Forms. The accountant was clicking his mouse furiously. He clearly had had that computer for a very long time if it still had a mouse.

“Excuse me?” I asked in the most polite way I could considering everything with Xoron. 

“I’m on my break,” said the man not looking up. “Try Sarah.” He then groaned and started clicking again.

“The thing is,” I tried again, “We need Country Enter Forms… now.” I said this in  a very harsh, stern voice. The man playing video games kept his right hand to the mouse and his eyes locked on Pac Man, but with his left hand he grabbed a box of Country Enter Forms from under his desk. 

“Man! You messed me up!” The man looked up at me. His pupils glowed… blue. “If you ever mess me up again I… oohh! A new round’s starting!”

Country Entrance Forms: Noun

Meaning: A form which you need in order to legally be on Earth in the 4000 century.

The girls followed me outside. Several people, kids and adults, sat cross-legged in the shrubbery behind Intergalactic Port #14’s parking lot. I took the biggest flying van. Sure, you could call it theft…

Then, I drove home, situated my recruits, greeted my parents, and am now writing to you back in 4012 in my nice bed. I need something to call my recruits. The Recruits. No. The Maybees. Nuh-uh. The Time Capsule. Yes. I made a small… index I guess you could call it that. Here it is;

The Time Capsule:

A cool team of heroes

Elizabeth White

Their Supername: A Braver Snow White

What They’re Good At: taking on risks

What They’ll Do: they’ll work in the field

Sacagewea

Their Supername: Mother Nature

What They’re Good At: many tongues, is one with nature, and is brave

What They’ll Do: they’ll work both in the field and as a detective

Harriet Tubman

Their Supername: The Conductor

What They’re Good At: brave and daring

What They’ll Do: they’ll work in the field

Bessie Coleman

Their Supername: The Perfect Pilot

What They’re Good At: adventures

What They’ll Do: they’ll work in field and specialize in flight

Amelia Earheart

Their Supername: The Amazing Aviator

What They’re Good At: adventures

What They’ll Do: they’ll work in the field and specialize in flight

Marie Curie

Their Supername: The Mad Scientist or Curious Curie

What They’re Good At: curiosity

What They’ll Do: at home base

Susan B. Anthony

Their Supername: Superb Suffragette

What They’re Good At: determined

What They’ll Do: both

Eleanore Roosevelt

Their Supername: The Revving Roosevelt

What They’re Good At: persistent

What They’ll Do: both

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Their Supername: The Judge

What They’re Good At: fair

What They’ll Do: at home base

Quinn Quile

Their Supername: The Leader

What They’re Good At: brave

What They’ll Do: both

 I  have a plan on how to defeat Xoron.

December, 17, 4012

Dear Diary,

I met with my father and The Time Capsule after breakfast. The room we were in was dark and dank with only one computer. We had to keep our plans secret. I gave each Capsule a Jupingoe to fit in. They still don’t. Not like anyone is paying attention.

“My father and I believe Xoron has the control of all technology wherever he is. So we find that, turn it off, and then, the electricity in all technology shorts out worldwide. No more tech, no more zombies.” The women nodded reassuringly. I read aloud the chart I wrote last night and they all seemed pretty pleased, so I was pleased.

“Well, you know your uncle, where would he go?” asked Ms. Anthony. I knew my uncle not, but my father grew up with Xoron.

“Dad?” I asked.

He looked ahead. “Syshy Valley,” my dad said, snapping back. “We used to go there for summers. But then one summer, Ma’ams had infected the place. It took years to rid them, so we bought another house during those years. We never went back to Syshy.” I nodded. “Thanks.” The seven women who were out in the field with me followed me. Bessie and Amelia flew for backup.

When we arrived in Syshy Valley, I could tell there used to be houses; plots of land were bare without the grass, but only one house remained, well, if you could call it a house. Wood panels were torn from the base and I could only see the faintest bit of teal paint that was once oh so bright.

“Ready yourselves,” I told my girls. We easily broke the rotting door down. Empty. Well, except for a striped couch that had so many holes, you could call it swiss cheese.

“Dad,” I said through the intercom, “it’s empty.” There was silence for a moment, but then my dad said. “The boathouse.” We walked another mile to a smaller house with similar appearance as the last. Again we knocked down the door smoothly and with ease. There was indeed a man hunched over a table and a ball-type thing which I assumed was the tech controller. Beakers with blue liquid and pastry dishes with red filled the table, cluttering it beyond my belief. The butterflies in my stomach would not stop flapping, but I walked forward.

“Oh, my niece,” said Xoron, not turning around, “you brought friends. How quaint.”

“Go,” I whispered. Eleanor was punched in the eye by Xoron. Girl down. “The ball thingy. Get the ball thingy.”

“I can hear you, you know. Now, before I punch anyone else, I’ve prepared a speech. A villain speech.” The walls were rotting like those zombified people. “Good.” Xoron smiled. “The blue light that shines off of tech is great! For every year you look at it, you live an extra five years. It’s great! And the pupils glow a pretty blue. Always was your father’s favorite color.”

“No, Xoron!”

“Ahh, so uncle is a thing of the past. Last chance. Does no one not want to be punched?” Elizabeth put up her fists. “Start punching.” Each writhed in pain for 20 minutes. Harriet knocked her head on the wall. Xoron punched Sacagewea three times in the stomach and Elizabeth five times. But I led Xoron outside. This gave Bessie and Amelia time to sneak in and grab the ball. 

“Sorry, unc.” And I threw metal cuffs over Xorons hands.

“You’ve stopped me, but you will never stop the world I created!” I’ve been working on the police force since my tenth birthday. My father always taught me to never listen to a freshly arrested criminal.

“You’ll never stop me…” That’s mostly what they say. So, I walked back to my van with Xoron and put him in shotgun.

December, 17,  4012

Dear Diary,

I think each of these women brings different things to the team. Marie is a scientist, Ruth is a judge, so she can get the truth out of people, and all of them are just so brave; they’re perfect for the field. Almost everyone in 4012 is zombified by their tech. I’m with Marie working on how to work the ball so we can turn off all the phones everywhere. Ruth is questioning Xoron. She came out with no definitive expression on her face.

“He’s telling the truth,” Ruth said as she came out of the prisoner wing. “The ball is what controls the tech.”

“Can’t we just… cut it,” Suggested Harriet.

“Cut it. Cut it!” Marie said sarcastically. “Wait… ” she said, “that could work.”

“Bessie. Amelia. Do you have… a wrench or something? For your plane?”

“Yeah. I was helping Amelia work on the fuselage last night!” Everyone except Amelia stared at her blankly. “I’ll go get it,” she said. I think she was embarrassed.

Seven minutes later she came back. Marie took it from her and pounded. It didn’t budge. After several more tries, it split. It split! Marie took out the important wires. We had done it! Our one computer screen turned off. We really had done it. All nine of us have saved the human race! 

December, 18, 4012

Dear Diary, 

Every rose has its thorn; every cloud rains; every up has its down. Today I must return all of the women back to their respective time zones. 

***

Alright. I’ve returned them all. I cried at every one. But each of them said if there’s anything that ever happens to call them. That it was super fun working with everyone. I also told them to tell no one of this adventure. No time had passed. I had completed my mission and made a few friends on the way. I kind of hope another peril happens. I could assemble The Time Capsule again.

Epilogue

May, 11, 4013

Dear Diary,

When I awoke this morning I heard a loud, blaring alarm. My father ran in and shook me. He looked worried. I’ve never seen him this worried before.

“Xoron’s escaped,” he said, painting, “and so has every other villain in our cells.” I knew that I could assemble The Time Capsule again! Time for another adventure.

Once a upon a time, there was a giant named Sugar. She lived on top of the clouds. Sugar had very curly hair. She was 53 years old. Her favorite color was dark blue. Her whole life she had been looking for a dark blue sandal. The sandal was special because her great-grandmother wore it everywhere. Her great-grandmother lived far, far, far away in a different part of the sky.

One day, she decided to look for it. So she went into her closet and pulled out the box that her great-grandmother left for her, and then she found the map. She also found a note that said, “Go down to Earth, and make a left, and you will find the guy who sells the sandals.” Then, she packed her bag with something to trade with the guy who was going to give her the sandal. She also packed food just in case.

Just then, a wind blew past. Then the map flew away! She also was only a quarter of the way down the ladder! She felt stuck. She was thinking about the dark blue sandals and missed wearing them.

Then she saw bluebirds. Sugar knew how to speak bird language.

She asked the birds, “Can you help me?”

The birds said, [tweet translation] “Yes, do you have any food?”

“Yes I do.”

Sugar gave them the food. So they went on. They helped her get down from the ladder. Sugar said bye and thank you to the birds, and they flew away.

She looked around and saw a bunch of small people. Even though she was born on Earth many years ago, she was confused. All of a sudden, she shrunk. She felt like one of her toy dolls. Sugar knew that she was smaller because even though she was a giant who lived on the clouds, now she was on Earth. So now, she started to look for the sandals salesman. Then she saw the man who sold them to the left of the ladder. She went up to him.

She asked him, “Can I have those sandals?” 

The man said, “Yes, do you have something to trade?”

“Yes, I have a pair of white shoes that make you fly.”

The man said, “I’ll take them.”

Sugar gave the man shoes, and she felt upset because she was going to use those shoes to fly back up to the clouds. The man gave Sugar the sandals, and she put them on, and she started to fly. She thought, Wow! I’m flying! These are even better than my rocket shoes!

Sugar got back to her home in the clouds happy and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

“Pack your stuff, Blobby! We’re going soon,” says Blobby’s mom, Blobba.

His sister, Blooba, says, “I’m finished packing!”

“I’ll be there in just a sec!” says Blobby.

He’s bringing clothes and a suit that can fly, and if he falls out of the thing that goes, he can fly. He’s feeling like he doesn’t want to go, and that’s why he isn’t finished packing and everybody is. He brings the stuff downstairs, and he sees all the seals waiting in the car for him. There is his father, Blapa, his grandpa, Bloopa, and his grandma named Blocka. And he sees his brother, and his name is Bloobo. They’re in a limousine, but it’s called Bloopausine. 

As they drive, they play slug bug. So first, Blobby sees a bug and picks Blooba. He hits Blooba. The first person to find the bug does it. Blooba starts looking, and then everyone does. Then, Blooba finds a bug and hits Blobby, and then Blobby’s mad at Blooba.

He says, “You hit me harder than I hit you!”

And then Blooba and Blobby keep on hitting each other until the car stops at the Cliff of Doom. Then they all go out, but they need a flying car! Luckily their Bloopausine has a thing where it drops the wheels and it brings up jets. So they fly their Bloopausine off the cliff, the Cliff of Doom, and it falls through the Hole of Doom and it goes through a pathway, the Pathway of Doom. Then it falls through another hole, and it crashes at a store, but the Bloopausine starts failing, so they have to walk with flashlights. 

Blooba says, “Where are we?”

Blobba says, “The pathway to the forbidden world.”

Bloopa says, “How long will this be?”

Blapa says, “It will take about a blobuy year.”

The floor starts rumbling, and then this huge tentacle comes out of the floor, and it grabs everybody except Blobby. And then Blobby is scared, so he tries to get back on Bloopausine and fly back out of the Cliff of Doom. When he flies out of the Cliff of the Doom, the Bloopausine is way too fast, and it goes all the way around to the North Pole. That is where he builds his house. 

Twenty years later… 

Blobby wants to eat his stomach.

Blobby is mad at himself because he can’t find the forbidden world. Blobby goes to a store in Tennessee with lots of sweets, but he forgets his wallet, so he has to go way back to the North Pole to get his wallet but has to get back before all the sweets run out at the store. He’s blobbing by, bouncing up and down on his belly. He finds the Tennessee store, but they ran out of everything, so he goes to another galaxy named Blobby-Bloo-Bloo.

He takes this magical train that can transport him to the other galaxy. The train looks like a normal subway 2 train, but it has sparkles around it.

It says, “Blobby-Bloo-Bloo Express.”

It goes 20 million miles per hour. Blobby is shaking really fast, and then it stops at a sudden point, and it booms him to the back of the train. That’s when he gets there.

Blobby walks off the train, and there are magical stairs going down to North Blobbie. He’s in Blobby-Bloo-Bloo, and instead of countries, there are bobbies. Bobbies are like countries, but they’re a different name.

Blobby goes to a bobbie, and this bobbie is named North Bobbie, and he goes to this place to find more sweets. North Bobbie has Bobbie Chocolate, Bobbie Popsicles, and a famous sweet called Blobbies Blue. Blobby goes to find it because it’s the most unhealthy, so it can make his stomach much bigger and faster. It’s made of seal stomach and dots of chocolate and vanilla and milkshake poured in and made of dough. He finds it, but it’s 22 billion dollars! Right now he has 22 million, and he needs 100 times more money than he has now to get that. So he tries to find a job in North Bobbie. He gets a job bloobing, which is like cleaning but it’s called bloobing on North Bobbie. He’s cleaning a window in a top house with his paw, but he has a problem. For every year he gets $10,999, at the end of the year he has $22,010,999, but it’s still not enough. So he has a solution of running for president! Then he realizes that in this country there are already two other seals running for president. So he tries to protest that there can be three seals running for president, and he wins the protest with other seals. Blobby gives a speech.

He says, “Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah bloo blah blah blah blah.” I will make so many sweets in North Blobby that everybody will be happy!

They all clap for him and cheer!

Then, the professional Blobbie that used to be president counts up all the votes that the other seals did and says, “Blobby wins!”

Then, Blobby throws the microphone up in the air like how you would throw your hat up in the air if you won something. He gets elected! He makes lots and lots of sweets and gets lots and lots of money! One year passes with him as president, and he gets lots of money, and now he has a really good life. He realizes he doesn’t want to eat his stomach anymore because he’s president of this galaxy, and his life is so good, and he doesn’t want to die anymore. 

So, maybe Blobby thinks he doesn’t have to always eat his stomach. Instead he thinks he could just eat his hand!

So Bloby is in the White House with his bandage around his hand. And he is in bed. The blood is dripping out of his bandage, and he decides to go to the hospital. So, he goes to the hospital, and they say that he should have another bandage to have protection over his hand. So, they give him another bandage to put around his hand, and they give him an extra one in case the blood comes dripping again. That night, it isn’t dripping, so that is good. During the day, he goes to see all of his money in the huge room that all of his money is in. When he opens the door, the money is gone. He blobs up and down in disapointment, and then he realizes he put all of his money in the bank. So, he blobs over to the bank. So, he goes to the bank, and one person is very, very, very mean and shoots Blobby. He is lying on the ground.

Blobby wakes up in the hospital. He finds himself wrapped all in bandages, and he looks like a mummy.

He asks the doctor, “When will I be back at the White House?”

“Never for the rest of your life,” he says.

And he says, “Do I have to pay for this?”

They say, “Yes, you have to pay two million dollars for this.”

But then, he realizes he forgot where all his money is and that somebody stole it. And payment is due on Monday. He has two days. So, he races out of the hospital before anybody can catch him. With all bandages around, he can’t blob anymore, so he’s just rolling around the street. He thinks he should go to the jail to see about the guy who shot him to figure out where his money is.

So, he’s at the jail. The jail has bars that looked like a tic-tac-toe board. One person is in a room, and the bars are going up and down. Blobby is really small, so he is able to climb through a hole in the tic-tac-toe board. But, he decides not to because somebody could just smash him, and he’s already really hurt. He is just looking around to find the guy. 

He passes people, and randomly someone says in a hoarse voice, “Hey yo, help me!”

Blobby looks at the guy. This guy looks like a seal that has goose bumps all around him, and his hair is all crinkly and going down. He doesn’t have shoes. He does not look like the guy who shot him. Blobby is looking for the guy who has a black hat with the brim in the back and Tony Stark glasses.

He asks that guy, “Do you know where this seal is with a cap with the brim facing on the back of his head and Tony Stark glasses?”

He says, “I’ve seen him around at lunch, but I don’t know where his jail cell is.”

And then he coughs. He starts having a conversation about stuff that he was innocent of. So, Blobby just walks around looking for the guy who shot him. Then out comes a seal that actually looks like him. He has all the same things he remembers him wearing! 

So Blobby is talking to the seal who shot him, and he says, “Do you have any idea where the money is?”

The seal who shot him says, “I have no idea where the money is. I also didn’t know that I shot you. I might have been hypnotized by someone else to do that and the other seal might have your money, but I don’t know who that other seal is.” 

So Blobby rolls out of the jail, and he rolls to the White House, and a quarter of the money is at the White House, and he’s rolling towards it to jump in it, but a creepy, huge tarantula swoops up all the money and starts crawling away. Blobby is too frightened and just stands there and then faints. When Blobby wakes up, he’s in his North Pole bed, back at his home in the North Pole, and realized his whole journey had to be a dream!

Blobby says, “Blah bloo!!!”

THE END

Blobby’s problem… do todo da do Blobby’s problem… do todo da do 

Chapter One

One day, a long time ago, there was a big storm. Rain was pouring. Lightning was flashing. Thunder was rumbling. People were getting very sick because the rain went very hard on them. Stores were crashing because of the lightning, but the rain, lightning, and thunder loved this. They loved it because they wanted everything to go away so that then it would only be Rain, Lighting, and Thunder to rule. They were laughing very hard because they wanted the whole world to belong to them forever!

Chapter Two

But they didn’t know that sea creatures were watching them and trying to kill them! On the team, there was a dolphin, a whale, a shark, a stingray, and the last sea creatures were an alligator and crocodile, and they were twins. The team of the sea creatures wanted to defeat Rain, Lighting, and Thunder, because that team was the bad team and they were a good team.

Chapter Three

They both were fighting. The whale slapped the clouds until they went to dusk. The shark was biting into all of the clouds until they turned to dust. The dolphin was ridiculously thirsty, so it was sucking up all of the rain. The stingray was slapping the thunder. And the alligator and crocodile were stepping on the sky. Even though they got stepped on, they fought back against the feet. Rain, Lighting, and Thunder vs. the Sea Creature Team.

Chapter Four

They were all trying to fight the shark and stingray and the rest of the sea creatures. The Sea Creature Team was defeating them. The Sea Creature Team won!

My name is Shealia. Don’t be surprised when I tell you this, but I am not a person. My true identity is a printer. I work at the FBI. You may be thinking, That can’t be terribly interesting. But in my 24-year life, I have soaked up thousands of juicy secrets. Don’t get me started on them!! 

I looked at the clock on the wall. It was 5:21 am. Smash! Crash! The sound of broken

glass filled the empty floor. I heard frantic yelling, then, a man in a pitch black full body-suit raced down the hallway and dove under me. I was astonished! I knew the FBI held very important documents that any decent crime-committee would want, but not to brag, my building is probably the safest in the state, even the country. I wish I was allowed to move, but the still-object code requires that I (you guessed right) stay still.

All of a sudden, a whole police brigade broke into the building, adding to the chaotic environment. The head police officer accidentally bumped my print button. That was it! I printed out in my neatest font: Under me! 

The police spun around, looking extremely confused. The head police officer read my message carefully, then motioned to another police officer who checked me for booby traps. Of course I did not have any. Why would I in the first place? A third police officer shrugged and as quick as lightning, the head police officer got down on her knees and crawled under me where the robber still was. I could tell that he was petrified. The police officer neatly captured him in one swift, silent move.

Fifteen years later… 

My name is Shealia. I am the most famous printer in the world. (The only one for that matter too.) I have won the Purple Heart for my bravery and the Nobel Peace Prize for my peaceful approaches to robbery. I am the best friend to the head of police, an activist protesting against the still-object code, and a detective to the police, all thanks to that fateful night.

Once upon a time there was a fish, and this fish was destined to go on a journey somewhere unknown. Bem bem bem beeeem beeeeeeeem bem bem bem bem beeem beeeeem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem bem beeeem bem! So one day, a fish was swimming in an ocean, and it was very hungry, and just so you know this fish had no friends or parents, so he was all alone. Every fish in the sea would always make fun of him just because of how he looked, so he tried getting a haircut, but that made it worse, so he wore this hat forever to show that he was strong. But that didn’t work either, and one day the fish threw him out of the sea. Remember that hat he wore? Yeah, it had magical powers, so he was able to breathe out of water. All the fish in the sea were very surprised, and all the fish in the sea all of a sudden respected him. This fish finally got a name. Nogill. So anyway, Nogill set off to find his meaning in life. He saw lots of things and went on a great adventure. When he was walking through a dark aisle, he saw two men wearing black. The two men lunged at him, and right at that moment, a scar fell out of the sky, and that is when fishsticks fell in love. With guns, he head shot the two men wearing black, and they fell to the ground. Then another man appeared, but this man was wearing white. The man looked Nogill up and down. You will be fine.

To be continued…  

Anna

I inhale deeply. The noise of rich Overs listening to the lies their “leader” tells them makes me sick. I almost feel bad, but no, he deserves this. They deserve this. Even if they knew the truth, they would never help us. To them, we are nothing. There is no turning back now. If I do, they will catch me. I need the money for my family. 

While I may have a ruthless job, it is common among people like me. Poor people, Unders, I mean, the dirt on the bottom of the rich people’s shoes. Since all the jobs that are kindly provided for us are dangerous, have long hours, and very little pay, most able bodied people end up in the black market. Although my job may be common, no one in my family knows, not even my talented sister, especially not my talented sister. Everyone thinks I work in the factories, making the ornate decorations that adorn the halls of the castle.

I ready my crossbow. It is an odd weapon, fashioned from household items because I am too poor for anything else. Since I am the best shot in the black market, most people have heard of me and want me to do their dirty work. I can pick and choose which jobs I take. That is how I got this particular deal. My client is very mysterious and I still don’t know who it is. It must be some Over who’s going to run for King.

I take a deep breath and the world around me goes silent. I close one eye to get a closer look at the target. I take another breath and then steady my hands. This is by far the most impactful job that I have ever been hired for. My hand pulls back and the world slows as the arrow flies through the air and punctures my victim’s heart. 

I put my crossbow away and start to turn around. My eyes widen and my breath stops short. My eyes narrow as I grab a knife from my bag. I feel a hand close around my mouth to stifle a scream that I know would give my location away to the hundreds of people watching the speech. The hundreds of people who would just love to see a public execution right now. Realization dawning, I put my hands in the air and sigh.

Ella

I pull my hair back as I walk to school. I have a gift, or so my mother tells me and one day that will save me from my horrible fate of working in the factories like my boring sister. While I am only twelve, I am the smartest girl at my school and know that when the Inspectors come, they will take me with them. It is a stupid attempt at trying to show that Overs don’t actually hate Unders. I am really just an exception to the wretched fate of being born a lowly Under.

I will spend the rest of my days in fancy outfits, an always full belly, and riches unimaginable. I will leave this dump behind and never look back. 

At school, we get our math tests back. I got a perfect score of course, but it still makes me a little sad. This is the last time I will get a test back while I am still an Under. My teachers all act kind to me, even though I know they must hate me. They act as if I am already their better. 

I practice saying my new name over and over again. Aravella. I still don’t know why the Overs are making me change it. I don’t care why though. As long as I can get away from my Under parents and sister who still think that they can protect me even though they know that I am better in every way than them. 

Everybody practically worships me here. They hope that when I go Up, I will treat them with respect and kindness because I was once one of them. I laugh out loud in class. Some people turn and stare but quickly turn away. Like I said, I have them wrapped around my finger and soon they will have no choice but to worship me for the Over I am.

I have decided which Under I will take Up with me to become my personal servant. It will be my sister because she has no real skill and I do really love her. She deserves a reward for supporting me even though she knew all along that I was better than her. 

I decided to play a trick on my classmates. I started lifting everyone’s papers in the air and showing off all of the grades. I noticed that some students looked hurt and some looked angry. At that point, I knew that going Up would be fun. 

Anna

A million possibilities of who these people could be come to mind but only one makes sense. They must be part of a rebel organization, but why would they have come for me? Sure, I may be good at shooting, but that’s about it. They can’t have come for money because I have none. 

The heavily armed men take me to a car. Half an hour later, we arrive at a building that is shabby, even by Under standards. They take me to a room that is completely bare except for a table with three chairs. Only one of the men sits down. He gestures for me to do the same. I sit. A woman walks in. Somehow, she looks familiar, but how? 

“Anna, I am the leader of a secret organization called the Hidden Sword. You are here because of your sister’s current situation. And, we need to recruit you. You are the best Under shooter, even if you don’t have a proper weapon. Our situation is dire. The Overs must be defeated,” the woman said. 

I pondered her statement. Suddenly, I realized that I had never told her my name. Something very shady was going on here and I seemed to be the only person who didn’t know what it was. 

“Well, if you are going to harm a hair on my sister’s head, I will not do anything for you. If you are going to attack the Overs, make sure my sister is nowhere near. But, other than that, I think that I hate the Overs as much as you do, so I’m game on,” I responded. 

I hoped that this lady had some sense of mercy, because otherwise, my minutes were limited. That wasn’t exactly the most endearing thing I’ve ever said.

“Anna, this rebellion isn’t about revenge, or hating the Overs. It’s about justice for the Unders. If we just go around killing people, we will just make Overs Unders, and Unders Overs. That will get us nowhere,” the woman said. “And besides, we need to have a new kind of society.” 

Ella

I look around my room and silently say goodbye. It isn’t much, but it has been my home for twelve years. Last night had been my last night as a lowly Under. I will be leaving Ella Craft behind and entering into the world of Aravella Swift. 

I put on my nicest clothes, brush my hair, and prepare for the Turnover. While I know that the Inspectors have to choose me, there is still a small sliver of doubt in my mind. What if they aren’t looking for somebody like me?

At school, everyone is tense and on their best behavior. They know that the Inspectors, and soon me, can end their lives with the snap of a finger, for something as simple as talking back, with no questions asked. My sister has always said that it is one of many faults in our twisted world. I used to believe her until this “twisted world” offered me a chance. She will need to change her thinking if she expects me to take her Up. 

The Inspectors come in. They are three tall men in long, black trench coats and dark pants. One of them is carrying a clipboard. They look around at their surroundings with distaste. Obviously, they are used to better decorations than our measly carpet, desks, chairs, and belongings.

I turned around to look at my teacher. She is biting her nails and looks like she is trying to make herself as small as possible. Contrary to her usual attire, she is wearing a long, modest, brown dress that makes her look like a carpet. She appears to have bags underneath her eyes. If three people in my class fail, so will she. She will be shamed, her job taken away. She will be sent to the factories, or worse, the mines.

The Inspectors go to talk to our teacher. They ask her about her students. She hands over our legal files, the files that will say that I deserve to move Up. 

They look through the files, concentration on their faces. They put aside three files. My teacher sighs in relief. Her job is safe.

“Thomas Splint, Michael Sander, and Ella Craft please come to the front of the room. All three of you are done with this school,” the Inspectors said. 

Anna

I walk through the corridor with the woman who has said her name is Wil. She is taking me further into the maze of rooms, halls, and doors. I suppose that it is better for them to have the weapons room farther into the building than on the outside but still, this is crazy!

Once we get there, Wil shows me dozens of bows, arrows, and crossbows. She says to pick one and that I can keep it. I am drawn toward a navy and silver crossbow. I can tell that it is no weapon used by Unders. This weapon is from Up. 

“How did you get this?” I ask. “This must have been worth hundreds, maybe thousands!” 

“We have more power than you think, Anna. And it isn’t that hard to intercept an order of hunting weapons,” Wil responded. I am starting to get that this rebellion doesn’t exactly follow the rules. They’re my kind of people. But, something clicks in the back of my mind. What if this is nothing more than a luxurious bribe, to get me to do something for them?

It isn’t that hard to believe and I wouldn’t put it past them. Still, even if they are trying to bribe me, it seems like we want similar things and it isn’t like they have me at gunpoint.

“What do you want me to do?” I ask. Better get this over with. Hopefully it’s something easy like killing someone of importance or maybe even simply stealing something.

“Anna, we need you to be a spy. You need to get your sister to take you Up with her. Likely, it won’t be that hard. Then you will listen in on everything you can. Politics, battle plans, or demographics will work. We also have some people who are already stationed there and should be able to alert you if you ever need to do anything extra. Keep a close watch on your sister and don’t tell anyone that you are apart of this organization at all costs. The King still thinks that we are nothing to worry about and I would like it to stay that way. I trust your instincts, so do what you have to. I will give you a transmitter so you can report back to me,” Wil says.

I am shocked. This will be extremely dangerous. Even though I think that I can handle it, what if I’m wrong? What if someone finds out and I am executed? What if my sister doesn’t decide to take me Up and the whole mission is canceled?

A few minutes later, I say yes and gather my things. Wil walks me back to the room where I entered and hands me my transmitter. It is smaller than I expected, but it doesn’t seem that complicated. I head home just as the sun is setting.

Ella

I walk to the front of the room. Unlike Michael and Thomas, I am not scared and walk proudly. Someone else might have felt bad for the two boys, but not me. They have controlled their own fate by failing the year. 

The Inspectors tell Michael and Thomas that they are expelled. They will graciously be provided with jobs in the mines. There will be no opportunity to switch jobs when the dust gets into their lungs or if they are injured in an accident. They have dug themselves a grave by not doing well in school. 

The Inspectors turn to me. They tell me that because of the kind and loving King Rexano, I will be going Up and I will be able to take one person with me who will become my personal servant. I will be taught in math, science and the arts. They tell me to go home for the last time.

At home, I tell my parents and sister triumphantly that I am going Up. 

“Anna, since I am going to let you come Up with me to be my servant, I expect you to gather my belongings and pack them. We will be leaving at sundown,” I say.

Surprisingly, Anna seems relieved. She does as I say and scurries upstairs. I look around at my surroundings and decide that I will not miss my tiny home.

Anna comes downstairs and says a tearful and emotional goodbye to my parents. She hugs them one final time and finally comes over to me.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” she asks.

“Why should I?” I reply. The quicker we go Up, the better. Besides, I am an Over now, I can do what I want.

Chapter One

I stood near the old maple tree my family planted about five years ago in our backyard. I was 13 years old, and it was 6:00 p.m. I had been standing there for hours. I finally sat down, and let the wind blow my hair around. It had been a week since my dad died, and I still couldn’t get over the fact that he was gone. Really, truly, gone. Since then, I felt off. I was broken, way beyond repair. He was gone with the wind. I just wish he could have told me. I wish I could see him, just feel his strong arms wrap around me. I wish he was still here most of all. I truly loved him.

I soon heard my mom call out, saying “Blair! Come back in! You know I hate it when you stay up too late! Plus, your first day of 8th grade is tomorrow!” I stood there with the maple tree, touched its gnarly bark, and went back in. That night, I laid in my bed, thinking about our tree in the backyard. It was the only thing that I could truly remember him by. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep. 

***

I woke up to sun streaming through my window and my new uniform laid neatly on my bed sheets. I groaned, and got out of bed. Just for a fact, I hate first days! My mom, she loves people being organized. Every time after summer break, she tells us to make goals for ourselves. Mine this year is to make at least one or two friends. The thing is, when you’re the new kid, you can choose who you are. For instance, you can be the doodler. The prankster. The mean girl. Or the oddball. I’m hoping I don’t have to be in that position. Everybody gives you these looks, and, well, they think you’re weird and that you aren’t good friend material and all that. So I shovel down my breakfast, brush my teeth, put on my uniform, grab my backpack, and get out the door. I walk across the street and try and think about how school will turn out. I walked along, and tried not to think about how embarrassed I could get or—and then I found myself at school.

Chapter Two

I gulped, and walked inside. I had prepared for any possible consequences or embarrassing situations that might have occurred at school. I finally felt like I was ready. I pushed open the door, and winced. Everybody was staring at me. I felt my face go hot. I did not expect this. Guess I was the oddball.

A girl suddenly asked, “We heard the news. Your parents?”

I replied, “W-well my mom is at work and…” I trailed off.

Then she asked, “Then what about your dad? Can’t he come?”

I paused, then said, “He… he died in the army. He was at war. Can we talk about this later? I have to get to class now.”

She then said, “Uh, sure, ok, but you never told me-” I walked away before she could finish her sentence.

I heard another girl say to the girl who asked about my dad say “Hey! She’s new! You shouldn’t pressure her like that.” Then she ran up to me and said, “hey sorry about my friend, Melissa. Can I talk to you at lunch maybe?” I then turned to her, and nodded slowly. Then I went back on my way to math class. I then thought, that right then was the most awkward first day of my life.

***

“So that’s it for that problem. Who knows what 122 to the power of 6 divided by 3 is? Blair? Are you paying attention?” Ms. Robins asked.

“Hm?” I answered. “Oh uh, yes ma’am.”

“Good. then can you participate next time?” she said.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll try next time.” I said.

“Ok, bye people!” Ms. Robins yelled, not paying any attention to me. “Hurry along to your next class or you won’t be going to class at all!” 

***

The next few periods passed by quickly, and then it was lunch. Then I remembered how I promised that other girl I would sit with her today. I looked around, trying to find her through all the other people. When the crowd cleared up, I saw her in the corner of my eye. She was waving me over, so I decided to walk up to her table.

Once I sat down, she said, “Melissa, she thinks all the new kids are weird, because when she was the new girl, she got embarrassed. So now, well, she turned out like that.” Then she said, “I feel really bad for you, hearing how he died, in a war. It must have been unbearable.”

I then said, “it wasn’t just the war, actually. He was the one who couldn’t bear it. He-”

She then said, “I get it just… don’t say the word.” She then got up from the table and she said, “I don’t want us to miss class now. We should go.”

But before she walked away, I shouted, “Hey! Uh, I never got your name!”

“Oh!” she said, turning back to me. “The name’s Kara. can we hang out after school today?”

“Yeah, sure.” Then I smiled. She wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Chapter Three

“So you came,” Kara said. I shrugged. What else could I do? We waited awhile in silence. Soon we had to go home. I had never known silence could say everything. That one night, I realized I had never, ever, ever, heard nothing. Absolutely, truly, nothing. It was quiet that day, and I was tired. Maybe one day it could happen again. Just one more time.

A few months later

Chapter Four

It was Winter now, and I was going to meet up with Kara at the skating rink. I skated once, but it didn’t seem that hard. I clutched my bag with my ice skates a little harder. Yeah, it won’t be too hard, I thought.

***

Ok. I might have missed a little bit. Yes, I had skated once. Once as in, well, five years ago! Yep, so when I got onto the rink, my legs turned to jelly. Kara came over to me and laughed. Then she said, “Here, let me help. I can teach you. But didn’t you say-” This time I cut her off. 

“Ehhhh, let’s talk about that later.” Then I started to laugh, and Kara joined me.

She let go of me and said, “Here! Try It on your own!” I tried it, then found it, well, not so freaky. I laughed, then spun around. I remembered how it was like, five years before. I remembered how free I felt. I remember I was skating with—no. I opened my eyes. I felt a wave of nausea and fear wash over me. I started spiraling out of control. I screamed.

All I remember was Kara rushing over to me, yelling, “Hang on! I’m coming!” and me falling through thin ice.

I could hear muffled voices through the water, but I could make out Kara’s voice saying into her phone, “Hello, my friend just recently-” her voice muffled through the freezing cold water. It sliced right through me. I desperately tried to take a breath, but nothing came out. I felt nauseous. Yes, I wanted there to be absolute silence again, but not this way. I could feel my chest breaking apart. Then everything went black.

***

I woke up in the hospital, with Kara beside me. I was going to move my arm to get in a sitting position, but a nurse next to me and said, “Don’t move just yet. We have to run a few brief tests on you first.” My chest still burned, but I stayed still after I heard that.

Some men in white coats came in and said something to the nurse. After they left, the nurse said, “You’re one of the lucky ones.”

I then asked, “What do you mean the lucky ones?”

“Well, most of the others pass away, but you, you are a strong girl. But your friend…” the nurse said. I had wondered what she meant, but before I could ask, more men in white coats came in and then I was quiet again.

***

After a bit, I was done with my tests, and Kara was still what seemed to be sleeping at the moment. I got up and tried to walk over to the door to ask for something to drink. I fell down the first time, but then got to my feet, sort of waddled around the place, and then I waddled to the door. I was going to open the door when I stopped. There were people talking right outside my door. I stood there, trying to listen in on their conversation. I could hear two voices that I thought I knew. One belonged to the nurse, and one was my mom’s! I was overjoyed. I wondered If she came to visit me!

I was going to open the door when I heard the nurse say something. “Your, your daughter. While she was ice skating with her friend, she fell into freezing cold water that was about 70 degrees fahrenheit. Her breathing was indiscernible, but she’s ok now, but her friend, after she called 911 and they hadn’t come yet, she jumped in too. They came soon after that, and hauled her out before things got worse. Now, her friend is in a coma.” That was when I realized she hadn’t been sleeping. When we had a sleepover at my house two months ago, I woke her up just by me opening the door. She was never such a deep sleeper. I fell to the ground and started to cry. I was bawling like a two year old.

The nurse then said to my mom, “Sorry, give me a second.” she then rushed into the room and said, “Blair! Blair, honey, what happened?”

I then answered, trying not to cry, “No. You don’t have to lie anymore. I know the truth. The real truth.” Well, I had learned. Even if you weren’t superstitious, thirteen was still an unlucky number.

Chapter Five

After that, I just blurted out the rest to her, not thinking about it at the time. I went on and on about it, even the parts with my dad. Then, the nurse told me a bit about herself too. Her name was Parker Thworp, and she grew up in Minnesota. She then told me that my friend ( “Kara,” I corrected. “My friend’s name is Kara.” “Ok then, Kara” she said), she was in a coma (which I knew, but I didn’t want to be rude and interrupt), and that a coma can last for more than a year. More than a year?! A year seemed like a whole lifetime to me.

I then asked, “Parker, err, Ms. thworp, can I ever go visit her? Like ever?”

“Well,” Ms. Thworp responded with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “It matters how she’s feeling. Maybe, If everything goes well.”

Well. I think hate is a strong word, but I hate the word well. It was the last word my dad said to me before he went off to war. I still remember his exact words. “Everything will go well, my dear Blair. Just remember, I will always be in your heart no matter where I go, no matter what happens.” 

***

So far, it’s been at least a year, and I have gotten out of the hospital. I sighed, then stared at the blank paper in front of me. Nothing had been going on since Kara had gone. I still visited her, but mostly I wrote to her. I couldn’t bear looking at her, so pale and thin. She looked like a ghost of her former self. I decided to leave the note paper there, and stayed there for the moment instead. It’s like I’ve been sending the notes for nothing. She was like Sleeping Beauty, but without the prince who heroically saves her by kissing her. It was not such a happily ever after at all, really. Another year without you has passed, and I can’t imagine another one like this.

***

A few days later, my mom got a phone call. I thought it was something about work for my mom, but then she said, “Blair? Yes she’s here. Why?” She then waited while the person at the other end of the line spoke.

Then she said, “Blair, hon, somebody wants to talk to you, this lady from the hospital.” I gasp, then grab it from my mom.

“Ms. Thworp? Is that you?”

I heard a few shuffling noises, then a female voice answered, “Hi, Blair! About Kara-” 

Then I said, “Oh, no.”

Then she quickly responded, “No! It-it’s not bad at all! It’s exactly the opposite! She’s coming out of her coma!”

I then quickly, almost yelling, said, “Oh my gosh! Thanks! Bye!” I then hung up, gave the phone back to my mom, then said, “Bye! I need to do something right now! Love you!” Then I slammed the door.

***

When I got to the hospital, I was out of breath, but I kept running. I ran all the way to where Kara’s room was, but before I could run to the door, more men in white suits came and one said, “Sorry, no visitors. We can’t risk-”

I shoved past them and ran into Kara’s room. I knelt near her bed and held one of her hands. I fished around in my pocket and then plucked out a bracelet. A friendship bracelet. I was hoping to give it to her when we were done ice skating, but, well, you know what happened. I slipped on her bracelet, and rolled up my sleeve to reveal one exactly the same.

I felt Kara’s hand tighten over mine, and then she whispered, “B-Blair?”

“Kara!” I yelled.

Chapter Six

Kara suddenly sat up, as if snapping out of some sort of spell. She then hugged me tight.

“I shouldn’t have let you go that day on the rink,” Kara said. “Look at me now, sitting in a hospital bed. That day-”

I then said, “No. That day we both messed up. It wasn’t just your fault, or just my fault. We’re in the same boat right now. Just hang on.”

***

I stood near the old maple tree my family planted six years ago. But this time, I wasn’t alone. We sat down in the grass, wet with dew that sparkled in the light, and Kara whispered something in my ear. something I can’t be sure if you won’t tell anyone, or if you will.

She whispered, “I couldn’t live a year without you.”

The End

Maria  

I live in Sydney, Australia with my parents. They own an animal clinic named Animals for Life! Yes, I don’t know why it’s called that. So, anyway it’s summer and I get to spend it all with the animals. Wait, I didn’t tell you who I am. Oops! My name is Maria Trier. My mother is Puerto Rican and my father is Australian. I was born in America so I’m Auserican. Yes, that’s not my joke it’s my mother’s. I am on my way to the horse pasture to see my favorite horse, Star. My mother has gone missing. She has been gone for the past few months since she came to see Luna, her horse.  Time passed in a blur since I noticed she was missing. One minute she was there and the next thing I knew I was being interviewed by the police. Annoying police. Don’t they get I just wanted to be alone? Of course I did. The mother I loved so much was gone and I might never see her again. I can’t think about it without crying. It’s so sad. And to make matters worse, Dad confiscated any picture with my mom in it. Anyway, Star was eating like usual. (What else is new?) That was the last usual thing of the day. 

Star

I’m a horse. At least, I am to Maria. To myself, and my mom, and my dad and my sister, and my cousin, and you get the point, I’m an Alicorn. I live in Maria’s home but also my world. I am the royal Alicorn of my world, and I was sent by the Queen to watch over Maria. I go to my world every night when the family is sleeping. The stars tell me if anyone disturbs Maria and her dad. I was not picked for this mission randomly, after all. I have control of the stars. I am named Star, my mother is named Luna, my father is named Sun, and my sister is named Celie, short for Celeste. As you can see, my family controls the times of day. To get to my world, you have to go into my favorite pasture and jump into the lake. Other horses don’t go into it because I made it invisible and put a force field around it. (Of course I can do that! I am an Alicorn after all. I’m  offended!) The Queen wanted to make sure no other normal animal could walk through the portal. That would be disastrous! Im guessing Maria wants the pen back because she looks like she’s going to explode.

Maria   

Excuse me! I am not going to explode!!! Don’t listen to her, she’s crazy!! So, where was I? Yes, that was the last normal thing that day. So, I was going to ride Star, so I straddled her. We started riding, and then Star’s mane started glowing red and a horn popped up. I wondered if I was hallucinating.

Star     

So ya, I might have hidden my horn and wings. Who cares? My horn started glowing red and that meant I was being called back to my world. Then I started being pulled by the horn toward the portal.

Maria 

Suddenly I saw a lake that hadn’t been there before. We fell through it and… “Star! What is the girl doing here?!”

“Where are we and who is that and why do you have wings and a horn and what?” I asked, looking at Star. “Okay, now that I got that out, why is that my mother’s voice?”

“Because it is my voice,” said a beautiful, musical, familiar voice.

“Mom!” I exclaimed, as a figure walked out into the clearing. It was my mother.